38 Shukaku and Matatabi Part 1

Just shy of four weeks later, back in Staff, Miranda and Noel were having a little spar, the former using Cassandra's Dust Eater, while the latter was testing her skill with acrobatics. The former Number 35 slid, hopped, weaved and flipped about, avoiding Noel's strikes thanks to Neideen's training and took several swipes at the former Number 5. Noel easily evaded as the other women of the Crimson Guard observed. The others noted Miranda resembled a swaying pendulum with the way she moved.

"She's improving rather nicely," Lutecia muttered in surprise. "Miranda's even fighting on equal grounds with Noel. It's hard to believe she was a low-tier warrior, back in your day."

"She and I are very close friends," Cassandra beamed, her friend was the one person that wasn't afraid of her technique when the two of them were still alive 150 years ago and was the only person that tried to befriend her because she saw her as a normal woman and not a… a freak. The pointy-eared woman wiped away the tears before they could show. "I knew she had it in her."

"Considering she admires you so much, her improving this much in such a short amount of time was a given," Chloe said with a grudging respect for the brat even though she was watching the former Number 35 duelling with a thoroughly impressed expression. "I think you and swill become quite an effective team together."

Cassandra smiled widely at that.

Meanwhile, Roxanne watched on intently, the wheels in her head visibly turning as she observed Miranda and Noel's movements, mentally picking apart each technique and motion to the very bone.

Again, old habits die hard. She was so used to observing and learning how to perform and outdo techniques belonging to other women, that she did it out of instinct. For this reason, she was a quick learner and had already mastered Cassandra and Noel's techniques almost to the level of their respective inventors. She was now in the process of learning Licht and Chloe's techniques, though those two were a bit more... difficult. Such advanced yoki manipulation was more of an art than a science, so she was still having some trouble. But she was progressing.

"Your friend shot up to being a high-tier double-digit with your Dust Eater technique," Elizabeth said. "Once she becomes more proficient with it, she may rival a single digit."

Uranus nodded concurringly. "I have to agree. For someone who was a Number 35, for her to shoot up the theoretical ranks this quick shows how effective and reliable your technique is."

"It goes to show just how well thought out her technique is," Rosemary said with crossed arms; she was appraising the technique with analytic eyes. "Being able to fight so many opponents at once, from a full 360 degrees of movement… this technique would make Naruto's clones virtually useless."

Cassandra sputtered, blushing heavily at all the praise. And from other Number Ones, no less! It gave her a good feeling, a really good feeling. It felt so nice to be appreciated. Then Cassandra saw Miranda and Noel separating from their duel, panting and heaving with exhaustion before dropping their claymores to the ground and falling on their hands and knees.

"You've gotten good with that technique. I may not have duelled you before you learned that technique, but with you being able to use it, I think had we still had rankings it would've brought you up to Number 5." Noel said, with a tired grin. "A little slow, though, without using yoki but by god, you're fast enough to keep me on my toes. Geez, that technique is unpredictable!"

Miranda smiled timidly. "Th-thanks," she muttered.

"Soooo...." Sophia drawled out, "...what's next? Miranda knows how to use Dust Eater now, so do the rest of us keep on learning? Or get started on learning someone else's technique?" she asked, looking at Raftela since the woman is their assigned leader.

"I suppose I can get started on teaching you how to use my technique." Chloe volunteered with a sighed after no one answered. "It's not going to be easy though since it requires precise yoki control."

"Alright!" Sophia cheered as she was the one that was the most eager to learn from the Heavy-Bladed. "Let's let Miranda and I get out of the way first of all."

Chloe exhaled and rubbed the back of her scalp sheepishly; this was going to be awkward and nerve-wracking to teach.

"Alright, teach, what should the first step be?" Neideen asked, giving her fellow blonde a mischievous grin.

Chloe breathed in and sighed before turning around to address them. "I suppose the first thing we can do is get some dumbbells for strength training. As I said before, my technique is partially physical. Sophia can skip that part though since she is naturally strong. She just needs the right percentage of yoki release to achieve my strength." she told them while scratching the side of her head.

"Great! I know where we can get some!" Sophia said with enthusiasm; she was going to be taught by a Number 1, an actual Number 1! She knew Teresa, but that woman was just cold and detached. She was completely uncaring and didn't seem to care about anything, and that made her unapproachable. Honestly, she was surprised the little brat she was travelling with had managed to befriend the woman.

Hell, before she saw the poor kid, most warriors thought it impossible - the single-digits, especially.

Chloe, Raftela, Hysteria, Cassandra, Miranda, Rosemary, Roxanne, Licht, Sistine, Lutecia, Noel, Uranus, Elizabeth, Neideen, and Hilda all watched as Sophia left the training room to get some dumbbells for them to use to build up their strength.

"...do we really need the dumbbells to help make us stronger?" Hilda asked Chloe, several seconds after Sophia left the room.

Chloe nodded with yet another sigh. "Yes. Naturally, we're stronger than ordinary humans, so dumbbells wouldn't do anything to increase our strength on their own. Luckily for us, we have those pills that suppress our yoki, so while our yoki is suppressed, a large bit of our strength is sapped. But you already know that." she said, directing that statement to Hilda herself.

The blonde nodded, showing that she did know of it. "Ah. Yes. I do know that. There was a couple of missions where I had to infiltrate the Holy City of Rabona to clear out a yoma or two, and I had to take those disgusting yoki suppressant pills to gain entry." she pats herself down with a frown to search for the small pouch that contained said pills, before realising she didn't have her original outfit anymore and had their new uniform instead. The new uniform didn't come with their brand of yoki suppressant pills, unfortunately.

"Damn. I forgot we don't have our yoki suppressant pills anymore." Hilda said with a sigh.

"I know your pain," Neideen chuckled. "It feels weird, getting used to our new uniforms."

Several minutes later Sophia came back, pushing a cart full of dumbbells and weights into the room. Chloe blinked when she saw a pouch of yoki suppressant pills on top of the set. Huh, the woman had the foresight to go ahead and get some yoki suppressants for them to use in their training. Nice.

"Alright," Chloe announced, walking over to take a suppressant for herself. "Everyone gets a suppressant pill and once it kicks in, grab two dumbbells and get started on increasing your arm strength until you can feel your muscles burn. I'll show anyone who doesn't already know the proper technique, so don't be afraid to ask."

Sophia is obvious that is stronger than almost everyone else in the room didn't take the pill. The others who didn't take one was Lutecia, being she was a well-rounded warrior and didn't need to increase her strength any more. Another was Sistina, due to her being strong already. Licht was another as well, due to being a Number 1 and therefore her strength was through the roof.

Roxanne took one due to wanting to know how Chloe got her fabled strength. And if she had to make herself weaker to understand, then so fucking be it. Rosemary took one herself due to not wanting to lose to the Ladykiller so easily. While she was fully aware that she was going to lose to him, she wasn't told how she was going to lose. Would be dominated her within the first few seconds? Would it last several minutes? Who knows; what she does know is that she wants to show the Ladykiller what she is capable of.

Hysteria took a pill and waited for the dumbbell. She was faster than anyone else in the room, might as well get her strength up to snuff along with it. Cassandra took one because she didn't want her best friend to feel left out, plus she wanted to help Miranda get as close to her level as possible; that way she wouldn't be afraid that her best friend would end up dying the same way she did the last time…and she promptly glared at Roxanne's back.

Fucking bitch!

The others followed suit, taking a suppressant pill and waiting for it to kick in before grabbing a dumbbell to work on.

----

Meanwhile, back in Morris, little Teresa was bouncing off the walls.

