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Eroninja: The Limelight
Chapter 17
Toka: Those who chase two goals, rarely succeed in obtaining either

Chapter takes place shortly after the conclusion of Eroninja 104

Toka was sitting in a meditative pose within the middle of a large grassy training field contemplating on matters related to the world that she now found herself to be a part of. All the while, the two men that she would be taking the Chunin Exams with seemed to be locked in a life and death struggle against their own shadows. Ignoring them in favor of focusing on herself as she was responsible for their current trials, she couldn’t deny that for the most part she was at peace with her having been displaced from her own time. Not too surprising when considering the near constant warfare of her youth. Granted, it was still something of a sore point to see that her once mighty clan had been so reduced that there was only a single descendant of it that still bore its name. But she did take some satisfaction that her clan, unlike its longtime rivals, the Uchiha, hadn’t met its end in a massacre. Instead, it had been brought about due to the founding of Konoha with the clan having been a victim of her cousin’s dream since it had appeared that most members of the Senju, having found a place to call home, had slowly over the next century that had followed had simply chosen to leave the warriors path behind. A somewhat melancholic ending to what had once been the mightiest of all the Clans. Still to be alive at what was to be its twilight at times caused her to considered perhaps accepting the consequence that would result should she chose to produce offspring in the hopes of seeing the Senju name carried on. Especially as she had little doubt Tsunade had no interest in doing so. She imagined the Senju elders of her time should their spirits be watching over her, would be shocked that she of all people was even contemplating such. If not subjected to endless, I told you so’s, as they would reiterate preventing the Senju name from fading into history was exactly why they had felt it was a kunoichi’s duty to produce as many future warriors as possible. However, she didn’t allow her thoughts to travel too far down such a path as there was only one man that she was interested in bearing children for, and he had made it clear that wasn’t something which he was interested in doing. Not that she could blame him as while she had firsthand experience with watching those that she cared for dying, often violently right before her eyes, she imagined the pain one would feel could potentially be a thousand time worse knowing that for any child that they brought into the world, each day that passed would move them closer to death all while he would carry on potentially forever.

Truth be told, she respected her lover’s forward thinking and principled view on the matter, since she imagined lesser individuals would carve out a caveat for themselves, only to impose such restrictions on some future generation when the true burdens of a world without death couldn’t be ignored. Although truthfully, that was really Kiyomi’s reasoning, and she admitted that her belief that Naruto supported it as well was simply due from his not having contradicted her. So admittedly, Naruto’s own reason for not wanting children could simply have been born of his being a man on the cusp of turning twenty and possessed a harem of women willing to satisfy his every sexual desire, so didn’t want to muddy the water with the burdens of being a father. With his own silence on the matter, simply due to the being which had blessed them with a form or immortality had stated the inability to procreate was the price and for the moment it coincided with his own lack of desire to have a bunch of offspring running around to ruin his good times.

A somewhat less than flattering take of the man that she loved based on the red color which her chakra had become after she had bound herself to him. But one that she couldn’t entirely shake due to what she deemed to be the recent missteps which he had taken in regard to his self-appointed mission of bringing peace to the shinobi world. Namely, the decision to support and then directly aid Yugito’s desire to defect from Kumogakure. She would admit that the Senju within her was rather pleased by the decision to hurt the Cloud Village, particularly considering the role the village played in the demise of her cousin Tobirama Senju. As even though she lacked the long-standing history with the current shinobi system as she had disappeared before Kumo had even been founded, knowing it was their treachery which had been his downfall angered her. Particularly, since it was due to Naruto’s actions on Yugito’s behalf that made it apparent that treachery was something of a Kumo-nin’s stock and trade. At least among the upper echelon of the village.

Still, despite Naruto’s decision to acquiesce to Yugito’s desires ultimately being what had uncovered Kumo having kidnapped her from Kirigakure to house the two-tailed Bijuu. Toka knew it was a revelation which Naruto had lucked into, as she had no doubt that his decision and subsequent actions had been born solely from his feelings for her. With any reasoning given, regardless of how well it logically sounded, being just a means to further weigh the decision in favor of acting the way he had. But, she believed that was just superfluous to the truth that he would have acted regardless simply because Yugito could no longer support the leadership of a village that viewed her as a weapon to be wielded.

A thought which was both familiar and foreign to her. On the one hand, Toka could understand the dissatisfaction Yugito felt as the leadership of the Senju clan had pretty much felt the same about her. Except rather than being the weapon, she had been intended to be the factory to create more weapons. With it having only been her well above average abilities in genjutsu which had prevented the clan from taking a more hardline stance in forcing her into the role they felt she had been born to perform. So, in that way she could sympathize with the jinchuriki of the two-tailed cat. However, where the sympathy ended was in that she believed that it had been rather naïve for Yugito to believe that she had been born to be anything but a weapon. After all, even if she had remained in Kirigakure, she would have probably been recruited into Kirigakure’s shinobi program if her biological sister having ended up as one was anything to go by. Moreover, Toka felt it somewhat disingenuous how the shinobi villages, even Konoha, propagandized its citizens into believing there was some greater purpose behind their joining the various shinobi programs that existed. If anything, she felt that while her time was certainly far more brutal, the Clans had at least had been honest in telling their members that they were weapons to be wielded against their enemies. While the shinobi villages tried to dress it up, with such things as the Will of Fire or the Will of Stone and the like.

But, Toka had to admit that it was probably easier for her to dismiss the village’s method for inspiring new warriors to volunteer themselves to enter the never-ending meat grinder that was the life of a shinobi, as she was for all intents and purposes an outsider to the current system. However, that wasn’t to say that she had been quite so clearsighted in the past, as evident by her taking any satisfaction in the Uchiha clan meeting its end via a massacre orchestrated by one of its own, especially since those who had died that night had no hand in any of the wrongs their clan had perpetrated against hers.

All of which, just pointed to the incredibly difficult task Naruto had set himself up for, which was bringing peace to a world where she could feel satisfaction at the destruction of a clan, even though most if not all the members of it that had died in the massacre had never personally done anything wrong to her. Admittedly, the Uchiha had not been completely blameless in their destruction, as she knew there wasn’t a government alive which would do nothing as citizens plotted against it. However, while she didn’t believe Konoha was completely wrong in moving against the Uchiha, she did wonder if perhaps some of the old Senju resentment hadn’t lingered about within the village that had consumed her clan. Waiting for a chance to deal with their old rivals. After all, while she couldn’t fault Konoha for how it dealt with the clan of would-be traitors before they could rise up. She couldn’t really say she understood why they would cover it up the way that they had, although she supposed that was also just the veil of civility which the villages tried to pretend now existed and was something which separated them from the Clans that had proceeded them all the while still participating in the same bloody business.

After all, in her era should a clan that found itself on the wrong side of a conflict, which saw its enemies in a position to burn their homes to ash with their families still in them. Well, there would be no need to cover up what many of the present era would consider to be an atrocity. Which while Toka could understand why people would view such an event in that manner, she felt that Sasuke Uchiha’s actions against Konoha explained why there was a certain amount of wisdom in it. Especially when dealing with a rival clan since you made to make sure there was nobody remaining afterwards who would come around looking for a little payback. As she doubted that even if Konoha had dealt with the Uchiha in a more humane manor by punishing just those directly responsible for the impending rebellion. That it still wouldn’t find itself busy dealing with dozens of traitors rising up looking for some payback, rather than just the one.

