Three days and two nights passed before the boys made it to the base of the Eastern Path of the Shinji Mountain Range. The first two days and nights hadn't been so bad.

They had been well fed, something that they could thank Choji's meticulous packing skills for. And for the most part, the walk had been pleasant. Shikamaru had instructed them to act like children and that hadn't been hard at all because it didn't require much acting.

They joked and laughed and sauntered along the green trees, throwing pebbles and kicking stones. Naruto even forgot that this was anything but a lazy afternoon sometimes.

But Shikamaru's cautious glances and sometimes forced laughter snapped him back to reality often enough.

However, all good things must come to an end, and by the third night, Naruto felt as though they had exhausted all the good luck that they may have head going into the journey.

By noon of the third day, the boys had run out of food rations. Choji had packed for a long journey but truthfully Naruto hadn't done the same, and between a third body and Choji's rambunctious appetite, the food had run out.

Naruto supposed that's where the trouble had started. You don't leave an Akimichi boy without food.

At sunset, the three boys had settled down. Because they had been using the sun to guide them, they found that it was easiest to travel by day, and when the sunset at night behind them, to rest.

Naruto had taken it upon himself to be a scout for his classmates at this time. He secured the perimeter and put up the kunai knives with the paper-bombs and the wire the same way he had watched Shikamaru do the first time.

Choji wordlessly began setting out the blankets for them as he had done every night. Shikamaru had pulled out a little map that he had kept in his backpack and did a few calculations in the dirt.

"This is weird," Shikamaru said as he rested his head on his hand. He sat crossed-legged in the dirt and furrowed his brow.

"What is?" asked Naruto. He was walking back and dusting his hands off on his pants. Their clothes had started to look a little worn out, but none of the boys had thought to pack a spare. It was better this way anyway. They looked like poor village kids wandering about.

"The dimensions seem to be off on this map. I have been tracking how long it takes us to get from one place to another, and it seems like we should already be there by now, but according to my current calculations, it seems that we won't be there until tomorrow midday." Shikamaru replied, holding his map up in front of his face. His brow furrowed a little more. The sunlight was quickly fading and for a brief moment, he thought maybe he had missed something on the map that could be throwing his calculations off. But he was Shikamaru Nara, he didn't often "miss things." He brushed the self-doubt off.

"Well….I'm not sure how accurate this map is…" Naruto said leaning over Shikamaru's shoulder to get a better view. "Look, it doesn't even have the little town that's over that hill over there."

Naruto pointed to a blank landmass on the map that bordered the mountain range.

"A town?"

"Yeah, it's a tiny little place, but I could see the lights from the lanterns when I was setting up our kunai. Smart call on always picking the higher ground to rest on by the way. It really helps you see all of your surroundings." Naruto said. He was excited to finally be the person who knew something the others didn't.

"But…" Shikamaru looked over at the map again, tapping his chin with his forefinger. "I got this from the Nara Treasury…it has to be right."

Naruto shrugged. "C'mon I can show you."

Shikamaru wrapped up his map and dusted off his pants as he got up. He looked over at Choji who had been silently unwrapping their materials.

"Hey Choji, Naruto might have found something interesting. I'm going to go check it out, okay?" Shikamaru spoke to the other boy much in the same way a zookeeper would approach an unruly animal.

Choji was a gentle giant. Everyone knew that. But having gone half a day without a meal, the portly boy's generally amicable demeanor had become increasingly strained.

Naruto, who had also noticed the personality shift, wanted to back up Shikamaru. Over the last few days, Naruto had grown increasingly fonder of his classmates.

"Yeah, Choji!" Naruto said enthusiastically, hoping to cheer up Choji. "You just wait here and rest. Shikamaru and I will see what's going on."

Choji stayed silent from where he was sitting crisscrossed on the blankets he had laid out. He crossed his arms and looked away, pouting slightly. If it wasn't for his facial expression, one would assume he was meditating. He sat motionlessly.

Naruto tried a little harder. "If we find any fruits or nuts on our way, we will bring them back for you, so you just relax!"

Choji still said nothing, but he opened one of his eyes to take a side glance at Naruto.

Naruto took this as a good sign because at least Choji was reacting to his words…something that Choji hadn't done all day. Naruto grinned and threw a thumbs up at Choji, but Choji had gone back to pouting and looked away.

Naruto and Shikamaru quickly packed up a few knives and Naruto lead the way to the edge of the hill that they were on.

