Chapter 1
Hey people, here's my newest story, Naruto's Fate, featuring a special OC character as the main pairing, enjoy.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Divine/Demon Talking"
'Divine/Demon Thinking'
'Telepathic comunication'
"Using Jutsu"
'Usuing Jutsu silently'
It's a very hot, dry day as Team Seven walked along the path to the Land of Waves with their client, Tazuna. Naruto was walking beside his sensei, Kakashi Hatake, with his teammates Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno walking in front of them with Tazuna walking in between them when a puddle came into view. However, it was ignored, until Kakashi saw Naruto look up and look around and he raised an eyebrow over his book,
'Did Naruto notice the two shinobi in the genjutsu? I thought he couldnt detect genjutsu.' However Naruto was actually experiencing something else, a small, beautiful voice had made itself known in his head,
'Beware, two enemies are hiding in a genjutsu, the puddle you are about to pass is the genjutsu, be careful Naruto-kun.' Naruto shook his head and looked at Kakashi,
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei, did you hear that?" Kakashi looked up fully and blinked, a bit confused,
"Hear what? What did you hear?" This caught the attention of the others, minus Sakura, and they turned to look back at the two as Naruto responded,
"I could've sworn I just heard someone talking, a girl's voice. The voice said that the puddle right there is a genjutsu hidding two people." Sasuke chuckled shaking his head and Sakura laughed as well, though Kakashi and the two Shinobi in the genjutsu went wide-eyed at how the blonde genin had detected the genjutsu and Kakashi threw a kunai at the puddle and two Kiri Shinobi wearing cloaks over a blue shirt with urban camoflauged sleeves and grey pants and black combat boots, they both had what looked like gas masked and their headbands, which had the symbol for the Hidden Mist Village scratched out, had horns on them, and they had a clawed gauntlet on a single hand. The one with two horns on his headband had his on his right hand and the other who hand one horn on his headband had his left hand. They also had a chain connected between them, attached to the gauntlets and they looked at each other before they looked at the surprised Team Seven, plus the terrified Tazuna,
"I dont know how the blonde kid knew we were here, but it doesnt matter anymore, Brother, lets take them out, then we'll deal with the bridge builder." The other nodded,
"Got it brother!" They charged forward and held their claws out and Sasuke ran forward with a kunai drawn as Naruto and Sakura froze up for a bit before the same voice from before made itself known to Naruto,
'Go! You must fight or you will die! I don't want you to die Naruto-kun, we will meet soon, and to do that you must live, so fight Naruto-kun, fight and live!' Naruto jerked and drew a kunai before rushing forward as Sasuke pinned the chain from the two Kiri shinobi to a tree and Naruto jumped over one of the brothers as he swung a kunai at him and Naruto hit him on the back of the head with the ring of the kunai, knocking him out. The other unclipped the chain and swung at Naruto, who dodges, but loses his balance and he swung his arms a bit, which was scratched by one of the claws, unknowingly getting poisoned.
Kakashi had stayed back and watched before he saw Naruto get cut and he rushed forward as Sasuke was knocked back with the unclawed hand of the second kiri shinobi. Kakashi jumped back a bit to dodge a thrust with the clawed gauntlet and he grabbed it before pulling the arm, pulling the shinobi as he pulled his arm up and slammed his elbow into the rogue shinobi's face, knocking him out. Kakashi dropped him and looked over at his team and saw a scared Sakura standing in front of a terrified Tazuna while Sasuke was standing up gently prodding a bruise on his cheek from where he was hit and Naruto was moving his hand around slowly, clenching and unclenching it, and looked up at Kakashi,
"Hey sensei, my hand feels funny." Kakashi walked over and took a look and nodded,
"Yea, you were poisoned, you might need to bleed out the poison." Naruto nodded and took the kunai he had in his other hand and stabbed the cut making Sakura gasp and Kakashi sigh before he noticed that Naruto made no reaction to the stab and wondered why before a split second later he remembered why and winced inwardly at remembering Naruto's rough childhood. He then notied the poison mixed with the blood flow out of the injury and nodded before he looked up at Naruto,
"Alright, looks like its all out now, so lets get it bandaged but, I think you stabbed a bit too deep so better safe then sorry." Naruto nodded and Kakashi pulled out a bandage and clothe and began cleaning up the blood when he went a bit wide-eyed as he saw the cut healing right before his eyes and made Naruto raise an eyebrow at Kakashi's wide (visible)eye,
"What is it Kakashi-sensei?"
