Eroninja

Temari felt a sudden urge to sneeze, but it faded as she threw her head back as she moaned, "Yes, Naruto keep going, just like that."

Naruto chuckled as Tenten moaned in agreement as he fingered both of his lovers' pussies. He was current kneeling nude before them as they sat on Tenten's couch. The kunoichi's feet were resting on the cushions of the couch as they sat with their legs spread so he could work his finger magic on them.

After dinner the three of them had entered Tenten's apartment, and despite the knowledge that at some point they would be enjoying themselves in such a fashion. Things had started off innocently enough as Tenten had actually wanted to practice mastering her wind natured chakra. To that end Temari had produced some rocks she had gotten from outside. She had explained that she wanted to help by teaching them a Suna technique. Naruto hadn't been surprised to learn that although still relatively rare in other villages, the greatest concentration of Wind Natured Chakras could be found in Suna. Therefore, they tended to focus on developing such talents at an early age. They also had quite a few techniques to help shinobi with such talents as opposed to the Leaf which only had the Leaf cutting exercise due to how rare an ability it was.

One of those techniques was through creating what Temari had called Lover Stones. The technique involved the participants kneeling in front of each other with their hands clasped around a rough stone. Then using their wind natured chakra they would polish the stone. The reason it proved so effect for training is it gave the less skilled participant a chance to feel how the other person both molded their chakra and applied it to the task of polishing the stone. Temari had smirked as she had explained that the reason the stones formed from the technique were called Lover Stones was because the technique was a favored one of people in relationships as feeling the gentle caress of their partners chakra tended to put them in the mood for a little lovemaking afterwards.

Therefore with that little caveat placed before them, the three had knelt in a circle and held hands with a stone in each palm. Tenten had soon commented at how she could feel the difference the wind nature added to her partners' chakra as well as the difference between his and Temari's wind elements. As she had described it Temari's had felt like a gentle breeze rolling over sweat covered skin after a night of lovemaking. Naruto's on the other hand was more wild and uncontrollable like an extremely windy day in which the wind constantly changed direction. She admitted that she doubted she would be able to keep up with him as trying to would quickly drain her.

Naruto had picked up a slight smirk which had appeared on Temari's lips and he quickly realized her training method was as much for his benefit as for Tenten's. Temari had often commented that while his Rasenshuriken was an amazing jutsu, it was extremely limiting in its uses on the battlefield in anything but one-on-one confrontations. The reason being, that his jutsu tended to leave massive destruction in its wake, which in a team battle could result in his allies being caught up in it. Temari knew the reason was because he tended to overpower his jutsu, primarily due to his trouble with the standard clone jutsu. When she had commented that she could help him with his chakra control he had been rather skeptical primarily for the same reason. Naruto had assumed she had let the matter drop since she likely knew that as far as he was typically concerned when it came to jutsu there was no such thing as overkill. But, in hindsight he guessed he should have known better since Temari tended to be just as stubborn as he was. She had simply decided to postpone the matter until a point in time when he would need to concede to her view point. His needing to dial back his power to aid Tenten in her learning to harness her Wind Chakra had provided just such an opportunity.

Naruto conceded the victory to his lover with a nod as he struggled to dial back his chakra to a more manageable level. Although, his chakra control had improved a great deal under his various lovers teachings, the current training was proving to be incredibly taxing for him. Concentrating on the hand Tenten was holding he tried to focus his chakra in one direction even as he dialed it back. After several moments he could feel Tenten's in the mix of his as it began to swirl around the stone. He wondered how Temari was doing since a great deal of his focus had been on maintaining his control for Tenten.

He need not had bothered as Temari proved why she was a master at wind chakra as she could easily keep up with his stronger chakra, and was even guiding the changes in direction that Tenten had found so difficult. She did this by running hers slightly faster than his as she ran it over the stone and as such it followed in her chakra's wake. As a result much like how the winds of her home country could easily erode the stones found dotting the landscape the one clasped between their hands became smoother.

He felt that Tenten was learning a great deal from the stone she shared with Temari as he began to feel the weapon user applying some of the same techniques to the stone between their hands. Naruto could also see why the learning technique would tend to lead to nights of passion as he noticed his and his lovers' breathing become heavier as they focused on their goal. Tenten ran out of steam first though as she broke contact with him and dropped their stone to the floor. Naruto wasn't surprised that their stone was rather misshapen. Tenten knew that it would likely be viewed as a failure due to her being able to feel the stone still being held in her and Temari's hand.

