Chapter 07: Konoha Winnings

"You were supposed to report in at nine! That was over three and a half hours ago! You had better have a decent explanation!"

Tsunade's voice boomed in her office as she punctuated her words by slamming her hands on her desk, making a large crack appear on the surface despite the presence of Jiraya's high quality strengthening seals.

In front of her, two kneeling females cowered in fear, their ANBU masks placed on the floor in front of them. The significance of this would be lost on a civilian, as well as on many lower ranking ninja. Being selected as ANBU was considered an honour, the mask symbolised their devotion. It showed that they were willing to give up their own lives, their own faces, to serve the village. For the Hokage to order them to remove their masks meant that they had, in layman's terms, royally fucked up. And that they would probably be facing demotion and possibly even suspension.

After fixing themselves up, Yugao and Anko had decided that it was best to face the music and go straight to the Hokage's office. That thought had lived a short life since, the moment they got out of the suite in the Royal Leaf Hotel, they found out that they positively…absolutely…reeked of sex. Inside the suite, everything had been imbued with the smell, so they hadn't really noticed. But when they stepped into the fresh midmorning air the scent was almost suffocating.

Needless to say, they weren't going to give their report smelling like walking whorehouses.

By the time they had showered, and showered again just to make sure all the smell was gone, gotten a change of clothes and finally reached the Hokage's Tower, the Council meeting had been well underway. They had waited nervously for their leader to return to her office, all the while imagining the various possible outcomes.

The common phrase is that 'the wait is the hardest part'. When the one you're waiting for can make earthquakes with a simple punch and has a notoriously short temper however, common phrases go right out the window.

"Well? What the hell do you have to say for yourselves?"

Forcing her nerves aside, Anko glanced up at Tsunade's angry red face.

"Sorry Boss-Lady I-I mean Ho-Hokage-sama!" She stutter when a blast of Killing Intent washed over her. "We c-came as s-soon as we c-could! But it we c-couldn't g-get away without c-compromising ourselves."

Fortunately for them that calmed Tsunade down, if only enough for her to let them explain without being subjected to large amounts of killing intent. It wasn't uncommon for stealth missions to be prolonged for one reason or another. It was rather odd for it to happen in her own village, but she decided to wait before judging.

"Very well, explain!"

This time it was Yugao who lifted her head.

"Hokage-sama, after you gave us our assignment we sought out the previous surveillance squad. We found them watching the targets as they ate at the Ichiraku Ramen bar. When we asked for a report they informed us that they had taken the Luxury Suite at the Royal Leaf Hotel. From there we decided that the best course of action was to let the previous squad maintain surveillance while we posted ourselves inside their suite. We have used this method before when a close watch was required and we were confident of our skill."

Tsunade nodded dismissively. She knew very well that the two in front of her were extremely gifted in stealth. They were the only ones who could fool even the best Inuzuka noses, chakra Sensors, and many other types of detection ninja. She had no doubt that they could stand in front of their target and not be noticed.

"We were both stationed in their bedroom, having assumed that that would be the best place to observe any potentially informative interactions. The targets returned to their room at 10:47 last night and proceeded to engage in…ahem…sexual intercourse."

Yugao paused, which was fortunate since Tsunade's mind had temporarily shut down. She blinked, opened her mouth, blinked, closed her mouth, and blinked again.

"What?"

This seemed to be the cue Anko needed to return to her usual boisterous behavior.

"I know, right? I mean…they're brother and sister right? I mean…I know that those Uchiha fagots did that sort of thing! And the Hyuuga would probably fuck their own mothers if it helped keep their bloodline! But…damn! They were fucking like rabbits…horny rabbits mind you…for twelve hours straight! People call me sex crazed but…fuck! Yugao! Tell her about the size of his cock! He's a fucking monster! He didn't go soft, not once in twelve hours! That half a day for Kami sakes! With the amount of cum he pumped into her I'm surprised she hasn't given birth alre…"

"Anko!"

The spiky haired kunoichi blinked at the interruption to her ramblings, and blushed when she saw the Hokage staring at her.

"Let me get this straight…" Tsunade said, rubbing the bridge of her nose and reaching into a desk drawer for a much needed bottle of sake. She decided to skip the part about them having sex, incestuous sex, she'd think about that later. "…you were forced to stay because you didn't want to risk drawing their attention?"

"Hai! Hokage-sama!"

Tsunade sighed and easily drained the bottle of alcohol. She carelessly chucked empty container into the rubbish bin where it joined a good dozen more. The aging woman felt a sharp pang at the sight, it was evidence of her broken relationship with her first apprentice. It had always been Shizune that prevented her from going over the top with her sake consumption. Now that she was gone…

The blonde Kage shook the depressing thoughts away and looked back at her kneeling subordinates.

"You're sure that you weren't detected? I don't doubt your skill, but twelve hours is a long time, even for you."

At this point the two women had a choice. As ANBU they had a duty to not lie to their leader, doing so was tantamount to treason, something neither of them wanted. On the other hand she was just finally calming down, telling her that they had both been so entranced by the crazy sex that they had, at some unknown moment, completely dropped their cloaking jutsu would probably lead to a fate that neither of them wanted to contemplate.

"They gave no indication that they were aware of our presence Hokage-sama," Yugao said, making sure not to lie but treading carefully around the truth. "And considering how…absorbed…they were in their activities…"

Tsunade nodded tiredly, missing the small sighs of relief from her kunoichi.

"Alright! Alright! Did you find out anything useful?"

Anko and Yugao shared a glance.

"Sorry Boss-Lady! Apart from their crazy stamina there wasn't really anything…"

"Actually…" Yugao interrupted. "I did notice something." She paused to make sure she had the Hokage's attention. "The other ANBU units may have already reported this, since the clothes she was wearing exposed her midriff, but at no point did I see the Kyuubi's Seal."

Tsunade's eyes widened. The seal was always visible, for the simple reason that it was always drawing youki from the beast and into the vessel. She may not be a seal master but she did have a good understanding of seals, and she knew that if Natsuko's seal was no longer visible then someone had been tampering with it.

"But that's not all!" Tsunade looked back to Yugao as she continued. "I noticed that the male target did have a seal on his stomach and one on his chest just above his heart. I don't know if it's the same as the one that holds the Nine Tails, but it was shaped like a swirl. I recognized the one above his heart as a high quality blood protected storage seal."

"They both had a seal on their left forearms as well." Anko added. "It looked like a plain circle but there were numbers in them. The fox kid had a number 74, and the guy…Naruto I think his name was…had a number 99."

Tsunade frowned in though. She'd have to talk to Jiraya, he would have a better idea of what the seals, and absence of seals, could mean.

"Right! Was there anything else?"

There was a pause as the ANBU thought back on any details they could have missed.

"Um…" Anko's brow creased hesitantly. "I know it was just a rumour, but I heard that you gave the Shodaime's necklace to the brat and that she wore it around her neck, but I don't remember seeing it."

Tsunade flinched imperceptibly, her hand drifting towards her ample chest before she caught herself and placed it back on the desk.

"The rumour was just that, a rumour! Was there anything else?" she asked a bit snappishly.

They both shook their heads.

"No! Hokage-sama"

"In that case you're both dismissed. I'll have a regular team follow them from now on."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

As her two female ANBU left the room, Tsunade pushed the inter-com button and asked her assistant to have someone locate Jiraya and tell him to report to her office.