"Huh, oh, its nothing. The injury just wasnt as deep as I thought it was." Naruto seemed to accept the answer as his hand was bandaged and Kakashi went to interrogate the two Chunin, who were called the Demon Brothers, and questioned their objectives and when he came back he quetioned Tazuna who told them about Gato taking control of the Land of Waves and draining them of money and resources and they had voted to continue. Kakashi sent one of his dog summons, Biscuit, out with a letter, requesting back-up. They later encountered Zabuza, the Demon of the Mist, which led to a fight between the two Jonin, and Sasuke was shocked to find ou how Kakashi earned his name as the Copy-Cat Ninja, it was due to an implanted doujutsu that made Sasuke's clan famous before they were almost entirely wiped out, the Sharingan.
Soon after, Naruto showed a brialliant side when Kakashi was captured and Naruto used his Kage Bunshin as well as his Henge and Kage Shuriken no Jutsu to free Kakashi with Sasuke's help. Zabuza was about to be killed by Kakashi when a Kiri Hunter-nin appeared after riddling Zabuza's neck with several senbon and the Hunter-nin exchanged some words with Kakashi before vanishing in a water Shunshin. When the nin left, Kakashi collapsed and Naruto made a few clones to carry him after he asked Naruto to cover the Sharingan eye
[Later...]
The five had arrived at Tazuna's home, Kakashi was conscious, but was exhausted so he was still being carried, who knocked on the door and called out quietly,
"Tsunami, its me. I'm back with these superb Shinobi from Konoha." The door was inched open and a brown eye was seen peeking out before the door was thrown open and a young woman wearing a pink shirt with long sleeves and a dark blue skirt that reached her ankles and brown sandals. She hugged Tazuna,
"Tou-san! I'm so glad you're safe!" Tazuna hugged her as well and she looked over and bowed a bit,
"Thank you for protecting my Tou-san, you have my gratitude. My name is Tsunami." Kakashi eye-smiled,
"Maa, dont worry, we're happy to help. Though I have to tell you that since this mission classifies itself as an A-ranked mission I had to request back-up, they should be here within a day. Anyways, I am Hatake Kakashi, and this is my squad: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto." Sakura waved politely, Sasuke just gave a "Hmph", and Naruto smiled brightly and waved as well when he suddenly looked around along with his clones making everyone look at him as he heard the voice again,
'Naruto-kun, as soon as you get your sensei settled in, I want you to come into the forest, its time we meet, and I have wanted to meet you for so long.' Naruto had a confused expression and nodded before having a clone tell Kakashi what he was told and Kakashi decided to have a Kage Bunshin follow Naruto and he discreetly made one which made him pass out, but everyone thought he simply fell asleep so no one paid much attention and they went in, got situated and Naruto walked outside and into the forest, unaware that a Kage Bunshin of Kakashi was following him and what the clone saw shocked him.
[With Naruto...]
Naruto walked through the forest, following the voice in his mind,
'Yes Naruto-kun, you're almost there... Ok you're here, give me a moment and we will finally meet face to face Naruto-kun' Naruto nodded slightly as the voice giggled lightly and a bright light appeared in front of him, blinding him a bit before the light died down. When his vision cleared he saw a sight that made him go wide-eyed and then blush brightly
"Hehe, hello Naruto-kun, I've wanted to meet you for quite some time. I am the Goddess of Fate."
