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

Hardening the Steel: Part I

The events of this chapter take place shortly after 95 in Eroninja

Chouji stood completely naked before the large window of Oboro’s penthouse as he looked down on Konoha. He groaned deeply in satisfaction, and then looked down at the nude woman kneeling before him whose throat his cock was currently sheathed by. She struggled weakly against the grip he had on her head as her need to breath became stronger and stronger. Not for the first time, Chouji considered just holding on until she would lose consciousness, and then long after. But, despite the disgust with which he held her, he nevertheless let her go causing her to pull away from him and begin gulping down air.

He shook his head in disgust as strands of mucus still connected her to his cock. Yet, despite knowing how he viewed her, when Yurika looked up at him with teary eyes which had caused her mascara to run, the former kunoichi only seemed to hold adoration for him. Almost like a puppy which had been mistreated to the point where it viewed abuse as love. As such, he felt a sense of shame as he figured it had been her rape by Furofuki which had twisted her to the point that the more he took out his frustrations at how her weakness had led to Iruka’s death, or more recently, any minor annoyances that seemed to crop up, out on her, the more devoted to him, she seemed to become. The shame was quickly replaced with annoyance at his reaction, and so he quickly slapped her across the face, which earned him a look of surprise before it melted into a look of glazed over satisfaction. He nearly snarled at that before grabbing her by the hair and roughly yanked her up to her feet. He then pushed her face up against the glass of the window, before letting go and took ahold of her hips as he pushed his cock into her dripping cunt. Yurika cried out in bliss as the force of his thrusts began to push almost her entire body up against the cool glass.

Chouji allowed the pleasure that he was taking from the woman’s flesh to massage out the irritations that had built up within him. Ironically enough, the woman that he was currently fucking being chief among them. Or more accurately, her being hired by Oboro after Yurika had been dismissed from Konoha’s shinobi forces when it had been learned during the investigation of her that she was taking drugs and had refused to seek treatment. The reason it had turned into an annoyance for him being that naturally Ibiki had found it highly suspicious that Oboro would then in turn offer her a job as an assistant. Which as he had then begun investigating her, had led to his relationship with Oboro being uncovered.

A fact he had been blindsided by that morning when he had been called into an Interrogation Room and found himself on the side of the table which faced the One-way mirror where he imagined Ibiki was observing him while Inaho questioned him. While at first, he had been confused as to what he was under suspicion of. When the questions directed towards him had turned to the nature of his relationship with Oboro, he began to understand it wasn’t him who they were suspicious of. Still, rather than feeling relieved, he had grown nervous and embarrassed since Inaho was probing at the nature of his relationship with her. Which, due to the probing nature of Inaho’s questions, forced him to admit that in truth, outside of some of the surface level details a quick run through of her public profile would reveal there wasn’t much that he knew about the woman whom he had been seeing for the past several months. Although, he figured it was something which worked in his favor, as he had tried to dance around how most of their time together was generally spent fucking, which probably served to explain away his nervousness as his fumbling could be viewed as his searching for polite ways of answering her. Which likely had caused Inaho some discomfort as well as he had noticed her cheeks began to grow red as it became harder and harder to remain vague due to her probing questions. A state of emotion that both of them were still feeling as the topic then turned to the nature of Oboro’s relationship to Yurika. Naturally, Chouji had left out the fact that he had slept with the woman, something made easy as the idea hadn’t even occurred to Inaho. As instead, her questions had focused on just what Oboro hoped to achieve by hiring the woman. Which had allowed Chouji to answer her honestly, as truthfully, he had no idea. He suspected that his fading nervousness at his being truthful in regards to his ignorance, in conjunction with his growing less flustered due to the nature of the questions moving further and further away from delving into how he spent most of his time buried inside of one woman or the other when in their presence, had led to his being cleared of suspicion, or at least complicit in whatever they believed Oboro was up to.

When the interrogation had ended, Inaho had instructed him to follow her, and she had quickly led him to another room. Although, this time the room was on the right side of the one-way mirror as he looked through it into the adjoining one to see Oboro sitting within looking vaguely amused. Chouji was rather surprised that outside of himself, and Inaho, the room was occupied by two male chunin who were currently commenting on how fuckable Oboro looked in the form-fitting red dress she wore. A conversation they ended abruptly when they noticed Inaho and the unamused scowl that she was currently wearing. Still, rather than being annoyed by their topic of conversation himself, Chouji found it to be a rather sizeable boost to his ego since he was currently the one doing so.

Yet, he didn’t get to bask in it long as it immediately switched to nervousness when the door of the room that she was in opened and revealed her interrogator was going to be Ibiki. The intimidating Jounin carried a folder under his arm, which he placed on the table before approaching the mirror and stopped in front of it. Despite how the jounin would be staring at his own reflection, Chouji was almost convinced that Ibiki could see him as if the mirror wasn’t there and was trying to get a read of him. After a moment though, he turned away to say, “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today.”

Oboro smiled politely as she replied, “You’re welcome. Although, to be fair, I imagine that even if I had refused, I’d still find myself here although under less amical circumstances.”

Ibiki didn’t deny it, as he took the open seat opposite from her and stated, “Then may I assume you have some idea as to why I called you down here?”

“Well, if I had to think about it,” Oboro said playful while making a face which made light of just how little thought would be required, “I believe that word has gotten out that I went and hired a recently disgraced Leaf Kunoichi, and put her to work as a cryptographer for my company. Moreover, likely while investigating me as a result, you’ve also probably learned of my relationship with a man currently working under you.”

“A good guess,” Ibiki replied in a deadpanned manner.

“Hardly,” Oboro stated dismissively, “I suspected hiring Yurika would bring increased scrutiny from your department. But, ultimately felt snatching her up was worth the inconvenience.”

Sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest, Ibiki stated, “I find it strange that having anticipated as much, you wouldn’t give Chouji some warning of what was to come.”

“Oh,” Oboro replied sounding amused, “I suppose it was because I felt it best not to burden him with the matter. I mean, if you didn’t react to my company hiring Yurika, then obviously there would be no reason to bring it up. But, if you did, then it is probably best for him to go into whatever interrogation that you put him through in an unguarded mindset.”

“Are you suggesting that he has something to hide?”

“No more than any other person who suddenly finds themselves facing the sudden scrutiny of their peers,” Oboro stated assuredly. “I only meant that if I had informed him that we had hired Yurika, it would only be natural for him to become guarded as he began fretting over what details you would be looking for from him, and as a result, his answers might appear stilted and rehearsed.” Even Chouji wasn’t convinced that was entirely the case, since a person with no clue as to why they were being investigated would naturally be guarded as well. Which was why he found it rather endearing and a relief as she interrupted Ibiki, who appeared to be about to point that detail out, “Plus, there was always the chance that if I did tell Chouji of my intentions, then there was a large chance that he’d report it to you, triggering an investigation that I could just as easily avoid.”

Although it wasn’t easy to detect in his department head’s manner or tone, Chouji nevertheless imagined that Ibiki was mildly annoyed as he stood and moved to a corner of the room out of sight before he asked, “Do you have any reason to want to avoid an investigation?”

“I imagine more than most,” Oboro replied with a soft smile gracing her lips. Chouji was rather surprised by her admission, not to mention how she seemed unphased by Ibiki’s imposing demeanor. She sat back in her chair and crossed her legs which for a moment allowed those in the observation room an unfettered view up her skirt and revealed that she wasn’t wearing any panties. A fact which made his dick lurch, but Chouji wasn’t the only one who noticed as the two male chunin shared a look as their thoughts likely returned to their fantasizing about her while their gazes had moved noticeably south as if hoping for another peek. Chouji sent a sidelong glance towards Inaho, who also apparently had noticed the lack of undergarment as well as the reaction of the two chunin and so wore a scowl on her face.

If Ibiki had noticed, he appeared unphased as he stated, “A rather strange admission for one under investigation to make.”

“Do you think so?” Oboro asked with a hint of disbelief, “I can’t imagine too many people are appreciative of having their lives snooped through in the first place. But, more to the point, I’m being investigated by a group whose boss seems to have some sort of arrangement with a competitor of mine, so what is to say that any useful information you dig up isn’t going to find its way into the hands of Kiyomi and her Great Tree Shipping company.”

Ibiki walked past the mirror to move to the other corner while replying, “I think you’ll find we investigated her and them just as thoroughly when she hired Karin Uzumaki as her president.”

“It’s nice to see you’re consistent,” Oboro stated, before added pointedly, “Although, I couldn’t help but notice that you didn’t deny that my competitor might benefit from your investigation.”

Ibiki moved slowly back across the mirror as he replied, “The Hokage is free to do whatever she wants with the information that I provide for her. And as the recent defense of Ame has shown, they clearly have a friendly relationship with each other. Thus, I cannot deny something which is clearly a possibility. But, speaking of relationships, what is the nature of yours with Chouji?”

“Sexual,” Oboro replied in such a straightforward manner that even Ibiki was caught off-guard as he paused in his pacing for a split second before adding, “The man is an absolute beast in bed.”

Still it was a response that Chouji wasn’t entirely sure he was happy with, although when all three of those in the viewing room turned to him with shocked faces, he had a hard time acting like he didn’t notice and was solely focused on the interrogation. It became harder to keep a smile from his lips when he noticed that Inaho’s gaze discretely moved southward while she believed his attention was focused on what was happening on the other side of the glass.

Ibiki having returned to the opposite corner, asked, “Is that all there is between you two?”

“Isn’t that enough?” Oboro queried in return. “From my own experiences, despite how most claim relationships are based on love and companionship. As soon as the sex becomes stale, they’ll start to feel the old temptation to stray. I find it’s better to start from a place of passion. The other stuff comes with time, and should the passion start to sputter, well it tends to lead to cleaner breakups when you can admit the only thing you had going for you was some hot sweaty nights.”

“And is that all you have going for you two?”

Oboro looked a little surprised by the question, as she stated, “I’m not sure that is a question that is really relevant to your inquiry as to why I would hire Yurika. Or, perhaps you’re concerned I’m taking advantage of him?”

“The thought has crossed my mind,” Ibiki stated gruffly, “He is young and inexperienced. Two things you are not, and it wouldn’t be the first time a good shinobi has been led to a bad end by the sexual wiles of an experienced kunoichi.”

Chouji found his emotions suddenly became rather turbulent, although he didn’t let it show, as he felt annoyed as his just puffed up ego was deflated some upon learning his commander thought he was being led around by the nose. But, at the same time, he was shocked to learn that Oboro apparently was a kunoichi. Which he admitted was probably a rather large detail for someone to hide about themselves, but he also had to admit that his lack of information on her couldn’t primarily be contributed to any obfuscation on her part, at least that he was aware of. Rather being due to how most of the conversations that took place between them seemed to be limited to common pleasantries and comments about how their day had gone. Things to be gotten through quickly while they dined together or made their way to her penthouse where they would unleash their desires.

Still, he began to feel some suspicion towards her, although he was hesitant to give it much stock due to his admissions that he was also responsible for his apparent lack of information on her. It began to fade almost immediately though as she looked from Ibiki to the mirror, before shaking her head and clicking her tongue in a chiding manner, “My how duplicitous of you, Mr. Morino. I take it Chouji is on the other side of the mirror. It is rather conniving of you to use details that I freely gave your village to try and cast me as some seductress trying to corrupt him. Between the two of us, who seems to be the one trying to manipulate him at the moment. After all, my sexually satisfying relationship with him predates his being your underling even if only by a few weeks. So, I can’t really say I appreciate your interference in its development. Now, if you’re as you claim, interested in why I hired Yurika, then I kindly invite you to get around to the point. As I’m beginning to have my doubts that is indeed the case. Furthermore, for the record, I take exception to the idea that I am old. I’m only thirty-two. Which, while old for the kunoichi game, as I’m retired, I find it rather insulting to be considered such since if things did progress towards a more standard relationship between Chouji and I, an idea I’m very open to, even though all signs would point to me outliving him considering his chosen profession.”

Chouji smiled at the thought of Oboro appearing open to deepening their relationship, while again feeling conflicting emotions about the manner in which it was revealed, as he also began to feel rather put off by the entire experience since he felt his own personal business was being put on display. Granted, he admitted he was enjoying how it had apparently elevated him in the eyes of the two male chunin present, and even Inaho seemed to now hold a slight carnal fascination towards him. Yet, he also couldn’t help but agree with Oboro that it was apparent that Ibiki had been trying to manipulate him. Moreover, he felt a slight prickling at how she had described him as Ibiki’s underling, as she had almost made it sound mocking.

