Negotiations and Discord

"And you expect us to believe that? The Grass Fruit Group wants to unify with the Flower Group to completely unify the mission of restoring glory to Kusagakure? Forgive me if I do not leap towards this apparent opportunity. Why should we believe this when there has been such unrest between our factions?" an elder of the Grass Flower Group asked.

Uzumei found herself surrounded. Cornered on her left and right sides were a line of at least ten elders with the grand leader of the faction at her opposing side. If the former auction slave was honest, this faction was annoying her. Ever since her young lord had freed her from her cell, he had wasted no time is increasing her potential value to his plans. She was tutored and taught by experts in numerous successive fields. Business, science, combat strategy, combat application, literature, history, astrology, astronomy, there was never a subject that she wouldn't have had a class in. In addition, she had to pass each one of these by the standards of those experts and masters.

That previous year had been very busy for her. Almost no time was allowed for her to herself, but...she did not mind. She understood that she had to live up to her words. She had claimed that she would be whatever Naruto needed her to be. Sasuke was special to Uzumei...because Naruto wanted him to be. If Naruto suddenly wanted her to kill Sasuke then she would merely ask how should she present the Uchiha's body to him. If she was to be studious, then she would be studious. If he asked her to be patient, then she would have the patience of the Buddah. Where was she going with this? This hour-long meeting was starting to grate on her nerves and, what she considered, high levels of patience!

"Please don't attempt to take me for a fool. The only reason my employer even seeks an audience with you is because it's not beneficial for both sides to continue this senseless obstruction of each other's methods when we both, in the end, desire the same outcome. We will turn Kusagakure from a minor village into the leading power it was in its prime...without use of the Box of Ultimate Bliss," Uzumei said.

Her words quickly ushered a harsh silence over the surrounding members. "Rather, we will attempt to reverse-engineer the Box's chakra in ways that are beneficial to current and rising Kusagakure shinobi. It has already proven to be a success. This strength will bring in more orders to the village thus raising the standing of social economy for our village. We could see these numbers continue to grow in as little as three to four years," Uzumei said.

Needless to say, Uzumei was fairly taxed by this negotiation. "Hmph, I find it hard to believe that fool, Satomaru, actually came up with a plan such as this. Who is really behind this scene? Until I know, the Grass Flower Group won't have any hand in with the Fruit Group," the leader of the current faction said.

Despite her rather calm visage, Uzumei fought back the glare that she had nearly sent out. So...that was the hindrance to her plans. It seemed obvious that the elders were not so quick to write her off.

"Daijin-sama, a moment! Perhaps further investigation into this matter may be warrant…,"

"We're not getting involved with the Grass Fruit Group until I say so! This meeting is over!" The man named Daijin said. He slammed his food table for emphasis before getting up and shutting the door behind him. The other elders sighed.

"Apologies. He is a headstrong man as I'm sure you know. Daijin-sama and Satomaru-sama have had this feud ever since they were children. Hopefully, we'll be in touch," one of them said. Uzumei had no choice other than to take the words for what they were worth. She politely bowed to them and left the building.

As soon as Uzumei's exited the grounds, her eyes hardened. She placed her finger to her left ear. "Kill him," she said, her voice sharp as a steel blade. She then continued walking away. Now, she would have to go back and train Sasuke, as well as head to the blacksmith to forge the Uchiha some custom- made weapons. She only hoped that Naruto's cultivation would not take too much time leading into tomorrow as well.

Meanwhile, the head of the Grass Flower Group, Daijin, sat in his office with a rough sigh. That meeting had been bothersome to say the least. Unity between the Flower and Fruit groups? Impossible! It was an argument which had spanned across decades. It was not something so trivial as to be forgotten from one meeting. That damned Fruit Group! It would have to show some grit to get him to agree to this partnership. He would agree when that bastard Satomaru came here, fell on his knees, and begged for cooperation.

Daijin heard the door leading into his study close behind him. He sighed. "I'm not changing my mind on this matter. If you have complaints then discuss them...later," During his explanation, the leader of the Grass Flower Group turned around in his chair to see Yugao standing in front of him, a mask over her face and her sword drawn.

"The Grass Flower Group will ne-guek!" Daijin's words died in his throat as Yugao mercilessly pierced his chest. Her blade did not tremble, her stance firm, and her eyes like those of a ruthless assassin befitting her profession...she hated it. Yet, when had she felt herself no longer fight these impulses? A year of mental strain was slowly working on her. She remembered her little attempts at rebellion. She hoped she could just cause tiny frustrations for Naruto. Slack on her duties a tad, miss a courier, drop precious merchandise, she did whatever she could to upset him, but...she had underestimated his ruthlessness.

Naruto had tasked her with guardian a shipment. She pretended to make a mistake with the purchase which had costed the organization nearly millions in revenue. Needless to say, Naruto was pretty furious with her. Yet, he did not punch her physically. No, he did worse. He did not just get even...he got better! One day, Yugao returned from an assignment to see Naruto staring at a television screen. On that television screen, Yugao saw Hayate strapped to a chair, his eyes and mouth bound.

"Make no mistake, Anbu-neechan. I enjoy our little games, but you seem to be forgetting something. I'm not your friend. I'm your master, and you've defied me for too long. I think it's time you are reminded of your circumstances," Naruto said.

Yugao widened her eyes in fear as Naruto held up a mic. "Now then, Hayate-san, I'm not a vengeful person. Yugao has angered me one too many times. If you have to blame anyone...blame her for your predicament," Naruto said, his voice echoing into Hayate's chamber.

"No, no, no! Naruto….Naruto-sama, forgive me. It won't happen again! I swear it!" Yugao pleaded. However, Naruto did not speak to her. He continued staring at the screen. Both he and Yugao noticed one of the bar staff, his face masked, step into the room with a spiked branding iron. Its face was blazing with intense fire.

"I know you won't, Nee-chan. Because I'm not going to let you do it again. If Hayate betrays you, you only have yourself to blame," the Kyuubi jinchuuriki said. He then got up and left the room.

"MMMHHHMPH!" Yugao shivered as she heard her lover scream in pain as the spiked iron was pressed into his skin. Tears fell down her face. This...was her punishment. It hurt worse than any strike he could have put upon her body. It hurt worse than any pain she had ever felt in her shinobi career, and...it was her fault.

....

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