The Wanderers
Chapter 3 – Travels
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, there would be more multi-person combats. Think of all the potential combinations.
They travelled slowly, none of the group in any huge rush to get to their next location besides Tenten. After several hours Neji had been declared fit for duty, though he was still wary of overusing his Byakugan. While keeping an eye out for any enemies, then Genin took the time to look at their separate scrolls. None of them knew what they were going to do after they reached Tenten's. Naruto had suggested that they could pay Suna a visit, as they still had a good relationship with that village after the Exams. The Jounin had dismissed the idea though; even though Konoha was gone they couldn't trust any other village at the time. For all they knew, Suna had a part in the destruction of their home, though secretly most of them doubted that.
"What the hell did you say to me? I'll kick your ass!"
"Damnit, Kiba, I didn't mean it that way."
"Well how did you mean it, Naruto? I've had it, I'm taking you down!"
Kiba threw a punch at Naruto directly, who instinctively moved his head, grabbed Kiba's arm and threw up down. Kiba rolled and recovered, sending chakra to his hands to form claws as he barked orders to Akamaru. Kakashi and Asuma went to break them up, but were stopped by a hand from Gai.
"We should let them fight it out. Everyone is feeling tense; a brawl might be good for them."
They weren't thrilled at the idea, but as Naruto and Kiba wrestled on the ground they had to admit that they could use the distraction. Kakashi signalled for the group to stop, they had moved through a large grassy field where there was a running river.
A good place as any for a break, I suppose.
The group collectively dropped their packs; some even began cheering on the brawlers. Lee threw down his pack and stretched out his arms.
"YOSH! I'm going to go full power!" He jumped into the field of battle, catching a surprised Kiba off guard, slamming a leg into his shoulder.
"Hey, don't take my opponent Lee!"
"Naruto-kun, it will be my honour to fight you!"
At the group Neji observed his teammate, who was trying his hardest to land a strike on Naruto, who kept creating Kage Bunshin to avoid his speedy attacks.
The secret of his speed lies with the muscles in his legs.
Deactivating his Byakugan, Neji decided that a proper test of his fitness was in order. He sped towards Lee's position, only to be blind-sided by a Tsuuga from Kiba.
"Ha! Got you, damn Hyuuga. Not so fanc…" He in turn was blind-sided by Naruto, who drove his foot into the side of Kiba's head.
"Shouldn't we stop them, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Hinata, worried that Naruto might get hurt fighting against so many strong opponents.
"You want to try and break them up? Be my guest. I don't care so long as…"
"KAKASHI! My eternal rival! I am inspired by our student's youthful display! Let us fight!"
The one-eyed Jounin swore and put his book away as Gai jumped into the air above them, "DYNAMIC ENTRY!"
He knew that Gai always fought seriously, so he had only a second to prepare his Sharingan before ducking under the bowl-cut ninja. Feeling a strange sense of motivation for a change, he drew back a fist and slammed it into Gai, who caught the strike and launched himself into the air.
"You want to join them, Shikamaru?"
The lazy Genin simply stared at his teammate with wide eyes, "Are you mad? That would be far too troublesome. Look at them; they are going at full strength. Oh, Lee just took off his weights. No force on this world could get me into that brawl."
Coming back from refilling their drink canisters, Ino and Sakura sat on a pair of smooth rocks to watch the escalating fight. Kakashi and Gai were moving faster then their eyes could follow a trail of clashing thunderclaps the only indicators that they were fighting at all. They noticed that even Sasuke had joined in the melee, able to get off a single fire jutsu before being unceremoniously clothes-lined by Naruto. Kurenai and Asuma stood with the rest of the Genin, none of whom seemed interested in participating, though Tenten was fiddling with a kunai as if that was enough effort on her part.
"Omote Renge!"
Lee slammed his target into the ground and landed next to the crater, the bandages from his hands strewn across the ground. He had purposefully not used it full power, but the effort was still devastating. Though he was used to that level of rotation, Kiba had still been knocked out cold. Out near the girls sat Akamaru, who was happy to simply watch and be groomed by Hinata.
Kiba caught a glimpse of his companion before he hit the ground, damn betrayer, he knew that would happen. Naruto was still fighting Neji, who was struggling with the dozens of clones that Naruto was sending at him. Since their last fight Naruto had learnt that as long as he didn't let Neji attack the original, he could attack with abandon. Through his Byakugan, Neji watched Lee falter slightly, dropping to one knee as the damage from opening two gates took effect. With a smirk Neji turned away from the dozen Naruto's and sped towards Lee, preparing a Jyuuken strike with a raised hand.
"Ha, don't take your eyes off me." Naruto smiled as several clones picked up each other and tossed themselves at Neji. With his Byakugan he easily detected the attack, turning on his heel as five Naruto clones slammed into his blue shield. "Kaiten!"
Naruto just grinned and put a hand up into a seal.
"Boom."
The clones all exploded as they impacted the shield, the results explosions threw Neji off balance and slammed him straight into the ground. Naruto dispelled his remaining clones and looked at the crowd, seeking out Hinata before smiled and giving her a wave. At least I got to show him. Hinata could only give a short wave back, though the looks that the other girls gave her was enough to cause her to blush.
"I guess that makes me the winn…"
"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"
Lee's foot slammed straight into Naruto's cheek, literally wiping the grin off his face with a spray of dirt and blood. With a less-then-graceful landing Lee stood over the small pile of his fallen comrades.
"GAI-SENSEI! I did it!"
A few feet away the taijutsu master saw his student deliver the final blow, taking immense pride that his student has proven his strength. He turned and gave Lee a 'Nice Guy' pose, weaving in a double rainbow to the sunset Genjutsu behind him.
Lee began to run at his teacher, tears in his eyes, "Gai-sensei!"
"Lee!"
"Gai-sensei!"
"Doton, Shinjuuzanshu no Jutsu (Earth Element: Suicidal Beheading)"
Kakashi hopped up from underneath the ground and leant down to look his rival in the eyes. "I guess that makes us 51-50, my favour."
Despite being a head in the ground, Gai still managing a 'Nice Guy' smile.
"That's what I expect from my eternal rival! That cool attitude is too much!"
He sharply turned his head, an impressive feat with an immobile body underground, to face his student.
"Lee! We must train harder! Increase your weights to 200 pounds!"
Lee staggered as he did the math in his head, a painful task to be sure.
I currently have seven weights on each leg, weighing 150 pounds each. That's a quarter more then I already have on. It took me a month to move normally with my current weights.
He nodded and gave a thumbs up, "Hai, Gai-sensei! If I can't get back to my normal speed in a week, then I will do six thousand push-ups as punishment!"
Seeing that the melee was done, the group took an account of the injuries. Remarkably the worst off was Kiba, who only had a concussion, and a large chunk of his hair missing from when Sasuke had burnt it off. Holding out a hand, Hinata helped her crush up off the ground. Naruto held his sore jaw, angry that he had let his guard down at the crucial moment.
