"Good, again!"
Sasuke used a swift combination of punches against Naori's training pads while his Sharingan was activated, she absorbed every hit proficiently, he switched to a series of kicks, each feeling heavier than the last one. The purpose of the last few weeks was to hone his taijutsu skill that were lacking, Naori had turned out to be an excellent sparring partner, unlike Suigetsu, who was currently resting against one of the walls looking at the pair's session, he definitely did not have the same level of energy they had and decided he had enough for one night.
Naori was secretly training both boys while her boss was away, they had planned these sessions every night when it was convenient and luckily for them, Fugaku was too busy to even notice, the 'accident' with the camera servers had worked and with an extra bribe, the data of that night had been erased from the records permanently, now all Sasuke's focus was going to discover the power of his lineage instead of exposing his father's activities.
The last couple of minutes left Sasuke finished strong landing a hard roundhouse kick that pushed Naori a few feet back but still managed to absorb without much trouble, her own Sharingan was activated as well to watch closely every single one of Sasuke's attacks.
"Very nice, you're catching on quick Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke started to walk back to one of the benches in the training room and unwrapped his gloves, then his bandages, his sweat was proof of the workout he was having.
"So when will you start teaching me ninjutsu then?"
"When it's safe, taijutsu and the Sharingan combined make an excellent weapon for you right now, you're much stronger and faster than an average shinobi now and we need a larger space if you're gonna learn ninjutsu, we can't work on that here."
"Hey Naori-san, this whole training thing is more suited for you guys, I'm not even an Uchiha so tell me again, why am I here?"
"Because you don't want Sasuke's father on your case, unless you have a death wish feel free to walk away anytime..."
"Oh right..." he said annoyed and rolling his eyes.
"Attention, we have a special bulletin!"
The attention of the group turned to the screen installed in the training room, the images of what seemed a police shootout with other men displayed while the reported described what had happened.
"Huh? a police shootout? Here?" Suigetsu said.
"Volume up..." Sasuke said, the voice command worked and the sound amplified, the images showed a blond boy around the same age as Sasuke pushing a police van against a group of mercenaries like it was a feather, the video was apparently recorded by a bystander. Immediately Naori's eyes narrowed when she recognized the boy on the screen.
"The suspect has been identified by the authorities as Naruto Uzumaki..."
"What an idiot! He used ninjutsu in public!"
"Naruto Uzumaki... that name sounds familiar..."
"He's the boy your father is after."
Both Sasuke and Suigetsu turned to face Naori, clearly curious at her response.
"You know him?"
"Not personally, maybe you saw his name in one of the reports you found in his office, along with Orochimaru's..."
"Why is my dad after him?"
Naori ignored Sasuke's question and remained silent, she walked closer to the large screen and continued listening to the report.
"Naori, why is my father after that guy?"
"That's classified."
"Hey! Isn't that... Mizuki?!" Suigetsu recognized a man with light blue hair badly beat up being carried to the back of an armored SAT van. "Whoa, that guy kicked Mizuki's ass, cool!"
"Damn Mizuki..." Naori said in a low tone, they still head her "I need to make a call, we're done for today." She started to walk away.
"Hey Naori!" She stopped as Sasuke called her name "Can you tell me what's going on?!"
"Not right now..." She continued walking to the exit, leaving Sasuke with more questions than before.
The team's helicopter was reaching the outskirts of Konoha after a long and uncomfortable trip, Asuma had tried speaking with Naruto during their journey but he knew his words at the moment had no effect on him, it was like talking to a wall, he simply did not feel like listening to anyone. His thoughts were still lingering on Ino's words, 'We are not friends', what were they then? comrades? to call yourself a comrade the same principle of friendship applied, trust was necessary. Clearly after what he had done it was expected being trustworthy was out of the question, at least for now, trust did not exist on either side, he understood that clearly now. Asuma had given up on trying to console the boy, he figured it was better to leave him be for now, same for Ino, both needed time to clear their heads and let all the negative thoughts disappear.
The team finally reached a safe area to land and the genjutsu placed around the helicopter was lifted, as soon as Naruto saw the large mountain that acted as a genjutsu for the barrier he could not wait any further and to everyone's shock he leaped from the cabin, Ino quickly took notice of this and out of instinct she reached out to where he was, he landed safely on the pasture below them thanks to his chakra, she wanted to mimic him but Asuma stopped her, simply giving her a look that she would quickly understand, he needed to be alone for now.
