A Possible Future by Jason Corley

Chapter Twenty Two

Sasuke looked around and said "I guess there was a reason they choose to call it the county of grass."

Hebi laughed "Sss sss sss."

Sasuke walked out from the forest onto the meadow of grass that looked to stretch to the horizon in one direction and lead to the mountains in other. He heard a cat meow at his feet. He looked down at the tan cat that ran around his feet. He turned his attention back to the way he was headed and wonder when he would come to something resembling a town.

That night it rained. The clouds came in quickly and Sasuke berated himself for not stopping to set up his tent before it started raining. He had just been in such a hurry to get somewhere. He set up his small tent in the rain and got under it to stay dry. Hebi actually didn't care about the rain, he kind of liked it. Sasuke pulled out a scroll to start reading. While instructed not to bring anything that would indicate that he was from the leaf; for example his forehead protector, Chuunin jacket, any clothing with the Uchiha clan symbol, or scrolls from the leaf; he wasn't told he couldn't bring supplies he brought from the sound. He had brought most of the scrolls he stole from Orochimaru. He wanted to keep learning as many techniques as possible because he knew he would need them one day. Sasuke looked up from his scroll and saw the tan cat sitting out in the ran getting drenched. It looked so pathetic with it's fur soaked. He called to the cat but it didn't come. He pulled out a small piece of dried meat that was in his pack and waved it slowly. It caught the cat's attention and it approached. The cat enter he tent and Sasuke let it have the dried piece of meat. She cat shook itself to get most of the water off. It then sat down and started cleaning itself. Sasuke shook his head then returned to his scroll.

The following morning after the rained had cleared Sasuke packed way his tent and continued on his way. The tan cat ever present played with bugs as Sasuke walked while Hebi rode on his shoulders. Sasuke couldn't help but smile at watching the cat bound around.

Naruto had to pause and catch his breath after training. The whole time he was training Naruto kept thinking about what the Kyuubi told him. Naruto knew he wasn't going to get to talk to the Kyuubi unless he understood the situation. But Naruto didn't know which situation he was suppose to understand. He assumed the situation was the reason the Kyuubi wasn't giving him any power. But he didn't understand why the Kyuubi wasn't giving him any. It felt like it was draining some from him. He felt weaker than when he was younger. Since he could remember he always had plenty of stamina. And when he would perform jutsu he had plenty of chakra to use on the technique. And this was way before he made the deal with the Kyuubi. He thought about it more as he continued training.

Hinata kept taking guard duty because she wanted to keep a watch for Sasuke. Most Chuunins avoided guard duty and only did it when it was there turn. But with three Chuunins always pulling guard duty that reduced how often one would be called for guard duty. Those three Chuunins being Hinata, Shikamaru, and Temari. Every so often Temari would walk patrol but for the most part she pulled guard duty with Shikamaru. When Hinata finished with guard duty she would return home and train knowing that Sasuke would expect her to retain her ability and not slack off. Even though she knew he didn't expect anything of her and like her for who she was she still wanted to be what he wanted. And since he seemed so obsessed with training she assumed he wanted her to be highly trained. After she training she would stagger back to the house and bath followed by sitting in the living room reading the scrolls that Sasuke left behind. Tora found it amusing that Hinata had adopted the habit of wearing Sasuke's shirts around the house and wouldn't let her wash them. Tora did what Sasuke asked, she was taking care of the place while he was out.

Sasuke finally came to a town in the country of grass. He passed as a traveler easily. He found this country was just like his own. All the ninjas were proud of the fact and moved about in plain view. Sasuke knew he wasn't here to determine there numbers but there strength. He was going to be here a long time to observe the general strength of the ninjas here. And he had to do this in not just one country but three. Hebi slithered off to observe things in his own way. The tan cat of course just played around near Sasuke and waited to be petted or feed.

