Chapter 17 Next Generation Part Two

-Two Weeks Later-

After being interrogated by Naruto, the next two weeks flew by pretty quickly for Guren, as Naruto promised. He gave Yukimaru sanctuary in New Kumo and a place to stay and allowed him to visit Guren for a least an hour each day. Although would hold back on giving Yukimaru citizenship until he made sure that the Intel she gave him was creditable.

After two weeks, Guren was brought back into the interrogation room, this time unbounded, when she entered the room she found Naruto waiting patiently for her and holding a small folder in his hand.

"Hello again Guren-san" greeted Naruto with a small smile.

"If your here, I'm guessing that you validated everything I told you" stated Guren once she sat down.

"Yes, the Intel you gave us was extremely useful. We are now preparing to make our move against all of Orochimaru's bases with a multiple simultaneous attack and as promised, here is Yukimaru's citizenship form. As of this moment, Yukimaru is a citizen of both Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning Country) and New Kumo and is under our protection" stated Naruto as he showed Guren, Yukimaru's citizenship form.

"And what are these other two forms?" asked Guren as she indicated to two others forms that Naruto took out along with Yukimaru's citizenship form.

"This first form is your citizenship form" stated Naruto, which surprised the blue haired Kunoichi, but before she could reply to this, Naruto continued. "The second is your Shinobi registration form, which will allow you to become a Shinobi here."

"Me…a Shinobi here!" said Guren in surprise.

"Yes, you'll hold the rank of Jonin here in the village and have most of the same privileges, but you will not have the power to order lesser ranked Shinobi. Your movements will be restricted to this village and even then you won't be allowed in restricted Sections of the village. You'll also be monitored at all times by my Shinobi until such a time that I deem it unnecessary."

"So I would leave one prison and enter another" Guren replied with a slight frown.

"That is one way of looking at it, but at least you'll have more freedom than you have now and have a chance at a new life here. I've also arranged, in the event that you accept my offer that you'll have an apartment near where Yukimaru is staying, so that you can be close to him."

After hearing the Raikage's offer, Guren raised her eyebrow in some scepticism, since this offer was far too good to be true, hence there had to be some kind of catch to it.

"And why exactly are you offering me this very generous offer?"

"As I said when we last met Guren-san, I'm a man of my word and I am simply upholding my end of the bargain."

"Bargain?" repeated Guren in confusion, as she didn't understand what Naruto was talking about.

"Yes a Bargain, before we first met, we interrogated Yukimaru, now as I said before, when we first interrogated him he said nothing. But when we learned how close you and he were from some other Oto prisoners, we struck a deal with him. In return for everything he knew about Orochimaru's other bases. We agreed to not harm you and allowed him to stay here in the village."

"Wait! You lied to me then, our deal was that in return for the information I gave you, Yukimaru would allow you to stay here" stated Guren angrily.

"Yes, I did and I do apologise for that, but it was a necessary part of my test" explained Naruto.

"Test?" Guren repeated in confusion.

"Yes a test, after our agreement with Yukimaru, he surprisingly knew more than we expected and even gave us the locations of some bases that we were unaware of. During the course of our interview with him, he told us how you went out of your way to make sure he was well looked after when he was young. As well as how much you seemed to care for him and how you even regretted many the actions you took, while following Orochimaru's orders. Naturally we were sceptical, but decided to test you to see if your remorse and you feelings for Yukimaru were genuine."

"But Yukimaru, he would've told me something!" said Guren.

"He was in on the plan as well, for in return for his corporation, we agreed that if you passed my test, we would give you sanctuary here."

"So I'm guessing since you're showing me these forms, that I passed your little test" responded Guren.

"Yes, you proved that you generally care for Yukimaru, by the way you reacted when I mentioned Yukimaru and threatened him. You also showed remorse for your past actions when I mentioned Yukimaru's mother and you further proved that you cared for Yukimaru's wellbeing by telling me the truth about Orochimaru bases and operation. Some of which we already knew from Yukimaru and others, but proved none the less that you were being truthful."

After hearing this, Guren could only shake her head in amusement and could not help but be slightly impressed, as Naruto had gotten her to talk, without having to lay a finger on her. "And here I thought Orochimaru-sama was the cunning one."

"Does Yukimaru know about…?" Guren asked but found she could not finish her sentence, because of the shame she felt.

"No he doesn't, I decided that I wouldn't tell him until after I finished testing you and since you passed, I leave that matter entirely up to you" Naruto answered.

"Thank you" said Guren with some relief, as she wanted to be the one who told Yukimaru, once she found the courage to tell him.

Eventually though, after a few minutes, Guren decided to ask Naruto something else she had been wondering. "I get that your giving me citizenship here because of the deal you made with Yukimaru. But what I don't understand is why you're giving me the chance to be become a Shinobi for you?"

"To put it simply Guren-san, you're a talented Shinobi, where even Soifon-chan spoke highly of your skill, which I can assure you is no small feat, since Soifon-chan is not easily impressed. It would also be a regrettable waste of your talents, not to offer you the chance to join New Kumo. Now this offer is strictly optional and will not affect our pervious deal with Yukimaru."

"So basically you want me for my skill and Bloodline" replied Guren.

"Your skill yes, as for your Bloodline that's just an added bonus and to be perfectly frank Guren-san I think you would prefer to remain a Shinobi. Since you're not the type of person that would go for Civilian life, at least not yet" Naruto explained before smiling. "Also you could say I'm a sucker for a good redemption story, where you might be able to do some good with your power, as you would be a welcome and powerful asset to my village. I can also assure you that I will not turn my back on you like Orochimaru, as unlike him, I take care of those who serve under me."

"What about your people and your Shinobi? I doubt all of them will be as understanding as you are and will not like the idea of you making me a Shinobi here."

"I won't deny it may be hard for you for a while, since many will not trust you right away, as trust is earned not given. But they will give you a chance to prove yourself, as the people trust my judgement and once you've earned it, they will welcome you" said Naruto before a harden look appeared on his face. "But let me just warn you Guren-san, should you ever break that trust and betray us, there will be no place where you can hide from us."

