Years Arc: A Year and a Half

Ino smacked her cheeks "come on, Ino, you're just going to your friend's house, and you'll go spend some time with her like always. It's nothing new you've been doing it for years."

Ino left her clan grounds and headed to Sakura's house, determined to spend some good time with Sakura and not get caught staring at her and have to make up an excuse. It took a few moments to get to Sakura's house, and once Ino was there, she knocked on the door. Ino knocked a few more times before sliding it open slowly. "Sakura, you home?"

The living room looked in order though the kitchen had food half prepped for cooking that seemed like it was there since last night. Ino stepped lightly as she moved up the stairs to the bedrooms and found Sakura's open. She tensed as she heard movement from the opposite side of the hall. Ino turned and saw the door to Sakura's parent's room was ajar. She peeked in, seeing Sakura lying in bed curled up. "Sakura, are you okay?" Ino asked as she entered.

Sakura flinched and looked up. Ino's breath caught seeing the red puffy eyes of her friend. "I-Ino, what are you doing here?"

"Wha- I came to get you so we could hang out, but that doesn't matter; why are you in here? Have you been crying?"

Ino saw the scroll as Sakura stirred and sat up. She had seen that kind of scroll a few times. Ino ran over and pulled Sakura into a hug. Her friend started shaking as fresh tears rocked her body. Once Sakura had calmed down, she told Ino the news, and Ino hugged her again tighter than before "okay, it'll be okay come on go wash up. I'll make you some breakfast."

Sakura took a shaky breath. "I-I have to go set up the funeral-"

"And we will, but you have to put yourself together. We're shinobi; you can't go out like this right now, so go wash up. I'll fix up some food, then I'll help you set up the funeral."

Sakura's hands grabbed a fist full of Inos clothes, "promise."

"I promise. Now go."

Ino got to work cleaning the kitchen and making breakfast. Sakura sat in her bath, spacing in and out as she soaked. Once breakfast was ready, Ino made sure Sakura got ready and ate before they left for the Hokage tower. Ino smiled, seeing at how well her friend had pulled herself together, and once in the tower, Sakura made sure that Ino was allowed to follow her through the process.

Shinobi's funeral preparations for those whose bodies were recovered were lengthy and took most of a day. A next of kin must be present for the confirmation of the bodies; they have to answer questions from T&I. The next of kin is then granted permission to receive the wills of all deceased shinobi. Sakura wasn't surprised that all her parents' possessions were left to her. She was surprised by how much they had saved away, though. Her parents had always lived frugal lives, but the amount still surprised her. Once the wills were read, the bodies are cremated, and the next day is set for the funeral.

Sakura and Ino sat in a side room to fill out paperwork as Sakura's parents were cremated. Ino tried for a smile as she spoke, "do you want me to stay around after we're all done here?"

Sakura finished her paperwork and nodded, "If you don't mind. I'm probably just gonna get something from a store for dinner on my way home."

Ino smiled, "sounds good. How about I buy some sweets as well, and then we can call it even."

"That sounds good to me," Sakura said as they got up and handed in the last of the paperwork, and she was given the time of the funeral. Sakura sighed as they walked home. "It's early in the morning."

"Best to get it done first thing in the morning than having to wait all day," Ino said as she bumped shoulders with Sakura, who nodded and hummed in confirmation.

That night Ino was about to lay out a futon when Sakura shifted in her bed "can you sleep here tonight? Like when we were younger."

Ino fought down her blush and nodded, "y-yeah, okay."

"You don't have to. I know it-"

"No!- um no, I mean, it's okay. It's just like you said we haven't done this in years, so I was surprised.

Ino smiled as she slipped into the covers, "goodnight Sakura."

Sakura smiled, "goodnight Ino."

Naruto stared out at the ocean as the boat he and Jiraiya were on sailed closer and closer to the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools. Naruto jumped as Jiraiya patted his shoulder "kid, you paying attention; I said we're almost there; get ready."

"O-oh, sorry pervy sage, I blanked out there, I guess," Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head.

Jiraiya looked at his student who had been spacing out more and more the closer they got to Uzushiogakure. He had heard the rumors about some sort of jutsu they enacted before the village fell. It had conflicting accounts about what happened. Some say it's a barrier; others say it killed everyone on the island. Some people say that in their dying breath, the Uzumaki released every chakra beast they had ever captured, and now they roam the island killing anything and everything they come across. None of the rumors mentioned anything about what was happening with Naruto, but Jiraiya had a gut feeling that whatever happened in Uzushiogakure was affecting Naruto as they got closer.

