The Protector - Chapter 5 (Patreon)

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Bleach, or any other anime I use in this story. They belong to their respective owners, Kishimoto and Kubo.

8/16/25

And it was just then that the dark-skinned male turned around, as Naruto hid right before the man spotted him. He could feel the man's eyes lingering, staying on the area he hid behind, as if trying to discern if he was there. Before he looked away, grumbling about incompetent workers.

Naruto inwardly felt a sigh of relief go through him, even as he kept his breathing at a minimum, holding his breath and allowing his body to make a sound.

He realized he needed to get out of there.

He needed to discern his next step, and he did just that.

.

.

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Chapter 5-

It took hours of surveillance of the casino for the police officers to leave. He spent those hours waiting in deep meditation, resting his mind as well as his body in a hibernation-like state. This was a technique taught to him by his old friend, Gaara of the sand, the current Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village. He had also been a fellow jinchuriki, who held the one-tailed tanuki. Unfortunately, he was also the first target of the rogue ninja organization Akatsuki, as they had been attempting to collect the nine bijuu in hopes of using their power for their goals. Gaara's life had been taken then, and had it not been for one of the village elders, Lady Chiyo, he would have been gone for good. The woman sacrificed herself for her Kage as she gave up her own life for his.

Gaara often overworked himself, working hard for his village, coupled with the fact that the ichibi's seal had been poorly constructed, which meant he did not get much in the way of sleep. He had developed tricks similar to meditation to allow your body to remain awake yet inactive to the point that it rejuvenated your vital systems. Allowing your body to function in the way a shinobi's strenuous activities require.

Even still, he had his clones run about the city, trying to find out if there were more of these strange activities that the local law enforcement was providing. As well as any more insider knowledge as to why one of the major casinos in the city would be carting hundreds of bottles of sealing ink and paper.

Unfortunately, interviewing the civilian populace was ineffective, as he found the townsfolk were once again quite unproductive. Far more than any other town that he had done reconnaissance work on previous mission. He didn't understand it. How could a gambling town, a town known for its nightlife and all-around bustling atmosphere would be so quiet? It was contradictory; everyone always had a story to tell or something to mention. But here they didn't.

Fueling his suspicions that something was off about this town.

He was getting desperate, without any leads as to the location of his target. His time was running out, something he could not allow.

Nevertheless, he realized his best leads were the people who knew something. And he knew just where to find them…

XXX

Ren Takemura was not having a good day. He wasn't.

First, he had woken up late with a crick in his neck, making it hard for him to turn his head, irritating him the entire day. His coffee machine had recently broken, and he didn't have the funds to fix it as he felt groggy. Iritiation soon came when he listened to his voice mails, his ex-wife asking for alimony again, even though he could have sworn he paid it. Not that she deserved it, that is, the cheating skank. He realized he was already running late, as he quickly got dressed in his uniform. However, opening his door, he had found out his neighbor's dog had pooped on his porch again. He would have to have a 'word' with the old lady who lived next door later.

Upon arriving at the station, he found it was his turn for that duty again.

He hated these new jobs they were doing, watching over the workers at the casino's making sure everything was loaded properly. It was god-damn chore work!

Of course, the extra pay was good, but he hated that damn night owl. The way he carried himself, the way he ordered them around. He hated the way he looked at them, like less than nothing, like they were ants and he could kill them in a second, odds are that he could, and there was nothing he could do about it.

All those damn shinobi, meddling where they did not belong. If only they could just all leave, things would have been so much better if they hadn't done anything.

After a long day of remedial labour, he just wanted to get home.

There was no way this day could get any worse…

"Hey!" a voice spoke as he crossed right next to an alleyway. As he turned, the last thing he could see was the flash of cold blue eyes peering back at him. As Ren was pulled into the darkness.

XXX

Naruto followed him, waiting for the perfect time for nobody to spot him, as he pulled the police officer he had been tracking into an alleyway. Making sure that there were no witnesses so they could have a 'chat'.

