79 Return to Konoha Part 2

The next morning

Naruto stretched a bit, feeling refreshed after a good nap. He looked to the floor when he heard some mumbling and chuckled warmly at the sight of Harja, Hana, and Susan curled up and taking a little nap of their own. Several writing implements were strewn about, revealing that they'd been working on Fuinjutsu practice, eager to live up to the Uzumaki Clan legacy in the art by any means necessary. That brought a smile right to his face.

He went over and took a quick look at what they were doing. He took a scroll and looked it over. Naruto immediately knew what they were trying to do from the formula alone: they were trying to make a storage seal. One of the most basics of seals. And from the looks of it, the formula was fairly solid - there was only a few mistakes here and there, but they were easily rectified. Unfortunately for the girls, the ink they were using was permanent; it was the real deal type of ink used for fuinjutsu. Not the one that is used for training purposes. As angry as he should be at them using such expensive equipment he couldn't really fault them.

He was actually proud at how far they've come. They must have spent hours working on these. Putting the scroll down Naruto picked up at another… ah… so that's what they've been doing. They found the mistake and corrected it accordingly.

Well if they were adamant on learning such a difficult art, then he'll have to see what he can cook up for them. And buy some new seal-making equipment for himself and the trainee kit for the girls.

Luckily he has two Fuinjutsu experts in the simulation back in Morris, so if there's nothing he can teach them then Jiraiya and Minato would be able to teach them a thing or two seeing as they have more experience in the art. Hell, maybe mom would be able to teach them a thing or two seeing as she's rather proficient at it.

Well seeing as they had some time left to kill before they had to get moving to their next destination, Naruto got himself dressed and made a clone to keep an eye on the girls for the time they wake up. In the meantime, Naruto went on over to the Hokage's Office to talk to Kakashi to see if he had gotten the information he needs on getting past the whirlpools. After that he'll come back to the building and see if the others are awake. If they're not, he'll let them sleep in; he does have time to kill… not to mention he needs to make damn sure that Himawari doesn't find a way to basically hack the other simulations here. The same applied to Yami and Giggles.

The three of them being able to do that would be disastrous. On the other hand… they would make the perfect defense for Uzushiogakure no Sato. Himawari's overpowered psychic abilities, plus 'Giggles's fierceness and Yami's unpredictability… they would make quite the terrifying team against any invader.

Huh… maybe having Himawari so overpowered would benefit to the defense of the island after it's reinhabited.

Shuddering at the thought, nonetheless, - because fighting the three of them would scare anyone - he decided to make a few clones for the sole purpose on making sure those three were unable to hack the sims here, before heading off to the Hokage Tower.

----

A few minutes later, within his office, Kakashi let out a chuckle when his secretary informed him that Naruto was here.

"Send him in," he called out.

"Hey, Sensei," Naruto greeted as he walked in. "Just checking to see how everything's going."

"Fairly well," the Hokage replied with a smile. "The ANBU are getting ready to depart as we speak and I've got someone digging through our archives for everything we know about Uzushio."

"Alright," Naruto was happy to hear that. "That's good to hear." then he took a deep breath because he knew what he was going to say next may cause Kakashi some worry for the implications. "Kakashi-sensei, I sent some clones to check on the simulation's I installed. There's… a certain 'character' I installed in mine that's gotten smart enough to become self-aware. And she's found a way to hack mine. Since the simulations here are basically a copy and paste of my own, I want to make sure she can't basically hack her way to the ones here."

The silver haired man looked at him with some concern. "When you say smart…?"

"She's smart enough to know she's in a simulation and is entirely self-aware. She even calls me 'Daddy'. It's gotten to the point that I had to nerf her." Naruto sighed. "I'll be making sure she can't hack these seals as well… and prevent any other characters from doing so for good measure. How she became self-aware is beyond me, but I guess it's my own fault for underestimating the simulation's capabilities. Oh!" Naruto snapped his fingers as his expression brightened considerably. "And there are some familiar faces I think you'll be happy to see as well. You wouldn't believe me if I told you how they ended up in there, but they did."

"Oh? Who?"

Naruto smiled mysteriously, "I'll leave that as a surprise. Since the simulations here are a copy and paste versions of my own, there's a very good chance you'll see them here nonetheless." Then he gave his old mentor an easygoing smile and asked, "So, how are things in Konoha now that you've been given 20 million ryo?"

"We've managed to stay afloat, thanks to you," Kakashi replied with his iconic eye smile. "While we're still not part of the Shinobi Union, Kumo and Suna have also agreed to start trading with us again, as well, though it's going to take a bit for the economic effects of that to kick in."

Naruto smiled at that. So Gaara actually listened to him and gave Konoha another chance? He knew he could count on his friend! "I see. Well, it's good to see that Konoha isn't in financial trouble anymore. Give it time and the alliances Konoha previously had may come back."

If word has already gotten out that Konoha's helped him out, then it would prove that the Hidden Village is trustworthy to a degree again. Given time, they will want to renew their relationship with her.

----

Sure enough, it didn't take long for the ANBU to report in. There were fifteen of them - three field captains and four soldiers for each of them, with a woman serving as the leader of the whole unit. Though her identity was concealed, Naruto could tell she was an Aburame. He just… knew. The best way he could describe it was that she... felt like Shino. The woman in question wore a tiger mask and a white cloak to denote her station as one of the captains.

"Glad you could make it, Tora," Kakashi greeted.

"Thank you, Hokage-Sama." The woman bowed respectfully. "My team and I are ready to leave at any time."

"Yeah, she's definitely from his clan," Naruto thought with no shortage of amusement. "Good to know," he chirped. Then, just as he was about to say something, a familiar face barreled in.

Shiho, looking even more disheveled than usual, stumbled into the office with several scrolls and files in hand. "S-sorry I took so long, Hokage-Sama," she panted. "There was a lot to go through and collect."

"Ah, I take it that's everything we need then?" Kakashi asked.

"Y-yes, Sir," she replied, handing Naruto the collection of papers. "That's everything we have on your homeland, Naruto-Sama. I hope you find everything you need."

"Well, there's certainly a lot to go through. This will suffice; thank you, Shiho." the blond said, giving Shiho a thankful smile. "I'll take a look back in my apartment. As for the ANBU, I can send a clone to take them back to my new home and get them settled in… that is if you're willing?" he said, looking to Tora and the other two captains questioningly.

