Chapter 12: When worlds collide. (You can run, but no can hide.)
"Hup, hup, hup, hup-!" All of Naruto's various clones were running around carrying various chunks of debris or furniture as Naruto himself oversaw most of their work. Naruto was the project manager overseeing them as they ran around, you could tell because he was the only one wearing a shirt and he had a cool new clipboard he found.
"Hey boss!" a clone shouted from nearby, interrupting Naruto's thoughts as he ran over. "We got a problem!"
"What is it now?" Naruto sighed "I told you guys I don't care how stinky the fridges are you've got to clean them out."
"No, bigger problem we-"
"Bigger problem? What, don't wanna touch the mouse poop on the floor? A little mouse poop never hurt nobody." Naruto pointed at the clone with his clipboard, "just sweep it up and toss it into the woods or river."
"No, we-."
"Yes, you have to clean the toilets too, it's a dirty job but someone's gotta-"
"There's a big fucking boat off the east coast!" The clone shouted, tired of getting interrupted.
Naruto dropped his clipboard, lucky for him he hadn't actually been writing anything on it and was just using it as a prop.
"Yeah… yeah that's a big problem." He mumbled to himself before dispelling all of his clones and summoning 50 new ones.
"Alright everyone, listen up!" Naruto started, marching in front of the now fully clothed clones. "We don't know why these people are here so we're going to assume it's a full invasion force from… somewhere else. Now I want you people to get started setting up defensive positions and traps. Like that one movie; Homu Aron starting Makore Karukin."
"Sir yes sir!" The clones all chanted as one before they ran off to prepare for a potential battle.
UN:PoA
Hinata let out a soft yawn, it was her turn to stand watch over the compound that they were guarding and she was getting rather tired. The sun was rising and she'd been on watch for at least 4 hours if not longer. Normally she wouldn't have much of a problem staying up for watch but compounding the lack of sleep with the long journey here and her nightmares… She hadn't been sleeping well since Naruto-kun died.
"You alright there?" She heard a voice from behind.
Hinata jumped up to attention, she hadn't noticed Kakashi coming to relieve her of watch duty. She blushed slightly, feeling a bit ashamed for having been caught off guard.
"I'm f-fine," she said, with only a minor stutter. "Just didn't hear you coming… sorry Kakashi-sensei." She gave a small bow.
"I'm a jounin rank ninja Hinata" Kakashi smiled and sat down next to her. "I would be more surprised if you could detect me. Even a Hyuuga can't see everything all the time."
Hinata just nodded solemnly and looked out into the woods that surrounded the back of their client's home. She let out a soft yawn before bowing again to Kakashi.
"Well then, I'll be going back to sleep then Kakashi-sensei." She said, but before she could make a move she was interrupted.
"How are you doing Hinata-chan?" Kakashi asked, still looking into the woods.
"W-what? I'm fine Kakashi-sensei, just a bit tired." Hinata answered, having been caught completely off guard by his sudden query.
"That's not what I mean Hinata-chan," Kakashi said, finally looking her way. "How are you doing? How are you feeling?"
Hinata couldn't help but blush as Kakashi's cutting glare that was only dampened by the soft kindness in his voice. Hinata let out a long sigh and sat back down, hugging her knees to her chest she looked down.
"I still miss him… I think about him every day… I just… I…" She paused as she thought of what to say next. "I just can't help but look back at all the chances I had… I could have been there for him at so many points. It's funny… I followed him for years, just watching, but I never had the courage to do anything. And now that he's gone… only now that he's gone do I realize how easy it would have been to be his friend."
Kakashi nodded as he listened to her. "Can you keep a secret?" Kakashi asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Hinata turned back to him, eyes wide. "Umm… yes?" She said, not sure where he was going with this.
"Sakura feels the same way," Kakashi said simply, looking back into the forest. "At least about wishing she could change things… I don't want to share too many details about her, but she was a real mess after Naruto's death as well. Her mind caught up in the past and how things could have been. So I'm going to tell you the same thing I told her..."
Hinata wasn't entirely sure how she felt about all this, she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about Sakura, to be honest. She would have done anything to have traded places with her and been on Naruto's team, to have Naruto flirt with her and ask her out on dates. She had envied Sakura, but she hadn't even given a moment's thought about how Naruto's death would have affected her.
