Thank for the reviews guys… glad you liked the fights. The manga is going amazing and I can't believe that the two bodies that Naruto disposed already are in the same order as I killed them in my other story 'the unpredictable wind'… some might say I'm… psychic XD.
Disclaimer: don't own naruto
X.X.X
Chapter10: it's been a while
It's been two days since they walked away from the Village Hidden in the Rocks; they've left the village without military power for a couple of weeks and even if the ones that were away on missions survived the village would be too unstable. The destruction cause by the fights of Kusamaru, Kabuto and Doki wasn't enough to topple the destruction of Naruto's fight. The three others combined destroyed a few buildings and cracked the ground but when Naruto used his wind attack he completely wiped-out a part of the village within a fifty feet radius. The other parts of the village were intact… well except for a few areas where a few cracks on the buildings and the streets were filled with the blood of the unconscious.
"Damn kid… I still can't believe you did that with a wind jutsu" Kazuru though as he analyzed his young friend for what it seemed like the tenth time in the past two days. "I knew you were powerful with the chakra you practically give out… but the undisputable power you showed us that day… you were going soft on us?" he thought questionably as he gazed at his companions and saw the same look of confusion on their faces.
"Ok… what's with looks, I've been ignoring them for a while but it gets annoying" Naruto said as he turned around and confronted the group he was traveling for the past years. "The looks of confusion, accusation and betrayal?... I'm I your sentimental partner or something?" he asked them irritably.
"Naruto… it's just that we fought you in the past and well… you hold back on us" Doki said scratching behind his head "You never told us you could do those sorts of things either… you crazy clones is an example" he added a bit strongly.
"Is that all?" Naruto asked them "Guy's… a ninja is all about deception and all that stuff correct?... I didn't accused you of how did you perfected you clans abilities and Kabuto's weird transformation… every one of us has secrets and I don't think we're sharing those pieces of information with one another" he added sagely.
"What would I want to know is how did you, Naruto Uzumaki, came to possess the Rin'negan?" Kabuto asked as he shifted his glasses, smirking "The day you fought Madara he was a bit afraid of you… is that why?" he questioned smiling at the face of defeat of the blonde jinchuuriki.
"Crap… how you found out?" Naruto questioned as he sighted in defeat.
"Well… I saw the clones dodging attacks that even the most powerful shouldn't and when the Tsuchikage broke your shades… I saw them even if it was an instant" Kabuto answered.
"Well I obtained them by killing the supposed leader of Akatsuki… he said I was chosen or something and the next thing I knew I had them and yes is because of this that Madara was afraid that day" Naruto explained to the rest of the group. He saw shock, he didn't know why but they were shocked about something.
"Hold up… you mean to tell us that Madara Uchiha is alive?" Kazuru questioned "Isn't he supposed to be dead?" he added with a bit of fright, one of the most powerful ninjas in history was alive and was fighting against them… who wouldn't be scared.
"I don't know why but he's immortal… maybe it has something to do with his Sharingan or something" Naruto answered the stunned ex-suna shinobi. Glancing to the sky and then to the road they came from, he felt something and decided to be in a bit of haste. Signaling them to move, the entire group jumped to the trees and moved faster than the previous hours. The whole point to walk instead of run to the exchanging point was to conserve energy. Naruto knew they were being followed and didn't like it one bit… even if they were about a day and a half away.
X.X.X
Iwagakure
They couldn't believe their eyes, the walls, the buildings, the streets and even the people walking or helping around were defeated or about to. The team entered the village so fast and silent that the guards, even if they had cast on their arms could even sensed them. Kakashi signaled a building that was cracked and not so many around and the three of them hid in it.
"Okay we're in… now what?" Kakashi asked as he gazed at the Uchiha at his side "It was your idea to check out the village Sasuke" he said simply as the prodigy glared at him.
"Well… we have to be careful but we have to capture one of them and interrogate them… not much force is needed as the Sharingan can do most of the work" Sasuke said while Kakashi nodded.
