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Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine. Also, this story is a lemon fiction therefore is intended for people of a legal age from wherever they come from. So, if these types of stories offend then stop reading now. Thanks.

Eroninja: Little Black Book

Chapter 10: The Black Foxes: A New Challenger Arrives

Chapter takes place between Chapter 87 and 88 of Eroninja.

A man sat alone in his dark office as he reflected that in the world of the gangster, there were only two ways to survive. The first was the method as demonstrated by the Wasabi Family, which was to straddle the line between gangster and outstanding member of society. By successfully doing so it afforded the gangster friends in high places who were actually invested in the gangster survival out of friendship, such as a Hokage who will send shinobi to your aid when your family is challenged. It was a difficult path to traverse as one had to maintain an iron will to ward off the corruptive vices the gangster lifestyle would constantly tempt one with. Yet, it was necessary if one was going to be able to call on traditionally honorable people and count them as allies. The Wasabi Family wasn’t the wealthiest family in Tea, but it was the most powerful as it could count many powerful individuals as its friends.

Yet, for many would be gangster, such a lifestyle was the antithesis of why they began walking the path in the first place. After all, in order to be respected by both criminal and the populace one couldn’t be seen as being a huge contributor to a town or country’s moral decay. As such, it really limited the revenue streams such gangs could tap. While they also functioned as kind of a shadow government which helped the populace when social norms or bureaucracies would only get in the way. The middle of the road path rarely allowed a potential gangster to reach the heights of decadence one would get to enjoy if one simply dedicated one’s self to just being a gangster. Yet, they did tend to enjoy a level of stability that other gangster Families didn’t.

This was due to how the other means of survival was simply to be the strongest fish in the pond, as otherwise one could expect to find himself gobbled up. Either by a bigger fish, or at times even the fish that made up his own school as one of its member decided it was the stronger member. The bosses of gangs which operated under such rules, often got to enjoy life to its fullest, but often for short periods of time. Mostly as constantly indulging in the finer things tended to make one complacent while members of his own group still felt a hunger in their bellies which motivated them to take the top spot.

For Taro Harumafuji, he never had any doubt about what kind of gangster that he had wanted to be. He had started out as a low-level enforcer for a gang called the Crimson Sharks which had run a good portion of the Land of Rice Paddies Northern territory. Due to his sumo like build, he had earned himself the nickname of The Whale as he killed who needed killing, or hurt those who needed hurting. As time went by, he had advanced in the ranks, but still always while feeling the hunger in his belly to take more for himself. When the boss of the Crimson Sharks began looking to secure his own position, rather than expanding. He had decided the old boss had just grown weak and his hunger had been sated, so just wished to indulge in his rewards. A weakness as far as he had been concerned, which was why Taro had crushed his skull with his bare hands. He hadn’t even washed the blood off of himself before he had his way with the old boss’s wife and daughter before selling them both into slavery. He had then promptly renamed the gang The White Whale in honor of himself, before once more beginning to expand his gang’s territory.

Yet, now Taro was entertaining thoughts that perhaps he wouldn’t have been better served trying to emulate the Wasabi model. The reason for his questioning his life choices was that the hunger in his belly which he felt would never be sated, and was why he would never become complacent like the old boss, had become a cold lump of fear. It wasn’t the first time he had felt this fear either, as that had first happened shortly after he had assumed control of the White Whale, and they had crushed a rather powerful rival. Taro and his men had been celebrating for nearly a week straight, when he had learned that for as big as he thought he was in his little pond in the Land of Rice Paddies, there was someone out there who was larger still.

Taro recalled being blown off his feet as the front of the bar that he and his men were celebrating in exploded in a purple blast. From the smoke and dust, a man floated through the air with his arms crossed. He remembered meeting the man’s pupil-less eyes, and instantly realizing he was but an insect to him. Still despite the fear merely locking eyes with the man had installed in him, he shouted, “Who the fuck are you?”

The man ignored the question as he replied, “You’re the one they call The Whale. Pathetic, it’s hard to believe such a weakling has managed to become a nuisance to my operations.”

“Is that so,” Taro said boastfully to get his men pumped for the fight to come, “Well, I guess once we fuck you up, then we’ll just have to take over your operations for ourselves then.”

The man lowered himself to the ground and a wide smile appeared as he said, “Is that so? Very well, defeat me and you may call yourself the master of Shadaloo.”

Many of his men broke and ran at the mention of the group as it served to announce who the man was, Bison. However, Taro instead threw himself at the leader of Shadaloo. It wasn’t bravery which motivated, but the scared desperation of an animal cornered by a predator and knowing the only slim hope it had was somehow prevailing in a direct confrontation. He led off with his strongest attack as he slapped at Bison much as a sumo would. He channeled chakra to his arm and it began moving lightning quick as he delivered hundreds of slaps in the span of a few seconds.

However, Bison didn’t just hold his ground or even begin to back pedal as he instead closed with him before grabbing the blurred hand by the wrist. He then pulled Taro over his shoulder as he slammed him into and through the bar. Bison spared a moment to chuckle before disappearing, and appeared before the men who had tried to run. The attacks he delivered had varied, but it was fairly clear that each one had been fatal.

Taro managed to get back to his feet as he killed the last man and then channeling chakra to his legs he launched himself at Bison head first. Bison smirked once more before launching himself in a similar manner although a purple energy coated his body. Holding his hand before him as he flew through the air, Bison began to spin as well before slamming into him. Taro felt his spine want to break, before he began to fly backwards as his jutsu proved no match for Bison’s. Then as Taro’s stomach was exposed, Bison began to fly faster to catch up to him and smashed his hand into his exposed belly. He then smashed him into the wall of bottles behind the bar before disappearing to once more appear before him with his arms crossed.

Taro crashed to the ground but managed to get to his knees as Bison slowly approached. The leader of Shadaloo merely stared down at him with his arms crossed before him almost daring him to strike at him again. Recognizing his fate, Taro shouted, “Just finish it already.”

“That would be a waste,” Bison said starting to walk away. “From this day forth you work for me. Continue to run your gang as you see fit, but you’ll begin distributing our product much as the gang you crushed had been doing. I assume that is why you targeted them. So long as everything runs smoothly, we should never need to cross paths again.”

Taro hadn’t believed his luck, but didn’t question it as he promptly did as he was instructed. That had all happened nearly a decade before, and true to his word Bision had never set foot inside the Land of Rice Paddies again. While a part of him had attributed that to Orochimaru’s presence, he hadn’t put enough stock in that belief to ever rebel. Particularly as he doubted the Snake Sanin truly cared about the dealings of criminals.

Yet, now Taro feared that Bison was coming, and the reason was because things were not going smoothly. His profits from the narcotic side of his operation had been cut nearly in half, and it was all due to what a few months before had been a minor street gang.

He cursed the leader of the Black Foxes in his head, and then leaned forward as he snorted a line of the drugs he was supplied by Shadaloo. He sat back as the drug which was called Dust, began to mix with his chakra causing a euphoric state in him. Taro knew messing with his own supply was bad, but as the pressure he felt from his recent setbacks against the Foxes had continued to grow, he had need something to take the edge off, and found Dust was the perfect way. Particularly as based on how it came in a multitude of colors which corresponded to the different types of chakra natures there were. Mixing and matching could result in different sensations depending on the type of chakra the user had.

Moreover, outside of the good feeling it could be used to enhance a person’s chakra for a limited time, allowing a person access to jutsu that they never thought possible, even some elemental Kekkei Genkai, depending on the type they used. Still, there were side effects such as a person could overdose causing their chakra coils to rupture. Not to mention the addictive nature of it.

Taro didn’t know much about the production of the drug other than it originally came out of the Land of Water and was the product of one gang located there. Supposedly even Shadaloo didn’t know the secrets of how to manufacture it, which Taro suspected was why the gang was still in existence. However, the sole distributor of it outside of the Land of Water was Shadaloo, which it sent to gangs like his to sell, and would then send a cut of the profits back.

However, the Black Fox gang refused to play ball and worst still Ironfog, where it was located had been one of his most profitable areas. Thinking of the dark-haired youth that ran the gang made Taro’s blood boil as a good chunk of the fear that he felt was because of him. Or more specifically, his Captain Koharu, who Menma had sent to negotiate for the percentage ownership of a business locate in Ironfog that he had earned when the man who had owned it overextended his credit. Taro still felt the fear as the masked woman after beating down some of his elite enforcers had demand him to turn over the contract. To add injury to the insult, she had even paid him the last amount she had offered before their negotiation had broken down. Having planned to pressure the owner of the business to sell his daughter to him, the entire debacle had left him feeling extremely frustrated.

A feeling that was only compounded when the Black Foxes had proclaimed that Ironfog was a Dust free zone. Naturally, Taro couldn’t have that so did what any gang would, it went to war. Or more specifically the White Whale had its ass handed to it as Taro learned that not only was it’s the Captain dangerous, but the lieutenants below her were as well. Taro had wondered how the Black Foxes had acquired so many powerful fighters in such a short time.

Having had some of his men look into some of the main members of the rival group, he was about to turn on the lights to begin reading up on them when a voice called out, “I sure hope the reason you give for your payments falling behind isn’t because you’ve been snorting it up yourself.” Taro looked to the darkened corner the voice had called out from as while he recognized it as female, he had no idea who would dare enter his office without his permission. However, processing her words he recognized that she was likely a representative of Shadaloo. Just as he was beginning to make out the shadow of the woman, her left eye began to glow with a purple energy as she stepped forward while she stated, “Because then I’d have to kill you.”

