Three weeks later the groups walk into the tower to announce the job is over, the Hokage chuckling softly in his office. With the older genin on assignment the newer ones had to step up on the jobs that were falling behind and more were wailing that the work was hard. Especially confronted with working in the sewers.

"Kiriko, I have a ninja I'd like you to hire as a worker. . .if he ever shows up that is." The Hokage says sourly a few days later. "Have you heard of the Eternal Genin?"

"Kosuke Maruboshi? Of course, he's been on the farm for the last three weeks helping with the cooking for the harvests. I thought you knew he was there. He sent a message to the Tower saying he arrived. We hired him when we hired the teams to harvest. The paperwork should have crossed your desk."

Hiruzen scowls at the stacks of paperwork on his desk. "It probably did, getting lost in this mess here. Or was filed somewhere. Anyway, as I was saying. I'd like you to hire him as part of the cooking crew."

Kiriko snickers. "He's already there. Like Neji, he's got a permanent job helping every crew working. And he's got an apartment on the new land."

"Of course he is." Hiruzen sighs. "I've been wanting him to retire for a while."

"Yeah, he's complaining of getting older and knows he's got a place with us where he can just relax and cook."

"Tell him to come to the Tower after you're done for the day."

Kiriko leans in the building when she returns. "You need to go to the Tower after work, the Hokage wanted me to hire you. . .if you ever showed up. He never found your message saying you were back and planned on retiring." She says, catching Kosuke's eye.

"Of course he didn't, the paperwork on his desk is as tall as he is some days." One of the female clan members snorts. "At least with the fools off the councils, stuff isn't being passed because he's too busy to ready the papers anymore."

"And teams of retired ninja are sorting through everything and filing the simpler stuff before it gets to him."

"Yeah, he said it might have already been filed before he saw it. And I doubt he'd have seen the paperwork from us hiring you to cook during the harvest."

"No, D-rank missions never cross his desk." One of the clan members who also works in records at the Tower says. The others nod. "Not unless something bad happens. Like somebody hurt, or in the case of the last couple years, the new genins failing because they were tired from cleaning buildings. Little brats thought it was all fun and games."

"If they're this bothered just doing chores in the village, how would they handle c-rank missions? Or worse."

"Exactly." Kosuke shakes his head. He'd heard about the problems the academy had had with new genins over the last couple of years and had hoped they had been exaggerated. At least the older genin and chunin were keeping the village strong and he'd heard good stories about the class that had started their last year.

Kiriko looks up at the noises from the street in front of her a month later. She smirks as she walks to the door, the Daimyo's wife surrounded by her entourage pausing and smiling. She sees the head of the major ninja clans in Konoha not quite running to catch up to the group and leads them to the new stores, smirking inwardly as they almost pout at not being acknowledged.

They're not the only ones sulking when the more important merchant's stores are bypassed by the group.

"Oh, you have your own clothing store now?"

"Yes, some of the merchants didn't like the customers *they* didn't approve of shopping with them. Our stores are open to anybody as long as the have the money to pay for what they want. Unfortunately those stores closed earlier this year after an incident and are yet to reopen, their owners seem to have abandoned them. We're trying to find family members to take the over but so far nothing."

The Daimyo's wife knows an opening when she sees it and raises an eyebrow. "Why has the village not taken them over then? If family *is* found they can be reimbursed."

"That was a setup, wasn't it?" Ino asks her parents quietly a couple nights later after the party have left the hotel they'd been staying at.

"Not in the beginning, but yes. The Hokage has been looking for a way to reopen those stores, not that the Daimyo's wife has said something, he can do so now." Inoichi says, smirking.

"And it was a good black eye for the shops that didn't like selling to the working women. . .or Naruto. They didn't get any business. And the others saw it. And will go to the shops they did buy from." Her mother smirks. "What the hell that fool Hiashi and the others thought when they came rushing to be seen by the Daimyo's wife I have no idea. Anybody with an ounce of sense knows she's interested in shopping, not the clans."