"If you truly want to honor Naruto's memory, then grow from this experience. What you've gone through is enough to make or break anyone. You've been walking a fine line since Naruto died; getting dangerously close to pushing yourself over the edge and letting the madness consume you. But it doesn't have to be that way. You can make a new Hinata with your experiences. You may not have been as close as you'd liked with Naruto, but he still saw you as a friend in his own way. Naruto had a kind heart, and he wouldn't want to see yours broken."
Hinata didn't move, surprisingly she didn't cry either. She took a deep breath and stood up. She'd been picking at the scab of the wound left by Naruto's death with the help of her friends and colleagues for well over a month now. Kakashi's words didn't feel special on their own, but they felt like the final little pull that picked the scab off, revealing new scarred flesh underneath. She would never be the same, but she could live with the scar, just like Naruto would have done.
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei… did Naruto really think of me as a friend?" She asked.
Kakashi nodded, "He did, it may not have been as intense of a feeling as you had for him. But he did care for you."
Hinata smiled… she found some solace in that. Maybe she hadn't been as positive a force as she'd wanted to be in his life… but maybe she'd helped Naruto… just a little.
"Goodnight Kakashi-sensei." She said with one final bow before walking off to get some sleep and hide away from the rising sun. She needed to rest. It's what Naruto would have wanted for her.
UN:PoA
Sakura gasped for air as she ran, pulsing chakra through her body as she fled the swarm of gigantic baboon-sized insects chasing after her. She'd been stung on the arm and her entire left side felt numb, preventing her from doing hand signs. She focused her chakra on the poison inside her. Poking at it and prodding at it. It was working its way through her body but not like any poison she'd read about in her medical training. It appeared to be unhindered by blood and bone, spreading like a plague through her system. She stumbled, her left leg finally giving out as the poison caused it to go so numb she couldn't feel if it at all.
Sakura turned on her ass and looked at the approaching swarm. Her eyebrows furrowed angrily. She was getting tired of being tortured like this all the time. Finally, she managed to stand up with the aid of a nearby tree. The insects flew and scurried closer and closer.
"Kai!" She shouted at them, causing them to flicker softly. Sakura growled, she was doing everything right dammit!
"KAI!" She shouted louder, using her anger to help push her chakra throughout her system, mixing it and pulsating it to try and break the illusion. One of the insects faded into mist but the others continued their approach, slowing down. They looked like they were going to enjoy the kill. They wanted to play with their food.
"KAI!" She shouted, loud enough that her throat hurt. She turned her inner chakra into a whirlwind, blowing it wildly back and forth, up and down. This wasn't real and she wasn't going to let it hurt her! "KAI KAI KAI KAI KAI!" She shouted over and over again, sending wave after wave through her body until she got dizzy. The insects flickered and staggered back as if struck physically. She continued to repeat her mantra as one by one the grotesque creatures began to fade away until there was only one left. It stepped towards her, its long legs clattering as it approached and its large bulbous eyes darting back and forth.
"KAAAIIIIII!" Sakura stood up and charged forward, the 'poison' no longer affecting her she moved to punch the giant bug in its ugly face only for it to catch her punch with a chitinous hand.
As it did though it too started to fade away, only to be replaced by a smiling Kurenai that was had blocked her punch.
Kurenai reached forward and grabbed Sakura, pulling her into a tight hug and lifting her.
"You did it! You did it Sakura-chan! You finally broke free of an illusion!" She squealed happily as she swung her pseudo student around in her arms.
Sakura was trying to be happy and as excited as Kurenai was, but honestly, she just felt sick. It had taken every ounce of her strength to break the genjutsu and she didn't have much energy left for celebrations.
"Yay?" Sakura mumbled tiredly as she leaned into her sensei for support.
Kurenai couldn't help but laugh at Sakura's exhausted reaction, finally putting her down but keeping a hand on her shoulder to help support her. "I think calls for a celebration, what do you think?"
Sakura's only reaction was to lean harder into Kurenai's touch and let out a soft snore.
"Or maybe we'll take a break first." Kurenai chuckled as she picked Sakura up and carried her to a place she could lie down.
UN:PoA
Sasuke smirked as he landed on his ass, clutching his mark as it burned. He may have been immediately kicked back, but he'd finally managed to land a solid punch on Orochimaru's face; a rather hard punch at that. In fact… Orochimaru's face looked, not that great. His nose was off pointing to the side and his skin... the skin on his face looked like it had been shifted about an inch up and to the side like he had suffered some sort of horribly botched facelift.