“No…no,” Taro said feeling a similar sense of dread as when he faced Bison, “Most of the product is still sitting in our warehouse. The problem is we aren’t able to sell it.”

“Really,” the woman said turning on the light allowing Taro to see her clearly. He was struck by her beauty, although that was somewhat marred by the cruel looking smile she wore, particularly as Taro felt it was due to her imagining how much she was hoping to be able to kill him. Her dark hair was styled into two horns like bangs that stuck out on top and where fastened by pink ribbons. She was wearing a revealing purple top, that was almost like a bra, and as she turned to sit on his desk, he noticed the straps looked like the legs of a spider as they met in back. She then crossed her legs which where clothed in off white colored sweats beneath which it appeared she also wore purple tights. He could see that her feet were wrapped leading him to believe they were the primary means by which she would hurt him if it came to it. Leaning back to meet his eyes, a part of Taro wanted to take her there on his desk, while another part wanted to run screaming from the room. Instead he remained still as she asked, “And what is it still doing there? You grow a conscience and so can’t sell our Dust to the poor people of this hick filled country?”

“No,” Taro said letting some anger enter his voice as he had lived in Rice his entire life, “But, a rival has decreed that his territory is to be Drug free. A territory which is growing due to recent setbacks.”

“Meaning you got your ass kicked,” the woman said sounding amused and excited.

“To put it bluntly yes,” Taro admitted. “The leader of the gang rarely appears, but his Captain and Lieutenants are exceedingly strong. His top Captain is a woman called Koharu and she’s stated that if we are caught selling in their territory again then she’ll burn our warehouses to the ground. I don’t have the manpower left there to defend the warehouse and to protect my dealers anymore. Worse still, I can’t pull resources from other areas or my rivals will pounce.”

The woman leapt from the desk as she stated, “You do now. You better get that Dust sold or else the next time Bison sends someone they will not be as kind as I am.”

“Are you saying you’ll guard our warehouse?”

“I’m saying that I’m going to have some fun. I hope for your sake they aren’t all weak as then I might kill you for wasting my time,” the woman then opened the door surprising his men that who had been standing on guard as she walked between them.

They reached for the blades at their hips but before they managed to clear their scabbards she spun kicking one of the men in the head, the strength of her blow sent him across the doorway to smash into the other guard. From the way their heads smashed into each other, he doubted either was still conscious. She then smiled as she straightened up and said, “You should invest in better guards.”

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

Ganju Shiba stepped out of the brothel that served as the Black Foxes’ primary headquarters called the Fox’s Lair. He adjusted his bandana to make sure to prominently display the patch of the Black Fox before heading out on his patrol. He felt a sense of pride as he did so, primarily as the people of Ironfog looked at him with respect almost as if he was a magistrate of the small seaside town. Which in a manner of speaking he was, since as a result of the protection fee the Black Foxes charged, if there were issues in the town it was a part of his responsibilities to deal with it. Having been a member of the gang before Menma had taken over, he could only marvel at how the citizens’ attitudes towards him had changed in just a few short months.

Granted, the gang before Menma’s arrival had mostly been hooligans with a boss that preferred to prey on the townspeople. However, Ganju had liked to believe that he had reigned in some the more harmful behavior of his fellow gang members often reminding them that dead people couldn’t pay and the like. He had felt like he was straddling a line but more often then not his actions had only made certain outcomes, slightly less bad for the people of Ironfog. That was why when Menma had arrived and challenged the old boss, he had quickly thrown in with the new leader once he had taken over.

He was glad that he had, since Ironfog had changed rather dramatically since the change in leadership going from a small dying town to a prosperous one seemingly overnight. He attributed the change as being a result of it actually being considered one of the most lawful places to live outside of the Rice Paddy Capital. Which was rather ironic considering how it was for all intents and purposes run by a gang, and as far as the people of Ironfog were concerned, they wouldn’t want it any other way.

He paused in his patrol as he watched some kids playing in a park kicking a ball around. Something which wouldn’t have been the norm a few months back. He spent a moment wondering if his brother would be proud of him, and the thought brought a feeling of anger at how unfair his life up until recently had been. Especially as if his life had followed its intended course he would have belonged to one of the noblest houses in the Land of Iron. However, that had all changed one night due to his brother being murdered by a fellow Samurai, which due to the murderer being a member of another noble family had left his to fall into ruin.

The woman that had murdered his brother had been a member of the Kuchiki Clan, and the adopted sister of its current leader. The official report had claimed that both Kaien and his wife Miyako had gone insane and begun killing members of Thirteenth Division of which his brother had been the Lieutenant. Miyako had also been a member of it as well, and according to the report, had begun the massacre, which his brother had tried to stop. She had then fled into the night with him in pursuit, and according to what those in charge of the investigation believed his killing her had caused him to snap as well. For upon coming across a patrol led by the Captain of the Thirteenth Division, he had attacked it. The Captain, a man by the name of Jushiro Ukitake was a sickly individual and had left Kaien to run the squad most of the time. According to the report, it was during the fight that Jushiro suffered another bout and at that point a member of the patrol Rukia Kuchiki had stepped before him to strike down his brother.

The reason Ganju failed to believe the report outside of his belief his brother was strong enough to be running the squad if not for Jushiro Ukitake’s family connects, was because according to it his brother’s last words had been to thank his slayer. Again, leaving the Investigators to believe his brother had lost his mind, and had come to his sense at the end. Another reason he refused to believe the report was because Miyako’s body had never been found, leaving him to believe something about it would have revealed the report to be a ruse to cover for the Kuchiki.

Sadly, for the Shiba with his brother’s disgrace and perceived failing, the Clan quickly lost its prestige until it was all but defunct. This left Ganju to fend for himself as a small child and he bounced from place to place before finding himself in Ironfog, with a strong dislike for Samurai in general and the Kuchiki in particular.

He let the past fade as he noticed someone approaching a group of teens lounging in the same park as the kids that had been playing. He held out a couple of baggies which contained several colored powders, suspecting what was inside he said, “Hey you bastard, you should know better than to sell that stuff on our turf.”

The man looked towards Ganju and cursed as he saw the lieutenant was already charging him. He took off running, but Ganju remained in hot pursuit as they leapt over the wall of the park. Ganju frowned as he noticed the man was heading to the docks which were still technically the territory of a rival gang called the White Whale. The only reason they had remained so was while the Black Foxes had crushed the other gangs that had called Ironfog home, the much larger White Whale had stayed out of it as they called multiple cities their territory. In fact, their only interest in the town had been the docks due to their controlling almost all the waterfront of the country.

Ganju hadn’t understood why Menma didn’t move to crush the White Whale, especially after he had declared that he wouldn’t allow drugs to be sold in Ironfog so long as he controlled it, and the White Whale had attacked as a result. A battle they had ultimately won easily due to Koharu, as Menma hadn’t even needed to take to the field. When he had questioned Koharu about why they didn’t just go on the offensive, she had explained that it was because the gang was much larger than them, and Menma had feared that to crush it would result in other gangs seeking to take its place if they weren’t in a position to replace it. Ganju had explained that they could just recruit former Whale members, but she had explained how Menma didn’t want to just take anyone that agreed unless they were of the same character as men like him. Not an easy bar to meet especially considering how the men and women of the White Whale were said to be some of the worst types of scum. Hearing the boss thought so highly of him had filled Ganju with pride, and he had stated that he would personally make sure any that wore the Black Fox mark would live up to their standards. He had heard the smile in Koharu’s voice as she stated, “I’ll hold you to that when the time comes. The Whale isn’t one to let such slights go, so sooner or later, Menma is going to have allow us to deal with them.” Ganju figured that if members of the White Whale weren’t going to abide by Menma’s decree, then it was just a sign that the war between them was going to be sooner, rather than later.

The man he was chasing turned down a corner, causing Ganju to smile as the alley he had ducked into was a dead-end. Still he pushed himself to catch up in case the dealer could use chakra as it wouldn’t do much to stop him if he could. Turning the corner himself, he saw the man trying to get a running start to leap over the wall blocking his path, but it was apparent that he had failed once or twice already. Beginning to approach slowly Ganju said, “End of the line.”

The dealer smirked though as he said, “For you.”

Ganju turned as the entrance of the alley was blocked off by half a dozen members of the White Whale. The men were all armed making him understand that he had been setup. However, far from panicked he produced a small ball, with a fuse sticking out of it. The tip of the fuse was coated in a sulfur compound similar to a match head. Striking it on a friction pad on his bag, the fuse began to burn as he tossed it into the midst of the thugs barring his path. The men panicked fearing it to be a grenade of some sort, and while technically correct, the firework exploded in a bright light blinding them.

The man he had chased into the alley produced a knife and let out a shout as he charged at his back. Ganju simply turned around and delivered a push kick to the dealer’s chest. The blow sent him stumbling back into the wall, and as he bounced off it, Ganju leapt forward to deliver elbow strike to the top of the man’s head. Dazed the dealer tried to focus on his opponent only to receive an uppercut to the chin that knocked him back into the wall again, only this time as he bounced off his legs didn’t support him as he collapsed forward.

Ganju couldn’t bask in his victory as the other men had recovered their vision enough to attack him. It was apparent some were still blinking spots from their eyes, but that didn’t stop one of the men from charging him with a sword. He smirked as he suspected another reason Menma didn’t want to just recruit anyone was because he didn’t wish to fill the ranks of the Black Foxes with fools. Fools like the men that had ambushed him, since the alley they had chosen was only really wide enough for one man to fight him at a time, especially while swing around a blade. Admittedly, the dealer should have been able to provide a threat to the rear, but with his having been dealt with, the numerical superiority they had was effectively nullified.