When he saw that Hinata had let him up he had the grace to blush lightly, "Gomen…sorry you had to see that."
As she watched him stand up, his jacket covered in grime and dirt, Hinata tried to stifle a giggle and failed, a light sweet laugh struck Naruto's ears.
What a strange…wait, is she laughing at me?
"Hey, it's not funny."
She apologised when she realised that she had lowered her defences, "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. But you shouldn't apologise, it was fun to watch."
She reached into her jacket and pulled out several large ryo notes, "Here, you should take half. I won this betting on you."
"You…you bet on me to win?"
"Of course! Asuma-sensei had bet on Neji to win, but I knew you could beat him."
Feeling embarrassed, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "That's…thanks. Who bet on Lee?"
Seeing that he wasn't going to take any of the money, Hinata put it back in her pocket before leading him back to the main group.
"Shikamaru did, of course. And surprisingly Sakura."
"Sakura? Why didn't she bet on me? I'm her teammate!"
Despite herself, Hinata felt a twang of jealously at his statement, but she blew it off.
"She said that anyone who could beat Sasuke-kun that easily was someone worth betting on."
As he thought about it, Naruto had to agree with the statement. Even he wasn't confident enough to take on Lee, at least not without his weights on.
To utilise the Hiraishin no Jutsu, there are two obstacles that must be overcome. Primary in the equation is the strength of the seal matrix. With a powerful seal matrix the technique is grounded and the user will not reconstitute within an undefinable field. The secondary condition is the motion itself of entering and exiting the dimensional portals between sealing matrices. The user must allow themselves to be deconstructed then reconstructed instantaneously in-between the reality tear that resides between sealing matrices.
Naruto read it twice with an overly serious expression.
"I don't understand any of that. Oh wait, what's this?"
Understood the neat text was a scratchy set of symbols that bore a frightening resemblance to Naruto's own shorthand.
- Write the seals properly. Jump in-between seals using chakra. Makes you hurl first few times.
Naruto felt a smile creep onto his face.
Is that my mother's writing? I can't see the Yondaime of Konoha having such bad writing.
Feed a miniscule amount of chakra into the seal, allowing the flow to resonate within the matrices. By altering the natural state of your chakra to a field of current, reach out and grasp the secondary matrix, pulling yourself towards it akin to lightning striking a grounding rod. This is the foundation of the Hiraishin no Jutsu.
- Put a small amount of chakra into the seal. Picture the other seal and jump to it. Seriously Minato, you're descriptions suck.
He gave a short laugh as he imagined his red haired mother fawning over his father's work, lording over him.
They must have really loved each other.
Naruto felt sombre at the thought of his parents, another reminder of things that had been taken away from him.
I wonder if I'll have something like that. Out loud he barked, "But I wouldn't name my child after a piece of food."
"What was that, Naruto-kun?" It took him a moment to realise that Hinata had been standing at the door of his tent, her hands together nervously as she saw him without his shirt on, sitting on his sleeping mat.
"Hinata? What are you…oh crap is it morning already?" She nodded, pointing to the slowly rising light coming off the mountainside. Naruto swore under his breath and began packing up his clothes, throwing his frog hat into his bag.
"Did you not sleep, Naruto-kun?"
"What? Yeah, kind of. I was up reading my father's scroll, and I guess time got away from me. Are you packed already?"
She nodded, her bag resting against the side of Naruto's small tent. She took a moment to watch him frantically throw on his orange jacket, noting to herself that she had come a long way from her days of watching him from across a room. She gasped slightly as he began to take off his pyjama pants, turning around quickly with a beet-red face.
I didn't see anything. I didn't see anything.
Back in the Academy days her sister had asked her about the Byakugan and whether it could see through clothes. Hinata had been embarrassed at her sister's questioning, but later that day had attempted it while watching Naruto train. She hadn't been able to show herself outside her room for the next two days, her sister nicknaming her 'tomato-face' during that period. She knew the Hyuuga had strict rules when it came to using the Byakugan, but she also knew some of the younger Hyuuga men would use and abuse their Byakugan.
Has Neji-niisan? She wondered, spinning around at a tap on her shoulder.
Naruto smiled as he indicated that she should come with him, his tent thrown into his pack by several clones while he stuffed a food bar into his mouth. Shaking her head to recuperate herself, Hinata allowed herself a smile and ran to catch up with her companion.
He seems so carefree. I have no idea how he does it, especially considering our situation. If not for Naruto-kun, we might have fallen apart already.
The village where Tenten's father's shop was located was a small town, off the side of a large collection of mountains. She told the group how the village had become quite wealthy as her father got orders from the big five villages, his weaponry was legendary. They set up a small campsite just on the outskirts of town, though Naruto had asked why they didn't just stay in the village.
"You got money for a hotel?" was the response from Kakashi.
Naruto thought about it then shook his head. He had kept Gama-chan, but all their savings were destroyed with the village. They had been able to find a few emergency cache's on the way that Kakashi had known about, but their funds were pretty low.
"Father! I'm home!"
Tenten ran into her father's forge, straight into the arms of an old man who smiled as his nearly blind eyes looked at his grown-up daughter. Naruto looked at the ancient forger, noticing that even though he looked fragile, his arms held strong muscles that only a master forger would have.
"Tenten, I was so worried. I heard about Konoha and feared the worst."
She released her father and smiled, "It's okay father. These are my friends from home."
She introduced everyone, giving a short description to the near-sighted forger. When she got to Naruto he walked up and looked at him close up. Naruto was cautious but knew the old man meant no harm.
"You…I know you…Oh! Minato-sama! I'm sorry for not recognising you at first, Yondaime-sama." He bowed as much as his legs could handle.
Naruto rubbed his head awkwardly, "Ano…I'm not the Yondaime. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. He was my father."
"Oh? Well that makes sense; he's been dead for years. Wait here, I think I have something…"
The old man walked back into the forge, leaving the group wondering what he was doing. Tenten apologised to the group, "He sometimes gets confused. But he can help us, I'm sure of it."
A few minutes later he returned, holding a small sheet of paper. He handed it lightly to Naruto, "This is a commission sent to me by an Uzumaki…Kushina I think her name was. Crazy woman, flailing red hair, kept saying –ttebane."
Naruto smiled sadly, feeling the paper through his hands. "She sounds like my mother. I never knew her, but Kakashi-sensei says that is what she was like. What was the commission?"
"Ah. That one. She came here just before the Kyuubi attacked the village. Even as pregnant as she was, she made the trip. It was a commission for a sword for her husband, Minato. To celebrate the birth of their child."
Naruto's eyes lit up at the mention of his mother's love for his father. He had pictured what they might have been like, it amused him to think about his mother doing the sort of crazy things he would do.
The old man coughed before continuing. "I made the hilt and the scabbard quickly enough. But the steel took too long to arrive and they passed away from I could complete the order."
"Do you still have it?" asked Naruto, wanting to see the blade that had been made for his father.
