The Company of the Worthless Chapter 8: Venom, a naruto fanfic

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Whee! Even though the chapter came out waaaaay late, you guys jumped on the reviews super quick! I love you guys so much!

Chapter Eight: Venom

"So give me a recap," said Naruto, "What happened this week?" Naruto had awakened in his apartment, a much larger one he'd moved into years ago, with Hinata resting on his chest, tracing circles around his solar plexus.

"Well…" she said in a dulcet tone, "Your students became Jounin… You defeated another tailed beast – without dying this time. Then…" she blushed, "You proposed to me, and I accepted…" He gave her a quick kiss. "And finally… you were given the role of Hokage."

"It's been a good week," said Naruto.

"I'll say." Hinata smiled, admiring her ring. "It's so beautiful…" she turned to Naruto, "Say, why don't you and I-" She stopped, a sharp intake of breath truncating her sentence.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked, worried. "What's wrong?" Hinata immediately began coughing heavily, blood coming out in small drops. "Hinata!" Thankfully, both of them were clothed as Naruto pulled open the window, picked up Hinata's body, and leapt out towards the hospital. Engaging Fox Form, he muttered, "Hang on, Hinata… It'll be okay…"

He arrived at the hospital a few seconds later. Hinata's coughs had lessened, but horrific wheezing had emerged and her pallor had whitened severely. "Hey," he called to two medics in conversation. "Hey!" he yelled again, catching their attention. "She's sick. Really sick. Get her some help or I'll rip this entire building apart by myself. Got it?"

The two medics glanced at each other, then raced to accept Hinata from Naruto's hands. "Yes, Hokage-sama. Absolutely."

Naruto breathed a sigh of miniscule relief and followed the two medics. He was unused to being addressed as "Hokage-sama" and had thus been rash with the threat. As they approached the room Hinata was to be put in, the medics requested Naruto watch from outside. He complied and watched them as they began to work. They placed a breath mask on her, injected her with some medicine or another, and hooked her up to a bag of blood. Naruto's heart pounded in worry.

A few minutes passed before Sakura came running down the hall. "Naruto!" she called, "I got word of what happened… I'm here to help." Naruto nodded, unable to speak from the knot in his stomach. Sakura entered the room and began running her glowing hands over Hinata. Naruto was further disconcerted by Sakura's grimace.

Eventually, she exited the room and Naruto steeled himself to say, "So…what's wrong with her?"

Sakura shook her head. "I… can't say… It's some kind of illness I've never seen before. Her organs aren't exactly shutting down; they're just… all weakening, all at once. Maybe it's a rare disease, a virus, an allergic reaction or even… a poison."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You're telling me someone could have poisoned Hinata?"

"It's a possibility. I need you to tell me everything that's happened in the last few days."

"W-well," he did his best to calm his mind as he tried to recall the last week. "Uh, sh-she was going away on a mission, and so, we were eating at… where were we eating? I think… yeah, it was our favorite restaurant, you know the one…. she had salad, I had steak…"

"Could it be that the vegetables were not washed properly?" Sakura suggested.

"Maybe… I dunno, I'll go check," he said, producing a kagebunshin to go inquire about the restaurant.

"Continue," said Sakura gently.

"Okay, so, we had our food, and she seemed fine then, so then we went and… she got some flowers – picked from the garden – and she put them in a vase at home…"

"The flowers might have a toxin in them. You wouldn't be affected because you've got the Ninetails Chakra," Sakura interjected.

"Good point…" Naruto sent another clone to inspect.

"And then… and then she went on her mission… a few days later, she came back… and that's it."

Sakura brought a hand to her chin, concentrating. "Where was the mission?"

"The water country, I think."

"Did she say she interacted with anybody there?"

Naruto thought. "I think… she fought a shinobi… she didn't know what country he was from, so she brought back his Forehead Protector so that we could look in the files and see what it matched up to."

"Do you still have the Forehead Protector?" Sakura asked quickly.

"Yeah, it's in the apartment. I'll go get that too." A third bunshin departed from the hospital.

"Until they get back," Sakura began, "… You should probably be with Hinata… It's always good for a sick person to have someone beside them."

"Yeah…" Naruto said quietly and entered the room with Hinata. She looked so weak, so frail; a tremendous leap backwards from her usual vibrant self. He took her hand in his: it was cold, icy cold, and Naruto felt his own soul chilled. "You'll be okay, baby," he whispered miserably. "We'll be okay."

Minutes passed. Naruto's doppelgangers returned, bearing the three objects in question, all in plastic bags to avoid possible infection. Sakura took all three and said, "We'll have these tested… then we can figure out where to go from there."

Naruto was not consoled in the least. Three different possible sources. Three reasons for her illness.

Three ways to die.

Or, conversely, none of them might be it and they'd be stuck even further. Naruto was trembling harder than he had in years. A thought struck him. "I still… I still have duties to the village…" That in mind, he sent a fourth bunshin to the office of the Hokage building.

Kakashi and Sasuke walked into the room hours later. "Hey, Naruto," said Sasuke somberly.

"Hey guys," he replied without turning.

"We've been informed on what happened," said Kakashi. "If you need anything… we're here for you."

"Thanks."

Sasuke scowled and activated his Sharingan. "Woah…" he said, inspecting Hinata. "Her chakra is severely disrupted… whatever's doing this isn't just attacking her organs." Naruto felt his heart thump painfully.

"Go… tell Sakura-chan…" Naruto mumbled. Sasuke nodded and walked away.