Temari though was supportive as she said, "Not bad for a first attempt, especially considering how unpredictable Naruto's chakra moves about." Advertisements

Tenten smiled politely even as she said, "Still, I'm sure you didn't have any problem."

Temari pulled her hand free of Naruto's to reveal a smooth stone although there were a few rough edges. She handed it to Tenten as she said, "It's not as smooth as it should be, but this training is also meant to help two people better synch up their chakra for more powerful combined attacks. Like anything practice makes perfect."

Naruto scooted closer to his lovers as he said, "Well, I can think of something else that we should be practicing if only to make sure these stones live up to their name." He then slid his hands down the pants of Tenten as he slid the other up Temari's skirt causing them to moan as he began rubbing their moistened pussy lips. Both kunoichi moaned as Naruto soon helped them out of their respective undergarments to gain better access to their wet pussies before divesting himself of his own clothes before he took up his current position on the floor in front of the couch they had sat upon.

He smiled as he saw that the two women were still holding hands as he worked his fingers inside them. Leaning towards Tenten he began to lick and suck her clit causing her cries to rise in volume. They tapered off though as he pulled back to lean towards Temari where he repeated his actions giving him similar results. He switched back and forth several times before stopping to concentrate on pumping his arms. The living room filled with the wet sounds Naruto's digits made as he furiously slid them inside his lovers' passages. He felt their love tunnels begin to constrict around his fingers signaling their impending release.

Tenten erupted first as she called out, "Yes!!! I'm cumming!!!!"

Naruto was glad all the apartments were sound proofed since Temari soon joined in in a shriek that seemed to shake the windows. Naruto's fingers were coated as he felt the two women's inner muscles convulse around them. Once they relaxed he pulled them free and stood crossing his arms to present the other woman's essence to them.

He drank in the sight as both kunoichi quickly accepted the soaked digits and sucked them clean of the other woman's release. He groaned as once clean the kunoichi let his fingers slip free and both began to suck on his cock. Naruto placed his hands on their heads as they bathed his manhood with their tongues. They worked in tandem, before separating with Temari moving to concentrate on his cockhead as Tenten moved to suck on his nutsack.

Temari slowly swallowed Naruto's cock as Tenten continued to tease his balls. She then slowly pulled back before running her tongue around his head. Naruto groaned motivating his lovers on until he erupted into Temari's mouth.

Naruto stepped back as he was about to thank his lovers, but stopped as Temari promptly gripped Tenten's head and tilted it back so she could let his cum roll off her tongue into the Leaf kunoichi's mouth. The two kunoichi then began to kiss wetly as they shared his white cream between them. The sight made Naruto speechless as his dick sprang back to a diamond-like hardness.

Tenten and Temari separated as they saw Naruto's cock stand back up proudly. They smiled at each other before standing and each taking a hand to pull him towards Tenten's bedroom. Upon reaching it the kunoichi stripped out of their remaining clothes. Temari fell back onto the bed first and Tenten moved to join her but before she could Naruto grabbed her by the hips and pushed his dick inside her. He then grabbed her by the legs and lifted her off her feet allowing Temari to watch the wondrous sight of him pounding the kunoichi's tight snatch.

Tenten moaned contently as she reached back to hold Naruto's neck as he held her up at the foot of her bed. She looked over her shoulder and kissed him passionately as he continued to stab her womb with his pleasure blade. The two lovers broke their kiss and focused on Temari, who they watched hungrily as she began to rub her pussy while observing them.

Noticing the stares Temari spread her legs wider and used both hands to spread her pussy as she said, "Naruto, I want you inside me too."

The jinchuriki considered creating a clone to comply with her desire, but Tenten surprised him by saying, "Go on and give the girl what she craves."

Naruto set her down and climbed onto the bed as he mounted Temari who eagerly wrapped her legs around his hips. She moaned delightfully as Naruto speared her on his cock, and began pounding her deepest spot. Tenten joined the two on the bed and busied herself by massaging Naruto's testicles as she tried to coax his seed into Temari's womb.

Naruto groaned as Temari spun them around so she could take control and set a slow pace to postpone his release for as long as possible. Tenten smirked as she had other ideas and licked one of her fingers before pushing it against Temari's anus. Temari's eyes widened but before she could tell Tenten to stop the brunette pushed the digit inside.

Naruto groaned along with Temari as a result of the Suna kunoichi's pussy squeezing around his manhood. With an amused tone, Tenten said, "I think she likes it."

Temari didn't bother denying it as she instead leaned forward to kiss Naruto which spread her ass more for Tenten to tease. The brown-eyed girl leaned forward and removed her finger to replace it with her tongue causing the blonde woman to moan deeply into Naruto's mouth. After several minutes, of Tenten's rimming and Naruto's thrusting cock Temari felt herself nearing her release.

