22 Finding Irene Part 1(18+)

As he stepped back on the continent 11 months later, Rubel was less than satisfied with the results of his mission. He was told to get the hell out of the Elemental Nations and never return, after the Kages - the leaders of these 'Hidden Villages' - were informed of what the Organization were actually doing here.

It turns out the Tailed Beast he first met was not lying when it told him all the Tailed Beasts can look in and see how Ladykiller Naruto is doing. They learned what they were doing thanks to Naruto - and they, in turn, informed the Kages.

Long story short: this mission was doomed to fail from the beginning. That Hokage fellow had even gotten a message from the Raikage. He didn't know what the message said, but whatever it contained was enough for the man to throw the bags of bera back to him.

What's worse, ever since he left, the bald man couldn't shake the feeling that he was being followed.

Perhaps it was that turtle thing… Isobu, he believed its name was? Maybe if he asked nicely, it would eat someone else? One could hope…

Rubel sighed in annoyance. He looked over his shoulder and beckoned his escort to follow him. While he is truly not a part of the Organization, he was more than a little annoyed at having his efforts thwarted; because he didn't get any valuable information on what the forces the new continent is capable of. Nor does he know the capabilities of the tailed beasts either. But if the reports of a giant Nine-tailed fox that suddenly appeared in Pieta are to be believed, then these Tailed Beasts are capable of causing the same amount of destruction.

With that he made his way back to the Headquarters of the Organization, to tell them the bad news. He hoped they had a backup plan in case the one he was sent on had failed.

A fair distance away in the sea, Isobu narrowed his one good eye as he watched Rimuto and his escort disembark from the boat. Following them on land was a definite no since he would be spotted a mile away, however, that didn't mean he could not trail them from the sea.

He may not have Kurama's negative emotions sensing, but he had a skill that all of the other tailed beasts shared: chakra sensing. And using that, he can track Rubel and his entourage from the sea. He just had to make sure no one else on that continent would be able to sense him; since the turtle overheard Kurama mentioning something about their warriors may be able to sense him two years ago.

With that thought in mind, Isobu slowly sank back into the sea and slowly followed the men in black to their Headquarters at a respectable distance. Lucky every person's chakra is unique, so following this man would be easy.

----

Back in the West, in the castle Naruto had renovated - which was called Raby, back in the day it was still being used - Yuma was...

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, JUST PULL HIM OUT OR SOMETHING!!!"

...having a bit of a struggle. "FUCK, IT HURTS! WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?!"

Sitting on a little, wooden stool with a bucket between her legs and Cynthia synchronizing her yoki with Yuma's to keep her stable, the former Number 40 was trying her best to push her child out of her womb. Naruto was by her side as one would expect of him, and like every damn last woman before her, Yuma was crushing Naruto's hand as she screamed her head off.

The former Number 40 glared at him with maddening eyes. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT YOU FUCKING BASTARD! YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

Naruto groaned in discomfort as Yuma did her best to break every last fucking bone in his hand. But he bared it and reinforced said hand with chakra just in case. Still, he endured a lot worse than this. Priscilla, when her time came, was a fucking nightmare to deal with - the still had nightmares from that incident. The damn woman shifted to her awakened form, mid-labour, and nearly tore his arm clean off! He had to use his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode to counter that!

She scared the living shit out of everyone, including Team Samui when they heard her scream of epic proportions echoing throughout the entire fucking castle - a scream that was only rivalled by a line of curses that would make even Jashin, himself uneasy.

Priscilla's a scary bitch when she wants to be.

"S-sorry, honey! But you wanted IT!" he yelled and hunched over when Yuma added yoki into her grip, screaming her head off as her eyes glowed gold and she let out another mighty push.

"I can see the head," Tabitha said. "Just a little more!"

"I AM PUSHING A LITTLE MORE!" Yuma bellowed at the top of her lungs, completely red-faced from the stress of this birth. "THIS IS FUCKING HARD! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT WHY WON'T HE PUSH OUT FASTER!!? AAAAGH!!!"

Poor thing… Tabitha couldn't say she blamed her. Giving birth to little Minato was pretty much identical for the former Number 31.

And Naruto had to endure everyone mouthing off to him when their water broke. How he managed to keep himself level headed with his women threatening to kill him, castrate him, or just bad-mouthing him was beyond her.

The little guy's head popped out and Tabitha cradled it with a blanket in hand, letting him slip into her gentle grasp as he slowly but surely emerged. "It's a boy," she declared.

Samui was right there immediately when he did, placing clamps in the umbilical cord and snipping it with a small pair of sheers. Then, she tended to Yuma's needs with the help of a local doctor, as a medic from Kumo made sure that the wailing little boy was nice and healthy.

Off to the side, Karui shifted nervously. This… freaked her out for reasons she was afraid to share. She looked to Naruto and fidgeted uncharacteristically. How was she going to tell him?

It took a long while for Yuma to calm down. Once Naruto could, he scooped her up in a bridal carry and placed her on the bed. Then, the medic handed the woman her bundle of joy and she nearly broke into tears of joy, upon actually seeing her child for the first time.

Karui felt a pang of want and jealousy at the sight. Tearing her gaze away, she crossed her arms and sighed dejectedly.

"So, what are you going to name him?" Naruto asked the newest mother in his ever-growing family, all the while he flexed the hand Yuma was trying so damn hard to crush. He flinched a little every time he did so, as a sharp pain was sent up and down his arm and hand. The former Number 40 had one hell of a grip on her.

"Lloyd," Yuma whispered, rocking her baby and calming him down. "He's called Lloyd."

Naruto leaned in to take a look at him and smiled as his eyes figuratively lit up. "He's got your nose. And your hair," he said in a tone full of warmth.

"He has your whiskers," Yuma said with a tired giggle; and it's true, Lloyd had birthmarks in the form of whiskers on his cheeks, though there was two instead of Naruto's three. "I wonder what he's going to be like when he's older?" she yawned tiredly; this ordeal had left her so exhausted. But having her son in her arms… it was worth it. Oh, so worth it.

