I do not own Naruto
Talk now – normal talk
What now – normal thoughts
Speak – biju, higher being talk
Listen – biju, higher being thoughts
Chapter 7 : A day in my life
For once Naruto was happy it had been two days and his Anbu guard had not returned he still had another two days until the academy started. Maybe it won't be so bad after all.
Naruto got out of bed after performing the usual chakra exercises and made himself breakfast; he intended to return to the god realm tonight it had been hard the past weeks without returning there at least once and several times he had to stop himself from crying because of the loneliness and isolation he felt.
Using the Yukimura's mark on the wall he had discovered that some of the people around him had already moved out of the building and by the looks of it more were leaving with the passage of time. It didn't bother him at all; the only thing he was curious about was how he would approach the matter of tearing down a wall to the apartment next to him so he could expand his own place and to see how he could avoid getting in trouble with the landlord.
He quickly got dressed and prepared to head out, today one of the long distance trade caravans arrived in the village and he planed on buying a few things from them. His food problem had been partially solved after his manipulation of the merchant he had chosen, a few other merchants seemed to relent on the quality of the products they sold him and the prices they charged him. Naruto assumed that the merchants had managed to come to a similar conclusion as the merchant he had chosen; the fact that he had visited the market with the Hokage a while back and a rumor had been started then of their closeness only add to the flames.
To his joy he was able to map out the schedule for some of trade caravans and suppliers of the shops in Konoha, both groups had no problems selling him anything, some of the shop suppliers would usually bring more merchandise and sell it at a lower price at the market. None of the shops owners could give a good reason why the people from the trade caravans shouldn't sell him anything, not without breaking the Hokage's law, something that still appeared to keep them in check for time. It's amazing what a good death threat will do.
Adding the ramen stand, and a senbei shop, owned by an old Uchiha couple, something that when the Hokage discovered had made the man tense for some reason, to the list of places that didn't overcharge him helped to alleviate the problem, however he still needed to cause the fall of one particular merchant. Just a bit more to get the ball rolling on that plan. He looked over at some of the books the Hokage had brought him when he had prepared a meal for the two of them. That most likely helped sway him in that I don't need a guard anymore. He got a few bags and left the apartment casting one last glace at the books. Just more books that praise Konoha and its shinobi, none of them mention any faults it may have; Kami if I read another story about how great the Will of Fire is I'm going to puke.
As he climbed down the stairs they creaked at a few steps here and there, the metal was rusted in some parts and the staircase seemed to grit its teeth in an effort to keep itself whole as the rains had battered it and although it still withstood them, the staircase had clear marks left upon it with patches of rust in some places. Naruto shook his head and began to make his way towards the market place, he shivered slightly, it was January and although no snow had fallen it was still cold outside. It was something that irked him, for some reasons snow was rare in the country, while it did occur in some of the neighboring countries.
With the cold weather and the ground still hard he couldn't make his own garden in the forests in Konoha as he originally wanted, he still planned on making a small garden on the rooftop of his building and getting plants for his apartment; it just didn't feel right for him to not have something green around the place, but at the same time he needed to be careful with his money and wanted to only buy what he absolutely couldn't get on his own.
The cold forced him to raise the color of his jacket to better protect his neck, making his way through Konoha towards the market place he saw some of the people glaring at him, at least some now treated him like he didn't exist and simply paid him no attention. Unintentional psychological warfare inflicted on a five year old, truly the will of fire burns in Konoha like never before.
He took a deep breath as he continued walking towards the market place, the air was much cleaner now and more fresh then before during autumn, the dead leafs from the trees were gone now. A cold wind blew and Naruto shivered, he smacked his own arms to warm himself and pressed forward, the pockets of his jacket and pants bulged with the bags he had brought with him. He looked around himself at the buildings and trees in Konoha.
Even in winter Konoha is green, I suppose it isn't that surprising considering how some of the trees here are fir, Magnolia, Camphor and Evergreen trees. It looks like the people took great care to bring as many kinds of trees here, I wonder if some were brought here before the creation of Konoha or afterwards, it seems rather unlikely that having so many kinds of trees in one place would be a natural occurrence, could the Shodai Hokage have created the vast forests with his bloodline after all?.
With a part of the trees losing their leafs the design of the buildings in Konoha looked more apparent, the large cables present upon their roofs stood out even more then before. Well the view is still nice even with most of the green gone; the grass in late autumn gave the appearance of an ocean made of gold to parts of Konoha.
When Naruto neared the market place he could see caravans all around some even beyond the market place. A few people from what he could see used old fashioned farm wagons, fitting them with five or six wooden bows that arched from side to side across the wagon bed, then stretching canvas or some other sturdy cloth over the bows, creating a cylindrical cover, a few of the wagons were three meters while others looked to be as long as four point six metres.
Some of the larger ones had different designs, but a few were of the same model but with different sizes, the most frequent wagon looked to have been built with it's floor curved upward to prevent it's contents from tipping and shifting. The average wagon he guessed was eighteen feet long, eleven feet high, and four feet in width. By the size of it he calculated that it could carry up to a few thousand kilograms of cargo, four thousand to five thousand. The seams in the body of the wagon looked to be stuffed with tar to protect them from leaking while crossing rivers, also for protection against bad weather stretched across the wagon was a tough, white canvas cover. The frame and suspension were made of wood, and the wheels were iron-rimmed for greater durability, water barrels built on the side of the wagon held water, a few people were removing tools from a box on the side, a toolbox, so they keep the tools needed for repair on the wagon there, they had feedboxes on the back of the wagons that were used to feed the horses as well.
As he looked further he could see other caravans with different shapes in the background, he realized that they truly were of all shapes and sizes, some small drawn by a single horse while other were massive with six horses needed to move it. He heard a man shouting to a horse named Rudolph to calm itself and keep its nose clean. What and odd name. As he looked around his eyes bulged when he saw camels, they must have traveled to the Land of Wind as well, and he could also spot a few mules as well in-between the camels and horses.
Naruto wandered amongst the market place, the caravans were slowly setting up their wares, placing them on small tables or showing them as they were in the caravans, some were unloading their wares to the shops with long lines of people that moved the merchandise between the caravans and the shops, he saw several children of all ages in those lines.
Orphans perhaps, could I have ended up there as well? Could I ever work like that, without the people saying anything?
He remembered how the Hokage had told him on one of his visits that when the orphans reached a certain age they were required to start working and leave the orphanage with a guardian helping to look after them for a time, quite a few of the orphans would end up joining the ninja academy. Whether it was because it had some advantage he didn't know and he doubted he would get a straight answer from the Hokage.
He made his way through the caravans looking at what each sold, he could already see several types of spices, some that Yukimura had talked to him about, a variety of cheeses, different kinds of tea, he realized that it would take hours if not the whole day to look over all of them, he smiled, it's nice to have such a wide range of choices, and I did set this day aside just for shopping, the sooner I'm done here the sooner I can go to sleep and see Sayaka and Yukimura again.