However, Tenten had other ideas as she wrapped her arms around Temari's torso before pulling her back and off Naruto's cock. "N-no," Temari gasped from the sudden empty feeling as she was laid on her back atop of the bed.

The Leaf kunoichi quickly straddled Temari's face and moaned as her tongue began to tickle her silken folds. Tenten gripped Temari's knees and pulled her legs back to raise the blonde's ass for their mutual lover's benefit as she said, "I think she's ready for you to enjoy her sweet ass, Naruto."

Temari stiffened beneath Tenten at the idea of Naruto jamming his cock inside her ass. Something that didn't escape her male lover's attention so he held back for several moments and when no protests arose from beneath Tenten, he pressed the head of his dick against her passage to claim her anal cherry. He pushed against her backdoor insistently until his cockhead slipped in and then slowly fed his cock inside until he was fully buried in her. Temari moaned as much from the unfamiliar feeling as from Tenten leaning forward to tongue her pussy so that the pleasure drowned out any discomfort that she might be feeling.

Naruto began to slowly move his hips as he pumped his length inside Temari causing the blonde kunoichi to moan into Tenten's pussy. They grew in volume as Tenten slipped two of her fingers inside the Suna woman, and began to finger her pussy at the same pace as Naruto drilled her ass. Soon, both Naruto and her worked up to a blistering pace which forced Temari to abandon from trying to please the Leaf Kunoichi as her mind couldn't focus on anything but the fingers in her pussy and the dick in her ass. Her hands gripped the bedding as she held on for dear life, as Tenten began rubbing her fingers against the thin wall of flesh that separated them from the dick pounding her ass.

Naruto groaned as he felt Tenten's fingers pushing down on the top of his dick as she fingered Temari. He pulled out of Temari's ass, causing the blonde to moan in loss even as Tenten grabbed his dick and began sucking on it. He moaned pleasantly as he felt her tongue circle his cockhead, and from the wetness of her mouth when compared to the relative dryness of Temari's anal passage. However the sensation only last a few moments before Tenten's mouth released him and she pushed him back inside Temari's ass. Temari moaned happily upon his return so Naruto picked up where he had left off, as he slammed himself into her.

Tenten rolled off of Temari allowing Naruto to lean down and tease one of the blonde's nipples as he squeezed her breast. Giving the reddish bud a lite nip he then moved up to drink of her lips. The two made out heatedly as Naruto felt the telltale sign that he was nearing his release.

Temari announced hers as she moaned, "I... fuck... I can't believe I'm going to come from anal." Naruto smirked to himself as he redoubled his efforts to make sure she finished on a high note. He buried himself fully in his lover as he bathed her insides with his seed. Temari upon feeling his cum flooding her ass screamed in release, "Cumming!!!!"

The two lovers kissed gently in the aftermath of their respective orgasms. However, a moment later Tenten's voice cut into the tender moment as she said, "Hey, don't forget about me."

Both blonde's looked over to see Tenten laying face first in the mattress with her ass in the air. Her hands were reaching back and spreading her as she said, "I'm ready to have your fat cock shoved in my tight little ass too."

Naruto chuckled as he pulled Temari up with him as he replied, "I think we can accommodate you." He then made the hand-sign for his K-clones. A pair of clones sprang into existence with one quickly coming up behind the brown-haired girl. It quickly slipped inside her backdoor and then pulled Tenten back so that she was impaled in his lap as it sat back. The other clone quickly took up a spot between her as it buried its dick inside her pussy.

Temari spun around while still impaled on Naruto's hardness as Tenten's moans began to reverberate throughout the room so that she sat in his lap in a similar manner. Watching the moaning Tenten as she kissed the clone behind her over her shoulder, Temari commented, "That looks fun."

Naruto chuckled as he said, "Does my Desert flower want to be made a part of jinchuriki sandwich also?"

Temari looked over her shoulder as she gave him a playful smirk as she replied, "Why stop there? Now that I've surrendered my ass's virginity to you there's all kinds of combinations for us to try."

Naruto chuckled as he kissed his Suna lover while summoning another pair of clones. Temari moaned into his mouth while one of the clones slid into her wet cunt, and Naruto surrendered her lips to his other clone who promptly had its dick swallowed by Temari who mewed happily as the three Naruto began using her for their mutual pleasure.

Meanwhile, in Kiyomi's mansion Karura had the sudden feeling that getting her daughter to see reason had become far more unlikely.

