Chapter 28
A Hostile Ninja

Land of Earth
Hidden Cave

Not too far away from the now devastated Kosaten Village was a sheer cliff face that angled westwards towards a huge stony wasteland where the minor Ninja Clans of the Land of Earth held sway.

Hidden within this cliffside was Naruto and his unconscious companion well he didn't even know her name but he had saved her from a slow death and he did want some questions answered as well. The cave entrance was actually around the corner from where Naruto was sitting so if the girl attempted to run she would have to go through him first.

Naruto was sat on a rock looking at the unconscious girl, she was laid out on one of his extra camping beds with a plain white blanket over her, Naruto, of course, had her flute in his hands he was not about to let her have her main weapon especially when he sucked at Genjutsu.

Naruto knew enough about how to avoid, identify and break a Genjutsu but that was it, he couldn't cast them that required far too fine of Chakra Control and he didn't really have the imagination to do so either.

"Urgh!" Argh!" The unconscious girl began to awaken after her traumatic experience she was obviously still in pain and Naruto did not have any painkillers or anaesthetic to dull the pain she was feeling.

Naruto watched as the girl stirred from unconsciousness very carefully, he had already taken preparations to protect himself and well her legs while not broken were very beat up and weak, she was wearing shorts so he could see the bruising that ran up from her ankle right up to what he assumed would be her hips.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Fuck! Shit!" She cursed like a sailor and Naruto would know he had hung around them on his journey from the Land of Water to the Land of Earth.

"Morning. Or at least I think it is." Naruto greeted once she opened her eyes and stared blankly at the stone ceiling.

"Wha!" She attempted to jump to her feet but as Naruto predicted all she managed to do was yelp in pain before collapsing back again.

"Be careful, you're legs are really banged up." Naruto said from his place near her.

"Who the fuck are you!? Shithead!" She shouted at him and her voice echoed through the cave.

'She really does have a filthy mouth.' Naruto thought in amusement.

"I'm the guy who saved you from a slow death." Naruto answered and that stunned her into silence.

"The Fuck does that mean!?" She did not remain stunned for long.

"I found you in the ruins of that village being slowly crushed under a stone pillar, I got you out from under it and even patched you up the best I could." Naruto said gesturing at her bandages.

"You fuckin' perv I bet you copped a feel while I was out!" She was like a cornered wolf, all teeth and claws.

"I didn't do anything like that! I was taught better than that!" Naruto was offended now and he even stood up from his sat position.

"Sure." She did not believe a word that was coming out of his mouth.

"Why'd you save me anyways?" She asked looking very defensive, she was slumped against the wall of the cave as far away from Naruto as she could get.

"I had two reasons; the first is that I need information on what's going on in this country and the second is that I wanted to, I'm sick of seeing people die." Naruto answered honestly.

"Hah! The first is understandable any Ninja would do that but just want to save me because you don't want me to die? That's dumb you're too soft to be a Ninja!" She mocked him with a laugh then devolved into coughing because she forgot how delicate her ribs were at the moment.

"Make fun of me all you want but you're the one who's injured in bed." Naruto pointed out and that seemed to really offend her.

"Fuck off!" She shouted at him with fire blazing in her brown eyes, Naruto also noticed that her eyelashes were really long.

"..." There was a very long silence between the two of them after that but eventually, Naruto broke it.

"So what's your name?" He asked her.

"Tayuya." She answered shortly.

"No Clan name?" He inquired.

"No." Tayuya answered shortly though Naruto didn't believe her after all he found her in the aftermath of an Inter-Clan battle.

"Okay, my name is Naruto." He introduced himself.

"No Clan name?" She mimicked back to him mockingly.

"No." Naruto gave her own answer back to her with a smile.

"You're an asshole." She said very aware of what Naruto was doing.

"So what can you tell me about the battle at the Kosaten Village?" He asked trying to make some conversation.

"The Kazan Clan came and wrecked everyone's shit, there's not much to it." She answered evasively.

"Who were they fighting? The Kazan Clan are famous for ruling the eastern half of the Land of Earth and their Yoton." Naruto said trying to get a straight answer out of her.

"..." It seemed like the foul-mouthed girl was playing the silent game.

"I know that a foreign Clan came from the Land of Grass after getting kicked out, so I imagine they're trying to get some territory in this country after getting beat out of their old one, and the Kazan Clan obviously didn't like that." Naruto tried pressing buttons.

"You fucker! You've got no idea what you're talking about!" She took the bait and screamed at him.