"I never finished it. But the weapon is still here. I could finish it, if you like. It would be my pleasure."
Naruto tried to remember how much money he had left in Gama-chan. "Ano…I don't have much money…"
The old man barked a hearty laugh, "The red-haired lady paid for it all. It would be my pleasure to finish the job and give the blade to her son."
"Really? You mean it? Yeah!" He punched the air as he remembered the sword katas he had seen in his father's scroll.
"It'll take a few days though, I need to meld the steel into the hilt."
Kakashi coughed to get the old man's attention, "We would also like to place an order for weaponry as well. Restocking kunai, shuriken mostly." He pulled out a set of bills from his pocket, handing it to the old man who counted the money and placed it inside his shirt.
"I can do that. It'll take me a week though; my back isn't what it used to be."
Sasuke gave a tsk as an indicator of what he thought of more delays. "Kakashi. When will we go to the Uchiha hideout? I need my family's scroll."
"Calm down, Sasuke. We could use a bit of a break."
Naruto grinned as he thought of what he could do in a week, "Yeah teme. We can train super hard and get really strong. I bet you won't be able to beat me."
Sasuke stared at his teammate before casually turning around and walking off. "I'm going to train. Get me when we are leaving."
The old man and Tenten went into the forge to get started as the others began making their plans. Lee and Gai were already doing pushups, Lee struggling as his new weights were up to 300 pound. Hinata couldn't help but smile as Naruto was already in a scuffle with Kiba.
It'll be nice to relax for a little bit.
Naruto let out a slow breath, unphased by the staggering chakra requirement of making two hundred clones at once. To his relief each clone had the seal tattoo on their chest, meaning that 'in theory' this would work. He had figured out the theory for Hiraishin a few days ago, and with Kakashi's help had tattooed himself with the seal necessary to activate the jutsu.
Is this how Father trained for this? He pondered that idea as he planted down a kunai with the seal wrapped around it on the ground beneath him.
"Okay, it's very simple. You are to flash to me. Each of you is to put in a different amount of chakra, this way I'll figure out what amount works."
The clone army nodded in agreement, preparing their hands for the technique. He had decided to use a hand seal during the training process, just to make the chakra control easier, following some advice from Hinata. She and the other girls were at the village's hot springs, while most of the guys were relaxing at their campsite.
"Any clone that does this successfully gets to have Ramen next time we find a stall." The army cheered, the clones never got to have ramen, it was always the original.
"And…GO!"
Each clone vanished with a slight yellow flash; though an instant later nearly a hundred of them reappeared at their starting position, instantly dissipating into smoke. A wave of knowledge hit Naruto like a sledgehammer, bringing him to his knees.
What the hell? I can feel these…wait. Do I get the knowledge from the clones when they disappear? No way. Why didn't anyone tell me?
In his accumulated memories he found that anything more than a tiny trickle of chakra into the seal would cause the jutsu to be unstable and collapse. He looked around his position; to his disappointment none of the clones had successfully reached the kunai.
"AHHHHH!"
The screams drew his attention to the sky. Above him were rapidly falling Naruto's, each at a different elevation. They crashed into the ground one at a time, sending their horrific experiences right into the original.
Ah damnit, that hurt. Oh hey, there is a ramen stand here. What's Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei doing going into that…oh.
Shikamaru walked down the streets of the village, he and Chouji had been given the recon mission, though they were bored out of their minds. Chouji had run into a barbeque vendor, causing Shikamaru to just groan and walk away.
"AHHHH!"
He looked up to see the sky covered in orange.
It's raining Narutos he thought, making a point to avoid the falling missiles.
How troublesome.
"This is seriously too cool" he said, preparing his hand seal for another mass clone army.
He ran the numbers in his head and stopped, doing a recount of the clones that has dissipated.
Two of them are still alive. But where are they? How come they didn't go to the kunai? The scroll said you could only flash between seals.
Naruto #136:
It had taken some effort, but #136 had landed safely onto the roof of a spiked building at the other end of the mountainside. He had barely missed several spikes piercing his chest, landing surprisingly gracefully on his feet.
That was too close.
A second later he fell to his knees, the clone knowledge striking him at the same time as the original.
Ah, I see. Haha, Neji got peed on by Akamaru in his sleep.
"Are we prepared?"
"Yes boss. The village is ripe, the women young."
#136 kept low on the roof, resisting the urge to jump down and fight the two talking bandits.
"Good. I want twenty men to stay here and keep the fortress garrisoned. If there are any ninja left from the destruction of Konoha, I want our forces to have a fall back position."
He knows about Konoha. Something is very wrong here.
"Our men will fall apart against Konoha ninja."
The man who #136 figured was the leader waved off the statement, "I've heard that they were all killed. Our numbers can handle the remnants; remember most of our men are expendable."
This guy…
#136 wanted to listen to more, but the two bandits walked into a smaller building away from his.
Damnit. If we all get the information after we dissipate, then I need to follow them and find out as much as I can. Bah, I'm hopeless at this stealth stuff.
He dropped to the ground after making sure there were no bandits in sight, using Henge to transform into a similar figure to the subordinate he saw.
Naruto #92
AHH! Wait. I'm not falling.
He checked his arms and legs, amazed that he had appeared without hurting himself.
Thank god. A bunch of us landed within walls. That hurt damnit.
After this he looked at his surroundings, discovering that he had flashed into a dark wardrobe with very little room to move.
How did I not end up inside a wall? Damnit, I am a lucky clone.
"I can't believe that, did he really say that?"
What was that? It almost sounded like…
"This is Lee we are talking about. I don't think he understand what Kurenai-sensei was talking about. He's almost as dense as Naruto."
Hey, I'm not that dense.
"Tenten-san, Naruto-kun isn't that dense." That's Hinata!
"Not that dense? Didn't he take his pants off in front of you?"
"Sakura-san!"
"Ooo, you must have loved that."
"Ino-san! Please, it wasn't like that."
I took my pants off in front of her? What the hell are the girls talking about?
"Ino, don't tease Hinata about her little crush. She'll never want to talk about it again."
What?
He couldn't see them at all, and didn't dare flinch in fear that he would be discovered.
The original might want this information, better keep listening.
"Come on Hinata, spill. Everyone's noticed that the two of you have gotten closer, what's the deal?"
"Ano…I…I don't know."
"Well that doesn't tell us anything. Why don't you make a move on him?"
"Come on, this is Naruto we are talking about. You know, I never quite understood why you liked him."
"Ano…"
"Hehe, I know why she likes him. She's probably seen his…you know…with her Byakugan."
"What? I never…"
"Really? Well then I've got nothing."
"Come on Hinata, we promise not to say anything."
"Naruto-kun is very strong…he doesn't give up. I…he was always fighting to get people to notice him."
"And that's why you love him?"
"Ino-san! I never said…"
"Oh please, it's written all over you. I even saw you two holding hands a while back."
"Oh look, she's smiling and blushing. How adorable."