Of course, this chat would be done with a blade at his victim's neck, and his arms at his back. Hoping to glean any information he might know. He wore his usual ANBU outfit so that he could not be identified. He also changed his voice slightly, something all shinobi were taught to do from a young age for these types of situations.

As he held the man at knifepoint with his pack against the wall, he tried to struggle, but it was to no avail. Even when he wasn't using chakra, his body was beyond the peak condition as to what was normal. For a shinobi, your muscle density was much greater than any normal human. This was due to the constant use of chakra through your body, even subconsciously. It was how shinobi like Might Guy or Rock Lee could lift so much, often carrying hundreds of pounds that would often leave small craters just dropping them. As Lee could not meld his chakra to make jutsu, his body naturally channeled chakra, which greatly amplified the body's natural ability to repair muscle tissue as it was destroyed. This effectively made it so that there was no found limit to a shinobi's ability to gain physical strength given enough tenacity.

And while, humbly, he wouldn't say he was quite on the level Lee was when it came to pure physical strength—although there might be some contention if he were to add chakra into the mix. His body was trained far greater than most civilian athletes.

All that was to say was that he could easily hold off a single civilian when it came to a contest of strength. So much so, it wasn't close. No matter how much the man struggled, he easily held him at bay.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" He told him, as the man continued to move.

"W-Who are you?!" The police officer tried to yell, but he was met with the blade at his throat, moving even closer to skin.

"I'll be asking the questions here," Naruto said resolutely. As his victim gulped, the movement of which expanded his larynx to the point where Naruto's blade's edge to pierce him, as a thin trickle of red blood fell to the floor.

"Y-you're a shinobi!" The cop ground out, realizing it by his choice of weapon that he was dealing with someone from the hidden villages. But as he tried to look at his assailant, he was forced back against the wall, not being able to get a good look at him.

"I am," he confirmed, and if his message did not become clear, he made it evident that his victim could resist, and it wouldn't make a difference.

He was already prepared to do what needed to be done. His intel said that Iwatashi Sato was in the city. If his suspicions were correct, then it was likely that he was responsible for more than met the eye. He needed to stop his target before his plans could be completed. Iwatashi was very influential in the underground of the Elemental Nations. If he got his reigns in with some of the smaller nations that weren't aligned with the 5 nations, then it was possible his dissent ideologies might spread.

They might even have a whole uprising on their hands. Where the minor nations decided to rebel in fear against the 5 great nations and their efforts for peace.

Thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, could die.

That was something he could not allow.

No matter what it takes.

"I'm going to speak and you're going to answer, got that?" he questioned, and at the man's subtle nod, Naruto began. "Iwatashi Sato, have you heard of him?" He got straight to the point; there was no reason to beat around the bush with these things.

At the man's widening of his eyes, he could tell that the name was familiar. "Who's that—Ack!" the policeman groaned as he was slammed into the wall again. "He's the wealthy businessman, right?... there's alot of those in the city, too many to count— AHHHHH!"

Snap.

It was in that instant that Naruto broke one of the man's fingers, bending his index to where it was at an almost perfect 90-degree angle from where it was supposed to be.

"The hell!" his victim shouted, as he struggled in his grasp again, to no avail.

"I don't think you heard me. I want information on where he is, not his newspaper description," Naruto said simply, as he let the man gather his bearings. He wouldn't be able to tell him anything if his mind were filled with pain. It was a clean break and would likely be easy to heal given enough time; that was all he could offer as solace at the moment.

"But I'll give you an easier question: You're a cop, right? What's a cop doing working in a casino these days?"

"G-Go to hell!" his victim merely yelled back.

As Naruto got ready to break another of his fingers, he could see the fear in his victim's eyes, which was good, it meant he would be alot more manageable to get the information he wanted.

"The sealing paper, the ink. What's it for?" he prodded, and when he saw the man was hesitant to tell him, he was a little more forceful. "Answer the question."