Now alone, she brought her hand up to her chest and pulled out her grandfather's necklace. Natsuko had given, or rather thrown, it back to her as they left the Council Chambers. It had been a heavy emotional blow for the last member of the Senju line. Giving back the necklace was essentially Natsuko's way of saying that she had given up on becoming Hokage. True, she had said as much during the meeting with the Council but, for Tsunade and Jiraya, giving back the necklace was much more symbolic. It was a way of showing that all the promises, all the dreams, and all the ties she once had to Konoha were gone.

She felt tears prickle in her eyes but ruthlessly pushed them away. She may regret letting the Council sway her into agreeing with Natsuko's banishment, but she was still convinced that it had been the right decision. Tsunade had always intended for her to be brought back to Konoha, which was why she had planned to have Jiraya's informants keep an eye on her. She had never even considered that Natsuko might not want to come back.

She shook her head and fished out another bottle of sake.

'It doesn't matter! She'll be coming back to Konoha one way or another. With any luck this will all be sorted out with the fight tomorrow.' She said to herself. She paled slightly when a thought came to mind. 'There is no way that damned pervert can find out about their relationship! He'll be all giggly for hours on end!'

She filled a saucer with sake as she thought about the unexpected discovery. She had noticed that Natsuko and her brother seemed quite close, but she hadn't thought much into it. That they were romantically involved wasn't something that could help her in convincing them to return.

'It doesn't really matter anyway, it's not like incest is illegal. Civilians may make an issue of it but none of the clans will, most Kekkai Genki would have gone extinct by now if it wasn't for at least some degree of inbreeding.'

She sighed.

After the meeting she had come straight to her office so that she could think things through. Finding Yugao and Anko waiting to give their report had put a delay to that, but now that she was alone she could think back to what had happened. In hindsight, the meeting itself had been shockingly unrewarding. Usually the Council stuck to their objective and bullied their way along until they either got what they wanted or she put her foot down. The Uzumaki duo had managed to keep them off balance and a lot of the underhand tactics she expected from the Elders and Civilians weren't even attempted.

It was an impressive display of political savvy and she wasn't even sure if it had been intentional.

She sighed again and rubbed her temples in small relaxing circles.

"Careful Tsu-hime, you're starting to look your age."

She looked up to see Jiraya come in through the window and scowled at him.

"Took your time you damn pervert!"

He shrugged absently.

"I was doing some important research. What did you want?"

The Godaime poured herself some more sake and started telling her old team mate what she'd just learnt…minus the sex part.

She really didn't want to deal with his perverted giggles.

0°0°0°0°0°0

After the Council meeting the two Uzumaki headed to Ichiraku Ramen for a quick, but very tasty lunch before heading back to their hotel room.

As they got near, once again walking hand in hand and pretending not to notice the ANBU squad tailing them, Natsuko broke the comfortable silence.

"Are you sure this is a good idea Naruto-kun? The fight I mean."

Naruto smiled at her reassuringly and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Of course it is Natsuko-chan." He said with certainty. "You've already given Tsunade her necklace back, this will give us a chance to mess with Jiraya and the Uchiha. Just remember not to go all out, we don't want to cause any permanent damage at this point."

Natsuko sighed but nodded in agreement. She couldn't deny that she was looking forward to humiliating the teme. As they reached the entrance to the Royal Leaf Hotel she thought back to the deal Naruto managed to make.

0°0°0 FLASHBACK 0°0°0

"Maybe we can have a little bet?"

Natsuko almost burst out laughing at the effect her brother's words had. The majority of the Council was dumbstruck at the odd proposition, stuck between wondering if he was a fool or if they had heard wrong. Tsunade on the other hand seemed to glow with new life, her eyes alight with unholy interest.

It was fairly common knowledge that almost all shinobi had some sort of obsession or habit. Some were obvious, others were well hidden, but almost everyone had one. The main theory was that it developed as a method to cope with the harsh reality that was the life of a ninja, to deal with the questionable choices and horrifying sights the shinobi lifestyle inevitably lead to. Most ninja were smart enough to understand that it could be a weakness, and took steps to control their tendencies.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on one's point of view, Tsunade hadn't. She had wallowed in her own self-pity and indulged in her own addictions for so long that she no longer considered the problems that could come from them. That was perhaps a harsh and somewhat exaggerated way to put it, but it was also true. It was her addiction to gambling and games of chance that led her to squandering the accumulated and considerable wealth of the Senju Clan, to 'loosing' her grandfather's priceless necklace, and even to her taking the position of Godaime Hokage.

Naruto had played on that addiction, without even bothering about being discreet about it, and she fell for it hook, line and sinker.

"What sort of bet are you proposing?" Tsunade asked with interest.

Naruto stroked his chin in an exaggerated thinking pose. He knew he couldn't push too far. He had to make an offer that seemed to be at least slightly in their favour, but also make it hard, if not impossible to refuse.

Luckily the law was in their favour.

"We all know that Namikaze isn't a clan name and it isn't tied to the Konoha Charter. As such Natsuko-chan's inheritance can't legally be withheld from her without the Daimyo's ruling. I think that is something we would all like to avoid." He paused to let his words sink in. He allowed himself a small smirk when he saw some of them realise whose favour that scenario would go in. "Nonetheless we are aware that the Namikaze name is important for Konoha, so this is what I suggest. Two friendly spars, Natsuko-chan and I against two ninja of your choice. If you win both matches, we return to Konoha, if we each win a match nothing changes, and if Natsuko-chan and I both win our matches she receives her inheritance without either of us returning to Konoha." He looked directly at the Hokage. "I think the terms are reasonable, what do you say?"

Before anyone could object Tsunade stood up enthusiastically and slapped her palms on the table, thankfully without her super strength.

"Agreed! We'll set the fights for tomorrow at nine in the morning at the stadium. There will be no time limits and the fight ends when one of the contestants forfeits or is no longer able to fight."

Natsuko shared a look with her brother and they both nodded.

"Agreed!"

'Hook, line and sinker.'

0°0°0 FLASHBACK END 0°0°0

"Natsuko-chan!"

The Uzumaki spun around when a female voice rang across the Hotel lobby. There, panting slightly as she leaned against the open doorway, was a rather flushed looking Shizune. Her hospital uniform crumpled from her run across the village. As soon as she caught her breath she headed towards them with a wide smile on her face.

"Natsuko-chan! I heard you were back but I didn't believe it!"

"Shizune-nee…" Natsuko smiled hesitantly. Despite what the Ichiraku said she was still a bit weary, after all Shizune had always been very loyal to Tsunade.

Seeing his sister's discomfort Naruto stepped in.

"Ah, Shizune-san. Natsuko-chan told me a bit about you. We just got back from a rather tedious meeting with the Council and we're going to rest in our room, would you like to join us? I'm sure the two of you can catch up once we're all comfortable."

Eager to get a chance to talk to the girl, now a young woman, who's spirit she came to admire, Shizune freely followed them to their suite.

'Crap!' Naruto thought as they reached the door. 'We forgot to air the room when we left…it probably reeks of stale sex…'

With a self-depreciative sigh, Naruto cracked the door open and flicked his wrist, creating a controlled wind current that funneled the smell away and refreshed the air in the room. He sniffed discreetly, to make sure the room smelt alright, before holding the door open for the ladies.

"Thanks Naruto-kun."

"Thank you Naruto-san."

