I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.
A Price for Peace
Chapter: 6 The Village Surrounded by Mountains
Naruto leaned out in the back of Asahi's caravan, resting his head against a pillow that he propped up against the side of the wagons high walls. The warm midday sun shone down on them as they traveled along the road. It may not have been a fastest way to travel but Naruto had to admit it was nicer than walking.
"Hey Kids we're almost at our destination. You can see the village from here." Asahi's voice rung out from the front of the wagon.
Naruto grunted in acknowledgment but didn't want to get up after just getting comfortable. Karin on the other hand seemed far more interested. "Really?" she asked asked exiting the back of the caravan to see for herself.
"It's out there in that valley. It's a large village but it has a very small population due to it's isolation." Asahi said pointing towards a small speck on the horizon that could only be distinguished from the mountains by the difference in color. While the mountains were white with the colour of the snow that blanketed the mountain, the village appeared jet black in stark contrast to its surroundings.
"Why did they make it stand out so much? wouldn't it be safer to match the surroundings?" Karin asked.
"Well for one it's a civilian holiday destination, not a shinobi hidden village." Asahi laughed.
Karin blushed in embarrassment. "I guess that would make sense. It's been so long since I have been anywhere so flashy I really need a break from being a ninja." the truth was the red head had never been to any relaxation destinations ever. The first time she left Kusa was to come to Konoha for the Chunin exams and from there she was taken by Orochimaru. From then on it was rare for the kunoichi to see the sun more than once a week until she left with Sasuke. She had all but forgotten that there was life outside of her work for Orochimaru and then Sasuke. "Hey Naruto come check this out." she said looking back into the canvass topped wagon.
'So he was smart enough to give me a fake first name as well. Although Ruto Kaze is not that far from Naruto Namikaze, he just dropped the first part of each name.' Asahi thought calmly pretending to be completely focused on the road.
Naruto sighed and stuck slowly rose to his feet before moving to the front of the caravan. Naruto's interest was not in the village more the giant peaks that rose up behind it, almost vertical climbs it would take immense chakra supplies to even hope to scale them. 'Wow I've never seen anything like this.' he thought in awe.
'Well don't get too overwhelmed Naruto, we still need to navigate our way through them.' Kurama interjected.
'Yeah but it looks like we're going to need more equipment.' Naruto replied. He then realized that Karin was looking at him expectantly waiting for his reaction. "Man this is really something, that must be the highest village in the Elemental Nations." he said finally.
"Yes it is. In the safer months of the year, with less rockfalls the village is a tourist destination, famous for skiing and mountain climbing. Although the rest of the year it is all but inaccessible only the most skilled shinobi can approach the village." Asahi answered.
"So it looks like we picked a good time of year then." Naruto said happily.
"Yeah I wouldn't be game to come up here otherwise, but with that said I always make a killing when I do get up this far." Asahi replied with a smile, he found Naruto's attitude rather contagious.
"So how long before we get there?" Karin asked eagerly.
"I would say a little over an hour, two if the mountains decided to give us a hard time." the caravan owner replied.
"I guess I owe you some money for taking us this far then." Naruto said taking out his trusty toad wallet. He withdrew the remaining funds he promised the man and gave Karin a look that told her instantly that she had to repay him for her half of the fee eventually.
"How do you fit so much money in that small wallet?" Karin asked shaking off the look the blond was giving her, as scientific curiosity had taken over.
"Oh Ero-sennin placed a seal in here that only I can open... well Ero-sennin could, if he couldn't I would have far more money than I do now." Naruto complained. Before mumbling something barely audible about a no good drunk pervert stealing all his money.
"Clever an anti thieving seal. I wouldn't mind a few of those myself." Asahi said clearly impressed.
Karin on the other hand couldn't help but giggle at Naruto having his money stolen by his sensei. "Wasn't Jiraiya a S ranked ninja, one mission and he could have collected the yearly salary of a Genin like you." she chuckled.
