A Possible Future by Jason Corley

Chapter Twenty Three

Sasuke rolled out of the way just in time to keep from being hit. And since it seem that the camouflage wasn't working he deactivated it. The staff flew at him again but Sasuke saw it coming and was able to avoid it. He activated his Sharingan so he would be able to better fight the rain ninja. The rain ninja swung a few more times but Sasuke dodged the swings expertly this time. The rain ninja said "So you do have some skill. I guess I'll quit messing around." Once this was said the rain ninja performed a few seals and ended it with thrusting his staff in the air. From the end of the staff shot hundreds of needles into the sky to come raining down upon Sasuke. He knew he wouldn't be able to dodge them all so he quickly performed a few hands seals ending with him clapping his hands together loudly forming the serpent seal which stopped the first few from hitting him but he saw that more were still coming down. So he broke the seal and reformed it, once again clapping loudly which had the same effect. Sasuke repeated this a third time and stopped. The rain ninja was only slightly surprised and said "So, you are a sound ninja. What are you doing way out here?" When Sasuke didn't answer the rain ninja continued. "If you leave, I will let you live." Sasuke smirked but didn't budge because he felt that the rain ninja was trying to bluff him into backing down. The rain ninja didn't like this and started forming hand seals and ended in him throwing his hands in the air. While Sasuke committed the move to memory he didn't see the effect yet. He then saw the rain ninja start performing another set of seals. Sasuke captured that move and noticed the effect right away. When the rain drops hit the rain ninja his skin looked like a pool of water that rain was falling on. Sasuke then felt the reason the rain ninja performed his second move. The rain felt like small needles. Sasuke mimicked the rain ninja and turned his skin into a liquid state. The rain ninja wasn't phased by this strange turn of events. He immediately started performing another set of hand seals. Sasuke wasn't going to wait and started his own set. Sasuke breathed in deep and instead of releasing a steady stream of flame, he blew out a high pressured blast of fire due to the fact that he was screaming in pain. The watery surface that his skin had become was pulled from his body and splashed down on the ground. This left his flesh exposed to the needle rain that was coming down. The sensation of the needle rain didn't last longer than the length of time it took to expel his breath. The rain returned to normal and Sasuke lay on the ground in agony. Hebi poked his head out of Sasuke's pack and saw the charred remains of the rain ninja lying on the ground. Hebi slithered out onto the ground and saw that all of Sasuke's body was bleeding. The tan cat crawled out as well and started running around not knowing what to do. Sasuke muttered soundless words.

Hebi hissed "If you are through withering then perform the sskin to water technique you ussed."

Sasuke knew that if Hebi was telling him what to do he had better do it. Even though Hebi considered Sasuke his master he was still older and wiser than Sasuke. Sasuke did what he was told and turned the outer layer of his flesh to water.

Hebi hissed "I know you copied hiss technique before you toassted him sso do it. Then picture drawing similar water to you."

Sasuke did what he was told. He performed the technique. He didn't know where he was going to draw the water from be he pictured pulling more water like what his skin felt like to him. Hebi and the tan cat watched as a puddle of water was pulled towards Sasuke and was absorbed into him.

Hebi continued "Now stop using chakra for the water skin." Sasuke did as he was instructed and his skin returned to normal.

Sasuke asked "Would that work for any kind of wound?"

Hebi laughed "Sss sss sss. If it did everyone would know it." From that Sasuke knew the answer was no. Sasuke looked down when he felt something against his leg. It was the tan cat rubbing up against him. Sasuke picked it up and held it. Sasuke lower his hand down to Hebi who slithered up Sasuke's arm and into his pack. The tan cat was content to be held by Sasuke as he walked on leaving the rain ninja's corpse where it lay. It was a hollow victory to Sasuke but it was a victory. He had been wondering if the ninja had been a Chuunin or a Jounin. From the fact that he was alive and the rain ninja dead he assumed he had been a Chuunin. Sasuke wondered why there weren't any other guards coming after him but he didn't care. He walked on into the village in search of an inn.

Sakura had started assisting Shizune with the more complex procedures at the hospital. Tsunade would have done them herself but she didn't always have the time. Shizune was normally the one to assist Tsunade when she was the one performing the operation. Shizune was able to see that Sakura was quickly approaching her own skill level and would probably exceed it. Whenever Tsunade trained Shizune, Sakura now sat in on it also. Both Tsunade and Shizune were amazed at the level Sakura had achieved in such a short time.

