FicWad

Eroninja: The Limelight
Chapter 14

Mabui: The Fork in the Road

Shortly Before Mabui’s appearance in Chapter 94:

Mabui got up from her desk and headed off to the records room, stepping inside she felt a sense of nostalgic fondness as it was the place where her life as Nauto’s lover had started. Admittedly, she hadn’t been overly pleased immediately upon remembering the event. Yet, having come to believe in his vision, and more importantly the man behind it, she truly wouldn’t rather be by anyone else’s side. One reason in particular was that she felt truly aware in a world where it appeared most people were walking around with blinders. One such one that had been removed for her was that just because a person claimed to be acting in the interest of their people, it didn’t necessarily mean they were acting nobly. A truth that she had needed to face in regards to the Raikage, and one that she believed was going to cost her the position that she had strived much of her career to achieve.

She didn’t believe the Raikage had an inkling of just how disloyal she had been. But, as he instructed those in the Propaganda Department to crank out material denouncing the Leaf, and/or the Alliance. It was clear that he was preparing for Kumo’s withdrawal from it. As she was aware that a great deal of the propaganda wouldn’t be traced back to his office, she knew that leaving the Alliance would not be a popular move. Which since many groups within Kumo had panicked when Ame and Konoha had organized a vote to do exactly that in response to Ay’s attempt to steal Yugito back, she knew the Raikage’s Administration was trying to turn the masses against the Alliance. An uphill battle to be sure, as many people’s economic situations had improved as a result of it joining. But, with enough people in the right places decrying how Konoha was taking advantage of them, likely pointing to how they had lost Yugito as a result of trusting the Leaf. She was sure a good deal of the population would eventually be swayed as they surrendered their opinions to the state sponsored experts and in time would believe they were all the poorer for becoming a part of the Alliance, despite the opposite being the case.

Prepping the citizens for Kumo’s pulling out of the Alliance didn’t make a great deal of sense considering that it was only due to Gaara’s vote that they had remained. Which was a bit of kabuki theater on the Family’s part as Tsunade and Konan hadn’t exactly wanted the result that they were pushing for. But, due to it appearing that Ay had possessed advanced knowledge of Sasuke’s attack on Ame, and yet hadn’t shared that information. Not to mention his trying to use the chaos of the attack to retake possession of Yugito or at the very least the Bijuu that he believed was still inside her. It had been felt that pushing back against his actions by threatening to kick Kumogakure out of the Alliance had been an appropriate response.

However, while the Family had predicted how the vote would turn out, they hadn’t keyed Gaara into the fact that they didn’t actually want the result they were pushing for. That was why Mabui had a feeling of unease about how the vote had played out. Particularly as while on one hand she could understand that Gaara believed Ay’s recent actions were fallout from Naruto helping Yugito defect from Kumo. She was quite certain that Temari had shared with her brother about how the Family suspected that Naruto would be Ay’s target of retribution during the Chunin Exams. In effect, this meant that by voting for Kumo to remain, Gaara had voted for a course of action that kept a target on Naruto’s back. Mabui conceded that from the Kazekage’s perspective, he was just letting Naruto experience the repercussions of his decision, which was a fair conclusion to arrive at.

Still, it was one of the reasons that Mabui found that she cared deeply for the blond man from Konoha, which was that he wasn’t the type to run from the consequences his actions generated. In fact, while she was quite positive that there were a few of his lovers that viewed Gaara’s vote as a betrayal, considering Naruto’s actions to save him when he had been imprisoned and sentenced to death by the Wind Daimyo. Naruto himself did not and was of the opinion that the dangers that he was expected to face at the Chunin Exams were just a price to be paid to be true to the promise that he had made to all of his lovers at one point or another. As such, Mabui chose not to be irritated at the Kazekage, but she did feel that he was forgetting the stakes hadn’t exactly been small when Naruto had acted on his behalf either. Granted, Naruto had been willing to become a missing-nin, but that was no guarantee that the Daimyo of Wind would have been satisfied with such an excuse being used to absolve the Leaf of responsibility in thwarting his will. Which, depending on how the Daimyo of Fire or Tsunade responded, could just as easily have led to a war between the two countries or perhaps even the dissolution of the Leaf Village.

Mabui let the matter drop as fretting over it wouldn’t change anything as the past was the past, and the results of those events were already in motion. She did allow herself one last shiver of phantom pleasure as she recalled Naruto’s taking of her in the records room before intending to grab the file that had brought her there. However, her reflection was intruded upon as someone’s arms wrapped around her, and decided to take a trip down memory lane as well as he said, “Remembering the last time I had you bent over in here?”

Frowning at the memory Darui was bringing up, she pulled free of his arms as she turned to face him stating, “I remember you standing by the door afterwards and pretending not to hear me as I asked you to stay so we could talk about deepening our relationship.”

Darui sighed as he surmised his lead in wasn’t going to end in the way that he had hoped so said with a shrug, “I didn’t think the old records room was the proper place to have that discussion.”

Mabui felt her ire spike as she fired back, “It wasn’t the place, it was the conversation.” Taking a calming breath, since she felt kind of silly at getting upset over the matter as she currently had the relationship she wanted and more. She moved to the shelf where the box with the file that she was looking for was as she asked, “What is it you want?”

“I wanted to talk to you as a friend.”

“You picked a rather forward method for approaching me if you just wanted to speak as a friend,” Mabui replied disbelievingly.

“Not if It was of the friend with benefits variety,” Darui replied with a disarming smile which caused her to respond in a similar manner unconsciously, as for a brief moment she recalled why she had entered into such a relationship with him.

“Those days are behind us,” she stated rather annoyed at herself upon realizing how she had reacted. She wasn’t exactly sure why at first, although after a few moments of thought came to believe that it was because while Naruto had used sex with her as a means to create an agent to further his aims, it had quickly become apparent to her that her Konoha lover valued her happiness and deepening their connection. Whereas previously she had never felt appreciated by Darui due to his appearing when he was feeling backed up and disappearing as soon as she had provided him relief. She conceded that she had been an active participant and had even acted in a similar manner in the beginning. But, she felt Darui’s current attitude simply showed that her only real value to him was as another object to be used for his own pleasure, and that he currently felt that a suitably long amount of time had passed since their last time hookup, that he thought his charm would be enough to make her glad to be used as such again.

“They don’t have to be,” he replied in a manner that made her angry as he sounded like he was doing her a favor. “It’s not like you have a bunch of suitors beating down your door.”

“How would you know?” Mabui replied annoyed, “My life could be filled with wild nights where I’m filled by a big dicked stud that puts you to shame.”

“Really, who would that be?” Darui replied his voice raising in anger from the mild insult, “That Kakami Takayama from that Leaf company that you work with on the side and who you’ve been hanging around with afterhours.”

“Are you spying on me?” Mabui asked angrily as she took a step towards him. Her anger faded though as she noticed a small flicker of concern appear on Darui’s face which made her suspect that he had let slip something he hadn’t meant to. Surmising that the information Darui had about the persona Naruto was using more recently to spend time with his Kumo lovers in order to justify his presence in the village due to the persona’s role of being a buyer for the Great Tree Shipping Company, might be more than just a jealous ex-lover keeping tabs, she wondered aloud, “Am I under investigation for something?”

“Should you be?” Darui shot back trying to put her on the defensive to cover for his slip up, “You should be able to see the writings on the wall. The Alliance is failing us, and soon you’re going to have to stop your little dalliances with people or entities from the Leaf.”

Mabui narrowed her eyes at being told who she could interact with as she countered, “Those dalliances have helped fuel the current boom our economy has seen. If anyone has failed the Alliance, I would say it has been us.” She turned her attention back to the box that she had been searching, and quickly pulled the file that she needed before stating, “Now if you’ll excuse me.”

She didn’t wait for his permission as she quickly walked past him and out of the room as she returned to her desk. Mindful that the encounter may have been staged, and someone may be monitoring her chakra to determine if she was hiding something, she kept her emotions steady except for the annoyance that she had felt from Darui’s attitude. It wasn’t too hard of a task since she quickly surmised that if she was the target of an investigation to determine whether she was disloyal, then they had painfully little to go on. Moreover, with the privacy seals and security measures located at the Hidden Thunder Inn which had been advertised as reasons for people to move there, she knew what she did in her home was also a huge blank spot for any Anbu investigation of her. She also believed that Karui would be a source of information for them, but Mabui knew she would be able to count on her fellow Harem member to inform her once any investigators decided to poke around in their home.

But, the encounter with Darui had made one thing painfully clear to her, which was that the time was fast approaching where she would be forced to publicly denounce the Alliance or leave her position as the Raikage’s assistant. Figuring that she had already made it clear to Darui where she stood on such a choice, although she was of the opinion that he would assume that she would choose to do what was best for her career. However, despite the annoyance that she felt, she was grateful to Darui as regardless of his intentions with confronting her, the forewarning he had provided her that she would need to be more proactive with the time that she had remaining before she would need to at least appear to pick a side.

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Shortly before the meeting in chapter 97:

If anyone had been present as Mabui suddenly appeared in what she assumed was possibly one of Kumo’s most secure facilities, all they would have seen was a small distortion just before she suddenly blinked into existence. They would probably have also instantly gone on guard not just by her sudden appearance, but also because the garb that she wore made it clear that she had less than honorable intentions. Particularly, as she was dressed in a skintight black infiltration suit, with a full hood that gave her the look more traditionally seen of ninjas in movies.

