Another chapter, this time for one of the three stories I kind of neglected for a while. I originally started this one as a more down to earth, not so high powered version of Naruto, to really bring the shinobi shadow warrior element back into the whole ordeal. The best way to do that was to remove, at least most of, what made them so high powered, their chakra. Some people might not like depowered characters or stories, but I'm finding they allow the characters and us the audience to touch base with the foundations of the source of it all. We can experience their struggles and effort and connect better when they are on our level, or close to it so it's not just a power fantasy escape.
After I started this fic I realized the distinct lack of fiction in this crossover, so I hope my version will do it justice, there is one more out there but it doesn't seem to be going anymore.
To my first and currently the only reviewer of this story, I'll mainly be using elements and some material from Far Cry: Instincts - Predator, and Far Cry 3. While I do list this as a crossover, it's almost entire Naruto world, barely any real cross content, but the idea and inspiration are obvious to those who are even just mildly aware of Far Cry.
Anything else... Obviously there are shenanigans of types in this story, such as the guns, super soldier, grenades, some other technology we don't normally see in naruto world. So I hope those are okay. Now without further Adieu.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Far Cry
[Jungle Cave]
Naruto and Hinata had finished eating and were now contemplating their best course of action to get their objective done.
"Okay, so what do we know? It's been a day now, roughly twelve hours or son since the attack, so the others would have had to have been taken to a prison of some sort by now...but where?" He spoke.
"Likely to one of the other islands of the archipelago, but there are four main islands in total from what I remember. That'll have to wait. If we can get off the island back to the mainland we can get help." She stated and Naruto sighed before he nodded.
"There should be some kind of cargo ships at the docks, the hotel, the soldiers, all of it takes supplies that I'm sure they can't go without. So we'll have to either try to find out when the next cargo ship comes in and sneak aboard or steal some other ship and try to get back ourselves. Problem with that though I only have a vague idea of how to get back to the mainland, it's not that far a trip, but far enough."
"I have no idea how to sail or operate a boat, sail or engine. You?" she asked.
"No... might be able to snatch someone to pilot for us but no idea how reliable that is. So our best bet is to sneak aboard a cargo ship I guess. We don't have any way to get ahold of anyone on the mainland like radio, and then if we did get ahold of anyone, it might make it worse if it's anyone we might be enemies with." He surmised and Hinata sighed herself this time.
"Our options are limited, but the trip to the mainland is only a half to full day's travel by ship depending on the weather." She spoke and Naruto nodded as he got up and checked his gear before nodding.
"That's about it then. Scout out the docks, try to get some information on the current situation, but our goal is to get either a schedule for cargo ships, or if the chance is there, to go on and get onto one and get back to the mainland, get back to Konoha to report the situation and come back with reinforcements to release the others and deal with Kelim." He summarized but then sighed. "What's with me and these crazy ass missions and side adventures?" he asked out loud looking up at the sky while Hinata just giggled slightly.
"Can't say, but we should get going. It'll take time to get back to the hotel and sneak around to the docks without being seen, but hopefully, it'll be dark by the time we do. That'll make it easier for us." She voiced and Naruto nodded. They packed away their stuff in their bag and set everything into the cave they didn't need. They then started to walk through the jungle, careful to memorize the way they came as they made their way back to the resort.
The two trekked through the jungle, learning their terrain and their new limits. They started to realize just how much chakra affected them as they felt their muscles really pushing the effort into every motion and action. "I can't believe how different this feels," Naruto commented as he kept walking.
"Yes... its almost like, the chakra was acting as a buffer to everything we did. Without it now you feel everything." She remarked and he nodded as they hopped across a stream.
"I wonder if this is how bushy brows feels?" he idly wondered.
"No, he still has chakra, it's just not much and it's all directed inwards. I believe it's something wrong with Lee's Tenketsu that prevents him from projecting chakra past his own body. He can still wall climb and water walk just fine, things that require direct contact with his body." She stated and he nodded at that.
"Makes sense, but still he probably knows this stuff better than the rest of us, pushing his body to the limits than his chakra inside to take it even further to get as good as he has at that intense, High-level Taijutsu." He thought out loud and she hummed in agreement.
"Agreed. Though I can't say I like this feeling." She said, flexing a hand as they walked.
"I know. I'm gonna recommend to Baa-chan this gas be destroyed. This is some scary shit." He said, rolling his shoulders.
"Well, it's not so much about it being bad but more about how it's used. It could be useful for things like quelling riots and missing-nin to reduce the danger." She spoke and he thought about that a moment.
"Yeah, I guess your right." He allowed and sighed. "I guess it's just ugh...bias, that's it, after having felt it."
"I understand completely, it's very...well, it makes you feel vulnerable in a way we just can't fathom." She informed and he nodded. However, he stopped and she saw why. They were finally at the edge of the jungle close to the resort.
"We'll have to keep quiet from here on out. Which Handsign patterns do you know?" He asked.
"Well, I know the standard, our team's variant, and Anbu."
"Anbu it is then. Let's use the jungle as much as we can to get close before we try to get to the docks. Sound good?" He spoke and she nodded. Retreating back into the jungle a bit, they turned and heading northwards more towards the docks, moving quietly and swiftly, though the actions were a little clumsy and sluggish if they were honest.
They ran out of Jungle, but were decently close enough and looked around now. No one close in sight. Hinata was really missing her byakugan around this time now, But they edged out and quickly sprinted for cover. They saw the docks ahead, but their focus was on the check-in station where the shipping papers and schedule times would be. A look around showed a light guard on the docks and surrounding area. Sticking to their point of cover for the moment they kept their breathing calm and drew their kunai.
"Wait for the guards to make their next round then we rush for the next cover and then the station."
"Guards?" Hinata asked.
"Kill and cover. They might not send out a ship if they discover any bodies, but we can't risk being discovered." He stated and she nodded. They were silent then and when the guar nearest the docks started making his way away from the docks, they booked it. They closed in fast, keeping their eyes darting all around for anyone who might notice them. Darting from their second cover, they got to the check-in station and pressed themselves against the building.
Looking around, no one noticed them yet. They nodded to each other and went to the side door, opening it and stepping in.
"Hey Mako, what'cha need?" A voice came and they saw a man at a desk over papers. "Mako?" He called again and they acted quickly, grabbing the man, a hand over his mouth and blade to his throat.