"I'm not sure! All I know is that every day, a group of us on the force are sent over to each of the casinos every few days, not sure why, but we listen. They import those boxes from somewhere, and we have to make sure everything is going well or else we'll!"

"The entire police force? Why would the police station order you to do this?" Naruto questioned.

"I don't know the details, but… It's been like this ever since he died, okay!"

"Who died?"

The man hesitated, but as he saw Naruto motion to break another of his fingers, she spoke.

"That police officer, okay! He started to poke around at what they were doing, and he was killed for it! Tied him up at the square, real brutal shit!... Ah! I've said too much!"

"No, you haven't. He started to poke around where?"

"I-I-I… I can't say!"

Snap!

"FUCK YOU!" The officer screamed in pain.

Naruto broke another one of his fingers. Hopefully, he didn't have to break any more.

"Sunofureku, that's Iwatashi Sato, isn't it?"

"I can't say alright! He'll kill me if I say any more!" The man said, and he was genuinely fearful of what might happen. Unfortunately for him, he was much scarier.

"And what do you think I'll do if you don't tell me?" Naruto threatened, letting out a bit of his killing intent. Which was enough to allow the man to nearly soil himself, as his body was paralysed in fear.

"O-Okay… H-he is! He's having us move the containers from the casinos to a specific place!"

"The place? Where is the place?" Naruto demanded.

"It's— Ahhhh!"

A scream was heard throughout the dark alley, which was the final sound that was heard from Ren Takemura ever again.

Before he could voice the words he was about to say, his body started to convulse in that instant. Foam started leaking from his mouth as his body spasmed horrifically, moving every which way as his eyes became bloodshot. Before he could do anything, the man's body suddenly stopped, as the life left his eyes.

The man was undoubtedly dead.

A seal on the man's tongue fizzled into view.

… And Naruto was left with more questions than answers.

XXX

(At the Yuuki clinic)

Some time later.

Naruto stared at the young green-haired child's body, lost in thought once more.

Getting rid of the police officer's body was child's play.

As a shinobi, there were times when things would get messy, alot more than one had intended. Being a shinobi was a messy job in of itself, and no matter how hard one would plan or how much information they could gather, there was always a factor of unpredictability. You could never plan for everything, and odds are something wouldn't go as expected. That was okay. To be a shinobi, one had to adapt to the situation at hand. To sort out the problem and to know what the best course of action was in completing one's mission.

That was why you had protocols.

And the protocol for an unexpected individual being caught in the crossfire— especially when one was to be undercover— was to dispose of any evidence that might lead back to you.

To do that, each well-equipped ANBU member was given a special cremation storage scroll, one that was specially manufactured to store a body. Internally, it was also stored with fire chakra, storing the body at temperatures that would cremate the body in its entirety, even turning to bones to ash. Additionally, it only required chakra upon the activation of the scroll, and only gave off only a small chakra signature once. Meaning it would be incredibly difficult to recognise it had been activated, even for a sensor.

It had been unfortunate what had happened with the man, he'll admit. Originally, his plan was merely to interrogate the police officer to find out what he knew, and to find out what the hell was up with this town. After that, he would leave the man with a small statis seal and leave him to be found several days later with no recollection to be had. He would be long gone by then.

After all, this mission was easy. All he had to do was find his target and eliminate him. His goal was simple, as most assassination missions were.

But he found out this mission was alot more complicated than he had first surmised.

And that all had to do with the information he gleaned from Ren Takemura, the police officer he had killed during his interrogation. And how the casinos had numerous police officers working for them, as if the missions were assigned to them, and they likely were.

If the police station was involved in this shady business, then this might be alot more systemic than he thought. He would have to notify the fire daimiyo, and he would have to intervene and send some of his men to fix it. Which meant an even greater hassle, one that he didn't exactly want to deal with now.

But he needed to know how far this darkness went. He needed to know how a city in the land of fire could be so corrupt to a man's scheme.