Naruto rushed past the barrier and the guards who were taken by surprise but recognized him regardless. He was pissed, beyond pissed at that point, he wanted to let the Hokage have a piece of his mind and was now determined to do so, this was not the picture he had been given about being a Shinobi, to him it meant more than hiding.
He reached the building and did not even bother to use the door, opting instead to jump and run all the way to the top and enter the office through the window. The Hokage's guards were actually expecting him and stopped him from even attempting to open the window, his chakra signature had been detected way before he even reached the building. Once the Hokage saw who it was however, he motioned his guards to let the boy pass, they silently nodded and stepped back to allow Naruto space to enter the office.
"Why am I not surprised you didn't use the door..." Hiruzen said almost jokingly.
"Old man, I need to have a word with you."
"Well, what is it?"
"Alone please..."
Hiruzen signaled the two masked guards to leave the room, followed this he performed a sealing jutsu around the room to ensure nothing could be heard, Naruto was actually taken aback by his actions, as if almost reading his mind.
"I assume you're here about that mess you caused back in Tokyo, am I wrong?"
"... I see news travel fast here."
"We're shinobi Naruto, gathering information is just one of many arts we know how to do better than anyone."
"What about protecting innocent people? Is that something you can do better as well?"
Hiruzen went silent at that question for a moment.
"So this is not about you then..."
"Tell me old man, what would it take for the shinobi society to actually work for the good of others instead of personal interests?"
"Careful Naruto, you're not in a good position now to ask such questions."
"Why not? Am I detained or something? Or are you guys sentencing me to death for what I did? Wouldn't that go against my parents' wishes?"
Naruto was getting smarter and technically he was right, Minato and Kushina would not be very happy if they found out their son was either a prisoner or worse and that the village that was tasked to protect him was involved.
"No, you're not our prisoner and you're not sentenced to anything."
"Then answer me, why aren't we doing anything to right the wrongs of the world? Are we the only ones left?"
"No we're not, and because we don't work at the same pace the rest of society does, shinobi work in the shadows because other people will never understand what they fear."
"That's not what I asked... I noticed something tonight, there are more shinobi out there having regular lives in the city, probably the whole country, they're good people old man, they're trying to do what's right and guys like the ones who attacked me tonight don't play by anyone's rules, be it regular or shinobi."
"That doesn't mean we get to play using the same tactics, we established these rules long ago before any of us were born, Shinobi do not interfere in personal affairs unless hired to do so." He stood up from his chair and walked over to the windows to take a look outside "We don't get to choose how the rules of a game are made, we simply play the game by those rules." he finished.
"Would the rules change is Fugaku Uchiha was dead?"
The question caught him off guard, he looked over to Naruto with an eyebrow raised.
"Let me rephrase that... If I killed Fugaku Uchiha, will things change?"
"... No they wouldn't."
"Why?"
"He's just one of many powerful figures just here in Japan, his son will probably succeed him..."
"He's got a son?!"
"Sasuke Uchiha, a boy around your age as well."
"Do you know where he is now?"
"With his father probably, why?"
"..." Naruto ignored the question "Old man, I need to ask a favor, I know what I did has put you guys at risk and being here is honestly driving me crazy..."
"You're safe here Naruto, even after what happened nobody will find you here, don't tell me...?"
"Yeah, I need to leave this village, if what Asuma-sensei said is true then everyone will be safer without me here."
"Hmm? What did he say?"
"People know my identity now, they'll look for me no matter where I go, it's just a matter of time before Uchiha Corp finds this place if they also have shinobi so I need to keep moving, the village can't pay for what I did..."
"Naruto... Your parents asked us to watch over you..."
"Yeah well, that was their job... Besides, I'm old enough to make my choices since they're not even here."
His last statement could not be questioned, the boy as a shinobi was old enough to call the shots and choose what course of action was best for him.
"... Alright, but not alone, you need to have someone at your side in case something happens, I'll assign Ino Yamanaka as your bodygua-"
"No... I'd rather ask someone else in the village, just... not her."
The Hokage did not understand, they were training partners and from what he had seen, close friends so it did not make sense why he would not want her to watch his back but then again, it was not his business to question the boy's decision.
"Fine, where will you go then?"
"Osaka is a good place to start, I have someone there who can help me, then I'll keep moving until I'm ready."
"Ready? For what?"
"I'm a person of know interest now so it won't matter by then, just trust me on this one..." he finished.
At that moment Asuma and the rest of the team announced their presence by knocking on the door, Hiruzen lifted the barrier jutsu and told them to come in, as soon as the door opened the energy inside the room changed, tension could be felt all around and it was coming mainly from Naruto and Ino, at least now the Hokage had a faint idea something had happened earlier hence why he did not want the Yamanaka girl as his partner.