"Scream and you're dead. Lie to us and you're dead. Anything else you do we don't like...well, you get the picture." Naruto informed the man who now nodded, feeling the blade against his throat. Hinata closed the door and looked over the desk of papers. "When's the next ship leaving out." He let up on pressure just a bit, pulling his hand just slightly away.
"T-tonight. Going for resupply." He quivered a bit and Hinata nodded, finding the shipping manifest for it.
"Next question. Did you know what was happening here? Them luring people, chakra users, to trap them and gas them?" He asked,
"Everyone did. We were all recruits and trained for this..." He said and Naruto quirked an eyebrow at this.
"...New recruit?" He asked and the man nodded. Naruto bit his lip and looked to Hinata. He noticed the subtle gesture of her hand into a sign and he sighed. "I'm sorry then." He said and covered his mouth, turning away from the desk and slitting the man's throat. He coughed, gurgled and went limp in his arms as he bled out onto the floor.
"Had to be done Naruto," Hinata said and Naruto sighed.
"I know... just never did like killing at all, even my enemies, especially if they are helpless. Fighting is one thing but like this... " He trailed off but didn't say anything else as he let the body down and then searched him for anything useful. He was a raw recruit with what they guessed was basic gear. A tactical vest which he gave to Hinata, some standard supplies like he found in his vest, a radio, knife.
"Anything else?" Naruto asked.
"Hmm, found a map with some details but doesn't look like much. Supply sheets detailing everything and distribution between the islands. Handscope with rangefinder, compass, lighter, and this?" She spoke, lifting up some kind of shorter barrel weapon, it was very short compared to his, with just a handle, one short barrel, and a trigger, she fiddled with it and found it broke open, where she saw a brass colored thing inside of it, looking around they found more of them so she grabbed them and latched it back into place.
"Take everything of use, those files could be useful to Baa-chan." He said and she nodded. Once they got everything, they checked the time and the departure time.
"They should be leaving soon Naruto," Hinata said, still in mission mindset.
"Yeah, let's go on and try to get on board." He said as he checked outside for any guards before he stepped out, followed by Hinata.
They quietly stepped away from the check-in station and made their way toward the ships, but kept going for cover behind crates and cargo to stay out of sight of guards. They finally reached the ship, but as they went for the boarding ramp, they heard a shout.
"The Fuck!? Someone killed the Recruit! Lock it down!" Both cursed and tried to rush for the boarding ramp, too far away from their cover to risk it, but the sudden movement drew attention to them.
"Over there, I see them. Trying to board the Yamato!" Came to another shout and suddenly they found lights on them.
"Naruto! We have to get out of here!"
"I know I know." He called and they both turned to rush back. However, soldiers were running down toward them and men coming off the ships. Both drew Kunai and shuriken throwing a hail of them at the oncoming soldiers, which took out a few of them, but not as many as before. They had the strange pipe weapons too and Naruto had an idea.
"Hinata!" He shouted pulling the weapon out and aiming it with two hands. The soldiers seemed surprised, evident by their shouts and sudden stopping and then he fired. The first thing he felt was the sound, it was loud like an explosive tag. But he felt the kick and loss of control as the weapon kicked back and nearly went flying, the curved ring guard on the handle flipped open and stayed in his hand though. But then he saw what happened as the soldiers were bleeding, holding obvious injuries. He blinked. "The hell?" He spoke, looking to the strange weapons.
"The kid's got an elites Repeater gun! How the fuck he get that!?" He heard but then grimaced, reminded where they are, he quickly tried to get the now named gun back in order, messing with the ring lever that wouldn't go back into place. However the forward movement opened something up and something popped out, looking like the thing in the gun Hinata had, and as he brought the lever back, he saw something else slid forward, looking like the thing that was ejected out the side of the gun, but now the lever was back where it should. So he leveled it and fired, holding tight this time, which held better and shot forward more of what it fired, little pellets he guessed.
Hinata having witnessed this, pulled out her own little gun, and aimed, holding tight and fired. But was surprised when she saw a...flare? The flare flew through and hit one man, setting him on fire and she swallowed, a little sickened by how he was going to die.
"Don't just stand there you fools, return fire!" They heard and ducked behind cover just as the men fired on them. Hinata had a harder time finding out how to reload hers but remembered how it broke open and then followed suit with reloading. The peppering of pellets on the crates stopped and they lifted up, firing again, Naruto firing three shots before the gun clicked and it just wouldn't fire anymore. Hitana had managed to just get one more off.
"Shit! It's got no more!" He called as he ducked behind cover again, Hinata did the same.
"Last one," Hinata called out, before raising up when it was safe and fired at a group. They, however, were near barrels that the flare hit.
The flare hit the barrel which had been leaking from pellet holes, and suddenly, the gas in them ignited and they blew, throwing the soldiers back, Hinata and Naruto were no exception. Naruto lost the gun he had, not that it mattered without ammo, as did Hinata. But the Dock on fire and soldiers dead, they had a limited window now.
"We gotta go go go!" He rushed, helping Hinata up and they ran hard through the debris ad flames of the dock before it fell in on them. They took off once past the flames and ran for all they were worth. But the explosion didn't go unnoticed as they came off the dock and could hear shouts of men ordering others and shouting. They'd been spotted again.
"Shit!" He cursed as they ran through the woods, but could hear them giving chase. They huffed as they rushed through the foliage and brush of the jungle, hearing the shouts and even gunfire as they now knew it, some pellets peppering the trees behind them. They rushed it that much harder, ducking and weaving through trees and bushes, jumping over rocks and logs, stepping through the streams.
"Damnit! If we had out chakra we could hake them easily!" They had to stop for a minute for breath, their muscles too used to the buffer chakra gave them.
"They're over there!"
"!?" Both Naruto and Hinata gasped as they were found so soon and gritted their teeth before they took off again, running for all they were worth. There was a gap of rocks in front of them and Naruto jumped it, barely making it, but Hinata didn't.
"Naruto!" She cried out as she grabbed onto the edge of the rocks trying to hold on. Naruto turned and reached back, grabbing her hands to pull her up, but he got a look down into the gap, it was slopped and climbable.