Producing his own blade which looked like an overlarge meat cleaver, he blocked his opponents strikes as he waited for an opening. He received it as he parried an overhead strike and pushed the man blade back and then kicked him in the stomach. The man stumbled back into the men waiting their turn tying up a few of them as he fell to the ground. However, one of his smaller attackers avoided the pile-up as he slipped forward to attack.

He kicked at him several times shouting out each time like he was some kung-fu movie star. Which, made him feel that the man had likely learned his fighting style from such movies. He easily blocked a kick which lacked any real power despite the graceful way it had been delivered, and kicked the knee he was standing on. A loud crunch was heard causing the man to scream at a higher decibel as he fell to the ground cradling it. Ganju knelt down to smash his fist into the man’s face to make sure he stayed down.

As he got back to his feet, the fighter he had previously tossed, charged him without bothering to pick up his sword. He dodged the fist that he threw and buried his own into the man’s stomach. As the man grabbed his midsection, Ganju grabbed him by the nape of the neck before turning to smash his face into the side of the building. As the man slid down it behind him, Ganju dodged to the right as another man swung a blade at him in a downward swing. He stepped back in close and wrapped his arm around the man’s sword arm. Locking it at the elbow he yanked up and wretched his shoulder out of its socket. As he began to scream in pain, Ganju smashed his forehead into the man’s knocking him out cold.

With more than half their numbers already taken out, the remaining three men looked at each other and took off running. Ganju was about to shout after them, but then a voice said, “Man, those losers didn’t even manage to nick you.”

Ganju spun around in surprise to find a woman standing behind him. Unlike the men that he had just fought his instincts told him that she was dangerous, which she proved as she lashed out with a kick to his head. He managed to raise his arms to block it, but almost wished that he hadn’t as the bone in his left forearm snapped. The kick also sent him tumbling into the building, which he used to support himself.

Placing his back against it as he was seeing stars, he saw the woman looked disappointed as she said, “Well you weren’t any fun at all.”

She leapt forward to land in front of him, and then spun on her heel as she planned to deliver a kick to his chest. Confident it would shatter his ribcage with his back against the wall, he placed the palm of his right hand against it, and moved it in the pattern of the Shiba clan symbol. As her kick connected, the wall behind him turned to sand sending him through. Still, he felt as if he had been hit by a sledgehammer as he landed on his back and used the momentum to roll onto his feet. However, as soon as they touched the ground, a knee was delivered to his chin which lifted him into the air. The blow caused him to make a backflip which as soon as his head spun around, he was sent careening downward as the woman had flipped into the air to smash her heel into the back of his skull. Despite it being rather thick as he often boasted, upon hitting the ground face first his world went dark.

Landing the woman said, “That wasn’t nearly as fun as I hoped it would be. I’m probably going to need to call out the big man if I’m going to work up a sweat, huh?” Squatting down in front of the unconscious man she asked, “You’ll help me send him a message, right?” Not receiving an answer, she added with a tone of mocking amusement, “I knew you’d want to help.”

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

Jin sat outside of a residence with his swords propped on his shoulder as he watched two children rough housing before him. Despite the kids looking like they were in the midst of killing each other he didn’t do anything to stop them as he waited for the man that lived inside to appear. While he waited, he reflected on how he, a man who had sworn never to serve an unworthy lord had pledged his allegiance to a crime boss.

He had been born to a rich noble family in the Land of Honey, and as a result had studied the sword at some of the finest dojo. It wasn’t until he began to study the Mujuushin Kenjutsu that he truly came to believe he had found his calling. However, it wasn’t to be as a corrupt official had desired to use the Mujuushin style to train assassins which would have been a perversion of the style. Jin’s master had agreed to the bargain as he knew otherwise the school would be destroyed. However, Jin had protested the change, and as a result his master had been pressured by the official to deal with him. He had tried and failed leaving Jin no choice but to flee the dojo with his master’s blood still covering him.

He had wandered as a ronin for a couple of years, until he had one day happened upon a tea house where a ruffian was assaulting a noble. It had turned out the noble had gotten handy with the waitress, and when she had refused his advances, he had decided to make her test out one of his men’s new sword by lopping off one of her arms. The Ruffian had sensed the impending trouble and offered to deal with the noble and his thugs before things had escalated that far, and while the waitress had refused. Finding herself about to lose an arm, she had accepted his deal before the noble’s thug could harm her. The ruffian had sliced off the thug’s arm instead and then proceed to break the noble’s fingers as a countdown for his remaining thugs to get help after he had claimed his father had powerful bodyguards.

It was at this point that Jin had happened by after already killing the noble’s father’s elite guard in an unrelated incident. The Ruffian had mistaken him for them, and then had tried to take his head. Yet, despite defending himself to the best of his ability, he hadn’t been able to strike down the ruffian either. Things had escalated further, when the thug that had been de-armed set fire to the tea shop killing his employer in the blaze, and which had lead to his and the Ruffian’s arrest.

Natural the noble’s father had not been pleased, and had ordered him and the ruffian behead. However, thanks to a timely distraction provided by the waitress, they had managed to get free and escape. However, she had then demanded their assistance in locating a samurai that smelled of Sunflowers. Which had been quite a feat, but after successfully finding him, only for him to be killed by the same man that had tried to corrupt Jin’s dojo, the three of them had barely managed to escape from The Land of Honey. They had continued running until finally settling in Ironfog, where they had set up shop.

The door to the home suddenly slammed open as a wild looking man stepped out, and seeing the two kids shouted, “Oi, what did I tell you brats about fighting?”

The two kids suddenly stopped, and in unison said, “Not where mom can see.”

“That’s right,” the man who was their father said, “So find a better place to play.”

The kids looked ashamed and began to walk away, but one was apparently moving too slow for his brother’s liking so he pushed him, only to receive a shove back, and before long, they were back at each other’s’ throats. Their father watched on with amusement, and despite their essentially disobeying him, he shrugged as he placed his sheathed sword over his shoulder as he began to head into the village figuring his wife would sort them out.

Jin tucked his own blades into his sash, as he began following along side the man whose wife had brought all three of them together. Focusing on the man who went by the name Mugen he asked, “How is Fuu doing?”

“Pregnant again,” Mugen said sounding annoyed which was at odds with the smile he wore, “I swear if I even cum in her general direction, she gets knocked up.”

“I’m fairly certain you’re the one at fault,” Jin replied in his usual calm manner. “Besides if it bothers you so much then there are steps that you can take to mitigate the risk.”

“Yeah, well I don’t want to hear it from someone who up until a couple of weeks ago, I was positive was into men,” Mugen replied mockingly.

“Vulgar as always,” Jin replied as he stopped and brought his drawing hand up to his blade, “I think it is time for me to put an end to you.”

Mugen stopped and turned to face him as he brought his sword in front of him gripping the handle and scabbard in order to pull it free, “So we’re finally going to do this.”

Yet before they could draw their blades, a shout of, “What did I tell you two about fighting?” Both men directed their gaze in the direction from which they had traveled to find Fuu pulling her children apart, with another one strapped to her back in a carrier. The two young boys stood with their heads hung as she berated them further, but looking up and seeing the two adults looking as if they were about to brawl said, “Mugen! Jin! This is where they get it from.”

“That’s not true!” Mugen shouted back, “They were already going at it when I stepped outside!”

“Then why didn’t you stop them?” Fuu shouted back in annoyed frustration. Pulling her daughter from off her back she pleadingly, said “Please don’t grow up to be a meathead like all these boys I’m surrounded by.” Her daughter smiled seemingly amused before gurgling and vomiting on her, causing Fuu to look annoyed before sighing as she pointed to her two boys saying, “Get inside the house now.” Pointing to the other two she said, “And you two get to work.” Before heading in she looked back asking, “Be safe.”

Mugen gave a cocky grin before just waving as he turned away, Fuu sent a pointed look to Jin who nodded his understanding that she expected him to watch her husband’s back before he turned away as well. It was an easy promise to keep as despite how they acted, over the years Mugen had proved himself to be a stalwart ally despite how he carried himself. Besides which, if anyone was going to have the pleasure of taking his head, it was going to be him.

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

Mugen scratched his cheek as they headed to the Fox’s Lair. While if anyone had asked him if he believed he would have ended up in some criminal group, he would have said, absolutely. He still found his current membership in the Black Foxes somewhat strange, particularly as after relocating to Ironfog to escape the shit they had called down on themselves in the Land of Honey, he had actually been trying to live on the other side of the law. The main reason naturally being his wife and kids. Truthfully, he had never really meant to settle down, but a few weeks before arriving in their current home, he had gone out boozing and whoring. However, while he had succeeded in getting smashingly drunk, when he had woken up, he had found himself in bed with Fuu.

At first, he had feared he had let his worst nature out that night, but then as he had begun to remember what had happened and had recalled how she had willingly accepted his advances. Mugen hadn’t really understood why, since he recalled she had been a virgin so would have expected to want her first time to be romantic or something of sort. Not with a drunkard like him, but as the memories replayed for him, he got the feeling his being drunk had not only allowed him to be more receptive of his feelings for her, been what had allowed her to be more open with her own. He suspected if anything, she had planned to sneak off in the middle of the night leaving him to believe he had dreamed the whole thing. Naturally, he had tried to ruin things by claiming he couldn’t remember what had happened. Fuu had allowed him as she tried to reclaim how things had been as she had fired back that he had been too drunk to even keep it up. The tension between them had remained at least until arriving in Ironfog where she realized that she was late for her monthly visit. At that point, she had broken down and admitted how she felt about him and that she didn’t want to raise their child alone. Mugen hated to admit it, but for one brief instant he had considered running at that point. However, thinking of his own dead-beat father, whom he never met, he resolved to take the new challenge head on.

