Disclaimer: All respective characters and settings belong to their respective franchises.
"A trip?" Shikamaru said in an utterly deadpan manner. "On Saturday?"
"Yeah," Naruto affirmed smoothly, finishing his first Tempeh sandwich, with shredded red cabbage, carrots, daikon, and wasabi paste, the slices of the roasted tofu extra thick on top of a spread of cottage cheese.
"Will we be bringing any food?" Chōji asked, who was eating the same chicken and egg salad sandwich Shikamaru was, both their mothers deciding to share recipes.
"Duh," Naruto replied, reaching into his lunch box to fish out another one of the large sandwiches – four in total. "What kind of camping trip would it be without food?"
Chōji shrugged at the no-brainer. Naruto continued, "It'll just be us dudes roughing it in the woods anyway. We'll fish, hunt, and maybe even fight bears. You know, manly stuff."
The mention of bears yielded a gratified hum from Chōji, licking his lips after biting into a large chunk of his sandwich; it being his fourth helping out of eight. "That bear chankonabe we had last week was delicious."
"Hell yeah, it was!" Naruto exclaimed in agreement. "Oton really went all out on that."
"And he did it in the Akimichi style too," Chōji added, the dish served in an extra large pot that was enough for at least ten people, with the rotund boy eating a major share of it.
A little into his meal, Naruto's gaze wandered idly, observing many of his classmates going about their business, the only thing out of the ordinary being the wide berth around where they were seated. Since the other day, his usual naysayers had been keeping their distance. In the instances that he had to interact with someone other than his friends, usually due to class activities, they would avoid looking him in the eye or speaking only when spoken to, and in a more subdued tone. Gone were the usual jeers and insults, other than from Kiba, who seemed to have only grown more abrasive as well as fiercely competitive with the blonde.
With Sakura, the girl was still very much shaken over what she had witnessed that fateful day, doing her best to ignore him as much as possible when he tried initiating any sort of contact, such as a simple greeting.
Physical Education after the morning period was without any of the previous drama, thanks to Masa keeping everything strictly civil and professional, or as much as students like Kiba could be when he wasn't front and center during sparring. As expected, Naruto breezed through the obstacle course like nothing, setting a new record for future generations to (hopefully) overcome. The only one who came at a close second was Sasuke, a complete 180 in what had been an unwritten hierarchy.
What many found to be unexpected, however, was the Uchiha's surprising lack of interest in competing with the Uzumaki, as if he had no issue with someone else threatening to claim Rookie of the Year. He even declined the opportunity to spar with Naruto the following day, Friday. Naruto himself found it odd, and still a bit disappointing, but pushed away any further issues on the matter by being preoccupied with schoolwork under the watchful guidance of Bokomon. Outwardly, however, the dynamics between them had hardly changed.
Shikamaru turned to him, having already finished with his lunch. "So, are we packing light?"
Naruto met his gaze, and there was a subtle exchange between them. "As much as you can carry," he said. "Just be sure to rendezvous at my place since...well, I tend to sleep in late."
"Of course." Shikamaru agreed dryly.
Their conversation petered out into some mindless small talk. The two heirs knew right away what the situation really was, of course; they were going to the Digital World.
Their fathers had been the ones to break the news to them after an emergency meeting with the Hokage, half-wondering if they had also planned it out as if they were embarking on an actual mission.
Travelling to another world.
Mulling it over, it still felt terribly unbelievable, the thought honestly leaving them feeling anxious, though intrigued all the same.
"First quarter exams are next week," Shikamaru reminded them. "You think we can still study for it?"
"A lot of my free time is just me studying," Naruto half grumbled to him. "Why? Scared you'll lose?"
There was a flash of confusion on the Nara heir's expression before the memory of their silly little bet arose. "I'm surprised you still remember that."
"Hey, you were the one who proposed it," Naruto reminded him with an impish grin. "Not that I really care anymore."
"You're only saying that now because of-" Shikamaru stopped midway from the subtle but sharp glance Naruto shot at him, quickly remembering that the tablet was strictly ranked under classified info. He and Chōji had been utterly blown away by the technological marvel when they first came to know of it, far beyond any game or terminal that was currently on the market. In recent days, whenever they were on break or at Naruto's place to hang out, they would often take turns at the tablet, with Bokomon even offering to make them their own, with custom colors and decals included.
This elicited some slight jealousy from the blonde, which earned him a light scolding from the scholar and amusement from the two.
"Will it just be the three of us?" Chōji couldn't help but ask.
"My uncle and Piyomon are gonna come along too," Naruto clarified, putting away his now empty lunch box. "He's gonna chaperone."
"Aw, isn't that sweet, you babies still need your diapers changed." A voice sounded from behind them. Peering over their shoulders up at a preceding row, the trio spotted Kiba reclining against his seat with his arms crossed behind his head, looking down at them smugly as he added loud enough for most of the room to hear, "Hey losers, I hear the first years are gonna be having a field trip to the petting zoo."
"Then why don't you go, Inuzuka?" Shikamaru asked with a roll of his eyes.