After hearing this, Guren had to fight hard to suppress the urge to shiver slightly, as when Naruto made the threat. His eyes began to glow bright blue and he emanated a great deal of power from them, indicating that he was deadly serious about what he said and that he could back up any threat that he made.

"I understand and I accept your proposal" replied the slightly nervous Shoton user, after which Naruto just nodded.

"Very good, but before you sign these forms, could you tell me everything else that you know about Orochimaru's organization.

"What do you mean? I told you everything" replied Guren, as she tried to mask her surprise.

"Please Guren-san do not treat me like the fool I used to be when I was young" sated Naruto with a knowing smile. "I'm well aware that you held back some of the things that you know about Orochimaru and his other bases, so that you have something to bargain with on the slight chance that I go back on our deal with Yukimaru."

"Huh!" said Guren with an impressed look, "I guess there's nothing you don't miss."

"I try not to" answered Naruto, after which Guren filled Naruto on everything else she knew about Orochimaru and his operations, where he then allowed Guren to sign the citizenship form and the Shinobi registration form. After which she became an official Kunoichi of New Kumo.

-End Flashback-

Kakashi of course tried to ask Guren to go into further detail, but Guren refused to state how exactly Naruto got her to join New Kumo.

At the same time, the three Shinobi Elders became concerned of Guren's new found allegiance. Since with Guren now with New Kumo, there was a possibility that New Kumo could get her to build a new Shinobi Clan in New Kumo with the ability to use the Shoton (Chrystal Release) Bloodline. Another reason why they were concerned was because, they all knew how strong Guren was from the reports they had on her and how she nearly defeated Yamato in the Battle of Konoha.

As the three groups were shown around the Civilian district, they visited the different areas and buildings in the district, like the Civilian hospitals and schools.

During the tour some of the members of the three groups began to converse a little with the members of their escort or more precisely with Naruto's wives Ayane, Tomoe and Yuffie and Ayane's half-sister Kasumi.

As some of the members of the group conversed with Kasumi, they learn that she came from the Mugen Tenshin Clan.

After hearing this, Lee immediately became extremely excited, as he had heard of the Mugen Tenshin Clan. Who were famed for their great Taijutsu fighting skill and power in battle, along with their unique Ninjutsu.

The three groups also learned that Kasumi was the second child and only daughter of the Clan head Shiden and that she was married to the head of the Hayabusa Clan, Hayabusa Ryu. Who was also the head of Naruto's elite STORM Division.

Kasumi was a slender, physically-fit young woman of average height, but with an extremely buxom and had a curvy figure. She had a round face, small facial features and wide, brown eyes, with copper like hair that went waist-length hair. She wore a black ninja dress with black stockings and gold trimming/detailing with a red obi around her waist and a pair of black armguards with gold edgings on both her arms and long black sleeves. (10)

After talking with Kasumi for a while, the three groups found Kasumi to be an honourable and kind spirited person, who did not enjoy fighting, despite being a highly skilled Kunoichi with deadly abilities. In fact she preferred to live in peace with people, something which Danzo and Koharu found to be naive and foolish, but did not to comment on.

Her half-sister Ayane on the other hand was the daughter of the Clan head Shidan's wife Ayame, and his brother Raidou who betrayed their Kumo long ago and raped Ayame.

Like Naruto, Ayane was treated as an outcast by her Clan and even the village for being the bastard Child of a traitor. Although unlike Naruto, she was lucky enough to have Yugito (her best friend) and Killer Bee, who knew what it was like to be an outcast. Yet despite being treated as an outcast, Ayane proved herself to be a highly gifted Shinobi, where she eventually became known as Josei Tengu (Female Tengu).

Due to her Childhood Ayane had a cold like persona, yet had a strong determination which he grew from the years of being like an outcast in Kumo. Yet she was a proud person and was confident to the point or arrogance of her skill as a Kunoichi. When the Konoha-nins tried to talk to her, she treated them with a cold neutrality, which indicated that she did not hold their village in very high regard, whether it was because of their villages former rivalry or because of what Konoha did to Naruto when he was young. But what the representatives didn't know was that cold persona was keep people from knowing her softer, gentler side, fearing that someone would use it against her if they knew. The only people that knew this side was Naruto and the rest of their family.

Ayane was of average height with a slender body, and despite being younger than her sister; she bore the second biggest bust out of all the girls, (Samui being the biggest), something that caught the attention of many male members. She wore a Purple dress with a black scarf, along with arm and leg warmers with a large pink obi and purple boots and gloves and butterfly brooch and carried two Tanto's on both her legs sheaths and another one strapped horizontally to her lower back. She had a round face, with a small button-nose and wide reddish-pink eyes, which gave a cute child-like appearance. Along with straight purple hair, that was cut to the nape of her neck. (11)

Tomoe was unlike most of Naruto's other wives; she didn't speak much at all to the groups, where they quickly learned that Tomoe was the silent type of person. Hence she would only speak if she had to or had something to say someone and had a serious look on her face all the time. That indicated that she was a very serious person, not unlike Shino and the members of Aburame Clan.

Tomoe was a very attractive young woman, with long black hair and an almost angelic-like face. She was also very fit looking, where she had a slim you muscular-like build, which was shown well by her tight black tank top and tight fitting leather pants. She also wore long black leather gloves that went up her arms and thick leather booths with steel tips heels and toes.

From what Kasumi, told some of the members, Tomoe was one New Kumo's top assassins and Kunoichi's as well as a member of the Tatara Clan and wielded their Bloodline Kōton (Steel Release). She also happened to be the younger cousin of the current Clan head of the Tatara Clan, Tatara Hamrio, who Anko and Iruka already had met, as he had saved Iruka from a cursed warrior during Battle of Konoha.

Naturally the members of the Shinobi representatives were all highly impressed with Tomoe, where Jiraiya thought "You sure can pick them brat."

Unlike Ayane or any of the others, the three groups learned that Yuffie was the only member of the escort that wasn't born in either Kumo or Kaminari no Kuni. In fact Yuffie's Clan, the Kisaragi Clan, weren't even native to Kaminari no Kuni.

