13 Decision! Wiping out The Organization!

The clones were running for the entire day and by the time they got back to the Nile, it was late in the evening. They would have been back earlier, but they were 'ambushed' - and they were using that word loosely - by a small platoon of yoma.

Long story short the yoma were killed.

They came to a stop at the outskirts standing side by side; then they exchanged looks. The clone on the left looked at his 'clone Boss' before reaching into his tunic and taking out the scroll that had all the documents and map sealed within, and tossed it to the other who easily caught it. Then he dispelled himself now that there was no point in being around anymore.

Now that he was by himself, the last clone set out to search for the Boss. The likeliest of places would be the tavern. Or was it an inn? He could never tell the difference between the two really.

Miria would find the stuff he… 'borrowed' from the Organization interesting. Hopefully. Maybe.

Putting the scroll inside his tunic the clone made his way into the village and to the Inn where the Boss, the hybrids and the awakened beings are. They're going to have to relocate as well. Since they've been in the Nile for quite some time it wouldn't surprise the clone if the Organization already knew where they are now.

When the clone entered the Inn, a very satisfied Cynthia scurried up before him with a spring in her step, having sensed his yoki, and hugged his arm. "Hello, there~!" she cooed.

The clone chuckled, "Hey, Cynthia. Where's the boss? I have something for him."

"He's with Miria and the other captains. I'll take you to them."

Meanwhile, in Naruto's room, Jean, Veronica, and Undine stared in utter shock at what Naruto and Miria told them. Galatea was there as well, along with Dietrich, Renee and the twins. Clare, Helen and Deneve were also in the room; since they were already in the know that there was something fishy about the Organization, Miria thought it wouldn't hurt to have them there.

Riful - who was back in her loli form - was there, too, along with Ophelia, Luciela and Rafaela… and the ginger was livid. Very much so. Ophelia, glaring at the floor with all her hate. A low vicious growl rumbled at the back of her throat. Her parents… her brother was killed off because of them!

The munchkin, in particular, wasn't taking this news well. She fell to her knees, overcome with the flashbacks of her past. "I… I… c-can't believe it…" Tears streamed down her cheeks and Naruto walked next to Dietrich to comfort her.

"We don't have any proof yet," Naruto told them, but more to Dietrich. "But since we have no real way to know, all we can do is..."

"I… I saw a man in black arguing about payment," Dietrich said, shuddering. "Hours before my v-village was swarmed by yoma and Awakened Beings!" She sobbed. "It was a miracle that I survived. When I was found by the Organization, I joined immediately, thinking I owed them my life. I… I… I w-was so stupid not to suspect them!"

Naruto sighed and scooped her up into a hug, rubbing her back and giving her a shoulder to cry on.

"Back when I was a warrior, it was when the Organization was starting," Riful said, bringing everyone's attention to her. And many of them were surprised to learn she was that old! She noticed and shrugged. "At that time, there were both male and female warriors. I was one of the first female warriors, the others were still male and the other girls were still in training. And… there were a few things that were a bit off, now that I think about it."

"How do you mean?" Naruto asked.

Riful shrugged again. "They were stories that were passed down. I believe they're forgotten now." she frowned as she racked her brain on what was said back then. "But, if my memory is right, then the stories had said there were no youmas for more than 50 years. And then one day, they just… showed up. They just popped up out of nowhere."

"That ties in with what Miria found," Naruto said. "They just showed up, out of nowhere. And that was after the Organization was founded."

"And then we were made," Riful said, she paused then corrected herself. "Or rather the lost generation was made. The males."

The blond frowned. "Speaking of… there's something about this 'lost generation' I'm having trouble wrapping my head around. If there was 47 of them… then how come there isn't less of them? I'm pretty sure they were slowly killed off in the years after they lost themselves. And you can't say it's because more were infected and turned into youma - because from what I saw, your common youma does not grow tentacles or look like a mutated boar. Or ape. Or a retarded-looking lizard."

Helen sniggered at his descriptions of some of the awakened beings.

Riful shrugged again. "That is a good question," she said. "I can name four survivors from that era off the top of my head, but you killed one of them in Pieta. My previous consort Dauf was another, but you killed him too. So that leaves Isley, Chronos, and Lars."

