Hello there everybody, thanks for giving my story a shot this DivineTrinity96, with a brand-new story! Well, this is a new idea I came up with, and haven't gotten it out of my head so to speak. It's rather interesting as it began to manifest after some time and I want to know what you guys think of this.
This one is rather interesting as I've had an idea like this before but it never went anywhere. As you have read in the description Naruto will leave Konoha with some friends seeking out freedom and venture out into the desert wastelands of the Land of Wind and beyond, where they will eventually make a name for themselves.
Now this will be the first installment of perhaps a duology, trilogy, or a series of stories centered around Naruto and his friends' new development away from the previously established civilizations, for the most part. There will be a love interest between Naruto and a female character, however, I haven't decided between who exactly, and the other people that join Naruto will also partake in the love affairs too.
What is there to expect out of this fic? Well for starters a mature Naruto in the end, although not completely out of his character of course, that includes those with him. A formation of a group whose name will be recognized and feared across the shinobi landscape. Possibly a new organization in the political spheres, or even something grander, decisions, decisions.
Well anyway I'll let you guys go on and give this fic a read, please give some feedback, constructive criticism is allowed. FLAMES WILL BE IGNORED! IF YOU CAN'T PUT IN THE EFFORT AS TO EXPLAIN WHY IT IS THIS STORY SEEMS TO BE UNFITING FOR YOU, WHETHER THE SYNOPSIS OR THE TYPE OF STORY IT IS GET OUT! YOU WERE WARNED AHEAD OF TIME DUMBA**!
Now that I got that out of my system on to the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or other corresponding material. All rights belong to Massashi Kishimoto, TV Tokyo, Shueisha, Shonen Jump, and Viz Media.
"I don't see the desert as barren at all; I see it as full and ripe laid beneath the heat fueled gaze of the sun, so that one learns to appreciate the green and glory of nature."
- Anonymous
Darkness, thick and yielding, surrounds the world in its blanketing embrace. Shadows dominating the night, twisting and frolicking about. Within the darkness, however, if one had sharp eyes, they would have been able to notice the figures scurrying about. Different shapes abundant, all to which hurried about silently, avoiding the main roads and paths, instead taking to the alleys and side paths behind buildings. Little was known outside of the group as to what they were doing out so late in the night, which was something they were planning on, seeing as how they made sure not to tell of their plans.
Nine figures in total, making their way closer to their first destination. Large and foreboding, that was the wall that surrounded the entirety of their village. Symbolizing its power, and stating its prominence with fiercely protected walls. Few have ever dared to breach those walls, those that have tried, failed miserably and suffered a fate many considered too risky to attempt on their own. Death awaited any unlucky or ignorant fool that sought this village's secrets. This group however, they sought one thing, freedom.
Making their way pass the two unconscious chunin, the group made their way outside the walls of the village an into the wild. Quick in their escape the group made haste to the Southern borders. "This is crazy, do you know how much trouble we'll be in if we're caught?!" One stated to the group.
"Relax Shikamaru, so long as we make our way to the border before tomorrow night, we'll be free!" Another resounded with quiet joy. "To think, all kinds of food finally at our leisure instead of the bland brands being forced upon everyone in the village!"
"Is all you ever think about food, Choji?" Shikamaru asked his friend, who quickly wiped the little bit of drool that was evident near his mouth. "I take that as a yes."
"Quiet you two, we don't need to attract any unnecessary attention!" A stern voiced enforced causing the two to become silent. "We must avoid making any audible sounds for a certain period until we are further away from the village."
"Neji is right," A new figure stated as the group looked over to see three more people join the group. "There are Anbu still on patrol around the wall, not to mention squads of "Root" that are probably in and around the border, monitoring it."
"How close are they Kiba?" Neji asked two of the three that joined the group. The one that had a small dog on his head was Kiba Inuzuka, while the other one who wore shades and an overcoat that hid most of his body, was Shino Aburame.
"Currently there are no shinobi within our immediate vicinity, however, that could change should they discover that the person in your former cell is a shadow clone Naruto." Shino stated coolly as the group turned to look at the normally hyperactive blonde in their company.
"Heh, they can try and find me, however, I already have clones all over the village running around to throw off the trackers, and I'll be making some as soon as we clear pass the training grounds." Naruto smirked as he turned to the group. "Now, we all decided to head to another country and all, but are we sure that we have to go through the Land of Wind?"
