5 The Dragon Ninja

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, OoalGown, Hermes, Priapus, Old man of the mountain and TheDonFluffles

The Guild of Gamers: The Warlord

Chapter 05: The Dragon Ninja

— Hiruzen Sarutobi —

Being reunited with his beloved wife was not enough to distract him from the sheer potential of the child who sat before him.

The ability to bring the dead back into the land of the living alone was enough to make Hei extremely important for the success of Konoha.

After Biwako had returned, Hei had wisely given them some room, understanding that the reunion of a husband and wife long since parted shouldn't be intruded on.

But both he and Biwako were ninjas at heart, and their emotional reunion was quickly over. His mind raced, calling young Hei back in.

He'd forever deny that he called Hei back to stop Biwako's questions about his health and diet, immediately realising that he simply wasn't taking care of himself as well as he had when she was there to glare him into submission.

His belief that Hei had a newly developing bloodline was only solidified, and clearly it was a powerful one given the sheer variety of things it seemed to be able to do.

"Tell me, Hei. How long do you believe that Biwako will remain in the land of the living?" Hiruzen asked, making Hei pause and rub his chin.

Despite not having a physical body, Biwako sat beside him, her translucent body seemingly resting on the couch even with her ability to move through objects.

"I think Lady Biwako would remain for a few more minutes, I can feel her connection to this realm starting to waver. I think I could bind her to this world, to an object, allowing her to remain as long as the object remained intact," Hei finally answered, making Hiruzen smile.

Was it his bloodline granting him the instinctive knowledge on how to use it, or his Nara genius working out his new abilities?

He was glad it was a member of the Nara clan who gained these new abilities, not only for their intelligence but for the loyalty his family had to the village. Hei's decision to immediately approach him and divulge these secrets to him helped reinforce that. Hei's loyalty was not in question, even if a great many things were.

"And can you command these spirits?" Hiruzen asked, his mind already forming plans to use Hei's new powers to the benefit of the village.

How many ninjas had killed themselves to avoid questioning? How many secrets did the dead hold? More than even him, certainly. How many jutsus had been lost because their users had died without sharing their secrets?

"I think so, at the very least I hold some sway over the spirits," Hei agreed.

"But you don't know for certain?" Biwako asked, gaining the attention of both of them.

"I don't, I get hunches on how my powers work, but without testing them, I can't confirm anything," Hei admitted easily.

"Then test it, you have a spirit right here," Biwako said bluntly, making him smile at his wife's unchanged personality.

"Hm, that could work. Biwako, do you remember the name of the woman you were attending when you died?" Hiruzen asked, getting a slight scoff and a nod from Biwako.

"Of course," Biwako answered, seeming almost insulted at the idea that she'd have forgotten. "I will try and resist telling the boy, Hei was it? Try and exert your power over me," Biwako ordered, making Hiruzen shake his head in bemusement.

She really hadn't changed, even with her own death. It was that stubborn, blunt personality that drew him to her in the first place.

"Very well, with your permission Lord Hokage…" Hei started, waiting until Hiruzen gave him an encouraging nod before he continued. "Biwako, who were you attending the day you died?"

Despite the tone not changing, Hiruzen could feel the chakra infused into Hei's voice as he demanded answers, Biwako forcibly clenching her teeth to stop her mouth from opening.

"Answer me!" Hei's voice rose as he commanded Biwako to obey, a pained gasp leaving Biwako as a spectral black chain formed around her neck.

"Ku- No, I wo- Kushina Uzumaki!" Biwako shouted out as the chain tightened, letting out a sigh of relief as it slacked and then faded away entirely. "That was… extremely unpleasant, I've been tortured before but that pain burnt my very soul," Biwako admitted weakly as she reached up and rubbed her neck.

"My apologies, Lady Biwako," Hei said sincerely, making Biwako wave him off.

"You did as you were told, you have nothing to apologise for," Biwako said calmly. "A spirit with a will stronger than mine might be able to resist, but once he demanded my obedience it hurt my very core to try and resist," Biwako explained slowly,

A stronger will… perhaps he was biased but he didn't think many would be able to resist something that made Biwako break so easily.

"Interesting. Hei, you did well to bring this to me, and for now I do not want you to use it without my permission," Hiruzen ordered, making Hei nod immediately.

"I understand, Lord Hokage," Hei answered without hesitation.

Yes, he likely did. Once more he was thankful he was dealing with a Nara, because if this skill was discovered, the other villages would stop at nothing to eliminate or capture Hei, even if it meant war with Konoha.

That was how valuable this new talent was, a single wrong move could lead to the next great shinobi war, fighting over the secrets of the dead.

Shikaku and Yoshino had raised Hei well because many young shinobi his age would grow aggravated at being told not to use their new powers.

He'd have to be very careful over who he brought into this new secret.

A part of him wanted to send someone else to go and handle Princess Azula, but it was too late for that.

"Then I suppose it's time I return to the afterlife," Biwako said, slightly forlorn.

"Maybe not. If I am understanding my power correctly, then you should be able to de-manifest yourself, preventing the living from seeing you, and I think spirits are supposed to be able to sense the living," Hei said, once again narrowing his eyes in thought.

"I can sense you two, even after you left the room. I can vaguely sense the presence of what I assume is the ANBU guards at the edge of the property," Biwako replied, before she focused and faded from view.

"Biwako?" Hiruzen asked, trying to sense any sign of his deceased wife.

"I'm here," Biwako's voice whispered, in his other ear as he stiffened slightly, seeing her fade back into view at the other side of him, floating almost sideways.

"I think the idea is to use the dead as spies, because I'm sure I can bind Lady Biwako to this very building. If you desire it, that is," Hei said, making him smile.

An invisible, undetectable guard, never sleeping and always watching? He could see the benefits.

Sharing a look with Biwako, her gaze simply said 'well, what are you waiting for?' making him turn back to Hei.

"Do it," Hiruzen ordered, watching as Hei closed his eyes, a pulse of strange chakra coming from him as Biwako's spectral form seemed to solidify somewhat.