Naruto stood in the clearing of the forest with his jaw on the ground, his eyes the size of plates, and his face as red as a tomato as he looked at the girl before him calling herself the Goddess of Fate. She had waist length, raven black hair, her skin was slightly tanned and flawless and she had steel grey eyes that were filled with kindness as well as what appeared to be a bit of mischief. She was wearing a beautiful silver kimono that hugged her figure perfectly with a white obi tying it. The kimono was decorated with icy blue star designs. Meanwhile in a nearby tree was a kage bunshin of Kakashi was wide-eyed as he saw the beautiful girl appear out of thin air in a bright light. The first thing that went through KB-Kakashi's mind was,
'Lucky brat!' Then KB-Kakashi heard what she was called and he nearly fell out of the tree,
'What the hell!? A goddess has wanted to meet Naruto? What the hell is up with that!' Fate giggled at Naruto's expression and reached out and closed his mouth and she smiled a bit more,
"Well I am flattered and pleased that you find my form appealing Naruto-kun, I thought you would find it more comfortable to be friends with me if I was around your age." Naruto blinked and blinked again,
"You want to be my friend? Why?" The goddess blinked and tilted her head,
"You do not wish for me to be your friend? Or is it that you're afraid of what I would think of you once I find out about your prisoner?" Naruto froze and The goddess giggled cutely,
"Oh, don't worry Naruto-kun, I knew about the Kyuubi since it was sealed within you, Shinigami-nii told me everything that happened," Naruto blinked and tilted his head as Fate continued,
"You see, the Kyuubi was controlled, by who is unknown, even to Kami-onee-chan, though Shinigami-nii said it was someone who had the scent of death, or possibly half-death, it was difficult for him to tell." Naruto and Kakashi were both surprised at that and Naruto sat down and Fate looked up right at the tree KB-Kakashi was hiding in,
"Ok, can you come down Kage Bunshin-san? I know you're there and I know that you followed Naruto-kun to make sure he was safe, but you need not worry, I would never hurt him." KB-Kakashi jumped down and walked over with a serious expression,
"And how do I know you speak the truth?" Fate giggled and smiled before she looked up and around, but Kakashi noticed that every now and then she looked at Naruto and every time she did her cheeks got bit of pink in the and he blinked at that before he sighed,
'Lucky kid, he's got a goddess who's got a crush on him' "I see. Well then, lets head back, but what should we call you?" Fate giggled again and looked at Naruto who stood up and offered her a hand to help her up which she blushed a bit and smiled as she accepted,
"Well you can simply call me by my true name, Shinko Shin'nen." They nodded and KB-Kakashi dispelled, sending the memories back to the original Kakashi who had woken up from a nap he had decided to take when Naruto set him in the bed. He raised an eyebrow as Sakura came in and she saw he was awake and started screeching about how Naruto had wandered into the forest and how he(kakashi) should train Sasuke to be strong enough to fight Itachi and Kakashi sighed before he looked out the window and saw Naruto walking out of the forest with Shinko, who had clung to Naruto's arm, much to the blonde's embarrassment and the silver-haired Jonin's amusement. Sakura heard Kakashi's chuckle and looked out the window and saw Naruto talking to Shinko and she got angry and stomped out of the room and down the stairs.
[Outside...]
Naruto walked out of the forest with Faith wrapped around his arm. Suddenly the door of Tazuna's house flew opened and an angry Sakura stomped out, followed by a curious/boording/confused/annoyed Sasuke. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the girl wrapped around his teammate's arm. Sakura stomped forward and raised her fist shouting, "NARUTO-BAKA!" However as he fist came down, Shinko simply reached out and grabbed her wrist before slamming her palm against Sakura's stomach and sent her flying before she wrapped her arms back around Naruto's arm, making everyone gape in surprise,
"Shinko-chan, what the heck did you do that to Sakura-chan for?!" Naruto asked as Sasuke looked the girl over and smirked,
"Simple, she was about to hit you Naruto-kun, besides I dont know why you like her, she hates you and hits you all the time judging by how she acts." Naruto blinked and tilted his head making Shinko giggle at how cute she thought he looked. Sasuke decided a strong girl like her belonged to him so he walked up, trying his best to look impressive and as if he were Kami's gift to mankind, which Shinko picked up on as soon as he started walking over to them,
"Hey dobe, let the girl go, she deserves an elite, not a deadlast, clanless loser like you." Naruto gritted his teeth but Shinko patted his shoulder softly and smiled before she looked at Sasuke and narrowed her eyes,