The walk was quick, but it was off the beaten path. Soon, their feet stopped hitting soft dirt and began falling in long blades of grass.

"We're almost there!" Naruto exclaimed when the grass was long enough to tickle his shins. He was pointing off towards the horizon on the edge of the hill. "Right up there!"

Shikamaru held his index finger up to his lip, hoping to quell Naruto's boisterous excitement.

Shikamaru didn't share Naruto's excitement about the town. Something about this town was just wrong. He knew that the maps in the Nara Treasury were notoriously accurate. His clan had ended up in some sort of guidance role in the Hokage's administration for generations. It was imperative that the materials they relied on to give advice were accurate. So then how could the map miss an entire town?

Shikamaru cautiously approached the side of the hill and peeked over the edge. A part of him wasn't sure that there would be anything there.

But sure enough, a few hundred yards down below, there was a small town snuggled at the base of the mountain range. The sun had set entirely, and the moon tried its best to light up the valley beneath them. The tiny town stood out in the darkness of the valley. The yellow lantern lights that covered almost every inch of the town flickered in the evening breeze. The moon shone over the open fields around it.

The town itself had a dense center where most of the lights were concentrated, but there were symmetrical wisps that grew out of the center. It sort of looked like..a sun? A star…? Shikamaru couldn't quite put a finger on the shape, but whatever it was, it was breathaking.

As hesitant as Shikamaru was, even he had to admit it was beautiful.

"Well, I'll be damned." He whispered under his breath. Shikamaru bit his lip. Beautiful or not, this town was an anomaly.

"We should go tell Choji," Naruto suggested as he worked his way up to stand next to Shikamaru. "We can probably get something to eat down there, and we can probably find a hot bath and a warm bed too."

Shikamaru shook his head. "No, I'm not sure that's a good idea. There's something not quite-" Shikamaru stopped speaking abruptly.
Naruto and Shikamaru both looked to the ground. Under their feet, they could feel the earth shake. Something was approaching with considerable force. It was getting closer, and louder, and-

Crash!

Shikamaru felt the wind leave his body. He groaned.

"Choji-"

"I heard there was food down there." Choji was not messing around. The boy had hurtled his way through the dense grass. He was panting and wiping the sweat off his brow, but his eyes stayed focused on the town beneath them.

"How did you even hear us?" Naruto asked, reaching a hand out to Shikamaru. Naruto had the foresight to jump out of the way of the boy who was charging at the two of them like a rhinoceros. Shikamaru's reflexes, he concluded, could use some more work.

"He used his Bubun Baika no Jutsu to expand his ear to eavesdrop on our conversation" Shikamaru explained, slightly annoyed, turning to Choji "Didn't you?"

Choji ignored him. "I heard there was food down there. I'm going."

Shikamaru was about to protest, but before he could the other boy had already started weaving hand signs.

"Choji! No! Don't d- "

Before Shikamaru could finish complaining, the boy had expanded into a ball and was well on his way to rolling down the hill and towards the town.

Shikamaru threw his head back and covered his eyes with a hand. He groaned audibly. What a drag!

"We have to follow him," Naruto said. He was standing at the edge of the hill, one hand over his eyes, peering over at the trail of smoke Choji had left behind. It was almost comical how fast the boy was hurtling towards the small town. For a second, Naruto wasn't sure he'd stop in time.

Shikamaru was already on his feet and grumbling to himself. "I know…. that family jutsu of his…I forget how useful it is sometimes."

"Leave the supplies back at camp, let's just go," Shikamaru ordered, already taking off in a run towards the town.

Naruto followed, but he couldn't stop himself from asking the questions that were burning in the back of his mind. He caught up to Shikamaru, and the two of them ran in tandem.

"Ne, Shikamaru, when did Choji learn how to do that? I know I didn't pay much attention while we were at the academy but I think I would have remembered learning how to do that."

"He learned it at home in the Akimichi training grounds," Shikamaru replied between huffs. "A lot of the clans in Konoha have their own specialized jutsu. Normally, they pass them down to the next generation right after they graduate from the academy. It's a part of the training. But because of the War, some families started teaching the next generation sooner just in case. Choji has been training with his family for over a year." Shikamaru was struggling to catch his breath, but they kept running anyway.

"Do you know any special jutsu then Shikamaru?" Naruto asked.