She was still transparent, but she seemed more alive, if such a statement was appropriate.

"Interesting, there are exactly twelve people on the property as we speak, you two, six ANBU in hiding and four servants. There's also a cat sleeping on one of the walls," Biwako said, her eyes closed. "My senses have expanded, but they cut off immediately at the edge of the property.

Binding her to the building granted her knowledge of the location?

Pulling out his pipe, he lit it and went to take a drag, smoking helped him think after all.

He was only partially surprised when the pipe flew from his grasp and out of the window that hadn't been open moments prior.

Turning to Biwako, he shuddered slightly at the entirely unimpressed look in her beautiful eyes.

One of the cabinets opened itself moments later, even as Biwako stared at him, his tobacco floating out of it and into the trash.

Ah. While bound to the location, the spirit could also affect objects inside it?

Another great discovery, but as a triumphant smile grew on Biwako's face, he knew it was one that would come to haunt him.

"Hei, once you return from your mission, we will discuss these new abilities in far greater detail. For now, focus on the present, it is of the utmost importance that this mission is a success," Hiruzen said, getting a serious nod from Hei.

"Understood, Lord Hokage, I won't let you down," Hei answered, making Hiruzen smile proudly. The next generation was looking to be quite the talented group.

"Then that will be all, I'll leave you to enjoy the rest of your day before you set off on your mission tomorrow. I believe Miss Shiranui will want to speak with you before you both depart together, but I have no doubt she'll be able to track you down," Hiruzen said, watching Hei rise with a small smile.

"Very well, good day Lord Hokage," Hei said, giving a small bow before he turned and left the room.

Hei Nara, that was a name he'd be hearing a lot in the immediate future.

Curious that he didn't mention his ability to grant boosts through sex, but perhaps his power didn't tell him everything. If Tsume truly was the only woman he'd bedded then it was logical that he'd not know about his ability to grant such boosts yet.

He'd have to keep an eye on Hei for newly developing powers, somehow he doubted that this would be the end of it.

"So, that's Shikaku's boy is it? I always liked him, when he wasn't trying to avoid working," Biwako said, making him chuckle.

Shikaku still tried to avoid working as much as possible. It was his dedication to working smart so he didn't have to work hard that had made Konoha's intelligence division so incredibly effective. If you want a job done quickly, give it to the laziest person you know and they will always find the fastest way to do it.

"Hei has his father's intelligence and his mothers drive, quite the dangerous combination," Hiruzen said, shaking his head in amusement.

A motivated Nara was always going to be a major player, even without these new powers.

Now, he just had to get Tsunade back to Konoha to examine both Tsume and Hei but that wouldn't be a problem, he knew how to handle his wayward student and luckily she wasn't far from Konoha.

But now, alone with his wife for the first time in years, he had only one thing on his mind.

"Biwako, I apologise if this brings up unwanted memories… but tell me everything you remember about your killer," Hiruzen ordered, making Biwako pause before she nodded.

The culprit or culprits behind the Kyuubi attack had remained hidden for entirely too long, having killed everyone who saw them.

"I didn't see him for long, I barely got a glimpse of my killer, he wore a hooded robe and a mask with a single eye socket, but I do know one thing. He was an Uchiha, or at least had a stolen sharingan."

A sharingan user with a single eye?

There had been countless attempts to steal the sharingan when the Uchiha clan had still been around, but he was fairly sure they'd all failed (or that the successes had been short-lived).

Going over potential culprits in his head, he paused as an insidious thought burrowed into his head.

An Uchiha with one eye that would know about Kushina's status as a Jinchuriki. One name came to mind, one he assumed was long dead.

It was an idle thought, but with Hei's new power it would be fairly trivial to check.

After all, if he had Obito Uchiha's spirit summoned back to the land of the living and he returned as expected, all would be well.

If it turned out that Obito wasn't quite as dead as expected, then things would get unpleasant.

Perhaps he should bring Kakashi into the circle of people he would discuss Hei's newest power with.

— Hei Nara —

Since this mission could take a while, there's something I want to do before I set off tomorrow.

Heading towards a specific training ground, I slip into my shadow and quickly move towards my destination.

Arriving, I stay hidden for a moment, lurking in my target's shadow as I watch them and wait for the right opportunity to reveal myself.

My target is fighting, if you could call it that as he half-asses the spar and frankly gets his ass handed to him, but he's never been fond of pure taijutsu spars.

"That's enough for now, Ino, Shikamaru," Asuma says, smirking slightly as my lazy brother picks himself up off the floor, a bruise already growing on his cheek from where Ino had caught him with a nasty hook. "We have company after all," Asuma continues, making them both pause and look around, seeing no-one.

Heh, I've always noticed that when I'm inside a shadow, it grows a darker shade and can move unnaturally, so it's no surprise that someone as talented as Asuma could notice me lurking in Shikamaru's shadow.

I'm about to come out, but seeing the look on Asuma's face I decide not to, clearly making the right choice as Asuma smiles around his cigarette.

"Asuma-sensei, what do you mean we have- oh damn it Hei," Shikamaru says with a sigh as he finally notices how dark his shadow is, making Asuma chuckle as I finally rise from my little brother's shadow. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come and watch you get your ass handed to you by Ino, it's always good for a laugh," I say, grabbing him in a headlock and messing with his hair as he pushes me away.

Despite his scowl, I can tell he's happy to see me out and about. Shikamaru tried to hide it but he was concerned for me after my failed mission, constantly spending time with me.

"If we could use jutsu I'd have beaten her," Shikamaru grumbles, making me chuckle.

"A ninja should be well rounded, you know that," I scold slightly. Shikamaru tends to focus almost entirely on our clan jutsu and some earth and fire ninjutsu. He's decent at genjutsu as well but he hates physical effort so he always slacks off when it comes to taijutsu.

"Yeah, yeah," Shikamaru says with a long, suffering sigh, before he's saved from more lectures as Ino rushes forwards and hugs me.