"I hope he'll be like me. Minus the 'womanizing' part of course." Naruto said with a chuckle; Yuma giggled along with him, before handing Lloyd to his father; Naruto gently took his son off of Yuma's hands and cooed as he rocked him back and forth. He's just so adorable!

After holding him for several minutes, he handed the infant back to Yuma and looked to Samui, Karui and the Medical-nin from Kumo. "I'll leave her and my son's care in your capable hands. And Yuma," he looked back to her as he said, "take as much time to recover as you need, you've earned it."

Yuma nodded and giggled as her son, who had his eyes open, and showing they were silver like his mother, was holding her finger. "Okay. I'll see you soon?"

"Definitely." And with that Naruto left Yuma and Lloyd with Karui, Samui and the Medical-nin.

----

Two weeks later.

In the desert wastelands of the Eastern Quadrant, was Staff - the Headquarters of the Organization. A town that was built into the cliffs that had large freestanding buildings; the town itself, due to its location, overlooked the sea. It was where they had the training school for their military force - including their apartments.

Inside the largest and tallest building, was where the council of the Organization was stationed. The council hall was where the meetings were had, their archives shelved, and their experiments and research are undertaken.

Rubel having returned from his mission from the Elemental Nations, unscathed was inside of the said building and is in the process of informing the Elder, Rimuto of his failed mission.

"I see," Rimuto muttered, "so the mission had turned out to be a failure after all." Ladykiller Naruto was becoming more trouble than he was worth. He interlaced his fingers and gave the bald man a flat stare. "What have you learned from them? Any information on his people may give us insight on how he fights, what he is capable of and what his abilities are."

"Truthfully? I have not learned much." and that annoyed Rubel the most, since gathering information is his speciality. "There was a lot of restricted areas, in their 'village', and their military force is well hidden, if in plain sight. What I did see from them is their ability to leap to great heights, being able to blend in with their environments, and having great speed. Other than that nothing." he paused momentarily, thoughtful, "However...."

"Go on," Rimuto prompted.

"Within the first hour of being in this new continent… I had learned that Naruto Uzumaki - his full name - is regarded as a hero and hailed as their strongest warrior to date. Apparently, there was a war there three years ago that the Ladykiller ended almost singlehandedly. It also appears he is well-liked by everyone there." He paused to gather his thoughts and to allow his words to sink in. "Then I encountered… a creature. One of the biggest creatures I had ever seen before; it would be bigger than the three Abyssal Ones, combined. It appears that there's more than one - a group collectively referred to as Tailed Beasts. These 'Tailed Beasts' are sentient and have been around for more than two thousand years. They also appear to hold great power and hold Ladykiller Naruto in high regard… they're also connected to him."

"Connected to him? How so?" Dae asked, speaking up for the first time since the meeting started.

"In the words of the Tailed Beast I had met, they shared their yoki with Naruto - this allows them to check in on him at any time and they learn and overhear whatever he does."

Rimuto scowled at that. "I assume this is how these 'kages' learned of our doings, here."

"I believe so." Rubel nodded gravely, "I was also given a warning: if they ever find out that we have hurt their friend, all eight of them will come for our heads."

Rimuto frowned. "In other words, we need to end him quickly and preferably in a discreet manner, if at all." Those Number 1's would also come in handy, even then, just in case.

"Preferably so." Rubel sighed, "I hope you created a backup plan in the likelihood my mission on receiving aid did not come to fruition."

Suddenly the mention of these Tailed Beasts and Audrey and Rachel's report a year prior had caused Dae to get an epiphany. "Hmm…" the scarred man said aloud, "...you said there are eight of them… yes?"

Rubel nodded, though he wasn't sure where the two-face reject was going with this. "Yes, that is correct?"

"What if… there were nine? This could explain how the Ladykiller is being such a hassle."

"...It is possible," Rubel replied, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "but the Tailed Beasts from what I saw are incapable of shapeshifting like the Youma and Awakened Beings are. And everyone there seems to be at ease around them, so they do not need to hide." he told the scarred man, who merely waved off his counter.

"What if they used a similar process to create specialised warriors, in a similar but different manner to us?"

"Are you suggesting they took a small piece of these beings flesh and surgically implanted them into their forces?" Rimuto asked, with his face showing intrigue.

"They are alive, they are also cooperating with the populace, and are on friendly terms with them…" Rubel trailed off; honestly, that may be a very high possibility. "But if there is a ninth one, it doesn't explain where it went off to." he pointed out, before adding.

"Come now," Dae said with a chuckle. "Have you not heard the reports? A 300 feet tall Nine-Tailed Fox appeared within Pieta before it was reduced to a crater? That should tell you where the Ninth Tailed Beast is. It is the Ladykiller, or he somehow has it within him. It certainly sheds some light on his transformations."

"That seems… plausible, I will give you that." Rimuto said, lacing his fingers and humming in contemplation. So they have a human with the power of a 'Tailed Beast' behind him - it's strength is unknown, but from what they had received reports on and had gotten from their warriors, it's incredibly powerful and seemingly unstoppable if Audrey being unable to cut him in its four tailed states is anything to go by.

Perhaps the Number 3's claim of an army of Number 1's had merit after all…

Rimuto looked at the scarred man and said, "Dae, proceed with your experiments. We may need them now more than ever."

----

Two weeks later

Back in the West, within the renovated castle's armour/training grounds, was Naruto and Clare. After the latter had built up her chakra pool and chakra control Naruto allowed Clare to perform the Kage Bunshin as she has enough of them to perform the technique. To make sure no one would interrupt them, Naruto put up a chakra/yoki barrier so no one - mostly Priscilla - will be able to learn what was going on.

The objective is simple: make a Kage Bunshin and use then have the original or clone perform the soul link with Teresa.

"It's the easiest technique, but the requirements to use it is immense," Naruto informed Clare. "You have enough chakra to use it though, and now that you learned the Soul Link from Rafaela and Beth, you should be able to bring Teresa out."

With her hands in the cross seal, Clare looked up at her husband questioningly. "Should?"

