"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man."
-Heraclitus
Chapter 9: Same Man
"Are we there yet?" Naruto grumbled as he trod along the road. They had left two days ago, and very little had happened. Inoichi had begun to teach them how to shunshin, but his two teammates were still struggling with the jutsu. Well, it wasn't to say that he wasn't struggling as well, but it was in a different way. Naruto tended to release explosive amounts of chakra to help shoot him across long distances. He had been trying, but still hadn't figured out how to limit the chakra that he released.
Shikamaru and Kei had the opposite problem. They could release their chakra in controlled bursts, but ran out much quicker than their blonde haired companion. Naruto truly had been blessed with an incredible chakra system, if only he could use it properly.
"No we aren't, Naruto-kun. We won't be there for another day or two so if you will stop asking it would be incredibly appreciated." Inoichi twitched in annoyance. It was alright to ask how long it would take for them to arrive. However, after hearing the question fifteen times in a single day, one began to grow short tempered.
"We could be going so much faster though! How about you carry Shikamaru-kun and I take Kei-chan and we shunshin the rest of the way there?" That suggestion earned him a glare from his two companions. The idea was economical, but that didn't mean it had to be enthusiastically received.
"I am not going to be carried about. It's too troublesome." Shikamaru shot back. Though he was admittedly lazy, it was a couple notches below his dignity to be carried around like a sack of potatoes. "Anyways, we're already early and walking gives us more time to practice. There's no reason for us to arrive early."
"Ehh?" Naruto whined. Two more days of doing absolutely nothing but walking would kill him!
Just as he was praying for the boredom to end, something came to disturb the quiet. "What's this now? Yamanaka Inoichi teaching children? I never would have guessed it in a million years." The voice echoed eerily out of the forest. Naruto reached a wary hand down to his kunai pocket and unlocked the flap. His eyes shot over to his sensei to see if he knew what was going on.
Inoichi was tensed up with a senbon twirling around his fingers. "Rokusho-san. It has been awhile, hasn't it?" The green haired man stepped out from the trees with wry grin on his face.
"In the flesh. You look just as old as ever. If not older actually. You've had kids now haven't you? I trust your youngin' isn't among this lot though." The ninja smiled pleasantly as he ambled up to the group. "So young. Tsk, tsk. I can't believe we looked like this ever so long ago. They're as green as grass." Aoi flicked Naruto in the head before turning to Inoichi.
"What are you doing here, Rokusho-san? We're on the way to a mission, please do not waste our time." Inoichi sent a chilling glare towards the nin. "Do not think for a moment that because you have the protection of Ame that makes us friends. Remember that you are an Ame ninja and you no longer have an excuse to be on our territory."
"You wound me! I was actually just coming on over to return something of Konoha's." Aoi sighed emphatically before explaining, "You probably know the whole junk about the sword. You won't detain me will you? It would be such a nuisance."
Inoichi clenched the senbon in his fist before shaking his head. "Just make sure you hurry to the village and hurry out. Come on you three." Inoichi put a hand his genin before shuffling them foreward and away from the Ame-nin.
After they got out of earshot, Kei asked, "Who was Rokusho-san?" It was a question all three of them had wondered since Inoichi had gotten that grave look on his face. It was unnerving to see their sensei like that. Inoichi was always amiable and rarely ever got mad at anyone.
"He was a missing-nin of Konoha." At Naruto's indignant squawk Inoichi added, "We can't prosecute him anymore, Naruto-kun. He's under Amegakure's protection. If we attacked him then we would be attacking Amegakure. No matter how much I think he should be jailed, he won't be. At least for now." Inoichi rubbed his forehead irritatedly before continuing on, "Let's just hope we won't see anymore of him."
-TSUME-
The rest of the trip was uneventful. Naruto complained and Inoichi asked him to quiet down. In two days time they arrived on the outskirts of the small coal town. It was then that Shikamaru realized how different things were.
Shikamaru had always grown up inside of the Nara compound and when he entered Naruto's apartment, he thought it was bad. However, seeing these 'houses' brought things into a different perspective. They were ramshackle things made of wood that looked thoroughly doused with water. The roofs sagged down as if they had some heavy burden upon them. Small trails of smoke exited the chimneys and coiled up into the air before fading away
It was so different from Konohagakure. While Konohagakure had slums, no one lived in huts. Instead they were crammed into small apartments. Shikamaru wasn't quite sure if these houses were better or worse.