Naruto sweat dropped, placing his hand over his face in embarrassment. "Don't remind me, then there was the fact he was making a fortune off his books."
"He was a writer as well? What did he write?" Karin asked.
Naruto sighed knowing how most women reacted to his masters choice in literature. "He writes smut... well he called them novels, and I really liked his fist book. But from what I have seen of the others, his Icha, Icha books are really nothing but porn." He admitted. Suddenly Naruto noticed a pink hew spread across both Karin's and Asahi's faces. "You both read them don't you?" The blond added with a deadpan expression.
"Of course not, I would never read that filth." Karin lied so unsuccessfully that not even Naruto, perhaps the most dense ninja Konoha had produced in a generation believed her.
"Well they're actually not bad, I carry a few around with me. They are sold under a different pen name in each nation so I guessed that a shinobi was writing them but I never knew it was one of the Legendary Three of Konoha." Asahi said honestly withdrawing the often coveted small orange book from an inside pocket in his jacket.
"So where do you hide yours Karin? Or did you already read them all trying and find a way for Sasuke to notice you?" Naruto laughed.
"I told you I don't read them!" she yelled angrily, she attempted to throw a punch at the blond, not a hard one mind you, more like an annoyed tap. Still Naruto leaned back to avoid the hit laughing all the while.
"You're going to need to be faster than that." The blond smirked before jumping back into the caravan.
Karin was now trembling with embarrassed anger. "Get back here! Promise or not you're a dead man!" she roared before following after Naruto.
"Hey if you break anything back there you are paying for it!" Asahi called out with a smile caught up in the humor of the teens interactions. Laughter could be heard from Naruto as he avoided strike after strike from the angry kunoichi. "How can you have not hit him yet? It's not exactly a large area back there." the caravan owner laughed.
"She's really slow." Naruto called out in response with a chuckle. Unfortunately for the blond, that was a large enough distraction for the red headed kunoichi's fist to make contact with the side of his face. "Ouch!"
Asahi laughed to himself while Naruto whined and Karin began yelling at him for embarrassing her. 'What an odd couple. The Namikaze boy is like a puzzle. He supposedly only holds the rank of a genin, but those moves, despite the fact that Karin was only playing around were more along the lines of a Jounin.'
(Meanwhile)
A team of shinobi moved through the Land of Fire jumping from tree to tree. "How far out is the team we are set to join up with?" Kiba asked sounding quite bored. His large ninja hound Akamaru barked voicing his agreement with the Inuzuka.
"We need to arrive at the northern border of the Land of Fire, the team as you call them is actually just Sai." Neji informed the group.
"They only have one person looking for her? She escaped from a Konoha prison and is a member of the Akatsuki. Why has only Sai been looking for her?" Kiba asked incredulously.
"It is logical, after the war the strength of the major hidden villages has never been lower, most shinobi have been recalled to prevent smaller countries attempting to seize power." Shino explained, stoic and calm as ever.
"Still a team of one, and it's only Sai, I thought we would have some awesome Anbu like that Yamato guy that helped Naruto train. At the very least I would have hoped for one of our sensei's." Kiba whined.
"Complaining will do us no good Kiba-kun. Besides Sai-san has been in Anbu all his life, I'm sure he is capable of the task Kakashi-sama has given him." Hinata said.
"Besides Kiba, it's like Shino said. The top level shinobi are still required in Konoha until the alliance is formed, or our shinobi numbers have increased." Neji replied.
"Gah fine, but why are we heading north? How do you know she went this way?" Kiba grunted.
"That is simple behavioral analysis. Our target was a longtime servant of Orochimaru and after him Sasuke. She knew that Sasuke was in the north as well as the Sound Village bases. Either would be her most likely Destinations upon escaping from Konoha." Shino informed the Inuzuka.
"It is not that simple, the truth is there has been no sign of a trail of any kind, her skill set was only that of a genin but her ability as a sensor and to suppress her chakra are off the scale, that is how she was able to avoid all the shinobi on her way out of the village. She could tell that only a skeleton staff were left in the village and used that as an opportunity to escape. All they found in her cell was a picture of Sasuke." Neji added.