Once they docked, the captain quickly kicked the two off his ship before sailing to what he considered a safe distance. Jiraiya had negotiated for the captain to wait one week, and if he and Naruto didn't signal for him to pick them up, he could leave. Jariya did incentivize a large payout if the captain waited.

"Oi, come on brat, we got a bit of ground to cover, and we don't know what we'll run into."

"Yeah yeah, ya, perv, I'm coming." Naruto adjusted his pack and ran to catch up to his master. Right as Naruto stepped off the docks and onto the dirt, a ripple washed over the island making the trees sway.

Jiraiya looked around as Naruto's head snapped around "what the heck was that?!"

"You're an Uzumaki kid; there might have been a barrier set up to react to you. Who knows what it triggered. Be on your toes."

Naruto snapped a salute "will do pervy sage."

They moved down the main road from the docks towards the village, being sure to check for traps or anything strange. They made camp a few miles from the village, and Jiraiya nudged Naruto, "what are you feeling?"

Naruto cocked an eyebrow, "huh? Hungry, I guess? Little tired, I didn't sleep well on the boat."

"No, not that. You've been spacing out more and more the closer we get to the village. What happens when you space out? What do you feel before or after you come around?"

Naruto scratched his head as he thought, "it's kinda gradual y'know I don't notice when it happens, and wherever I snap out of it, I can't really remember what happens when I space out. I guess my head feels kinda light afterward. I don't know, it feels weird, I guess."

Jiraiya finished scribbling something down in his notebook and nodded, "if it starts happening again, try to fight it."

Naruto nodded, "will do pervy sage."

The next day they headed for the village and stopped at the ruined gates, and Jiraiya held up a hand to stop as he saw the slight shimmer at the border of the village. "There's a barrier up we'll have to find the anchors-" he stopped suddenly and pulled Naruto behind some rubble as he saw someone inside the village approaching the ruined gates.

The approaching man had short red hair and was dressed in a light gray battle kimono with a black flak jacket over it bearing the Uzushiogakure spiral on its shoulders and back. He looked around before speaking, "we know you're here. Please come out; you're in no danger here."

"You stay hidden. I'll go out." Jiraiya said, forcing Naruto to sit down, "I'll signal if I want you to come out."

Naruto was going to protest but kept his mouth shut when he saw the seriousness in Jiraiya's eyes. He nodded and let his master step out from the rubble. Jiraiya smiled as he approached the barrier with his hands raised "hello there, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't expecting to run into anyone else here; not many people come around here nowadays."

The shinobi's face remained neutral. "I would appreciate it if you brought out my clan mate as well. We know he's here. He triggered the barrier after you had already crossed it."

"Oh, that's a pretty fancy barrier though I have to wonder how you're an Uzumaki. You're all supposed to be dead as the rumors say."

The shinobi smiled, "we are dead; there's only a few of us left alive in the world. Now please bring out the Uzumaki you have with you. We will let you into the barrier once he is present."

Jiraiya's eyes flickered around before he signaled, and Naruto stepped out. The shinobi at the gate frowned, "you're blonde."

Naruto huffed "yeah, what of it? I've got my dad's hair. Do you have a problem with that?!"

The shinobis smiled came back, "Oh good, you've got her attitude. Glad to see at least that made it."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto snapped.

"You recognize him?" Jiraiya asked as the shinobi placed his hand on the barrier.

"No, I've never seen this boy in my life, but you're from Konoha, and you remind me of a distant cousin I knew. She was forced to Konoha because of our alliance. In the end, it saved her life for a time. Kushina was the epitome of Uzumaki's attitude and power. It was sad to see her leave, but when the attack happened, those of us who knew her were glad she wasn't here."

The barrier shimmered and receded enough for Jiraiya and Naruto to enter. Naruto smiled, "you're my mom's cousin, that's so cool."

The shinobi shrugged, "distant, but more or less, yes. That's not important, though; you need to head down the main path and go to the elder's mansion. It's the biggest building at the end of the road."

Jiraiya eyes the shinobi as he closed the barrier, "and why can you not escort us there?"