"We're finally here! Come on, let's go!" Naruto chirped happily before running towards the village. Those that he left in the dust all shared an exasperated glance before walking after the blonde.
"Oi, boya! Don't run around like that! People are actually doing things of worth about here." A thundering voice startled Naruto out of his dash. He skidded to a stop and looked around for the source until his eyes landed on a bulky man.
The man was coated in a thick layer of black coal. The only place that wasn't covered was a thin line around his eyes where his goggles had been a few moments ago. "I trust you guys are the genin team, hm? Ahh, you're wee tikes aren't you? Ah well. I guess we get what we pay for." The man's sigh caused a cloud of coal to blow off him. Naruto waved away the dust coughing a few times as he did so. So much for beautiful country air.
"Trust me, sir. We'll do well in our mission. And you are?" Inoichi trailed off as an inquiry.
"Satoya Masaki. I'm foreman of the mines hereabouts. Well, it wont do us no good to keep y'all standing here. I'll bring you to my wife's house." At the startled looks of the genin he explained, "This ain't exactly a commercial town you know? We don't cater to visitors. We get the job done and ship out, not in."
The genin relaxed a bit and follow the man through the streets. Not that there really was a distinguishable street. All the houses were stand alone buildings and there was at least a good ten feet between them. Towards the end of the road was a shack that was slightly larger than the other ones. Masaki knocked once on the door before pushing open the door. The hinges squeaked loudly as they moved open as the genin walked in.
"Inoichi-sensei, are you sure this place is stable?" Naruto whispered discreetly.
"I heard that, brat." Masaki sighed as he turned to look at the ninja. "It's stable. It's been through more than you'd know. Just buckle down and you'll survive. Now come on. You are all bunking on the top floor."
Naruto send a sheepish smile to his teammates before hurrying up after the foreman.
The top floor was very sparse to say the least. No walls bore down and instead there was just a large empty space. In the corner were four cots for them to sleep on, but there was nothing more. Not even a color accented the walls and instead they were the deep brown of the wood.
"I trust you'll find the accommodations pleasant enough. None of us have much better so there's no use in complaining." Masaki said shortly. The man ran a hand through his soot covered hair. "The shipment won't be ready until two day's time so you can just sit around. Well, if you need anything Noriko is downstairs."
The foreman trudged back down the stairs and left Team Tsume to themselves. "So, what now?" Kei asked. "There's nothing for us to really do here. I doubt either of them thought to bring scrolls along or anything." She said waving at her two teammates.
"Ah, but Kei-chan! Not all knowledge comes from a scroll. You forget that you have me along." Inoichi said pleasantly. He clapped his hands twice before saying, "It's quite handy that we have some extra time. I can give you run about for towns like this."
He walked over to one of the walls before rolling up the side window. He motioned for the genin to join him before waving a hand over the town. "What do you think these people are like? You know what I mean. How do their hearts and minds work? What makes them tick?"
Shikamaru closed his eyes for a moment and thought. If Inoichi was asking them then he must have believe that they could figure it out. So just by walking through the town they should be able to get it. "They're... Normal." Naruto mumbled softly. Shikamaru looked over at his teammate with confusion evident in his eyes. Normal? What did that mean?
"Everyday they wake up and expect the same thing. They're not like shinobi who are used to the concepts of death or of the world changing in a moment's notice. They know what will happen tomorrow and the day after and the day after. So seeing people so different must be alienating. This town doesn't have any shinobi heritage does it?" Naruto asked.
"No, Naruto-kun. It doesn't." Inoichi smiled sadly.
"Ah." Shikamaru finally got it. "The stories about shinobi must have reached them by now. Certain if they requested us they must know about shinobi. We and them... We're different people. Our mindsets are totally changed from what they are. To fight for us means we use kunai and jutsu. To fight for them means a day of hard work in the mines to bring home food for the family."
"Right, Shikamaru-kun. Knowing this different mindset we have to figure out how to get into their hearts. Each type of person has a hack to get into their inner circle. The simpler the person is, the easier it can be. So, any ideas about how you'd do this? In fact, let that be your submission over the next two days. Try to find a way to become friends with the civilians of this town." Inoichi patted his genin warmly on the head before turning to the futons.
"Ah, now I'll go prepare the futons. You three should go try to work it out, hm?"
-TSUME-
"So? Any clues?" Kei ran a hand through her hair irritably. She was a numbers girl. Figuring out what people enjoyed and integrating with them was not her forte. The thought of it almost pained her.