Even now, he still had his clones trying to scavenge information as to who this mysterious police officer was that was killed by his target. As he was strung up in the square for all to see, likely a fear tactic that Iwatashi had used to gain control of the city.

If he had to guess, it was the classic tale of a good police officer getting too over his head and pissing off the wrong people. Iwatashi had likely been in the city for some time, or at least had his hands within it for a couple of months. And somehow, through some way, a police officer managed to uncover what was going on. But he had likely been caught and made an example of to the whole city to break them.

The tactic reminded him similarly to Gato, back in the Land of Waves. The man had removed the entire country's hope from them. Killing the land's hero in cold blood and stringing him on a pedestal in an awful crucifixion. It wasn't done for any other reason than ruthlessness. To squash the people's hope once and for all. Or it would have been, had his team not arrived then, protecting the man known as Tazuna—someone who had not lost his hope— from Gato. The man built a bridge that would connect the Land of Waves, which was on an island, to the mainland. And through a hard battle and many lost lives, they were able to take back the country's hope.

He had been much younger then. And yet things haven't changed. People still wanted to yearn for control, for their ambition and greed.

The difference was, here there was no way for someone like Tazuna to rise up; that much was evident in this city.

It was why the home populace was so distant, so closed off. It wasn't that they were reluctant to speak to outsiders; it was that they physically couldn't.

After checking over the body before he cremated him, Ren's had been a treasure trove of information, even after death. He had investigated what exactly caused his death, and what he had found surprised him.

On the man's tongue was a cursed seal.

Instantly, he was reminded of a man named Danzo, the former leader of the ANBU sect known as ROOT in Konoha. He was a warmonger of a man who did nothing but strive to make Konoha above all nations. Largely, he rose in power during the Third's reign, and he had been given the designation of all necessary missions, but too difficult to give to the normal.

Shinobi forces. The stuff that they didn't want to get back to Konoha.

That was why ROOT was founded. To take on those missions that nobody else could handle.

But to do this, Danzo created what he viewed as the perfect shinobi. Using children he procured from orphanages— or unwanted clan children otherwise— he raised them to be the perfect killers. Snuffing them of their emotions and filling them with enough protocols, they were more machines than men in the end.

That was how he had met a good friend of his, Sai. A former Root Shinobi who went against Danzo when he tried to commit treason against the Hokage. Danzo also equipped each of his agents with a special seal, one that prevented them from telling of his plans, of root, or any of Konoha's secrets in general. It only disappearing upon the moment of Danzo's death at the hands of Sasuke.

From what he could gather with his limited sealing knowledge, the seal was similar in principle. Although its purpose was far more grim.

Danzo, for as sick and twisted as he was, was not sadistic. And he didn't do things that were unnecessary for what he viewed as his goals of bettering Konoha. The seals he put upon his agents were only meant to silence his agents and prevent them from speaking:

But this seal, it was made for one action and one action alone.

Killing.

It was meant to brutally injure the wearer neurologically, should the user will it. Under specific conditions, the seal would activate, leaving no chance for survival as a lethal pathogen was released directly into the wearer's brain.

The seal was given to silence the victim it was placed upon. Likely, they told too much that it would activate given specific keywords.

To think the police officer had a seal like that placed on him. And not just him…

He did some digging, checking to see if any of the other population had any similar seals on them. The results were less than satisfactory. Of the people he tested, nearly eighty percent of the locals had similar unremovable seals on them.

A majority of the population was held at gunpoint, and they likely knew it and were unable to speak about it. Which was how the word was unable to spread to Konoha that something was going on.

The act was barbaric, even worse than Gato as far as he was concerned.

And Naruto couldn't help but grip his fist tightly, standing right over the young hollow's body as she lay on the gurney.

His fingers were gripping the bars of the frame as he subconsciously lost control of his strength slightly. Not enough to crush the metal bars flat, but enough to leave a noticeable dent where each of his fingers was located.

Iwatashi Sato had to die.