He followed them in and they all took a comfortable seat. An uncomfortable silence descended on them as they each waited for someone else to speak first.

"Would you like some tea Shizune-san?" Naruto asked, remembering his manners. A long time with very little company had dulled them through lack of practice, but they were still there.

Shizune nodded thankfully.

"Thank you that would be nice Naruto-san."

The medic-nin frowned a bit as he got up and left for the kitchenette. She didn't know who Natsuko's companion was, only having picked up his name because Natsuko said it first, but she had the strange feeling that she had met him before.

"So…" Natsuko interrupted her musings. "Teuchi-ossan and Ayame-neechan said that you often ate at their place…"

It was a statement, but the dark haired woman could clearly detect the underlying question. She sighed and looked her 'little sister' in the eyes.

"Yeah, they were probably the only people who outwardly disagreed with the decision to banish you." She grimaced a little before carrying on. "Did you know that they even went so far as to refuse to serve Tsunade when she tried to go for some ramen?"

Natsuko's eyes widened in shock.

"Are they crazy! Refusing the Hokage!"

Shizune's head bobbed up and down empathetically.

"Yeah I know, they're lucky that they weren't arrested. There are laws that protect them, but given the circumstances I doubt that the council would have made a fuss about it." She let out a small laugh. "I think Tsunade was too shocked to do anything!"

The blonde Uzumaki smirked as she pictured Tsunade's stunned face at being refused service in her own village.

"Speaking of Tsunade," She said with a slight narrowing of her eyes. "I'm surprised that you don't agree with her. Sorry if I'm a bit skeptical but you've never really gone against her before, even if you didn't like some of her choices."

Shizune flinched at the suspicious tone but couldn't deny the truth. Before they met Natsuko, she wouldn't even had thought of disagreeing with her mentor.

Cutting ties with Tsunade, the last link she had to her uncle Dan, had by no means been an easy thing to do. Even now, more than three years later, she would sometimes wake up in the morning and start planning for her ex-master's day, or find herself halfway to the Hokage Tower to do her assistant duties.

The day that she had split paths with Tsunade had brought an unpleasant revelation. Shizune had always known that her friend took the sacrifices and efforts she made for her somewhat for granted. But seeing the pure shock and disbelief on the woman's face when she spoke against her had said volumes. It was obvious that Tsunade hadn't even considered that she might not agree with her decision, expecting her to follow obediently no matter what.

She looked into Natsuko's eyes with a steely determination.

"There's a big difference between drinking too much sake or gambling off too much money and betraying a friend for something they didn't do." She said with a conviction that told Natsuko she wasn't lying. "I didn't even believe it until Tsunade told me herself."

Natsuko frowned in concentration as she thought back to that day.

"You weren't at the Council meeting were you?" She said slowly. "The one where they banished me."

"No," Shizune answered, shaking her head in agreement as she spoke. "You remember that Neji, Chouji, and Kiba had been wounded during the retrieval mission? And Lee shouldn't have gone anyway since he was still recuperating from the operation on his leg. So when Tsunade was called to the Council meeting, I stayed to keep an eye on them. On top of that it was still quite soon after the Sand/Sound invasion, shinobi were being sent on more missions to keep the village's image up, so there were more wounded coming in that needed to be taken care of. By the time I got off shift and out of the hospital I went straight to bed to catch up on lost sleep. After that I went back to the hospital, again. It was only then that I started to hear the rumors and people celebrating your banishment and, honestly, I completely discarded them. As far as I was concerned it was just stupid rumors because Tsunade would never allow you to be banished." She took a long, deep breath. "It was almost a week later that I actually learnt that the rumors were true. I thought of trying to find you but…where would I even start looking?"

Natsuko let out a relieved sigh and moved over to Shizune's chair, pulling her into an affectionate hug. She was comfortable enough with her heightened senses that she could use them to detect most lies, and she could tell that the older woman was being sincere.

"Well it's nice to see someone in Konoha isn't a dick. No offence." Naruto said humorously as he set down the tray, with tea pot and cups, a small table. "So Shizune-san, how do you take your tea?"

0°0°0°0°0°0

Later that night , as the sun was beginning to set, Naruto left the two women to their catching up and headed towards Ichiraku Ramen. He came back a half hour later with the two ramen chefs, having invited them to diner. Ayame immediately went over to join the other two girls while Naruto and Teuchi went to the suite's small kitchen.

"You don't have to help me Teuchi-san, you should relax a bit. I didn't invite you just to make you cook you own meal." Naruto said over his shoulder as he rummaged through the small fridge to see what was provided. He clucked his tongue in disappointment at the poor results his search yielded and unsealed some 'decent' ingredients from one of his scrolls.

'I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This is a high class hotel, people who come here probably go to the restaurant to eat, or call room service.'

The old ramen chef chuckled and tilted his head towards the entranceway where the three women were just visible.

"I'd rather spent the night cooking than sitting down listening to 'girl talk'."

"We heard that!" Three indignant female voices exclaimed, making the two men stifle their laughter less they be subjected to their wrath.

With a pulse of chakra Naruto pressed his hand to the wall and a plain wooden door appeared, blocking the two groups from each other so they could converse with some privacy. A sad smile stretched his lips as he turned back to the ingredients and started preparing them.

"Are you alright son?" Teuchi asked in concern, absently joining in the preparations with a skill born from years of practice. "You look a bit down on yourself."

Naruto shook his head dismissively.

"Nah…it's just…seeing Natsuko-chan back there, laughing with her friends and all that… It makes me realise that I've pretty much been her only company for three, going on four, years. I'm quite proud to say that I've given her all the things that Konoha failed to, but…seeing how she acts with you and Ayame-san, and now Shizune-san…it makes me realise that I've also inadvertently taken away the one thing Konoha did give her. I've been alone for so long that I really don't care about people in general. But Natsuko-chan…she loves seeing new faces and making new friends, something that she hasn't been able to do during her time with me."

Teuchi felt his appreciation for the young man soar. He had already liked him well enough, seeing how happy he made Natsuko had assured that, but the boy's words showed the ramen chef that he actually deserved to be with her.

He clapped him on the shoulder and turned back to cutting carrots.

"Don't be so hard on yourself! I've known Natsuko for longer than you. I've seen her cry when parents told their kids not to play with her. I've seen her laugh as she was chased by hoards of ninja for painting the faces of the Hokage Monument. I've seen her smile as she inhales bowl after bowl of ramen. I won't deny what you said, but I can honestly say that I've never seen her happier than when she's by your side."

Despite himself Naruto felt a wide smile creep onto his face at the reassuring words. He looked over at the older man as he took a clean knife and started slicing the meat into thin ribbons.

"Thanks for that. Given how highly she speaks of you it means a lot." His smile turned to an amused grin. "But seriously? '…I've never seen her happier than when she's by your side'? are you a secret romance novelist or something?" He asked with laughter in his voice, which only increased as a small blush covered the man's cheeks.

0°0°0°0°0°0

"Well they sound like they're having fun." Ayame said with a raised brow as the three girls heard laughter coming through the makeshift door. She then turned to Natsuko with a sly grin on her face. "So… now that we've got some privacy… what's Naruto-kun like in bed?"

Natsuko choked and spluttered in surprise at the unexpected question. Shizune turned cherry red and slapped the ramen waitress' arm reproachfully.

"Ayame!" She exclaimed in a scandalized tone. "Don't ask questions like that!"