*****

Naruto was in Tenten's living room as he finished putting his clothes back on. He sent a look back to the kunoichi's bedroom and smiled as he saw Temari draped over the weapon user. Both women were lying on their stomachs with the blonde's head resting on the small of the brunette's back. Looking away he held back a chuckle as it hadn't been easy extracting himself from between the two, and he didn't wish to undo all the effort by waking them with any unnecessary noise. Truthfully though he wished he could stay, but mindful of the three women currently living in the building who weren't his lovers felt it would be best not to be spotted coming out of Tenten's apartment first thing in the morning.

Looking at the clock, he saw that it was approaching midnight and while Miya would know what he had been up too, Toka and Kurenai would likely be somewhat suspicious if they saw him leaving. He smirked as he thought it was a good thing Tsunami had designed the apartments to be sound proof as he didn't doubt otherwise the entire neighborhood would know his secret. Smoothing out his clothes, he was about to leave when he noticed a smooth rock sitting on the cushion of the couch. Smiling as he picked it up, he saw that unlike the one Tenten and he had fashioned the one in his hand was uniformly smooth. Recognizing it as the one that his two lovers had been holding even as he had pleasured them, he was once more forced to admit Temari's point about his chakra control.

Naruto began walking towards the apartment's door as he thought on the matter further. Something that he admitted he had been reluctant to do. Partly as a result of his belief that as far as jutsu went bigger had always been better, but seeing Temari's control of her wind chakra first hand he admitted to being a little intimidated by it. Primarily since his own issues with control were rather well known, which was why he supposed he had dismissed Temari's recommendation about working on it in the first place. His reasoning had been that there was no point in it since even if he tended to overpower his jutsu he had plenty of chakra to spare. Furthermore, with the vast amounts of chakra he wielded fine control felt like it would always be out of his reach.

Temari had seemingly accepted his reasoning, but obviously had instead decided to change strategies when she saw her words wouldn't get through to him. He also imagined that she recognized that the reason for his reluctance was because his lack of chakra control had nearly stood in the way of his becoming a shinobi in the first place.

Naruto paused at the door, using the tracking marks that he had placed on Toka and Miya to make sure they weren't nearby. He knew both women would likely be upset if they learned he had marked them in such a fashion, but he felt it best so as to not advertise his love life to them. Which although Miya did know about his lovers, he'd been on the wrong side of her Intimidation Jutsu which seemed to conjure an angry looking demon head far too many times to invite another by her spotting him leaving one of his lovers' apartments.

Confirming that the coast was clear, he got back to the matter on his mind as he muttered, "All of this nearly didn't happen because of that damn clone jutsu," upon stepping into the hallway. The idea that his career as a shinobi could have been derailed by an E-rank jutsu had always been a sore point for him. It was however something he hadn't ever needed to really think about after his graduation since he had just kept learning bigger and badder jutsu, that going back to learn the normal clone technique almost seemed like a joke, at least until Temari had pitched the idea.

Temari's reasoning was that while Naruto's power was undeniable, his lack of control could in the future present dangers to the shinobi he was paired with, especially in chaotic conditions such as multi-squad battles. It was something that she had felt needed to be addressed especially after seeing the destruction his jutsu had wrecked on the desert during his and Gaara's battle with the previous Kazekage. Naruto had wanted to point out that Gaara's jutsu could be just as destructive, but had to admit that if his friend had wanted he could control his jutsu if a comrade wondered into the path of one. His on the other hand would suck them in whether they be friend or foe, as had nearly happened to Moegi when he had first created the imploding shadow clone.

Thinking about that moment he grimaced as he recalled his first thought after rescuing the orange haired genin had been on how to get the mixtures of his sage and normal chakra right to make a viable clone, not on analyzing the potential tragedy. Yet, while his desire to reflect on perfecting the jutsu could be understood as nobody had been hurt. Naruto knew that he would be devastated if he unintentionally hurt someone he cared for with an errant jutsu, which considering how powerful his jutsu were becoming meant he stood a greater chance of doing so on some of the crowded battlefields that Temari had explained they could someday be a part of.

