It had been exactly a week since Naruto had woken up. Due to defeating Kakuzu, he was allowed to stay at Takigakure for as long as he wanted. Of course, that meant Naruto had to deal with the reputation of being a "hero", something the jinchuriki didn't particularly enjoy being.
"Man, is this how Sasuke felt whenever he was bombared by his fangirls?" Naruto groaned, lying on his king-sized bed lazily. The room Naruto was at was huge, being at least three times as being as his apartment's room in Konoha. And surprisingly, it was at Shibuki's personal estate, mostly because they wanted to avoid the people who were "fans" of Naruto.
Of course, alongside Naruto was obviously his fellow jinchuriki, Utakata; he was currently sitting at the edge of his own bed (there were two bed king-sized beds), reading a book.
"The same thing probably would've happened at Kiri and Suna, if it weren't for the fact that they were almost destroyed. This time, we were lucky that the fight diverged from the actual village." Utakata said, looking up from his book for a second.
Naruto shrugged. "Still doesn't excuse the fact that it's annoying."
"True, but people live to look up to heroes; it inspires them and pushes them to be like them. Being an idol like you are should be an honour. I'm sure you've had someone you looked up to?" Utakata said wisely, before flipping the next page to his book.
Naruto simply sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I got it."
Naruto and Utakata suddenly looked at the other of the room, specifically at the door, as if expecting someone. On cue, the door opened, and in came the Takigakure village leader, Shibuki.
"H-how are you two holding up?" The leader asked a bit nervously.
Naruto shrugged. "Fine, I guess."
"I am doing quite well, thank you very much." Utakata replied respectfully.
"I-I see. Well, we're going to be holding a festival in honour of your victory. I know this sudden, but please join us!" Shibuki practically pleaded at the end.
Naruto put his hands behind his head and grinned. "Sure, why not! I'm pretty sure there'll be food, right?"
"Of course!" Shibuki replied quickly.
"Then it's settled. We'll be there." Utakata said, finally closing his book. "When is it?" He asked.
"It'll happen n-near the Central Tree tomorrow at 5 p.m." Shibuki answered with a bead of sweat rolling through his face.
"Cool!" Naruto exclaimed. "Man, I haven't had any good quality food in a while!"
"Y-yes, so you can eat much as you like!" Shibuki told him.
"Yeah, alright!"
One Day Later
"You know, I'm surprised we haven't been kicked out." Naruto said as he and Utakata walked toward the Central Tree. Of course, as he was walking, several villagers waved at him, to which he waved back at.
"Yes, the council of village would usually do something about outsiders like us. But I guess Shibuki, being the village leader, convinced them otherwise." Utakata explained.
"I know that. But I'm surprised he had the backbone to do it, is all." Naruto replied.
"I guess you must've knocked some sense into him when you shouted at him."
Naruto scoffed. "I did not shout at him. I simply criticised him."
"Well, whatever it was, you convinced him more than likely." Utakata said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
"Right. Anyways, We're here." Utakata suddenly said as they reached a banner held by two poles saying, 'Welcome!'
"These guys went a little overboard..." Naruto muttered, bewildered as he saw the dozens of tables of food, benches of people, and hundreds of drinks.
"Agreed."
"Well, I guess we should just dig in!" Naruto said, sitting on a bench and eating as much food as he possibly could consume.
1 Hour Later
"Man, I'm full! Naruto exclaimed, patting the large belly he had. Utakata simply sighed, having been done eating forty minutes ago.
"Don't blame me if you get fat."
Naruto shot a glare at him. "Hey, I deserve this! I already burned a bunch of calories from fighting."
"Sure."
"L-ladies and gentlemen!" A familiar but timid voice echoed through a mic, catching the jinchuriki's attention.
Near the Central Tree was a stage, with many people crowding around it. Looking closer, you could see twelve elderly people sitting on the stage, along with Shibuki, who was standing in front of the stage, looking as if he was delivering a speech.
"W-we would like to take this moment to thank the n-ninjas who successfully protected our villagers from two rogue ninjas." Shibuki announced, making the crowd look toward their directon and start clapping.
'Is this the reason why he asked us to come? Like come on, he could have just told us.' Naruto thought, blushing a bit from the applause.
"Of course, we would a-also like a moment of silence for the ninjas who f-fell in that very same battle. Please join me for a minute of silence." Shibuki said seriously, with the crowd now quiet.
'...dammit!' Naruto inwardly growled, clenching his fist. 'I could've saved those ninjas if I just created more clones, or if I-'
'Here we again.' Kurama cut in. 'Stop blaming yourself, you stupid brat. You can't change the past, so focus on the future. Isn't that what you said to that Uchiha brat? Or are you seriously going against your own so-called beliefs?'
'Still, I could've-'
'Shut it. There's nothing you can do about it.' Kurama said coldly. 'The least you can do is honour their memory and give condolences to their families.'
'...right. Thanks, Kurama. I don't what I would do without you.' Naruto said warmly to him.
'You would be dead, is what.' Kurama replied jokingly.
