*Glances nervously at the date*
A chapter that, like the one before, is long overdue and I can't stress enough about how bad I feel about. There's no real excuse for it either, so I won't bother with that!
Over the past months, I have been writing on this story and a multitude of times I wanted to update the story but decided against it. I wanted to near its completion before posting anything.
As of writing this author note, I am wrapping up the ending of this story.
As I was writing, I realized that I started letting people's preferences control certain aspects of the story. Mainly the pairing. I decided on reverting it back to my original plan. Some will like it, and some won't. I apologize in advance.
I'm not expecting there's a lot of interest left in the story, but I made a promise to finish it, and I will.
Having said that. There are some very interesting chapters coming, which I think you will find enjoyable!
Every week I will update the story with a new chapter.
Naruto glanced over his shoulders to his temporary teammates and noticed that they had relaxed a bit after the first hour mark. The blonde himself remained tense and kept his eyes locked on the road ahead. The first thing they had noticed which had put their hairs on end, was the fact that despite the snowfall that occurred within these parts, the dirt road remained clean with not a speck of snow covering it.
The dirt road curved right and headed slightly downhill.
The blonde tumbled to the ground, catching a mouthful of snow as he did so. Fearfully he looked around, trying to regain his composure as he took in his surroundings.
"You…"
He quickly clambered to his feet and looked around. "Who's there?!"
Nothing but silence answered his shouts. Naruto peered at the road and noticed it went downhill, into a more densely packed thicket.
Naruto blinked as the sudden wave of memories came rushing in. He planted his hand against a passing tree and shook his head.
Hinata took note of his behavior but knew better than to comment and instead glanced over her shoulder towards Sakura. but before she could say anything, her body froze up and she grabbed Naruto by his shoulder, turning him around. "There! look" she faintly whispered, cold terror enveloping her body as her eyes were wide with fear.
Naruto pushed past her looked in the direction she pointed at. "Stay on the road." He marched off into the forest, disappearing behind a group of trees.
"What did you see Hinata?" Sasuke asked as he was tempted to follow the blonde.
"I-it looked like a man..."
"A Reaver?" Sakura inquired. Hinata's outburst had given her the jitters and she had grabbed Sasuke for support, behaving like a scared little girl.
"It wasn't a Reaver." The Hunter reappeared from behind the trees, glancing over his shoulder for a moment longer.
"Did you find him?" Sasuke asked, his finger lingering on his pouch.
"No, but I'm certain it wasn't a Reaver."
"Then, who was it?"
"When I was here last time, this wasn't a rare occurrence. I frequently saw...or thought I saw figures moving about." He said vaguely.
Sasuke seemed skeptical but he nodded regardless. "I have trouble believing in the paranormal.
"I felt the same when I first got here. You'll be taking those words back pretty soon."
They pressed onwards as the evening slowly fell upon them. Along with that came a sharp drop in temperature. The ominous dirt road now seemed to be favoring them. As the sun descended and the darkness settled across the Taoreta mori, a low hanging mist that had already been present from the beginning, slowly started to increase in density.
The snow-covered ground stretched far and was often obscured by a large swathe of trees. Sometimes the snow would rise, indicating a hill in the near distance, whilst at other times it was a defilade or even a small valley. It did little to ease their minds and only made them wonder what lay beyond the hills and down in the valleys.
"The silence is deafening...It's really freaking me out." Sakura whispered, clinging close to Sasuke.
"Where does the road even lead to? Tuva tower?" Sasuke suddenly asked.
"No, it does bring us towards that general direction."
Once more silence settled and the group tried to ignore the trepidation that lingered ever since the mysterious figure had creeped behind them.
Noting the imprints left behind by his prey, Naruto knew that he couldn't be far now. Pushing past a tree he followed the footsteps until he came to a sudden halt. "Not again!" once more his prey eluded him as the tracks disappeared into nothingness.
"Stop messing with my mind!" Naruto screamed in frustration. "Please..." he ended up whispering. for weeks now he found tracks of his prey. Footsteps or extinguished fire camps that had kept him running in circles.
"You don't belong here..."
"You're not real!" Naruto's voice echoed through the forested area.
Naruto's eye twitched. He looked up and saw that the sun had disappeared behind the treetops completely.