"Less talking, more running Naruto!" Shikamaru ordered. Naruto obliged, but he couldn't help but feel a little grain of jealousy. Why can't I have any family jutsu that could be passed down to me…why can't I have a family? Something that makes me special.

The two boys ran in silence until they made it to the edge of the town, Naruto carrying his burdened thoughts, and Shikamaru carrying his growing confusion.

When the two boys arrived at the town's entrance, they were sweaty and red-faced, hunched over, and trying desperately to regulate their breathing.

Shikamaru looked up over the few strands of hair that had come loose from his ponytail. "There's no.." he stopped again to take a deep breath.

"There are no signs" Naruto completed his thought. "No name or anything. That's weird."

The boys cautiously stepped under the massive stone arc that signified the start of the town. It was a grand sculpture, with wings on the edges. The intricate engravings on the arc had depictions of warriors on chariots and large birds with massive wings carrying people away.

The hair on the nape of Naruto's neck stood erect. For a reason neither boy could put their finger on, they were nervous. Very nervous.

"C'mon, let's find him and get out of here," Naruto said taking the lead. "It's a small town, and Choji has probably eaten through their rations for the next few months. He shouldn't be hard to find."

He motioned to the fork in the road where they stood. "Looks like there's only two ways we can go from here anyway… should we split up?"

Shikamaru, normally the logical thinker of the two, was far too overwhelmed and t to object. His mind swirled with thoughts that ranged from what is this town? Why isn't it on my map? to That Choji! When I see him, I'm going to kill him!

The two boys nodded at each other in agreement and walked off on opposite ends.

Naruto could hear the gravel crunching beneath his sandals in the silence that surrounded him.

"It's so quiet here…" he muttered to himself. The little wooden buildings around him all had lit lanterns hanging outside to illuminate the walkway, but there was no one about but him. For a moment he thought he saw someone out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned around there was no one there. The town was utterly desserted in this part.

He deduced that he was in the residential part of the town; The clothes lines hanging from the windows and the balconies with tiny gardens helped him deduce that much, but where was everyone?

Naruto knew two things. First, that this place was creepy,and second, that they needed to get out of here as soon as possible.

Well…the silence would be good for one thing! It would make him easier to hear.

Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled into the air "CHOJI!"

Shikamaru winced when he heard Naruto's yell from a few streets over. That kid would never learn how to blend in with his surroundings.

Shikamaru tried to calmly take in his surroundings. While Naruto's street was dead empty, the street that Shikamaru found himself on was full of people quietly mulling about.

It was weird. They didn't speak much to each other. He watched a rather attractive young woman buy a snack of the street cart and wordlessly hand over money to the vendor, who thanked her with a smile, but nothing else. When they heard Naruto's yell, they all stopped moving for a second but resumed immediately after as though nothing had happened.

"Shit." Shikamaru cursed to himself. Whatever this was, it wasn't normal. He had to get Choji and get them out here, fast.


Naruto regretted yelling as soon as he had done it. Before the last syllable of Choji's name even left his mouth, there were three men dressed in black from head to toe surrounding him. He didn't even have time to shut his mouth before he felt a dull thud on the side of his neck, and the world faded quickly from view.

He woke up some time later, in a damp dark room. Naruto had no idea how much time had passed, but he knew it was enough to make sitting where he was extremely uncomfortable. His hands were tied behind his back in coarse rope, and the cold steel of the chair he was sitting on had numbed his legs. The kunai in his back pocket made sitting painful, and he could feel the edge of one of the knives sticking out of the pouch. He felt a nice black eye growing on his left eye, and he felt what could only be described as insurmountable fury in his gut.

So he did the only thing he could do.

He screamed.

"Let me go! I didn't do anything! Let me g-"

A hand clasped his mouth. Another body stepped out from the shadows in front of him, holding a finger up to their mouth.

Naruto let out a muffled groan and struggled some more.

The hand around his mouth did not move, and neither did the body in front of him. Naruto finally let his body relax, understanding the unspoken message as clearly as though it had been whispered to him.

"Resistance is futile."

Instead, Naruto took the time to take in his surroundings. That was always step one in a precarious situation he remembered.

Naruto peered around the dark room, squinting. His eyes were much more suited for the dark than most people, and he could make out…shelves?

Yes! There were shelves and they were stacked with…

Naruto leaned a little closer to his left side hoping to get a better view, but the hand around his mouth roughly jerked him back to an upright position.

The person in front of Naruto pointed two fingers to him and then back at himself. "Focus."