Next Day
"Where are gonna go next?" Utakata suddenly asked Naruto while they were both eating at Shibuki's kitchen table. Currently, they were eating scrambled eggs, but it seemed Utakata couldn't eat, more focused on what they were going to do next.
"Dunno." Naruto shrugged, stuffing the eggs into his mouth and swallowing. "But I think we should lay low for now. We got lucky this time, and the Akatsuki probably know of my new jutsu's."
"You always say we get lucky." Utakata pointed out.
"Yeah, because it's true." Naruto said while drinking down a glass of orange juice. "If it weren't for the fact that they were already exhausted from all the previous battles, I'm not sure if I could've landed all those Rasenshurikens, especially on Kakuzu. Even though they're immortal, they don't have infinite stamina or will." Naruto explained sharply.
"Still..." Utakata glanced at him.
"Our luck will definitely run out soon." Naruto said firmly. "And I refuse to get too cocky, or else we will die."
"Good to see you wisen up," Utakata said, "but still, our next move shouldn't have us stand still for too long."
Naruto leaned back on his chair, putting his arms across his chest. "True, true...we could go to Konoha, but I think it's a little bit too early. Plus..." Naruto suddenly smirked, "I really wanna see what this Jiroichiro guy can do."
Utakata blinked, before sighing. "So you've heard, huh?"
"Yeah, I've heard of the hype surrounding him," Naruto said jokingly, "and I'm really curious- scratch that, I really wanna fight him."
Utakata scowled. "Don't be stupid, you won't stand a chance. That guy is ridiculously strong, he's an SS class ninja, Naruto."
Naruto raised a brow, with a strange gleam in his eyes. "SS class? Man, that makes want to make me fight him even more!"
Utakata simply sighed. "Ones of these days, we will seriously die by your stupidity."
"It's not stupidity, it's simply sportsmanship." Naruto claimed with a toothy grin.
The two suddenly heard footsteps near the kitchen entrance, and in came Shibuki.
"H-how're you two doing?" Shibuki asked almost nervously. Naruto gave him a thumbs-up.
"The food is awesome, thanks!" Naruto exclaimed. Shibuki mumbled a "thank you", before looking directly at Naruto.
"I-I know this is strange and really sudden, but...I would like a favour."
Naruto leaned forward on the table, putting his palm under his chin. "What's up?"
"W-well..." Shibuki then took a deep breath, "I challenge you to a friendly s-spar."
Utakata almost spat out his food, while Naruto just blinked in surprise. "...well, sure, why not?"
The two young ninjas were in the middle of the battle field, which was quite simply a flat, rocky plain. There was water outlining the field's boundaries, ultimately shaping it into a rectangle.
Outside of water border were Utakata and a couple other elite ninjas.
"Hey, guys!" Fuu's shaky voice shouted from inside the entrance at the side. A couple seconds later, she came running out and stood next to Utakata, who simply raised a brow. "Hey, I couldn't miss this if I wanted to." She said, crossing her arms and watching the two young ninjas with immense curiosity and excitement.
Naruto turned to Shibuki with a small smile. "Are you ready?"
Shibuki nervously nodded. "Y-yeah."
"Begin!" Fuu suddenly said, even though nobody asked. Either way, the atmosphere of the stadium changed, and everyone could tell the battle started.
...
Nobody moved however. Not even a slight quiver. Even so, Shibuki had a bead of sweat rolling down his face.
'Observe.' Naruto activated without as much as a visible twitch.
Name: Shibuki
Class: Takigakure Leader
Level: Lv34
HP: 30,000
CP: 80,000
STR: 30
STM: 100
DEX: 50
INT: 50
WIS: 50
LUK: 50
Elemental Affinity: Water
Naruto suddenly lifted his hand, and gave a "come on" motion. Shibuki gulped, before charging at him with an almost uncertain punch.
Naruto sighed, side-stepping Shibuki completely, before elbowing him in the back of the head. Shibuki crashed to the ground head-first, but quickly picked himself back up.
However, when he turned around to try and deliver another punch, Naruto was nowhere in sight.
"Psst!" Shibuki jolted, surprised by the voice coming behind him. "Hey, over here." Naruto called out mockingly, causing Shibuki to slowly turn and receive a powerful punch to the face, sending him toppling.
Naruto watched as Shibuki slowly picked himself up, and in the meantime, Naruto started stretching his shoulders. "Come on, fight like you mean it!" Naruto said almost angrily.
Shibuki gulped nervously, which Fuu quickly took notice of.
"Come on, you can do it, Shibuki!" Fuu shouted encouragingly.
Utakata glanced at her at the corner of his eye. 'It's just a spar, yet she's getting so worked up over it. Well, whatever, the outcome of this fight is obvious.'
'Now I seem like the bad guy.' Naruto snorted. 'Funny how that works.'
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Naruto turned around to see a dragon made of water charging right at him. Naruto stood still and held out his hand, completely catching and blocking the large water dragon's head in his hand.
'Wind Style: Hurricane Fist.' Naruto said internally, creating a gust of wind around his hand to wipe out the water dragon's head and ultimately the rest of it.