"That would be fine," Tora replied with a nod. "We are here to provide aid where and however needed. If you feel that sending us to your new as soon as possible home is the best course of action, then so be it."

"I just gotta ask outta curiosity. Just how closely related are you to Shino?"

"...He is a distant relative," she replied. "That is all I know for sure."

"Huh… okay." That was interesting. Naruto then made a clone and told them, "Just hold on to him, or onto someone that's touching him and you'll be there in the blink of an eye."

"Very well, then," Tora replied. Placing a hand on the clone's shoulder without hesitation. The rest followed suit, either placing a hand on the clone of holding hands and then they all disappeared in a flash of gold.

----

Nearly 30 minutes later

Naruto was now back in his apartment with the documents and scrolls in hand. He wasn't surprised to see no one was awake yet. Well he wasn't going to disturb them from their beauty sleep yet, so Naruto went to the living room part of his apartment and set the documents and scrolls of Uzushiogakure on the coffee table in front of his couch. There, he opened one of the documents and got to work.

Sure enough, one of the scrolls had the information he needed. It was a map detailing the basic layout of Uzushio and the locations of all the whirlpools that surrounded it. If the scaling was right, then holy hell, those things were huge! Some of them were as big as the towns shown on the island!

Well… getting the relative information on getting past those whirlpools was a priority now; and now that he's gotten the scroll with the whirlpools in question he will read through that.

Several minutes later, the sound of Naruto rummaging through the files for additional information roused the girls from their sleep. Harja was the first to awaken, shaking her head and yawning cutely as she did a wonderful impersonation of a roused cat.

"Morning, honey," Naruto softly said from his place on the couch.

Harja looked around and noted that Inonon and Galatea were still napping on the blow up mattresses he pulled out last night. Hana and Susan were still sleeping on the floor too, with various scrolls strewn about them. She smiled at Naruto and scampered on up to the couch, before laying her head in his lap. "Morning to you, too, Papa~!"

Naruto smiled at his daughter as he looked down at her, rubbing her back and letting out a chuckle as she started purring. "Sleep well?"

"Well enough," she replied. "Those beds you got from here spoiled me." She sat up and gave Naruto a peck on the cheek as Hana and Susan also woke up.

"I see," Giving his daughter a peck on the forehead Naruto then went back to looking through the documents and scrolls. He still hasn't found anything related on getting past the whirlpools yet and that was worrying him.

"Sooo, what are you looking at, Daddy?" Hana asked scampering on up to his side to take a peek.

"I'm trying to find out how to get past the whirlpools surrounding Uzushiogakure…" Naruto answered with a sigh. "Apart from finding out that some of the whirlpools are huge, a few as big as towns, I got nothing on how to get past them. I'm still looking for the answer."

"If all else fails you can mount your pet dragon," Harja giggled, looking at the map. "Joking aside, what does this symbol on the map mean?" It looked like a house with a long patio. There was one on either side of a nearby island between two of the whirlpools. There was also another island with two of those symbols a little further down.

"Those would either be villages or docks. This map is pretty old, so I don't really know." Naruto answered. "It could be a hidden village that's split into several districts for all we know."

"Well, even if they're not still around, the islands they're on could give us a path into main one," Harja pointed out. "Both of these smaller islands appear to be between the whirlpools." she pointed to the islands in question, "From what I can gather from the scroll, the path seems to be long and crooked for defensive purposes, similar to how you have to go down a winding path to get into Raby Castle's keep from the front gate."

Naruto took a second look at the map and saw what she meant. "Now that I think of it from a military standpoint, I can see it." He ruffed Harja's scalp with a wide grin, "Good eye." Clearly, she had inherited Riful's attention to detail. That's something Naruto always struggled with, as he was more of a 'big picture' guy.

The girl giggled and purred again, enjoying the praise.

Not long after that, Inonon and Galatea were wide awake, smiling warmly at Naruto's little interactions with his kids.

"You girls sleep well?" Naruto asked the two of them, having heard them both getting up and out of the pullout mattresses.

"Immeasurably well," Galatea groaned out with relief. "I would have preferred to have you in my arms when I slept, but I cannot complain. I was comfortable. What are you up to?"

"Oh, just looking for a way to get past the whirlpools. Harja gave me an idea on how to do that, but I want to look for alternate routes, just in case." Those paths Harja pointed out could have been collapsed by the Uzumaki when they were invaded for all he knew. He wanted to make sure they had other options for when the time came. "Inonon, are you still up for letting your Clan know of the new arrangement?"

"Not quite looking forward to my parents' reaction," she admitted, "But, yeah, I'm still up for it."

"Alright. I'll make a clone to accompany you as soon as you're dressed."

Were in not for his kids being present, she would have tried teasing him about watching her get dressed. But, alas, she'd have to wait to have her fun. "Alright. I'll be getting ready, then." Snatching up one of her scrolls, she the went into the bathroom with a giggle and teasing wink.

As soon as the young blonde was out of earshot, Hana and Susan said in unison, "She wants it bad."

"Hush you!" Naruto scolded them, though he was unable to stop himself from chortling with amusement merely seconds after it. "...Yeah, I know. She'll have to wait though." he said with a shrug. "While she's of age by Konoha's standards, she's still only 14, and we have a few things to get outta the way, before I can have that kinda playtime."

"Indeed." Galatea said, utterly amused. Naruto could hear the sound of fabric being moved behind him and knew that his wife was getting dressed. So he didn't look behind him; it would be rude to do so.

Harja, Hana and Susan stifled their giggles when they noticed he'd popped a boner. It was amusing, but they said nothing… verbally. Unbeknownst to Galatea, their expressions were like hungry wolves, waiting for a chance to strike, much to Naruto's unease and arousal.

Pushing that aside, Naruto went back to looking over the documents and scrolls once more. Once she was dressed Galatea then went over and took a seat next to her husband on the couch. Naruto's daughters all looked perfectly innocent when she joined him, making their father wonder if Cynthia's girls were corrupted by Riful.

"So, that's a map of Uzushio, is it?" Galatea asked.

"When it was at its peak, yeah." Naruto replied. "Harja pointed out a potential point of entry. But I'm looking for others just in case."

"That is a good idea." Galatea could see the wisdom in that. "If that entryway was destroyed in the attack, it would be wise to have a few fallbacks to go to."