Which brought her back around to why she was meditating in the middle of a field, as namely she found herself following a general which she wasn’t entirely sure was capable of completing the task that he had laid out for himself. After all, many great men including, her cousins, had desired to bring about peace to the shinobi world. But, despite their best efforts, it still appeared to be a goal that was a considerable way off into the distance. Still, while she could say progress had been made, things such as the Uchiha Massacre to her demonstrated, that even in the modern era the brutality that she had been accustomed to had not so much as disappeared, but had just been hidden away from the public, who truth be told were more than happy to ignore it so long as they could carry on in relative comfort.

Not that she blamed them for taking such a stance, but it highlighted for her that the brutality of her era was still alive and well. Just conducted in the shadows. Which so long as it remained there, meant that the peace Naruto dreamed of was perhaps nothing more than but a pipe dream. While the peace that Gaara was pursuing was probably the best that they could hope for. But perhaps more worrisome for Toka, was she felt Naruto was a not only a general pursuing a goal which was unlikely to become a reality in the first place. But he was doing so in a world where he would be the only one unwilling to bend his principles and thus would remain at a disadvantage. Something that she believed not only had his actions on Yugito’s behalf demonstrated, but so to had his decision to allow Mabui to retire from her position as the Raikage assistant. After all, considering how they believed that the Raikage would use the upcoming exams as a means of exacting a form or retribution against Konoha and Naruto in particular. Who they correctly surmised, but had been unable to prove had a role in their jinchuriki’s defection. It would be now of all times when his decision to seduce Mabui could be expected to pay massive dividends. However, instead he had agreed with her decision to retire from the Raikage’s service to instead run a branch of the Great Tree Shipping Company.

Admittedly, it was a decision which could have some minor benefits in the future, but only if relations with Kumogakure didn’t deteriorate to the point that they had been at prior to it having joined the Alliance. Which as anyone playing the odds would admit was a longshot at best, which meant that Mabui had quit an extremely beneficial position at a time when it was most useful, with it being highly unlikely the Branch Division that she had decided to focus her efforts on running would even be around following the exams’ conclusion. Particularly, as Toka couldn’t imagine the Raikage would allow a company with ties to Konoha to remain open once it left the alliance as it would easy to imagine it serving as an avenue from which spies could keep tabs on his village’s actions.

This was at the crux of the matter behind her meditation, as she feared that in military terms, Naruto was a man who was chasing two separate goals. Which sadly reminded her of an old proverb of a dog which chased two rabbits was destined to catch neither. After all, ever since his first, in her opinion, bad decision to allow Yugito to defect, his goal of bringing peace to the shinobi world seemed further out of reach then when he had started. As not only was there the concern that the Raikage was now actively plotting to get his hands on the Bijuu that he believed Naruto still carried to make up for the loss of the two-tailed cat, and probably to hurt him directly since he suspected her lover’s involvement. But, Gaara had moved from being one of his biggest allies, to while not outright confrontational, appeared to be making moves to neutralize the influence that Naruto had already gained in Suna. So, even though many of the women within his harem were likely closer to him than ever, as even Toka had to admit that despite how she strongly disagreed with his decisions on how best to utilize Yugito and Mabui. Seeing how he valued their happiness to such a degree made the woman within her happy.

In fact, it was that division within her which had prompted her current desire to meditate, as she wasn’t blind to how her feelings regarding how Mabui and Yugito should have put their personal desires aside in order to better serve Naruto’s ambition, was very similar to the demands that the Senju elders had used to make of her regarding her settling down to start a family. Her even thinking in a similar manner as the old men who she used to resent for their continuing insistence that no matter how great her contributions were on the battlefield, they continued to pale in comparison to the ones that she would make if only she would begin popping out the next generation of Senju was one reason that she had not voiced much opposition to the decision. Although, if she was to grant herself a small concession if only to prevent from seeming like she was a total hypocrite, it was that unlike her, rather the being born into a situation where her desires to remain on the frontlines were frowned upon due to the leadership of the clan feeling that she would be of more service to the Senju if she became a source of future shinobi, both Mabui and Yugito had decided to aid Naruto in making his ambition a reality of their own free will. Therefore, she felt that they should be more willing to set aside their personal desires to better serve the ambition that they both agreed too.

Yet, despite how both the logical portion of her mind along with the professional shinobi within were saying that this should be the case, there was the emotional woman who couldn’t quite accept it. A sad state of affairs which her current meditation seemed no closer to solving as she was pulled from it when one of her teammates began to stumble back as if he had taken a debilitating blow. Falling to his backside, he looked up with the horror of a man looking up at his own demise before once more appearing to take a blow which caused him to slump to the grown motionless. A few moments later, her other teammate suddenly went stiff in a similar manner as a man who had suddenly found his head removed from his shoulders as he tumbled over onto his side. Sighing in frustration that her own internal conflict was no closer to being resolved, and in anticipation to the complaints that she imagined would soon be leveled at her, she smoothly rose to her feet even as Gennai and Komugi began to stir from the simulated deaths that they had experienced as a result of the genjutsu that she had placed them under.

Komugi suddenly sat up first, and reached for his neck while looking both surprised and relieved to still find his head attached to it. He searched around for a moment worriedly, no doubt searching for the opponent who he believed had taken it, but stopped as his gaze settled on her. He narrowed his eyes in anger, although it was somewhat difficult to tell considering he usually appeared to be squinting. He began to open his mouth most likely to complain, but paused as Gennai not even bothering to sit up from where he had collapsed asked, “Do you get some sort of perverse sense of pleasure out of torturing us? Seriously, how many times are you going to force us into these genjutsu death matches?”

“As many as it takes,” Toka replied neutrally as she moved closer to the two men, “for you to start taking your training seriously.”

“Hey, we are,” Komugi said sounding offended, “You cannot deny that we’ve gotten stronger.”

Toka inclined her head, as she did indeed recognize that the pair had improved dramatically at least physically. Particularly as they had lasted nearly ten minutes in the genjutsu trial that she had just put them through, while when she had first employed the technique they would have collapsed after only a handful of seconds.

Sitting up, and seeing Toka’s tacit agreement with his teammate’s point it prompted Gennai to say, “See even you cannot deny that we’ve improved. So, why keep forcing us into these unwinnable genjutsu?”

“Yeah,” Komugi added not bothering to hide his frustration, “And why is it always Naruto that I’m facing?”

“You too,” Gennai asked obviously surprised by their facing the same phantom opponent.

Toka held back a smile, since she had nothing to do with her lover appearing as the two genin’s opponent. But she did feel that it pointed to why she felt such strenuous mental training for the pair was necessary which she explained, “The reason the two of you are seeing Naruto is simply because your own psyches see him as an unbeatable opponent. Although, while I suppose it is understandable why you would see him as such. I find it underscores just how lacking many of you modern shinobi are?”

Both men glowered at her, with Gennai stating, “Just what the hell do you mean by that?”

“Yeah,” Komugi echoed angrily, “If we’re so lacking. Why partner with us in the first place?”

Toka kept her voice neutral, not wanting to antagonize the pair too much although she planned to lay out some harsh truths. She also would prefer it if they didn’t get too riled up to the point that they refused to truly hear her, so said, “I joined the pair of you simply because you had an opening, and although tempted to partner with Naruto. I believed it best that he instead work with Moegi and Yakumo. Furthermore, although due in part to how long it has been since the last Chunin Exams, many expect the competition this time around to be extremely fierce. In all honesty, I doubt many competitors would have the wealth of experience that I have, and so felt it didn’t really matter who I partnered myself with.” Her teammates weren’t exactly pleased to hear that she felt it didn’t overly matter much who she took the exams with, but couldn’t exactly fault her for the confidence that she had in her abilities as neither had managed to best her even when trying to double team her. Continuing she stated, “I feel you both seeing Naruto as the strongest opponent you have faced, and some insurmountable challenge is indicative of how sheltered you modern shinobi are.”