Today was her birthday, and she couldn't wait to see Uncle Kaku, again! Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't help but find the sight of little Teresa bouncing around with excitement to be utterly adorable. Poor Riful was none too happy, groaning in the corner at all the ruckus. Damn morning sickness… if there was one thing she disliked about being pregnant it had to be the morning sickness, right behind being in labour. Sure the latter hurt more… by a long shot, but it was a hell of a lot more brief. Seeing how miserable she looked Naruto chuckled and made his way over to her and gave his wife a loving kiss on the lips. At the same time, he rubbed the bump on her stomach before sliding his hand dangerously close to in between her thighs. Riful instinctively spread her legs, giving him access but mewled into his mouth in disappointment when he didn't delve any further down past her swollen gut.

"Just a little longer and we can finally meet our son," Naruto said warmly.

Riful blushed heavily and giggled. "I can't wait." She placed one hand on his and cupped Naruto's whiskered cheek with the other as she looked into his eyes. "Just make sure you're with me in person when that happens, my love."

"I will don't you worry about that," Naruto promised her. "Besides, when we have our son, we can go right back to having kinky sex if you're up for it once you're better~." he nuzzled his nose against hers and moved his hand up from her swollen stomach to her milk filled breast and secretly kneaded her gently. "That blowjob you gave me several weeks after having your first child was the best wake up call I ever had."

Riful giggled. "You flatterer~!"

"Remember what you did during the week after we first met? You kept sucking my dick and fucking me silly." he chuckled and pressed his lips to hers once more. "We should do more of that, don't you agree?"

"Just so long as you continue to make me the happiest woman alive, you insatiable man~!"

"Deal." Naruto gave his wife another loving kiss, one she returned gleefully. "There is a throne room here you know, we can easily role play where you're the Empress of the West and I'm the peasant upstart that intends to overthrow you," he suggested.

"Oh~?" she mewled, grinning teasingly into his mouth. "but I already am Empress of the West." all this talking is giving her a much-needed distraction from the morning sickness, so she'll play along for now. Who knows, she might get an idea or two~! "We'll do that later, though… You have a promise to keep for the munchkin, yes?"

"Indeed I do…" with a sigh, Naruto pulled away from his wife and turned to the still excitable Teresa and gave her a grin. "So, are you ready to see Uncle Kaku again?" he asked her, crouching down so he was on her level.

Little Teresa nodded frantically, barely able to keep her excitement to herself.

"Alright…"

Then Naruto slammed his hand to the ground and a seal matrix spread out from under his palm. A puff of smoke appeared moments later, followed by the sound of a very familiar voice.

"Is it that time already?" an adult-sized Shukaku asked as he emerged from the smoke cloud that was dispersing into the air. His answer came in the form of an ecstatic birthday girl tackling him to the ground with frightening strength for such a small brat. Shukaku grunted but pulled her into a hug with one paw with a large grin. "Ooof! Heh, it's nice to see you too, little one."

"Uncle Kaku! You came! You really came!" Teresa squealed with excitement she was rubbing her cheek against his chest like a cat.

The one-tailed Tanuki scoffed good-naturedly, "What? You really thought the Magnificent Shukaku no Tanuki wouldn't keep a promise?"

"You don't have a good track record of those." Naruto pointed out with a grin.

Shukaku immediately looked at the blond with squinting eyes. "Shut up, you! You're ruining the moment!"

Naruto let out a hearty chuckle. "Fine, fine. So… how's about we get ready for the celebration? We've got a certain someone's sixth birthday to-"

"Wait, SIX?!" Shukaku looked at little Teresa with shocked eyes. "You look like you're ten!" he looked at Naruto again hoping he would have the answer to this oddity, "What gives?"

"She and the others whose mother are like Clare and Riful have been developing at a quicker pace than most - especially the kids of my awakened wives. Harja looks like she's twelve, despite being about a month younger."

Shukaku blinked owlishly. "The blood of the Uzumaki Clan now flows through their veins. There age fast, and chances are your kids are going to have the Uzumaki Clan's longevity too. If what Kurama says is true then your wives don't age after a certain point correct?"

Naruto nodded, "Yes, that's right."

"Huh… I may not know a lot about humans, even less so for that non-human in the corner over there, but combine that with your Clan's longevity, chakra and yoki and you have one powerful clan in the makings. The fact it's the Uzumaki Clan that will benefit from this boggles the mind!"

Riful giggled menacingly at that. Her man was going to have himself one hell of a clan indeed, from the sound of it.

The tailed beast blinked owlishly for a moment, "...what were we talking about before this again?"

"Teresa is six years old? And we were going to celebrate it with all the others?" the blond offered.

Shukaku chuckled sheepishly. "And a glorious birthday it will be!" he boasted. The tailed beast coiled his tail around a happily squealing Teresa and he set her on his back. "Let's do this thing!"

Naruto chuckled, before going to Riful and scooping her up into a bridal carry. "Alright," he then called out, "this way." With that, he leads the tanuki and his daughter to the great hall.

----

"Gah! By the Sage, not another dogpile!"

Naruto chuckled loudly as he watched the stampede of munchkins dogpile poor Shukaku as he looked around to see several of his wives present and accounted for. Clare was there to celebrate her daughter's birthday. Miria served as the manager of the whole event, while Luciela, Rafaela and Nalani were in charge of the food. Also, there were Karui, Tsunade, Shizune, Priscilla, Alicia, Beth, and Galatea, among others. Jean simply had to attend, as well, and one couldn't keep Helen away from a party if you beat her with a stick. Of course, she dragged Deneve along. Glissa was there, too, though with ulterior motives, as were Cynthia and Flora.

Rafaela looked at Naruto with an uncharacteristically timid frown before averting her gaze. Luciela saw immediately and put a hand on her sister's back with a comforting smile. Meanwhile, Nalani hummed a happy, little tune. Oh, she couldn't wait to tell Lord Naruto the good news~! Off to the side, Priscilla glared at her jealousy, wanting oh, so badly to eat the pretentious, little bitch, but her train of thought was abruptly brought to a crashing halt when she felt her mate's hand giving her a subtle, but firm swat.

"Behave, Priss," Naruto scolded playfully, whispering into her ear, "or I might have to punish you~!"

Priscilla scoffed at that, though it did make her feel better. The corners of her lips twitched when she felt him peck her on the cheek and his hand rubbing along her back.

"Oh? You don't think I will?" he teased her in a low whisper. "You still want eight more kids, right? I can hold back on giving you the rest."

Priscilla grinned menacingly at him. "Says the guy who's given half the women he's bedded a creampie surprise," she teased. "I'll keep my irritation to myself, don't worry about it. I just don't like it when you bed weaklings when you can have someone like me whenever you want."

Naruto could tell otherwise though. "You're like Miria when I show other girls attention: you're jealous." he pointed out, and then he pulled the startled Priscilla over until she was leaning against him. "I can just give you more and more attention as I give her. And believe me, Miria loves the type of attention I give her~."

Priscilla blushed as her grin turned to a hungry, cheerful one. "I would love that, indeed~!"

"Good!" Naruto gave her another peck on the cheek, before slipping his hand along her thigh. "So, Priss, how's your training with chakra coming along?"

"Seeing as how my chakra reserves seem to reflect my yoki, not quite as well as I'd prefer," Priscilla admitted with a scowl. "It's proving hard to control…"

"You have Kage Bunshin, just use that to help with your control." the blond pointed out to her. "You have tons of chakra to spare, so you can use the same method I used."

"I've been trying that, actually," Priscilla pointed out. "The process is still a bit slow, though, because using too many put a lot of mental strain on me. How the hell have you managed to use so many without going insane?"

"I have no idea. I'm guessing it's because of Kurama." Naruto admitted. "Dispelling your clones en masse will knock you out because of the number of memories flooding into your head is too much for anyone's mind to cope with. Even I was knocked out when I dispelled over 50 clones when I was training to split a waterfall in half."

"....you can split a waterfall in half?" Priscilla gave him an odd look.

"Yeah," Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "I'd recommend dispelling them in small numbers at a time and getting used to it. Also, if one clone were to dispel, the others would get that dispelled clone's memory, as well. It would make your training progress go a lot faster if you did that."