"If I may?.... It'll be a bit dangerous as my bug tell me that a few strong shinobi have returned from their missions" Shino said adding his two cents "We must act swiftly as…." His voice was interrupted as the ceiling above them was destroyed. Rubble and dust I what the three of them where able to see as a strong voice came out of nowhere.
"I guess we found ourselves a rat trio" a voice said belonging to a man in mid twenty's as he crossed his arms, behind him a couple of Anbu and a shorter jounin. "Inrai you recognize them?" he asked to his jounin partner as the Anbu got their weapons out.
"No Daraku…. they're Leaf shinobi?" Inrai said curiously and recognize the three of them from the bingo book "Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke Uchiha and Shino Aburame… three jounin from the leaf, how can we help you before letting our extreme anger get the best of us" he said with a glare.
"Inrai Rasumi… the Lightning Stone huh?... an honor, excuse to infiltrate the village but we wanted to asked a question… what happened here?" Kakashi asked as he signaled his two young companions to calm down.
"Is that all?... this leaf must think we're delirious to think we can help you" Daraku said as he raised his arm for a signal to the Anbu but found a blade on his throat. "You think you're strong enough to kill me Uchiha?" he said with a smirk as he felt the dark-haired man behind him.
"Oh I' am... but we didn't came here to fight, just to ask a few questions because we're tracking a shinobi of our village and his scent and chakra lead us to this place" Sasuke said as he retreated and every Iwa shinobi present saw them in a new light.
"Enough… we got attacked as you could see by ten shinobi, although six of them looked alike" Inrai said "They were clones and weren't clones at the same time… each of the six though could use one technique while the other four were different and… powerful" he added with a nod.
"One technique each?... can you elaborate?" Kakashi asked as he started to place the puzzle together but needed more proof.
"Yes… one could absorb chakra, another could repel or attract stuff, the others though I'm not sure" Inrai said watching the leaf's warily "The other four are on this scroll… take them since I'll take the whole day explaining it to you" he said as he tossed them a scroll.
"You're giving them information on the rouges!?" Daraku exclaimed as he rounded his partner. "What about the shinobi they're looking for… maybe this is their doing" he asked roughly.
"Don't worry about our shinobi… he's ranked way to low in the bingo book to caused such damage and not die" Kakashi said innocently "I hope this wasn't his doing… one technique each… but that Akatsuki is dead… how" he thought distressed.
"Yes… they're going to find out anyway… I've already sent notice of these four and they're upgrading their ranks to S" Inrai said as his look didn't waver "One thing Hatake… the attackers were wearing the same outfit… black cloak… white swirl on the back" he finished and looked for any signs of recognition on each face but found none.
"I guess we'll be on our way then… don't worry about our missing shinobi… he was a weakling" Kakashi said as the three of them vanished.
"Was it a good idea to let them go?" Daraku asked to the jounin at his side.
"Yes… they'll find them and possibly bring your brother to us as well" Inrai said "Is amazing really… to go to such trouble… to kill five people" he added as he gazed at the destruction.
X.X.X
Exchanging Point
They arrived at the place in a few hours of running at a decent pace, the place was at least a almost two days away from the village they exited… well two days if you run like Gai or Lee without weights. The exchanging point where they arrived was a place in a small village in Fire country a mile away from the border. The exchanging point looked a bit empty but that was fine as it was covered up as a rest stop or motel. In the underground of the small building where multiple doors and passageways containing corpses from old to new… they had to put a ant-smell seal on the place as well as a chakra-smart seal on it to keep the unwelcome guests out. Arriving at the scene, five silhouettes appeared at the front door of the two stories building and opened the door, the people in the counter stiffened at the menacing sight but relaxed as they saw the happy and familiar grin the blonde in the center gave them.
"Hey!... I'm back" Naruto exclaimed as he walked into the place like he owned it. "Reshiro… the usual and take an order for my companions as well... when the coast is clear I have to show you something" he added the last part in a whisper as the man named, Reshiro nodded grimly.
"Sure thing Naruto… anything for one of my usual costumers" Reshiro said a bit loudly to show that the whisper didn't bothered him. "What would you order?" he asked the rest of the group with a pen and a little notepad.
