For Naruto, the months following the chūnin exams were boring. He'd had six more missions in that time, two D-ranks, three quick and easy C-ranks (that really were C-rank), and a low B-rank that, despite its label, wound up being incredibly long and mind-numbingly boring. In times of war, there was an expression: hurry up and wait; in peace, as team seven found, that was doubly true.

Once it had fully gotten out that Naruto contained and could fully wield the power of a bijū, there had been something of a bidding war to hire him and his team. After all, if the one who could use, aim, and deploy a living natural disaster had been passed up for promotion, but his teammates hadn't, why, there must have been something special about them as well — or so the thinking went. Of course, since there was a bidding war, the one who won was the person with the most money. And thus team seven found itself on a high-paying bodyguard mission as a supplement to a noble's standard guard; in other words, they were being paraded around as a show of force and wealth.

But those months hadn't been a total waste. With the help of Minato's notes, and the occasional help from Minato himself, Naruto had found and modified a seal that allowed for the collection, purification, and distribution of his otherwise toxic chakra. Then, by placing the seals on the small segments of chakra rod Akuma had imported from Ame, Naruto was able to create three small necklaces — four receivers and a broadcaster. He gave the receivers to Haku, Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke, and with a little practice, the four of them were able to draw from Naruto's immense reserves instead of their own, in effect becoming pseudo-jinchūriki.

On the other hand, Akuma and Haku had been very busy. Using the inflow of money from the reorganized remains of Gatō's companies and the very liberal use of his emotional projection abilities, Akuma was swiftly taking over a huge range of companies. The recovering economy of Nami ended up being fertile ground for Akuma to grow his holdings, allowing him to attract workers and acquire other businesses for dirt-cheap. And when he didn't get his way, all he had to do was ask Haku and the Yuki boy would go kidnap the competition, allowing Akuma to interrogate them for useful information before eating them and taking their companies.

He didn't focus solely on stealing other companies, though. Currently, Akuma was putting the finishing touches on a newly renovated — if small — casino-hotel he'd acquired the legitimate way. Sure, he also planned to use it as a front for money laundering, but for the most part, it was a legitimate business, one that was already attracting clientele.

The trio walked in and looked around. "This place is cleaner than I would have expected," the blond one remarked.

"That's a nice change," the black-haired one added. "Usually, these places are rather dirty."

The pink one didn't say anything. How could she? She was a pig, held in the black haired woman's arms.

"Shizune, why don't you see about getting us a room for the night?" Tsunade motioned over towards the slot machines. "I'm going to go play."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Shizune replied. It took her a moment, but she spotted some of the staff. Approaching the man, she asked, "Who do I speak to about getting a room for the night?"

The man turned to her. "That would be the manager. We're a little short-staffed at the moment, but he or his assistant will be happy to get you set up. He's probably wandering around, making sure everything is good. We just opened for business the other day, so everything's still a little hectic."

"Oh, really? Congratulations. Um, what does the manager look like."

"Like an oni. Massive guy, ugly face, terrifying red eyes," the man replied casually. He put both hands to his forehead and stuck out one finger on each. "Really looks like a monster. He's nice, though."

"That... that's not a very kind description."

The man chuckled. "Are you kidding? His name's Akuma. I heard he had his name changed to that to match his appearance; he revels in the attention. Oh, look! He's coming this way. Boss!"

He was the most massive man Shizune had ever seen, standing several feet taller than her. With tusk-like teeth, horns, and crimson eyes, he really did look like an oni, save for the fact that instead of the tiger-skin loincloth mythical oni wore, he was dressed in a well-tailored suit. "What is it, Kisuke-san?"

"She needs to be set up with a room," Kisuke replied, motioning to Shizune.

Akuma — that is to say, Naruto — recognized her instantly. He'd met Shizune and Tsunade a few times before, as Minato and Jiraiya had kept in touch and often visited her. However, as Akuma, he couldn't act on that knowledge directly. "I see. Well then, allow me to get you set up. How many people, and for how long?"

"Just two for a night, Manager-san."

"Oh? So short? Why that's hardly any time at all. You'll have no time to see anything the city has to offer," Akuma said.