Ibiki for the most part remained unphased in the face of her irritation as he moved to take the seat opposite from her. Once he was sitting before her, he opened the file as he stated, “Your complaints have been noted. But when I find a Kiri-nin…

“Retired,” Oboro interrupted.

Which Ibiki ignored as he continued on, “…is involved with two of our shinobi. Well, it tends to raise certain red-flags with me.”

In a teasingly chiding manner, Oboro replied, “My, I wonder how your Hokage would react to such sentiments. Isn’t she currently trying to bridge the difference between shinobi villages? I can’t imagine that she’d be pleased to hear you hold such suspicions towards me simply based on where I was born.”

“We can invite her down and ask,” Ibiki countered sounding serious.

“I think I’ll pass on meeting her while being influenced by your suspicions, thank you,” Oboro replied with a thin smile.

Ibiki shrugged slightly, before focusing on her file, “Suit yourself. But I find it curious as to why a member of the Kiri Hunter division, and more specifically a group called the Demon Hunters, would relocate to Konoha, and get involved with two of our shinobi.”

“Well, ignoring how you refuse to accept my assertion as to my status as a former member of Kiri’s shinobi program…”

“Not just as a rank-and-file shinobi,” Ibiki cut her off causing her to scowl, “The Demon Hunters were one of several factions within Kiri’s Hunter program who specifically hunted down and killed people possessing Kekkai Genkai. They were fanatics who gladly participated in the Fourth Mizukage’s bloodline purges.”

Chouji was shocked by the revelation, and admittedly didn’t want to picture Oboro as the type who would gladly hunt down and murder people solely due to the blood they carried in their veins. She didn’t deny it as she said, “Many of them were. However, it was also a place for the ambitious and those looking for rapid advancement.”

“Which I assume is how you would view yourself,” Ibiki stated.

“Well seeing as I’m the head of my own company,” Oboro replied with an air of bemusement, “I think my ambitious nature would be self-evident.”

“I don’t know. It sounds rather cold and monstrous to be willing to engage in genocide just to get ahead,” Ibiki countered causing Oboro’s face to transform into a mask of barely restrained fury.

“That’s easy for the likes of you to say,” she countered her voice dripping with condensation. “You didn’t live under the regime of a murderous tyrant, one who would set whole clans against one another. You also tend to forget that the Bloodline Purges were instigated in the first place by that pack of savages the Kaguya, who decided one day to try and butcher our villagers one night to get their rocks off. Furthermore, and more to the point, let’s not forget that it was under similar such circumstances that your beloved Third Hokage sanctioned the genocide of a founding clan of this village.”

“The Third did not sanction the Uchiha massacre,” Ibiki said losing his cool for a moment, “It was an action undertaken by Danzou and Itachi without his authorization.”

“Really,” Oboro responded with her derision being easily seen, “Yet, what consequences did these two villains face? Itachi who supposedly fled the scene of his horrific crime, yet never seemed to cross path with any Anbu looking to bring him to justice. While Danzou was punished… by remaining a member of the village’s council as one of its elders. Oh yes, your Third did indeed deal with these two rogues who dared to defy him quite harshly. Or, is the lack of action on his part, a sign of approval for dealing with a situation that he himself would or could not. Allowing them to act, all so he could have someone whom he could blame had things gone wrong. Perhaps you should look at the mess you swept under your own rug before trying to cast aspersions onto the rest of us.”

Although, he couldn’t see Ibiki’s face, Chouji could imagine that he was likely struggling to hold back a scowl, since he imagined even the Jounin would have to admit Oboro had gotten the better of him in the exchange. As such, he dropped the argument in favor of stating, “Are you saying you served in it against your will?”

“Of course not,” Oboro answered, not taking the obvious out she was given for them to both to save some face, “I was ambitious, and it was the best path forward. More importantly, many of those we hunted down were of the same base nature as the Kaguya, little more than monsters, whose demon infected blood led them to indulge in their baser natures. Why do you think it is so many villagers gladly gave them up or helped us with our purges?”

“Perhaps because they feared what would happen to them should they be caught harboring such individuals,” Ibiki countered.

“Perhaps that was indeed the case for some,” Oboro replied with a shrug, “Particularly by the end, when the Fourth was at his worst. But by that time my aspirations had grown, and I realized that moving up the rungs of the shinobi hierarchy wouldn’t lead me to where I wanted to go. Besides with such an unstable leader, the writing was on the wall that it was only a matter of time before a coalition formed to depose him. So, I defected, and setup shop protecting shipments in the Land of Tea for a while before deciding to move here. I chose to because I recognized that your current Hokage is trying to do through diplomacy and commerce what Three Shinobi Wars failed to achieve. And as it is the central place between current alliance members Kumo and Suna, it is the perfect place to be for offering protection to all those valuable shipments that inevitably pass through it.”

“Indeed,” Ibiki said, before diving into the heart of the matter, “Which begs the question, what exactly do you need with a disgraced Cryptographer?”

“You’re joking right,” Oboro replied seemingly genuinely surprised by the question, “I’ve setup shop in a place where my biggest business rival apparently has a close personal relationship with the village’s Hokage. Enough of one in fact that she’ll derail weeks of potential profit in order to help set a trap for some upstart village.” Letting the point stand for a moment, she then continued, “Besides, if you weren’t already inspecting our outgoing mail, I’m sure you’ll probably be doing so going forward, and I see no reason to make it easy for you, and even Dusted off her ass, Yurika is a better trained cryptographer then can be found on the open market. Provided her habits are properly controlled of course. So, why wouldn’t I snatch her up, especially since I know what to be on the lookout for. All in all, you really did yourselves the disservice by cutting her loose rather than trying to work with her.”

“We did,” Ibiki stated, “She didn’t want the help we offered.”

“No,” Oboro countered, “You gave her a list of demands, and cut her loose when she didn’t conform. But that tends to be the Konoha way I find. Just ask the Uchiha, I suppose she’s lucky you didn’t deal with her in a similar manner.”

Ibiki almost seemed on the verge of growling like an Inuzuka before stating, “I think we’re done here.”

“Very well, I imagine you’ll be seeing a lot more of me than I will of you. So, I will say now that it was just shy of being a pleasure,” Oboro smiled while standing, and then moved for the door, giving a playful smirk to the man behind the mirror.

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

Chouji’s focus returned to the present as he detected a change in the deepness of Yurika’s moans, and which corresponded with the tightness of her cunt increasing, signaling him that she was on the verge. A feeling he shared as he swelled inside her. Despite the disdain he held her in, he figured that she had performed adequately as his Onaho, and so decided to reward her. With one hand, he reached up through the valley of her breasts forcing her back against his chest and grabbed her around the throat. He squeezed just hard enough that breathing became a struggle for her and let out a groan himself as her pussy tried to choke his cock in a similar manner. After only a few moments, she appeared to be on the verge of losing consciousness, when she suddenly stiffened in his arms, which was the opposite case inside her as her pussy coiled and squeezed his dick while she climaxed. He imagined that the pleasure she felt must have been intense as he noticed a warmth beginning to run down his legs alerting him to the fact that she was pissing herself as she came.

The disgust that he felt for her, warred with the pride that he felt in himself for fucking her to the point of incontinence. Although tempted to pull out to deny her that little bit of additional pleasure, he decided that he’d be the one losing out the most, so pushed himself deep inside her which raised the volume of her cry to a near shriek as he began pumping his seed inside her. He held her tight as her cunt milked him of his cream, and with it much of the day’s frustrations. All too soon though the pleasure began to fade, as she went slack in his arms, and so he let her go causing her to sink to the floor almost bonelessly.

He stepped away from the unconscious Yurika, and left her in the puddle that she had created as he moved to clean himself up. But he stopped as he noticed that the elevator to the penthouse appeared to be on the way up. When the doors opened and revealed Oboro, he felt a jumble of emotions one of the first to raise to the surface being lust, as even though she looked weary in the business suit that she was now wearing as she leaned down to remove her heels, she was still easily one of the most stunning women he had ever laid eyes on. But, not surprisingly the next feeling to well up being suspicion as he began to question why such a woman was interested in him. He frowned at the thought, since he felt it was born of a weakness in himself that he needed to purge, especially if he was going to ensure Sasuke paid for his crimes. Still, considering his past experiences, it was easy enough for the doubts that Ibiki had planted in regards to her intentions to take root, a fact which he found was causing a fair amount of resentment to build within him since he felt the man was sticking his nose in business which didn’t concern him. Which, Chouji accepted was kind of his job, but it didn’t lessen the feeling of resentment that he felt at his superior’s actions forcing him to question the idyllic relationship he had been enjoying for the past several months.

As Oboro straightened and stepped off of the elevator while holding her high heels in her hands, it appeared as if she too was feeling a flurry of emotions within as well. At first, he thought there was a hint of nervousness, but as she took in his nude form, not to mention the naked woman laying only a few feet from him in a puddle of her piss, it was frustration that won out as she let out a put-upon sigh before stating, “You know, if you two insist on pissing all over the place, it would be nice if you’d at least lay out a couple of newspapers. I suppose I should be grateful that at least this time it is on the marble floor, and not the carpet.”

Chouji frowned as her aggressive demeanor caught him by surprise, particularly since he had been intended to be the one acting in such a manor. He considered pressing on and letting his frustrations be known in regards to questioning he had faced due to the woman she had chosen to hire. However, as he had just finished fucking said woman, which in truth Oboro didn’t appear to be angry about, so much as annoyed in the same manner she would be if Yurika was a new puppy who wasn’t properly housebroken, he instead found himself asking, “Rough day?”

“You mean outside of the grilling I received this morning from your boss?” Oboro asked as she took a seat in a chair before him. “You could say that.” Chouji had to fight back a frown as he suddenly had the sneaking suspicion that Oboro had played him. That by allowing herself to appear to be annoyed, she had manipulated him into surrendering the initiative in voicing his own grievances in regards to what had happened.

As such, despite it appearing as if she was going to continue with her list of things which had troubled her, he interrupted her to stated, “Well, you weren’t the only one.” He took a small amount of satisfaction in seeing a small look of surprise appear at his interjecting along with a look of annoyance. Which he ignored as he said, “You could have told me what I was in store for, and just when the hell did you decide that you’d be hiring her anyway?”

Oboro appeared annoyed, which she gave voice to as she smarmily replied, “I decided to hire her almost as soon as you informed me of who she was, as I figured it was only a matter of time before Konoha let her go considering her dependency on certain mood enhancers.” She gave him a cool look as she added with a shrug, “As to why I didn’t tell you, it was none of your business. How I conduct my business is my concern, and mine alone. Besides, are you really in a position to complain about my taking her on in a more permanent role considering how we’ve both used her these past few weeks. Despite what you may believe, she has far more value than just being a cum bucket for our personal amusement.”

Chouji had to admit that she did have a point, but wasn’t willing to drop the matter entirely as he said, “Still, you should have told me.”

Oboro appeared genuinely confused as she simply asked, “Why?” She let the word hang between them for several moments, and when it became apparent that he didn’t really have an answered said, “Let’s be honest here Chouji. These past several months have been great, but neither of us has made much of an effort in getting to know the other in anything but a carnal manner. Which I’m fine with, but with that being the case, I’m under no obligation to explain myself to you in regards to the personnel I hire, or the manner in which I conduct my business. Besides, there was every possibility that as the village decided to cut ties with her, my hiring Yurika wouldn’t be treated as anything but an out of work kunoichi getting a new job to support herself. Especially since it was found that she was not directly involved in the incident that took place at the prison, but rather served as a patsy.” Chouji wanted to refute her statement as she paused for a moment, and state that she still should have suspected it would cause trouble for him, but she continued before he could, “You may feel that was naïve of me to believe. I would even agree with you, since I suspected it would cause some waves in the T and I Department. But honestly, what would it have changed for you if I had informed you?” She paused again, but she wasn’t truly looking for him to answer as she quickly stated, “Nothing would have. Our relationship, such as it is, would still have been discovered, and truthfully I felt informing you would have put undue pressure on you.” He imagined that he must have looked confused as she explained. “If I told you, well naturally you’d be faced with a decision, come clean to your boss about us, or spend the next several weeks worrying that it would come to light, and as such spend that time conjuring up explanations for the questions that you’d expect to eventually face. Which, if you really wanted to raise some red-flags with your boss, go to him with some well-rehearsed version of events, particularly if you decided to not divulge just how well you’ve gotten to know Yurika since your interrogation of her.”

