Chapter 36

Last Time:

And as long as he was breathing, hell and high water would have trouble taking them.

Now:

~ Outskirts of Kumo ~

Naruto groaned as he looked to the village hidden in the Clouds. The entire team and he had been riding all night and it was starting to show. The only reason no one dared go to sleep was because Orfeo liked to show off and do flips every once in a while. Ughh.." Naruto complained as the first rays of sun hit his face. "I hate mornings.." He muttered to himself. "You're telling me, brat." Orfeo's booming voice replied. "We're almost there." He informed Naruto. Naruto nodded and went towards the back, where the rest of his team were resting.

"Alright guys, We're coming up on Kumo. I know we're all tired, but we still have to report and get Samui to the hospital. So shake it off." He informed them. "Ughh, how are you still awake?" the groggy voice of Cat demanded. "I can go up to three days without sleep. Now wake your asses up!" Naruto screamed. Yugito's ears perked at the loud volume of his voice and she looked at him with slitted eyes. "You EVER wake me up like that, and you're dead!" She yelled back. "Sorry, sorry.." Naruto replied as he waved his hands in defeat.

'Note to self: Yugito is not a morning person.' Naruto thought as he walked over to where Dog was dozing off. "Hey come on, we'll be in the village in a few minutes. You can nap then." Naruto said as he shook the Anbu open. The Anbu looked at him with bags under his eyes and nodded. 'This mission may have been a success, but I ran them to the ground on the exit. Maybe I should have been more lenient..' He internally mused as he looked at the exhausted pair of Anbus get up and Yugito struggle to carry Samui.

"Nah.." He said to himself with a small smile on his face as he headed to help Yugito with Samui.

~ Village – A's office ~

A yawned as he took another gulp from his thermos. He had been at the office all night going through paperwork and was just about to get done with his last batch. "What a night.." He muttered as he signed the last sheet of paper. A small knock on his door caught his attention and Mabui came in with another stack of papers. "Not again.." He muttered, only for Mabui to drop them in the middle of his office and stare behind him. "What's wrong, Mabui?" He asked, worried about the look of shock on her face.

"Behind you!" She said. A quickly jumped forward and turned, only to see a large flying creature heading towards the Raikage tower at breakneck pace. "Get down!" He yelled, only for the creature to suddenly veer upwards towards the roof of the building. "What the hell was that!" A demanded. "Did it look like a…bat, to you?" Mabui asked. A's eyes flashed with recognition and he shunshinned to the roof.

~ Roof ~

Cat and Anbu were already on the roof while Yugito and Naruto helped gingerly carry the injured Samui from Orfeo's back. As soon as Samui and Yugito were off, Naruto redirected his attention to Orfeo. "Thanks for the ride, Orfeo!" Naruto said happily. "Thanks for summoning me in the middle of a siege Naruto." Orfeo shot back sarcastically. "Oh come on, it was fun and you know it!" Naruto replied. "Maybe it was…maybe it was." Orfeo admitted and dispelled, leaving the team on the roof.

"Well, let's get Samui to the hospital." Cat said as she headed to the door. Suddenly, a small lightning bolt hit the roof and A appeared. "Naruto, is that you?" He asked. "It's me old man." Naruto replied as he helped Samui slowly walk towards the stairs. "We need med-nin, stat!" He yelled. A nodded and quickly yelled for Mabui to get some medic ninjas. He then motioned them to hurry and get to his office while the ninja arrived.

~ A's Office ~

"Now, Anyone want to explain to me what the hell that thing was?!" A demanded. "What what was?" Naruto asked as he took a seat. The medical ninja were busy treating Samui's wound and cleaning her wounds while the rest of the team were debriefed. " That damn thing you all rode into town!" A yelled. "Oh, that was Orfeo. He's the Boss of the Bat clan." Naruto replied like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Bat boss.. but..but.. What the hell did you do to have to summon him! What happened!?" A demanded.

Naruto sighed as he turned to Mabui. "You got any coffee? This is going to be a long one." Naruto said. Mabui nodded and went to get him a cup. "Now, from the start.." Naruto began as he turned back to A.

~ One LONG explanation later ~

A was dumbstruck. "Wait, wait, wait." A said as he shook his head. "Cat and Yugito went to infiltrate the Armory, Yugito set up an elaborate trap, and they managed to get the inventory lists?" A asked. Yugito nodded and handed him the scroll with said records. "Samui and Dog went to the record rooms and got every memo and letter for the last few months, then they tried to leave but were almost caught and Dog ran out on her?"