"You're right I don't, I've only gotten info from merchants and rumours." Naruto admitted.

"Those Fuuma fucker's attacked us when we were supposed to be meeting for an alliance! They teamed up with another Clan and tried to wipe us out!" She shouted at him, the wound was very much open.

"So you're Clan was driven out by the famous Fuuma Clan and you came here to recover?" Naruto asked gently.

"Don't try it fucker, I'm a Ninja I know what an interrogation looks like Shit-head!" She shouted again.

"Well how about a more equal partnership, I need information what do you need?" Naruto was not a good interrogator and decided to be more honest.

"You fucking serious shit-head, I thought you were supposed to be a Ninja!? I could fucking slit your throat from ear to ear right now!" Tayuya was taken aback by his change in demeanour.

"You could but you can't I pulled you out from under that pillar, I know how bad your legs are." Naruto pointed out the obvious.

"You think I need to move to kill you shit head." She threatened with a dark look in her eyes.

"No but I think you need help and I need information, the Kazan Clan are already all over the village and they're burning all the bodies they're finding." Naruto informed her.

"Shit! And we're nearby are you fucking insane shit head!?" Tayuya questioned him while looking around.

"Don't worry I've put a Kekkai Ninjutsu up, so they won't find us as long they don't look too hard." Naruto said to her.

"Kekkai Ninjutsu!? Who the fuck knows that kind of esoteric shit?" She was calmer now, it seemed with every curse she got calmer.

"Me and my Dad and his Sensei." Naruto answered with a shrug, he knew that it was an obscure branch that not many knew but it was also incredibly useful.

"You don't have a Clan do you?" Tayuya questioned him.

"No." He admitted with a shake of his head.

"Figures, no one comes to this shit hole for fun." Tayuya said shaking her head.

"I really liked the Land of Hot Water it was nice." Naruto mused aloud.

"No wonder you're so soft." Tayuya scoffed seemingly offended that he was a Ninja.

"Hey! Wait is that my flute!?" Tayuya finally looked at him properly and noticed the flute in his hands.

"Probably, it was next to you when I found you." Naruto said turning it over in his hands.

"Give that back fucker!" She shouted at him, if there was one thing that was consistent about Tayuya it was her temper.

"Not until I know you're not going to use it on me, I've seen what your Clan can do with these instruments." Naruto replied slipping it into his pouch.

"So you saw the battle then." Tayuya was sharp.

"Yeah right up until the Kazan Clan decided to drop an entire cliffside on top of your Clan with me on it." Naruto told her with an annoyed look on his face.

"Oh, Shit! You got caught up in that!?" She asked and seemed to gain a modicum of respect for him.

"Yeah I did, then I had to wait out the rest of battle listening out for anyone who was getting near me." Naruto said while he unconsciously rubbed his left side, it was still tender but his Mother's Uzumaki blood made him very resilient and quick to heal it was almost like its own Kekkei Genkai.

"Huh, you're tougher than you look shit head." Tayuya said to him, attempting a compliment.

"I have a name you know, it's Naruto." He said again.

"I know you have a name Shit head." She replied glibly, obviously she had no intention to call him his name.

"Well Tayuya, do you want to help me in exchange for me helping you." Naruto was getting tired of this now, he wanted to get to the reason he was here.

Tayuya did not reply right away instead she thought it over for around 5 minutes before finally speaking up again. "What do you actually want, no bull shit?"

"I want information on the Land of Earth and all the Clans in it, there's something I need from one of them." Naruto was honest but vague about what he wanted.

Tayuya gave him a look she knew he was being purposely vague. "I need help to get back to my Clan." She admitted grudgingly and glared at her legs.

'She's probably in a lot of pain with her legs almost being crushed.' Naruto thought watching her, she was hiding it extremely well but every little shift in posture made her wince slightly.

"So I help you get to your Clan and in return, you or your Clan give me information." Naruto made the offer with clear terms.

"Yeah." Tayuya agreed unhappily looking at the stone floor.

"Just in case I want to make some ground rules for the two of us so that there's no betrayals or anything like that." Naruto said getting her attention from the floor.

"What kind of rules?" She asked suspiciously.

"Well, rules like no trying to cut each other's throats while we're asleep or no using Genjutsu to manipulate and generally not trying to kill each other. You know basic common decency things that normal people do." Naruto explained.

"You really are a dumb shit aren't you, we're Ninja; tools to be used and discarded." Tayuya insulted him again but Naruto could tell from her tone that she didn't like the idea either.