Kiba scoffed, shooting back, "Puh, me and Akamaru have been camping for longer than you pussies. Ain't that right, boy?"
Akamaru barked, trailing off with a snicker, as always comfortably snuggled within Kiba's jacket.
The three only furrowed their brows in annoyance before tearing their attention and time away from the boy. Friday was when they no longer had PE, so as to give the class some leeway from the rigors of the new curriculum, which meant that they would be out by noon.
After they left the school premises and were a good distance away from anyone that could have been within earshot, Naruto turned to the two, whispering, "My place, tonight." His two friends nodded as they went about their separate ways, making sure to be as inconspicuous as possible.
After passing his usual street and rounding a corner, Naruto sprinted the rest of the way home, eager to prepare, any reservations he had over the trip outweighed by a thrum of excitement that carried him the whole way. By the time he entered through the door, it was still the early afternoon, with Bokomon and Piyomon there to greet him in the living room, the both of them in the middle of sorting through various items, tools, and other necessities strewn about. Hours later into the evening, Anko arrived, dressed in her usual attire and carrying a plastic bag, having been let in by Bokomon.
"Hey Dango-neechan," Naruto greeted the woman as he was busily uploading the supplies into his D-Scanner. "What brings you here?"
"Mission control, Short Man. I'll be the one monitoring things from this side," Anko answered as she rummaged through the bag, fishing out a plastic bag of salted peanuts and tossing it to him. "Here, in case you get peckish."
Naruto eyed the small plastic bag that he had caught, replying haphazardly, "Uh, thanks." A little fat and protein for him to snack on for later. He laid it down next to some of the stuff that he was bringing along. A toothbrush, toothpaste, first aid kit, and his fully stocked weapon pouch, but with a distinct lack of storage scrolls. "Hey, Dango-neechan, check this out."
Naruto pressed a button on his Digivice, then aimed the sensor at a stack of freshly clean and folded clothes. Pressing a button again, the clothes vanished in a flash of pixels after being struck by a thin ray of light.
"So you're using your little gadget in place of a storage scroll, huh?" Anko opined, stepping next to the blonde, honestly impressed at how versatile the little handheld kept revealing itself to be. "What else can it do? Wash your dishes?"
"Oh you ain't seen nothing yet," Naruto told her excitedly as he pressed another combination of buttons. In the next instant, there was a quick flash of pixels that seemed to wash over the Uzumaki's form barring his head, taking the kunoichi aback, which soon faded to reveal the blonde; previously dressed in just a simple white shirt and black boxers, now wearing a short sleeved orange jacket with black sleeves and orange pants.
It was indeed nothing Anko had ever seen before other than shinobi who were fast enough to make a quick change, and unlike a transformation jutsu, this one couldn't be dispelled, letting out a whistle as she brushed the tips of her fingers across the fabric to confirm if it was real, before saying, "Talk about instant wardrobe. Maybe I could get this dang thing to do the same." She brandished her own Digivice -V- at him.
Naruto shrugged, replying, "Maybe." He pressed the same button combination again, and after another flash of pixels, he was back to his shirt and boxers. "With this, I won't even need a bag."
"Except for me," Bokomon piped up from where he was seated on the floor, his arms folded over his chest as he was going over his own supplies and provisions, a knapsack next to him half full. "You can never be too prepared in the Digital World."
An hour further in the preparations, Chōji and Shikamaru arrived with their fathers, popping in using Shunshin to mask their arrival. Both boys were carrying large knapsacks, with Naruto barely able to suppress a chortle upon seeing them.
"What's so funny?" Shikamaru asked the blonde in an annoyed manner, prompting the Uzumaki to ask if they brought their own D-Scanners. The Nara heir fished out his own Digivice from his pocket, dangling it in his grasp. "Here."
"Mine too," Chōji chimed in, having drawn out his as well.
Naruto was only too eager to demonstrate one of the D-Scanner's functions, which; contrary to what he was expecting, didn't do much to surprise them. "What, did you really think we wouldn't try these babies out?" Shikamaru asked pointedly, before doing the same and switching between clothes, deflating the blonde's smugness in the process.
Chōji brandished his own D-Scanner gleefully, exclaiming, "I've filled mine with loads of food." He demonstrated by pressing a combination of buttons, revealing large bags and parcels filled with potato chips, rations, and protein bars appearing on the floor in a flash of pixels.
Shikaku and Chōza watched the boys bicker and banter, amused, thinking back to the time after their sons received their D-Scanners and how the marvelous technology had taken them by storm. Doing a series of tests whenever possible, they could never get the miraculous devices to work in their hands, but with their children, it was the opposite, denoting them as being the rightful bearers. From there, the tests ranged from durability to versatility, the storage function more than invaluable to them as shinobi, but most especially in the convenience of changing clothes on the fly, as it could help them blend in more seamlessly if there was ever a need for it.
