- Okay, all clear, you can go on board.
The man with the full, gray beard said, and they both climbed into his boat.
It was not a very big boat, but it had a considerable size that could support a certain number of people.
Naruto and Tayuya walked to one end of the boat, avoiding being in the middle of all those unknown people, some of whom had chakra, but did not have a significant amount, nor dark intentions, that were of concern to the boy.
- After all that work, finally.
He leaned on the iron bar, sighing in fatigue.
- Hm... honest work took too long, but... I admit it wasn't that bad.
She stood beside him, and Naruto smiled slightly.
- Missing them already?
-... I won't lie that I will remember Haruki and the others from time to time.
He grimaced with a bastard smile, and she rolled her eyes.
- Fuck you.
- Argh, you and your foul mouth.
The boat began to move, and he looked over his shoulder, noting how many people were on the scene.
- Argh, Kami, why don't you stop it? Nobody cares about swearing in a world where wars take place over a piece of land.
- I care - he crossed his arms.
- But I don't, so fuck it.
The boy grimaced, and the girl just shrugged.
The time passed slowly, with the boat stopping every now and then to drop some people off at their respective places. The two young people would be the last to leave, since they were the ones with the farthest destination.
Naruto and Tayuya were in a small room near the other end of the boat. The girl was lying down, resting her head on her arm, while Naruto was meditating in the next corner.
They had been there for a while, a few hours at least, long enough for Naruto to finish meditating and get up, stretching.
With slow, calm steps, he walks over to the mattress that was on the floor, right next to Tayuya, and lies down.
- I swear, I have no idea how you can stay in that position for so long.
- Hah, practice, I guess. You can do it too, and it's great for refining your chakra, plus you can learn other things that might be useful.
He lay down, staring at the already battered ceiling of the room, his hands resting on his torso.
- I don't have the patience for this. Who knows in the future...
They remained silent for some time, listening only to the boat's engine and the soft sound of the water movements.
- Have you decided where you are going? What are you going to do?
He broke the silence, and the girl turned to him, lying on her side.
- I don't know... as tempting as "a normal life" may sound, I don't feel I can live normally... not with so many loose ends.
He turned around too, arching an eyebrow.
- Loose ends? What loose ends?
- Juugo and the others. I've spent most of my life with them and that piece of shit Orochimaru, I don't feel like I can just... forget, or, ignore. As much as I hate that part of my life.
They stared at each other for a while.
- I think I understand... you want to make sure they don't come looking for you again... right?
- Well... I guess so.
- Hm... why don't you stay in Konoha?
She made a face, a mixture of surprise and confusion.
- Yeah, come to Konoha, or my father's clan.
She raised her head slightly, eyes narrowed, even more confused.
- Your father's clan? Wait, a clan of demi-humans?
Naruto sighed, listening to Kurama in his mind.
"Do you trust her?"
"Well... yes... we've been together a long time, I don't think she'll do anything with that information."
"... If you trust her, then there's no problem at all."
- Well... about that part, about me being a demi-human... I lied.
She stared at him intensely, her brown eyes almost glowing in curiosity.
- I am human... well... part human, I guess... I got that way, that appearance, because I made a blood contract with a Bijuu.
They were silent for some time. One, two, five seconds, until Tayuya blinked frantically when her brain finally digested that information.
-... Okay... Are you telling me that you... made a blood contract with a Bijuu? One of the strongest and most dangerous beings in the world?
It was obvious the disbelief in his words, which made Naruto roll his eyes. Why the surprise? It was far easier to happen than a demi-human rising from the ashes.
- Yes, exactly that. If not for that, I probably wouldn't have survived that forest.
-... Bullshit
- What?
- I doubt it. No chance. A Bijuu...? The Bijuus disappeared a long time ago, many even believe that the ones that were not captured died. Most think they just decided to isolate themselves, and out of nowhere, a little boy like you made a blood contract with one of them? All right.
He made a slightly annoyed face, and sighed in frustration.
- I am serious! Have I ever lied since we've been together?
- No... but... argh, this is different. A blood contract with such powerful beings is something that humanity simply can't imagine happening.
She lay back down again, staring at the ceiling.
"What the hell, I look like a moron."
"No, no, that's your usual face."
"Ha, ha, very funny, Kurama. Very funny."
"But she has a point. There is no record of a blood contract made with humans before, all I know, our pa... creator who told me. You are the first human that I, or any of my other brothers and sisters have ever made a blood contract with."
"Hm... that's pretty cool... ah, man, how I wanted to brag to Kakashi-nii and Obito-nii, that would be awesome. Wait, is there any way I can show it?"
"You want to show her?"
"Yes, I trust her."
"... Are you sure?"
"What else could happen? If she betrays us and tells someone, who will believe her? Besides, even if someone believes, what can they do against the strongest Bijuu?"
"... You are underestimating human ability. Look at her with my eyes... or rather, my eye."
"Your eye? Red?"
"What else?"
"Kuh"
He closed his eye with some force and opened it again, the intense red glow of his gaze caught Tayuya's attention, who felt the change in his chakra.