"Well, maybe it's time for that to change." Naruto told her.

She looked at him like he wasn't real, just completely wide-eyed and she looked halfway between laughing and scowling it was a weird look that made Naruto smile ever so slightly.

"What the fuck are you laughing about Shit head!" She shouted noticing his slight smile.

"That look on your face." Naruto said letting out a little laugh.

"Don't laugh at me fucker, I'll kill you!" Tayuya threatened him ineffectually from her place on the ground.

"Anyway do you agree to those rules?" He asked not letting her anger affect him.

"Grgh, fine it's not like I have a choice. You could just leave me here to die." She ground out angrily and even crossed her arms and almost pouted.

"Your legs would heal before you starved to death." Naruto pointed out, they were damaged but not broken.

'Well no matter what I have the upper hand here.' Naruto thought watching her grind her teeth.

Naruto stood up suddenly and walked over to Tayuya, startling the girl with the suddenness.

"Are you ready to move out now partner?" He asked with a smile, holding his hand out for her to take.

"Don't get cute Shit head, this is an alliance of convenience the moment I get back to my Clan we're done." Tayuya told him straight as she grabbed his hand.

"Wait! I need my hat." Tayuya said as he began lifting her up, she quickly turned and grabbed the hat and put it on her head.

Naruto was bemused by that, he had no idea it was so important to her.

"What is your Clan called anyway?" He asked curiously shaking his amusement off, no one had ever mentioned a name and she hadn't said it either.

"The Shiin Clan, the best Ninja at using instruments." Tayuya said proudly, there was no point in hiding that anymore since Naruto had managed to get her to admit she was part of a Clan.

'Shiin Clan huh, I've never of them before and they're not mentioned in Hiruko's scroll which means their musical Ninjutsu are just Hiden Jutsu instead of coming from a Kekkei Genkai.' Naruto thought as he pulled her up and gave her a piggyback.

"What about your shit?" She asked looking back at the small camp he created.

"He'll take care of it." Naruto nodded to where his Kage Bunshin was hiding in the shadows and it stepped out ready to clean up the campsite.

"You had a clone hiding the whole time, I guess you're not so stupid after all Shit head." Tayuya said which was the closest to praise he had heard from her mouth since she woke up.

"Thanks." Naruto said sarcastically.

"Keep your hands to yourself Shit head, you better not feel me up." Tayuya threatened him as she wrapped her arms around his neck and even gave a threatening squeeze.

This also had the side effect of her pressing herself very close to him, and he could feel 'them' on his back and obviously, he blushed.

"Fine, you just keep your hands where they are as well." Naruto told her as he made his way over to the exit of the cave.

The cave was an 'L' shape so the exit was actually around the corner and the sun was shining through, Naruto didn't know the exact time but it was probably late morning at this point.

"How long was I out?" Tayuya asked as he approached the cave mouth.

"Just the night, I was surprised you're tougher than you look." Naruto replied, Tayuya looked to be older than him but she was actually near enough the same height as him and Naruto was short for his age.

"Course I am, the Shiin Clan don't raise pussys'." Tayuya boasted as he reached the exit of the cave.

"Urgh, why the fuck are we so high up?" She grumbled unhappily at seeing that they were quite a bit away from the ground.

"We needed to be this high up to avoid the Kazan patrols." Naruto said as he tensed his legs.

"Hang on a minute!" Tayuya said just a moment too late as Naruto leapt from the edge and plummeted to the ground.

Tayuya would deny for the rest of her life that she screamed on the way down but Naruto's ringing ears would disagree with that and they would argue about it whenever it was brought up.

"Ow!" Naruto complained as his legs hit the ground while Tayuya's arms were like a vice around his neck almost choking him.

"What the fuck! Why'd you that Shit for brains!" Tayuya shouted at him breathlessly.

"We needed to get down and this was the best way, did you have to scream so loud." Naruto complained to her and desperately wanted to rub his ears.

"I didn't scream I just shouted in surprise." Tayuya blatantly lied.

"Sure you did." Naruto grumbled.

"Shut up! Let's get out of here, I don't want to get caught by those lava-spewing assholes." Tayuya said with a slap on Naruto's shoulder.

"It was very girly." Naruto could not help that little dig but before Tayuya could bite his head off he used the Shunshin and blasted off from where he was standing.

They travelled together quickly, Naruto was jumping over obstacles and running while Tayuya grumbled on his back.

"So what way am I going anyway? I know that all the smaller Clans are in the west but I don't have any maps of this place." Naruto asked the girl on his back.