Chouji scowled at her, although the feeling behind it was mostly directed towards himself, since if he was being honest, he had to admit he probably would have decided not to reveal as much to Ibiki. Still, his tone reflected the annoyance that he was feeling towards her as he said with an air of disbelief, “So, I’m supposed to believe you kept me in the dark for my benefit.”

“Not at all,” she replied deflating the argument that he was preparing in his head. “Truthfully, I suspect you wouldn’t volunteer how we’ve been spending our nights both together and with her. Most people wouldn’t I imagine. With that being the case, the last thing I needed or wanted, would be for you to get the call you were going to face questioning, after spending weeks worrying about it. A man like Ibiki would sniff out the half-truths in your well-rehearsed answers, which I feared would lead him to rely begin looking into us, and more worrisome my business. Instead, while I suspect he knows you weren’t being entirely truthfully, your obvious surprise at why you were being questioned can be written off as just a person not wanting to volunteer information most consider extremely private.”

“Still,” Chouji said suspiciously, “why all the cloak and dagger nonsense. What are you hiding?”

“Plenty,” Oboro stated bluntly, “And the last thing I need is to be subjected to a massive investigation by the Konoha Torture and Investigation Department, and have all my company’s secrets exposed, especially considering how closely this village is working with one of my biggest competitors. All brought about because I’ve grown accustomed to enjoying your magnificent cock, and you ended up making your boss suspicious because you made it appear as if you knew more than you did all because you were trying to hide something from him.”

“Like what?” Chouji said with a fair amount of frustration, “As it instead appears to them as if I don’t know anything about you.”

“Because you don’t,” Oboro said standing from the chair as she approached him with a sensuous sway to her hips, “Which, you’ve undoubtedly conveyed to your superiors due to how unprepared you were for their questions.” She placed her hand against his chest, which she began to slide downwards as she asked, “So tell me? Wasn’t one day of confusion brought about by ignorance better then weeks of nervousness brought about by knowing what I was planning for Yurika. Ignorance is bliss as they say, and you can’t deny the pass several weeks have been rather blissful.”

Chouji found he definitely couldn’t refute her, particularly as she hand was now stroking his cock which was returning to its full hardness. However, he did manage to say, “Still, I think it is time that we get to know each other better.”

Oboro smiled as she let go of his cock, and said, “I hoped that would be the case.” Stepping back, she said, “Why don’t you draw a bath and relax. I’ll order us up some room service and we can spend the evening getting to know more about each other, and where we go from here.”

*******************************************************
A freshly bathed Chouji stepped out onto the large balcony of Oboro’s penthouse and he came to a standstill as his breath was stolen due to the beauty of the woman that awaited him. Oboro turned from the balcony where she had been observing the village to reveal she was dressed in a red form fitting gown, which left her neck and shoulders exposed except for the thin strands of cloth holding the dress up, and which had a slit running along the front almost to her waist allowing her shapely leg to peek from the material. Upon looking at him, she smiled demurely, likely finding amusement in the suit he was wearing, which he had found hanging from the knob of the bathroom door as he had opened it.

The gift fit him well, causing the suspicious part of him to wonder if just how impromptu the dinner she had suggested had been. Although, he admitted that with the money he had seen Oboro flash around, even if it had been something that she had just decided on, she’d have little issue making it look like it had been something in the works for months.

“Not bad, if I do say so myself” she said admiringly as she approached, while picking up two wine glasses sitting on a table that had been setup on the spacious balcony.

Accepting one of them, Chouji said, “Thanks, although I’m surprised that you’d be able to find a suit in my size on such short notice.”

Oboro smirked at him, aware of his gently probing at just how much preparation she had put into the evening before stepping out of the elevator. “I wish I could take the credit. But one of the reasons I’ve chosen the Majestic Leaf Hotel as my place of residence is because they are quite astute at meeting their guests’ needs.” She leaned forward so she could whisper in his ear, “Not to mention, the discretion to know when to look the other way as evidence of their ignoring the thoroughly fucked woman who smelled of piss and cum as she left through the entrance reserved for the whores that service the guests.”

She sucked on his earlobe before stepping back, and Chouji couldn’t help the self-satisfied smirk that appeared as Yurika had stepped into the bathroom while he bathed as she tried to make herself somewhat presentable before taking her leave. No doubt after Oboro had made her clean up the mess that she had left. Chouji moved past the reddish tinged purple haired woman and scanned the nearby buildings as he imagined the reason that Oboro had whispered the last part was due to the belief that Ibiki would have agents watching. One he shared, although he knew the inside of her penthouse was clear of eavesdropping devices. Since much as Oboro had stated, the Majestic Leaf Hotel was perhaps the most luxurious one in the village, and so tended to attract the most extravagant guests that visited the village. Guests, who appreciated the staff’s discretion when it came to their extramarital affairs, or in the case of the rare Kage visit, knew not to allow the T and I Department free reign of the premises to prevent their planting of various spying equipment. In the case of the former, Chouji imagined that despite teasing how she had passed through the lobby, Oboro had instead instructed Yurika to have the elevator let her off in the basement, where a special tunnel existed for the use of guests and/or their escorts to arrive or depart unseen.

He turned away from the balcony, unsure which of the many rooms housed his fellow T and I cohorts and wondered why Oboro would decide to have dinner outside on the balcony since it would allow any agents to potentially observe and listen in on them. Which although he imagined a possible reason for most to host such a meeting in a place where they could be observed, would be to show that they had nothing to hide. He knew enough about Oboro to recognize that she was doing so as a means to annoy Ibiki, putting on airs that she had nothing to hide, while in actuality challenging him to dig deeper.

While on one hand, he found the idea baffling. He also found the idea to be rather arousing, as it showed that she was not the type to meekly back away when challenged.

His musings ended as she stepped back and to the side while indicating towards the covered dishes on the table as she asked, “Shall we begin?”

Chouji nodded and followed her to the table where he pulled out her chair for her, before taking his seat. His stomach growled as he uncovered his dish, and he was greeted by the succulent smells of the meal Oboro had ordered for him. Diving in, he savored the taste, which truthfully while delicious paled in comparisons to his mother’s own cooking, which wasn’t too surprising when considering she owed multiple restaurants located throughout the Land of Fire with several of them residing in the in the Akimichi district alone, which ranged from all you can eat buffets to high end restaurants. As he chewed his dish, he suspected the meal had been prepared by a cook who had recently been poached by the Majestic Leaf Hotel from his mother’s newest and most prestigious restaurant in Konoha, Everfull as he recognized hints of his mother’s cooking techniques. The cook’s betrayal had been the topic of conversation at his family’s dinner table for the past several nights as his mother had vented about the Chiba family, who ran the Hotel empire which consisted of the Majestic Leaf Hotel, where said cook had taken a position as head chef. A topic which had eventually caused his mother to dovetail into her hatred of Suna and her sister, while his father had displayed the masterful art of sounding supportive but having heard her arguments many times already knew when to grunt in the affirmative without truly listening.

They spent a few moments in silence while they just ate their meals. Just as the silence seemed to take on an air of oppressiveness, Oboro asked, “So, where would you like me to begin?”

“How about with why you would join a group like the Demon Hunters?” Chouji asked, wondering how the fun and rather carefree woman could work in a group if the worst was to believed would kill any and all who possessed a Kekkei Genaki within the Land of Water, with many being innocent people who had never bothered honing their gifts.

Oboro sighed while looking rather disappointed with that being his first question, but replied, “Well to answer that, you’d probably have to start where it all began with Yagura Karatachi’s ascension to becoming the Fourth Mizukage. I was around thirteen years old at the time, with the Third Shinobi World war having wrapped up about a year or so previously.”

“Were you still a genin at the time? Did you have to perform the Bloody Mist ceremony?”

“No to both questions,” Oboro replied surprising Chouji since it was something most Konoha-nin had believed taken place. Chouji began to wonder if perhaps Kiri had spread the rumors as a means of intimidating their rival villages, but was dissuaded of the idea as she replied, “As I graduated during the war, we were given a special dispensation from it. Instead, my class was sent on a mission, and those who came back alive graduated and were placed onto teams.” Chouji was a little unnerved by the revelation, not only because of the idea that Kiri would send untested academy graduates into a warzone, but because of the small smile Oboro wore as if it was completely normal and she was recalling fond memories. She continued after a moment stating, “Anyway, the Bloody Mist ceremony would completely fall out of use a few years later when a graduate named Zabuza slaughtered his entire class. Not out of any sense of recognition of the barbarity of the practice, but we hadn’t really recovered our strength from the War so losing an entire class was probably deemed a tad too excessive in terms of the waste of time and resources expended to gain one shinobi.”

“You would think,” Chouji replied drily to which Oboro smiled in response.

“Don’t be so quick to dismiss the value of such a system,” she quickly stated though leaving him a little unsure if she was for or against the practice. “While certainly barbaric, Kirigakure was always the smallest and weakest of the Five Villages, and yet we managed to hold our own. Your village may not go to such extremes, but is it really producing the best results. Besides, is it any less barbaric then say the chunin exams, where participants are regularly killed while trying to earn a simple promotion?”

Chouji conceded the point by stating, “I suppose not. But I would say going out of your way to kill people simply because of the blood they carried is?”

He expected Oboro to take some offense to his statement, yet she simply gave a soft smirk as she countered, “Only because you weren’t there. But that is getting a tad ahead of ourselves, since in many ways people believed Yagura’s assuming of the Mizukage title meant we were going to enter a new age. Particularly, since despite becoming a jinchuriki only in the closing months of the war, he had completely mastered it by the time the Third Mizukage had died from injuries that he had sustained in the final battle Kiri had taken part in. When he called an end to the Bloody Mist ceremony a few years later, many thought it was him closing the book on the old ways and that he would be instituting other reforms to bring the village together into a more cohesive collective.”

Chouji having listened attentively as he ate his meal, reached for his glass, and savored the flavor as the red wine inside was paired perfectly so enhanced the flavor. Still a small frown threatened to appear as he wondered if she was being less then truthful with him, since he did not feel her account gelled as earlier, she had made it sound like the Mizukage had only ended them after a class had been massacred by a single graduate. As such, he asked, “Was the Fourth Mizukage really such a reformist? Before you had made it sound like an entire class getting slaughtered had been the catalyst for the change.”

“Indeed, he was,” Oboro answered quickly, “Before becoming a jinchuriki, he often expressed desires for how he wished the village would become more unified in purpose. I just don’t think anyone truly understood what he meant.”

“I definitely don’t,” Chouji stated.

“That isn’t too surprising,” Oboro replied sending him an amused smile, “At the time, most people assumed he was referring to bringing all the disjointed clans and citizens of Kiri together. Similar to how the Leaf was structured.”

“Wouldn’t it have already been?” Chouji asked, while imagining that if his colleagues were listening in to the conversation somehow, they were probably finding the conversation as fascinating as him since Kiri had been one of the most enigmatic villages.

“No,” Oboro replied, “I don’t think the bloodline purges would have dragged on as long if it had been. You see, unlike here, many of the clans that possessed Kekkei Genkai never brought themselves into the village proper. Instead, those clans held territory outside the village, and would send shinobi as tributes and completed the tasks they were given. The Kaguya for example lived in caves like the savages they were. While the Yatsukahagi made their fortress home on a forest covered mountain, which as their Kekkei Genkai when fully developed left them with multiple arms, and in some cases additional eyes, and even the ability to spin webs, well I suppose the location of their hime was rather fitting considering their spider motif. I believe you encountered members of both clans when you attempted to retrieve Sasuke.”

Chouji frowned due to the memories she was dredging up, and felt a burst of anger that he directed towards Naruto since if the Uzumaki had been more concerned with stopping a traitor from defecting then convincing a friend much of the death and destruction the Uchiha had unleased onto Konoha would have been avoided. But, the anger soon faded, as he had to admit that he also bore some responsibility since he had barely managed to beat one of the Sound Four, and having heard many of the details of the battles his fellow leaf-nin had with the other members was forced to admit his opponent had likely been the weakest member. Cursing his more timid and weaker self, he promised the next time that he and Sasuke came face to face he would correct the mistake Naruto had made in not treating the bastard as an enemy the moment he abandoned the village. A mistake which had only recently compounded since it appeared the Uzumaki was no longer capable of dealing with the mess he had created considering his loss to Sasuke during the Battle of Ame.