Kakashi laid what he hoped would be a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. "She'll be fine, Naruto," he whispered. "I promise." Naruto was unresponsive. "I'll go talk to Shizune… see what she thinks about this."

"Yeah…" Naruto murmured. Hour after hour passed with no change in Hinata's condition.

Suddenly, her hand twitched. Naruto gasped as Hinata's eyes opened. "N… Naruto-kun…" she groaned, muffled by the breath mask.

"Hinata…" he breathed. "I… How are you feeling?"

"N…not well…" she replied breathily, removing the breath mask. "Wha…" she wheezed, "What's wrong… with me?"

He inhaled painfully. "We… we don't know yet."

Silence. Hinata replaced the breath mask.

"Sakura-chan's figuring it out," he added.

She lifted the mask again for a moment. "I'm… s-sorry," she coughed, "Th-that I put you th-through this…"

His heart nearly broke at her words. "… Just… Go to sleep," he said gently, grasping her hand. "Please." She nodded and quickly drifted off. "She's sorry?" he thought, miserable. "I'm the one who screwed up in taking care of her, and she's sorry?! Congratulations, Uzumaki Naruto, you are officially the most pathetic human being alive. Now stop feeling sorry for yourself… remember, you've got to be strong! You're the Hokage now! And besides… she's the most precious person in your life. You have to be there for her."

Time passed. Every so often, medics would come in, pass their glowing hands over Hinata, take various samples – it all made Naruto retch. Outside the room, his three students had arrived, all ashen-faced. "Poor sensei," said Izumi, tearing up. "And poor Hinata-san!"

"… After the battle with the Two-Tails, I asked around about sensei's life," said Gonosuke quietly. "Apparently… he's been through a hell most of us can't even fathom…"

"Yeah, I heard too," said Kintarou. "But you'd never know it, looking at him, would you? He always had his big smile, and all that energy… he's an amazing guy."

"He knows how to appreciate life," added Izumi. "And she… Hinata-san… she really made it great for him. That's why, no matter what happened, he could always pick himself up. She was always so nice, I thought… they made such a great couple…" She sobbed. "I just can't believe it." After a bit of consolation from her teammates, she and the other two left the hospital for their latest mission.

Naruto didn't know how many hours ha passed until the sound of footsteps reached his ears. He raced out of the room to see Sakura, a worried look upon her face. "Sakura-chan!" he said hastily, "Well? What's going on? Did you find anything?"

She nodded slowly. "It… was the forehead protector after all. We discovered it was traced with a poison absorbed through the skin. You must be immune due to your Ninetails chakra… Hinata's not so lucky."

Naruto did his best to calm his shivering body. "What… does the poison do, exactly?" he asked, afraid of the answer.

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment. "What the poison does, from what I can guess, is it… well, using microscopic chakra-based bacteria, it actually… eats away the blood in Hinata's system." Sakura paused, resuming after Naruto's mouth fell open in shock. "But what happens is, it's actually destroying her blood cells faster than we can replenish them. In a short amount of time… she's going to die of blood loss."

Naruto felt his heart drop into his stomach. "There's something you can do, though, right?" he asked in hope. "Konoha has the strongest medical team in the world… There has to be something you can do, right? Make an antidote, or something?"

Sakura began to tear. "The poison's design is like nothing I've ever seen… it's so intricate, so precise, so efficient, even more so than Sasori's. Every poison maker has a pattern, a sort of style they use to make their venoms. I didn't recognize this one. It wasn't listed in Konoha's books, so I consulted Tsunade sama. She identified it as…" Sakura sighed sorrowfully, "Yakushi Kabuto's."

Anger flared within Naruto. Even after being crushed, being destroyed, that bastard wouldn't let go of Hinata, and now he was going to finish what he started.

"But Kabuto is an incredibly skilled medic, and with Orochimaru's powers added onto him, he only improved, so… synthesizing an antidote in time would be impossible." The world around Naruto shattered. "I'm so sorry, Naruto," Sakura sobbed, "but Hinata… is going to die."

All the color drained from him. His eyes had grown empty, his breath, dry. All around him, like a slideshow, memories of his time with Hinata swirled about: from their time in the academy to the day before.

Her smile.

So sweet.

Faster and faster the fragments of his life moved, creating a dizzying effect. She was always so good to him, so kind, so gentle, so beautiful… God, did she look beautiful.

Her smile.

So vibrant.

Look at all those happy times, Naruto thought distantly, look at those… children, and yet so grown up, enjoying the happiness they deserved. Her lips upon his, his lips upon hers.

Her smile.

So warm.

What a time they'd had, a time that seemed to last forever. Yet Naruto had grown greedy, always demanding more and more time together. But was he wrong, doing so? Had his gluttony for happiness wrought this punishment? She was always such an amazing person, even during her darkest hour.

Her smile.

So soft.

Her flesh was the most incredible texture to him, always. It was smooth, yet pliable, and it had that most amazing aroma. Her mouth was nice. Her tongue always felt so succulent to him.

Her smile.

So safe.

So… very safe.

Safety was something almost unreal to Naruto, a precious treasure that he'd always sought. Now, he realized, she was his treasure. She was the gem of his life, the cover that shrouded him in security when her arms were around him.

And now, they would never be around him… ever again.

"Naruto…?" Sakura murmured after Naruto had gone silent minutes earlier. "Are you…?"

Suddenly, his hands reached up, gripping close to Sakura's throat with incredible strength. Sakura winced as his nails, grown to claws, began to dig into her shirt.