"This is the first time the Kage Bunshin is being used for something like this. So it might take a few tries." Naruto admitted. "But don't worry; since the shadow clone is a literal copy of you, Clare, she'll have all the skills you have. So you, yourself, won't have to do anything."

"Ask him about me. Will I be copied as well?" Clare heard Teresa ask.

Clare nodded and asked, "Teresa wants to know if she will be copied as well."

Naruto nodded in affirmation, "The long and short of it is, yes, Teresa will be copied as well."

"Okay, good to know." Clare heard Teresa say in approval. "Clare, I know you want to see me outside of your head as soon as you possibly can, but do not strain yourself."

The former Number 47 took a deep, cleansing breath. Time to try. Clare closed her eyes, drawing upon her chakra pool and cried out the technique's name to aid in its casting. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

There was a poof of smoke and when it dissipated… nothing.

"You didn't use enough chakra," Naruto pointed out. "It took me a lot of tries, to get it down too," he added sheepishly. "But don't worry about it. Just try again. You'll get it down, soon enough."

Clare sighed and nodded, before trying again… and again… and again, putting just a bit more chakra into it each time. After a short rest, a few more tries, and the occasional tip from her husband, there was one last poof and finally, a second Clare popped up in the chamber beside the original. Both stared at each other awkwardly, before they looked to Naruto, back to each other, and said, in unison, "huh… I thought I was taller."

The blond couldn't help but snicker at that.

"At least you were able to do it a lot quicker than I did," the blond pointed out to his wife. "it took me nearly an entire day to get it down. And I didn't have any instructions except for a scroll telling me to put my fingers in a cross seal." Naruto looked between the two and rubbed at his head sheepishly, "I can see why people didn't like it when I used this technique on them: it's really hard to tell the difference between the original and the clone." he really hoped her clone didn't develop her own… 'quirks' when she's left alone long enough. It would be funny to see though.

"The next step is the soul link, right?" both Clare's asked in unison before exchanging awkward looks with one another again. This was very strange for the blonde, it will take her some time getting used to it.

As he crossed his arms looking between the two Clares, Naruto nodded, "Yeah. Thankfully since the clone knows everything the original does, anyone of you can try it." he told the two of them. "So do what Rafaela and Beth - mostly Rafaela - taught you with the soul link, and let's see if it'll work or not. Since this is new territory for me I won't have any further advice for you. Everything from here is on you."

Both Clare's nodded before both of them closed their eyes in serene concentration. Said clone's yoki and chakra both flared as she tried to draw out the presence within the original. Clare's yoki and chakra synchronized with hers and the clone… dispelled. Clare opened her eyes and looked where the clone used to be in disappointment.

"Huh…" Naruto muttered. "This was as much as I expected; don't be upset though. Try reinforcing your clone, first."

"How do I do that?" Clare asked, looking at him.

Naruto scratched the side of his head. "Right… That should be simple enough. Just pump more chakra than necessary into one clone while casting the technique." the blond explained.

His wife nodded, putting her fingers in the hand seal and tried just that. Another single clone, poofed into existence and she and the original nodded to each other in approval. That part was accomplished rather easily. Now, came the hard part… again.

Clare and her clone synchronized their chakra and yoki as it flared once more. Like before their yoki and chakra synchronized, and the clone promptly dispelled. Clare scowled in irritation and frustration as her second attempt failed.

Naruto sighed and rubbed his chin in thought; then he pulled Clare into a hug. "Again," he said, "this is the first time the technique was ever used like this, so figuring out how to do it right is gonna take a few tries. Don't let it get to you, okay?"

Taking a deep breath, Clare nodded and made a third clone, reinforcing it as advised. They exchanged looks, gave one another nods of encouragements before their eyes closed as they began to try the Soul Link once more.

"Wait," Naruto said, prompting the two Clares to stop what they were doing and look at him. "you're using chakra with this, right?" he asked them; both Clare's looked at one another again before looking back to Naruto and nodding affirmatively. "Huh, then maybe that's the problem."

"What do you mean?" Clare, the real one asked.

Naruto sighed as he looked between the two. "If what I remember Rafaela say is right, then the Soul Link is when one person is connecting their yoki with someone else's. Try using your yoki and not your chakra this time."

The Clares exchanged a glance and nodded. Then, they closed their eyes in concentration, flaring just their yoki this time and synchronizing it. The clone didn't dispel immediately, this time… it was interesting. The clone tried drawing out the presence within the original and then the original started to shift in form.

"Huh," Naruto mused to himself. "I was expecting the clone to do that…"

Clare started growing just a bit taller, her clothes tightening as her size changed. Her bosom grew as well, her hips widened, and her hair started to lengthen into long, straight wavy locks that were parted down the middle. Finally, her face changed, becoming more heart-shaped and mature.

When everything was said and done, a close eyed Teresa of the Faint Smile was standing in Clare's place.

"This one… her yoki is immense." Naruto heard Kurama mutter in surprise. "She's as strong as that non-human Priscilla- no, she's suppressing her yoki. It's hard to get an accurate reading on her, but I do know she is stronger than she is letting on. Riful and Luciela combined don't hold a candle to her." Kurama growled in confusion. "Strange… she was never that strong inside of that half-human."

"Could it be because she was never brought out? Clare is like a Jinchuuriki after all. And we both know we're a lot stronger when our energies are synchronized. That may be the same case here." It was a logical guess on Naruto's part, due to his experience with Kurama.

When Teresa gradually opened her eyes, the woman brought her hands up and looked them over. She flexed them, testingly, before looking around. She saw Clare's clone beside her, with her eyes closed in serene concentration.

She gave the brat a gentle pat on the head, drawing a blush from Clare's clone, but not breaking her concentration.

"It has been a long time since I breathed in the fresh air," Teresa said after she did just that.

Naruto chuckled. "I was expecting something flashier, but it turns out that we can do this after all. I'm impressed that Clare was able to pull it off so quickly. Although..." a concerned frown pulled at his lips, "Priscilla is going to freak the hell out once she finds out you're back. She still has nightmares over you."