Chōza decided to try an experiment right up his alley, as storage scrolls, while convenient, didn't preserve perishables if left for long enough periods. With much reluctance, he chose for that day a slice of his wife's freshly baked extra moist chocolate cake. Father and son fought back tears as they conducted the test, but the sacrifice paid dividends in the end, to their amazement and disbelief, as not only was the cake; after leaving it well for over two weeks in storage, not only still fresh, but the quality of its taste didn't change. After some time observing, Chōza didn't experience any ill effects after careful sampling to see if bacteria and microbes had grown.
Questioning Bokomon on the matter, he told him, "Data doesn't go bad. That's what the cake, or really, any item gets turned into when you store it in the D-Scanner."
This automatically opened to them a slew of possibilities, the D-Scanner itself now even more of an indispensable tool for their children when they were to be fully fledged Genin.
"Well now, I hope I didn't come too late," Hiruzen announced from the door, sensing the excitement in the air, with Kakashi close behind him.
"Nope. You're just in time, Jii-chan," Naruto replied loudly from the living room. "We're still in the middle of packing."
"You mean you are," Shikamaru corrected the blonde, but nonetheless placed his own bag down to double check, as did Chōji.
Naruto ignored him, deciding he didn't want to be left out as he started loading the remainder of his things into his own knapsack.
Anko was by the computer, booting it up. It still didn't feel real to her, and she honestly found herself perplexed at how seemingly nonchalant everyone was about this affair. This wasn't a field or camping trip, this was a mission that had the high chance of everything going wrong. Her earliest C and B Rank Missions with her team carried more tension.
"So, who's gonna be the lucky stooge coming along for the ride?" Anko asked them, her back to the others as she was prepping the program.
Kakashi strode up behind her. "Me."
Shikaku, Hiruzen and Chōza exchanged glances and then nods. The Jōnin Commander stepped forward, declaring, "It's going to be me, actually."
Shikamaru paused as he was zipping up his bag, eyes widening in total surprise, but remained silent. The same sentiment was shared between his friends. "Sir?" Kakashi sounded, turning to his superior. This felt rather sudden, and it could be felt all around.
Shikaku proceeded to explain himself, "Believe me, I wouldn't have volunteered if circumstances were different, but beside there being a…personal element in the decision, there's also the unignorable topic of intel. We are literally diving into unknown territory, and while we've managed to glean much from Bokomon, much of it is still only secondhand. For that, I'd rather have the up close and personal experience to make a more solid assessment and, hopefully, convey my findings when all is said and done."
"I can gather intel just fine," Kakashi argued, though he had a feeling that he would lose out.
"And we have a front row seat to the show," Anko added, swiveling to face them, arms folded under her chest, a leg slung over the other. "We can still watch them just fine from here."
"Be that as it may," Shikaku paused to take a deep breath, knowing how inappropriate he was already coming off. Mixing personal with work was always an unwritten faux pas. He looked to his son, who returned his gaze unflinchingly.
"We can at least be impartial here," Chōza proposed, playing mediator. "What do you boys think?"
Naruto and Chōji both turned to Shikamaru, feeling like he had a bigger appeal for this than them. "Let him come," the boy stated in his usual dry tone.
"You sure, dude?" Naruto asked, to which the other boy nodded.
"If my old man wants in on the fun, it's no skin off my back," Shikamaru replied lazily, with some impatience sprinkled in to get this over and done with.
"I assure you that this decision was after very careful consideration, Shikamaru-kun," Hiruzen added, which was true, as the meeting took well of an entire 24-hours, and it would have taken longer had they not been strapped for time. He nodded apologetically to Kakashi, who hadn't been priorly informed because of the constraints from their respective schedules. The man could do nothing but shrug at being benched, reckoning that he could still keep tabs on the perimeter.
But also because he was, to his chagrin, still feeling the effects of Seiko's training with his now fellow Jōnin in preparation for the invasion.
As Naruto changed into the attire he showed Anko earlier, Chōji approached him, saying, "Hey, Naruto."
The blonde looked up at the rotund boy from still fiddling with his D-Scanner. "Hm?"
"What was it like?" Chōji asked, adjusting the strap of his knapsack, his smile belying anxiety. "I mean, when you…you know."
Naruto blinked, trying to remember what it was like when he first entered through his computer screen, or rather, was sucked into it against his will.
"All you really need to know is this, Chōji," Naruto told him firmly. "No matter what, just hang on tight. Real tight. That goes for you guys, too." He threw a look at the Nara pair, as Shikaku was making some last minute preparations with his son.
"Uh," Chōji blinked, getting something of an idea of what they were in for. "Okay," he nodded, letting out a breath for his nerves. "Got it."
Anko was doing some final checks, before rolling aside to make way for Naruto, who looked through the screen to see if everything was in order. "Alright," he turned to regard not just his co-travellers, but everyone else in the living room, "you guys ready?"
"Are you?" Shikamaru shot back, earning an annoyed pout from the Uzumaki and a chortle from Chōji. The rest of the party shuffled closer to him, huddling together as they grabbed onto one another securely, Shikamaru and his father taking a shoulder each.