"Wait," the gears began to turn in Flora's head; she looked to Miria and said. "you don't think…?"

"The possibility is there," Naruto told her, prompting the woman to look at him once more. "Unless we have solid proof of their misdeeds, we have to take everything with a grain of salt, though." he sighed and crossed his arms. "What we do know is they're conducting experiments to create a controllable awakened being. Rafaela and Luciela were their first attempt - and I'm sure everyone in this room knows how that turned out. Alicia and Beth are their second attempt that we know of, and they were successful - to a degree. And since they're likely to guess they deserted at this point, my gut tells me they're going to make another attempt."

Then, as if on cue, there was a knock on the door. "Naruto, honey," Cynthia called. "One or your clones are back with something you need to see."

Naruto was already heading for the door the second he heard 'clone' and opened it.

Cynthia looked concerned as her man opened the door. She could tell how tense it was in there. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

As the clone handed over the scroll over to his boss and dispelled, Naruto took a moment to compose himself. "...you're bound to find out eventually," he said, chuckling as he patted his fiancee on the head. "Come on in."

"What that in your hand?" Miria asked while she was miffed that Cynthia was joining in her lover had a point. The pigtailed woman was going to find out eventually. They might as well get it out of the way now.

"Information, I hope." the blond answered. "When I rescued Galatea I sent a clone out to the Organization to intimidate them-"

"You WHAT?!"

"-but his mission changed to information gathering." he continued as if he were not interrupted. "The clone collected a map, with some words I can't understand written on it along with some documents. Hopefully the information on what they were doing over the years."

Miria blinked owlishly. "A-alright, let's see what you've got." Perhaps these documents would provide the evidence they needed?

Naruto unfurled the scroll and set it down on the floor. Then with a surge of his chakra funnelling into the scroll's dried ink, a poof of smoke came from the scroll.

"...that's a lot of documents," Helen said with her mouth agape when the smoke cleared.

Naruto smiled proudly. "Yeah, my clone got a bit… enthusiastic. There's a map among them, as well. Apparently, it shows the mainland among other things, but he was unable to read it."

Miria immediately looked for the map amongst the pile while everyone else got close out of interest. The woman got it and immediately started to read the words. The continent they were on was labelled Testing Ground One. That didn't bode well…

She then looked at the arrows pointing to the West and the words under them read as, Unexplored Continent; home to the strange masked people. Potentially hostile, and suspected home of 'Ladykiller' Naruto. Has towns much more advanced than the mainland's and Testing Ground One. Proceed with caution.

Sent recon team to Unexplored Continent to the southern areas as northern regions are unwelcoming.

Having seen what she needed to of the map, Miria started leafing through some of the recent-looking documents. One, in particular, caught her eye. "This is bad," she muttered as the blood drained from her face. Then, she gave Naruto an urgent look. "They've sent an envoy to the continent they suspect you to be from. They intend to find any enemies you may have and point them in our direction."

"I wouldn't worry about them for a while. I know for a fact they're not going to send anyone after me anytime soon." Naruto assured. "The continent itself just came out of a short but devastating war that almost crippled all sides. We lost tens of thousands in that conflict, so they'll need time to recover. Even then, I have a lot of friends in high places, so most of them wouldn't even be interested in pissing me off. Hell, they're more likely to be on my side than fight me. Especially Gaara. He's one of my closest friends and is the leader of Sunagakure, one of the five most powerful… cities on the continent." he paused. "Fun fact: Gaara was the one whose father made him a sociopath, and tried to kill me to prove his existence."

"The one who was like me?" Ophelia asked she could somewhat remember her lover mentioning a friend that tried to kill him. "The one who's dad sent assassins to kill him right?"

"The very same." Naruto nodded. "He was also a Jinchuuriki like me. But, he's not anymore. His demon was extracted from him by the organization that had waged war with the people of my continent and nearly killed them all."

Miria was white as a sheet at that; relieved though she may have been that this organization of his was dead, the thought of them being able to bring his continent to its knees, despite eight others like him being there to oppose them, sent shivers up her spine.

Cynthia, had the bright idea to ask, "Just how powerful was this organization you fought?"