Two people a man and a woman, both with brown hair, brown eyes and a pale complexion, the woman with short cut hair and the man with longer shoulder length hair stood near their unconscious child who rested on an operating table.
The woman wiped away her tears. "It their really no other way?"
The man shook his head, his own eyes were red from crying for what was about to happen. "No, you know this as well as I my love, this is the only path left open to us, if we leave her as she is….."
"That fate is worse then death!" she looked away "she is our only child…."
"I know, but it must be done, she will feel no pain, with this we can blame it on an accident and hide everything until the right time."
The woman grabbed her husband's hand and squeezed. "For the good of the clan."
The husband squeezed back. "For the good of the clan."
The woman ran a hand over her daughter's hair. "What of the plans for his mistress?"
"She will have a tragic accident around the time of the incident."
"Perfect, with the drugs reducing his potency and his old age advancing that avenue will closed off permanently as well."
"Yes, we will appear dead to the world."
"While we hide in the shadows and restore our strength and reclaim our rightful place in the world."
"Yes."
"I only hope that if the time ever comes that she understands why we did everything."
"It is for the clan, I hope that she will understand as well, even if the chances of us meeting again are so slim."
"And if she survives and does not understand…"
"Then we will do what must be done, if we can do it now we will be able to do it again in the future."
The woman kissed her daughter's forehead. "Good bye, my little sunlight."
The man waited until his wife left their daughter's side before kissing her forehead as well. "Worry not daughter you will not be made into a breeder." The man retrieved a large coin from his pocket which he rolled over his knuckles. He looked at the two people that approached him. "Do it!"
Naruto hummed a song he had heard in the god realm not long ago while walking back to the market place, this would be his third trip; the previous two had left him with two bags full of products and a third with a few of them in it as well. He had bought quite a few products, spices, tea bags, sugar, salt, chesses, a few meat products, some milk products, almost a bag full of fruits and vegetables. A few of the vegetables and fruits he had bought weren't native to fire country and couldn't be properly grown here because of the conditions in the country. He considered that his biggest accomplishments of the day were the seeds he had found and bought from some of the traders, something that he would make use of in the spring.
Naruto looked around the market place again; the place was full of people now with everybody buying and selling products, inspecting them or bargaining for them, they were all coming and going with bags that held their purchases. He noticed the Uchiha military police amongst the crowds of people in several places, they looked to be watching everything that was happening around them but there was something else to them, they looked tense for some reason and a few people around them sent them strange looks from time to time. They're probably here to keep order and look out for thiefs that may try something now, with the large crowds here it could be easy to steal something or another, it wouldn't be impossible, a quick look here and there, an accidental bump, a slight move of the hand and then someone's wallet would be gone, a thought crossed his mind, perhaps later I'll try it myself.
As much as he trusted his training for stealing, trying it for the first time would still be difficult, add the fact that these were trained shinobi and he may find himself caught red handed. Though the situation is perfect for stealing, he looked around seeming to take in everything, large crowds, people bumping into each other while not paying attention to what's behind them because they're too busy looking over the merchandise, their attention far to distracted.
He expected the shinobi to stay vigilant in this kind of situation, perhaps it's because this is a shinobi village and they believe no one would be so stupid as to attempt such a thing here. The presence of the Uchiha's could also add to their belief of security, though it doesn't explain the strange looks the people are giving them.
Naruto brushed the thought aside for later, as strange as it was he would think about it later. Perhaps in the end it is the combination of all these things, being shinobi, the Uchiha' presence and the fact that this is Konoha, the so called strongest hidden village, all create the belief that thievery couldn't and wouldn't occur here.
In the corner of his eye he could make out a few children looking around the people all but waiting to steal something, in another place he could spot a few rather shady people doing the same thing. Desperation and opportunity, a few probably snuck in with the trade caravans hoping to try something. A part of him felt sorry for the children who looked to be orphans like him, he shook his head in the end he couldn't do much to aid them.
As he walked around the market place he realized that he had missed an opportunity to strike against the merchants that overcharged him, had he been caught stealing then told the Hokage how he couldn't survive with the money the Hogake would give him because of how expensive everything was and how he had gotten desperate enough to try something like this.
It could have struck a blow against the merchants, there was however still a small chance that the Hokage wouldn't do anything, his Anbu guard must have noticed the kind of food he had been sold at first and how expensive it had been, and yet he couldn't say he had seen much of change in the merchants behavior, either the Hokage read the report and didn't care or the Anbu failed to mention such a thing, he doubted the merchants had the sheer audacity to go up against the Hokage if he come down on them. It's only because of the implied threat that anything changed with them.
As Naruto walked amongst the crowds of people he overheard small bits of information, about the situation in a country, a region or a city. He stopped near a caravan and began to inspect its wares turning his back to three men near him whose conversation he had overheard and piqued his interest.
"So the Land of Snow is still in lock down?" a person with nasal voice asked.
"Yeah the trouble there is apparently still not resolved." A person with guttural voice answered.
A gruff voiced person spoke next. "Damn, I was hoping to go there on the return trip, now I have to sell my merchandise before that."
"You going to try selling it in the Land of Frost?" the nasal voice person asked.
"Probably, damn shame about Snow, there were some good deals to be made there, anybody got a clue whats going on over there?"
"Well" the person with the guttural voice began "I spoke with an old business partner from the Land of Earth with whom I did a few trade deals back when I was younger, he owns his own ship and makes trade runs to Snow and a couple of other places, the man told me that some of the people he did business with in Snow, the Izumi family" the man lowered his voice "they were nobles but all of them got slaughtered a while back. Apparently regular Snow troops were running around the trade port he docked at like crazy, once he found out about the death of the family he got the out of the place like the Shinigami was behind him."
"Damn" the nasal voice person answered "you think it's some sort of noble pissing match?"
The gruff voiced person chuckled. "Wouldn't be surprised, aren't they the same everywhere."
All three of the men laughed.
The nasal voiced person spoke up when the laughter died down. "The one's here in fire are as bad as any other place, still I wonder if it's just a normal thing or if the country is in lock down if it isn't something really big."
"I think it's some sort of civil war." The guttural person responded.
"Really?" the gruff voiced person asked.
The nasal voiced person snapped his fingers before speaking again. "I guess it makes sense, if the family chose the wrong side or got wiped out by the other side."
"Tsk" Naruto heard the gruff voiced person "trade opportunities there are going to flourish once the civil war is done and the country opens its borders again."
"Yes" the guttural voice person replied "but for the time it messes everything up, a lot of contracts got canceled and people got stuck at the docks with nowhere to sell their hauls."
"Damn shame about that, so what merchandise do you want to sell?" the nasal voiced person asked.
Well there's some interesting information.
"You going to buy something kid?" the caravan owner asked.
Naruto nodded and pointed at piece of wood with strange symbols carved into it. "I want that one mister."