"By the rocks! The girl is stuck, we got them!" Came a rough shout and Naruto made a split second decision. Grabbing Hinata as best he could, he slid forward and let themselves fall into the gap. He hit the ground and crumbled on the uneven footing and off-center weight. Groaning as he hit his knees, he stood up as best he could. "They jumped in! Throw a grenade, the explosion will kill them." That was their only warning as they saw a rock-like thing thrown in, it dinged off the rock, but he recognized the explosion word easily enough.
Pulling Hinata around as he rushed, Hinata was protected, but h felt sharp pricks and piercings of pain in his back and as he was propelled off his feet, hitting and rolling the ground. Hinata screamed as she held onto him, but they hit the ground and he groaned in pain.
The newfound cave though groaned and rocks started to shift. "Hinata, get out of here," Naruto told her, feeling sharp jolts of pain from the back fo his legs and back itself, no doubt from debris thrown off from the explosion into his flesh.
"N-no! I'm not leaving you here!" She panicked, grabbing him over her shoulder as dust and small rocks started coming down over them. He groaned and tried to push her away, but the pain addled his mind and he was forced to comply with standing a Hinata pulled him up. "You are Naruto Uzumaki, you don't give up, and neither will I!" She spoke and he wanted to smile at that, but reality was a bitch like that.
"But we have no chakra, we're tired and the Cave is going to collapse, you can't carry me and get us out of here!" He argued.
"Watch me!" She challenged and started rushing it with his arm around her shoulders as she hauled him along, forcing him to step with her despite his pain to help make it easier for her. He seriously felt like shit, even when he was injured before it didn't feel this bad. He huffed and just tried to work through the pain, behind him though he could hear the shifting of more and more rocks, then crashes. Adrenaline spiked, he pushed off harder and willed himself to help her carry him.
He grabbed a rock to pull himself along to help her as she pulled him, rocks falling behind him. Gritting his teeth he could feel the bits of shrapnel and debris ripping and tearing where they struck him but he pushed through.
Hinata worked through her own fatigue and pain, against the struggle of pulling him along with her. She was scared, beyond scared. She didn't dare look behind her at the rocks that were cascading and falling behind them, she just willed herself forward. Naruto stumbled and fell, pulling her down with him. She gasped and huffed, but the adrenaline and fear of being crushed pushed her. "Naruto!" She screamed as she pulled him up and over her shoulders, he was barely even on his own feet now as she carried him, feeling a slick warmth on her shoulders, but she gave it no mind as she dug deep.
She ripped and clawed her way through the rocky tunnel, damn near running now as she carried her crush out of the crashing cave. Suddenly she saw light up ahead and felt ner energy as she rushed for it. "Come on, come on!" She pleaded her body as she took heaving ragged breaths, the slope going steeper, her feet sliding but she scrambled up and then tasted fresh air as she gripped the ledge and pulled herself and Naruto out of the collapsing cave tunnel.
She collapsed to the dirt under her feet away from the cave, safely away, hearing the crashing of stone and rush of air and dust from it.
Taking heaving deep lung-fulls of air, she felt her head spinning and vision going dark, but turned back to Naruto and got her first look at the damage. the back of his body was shiny red against his black clothes, she could see skin, cuts, burns, and damage that made her gasp and tear up. New adrenaline surging, she couldn't pass out here, not when he needed her. He was like this because he took that explosion for her, guarded her. She wasn't going to let this end him.
Pushing herself to get up, she went over to Naruto and wearily pulled him onto her back, carrying him as best she could and walked away from the Cave and into the jungle. Her drive was strong, but her body gave out as she fell forward, body weak. Her last vision that of someone running to them, kneeling by there side.
"Don't worry. I got you." The voice, older and masculine, spoke before it all went dark for her.
[Unknown]
Hinata's vision swam as consciousness started to return to her, blinking her eyes, the darkness started to bleed away and light returned, but her body felt pain. Groaning, she rolled to her side, looking around she saw she was in some kind of cave, light with fire. Reasoning returned slowly as she sat up, feeling just sore and fatigued. 'Where am I?' She thought to herself, but then a thought struck her 'Naruto!?' SHe looked about quickly and then saw a flash of blonde.
Naruto was on a cot of natural materials, face first, while a man kneeled by his side, she saw the man pull something from his back, a bloody piece of metal, that he dropped into a claw cup. "N-naruto!?" She panicked as she tried to rush to him, but her legs wouldn't carry her.
"Calm yourself girl. He'll live, but I have to take the shrapnel and debris out of his wounds, clean them before we can heal him." The older male spoke, moving to her and helping her to come over to him. She gasped seeing the detail of his wounds. "It looks like your friend took a frag grenade to the back, he's lucky to be alive." He said as he returned to his work.
Turning to the man, she saw he was first of all very tan, and very fit. Long matted and knotted brown hair came down from his head, tinged with grey and a full beard on his face, though only a little thick, but filled with more grey, accentuated the wrinkles he had in his skin. He had indigo eyes that spoke age and experience. She watched him work removing pieces of metal and sharp rocks from the explosion and she felt her heart starting to break.
"We were running...I fell and he caught me. They threw that thing at us and he pulled me in front of him and turned just as it exploded. The cave was collapsing and he was losing strength. I had to carry him out...Please...Help him." She cried and he looked at her, giving her a soft smile.
"I can't. But we can." He said, grabbing her attention. "He's bleeding fast and will need medicine. I can make it but I don't have the plants I need to do that." He said, removing another piece of shrapnel. "You two seemed to have lost a lot a gear if your torn vests and pouches are anything to say. So take my bow, there are many predators on this island. I need you to go out and find three very specific plants alright. I need a good bundle of each. My journal over there has pictures of what they look like." He said, pointing a blood-covered finger where it lay at.
"The plants needed are on pages 12, 19, and 23, make sure you read the passages because there are look-alikes that are toxic. Go." He told her and she nodded, her aches and pains gone, but she took one last look at Naruto who was still passed out and the wounds on his back as she turned, grabbing the bow and journal and heading out of the cave.
The man sighed, looking at the girl as she left before turning to the boy. "Quite the mess this is turning out to be, but maybe you two can do what I couldn't." He said as he continued cleaning the boy's wounds.