The name of the last Uchiha made Akamaru growl menacingly. "Yeah I feel the same way buddy, I wish he was still alive so I could have the pleasure of killing him myself." Kiba said talking to the large white hound.
"If Naruto was unable to cleanly defeat Sasuke then there is little doubt that all of us would fail, although I can't help but admit that I feel somewhat similar." Shino admitted.
"Um Neji-kun if this kunoichi is so good at hiding then what chance do we have of finding her?" Hinata asked.
'Probably none, Kakashi-sama just gave us this mission to keep Hinata from pointlessly hurting herself training or searching for Naruto's toads.' "She won't be able to hide from our Byakugan and there were no Inuzuka or Aburame searching for her before. If we can find a trail then we have the best chance of finding her." Neji spoke evenly. It was not a lie more of a deflection from the real question.
(Land of Earth)
Asahi's caravan pulled up at the front of a massive wall, twice the size of the one that once surrounded Konoha before the Akatsuki attacked and three times as thick. "Wow whats with the massive walls?" Naruto asked in awe.
"Despite being located in a rather safe valley this village is still often bombarded by several deadly stone rain storms in the most dangerous parts of the year. With most of the village being built underground the walls prevent the village from being caving and keep the paths open." Asahi answered.
"Wow if it's so dangerous why would anyone live here?" Karin asked in bewilderment.
"The simplest answer would be money. Half the year this place is the hottest tourist destination in the Land of Earth. It's basically a gold mine, half a year working here can make anyone a fortune, you'll see when we get in there, the place is filled with some of the richest people I have ever met." Asahi answered in a mater of fact tone.
"So there are lot's of things to do here then?" Karin asked silently hoping Naruto wasn't hoping to move on quickly. She for the first time in her life wanted to relax and take enjoy life. It was partly Naruto's doing, his chakra was so warm that she felt safe and contented just being in his presence. Not that she would ever admit to such a thing.
For Naruto's part he wanted to move on quickly although pehaps not too quickly that it aroused further suspicion from the former Anbu shinobi. 'Maybe it would be wise to stay in the village at least until Asahi leaves?' Naruto questioned.
'I would actually agree, this man has already discovered far too much, it would be unwise to move on while he is in the area. The last thing you need now is for him to discover where we are going. When it is quite possible that he has already discovered who your father was.' Kurama agreed in the back of Naruto's mind.
'How would he know that?' Naruto asked in response to his companion.
'It's simple isn't it? Trained by the Yondaime's student and sensei, yellow spiky hair, and blue eyes. It doesn't take a genius to put those together, and for a former Anbu from Iwa it would have been as easy as defeating you when you first graduated.' Kurama replied with a small chuckle at the end throwing a thinly veiled insult at the teen.
'Oh that's harsh Kurama, it's not like you helped things for me when I was young you know.' Naruto replied.
'I helped plenty, do you think you would have been able to do half the things you have done if it wasn't for the adversities you went through because of me. I made you mentally strong from a young age, although I have to ad it at the time that was neither my choice or intent.' Kurama retorted in a mater of fact tone.
'I guess you're right, I would have never had the drive to be Hokage and be respected if I wasn't shunned, I never would have learned the Shadow Clone and passed my graduation exam if it hadn't been for Mizuki's distrust and hatred. I would have died on that bridge on my first mission if it hadn't been for you. I never thought of any of those things as reasons to be thankful but I guess in hindsight they are.' Naruto replied with a small smile.
'You become stronger by overcoming difficulties, and I was a rather large one so it's of little surprise that you became strong in your own right. I would still win in a proper fight though.' the fox decalared a small smirk gracing his face at the end not wanting the blonds head to become swollen.