"At this pace, it will take us ages to get somewhere." Sasuke muttered in annoyance.
"And yet, civilians do this every day. really makes you think." Hinata said, trying to keep the conversation light.
"You take the simple things for granted." Naruto muttered, pushing aside a low hanging snow covered branch.
"I rather live a short life as a shinobi, than a long life as a civilian." Sasuke muttered.
The blonde nodded in agreement, locking his gaze with Sasuke for a moment.
"You never think of settling down?" Hinata asked Naruto.
"I've chosen a profession that doesn't give me that luxury. I doubt I'll make it to thirty anyways."
"Why do you think that?" Sakura asked, surprised by his statement.
The blonde snorted in amusement. "Because I'm a shinobi. Surviving this war would be a miracle in itself."
Hinata fell silent and sadly looked ahead which didn't go by unnoticed.
"You want to grow old, and settle down in Konoha?" Naruto asked the Hyuuga, noting her expression.
"I don't want to look back on a life where all I've ever done was fighting. Eventually I want to look beyond that."
"You." A soft voice suddenly echoed through the forest and accompanied with it a paralyzing fear that struck the group.
"W-what was that?!" Sakura shouted as she fearfully looked around.
the blonde narrowed his eyes and looked around. "That confirms it. The figure earlier today wasn't a Reaver."
"What do you mean?" Sasuke barked at him.
"Last time I spotted someone as well. I thought it was a traveler. But soon after, the whispers started." His face was set in stone, shrouding his emotions. He refused to be the final member of the group to give in to his fears.
"What do we do now?"
"We stay quiet. If we're lucky they won't bother us and we can pass through this without further trouble." He nudged to a small clearing, just off the road. "Let's set up there."
"Shouldn't we keep moving?" Sakura asked worriedly.
"That's not going to keep them away. They'll be following us until we have reached the other end."
They made their way to the small clearing and swept away the snow there. "No tents. I want to be able to move in an instance."
"It's freezing out here!" Sakura complained.
Naruto ignored her and instead reached for his sleeping bag, unrolling it onto the ground.
Hesitantly the others followed his example and unrolled their bags as well. "This place really unnerves me. I can't wait to get out of here." Sakura said as she reached for a nutrition bar.
Naruto smirked and looked at the pink haired girl. "Scared, Haruno?"
"I'm mature enough to admit fear!" she jabbed back.
"You…" Once more a voice cut through the air, silencing the group instantly.
"How did you last two months in here?" Hinata asked the blonde.
"Determination." His gaze never settling on hers, always looking into the darkness.
The only word he uttered, yet the three companions knew what he meant with it. His determination to deny the enemy any intel they could get back then.
Naruto stood up again and left his sleeping bag untouched. "You all get a full night's rest. I'll take the watch tonight."
Sasuke looked at him and shook his head. "You need to trust us if we all want to make it through here, you know this dobe."
"It's not a matter of trust. I've put aside my issues for the time being. I remember my first nights here. I didn't get much sleep back then either."
"I don't think this is a good idea, Naruto. You need sleep as well." Hinata said, trying to convince the blonde.
"I can last a day or two without sleep. I'll just catch up once we get out of here,"
"I'll stay up with you for a couple of hours. "Sasuke insisted.
Naruto sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Annoying as ever I see."
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Eventually after a couple of hours had past and Sasuke had gone to sleep, leaving Naruto by himself. Reflecting on his decision to stay up the entire night had certainly given him plenty of regret. With a shake of his head, he decided to walk about, trying to keep himself awake.
The forest looked frightening, especially now that night had fallen. The fog had only intensified, and every gust of wind seemingly carried whispers along with it. A shudder sneaked through. 'We're going to speed things up tomorrow, I want to leave this creepy place.'
He leaned against a tree, peering into the pitch black of forested area they were traversing through. Memories flooded his mind, allowing himself to be subdued by it once more.
Bright blue eyes darted around, his breathing heavy and uneven. "Stop messing with me! Show yourself!"
A coldness gripped his shoulder and forcefully turned him around, causing him to fall to his knees. Looking up fearfully he couldn't see anything other than the trees and bushes that surrounded him.
