Chapter 11 Prince charming
The ship they had boarded was steadily making way towards Kirigakure, it would take some time to get there, but within the next day, they would have reached the Village Hidden in Mist. It really had been some time since he visited the village. He had only gone there once when he heard that the civil war had ended, but now he was returning to the village again. This time he would stay for a few days. Last time he never got the chance to enjoy his time since officially, he was not there. He had been there while hiding his presence. But he had taken a good look at the Mizukage - she was beautiful, a desirable woman. He could not mind staring at her majestic beauty for some time. Well, no one came close to his princess though. His princess was by far the most beautiful woman in the world.
But anyway, it would really be more pleasant if he could also get his hands on her, like doing what he pleased with her. Doing something like that would surely give him some great material for his next installment. He would have most liked to do one based on Naruto, but the said blond did not mean to be interested in women. He had thought that something would happen with Yugito, but nothing occurred. He was sure that the blond was not oblivious to certain things. He was a man and should feel what he feels too. Although, the blond may be a bit inexperienced in this matter, he was not oblivious. He was his godfather after all.
Looking at the blond; he seemed to be enjoying the calm waters of the sea. He also seemed to be at peace, but there was no smile on his face. It was really annoying that he only smiled given some situations. Jiraiya walked towards the blond, with a scroll on his hand. ''Naruto,'' he called trying to get the blond to acknowledge his presence.
''What is it?'' Naruto responded without taking his eyes off the calm sea. There were some parts water that were not so calm; it was mostly places where there were heavy winds. But around where they were at this moment, there went any misbehaving waves.
''I need you to go to Konoha and give this to Tsu-hime,'' Jiraiya said handing Naruto the scroll. But the blond did not take it, he just turned around to face the Sannin.
''Knowing that you have a contract with the Toads, I would assume that you use them as messengers to send messages to Tsunade,'' Naruto stated looking straight at the Sannin.
''That is how I normally do it. But I want you to do it this time. The Toads are not really suited for transporting messages since they are not that fast which is why I am requesting that you do it. With the Flying Thunder God technique, you can reach Konoha within seconds,'' Jiraiya explained neutrally not wanting to give away anything.
''I can summon something that will be faster than the Toads,'' Naruto stated.
''Summon something?''
''Yes, I have another summoning contract,'' Naruto stated without going into further details. His response surprised Jiraiya greatly.
''Two contracts? The Toads allowed you to have another contract? What type of summons do you summon?''
''They allowed me since that it is not that of a major contract,'' Naruto responded calmly going back to staring at the sea. ''What the contract is, is for another day.''
''Where did you get it?'' Jiraiya questioned in a curious tone. He could not think of any other contract Naruto would sign. They were not many of them these days, so he was curious. It was also rare to find one with two contracts.
''Wouldn't you like to know that...''
Jiraiya knew he was not going to get answers, and it would be pointless to try to get them. ''Still, a summon would take more time than you would. I want hime to read this report today.''
''That is almost believable,'' Naruto stated surprising Jiraiya. ''But that is not your reason. The toads would get to Konoha today. You just want me to head to Konoha so Tsunade could see me. You have been keeping contact with her over the past two weeks, she misses me and you are sending me there to let her see that I am alright.''
Jiraiya sighed, there was no way he was going to deny that it was his motive. ''So will you go?''
''No.''
''...''
That was unexpected. Jiraiya never thought that Naruto would refuse to see Tsunade after knowing that she was worried about him. He did not think the blond would say no just like that without even thinking about it. But he said it. ''Excuse me?''
''I said no.''
''Why?'' there was no reason he could think off, especially when Naruto knew how much Tsunade cared for him. He was positive that the blond was aware of how much the Hokage cared for him. But for him to refuse to appease her heart was shocking. He would have expected the blond to return home and make the Godaime smile, but he was not going to do so.
''I have only been gone for about two weeks. And I am not alone, but with you. If Tsunade can't stop worrying about my safety even when I am with you then she has to be made to understand that she cannot always see me and I can take care of myself. Don't you think that I might find myself taking missions that would even take a month to complete? Do you think that each week during the mission I have to be returning to Konoha to put a smile of Tsunade's face?'' Naruto paused for a moment. ''She has to understand that I am not a child; I am no longer a genin. But I am a jounin of Konoha. My duty is to serve the village and protect it. However, Tsunade does not seem to be happy when I do my duty. She wants me to stay around inside in Konoha. If there are dangerous missions, she won't let me go, but will send someone else.
Tell me Jiraiya, is that fair? Is it fair that she can let other shinobi go to dangerous missions while I who is powerful enough to handle them stay at home sheltered. Could you say that she would rather have other shinobi die instead of I? Family or not, I am her subordinate, a shinobi of Konoha, she will have to treat me equally as the other shinobi. So I refuse to return to Konoha until this little journey is over.''
