By the time Naruto returned to Amegakure, the sun was about to rise. His conversation with Tsunade had taken much longer than he had expected, and the act of summoning the Shinigami and gutting himself open like a fish had been quite the ordeal as well.
'I told Konan I'd be back in 3-4 hours, but it's morning already. I must've worried her.'
After spending so much time with her, Naruto gradually got a better grasp of her real personality. She rarely showed her emotions on her face, but the ability to sense Negative Emotions that Kurama shared with him gave away her inner feelings.
He took off his muddy boots and also hung his rain cloak on a rack before going inside. Once he took a shower and changed into a set of clean sleeping clothes, he went to the bedroom.
A smile lit his face at the sight of the sleeping beauty in his bed. Even when she slept, she looked like an angel. As he got in bed next to her, Konan stirred awake and turned in bed to face him. It was impossible to get that close to a ninja of her calibre without waking them up.
"You're back," she muttered in a sleepy voice.
Despite her bleary eyes and the way that her soft blue hair stood in all directions, Naruto swooned at how pretty she was. The contrast between her always-perfect doll-like appearance and her current dishevelled look made her even more adorable in his eyes.
"Yeah. Took me longer than I thought. Sorry."
She only mumbled something incoherent as she stuck closer to him and lay her head on his chest. He grinned like a fool at the sight of it. Watching how comfy she was sleeping cuddled to his side, he was soon lulled to sleep as well.
⁂
It was noon. The sky was as downcast as it was always in the Land of Rain, but, for a change, it wasn't raining that day. Seeing as it was the end of December, it was snowing. As Naruto opened his eyes, he was treated to the sight of large and dense snowflakes falling from the sky.
Yawning, he stretched his hands above his head, and his whole body shivered from the pleasant feeling. But when he tried rubbing at his eyes with his hands-
"What the hell?"
Much to his stupor, his hands were tied above his head to the bed's headpost. More than a little confused by the situation, he put a considerable amount of strength into his movement as he pulled onto his restraints. Confusion turned into alarm when he realised that he couldn't feel his chakra.
"I see you've woken up."
Turning towards the familiar voice, relief washed over him.
"Konan! Why am I being-"
He ended up forgetting what he wanted to say when she saw the way she was dressed.
"I see someone else woke up too," she said with a smirk as she leaned on her side against the door.
A deep flush spread over his face at her teasing words. Getting a morning wood was normal for any healthy young man, but what he had there wasn't that, it was a tower. It made a tent visible even with a blanket covering it. He couldn't help it. He had never expected to ever see her, of all people, wear an outfit as slutty as that.
Unlike the black leather pants and tight sleeveless vest that Konan used to wear under her Akatsuki cloak on a daily basis, today she looked like an entirely different person.
She was wearing a kimono, but not of the traditional kind. It was a shoulderless kimono that left her shoulders bare and seemingly hung onto her lithe form only due to her breasts. The satin belt fastened around her thin waist further accentuated her hourglass-shaped figure, showcasing her big bust and wide hips. And the differences didn't stop there: her kimono stopped just above her mid-thighs, barely covering her privates, leaving her smooth, long white legs bare for him to see.
If that wasn't enough to bring out the beast inside of him, the thigh-high, big mesh stockings she was wearing and the choker around her thin neck certainly did the trick.
He had seen many women wearing that kind of clothing before, courtesy of Jiraiya, during their trip. Only God knew how many times he had had to drag the old pervert out of brothels and beg him for training; he had seen his fair share of geisha during those two years, but he couldn't remember anyone looking as hot as Konan.
"What brought this on?" he somehow found the presence of mind to ask.
She kept that seductive smirk on her face as she walked towards the bed and pulled the blanket off him.
[Lemon removed]
[...]
[...]
[Lemon removed]
⁂ Later, in the evening ⁂
"You okay?" he asked.
Their naked bodies pressed together, Naruto held her close to him as she rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You?"
Deep down, worry was gnawing at both of them because they had never had such frantic, hardcore sex before. She had never tortured anyone with pleasure before, and he had never been so rough with her body either.
"What you did was… different," Naruto said slowly, trying to find the right words.
"...Did you hate it?"
