Ghost Stalker Chronicles

Paths of a Ninja

Chapter 4: Unconventional Reconnaissance

Naruto made a beeline for Tazuna's home. At the same time he was traveling, he had opened up a communications channel back to HQ. He reported his findings, supported by the photos he took which he allowed them to see through his own eyes as he regarded them again.

"This seemingly influential criminal organization is most troubling. And this Zabuza character is also more inclined to fight harder for his employer than most nuke-nin mercenaries since he's got an ambition driving him." Yokai commented as he pondered the information given.

'You're telling me? And the rest of the info also tells us the mission is tons more difficult than we first thought.' Naruto replied via thought.

The Hokage, who had joined them in the conversation since Naruto insisted this was serious enough, chimed in.

"We can react to the news regarding this mysterious organization later." He stated firmly. "For the time being, we should plot a method of neutralizing the forces of Gato. As you suggested, Naruto-kun, we should hold off on sabotaging the enemy ships until we can ascertain how to dispose of the other half of Gato's forces in tandem with the first."

'But what should we do about them? They're so spread out all over the place and I can't think of a way to lure them all into one spot for a trap, nothing without high risk and with a low chance of going according to plan.' Naruto inquired.

"Agreed, Naruto-kun. Which is why you have to be patient and wait for a proper moment to strike."

'Wait!?' Naruto exclaimed in his mind, indignantly. 'We can do something now!' He insisted.

"We're all ears, though I thought you said you didn't know what to do a moment ago." Yokai stated calmly but pointedly.

'Well,' Naruto replied slowly, desperately trying to come up with something. Then he recalled Ronin and what they discussed. 'I could spring that Samurai captain guy they have captive. It's something I intended to anyway. With him free, he, and those he can get to his side from Gato, can cause trouble for him and it wont really affect us badly in any way.'

"Possibly, but what about civilians getting in harm's way?"

'They are already in harm's way. Wouldn't surprise me if they'd be willing to help fight knowing that they will have the support of their late lord's samurai guard.'

"Naruto, we're supposed to help and prevent the people from being caught in the mix."

'And we are helping, but if they want to fight for their own country with us, who are we to stop them?'

Smiling at the logic of his favorite Genin, Sarutobi acquiesced. "There is truth in your reasoning. Very well, go acquire the help of this Ronin fellow. If I'm correct, his escape will cause Gato to act rashly and deploy his men in a desperate search and destroy operation in order to kill or recapture the man before he causes too much insurrection. But that wont come to pass, your next immediate objective is to ensure Ronin's survival and aid in his efforts to fight Gato's men."

'You got it, Jiji. But what about Asuma-sensei and the others? And what about Zabuza?'

"Meet up with them as you planned, then tell them that they are to both protect Tazuna and sabotage the pirate ships as they intended, but only if possible and only once the rebellion starts. Otherwise, they are to simply continue to protect Tazuna along with any other villager and engage any mercenary not on our side as targets of opportunity. However, like I said, tell him to hold off on the engagement part until you've freed the Ronin and helped him establish a firm enough resistance movement."

'Or we'd be in over our heads, right?'

"Quite right, Naruto-kun. Now, about Zabuza. Tell Asuma about him and come up with a plan regarding him as you two see fit. Also, the reinforcements are going to arrive sometime soon. With Ronin's help, their assistance might be superfluous, but it will all but ensure our odds are excellent. Tell Asuma that he's to take command of them and deploy them as he sees fit. That will be all, Naruto-kun. You have your orders. Carry them out!" The Hokage ended firmly.

'Shikari! (Affirmative!) Naruto, over-and-out!'

At the HQ

"You do realize that this mysterious organization will most likely cause tension between nations at the least, considering their apparent MO." Yokai said once communications were terminated.

"They are indeed a dangerous element, considering today's situation between nations. But now that we have some intel on them, if we freely share the information with the other kages, it should significantly dampen their future actions' impact on relations." Hiruzen responded as the two walked out of the operations and communications room, which had been installed to accommodate Yokai's new section of Ninja.

"Begging your pardon, sir," The ANBU captain, who joined the two after they left the communications room, spoke up. "What new threat are you discussing? Shall I gather a strike squad and eliminate them?"