Jiraiya could see that Naruto's argument held some merit. He could not deny that, and so he was quiet for some time.
''It is not that I like to see Tsunade hurting. But she has to understand that I am a shinobi and my life will always be in threat. She has to understand that I may disappear for some time. If she cannot handle that, how can she lead Konoha efficiently without attaching her emotions into the choices she makes?'' Naruto looked up the heavens before walking past Jiraiya. ''I am going to my cabin.'' he stated as he walked away from the Sannin, leaving him in much thought.
It was indeed true that Tsunade worried too much for Naruto. But he could understand her given what she has lost. She has lost all her loved ones - who died for the sake of Konoha. The deaths of those she loved did a number on her. That had been why she had decided to abandon Konoha. But Naruto also had lost his parents. He may have never met them or experience what it felt like to have parents, or experienced their deaths, it does not change the fact that he lost them. They too died protecting him and Konoha. He could have chosen to stay within Konoha and preserve the life his parents had died protecting. Jiraiya now understood that Naruto knew that death was part of the world they lived in. He understood that one could die for Konoha.
Tsunade would surely not want something like that to happen. She would probably quit being Hokage if Naruto was killed. The blond had been the reason she returned to Kohagakure no Sato. If that reason was to disappear, she would also disappear unless it takes some much convincing to do. What was obvious was that Tsunade would not want anything to happen to Naruto until she stepped down as Hokage. When she steps down, she would surely be happy to allow Naruto to live his dream - being Hokage. He was a bit curious though, the blond has not been saying he wants to be Hokage like the old days. He did not want to think that his godson no longer wanted to be the Hokage. If Naruto chose to abandon that dream, who would be Hokage after Tsunade?
Still, after everything he has seen, he could clearly say that Naruto does not need much protection. The blond was capable of taking care of himself. He was also not arrogant to get into a situation where he could not win. Naruto also has the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could escape if the situation was not favorable. He had no doubt that the blond could take care of himself, but still, everyone was human. There is always someone who is stronger than you. He did not think that he could defeat anyone. But such a thing was not what he expected or hoped for. He was always hoping to win for his survival and the safety of Konoha.
Otogakure
Orochimaru's vision was a little blurry as he woke up. He shook his head trying to shake off the blurry vision. He had actually thought that Kabuto was going to kill him, but that was not to be. He rose up from his bed and realized that he was in his room. His head actually felt light, and he felt good. The doors to his room opened and Kabuto walked inside holding a tray.
''You are awake,'' Kabuto stated, not sounding surprised. He placed the tray on a table and took out two tablets and a glass of water. He then walked over to Orochimaru, ''Drink this,'' he said handing over what he held to the snake Sannin.
Orochimaru downed the tablets bitterly and looked at Kabuto, ''I thought you were going to betray me,'' he did not hide his thoughts. He had always known that Kabuto was loyal, but when the weapon had left him looking as though he was dead, he had thought his subordinate had seen that he was weak and decided to take his life.
Kabuto merely smiled at his master. ''I had no such thoughts. Normally I would have told you what I was going to do. But given your condition, I felt you were not in the right mind to make a decision. So for your own good, I made a decision for you,'' he explained lightly.
''For my own good?'' Orochimaru laughed. He laughed really hard till his stomach hurt. Kabuto had taken him out cold for his own good? When did he start thinking like that? ''How long have I been out?''
''A few days,'' Kabuto responded pushing his glasses on his nose bridge.
''Did I miss anything?'' In the Shinobi world, anything can happen. Two days was a lot of time and a major village could be conquered within two days. Given a man of his status, he could not afford to miss anything.
''Nothing much has happened,'' Kabuto replied. With his master out cold, he had to take charge of everything in Oto. It was not like he had not done that before. He knew everything Orochimaru knew. So it was easy for him to run things.
''...and?'' He did not have to say it, Kabuto knew what answers he needed.
''I don't know what happened exactly. But it would appear that the weapon, no rather, that man is a lot stronger than we had thought. He fought off your control and took over. He probably cannot be controlled like you had planned. But I do believe that with the data I gathered, we may have created a monster that will only seek destruction,'' even saying those words, Kabuto did not seem concerned at all. He did not care for what happened to the world. As long as he could do experiments, and explore the world, he was fine.
''We may have,'' Orochimaru admitted then grinned. ''But it makes things interesting does it not?''
Kabuto nodded. ''The world would have been boring without another ''villain''. With the Akatsuki gone, villages would have spent much of their power trying to get rid of us.''
''It would be difficult to move around with them searching for you everywhere,'' Orochimaru then paused for a moment. ''What did you do to my body? It feels light and powerful,'' the snake Sannin said stretching out his hands.