[Hinata]
Outside, the day was bright and she held a hand to her face as the sun graced her eyes brightly. she had the moment to take a hard look at herself and the man was right, they had lost a lot of gear. Well, she did anyway. She could see her coat was ripped to shreds, exposing the shirt and slightly torn vest she had on under it. the pants she wore was a bit torn, but not bad. Seeing as her coat was shredded, he pulled it off and dropped it outside the cave so it wasn't in her way.
Taking the bow, a weapon she was only mildly familiar with thanks to weapons training at the academy, she trekked out from the cave using the Journal to track down these plants. The paths were rough, game trails, but according to the journal entries on the plants she was looking for, it's exactly the way she had to follow. She didn't waste time looking around, mission-focused, she tracked down the plants until she had sufficient bundles of each, cutting them from their stalks, stems or roots with her flat kunai knife, storing them in one of her empty pouches before going to the next and then the last.
Nodding to herself, she started making her way back to the cave, but a sense of something made her stop. Pulling the bow out, she breathed and looked around. 'Something... doesn't feel right.' She thought, nocking an arrow and looking around. She was proven right when out of the underbrush she heard a low sound, maybe a growl, before someone darted out at her.
She barely managed to dodge out of the way, righting herself she caught sight of what was attacking her. It looked like some kind of dog, it growled at her, but then she heard two more growls. 'More!' She pulled back her bow and stepped back a few steps and looked around, sighting two more... When the first once made to dash at her again, she loosed her arrow, the dog taking it to the shoulder, and the other two rushed her.
Drawing her knife as one jumped at her after dodging the other, she struck with the knife and it sank into its chest, where it bled out quickly. Knocked down though, she pushed it off and rolled over, seeing the last one bare its teeth at her. "I can't waste time with you." She mumbled and threw the blade, the knife finding purchase in its head. She breathed and quickly retrieved the knife and arrow.
She rushed back for the cave, where she found the man with Naruto finishing cleaning his wounds over his body, having torn away from his clothes as he needed to get to his back and back of his legs, though there was a cloth over his midsection for his decency, apparently no injuries there. But now that the dirt, grime and old blood was wiped away, she could see the wounds while bad weren't so horrendous as she first thought.
"You have the plants?" He asked and she nodded, handing him the pouch and he took it, looking inside and nodding. "Good, this will be more than enough. Do you know anything about first aid?" He asked and she nodded.
"A bit. I have a few balms with me that might help for blood clotting and prevent infection." She said, pulling the 3 balm and cream containers she had in one pouch. The man nodded, taking all three and with a mortar and pestle, began to crush the plants to make the medicine.
"This will go far. Did you run into any trouble?" He asked as he continued the work.
"three wild dogs." She spoke and he nodded. He reached over and grabbed a large leather sack, tossing it to her.
"Bring them back, then skin and gut them, He'll need food for when he wakes up." He ordered and she complied. She followed through with the order precisely and efficiently, the work giving her something to focus on aside from Naruto's injuries. She still didn't know who this man was, but she wasn't going to argue with him if he was helping Naruto.
By the time she finished her task, dealing with the guts by taking them out deeper into the woods to dump and buried just to be safe. Setting the meat to cook on a firepit she set a fire at, she finally allowed herself to calm and let her mind catch up with everything. Byt this time she found a large clay bowl put beside her filled with water, a rag sitting in the water. Looking up she saw the man from earlier beside her.
"Go on and wash up, He's still out of it, but the wounds have all be cleaned, medicine applied and wounds stitched. He just has to rest and heal now." He told the girl as he took a sat by the fire. She looked at him, before she nodded, taking the damp rag and starting to wipe away the sweat and grime from her own body, the exposed skin anyway, then finding the water turning red, she remembered how much Naruto bled on her...
"Excuse me, sir. But who are you?" She asked, finally having the chance to ask.
"Name's Hamon. You?" He asked.
"Hyuga Hinata, of the Hyuga clan of Konoha."
"Hyuga...Konoha. Ain't that them ninja stuff?" He asked and she nodded. "Why in the world did you have so much trouble then? Aren't you all supposed to be able to do a bunch of things with that chakra of yours?" He asked and she sighed.
"We can...but they did something to us to suppress our chakra." She spoke looking at her hand and he hummed.
"Well, Miss Hyuga-"
"Hinata, is just fine, please." She spoke, not really wanting formality right now.
"Hinata then. I think you best explain to me what happened to you two. I heard all kinds of chaos the next island over." He asked and she nodded, explaining everything that's happened thus far since getting the invite, to the first day, meeting Naruto and his sensei, then the attack. What Naruto told her and their attempt to get the word out, then to the chase and rush through the cave tunnel here. After she explained everything, now feeling cleaner and better, she looked at Hamon who sighed.
"So they're finally starting."
"Mr. Hamon?" She asked.
"Just Hamon is fine. But what I mean is, I had an idea something was happening, just not the scope or full details." He told her. "I've been stuck on these islands for Roughly 7 years now. I was originally brought in for my expertise in electronics, radios, that sort of thing. I was working on helping set up their communication lines, thinking the resort was going to use all the islands for tourist attractions. However, I was a little too good at my job and got the equipment set up ahead of schedule and overheard radio chatter about some of their plans. Being the idiot I was, I made a few comments about it and for my trouble, I got knocked out and captured, used for...experiments." He spoke, sighing.
"They're making some kind of super soldiers, what they did to me. Made me stronger and faster, despite my age I've ever felt better. I managed to get free of what they made me and when I tried to escape the island, well..." He pulled aside his cloth vest, showing a scar on his left side, long, looking like from a blade. "They guard the docks everything very well, I had no training so I had no way to even begin to make any progress getting off the island. With what you told me, it sounds like they've gotten better and made new kinds of weapons if this is the final part of the plan."
"But that's... Kelim he said he'd get now fight chakra wielders, but the wait it sounded." She spoke looking worried.
"It's more than just fighting you. He wants to get rid of them it seems. This was their test to make sure it works properly, on powerful shinobi it sounds like." He stated and looked to Naruto. "Your friend Naruto, if what you said is true, then he must be really powerful to have lasted the longest as he did." He said and she nodded, smiling slightly. Physical strength, maybe not, but she knew no one more driven than him.
"He is...but he took that grenade for me. It's my fault."