Naruto looked at his fiancee for a moment, and then, with a long-suffering sigh, he began to recount all he could about the Akatsuki. "Well, one was immortal. And I mean that in the literal sense. You cut off his head and he would keep talking. He also had this ability that transfers all injuries he inflicted on himself to his victim after ingesting their blood. The actual leader of the organization was intangible and could to put you in an unbreakable illusion where he could torture you in your mind for 47 hours, where it's only a few seconds in real-time, he could also bring you to a location only he can get to either by looking at you or touching you; there was someone else who had a similar ability, only he was so skilled with illusions you wouldn't notice the difference between the fake and the real thing. He could also make a spectral warrior that could take on a demon of Kurama's Calibur. Another had nine hearts, taken from his previous victims, so to permanently kill him you had to destroy all nine." he took another brief pause to collect his thoughts, "Another was a famous swordsman, he was so dangerous the sword he carried could make my chakra and yoki useless since it absorbs it and transfers it to him. The figurehead of that organization was the one who flattened my home." he took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck. "In other words, all of them was a one-man army that no one wanted to fuck around with. They're all dead now, though, so you won't have to worry about them."

Well… Orochimaru was still alive. But he wasn't a part of Akatsuki anymore.

The women in the room could barely believe their ears. No wonder they were such a problem to the people of his continent!

"And… if they do come?" Clare asked.

"I'll make sure you're all able to fight them. Out of everyone, Konohagakure - my city - is most likely to come after me. They're the reason I left, after all. Iwagakure, though... they might be a close contender though. Old Man Oonoki is a wild card, though his city suffered heavy losses. Kumogakure is also a close contender… they're the most militaristic and are infamous for kidnapping. They also suffered the least losses, though it's hard to say if they'd actually come after me. I'm friends with Octo-pops, the leader's brother, who's the second strongest Jinchuuriki and he thinks highly of me. Sunagakure, Gaara's city, is one place I know for a fact won't come. Finally, Kirigakure suffered the most losses and might be the least likely to come after me for that alone, though Mei - their leader - is highly protective of her people. She might see me as a potential threat." then he concluded with a nonchalant shrug, "But they all suffered heavy losses; it would take them a near-decade to recover their numbers, so we have that amount of time to prepare. I'll have to up your training and see if I can get you all able to use chakra."

Miria nodded in agreement. That made sense, and she was curious about this 'chakra' he kept mentioning.

"Right, so, what can you tell what is on the other documents?" the blond asked, gesturing to the pile on the floor.

"I'll see what I can find," Miria replied.

Naruto nodded, but then, they heard a small, trembling voice off to the side.

"I… I think I found what you're looking for."

Poor Cynthia had gotten a bit too curious for her good when she saw a large, extensive bundle of papers referring to the yoma. Now that she'd seen what it contained, tears streamed down her eyes and her whole body trembled. She felt sick.

The papers contained everything the Organization had recorded about the yoma, including detailed files on how they were created, and whom they were made from. Mostly orphans, according to the files.

"Let me see," Miria told her and Cynthia gladly handed her the entire document; finding herself unable to read anymore. Naruto brought his fiancee into a comforting hug and allowed her to cry onto his chest. She was such a kind-hearted one, so to see her as this pissed him right the fuck off. Whatever was in those papers must have been… ugly for her to react in such away.

Literally, everyone could sense how… displeased Naruto was. It was… unnerving. Renee, in particular, was trembling like a leaf, easily overwhelmed by his foul mood.

Cynthia, however, hugged him closer, knowing that it was because he was being protective of her. It made her feel so much better to have a man who cared for her so. Soon, her crying was reduced to the occasional sniffle as Naruto comforted her.

"Whatever was in that, must've been bad." Cynthia smiled bitterly, that was a massive understatement. She thought she was helping to protect people from the yoma; but instead, she found out she was killing infected people who were kidnapped by the Organization and infused with the flesh of some being that was worse than youma and voracious eaters.

Miria replied with a low angered growl. "It's the organization's records on the yoma. If it's true, then we can say without a doubt that they are responsible; there are even detailed accounts on how they were made and why."

"We weren't killing monsters," Cynthia told everyone. "All this time we were killing innocent people. People who the Organization had kidnapped for years, and turned them into what they are now."

That got one hell of a reaction out of the women present. Dietrich was white as a sheet and looked about ready to throw up. The twins frowned, displeased to see their man so angry. Jean was aghast from this revelation, as were Flora and Veronica.