Kabuto smiled proudly. ''I made use of that 'clone' and some data we have been gathering. Your body has now been made strong and you will no longer need to change hosts - this is the results of another experiment I have been running ever since we failed to get Sasuke-kun. But our work with the weapon gave me a breakthrough.''
''Can I still change hosts?''
''Yes. But this body you have now is almost indestructible,'' Kabuto said earning a wide grin from Orochimaru. ''While you were recovering, I managed to get to Konoha and retrieve your prize from Root bases. I was not able to get away without being found. I barely made it out alive. It was thanks to that escape jutsu you taught me that I was able to get away with my life. The next time you see Danzou, he will probably attempt to kill you.''
Orochimaru grinned in all corners. ''Kukukuku kukukukuku kukukukuku,'' his devilish laughter echoed through ought the corners of his hideout. Kabuto merely stood there watching his master behind his glasses with a slight proud smile.
A day later
''Naruto!'' Jiraiya called rather loudly from the door of the blond's cabin. They had touched down in land; he was calling the blond who seemed not to have noticed that the ship had stopped sailing. They had to leave before the ship sets to sea again and return to the shores of the Wave country.
The small door opened and Naruto walked out of the door. He looked at the Sannin straight into his eyes. ''You are rather loud sometime, godfather. It still morning, and you are already shouting my name while hitting my door like a madman.''
''I would never have had to do that if you had just woken up when I knocked the door at first,'' Jiraiya retorted turning away from his moody godson. The toad sage sighed. ''Come on; let's go before the captain gives us crap.'' With that the two started to leave. They left the ship slowly and touched down on land. It was quite empty like no one even comes here.
''Why is it empty?'' Naruto questioned as he and Jiraiya went their way towards the village hidden in mist. It was a curious question for him to ask. He would have expected the place to have some people since ships dock there, unless there was another place where they docked.
''This place is not safe - the captain told me so. People don't normally use this route. That is why it is empty. Only a few shinobi use this route when they do their businesses. The safe harbor towards is Kiri is in the north of the island, but we had to use this way to enter undetected,'' Jiraiya replied. Naruto was stealthy enough to move with him when they do enter the village. He did not believe that his godson would get him caught. But it was obvious that once in the village, they would be spotted.
''Why are we sneaking in?'' Naruto questioned with a raised brow. He did not get why they had to sneak in if the man was going to be caught in the village's hot springs peeping on women. He also knew that they would not be denied entry if they used the gate, unless Jiraiya had another motive.
''A force of habit,'' the Sannin responded with a shrug.
''You have another purpose for this,'' Naruto said looking the mist that was ahead. The place was a good one for ambush. But he was not very much worried about that. ''This will force the Mizukage into seeing you quickly once her ANBU discovers you. Given that the kage of this village is a she, it is likely that you have done something that forced her into taking some measures against you.''
''Now that you say it. There was an incident when I came here. Let us just say, she was not very much happy with me, she almost killed me had I not runaway,'' Jiraiya replied grinning sheepishly. All this time, he did not look into Naruto. He was busy looking ahead of the road.
Naruto shook his head at Jiraiya's response. There was no limit to this man's perverseness. They walked for a few minutes within the mist. But neither were worried about anything. But that did not mean that they were not in alert. No it was anything but that. They were keeping check of their surroundings. It would be foolish to think that you are powerful enough to handle anything. That belief only led to arrogance. And arrogance for a shinobi was dangerous as it has gotten many killed. But even so, only those foolish were willing to attack a Sannin. When people realized that Jiraiya was a Sannin, they quickly ran away in fear or apologize if they had done something against him.
When they had left the mist and could see the lively village of Kirigakure, Jiraiya stopped walking and looked at Naruto. ''Naruto, stay here for a few minutes. I am going to meet someone. Make sure you don't move around and hide our presence. There are probably ANBU around this mountain.'' With that the Sannin disappeared as if he had not been there.
Naruto sighed and locked himself on top of a rock keeping his senses on high alert. Jiraiya was probably going to meet with his spy. It would be dangerous to meet inside the village as there was a possibility of being seen. Doing things outside was a good choice. It also provided a good escape chance should one be caught. It was a good move on the Sannin. But on other villages, he was sure the Sannin did things differently. Like in Kumogakure, he had met his spy inside the village. Perhaps it was because he was used to the village and was that it was large. There were many sports to do business.
A few minutes turned into more than two hours.
Finally the elder Toad Sage returned, looking a bit disappointed. ''Sorry, it took me much time to come back here. I ran into some trouble with my contact. It would seem that we have to leave the village.''
''Why?'' Naruto asked curiously, forgetting that the Sannin had made him wait for two hours after saying he would return in a few minutes.
''I have received some disturbing news that I have to check. We will no longer enter Kirigakure. But you cab if you want to. You will just be alone without me,'' The Sannin suggested looking straight at the blond in front of him.