The thought of which led to another surge of anger, although rather than it being directed towards Naruto this time, it was instead directed towards Shikamaru. He had been furious when news of the battle reached him, and he had learned Shikamaru not only had participated, but had actually led the forces defending the village. Admittedly, things had been rocky between them since Shikamaru had not been supportive of his decision to join the T and I department, claiming he didn’t have the proper temperament. The strain of the disagreement was still evident in most of their encounters, as they were both hesitant to enter into conversations on the matter similar to how one avoided a room filled with traps. Admittedly, they still had many topics of conversation that they could fall back on due to their years of friendship, but the fact that now there seemed to be a subject both of them were hesitant to touch cast a rather dour shadow whenever they met up. Chouji wondered if it was this new hesitance to discuss their lives as shinobi, or Shikamaru’s distaste for his new temperament which had caused his friend to leave him behind, a matter which bothered him all the more as he had tapped Ino to accompany him. He considered confronting him over the matter, but knowing Shikamaru, he imagined the Nara would have dozens upon dozens of reason for why he had taken Ino, but not him. All of which he was sure would be perfectly valid. Not truly interested in them, since he felt his friend regardless of how he disagreed with his new more aggressive stance, should have been willing to aid him in taking the fight to Sasuke. Yet, confident Shikamaru would use his desire to confront Iruka’s killer head on against him, and well aware the Nara’s logic would run circles around any passionate argument he would make, he resolved to let the matter drop for now.

After all, Naruto loss to the Uchiha had caused many of those who were tacitly supporting the Uzumaki’s stance to dismiss the calls for revenge against the Uchiha, and his new village to swing over to what he viewed as his side of the argument. While admittedly, those who would so easily change their position weren’t necessarily the best of allies, Chouji tended to believe they were far more passionate now in their desire to hunt down and kill the Uchiha since their precious hero proved unequal to the task of defeating him. Still it greatly annoyed Chouji that many of those he had more closely associated and worked with in the past seemed steadfast in their support on the Uzumaki’s desire to avoid bringing Konoha’s righteous vengeance to Sasuke’s doorstep.

Chouji let the matter slide for the time being as he noticed Oboro seemed to be waiting for a response from him. Which brought him to the matter of how she seemed to know so much more about him, then he did about her. Hoping tonight evened the scales some, he stated, “Truthfully, I only briefly encountered one of them before we were detained, while the rest fled. When we escaped, I stayed behind to deal with a member named Jiroubo, while it was Neji Hyuuga who ended up fighting the one you claim came from this Yatsukahagi clan. I believe the member of the Kaguya that you mentioned ended up appearing much later. Still, considering how young they were, I’m somewhat surprised they would have survived the purges.”

“I’m not,” Oboro stated with a shrug, “For starters, it is easy to imagine someone like Orochimaru would have been active in the Land of Water while they were taking place. Not only due to his own interest in procuring Kekkei Genkai, but due to his building a village in order to accrue enough power to one day attack Konoha. I’m sure he established quite the pipeline to help those we were hunting to escape in order to supply Sound with troops.” She took a moment to sip her drink, before adding, “Moreover, some clans like the Yuki seeing the writing on the wall, quickly went to ground and started new lives among the civilians of Water, and truthfully it was weeding them out which is why the purges became so bloody. When you think about it, it is vastly easier to identify and purge someone who has eight limbs and three eyes then someone who could make it snow on command, but otherwise looks completely normal.”

“But why bother,” Chouji asked unsure what the purpose would have been, “If these Yuki were content to live as civilians, why hunt them down?”

Oboro shrugged nonchalantly and almost disinterestedly, something he found a little disturbing considering the topic of conversation and her involvement in them. But, he got a sense of why as she replied, “That all depends on who you ask. History books are where you go to learn about some big overarching theme or motivation behind events, but in actuality there are numerous ones. I’ve already given mine during this morning’s interrogation, which is why I defected by the time we were turning up in villages looking for one or two possible targets who you would only truly be sure about if they outed themselves in some way.” Seeing Chouji wasn’t necessarily satisfied with that answer, she added, “Still, if I were to give a reason for the more fanatical members actions, and was who the Fourth Mizukage’s rhetoric truly was for, then I would say it was to purge humanity of what they saw as unclean demon spawn filth.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Chouji said rather shocked, “Why would they think of those who possess Kekkei Genkai as demon spawn?”

“Well, it really isn’t that hard to believe when you think about it,” Oboro stated. “Where do bloodline abilities come from actually? There are probably as many theories as there are stars in the sky. But, in the Land of Water, it is believed that many of the bloodline abilities belong to descendants of those who once laid with demons. The Yuki clan for example was rumored to hail from a shinobi who took a snow woman as a wife, and I guess you can guess what an ancestor of the Yatsukahagi Clan would have fucked. Of course this would have all happened tens of thousands of years ago, when demons were supposedly more prevalent. In fact, it is said that once there was a great tear in what is now the Land of Water where the demons were able to enter our lands freely, and is one of the reason there were so many different bloodlines in such a small area. In fact, now that I think about it, there was a site within the Land of Water that was composed of primitive stone arches arrayed around a stone slab that was believed to have been where the tear between realms existed.”

Hearing her refer to the site in the past tense, he asked, “What happened to it, did the Fourth Mizukage have it destroyed?”

“No,” Oboro said a small smile gracing her lips, “Some fool named Harusame used it for a ritual that he believed would banish the Six Tails that his student carried back to the demon realm. He supposedly chose the spot due to his believing it to be a point where the walls between realms would be the thinnest. It went quite poorly and he was killed when the beast overpowered its host for a time and went on a rampage. Some say he was using the ritual as a precursor to using it against the Fourth, since many of those not comfortable with the purges believed his Bijuu was controlling him. Although, just as many said he felt ridding his student of the beast would unburden him of the pressures he felt as a jinchuriki.”

Not exactly concerned with the pressures jinchuriki supposedly faced, Chouji returned the topic to a matter he still found more interesting and still somewhat hard to believe, “Be that what it may, it sounds like there were people who were against the purges, which isn’t hard to believe since they would have fought with those who possessed them. Surely, they would realize their fellow shinobi weren’t descendant from demons.”

“Are you sure of that,” Oboro asked genuinely interested, “After all, at some point in your history an Akimichi may have laid with some giant or ogre, especially considering the club you carry between your legs. It may have been tens of thousands of years ago, with the only hint being the ability for you to change your size at will. But, from a fanatics point of view even if only a drop of blood remains in your clans veins, the purity of humanity has been tainted, and you pose a danger to taint more of it.” Oboro sighed disappointedly giving the first real hint she didn’t truly approve of the purges as she said, “A foolish sentiment perhaps, but one that almost seemed tailor made to drive the shinobi of Kiri that didn’t possess Kekkei Genaki into a frenzy.”

“Really, how so?”

Oboro sat back in her chair and took a sip of her wine as she replied, “Well, I mentioned before that the various Kekkei Genkai possessing clans didn’t live in Kiri, but would instead send shinobi to work for the village as a means to show their allegiance. As such, these shinobi typically only worked with their fellow clansmen, since the clans didn’t get on that well with each other either. Meanwhile, the Academy was were those who did not possess bloodline abilities went to learn the craft, and when they graduated ,they typically worked with their fellow graduates only. Well, as you can imagine these two groups never truly merged, and add into that a growing resentment between them with those attending the academy seeing those coming from outside the village as Outsiders not to be trusted, well it is no wonder some would choose to believe the worst of how they came about their abilities. Add to that already volatile mix, a Mizukage doing everything in his power to ramp up the distrust between the various Outsider clans and those who lived within Kiri by insinuating that perhaps the rumors of them laying with demons to attain power had to be true, as why else would they seek to live among themselves since all the other shinobi villages seemed capable of having their shinobi within the same walls; and well it isn’t hard to imagine it was only a matter of time before things turned violent. Especially with a clan like the Kaguya running around. When they attacked the village, well that was all the proof that most people needed to come around to the Fourth Mizukage’s way of thinking. Practically almost overnight the various groups that would participate in the purges were formed, before being tasked with hunting down what few Kaguya remained, and then quickly expanded into targeting all those with bloodline abilities. I joined up soon after, as it was around the time that they began targeting the Yatsukahagi Clan, that tales began filtering back of brave shinobi fighting pitched battles with spider demons in the mountainy forests they called home, and as such was were an ambitious woman such as myself, imagined that she would quickly find recognition and promotion.” Oboro sighed sounding bored and almost disappointed in herself more than anything, as she added, “As you can imagine, the reality of the situation didn’t quite live up to the propaganda, although I did find both of the things I sought. But, seeing the avenues they were opening up to me only led with my moving up in the ranks of a tyrannical leader who was appearing more and more unstable the longer his purge continued, well I soon came to realize that perhaps there was more to be had by using my skills for my own benefit.”

“If things were getting that bad,” Chouji said with a small note of disbelief in his tone, “I’m rather surprised they would just let you leave.”

Oboro smiled brightly as she replied, “Well, as you know, I can be rather persuasive in getting the things that I want.” She punctuated her point by pressing the tip of her still heeled foot into his groin exerting just enough pressure to keep it pleasurable, before continuing, “And, by the time I decided to move on, I hadn’t risen so high that my disappearance would raise too many eyebrows, especially since my commander put down that I had cracked under the pressure as the reason for my dismissal. Not an all too uncommon occurrence considering some of the tasks that we were given to perform.”

Chouji nodded in understanding, as he tried to keep from groaning since he was fairly certain the Torture and Interrogation department was watching them, and likely had directional mikes which while unable to penetrate the hotel itself, would be capable of picking up the conversation they had been having depending on how close they were. He did sigh as the pressure was removed, and Oboro stood from the table to move towards the edge of the large balcony to look out onto Konoha. Despite the raging hardon she had left him with, he still asked, “Do you regret it?”

Oboro turned back to face him, and stated flatly, “No, not really. Demons or not, they were branded as enemies by the powers that I served at the time, and I dealt with them in the manner that I was trained to. If anything, it is the hypocrisy of the Leaf which turns my stomach, since you could say the previous Hokage was far more duplications in his tyrannical need for peace. He allowed an entire clan to be massacred, and allowed the blame to fall on one person while the coconspirator continued to serve as his council. Say what you will about Yagura, but at the very least he was always honest about his desires, he just didn’t bother to correct anyone about the misconceptions people had in regards to what he was truly calling for until it became too late to stop him. More to the point, by that time, many people were also beginning to feel likewise as Outside clans like the Kaguya showed them just how big a threat they could become much as the Uchiha threatened to do. If your Third was a little more honest in how far he would go to protect the village, rather than worrying about how the public perceived him, the current problem that Sasuke Uchiha represents would have already been solved. But, instead he made a devil’s bargain with Itachi to spare him, and allowed him to become the very thing his clan was threatening to, an enemy of the village.”

A part of Chouji felt that perhaps he should come to the Third Hokage’s defense due to him remembering him as the kindly old grandfather that everyone in the village shared. However, he had a hard time disagreeing with her assessment since the truth of the Uchiha massacre had become public knowledge. However, a part of Chouji felt that he almost had to respond in the Third Hokage’s defense due to the fact there was a very real possibility their entire conversation had been recorded. Yet, he still held back since he couldn’t deny that an even larger part of him felt similarly as she did, since if the Third Hokage had been more inclined to get his hands dirty, then Iruka along with the Uchiha’s other victims would still be alive, and a new threat wouldn’t have arisen which was currently attempting to snuff out the Will of Fire.

Oboro likely just as aware of the predicament she had created for him decided to give him an out as she reached for the straps of her dress which she pulled free of her shoulders. She clutched the garment to her as it was now in danger of falling and leaving her exposed as she stated, “But, I feel we’ve talked about such matters enough, and as you appear to be finished with your meal, I wonder and hope you saved room for dessert.” She then let the dress go, which gravity soon deposited on the ground where she kicked it towards Chouji as he quickly stood to join her. He caught the dress from the air, as she turned away from him to grip the balcony as if expecting him to plunge right into her.