"Raise your hand if you're all for wiping out the organization?" a scowling Helen said.

Dietrich's hand jolted up immediately, a look of righteous fury in her eye. Flora, Cynthia and Jean all followed suit. Deneve was the next after Helen raised hers, followed by Miria. Veronica felt apprehensive but did as well when she saw Cynthia and Miria do the same, and the twins looked at Naruto expectantly. If he was going, they were too. He saw and raised his hand with a smile, prompting Alicia and Beth to raise theirs, followed by Galatea.

The last one to raise her hand was Renee, but upon seeing everyone else do it made her more confident in doing so.

"Well… looks like we have a unanimous vote." Naruto said. "The others will have to know of this too and we have undeniable proof of their misdeeds as well. I'll have to see if you're able to use chakra - having you all being able to control the elements, and make illusions would be a nightmare to fight." he grinned menacingly. "I can't wait."

None of the women in the room could help but wonder if they should dread or look forward to these lessons. So, they settled for feeling both.

11 Months later...

Rubel let out a deep sigh as he got off the boat. That was one hell of a long trip, but now, he was here. The gaunt man took in his surroundings. They had landed in what appeared to be a port town to the south-east of this continent.

The buildings were a little foreign but had that familiarity with them. He could see a few made from brick and concrete on solid land rather on the wooden port. Not to mention the civilians here were dressed differently too.

Oddly, there were a lot of kids with whisker marks. Perhaps that was a common trait around these parts?

They were all dressed in several clothes he'd never seen before. And quite a few were armed, and an armour of some kind that was foreign, as well. The man in black adjusted his hat, he hoped the locals here spoke the same language as he and his… cohorts.

Flanking Rubel was a small entourage of masked men in black. They were all garbed in identical attire and eyeballed the people of this strange, new land warily. "Where to?" one of them asked.

"We head inland, someone here is bound to know the Ladykiller and point us in the right direction," Rubel answered.

With that, the men set off to find someone who looked like an authority figure. Surely, that would be a good place to start.

The man looked around from behind his sunglasses, eyeballing several warrior-looking men and women with steel-plated headbands roaming about. Upon these plates were a symbol that resembled an ink blob or something of the like etched into them. A dark-skinned woman with red hair and a thin, single-edged sword eyeballed him back suspiciously. She frowned when he gave her a polite smile, clearly not trusting him. Rubel shrugged, before carrying on. No need to accidentally piss off the locals, so he opted to leave her well enough alone.

As Rubel walked away with his contingent of guards, Karui kept her eyes on him. When she saw him ask a passer-by for directions, she frowned, seeing that he was directed to the town hall. Apparently, shadowing him was a damn good idea.

"Samui, Omoi,' she whispered into her intercom, "we've got a JDLR at the docks. Five white men in black. One's wearing sunglasses and a fedora, the others are masked. Their heading towards the town hall."

JDLR, shortened for 'Just Doesn't Look Right', was code in Kumo for suspicious-looking people or activities. And the men Karui pointed out to Samui and Omoi fit that code to a T.

Samui, a big breasted blonde with a bob-cut and cold, piercing blue eyes immediately sought out the men Karui described. She found them walking down the street towards the town hall. The two young women and young man shadowed after them. If they were here to cause problems or were hired by Konoha… they would be dealt with. Non-lethally of course; they didn't want to cause a political shitstorm so soon after the war.

They were still recovering from their losses after all. Thankfully, their sensei had convinced Matatabi the two-tailed flaming cat to hang out around their village and help them out if they needed it. She was surprisingly polite, despite the mistreatment and imprisonment she had endured since the formation of the Hidden Villages.

A few minutes later, the mayor of Nami no Kuni, Tazuna was surprised and a bit unnerved by the small team of black-clad men walking into his office.

When the man in the fedora came to a stop in front of his desk, the part-time bridge builder reigned in his nerves and politely asked. "May I help you?"

"Ah, yes," Rubel began. "We hail from a continent far away and have… a problem on our hands. A big one. Would you happen to know where I can hire some help with that?"

Tazuna stared at him for a moment, before answering with a sigh. "...I do know, yes; but I'm not sure they're going to be able to help you with your 'problem'. Not right away, at least."

"Oh?"