Naruto seemed to think about it for a few moments. He would someday return to this village, alone. He knew nothing of the Mizukage, but Jiraiya could offer him some Intel about her. He would ask about it sometime later after he had dealt with some issues. It would have been better if the Sannin was there, but since he would be alone and was not fully prepared, it was best to come back at a later date. He had planned on asking the Sannin about the woman after they had entered the village. His question would only seem to be a curious one. That was all he needed Jiraiya to think for now. The Sannin would certainly know of his quest for peace, but right now, he had not gathered all the details he needs.
''I will see Kiri some other time,'' Naruto finally responded in a calm tone.
Jiraiya nodded, ''Come on, let's go. We will have to take a ship on the other side of the island. I will drop you off in the Wave country, and make my way to handle my business. You will return to Konoha.''
''Mmm,'' Naruto thought of something for a moment. ''No, you will search for a ship. I can teleport away from here. While we were travelling, I marked a few hidden places. I can just teleport there without much trouble.''
''That is good. This will save us some time and energy. I never really do like the sea anyway,'' Jiraiya said smiling. If Naruto could teleport them to the Fire country, it would make their journey quick. That said, the blond could also teleport back to Konoha. It really was good to have a space time jutsu.
''You misunderstand me, Godfather,'' Naruto said calmly. He took out a three-pronged Kunai and handed it to the Sannin. ''Keep it safe and use it when there is something of utmost importance,'' he paused for a moment. ''As I was saying; you misunderstood me. I never said 'we', I said I would teleport and you will take a ship.''
''What? Why?''
''I just don't feel like giving you a lift,'' Naruto responded so casually like he was not planning of leaving his godfather to fend for himself. It would take some time for the Sannin to reach the Wave country, by that time, he would be busy with other things, after that, he would be able to return to Konoha.
''You can't be serious Naruto!''
Naruto merely gave the Sannin a small smile. ''I will see you in Konoha,'' with that, he was gone in a flash of yellow, leaving a shocked Jiraiya.
''He actually left me...'' Jiraiya mumbled in disbelieve. Was this some sort of punishment the blond was giving him? He could not think of it another way, it had to be. Otherwise, who in their right mind would leave their godfather stranded in an island far away from home? Well, he was not exactly stranded, but that was not the point.
Uchiha hideout
Naruto did not teleport to any of the places he had marked while travelling with Jiraiya. He teleported to the hideout so that Itachi could take him to Konan. He would rather come here to get things done with Konan than to waste more doing something that was not useful. He certainly had much in his mind. The things he had been doing over the past weeks were actually catching up to him. The burden of killing was starting to weigh up on him. But he held himself well. Jiraiya had not even noticed that something was eating him from inside. Perhaps if he found some time to relax after meeting with Konan, he would be able to settle his thoughts.
Keeping things bottled up was not any good. He had thought he would be an exception. After all his training with Itachi, he had thought he could kill without it weighing up on him as much as it was. He held himself well while killing, he never hesitated, but when he was alone, it all came back to him. Perhaps he was not ready for this. Naruto shook his head clearing that train of thought. He was prepared for this. There was nothing that could prepare him for experiencing what he has experienced.
Perhaps, his heart was just too kind than he led others to believe. Perhaps the impassiveness was just a mask to hide himself while he prepares for his plans to take motion. He knew things like these would come, but he had not thought it would be so hard. He was still fresh to this thing. He was not a cold hearted person who could kill people without regrets. Shaking his head again, Naruto allowed his stoic expression to return after he had allowed it to slip. He walked outside the hideout and went towards the training ground. He sensed that Itachi and his friend were inside, but he needed to calm himself before speaking to either of them.
Unfortunately, he was not given that comfort as Itachi made his way towards the training ground with Kisame right beside him. Naruto did not immediately turn around to face them. Itachi though, was quick to note the behavior as nod. First of all, the blond would never come to the hideout and then move over here without saying a word when he was present. It only led him to believe that there was something wrong with the blond. Naruto did turn around to face the two, but Itachi confirmed his suspicions, the blond was troubled. He could clearly see it from his eyes.
''Hey gaki, Itachi tells me you are just good as him in a fight. Why don't we give that a test? I have not had a good fight in some times,'' Kisame stated showing Naruto a large grin. He wanted to see if Itachi had been right about the blond. He would never believe it unless they battled together.
''Perhaps some other time,'' Naruto responded quietly. His tone sounded indifferent. And his response only made Kisame grin further like he had not been turned down.
''Well, if you are not going to concede after I asked nicely, I will just have to force you.''
Itachi knew that Naruto would not fight Kisame, unless he said it was a good idea. If Kisame attacked Naruto and got close to him, the blond would use his great speed to annoy his friend. But if Naruto had much in his mind, it was better to allow him to fight with Kisame. If he fought, he would release all his emotions, thus clearing his thoughts. But knowing both of them, it would destroy the hideout. He chose against that. And besides, it would not be a good idea to have Naruto relieve himself by destroying some things.