Naruto needed his hands free as he lifted up his D-Scanner to the monitor. "Here goes nothing." There was a flash of light as soon as he said those words, his voice trailing off in a light echo as they disappeared, leaving only Hiruzen, Kakashi and Anko once again as the audience, with the addition of Chōza.
The kunoichi released a breath she didn't know she had been holding, watching as a window popped up on the screen showing the party flying through a familiar tunnel of light.
As Naruto had warned, Chōji held on tightly, but he was nonetheless struggling to by latching on to Piyomon as they were zooming through a seemingly endless pathway of light, upheaved from the apartment in such a sudden manner that he nearly loosened his grip.
Words truly could not do justice to describe the experience, but not for long as they seemed to finally reach the end, passing through an exitway, but the wonder did not cease there, as they were now treated to the same sight that had given Naruto pause when he first traversed through what could only be called a vast and boundless space, clear as crystal in rich tones of blue, purple, green and yellow. There were figures and geometric shapes stationary in the background, standing in varying scales, with bright, multicolored cubes floating about all around them.
"What are these cubes?" Chōji couldn't help but ask as they seemed to be slowing down, poking one to see if it was solid, and flinching when he found that it was, drifting away from the contact.
"Pretty~," Piyomon crooned in wonder.
"Those are pixels. Right now, we're in the network," Bokomon explained, holding on to Shikamaru. "This is the boundary between the Human World and the Digital World."
"Wait, so, we're literally on the internet?" Shikamaru asked in mild disbelief, planting his grip tightly on Naruto. He chanced a look down and gaped. Beneath, or could it be above; he wasn't that sure anymore, was a city, or what certainly resembled one, with buildings of varying sizes, all symmetrically shaped in such an impossibly perfect manner. The buildings themselves sparkled like a reflection of the night sky, dark and starry, mixed with hues of blue that he was momentarily mesmerized. All around them, the rest of the backdrop had become bluer and brighter, composed of pixels clustered tightly together alongside a weave of linear patterns in even more intricate geometric figures.
"Incredible," Shikaku couldn't help but say, in all his years having never beheld such splendor. Naruto was also awestruck, the first time actually seeing this junction more clearly, having been hurled headlong into the Digital World before he could even make sense of it all. For them to slow down was odd, but not unwelcome.
"So, what happens now?" Chōji spoke up, some worry seeping into his tone. "Where do we go?"
Bokomon darted his eyes, then up ahead until he spotted it, exclaiming, "There!" Naruto did so as well, seeing a familiar flash of emerald green in the distance.
Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he followed where the scholar was pointing at. "What is that?"
"The Digital World," Bokomon replied. "Or the barrier leading to it."
"So, how do we-" As if on cue, they abruptly gained speed again, like gravity had started pulling them toward the green globe, edging closer and closer to it.
"Oh boy," Naruto paled, only now remembering what they were likely in for once they passed through the barrier. "Hang on!"
"We are!" Shikamaru shot back.
"No!" Naruto reiterated in a panic as he felt the familiar lukewarm sensation wash over his body as they flew through the barrier. "I mean-" He blanched even more as the sensation was replaced by a cool draft, the air becoming thinner, which quickly rose into a strong flurry, their arrival welcomed by a vast skyline - in freefall.
"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!" Shikamaru uncharacteristically hollered, his voice barely muffled by the heavy turbulence.
"WHY?!" Naruto loudly asked the universe on the cruel hand dealt to him, tears and spittle flying from his wind-beaten face.
"WHY ARE WE FALLING FROM THE SKY?!" Chōji wailed, which contrasted with Piyomon's amused laughter.
Shikaku's mind raced, his training kicking in. Once he was within range of something that casted a shadow, he should be able to create a net or rope to break their fall, but there were still crucial factors involved that would guarantee them a safe landing, or at least not wind up as smears on the ground. Their combined weight, the velocity of their descent, and most of all, if he could time it just right. It had to be at a high enough vantage point for the odds to be in their favor.
As fate would have it, Shikaku quickly spotted exactly what he needed in the form of a cliffside. The direction of the sun was slightly off, but it had to do, and with the trees below them, he now had a means to bridge the gap. The chakra would be costly, but worth it.
"Dad!" Shikaku glanced at his son, his expression conveying that he was willing and ready to help. Father and son had no time for anything else as they freed their hands to form their clan's signature seal. As little as his boy could add to the technique, it was better than nothing, the shadows they latched onto coming alive to form a makeshift net. Shikaku's jaw became set as he kept pushing chakra into the technique, tightening the net right before they landed. It caved to their weight, but it held strong from the combined effort. Shikamaru bit into his lip hard enough to draw blood, giving everything he had in the heat of the moment, feeling the drain on his chakra.
But Shikaku soon took over as his son's will eventually gave out, maintaining the technique just long enough for them to slide the rest of the way down. Before long, they finally managed to; less than gracefully, touch ground.