This was of course no great surprise to the more senior members of the Shinobi representatives, who were familiar with the Kisaragi Clan. Who were native to the small nation called Wutai, which had been conquered by Tsuchi no Kuni (Earth Country) several years ago. The Kisaragi Clan were a very well-known Clan in the Shinobi world, who were famed for their ability to summon multiple summonses which were said to very powerful.

This of course surprised the younger members of three groups, Iruka's daughter Aiko even asked pleaded with Yuffie to show her some of her summons.

Sadly Yuffie had to deny the young girl, but promised to show some of them later to her, which of course caused young Aiko to cheer loudly.

Moving on through the Civilian district, the members of the three Shinobi groups continued talk with their escorts. As the conversed, the Konoha members found that out of all of Naruto's wives, Yuffie had the most in common with Naruto in terms of personality or at least how he used to be when he was a Genin before he was banished.

She was very tomboyish as well a cocky, proud, bashful, as well as very aggressive. She even sometimes referred herself as "The Great Ninja Yuffie" and "The Single White Rose of New Kumo" during some of her conversation with Tsunade or the others. Also like Naruto she had a prankster strike in her, which she showed when she refused to refer to Jiraiya as anything but Ero-Sennin and how during the tour when Kakashi asked where a nearby bathroom was. She led him to the woman's bathroom, which resulted in Kakashi getting his ass handed to him by several angry civilian women and Kunochi.

Yet despite her flaws Yuffie proved to be quite clever and cunning, where she caught on to several questions from Danzo and Koharu, which sounded harmless at first. But were in fact carefully worded questions that were designed to learn more of the inner workings of New Kumo. In response to these questions, she answered them in a way that didn't reveal what the two elders really wanted to know.

After a few hours, the Darui suggested that they take a lunch break. Naturally everyone agreed to this, where Yuffie stated she knew the perfect place to have lunch.

After walking for a few minutes, the group eventually arrived at their destination, which they found to be a large restaurant that was filled with many people, both Shinobi and Non-Shinobi alike.

When the groups entered the restaurant, they were greeted by a person who was familiar to everyone from Konoha.

"Welcome to Ichiraku's Restaurant please take a seat and we'll take your order as soon as we can" spoke the young woman who walked up to them.

"Ayame-chan!" cried Konohamaru is surprise, when he saw the young Raman waitress.

"Konohamaru, everyone it's good to see all of you" greeted the young woman with a kind smile when she saw her old friends from Konoha.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ino.

"My Dad and I live here now" replied Ayame.

"You live here now!" repeated Choji in surprise, where Ayame just nodded.

"Troublesome, then that means that, Naruto must have revealed himself to you when he first came to Konoha" stated Shikiamaru. Since after the first talks between Konoha and Naruto ended, Ayame and her father left the village, stating they could no longer stand living in Konoha. But the truth was that Naruto probably invited them back to New Kumo, making sure that they didn't get caught up in the war between Konoha and Orochimaru. As he thought about this, Shikamaru slightly scolded himself for not seeing it sooner.

"Yeah he did and when we arrived here, he went out of his way to build this place for us" replied Ayame.

-Flashback-

"If I'm not very much mistaken that is the young jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto, I'm surprised that they would allow a picture of him in your stand like that. Given how he was banished from this village when he was accused of being a threat to it an-" spoke the Raikage but was interrupted by Ayame before he could finish.

"Naruto was not a threat to anyone! He was a kind, loving and gentle boy who was a loyal Shinobi to this village and loved it despite everything they did to him! The only reason he was banished was because of those blind bigotry fools on the Council, and the rest of the idiots in here who saw him as a demon just because he had the Kyuubi inside him. He was like a little brother to me and I won't let you say th-", cried Ayame angrily before she was stopped by her father who then turned to The Raikage.

"Raikage-sama, please forgive my daughter, she just gets very emotional whenever Naruto is mentioned here as he was very close to us and his death hurts us both deeply. Especially since the villagers here tried to celebrate his death when it was announced and sh-" said Teuchi before The Raikage raised his hand to stop Teuchi for apologising and then spoke.

"There is no need to apologise Teuchi-san as I can understand how your daughter feels and if I did sound like I was insulting him, then I apologise, as it was not what I meant. I was only making a statement that was all, as I'm well aware of the type of person Uzumaki Naruto was, as he was a hero to several key members to the Heavenly Alliance. Such as Yuki/Haru no Kuni (Snow/Spring Country), Takigakure (Hidden Waterfall) as well as our newest candidate to join the Heavenly Alliance Nami no Kuni (Wave Country), and all of them regard him as a hero. I have heard much about him from the leader of Takigakure Shibuki and from Koyuki-sama and I'm glad to see that there are at least some people here who regard him as a hero", spoke The Raikage.

At this comment both Ayame and Tenchi nodded, after they went back to work, and began to serve the Raman to the young Raikage and his party. As they ate, the disguised Naruto turned to Zhuge Liang

"Sensei, please cast over an illusion of us eating Raman, as I don't want anyone eavesdropping on us."

At this the famed Nemuriryu nodded and placed a subtle Genjutsu over the Raman stand, without the ANBU or ROOT agents knowing it, where as far as they and other people were concerned. The New Kumo party were eating Raman

Eventually, once Naruto and the other had finished their Raman, the masked Kage looked up at Tenchi and Ayame.

"Your Raman is even better than I remembered old Man, Ayame-chan" complimented Naruto.

"Huh excuse me?" asked the confused Tenchi, who was surprised by the Raikage suddenly familiarity to him and his daughter, not to mention his comment.

At this Naruto just smiled underneath his mask and tilted his Kage hat up and pulled his mask down to reveal his face.

"Yoh! Long-time no see Old man, Ayame-chan."

Naturally it took a few moments for both Ayame and Tenchi to realize who they were seeing, since Naruto had grown quite a bit and no longer hand his whisker shape birthmarks. But regardless the two quickly recognised Naruto for who he was by the cheesy smile he was making and the same bright blue eyes.

"NARUTO!" cried Ayame before she grabbed hold of Naruto and pulled him over and hugged him tightly and smothering him into her chest.

At the same time, Tenchi began to cry before affectionately ruffing up Naruto head, after his Kage hate fell off when Ayame pulled him over the counter.

Naturally Zhuge Liang, Saiyuri and Mitsuhide smiled at this, since it was obvious that both Ayame and Tenchi cared a lot for Naruto.