''Kisame, let it go. I am sure Naruto will fight you some other time,'' Itachi said in a tone of finality. ''Naruto, why don't you come inside so I can talk to you...'' It was certainly not a request from the Uchiha. Both the blond and Kisame were quick to realize that fact.
''Sure,'' Naruto relented as he followed Itachi.
Two days later
The Village Hidden in Rain, Amegakure no Sato. It was just as rainy as Itachi had said it was. Naruto could never quite get hold of how some people can get used to living in certain conditions. He could never imagine living in a place where it was constantly raining. It was also the same with Sunagakure, the village was in the middle of the desert. It was damn hot within the desert, and yet the people from there were very much used to the heat. He was used to the clear skies of the Fire country. The weather in the area was enjoyable and acceptable. But the rain was not as bad was the desert.
Naruto looked at the tall buildings of the village - they were very unique. He had never seen such designs in all the places he had been too. Well, each village had its own culture and it was somewhat understandable that they could make their buildings such as these. They could not use the same material as Konoha given that the village was full of water. It was always raining in here. The buildings looked more like industrial buildings more than anything else. But the view of new things was quite lovely. It was nice seeing new things other than things he was used to seeing within the large walls of Konohagakure.
The villagers seemed lively. He was seeing people who were happy all around him. It was much different from Konoha. Perhaps in Konoha he knew that those smiles could change overnight. He knew that deep within much of the villagers laid much hatred. But looking at these smiles and happy expressions from the villagers of the Rain, he could not help but smile slightly at this. For a moment all his worries had washed away. Perhaps he should smile a bit more often.
Itachi had only given him a map to come towards the village and told him to travel alone. He reasoned that travelling alone would help him clear his thoughts. It was indeed a good thought after he had spoken with the Uchiha. The man had given him a few tips on how to overcome his clouding thoughts. But he still needed to process things on his own. However, while travelling, the Gods seemed to love seeing him troubled as he found himself in need to kill so he could save. It was certainly looking like the Gods were putting these evil people in front of him just to screw with him. He had to see things that did not make him feel good at all. The principle of killing to save was weighing down on him much more.
However, entering Amegakure had lightened up things for him.
He finally reached the largest tower. Konan, no rather, the Angel of Amegakure was waiting for him. Itachi had said so. He had never quite actually seen the woman before. Itachi had nothing to show him about her physical appearance nor did he bother to brief him on the detail. He did not even tell him much about the woman. He was merely told he would find out more about her once he started talking to her.
After entering the tower, he was accompanied to the woman by a shinobi. The way towards her was slow, but he did not mind. When he finally reached her, the shinobi excused himself. Naruto came into the view of the woman - she was standing inside this room which was like a hall. She was standing beside the window overlooking the village. She did not turn to face him immediately. But he could see that she had seen him using the reflection on the window. Finally she turned around to face him.
Naruto had to admit. She looked quite lovely for someone her age.
''Namikaze Naruto,'' Konan said in a tone devoid of any emotion.
This was certainly going to be a lovely meeting, Naruto thought as he walked towards the woman. He stood beside her looking through the window, she did the same. Looking over the village from up here, he could see that the woman has indeed done a good job in stabilizing the village. She was also oddly quite. ''Now I see why Itachi refused to tell me anything about you,'' the blond commented quietly, just enough for Konan to hear him.
River country (Two days later)
It was the first time that Naruto had travelled into this country. But looking at the map Jiraiya had given him before they even embarked on a journey outside the village of Konoha, he could see that in order to go to the Wind Country, he had to pass through the river country borders. He made sure to avoid any civilization while on the way. It would not take a whole day for him to pass through the river country. It was going to be noon soon, so he would probably get to a motel once he got close to the wind borders. It would be dangerous to travel over night in the desert. It was better that he leave the travelling during day. The winds at the desert were rumored to pick up dangerously during night. For his health, he decided to travel during day. He had been travelling for some time now, rest was needed.
He had spent a night only in Ame. He spoke well with Konan, but the woman was currently unavailable as she was still busy in quest to restore control over Amegakure. But she could be available should he need her help. He had also offered her his help if she needed it. He could help her despite being a Konoha shinobi. Jiraiya and Tsunade just did not have to know about it. It would cause much trouble and headaches if it got out that he was doing some activities for a foreign village without the permission of the Hokage. It would certainly cause much rift between him, Tsunade and the council. They would certainly be wary of his adventures. He did not want to give Tsunade trouble though.