Teresa looked at Naruto with an arched brow. "Won't she be able to sense my yoki here?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. I put up a chakra/yoki seal around this building. No one outside of it will know what is going on inside of it. If I didn't everyone in the castle would have felt your presence the second you came out."

"Noted," Teresa muttered. She smiled faintly at him. "I must say, you're growing on me, kid. I like clever men~!"

Naruto smiled back at her flirting. "I always do my best to impress. Doesn't always work out, though." he rubbed his chin again as he looked at her thoughtfully. "I wonder if you're stronger now, though?"

Teresa crossed her arms, still smiling faintly at him. "Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Naruto sighed and crossed his arms as well. "Kurama and I are what you would call 'The Perfect Jinchuuriki'; we have a mutual trust in one another, we have each other's backs and we trust one another with our very lives. We have our yoki's perfectly synchronized with one another, and that allows us to be a lot stronger together than we would be if we were alone." he looked to Clare's clone and added, "From what Kurama managed to see all those years ago, Clare adores you, and holds you in high regard - her hero, someone she idolizes and looks up to all in one. And you adore her as well; that mutual feeling can become something greater; in other words, her love for you can make you a lot stronger than you would normally be. It's very similar to the connection Kurama and I have."

Naruto resisted the urge to twitch his eye when he heard Kurama making an exaggerated gagging noise in his head, "Oh, sorry, I felt the overwhelming urge to clear my throat after I heard all that mushy stuff coming out of your mouth."

"You're an asshole you know that, Kurama?"

"I am a being of rage and hatred incarnate, brat. What did you expect from someone as magnificent as I?"

"I expected you to start being less of an edgelord teen after we started getting along," Naruto teased. "You're also egotistic as fuck…"

"Tch, me, an edgelord teen?!" Kurama scoffed aloud in amusement. "Have you SEEN that Uchiha brat? He was more of an edgelord than I'll ever be! He was emo to the extreme!"

Hearing that godawful pun, Naruto mentally said in the flattest tone he could muster "...I'm stopping this conversation right here."

"Don't you dare hang up on m-!"

When he came out of the mental conversation with Kurama, Naruto found Teresa and an open-eyed Clare looking at him. "Sorry," he apologised to them sheepishly, "Kurama was being a dick. So… so what did I miss, Clare's got her eyes open but you're still here?"

"Turns out Boss Clare's been keeping the Soul Link active inside of Teresa." the clone of Clare said, "She told me to stop and let her handle it."

Naruto frowned in confusion, then he said in realisation several seconds later, "...Ooooh, the soul link. She told you to stop through that, right?"

The clone giggled with a nod.

"Damn, I'm impressed," the blond praised. "Now you two can talk and interact with one another for real, instead of the mindscape." then he gave Teresa an approving look over, as she is wearing Clare's outfit.

A black sleeveless tunic, a short skirt that left much of her thighs exposed, split at the sides to give her better manoeuvrability, and thigh-high boots. She matching coloured spaulders, with a leather and metal carrier to act as the scabbard of her claymore, vambraces, and boots to complete the set.

And he had to admit, it looked damn good on her… though she could do without the draft. Teresa raised an eyebrow, noting the lack of underwear. Apparently, Clare had opted to be prepared for a heated romp with Naruto at a moment's notice.

"I just f-forgot to put them on this morning, I swear!" A highly-flustered Clare sputtered from within her.

"Dear, I'm basically your mother," Teresa replied with a mental giggle. "I can tell you're lying; it's my job, after all, no?"

"I-I'm not lying…" came Clare's unconvincing, yet embarrassed retort.

For the life of her, Teresa couldn't help but chuckle. Naruto watched on in bemusement as the woman in front of him chuckled; Clare's clone beside her stared as well, though her cheeks were slightly red once she realised why Teresa was chuckling.

Then Teresa brought her attention to Naruto, "So, about that offer to 'train' me, which you have given me a year ago - is that offer still open?"

Naruto chuckled. "Yes, the offer is still there. Do you want to do it now? Or later? Because Clare looks like she wants to spend some time with you."

Clare blushed heavily, shyly averting her gaze. She blushed, even more, when Teresa rubbed her scalp in a nurturing manner while chuckling fondly.

"Who said I was going to do it alone?" the woman said with another chuckle, then she looked at Naruto with a faint smile. "I want to see how far Clare has gotten since Priscilla killed me all those years ago. And I want to test myself against someone of your calibre."

Well, that confirmed Teresa was the one Priscilla had killed. Then again, he already knew that. Priscilla inadvertently confirmed as much. Speaking of Priscilla...

"Now that you mentioned her, I've been hearing Priscilla mentioning three people, sometimes when she is asleep by the names of Irene, Sophia and Noel. Who were they? I know they were killed by her but..."

Teresa sighed in mild irritation at the memories. "They were the rest of the hunting party sent to kill me after I defected - Numbers 3, 4, and 5. Priscilla took Irene's spot of Number 2 and was meant to take my spot after the mission was accomplished. Until then, Irene was demoted to Number 3 and the others were brought down with her accordingly. Though I died first, so their deaths are news to me. Although..." Teresa looked at her right arm since she recognised it as Irene's instead of her own. Irene was still alive since Clare wouldn't have been able to get it if she was dead. Her little girl simply did not have the precision - yet - to partially awaken her arm.

"A-actually, Irene's alive." Clare's clone pointed out, butting in upon hearing that. "She's the one who let me borrow that new arm after Ophelia sliced mine off and chopped it to bits." She was notably still salty about it, though neither Naruto nor Teresa could really blame her.

"Really? Priscilla said she was dead." Naruto said, before adding thoughtfully, "Although she probably left the area before she could confirm the kill. What about… Noel and Sophia?"

"They're dead. Priscilla stabbed them in the heart with her stretched fingers shortly after Teresa was...." the clone trailed off unable to finish that sentence. Not that Teresa and Naruto can blame her. "Irene is still in her hideout though, somewhere in the West; she's hiding in self-imposed exile after her supposed 'death'."

"Hmm…"

Teresa quirked an eyebrow at the thoughtful sound coming from the young man. "Oh? Are you planning on seeking her out?" she asked, but her real question that went unasked was "Are you planning on getting her into your family?"