Although on a tight timetable as she activated the stopwatch that she wore which began counting down, she did pause to bask in the thrill of being able to teleport herself. An ability that she hadn’t really shared with anyone, even her lover, since it had until recently only worked on inanimate objects, and people as hearty as the Raikage. Granted, she had known there could have been improvements made to her technique, particularly as she had used the teleportation seals Kiyomi had created in order to enter and leave The Den. But, she hadn’t really considered doing so as she had known what role she would play in Naruto’s ambition. However, with her being unsure if she would continue in the role as the Raikage’s assistant, she figured it would be necessary to improve her abilities if only to be prepared should the dangerous game she was playing be exposed.

She smiled softly as she recalled approaching Kiyomi and Mito regarding improving her teleportation technique, which was a unique ability in the sense that she was currently the only member of the village that had mastered it. In fact, much like how the person that would end up forming a combo with the Raikage had been tested before being selected, what had made Mabui such a natural fit for the position of Raikage’s Assistant was her mastery of the Heavenly Transfer Technique. That wasn’t to say that she hadn’t needed to work hard for it, since she had needed to beat out quite a few rivals who much like her had recognized the position was rather highly rewarding while low in risks. But, her ability to use Kumo’s only teleportation jutsu effectively was a cherry on the administrative sundae that she represented.

Mabui’s smile slipped some as she began scanning the boxes in front of her for relevant information on a Project Persona that she had come across and felt it was likely related to Group P that would soon be taking the Chunin Exams, and as she did so recalled that while the two red-heads had studied the seals used in her technique, both had sounded rather dismissive of what many considered Kumo’s most advanced space-time technique. But while she felt some of the dip in her mood could be blamed on Mito and Kiyomi’s dismissal of the technique that had taken her years to master as simple. In truth, she felt it was mostly a result that both women seemed to share the opinion that it was possible that the reason the jutsu was fatal when used on people, was because it had been stolen from the Second Hokage own Technique when he had been killed and her village hadn’t been able to properly recreate it. A charge Mabui had rather vehemently denied, which had caused both women to not so much retract the accusation, but instead had caused them to simply move onto the matter of improving it. However, as she watched the two women work, she had to admit to herself that it was indeed a possibility. After all, her village had been responsible for the Second Hokage’s death during the First Shinobi World War, which had happened at the hand of Kumo’s Kinkaku Force, which was named after one half of the Gold and Silver Brothers who had gone rogue months before when they had staged a coup d’état to remove the Second Raikage during the peace talks that were being held with Konoha at the time. Which considering the legacy of her jutsu’s first know usage could only be traced to a point in time after that event, forced Mabui to recognize that it was a possibility.

Moreover, watching the two women work also kind of hammered home the point, that while she understood how to make her jutsu work, she didn’t exactly know how it worked. Which, as she had become even more proficient in its use then even her own teacher had been, made her doubt anyone in Kumo truly knew the inner workings of the jutsu, and thus made her suspect that Kumo had managed to create it from something they had possibly taken off of the Second Hokage’s corpse. But like with cavemen who were given a modern lighter, while they might in time be able to create a facsimile using the principles at work, it would likely never match the original in quality as everything else required from the machining of the casing, to even the quality of the lighter fluid would be lacking as the society as a whole lacked the means to produce it.

It was a sobering, if depressing thought that something that she had taken quite a bit of pride in, was just another thing that had been stolen from another place. Although, she did cut Kumo some slack in that her jutsu had at least been pilfered during war time so did tend to add some legitimacy to it. But it only showcased that her home wasn’t very innovative, considering its tendency to steal from other villages and its reliance on those techniques and items to keep up with them.

However, after moving through several rows and finding a box that was labeled Project P, she also found herself believing that innovation simply for innovations sake might not be the best approach either. Particularly, when considering it was being done by a village that had stolen most of its strongest weapons, and so probably wouldn’t exercise much in the way of scruples when relying on its own efforts to advance either.

Reading through the file while using the other feature that made her such an efficient administrator, namely her photographic memory, which while she couldn’t recall everything she had ever read as some claimed, would allow her to recreate the pages that she was currently burning through. She felt sick to her stomach as she took in details of the experiment that had been performed on children within Kumo but didn’t have much time to process it as she tried to take in as much information as possible. She felt the pressure of the ticking clock as even at her rapid pace, there were still hundreds, if not thousands more pages to pour through. She forced herself to calm, as growing flustered would only result in a higher body temperature which would also in turn cut her available time down due to the electronic sensors monitoring the vault room would alert anyone once the temperature of the room rose a few degrees. Having calculated how long it would take based on schematics she had found of the sensors, and how big the room was, she knew she only had a minute or two left before a warning light would go off.

She felt like cursing, but instead put the file down with the details of the experiments to pull out several which focused on those who had been affected by it and the abilities it caused them to manifest. She just finished reading the last one of the stack she had grabbed when her watch started vibrating. Putting the files back and putting the box in its proper spot she briefly considered leaving a seal so she could return. But, decided against it since she felt it had been risky enough of her to sneak one into a stack of papers the Raikage had given her that had been destined for the vault’s records room. A place whose location even she was not made privy too. Unfortunately, the seal she had used had faded once she had teleported to it since she imagined even if the shinobi that were likely already on their way came to believe that a sensor had just malfunctioned. They would consider the possibility that they had been breached, and thus perform a search through the newest files to arrive for such a seal. Hoping she had recovered enough that someone like Tsunade would be able to fully understand what her village had been up to, she activated the seal back at the Hidden Thunder Inn, disappearing in the same manner as she had appeared.

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Events take place after the beginning of Chapter 101:

Mabui was dressed in a form fitting black dress, while wearing her hair down from the bun she typically kept it in as she stood in a VIP lounge of Kumo’s biggest arena, which was hosting one of her village’s most anticipated events, Thundermania. She was extremely nervous, not just because Naruto would be attending, although in the disguise of his Kakami Takayama identity, but also because it would likely define what role that she was to have going forward, in more ways than just her profession. She took a sip of the champagne she had been holding when a voice she once found charming but was increasingly becoming annoying said to her, “You look stunning in that dress.”

“Thank you Darui,” she replied politely as she turned to face him.

It proved difficult to maintain the politeness and to keep the scowl off her face as he immediately followed up by stating, “All alone. That’s a shame. If you want, you can spend the night in my private box.”

Mabui succeeded in maintaining her cool as she said, “I’m sure your date might have something to say about that. Unless, you’re implying that you also came alone, and it would only be a shame if a woman decided to do the same.” She fought back a smile as she could tell Darui didn’t know whether to assert his manliness by claiming that of course he hadn’t come alone, or to defend himself from being painted into the corner that he was being sexist.

He decided on the former as he stated, “Oh, you know my ladies don’t mind sharing a good thing. So, if you’re interested, I can probably pencil in some alone time for you in your private box, or if you’re looking to spice tonight up, you can share the same slot in mine.”

Mabui was about to reply that he didn’t need to concern himself, when a woman’s voice said from behind her, “Her slot for the evening is already fucking spoken for.”

Mabui found herself pulled into a kiss, which she surrendered to, before becoming just as aggressive as the woman that she was kissing. With a good part of her passion being driven on by what she pictured was Darui’s disbelieving stare before he faded from her mind completely. Pulling her lips away, she noticed that quite a few people were staring at her and the red-headed woman that she had just made out with so passionately, and had to fight back a smile, she ignored them all as she addressed the woman, and brown-haired, blue eyed man standing behind her, “You two kept me waiting.”

The man raised a hand to the back of his brown locks as he said nervously, “Sorry about that, but she had a change just before we left.”

“Ah,” Mabui said in a manner as if she was trying to be delicate, “Then that would mean…”

“Don’t act like you don’t know me bitch,” the red head said, “Your tongue was all up in my clam just a few nights ago.”

Mabui’s cheeks flushed as those closest to them and had overheard the red-head began looking at her in a different light, prompting her to quickly and nervously say, “Of course Tayuya. I’m still getting used to the changes.”

“You’re not the only one,” Tayuya replied, while assuming the role of the Snow-nin, who suffered from multiple personalities that was Kakami Takayama’s girlfriend, a role that Mabui was also now stepping into, although as herself, “I’m not used to having to share him with someone that is actually there.” Tayuya then elbowed the disguised Naruto in the ribs as she said, “Well, aren’t you going to tell her how beautiful she looks.”

“That goes without saying,” Naruto said pulling her into a kiss which while not as wet or passionate as the one she had just experienced, left her feeling even hotter.

Mabui pulled away, and turned to face the man that she had all but forgotten about for the past few moments, and basked in the possessive feel of Naruto’s arm around her hip and near shock etched on Darui’s face as she said, “Thank you for the offer. But as you can see, my private box is already going to be occupied.”
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Mabui smiled as Naruto surged to his feet, as did most of the crowd on the other side of the glass from their viewing box, when the ring exploded as one of the two wrestlers in it had been laying on his back at the center, and had waited until the other had leapt to the turnbuckle to flip back to his feet. At which point the man on the turnbuckle had leapt towards him allowing him to catch his opponent by the face and slam the back of his head into the ring. He then caused the entire ring to explode as he charged a powerful electric attack into the other wrestler’s face, which as the dust clear left him standing victoriously over his opponent as he rested one foot on the man’s chest while a referee counted him out while the crowd roared in approval.