"What the hell…" He growled, peering into her eyes. She gasped at their bloody hue. Gnashing his fangs, he roared, "You're supposed to be a medic! You're supposed to be the healer! Well? Fix her already, damn you!"

"Naruto…" she muttered quietly, "You're hurting me… please, I-"

"Stop being so fucking useless all the time and make her better!" he raged on.

"Naruto!" Tsunade called from behind, placing a hand on his shoulder. He turned to meet her gaze: stern, yet understanding. "We're going to make Hinata as comfortable as possible. You… should be with her."

Naruto's lip quivered and he fell to the floor, bawling his eyes out, moaning, "Hinata… oh, God, Hinata…" Tsunade helped him from the ground and, as Sakura rubbed her collarbone briefly, she and Tsunade brought Naruto back to Hinata, to sit him down. As he seated himself, he uttered, "S-sorry about that, Sakura-ch-chan…"

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it." Taking a cue from Tsunade, she followed her mentor out of the room. As soon as they'd cleared the door, Sakura broke down, weeping on Tsunade's shoulder.

"I know," Tsunade whispered, stroking Sakura's hair. "I know." Thunder clapped outside the building and soon rain began pouring down on the village. "And even the skies cry for him…" Tsunade thought. "Even nature knows that this is a tragedy."

Naruto stroked Hinata's limp hand, its feel sending a chill through Naruto that made him break out in a cold sweat. More and more, the tears fell from his eyes, the only source of warmth in his body. Just then, her hand twitched, and she groaned, weakly removing the breath mask. "Hey… Naruto-kun…" she muttered, wheezing hard.

"Sweetness…" he whispered back. "You… shouldn't be up, you should rest, you-"

"I … want to be… with my fiancé," she croaked. She coughed blood violently. "Please… let me have that gift… H… how do things… l-look for me?" she asked.

He tightened a hidden fist. "You'll be fine," he forced himself to say. "Don't worry."

"You… can't lie… to a Hyuuga, Naruto-kun…" she responded. "Your eyes tell me… they tell me…" she retched, "That things… don't look good…"

"No, no, babe, it's… it's going to be fine," he pushed himself.

She drew a painful, rattling breath. "Is it…?" she rasped.

"Yeah," he replied. "You'll see… it's- it's going to be great. We're… going to be great. Amazing. Spectacular. You're going to walk out of here, with me, of course…then… then we'll get marred – we'll have a big wedding, I promise – And we'll have lots of kids – you'll be a great mom, I know it – And then… then I'll be Hokage, the greatest Hokage ever, the greatest shinobi ever… I'll change the world, and things'll be fantastic, you'll see…. You'll see. And then… we'll love each other forever, and… we'll be happy… because that's what we deserve… to be happy, and nothing less."

She smiled, but was quickly overcome by a strong series of coughs and sputtering. After it subsided, she whispered, "Really…? That sounds… lovely."

"Doesn't it…?" he said, just as softly, stroking her hair, running his finger against her cheek. "Doesn't it…"

"Naruto-kun," she wheezed, "These years we've spent together have been the happiest in my life… even when things were… terrible… you made it incredible. Because you've given me such a gift of h-happiness, the gift of kn-knowing I could be happy… I can die peacefully."

"No… don't say such a thing," he protested, even as more tears leapt from his eyes, "You're not going to die, you're going to live, and I-"

She put a cold finger to his lips. "I… love you…" she groaned. She fell back into slumber and Naruto fastened the breathing apparatus back on her lips.

"I love you too…" he whispered. Immediately, he began weeping, more forcefully than before. "Don't die, Hinata," he told her as she slept. "You're the one thing in my life that means more to me than everything else. I need you. If you go…" he sobbed, dripping tears onto her hand, "Then part of me will go with you. So please… please, don't die."

"This isn't fair…" he thought bitterly, "I'm not one to claim the world is usually fair, but this is my limit! I should be the one dying, not her! I'm the one with the demon inside me, aren't I? Oh, why can't she be the one to hold the Fox's chakra, to be immune to this horrible plague…" His eyes shot open. "Wait… could it be?" He rose from his chair, kissed Hinata on the cheek and whispered, "I'll be right back soon, baby… hold on." As he ran towards Sakura's office, his thoughts raced. "It's a long shot, but it may just be the only way!"

Sakura, assisting Tsunade in her reentered Chief of Medicine office, poured, depressed, over the paperwork in front of her. To her side, Tsunade wasn't doing much better. But Tsunade had decades of experience Sakura lacked in dealing with death like this… how was the young woman expected to cope?

Just then, the door to the room burst open, revealing Naruto. "Sakura-chan!" he yelled, "I've got an idea!"

"What…?" she asked, confused.

"I've got a way to save Hinata!"

Tsunade turned towards him. "How do you mean, Naruto?"

He offered his wrist. "Use my body."

Sakura's eyebrows climbed. "What are you talking about?"

"Listen, just- Listen," he said rapidly. "The Ninetails chakra is so dense and corrosive that whoever touches it gets burned badly. You know this first hand, right?" he gestured to her small scar on her shoulder. "But that's only externally. Internally, the Fox heals me from what would be mortal wounds! It's saved my life dozens of times, even from the external demon chakra!"

"So what are you suggesting?" asked Tsunade, now intrigued.

"You get a load of blood pouring into her, right? As it goes in, it gets corrupted, but you run her blood into me. My body does what hers can't – eliminate the toxin. When it goes back into her, it should be loaded with my Fox chakra, and will cure her of whatever's killing her."