Naruto suddenly narrowed his eyes as he sensed Shibuki behind him. He narrowly ducked under a kick to his head, and formed a Rasengan along the way to turning to Shibuki's direction.
"Hidden Waterfall Style: Water Slicing Blade!" Shibuki shouted, forming a dense sword of water and having it clash with Naruto's Rasengan.
Boom!
A small explosion erupted, and trailing out of it was Shibuki, who was visibly hurt and had his water sword destroyed. Naruto simply walked out of the explosion without a single scratch.
'Not bad. He somehow was able to deal 10,000 HP.' Naruto noted, looking at his health bar at the corner of his line of sight; he still had 683,000 HP left though.
"What's the point of this spar?" Naruto asked, bored. "If you're not gonna put your life on the line to test yourself, then it's all for nothing."
Shibuki faltered, before somehow standing up with some unknown confidence. "T-that may be true for some, but not all of us can do that! We don't want to die!"
Naruto shrugged his words off though. "Who cares? I put my very life on the line to become the best I could possibly be in my battles! If you don't have that kind of resolve, that kind of conviction, then just give up being a ninja! It's not for you!"
Shibuki's eyes widened. "Q-quit!? B-but I..." Shibuki looked down, ashamed. "I-I have to-"
"I don't care for your excuses." Naruto cut in.
Shibuki growled angrily for the first time. "What do you know about me!?"
Naruto didn't even blink. "Whether you have some tragic backstory, or if you're completely pain free, I don't care. All I care about is that as long as you can breath, as long this heart of yours," Naruto pointed at his own heart, "can keep pumping blood, then you can do something- you can make a difference. You're you! You're Shibuki! Not some village leader, but a ninja known as Shibuki. So give it your all! All your hatred, all your feelings, I can take it!"
"What if you can't take it!?" Shibuki shouted back, completely out of character.
Naruto grinned. "I know I can, so try me."
Shibuki clenched his fists tightly. "...if that's the case, then...then..." he quickly got something out of his pocket and began drinking it. He gulped it down, and threw the glass to the ground. "I'll put my very life on the line! Just like my father did to protect everyone in this village!"
Naruto's eyes widened a bit as he saw Shibuki's CP skyrocket all the way to 800,000. 'D-did he just-'
'-drink the Hero's Water!?' Utakata somehow finished Naruto's train of thought. 'I know Naruto said to put your life on the line, but not like this!'
Shibuki was suddenly coated in thick, blue chakra, and he immediately began forming hand seals. "Water Style: Water Bullet!" Shibuki took a deep breath, and expelled a large torrent of water, to the point where even Naruto had to narrow his eyes seriously.
"Water Style: Water Bullet!" Naruto did the same thing as Shibuki, spitting out a huge torrent of water. The two water torrents clashed, and ultimately cancelled each other out, sending splashes of water all around the stadium.
Naruto used this small opportunity to appear behind Shibuki and knock him out with a chop to the neck. Of course, as Shibuki was falling down, Naruto grabbed him and took him to the others.
"Better take him to the hospital. The more he has that water in his system, the more he'll screw himself up." Naruto told the spectating elite ninjas, who nodded and took their leader away.
Naruto whistled as he saw Shibuki get taken away. "That guy is almost as crazy as me."
"Yeah, almost." Utakata added. "Still, I can't believe he pushed you so much that you had to use your full power."
Naruto shrugged. "I could've taken him without going all out, but it just would've taken longer. And with that water in his system, I knew I had to end it quickly." Naruto explained, putting his hands behind his head.
"Hey, hey, I'm here too!" Fuu suddenly shouted, waving her hand in front of them. "Wanna fight me next!? Wait, no, how about a battle royale instead!?"
Utakata sighed, while Naruto grinned at her, agreeing to the challenge.
That Night
Naruto was currently by himself in his room, doing some one-finger pushups while trying to think of something to increase his XP.
The thing was, now that Naruto was level 105, leveling up would be very difficult with training alone. He was only able to level up so much because he fought so many opponents that were at a higher level than him,
'Nobody in this village is even close to my level. In fact, I'm probably the strongest in the country.' Naruto suddenly felt a sense of accomplishment. Knowing he was the strongest was...encouraging and almost breath-taking.
'I can't believe I've made it so far.' Naruto thought, slowly speeding up the rate of his pushups. 'I wonder how...everyone in Konoha would feel?' he wondered. But he couldn't think for long, as someone suddenly opened the door.
Naruto glanced up. "Wassup, Utakata?"
"Nothing much. Any idea where we should go next yet?"
Naruto stopped his pushups, and picked himself back up to his full height. "I got an idea, yeah. You ever hear of the Country of Whirlpool?"
Utakata blinked. "I've heard of it, yes, but I never visited it, since it's been destroyed for decades and all."
"I just wanna see the remnants of it. Kakuzu mentioned the Uzumaki's had some awesome stuff, so I wanna check if they've left anything behind."
