Threads of Fate
Chapter 4 - The Reason
The jungle was thick with an eerie mist that rose up to the treetops. The surrounding area was inhumanly quiet, save for the various noises from the animals indigenous to the area. It didn't look like a place anyone would willingly inhabit, yet there at the bottom of the hill, was a fairly large encampment. The inhabitants of the camp counted on the area's remote location to keep people away. However, it had not stopped four ninja from finding them.
Shikamaru looked through his binoculars at the group of buildings in the clearing below. There were several guards wandering the grounds, and from his judgment they all looked experienced. How Troublesome. He thought as he mentally counted the visible guards. That guy said there were fewer guards than this. This could definitely be a problem. I wish the Fifth had given me a few more people when she gave me this mission.
The chuunin genius had been assigned to lead a four-man squad by the Hokage. It was a search and retrieval job commissioned by Wave country. Due to the small country's recent growth, their shipments had become targets for various groups of thieves and criminals. As a result, a payment of gold to a rather lucrative client had been stolen while it was en route to its destination. Konohagakure had been hired to retrieve the gold and deliver it to the client.
Tsunade had given the lazy chuunin both Hinata and Kiba to use as trackers. Naruto had been placed as the fourth member of the unit partly because of his brawn, but mainly because the Wave Country officials had insisted. To the citizens of the Wave, Naruto was a hero, and they were more than willing to throw in a bonus if Konoha granted their request that the blonde shinobi be used in finding and delivering the shipment.
For the last week, the squad had tracked rumors throughout Wave that a small band operating out of a jungle was responsible for the theft. Shikamaru and his team traveled village to village looking for the whereabouts of this rogue group and their base of operations. Up until recently, the trail had gone cold and Shikamaru had been getting frustrated with running into dead ends. But it was a chance encounter that gave them the lead they needed.
While waiting at the bar of a local establishment, a rather shabby-looking man burst in through the front door causing a ruckus with his two female companions. This in itself wasn't that unusual. However, when he sat down at the bar to order and threw down a bar of Wave Country-stamped gold, Shikamaru began to take notice. Two hours later and some "creative" questioning got them what they wanted. According to their friend from the bar, the thieves had a hideaway a few miles into the jungle. He gave them the location of the stolen gold and the number of men guarding it. After leaving their unwilling informant with the local authorities, the four-man cell traveled through the jungle to the location given to them.
Shikamaru glanced over at the rest of his teammates who were perched on a nearby branch. Kiba and his dog companion Akumaru were using their keen Inuzuka senses to scout the area, while Hinata stuck close to Naruto. The blonde shinobi was leaning against the tree, his mind clearly not on what he was supposed to be doing. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head as he watched his teammate. Naruto had been a bit of a problem recently. Not his usual problem of being too loud or too hyper, but not listening to anything anyone told him. He never seemed to listen to anyone during training other than Kakashi-sensei, and Shikamaru thought it would be a major problem while they were on the mission. So far Naruto hadn't done anything wrong other than act like he didn't care if they succeeded or not. At the moment, Shikamaru had been content to let Hinata tend to the blonde's needs; at least he seemed to be less of a hassle when she was around.
"So what's going on down there?" Naruto asked silently. It made Shikamaru uneasy as to how quiet Naruto had become. It used to be that everyone had to tell him to be quiet, but during this whole mission Naruto rarely made a sound, something Shikamaru thought would be impossible. He even managed to sneak up on him a few times. "The boy is getting frightening. I wonder when he got that way?" The chuunin pondered.
"There are more guards down in the camp than we were led to believe. We'll wait until nightfall to try to sneak in." He told the boy. Naruto sniffed and turned away from him.
"I think we should go in now and get them when they least expect it. They wouldn't think someone would strike in broad daylight."
"The point of sneaking in is not to be seen at all," Shikamaru said. "If we wait until nightfall, there will be less of a chance we'll be spotted." Naruto simply shrugged in response.
"Do what you want; I'm going to have a look around the perimeter of the camp." The blonde genin was gone before Shikamaru could protest.
"Damnit!" he cursed out loud. "I knew he was going to be trouble!" He glanced over at the remaining members of the team. Kiba's expression matched Shikamaru's anger and Hinata looked off in the direction that Naruto went in. "Anyone else want to join him?" he asked dryly.
"He will be back soon, I'm sure of it." Hinata said to reassure them. However, she didn't sound very convinced herself and Shikamaru wasn't about to go chasing him down.
"Let the idiot go on his own, as long as he doesn't give away our position I guess it's alright."
"How can you be so nonchalant about it? He took off without any order!" an outraged Kiba whispered harshly as he pointed towards the direction Naruto ran off in.