"Why not?" She replied unrepentantly. "It's not as if either of us is 'getting any'. Since Natsuko-chan's the only one with a boyfriend we'll have to live through her."

They glared at each other until Shizune let her shoulders drop on defeat and they both turned to their blonde haired friend.

Natsuko blinked owlishly and a deep blush slowly crept its way onto her face. She opened and shut her mouth a few times before she finally found her voice.

"You want me to tell you about…our sex life?" She asked uncertainly.

She wasn't shy about what she and Naruto got up to together. Her little exhibitionist streak the previous night was proof of that. But having sex in front of two near-strangers that she would probably never see again was entirely different from telling some of her best friends about what she liked her lover to do to her.

On the other hand, a part of her found the idea rather appealing. The thought of bragging about all the perverted things she had coaxed her brother into trying…

"And don't leave anything out!" Ayame said with a firm nod. "We want details girl!"

Natsuko looked at the two women and licked her lips slowly, making them shift forwards eagerly, hanging off the edges of their seats. This was going to be so much fun!

"Well. Our first time together was on my sixteenth birthday. Naruto-kun had taken me to one of his special safe-houses so that we could relax and he had prepared a special seal that partially stopped our healing factors so that we could have some sake. He said that since we were celebrating my becoming an adult we would get piss drunk…"

When Teuchi, Naruto and a bunch of clones came out of the kitchen carrying platters of a variety of delicious smelling foods. They were treated to the sight of three giggling females huddled together on the sofa having a whispered and, if their blushes were anything to judge by, embracing conversation.

"What are you girls up to?" Teuchi asked as he put the food down.

Naruto, who was directing his clones as they arranged the table, felt a chill run down his spine as all three girls turned, looked at his face, and, in perfect synchronization, dropped their eyes to his…mid-section. They blushed. Heavily.

"Hey! Are you girls alright?" Teuchi asked, oblivious to the byplay.

"Yeah, we're fine Tou-san." Ayame said a little too quickly, making his eyes narrow in suspicion.

"We were just talking about…um…something good to eat." Natsuko supplied helpfully. Her eyes glazed over as she considered her words. "Something really good to eat…"

Ayame and Shizune dissolved into fit of giggles while throwing another 'discreet' glance at Naruto.

When they calmed down everyone sat to eat, making casual conversation in between mouthfuls. The warm atmosphere reminded Naruto of the times he spent with his mother before her untimely demise. He smiled when he saw Natsuko happily interacting with the others and decided that now was a good time to make his offer.

He subtly put up a privacy barrier, just in case some of Konoha's surveillance methods had slipped by him, and cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Teuchi-san, Ayame-san, Shizune-san, we have an offer for you." He paused and shared a look with Natsuko who's eyes widened when she understood what he was talking about and nodded once a little hesitantly for him to proceed.

"Natsuko-chan and I have decided to rebuild Uzugakure. The village itself is already prepared, needing only the final, more personal, touches to reach completion. We've sent invitations to what's left of the old Uzu clans. They may not have any notable Bloodlines or have very large numbers, but they have produced many generations of skilled ninja. We're going to visit all the places that Natsuko-chan helped during her time in Konoha and offer them alliances. Both trade and military. So far we've only been to the Land of Waves but they seemed quite pleased with the idea."

He paused to let his words sink in and, after sharing another look with Natsuko, he sat back to let her continue.

"What we'd like," She said nervously. "Is for you to leave Konoha with us and become citizens of new Uzugakure. For you, Teuchi-ossan and Ayame-neechan, business might be a bit slow before the village population grows a bit, but there are plenty of resources so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. And I'll make sure to build you the best Ramen Bar you can imagine." She said with a winning smile and a thumbs up that made them grin back at her despite their shock at the unexpected offer.

"As for you Shizune-nee-chan, you can head the hospital if you'd like. Or help train new medic-nin. or…whatever you want really."

There was silence for a few moments. Teuchi and Ayame looked at each other, communicating silently. They both nodded in agreement.

"We accept." They said in unison. Teuchi continued. "Life hasn't been so bad for us here in Konoha, but it hasn't been particularly good either. I think the change could make a nice difference."

Natsuko squealed happily and jumped over the table, pulling them both into a tight hug. When they calmed down and separated everyone looked at Shizune for her answer, only to find her with her head down and shoulders slumped in defeat.

Natsuko walked over to her, worried, and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Shizune-nee-chan? What's wrong?" She asked. "If you don't want to come, that's OK. We won't mind and you can still visit us."

The dark haired woman shook her head and looked up, her eyes glistening as she struggled to hold back her tears.

"It's not that I don't want to come with you. But I can't. I'm still a kunoichi of Konoha. The only way for me to come would be for me to retire, and to do that I would need the Hokage's approval. Considering that I'm the second best medic in the village I doubt that she would let me go. Especially since we're not even on talking terms anymore. And even if she did, the Council would block her right away…"

"Shit! We should have thought about that before!" Natsuko swore loudly. "We could have added that to the bet."

Everyone but Naruto stared at her questioningly.

"Bet?"

"Tomorrow morning, Naruto-kun and I will each fight a spar against two of Tsunade's ninja. If they win both fights we stay here. If we win on fight and they win the other we leave. And if we win both fights we leave and I get the Namikaze inheritance scroll." She blew out a heavy, frustrated breath. "We should have added Shizune's retirement."

A cough from Naruto made them snap their heads around to face him.

"Actually I don't think that's necessary."

Shizune frowned questioningly.

"What do you mean?"

Rather than answering Naruto asked another question.

"Shizune-san, did you graduate the academy?"

"No…" She answered slowly, wondering what that had to do with anything. "I went for a few years, but then Tsunade took me as an apprentice. I would have had to pass the exam when she deemed me ready, but by then we had already left the village."

Naruto smirked.

"What about when you came back? Did you pass any exams or have to sign any registration papers?"

Her jaw dropped as she understood what he meant.

"No! With all the fuss over the invasion and Tsunade becoming Godaime Hokage…and then I was her personal assistant so everyone just assumed…"

Teuchi and Ayame looked on in confusion as Naruto and Shizune smirked at each other. A moment later Natsuko's eyes widened as the proverbial light bulb went off over her head and she laughed out loud.

Ayame got annoyed.

"Would you mind explaining what's so funny? How are we going to get Shizune-chan out of Konoha?"

Natsuko wiped the tears from her eyes.

"That's just it!" She chuckled. "We don't have to do anything because, officially, she isn't a Konoha nin. Everyone just assumed that she was because of her closeness to Tsunade."

"That's…that's just stupid!" Ayame said incredulously.

"That's what makes it so funny!"

"Hang on a minute!" Naruto interrupted. "We still have to check the Shinobi Registry. Just to make sure. And even if we're right, this won't go down easily. It may be legal, but we won't be making any friends. We'll be leaving as soon as the fights over and we get the scroll."

Shizune quirked an eyebrow.

"You sound like you know you're going to win. Who are you fighting?"

Naruto shrugged.

"I don't know. We left the choice to Tsunade and I suppose she'll discuss it with the Council. My guess is that they'll want the Uchiha brat to fight Natsuko-chan and Jiraya to fight me. There's also the possibility that Tsunade herself will fight. Or Kakashi. Or the other team mate, what was her name?"

"Sakura?"

"Sakura, that's it. Either way the only one who presents much of a challenge is Jiraya, and even then that's if he goes all out."