"Come on Hinata, just say it."
"Yeah, you'll feel better."
"Ano…I…"
No way…
"I love Naruto-kun."
No freaking way. Wait…no damnit they are leaving. I better get this to the original.
He put his hands into a seal, puffing into a small amount of smoke.
The field was covered in Naruto's, each sparring against another using a taijutsu form on his father's scroll. The information hit them harder then the cumulative deaths of 198 clones. Every single Naruto froze, some in mid strike.
"That can't be true."
"What is this?"
"Was she lying?"
The original Naruto had been sitting on the grass reading his father's scroll when he was hit with the revelation.
I…I need to…damnit, what do I do?
"Do I talk to her?"
"Do I keep training?"
"I want to take a nap."
The army of Naruto's turned in unison and stared at the clone.
"What?"
As the dust cleared and the clone's smoky remains dissipated, the original contemplated his position.
I need to work this out. Who can I talk to about this…not Kakashi-sensei, not Sakura…oh wait, I know who to talk to.
He created a single clone and handed it a kunai with the Hiraishin seal wrapped around it.
"You got it boss." The clone now in charge gave a nod and put his hands together into his favourite seal.
The original smiled as his clone army expanded, with small numbers trying the Hiraishin again.
Perfect, this way I can still get some training in.
"So, can you help me?"
"Naruto, why did you come to me? I was happy just sitting here."
He sighed as the normally excitable Naruto sat down next to him with a hung head.
"I…it's just I don't know what to do? Come on, Shikamaru you're a smart guy."
The lazy genius sighed again, knowing that he wouldn't let this go.
"Naruto…okay fine. Give me a second."
He thought about it for exactly one second and looked back at Naruto.
"There are two solutions. You can act as if you didn't hear the information, continue your current relationship as friends, and not mention it at all."
Naruto took in this information, really thinking about what he thought of Hinata.
Do I want that? I…
"I don't think I want that. I…I don't know what I feel, but…"
Shikamaru felt a smile creep onto his face.
Naruto, how do you not see it? It's right in front of your face.
"The other option is to go speak to Hinata, ask her about the information, discuss your relationship and see how you really feel."
"How I really feel?"
Looking up at the sky, Shikamaru closed his eyes and drifted off. Naruto stared at his friend,
"Shikamaru? Hey, Shikamaru! Damnit, you are not help at all."
He got up and walked back to the village, the steady stream of clone information not bothering him as much as before.
Hey, that clone got to the kunai. It was missing an arm, but it's progress. I guess I'll go find Hinata.
As he felt Naruto move aware, Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked back to the clouds.
Not two weeks into our home being destroyed and we are already on repopulating. Ah, the clouds here aren't as good as the ones from Suna.
Following her confronting conversation with the girls, Hinata sat in front of the village elders building on a small bench. She watched a group of villagers walk by, happily shopping around without a care in the world. She sighed as she wondered about the past week, where she was meant to be training. She and Neji had poured over the Hyuuga family scroll, trying to learn some of the more advanced Jyuuken strikes. Being the genius he was, Neji picked up several things right away. Hinata, on the other hand, had tried to learn the Kaiten but found she couldn't complete the jutsu. She had gotten fairly depressed after that, but after a pep talk from Naruto and her sensei she had decided that it might be good for her to work on her own style. But that hadn't been going well either.
And now the girls are making fun of me for liking Naruto-kun.
Her dark thoughts were interrupted as the villagers scattered, making way for a yellow and orange blur. It took her a moment to notice, but charging towards her was the subject of her recent troubles.
"Naruto-kun! Are you okay?"
She asked because as he skidded to a stop there were beads of sweat across his front, he was breathing heavily and there were rings underneath his eyes.
He smiled and waved off her concern, "I'm fine, Hinata-chan. My training is harder then I thought, damn clones."
Naruto-kun is trying his hardest, and I'm sitting here being sorry for myself.
Having known Hinata better over the past month, Naruto noticed her sad expression and sat down next to her.
"Hinata-chan? It's okay, I'm not hurt. What's wrong?"
She smiled sadly and looked up to him with a smile, "Nothing, nothing is wrong Naruto-kun. But if you are training, why are you here?"
Naruto winced as more 'training' hit him; the clones were getting overzealous in their practise.
"I…I wanted to ask you something. But…I'm not sure how I'm meant to ask. Or what. Damnit, this is really awkward."
She reached over and boldly placed her hands on top of his, a gesture she had started to do whenever Naruto needed to calm down or was feeling anxious. The feel of her soft hands always brought him back to reality.
"Take your time, Naruto-kun."
He put his other hand over hers, running a thumb across her light skin.
"Thanks."
"Is this about what you heard at the hot springs?"
Naruto's eyes widened as he saw a different side of Hinata. She hadn't hesitated at all, not even in the face of her accidently confessing her crush.
"You…you knew I was there?"
He was rocked by this knowledge, though in the back of his mind his clones' 'training' was disturbing as well.
What the hell? ARE MY CLONES EATING RAMEN? BETRAYERS!
Hinata smiled as she thought about her decision the previous night.
He's shown me what it's like to be strong. I need to be strong now. No more holding back because of fear.
"Naruto-kun, I have the Byakugan. I noticed your clone when he flashed into the room; the chakra signal isn't hard to notice."
Naruto instinctively put his hands up immediately in defence, "It wasn't intentional, I swear! My clones landed all over the place. Please don't hate me."
Wait, how are the clones paying for this? No…GAMA-CHAN! You bastards!
He expecting a punch like Sakura would deliver after he…basically talked to her about anything. Hinata on the other hand just smiled and patted his hands, "Naruto-kun, it's okay. I know you didn't mean to spy."
Naruto thought about it as he secretly plotted revenge against his rebellious clones.
"Wait. If you knew I was there…" he let the question hang as the revelation dawned on him. Hinata could only smile as she watched him work out her bold move.
I hope he isn't mad. I don't know what I'd do if he says no.
She knew I was there. Ah damnit, the clones are coming in faster.
"Hinata…I…"
He felt more nervous then when he had been first confronted by Zabuza. He hadn't had to think this hard since working out how to do the Kage Bunshin.
How do I feel about Hinata? She's not like the others, she treats me like…
He went to say something but caught himself looking straight into her big lavender eyes.
He felt a sharp twinge just above his stomach, Was that from the clones? No, that's a different feeling. Maybe this is…I think it is…I've got to tell her.
"I think I…we…should…"
He almost finished his sentence until all his clones dispersed at the same time, after finally completing the first stages of Hiraishin successfully. He had instructed them to do so, but the timing couldn't have been worse. He began to fall forward before Hinata gasped and grabbed him, letting him fall softly onto the bench.
"Naruto-kun!"
Just as he passed out he saw her concerned face, the twinge in his gut hitting him harder than before.
"Hinata…I...like…"
She gasped again as he gripped her hand tightly before losing consciousness, the image of her wide eyes staying on his mind as he drifting into a dream.