That was a fact. Not just for what he planned, but what he was doing to this city.

"You seem troubled," A voice spoke to him, as he turned his head, spotting the familiar face of the doctor he had been acquainted with recently, Mikado Yuuki.

He caught her figure standing next to the wall, lost in thought; she had her trademark cigarette in her hands, as the ashes fell onto the floor of the abandoned clinic. The hollow child was her only patient, of whom she reluctantly took care only because he was paying her an excessive amount. The reasons for which even he was unsure.

As she took another puff from her tobacco, he looked at her up and down, and he couldn't stop his mind from wandering. From an objective perspective, she was extremely attractive, and even he was enticed by her. From a beautiful face, pink lips, and dazzling green eyes. As his eyes trailed down, seeing her impressive curves, she did nothing to hide them. Dressed in the same lab coat and pink blouse combination that left quite a bit of cleavage for him to see her impressive bust. Forcing his eyes to trail down as well, only to witness her slim waist and wide hips that moved like a wave. If he had to guess her three sizes— using a skill he had forcefully been taught by his late-sensei Jiraiya, lest he not get any training out of the man— the woman had a bust of 95cm, waist 58 cm, and height of 91cm. He couldn't help but follow her down even more, seeing her sleek pencil-length skirt and pale thighs that she showed off in between her black stockings.

Perhaps it was his lack of sleep, or the fact that he spent quite a while on the field and needed a distraction. But a part of him, the more carnal side of his nature, desired this woman, although he reigned it in.

He felt he was letting his mind wander a little too much for his liking, and he needed to get back on track for his mission.

As he blinked a little. "I'm sorry… what did you say?" he feigned ignorance.

The woman looked at him. If she had noticed him eyeing her up and down, she didn't mention it. "Right, you must have a lot on your mind, after all. It's not every day that a random stranger comes to my clinic to pay for a child's treatment he doesn't even know," she stated, taking another drag of her cigarette.

"Well… Maybe more people should," The blonde stated plainly.

As the woman smiled slightly, he found the expression to fit her. She portrayed herself as a sad—if somewhat melancholic woman; he felt she should smile more often, as it made her far more beautiful.

" I guess we should, shouldn't we…" she said, as if reminiscing about something, a forgotten time perhaps. He didn't know.

Before the woman put out her used cigarette, uncaring as she threw it to the side. She crept close to him; he felt her gaze was almost predatory, even when she neared his back as his front was towards the bedside.

She encircled him like a tiger would their prey.

As Mikado ran a hand up his arm. "You know, perhaps you're right…" she spoke to him, her voice was like silk, smooth and enrapturing, as he felt a chill down his spine as she touched him. "Perhaps more people should do the right thing, although I suppose you know all about that…" she said.

Her hand reached his neck as she forced him to face her, and he let her. Turning around so that they were eye to eye, he could see she was a couple of inches shorter than him, although she was still taller than the average woman. The doctor reached both of her hands to his cheeks, as she inspected him, searching him for… something.

"I-I'm not sure what you mean…" he told her, electricity forming at her touch.

"Of course you don't…" she smiled a bit wider, as he looked at her plump lips.

Inwardly, he calmed himself. He wasn't a child any longer, he wasn't a schoolboy virgin, and it wasn't like he hadn't had any intimate relations before. He didn't know why this woman unnerved him so much. Perhaps it was the fact that she looked at him fully like a puzzle, as if trying to understand him.

And then came the surprise of her next words…

"You're him, aren't you…?"

"Who?"

"That ninja… the savior of the whole world…"

Inwardly, Naruto was surprised. He knew what she meant; that much was obvious. There was only one hero in the war who had been given the title of 'Savior'. Despite their contributions, it wasn't Kakashi, or Sakura, or even Sasuke… no, it was him. It was Naruto Uzumaki. He kept his composure; he was wary of this woman, for she was far smarter than he had given her credit for. If she were trying to sense out her theory by gauging his reaction, then if she noticed his shock, she would get all the confirmation she needed. As he remained stalk still, trying to figure out what he would do.