A beautiful young blond model dressed in a bikini then came down a walkway that led to the backstage area holding a card over her head, which announced there would be an intermission as the ring was replaced. Mabui watched the woman with some interest, taking in her platinum blonde hair, which was styled into two bushy pigtails. Although, she noticed Naruto gave the model a quick once over, she could tell at the moment he was more interested in the action he had just witnessed. Yet, she did notice his face scrunching up in confusion a little as the defeated wrestler, although carried out on a stretcher didn’t look to be too horribly battered.

As he took his seat, he commented as much, “I’m surprised that guy isn’t dead. You’d think a jutsu that powerful would have at least damaged the mask he wore.”

Mabui giggled lightly, easily finding joy in the child-like optimism that he had been demonstrating during the matches, and almost didn’t have the heart to tell him the truth, as she felt it was akin to bursting the bubble about a certain fairy that left money for unneeded teeth. However, he figured as much already as he looked at her to say, “It isn’t real, is it?”

“No,” Mabui replied focusing on him for a moment before returning her attention to the model as she continued to explain, “The jutsu and athleticism are real enough, but in reality, they’re just acting out their fights. Think of them as male orientated soap operas.”

Naruto nodded, before stating, “Well, they’re certainly awesome, nonetheless. I wish they had something like this in the Land of Fire.”

“Maybe someday it will. After all, a peaceful world would need to find something to do with all its shinobi. Although, they may be acting at the moment, many of the wrestlers you’ve seen tonight are some of our most skilled warriors,” Mabui said her focus returning to him for a moment to give him a smile, which he returned.

Naruto arched an eyebrow and directed his attention to the massive viewing box opposite from theirs, which unlike theirs was not walled off by thick sheet of glass. In it sat the Raikage on a large throne, with several other spectators most of whom were beautiful women. “Are you saying the Raikage also participated?” he asked.

“All except The First have,” Mabui answered before returning her focus to the model, “His run in the ring is probably one of the reasons why he is so popular in Kumo.”

Naruto noticed his lover’s interest in the model who having finished her circuit around the destroyed ring was returning up the walkway, but ignored it in favor of asking, “Why’s that? I mean if all the fights are fake, that can’t really speak to his ability as a leader or a person.”

“In a truly rationale world that would be true I suppose,” Mabui replied. But, remembering how she used to have a poster of the Raikage hanging on her bedroom wall during his tenor in the Thunder Wrestling League explained, “However, I’ve heard from Koyuki that a certain Blonde man once felt disappointed in her because she wasn’t more like Prince Gale.”

She smiled as Naruto’s cheeks colored, and he began to scratch his left cheek while embarrassingly admitting, “Yeah, but I was like thirteen at the time.”

Mabui reached over and placed her hand on the one resting on the arm of his chair as she said, “I understand.” Her gaze then traveled over towards the Raikage, and it grew dark as she said, “In many ways, the people of Kumo are just like that thirteen-year-old you. As while most understand what they are seeing are just storylines being acted out physically. They still feel a connection to the wrestlers through the storylines that they act out and begin to imprint the traits that they see them show during their matches and promos onto them as if that is who they truly are.”

Naruto took ahold of her hand as he also began to focus on the Raikage, and said, “So you’re saying the reason all the previous Raikage participated was so they could build up a persona in the eyes of Kumo.”

Mabui nodded, as she stated, “People tend to be more trustful of and less inclined to accept the questioning of those they view as heroes.”

Naruto agreed with the principle, although for a moment wished some back home would apply it to him, most noticeably Rock Lee and Chouji. But, quickly abandoned it as a selfish thought, since their questioning of whether his path truly was the best one, made him question as much as well, and he hoped served the task of preventing him from falling into the trap of feeling that whatever he laid out as the best way forward, automatically made it so. Still, there were times when he could do with a lot less questioning from people, particularly if they were going to hang monikers like the Hero of the Leaf on him.

He began to wonder if Karui would not be better served in her desire to become Raikage if she began to participate in the league. But, suspected she had decided to go the Anbu path to differentiate herself, as even if the people came to love her, she’d still need to have some accomplishments under her belt. Regardless, he understood that Karui likely knew best, as the night was showing him there were aspects of Kumo’s culture that he hadn’t even known of, and so he instead focused his attentions to another matter, “So, where is Tayuya at? And, is it related to why you seem so interested in that ring girl?”

Mabui looked a little surprised, although more in relation to Naruto putting the two together. Nodding, she explained, “She’s doing a little scouting for me. It is one of the reasons I asked her to assume the role of Meiko for the evening.”

Naruto gave her an amused smirk as he said, “Oh, so it wasn’t just so she would jam her tongue down your throat in front of everyone.”

She flushed in response, likely as she imagined that she’d be the recipient of quite a few rumors going forward. Still, as it would allow her, and her fellow Kumo kunoichi access to Naruto as they began to act as new personalities for the snow-nin that Naruto’s Kakami persona was attached to. It was a burden that she was more than willing to bear, particularly as she doubted the rumors would ever come close to guessing just how crazy her sex life actually was. A part of her wondered if she was perhaps being a bit selfish in her actions, since it would allow her to in effect be herself with Naruto. But, figured it would possibly be so, if it wasn’t the case that Naruto would be acting the part of someone else. Still, she didn’t mind even if her reputation did take the hit, as even though he was wearing a different face, as he looked at her with his clear blue eyes, she had no problem seeing the man that she loved.

Naruto arched an eyebrow at her lingering silence, causing her to realize that she had gotten lost in the seas of blue that he called eyes prompting her to respond, “No…that was a bonus. Especially, due to it crushing the idea Darui has that I’m eventually coming back to him.”

Naruto chuckled at her reply, “So, if that is just a bonus. What was your actual objective?”

“Besides making it official that Kakami Takayama has transferred to the Kumo Branch of the Great Tree Shipping company and has begun fucking his boss along with his girlfriend of multiple personalities,” Mabui replied with a glitter of amusement twinkling in her eye.

“Besides that,” Naruto replied giving her hand a squeeze.

Most of the amusement faded, as she knew Naruto might not be pleased since he didn’t want any insights into who he’d face during the Chunin Exams. But, believing him to be a bit selfish, since he knew the Raikage was targeting him and so should be gathering all the intel possible, not just trusting that he would adapt and overcome said, “That model is probably going to be one of the people coming after you during the Chunin Exams, and I have Tayuya scouting her and a few of the others out since tonight almost all of Kumo is here.”

As she expected, a lot of the light-heartedness faded from his eyes for a moment. But she was glad he didn’t let go of her hand and showed her that he could continue to surprise her as he said, “Well, I imagine that made Tayuya rather happy. I think she was going a little stir crazy having to deal with all those studio types as Koyuki’s manager.”

“You’re not upset?” Mabui asked unable to contain her surprise, “Back when we last discussed it, you made it sound like you didn’t want any information on the Chunin Exams.”

Naruto shook his head and gave her a reassuring smile as he stated, “I can’t really be upset when one of my lovers is acting in my own best interest. Besides, I only do not want any direct knowledge of the tests we would face, especially since Temari and Karui came up with them. But I was planning to gather intel on the participants as soon as they began arriving in Suna for the exams. So, if you want to use your position as the Raikage’s assistant to spoon fed me some of that info early, why should I refuse?”

Mabui was glad to see he was being reasonable, and that he hadn’t intended to go into the tests blind. But she felt a sudden concern arise from his words in the form of what would her place be in his life should she no longer hold the position that she currently did. However, pushing past it, she said, “Well, her name is Ann Takamaki and…”

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“Kakami Takayama, please allow me to introduce you to one of Kumo’s up and coming prosecutors Sae Niijima,” Mabui said introducing her lover to the woman who was dressed in a black business suit that she normally favored to wear in court, despite the festive atmosphere generated as the other box owners mingled.

The woman smiled as she accepted the hand he offered, although it didn’t quite reach her brown eyes, which reflected a slight uncomfortableness, and what Mabui felt was perhaps envy. The first emotion was one she could easily understand, particularly if she had witnessed her kiss with Tayuya, as she imagined the ashen-brown haired woman had to deal with a lot of politics in her department, and so didn’t want to come off as too close to someone who was potentially flirting with becoming the subject of numerous rumors and scandals. The envy she believed she saw did catch Mabui slightly off guard, although she had to admit that it could be a figment of her imagination since she imagined many of the women in the room wish it was them standing next to her handsome date. Particularly as Sae always came off as focused and driven when they had interacted in the past, which almost never had been in social situations.

Sae after releasing Naruto’s hand turned towards the younger woman standing just off to her right, as she said, “Let me take the opportunity to introduce you both to my sister. Makoto.”

“A pleasure,” the teen dressed in a modest black and white dress said as she shook the offered hands politely.

Naruto focused on younger woman who wore her brown hair in a bob cut with blunted bangs and asked, “Are you enjoying the matches?”