The attack happened a few hours later, just as the sky had darkened. Naruto clone #136 had gotten as much information he could: numbers, disposition, goals. He had dissipated as they left, though his information was essentially wasted as Naruto was still in no condition to tell anyone. Unfortunately for the bandits, the Konoha ninja had been routinely patrolling the area. That night the patrol had been Neji and Kakashi, so when the bandit horde rolled over the mountainside and charged towards the village, the ninja had already warned the villagers to evacuate. Seeing the numbers the two scouts had decided to retreat back to the village, finding as many of their companions as possible. At the gates stood most of the remnants of Konoha, each of them spoiling for a fight. Sakura and Lee had been told to help the villagers escape, and none of them had been able to find Hinata and Naruto, though Shikamaru had commented that they wouldn't need them to take care of untrained bandits.
Most of the bandits had no idea what they had gotten themselves into, until the ninja began their defence. Never one for hesitation, Kiba and a transformed Akamaru charged straight down the middle of the horde, their recently improved combination attack cutting a bloody path through the unfortunately bandits. Following his destruction was a massive rolling Chouji, using kunai spikes to turn sharply, taking out any stragglers that had avoided Kiba's initial rotation. Behind him ran Neji, calmly but systematically picking off any bandits he saw leading the others. He got surrounded several times, but his training paid off as his extended Kaiten sent them all flying. On the left flank Shikamaru and Ino kept large numbers of bandits immobile with their clan's jutsu, allowing Sasuke and Tenten to destroy them systematically with fire jutsu and explosive notes respectively. Underneath the ground Kakashi used his Sharingan's Earth jutsu to collapse entire sections of the ground, crushing larger elements of the force. On the right flank were the other Jounin, spoiling for a fight.
Gai screamed about youth and jumped into the horde, calling out "Youth! Fear the beautiful Green Beast!"
The other Jounin were more composed in their fighting styles. Asuma was satisfied to defend Kurenai with his trench knives, though he did occasionally fire wind-enhanced kunai into bandits that he found unsightly. Kurenai had been running through an extensive set of seals, ending with the tiger seal.
"Fukyuu Kokuhyou." (Eternal Damnation)
Dozens of bandits held their heads screaming out in agony as Kurenai prepared her next genjutsu assault.
The battle lasted three minutes, a poor effort by Kakashi's estimation. But he was willing to let it go as he was satisfied that the Genin had improved over the past week. The field was covered with the writhing bodies of the bandits, as the ninja convened at the gates.
"Is that all of them? Kind of disappointing" said Kiba, scratching his ears absentmindedly.
"There are no more."
The group turned as Shino slowly walked towards them, his insects retreating back into his jacket.
"Shino! Where were you? We totally forgot about you."
He pushed up his sunglasses, uncaring about the absurdity of wearing sunglasses at night.
"I was at the bandit's hideout. They do not pose a threat anymore."
Kiba stepped up to his teammate, "You went there by yourself? Damnit Shino. Why?"
"Why? My insects informed me of irregular movement across the mountain. It is my duty as a ninja to defend the villagers from any and all threats. You should remember that, Kiba."
"Damnit, Shino. You take the fun out of life."
Sakura fell back, her hands shaking in fear. She had stayed behind to help a small group of children, but a group of bandits had slipped past the ninja's defence. She had already taken a hit from a spear to her side, the children screaming as blood dripped down her side.
Damnit, I…I don't…I can't…
"Konoha Buin Senpuu (Konoha Staff Whirlwind)!"
Lee crashed into the three bandits, spinning a large wooden staff that smacked right into their heads, landing stylishly in front of the wounded Sakura and civilians.
"Lee?"
He turned his head slightly, giving Sakura a customary smile, "Don't worry, Sakura-san. I will protect you from these fiends."
After seeing their companions defeat, dozens of bandits rallied to attack the bright green ninja, drawing various bladed weaponry.
Sakura got up slowly, the cut in her side keeping her movements sluggish. Lee noticed this, spinning his staff fast before driving it into the ground, offering her a hand up. She took it with thanks, drawing a kunai from her pack.
"Lee, I'm sorry you had to come here."
Lee picked up his staff and smacked it into the face of a bandit that got too bold.
"Never apologise for needing assistance, Sakura-san. We are comrades; I would gladly give my life to save yours."
"But…"
"Sakura-san, a conversation for later. I need your assistance."
He pointed the end of his staff as the small group of civilians.
"Please stay and protect them."
He looked at the bandits with a gleam in his eyes, "I will defeat them."
"Lee, there are too many of them!"
Lee worked it out in his head, he was at a twenty to one disadvantage, and Sakura was in no fighting condition.
He grinned and did a 'Nice Guy' pose to her, "Fear not, Sakura-san. I will protect all of you."
He stood his ground, letting the first few bandits charge into him with their spears. At the last possible moment he twisted his body, the spears pierced the air harmlessly as he brought his staff crashing down on a bandit with one hand while driving an elbow into another. Several more tried to attack him, only to be beaten back by his staff and fast moves.
"Damnit, why is this guy so tough?" said a frustrated bandit, their numbers dwindling past as they bounced off of Lee's defence.
Another bandit pointed his sword at Lee's waist, "Isn't that…"
"My god, I think it is."
"A Konoha ninja! I didn't think there were any left."
"We have to tell the boss." Two bandits broke off from the main group and began running back to their hideout. Lee noticed this, wondering why they were so scared of a Genin.
"Lee! We can't let them escape."
Standing his ground, Lee smacked down another overzealous bandit. They were not getting smarter, but they were more cautious after they saw the twitching bodies of their comrades.
"Why is that, Sakura-san?"
It won't take long to take out this number if I go on offence, but I can't risk one getting through.
She winced at her side, keeping an uneasy grip on her kunai.
"If people know we survived the destruction, the other villages could come after us."
"Damnit, you are right."
He leant down and removed his weights, passing them to Sakura who dropped them immediately, staggered at how heavy they were.
"Sakura-san, keep these people safe from any other groups."
"What are you going to do you bastard? Think you can take us all out? We still outnumber you twelve to one."
Not for long thought Sakura.
Lee grinned as he discarded his staff, there was no use for it considering what he was going to do.
He fuelled chakra into his mind, Open the First Gate. Gate of Opening. KAI!
He felt the massive burst of chakra fuelling through his arms and legs. Turning on the ball of his foot, he exploded into the group, using his immense speed without his weights and his now acquired strength to incapacitate the twelve of them within two seconds. The two fleeing bandits had gotten considerable distance; the thought of being chased down by a real ninja had spurred them forwards. Lee caught them two seconds after he defeated the group, slamming them straight into the ground with a Konoha Senpuu.
Damnit, I didn't get to say it. Gai-sensei would be disappointed in me.
He ran back to Sakura and the civilians, which didn't take more than a few seconds. To his relief no other groups seemed to want anything to do with them, the civilians huddled in a small circle with Sakura in front of them holding her kunai with renewed vigour.