After getting the orders and went to the counter to prepare the drinks, Naruto looked at his companions and smiled, the group was a bit on edge since the place looked peaceful for what was supposed to be a dead house. Reshiro explained to some of the other customers that they've really needed to close the food court because they were going to buy supplies but it would be open by night fall. Reshiro looked at the customers leave and then turned a serious face towards the shinobi on their seats, he didn't like the job anymore as it can bring trouble but the business of taking the body to the people that wanted it was good to keep the business of the motel and a few more bucks and he would install a hot spring.
"Okay… the coast is clear now Naruto, what have you come here?" Reshiro asked looking at the blonde, inspecting him as if he could bring trouble.
"Come on, that's the way you talk to a friend… besides I bring you prizes that you sell to others for even bigger prizes" Naruto said with a grin as he glanced at the man. "Anyway… I brought you five this time and trust me they're worth your time" he said as he took out the scroll where the five corpses were sealed.
"Hump….. that's what you say all the time" Reshiro said as he started to walk towards a black steel door in a corner. Naruto signaled the others to follow him as they walk down a stair case leading to basement of the building but to those who haven't seen it before… the place was incredible. The basement looked like a dungeon, a large hallway with five doors on each side and green dim light came from the ceiling. Reshiro led them to the third door on the left, opening it they saw many cabinets that started at the floor and went all the way to the ceiling.
"I haven't been here in a while" Naruto stated as he looked around while the other stared in amazement at all the supposed dead people in the cabinets.
"Yeah well… I keep hoping you don't come at all" Reshiro said annoyingly "Look the more dead people the more money I have to pay you and I can't start a hot spring without the proper money" he added explaining his dilemma and saw that anyone cared.
"Here old man" Naruto said tossing the scroll at the man who caught it easily. Reshiro channeled some chakra into the scroll and a huge cloud of smoke appeared, five corpses laid on the table and took a step back in shock
"No way…" Reshiro whispered in amazement and fear as he looked at the blonde.
X.X.X
Iwagakure's border
"No!!!" Kakashi thought as he took a glance at the scroll they were given by the Iwa shinobis. What he saw in the scroll almost gave him a heart attack as he saw some familiar faces that he'd seen in the bingo books before as A-ranks threats.
"What is it Kakashi-sempai" Shino said looking at the masked jounin "High levels or distress and panic have shown in his features (eye)" he thought while the leader rolled up the scroll.
"Nothing… we need to get to our team fast" Kakashi said covering his shock rather well but Shino and Sasuke still picked up signals of distress, now in his voice.
"They're that way" Shino said pointing to a very different location that they remembered "They moved to keep track of the scent I believe" he added to answer the silent question they were sending him.
Picking up the pace, the channeled a bit of chakra into the muscles of their feet and ran faster, they needed to arrive as quick as possible as the tone of their leader sounded not to welcome. They saw the group standing in the branches as they kept watching their surroundings and Kiba sat concentrating as he made a hand-sign. They were instantly aware of each other as Hinata saw them with her Byakugan and didn't react to their arrival. Kakashi called everyone to move to a remote part of the forest so the information found wasn't heard.
"Okay guy's I'm going to reveal what's on this scroll… this scroll possesses information on the people that destroyed the village back there" Kakashi said as they arrived to a small clearing "Take a good look at our next possible opponents" he added as he unrolled the scroll to reveal the faces and information of the attackers.
"No way… it's not possible… he wouldn't do that" Yamato said as he crumbled to the ground in shock, even Anbu can be shocked out of their wits by impossible information. The rest of the group had similar thoughts; Shino just couldn't believe that the one they were looking for was now a criminal. Sakura was in tears as he saw the look of emptiness on his eyes, Sasuke looked in shock at the obvious power the blonde possessed and Kakashi looked regretful.
"I told you he was a monster!" Kiba exclaimed as he saw the picture and the big letter that proclaimed the man a huge threat "He was a demon in the past and in the present as well… why should we bring him back?... so he can kill us!?" he finished but found a blade on his throat.