He gripped his hair and screamed in anger, frustration and primarily, fear. He had been scouring the Taoreta mori for well over 5 weeks and whilst he had found many traces of his target, the man had kept eluding him. Doubt started forming over the course of the last couple of days. "No one in his right mind would come here... Let alone stay here for weeks and weeks on end."
He forced himself to his feet, straightening his back. He pushed his doubt to the back of his mind and once more continued his search for the scout that had been crossing through these parts.
Naruto's eye snapped open as a sudden high-pitched scream echoed through the forest, waking his companions.
"What the hell was that?!" Sakura shouted as she clambered out of her sleeping bag, Hinata and Sasuke doing the same.
Naruto was initially startled by the sudden scream, but he managed to calm himself enough to not sound frantic. "That is one of the inhabitants."
"This is crazy! Why are we even here?!" Sakura now turned to Naruto; her fear mixed with frustration.
"Because we don't want to be found by the Reavers." He softly said, stating the obvious.
"You keep saying that! but with your ability we could escape any time." Sakura pressed the issue, her anger still clear on her face.
The blonde abruptly turned to her. "The speed of flashstep is based on chakra control and output. Kenpachi would catch up to us anytime."
"And why would Kenpachi himself waste his time on us?" Hinata asked.
Naruto twitched before calming himself. "If Kenpachi knows I'm still alive, he'll definitely lead the hunt himself."
"And why is that, dobe?" Sasuke tore his gaze from the darkness that lay around and turned to Naruto.
"Because I killed his son!" Naruto suddenly shouted. "Last time I survived by a stroke of luck. If he finds out I am still alive…We won't survive."
Sakura and Hinata looked at him with disbelief. "You're scared? That's why we are going through this wretched place?"
"We're going through here because this gives us the most chance of success!" The blonde hissed; eyes filled with anger.
"We should've gone the other route..." Hinata softly spoke, agreeing with Sakura and Sasuke.
Naruto snapped his clawed hand to the left, pointing to the road from where they came. "Then go home! I don't need cowards in my team that questions my every move!"
Sasuke scoffed. "Cowards? coming from the dobe that is scared of one Reaver."
"One Reaver? That man is more powerful than Uchiha Madara! Kenpachi could go toe to toe with all the Kages at once and come out on top. If I have to choose between a haunted place or Kenpachi...I choose the Taoreta mori every time." But deep down he questioned his outburst. The actual dangers of the forest weren't easily seen and to compare it with Kenpachi was an unreasonable comparison.
"You don't belong here!"
Every quieted down and looked about. Naruto spoke up once again. "You said you trusted me. This is the most logical route."
Hinata hesitated, looking to each of her teammates as she fell silent, doubting the decision they had made.
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It had taken some time for the blonde to calm down. What Sasuke had said did ring true. He was afraid of the Kenpachi. Not that his fear was irrational. The man was insanely strong. A strength he never hoped or dared to compete with.
Eventually his squad mates crawled back into their sleeping bags and tried to get as much rest as they'd be able to get.
A sudden gust of wind came about while the trees groaned in response. Along with it came a wave of snow that hit the blonde's figure who shuddered as the sudden cold enveloped his body.
"You…"
Naruto looked into the pitch-black forest. He shuddered and instead looked to the ground. The Taoreta Mori was a dangerous and frightful place. 'I have trouble keeping my own fear in check.'
Yet despite the dangers of this place, he was convinced that this was the safer option.
The blonde suddenly tensed up as he felt like he was being watched. He slowly dragged his eyes upwards. Cold dread spreading throughout his chest.
Standing behind some bushes was a pale woman, seemingly only staring at him.
Naruto slowly stood up, momentarily glancing to his sleeping teammates. His hand gripped the tree branch tightly as he nervously spoke aloud. "What are you?"
The woman seemingly became distorted and suddenly she looked to her left. "You don't belong here."
Naruto gritted his teeth and forced the dreaded feeling that was slowly tightening around his chest back down. "Neither do you."
The pale figure's head snapped back and distorted again before she suddenly appeared in front of him, causing the Hunter to stumble back in fear.
"Become one of us." She ignored his words and instead slowly inched her hand forward, towards his chest.
Naruto's breathing hitched as her hand plunged in his chest. An intense cold spread through his chest that swiftly started coursing through his entire body.
The blonde shut his eyes and tried to gather what little fortitude he had left and reached for his kunai, swiping the weapon through the transparent woman.