After receiving the item Naruto moved on, a fourth person had joined the three men and they were now discussing their wares. As Naruto moved through the market place he stopped near one of the carriages, it was a simple one from what he could see and a girl was on it, he couldn't tell why he stopped near the carriage, it just felt like something was there that captured his interest. He looked at the young girl upon the carriage that was eating a red apple, she looked to be mid-adolescent, he guessed she was roughly one hundred and sixty centimeters tall, and weighted roughly forty kilograms; she wore a grey cloak that hid most of her features.
The girl must have noticed him as she turned towards him and he got a closer look at her, the girl had long orange hair and startling red eyes, she wore baggy clothing that hid a part of her physical features, he could see that she wore a blue shirt with a black vest over it, a button tied the vest at her chest, he could make out the writing on it to mean daughter of the north. The girl had a dark purple skirt and with a thick layer of black fur around its edges. A pair of dark pants could be seen just under her knee where the skirt ended and her brown furred boots began, a red sash was tied around her waist, he could see a very small purple sack that was used as a necklace.
The girl seemed to be looking as intently at him as he had been looking at her; she never stopped eating her apple while looking at him, when she finished the apple the girl threw it in the wagon and got of it slowly walking towards him. He didn't know why but Naruto took an involuntary step back, the girl had a strange aura about her, the way she walked was that of a predatory approaching its prey who it knew couldn't run way, he felt like someone was carving a whole into his chest.
"Well well what do we have here?" the girl asked tilting her head when she was in front of him.
"Mam?" He asked in an unsteady voice, the pressure he had felt earlier had stopped now.
"You know little one." The girl got down on one knee and looked directly into his eyes. "You look just like" She moved her middle finger with a sharp nail placing it against his jugular drawing a drop of blood. "a fox" Her words were barely above a whisper.
She knows?! Naruto felt his heart jump to his throat, he looked at the girl and could swear that the girl's eyes become more like that of a wolf, her hair became spikier, and he could make out two wolf ears in her hair, the girl opened her mouth and revealed two sharp canines. Naruto began to focus and preparing to call Yukimura when the girl suddenly glomped his face.
"I love foxes, they're so cute and cuddly" She cheered rubbing her face against his.
Naruto froze and quickly stopped trying to call Yukimura. "Mam?" He stammered.
"Uh uh" she waved a finger in front of him "I'm far to good looking to be called mam, can't you see my slim curves?" the girl motioned towards her body with one hand while still holding on to him with the other one, he could see the curves she talked about but that was because of how her cloths were hiding her features.
Naruto just looked at her unsure what to say or do, he mentally slapped himself. Focus. "Ano nee-chan can you let me go?" he tried to wiggle out of her hand.
"Hmm?" The girl was still holding onto him. "No." the girl tightened her hold on him.
The girl playfully touched his whisker marks running a finger down them and Naruto felt a small jolt and tingling sensation. "You know those whisker marks also make look like a rabbit." She told him in a serene voice.
"Really nee-chan?"
The girl's eyes were sharply on him. "Yes, and I love rabbits." she gently placed her index finger against his jugular again. "Especially when I snap their necks with my teeth."
His breathing hitched up a few notches.
The girl moved her finger across his jugular, then she burst out laughing. "Relax my dear sweet innocent little fox."
Again? Is she trying to give me a heart attack? "That isn't funny nee-chan." He told her pouting and crossing his arms to his chest, his small purchase had been placed in his back pocket.
The girl chuckled looking at him. "Good grief! I believe you to be much cuter when you are panicking." She playfully tapped his nose. "Wait here." The girl made her way to the wagon searching for something in it before she quickly returned with five red apples handing them to him. "Here my little whiskered friend, never say that I am not generous."
Naruto nodded and took the apples smiling at her. "Thank you, but I don't know your name."
The girl smiled at him. "It's Ami my whiskered friend, Ami Koshimizu. And yours?"
"Naruto Uzumaki."
The girl's smile took a predatory look. "Now what's a special little fox like you doing here all alone?"
Does she know about what I am? "Um just shopping mam." He replied in calm voice.
The girl pouted. "Now what did I say about calling me mam? Call me young sexy thing."
Really telling a child to call her that is she some sort of pervert? "What's sexy mean?" he asked with an air of innocence.
"Something that refers to me." The girl replied in a confident tone of voice point with a finger pointing towards herself.
And she has a tinge or arrogance as well.
"Ah, now you can add young sexy thing at the end of your sentences when referring to me."
Naruto looked at her confused. "I heard other people say that word and they didn't want to tell me what it means, I'm not sure it's something good."
"That was quite the mouthful wasn't it? Well then Ami-chan will do, Naru-chan."
"I'm not a girl." He replied hastily.
"Neither am I." she fired back immediately.
Naruto's eye's bulged. What is she playing at? "Really?" he asked in a surprised tone of voice.
"Nope I lied, I'm a woman."
Naruto felt like smacking his head against a wall. "There's a difference?" It's not like she's going to tell me.
The girl gave him a smile that sent shivers down his spine. "Well yes, you see it starts with..."
Naruto's eyes bulged again. She's going to tell me that? not even Sayaka talked about that.
"Ami?" A man's voice called out.
Both Naruto and Ami turned around, near the carriage was a man who looked to be in his thirties of about one hundred and eight centimeters with a moderate build, the man had short grey hair, an inverted triangle face with a strong jaw line, a small stubble of hair was present on his chin. He was wearing black pants, an earth brown jacket with a light brown color, and a black vest with a white shirt underneath.
"So you've made a friend?" the man asked seeming genially surprised.
"Yes Jun, my cute whiskered little friend is called Naruto" the girl pointed towards the man near the carriage "the stressed out man there's named Jun, Naru-chan." She quickly pressed Naruto's head into her chest.
Best to play along for now. "Nee-chan." he struggled to get free.
The girl chuckled again. "I take it you're done with your business talks?" she asked looking at the man.
"Yes, I found out a few interesting things, shouldn't you let him go? His parents may be looking for him." the man asked looking around the place.
"I don't have any mister."
The man's expression seemed to sour. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Its ok." he replied in a sad tone of voice.
The man knelled down to his level. "Aren't you a little young to be wandering around here though?"
Naruto shrugged. "I'm just doing some shopping mister, its nice here, so many people and things."
"Yes" the man nodded "the market place was its own rhythm and magic doesn't it?"
Naruto smiled. "Exactly mister, there's so much life here, with hustle and bustle."
Jun smirked. "You should see some of the other market places out there."
"Are you with the trade caravans mister?" He asked looking at wagon behind the man.
"Yes, I'm a merchant with the long distance trade caravans."
Naruto scratched his head. Now's a good chance to ask him about these caravans. "Mister I've seen a lot of caravans coming and going through the place, what's different about yours?"
"Well, there are different kinds of caravans, some who bring in supplies from the nearby areas, just from within the country. With me so far?"
I've figured that one out already. Naruto nodded.
"After that things start to get more complicated, and you have caravans traveling here from neighboring countries, then you have caravans coming from countries that are from very far away. I myself was born on the other side of the continent."
That genially surprised him. "Wah, that's so far away."
The man chuckled "Yes, it is."