"Just keep going when we get further west I'll give the directions." She ordered, her tone was still angry but she wasn't about to argue out in the open where people could hear them.

"All right." Naruto agreed easily, from here on out he was basically lost.

Later In The Day
Earth Wasteland

Naruto spent the entire day running over the same looking land, full of jagged stones and small crevices, honestly, he felt like he was just going around in circles but Tayuya never said anything so he kept going.

The sun was beginning to fall and the cold wind was blowing across the dead, empty rock wasteland and Naruto could feel Tayuya begin to shiver, they had talked for a little bit to kill the boredom of travel but eventually, she clammed up probably because they had run out of 'safe' topics and now there were only Ninja topics left and obviously Tayuya loved her Clan and wouldn't tell him anything about that.

"I think it's time to camp out." Naruto said as his vision was getting worse with the lack of light not even mentioning the biting wind that was making the both of them shiver.

"Pussy, can't take a cold night." Tayuya grumbled but she snuggled closer to him to share body heat.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Naruto made the seal and created two Kage Bunshin who went to work to find a suitable location to camp down for the night.

"Kage Bunshin! Isn't that a Senju Jutsu!?" Tayuya was alarmed at hearing the name.

"Is it? My Dad taught it to me." Naruto honestly didn't know the answer to that question it probably could be for all he knew.

"You! Just who is your Dad?" Tayuya questioned as she leaned away from him even though she was still on his back.

"That's personal." He decided to tease her a little.

"Seriously you come out of nowhere and use a Ninjutsu like that who the hell are you?" She questioned again.

"Oy! Boss, found a good place here." One of his Clones called out and Naruto had a good excuse not to answer.

Naruto walked over and there was a dropped bit of earth it looked like it was dug out by people or created using Doton Ninjutsu, it was essentially a foxhole that looked like it was dug during a battle, it was low and the wind would blow over it and it was large enough for about 3-4 tents.

"Good one." He said to his clone while he could feel Tayuya's eyes burning into the back of his head.

"I'll have to set you down to set up camp." Naruto said over his shoulder to Tayuya who was silent but her eyes were burning.

Naruto set her down and then with the help of the two Clones he set up the tent and camp, even putting a tarp that looked like rocks over the hole to make it blend in.

"What do you think?" He asked her trying to make some conversation.

"It's okay coming from a stupid fuck." Tayuya said with her arms crossed and glaring at him.

"You're really not going to let this go are you?" Naruto asked her with a sigh.

"No, You've got some monstrous Chakra and you've travelled across multiple countries and you bust out a Ninjutsu like the Kage Bunshin." Tayuya said looking at him with just a hint of fear, it was small but it was there.

"Ah! Fine! My Dad is Namikaze Minato, the famous 'Kiiroi Senko' happy now." Naruto revealed his parentage to Tayuya.

"Ah!" Tayuya's let out the funniest high pitched squeak he had ever heard, it was like the noise died halfway up her throat.

"The fucking Kiiroi Senko! The Kiiroi Shi!" Tayuya finally managed to shout after getting over that shock.

"Never heard that one before." Naruto commented thinking on the Kiiroi Shi name.

"He's a fucking monster! He's one of the only Ninja in history to get a flee-on-site order from multiple Clans and you're his kid! Shit!" Tayuya seemed to have a minor breakdown over this revelation.

"Why the fuck are you here! Is he around as well!?" Tayuya asked desperately.

"No, he's on a mission somewhere else." Naruto lied, honestly after he was sent to that hideout Naruto had no idea where his Dad was.

"You've been sent here by him haven't you?" She asked again, she was calmer in tone but there was a crazy look in her eyes.

"Sure." Naruto lied again, he doubted she'd notice that.

"Shit! Fuck!" Tayuya was very eloquent in her swearing.

"Calm down Tayuya it's not like he's going to kill you for calling me a shit head." Naruto reassured her hoping she'd calm down so he could get some sleep.

"You promise!" She demanded.

"I promise my Dad won't kill you for calling me names." He recited calmly.

"I'll hold you to that Shi-Naruto." Tayuya corrected herself at the last second and Naruto wanted to laugh.

'So that's what gets her to use my name.' Naruto thought almost wanting to laugh again but he could see this was a serious situation for Tayuya so he decided not to.

"Tell me about the Shiin Clan then?" Naruto asked as his Clone went about preparing an evening meal, Naruto was getting hungry.

"What!?" She said alarmed.