"Noted," the brunette replied. "I'll try that out, next time."

"Alright, do come to me if you need some more advice. Kage Bunshin is my go-to technique after all."

Priscilla smiled, giving her mate a peck on the cheek. "Alright, thanks!"

"You're very welcome."

Suddenly the munchkins that were dogpiling Shukaku let out a joyous squeal when Shukaku exploded into the sand and caught every one of them.

"You may outnumber me! But I am still made out of yoki and sand!" Shukaku laughed triumphantly. He stopped laughing when Harja seemed to unravel and coiled around him as a loli version of Riful's awakened form appeared before the tanuki.

This one, however, was comprised of black ribbons and had orange, glowing eyes.

"You may be made of sand, but I'm made of ribbons," she chirped with a giggle. "Let's see who is superior!"

Shukaku narrowed his eyes as a challenging grin spread across his maw. "Yes… let's see!"

The tailed beast didn't want to accidentally hurt Naruto's kids, so he lowered them to the ground and invested his full attention to the 5-year old that had the physique of a 12-year-old. Then, with a giggle and a cackle, the two demonic forces playfully duked it out. Naruto couldn't help but find it adorable - even if Harja had slipped out of her clothes in the process of unravelling herself. That awkwardness aside, Naruto let out a chuckle at the little wrestling match between them. He couldn't help but notice that his and Riful's daughter was frighteningly powerful for her age. Her yoki levels were already approaching those of the upper 30's in terms of 'claymore' ranks, despite barely passing half a decade old! Naruto smiled. Her mother must be proud as all hell about that.

He wondered if Kurama would like to meet his children?

Speak of the devil and he would turn up, as the fox in question scoffed. "And end up getting dogpiled like Shukaku? No, thanks." Kurama huffed, "Besides, unlike Shukaku, I'm made of flesh and yoki. So I won't be able to shrink myself even if I did get out. Despite all that, I'd rather stay here, where it's safe."

"You're saying you don't want to see them?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, the second I come out of the seal you die. I'd rather stay in here so you're alive." Kurama replied. "Maybe I'll take over a Kage Bunshin and interact with them that way… but no promises though." if anything, it gave the fox something to think about and he didn't have a good track record when it comes to children… on both sides. Kushina because of how she treated him, and Naruto because of how… well… how he was.

"Alright. I'll give you time to think about it, then," Naruto said.

"Gyah! No tickling! That's cheating!"

Naruto looked over to Shukaku to find that Riful's other daughter, Elspeth had joined the fray, aiding her sister by transforming. Her transformation, though, actually had legs and resembled more of an anthropomorphic fox girl made of dark red ribbons with black mist seeping from empty eye sockets. Elspeth did appear to 'age' a bit, when she took on that form, though - like Riful did when she transformed, as Elspeth was growing a bit of a bust in that transformation. Sprouting from the brat's tailbone were the leftover ribbons, writhing about and resembling nine tails. It would have been far more intimidating had she not been giggling and squealing while tickling the demonic racoon dog. The blond chuckled. That girl always did take more after him than most of her siblings. She even had his whisker marks, though one would not be able to tell in this form.

"Oi! Gyah! St-stop!" Shukaku laughed, doing his damnedest to squirm out of the sisters' grasp.

"I wonder how long it'll take for Shukaku to remember he can just unshape himself." Naruto mentally asked himself with amusement.

"Shukaku was never the smartest of us tailed beasts. He can be as dumb as a brick." Kurama pointed out. Then he huffed, "I would bet you on how long it will take him to realise that little ability of his, but I know how absurdly lucky you are when it comes to making bets."

"Poor guy," Naruto partially replied and partially stated with a chuckle.

"Harja and Elspeth are relentless," Riful giggled. "They take after both of their parents in that regard."

"I'll say," he chuckled, bringing the pregnant woman beside him into a hug. "Harja looks like a mini-you in her awakened form… If I didn't know better, I'd swear you cloned yourself. Elspeth's more of a combination of you and me."

"Indeed," Riful replied with a knowing grin. "She looks more like me, but she's practically a carbon copy of you, personality-wise."

"Yeah," Naruto chuckled. "Thankfully, she has your smarts, though. I was dumb as dirt at her age."

Riful giggled, again.

"Dumb as dirt?" Priscilla asked, looking at him with a cocked eyebrow. That sounded like it had a story or two behind it.

"When I was younger I failed to become a warrior a few times." which is something both Priscilla and Riful know. "Mostly because I skipped out on lessons. I was never all that good at fighting, either to be honest. I would often end up having my butt handed to me."

"In short, there were several reasons behind you being a Number 47 equivalent," Riful said. "You did learn, though, and you became a lot stronger~!"

"In my defence, I was mostly sabotaged. I barely had any sort of training against my peers who mostly did. So I would always end up losing to the ones that had any training." and don't get him started on the practical stuff in the academy, while he understood the importance of history, but how the hell was that going to help in a combat situation?

"Sounds like there is more to what you are saying." Priscilla pointed out.

"I would tell you to read my bibliography, but I have a feeling you're going to say no to that anyway." Naruto chuckled; Priscilla didn't seem like the type to just sit down and read a book.

"Damn straight," Priscilla muttered. "If I want to learn something I'd rather have it coming from you."

Naruto chuckled. "I can't help but find that cute," he said. "But, yeah. There's quite a bit more. It's a long story."

"We'll save it for another time, then," Priscilla replied. "You seem to have a little friend."

The instant she said that Naruto felt something clinging onto his leg and looked down to see the birthday girl looking up at him, practically begging for attention. Naruto let out another warm chuckle and pulled little Teresa up off her feet; the mini-Teresa squealed with joy and hooked her legs around his waist, and wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her. Riful and Priscilla smiled at that. Even though Teresa was Clare's kid, they had to appreciate how he treated the munchkin just as well as theirs.

Naruto pecked Teresa on the nose, causing her to giggle, "How's the birthday girl?" he asked her with a grin.

"Happy that you brought Uncle Kaku over to play," she said, smiling brightly.

He grinned even more and bounced her in his arms, "He made a promise to come over. There was no way I was going to let him break his word." Naruto told the birthday girl; Teresa merely giggled and hugged her daddy with a happy squeal.

"O-okay you two," Naruto and Teresa heard Shukaku say, "I concede! Ribbons are better than the sand, but don't think this 'battle' is over!" Naruto and Teresa looked over to see Harja and Elspeth holding Shukaku down with their uncoiled arms wrapped around him in ribbons, bounding the tailed beast on the forelegs and hindlegs. "As much as I enjoyed this, I need to get back to the birthday girl." then Shukaku looked over to Naruto and grinned, "Your daddy could use some company though."

Both girls immediately turned their attention to Naruto and grinned as he muttered, "...Mommy?"

Riful giggled and called out to her kids, "over here, you two. We'll play with Papa later."

'Why did I just get a shiver up my spine after hearing that?' Naruto thought. Harja and Elspeth both made their way over to Naruto, Teresa, Priscilla and Riful, still in their awakened forms, while their half-sister jumped down from her spot on Naruto and ran over with a joyous giggle to Shukaku.

Riful grinned and after giving her mate a peck on the lips, the pregnant brunette led her two daughters out of the great hall.

Naruto chuckled as he watched as Shukaku made tricks and animals like a pony entirely out of his sand for Teresa and the other children to see. Just because Shukaku is made out of sand and yoki, it doesn't mean he does not know how to make them do what he wants. If he can make a tidal wave, have them as hard as diamonds or as soft as a beaches sand, then by the Sage he can make them take the form of animals!