After travelling for about two or three hours; Naruto came to a complete halt as he sensed chakra being used. Just then there was a rather resounding explosion. He stopped as he tried to sense everything clearly, but given his distance he could not quite make the picture of what was going on. He looked at the direction on his left before hitting the ground. Moving at his fastest speed, he rushed towards the place. The closer he got, he could feel that the chakra was fading away. It would be bad if it did because he would lose the exact location of where he was sensing the chakra from. But after some moments, he was able to get the location. He made sure to hide his presence well. By the time he got there, the chakra signatures were gone.
He could see perfectly well, why it had disappeared, the shinobi using the chakra were dead. There were four of them; he could not quite make their clothing because they were burned. The explosion he heard must have wounded them which resulted in the men left standing overpowering them. By their stature, he could see that the men left standing were bandits; they were rather armed for bandits and looked bodily prepared for battle. They were about 25 of them lying in the ground, dead and 17 more standing. They did not seem to care for their dead comrades. Such was the shinobi world. The mission was far more important than comrades. Shinobi and bandits were not so much different in that regard. Well, at least not everyone thought much like that. Most of shinobi would never abandon their teammates. They would try to help them and then try to succeed on their given mission.
There was small four-wheeled vehicle not so far away from where the battle had taken place. The thing looked normal, but there was no doubt someone in there. He could not sense any chakra from it; this meant that the person being carried was not a shinobi. It was still surprising how calm the person seemed to be. He or she was aware that the guards were dead, but yet remained quite inside her transport. Perhaps the person was shaking in fear within it. He did not have more time to dwell on it further as the bandits started moving towards the transport with wicked grins. That only confirmed to him that the person was still inside the transport.
Sighing, Naruto jumped out of the tree was watching from and landed on the ground silently. It was to his pride that no one from the bandits had taken notice of his presence. He could deal with it silently. Yes, it seemed the logical choice. He took out a Kunai and sped towards the bandits.
He only killed one before the others took notice of him. ''What the hell?'' one yelled furiously turning towards him.
So much for doing it silently...
But he did not say much more to them. He jumped back and formed hand seals. ''Futon: Kaze Shuriken no Jutsu,'' he muttered. He calculated the shurikens and controlled them with precision. They were invincible to the naked eye. So the bandits would not be able to take notice of them. Being made of wind - which meant they were very sharp - the shurikens sped towards the bandits and hit them in their necks. The shurikens pierced through the front stopping their air supply. Naruto knew they would die soon from the gashes, but it would do well to his gut if he quickly ended them. Without wasting more time, he took out a kunai before finishing them off.
When he was done, he gathered all the bodies in a bundle before putting them on fire with a katon Jutsu. That erased everything. He did not burn the bodies of the shinobis. Whoever may have hired them may perhaps want the bodies. Well, if it was some rich fool, he would certainly not care if his guards had been killed. Certainly, he would merely brush them aside, and state they were weak that is why they were dead. If it came to that, Naruto would surely leave the person alone, even if he was offered much money to carry out the guarding job. He had no business with such kind of people.
Naruto turned around and walked calmly towards the transport, he looked at it for a moment. He shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts before opening. He was not expecting that he found. A woman, in her early 20s. She had long green hair that framed both sides of her face. To complement to that, she also had this bright green eyes. Her skin was fair. She had a sizeable chest, that much he could clearly see. The woman was wearing a light green kimono. It had nothing special on it. Naruto could only guess that she was perhaps a daughter of a rich man or some wealthy noble.
The blond also noticed that she had a nervous smile when he opened the door. Her hands were behind her, she was probably hiding a kunai behind her. But she seemed to replace her nervous smile with a warm one when she spotted his headband. But he hands remained on her back, just in case...
Naruto decided to skip with the pleasantries. ''It is not safe for such a beautiful lady to venture out of her home with four guards when vultures are lurking in the shadows,'' the blond stated ever so politely. By looking at her, he could see that she did not look like much of a bad person. But then again, appearances were deceiving.
The young woman continued giving him a warm smile. ''Thanks for the flattery, but they were not four of them. Most of them were killed a day ago when we came across vultures, as you put it,'' she responded in a kind tone mixed with some emotion. But her hands still remained behind her as she responded.
Naruto nodded. ''The world is indeed dangerous, especially for a woman,'' he said quietly. But the woman heard him clearly.
''It indeed is. I did not quite believe it when I was told,'' the woman said, her smile disappearing. But now she did. Her smile appeared again. ''But I guess it is alright since there are gentleman such as yourself to save us when these vultures appear. Perhaps I stayed here silently when my guards were being killed because I believed a prince charming would save me,'' her smile became slightly sly as she spoke.
''Prince charming?'' Naruto said in a thoughtful tone before shrugging. ''Well, he did appear now. You should be careful next time, he might not appear again to save you,'' the blond responded. So not like him to respond like that. He would have told her such things did not exist, but considering what had happened, it was better for her that he played that way.