"There was a massive war between the Hidden Villages and a shadowy organization named… Akatsy? Something like that, two years ago. It left them low on manpower, so I don't know whether or not they have someone to spare for such a long trip. The closest one to us though is the Village Hidden by Leaves or Konoha as it's more commonly known."

"I see." Rubel mused. "Where can I find this Konoha?"

"Cross the Great Naruto Bridge to get to the mainland and head down the western road. Can't miss it, though you'll be travelling for a few days on foot."

Rubel cocked his head at the name. "Naruto… I seem to recall hearing that name before. Is it a common one?"

Tazuna shrugged. "It will be in a generation or two, I hear. Naruto Uzumaki is a hero to everyone here, he was part of a team that liberated our town from a tyrant and inspired us all to rise against our oppressors, that bridge is named after him. He almost single-handedly stopped that war I mentioned earlier. And he managed to befriend all Nine Tailed Beasts. Never could help but wonder why he left, though. He's well-liked by everyone I know of. Even the Hidden Villages think highly of him."

Rubel mentally cursed at that; at least it's a certainty that their problem originally came from here. That's good news at least. Bad news, everyone thinks highly of him so the chances of hiring someone to remove their annoyance is low. Still, someone that famous was bound to have enemies. Maybe they'd be fortunate enough to find one? Although he was curious as to what these… 'Tailed Beasts' are; are they their version of voracious eaters? Yomas? And the Ladykiller befriended them as well?

"By any chance, you wouldn't happen to know where he's from? I'm so dreadfully curious."

Tazuna certainly didn't see any harm in answering. "Of course, he's from Konoha."

Rubel hummed thoughtfully and then gave the man a polite nod. "I thank you for the information."

"You're welcome. And if you're lucky you might see one of the Tailed Beasts when you're crossing the Great Naruto Bridge. Isobu and Chomei like to hang around here this time of year. Do try to be polite, though, the three-tailed one, Isobu, has little patience for rude people."

Again, Rubel couldn't help his curiosity. "Forgive my rudeness, but, you make them sound as if they're capable of understanding us."

Tazuna chuckled. "Yeah, you're definitely not from around here. Now that I think about it, they don't look like they would, but they can. In fact, they're smarter than most people. If the rumours about them being over a thousand years old have any merit, that is."

Rubel gave another polite nod and said, "again, I thank you for the information. Please do have a nice day."

"You're welcome. And have a safe journey."

With that respectable dismissal, Rubel and his entourage left the office and building in an orderly fashion. As they headed to the Great Naruto Bridge they never noticed they were being shadowed by the team from Kumo; they came to a stop when they moved across the mile-long bridge.

"...Should we follow?" Karui asked.

Samui shook her head. "No. We have our orders to stay here and make sure no one from Konoha kidnaps Naruto's children."

Karui sighed, muttering to herself, "lucky bastard. How does one man have so many kids?"

Omoi snorted. "He has shadow clones. I wouldn't be surprised if he used them to help him out. And if he gets clones to help out... then he could get more children, and if he could get more children he could have enough people to recreate the Uzumaki Clan... and if he gets the Uzumaki Clan revived, would he strike back against us because we were one of the three Hidden Villages that almost wiped them off the face of the plan- Ow!"

His tangent was cut short by a swift whack to the back of the head, courtesy of his sister. "Omoi, you're ranting again…"

Meanwhile, back on the bridge, Rubel found himself unnerved by the giant, spiky, three-tailed turtle-thing swimming by just under the crossway. His escort was feeling the same; they were completely unnerved when the water beneath the bridge rose to reveal the giant turtle.

"I take it you're, Isobu?"

There was a loud snorting sound from the turtle, and it took a moment for them to realise it was chuckling. "A foreigner who knows my name? Strange. Very strange. Unless Tazuna told you it."

"Tazuna?" Rubel questioned. "The mayor of this town, I take it. Forgive me, but I never asked his name."

"Yes. That is he. Tazuna, the Mayor of Wave Country. Now, I have a question for you if you will indulge me."

Rubel smiled politely. "Fire away, I don't mind."

Suddenly, the turtle shifted around and rose on the surface, looking directly at the foreigners with a single, dangerously narrowed eye. And as he said, "What are your intentions towards Naruto?" the politeness in Isobu's voice was still there, but he had a tone of absolute seriousness to show he was not messing around.