"Yeah, according to the maps that you stole for me, we should journey through the Land of Wind and enter the Land of Metal, before getting to the Land of Mountains, of course that is if we still plan on running to the Land of Clouds, which I personally am favoring." Shikamaru explained to the group, with the last part being the part that made them all deadpan.
"Seriously Shikamaru, how much cloud envy could you have?!" A blonde-haired girl questioned before getting a bored look from Shikamaru.
"Do I really have to spell it out to you Ino?" Shikamaru asked before dodging a slap from said girl. "Hey now, that's a little uncalled for!" Ino, however, didn't care in the slightest,huffing a breath of air she turned away from Shikamaru, anger clearly shown by her expression.
"What do you expect from a lazy guy like you?" Choji remarked while producing a small bag of chips from the overly large bag he was carrying. "For someone like you to take a hint from a girl is nearly as impossible as it is for Naruto to do the same."
"Huh?!" Naruto sounded, he was confused as to what Choji had just said at first, but that changed as his temper was quickly getting the better of him, leading to Neji and another individual with a bowl cut hair style to quickly silence him by placing a hand over his mouth and gripping him in place.
"Silence Naruto, the enemy is still within the vicinity, so we must remain quiet a little longer." The bowl cut haired individual stated.
"Lee is right Naruto," Another feminine voice stated, the other individual had her hair tied up in buns, and her attire was consisted of a sleeveless qipao-styled blouse, and dark green pants. "We need to get moving again, and quickly if we're to get out of the Land of Fire.
"Listen to Tenten at the very least Naruto, she is smarter than either of us." Lee stated to which Naruto begrudgingly acknowledged as Lee released him from his grip.
Nodding their heads the group members we're preparing to leave when three of the members decided to speak up. "What about us?" One asked. The group looked down at the three youngest members, all of whom were still not full-fledged shinobi, as such that meant that they wouldn't be able to keep up with the group as easily.
"Don't worry Konohamaru, we won't let you fall behind." Naruto reassured their small companions as he picked up Konohamaru and placed him on his back. Following suite, the other two, Moegi and Udon, were quickly placed on both Lee and Neji's backs. "From this moment forward we are no longer Shinobi of Konoha, today we are our own individuals, together we form this fellowship that will never be broken!"
"Lame," Shikamaru nonchalantly stated. "At least attempt something that isn't corny. I'd prefer something that won't leave a terrible impression of this trip in my head."
"To bad, because that's all I got." Naruto expressed before turning back to the main path and running down it, leaving the group there to reflect on his action for a moment before they followed suite. Before long the group would find themselves facing many challenges, the likes of which were never foreseen in their planning.
Chapter 1: Deserters
Long was the trip to the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. Far longer than what was expected of the young deserters of Konoha. What would have been a simple two-day trip to the border and through the Land of Rivers became four, as they were forced to evade many parties of traffic between the two lands, specifically the shinobi kind.
Staying within the confines of the wild, very rarely had they gone into a town together, preferring to send in a small group of three to gather the necessary supplies needed for their journey into the deserts of the Land of Wind. Whenever something suspicious ever made itself prevalent the group hid their numbers and used their stealth training to avoid it. By utilizing their independent training, and cooperation the group could avoid in trouble and made it to the Land of Wind.
Traversing the desert wasn't as easy as they originally presumed, however, thanks to Shikamaru planning their rations and water consumption they were able to make it the first three days in. However, a problem had became more pronounced as they were quickly realizing the dangers that hide underneath the desert sands. Now on their fifth day in the desert, they were unaware of their position and were now moving aimlessly as storms blew through the area.
"So, who came up with the idea of traveling through the desert?!" An annoyed Kiba expressed his annoyance as the group pushed through the sand and wind that was pelting them slightly.
"It's the quickest path to the Land of Metal, which is essentially the place we originally planned on going to for resting and resupplying." Shikamaru explained. "Of course, we could have taken the longer route around the desert, going through Kusa and Ame, then by passing the Land of Earth, which if you recall, is currently at war with Konoha!"
"That idiot Danzo! He's the worse Hokage yet!" Ino shouted out in anger, as she spat out sand from her mouth. "Also, why didn't we stop over at Suna to get clothing to match these conditions?!"