The shinobi smiled. "I figured the master of fuinjutsu that you are Jiraiya-sama, you would recognize why I can't. Though I suppose it would help if I showed you this." the shinobi walked over and pulled aside a tattered banner to reveal a seal carved into the wall.

Jiraiya sucked in his breath "that- you're..."

"Yes, I'm bound to this gate. I'm just a remnant of chakra I poured in as much as I could before I died. My job is to let in any Uzumaki who comes here and to let them out. I'll do this until I burn up all the chakra in the seal, then the barrier will remain closed forever."

Naruto looked confused, "huh? A remnant? What's that?"

"He's basically a ghost. Before his death, he poured his chakra into that seal along with a piece of his soul. The seal holds the soul in place using chakra and lets the soul manifest. Once the chakra is burned up, he'll move on to the afterlife."

The shinobi nodded, "there are a few of us in the village. We set this up in case a survivor came back. Though this is the first time we were woken up, so to speak. Now hurry and run along to the elder. He'll want to speak with you."

Naruto stared aw struck as the shinobi vanished into the seal "wow, that's crazy."

"This village was known and feared for its fuinjutsu and high chakra reserves. The Uzumaki were the ruling clan, but they weren't the only clan that lived here." Jiraiya said as they moved down the main road.

"What were some of the other clans like?"

Jiraiya shrugged, "Honestly, kid, I don't know. Your mom never talked to me a lot about the village. She may have told your father or her best friend, Mikoto-san."

"Oh-oh, who's Mikoto-san? Can I talk to her about mom?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "no can do. Mikoto was an Uchiha specifically; she was your friend Sasuke's mother. She died with the rest of her clan when Itachi went rouge."

Naruto's head dropped "that's too bad."

Jiraiya patted his head, "it's alright, kid. You'll probably be learning a lot if what the guy at the gate said was correct."

Naruto's mood recovered, and he smiled, "you think so? What do you think the elder is like?"

"Based on accounts I've seen and what your mother has said is that he's a serious man, and he was a master at fuinjutsu, so don't be rude who knows what he'll do."

It took a few minutes to reach the elder's mansion. Jiraiya went to knock, but the door slid open on its own. They entered cautiously and saw a paper lantern ignite, followed by another and another that trailed down a hallway. Jiraiya took the lead and followed the lanterns to the main chamber, where the last head of the Uzumaki clan sat alone. He looked up and in a gruff and deep voice spoke, "please sit Jiraiya-sama, Uzumaki-san."

The two of them sat down, and Naruto fidgeted as the elder eyed him. "You don't show any physical signs of our clan, but I can sense it in your blood. You are my kin, and I would like to know your name."

"U-um I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto... that is an acceptable name. You are Kushina's child, correct?"

"Yeah, I am, but I didn't get to know her."

"Oh, why is that?" the elder said, tilting his head.

Naruto explained everything that Kakashi and Jiraiya had told him about his parents' death and how he ended up with the Kyubi sealed inside him. The elder nodded and listened intently until Naruto was done before speaking again. "It is regrettable that you did not get to meet her. She could have passed a great many things onto you, but just because she cannot does not mean your clan can't. Those of us who sealed ourselves away have spent this time gathering what survived. A great many of us have passed before the work is complete, but we pulled what we could, and we waited for the time when a clan member would return home and collect what they are now owed."

The elder motioned, and a woman came in and placed a large scroll thicker than the toad sealing contact and a smaller scroll in front of Naruto. She bowed and left without a word. The elder motioned for Naruto to go to them. "You are the first Uzumaki to come here, and as such, I will name you the new head of the Uzumaki clan. While there may not be any more members than you, I must pass the title on so that you can take possession of these scrolls. The smaller one contains the traditional clothing worn by the clan head when we would go to war. I doubt you will have use for them, but I ask that you keep them."

Naruto nodded as he tucked the scroll away. "I'll keep them even if I don't need them."

The elder nodded, "thank you. The other scroll is the collective knowledge of the village. It is not our complete knowledge; many secrets have been lost forever due to death and destruction. I hope it will serve you well."

Naruto placed the scroll between him and Jiraiya as he sat down. "C-can you tell me what this place was like? What was our clan like? I want to know so much more about you guys and y'know!"