This is taking longer then I expected. "So you come from there with stuff to sell here?"
"Yes" the man nodded his head "my country has a few unique good that I buy and sell here."
"Isn't that still a long trip?"
"Well I don't just buy one thing, the caravans pass through numerous other countries, and I buy and sell other things while passing through them as well, other merchants simply travel between a country or two while the rest of us travel through a lot more of them."
"You traveled in that all the way here?" he asked pointing towards the wagon.
"No" the man chuckled and shook his head "I left my actual caravan somewhere else and rented this one because it was more convenient to use it instead."
"Oh." I wonder what that reason is. "So what kinds of stuff are transported?"
"That's a tricky question, you see while agricultural produces and other goods tend to make short journeys to the market place, trade in a grander sense, between distant places, is a different matter. It involves entrepreneurs and middlemen, people willing to accept delay and risk in the hope of a large profit."
"So it can be done, but is there something about the products?"
Naruto didn't notice how Ami's eyes fell sharply on him.
"Yes" Jun nodded "it has its own risks but is also present's numerous opportunities, when travel is slow and dangerous, the trader's commodities must be as nearly as possible imperishable; and they must be valuable in relation to their size. Spices often fit the bill as do rich textiles, and above all, precious ornaments of silver and gold, or useful items in copper, bronze or iron. As the most valuable of commodities, metals are a great incentive to trade; shinobi villages are often on the look out for deals involving quality metal. In recent times there have also been breakthroughs in transporting food products from one place to another, a few substances have emerged that help to preserve fruits and vegetables for long journeys."
"Preservatives." He answered, Yukimura had told him about them, it didn't look his world was that advanced in the matter.
"Hm" Jun scratched the stubble on his chin "yes I believe that's what they're called. A few people actually make the food when they arrive at a trade point and sell it there."
"So why do you keep doing this then? Why not sell your goods at one of the places?"
"Well there's a lot more money in this even if it has more risks as well."
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. "So it's all about money in the end?"
Jun waved a hand in front of him in a dismissive manner. "I like doing this, but I do want to open my own shop when I have enough money."
"Oh really mister? So you could open it here?"
"Well" Jun began in an unsteady voice "ninja villages are a tricky matter, while business may be good, there's plenty of intrigue here, and often opening a new here shop here is almost impossible without properly greasing the wheals."
Hm, so corruption is running wild in Konoha, not exactly a surprise. "Is it that hard mister?"
"Well as a foreigner trying to open a shop in a ninja village would naturally be seen as suspicious, but there's also the fact that the merchants here wouldn't take kindly to someone else trying to start something in what they see as their territory, add the connections they have and the merchants guild representative here and whoever wants to open a shop in Konoha will be fighting an uphill battle with a leg and arm tied behind their backs while someone's throwing boulders at them from the top and forcing them to stop at numerous places while calling the while thing completely fair and balanced. Ah sorry I'm probably boring you with this. "
"No" Naruto shook his head "don't worry mister it's all right." Well I guess the option to become a merchant in the village can be written of with this new piece of information. Still it may not be completely dead I could sell things to the trade caravans when they come to the village.
"Well, when I do open up my own shop I'll also need to make sure I have suppliers, preferably by both water and land."
"By water mister?" he asked like it was the strangest thing he had ever heard.
Jun nodded. "Waterborne traffic is by far the easiest method of transporting goods. The first extensive trade routes are up and down the great rivers which became the backbones of early civilizations. As boats become sturdier, coastal trade extended human contact and promoted wealth. The eastern part of the Elemental Nations is the first region to develop extensive maritime trade, first between the Land of Tea, Wind and Sea, later the ships pushed in all directions, reaching the ports of the Land of Iron, the Land of Moon, the Land of Ice, the Land of Bears and then through the chain of islands of the Land of Water. "
"If it's so great then why doesn't everybody use ships? And why are there still trade caravans that travel such long distances?"
"Well" the man scratched a cheek "as great as they are, not all the countries have access to the sea, without ports the ships can't get there, some rivers that dot the continent are far to shallow to allow ships to travel, so the ships dock in the countries with ports and then the trade caravans begin to make their way through out the continent with the merchandise. Places like the Land of Spirits, the Land of Jewels, the Land of Silk, the Land of Keys, and the Land of Forests have no access to the sea and no ports of any kind; they are also lodged in between several larger countries and have to rely on the caravans for trade."
"Those are a lot of places; do they all have unique items?"
Jun scratched his stubble again; he looked like he was mulling things over. "Most of the countries have some unique items, the Land of Forests and the Land of Fire have cedar wood that is exported as top-quality timber for architecture and shipbuilding, there are also artisans in the Land of Forests that carve the wood into statues or other works of art. The locks produced in the Land of Keys are the finest on the continent, the name kind of gives it away with the Land of Silk, but never the less the silk from there is of the highest quality and people often have to preorder something in advance for years to be sure they can get some of the finest silk, the same can be said for pieces from the Land of Jewels."
Jun furrowed his eyebrows. "I know the Aburame clan here in Konoha also have a business with silk as well and the one they produce is quite valuable though it's in shorter supply. The Land of Moon on the other hand has a rare and expensive dye that complements another famous local product of theirs, fine linen, and artisans from the Land of Bears are known for their works with glass. Closer to this country, the Land of Rivers is seen as an important food centre, with the food from there traveling all over this part of the continent. The region between the lands of fire, wind and tea with Benisu Island in the middle is full of activity with trade ships traveling between all the points, some heading out along the coastline of the Land of Wind towards the other lands. Usually the Land of Sea and Tea are the ones that trade with the New World."
"The New World?" he asked his interest peaked.
"Oh, I forgot not everyone knows about it, there's another continent past the Land of Water and trade ships arrive from there from time to time."
"Does it have a name?"
Jun nodded "People call it the New World, but a translation of the name in our tongue would be Avalon."
Avalon, so that's may be the place Yukimura referred to, I already like the name a bit more digging couldn't hurt. "Has anyone ever been there?"
"Extremely few I remember hearing about a book that was written about the place, the trip to the continent is throat with perils, many ships have attempted to make the journey and have ended up sinking to the bottom of the ocean, it got so bad that people have all but abandoned the route to the place, people seeking their deaths or just downright insane attempt passage that way anymore. Only the ships coming from the New World seem to fare better, they usually arrive packed with merchandise and leave the same way as well, numerous trade ships and merchants travel to both the Land of Tea and the Land Sea in hopes of making a deal with the foreigners when they arrive. Though from time to time those ships travel to Benisu Island and sell their goods from there. Goods from the Azunai region, the one near Benisu Island, follow trade routes that have been established along a string of oases dotted with caravanserais."
"What are those?"
"A caravanserai?"
Naruto nodded.
"A caravanserai is a roadside inn where travelers can rest and recover from a day's journey, they support the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes covering the continent. Caravanserai's provide water for human and animal consumption and washing, some of them have elaborate baths."
"Yes, a few have… private baths." Ami said in a low husky tone and Naruto could see Jun shiver a bit and shift to a side.