It had been nearly 3 weeks since Sasuke left which was cause for Hinata to be rather anxious for him to return. Hinata still just stood guard on the parapets around the village. She didn't take a single day off. In the three weeks she had learned a couple of techniques from the scrolls she was reading. She knew you had to know the concept behind the move for it to work. And learning these from the scrolls could be difficult. She now understood the importance of being taught at the academy and why those that didn't pay attention had a hard time learning the techniques. She started thinking that she didn't want anyone to have as much trouble with learning techniques as she did. She wanted to make it easier on others.

Sakura took a day off from working at the hospital and dragged Naruto along with her while she went apartment hunting. She arrived at one that she particularly liked. She said "Naruto, what do you think of this one?"

Naruto had his arms behind his head when he said "It's ok."

The woman showing them the apartment commented "Oh, the two of you are together. I know of some apartments that are better for a young couple. This is really meant for one."

Sakura turned red and quickly said "No, no, its nothing like that. We aren't a couple. Well not like that. He's just tagging along while I look for an apartment." The woman looked at Sakura like she was trying to decide if Sakura was lying.

Sakura had a huge smile on her face while Naruto looked a little tired as they walked down the street. Sakura said in an upbeat tone "I can't wait to get moved in to my apartment. I will finally be away from my mother. This is so great. I've been waiting to get an apartment for so long. You will help me move, right?"

Naruto forced a smile and said "Of course." Sakura missed the underlying tone in Naruto's voice because she was so happy. But even if she had noticed she probably wouldn't have given it too much thought because that is how Naruto seemed to be lately. While he always seemed tired he was getting closer to the way he was.

The citizens of Konoha watched as dozens of Narutos ran down the street carrying varying stuff ranging from small boxes to a bed. Sakura for her part hadn't considered that it would be this easy. She thought they were going to have to make multiple trips. But as it turned out they only made one trip ending with them at Sakura's new apartment. The last of the Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving an exhausted Naruto sitting in a chair. Sakura walked into the main room from the bathroom and said "Thanks for all the help." She then noticed that Naruto was asleep. She felt sorry for having made Naruto carry everything. She didn't think it would wipe him out like this. She grabbed the blanket that was lying on top of her bed and placed it over Naruto. She then left the apartment to get the water and electricity turned on.

Naruto's dream lead him to where the Kyuubi resided in him. Naruto walked down the halls in his mind bringing him to the large room with the gate containing the Kyuubi. He walked in and the saw the Kyuubi staring back at him. The Kyuubi asked him 'Why have you come?'

Naruto said 'Why won't you let me use your power. I only used it these last few years. So why not now?'

The Kyuubi laughed 'Only the last few years. You've been using my power your whole life.'

Naruto looked confused and said 'What are you talking about? I never used your power until that time Sasuke almost died.'

The Kyuubi laughed 'I just let you use more than usual. To keep us alive.'

Naruto asked 'If I always had your power then why wasn't I the best at the academy?'

The Kyuubi responded 'it was just enough to let you keep up.'

Naruto was getting mad 'keep up? I was last in my class.'

The Kyuubi answered 'but you stayed in the same class thanks to me. If you had been like you are now would you have been able to keep up?'

Naruto thought about it a moment but didn't respond because he knew he wouldn't have been able to.

The Kyuubi asked 'would you have survived if you had been the way you are now?'

Naruto thought about it. He didn't know.

The Kyuubi roared 'you are nothing without me. You are weak. See what it is like to be like everyone else.' The Kyuubi started laughing.

Naruto woke up before he could respond. He heard the sound of water falling. He looked around and remembered he was at Sakura's apartment. He assumed what he was hearing was Sakura taking a shower. He thought to himself 'Hmm. Sakura showering. No one else is around. She wouldn't know if I took a quick peak.' He got up and proceeded quietly to the bathroom door. He listened more carefully and still heard the sounds of her showering. He place his hand on the door then heard Sakura say "If someone ever peaked at me while I was showering them I would never forgive them." Naruto gulped then let go of the door and walked back into the main room to sit down.

After Sakura finished her shower she walked into the main room and sat down on her bed. The two of them sat in silence. Naruto was thinking about what the Kyuubi had told him before and this time. Naruto broke the silence by asking "Sakura, how did you get to be as strong as you are?"

Sakura was a little confused by his question and responded "The same way you did. Hard work."