Without missing a beat, Rubel smiled and asked, "who?"

If nothing else, Isobu had to credit him for having one hell of a poker face. "You don't fool me human, I gave Naruto my yoki two years ago - I can 'look' in and check on him anytime I want, and I heard you talking to him one year ago." Isobu swam closer until he was close enough to the edge. "Now, human, what. Are. Your. Intentions towards him?"

Rubel smiled politely as he slowly backed away from the edge of the bridge, "I assure you, I have no ill intent towards Naruto."

Isobu gave the man and his escort a hard and tense stare. "...I may not have Kurama's ability to sense negative emotions, but I will warn you: if you dare hurt my friend, I and the others will know… And we will come for you."

And with that ominous warning, Isobu sank into the ocean.

Rubel frowned at the threat. And if what it said about being able to 'check-in' has any merit, they're going to have to be a lot more careful when it comes to dealing with the Ladykiller. Nevertheless, he adjusted his fedora and continued on his way with his escorts following.

----

Meanwhile, back with Naruto, he couldn't keep the prideful smile off his face as Cynthia giggled, playing with her twin girls. He couldn't help but wince when he recalled their conception, though. Upon realizing that he'd impregnated Miria, Tabitha, Zelda, Flora, Alicia, and Beth in addition to Clare, Jean, Riful, and not her, Cynthia trapped him in his room with a sickly-sweet grin for five damn days! Were it not for Kurama, he would have been fucked to death!

What a way it would have been to go out, though...

He chuckled to himself, before eyeballing the other women. Off to the side, Zelda and Tabitha were holding their sons in their arms, soothingly humming into their ear as they slept.

Miria and Flora had daughters, who were fast asleep soundlessly in their cribs. Riful's daughter, was fast asleep in her crib too, as the Abyssal loli looked down at the brat and giggled. She was so damn proud of having Naruto's baby.

Needless to say, the other women tried not to think about all the dead bandits and criminals her appetite had consequently left in its wake.

Alicia and Beth had a son and daughter respectively, and they were almost fundamentally different than they were a year ago, upon their fateful encounter with Naruto. They were smiling a lot more now and had an understanding of some of their emotions. The mood swings they had at first left them so confused, but with Naruto by their side, they managed. They still kept up the emotionless facade though, which they only dropped when around Naruto himself and their children.

Clare had a daughter she named after her adoptive mum, Teresa. The girl somehow ended up being a spitting image of the woman, too. He had to ask Clare at one point if the baby was actually Teresa herself - she wasn't, Clare could still feel the woman's presence inside of her. Apparently, Teresa's flesh and blood being implanted into Clare had an interesting side-effect?

That aside, a once again pregnant Jean Uzumaki had a giant grin on her face as she sat in a corner and nursed little William. She was so immeasurably proud to have born Naruto a son, and such a healthy one at that!

With a smile Naruto left the nursery; they didn't even know he was there, watching them from the doorway. Before he did, though, he couldn't help but eyeball the three empty cribs. He couldn't wait for his expectant women to finally come to term. Veronica, in particular, should be due any day, now.

After that, he left.

A few minutes later, Naruto emerged from the keep of Riful's castle, wandering on the ramparts and lost in thought as he wondered what to do next. Originally, he'd come here to seek powerful, relatively unknown allies that he could use to take his literal lifetime of frustrations out on those who'd wronged him.

But now… he was having second thoughts. These girls are doing him some good, he found someone - several someones, in fact - to love again and his anger had been vented since he got new lovers, who loved him for him and not because of his reputation or power… maybe more on the latter, but they still loved him for him.

So… what now? Should he just stay here and rebuild his clan? What if his friends and family back home? Should he go back for their sakes?

If so, what of his girls, here? Would it be right to just uproot them and bring his wives to a continent they'd never even known existed before he plopped on their shores? He didn't know what to do… maybe asking for their opinion would help him think? Get some outside perspective.

Likely having sensed his troubled thoughts, Galatea waddled on up behind him. She was about six months in, and damn was this kid hard on her ankles… "Honey, what's the matter?"

"Just lost in thought, dear." Naruto sighed. "No, it's not just that. I'm… having trouble with something."