Chouji came to a stop as he could see her lips were dripping with arousal, and still sporting the hardon that she left him with, couldn’t deny all he wanted at the moment was to be buried inside her. Sensing his hesitation, she looked back over her shoulder as she said playfully, while giving her ass a shake, “Come here and fuck me already. I can only imagine your colleagues are bored to tears after that discussion, and I’d hate to leave them disappointed after how much I talked you up this morning.”

Chouji smirked as he allowed her dress to fall to the ground, while he freed his cock finding the idea taking her with an audience almost too delicious an opportunity to pass up. Particularly if he could show Inaho that Oboro hadn’t been singing false praise of him. Fisting his cock, he pressed it against her entrance causing her to moan in anticipation which turned into a cry of pleasure as he buried himself inside her fully in a single thrust. Reaching around to her front, he began fondling her tits as he lost himself in the pleasure of her gripping insides, and the idea that for the first time in his life he imagined he was the target of envy by others, particularly as Oboro moaned, “That’s it! Fuck me like the beast that you are…oh gods I can’t get enough of this Akimichi cock.”

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“That’s it! Fuck me like the bea…”

Ibiki frowned as the screen suddenly turned to static although it had nothing to do with a desire to watch the action that had just begun taking place. Still he did feel an annoyance as he turned his gaze from the television, which was strapped to a wheeled stand he kept in his office to replay interrogations and the like, to focus on the brown-haired woman standing on the opposite side of his desk. He could tell she was trying not to fidget, as his gaze lingered on her and the silence continued to build as it became a pressure all its own. Despite the irritation that he was feeling, he admitted that he was at least impressed that she hadn’t broken down yet as more experienced shinobi had while admitting far worse things. He at least decided to give her credit for being made of sterner stuff, but felt it might be wise to send her to one of Yuugao Anbu training sessions where she would have them strip naked and grapple so the idea of fighting naked if need be would become second nature.

Deciding to keep the possibility open depending on how the conversation unfolded, Ibiki broke the silence to state, “So, it was at this time that you sent the other members that I assigned to watching Oboro out of the room, and stopped the recording.”

“Yes sir,” Inaho answered crisply.

When it became apparent that she wasn’t going to explain her actions further, he asked, “And why did you do that?”

Inaho bit her lip, and although Ibiki was sure she that had practiced the speech that she had wanted to give in order to explain her actions since the moment she had abruptly called an end to the stakeout. Now that the time to voice it to someone else was upon her, she appeared somewhat unsure. Ibiki wasn’t sure he liked the potential implications that it was perhaps suggesting to him which was that she may be emotionally invested in Chouji, but after a moment she steeled her nerves as she said, “Well because it felt like they were perhaps taunting us.”

Ibiki while glad that she didn’t appear to be giving Chouji a pass by her choice of the word they, nevertheless said, “That isn’t exactly a reason I would find particularly valid to call off an investigation. After all, the idea that they are taunting us would lead one to suggest that they feel they have gotten away with something.”

“Or, they were both annoyed at what appeared to be little more than an inquisition based on nothing which put their lives and relationship on open display, and they decided to enjoy a little payback at our expense,” Inaho said passionately as she leaned forward while placing her hands on his desk. “When Chouji came in this morning, even though I told those who participated in the stakeout not to talk to him about it, he would probably be able to pick them out of a lineup due to the envious or goofy looks he has been the receipt of today.”

Ibiki frowned as he countered, “All you are telling me is that people around her appear to need some exposure training if the sight of two people getting intimate causes you all to act like fools. But more importantly, you did not think it was nothing when we first started looking into the matter of Oboro Forebearance Company’s hiring of Yurika. What changed?”

Inaho’s frown mirrored his as she straightened and folded her arms across her chest as she said, “You did, sir! She was right, you were manipulating Chouji back during that interrogation trying to get him to second guess himself and her affections for him. And for the record, I don’t need any kind of exposure training, I stayed and did my duty, and would have turned the camera back on if anything of note happened. I have the audio recording if you want it, but I assure you it is just filled with the sounds of two people enjoying each other’s company.”

“Fair enough,” Ibiki replied gruffly, “Make sure you log it in with the other evidence we’ve gathered.” Inaho looked at him briefly like he had grown a second head, so he said, “Look, as things stand I can understand why you may feel this investigation is without merit…”

Ibiki was caught off-guard when Inaho interrupted him since he was more used to his subordinates being too scared of him to even consider it, so sat a little dumbstruck as she headed off the argument he had been about to make by countering, “Perhaps because all the evidence, including what we learned last night corroborates everything that we learned about her and her company up till now. Even the tidbit about how the Four Tailed Jinchuriki ended up involved in that incident with the Tsuchigumo Clan lines up with what was learned from the Jounin involved. For all intents and purposes, since hitting the Land of Tea, it appears as if she has been nothing but slowly building up her business. In fact, a part of me wonders if perhaps she doesn’t have a reason to be concerned that we are just being used by her business’s biggest rival to dig up dirt. From where I stand, the Great Tree Shipping Company tends to act far more suspiciously when considering some of the moves that they’ve been making. Not to mention, it is highly suspicious for us to have started an investigation into her, and her company just after a point where her rival was secretly aiding the Hokage in setting a trap for Sasuke and his new village. Maybe we should revisit the investigation into the Great Tree Shipping Company. After all, isn’t the head of their Uzumaki Nautical Company the same woman who aided in the kidnapping of Naruto an incident which had the Hokage jumping down our throats. It seems strange that hiring decision didn’t cause any warning bells for you sir.”

Ibiki felt a headache coming on, and nearly considered telling her to run with her feelings about the company, hoping they’d lead her straight into Naruto’s arms and out of his figurative hair. But, he refrained from doing so as he instead said, “I ran a far more through and long lasting investigation into them back when they first took on Karin Uzumaki. I can’t imagine too much would have changed in the years that passed, especially considering just how close the owner of the GTSC is with the Hokage. Moreover, should Oboro ever lend us aid in defending the village, or in trying to stop an enemy of it, as Kiyomi has on several occasions now, I will gladly state that I am wrong about her and her intentions are as pure as the first snow in winter. However, and more importantly, I feel you are forgetting that Oboro would have as much of an idea about what information is out there in regards to her as we do, particularly if she is the one that planted it. Therefore, it is entirely likely that her little bedtime story to Chouji was just a way for her to reaffirm it, especially considering that it was apparent they both knew we would probably be watching. Now admittedly there isn’t evidence of anything sinister going on, but you remember how Chouji reacted to Yurika, and it makes me more than a little uncomfortable that she decided to bring these two together if only tangentially for the time being. Based on the timeline we have, I cannot deny her interest in Chouji existed before he became a member of this department. Hell, I can’t even deny that she wouldn’t possibly have a legitimate use for Yurika, but when I think of people that I would want to help me keep my secrets, the last person I would turn to is a damaged former kunoichi just looking for her next hit.”

Inaho was forced to accept her superior did have a point, but she wasn’t willing to concede entirely as she stated, “Well, I suppose the risk is mitigated somewhat so long as she is kept supplied.”

“Which leads me to believe Oboro is entirely too comfortable with illegality taking place around her for her not to have had a hand in similar such matters from time to time, which the squeaky clean image that we’ve thus far gathered about her would seem to disagree with,” Ibiki stated standing from his desk and moved to tower over her. “It is like we have been given only half a picture, with only what she wants us to see being shown. Our job is to uncover what it is she doesn’t want us to see. That isn’t a task that is going to be accomplished just digging up surface records or eavesdropping on a conversation she wants us to hear. So be prepared to buckle down, because if you can’t handle it, or seeing a boy that you may be developing feelings for in a comprised fashion tell me now, and I’ll find someone who can get the job done.”

Inaho’s cheeks colored as she quickly said, “I’m not developing feelings for him. I just didn’t think it was right to sit there with a room full of people ogling them, especially as we weren’t learning anything of interest as you’ve just pointed out.”

Ibiki frowned at his own point being used against him, but moved back to sit at his desk. After a moment he said, “Fine, we’ll end the surveillance of Oboro’s suite. If there is a dark side to her operations, it’s clear that she probably isn’t running it out of there. Still, try and put some pressure on the staff of the hotel, see if we can get one of them to place a few bugs for us.”

Inaho made a face letting him know what she thought the chances of such a thing happening were, a sentiment that he shared as the Majestic Leaf Hotel, not to mention all the hotels the family ran were rather notorious for keeping its guests’ secrets. A part of him felt a sudden urge to call up a prisoner to torture him all over again out of frustration. As the prisoner had once been a Jounin Sensei, who had taken a bribe from the owners of the hotel in order to have him fail their daughter as a kunoichi when she had taken the true Academy exam. The jounin had done so by showing her two teammates a genjutsu that had deeply scarred the young women. While, Ami, the target her parents had wanted to see fail had received a milder version. A part of Ibiki believed it had less to do with protecting their legacy as they had claimed when he had uncovered it after the man had been caught in a separate sting operation, as it did with insuring their daughter didn’t grow into a kunoichi who might be uncomfortable with the shadier side of how they ran their business and in turn become a pipeline of information for him and his department.

Mentally sighing at the lost opportunity, he changed tracks as he asked, “What about that other investigation your team has been working on?”

“I believe we may have narrowed in on an origin point for the killings or more possibly where the killer arrived on the continent,” Inaho stated as she moved to a large square cabinet with several wide but flat drawers which Ibiki used to store maps. It came up to about her waist, which didn’t truly inconvenience her as upon opening the first drawer she found exactly what she wanted. Pulling it out, she began to approach Ibiki desk while pointedly stating, “Well truthfully, Chouji deserves most of the credit.” Ibiki just made a brief hmmm, while wondering if he was going soft since Inaho wasn’t acting as meekly as many of his other subordinates did in his presence, despite only working for him for a fraction of the period others had. He admitted, that was one of the reasons he had high hopes for her, as even her pushing back against his suspicious of Oboro served to make him question if he wasn’t making some mistake. But, he put the matter to the side as she continued her explanation, “He did make the connection that the murders happening in Bean Jam Country were possibly being committed by someone impersonating the father of the girl that had witness the attack and said he had been killed by Elves. After doing some digging in reports other agents had sent back from neighboring countries, and some follow-up work by those in the field. I believe we’ve pieced the trail the killer took until meeting his end.”

She laid the map which had the various countries of the continent represented by a unique color down on his desk so that it faced him, and then starting in Bean Jam country and the town were the murders had been happening, she began to trace her finger down to the south. It hit several towns along the route she was drawing, although he noticed that when it hit keys, the path straightened leaving him suspect none of their agents had managed to pull anything of note from the secretive country. A hypothesis which gained validity when her finger hit the maroon colored country beneath, and it began seeking out towns to run through. It finally came to a stop in a white blue country which was the furthest south of those connected to the continent.

Ibiki leaned forward, upon noticing her finger stopped at a port town in the southern most portion of the country, which prompted him to say, “Hmmm, interesting. Do you suppose that is the actual point of origin, or perhaps the perpetrator is someone from a distant continent or island and that is just where they made landfall.”

Inaho frowned as she admitted, “I do not know sir. There really isn’t enough data to make a hypothesis at this point, and considering the killer’s ability to apparently change their appearance, it may be impossible to determine even if we got our hands of the culprit, depending on the nature of the transformation.”

“I’m guessing then if our potential serial killer is capable of disguising itself in the forms of others, then it wasn’t in the guise of the girl’s father the entire time,” Ibiki stated.

“Correct,” Inaho replied as she pointed to the next town south of the one where the incident with the elves supposedly happened, “I believe the father was murdered here, since he had some business there around the same time a few bodies had been discovered. My guess is he was probably one of the victims, but the killer took more care to hid what remains there were, if any. But, that would seem to fit the pattern we discovered.”

Having an idea, Ibiki stated, “After the murders seemed to stop, a member of the town or several towns previous would have been reported as missing. Which as it would be around the time the murders stopped in that particular town, it would lead some villagers to believe that they might have been the culprit, unaware the true killer had probably killed them and taken their identity. The local magistrates probably weren’t much better informed since I doubt they were communicating with each other between towns.”

“Yes sir,” Inaho answered with a nod.