The tone of her voice was normal, but he could tell with his Negative Emotion Sensing how anxious she was as she waited for his answer. That ability was almost like a cheat when it came to interpersonal relationships.
"I don't know. I think I almost died and saw a glimpse of the Pure Lands at some point," he said.
She burst into nervous laughter at his words.
"I didn't hate it," he said eventually, mollifying her worries. How could he? He had never cum that hard in his entire life. He had almost passed out from pleasure.
A short while went by without them saying anything.
"Can we do it again?" she asked.
"Now?!"
He couldn't believe it. He had cum so many times that it hurt him even to just touch his dick. When he went to the bathroom a few minutes ago, he was so sensitive down there that he almost had a mini-orgasm while peeing.
When he got into a relationship with Konan, he hadn't expected her to be such a wildcat or have that kind of libido and such out-of-ordinary preferences. It was at that moment that Jiraiya's words came to his mind:
'It's always the quiet ones that get freaky behind closed doors. Never forget that, or you might end up biting more than you can chew.'
"Of course not! I'm not letting you, thirsty animal, anywhere near my pussy for a week!" she burst out in embarrassment and indignation. The stoic and seemingly emotionless persona she showed in general was nowhere to be seen.
"Sorry."
He snorted when another thought came to his mind and said:
"If we do it again, do I get to call you Mom again too?"
She flushed so hard that he could feel the heat of her cheeks on his chest.
"Shut up," she mumbled as she hid her face in his chest and poked him in the ribs.
In retrospect, she didn't know what came over her and made her act like a dommy mommy. There was just something about Naruto that brought out desires in her that she'd never had before.
The blind worship and gratitude the blond had for her ever since she saved him from the Blood Prison made her want to treasure and protect him. His obedience towards her, however, awakened something she didn't know she had had in her all this time. She wanted to tease him, dominate him, and make him cry out in pleasure. But she also wanted to pamper and mother him, to give him all the love and affection that he craved, and more.
She let out a quiet moan of arousal and pain as her thoughts caused the raw and abused place between her legs to act up again. It was with a great effort of will that she pushed the horny thoughts away and stopped her desires from being set on fire again.
The New Year was just around the corner, and the newly formed Land of Rain and Rivers had hundreds of diplomatic and economic issues that she needed to deal with (especially since there wasn't a Daimyo to govern over the domestic matters in her stead), the Kage Summit was getting closer by the day, the remains of Akatsuki was still threatening them from the shadows, and there was a prophecy of doom looming over them as well.
But, at that moment, Konan didn't want to think about any of that. At that moment, the only thing on her mind was how good it felt to be held in his arms and bask in the warmth of his bare skin pressing against hers.
⁂
The Rinne Festival arrived and with it, most of the people living in the Elemental Nations forgot, if only for a few days, about schemes, missions, and killings, and enjoyed the festive mood brought by the end-of-the-year celebrations.
Nevertheless, while the majority of people were enjoying their time with their family, friends, or lovers and went out in the streets to light up fireworks, others couldn't share their joy.
Somewhere in an underground cave in the Land of Sound, a handsome young man with pitch-black eyes was glaring blankly at the wall in front of him as he sat at the edge of the bed.
"Sasuke, the preparations are complete," a hoarse voice came from an adjacent room.
As he stood up and went into the next room, he looked at the operation table with a frown. It reminded him of his time under Orochimaru's tutelage. While the Snake Sanin had never mistreated him until the last moment, the moments spent on the operation table as Orochimaru and Kabuto strengthened his body and worked towards making it immune to poisons had not been pleasant in the least.
"But are you sure you want to do this? What if you turn into a plant? Your little pecker won't work anymore. You won't be able to revive the Uchiha Clan after that either!"
"Kuro-Zetsu, please shut that retard up or I will," Sasuke said in annoyance.
While the Black side of the Zetsu person was curt and acted with an inflated air of self-importance and superiority, Sasuke much preferred him instead of the overly-chatty White Zetsu who had no filters on his mouth and often triggered him with his idiocy. In a way, it was even more annoying because he was reminding him of his former teammate, Naruto.