"You're pissing me off Inuzuka" Sasuke said coldly as he pressed his Kusanagi hard on the other man's skin, drawing blood. "There's have to be a good reason he would do this… remember, if it wasn't for him the Leaf Village wouldn't be standing today" he said as he withdrawed his sword and walked away to think.
"How can you say such things about him after all he's done to the village?" Sakura asked the dog-man as she also retreated to think alone for a while. Hinata saw this and began to think about the past treatments those two delivered to Naruto but now she saw true caring and understanding and more that everything… regret.
"We need to find him and fast… Kiba!... use your nose and keep track of him and one more outburst like that and you'll find a real monster" Hinata exclaimed drawing the attention of everyone "We need to move so we can find him quickly…. I know that the chakra in the air is his and that is leading us to him" she added while Kakashi nodded and added his own two cents.
"I don't know if you noticed… but that's not normal chakra, it's thinner, sharper" Kakashi said looking up to the sky as he saw the shape o the chakra in the air with his Sharingan.
"Wind based chakra" Sasuke said while the masked jounin nodded, deactivating his Sharingan, Sasuke thought about the menacing look he had on the scroll "I can't believe Naruto of all people would do this… something about the murders… the Kage of that village was a tyrant!" he thought with realization but looked at his comrades and decided to wait to tell them.
"Okay… we have to hurry" Yamato said as the group moved. Kiba got on Akamaru and made the hand-sign to let his nose wander, he was scared of the threat, as he heard that she was more powerful than Neji. Shino also was perturbed by Hinata's outburst, he hadn't seen her like this since three years ago and was beginning to worry that Hinata might do something stupid… like leave the village.
X.X.X
Exchanging point
The business done and the payment in their grasp, the group of five shinobi moved slowly out of the motel-that-was-a-dead-house-in-the-underground. Doki held the suitcase containing the cash, almost a quarter of a million for the five corpses, to say that they left Reshiro broke was an understatement. Naruto said that if he sold the bodies to some countries that wanted secrets, he could get almost twice as much as he gave them and Reshiro beamed at that one. Kusamaru looked pleased as they were going to home base and relax, Kabuto wanted to relax s well but he had much to do before that and most of all he wanted peace. Kazuru wanted to sleep to have no worries while Doki wanted to exercise. Naruto on the other hand tilted his head to the horizon and smiled grimly.
"It seems that we're being followed… all of them are familiar hehehe" Naruto thought with glee "Some of them still have the same opinion of me while others have changed… greatly" he added mentally as he kept walking to not alert his companions of anything.
The group jumped to the branches and went to their home base at just the northeastern border of Fire country. The location was incredible, they had the open sea in front of them while the heavy forest of Ho no Kuni behind them. The place could hold a whole battalion if you see it from the outside but in the inside the building held many rooms, some for training, others for priceless artifacts and scrolls or books, the building was three stories high and almost a hundred feet wide. Naruto was feeling a bit annoyed that the group of shinobi following him was a bit persistent and stopped, the other members stopped as well but they were confused.
"Naruto… what's going on?" Kazuru asked as he saw the annoyed look on the boy's face.
"I'm going to investigate something in the Land of Rice… keep going to the base and don't wait up… remember that I can sense you" Naruto said grinning and looking at them with a face that told them not to question him. The rest of the group nodded as dispersed into the forest, the blonde enigma smiled grimly and he too disappear into the forest but into a whole different direction. He thought about his soon to be encounter with his former 'friends' and smiled as he would show them how much he'd grown and the power he has obtained, but he also felt sad, he was going to see some of the people that didn't judge him and he missed them greatly… ever since he left.
x.x.x
"It's getting stronger… and the target seems to be standing still" Kiba said as he relayed the information to the others "The other scents are gone… it seems that our target has found us out" he added pondering this piece of information "How?... he couldn't have… we're too far away" he thought
"Well… if Naruto found us out it means he mastered some kind of sensorial technique" Kakashi said amusedly while Yamato nodded thoughtfully.