"Hey, Hei!" Ino says, like I haven't heard that one a lot. Choji gives me a wave from his spot at the side of the Asuma,

Returning the hug with one arm as she hangs off my side, I turn to the amused Jounin with a smile.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Asuma-sensei, I'm heading out on a mission early tomorrow and I'm probably gonna be gone for a while so I thought I'd come to see these three before I leave. Kami knows Shikamaru isn't going to be awake when I set off," I say with a teasing smirk making Asuma chuckle.

"It's perfectly fine, I wanted to talk to you anyway. Ino's been rather insistent that I invite you to train with us. Something about wanting to spar with someone who'd actually try," Asuma says with a laugh.

I know Asuma fairly well, ever since he became the sensei of these three he's been a somewhat regular face at the Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi compounds.

…oh right, Biwako is his mother. Well, that's going to be a surprise waiting for him at home.

"Wait, another mission? Didn't you just get back from a mission?" Shikamaru asks, a frown on his face.

"Yup, I've been hand picked for a mission. Shouldn't be too difficult, but I might be gone for a while," I say, watching Shikamaru's frown deepen before he sighs.

"You're overdoing it, you just returned to service and you're already on your second mission," Shikamaru says, making me smile gently.

"Nah, everyone else is just under-doing it. Someone has to pick up the slack," I say calmly.

He frowns at that, but doesn't argue since he knows he's not going to be able to convince me otherwise.

"So, you're going to train with us?" Choji asks as he approaches, making me shrug.

"If that's alright with Asuma, I've got some time to spare," I say, making Asuma chuckle.

"That's fine, actually this is a good opportunity. How about a spar, you against these three?" Asuma asks, making me turn to them, narrowing my eyes in thought before I smirk.

"Sounds like fun."

— Ino Yamanaka —

She wasn't stupid, Hei might be a Genin like them but he was only a Genin because he'd not had a chance to attend a Chunin exams yet and promotions outside the exams were very rare outside of wartime.

Hei was stronger than them, he'd definitely be made Chunin when the exams came around, and they didn't even have a proper mission under their belt yet, just a bunch of d-ranks.

But that didn't mean she planned to go down without a fight as she stood opposite the smirking Hei, before he pulled his mask up hiding his expression.

She was going to make Hei work for this victory, because she didn't want to look bad in front of the man she loved.

Sharing a glance with Choji and Shikamaru, she smirked slightly seeing the determined look in Shikamaru's eyes, it looked like she wasn't the only one with something to prove.

Choji looked worried, she didn't blame him for once. Strands of shadow were already coming from Hei's body, combined with the glaring mask he made quite the intimidating figure.

She'd be lying if she said it didn't make her a little wet. It was stupid to be getting aroused as Hei stared them down, but she had her needs and she knew who she wanted.

Hei had been checking her out yesterday, fucking finally. She refused to get little sister zoned by him, and had spent ages trying to get his attention but yesterday was the first time he'd shown any sign of recognising that she was a woman, not just the little girl he used to babysit any more.

She'd even once tried to convince her parents of the benefits of arranging a marriage between her and Hei, which her dad shut down, highly amused by her crush.

Of course he'd turned her arguments against her and pointed out that it'd actually make more sense for her to be engaged to Shikamaru, which had horrified her and made her back down immediately.

Hei was the sexy, cool older boy she'd always crushed on ever since she worked out that boys and girls were different, Shikamaru was like her lazy, annoying little brother who she was convinced didn't have a sex drive.

Or he did and it was as sleepy as he was.

So it was pretty thrilling to feel Hei's eyes wandering her body, and she was going to act like the Kunoichi she was and push the advantage. Using this fight to show Hei that she wasn't a child anymore was just part of her plan to capture Hei.

"Let's try that," Shikamaru said quietly, making her nod. Shikamaru was lazy but he was very smart, she couldn't deny that.

"You think it'll work on him?" Ino asked doubtfully, making Shikamaru smirk.

"Leave the first step to me, just fight normally for now," Shikamaru said, sighing. "Damn it, this is going to be-"

Before Shikamaru could finish his complaints, Hei sunk into his own shadow, apparently bored of waiting for them to come to him as he immediately leapt from Choji's shadow into the air, just long enough to land a devastating kick to Choji's side, sending him tumbling across the ground with a grunt of pain.

As he landed, he immediately slipped back into his own shadow making her immediately turn and check hers, jumping forwards into the air as she noticed the darker colour.

Fighting Hei at night must be a special kind of hell, but it was bright out and the discoloration was fairly obvious if you knew what you were looking for.

Just in time as well, as Hei appeared from her shadow, pausing as he noticed that she'd moved away.

Not that he paused for long, immediately turning to Shikamaru whose eyes widened as his brother lunged at him.

Choji was still getting up from the ground and she was in the air, making her eyes widen as she realised that Hei had separated them, just long enough for him to engage his brother in hand to hand, Shikamaru's weakness.

They knew how Hei fought, but he knew just as much about them.

Grabbing a handful of her blunt shurikens she used for training, she tossed them at Hei's exposed back, utterly unsurprised when he sidestepped, grabbing Shikamaru and using his superior strength to simply manhandle his brother into the path of her shurikens, using Shikamaru as a human shield as they hit his back.

"Really?" Shikamaru shouted, a low chuckle leaving Hei as he immediately kicked Shikamaru in the stomach, sending him flying back into the approaching Choji.

Choji was their best bet at close range, his strength was their only counter of Hei's, and Hei clearly knew it as Choji was forced to catch the incoming Shikamaru, now no longer a shield but a throwing weapon.

Shikamaru, the amazing multi-use ninja tool.

Choji would always try and protect his friends, it was one of his more admirable traits, but Hei knew that and as Choji caught Shikamaru out of the air, Hei slipped back into his shadow, appearing behind Choji and immediately unleashing a flurry of blows into Choji's unprotected back.

Hei knew Choji, he knew Choji would try and catch Shikamaru, and he knew Choji would be defenceless as he caught his teammate. It was a level of ruthlessness they needed to learn to deal with.