"That or we get Soleil to fly us in. But I'm making sure we have options. We'll use Soleil as the last resort. Don't want to make her feel like a pack mule or something."

Just then a dressed Inonon emerged from the bathroom. "I'm ready to get going now!" she declared.

"Ah, okay, then," Naruto couldn't help but be surprised, as he was used to waiting longer. His wives really liked taking long showers. He quickly made a clone and the doppelganger escorted her out of the apartment and to her Clan Compound. Once they were gone, Naruto looked to Galatea and said, "Well, if you wanted to wash yourself you can now."

The woman in question giggled. "That sounds rather nice, actually."

"Want a clone to accompany you?" Naruto asked just as she was getting up. He knew she liked having someone helping her wash her hair. And massage her.

"I thought the purpose of showering was to get cleaner not dirtier," Galatea teased, drawing a chuckle from him. "Joking aside, that sounds lovely~!"

"Alright," Naruto made another doppelganger for her and he guided Galatea to the bathroom.

Once they were out of the way and the three girls found themselves alone with Daddy, the same thought ran through their heads as they grinned lewdly at him. "She's going to be in there forever~!"

Naruto chuckled nervously as he felt his pants tighten. This was going to be… eventful. Unless he puts a stop to it. Those walls are rather thin after all, and the rest of his company were in the next rooms too.

So that's what he did. Naruto gave the three daughters a firm look and said, "No. No. No." between them. He still had a job to do damn it! He wasn't going to let them distract him from it. Not to mention Cynthia, Cassandra, Miranda, Hysteria, Licht and Chloe can walk in on them any minute now!

"We'll be quiet." Hana said with an innocent smile.

Naruto's response was another, utterly flat, "No."

"You could always leave a clone to do the work for you and take us somewhere more… private," Harja suggested. "Raby Castle, perhaps~?"

"Yeah. No. With the heat currently on the three of you, especially with Hana and Susan, I'm trying not to throw myself into an even worse situation."

"You could easily just 'take us to the store' while bringing us there for a little fun time," Susan suggested, licking his cheek.

"Galatea can easily sense the three of you leaving the entire Hidden Village. No. And that's final." Naruto told her with a roll of his eyes. While he did like spoiling his girls he can tell they were very spoiled; he had to put his foot down every once in a while or else they would think they can walk all over him. "Or do you want to be sent back to Morris instead because you're being stubborn?"

The girls let out dejected sighs and nodded in compliance, one by one.

"Alright," Harja muttered. "Sorry…"

"We just wanted to play…" Hana added. "We all miss the feel of your warmth."

"It's been so long…" Susan wined.

Naruto wasn't buying it. "Your type of playing is very different from what other people think playing is." Naruto sighed. Then he got an idea. "Then again… if you want to play… well… there's the 'ninja' way, remember ninja tag? We even have a few card games you can play as well."

"Not what I mean, but I can wait a little longer," Hana replied. "What kind of card games?"

"Strip Poker?" Harja asked, half mischievously, half hopefully.

Naruto gave her another flat, "No."

"You're hot and I'm horny, can you blame me for trying?" Harja giggled.

Naruto let out a suffering sigh. Note to self: refuse more often and damn the consequences. This wouldn't even be happening if he was a little more forceful in his standing the first time she came on to him!

"Yes I can." Naruto answered sternly, but not raising his voice. "If someone says no they mean, No." he had this conversation with her before goddamnit!

Harja flinched. "Y-yes, sir," She replied quickly, raising her hands. "Just teasing is all..."

Naruto sighed, pulling her into a comforting hug upon seeing Harja's panicked and apologetic expression. The poor thing was on the verge of tears! "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said. "Be a good girl and we'll... discuss that, later. In private." Then, Naruto looked to Hana and Susan, before addressing them. "Same goes for you two," Then he looked to the apartment door and back to them with a questioning expression. "So, why are you two here? Weren't you meant to be with Cynthia? Did you let her know you came here last night?"

"We did," they both replied at the same time.

"At this point, we're legitimately scared that Mommy might awaken out of sheer panic if we didn't," Hana continued, visibly feeling a bit guilty over how Cynthia reacted to their pregnancy being revealed. "We wanted to see how you were doing."

"Then, we saw Harja practicing Fuinjutsu and wanted to join in," Susan added, trying to brighten her sister's mood with a change of subject. "Being of Uzumaki blood, it just… makes sense that we should at least try and live up to the legacy."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief at that. He would hate to see Cynthia worried because they forgot to tell her where they were going. Then he gave the three of them disappointed frowns. "...you probably didn't know this, but the ink you used was the real thing. Not the type trainees use."

All three of them looked a bit sheepish.

"That explains a lot," Harja replied.

That didn't sound good. Naruto narrowed his eyes a little, giving the three of them wary looks. "...What did you do?"

"Nothing bad," she assured. "I just picked up the wrong kit while preparing to leave and didn't realize it until now."

"Oh. That explains that then." Naruto scratched his jawline with his free hand. "At least you didn't try to test them… right? You didn't try to test them have you?" he asked while looking at the mess behind him.

"Only when we were sure they'd work to some extent," Hana replied. "All they did was fizzle."

Naruto looked ahead of him, closed his eyes and took a very deep breath. "Okay… next time… don't. Do that. Without a professional looking them over first," He looked at the three of them individually as he spoke. "Okay? When I was being taught by Jiraiya-Sensei, he looked over each and every seal formula he had me do for any mistakes. Fuinjutsu is still a vastly unexplored branch of jutsu because it's so difficult to learn, let alone become a master of. It's very unpredictable and can be very dangerous if you get it wrong. The storage seals you made could have sucked in this entire apartment building and the area around it if you got the formula wrong."

The lifeblood drained from his daughters' faces when they heard that.

"O-oh… shit, uh, sorry," Harja muttered.

Naruto brought her in for a hug and rubbed her back. "It's fine, dear. At least the ones you did try only fizzled out. At least they didn't blow up in your faces like the ones I tried." Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "And I mean that literally." He ruffled her hair, before doing the same for Hana and Susan. "I'm proud of the three of you, though, You're learning pretty quickly and that last one you made was damn close. It took me days to get that far."

Harja, Hana, and Susan all grinned brightly at that.

"If you want I can make a clone to help you along? I do have training ink you can use."