Although she had answered quickly and certainly enough, he noticed a look appear in her eyes which made it appears as if she was torn about something, as if there was a detail that she wasn’t sure was worth adding. But, having recently seen Yoshino Nara in action, he had rediscovered the notion that at times it could be the smallest detail which cracked a case wide open, so said, “What is it?”

Inaho appeared a little caught off guard by his seemingly being aware that she was hold something back, but quickly answered, “It’s nothing sir.”

“Let me be the judge of that,” he stated gruffly which she apparently took as a rebuke as she nodded demurely.

“Well…” she stated before trailing off and beginning again, “While as my team and I were compiling the data, we noticed something that we felt might be relevant, but upon closer inspection of the details, we couldn’t really say it was connected so felt it best to exclude.”

“Noted,” Ibiki replied, “But, I would like to hear it anyway.”

Inaho inclined her head before explaining, “In one of the towns, a young woman had failed to return home when her father had expected her. He was a local big wig, and so managed to get several search parties to go out looking for her. Well, it turned out that she was just meeting with some boy that she was interested in. They were found together in a barn, in the midst of…being intimate so to speak…” She paused, and although her tone had been light with amusement at the situation, he noticed a little color appearing in her cheeks so again wondered if perhaps he should send her to Yuugao to try and desensitize her to the idea of sex and nudity. However, he figured much like with him, the job would do it over time considering how often the three vices of shinobi tended to be the cause of many a shinobi’s downfall which it was often their job to determine and find when and where it had happened. After a moment she carried on, by stating, “Which isn’t interesting in and of itself, particularly since a majority of the murders happened in the victims’ homes during the night. However, as one of the search parties her father had gathered ended up locating a corpse hidden in the nearby forest, it could have been relevant, especially as it did have its hands and head removed seemingly to prevent identification.”

She paused, and Ibiki could see that she was searching his face for some sign of what he felt on the matter. But, he kept it blank purposefully, not wanting to influence her since he was of the opinion that it was a detail that should be worth including in the report that she was compiling on the matter, and so wanted her unvarnished reasoning as to why she would exclude it from the written report she planned to turn in. After a moment, she provided her reasoning, “But, as none of the other villages along the route reported finding any such corpses, and this corpse appeared intact outside of the already stated mutilation…”

“You mean the organs were still intact, and uneaten,” Ibiki asked for clarification to which she nodded.

Continuing she said, “Also, the body seemed to be in an accelerated state of decay, so rather than being a victim of a member of the town whom the killer was impersonating. I believed it was perhaps an unrelated incident, since if it was a local then they could probably have identified them via DNA.”

Ibiki frowned as he realized one of the flaws in her thinking, which he attributed to her inexperience. “I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss its relevance,” Ibiki said, keeping his tone neutral. “For starters, where did this event take place?” Inaho pointed towards a country that was colored a light brown on his map, and was the third country one would hit when traveling south from the Land of Bean Jam, making it the second to last country Inaho’s fingers had hit when backtracking the killer’s trail earlier. “It appears to me, that if we treat the origin point of where the murders first appeared on the continent as the true origin, this body being found might have been the killer being still relatively new and so it didn’t take care to properly dispose of the body.”

“I did consider that sir,” Inaho stated quickly, showing that was indeed the case as she had her reasoning prepared, “But, when you consider the elves involvement, it falls apart rather quickly since, it would seem to suggest a local problem which grew bigger, and there is no reference to any clan that would fit the descriptions the girl gave of the elves. Furthermore, I believe if it had been a townsperson, then regardless of the mutilation, some form of identification could have been made, exposing the ruse…”

Ibiki cut her off gently hoping to correct her of a misconception as he stated, “Well for starters, you shouldn’t assume this town has the same level of access to DNA identification that we have. While most shinobi villages have some means of DNA testing generally due to their interest in learning about their enemies, most places outside of them do not. More than likely outside of a shinobi village, only a major city or hospital would, with the best most towns being able to use to identify the body would have been the traces of some injury everyone knew of. As such, even if it had been some villager, then they would probably have still just labeled it as a john doe, and disposed of it.”

Inaho nodded, as while she didn’t know what had happened to the body, since the report she had read hadn’t recorded its fate, accepted it could be a possibility. Still, while she was indeed rather surprised, at the lack of pervasiveness in regards to technology she had access to, she wasn’t quite ready to abandon her reason for feeling it was unimportant as she said, “Sir, but the elves…”

“Leave that aside for the moment,” Ibiki stated, before further explaining where he felt she was going wrong in her reasoning, “The other matter I find you might be missing is the timeline of first and last victim in a location. It seems to me, you believe the only place this body would have fit would have been for it to have been the first in the town. Why?”

Inaho took a moment to gather her thoughts before explaining, “Well, the murders leading up to that point were quick brutal, with only a single incident per a town, although some had multiple victims if the killer attacked a home with a family. Assuming the killer is a he, then he was moving rapidly trying to put as much distance from the port where the first attack happened and himself as possible. This is why I believe the killer may have been an external threat and reached the continent from there. These early attacks all followed the m.o. of the bodies being ripped open and the insides being mostly or partially digested that were present throughout. However, once he hit this town, the killer stayed in place, and attacked several families over the course of a few weeks. So, if the headless corpse is related to the murders, then I feel it had to be the first victim and would belong to the identity that the killer assumed, which is why he suddenly felt comfortable enough to stay in one place. The murders also ended shortly after it was discovered, so I did send a follow up request for an agent to check if anyone had gone missing afterwards and it appeared someone did, but as the body has been destroyed there is no way to follow up any further. Since I cannot confirm its identity, I felt it was unimportant to the overall investigation.”

Ibiki could understand why she would feel that was the case, but postulated, “I can see where you are coming from, but let us consider a different track, what changes if the body wasn’t a victim, or should I say, wasn’t a victim of that town at all?” He was pleased when it became apparent that she was plugging the new potential detail into the equations she had already run, rather than just digging her heels in at being questioned.

After a moment, her eyes widened alerting him to the fact that she had indeed arrived at a different possibility, which she stated aloud, “If that was the case, then it would mean the body belonged to a victim from a previous town, which might mean the killer isn’t just assuming someone’s identity, he’s stealing their entire body. The body that was found was his original one, and perhaps the state of decay was due to why he needed to change bodies in the first place”

With her arriving at a similar point as him, he stated, “I believe, it, would be a more appropriate way to describe this being.” Standing, and leaning over the map, he said, “Let’s assume for a moment that this killer started somewhere near the port town, meaning it is from the continent.”

“I’m not sure I understand why you would assume that,” Inaho said looking up from the map, “Sure, shinobi like Orochimaru were said to be able to switch bodies, and that technique is how everyone assumes Sasuke Uchiha was able to heal from the damage that he received during a previous battle with Naruto. But, that isn’t enough to assume this killer isn’t from another continent.”

“Agreed,” Ibiki replied, “But, what if we aren’t dealing with a shinobi, instead it is some sort of creature?”

Inaho frowned, before replying, “I’m not sure what is leading you to believe that?”

Ibiki aloud a rare smile as he stated, “It would be these elves that were apparently hunting it which leads me to believe this is the case. I think it knew it was being hunted, and so tried to lose pursuit at first by moving quickly. Of course, since it was leaving corpses in its wake, it may actually need to feed on human flesh to sustain itself.” Although, Inaho still appeared skeptical, he could see that she was open to the possibility so hoping for more details on the creature’s suspected killers said, “I’m sure you’ve already considered this, but did you try using the two that attacked the girls father to determine the trail. If what the girl saw wasn’t a genjutsu then we may be able to backtrack the trail of the killings further by identifying them, and possibly determine whether or not they did arrive by a ship. I assume they must have a rather striking appearance to be confused as elves, so somebody must have noticed them if they rode on a ship together.”

“I did ask our field agents to look into it,” Inaho replied, the frown on her lips being all the evidence that he needed that it hadn’t amounted to anything, which she confirmed, “But, I believe the elves must have known they would stand out so kept a low profile, even if they arrived by boat. Furthermore, considering the gruesome nature of the murders, I’m guessing they didn’t need to interact much with the locals to know they were on the correct trail.”

Ibiki inclined his head suspecting as much, and imagined they probably would have worn cloaks to hide their appearances, and apparently the large swords they used. As such, he suspected most of those who may have seen them on the road or passing through a town would just have imagined them to be either mercenaries, or bandits so probably gave them a wide berth.

His subordinate frowned as she added. “Sir, I’m still not seeing why the presence of these elves are leading you to believe the killer was some kind of creature, as opposed to being a shinobi.”

Focusing on his subordinate, he said, “Okay, while I admit there isn’t a lot of facts to back me up here, let’s consider the elves motivation for a moment. If they are indeed from some other land, why would they travel so far to pursue this one killer. They can’t be law enforcement since I can’t see why they would act in such a secretive manner.”

Inaho’s frown deepened, not that he could blame her, since what he was doing was not something an investigator wanted to, as they may begin to twist facts to fit their theories rather than use the facts to discredit them. Still, with nothing more to apparently go on, and suspecting something to be afoot, he felt it was worth the exercise. After a moment, she tried to poke a hole in his by stating, “We can’t really rule that out can we? They probably just figured it would be easier to work on their own, and not try to drag in people who have no reason to believe them or might actually hinder them.”

“True, but then why attack the creature in the guise of the girl’s father in the middle of the night?” Ibiki countered, “By that point, it had already committed several murders in the town. So, if they were law enforcement, they could have probably easily gotten the local magistrate on their side by explaining the situation. Furthermore, why disappear with the body? If they needed proof of the kill, and it was switching bodies, then bringing it back wouldn’t necessarily prove it was the killer they were tracking.”

Inaho still looked unsure, but it appeared as if she was beginning to see the case Ibiki was building. However, believing it best to try and discredit it, she replied, “Well, if the killer was jumping bodies, then we have to assume it was able to completely blend into the identities it took over, since the girl didn’t seem to believe anything was off with her father before the attack. That would lead me to believe, something was changed within them, and it was also probably what caused the bodies to burnout, leading to it needing to switch in the first place. If so, then whatever this change was would probably let them prove their claim.”

Ibiki allowed another smirk as he felt like a shogi master who already had a counter prepped to an opponent’s move as he countered, “Very true, but then you have the problem of these two elves needing to return to their home country while carrying a body with them. For, if I’m remembering correctly, the account the girl gave was they took the body upon noticing her, not sealed it.”

Inaho had been about to reply almost as soon as Ibiki had begun countering her, as she intended to point out that sealing would make the task noticeably easier. But, it collapsed upon his making the distinction, since if they had the means to deal with the body in such a manner, she would assume they would take the few seconds it would have required as it would make escaping a town that was awakening due to the battle they had engaged in all the easier. She frowned though, since as it appeared they lacked the means felt it would weaken his overall case so asked, “Wouldn’t their lacking the ability lend weight to their being from a foreign land?”

“Not necessarily,” Ibiki replied, “Sealing, while a relatively simple shinobi technique for things like basic tools and weapons, becomes infinitely harder depending on what it is to be used on. Sealing a corpse for example, especially doing so quickly, is a skill even many jounin are incapable of. The seals required are infinitely more complex after all, if sealing was the relatively cheap way to carry things movies and shows portray it as, armies would be able to carry months or even years of supplies easily eliminating the threat of having supply lines cut. And killers would be able to clean up their messes relatively simply as well. Thus, if our elves were not from this continent, or even if they are, if they needed to provide proof that they dealt with the killer, you would think they would have already accounted for how they would need to move once they had achieved their objective.”

“Leading you to believe that they didn’t need the body to confirm they had dealt with the killer, and so disposed of it as soon as they were able,” Inaho stated earning a nod from her superior. Recognizing that if they didn’t take it because they were law enforcement, or even bounty hunters, it meant they likely didn’t want anyone poking at it, she asked, “Then are you suggesting that they weren’t concerned about the killings in and of themselves?” Quite aware that it was a common practice for shinobi to prevent rival villages from learning secrets from their fallen, she asked, “Then you’re suggesting these elves were some sort of clean up team, and the killer was what, someone that escaped from an Orochimaru like experiment?”