Since Iruka spent most of his time teaching at the academy Naruto wasn't able to train with him much. So, Naruto went in search of another teacher. That teacher being the closet pervert who was also the Jounin assigned to konohamaru and his co-horts. Naruto claimed he was just trying to help konohamaru become a better ninja since he himself had received training from one of the legendary Sannin. Ebisu was able to tell that Naruto was actually hanging around them to brush up on his own skills. Ebisu didn't know what had sparked this Naruto but was glad that he had finally taken an interest in strengthening the basics which would help him excel in other aspects of being a ninja.

Hinata now knowing that she wanted to be teacher at the academy went to the academy to request a position there. They were happy to except her as a teacher in training. She was required to start sitting in on the classes that were taught and observe the way things were instructed along with assist in any demonstrations. Along with being an assistant to one of the instructors she also had to do extra training to become a qualified instructor. This consumed most of her time which left very little time to advance her own skills as a ninja. This also left very little time for her to think about Sasuke being gone.

Temari while she enjoyed being with Shikamaru she was growing tired of always standing guard duty. She couldn't understand how Shikamaru could enjoy doing this. Temari decided that she would let him continue pulling guard duty but she was going to have to do something else. She decided to start going on patrol once again. She wanted to do more involved mission but that would take her away from the village and Shikamaru. She considered that it might be time to move on but for now she would let things remain.

Gaara and Lee now trained extensively together which did not allow Lee to train with his weights on. To keep up with Gaara he had to train full out. Gaara would pull strange stunts with the sand which meant Lee had to stay on his toes. Lee often wondered if Gaara was going easy on him. Kankuro seeing that Gaara was once again more involved was more inclined to come out of the shell he had constructed. Kankuro now had a rather extensive array of puppets to control and he controlled them expertly.

Tenten and Neji were often sent on mission which drew out a certain amount of expertise in there work. But whenever they were not off on missions Tenten was often found training with Gai. Neji would train Hanabi making sure she would be a strong heir of the Hyuga clan. Tenten often wondered at the types of mission that Gai would be sent on along with the other Jounin. She knew that they were often sent on the missions alone.

Kiba joined Asuma's team that consisted of Ino and Chouji because Hinata had become a Chuunin. Kiba and Ino's personalities clashed leading them to argue over who the leader of the team would be. They all knew that Asuma was the leader but for the times that he wasn't around they tried to determine who would be leader. Chouji wasn't that happy that Ino paid more attention to Kiba then him even though the two of them were arguing instead of getting along. Chouji always did what Ino wanted. He hoped that she saw that.

After Sasuke's second run in with a rain ninja he decided to blend in by appearing to be a rain ninja himself since his illusions didn't seem to have an effect. Once again the one he defeated was a Chuunin. Sasuke considered taking the Chuunin jacket also but he felt that would send of a red flag to the village. He took the dead rain ninja's forehead protector and donned it. From that point on he was able to pass unhindered in the hidden village of rain. He had to learn where the different training areas were. He was even asked by one of the Genin rain ninja to train with him. Sasuke agreed because he felt he would give himself away if he didn't. He had to hold back enough to lose while sparring which was hard for Sasuke due to his pride but his life was on the line here and there would be no one to help him if he screwed up. Sasuke spent the next month learning a lot from the ninja's of rain since he was able to conduct himself as one of them. He was surprised he went undetected by the Jounin. One day when he mentioned that to Hebi, Hebi told Sasuke it was because he was emitting a familiarity illusion which was amplified by the forehead protector. When Sasuke asked Hebi to teach it to him Hebi told Sasuke it wasn't something he could teach. Sasuke wondered if snakes had bloodline limits also. Sasuke was starting to wonder why the tan cat always followed him since he wasn't moving in the greatest of conditions. In this country it rained all the time which meant that the tan cat was always soaked. As the month wore on Sasuke had decided he was wearing out his luck at was going to move on the country of stone. Sasuke had learned more in the country of rain than he had in the country of grass. He was now going to be heading into the most dangerous the countries he had been in. He wondered how much he was going to rely on Hebi in the times to come.

Temari sat down at the table in Shikamaru's apartment and said "Shikamaru, can we talk?"