Orochimaru fixed his face as if he was fixing a latex mask before returning to his usual uncanny smile. "My, my, it appears your progress really has taken flight Sasuke-kun." The pale figure said. The disgust at watching Orochimaru's inhuman display was so intense that Sasuke barely even noticed Karin helping him up and dusting him off.
"Jeez, just because Orochimaru-sama's not going to kill you doesn't mean you have an excuse to be reckless you idiot," Karin grumbled as she picked a chunk of broken tile out of Sasuke's hair. "You can still get hurt y'know?"
He had been careless; their training room was trashed even more so than usual. It would take days to repair all of this. That was fine, Orochimaru had said he was leaving that night anyway, so Sasuke wanted to get as much out of him as he could.
"Now Karin it's alright. We should encourage Sasuke to train as hard as he can, he's been held back by his time in Konoha that he's probably enjoying the opportunity to spread his wings." Orochimaru said, still maintaining direct eye contact with Sasuke the entire time.
Karin huffed a little and gave Sasuke a quick hug before turning to Orochimaru. "Sir, are you leaving us already?"
Orochimaru didn't react at all for a few seconds, still staring at Sasuke. Finally, he looked over to Karin and nodded after the awkward pause. "Yes, I will be leaving immediately. Karin, you will help me prepare my effects. Sasuke, go see the medics to ensure that you haven't come under any serious injury. You can never be too careful."
Karin gave Sasuke one last hug before falling into step behind Orochimaru. Sasuke watched them leave for a moment before going to the medic as ordered. He felt fine, aside from the giant bruise on his ass.
Once Sasuke was out of earshot and He and Karin were alone, Orochimaru's smile dissipated.
"How goes your progress with Sasuke?" He asked his facade of politeness gone.
"He's doing well as you saw sir. His elemental chakra levels are evening out to the point I believe we can start introducing him to some lightning base techniques and-."
"How goes your progress with Sasuke?" Orochimaru asked, this time more forcefully. He wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush.
"… Good sir, slow but good. It's as difficult as you said it would be if not more so. I've had to be very careful. He nearly found out about the light bulbs, but otherwise, I've mitigated risks." Karin looked down, avoiding eye contact.
"Slow is fine, we only have one shot at this so we can't afford to take risks. So long as progress continues to be made" Orochimaru spoke. "Now go to him, tell him another servant had already packed my bags or something. Keep an eye on him."
Karin bowed quickly before running off to find Sasuke.
UN:PoA
"Hup-hup-hup-hup!" The clones chanted as they raised makeshift barricades and set traps. They had new orders to set traps in groups of two and then have one dispel. There had been a nasty accident where one clone had accidentally triggered a trap set by another. He was just glad that his clones poofed away once killed, otherwise that would have been one hell of a mess to clean up.
The ship was getting closer, but it appeared to be fighting the wind and was making slow progress, good news for him he supposed. Naruto had returned grabbed his spare shirt and fashioned it into a mask. Remembering how easily the sailor in Shiokiri had noticed his whisker marks he didn't want to make the same mistake again. The only thing that could be seen were his eyes, as even his hair was hidden by the mask. Well, "mask" Naruto was 99% sure he looked like an idiot, but it was better to look like an idiot than to actually be an idiot.
With any luck, this was a lost merchant ship and Naruto could just tell them that he was Uzumaki Haku and this was his island and to get lost. Knowing his luck however he had to prepare for the worst, the ship was probably full of a mixture of angry Konoha-nin, vampires, and creepy old guys that wanted to give him candy.
He was a genin and all he had to fight off the incoming hoard were some of those rusty weapons the clones had scavenged. But he was a ninja dammit! He was gonna come out on top or go down swinging so hard that even the Shinigami would flinch!
Naruto swallowed. The ship was getting closer now, they would be landing in just a few minutes... He stood on the beach, a kunai in each hand as he waited, hoping he looked menacing instead of like a kid playing ninja.
"Attention all clones!" Naruto shouted as he tried to psyche himself up. "We may need to take them by surprise… fuckin' hide!"
UN:PoA
Hinata woke with a gasp as the sound of combat and clashing metal filled the surrounding air. She jumped up and onto her feet, immediately activating her Byakugan. In less than a second, she had gotten a handle on the situation. Kiba and Shino were fighting what appeared to be a bandit in the courtyard and Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. Had he been killed? She didn't see a body.