Jun cleared his throat "they also keep fodder for animals and have shops for travelers where they can acquire new supplies. In addition, some shops buy goods from the traveling merchants."
"You know while I enjoy your talk of trade don't we have some place to be?" Ami asked eating an apple.
Jun looked at the apple Ami was eating. "Someone bought quite a few apples again?"
"Just sixty this time!" Ami answered in a proud voice.
Jun sighed and lowered his head shaking it. "I guess this is goodbye Naruto, come on then" he motioned towards Ami "let's go to the inn, I'm starving."
"Excellent I am going to drink so much that I vomit before I even start to feel drunk."
"Please don't, you know how you snore in your sleep when you do."
"That is cold lie you're spreading around hoping people will eventually believe it."
"Of course it is." Jun answered in a mocking tone.
The girl huffed and turned around a sparkle could be seen in her eyes; she returned and kneeled down in front of Naruto again quickly kissing him on the forehead and the tip of his nose before giving him a small hug and speaking a low tone of voice. "No matter how long it takes's eventually the pain will easy, you will find someone, don't worry about it". She gave him a small smile and left. Naruto simply stood there numbly, unsure what to make of her; he remembered a similar scene with Sayaka and Yukimura. He never heard what words Ami and Jun exchanged as they left with their carriage.
"What was that about? You usually don't make such gestures, is he..." Jun left the words hand in the air.
Ami shook her head. "His eyes were similar to mine before we met, such eyes should not be on the face of a child"
Jun nodded understanding her meaning.
"As for the rest well" she ran a hand through her hair and tossed it to a side with a proud and confident smirk on her lips. "I am not known as The Wise for nothing."
Jun chuckled as he wrapped one arm around Ami's shoulders and kissed her head.
"Where are we going afterwards? You look to have heard some rather interesting information."
"You can still read me like an open book" Jun sighed while Ami a small grin "with Snow in lockdown there are a lot of contracts that are being broken and a lot of merchandise that isn't being sold."
"Ah, so with the chaos there and the people trying to sell their wares for a good price one could get a nice sum of money if one sees an opportunity there, and there will be opportunity there. The people will get desperate to sell their wares and return home with a profit, with more merchandise arriving with merchandise to deliver as well the situation will only get worse with everyone trying to sell their wares and get a good deal for them."
"Yes."
"It's good then that you will have me by your side as to not get swindled."
Jun smiled and moved his hand around Ami's waist, he quickly stole a quick kiss from her. "I believe so, let's get to the inn and I'll tell you more about what I've heard and discussed."
Naruto walked around looking at the different wares the caravans had, he was still uncertain what to make of the girls words, he froze mid step when he spotted something at one of the caravans.
"Hey mister how much for those plants?" he asked point at a few of them.
"Huh" the man looked to where Naruto was pointing "these kid?" the man asked picking them up "You sure you want these? They're other roses that are more beautiful when they bloom, a bit more expensive but still great; I still have a few of those, I usually sell them together for variety."
Naruto shook his head. "No way! I remember seeing some of them during last summer and they looked great." Well they did look great, it was just in the god realm; and their real selling point is the fact that one can make syrup from their petals rather then buying them for their scent or looks.
The man shrugged "Your choice kid, tell you what I still have a couple of them if your willing to buy a few extras, I'll give you a discount on them."
"Really? That be great mister." Well then let's see what discount we're talking about.
As Naruto began making his way out of the market place and back to his apartment he saw several small crowds gathered at a few points near the exits of the market place, after nearing the place he found out that some person was preaching about how women would descendent from the sky when the warriors fell for some reason, he couldn't hear everything that person was saying. He checked out a few of the other places, one was talking about reincarnation, another how if one reached the final heaven they would become a god and be able to marry multiple women and have a planet just for themselves.
The last one preached about some squiggly thing that boiled for people's sins. He shook his head, apparently religious nut jobs travel with the caravans as well, it wasn't that surprising, he had read about it happening but it was different actually seeing it occur. He doubted anyone knew about the wars the gods fought or how many gods died at the end of the age of the gods, he figured that a lie if it sounded good enough would attract people, being able to marry multiple women and become a god definitely sounded great for men. It didn't matter to him, he stopped seeing another preacher, this one looked ragged and he would personally call the person more of a madman then anything else.
"Thrice shall they break, thrice shall they rise
The child of pure blood shall arise to lead them
The herald will break the earth to reshape it
In death's foot steps the chosen one walks
Fire and death shall meet
The first under shadow
The second under stone giants
The third under a falling star
The fourth…."
He tuned the man out, he had to be insane, besides he had plans as soon as he got to the apartment he would sort the items he had bought, eat then wash and go to bed, and it was high time he returned to Yukimura's god realm.
Naruto took another sip of his tea as he finished telling Yukimura and Sayaka about what had occurred while he had been in Konoha the past weeks, the three of them where in the living room.
Yukimura was rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner. "Well that's certainly surprising to say the least, first off congratulations on what you have accomplished so far, we're both proud of you."
Naruto smiled.
"Yes, Naruto-kun, you've done well."
He beamed at their words. "You're not mad that I made mistakes?"
Sayaka shook his head. "On one front you were up against someone who's been dealing with politics and manipulation for years Naruto-kun, it was always going to be a tough fight."
"Yes, what's important is that you didn't panic and that you kept your cool thinking on your feet and making good use of the situations you were in."
"Thank you."
"And about the other things, well we're going to need some time to think about them, the name Avalon doesn't sound familiar and the girl you mentioned may have some sort of bloodline and not necessarily be a supernatural creature, either way I'll look through my memories for someone matching her description or close to it." Yukimura finished placing his tea cup back on the table.
Naruto nodded. "There are actually a few things I wanted to ask you. It's about the summons."
"That faction" Yukimura began.
"You know them?" he asked tilting his head to the side.
Yukimura nodded. "To a degree, a few existed during the time of the gods, either created by the gods, or in the aftermath of some of the wars of the gods, another part of the summons were created thanks to Rikudo Sennin, and they swore allegiance to him, those of the age of the gods joined him later as well. I don't particularly like them myself, and you are right, the Hokage seems to be hinting at you becoming a summoner in the near future. Well although a summoning contract would be useful, I would stay away from such a thing for the time being, the toad contract looks like its part of some grand scheme the Hokage has in store for you."
Naruto nodded.
"Is that all Naruto-kun?" Sayaka asked placing her tea cup on the table as well.
Naruto shook his head. "I wanted to ask about the attack when I was born and the Uchiha clan." Naruto noticed how both Yukimura and Sayaka tensed at his question.
It was Sayaka who began in a calm tone. "You have to understand that the attack wasn't his fault Naruto-kun, Yukimura did not willingly attack the village, a lot more occurred that night, some things are still not clear to us even now, we will tell you later when we have more information, until that time we ask that you trust us on this matter."
"Alright" could the Uchiha clan have been involved in the attack? "is the clan that bad?"