"Oh, they expected her to fawn all over them like the rest of the village does." Ino snorts. "They expected the lesser clan students and civilians to kiss their asses in class and were told if they didn't like their grades, concentrate on their own work instead of trying to to push their nonexistent weight around. Oh, not Hinata for all that she was the clan heir, but some of the others in the other grades. Neji was a right royal ass until he had to leave the corps because of his health. He's actually turning into a decent human being now."

"Getting away from that toxic environment that's the Hyuga compound helps." Her father says, rolling his eyes. 

Kiriko slumps into a seat at the farm that night. "How were the sales?"

"Tens of thousands of ryo, we have standing orders for clothes, soap, and other stuff." Tio says quietly. He and the others had been kept busy for three days at the stores. "Thankfully this doesn't happen every day."

"Nope."

"Is it just me or were those old fools sulking because the Daimyo's wife wasn't paying attention to them?" Madi asks.

"Yes, they were. They're so used to everybody in the village fawning over them they were stunned when they Daimyo's wife wouldn't do the same thing."

"Too long in power, they expected everybody to kiss their asses. The Daimyo's wife has no idea who they are and don't care to know who they are either." One of the clan elders snorts. "The poor dears were horrified."

"Morons, too damn long being in power." One of the clan elders snorts. "And yes, I know me saying that is the pot calling the kettle black."

"We work for a living and don't expect people to fawn all over us for existing."

"Did you set this up?" Hiruzen asks the next morning when he calls Kiriko and her father to his office.

"Not a chance." Kiriko says firmly. "We were just as surprised as you were. They wiped us out of all the stock we had on hand and ordered more besides." Her father nods in agreement. Kiriko snickers. "Not to mention not having a lot of cameras on hand to get pictures of the looks on people's faces when they were ignored by the Daimyo's wife and her party if it had been a setup."

"Go.Away.Please." Hiruzen moans. "Do you need to make a special trip for supplies?"

"Yeah, I was going to hire Gai's team as an escort. Our supplies on hand will be used up for these new orders. And more besides in some cases."

Three weeks later Kiriko returns, opening scrolls of supplies that are quickly put away. Or put to use in some cases. "We have the closed shops." One of the women tells Kiriko. "Some of the others are inspecting everything and we hope to have them reopened by the beginning of the year."

"That tells me I'll probably be making another trip for supplies."

"Not to mention deliver the stuff they ordered."

"Yep." 

At the end of the year Kiriko approaches the Daimyo's palace. One of the guards stiffens but a lady in waiting that had been walking nearby smiles. "Kiriko. Are you here with our orders?"

"I am." She smiles. She's shown into the palace, the Daimyo's wife running over and squealing as she brings everything out of the scrolls. 

The Daimyo calmly walks outside with his guards who look inside and snicker. "Happy wife, happy life." Is all he says. The other men nod. 

Kiriko waves off the others when they arrive at the farm. "Get to the village before the storm rolls in. It looks like it's going to be a bad one. Be glad those on guard duty have shelters they can huddle in." Gai looks at the sky and nods and they take to the trees again.

Naruto hugs her the next day when she hands him the receipt from the bank. Hinata, who'd been at the store picking up supplies nearly scowls and then slumps. There's no way she could compete with Kiriko for Naruto's affection. Her eyes follow Naruto as he walks out the door sadly.

"Hinata, sweetie." Kiriko tips up her head with two fingers under her chin so their eyes meet as Kurenai looks concerned. "Do you remember your classes with the working women where they told you about how some people have no interest in either their own sex or the other sex?" She nods, blushing. "I'm one of those people, I only see Naruto as another kid brother." Hinata smiles suddenly. "Go make your stake on *your* man, the poor boy hasn't figured out you like him that way yet." She hurries off, catching up with Naruto and taking his hand. He stops a moment, confused.

Kiba walk over, laughing. "She likes you as more than just a friend Naruto. She thought Kiriko might be interested but she just told her she doesn't like boys or girls that way and only sees you as another kid brother." Naruto stares at him then blushes. Kiba walks back to the store, paying for his purchases and Hinata's, handing her the scroll of supplies as he walks past.