The caravan passed between a set of large gates and into the village. Each building was made of the same thick stones of the village walls and each was larger than the the Hokage tower had ever been. Despite this most of the main roads were covered with ceilings to prevent significant rockfalls blocking traffic and after the small area around the village walls the town seemed to extend into a large cave that lit up with bright lights of a small city that only had the entrance of the cave to supply natural light.
"This is the village of Iwame, if you are looking for a good time in the Land of Earth this is where people come. Skiing, Mountain climbing, basically any type of adventure holiday the rich civilians of the Elemental nations are looking for, this is the place to be." Asahi said with a small smile.
"You're really fond of this place aren't you?" Karin observed.
"You could say that. I was born here after all." the caravan owner answered.
"Really? But if you could make so much money here why did you leave?" Karin asked.
"I wanted to be a shinobi, ever since I was a little boy. Iwa would send teams out here for survival exercises. When it became apparent that I had a larger than normal chakra supply for a civilian family I was accepted into the Iwa academy. My parents were rather wealthy at that point so they came with me and I have only been back a few times since then." Asahi spoke fondly, he never regretted his decision to become an Iwa shinobi even if in the end things did not turn out as he had hoped.
"So how long do you plan on staying in the village old man?" Naruto asked.
"That really depends Gaki, I'll sell my stocks to local shops and then resupply on a few things. I would say a few days at most, besides there is" Asahi paused for a moment contemplating how to continue. "Something I want to check up on while I am here." he finished. 'I'll find out who you really are one way or another. Nothing about this kid makes sense. He said he left Konoha to bring peace yet at the same time said he is only a genin. Maybe if Iwa found out about a living relative of 'that man' it could lead to war? But that seems a rather simplistic view of things.' he added as an afterthought.
"Well just drop us off at a hotel, we need a place to stay for a few days until I can figure out our, uh, other arrangements." Naruto said not reading anything into what Asahi had said.
"There is a place that is not bad near the center of the village. You will find this town rather expensive so I hope you have money." Asahi said.
Naruto grimaced slightly his poor Gama-chan had taken a pounding from paying for their trip here and he still needed to purchase enough supplies to last. He had no idea if he would ever see civilization again once he left Iwame. Then he needed to buy a tent large enough for both himself and Karin as well as clothes warm enough to survive the freezing cold of the mountains.
Karin for her part also paled somewhat, she had the money to repay Naruto for the trip and maybe even enough for a week or so in a hotel but she had no idea how long the blond had planned to stay here and if she didn't know that then she wouldn't know what type of budget she needed. 'I wanted to go check out some of the attractions of the village, get away from Naruto and have some alone time.' she thought grumpily as the caravan continued to move through the streets into the large cave that held the vast majority of the village.
They traveled for a few more minutes the streets were all lit with bright lamps held high in the air that almost simulated daylight. Often the stores didn't need to have there shops lit up the streets were so well lit. finally they came to a stop in front of a rather large and seemingly ancient building. The sign was faded and the bright sky blue paint was peeling off the stone walls. "It may not look like much but in this town you won't get better value for money." Asahi declared upon seeing the apprehensive looks on the faces of Naruto and Karin.
Naruto shrugged with his trademarked foxy grin and hopped down from the wagon. "I guess I can't really complain, this place is fine for me, are you coming Karin or are you going to find someplace else?"
Karin didn't like the look of the place at all particularly when she compared it to some of the other building. All around them were hotels and bath houses that looked like mansions tall white sparkling buildings that seemed to be so inviting.'No way I'm staying in there, who does he think I am, some penniless peasant?' she asked herself, unfortunately for the red haired Uzumaki the words she spoke were. "Yeah I'll come, it will be cheaper if we get a single apartment with two rooms anyway."
Naruto paused for a moment he never said anything about sharing a room but shook it off as she made sense. "Good point. Well I guess this is good bye for now old man. I hope you make a killing on your remaining stock." he said waving to Asahi while Karin hopped down from the caravan only just realizing that she had completely gone against what she had wanted to do.