"If only it was that simple, Dragon." Hiruzen stated with a shake of his head. "We are only aware of their existence, not their whereabouts nor the true extent of their influence. But we can safely say that they are not to be taken lightly, at the very least. I now make it a standing order for all ANBU out on missions right now and in the future to report any information gathered, no matter how seemingly insignificant, about any criminal organization, or any such suspected, to me personally or to Yokai here."

"Hai!" The captain affirmed with a bow before departing to update his men.

"I should also inform Jiraiya, although he might already be aware of this."

"Jiraiya? You mean he famed Jiraiya of the Sannin. The Toad Sennin, right?"

(Sannin = Three Ninja, Sennin = Sage)

"The very same, he was one of my students. He is also Konoha's prime information gathering specialist."

"A spy specialist, is he?" Yokai said with undisguised interest.

"Yes, but not in the sense you're thinking." The Hokage answered with a smirk.

"Oh no?" Yokai queried, intrigued. "In what way then?"

"He gathers information via informants in the field, whom he visits from time to time."

Frowning in disappointment, Yokai inquired further. "So he doesn't get his hands dirty himself, sounds cowardly for a supposed master spy."

"Funny you should word it like that." The aged leader remarked with a grin. "He does indeed get his hands dirty, in more ways than one. He does infiltrate in person, but only when it's required. Other than that, he gathers his intel from various sources. Most favored is the female variety."

"Female variety? What are you ref..." Yokai paused as it dawned upon him. "He visits whorehouses for his information?"

"Well, not as often as you might think, he mostly visits bars with Geisha. They get to hear many things from VIPs with loose lips during the course of their profession. While he is an admitted pervert, he also has an admittedly respectable moral code regarding the fairer gender."

"Hard to believe from a pervert." Yokai said, getting mixed feelings regarding this sage.

"I would advise you to get to know him before you judge him, Yokai-san." The fellow kage softly said. "He would be the first to come to a lady's defense if she is threatened or not treated with proper respect by a man while in his presence. I know what I said seems less than stellar, but, correct me if I'm wrong, you yourself have often said to not judge others, especially before getting to know them firsthand."

Sighing in resignation, as well as mild embarrassment of having his own principle thrown back at him, Yokai nodded in agreement. "You are correct, of course, Hiruzen. When can I meet the spervert?"

Choking out a smoky laugh, since he was taking a puff of his pipe, Sarutobi spoke hoarsely. "Spervert?"

"He's a spy and a pervert. Ergo, he's a spervert."

Thumping his chest as he was laughing and coughing simultaneously, Hiruzen nevertheless quipped, "You and Naruto are more alike than I previously gave you credit for."

"Are you insinuating that is a bad thing?" Yokai asked, grinning.

"Not at all, my friend. Not at all." He replied with a chuckle as he got his throat under control and resumed smoking. "As for your question, I shall recall him immediately. I would estimate him to arrive in about a week... Maybe more. Probably actually now that I think about it."

"Let me guess, if it's not an emergency, he gets distracted along the way."

"You may not know him yet, but I see you are already having him at a disadvantage." The Third Hokage said, smirking in amusement.

"You give me too much credit, once you've seen a pervert you have seen them all."

"You haven't seen Jiraiya's kind."

"Kami, there's a new level to them?" Yokai laughed.

"More like he gives the term a special subtext."

They entered the Hokage's office. Hiruzen sat down and spoke again.

"Now then, Yokai-san. Tell me how things are progressing 'over there'."

"Well..."

Back with Naruto

Naruto had just arrived back at Tazuna's home. Knocking on the door, Tsunami soon answered it. She was about to address him, when Naruto held up his hand in a stopping motion, then indicating his mask.

"Oh, right. Welcome back, Ghost-san." She said sweetly in welcome.

"Thank you, Tsunami-san." Naruto said as he entered. "Are the others up and about yet?"

"They have awoken, but Shikamaru is rather depleted still, according to Asuma-san, and continues to be confined to bed. He didn't seem to mind that, though."

"I bet." Naruto commented dryly but with an unseen smirk. "How about Chouji?"