"No Hinata, he chose to do that. It's not your fault at all, no one can help what an enemy does. In his mind no doubt he was just focused on keeping you safe in a bad situation and you more than helped him the same way by not letting him get crushed, by ignoring his plea for you to leave him like he asked. You got both of you out of there, where anyone else would have buckled under him. You two already show you'd go the distance for each other. It's no wonder you've got a crush on him." He chuckled at that last part and she blushed a deep blood red.
"B-but, it's not!? Its, its." She was a stuttering blushing mess now and Hamon just grinned at her.
"It's okay Hinata, calm down. Sorry for teasing just... well, been on my own for years now so couldn't help a little playing." He said with a grin. "And it's obvious with the way you fret over him, to push yourself so hard for his sake, even going out into a jungle to look for plants where predators are rampant, without your chakra stuff and just a bow and a few blades, to get him what he needs." He informed her and she went quiet, not able to deny that. "Does he know though?" He asked.
"n-no." She spoke, shaking her head and he sighed.
"He will give it time. But coming out and being honest with your feelings for him may help." He tased a little just to see her blush a bit more. "Anyway, with everything you told me, that's their plan. I can't be sure when they're going to execute it, but it's going to be soon... Hell will come to the Nations if Kelim's forces are allowed to reach the mainland." He stated, turning the meat and she looked down in thought.
"We can't let it come to that." She spoke and he nodded.
"I know. I still have family on the mainland, no idea how they're doing though, but I don't want them to suffer like this madman is planning."
"But what can we do? I mean you don't have any formal combat training, and we... we're realizing how dependent we were on our chakra before. With it, all of this would have been easy, but without it, we were basically useless."
"Not so. You got pretty far considering. But that's just the thing, you have the skills, where before you had the energy to enhance them, now you have to adapt them to your new limits. Before you can take on any of the soldiers, you need to adjust and adapt, both of you. I can't learn the skills I'll need fast enough, but I can do my best with what I do have and what I picked up for my own survival over the years stuck on this island." He told her.
"Both of us? But he's injured." She spoke, looking back to Naruto who hadn't moved.
"He is, but he's healing. Fast, took me by surprise honestly once I cleaned all of his wounds, made the medicine, mixing all of the balms and creams with the plants I had. The wounds were practically wanting to close, so when I put the medicine on him and stitched them, they held tight. I dare say a day or two and he'll likely be fully healed, cuts, burns, all of it."
"Really?" She asked surprised. She knew he healed fast and her medicines helped sped it along, but that fast?
"Really. In the meantime, there's a little stream close to here, get cleaned completely. Here." He said, tossing her a few spare clothes, pieces of fabric, and small pouch. "To change or fix any damages. Also, dress lighter, the jungle will sap your stamina if you're in such heavy blacks." He told her, motioning to his strapped sandals, long shorts and loose vest he wore.
She nodded, taking his advice and going to the stream. Honestly, she was worried, but now the status quo has changed. Instead of escape, it was prevention and combat. That in mind, she thought over what was necessary and grimaced. She and Naruto would be doing a lot more killing then. They couldn't escape, no doubt the docks were locked down tight and carefully guarded, and from what she gathered, that was the only dock with boats that could make the full trip to the mainland.
Once at the stream, she looked around, missing her Byakugan again for the umpteenth time, but felt safe enough to bathe, so she stripped down and waded into the cool water. Taking a rag, she started to clean her body and sighed at the cool water on her skin Her thoughts turned to Naruto, remembered how only a cloth kept his decency and she blushed and thought to her own naked form... Should she confess to Naruto? She wanted to, but could she? She bit her lip thinking about it, but banished the thought, she'd think on this later.
She finished cleaning and tending to her Hygiene needs, before turning to the clothes and making the modifications she needed. Dressing in her undergarments first, then the pants were cut into long shorts just below the knee, sewn for a sturdy hem, strapped sandals, the sleeves of her long sleeve low cut shirt she wore under her coat was cut off, leaving her in a sleeves shirt that clung to her body, forgoing the mesh she wore under the shirt altogether, she didn't tuck the shirt though. She resecured the thigh holsters to her legs. Belt was attached that held her pouches and gear, attaching the knife holsters proper. She looked fit and ready.
She scavenged what she cold from the vest, deciding against the vest now since it was torn. Her gear was in bad shape, she lost some of their supplies during the tumbles in the cave, Naruto no doubts losing a lot himself, she gathered everything up, deciding to see split up the equipment as needed between them.
Heading back to the Cave, she saw Hamon tending to the fire and cutting the mat to play into clay bowls, the meat of the three wild dogs was cooked finally. In another bowl, he had a few wild vegetables and leafy greens, and thankfully cups of fresh water.
"You're back, and looking far better than before. Some food and rest and you'll be ready to get started."
"Thank you. But what do you mean by 'started'?" She asked ad he smiled at her.
"Started in training you in what I can and help you to adapt and grow into your skills and get new ones. I may be old, but I'm excellent with a bow if I do say so myself and I think you may benefit from the bow, while from the sounds of it, Naruto may prefer staying up close, so I have something special for him when he's ready. We can't let the soldiers leave this island, so the learning curve is going to steep for both of you before you have to get back out there. Understand?" He asked her and she nodded.
"Hai!" She called and he nodded.
"Good. Now eat and sleep, set the equipment in the corner of the Cave with the rest, we can deal with it all later." He finished and she nodded, eating her portions while she looked up to the now twilight sky.
'I always did like sunrises better than sunsets, no matter how beautiful the setting sun colors the sky.' She thought to herself as she finished her meal, going into the cave and setting the gear off to the side. She sat by Naruto a while who was sleeping soundly now, his wounds newly bandaged, a rough blanket covering his body though he still laid stomach first so he didn't reopen his wounds. She ran a hand through his messy, longer locks of hair. She honestly liked his hair a little longer than he kept it at, maybe even longer depending on how it looked.
But feeling her fatigue come back, she got up and made her way over to the little bed Hamon made for her and laid down to sleep, tomorrow would be a new day.
[Next Day]
Hinata woke up late, her body honestly needing the rest and healing Rousing, she stretched and yawned a bit.
"Morning." Came a rough voice that made her freeze and looks over to a smiling blonde who waved slowly to her.
"Naruto!" She called rushing to his side and hugging him, happy to see him awake finally.