''Well if he does give me his numbers, I may call him when I am backed against the wall, or the next time vultures appear if you could say,'' her warm smile was never lost as she spoke. The slight playful tone made it difficult to say if she was being serious or not. But it did not matter much to Naruto.
Naruto looked at the woman before him with a smile. It was the first time he was smiling at her since he started speaking with her. ''Perhaps I might,'' his tone was still the usual. He was not the one to be playful, but given his current state of mind. Anything was welcome to clear his thoughts. As long as he did not end up regretting anything he did afterward.
If possible the woman's smile widened slightly as she saw his small smile. ''You look rather handsome while smiling. You should smile a bit more often, you may find yourself lucky with the females.''
''I have been told so before,'' Naruto responded looking up at the heavens. Two or three more hours, it was going to become late. He had a feeling that he was not going to find a hotel anywhere near the wind border. He had thought he would find one and rest, but it appears that he was not going to find any. The map he had did not show to be any in he could rest in. The map was recent; Jiraiya had marked it well since he was always travelling around the Elemental Nations.
''By the looks of things, you did not take the advice seriously,'' the woman responded. Her hands were still behind her as she spoke, still grasping the kunai firmly. She saw Naruto turn around as if he were leaving. She spoke with a raised brow. ''You are going to leave a lady in the middle of the forest with vultures lurking in the forest?'' she made sure she used the term Naruto used in describing bandits. ''You have not even given me your name.''
Naruto turned around to look at her. ''I was not leaving. I was merely checking something. But you also have not told me of your name.''
The woman held out a right hand leaving her left behind her. ''Miyuki,'' she said.
Naruto held her hand, it was soft, not very surprising. ''Naruto,'' he said telling her his name. He felt no need to hide it from her. ''So Miyuki, where are you headed to?''
It was very surprising to hear a guy call her without the affectionate suffix -Chan or the polite one, -san. It was very warming to her. She was used to hear people calling her name with different honorifics. But the change was welcomed. ''Wind Country. But I have to first go to Sunagakure to hire more guards for my protection.''
''You are very fortunate. I am also headed there,'' Naruto responded holding out a single hand sign. He noticed that Miyuki tensed slightly seeing him hold the hand seal. But he did nothing to comfort her. Four clones puffed into existence and picked up the transport. Naruto got in and sat beside her. The inside was very luxurious unlike the outside. It also smelled some expensive perfume. ''You can let go of your kunai. I won't hurt you.''
She seemed to contemplate before releasing a breath of relief. She brought her hands in front of her and picked up the bag beside her to create more space for Naruto to sit. He did not seem to be offended by the lack of trust. ''It is difficult to trust someone these days. A person can be so charming and kind, and yet be a cold hearted killer.''
The transport started moving forward. ''I thought you said you were not familiar with how dangerous the world was,'' the blond stated looking straight into her eyes.
''I did. But both situations are quite different. Wouldn't you say?''
Naruto merely nodded. ''Where are you coming from?''
''I live in the Wind country. But over the past week, I was in the Fire country's capital conducting some business. I am returning home now,'' Miyuki responded. Now she was certain that the blond did not know who she was. He seemed genially curious. And his presence was quite warming. But she still held her guard up. You could never be too comfortable with strangers.
Naruto noticed that she did not mention where exactly she lived and the kind of business she was doing in the Fire country capital. But he could get more information from her quite easily if he wanted to. He settled for nodding in acceptance of her response before keeping quite.
''What about you? Are you on some kind of mission for Konoha?'' She seemed genially curious.
''No,'' Naruto responded calmly. He knew she would ask another follow up question to that. He would wait for it and answer it as soon as she questioned. He was not going to lie to her. He would just omit some important details.
''So you are just stopping by Sunagakure? Or just decided to tag along with me?'' her last words seemed to suggest something. The words also seemed to have been said intentionally as if she wanted to see how he would respond.
Although, he would admit that she was a desirable woman, he had not thought of doing anything to her. A part of him wanted to follow along with her last words. Perhaps he had watched Jiraiya too much when he dealt with women. It was not doing anything good to him. ''I was on a mission with Jiraiya of the Sannin. Once the mission was done, I decided to visit Sunagakure to see the Kazekage. The last time I saw him was three years ago when he had visited Konoha. We left on good terms.'' Gaara had come to Konoha after the chunin exams. He and his other siblings had saved some of his peers from death. Had it not been for them, some of them would have been killed. The Jinchuriki seemed to have changed during that time and referred to him as a friend.
''Jiraiya of the Sannin? You were on a mission with him? You must be someone strong or important to be on a mission with someone famous like him.'' It was hardly a surprise to Naruto that the woman knew about Jiraiya. The man was famous all over the Elemental Nations. Not only for his heroics as a Sannin but also for his work with his Icha Icha books. It was a surprise to him that there was a number of women who actually read the book.