Yukimura scowled something Naruto hadn't ever seen him do. "That clan and their eyes are a blight on this planet Naruto, I would advise to keep your distance from them unless absolutely necessary, go to that shop if you need to advance your plans but be careful around them."
"You have met them before?"
The scowl on Yukimura's face deepened. "You can say we have a history."
"If that's all Naruto-kun we can get back to your training"
"Hai"
It was during dinner that night that Naruto remembered something he had wanted to ask the two. "Ano, I wanted to ask about the books in the Konoha library, did you find anything interesting?"
Yukimura shook his head. "Not much, there was no information about Avalon there, a lot of the books are very old and need to be brought up to date with recent advancements, there were a few things here and there that warranted a second look."
"Anything useful?"
"We've looked through them and compared some of the information there with what Yukimura knew, the results were not exactly encouraging, but we've found a few that are acceptable, they have been placed in the library on a special shelf, I'll take you there once we finish Naruto-kun."
"What about those books the Hokage gave me?"
Sayaka scowled. "Bah, they did nothing more then glorify Konoha and its past Hokages; they were only useful as toilet paper and for starting a fire."
Naruto laughed while chewing. "I thought so to."
"Naruto-kun chew with you mouth closed." Sayaka winked at him. "Great minds to think alike"
"Oh, on that note I have found out some interesting things about the seals in your room and can change them to a degree." Yukimura told him rubbing his hands together.
"Really? how?"
"It can wait until after dinner you two."
One hour later
"Now about those seals, when you were at the library and I used my magic I discovered that there were seals on the outside of the library as well, most likely the Hokage has them placed through out the whole village, he probably uses them to keep on eye on things through out the place."
Naruto scowled. "Especially me"
"Yes, I'm not sure if the seals are placed in the clan compounds as well though, I doubt that, if the clans ever got wind of it they would be in an uproar, most likely they are just placed in certain parts through out the village. Now the good news is that I can modify them a bit to give you a head's up for when the Hokage is using them, and add a small foggy effect to gain you a few more seconds before the Hokage can see you."
"That sounds great, so I'll have to go around the village and add to the others as well right?"
"In a few places yes, we should still be careful as not give away to much. The great news is that we can train you to sense when the seals are being used around you."
"How?"
"The seals work on a frequency; we will train you to be able to detect it. It's not the easiest training though."
Naruto nodded. "So do you two experiment with stuff like this all the time?"
"Huh?"
"I think Naruto-kun is asking what we do most of the time, aren't you?"
Naruto nodded.
"Ah that, well we spar constantly in different forms, others are trying to recreate spells to use with the magic in this world and a few to change them in jutsu, while others are going through my memories from the time as the Juubi, Kyuubi and before that, analyzing things from a different points of view and looking for anything we can use, that's to give a few examples."
"How can you do that?"
"We are multi present here in the realm, but only to a degree."
"Now Naruto-kun, we have thought a new delightful training regime for you."
Naruto gulped. "What does it involve?"
Sayaka smiled sweetly. "Oh, why spoil the surprise, let's just say that it will help you keep calm in rough spots and have your mind always searching for a way out no matter how dire the situation."
"Ok" he replied in a meek tone, the training would be painful he was certain of it.
What Sayaka meant by delightful new training regime was in fact a dreadful experience for him; she through him in all sorts of impossible situations and told him to find a way out. Naruto shook his head; for the first task Sayaka had thrown him in a dungeon cell and told him to get out of it with anyway possible. He failed at the task, no matter what he tried he couldn't find way out, Sayaka later showed him how a tile in the wall was weak and could have been dislodged from there causing the wall leading to the unlocked cell near him to collapse. The second time, when he had been locked in a closet he managed to do get out of the place by doing something similar as Sayaka had done, only this time through the ceiling. The later tasks got much more difficult and required more inventive solutions, he failed more often then he succeeded.
Naruto was currently meditating atop a hill overlooking a green valley with a river running down the middle where animals were drinking water from it, the smell of fresh cut grass was all around him and the sun was setting in the distance.
"It's a nice view isn't it?" Yukimura asked sitting down next to him.
He nodded.
"So you think Avalon is your destination and dream."
"Yes"
Yukimura sighed. "Alright, just be prepared for things to change, you never know how dreams can change overtime with what life throws at you."
Naruto shook his head. "I don't think mine will ever change."
Yukimura gave him a sad smile. "I thought the same thing long ago; that changed one day though, something else took it's place and I didn't care as much as I thought I would when it occurred, my views had changed and my first dream seemed unimportant, I tossed it aside for something else."
Naruto remained silent for a moment. "Alright I'll keep that in mind but I don't think that will ever change though, I don't know what could do something like that."
"You never know what life will throw at you" Yukimura ruffled Naruto's hair. "Come on Sayaka's made dinner; we can continue your training after that."
It was during a break from his taijutsu training while in the dojo that Naruto approached another subject he wanted to ask the two.
"Now that I'm joining the academy if they ask about my goals or dreams at the introduction what should I say? I don't think freedom from Konoha will win me any friends."
Both Sayaka and Yukimura spoke at the same time. "Becoming a legendary shinobi" "Creating a new clan."
Sayaka turned towards Yukimura with narrowed eyes. "I think mine sounds better, the Hokage has been filling his head with how great the past Hokages were, all of them were legendary shinobi, he can simply say that he wants the same thing, to be as know as them."
Yukimura shook his head. "Which may worry the Hokage about a desire for great power on his part."
"The books he gave Naruto mentions how Hashirama and Tobirama were know even before the village was founded, the Sandaime gained his reputation during the wars, the Yondaime gained his reputation during the last war, and was later chosen as Hokage" She shrugged "If his path leads him to becoming Hokage that would out of his hands."
A small panicked look crossed over Naruto's face. "I really don't want to be Hokage though or even considered for such a thing."
Yukimura nodded. "Hence why the clan idea is better, you can argue that a clan is one big family, something that could be explained by your early life and you wanting a family."
Sayaka shook her head. "A clan may not be an ambitious enough goal for the Hokage with all he has been spoon feeding him."
"And not wanting to become Hokage doesn't fit either if you follow that road of thought." Yukimura countered.
"It does if he claims that he isn't worthy enough for the title and that he would prefer to focus on such a thing. The books mention other strong shinobi that Konoha produced, Kaede Nagase, Toka Senju, Kōsaka Shigure all great shinobi of renown from Konoha that never became Hokage. Sakumo Hatake was a famous and powerful ninja of Konohagakure who during his lifetime held fame that is said to overshadow even that of the Sannin and was considered Hokage material. Naruto could claim that he desires to be like them, that would sit well with the Hokage because he would still be fighting for Konoha."
"Why not both?" he asked.
Both Yukimura and Sayaka looked at him with wide eyes unblinking before Yukimura coughed and they both looked away. "Um well, yes that could work actually." Yukimura carefully scratched one of his eyebrows.
"Indeed." Sayaka still had her back turned towards the both of them.