"He is sore, but seems to be regaining his full mobility slowly but surely. Those senbon things do more damage than one might think from such a small weapon." Tsunami replied.

"Trust me, from what I have learned from others, that isn't worthy of even top 20 of the more... um... notable things us and our list of weapons can do." Naruto said informatively.

"I am starting to understand that some." Tsunami agreed.

"So, since Shika is still in bed, where are the rest of the gang?"

"Asuma-san is out back, having a small smoke break, Chouji-san is there too, working on getting his body functioning as normal. Hinata-san is with Shikamaru-san, I believe."

"Ok, once Asuma-san gets back inside, tell him I'm back and that we need to talk, please?"

"I will, Na-Ghost-san." Tsunami said, smiling.

"Thanks, see ya in a bit then." Naruto said before knocking and entering Shikamaru's room. And just as Tsunami said, there was Hinata and Shikamaru, apparently having a little talk.

Before Naruto entered the room.

Hinata had heard from Asuma that Shikamaru was awake, as well as Chouji, whom she met on the way up the stairs. After a brief "How are you feeling?" conversation, she continued to Shikamaru's room.

"Hey, Hinata." Shikamaru greeted as she entered. He was still in bed relaxing, his forte.

"Hello, Shikamaru-kun. Are you feeling alright?"

"Meh, I feel as well as anyone would expect from being drained of almost all my energy. But I can't complain. We all got out of that battle with our lives and limbs intact and I get to rest. A good result all around if you ask me." Shikamaru said lazily.

Smiling, Hinata took a chair and sat beside the bed. She then told what happened in more detail after he passed out. After she finished, Shikamaru regarded the ceiling impassively as he spoke.

"Well, it would seem the situation is even more troublesome than I dared imagine." He said with an accompanying groan. He noticed Hinata seemed a little uncertain about something. "What's the matter, Hinata?"

Hinata told Shikamaru about what Asuma said to her after the fight and in turn Naruto's point of view on the matter.

"Naruto's right." Shikamaru said once he noticed she was done.

"H-he is?" Hinata asked. She didn't doubt Naruto, but she was still doubting herself. Also, she was uncertain whether Shikamaru would agree with their sensei or Naruto more.

"Yeah. I mean, Asuma-sensei isn't wrong. But I agree with Naruto's reasoning more. We wouldn't have been nearly as fortunate in that fight if we didn't have you. What you did was what we needed; helping Naruto so he in turn could help sensei. But like my dad always says; 'learn from your successes as well as your failures.' Anyway, bottom line is that you should feel proud of yourself. I know I am anyway." He said with a kind smirk.

Thoroughly cheered up, Hinata nodded in thanks. That was when Naruto knocked and entered.

"Hey!" He greeted.

"Naruto, you troublesome guy." Shikamaru greeted, of sorts.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata happily welcomed him with a bright smile.

"You look snug as a bug in a rug, Shikamaru. Bet you're happy to be ordered to take it easy." Naruto teased.

"What can I say, I follow orders. But I am making the most of the time I get to rest." He replied, rearranging himself to be more comfortable.

"Of that, I have no doubt."

"So, h-how did your mission go, Naruto-kun?"

"I'll let you know once Asuma gets back, we'll have a talk in here, Shikamaru needs to hear this as well. A Nara head is better than five, after all."

"No it isn't, you just made that up." Shikamaru accused lazily.

"It's still true." Naruto replied with an uncaring wave of his hand.

That was when Asuma called from downstairs.

"Ghost-san, you back?!"

Naruto called back, "Yeah, we're in here!"

Asuma and Chouji were soon inside the room with them. Asuma closed the door and locked it, allowing them privacy.

"Chouji, how you holding up?" Naruto asked his rotund friend with a macho clasping of hands.

"I'm still sore and slightly stiff, but it's getting better. Some food will help it along." He answered cheerfully.

"Yeah, when hasn't it?" Naruto quipped.

"Food has not failed an Akimichi to date." Chouji defended light-heartedly.

"Alright, that's enough with the chit-chat. Naruto, what can you tell us of your findings?" Asuma inquired of the blonde.