"Easy easy, stitches still hurt!" He warned and she loosened her grip but stayed.
"I almost lost you..." She whispered and he sighed, smiling down at her.
"Well, you didn't, and I have you to thank for that as I hear." He chuckled slightly but groaned at feeling his body resist every movement. "So, thank you, Hinata." He spoke with a smile that just lit up her world. She smiled back at him, her eyes were tearful but she didn't care.
"My my, you just woke up and you're already all over him. Should I leave for a little while to let you two have your time together?" Asked the older voice of Hamon who was at the Cave entrance smirking as he teased the two teens who instantly blushed.
"Hey hey! What's the big idea huh?" Naruto asked the man who chuckled and shook his head.
"Oh, nothing." He placated, but then sighed as he stepped in, kneeling down a bit.
"It's good you're awake now Hinata. I just finished something for you." He said, holding out his hand wherein it was a bow. "Granted I've been working on this mainly as a time waster and possible replacement to my current bow, but you'd benefit from it more than me. It's a recurve self-bow. Took me a few years to figure out the best overall design and how to carve it. It might not be as good as the professionally made bows the soldiers might use for hunting, but it gets the job done. Once it's broken in properly I can upgrade it for ya. Give it a try."
Taking the bow, she held it in her hands and marveled at how well made it was. Truly Hamon was an expert in his craft. The balance felt good. It was made from all one single piece of wood, carved into the recurve shape. She saw that it was made for universal use, an arrow notch carved out both sides of the top of the handle. Pre-strung and ready to go, a basic bow, but very well made.
"Hamon... Thank you."
"Think nothing of it. Just use it well alright?" He asked and she nodded. "Good. Now I've already explained everything to Naruto here, he's agreed to the plan so far and what we'll need to do. Soon as he's healed and we get the stitches out, he can start training too, but you'll take more time getting familiar with that bow. For now, I got something just as special for Naruto, something I picked up from a soldier hunting on this island but got himself killed by a bear, I picked it up afterward." He said, reaching into his leather satchel and producing a weapon to hand to the teen boy.
Taking it, Naruto saw it was an ax, but not just any kind of ax. On a straight wooden hand with a swell on the bottom and a nice sized hole in it for cord or head as different that he'd seen before, the blade had a top and bottom spike, both of which were double-edged and sharp, top and bottom, though the edge near the haft was flat and rounded for safe-grip. On the other end of the head was a hammer that promised pain. But the overall size was smaller than he expected, it could be held with one hand. He twirled it around in his hand once to feel the weight of it, he felt he liked it.
"Now that ax is called a Tomahawk, you can use it like an ax, you can also throw it. The three sharp edges let you get creative with how you use it. Obviously, the hammerhead on the pole can be used for nails, locks...heads." He suggested and Naruto snorted a bit. That was easy to figure out. "I've used it a bit, the head is pressure fit, so even if you break the haft, just carve a new one and slide it on until it stops then tighten it up and you're good to go again. Not bad eh?" He asked and Naruto nodded, he liked this a lot. "Good, now you've got weapons you can use since you lost some of what you had, we can figure out the rest of your equipment. From what you recovered or I already had."
"Let's see. A map of the four islands, By the way, you're on the largest Island right now, they let this island alone since it has the most predators and use this island for most of their live-fire training, maybe some hunts, that underground tunnel you came through connected the islands. Anyway, I've marked a few locations that I know of on your map so you can navigate more easily."
"Next, a compass, that hand scope, zippo lighter, two radios plus my own, I'll be able to configure those for you with the radio equipment I've snagged over the years. Several of them flat kunai knives, one big knife. Your kunai and shuriken holsters, mostly intact, pouches, some stuff missing but you got spools of that strong wire, some pills I don't even have the foggiest idea what's what." Here Hinata was smacking her own head forgetting the blood pills. "Some other things. Pouches, holsters, things of that nature. Finally, with those creams, balms, and herbs, I was able to make more ointment than needed, I added a few extra things to help enhance the efficiency and cover a few more potential uses for it, so it'll make a good on the move first aid ointment."
"Most of our things are in a cave tucked away on the first island," Hinata said and Naruto nodded.
"It's likely you won't be getting back there for a while. They're on heavy guard after your attempted escape no doubt. Kelim, as I've learned, is cautious and will make sure his plan will move, so while your attempt will have delayed things, it won't be for too long. For now, use the delay and them thinking your dead to heal, train and get ready."
"That's all good, but... well, our chakra did give us an edge. Do you know anything about the gas they used?" Hinata asked and Naruto seemed to be thinking about that.
"Can't say I do. If it does what you described, you'll have to go without chakra." Hamon said but Naruto spoke up.
"Maybe not..." He thought out loud and Hinata looked at him curiously. "Well, that gas may suppress our chakra, totally suppress it. But it doesn't cut us off from it. If it did, we'd be dead since chakra is our life energy. Just going with common sense, but it may have been suppressed to such a level that we just can't use it anymore like we used to, but it should still be there."
"So what are you thinking Son?" Hamon asked.
"You see Ero-Sennin, Jiraiya, has me learning fuinjutsu, the sealing arts. I'm not the best at it yet but I know my stuff for the things I've learned so far. There's a particular type of storage seal called a blood meal, it needs no chakra from the person who wants to use it because it has a seal that gathers ambient chakra, either what we radiate ourselves, from animals, or even nature, to power it, you just need to swipe blood across it."
"I know those, they can be set to open only for specific bloodlines, like families," Hinata remarked and Naruto nodded.
"Right. Well, I could modify that chakra siphoning seal to collect our own chakra from our bodies slowly over time that we can then use as we need. It might not be much at first since it'd be something I've never tried before, but I should be able to make it work. Along with several storage seals to carry everything so we're not constantly burdened by weight."
Hinata smiled but seeing him frown she wondered why. "Naruto? What's wrong." She asked.
"Well, for this to work I'm going to need a fine hair brush, the hairs have to be long and very fine, good ink, some of our blood. But more than that... that seals will have to be applied directly to the body, where we want to use chakra at, with whatever in our system, I don't want to chance to make a useless seal on your back if the chakra it gathers can't reach your hands or feet, so it'll have to be applied on the wrist and ankles or anywhere else you want to use chakra. I know from Sakura and Ino that girls like to keep there looks so..."