Utakata frowned. "I know you want to learn about your family heritage, but that place is almost completely gone. Plus, basically everything has been raided already. Unless there's some super secret the Uzumaki's hid, then I doubt there's anything left."
Naruto shrugged. "Let's at least try."
"What if we find nothing? Think about it, we'd have travelled for days for no reason at all." Utakata shot back.
Naruto blinked. "Is it really that far?"
"Yeah, it is. Check a map or something." Utakata suggested as he walked a couple meters to the right to lay down on his bed. He yawned silently. "But let's go to sleep first. After all that sparring, I'm exhausted."
"Hey, wait a minute, I was the one getting double-teamed!" Naruto exclaimed. Utakata ignored him though, acting as if he were asleep, making Naruto pout.
"Okay, whatever." Naruto muttered. He sat down on his own bed, away from Utakata, and simply uttered, "Fast Travel."
As expected, a blue highlighted map of the world hovered over his lap. He looked over it, trying to find the Country of Whirlpool.
'Hm...its right between the Land of Waters and the Land of Fire, meaning I must've passed when I was going to Kiri with Konrad...' Naruto suddenly noticed a familiar name tag at the Country of Whirlpool.
'No way...why is mister Kanata there?' Naruto asked himself, remembering the old spy from Kiri. 'Suspicious...he does honour me, meaning I could teleport to him now...eh, why the hell not?'
Naruto suddenly stood up, making Utakata twitch.
"I'm leaving for a bit." Naruto simply said.
"Alright." Utakata waved him off from inside his blanket.
"See ya." Naruto selected Kanata's name, and instantly the option to teleport to him appeared. He clicked it, and he was off.
Zip!
The day was bright in the destroyed Country of Whirlpol. It was like an island, one that was surrounded by dangerous whirlpools. Near thw centre of the island was an old man, seemingly searching for something.
"Hmm..." Kanata said, stroking his chin while examining some rubble. "Nothing here, either." He sighed, turning around and walking a couple metres forward.
Zip!
"Watcha lookin' for, old man?" Naruto suddenly asked from behind, making the old man jolt. He turned around, before sighing, realizing it was only Naruto.
"Oh, it's you. Naruto Uzumkai, right?" Naruto nodded, though a bit annoyed he didn't seem to remember him at first. "Apologies, my memory is quite terrible, with age and all. Anyway...why and how are you here?" he asked in complete confusion.
'Hm. He doesn't seem too agitated that I interrupted him. Usually, it would be obvious if he really was hiding something.' Naruto analyzed.
"It's called instant teleportation, the only way to travel!" Naruto joked, making the old man smile.
"Teleportation jutsu...how interesting. I've never it in action myself, but I've heard of its incredible capabilities." Kanata replied, clearly impressed. "Still, you haven't answered my question, lad."
"Oh, well aside from just checkin' on ya, I was just investigating my heritage. And what better than the country they lived in?"
"I see." Kanata nodded. "I, myself, am here for some leftover Uzumaki treasures."
"Why so suddenly?" Naruto asked suspiciously.
Kanata laughed, picking up on his suspicious tone. "When I met you, I remembered about the Country of Whirlpool and how some of their treasure may be able to help Kiri. But at the same time, I doubted there was going to be anything." he suddenly had a gleam full of desire in his eyes. "But with you, I might just find something." Kanata said with an excited tone.
"We'll see." Naruto replied, before walking and standing in front of some dark rubble. "All this rubble...it's leftovers from the village, right?"
"Yes. I hoped to be able to lift the rubble and find something, but it seems my youth is over." Kanata said, chuckling a bit. "And this rubble specifically was from the office of the country leader."
"I doubt we're going to find anything," Naruto said, looking down on the rubble, "since this place has already been raided. And quite recently, too."
Kanata blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Naruto crouched down, touching the rubble. "If you look closely, there are some deep fingerprints, meaning someone lifted it this or at least exhibited a lot of pressure onto it. Also, this rubble is organised far too neatly, not to mention the other destroyed areas," Naruto jabbed his thumb over his back, pointing at another round of rubble, "are made out of different materials than this one. It was setup to look like nothing happened here."
Kanata blinked twice. "I-I see. I'm surprised you managed to find this out so quickly."
Naruto glanced at him, shrugging while standing up to his full height. "Two of my old teammates had a Sharingan, so you pick up a thing or two."
Kanata laughed, but, for some odd reason, the sound of his laughter never reached Naruto's ears. The odd motion of laughter confused Naruto. And when it seemed that Kanata was talking to him, he didn't hear anything.
"Huh?"
Kanata sighed. "I said..."
...
Naruto blinked, confused as to why Kanata's mouth was moving even though he wasn't saying anything.
"U..m...i..."
'What the hell is going on?' Naruto asked himself as black fog suddenly began covering his vision. 'I can't see a thing.'
"Uz...ma...ki..."
Naruto stepped forward (or wherever forward was), and made a hand seal.
"Kai!" Naruto opened an eye, and still saw the darkness. He focused all of his chakra this time, and said the magic word again.
"Kai!"
Still, the darkness was there. 'What the hell!?'