If they were fighting seriously, Hei would have killed them already, his blade still sheathed as he pummelled Choji, making the larger boy grunt in pain.

Choji could also take a beating, more than her or Shikamaru, but she could see the impact of Hei's strikes.

She needed to try and get into Hei's head, but he moved around far too much for hit him with a mind transfer jutsu, it was why Shikamaru usually used his shadows to bind the target.

Ino-Shika-Cho formation one, the Nara bound the target, the Yamanaka possessed them and then the Akimichi landed their incredibly powerful but slow hits on the now frozen foe (with the Yamanaka escaping the body just in time to not take the hit themselves).

They'd never pulled it off before, and Hei was too quick to catch with it, even as Choji let Shikamaru go and swung a devastating backhand, expanded by his Partial Multi-size jutsu, Hei was already sinking back into Choji's shadow.

Her shadow darkened, before it lightened again and the shadow of a tree darkened, then lightened again. As Shikamaru recovered, clearly winded by Hei's hit, they watched as Hei jumped from shadow to shadow, never staying in one for long.

Not that they had a way to pull him out of his shadows, but she knew this technique used some chakra so he was tiring himself out to stop them from knowing which direction he was coming from.

Shikamaru's guard slacked for just a moment, making her frown at him not taking the threat seriously even as Hei immediately appeared from his shadow, but as a smirk grew on Shikamaru's lips, her eyes widened spotting the seal Shikamaru had made with one hand.

"Shadow Bind Jutsu!" Shikamaru said triumphantly as the shadow that Hei was still connected too rapidly wrapped around him, freezing him in place. "I can't do it with no hands, but I can do this much," Shikamaru said proudly, her hands already rushing through the seals for her mind-body switch jutsu.

She couldn't risk doing this to a moving target, but even as Hei struggled against the shadows, he was still stuck in place.

It wouldn't hold him for long, but it would hold him for long enough.

Finishing her seals, she projected her mind towards Hei, amused that she'd be inside him before she could get him inside her, hitting the stationary target as phase two of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation one was complete.

The pride she felt faded immediately as she entered, immediately realising that she had no control over Hei's body.

Instead of seeing through Hei's vision, she was standing in the middle of a pitch black void, and it wasn't until she looked down that she realised she was sinking into whatever she was standing on.

She couldn't pull her legs free as her eyes widened in panic, the black ichor rising up and wrapping around her as it pulled her deeper.

Her own memories flashed before her eyes, seemingly at random. Talking about the flower shop with her mother, gossiping with Sakura, eating with Shikamaru and Choji, classes with Iruka-sensei before she graduated, touching herself to a stolen picture of a shirtless Hei (which could have been almost any night in the past year). She didn't just see her memories but felt them as she experienced them again, the taste of the ramen she and her team got, the feel of her hands roaming her body.

'Trying to invade my mind? Naughty, naughty…'

Hei's voice sounded amused, which actually relaxed her even as she was pulled into the ichor, losing consciousness as memories overwhelmed her.

— Later —

Waking up with a pained groan, her head throbbing, she sat up slowly and looked around, seeing Hei chatting with Asuma, his mask hanging from his belt.

…why were Shikamaru and Choji laying face down on the ground?

"Oh, sleeping beauty's finally woken up," Hei laughed, spotting her sitting up, making her blush at the teasing tone as he approached, offering her a hand.

Taking it, she sighed as he pulled her up.

"What the hell was that? I've never heard of the mind body switch having a reaction like that," Ino whined, making Hei chuckle.

"I'm not sure, but for now keep it to yourself. There's some village secrets involved in this, I just had a meeting with the Hokage before this," Hei said, making her eyes widen as she glanced at Asuma, seeing him give her a serious nod.

"Understood," Ino said. She was a bit of a gossip, but she was also a Kunoichi and when the words 'village secrets' were involved, she knew to keep her mouth shut. "We never stood a chance, did we?" Ino sighed, making Hei ruffle her hair.

Damn it, this was exactly what she didn't want. She didn't want him to treat her like a child again, and such a poor showing wasn't going to help her case.

"I know you all too well, though Shikamaru managed to catch me off guard with that one handed seal. I figured it was a trap but I didn't think it'd be quite so effective. If it hadn't been for that unusual reaction to your jutsu, I might have even been in some serious trouble," Hei said consolingly.

"You could do it without seals at my age," Shikamaru groaned as he turned over, looking up at Hei from his position on the ground.

"I've been reliably informed I'm a freak of nature," Hei said simply, making Shikamaru snort. "It was fun, we'll have to do this again when I get back," Hei said, making Shikamaru wince.

Choji chuckled as he sat up, even as a nasty bruise formed on his face.

"Yeah, yeah… just take care of yourself," Shikamaru grunted, rolling back onto his front.

"I will, don't worry yourself about me, I'll be fine," Hei said, giving them a wave. "I'm heading home, thanks for letting me bully my brother, Asuma-sensei."

Asuma's laugh almost covered the sounds of Shikamaru's curses and grumbling as Hei left the training ground.

"Well, I could lecture you all on what you did wrong in this fight, but I think that's enough for today. I want you all to think about what you could have done better overnight and work out a strategy for how you'd fight someone like Hei," Asuma said with a chuckle.

"Easy, I poison his breakfast before our next fight," Shikamaru grumbled, making her roll her eyes. "Ugh, this is way too troublesome."

"It's not that bad, Hei's been at this longer than us," Choji said cheerfully, not particularly bothered about how Hei had used him as a punching bag.

"No, you don't get it. He's going to tell mom he beat us, then she's going to make sure we spar more often, and then he'll report on my progress and I'll get in trouble if I don't make enough progress. I'm going to have to actually train," Shikamaru groaned, hitting his head against the grass.

…they were already supposed to be training.

"Well, if telling your mother is what it takes to get you to train properly maybe I'll have to invite her to these sessions," Asuma laughed, making Shikamaru shoot up with a look of panic on his face.

"I get it, I'll try harder," Shikamaru groaned, grumbling to himself about annoying big brothers.