They looked at him with an understandable amount of doubt. After all Jiraya wasn't considered one of the strongest shinobi in the Elemental Nations for nothing.

Naruto waved their concern away.

"Don't worry about it. Just be ready to leave." He turned to Teuchi. "I'll have some Shadow Clones help you pack and seal your things if you'd like."

0°0°0°0°0°0

Early the next morning Naruto, Natsuko, Ayame and Shizune were waiting one of the contestant waiting areas of the stadium. Teuchi was at his Ramen Bar directing a group of clones as they carefully packed everything.

Natsuko was frustrated.

Last night Naruto had insisted that they get some sleep. They could go for almost a week without sleeping and still be operational, but he said that the was no point in taking unnecessary chances with their fights and had summoned Kisa-chan to stand watch while they rested.

She understood that, she really did, and it wasn't like they had had sex every night since their first time. Just almost every night.

What she found so frustrating was that, after giving her two friends a very detailed accounting of her sex life, she was feeling very…needy.

'Screw it!'

She glanced at the clock.

'Eight thirty, it'll have to be a quickie!'

Natsuko jumped to her feet, surprising her three companions. She had opted for a miniskirt today, with a pair of tight shorts underneath so that she didn't have to worry about flashing her panties. Otherwise her clothes were the same. Above knee height black kunoichi boots, a tight mini-T-shirt that left her midriff exposed, and a long black trench coat. With one fluid motion she dropped the coat to the floor, hiked her fingers beneath her skirt and pulled both shorts and undergarments down to her ankles before stepping out of them. Ayame and Shizune blushed crimson as they caught a glance at her exposed nether regions before the skirt fell back into place.

Naruto stared on incredulously. He had put up a privacy jutsu around their waiting area the moment thy got there. It was one of his most powerful and would block anyone from seeing, hearing, smelling or otherwise detecting anything that happened within the area. But that didn't change the fact that they were sitting in a rather exposed booth in the Konoha Stadium as dozens of people slowly trickled into the stands.

"Natsuko what the hell are you…"

He was cut off as she pressed a finger to his lips, her other hand fishing into his pants to pull his cock out.

"Ssh…I really need it Onii-chan…and we've only got half an hour."

"But what about…" He glanced at the blushing Ayame and Shizune sitting less than four feet away.

"Ma! I've already told them all about the things we get up to. Actually letting them see us in action won't make much of a difference.

Naruto didn't even bother questioning the logic behind that as his sister stroked his member into full hardness, drawing awed gasps from the other two girls who, despite getting his exact measurements from Natsuko the previous night, were shocked at its length and thickness.

Natsuko pushed her brother back so that he was laying on the bench with her hand holding onto the base of his cock, making it stick straight up and giving her two friends an even better view than before. She smirked at their gob smacked and lustful expressions before contemplating her options.

With a little less than half an hour, and her brother's impressive stamina, they wouldn't be able to indulge much. The problem was that she didn't want to have to choose a single hole since she liked, no, loved it in all three.

Suddenly an idea sprung to mind. An idea that, coupled with having sex in front of her two best friends, would make even a short half hour session fulfilling enough to satisfy her lust.

"Naruto-koi…I want you to make two reinforced clones. Now!"

Naruto blinked at her a few times before his eyes widened in realization. He knew what she had in mind, he was a bit surprised that they hadn't tried it out before, but at the same time…

"Are you sure Natsu-chan?" He asked, worry filling his voice. "I already stretch you out a lot. I know you're Healing Factor will prevent any damage, but there's no point if it's too painful. Are you sure you want to…"

"I'm sure!" She cut him off with certainty.

She was a little nervous but now that he had inadvertently made it a challenge there was no way she was backing down.

Before he could object she lifted her skirt up and straddled his waist in a reverse cow-girl position. Bracing herself by gabbing the edges of the bench, she easily impaled herself on his erect meat pole, moaning loudly as it parted her moist folds. They hadn't engaged in any foreplay, so she was dryer than usual, but still wet enough for him to slide in.

Naruto groaned in pleasure, reveling in the sensation that he could, and would, never grow tired of.

"Now!" She said smugly over her shoulder. "We only have twenty five minutes now. So be a good boyfriend and make those clones so we can give Ayame-nee-chan and Shizune-nee-chan a good show."

Two Naruto clones popped into existence with their cocks standing at attention and sticking out of the zipper on their pants.

Shizune and Ayame, who had been lost by the short conversation, had their eyes widen to dinner plates as they understood what was going to happen. Sure enough, without a word spoken, clone number one swung a leg over the original and got behind Natsuko before seizing his fat cock, pressing the bulbous head to her pink asshole and slowly thrusting in.

Natsuko's cries of pain and pleasure were quickly silence by clone number two as he grabbed the sides of her head in both his hands before forcing his equally large dick into her open mouth and down her throat.

Naruto groaned in ecstasy. Having used the Kage Bushin for years, he knew a lot of tricks about the technique. One such trick, a trick that he was currently using, was that if the he made a chakra string connecting one of the Tenketsu at the base of his skull to the same Tenketsu on his clone, he could get the memory feedback in real-time.

Right now that meant that he was getting the sensations of fucking his sister's mouth, ass and pussy simultaneously. He could feel his cock buried in her cunt as it pressed her walls against his cock buried in her rectum, the usual tightness of her holes made twice as heavenly due to the double penetration.

Natsuko moaned around the throbbing shaft that was working its way down her throat, her eyes fluttering dazedly in pleasure as clone one sawed in and out of her asshole. She started pushing back to meet his thrusts, which had the added effect of drawing her tight pussy walls up and down the original's shaft. When she reached a rhythm she liked she focused on clone two, working her tongue along the underbelly of his pole as he literally raped her mouth. She was forced to pump chakra to her lungs to preserve the air she had because of how enthusiastically he was fucking her face, leaving her no opportunity to draw breath.

Ayame struggled to hold back a moan as she watched her friend get gangbanged by her own brother. She and Teuchi had been shocked and slightly disgusted on the first day when they learnt that Naruto was in fact Natsuko's half-brother. As civilians incest was very much taboo. They had quickly gotten over it however, when they saw how happy the couple was together.

Now that she was actually seeing them in action the knowledge that they were family just made it even more of a turn on. She watched as one of the Narutos rammed his huge cock back into Natsuko's incredibly stretched butt hole and whimpered in need.

Throwing all restraint to the wind, she tore off her clothes and started fingering herself vigorously. She moaned in relief when she felt the tension in her loins start to lessen and her folds dampen. She added another finger, and another, stretching herself more than she had ever dared before. She focused solely on Naruto's cock as it plunged in and out of her friend's ass and her juices started to spill as she imagined that same cock replacing her fingers and plundering her virgin pussy.

Shizune gaped in shock as her waitress friend suddenly stripped and started masturbating. She hesitated a moment before shrugging and following suit.

Naruto, all three of him, grinned as he saw the two girls start pleasuring themselves. He was deeply in love with Natsuko but that didn't stop him from appreciating other females' beauty. He felt his cock grow even harder as he watched Ayame and Shizune's naked bodies, smirking to himself at the thought that it was his cock they were thinking of as they probed their dripping pussies. He felt his balls churn in anticipation and accelerated his pace, determined to go all out on the race to finish.