Yugito on the other hand seemed a little peeved with Naruto being given a face full of Ayame's chest. Although Killer Bee muttered slightly at how Naruto got all the luck, while the blonde Kage could only think. "Damn Ayame-chan sure has filled out more."

Eventually though Ayame and Tenchi calm down, where Yugito pulled Naruto away from Ayame chest and gave him a slightly annoyed glance, which made the young blonde sweat a little. After which Naruto gave both Ayame a brief rundown of what happened between him and Itachi and Kisame how he faked his death after the battle and how he later became the Raikage.

Once Naruto had finish telling them what had happened, both the Raman chief and his daughter were shocked beyond words.

"I still can't believe that you're the Raikage of all people! You certainly never cease to surprise me my boy" stated Tenchi with a smile.

"Are you going to enter the war and help Konoha Naruto?" asked Ayame. "I know you have every right to be angry at it, but there are good people still here like Iruka, Konohamaru, the Hokage and your friends and Orochimaru needs to be stopped."

At this Naruto sighed slightly, "Look Ayame-chan, I won't deny I have no great love for Konoha after I was banished and I do still care for some people like you guys who still live here. But I won't ally my village or the Heavenly Alliance with Konoha, it just gotten too rotten on the inside thanks to people like that bastard Danzo and that old hag Koharu."

At this Ayame sighed, but before she could respond to this Naruto continued on.

"But regardless, I won't let Orochimaru have his way and I won't let Konohamaru, Iruka-sensei and all the others pay for what the Council did to me. I have a plan and although I can't go into detail right now, I promise you this war will end and Orochimaru and his Coalition are going down."

After hearing this, both Ayame and Tenchi smiled, since despite how much he had grown and changed over the years, there was still a bit of the old Naruto in this new Naruto.

"But in order for this plan to work I need both of you to keep quiet about me still being alive and being the Raikage" stated Naruto seriously.

"But what about, the Hokage, Konohamru and Iruka, they've all been devastated with the news of your death. It would mean the world to them to know that you're just alive" said Ayame, as she had seen first-hand how the new of Naruto's suppose "death" had affected them.

"I know, but trust me Ayame-chan, this is for the best, I will eventually reveal myself, I promise. But for my plan to work right, I need them to think I'm still dead, I can't take the chance of people like Orochimaru and Danzo learning that I'm still alive and if my plan works right I can end this war with one move."

When Ayame and Tenchi heard this, both were unsure what to think, but after a few minutes, both decided to trust Naruto.

"Okay Naruto, we'll trust you and keep quiet about this for now" replied Tenchi.

"Thanks and trust me you won't regret this, now before I go there one other thing I like to ask you both."

"And what is that?" asked Ayame.

"I want both of you to come to New Kumo with me?"

"Naruto are you serious?" asked Tenchi is surprise.

"I am, both of you are like family to me and I don't want anything to happen to either of you and if you come to New Kumo you'll both be safe there I promise" stated Naruto.

"I don't know Naruto, regardless of our issues with the village, Konoha is still our home."

"I understand where you're coming from Old man, but trust, you'll be a lot better off in New Kumo than you would be here, since by the time this war is over, Konoha will be not be in great shape. Beside New Kumo will welcome you both with open arms, of that you can be certain of" said Naruto, before smiling. "Not to mention we could really do with a good Raman restaurant after all the bad Raman Hakaku gave us and I can give you the Raikage's seal of approval, where you can expect a lot of business."

After several minutes of heavy thought, both Ayame and Tenchi agreed to move to New Kumo. Natural Naruto was pleased to hear this and told them to not to move out for at least a month and a half, so to avoid suspicion from people like Danzo. He also then gave them a note and told them to keep it safe and not let anyone see it and told them that when they left Konoha and crossed the border into Kaminari no Kuni. They would be found by one of his patrol teams and once they should they showed the patrol the note; they would escort them to New Kumo.

Once Naruto finished explaining everything to Ayame and Tenchi, he put his mask and Kage hat on told Zhuge Liang to lower the Genjutsu over the stand, after which he said bide them both a goodbye and said he see them soon.

-End Flashback-

After hearing how Ayame and Tenchi came to be here in New Kumo, Danzo became further frustrated with how Naruto kept getting the better of him. Especially when it was in their own village, since he had made sure his agents followed Naruto, back when he first arrived in Konoha, when they only knew him as the Raikage. Yet somehow he was able to reveal himself to Ayame and her father without his agents knowing. Even Tsunade was slightly curious on how Naruto was able to reveal himself to Ayame and her father, without them knowing. As when she had Naruto followed by her own agents, they told her all that Naruto and his party did was eat some Raman and then left.

"So where is your father Ayame-chan?" asked Moegi, who like most other was pleased to see the older girl doing well.

"Tou-san is in the back with the rest of his chiefs, since as you can see we're quite busy" answered Ayame.

"Yes I can see that, it seems that you're doing well here" commented Tsunade, as she could see over three quarters of the tables in the restaurant were taken.

"Yea, well as you can guess, having the Raikage's personal approval can do wonders for business here. The place is nearly always full, especially around lunch time, where we can barely keep up with the demand and we're really popular with the Shinobi here. We even now do take out for people.

Naturally at hearing this most of the Konoha group were glad to hear that Ayame and her father were doing so well and were happy.

Soon enough though, Ayame led the three groups and to the remaining free tables, after which she and some other waiters took everyone's orders and brought their meals to them when they were ready.

Once the Shinobi representatives had eaten their fill, they said goodbye to Aymae and finished off their tour of the Civilian district and then made their way to the industrial district. There they were given a brief tour of some the factories, where they made equipment to increase the speed for constructing buildings, ship building, speeding up farming production and other machinery. Naturally some like Danzo and the others asked to see where they built their airships and other military equipment. But were denied, by their escorted where the Jonin C stated that those areas were restricted, and they weren't permitted in them yet. Nor were they allowed in the airships docks, which were located above the village on the sides of the mountains that surrounded New Kumo

Soon after seeing some of the factories, the three groups left the industry district and entered the Shinobi district.