"Uzumaki..."
Naruto narrowed his eyes, keeping his guard up for anything.
Suddenly, a young red-haired boy, around 10 years old, appeared in front of him.
"Uh...hey, kid. Wassup?" Naruto greeted awkwardly. The boy simply stared at him with a blank face.
"..."
"..."
'Awkward.' Naruto thought, sweat-dropping. 'Is this some sort of genjutsu?'
The boy suddenly looked up, staring directly into Naruto's blue eyes with his own deep piercing gray ones.
"Do you know what happened to us?"
"Us?" Naruto repeated in confusion. "What're you talking about? We're the only ones here, somehow."
"There was no warning." the boy began. "They came so suddenly. They hunted us down like animals, killed every single one of us. I lost my mommy and daddy that day."
"...!" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What the hell do you mean, kid?"
The boy walked a couple steps towards him, before stopping and instead opting to walk around him. "We ran and ran, but we weren't fast enough."
Naruto suddenly heard another separate set of footsteps, and turned to see a young man in his twenties with identical red hair to the young boy. "Our village leader took as many as he could, and hid us in his secret office."
"But that wasn't enough." A more older yet more feminine voice continued. Naruto turned around again to see a middle-aged woman in her late 40's with long, dull red hair. "They broke through everything, and soon found and killed us."
"I felt guilty that I could not protect even one of my Uzumaki brethren, the ones who I swore to protect." Another older voice continued. Naruto could tell by his voice it was an old man. "And so, I sealed the chakra of those that were with me that day within the walls of the secret office. Anybody with Uzumaki blood flowing through their veins would be able to communicate with all those dead spirits."
"Which you are currently doing right now." The woman added.
"We have been waiting, waiting decades for the one who would find us. The one who would avenge us. The one who would kill him." The young boy from before said with a tone that made Naruto shiver.
"Y-you guys...were you killed when the Country of Whirlpool was destroyed?" Naruto asked with wide eyes. They all simultaneously nodded.
Naruto's eyes softened. "Sorry, but...I'm not going to. I'm not going to take revenge. I refuse to."
"We know your pain, and how you refused to take revenge against those who condemned you." The woman said with a sad look in her eye. Naruto simply glanced at her.
"But you must never forget one thing. It was that accursed village of Iwagkure who wiped out your heritage, your place of origin!" The young man shouted, putting his hand out in front of him toward Naruto.
"...my home is Konoha. I'm sorry." Naruto replied with his head down.
"While you may deny who you are, you are still one of the very last of a great clan." The old man said with seemingly lost pride.
"Destroy him...destroy him...destroy him for you are the only one..." They chanted in a low but powerful voice. Naruto had enough, and simply covered his ears while also closing his eyes.
"Can you all just be quiet! Like seriously!'
"N...to..."
Naruto growled, although still covering his ears and eyes.
"N...r...to..."
"I get it, so leave me already!"
"Naruto!"
Naruto immediately opened his eyes, realizing it was only Kanata.
"H-huh? What happened? What'd I miss?"
Kanata sighed, shaking his head. "Nothing, just that you've been standing still for a couple seconds now."
"Oh."
'So that vision...it only lasted a couple seconds in the real world? Damn, that old man must've used some high level sealing.' Naruto thought, thoroughly impressed. Still, the vision did creep him out.
"Anyways, let's keep searching." Kanata said as he walked a couple steps. "It may have been raided, but they must've missed something, right?"
"Who knows." Naruto shrugged. "But I think I'm done for the day." Naruto said, making Kanata turn back around. "Thanks for the offer, though. And good luck."
"Well, it's been a pleasure. Any hints?" The old man asked.
"Search through this rubble stuff, and try applying chakra. You might find some seals." Naruto replied, before pointing at the rubble of the office building they were looking at before. "Especially there. The office might contain something, but who knows? Check it anyway. Be careful since there might be traps set."
Kanata nodded. "Thank you. And may good fortunes be granted upon your journey."
Naruto nodded back. "Yeah."
'Fast Travel to Utakata.'
Zip!
Utakata jolted slightly as he heard Naruto's footsteps enter the room.
"What's up?" Utakata asked, rising from his bed and looking at him tiredly.
"Nothing." Naruto replied, collapsing onto his own bed. He sighed and closed his eyes. Utakata's gaze lingered at him for a couple more seconds, before he too went to sleep.
"The Land of Iron?" Naruto asked while he was munching on a piece of bacon at the kitchen table. The two jinchuriki were eating breakfast, and this time, Shibuki joined them, having been released from the hospital.
"Yes. It would be a g-great place for you to hone your skills in s-secrecy." Shibuki said, although a bit uncertain at his own suggestion.
"Cool."
"But isn't that place only for samurai's?" Utakata pointed out.
Shibuki nodded. "Yes, but I-I'll write a letter for you guys to ask permission for e-entrance."
"Are you sure that'll work?" Utakata asked.
Shibuki nodded. "Y-yes. Or I hope so." he muttered at the end, making them sweat-drop.