Natsuko's eyes shot wide open when all three cocks went into overdrive without warning. She could feel all three holes burn deliciously as desire consumed her, the continuous sawing in her ass and pussy creating a raging fire the split right up her middle. She briefly wondered what had happened to spur her lovers' sudden increase in enthusiasm, but the thought vanished when Naruto one started blasting thick ropes of hot creamy cum into her rectum, quickly plastering her intestinal walls with his spunk and triggering her own orgasm.

Nonetheless none of the Narutos slowed their pace drilling into her relentlessly and sending her into throws of orgasmic release as her convulsing pussy walls rippled around the originals shaft, drenching his pants in her sweet nectar. Her loud, but muffled, moans soon pushed Naruto two overboard and he joined his 'brother', spilling his massive cum load down the willing girl's throat, keeping her nose pressed against him so that his cock was shooting its boiling white magma directly down to her belly. The original Naruto wasn't long in joining in, the real-time feedback forcing him to climax. With an animal-like growl of pleasure he slammed her hips down to his and held her in place as he erupted deep into her womb, flooding her wet silky cave with a tidal wave of his thick and potent baby batter, sending her nerves haywire as the viscous and steamy fluid washed over her hypersensitive inner flesh, skyrocketing her already prolonged orgasm.

The two clones pulled out and slumped to the floor, savoring the afterglow of the satisfying romp. Natsuko, once she recovered, looked over at the clock and saw that there were just a few minutes before the first match. She regretfully pulled herself off of her brother's still hard cock and turned to pull her panties and shorts back on. She froze.

Ayame and Shizune were both fingering themselves wildly, eyes clamped shut as their juices dripped from their glistening pussy lips. Looking at the small trickle that was leaking from both her friends Natsuko, for the first time, realized just how much more she produced compared to other girls. She knew that it was a side effect of her Healing Factor but it was still rather shocking, if she was fingering herself like those two she would have been spraying all over the place by now.

With a shake of her head she pushed the thought aside, consoling herself in the knowledge that her Naruto-kun loved to drink up her juices, so the more she could give him the better. She smirked when she thought about the special seal he had created specifically for storing her sweet nectar and the matching flask he used to drink them afterwards. She suddenly got a devilish idea that would show her friends just how happy she was to be reunited with them. Her smirk widened.

She pulled Naruto, the real one, to his feet and lead him by the cock to where Shizune was pleasuring herself, whispering her plan into his ear. He looked at her questioningly with an 'are you sure' look in his eyes to which she nodded.

"Shizune-nee-chan!"

The medic kunoichi snapped her eyes open. She turned a deep crimson when she saw both Naruto and Natsuko standing in front of her as she sat completely naked on the bench, her legs spread wide and her hand buried in her pussy. Her gaze locked onto Naruto's member, still sticking full mast out of his zipper with a halo of dampness where Natsuko's juices soaked into his pants. The strawberry blonde Uzumaki smirked and leant down to whisper in her friends ear.

"Open your mouth Shizune-nee-chan," She murmured huskily. "We've got a present for you."

Such was her embarrassment at being caught that she obeyed without hesitation, opening her mouth wide as she could. Natsuko pushed her forwards a little and pulled Naruto's cock so that it was pointing straight at the medic, the tip less than an inch away from her gapping mouth but still clearly avoiding contact.

Seeing his cue, clone one dispelled. Despite having experience the memories in real-time, Naruto was still forced to re-experience all the pleasure of a half hour of fucking his sister's tight, hot and delectably soft rectum, as well as a mind shuddering orgasm. The memories instantly triggered another and Naruto's seed was sent splashing in thick ropes into Shizune's mouth. Too shocked to react she found her mouth full after the third spurt. Seeing this Natsuko moved her brother's contracting dick around painting her friend's face with his thick cream.

Leaving the woman in a daze Natsuko lead her man over to her other friend. Ayame, having seen what happened, was already waiting unabashedly with her mouth wide open while still fingering herself. As soon as she was within reach she bent forwards and closed her lips around Naruto's cock head, her eyes closed in anticipation as she eagerly flicked the tip with her tongue, trying to coax out her prize.

Natsuko's eyes narrowed in anger and she growled lowly, her eyes flashing red. Only Naruto's calming hand on her back prevented her from lashing out.

Clone two dispelled. The memories of fucking Natsuko's throat had the same effect, triggering voluminous blasts of hot cum to shoot into Ayame's waiting mouth as she moaned loudly, swallowing as fast as she could.

Natsuko quickly knelt down and pulled her cock from the other girl's mouth, possessively engulfing it in her own and sucking hard to claim the rest of the release. The glare she leveled at the ramen waitress carrying a clear message.

'Back off!'

Ayame had the decency to look down in shame before looking back up, her eyes conveying her apology. It had been clear to both Ayame and Shizune just how possessive the two Uzumaki were of each other during their 'girl-talk', but she had just gotten so caught up in things that she forgot and ended up overstepping her bounds.

Naruto sighed in relief as his sister gave a sharp nod to show that she accepted the apology.

'Potential crisis averted.'

He chuckled when Natsuko paid a bit more attention to his cock, cleaning it up with extra care, just to make a point. He understood her anger. He didn't really have any friends so he wouldn't ever be in a similar situation, but if another guy touched his Natsuko…

There would be blood.

Lots of it.

0°0°0°0°0°0

"…and now for the first fight! Uchiha Sasuke versus Namikaze Natsuko!"

Natsuko barely noticed the use of her father's name as she walked into the arena, and she didn't care enough for it to bother her. She was still coming down from her sex induced high, so Tsunade's lame attempt to make her acknowledge the man went right over her head. She had completely ignored the opening announcements, and hadn't even noticed the stands filling up. From the looks of it half of Konoha had come to witness the fights, a turnout that rivaled the Chuunin Exam Finals.

She looked to the other side of the arena and bit back a laugh as Sasuke swaggered out arrogantly, much to the villagers' enthusiasm. She looked up as scanned the crowd. In the Kage booth Tsunade and the Council were looking on with interest, the smug looks on many faces telling her that they were sure of their victory. In other parts the reactions people had to her name varied between interest, shock, surprise, anger, and many more. There were even a number of people cheering for her.

She couldn't care less.

She rolled her hips tentatively and held back a silly grin as she felt the dull throbbing along with her brother's cum sloshing around inside her. She gave a mental laugh.

'It's a good thing I have both panties and shorts…or I'd be leaking his precious cum all over the place.'

"You ready to go down dobe?"

She turned back to her opponent who was now just a few feet from her.

Sasuke scowled when she just looked away again and gazed dazedly into the distance.

"Hn!"

The crowd became silent as Tsunade stood in the Kage booth. Unlike the proctor in the Chuunin Exams, she wasn't standing in the arena with the contestants. The level of the fight, even if it was just a spar, was such that she would most likely get in their way. She raised her arm above her head.

"Remember, this is a fight until incapacitation or surrender. Killing is not authorized and counts as a loss. Ready? Fight!"

Sasuke launched forwards, Sharingan blaring, with his fist cocked for a punch. The punch never landed. He froze a few steps from her and stared in shock at what he was seeing. His Doujutsu had developed enough that he could see his opponents' chakra system. He couldn't see the Tenketsu like the Byakugan, but he could see the 'color' of a person's chakra which helped him anticipate what type of Ninjutsu they would use.

What shocked him into stopping was that the dobe's entire body was covered in a shell of gray. The shade was a perfect balance between black and white.