"I'm gonna head home myself, see you all tomorrow!" Ino said, lying through her teeth, not that anyone but Asuma noticed.

"Uhuh, see you tomorrow Ino," Asuma said, not calling her out as she headed off quickly.

She was heading to a home, just not hers.

Arriving at the Nara compound, nobody even questioned her presence as she entered. Shikamaru and Choji would probably go and get food, then hang out around the village for a couple of hours like they usually did after training, so she had time.

Heading to Hei's room, she went to press her ear against the door and see if he was inside, falling into the room as the door opened, Hei smirking down at her.

"Is there something I can do for you, Ino?" Hei asked, giving her a smile as she quickly rose to her feet, embarrassed that she lost her footing like that.

As she stood up, Hei closed the door behind her and sat down on the edge of his bed, already changed into a simple pair of trousers and a black t-shirt.

Okay, press the advantage. Hei was attracted to her, she was sure of it, now she just needed to convince him to act on it.

She had a plan, but as she opened his mouth she realised she'd forgotten the plan.

"No?" Ino asked, making him laugh at her tone. Great work Ino, yup that'd show him that you're not a child.

Damn it, why did this always happen?!

"Ah, just come to enjoy the view then?" Hei said, his tone a bit flirtatious, but she could sense the trap he'd set.

There was no time for caution in love or she'd end up like Asuma-sensei, stuck in the friend zone because he never made a move on Kurenai, even when it was so obvious she was waiting for him to make the first move.

"Maybe? Would that be so wrong, you've certainly been enjoying the view when I'm around," Ino said, returning his tone as she tried her best to sound sultry.

There was a Kunoichi course you could apply to that taught you how to be seductive and use your body as a weapon, and she'd tried to sign up before she was informed that by signing up she'd be agreeing to be sent on any future seduction missions.

She'd also been informed that the lessons would include learning how to properly use her body, and that while she was definitely allowed to sign up if she wanted, she'd be giving up her virginity by the third lesson.

Anal would probably come up by the fifth.

She hasn't even had her first kiss yet (if you didn't count experimenting with Sakura, which took on quite a different tone with Sakura's clear infatuation with Sasuki now that she thought about it).

Apparently it even covered seducing information out of prisoners, with tests to go along with it, so she definitely didn't plan to sign up.

She wanted to learn how to seduce so she could get Hei, not so she could lose her virginity to some stranger.

There was only one person she wanted to take her virginity, and she wanted to do it sooner rather than later.

Because she knew one of the dangers of being a Kunoichi, and the idea of losing her virginity because she was captured terrified her.

All the girls in their class had been taken aside and warned of the danger of rape in the life they were training for.

The chances of something like that happening while she was a Genin were very slim, Genin were usually kept out of truly dangerous or risky situations whenever possible after all.

Very slim, but never zero. Hei was the top student in his class, he had a very famous and powerful sensei, and both his teammates were very talented as well and just look at how his mission had gone.

Anything could happen, any mission could go wrong for reasons beyond anyone's control.

She was probably worrying for nothing, and she'd never be assaulted in that way, but if the worst happened and she was, and her first time was ripped away by a rogue ninja or some bandit, she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

So she'd decided that she'd lose her virginity to the man she wanted to, before anything so unfortunate could befall her.

"True, you have grown up very nicely, but at least I've not taken a picture of you changing for my own entertainment," Hei said as she froze, immediately realising that all of her memories she'd experienced when she entered his mind, he'd seen as well as she went pale before her face started to burn.

Shikamaru took that picture to use as a bribe to get her to help him in one of his many schemes to avoid work.

It was her secret treasure, that Hei was never supposed to know about.

"Oh, nothing to say? Tell me, how many times have you touched yourself to that picture of me?" Hei asked as he stood up and stalked towards her, a sly smile on his face.

How did she approach this? What was the best way to salvage this humiliation? She just had to own it, not let him get to her.

She could work with this, maybe even take the next step towards her goal of having Hei make her a woman. To make her his woman.

"A girl has needs, and you've been playing hard to get and won't scratch my itch for me," Ino said with a sultry tone. "But if you must know… almost every night~"

Pausing, Hei smirked at her as he slowly reached down and pulled his tight t-shirt up, revealing the muscled body that she pleasured herself to so many times in the flesh.

Her sultry smile fell away almost immediately as her face turned blood-red, staring at his shirtless chest with a mixture of hunger and embarrassment.

Was this really happening?

"I suppose I have, but I decided I wasn't going to act on your advances until you graduated from the academy, even if you made it very hard sometimes," Hei admitted, making her eyes widen. "I played dumb, partially to avoid the temptation and admittedly because I found your reactions cute, but I did notice."

"Well, I've graduated now," Ino said, her confident tone wavering. Damnit, don't lose your cool now. "If I've made it h-hard, should I take responsibility for my naughty behaviour?"

Her tone wasn't nearly as confident as she'd have liked, and Hei obviously noticed as the hunger in his eyes faded slightly, making her curse herself.

"Hm, not today, let's not rush and ruin the game… but I think you should be punished for being such a naughty girl, don't you?" Hei asked, making her nod slowly, unsure where this was going.

She'd let him do whatever he wanted to her, if he wanted her mouth, ass or pussy he could take them, right here and now.

"Y-yes, sir," Ino said, trying to get her confident tone back.

"Let's start nice and simple, you've seen me topless so many times, why don't you return the favour?" Hei asked, making her freeze.

Her pause only lasted a moment, before one of her hands slowly rose up to her chest and undid the first button on her short purple vest, immediately revealing a considerable amount of cleavage.

Her vest was tight enough that she didn't bother with a bra, and thick enough not to show her nipples, which meant there was only bare flesh to reveal as the second button came undone, half way to exposing her breasts to Hei.

She didn't realise her hand was shaking until Hei gently cupped it, pausing her amateurish strip.

"Ino, I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do, I'm not mad at you and while I do think you're a very naughty girl, I like it that way," Hei whispered, making her relax as she felt herself calm down slightly, even as her heart rate rose. "If you want to stop, just say the word and this never happened," Hei offered, making her smile up at him.

