[The Renegade] Chapter 21 - Bond (Patreon)

AN: Some people have been asking me whether I have Discord or not. It's not that often but it's frequent enough that I decided to make a server after all this time.

I'll try to be active and participate in your conversations there. You can also use my Discord server as a platform to promote your own fics as well. Treat it as a sort of Fanfiction community for straight people to have fun and share fanfiction ideas and even waifu pics.

You can join me at SaURfaGY if you are interested.

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Chapter 21 - Bond

A group of roughly 50 ninjas was standing orderly in a large indoor arena, all of them looking respectfully to the ground instead of meeting the eyes of their leaders.

“Are these all the Jonins in the village?” Naruto asked Konan in a voice that only she could hear.

“Surprised at the low number?” Konan said in understanding. “Amegakure may have a significant number of shinobi compared to other minor nations, but we are still severely outnumbered if you were to compare us with any of the Five Elemental Nations.”

As Naruto listened with attention to her words, she continued:

“We don’t know for sure the total number of shinobi that a Hidden Village like Konoha has, but we estimate that there should be anywhere between 10,000 and 20,000 ninjas if we’re counting the ones in reserve too.”

He was speechless when she hit him with that number. He had always known that there were many shinobi in Konoha, but he had never really put an actual number to it. Comparing an average of 15k ninjas to Amegakure’s 5k put it in a better perspective as to why the Land of Rain had suffered so much in the previous wars at the hands of Iwa, Suna, and Konoha.

“Not counting Tokubetsu Jonins, in general, barely 1% of the shinobi, or less, become Jonins in their lifetime. Jonins are the elites of a Hidden Village. They are shinobi and kunoichi who have reached the top with their skills and do not lack mental maturity and experience in the field either.”

It had not been an easy task for Konan to gather all the nation’s Jonins in one place at the same time because many of them had been in the middle of missions. Nevertheless, it had to be done. Although none of the Jonins had voiced their dissatisfaction at being forced to wait on the sidelines and not take any jobs until everyone returned to the village, Konan could understand their unspoken feelings.

“Everyone, please raise your head,” Naruto said.

At his words, the Jonins raised their heads and looked at him with all sorts of feelings in their eyes. His Negative Emotion Sensing didn’t miss the feelings of anxiety and confusion coming off them.

“You must be wondering why Lady Konan has gathered you all here today. I’m sure some of you feel it was a pity to waste so much time, unable to go on any missions until everyone made it back.”

Nobody said a thing, but, judging by the looks on their faces, he knew that his words hit the mark.

“It’s no secret that I used to be a Konoha shinobi until half a year ago. However, after everything I’ve done for my village, they framed me for a crime I didn’t commit and threw me into the Blood Prison in the Land of Grass.”

All sorts of rumours about Naruto had been flying around amongst the ninjas of the Land of Rain, but they were all very surprised that he was addressing those rumours now directly.

“When I thought everything was over, Lady Konan came for me, as she had promised. Not only did she break me out of Hozuki Castle, but she even chose me to continue Pain’s legacy. On that day, I swore to her that I would stand with Amegakure until the end. As long as Ame didn’t turn their back on me like Konoha did, I swore to protect her, to protect everyone with my life.”

“Why am I telling you these things? It’s for you to understand why I am willing to do the things that I’m about to do next.”

He put his hands in a cross handseal and a Shadow Clone appeared next to him. Then, a spiralling orb of blue chakra took form in the hand of the clone.

“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, one of Konoha’s forbidden techniques, and Rasengan, the 4th Hokage’s most prized technique. I’m going to share my jutsu with all of you.”

“Until the day I leave for the Land of Iron to participate in the Kage Summit, I will do my utmost to teach and train all of you. And even after Lady Konan and I leave, my clones will continue to instruct and supervise you.”

Even with their high level of discipline and the mixture of fear and reverence that the Rain Ninja held for Lady Konan and the bearer of the Rinnegan, the Jonins couldn’t hide their surprise when hearing those words.

