"That makes sense," Naruto said, accepting Guy's explanation without suspicion. Why would Guy-sensei lie about something like that?
"Guy-sensei, it must be boring taking a bath alone in a small room. Come join us! I reserved a large private bath, and Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei are both there."
Guy's heart sank. He knew Naruto was wealthy from the farm operation, but more importantly, he knew that refusing Naruto's warm invitation was not an option.
Refusing would lead to another "friendly discussion."
"No problem!" Guy said with forced enthusiasm. "Let's go right now!"
He didn't even bother gathering his belongings. The small private room that couldn't even provide a fruit plate held no appeal anyway. He simply tightened his bathrobe and followed Naruto down the corridor.
When they entered the large bath area, several people lounging comfortably in the steaming pool looked up.
Kakashi's visible eye widened slightly in recognition. "It really is Guy."
"Guy!" Kakashi called casually, raising one hand in lazy greeting.
"Guy-san," Iruka said more respectfully. As far as he was concerned, Guy was a senior, someone who deserved proper acknowledgment.
"Sensei!" Lee's voice rang out with unmistakable excitement. He spotted Guy immediately and waved frantically. "Guy-sensei! There's space over here!"
Guy made his way to where Lee sat and slipped into the hot water with a long, satisfied exhale. "Ahhhh, that's perfect."
He immediately reached for the fruit platter on the nearby table, selecting a piece of melon. "This really is Konoha's best hot spring hotel. Even the fruit tastes better than what you'd buy at the market!"
"Well, you get what you pay for," Naruto said, settling back into the water between Kakashi and Sasuke. "Premium service for premium prices. That's how these places work."
He closed his eyes and let the mineral-rich water work its magic on his muscles.
"Guy-sensei," Lee asked, his voice full of innocent curiosity, "didn't you leave on a mission this morning? How did you finish so quickly?"
Guy took a long sip of his drink, his eyebrows rising with exaggerated confidence. "You know your sensei's strength, Lee. Even A-rank missions are simple tasks for someone at my level. It was easy work, nothing more."
"Wow! Guy-sensei really is amazing!" Lee gazed at his teacher with open admiration.
Guy reached over and ruffled Lee's hair affectionately. "Keep training hard, Lee. One day, your dedication will be rewarded generously. You'll be just like me."
"Yes! I'll work harder than ever, Guy-sensei!" Lee nodded vigorously, his eyes shining.
Neji, sitting on Lee's other side, watched this exchange with a carefully neutral expression. Then, very deliberately, he said: "Guy-sensei, your face."
The comment landed like a knife to the heart.
Guy's expression crumpled. He turned to stare at Neji with betrayed anguish. "Neji, is the hot spring not comfortable enough for you?"
Neji recognized that he'd pushed his sensei as far as was safe. After all, Guy was still his teacher, and there was a limit to acceptable teasing.
Besides, Neji understood Guy perfectly. Showing off was every man's natural instinct. Nobody truly liked being deflated when they were trying to appear impressive. It was that simple.
Even I enjoy a good flex occasionally, Neji thought. I just have the sense not to do it around Naruto.
Meanwhile, in the female bath, six people occupied the spacious pool: Hinata, Hanabi, Ino, Sakura, Tenten, and the newly arrived Tsukisha.
Well, six if you counted humans only. Kurama made seven.
Because Tsukisha appeared older and more mature than the teenage girls, they all naturally deferred to her as "big sister." Orochimaru accepted the title with a gracious smile, though internally he was seething with frustration.
This accomplishes nothing, he thought bitterly. I'm stuck with children while Naruto is in the other bath entirely. How am I supposed to seduce him from here?
Kurama and Hanabi had claimed a section of the pool to themselves. With fewer people on this side compared to the male bath, everyone had plenty of space to spread out.
Kurama floated peacefully in the hot water, his small fox body completely relaxed.
This is nice, he thought, genuine contentment washing through him. Really nice.
Being with Naruto was, without question, the best existence he'd experienced as a Jinchūriki.