“That’s because he’s a jinchuriki, on top of probably being the strongest shinobi in the village,” Komugi fired back. “I imagine that even you’d be hard pressed to beat him.”

“You’re right,” Toka admitted without shame. “However, the genjutsu that I placed the pair of you under should have shown you an opponent that not only you found challenging. But, pulled from your past experiences where the emotions were heightened. A point in time where your lives were on the line, against an opponent you may have barely bested or even one you failed to. That neither of you appear to have ever had such an encounter demonstrates just how easy you’ve had it. By the time I was the age where you two would have been graduating from the academy; I had already experienced numerous life and death battles and formed rivalries with shinobi who I feared if I saw them again it would be the end of me.” Toka could see her words hadn’t exactly shamed the two men, but she could tell her words had prickled their pride a tad.

Which is why she imagined Gennai said defensively, “Don’t you think it is good thing that peace has made it so that the current crop of shinobi haven’t experienced the same hardships that you have?”

“Have they not,” Toka asked sounding confused, prompting the two men to look at each other. Crossing her arms across her armored chest, she countered, “If I cast the same genjutsu on Naruto, who do you think he would see as an opponent. I’d wager it would likely be Sasuke Uchiha at present, but truthfully it could be any of a dozen opponents. From the time that he was a genin, he’s faced numerous opponents who probably outclassed him when they first crossed paths. The difference between you and him, is that he’s put himself out there in the thick of it. Thus, despite still being a genin himself, he’s often been assigned S, A, and B ranked missions. Whereas the two of you have probably only ever found yourself on a B-ranked mission when the D or C-ranked one you had originally been assigned was retroactively upgraded due to changing conditions in the field.” Judging from the look the two shinobi shared, she imagined that her guess had pretty much hit the target, so added, “Despite how I may often sound disdainful of the hardships shinobi in the modern era face. The life of one is no less dangerous than it was in my time. At least when the shit truly hits the fan. It is just that thanks in part to how the Village parses out missions that you have been afforded the luxury of believing that it has softened. But, one day you’ll no doubt find yourself in a situation where that illusion will be shattered. Although, it is perhaps unlikely that it will be during these exams, I still would prefer not to go into battle with allies who will break when the genjutsu that has been cast on them is shattered to reveal the real horror that comes with being a ninja.” Allowing the gravity that she was trying to impart into the pair to enter her voice, she added, “Death is a predator which lurks in the shadows hunting for all of us shinobi. A reality that we hope to force onto our enemies, but we must accept that there will be a time when it is there to claim us. When such a time comes, the best we can hope for is to make the moment count by facing it with all the vigor and fury that we possess, and hope our actions protect those whom we care for from sharing the same fate.”

She was pleased to see that both of men that she would be taking the exam with appeared to be taking her words to heart. However, suddenly both men began to look beyond her before leaping to their feet where they assumed defensive stances. She was confused by their behavior at least until she turned enough to look behind her to see Naruto approaching them. Turning to the two men, she said, “You can relax. If I’m not mistaken, this time he’s probably here for me. Why don’t you two take the rest of the day off, and we’ll meet back up tomorrow around the same time.”

The two genin quickly agreed before making themselves scarce, being sure to give Naruto a wide berth as they did so. Naruto noticing how the two had appeared rather keen to make themselves scarce asked, “What got into them?”

Toka smiled as she turned to face him completely before answering, “I guess they just had other places to be.”

Naruto studied her for a moment, trying to understand what about her teammates’ skittish behavior had so amused her. But, seeing that she didn’t appear inclined to share he dropped it in favor of asking, “Do you have plans for tonight?”

“I do now,” Toka said happily as Naruto smiled widely at her response.

***************************************************
After leaving the training field and separating to clean up to get ready for their date, Naruto and Toka had decided to Hiraishin to the Land of Spring using one of the seals that he had scattered across the capital city should he ever need to help Koyuki while the seal on her person was somehow being interfered with. Not to mention, bringing a date into the country without needing to avoid the Palace’s security. Especially as Koyuki was currently away from it, and was in the process of traveling to the Land of Hot Water.

Although both Toka and him were henged, neither of them was wearing the face of one of the Family’s preestablished aliases which was used when appearing in public. Due to the somewhat relaxed security requirements in the Capital City, neither of them felt it necessary to do anything but henge their features just in case someone ended up recognizing them, and wondered how they had ended up so far away from Konoha, especially considering that they both would have been seen in the Leaf Village just that afternoon. Which while it was known that Naruto was capable of using the Flying Thunder God Technique, it wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing for him or his ambition should it be learned that he was using it to see other women or easily appear in other countries. Admittedly the odds of such a thing occurring were rather small, but they had agreed that it was better to be safe than sorry. Especially as Toka had cast a genjutsu on the pair of them so that they appeared as themselves to each other.

Toka had been somewhat surprised by the invitation, especially as she had enjoyed a rather lively encounter that had involved the Uzumaki along with Kurenai and Rin after they had helped Naruto to confront Obito in the Leaf Maximum Security Prison. With both Kurenai and her having cast a genjutsu which had placed most of the prisoners and guards within the prison wing that had housed the traitor to sleep.

As such, she had somewhat expected the night in question to serve as the last bit of physical contact that she would get to enjoy with him until after the exams. But, was pleasantly surprised that he had decided to set aside the night just for her. Moreover, it appeared as if he had planned it somewhat in advance as after she had taken a shower, she had found a new black satin dress laid out for her across her bed. The strapless dress hugged her features, and had a slit which ran up along the front of her right leg ending just short of her hip. Naruto was dressed to match, and after meeting her in her apartment he had teleported them nearby a restaurant that was favored by many of Springs nobility along with its most prominent citizens.

Hoping to make the most of the evening, especially in regard to the concerns which had been plaguing her earlier, she waited until after they had just finished their meal to ask, “Naruto, do you truly feel that you are capable of leading us to the goal that you’ve put before us?”

Naruto was obviously caught a little off-guard by her question, probably having felt the date thus far had been proceeding relatively smoothly. He paused for several moments, as he studied her face, before arriving to the conclusion, “I’m assuming this question is tied to my choices to put certain members of our Family seemingly above the idea of bringing peace to the shinobi world.”

Toka nodded, before saying, “Yes. Because of your choices, we appear to be even further away from it then when we started. Even in Suna, which should be all but a lock, and all because you put Yugito’s happiness above the wellbeing of the Alliance. Now instead of supporting you, the Kazekage has been moving to limit your influence in his village when he was once your biggest supporter.”

Toka felt a surge of guilt as she saw Naruto’s face grow conflicted from her assessment and nearly told him to forget it in favor of not ruining the evening. But, before she could change the subject, he said, “I cannot deny that my recent decisions have indeed made the idea of a lasting peace seem all the more unlikely. But, even if the goal seems further off then when I began, that is no reason to become disheartened. In any difficult task that is worth doing, one shouldn’t necessarily expect a straight path to their goal. Sometimes, there are set backs, and even times where they will have to start over from scratch.”

Although, she somewhat agreed with what he was saying, she nevertheless countered by stating, “But, when they are hardships of your own making, isn’t that just being foolish.” Toka fought back a frown from how harsh she imagined that she had sounded to her lover but refused to relent. Instead, she pressed hard by saying, “Yugito had agreed to join you in service to your ambition, and so you didn’t need to indulge her by letting her go off and join Akatsuki. But even after you did that, you appear to be compounding the issue further by letting Mabui go off to run a branch office during a time when her position as the primary assistant to the Raikage is even more vital.”