Although thinking about future large scale battles seemed rather abnormal considering his goals, he knew that unlike him Temari wasn't the sit back and waiting type when it came to planning. Furthermore, he recognized that Temari was right in that the chaotic battles that Tsuande, Mito, and now Toka tended to describe he could find himself at a disadvantage in those situations. Now alone in the hall, he chuckled as he thought about how Temari had used Tenten in their training with the lovers stones to make her point as the kunoichi had been unable to contend with his powerful and relatively uncontrolled chakra. He had needed to exercise far more control over his chakra than he had in a long time in order to reach a point where Tenten could try to polish the stone with him.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that not learning to properly control his chakra could be a weakness that others could exploit as well. He smiled as he made a mental note to thank Temari for forcing him to think on the subject since he had avoided it for so long. He also began to suspect that one of the reasons the Third Hokage had never stepped in to teach him the Shadow Clone jutsu, despite likely being aware that the reason he couldn't perform the basic clone jutsu, was because he would have preferred Naruto overcome his weakness rather than basically cheat the system like he had.

That thought caused Naruto to stop short before entering the stairwell heading up to the top floor where his apartment resided. Looking back, the jinchuriki realized that a lot of his breakthroughs had basically been his developing a short cut, which while not a bad thing on its own. It tended to become one when he allowed it be considered good enough. For example his using a clone to create the Rasengan, and although he had gotten over it, the only reason had been due to his sparring against his lovers like Koharu, and Tsunade since both S-Class kunoichi were not going to stand around waiting for him to complete the jutsu. Naturally, it was a lesson he applied to making his Rasenshuriken as well, but he realized if not for them or his other lovers constant training he likely would still have those flaws in his jutsu.

He also realized that with better chakra control, he might also finally divest himself of the one true weakness that he possessed, genjutsu. Thinking back against his two fights with Sasuke, Naruto realized that he was rather fortunate that his former teammate truly preferred to dominate through power. But recalling his run in with Itachi during the mission to rescue the kidnaped Gaara before he had opened the scroll Kanji gave him, Naruto realized that for Sasuke to contend with his brother, he had to have a wide variety of genjutsu at his disposal as well, which the jinchuriki admitted if not for his mother being a part of him would mean he would be toast should he face another genjutsu user. Unless he went with the Shikamaru route to breaking one, but preferring not to have to resort to breaking bones, Naruto decided to kill two birds with one stone and work on his chakra control as well as overcoming his weakness to genjutsu.

Although he had several lovers that specialized in genjutsu, he decided to approach Toka about training him since her genjutsu had been more powerful than anything Tayuya, or Yakumo were currently capable of. Hoping she'd agree, he spent a few moments thinking over what he had learned about her since her appearance in Konoha that he could use to help convince her. He didn't think it would take much since she would likely jump at the chance as she would probably be glad he was recognizing her talents. Something he felt was rather strange considering her background of near constant battle, yet he guessed it was a sign of the constant struggle she had engaged in to be recognized by her peers.

He had asked Mito about it, and had been rather surprised to learn that the Uzumaki was not all that thrilled to be sharing the present with Toka. Naruto had at first assumed that it was because with someone who had known her from her previous life nearby, Mito might be a little uncomfortable with their relationship. Yet, contrary to his belief it had turned out that the red-head just did not care for the woman. Mito had admitted that while Toka had faced a considerable uphill battle in her desire to be accepted as an equal in the predominately male shinobi system before the founding of the Hidden Villages. She hadn't made any friends among other woman in that pursuit primarily because to her way of thinking. To her if a woman had accepted the status quo then they were as responsible as the men trying to hold her back. To Mito, who had genuinely been happy with her role as a wife and mother, that attitude had been the cause of more than a few heated arguments between the two.

Naruto could see where his Uzumaki lover was coming from primarily due to Toka's rather standoffish attitude with several of his lovers, but primarily Tsunade, Fu, and Sakura. He suspected the reason behind it was due to the annoyance she felt at the freedom the kunoichi around her exhibited. For a woman like her, who had needed straddle the line of fighting against the system of her era, while at the same time being a part of it, suddenly finding herself in a time period where for the most part the women had all the things she had longed for, and had thus turned their pursuits to more leisurely concerns rather than maintaining the iron discipline that she had felt she had needed to maintain in order to get by made her question her dedication to her cause. He imagined that for Toka watching some of the younger kunoichi talk about their latest crushes or the newest fashions and diet crazes made the woman wonder what she had struggled so much for. She also apparently did not care for the modern kunoichi's desire to show off their wares as she had put it while making it sound like she half expected most of the kunoichi she encountered to turn up working in a red light district.