"Sounds like a plan," Harja chirped.

----

Meanwhile, outside of the Yamanaka Compound, Inonon took a deep breath and steeled herself. Naruto's clone was there, to reassure her and acting as moral support. The clone knew that this was going to be the hardest thing she's ever done. While he had no idea what it would feel like, due to having a lack of parents, he could literally sense the nervousness wafting from the young teen. Still, he stayed with her.

Inonon smiled shyly when she felt the clone rub her back. "A-alright," she said, more to herself. "Let's do this!"

With that, the two of them walked through the gateway and into the compound. It didn't take long for them to attract quite a bit of attention and a roar of whispers erupted when the denizens saw that Inonon was holding Naruto's hand. They all knew she was older than she looked, so there wasn't any problems with that. However, it only took about ten steps for Inonon to apparently be happily married with twins on the way, while having a scandalous affair with the Raikage and her own evil twin that had been raised in one of Orochimaru's secret laboratories for the purpose of eating the Nine Bijuu and taking over the world. How the fuck, she didn't quite know, but it went without saying that Ino was not the only gossip in her extended family.

Naruto overheard it as well and he called those people out, "The hell?! Who started that rumour?! It's ridiculous!"

"Just leave them be," Inonon sighed. "It what happens when a tale travels from mouth to ear one too many times."

"Oh I know that… it's called a lie… or something like that. Anyway those rumours are false… seriously… you having an affair with the Raikage? You getting married to me with twins? You're not even pregnant!"

"Yet…"

Again, there was a roar of hushed whispers

."Not helping..." Naruto said with a look of irritation.

"Again, just ignore them," Inonon sighed. "By the time those rumours leave the compound, I'll have two heads or something and all of Konoha will laugh at how absurd they're being. It's not a lie if you believe it's true, anyway, and my family has a habit of jumping to absurd conclusions that make them the laughing stock of many a village. It's another reason I want to get out of being a shrink. Ninety-percent of my clientele are paranoid clanmates."

"Ooooh… so you want to get out of being their doctor to being mine or something?"

"Partially, I'll admit," Inonon shrugged. "Mostly, I just want to get out of here and have a fresh start… with the man who stole my heart before he even realized it." She blushed and smiled at him, ignoring the whispers. "Now, c'mon. My parents are this way."

"Eh, alright," The clone allowed the girl to guide him along while he ignored the whispers going on around them. Thankfully, it didn't take long to reach the quaint, little hut that housed her parents. Naruto blinked in surprise; she lived in a hut? He thought she lived in the main compound or something, like Ino did.

Inonon giggled and clarified upon reading his expression like a book. "The main compound is reserved for richer members of the clan. Pretty high-end real estate, y'know? I'm not from one of the wealthier families of the clan, but it's not bad. It's not like we have a slum district." Granted, they did have a red light district, but that didn't count. It was actually a rather high-end establishment for visiting nobility.

"Fair enough, I guess," Naruto muttered uncertainly. He wasn't exactly around to be raised be a large clan, so he had no idea what it was like. "Lead the way then, Inonon."

The young blonde smiled and nodded, before stepping forth and knocking.

There was a clatter of footsteps as a fairly chunky woman with silver hair answered the door, scooping the poor teen up on a hug. "Oh! Inonon, honey, how was your mission?"

"It was fine, Auntie Ino," she grunted, causing Naruto to perk up. "Is Mom home?"

"Oh, yes, she is," 'Ino' replied. "Come in, come in! I'll fetch her, right now."

"Is Ino a common name?" Naruto just had to ask out of curiosity.

"Y-yeah," Inonon replied with a sigh. "It's the most popular among my clanmates, in fact. Your classmate, the one who owns the flower shop, yeah... her full name is Yamanaka Ino CCXXXVIII. I shit you not."

"Well… okay, then." Naruto had no idea how to respond to that. What number was that anyway? Did he even want to know?! It was ridiculous! With that aside and a good chuckle shared between them, Naruto and Inonon entered the hut and the former was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. It was fairly small too; well, to the standards he was seeing nowadays; but it was fairly spacious as well.

And her parents were there too. Well that saved Inonon from having to look for them in the hut.

The mother was a fairly petite, young-looking woman with silver hair like Inonon's aunt. She was clearly where the young looks and petite size came from. The woman also had Inonon's purple eyes.

The father also shared that last trait, but was clearly where the freckles and blond hair came from. His hair was cropped short and he had a small goatee upon his chin. The man was also rather tall, clocking in at a good six-and-a-half feet or so.

"Ah, Naruto-Sama, what a pleasant surprise!" The man chuckled with a respectful bow. "I am Inohiko and this is my wife, Inoyumi. Pleased to meet you!"

"You too, Inohiko-San," Naruto replied.

"Please, no need for formalities," the man chuckled. "We all know how much you loathe them. So, what brings you here?"

"Much appreciated," Naruto replied with a chortle of his own. "I'm here with Inonon, because she wants to discuss her future, but is a bit nervous about it."

"Really, now?" Inohiko raised an eyebrow at that.

"What's wrong, honey?" Inoyumi asked.

Naruto stood back and let Inonon tell them the news herself. This was hers to do. Not his. He won't be there to hold her hand every step of the way; since she wanted to stay with him, she'll have to be the one to tell them that.

Inonon took a deep breath and steeled herself, her expression making it clear that what she was about to say was very serious. "I'm here to tell you that I'm looking to retire as both a kunoichi of Konoha and as a psychiatric specialist, so as to become a member of the new Uzumaki Clan," she declared. "I'm done with that and just… want to start a family." The confidence in her voice waned with every word, but she was bound and determined to say her piece.

"...Pretty sure you told Kakashi-sensei that you wanted to become the Uzumaki Clan's psychiatric specialist yesterday." Naruto dryly reminded her.

"That, I can do without much hassle," Inonon pointed out. "What I'm done with is being a professional. Too much pressure and no appreciation..."

"Yeah, but the way you made it sound was as if you were trying to get out of it, entirely." Naruto looked at her parents and added, "your parents were looking like they were about to have heart attacks."

"Uh… sorry…" She let out a heavy sigh. "That's not what I meant, and I can help out anyone in your family who needs it without much effort. Most of them are cases of PTSD or depression. Those are the easiest things for someone like me to handle." She readdressed her parents and added, "I simply want what I want, not what the elders insist I want."