"Huh. I never knew he could do that." Naruto mused with a thoughtful smile. "I wonder what else Shukaku can do?" Just as he asked himself that, Shukaku made the horse shift into a racoon, then into a dog, a small dragon and lastly... Matatabi. The two-tailed cat. Only she was short and chubby, like a kitten. The last one surprised the heck out of him since he wasn't expecting that. No one else seemed to know who the last one was, nor did they realise they had seen what Matatabi would look like in her infancy. Then Shukaku made the sand construct of the kitten Matatabi shift into the Matatabi he knows. Still, no one realised just who the sand construct little Teresa was now riding on the back of was meant to be. And they wouldn't be aware of who that was until Matatabi decided to show herself.

----

Harja and Elspeth couldn't help but wonder what was on their mother's mind as she led them to somewhere private. They knew she was planning something… interesting, but couldn't quite tell precisely what, just yet. It was intriguing…

Riful giggled as she saw the wheels visibly turning in her daughters' heads. Both now followed their waddling mother in their human forms. Both girls, however, had forgotten to fetch the clothes they'd been wearing before unravelling themselves, and so, they were left naked when they followed her mother out of the great hall and to somewhere more secluded and out of the way.

Deciding to be the big sister she was, Harja spoke up. "Mommy, why did you take Elspeth and me out of Teresa's birthday party?"

"Just wanting to have a little conversation with you two, real quick," Riful answered reassuringly. "In private. I'll bring you back to Teresa's birthday party as soon as we're done, I promise."

That got their attention. Something about her tone told the girls that she was planning something. Curiosity overtaking the sisters, both girls just had to know what their mommy was thinking, now!

----

Meanwhile back in Staff...

Having decided to get the yoki-side of her technique out of the way first, since that would take less time, Chloe decided on fashioning an exercise for them to perform. So, after they had finished getting warmed up for the day with the dumbbells - which they had been using for the past three weeks and two days - she had Miranda fetch her some rope, a ladder and five 50-pound sandbags. Now that she had what she needed, the odango-bearing woman tied one end of the rope around the last sandbag and the other around a wooden beam, right next to the others. Now that the bag was hanging freely from the ceiling, she climbed down the ladder and explained the exercise.

"Alright," she sighed, getting into position. She was now a good five feet away from the dangling bag. "The best place to start, I guess, is to learn how to pulsate your yoki through your arms as you push this bag away with it, alone. So, start by throwing a jab and unleash a yoki surge through your arm like this." With that last word, she threw a jab, pulsating her yoki as she sent the bag flying back a good ten feet.

On the side, the others used their yoki sensory ability to detect her flow and memorise how she did it. The amount of control she had over it was impressive; it wasn't going to be easy for quite a few of them to mimic - Miranda, especially.

Roxanne, on the other hand, she squinted her eyes as she memorised Chloe's yoki flow down to the last detail. While she knew this type of yoki flow was difficult to master, she knew she was one of the people here that could master this technique near to the degree of Chloe's. Note, she thought 'to the degree' and not 'surpass', not even Roxanne was confident enough to get it down to surpass Chloe. Even if she did tend to try and go above and beyond the call of duty to make the techniques she copied be superior to the creators. This was yoki precision at its near finest and even she didn't have that amount of skill in that area.

"So, who's going first?" Chloe asked, catching the sandbag on its return trip.

Roxanne gave her a determined look and stepped forward. "Alright…" She stood before one of the sandbags and mirrored Chloe's stance. It was a basic straight punch. Putting up her dukes, she focused on seizing the reigns of her yoki and took a deep breath, before launching it forth with her fist and a "hah!"

Chloe blinked owlishly as the sandbag was launched forth with such force that the rope snapped, startling the hell out of the pigtailed former Number One, among others. The sandbag then rebounded off the wall on the other side of the room and hit the ground with a thud.

One could hear a pin drop after that spectacle.

"Uh…" Roxanne blinked owlishly and looked at her fist in bewilderment. Then she looked at Chloe, "Is… is that meant to happen?" she asked.

"Not… so soon," Chloe replied. "You put a lot more force in it than I was expecting. Very impressive."

"Really? My control isn't as precise as yours. This was as close as I could get it to yours… though I do admit to putting more yoki than necessary into it."

"That makes sense, actually," Chloe admitted. "I put in a fairly small amount to give everyone an example. Your usage was a bit clumsy, as expected for one's first try, but you should be able to refine it over time."

"Alright." Roxanne nodded in acceptance at her explanation and stepped to the side to allow someone else steps up.

As Sophia stepped up to try it out next, since she was close to Chloe in strength, Neideen, Miranda, Cassandra, Elizabeth and Uranus all stared at the wavy-pigtailed woman with suspicion. The backstabbing bitch became adept at utilizing Chloe's technique far too quickly; it was too damned suspicious if they were to be asked about it. Feeling eyes on her Roxanne looked at the group looking suspiciously at her, and couldn't help the twitch that made its presence. "This was the first time I ever saw her use that technique. I had no idea that would happen!" she explained with exasperation.

"A likely story," Cassandra scowled. "We all know of the tendency of your 'friends' having 'accidents' after you mastered their techniques."

"Which were you allowing the awakened beings to kill us," Miranda said with a heavy scowl of her own. "Are you planning on getting rid of Chloe next?"

"Oh, please," Roxanne sighed, as she rubbed her head in exasperation. Their suspicion was getting a little annoying, even if it was well warranted. "Even if I wanted to, that would be impossible. Besides, it would also be pointless. Even I need motives."

"Like ensuring we lose against the Ladykiller so you can just spread your legs for him," Cassandra pointed out suspiciously.

Roxanne scowled. "Either we get the outcome of Sistina's original futuristic vision, where we all end up dead - something I am sure we all want to avoid - or, we either become his bed warmers, wives or hopefully just his friends. I personally want to live without getting fucked by him," she replied, even though she was secretly hoping she could become his wife - she wanted to be happy dammit! "Or by anyone else, for that matter… literally or otherwise. I'm actively trying to keep you off my ass because I didn't like dying the first time, thank you very much!" She crossed her arms and punctuated her little rant with a huff.

"There is an explanation as to why Roxanne was able to get so far on her first try," Sistina pointed out.

Elizabeth quirked an eyebrow as she looked as the partially blind, elf-eared woman. "And that would be?"

"Back in Naruto's continent, someone like Roxanne would be called 'A genius of hard work'," the Divine Oracle explained to them, and even Roxanne herself listened in with interest as the pointy-eared woman kept on talking, "they are the type of people that train all day, every day until they master or surpass a technique. That can explain how Roxanne was able to master your techniques in such a short amount of time. Naruto himself is one. That's how he managed to effectively go from Number 47 to what he is, today."

Roxanne quirked an eyebrow at that. "Noted… So he's going to be stronger when we fight him than he is now?"

"Most likely," Sistina answered with a nod. "He is also notable for making absurd and unpredictable strategies on the fly in battle, and they always end up in his favour. If and when we do fight him, be very careful."

"All the more reason for me to do my damnedest to learn these techniques like everyone else and teach you all mine, then," Roxanne said with a nod of her own.

"Do you even have a technique of your own?" Neideen asked; she didn't even know if the woman had a technique to teach them. Neither did anyone else for that matter.

"Hate to bring this up, given my precarious position, here," Roxanne muttered with a sigh, "but how do you think I disappeared on you during that Awakened Being hunt? My technique is called the Yoki Veil. It allows me to hide my yoki to the point that it's virtually undetectable even at close range by sensor types like yourself."

Cassandra, Miranda, Neideen, Elizabeth and Uranus all exchanged looks at that, before they unanimously looked back to Roxanne with narrowed eyes.

"Prove it." they all said simultaneously.

Roxanne shrugged and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. As she exhaled, her yoki signature suddenly vanished to the utter shock of everyone in the room. When she opened her eyes, they were still silver, but even their faint glow was gone. She walked over to the women from her era and smiled politely at them. Then, after a moment, she released her technique and her yoki appeared to just... come back.

"Happy now?" she sweetly asked them.

The five victims of the pigtailed woman all scowled, Cassandra, especially. That was going to make her hard to deal with, should she turn rogue on them.