"Maybe… or maybe there's a purpose to his chakra being in the air in the first place" Sasuke said in a thinking pose "A shinobi leaves a small trail of chakra were he passes… but the amount of chakra in the air is too much… even for Naruto, he must've set it on purpose" he added to his explanation.
"You may be right, Sasuke" Sakura said nodding "Naruto wouldn't waste chakra like this, even more his massive amounts, if the chakra is as much as you said… it's some kind of jutsu" she added and looked up to her leaders for any kind of confirmation.
"How close are we from the target Kiba?" Yamato asked the man who was riding a large white dog. "We want to be prepared… if he stopped, sensed us and is alone… he may want a battle" he added as he looked at the masked jounin for confirmation.
"You're right Yamato… he's expecting us" Kakashi said as his exposed eye steeled "Don't attack when we arrive… we want no trouble with him but if he attacks… defend yourselves" he said while the others nodded in understanding.
"I don't know if I can ever hurt you Naruto-kun" Hinata thought as she junmped from branch to branch with the blonde on her mind "Naruto-kun… you've grown so much, that picture showed the darker side of you… the side of you that you wanted to keep at bay for years" she thought but didn't realized that similar thought were running into the minds of the blondes former teammates.
x.x.x
"They're close… almost half a day away" Naruto thought as he stared at the horizon, to the same direction where his next opponents closed-in. Smiling to himself, he walked to small cave he found and sat on it to get a bit of rest and wandered into his mind, remembering the moments he had in the Leaf.
Naruto rested and the Konoha platoon traveled a few miles before stopping. Hearing the squad leaders say something about no completing the mission because tiredness and no chakra can be fatal when you had to tell the Hokage why you failed in the first place… it wouldn't be pretty they say. Like Naruto, the whole group came to some adventure they've ha with Naruto in the past and kept remembering the good times until they fell asleep… in the back of their minds they knew it was going to be difficult to bring the knuckle-head back home. The dreams were variable as some fought with themselves, others fought with their old enemies… other fought with their loved ones. Some lost like always and other won for the first time and upon waking in the morning they would feel a bit better or a lot worse… who knows.
"Okay guys… move out in a decent pace, we need as much chakra as possible" Kakashi said signaling the platoon to move. The Konoha platoon move in a slow but hasty pace as they jumped from tree to tree to their destination and in a few hours they'll be at their destination. Kiba was getting excited that he would be able to fight the demon who killed his clan members, he caught the scent instantly and was shocked to learn it was all over the place.
"Clones?" Kiba mentally asked concentrating a bit more but he didn't get a hold on it exactly. Arriving at the point where the scent was stronger and all over the place he signaled the platoon to stop. "The scent is… all around us… I can't get a hold on him" he stated glancing to every direction.
"We're not surrounded… wait… that chakra… there!" Hinata said as she pointed to a spot at the north, her blood-line activated.
"It's about time you'd notice that" Sasuke said, his own blood-line blazing at the same spot the Hyuuga pointed out "The chakra is powerful… and in huge quantities" he added while the masked jounin nodded. The Hyuuga on the other hand focused a bit more and saw…
"It's been a while…" a voice said calmly, carried by the wind. The Konoha shinobi looked to the north and saw a figure standing in the edge of a five stories cliff that connected to the ground they were in. The Sharingan users couldn't believe the amount of chakra the person was emitting while Hinata was almost on the verge to cover her eyes because of the intense flare.
"Who are you?" Yamato asked as he didn't see the chakra but he could feel it, the pressure was too strong to fight and suddenly it lifted a bit but some was still there.
"I'm the one you've been tracking since Iwa… it gets really annoying knowing that you've got people tailing you" the man stated like it was obvious.
"Naruto-dobe… could you cut the crap and get down" Sasuke offered bluntly while the others thought it wouldn't be a good idea to talk like that. "I know is you… that chakra of yours is unmistakable" he added with a smirk while the man jerked and to their surprise jumped down but when he landed all hell broke loose.