"I'm only asking for the basics, I'm not demanding you reveal your Hiden Ninjutsu or anything like that." Naruto reassured her again.

"Oh! Okay." She agreed and Naruto could tell she was nervous.

"We're from the Land of Grass, we've lived there for centuries and we were actually one of the stronger Clans in the country." Tayuya began as a Naruto Clone passed her a cup filled with tea which she took a sip the moment she had it in both hands.

"Eventually one of our Clan Heads created Ninja Tools that looked like musical instruments, to begin with, it was supposed to be a method of assassination but as time went on people noticed that musicians who didn't play their instruments were members of the Shiin Clan and began to kill us off. But then we actually learnt how to play them after that someone got the bright idea to use the instruments as instruments and use Ninjutsu based around the music." Tayuya continued explaining the origin of her Clan and its unique Ninjutsu without actually telling Naruto what he didn't already know or could make a guess at.

"Everything was fine and dandy until those Fuuma cunts came and offered an alliance, we thought it was just to fight off some foreign Clans but then they betrayed us and attacked, they even burnt down our home and we had to fucking run like cowards here!" She got angrier towards the end.

"There you happy now!?" She demanded an answer.

"Not really, your Clan was forced from its own and had to fight the Kazan Clan who are known for being ruthless and territorial." Naruto said honestly.

It wasn't an uncommon occurrence for a Clan to be attacked so viciously that they had to leave their ancestral homeland and become a wandering Clan, usually, such Clans ended up settling in a country with fewer Ninja Clans or they would be destroyed outright and what remained of their members would scatter to the winds to avoid extinction.

"You're sorry what the fuck is wrong with you, no one gives a shit about other people's Clans." Tayuya scolded him harshly.

"Maybe they should, we are all Ninja after all. We're not just tools for the Daimyo Ninja are people too." Naruto told her looking right into her brown eyes.

"Huh," Tayuya said dumbly and then she flushed from the intense stare Naruto was giving her and turned away.

"Whatever you say Shit head, nothing is ever gonna change, we're stuck with this shit system until we die." Tayuya said not looking at him.

"Only if someone doesn't do anything to change it." Naruto muttered as he accepted his food from his Kage Bunshin.

Tayuya got some as well, it wasn't the best food but it filled the stomach and made sure you had enough energy for a day of fighting.

Most of their time from then was spent eating and drinking right up until it was time to go to bed.

"My clones don't need sleep so they can keep watch for us." Naruto told her as he unfurled his sleeping bag and even produced one for her.

"Right." She accepted it easily enough but even then Tayuya looked on edge.

"If you try anything in the night, I don't care who your daddy is I'll cut your dick off, got it?" Tayuya threatened him again with a dangerous look in her eyes.

"Right." Naruto nodded, he just wanted to get some sleep at this point and accepted whatever she was saying.

"I mean it Shit head, you touch me and your dead." Tayuya said seriously.

"I'm not going to grope you." Naruto said annoyed.

"Just go to bed." He said and then entered the tent and went to sleep.

Tayuya remained outside for a little while longer until the cold got too much for her and she crawled over into the tent with Naruto, it was warm inside and Naruto had been generous and was asleep on the other side of the tent from the entrance so she could sleep near it.

Tayuya set out the sleeping bag and got inside with a little difficulty but then she settled and laid down there was a good distance between Naruto and her, she could fully extend her arm and only just graze his sleeping bag.

"I could kill you right now." She whispered it would be easy to grab a kunai or even use her hands and smother him but she didn't.

"You're a fucking idiot no one can change the world." She whispered to him and turned her eyes to the top of the tent.

Tayuya remained awake to stare up not at anything as she contemplated the strange Ninja that was happily asleep next to her.

Tayuya knew that she couldn't take him to their Clan Head, she would kill Naruto even if he saved her and she was conflicted about that if he were a normal Ninja she would have done it gladly but something about Naruto was different and that made her hesitate.

"Ah! Fuck!" She whispered covering her eyes with an arm.

'What do I do?' She wondered though there was no answer.

It would be a problem for tomorrow.

AN:

Here you all are chapter 28 hope you liked it and look forward to chapter 29.

Fun fact: Naruto was supposed to meet Naruto first in the Land of Water but I decided it was too close to 'Great Clan Days By Kenchi618' So I changed it up and Naruto ended up meeting Samui first.

Translations:

Hiden Jutsu=Hidden Techniques

Kage Bunshin=Shadow Clone

Kiiroi Senko-Yellow Flash

Kiiroi Shi=Yellow Death

Shunshin=Body Flicker