"Oh poor pathetic Uchiha, Naruto-kun may not be of the Uchiha clan, but he is far superior to them, and he will always be, so why would I want to be with you when I can be with Naruto-kun, a true elite?" Sasuke was now pissed as he narrowed his eyes and ran forward, pulling a kunai out and Naruto pushed Shinko behind him and got into the academy taijutsu stance when a Kunai embedded itself in the ground between Naruto and Sasuke as Squad Ten came out of the forest and Asuma walked forward and plucked the kunai out of the ground and put it back into his kunai pouch, and he looked at Sasuke,
"Kid, dont even think of attacking a teammate, or I will report you for turning on a comrade and endangering a mission." Suddenly two shrieks were heard,
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT! NARUTO-BAKA PROBABLY PROVOKED SASUKE-KUN!" A furious Ino shouted,
"YOU CAN'T DO THAT! NARUTO-BAKA PROBABLY PROVOKED SASUKE-KUN!" A furious and recently awoken Sakura shouted. Asuma, Choji, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Shinko were fingering their ears and Shinko looked at the two girls,
"Could you two kindly shut up? You almost made me and more importantly Naruto-kun, go deaf with your annoying shrieks." This made everyone stop and look at Shinko, who was clinging to Naruto's arm again, much to said blonde's embarrassment and much to Ino's interest, she wasn't known as the Gossip Queen of Konoha for nothing and she decided to ask what was on all of Squad 10's mind,
"So Naruto, who's your girlfriend?" Naruto blushed as did Shinko but she giggled and hugged Naruto's arm even more as Naruto was sputtering, making Ino giggle as the rest of Team 10 chuckled at the response, but then they heard something that made them gape,
"My name is Shinko Shin'nen, it's nice to meet Naruto-kun's classmates." Ino had been joking when she said that, but the girl never denied it. Shikamaru was wide-eyed, which for a Nara was basically his eyes fully open rather than half open, and Choji almost dropped his chips as they saw that no girl in the whole village, excluding Hinata, would even consider dating Naruto. Asuma blinked and smirked,
'Well the kid got lucky, this girl is a real looker, though her chakra... it's strange, it feels too pure and too powerful to be normal chakra, maybe a Kekkei Genkai?' Asuma chuckled and motioned everyone to go inside and they met up in Kakashi's room where he greeted Squad Ten and told them of a theory he developed, about how Zabuza was still alive due to the Hunter Nin using senbon and not disposing of the body right away. He then told the genin, plus Shinko, to leave. Kakashi then told Asuma of what his Kage Bunshin saw when Naruto met Shinko and lets just say that Asuma dropping his cigerette was response enough as Asuma thought one thing,
'Damn! Naruto got luckier than I ever imagined!'
[Downstairs...]
Naruto suddenly sneezed along with Shinko and they looked at each other and shrugged,
"I guess someone is talking about us, I wonder if it's Shin-nii" Everyone raised an eyebrow while Naruto simply shrugged and they sat down at the table as Tsunami set out plates and called up the stairs to Kakashi and Asuma,
"Shinobi-san, dinner is almost ready." She got a reply and walked back to the kitchen to finish cooking as a young boy wearing blue overalls and a tan shirt with a fisherman's hat on his head and a brooding expression rivaling Sasuke walked in and sat at the table. Tazuna looked at the boy sadly and sighed,
"This is my grandson, Inari." The shinobi, minus Sasuke and Sakura waved and said hello, which Inari ignored. Asuma came down followed by a limping Kakashi, who was using a crutch to help with walking and they sat down and Tsunami set out the food, which was sparse at best, but the three ate as if it was normal, which, considering their situation, it probably was. Though what surprised many people was that Naruto wasnt bothered by how little food there was, he ate as much as Tazuna, Inari, and Tsunami, though only Shinko, Kakashi, Asuma, Choji, and Shikamaru noticed, and they all knew of Naruto's ravenous appetite rivalling an Akimichi, particularly when it came to ramen.
Shikamaru's brain went into over-drive like it always did when he was around the enigma known to all as Naruto Uzumaki. He had seen Naruto eat at Ichiraku's. He ate as if he wouldnt eat for days afterwards, and seeing Naruto eating like this situation with the food was normal to him. Choji looked over and saw Shikamaru's eyes and knew right away his friend was trying to figure out a puzzle, the puzzle that was Naruto Uzumaki. Like his Nara friend, he too had seen Naruto around town, but instead of just at Ichiraku's he also saw him in alleyways as if afraid of being seen. However, during those times, Naruto never smiled like he always did, instead he was in a state of concentration as if he was in constant danger. He, of course, mentioned this to Shikamaru who filed it away into his mind on things to add to about the enigma Naruto.