“I believe it to be a possibility,” Ibiki answered as he studied the map, while focusing on the Blueish-white country the murders had started in, and was known as the Land of Secrets. Something which it was his job to expose, and he intended to do so, but first he explained his reasoning, “As things stand, I believe the killings to be the work of some creature or experiment that escaped. To what end, I’m unsure. But, I think it may be a case where someone or some group is developing weapons of a biological nature. They may have even succeeded to some degree as the uniformity of both women having silver eyes, light hair, while using similar weapons with matching armor may not be due to their being a part of a clan, but having undergone some sort of experiment themselves. Moreover, due to the furtive manner in which the incident was dealt with, it is apparent someone didn’t want anyone looking into this too deeply. Which makes me all the more inclined to do so, especially as who or whatever is behind this incident, seems to have the means and capability to generate weapons and armor that suggests some level of organization is at play here. But as we can’t backtrack the trail further at the moment, I want you to have our agents concentrate on looking for anything suspicious in the area where the first murder happened.”

Inaho nodded, and although she knew Ibiki was likely already aware of the fact that she was about to mention, still felt it was worth doing so as she stated, “Sir, it is a port town. I’d be more surprised if nothing suspicious was discovered.”

“Then I suspect you and your team are going to be busy breaking down the reports,” Ibiki replied as he retook his seat. “I don’t care if you have to uncover every person’s secret in that town. Hell, I want to know where every dog buries its bone when everything is said and done. I think your team might have uncovered a lead that might help shed some light on one of the many groups that has remained hidden in the shadows, and I’m looking forward to shining some light on them before they spring something on us for a change.”

“Yes sir, I’ll send out the necessary orders,” Inaho said, as she grabbed the map, and placed it back in the drawer. Upon doing so she made her way to the door, but paused before opening it as she added, “I’ll be sure to mention it to Chouji that you feel it was the detail that he noticed which might have exposed the Shadow Cabal itself.”

She then quickly made her exit, leaving him torn between amusement and annoyance at her returning to the original reason for their discussion and having the last word about it. But, it turned out to be neither as both emotions faded to allow an uneasiness to settle over him. He stood from his desk, and approached a cabinet which housed many of the liquors that he collected, and upon opening the front, pulled the bottle of Thunder Whiskey that Kiyomi had once gifted him. Pouring himself a glass, he put the bottle back as he returned to his seat. Taking a drink, he savored the flavor as he tried to put the unease he was feeling in perspective.

The source of it was easy enough to place, as it was tied to the woman Oboro. Yet outside of that, he found the reason that she made him uneasy harder to place. Although he suspected most would likely point to her having once been a participant to the Fourth Mizukage’s Kekkei Genkai purges. As someone who tortured people for a living, Ibiki couldn’t say he found her involvement all that shocking, since he was quite aware of the lengths people would go, not only to live, but to thrive. Moreover, he couldn’t even say that she had been lying about her reasons for her participation, and while many would point to it as being evidence of her perhaps being a villain, as one who also handled the dirty work required to get intel to protect his village, he imagined that just as many would say the same about him.

Taking another sip of his drink as he ran back over the interrogation through his head, he frowned as he recalled her rather playful responses to his inquires. Feeling that was the root cause, he tried to puzzle out why, and while it was easy enough to pin it on her being almost completely unphased by her being called in for an interrogation. He didn’t feel that was the case here, since it was easy enough to see that she had the intelligence to recognize her being called had indeed been a distinct possibility of her hiring the recently disgraced Yurika almost as soon as she became available. Which, he suspected might actually be the root cause of the disquiet he felt, that perhaps she had hired Yurika for no other reason to be called in for an interview. He accepted the idea might be him just grasping at straws, as again the reasoning she had proved was sound enough, although he still had reservations as to how much she would truly trust a Dust addict to secure her messages. Still, he was forced to admit other individuals he would have written off had been put to rather amazing use by the likes of Kiyomi, who he also likely would not have trusted considering her origins. Although, in truth he imagined it was the blond that she and the others were all tied to who truly kept them from reverting to their worst behaviors. Something that he severely doubted Oboro was capable of.

But regardless of whether or not Oboro was going to be a positive influence on Yurika and in time the disgraced kunoichi would become a sound investment for the company that she owned, he couldn’t shake the feeling that almost as soon as he had entered the room with her, he had found himself playing a game of her devising. One in which he hadn’t know the objective or the rules, which had been the true source of the amusement that she had displayed for the most part.

He rubbed his eyes tiredly, as he tried to puzzle out just what it would be she was after. Naturally, Chouji sprang to mind, and he admitted that if the Akimichi had been her objective in some way, then he had probably lost some esteem in his subordinate’s eyes due to his attempt to expose the truths of the woman that he was with. However, where he was struggling in determining her motives was what she would want with him. After all, whatever her true interests in him were, if she did have ulterior motives, they had existed at least a short time before Chouji had joined the Torture and Interrogation Department. A decision that admittedly she could have manipulated him towards as it was easy to see that Chouji was extremely passionate about bringing Sasuke to heel. Still, Ibiki wasn’t quite sure what her end goal would be then, since he had done everything he could to disabuse the many new applicants his department had seen in the aftermath of Sasuke’s attack on the Leaf Prison, that they would get a chance to satisfy their desires for vengeance by working for him. A lesson many of the applicants soon came to realize as they eventually moved onto other pursuits as their anger burned out. Still, Chouji remained, and it was still easy to see the anger was still there inside him like a fire that was burning quietly in a room waiting for the right moment when some door or window was opened to explode into action once more. Although, whether it was artificially being stoked by Oboro or not was hard to say, as he wasn’t quite sure what she would want him to do with it. After all, when Orochimaru had tempted Sasuke away from Konoha, it had been done by using the anger trapped in the Uchiha, by showing him how weak he still was and promising him power. Yet, he couldn’t see how Oboro intended to use Chouji’s anger towards the Uchiha for similar ends.

Granted, he admitted that he could be overthinking the whole matter, and all she was truly interested in was perhaps stealing some Akimichi DNA via a child they would conceive. Although, considering the display the two had put on, if that had been the case then he imagined that she would already have succeeded. As such, he doubted that was the case, since he wasn’t aware of any such interested parties, unlike with people looking to procure the Byakugan. Still, he felt it might be worth taking a look to see if there had been any such requests made within the various black markets that dealt with trying to procure and sell Bloodline abilities or organs.

The final reason his mind provided, was ultimately what had caused him to pull the surveillance off of her which was that her hiring Yurika had been done to get him to start an investigation into her. An investigation that she could use to claim as harassment, which she could then cast as being a result of the close relationship that appeared to exist between the Great Tree Shipping Company, and the Hokage. If that was Oboro’s game, then he imagined that there were a few places where her company might be competing against the Great Tree Shipping Company that she believed would decide to work with her rather than her rival should they come to believe the relationship was so strong that the Hokage would use her powers to harass a competitor. Granted, that hadn’t been a concern Kiyomi, or Mito when playing her, shared, since they were quite convinced they could sell their helping in Ame as a positive. But, he imagined the equation would quickly change if Oboro began screaming that she was being unfairly investigated for performing a similar action as the Great Tree Shipping Company had when taking on Karin or more recently Fuka.

Still, even though Ibiki would put the last theory as potentially the most viable with the current information he had, it just didn’t seem to fit. As it almost seemed too pedestrian for a woman like Oboro, even though truthfully he had no reason to believe that to be the case. Granted, he couldn’t rule it out, since in truth, as a kunoichi she would recognize that it would have required very little effort on her part to get him dancing to her tune if that was indeed what she desired, with her tryst with Chouji just being a way to rub it in his face. Not to mention it would explain the amusement that she had displayed, still he couldn’t shake the feeling there was a greater game afoot. Again, his mind returned to Chouji being the true prize, as he could recognize his misstep of including the young man in watching the interrogation apparently had driven the two closer together. But, unless she intended to direct him at Sasuke, he couldn’t really see what her greater interest in the Akimichi would be. Nor, in what she gained by revealing their involvement to him, as in all likelihood, he wouldn’t have even cared if not for her hiring Yurika.

He considered “calling” Yurika in to see if he could learn anything of worth from her, but imagined that would trigger a scenario where Oboro would scream to any who would listen that she, her company, and now employees were being harassed. Especially, as despite her drug habit, Yurika had already been cleared of any direct involvement in the scheme to entrap and murder Iruka. Ibiki’s annoyance returned at his feeling as if Oboro knew exactly what position she had placed him in, all without his even truly having an inkling as to what her game truly was. What was worse was for all he knew there wasn’t even a game being played, and her amusement was born of his apparently spinning himself in circles over nothing.

Standing and returning to his liquor cabinet, he poured another glass for himself although he made sure to fill it to the brim as he imagined that with the way his mind was seeing plots within plots, he’d need some help getting to sleep that night.

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

Inaho sat back from the small desk she kept in her apartment as she stretched her arms over her head working out the stiffness that had accumulated from sitting in place too long. She began to read through the report she had been putting together, and was compiling the data in regards to murders that had been one of the topics discussed with Ibiki earlier in the day. She had needed to rewrite it to include the details that she had previously disregarded as being insignificant enough to include. Now attempting to proofread it, she got only a few paragraphs in but found herself zooming through it, and thus reading what she wanted or had intended to be there rather than what may actually be written. Guessing it was still too fresh in her mind, she decided to resume checking it for mistakes in the morning.

She sighed disappointedly as she sat back in her chair and was born with how her evening had turned out since after the meeting with Ibiki, she had spent the rest of the afternoon filling out the necessary forms to get several field agents reassigned to the Land of Secrets. A task upon which completing, she had returned to the room assigned to her cell to find them packing up for the evening. One of the team members had suggested they all go out for drinks, which a few of others had seemed open to, but Chouji had not been one claiming he had made plans that night already. As none of her team outside of her had participated in the stakeout the night before, none of them thought anything of his response. Although, Inaho feared that she had given away some clue that she knew exactly how he had spent the night previous when after she had also turned down the request Chouji suddenly asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Y..yes fine,” she said feeling her cheeks heating up some, “Why do you ask?”

Chouji simply shrugged in response as the team member who had suggested they go out revealed they had probably been speculating on where she had been, “Well, you’ve been gone since just after lunch, and we were wondering if you were feeling unwell. Your face is looking a little flush as well.”

Inaho shook her head trying to will the color from her cheeks as she stated, “I’m fine. I had a meeting with Ibiki which ended with me spending the rest of the day having to reassign our field assets.” Focusing on Chouji, she found her body heating up again, but managed to sound professional enough to her ears at least as she said, “It looks like that lead we followed in Bean Jam country may have paid off. In the coming days and weeks we’ll be receiving reports from the Land of Secrets, specifically in regards to the port where we suspected the murders started at.”

“To what end?” a kunoichi team member asked. “I was of the opinion that the killer arrived from another continent, and the supposed elves probably followed him here.”

“Ibiki has proposed another theory,” Inaho replied. Sensing the next question she would likely be asked, she quickly added, “I’m going to forestall sharing it for the time being. I want the rest of you to look over the field reports that will be coming in with fresh perspectives. I’m going to finish the finalized report on the murders tonight, as Ibiki suggested I add some details that we had felt were overall unimportant to the chain of events. We’ll do a review of it when we begin delving into the new stuff coming in.” Receiving a chorus of nods, she stated, “With that said, I suggest you enjoy the next few nights as we’ll probably be neck deep in paperwork before too long.”

Inaho sighed, as instead of taking her own advice, she was currently sitting alone in her apartment while she imagined Chouji was likely buried deep inside the voluptuous reddish-purple haired woman who he had taken as a lover. She closed her eyes, and her apartment faded away to be replaced by the one she had spent the evening in the night before. One which she had shared with the two men who had also been present when Ibiki had interrogated Oboro. A general sense of frustration had been her companion for most of the evening, due in part to her feeling that they were overstepping their boundaries in investigating a woman who for all intents and purposes appeared almost squeaky clean, while also meddling in the relationship of someone she was beginning to consider a friend. Especially, as much of the conversation between the two lovers that evening had seemed to only become necessary due to their meddling in the first place.

Granted, a very large part of her understood Ibiki’s concern, especially considering what had happened the last time a mysterious woman had taken an interest in a member of his department. For a brief moment her recollection of the night before was hijacked by the memory of her finding the naked and mummified-like corpse of Tanzo. She quickly pushed the memory away, as she tried to think of something more pleasant, but sadly her memory just decided to return to the playback of the night before where her frustrations had continued to mount as the two chunin who had also witnessed the interrogation of Oboro with her, had punctuated the conversation happening between Chouji and her which they were videotaping and picking up with a directional mike with their own commentary on everything from her beauty to what they would already be doing to her if they were in Chouji’s shoes.