"Suna and Konoha are allies according to Arms & Trade Agreement established prior to the Third Shinobi World War, in essence making it a prime location for Danzo's spies and "Root" to be stationed to successfully maintain its puppet status." Shino informed her as they continued onward.
"How is it that Danzo is even able to do that? Doesn't Suna have their own Jinchuuriki and Shinobi force to match Danzo?" Ino questioned. Most remained silent, with a few looking over at Naruto, whom wasn't saying anything.
"It's because not only is Konoha the most powerful village in the Shinobi world, but it also holds, or rather held, the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, which is the strongest of the biju." Shikamaru answered. "And knowing that old fart, he'll probably keep it hidden that Konoha's jinchuuriki has gone missing, along with clan heirs of six prominent clans, seven if we include Naruto's, and a branch member of the Hyuga."
"Speaking of which, Neji, how is your seal?" Lee asked his companion, to which Neji gave him a reassuring smile.
"No need to worry, the seal won't work no matter how hard the elders try to enact its power." Neji assured. "Thanks to someone that was close to Naruto I'm no longer caged by that infamous seal anymore."
"Wow, who the heck could have done that?" Kiba asked.
"Somebody that's no longer around." Naruto replied gruffly leaving everybody else unaware of what the reasoning behind it was, except for Neji. "Although that old pervert is probably doing research somewhere for his next book knowing him."
"On a different note, has anyone else noticed that the scenery hasn't really changed since we stepped foot in this desert?" Kiba asked trying to break the tension around the last topic.
"What do you expect, we're in a desert." Ino remarked.
"Well I was wondering, since everything looks the same, how do we know where we're going?" Kiba questioned before getting an annoyed groan from Shikamaru.
"Naruto stole plenty of maps and star charts for me to use. Prior to this I learned how to accurately identify our location according to the stars, primarily astrology." Shikamaru answered as he pulled out the maps he was referring to from the bag he was carrying.
"So, you can tell where we are on the map just by looking up at the stars at night? That's pretty cool." Udon mentioned from his place on Neji's back. "I wish I could do something that cool."
Shikamaru just smirked at the kid thinking what he could do was cool, although it was a pain, Shikamaru still felt good after getting the compliment, even though it was from Udon, who was younger than him. "Tell you what, maybe I'll teach you how to read the map tonight after we set up camp." Shikamaru offered only to smirk upon seeing Udon's eyes light up.
Continuing onward the group was starting to cross another dune when something caught Kiba's nose. "Hey, do you guys smell that?" Kiba asked them, getting a few confused looks as they started sniffing the air.
"I don't smell anything." Lee stated.
"Choji probably farted." Ino teased her teammate who was taken back by such a statement. However, Kiba and Akamaru continued smelling the air, and both concluded that something wasn't right. Choji continued resisting the fallacy thrown at him, however, the group decided it was best to end it there, lest they anger the single individual with the largest quantity of food.
As they marched forward deeper into the desert something seemed to be stirring under the sand. Suddenly the group began to hear a strange sound, a crunching sound of sorts. "Come on Choji, we already established that you can't eat whenever you want to!" Shikamaru groaned. "Plus we stopped picking on you."
"Um, that wasn't me." Choji replied causing the group to look back at Choji, who was the tail end of the group, and noticed that he had nothing in his hands or any signs of crumbs on his face. "I haven't had anything to eat since this morning, and trust me, if it wasn't for the fact we were rationing I would eat all the contents within this bag!"
Confused the group heard the crunching sound again, this time however, they also felt the ground shake slightly. "Okay, so, aside from the sounds and shaking ground I'd say that we should start moving." Ino suggested as she, along with the group, began moving with haste as the sounds and shaking intensified.
"What the hell is happening?!" Kiba yelled out as the ground erupted sending sand up into the air, almost like a geyser would do with water.
"Are we standing in a geothermal hotspot or something?!" Shikamaru questioned, with concern evident in his voice.
"No, if it was geothermal the heat of the ground would be escalating, and the eruption of gas from beneath the sand would be spreading across the area, not to mention there would be gaseous fumes being emanating from it." Shino pointed out. "This is not the earth, but something organic."