"Naruto may be impulsive, but he's never let any of us down. Not when it counted. Besides, with the way he's been moving around, I don't think we have too much to be worried about. You can't tell me you haven't noticed the improvements in his stealth." Some of the anger left Kiba's face when he thought about his recent interactions with his blonde teammate.
"Kiba-kun, have faith in Naruto-kun," Hinata told her friend. "He never abandons his friends."
To Hinata and Shikamaru's surprise, Naruto did not come back when night fell. They had waited four hours in the same spot, but Shikamaru felt they couldn't wait for him any longer. "Damn that Naruto, where the hell is he?" Shikamaru grumbled to his teammates. "We can't wait for him anymore. We're going in now. Naruto will have to take care of himself until we find him." Shikamaru swore under his breath, thinking of the report he was going to have to write to the Hokage once they returned home.
"Maybe we should give him a few more minutes." Hinata suggested. Shikamaru just shook his head.
"We've given that idiot enough time as it is." He explained. "I'll have to say something about his insubordination to the Hokage once we get back to the village. For all we know, he could have been captured already and the enemy could know we're here." Hinata sighed as she followed him and Kiba down through the trees. They crept along silently, careful to avoid the lit areas near the buildings. Shikamaru found a vantage point on the ground where they could see most of the camp without revealing their position. Once in position, the chuunin scanned the camp ground. He only counted four guards around the camp, two in front of the largest building in the encampment and the other two walking around the middle area. The number of guards was considerably down from earlier in the day, which was a good sign on the surface. However, Shikamaru had gone on enough missions to realize something wasn't right. First they had this- entire area covered, now all of the sudden they barely have the grounds covered. I don't like it. Despite his gut feeling, he knew they might not get a better chance than the one they had now.
"Security's lax now so we will try to sneak inside the main building." He told his team. "Hinata, scan the houses to see if they are occupied." Hinata nodded to him, her expression growing serious as she began the jutsu to release her bloodline ability.
"Byakugan," Her eyes grew whiter and the veins around her eyes began to pulse as she released the chakra in her eyes. Once ready, she scanned the build carefully for chakra signatures.
"No one is in the building, but there is a locked chest upstairs." She told Shikamaru.
"Want to bet that's where they are hiding the gold?" The chuunin leader actually grinned. At least something was going well. "We hit the building fast, in and out in two minutes; no more, got it?" His other two teammates nodded in approval. Shikamaru made a motion towards the building and turned around to take the lead.
Something he sensed, however, stopped him from taking more than two steps.
What was that? Shikamaru thought as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. Someone was watching them now, and he couldn't figure out where that person was. His two teammates sensed it as well, as Hinata began to look around nervously and Akumaru began growling.
"You won't be taking anything, shinobi," a voice bellowed at them. Shikamaru's reflexes told him to fling his body towards his two other teammates. Again, his gut reaction saved their lives as he noticed a kunai fly over their heads after he knocked them down. "Damn, we've been spotted!" The three of them scrambled to their feet and instinctively took defensive positions with their back against each other.
"Hinata, where are they?" Shikamaru asked quickly. She was already scanning the area before her squad leader spoke.
"Six of them all around us, mostly in the trees."
"Damn! They've got us outnumbered!" Kiba complained. They all tensed up and moved closer together, readying themselves for any attack that might come their way. They did not have to wait for long, for one of their attackers appeared above them. He fell towards Hinata, knife clutched above his head ready to strike. Hinata's eyes grew with panic. He's too fast. She thought. She told herself to move, but fear kept her feet firmly planted on the ground. The only thing she could do was close her eyes and wait for death.
But death never came.
She heard the sound of metal tearing flesh, but she did not feel any pain. She hesitantly opened her eyes, shocked that she was alive. She held her breath as she stared into the pained eyes of her attacker hovering inches away from her. A guttural sound came from the thief, and Hinata' watched as he fell to the ground slowly, giving her a clear view of her savior. The young kunoichi's heart fluttered when Uzumaki Naruto came into view, flashing a very Naruto-like confident grin while clutching a bloodily kunai.
"N-Naruto-kun?" she said hesitantly. As if to answer her, he grabbed his headband and made a slight hat tipping motion before he flicked his kunai at the ground to get rid of the blood.
"Sorry I'm late, but I was following this scum to see what they were up to." He explained not bothering to hide the hint of smug arrogance in his voice. "Besides, the hero has to wait until the last minute, right?" If not for the total shock of the situation, Hinata would have smiled. Naruto, the boy whom she had loved for as long as she could remember, had saved her. The blonde genin never looked as heroic to her as he did at that moment. As Hinata looked on, both of her teammates shared in her shock. Kiba's jaw appeared as if it threatened to fall to the ground and Shikamaru rubbed his eyes. Their attackers were equally shocked, totally not expecting a cavalry for their intended victims. However, they quickly regrouped.