"I see." Inohiko muttered, letting out a sigh of relief. "You have a lot of potential, honey, but it's up to you if you want to actually use it."

"I figured this day would come," Inoyumi added, looking mildly disappointed. She then leered at Naruto and brightened up a bit. "At least you ended with the best man I could hope for, so there's that." She let out an amused chuckle at her daughter's reaction.

Poor Inonon was beet red and sputtering up a storm.

Naruto chuckled and ruffled Inonon's scalp. "If you look on the even brighter side of things, Tsunade-Bachan is with me. Though she's training someone else at the moment, there is a very good chance that Inonon can pick up a thing or two from the master and student."

"Ah, so that's where she ended up," Inohiko muttered absently. He had legitimately wondered what became of Tsunade after she left.

"I certainly wouldn't be opposed to that," Inoyumi added. Then, she smiled. "Well, I'm glad to see my baby's at least in good hands. You better take good care of her, you hear me?"

"I will," Naruto assured.

Then, Auntie Ino poked her head out of the hallway and asked, "So… are we invited to the wedding?"

The young blond chuckled as he swore he saw steam rising from poor Inonon's cheeks at that. "It'll be awhile before that happens," he explained. "She and I were just established to be a couple and in the town I'm staying, she's not considered to be old enough for that kinda thing until her next birthday, but we'll see. Until then, the most we can do is date and not much else."

Plus he wanted to take things slow this time around, goddesses of Love or not, he wasn't going to let their influence get in the way… too much. He did owe them a lot after all. He doesn't want to sound ungrateful or anything; because they're divinity… they can do whatever they want; even smite him.

"Y-yeah, it's too early for that." Inonon agreed with the blond, looking embarrassed as all hell, but just as happy. "Besides, where he is now, he would be classified as a Kage and a lot of people look up to him. It wouldn't be good the if the villagers were to find out he's going out with someone 'underage', though."

"Too right." Naruto sighed heavily as he crossed his arms. "It's an offense and you can get thrown into prison for it. Even a lord - their classification of a Kage - can be thrown into prison over such a scandal."

"That's not too dissimilar to what we have here - age group aside, of course." Inohiko mused.

"Yeah, pretty much," Naruto chuckled. "At least in that regard. They are similar to us, but very, very different as well. Anyway..." Naruto trailed off, as he looked to a nearby clock, "We're leaving for Uzushiogakure no Sato as soon as we are able; until we find a way to get through the whirlpools we're going to be here for a bit." He then looked at Inonon and added, "This is going to be your only chance to talk to your parents in a long while, Inonon. Take advantage of it."

Inonon took a deep breath and said, "You're not going anywhere." She plastered on a teasing grin and added, "We're 'taking advantage of it', alright. Someone's getting to know his future in-laws."

Naruto chuckled heartily at that, He knew damn well that she wasn't sputtering up a storm only by sheer force of will. "Alright, I'm fine with that."

----

Back with the real Naruto, Galatea had finished with the shower, the clone with her having dispelled after she was done getting washed. Not long after that Cynthia, Cassandra, Miranda, Licht, Hysteria, and Chloe all came into his apartment one by one with Cynthia being the first and Licht being the last. Cynthia the poor dear was immensely relieved that her two daughters were still with their father.

Now they were all assembled around the coffee table, some were on the couch while the rest were on the floor. All of whom were drinking tea - a beverage they did not have before but were immensely enjoying the taste. They couldn't feel the heat from it either, so the hot fluid that came straight from the kettle didn't burn them.

They were all looking at the documents and scrolls Konoha had on the old Uzumaki island. One such scroll was a map of the island itself, where Naruto had several notes at points of interest. One of them being at a potential point of entry Harja had pointed out earlier.

"Hmm… it seems there's a bridge connecting to two islands." Hysteria said, pointing to the south west side of the map. An intersection between two islands… that had a whirlpool in the middle. It was big enough to completely suck in an entire armada if they got too close. "A fallback point perhaps?"

"It probably is. It leads to a 'castle', so that could be an outpost." Naruto said, pointing at the castle symbol that was on the second island. "Though the Uzumaki Clan may have cut the bridge to stop the invaders. Still, it won't hurt to check it out."

"There is the seals that you have to contend with." Cassandra said remindfully. "They could still be active, just waiting to go off."

"That too."

"I'd still be glad to help if at all possible," Harja chirped. "Deactivating seals is much easier than applying them, and if any are bloodlocked, I am an Uzumaki~!"

"Bloodlocked…?" Cynthia asked.

"It basically refers to seals what can only be deactivated by an individual or someone of a specific bloodline," Hana clarified.

"Harja taught us a lot about Fuinjutsu, last night," Susan added. "It piqued our interest."

"As long as you're careful," their mother urged. "I've heard how dangerous Fuinjutsu can be if you're not."

"I'll be teaching them the basics, myself," Naruto replied. "Last night, they tried to make sealing tags and impressed me pretty thoroughly with them. Granted, they did it without a professional to look over them, but they saw their mistakes and tried to fix them accordingly in their next attempts. It took me twice as long to advance to where they are."

Cynthia couldn't keep the proud smile off her face if she tried.

"What could have happened if they had gotten it wrong?" Miranda knew she wasn't going to like the answer, but for the life of her she had to know.

"Daddy said… we… could have sucked in this entire apartment building and the area around it if we got the formula wrong." Hana answered with a nervous smile.

"Luckily they were smart enough to not do that…" Naruto told them all. "All the seals did was fizzle." then he ruffled their heads one by one as he added, "Still that's a better reaction to what I got. Mine tended to blow up in my face." Upon seeing Cynthia's expression, he gave her a reassuring smile. "Again, I'll be with them every step of the way. You have nothing to worry about."

"A-alright…" The former Number 14 let out a sigh of relief.

Naruto got up and pulled her into a comforting hug. Truth be told, he couldn't fault her for suddenly being paranoid after what happened over the past couple of days. He would be the same in her shoes.

"Y'know," Naruto blinked when he heard Kurama's voice rumble in the back of his head, "you can fly, right? And those Truth-Seeking Orbs, Balls, whatever you call them, can be made into platforms to carry your girls and all…"

Naruto blinked again. And again. And again. Then he suddenly went and slammed his head against his coffee table repeatedly surprising the hell out of everyone.