Within moments after Shino stated his observations and theory the ground erupted once more, but unlike previously something large emerged from the sand, it was towering and plated in a thick hide covered in spikes. With a lengthy and monstrous body, the creature dwarfed everything in its immediate surroundings, but the worst part was seemingly that around its maw were several large tusks that were stained with what looked like blood stains.
"Holy crap, what the hell is that thing!?" Naruto screamed out loud, beating many others to it.
"Khorkoi arrakis." Shino plainly stated, rather collectively to, as he seemed unfazed by the creature.
"Come again?" Neji asked in confusion.
"Deathworm. A much larger cousin species of my clan's Shōkaichū." Shino explained to the group. "They dig underground searching for chakra signatures to devour. Prior to the Second Shinobi World War, they were used to counter summoning animals of large size and even to suppress biju, however, they're hide is weakened when exposed to water making it easier to deal with them, essentially leading to their presumed extinction."
"Extinction? I don't think their quite as dead as many presumed." Tenten stated.
"Well it has been thought that pockets of Khorkoi survived the massacre and are thriving out in remote regions within vast deserts and wastelands." Shino added.
"Okay, so what do you think we should do?" Neji asked Shino, whom seemed to be trying to determine how to go about this situation.
"Well running would be foolish considering that it would eventually catchup to us, and considering its use to this environment, I'd say standing where we are is preferable at the moment." Shino stated.
"Why, is its vison based on movement?" Naruto asked.
"It's a large worm Naruto, meaning it has no eyes!" Ino berated Naruto.
"To be more accurate, the part in which its name meaning worm is incorrect, worms are decomposers that gain nutrients from dead and decaying material, while Khorkoi is in fact a dominate carnivore within its ecosystems food chain." Shino corrected getting some strange looks from Naruto and Ino.
"Okay so it's big and eats meat." Kiba restated aloud. "So, if we wet it we can essentially kill it right?"
"Presumably yes, however, the part of killing it would be the problem, considering the measures that a group would have to be take just to kill one Khorkoi." Shino replied. "The worst part is that where there is one, there is several more nearby." Looking around the expanse of the desert they were in the group noticed several more Khorkoi emerging from underneath the sands bellowing out to the world. "Hmm, a decently sized colony, perhaps we have entered a breeding ground."
The looks on many the group's faces, minus Shino's, was enough to make one realize how terrified each of them were. "Shino, please tell me you can talk to them like you do with your bugs?!" Kiba begged him hoping to have Shino handle the situation.
"I don't "talk" to insects, I communicate with them, there is a difference." Shino reiterated. "Besides I'm unsure as to how I would be able to communicate with them, I have barely been able to communicate with the cousin species, let alone something this massive and threatening before we left."
"Just do something! Anything will do Shino!" Kiba exclaimed causing Shino to sigh in annoyance before pulling out a jar from his bag. The jar itself didn't seem anything unique, aside from the fact that it had dirt in it.
Opening the jar Shino placed his near the top of the jar, palm up, seemingly wait for something to move into it. Slowly emerging from the dirt small worm-like insects began to emerge from the dirt and move towards Shino's hand. "I will be attempting to communicate with the Khorkoi through the Shōkaichū that I brought along with me, though I don't have enough confidence that this will work, so do prepare to run should we have to." Shino explained to the group.
"But didn't you mention earlier that it would be pointless to run?" Tenten pointed out, only to get a glance from Shino.
"At that point, it would be rather necessary unless you wish to be eaten by one of the Khorkoi, and processed for over a month, slowly becoming a liquid substance while still being alive during the whole process due to the fact that the innards of a Khorkoi is designed specifically to keep prey alive so that they don't have to search out food on a daily basis." Shino mentioned causing Tenten to pale in response. Many members of the group would admit that Shino could be weird at times, but he was an expert when it came to invertebrates, such as insects, arachnids, and any other creepy crawlies that were around.
Looking over the worms, Shino was seemingly hypnotized by them, so the group thought before he placed them on the sand below and watched as they disappeared under the sand. "Where are they going?" Naruto asked.
"They are currently searching out the Alpha of the group." Shino stated. "Seeing as how it hasn't emerged yet, it's safe to assume it is underground still."
"Why do you need to find that?" Naruto questioned.
"Because it's the biggest and toughest one of the bunch!" Kiba explained. "I take it, that it's not much different from wolves in terms of a social structure?"