''I am neither of those. The Sannin had just offered to take me with him since I had been bored in the village for the lack of missions. And I was more than willing to travel with him. Since the man was very familiar with the Elemental Nations, I just thought it would be a great experience for me to leave with him,'' Naruto explained lightly. Well, he had not requested to go with the man when he was travelling around to meet with his spy contacts. The man had offered to take him along. He was more than willing to tag along.
Miyuki seemed to think for a moment before she shrugged. ''Is it really true that he is a shameless pervert?''
Naruto nodded. ''That is quite true,'' he was also not surprised that it was known to other people that the man was a shameless pervert. Well the man refused to be called a pervert. He argued that he was a SUPER pervert. Naruto could never quite figure how the man could take such pride in being like that. Perhaps the man just accepted who he was. As far as he was concerned, the man had always been a pervert even from young age.
They talked more for the next two hours before it finally got dark. The conversation with the woman was quite random but pleasant. Naruto noted that Miyuki was indeed from a noble family, although, she did not seem to like formalities, but was quite a lively person too. Her mouth was always open. Naruto figured that it was because she was trying not to think over the fact that she was nearly captured by bandits. He very well knew that she was aware of what they did to those they kidnapped. She must have thought of the matter when she realized that all her guards had been captured. Still, he gave her credit. She did not break down or anything. She kept her calm and spoke as though she had nothing troubling. It was almost amusing because he also had many thoughts that were troubling him and yet he was still talking like everything was alright. It was the same for Miyuki.
The young woman herself had also noted a few things about her savior. He was very calm and showed little emotion. But she had managed to get him to laugh. It was quite a warming feeling to hear him laugh. He did not seem to fluster when she flirted or spoke some personal things. He merely gave her a small smile. That spoke very high emotional control to her. Still, it was a rather difficult thing to contain some feelings. Perhaps like her, he had other things troubling him at the back of his mind. She could not tell though. He seemed okay like nothing was bothering him. She had realized until later that she had spoken much with him that she had let her guard down. She did not curse herself for it because the blond did nothing to her. He did not even seem to be checking her at the corner of his eyes. So she had nothing to be worried about.
''Do you know if there is Hotel somewhere in the borders of the Wind country?'' Naruto asked suddenly. He had a feeling she might know given that she seemed to know a few places.
''Yes. There is one. It is within the river country. But close to the borders,'' Miyuki responded before giving him her map. Naruto took it out and marked where he was before directing his clones to the place. If there was a place to rest, he could do well with that.
They finally arrived at the place and Naruto rented two rooms. The rooms were next to each other, he had settled for giving the woman her privacy. It was reasonable for him to do so. He did not waste time after getting to his room; he washed himself and went to sleep. His body was tired, and he would use a lot of energy tomorrow when travelling in the desert. With someone who could not move as fast as him. This means that the woman would rely on him to move about in the desert. This meant that he would have to use more energy while travelling.
The following day
It was early in the morning that Naruto had woken up Miyuki. She had been sound asleep when he did so. He was a bit thankful that he had sent a clone to wake her up. The clone had knocked at her door but there was no answer so it proceeded to forcefully open the door. He did not catch the woman naked or anything. She just seemed not to be a morning person. He had told her that he was not working on her timetable but his. They were going to get to Sunagakure when he wanted. They were not going to move when she felt like waking up. He had been firm when the woman gave him a challenging gaze.
''We will have to leave your ''transport'' here,'' Naruto stated after they had left the hotel. They had now entered into the Wind country.
''Why?''
''I need to move faster. And I cannot do that while moving this thing. It is much more of a hinder crane than anything,'' Naruto explained sealing her bag. He now knew that it carried her clothes since she had changed. The woman was wearing a black kimono. It was obvious that the material was expensive.
''How am I going to travel? Do you plan on having me run along with you in the desert?'' Miyuki questioned with a slight stern tone. It was obvious that the option of running was out of the question for her. Naruto had nothing of that sort in mind though.
''I doubt you would survive,'' Naruto commented. By his tone, it could be said that he was not mocking her. It was merely stating the obvious. ''You will travel on my back. Do you have a problem with that?'' The blond gave the woman a blank stare making it impossible for her to read into his suggestion. She failed to think of what he was thinking.
She folded her arms across her chest and gave the blond a look. Naruto knew she was going to make a sly comment. He had no time for that. Before she could say anything, Naruto picked her up with force, yet so gently and placed her on his back. He could feel her glare as she spoke. ''That is not how you treat a woman!'' she seemed to be pouting.
Naruto ignored her words. ''Hold on tight,'' he stated before taking off. He felt her tight grip over his shoulders as he started to move.
''Try not to enjoy this,'' Naruto heard Miyuki say as he ran across the ground.
Well that brings about the end of chapter 11.
Sir Robert Mulaudzi