A scream erupted from the woman and plunged forward, straight through his body before gliding back into the forest before disappearing into nothingness.
"Fuck…" Naruto whispered before he fell to one knee, clutching his chest as he tried to get both his breathing and heartbeat under control. When the woman had struck him, his heartbeat seemingly stopped altogether. But now that she had left, his body desperately tried to catch up.
In an instant his teammates were around him, eyes darting around.
"You okay Naruto-kun?" Hinata worriedly asked as she crouched down next to him, rubbing his back.
"What the hell was that?"
Naruto coughed as he tried to shrug off the anxiety. "They are coming closer and closer. Next time she won't be rid of easily."
Without warning dozens of other screams burst all around them, surrounding the small group of shinobi.
"W-we h-have to get the hell out of here!" Sakura managed to whisper as she slowly edged away from the group.
Naruto stood up and grabbed her by the wrist. "It's too late for that."
Sasuke grabbed him by his collar and pulled him close. "Where the hell have you brought us?!"
Hinata stood to the side, undecided on whose side she belonged.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and looked down at the Uchiha's hand. "Let me go…Uchiha."
Initially it didn't seem that Sasuke wasn't going to let up, but eventually he relented and stepped away.
The blonde grabbed his bag and slung it around his shoulder. "Pack up. We're moving out."
The others started rolling up their sleeping bags and attached it to their packs, trying to restrain the urge to let fear cloud their judgements.
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Naruto continued to lead the group through the haunted forest. They kept up a fast pace, determined to stay ahead of the horrors they assumed lay behind at their campsite.
Another scream echoed through the forest, causing the group to tense up, yet never slowing down.
Naruto's teammates had been conversing amongst themselves, excluding the blonde. Not that he felt shut out. He welcomed the change.
"Look! Ruins ahead!"
Naruto barely paid it any attention. He knew where Sakura pointed towards. It was the end of the road. Instead, he abruptly stopped and turned to the group. "We're leaving the path."
"What? Why? I thought you told us not to leave the path." Sasuke fired off the questions, one after the other. His eyes plastered on the ruins that seemed an inviting place to take a short break from the harsh weather conditions.
"This is where the road ends. We have to keep heading west."
"Maybe we should take a break in the ruins?" Hinata suggested.
"NO." The Hunter snapped. "We stay clear of those ruins."
The others looked at him, awaiting an explanation.
The blonde sighed while leading the group off the road and heading west. "That's one of the outposts that were used back in the war. Their presence is the strongest within those parts."
"Then why are we so damn close to them!" Sasuke hissed.
"Because distance doesn't matter. As long as we don't enter the ruins. We'll be just fine. Stop going crazy about every little thing." Frustration etched onto Naruto's face as he was suddenly dragged back into yet another discussion.
Hinata moved up and walked next to the hunter. "You can't really blame us for acting like this…"
Naruto glanced to his left. "It's alright. I remember how I was the first time around."
"You really were here for two months?" The Hyuuga asked whilst stepping over a fallen tree that was covered with a thick layer of snow.
Naruto slowly nodded. "Close to two months anyways. In the end it was all for nothing."
Hinata tilted her head slightly in a questioning manner. "What do you mean?"
Naruto edged around the crumbled down wall. A cold sweat made its way down his back as he tried to regain his composure and continue his trek towards the center of the ruins.
"Come in…We won't hurt you…"
The blonde swallowed nervously before forcing himself to fully step around the corner, into one of the dark buildings.
The torch in his hand flickered as the strength of the flame slowly waned and started to die out. With a grunt he threw it into the room, illuminating all but the corners.
"Give me the Unknown!" Naruto barked, sounding more bravely than he actually felt.
He slowly inched his way inside and looked around. The sheer amount of fear that coursed through his body was staggering, yet the blonde continued further into the room. "Where is he?!"
A singly voice rang out from one of the dark corners. "Here."
A body dropped at his feet, causing Naruto to flinch. His eyes looked down at the body before turning it around with his feet.
The scout he had been hunting for well over 5 weeks was lying in front of him. Blue lips and a pale skin seemingly indicated he had died due to the cold, or so it seemed to him.