"There are evident differences between the structures, such as any challengers would be eaten if defeated, and that typically the alpha is female due to the size difference and ferocity-" Shino elaborated, before seemingly pausing.
Wondering why he stopped the group felt the ground tremble once more, as the sand began to give way. All other Khorkoi in the area began to move out of the way, seemingly in fear. The signs did not bode well for the young shinobi as a massive wave of sand erupted from the ground followed by perhaps the largest thing the group had ever seen.
Towering over seventy feet into the air the alpha Khorkoi roared out a loud bellow that resonated with the area. Most of the group fell over in response to the creature's emergence, while Shino remained standing with his hands back in his pockets.
Twisting its body, the large Khorkoi leaned downward facing the group, only to stop a mere couple of feet away from them. Its breath smelled of methane and decaying flesh, making much of the group cough and feel sick in response. Shino remained diligent as he stared back up at the creature that looked down at them. The interaction was wordless, only gestures and bellows were made, mostly by the Khorkoi. Wanting to know what was going on the group was silenced by Shino.
"She was wondering why it is that out kind was trespassing into her domain, specifically why young ones such as us were guideless in the desert." Shino informed the group.
"It's intelligent?" Neji was taken back at the claim that Shino was interpreting whatever the creature was saying to him.
"Khorkoi live hundreds of years, within that time they become as intelligent as any summoning animal, they develop their own personalities and ideas, much like any sentient life." Shino explained, before listening to what the alpha was saying as she bellowed out louder than before. "She is very displeased in our transgression."
"You don't say." Ino sarcastically responded after removing her hands away from her ears.
"We should be grateful to her, she once worked with a human long ago, and as such is willing to hear us out before deciding whether to kill us or not." Shino stated.
"Shino, please tell us that you're saying nice things to the giant Deathworm?!" Choji asked with evident concern rising in his voice. "Because I don't want to be a giant worm's lunch!"
"Well to be accurate, she will allow me to at the very least survive do to the fact I hold respect to the insect dominion." Shino added getting looks of shock and betrayal. "Of course I would get lonely without you guys, so I am currently trying to negotiate a better deal for all of us, while trying to explain to her our situation. So try to relax, they can tell if your nervous."
For the most part the interaction that occurred between Shino and the alpha Khorkoi was seamless as the loud bellowing slowly disappeared and was instead replaced by a much smoother rumble. Before the group knew it, the sun was already beginning to descend back below the horizon. Time seemed to go by and still Shino was communicating with the alpha Khorkoi, had it not been for the fact that they could die if Shino wasn't careful in what he communicating to the large beast they would have taken this time to eat, as many of their stomachs began to grumble in hunger.
However, something seemed to have happened as Shino turned around to face the group behind him. "After talking with her for a bit I have successfully been able to prevent her from killing us." Shino stated receiving a collective sigh of relief in response. "She does however, wish for one thing in exchange." This got heads bobbing up much faster than normal and the group was feeling rather uneasy as to what this giant could want in exchange for their lives. "In exchange for letting us go she wishes for us to seek out a cure for a poison that has spread across her brood."
"Uhm, one problem Shino, none of us specializes in poison." Ino pointed out.
"That may be so, however, there is enough resources that we've acquired prior to our entry into the desert that could be turned into a cure for the brood, the downside is that we'll be short on supplies afterwards." Shino expressed to everyone.
"So, we'll be able to live a little longer before succumbing to a slow but inevitable death?" Neji asked for confirmation.
"To the Khorkoi, those that prove their trust, by assisting the colony will be welcomed as part of their social curtesy. Besides the other request is too challenging for me to complete meaning this was the only doable one, considering our current skill set. None of you have to do anything special except give me the supplies and I will have my insects create a natural cure for the brood based on what kind of poison it is that is affecting it, once done we will be allowed to leave." Shino explained.
"What kind of poison could have even reached the brood, surely it must be protected right?" Tenten asked.
"The brood was poisoned by a single individual, a man whom was able to kill two Khorkoi alone, someone whom was apparently skilled in poison techniques." Shino added as he walked over to the group and began gathering the materials that were necessary for the cure to be made. "I won't try to be to long, the sun is beginning to set and night is but a couple hours away, and with no water around to resupply and adding the now limited supplies we'll need to make haste if we're to make it to the Land of Metal."