The person then walked over to the shelves and pulled out a tiny piece of paper that was folded in the shape of a lotus. Naruto's head was jerked to the same direction to make sure he was watching.

Origami?

The person then placed the lotus on top of a scroll that was stacked on one of the shelves, weaved a few hand signs, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto felt the hand that had been holding him do the same. The cold air bristled his skin.

Finally, in the solace of his own company, Naruto allowed himself to speak.

"What the FUCK."

Naruto looked around the room for another second, but he was sure he was alone when no hand covered his mouth again.

Slowly he began scooching back and forth in his chair, rubbing the edge of his kunai against the ropes that tied his hands. He was going to get out of here.


On the other side of town, Shikamaru was finding his search to be increasingly futile.

As he walked from street to street, Shikamaru allowed himself to drink in the town. He had never really left Konoha after all, so this was a new experience. There was a handkerchief shop with embroidered cranes. There was a stationery store with papers folded in the most intricate designs. He saw a flower shop with delicate bead curtains put up for the customers' anonymity.

It seemed that the town had everything anyone could ever want, except what he was looking for.

In such a small town, a boy as large and boisterous as his friend should have been easy to spot. He walked along the busy street, keeping an eye out for restaurants or street vendors.

He wanted to go and ask them if they had seen anyone that matched Choji's description, but something in his gut told him that engaging these people was the last thing he should do. Silence permeated the town, and it felt as though it was something that the town preferred.

He hadn't heard Naruto's voice again in an hour, so he comforted himself with the thought that maybe Naruto had caught on or someone had filled him in on the town's silence.

The longer he went without any sign of Choji, the more nervous Shikamaru got. Something was very off. Which meant Shikamaru had to keep his guard up.

He turned the corner to turn into the next street. He had been casing the streets ever since he and Naruto had split ways.

But before he took his next step, something made him freeze mid-step.

"I know you're there so come on out." He said softly, without turning around.

No one answered him. "Tch. Really?" Shikamaru turned around. His hands were interlocked in a hand sign and there was the tiniest glimmer of a smirk on his face.

"Kageshibari no jutsu—success." Shikamaru voiced in the same hushed tone.

In front of him, a man in a black suit stood still. Only his eyes could be seen through his uniform, darting frantically around trying to understand why he wasn't moving.

Shikamaru took a step towards him, and the man in front of him took a tentative step forward too.

"I'm really glad you guys keep such a well-lit town." He said taking another step forward. "Y'see, lights are imperative for my clan's shadow jutsu."

Shikamaru took another step forward, forcing the other man to do the same.

"And it's because of your beautiful lanterns that I was able to see your shadow approaching behind me. So thank you."

Shikamaru reached his hand behind his back and grasped at nothing, but the man behind him clasped his hands around the katana that was tied to him.

"I think you might be able to answer some questions for me. I'm looking for someone. And I also want to know what's going on here. Why isn't this town on the official maps? Why is everything so quiet."

Shikamaru mimed putting the katana to his own neck. The other man followed helplessly.

"Speak!" Shikamaru commanded in a hushed whisper, "My technique only binds your body, not your tongue."

The man said nothing.

"I said SPEAK!" Shikamaru raised his voice. He was not someone to have a temper, but he was scared and confused, and to be honest, he just wanted his friend and some answers and to get out of this place.

"Speak or I'll-" Shikamaru's throaty demand was cut short by a sharp pain on his neck. The boy's limp body fell to the ground with a dull thud.

The man who had surprised him with the attack bent over his body momentarily before straightening up and turning to his partner who was re-holstering the sword onto his back.

The two men, as quiet as shadows disappeared into the dark night.

Behind them, they left the crumpled body of a little boy. In one outstretched hand, there was a delicately placed paper crane.


Shikamaru felt a hand on his shoulder shaking him. Gently at first and then more impatiently. He could hear a distant voice, and through blurred eyes, he saw wisps of yellow and glimmers of blue.

"N-Naruto?"

"Get up! What happened? What are you doing here?"

Shikamaru tried to sit up but quickly felt something being crushed in his left hand.

"What is this? Did you put this here?"

Naruto shook his head. "Just put it in your pocket, we have to go!" Shikamaru winced at how loud the blonde was being as he turned to gently place the crane in his pocket. The silence of the town still laid in a thick blanket over everything. Leave it to Naruto to shatter that without hesitation.

Naruto pulled Shikamaru to his feet.