Lee told me to protect them. He's put his faith in me.
She nearly attacked him when he reappeared, but before she did he collapsed in front of her, the damage from opening the first gate taking its toll.
"Lee!"
She dropped down and tried to help him up, but he couldn't move his legs. He reached up towards her; delirious with adrenaline he thought it was Gai.
"I did it, did you see? I'm…just going to rest for a bit…"
He lightly touched her cheek before hitting the ground face first. Sakura was initially concerned he had hurt himself, but after hearing his loud snores she sighed in relief. She felt the place on her cheek that Lee had touched, feeling an odd twinge in her stomach.
What…what was that last bit? Was he…
Naruto was still unconscious, the overuse of his clone's Hiraishin had left him with very little chakra. Hinata sat next to him on the bench he had collapsed on, watching his chest raise and fall with his breathing.
Naruto-kun…did you mean what you said? You didn't get the chance to say it completely, but I think I understand.
Finding courage she never knew existed, she reached over and began lightly stroking his blonde hair.
"…hin..ata…"
She leapt back, petrified that he had caught her stroking him. When he didn't move, she looked closer, noticing that he was seemingly talking in his sleep. With a slow smile, she sat back down and began stroking his hair again, her new boldness even letting her look at him without blushing as much.
He said my name in his sleep! Is he dreaming about me? Oh god, please don't let this end.
"How many of us are left?"
"Only the ten of us, boss. No-one else has reported back."
The leader swore, his blades held tightly in his hands as he tried to work out what had gone wrong.
"We went into this village with two hundred men, how can there be only ten of us left?"
"Perhaps they knew we were coming?"
The leader dismissed that instantly, "Impossible. I didn't tell any of the men until one hour ago. Damnit. Okay. We can still take our main objective, but we must be quick."
He looked over the faces of the men left, they were hardened and serious.
These are real warriors, my best fighters. They will get the job done.
He pointed to a large building near the outskirts of the village, "You all know your job. Leave no survivors."
The bandits scattered quickly as the leader looked over the village one last time before walking back towards his compound.
If not, I can always get more men. It's not like my backer cares about money.
The ten bandits moved through the empty village quickly, actively avoiding any contact with villagers to get to their goal quicker. Just as they reached their target they passed a small park with two teenagers sitting on a bench. They stopped when they noticed the forehead protectors.
"Hey, those two are ninja!"
"What, those two? They are just kids."
"Boss said to avoid contact until we get to our target."
"Are you blind? These are two kid ninjas. Think of how pleased the boss would be if we brought them back."
"Yeah. Besides, the girl ain't bad looking."
"Hey, she's just a little kid."
"Yeah, but let her fill out a bit and she's be worth a fair bit."
She had tried to shake Naruto awake when she sensed the bandits heading towards their position. That hadn't worked. She had thought to strike a tenketsu on his back to wake him up, but she didn't want to hurt him, which was always a risk with Jyuuken strikes. He had been muttering in his sleep, causing her to wonder if he was dreaming about her, he kept saying her name in an almost caring manner.
Sensing that the enemy was close, she leant down and whispered lightly into his ear, "Naruto-kun…ano…we've run out ramen."
His eyes shot open and he nearly flew up when he saw how close their faces were. He groaned immediately, his chakra levels still preventing his from moving far.
Why is Hinata looking at me like that? Damnit, she looks just like…but why isn't she wearing…oh god what was I dreaming?
"Naruto-kun, can you sit up?"
"Barely...what did you say about ramen?"
"Never mind that. There are ten enemies approaching us" said Hinata, her Byakugan giving her accurate intel.
Naruto tried to get up again and failed, stuck to his seat he looked at Hinata in frustration.
"I can't move very well. What are we going to do?"
I…I can do this.
Hinata slowly stood up from the bench, taking a basic Jyuuken stance as the ten bandits appeared in front of her. They said something that she couldn't hear; she was concentrating on controlling her fear.
I was never that strong. The weak heiress that nobody cared about. But that girl is gone. I cannot fail here. I will not fail. I will protect Naruto-kun, even if it costs me my life.
Three bandits charged her in formation, surprising Hinata with their display of teamwork. One swung a sword at her head, which she ducked under. She went to strike him in the shoulder but was forced to spin away as a spear pierced the air her chest had been. She went to put a hand on the ground to cartwheel away but was struck on the back by a staff weapon. She screamed out and was sent rolling towards Naruto as pain shot through her back.
"Hinata!"
Damnit. I…Naruto-kun is watching.
She picked herself off the ground, feeling a small trickle of blood flow through her hair, which had lengthened during the week of training.
I can't fail here. Naruto-kun is watching.
She balled her fists and moulded her chakra. As she continued to remind herself that her crush was watching she felt an odd difference in the chakra that was flowing within her. Her Byakugan focused acutely on the bandits, showing her more then it ever had. She stared at the bandits, feeling a new flow of confidence.
Naruto-kun is watching.
She felt a very sharp chakra at her fingertips, similar to her Jyuuken except much deadlier.
Naruto-kun is watching.
From his bench, Naruto was angry at himself for not being able to help Hinata. He had faith in her, but from the look of it the bandits were very competent fighters. He watched her pick herself up from the ground and immediately noticed a distinct difference in her.
Hinata. What are…
As she stood up and put her hands into position, he could almost feel her Byakugan eyes move over him. Feeling a strange connection, he nodded and smiled at the back of her head.
You can do it, Hinata.
She felt a rush of power through her as she saw his trust in her. The bandits were still cocky, in their minds she was just a little girl. But in hers, she was a vengeful angel, protecting her ward. She shifted her feet, moved her chakra to her feet and shot forward straight into the pack of bandits, lashing out with her fingers. With her Byakugan and precise chakra-control she found that she could easily avoid their slow attacks, driving her fingers into the tenketsu in their necks. To her surprise instead of shutting down their chakra points; her precise-chakra simply shredding them to pieces. In her first assault she took out five bandits in a few seconds, the other bandits stepping back as they began to realise that she was more dangerous then she looked.
Naruto could only watch in amazement as Hinata systematically destroyed the rest of the bandits, deftly avoiding any attacks while taking them out with a single strike each.
Was Hinata always this strong? She's…damnit I've got to work harder.
He watched her as if she was seemed to dance between the bandits, her slightly longer hair shifting with her body.
Naruto stared at her fighting as he reminded himself: I'm not a pervert, I'm not a pervert, ah damnit I need to have a cold shower after this.
The last bandit was falling back when Hinata drove her chakra into his chest, shutting down his lungs. When she looked around with Byakugan she felt relieved that none of the bandits had gotten through to Naruto, though he was crossing legs in a strange way. Her chakra seemed to subside as she stumbled back to him, feeling the strength in her legs leave her as she fell forwards towards the ground. To his credit, Naruto found the strength to run over and catch her before falling himself, though he used his body to soften her fall.