The concern and affection in his voice returned her confidence to her, enough for her to return his smile as she stepped back, moving away from his hand as she undid the next button.

With only a single button holding the line, her cleavage was on full display, the slightest hint of her cute pink nipples poking out before she reached down and with a smile the last button was popped, her vest parting as she calmly slipped it off, letting it fall to the floor.

She almost covered her breasts, seeing Hei's eyes slowly take in her half-naked form, roaming the exposed flesh, before she stopped herself seeing the lust in his eyes. It made her feel sexy to have Hei stare at her with such hunger.

"So, enjoying the view?" Ino asked, proud that her tone wasn't wavering as she stuck her chest out towards him, hands behind her back as she smiled.

It was hard to tell with his black slacks, but she was sure she could see the start of a tent.

"I certainly am, fuck you're beautiful Ino," Hei said honestly, making her confidence soar as she stepped forwards, a sway to her body.

His words earlier made her realise that as much as she wanted Hei to be the one to take her first time, all of her firsts actually, she wasn't quite ready to lose her virginity yet.

But with the knowledge that she could stop this at any time, she couldn't deny she wanted to find out what she was ready for. She was safe with Hei, uncle Shikaku and aunt Yoshino were at her house and nobody was due to be back for a good long while.

"So, if we're trying to make this fair… shouldn't you touch yourself to the sight of my body?" Ino teased, before she slowly reached down and took his hand again, raising it. "Or maybe you'd just prefer to touch me?" Ino asked, placing Hei's hand on her breast, his fingers immediately cupping her soft flesh.

She didn't have the biggest breasts (because a certain Hyuuga girl claimed that particular honour) but they were easily a handful for Hei as he gently caressed her naked breasts, drawing a quiet moan from her as he circled her nipple with his thumb.

"You really are a naughty girl," Hei said quietly, a moan escaping her as his other hand slipped around her waist and gently cupped her ass.

"Only for you," Ino said, wanting to make that clear. Hei was the only one who got this treatment from her, she didn't want him to think she was some slut.

Apparently that was the right thing to say as the hunger in his eyes returned stronger than ever, leaning forwards as she immediately matched his movements, meeting him in the middle as she gave him her first kiss (with a man).

As her tongue danced with his, she pushed him back onto the bed, following him down as he fell onto his back, mounting him while she reached down and clumsily undid her skirt, tossing it away without a care.

Sitting on him, she could feel his throbbing arousal beneath her, only his clothes and a small pair of purple damp panties stopping it from penetrating her as she rested on it, rubbing her undercarriage against it.

Breaking the kiss, she stared down at the target of her year long quest in triumph, feeling incredibly powerful as he gave her a smile, his hand squeezing her now exposed buttocks briefly making her giggle.

She'd won, broken free from the sister zone and captured Hei's interest, the raging erection beneath her was proof of that. She caused that, and she was going to take care of it.

"You know, ninjas are supposed to be observant," a bemused voice said, making her jump back in surprise, Hei sitting up rapidly as they turned to the doorway, aunt Yoshino staring at them with her arms crossed.

"Auntie! I- Erm, we were-" Ino started, covering her breasts quickly as she cursed the gods for this unholy interruption. "I was just-"

"Honestly, Ino. Stop panicking, we figured this was never going to be a matter of if, only when. Of course your father hoped 'when' would be in a decade or two but he's always been a bit delusional," Yoshino said with a light laugh, watching Ino grab her clothes quickly, her face burning. "Your mother, however, bet this would happen within three months of you graduating, smart woman. I think she won quite the pot with that guess."

Her mother, her strict, stern mother, bet this would happen so soon?

"Really?" Ino asked, quickly buttoning her vest back up, unable to squash her disappointment.

"If you expected it, why did you interrupt?" Hei asked, making Yoshino chuckle at his blunt statement, utterly unembarrassed at being caught.

"Because I'm your mother and Ino's godmother and that's what mothers do. That, and someone is waiting for you downstairs," Yoshino said, making Hei sigh as he rose up and stretched slightly, the tent in his slacks obvious now.

She was still rather proud that she caused that, so proud that she almost didn't notice that she wasn't the only woman staring at his manhood, Yoshino's own eyes briefly flickering down and staring at her son's body.

The only reason she noticed is because she was checking if Yoshino looked disapproving at her staring, but Yoshino quickly looked away, embarrassed at being caught ogling her own son.

"You should get home as well, Ino. Your mother wanted to speak with you," Yoshino said quickly, changing the subject as Ino's eyes narrowed slightly.

As Hei pulled his shirt on, she made her mind up and moved towards Hei, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him down to meet her in a rough, passionate kiss.

She didn't care that Yoshino was watching as she pushed her body against his.

Breaking the kiss, she stared up at Hei with a cocky smirk.

"You better get home safe, because we're continuing this when you get back," Ino said demandingly, making Hei chuckle.

"There's the Ino I know and love," Hei said simply, making her freeze at his casual use of the L-word. "As you command, your highness."

"Y-yeah, that's right," Ino stuttered, her confident tone vanishing again. "You better- I mean, just stay safe idiot," Ino finally ordered, leaning up and kissing him one last time, a much gentler kiss.

Blushing as she backed away, she gave him a smile before she took the better part of valour and fled.

Embarrassed or not, she'd made some serious progress towards her long-time goal, and she immediately realised one thing.

She wanted to brag, so once she spoke to her mother, she was going to track down Sakura.

— Hei Nara —

"No lecture?" I ask, making Yoshino shake her head gently.

"Like I said, we've all expected this for a while. Ino hasn't exactly been subtle about her interest in you," Yoshino says, making me chuckle. "And I don't think I need to tell you to not hurt her, do I?"

"No, you don't." I say calmly, making her smile.

"Then there's nothing more to say, I won't warn you about going too fast either, you're both ninjas and If you're old enough to kill for the village, you're old enough to drink and fuck," Yoshino says, catching me off guard with her crass words. "Oh don't look so surprised, ninjas have always been held to a different standard to civilians, but enough about that. Momiji is waiting for you downstairs."