A silence filled the room. "Naruto… that's incredibly dangerous," said Sakura.

"I know."

"You'd lose a lot of blood too, perhaps more than your chakra can regenerate in time. You could die. You two don't have the same blood type, and what's to stop the Fox's chakra from identifying her body and blood as foreign and attacking?"

He jabbed a thumb at his chest. "I am," he said boldly. "I control the Fox, not the other way around. I'll make sure he does what I need. And besides…" he gave her a desperate look. "What do we have to lose?"

Another silence occurred. "Fine," said Tsunade. "Let's do it. It's our only shot, anyway." Naruto breathed a sigh of slight relief. "Report to operating room D. I'll be there with Hinata soon."

He nodded, racing off towards the operating room. "Hold on, my love…" he thought, increasing speed. "I'm coming to save you." He arrived shortly and donned a waiting hospital gown. Then he concentrated, zooming into his own mind, into the dark, decrepit, and now gateless hallway of his subconscious. "Fox!" he called into the abyss.

Tiny red bubbles phased into existence, which slowly converged and congealed, forming the full Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. "We haven't chatted in a while, Naruto," it boomed, and then roared at him in an attempt at intimidation.

Naruto was unfazed and raised his hand, sending the Fox slamming to the floor. "Listen, and listen good. I know you overheard the conversation earlier. You'd better do what I tell you."

The Fox laughed cruelly. "Boy, do you know who I am? I caused destruction on levels no other tailed beast could even think of. I laid waste to lands across the world with ease, and you think I'll help you heal one girl? You may be in control of me, but-"

"You'll do what I say," Naruto growled, "Or I'll hurt you."

The Fox laughed again. "Hurt me? Have we met? I'm invincible. My lifeforce is tied to yours. The only way you could hurt me is…" Naruto's gaze remained solid. "Oh, you wouldn't dare, Naruto," the fox said confidently.

"I would," he challenged. "And I'll make sure it's as slow and painful for you as possible."

The Fox raised an eyebrow. "… Very well then," he said, impressed. "I will do what I can to save your mate."

Naruto sighed. "Thank you," he said.

"What else can I do…?" the Fox rumbled as the hallway began to fade away. "It's not like I can get out of here."

Naruto awoke on the hospital bed. Hinata had been wheeled out and she lay next to him. Tsunade, Sakura, and Shizune surrounded him on either side, clad in surgical gear. "Are you ready?" Tsunade asked quietly.

"Absolutely," he said confidently. "I'll see you in a bit," he thought, gazing at Hinata's weak form, "At least… I hope."

"Alright then." She applied the anesthetic agent to Naruto and he quickly went under. "Shizune, you handle the control-levels, Sakura, you do the chakra management."

"Yes!" said both.

"And I'll… do the dirty work." Taking the scalpel in hand, she made an incision in two parts in each of Hinata's and Naruto's flesh. Taking a small, latex tube, she inserted it into one slit on Naruto and into another on Hinata. "Inserting the first chakra-imbued tube from Hyuuga Hinata's superior vena cava and to Uzumaki Naruto's aorta," she announced. She took the second tube and did the reverse. "Inserting the second chakra-imbued tube from Hyuuga Hinata's aorta and Uzumaki Naruto's superior vena cava." She paused. "You've beaten Kabuto before, Naruto," she whispered, "Now kick the shit out of him." She turned to Sakura and Shizune. "Go."

The two nodded, performing seals and concentrating as a green aura appeared around them. Red fluid began to flow in each tube. Tsunade then mustered all of her impeccable chakra control and began guiding a small strain of chakra in each of their bodies, allowing the blood to reach the right places as efficiently as possible. To do this sort of procedure demanded no flaws. Sakura and Shizune could barely maintain amazement as they managed their tasks.

Just then, the monitor on Hinata began beeping, indicating a problem. "Her lungs seized up! Shizune!"

"On it!" Shizune called, executing one-handed seals and planting her palm onto Hinata's throat. Her lungs began pumping again and the beeping ceased.

Hours and hours passed, with no rest for the trio. Tsunade couldn't tell from whether it was working or not. Both Naruto and Hinata flickered in and out of crisis mode, but managed to return to stability each time.

Inside Naruto's unconscious mind, he found himself floating in yet another white void. He was formless, just a perspective. Yet all around him, he saw himself and Hinata. Little children playing, laughing, young adults enjoying the world and all its splendor, man and woman, drinking in each other's beings… It seemed each replica was just a second in their lives, their existence together as one, infinitely repeating in front of him.

And he asked to the void, "Is this how it ends for us?"

And the void gave no reply.

Darkness.

Voices around him. Familiar.

"Oh my God…"

"We almost lost him."

"Could have been worse. I mean, with Hinata-"

"Ungh…" he groaned. His entire body felt weak.

"Look, he's coming out of it."

His eyelids slowly widened, the lights of the room flooding into them. "Bright…" he mumbled.

A blurry shape emerged before him. "Welcome back to the world of the living, Naruto."

"Huh…?" His eyes did their best to focus, catching sight of blond pigtails. "Tsu… Tsunade…?"

"His pulse is normal, Tsunade-sama," came Shizune's voice beside him.

"How're you feeling, Naruto?" came a third voice.

"Sakura-chan…" Finally, the room focused, allowing the three women to appear relatively clear to him. "I'm… fine… a little tired, but fine…"

Sakura sighed in relief. "That's good… the tiredness is normal. You did lose a lot of blood, you know."