“Yes,” Makoto said her tone sounding a little flat, especially considering the excitement her eyes reflected, “I was quite pleased Sae asked me to accompany her.”

“Well, considering all the hours I put in at the office,” Sae stated with an easy to pick up bitterness, “It wasn’t like I would be able to arrange a date. Honestly, I find this whole endeavor to be a waste of time.”

“Oh,” Naruto said finding the woman’s reply somewhat surprising, “Why bother attending then?”

He had also noted that her sister had appeared hurt by her statement. He began to see why as Sae stated, “Let’s just say that when your department head hands you a couple of tickets it comes with certain obligations.”

Naruto nodded in understanding as he said, “Of course. I suppose not everybody is as fortunate as me, who actually looks forward to spending time afterhours with the boss.”

He considered adding that Sae should be grateful for the opportunity to spend some time with her sister though. But he decided against it as he imagined that considering the woman’s mood, she would reply with a thoughtless statement that would inadvertently end up hurting her sister. A decision he was glad for as she replied rather chilly, “Yes, how very fortunate for you. Unfortunately, some of us are saddled with burdens not of our choosing. If you’ll excuse us. Come along Makoto.”

The woman turned on her heel as she walked away, while her sister, who had winced at the word burden, gave a polite bow before following in her wake. Naruto turned towards his lover as he stated, “I think I got frostbite from the coldshoulder she was giving off.”

Mabui smiled softly before replying, “Shall we go somewhere private so I can warm you back up.”

Naruto felt a flush of warmth spread through him as he pictured how she would go about it. Wrapping an arm around her hip, he stated, “Now that’s an idea I can get behind.” The two of them began to move back to their viewing box. As they walked, Naruto’s gaze settled on Sae again, who was talking to an older man in a suit, who he suspected was her boss while her sister stood a few steps behind her, and he asked softly, “So, the younger sister is going to be participating in the Chunin Exams.”

Mabui nodded, before explaining, “Yes, although her sister has no idea. It appears these persona users are being kept under wraps. While Shujin Academy does have a Shinobi Program. Its students tend to end up in bureaucratic fields. So their graduates tend to be in their mid to late teens, who then perform a few low ranked missions, and after passing the first round of exams will drop out, where they are quickly promoted to chunin because of who their parents were and into their nice cushy positions. So technically Makoto would still be considered a student. I suppose it was why Shujin was chosen as the site for the experiment, since people don’t generally expect much from the graduates it produces.” As her lover looked to be lost in thought, Mabui worried that considering her current job as the Raikage’s assistant, that he may believe that she had been a product of such a system, so added, “I didn’t come by my position like that though.”

“Which might be why you have a bit of a chip on your shoulder about it,” Naruto replied. She found herself wanting to grow angry at him, but as he broke into wide smile quickly found the impulse faded. The arm around her hip pulled her tighter against him as he said, “I already knew that about you by the way. You have a picture of your old team in your apartment. I’m assuming it was taken shortly after you graduated, and you were probably around the same age as me when I did.” Mabui nodded so he continued, “Besides, one only needs to look at how successful you’ve made the Kumo Branch of the Great Tree Shipping Company to know that regardless of how you came about it. You’re well suited to the job that you’ve chosen. Which truthfully is all that matters in the end.”

Mabui rested her head on his shoulder as she replied, “I suppose that was rather bratty of me. But, are you saying that you feel that it really doesn’t if a person earns their spot, or is just given it?”

Naruto gave the matter some thought as they made their way back towards the viewing box. He was about to answer when a voice announced over the speakers, “Good evening ladies and gentlemen, the matches should resume in the next few moments.”

As the VIP guests began heading towards their viewing boxes, Naruto answered her, “I suppose that depends on who does it matter too? Take yourself for example, it is easy to see you take pride in your working your way up the ranks to your current position. And as you are exceptionally talented at your job. Why wouldn’t you be? There is certainly an argument to be made that what makes you so accomplished is because you did work your up the ladder. However, what if someone else had been given it because of who they were related to, but proved to be just as competent? Should they take less pride in their work because of how they came to it? After all, there is the old belief that people tend to be promoted to the job they are least capable of performing. Do they still deserve it more than someone who was just given theirs, just because they worked their way up, if they are in fact worse at it?”

Mabui thought about it for a moment, before replying, “I guess not. But, I’m not sure about what you mean in regards to it depending on who it matters to.”

As they began making their way back to her private box, Naruto explained, “Well, when you think about it. I believe people look down on those who are just given their positions because of who they know, because you usually hear about such things in systems where corruption is pretty common place. Fukka has quite a few stories about how some of the unions the Uzumaki Nautical Company is competing with, have bosses who give their friends and family high ranking positions without having worked their way up. She told me about this one where a guy’s son had just completed high school, and was promoted to some sort of executive position worth a hundred thousand ryo a year, which is about double what some of the dock workers make. Naturally, many of those workers were quite upset at this when a local newspaper broke the story.”

Mabui pressed her lips together to keep from frowning, although she said, “To be honest, I would probably have to say I agree. Are you saying it shouldn’t matter?”

Naruto shrugged, as he replied, “That again depends. After all, if I change the story to it being about someone who started a family business that took off, and they created a new executive position for a child that just graduated, while I can imagine many of the workers at the company would be just as displeased. I’m not entirely sure as many people outside of it would be as quick to say they agree the company’s founder wasn’t within their rights to do so.”

Mabui began to see where her lover was coming from so stated, “Because, in the second scenario the person started the business for the sake of his family, so it is only naturally they’d get a child involved. While a union is founded on the principle that they are a collective working together to ensure certain standards and bargaining power, so it would be a case of the boss abusing the system for his family’s benefit at the expense of everyone else. Still, while I can see how a similar action would be viewed as more acceptable depending on the circumstances, that doesn’t really answer the question of whether you believe it is better to be just given something or earning it. Or, what you mean about who it matters to?”

Naruto gave her an amused smile as he said, “That’s because, in the end, it shouldn’t matter what the outside view is, so much as what the person does with the position. In the case of the union boss, while I’ll admit that giving a high paying position to a child with no experience is most likely them abusing the system. If that child takes to it like a fish to water, well I imagine any criticism would quickly fall silent as the boss would just claim they knew how well their child would perform. While in the case of the Family business, it wouldn’t be an abuse of any system to promote a child to whatever position they wanted, but the child might feel entitled to the that job they received as their family started the business, and put forth no effort. So, I suppose in the end, it comes down to the person who received the opportunity, and what they do with it, as opposed to how they found themselves with it. Still, I suppose that deep down I feel a person that worked for an opportunity is always going to be more inclined to prove that they deserved it in the end, then someone who is just given one.”

Mabui giggled softly as she said, “You could have just said that.”

Naruto smiled at her softly, even as she noticed a weariness appear behind his eyes as he replied, “True, but if there is one thing I’ve learned over the years. Things are rarely as black and white as they appear at first glance.”

Mabui frowned as she felt some concern arise from his response, as she didn’t feel someone so young should sound so world weary already. Although, she could certainly understand why he did as she believed Naruto hadn’t even come close to imagining just how difficult it would be to unite the shinobi villages when he had first begun. Especially, considering how recently it seemed he was heading in the opposite direction due to what they suspected the Raikage would attempt during the Chunin Exams, not to mention his current differences with Gaara over the proper way to go about building the world of peace they both wanted to bring about.

Yet, before she could suggest a way to help him forget about his troubles for a time, a voice called out to her, “Ah, Ms. Mabui, do you have a moment?”

Mabui fought back a sigh, but turning to face the voice she said pleasantly, “For you Mr. Okumura, I might even have two.”

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

Naruto turned to face the group of people that was approaching them, and smiled politely as Mabui said, “Kunikazu Okumura please allow me to introduce you to Kakami Takayama. He is the one responsible for the current influx of beef your company has been receiving.”

Naruto extended his hand, while he fought from frowning since it didn’t sit right with him to take credit for other people’s hard work. In this case, it had been the work of several of his lovers, who helped make it appear that the personality of Kakami Takayama was actually working at the Great Tree Shipping company in the role of hooking up suppliers with those in need of their products or services. In this particular case, it had been Kin who had actually adopted the Kakami Takayama disguise to locate and negotiate with the cattle ranch in the Land of Fire on behalf of Okumura Foods to supply them with beef for a new restaurant that they were calling Big Bang Burger. Still, despite his misgivings, he continued to smile since the ruse was allowing him to spend time with Mabui as opposed to being thrown in a Kumo prison as he imagined would be the case if he had shown up as himself.

Although the bespectacled man who was dressed in an expensive looking business suit shook his hand, it was clear that it was merely out of it being the expected thing for him to do, as it was apparent the man saw him as being Mabui’s underling. However, following decorum, he did introduce the two people with him as he said in a polite but somewhat rushed manner making it clear he wanted to discuss his business, “A pleasure. Allow me to introduce my daughter Haru, and her fiancé Sugimura. Now…Ms. Mabui about the recent tensions between…”

Naruto inclined his head towards the two, and as it was clear that the CEO of Okumura Foods had lost interest in him. He allowed his focus the remain on the two. Naruto found himself almost instantly developing a strong dislike for Okumura’s future son-in-law, but he wasn’t sure why since outside of the slight nod the brown-haired man had sent his way in reply to his own, he hadn’t said anything as he allowed Kunikazu to express his concerns that the recent tensions between Konoha and Kumo would derail his latest business venture. Studying the young man who appeared to be around the same age as him, and was currently dressed in a white business suit with a violet undershirt and tie, Naruto began to suspect his dislike was tied to the auburn-haired woman whom he currently had a possessive arm around.