"I'M AN IDIOT!" He cried out. "I can just fly over those whirlpools with Six Paths Sage Mode! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" he slammed his head against the table in time with the last three words.

"Moron…" Kurama chuckled. His friend may be thinking a lot more now, but he still does forget even the simplest of things.

"D-Daddy… to be fair the island could be very far out in the sea." Susan pointed out. "So you going over plans like this, is a good thing in that respect."

"She does have a good point." Chloe pointed out; she would never admit it, but she was enjoying the way Naruto was hitting his head off the table repeatedly. She didn't forget him setting her up with that creepy giggling version of himself… the prick.

Suddenly Naruto reared back and sat up straight as if nothing was wrong. "...That is a good point." Naruto stroked his chin with a thoughtful frown. "It wouldn't hurt getting a boat out there first, and then going Six Paths Sage Mode for the rest of the way." Not only that, but he can make a shortcut between Nami and Uzushio - Nami is a trading village and they have plenty of ships coming and going, so it won't be that hard to find a ship that's delving close to Uzushio. And he can easily make a seal that can transfer him and anybody else back and forth between the two islands.

Of course, he would have to make adjustments. Naruto wasn't so stupid as to leave open such an invitation to people that have less than noble intentions. He'd have to take measures to prevent bandits and the like from getting in. Maybe a seal that can find out people's intent?

Then again, he could just bloodlock it, but it never hurt to have additional measures.

"So, when are we heading out?" Hana asked. She was eager to see more of this continent as soon as possible.

"As soon as Inonon comes back. And that can take a while." Naruto answered. Then he made a clone and dispelled it seconds later, with the message to let his other clone know that they were ready to go and were just waiting on her. "Or I can just do that. It'll save me the time having to go look for her, or for her to come back."

"Daddy made a clone to escort Inonon back to her family." Harja explained to those who were not in the know. "She's informing them of her desire to stay and become a member of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Pretty sure the way she said it almost gave her parents heart attacks." Naruto said. "I could feel a lot of worry coming from their compound. But it went away just as quick." If nothing else, the situation seems to have improved since then, as Naruto could feel that Inonon was pretty happy from here - though embarrassed as all hell. He chuckled warmly at the mental image of her blushing up a storm, still a sucker for shy girls like her.

"It'll be a bit before she can join, though, because she's underage by the laws of our land," Harja added. "I'm guessing Daddy will be taking her out on a few dates before we leave."

"Maybe one or two before going back to Morris, but nothing too extravagant and time-consuming, just yet," Naruto admitted. "I have a lot to do, after all, and I don't want the ladies back home to start missing me too much. Priscila can be deadly when she doesn't have her Naruto-time." He let out a warm chuckle at the thought of how much he'd grown on her. "And she's not the only one."

"How long does it take for us to get to Nami from here?" Hysteria asked.

"A week. But I have a seal in Nami's cemetery so I can bring us all there instantaneously." Naruto replied. "Cynthia knows what one I'm talking about."

"Yeah. You put a seal on the gravestone of Hinata." Cynthia said awkwardly with a nod. She felt uncomfortable mentioning his deceased lovers' names, as she didn't want to bring up bad memories. "He brought us there when we visited the Elemental Nations for the first time."

"It's where they met Isobu for the first time. Now that I think on it I wonder if he's going to be there? He does like to hang out at Nami nowadays." Naruto said thoughtfully. Not only that but having him there would make getting a boat unneeded, as long as he is willing to let them ride his shell across the ocean.

With a shrug Naruto said, "Eh, we'll see if he's there or not when we get there. I'll ask if we can hitch a ride on his shell to Uzushio if he is. If he says no then I'll get a ship over there instead."

"Well… Isobu IS a turtle. And he is massive. The whirlpools might not affect him…" Cynthia said with a thoughtful look. "At least in the case of the smaller ones." Big, though, Isobu may be, he wasn't the size of a small town.

"Water is Isobu's territory, and you never saw how really big the guy is. When you all saw him when we fought the Organization, that was only partial. He's much, much bigger than that." Naruto told his wife. "If anyone can get through those whirlpools, it'll be him."

"It's certainly a plan," Hysteria chimed in. She was impressed by the others' contributions.

"Are we allowed to take the map with us?" Chloe asked, "I'd rather not go into some new territory I am unfamiliar with completely blind."

"It's a safe bet to say we're not." Naruto answered. "It's one of the few maps Konoha has of Uzushio I'd bet. But it wouldn't hurt to ask for a copy." It would take more of their time, but having a map to show where they're going and where they are on the island would be nice. "I still have to give the documents and scrolls back to Kakashi-Sensei as well after I'm done with them… and I have to clean up that as well." the blond concluded as he pointed his thumb at the mess behind him.

He can get started on that right now in fact. And after making a clone or two to do that task, that was exactly what Naruto did. His daughters were eager to help out, as well. The other women smiled brightly at that. With three Narutos and his daughters cleaning up they would clean the room in no time. Once they cleaned up and put everything away, the two clones dispelled themselves and Naruto and his daughters all rejoined the others.

Now all they had to do was wait for Inonon.

----

Several hours later, there was a familiar flash at Hinata's gravesite. Naruto and his company took in the sites as Hana and Susan hugged a pair of Kurama plushies that their daddy got them at the least second, before leaving Konoha.

"So this is Nami," Licht muttered thoughtfully.

"A part of it, but yeah." Naruto said with a nod. He then looked behind him and gave the gravestone a sad smile before turning around to put his hand on top of it. "Well… it's been a while, hasn't it… Hinata?" everyone watched in silence as Naruto had a one sided conversation with his deceased first girlfriend. "I'm sorry I couldn't visit you more often, but… things were a little hectic. And I'm a little busy right now but…" Naruto made a seal with his fore and middle digits and created a single Kage Bunshin. "I can leave a Kage Bunshin here to keep you company for a while."

With a sigh Naruto then looked to the others and beckoned them to follow him out of the cemetery. They did as he asked without question. Before long the group were now within the port-town of Nami and they could see that the village itself was built along two sides of a river that went out to the sea, just as Cynthia remembered it. They followed Naruto who was walking over to the sea because he was looking for a certain three tailed turtle.

And it was here that they all saw a huge ass bridge that connected the isolated island to the mainland in the distance. And it was a long one at that. Cynthia knew that bridge was named after her hubby when he saved Nami from a guy called Gato. The others knew of it as well.