“Lord Uzumaki, if I may-” one of the Jonins began to say hesitatingly. It was a short-haired kunoichi in her late 30s, quite old for the standards of most active shinobi.

“You can speak casually.”

At his encouragement, she let go of her anxiety and asked directly:

“Is there a catch? Why would you give away such prized techniques? Why would you use your valuable time on people like us?”

Konan had often told Naruto that, in the eyes of the Rain people, he was almost like a god, but to see that even a Jonin would feel as if they were unworthy of his attention left him at a loss for words momentarily.

“The Land of Rain has given me many things; things that I’ve always dreamed of but could never obtain before. But now, Amegakure is my home, Lady Konan is my lover, and you are my people. So don’t talk about yourselves like that. I’m not some god that lives above the clouds, and you’re not some insignificant ants. You are the Jonins of Amegakure. You are the elites of the Land of Rain and Rivers. You have value.”

Unknowingly, with his speech, Naruto only caused the feelings of worship in their hearts to grow even bigger than before.

“A war is brewing,” Naruto continued. “You know better than anyone what happens when the Five Great Nations go to war with each other.”

Located between Konohagakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure, the Land of Rain suffered a cruel fate at the hands of these three countries’ shinobi. Many of the Jonins present in the underground arena at that moment had even experienced those terrible times themselves.

“I’m not worried about myself because I know that even if I were to face off alone against 1000, I’d win. I’m powerful. But I want you to survive this war too. I want Amegakure to continue prospering. I want ordinary people to live on and continue growing in this land. For that, it’s not enough for me and Lady Konan alone to be powerful. You need to grow stronger too.”

The Jounins no longer questioned him after hearing that heartfelt speech. But Naruto wasn’t done just yet. He pulled a sealing scroll from the inner pocket of his Akatsuki and used his Rinnegan ability to make it levitate and unfurl itself in front of him.

Placing his palm on the centre circle inked on the scroll, a large object appeared in a plume of smoke.

“Does anyone here recognise this weapon?”

The Jonins’ eyes widened. Who among them had not at least heard of the famous sword before? The numerous shark-like fins, the skull pommel, and the mouth filled with rows of shark-like teeth…The strongest sword among the 7 swords of the Mist, the sentient sword: Samehada.

“To whoever masters Kage Bunshin and Rasengan first, this will be your prize.”

As the Jonins all stared at the legendary sword, Naruto took out another scroll and unsealed one more weapon. It was a broadsword of large proportions.

“For the second place, Kubikiribocho will be yours.”

The rest of Sasuke’s teammates had all perished at the hands of Tsunade, Hiashi Hyuuga, and Shikaku Nara during the battle in the Land of Rivers. After Ame annexed the Land of Rivers, Konan’s people dug out the famed sword from underneath the ruins of Daimyo’s demolished castle.

“As for the numbers 3, 4, and 5, they will get a weapon of their choosing from Takumi Village’s renowned Weaponsmiths.”

⁂

In the following days, Naruto and Konan found themselves swamped with work.

Once Amegakure annexed the Land of Rivers, word of their deed spread all over the continent because the situation wasn’t as simple as a minor country taking over another minor country.

The Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers were thought of as little more than “buffer zones” between Konoha and Iwa and Konoha and Suna, respectively. The fact that Amegakure had annexed the Land of Rivers and that Iwagakure, Konohagakure, and Sunagakure had yet to show any reaction had set most of the countries on edge.

The Akatsuki’s defeat, the disappearance of the tailed beasts, the death of the Tsuchikage at the hands of Uzumaki Naruto, and the annexation of the Land of Rivers... The Elders of any Hidden Village all over the continent could practically smell it. It was the smell of war. It was no different from how farmers could tell just by smelling the air when a storm was about to come. The older and more experienced shinobi could tell that a 4th Ninja War was just around the corner.

It was in such a political context that Konan sent envoys to all the neighbouring countries except for Iwagakure, informing their Daimyos that the Land of Rain and Rivers was willing to export their goods - if there was one thing that Ame had always had an abundance of, it was food. Due to its climate and advanced technology, the Land of Rain’s production of rice, fish, and canned food had always been great.