Naruto finished and excused himself to go rest a bit. Shinko finished right after and did the same and rushed off after Naruto, making Sasuke seeth, Ino and Tsunami giggle, and Kakashi, Asuma, and Tazuna chuckle. Shikamaru and Choji finished soon after and they excused themselves and went to the living room and Naruto asleep on the couch with his head on Shinko's lap as she ran her fingers through his hair and Choji and Shikamaru sat on the opposite side of the small coffee table in the living room. Shinko was looking at Naruto with a soft expression, though it was tinged with sadness as they all noticed that Naruto was tense even though he was asleep. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and spread his fingers and pressed the tips together with the palms spread apart and he began thinking.
Choji watched SHikamaru for a second before he turned his attention to Shinko, who had stopped running her fingers through Naruto's hair and was watching them intently making Choji raise his hands to show he meant no harm. He saw her pull Naruto's head closer as if she was protecting him,
"What is the pinapple boy thinking?" Choji raised an eyebrow and was about to tell her he was just resting but when he looked into her eyes, he saw an intelligence that rivaled or even surpassed Shikamaru's own, and he was considered the smartest Nara in the history of the clan and he knew it would be useless to lie,
"He's trying to figure out Naruto." Shinko raised an eyebrow, silently asking for an explanation,
"You see, we've known Naruto for a while, our parents encouraged us to spend time with him, however me and Shikamaru knew that he hid things from us, we hung out occasionally but we kept noticing that while he smiled his smile never was full, just a grin, like a mask. So Shikamaru and I decided to find out what he was hiding, all we found out was that he isnt very well liked in our village." They then looked at Shikamaru as he 'hmm'ed and opened his eyes,
"We also found out that Naruto was born on October 10th, thirteen years ago, but we dont know why he would be hated to this day, the only important event during that time was..." Shikamaru's eyes went wide as he realized the truth and looked at Choji and opened his mouth to speak when they heard a voice,
"Was the Kyuubi attack on Konoha, which resulted in the death of the Yondaime and the defeat of the Kyuubi." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow,
"You said 'defeat' of the Kyuubi, not 'death'. Does this mean the Kyuubi is still alive?" Naruto simply nodded as he turned his head to look at his oldest friends.
[In the Kitchen...]
Little did they know was that Asuma and Kakashi heard them and they knew Ino did as well and sighed as they turned to Ino who was looking very curious along with Sakura and, surprisingly, Sasuke and Kakashi and Asuma told them that what they would hear next they would never speak of as it was an S-class secret and telling would normally result in death to the one who spoke it aloud and that only the Hokage and Naruto were exempt from that law. Sasuke seethed and refused to agree stating that if the dobe should know an S-ranked secret than he should to because he deserved to know since he was an elite, an Uchiha, but since he wouldn't agree to the terms he was forced to leave, though he knew Sakura would tell him since he knew she would do anything to please him, it was a perk of having a fangirl, however, the rest nodded in agreement as they listened in on the conversation.
[Back in the Livingroom...]
Shikamaru looked at Naruto as he asked the next question,
"If it's still alive, why were we told it was killed?"
"Simple, to hide the truth from our generation and future generations." Shikamaru blinked and raised an eyebrow along with Choji and Shikamaru asked,
"What truth?"
"That the Kyuubi can not be killed. According to Jiji, The Sandaime Hokage to you all, its body is a physical manifestation of chakra, and chakra can't be killed. However there exists a way to get rid of it, at least temporarily." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow,
"What method is that?" Naruto looked directly into Shikamaru's eyes,
"Sealing. All Biju can be sealed though the greater the number of tails, the more difficult it is to seal, for example, the Ichibi can be sealed into a simple object but for the Kyuubi, a simple seal wont suffice, the power contained in it is too great, therefore it can only be sealed in an infant, who's chakra coils have not yet been developed, though even this is difficult, even impossible for a human, so that lead to the fact that only one being can seal the Kyuubi."
"What being?"