The elder laughed, "Don't worry, my child. I have time left in this world. I'll tell you all I can if you'll stay to listen."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically as the elder started to tell stories of their clan. Hours later, the elder bowed as he faded away, and Jiraiya and Naruto, now with this new scroll slung across his back, left the mansion and headed for the village entrance to head back out.

"I have to do what?" Sasuke asked as he stared at the redheaded girl in front of him. He was low on chakra, and his head felt light, so he wasn't sure if he heard her correctly.

She blushed and pulled her sleeve up. "I said you have to bite me, okay. I have special chakra; you bite me, and it'll heal your physical wounds and restore your chakra."

Sasuke sighed and grabbed her wrist, "how hard?"

"Break skin."

"Great," Sasuke said before he sank his teeth into her arm and broke the skin. Karin bit back a moan. She hated how it felt when someone bit her. It was embarrassing, and she couldn't seem to get used to it either.

A moan slipped out, and Sasuke cocked an eyebrow as he pulled away, and her arm healed up, leaving a scar behind. Karin blushed "okay, look, I know what I did, but it's not like that."

Sasuke got back to his feet and just walked off to continue his training again against the new opponents Orochimaru brought. This was the third batch this week, and he was getting closer to beating them.

Karin huffed and skulked off, wishing she was back at the prison. She stood in the back, watching Sasuke fight several people at once. Orochimaru had called her back to the main base to assist his latest obsession in growing stronger, and so far, he was attractive but aloof. He kept everyone at a distance and didn't seem to interact with others in the base unless he had to.

Sasuke finished his training and looked over at Karin, who was sulking in the corner. He sighed and walked over, "girl."

Karin's eye twitched, "my name is Karin."

"Karin. I wanted to... thank you for healing me earlier."

"O-oh, okay, um, it's no problem Lord Orochimaru told me to, so it's not like I have a choice."

Sasuke grunted and walked off, ending the conversation.

Ino put a hand on her hip as she let Sakura in "you're late."

Sakura smiled, "I know, but Tsunade-sama had to talk to me about something important."

"Oh, more important than your best friend?"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she took her shoes off, "discussing whether or not I should attempt to make a contract with the slugs is pretty important, and I'm not Naruto. I can't just say no to the Hokage when she says stay."

Ino gasped, "she's gonna let you make a summoning contract?"

"No, she's considering if she'll let me talk to the slugs. They're the ones who will decide if I'm worth it."

Sakura fell in step behind Ino as they walked into her living room "well, I think you're worth it, and those slugs will too if they're smart. If not, I'll have to go have a talk with them."

Sakura shook her head, "I would feel bad for them having to deal with an angry Ino."

"Oh, Sakura-chan, it's good to see you again." Ino's mother said as she walked out of the kitchen.

Sakura bowed, "It's good to see you again to Yamanaka-san."

Ino's mother waved her hand, "come now, I've told you a million times you don't need to be so formal."

Sakura smiled and rubbed her head "apologies force of habit to be really formal. Especially with how much time I've been spending in the Hokage tower." 'ah shit, I forgot her name again. I'll need to ask Ino while we're out.'

Ino's mother smiled, "no worries, dear. Now you two run off and enjoy the new year festival."

Ino grabbed Sakura, "come on, I gotta grab something from my room, then we can go."

Sakura rolled her eyes as she followed Ino to her room "you complain about me being late, and you're not even ready yet. Honestly, I can't believe you."

"You were supposed to get here on to time so that we had time to do this and still not be late, but now we're going to be late," Ino said as she tucked her wallet in her pocket. She smiled and grabbed Sakura, leading her quickly to the main street where the festival was taking place.

"Shame the others couldn't join us. It'd be pretty fun with all of us together." Sakura said as they walked by the various vendors and stalls.

Ino chuckled half-heartedly, "such a shame."

Sakura looked at her, quizakly, "you good?"

Ino sighed, "yeah, I'm good. I'm just worried about you. It's been a few months since your parents, and you seem like you're doing well now, so I want to be happy, but I'm also worried you're keeping something from me."

Sakura smiled. "It's okay, Ino. I really am doing better. I've mourned, and I've moved on. Nowadays, I focus on my work and my training."

Ino's arm wrapped around Sakura's "yeah, that's part of the problem. You just work and train. You don't even go on missions anymore, and you don't really hang out with me anymore."

"What are you talking about? We hang out all the time."

Ino glared "this is the first time in two months I've seen you. You almost weren't gonna come, and even when I did convince you to come with me, you were late."