Naruto focused his attention on her as he took in her chin length curly hair, and brown eyes which currently shown with the light of discomfort. She was dressed in a causal light green summer dress, with white stockings, and shoes, and although most of her skin was covered, it was clear she was still rather uncomfortable leaving him to believe she had a rather reserved personality, leaving him to believe that if they had met under normal circumstances, she would be wearing another layer similar to how Hinata used to in order to hide her figure. Still, while it was clear she was rather far outside her comfort zone, he attributed most of her current discomfort was due to the man currently holding her close. Hoping to help her somewhat, he extended his right hand towards her fiancé as he asked, “It is a pleasure to meet you both. So, Mr. Sugimura, may I ask what is it that you do?”

The brown-haired man nearly frowned as he had to let go of his fiancé to return the gesture, which allowed Haru to step away enough that Sugimura didn’t bother trying to reestablish his hold around her once he let go of his hand. Naruto noticed that Haru seemed almost immediately relieved by this, as the man answered, “I act as an intermediary for my family in Lightning’s Royal Court and Kumogakure. I generally make sure they are kept abreast of matters that may concern them.”

Naruto nodded politely, and quickly came to the conclusion that Haru’s impending marriage to the man had been arranged by her father, so he could avail himself of the connections such a union would afford him. He also surmised that Haru wasn’t all that comfortable with it, or the man himself, but likely lacked the confidence to assert her own feelings on the matter. Shifting his focus to her, he asked, “How about you Miss Haru? Am I speaking with a future CEO who’ll be moving Okumura Foods into the future? Should I begin buttering you up now?”

To his surprise, Haru seemed a little dismayed by his joke, leading him to believe that he may have hurt her perception of him. He surmised this was likely because she found herself often in such situations where people tended to treat her well only because of who she was related too. Yet, before she could respond, her fiancé did for her as he said, “Please spare me, once she graduates all she’ll need to do is make sure she pleases me. I’ll be the future head of Okumura Foods.”

Haru looked almost pained at the thought of what her future would be, so Naruto said, “Ah! I meant no disrespect. It is just that I thought with your duties of being your family’s gofer, you’d consider running a company to be a step down.”

Haru;s fiancé bristled, at Naruto’s description of his duties, even as a small hint of amusement flashed behind Haru’s brown eyes. “Watch your tongue, boy! Lest you see your company’s future dealings with us dry up once I take charge.”

“Of course,” Naruto said quickly, “Again, I meant no disrespect. It’s just, where I come from, we call those running around doing all the real work for their superior’s, gofers. Although, perhaps I should begin calling myself an intermediary as well. It does have a better ring to it.”

Naruto smiled internally, as it was clear Haru was rather amused as her fiancé looked on the verge of losing his temper, since despite his claiming how he was doing the actual work for his family, it was clear the man had locked onto the idea that he was being viewed as subservient to others. Luckily, it appeared that Mabui had finished reassuring Haru’s father that his supply of beef would continue unabated as he stepped away from her to rejoin his party as he said, “I hope you are correct Ms. Mabui. I’ve leveraged myself quite a bit by opening locations throughout the Land of Lightning, based on your assurances that you’d be able to deliver. I assure you that if you fail, we’ll be settling the matter in court.”

“I understand and if you wish, we can discuss the matter further at a later time,” Mabui replied calmly as she retook her spot by Naruto’s side. “Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Naruto noticed that Haru appeared a little envious as Mabui melted into his side as he wrapped an arm around her hip, as her father said, “Let’s go,” to his party as he rounded on his heel and obviously expecting them to fall in line began walking off. Particularly, as Haru appeared unable to follow Mabui’s example when her fiancé grabbed her in a similar manner, as his hold on her looked more akin to his trying to prevent her from running off, then just holding her close. Especially as Haru tried to offer a polite farewell, but was interrupted as her fiancé turned them away as if he had already forgotten about their existence.

Mabui let out an annoyed sigh, earning her an understanding smile from Naruto who said, “He seems to be quite lovely to deal with.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that since I think I’ll have you meet with him going forward,” she replied causing Naruto to scowl slightly in distaste.

“I think I would prefer to meet with the daughter, all things considered,” Naruto stated, in a mildly lecherous way.

Which earned an amused smile from Mabui as she responded, “I bet you would.” The smile faded to be replaced with some concern as she said, “You may be getting your wish. I didn’t get to pull her file, but her name did appear among those who participated in the project.”

“Really,” Naruto said sounding rather surprised, and although too professional to do so, found himself wanting to take a second look at the young woman.

Mabui nodded and letting some of her amusement return stated, “Yep, and considering how shy and demure she appears. You may find that whatever aspect of her personality gave rise to her persona would try to peg you if you wanted to seduce her.”

Naruto shivered a little recalling when Anko had tried to do likewise to him, which prompted Mabui to giggle as he said, “I’ll be sure to stay on my toes around her.”

Mabui reached up and cupped his face as she said, “You do that.”

Before pulling him into a passionate kiss. They lost track of time for a moment, but found themselves sudden remembering their surroundings at the sound of someone clearing their throat trying to get their attention.

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

“Lord Raikage,” Mabui said nervously as she stepped away from her lover, feeling like a child having been caught fooling around by a parent. Quickly regaining her composure, she indicated Naruto as she began to say, “Please allow me to introduce you to…”

“Kakami Takayama,” the powerfully built man interrupted as he extended his hand which Naruto shook.

“Nice to meet you, Lord Raikage,” Naruto replied smoothly, while suppressing his growing distaste of the man, “I’m surprised that you’ve heard of me. Mabui’s always left me with the impression that she was a little uncomfortable with the uniqueness of our relationship, so I cannot imagine that I’d be a topic that she brought up around the office.”

“Oh, I think you’d be surprised at how often you have been a topic of conversation as of late,” the Raikage said although sounding pleasant, it wasn’t hard to imagine a more sinister undertone was implied.

Although, Mabui frowned since much as Naruto suggested, she had never brought up her dating anyone up at work. However, her lover played it cool as he said while sounding ignorant of the sinister implications, “Well, I for one am glad to hear it. I think one of the reasons Meiko was so over the top in greeting her today was because she is somewhat annoyed at feeling like Mabui is embarrassed to be with us.”

“Where is she by chance?” the Raikage asked. “I would think a woman who is so damaged, would be one you are rather hesitant to let out of your sight. To be honest, I’m rather surprised to learn she was cleared to take up residence in Kumo.”

Naruto looked properly offended on his fake identity snow-nin lover’s behalf, but replied, “That’s strange. Mabui said you approved of it personally.”

The Raikage fought back a frown, as he looked directly towards Mabui out of habit, who simply nodded, and aware that he sometimes blew through signing the papers that reached his desk as he trusted the work was done by those who should look into such things before, they reached him said, “Yes, well as I said, I was rather surprised she would have received such permission. A damaged snow-nin that forms personalities on a regular basis it seems generally would be something of a red flag in my book.”

Naruto looked crossed between understanding and annoyed, as he said, “Well, considering who you are, I can certainly understand why you would almost have to think that. But, as my duties with the Great Tree Shipping company has had me taking up residence in both Suna and Konoha over the last few years, and Meiko hasn’t caused any issues with the shinobi there. I can only hope the people of Kumo prove to be as similarly open minded.”

It was the Raikage who grew annoyed as Naruto finished and smiled at him in a manner that was a little too bemused for his liking, as it indicated that he knew he had won their little verbal sparring match since by pushing it further the Raikage would be calling his people’s character into question. “Yes, well I’m sure you’ll find the people of Kumo are always willing to extend a hand of friendship to those working to make it a better place.”

“That’s been my experience thus far,” Naruto replied.

“Good,” the Raikage said, before asking, “Would you mind if I borrow Mabui for a moment?”

“A little,” Naruto responded, “But, only because it would result in my being deprived of her presence.” Turning towards her, he said, “I’ll return to our seats.”

Mabui nodded, before turning to face the Raikage who watched her lover leave in a contemplative manner before saying, “So, he’s the GTC’s number one exporter. He certainly gets around.”

She had a bit of a hard time not laughing, as she imagined those words could be applied to him in an entirely different fashion. She was glad she maintained her composure as the Raikage focused on her to ask, “Mabui, just what is it that you are playing at here?”

“Lord Raikage,” she responded a little taken aback, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Let’s start with your apparent relationship with that man, and his defective…”

“She isn’t defective,” Mabui snapped causing the Raikage to look surprised, due to the anger in her tone. “If you had read the report, you’d already know that the various personalities are all aware of each other, and take turns being in control. As such, they act in a manner concerned with the wellbeing of them all, so they wouldn’t let a personality that meant the village harm in control. Especially as they all love the same man.”

“A man you seem quite taken with as well,” the Raikage said.