Naruto asked "Like what type of hard work?"

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

Naruto responded, "When I train I just work at it till I figure out a way to do it then keep doing that. Do you do it the same way"

Sakura shook her head. "I can't do it that way. I don't have the endurance that you do. You seem to have an unlimited supply of chakra. So doing it that way works for you. I think about it a lot before I even start. If I don't know how to do it then it is a waste of energy to try."

Naruto was confused and asked "If you don't even try then how do you ever learn to do it."

Sakura answered "Well, recently I've been reading scrolls which explain how to do it. Then I do what the scroll says. But if I still don't understand it I will ask Tsunade and she will teach me. Then I just do what she taught me."

Naruto asked "But what if you know how to do it. And it just makes you so tired to do it."

Sakura didn't understand why Naruto was asking questions like this but responded "That's chakra control. If you aren't good at chakra control you will expend a large amount to do it."

Naruto asked "So how do you use less?"

Sakura answered "Well, I watch someone who's better than me at the technique and watch what they are doing different. Part of it is practicing at how much chakra you expend while part of it is practicing at how much chakra you release."

"Huh?" Naruto responded

Sakura really did feel like they were back in the academy "Well the amount that you expend is how much you feel you need for the move. And the amount that you release is what you use for the move. The tree exercise and walking on water trains you to control how much you release. Lets say you are only able to stay on top of water for 30 minutes. Increasing that time to 60 minutes would be an example of better control on the amount you expend. Its been argued that that is increasing how much chakra you have. I think its just controlling it though." Naruto nodded as he listened to Sakura. "But you don't have to worry too much about expenditure control since you have so much chakra."

Naruto thought he finally realized what the Kyuubi was talking about after listing to Sakura. The Kyuubi supplied him a seemingly endless supply of chakra but now that he wasn't receiving any he only had his. And since he had grown use to always having a large amount of chakra he never worried about controlling how much he expended. But now he had to learn to control how much he expended. He wondered if that is what the Kyuubi wanted him to understand. Naruto jumped up and surprised Sakura when he hugged her appreciatively. Sakura resisted at first but quickly let him remain because he did actually like it. Her thoughts turned to who she liked more. Was it Naruto or Sasuke. She knew that Naruto liked her. She like him also but she also liked Sasuke who seemed to not have any interest in her. That thought mixed with Naruto hugging her made her suddenly reach her arms around Naruto's waist and hug him back. Naruto wasn't expecting this but he didn't care because he liked it.

Sasuke was more than good enough to not be noticed by the Genins which allowed him to observe them and see just how strong they were. He was able to observe many of the Chuunins without anyone catching on. So far he was more impressed with the sound than he was with the grass. Sasuke was easily able to move without making any sound and he had been getting even more experience with using the camouflage technique. He knew it originated somewhere in the area because he stole it off a Chuunin from the grass while he was with Orochimaru. The whole time Sasuke observed the grass he had his Sharingan active which allowed him to learn the moves instantly. Sasuke would get nervous when a Jounin showed up since he didn't think he could take one on. But to his surprise he was never once approached by one. When he felt he had learned all he could from the current village he was in he decided to move on to the next village. He still had two more to go in the country of grass before he would move on to the country of rain.

Lee's fist connected with Gaara's face. When Lee jumped back worried that Gaara would attack him he noticed that Gaara hadn't even twitched. Lee saw that there were cracks on Gaara's face and knew it was the armor of sand. Lee was satisfied that he had connected with Gaara while he was still wearing his weights. And these weren't the weights he had worn the first time he fault Gaara. These were heavier which meant he was that much faster. Gaara had regained a certain amount of motivation to progress. He had even resumed his own practices with sand.