Naruto, of course, didn't know this and took her question at face value. He innocently nodded affirmatively to her question, since he has no intention of doing anything sexual with the woman. "Yeah. Now that I know she's alive, I am. Priscilla needs some closure, and having her shown that Irene is alive, will give her more of it since she's still blaming herself. Besides, I think we could use all the powerful allies we can get."

Clare nodded in complete and utter agreement. "Yeah. We all know the Organization have an eye on us; ever since they tried to get your continent involved, they're pretty desperate on getting rid of you. I wouldn't be surprised if they had something planned in case they were unable to get help from them."

Teresa then cleared her throat and brought their attention back to her. "Before we get completely sidetracked…" she gave Naruto a dangerous leer. "can you please teach me how to fight someone who doesn't fight fair? Clare can join in as well."

"Clare's a reinforced Kage Bunshin, she may not be able to last long. She can take a few good hits though." Naruto pointed out.

"What about the way you trained us?" Clare's clone suggested to him, "You don't go all out and if we leave an opening you would exploit that by groping us until we got better."

"Oooh~" Teresa leered at him, "I like that idea~!" that idea can work both ways...

Naruto tilts his head to the side, gazing towards the ceiling thoughtfully. He wasn't opposed to the idea, at all, but… "Hmm… I guess I can. Since we didn't bring any weapons with us though, we'd have to settle for hand to hand. I'll be on defence and you'd on offence? Depending, on how well you do the difficulty would be bumped up."

"I can agree with that," Teresa said with a faint smile… complete with knuckle cracking. She still had to get back at him for taking Clare's chastity after all, didn't she? Oh! And him essentially raping her in Clare's mind, she definitely cannot forget about that!

Naruto chuckled nervously, suddenly having a bad feeling about her enthusiasm.

Then he had to quickly raise his forearms to block the vicious jab Teresa sent his way. He was surprised as hell when her punch had caused him to drag his feet across the floor for several yards. He hissed in discomfort when the sheer force put behind her punch had sent a pained tingle up his arm.

As Teresa rushed at him with a faint smile, Naruto just knew she was going to put him through the wringer. And if their synchronisation is anything like his and Kurama's, then Teresa is going to be a hell of a lot stronger than she would normally be.

To compensate, for this Naruto brought out barely 5 percent of his yoki, causing his bright blue irises and pupils to become crimson and to thin vertically, like a fox; his whiskers grew out, becoming more pronounced and jagged, his canine teeth to lengthen and his nails to grow into claws.

Teresa just kept on smiling that faint smile of hers, before delivering a vicious haymaker that he blocked with his forearm. And she kept on punching and he kept on blocking. He grunted in discomfort when each punch he blocked sent a tingling sensation up and down his arms, it was like... pins and needles. Only more sore.

If this was Teresa when she wasn't using yoki, how strong would she be if she decided to use it?

Yeah, he had a bad feeling about her enthusiasm; nor was he all that eager to find out how strong she is now that she and Clare - the real Clare - are working together.

----

One day later

"Where are you going?" Riful asked, kicking her legs on the makeshift throne she had made for herself. It was in reality, a table, in the kitchen.

Naruto was busy stocking up on some food and a pouch full of beras when he answered. "Clare brought something to my attention, yesterday. I'm going to check it out with her." he sealed the bag of food up and looked at his oldest of his wives. "Depending on how far it is from here, looking for it may take us a month or two. Though I'm not too sure."

"Really? That long?" Riful whined in the complaint. "Why can't you send someone else?"

"The Organization is most likely on the lookout for us." Naruto reminded her, "While I have full confidence in their abilities to defend themselves, I don't want them to risk their lives. Not when they're parents now. Not to mention, the 'thing' I'm going to check out happens to be a person Clare encountered before. Sending you, or someone this person doesn't know, to check out their last known location is bound to scare them off."

Riful noticed his choice of words but didn't comment on it.

"And besides," Naruto added, "Team Samui still have that scroll that summons a clone of me. So you can still have me around; even if it's for menial tasks like babysitting, or more important ones... like fucking your nice ass into the mattress~"

Riful giggled and playfully whapped him on the arm. "Oh, hush you~!" and she squealed happily when he went up, took her by the hips and kissed her full on the lips.

"Since nearly everyone has kids of their own to look after now, everyone has a new schedule for training," Naruto said after pulling away from the kiss.

With a sigh, Riful nodded and said in a tone that told Naruto she had rehearsed this exact sentence for ages. "Yes. Everyone except myself and Luciela does two hours of yoki training, to greatly improve our abilities. Me, along with Luceila will be doing chakra control and practising my Earth Element, while Luciela practices her fire element. Once our two hours are done, we have an hour break, and we would continue with our chakra control."

Naruto chortled in amusement and kissed the loli looking woman on the lips one last time, before setting her down on the table. Then he pulled away and went back to putting the last bits of food into his bag.

"I'll see you in a month or two." He said, giving Riful one last kiss before he headed out on the search.

"Be sure to say goodbye to the others." the loli reminded him.

Chuckling, the blond replied with, "I will."

And with that Naruto set out on the search for Irene. And if they did miss him - they can always use the scroll Team Samui has to bring a clone to them. So even if he is gone, he won't be truly away.

They won't notice he left.

----

2 months later

Well, that was it; he had everything he needed. A pouch full of beras he had obtained after helping the small town he was in, in getting rid of a small infestation of yoma that was picking off a few of their people; a bag full of preserved meat, apples, and another assortment of fruit.

Once he had gotten everything he needed for his travelling, he was about to make his way back to his travelling companion when he found himself in the presence of the villagers. Who had born witness of his badassery? The mangled corpses of the yomas could still be seen near the town square, strewn about in various awkward positions - some being oddly comical.

Naruto awkwardly adjusted the hooded cloak he was wearing, to make sure no one could the entirety of his face. "...I'll be back as soon as I can, okay?"