"I'm not sure why you're all scowling for," Roxanne gave them a cute little giggle, "I am going to be teaching you all how to do this after all." she gave Neideen a mischievous grin and added to sweeten the deal, "Imagine, Neideen, you can sneak up on those twins you're having 'fun' with without anyone knowing you're right there behind them~."

"Well, someone at least knows how to negotiate," the one-eyed woman chuckled. "Alright, fine. Be a good girl and I'll call it even after punching you, when we're done with this mission."

"Punching? I would have thought you'd go for spanking," Roxanne said suggestively. She had no idea why she was doing this, but, whatever; she'd as well live a little before they finally go after the Ladykiller.

"With a cane," Neideen said, nodding in satisfaction.

"Ohhh, kinky~!"

"Please, don't do this here," Cassandra begged.

"Sorry," Roxanne said with a sheepish chuckle. Then, she turned to Chloe. "So, shall we continue with the exercises, then?"

"Sure," Chloe looked at Sophia who was at the next sandbag. "Do as I showed you, and you should get a similar result."

Sophia mirrored the stance Roxanne and Chloe took. It was just a basic jab while channelling her yoki through her arm. This shouldn't be too hard. Putting up her dukes, Sophia narrowed her eyes as she focused on seizing the reigns of her yoki and took a deep breath, before launching it forth with her fist and a "hah!"

She pulsated her yoki as her fist connected, and the force behind the release of her yoki had sent the bag flying back a good four feet.

"Hmm, you used less yoki than Roxanne did. Not bad for your first attempt." Chloe nodded, catching the sandbag as it swung back. "Like hers, your technique is a bit clumsy, resulting in you wasting half the yoki you used. Keep trying. Focus it on the bag."

----

Now sitting on Riful's bed and fully dressed, Harja and Elspeth looked at their mother with increasing interest as she took a seat before them.

"I'm going to tell you two a little, teeny-tiny secret~!" the Abyssal loli chirped. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

Harja and Elspeth looked at one another unsurely, before looking back at their mummy. They both nodded and crossed their legs.

"I have amazing plans for you two~!" Riful said with a sinister giggle and an equally sinister smile. "Plans that will immortalize us, even long after we meet our maker." She turned to Harja and said, "soon, you will physically be of age to help me." She then turned to Elspeth. "You'll take a couple more years, but you're getting there."

"What is your plan, Mommy?" Harja asked. Something told her she was going to enjoy this!

"To produce a horde of evil minions like yourselves and unborn son, here," she gestured to her swollen belly, "and create the mightiest empire the world has ever seen for the man I love! To the people of the world, we will be gods and goddesses, even the three of you~!"

Harja had sparkles in her eyes at that. "An empire?" she squealed excitedly. "How big?!"

"The world," Riful said dreamily, "the whole, entire world - not just this pitifully small and insignificant island, but every last landmass, every last city, every last civilization under the sun... forever~!"

Elspeth frowned looking at her mommy and sister with uncertainty. "But, how are we going to do that? We are not strong enough to fight the world. That is going to need lots and lots of minions… Where are we going to get them all?"

Riful gave the two of them a large, diabolical and disturbing grin, as her eyes glowed a menacing purple as her bangs shadowed them. "I have the perfect roles for the two of you…"

----

Back in the great hall, Naruto felt another shiver run up his spine as he was overcome by the sensation that someone was out to get him. He took a deep, calming breath as he looked around. Huh… It must have been his imagination. Still, he figured that upping his training routine would be advised, when he got the chance. As a father, it was his damn job to be paranoid, after all. With that thought aside, Naruto looked to Jean - who was playing around with their son, William - and smiled as he decided to check on her.

"How are you faring?" he asked.

Jean looked up at her husband with a loving smile, "I am feeling fine, honey. A little sick, but fine."

"Okay." Naruto gave her a loving kiss of the lips that lasted for several seconds. "If you need anything, just let me or Tsunade know."

"I will," she said, her smile widening. She looked down at William and pecked him on the scalp, getting him to giggle childishly and scoot a little closer to her warmth. "Thanks for checking on me, but I'm sure I'll be fine. The first few months are annoying but manageable."

"Alright," Naruto said with a smile of his own. Then, he kissed his wife on the lips and kissed his son William on the cheek. "Call me, if you need me."

"I will."

That out of the way, Naruto then made his way over to Rafaela and Luciela, since the former looked uncharacteristically timid and was looking away from him. So he wanted to see what was going on with her and see if he could help out with whatever problem she is having.

"Is something wrong, Raf?" the blond asked. Because of all the delicious-smelling food between them, Naruto couldn't quite tell.

"I… um…" the one-eyed woman started, losing faith in her voice she was just about to say it.

Luciela sighed and soothingly rubbed her sister's back, "Rafaela is pregnant," she told her man.

Naruto snapped his eyes to Rafaela as a massive grin spread across his face. "Really?! That's great, honey!" he brought his one-eyed wife into a hug and gave her a very enthusiastic kiss on the lips. Before giving her several, loving pecks on the cheek and jaw and back to her lips again. "That's wonderful news!" Poor Rafaela turned beet red, suddenly feeling lightheaded. She smiled shyly and gave him a peck on the lips. Naruto pulled her into another liplock and moved his hand up and down her back, before pulling away. He smiled at her, "Remind me to give you more attention later~."

"O-okay," Rafaela replied shyly. "I look forward to it."

"She's not the only one," Nalani said, eyeballing the couple with a giggle. "Someone's been naughty and knocked up the maid. He didn't even put a ring on her finger before doing so. How scandalous~!"

"I'll send a clone to dote on that maid as well, then," Naruto said with a chuckle. He knew full well Nalani was talking about herself.

"She'll be happy to know that~" Nalani giggled impishly, before turning and walking away with extra sway to her hips.

Naruto chuckled again, rolling his eyes at that. So many of his lovers were perverts, weren't they? Not that he minded… after all, they're perverted towards him. So why would he complain about that?

He gave Rafaela another kiss on the cheek and said, "I have to go check on the others."

"Alright," the former Number 5 replied. "Have fun, my love."

"You, too," Naruto said warmly. "Let me or Tsunade know if you need anything, okay?"

Rafaela nodded and with that, Naruto looked around to notice Riful was still missing. So were Elspeth and Harja… huh… he shrugged, it's probably nothing. He knows Riful and he knew for a fact that the Abyssal One of the West would treat her children the way they deserve to be: like angels. Reaching out with his senses, he noted that they were in the nearest bedroom... having a lively chat, from the feel of it. He chuckled and left it at that.

While he most certainly detected some mischievous intent coming from his loli wife and her daughters, this was… well, Riful, so he thought nothing of it. After that and a shrug, Naruto looked around some more and found that Glissa, Cynthia and Flora were looking a little lonesome. As was Galatea, Clare and Irene. Though the latter two were sitting together. Everyone else was talking, like Diana, Tabitha, Zelda and Renee and Dietrich. And some others were eating, like Helen and Deneve with Ophelia, Undine, Veronica, Pamela and Diana seating around them. The rest were watching the children and the birthday girl playing around with Shukaku who was now making more than one sand construct move.

He decided to get the first three out of the way first of all since they were the kinkiest outside of Priscilla, Jean and Riful. By that reasoning he made, they were bound to be more of a handful. Then again, he could be wrong. Glissa looked the loneliest, seeing as how she was off in the corner, looking at him longingly. Naruto chuckled, rolling his eyes. How could he say no to that? And so he made his merry way on over to her and leaned beside her against the wall of the corner she was leaning against.

The former Number 45's eyes lit up the instant she saw him coming her way and then she giggled as he planted himself beside her.

"So, beauty, why are you all alone in the corner? Where's Evianna, Betty, Megan and Pyrrha, hmm?" he asked, putting an arm around the brunette's shoulders and pulled her to him in a one-armed hug. "Or… are you here, all alone, because you wanted me all for yourself~?"

