Chapter 31: A Deal of Roses and Shadows
Kiba:
You ever meet a guy who makes you question your entire life's progress in five minutes?
Yeah. That was Chaka.
Big, brooding Alabasta royal guard. Moved like a predator. Smelled like sun-baked steel. The kind of guy whose silence was louder than Kiba Inuzuka's battle cry (that's me, by the way).
I was all set to sniff around the city with Akamaru, maybe find some treats or some shady guys to intimidate. But then this guy goes full were-jackal in front of me. Boom—snout, claws, jackal-abs. Even had a hybrid form—man-jackal chimera with enough presence to make a Sand Anbu sweat bullets.
And I thought, "Dang... why do I still fight like a cartoon character?"
Now, let's be clear—I'm no rookie.
I've got the Inuzuka clan secret technique. That two-headed wolf form Akamaru and I use? Yeah, we don't show that off for fun. That's years of training, chakra sync, perfect harmony between partner and shinobi.
But suddenly, that didn't feel enough.
Not after seeing Chaka.
Why couldn't I shift into a were-dog?
Like, full-on beastman form. Not a copy. Not a dog-costume. A fusion. A creature. A real alpha.
I asked Chaka.
He didn't laugh. Just nodded like he saw it coming.
"You've walked halfway down the path already. Keep going."
So, I did.
And guess what? It didn't take three days.
Not when you've already spent your whole life running on four legs.
It just took one wild day.
At first, every time I tried to push further… boom—two-headed Akamaru fusion. The clan's ultimate move. Big, powerful, and loud.
But not what I wanted today.
I kept trying to change the intent. Instead of "combine," I thought "become." I tried to feel Akamaru, not beside me—but within me. Not fused bodies, but fused instincts.
By mid-afternoon, the desert wind was howling and I was on my knees, panting, body shaking. Akamaru barked once, then growled deep, sharing his chakra into mine again.
"We're more than dog and ninja," I felt him say. "We're pack."
And then it hit.
Claws. Fur. Tail.
My muscles stretched. My ears sharpened. I grew taller—three meters tall—and my snout pulled forward. The chakra didn't just mold me into a beast. It woke something up.
My armor reshaped into jagged bone and fang-like plates. My eyes gleamed with wild golden fire. My voice came out a mix of growl and speech.
And Akamaru?
He became my voice. My instincts. The inner beast whispering from within.
I had done it.
I was a were-dog.
Cue perfect timing: Naruto pops in like the universe's resident nosy blond sage.
He whistles low, arms behind his head. "Yo, Kiba, you look like a boss. That tail works for you."
I snarled. "What do you want?"
Then he grinned that annoying grin and went:
"So, if you can do that with Akamaru… can you do it with, like… Shino? Or Hinata? Can you be a were-Hinata?"
I gagged. "Naruto, I will bite you."
He chuckled. "I'm serious, though! What if you could fuse with other people? Like combo fusion jutsu! Imagine—were-Gai! Were-Lee! Were-Iruka!"
I lunged. He dodged.
But later that night, staring up at the stars from the capital wall, I kept wondering…
Could I?
Nah. One step at a time.
For now, I'm Kiba Inuzuka, the First Were-Dog.
Leader of a one-man, two-souled pack.
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Back to Naruto:
You know that feeling when you think you've seen it all? Like— survived tailed beast rages, got sucker-punched by tsunderes, flirted with death (and maybe Sakura)? That feeling where you think, "Yeah, I've maxed out on crazy."
Yeah, well… I hadn't met Gai-sensei's new training idea.
It all started with Kiba.
Dude went full beastman hybrid, like something out of a myth. Claws, fur, and growls that made Akamaru look like a plush toy. Honestly, I was proud. Little jealous too, but proud.
And who happened to be watching all that in the background, practically vibrating with energy?
Rock Lee.
He was crying. Literal fountains of tears. He saluted Kiba's form like he was staring at a new immortal of fitness.
"Gai-sensei! My youthful flame has been reignited! I must transcend beyond my current limits! I must evolve!"
And Gai—because of course—responded with that tooth-shine smile:
"YES, MY FLAME! Then it is time… for a new training of legend!"
I blinked. That was the first red flag.
The second was when they started dragging Gaara into this.
We were just chilling near the palace when they cornered the poor guy like he was some kind of workout machine.
"Gaara, my eternal rival in sand and silence!" Gai declared, pointing a dramatic finger. "We require your strength!"
Gaara gave that classic tired blink. "For what?"
Lee stepped forward, fist clenched, eyes gleaming like twin suns. "To bury us. Under your sand. Then pressurize us, while we open the Sixth Gate!"
…
There was a silence so long I thought time had paused.
Gaara, bless his patient heart, actually considered it.
"...You want me to crush you with sand while you release chakra that tears your muscles apart from the inside?"
"Yes!"
"For training?"
"Yes!"
Naruto Uzumaki, genius ninja, young sage, turned around slowly and ran for his life.
"Nope. Nooooope. Not doing this again."
Behind me, I heard Gai shouting, "Naruto! You too must embrace the pressure of life and bloom!"
And Lee added, "The pain will purify your spirit!"
I turned mid-run and yelled, "I LIKE MY SPIRIT FILTHY, THANK YOU!"
Hours later, I was still shaking off the thought.
I checked in on them with my clone.
Gaara had, in fact, created two sand coffins, shaped like giant eggs. Inside them, Gai and Lee were SCREAMING with determination while chakra burst out like red lightning. The sand trembled, compacted, groaned under the insane pressure of their bodies.
And they were loving it.
Even Gaara looked mildly disturbed.
And me?
I decided I'd rather fight a Tailed Beast than be in a rock-hard coffin of youthful agony.
Some people train smart. Some people train hard.