This broke Shikamaru out of his thoughts causing him to ask "What's wrong?"

Temari responded "Why does something have to be wrong for us to talk?"

Shikamaru knew something was definitely wrong now "Because the only time someone asks 'can we talk?' it means something is wrong. Otherwise you would just start talking. So what's wrong?"

Temari looked uncomfortable and replied "I think we should spend some time apart."

Shikamaru's expression changed to a calculating one before he said "Ok."

"Just like that?" Temari asked a little annoyed.

"Well you obviously don't want to be here. It's just going to bother you more and more if you stay." Shikamaru explained.

Temari responded in an irritated tone "Why aren't you bothered by this?"

Shikamaru replied "You're going to leave no matter what I say. But I would like to know why you want to spend time apart."

Temari answered with the typical phrase that defies logic "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you."

Shikamaru decided to take a guess but even if he was right she would still say he doesn't understand and leave blaming him. "I would guess it's because you want to go on missions and I don't. But I'm not stopping you from going on missions. You can still go on them. I'm fine with you doing that. We don't have to spend every waking moment together..."

Before Shikamaru could continue Temari interrupted him "So you do want to spend time apart."

Shikamaru was annoyed that he was interrupted and at the inaccurate assumption that because she wants to spend time apart that he must also. "Or maybe it's not the fact that we have different goals as ninja but because if I keep pulling guard duty, I'll stay a Chuunin. And if you go on missions you will become a Jounin quicker, meaning you would be a higher rank. So, perhaps you want to spend time apart because you are more like me than you want to admit and think the man should be stronger."

This was not the smartest thing to say to Temari. She slapped Shikamaru across the face and ran out of the room crying. Shikamaru turned his head back and was happy he had thought to put a shadow guard on his face. He guessed that he was right due to Temari's reaction. If he had been wrong she would have told him so. He sighed to himself and sat down on his bed followed by assuming his thinking stance.

Once Sakura had started working at the hospital her progress had steadily improved quickly. She still assisted Shizune on procedures instead of leading in the procedures but now she would have been able to do them herself. Maybe not as well but she could do it in a pinch and by continuing to assist she was able to see someone more skilled than her work. She wondered when Tsunade would start teaching her the more complex procedures.

Naruto was really starting to get the hang of controlling how much he expended. He knew it wasn't anywhere close to the degree that Sakura could do but he knew it was already better than what he had done previously. Naruto felt a little stupid hanging out with Ebisu's team but he continued to do it since he was benefiting from it. Naruto still wondered where the perverted hermit was since he'd be a better teacher.

Hinata was walking around the room collecting the test papers the students left behind. She was left to watch over the kids while they took there test. This was the first time she had to watch them by herself. Even though it was something as simple as watching them take a test and make sure they didn't cheat she still felt good about herself. Once she had collected all the papers she left the class room and walked to the staff room. Normally the instructor she was helping would grade the tests but she was asked to grade them. She had wanted an answer sheet to check the answers against but she knew she was suppose to know all the answers. And she did. But an answer sheet would have made her feel better. She assumed this was to help build her confidence. Since she had started assisting in teaching she had found a bit more confidence in herself. She knew this was what she wanted to do as a Chuunin. Just a bit more and she would be ready for her own class. She smiled to herself and once again wanted to share the feeling with Sasuke but he was still gone. It had been so long and she worried if something bad had happened to him.

Sasuke had discarded the forehead protector that had the rain symbol on it. He was now back to being a traveler. The area in the country of stone was a fair amount like that of Konoha just on top of rolling mountains. Sasuke found it easier for him to conceal himself here than it had been in the country of grass and rain. Sasuke had determined that while the ninjas of grass were good at concealment and illusions they weren't that strong. Sasuke had picked up some decent tricks but because he didn't know the limitations of all the techniques, they could still be dangerous for him. All illusions and concealment techniques had there weak spots. Sasuke learned that very well in the country of rain. He assumed that the rain ninjas knew how to detect many of the grass ninjas techniques since they were located so close to each other. While the quality of the rain's Genin appeared lower than that of the leaf's, their Chuunins appeared stronger. Sasuke also thought about the sound and the sand. From what Sasuke could tell the sand had the strongest Genins he had seen. Sasuke would rank the sound Genin at about the same as the leaf's. Sasuke had no idea how the stone ninjas compared but he knew time would tell.