Naruto supposed he could also partially understand where Toka was coming from considering how most shinobi of her era dressed in armor. After all, Koharu had shared a similar opinion at one point. Yet, he suspected that Toka didn't realize that her attitude was rather reminiscent of the men that had held her back in her time. Toka in many respects represented something that Naruto was concerned about his own dream, which was primarily that although it was a noble purpose. His achieving it didn't necessarily mean he would end up liking the results. Especially as more time passed and the succeeding generations forgot the struggles of the past to focus on what mattered to them, which might seem trivial to Naruto and his lovers. Granted, it was more extreme in Toka's case due to her sudden appearance in the future, but that wasn't to say that he and his lovers wouldn't experience a similar dissatisfaction with the world due to their potentially long existences. Naruto wondered if such a thing happened would they have a right to step in, or much like how he felt Toka needed to accept the world, would have to adapt and let it continue on the course the generation of the time was staring it towards.

Yet, those were concerns for the future. His present one was his hope that his choosing to learn to overcome genjutsu from Toka didn't send waves through his harem. Primarily, since he suspected several of his lovers would prefer not to see her become a member, and thus would feel rather nervous about his spending a great deal of time with her. Naruto would like to be able to tell them, that his spending time with a woman didn't necessarily mean he was going to sleep with her, but he knew his recent history would easily be tossed in his face.

However, he doubted he needed to be concerned about such a thing in Toka's case in particular. He imagined that for the most part should Toka learn of his many relationships it would undoubtedly damage his reputation in her eyes, due to her dislike for the role women had played in her era. He didn't doubt that as far as Toka would be concerned his having a harem would cast him in the same light as the men that had tried to force her to accept her place as a source of future shinobi to be used in the constant strife of the Warring Clan Era. It was one of the reasons that he was glad that neither Toka nor Tsunade seemed inclined to develop some sort of familial bond between them as it wouldn't force the issue to come to light as it had with Kiba due to his relationship with Tsume. As the last thing Naruto needed in his life was a pissed off woman that was a master of skills that he was particularly weak against.

"Naruto?" a surprised voice cut into his thoughts causing him to curse mentally.

"Kurenai," the Jinchuriki said spinning around in surprise.

He was about to offer an explanation for why he was leaving the floor of Tenten's apartment so late at night, but fortunately the red-eyed kunoichi had already formed her own as she said, "Don't tell me you three are just ending your chakra training now." Naruto breathed a little easier as she added, "Kakashi often said you tended to push yourself to extremes, but I can only imagine what state you left the other two in."

Naruto's chuckle contained some of his mirth that it was apparent that the Jounin Sensei had no idea. But commenting on how his lovers kept pulling him back to bed when he had tried to end things earlier said, "Actually, it was Tenten and Temari that wanted to continue. I knew how it would look to some for me to be leaving the apartment so late at night."

Kurenai smiled at his comment as she replied, "Afraid word would get back to Ayame?"

Naruto shook his head as he answered, "No, I'm fortunate that she isn't the jealous type."

"I'd say," Kurenai said wryly, "I don't know how comfortable I'd be to know my boyfriend was living in an apartment building where he was the only male among a bunch of unattached women."

Naruto chuckled a little uncomfortably since he didn't want to outright lie about his or the other women's attachment since he tended to get by on people just not thinking a man having a large harem was possible. Therefore he settled for shrugging as he said, "Like I said, I'm lucky."

Kurenai arched an eyebrow as she had the feeling Naruto's response was meant to be interpreted several different ways. But before she could inquire further, her own activities were called into question as she was put under a spotlight as he commented, "It seems I'm not the only one burning the midnight oil."

Kurenai felt a little self-conscious as she was dressed in only a sports bra and running shorts. Furthermore her skin still glistened from the long run she had taken as she tried to get back into shape. Explaining her appearance she said, "I'm still on my forced leave of absence so I am unable to reserve the training fields. I tried running during the day but with all the construction..."

"It's kind of hard to find a good route?" Naruto asked.

"I was going to say, run for more than a couple blocks without hearing wolf whistles and cat calls," Kurenai said annoyed.

"Ah," Naruto said before chuckling. Kurenai smiled as well which turned into a blush as the blond added, "Well, despite their rather rude nature, and you potentially avoiding me in the future, let me just say I for one can at least understand where they are coming from."

Kurenai was surprised at Naruto's statement primarily since it seemed to roll off his tongue so easily. Something, that caused a small crack to appear in her more innocent image of the blond jinchuriki, as she had up until that moment had a hard time seeing him as anything but the young man that had been oblivious to Hinata's obvious infatuation. She did suppose that his relationship with Ayame had caused him to mature, but it also raised several more questions for her. The primary one being how Ayame could be so at peace with Naruto being the only male living in the Hidden Eddy Inn, especially since he had at one time had gone on dates with several of the residents. Granted, she knew they had been described as play dates, or training, but looking at things with her new perspective she began to wonder. Primarily as she found herself getting lost in his clear blue eyes as she searched for a way to reply.