Mabui allowed the smile that thinking of Naruto brought out to show as she replied, “Indeed I am. Although, Meiko has her strong points as well”

The Raikage looked a little intrigued by her reply, but then sighed, before finally saying, “Look, you have to see the writings on the wall that this Alliance between us and Konoha is drawing to a close. I’ve tolerated your side job as you were obviously able to balance both responsibilities. It is what makes you such an invaluable asset to my office.” Mabui smiled kindly at her leader’s words, although truthfully, she wanted to frown at his describing her as an asset, despite being aware of his meaning it as a compliment as it reminded her that he had viewed Yugito in a similar manner. A comparison that became all the more appropriate as he continued, “But, it is time for you to end your involvement with the GTC. I cannot have someone in my office working for a company that apparently has some special connection to Konoha and the Hokage if their involvement in Ame’s defense is anything to go by.”

Mabui frowned as she said, “Sir, with all due respect. That you are even giving me the choice shows you know we had no knowledge of what the main office was doing. All we were told is that the body guards in charge of the Gold Shipments were booked already. Obviously in hindsight it was so they could take part in this operation. But the only instructions that I’ve received from the President is to grow the Kumo branch. A task I’ve done quite well at, and to be honest I’m not sure I’m willing to just walk away from it.”

The Raikage grew annoyed as he said, “That would be a foolish choice. How long do you think your little side venture is going to last once we kick Konoha to the curb? I’m giving you the chance to cut your losses, and honestly, I expect you to have arrived at the correct answer when you return to the office. Otherwise, you can begin training your replacement, and take your chances people are still going to need the services of a company dedicated to trade between countries when a majority of its contacts are in countries you’ll no longer be allowed to deal with.” Mabui imagined she must have looked a little despondent, as the Raikage softened his tone some as he said, “Look, I know you worked hard on this project, and so know it isn’t easy to just cut and run. But, the time for choosing sides is upon us as the Alliance served its purpose, and worse still, ended up costing us a great deal. Some would argue it also strengthened us, but they’ll be shown how wrong they were when the next round of conflicts break out. The Peace promised was the same lie such alliances always turn out to be. Don’t make the mistake of believing in it. It is time to come home.”

“I… I need some time to think,” Mabui replied honestly as she began to wonder where she would best fit into her lover’s ambitions.

“I’ll expect your answer soon,” the Raikage replied, although she imagined he was unsure why she would need any time to provide an answer.

Mabui nodded, as she wondered what the correct answer was not so much for herself, but the ambition that had first had her lover set his eyes on her.
********************************************************

Mabui felt numb as she stepped into the private viewing box she had purchased for the year as the head of the Kumo Branch of the Great Tree Shipping Company. An expense she had intended to use in order to court new clients, or to pamper current ones who mentioned the desire to witness the various concerts or other events held within the arena. She also imagined the box would be put to good use relatively soon by her fellow Family members, as the final round of the Chunin Exams was scheduled to take place in the arena. Mabui took a moment to take in the room which had been bought thanks in part to her efforts, which had seen the Kumo Branch of the Great Tree Shipping Company go from an unknown entity to one of the top five shipping companies with in the village. A company she had essentially started, by running a stall in the hall where Kumo accepted the various mission requests, and took on the shipping requests that either the village wouldn’t because the clients couldn’t afford what it would charge, or didn’t want mainly as they were crossing into what had once been enemy territory. Mabui knew the Kumo Branch’s success wasn’t hers alone, but as she had put in most of the leg work to get it started up and running, she took no small amount of pride in it.

Still standing near the entrance, Mabui took in the room’s common area where people could stand and chat as they procured drinks or adorbs from the full service bar or a nearby table. To make sure nobody missed any of the action, a television was mounted in the corner which was currently showing that the ring had been replaced, and the Bikini wearing Ring Girl and upcoming model Ann Takamaki was currently walking around it with a sign stating the main event was about to begin. Mabui made her way deeper into the room, to a set of steps which lead to the two rows of comfortable plush seats that sat behind the soundproof one way glass, which separated the box from the spectators on the other side.

Proceeding down the steps to the first row where they had been sitting previously, Mabui began to feel as if she truly understood what Yugito had felt when the Raikage had stepped on her dreams of joining Konan’s reformed Akatsuki. Which, while she had supported and even aided in the blonde kunoichi’s defection from Kumo. She would admit that a part of her felt that Yugito should have just accepted the Raikage’s decision, and moved on. That selfish part of her had grown much louder in the time since as a result of their uncovering just how the Raikage intended to respond to her defection. However, despite his telling her to end her association with the Great Tree Shipping Company being but another result of that inciting incident and thus should have made her dissatisfaction stronger. Mabui found his ultimatum was causing her to better understand what had driven Yugito to abandon Kumo. Namely, being denied a path forward, tended to make one want to travel it all the more.

Still, despite a part of her wanting to tell the Raikage where he could stick his ultimatum, not to mention that it had been one she had been expecting and getting ready for a few months. Now that it was upon her, she found herself feeling as if she was being pulled in half as she wondered what path would suit Naruto’s ambition the best. Especially, if Kumo abandoned the alliance immediately upon the completion of the Chunin Exams, which she imagined wouldn’t make it to the final round should Raikage’s expected plans to abduct Naruto succeed. In that scenario, where the Raikage attempted to abduct Naruto became common knowledge, regardless of its success, she imagined Kumo would be forced from the Alliance, meaning the Kumo Branch which was currently leveraged heavily in the trade between countries, would almost overnight see most of its current contracts nullified as she imagined sanctions would be placed on trade between the Land of Lightning and the other elemental countries. Not to mention, she doubted that Kunikazu Okumura would hesitate in following through on his threat to sue the branch she ran into oblivion. Meaning, that with the future of Kumo Branch looking particularly grim, the smart choice would be for her to cut her ties with the Great Tree Shipping Company, and resume her role as the Raikage’s assistant.

But, despite it being the smart choice, similar to how it would have been so for Yugito to remain in Kumo. Mabui, found it wasn’t really the choice that she wanted, since the actions she had undertaken over the last few months had been in preparation for her to step fully into the role as the Kumo Branch Manager. She paused on the final step and could just make out the top of Naruto’s head over the short wall which separated the top row from the bottom. She could tell his attention was glued to a television monitor mounted in the corner, which allowed a close up view during the matches, but was currently She didn’t need to consult him, as she already knew what he would say. Which, would free her to take the choice that she wanted, regardless of how much harder it would make his life going forward. Still the temptation was there, so she decided to fill it with another as she reached up to undo the straps holding her dress up. But, even as if fell to the ground, the arena went dark as an announcer’s voice came out of the speakers, as he shouted, “Ladies and Gentlemen. Boys, and girls. Are you ready to feel the Thunder!!!”

The crowd roared in approval, as some music began to play although it could only be heard due to the televisions in the room. A television which Naruto’s attention had been focused on until Mabui whispered, “I’m certainly ready.”

Naruto turned his attention towards her, but she immediately made her move pulling him into a passionate kiss, trying to keep him off balance as she was concerned that he’d pickup on her unbalanced emotional state otherwise, and insist on talking about her feeling when she just wanted to feel for the time being. As their tongues danced, she moved to stand bent over in front of him, and began rubbing his cock through his pants. Naruto groaned into her mouth, and when she felt his rod had reached peak hardness, she ended the kiss by dropping to her knees in order to free his kunoichi tamer. Pulling his fly down, she fished it out, and holding it straight up by the base, felt her mouth begin to water due to the delicious pillar of man meat. Leaning in, she began to lick the his shaft like it was a popsicle, which prompted Naruto to groan as the music died down and announcer resumed his introduction.

“Now approaching the ring for tonight’s handicap match, the Red Cyclone Zangief, and accompanying him is his student in the arts of the squared circle, Rainbow Mika.” Mabui fought back a smile, as she looked up from Naruto’s lap and could see he was torn between the show playing on the screen, which was showing highlights of the two, who were playing the heels in the match, interfering with the wrestler they would be facing during several previous appearances, and the one currently taking place right in front of him. She pulled her lips away from his cock for a moment to state, “It’s okay, enjoy the show, while I help myself to a snack.”

Stroking his cock, she was about to do her best to swallow it, when her own focus was pulled to the television as it focused on the masked woman, whose blonde hair was being worn in a pair of pig-tails, and was wearing a blue leotard with a white bustier that had blue printed on her bosoms, who was accompanying the large muscled bound man climbing into the ring. The screen then switched to some of her actions over the current storyline where she would often aid her teacher as he interfered in his soon to be opponent’s matches. With the last scene having of the montage having happened only a few night before, where Zangief had run down to the ring to prevent his rival from getting the pinfall. The man became aware of the threat, and rolled away just as Zangief was going to drop a boot on him. The two had then grappled for a time, with neither gaining a clear edge, while Mika jumped the railing from the crowd. She picked up a chair, which she slid under the rope towards her master. The appearance of the weapon, and the new threat caused Zangief’s rival to lose focus for a moment, which allowed the powerfully built man to lift his opponent up into a piledrive. He turned in a circle showing the feat of strength off to the crowd, before dropping his rival on the steel object causing the man to arch up in a dramatic fashion as he seemed to reach out to the crowd for help. However, he was smashed back down almost immediately as Raibow Mika launched herself from the top rope ass first, and landed on his chest. She then rolled off, and pointing her backside towards the camera gave her butt a spank, before joining in with her master as they celebrated over the downed rival after cutting a quick promo for Thundermania.