"Huh." He rose from his prone position. "How long's it been..?" he asked sluggishly.

"A few days," Sakura explained. "You scared us… a few moments, there, we thought we'd lose you."

"Nah, I'd never-" An urgent thought struck him. "Wait. Where's-" he began panting, "Where is Hinata?" The bed next to him, he saw, was completely empty. Panic burst in his chest. "Oh no… no, no, no…"

Just then, the familiar fragrance of flowers reached his nose. Slowly, he twisted his head towards the door, almost not daring to hope. A voice came from outside the threshold: "Naruto-kun? Is that you?" Mouth slightly agape, he watched as Hinata entered, appearing to be perfectly healthy. "Good morning, my love," she said sweetly, beaming at him.

At the sight of her smile, Naruto felt all of his strength return. He leapt out of bed several feet into the air and rushed to his fiancée. "Are you… are you okay?" he whispered.

She nodded, bringing his hand to her cheek. "I'm wonderful, Naruto-kun, and it's all thanks to you."

He smiled, practically bursting with joy. Lifting his other palm to cup her face, he leaned in and crushed his lips against hers. "I love you so much, Hinata," he said when they'd parted. "I would give any amount of blood to see you smile again."

"I know you would, Naruto-kun. I love you too." They kissed again.

Naruto laughed, lifting her up by the waist and spinning around once. "This is so great… I mean, this is incredible, this is-"

"You seem to be feeling better," said Tsunade.

"You bet!" he replied heartily with a thumbs-up.

"I hate to ruin the moment here, but you kind of have a village to lead," she said with a smirk.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Oh! Almost forgot." Immediately, a kagebunshin materialized and, after summoning a set of clothes, darted off.

"Useful trick, that," Tsunade added, "Wish I could've had that during my reign."

Naruto smiled. "Well, we can't all house the most powerful beast in the universe." He grinned devilishly. "We can't have the Ninetails either." Hinata giggled.

"Anyway, it's good that you can do that. You need to rest, despite your ecstatic demeanor. You've been through a lot."

"I think I know just the right sort of 'healing,'" he muttered to Hinata, who blushed lightly and chuckled again.

"Well, I don't want to keep you from whatever… 'activities' you may be planning, so get going, you two!" Tsunade said, and without another word, Naruto swept an arm under a squealing Hinata's feet before carrying her out of the room.

"Does he know that he's only in boxers and a T-shirt?" Shizune asked.

"I don't think he cares," said Tsunade. "And frankly, I wouldn't either."

"Amazing… I can't believe it," said Sakura. "Naruto's idea worked. The Ninetails chakra sure is an amazing thing, isn't it?"

Tsunade shook her head and smiled. "No, the Ninetails didn't let them live. The love they share cured her. No poison could damage that in the slightest."

Sakura smiled, her heart throbbing joyfully at what had transpired. "I should go talk to Sasuke-kun," she thought, and began strolling out the door. Shizune, thinking along similar lines, set out to find Kakashi. Tsunade, a few seconds later, smiled subtly and headed to what was once again her medical office.

Naruto burst into the apartment, carrying Hinata, and tossed her lightly on the bed, a ravenous look on his face. "So," she said softly, her unusual devious smile emerging. "You're Hokage now… should I call you Hokage-sama?"

He grinned and said, "Maybe only in here." He leaned in. She already knew what he was thinking and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, kissing, swapping saliva. He activated the first Gate with a blast of chakra from his tongue. As she sighed in pleasure, he reached down to undo her jacket's zipper. Suddenly, he felt her hand press on his neck as she whispered, "Ero-jutsu: Toushou (Pervy Technique, Freeze Palm)." Naruto felt his body tighten up, lightly paralyzed. "Don't try to resist," she said as she slipped fluidly out from underneath him.

"Hinata, wha…?" he asked, confused.

"You gave so much blood for me… I thought I should help bring back some blood… somewhere else," she said huskily with a wink. Naruto's blood did in fact begin racing: he loved when she talked like this. "I woke up a long while before you, so I was able to prepare for this," she said, forming hand seals. "Ero-jutsu: Bubun Baika: Oppai (Pervy Technique: Partial Expansion: Tits)."

Naruto felt himself stir as memories of his favorite Ero-jutsu surfaced. "Hinata…" he said, "You're awesome."

"Thank you, sweety," she replied. The jutsu began. She closed her eyes, moaning at the new sensitivity of her breasts. The mounds in the jacket grew more and more pronounced as the seconds passed. Naruto wondered distantly why she hadn't removed it. "Oopsie," she said in a faux-innocent voice. "Looks like I forgot to take off my jacket! I'd better do that now." Lightly, she fiddle with the zipper, moving up and down as far as she could. It only became somewhat undone, "Oh no! My huge tits have grown too big! They won't let me take off my jacket!" Naruto groaned, his erection straining his pants at her dirty talk. She smiled seductively. "Well… I guess I'll let them do it for me. She moved the zipper down as far as she could and her swelling boobs began pushing the jacket in such a way that the zipper naturally fell. When at last the zipper had reached the bottom, Hinata undid the final clip.