Ah. I haven't really spoken to Momiji since our mission went so very wrong. Actually, we've not spoken since she decided to leave the ninja force. Unpleasant memories for both of us, I suppose.

It's not like I'm upset she decided to quit, our team was rather close and if she thinks quitting is what's best for her then she should do it.

"I see, it'll be… good to see her again," I say, getting a gentle smile as Yoshino gives me a hug.

If she feels my still erect shaft pressing against her, not quite starting to soften just yet, she doesn't say anything.

Breaking the hug, I head out of my room as I wonder what Momiji wants.

Entering the living room, I pause briefly as I spot her, running one hand through her long black ponytail.

The rest of my class were jealous that I got put on a team with Momiji and Kasumi, considering they were two of the most beautiful girls in our year.

Momiji's style of dress didn't help there, her white and red top being rather low cut leaving a lot of cleavage on display, and her red bottoms having slits at the sides showing off her thighs. Her bottoms also have some golden dragon embroidery on them, which makes me smile sadly in remembrance.

"Hey, Momiji. It's been a while," I say as I sit down opposite her, spotting the long object sitting on the table, wrapped in a fine red cloth.

"It has, Hei," Momiji says, her tone hesitant. "I'm sorry for that, I shouldn't have just cut contact like that," Momiji says quickly, making me shake my head.

"It's fine, I wouldn't have been a particularly good conversational partner anyway. We were both dealing with things in our own way," I say gently, making her smile softly. "I'm glad you seem to be doing better."

"I am, thanks to you. You risked your life, almost killed yourself through sheer chakra exhaustion to pull me through the shadows with you," Momiji says, making me smile.

"You were my teammate, I couldn't do anything for Kasumi or Ryu-sensei, but I could at least save you," I say as she smiles at me.

"You did more than that, not that you realised it at the time," Momiji says gently, reaching forwards and unwrapping the item between us. "You saved this as well."

I recognise the sheathed katana immediately, the red grip and golden guard incredibly familiar to me. The last time I saw it was before I collapsed after getting myself and Momiji to safety.

Whoever it was that attacked us wanted Ryu's sword for whatever reason, their taunts made that clear. After Ryu fell, taking a jutsu meant for me and Momiji, I grabbed it from his body.

His killer found it funny, seeing an injured Genin getting ready to fight him, even mockingly offering to give me a free hit. He was probably less amused when I sunk into my own shadow, only briefly stopping to grab Momiji and pull her into her own shadow before I fled.

I wanted to grab Ryu and Kasumi's bodies, not wanting to leave them behind, but it wasn't viable. Apparently the bodies were gone when the Hokage himself went to check the area.

One day, sooner rather than later, I'm going to find that man and kill him. He is laughably stronger than me, but I've never let impossible odds stop me before.

"Whoever that psychopath was, they wanted Ryu-sensei's sword, and I'm a petty man," I say simply, making her giggle as she gives me a warm smile.

"This sword is an incredibly important artefact of my clan, the symbol of our leader. You know that I'm part of the Hayabusa clan, but I don't think I ever explained how. The Hayabusa clan is split into two, not unlike the Hyuuga's main and branch family. I'm part of the 'branch' family, while Ryu-sensei was a part of the main family," Momiji starts, making me tilt my head slightly in confusion. "The last member of the main family, unfortunately."

"He didn't have any family?" I ask with a frown. Ryu had explained some of this to me, but he didn't talk about himself much.

"No, this isn't the first time someone has tried to steal the Dragon Blade, nor the first time its wielder has been slain, Ryu was the last, and an injury had left him infertile," Momiji explained with a sad sigh. "And with no heir, Ryu decided to search outside the clan for someone to become the next Dragon Ninja. This wasn't supposed to happen this early, Ryu had plans to do this after you became a Jonin," Momiji says, making my eyes widen as she picks up the blade and approaches me.

Kneeling in front of me, Momiji holds the blade towards me with two hands, one on the grip and another on the sheath as she offers it up to me.

"Hei, Master Ryu chose you to take up the mantle of the Dragon Ninja after him, and while it wasn't supposed to happen for years, my clan has come to a decision. The Dragon Blade is yours, and the title along with it," Momiji says as I stare at her in shock.

"Shouldn't one of the branch family take it?" I ask, making her smile softly as she shakes her head.

"It's not really a branch family, that's just the easiest way I could describe it. There's only three of us, two of them aren't even ninjas and we have always served the Dragon Ninja. It is not our right or desire to take his place," Momiji says calmly. "You protected the Dragon Blade, and you saved me. Master Ryu chose you, and while this isn't how he hoped it would happen, we honour his choice."

Looking down at her, I hesitate for a moment before I reach down and gently take the sword from her hands, slowly drawing it from its sheath as I examine the dark metal of the blade.

It's heavier than it looks and while it's hard to explain, I feel judged as I see my own face reflected in the blade, before the feeling passes and the katana suddenly feels much lighter in my hand.

"I won't let him down," I say simply, making Momiji smile, not rising from her knees.

"I know. There's one more thing…" Momiji starts, making me look down at her. "As I said, my family have always served the Dragon Ninja. The reason I left the ninja force isn't out of trauma, but because I only joined to follow Master Ryu, my loyalty is to the Dragon Ninja, not the village after all," Momiji starts, making me stare down at her.

"Momiji-" I start, being cut off.

"On behalf of my mother and elder sister, we swear to serve you, the new Dragon Ninja. Please, use us as you desire, Master Hei," Momiji swears, bowing to me as I blink in shock.

Class quest complete!

The Demon Lord's Rise

Objective One: Defeat a Hero

Objective Two: Gain a minion, by any means

Wait, what? When did I defeat a hero?

Answer: you defeated three. Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka are all classified as 'heroes'.

Wait, they're classed as heroes even though they haven't done anything 'heroic' yet?

[Toxin Magic Mastery]

You have gained the knowledge of how to use toxin magic, including spells to conjure clouds of poisonous gas, imbue your weapons with toxins or conjure acidic rain that melts your foes. You also gain an immunity to all but the strongest poisons.