"One more of you will not make a difference. You all will still die here!" A gruff voice shouted from the trees. The four Konoha shinobi looked up to see two more bandits coming from the trees surrounding them, but Naruto was already a step ahead of the attackers. With a simple hand seal, he vanished from sight and everyone, including his own team, was confused as to where he had disappeared to.
"I won't allow you to hurt my friends!" Naruto shouted after he appeared behind the two men. They weren't able to respond, however, before he slammed their heads together.
By this time, the remaining thieves made themselves visible. Instead of going for the group, they went for the biggest threat; Naruto. However, the genin was already prepared for them, as he again used his speed to render their attacks useless.
"That looks. ." Thought Shikamaru as Naruto sent the first assailant flying into a tree.
". . just like. . ." Hinata wondered as the next attacker crashed head-first into the ground.
". . . Lee's speed technique." Kiba pondered after Naruto made short work of the final thief. Indeed, the entire time Naruto was in combat, he only appeared to flicker around his opponents -much in the same way Rock Lee did whenever he removed his weights. Never once did anyone see him make one full movement, seeing flashes and blinding motions their eyes couldn't keep up with. Regardless of what they were actually seeing, one thing was clear to the three of them; this wasn't the same Uzumaki Naruto they had grown up with.
The young genin in question stood with his back to his teammates, looking down at the last person he had defeated. He allowed himself a slight grin, but was careful not to show it to his teammates. He was pretty pleased with himself and, as much as he would have loved to have paraded around in triumph, technically they still had a job to do. However, Naruto wouldn't be Naruto if he didn't allow himself a word in edgewise.
"Well, looks like this mission will be over soon," the blonde boy said. "It shouldn't be too tough from here." He turned around to face them, expecting a thank your and perhaps a little praise for his performance. Naruto had not intended to use his new abilities, but when he realized his team was in trouble, he had to do something. Kakashi-sensei would have understood that at least. Instead of the expected admiration for his actions, Naruto was met with a mix of emotions from his team. Hinata was all smiles, but Kiba glared at him while his dog companion growled slightly. Shikamaru, most of all, did not look the least bit pleased.
"You idiot! You could have gotten us killed!" He whispered harshly at Naruto.
"Hey! Without me, you all would be dead meat!" Naruto defended.
"You put us at a serious disadvantage when you left earlier! We didn't know where you went or what you were doing. For all we know, you leaving could have compromised our position and allowed them to find us!"
"I was following THEM!" Naruto's voice was growing louder.
"It doesn't matter! You disobeyed a direct order!"
Naruto said nothing more. Instead, he slid his hands into his pockets and lowered his head so that his hair fell in his eyes. Shikamaru stood there, glaring at the genin who saved their lives while Kiba and Hinata waited for someone to respond. Finally, it was Naruto who broke the silence.
"We might as well finish the mission then . . . sorry about earlier." He grumbled. Naruto's statement seemed to defuse Shikamaru enough for him to drop it for now. Hinata noticed Naruto had adopted the same look in his eyes that he had whenever she watched him train. Gone was the liveliness he had while he was in battle. The same life was now replaced by a cool and almost metallic glare. "He's hurt again." The young girl thought. "And all he was doing was trying to help."
"Let's finish up and get home. . . I'm tired." Shikamaru said, straightening himself up. They all nodded to each other and moved behind him as he led them towards the main building. As they walked, Hinata glanced over to Naruto, who was looking less than happy at the moment.
"I thought you were great back there, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered to him. Naruto looked up at the young girl and noticed her slight smile. He couldn't help but smile at her in return, and it seemed to be enough for him to release some of his anger. At least someone appreciates me. The blonde genin thought.
Despite Naruto's behavior, Shikamaru was very impressed with him. Inwardly, he wanted to praise the genin for saving them, but the fact remained that he left them alone and left them short-handed. His duty forced him to reprimand his teammate, but it didn't keep him from silently thanking him. As he played back the quick battle that had just gone on, he wondered how Naruto was able to move so fast. He only knew two people able to move with that kind of speed; Lee and Sasuke. Apparently, Naruto was becoming much stronger than anyone could have believed. But Naruto hadn't shown any signs of such ability during their training. This was a surprise to him as much as it was to the rest of the team.