Rather than growing upset from her challenging his decisions, Naruto favored her with a smile which considering the points that she raised she found infuriating rather than charming. “I cannot deny that,” Naruto replied sounding not exactly dismissive of her concerns, but in a manner that showed he didn’t necessarily share in them.

Growing frustrated, she said, “Then if you recognize that it was disadvantageous to do so, why would you still give her your permission?”

Naruto grew introspective for a moment, after which he replied, “Because, I see it as an investment towards the future that we hope to one day see.”

Toka frowned as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration before pressing him by saying, “Look, I understand that there may be some future benefit to her running her own Branch of the Great Tree Shipping Company. But, that only remains true if Kumogakure remains in the alliance after the Chunin Exams conclude.”

“Which at present looks wholly unlikely,” Naruto stated in bleak admission.

“Then why make the choices that you knew could lead us here,” Toka said angrily her voice raising loud enough that a few of the nearby tables looked towards them.

She was probably as surprised as Naruto by her outburst, but he remained silent as he gave her time to collect herself, as well as for those nearby to lose interest from there being no further fireworks from them. Again, he favored her with a smile, before saying, “Because, I’m not a general marching some army towards an objective.” Toka looked like she was about to dispute that, but he pressed on stating, “I know, it is easy to say the opposite is the case. After all, most of the women that I have added to our ranks were done so for the purpose of aiding us in this endeavor.” Naruto looked somewhat nostalgic as he said, “Hell, back when I first explained my idea to Ino. I made it sound so easy, and talked about the women that I would gather as pawns to be used in pursuit of the goal.” The look faded, and although he still looked happy, she could tell there was a weight that he bore as well.

However, not prepared to surrender the point Toka countered, “I understand that your feelings for us can make it difficult to put us in situations that we may not necessarily want to be in. But you’ll never advance your agenda if you allow those feeling to derail it on a whim.”

Naruto frowned at her words, which she attributed to her suggesting that the lovers whose wishes he had supported had been a decision he made lightly. Although he kept his tone calm, it still felt like a bit of a verbal backhand as he stated, “I imagine the Senju Elders would be quite surprised to hear your current thoughts allowing the whims of certain individuals to override the grander ambitions of the whole.”

At first, she felt her hackles rise, feeling it was somewhat of a cheap shot on his part to use her own past struggles to remain a warrior against her. But she quickly calmed as she had already recognized that her past already painted her as a hypocrite when it came to telling others that they should put their own desires on the backburner in favor of the greater whole. With that thought in mind, she recognized that Naruto’s response may indicate that he believed she was perhaps naïve to the double standard that she appeared to be supporting. To which she stated, “I’m not blind to the irony of it being me championing the idea of telling some of your other lovers that they should suck it up, and serve in the best position necessary to advance the Family’s ambition. But, in my defense my refusal to submit to my clan elders’ wishes that I marry and begin pumping out future warriors was in order to change how Kunoichi were viewed.”

Accepting her point, Naruto responded, “Still, you must admit from their perspective you were being wholly selfish and putting yourself above the good of the clan. Much as how you currently view the decisions that they have made.”

Toka frowned and admitted her voice sounded a little plaintive as she countered, “However, the difference is I was born in a different time, and didn’t sign up for anything. I was trying to change the system that I was born into.”

She almost immediately regretted her response, as by pointing out how she was born into her circumstances she had opened the door for Naruto to remind her that so had Yugito, and perhaps even more problematic for her position, had actually been stolen from Kirigakure to serve as the host of the two-tails. He gave her a slight smile which indicated he had noticed it as well, not that he necessarily had needed the opening to point it out. But it would undoubtedly make his argument stronger. However, instead he countered, “Tell me, did either of them sign up for having their faith in their home or leader shaken?”

“What?” Toka replied in confusion at the tack he was taking, “I don’t understand what you mean?”

Naruto reached for his glass of wine, which he swirled around for a moment before explaining, “Before they met me, both Yugito and Mabui had absolute faith in the Raikage and a deep love for the village of Kumogakure. Now, while I don’t think Yugito harbors any ill will towards her former village. She loathes the Raikage. That isn’t hard to understand when you realize that unlike with what happened with Hinata and my mother, she was kidnapped from her home to serve as a host of a Bijuu. How could I in good conscious, deny her desire to defect and force her to serve under a man who stole her from her actual family to turn her into his weapon? Just because it would remain convenient for me, especially when it was because of her involvement with me that these truths about her situation were exposed?”

Naruto paused to allow his point to sink in, which Toka had to admit had at least forced her to concede that she had perhaps been uncharitable towards Yugito’s desire to defect. Especially in her disregarding that technically they had both been born into circumstances which they desired to change. Still, she wasn’t quite so willing to concede her position entirely as she asked, “While I feel, it may be unfair of you to use some of those details in defense of your position since they only arose after you had already agreed. I will concede, that her faith in the Raikage was shaken by his admission that he primarily valued her as a weapon. But what about Mabui? Sure, she has also learned some unflattering truths about the Raikage, but if anything, that should only make it all the clearer as to why she should remain on as his assistant.”

Naruto took a drink of the wine before setting it back down before replying, “I don’t know if I agree.”

“Obviously,” Toka said annoyed as her frustration got the better of her which was tinged with the unease that she had felt earlier that day.

Naruto allowed her response to pass without comment, in favor of explaining himself, “It is clear, that whatever dubious projects that the Raikage has going on behind the scenes, it doesn’t go through his official channels. Now there may be some clues hidden within the official orders that Mabui handles, let for example say how the Vault is funded. Which despite Kumo acknowledging that it actually existed by sharing details that it was hit back when Sasuke was establishing his village, Mabui couldn’t find anything regarding how it is staffed or funded. Therefore, there is either an entirely separate source of revenue, or it is hidden in plain sight. Meaning the money is sent through various legitimate looking front offices that were set up to funnel the funds to it. All of which has been passing through her office for years without her notice.”

“Then shouldn’t she be trying to ferret out the truth?” Toka asked. “I get the Raikage probably isn’t leaving incriminating evidence just lying around. But, you must admit that it is still better for us to have eyes on him, just in case.”

“Better for who?” Naruto asked pointedly. Toka was about to respond heatedly that he already knew the answer, but before she could he added, “Is it for me, or the goal?” He didn’t give her a chance to respond, due to it appearing that she didn’t quite know the answer herself. Instead, he asked, “Toka would you die for me?”

Toka felt compelled to answer in the affirmative, especially as she knew her chakra was red which indicate the love that she possessed for him. But even as she prepared to answer a small grain of doubt entered into her mind. Much to her surprise that doubt quickly found itself planted in rather fertile soil as she began to question her feelings. After all, while it was true that she had never possessed such strong feelings for a man before, the truth was that it was due to her not allowing herself to fall in to the trap of love and then popping out children her clan would turn into warriors. Which seemed to suggest to her that it wasn’t so much a case as Naruto being the only man that she could possess such feelings for, but that he was perhaps the first that she had allowed herself to. With all this running through her head, she found herself hesitating to answer which in its own way was answer enough, prompting her to admit, “I… I don’t know.”