He chuckled nervously upon seeing several young women looking hopeful after hearing that. Suddenly, this village was starting to resemble Nami. Yeah… he's not going to stay for a repeat of that mishap. Sure, getting nearly fucked to death by a mob of horny... mostly single, young women was fun and all, but he had an apparently-armless woman to find… and Naruto would be here all night if he didn't leave soon.

He really hoped he didn't find her corpse though; Rafaela did say she had cut her down when she discovered the woman using her yoki. But, if Irene cheated death once, she can do it again.

With that thought in mind, he bowed politely to the villagers and went on his merry way.

On the outskirts, Naruto met with his travelling companion. Or rather his travelling companions. Clare and Teresa, both of whom had their yoki's suppressed and had the same hooded cloak concealing their faces.

"Are you done?" Teresa asked she was less than happy at having their search for Irene delayed by some group of no-named yoma.

"Yeah, I am." he tossed the pouch full of goldenrods to her, and Teresa caught it in her hands. "I got a lot of bera out of it, and a bag full of dried meat and fruit so we'll be set for about a week."

Teresa nodded and she, along with Clare turned around and got back to walking. "Good, now, let's go. Irene won't find herself."

Naruto exhaled and followed after them. They were lucky they didn't walk into anyone belonging to the new generation so far. But the blond didn't know how long that luck would last for.

He mostly had Teresa to thank for that. Her acute yoki sensing was absurd since she was able to accurately locate where the nearest yoki signatures are in regards to their location. Not to mention she used that yoki sensing in her 'training' which, to him, was more like a one-sided beatdown in Teresa's favour. Naruto winced at the phantom pains that erupted all over his body. How Teresa used that skill was scary, because she was so accurate the woman predicted everything he was going to do and had the speed, reaction time and strength to counter them.

Suffice to say, the woman was fucking scary when she fought. How he managed to beat her in their first encounter had baffled him; though he chalked it up to her being angry at the time. Being angry makes people… less smart. They're too angry to think, and would make mistakes.

Thankfully, Clare was more than happy to make him feel better afterwards. So did Teresa, who was also complimenting his skills as a warrior since she had to try and defend herself.

Long story short, if it wasn't for her acute yoki sensing, he would have had less trouble fighting her.

Chuckling Naruto walked between the two women, "Sure, sure," he then looked to Clare. "Do you remember where her cabin is? You've only been there once after all."

Clare nodded before blandly adding, "It's hard to forget the place I went to after I lost my arm."

Naruto could emphasize with that; he found it hard to forget him getting his lung liquefied, his neck broken, and then nearly three years later getting his left arm from the elbow down utterly destroyed at the Valley of the End.

Huh, now that he thought about it, that's something he and Clare have in common. Including having someone inside of them, Kurama for him and Teresa for Clare. Small world. He drew a blush and startled yelp from the former Number 47, pulling her into a one-armed hug.

"I know how you feel, Clare." the blond told his wife. "This isn't my arm, either, truth be told." he gestured to said arm, pulling up the sleeve above the elbow and pointed at the discolouration of the skin of his upper and lower arm. "I lost it in a fight and it was reduced to a bloody paste after my technique tried to overpower someone else's."

Clare and Teresa both looked at the arm in curiosity, but it was the latter who asked, "I'm guessing the lower half isn't yours? Who's it belong to?"

"It was artificially grown using the genes of the Shodaime Hokage," he said. "He would be called the First Hokage, the one who actually built my home and was inadvertently the reason why there were Three Great Wars. I guess you could say he's an ancestor? Or a previous incarnation of mine? I dunno, my family is… fucking complicated."

"How complicated?" Teresa asked.

"Uh…" he paused, "long story or short story?"

Teresa and Clare exchanged looks. "Uh… I guess we have some time before we find Irene," the latter said. "Longer one seems fine."

Naruto chortled and looked at the two women with a barely restrained smirk, "You sure? The longer one goes back about 3000 years."

Teresa shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

With a soft chuckle, Naruto shrugged and began the long ass story that would become the way of the shinobi. "Alright, 3000 years ago, there was this woman called Kaguya Ootsutsuki…"

----

Several hours of talking later...

"...and that ladies is why no man should ever impregnate a crazy, three-eyed woman with antlers," Naruto said conclusively. He looked between the two and the blond was not surprised to see them looking at him with wide-eyed disbelief. "Any questions?"

"...so this Kaguya was capable of destroying this entire world and create a new one?" Clare timidly asked.

"Yeeeeep." Naruto drew out.

"And she was the first person to have this chakra, that passed on to her two sons? Who would then go on to defeat her after she went mad with power?" While she wasn't as timid as her adopted daughter, Teresa couldn't keep the disbelief out of her voice.

"Yeeeeep." Naruto drew out again.

"And said son, who would become a mythical figure called the Sage of Six Paths, was the one that created the fricking moon?!" Clare asked again, as she pointed up towards the sky.

"Who created Kurama and other Tailed Beasts…" Teresa said.

"Spread chakra to everyone else..." Clare continued.

"Had two sons called Indra and Asura …" Teresa added.

"Who would go on to have a bitter rivalry, that would last for several thousand years, because their father picked the youngest son over the other…" Clare added on as well.

"And you're the latest reincarnation of a said son called… Asura?" Teresa trailed off questioningly, looking at the blond for confirmation. When he nodded confirmedly the woman continued where she left off. "And you had to fight Indra and Asura's grandmother, a goddess in all but name, four years ago with your old teacher and two of your comrades and barely won? Afterwards, the reincarnation of Indra's brother, and a former comrade that you promised to bring back, tried to betray you and destroy the tailed beasts before you finally managed to knock some sense into him, which ended up with the cost of your arm." Teresa said in a questioning tone; and when Naruto nodded affirmatively, both she and Clare looked at one another, then back at him before they said in unison, "How the fuck are you still alive?!"

"Through sheer dumb luck, stubbornness, never giving up, and having the help of many people, that's how," Naruto told them. "I did have some close calls though. Without Kurama backing me up through a lot of them, I wouldn't be here; and for that, I owe him a lot."

Naruto heard Kurama harumph in his head; seems the fox either agreed or disagreed with him on that - though, knowing the egotistic as fuck fox, he would be agreeing with him. Then he looked around and found they were beginning to enter a forest.