After once again recounting his findings, Naruto added what the Hokage said in response to the same information. Shikamaru and Chouji were surprised about that part since they were not present when Naruto revealed his ability to communicate that far. But after a brief explanation, they both continued to listen.

"Did he mention anything in particular regarding the reinforcements themselves?" Asuma said after a few moments of processing the information and subsequent orders from his father and leader.

"Nothing special, no." Naruto answered in the negative.

"With such an amount of ninja under my command, I think a ranking order needs to be established." Asuma said, turning to his squad.

"Shikamaru, once you're fit for duty again, you'll be second in command of our group. If it is another Genin group joining us, you'll be in charge of them as well in my absence or their Jonin's."

Sighing in resignation, Shikamaru queried nonetheless, "And what if I'm not present or incapacitated in some way?"

"Then Hinata shall take over, but only for our group. Depending on who's coming, we have to adjust ranking accordingly."

"M-me?" Hinata asked in shock. "B-but... I..."

"You don't feel up to it?" Asuma asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I-I was... under the im-impression you were... mad at me." She explained, still shocked, but also uncertain.

Rubbing his neck as he considered her statement, Asuma replied after only a moment. "I was, but I was more angry at the whole mess we got us into. I simply don't like it when somebody doesn't follow orders I have given. In this case it was for a good reason, so I'm not going to hold that against you, so long as you don't make a habit of it. But answer me, Hinata. Do you or do you not feel up to being in charge of Chouji if me or Shikamaru are not available?"

"I... I'll do my best." Hinata responded as firmly as she could manage.

"Not what I asked, Hinata. I want to know if you feel up to it, not if you will try your best."

"Um... sensei, isn't that also a way to say that she does feel up to it?" Chouji interjected, trying to support Hinata a bit.

"Yes, but for her own sake, and others, she needs to be more assertive, Chouji." Asuma said, not budging.

Realizing that her sensei was right, Hinata mustered up her courage and stood straight and stated. "I can do it, sensei!"

Nodding in satisfaction, Asuma said, "Very good, Hinata. Now, Naruto. What are your thoughts about your part in this operation? Like, how long do you need before you think it's time to strike at the pirates?"

Naruto considered the question before replying. "I can't say for sure, but I shouldn't do anything to free the Ronin before I've had a chance to get a feel of the villagers' spirit. I mean, part of the idea is for the people to fight with their former Daimyo's soldiers against their oppressors. But if they wont fight, then we're at a disadvantage number wise. And that means we would be needing to fight a different way.

Either way, I need to know more before I spring the guy and fill him in on the situation. I'd say a day to get the people's attitude, a day to free the Ronin and start the rebellion. Once all that is done, I think we'd be ready for you to deal with the pirates."

"Kuso," Asuma cursed. "if that's the amount of time you need, Zabuza might be up and about again by the time we kick things off. Then he would be a major problem for this entire thing."

"Actually, Ronin might help with that." Naruto said. "He told me he had fought the guy before and Zabuza couldn't get passed him in order to kill the Daimyo back then. He's got a score to settle with the guy, I think. If you team up with him, I think you and Ronin could handle Zabuza."

"Well, it certainly puts the odds in our favor." Asuma said, nodding.

"There's more." Naruto continued. "Gato intends to betray Zabuza, apparently because he's unhappy with Zabuza's losses, the one against Ronin and the one against us. If we could somehow convince Zabuza that his boss wants to kill him, we could get him out of the picture, or even get him to our side."

"But what about Ronin's score with him, Naruto?" Shikamaru reminded.

"Um... Maybe we can ask them to settle it afterward?" Naruto suggested. This caused all but Hinata to facepalm.

"I wouldn't bet on that horse, Naruto." Asuma commented. "Samurai are famous for settling matters of honor as soon as possible."

"I know enough about Samurai that I can say he's not your usual Samurai, not anymore anyway." Naruto returned. "He even allowed me to take his weapon from their storage to give to him later, despite it being a dishonorable thing for Samurai."

That surprised Asuma and the rest quite a bit. "Now that is interesting. But that still wont guarantee his cooperation with Zabuza, should he switch sides."