An answer she suspected should disappoint Naruto, but instead he gave her a genuine smile as he said, “Good.” She imagined the confusion must be evident on her face as he reached across the table towards her. Toka took his hand, and feeling his warmth did cause her to want to amend her answer, but not sure she could find the conviction so soon after expressing her doubt choose to remain silent. Naruto assured her of his own lack of disappointment to her non-committal answer as he said, “It is more important that you are honest rather than saying something that you think might please me.” Still considering her chakra was red, Toka couldn’t help feeling that she should be able to say that she would. As it had been her willingness to throw herself in front of a jutsu that had been meant for her cousin which was the cause of her being sent to the future in the first place. Naruto sensing where her thoughts were at said, “It’s okay. It is quite a different matter to act in the moment for someone you share a kinship with, rather than committing to dying for someone you have strong feelings for. I know it is often said that possessing red chakra means love, but as the existence of orange shows there are even levels to that.”

Toka nodded but asked, “Does that mean you feel those whose chakra is orange would say yes?”

Naruto gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, before saying, “Some would, but truthfully…” From the way Naruto trailed off, she found it easy to imagine the rest of the answer was that not all of them would. Although, she suspected that was perhaps her reassuring herself at her own unwillingness to commit to him to such a degree. Rather, his trailing off might have been of a more personal nature to him. But rather than completing his thought, he asked, “So, if not me, would you die to achieve the goal of bringing peace to the shinobi world?”

“I suppose I can’t really answer that either,” Toka admitted feeling somewhat exposed as her committal to Naruto and now his cause was being questioned.

Naruto seeing her discomfort said, “Toka, it doesn’t bother me. In fact, I appreciate your honesty. It would be easy to answer both questions in the affirmative. But we both work in a profession where death is a constant, so I understand the weight behind committing to such an action. More so than other lovers, who will happily commit to loving each other more than life itself. But in truth will likely never be asked to have such vows tested and so find it easy to answer in a way that they suspect their partner will find pleasing.” She nodded while feeling grateful to him for the understanding that he was gracing her with, but he rephrased his question nonetheless by saying, “But, let’s try to narrow down the parameters to make it a bit simpler to perhaps try to arrive at an answer.” Receiving a nod, Naruto asked, “Let’s say there is a button, and if you press it, the goal we claim to be chasing is brought into being, but the price to be paid is your life. Would you press it?”

Toka remained silent for several moments as she found the question no easier to answer. To buy herself some time, and genuinely curious of the answer she asked, “Would you?”

“I don’t know,” Naruto admitted, “I like to think I would. But again, it is easy to say.”

Toka nodded in agreement, and admitted his own answer made her own unwillingness to commit to making such a sacrifice easier to accept. But it did prompt her to ask, “Then if we are unwilling to commit to making such a sacrifice are we not simply playing at trying to bring peace as we’ve claimed.”

“No,” Naruto said confidently showing that he was still dedicated to the goal even if perhaps not entirely willing to lay down his own life to achieve it. “I mean even on standard missions we accept that death is a possibility. That doesn’t necessarily mean we will throw our lives away to complete it. Whether we do or not will ultimately depend on what is at stake in the moment, and what it cost for us to get to such a point.” Explaining himself further, he said, “Returning to the previous question, let’s assume the button which granted world peace was hidden in some castle, and we all were there fighting our way to the room that contained it. Along the way we experienced numerous losses, and finally just the two of us reached it. I think then knowing and experiencing what it cost to reach that point. I imagine the both of us would find it far easier to push. We may even resolve to push it together. But, that is a far different scenario then just finding yourself in the same room and being asked to lay down your life so everyone else can experience benefits of the result.”

Toka could see the point he was driving at, and more importantly began to feel she understood it through her many experiences on the battlefield. As there were many a time, when a shinobi that she had felt would do all in their power to avoid death, would surprise her in some crucial moment, all in order to save those around them or buy that little advantage which would turn the day in their favor. Naruto continued stating, “That’s why I can’t just tell Mabui and Yugito not to pursue their own wants and desires in favor of our goal. Not only would it break the promise I made explicitly to some about putting their wellbeing first. But how can I, when I cannot say that I would bring about peace if the price was my own life.” Giving her a smile, he said, “Besides, I have faith that in time these choices will secure a better future then just telling them to remain where they are for fear of angering a man who it is becoming more and more clear only sees peace as the time to prepare for a future war.”

Toka sat back, pulling her hand from Naruto’s which caused his smile to slip a little, and drained completely as she asked, “That might be fine when thinking of the Raikage, and there is even a strong motive to weaken him with that being the case. I imagine that is even why Tsunade could be convinced to go along with it. Still, it was a choice which also harmed your relationship with Gaara. Someone who now appears to be correct in questioning your dedication to the ideal of peace. How can you expect him to support you if you are willing to blow up any progress made at the whims of your lovers?”

Naruto sat back as he considered how to respond, before finally settling on, “That is a fair question. However, is it so easy for me to trust him when he’s made it clear that he’ll sacrifice the happiness of those I care about in pursuit of his idea of peace?”

“I’ll concede on the point that it may have been harder for them to serve under a man that they can no longer respect,” Toka stated, with an air of annoyance feeling he was being a little disingenuous. “But that is something all shinobi can be asked to do. We don’t always have the pleasure of working for people we respect.”

Naruto sighed showing the first signs of some of the frustration he felt over the matter before saying, “I know, and yes in the short-term asking them to continue on in their roles may have been a better alternative. But, how long should I ask it of them? Weeks? Months? Years? At what point would it have been okay to say, ‘Okay things are not working out as we had hoped. You can go pursue your own goals for a while? Do you think Gaara would be any more accepting of letting Yugito join Akatsuki if I put the decision off for years. Or, do you think he would demand that she stay in place so long as the Raikage was in power?” Toka had to admit that she doubted the Kazekage would ever give his blessing so long as he feared Yugito’s leaving would damage whatever level of peace they had achieved up to that point. Naruto reached for his glass again and downed it contents before saying, “Returning to the question of if peace was a button press away, I believe that Gaara would.”

“Well let’s make sure he’s there if we ever find ourselves in such a room,” Toka said hoping to interject a little levity into the discussion as she didn’t want to sour her lover’s mood too much.

It did the trick as Naruto chuckled while favoring her with a small smile, but it faded as he grew serious before saying, “However, what I fear is that he demands an equal amount of commitment from everyone around him.”

Toka couldn’t quite understand why that would be a concern which she showed by asked, “Isn’t that a reasonable request for anyone you ask to join a cause?”

“I suppose that is a fair expectation,” Naruto replied although he clearly did so with some reservations. “But, is it a reasonable one.”

“Wouldn’t it necessarily be the case that a fair expectation would in essence be reasonable?”

Shaking his head, Naruto said, “Not necessarily. Take Kiyomi for instance, I imagine that if she found herself in the room with the button that she would scoff at the idea of pressing it. In fact, while she has shown that she is willing to aid us in bringing about peace to the continent, if she knew that to deliver on it meant that someone whom she cared for would need to sacrifice themselves to achieve it. She would do everything in her power to prevent them from reaching it. If she was unable to stop them, then and only then would she press it herself. But, it wouldn’t be for some lofty idea of peace, but to protect the ones that she loves.” Toka found herself growing a little jealous at the reverent way Naruto spoken of the Bijuu that he once carried, especially as he had begun to sound somewhat amused at the idea the Bijuu would begin working against him if it was meant to protect him and the other women in the Family. But that little flicker disappeared as he said, “The problem I have with Gaara’s idea of peace, is it is the type that continuously require more and more sacrifice to maintain. Sure, maybe it wasn’t too steep a price to pay now for me to ask Yugito to stay in Kumo. But what if the next one is that we need to eliminate someone that we feel is standing in the way. Then a village that isn’t falling into line like we had hoped, so on and so forth. That was the same type of peace the Third Hokage achieved, where first he sacrificed a boy’s father to maintain it just that little bit longer, and then when a clan began to act out of line, he may not have given the order to destroy the Uchiha, but he sure didn’t have a problem with participating in the coverup since it suited his purposes.” Naruto grew determined as he said, “If I’m going to be asked to make greater and greater compromises to my principles not only to bring this peace about, but to maintain it, then it simply isn’t worth pursuing in my opinion.”