"Don't be so surprised…" Mikado spot, letting go of his face as she walked away. Giving him a firm view of her nice backside as she moved in her small skirt. "You know I wouldn't have been able to tell if I were a normal civilian, or even some random doctor..."

As the woman moved towards the corner of the room, she began to sit on top of a small rolling chair that she had left. "I used to be a medic during the war..."

"You were a shinobi?" he questioned. He had not sensed any unusual uses of chara from the woman, even if she was knowledgeable about shinobi biology; she didn't use any shinobi techniques to diagnose her patient.

"Oh, heavens no. But I am from Iwagakure, and I was a damn good enough doctor to help with the war effort and heal some of the injured shinobi and prepare them for the medical ninja to arrive." Mikado explained.

"My squadron was attacked by Zetsu, many died…" Staring at him, as she put one leg over the other, putting one arm under her bust as her right arm held her chin up, her elbow resting upon her leg. This only accentuated her impressive cleavage, as she gave him quite the view from where he was standing. "Or they would have… had someone shown up when they did. You."

Any other person would have been convinced of his disguise, of that she was sure. But she couldn't.

Ever since that day in the war, the memory was constantly burned into her mind. She thought of it, hundreds or even thousands of times since then. In a flash of yellow light, one second they were being attacked by zetsu that looked like them, and the next one of the various clones Naruto had sent out was able to save them. It was quite the sight.

Of course, that incident was also the one that had caused her to want to retire from her village, and she had been allowed to given her active duty in the war. And it wasn't like she had any shinobi secrets to tell. Hell, most of what she knew was common knowledge among the five nations, given that the villages had decided to pool their information together after the war.

That was how she had ended up here, in a small clinic in the land of fire.

But don't get her wrong, she hadn't noticed it was him in the begining, but she had her suspicions.

Here she was trying to confirm it.

Naruto looked at her. Although inwardly, he was trying to deduce her actions. Of course, there was a possibility that she was a spy, one who was trying to ascertain his identity from his target. But then, why go through all this trouble? And besides that, he had merely visited her on a whim. If there really was a spy, wouldn't it be more likely to store them in the city hospital? Not some run-down clinic with only one doctor.

Which left him inclined to believe in her story.

That brought about a whole new set of problems. He had thought he had hidden his identity well enough by the book. But this woman had seen past him and discerned his identity. He didn't know if he should commend her or kill her—there was always the alternative that she was really a spy, in which case this would go south rather quickly. Nevertheless, there was something different about this doctor…

And that was what made her dangerous.

For some reason, he wanted to believe in her.

"And… what if I was?" he questioned, not revealing too much, but trying to gauge what she wanted.

If she were trying to surprise him a second time, he would say she earned it. Because what she said next would thoroughly shock him

As a small laugh began to leave her lips, as she said, "Then…

I'll be able to tell you all you want to know."

End Chapter.

An: That's a wrap.

You know, I have previously expressed my concern about this fic not doing well. But I'd just like to say I appreciate the reviews I got on the last chapter, they were quite nice to read.

Anyways, this chapter was mainly again to do with Naruto's mission again, following the last chapter.

Here, Naruto is finding out more about his target and his nature.

But I also wanted to establish more with this nurse, and let me say… I'm honestly kind of tempted to do something with her. Not exactly make her end game, but who's to say they won't end up in the same bed. Naruto isn't exactly taken by anyone, so it wouldn't be any harm.

But there's more to Mikado that I have in mind, and of course there's the ending. What more does she know? What is she willing to tell him? And how might she be able to do it without getting herself killed?

I suppose that'll be for the next chapter, and let me tell you, next chapter might be brutal.

Monday, I go back to school, but I'm still hoping to keep my writing schedule going. So don't worry, I will still try too keep the weekly-ish updates I have going on.

Let me know what you all thought of this chapter.

Please leave me lots and lots of NICE reviews.