They had then decided to settle in Ironfog, where Fuu having squared away some money for a rainy day bought a tea house on the cheap. Not too surprising as the gang that had been running the town at the time had chased the previous owner out when he no longer could pay his protection fee. It hadn’t been long after opening when the gang had come to Fuu’s shop to demand their cut of her profits. Naturally, Jin and he had sent them packing, but as a result the shop had remained empty outside of the stray traveler who hadn’t known of their crossing the gang that ran the town. Yet, surprisingly they were able to keep the doors open as mysterious donations began to appear out front, which Mugen would learn were from the other nearby shops. The reason being was that their presence kept the gang from collecting from them as Jin and him didn’t let their members in what they had staked out as their territory,

An uneasy truce was established since the gang after a major push to force them out, had lost nearly a third of its members. They probably would have succeeded, if not for the White Whale having made a push from the docks that they controlled. He had allowed his sword to be hired by the gang over the years that followed on the few occasions where the White Whale had nearly succeeded, figuring the devil he knew was better than a new one.

However, then Menma came to town and had crushed the previous gang before rebranding it the Black Foxes. However, Mugen hadn’t t exactly been doing backflips at the time as he figured eventually the new leader would come for them. He was right, although not in the way that he had imagined.

Recalling that meeting, he remembered stepping outside of the tea house after Fuu nervously called for him. “You must be Mugen,” the masked man had said upon his appearing. His head turned giving away that he was looking behind him, “Then that would make you Jin, correct?”

“Indeed,” Jin said stepping into the light. “If you’re here for your protection money then I’m afraid you’re in the wrong place.”

“You heard him,” Mugen had added stepping down the steps of the tea house and into the street as well, “Get lost pal, before you get dead.”

“So quick to violence,” Menma replied, and looking at Fuu had added, “You know, you might have more customers if these two weren’t chasing them away.”

Mugen had charged him at that point shouting, “We’re the only reason the place hasn’t been torched by bastards like you yet.”

What had followed wasn’t a fight though, at least not by Mugen’s standards as despite facing both of them unarmed, Menma had won simply by wearing them down all without them so much as touching him once. When he had tired them to the point where they could barely stand, he had then simply headed towards the Tea House. Fearing the man was going after his wife, he had found the strength to charge after him, but had only traveled a few steps when a masked woman had appeared. She effortless disarmed him and knocked him back towards Jin.

Fuu had looked on fearfully as the leader of the Black Foxes had approached, at least until he removed his mask as he said, “Miss, I’d like some tea if you don’t mind.” She sent a worried gaze towards her husband and friend, so he had added, “Don’t worry about them. They’ll remain unharmed so long as they behave. If you guys get thirsty come join me. But it would probably be best if you leave the swords outside.”

Menma had then entered the tea shop followed by Fuu. After a moment the masked woman, Koharu headed towards the entrance as well, but stopped to place his’s sword by the entrance as if taunting him. Mugen had nearly responded to it, but stopped as Jin had grabbed him by the elbow cautioning, “That would be unwise. That man was merely toying with us just now. This is not a battle we will win through fighting.”

“I know dammit,” he had replied feeling the unfamiliar feeling of fear, although not for himself. “But what else can we do?”

“Before we proceed down any avenue,” Jin said calmly, “we should first see what he wants.” He then removed his swords before placing them by the entrance as he entered the shop as well.

Mugen recalled cursing before following him in, and was surprised as the boss of the Black Foxes was reading the tea house menu before asking his captain, who was pressed into his side like they were on a date, “I’m thinking we should get some of those crabby thingies. What about you?”

“I want some dango,” Koharu replied.

Menma had nodded before turning to Fuu as he said, “Please add a serving of that as well.”

Despite the situation, Mugen could see his wife appeared happy to have customers as she had worked hard to repair the tea house over the years, but hadn’t been able to enjoy the payoff of her efforts. As Fuu went to prepare their order, Menma had then focused on him and Jin as he said, “Please join us.”

Mugen had down so reluctantly and after a moment of silence asked, “Alright, since we’re still breathing and you probably have more than enough strength to put us down, what the hell is it that you want?”

“Why I thought that would be obvious,” the black haired and red-eyed man had replied, “I’m here to offer the two of you a job.” Even Jin had scoffed at the offer, but rather than get offended Menma had simply smiled before taking a sip of his tea. Putting it down, he said, “That’s pretty good. It is a shame this town really hasn’t gotten a chance to enjoy it. I’m sure a part of the reason your wife bought this place was to have it filled with customers who could appreciate some good tea with some pleasant company.”

Jin adjusted his glasses as he said, “Now that you’ve crushed the old gang, there’s no reason to assume that can’t be the case in the future.”

“True,” Menma replied, “However, I will be demanding a protection fee from all the people in this neighborhood, and as I’ve just displayed, there is nothing either of you can do to stop me.”

“You bastard,” Mugen said sending a look back towards his sword.

“I don’t know why you’re getting upset at me,” Menma stated calmly. “In a manner of speaking, you’ve survived off the money that you’ve earned from protecting this neighborhood from my predecessor. Yet, after the display we just put on, it’s clear to your neighbors that they gain nothing from your protection any longer. Which considering they aren’t a part of your customer base tells me that their support of you was more tic for tack then deep-seated loyalty. It was okay to prop you up from the shadows so long as it benefited them, but in a sense, you’ve outlived your usefulness.”

“I see,” Jin said, “You’ve manipulated us into weakening our position.”

“I was just looking for some tea,” the man replied amused, “and to offer you a job. You decided to jump to the conclusion that I was here to shake you down.”

“I ain’t buying it pal,” Mugen stated angrily, “You saying you weren’t going to hit us up like the rest of the neighborhood.”

“Why would I charge my men for the protection that they are providing?”

“We ain’t your fucking men.”

“Not yet,” Menma replied with a smile, “However, I think given time you’ll come to see the benefits. Especially as if you don’t pay me a protection fee, and wish to remain in this town, well it could get pretty dice if the White Whale decides they want some payback. You managed to get on their bad side in your off and on-again support of the previous gang. As a matter of fact, if not for you two acting as sellswords for my predecessor, the White Whale would have probably taken this town long ago. My predecessor couldn’t have been pleased the Whale was filling his turf with drugs and not profiting off of it. I imagine though that the only reason the Whale didn’t crush him and you two as well, was because those pushes by his gang were mostly the work of some captain or lieutenant hoping to be recognized for bringing Ironfog under their control.”

Mugen and Jin shared a look as they knew that was most likely the case since once said troublemaker was dealt with the White Whale would quietly return to their docks until another one appeared with the ambition to be the person to bring the rest of the town under their gang’s banner. Yet, that didn’t mean the survivors of those skirmishes didn’t go back without grudges, and as Menma had pointed out, a part of the reason the truce between them and the old gang had stood the test of time was because they were useful tools against the Whale’s taking over completely.

Mugen was feeling backed into a corner although he hoped it wasn’t showing, since he had three kids to consider, and the White Whale owned a large swath of the Land of Rice Paddies. Moreover, if they had to flee, it would likely be with just the clothes on their back. Jin though sounded centered as he asked, “Why is it that you wish to hire us? As you pointed out, we were only allies of convenience with your predecessor.”

Menma took another sip of his tea, and after taking a moment to savor it he directed his gaze to Fuu as he stated, “This truly is great tea.”

“Thank you!” she replied clearly pleased to have someone compliment it.

“I’m not familiar with the flavor though, can I assume it is tied to why this place is called the Sunflower House,” the gang leader asked.

“Yes,” Fuu had answered, “It’s made from sunflowers. They were very special to my father, so I developed the recipe once we arrived here.”

“I see,” Menma said with a soft smile before focusing on him and Jin as he stated, “That is why I wish to hire you on.”

“Because of tea,” Mugen said incredulously.

Menma shook his head before correcting him, “Not just because of the tea, although it is very good, but because of how you protected this place so she could develop it. The two of you fought long odds to create a place free of the outside dangers so she could create a place for you two worth returning to. I’m seeking your services to help create such a place for everyone in the town.”

“Why the hell should we,” Mugen replied annoyed at the idea since as Menma pointed out they had been doing so for the people of their neighborhood for years, and likely wouldn’t be able to count on their support. “You just pointed out we’re on our own here and the people helping us were actually helping themselves.”

“So,” Menma replied with a shrug, “Do it for yourself. That’s what I do, and if other people can benefit from our efforts then so much the better. I’m not asking you guys to be saints, there will be plenty of perks as we move forward. After all, one of the things that I expect from this world we create is a place where those we care about are content and happy. I just don’t believe that we have to make others suffer to achieve our own ends, just as I would hope the people we are seeking to help wouldn’t expect us to suffer to ensure theirs.” Fuu brought out the food that they had ordered, which he ate rather enthusiastically. In between bites and compliments to the chef he continued, “I don’t expect an answer right now. Give it some thought. I hope to prove in time, The Black Foxes will be a positive force in this city, and perhaps soon after the entire country.”

“What then, the entire continent?” Mugen had asked sarcastically.

Menma paused as he was raising his cup to his lips. A wide smile appeared on his face before stating, “If it comes to that.”