“Then why not abandon the idea all together?” Toka asked genuinely curious.

Naruto shrugged, before responding, “Perhaps because as it stands, I feel that we’ve only really reached the first hurdle and it really isn’t in my nature to just give up.” Toka did smile at that, having to accept that was certainly a trait the Uzumaki possessed. Giving her a smile again that seemed to brighten the room, he added, “Besides, if you ask me the decision to let Yugito defect is already making the world a better place. She’s much happier being able to aid various villages by hunting down bandits that have preyed on them then she ever was as at being the Raikage’s personal saboteur. Not to mention, has caused many of the citizens from the minor countries that she has aided to throw their support behind Konan’s reformed Akatsuki. Given time, I imagine Mabui’s own efforts will provide similar such benefits to our goal. In the eyes of some, it may never truly offset what they believe she brought to the table as the Raikage’s assistant. But regardless of what contributions she ends up making in the future, so long as she can do it in a way which makes her feel fulfilled then it is good enough for me.”

Toka found herself feeling torn by the admissions Naruto had made, as the shinobi in her nearly balked at the idea. But, the woman in her, well that part nearly swooned at knowing how the happiness of his lovers was so important to him. Deciding to let the woman run free for the time being as she had spent a considerable portion of her early life letting the shinobi dictate the path that she would follow, she ran her foot up against Naruto’s thigh under the table stating, “I think that’s enough talk about... business. Now I think its time we move on to pleasure.”

Naruto looking rather pleased to let the conversation drop in favor of more pleasurable pursuits, so waved the waiter down saying, “Check please,” so that they could let their bodies do the rest of their talking.

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

Toka stepped out of the shower, and began toweling off as she felt the anticipation within her building for the events that were to come. A fact made evident as by the time most of her skin was dry, the area between her thighs were already glistening with wetness once more. It hadn’t been easy to pull herself away from Naruto upon reaching the Hotel room that he had rented only a short distance from the restaurant where their date had taken place. But as there were a few things she intended to try she wanted to start off their love making feeling fresh and clean. As usual, Naruto had been rather understanding and had offered to go first, which Toka had appreciated at the time. But, as his shower had gone on and her anticipation had grown it had been all she could do to stop herself from joining him, or begin playing with herself until he could join her on the bed. As such, once he had stepped out, she had flown past him to quickly get herself clean.

Toka let the towel drop to the floor as she moved to step out of the bathroom, not even wanting to waste the time to tie it around her, seeing as it would be discarded in only a few moments anyway. Yet, despite her haste as she stepped out of the bathroom, she came to a complete standstill upon seeing Naruto sitting on the edge of the bed. He was sitting back in a relaxed manner with his arms behind him to hold himself upright, he was also completely naked and much like her, he was rearing to go as his cock was proudly standing erect. Despite the easy-going manner in which he was sitting, Toka found herself recalling their first time together, when she had been waiting for him in bed, completely nude due to it having been a tradition for kunoichi to wait for their partners in such a manner in her era as a means to showcase that they weren’t carrying any weapons. Calling back to then, she stated, “I’m beginning to understand why it was the tradition for the women of my time to be the one who waited for their partner. If the idea was to show your partner that you meant them no harm. I can’t imagine too many Kunoichi seeing that Impaler for the first time would be put at ease.”

Naruto gave her a wide smile as he brought his right hand around to grip the base of his cock, which he gave a few tugs as he said playfully, “What? This guy right here? He’s just excited to see you that’s all.”

Toka returned his smile as she moved to kneel between his outstretched legs while saying, “The feeling is mutual…”

However, before she had fully situated herself onto her knees, and wrapped her lips around his cock, she found herself suddenly pulled up onto the bed. She was tossed onto her back where Naruto spread her legs so he could move between them to taste her pussy. However, she quickly turned the tables on him as she pushed herself forward so that she slid under his chest, then wrapping her legs around his torso spun him so that she was on top. She tried to reach back to grab his cock, but quickly found herself toppled over as he again tried to get at her pussy at which point she countered him. The two of them playfully carried on like that for several moments, until Toka ended up on top with her face hovering over his cock as her pussy dangled tantalizingly above his face.

She quickly lowered her face to her prize, while Naruto instead took a moment to spread and admire her pussy before diving in himself. When the Uzumaki did lean in to begin devouring her snatch, Toka quickly began to moan around her mouthful of cock. Despite having ended up on top, she imagined that he had allowed her to win their short contest since unlike some of his lovers, she still wasn’t accomplished enough at sucking him off to take his entire length into her mouth. So imagined that he probably found it easier to let her assume the perceived more dominate position, letting her set the pace rather than claiming it for himself, and having to hold himself back from ramming his cock down her throat. Both the woman and shinobi within her were a little annoyed by the idea that he had held back anything against her. However, as she worked her mouth over his tower of meat, occasionally trying to take him deeper without gagging too badly, she was forced to admit that it was probably for the best as his experience with the opposite sex vastly outstripped hers. Something that became undeniable as she was in the midst of gagging on his cock, while fondling his balls, hoping to feel them beginning to contract, indicating that he was nearing release even as the tongue exploring her nether region was in the process of seeking out and exploring all her most vulnerable spots. Which soon had Toka on the verge of cumming, while the Uzumaki beneath her wasn’t anywhere near finishing himself. Not willing to concede the current contest between them, she pulled her snatch away from his mouth by sliding down his body until she was positioned above his cock. However, instead of impaling herself on it, she sat on it so that it rested along his stomach and began working her hips back and forth along it coating it in her wetness.

Although Naruto groaned as she ran her pussy along his cock, Toka quickly realized that if the idea was to make her lover cum before her, she wasn’t doing herself any favors as her actions were also stimulating her clit. Looking back over her shoulder, she suspected Naruto recognized this fact as well, as he looked somewhat amused while making a show of folding his hands behind his head, since they both knew that if he ended up placing them on her hips and exerted the slightest bit of pressure, she’d be the one climaxing.

Accepting the wordless challenge, Toka began rolling her hips back and forth even faster while fighting back her own desire to climax all over the steel like rod her pussy was sliding along. A rod which began to flex up against her at increasing intervals as it became harder and harder for Naruto to maintain his act of indifference. Toka sensing victory was within her grasp began to increase the her pace even more, letting her own moans of pleasure escape while also trying to prevent her need for release from consuming her. Yet, she found her victory snatched from her at the last moment as while sliding herself forward, Naruto suddenly surged forward pushing her up and away from him as he did so. Toka trying to maintain her contact with his cock, reflectively tried to push herself back only to succeed in burying his dick fully inside her. “Fu…UUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKK!!!!!,” she cried as she immediately began to climax while her pussy convulsed around the pillar of flesh nestled deep inside her.

As she came down from her pleasure induced high, she laid her back against the chest of the now upright sitting Uzumaki before looking weakly over her shoulder to declare, “You cheated.”

Naruto chuckled before replying, “All’s fair in love and war.”