"Let me talk to him first, perhaps he'd be willing to at least postpone it if I ask him to. His beef is mainly with Gato, not Zabuza."

"Alright, it's only a secondary issue at any rate. Zabuza doesn't have a reason to believe us anyway. Then there's the problem with his partners."

"What about them?" Naruto queried.

"In the chaos of our fight, we forgot to capture or kill the Chunin guys Shikamaru, Hinata and Chouji fought with. They were merely knocked unconscious so they are, without a doubt, back in action by now." Asuma stated grimly. "Finally, that masquerading partner of Zabuza's. He's an unknown, and those are the most dangerous."

"He or she, we don't know. Not even the org. knows." Naruto pointed out.

"That is neither here nor there." Asuma shook his head. "Until ascertained, it's a he. Moving on. While Zabuza may require more time to properly recover, his friends might still be about looking for us. Whether to gather intel or to attack us at an unguarded moment is anyone's guess, so I have to caution each and everyone of you. Now is the time to remain alert at all times. Even you, Shikamaru! Though you're bed-ridden for the time being, you have to remain on your guard so you can call for help in time if you have to." Asuma ordered sternly.

Shikamaru groaned lightly. "I knew it was too good to be true, what an utter drag."

Turning back to the rest of the group, Asuma noticed Naruto considering something. "What's on your mind, Naruto?"

"Only that my idea of checking the population's willingness to fight may be more dangerous than I thought. Now that you brought that up, I have to stay on my toes for any surprise attacks."

'Naruto-kun.' Hinata thought with great worry.

Nodding in agreement to the assessment, Asuma said, "Which is why I think you should take Hinata with you. She can use her Byakugan to periodically check your vicinity for ambushes. We can ill afford either of you to be lost, so you go together. If you detect any of them, you are NOT to engage. Fall back here, but only if you can lose them. Otherwise, keep evading them until you're certain they are gone."

"It would work, if it wasn't for the part where I would undoubtedly be seen cooperating with Leaf shinobi. If word got back to Zabuza about it, he'd likely use that against us somehow. Then there's the fact that word travels like water ripples. Outside of Tazuna's family, I can't be seen working with you since that would eventually reach the ears of other enemies with time, connecting a mysterious shinobi with The Leaf. This would prompt further investigations that at the very least causes irritation for us in the long run, but most likely will cause serious issues with dangerous, intrigued enemies.

Zabuza and his accomplices, hopefully, chalked up our earlier team-up to what I said before; that it was me fighting a stealthy opponent. Anything further and my cover is definitely useless." Naruto explained with a troubled expression.

Shikamaru came with an idea, "Naruto, what if you go to town as a civilian?"

"But I can't risk my identity, or my affiliation being discovered." Naruto responded.

"If you go change somewhere where nobody can see you, you should still be able to maintain anonymity. Nobody besides us here knows what you look like, aside from your eye-color. That way, I believe you'll be safe from prying eyes and ears, as long as you stay observant."

"Why not just use a Henge?" Chouji asked.

"Henge can be detected by skilled sensor ninjas, which there is a risk of being around the village in this case. An actual disguise stands a much better chance of slipping by the notice of any who are on the look for ninja in disguise. Besides, Henge can be disrupted. Clothing can't." Asuma said, having caught onto the reasoning of Shikamaru.

Naruto only needed a brief moment to realize the merit the idea had. "I think you're right, Shikamaru." He finally said.

"Of course I am." Shikamaru said lazily as he laid back onto the bed with his hands behind his head, smirking, causing Naruto to grumble in irritation, Chouji to chuckle and Hinata to quietly giggle.

Shaking his head at their antics, Asuma nonetheless smiled. "Well, that frees Hinata to help guard the family. You will be taking turns with Chouji to keep Tazuna's family, and Shikamaru, safe. The other will be coming with me to guard Tazuna and his crew as they work on the bridge."

"And the reinforcements?" Chouji asked.

"They will be included in the rotation once they arrived and I know what I've got to work with."

Naruto rose to his feet. "Well, I suppose it's time to hit the hay and get started tomorrow morning with my inquiries."