"Naruto, it's fine, I don't mind. This will help us, so don't worry, I'll be okay with this alright?" She spoke and he sighed, nodding, though she bit her lip. "So anywhere I want to use chakra?" She asked and he nodded again. "Then can you do it around the eyes too?" She asked and he looked up at her on that one?
"Are you sure? I mean this may become permanent." He asked and she nodded.
"I'm sure. My byakugan is too valuable a tool not to use, it if makes me stronger again, then I want it. I don't want what happened last time to happen again...it got you hurt." She whispered and he felt his heart tighten seeing her sad like that. He reached out, despite how the action hurt and put a hand t her shoulder.
"Hinata. I don't blame you for what happened, sure it sucks that I'm out of commission for a little while, But I always heal fast, even now. I heard those men say that grenade would explode, you were closest to it, I didn't want you to die." He told her and she smiled at him. "If it's what you want, then I can do that. Though I might be able to mask the Fuinjutsu with some kind of design, like a tattoo, I'll be doing it for mine so think of what you want yours to look like okay? For the forehead and around the eyes, wrists, ankles, and likely the forearms and shins. But we need those supplies first before I do anything."
"That we can take care of. There's some drawing stuff in here so you design this seal or whatever and heal up. Eat, you need to rest before you do anything strenuous, healing fast or not. I'll take Hinata with me to hunt our Dinner and an animal with the right kinds of hair for a brush and several plants that may make a good ink. Alright?"
"Yeah, I got it. Just hate sitting around."
"Tough. You rip those stitches and I'll tear you a new asshole then stitch it back up. Hear me?" He threatened and Naruto just smiled sheepishly while nodding.
"Good... you know, this reminds me years back a guy I knew had these odd tattoo's he called Tatau, said they made him strong. Got them from some tribe on an island he was at."
"Did they?" Hinata asked, a little curious.
"No clue. Got himself killed by screwing with the wrong people at the wrong time for him. Probably got arrogant with his fancy tattoo's. Whether they did or not, just goes to show it's not what you carry or wear, but you under all of that makes it count, and you can screw up regardless of all that if you're not careful." He said and the two teens nodded. "But it seems appropriate to call them Tatau for their intended look and use doesn't it?" he asked.
Naruto thought it over for a moment and smiled. "I like that." He answered and Hamon nodded.
"Good. Now you work on what you can, design away, while Hinata and I are out doing the manly work."
"Hey!"
Hinata and Hamon cracked a smile, before giggling and chuckling respectively at the teen's indignant shout as they both filed out of the cave. "Here a quiver, for now, to hold your arrows, got all your gear from the pile?" He asked.
"Yes. I'm ready."
"Good, let's go then, I'll be teaching you how to hunt, track, stalk, shoot, and so on so be ready." He spoke and she nodded. They headed off into the woods together, bows at the ready, for now, she had Naruto's big knife as her go to blade if needed.
[Two Days Later]
The two days of hunting and training with Hamon paid off, as she managed to translate many of her prior skills to meet new needs and pair them with new skills, which as a tracking team member came easier to her. Use of the bow almost came naturally to her, in fact, she felt it served her better, though she would never admit that to her own family. Hamon taught how he fought with bows, knives and using the terrain, which made her ask why he didn't fight more and he answered guns.
Between the two they had gotten the supplies Naruto needed for his Sealing work, which he had already made a modified Chakra Siphon Seal and subsequent disguise method. It would start small at first, but he'd expand on it the more he experimented through trial and error in design and efficiency of the seal. Hamon had checked his wounds a day in and found it good enough to remove the stitches but to keep resting so the skin could strengthen and maintain stretch.
Naruto himself had gotten cleaned up with help from Hamon to the stream, then dressed in simple clothes until he was ready to get started himself. But he did practice a little with the tomahawk in the cave to get used to the movements and motions the blade used, pairing it with a knife in the offhand felt right to him.
Hamon had wired their three radios with neck and earpieces for subtle communication and managed to get the three radios on an encrypted channel, but they'd have to access radio towers as they went to patch into the towers so they could maintain contact the farther they went from Hamon and such.
The three had discussed their plan and agreed the first thing to do was they needed more information. That meant going to the second island as soon as they were ready and doing what they can to learn more about Kelim's plan, forces, operations, and how he ran things. A tall order, though hopefully made shorter with the return of some of their use of chakra.
That was another thing, he had finalized the design, it would be applied in stages and after it was applied, the disguising marks would complete the Tatau. With each stage, the effect would get stronger, and it had several circular areas that would serve as storage seals that could be accessed readily. Now they just had to apply them.
"You ready Hinata? Once I start I can't stop." Naruto asked and She nodded.
"Yes, n-Naruto. I'm ready." An ever so slight stutter still permeated her speech with Naruto, but Hamon told her after what she did for Naruto, why be embarrassed, and that made a lot of sense to the girl.
"Alright. I'll start with the forehead and eyes first alright?" A nod was his only answer as she closed her eyes, so he pushed back her hair. Exposing the blemish-free skin of her face and looking down at her, he blushed just slightly at how beautiful she is.
'Focus! Can't mess up here, you can admire later!' He told himself but stopped a second. 'The hell did that come from?' He thought but banished the thought for another time as he took his ink dish, swirling his brush in the ink made from plants and their blood, all three of them. No matter how suppressed, blood always carried chakra, and the blood would help it bind to the one who it belonged to. Hamon had donated his blood since his system wasn't suppressed so his blood may be richer in chakra than theirs at current.
Taking the brush, he started brushing the black symbols of Fuinjutsu, the script of sealers onto her forehead. She squirmed and giggled a few times, a sound he found melodic, as the brush tickled her skin. He did feel bad though remembering Neji. Here he was applying a seal to the forehead of a Hyuga to affect her eyes, and while it was to help her, it still felt hypocritical in a way. However, he had to remember she asked for this and it wasn't to harm her at all.
His concentration on his work, Hamon watched with some amazement at the level of focus and apparent skill the boy was showing. He had heard this was delicate and precision work, the sealing arts, but to see it in person was different. 'If only he had this kind of focus when looking at the girl he may have noticed by now.' Though he kept that thought to himself as he continued to watch.