Toka couldn’t stop herself from smiling along with him as it seemed to brighten the room. She then leaned in to kiss him, which he returned eagerly while also bringing his hands up to fondle her breasts. Toka moaned as she began to roll her hips around, having conceded to her latest defeat and now just wanted to feel him exploding inside her. But, apparently in the short amount of time it had taken for her to recover from her previous climax, her lover’s need for released seemed to have settled down considerably as well. Although, she knew there was no point in competing with him, her pride as a woman and a Senju wouldn’t stand for him to make her climax a second time without him having done so even once, and so hoping to perhaps divide and conquer pulled away from her lips to say, “Naruto, I want more of you.”

Naruto didn’t miss a beat, even as her request surprised him since although she was usually more then happy to join in when he was entertaining several of his lovers, when they were alone like this, Toka tended to favor more intimate encounters. Still, he was more then happy to satisfy her request, so after giving her breasts one last squeeze, made the sign to create one of his K-clones at the foot of the bed.

Once the smoke cleared, the Senju took a moment to enjoy the mirror image of her lover standing in the nude before her. But the then leaned forward grabbing it by the hips as she captured its cock between her lips. The clone let out a groan, while she began running her tongue all along the duplicate’s manhood.

While the clone of him was obviously pleased with Toka’s efforts, as she was perched over the edge of the bed, and relying on her grip on the its hips to prevent from toppling over, this left Naruto little room to maneuver. Wanting to fully enjoy his Senju lover’s pussy, he met his clone’s gaze which got the hint and took a few steps back even as he urged Toka to get up as well. Following her up to his feet, Naruto took ahold of her hips and then began ramming himself into her.

Finding herself spit roasted between the two blondes, Toka now found that she needed to use her arms to prevent the clone’s cock from being rammed down her throat due to the strength of Naruto’s thrusts. Still there were a few times where she ended up gagging on its cock, due to the clone having buried its hands into her hair in order to pump itself into her mouth, and it reaching the back of her throat just as one of Naruto’s powerful thrusts pushed her that little bit extra onto it. Whenever she did though, the clone would quickly back off with its own thrust to give her a respite before resuming. It was at one of these points where the clone had nearly buried itself completely in her throat, that Toka realized that she was in danger of climaxing alone again as the cock buried in her pussy was relentlessly breaking down her resistance. Hoping to change up the tempo, as the clone moved back away, she let it slip completely free of her lips to say, “I want to feel you in my ass.”

The clone gave her a wide smile, which it shared with Naruto as it looked at him to say, “You heard her. Swing her around and I’ll slide right in.”

“Like hell,” Naruto said bending himself along her back before quickly reaching down to grip her by the inside of her thighs. He then effortlessly lifted her up spreading her legs as he did so. “There’s no way anyone other then me is going to enjoy taking her ass for the first time.”

The clone looked flummoxed as Naruto slowly lifted her from his cock, before adjusting his hips so that it began to press against her tight rosebud. “I am you,” the clone said annoyed.

“Maybe,” Naruto said letting out a groan as his well lubricated cock began to slip inside her anal passage, “but there’s no way I’m experiencing this moment from second hand memories.”

Toka moaned slightly in discomfort from the foreign feeling of something burrowing into her ass, but Naruto made sure to take it slow as he lowered her onto his cock. Reaching back behind her, she gripped the back of Naruto’s skull as he then began to withdraw himself in a similar deliberate manner until just the tip of his cock remained, at which point it began pushing back in although at a slightly faster pace. Toka began to moan, as the discomfort soon began to fade once she grew used to the intrusion and it began to turn into a new source of pleasure as his pace increased with each time he pumped himself into her.

Her pleasure spiked considerably as the clone moved between her outstretched legs and rubbing the tip of his cock along her slit asked, “I trust there will be no complaints if I enjoy her pussy, right?”

“Help yourself,” Naruto said between grunts as he continued to ram himself into her rear.

Doing just that, the clone buried itself fully into Toka causing her to cry out in pleasure as she found herself impaled for a second time. Wrapping her arms around the clone’s neck, she moaned in near delirium as the two Naruto despite their earlier discord began working in perfect sync as they drilled themselves in her front and rear passage. Toka leaned back into Naruto’s chest, as he began to kiss along the base of her neck, while the clone lifted one of her breasts to its mouth and began to suck it greedily.

Sandwiched between the two, Toka felt like a pile of kindling which the two might sticks rubbing inside her would soon set ablaze. Which soon happened as the clone pulled its mouth free of her tit, as it angled its hips so it could begin slamming into her at an even more frantic pass. Toka knew what was coming due to its cock swelling inside her, even before it announced, “Fuck, I’m going to cum.”

“Me…me too,” Toka moaned pulling her legs free of Naruto’s grip as she wrapped her legs around the clone’s waist trying to pull it even deeper into her snatch as it began to convulse around the clone’s cock. Groaning in pleasure, the clone buried itself fully into Toka, who as the cum began flooding her womb also began to climax.

Naruto felt his own need for release grow exponentially as Toka’s ass began to bear down on his cock. Groaning into her neck as he wrapped his arms tightly around her stomach, he allowed himself to let go, and began flooding her bowels with his cum. Toka let out another even louder cry as her climax grew even more intense.

Toka melted back into Naruto, which proved to be a good thing as the clone her legs were wrapped around suddenly burst into smoke. Although still weak-kneed himself, Naruto managed to maintain enough control of them that he was able to collapse onto the bed. The two of them laid there catching their breath with Toka laying atop of him for several moments before she said, “I believe that has tied us up at two climaxes each.”

With her still on top of him, Naruto laughed as he began rubbing her pussy, causing her to moan as he rubbed his leaking cum into her skin while he said, “Why you mischievous little minx. So, you had me call in a clone figuring it counts as multiple climaxes. It is a good thing I limited myself to just one, otherwise I’d have really put myself behind. But you made one tiny mistake.”

“What’s that,” Toka asked groaning as Naruto rolled them over so that he was on top of her, and lifting his hips began withdrawing his cock from her ass. He then flipped her onto her back, and lifting her legs placed them onto his shoulders as he leaned down to kiss her.

Toka moaned into his mouth as he began to slide his cock against her pussy before pulling his face back as he answered, “You gave up your gameplan to soon. Now that I know what you’re up to, what’s to stop me from spending the rest of the night fucking you while ensuring I keep the ratio for giving you more climaxes in my favor.”

“Nothing I suppose,” Toka said before smirking as she added playfully, “But, what if that was my real plan all along.”

Naruto chuckled in amusement, before replying, “Then I would say that there was no point to your scheming in the first place. Because leaving you a thoroughly fucked and happy woman was always my goal. Now, how would you like to climax this time?”

“How about both again,” Toka answered giving him a mischievous smile.

“My, you’ve certainly become greedy,” Naruto said as he reached out to cup her face, “but that’s okay. I suppose that I have as well.” But, rather than elaborating further, he plunged his cock back into her pussy, causing Toka to moan out in ecstasy as Naruto set about making sure that when the sun rose in the morning it would be illuminating an Uzumaki victory.

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

Several hours after that sunrise, Komugi and Gennai arrived at the appointed hour to once more find Toka meditating in the center of the training field that they had been using to prepare for the Chunin exams. However, unlike what was usually the case, rather than sitting ramrod straight this time around the Senju appeared to be slouching as if she had fallen asleep. The two genin shared a look of confusion, and naturally assumed it was a trap since Toka had hammered into them that while on the training field they should remain alert, usually by ambushing them as soon as they set foot onto it. Still, the temptation to catch her slipping and give her a taste of her own medicine proved to great to ignore. As such they quickly created a plan which had them splitting up and attacking her from two directions at once.

Edging around the wooded area that surrounded the clearing Toka was currently resting in, the two of them shared one last look to help build up each other’s resolve before launching their assault. Both men expected that Toka regardless of how cautious they approached would sense their presence before they could get into range to attack. Had opted to just madly rush in under the belief that even if she did, at least one of them would be able to catch her unaware.