"I'm guessing you didn't find Choji either then," Naruto said.

Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly at Choji's name. Choji! He still had to find him!

"Damn it," Naruto muttered. "I went through basically this whole town trying to find you, and I didn't see him…I'm not sure he's here anymore. Maybe he went back to the camp? He might have finished eating and-"Naruto trailed off.

Shikamaru shook his head and took a closer look at Naruto. He could see the blooming bruise on Naruto's neck, the same one that was growing on his from where he had been attacked. Naruto followed his gaze and self-consciously placed his hand over his neck to cover the black and blue mark.

"They got you." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

"They did, but I got something of theirs too," Naruto said grinning, hand still on his neck. "I'll show you later! But first let's find Choji."

Shikamaru wanted to ask Naruto more questions but he got back to the task on hand. Shikamaru addressed Naruto's admittedly preferable theory that Choji had eaten his fill and had gone back to the camp to rest.

"If they got both of us there is no reason to think that they didn't get Choji. He's here, he's just not in the streets. They are hiding him somewhere."

He stuffed his hands into his pockets to think and felt something unfamiliar.

"Naruto," he asked, glancing sideways at the blonde, "You weren't surprised by the crane in my hand. You didn't just tell me to throw it away like it was a piece of paper…did you get one too?"

Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Oh…yeah! I forgot I got a lotus." Naruto pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his own pocket. The delicate folds of the paper were a little bent but the shape of the lotus was unmistakable.

"Does it mean something?" Naruto inquired placing the lotus in Shikamaru's hand.

"It has to. They attacked us out of nowhere, but left us this? It's a clue. It has to be. Why else would they give it to us?"

"Because I'm cute?" Naruto asked cheekily.

"I need to think," Shikamaru said ignoring his companion. He walked over to the side of the street and sat on the ground, placed his hands in the shape of an O, and closed his eyes.

"…Shika-"

SHHHH!

"…Sorry.."

Naruto walked a little way off trying to occupy himself. He was kicking a pebble around and racking his own brain for potential answers when Shikamaru suddenly stood up behind him.

"A lotus." He said.

Naruto felt his hand smack his forehead before he even knew what was happening. Was this really the genius that everyone raved about at the academy?

"Yes, a lotus. We talked about that a few minutes ago, remember?" Naruto spoke a little slowly. Maybe Shikamaru had hit his head during his altercation and was a little slow to understand things.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes in response. "No, the town. The town is shaped like a lotus. When we saw it from the top of the hill, it was shaped weirdly for a town. There was a center and then there were all these extensions. At the time it looked like a sun to me. But it's a lotus. The streets. They're lined with lanterns to define the lines of the flower. So that people up there can see the town's beauty!" Shikamaru spoke quickly and excitedly as he pointed to the top of the mountain range.

"….Okay…" Naruto hoped Shikamaru would explain more because he wasn't quite following but Shikamaru was already digging into his pocket to pull out the paper flower.

Shikamaru held up the lotus to one of the street lanterns. Under the bright light of the lantern, he could make out a slight ink mark on one of the petals. As tiny as it was, it was unmistakably a dot.

"There." He said, showing it to Naruto. "Whatever we are looking for is there."

Naruto nodded. "Okay, but, how do we know what way "there" is? A lotus is a circular flower, how do we know which petal…street…the dot is referring to?"

Shikamaru pulled out his crane. "This has to mean something too."

"The arc." Naruto whispered.

Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"The arc had the wings on the side of the stone, and those big birds…That would work maybe."

Shikamaru examined the paper crane in the light the same way he had placed the flower under it.

"Look, the wings on this bird, they are sort of in the shape of an arc." Shikamaru held the crane upside down, and sure enough, the wings and the back of the crane created a perfect arc.

Shikamaru turned it right side up and grabbed the lotus. "If you place the flower between them, it sits perfectly."

"But that still doesn't answer what street we are supposed to be on," Naruto said moving a little closer to see the papers.

Shikamaru looked at the paper art a little closer. It was thin parchment, almost see-through if it wasn't folded multiple times. He looked at the crane a little closer. One of the wings had a small x drawn on it. Slowly, he turned the lotus that was sitting between the wings…

"Naruto look!" Shikamaru exclaimed, dragging the other boy down to the floor with him. He held the two papers up to the light again. Through the lantern light, the paper was see-through, and it was possible to see the wing through the lotus at the right angle.