An unknown number of minutes went by before the first to recover their bearings was Piyomon, who slowly sat up in a muddled state. Getting hold of her senses, she took stock of her surroundings, seeing that the rest of the party had yet to arise. They had landed in what looked to be a small clearing in a forested area, feeling some soft grass entangled between the claws of her right hand wing. She rose to her feet, and it was then that she realized that she could have helped in flying them down. She bopped herself on the head at her own absent-mindedness before trotting towards Naruto first, who was lying face down no more than six feet away from where she laid, his bag loosely hanging down his back.
She kneeled down next to him, placing her hands on his crumpled form. "Naru-chan," she muttered softly, nudging him just as gently. "Naru-chan."
Naruto soon stirred, his voice coming out in soft garbles. He turned his head to the side with some effort, his eyes cracking open into slits to see a streak of pink before blinking to clear his vision.
"Naru-chan, you're okay!" Piyomon said in relief. She pulled away to let him rise to his hands and knees, then turn over to awkwardly sit on his rear. After the two shared a hug, he unfastened his bag to make it easier for him to catch his breath, lazily placing it next to him.
Heaving out a sigh, he then took an even deeper breath as he raised his head and shouted, "THIS IS BULLSHIT!"
"You're telling me." The blonde heard a groan to his left, Shikamaru being the third of their group to recover. "It would have been nice for you to actually warn us before we left," he added ruefully as he sat up, hanging his arms over his knees, totally spent.
"Yeah, well, I didn't think it'd happen again!" Naruto reasoned in anger, then yelled at the heavens once more. "It's not like we can fly! You hear me, asshole?!"
"Who are you even talking to?" Shikamaru groaned, lolling his head back, already done with the journey before it even began.
"Yggdrasil!" Naruto replied sharply. "He's got to be the one pulling this shit!"
Shikamaru's head fell as he sighed before he swiveled his gaze around searchingly until he found Chōji a little further away behind him. "Chōji," he called out to him. "Chōji!"
The Akimichi heir was on his back, barely stirring, the top of his head facing Shikamaru. Right as he was about to believe the worst, his best friend mumbled out, "Another helping, mama…"
Shikamaru sighed in relief, saying, "Well, he's okay. What about you, dad?"
Shikaku was next to his son, resting on his back from the significant dent in his chakra, the man having grabbed his boy protectively at the very exact second the technique dispersed. "I'll live," he answered with a sigh. "Nothing a stiff drink won't fix."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head, before taking notice that one of them was missing. "Bokomon?" He turned to his friends, catching a glimpse of Chōji already sitting up as well. "Hey guys, where's-"
"Over here!"
All the humans followed the voice of Piyomon calling out to them, pointing down to a knocked out Bokomon lying between the protruding roots of a tree, a red bump on his head and swirls in his eyes.
All of the humans collectively winced, as did the others back in the real world.
All except for one.
"Gyahahahaha! That's freaking rich!" Anko cackled, leaving the nail biting sight of them falling from the sky behind her.
"You laugh, but that really would have been the end for them," Kakashi drily admonished her, sitting on a chair next to the kunoichi as he was partaking in some cup ramen that he found in Naruto's kitchen. Chōza himself almost had a heart attack at seeing not only his son nearly falling to his death, but his best friend and surrogate nephew as well. No matter how confident he was in Shikaku, it had still been harrowing to witness.
The same for Hiruzen, the two of them sitting in chairs behind the younger ninja.
"Maybe it really is Yggdrasil's idea of a joke," Anko hypothesized.
"Maybe he'll pull one on you one of these days," Kakashi speculated, blowing on some noodles.
"Get a boyfriend," Anko quipped back.
"So, what now?" Naruto asked Bokomon, who was checking how bad the bump to his head was, wincing as he did, the two of them sitting next to each other. "Do we set up camp?"
"Hang on," Bokomon told him, wincing again. He wasn't experiencing any lasting dizziness or a concussion, which was good. Didn't make it hurt less. "We should make a stop at my place."
"Your place?" Naruto blinked. "Really?"
Bokomon nodded before stumbling to his feet, the party having found a river nearby and refreshing themselves. The scholar kneeled down before the water and proceeded to splash some on his face. Chōji was with Piyomon, the two of them going into the forest to search for something to eat, the bird Digimon having picked up on a delicious scent. "I recognize this area. My house shouldn't be far."
Shikaku, who was sitting a little away from them, heard this. "Could it be a coincidence that we landed here?"
"Not likely," Bokomon shrugged.
Shikamaru, who was taking a walk in the shallow water to cool his feet and relieve some of his fatigue, was curious as to how this world's ecosystem differed from theirs, his sandals lying next to his father. There was an uncanny resemblance so far, with the sight and smell of greenery unexceptional, the chill of the water tingling up his skin, but staring into the treeline, he couldn't help but feel that something was off. He caught a dry leaf that hovered past him by chance and examined it.
Shining it under some sunlight that breached through the canopy, he saw atypical line patterns that seemed to glisten as he eyed them. Very familiar patterns. "What the…?"
"What is it, son?" Shikaku asked, having taken a swig from his flask.