Gai and Lee?
They train like lunatics and make it look inspirational.
…
Still not doing it, though.
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Viola wasn't like most people who came to us with problems.
She didn't beg. She didn't cry. She didn't throw herself at our feet like some of the desperate lords I'd seen over the years traveling with Pervy Sage.
No, she walked up to our table—me, Gaara, Kakashi-sensei, and Shikamaru—head held high, like someone who had already carried the weight of a nation too long.
And when she started talking, we all shut up and listened.
"I've seen what you did for Alabasta," she said, her voice calm, even though you could hear the fire hidden beneath. "That barrier, the guardian, the sealwork… all of it. You gave this country a new future."
Gaara nodded politely. Kakashi gave her that half-lidded look like he was already five steps ahead. Shikamaru muttered something about us being glorified civil engineers now.
But me? I smiled. Not the cocky kind. The tired one. The one I give when people finally understand we're not just flashy ninja—we fix things.
"I want that," she said. "For Dressrosa."
That was when she broke down her story.
Not sobbing. Not dramatics. Just quiet, sharp words that stabbed harder than kunai.
"Doflamingo killed my brother. My king. The last light of the Riku family. He turned our people into puppets—tools—broke our spirit so thoroughly we started forgetting what it meant to be free."
Her hands tightened into fists on the table. Her nails dug into her palms but she didn't seem to feel it.
"I've waited. Pretended. Danced like a puppet. I knew I couldn't win. I knew killing him meant war and sacrifice. But now…"
Her gaze locked onto mine.
"Now I've seen it. What you can do. What you've already done. If I have to give everything—anything—to get that hope for my people, I will."
There was a beat of silence after she said it. The weight of that promise hung heavy.
Gaara looked at me. Shikamaru gave me a small nod.
And I said what someone had to say.
"Never show your desperation when making deals."
Her eyes widened for a moment.
"People take more than they should when they see weakness," I continued, calmly. "You don't need to give everything. Not to us. We're not here to conquer. We're here to help."
Viola stared at me for a long second, then smiled.
Not a coy smile. Not political.
A real one.
"I figured that much. I've watched how you walk through this city. How you talk to people. You're not the kind of man who takes advantage of someone's broken wings."
That hit me harder than I thought it would.
Because... there was a time I was broken. No family. No friends. Just me and a monster in my belly.
"We'll help," I said. "But not because you're desperate. We'll help because it's the right thing to do."
Viola exhaled, like she hadn't breathed properly in years. She bowed low, not as a princess, but as someone finally seeing the sun after living in a storm.
Gaara reached for the map of Dressrosa. Shikamaru was already muttering strategies. Kakashi-sensei chuckled behind his mask, probably thinking of some twisted plan involving seduction and genjutsu.
And me?
I just looked at the table and thought, Doflamingo's gonna wish he'd never messed with Dressrosa.
Because when a ninja promises to fix something…
We finish the job.
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Three days in Alabasta felt like three months.
We patched up the city, sealed it in a chakra-woven cocoon of security, handed out sand-themed golems and wind-propelled blessings like ninja Santa Clauses, and got saluted so much my face muscles started twitching every time someone said "honored guest."
And just when I thought nothing else could surprise me…
Tenten and Kankuro happened.
Let me explain something real quick.
Our ship—previously a giant, fancy cruise-boat thing with some cool chakra sails—was now…
An aircraft carrier.
I'm not exaggerating. It had full-on hangar decks, metal plating, sliding chakra barrier gates, and elemental thrusters fueled by daily-charged chakra cores. Oh, and did I mention the central power crystal that, if misused, could blow up the planet?
"We added failsafes," Tenten said.
"You literally wrote 'Apocalypse Level Threat' on the containment chamber!" I yelled.
Kankuro just grinned. "Art's supposed to be dangerous."
But that wasn't even the end of it. Before we left, Tenten shared one more juicy detail that had half the crew buzzing.
"On the way to Jaya," she said, tightening her gloves, "there's a place called Asuka Island. They say a cursed sword sleeps there—one forged by the immortals, sealed away by cowards, and waiting for someone worthy."
She smiled.
"I plan to be that someone."
So yeah, cursed sword detour? Count me in.
I was finally thinking we'd head out, maybe get a calm moment as we slowly lifted into the sky—our giant carrier blending into the clouds thanks to its new invisibility seals—and that's when Vivi called out to me.
"Naruto! One last word!"
I blinked, looked over the side, and saw her waving up from the palace courtyard. I jumped down, instinctively catching her chakra signature and aiming to land in front of her.
Big mistake.
She wasn't standing. She was falling.
I caught her midair, flipping us gently to a soft landing—my hero moment, y'know?
"You okay?" I asked.
And then…
She kissed me.
Right on the lips. Full-on princess swoop move. Crowd watching. Music swelling in my head. Brain short-circuiting.
I froze.
Time stopped.
Birds stopped flapping.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!
And then she smiled.
"Thank you, Naruto. For everything. That was goodbye."
And just like that, she turned and walked back, head high and calm like she hadn't just obliterated my brain with a sneak attack kiss.
I stood there, feeling like I'd been hit with a genjutsu.
First kiss. Real first kiss.
Not the Sasuke Incident, which I still say was a hallucination.
This one?
Totally real.
Totally confusing.
Totally… kind of nice?
Back on the ship, everyone was way too smug.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow and said, "Took her long enough."
Kiba gave me a thumbs-up.
Even Gaara nodded solemnly like I'd just passed some ancient rite of adulthood.
"Next stop," Tenten said with a gleam in her eyes, "Asuka Island."
And me?
I sat on the deck, looked at the endless sky in front of us, and muttered:
"I survived demons, ninja…
But girls?
Girls are terrifying."