"The x covers the dot perfectly if you hold it up like this, and the petals fit perfectly between the wings. So if the crane is the arc, where we entered the town from, then the x and the dot are in one of the right petal streets! The…" Shikamaru counted the number of petals "The fourth one over!"

Naruto could have kissed the other boy right then, he was so happy. "Shikamaru I am so sorry I ever doubted you," Naruto said through his smiles and laughter.

"You what?" the other boy asked in shock, but Naruto had already started heading to the other street.

"The dot was on the left side of the street, and it was closer to the middle of the petal," Shikamaru explained as the two boys ran over.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth in frustration. "I was on that street earlier."

Naruto glanced sideways at Shikamaru. "We are going to save our friend."

Somewhere between these past few blurred days, Naruto had gone from calling them his classmates to calling them his friends. He repeated the word in his head over and over again like a mantra. Naruto had never had any of these before.

Shikamaru looked back at the blonde. Naruto's jaw was clenched hard and his breathing was labored, but there was determination in his eyes. The same determination that Shikamaru had seen in him when Naruto had told him why he had joined the resistance.

The look comforted Shikamaru. Although the blonde was loud and impulsive, Shikamaru was glad he was his friend.

He picked up his pace, and Naruto was quick to follow.

The boys had a friend to save.


Naruto and Shikamaru turned onto the fourth street from the middle of the road. It was still a bustling street. There were children running silently and parents watching and eating from the stalls on the streets. And yet it was silent.

Naruto wanted so desperately to break the silence. He wanted to scream and yell. He wanted everyone to hear his voice. The silence had always suffocated him. Naruto knew silence all too well. It was with him when the villagers ignored him, it was with him when his classmates would cast long sideways glances at him but not say a word, and it followed him home when he walked home alone every day.

Naruto's breathing grew faster. The quiet was laying on his chest, thick, hard, immovable. He opened his mouth to break through the blanket of soundlessness but felt Shikamaru's cool hand touch his sweaty palm.

Naruto looked up and met Shikamaru's eyes who gave him the smallest, almost imperceptible shake of the head.

It was a gentle quick movement, but it was enough to bring Naruto back to reality.

He took a deep breath and the two walked quietly towards the place on the street where they thought Choji might be hidden.

As they walked past the people, it was as though they were invisible. People walked straight into them, and it was up to the boys to jump out of the way of the pedestrians. It was as though they were seeing right through them. It sent chills up Naruto's spine.

Finally, they arrived at the spot where Shikamaru had been earlier. They stood in front of the cluster of shops that stood closely together—the stationery shop, the beaded flower shop, the handkerchief shop.

Shikamaru had seen them all before, but he had not been able to detect any sign of Choji.

He stopped for a moment as he stood before the three shops. He put his hand in his pocket and fingered the origami and did the one thing he was the best at—he thought.

"They gave us clues. They wouldn't have left us clues if they didn't want us to find Choji. He's probably still alive because of that reason. But then why would they lead us to this place. Any of these three shops could be the place where he is hidden. It could be a trap, but there would be no reason to trap us. It seems that Naruto and I were both already overpowered before. They could have just taken us." He sped through these thoughts in his own mind.

Shikamaru looked around as he thought. A few feet away from where they stood a street performer was playing a game with a young girl. He placed a ball under one of three cups and moved them around. The girl had one chance to pick the right cup, or the street performer would keep her money. Shikamaru's eyes widened slightly in realization.

"So…then it's a test? The test must be…to pick the right shop. One of these three shops has our friend. But we only get one chance, we have to pick the right one…but how?"

Shikamaru looked at the shops closely, ignoring Naruto's impatient fidgeting next to him. Thankfully, their time together had taught the blonde to hold his tongue and wait while Shikamaru processed the situation.

The handkerchief shop had embroidered cranes on a lot of the designs. He was given a paper crane, but that seemed almost too easy. Plus, the cranes didn't account for Naruto's hint of the lotus. It wouldn't make sense for it to be that one.

The stationery store had intricately folded designs. He and Naruto had both gotten origami. It was a possibility that this place is where the lotus and the crane came from, but as Shikamaru looked closer, the paper the stationery store used was different. It was thick and colorful, not the see-through parchment paper that they were given.

That left the flower shop with the beaded curtains. Shikamaru stepped closer to the shop. The light of the lanterns reflected off the beads and danced around on the floor beneath them. The other two choices seemed so obvious…but this one had no hints around it.