"Sleeping does sound like a good idea right now." Shikamaru said as he yawned. "Don't say it!" He immediately said before anyone else had the chance to.

The next morning

Naruto woke up as the sun began to rise. Still a bit groggy and fuzzy-minded as he descended the stairs, fully geared and ready to go, to the breakfast being served in the dining room, he nearly missed the new addition to the table. A young boy with, what Naruto presumed to be, a fisherman's hat covering his head, covering his eyes in the resulting shadow since he was looking slightly down constantly. Since the boy had food in front of him, Naruto didn't give it a second thought.

"Good Morning, Ghost-san!" Tsunami greeted him. To which he returned the greeting. "Allow me to introduce you to Inari, my son. Sweetie, this is Ghost-san, or Ghost Stalker, which is his full code name." Tsunami said, obviously trying to make their first meeting a pleasant one. Though Naruto couldn't help but shake the feeling that Tsunami seemed to make an extra effort of it for some reason. Something about the way she did it seemed nervous and worried.

The boy regarded him briefly and gave no form of greeting as he rudely returned to his food. A bit put off by the boy's lack of manners, Naruto chalked it up to the boy perhaps having had a nightmare or something.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, and at first Naruto didn't know why. Not that he had anything in particular to talk about, but he did expect the usual chit-chat his group back home got into. It was during the later half of the time spent at breakfast that he noticed that more or less everyone save the new boy gave said boy the occasional glance.

'It is as if everyone is walking on eggshells because of this kid.' Naruto observed. 'What did I miss when I was away yesterday?'

"This child has experienced pain, Naruto-kun." Kami suddenly spoke to him.

'Oh, heya Pops.' Naruto greeted. 'Long time no hear.'

"That would be because you have been a busy boy." Kami commented.

'Yeah, I suppose I've been that. I'm sorry for not saying hello every once in a while.'

"You can rectify that at a later time. For now, I wish to inform you of the boy. I've witnessed his pain and I want you to know beforehand of it so you can handle him accordingly."

'What's he been through exactly, and how should I handle it?'

"First you need to be informed what his pain is. Before Gato arrived in Wave, he was much like the village as a whole; humble and content. He was without a father since he was killed in a fishing accident before he could remember him. But that is not the cause. For later, a man named Kaiza came into his family's life and took on the role as a loving husband and a father-figure for Inari-kun. He possessed many commendable qualities and Inari looked up to him greatly for them.

Naruto continued to eat his breakfast subconsciously as he listened to Kami's recounting of past events. But he found soon that he couldn't eat more.

Tragically, Gato arrived sometime later and imposed his will upon the village and its people, as you well know. Kaiza strongly opposed Gato's tyranny and would have been a spark to ignite a revolt had Gato not done the despicable act of executing him in front of the people, his new family included. Inari was devastated, as were the entire village, for Kaiza was well known among the people and loved by all. Things continued to grow steadily worse and Inari witnessed firsthand the results of Gato's greedy machinations.

As the young boy he is, he does not know how to handle what he has experienced and thus he acts cold and bitter towards anyone, especially those he perceives are in some higher position of power, whether that be in terms of personal prowess and integrity or possesses political or military might. He perceives people who has those traits to be fools and evil, respectively for the pain people in their positions have caused him.

He does not believe in hope, and anyone who would bring it, intentionally or otherwise, has his scorn for it. But behind closed doors, he weeps and mourns still the loss of his father figure, Kaiza, and the suffering his village is going through."

The tale was very tragic and sad. Naruto felt very much for the poor kid. He, if anyone, knew about hardships as a very young boy and knew that no one should ever have to go through such things at that age. Well, not at any age, really, but especially not then.

'I'm still not sure what you expect me to do about it, Pops?' He admitted.

"Do what you feel is necessary to do or say. Armed with this knowledge, I have no doubt you can do your part in helping to heal the young one."

Naruto found himself lost in thought as he took it all in. So much so that he almost missed the nudge Chouji, who sat next to him, gave him.

"Oi, Ghost-san. You OK?" He asked, concernedly.