Sasuke was really starting to get tired of this mission. He knew this was just the stepping stone he needed to get into ANBU. And once he was in ANBU it would only be a matter of time till they would hunt down his brother. And he would make sure he was the one to kill him. Sasuke wanted to end this mission to be that much closer to his goal. He also wouldn't mind seeing Hinata and the twins again but that wasn't as important. Sasuke looked down when he heard the tan cat meow. He pulled out a piece of meat and feed it to the cat. Sasuke didn't know why but he was fond of the cat. Sasuke stepped into a clearing and realized he had just stepped past some seals. When they didn't activate Sasuke wondered what they were for. He sensed a shift behind him and he turned around his Sharingan active ready for some kind of attack. What he saw was not an attack but it surprised him no the less. Before him he saw on the ground a very bare Raion crouched down on all fours. Sasuke muttered "Raion?"

Raion looked up frozen in fear realizing that Sasuke recognized her. She knew that she wasn't suppose to be here. She was suppose to be at home but she had followed him. She was afraid that he would be angry with her. "Master. I...I didn't want master to go away again." Once she said this she lunged at Sasuke wrapping her arms around his waist. She started crying into his shirt and repeated over and over "please don't be mad at me master."

Author's Notes

With each chapter that is released of part 2 of Naruto I look at my story and think "this sucks. I really messed up." I didn't think to make the characters that much stronger. I guess I should have. I'm trying to fix that difference now. I'm also trying to progress them more for things to come. And as some of you have guessed, the tan cat was Raion. I know I said I was going to minimize there part in the story but they will still get there featured moments.

Author's Response

I received a somewhat decent flame on chapter 22, probably due to my notes there. And I call it decent because it actually lists what's wrong instead of doing what this dumbass in my circuits 2 class does. The dumbass in my circuits 2 class will say something sucks over and over but no reason. And he doesn't even qualify his statement by saying he thinks it sucks. Which if it is an opinion, that's fine. I don't give a rats ass. But when someone starts getting annoying you just want to put them in an arm bar to make them beg and cry followed by actually breaking their arm. But this actually lists reasons. I happen to see it different but it brings up what could be seen as inconsistencies. So lets take a look at them and see if I can clear them up for my story.

"LOL...you really think that kyubi can control what he gives to naruto in term of stamina and so on."

Yes actually I do, since when Naruto requested that the Kyuubi give him power the Kyuubi did so. While it was to save his own hide he still gave it to Naruto. (Granted I don't think it is to the extent I have indicated in my story.)

"This is the seal taking off of kyubi and not kyubi deciding anything."

I guess we'll just have to disagree on this. The seal being taken off allowed Naruto to request the power from the Kyuubi.

"I know this is fanfiction but still. Also, Sasuke never kicked arse before the sharingan. He was good, but not really that much better than naruto was. He had just learnt more things thanks to his parents before their death, and the whole avenger thing."

In my story I wrote a scene or two showing Sasuke was good when he was young but it wasn't anything he couldn't do. And by whatever amount different doesn't matter, he was still better than Naruto. And having learned more means that he's better.

"And last, Kyubi giving naruto stamina means that naruto's chakra control is messed up."

If I remember correct Naruto's chakra control was fragged and that he expended more than others. (Granted I don't think the Kyuubi gives Naruto stamina but it works for the story but nothing says the Kyuubi doesn't add to Naruto's stamina.)

"Ah, i almost forgot. When kyubi had the second set of seal making sure he couldn't help naruto, naruto stil had his stamina and his yellow chakra, while the red chakra was bottled up."

Hmm, well since the first seal just keeps the Kyuubi in Naruto and not contained completely it could be assumed that the second seal was just an extra barrier and didn't contain the chakra completely. Since the second seal also screwed with Naruto's blue chakra not just the Kyuubi's red chakra which is why Jiraiya got rid of it allowing Naruto to magically start doing better, it could be argued that the seal while containing most of the red chakra didn't contain all of it. (As a little note I do actually think the second seal sealed off the red chakra completely along with some of Naruto's but that doesn't work with my story. Both are feasible though.)

"Sorry, this is definitely AU."

And just to nit pick details on this statement once part two of the manga was released it became a divergence but before that happened it was a continuation. I had actually intended to complete this story before Part 2 of Naruto started.