Glissa giggled, leaning into the hug. "Guilty as charged," she said. "I confess, milord, that I have been quite naughty." as she spoke, the awakened being moved in front of her mate and pressed her backside against his groin while getting his arms wrapped around her waist. "I was plotting to kidnap you and have my way with you until I produced a bastard to use as leverage against you and your clan~! Please, have mercy~!"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow and wondered what she was doing; up until she looked at him from over her shoulder and gave him a playful wink. He finally realised what was going on; this kinky little minx~!

"Oh?" Glissa let out a playful squeal when Naruto ground his pelvis against her backside and sniffed her hair, "You were plotting and scheming against me, weren't you? Do you have any other conspirators working with you?"

"No," she breathed, "I was working alone, I swear, milord." she stealthily undid his pants as she whispered. "Please, have mercy! I was just trying to scrounge up some gold for my sick mother. I'll be a good girl, I swear~!"

"I have to say, I don't believe you. If you've been planning this, then others could have been helping you." Naruto pointed out, then he growled into her ear, "After all, no one could have gotten this close to me without some form of help."

"I have friends who work in the castle, but they had nothing to do with it," Glissa replied. "I was working alone."

"Who are the names of your friends... And your mother too," he ordered. He'd as well go as far as he can with this roleplay, the more kinkier he can make it, the more into it she'll be… and he'll leave her high and dry, and begging for more towards the climax~.

Glissa ground her fine, leotard thong-covered booty against his crotch as she continued. "M-my mother's name is G-Girder; pleased-don't hurt her milord."

"We'll see, peasant. If I find that she is not sick, then the twin goddesses will be her judge as my soldiers investigate her involvement." Naruto closed his eyes and let out a low groan as the pleasure was getting the better of him. "A-and what are the names of your friends within the castle?"

"P-Pyrrha and Evianna," she mewled.

"I see… those two women are in trouble. And they're in respectable positions, too; no wonder you got so close to me~."

"P-please," Glissa whimpered. "They knew nothing of my plans. I'll take full responsibility. Do with me as your heart desires~!"

"Oh, I shall… I think the title of bedwarmer will suit your new station. Or perhaps a broodmother~? Or a breeder. Which one do you think will suit your new station in this citadel? Be warned: of the three, the one you pick will be your new position."

Glissa shuddered as a hot shiver went up to her spine. "I-I'll be your breeding stock without hesitation. My body is yours, milord~! You need only tell me to and I will bend over without a second thought~!"

That….would be a good place to stop, "Very interesting," he chuckled into her ear.

Glissa whined in protest when she was moved away from her prize, by her Naruto. The blond quickly did up his pants before anyone could see - his kids especially. Then he gave Glissa an amused grin.

"That was very interesting," he told her. "I'll send a clone your way so you can… 'be punished' by him. Okay?"

"Alright," she replied with a smile. While slightly disappointed, she didn't mind too much. Besides' she was secretly thankful he stopped when he did; any further, and they would have scarred the minds of many children here, and have had the wrath of many a pissed off mother bearing down on her head.

By the Twin Goddesses of Love, she could only imagine the amount of anger they would have if that were to happen. It was not a pretty thought.

"I got to check on Cynthia and Flora now, okay?" he told her.

Glissa pouted and childishly crossed her arms with a huff, "...okay." she brightened up considerably when Naruto gave her a peck on the cheek, before letting out a longing sigh when he moved to Cynthia and Flora.

The two blondes were sitting side by side at the end of the table and had half-empty plates. They were still eating too, so, hopefully, nothing would go to waste here. Sitting on the opposite end of them were Helen and Deneve, the former who was stuffing her face with chicken, vegetables, potatoes and another assortment of food. Apples were there too, and Helen had several cores of the fruit on a separate plate.

Naruto made his presence known to them by taking a seat next to Cynthia and asking, "Hey, how are you girls doing?"

Cynthia jumped in surprise and put a hand to her bosom, but looked at him with a kind smile. "We're fine, honey. Just… talking."

"Oh? What about?" Naruto plucked an apple from the pile and took a bite out of it. Hmm, juicy. "Is it something I should know about?" he asked after swallowing what he had in his mouth.

"Nope. it's just something between us is all." Cynthia chirped with Flora nodding concurringly with a smile.

Naruto chuckled and brought his attention to Helen and Deneve, "And what about you two? How are things going on for you?"

Helen swallowed what she had in her mouth and gave her boy toy a mischievous grin, "Everything is fine. We're just enjoying the food, and watching your tailed beast friend having fun with the kids." she looked at the one-tailed racoon and couldn't help but chuckle loudly when she found Nicolas, Riful's third child and first son, being carried around by the fat tanuki's tail.

"I'm honestly surprised he's this civil. From what was said in your bibliography, Shukaku sounded like a childish, bad-tempered and drunken madman." Deneve pointed out. She was well aware that the tailed beasts were immortal as well; they can die, but they would just come back someplace else and remember everything.

"Oh, Shukaku is all those things," Naruto admitted as he was looking over to a happily laughing Shukaku. "But even someone like him can have a good day. Ever since the end of the war, and him no longer being sealed up, Shukaku has reverted to the way he uses to be." he gave the pixie-haired blonde a happy smile. "Seeing Shukaku this happy; it makes everything I went through before the war worth it."

"You would go through hell and back for him, wouldn't you," Deneve stated.

"Without hesitation or a second thought. I would do the same for you girls."

"You charmer~," Flora said with a giggle, "Hearing you say that makes me want to 'reward' you for your thoughtfulness~!"

Cynthia playfully swatted Flora on the arm, "Not in front of the children, Flora!" the former Number 14 giggled with a grin, "You'll scar them for life."

"They're too occupied with having fun with their 'Uncle Kaku'," the woman replied with a grin of her own, "They're not going to notice what we're talking about over here."

Helen couldn't help but chuckle at that and neither could Naruto as he found it to be true. They could talk dirty and the kids wouldn't know of it unless they started talking loudly.

"The lady has a point there, Helen," Naruto told her with a grin, then he took another bite out of the apple and swallowed it after a couple of chews. "Besides. the kids are smarter than they let on, and they are not as innocent as they would like us to believe." he pointed out.

The old saying 'children are monsters' may have been from a person that disliked kids, but, that person did have a point to a certain extent. Kids can be monsters personality and action-wise. Thankfully, none of his kids was too terrible. They were all dears; even if they like to drive Tsunade along with several others in the citadel up the wall… especially when they hit the dreaded age of two. But he wouldn't change a thing.

Helen shrugged. "I would call you out on that, but then, I would lose," she said with a sheepish chuckle. "Because I am fairly sure you would bring up someone from your childhood."

Naruto sniggered as a large grin spread across his lips. "Oh, you know me so well, Helen~." he teased. After taking bites out of the apple until only the core remained, and swallowed the bits of fruit in his mouth, the blond looked at his two gives and friends with benefits. "So, when are you going to be in those sexy outfits Cynthia and the others brought for you again? I miss seeing you in them."

"Pervert," Deneve muttered.

"Yep, I'm a pervert; but, I'm your pervert~." he chirped.

"It depends on when we get in the mood," Cynthia answered. "Though some are probably rather eager to play. I know I am, though the new pair of twins are keeping me busy."

Naruto gave Cynthia a peck on the cheek and rubbed her back. "Just take your time Cynthia. While you may have come out of labour a couple of weeks ago, I don't want you to overwhelm yourself."

The pigtailed blonde giggled, smiling warmly at her man. "I know," she said. "That's why I fell in love with you~!"

"And I try my best to give you all equal attention; even if several of you slip through the cracks, now and then. Thank god for my Kage Bunshin though."

"I know you'll make up for it even when we do, so I don't mind so much," Flora replied with a giggle. "I must say it was fun when you took me from behind when I was dusting the winery, a couple of days ago… you should do that again, sometime~!"