As the following month progressed spring the cool weather of early spring changed to a normal temperature for the season. The young children of the village now played outside in the welcoming weather. Hinata would watch them from up on the parapets along with guarding the village. She stood there becoming more sure of what she wanted to do. She had been playing around in her head with the idea of becoming a teacher at the academy. But with watching antics of the children it made her want to even more. Hinata watched as a few of the children tried to fly kites but couldn't because there wasn't any wind. She then watched as Temari used her fan to create a current of air that would flow down to where the kids were. The kites took off into the sky and the children laughed with joy. It warmed Hinata's heart to seem them happy. But that feeling didn't last long because then she would want to share it with Sasuke and that made her remember just how long Sasuke had been gone. She knew that Tora was having a hard time with it, not knowing where her sister was but Hinata didn't know how to help.

For Sasuke the month had been fairly boring but he had lucked out when he saw a Jounin teaching one of his Genins to use the camouflage technique. Sasuke was always using a sound technique to hear better but with his Sharingan he was able to capture how to perform the camouflage technique more effectively. Unfortunately it didn't help much since the technique was based on controlling how much chakra you released. He then watched as the Jounin explained a more advanced technique that built off the previous. It was by far a superior move but the catch was that to sustain it you had to use more chakra or use it more effectively. Sasuke mimicked it as soon as the Jounin preformed it. Sasuke immediately felt the difference. It was better but he was going to have to really concentrate on maintaining it. Sasuke found that he couldn't spy for as long when he did because using both the Sharingan and the new camouflage technique was very taxing on him. Soon after that he left the village and proceeded towards the country of rain. Hebi once again rode on Sasuke's shoulders while the tan cat walked on its own. Sasuke had become use to having it around and it often slept on top of him while he slept.

Sakura was becoming rather proficient while working at the hospital. Knowing she was working on humans instead of animals made her want to perform with more quality which bestowed upon her a certain amount of grace while performing techniques. It would often memorized Naruto who would watch her practice. Naruto for his part found himself talking more and more with Iruka about controlling the amount of chakra he expended. He would have asked the perverted hermit but he wasn't around. He was never around when he was needed Naruto thought.

A month later Sasuke was finally approaching what he thought would be the rain country's hidden village. The others he had come across were not them. He also learned why it was called the county of rain. It rained all the time. But he also considered that it was because it was spring. When he got to a distance that he felt he might be spotted he activated the advanced camouflage technique. He didn't walk around with it active all the time like he did with the easier version. He also rarely had his Sharingan active when he was using the advanced camouflage technique because using both drained him so quickly but he would still activate his Sharingan when he expected to learn something. He walked along knowing he wouldn't be seen. He was surprised when he was knocked from the road into a tree. It wasn't a large tree like the ones outside the village of the leafs, it was more like the ones inside. Sasuke looked up at the rain ninja standing above him holding a staff. The rain ninja said "You must not be a very good grass ninja to be using that technique here. I thought they taught all their ninjas that it shows up in the rain. I don't think someone of your skill will be missed." The rain ninja brought his staff down.

Author's Notes

It appears my story isn't liked that much since its not following the original enough along with the feeling that I have a grudge against Naruto. I guess I need to explain things a little to those that feel this way. First, this is a fanfiction. If you want it to be like the original then don't read fanfiction. Second, I have mentioned previously that Naruto hasn't had a chance to cut loose and kick ass. Third, Naruto's not that smart to begin with and has always had the Kyuubi to rely on. So by adding conflict between him and the Kyuubi forces him to grow as a character which is a good thing. Fourth, Sasuke was always awesome even before he had the Sharingan. Then when he gained the Sharingan with the two marks on it, just made him better. So having the Sharingan with the three marks is just going to make him bad ass. If Sasuke lost the Sharingan he would have to learn everything like everyone else. But you know what, he'd still be better than Naruto because he was better to begin with. If he didn't have the Sharingan Lee, Neji, Tenten, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari would all be stronger than him probably. Fifth, the Sharingan is probably the ultimate ability for skills while the Kyuubi is probably the ultimate power to have. So perhaps Naruto should learn to control himself before he tries to control the Kyuubi. Just a thought, that's been here for the whole story. And finally, I can't make any more arguments because that would give the rest of the story away. So if something is bother you about my story, say it once. I appreciate it and I will probably explain it away in my story. Twice, "I heard you the first time." More than that, "You are annoying. Get it though your head, it's been dealt with or it's not going to change."