Shikamaru was quiet for a moment as he twirled the leaf between his thumb and index finger, raising it up to the light, then turned to his father. "Here," he said, deftly slinging the leaf to the man, who caught it easily. "What do you see?"
Shikaku spun the leaf in his grasp in careful scrutiny, squinting. "This is…"
"So you noticed," Bokomon said knowingly, turning to the man as he rose to his feet.
"Noticed what?" Naruto asked as he and Bokomon approached the Jōnin Commander, who handed the leaf to the scholar. "A leaf?" As Shikamaru was walking up ashore, Bokomon showed the leaf to the blonde, who took it.
"What am I supposed to be looking at here?" Naruto asked after a moment. "It's just a dry leaf."
"Don't you see it?" Shikamaru said as he was putting his sandals back on.
"And I'm asking," Naruto needled pointedly. "What's so special about this leaf?"
"Well, maybe nothing to Digimon like me, but to you humans," Bokomon said. "Look at the patterns on the leaf more carefully."
Naruto did so, and after a few minutes, with him flashing it under some light, he blinked. "Hey, doesn't this…"
"Ring any bells?" Shikamaru said.
"These patterns," Naruto held the leaf in front of him with both sets of his thumb and index fingers. "It kinda looks like…what you see on a…"
"Motherboard," Shikamaru finished as he dug his hands into his pockets, "I guess it makes a weird sort of sense, what with this place being the "Digital" World and all."
"Yep," Bokomon affirmed. "Everything from the tallest mountain to the tiniest grain of sand is made of data. Try crushing that leaf."
Naruto did so, and after opening his hand, he was amazed as the remains dispersed into tiny pixels. "With no life in it left, it dissolves into raw code to be recycled," the scholar elaborated.
"Recycled?"
"Everything in the Digital World is recycled in some way," Bokomon explained. "What was left of that leaf degraded into useless trash data, which will remain in the air until it congregates into Dust Packets."
"What are those?" Shikamaru asked.
"They're like tumbleweeds, only made out of raw, untampered code for Digimon to come across and consume."
"So, they're like food?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.
"In a way, but Dust Packets can also help patch up wounds by reconstituting the Digimon's wireframe," Bokomon added. "And when introduced to a Baby Digimon, it can also help stimulate evolution. Remember how Piyomon's old group got bombarded by Dust Packets and ended up mass evolving?"
"Oh yeah," Naruto nodded.
"In a way, they're like supplements," Shikaku surmised, screwing the cap of his flask shut. "You think it'll help us recoup some of our chakra?"
Bokomon shrugged, replying, "I don't see why not. It's worth a try."
"Hey, guys!"
All followed the direction of the voice and spotted the pair of Chōji and Piyomon coming into view from the treeline, their arms laden with what appeared to be heaps of green apples, but to Naruto and Bokomon, they knew all too well that what they had were actually Meat Fruits.
"You can actually grow meat here?!" Chōji marveled after being told exactly what they were hauling. "Bokomon-san, would it be possible to cultivate this fruit in our world?!"
Chōza was also greatly intrigued. Growing and cultivating meat. It sounded like something out of a (delicious) dream.
Bokomon rubbed his chin, saying, "It should be possible. I have some seeds stored away in my house. That, and a lot of other things that I could bring back with us."
"Yatta!" Chōji cheered, which was shared by his father. The rotund boy was about to take a hefty bite out of one when Naruto stopped him in time.
"Whoa, whoa! Chōji!" The Uzumaki urgently grabbed his hand. "You're supposed to cook it first. Believe me, eating it raw isn't pleasant."
Chōji blinked, looking at the fruit in his hand and then at Naruto, before placing it back in the pile he was still carrying. "We can cook some now and store the rest for later." The Akimichi nodded eagerly before the blonde ran off into the woods to gather the firewood.
After setting up camp and taking stock of their supplies in case they needed to ration, Shikaku wandered around the perimeter, placing alarm seals for unwanted company. Just like with every other seal that Bokomon optimized and modified, its parameters were improved to the point that all he needed to do was link the seal to his chakra signature, so that whatever tripped it, he would immediately be alerted in the form of a tingling sensation at the back of his neck. A silent alarm, when before it was far too conspicuous, making it unpopular unless one was using it for other means.
Naruto arrived with the firewood with some assistance from Piyomon, while Bokomon, Shikamaru and Chōji were busy setting up the tents.
"Hey guys," Naruto called to them, an idea popping into his head. "Maybe I could light the campfire by going Agnimon."
"Just have Piyomon do it," Shikamaru pointed out, seeing the task not worth the transformation. "It'd just be as wasteful as using fire jutsu."
At that, Naruto shifted awkwardly as he replied, "Well, it's not like I know any fire jutsu."
Chōji turned away from setting up the sleeping bags, saying in surprise, "Wait, that shouldn't be right. Don't you have a fire affinity when you're Agnimon?"
Naruto moved aside to make room for Piyomon to ignite the fire pit, replying, "That's only when I'm Agnimon. I don't even really know if fire really is my affinity. I wasn't even aware of that stuff until I started to actually study."