"You can go now Naruto, get some rest, I need to scold my son and his team here..." he said in a cheerful tone.
"Yes Hokage-sama!"
Hokage-sama? Everyone stood there surprised at the way he referred to Hiruzen instead of the usual 'old man' nickname, then again, they were not there earlier. Naruto turned around and walked past his team, Ino looked at him the whole way but he did not even blink an eye, his eyes only went to the door until he left the room, she knew she did not have the right at the moment to say anything to him but deep down that bothered her, still, she kept quiet until Naruto's steps could no longer be heard.
"So you want to explain what happened tonight?" the Hokage said while taking out his smoking pipe.
Naruto walked the empty streets of the village without really knowing where he was headed, he did not feel like going to the house right now, seeing Shikamaru and Chōji made him feel uncomfortable, he was sure he could not ask either of them to join him on his trip to Osaka, then again he did not really know many people, maybe he could ask Jiraiya, assuming he was still around and not on a different mission at the moment. He took a seat on a solitary bench near a park, a dim light post shining over it, he took a deep breath and tried to gather his thoughts again, the words of Ino however kept replaying in his head every time he thought about looking for a partner for his trip.
"WE ARE NOT FRIENDS!"
"Damn it... why did she say that?" his fist clenched.
"Hey! What are you doing out here so late?"
The voice of a woman startled him and he looked over to where it came from, then he saw a pink haired girl casually walking to him with a backpack over one of her shoulders and a white hospital uniform.
"S-sorry, I didn't see you there..."
"No no! I should apologize for scaring you! Did I interrupt you?"
"Umm... no, not really."
"You're Naruto right?"
"Yeah... and you're..."
"Sakura Haruno, we met back when you first came to Konoha, I was checking your vitals when you woke up, maybe you don't..."
"Right! Sakura! I remember now!" He scratched the back of his head feeling embarrassed for not remembering who she was "Did you just come out of the hospital?"
"Yes, just finished my shift and was heading home, what about you?"
"I... it doesn't matter." He looked away.
"I see, you don't want to tell me, silly me, I don't even know you to be asking you that, I'm so sorry..."
"No wait! It's not that!" he frantically waved both hands at her, this made her chuckle "I... sorta have a dilemma... I got this mission, and I need to go with at least one person I trust, the problem is... I don't trust them."
"I see... Mind if I sit?"
Naruto simply moved aside to allow her some space, she took a seat next to him and laid her backpack on the floor.
"If I remember correctly, You got assigned with Asuma-sensei's team right? Did something happen?"
"Yeah, didn't you see the news?" She shook her head no "Huh? I thought everyone would know by now..."
"I work at the hospital most of the time, we don't watch or care much about news or anything the media shows out there, why?"
"Oh... well, to put it simple, I screwed up, big time... so now my team is kinda mad at me, and I'm having a hard time wondering what I should do next."
"Why don't you just apologize and make amends with them?"
"it's not that simple... I gotta leave the village soon and where I'm going I can't be alone, at least that's what the old man Hokage told me, but in good conscience I can't ask any of them to join me and the only person I trust might or might not be here, see the dilemma?"
Sakura took out from her backpack a small back of chips, she opened them an offered Naruto some, he gladly accepted.
"So you need a traveling partner for a mission but you don't want your teammates involved, right?"
"Right."
"And is this mission long? Where are you headed?"
"Osaka, and yeah, it might take a while, to be honest I don't know if I'll return for a while..."
"And... did Hokage-sama input this rule to you about not traveling alone?"
"Pretty much, he's right though, after what I did it's not safe to be on my own, or even around me for that matter..."
Sakura again took some more chips to her mouth and offered more to Naruto who happily accepted again. She finished the bag and threw it on a trashcan next to the bench, after cleaning her hands she resumed her train of thoughts.
"You said the only person you trust is probably not here right now?"
"There's a chance he might be, then again, I want to leave as soon as possible and I can't wait for him to return if he's not here."
"I get it... I'll ask Hokage-sama tomorrow to let me join you then." she smiled.
"H-huh?" Naruto again was taken by surprise.
"You seem in a bit of a predicament right now so I don't see why I cannot help, I know we just met and all but a fundamental part of a shinobi's code is trust, between you, your friends and your peers in the village."
"But... you work at the hospital.."
"So?"
"So it's... dangerous for you?..." he was not even sure what he meant.
"If you're worried about me, don't be, I can handle myself on the battlefield just like any of you, being a nurse is just part time for me."
"But your shift... I mean... won't the hospital need you?"