After entering the Shinobi district, the tour group headed for the Shinobi district hospital, where all Shinobi were treated.

Tsunade was naturally impressed with the place; the building itself was easily three times the size of Konoha's hospital. It had classrooms for Medic-nins in training, specious rooms with beds for long term patients. As well as state of the art Operating rooms and Operating theatres that allowed Medic-nin students to watch operations. Not to mention birthing wards for Kunoichi, who were expecting children and physical therapy rooms for Shinobi who were in for long term treatments.

Sakura too was very impressed with the hospital, especially when the group entered the research room for experimental treatments, where they saw several different medical devises that they were unfamiliar with, but was clearly bran-new.

Not long after they entered the room, the head of New Kumo's Hospitals and of its Medical-nin unit Unohana Retsu, also known as the Chiyu no Megami (Goddess of Healing), entered the room with a young woman holding a clipboard and pen.

"Good afternoon Tsunade-sama" greeted Retsu with her traditional kind smile.

"Retsu! It's good to see you" greeted the female Hokage, as she went over and shook hands with her former student. As the last time they saw each other was after the Battle of Konoha, but given the number of wounded there was and the state the village was in. Neither really had time to get reacquainted with one another

"As it is to see you, had I known that you and your companies were touring my hospital, I would have gladly shown you around myself."

"There's no need for that, but we must really catch up on old times and have a drink together" stated Tsunade.

"I would very much enjoy that Tsunade-sama" replied Unohana, after which Tsunade called Hinata, Ino, Tenten and Sakura.

"Retsu, allow me to introduce you to Hinata, Ino and Tenten, who all studied under me for a time, Sakura is also a former student and is one of our best Medic's" said Tsunade.

"I'm pleased to meet my sibling disciples" replied Unohana with another kind smile. "Please allow me to introduce all of you to my assistant and one of my students Amaru."

Amaru was attractive medium tall young woman with long reddish-brown hair that fell down her back. Amaru has rather thick eyebrows and blue eyes, and a mole under the left eye. She wore a cyan-blue gi with a long white lab coat over it and blue pants.

"A pleasure to meet you all" replied Amaru with a small smile and a slight bow.

"I believe you've also met her husband Anisu-sama" stated Unohana, which surprised most of the groups.

"Wait your married to Anisu as well?" asked Sakura, where Amaru blush slightly, but nodded in conformation.

"I guess it makes sense, since Anisu did say he had six wives and two fiancés" thought Tsunade, as she remembered their conversation with Anisu, where he introduce his two fiancés Sasame and Hokuto and his five other wives to them.

"So you're another one of Granma Tsunade's student?" asked Konohamaru as he walked up to Unohana and Tsunade and didn't notice the large thick marks that appeared on Tsunade's head, when he called her Granma.

"Yes I am Konohamaru-sama" replied Unohana, as she knew who Konohamaru was from the time when he tried to see Naruto when he was in the hospital, after his battle with Orochimaru and his allies as well as the revived Hokages. "I met Tsunade-sama after she left Konoha and asked her to take me as her student for a time."

"Wow, so how old are you? You must be at least f-" but before he could finish speaking Konohamaru, suddenly felt a strong sense of danger coming from Unohana. When he looked up, Unohana had a smile that was all too sweet, along with a dark menacing aura around her that scared the young Sarutobi Clan Head shitless.

Konohamaru, wasn't the only one that was intimated by the dark aura around her, as many of the other, including the New Kumo escort, were intimated by her.

"It is rather impolite to ask a lady her age Konohamaru-sama" said Unohana with a friendly tone with an underline threat in it.

At this Konohamaru gulp audibly and quickly apologised to Unohana and slowly backed away from her.

"Damn and I thought Baa-chan was scary when she was mad" thought the young man. After which Omoi decided to give Konohamaru some advice.

"Hey listen, if you know what's good for you, don't piss of Unohana-sama, as she is the most feared Kunoichi in all of New Kumo, hell even the Raikage is scared of her."

This of course just made Konohamaru even more fearful of Unohana, where he began to wonder how the woman could seem so kind and friendly, yet so terrifying at the same time.

As the two medic-nins continued to take, Unohana heard some giggling coming from the Konoha group. When she looked over to them, she saw Jiraiya giggling to himself as he wrote down some things of his notepad. It of course did not take a genius to figure out that Jiraiya was writing up some perverted scene involving the two female medics.

As soon as Unohana saw this, the next thing Jiraiya knew what was happening. A dozen or so Senbon needles flew through the air at high speed and embedded themselves into the wall directly behind the Toad Sage. Missing Jiriaya's head by a hairsbreadth and causing him to sweat profanely at how close his head had come to become pincushion.

"Oh please forgive Jiraiya-sama, my hand accidently "slipped". But I do hope you haven't written anything inappropriate or else you might not be so fortunate "next" time," said Unohana with the same sweet smile, while holding another set of Senbon needles in her hand and emanating the same dark menacing aura that she gave off a few moments ago.

At the same time, Jiriaya could've sworn he saw a demonic visage appear behind Unohana, making her seem all the more terrifying.

"N-N-N-Noooo o-of course not" said Jiraiya fearfully as he quickly tore up his notes.

"I'm very pleased to hear that?" replied Unohana before she turned back to Tsunade, who was highly amused by what her former student did.

"Heh, looks like Retsu has gotten a lot better at intimidating people" thought Tsunade, as she remembered a time when she was training Unohana and how she couldn't even intimidate a rabbit, let alone someone like Jiraiya.

Once Retsu turned back to Tsunade, Jiraiya let out a sigh of relief, "Damn, there's no doubting it, she's Tsunade's student, that's for sure"

Eventually Ayane and the others decided to continue the tour, after which Tsunade bid her former student good-bye and promised to see her later on and to talk again.

For the next few hours the three groups were shown the different parts of the Shinobi districts, including the section for the different Clan compounds. During the tour Danzo asked if it would be possible to visit the Library of Benzaiten, but was quickly shot down by Tomoe. Stating that for security reasons only Shinobi, citizens and members of the Heavenly Alliance or allies of it were allowed in the Library and until they became part of it, they would not be allowed entry.

After a little while, the tour group was led to the Shinobi Academy, where all the Ninja hopefuls were trained.