"Oh, crap!" Naruto suddenly face-palmed. "Speaking of letters, wasn't I supposed to send something to Suna's council!?"
Utakata nodded. "You were. It was supposed to be a report on The Servant."
Naruto stood up, scurrying away to his room. "Gimme a couple hours to write the report! And then tomorrow, at exactly 1:00 p.m sharp, we'll leave! Oh, and would ya mind packing my stuff for me, Utakata?"
Utakata simply sighed. "Whatever."
"Thanks for the hospitality." Utakata said at the secret exit gate of Takigakure. Instead of swimming and using the way they entered, Shibuki opted they use the secret back-exit for more security and ease. However, to their slight surprise, it was simply an underground tunnel.
Even so, the tunnel was very complex, taking at least an hour to exit if they knew the directions. And luckily, they had a map, lended by Shibuki who suggested they throw it out afterwards.
As usual, Utakata had a storage seal with food inside on his back. Naruto simply had it in his inventory.
"It was a p-pleasure." Shibuki replied, scratching his cheek. "Are you sure you don't want to stay longer?"
"We're good." Naruto said. "We don't wanna be a nuisance or anything, ya know?"
"S-still, I never got to thank you properly." Shibuki said, eyes looking down, although sometimes flickering towards him.
"And you never will." Naruto said. Utakata walked up to Shibuki and held his hand out to shake with his. The leader took it graciously, and smiled.
"Well, you're welcome to come stay anytime." Fuu said, looking at Naruto with a bright smile.
Naruto put two fingers together on his temple and then pointed it towards Fuu, saluting her. "We got it. Good luck to you, too. Ya know, on the whole getting accepted thing."
"Yeah, thanks!" Fuu replied, eye-smiling smiling at him.
At Konoha, Training Ground 3
The usually empty Training Ground 3 was occupied by two figures. In the middle of the grassy plain was a tall masked man, who was fighting a shorter black haired-boy.
"You're getting better." Boar commented as he caught a dangerous kick that was targeting his rib area. He threw Sasuke back, who flipped through the air and landed quite gracefully.
"Hmph." Sasuke began throwing shurikens at him, which Boar easily side-stepped and dodged. However, that was a diversion, as Sasuke used the opportunity to get behind Boar and try kicking him in the back.
Unfortunately, Boar quickly turned around, using the momentum to round-house kick Sasuke in the stomach.
Pop!
'What? A Shadow Clone? When did he-' Boar's thoughts were cut off as he was suddenly punched in his mask's cheek area, slightly cracking it and sending him sliding a couple metres.
"Not bad." Boar complimented, re-adjusting his mask. "You actually landed a hit. This is a first."
Sasuke panted hard, hands on his knees with his voice barely audible. "Thanks, but using Shadow Clones and the Sharingan at the same time...?" Sasuke fell to his knees, panting even harder, "...that...wiped out all my reserves..."
'He must've copied it from Naruto, though he never attempted it in battle, knowing it would use up all of his reserves.' Boar analysed, looking down at the exhausted Sasuke. 'Well, at least he took that risk during training and not in battle.'
"We'll continue training tomorrow. Get some rest." Boar said, turning around.
Sasuke's head shot up at him. "What? But we've only trained for half an hour today."
Boar turned his head, glancing at him. "Don't overestimate yourself. Nor should you try to constantly break your limits. In the end, that'll only break you."
Sasuke stared at him for half a minute, before looking down defeated. "Fine."
Hokage's Office
"The end of the world? Is that even possible?" Jiraiya leaned against the wall, asking Tsunade, who was signing some papers. They were referring to what Gamakichi, the toad Jiraiya accidently summoned, said previously.
Tsunade simply sighed. "Who knows? But first things first, we need to get Naruto."
"No, we'll just be wasting resources at this point." Jiraiya said coldly. "He doesn't want to be found, so we should leave him."
Tsunade glared at him. "So what!? Do you want me to assign him as a missing-ninja then?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "No, don't list him as a missing-ninja, that would be the worst thing you could do." he said, making Tsunade less tense.
"Anyways, I requested to the toads that they talk to Naruto about what he's doing. Of course, they seem quite worried and panicked right now for some reason, so who knows when that'll happen?" Jiraiya said, chuckling nervously.
Shizune, who had just walked in and placed a stack of paperwork on Tsunade's desk, offered her own input. "For now, let's just expand our alliances. Suna and Kiri are a great start, but we should make peace with places like Takigakure or even Kumogakure. That'll allow your spies to move more freely, right?"
Jiraiya sighed, shaking his head. "Maybe, but I doubt it. There's just too much hate and clinging to the past for that to work. Maybe Takigakure would agree, but they're such a secretive and protective land that I doubt they would trust us. I don't have any spies there, that's how good they are."
Tsunade looked forward, eyes looking determined. "Still, if we want to find Naruto and bring peace, we have to do something."
"Brrr~" Naruto shivered, arms across his shoulders. "T-this place is c-cold..." Naruto commented, observing the climate. Most of the land was filled with snowy hills and frozen lakes.