"I'm the head of nursing staff, I believe I deserve also a break from hospital duties when I see fit, not like there's much activity over there now anyways..."
"B-but-"
"Look, if you don't want my help I'd prefer you just said it instead of 'but' all the time..."
Naruto was even more confused now, he had no idea this girl he had just met minutes earlier was also a shinobi, let alone she was so easygoing to even offer her help to a stranger like him, he wanted to at least make sure she was not lying, after all trust was hard to come by now for him.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Shoot."
"Why do you want to help someone you've just met?"
Sakura smiled again "It's a really long story, but to put is short, mom taught me to be nice to everyone, even strangers, this world needs better people in it and the best way to start is by helping each other out."
"I don't mean to sound rude or anything... but didn't she tell you not to trust strangers? What if you get hurt?"
"Hmm? Well, I assure you, that'll be the last mistake they ever make..." her left hand was grabbing the edge of the bench, Naruto noticed the cracks that started to form on it, she was barely applying any pressure and soon it was clear to him she was not lying about taking care of herself, he gulped at the strength she displayed.
"I-I see!" he laughed nervously, Sakura stopped what she was doing and let a laugh escape her as well, she did not want to scare him after all.
"Just let me know when you plan on leaving so I can get everything ready okay? I'll need to inform the hospital... Well, gotta go, see ya!"
Sakura stood up picking up her bag and waved goodbye before walking away and disappearing out of sight, Naruto remained motionless trying to process what had just happened. Out of the shadows a tall figure started to emerge, the blond teenager noticed the presence and turned to be met by none other than the Toad Sage himself.
"J-Jiraiya-sensei!"
"What's this I hear? You plan on leaving without my consent brat?"
"Wait a minute! How long you've been listening?!"
"I saw you since you walked out of the Hokage's office and followed you here, you didn't seem in a good mood so I kept my distance, also heard some rumors, care to explain brat?"
"Well..." he took a deep breath and prepared for another potential scolding at the hands of his teacher "The mission was simple, I needed to go back to Tokyo to recover this..." He pulled out the kunai from his pocket, Jiraiya recognized it as Minato's weapon right away "The police was waiting for us and I got caught, they were taking me to the station when some guys ambushed us on the highway and, story short, I used ninjutsu, got recorded and now I'm all over the news for it, so..."
"Ah, let me guess... The "we're a hidden society' speech right?"
"Right... that's why I can't stay here now, I understand if you're mad at me..."
"Hahahahaha... You're something else brat! I'm not mad at you, if anything I'd say I feel proud!"
Naruto's eyes went wide at his carefree response, he was expecting another lecture of the same topic but Jiraiya was not like other shinobi, he forgot that.
"Wait! you're not mad at me?"
"For what? For saving your own skin? You've got some guts kid, I'll tell you that!"
"How...? I thought all shinobi cared about was their secrecy and way of living...!"
"Not everyone thinks like that Naruto, I am a man of the people and I would gladly be in favor of the world knowing of our existence, sure not everyone will understand, but so what? Bureaucrats and leaders, they're just figures of power without any real power, what choice do they have but to accept us? It's a great start so we can all eventually coexist!"
"I'm speechless... honestly you know!"
"Tell me something though, why didn't your team back you up then?"
"I don't know... I tried calling them but..."
Jiraiya sighed "Look, I'm gonna talk with the Hokage and get to the bottom of this, some new rules need to be established, by the way, where's Ino? I thought you guys... Oh..."
Naruto's mood turned sour as soon as her name was brought up, it was none of his business but he figured something happened between the two, Naruto needed some space and hopefully not talk about it.
"You should go home, get some rest, it must've been a long night, I'm sure your head will feel lighter tomorrow morning."
He patted Naruto's shoulder and started to walk away from the boy.
"Always look forward Naruto, don't dwell in the past, life is about moving forward, eventually things will come into place." he said before leaving the area.
Ino waited outside of the Hokage's building with Shikamaru and Chōji while their sensei continued speaking with the Hokage inside his office, their mission had been an unofficial task and they were pretty sure Asuma was getting the scolding only a father could give to his son. Her mind was troubled, for the first time in years she felt conflicted about what had happened with Naruto, she knew she had been way too harsh and even better, she knew she had lied to him, she hurt the person who in fact she did consider a friend, yet her emotions won that night and maybe now it was not the best time to look for him. She slammed her fist against the wall of the building.
"Damn it! I messed up big time..."
"Saying it won't change anything right now, Naruto probably doesn't want to see any of us, we need to give him time."