Time had apparently passed more slowly for her as she suddenly realized Naruto was calling her name a little worriedly as he asked, "Hey, is everything okay? I didn't say something I shouldn't have, did I?"

"Um... no," Kurenai said getting her bearings, "You just surprised me that's all. But thank you for the compliment."

"Oh okay," Naruto said slightly restoring Kurenai's more innocent view of him as he continued, "I was actually afraid you'd start avoiding me." Naruto waved up the stairs as he asked, "Well, may I escort you to our floor?"

Kurenai smiled at the gesture as she nodded and began to walk past him. Naruto then proceeded to follow until reaching the fourth floor. Where upon reaching it he placed his hand on her shoulder as he said, "Well this is where we part. Goodnight Kurenai."

"Good night," she replied a little surprised by the contact, as she watched Naruto head down to his apartment.

Naruto could feel her eyes on him and wonder if perhaps he had overreached himself by applying his locating mark to her shoulder. He had decided to take the chance since he didn't want to find himself surprised by the woman again at a less than opportune moment. He looked back as he reached his apartment causing Kurenai to look away as she turned to head to the one she shared with Anko and Yuugao. Naruto had a hard time looking away as a part of him admitted he still desired Kurenai for all the reasons that had originally had him adding her to the "Wants" list Ino had suggested back at the beginning of his quest.

However, Naruto believed that pursuing the recently widowed woman would simply be an act of hubris on his part. As such, his primary reason for placing his locating mark on her had been to prevent her from stumbling on him in a compromised position. Yet, he also did so because the Hidden Eddy Inn was his home and that meant all the women that lived there were under his protection, even if they weren't with him in the more intimate fashion as most of the residents. Stepping into his apartment, he decided on a quick shower before getting some sleep in order to be rested to meet the challenges of the new day.

*****

Tsunade sat down in the Hokage's box of the Chunin Arena and after taking in the crowds directed her attention to the man she had invited to join her, "I'm glad you decided to accept my invitation Jirocho."

"Who could turn down the invitation to view today's competition in a way usually reserved for Kage?" the man whose semi-respectable family was in charge of Degarashi Port said. Aware that he bordered on the line between respectability for his control of the Port and infamy for his controlling interests in gambling halls and brothels he asked, "Are sure it's alright for me to be up here? After all..."

"Hush now," Tsunade said amused at seeing her friend appear uncomfortable, "You've always been a good friend to me and it was under those circumstances that I invited you up here. Also, I was hoping that being up and away from the others might get you to open up on your recent troubles."

Jirocho didn't bother hiding his surprise that Tsunade knew of the recent struggles his family was having in maintaining the Daimyo's favor and with it, control of Degarashi Port. He recovered quickly though as he said, "I thank you for your concern, but a part of my strategy in dealing with my new rivals in the Nagatomi Family is why I'd taking part in this competition. Speaking of which, is my ace in the hole ready?"

Tsunade nodded as she answered, "Yes, as you requested he's unaware of his participation in today's event. I admit it's was a wise precaution since I doubt he'd be able to keep his exuberance at participating under wraps and it might have clued some of your rivals into realizing they could technically have hired shinobi as well."

"Good," Jirocho said as he looked for some orange among the spectators. Not finding what he was looking for he commented, "Strange though, I figured he'd be in the crowd still."

Tsunade smiled as she said, "Oh, I'm sure he'd love to be, but his schedule tends to be rather...busy. He's currently helping his sensei with some training." Seeing her friend's look of concern she said, "Don't worry, Kakashi assures me it won't be anything too intense. Recent events have made him question some of the conclusions he had arrived at concerning a jutsu of his."

Proving to Tsunade that his own information sources weren't to be underestimated Jirocho inquired, "Would the events you mention be tied to the sudden appearance of your long lost relative?"

Tsunade was amused by her friend's attempt to one up her as she answered, "Yes, Kakashi believes she was hit by the same jutsu that he had developed in his Sharingan. Considering that up till now Kakashi has only ever used it as an offensive weapon that warped away sections of his opponents. Toka's appearance would seem to suggest he hasn't explored all the possibilities of the jutsu."

"Interesting," Jirocho said even as he wondered how Naruto would be able to help his sensei explore his abilities further.