Shikamaru paused midway in hammering the tent spike, his brows going flat, deadpanning, "That figures."
"Maybe because I was never taught any?" Naruto defended himself with a pout.
Hiruzen hung his head in thought. Arms folded under his chest, he looked to Chōza and they shared a nod.
"Anko," Hiruzen called to the kunoichi, who knew right away what he was requesting.
"Got it," Anko acknowledged, accessing the communications link.
Naruto heard his D-Scanner ring and vibrate in his pocket. Taking it out, he wondered who it could be that was calling him. Maybe the mysterious woman again, an assumption that was shortly quashed when he heard the voice of Hiruzen on the other line. "Naruto-kun."
"What's wrong, Jii-chan?" Naruto answered, putting the D-Scanner close to his mouth.
Hiruzen cleared his throat and began, "Nothing, Naruto-kun. I'm simply calling due to the subject of elemental affinity having come up. It's a topic that we normally put off until one reaches Genin, but there are exceptions in the case of those hailing from clans. As such, we feel that it is as good a time as any to induct you boys on your Seishitsu Henka (Nature Transformation) this early on as part of your training."
"Huh?"
"Shikaku."
"Sir!" The Nara Head answered promptly, appearing next to the boy out of nowhere, startling him.
"Chakra paper."
"Right here," Shikaku answered, bringing out a small stack of the paper from one of the pockets on his flak jacket.
"Good," Hiruzen nodded. "Gather the boys later on after you've finished setting up camp. After that, the rest is up to you."
Shikaku nodded. "Yes, sir."
Naruto blinked in confusion as the call died down, the discussion having been too to the point for him to follow. "Wait, wuh?"
"We're going to start training on our elemental affinity, brainless," Shikaku told him as he was finishing up.
"Oh," Naruto said, blinking in comprehension, before realizing what Shikamaru had called him. "Hey!"
After they were done setting up camp, Chōji wasted no time in preparing the meat fruit, peeling and slicing them into four sections each.
"Slow down, man," Shikamaru told him, helping in the cooking.
Chōji grinned widely as he placed some oil on a skillet he brought. "I just can't, dude. I mean, how would you feel if you suddenly found out that you can just grow food like meat like you were growing apples or oranges. Bokomon-san told me that they have crops of all kinds here. The Gourmet Zone! I can't wait to go there! Maybe even have mom and dad come with me someday."
Chōza beamed with a keenness to one day do so. A food sabbatical for their entire family.
Provided his wife doesn't kill him for keeping this much from her in the first place.
Bokomon joined in on the cooking soon after, offering to sort out the meat, and Chōji could only swell further in jubilation that each fruit tasted of different kinds and cuts. As this was going on, Naruto was by the lake with Shikaku.
"So, I just put some chakra into this piece of paper?" Naruto said, analyzing the seemingly simple slip between his index and middle finger.
"That's right," Shikaku nodded in confirmation, arms folded over his chest, bereft of his fur and flak jacket, now in a form fitting black t-shirt. "Depending on how the paper reacts to your chakra, that will be your affinity."
"What kind of reaction?"
"Each is pretty straightforward," Shikaku mused, fiddling with his goatee. "If you're Fire, the paper will ignite into cinders. Water, the paper becomes damp. Earth, it crumbles into dirt. Wind, the paper splits apart. Lightning, it crumples."
"Huh," Naruto blinked. "Neat. Okay, let's do this. Shouldn't be too hard."
"Careful," Shikaku warned him. "Too much chakra might destroy the paper."
"Right," Naruto nodded. He took a deep breath and started focusing some chakra into the tiny slip of paper, careful not to overload it. The task soon proved itself to be simpler than assumed, getting a reaction when the paper split itself apart from between his fingers, gliding down as both pieces fell.
"Well, that seems to settle it, you're-hm?" Shikaku paused as he and the blonde watched the two pieces ignite mid fall, then disintegrate into ash.
"That's…" Shikaku blinked in astonishment.
"What?" Naruto questioned in worry, wondering if something was wrong.
The man paused in thought, deciding to have the boy repeat it. The result was the same. "It would seem that you have a Wind affinity, but also Fire."
"That's…good, right?" Naruto questioned apprehensively.
Shikaku pulled at his goatee, answering, "It's…not exactly unheard of. Incredibly rare, but not unheard of." Chakra paper only really reacted to just a single affinity one's chakra was naturally inclined to. Unless one had a Kekkei Genkai or some other bizarre mutation. "It could be because of your Digimon form," he hypothesized. "I'm willing to bet that your natural affinity is Wind, which means that with Fire, it must have carried over from your connection to your past life."
"Which means…?"
"Which means that you'll only be having an easier time learning release techniques involving both elements," Shikaku explained as he put away what remained of the chakra paper into his pants pocket.
"That sounds awesome," Naruto remarked brightly.
"Not just that. Wind tends to complement Fire greatly, which would have made it your natural weakness," Shikaku opined further. "If you manage to master both, any Fire Release technique in your arsenal will only be enhanced in strength and intensity."