The Academy itself was a large white three story building, with a wide open courtyard and several large open training fields, behind the building, which were capable of holding six separate sparing matches at once. (13)

When the tour group entered the Academy, like the hospital, they found the school to be quite large and spacious, with large classrooms for the different classes, subjects and class groups. They also found that the Academy and had an indoor gym area for students to train in and a target room, where students could practice their throwing skills, not only outside but inside as well. Along with many other things to help the students become stronger.

After seeing everything, Iruka was quite impressed with the school and could only wish that Konoha Academy had some of the things that this Academy had. Even his daughter Aiko, who was only starting in the Academy, now, stated she wanted to go here to be a Ninja.

Eventually though, Ayane and the others told them if they were interested they would finish off the tour by going to the exam arena, which was being used right now by the students. Who were about to become Genin and were having their Graduation matches and were the first class to official Graduate in New Kumo.

Naturally the three groups quickly agreed and headed of in the direction. As they made their way to the arena, the Rokudaime Mizukage Mei decided to voice a question she had been wondering for a while.

"Excuse Ayane-san, but if you don't mind could you perhaps answer a personal question?"

"It would depend on the question, Mizukage-sama" Ayane replied simply.

"Well if you don't mind, could you perhaps tell me why is it that Kunoichi like yourself, Yuffie-san, Tomoe-san as well as the Lightning Daimyo are married to the Raikage. I can understand that he needs to marry multiple wives so to repopulate his Clan quickly. But I'm still curious what attracted you to him, especially the Lightning Daimyo."

At this question everyone began to listen, since it was a question many had worried themselves.

"To put it simply Mizukage-sama, virtually all the Raikage's marriages to us and the others, were arranged."

"Arranged?" repeated Mei.

"Yes, you see after the Civil War as you can guess, there was still much turmoil among the different factions on the rebel side, and those that fought for the Godaime Raikage and the former Lightning Daimyo. Naturally given how Kicho-sama was a woman and was so young and unmarried, most of the noble men and lords did not believe she was up to the task. She also had limited military support, with only the Naomasa Samurai Clan, the Yun Shinobi Clan and her cousin Date Masamune and his Clan, supporting her. Naruto also faced a similar problem, when Kicho-sama appointed him the Rokudaime Raikage, as despite having both the respect and loyalty of most of the Shinobi and the Shinobi Clans. Naruto's position politically was vulnerable. Since there was still some who did not approve of having a Raikage who was not from our village or country, despite the fact that he defeated the Godaime Raikage and led us to victory in the War. Fearing another possible Civil War, Zhuge Liang-sama, propose a solution, which was for Naruto-kun and Kicho-sama to marry one another."

"And how exactly did that help?" asked Hinata, who was curious as to how Naruto got married.

"By marrying the Raikage, Kicho-sama secured her position as Daimyo, since not only could she later produce an heir to the throne by marrying the Raikage. She also gained the military support of the Raikage and New Kumo, which she needed to insure that none of the other lords or noblemen decided to try and attempt a coup. Since everyone knew how powerful the Raikage was by the end of the Civil War, and had no wish to challenge him. At the same time, marrying Kicho-sama secured the Raikage's position politically, as not only would he have her political support. But it would also solidify his loyalty to the country; thereby calm some of the people who had a problem with Naruto-kun."

At hearing this, Mei and the others nodded, as it did make sense.

"But what about you and the others?" asked Hinata.

"After the New Kumo Council was formed, naturally most of the members on the new council wanted Naruto and Anisu to rebuild their Clan in New Kumo. So they voted to place the Clan Restoration Act on them. After which some of the Clans like Soifon's, Yugito's and mine arranged to have us marry Naruto, which was to secure Naruto's loyalty to the village. While other Clans like Tomoe's and Yuffie's, did it so that people could be certain that their clans were loyal to the village" explained Ayane before she continued on.

"As for Taira, Takara and Nanao, they were selected since they were among some of the village's best Kunochi and weren't from any Clans. Thereby assuring that any children they would have with the Raikage, would have no ties to other Clans, so to assure some independence for the Raikage's Clan later on. They were also chosen because; they all had some prior relationships with Naruto, where they fought alongside him in the war, like some of the rest of us."

"But what about the rest?" asked Tenten.

"Well back when the Heavenly Alliance was first being formed, the Raikage went to Haru/Yuki no Kuni (Spring/Snow Country) for support and aid to rebuild the country and build New Kumo. There he revealed himself to Koyuki-sama, where she agreed to help us but in return the Raikage had to agree to marry her. Since like Kicho-sama, Koyuki-sama was having some problems with holding her position as Daimyo. As some of the former supporters of the previous Daimyo, (her Uncle Doto) tried to arrange several marriages for her with men of their choosing. Stating that she needed to marry and produce an heir to the throne, where they could then use the man she married to wrestle control of the country from her. But by marrying the Raikage she removed that problem and secured her position, since the lords could not object to the Raikage. Since he was a hero to the nation for helping to remove the pervious Daimyo and helping to find the generator to bring spring and summer to the country."

"As for Fu…" continued Ayane, "…She was arranged to marry the Raikage by her cousin Shibuki, after Takigakure joined the Heavenly Alliance. As a sign of commitment to the Heavenly Alliance by his village, while also assuring she would be safe. Since he feared for her safety from the Akatsuki, given how one of the members at the time was a former Shinobi of his village and knew its secret location."

"But what about the High Priestess of Oni no Kuni (Demon Country), The Daimyo of Na no Kuni (Vegetable Country) and Hanzo's Granddaughter Okatsu? (14)" asked Temari.

"Okatsu, met Naruto and Anisu a year before they joined the Civil War here and travelled with him, where she eventually developed feelings for Naruto. Shion and Haruna also met Naruto earlier on, where he helped save both them and their countries on separate occasions, where like Okatsu they develop feelings for him. But as for Shizuka, well the Raikage has you to thank Jiraiya-san" answered Ayane, while saying Jiriya's name coldly, since she didn't hold the man in high regard.

"Me?" cried Jiraiya is in surprise, as like everyone else this was the first he was hearing about it.