"Congratulations little sister." A male voice says behind them.

"Neji." Talking to Kiriko has emboldened Hinata. She hugs her cousin and is pleased that he hugs her back.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, the medical nin say the infection is nearly gone. I can use chakra but the stress of being a shinobi is out of the question."

"Neji?" A voice calls.

"Tenten, ready for our date?" He asks quietly. She smiles and nods. "What are we doing?"

"I thought dinner and then a movie?" He takes her hand and they walk away. Hinata smiles after them. Leaving the clan has done wonders for Neji.

"Naruto finally knows Hinata likes him that way." Kiba yells when he walks into his home in the Inuzuka clan compound.

"About damn time." His mother says. "What clued him in?" They'd been smelling her interest in him for a couple years now, especially after Sakura was out of the picture.

"Hinata thought that Kiriko was interested in him when he hugged her. She told her she's one of those people who don't like either sex that way and to stake her claim, he doesn't know she likes him that way. I had to tell him why she had taken his hand and was blushing. He blushed too. It was so cute."

"I'm glad that the Hyuga lost so much power when they threw Neji away, they might actually have a chance to get together without the Hokage having to get involved. Or tell them who his parents are." His sister says as she walks into the building.

"You know, one good thing came out from Sasuke losing his damn mind and Sakura having to leave active duty, Naruto's becoming more confident in his abilities. Especially since he got the job working with Kiriko and having Gai be his new sensei. I'd hate to see how he'd have turned out with Kakashi as a teacher."

"Yeah. I think if the chunin exam had happened here, Kakashi would have entered his team in the hopes of getting rid of them one way or the other. And Naruto just wasn't ready, let alone Sakura. Hell, I know *I'm* not ready to be a chunin. I don't want the damn responsibility, I work better in groups."

"A lot of people are like that. The Hokage is good at knowing our abilities and putting us where they'd work the best. Unlike other villages where a team is thrown at a mission whether they can do it or not."

"Having to totally revamp the academy helps, teachers now can see where a student's strengths lay and help encourage those areas. And work on their weaknesses.

Naruto sighs as he looks around his apartment. At least with so many civilians being put in their places by the other ninjas and Kiriko's clan his apartment has stopped being trashed. And with the other shopkeepers put in their places or replaced, he can buy groceries without spending too much money. Or getting bad food. He's got a teacher who actually wants to teach him stuff. He's got money in the bank from his trips with Kiriko, much more than he would have had just from accepting missions. Maybe it's time he starts looking into building a compound of his own. Or see if his parents had had something, from what the old man has said he knew them both.

"Kiriko, do you own the building my apartment is in?" He asks a couple days later.

"No, I think the village owns it. Why?"

"I. . .I need to start thinking about the future if. . .if Hinata and I do end up getting together."

"Think about finding some land outside the village and building a home." Kiriko's father says. "Maybe have a farm bringing in money."

Naruto thinks, and nods. "I thought once that I might like to be Hokage but after seeing all the nonsense he has to go through on a daily basis. . .no. And the other ninja villages are a lot worse off. They depend on the missions coming in to fund everything."

"Yeah." Kiriko says. "We're a lot better off than most. We've got goods and services going out more than we have stuff coming in. Wasn't there a village that turned way from the ninja life and became a resort?"

"I think so, history wasn't really that interesting in the academy."

"Find the library and start reading up on stuff like this. Konohagakure was the first ninja village."

"Who do I see to buy land?"

"The Tower, second floor. Third door on the right, they handle buildings and land in the village and the surrounding areas. If they don't handle it, you need to go to the capital and talk to the Daimyo who ceded the land to the village." Kiriko's father says. "I've had to do it in the past when we expanded the farm."

"And we'll have to do it again if the rumors are right about the train coming to Konoha."

Naruto travels to the capital with Kiriko and her father a few months later. One of the Daimyo's wife's ladies in waiting waves them to a stop.

"She's not here right now."

"Actually, we need to talk to her husband about more land." She grins and leads them to his private office, tapping on the door. 

"Kiriko, her father, and a young man with them need to talk to you about land."