Walking back over to the alpha, Shino stopped and to everyone's horror, was grabbed by the Khorkoi's maw and dragged down into the depths of the earth. "That giant worm just ate the weird bug guy!" Konohamaru screamed as the Khorkoi from earlier began to surround them.
"This was a trap, they wanted us to feel safe just for them to strike us when our guard is down!" Neji concluded as everyone closed in next to each other in defense. "Everyone ready your call outs, if we have to, we'll drop the supplies and head East to Suna!"
"What about Shino?!" Naruto asked.
"You saw what happened to him, he's gone, eaten by that monster!" Ino shouted in fear.
"To think, I'm going to die by getting eaten by a giant worm. Man, that sucks." Shikamaru sighed while scratching his head.
"Shikamaru! Choji! Perhaps we can stop them long enough for the others to take them out?!" Ino thought up as she asked her two teammates.
"Are you kidding, I alone couldn't hope to grab more than two of these things with my shadow possession, how are you going to use your mind destruction technique on all them?" Shikamaru retorted.
"Do you have a better plan? If so then I'm open for suggestions Mr. Genius!" Ino yelled back causing Shikamaru to sigh in annoyance, before taking a stance all too familiar to the group. Shikamaru was thinking, and rather late in the game to.
"Okay, so what, wait for Shikamaru to think of a plan or just throw everything to the wind to defend ourselves?" Kiba asked the other group members.
"For now, let Shikamaru think, everyone else prepare for whatever he comes up with." Neji ordered getting confirming nods from everyone else. Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi were terrified as they had no idea of what was to happen next.
Trying to think under the pressure Shikamaru looked over each of the group's strengths and weaknesses in his head trying to come up with some way to get out of this. Unsure of where to begin Shikamaru felt something on his foot. Looking down he noticed that one of Shino's worms was crawling on his foot. He also noticed the others coming up the surface moving to the different members of the group without everyone else noticing, particularly Naruto who had like five crawling on him.
Suddenly Shikamaru remembered what Shino had stated earlier about the worms and the Khorkoi. 'That's it!" Shikamaru realized. Jumping back up, he gained the attention of the other group members who were quick to notice Shikamaru was standing back up. "Alright I have an idea, Naruto this requires you to do some major lifting." Shikamaru stated.
"Uhm, I don't think that I can toss those big worms if that's what you're thinking." Naruto informed him, though Shikamaru just smirked.
"No, you idiot, I need you to make as many shadow clones as possible and send them off in random directions in large groups." Shikamaru explained. "Shino stated that these things are attracted to chakra, it's how they hunt." Naruto, now realizing what Shikamaru wanted him to do, nodded and quickly went through the series of hand signs necessary. "Okay everyone, once Naruto performs his jutsu then we'll make a run for it so get ready!"
Once done Naruto produced a vast number of clones, too many to count within the small area. "Holy crap, how many did Naruto make?!" Kiba questioned aloud. "It has to be over a hundred!"
Following Shikamaru's instructions Naruto's clones began to disperse into groups and heading into random directions with the group following in suite. "Are you sure that this will work, wont they be able to see us?!" Ino questioned as she followed the group led by Shikamaru.
"They don't have eyes, they sense their prey based on their chakra, and thanks to Naruto this will confuse them." Shikamaru answered as they rushed pass the confused Khorkoi. Running Eastwards to Suna, they hurried as fast as they could while the Khorkoi roared out in alert.
Running as quick as they could the group feared that the distraction wouldn't work when they felt the ground beneath them shake. "I thought you said that they wouldn't find us!" Kiba yelled.
"I never said that they wouldn't split up and go after each group!" Shikamaru reiterated as he and the group stopped as the Khorkoi emerged from underneath the sand in front of them. Turning to flee in another direction it lunged forward to get them forcing them to split up into groups of two. Going around the body, opposite of the direction the Khorkoi was lunging. Regrouping they continued running East.
Stopping in place the group noticed the Earth was trembling far more than with the last time. This time it shook violently as a Khorkoi emerged in front of them again, but this time it was the alpha. Emerging from the ground it looked over at the group standing before it. Leaning forward, the group was terrified as it opened its maw, seemingly ready to attack them.