A asked. Dog looked down in shame and handed him the scroll with the records. "Yes sir, I am sorry and I will accept any appropriate punishment." Dog said. A looked to Naruto, who just breathed in deeply. " You are hereby dismissed from the Anbu corps and to be integrated back to the Shinobi forces at a Chunnin Rank. Should you want to rejoin the Anbu corps, you will have to take the examination again and be sure that you are mentally fit for duty." Naruto replied. Dog looked up at him with blank eyes.

"Why, Naruto-san? It's obvious you love the girl, so why are you letting the guy who almost got her killed get off with minor consequences considering the severity of the situation?" Dog asked suspiciously. "No point in being mad about the past. What's done is done." Naruto replied.

Dog nodded in relief. "Thank you Naruto-san." "And you, Naruto." A said, shifting the attention to him. "You infiltrated the barracks and got what exactly?" A asked. "Pictures." Naruto replied as he held a camera up. "Oh perfect, now we can have matching décor." A replied sarcastically. "Pictures of the invasion plan and their estimates on their forces strength." Naruto replied. "I'll have them developed and get them back to you later." Naruto said. A sighed and nodded. "Alright, based on what you have, what have you found?" A asked the team as a whole.

"They're going to attack Konoha. They've been sending massive numbers of forces and supplies to nearby fortresses and village borders." Dog said, shocking A. "This is ridiculous, why would they attack their own allies?" A asked in a confused tone. "Orochimaru." Naruto said, turning all of the attention on him. "What about Orochimaru?" A asked. "When I infiltrated the barracks, there was a command center. There, the Kazekage and Orochimaru met up to discuss plans on the invasion." Naruto said in a serious tone.

"Why?" A asked again. "Apparently, The wind Daimyo has been redirecting high paying missions to Konoha's forces. Suna doesn't like that, so they plan on showing daddy who the better son is." Naruto replied. A crossed his fingers and began to think. "Anyway, we know Wind's excuse. Now, what's Orochimaru's?" Naruto asked. "What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" Asked Yugito. "Orochimaru isn't helping Suna out of the goodness of his heart. The question is, what angle is he playing?" Naruto asked, making everyone in the room ask themselves that same question.

"Cough, Cough.." A loud cough resounded through the room. Everyone turned to see Samui getting up from the chair. Yugito quickly went to her side and helped her get up. "We're going to have to do something about it then, won't we?" She asked. "What do you mean?" A asked with interest in his voice. "Simple really. We have to figure out what his hand is and if we pull it off right, we might be able to get Konoha in our debt. Not necessarily where we want them to be, but definitely gives us an edge." Samui replied.

Naruto frowned, but it didn't go unnoticed by anyone. "Listen Naruto-kun, well all know you have issues with Konoha, but can you put them aside at least for a moment and hear me out?" Samui pleaded with her soft blue eyes. 'Damn those eyes of hers..' Naruto internally groaned. "Alright…" "Perfect. Now, if we can get Konoha in our debt, we would have a major advantage over other ninja villages. We may be able to secure a treaty and Kumo would rise above the other villages.." Samui reasoned.

"Not only that, but we may be able to get them to take Naruto off their bingo book.." Yugito added in a thoughtful tone. "Exactly. The question is, how do we help them without alerting them that we infiltrated their allies.." Samui asked. "Simple really, we infiltrate them." A said from behind his desk. "What you talking about, Willis?" Naruto asked A. "Cat and Dog, you are free to go. Medic nins, go get some antibiotics, painkillers and whatever else Samui-san might need." A said. "But.." Cat began, only to be cut off by A. "Dismissed!"

As soon as everyone left the office, A sealed the room and turned to the rest of the team. "In a few weeks, Konoha will be hosting the Chunnin Exams. As I am sure you know, this is when the Sound/Suna alliance plan to spring their trap." A informed the team. "Where are you going with this.." Naruto asked as he gripped the armrest of his chair. He was relaxed when Samui took a seat next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "You three along with Omoi and Karui are to infiltrate the Exams posing as Genin. From there, all you have to do is sit back and watch." A said.

Naruto was boiling in his seat. 'What the hell is this idiot thinking!' He internally demanded. "Hey, unless you've forgotten, I'm not exactly welcome there. I'm in their most wanted list. What do you propose to do about that?" Naruto asked A in a calm voice. "It'll be fine. All you have to do is wear a mask or some.." Before A could finish, Naruto pushed off from his seat. "No way, ain't happening!" He yelled as he headed to the door. When he opened it, he was stopped by Mabui standing at the door. "Please Naruto-san. Push your feelings aside and be professional about this.." She pleaded.

"Professional? If I did the professional thing, Samui would be dead!" He said, and then walked past her. "We should go.." Yugito began, only to be stopped by A himself. "No, you guys have done enough. I'll go myself." A said, shocking the girls. The Raikage ever got up for anyone, not ever. He quickly left the office with Samui and Yugito following closely.