"Yeah see ya around Gaki, good luck with your new life, you picked a good place to lie low that's for sure." Asahi replied returning Naruto's wave before his caravan began to move once again.
Once the wagon moved around the corner Naruto let out a sigh and turned back to the run down building that Asahi had recommended as a hotel. "Well shall we go get settled in?" Naruto asked.
Karin didn't say anything but nodded in agreement before following after the blond. 'He's right this is a perfect village to lay low half the year it's inaccessible and the only shinobi that come out here are from Iwa during a small period of survival exercises, maybe I could stay here, I wouldn't need to follow Naruto around for protection.' she thought before she was hit by a horrible realization. All she really knew how to do was be a shinobi or conduct rather questionable experiments on people, not exactly the right skill set for a civilian. 'But Asahi managed to make a life for himself, then again he was never high up on the list of most wanted criminals in the Elemental Nations.' she sighed at this thought and contented herself with feeling Naruto's chakra as they approached the entrance to the hotel.
If the outside of the hotel left much to be desired the interior blew their expectations out of the water and then continuously beat them with a very large stick. They stepped into a marble entrance hall lined with tall pillars that rose several floors up, several rather exotic plants scattered the walls and a raging fire was lit in a mantle at the far end of the room making the pair feel like they were in a tropical paradise. "Amazing." Naruto said, his eyes were wide in awe.
"If the interior looks like this then why does the outside look like it has lived through all of the shinobi wars?" Karin asked also in shock.
The pair was so stunned that they didn't notice the rather tall man with a thin black beard and matching hair who had come to greet them. Karin's question caused the man to chuckle quietly but still loud enough for two trained shinobi to hear. "The answer is quite simple miss, it is to chase away those that only see what is on the outside. Because of that we can offer quality rooms to the type of people who truly deserve them that cannot always afford it. We are looked down upon by our exterior appearance by the other hotels in the area so they never bother attempting to compete with our prices." the man said.
"But doesn't it chase away customers?" Karin asked slightly confused by the mans explanation.
"Only of those people who's business I do not wish to have anyway. In any event how may I help you two?" the man replied in a friendly tone.
"Uh we need a unit for a few nights, preferably one with two bedrooms if possible." Naruto said.
The man once more smiled and gave a curt bow before replying. "I believe we can facilitate your request. If you will come this way please."
"This guy is kinda weird." Naruto whispered into Karin's ear earning a small giggle in return.
"True but he does seem friendly and his chakra while only that of a civilians feels honest and trusting." Karin replied quietly.
"Do you check everyone's chakra like that?" Naruto asked.
The truth was that she very rarely did that, and the only reason she had was because she was still engrossing herself in Naruto's chakra. "I do when I find someone interesting." she lied convincingly. She had given up on discovering the blonds missing darkness a day ago but it did not take her long to go begin sensing his chakra again. She had convinced herself it was just to pass the time, but the truth was she enjoyed the warmth of his chakra it was like snuggling up with a warm blanket in front of a fire while snow fell outside.
The two shinobi were taken up several floors and then led them to a small apartment that was just as luxurious as the entrance had been. Naruto instantly realized that it was larger than his apartment had ever been. "Wow this is amazing. And there are two separate bedrooms?" Naruto asked.
"Indeed, they are at opposite sides of the room, you do have to share a bathroom I am afraid." the man said in a friendly tone.
"That's fine, thanks for the room." Naruto said.
The hotel worker nodded and exited the room with a curt bow, closing the door behind he had left Karin turned to look around, it was the nicest place she had ever been but she couldn't help but feel worried. "Are you sure we can afford this? I wasn't exactly payed well by Orochimaru." she admitted with some hesitation.
"It's fine, it's only for a few days, after that it could be a very long time before we are able to relax like this again." Naruto replied.
This just made Karin more confused. "I still don't know where we are going from here, I need to know so I can prepare. I'll need some new clothes as well and I don't want to buy anything that will be inappropriate." she said hoping to finally get some answers.