Despite himself, Mugen was intrigued by the offer, and was surprised when it appeared Jin was as well. Neither of them had agreed at the time, but the following day members of the Black Foxes had started hitting up the shops of their neighborhood asking for protection money. As Menma had foretold, most of them had quickly given in and begun paying. Mugen had felt rather helpless watching from the front of Fuu’s shop as the gang members walked through the neighborhood like they owned it. Which considering how Menma was sitting inside enjoying his wife’s cooking, and to make sure they didn’t interfere, he suppose they now did.

However, just walking through the neighborhood they had previously been denied entry to wasn’t good enough for one of the men as he began approaching the tea house. Despite his wearing a mask that covered the lower portion of his face, Mugen had no trouble recognizing the satisfied smirk that the other man was wearing. When he stopped at the steps leading up to the entrance Mugen asked, “What the hell do you want Dobengal?”

“I was hoping to speak with the owner of the establishment,” the masked man answered, his voice dripping with smugness.

Fuu having been keeping tags on her husband quickly appeared before flatly asking, “What do you want?”

“Since your guard dogs have been defanged,” Dobengal replied mockingly, and his smirk grew as he saw both men needing to restrain themselves from pulling their blades. “It’s time we talk about the matter of protecting your shop.”

“Save it you jerk,” Fuu said angrily, “I’ll never pay into your protection racket. This shop is already under the best protection it can get.”

“I think you better reconsider that,” the man said as he took a step menacingly towards his wife which caused both Jin and him to move in front of her with their swords drawn.

Dobengal appeared pleased by the development, which doubled as all three of those in front of him stiffened as Menma appeared silently behind them. However, it was replaced with a frown as he said, “Miss Fuu, I’d like some more of those potstickers if you don’t mind.”

Mugen looked back and could see his wife was scared since she knew they were in a bad position, but knowing it would be best to have her out of the line of fire said, “Get the man what he wants.” She nodded, and then moved back inside so Jin could subtly shift so that he would be able to charge the boss of the gang if it came to that.

However, Menma had other ideas as he said, “You have your answer Dobengal. In the future, it would be smart not to sound like such an ass when making a sales pitch.”

“Sales pitch,” the reprimanded man shouted, “Who the hell do you think we…”

He was cut off though as Menma moved down the stairs faster than the men present could see, and clamped his hand over Dobengal’s throat. Then with none of the humor he had displayed thus far said, “I think you are my subordinate, and I remember giving you an order to ask these shops for a protection fee, and if they refused, accepting it.” He pushed the man back and focusing on one that had remained in the background asked, “Has my order been followed Ganju?”

“A few of the men strained the line some, but for the most part it was followed.” Ganju rubbed his chin as he added, “Although to be fair, there was only one refusal so far.”

Mugen was proud of his wife’s spine, and was surprised when the leader of the gang said, “Good. Have the men gather here for dinner then. I feel like celebrating.”

A wide smile appeared on Ganju’s face as he said, “Yes boss!”

He turned his back, and it appeared that Dobengal was going to attack his boss. But, he thought better of it as he instead stormed off. As Mugen turned to follow Menma in, he saw his wife watching from the doorway. She stopped them as she said, “While I appreciate the business. I don’t have the waitresses to handle so many guests.”

“Koharu,” Menma said aloud as if talking to the wind, which proved not to be the case as she dropped down to land at the foot of the stairs.

“Yes.”

“See if a few of the servers at the Foxes Lair will mind temping here for the evening. Tell them I’ll give them a bonus,” Menma stated causing Fuu’s eyes to grow wide. After Koharu left to complete her task, Menma then asked, “I trust there are no other complainants.”

“No,” she replied already heading to the kitchen, “I’ll get started right away.”

Fuu went all out with the feast, and Mugen could tell that she was happy to see her place filled with customers. Having served in a gang or two, he could see the men were all rough and tumble, but unlike most criminals he had spent time with, they seemed to carry themselves with a sense of pride. He suspected though that the Black Foxes not pleased with the current direction their gang was heading, had deciding not make an appearance as Dobengal wasn’t there.

Menma appeared to not be troubled by it as he sat towards the back of the shop and eyed those gathered with a sense of pride. This caused Mugen to suspect that the dressing down he had given Dobengal earlier was in order to bring such a confrontation to a head to push the troublemakers out. Strangely enough, knowing the dark-haired man was offering him a place in what he hoped to turn his gang into, filled him with a sense of satisfaction. A feeling his wife was giving off as her food was complimented by the various gang members currently enjoying it.

He turned his gaze away as Jin sat near him by the entrance before stating, “He is a curious man.”

“Who?”

“Menma,” Jin stated, before explaining, “It is clear to me now that he had us all dancing in his hand since the beginning.”

“What are you talking about? Just fucking speak clearly instead of all this cryptic bullshit!”

Jin’s eyes flashed dangerously, and Mugen was more than ready to respond with violence, but Fuu suddenly shouted upon seeing the signs of their preparing to face each other, “If you’re going to kill each other do it outside. You’re not going to ruin the best night my shop has seen by getting blood all over the place.”

The men packing the shop erupted into laughter, causing both of them to relax back into their seats. After a moment Jin explained, “From the moment he appeared yesterday, he planned all of this.”

“Sure,” Mugen stated, “I figured he wanted to cause that Dobengal ass to lose some face.”

“Not just that,” Jin corrected causing Mugen to stare at him in confusion. “He weakened our position so the other shops would begin to pay for protection. However, he even counted on Fuu refusing to go along with it, and so despite weakening us as protectors. Is now hosting this banquet here to undo the damage he did. He is making it clear this shop is to be left alone, regardless of whether we accept his offer or not. In fact, with word spreading the boss of the Black Foxes enjoys this shop, I would imagine Fuu will not have any trouble attracting customers going forward.”

Mugen thought it over for a moment, but then stood as he moved to approach the Black Foxes’ boss. He stopped though as Jin asked, “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know about everything you just said,” Mugen answered scratching his chin, “But if you’re right, then it means that my days are going to be pretty boring from here on out. I might not be the wild dog that I once was, but I know that I ain’t ready to just sit on the porch sunning myself just yet.” Moving to the table Menma was sitting at with Koharu pressed into his side, he sat across from the leader as he said, “Alright, I’m in.”

A moment later Jin sat next to him stating, “As am I.”

A wide smile appeared on his face as Menma said, “Miss Fuu, keep the food and drink coming as this celebration needs to last until dawn. It’s now about welcoming our two newest members.” A large cheer erupted from the other men as the hefted their glasses to mirror their boss.

Mugen had been more then willing to join in with the celebration, perhaps a bit too willing as he had snuck Fuu off for a quickie that had apparently gotten her pregnant with their newest child. Although it could have been any number of nights that had followed he supposed as he never tired of her.

Letting go of the past to focus on the present, he asked Jin, “So what is so important that you had to get me on my day off?”

*****************************
Koharu sat in a banquet room located in the brothel that was the Fox’s Lair as she waited for two more of her lieutenants to arrive. As she waited, she pondered how running a gang was disturbingly similar to running a shinobi village. For starters, both entities in a sense sustained themselves through the suffering of their fellow man, and by offering a means to handle it. For a shinobi village like Konoha that was providing trained killers to handle a country or town’s problems through military means. Less reputable villages, on the other hand would offer their services in creating those problems in the first, which although she knew Konoha had engaged in its own toppling of regimes, in the past she tried not to count them as they were the work of Danzou working in the shadows. However, she had to admit her village had engaged in such underhanded practices, although not for profit, but for what it viewed as security reasons. However, while she would say that there were still reasons for a government to topple another from the shadows, she was well aware that it was a tool which was easily corruptible and more often than not led to an ends justify the means mentality.

A gang though often offered an escape from the suffering as a means to deal with it. For instance, if one lived in a country that had been all but been run and ruined by a villain that had used it to fuel his own ambitions to destroy his home, leading to a country where most towns were lawless and run by gangs, then a night at a brothel or gambling house could be just what the doctor ordered. Granted, what they offered amounted to little more than the promise of dreams being fulfilled, and only a short-term escapism. But, sometimes that was enough if the daily grind was horrendous enough. Granted, there were other services a gang could offer which would have made them perhaps even closer to a shinobi village such as eliminating someone for a price. Yet, that was one of many that the Black Foxes refused to delve into.

Perhaps more striking for her though was how both a gang and a shinobi village responded to people not respecting their territories. For a shinobi village, while it went without saying that they would defend the borders of the country that it called home. They also tended to be rather protective of countries that produced clients for them. The troubles between Suna and Konoha, that Orochimaru had taken advantage of was born of Konoha’s unfair trade practices which had allowed them to lower their prices when sending shinobi to countries that had traditional hired Suna-nin. But, even before that, if one Shinobi village had been hired by a country that traditional bought the services of another, it almost guaranteed the new village’s shinobi would experience complications. Most often in the form of the old village sending shinobi to sabotage the mission or eliminating the new village’s shinobi. Granted, it was a gamble as if the old village’s shinobi messed up and were exposed then it would tarnish their home’s reputation instead. But, more often than not it was worth the risk as each village felt every mission counted in regards to bringing in cash. When a gang had the control of one if its territory challenged, the results were strikingly similar, and dealt with in the same harsh manner.