[Dread Magic Mastery]

You have gained the knowledge of how to utilise dread magic, including spells to learn your targets worst fears, force them to relieve their worst memories or nightmares, to become empowered by your opponents terror or even make their fears manifest into reality.

Also, it says spells and magic, but as more knowledge enters my mind I can't help but notice it comes in the form of jutsus.

All abilities are converted to match the user's preferred system.

Ignoring this for now, I focus on Momiji as she smiles up at me.

"Momiji, I don't even know what being the Dragon Ninja means," I say, trying to work out how this happened. "You don't have to kneel for me."

Even if I like the sight of her on her knees.

Suddenly the stories Ryu would tell me about his clan made more sense. I never understood why he was slowly teaching me about his clan's history, but I suppose he was slowly getting me ready for this.

Do my parents know? I know he spoke to them in private often but I thought they were discussing my progress.

"Don't worry, we don't expect you to suddenly know everything. This is a large responsibility, even if you don't quite realise it yet, and we will help you learn your new duties and shoulder the burden of your new position," Momiji promises, still not rising. "You aren't in this alone."

Looking at the sword again, I take a deep breath before I meet her gaze.

"Then I'm in your care, Momiji," I say, making her beam up at me.

"It'll be a pleasure to work with you again," Momiji says, before she pauses. "Though I suppose under you would be more accurate this time."

I don't reply to that because my mind immediately goes to the image of Momiji under me.

Momiji blushes slightly as she rises to her feet, leaning in to whisper into my ear.

"Before you fully accept, there's one duty you need to know about," Momiji whispers, blushing as she fails to meet my gaze. "As the new head of the family, you'll be expected to… fix our population issue. Me, my sister and my mother all have Hayabusa blood, so our children will be able to inherit the title when you retire."

"Wait, you mean-"

"When I said I'd be working under you, I was being rather literal, Master Hei," Momiji says, her face as red as her bottoms. "Though I suppose if you'd prefer it, I can be on top instead… and when I said my mother and sister will also serve you, it means exactly what you think it means. Will that be a problem?" Momiji asks, her face practically radiating heat with how hard she's blushing.

So, if I take this title I'll be expected to knock up one of the hottest girls I know, her big sister and mother? Maybe at the same time?

"I'll give this duty my utmost attention," I say seriously, making her giggle.

Ryu-sensei, I won't let you down.

— Asuma Sarutobi —

Returning home, he immediately noticed something was off by the fact that the ANBU guards were stationed further away from the mansion than usual.

Only his father could order them to change their positions, and this usually meant something was happening that he couldn't even trust his ANBU with.

That had happened maybe two times that he could remember, but both times he'd been turned away as well.

The next thing that alerted him was his sister, Mirai leaving the living room with watery eyes that had clearly been crying very recently, meeting his gaze with a large smile.

She was happy but she'd been crying?

What the hell was going on?

Before he could ask, she spoke first.

"You should go and see dad."

With that single sentence spoken, she headed up to her room with a skip to her step.

No really, what the fuck was going on?

Heading into the living room, he immediately spotted his father, sitting in his favourite spot with a small smile on his face, Danzo sat opposite him.

Seeing him enter, the councillor rose.

"One emotional reunion was more than enough for me, I'll leave you to it. I'll start arranging that list, it should be ready before he returns," Danzo said simply, turning and walking past him without a word.

"Asuma, please take a seat," Hiruzen said, a twinkle in his eyes as he watched Asuma sit.

As Asuma pulled out a cigarette and placed it in his mouth, Hiruzen's eyes widened in worry, making Asuma pause.

His dad had never had an issue with him smoking before, but before he could ask, his eyes widened as the cigarette flew from his mouth.

"Ah, yes. I'm afraid smoking will be a bit troublesome from now on, to borrow a phrase from my Jounin commander," Hiruzen said with an amused but slightly strained smile as a figure started to appear next to him.

It had been years since he saw her, but it didn't take him more than a moment to recognise the face smiling at him softly.

"M-mom?!"

— Bonus Scene — Samui

Leaving the Raikage's office, Samui let a slight scowl cross over her usually expressionless face.

Ugh, seduction missions. She hated these kinds of missions, they were never pleasant and she was unfortunately gifted in ways that led to her being assigned them more often than most.

Karui used to be jealous of her annoyingly large chest, until she saw that it resulted in Samui getting picked for seduction missions with irritating frequency.

Suddenly Karui didn't mind her flatter chest, if it meant not being ordered to spread her legs for the good of the village.

Of course it didn't help that Karui had completely blown the one seduction mission she had, losing her temper and assaulting the target after he groped her ass.

Her entire team were already talented enough to be Chunin, but their promotion had been delayed so they could attend this inter-village Chunin exams held by the Leaf, all the villages were probably doing the same thing as they tried to one up each other after all.

She knew three teams from the Cloud were entirely too powerful for a competition between Genins, this entire exam was going to be more about the villages engaging in a dick measuring contest than it was checking who was ready to be Chunin.

But the only dick she'd be measuring was the one she was expected to ride, some Konoha clan heir that'd been marked as a potential target.

Hei Nara was the target for one simple reason, his father was the commander of Konoha's Jounins and had a reputation for being lazy and working from home often.

The worst part is that the higher-ups didn't even know for certain that Hei would know anything worthwhile, it was an educated guess that as the heir of the Nara clan he'd be aware of some classified information.

Hei might not even be a ninja anymore, since rumours of a mission his squad were on going wrong had already reached them through their spy network. It wasn't like they could keep the death of someone as powerful as Ryu Hayabusa a secret, the Dragon Ninja was incredibly infamous.

Even just finding out the truth of what happened to his sensei would be enough for it to be seen as a success.

So she was to seduce him while they were in Konoha on the off-chance she could extract any useful Intel out of him.

She'd definitely be extracting something from him either way, just not something she had any desire to feel inside her or on her body.

Totally not cool at all.