Vizem

Chapter 153 - The Housewife's Display

My hand splayed wide, fingers splayed wide and claiming, squeezing the soft flesh of the housewife’s exposed pale rear.

It wasn’t the firm, deceptive steel of a kunoichi, nor the tight, athletic snap of a younger woman. It was civilian-soft; doughy, yielding, and substantial. She had curves that came from age and a sedentary lifestyle....

Chapter 152 - Phase Two

SAKURA HARUNO

Sakura's brain was already running too fast when Sensei shoved her into the closet.

Her anger bubbled up first. Who did he think he was, just shoving her into a closet like some—some prop?! But then, his eyes… those black, magnetic orbs stopped her cold. He leaned in close.

"Be a good girl and...

Chapter 151 - Advanced Breathing Techniques

Using the Devil's Whisper to grease the wheels of her compliance didn't lower the satisfaction of the result. Not really. If anything, watching her rationalize the insane made the victory sweeter. But as usual, I couldn't just settle for good enough. I always had to push, to test the boundaries, to dance right on the razor's edge of what I could...

Chapter 150 - Softening the Steel

A/N: It seems Sakura's chapters are just as long, if not longer than Ino's, hmm.

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Some often used the words 'inn' and 'hotel' interchangeably. To the uninitiated, they offered the same basic equation. But the distinction was not merely semantic.

An inn was i...

Chapter 149 - Unfair Advantages

A/N: Here 4k work on Sakura. I thought about splitting it out, but the slower pace will be even slower. So hey, enjoy!

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"Sakura..." I said her name softly, letting the syllables hang in the quiet air between us. Her words had touched me. Not in my heart, obviousl...

Chapter 148 - The Art of Self-Deception

I didn't break the physical contact. I wasn't wasteful, and I certainly wasn't going to pull away when a girl like Sakura was practically vibrating with the need for a stabilizing force. Whatever she had to say, the intimacy of the moment could be useful.

I slid my hand from the crown of her head down to her exposed shoulder, my fingers tr...

Chapter 147 - Devotion on a Faultline

The third member of the original Team Seven wasn't alone. He had four other people with him. A posse of sidekicks and extras, really. All wearing the stiff, high-collared uniforms of the Konoha Military Police Force.

Naturally, the Uchiha stood at the front, radiating that distinct blend of arrogance and brooding intensity that teenage gir...

Chapter 146 - Fate's Ironic Consolation

I stepped out of the Hokage's tower in a mood fouler than week-old milk, and the substantial mission pay sitting pretty in my pocket did fuck-all to improve it.

Sure, they'd bumped our clusterfuck in the Land of Waves up to S-rank — that was enough money that made even a cynical bastard like me do mental calculations about compound inter...

Chapter 145 - Assume the Worst

MINATO NAMIKAZE

"Yo!" Sensei announced, straightening up with a grin that was equal parts mischievous and sheepish. "You know, the acoustics in those ceiling panels are terrible. Couldn't hear a thing. You all should really consider some renovations up there—maybe some sound-dampening seals or—"

"Sensei," Minato ...

Chapter 144 - Following the Feather

MINATO NAMIKAZE

The door closed behind Eishin Sasayki with a soft click that echoed louder than it should have in the suddenly silent room.

Minato remained still in his chair, his fingers steepled before him as he watched the space where the young jōnin had stood moments before. Around the wide table, the others see...

Chapter 143 - Troublesome Questions

Without Naruto's kinetic energy bouncing off the walls, without the genin nervously shifting and radiating barely-contained anxiety, the room settled into a calmer atmosphere. Someone might mistake it for comfortable, even.

But it wasn't comfort. It was the calm of acceptance. The quiet that settles over a battlefield when both sides under...

Chapter 142 - Catalog of Holes

I hadn't known what had happened outside my Frozen Domain that day. I'd been too busy holding back a squad of Kiri Anbu, keeping them contained while Naruto dealt with Zabuza in whatever chaotic, improvised way he'd inevitably choose. In retrospect, I should have pressed for details. Should have demanded a full breakdown instead of accepting the...

Chapter 141 - Will of Fire, Earthy Interpretation

The scrolls barely got a glance.

Minato smiled, "Thank you, Kakashi." He nodded at the jōnin.

Kakashi dipped his head slightly. "Just doing my part, Hokage-sama."

Minato's attention shifted back to us, that blue gaze sweeping across the four of us standing at attention. "Now, I know written reports are thorough, but they lac...

Chapter 140 - The Chamber of Judgment

The room was just as I remembered it. Big, unnecessarily so. That happens when they have space to waste and want you to feel small about it. Mostly empty, too. Probably by design. A used and reused psychological trick. Nothing like vast expanses of polished floor and high ceilings to make fresh genin feel appropriately insignificant when they re...

Chapter 139 - A Really Chill Puddle

The courtyard was quiet, save for the soft rustling of leaves in the crisp breeze. It was one of those deceptively peaceful days in Konoha. The sun was high enough to cast long shadows across the training grounds, where I sat cross-legged, scribbling messy formulae on a scroll that looked like it had survived three wars and a ramen spill.

Chapter 138 - Rehabilitation of a Shinobi

A/N: Phew.... almost didn't make it.

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I lingered in front of the door a little bit longer than necessary. The wooden frame still felt foreign, not quite my door, not quite my home. Unsurprising that, I just brought it after all.

I could've slipped in by now ...

Chapter 137 - A Known Variable

ITACHI UCHIHA

Itachi landed on the branch without sound. The bark held beneath his weight. He steadied his breathing, kept his hands loose at his sides. The genjutsu's residual strain lingered in his temples, a minor pressure, nothing more.

A presence settled above him. He didn't need to look up.

"You sent two ...

Chapter 136 - A Calculated Sacrifice

I'd known from the start that the paper seal on my forehead wouldn't do much against Itachi.

It was a nameless invention I'd cobbled together years ago, back when I was still new to this world, when the memories of my previous life were fresh and sharp-edged in my mind, cutting into every thought. Back when I was inexperienced, fumbling th...

Chapter 135 - A Fight for a Girl

Clone feedback was always a bitch. The memories slammed like a fist to the temple.

I was used by now of the dizzying rush of information flooding my brain all at once. Like trying to download a file while someone was shaking your skull like a snow globe.

Half of me wanted to be annoyed. The other half was grudgingly impressed.

...

Chapter 134 - Unfunny Punchline

I wanted to laugh, but it stuck in my throat like a bone.

The rooftops bristled with them. Masks like pale ghosts perched on every tile edge, shadows spilling down the walls like ink from a knocked-over bottle. Porcelain faces, anonymous and cold, the kind that made you wonder if there was even a person under there or just a puppet on stri...

Chapter 133 - Twin Statues

Itachi Uchiha stood in the middle of the empty street like he'd been carved there.

He wore a dark blue high-collar shirt, one of those the Uchiha clan seemed to favor, like they all shopped at the same uninventive store, and light grey pants. Civilian clothes. No hitai-ate, no tool pouch, no visible weapons. Nothing that screamed I'm h...