Galatea frowned, hugging him from behind. Naruto exhaled and leaned against her touch. "What is it you're having trouble with? You can tell me."

"A decision: when the Organization is taken down, should I stay here with you all… or go back home with you all coming with me? Would any of you even want to go to a continent you had no prior knowledge of existing, once this business with the Organization is over?"

His wife giggled. "I would love to. You have no idea how curious I am of your world. I'm sure many would feel the same." Her smile faded as another thought came to mind. "Furthermore, we only have so many bandits and such on this continent, and we have no way of knowing if your awakened lovers are killing them off quicker than they are produced or not. On top of that, there's no telling just yet if their offspring will share their eating habits."

Naruto frowned, having forgotten about that. Perhaps heading back was the safer option after all. The Elemental Nations had a lot of bandits and… other missing-nin. Hell, if nothing else, he could look into seeing if Orochimaru could grow them some food in exchange for being allowed to keep his teeth? It was worth a try if nothing else.

"That's a good point… maybe going home after this is all over would be the best decision." He put his hand on top of Galatea's, "Thank you, for helping clear things up."

His wife smiled brightly. "Think nothing of it, my love. I'm here for you whenever you need it, just as you are there for me."

Naruto could help but smile back. He took a moment to overlook the castle he'd renovated. The massive structure was perched atop a hill, comprised of a keep sitting atop an elevated position surrounded by a retaining wall that kept the building well above its outer bailey. There was a bastion on every corner and a large ramp leading up to its entrance with three towers along the way - each one serving as a miniature gatehouse. Even then, the entrance in question was an iron grate leading directly to a spiralling staircase only wide enough to accommodate one person at a time. Maybe an adult and child standing side by side, but that was a stretch, depending on the kid's age.

All of this was surrounded by the ramparts, which had all the bells and whistles of the age: extended, inward- and outward-facing battlements with arrow loops in the merlons and machicolations covered by trap doors for when they were not in use. Aside from a sally port in the form of an escape tunnel that lead to secret basement a nearby windmill, the only way in or out was through the barbican, which had every fortification it possibly could: a counterweight drawbridge, the same extended battlements as the ramparts, some additional arrow loops in the upper levels of its flanking towers, a reinforced gate with an inner and outer portcullis, and no less than five murder holes up top.

Needless to say, these bells and whistles required the barbican to be quite large, and the ramparts to be just as tall, as a result, everything was well over ten stories in height and the castle's outer wall was five meters thick.

Naruto chuckled tiredly. Learning how to rebuild this thing was a bitch and a half, but there was no way in hell the Organization was going to touch them from up here, any time soon. It was tiring work to be sure, even and especially with an army of clones, but damn, he was proud of himself. "If all else fails," he said, "I could set up a bigger version of that teleportation seal I use somewhere in this place and see if we can have this place serve as a backup shelter or just go back and forth between the two continents."

Galatea's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Y-you can do that?!"

"I have no idea," Naruto replied with a chuckle. "I have a seal that lets me get back to my homeland at any time I want. I can try and make another version of it to take everyone. It might not work but, it is worth a try."

She married a madman, Galatea realized with an amused chortle of her own - an insane, glorious bastard, and she wouldn't have him any other way. "Indeed it is."

Naruto turned around and cupped Galatea's cheek, giving her a loving kiss, before taking her by the hand and heading back to the keep.

"So, when are you going back to teaching us to use chakra again?" the woman asked as she was led into the keep.

Naruto chuckled as he put his arm around her waist. "Tomorrow, Galatea. I just don't want to put too much strain on you or any of the others. I'll start teaching you some more advanced training techniques that will increase your control once you have our child though." then a thought came to him. "Say, Galatea, just how strong is the skin of an awakened being? Is steel able to pierce through their skin at all?"

"It depends. If they have armour-like plates on their body, as you saw with Alicia then it's really hard for steel to breakthrough. Regular yomas don't have thick skin at all so a normal human can kill one if they're lucky enough."

And so Galatea began to tell Naruto some of the strengths and weaknesses of awakened beings.

"And Alicia's skin looks like it's made of metal," Naruto thought in realization. "...I might be wrong about Chunins having an easier time than Genins fighting Alicia -- they are more likely to be killed by her than them defeating her." he grinned widely. "That's hot."