Utakata, who was wearing a light, blue coat, sighed. "Told you so. You should've brought something warm to wear. A full sleeve shirt definitely doesn't work at a cold climate like this, and especially here, the coldest area in the land, which reaches temperatures up to -40°C."
Naruto glared at him, albeit with a shiver. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, it's still your fault for not telling me it was gonna be THIS cold." Naruto said, before spotting a cavern inside a tall hill. He grinned.
"Last one there is a rotten ninja!"
Utakata sighed for what was the hundredth time.
"Well, at least this is somewhat warm." Naruto said, putting his hands near the fire Utakata had made.
They were currently inside the cavern, though much to Naruto's dismay, it was an icy one. Luckily, after walking in quite deep, they found a relatively warm area.
"As I said, your fault for not bringing anything warm." Utakata said again. Naruto simply glared at him.
"Anyways, let me scout ahead, see what kind of climate we're dealing with." Utakata said, standing up and walking towards the cavern exit.
"Aside from the snow and ice?" Naruto raised an eye.
"I'm talking about the temperature, animals, the distance from the Land of Iron, etc." Utakata explained.
"Oh."
"Cook some food in the meantime, alright?" Utakata asked while putting on some extra clothing.
"Got it." Naruto replied. Utakata glanced at him almost worriedly.
"Don't burn it. Or poison it. Or blow it up. Or-"
"Okay, okay, I get it. Sheesh!"
Utakata simply smirked, walking until he was gone in Naruto's eyes.
"Okay, Open Inventory." Naruto activated, opening up a blue box that contained many objects entrapped in squares.
"Alright, let's take some beef, vegetables, a pot, oil, and-"
"Hey ya!"
Naruto jolted, unintentionally closing his inventory, and turning around to see a small, red toad.
"A frog?" Naruto questioned. It was then he realized that he wasn't in the icy cavern anymore. He was at some kind of forest that contained many tall mushroom-like trees: this ranged from green, red, dotted and among many other types of mushrooms.
And Naruto was currently in an empty opening of this "mushroom forest", a place that didn't look too special or unique.
"I'ma toad, ya idiot!" he shouted, making Naruto cringe. "The name's Gamakichi."
"Gamakichi?" Naruto repeated, before suddenly lighting up. "Oh, right. You're Gamabunta's...son or something, right?"
He nodded. "Yup! And I'm here to ask you what you're doing."
Naruto blinked in confusion. "Me? I'm cooking food right now. Or at least I was, before you came. Where are we, anyway?"
"This is Mount Myobuki, my home. This is just a forest we're in, somewhere far away from those lame geezers." Gamakichi answered proudly, although having a clear distaste for these so-called geezers.
"Mount Myoboku...?" Naruto repeated in wonder and confusion. "How did I end up here?"
"You didn't." Gamakichi replied. "I summoned you here. That would be called Reverse-Summoning to you, but eh, same difference."
"Oh, that's cool."
"Anyway, I'm getting side-tracked. Why aren't you in Konoha, pal?" Gamakichi asked, even though it sounded he didn't care. He was probably doing this because he was ordered to.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I have something to do." he said, quickly flashing back to Eon's threat, The Servant, and the Akatsuki.
Gamakichi scratched the back of his ear with his leg. "Oh, I see. That's cool. Hey, do you have any candy?" he suddenly asked.
Naruto blinked, turning around with his back facing the toad. "No, but let me check."
'Open Inventory.' Naruto activated internally, once again opening up the familiar blue screen. He didn't have many items, but somehow, out of all things, he had a red-stripped candy. He dragged it out from the screen, and gave it to Gamakichi, who grabbed it without question.
"Thanks, kid! I owe ya one!" Gamakichi said, chewing on the mint-flavoured candy.
"No problem. And sorry, but I'm gonna have to use that favour now." Naruto requested, "Tell everyone not to be worried, and to stop searching for me. I have some serious things to care of." Naruto said with a dead-serious tone, before remembering something else.
"And also, tell grandma Tsunade to form an alliance with the guys in Takigakure; tell them Naruto sent them. It should work since I'm pretty cool with those guys." Naruto added casually. Gamakichi simply nodded.
"Got it. Nice meetin' ya, kid." Gamakichi gave one final salute.
Because you talked to Gamakichi, your relationship with him is now Friendly.
'Cool.' Naruto thought, waiting to be sent back.
...
...
"...so how do I go back?" Naruto asked, cutting the awkward silence. Gamakichi just shrugged.
"I dunno, I didn't get that far in my training in the whole summoning humans thing."
Naruto looked at the toad for a couple seconds, giving an "are you serious?" face, before sighing. "Well, see ya, Gamakichi." Naruto said, before muttering a certain ability under his breath. "Fast Travel to Waypoint #3."
Zip!
"Welp, I'm back." Naruto muttered, feeling the cold atmosphere once again. The icy cavern was annoyingly cold, and the only thing that helped was the fire, which was currently out.
'Damn it! That stupid talk caused the fire to go away! It was my only source of heat, too!' Naruto exclaimed, before succumbing to the cold temperate.