"Hold on a second! You mean the leader of Nadeshiko, she's married to Naruto?" asked Kiba in disbelief.

"No, she engaged to him, she is arranged to marry him later on after her village becomes part of the Heavenly Alliance" replied Tomoe simply.

Natural everyone in the group was shocked at this news, where Kiba once again cursed Naruto's luck and swore that his friend and former rival must have the devil's luck on his side.

"But wait! How the hell did I help him with her?" asked Jiraiya, who was still confused.

"So you're telling us that you don't remember battling the former leader of Nadeshiko to a standstill. After which you promised her that your student and her daughter would later finish the battle you both started, where if he beats her, she would marry him" said Yuffie.

After hearing this, Jiraiya blushed red in embarrassment, as he had indeed forgotten that promise. When everyone turned to look at him, all the Toad Sage could do was scratch his head embarrassingly and say "Oops."

At this Tsunade slapped her head in disbelief and mutter "Baka!", while everyone else just rolled their eyes or shook their heads in disbelief.

Soon after though, Hinata decided to ask Ayane and the others a question she had been wondering ever since she heard that they were married to Naruto.

"Do you love him?"

"Excuse me Hinata-san?" asked Ayane.

"Do you love Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.

At this question, the three girls remained silent for several minutes, but surprisingly enough Tomoe answered Hinata's question.

"I won't deny that when Ayane, Yuffie, I and some of the others first married Naruto-kun, we weren't exactly thrilled with the situation. But regardless to what happened, Naruto-kun went out of his way to make the best of it, he never forced us to do anything we didn't want. He went out of his way to get to know us and treat us respect and kindness and did the utmost to make us happy. He has been nothing more than a good husband to all of us and a loving father to Yami, Nene and Yoshiko" answered Tomoe, before a small smile appeared. "And over time you could say the fool grew on us and we grew to care for him, since I don't think we could have gotten a more decent man or person to be with given the circumstances. So to answer your question Hinata-san, yes we do."

At hearing this, both Ayane and Yuffie smile and nodded in agreement with Tomoe, as they were of the same mind.

Hinata although maintained a blank look on her face, so not to give her feelings on Tomoe's answer away, where she simply thanked Tomoe for answering and remained in silent thought.

For the remainder of the journey the tour group remained silent until they arrived at the arena. Naturally when the Shinobi representatives saw the size of stadium they were surprised. The Stadium was circular in shape with a radius of fifty yards and could easily hold a few thousand people and had a massive television screen for people to the fight from as well. The fighting square was in the centre of the stadium and there were two long stairs and paths that lead to the fighting square on opposite ends of the stadium, which allowed rival teams or opponents to walk down and meet one another at the square. The arena itself was about twelve metres below the stands and srrounded by a large wall so that no stray attacks hit the spectators. (15)

When the tour group arrived they found the graduation students preparing to start their matches. Surprisingly enough Naruto's adopted daughter Yami, Nene and Yoshiko were among the graduating students.

Deciding to enjoy the matches and see what the next Generation of New Kumo Shinobi were capable of. The tour group made their way to the stands and sat in the seats directly in front of the class, who were standing in the middle of the arena.

-Down with the Graduation students-

"Okay Class, now as you know these matches are to evaluate your overall skill level, so you're allowed to use Jutsu. Now this will not affect your overall grade, but it will help to finalize your Genin team for next week. Also you should all know that if any of the other instructors or I feel that a match has gone too far we we'll stop the fight, is that clear?" said the instructor.

"Hai Sensei" replied the students

"Also as you can see in the stands, we have some visiting dignitaries here today watching us. So I expect all of you to do your best and to hold yourself up to the high standard of our village, am I clear?" stated the instructor, where the students once again responded with a "Hai!"

"Very good, now we'll start things off, first up Kōno Rai versus Mori Kira" stated the instructor, where the two students walked forward, while the rest of the class fell back to watch the match.

-With the Observers-

"So they're starting things off with that kid from Kōno Clan" commented Ayane.

"The Kōno Clan, I've never heard of them" stated Sakura.

"Can't say I'm surprised, they aren't really a well-known Clan and are quite small and there aren't that many of them left in the village. Since most of the Clan was killed in the Civil War, where they fought on the Godaime Raikage's side" answered Karui.

"So what makes this kid so special?" asked Kiba.

"Well according to his reports, he's the most gifted student in the class and is an acclaimed prodigy and has already been named the Rookie of the Year. His own Clan even calls him the hope of the Kōno Clan, since they're depending on him to help restore their Clan esteem."

"That's quite a lot of pressure to put on someone his age" Kakashi commented.

"Perhaps, but as Karui said, the Clan has fallen on hard times" answered Samui.

Rai had long black hair that is bound in a white wrap, he had golden eyes and had a red bandana around his head and wore white martial arts-style clothing.

Thinking that the fight would be interesting to watch, the Shinobi representatives watch the match carefully.

Sadly though, the match didn't last very long, where Rai proved to be too much for his opponent, where the young man took down his opponent in under ten second, with a series of fast and powerful Taijutsu moves.

"Damn that didn't take long, the kid is fast I'll give him that" commented Jiraiya, as Rai was already as fast as a low level Chunin.

Soon enough though, after Rai and his opponent had left the arena the instructor called out the next set of names, were one of them was a young girl named Rin, who was also from the Kōno Clan and another girl.

Rin had golden eyes like Rai and had red hair that framed here face and had it tied in a lose ponytail that fell down to the middle of her back. She wore a white Chinese top with pink strips and wore baggy white Shinobi pants.

"Another Kōno member" Neji commented.

"Yea, but she's from a separate branch of the Clan" answered Yuffie. "And trust me, if what I've heard about her true, she's no pushover and is a real firecracker. Not to mention she was one of the contenders for top Kunoichi."

Like with Rai's fight, the Shinobi representatives watched the fight between the two young would be Kunochi and like Rai's it fight didn't last very long. In fact, it was even quicker than Rai's, where Rin opponent, tried to hit her with a series of fast jabs. But each time the girl avoided the punches without much trouble and before the boy knew it. He found his legs being kicked from underneath him and landing flat on his back, after which Rin stood over him ready to deliver the finish blow.