~ With Naruto – Training Ground~

Naruto growled as he punched the stump as hard as he could. There was no way he was going back to Konoha. Not after the way his family acted. He kept punching away at said stump until a voice called out to him. "Naruto-san.." He turned to see A standing there. "Yea?" He asked gruffly. "We need to talk.." A said. "About what? I am NOT going to Konoha, and that's final!" Naruto replied as he punched the stump again. At that moment, Samui and Yugito got to the training ground and saw Naruto punching the stump.

Blood was flying from his knuckles and staining everything, but he didn't seem to notice. It really hurt Yugito and Samui to see him in such a state. "Why are you hell-bent on avoiding Konoha?!Is it because of the Yondaime or your family!?" A demanded. "Yes, its because i dont want to see daddy dearest! Not now, not EVER!" Naruto yelled at him and noticed the girls standing there. This revelation shocked both of the girls to the core. "Might as well explain it to them..." A said with a sigh as he noticed the audience. So Naruto told them of his parents neglect, his disowning, and his life since then. He omitted the parts of the Avengers and his training, only telling them a nice family took him in.

"So they really disowned you in favor of your brother?" Asked Samui. Naruto nodded as he sat down. "Well then, you should show them what they threw away." Yugito said, speaking for the first time since she got there. "Huh?" Naruto asked. "Show them what they threw away and the potential you had." Samui said after Yugito. "Naruto, Kumo is your home now. We aren't going to throw you away cause you kept a secret." Yugito chimed in. "That's what family is for. To laugh with you, cry with you, and help you clean up the messes in between." Yugito said as she kissed him. "And we're your family now." Samui said as she kissed him. The Raikage couldnt help but the fact he kept such a grave and important secret from him, they still refused to give up on him.

"You're going to go far with them backing you up, Naruto.' A mused, then turned to see NAruto looking at him. "What? I'm not gonna kiss you." A said, breaking the tension. "But I also won't sell you out. You're my friend and a citizen and ninja of Kumo. You won't be left to dry." A finished. Naruto smiled as he looked at the three people before him. Stubborn and crazy as they were, they were family, just like the Avengers. "Alright, I'm in. Just give me a few weeks to work on something so I won't be caught." Naruto relented. "Alright, and I'll make you some fake papers and ids." A said. "And they're going to take me to get some rest." Samui said as she pointed to Yugito and Naruto.

~ Samui's place ~

Naruto groaned as the girls laid him down on Samui's bed He wrapped his arms around a pillow and tossed, sleep quickly overtaking him. In the meanwhile, Samui and Yugito talked in the kitchen. "We need to talk." Samui told Yugito. "About what?" Yugito asked. "About Naruto." Samui said. With that, the atmosphere changed. "Yes?" She asked in a quiet tone. "Do you love him?" Samui asked Yugito with a serious voice. Yugito blushed, but nodded. "Why?" She asked.

"Because he acknowledges me for who I am, not what I hold. Instead of teasing me about my weaknesses, he helps me improve them. He makes me laugh, he makes me feel safe. When I'm in his arms, I feel like I can do anything. And I know he's willing to lay his life on the line for mines.." Yugito finished, then looked at Samui. "What about you?" Yugito asked. "Truthfully, I thought it was a crush. But when I got caught, I began thinking about my life. I began trying to go to somewhere that was happy and carefree, and he kept popping up." Samui said with a blush on her face as she blew on her cup of tea.

"I remembered the fun times, the good, the bad, the training. He's the only thing in my life that makes me happy. When I saw the executioner's blade rise, I thought I was going to die. My life flashed before my eyes. I saw him and I building a life together and we were… happy. We had two beautiful children and a third on the way." She said with a hint of shyness in her voice. "And when I saw that, it made me…. incomparably happy. I never wanted to leave. I was ready to until I heard the tone. At first I thought it was hero's worship, but no.." Samui said as she took a sip of tea.

"I can without a doubt say that I see myself raising a future and a family, but only with him.." She sighed, making Yugito fume. "I'm not going to lose him to you." She hissed at Samui. "I'm offering a chance where we all win." Samui replied. "I'm listening…" Yugito relented. "Well…" Samui began.

~ After Negotiations ~

Samui and Yugito quietly climbed into bed with Naruto. They had their discussion and after a few raw negotiations, they had finally come to an agreement. "Wish I was that pillow…" Samui muttered as she saw Naruto bear hugging a pillow. Yugito quickly replaced herself with it and smiled at her. "You win this one.." Samui growled. With that, all three of the blondes went to sleep.