"The Shinigami." Shikamaru looked at Shinko as she had a sad expression and watched Naruto. Shikamaru heard the tone she said that, as if she knew the God of Death, and what she said next surprised everyone except Naruto and Kakashi since he didnt even tell Asuma this,
"Though I know him as my onii-san." Everyone was gaping now, even Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari. Ino was probably the most confused. How could this girl be related to a god, unless,
"No way... Shinko... she's a goddess." Everyone in the kitchen looked at her then back at the doorway to the livingroom. Shikamaru was gaping and shook his head,
"Your Onii-san? Wait, are you a goddess?" Shinko looked down at Naruto again and nodded,
"I am the Goddess of Fate, though I take no true hold on people's fate unless I have no other choice, for example, I never would've done this to Naruto-kun, this was the work of a human. A human sealed the Kyuubi into an infant born the day of the Kyuubi attack while said baby's parents faught the Kyuubi and died in that battle." Shikamaru listened carefully and his eyes went wide as he looked at Naruto and frowned,
"Truly a terrible burden you have Naruto, to be the prison of the Kyuubi, to be the only thing keeping the village standing and all these idiots of our village think its the exact opposite. What fools to be unable to tell the difference between a kunai and the scroll it's sealed in. I now know why you're wearing that mask of happiness, you dont want your weakness to be shown, well then keep it up, I may not understand, but I hope that never do and I hope things get better for you." When Shikamaru spoke several gasps were heard and Naruto narrowed his eyes in the direction of the kitchen as he saw Ino, Sakura, Tazuna, and Tsunami looking out of the kitchen directly at him. Ino, Tazuna, and Tsunami looked sad, Sakura looked shocked and scared. Sasuke wasnt there, though this did not surprise him, and neither was Inari, but then Naruto spoke and all of the people in the kitchen flinched at how cold his voice was,
"Save your pity, I dont need it, nor do I want it. Pitying me will never help anyone. If anything it would make me like the Uchiha over there, given everything when I simply ask but worse then out of admiration, it would be given out of pity, as if I was weak and incapable of obtaining it myself." Naruto looked directly at Kakashi who walked forward and into view,
"Sasuke may think I feel the same thing as him, but the truth is it couldn't be farther from the truth, it is he who only feels a portion of my life. He had family in the beginning, a family that I'll admit made my life hell more than even the civilians, I didnt. After they were slaughtered he could've gone to be adopted by another family that would've loved to raise him, while I had no one to adopt me, he was given so much on a whim and I was forced to fight for what little I had. That makes him weak and me strong, he was at the top and therefore he has nowhere to go but down. Me? I was at the very bottom, so I have nowhere to go but up." Naruto sighed and fell asleep again, but everyone noticed that he was tense and Shikamaru realized that Naruto's life was, and still is, full of threats, so he could never truly be at ease. Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and looked at Choji, who was startled a bit by the seriousness in his best friends eyes but he realized right away what Shikamaru was planning and nodded, his eyes growing just as serious and they looked at Naruto and Skinko who had remained silent since Naruto started talking and they glanced at Shinko with a gaze showing their steel-strong resolve,
"Lady of Fate, I, Nara Shikamaru, swear to show the people of Konoha the truth of Naruto and show them that he is not the monster they think he is but a proud Shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Shinko blinked and looked surprised and looked at Choji who then spoke as well with the same steel-strong resolve visible,
"Lady of Fate, I, Akimichi Choji, swear to show the people of Konoha the truth of Naruto and show them that he is not the monster they think he is, but a proud SHinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." In the Kitchen Asuma smirked and chuckled as he silently made the same vow and Ino did the same thing as Asuma along with Kakashi, though Sakura was shocked and thinking to herself in a panic, thus missing the conversation past the point where Naruto was revealed to be the container of the Kyuubi,
'Mom, was right, Naruto-baka is a demon!' Meanwhile Shinko heard the silent oaths and smiled slightly before she looked down at Naruto again,
"Thank you, all of you except the Pink-haired girl, I heard all of your oaths and I shall do my best to make them come true, so Naruto-kun will be happy." Everyone but Sakura nodded and Tazuna and Tsunami prayed for them to succeed.
End Ch. 1
Hey people, hope you enjoyed the chapter, comment please and let me know how I did and send some ideas as to what should be in the next chapters.