As it lowered itself the group watched as something fell from its mouth. "Hmm, I didn't expect you guys to move, were you in such a hurry to get some water you forgot about me?" Someone asked in what seemed to be an attempt at a joking manner. Looking at the source of the voice everyone was surprised to see Shino standing there with his hands in his pockets covered in some kinds of liquid substance. "Or perhaps you were thinking that I was eaten alive, and were scared beyond belief that the Khorkoi set up this elaborate trap?"
"Shino!" Some of them screamed in unison, while the others took notice of Shino's appearance and the smell coming from him.
Readjusting his glasses as a glimmer shined across it, Shino made his way over to the group. "I took care of her brood, as such we are now able to leave with our lives." Shino explained before stopping a couple feet away from everybody. Noticing something was off with him, they began to wonder what was up with Shino when they smelt it. It was strong, like spoiled milk mixed with the smell of decaying flesh. "It also appears as though that I will need to wash both myself and my clothes."
Deciding to back away from him, Shino acknowledged the reason why they did the gesture and respected their decision. "Dude, what the hell is with that smell?!" Kiba questioned Shino who remained where he stood.
"The brood was developing in this substance, it is a type of jelly meant to help in development of their strong hide, and seeing as how I had to treat all within it, it was inevitable that I would get it on my clothing." Shino stated.
"So, wait, how many did you treat if you were able to finish rather quickly?" Naruto asked.
"Hmm, I think about two-three hundred? Hard to tell." Shino admitted getting deadpanned expression from everyone. "To be fare it was easy considering I used my beetles to spread the stimulant to their immune system quickly and efficiently." Shino replied. With nothing else to say Shino turned back to face the alpha as though to listen to what it has to say. "Interesting, it seems as though we are close to the southwestern border of the Land of Wind with its neighboring nations ."
Filled with joy the group was ready to get out of the desert, although the Shino's posture didn't show any form of joy. "Shikamaru, it seems as though we are nowhere near the Land of Metal, nor should we go there." Shino stated.
"How? I followed the map and star charts? And why shouldn't we go there?" Shikamaru questioned Shino.
"The person who killed two of the Khorkoi was heading in that direction, and from the alpha has explained, he wasn't alone. Only the blood and death await those in the Land of Metal now." Shino stated, getting some worried expressions from the group. "However, we are close to another nation that we could go through to reach the Land of Mountains, but it is the Land of Sand." Everyone groaned at the fact that they were going to have to travel through the desert far longer than expected, some even considered going to the Land of Metal anyway. "There is a plus to going to the Land of Sand however." Shino added.
"Oh, and what is that?" Kiba groaned in annoyance.
"The Khorkoi are heading in that direction for the migration, aside from the alpha the Khorkoi, they usually change their hunting grounds seasonally to maintain a balanced ecosystem and allow the brood to develop and grow with room and game to hunt." Shino answered.
"Are you saying those "Deathworm" are offering us a ride to the Land of Sand?" Tenten asked for confirmation.
"Consider this a thank you for the sacrifice that we made with our supplies." Shino stated as he walked over pass the group to the approaching group of Khorkoi. "Now then, who will join me in resting on top of one the most dominant and dangerous predators in the desert?"
Hesitant at first the group watched as Shino climbed onto one of the Khorkoi and took a seat atop its head before looking back down at the group and waving them over.
"Is he crazy, we could get killed?!" Ino exclaimed before watching as Lee and Naruto made their way over to the large carnivore. Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi followed in suite before slowly everyone gave in and joined them. Ino, still reluctant, was forced onto the creature by Choji, who used his super expansion jutsu to grab Ino and place her on top of the Khorkoi before climbing up himself.
She eventually slapped him in the shoulder for doing it, but Choji made a remark about her holding everybody up and went to eating a bag of chips he pulled out of his bag.
With everyone onboard the Khorkoi began setting off with everyone looking as they saw the alpha Khorkoi return under the sands with a few of the Khorkoi remaining behind. "So, Shino, I bet you were pretty excited to have an experience such as that." Lee stated while plugging his nose as to not smell the stench that was coming from Shino.
"Indeed, it was a once in a lifetime event, the likes of which will probably never happen." Shino stated. The others looked at him before getting a couple smirks on some of their faces.