One Hour Later
"The central land is twenty miles up, you think you can survive?" Utakata asked as he threw a piece of wood into the fire to keep it going.
"You mean us, right?" Naruto asked, turning to him with squinted and uncertain eyes.
"...sure." Utakata answered. It didn't sound too sarcastic, so Naruto took it as a yes.
"I mean, in all honesty...? Of course!" Naruto replied a bit too loudly. "Come on Utakata, we fought Eon-"
"-you mean got bodied."
Naruto shot a glare, before continuing. "-destroyed The Servant, and even defeated Kakuzu and Hidan-"
"-after we got our asses beaten two times before." Utakata added casually,
"-and in mere moments, Utakata will be blasted by a Tailed Beast Bomb." Naruto finished off with a sadistic smile. Utakata simply chuckled under his breath.
At Hyuga Estate
The Hyuga clan were currently the most powerful clan in Konoha, with their exceptional Kekkei Genkei and taijutsu allowing them to take that rank.
In the estate of the clan lies a certain training ground, one reserved for the Main House. It is small, only around 20 metres in length and width, while also having a tree placed near the right corner.
The ground is placed smack-dab in the heart of the Main Branch House section, where those of that branch can easily view the training.
In present, the space was being occupied by two young Hyuga's: Hinata and Neji Hyuga, both whom are cousins and were being watched by Hanabi and Hiashi Hyuga. The two were training extensively, trying to improve their taijutsu without the use of the Byakugan.
As expected, Neji had the clear advantage, slapping away every one of Hinata's Gentle Fist strikes.
"You must do better than that, Hina- Lady Hinata." Neji said, catching himself and using a proper honorific instead. He had just slapped away a palm strike that was targeted towards his rib area.
Of course, without the Byakugan she wasn't as precise, but nonetheless, it was impressive that she at least knew the key vital points to target.
"R-right!" Hinata replied with a lot of intensity in her eyes. She cocked her hand back, preparing a palm strike, and sent it right at Neji's jaw as an uppercut.
"Predictable." Neji commented, as he leaned back to dodge the predictable strike to the jaw. Hinata, with her legs so forward, temporarily lost balance, and Neji used the opportunity to aim a strike right at Hinata's stomach-
"Enough!"
Neji stopped his palm as soon as he heard Hiashi's stern voice. Luckily, it was an inch away from making contact, so no injuries were dealt. However, Hiashi glared not at Neji, but Hinata.
"Hinata!" Hiashi called loudly with arms crossed. "Your moves are too stiff, and you were far too eager to attack even though you knew your opponent was superior to you in almost every way possible."
Hinata looked down at the ground, head bowing slightly.
"I-I apologize, father. Next time-"
"You did not let me finish!" Hiashi cut in with slight anger. Hinata bowed her head more. "Nonetheless, even with all that critique, you did well. You've improved by a considerable margin since last, and with your current medical ninjutsu training, you should be fit as a perfect heir for the Hyuga clan." Hiashi concluded, his voice filled with satisfaction. Even though it wasn't outright happiness on her father's part, Hinata was still happy.
"Y-yes! I will keep working hard!" Hinata replied, beaming at her father. Hanabi, who was next to her father, smiled at her sister for finally being able to prove her strength and worth.
"And you, too, Neji." Hiashi suddenly added. "You have done well, but your movements have been a bit too lax. True, your opponent is inferior, but never let your guard down." he advised, making Neji nod and bow his head slightly.
"I will do as you say, Lord Hiashi."
'I'll get stronger, just you wait. But more than that, I hope to prove that I have...changed, Naruto.' Neji thought, looking up into the sky. A blue bird suddenly flew by, its wings seemingly flapping in slow-motion, and Neji looked down on the ground with a smirk.
Hey guys, what's up? Took long, I know, and I don't really have an excuse. The schedule is probably gonna be like this, a chapter a month or two. Anyways, if you've noticed, I really like to focus on side-characters, specifically Sasuke. To be blunt, I absolute LOVE Sasuke, Lee, and Neji , so expect some hype for them later.
The reason why you didn't see this "hype" in previous chapters was 'cuz I had been reading a lot of bashing/other fics that focused heavily on Naruto while ignoring all the other side-characters. Due to that, my mind was embedded with the idea of this awesome and epic Naruto, and it really looked like I hated everyone but Naruto, who was seemingly on this high pedestal and could do no wrong. Of course, I fixed all that stuff now, so if an old reader reads the story again, they probably won't find all that wanking.
Anyways, let's talk about this fic currently, and what's going to happen next. Quite frankly, I think I'll be doing a time-skip very, very soon, so look out for that. The fight with Jiroichiro will arrive quickly as well, and if you read the fight Naruto had with Shibuki, it will be quite detailed. I only added that fight to test my limits and see how well I could write a fight; basically practice for the future, since this chapter (like what usually happens in this fic after a conflict) is mostly chill. To contrast this chapter, next chapter will have us jumping in fairly quickly, but at the same time, I won't rush things.
And lastly, Happy Valentines Day!