Sakura tried her best for a smile, but Ino could tell it wasn't right. It wasn't the smile she loved to see; it was brittle and thin, something that looked like it could break at any minute. "I'm sorry, Ino. I haven't been a good friend, I guess. The mission thing was Tsunade-sama's choice. She said with what happened to my parents and the rising tension between Kumo and us, she didn't want me going out on missions. I was in Hot Springs when the inciting incident happened, and I'm her student, so I'm a big target."

"You're still working yourself hard. Hospital shifts, working in the Hokage's tower, and your training I know you're putting in a lot of hours."

"To be fair, the hospital and the Hokage's tower is pretty much just paperwork. I'm basically a glorified assistant to Tsunade-sama."

Ino sighed and shook her head, "just promise you'll take some time every now and then for your friends. We're all working hard, but we do like to get together every now and then, and I'm not the only one who misses you."

Sakura's smile looked a bit less forced as she bumped shoulders with Ino. "I'll try my best."

"Good, that's all I ask. I miss my best friend a lot, y'know. In fact, for all the distress you've caused me, I demand you treat me to something to eat."

Ino tried her best to not blush as Sakura grabbed her hand and rolled her eyes. "Alright, come on, what would you like, Yamanaka-hime?"

Ino straightened her posture and made her best attempt to act like a Hyuga. "I demand only the finest takoyaki."

Sakura performed an exaggerated bow "as you wish, princess. I will acquire some immediately."

The two laughed as they walked around and enjoyed the various foods and games. As the celebrations died down after midnight and the two of them sat in a park near Sakura's house. Ino smiled, "Been a while since we came here. I think the last time was when we became genin."

Sakura nodded, "my mom scared me half to death when I came back. She was just sitting there in the doorway. She asked how you were."

Ino laughed as they sat on the swings "we've been through a lot since then, haven't we?"

"Ugh yeah. Some of us more than others."

Ino punched her friend's arm, "you kept running into nonsense because your teammates are crazy."

"Yea, they're both pretty crazy."

Ino took a deep breath as she looked at Sakura. Her best friend who used to get picked on all the time. Someone she used to feel like she needed to protect but ever since they've become genin, Sakura started shooting up in strength to keep up with her teammates. Now Ino couldn't help but stare at Sakura. The added muscles and scars were a bonus in Ino's opinion. "Hey, Sakura... I- I got something I want to tell you. It's been on my mind for a while, and I wasn't sure if I should say anything, but I feel like I need to."

Sakura smiled as she looked over to Ino, making the Yamanaka's heart skip "oh so serious. What's been on your mind for so long?"

Ino took another deep breath and said, "you."

Sakura's face went from smiles to confused, and Ino decided to just go for it. "I space out sometimes, but actually most of the time when you're around, it's because I just get distracted by you. You're pretty, strong, and frankly, ever since that mission in the Land of Waves, you've been getting cooler and cooler. I can't stop worrying about you, and you're stuck in my head."

"You like me a lot more than I thought," Sakura said.

Ino's brain stopped for a moment. "wait, what?"

"I wasn't sure if you did or not, and I didn't want to bring it up if I was wrong because that would be pretty embarrassing. I figured it was either my imagination or you would tell me when you wanted."

Ino buried her face in her hands. "I'm really embarrassed."

"But don't you want to get it all off your chest. You have more to say, right?"

Ino picked her head up "y-yeah. I-I like you a lot, Sakura. As the years went by, you started being my best friend, and then we were closer and closer, and I just want to keep getting closer."

Sakura smiled and kneeled in front of Ino. "I'm glad you told me. I-I haven't really thought about relationships or anything like that, but I wouldn't mind getting to try things out with you."

Sasuke wanted to groan as he dragged Suigetsu back to Kabuto, who put him in a holding container. "Good job Sasuke, Karin. Lord Orochimaru will be grateful for bringing back such an important test subject."

"Whatever, just try to keep a better eye on your test subjects. I'm not here to clean up your mistakes and fetch your pets." Sasuke said as he turned and left.

Karin followed him out and said, "Kabuto creeps me out."

She was surprised when Sasuke actually responded, "He creeps everyone out. The only one worse than him is Orochimaru."

Karin covered her mouth and tried not to laugh as she followed him and actually managed to hold a conversation.