The Sharingan's prediction abilities came from a rapid analysis of the opponents movements. Everyone was capable of predicting what their foe would do to a certain extent. The Sharingan was superior because it could pick up the slightest details, making the predictions much shaper. What made it even more effective was that it could see the chakra circulation in the body, and given the fact that most ninja used chakra to strengthen their muscles, it truly was as if the Sharingan could see the future.

That is unless one was covered in a skin tight barrier of chakra that reduced even a fully matured Sharingan eye to a fraction of its usual effectiveness.

Taking advantage of Sasuke's shock, Natsuko snapped him with a sharp punch to the gut that sent him flying back.

He managed to get a hold of himself and rolled backwards, using the momentum to get back on his feet. He settled into a well-practiced Taijutsu stance and glared at her.

"What the hell is that dobe?" He demanded much to the confusion of the spectators who had seen nothing more than a punch.

Natsuko shrugged, she could see many of the Hyuuga in attendance waiting for her explanation since they too had their Doujutsu blocked by the chakra shell, but she wasn't going to explain.

She dashed forwards and aimed a quick jab at Sasuke's face. He ducked hastily and back peddled to try and gain his bearings as Natsuko kept up her assault. She grinned when she felt herself getting a little lighter as the level of her training seal lowered. It was designed with two release methods. The first was the usual instant release that dropped all restrictions, allowing her to go all out. The second, the one she was using now, gradually lowered it, level by level, and stopped when she was comfortable so that she could still get some amusement out of her fights. A quick glance at her wrist showed that she was currently at level sixty eight.

'Huh! I guess the teme has gotten stronger. The last A-Rank missing-nin that I fought didn't get me lower than forty five. Let's see if you can do better teme!'

They went on like that for a moment. Sasuke being kept under pressure as he tried to accustom himself to fighting without the advantage of the Sharingan and Natsuko failing to land a hit as her speed wasn't quite good enough yet. She quickly got tired of the pointless dance and jumped back.

Sasuke's eyes widened as she slashed her hand diagonally and a crescent blade of wind shot out towards him. He rolled to the side to avoid the sealess jutsu. He was further shocked when he felt his hair singe as the heat radiating from the strange wind blade passed by him. He grit his teeth when he saw it scorch the ground as it carved a thin trench through the arena floor and cursed at not being able to copy the powerful jutsu.

He did a quick series of hand seals, finishing on Tiger and holding his hand to his mouth as he took in a deep breath.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Fireball)

A large ball of bright red fire, a good five feet wide, spewed from his mouth and shot towards Natsuko. She smirked, took a deep breath, and blew out a stream of…nothing.

At least that's what it looked like at first. At a second glance there was a distinct shimmer, similar to the air on a hot summer's day. The Heat jutsu slammed into Sasuke's fireball making it turn a blinding white, as the flames became many times more intense, before exploding outwards, sending a shockwave of scorching hot air in all directions.

Natsuko used her control over Heat to redirect the blast harmlessly around her, but Sasuke suffered some minor burns as he escaped with a Shushin (Body Flicker).

Up in the Kage Booth Tsunade turned to Jiraya.

"What was that? It looked like a Wind jutsu, but the reaction was much too extreme."

"I'm not sure Tsu-hime…I'm more surprised that she could do both the Wind Blade and whatever the other one was without performing a single hand seal. Both were at least B-Rank jutsu, doing a technique of that level sealess takes a hell of a lot of skill. Either that or it has to be forced through with massive amounts of wasted chakra."

Hiashi Hyuuga, who had his Byakugan active, overheard the conversation and spoke up.

"There was no visible excess chakra." Seeing all attention turning to him he continued. "Both jutsu were perfectly performed with all Elemental Chakra being directed into the jutsu."

"Can you tell if it was just Wind Hiashi-san?" Tsunade asked.

"It was not."

When he didn't elaborate, mostly because he didn't know what type of chakra it was, Kakashi, who was sitting in as Proxy to the Uchiha Seat and had his headband up, revealing his Sharingan, offered his own observations.

"Hiashi-sama is right, neither were wind jutsu." Everyone looked to him as he frowned in confusion. "It looked like a mix between Wind and Fire natured chakra. But at the same time…it wasn't just a mix of the two. What I want to know is what that chakra field around her is. It's like she's got a shell of chakra all over her body that's completely blocking her chakra system from view. It's blocking a good part of the Sharingan's predicting abilities."

Everyone, except Hiashi who already knew, went wide eyed in shock.

"What do you mean 'blocking the Sharingan'?" Jiraya asked in surprise. Both he and Minato had tried and failed to create a seal that blocked that Sharingan. They had cast it aside as an unrealistic task. Although Jiraya was sure that, given enough time, his star pupil would have found a way.

Kakashi just shrugged and went back to watching the match.

Sasuke charged back at Natsuko who hadn't bothered to move from her previous position. He sent a punch to her face, which she ducked under and responded to with a fist in the gut. He stumbled back, wincing from the strength behind the blow.

Gritting his teeth he spun low with a sweep kick, forcing Natsuko to jump over it. Taking advantage of her lack of mobility in the air he stayed low and followed through with the spinning motion by going full circle and sending a vicious high kick at her mid-section.

Rather than trying to dodge, Natsuko caught his foot and let the blow direct her fall. as soon as her feet touched the ground she rotated on her heel, lifting him clean of the floor as she pulled him by his captured leg, and slammed him back down hard.

She jumped back, putting a little distance between them as she waited for him to get up.

'Kami this is boring!'

She looked down at her seal and saw that it had stopped at Level fifty nine.

"Pathetic…" She murmured, but her voice easily carried to the Uchiha as he clamber back to his feet. "Is this the best you can do? I'm not even trying here."

Sasuke scowled and flipped a Tiger hand seal.

"Katon: Goryuka no jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon)

A huge dragon of burning red flames roared towards Natsuko.

She grinned as she leapt to the side. Given the level of the fight so far she was certain that she could end it whenever she wanted. But she didn't want just yet. She didn't really care what the crowd thought of her but she didn't want there to be any doubt that she was the stronger of the two fighters. A quick victory could be chalked up to luck. But if she were to face everything Sasuke could dish out and turn it back at him.

Natsuko's grin turned positively evil, twisting her attractive features into a scary yet beautiful expression. She saturated the air with Heat type chakra and manipulated it to create a dominant heat current.

Sasuke once again stared in shock as his fire dragon passed by the dobe's side, did a wide U-turn, and came shooting right back at him from the other side without a visible explanation. For the second time he was forced to escape with Shushin to avoid being roasted.

Trying to understand what was going on he pumped more chakra into his Sharingan, making it spin wildly, and glared at his opponent. He was rewarded as his eyes picked up small traces of chakra floating in the air all over the arena but mostly around Natsuko. Another roar snapped his attention to the left just in time to roll out of the way of his dragon that was somehow still chasing after him.

His eyes widened as they picked up a stronger concentration of the strange chakra trailing behind the dragon. As it turned back towards him he saw that the concentration wasn't just behind but also before it, coming together as if it was opening the path…

He smirked superiorly as he figured out part of the dobe's trick and dashed towards her, keeping an eye on the 'chakra paths' so that he could anticipate where the dragon would strike.

In the waiting area Shizune looked to Naruto with a confused expression.

"What's happening? How is Natsuko-chan making his Fire Dragon do that?"