"You were pretty brave back there Shino, you practically saved our hides." Naruto expressed his gratitude by patting Shino's back before realizing he had some of the substance on his hand. Deciding to wipe his hand on the back of the Khorkoi, Naruto then wiped whatever was left on his pantleg.
"You are wrong about one thing Naruto." Shino started getting his attention. "I was actually terrified the entire time that was happening." The sudden admittance surprised everyone as they couldn't believe that the cool and collected Shino was afraid. "There have only been five people in history who have ever earned the Khorkoi's trust, and hundreds of other that were killed off in the process, we aren't even in the one percent of those people, we are a part of decimal percentage lower than one percent of the total amount of people that have attempted to reason with the Khorkoi, which is something that we should feel humble about."
Coming to an understanding as to how close they were to death the group remained quiet for some time as they watched the scenery go by atop the Khorkoi's back. Thinking back on their decision and how close to death they came due to it. Indeed the group felt humbled after the ordeal, and certainly wouldn't forget it, as they let the cool air from the swift moving Khorkoi below them jet across the sands with ease followed by twelve others.
"So Shino what do you call a group of Khorkoi?" Kiba asked curious as to know more about the social construct of the Khorkoi.
"Typically one could call it a herd, however, many have given large hunting groups such as the one we find ourselves accompanying the title of a horde." Shino answered. "This is due to the swift and terrifying image painted by the famous artist Daisuke Morishito during the warring states period."
"Interesting." Kiba stated with awe as he was completely into what Shino was talking about. Meanwhile, the others were trying their best to relax on the back of the large beast.
Looking over the maps, Shikamaru noticed that Udon was looking over his shoulder curiously at the maps. "Oh yeah, I completely forgot that I promised to teach you how to read the maps." Shikamaru admitted. In response Udon flustered in embarrassment at his own curiosity and was hesitant. "Hey, come on and take a seat next to me, I'll teach you what I know, but I won't be able to get to the star maps until the stars come out." Nodding his head in approval, Udon took a seat next to Shikamaru and began soaking in the information provided to him.
"Moegi and the girls were all currently having some kind of discussion while Lee and Neji had their own conversation to themselves, while relaxing a little to the side of the group. Choji, had attempted to make a fire on the back of the Khorkoi, but was unable to due to the breeze being blown by the movement of the Khorkoi they on.
Everyone seemed to have found some way to distract their mind, while Naruto and Konohamaru sat in silence next to each other. Facing forward the two didn't say anything, rather they watched as the scenery went by. In Naruto's right hand was a scroll, one that he was holding tightly. It was rather small though compared to the scroll that was lying next to him with his bag of supplies.
The scroll had three distinct lines of coloring across it. The center being primarily a dark green, followed by two thin line of gold coloring separating it from the thick blush red that marked the ends of the scroll. Clutching the scroll tighter Naruto kept his eyes forward, not looking back in slightest, resisting the urge to remain attached to his demons.
Whew, what a chapter, thankfully I'm done for now. Now okay, not what you were thinking? Well okay, hear me out. The story will follow the group along their journey to a new home, of course how long that journey will be is yet to be determined, however, that is only their current goal, there is still a lot to do, that they haven't realized yet, which means more content!
To those wondering, I decided to not reveal any background directly because I feel as though that should be established through the character interactions, rather than by an attempt by me the author to throw large amount of backstory at you at the very beginning because I was too lazy to do something like this.
Now I was originally going to plan have this chapter go up to them exiting the Land of Fire and entering the Land of Rivers, however, I felt as though the journey part didn't really start until they already reached the Land of Wind, and traveled into the desert a decent bit. So, why have Shino play a big part? Well I plan on giving every character a chance to show their worth in this story, each of them possess abilities and knowledge the others don't meaning that they will all contribute to the overall success of their journey.
Also the fact that Sakura and Hinata are not in this is not because I hate them or something, far from it. I enjoy both characters equally, both become successful shinobi in their own right and become quite skilled, however, the circumstances in this story has prevented them going with the main group for a number of reasons that I choose not to address. However, they will eventually join the group, Sasuke is a toss up though as I'm still trying to decide what exactly I want to do with him.
That's all I have for now, if you could let me know about the chapter, constructive criticism only. Thanks for giving my story a try, and hopefully you'll stick around to see what I have planned for a small group and who it is they'll eventually meet and learn under. Thanks everyone and have a great day!