"That's finished," he said sighing as he grabbed a mirror Hamon had scavenged and handed it to her. Hinata took the mirror and looked at the work, smiling. He had disguised the seal as three perfect dots set between the eyebrows and ending right between the eyes on the high part of the nose with one between the two, it arced up slightly from there, over the eyebrows and then down around the eyes and hooking just slightly below them at the ends as two strips of flowing tribal style water and flora patterns, water being her chakra nature and flowers being something she found pleasing to look at. The overall effect was rather stunning and accentuated her eyes.
"It'll take a little while for the seal to settle, but once it does you should feel some activity of chakra to that area and be able to use it like you used to." He stated and she nodded. "Now, your wrists and ankles, please," he asked and she complied, letting him work on setting similar Tatau on the selected areas. Like her face tatau, the wrists and ankles had the same basic tribal style water and floral pattern strips that would act as the bottom layer base of her tatau, visually. The difference is though above that strip that encircled her wrists on top was a circled area, where inside was a single white lily, her personal favorite. This was the storage seal, and since it was connected to the chakra siphoning seal, basically only needed a thought and a touch to use.
"These while essentially identical to one another now will serve as the base for future applications to strengthen the tatau. Granted it'll only be for the hands, feet, seals eyes, nose, and ears." He said, getting Hinata' attention and he smirked a little at that. "But hopefully the gas will run it's course soon and be out of us. And yes you did hear me right. I figure enhancing other senses through enhancement would be useful, so I included that." He said and saw her smile at him.
"Thank you Naruto, they're lovely and just stunning. I never thought they'd make me look like this." She said, looking at her new tattoos, er... tatau. She seriously didn't see why more people didn't get body art.
"Well, now it's my turn." He said, taking the brush and charging it with the blood infused ink. She watched him work and was also amazed at his level of focus and concentration. Starting with his ankles first, she found his choice of base tatau was Tribal style same as hers, but of wind and spirals. The storage seal on top of his wrists was a spiral in a circle he connected to the rest. Though he did his right wrist last, and she understood why when he grabbed the mirror then started in on his own face.
She was amazed to see his skill to apply it to himself even in a mirror. His centerpiece between his eyebrows and top of his nose was three similar dots to her own, then the same tribal style flowing wind and spiral patterns over the eyebrows, down around the eyes and hooking just under them in a sharp ending. Of course this as all the script applied first and the design after that.
"Hamon?" he asked.
"I'm good. I'm not trained to use chakra so I doubt I'd be able to figure it out."
"Oh..well I thought it'd look good on you to have something at least," Hinata spoke and Hamon looked at her before sighing.
"Alright, guess I can get something then... Tell you what, can you do a sun and moon design in the style like yours?" He asked and Naruto nodded.
"Why those two?"
"Because they've always been the constant I've had while on this island." He stated and the two nodded, understanding that. So Naruto did just basic seals and tribal style flowing sun and moon patterns on his wrists and ankles. No storage seal, just him. The chakra he'd get would basically just help them when needed.
"Alright, seals are applied and set. I'm healed. Guess we start this tomorrow then?" He asked and the others nodded.
"Alright then, eat and sleep, tomorrow is a busy day."
[Next day]
Waking up wasn't a chore like it was before for Naruto. But as he roused he saw Hinata and Hamon weren't in the cave, but he found clothes there waiting for him and some leathers? Shrugging he changed once he got up and had some of the food set out for him.
Coming out, he was dressed in a red tight tank top, khaki long shorts, strapped sandals. He had a thick belt that he had several leather pouches attached to, gear webbing straps that his high holsters attach to and sinched around the thigh instead of bandages. several loops, holsters and such, an ax sheath, knife sheath. He had a leather suspenders lined with little loops, but most surprising was the buckle of his belt, his forehead protector, but it was blackened and dulled. The one thing that stayed unaffected was the green crystal necklace he got from Tsunade.
"Why'd you alter my stuff?" He asked a little perturbed.
"Because shiny metal reflects light and no need to reflect light off of your head." Hamon instantly answered and Naruto blinked a few times before scrunching up his face. He hated when he was right. "You'll understand the other modifications in time. For now, you two need to get going, what you're not keeping secured to your person, in the storage seals, right?" he asked, handing the two their radio equipment.
"Right," Hinata answered, dressed in her modified blacks, which accentuated her Tatau, but he also saw she wore similar gear webbing leathers, though she had a diagonal belt over he chest and back connecting at the belt again, left hip over right shoulder, so the quiver of arrows could sit proper. Her own forehead protector blackened and dulled as a belt buckle. Honestly, it worked better that way, the forehead protector would cover the...
'oooohhh, that's right, I forgot I had that now. Wouldnt want to cover that up.' He said, fingering his Tatau on his face. They had tested it last night and thankfully it worked, now they just had to get skilled at using their chakra this way and with limits. Taking the radio, he fixed the neck choker and radio to his belt, attaching the cable to his left suspender and earpiece in his left ear. Hinata doing the same pretty were grabbing their weapons and gearing up now as they listened to Hamon.
"Alright listen. I'll guide you around the island until we get to the area where I have a small boat hidden away. You two will use that to cross over to the second island directly across from us. It's the second largest island and it's where Kelim has all his military and other such business set up. We're on the third and the largest island right now. The second smallest, the first is where you came from with the resort, while the fourth and smallest is Kelims home island and personal fortress. I'll get the radio towers on our island fixed up and us patch in. But you'll have to do that on the other islands as you come across them to maintain radio contact with me. I'll be using another radio to monitor the other channels to help relay important information to you two. Gather information once you learn enough, we'll move on from there to establish our plan."
"Most likely it's either to escape or put a stop to all of this," Naruto commented and Hamon shot him a glare.
"True as that may be, it's the specifics I'm worried about that will either keep you two alive or get you killed, so pay attention to those won't you?" He asked the boy who scratched the back fo his head. "Hinata, you're the sensible one, keep him in line."
"Hey!"
"I'll do what I can." She giggled while Naruto Pouted.
"I can't even begin to say how dangerous this is going to be, but this has to be done. So you two cooperate and watch each other's backs, smarter not harder, you're trained shinobi, you have the tool, skills, and experience. Not put them to use... Ready?"
"Ready." The two called and Hamon nodded.
"Let's go." He said and lead the two into the jungle to get started.
Well, tell me what you think in a review.