"I want to remind you that this procedure isn't without risk. There is a chance that your body won't be able to cope with the power of Hashirama's cells and, in the worst-case scenario, you might really turn into a tree like this imbecile said," Black Zetsu warned him one last time.
"It doesn't matter," Sasuke said darkly. "Nothing matters if I can't have my revenge."
He didn't say it out loud, but everyone in the room knew what he meant: that he wasn't happy with the immense power he had already gained. It wasn't enough.
"How long will it take for my Mangekyo Sharingan to evolve into the Rinnegan?" Sasuke asked as he took his clothes off and put on a patient's robe before climbing on the operation table.
"We have no way of knowing that. It's not like there are many precedents of people awakening the Rinnegan. Madara was the only one who managed to do that after the Sage of the Six Paths passed away."
"How long did it take him?"
"That, I am not sure. Rumour goes that-" Black Zetsu began to lie, only for White Zetsu to cut him off and start cackling.
"It took him more than 40 years! Hahaha! The Hokage and those who crushed the Uchiha Clan will die of old age before you even get to-"
"Shut the fuck up, imbecile!" Black Zetsu screamed, punching the white side of his face angrily.
"Is there no way to speed that up?" Sasuke asked, paying no mind to Zetsu's schizophrenic behaviour. He had long since gotten used to it.
"I think I can help with that."
At the sound of that voice, Sasuke suddenly sprung up from the operation table. His Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan switched on, and a lightning blade appeared in his hand
"Kabuto! How did you find this place?" Sasuke shouted.
It was impossible for him not to recognise that voice after spending the better part of three years together with him.
Hiss-like laughter was heard as a strange man wearing a dark red hood stepped into the room. Deathly-white, cracked skin, snake-like eyes partially hidden behind wide, round spectacles, and a large snake that came from his back almost like a tail.
At Zetsu's command, wooden spikes broke through the concrete and sandstone floor as he turned to face the unwelcome visitor.
"Oh, my, no need for all that. I come in peace," Kabuto said, using his patented pushover voice as if to show that he had no ill intentions.
"As if anyone would believe a snake like you!" Sasuke shouted, barely restraining himself from unleashing the flames of Amaterasu upon him. "What are you here for? Came to take revenge for your master?"
"Your thinking is still too naive, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto said, not losing his mile. "In the first place, what makes you think Orochimaru-sama was dead? He lives on through me and anyone else who has ever borne his mark. Alas, I didn't come here today to talk about Orochimaru-sama but to propose an alliance."
"An alliance? What would you have to gain from allying with us?" Black Zetsu asked.
Kabuto threw a furtive glance at Sasuke, his long snake tongue coming out and licking his lips. But he turned his attention back to Zetsu and answered:
"The Rinnegan."
Just as Sasuke was about to explode, Kabuto added:
"Not the Rinnegan that you're going to awaken. I want Uzumaki Naruto's Rinnegan. Or, better said, Uchiha Madara's Rinnegan."
"Say we agree to that; what do you have to offer? An alliance has to be mutually beneficial for it to make sense."
"I told you, I will help with speeding up Sasuke's awakening of the Rinnegan. I studied Hashirama's cells more intensely than anyone else in the entire world. Furthermore, I have seen the Rinnegan at work first-hand, and even done some research on it too lately."
"There's a limit to how many lies you can tell before-" Black Zetsu began to say, only for his words to die in his throat when Kabuto slammed his palms together like in prayer and a wooden coffin broke through the already ruined floor.
"I can't believe it…" White Zetsu spoke for the first time since Kabuto arrived.
The coffin's lid fell off, revealing the reanimated corpse of one of the two strongest shinobi in the history of Elemental Nations: Uchiha Madara.
"I can make Sasuke awaken his Rinnegan in less than a year," Kabuto said smugly, dropping the pushover act now that he got the reigns of the discussion. "And I can also provide invaluable support in battle. Uchiha Madara is my trump card, my ace in the sleeve, but I have many more powerful cards at my disposal. Former members of the Akatsuki, former kages, and many other formidable shinobi of the past. So what do you say? Am I contributing enough for this alliance to be worth it?"
"Definitely," Black Zetsu answered, not beating around the bush. "Welcome to the Akatsuki."