Iruka Sensei had always said something about a shinobi having to look underneath the underneath. It felt like the other two options were so easy to deduce as being right that they had to be red herrings.

Shikamaru gestured towards the flower shop and he and Naruto approached it cautiously.

Shikamaru raised a slightly shaking hand to push the beads aside. They rattled just a bit as they knocked into one another, but that was all it took.

Suddenly, every person on the street stopped what they were doing and jerked in Naruto and Shikamaru's direction.

In weird jerky movements, they started heading towards Naruto and Shikamaru. The previously happy smiling faces were now pulled into long angry moans. The silence was broken by the groaning of the civilians.

"Shikamaru! GO! Get Choji, I'll take care of them!" Naruto yelled. Now that the silence was broken, he felt free to speak.

"What? How?" Shikamaru asked, but Naruto was already weaving hand signs.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Suddenly, Shikamaru was surrounded by a sea of orange and blonde. One of the Naruto's pushed him into the shop.

Shikamaru floundered for a second, wondering what he had seen, but quickly regained his composure. Even with fifty of him, he didn't know how long Naruto could hold the civilians off for. He burst through the shop and found Choji tied to a chair in the back room.

"Hold on!" Shikamaru said frantically as he raced over and began untying Choji. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the boy. There was a hint of bar-b-que sauce on the corner of the boy's mouth, and there was a black and blue bruise on his neck, but other than that the boy seemed fine.

"I'm okay, don't worry," Choji assured him.

"We have to go help Naruto!" Shikamaru said as he pulled Choji to his feet.

"I'm ready to kick some ass," Choji replied. There was a hint of fury in his voice. "They got me while I was eating. I didn't get to finish my pork belly. Who does that to someone?"

This was one of the times that Shikamaru was grateful for Choji's anger.

The two ran back outside.

Naruto's clones were still going head to head with the civilians. The civilians were still ambling towards them, and they were going punch for punch with Naruto's clones. Some of them had picked up weapons from the food carts and Shikamaru watched as one of Naruto's clones twisted a young girl's hand backward and impaled her with the knife she was trying to attack him with.

The girl…melted? What the hell was going on.

"They're not real humans!" The real Naruto called out over the fighting.

"C'mon let's get out of here! My clones can hold them off! Let's go!"

Shikamaru readied himself for a sprint but next to him, Choji was weaving hand signs.

"This is for ruining my dinner, assholes."

"Baika no jutsu!" Choji expanded and rolled himself into a ball. He rolled through the street destroying shops, clones, and people, leaving only a trail of destruction in his wake.

"Well..that's one way to go about it," Naruto said shrugging to Shikamaru before he followed behind Choji's ball. Shikamaru shook his head in disbelief before chasing after the other two.

The three boys ran and ran until they made it to what was definitely an outskirt of the town.

Choji rolled into the open field outside the town and to the very base of the mountain range, Naruto and Shikamaru closely behind him.

The large boy deflated and laid on the ground panting. The other two laid down next to him, struggling to catch their breath as well, and looking up at the stars. Behind them, they could see the glowing lights of some of the destroyed lanterns.

Naruto felt a giggle growing in his stomach, and he couldn't hold it back any longer. He looked over at Choji and Shikamaru and erupted in laughter. The other two joined in. They laughed, rolling around in the grass, bathed in moonlight, clutching their stomachs until they felt stitches in their sides and tears in their eyes.

What the hell had just happened? They had no clue. But they were together and that was all that matter.

"I'm sorry," Choji said when he had managed to wipe the tears from his eyes. "I was just so…hungry." He looked at the other two innocently, causing them all to burst into laughter again.

They laid there for a while, watching the stars twinkle like fireflies and feeling the cool breeze dance through their hair. Naruto didn't want it to ever end.

But no good things last.

"Congratulations, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Naruto Uzumaki"

The boys opened their eyes and abruptly sat up.

"You've passed."

In front of them, a man stood. He was wearing a metal headpiece around his face, and his face was by all accounts unremarkable although a little creepy.

"My name is Yamato and it is my pleasure to welcome you to training camp."


AN: Thank you for reading another chapter! Naruto finally learned his signature jutsu! What the heck was this town? What adventures await in the training camp? Intros to the rest of the characters and explanations await in the next chapter! Its time for me to implore you all to leave a review again! Reviews follows, and likes are what keep me going! Knowing that people are reading and invested in my work means the world to me! Thank you all again!