"Oh my God…" Naruto breathed, wincing as his stiff member tried to force its way through Naruto's pants. He did his best to focus on his sexy fiancé: In five years, Hinata's breasts had continued to mature naturally, making her about as large as Tsunade, give or take a few inches, with one major difference: The shape. Hinata's breasts were completely perky, jutting out gloriously from her chest. They were firm, but still pliable. Their shape was more spherical, too. She had an immaculate rack. But with her new size, plus the jutsu, Naruto could scarcely believe what he was seeing here. Now, he was shocked at what the jacket had uncovered.

Lingerie. Now very tight, visibly strained lingerie, from the look of it. "Oh, this top is so very tiiiight, Naruto-sama. I can't remove it, the clasp it too locked!" She put a finger to her chin, feigning contemplation. "I wonder if I can get my boobs to help… There are five seams holding this bra together, Naruto-sama," she said with emphasis on the honorific, patting the bra. "I hope I can get them to… snap."

"Uh… I… gah…" was all Naruto was able to babble. His prong throbbed at her every word.

"One…"

Snap.

Throb.

"Two…"

Snap.

Throb.

"Three…"

Snap.

Throb.

"Four…"

Snap.

Throb. "Oh God…" Naruto moaned.

"And this makes… five."

Snnnap!

Major throb.

Her jugs bounded forward, bouncing up and down, slapping against her abdomen. The jiggling continued for several seconds after the bra had flown off, ejected with such force that it slammed against the wall. After most, but not all of the motion in her chest had ceased, she began kneading her breasts, moaning lightly. Naruto had almost forgotten to breathe. Her sly grin emerged. "Oh… I'm sorry, I believe I'm doing your job." She began slowly, for Naruto agonizingly slowly towards him. With each step she took, her breasts jiggled appropriately, sending ripples of motion through her skin, ending at the erect nipples.

The light paralysis began wearing off as Hinata removed his pants. Naruto sighed in relief as his member was able to stand tall and proud. Hinata's eyes lit up at it. Without another moment's hesitation, Naruto lunged for Hinata, his hands in but the shape of claws as they gripped and molded and pushed and squeezed every inch of her flesh he could. All the while, she moaned, reaching to the back of his head and thrusting it in the cavernous expanse of cleavage that had formed between her two pendulous behemoths. Naruto all too eagerly obliged, using all his strength to squash his face between these mountains.

An unusual, not oft occurring thought floated near his brain: "Y'know, if I could choose my death, suffocation by gigantic fuckin' tits would be pretty damned high on the list." He emerged from the canyon; his chin still submerged, to peer at his beloved, his goddess, who had offered this gift to him. Her eyes. Her smile. That was the best part of her, though in truth he didn't exactly mind these blimps. "Hey," he said, casual and cocky as hell.

"Hey," she said, sweetly.

"I love you."

"You'd better." The sly grin returning, she asked, "So how about some Gates?"

Naruto moved like lightning, navigating her glorious body to activate each one. At number six, she shrieked, and Naruto recalled why: the sixth Gate increases the sensitivity of all erogenous zones exponentially. This, added to the sensitivity gained by Hinata's technique, sent her spinning. Naruto pressed against her breast, sending her into an orgasm, the fuel of the gates and the jutsu feeding her fiery lust. Wielding great strength, he hefted one massive mammary and inserted the nipple into Hinata's open, screaming mouth. She graciously accepted it and began sucking her own tip, Naruto latched faithfully onto the other one. One climax after another shot through her, and every single time, she would bite down lightly on herself. Naruto followed suit.

Between moans, she brought out her languid voice and said, "Let's… ooh, get something else – ah! God! – something else done." With that, she moved south and Naruto could barely believe his eyes as Hinata's tremendous knockers completely smothered his manhood. Not even his could overcome those monsters. Grasping her own titanic breasts, which, due to the sixth Gate, had given her a sexual burst of energy, she began pumping up and down Naruto's unseen erection.

"Dear… God…" Panting, shuddering, he formed the cross seal and weakly whispered, "Ta…a…juu… K-kagebunshin N-n-no Jutsu (Mass Shadow Doppelganger technique)!" While the clones poofed into existence, Naruto pressed down on Hinata's breasts, eliciting a scream, helping her please him. The clones wrapped their hands around Hinata's breasts, slobbering over the nipples.

Hinata's hands, trembling due to the difficulty of Hinata's concentration, briefly remover her hands, formed the cross seal and said, "M-muh-me too. Kagebunshin No Jutsu."

Naruto shook his head soberingly, still pressing down on Hinata's bust, his clones still teasing each nipple. "Great, now my ears are tricking me? Boy, I am going some kind of crazy, I-"

And then, before him, he saw it. It was truly a magnificent site. A second Hinata, stark naked, bust expanded, nipples erected, and blushing appeared out of thin air. "Dear lord…" Naruto whispered. "She really is so very good to me," he thought. Hinata's replica pounced on Naruto, squeezing his face between her breasts while the original worked her breasts on his member. Naruto took a moment to cast the protection jutsu before he would go insane enough with pleasure to forget. A few of Naruto's bunshin leapt upon Hinata, squeezing her breasts, teasing the nipples, slipping a finger or two inside her entrance while she slid her boobs erotically around the original Naruto's face.

This had officially reached orgy status.

"Oh, God, Hinata," came Naruto's muffled moan from within her bunshin's cleavage, "I'm… I'm… oh Gooooooddd!" Naruto bucked his hips, and a geyser of semen shot up from underneath Hinata's own cleavage, hanging in midair for a second before splashing down onto her breasts.