The Daimyo leans back in the easy chair in his office that he only uses for special visitors instead of that gaudy throne in the throne room. "Expanding again?" He asks when they come into the room.

"Yes, Naruto has found some land outside the village and we're looking at more land ourself." He finds the map of the area and lays it on the table, the three of them pointing at the land they want. 

"Done deal, A ryo for all of it. I'll have my people write up the deeds and it will be done by tomorrow. And yes my wife will be demanding I hold you here so she can put in another order." He calls in a person as they walk out. Naruto is still blinking. "Yes, it's like that for us." Kiriko chuckles at his look. "We've proven we're good managers of our land and making money hand over fist. Most of the villages can't say the same."

"The Hokage stepped in to take over after the fourth was killed in that battle and has been leading the village ever since. I know he wants to retire but there's nobody with his strength of character to take over. He's worried, and I know the Daimyo is too, that the village will be ruined by somebody taking his place like too many other villages. Mist was in the middle of a civil war killing their own people who had clan gifts. Their fucking academy had the students killing each other as a graduation exercise." Kiriko's father says in their hotel room that night.

"Makes the paintballs flying a helluva lot better." Naruto says, shuddering.

"Yeah, the new kage is trying to rebuild but it's tough. Suna isn't much better, I hear their former leader tried turning his youngest son into a weapon and he had to be put down because he couldn't, or wouldn't, stop killing."

"The Uchiha massacre."

"Yeah."

"You missed the graduation exercise." Madi says dryly when they drop to the ground at the farm a week later. "Oh, did you get the land?"

"We did, as well as more orders for the stores. The Daimyo asked us to stay later because his wife was gone the day we arrived and he knew she'd want to put in some orders."

"Supplies?"

"Yeah, we shopped while we were there." Kiriko sorts out the scrolls for the farm and hands them over.

"Paintballs again?" Naruto asks, moaning.

"Paintballs again."

"Ohhhh, hell." Kiriko moans as she sees boarded over windows on various buildings.

"Yeah, there was some . . .problems this year." Tio says, walking over. "Supplies?" She sorts out their scrolls and hands them over. "I'll deliver to the others in a day or two, everybody's probably busy."

"Yep."

She goes to the stores. "Ladies, I bear orders from the Daimyo's wife and supplies."

"Money?"

That scroll is handed over and they take it into another room to count and deposit. The bank is technically closed but the bank president allows them inside and the money from the order and the casino visits are deposited. 

"Did Naruto get the land he wanted?"

"Yep, we increased the farm's holdings too. And more land on the other side of the mountain since the Daimyo agrees with the rumors that the train should be coming through and that's the best place for a station. When that happens, more businesses will want to come into the area." The others nod. Kiriko inks in the new land boundaries and Naruto's land.

"Okay, am I insane or. . ."

"No, our land is bigger than the village itself. . .now." Kiriko's father sighs. "And I have the feeling we're just going to be growing in the future."

The Hokage shakes his head as he sees the updated map only he and any future Hokages can see. Mostly so he can overrule any expansion of the village limits that direction. "Oh, I know." Kiroko's father says. "But the Daimyo knows we'll be making him money hand over fist."

"And this is the scroll store." Shino says, leading a group of new genin around. "This store sells scrolls filled with all the supplies you need for missions outside the village. Camping gear, weapons, food including emergency supplies and for cooking over a campfire. Know where the emergency rations are, you will want them when you are working in the sewers. You will not want to eat but you have to keep your strength up. Yes, we've all handled shifts working down there, you are not being singled out for being new graduates. We are all genin, we *all* work down there. In addition, kunoichi?" He catchs their eyes. "There is a special scroll for that time of the month. This way you don't 'accidentally' kill your teammates or sensei." More than one snicker.

"And you will want to stop at the pharmacy for the cold salve to put under your nose to help with the smell." Naruto says coming from the back room. "It helps with the smell. And buy the lemon body wash to shower with afterwards, everybody around you will thank you." Shino nods. "Especially those clans with enhanced senses like the Inuzuka."