Considering the unstable and unpredictable future awaiting them, many Daimyos decided to take the chance to prepare for the worst now, taking advantage of Amegakure’s cheap prices. Sunagakure, in particular, imported more rice and canned food than all of Ame’s other clients combined. The experiences of the past taught them what a tragedy it was for famine to break out in the middle of a war.

While Konan was wrapped up in economic and diplomatic matters, Naruto was fully focused on personally training the Jonins of Amegakure. But he didn’t stop at only training the Jonins; his Shadow Clones were teaching his Kage Bunshin and Rasengan techniques to the chunins as well.

The number of chunins was vastly superior to that of jonins, so it was impossible to train them all in one place. Therefore, Naruto organized three different camps outside of Amegakure, but still within the Land of Rain’s borders.

The first camp was a temporarily-made fort, not far from Amegakure. Thanks to his nigh-endless reserves of chakra and his mastery of the Doton element, it took only a few hours for a new settlement to come into existence. A few dozen simple houses made of rocks, a very large training ground, and a tall rampart surrounded the fort for the sake of protection and privacy against outsiders. It was all that was needed for a training camp. The chunins only had to bring with them their rations and their sleeping bags.

The second training camp was built on the outskirts of Mizumi no Mura, a large village located on the shores of the second-largest lake in Ame.

As for the third camp, it was built not far from Meyoshi, a village surrounded by paddy fields, close to the former (now abolished) border between Rain and Rivers.

⁂

With how busy Naruto and Konan were every day, time flew by in the blink of an eye. Days turned into weeks, and now the moment came for them to leave for the Land of Iron.

Instead of taking two bodyguards, as every other Kage would undoubtedly do, Konan only took Naruto with her. Seeing as they were both capable of flight, their journey was going to be quicker and less troublesome.

“Won’t they complain that you’re not respecting the customs of the Kage Summit?” Naruto asked her as they flew above the plains of the Land of Grass. “You’re supposed to have two bodyguards.”

"We both know this Kage Summit is just a pretext for them to interrogate us about the bijuu’s whereabouts,” Konan said. “Besides, no place on the Elemental Nations is safer than being next to you. One or ten extra bodyguards would make no difference.”

At her words, Naruto suddenly flew below her, parallel to her body, and stole a kiss from her lips before barrel-rolling away, laughing.

A smile melted her serious expression, and her orange eyes filled with warmth at his behaviour.

“You’re such a goofball.”

He tried to pull the same trick again and steal another kiss from her, but, suddenly flapping her large paper wings, Konan rolled away in the air and ended up taking his back instead.

“You’ve still got much to learn when it comes to aerial combat,” she said as she embraced him from behind and giggled softly.

But while Konan was laughing at his expense, his hands came together and formed three signs, ending with a Snake seal.

A startled cry left her lips when his weight suddenly increased more than times over, making them both plummet to the ground.

She couldn’t even get away and let him drop by himself because, right after casting the Ultra-Added-Weight Technique, Naruto grabbed her by the wrists, forcing her to fall together with him.

The two slammed heavily into the ground, creating a large depression in the thick blanket of snow covering the plains of the Land of Grass and raising a large cloud of snow in the air.

“Are you out of your mind?!” Konan cried out breathlessly.

It was unlike her to raise her voice like that, but the stunt he had just pulled had taken her completely by surprise.

Seeing him laugh out loud and not even getting off her, Konan started raining punishment on his face. His nose, his ears, and his cheeks; there wasn’t an inch of skin that her fingers hadn’t pinched or pulled at.

“You’re incorrigible! Seriously!” she admonished him when she finally thought she had punished him enough.

Although he was beet red and pulsating with pain all over from how she had roughed him up, Naruto’s smile was so wide that the corners of his mouth almost reached his ears.

The two of them continued to lie down in the crater they made in the snow, slightly out of breath from their rough playing but with content and happy smiles on their faces. Naruto, in particular, felt as if he was in heaven as he lied on his back on top of Konan, with the back of his head buried in the valley of her full breasts.