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "What can I say? That maid's outfit was so cute~! I couldn't resist."

Helen snickered, "Sounds like you two had fun." she pointed out.

Flora smiled at the woman, "You should try it sometime. You have that 'cat outfit', Naruto likes to foreplay and roleplay. There are so many things you can do~." she told her with wagging eyebrows, prompting Helen to quirk an eyebrow with a curious grin.

"I do have that outfit. So does Den-"

"No!" the short-haired woman hissed, "Don't get me involved in this Helen." Deneve glared at her friend warningly.

Helen however sniggered with a close-eyed grin. "What? Are you embarrassed to be seen in that outfit again? Naruto didn't seem to mind it, did you?" she said, directing the question to Naruto himself as she looked at him pointedly.

"I loved seeing you and Helen wearing it. You both were sexy. I would love to see you in it again." Naruto told her.

Deneve turned beet red and averted her gaze at that. Naruto wasn't the first man to call her cute or the like, but something about how he always said it with such genuine affection had made him the most… effective.

"I'll… think about it," she muttered, crossing her arms defiantly.

Everyone present knew damn well that meant "yes."

"Alright. You do that; I won't force you into it." Naruto chuckled. Then he put the core of the apple he had with the others.

Damn it, now she had to! Deneve sighed. Something about this man never failed to just… make her want to bend over and let him have his way with her. She couldn't explain it for the life of her, but he had this magnetic charm about him. Something that made her want to be close to him. It was similar to Miria now that she thought about it. She had that same magnetic charm and had a way with words that just allowed her to connect with the people around her. Granted, it was a slightly different variety. Miria didn't wake a beast within Deneve, an itch she couldn't scratch as Naruto did. Hell, no one did that but him!

...Naruto and Miria having that same magnetic charm, though… the possibilities the two of them can achieve together sent a chill up her spine. They could probably take over the world if they wanted to, she wagered. Heck, she figured Naruto's homeland would allow him to take over the Shinobi Union with open arms, from the sound of it! The sheer influence he had over people was legitimately scary, at times! Thank the Twin Goddesses he was on their side!

"You okay?"

Deneve almost fell off her seat with a startled yelp when she found Naruto sitting beside her. When did he move?! "I-I'm fine," she insisted. "Just thinking…"

"I'll say, you didn't even notice me slipping in between you and Helen." the blond pointed out; blinking owlishly Deneve leaned forwards and found Helen on Naruto's left, eating away off her plate. "So, what are you thinking?"

"I just can't help but find it amazing how… influential you are," she answered truthfully. "It's impressive."

"I'm honestly surprised by it myself." he admitted with a chuckle, "I just chalk it up to my charisma." then he held Deneve's hand and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "Or maybe I just have a way with words? I dunno."

"You may outnumber me!" Naruto, Helen, Deneve, Flora and Cynthia looked on as Teresa held on to Shukaku for dear life as he stood up on his hind legs. Teresa's sister, half-brothers and half-sisters all looked up at him with wide does eyes. "But I am not named the magnificent Shukaku no Tanuki for nothing!"

"How did you end up in a teacup for so many years then if you're so magnificent?" Naruto called out in amusement.

Shukaku immediately whirled on Naruto and pointed at him in comical outrage. "Shaddup you! That never happened!"

"Oh yeah! It was a kettle instead of a teacup, right?"

"No! That never happened, either! I was never sealed away in a teacup; and I was never, EVER sealed away in a tea kettle!" Naruto chuckled, deciding he's had his fun.

"...you were in a kettle?" Naruto sniggered when he heard Sherlie, Miria's daughter, ask the tailed beast that one; that was followed by the Sherlie's sister, and half-brothers and sisters all chambering to know about it too. Almost immediately, Shukaku deflated and slumped over in depression. Damn it… the badass reputation he was building up with these kids was ruined now!

"Wow… Uncle Kaku is even cooler now!"

Shukaku looked at Teresa from over his shoulder, his star-eyed eyes were wide in surprise. "What…?"

"Uncle Kaku is so cool!" Lilith gushed with starry eyes. "Being stuck in a kettle and, and coming out still the same?? You're waaaay cooler than I thought!" Neither children understood how someone as awesome as Shukaku could get himself stuck in a kettle, the thing was so small! But they still saw the Tailed Beast as the most awesome, coolest, thing they ever saw!

The racoon blinked owlishly. "Uh… yeah, sure let's go with that," he said, though he couldn't help but grin in relief. His reputation that he tried to build among these children is still secure!

Naruto chuckled and looked at Deneve with a grin. Then he gave her a peck on the cheek before moving his hand down to caress her thigh. The pixie-haired woman giggled shyly at his affection. His grin widening, the blond gave Deneve another peck on the cheek before looking to Helen and gave her one as well all the while he moved his other hand down to caress her thigh.

"So, are you enjoying yourself?" Naruto asked her with an amused look on his face, as he looked at the now quarter full plate in front of her, as well as the plates that had the cores of all the apples she ate.

Helen swallowed what was in her mouth and licked her lips impishly as she looked at him with a closed eye, "What do you think?" she smirked.

"I'd say you're enjoying the food." he chuckled, "But I want to know if you're having fun."

Helen snickered and looked at the children, all of whom have brought a grinning and sand manipulating Shukaku down to their level. Seeing him flailing his arms and tail about was just hilarious for her. "Watching your kids playing with your friend is more than entertaining," she replied; then Helen leered at him as she reached down and moved his hand towards her groin. "Though I wouldn't mind 'playing' around with you~."

"Same here," Naruto replied. "It's been a while, hasn't it~?"

"Almost a year, in fact," she whispered hungrily. "It left me quite… 'needy' if you get my meaning…"

"I most certainly do." Naruto kissed his 'not-wife' on the cheek before taking his hand off, leaving her whining pathetically at him. "But not here."

"I know," she replied disappointedly. Doing it stealthily sounded so kinky. But there were children here, and all it took was for one of them to look over and sent everything down in a spiralling mess.

"I got to go see the others now. But if you're up for it, then you can go to my room later."

Helen quirked an eyebrow at him. "Won't Alicia and Beth be there?"

"At night." Naruto reminded her, "They like to spend their time with me during the night. Even Miria sneaks in sometimes to get some extra attention from me, even though the twins are there. Any other time of day is fair game."

"Noted," Helen chirped.

"And besides…" he then reached down and fondled her ass through her trousers, "...I have to see if your ass is as fine as I remember it~."

Deneve scoffed, "Get a room you two."

"You're just jealous that he's not giving you more attention." Helen teased her friend with a wide-faced grin. "How about you join in? I'm sure he'd appreciate it~!"

Deneve closed her eyes and exhaled, "I'm thinking of wearing that embarrassing 'catgirl' outfit already. I don't need to do anything else."

"You looked so damn sexy in that," Naruto teased, whispering huskily into her ear. "Just thinking about it makes me want to put some 'kittens' into you~!"

The former Number 15's eyes nearly popped out of her skull as she turned beet red so fast, Naruto swore he heard an audible click. He blinked owlishly, "Uh… are you okay, there?" Naruto asked her; he really hoped his teasing didn't cause her brain to shut down.

"I… I'm fine," she muttered.

He took his hand away from her thigh to comfortingly rubbing at her back. "Okay. But all jokes aside, seeing you in that 'kitty cat' clothing makes you even sexier. But, as I said before: you don't have to wear it if you don't want to."

"You damn tease~" the woman to his left giggled. "You're saying one thing, and then you contradict it another minute later."

The blond looked at Helen with a smile. "What is it that I'm contradicting here? I want to see you and Deneve in your sexy cat girl outfits, yes; but I don't want to feel like I'm forcing you to do it. It's your decision."