Either way, two more bandits were moving in on their clients. Thankfully they had managed to make it into their panic room. How the heck had she not woken up earlier!? She hadn't been that tired, had she?
Hinata made a mad dash towards the two bandits, they had discovered the panic room and were trying to get inside. Kiba and Shino could manage the other on their own hopefully. Bursting into the room with the other two bandits she immediately moved to attack one. He moved to punch her awkwardly but she deflected, blocking multiple points up his arm until she struck his neck, causing him to go limp on the floor like a wet sack of rice. She turned to the second bandit, she wouldn't have the element of surprise this time, and he looked considerably stronger than the first.
The bandit in front of her spit on the floor. His face was covered in a gray stubble yet he had a handsome air about him. "Fucking bastard, he hired more of you ninja brats!?" He swore as he drew a large curved blade from the scabbard on his belt, getting ready to square off.
Hinata let out a deep breath, calming herself as she got ready for more combat. "Leave now and we won't hurt you. We just want to protect our clients." She said in her attempt at a serious tone, fully aware that she sounded like a little girl.
"Hurt me? Hurt me!?" The man took a step forward, swinging his blade back and forth like he was preparing to chop down a tree with it. "Tenka was a fool, Tunka is holding off your two friends and he's also a fool! How do you think you're gonna fair against me girly? I already know your trick, all I have to do is not let you poke me and I'll be fine. Let me have to girl and I'll let you keep the brat, sound fair?" he threatened, pointing his blade at her.
"No," Hinata said, trying her hardest to sound firm. "You will leave immediately!"
The man's mouth split into a horrible angry grin as he charged forward, leading with his blade in an attempt to keep her at a distance.
Hinata dodged deftly, he was right that if she couldn't touch him she wouldn't be able to disable him. She wasn't physically strong enough to tackle him down and didn't know any jutsu that would work from range. She just had to wait for an opening, he would drop his guard eventually until then she just had to stay close and dodge his blade.
She danced as he swung his long curved sword, his movements were easy to predict and dodge. The piece of metal was large, almost as long as she was tall, but that meant it had a lot of mass. She noticed that he tended to use the momentum of his previous swings to lead into his next. Like a pendulum of a clock, his sword swung around her. Ducking and dodging, jumping and weaving. Moving with every tick of the clock.
Tick… tock. Jump.
Tick… tock. Weave.
Tick… tock. Roll.
Tick… tock. Dodge.
Tick… tock- THERE!
As he swung he turned the blade in his hand as he redirected the momentum for another strike, giving her the briefest of opportunities to strike. If she missed though, she would be right in the way of his next swing without any time to move. She had to take the chance, she didn't know if he would drop his guard like this again. Thrusting forward she made a single strike on the inside of his elbow, causing him to drop his sword and stumble to the side as the heavy mass suddenly left his hand.
"How the shit-?" He cursed as he stumbled, giving her another chance to make more strikes. Like dominoes falling or the breaking of a dam once that first strike landed more and more followed. The man was large and strong, but even he couldn't protect his nerves from being cut. She would usually only numb and paralyze the nerves of her target, but she couldn't risk it this time; instead, her chakra acted like a miniature explosive blast, destroying the nerves in his body with each strike. Even with medical ninjutsu, it would take months if not years for him to recover sensation and function again.
Finally, he too fell to the ground, grunting in pain as his body informed him of the damage that had been done.
"What… did you do to me?" He grunted as he numbly tried to stand back up.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered before focusing elsewhere again. Kiba and Shino had just taken down the third bandit and she let out a sigh of relief. Just as she did though she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. The primal instinct that something was wrong arriving just a moment too late as she heard a whistling in the air. Then, as if appearing from thin air, Kakashi reached a hand out and caught the kunai that had been flying directly for the back of her head.
"Good job Hinata-chan, but always remember to double tap~," Kakashi said as he whipped the kunai back at the first bandit she had immobilized. There was a soft thud as it sank into his skull. Hinata had only paralyzed his right half, he had been biding his time waiting for a chance to strike. "A good portion of snake bites happen after the snake's head has already been severed." Kakashi lectured while patting Hinata on the head.
"K-Kakashi-sensei- thank you I… I would have-"
"Let's not focus on that Hinata-chan," Kakashi interrupted. "For now we have three incapacitated hostiles and 2 very scared clients that are still in their panic room."