“I missed having you all to myself,” Naruto said.

He was always so honest about his feelings for her and so affectionate that Konan was often caught off-guard. A radiant smile appeared on her normally stoic-looking face, and she put her arms around him, resting them on his chest, just below his chin.

Some time passed without anyone saying anything. Eventually, he broke the silence:

“Say, Konan…”

“Yes?”

“About the bijuu. Are you sure about it?”

“We’ve been over this several times before,” she said and pinched his nose as if to show that she was displeased.

“I just don’t want you to have second thoughts.”

“I don’t. I promised you that I would stand by your side, did I not?”

“I know that,” he muttered. “But there are so many lives at stake… if Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri really want to start a war for the Bijuu, many of our people will lose their lives.”

As he had already told the Jonins, Naruto wasn’t scared about the war looming on the horizon. He was completely certain that he and Konan would survive. However, that wasn’t the case for the rest of the people living in the Land of Rain and Rivers.

“Many more would die if we became subservient to the Five Great Nations again and gave them back the bijuu they used to control. It would just be a repeat of history. But we’re trying to break that curse, aren’t we?” Konan explained patiently, in a calm voice. “In the short term, we will experience hardship and loss, but that is inevitable. Change can’t happen without pain and sacrifice.”

“Being a leader is so much harder than I thought when I was younger,” he said, dejected.

For the first time since he became a shinobi, Naruto was feeling just how heavy was the weight and responsibility that came with the knowledge that the lives of tens of thousands of people depended on him.

“Don’t lose heart,” said Konan softly as she started caressing his spiky blonde hair, gently raking her nails over his scalp. “You’re doing great so far. Our people absolutely adore you, you know that, don't you?”

In the weeks that followed the construction of the training camps, Naruto’s popularity with the ninja of the Land of Rain skyrocketed.

She sat up, and, along with her, Naruto also sat upright, but Konan didn’t let go of him. Instead, she embraced him lovingly as she continued to say encouraging words in his ear.

“Nagato saved Amegakure from Hanzo’s reign of terror, and most of the people had been grateful for that. But he had always been a symbol of vengeance, fear, and strength for them. It wasn’t love and gratitude that made everyone respect and follow him. It was his overwhelming power.”

“Hanzo’s reign was one of darkness. Pain’s reign was filled with blood and fear. But you are different. You are like a ray of light breaking past the thick curtain of clouds covering Ame’s skies. Your kindness made them love you, and your strength didn’t inspire fear and terror in their hearts. It planted the seed of hope.”

Whereas Pain had been like a deity of terror and vengeance for the people of the Land of Rain, it took only a few weeks for Naruto’s image to cement itself in their hearts as a divinity of kindness and generosity.

Several weeks after he started training the Jonins and Chunins of Ame, many of them were still finding it hard to believe that Naruto would share his most prized techniques, the legendary Rasengan and the kinjutsu Kage Bunshin, without asking for anything in return.

The fact that Naruto had also killed the Tsuchikage after he and his army of elite Jonins trespassed the borders of the Land of Rain wasn’t forgotten either. Strong and vicious towards the enemy but warm and kind with his subordinates - it was no wonder that his popularity with the people rose like that.

“We can’t control everything. That’s how life is. All we can do is try to make the most of every situation. And we’ve done that, haven’t we?”

“We’ve eliminated that Madara imposter; we solved our country’s economic crisis and started trading again with our neighbours; we’ve more than doubled our territory; and we obtained a gold mine. We’ve also signed a treaty of non-aggression with Konoha; we’ve developed new weaponry; and you’ve even started teaching your jutsu to our shinobi.”

“We’ve accomplished so many things in such a short time. We’ve done all we could, Naruto,” she finished, kissing him lovingly on top of his head.

Naruto felt his worries and anxiety recede as he listened to her breathy, soothing voice.

“I wonder, how did Gaara do it?”

“The Kazekage?” she asked for confirmation.

“Yeah. He was what, 16 years old when his people chose him as their kage? How did he bear with such a burden?”