"Oh!" she said, startled, as she leaned back to avoid the shot. Once it had landed, she began rubbing it into her breasts, tracing circles with it, a seductive smile upon her face the whole time. "Wow," she breathed, panting. The sensitivity of her breasts had cased a near orgasm from that experience. "Seventh Gate, please, Naruto-sama?" she asked meekly.

"Yes ma'am!" he said hastily, pressing the point on her body.

The insanity began. Naruto and his bunshin swarmed Hinata and hers. They engulfed her, each taking a different position to pleasure and be pleasured. Hinata and her clone focused all their efforts on complying, using all she could muster to please Naruto: Hands, legs, mouth, cleavage, breasts; she rubbed, teased, sucked, and pumped while Naruto played with all her erogenous zones awakened by the gates and inserted fingers in and out of her entrance.

When it all had reached its peak, Naruto spanked Hinata's butt-cheek with just enough sting to make her yelp in pleasure. Another spank came to the other cheek, and another after that, just to round things off. And so, gripping her now reddened buttocks with one hand, and kneading her breast with the other, he began thrusting in and out of her vagina. Their respective bunshin began doing the same. Hinata concentrated hard, working to keep thrusting with Naruto's rhythm, which was steadily increasing in speed, and still work with Naruto's bunshin.

Finally, the moment arrived. Each bunshin sensed it. They dispersed, allowing the accrued knowledge to give and extra surge to the originals as they climaxed like never before. Their names cried out for each other, rejoicing in each other's presence as the white void came. He was in pleasure, he was seeing pleasure, he was pleasure in this paradise. She and he were one being and he realized that it wasn't the jutsu that united them, created this amalgam of entities. They had always been one. They just hadn't known it.

He phased back to reality, panting heavily alongside the equally exhausted Hinata. "Holy shit," he gasped. "Did we… did we level any countries with that?"

"Not sure," she breathed, "but I don't think so."

"Coulda sworn… that that was earth-shattering."

"It was," she said sweetly, reverting from her sexual deviant to her innocent sweetheart. "These walls are just very strong, is all."

He laughed. "Yeah, let's just chalk it up to that. I'm fine with that."

"I love you, Naruto-kun," she said, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you for saving me yet again."

"I love you so much, Hinata. I'm so glad that you're alive, and I'm alive, and everything's okay. But there are some things left behind…"

"Like what?" she asked.

"Nothing, nothing… just a little something I need to check into."

Naruto's bunshin at the Hokage mansion recovered from the tremendous orgasm he'd just had by gaining other bunshin's knowledge and, after wiping the sweat from his brow, returned to his work. He'd had one shinobi replicate the design on the poisonous headband on chakra-imbued paper so that Naruto could study it. The paper allowed Naruto to take shapes and shift them around, making the studying easier. As he inspected it, he began to notice a pattern. "Hmm…" he muttered to himself, "If I move this here, and this here…"

He toggled with the paper for a while before uncovering a pattern. Isolating the shapes, he discovered their roots with a shock: While there were superfluous shapes, generic for shinobi, there were two important, outstanding designs. One such integral shape was comprised of four lines straight down. Another was a single eighth note. Naruto gasped. "Sound… and Rain… United?" He could only hypothesize what happened: Kabuto, seeking revenge against Konoha, fulfilling Orochimaru's dreams, synthesized a poison out of a rain shinobi's blood, so that he would be immune to it and all who touched it, save Ninetails Jinchuuriki, would be poisoned. A silent rage boiled with in him. "Looks like I've got some work to do…" he uttered, and began writing some notes.

"Sasuke-kuuun!" Sakura announced brightly, entering the Uchiha main house. "I'm hooome!"

He appeared before her, smiling. "Hey, sweetness. How're you doing?"

"Great, actually. Naruto finally woke up. He and Hinata are okay."

"Wonderful," he said, grinning. "Y'know, this whole near death thing with Naruto and Hinata has made me realize something, something very important," he said abruptly.

"What's that, Sasuke-kun?" she asked sweetly.

"That you should always look around and take stock of what is precious to you… and Sakura, I've realized that I never want to be without you," he said as he retrieved a small black box from his pocket.

Sakura's eyes widened. "What…" she breathed, "What are you saying, Sasuke-kun?"

"I'm saying," he said, kneeling down, "That I want to be with you forever. Will you, Sakura? Will you marry me?"

Sakura began crying. A minute passed before she composed herself. "Seventeen years, Sasuke-kun," she whispered, sniffling, "Seventeen years I've waited to hear those words and to say this: Yes, I will be your wife, Sasuke-kun. I will be with you until the end of time."

Sasuke smiled, slipping the ring upon her finger. As he rose and kissed her, she guided him to the bedroom, from which, soon, was ejected several articles of clothing. Following that, the door slammed shut, not to open for a while later.

Meanwhile, at Kakashi's place, the scarecrow held Shizune tightly, stroking her hair, grown long over the years, while Tonton slept peacefully at the foot of the bed. "Kakashi…" she muttered slowly. "I'm glad I have you."

"Me too," he replied.

She sighed. "Oh, when are we going to get married?"

"Anytime you want, babe," he said without missing a beat. "I even bought a ring."

Shizune's eyes snapped open. She leaned back, focusing on Kakashi's lone open eye. "Wha… are you serious, Kakashi?"

"Absolutely," he said. Reaching to the bedside table, he opened the drawer and retrieved a small platinum ring adorned with a large black diamond, offering it to Shizune.

Hands shivering, she took the tiny band, slipping it on one of her slender fingers. "When did you buy this, Kakashi?" she breathed.