Hinata nodded, still shaking slightly from her brush with death, all of the tiny hairs all over her body were standing on end like she had just been struck by lightning. She fell in line behind Kakashi as he made his way to the panic room. Part of her wanted to ask where he had been, but the majority was just glad she was still alive. Hanabi had already been branded as a branch house member, and her mother was no longer alive to produce heirs. If she died it would throw the Hyuuga clan into chaos. She had to be more careful from now on.
Kakashi punched a long series of numbers into a control pad next to the large vault-like doors to the panic room. The loud screeching of metal gears sliding across each other filled the room as the door opened. Kakashi didn't make a move to step inside, instead lifting his hands in the air for everyone to see he was unarmed.
"Everything is ok, the house has been cleared and you are no longer in any danger." He said in a slow calm voice. "I'm going to come inside now to ensure that you're ok."
Kakashi made slow deliberate steps into the panic room, looking to the corner where the woman and her daughter had been cowering. He did his best attempt at a warm smile through his mask. Crouching down to be on their level he showed them his empty hands again.
"See? Everything's ok now. You're safe." He whispered.
Immediately the mother jumped towards him, catching him in a hug.
"Thank you- thank you- thank you- thank you-!" She repeated, sobbing into his shoulder. The daughter stayed in the corner, more content to take her time getting out of her comfort zone.
Kakashi chuckled awkwardly as he pat the woman on the back. "Now, now, I was just doing my job. Besides, young Hinata-chan here is the one who took out the two bandits outside; and Kiba and Shino disabled one in the courtyard. I was just here to clean up after the fact." Hinata blushed and looked down, thankful that Kakashi was brushing over her carelessness from earlier for the client's and her own sake.
Kakashi did his best to usher the two girls out of their panic room and away from the bandits when the merchant's wife paused, catching sight of the one that Hinata had disabled. He had since fallen unconscious, the trauma to his system simply too much for his mind to bear.
"Tanka-kun?" She whispered to herself before blushing a bright red and looking away. It was obvious she hadn't meant to let that slip out.
"Did you know these people?" Kakashi said, his kind voice gone, replaced with an authoritarian tone that was focused on business.
"I…" the woman looked to her daughter, who was clinging to her dress like a girl half her age. "Hana… go to your room, I have to talk with shinobi-san alone for a moment."
"What!? But mom what if there are more!?"
"Shinobi-san says that he and his team have taken care of the issue and I trust them," The woman said firmly but gently. "Please go, I'll be there in a moment."
The daughter whimpered softly before doing as she was told and running off.
"Can you keep a secret shinobi-san?" The woman asked.
"Of course ma'am," Kakashi answered. "And call me Kakashi."
"Well Kakashi-san, I don't know the other man, but he-" She pointed to the one that was still living. "We… we're lovers."
Hinata couldn't help but gasp, but Kakashi simply nodded as he continued to listen.
"I- we've been together off and on for well over a year now. We've been-" she looked to Hinata before censoring herself slightly "meeting whenever my husband goes out of town. I suspect my husband had grown suspicious and that was the real reason he hired you."
Kakashi nodded in understanding. "If that's so, why would he attack? He came with two others and was clearly ready to do combat."
The woman looked down, tears welling up in her eyes. "I… I told him I wanted to run away with him. But I was afraid of what my husband might do."
"Has your husband been abusive towards you or your daughter?" Kakashi queried.
"No!" She protested immediately. "But, he's a very rich man, and he loves me dearly, if I were to disappear he would most likely hire someone to search for me. Tanka-kun was probably planning on-" She paused and wiped away some of her tears. "I don't know what he was planning."
Hinata was doing her best to bite her tongue, blood boiling beneath her skin. This woman had a loving husband, wealth, a beautiful daughter, and she had chosen to fool around!? She was going to throw it all away! Because of her people were dead! Tanka would never be the same again if he managed to live at all! And she could have been cut into bits!
Kakashi could sense Hinata's rage and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hinata, go check on Kiba and Shino. I'm sure they're fine but I'll stay here and clean up this mess alright? Once you make sure the others are ok I want you to start packing immediately."
Hinata couldn't talk, she only gave a curt nod to the woman and a bow to Kakashi before running off, tears now streaming down her cheeks as she bit her lip.