While he was extremely thankful Naruto had such abilities and was able to use them during a critical moment, he didn't like the fact that he didn't know everything his teammate was capable of. For now, he would take it as it is and be grateful he was still alive. Later, he would have to have a talk with the blonde Uzumaki to see if there was anything else he didn't know about him. How did he get so powerful? Is he holding back on us?
Considering the situation, Shikamaru figured he would hold off telling the Hokage about Naruto's insubordination. In the end, Naruto did help them when it counted, even if it wasn't in the way he planned. Besides, it was the least Shikamaru could do for the guy who just saved his life.
"How troublesome," he sighed.
Sakura stood in front of the memorial stone, fiercely practicing her hand seal technique. The last few months working under Tsunade had seen a lot of progress for the pink-haired girl. She was finally able to hold her chakra scalpel without any problems, and she was starting to learn a few new healing techniques. What shocked her even more was how much more of an efficient fighter she had become due to her training. The preciseness of medical jutsu not only made her more careful, but it made her more aware and technical as a combatant. She could now seek out vital points on the human body and know precisely how to disable them.
She first noticed just how much progress she made during one of her team training sessions. Sakura had been able to render Ino defenseless by temporally cutting the nerves in her arms. Even Kakashi had been amazed at her control and accuracy. However, she still didn't have the stamina to be effective as a medical-nin in the field. She suspected that was the reason why she had been left off the last mission assigned to the group. Sakura figured that Hinata was sent along due to her surprisingly quick grasp at healing techniques.
Needless to say, it made Sakura a little jealous that Hinata was considered more useful than she was despite having a considerable head start on the girl. Still, Sakura found a little comfort in knowing more techniques than the Hyuga heiress. Sakura's growing list of abilities made her indispensable to Tsunade at the hospital, so while she wasn't completely combat ready, she was on her way to being a great doctor.
Threads Of Fate The ReasonThis was why she was training so hard now. Night had already come and her normal training time for the day was over hours ago, but Sakura wanted to make sure she knew each seal to the point they were second nature.
"You've gotten much better with those." Someone said from behind her. Sakura spun on her heel and immediately went into a defensive position. She was greeted with the face of her teammate Naruto.
"Oh, Naruto, it's you." Sakura relaxed when she realized who it was. "I didn't know you were back already from you're mission. So did everything go alright?"
"Yeah, I guess." Naruto said sullenly. Sakura immediately picked up on Naruto's mood. He was usually in a fantastic mood after a successful mission, so she knew something wasn't right.
"What happened? No one was injured, were they?"
"No, everyone is fine." He proceeded to tell her about the mission and his disagreement with Shikamaru.
"Baka, it's great that you were able to save everyone, but you really shouldn't have your team alone." Sakura told once Naruto was done with his story. "Shikamaru was right to get on you."
"Yeah, I realize that now. But he made me feel like I didn't do anything useful at all."
"That's not true, Naruto. From the sound of it, you were great. However, you do tend to exaggerate." Sakura gave him a sly smile and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Oi! Everything I said was true!" Naruto said defensively. Sakura giggled at him and he only stared at her in confusion.
"I was only kidding, Naruto."
"Oh." The young man said sheepishly.
"Naruto, you've gotten a lot stronger lately. I've seen it in your training," She told her friend. "You've also been a lot better behaved than you used to be. I guess you are becoming more mature after all. I'm really proud of you for that."
Naruto's face was full of disbelief, so unused to hearing such praise from the pink-haired girl. It was rare that Sakura gave him a true compliment.
"Thanks Sakura-chan. It means a lot to hear you say that."
"See, there you go right there."
"What?"
"The old Naruto would have said something goofy or annoying right then. I told you that you've changed." Naruto couldn't help his mouth from forming a wide grin at his friend's words. It was his normal, goofy grin that he used to always have on his face before Sasuke left. Sakura could only shake her head, realizing from his smile that some things just couldn't change. But then, she knew Naruto just wouldn't be Naruto if he changed too much.
Naruto thought about her words and he immediately thought about his promise to her. As he looked at his friend, the expression in his eyes turned serious.
"Sakura-chan," he began in a much more serious tone. "I'm going to keep my promise to you." Sakura smiled solemnly at her teammate.
"I know you will." She told him. "That's why I've been training so hard. I shouldn't have let you hold the burden all on your own. That's why next time you go after him, I'm going to be there with you. We'll do it together."
"I'd like that, Sakura-chan."
"So would I. In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way." The two friends gave each other warm smiles. Their conversation had just shown both of them how much they depended on each other. Naruto and Sakura had become much more than teammates, they had become best friends. Now through their friendship, they shared a common goal that strengthened the bond between them more than either thought possible; a bond they hoped would be strong enough to bring back their lost friend.