Sadly, for them though, Toka after the night she had experienced knew better than anyone what could happen if you underestimated your opponent. So having faced Naruto a man who could give a room full of women countless orgasms perhaps for days on end alone, and had thus climaxed so many times that she had finally passed out, was more than aware that she would probably not be at her best the next day. So before having taken her current position, had taken the time to rig a means of alerting her should her teammates try to take advantage of her weakened condition.

Which became clear as Gennai, in his haste to reach the napping Senju was not being quite as careful as to where he was stepping as he should have been. His foot caught on a piece of string, which she had arrayed in a long circle, which as it broke caused a bell to sound off in the distance. Upon hearing it, both men rather then coming to heel decided to push themselves forward even harder hoping to catch her before she fully roused herself awake.

Unfortunately, for them Toka from past combat experience knew a thing or two about being run ragged so rather then wasting time trying to get into a defensive stance, used the sound of the bell as the means to but the two men under a genjutsu.

This did cause the two men to come to a stop, as it was immediately apparent that this genjutsu was unlike any the two had previously faced as the world around them went dark. Although, still able to perceive each other, everything else appeared to have disappeared into an endless void. A portion of which began to take a hazy shape as some bizarre creature of many backs seemed to appear from the endless blackness. Although, it seemed to be made up of the same darkness as the void, there was an outline of sorts which served to stand apart from the rest of the void. Although both men felt their sanity slipping as they tried to further define it, as feet and hands protruded from it at weird angles and uneven intervals. Perhaps even more disturbing was how the mismatched limbs seemed to whither about while the bulk of the creature itself seemed to shiver in an ending sensation of pleasure. With sightless eyes it seemed to focus on them, before rushing forward in order to add their body and limbs to its collective.

******************************************************
Toka unaware of the horror that she had unleashed dozed on relatively peacefully. Although when she had first settled into her current position, she had been disappointed to find that the unease that she had been experiencing the day before hadn’t been solved by her conversation with Naruto. If anything, it just seemed vaguer and more undefined, although with a sense of impending urgency behind it as well.

She was eventually roused from her slumber, by the sound of primal screams which caused her to roll to her feet in order to face whatever was making them.

Which led to her arching an eyebrow at the sight which was taking place before her, as Gennai was laying face down on the grass, while Komugi was sitting on his butt with a death grip on his friends arms while pulling back against something for all he was worth.

Gennai was staring at his friend with a face that screamed he was being pulled away by some unspeakable horror while shouting, “Don’t let go!”

“Don’t worry man!” Komugi shouted back just as frantically as he looked to be pulling back for all he was worth, “I’ve got you!”

Toka quickly ended the genjutsu the two had been placed under, causing the two to collapse for a moment as the forces they thought they had been fighting against disappeared. Before surging to their knees as they embraced tightly with Gennai, saying, “Thank you,” over and over again.

While Komugi stated, “I told you. I had you,” in much the same manner.

Then as one, they appeared to sense Toka staring at them, but rather than looking embraced by their behavior Komugi seemed to speak for both of them as he said, “Lady, you got fucking issues.”

Recognizing that whatever horror they had just faced down, was no doubt born of the lingering unease that she was feeling, and with a hint of the insatiable monster that she had faced the night before mixed in for good measure, she said, “So, it would appear.” Then to the two men’s amazement she added, “Sorry.”

Proving that despite what her initial feelings towards the two had been it terms of their abilities, they were rather decent individuals, Gennai asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Thank you but no,” Toka replied politely, “These concerns that I am carrying have to do with the future, and well there will be a time when they must be addressed whether I’m ready to or not. So, for now, I think it best to focus on the task immediately before us, which is ensuring that we are ready to conquer these exams.”

Receiving a pair of nods in agreement, and perhaps buoyed by the fact that despite how she carried herself in a calm manner that just below the surface she was carrying such monstrous concerns, Komugi asked, “So, what’s next?”

Toka gave a coy smile as she replied, “Well, I imagine we’ve all had enough of diving into each other’s subconsciouses for a while. So, how about we settle for just some simple sparring. It has been a while since I’ve assessed your skills myself, so let’s see just how far you have come.”

Her teammates quickly assumed their stances before charging in to try and take her down. Which allowed her to clear her mind of the unease as much to her satisfaction it was clear her teammates had indeed made considerable strides in improvement as she needed to focus almost exclusively on her defense. So, put her words of focusing on the moment into action, while leaving the concerns that she harbored for the future to a later date. But regardless of what that future held, she only hoped that when it came time to meet it face to face that she’d be able to do so with the resolve of a resolve. But whether it was the resolve of a kunoichi of a Senju with a mission to complete, or a woman bound to a man unwilling to bend in the face of a world that often demanded such cessation of one’s principles to achieve anything in it, she couldn’t yet say. She only hoped that when the time to choose came, she be more than happy to pay whatever price was asked of her so that she could embrace whatever future they created without regrets.

Author’s notes: Good day everyone. First, let me begin by thanking those who take the time to review. They really help keep me motivated to get these chapters out. I also thank you all for your patience consider it took so long for me to put anything out. This time around, it was because I kept starting a chapter for one of my stories, but then switched tracks as I realized there were other elements in another story that I wanted to explore first. This did have the benefits of there are several chapters at various stages of completetion, so the next few updates should follow relatively quickly.

With the next few releases looking to be the following:
Eroninja chapter 109 this is probably between 50 to 60 percent finished. So, I’m shooting to have it ready by or just after Thanksgiving.
Antithesis: Hardening the Steel Part II which is about 99% finished. This is what I was working on first after just finishing chapter 108. But, while it can stand on its own. I’d rather you get the Family’s perspective of the events that transpire first, before seeing it from the perspectives contained in this story. Despite, being mostly done, I’ll probably release it around Christmas time.
Eroninja chapter 110 is probably around 20 to 30 percent. This is stuff that I had begun working on when first writing chapter 109, but felt should probably appear after the events that will take place in both Antithesis and Eroninja.
Although, after finishing and posting chapter 109 it would stand for me to perhaps immediately begin finishing up Eroninja 110. I may instead focus on a new chapter of Little Black Book. While writing these chapters, an idea occurred to me about focusing more on a few of the teams taking place in the Chunin Exams second round. Primarily Samui’s team, and maybe a few of the Persona characters. It’ll give me a chance to flesh them out a bit more, but rather than bogging down the main story. Any way, if you have any thoughts on the matter please let me know.

As for why I felt it prudent to release Toka’s Limelight chapter first, well there are some coming events which I think benefit from getting this closer look into her, and a few of her interactions with the men that she was planning to take the Chunin Exams with. You probably better understand why they were perhaps more then eager to sign up with Inaho’s plans regarding her, and the first round of the exams. Plus, I think of all of Naruto’s lovers it would stand to reason that she would perhaps least be on board with how he handled Yugito defection, and its subsequent backlash. Yet considering her own background why she wasn’t quite so vocal about it. Especially considering how she was first portrayed. A few of the upcoming events may cause a more stark difference in behavior so I felt it best to explain her feelings now, so they do not appear to be completely out of left field when they take place. Although it may be acceptable due to the nature of those events as to why they hadn’t been out in the open. I also felt it also gave a new and maybe clearer view of the divide that exists between Naruto and Gaara in terms of how they view their pursuits of peace.

Well, with all that said. I do hope the chapter is viewed as being worth the wait, and makes you all eager for what is to come. Thank you all again and until next time take care. Sincerely, The Lemon Sage.