Koharu was looking at a map of Ironfog which was laid out before her and the other gathered lieutenants. She had already dispersed the clone that Naruto had left behind and which pretended to be Menma when he was busy elsewhere. She felt it was fortuitous that the attack on Ganju happened when it did as he was currently heading to Ame in order to attend the Akatsuki Ceremony. As otherwise, she would have to lead the counterattack without him, since she couldn’t take the chance that his clone would be dispelled, and reveal he wasn’t actually there. Not to mention, if word got back to Kumo that Menma knew the shadow clone jutsu, she figured the house of cards that they built about Naruto and Menma being two different people would come crashing down. She believed her lover would find a way to separate himself from the Hokage’s entourage long enough to help her deal with the current crisis. But, she couldn’t wait for him to appear. Particularly, as time was of the essence since she felt the best way to deal with the matter was to hit back fast and hard. Her hope being that it would prevent a war from erupting between the two gangs, not because she feared they couldn’t win. But, because they didn’t have the assets in place if they did. The White Whale gang easily dwarfed them in size and territory, and while she liked to believe that she alone was a military force that the Whale had never once experienced in person. The problem she had would be holding the territory that they gained with the other gang’s downfall. Much like with Jin and Mugen, she found that the devil she knew was preferable to the one that would arise by taking the Whale out.

Therefore, her intention was to hurt him by taking the docks which was the only territory his gang held in Ironfog, before then quickly giving him a shot at peace. It was a gamble because she had already hurt the man’s pride once back when she had entered his base of operations and demanded for him to turn over the contract of a business ran by the father of a woman Jin was sweet on, and after he had refused, demonstrated why it would be in his best interests to listen to her. With that being the case, if she hurt his pride again, he may decide the fully enter into a war with the Black Foxes. But, she was still confident that the odds of that happening were slim. He had other docks in his territory, and since the Whale had tried to destroy them once over the decree that the Black Foxes wouldn’t allow drugs to be sold in their territory, and failed. Having a distribution center in Ironfog didn’t make much sense.

Still, when a person’s pride was damaged too far, sometimes the need to strike back defied all logic. Yet, Koharu didn’t believe the Whale had gotten to that point. Although, she would admit that she found his actions perplexing, since while the intelligence she had received on the Whale’s actions had suggested he had beefed up the men he had at the docks, she had assumed it was just a defensive measure in case the Black Foxes decided to seize the territory after their recent skirmishes. Up until the attack on Ganju, she would have said he was behaving exactly as she expected as his men had taken great pains not to provoke them. Which was what made the attack so strange, as there hadn’t been any strengthening in the defenses of the nearby towns to suggest the White Whale was planning another major offensive. As a result, it felt like some other player had entered into the situation, and had decided to provoke them to see how they responded. It was a prospect which worried her, since it would seem the Whale was letting this person do as they pleased. Which suggested to her, he was prepared to lose the docks, as angering the person stirring things up was a far worse proposition for him. She made a mental note to ask Ibiki to dig into the group’s past and see if there was another more powerful one pulling the strings from the shadows. She hoped it wasn’t the one Naruto was hoping to provoke into making contact with them, as she didn’t feel the Black Foxes were strong enough yet to face such an organization.

Mugen and Jin entered the room, so she stated, “You took your sweet time gentleman.”

“Hey! Cut me a break,” Mugen replied as he took a seat, “Today was supposed to be my day off. Where’s the big man anyway?”

“Sadly, it was his as well, and he’s out of the village. I sent a carrier hawk to him, but I don’t know if he’ll arrive before we head in.” Koharu said hoping Naruto showed soon since it would be bad form to have another major battle, especially with the Black Foxes’ pride having been stung in such a manner, without him making an appearance. “As some of you are aware, Ganju was attacked today during his patrol. From what we have gathered thus far, a White Whale dealer decided to ignore our decree about selling Dust in our area of control. Ganju gave chase, and then was severely beaten before being tossed into our gaming house. I’m of the opinion that this was a setup to provoke a response from us.”

“So, what you’re saying we should just sit on our hands,” Mugen asked sounding disappointed.

“Hardly,” Koharu replied with restrained anger, “One of our members was attacked, and that action can only be responded to in one way. However, we need to have a measured reply or else this situation could spiral out of control.”

“Screw that,” Mugen shouted, “We should just crush them. Hit the Whale’s main base of operations and take his head. The rest will scatter, he doesn’t have anyone that can stand up against our heavy hitters.”

“Ganju’s current condition would suggest otherwise,” Koharu countered.

“Has he been able to identify who attacked him?” Jin asked, before adjusting his glasses.

“Unfortunately, not,” Koharu answered, “The doctors still have him sedated due to the head trauma.”

Jin nodded, before asking, “Are we sure this plot is one being perpetrated by the White Whale? I find it strange that they would suddenly be able to field someone capable of taking out Ganju. It is possible that he was overwhelmed, but I had the impression his wounds were the work of a single individual.”

“I concur,” Koharu stated. “However, the dealer Ganju chased was a known member of the White Whale, so while it might be the work of some unknown party stirring things up. It would appear they are at least involved in some manner. Even if they aren’t, with it appearing that they are, we still need to respond or risk losing face.”

“Yes,” Jin said after a moment of reflection before adding, “Should I assume our waiting isn’t just due to Menma not being here, but to give the Whale some time to make it clear to us if he is or isn’t involved?”

“Indeed,” Koharu replied, “But also to go over the plan to achieve our objective, which is to take control of the docks. Jin and Mugen, I want you two to select twenty of our best men. We’ll be the primary attack force. The rest of you divvy up the remaining members and establish a perimeter around the docks. I don’t want the fighting to spread into the village.” Receiving various forms that her orders had been received and understood, she said, “Good, we’ll leave in the hour.”

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

Naruto cursed as he neared the docks and the sounds of fighting grew louder. He had received the memories of his Menma clone while heading to Ame as part of Tsunade’s Entourage. He had been in the midst of training with Kakashi to create a wind clone in anticipation of the upcoming battle, since he expected to fight Sasuke again and wanted a move the Uchiha hadn’t heard of before. Kakashi had been in the midst of telling him a wind clone wouldn’t be all that effective, as what made his lightning clone so dangerous was the inherent nature of electricity when he had received Koharu’s report. Before he had needed to think up an excuse to slip away for the benefit of those not aware of his Family, Tsunade had ordered him back to Konoha claiming she needed him to pick up a file she had forgotten. He had protested, for appearance sake, asking why him, which she had replied because of his mastery of the Hiraishin jutsu.

He had then promptly teleported away, believing his lover would state for the benefit of the others that he should have waited to give her a kunai so he could teleport back. Now with a few days of leeway, Naruto had appeared in Konoha to apply his Menma accessories such as dyeing his hair, and putting in the red contacts. Not to mention, making out with Yoshino to absorb some of her chakra in case the troublemakers were from Kumo and were hoping to draw him out in order to compare his chakra to when he had helped Yugito defect.

Leaping to the roof of one of the warehouses along the dock, he could see that the Black Foxes weren’t faring nearly as well as the previous times they had clashed with members of the White Whale. It only took a few seconds to determine why, which was that outside of being outnumbered, an unfortunate side effect of their strict membership standards as finding criminals with good hearts was harder than a lot of media led one to believe. This time the White Whale were fielding someone that appeared to be able to fight on par with Koharu who often acted as an equalizer for the lack of manpower. This was allowing the more rank and file members of the White Whale to isolate Mugen and Jin as well as the other men they had brought. He could see that the two were being hamstrung as many of those men were wounded, forcing them to defend them while also fending off the opposing gang.

He focused on the woman currently squaring off against Koharu, and despite the woman standing in an almost mocking manner, he couldn’t detect many holes in her stance. Moreover, he knew she was a serious threat as Koharu was dedicating almost all of her focus on the woman, which as she flashed before several handsigns before firing several fireballs at her opponent, a member of the Whales decided to tack advantage as he broke from the ring surrounding the other Black Foxes to bury his sword in her back. Naruto was about to teleport to Koharu, as he wouldn’t make it in time otherwise, however he paused as the left eye of the woman that his lover was facing began to glow with a purple energy. She then raised her right hand as her body was covered in chakra similar in color as the eye was producing and as the fireballs hit it, the jutsu exploded rather ineffectually. The woman then turned on her heel before leaping into the air, and launched an energy projectile of her own. However, rather than hitting Koharu, it slammed into the man that had been about to stab her in the back.

Naruto having moved closer across the rooftops as the woman resumed her stance, he could just make her out as she said with a tone of annoyance, “Hey loser, how about you finish off the meal you already have on your plate before trying to steal mine.” However, he paused as her gaze shifted to him, and as it focused on him, he noticed that her left eye seemed to roll in its socket before a yin-yang symbol appeared. It then returned to normal while she licked her lips like she was anticipating a meal before saying, “Although, it looks like the main course has arrived.”

He dropped down to the ground, and was pleased to see that despite a few of his men looking rather bloodied up, it appeared for the most part all the members of the Black Foxes were still breathing. While many of their spirits seemed buoyed by his arrival, since they had seen his abilities when he crushed the gang the Foxes had been before, he noticed his presence also seemed to send a chilling effect through many of the members of the White Whale despite their not seeing him fight previously. He attributed it to their having seen Koharu in actios and so imagined if she was following his orders he had to be even more impressive.

Turning his masked gaze towards the woman that had been facing Koharu, he said, “Just a hunch here, but I’m guessing you’re the reason for my man being laid up in the hospital.”

The woman gave a smirk before replying, “I was just having a little fun. I didn’t think he’d break so easily.”

“I see,” Naruto said letting some anger enter into his voice, “In that case, I hope there won’t be any complaints if I leave you in a similar state.”

“Do you really think you can?” the woman countered sounding amused, “I mean I heard your captain was supposed to be someone impressive. But she’s hardly any better than your other man was.”

Naruto noticed Koharu stiffen, but he placed a calming hand on her shoulder before stepping before her as he replied, “From the jutsu I saw just now, Koharu has been holding herself back. Most likely because it doesn’t due the people of Ironfog any good for her to force the White Whale out while leveling the docks in the process.”