"Fine... Sasuke-teme, would it kill you to b a bit nicer" Naruto said, a small smile playing on his lips "Ah, the good times" he thought
"You're mine now demon!" Kiba said as he appeared in front but a few feets of Naruto who was looking at him boringly "Beast Mimicry: Destructive Fang" he yelled as he charged forward so fast he seemed like he vanished but a second later he was hanging over the ground, struggling to get out of the hold Naruto had over his throat... not even two feet from where he started.
"You've improved dog, I guess you can learn new tricks… but I have fought Kage-level shinobi… a chosen because of his clan's skills jounin like you can ever hope to beat me" Naruto said his emotionless blue eyes boring on Kiba's animalistic ones. Seeing the giant white dog charging at him he shifted and kicked the dog in the ribs, sending it to the ground whining.
"Damn you… I'll kill you for that!" Kiba said as he made a few seals and yelled "Beast Man Clone" and transformed into Akamaru which led to Naruto loosed up his grip. Then Kiba who was transformed went to Akamaru's side and yelled "Man Beast Transformation: Double Headed Wolf" a cloud of smoke later and an even bigger dog appeared sporting two menacing heads and bearing their sharp teeth at the blonde who was calmly looking up at the beast.
"Such haste" Naruto whispered as he made a hand-sign and held it there while jumping backwards. The giant two headed dog charged with force and started spinning rapidly, Naruto widened his eyes at the recognition of the danger he was in and…
"Double Impact Wolf Fang" as the giant spinning animal charged at incredible speeds to their target. Naruto saw this and was actually impressed at the progress of the Inuzuka… it wasn't enough still. Flaring his chakra he went for the jutsu he prepared since the man transformed into the beast.
"Wind style: Pressure Damage" the gale of wind attacked suddenly and with so much force that the attacking combo actually stopped in mid-air and then were thrown back. The rest of the Konoha's forces were hanging tight with chakra on their feet since they were at a good distance and the attack was being directed at the giant dog and not them. Shino disappeared through the trees while summoning his bugs, he headed to were his comrade as fighting.
"What the…" Kiba wondered as he slowly and painfully got up, his white furred companion on his side in no better condition "If it weren't for our transformation and spinning move we would've been dead" he thought miserably as he looked down to his dog "I almost got you killed again…"
"You see dog… you can't, huh?" Naruto wondered as his vision darkened a bit "Bugs… Shino and his old tricks… Wind pulse" he thought and the bugs that were about to touch him suddenly got pushed away and the blonde stood there smirking at the obvious failure of the shaded man.
"What the hell was that?" Kakashi asked panicked "It looked like that attack Pain used three years ago… only weaker" he thought observing the blonde carefully.
"He used chakra to control the air around him… like Gaara's sand shield and suddenly released that chakra and expanding it" Sasuke explained as his own Sharingan watched Naruto "We need to get those two away from there" he added while the two ex-Anbu captains nodded.
In the mean time one raven-haired woman was dashing from branch to branch with her Byakugan activated as she suddenly caught something that bothered her in the clearing. When she focused at the figure she saw that at that moment the person used a substitution and left a clone to battle, glancing at her comrade she sneaked away to find the real Naruto. She saw that she was close to her beloved as the chakra signature was getting stronger and then she saw him…
"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked her old stutter returning at the sight of her love. A man stood staring at the direction she came from, the unruly flocks of golden-hair, the almost unnoticeable whisker marks and the black coat with a hoodie… she almost didn't recognize him if it weren't for the facial features.
"Hello Hinata… it's been a while" a soothingly calm but strong voice made her jump and then she stared at the incredible blue eyes that she loved so much… one problem… the blue eyes that held happiness before were cold and distant.
X.X.X
Hahaha… evil cliffy there XD. I want you guy's to tell me what you think of the chapter. Naruto is full of surprises and this encounter will have… well wait until the next one. I urge you that please read my other story and tell me if it is any good so far... it's not getting reviews… I know my grammar sucks but come on, there are worse written stories than mine!!! REVIEW PLZ
Next: reasons