Then, Naruto stopped in his tracks. Now that he was here…

"Right," he muttered. "Since I'm here, I think now's as good a time as any to confirm a rumour…" With that, he produced a second clone and sent him off to find Tsunami. With that out of the way, they were off to the docks.

It was there that Hysteria, Licht and Chloe all felt the overwhelming presence of Isobu. That Bijuu knew how to hide himself when absolutely needed, but when we wasn't his yoki was almost suffocating.

Inonon was also overwhelmed a bit. While she knew the Bijuu were friendly and serving as guardians, she'd never been in the actual presence of one. It was surreal how... small she felt in comparison.

"Ah, Naruto," the great turtle called out from the sea. "What a pleasant surprise! What brings you here?"

"Wassup, Isobu!" Naruto called back, "I'm trying to get to Uzushiogakure no Sato! Do you think you can give us a hand?"

The turtle chuckled as he leisurely swam towards the docks. "Looking to finally reclaim your homeland, I take it?" Isobu cocked his head in curiosity. "I can give you a ride, if you wish. It's about a day's ride away, though. Pretty dull, too, so you might want to bring some entertainment… and food."

"We can do that." Naruto agreed. "There are a few stores we can go to, to buy food. And a few games."

Hana, Susan, and Harja visibly liked the sound of that. With a chuckle, Naruto made a batch of clones and had them go and get some food for them to eat, and some games to play. Maybe a deck of cards will do? If nothing else, a board game or two wouldn't hurt if they were available.

His daughters giggled as they latched onto the clones and dragged them away, much to Naruto's amusement - and among others. Then he looked to Isobu and reached out to pet him on the jaw. "So, how are you holding up now? Have you been in contact with the other Bijuu?"

"Every now and then," Isobu replied. "When they're in the mood. Chomei's been wandering around Lightning, Earth, and Water a lot; making sure that everyone's keeping the peace. Out of everyone, she's the one I'm in contact with the most."

"Well at least you're not alone. Spiritually." Naruto said before his expression brightened. "On the plus side, once we manage to get Uzushio up and running again you can visit any time you want. The island should be big enough to accomodate you, right?"

"It was one of my more frequent places to go to before it became inhabited actually." the turtle admitted. "I haven't been there in decades, but I do remember the island being big enough to not just accommodate, but hide me and Chomei, combined."

That was good to know.

"Well, there you go," Naruto chirped. "You won't be alone for much longer, my friend."

"No need to worry about me," Isobu chuckled. "If I was feeling lonely, I'd have contacted you directly. I thank you for the courtesy, though."

"You're my friend, it's my job to worry about you," Naruto chuckled right on back. "Still, any time you want to just chat, my ear is always open for you and the others. Kurama especially."

"Brat, I'm inside you. Unless I sever the connection, I would always hear you talk." Kurama said; then he went and severed the connection because he wanted to sleep. The lazy, furball.

"I was wondering when you'd say something," Naruto replied. He wasn't expecting the fox to say anything, because he felt the fox sever the connection. Of course, he was pleasantly surprised when the fox actually did respond.

"Meh, I was bored," Kurama yawned. "Figured pestering you would be entertaining."

"Love you too, buddy," Naruto inwardly chuckled.

"So who do we have here?" Isobu asked, taking note of the unfamiliar faces. "More mates, I take it?"

"Yeah. These ladies are Cassandra, Galatea, Miranda, Licht, Hysteria and Chloe," Naruto replied, gesturing to the women in question. "They were there when you blew the Organization's Headquarters to kingdom Come." Then, he gestured to the young blonde and added, "And this is Inonon. She's the newest addition to the family, though the laws in the other continent dictate that her status has to be 'unofficial' until her next birthday. Either way, she coming with, as well."

"I see." Isobu grunted as he gave the girl a polite nod. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Inonon. A friend of Naruto is a friend of mine."

"Uh, th-thank you," she chirped, thoroughly overwhelmed.

Isobu chuckled at that. "No need to be shy, young one," he said. "How are you?"

"I-I'm doing pretty well, Isobu-San," she replied with a bow.

"No need to bow. I'm not one for all that... honorifics, either." the Bijuu chuckled.

"Uh… right," Inonon said with an awkward smile, not quite knowing what to say.

Naruto couldn't help but find that amusing as he ruffled her hair. "So, do you mind waiting for a while? I seem to remember promising someone a date."

Poor Inonon turned beet red at that.

"I don't mind at all," Isobu replied witb a nod. "Do, take your time; I actually wasn't planning on going anywhere for a week or so."

"Good to know."

"We still have to wait for those clones to get back though." Cynthia reminded him. "With Harja, Susan and Hana."

"I know," Naruto chuckled. "But knowing Harja in particular, that's going to take a while. I'll leave a clone just in case. Just wanna take Inonon, here out for something to eat while we wait."

"Okay, honey." Cynthia said and Galatea and the others nodded to show they understood.

With that, Naruto nodded back and made a clone, before drawing a yelp from Inonon as he pulled her into a one-armed hug. The girl smiled shyly as she snuggled close and they took their leave.

----

Meanwhile, back in the chapel of Morris, those of the chapel were still handling the PR nightmare that was Harja's 'execution' of Garth surprisingly well.

Neideen and Sistina were instrumental in that.

After the damage control was done and over with, Priscilla, Luciela, and Riful, literally could not be more grateful for those two, as their presence was nothing short of a blessing. Now, the three awakened beings were seated in the chapel's delegation room. With them were their kids as well as Lyesse, Damia, William, Little Teresa, Father Isaac, and the aforementioned women as they discussed what to do now.

"In regards to Samantha and Lilith, it's simply a matter of revealing that they've been hiding their pregnancies for a while, now," Sistina stated. "Lady Tsunade would be quick to assume that it was Garth, due to the fact that the ill effects of inbreeding have been removed. She'd be none the wiser."

"After that," Riful added, "We lay low and wait until the Great Dispersal that you mentioned, before letting our babies have some… 'playtime,' as it were?'

"Assuming they want to, yes."

"Even I wouldn't force them." Riful shrugged. "Once we have enough, inserting them into positions of power shouldn't be too hard, and we're essentially immortal, and so are our kids, so we have plenty of time."

"Just bear in mind that if they have too much human blood, they'll lose that immortality," Sistina cautioned.