He crouched down, swiftly checking the Unknown's body for clues, before noting a piece of paper in the pocket of his prey. He looked up and around the room, noting no imminent threats. He unfolded the note and starting reading, his eyes growing wider and wider the further he went.
"Yuki no Kuni isn't a threat to our invasion plans and should be seen as a small country with a weak and insignificant army. That said, the region of Yuki no Kuni has an interesting back story. The locals claim that a large swathe of forested area to the east is haunted. I'm going to see if there is any merit to this claim and if we could possibly use this to our strategic advantage.
Naruto trembled as he looked at the date. "He's been here for months…No wonder I couldn't find him…He's been dead for a long time..."
A transparent figure abruptly emerged from the dark and quickly made his way toward the blonde. "Become one of us, Uzumaki Naruto."
As the phantom crossed the room, the small flame that remained got extinguished by a cold gust of wind that originated from the entrance of the room.
Naruto dashed for the exit, stumbling as he frantically tried to escape the horrid place only to come to an abrupt halt.
Surrounding him were the more of the phantoms blocking his escape.
His eyes darted from the left to the right, trying to find a means to escape whilst fear clawed at him, trying to drag him down.
"You are all alone…Come and join us."
The blonde shook his head, his voice shaky and uncertain. "S-stay away from me!"
The figures slowly encroached on the Uzumaki who slowly edged back in fear.
A coldness overcame him as he felt someone grab his shoulder. "No more running."
Naruto grit his teeth and swallowed his nerves before aiming his hand down. Jutsu eluded him and instead he aimed his hands down. Trying to gather as much chakra as he could. "c-come o-on!" Letting out a desperate yell he pushed the chakra outwards. the blonde got instantly blasted into the air and out of the ruins, into the dark forest, crashing into a mound of snow.
The blonde looked at his hands with raised brows. His muscles were trembling and hurting all over. 'w-what?' Shaking his head, he regained his composure and scrambled to get to his feet. 'I need to get out of here and fast!'
The blonde sighed. "The Reaver had been killed months before I even arrived. I got lured in."
"You were lured in?!" Sakura's shrill voice echoed through the forest as she fearfully looked at the ruins.
Naruto nodded and pushed onwards. "I should have known. No one in their right minds would stay here for such an extended period of time."
"And yet you did." Sasuke pointed out with a nervous smirk.
Naruto let out a sound that was a mix of a snort and a groan. "I'm an idiot that's why."
"Something we can all agree on." Sasuke said as he broke the tension that lingered in the group.
Naruto looked at the ground with a grin. "I don't know who's the bigger idiot," he pointed at himself. "The idiot, or the ones following him."
His teammates laughed, the fear and nervousness gave way to laughter, rejuvenating their weary bodies as they marched on.
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It didn't take long for the fear to settle once again within the group as screams and whispers continued throughout the rest of the morning and well into the late afternoon.
The blonde let his eyes dart from the left to the right as he led the group deeper into the slowly darkening forest.
"Naruto?" Hinata's soft voice came from his right.
The Hunter slowly turned his head and looked at the Hyuuga. "Hm?"
Hinata hesitated before voicing her thought. When she did it was laced with doubt. " Do you think we'll win the war?"
Sakura and Sasuke's whispers died out as they listened in on the conversation.
Naruto let his lone eye lock with Hinata's gaze before peering over his shoulder to his old teammates. "Worried, are we?"
"How can we not be, Baka?! So far we haven't won a single battle." Sakura interjected.
"I don't know…We've inflicted some heavy casualties on their side. That's something that they haven't experienced before. It will give them cause to reassess their situation, change their plan of attack."
"I feel a 'but' coming." Sakura muttered, turning her head to look at the darkness that encroached from behind,
"And you would be right about that, Haruno," Naruto grunted back. "We need a win. Desperately. Morale is low. We're all craving for it."
Hinata gave a lone nod as she agreed with the blonde's words and unconsciously started fidgeting with her cloak. Tugging on a loose piece of fabric as uncertainty and doubt ate at her confidence.
The Hunter noticed and instead of providing with hopeful comments he wrapped his own cloak tighter around his body. Trying to block out the cold that was rapidly reaching its lowest temperature ever since entering Yuki no Kuni.
The Yuki storyline and what it's connected with I felt unsure about, but I hope you'll enjoy it regardless.
Until next week!