Both Sayaka and Yukimura gave him a few parting words before he returned to Konoha for the week, he was glad that at least he could return at the end of the week to the god realm again.
"In any case pay attention to what your fellow student's desire, their words and actions, especially watch your teachers' actions."
Sayaka cleared her throat "Don't be surprised if you'll have trouble making friends, older children often don't want to make friends with those smaller than them."
"Hai"
Sayaka knelt down and hugged him. "Good luck Naruto-kun."
As soon as Naruto disappeared from the realm Sayaka turned towards Yukimura. "We are eventually going to have to tell him about what lies hidden in the sealed of part of the building on his floor."
Yukimura nodded. "Yes, but how do we tell a child that there's a dead body buried not far from his home?"
A small blue haired white eyed little girl stared forward as the final preparations were made to the pyre, her gaze was full of sadness because of the occasion; the wood had already been placed along with a special kind of oil to ensure it burned thoroughly.
It was a symbolic gesture she knew that much, she had overheard her father talking to another family member about the event. It wasn't that long ago that her family had taken a picture together, shortly after the birth of her little sister, everything seemed better back then, it seemed all but perfect, even with what had happened two years ago, and now her mother was dead, her body would be burned somewhere else and her ashes scattered to the winds.
She would never see her mother again, she would never hear her sing again; she remembered how her mother sang to her little sister when it was time for her to sleep, she remembered her mother's voice being so soothing, so calm and gentle. It was something else she had now lost, just like she would never feel her mother's warmth, her mother had been the only one to help her with the night terrors she had been having ever since the incident.
She noticed a family member approaching her father with a lighten torch and her father nodded and took the torch then began slowly walking towards the funeral pyre, she saw him lower his head for a moment before throwing the torch on the pyre, a moment later it suddenly caught fire, her father returned to his position next to her. She looked at him for a brief moment, his face was as impassive as ever, she couldn't tell if he had cried because of the loss or not.
Her gaze returned to the pyre, it burned brightly and radiated warmth, it was fitting, her mother had been the same for her, a small distance away she could hear her littler sister crying and her attendant trying to calm her down, she was so young, only born last year, she knew that her sister would never remember their mother she was much to young for such a thing. As she felt something on her face and placed a hand there, she realized that she was crying again, when she had first heard that her mother had died, she had cried so much she thought she would never be able to do so again, now at least she knew differently.
As the pyre burned away she knew that soon she would have to return to her home, the place felt so dark to her, ever since her mother's death it had felt like a great shadow had fallen over the place and would not leave. The food tasted bland and darkness seemed to permeate every corner of her home, she didn't want to return there but she didn't have a choice.
When the pyre burned out the family members began to leave, one member of her family stopped in front of her looking disappointingly down at her. "Just like your father." The man shook his head and left after that.
She blinked and looked at the man unsure of his words, once the other family members left her father at last decided that it was time to leave as well.
"We will return to the compound Hinata."
She swallowed heavily and her voice sounded harsh from her crying "Yyyyes father." as they walked away she was glad that at least little Hanabi had stopped crying, Hinata look back at the pyre one last time before walking back with the others towards the Hyuga compound.
A small brown haired girl let out a breath as she lay on her bed, her muscles were sore and she couldn't feel her arms and legs anymore, every fiber of her body felt like it was on fire. She had worked in the market today helping to unload merchandise for the trade caravans at various shops.
All that hard work for a few coins.
The orphanage caretakers had made it clear that she and the other children her age would have to find work, she still couldn't join the shinobi academy yet as she was too young for such a thing. She didn't want to be at the orphanage, she had been living on the streets for a while and doing well enough, stealing what she needed until someone had caught her and she ended up at the orphanage.
She let out a tired breath, it wasn't that long since she ended up in Konoha, not even a year by her knowledge, she gritted her teeth thinking about the day she had ended up in Konoha, it hadn't been her choice but she had been making the best of it. She hoped she would never have to see that women ever again, she knew that at one point she had a last name but now that was gone as well and she was just like the other orphans.
Once she arrived at the orphanage she had looked for her blond haired blue eyed little friend but she hadn't found him and no one knew anything about him. She hoped he had gotten adopted, while taking a break during work she could have sworn that she caught a brief glimpse of him in the market; she hoped he was happy wherever he was.
Things at the orphanage weren't exactly pretty, there were a lot of orphans present and the conditions suffered because of it, for some reason most of the old caretakers had left the village and the new ones were still learning how things worked. She grimaced almost all of orphans didn't have a last name, very few actually did and the rest were free to chose one for themselves as it would be needed later on, they seemed so happy about talking about coming up with some cool family name for themselves, they treated it like a joke. It's like they don't know how important such a thing is.
Using all of her willpower she managed to close her right fist, around her the other orphans that had worked in the market were just as exhausted and sprawled out on their own beds, but they all needed to keep an eye open in case someone of the other children tried to steal their money, she had already punched someone earlier who had tried stealing from her. Her eyelids felt just as heavy as some of the boxes she had help to unload, but she had be careful, she couldn't sleep to long or to deep, as her eyelids began to be to much to keep open she closed her left fist and hoped that no one would try anything against her anymore.
One day my name will be know just like the shinobi from legends.
A small fair-skinned boy with dark, bushy, brown hair and dark, narrow eyes who wore a pair of dark sunglasses, a grey jacket with red buttons and a high upturned collar with the addition of a sea-green hood, stood meditating in a small forested area, small beetles flew around him. It was in this same area that he had lost his brother figure only a few months ago.
That man with the bandages and the black robe took him, both he and his brother figure had been approached by the man to join his forces, the man's interest was on him but his brother figure had volunteered himself in his place and the man had accepted after his brother revealed the name of his biological father.
That same day his brother left the compound was when his father had informed him that the chances of the two seeing each other again were very slim, and if they did he should be on his guard, he felt the tension in clan compound after the man had left. The man had the authority to recruit clan members for his special forces and he could have ended up there, something that his parents felt adamant about avoiding.
Given how his parent's insects behaved when the two spoke about the man, he realized what had occurred, his brother Torune had sacrificed himself to save him instead.
A cold wind blew against him ruffling his cloths, though January had not passed yet already several plants had already bloomed, he watched as his beetles flew around him, he would in the future succeed in breeding beetles that would inherited traces of his brother Torune's insects, he had already begun studying the bug breeding technique needed to produce new beetles. He still wanted to remain close to his brother-figure in some way, and the beetles were logically the best way.
It would he knew still take years to succeed as the subject was complicated and required knowledge of other techniques as well, he was grateful that he had his clan's library to rely on, it had plenty of books on the matter and scrolls that documented previous attempts made related to the subject. The few beetles he had from his brother were sadly the last thing he had to remember his brother by, judging by the way his parents and the other clan's men behaved when that man's named was mention it was clear that him and his brother may become enemies in the future.