“How gallant of you to protect her pride like that?” the woman stated dismissively. “But talk is cheap.”

“Indeed,” Naruto stated holding his hand out with the palm facing skywards. He gathered his chakra in it, and what appeared was a black shape resembling an atom thanks in part to the chakra he siphoned from Yoshino. Looking over his shoulder, he said “Koharu if you will.” She nodded and shunshined to appear in front of the other members of the Black Foxes. Flashing through hand signs a large dome of stone sprang up between them and the members of the White Whale, at which point Naruto released the hold on his jutsu. A large wave of chakra exploded forth which leveled all of the men standing outside of the dome. The woman’s eye flashed as she was surrounded by chakra again, but this time she struggled to remain standing as the pressure of the jutsu threatened to blow her backwards.

As the jutsu’s effect began to lessen, she stood straighter and saw that the men that had been blown over appeared to be struggling as if some unseen force was holding them in place. She whistled appreciatively, and was about to say something taunting.

However, Naruto didn’t give her the chance as he charged her and threw a punch which she managed to dodge. Although, from the look of confusion on her face, he suspected that she had done so on instinct rather than having seen him move. As she focused on him, her left eye flashed again showing the yin-yang symbol once more, but then began to glow with a constant purple energy. A hungry looking smile appeared as she stated, “You might just be fun to play with after all.”

The woman tried to slam a knee into his midsection due to their close proximity, but as he dodged backward, she revealed it was meant to be a kick as she extended her leg to connect with his skull. Naruto ducked down and in the opposite direct of her kick as he moved to sweep the leg she was standing on. Connecting, he knocked her off her feet, and although she hit the ground, she managed to roll away. Yet, rather than trying to create some distance between them, she leapt forward with a pinwheel kick that he managed to avoid by leaping backwards, with her foot just barely missing his chin. As she landed, he charged in close to limit her ability to kick at him, and kept her on the heels of her feet by throwing a series of punches.

Although on the defensive, he noticed the smile never fell from her face as she managed to gracefully avoid his blows. Behind him, he could hear Koharu’s dome crumbling, and knew she and the others would be able to secure the White Whale members who were still paralyzed as a result of the chakra wave he had hit them with, so shifted his focus solely onto his opponent. Although Koharu hadn’t had time to speak to him upon his arrival, he suspected she would share his opinion that he eye the woman was using was one of the techno-organic organs that had supposedly been in development by Sky Country scientists for Koyuki’s uncle. Recalling how they had disappeared shortly after Doto’s defeat, and how it appeared Shadaloo was now producing items based on those designs, Naruto believed it was likely the woman was in some way connected to the criminal organization.

On the one hand, he was pleased since the reason that he had created the Menma persona was to attract the attention of a group called the Shadow Cabal which Ibiki had theorized may be sponsoring people like Sasuke to spread chaos. Which although Shadaloo seemed to be its own entity, it could have some ties to the Cabal. However, he was also rather unsettled at the idea of having attracted such attention so soon, since the Black Foxes were still relatively small in comparison to many of the other gangs which called the Land of Rice Paddies home. The uneasy feeling was due to the fact that although the other Black Foxes were technically criminals, he had come to generally care for them as many weren’t bad people. Many instead had found themselves in poor circumstances which had led them to join the gang or in some cases it was even a family tradition. While many had bristled at the direction he was taking the Black Foxes initially, those that had stayed were currently coming around to the idea that they might attain a sense of legitimacy through the gang’s new outlook. As such, he feared he had attracted the attention of a rival group too powerful to be faced with their current numbers, and as a result, it would be the members of the Black Foxes who suffered.

Naruto was forced to block as he raised his arms to ward off a kick that his opponent managed to get off. After her leg hit his forearm, he quickly grabbed her by the calf and turning tossed her so that she would smash into one of the warehouses. However, she managed to get her feet positioned so that as she hit the wall, they hit first allowing her to compress her legs like a spring, which she then used to launch herself at him with a flying kick. Naruto turned his body so that she flew past him, but upon her landing, she simply crouched down and turned so she could launch herself at him again. He was forced to block which pushed him back and she then began throwing a variety of kicks which kept him on the defensive.

While Naruto avoid her legs, he couldn’t help noticing the wicked smirk showing her enjoyment of their fight. He found it strange, since he was of the opinion that if she was an agent of Shadaloo sent to help the Whale against the Black Foxes, with the rival gang leader’s forces currently removed from the equation, it meant she had failed. Yet, her demeanor gave no indication that she was upset or worried about this. As a result, it left him with the impression that although she had likely been sent to find out why the sale of drugs into Ironfog had stopped, she wasn’t all that concerned with getting the flow of drugs going again.

If anything, he was beginning to suspect that her true aim had been in manipulating them to attack the Whale and take the docks from him. The attack on Ganju while serious, could have ended with his death, and instead of letting him die where she had attacked him. She had instead tossed him into one of the Foxes’ establishments ensuring he would receive medical attention.

He noticed that her attacks were getting slower and weaker, making him believe that her left eye had been augmenting her abilities. Finding that he was better able to read her moves, he dodged a kick by leaning back and once she whiffed, quickly surged forward to grab her by the neck. He spun her around, used his free hand to grab an arm which he wrenched behind her back before pulling her close. He squirmed against him to get free, but stopped as he said, “You’ve been a naughty one haven’t you? Perhaps, I should take you over my knee, and give you a few spankings.”

“Aren’t you the perv,” she said although in a teasing manner, “Do you treat all your enemies like that?”

“Only the pretty ones,” Naruto replied before adding, “Especially when they aren’t as bad as they try to appear to be.”

“Don’t kid yourself,” the woman replied with some hardness bleeding into her voice, “I’m plenty bad.”

“Perhaps,” Naruto said, “But, in that case, I would have to wonder why you didn’t finish off Ganju. It was in your power to do so. I also imagine that your mission here was to insure the flow of drugs into Ironfog resumed, I don’t think your bosses in Shadaloo are going to be pleased with these results. One would almost be inclined to believe you provoked us into taking these docks.”

“Don’t you have a high opinion of yourself,” she replied her tone switching to amusement. “What makes you believe I though a bunch of hick gangsters were going to be a match for me?”

“Then a test perhaps?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she replied as she stiffened against him.

Naruto felt surprised by her reaction, but was also caught offguard by her left eye beginning to glow. He was then blown off his feet as the energy exploded outward in a blinding flash and in similar manner as his earlier jutsu. He landed against the wall of one of the warehouses, and he blinked the dots from his vision. He frowned as he looked to where they had been standing and found her already gone. But looking to a nearby rooftop found her standing on the edge looking back over her shoulder. She then dropped out of sight with what Naruto assumed was probably a smirk on her lips.

Koharu approached him, and keeping her voice low said, “If that woman is working with the organization that I suspect she is. We could be in serious trouble. They aren’t going to like us taking these docks.”

“I don’t think we have to worry about them,” Naruto stated and although she was wearing a mask, he could tell she was confused by his reply. Although he knew she would trust his gut, he explained, “I imagine that if the Whale is aligned with Shadaloo, and they cared deeply about what happened here, they wouldn’t have sent her to deal with us.”

Koharu inclined her head before asking loud enough that everyone could hear as she hitched a thumb in the direction of White Whale members, “What should we do with these guys?”

“I say we gut them,” Mugen suggested menacingly as he held his sword over his shoulder.

“It would simplify matters,” Jin suggest calmly, which seemed to scare the rival gang members more.

Naruto smirked beneath his mask, but said, “Escort them out of the town.” His gaze then drifted in the direction he had last seen the mysterious woman in, and wondered if their paths would cross again.

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

Juri Han frowned as the boat that she was on pulled into the hidden dock of Shadaloo’s main base. Despite her loss to Menma, she had actually been in a great mood. However, seeing some of Bison’s favorite dolls waiting at the dock, she felt her good cheer leaving her. Leaping from the boat before it was fully moored, she addressed the blonde that was called Killer Bee, “Take me to your leader, Doll.”

“This way,” the woman replied in a monotonal voice that most of the dolls had, except for when in combat. There she imagined most of their true personalities came out, although still with their programmed loyalty to Bison. She suspected the reason the procedure functioned in that manner was because Bison had no interest in them outside of their combat abilities. Despite hating Bison with every fiber of her being, she at least gave him credit in that his respect for strength overrode his more baser instincts.

After all, it was one of the reasons that she was a member of Shadaloo despite him knowing of her desire to see him dead. For a brief moment, she flashed back to being a small child who had just lost an eye in the Shadaloo attack that had claimed her parents because her father had been willing to prosecute a member of the gang Bison had valued despite the danger because he had believed it the right thing to do. A child who upon learning the reason for what had happened had vowed to get revenge no matter what she needed to become in the process, even one of Shadaloo’s guinea pigs if necessary. Yet, despite all she had done and sacrificed, she still could not defeat Bison as she had tried on several occasions only to be beaten and awake in the infirmary as if she hadn’t just staged an assassination attempt. She knew the reason Bison kept her around was because it amused him to see her struggle vainly against him, as well as it showed the others that he feared nothing because he was extremely confident in his own power.

Following in Killer Bee’s wake, she noticed a new doll was guarding the throne room. She frowned as the woman was wearing a bandana over what appeared to be reddish brown hair. She had rather thick eyebrows as well as blue eyes, but what stood out the most to Juri was the bruises that she sported. Which although the Doll training program was rough, from the lack of muscular the newest one had, she suspected that she hadn’t been much of a fighter before being reprogrammed. That made her curious as the other dolls, had all been competent fighters well before being captured and turned into loyal servants of Bison. A fate Juri expected to receive someday when Bison tired of toying with her.