UN:PoA
Naruto stood as tall as he could, all of his clones were hidden away throughout the entirety of the island and he was prepared for combat. Or at least as prepared as he was going to be. He watched the ship continue towards the beach for the last half hour and it would make land any second now. He held a kunai in each hand and had his face wrapped. He took slow deep breaths, ready for… well something really bad to happen. He'd noticed that whenever something unexpected happened to him it tended to be really bad. Finding out he had the Kyuubi inside him, Haku was actually a boy, the chuunin exams were a cover for an invasion, Sasuke going rogue, all in all, he'd learned to be hesitant whenever something new popped up. Particularly around cute girls…
The ship ran aground on the beach. Whoever these people were they weren't planning on leaving any time soon. They'd have to be dug out before they could go. Another bad sign. A rope ladder was thrown over the edge and Naruto widened his stance, ready for the battle to begin.
A boy that appeared to be about his age started climbing down the ladder, followed by an old man.
"Who are you and what are you and why have you come to my home!" Naruto shouted as they stepped foot on the beach.
The young man widened his stance, also ready for combat. His bright red hair contrasted significantly with his paper-white skin. Whoever these people were they obviously possessed some kind of bloodline ability… or were just really ugly.
The older man took a step forward in front of the younger… and immediately fell to his knees.
"Please, young master. We are refugees. We are out of food and water. We have no place to go. Please, your island appears to have plentiful natural resources. If you cannot bear us to stay here for long then please allow us to restock before we must go…"
"...What?" Naruto was at a complete loss. Going a bit limp as he stood.
"Yagi-sama no! You are the proud patriarch of the Dokeshi clan. You bow to no one! He is just a boy! If he wants to kick us out I could take him! I could kick his ass! I could- OW!"
The older man struck the younger in the knees with his stick cane.
"...What?" Naruto continued to watch.
"Shio! Would you have us be conquerors! Would you have us become what we have fled? To steal and burn so that can take for our own!" He scolded
The younger boy looked up from where he had fallen in the sand before nodding. "No sir, but your honor-"
"My honor is not so important as to risk the lives of my people Shio-kun. Honor that is not tempered by duty is nothing but pride!"
"Um… I'm still confused as to-" Naruto tried to speak.
"You are right Yagi-sama! I'm sorry." The younger boy, (Shio?) cried out before turning to Naruto and taking a knee. "I apologize young master. My people and I are at your mercy, I beg of you to grant us asylum, at least until we are capable of moving on!"
"Ummm." Naruto looked down at the two pale-skinned red-headed people kneeling before him. He had been planning for a lot of different outcomes from meeting these people, but this definitely wasn't one of them.
"I mean… you guys can stay for a bit I guess…" he finally mumbled, he didn't see a problem with letting these people stay for a bit.
"Thank you, young master, may I ask your name?" The older man asked, he was Yagi, right?
"Oh, I'm Uzumaki Haku... I'm the Uzukage."
"But… I thought the Uzumaki were destroyed?" Shio mumbled.
"They were, I'm a survivor, I want to rebuild my homeland… what uh… what about you guys?"
"We are refugees from the east. They have started a civil war over a bloodline purge and we were blessed with foreknowledge and left before war erupted." Yagi nodded.
"Oh… cool… or um, uncool, I guess… So uhh… yeah you guys can stay, the place is still a wreck, but it's fine with me." Naruto looked up at the boat. "I'm gonna guess there's more than just you two though right?"
Yagi stood up and nodded. "Yes sir, nearly 80 in total, we've been at sea for 108 days now. We've suffered some casualties due to the harsh seas, but we're strong and willing to work for our place here."
"Nice… um… I have to go do some work on un-placing a bunch of traps now that it turns out you guys aren't here to kill me… so go ahead and help everyone off the ship, find some places to stay and stuff and uhhhh, I'll also get to work on gathering some food and water for you. Hope you guys like Kudzu roots."
Author's Note
Merry Christmas everybody! I decided to add the Home Alone joke at the beginning for a touch of holiday cheer. I hope you guys don't mind.
I read some of the comments were saying they thought the Sasuke plot was going nowhere so I decided to drop a bigger hint… and by hint I mean just straight up tell you that stuff wasn't all as it appeared.
On another note, how do you people feel about time skips? Yes or no? My original plan was to do a short 6 month time skip, but I can always flesh out the characters more if you feel it's needed. Regardless of your answer, the next chapter will be like all the others, but I'll take your thoughts into how I'll work things after the fact.
