(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited
smoothly. /INeedRest)
****************
"Thank you, everyone," Tsunade said with a relieved smile as she looked at all the ninjas who participated in the battle gathered in the Hokage's office.
The war had been won more easily than expected.
Konoha's elite forces were unhard, and the village's losses were minimal.
Aside from so damage to the walls and buildings from Pain's [Shinra Tensei], there were no casualties.
Tsunade turned to Jiraiya.
"Konan will be handed over to you. You're responsible for anything that happens with her. As for Nagato, his body will be given to the intelligence division for examination."
As the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade naturally harbored hostility towards the Akatsuki.
Their reckless collecting of the tailed beasts threatened the village's interests.
But strictly speaking, so far, the Akatsuki hadn't caused any substantial damage to Konoha specifically.
The other nations had been less fortunate.
Despite the information Kumogakure had, Kisa and Sasuke had still captured the Eight- Tails jinchuuriki and escaped. The other Akatsuki mbers had died or were captured, but they had caught several tailed beasts before.
Tsunade felt less hostile towards Konan in particular.
Seeing Jiraiya's haggard appearance, she let it go as his old teammate.
"Thank you, Tsunade," Jiraiya said gratefully before leaving with the unconscious Konan.
The others were ushered out by the dical team that had been standing by.
Only Colt and Yugito remained in the room with the Hokage.
"Yugito, would you like to join Konoha?" Tsunade asked unexpectedly.
Taken aback, Yugito took a mont and then shook her head.
"I've been a Kumo ninja all my life."
She had been raised by Killer B and the Fourth Raikage since childhood.
Betraying Kumogakure was unthinkable for her.
Her participation in this battle was for revenge and as part of a transaction with Colt.
Colt waved his hand.
"Tsunade-sama, don't worry about her. Just let know when you need Yugito, and I'll convince her."
Yugito glared at him but didn't dare refute.
Even though they were now 'friends', her fear of Colt hadn't entirely dissipated.
'How will he convince ...?'
Tsunade looked at the two curiously, intuiting there must be so secret between them.
But from her perspective, Yugito could barely be considered part of the village now, so she didn't press the issue.
She had so ANBU escort Yugito back to her previous quarters, but this ti Tsunade didn't have any seals placed on her.
"Colt, what happened to Nagato's other Rinnegan?" Tsunade asked seriously. She hadn't brought it up in front of the others earlier.
But one Rinnegan was taken.
Yes, Obito could only take one eye.
Colt sighed.
"It was snatched by a man in a mask with strange space-ti ninjutsu."
"Another Akatsuki mber?" Tsunade frowned.
Colt nodded.
"That's right. I actually encountered him a few years ago, but his space-ti jutsu was too difficult to counter. I didn't tell anyone in the village to avoid causing panic."
As he said this, a thought struck him.
Nagato's body was still in Konoha - would Obito return to steal it? Perhaps they could set a trap...
But Colt quickly abandoned the idea.
He needed Obito and Madara to release Kaguya from the moon.
There was no need to keep the Rinnegan from them.
With the crisis in Konoha lifted, the streets were lively that night.
Colt brought out all the girls in his family to relax and enjoy the festive atmosphere.
He even invited Hanabi along. She was a lively brat and would brighten the atmosphere.
The group's collective beauty turned many heads, with nearly a 100% rate of people doing double-takes.
Colt walked with Hinata on his left along with Hanabi and finally Ino on his right. The Hyuga sisters plus Ino flanking him made many onlookers envious.
Hanabi was at an age where everything piqued her curiosity.
She wanted to buy anything that caught her eye.
Yakumo would smile and take out her wallet to pay without hesitation.
As a regular at Colt's ho, Yakumo had grown fond of Hanabi's lively nature.
She was happy at this mont, having contributed so much to their household already.
After walking around for a while, everyone was getting hungry.
"Why don't we go to Ichiraku Ran? I heard they have a half-price special today," Ino
suggested.
Her proposal was t with unanimous approval.
Temari smiled, rembering her first "date" with Colt had been at Ichiraku.
When they arrived, Colt smiled as he recognized two familiar faces. "Iruka-sensei, Naruto."
The two turned in unison at the sound of his voice.
"Colt, you're here too? I'll treat you today!" Naruto waved happily.
He especially loved treating Colt to Ichiraku ran, particularly the special Tonkotsu ran.
That was the first bowl Colt had ever ordered for him.
"Forget it, we're a big group," Colt refused.
Naruto paled as he noticed Hinata, recalling her terrifying appetite.
If he treated them all today, Gama-chan would be completely emptied.
Soon everyone's orders arrived.
Colt sat beside Iruka, catching up with his old teacher.
Iruka was incredibly proud of how far Colt had co in just a few years, becoming such an exceptional ninja. Though he felt his own teachings had little to do with it.
If Colt knew what Iruka was thinking, he would have disagreed strongly. Even in those early years when Colt hadn't shown his true strength, Iruka had treated all his students equally and often worried about their studies. He had been an excellent teacher.
Halfway through the al, Colt turned to Naruto.
"I have news about Sasuke."
Naruto was startled.
He hadn't heard anything about Sasuke since the incident in the Land of Grass.
"Where is he?"
"Not long ago, Sasuke joined the Akatsuki. He and Kisa captured the Eight-Tails
jinchuuriki," Colt explained.
"The Raikage was furious and sent a letter to Tsunade-sama two days ago. So Kumo
ssengers should be arriving soon."
Naruto fell silent, his feelings complicated.
Sasuke had actually joined the Akatsuki and attacked a fellow Jinchuuriki.
But his mood didn't say affected for long.
"I'll definitely bring him back to Konoha!" Naruto declared before taking a big bite of
noodles.
Colt nodded noncommittally.
Then a thought struck him - with Killer B captured, who would teach Naruto to control the
Nine-Tails' chakra?
Reviews
All reviews (0)