Mabui turned away to swallow Naruto’s rod, and moaned as she ran her tongue around his head to taste some of his pre-release. She dedicated herself to the task, as Naruto placed a hand on the back of her head, and the lack of pressure letting her know she was doing just fine. She listened with half an ear, as the announcer said, “And facing this terrible duo tonight is, Arekkusu.”

The crowd surged to its feet as it cried out in appreciation of the hero of the current storyline as he appeared from the backroom area. Although, not much of a wrestling fan anymore, Mabui had little trouble picturing the man who had appeared despite her preoccupation since his image had been plastered all over the place. Much like many of the performers in the Thunder Wrestling League, the blond man was heavily muscled and cut a dashing figure as he tended to wrestle in just cargo pants that were usually held up with suspenders. On the few times that he did end up wearing a shirt to the ring, he would often rip it off his body, and toss it into the crowd.

Able to tell the crowd was settling down as the match was about to begin, Mabui intended to ramp things up so she stood, and turning away, placed her hands against the glass separating her from it. Naruto stood, but as he approached, they both found their focus pulled towards the arena as several fireworks suddenly went off near where the wrestlers appeared from. A woman ran through the smoke, as one of the ring side announcers shouted excited, “Laura Matsuda!? What the hell is she doing here?”

Mabui spent a moment studying the new arrival, as she had heard of the Matsuda Family due to it being the originators of a famous fighting style, with the woman running to the ring being the granddaughter of the current head of the dojo. The brown skinned woman whose long black hair had one side flowing freely, while the other was braided in corn rolls, was dressed in a bright green and yellow fighter’s gi, which was tied in a knot between her breasts so that left her midsection exposed, while her legs were covered by matching green martial artist pants.

Reaching the ring, she easily leapt over the top rope and caught a microphone that was tossed to her. Facing the three gathered fighter for a few moments she let the tension build before she turned towards the crowd to shout, “Hello Kumogakure!” The crowd responded to the callout, so she turned her focus towards the tall blond man who would be facing Zangief and Mika as she began to explain, “Arekkusu, I don’t intend to steal your thunder tonight. But, I have a score or two to settle with Rainbow Bitch, so what do you say we team up tonight?”

The crowd roared in approval of the offer, which was apparently accepted via a quick nod from the blond man. However, Mabui quickly lost interest as her own blond partner, slammed into her causing her to cry out as her womb was crushed by his powerful thrust. The force of which caused her to stand up straight, as Naruto pushed her up against the glass while he pumped his cock within her. Despite knowing the glass was one way, Mabui felt a thrill at being naked and getting fucked in a room filled with tens of thousands of her fellow citizens of Kumo. Particularly, as the act could also be considered to be one of treason considering who it was currently pounding her insides.

Her gaze shifted towards the reflection of her lover in the glass, and despite his face not being his own, she had little trouble seeing him as his clear blue eyes were the same. Eyes which were clearly focused on her now that he was in the midst of pleasing her, which she believed is what contributed to his ability to maintain such a large harem of women dedicated to him. Although, enjoying the their current position due to the naughty thrill it was filling her with, not to mention the way the cool glass her body was being pressed against contrasted with the heat building inside her, she wanted to feel him even deeper so pushed off the glass so they both tumbled back into his seat. Mabui moaned loudly as his rod seemed to crush her womb, and so quickly rose up to repeat the feeling.

Naruto groaned as he sat back to enjoy the sight of his kunoichi tamer appearing from Mabui’s sheath as she raised her ass up until it almost popped free, to slam it down again. She moaned loudly each time but not content to just sit back and enjoy, he reached forward and pulled her legs up into the air. Mabui cried out as slammed down onto him, and instinctively pushed down on the armrests to lift herself up, at which point Naruto began slamming his hips up into her.

“Yes! Fuck me just like that!” Mabui cried out, almost wishing people could see into the room to enjoy their private show. Particularly, as she saw her reflection in the glass, and had a hard time recognizing herself due to how drunk with pleasure she looked. Setting her down, on his stomach so he could continue to pound her snatch, Mabui began to play with her tits as her gaze focused past her reflection on the spot where the Raikage was watching the match. Unlike their viewing box, it was open for all to see the man within, obviously to foster his image as a leader of the people. Mabui, felt almost like pitying him, as in trying to assert his dominance of her, he had instead drove her into the arms of someone truly deserving of her loyalty.

Mabui’s gaze began to lose focus, as she felt the tension building within her was nearing the point where something would have to give. She closed her eyes, as she tried to postpone it for as long as possible, knowing it would make the moment when she gave in all the sweeter. But, due to Naruto’s cock continuous pounding of her core, her resolve quickly crumbled, at which point she exploded as a wave of pleasure surged from deep within her. She cried out incoherently, as the crowd on the other side of the glass surged to their feet as if to give her a standing ovation.

Feeling drained, she turned her head towards the man to whose vision of the future she was currently pledge to fulfilling and stuck out her tongue, and quickly had it swallowed as Naruto accepted the invitation to pull her into a kiss. The two of them got lost in exploring each other’s mouths for a while, until the crowd again roared in approval as the television announced that someone was going for the pinfall.

Naruto held her close, as they both focused on the screen due to their feeling too tired to try to stand to see over the crowd. She smiled softly, as Naruto began to count along with the ref, as Laura after having been on receiving end of several of Mika’s attacks, had capitalized on an opening that had appeared due to the blond woman’s showboating for the crowd to pull her into a small package, and pin her shoulders, while her partner Arekkusu finished off Zangief with several chair shots to the head outside of the ring to knock him out.

Noticing what was happening inside the ring, Arekkusu quickly slid under the bottom rope just as the ref counted three. Mabui smiled as although still too tired to stand and shout as most of the crowd was doing, he gave a little arm pump to show how pleased he was with the matches result, despite having been preoccupied during most of it. Which lasted until Arekkusu lifted Laura’s arm up in apparent celebration, before he turned and clotheslined her, slamming her down into the mat.

Holding a microphone that seemed to have materialized out of thin air, he shouted down at the seemingly unconscious woman, “I didn’t need your help to beat these chumps, and absolutely nobody gets away with stealing my spotlight on the biggest night of the year.”

He slammed the microphone down near her head, and held both of his arms over his head as he made his way backstage to a chorus of boos and jeers as the crowd turned on him much as he had his partner. Naruto’s being among them as he shouted, “That’s bullshit! All she was trying to do was even thing up. What a fucking bastard, I can’t believe I was rooting for him.”

Mabui simply laughed, as her lover vented his frustration at experiencing his first face/heel turn which would likely have him and many of those in the arena turning in during the next show to see how the story progressed from there, along with seeing how the bonds and loyalties would shift as a result. Not too much unlike the situation she currently found herself in as the time for her to pick a side would be fast approaching.

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Despite the post glow her body was feeling after having left the arena to continue their lovemaking, the worries of what the future would hold were beginning to seep into Mabui spirit again. Raising her head off of Naruto’s shoulder, she spent a moment wondering what he was thinking as he was staring off into the darkness of her room. A part of her was hesitant to speak up, as she knew with the upcoming Chunin Exams, where it was expected the Raikage would be directing several teams to target him directly, not to mention what concerns he was feeling in regards to Kabuto’s recent scheme in resurrecting Yuugao’s lover, there was plenty already burdening her lover, and she feared contributing even more to the load that was already being carried on his shoulders. However, while a part of her suspected she already knew the answer, she found a larger one needed to hear his answer so asked, “How would you feel if I stopped working as the Raikage’s assistant?”

Naruto’s face scrunched up in confusion as he was pulled from his thoughts and asked, “That’s a little out of the blue, isn’t it? Is it related to what the Raikage wanted to talk to you about?”

Mabui inclined her head, and began to explain what prompted her question, “It’s just… I’ve seen the bingo book that you originally gave to Tayuya. It looked like you didn’t even know my real name when you first set your sights on seducing me. So… I was just wondering…”

Naruto sat up and cupped her face as he said, “Was that what tonight was about? Proving to me that if you lost your current position, you’d still be valuable to our ambition?”

“I don’t know,” she stated, not sure if it had as the concern seemed to have truly solidified for her after the Raikage had approached her, but she felt it could have just been beneath the surface, and the more pressing concerns of preparing for the possibility had taken precedence and so she hadn’t really come to terms with the possibility. “When I first began planning for tonight, I figured it would just be an opportunity to encounter some of the people that seemed to have been experimented on for this Persona Project. But, the Raikage made it clear to me tonight that’s he’s truly planning to abandon the Alliance, and if I’m going to remain close to him as an assistant, then I’ll need to make a show of supporting his decision by quitting my work with the G.T.C., and…”

Naruto silenced her with a tender kiss, before saying, “Mabui, I want you to do what is best for you.” He stroked her cheek softly as he continued, “It’s true that I first set my eyes on you because of the position that you held. But what I need now… is you, and what I want is for you to be happy. I know you worked hard for your current position, and if it makes you happy, and keeping it requires that you make a show of supporting the Raikage by ending your involvement with the G.T.C. then so be it.”

