FicFan.org

"Let me guess, you were expecting a fat, frumpy, apple-cheeked woman in an apron", despite himself Naruto nodded and immediately regretted it, rubbing his sore ear as Chime's hand moved almost too fast to see in a lightning-fast cuff, "well let that be a lesson to you – never assume anything about someone you don't know. I am Akimichi Chime but before that I was Kurosawa Chime, proud member of one of the most prestigious samurai clans of the Land of Iron and, as my husband will duly attest", Chouza nodded sagely as she met Naruto's eye and gave a wide, slightly sinister smile before finishing, "my skills with a blade haven't dulled through marriage or motherhood".

The idea that one of the heads of the noble Konoha clans had a samurai bride took a while to percolate Naruto's mind; as far as he knew samurai were warriors like but at the same time completely different to ninja. While ninja prowled in the darkness and fought for victory at all costs in the name of the Hokage, samurai answered to the daimyo and lived by a strict code of personal honour and ethics, though they were formidable swordsmen; and women, apparently; and not someone a ninja would want to come up against in a straight fight. Naruto wisely stayed quiet for a moment as he totted up the sum of what he knew and, finding himself short-changed in a few areas, sought to get a few extra snippets of information,

"So, you're a samurai..." Chime held up a finger,

"No, the correct term for a battle-trained woman from a samurai clan is onna-bugeisha", she explained, fixing him with a stern but not unkind eyes, "might only be a little difference but an important one, especially in the Land of Iron".

The Mouse of Konoha, Chapter 11