"Well... How about no?" Naruto grinned weakly before sighing. "So... If we know how they tick it should be easier now. But we have to get past their natural instincts of being wary around us. Just like how shinobi act differently around civilians, they'll be the same. The only way I can think of this is to be really just... normal. But how do we do that?"
The genin walked slowly through the town as they stewed over their assignment. "We'd have to change how they perceive us, but there are enough people in the town to make it difficult. Especially since the men go to work in the mines for most of the day. It would be too hard to communicate with them with such a short time span..." Shikamaru mumbled. "Ah, how troublesome this is."
"Well... They do say that actions speak louder than words. It seems that most of the workers are married so perhaps if we do chores for the housewives they'll communicate to their husbands?" Kei suggested.
"Ah! That could work, Kei-chan! We'd just have to find enough jobs... Erk. There's only twenty or so houses so hard can this be, right? Let's go!"
Naruto rushed up to one of the nearby houses with Shikamaru and Kei in tow. He released their hands before rapping quickly on the door. The sound of feet met their ears as the woman rushed to the door. "One moment!" She fiddled with the door knob before pulled open the door.
A woman with frizzled black hair tied up in a white scarf opened the door and looked at them wearily. "Ah. You're the ninja aren't you? Is there anything you need from me?"
Naruto stared for a moment before chirping, "Naw! We don't need anything from you! We just kinda wondered if there was anything we could do to help you! So is there?"
The woman sighed in relief. "Ah. Well I suppose so. Do come in." The genin entered the shack. "My name is Masuno Tsubaki. My husband is currently out in the mines, but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you helped me out a bit."
She waved around at the house. "I've given up on ever getting rid of all the dust in here, but there are a few boards that are beginning to get cracks in them. I have sealant, but I can't reach high enough to repair the parts near the ceiling. Can you help with that?
"Hai, Masuno-san. We'll get to work on it!" Naruto smiled and grabbed the sealant from the box that the woman had pointed towards. He twisted open the lid and gave it a sniff before slamming the cap back over it. It smelled nasty. "Come on Kei-chan! Shikamaru-kun! Let's go!"
-TSUME-
"There is absolutely no way we can do this fast enough, Naruto-san." Kei sighed as she slumped against one of the nearby buildings. It had taken them nearly five hours to take care of only three houses. The sun was already beginning to set and there were at least another seventeen houses to go. "I doubt word of mouth will work that well so that everyone loves us by daybreak."
"Ah... I know what you mean, Kei-chan." Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly before turning back towards Masaki's house. "We'd better get back to Inoichi-sensei though. I bet he's gonna be waiting for us."
Shikamaru held out a hand to help Kei up from the ground before following after Naruto. The trio made their way through the empty streets. As Naruto put his hand on the door a loud rumble shook the earth beneath them. The shacks swayed back and forth with some shingles tumbling from the roofs. "What?" Naruto cried out in shock.
He flattened to the ground with the rest of his group to wait out the earthquake. Soon the earth began to let up its shakes and the three got up from the ground. The door to the house burst open and Noriko was flying out of the house. Panic was light up in her eyes as she dashed away from the trio.
"Naruto-kun! Kei-chan! Shikamaru-kun!" Inoichi called out to his students as he followed after Noriko. "We have to get to the mines! The workers haven't come back yet and if they were still inside..." He needed no further explanation as the trio rushed towards the mines.
A minor earthquake was bad enough for the mines, but that one was bad enough to be visible. That could not be a good sign. "Masaki! Hiro!" Noriko stood by the elevator shaft and was pounding on the grate barring her from falling down the chute. "Do you hear me?" She screamed down the shaft, but received no response.
Inoichi placed a hand on the woman's shoulder and pulled her away. "We'll deal with this." He slipped out a senbon from his waist pocket and jimmied the grating open. The thick wire of the elevator pulley stood before them as Inoichi turned to his students. "Stay up here. Something like this is too dangerous for all of you." A dangerous look flashed in his eyes to make his point.
He turned back to the shaft and let chakra flow to his feet. He leaped across to the other side of the elevator before he began running down the edges of the wall. The thumping of his feet resounded and let an echo reverberate back up to his students long after he disappeared from their sight.
The trio look at one another helplessly. They had all at least learned some minor form of tree walking, but it was such a long way down... And if they got down, what would they do?