Giving the strange out of place doll no further thought, she stepped into the throne room, and winced as the grating voice of Shadaloo’s new number two man said, “You dare show your face before the Mighty Lord Bison.”

Juri stuck her pinky in her ear as if to clear it of an irritant, before mockingly saying, “Have I ever told you how much I wish you would just die already?”

“You impudent brat,” F.A.N.G shouted as he dropped down into his fighting stance, “I may not have been a member of Shadaloo for as long as you, but my quick rise through the ranks should impress upon you my worth.”

“Oh please,” Juri said dismissively, “You’re only here because your time in Kumo’s Vault has helped with some of the research going on, and you were somewhat useful in helping us steal that body that Sasuke wanted.”

“Lord Bison,” F.A.N.G said angrily, “Just give me the word and I shall deal with this trash in under two minutes.”

Bison just chuckled, before replying, “Some day perhaps. But, for now there is no need. You’ve done well Juri.” F.A.N.G spun in confusion as his mouth dropped down in shock, not that Juri could blame him as even she was taken aback. Shadaloo’s leader smirked before standing from his throne, “I sent you to find out why the flow of Dust into Ironfog was falling and you succeeded.”

“But Lord Bison,” F.A.N.G said sounding disappointed, “She only made a mess of things.”

“True,” Bison replied, “Which is why I sent her. What was worse than the Black Foxes decreeing that their territory was a Dust free zone, was that the Whale failed to rectify it. He has grown complacent and so sending her in, has further weakened his position. Soon both matters will be deal with, and all without us needing to get distracted from our current project.” He let a wide grin appear as he addressed the rebellious woman, “Surely, now you understand even when you think you are acting against me, you are still acting well within my calculations.”

F.A.N.G turned towards her also wearing a smile, which Juri would love to have kicked in, but instead asked calmly, “Are we done here then?”

Bison retook his throne as he said, “You’re dismissed.”

Juri waved disrespectfully, and remained calm until she reached her room at which point she smashed anything within reach. When the anger finally left her system, she stripped out of her clothes in order to have a soothing shower. Upon stepping in, and turning the water on, she sighed as she leaned forward to rest her head against the wall. As the water ran down her back and shoulders, a part of her felt like crying as she knew she had allowed herself to become a monster, and while truthfully somewhere along the way she had stopped caring. It was moments like now that she wondered if it had been worth it since she felt she was no closer to accomplishing her goal.

However, instead of giving into her despair, a smile appeared as she suspected that Bison had made a large miscalculation in underestimating the Leader of the Black Foxes. Having faced him at her best, and having replayed their fight in her mind, she suspected that he had been holding back against her. It hadn’t been out of disrespect as was the case with Bison, but almost like he had purposefully restricted what moves he could use as at times she felt he had fought against his instincts. She felt a tingle between her legs as she recalled the feeling of being pressed against him, and found she couldn’t think of a reason not to indulge in her imagination picturing what might have happened if their flirting had continued. She let out a soft moan as her finger traced along her slit, while pretending it was Menma as the memories of their fight got her more and more excited.

Before getting completely lost in her fantasy, she decided that she’d sit back and see how the events in the Land of Rice Paddies transpired. If they went as Bison suspected, then she’d have been wrong so stood to lose nothing. But, if not, well then, she may have found the ally that she needed to take down Bison, and perhaps someone who could satisfy her in all the ways that mattered, including fighting. “Mmm,” she moaned as she slid a finger inside her while picturing herself being taken in a just deposed Bison’s throne by the man that she hoped would help her make all her fantasies a reality.

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

Taro listened to the sounds of battle as his men fought against the group that had raised up in the few weeks after his latest setback against the Foxes, and was currently seeking to replace him as the power that ran the underworld in the Land of Rice Paddies. Not for the first time did he wish that he had been a different type of gangster. But, deep in his heart, he knew the sudden regret was generated by the same fear a mouse felt when cornered by a cat. He hated that fear as he stood from behind his desk and began stripping off his shirt as the sound of violence died down. Moving to the front of his desk, he waited for those that sought his head, and promised to fight his way free to start over to get his revenge. Not only on the Black Foxes, but those currently challenging him and even Shadaloo as they hadn’t answered his request for aid.

The door to his office was kicked in and only a single man stood there instead of the horde that he had been expecting. The large man was extremely muscular as the left side of his torso was exposed which along with the rest of the clothes that he was garbed in, it almost made him appear to be a monk of some sort. Especially due to the large prays beads that he wore around his neck. Tattooed to his forehead, was the mon of the gang he ran, which having sensed the weakness that had resulted from his losses against the Black Foxes had launched the series of attacks on all his holdings.

Dropping into his fighter’s stance Taro said, “Jiemma of Sabertooth…”

However, that was as far as he got before Jiemma’s chakra flared powerfully, and then holding his hand out he used his Explosive Release to generate an explosion on the spot where the man was standing. When the dust cleared all that remained was a charred spot on the ground. Without a word Jiemma entered the office fully, and approaching the dead man’s desk, easily tossed it aside before sitting in the seat.

A moment later, his daughter followed him in as she said, “It looks like Whale was a toothless as some of the species that he was named after.”

Her father just grunted, so Minerva Orland said, “I’ve already heard back from the other raiding parties. All the White Whale strongholds belong to us now.”

“Not all,” her father said gruffly, “The Warehouses he lost to the Black Foxes still aren’t.”

“True,” Minerva replied, “Then why didn’t you order a group to hit Ironfog. Kill both gangs with one stone as it were.”

“Don’t be a fool,” her father replied causing her to scowl which melted into fear as he settled his pupil-less eyes on her, “We struck the Whale because his men’s moral was the lowest it has ever been. This was the advantage that we needed to overcome their superior numbers. But, if we fought the Foxes at the same time, it could have resulted in them aligning against us.”

“Yes father,” Minerva said subserviently, “Then what are your orders?”

Jiemma stroked his beard before saying, “Order the men to secure and fortify their positions in case some surviving members of the White Whale or some other group try to take them from us. We’ll then begin to recruit new members to make sure we can hold our territory. Give the strongest fighters from the Whales a chance to join us.”

“And if they don’t?”

“Make sure they understand that there is only one acceptable answer,” Jiemma replied.

“What about the Foxes?”

“They’ll keep for now,” her father answered. “They didn’t press their advantage after hurting the Whale because they know they don’t have the men. Our own recruitment needs will insure they remain small until it is time to deal with them.”

“Yes father,” Minerva said as she moved to leave the office. However, upon reaching the doorway she paused as she suggested, “Perhaps it might prove beneficial to offer them a chance to join us willingly. We do owe them some respect for weakening the Whale enough for us to make the kill.”

“Perhaps,” Jiemma said, “But I doubt their leader would bend the knee to me. He was willing to stand against the Whale for as silly a reason as to ensure Dust wasn’t sold in his territory. If nothing else the kid has a spine.”

“As you say father, but it is something to at least consider as a means to gain some understanding of his character.”

“We’ll see,” Jiemma replied, “But for now, see about implementing the orders that you have already been given.”

Minerva inclined her head, and turned to do as she was told. However, she hoped her father would take her advice since she was curious about the Leader of the Black Foxes, since he had turned one of the least powerful gangs into a force that could stand against what had up until today been considered the strongest. It baffled her that a man that possessed that kind of strength, seemed content to remain in his small backwater town. Granted, she knew that he might be smart enough to realize that he didn’t have the capacity to expand at the moment, but if anything, that just made her all the more curious since he hadn’t tried to take advantage of the chaos caused by Sabertooth’s going to war against the White Whale. Although she felt it was nonsense, a part of her wondered if it might have been due to his wanting the chaos to settle down as quickly as possible so the people caught in the middle didn’t suffer. At least that would be her guess based on what she had heard from their newest recruit Dobengal. Which to her was foolish, since it would ensure his group was the sole target of whoever won. However, she supposed that she would find out in time one way or another, so reaching the rest of the strike team began passing out the orders that would secure their victory and ensure that her path crossed Menma’s sooner rather than later.

Author’s note: Hello everyone, and Merry Christmas. Or, Happy Holidays. Which ever you prefer. Now I imagine some people are asking, “Now wait one moment their Mister Lemon Sage, what is the point of our voting in your poll if you’re going to work on the Third Place story in favor of the current leader?” Well, to answer your very fair questions, I chose to go with this one since I wanted to thank the very talented artist StikyfinkaZ-003. Not only did he create the Eroninja fan group on Deviantart, he’s also the talented artist that has drawn the comix and chapter pages. Furthermore, he was doing a free commission for people for something he calls Drawecember, and despite all he’s done up to this point, asked me what I would like as one for a gift. So, knowing he enjoys Juri Han, this was my gift to him in return, since I had planned to introduce her during this chapter regardless of when I worked on it. So Stiky, my friend I hope you enjoy this chapter and that it makes up for some of the lackluster comments you received for some of your other December gifts.

To everyone else, I hope you enjoy the chapter as well, and know how much I appreciate all the reviews and comments you have shared with me over the years. I will endeavor to have the latest chapter of Eroninja out around the New Year holiday. From there, I’ll probably work on the LBB chapter which focuses on Samui’s team, before working on The Pride. I hope you will hear from me before the New Year, but if not, let me wish everyone a Happy Holidays once more, and a Happy New Year! Until next time, Take Care! Sincerely, The Lemon Sage.