"Naruto-kun…"
She couldn't say anything more, just happy to nuzzle her head into his jacket before passing out. Naruto could only smile at the girl who was now sleeping peacefully, her hands tightly gripping the collar of his jacket. He felt himself pass out as well, but not before putting a hand on her head and thinking to himself.
This isn't bad at all.
They spent the next week in recovery, though mainly because the villagers wanted to spoil their saviours. The bandits had been completely routed and there had been no civilian casualties, so they felt they owed the wandering ninja some niceties. Tenten's father had completed the order for the ninja with some additional weapons as well. After his practise with the staff, Lee had asked for him to make him a similar weapon, but the old man had an idea of his own. The weapon, called Nashitai (Without Form), was a long staff over six feet, but there were short chains segmenting the hard wood into three parts. Lee kept thanking the old man and proclaiming how youthful the weapon was until Gai punched him into silence. The others were more cordial about accepted the restocking of kunai and shuriken.
"And here you go, little Minato. The steel is one of the strongest I've made. It is exactly how the red girl asked."
He handed him a long scabbard, handle first. The scabbard was a flush red colour with dark yellow lining down the sides. The hilt was a dark red colour with black crosses stitched into it, while the guard was a round steady black. Naruto grinned as he tested the grip, feeling an odd sensation up his arm as he held the sword within its scabbard.
"The blade responds to chakra. It's like your trench blades, Asuma. But this one will adapt to any type of chakra. Go on, take the blade out."
Naruto pulled the sword out of the scabbard, feeling a satisfying weight as the long blade sat in his hand. The blade was made from shiny steel with a very slight curve on it. It was three feet long and had a group of symbols on each side of the blade. One side was the symbols for his family name, Namizake.
"What are these symbols here, Naruto-kun?"
He showed her the other side of the blade, reading it out to her.
"Hirameki" (Flash)
The old man smiled and sat down as his hip began to pain him.
"I figured it was appropriate, considering your father."
"And now Naruto" said Kakashi, his smile full of pride.
Naruto shuffled his feet, embarrassed at the attention his teacher was giving him. It had been difficult, but using his clones he had mastered the initial stages of Hiraishin. He couldn't use it more then three times in succession, and he always needed to hurl afterwards. Tenten handed her father a scroll, which he read then sighed as the group left his forge.
"Another order, from Suna. Tenten, start a fire."
"Hold on Father, I need to say goodbye."
"I'm sorry, but my father asked me to stay."
"And you agreed?" demanded Naruto, unable to understand why she wouldn't want to come with them.
Hinata put a comforting hand into his, uncaring about the brazen sign of affection.
"Naruto-kun, she wants to stay with her family. It's her decision."
He still had a stubborn look on his face, but her argument made sense even to an orphan such as him.
Kiba barked a laugh, "Really, Naruto? How whipped are you?"
"Shut your face Kiba."
"Don't give him grief, Kiba. You're just jealous."
"Hey, that's not fair Shikamaru. I could totally…"
Kiba was silenced as his normally silent teammate placed his hand on his shoulder, pulling him back into line.
"Kiba. Enough."
He went to argue more, but Akamaru barked at him and he gave up.
"Ha, Kiba. Now who's whipped?"
"You want to go, Naruto?"
"You sure about this? Living as civilians will be pretty boring."
"Kakashi, I'm sure they will be most youthful in the rest of their lives."
Asuma sighed with a grin, "Gai, I must admit I'll miss your madness."
Kurenai tapped him on the shoulder, her red ringed eyes not affected by his smoke.
"Asuma, we should tell the others as well."
"Have you told your teams?"
"Yeah, last night. They weren't happy but I think they understood why."
"I'm surprised they want to come with us."
Kurenai looked at the group of Genin who were crowding around Tenten.
"They are good kids. Besides, you and Gai could use the backup."
Asuma looked back at Kakashi, taking another drag from his cigarette.
"Do you have a plan?"
"Not really. We have no evidence, no leads. There are a few areas I want to check, but our main priority is getting the kids up to speed."
After talking to the rest of the teenagers, Asuma and Kurenai handed their forehead protectors to Kakashi, who reluctantly accepted them, placing them into one of his pockets. Tenten took off hers, handing it to Neji with tears flowing from her eyes.
"I'm sorry, guys. This isn't how I wanted this to go."
Lee threw himself into her, hugging her fiercely as Gai stood behind him with tears rolling down his face.
"Tenten! We will never forget you."
Staring at the forehead protector, Neji felt an odd sensation as he pocketed the Konoha reminder. He could see Lee release his now-former teammate, both wiping their eyes with their hands. He stepped forward and looked at her through white eyes, seeing apprehension but could tell that it was the right decision for her.
"I can't say I wouldn't make the same decision if given the option."
He extended his hand out, a rare gesture for him. Tenten was amazed that he was treating her as an equal, taking his hand with a grim smile.
The Jounin stood back from the group, both of them wearing civilian clothes that the villagers had given them.
"You know you guys can stay as well, you don't have to keep going."
Kakashi sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "Would that we could. Whatever Naruto might say, we don't blame you guys. But he's also right on one account, so long as we are ninja we need to find out who destroyed our home."
Asuma grasped his comrade's hand for a final time, "It was an honour, to be sure."
"We will miss you. Keep this place safe."
He shook Kurenai's hand as well, happy to see that his two friends had decided to stay together at the least.
"You are welcome here anytime, Kakashi. All of you are. If you need shelter, we will provide it."
"That won't be necessary. We would be putting you and the villagers at risk. But we might visit, sometime in the future."
"That would be nice."
The others said their goodbyes and the group moved out, leaving the two former-Jounin and former-Genin to live out their days in relative peace.
The Uchiha hideout wasn't what the group had expected. Teams Eight and Ten were still sombre after saying goodbye to their teachers, as were Neji and Lee with Tenten, but even they were surprised by what they saw. From the outside, it was a small door on the side of a hill, nothing to make it stand out at all besides some unintelligible symbols and the traditional Uchiha fan. It had taken some thought, but after a suggestion from Kakashi, Sasuke used his Sharingan to read the symbols.
Bound by blood, only the proud shall pass through the fire.
"Sasuke, what does it say?" asked Kakashi, not wanting to risk the Uchiha's ire.
During the trip Sasuke had probed him about his Sharingan, demanding to know if he had killed one of his clan to get it. Kakashi had relented and told him the tale about his childhood friend, but Sasuke was still cold towards him, more so then he was to the others. His student didn't respond to his question, simply running his hands through a set of symbols and drawing a large breath.
"Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu"
The fire enveloped the door but instead of the wood burning it glowed a dull red after the fire died down. With a shudder the door slowly creaked open, revealing a small dark staircase.
"Do we really have to go down there?" asked Shikamaru, not wanting to bother with the whole ordeal.
"I will go in alone" said Sasuke, already stepping to enter the hideout.
Both Jounin stepped up to stop him, looking at the Uchiha heir with tired eyes.