- What? Are you mad because I didn't believe you? Oh, don't be angry, it's just that-
The girl fell silent as she looked into Naruto's eye, and for a few moments, small moments only, she found herself in a completely dark place, a deafening silence, and two intense red eyes staring at her, along with some not very visible tails waving calmly behind that being.
The girl suddenly turned away, letting out a startled scream as she crawled away.
Her back slammed against the wall, her heart was beating hard and fast, her breathing was short and her body was breaking into a cold sweat.
- W-What the fuck?!
His broken voice was a little louder than it should have been, and Naruto closed his eye, returning to his deep blue.
- Do you believe me now?
He said with a small smile, a little bothered by the girl's strong reaction, but he understood her.
Tayuya started to move slowly, still affected by what she saw, dragging herself without taking her eyes off Naruto.
-... What the... was that...?
- The Bijuu I made a contract with. She took it a bit harder than she should have, I admit, but she's kind of nice... when she wants to be.
He chuckled as he heard the fox muttering in his mind, and leaned back on his knees, looking calmly at Tayuya.
- Nice...? A Bijuu... nice?! No, wait, it's not that, it's... what the... fuck!
- Watch your mouth.
- Fuck you! You... you made a contract-
- Yeah, yeah, keep it down, I don't want the whole world to know.
She realized she was talking too loudly and sat back down on her mattress, her cheeks slightly flushed.
- Okay, so, you really... gee, you know what that means? You were the first in history, or... I don't know, no one has ever dreamed of anything like that!
- Well, what can I say... natural charm.
" True, you looked cute in those pink shorts."
"Shut up, Kurama, we don't talk about that creepy freak here. Ever!"
- So that's how you survived that forest... damn... if people get to know...
- A lot of shit can happen, which is why I trust you won't say anything.
She was surprised, and her cheeks flushed a little more, accompanied by a dull smile.
- Gee... well, I have no one to tell even if I wanted to. Besides, who would believe me?
- True, but still. Promise you won't tell, right?
He held out his hand, and the girl shook it.
- Sure, sure, I promise. Gee, I spent all this time not with a demi-human, but with a half-bijuan boy!
He scratched his cheek. Kurama had said that their DNA would mix, so... yeah, a boy part Bijuu.
Weird... but super cool!
- Let's agree not to say "half Bijuu" anymore... it's already looking normal.
He said with a small smile, and Tayuya shook her head, somewhat excited.
They talked for a while longer, until Naruto closed his eyes as he felt a large amount of chakra move through the water.
Not in offensive form, or any jutsu... just chakra, accompanied by heartbeats.
It was as if someone was swimming to the boat at extreme speed.
- Naruto... what is it?
She asked as she saw him stand up and follow the chakra with his eye, moving his head as he moved.
Until then, the concentration of chakra stopped exactly below him.
In a millisecond, he sensed hostility coming from the chakra, and in pure instinct, deflected to the side.
A long sword imbued with chakra, held by an arm that literally went through the floor of the boat.
Tayuya was startled and turned away when a quantity of water began to emerge, and that water began to take the form of a person.
- Boy, to think you could dodge it.
A man, apparently quite young, appeared sitting up while holding a sword. Blue-white hair, a smile that showed sharp, shark-like teeth, and purple eyes that stared at Naruto with a certain superiority.
- It took me a while to find you, you see, and following this boat was a lot of work. Juugo said I have to be careful with you, because even though you are a child, you are very strong.
He stood up, stretching his extremities as he masterfully swung his sword.
- But Juugo is not that great, he is always overestimated for his "incredible strength" and all that nonsense.
- What do you want?
The man arched an eyebrow, resting his sword on his shoulder.
- Hm, you don't look like much, but I respect you for the scar over your eye, it makes you a little more cool. And especially, I respect you for pissing Juugo off, hahaha, as a form of gratitude, I'll try to go easy on you. Orochimaru is eager to meet his newest guinea pig, a demi-human to boot.
He stood in battle stance, and Naruto clicked his tongue, he was strong.
- So, let's make this quick, shall we?
Minato jumped away from the crocodile's body, which fell heavily to the ground. Its body with holes scattered in its scales as tough as metal, and part of its head deformed by the group's blows.
- Hm, what kind of animal is this?
The gray one asked, standing right next to his sensei.
- I have never seen a crocodile like this. Is there any record in the books?
- There are species never seen before in this forest. It changes constantly, so various animals from different parts of the world still unexplored end up appearing here.
The older Uchiha said, facing the opposite direction from where the animal's body fell.
They were silent for a while, and in the distance, far away, they heard a loud roar followed by a powerful wave of chakra.
- That's pretty big, the roar... the power... I don't think the Hyuuga girl was lying.
- There really is a Behemoth here?
Minato clicked his tongue and closed his face, starting to run towards the creature. Shisui and the others quickly followed him.
- Sensei! What's the plan?
- Are we really going to take this thing on?!
- Hinata said Naruto escaped from the creature. If he escaped, great, but if not... it is our only lead!
- Argh, shit, tell Itachi I hate him, stuck up Uchiha.
- You're an Uchiha too.
-... I know...