"Damn and I thought the last kid was fast" said Jiraiya, since Rin was even faster than her clansman Rai was.

After Rin and her opponent left the arena, the instructor called out another pair of names, one of whom was named Lan who was also another member of the Kōno Clan like Rin and Rai. In fact according to Yuffie, he was the elder twin brother of Rin.

Lan had spikey jet black hair that was done up in a small ponytail and like his twin sister and Rai had golden eyes, which according to Ayane was a trait shared among the Clan. He wore dark blue Shinobi pants and bandages around his forearms and hands and wore a long yellow trench coat with green edges to cover his bare torso. He also wore a necklace around his neck with small green stones on it, which were shaped like claws.

-Down in the arena-

Once both Lan and his opponent were facing one another the instructor raised up his arm and cried "Begin!"

As soon as they heard the Instructor shouting "Begin", Lan opponent charged forward and attempted a forward punch.

Lan quickly responded to this by sidestepping the punch and grabbing hold of his opponent, where he then flipped the young boy over.

Acting quickly, Lan opponent did a mid-air flip and landed on his feet and then quickly spun around and threw several Shuriken at Lan. Who skilfully did a back flip to avoid the Shuriken and then turned around and did several hand seals. After which he cried "Raiton: Raishō (Lightning Style: Lightning Palm)!"(A) and charged forward with his hand covered in a thin layer of Lightning.

Seeing Lan charging towards him, Lan opponent immediately jumped backwards in an attempt to avoid the attack. But unfortunately, Lan was too fast and his opponent couldn't avoid his attack completely, where Lan was able to touch his opponents chest. After Lan placed his hand on his opponent's chest, a small charge of Lightning travelled through his body and caused it to go stiff.

Once Lan's opponent hit the ground and the instructor refereeing the match saw that the other boy could no longer move, he declared Lan the winner.

-With the Observers-

"Impressive, he is already able to use is nature affinity and is able to do Raiton Jutsu" commented Shino.

"Yes, in the beginning of their last year, all academy students are tested on their nature affinity. So that they can be taught how to do D-rank level Elemental Jutsu that suits their elemental affinity and should they show enough skill and talent, we even teach some C-rank Jutsu" stated Samui.

"Isn't that a little advance for them?" asked Iruka.

"We don't see it that way" answered Samui, "since by doing this we can better prepare them for the Shinobi World and have them fitted with the right team and sensei, so that they can reach their full potential. Also it gives those who do not come from a Shinobi background a more equal chance, since those who come from Shinobi Clans and families will naturally have more advance training thanks to the help of their family or clansmen. We also teach students, tree walking, water walking and sort students in different teams each week, when they do E-rank missions in the village. So to find out who works best with whom in terms of skill and corporation. We even give them some voluntary classes to take or test them on certain types of techniques, like Fuinjutsu, Genjutsu or other things, to see if they have any interest or talent in any of them."

After hearing this, Iruka had to admit that what Samui was saying did make sense, and it was definitely a broad way of doing things. Since it gave students the chance to maximise their potential and gave them a more advance start than most Genin from other villages.

After Lan and his opponent left the arena, the instructor called out the next pair of names, the first was a young boy named Sora Tetsu and the other was a young girl named Shinmen Futketi.

Tetsu was a tall young boy who looked to be coming into his early teens, he had spikey brown hair and brown eyes and wore lose fitting blue pants, an orange shirt and a grey jacket with a furry hood over it.

Futeki was a young girl, who looked to be about a year younger than Tetsu and was at least a head shorter than him. She had dark hair that she had tied up in a bun and wore a yellow shirt and green pants. But the thing that caught most people's attention was her pale white blank eyes indicating the girl was blind.

"Oh, this should be interesting" said Yuffie as she grinned with excitement.

"What do you mean? You can't expect that girl to fight that other kid, she obviously blind, she doesn't stand a chance" stated Kankuro.

"You forget Kankuro-san, in the Shinobi world appearances can be deceptive and I can assure you, young Futeki is highly capable, despite her lack of sight" replied Tomoe.

"Agreed, she is also quite skilled as she is the younger sister of Shinmen Uki, the Chi no Megami (Goddess of Earth) and member of the Go Genso no Megami (Five Elemental Goddesses)" added Ayane.

"So who's the kid that she's going against then?" asked Temari

"He's a former refugee, who the Raikage allowed into the village along with some others after their village was destroyed by a group of Rogue Shinobi", answered Omoi.

"Is he any good?" asked Tenten.

"If we were to judge him by his school report and record, then I would say no he isn't. He's basically the class clown, as he prefers making jokes and skips most of classes and avoids sparing with the rest of his class or loses the matches. In fact according to his teachers he basically gives up as soon as the fight starts…But seemly the Raikage states that he's more than he appears and says he has great potential" Samui stated.

At hearing this, many of the Shinobi representatives grew curious and wondered what Naruto saw in the young man.

-Down in the Arena-

"Well, well, looks like you drew the short straw here Tetsu" mocked Futeki as she faced against Tetsu.

At this comment, Tetsu just sighed as he kept his hand in his pocket, indicating that he didn't want to fight. "Sigh, I don't really want to fight you Futeki, can't we just say you won and leave it at that, since this fight won't really affect us."

"Afraid not" replied Futeki, before she took a set of Kunai and threw them at Tetsu, who barely avoided them, by jumping to his right. But as soon as he did, Futeki appeared in front of him and attempted to punch him in the face, which he barely avoided by sidestepping the punch. After which the young man disappeared and reappeared behind Futeki.

"Light on your feet as always Tetsu, but then again you always were good at running away" said Futeki as she turned around to face her opponent.

"Listen Futeki, I don't really want to fight you" said Tetsu, hoping to end the fight.

"Well too bad for you" replied the Blind girl as she did some hand seals and cried "Doton: Doryūsō (Earth Style: Earth Flow Spears)!" after which a spike made out of earth erupted out of the ground in front Tetsu, nearly impaling him.

Fortunately though Tetsu acted quickly and jumped up into the air and avoided the earth spike. After which he landed gracefully on top of the spike and threw a set of Shuriken at Futeki. Who responded by blocking the Shuriken with Doton: Doroku Gaeshi (Earth Release: Earth Shore Return).