"Really?" Riful would be lying if she said she was expecting it.

"That makes sense," Luciela said, with a thoughtful pucker of her lips. "The more human blood they have in them, the more 'human' they become."

"Very true," Riful replied with a nod. "Well, if nothing else, we'll be able to produce as many as we need without having to go that far."

"You can also start recruiting some of those who would be willing to help," Sistina added. "Roxanne and Tanya are the most obvious ones."

"Duly noted," Priscilla replied. "I'll talk to them as soon as I get the opportunity."

----

Meanwhile back in Nami, hours later.

A couple hours, one date, a shopping spree, and an awkward exchange with Tsunami later, Naruto took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well… on the bright side of things, he learned that Tsunami was not pregnant; turns out someone was just blowing smoke, much to her embarrassment. The rumour was actually a very old one, from way back when he'd first saved Nami. She thought he was cute, mentioned it one day, while she was drunk, and it all spiraled from there.

Ones tale becomes more than that in the right circumstances. Naruto wondered who was the person who started all of that anyway. That was some Ino level gossip spreading, right there! Unfortunately for him, Tsunami had no idea who was the one that spread the rumour. She was drunk at the time, and nearly everything was fuzzy from that time. If nothing else he got a damn good kiss for his efforts. Naruto chuckled at the memory, hoping that hot-ass milf has herself a good life.

He'd also sent a clone with some egg rolls back to Morris, once he was done with the little date he had..

With all that aside, he looked around and saw his baby girls returning with smiles on their faces and a few scrolls full of stuff. "You get yourselves anything good?"

"A shogi board and a deck of cards," Harja chirped, as well as a few souvenirs."

"And what about food?" Naruto asked her.

"We were in charge of that, seeing as how she has little idea of what to get," Hana giggled.

"We don't need to eat as much as full-blooded humans do," Susan added. "So, we didn't know how much to get and just bought as much as we could afford."

"You may not need to eat as much as we full-blooded humans do, but I do." Naruto pointed out to her amusedly. "I certainly hope you brought enough. Else I'd have to fish."

"They might have overdone it, actually," one of the clones chuckled, Then, he dispelled, giving Naruto his memories and getting a thoroughly entertained expression out of him. It was quite amusing to see those two exchange a questioning glance, before saying 'fuck it, we'll just buy it all' and doing just that. It was a very 'Naruto' thing for them to do, for lack of a better way to put it.

"So I see. Well… we won't get hungry or bored anytime soon." He chuckled. Then Naruto gestured for his kids to follow him. "Come on, the others are bound to be waiting for us."

The remaining clone dispelled, his job done, and the girls followed their daddy and future auntie to the women who'd awaited their arrival. Harja, Hana, and Susan expertly hid their amusement when they noted that they smelled of sex, having apparently slipped away for a quickie with the clone Naruto had left behind.

Naruto smelt it too and he couldn't help the flat look on his face as he looked at them. "...Really?" He flatly asked them.

"You know how I get when I'm pregnant," Cynthia deadpanned, doing her best to ensure her baby girls couldn't hear their conversation… and failing. "And they weren't about to let me hog the attention to myself."

"I do know how you get when you're pregnant. You broke my hand once, remember?" Naruto sighed and rolled his eyes in exasperated amusement. Granted she was in labour at the time but it still counts in his eyes. "Just be careful. Our kids have my sense of smell, y'know."

Cynthia's eyes were like dinner plates, now, as she turned beet red… then white as a sheet and back again as the realization dawned on her. She turned her attention to Hana and Susan with a dead serious look. "Not. One. Word."

"Okay." Both Susan and Hana said at the same time with innocent smiles on their faces. The twins even nodded in acknowledgement, knowing better than to piss her off, despite their well-hidden amusement.

Cassandra, Miranda, Hysteria, Licht, Galatea, and Chloe felt incredibly awkward, now, but said nothing.

"Huh… you know, I wonder if they did it in the open, or some place private. Think of any unlucky kids that would happen to walk in on them. They would be scarred for life," Harja giggled with impish amusement.

"They didn't." Naruto answered for the now blushing women. "They aren't mad enough to do something like that." Neideen probably would, but not these women. "Besides… I'd know either way. I'll get the memories of my clone once he's dispelled." Then he cleared his throat and said, "Anyway, we got food and we got some board games to use along the way to Uzushio, so let's get back to Isobu."

No one argued with that and they followed Naruto back to the gigantic turtle who had not moved from his spot. Well, Isobu is quite the patient Bijuu isn't he?

"I was wondering when you all would return." Isobu said with amusement and a sigh of exasperation. "I was honestly beginning to think you up and left."

"Sorry, I lost track of time for a bit there, while on my date," Naruto replied with a sheepish grin. Poor Inonon looked a bit apologetic, herself. The blond then turned to his entourage and asked, "Is everyone ready?"

Everyone nodded with Hysteria adding, "As ready as I'll ever be,"

"So, how do we do this?" Licht asked, craning her head back so she could look up at the Bijuu. "Do we just… climb on up?"

Naruto went into his Sage of Six Paths Chakra Mode and when his truth-seeking balls formed, he sent one forth and had it form into a platform more than wide enough to accommodate the women, "Or you can hop onto this." he answered, politely gesturing for them to step on to the platform.

Of course, Naruto's kids were the first to do so, feeling up the platform while they were at it, out of sheer curiosity.

"I want you three to stay close. It'll be fast moving." Naruto told them as he, Inonon, Cynthia, Galatea, Hysteria, Licht, Chloe, Cassandra and Miranda all stepped onto the platform. He wasn't kidding either; once they were all on the platform there was a rush of air and the next thing they knew, they were directly above Isobu's head. The suddenness of it surprised them all, and they almost stumbled when the platform came to a stop.

Then Naruto stepped off the platform and onto Isobu's head and beckoned the rest of them to step off the platform. Harja, Hana, and Susan did after a moment of hesitation. Cynthia and Galatea followed suit. Cassandra and Miranda were next, with Inonon, Hysteria, Chloe and Licht being the last ones.

Once they were off and on the turtle's head Naruto turned back to normal and the platform vanished into nothingness.

"Uzushiogakure no Sato, here we come!" Isobu exclaimed cheerfully. He reversed out of the river and made his way to the abandoned island of the Uzumaki Clan with his passengers.