"Double awesome!" He might even be able to apply it to his attacks as Agnimon.
"With that, we'll be starting with the basics."
Naruto's eager demeanor fell. "Not awesome."
"And I thought I was lazy," Shikamaru remarked, fixated on tossing the salad Bokomon had brought on a collapsible table, standing next to Chōji, who was chopping some mushrooms and vegetables.
Naruto frowned from hearing this, and declared, "Fine. Bring on the training!"
"Finish your end of the workload first, nimrod," Shikamaru chided him, pulling away from his task to lambaste the blonde.
Naruto stiffened in utter vexation at the endless tirades directed against him, snarling out, "I'll show you!" He then proceeded to run for some water from the river with the buckets Shikaku had brought in a storage scroll, leaving Shikamaru to shake his head, wondering keenly if he had suddenly taken up nanny duty.
At nightfall, the party gathered around the fire, eating their fill of food for the day ahead.
"My house is on the other side of that mountain," Bokomon declared, pointing to said mountain that was a good distance from where they were camped, facing East.
"Do we have to go over it?" Naruto groaned, feeling like this trip was treading a familiar route.
"There's an underpass that we can go through," Bokomon assured him. "It's perfectly safe and won't take us more than two hours on foot."
"Oh," Naruto perked up. "I guess that's okay." He bit into a slice of meat and paused after chewing. He had been able to identify the cuts so far, but this one caught him off guard. It wasn't bear, and it definitely wasn't beef or pork or any other wild game like duck. It wasn't bad though. In fact, it was delicious, with a flavor that was like a mix between lamb and venison, which meant that it could only be either of the two.
"Mm, horse meat," Shikaku said, digging into his plate. "It's been a while since I've had some."
"You ate horse, dad?" Shikamaru questioned. "Was it some kind of survival thing or…"
"There's this restaurant in Stone Country that serves it," Shikaku clarified. "Maybe I'll bring you and your mother along someday."
"Whatever," Shikamaru said. "What does horse even taste like?"
"Rich, sweet and gamey, and not all that different from venison. It's lean too, so it's got plenty of protein."
Naruto's eyes widened, pausing mid chew at exactly the same time it was mentioned. Right before he shrugged and resumed eating. If he could eat bear, then he could eat horse. Meat was meat, and protein was protein. Plus, it was pretty good, so what was there to complain about?
Chōji and Piyomon were the biggest eaters of their party, gorging themselves on not only the meat fruit, but a portion of the rations that the Akimichi had with him; and he had brought a lot, only stopping to take drinks in-between.
"Whew," Chōza huffed, standing up from his seat, the others knowing why. "Watching all that eating is making me hungry. I'm gonna come back tomorrow." They nodded, with Hiruzen electing to accompany the man.
Anko sighed, saying, "Guess it's just gonna be us-wha-where the hell are you going?!"
Kakashi was already halfway to the door when he glanced at her, replying, "Do you really think I'm gonna stay the rest of the night here again?"
Anko shot out of her seat and stomped up to the Jōnin, coming up to his face with a heated glare, snapping, "Oh, what, and you're just gonna leave me all by myself here? Fuck that, Kakashi!"
The man sighed, deciding to spare the remainder of his patience from the raucous woman for the night. "Are we really gonna leave this place unguarded? Defenseless?" Kakashi lowered his head so that they were eye level, adding, "It'll be your responsibility."
"Adorable," Anko said snidely to him. She drew out a kunai and sang at the top of her voice as she wiggled it around, "Oh~, boys, looks like we're gonna be leaving the rest to you. Oh, and I don't believe that I'll even be needing to tell you what'll happen if you so much as take a single step outside, much less touch the door and windows. Right?"
There was silence at first, before a disembodied voice answered, "Yes."
"Good," Anko said cheerfully, and with that, both she and Kakashi vacated the apartment, leaving Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba; sans Akamaru, to come out of their camouflage, initially planning to play a prank on Naruto as revenge; at Kiba's coaxing, only to get more than they bargained for when everyone else showed up before they had any chance to book it.
Kiba gulped a knot that had been stuck in his throat in the hours that they had been there, knowing full well that everyone had long deduced their presence, whatever bravado he may have had having just as long evaporated completely. Next to him, an uncharacteristically scowling Shino.
"It's gonna be fun, you said. It'll be a laugh, you said."
Kiba simpered shakily, saying, "Well, in a weird sort of way, it actually is kinda-"
"Shut. Up." Shino cut him off in the severest tone the Inuzuka had ever heard him use. "Just shut the fuck up."
Author's Notes: It took me a while to get through this chapter since I was preoccupied with reading a manga called "Under Ninja", which I highly recommend on sites like mangakakalot or mangafreak.
It's, well, no spoilers, but it's basically a story of modern day ninjas, and no, it doesn't at all resemble Naruto. It's done by the same author of "I Am A Hero" and is a more realistic portrayal of what shinobi would be in the modern day. And, by realistic, I mean they don't breath fire or break everything with overpowered eyes. It's something to see for yourself to understand the story better, and I promise it's good.