But before he could inquire the crowd grew hushed as the red-headed woman that most believed responsible for the day's contest approached the balcony where the potential chunin usually waited for their chance to compete. However, Tsunade knew that instead of being Kiyomi it was her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki who was preparing to address the crowd. She admitted to being a little apprehensive at the switch, but acknowledged that it was perhaps the best solution available to bring Mito out into the world. Granted, her grandmother was henged so that some of the changes Kiyomi had made appeared to the crowd like the Bijuu's shorter hair. But Tsunade knew a henge was only as good as the person playing the part, and while Kiyomi had kept a relatively low profile. She had interacted with some of the village's higher ups, who could cause the Harem trouble if they began to suspect the deception. Yet, despite her concerns, Tsunade was forced to admit that in the few test appearances Mito had made no one appeared any the wiser. The Hokage supposed that one thing that would help keep things that way, was Kiyomi's ability to communicate telepathically with her former host as a result of the bond they once shared should she encounter a situation that required the Bijuu's direct knowledge.

Speaking into the microphone, her grandmother said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for helping the Great Tree Shipping Company get back on its feet by purchasing a ticket to view today's excitement. By making this event a sold out show, should we need to pay the prize, you've helped to ensure it doesn't come out of our limited funds. Although we do hope we can make a profit naturally." The crowd laughed at Mito's light joke as she continued while holding her hand out behind her causing the women taking part to step forward, "Behind me are the women that we've hired to help secure the valuable cargo that we hope today's demonstration will encourage many of you to entrust to the Great Tree Shipping Company in the future. As you will soon see, their services will come at a premium, but it will also come with the guarantee that your deliveries will reach their destinations regardless of the borders that need crossing."

As the Bijuu turned humans became visible behind her Mito pressed on, "Furthermore, I'm pleased to announce that my company in partnership with the leadership of Konoha has secured several trade routes throughout Fire Country and into Lightening Country. These routes will allow us to use Leaf or Kumo-nin to move shipments between the two countries without having to hire full teams of shinobi from each village. Now a set number of shinobi from each of the villages will be able to escort the cargo throughout the journey and therefore lower costs. But, you all didn't come here today to hear a business pitch. Today you came here to see if we're all talk so let me explain the rules so we can get this competition underway."

*****

Mito paused for a moment before indicating a section of the arena that had been set aside for those participating and the people who hired them. Looking at the assembly of characters, Mito smiled as she saw that most of those who had sponsored people had gone for the quantity over quality mentality. Something that didn't surprise her since many of the Great Tree Shipping Company's rivals were hoping to use the contest as a means to stop its revitalization. Something the competition had actually encouraged since once the people paid the hefty entry fee; they could enter an unlimited number of people under their name. Of course they were limited by how many men they could afford to throw into the contest, but some of the wiser sponsors had offered nothing up front and were simply providing their entrees the opportunity to compete with the promise that should they win they would keep the hefty ten-million ryo prize.

Kiyomi, of course had encouraged her company's competition to throw everything they could into the contest by making the rules favor them so heavily. It was her hope that should they persevere then it would double or even triple the amount of business the Company received. Something that it desperately needed to do as several of its other investments had yet to make a profit, primarily the multiple apartment buildings it had purchased among which the Hidden Eddy Inn could be counted as well as the Whirling Tides Manor. Both projects were currently eating up resources that had yet to generate any wealth to pay back the initial investments let alone generate capital for new ones.

It was risky, but obviously her former Bijuu was of the opinion that most of the entries wouldn't have access to people capable of matching her siblings' power. Mito, directed her gaze to the Hokage viewing box where a man named Jirocho was sitting with her granddaughter. Watching him, she felt a little nervous since he was taking advantage of the sponsors right not to name their entries before their respective matches outside of telling how many people they were entering. The head of the Wasabi family had only listed one competitor and something told Mito that although in combat, quantity over quality tended to carry the day on most battlefields. That didn't mean it was always the case.

Readdressing the crowd she said, "Okay, so as far as rules go the sponsors of the competitors are able to throw as many of their men into each match as they like. Furthermore, to stack the deck against us even more, I'm making the following add on to that rule in that the sponsors can also pool their resources if they so desire. Our response will be of course depend on how many opponents are put against us in a single round, but we'll use no more than the women standing behind me." Advertisements

From behind her she heard a small shout of joy as Nel said, "Yeah, that mean Nel gets to play too."

"Nel," Rangiku said surprised, "I told you to stay at the mansion."

"Nel didn't want too," the diminutive Bijuu said sticking out her tongue, "Nel wants to compete too."

Mito ignored the conversation behind her in favor of continuing as she finished, "We'll give the sponsors fifteen minutes to make their decisions. Again thank you all for coming and regardless of whether we win, lose, or even draw. I think you'll all be amazed at the collection of talent that we have assembled to deliver the goods."

*****************************