Naruto turned to her with a wide grin that made her insides squirm. She struggled, and failed, to hide her blush, becoming acutely aware of the lingering taste of his seed in her mouth.

"She's using heat currents to control the path of the fire jutsu he created." He explained with obvious pride. "The problem with regular Ninjutsu is that once it's launched it's out of the user's control. There are some ways around that, such as using chakra strings to direct a Katon: Housenka no jutsu, but the higher the jutsu rank the harder it becomes. Needless to say, doing so with a Fire Dragon is pretty much unheard of. Natsuko-chan is using that to her advantage to turn the Uchiha brat's jutsu against him. She's also adding heat into the jutsu to hold it together and keep the flames going, otherwise it would have dissipated by now.."

"OK…but how is she doing that?"

Naruto grinned at her, making her dip her head to hide as she blushed again, before turning back to the fight.

"Sorry…that's a family secret."

Down in the arena Natsuko rolled her eyes at the teme's arrogance. He had obviously figured out a part of what she was doing, and seemed to think that it would be a turn in the tide of the battle.

She scoffed at the idea.

Considering that she knew that it was very likely that she would have to fight Uchiha Itachi and his Mangekyou Sharingan, Natsuko had taken care to plan for the encounter as much as possible. She was slightly surprised that Sasuke's eyes could see the chakra she was using to create the Heat currents since she had taken care to put as little into them as possible while maintaining a good attack speed. But the fact that he had seen it didn't bother her much, and it certainly wasn't going to tilt the battle in his favour.

Deciding that it was as good a time as any, Natsuko fished out a specially prepared Hiraishin no jutsu Kunai from inside her coat and threw it hard at the advancing Uchiha. He dodged and it stuck into the ground some ten feet behind him as he continued his advance, throwing his own brace of kunai to provide cover.

Natsuko made an upward motion with her right hand and a wall of boiling magma sprung up, intercepting the projectiles and melting them almost instantly.

Sasuke, in an impressive display of agility, twisted his way around the molten barrier and threw another kunai. Natsuko dodged casually, leaving it to sail harmlessly over her head, but also giving him enough time to perform a hand seal.

"Katon: Goryuka no jutsu!"

Another fire dragon, even larger and hotter than the last, erupted from Sasuke's mouth. With him being just a few feet away from her, Natsuko was forced to use her Hiraishin no jutsu to escape.

Reappearing on the other side of the magma wall, and subsequently letting it fall to the ground, she prepared for the next stage in the Uchiha's humbling. With two waves of her hand she created another heat current bringing the second dragon under her control and sent them both into a defensive circle around her.

Knowing that she wasn't yet skilled enough to pull off what she wanted alone, she seallessly made a Kage Bushin to assist her. She picked up the Hiraishin no jutsu kunai and threw it hard at Sasuke, smirking when she saw his temper getting the better of him and his curse seal spreading out from his neck.

She focused heat chakra into her hands and went through a high speed sequence of hand seal.

'Rat-Dog-Dragon-Rat-Dog-Boar-Snake-Tiger' "Kunai Kage Bushin no jutsu!"

The single Hiraishin no jutsu kunai multiplied into dozens, all of them flying towards Sasuke.

He cursed and ran through seal of a jutsu he copied from Kakashi, his anger growing as he knew that it wasn't his Element and would take a more chakra than his Fire or Lightning jutsu.

'Tiger-Hare-Boar-Dog.'"Doton: Doryuheki!" (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall.)

He shouted his technique and a large earthen wall rose up from the ground. He frowned when his effort was only rewarded with a thump of impact.

Natsuko nodded to her clone who immediately crouched behind her with her eyes scrunched in concentration. She held her hands in front of her, focusing on controlling her Heat chakra, and every single one of the Kage Bushin Kunai stopped in mid-air before flying off to different positions in a rough but large dome around the Uchiha. Only the original kunai struck the defensive wall.

Not waiting a moment the original flicked her wrist, producing yet another Hiraishin no jutsu kunai and ordered both fire dragons out of their circling pattern.

One behind the other, they both roared and flew straight at her.

Tsunade, who had been gapping in shock at Natsuko's skill during the battle, snapped out of her trance and pointed at the two dragons.

"What the hell! Is that gakI suicidal? Those things will roast her alive!"

When she didn't get a response she turned to her old team mate.

"Jiraya!"

She was further shocked when he didn't even turn to talk to her, staring intently at Natsuko who was slowly spinning the kunai in her hands with a look of deep concentration.

"Be quiet Tsunade!" He said a bit snappishly. "I have no idea how she even learnt her father's technique since I know that the only instructions on it are sealed in his inheritance scroll…but to think that she's mastered it to that level…"

"What are you…"

Tsunade felt her jaw drop as the answer to her unfinished question became evident.

Pissed at the uselessness of his jutsu, Sasuke let the earth wall crumble just in time to see the dobe attacking herself with the two dragons he created. The smirk was wiped off his face before it could even form when the first dragon simply vanished just before it could fry her.

His danger senses suddenly went crazy and he instinctively made a rolling jump forwards, avoiding the dragon that would have cooked him alive by a bare hairsbreadth.

He had no time to relax as the second dragon vanished from in front of Natsuko and burst out of a kunai to his left. Only the fact that he could see the chakra paths saved him from incineration. He rolled out of the way and was forced to jump as soon as he was back on his feet as the first dragon came right back at him, appearing from one of the kunai just above him.

He felt his anger grow by leaps and bounds as he had to dodge in every possible direction to escape the randomly appearing dragons.

"What the hell is that?" Tsunade asked incredulously, unknowingly voicing the question everyone was asking themselves.

She stared in wonder as the two fire dragons danced around, appearing from one of the mysteriously suspended kunai to attack Sasuke, before vanishing into another and repeating the cycle with increasing speed.

"That!" Jiraya said in a shaky voice as he finally looked to her. "Is the second level of the Hiraishin no jutsu. She's using the kunai to transport the dragons from one place to another. From what Sarutobi-sensei said it was even able to redirect an head on attack from Kyuubi, but…even Minato didn't take it to this level."

And indignant cry from some of the Civilian Council members made them snap their heads back to the arena floor to see Sasuke outmanoeuvred as a fire dragon slammed into him from either side kicking up a huge cloud of dust.

Natsuko watched indifferently as the dust slowly started to settle. She had purposefully lessened the intensity of the flames since she didn't want to kill him, and she could still sense his chakra so she knew he wasn't dead. A quick glance at the Kage Booth showed her the suitably shocked faces of the leading figures of Konoha. Feeling she had made a very good statement of her skill she dismissed her clone, allowing the many kunai to fall to the ground, but not to disappear.

She looked back to the dust with a bored expression.

"Come on teme!" She shouted loudly and mockingly. "You haven't even landed a decent hit yet! Is this all the great Uchiha is capable of?"

Natsuko frowned when there was a sudden explosion of chakra that reminded her of the battle at the Valley of the End. Her eyes widened when it was followed by a screeching, chirping noise similar to the calls of a thousand birds. Suddenly Sasuke in his Level Two Cursed Seal form literally flew out of the dust, a dark mass of vile chakra screeching in his hand.

"Chidori!"

There was a blinding flash. When it cleared he had touched ground on the other side of the arena, his feet digging up two ragged trenches as he skidded to a halt.

Thirty feet behind him stood the now headless body of Uzumaki Natsuko.