Naruto sighed and took a seat in a large comfy looking chair. "I'm heading out of the Elemental Nations and over the insurmountable peaks." he admitted.
"What! That's... That's suicide nobody has ever survived that trip. We will be killed." Karin gasped the idea was terrifying.
"Well nobody has ever come back, that doesn't mean that they died. But I can't live in this world without being recognized. Like you said my chakra is rather distinguishable and quite frankly so am I. If I use a henge someone is bound to recognize my chakra signature, and if I keep my chakra repressed they will be able to see who I am. This is my only option. But this place sounds perfect for you, I bet you could start a life here, then you wouldn't need to follow me around anymore. I'll pay for the hotel while I'm still here, you can save your money and look for some work." Naruto suggested.
"No." Karin replied angrily.
"Huh whats wrong?" Naruto asked confused. Naruto thought this would be the best thing for Karin and for himself in the long run.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily, If you're going then so am I." Karin said firmly. 'What the hell am I saying, this is suicide, I don't want to die because of some idiot that seems to have a death wish.' despite the thought she had reacted instinctively when she thought Naruto was trying to ditch her.
"It will be dangerous, I said so before." Naruto warned, although he did like the thought of having a companion other than Kurama.
Again Karin seemed to be torn by what to do, her common sense told her to let Naruto go on his own and she would create a life for herself here, safely hidden away from the ninja world's prying eyes. The other half seemed to rebel against the thought of staying here alone and being abandoned again like she had been by Sasuke. "I don't care I'm coming. You promised I could! Sasuke said you were always big on keeping promises even if they were impossible, you're not going to go back on that now are you?" she finally said making up her mind even if she didn't understand why.
Naruto smiled in a reserved defeat, he hadn't counted on her bringing up his promise. "Alright, but there are some things we are going to need before we leave. We can start collecting them tomorrow, why don't you go enjoy what could be your last taste of civilization for the rest of the day." he said kindly.
"Right, uh thank you." Karin said and after placing what little possessions she had in her room she exited pausing for a moment at the door of the apartment. "Uh what are you going to do? You can come check out the village with me if you want." she said hesitantly.
"No that's fine I have some things to think about, like what we are going to need for our trip." Naruto decided.
"Okay... but you will be here when I get back right?" she asked suddenly feeling rather frightened that she would lose the blond.
"It's a promise." Naruto replied with a reassuring smile. Karin nodded returning a smile of her own before closing the door on her way out of the room.
'So what do you think Kurama? She seems fairly determined to come with us.' Naruto thought once the kunoichi was gone.
'Seems to me like she has some abandonment issues. I sensed several conflicting emotions in her when you asked if she wanted to stay behind. If that is the case, then she might actually prove to be useful. She was unquestioningly loyal to her previous companions it's possible that could transfer over to you. Still I'm not convinced she can hold her own. It is also highly likely that she will need your help to survive the trip, thin air and freezing temperatures will slow her down while thanks to me you will be largely unaffected.' Kurama replied calmly.
'Will that lower my chances of survival?' Naruto asked.
'No not really, it will make travel slower but as long as the food and water lasts so will you. Once we are safely past this village it will be safe to draw on even my chakra without it being felt. So as long as we keep moving I have no doubts we will be fine.' the large fox answered with some confidence.
'So really the only problem with taking Karin with us is keeping her alive then.' Naruto surmised.
'Essentially yes, as of yet the girl has not done anything to make me feel she is a danger to you.' Kurama admitted. 'Doesn't mean I like the idea though.' he added once more making his dislike for the Uzumaki kunoichi known.
"Yeah but a promise is a promise." Naruto said out loud with a sigh. The blond slumped back in the chair before he started making a mental note of what they would need for their journey.
End Chapter!
Another chapter down, Maybe I'm moving things a little slowly but I feel the need to explain things more in this story than my others as I'm not working within the confines of the cannon. So the people and Places are new and therefore require more of a description. Anyway until next time bye.