"We need to stay as a group, young student."
"Gai is right. I know you want to keep the Uchiha secrets to yourself, and we can all promise not to encroach on your family's techniques, but we can't afford to lose anyone to traps or ambushes."
Sasuke gave a tsk but conceded the point, allowing the Jounin to go in first.
The hideout was expansive, with several rooms connected to one large room. At the back wall sat a stone table that had the names of every Uchiha carved into it. The table was nearly completely covered, Sasuke noticing with rising anger that his brother's name was etched next to his.
You don't deserve that recognition.
On top of the table were several maps covered with dust and cobwebs, and a small collection of scrolls neatly stacked.
Each scroll appeared to be the same, we had so many jutsu that we probably needed more then one scroll, he figured with a proud smile.
He reached out and picked up the first black scroll as Kakashi picked up one of the maps and carefully blew the dust off it.
"What the hell?"
He felt an odd sense of déjà vu, but had no time to ponder it as Kakashi drew a kunai and placed it next to his neck.
"Care to explain this, Sasuke?"
The map contained detailed plans of Konoha, a carefully planned cross section of the defences, with several large Uchiha fans over several housing districts, and smaller ones over the police headquarters. Sasuke dropped the scroll on the table on top of the map, its contents more shocking then the map. Shikamaru picked up the scroll and read it, his eyes widening as the information sunk in.
"Shikamaru, what is it? Why is Kakashi-sensei threatening Sasuke?"
He turned to his teammate, passing him the scroll with shaking hands.
"It's…a plan."
Naruto tried to get a glimpse over Chouji's shoulder, "A plan for what?"
With a gulp, Shikamaru stared at the fan on Sasuke's back.
"A plan to take over Konoha."
Are we in agreement?
It is unavoidable. Konoha has shunned us to the point of exile. Their insolence must be paid with a toll of blood.
Will your sons be joining us, my lord?
Sasuke is too young, and too naïve. Itachi…I cannot say. We do hold Kanako, his betrothed, but my eldest son is impossible to read.
He is the prodigy of the clan. We must have him fight.
Press the girl; she must know what his weakness is.
Don't bother; he'll fight even if we have to kill her.
Enough. This meeting is adjourned.
"This…this can't be real. It…can't be…"
Kakashi removed his weapon, sheathing it as he realised that Sasuke couldn't have known about the plot, especially considering his reaction to it.
Sasuke dropped to floor as the scrolls fell to the ground beneath him. The revelations were overpowering. Everything he knew about his clan had been a lie. The other scrolls had more detailed accounts. His father had plotted the downfall of his village, his cousins had fuelled instability amongst the civilians, and his mother had rallied support for the rebellion amongst the younger children.
Is anything I know, real? Does that mean that Itachi didn't kill the clan? No, I was there. I watched him kill Mother and Father. Or did I? Was any of it real?
He could see his memories of that fateful night flash in front of him, the strewn bodies, the broken weapons. The blood, rivers of blood. He grabbed his head and screamed, unable to shake the sense of dread that normally only came when he dreamt. His hand twitched uncontrollably, feeling a powerful urge to grab a kunai and stop the pain. He felt a light touch on both his shoulders, dispelling the nightmares slowly, bringing him back to the hideout.
"Sasuke-kun, are you injured?" asked Lee, his bandaged hand gripping Sasuke's left shoulder.
"Hey, pull yourself together, teme" said Naruto, an oddly serious look on his face as he held Sasuke's right shoulder.
W...why are they helping me? What angle are they playing at?
"Hey, snap out of it you moron. We came here for a reason."
Sasuke glared at his teammate until he saw the big stupid grin on Naruto's face.
Naruto, you…
Sasuke picked himself up off the ground, coughing as he tried to recover his composure.
I'm an Uchiha. We are a proud clan, regardless of how we ended up.
There was only one scroll left on the stone table; Sasuke reluctantly picked it up, not sure whether he wanted to know its contents. To his relief, it was not like the others. Inside was a very detailed list of the Uchiha's fire techniques, their taijutsu styles and all the information the clan knew about the Sharingan. Sasuke looked down the scroll, stopping at the end section of the Sharingan information. Remembering the crowd that was with him, he hid the section he was reading, unsure who he could trust.
Mangekyou Sharingan – The second level of Sharingan. Allows user to access many different S-rank doujutsu. Gained by experiencing the death of a significant other.
He had to read it several times just to make sure, using his Sharingan to check for any hidden messages.
He lied to me. Itachi said that you had to kill your closest friend.
"Is that it, Sasuke? Your family's scroll?"
"Yeah."
He rolled up the scroll and stuffed it into his pocket.
"What are you going to do with those?" asked Kakashi, pointing at the scrolls around the floor.
"We can't leave these for someone else to find."
Sasuke put his hand together into the Tiger seal, spitting out small fireballs at the scrolls, destroying all the evidence of the Uchiha rebellion.
They spent a few minutes searching the hideout, Sasuke finding some old Uchiha wargear that he decided to take with him. Around his shoulder now hung a long black cloak that hit the ground as it was meant for taller Uchiha. The edges were lined with blood red talons, and the Uchiha fan in the middle. He had also found a platinum-set katana, which was simply called Sensou (War). Upon seeing Sasuke's blade, Naruto felt comfort that Hirameki was longer and more impressive looking.
"I'm done here. Let's leave."
The group turned to leave, but both Kiba and Kakashi put up their hands to halt the rest of them. Naruto went to ask until he saw Kakashi reveal his Sharingan. He unsheathed Hirameki, instinctively stepping between the entrance and Hinata, who activated her Byakugan as well, though was secretly pleased that Naruto had inherently stood to protect her.
Sasuke wondering what the others were sensing, until he felt a strange twinge in his mind.
This chakra…no...
Sasuke's eyes leapt to the doorway, his three-tomoed red eyes staring at the figure in a black cloak with red clouds.
"Otouto."
Author's Notes:
Holy long chapter, Batman. Yeah, I'm not going to promise anything about length anymore. I like to do one 'story' or section per chapter, and this one had lots of meat to it.
I should clarify my Rasengan position from the previous chapter. Yes, there will be people who know Rasengan. But no, Naruto won't be learning it. He'll have enough ninjutsu/taijutsu to make combat fun without needing the big ball of doom. Besides, I think Hiraishin has so many more applications then Rasengan ever did. And don't worry; no-one will be overpowered without working for it. And yes, I've been a bit liberal in the interpretation of activating Mangekyou Sharingan, but trust me it'll make sense eventually.
Please review and tell me what you think. What can be improved, what you liked, I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism. Seriously, feel free to blast away.
Naruto Story Spotlight: Naruto vs Sasuke The Aftermath by Kingkakashi. Yes it's a story full of angst, but it's a pretty well written story. If you like Sasuke and Sakura don't read this though, because there is plenty of bashing. Certainly not for the faint hearted, but recommended if you have the stomach for it.