"Well to help clear things up: I am going to be in those clothes." she winked at him enticingly. "On the other hand, Deneve might wear them or she might not. That will be her decision." even though herself, Cynthia and Flora all knew Deneve was going to wear that outfit regardless.

"Alright, alright," he conceded to her right then and there. There was no need for them to drag this on any further; plus he wanted to spare Deneve the embarrassment. He looked around and found the next three people he wants to check on, "I'm going to go check on Clare, Galatea and Irene next since they're together now."

"Alright, I will be seeing you later~," Helen said singingly.

Chuckling Naruto gave Helen a playful spank on her buttocks before slipping out from the seat. Then he went over to the women in question, who were standing in a corner just talking amongst themselves. After he checks on them, he will go to Miria - being the one that served as the manager of the whole event, she is bound to be stressed. Approaching Clare, Galatea and Irene Naruto saw they did not see him approach. Too invested in their conversation as they were.

"Heya," he greeted them.

Clare's eyes practically lit up, "Naruto!" and she immediately dragged him in for a hug.

Naruto chuckled and hugged her back. "Hey Clare, how are you beauties doing today?"

"I'm fine, honey," Galatea replied.

"I am doing fine, myself," Irene answered with a stoic nod, though the slight upwards twitch of the corners of her lips told her she appreciated being asked.

"Heh heh heh, tell him I'm doing fine Clare~." the short-haired woman heard her mother figure say. Clare blushed and said, "Teresa said she's doing well, too."

Naruto chuckled, giving the former Number 47 a peck on the head. "Good to know. I see the mini-me version of her is also having the time of her life."

Clare smiled happily at that. "It's been a while since the last time she was this happy. Thank you so much for bringing Shukaku here for her birthday!"

"You're welcome. I wonder if Matatabi will be able to show up, sometime in the future, though? I think the kids would adore having her around."

"Matatabi? One of the tailed beast?" Galatea questioned.

"One of the tailed beasts," Naruto confirmed. "You actually saw what she looked like thanks to Shukaku's sand constructs; she was the cat with the two tails. She's one of the nicest tailed beasts out there, behind Chomei and Kokuo of course. And like Shukaku is made of sand and yoki, Matatabi is made of fire and yoki. Luckily she can make sure her fire doesn't hurt anyone though."

"Did somebody say my name~?"

Hearing Matatabi's purring voice inside his head without any warning, Naruto jumped in surprise. "Gah!" he blinked owlishly and furrowed his brow.

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

"...Matatabi just talked to me." Naruto replied, "Give me a minute will you girls?" when they nodded, Naruto closed his eyes and started talking to the two-tailed cat directly. "Matatabi, how come you're able to hear me over here?"

"Come now, Naruto; did you forget we are still able to get in contact with you, no matter where you are? We did share our yoki's with you after all~."

"Ah... that's a good point actually." he chuckled sheepishly. "Say, are you aware that Shukaku is where I am?"

"Indeed I am. He is there for someone's birthday, isn't he?" the two-tailed cat asked.

"Yes. He is, my daughter's birthday… well, one of them," he replied; the blond opened an eye and chuckled at seeing a happy Shukaku trying his best to shake his kids off of him. "I think they would love it if they saw his sister, their auntie."

"Oh? Aunty? I suppose they call him 'Uncle Shukaku' then?"

"They call him Uncle Kaku actually, but yes. So do you want to come over? I know you're made of fire and yoki like Shukaku is made of sand and yoki, so you can shrink yourself down."

"Indeed I can. And I would love to be there and see your litter of kittens! How small should I be?"

"The size of an adult human."

"Okay… and… done. Just use my yoki to summon me and I'll be there in no time~!"

"Thanks, Matatabi." With that said, Naruto excused himself and backed up for a bit more room.

"What's going on?" Irene asked; she was utterly perplexed as were Clare, Galatea and an eavesdropping Teresa. They all heard a one-sided conversation, but, they had a small idea on what was going to happen next, from what was being said by Naruto. What the blond had said next confirmed their suspicion.

"I am bringing Matatabi here," he grinned. "I think the kids would be happy to have Auntie Tabi here to play as well, no?"

"Auntie Tabi… now that I think about it, I like that name."

Naruto looked around to make sure no one was too close. Then he got down on one knee and slammed his hand onto the ground in front of him with a declaration of, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Matatabi no Nekomata!"

Shukaku snapped his head over to where he heard the blond's declaration and found a large cloud of smoke. Along with a very familiar yoki. Everyone else in the great hall could feel the yoki within the cloud of smoke and they all realised it was stronger than Shukaku's.

"What the-"

"-Matatabi, what are you doing here?" the now human-sized two-tailed cat asked rhetorically as she emerged from the smoke cloud. "Why you said you were going to be at a party and didn't invite me; and after learning from Naruto that it's for his daughter, I just had to show up. After all, why should 'Uncle Kaku' get all the fun~? Auntie Tabi can be just as fun too, you know, heh heh."

Luciela immediately turned her attention to the new arrival, raising an eyebrow in interest. She had heard that one of the tailed beasts was a two-tailed cat, but didn't think she would get a chance to see her… and seeing that the tailed beast is literally made of fire… and her elemental affinity is fire… oh, she has so many questions!

"Naruto… why'd you do this?" Shukaku whined.

"To be honest, you were looking a little overwhelmed. I thought getting another tailed beast would keep you from getting overtaxed… and I thought the kids would love it if they saw Auntie Tabi too." then he grinned, "Besides, I can tell you're not that annoyed she is here. Matatabi is one of the most respectful and polite tailed beasts. She is your favourite sibling after all."

Matatabi gasped joyously. "I'm your favourite!?"

"Uh…" Shukaku looked around and locked his eyes on Lilith, Luciela's daughter. The kid was starry-eyed since Matatabi was a two-tailed cat, like her mommy. And she liked cats as Irene did. "Hey, Matatabi, look! This one's looking at you with adoration!"

Matatabi immediately looked at Lilith and her mismatched eyes grew wide slightly at the amount of yoki she felt in that one. Oh, that was very interesting~.

"Indeed she is," the female tailed beast beckoned the girl over to her with a flick of her tail, "Come on now, I won't bite."

Lilith squealed excitedly as she ran up and glomped the cat-like bijuu. Then she looked at her mum and squealed, "Mommy, look, she's a two-tailed cat like you!"

Luciela sighed in relief, seeing that Matatabi's flame-like form seemed harmless. She chuckled, "She's made of fire honey. I'm not. She is interesting, though. I'm very curious~!"

"Oh? You are a two-tailed cat as well? You certainly don't look like it. Your yoki is impressive for a non-Biju. What are you?"

"She is what is called an awakened being, Matatabi," Naruto explained.

"Ah. An awakened being; a hybrid that went over her limit and became a demon. Am I correct?"

"You remembered," Naruto said.

"Kurama told Isobu what was going on here, while you were in the elemental nations. And he told us sometime after you left. Then we, in turn, informed the kages. Ei did send letters telling the others what was going on here when you mentioned it to him, but we made sure the continents within the letters was the truth. We have connected to you after all. Anything you learn we can learn, Kurama was most helpful as he is with you every step of the way."

Not exactly the truth but she was going for the cover story here; Ei did send out the letters to the other Kages, and Isobu is in contact with Kurama without the blond knowing about it. And Isobu did get in contact with his siblings sometime after the blond and his entourage left the Elemental Nations once more, and let them know what he knew so far on this continent. Again the information Kurama left him was of great help. Why the stubborn fox didn't just tell them himself, instead of passing on the information to Isobu, she didn't know… Perhaps Kurama was didn't want them to get involved with the Organization? They were reputedly akin to Akatsuki, so there was a very real risk that they'd find a way to seal away the Bijuu. But, that was just speculation on Matatabi's part

"I see… well, it's nice that you're aware of who they are. Fewer things for me to explain." Naruto said in relief.

"So…" Matatabi then looked down at Lilith and grinned, "...let's play, hmm?"