"Naruto-san, Shikamaru-san, come over here." Kei waved the genin over to a small boulder and took a seat down. The two boys looked at their friend curiously. "Do you trust me?"
"That's silly Kei-chan! Of course we trus-"
"I mean, do you trust me enough to use a forbidden jutsu without any supervision." That was the big question. Kei gripped the notebook in her arms tightly. There were some jutsu in there that could possibly save the miners, but would it be safe for her teammates? She wasn't sure. They were forbidden jutsu for a reason and they were only genin. If they overexerted themselves there would be no chance of their survival especially without Inoichi there to help. She only knew a little bit of medical jutsu, but she hadn't covered chakra transferal and she wasn't about to risk everything on a gamble.
Shikamaru looked between his comrades warily. "If you think that we could pull it off, then yes. I mean..." Shikamaru sighed nervously, "You always base everything off the facts. If you think it's within our abilities to pull this off, then I'd trust you with it."
"I agree with Shikamaru-kun! If you believe in us, then we'll definitely do it!" Naruto smiled cheekily.
"A-ah..." Kei smiled softly at their faith in her. She slipped the notebook out from under her arm and flipped to three-quarters of her way through the book. She flipped past dozens of blank pages until she found what she was looking for. The symbols across the page were her own work and she had never had the time to teach her comrades how to read her script.
"Naruto-kun, the jutsu you'd be learning is much more ambitious than ours." She said pointing at Shikamaru and herself. "It's called the Kagebunshin no Jutsu. I think you can do it though. We all know how amazing your chakra system is. The only handseal you have to us is the Tiger Seal. The scroll suggested that you need to release your chakra in a sudden burst so your chakra can come out to form a body. If you exert too much, you may suffer chakra exhaustion so be careful."
Naruto nodded solemnly before getting up from the ground. "I'll go practice a bit to see if I get the hang of it, ok? I'll be right over there so you can see me in case I faint or something." Naruto grinned before running off to begin his practice. There was no time to waste. He had to learn this quickly if he was going to be of any use.
"Shikamaru-san, your jutsu is going to rely a lot on Naruto-san. Yin and Yang Jutsu aren't offensive by nature so you'll be using the clones as a conduct to provide support. Kage Tenpu Suru no Jutsu is a technique where you can attach pieces of your shadow into Naruto's clones so you can sense what the clones sense. You can attach onto as many clones as you want, but it will probably stress your mind to experience multiple things at the same time. So only split onto one or two of the clones, alright? And you should probably cover your real body's eyes so you don't have to experience too much. You'll be able to communicate only with your main body and not with the shadow." Kei explained hurriedly. "You should be alright since you only have to latch on tiny fragments to make the jutsu work."
"A-ah." Shikamaru nodded lazily before getting up from his seat. "I'd better keep watch of Naruto-san then. Oh right." Shikamaru paused in thought. "You said Naruto-san had a jutsu more complex than ours. What are you doing?"
Kei jumped a bit from her seat before giving a weak smile. "Ah. I see you caught that, Shikamaru-san. Hanafuu no Jutsu is mine. But you see, I've already been practicing a bit." She tore a blade of grass from the ground and held it up to Shikamaru. "You see, I hear the things that this blade of grass hears so to speak. I cannot see anything, but I can hear things." She rubbed the grass between her fingers. "It was banned since no one was particularly comfortable having such an easy way to eavesdrop on people. It doesn't take too much energy though so I'll be fine."
Her golden eyes looked up at the genius warily. "Don't overexert yourself, ok? It may be handy for you to learn that jutsu, but the last thing any of us want is for one of us to die."
"A-ah. I understand. How troublesome."
Kage Tenpu Suru no Jutsu|| A Rank Jutsu. Jutsu that attaches onto the shadows of animate objects to transmit images and sounds to the body.
Hanafuu no Jutsu|| B Rank Jutsu. Jutsu that allows the user to hear things through a piece of fauna.
Kagebunshin no Jutsu|| B Rank Jutsu. Jutsu that creates copies of the user that are able to touch and be touched. Can also transmit memories back to the user.
I have semi-returned! I have no excuse for being gone save for that I'm being kept occupied by a virtual tournament on a children's pet site. It's quite depressing actually. Well, I hope you liked the chapter! :D Everything will be connected in the end so I hope you follow along! Thank you everyone for reviewing and alerting me. It makes me so happy to be able to read your comments!
And thanks to pokepikachu1 for betaing me again!