"My Master didn't feel like staying long," Shizune replied. "We've been on the move recently, and this was something of an impulse stop for her."

Akuma chuckled. "Well, if an impulse led her into my den, then I suppose I should introduce myself to her so that I may thank her for her unexpected patronage." It was no impulse, Akuma knew. His powers let him place a lasting, if mild, emotional projection on the building, causing people to drop their inhibitions and become curious while outside, and feel both happier and relaxed on the inside.

Shizune led him to Tsunade, who, despite the alterations to her mind, was already frowning at her slot machine. Akuma was mildly surprised at how much she had reversed her apparent age; the last time Naruto had seen her, she was nearly forty in appearance. Now, she was barely twenty, if even that. She was still as massively endowed as ever, though.

As there was nobody immediately around Tsunade, when Shizune stopped, Akuma decided to act a little bit. "She? She is your master? Impressive. I would hardly expect a woman so young to already be such a master of her craft that she would take on an apprentice older than her in age. Unless..."

Tsunade had heard him by this point and had turned around. She looked mildly flattered by the compliments, but Akuma's unless made her raise an eyebrow. "Unless what?"

"Unless you meant master in a more... risque way." Akuma waggled his eyebrows at Tsunade.

"What the hell did you say, punk?!" Tsunade growled, jumping to her feet.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune exclaimed. The pig she was carrying oinked loudly. Both were ignored.

Akuma's grin didn't fade. "I kid, I kid. I know who you are, Slug Princess Tsunade. I wanted to welcome you to my humble little establishment." He turned to the sannin's apprentice. "I guess that makes you two Shizune-san and Tonton-pi."

Shizune took a step back. "Gah! You know me and Tonton?"

Akuma shrugged. "Know of is more accurate. I'm acquainted with Jiraiya-san, Minato Namikaze-sama, and Naruto-san. They told me about you and Shizune."

"Hopefully nice things, for their sakes," Tsunade said.

"Oh, it was very nice," Akuma replied. "Especially Jiraiya, who, shall we say, waxed poetic about your beautiful... personality." He grinned. "I am curious, though. I heard that you were a strong woman with an equally strong pride, one that wouldn't let her back down from a wager."

"Depends on the wager," Tsunade replied, clearly interested.

Akuma's grin stretched even wider. "Now, while I am no ninja, I do happen to be fairly strong and have some knowledge of chakra use. I also know how strong you're rumored to be. I propose a bet: you and me, fight to surrender. You win, I give you 20,000 ryō, a two-bed bedroom free of charge, and a meal at one of the restaurants I own."

"Interesting, but if you're willing to wager that on a fight against me, what do you get if you win?" the slug sannin asked.

His grin threatened to split his face in half. "I'll give you a choice. One of my closest friends is a ninja with good chakra control, and would love to learn how to use healing chakra. Teach him for a week. Or, spend the night in my bedroom with me."

"You're just a dirty pervert," Tsunade quipped.

"And yet I gave you an option that wasn't perverted, not that I deny being a zealous lover of the human form." Akuma shrugged. "And it's not like I have the skill to actually beat you on this; you're a sannin. I'm the party demon; I make things interesting for a living."

Tsunade's glare faded away as she began legitimately considering the offer. "You're on!" she finally replied.

Akuma was slow. That's just the way it was; with his huge limbs and heavy-weight, he could only move so fast. He could accelerate his body with chakra, yes, but so could Tsunade, and she was better at it than him. Even with the reach of his kanabō aiding him, Tsunade could move in quick enough to dodge, and she could block.

But hitting her was hardly what he wanted to do. No, he wanted physical contact, be it him hitting her or her hitting him. His emotional projection depended on distance, specifically the inverse square of the distance. And unless he stuck a part of himself in one of her many orifices, he could hardly get closer than a skin on skin touch. To aid that, he fought completely shirtless and barefoot.

Much to Akuma's pleasure and Tsunade's forced pleasure, the moment she landed a punch to his exposed abs, she found herself riding a wave or orgasmic bliss. Also, due to human physiology, she found herself with noticeably less chakra as her chakra-infused juices dripped down from between her legs. "The hell?" she panted.