"Hey hold on for a second! I didn't say anything, why is he mad at me too?!"
"Maybe he's not Chōji, maybe he's just mad at us..."
"Maybe he's just mad at me..." Ino said.
"Well he's got a reason, you took your words a bit too far Ino, Naruto is a friend to me, no matter what he did."
"Hey Chōji, you're not the only person who thinks that way, he's a friend to me as well, but that doesn't mean he gets a free pass for what he did."
"He was on his own Shikamaru, we simply watched, we could've helped earlier..."
"And tangle with the police? No, it could've been worse for us, Naruto did what he had to do... he's got a good reasons to be mad though."
"He tried to use the kunai to contact his dad... he really wanted to see them... I tried to stop him! I should've stopped him!"
"Doesn't matter now, look just go home Ino, me and Chōji will talk with him, try to ease things and let him know it was all a misunderstanding."
Ino was not completely sure that would work, minutes earlier when they met at the office she could literally cut the tension with her sword, he emanated nothing but resentment towards them, even Asuma his own sensei, she felt tempted to contact him telepathically at the moment but knew it was not wise, she could also probably sneak to a nearby location and read his mind using one of her jutsu but that would only make things worse once he found out his privacy was being invaded.
"Alright, Ill go home, take care you two..."
She waved her goodbye to both teammates and started to walk back home. As she walked further and further away she kept thinking, why did she say that? Why did those words leave her mouth if she was sure they were not true? Naruto WAS her friend, even way before he realized it but could still not reveal that to him, it was not her call to do it but she knew Naruto way back before the night in Tokyo. She felt tempted to tell him, maybe revealing the truth about their relationship would ease the tension she had created out of rage and stupidity, she was just as guilty as he had been that night, then again, she could probably find herself in trouble with the Hokage for doing so. in the end she opted not to but still wanted to try a different approach, the longer this situation dragged then the harder it would be to make amends with him, she needed to regain his trust somehow.
"Naruto... It's Ino, can you hear me?"
There was no response, she figured chances for him to answer were actually very slim, after all she never replied back when he called her earlier during the time he needed her help.
"I know the last thing you probably want to hear right now is my voice and I don't blame you, just... just hear me out for a second will ya?"
Again more silence.
"I have to work a lot on my words, I really suck at it, yes, we are not supposed to use any type of jutsu out there because it's one of the shinobi rules but that's not the point, I shouldn't have lashed out at you the way I did, I was angry, really really angry at what you did out there... But then again, we didn't help you did we? We just watched..."
She knew he was listening at least for now despite the silent treatment she was getting.
"We should've helped you... I... I should've helped you, these rules... all these stupid rules, I hate them as much as you do probably, but I follow them because that's the code I was taught since I was little, it angered me that you broke them and...well, we followed you the whole way... we waited for a chance, an opportunity to come in and get you out of there... then those guys showed up again and everything went to hell from that point on..."
Despite her lengthy talk Naruto never replied back, yet she continued.
"I didn't mean what I said to you earlier, I... I was just so angry... now I know what I said was not what I really felt... that thing, about us not being friends... I did not mean that, I want you to know that..."
Maybe her words were working, she knew he was still there, listening as she almost reached her house, she reached for her keys.
"You ARE a friend to me Naruto, a good friend and I trust you, I want you to know I'll watch your back no matter what happens from now on, I won't leave you again, and I hope you give me the chance to regain your trust again because I know I made a mistake..."
Ino started to form a smile, she felt her approach was working after all.
"Hey, maybe later we can meet and talk, I want to clear this misunderst-"
Suddenly the connection was cut off, her heart stopped, her eyes widened and she dropped the keys as she was about to open the front door, emptiness inside her chest filled her, she knew this feeling all to well and knew what it meant, her heart unexpectedly felt pain, not physical however, she did not understand why though, she was sure the shock for the sudden disconnection was there but why did her heart feel heavy also? She struggled to regain her composure, with a trembling hand she grabber her chest and tried to control her breath as it left her.
It was a clear sign Naruto had severed the connection between them.
-0-
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Hello again, happy to post this next chapter so fast, actually finished writing it in just one day, don't expect another one for what's left of the year though as of today I'll be traveling to spend the holidays with family and all that stuff, don't forget to like, follow and subscr- wait... this isn't Youtube, sorry :), just hope you like the chapter and continue to follow the story as it develops, this 2020 will be interesting year indeed for it. Leave a review if you want, let me know what you like and don't like about the story so far, constructive criticism is always welcomed and I know my writing isn't perfect so all the help I get is appreciated.
Happy holidays everyone!