His eyebrows furrowed as he called his beetles back and thought of that person, that man called Danzo that even the Hokage seems to respect. He slowly got up and began making his way back to the compound, his clan had been busy today with the long term trade caravans arriving in Konoha, meeting with their business partners and suppliers, he hoped that there had been no problems with the deals as his mother had told that she had ordered a box of different varieties of winter melons that would be delivered when the trade caravans arrived, they would help to improve his mood.
Wazuka Yamanaka checked another name on her clipboard after looking into the padded room. And that's Mototsune Iseri as well. Wazuka sighed closing the small window used to check on the man before continuing through the hallway, there was only one resident she needed to check on before finishing her rounds. As she walked through the hallway she remembered how nervous she had been when she had began her job years ago and first walked through the same hallway, the unease she had felt back then because of what she thought was the wrongness the place seemed to exuded had given her nightmares for weeks.
Konoha's mental institute was not a particularly well know place but it still existed and had it's purpose, with the nature of a shinobi's line of work it was a given that some would eventually face all sort of issues and not all of them physical, mental issues were just as common as physical ones. Her clan was heavily involved in running the place but had accepted other people who did not belong to the clan in helping to run the place.
While the institute wasn't as well known as the two jails in Konoha it was structured in a similar fashion with multiple levels to it above and below ground. The levels above ground held the institute's offices as well as places where the clan members would hold sessions with the people who needed consulting; that was the first the level.
The second level was the place for people that had problems and needed to be admitted, the time of their stay varied but eventually most were released. The third and fourth levels were broken down into several sublevels, with the less severe cases in the first sublevels while the others were sent to the lower sublevels.
Once a person ended up in the third level it meant that their chances of a recovery were small, the lower the person was sent in the sublevels the more their chances of a recovery dropped. Wazuka shivered, the fourth level had some of the most deranged people the village had to offer locked up down there, the reason those people didn't receive a kunai to the throat were numerous but in her opinion none were sufficient to warrant taking care of all of them. Some of the residents locked up in the institute were studied in to see how their madness progressed, some in hopes of discovering potential treatments that could be used later on while others hoped to find early warning signs of mental diseases and trauma.
Wazuka reached the last room, she looked into the padded cell where the youngest of their residents was located, the girl's emerald green eyes were dull and her gaze looked to be a thousand miles away. The girl she realized would never experience any of the joys of life as she was and with the nonexistent progress she was making it would never occur either.
The girl was a rather special case, while she herself wasn't privy to the exact reason; something about the girl's condition had warranted a thorough and continuous examination of some of the higher up clan members. The girl's parents looked so devastated when they came and visited her last week, she really does resemble them, she didn't know what exactly had happened but an incident had occurred and the girl had snapped for some reason and hurt her twin sister before being subdued, after that the girl had ended up in the institute.
Wazuka closed the small window to the padded cell and checked the girl's name on the list before moving forward and seeing her colleague waving at her, she smiled at the man, Harumi Chiba, a part of her was jealous of him, he didn't have a clan and was free of the backstabbing occurring in one, even in a clan as her's that was more tight nit, tension still existed and backdoor politics and deal making occurred, the loss of one of the clan's youngest members was proof of that. She cast another look towards the hallway she had come from before moving towards her colleague; it was just another normal day for her in the end.
A small girl with long reddish-brown hair, thick eyebrows and blue eyes with a mole under her left eye who wore a blue gi with a cream colored vest over it and blue shorts stared at her parents graves, she had brought fresh flowers to them. Life in her village had been horrible for her after her parents passed away, there was no one would who would take care of her and she had to scrap by in whatever way she could manage. What was worse was that now was she had gotten sick as well and the people in village had taken to avoiding her fearing that she had the same disease that her parents had died from.
She still had her home for the time but whispers were flying about how the place was cursed and that is should be burned to the ground to make sure other people don't get sick from it as well. At least for now they're afraid of coming near our home. She coughed while cleaning the graves and one thought ran through her head. Maybe just maybe with my sickness I'll be able to join you soon, mother, father; she smiled touching their graves, then we could be together again just like before.
A small boy with fair skin and short, spiky, red hair with pale blue-green eyes, no distinctive pupils or eyebrows and tanuki-like black eye rings, wearing a beige poncho-like shawl over a short-sleeved black T-shirt, a white obi around his waist, dark blue pants that were rolled back several times at the hem, revealing the inside cloth to be grey, and black sandals stared at the empty play ground in front of him.
He had once again tried desperately to make friends and be friendly towards others but had failed again, everybody appeared to be wary of him and kept their distance no matter what he did, even his siblings stayed away from him for some reason. At least I have uncle, he never runs away from me and he's always there for me. His uncle's words still ringed through his head; a wound of a heart is different from a flesh wound. Unlike a flesh wound, there are no ointments to heal it, and there are times when they never heal.
He smiled when he saw his uncle approaching and waved at him, his uncle had arranged a small place for him to watch the moon at night when he could sleep on top of the building where they lived. Even if everyone else doesn't like me at least I have uncle and that won't ever change.
"Still no luck making friends?" the man asked holding a grocery bag in one hand.
He shook his head. "No uncle."
The man gave him a small sad smile. "Well that's alright, maybe you'll have more luck next time."
"Maybe." He responded in a meek tone of voice. "But I have you uncle."
"Don't worry about it, that's what families for."
"Then what about big sister and brother?"
The man's expression saddened. "They will come around, just give them some time."
He nodded his head. "Uncle, do you think that there will be a full moon tonight?"
"I don't know, you want to stay up again?"
He nodded. "Yes, it would be great to see it again the night always feels so special when there's one."
The man shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows, maybe you'll get lucky now come one lets go home I've bought salted tongue and gizzard for someone's birthday."
"Really" he responded in a cheerful tone of voice "that's great, tonight is going to be special."
You have no idea how special this night will be Gaara.
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Constructive criticism or pointing out possible errors/issues within the story is always welcomed.
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Next up is the first try at the academy and a character visit's the god realm with Naruto, place your bets on who it is.
Chapter 7, just 12505 words, completed on 18 04 2014, the chapter had roughly 10000 words a month ago but because of real life it got shelved for a long time.- Wow so this chapter was drawn out no joke, at first I wanted to have the market part and then move on and write about his time at the academy, sadly the market part grew a lot more and I ended up deciding to move the academy part to the next chapter. The market part should have been around 4000 words and the 8600 words with the academy sadly it just wasn't the case, I tried mixing a bit of world building with the market dialogue, sadly I fell that it was more of a disappointment the anything else as I add to much stuff in there that could have been cut. Now for the other last part of the chapter with the other children, at first I wasn't planning on writing it but then when I realized that I was coming up short of the 12600 words I ended up writing it and I'm not that sorry about it. I actually liked showing some of the stuff about the characters, though I admit I could have done a better job writing it.
- Did anybody else notice how the night sky in Naruto seems rather empty? No stars just the moon.
- The info about the caravans is from Wikipedia, where would we be without it? There's some very interesting stuff about trade routes and trade itself.
- Does anybody know who the unnamed children are? It's not that hard to tell.
- Here's hoping a new Gotrek and Felix novel get's released soon.
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