"Exactly." Akuma's leg swept out. She blocked with her own leg, but his Mountain Flower's River jutsu took hold again. However, this time, it had more arousal and lust, aimed at himself, and less bliss; it caused the blush on Tsunade's face to deepen.

"My body..." She punched again without pause, hitting Akuma hard in the gut and sending him flying. He landed hard and pushed back with chakra, causing him to keep rolling so that he could flip back to a standing position.

She was on him again, and the hit connected once more, though it was weaker than before. "What the hell is going on? What is that technique? Aphrodisiac? No, it's too fast."

Akuma stood up again and wiped away the drops of blood he'd coughed up. Even as he stood, he could feel his insides realigning and healing. He let calmness radiate from his body, watching as Tsunade visibly relaxed. "Correct; it's not aphrodisiac," he replied. The demon stepped forwards and slowly reached out a hand. Tsunade made no move to stop him, even as he caressed her face. "It's deeper and infinitely more subtle." He bent down and whispered into her ear, "You've lost, Tsunade. I have your heart, and I have stolen your will to fight. Go ahead, try to hit me."

Tsunade looked down at her own hand, which wasn't even clenched anymore. She found that she could not even raise her hand to slap the man who, in her eyes, was the most perfect specimen she'd ever seen. She remembered fighting him, she remembered thinking him an ugly, lustful pervert, but now she couldn't understand why. Her past-self felt alien to her. Was she in a genjutsu, she wondered. She couldn't even muster the strength of will to try to break out of it. Her thoughts were consumed by the giant in front of her.

"You can't, can you? Admit that you've lost, and I'll let you kiss me."

"I lost!" she shouted. "I lost, I lost, I lost!"

Akuma grabbed her face and held it oh-so close to his own. As he spoke, Tsunade could feel his hot breath on her skin. "Tsunade..." he whispered sensually. Then he suddenly let go and stepped back. In a normal tone of voice, he said, "Wake up."

His jutsu ended, and using the less refined version, he suppressed some of the arousal and lust he'd forced into her. Not all of it, but enough that she could think straight. Then, while turning away from her and starting to walk away, he said, "You said it yourself, Tsunade-chan, you lost. Haku will introduce himself to you later, and I'm staying in room oh-two. Pick your poison."

"Oh, I'm not done with you yet," Tsunade shouted. Her foot stomped into the ground, creating a mini-earthquake that caused Akuma to stumble. She lunged, snatched his kanabō out of his hand, and used it to whack him to the ground. "What did you do to me?"

"Why should I tell you? I already undid it. Unless... you want to feel that again? As much joy and pleasure as you can handle." Desire and curiosity, he pushed those into her as he pushed himself off the ground. "I can make you feel happy again. I can take away your sorrow and your fear... at least for a while. That's what I do; I make people happy."

He started walking away again, and Tsunade didn't move to stop him this time. "Pick your poison, Tsunade. Or don't. You could always run away again."

Five hours later, there was a knock on a particular hotel room door. Akuma opened it up and glanced down. Tsunade looked back up at him. "I really would have thought you would have run."

"My curiosity got the better of me." She stepped inside. "I couldn't stop thinking about what you said, and I thought, Tsunade, you've been drowning your sorrows for years. Let's try something else. So, Akuma or whatever your name actually is, let me try drowning my sorrows in you."

"Let's."

The door closed behind Tsunade. Akuma licked his lips. He was a predator, and she his prey.

Elsewhere, a man who looked distinctly like a venus flytrap emerged from the ground. On the other side of the room, there was a masked man, a blue-haired woman, and an orange-haired man with rippling eyes. "Leader-sama," the black half of the man replied. "We have identified a possible alternative candidate to Deidara."

"Yeah," the white half replied. "This guy's like a genjutsu-using Kisame who can take a hit like Hidan."

"Interesting," the rinnegan-bearing man replied. "Keep observing him and judging his skill. If he is worthy of joining our organization, approach him with an offer."

"Yes, Leader-sama."

"You got it!"