Mabui felt a wave of warmth spread through her suddenly, starting around her stomach, but quickly surged through her like the effects of a drug entering her bloodstream as it carried a feeling of euphoria throughout her. She pushed him back down, and quickly moved to sit atop of him where she stared into his eyes as she said, “What if it’s the other way around and my doing so hurts our ability…?”

Naruto caused her question to die on her lips as he reached up and placed his hand against her neck, so his thumb could stroke her jaw line. “How many times are you going to make me say to do what makes you happy?”

“But…”

“Mabui,” Naruto said in a tender but firm tone, “Plans can and do change. The ambition I had embraced when I first set my eyes on you, isn’t the same as the one I have now. I still wish to bring peace to the shinobi world, but only so long as that peace isn’t maintained by the suffering and misery of those whom I cherish. Whatever path you choose, I want it to be one that you believe is best for you, not taken out of a sense of obligation to me, or the ambition which first had me seek you out. After all, what is the point of achieving the goal of a peaceful world, if it requires us to sacrifice everything such a world is meant to safeguard.”

Again, a feeling of happiness passed through her, which while she would attribute the majority of it to the words her lover had just spoken, some of was due to a baser desire that was beginning to arise within her. Especially as she could feel a similar one doing so in the man beneath her due to his kunoichi tamer beginning to harden and press against her. Closing her eyes, she basked in both the feelings that arouse from his words, and the desire building inside her as she began to grind her pussy against his member.

Naruto groaned as his dick became more and more like a steel rod and reached up to cup his dark-skinned lover’s breasts. Mabui placed her hands over his as she slid forward enough so that when she pushed back, his cock would pierce her. She opened her eyes and meeting his saw the desire and depth of emotion that he carried for her, which prompted her to say, “I love you!”

“I know, and I you,” Naruto replied and groaned as she rocked her hips back so that he was once more buried within her.

Mabui cried out as well as she began to swirl her hips back and forth wildly, as Naruto sat up to suck on one of her breasts. She felt her worries begin to melt away once more, to be replaced by the pleasure the dick that she was riding was stirring up within her, along with the tingles of pleasure his tongue was creating as it pushed around the nipple of the tit he was suckling on. She groaned as she wrapped her arms around his head as she basked in the feeling, but felt the call to try something new which she believed also matched her feelings in regards to what her answer would be. Pulling her lover’s head from her tit, she tenderly cupped his face before pulling him into a kiss. One she got lost in, as her hips continued to grind against his as she found she just couldn’t stop them and deny herself the pleasure doing so created. Hoping Naruto will would be stronger, she pulled her lips from him before whispering into his ear, “I want you to fuck my ass.”

Naruto pulled back, giving her a pleased smile, and caused her to cry out in surprise when he suddenly lifted her up to plant her at the foot of her bed. Yet, rather then pulling out to take her anal virginity as she had asked, he began pounding her cunt with powerful, and quick thrusts. Mabui tried to protest, but wasn’t given the chance as he captured her lips with his. Surrendering to the kiss, and the fucking she was receiving, she wrapped her legs tightly around him as his cocks rapid thrusts soon had her on the verge of cumming. Her lips separated from his when it hit, as she screamed in release while pulling herself tightly against him, until her strength left her once the wave of pleasure crashed over her.

Feeling almost numb, she still moaned in loss as Naruto pulled his rod out of her. He then hooked his arms beneath her legs and pushed them up until her knees were resting next to her shoulders. She began to feel a little nervous, as Naruto began to press his steel like flesh rod against her rosebud, since although it had been teased over the years she never had anything larger then a finger inserted. Naruto sensing her hesitance, paused until she gave him a slightly nervous smile and a quick nod of her head.

While, expecting some initial discomfort to her surprise the head of his cock almost effortlessly slipped passed the tight ring of her ass. Although, in hindsight she recognized that between the release of her climax still coating his cock, not to mention how his earlier pounding of her pussy had caused her juices to leak and coat her asshole, her lover had made sure she was well prepped to receive his love muscle. She found the sensation of her rear being slowly filled, to be strange although definitely not unpleasant, particularly as Naruto’s slow insertion was only heightening her anticipation for what was to come.

“Hmm,” she hummed pleasantly as he pushed his final few inches inside her, “They definitely didn’t undersell how good it fells.”

Naruto chuckled as he felt Mabui squeeze his cock with her ass, “Oh, and who were you discussing it with.”

“No one directly,” Mabui stated before moaning a little as the Uzumaki began to move within her, “I was just remembering a discussion that took place between Ino, Tenten, and Temari after that surprise party we threw for your eighteenth birthday.”

Naruto smiled remembering the night which was nearly two years in the past, particularly as it was also when Tsunade had given him her final virginity, “So, what made you decide tonight was the night to try it out.”

Mabui moaned as Naruto didn’t wait for her answer and moving her legs so that her ankles rested on his shoulder began pumping his rod within her faster and faster. She captured his face in her hands and he leaned over her and kissing him hungrily waited until she grew accustomed to his current pace to pull back enough to answer, “I suppose… my heart was telling me to…try something new.”

Naruto nodded as he paused so he could pull Mabui’s leg from his right shoulder, over his head so that it rested atop of her left as he turned her hips to the side. He began moving again causing Mabui to groan as it suddenly became harder to her lover to move his cock inside her. Although the increased resistance was pleasant for both of them, Naruto found the new position made it hard to build up a full head of steam so moved himself to lay behind her. Mabui, looked over her shoulder as she reached back and pulled his head towards hers where they kissed wetly as he began once more pounding her backside. She felt something building within her, and although it felt familiar, it was strange due to how the pleasure was being generated. The pressure building within her spiked as she began to rub her pussy with her free hand, while one of Naruto began to squeeze her breast. Her other hand had a firm grip on Naruto’s head as she kept his lips pressed against hers, until the feeling building within became too much and she pulled back in order to fight it off, as she panted, “f..Fuck…I…I’m almost there…” Her moans, turned into a shriek of, “Cumming!!!” when Naruto captured her earlobe and began nibbling on it, while also pinching the nipple of the breast he had been massaging.

Naruto groaned into her ear due to her ass bearing down on his dick, and began filling it with his jizz. The familiar but not sensation of being filled with warmth, caused Mabui to experience another intense climax as she cried out her lover’s name. Mabui felt as if she was melting as the tension bled from her body to mold itself to her lover’s. She sighed contently, as she felt as if she could simply fall to sleep then and there. But, her eyes snapped open as a voice called, “Well isn’t this fucking lovely. Here I am working my ass off, while you’re here getting yours filled.”

Mabui rolled onto her stomach while Naruto moved to lay on his back, and both of them looked towards her doorway to see Tayuya, having dropped the Meiko henge, was standing within. Despite the implied annoyance hinted at from the red-head’s words, there was an amused smile on her face which grew wider as Mabui got up to her knees where she reached for their lover’s rod and finding it still rock solid replied, “Don’t worry. It looks like getting this thing to settle down is definitely going to be more than a one woman job. Let me clean it up for you, and I’ll let you tag in for a while.”

Mabui leaned down, and began sucking on his cock causing Naruto to let out a muffled groan into Tayuya muff, as she now stood at the edge of the bed in the buff having quickly discarded her dress. As she bobbed on their shared lover’s cock, she sent a quick mental thank you towards the red-head, not only for the talent scouting that she had been performing while she had entertained Naruto, but also for her timely arrival as the distraction would further serve to prevent her from needing to think about what she would tell the Raikage. And although she knew the time where she would need to make her decision known was fast approaching, she didn’t let that stop her from basking in the moment as she knew that regardless of the path she chose, she was with a man who loved her for who she was, not for what she brought to his goals, and thus either path she ended up choosing for the future would be worth traveling so long as it allowed her to remain with him.
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Author’s Note: Hey everyone, I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy out there. As always, let me begin by thanking all those that took the time to read and review the last chapter. They truly continue to inspire me to keep going. For those of you who feel somewhat Tayuya teased due to her cameo in the chapter, I plan to highlight what she was up to during the events of the Limelight, and pickup where things left off with her when we return to the Eroninja story. But, with this chapter I’m going to switch my focus to The Pride and The Promise for a while. I’ll also be working on the LBB chapters focusing on Gai and eventually Samui team as time and inspiration permits, but the immediate future will be seeing my focus more on the Pride at least until the Nation Building arc ends. Then it may be a chapter or two of the Promise.

Focusing a bit on this chapter, as you could tell the events are spaced out over several appearance Mabui made over the course of the last two arcs. The reason I laid it out this way was just to showcase how although certain characters disappear from the focus for a while, it doesn’t mean they aren’t acting in the background and highlights how brief cameos in the main story will tie into things happening in one of the other side stories linked to Eroninja. Plus, I felt including these scenes in the main story would distract from the main plot of the Letting Go arc, not to mention Mabui’s own arc laid out here in this chapter is around 15k words so would feel like a rather sudden shift if we were suddenly to turn back to Ruin. I did try to layout where the above scenes would have taken place, so hope you agree this was probably the best way to handle it.

Again, let me thank all of you who have read and review my works over the years. I hope this current chapter lives up to your expectations and proved to be worth the wait. So, until next time, take care. Sincerely, The Lemon Sage.