Naruto himself was feeling a great burden knowing that his actions dictated the fate of tens of thousands of people, but the Land of Wind was more than 10 times larger and more populous than the Land of Rain. The pressure that Gaara must have felt had to have been even bigger.

“Difficult times breed strong people. When push comes to shove, a person of character will rise to the occasion. You are like that too; you’ve proven it more than once. So don’t worry. Don’t hesitate. If you ever get tired, I’ll be next to you to offer my shoulder for you to lean on. If you ever stumble, I’ll be there to pick you up. If you ever lose faith in yourself, remember that your people trust you. Remember that I believe in you.”

Her heartfelt confession moved him deeply. But Konan had no way of knowing what he truly felt deep inside, so when she saw him gently prying her arms off him and standing up, a look of hurt flashed on her face, thinking that he was rejecting her. But, as she got up to her feet as well, she quickly schooled her expression, reverting her face to her usual stoic mask.

As Naruto turned around to face her, she saw that he appeared to be searching for something in the inner pocket of his Akatsuki robe.

“I’ve been planning to do this after we returned from the Kage Summit, but I can’t put it off any longer…” Naruto began to say and took his hand out of his robe.

Konan froze, her amber eyes looking at his hand wide, unblinkingly.

“When my friends and my village cast me out, you came for me. You didn’t only save my life; you gave me something I’ve never had: respect, affection, and love. You gave me a home. You changed my life, Konan.”

“W-What are you saying?” she barely whispered.

“I promised you once that as long as you don’t turn your back on me, I’ll always protect you and Amegakure. I want to renew that promise today.”

As the blonde dropped to one knee in front of her, a node appeared in Konan’s neck, making her feel as if she couldn’t breathe.

“I love you, Konan. I could never repay you for everything you’ve done for me, but I want to devote my life to making you happy. I want to see you smile beautifully every day for the rest of your life. I want to be your one and only. Will you be mine too? Will you marry me?” he said and opened the small box he was holding in his hands, revealing the ring inside.

Outside of her control, her amber eyes filled with tears.

“Yes! Yes, of course, YES!” she said in a quivering voice, trying to muffle her sobs by covering her mouth with her hands.

He stood up again and gently pulled her left hand away from her face. Bringing her hand closer to him, he took the ring from the box and slid it up her ring finger.

For a few moments, Konan admired the sight of the gem-encrusted silvery ring, but then she threw herself into his arms. Her arms hugged his neck tightly as she pressed her lips to his in a soulful kiss.

Every now and then, she would break the kiss, cup his cheeks, and stare at his face in amazement before going back to kissing and embracing him again. It was as if she couldn’t believe that what was happening was real.

As for Naruto, he felt his heart swell with his love for her. Those tears of happiness ruined her make-up, and her nose became ruddy, but, at that moment, she couldn’t appear any more sweet and adorable in his eyes.

“Stop crying, or you’ll make me cry too. We’re supposed to be happy now.”

His words made her burst into laughter despite her sobs.

“But I am happy. The happiest I’ve ever been,” said Konan, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

After Yahiko's death, she did not take another lover. She thought that most of her heart had died that day, and whatever was left of it went to the grave with Nagato on the day he died too. 

Completely alone in the world, with a frozen heart, and left with no hope for the future, she had never imagined that a moment like this would come into her life one day. Never had she thought that she would find such love one day or that she would become a bride at her age.

“Can you tell me again that you love me?”

A wide smile appeared on his face at her words.

“I love you,” he said sincerely, and he tightened his arms around her just a bit more.

“I want to hear it again. Please.”

Gently pushing her away from him, he cupped her face tenderly and kissed her lips.

“I’ll say it as many times as you want. I love you, Konan.”

Surrounded by snow from all sides, in the middle of a seemingly endless plain, Naruto and Konan appeared to be alone in the whole world. But that might as well have been the case for the two of them because, at that moment, nothing except for the other existed in their minds.

Time lost meaning as they embraced each other. Their emotions, their feelings of love, and their chakra. They were pouring their very being into it. That wasn't a kiss, it was a joining of souls.