He didn't know why but it was familiar to him. Like he was here before. Maybe this was near the place he met Ophelia? He did walk into her in a forest, after all. And it did take him around… two weeks, to get from the place he found Ophelia to the castle he first met Riful, Jean, Clare and Galatea.

Then again he might have gotten that wrong, it has been three years since that time. So the details may have gotten a little muddled for him. It did take him less than two months, he knew that much. So it looks like the distance between Moors and this hideout Irene has is further away than he initially thought.

Naruto looked to Clare since she's the one that knew the way to Irene. "So, Clare, how far are we from our destination?" he asked her.

Clare took in her surroundings first before answering.

"I'm not sure. I'd say we're about a day away from it."

"Alright," Naruto replied. "Once it starts getting late, we'll find a place to set up camp. If we don't find her by then, we'll continue the search in the morning."

Both women nodded in agreement. That made perfect sense.

----

In the end, the trio had to set up camp once the sun started to go down. Naruto had set up their tent, with a seal on it that made the interior bigger so they wouldn't feel cramped. But because the Soul Link was strenuous for Clare to constantly maintain, Teresa had to go back into Clare's subconscious and allow her to rest. The poor woman was sweating and panting by the time she came out; though Naruto helped rejuvenate her through the sharing of his chakra. That said, her husband took it upon himself to dote on her.

While she was appreciative of it, Clare could not help but feel embarrassed by his caring. Then that embarrassment got worse when Teresa started voicing her approval of it, and how she was jealous of her. Though the older woman was just teasing her about it.

At the end of the day though, Clare was exhausted with keeping Teresa out for so long with the Soul Link that she went to sleep the instant her head rested upon her husband's chest. After they got undressed, of course. She groaned, the corners of her lips curving up slightly in a smile when Naruto kissed her forehead affectionately.

Then Naruto himself closed his eyes, hugging his woman to him as he went to sleep.

Next morning, Clare groaned as her eyes fluttered open. Her cheeks then turned bright red upon realizing that she hadn't moved a muscle. There she was, her head still resting on Naruto's chest, her man happily snoozing away. Her hand trailed down without her even realizing it and the blonde realized her man was hard as a brick.

Was it morning wood? She frowned. That seemed… uncomfortable. Perhaps she should do something about that? If nothing else it seemed like a good way to thank him for spoiling her…

That thought in mind, Clare gently slipped out of Naruto's grasp. Then, she gave her man a curious glance, slipping his dick out of their cloth prison without him so much as twitching, save for the little guy she'd freed showing its appreciation. Clare couldn't help but giggle at that.

Her man was nothing short of insatiable! No wonder he needed so many women; where he stuck with one he'd probably fuck the poor thing to death!

Rubbing her still-pantiless folds to make sure she was wet enough, she shifted upwards, raised herself just enough to loom over her man's monster dong and guided it to her moist, hungry folds.

"Oh, my, this early in the morning? Have you no sense of shame, Clare~?" Said blonde turned beet red at her adoptive mother's teasing, but pressed on.

Naruto groaned in his sleep at the unmistakable feel of being engulfed by a hot, tight, little cootch. Damn, that felt good!

Bending her knees and encouraged by the happy sounds Naruto was making, the blonde squatted over her man and slowly started to move. She breathed through her nose as she watched his face for any changes.

As for Naruto himself, the feel of Clare's folds practically sucking his dick drove him half-mad with pleasure. And when she started bouncing her hips in his lap, she folds practically trying to milk him for all its contents, he in his sleep-addled mind, instinctively reached for the thing that was providing him with this pleasure.

Clare smiled as her man grabbed her hips. Then, she clenched her muscles, squeezing his shaft. "Honey~!' she whispered. "Wakey, wakey~!"

That combined with her clenched muscles squeezing his dick, made Naruto open his eyes. He blinked repeatedly, seemingly unaware of what was going on thanks to his sleep-addled mind. But seeing Clare moving up and down on top of him, followed by her interior muscles massaging him, had fully woke him up.

"Well well well," he chuckled, tiredly, but appreciatively. "This is one hell of a way to wake up."

Clare giggled at that, clenching her muscles once more. Naruto chuckled with her and moved one hand from her hip to caress her cheek; she leaned into his touch with a content look.

Then she got to getting rid of that irritating morning wood and took enjoyment in doing so. Luckily for her, when Clare felt him twitching inside of her snatch, she immediately got off of him and took him into her mouth, where she proceeded to swallow every spurt.

She had one child already; she didn't want to have another. Not yet at least.

----

Five hours later.

Off in the distance, from her little cabin atop a little hill, a woman with long, thigh length, flowing silver locks and pointed ears tilted her head in curiosity. Was that… Teresa? Shocked the woman snapped her head in the direction she felt the yoki.

H-how?! Wasn't she dead?!

At first, she would have simply assumed it was Clare, again... but, Clare was with her. How on Earth was that possible? Then, another yoki came into her range, following the others closely - a yoki she'd hoped would simply ignore her after the former Number 3 sensed it just south of Pieta. And again, in Pieta, when someone pissed it off… and yet again, here in the West when Priscilla found it and briefly fought it.

Why was it over here? She'd made a distinct point to stay the hell out of this being's way, so... why?!

Was it Clare? She and this being seemed to be travelling together. Did that mean it was... friendly? That they were on good terms? It certainly seemed like it, since the frighteningly powerful being doesn't seem to be fighting either Clare and Teresa - the woman being alive, after having witnessed her surprise beheading by Priscilla threw her in for a loop.

Still… if they were coming here, it seemed rude not to greet them. It certainly wouldn't be a good idea to piss off such a powerful entity. And so, with a deep breath, the pointy-eared woman got her hooded cloak on and walked out to meet them halfway; she made sure to keep her yoki suppressed to the degree it was nigh undetectable.

Back with Naruto and the others, Teresa hummed thoughtfully, prompting the duo to look at her questioningly. She smiled and said, "she appears to be acting as expected. Irene's notably startled that you're coming to her and surprised to sense me coming, but she's approaching us nonetheless."