His first host, Mito Uzumaki, had been gentle enough in her own way. But Kurama had resented her from the start. How could he not? Her husband, that insufferably powerful man, had defeated Kurama and sealed him away like some kind of battery. Hashirama Senju had claimed it was because Kurama's power was "too dangerous to roam free," but Kurama knew better.
You just wanted a convenient weapon, Kurama thought with old bitterness. Both of you.
And that bastard Uchiha Madara deserved even more hatred. If Madara hadn't shown up trying to control Kurama with those cursed Sharingan eyes, forcing him to fight Hashirama, Kurama never would have been defeated and sealed in the first place.
The second host, Kushina Uzumaki, had been a hot-blooded, straightforward girl. But she'd also treated Kurama like nothing more than a power source. She never talked to him, never acknowledged him as anything but a tool. And worse, when she was intimate with that Namikaze Minato, she'd block Kurama's perception entirely.
What couldn't I see? Kurama thought with residual annoyance. Why make such a fuss about it?
But Naruto... Naruto was different.
For the first time in his long existence, Kurama didn't have to stay locked in a dark seal. He could move freely, see the world, experience life properly. And more importantly, Naruto didn't treat him as a power source or a weapon.
Naruto treated him like family.
Life is actually beautiful, Kurama realized, the truth of it settling warm in his chest. I like this. I really, genuinely like living with Naruto.
That's why he didn't mind wearing the dresses. If changing into shapes that Naruto preferred made his partner happy, what did it matter? Small concessions in exchange for genuine respect and affection.
It was worth it.
Across Konoha, in a modest apartment, Jiraiya of the Sannin sat staring at blank manuscript pages with growing frustration.
He was out of material. His latest novel had hit a creative wall, and without fresh inspiration, there was no way to complete the "illustrations" his readers expected.
I need to do field research, he decided, standing and gathering his equipment. Gather some new observations for artistic purposes.
He headed first toward his usual bathhouse, but as he approached the entrance, he paused.
Wait, I was just here recently, he remembered. Got distracted by some quality material and lost track of time. Might be pushing my luck to return so soon.
He turned and headed in a different direction instead, toward the hot spring hotel on the village's eastern side.
It wasn't his first time conducting "research" there. He knew the layout well, understood which rooms offered the best vantage points, and had refined his approach over many successful visits.
He made his way to the hotel's exterior wall, moving with practiced stealth along the garden paths until he reached the section where the largest private rooms were located. Small rooms weren't worth the effort, but the large luxury baths? Those were always productive.
He approached one particular window, already anticipating success.
Inside the female bath, Orochimaru suddenly frowned. His borrowed instincts prickled with warning. Something felt wrong, though he couldn't immediately identify what.
His tongue flicked out unconsciously, tasting the air.
Someone's approaching, he realized. But who? And why?
In the male bath, Naruto had been perfectly relaxed, enjoying the soothing heat and the comfortable atmosphere. Then his enhanced senses, sharpened by his approaching unity of spirit, energy, and body, picked up something alarming.
A presence. Moving with deliberate stealth. Approaching the window of the female bath with clear malicious intent.
His eyes snapped open.
Someone's spying on Hinata and the others.
As the host who'd invited everyone here, he had a responsibility to protect his guests. Especially when those guests included people he cared about.
Naruto activated his ki and blood sensing, his perception expanding outward. In the female bath, he detected five small life signatures, one larger one (Tsukisha), and Kurama's distinctive signature.
And outside the window, clear as day, another signature. Male, approaching with predatory focus.
Found you.
Water exploded upward as Naruto vanished from the pool.
"What the—" Kakashi sat up abruptly, water cascading off his shoulders. One moment Naruto had been sitting peacefully beside him, the next he'd simply disappeared.
"Where did Naruto go?" Sasuke asked, looking around in confusion.
Outside the window, Jiraiya had just positioned himself perfectly for observation when he sensed movement behind him.
He spun around.
A figure materialized from nowhere: tall, blonde hair dripping wet, blue eyes blazing with protective anger, wearing nothing but a bathrobe that was rapidly soaking through.
"Naruto," Jiraiya breathed, recognition instant despite never having met the boy in person.
That's definitely Minato's son, he thought. The resemblance is unmistakable.
The next thought came a split second later: Oh no.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~