He shrugged. "Two, three years ago, I think. I figure you need to plan ahead when you plan on spending the rest of your life with someone."

Her heart swelled. "Kakashi," she whispered, leaning into kiss his uncovered face. Drawing a finger along his strong jawline, she cooed, "What were you waiting for, love?"

He smiled. "I guessed you'd want to be a part of the moment, first." She beamed at him, kissing him again.

At the foot of the bed, Tonton bueh'd contentedly.

Naruto lay next to his sleeping beloved, a hand running down her back. His last bunshin had dispersed from the Hokage's office, making Naruto grimace with the news of the tainted forehead protector's design. "I can't just sit there and do nothing," he thought, "If I'm to protect everyone… I need to do something. Something drastic, something huge… something that will revolutionize the shinobi world. And I think I know just the thing."

He created a bunshin, who set off towards the Hokage's mansion. Once it reached there, it copied down a note several times, affixed one each to a leg of the top notch-messenger birds, and let the birds fly. Satisfied, he dispersed, leaving the original to fall asleep knowing that he only needed to wait.

"Wait, wait, wait, explain what's going here again?" said Sasuke, standing with Tsunade in Naruto's office the next morning.

"I've called a meeting with the other four Kage and the other various shinobi village leaders," Naruto explained.

"Why?" asked Tsunade.

"I've got something big planned. We're all to meet in person along with one lieutenant each." He raised a brow. "You'll be coming with, right?" he asked Sasuke.

"Of course," Sasuke replied easily.

"If all goes well, the shinobi world will be transformed into something no generation has ever seen before."

"Where will you be meeting?" said Tsunade.

"I found this old book in the archives… according to Senju Hashirama, your grandfather and the First Hokage, there was a secret location that only village leaders knew about, a sort of shrine where they would meet at times to discuss the grand disruptions of the world."

"Ah, yes," said Tsunade, nodding, "The Temple Outside Existence."

"Exactly," said Naruto, "A place secretive, so well-hidden that only top-notch shinobi could locate it."

Tsunade smiled. "Well, good for you. Your first few weeks in office, and you're already doing great things for the village. Your father would be proud."

"Thanks," he said, grinning with a light blush at that compliment. "Well," he said, relishing the words he was about to say, "Dismissed." Tsunade chuckled and she left the office. "It'll be in two days, Sasuke."

"Something to transform the world, eh?" Tsunade thought, recalling a conversation she'd had with Jiraiya eons ago.

"Tsunade-hiiiime," said Jiraiya, plastered out of his mind, "Imma… Imma teach a kid one day… an' he's gonna be a revuh… revo… hic! A revolutionary, that's it!"

"What, you mean Minato?" asked Tsunade.

"Nononono, I mean, I mean the child of… prosephy. Porphesy. Prophesy, that's it."

"Prophecy?" Tsunade asked skeptically.

"Yeaaah, this one time, the like, oldest frog in the mountain… told me so."

"The oldest frog in the mountain," she repeated flatly.

"Yeah."

"Told you that you would teach a revolutionary."

"Or that he would blow up the world. One or the other." He shrugged.

She blinked. "I think you're drunker than you know, Jiraiya," she said, and began helping him walk home.

"Nono! I swear! You'll see, I promise!"

"Yeah, yeah, let's get you home."

"I guess he wasn't so full of shit after all," she decided, pleased, and walked back to her own office.

"Wakey-wakey!" Naruto said more brightly than he'd planned lightly prodding Hinata's cheek.

Slowly, she blinked awake and mumbled, "Huh… Naruto-kun?"

"Good morning, hotstuff," he replied, kissing her on the cheek.

Sniffing the air around her, she asked, "Wha..." she yawned, "What is that delicious smell?"

He revealed a tray from behind him and beamed. "It's breakfast in bed, all for you! I brought your favorites: pancakes, eggs – sunny side up, of course – with toast, and I added some orange juice and sliced apples." He placed the tray beside her and made a sort of sweeping gesture. "Go on. Dig in!"

"Itadakimasu…" she said, a little surprised, and picked up an apple slice. As she munched on it, she said, "Naruto-kun, why did you - mmf –go through all this trouble? This is a delicious apple by the way."

"I know; I picked it myself. Anyway, I did all this because, well… you didn't die. And I figure I'd celebrate that by being the best fiancé I could." His smile widened.

She couldn't help but return his expression, blushing just a bit. "Why are you so wonderful?" she cooed, starting in on the rest her food.

"Because you're worth every moment," he returned.

"But what are you going to have?" she asked, chewing some pancake and egg.

"Oh, you know," he said, pulling out a bowl of ramen, "The usual." And so, the two ate, silently enjoying each other's company.

"When do you want to get married, Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.

"When would you like to married, Sasuke-kun?" asked Sakura.

"Whenever's fine," answered Naruto.

"Anytime's okay," replied Sasuke.

"Oh! I forgot! We haven't told anyone yet… we have to pick a maid of honor and best man, first," said Hinata."

"We should tell people; select a maid of honor and best man," said Sakura.

"I think I know just the guy," said Naruto, grinning.

"I've already got someone in mind," said Sasuke.

"Oh wow…" said Sakura, "I've got to make this the greatest wedding ever!"

"This wedding is going to be amazing, Naruto-kun," said Hinata excitedly.

"Yep," said Naruto, "Big things sure are happening."

Okay, so that's that chapter. Really pushed the envelope with the lemon here, I think. Oh well, if you hated it or whatever, just be cool, and review, please!