Naruto blinked and looked around the table to see all looking at him with worried looks, especially Hinata. Inari gave more of a glare, as much as a boy no older than 10 could give at any rate. Apparently they had tried to gain his attention for a small while.

Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto said. "Sorry, I'm a bit preoccupied about how to go about things today."

Which was true, he was wondering what to do about lots of things today, most recently what to do about the youngest and possibly most troubled member of the breakfast table.

"I suppose that is quite understandable." Asuma said, nodding. But he could tell something wasn't exactly adding up. The look Naruto's eyes had during his spacing-out moment wasn't fitting the planning of ninja operations, more like lamenting something.

"Well, I'm full!" Naruto exclaimed lightly as he rose. "Thank you for the food, Tsunami-san." He said before he excused himself from the table and went out the door to start his task.

For the first time that morning, Inari spoke up in a bitter, almost scoffing tone.

"What's he gonna do anyway?"

Asuma answered. "He's going to do some information gathering."

"About what?" Inari asked, still bitterly.

"I'm sorry, can't tell you. That's for him and us ninja to know only."

Slamming his small hands on the table, Inari rose and as he left the table, he said. "Right, 'cause whatever you guys are going to do will be so helpful to us."

Shikamaru, who was well enough to come down for breakfast, followed the boy with his eyes. To anyone who didn't know him well enough, he looked indifferent and lazy. But in his mind he was frowning and concerned. But he deduced that he could do little as things were right then.

Chouji was put off by the kid's behavior, but ultimately didn't let it get to him. He knew of the kid's past, since they got the story while Naruto was at Gato's mansion the day before.

Hinata empathized with Inari's pain. She couldn't relate to him very well, since her own life was a sheltered one, despite it being anything but stellar. She only could relate as a person that had to go through hardships, albeit of a different kind, rather early in life. However, as they grew up into their teens, she did witness quite often, Naruto's struggles and pain, which were much more similar than hers were compared to Inari's. So she felt that she knew enough to gain some form of understanding. So, she resolved to try to talk with the boy sometime.

Asuma was more of the mindset to leave and let be, but did hope to see change within the boy once things improved around the village.

Tazuna and Tsunami were, unfortunately used to this. Tsunami had repeatedly tried to scold and lecture Inari out of this bad behavior. But Inari was too stubborn and hurt to change. And Tsunami didn't have the heart herself to deal with it more strongly than she already did. Nor did Tazuna whenever he tried.

Inari himself had entered his room and observed in the distance the black-clad guy wandering into town. Frowning to himself, Inari couldn't help but think dark thoughts about his would-be rescuers. They didn't have what it took to rid Wave from the likes of the powerful Gato. Why did they come here and spread false hope around to people who will only end up in even greater pain when they, too, failed to protect his beloved village?

Out of all the ninjas in his grandfather's protective detail, only this guy seemed like what he thought a ninja was supposed to be like. To him, the others were like a group of kids from school with a teacher on a field-trip. He didn't count them as worthy to even think about, it would be too horrible if he did and they died. Then he would be hurting even more. This other guy, though, he seemed to be the only one doing anything concrete about their situation. And he hated him for it. He hated the fact that he started feeling the tiniest spark of hope from what he heard the guy did and what he was doing right at that moment. He hated that despite his best efforts to shield himself from further pain, this guy and his buddies just suddenly came into his family's life and started acting like they actually would make more then a tiny difference when they would do nothing more than be five additional victims of Gato's regime.

He hated them all, but most of all the black-clad guy. And he would give him a piece of his mind once he got back.

Village of Wave – a few minutes after Naruto's departure

Naruto went into a clothes shop that was not far from Tazuna's house. There he found that he could buy local clothing for a cheap price. The clothing were of meager quality and standardized due to lack of material from external suppliers. An upside to this unfortunate effect of the village's state was that it helped Naruto to blend in with the population once he wore the local garb.

Once the purchase was made, Naruto left the building and, as inconspicuously as possible, ducked into an alley. After making absolutely sure that no one was observing him, he made a quick change of apparels. Once done, he made sure that no one was looking once again before he made a shadow clone and had it take his belongings to a safe place for later pick-up after he was finished.

With everything set, he set off to test the pulse of the village.