"Oh, that's good at least," Naruto said. "She's probably going to be suspicious as hell that you're back though. So it'll be best if you were to say something only she would know." he pointed out to her.

Teresa gave him a devilish grin at that, sending a shiver up Naruto and Clare's spines. "I know just the thing~!"

"Okay…" Naruto and Clare followed after Teresa this time since the woman looks like she knows exactly where Irene is.

With Teresa leading them, it didn't take long for the trio to cross paths with the woman they'd sought. They didn't see her at first, but then Teresa came to a stop, chuckling as she lowered her hood covering her head.

"How long were you there for, Irene?" Teresa asked as she looked off to her right.

Naruto and Clare stared at her for a moment, though it was Clare who looked in the same direction as Teresa seconds later. Naruto merely kept quiet and allowed them to sort this out for themselves since he had a feeling he might make things worse if he were to get involved.

Then a cloaked and unhooded Irene emerged from the shrubbery immediately, scowling deeply as she still couldn't believe her eyes. "A bit," she answered. "Can you prove that you're Teresa?"

Said blonde smiled, immediately making the former Number 3 question her life choices, and said. "So, whatever did happen to Sir Kermit McFluffikins?"

There was a long silence at that, and it was broken by Naruto who could not keep himself from asking, "...Sir Kermit McFluffikins?" he looked at Clare, hoping she would have the answer; but even she was clueless at who that was.

A wide-eyed Irene turned beet red at that.

Teresa then looked to her son-in-law and elaborated. "An adorable, little cat Irene owned." She then let out a chuckle at the memories washing over her. "You should have seen her reaction to seeing the little guy. I simply couldn't contain myself when I heard her yell, 'it's so fluffy I'm gonna die!'"

"STOP!" Irene cried out in embarrassment, then she growled under her breath before sighing in irritation. "You're definitely her, I never told anyone about that." then the woman looked at Teresa with confused eyes, "But how can you be here? I saw you die!"

"It's… complicated," Teresa said. "You might want to sit down. That'll be a long explanation."

"Something tells me a 'long explanation' is an understatement." Irene flatly replied, nevertheless the woman gestured for the trio to follow her as she said, "My cabin is nearby, we can talk there."

Teresa shrugged and followed the woman with Naruto and Clare trailing behind her. Though Teresa couldn't keep the amusement off her face when she heard Naruto say, "Not sure why I'm saying this, but Irene is pretty attractive."

Really, he had no idea why he said it, but he was saying the truth: Irene was a total babe. He didn't see what she looked like physically since she had a cloak over her. But considering she's around the same age as Teresa, he'll guess she has a similar physique to her. And since she has the stigma too, he'll have to take care of that - if she wants him to get rid of it, of course.

Irene heard him as well, but she made no indication that she did hear him. Though she raised her shoulders a little when Clare asked. "Do you always flirt with every woman you see?"

"Flirt? I don't flirt… I think?"

"You think...?"

"I'm an orphan, Clare; I have been since I was born. I had to learn nearly everything, by myself. And barely had people to teach me right from wrong. And I wasn't exactly raised with the perfect role-models either… three of them were perverts." he chuckled at that, before going sombre. "Two of them are dead now, now though." he reminded her of his less than stellar upbringing.

Clare, Irene and Teresa all frowned empathetically at that. All of them knew what it was like to be stripped of a family… and in Clare's case, it happened twice. But, at least they still had one. The former Number 47 sighed and pulled Naruto into a tight, loving hug.

"Would you want them to come back?" Clare asked.

"Have my parents, and Pervy-Sage come back? Yeah, I would. I often dreamed what things would be like if my mum and dad didn't die. Or if my sensei wasn't killed by one of his past students. But… sometimes, some things must never be crossed."

Clare understood what he meant by that. Both she can Teresa did. Thanks to Naruto telling them what he knew so far about the origins of his people, the day before, they are aware his people are capable of reviving the dead; though the process involved doing so requires the sacrifice of someone else. And these zombies are immortal and would regenerate from any wounds, even decapitation and disintegration.

At that Irene looked over her shoulder at him, and felt a tinge of jealousy when she saw Clare hugging him, but she ruthlessly crushed that emotion and looked to Teresa questioningly.

Said blonde smiled proudly. "They make a cute couple, don't they?" she asked with a chuckle.

Poor Clare turned beet red at that but smiled.

Then Irene pointed out the obvious, "...he's not from around here, is he? No one has that shade of hair or such bright, blue eyes… I've also never seen such markings on someone's face, before."

"They're called birthmarks. Some people can get them when they're born. Mine just happens to be in the shape of whiskers…" He looked to Clare and added, "and apparently hereditary if our daughter's anything to go by."

Irene looked at him again so quickly the former Number 3 was honestly surprised she hadn't snapped her neck. "DAUGHTER?! When? How?!" She then turned to Clare and asked, "What the hell did I miss since you left?!"

Clare pointed at her husband and said, "He can heal our stigmas… restoring our fertility is a side-effect, though we still don't quite know-how."

"He's also strong enough to have gotten Riful of the West and Luciela of the South as his consorts," Teresa added.

That second part was shockingly more believable…

"To be fair, they did come onto me." Naruto pointed out.

"Whatever you say, casanova," Teresa scoffed.

"Why does no one ever believe me!?" he whined.

"To be fair, most people wouldn't," Clare pointed out, "though I can vouch for Riful. I saw that with my own eyes, though I'm still having a hard time believing that was real."

"Because I threw her previous consort clear through and out of the castle while he was what… 50 feet tall and fully transformed? And then made a crater where he was last standing?"

"...That, too." Clare muttered. "Seeing her do that immediately afterwards was the last thing I'd expected, though."

"I wasn't expecting it either," Naruto said with a shrug. "I was an unknown at that point; back then, I would have expected something like that coming from my continent. Though I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a pleasant surprise."

At that Irene came to a stop and looked at him with an arched brow to show her surprise. "Own continent? There are other lands beyond the sea?"

"Again, long story," Teresa chuckled.