A part of her vexations with the pair stemmed from their gushing over the other woman, since she doubted either of them even registered her as being a woman. An image problem she had faced even as far back as her academy days, as she had been confused with being a man on more than one occasion. At first, it hadn’t really bothered her, and in fact she had even taken a little pride in it. After all, she had looked down on most of her fellow kunoichi, outside of one named Tenten, as she had seen most of them as love struck idiots unable to take their studies seriously as they were too busy gushing over Neji, who most of them saw as quiet loner type who just needed the right woman to bring him around to the ways of love. Something which suited her just fine, as it had made it all the easier for her to stand out in the academy, and attaining her goal of being recognized as the best kunoichi of the class. Which while she would have shot for being best in class overall, she felt it a goal that was out of reach since for one she had shared it with Neji, but also felt the odds were further stacked against her on account of her gender as she and her fellow kunoichi in training had to take specialized classes in things like flower arranging and tea ceremonies while her male classmates got to enjoy addition taijutsu or shuriken classes. Still, she supposed it had its benefits as it meant she had an excuse not to measure herself against a prodigy resulting in her succeeding in the goal she had set for herself. Although Tenten had made it a rather stiff competition, and would probably have beaten her if not for her already beginning to focus on fighting from afar to the detriment of her taijutsu skills, and turning in a paper that had netted her a failing grade in which she had tried to argue that the real history of Mito Uzumaki had been erased for some reason.

Yet now, Inaho was beginning to wonder if she perhaps wouldn’t have been somewhat better served if she had also joined in on some of the more girlish antics that her fellow classmates had. After all, many of them had already dropped out of the shinobi program having found their Mr. Rights, and thus spent their nights in passionate embraces as several had already gotten knocked up. Thus leading her to believe that perhaps they hadn’t been wasting their time as she had originally believed, as they had built up the skills to both attract and land a man, while she was spending her nights writing a report about a serial killer as she sat alone in her apartment while wearing just an oversized shirt that she wore to bed and her panties. Especially as it had taken her nearly a year to work up the nerve to even approach the matter of dating with a young man that she had liked, only for him to be targeted by some sort of monstrous seductress on the very night she had planned to make her move. Of course, his having lost all interest in her the moment the woman who had resembled Tsunade, who many shinobi and even some kunoichi believed to be a goddess of beauty personified hadn’t done much for her ego especially as she had made an effort to dress more feminine while in public ever since taking her second Chunin Exam. Which although she hadn’t passed, she had done well enough in it that Ibiki had kept a continued eye on her development, and had apparently been doing so since her first attempt as he had believed she had seen through his ruse, but had been forced to drop out when her teammate had been unwilling to take the tenth question fearing he would forever be denied another attempt, and as such had nominated her for promotion upon her third time through.

Inaho wondered if perhaps she hadn’t let him down some by cutting the camera feed upon realizing what Chouji and Oboro were doing. However, she attributed some of her reason for acting as she did due to her fellow Chunin treating the entire affair as a peep show, especially when Oboro had allowed her dress to drop to her feet. But, she also admitted that perhaps her own dissatisfaction with her lack of a sex life had colored her motives, as she imagined even if she had climbed on the table and stripped naked to play with herself, the two Chunin would have still been more interested in the fully clothed Oboro, even if she had just been reading from a dictionary. As such, when the two of them had practically begun drooling over themselves as they got an unobstructed view of Oboro’s breasts when she had gripped the railing of the balcony, which even Inaho had to admit were impressive, and something to be envious of. She had decided enough was enough, and ushered them out of the room claiming she had enough of their unprofessionalism, at which point she had cut the feed. Still, much as she had informed Ibiki, she had left the mike running on the off chance that something of worth was said. However, all she had heard were the sounds of two people who appeared rather passionate when it came to their lovemaking, although she felt that wasn’t necessarily the correct term for what she had witnessed.

It had taken a considerable act of willpower for her to refrain from indulging in the feelings the sounds of the two people fucking had caused to arise in her. Although admittedly, it wasn’t just resolve which had stopped her from indulging in a little self-exploration, but the concern that one of the two chunin might decide to return and would find her in the midst of acting in an unprofessional manner herself. A concern which wasn’t present in the moment, as she was pulled back to the present when a moan escaped from her lips as she absentmindedly began petting herself through her panties.

Inaho tried to stop, but having restrained herself the night before found her reserves of willpower unequal to the task. So, unlike the previous night where she had sat in a chair squirming while watching Chouji and Oboro through the window, and recording the mating song they were making with her hands balled into fists in her lap, she pushed her current chair back as she pushed her lap forward and spread her legs causing the hem of her shirt to ride up and expose her panty clad mound. She reached back and grabbed the back of her chair with one hand while her other began to rub her slit through the white cloth of her underwear. She let out a soft murmur as she closed her eyes, and was immediately greeted by the sight of Oboro gripping her balcony with a look of ecstasy etched onto her face as Chouji powerfully slammed into her from behind. Her murmurs turned into moans as she began rubbing became more frantic, switching from the soft up and down tracing of her opening to more vigorous circles as she tried to stimulate every spot of her cunny at once. It didn’t take nearly as long for her underwear to reach the same point of dampness the pair she had worn the night before had, which she supposed shouldn’t be a surprise considering her more direct involvement in stimulating herself. But needing to feel more, she raised her hand above the band of her panties, and plunged it inside where she resumed rubbing herself in rapid circles trying to bring herself to release. She moaned as she pushed her mound up against her hand trying to mirror some of the actions she had witnessed the night before, and began to feel frustrated as her body seemed to require even greater stimulation to get her closer to the finish line.

She felt the temptation to plunge something deep inside her, which caused her to slip out of her daydream of the night previous as her eyes snapped open. She looked around her desperate for something to help her finish without giving into the temptation, since she wanted her first time to feel something enter her to belong to a man that she cared for. She felt a bit of melancholy begin to sap away at her mood and desire for release as she had been prepared for Tanzo to be that man. But, then her eyes settled on a tape that was laying on her desk. She bit her lip as the temptation to play it grew within her, since it was the recording of the act she had witnessed the night before, and she had brought home intending to add it to the file that she had been completing as Ibiki had requested.

Giving into the temptation the recording represented, she snatched it up and moved to her bed which resided in the same room due to her living in a small studio apartment. As she moved the short distance required, she pulled the oversized shirt that she used to sleep in over her head, and let it fall to the floor, before bending over in front of her nightstand. Opening the drawer, she first pulled out a portable cassette player connected to some headphones, and quickly switched the tape that was inside with the previous night’s recording. She then dug out a pink vibrating wand she hid towards the bottom of the drawer, before slamming it shut in haste as she fell onto her bed.

Pressing play, it picked up much where the video recording she had cut off and hadshown Ibiki earlier had ended as Oboro cried out, “That’s it! Fuck me like the beast you are…oh gods I can’t get enough of this Akimichi cock.”

Oboro moaned loudly, an action Inaho mirrored as she switched on her pink wand and pressed it against her soaked panties as the recording played the muted sounds of Chouji doing as his lover instructed, and began ramming his rod into her. Inaho kept the wand pressed against her with one hand, as she used her legs to push her hips against it trying to simulate what it would be like to be in Oboro’s position, while her other hand began to fondle her breast similarly to how Chouji had as she allowed the recording to recreate the scene behind her closed eyes, which seemed even more vibrant and real due to sounds making her memory come to life. Thanks in part to the sounds filling her ears from the headphones, she felt as if she had been transported from a voyeur watching from across the street to a guest on the balcony sitting at the table where they had just enjoyed a fine meal and was now watching on as Oboro and Chouji released their passions.

She felt a little shocked at how tempting it was for her shift herself from watcher to participant, or more accurately to switch the scene, even from her new vantage point, from memory to fantasy. Still she did resist this temptation although mostly due to her feeling even a mental image of herself, wouldn’t quite stack up to the voluptuous Oboro leading to her playing a less than staring role in her own fantasy. Especially, as the scene continued to the point where Chouji had pulled out of her, and spun her to face him before slamming back inside. Oboro had cried out in bliss, before reaching upto grip Chouji’s shirt which she ripped open before licking his chest and neck.

“Gods, what you’re doing to me,” she cried as she pulled away from his neck to give voice to the pleasure she felt.

Chouji for his part, simply silenced her with a kiss that seemed almost needy as it appeared as if he had shoved his tongue down her throat. Oboro simply accepted the gesture as she wrapped her legs around his driving hips, and tried to pull him deeper into her. Chouji slammed into her even harder as a result of her silent urging, and soon began to pick up in pace as well as he pulled back to inform her, “I’m ready to blow.”

“Do it,” Oboro moaned seductively as she clutched Chouji to her breast which he began sucking on as if to swallow the whole of it, “Give me every drop.”

Outside, the memory Inaho’s hips were pushing frantically against her buzzing wand as she now used both hands to hold it in place and to increase the pressure she felt. Her efforts paid off as she heard Chouji’s recorded voice cry out, “Fuuuccckkkk!” as he shot his load deep into her lover. At which point, Inaho raised her hips fully off the bed while she gushed over the head of her toy as her already saturated panties did little to hold back the flood that she had released.

Inaho sagged down onto the bed, and switched off her toy while her hand slipped into her panties to rub herself gently trying to maintain the pleasantness she was feeling for a few seconds more. The recording continued to play as the lovers breathing returned to normal, but Oboro let out a soft moan as Chouji began to pull back. However, the recording then filled with the noises of wet, sloppy sounding sucking as Oboro slipped off the balcony and had dropped to her knees to taste the cock that she had just enjoyed to completion.

She let it slip free of her lips with a pop as she informed Chouji, and by extension those monitoring them, “Gods, I love the taste of myself when mixed with your cum.” She stood as she asked, “Want a taste?” To Inaho’s surprise, Chouji hadn’t hesitated to pull her into a wet and messy kiss which she imaged had been as much for the people watching them benefit as their own. Oboro smiled contently when they separated as she stated, “I think we’ve given your paranoid boss or whoever he ended up assigning the task of watching us enough of a show for tonight. Let’s retire somewhere more comfortable for the encore.” Chouji simply chuckled as Oboro led him from the balcony, and once the sliding door of the balcony had closed behind them, the mike proved unable to pickup any more of what happened between the couple.

Inaho sighed contently as the recording played the silence that followed, which was only punctuated by the odd bird call here and there. Pulling her hand free of her panties, she played with the wetness which coated them for a moment, feeling a little dirty and guilty for using the recording in such a manner. However, almost of its own accord it began to fade as she felt a new and sudden temptation which had her bring her fingers to her mouth which she sucked clean of her release. To her surprise, she didn’t find the taste all that off putting and as she laid there feeling an overwhelming desire to close her eyes, began to wonder what she would taste like if flavored with the release of a man that she cared for, or at the moment, would settle for simply desired. Which was perhaps why as she slipped into a dream, it revolved around her kneeling before a certain naked subordinate whose cock was wet and glistening with her release as her just satisfied pussy leaked his deposited seed onto the floor beneath her.

Next Chapter: Hardening the Steel: Part II

Author’s note: Well hello everyone. First, as always I would like to thank those that take the time to read and review my stories. They are the wind beneath my wings that keep me motivated. Secondly, for those saying, “Wait a second you bastard, you were supposed to be working on the next chapter of the Pride.” Well to those I say, “Sorry.” But the other thing that keeps me going is a little muse who at times just says, “I don’t care what you said you would be working on! You’re doing this now!” Naturally, I complied as it is sometimes better to just accept, rather than argue. Which is probably why this chapter ended up being finished in around half the time it has taken me to update over the last few years.

Well regardless of any disappointment at which story was updated, I do hope you ended up enjoying it, or at least if not the events how it contributes to Eroninja overall. One of the reasons I decided to release it now, is because the story above would take place shortly after the battle of Ame, but before the start of the next Chunin Exams. The second half will probably be timed to come out shortly after the completion of the Chunin Exam arc and still needs to be written. Since, who knows when either task will be finished, I figured it would be best to just release now. Plus, to show that I haven’t necessarily been sitting around doing nothing for the last month and a half since my previous chapter. Hopefully, with the muse satisfied, it will help me churn out the next Pride chapter in a similar time frame.

So, until next time. Take care! Sincerely, The Lemon Sage.