Hello

How's it going?

Been a while since I had any updates. I've been pushing through some things concerning my unfinished stories; I don't want to call it writer's block, but it's awfully close. I needed a break to collect myself.

I made up my mind at the start of this year that I will eventually finish three of my more popular stories; Red Demon, Ink Heart, and Shadows Smirk. Thankfully, I've tucked away the first two stories with the best conclusions I was able to write.

So, yes, it's now time for me to settle down and continue Shadows Smirk.

Hurray!

I'll first need to reread and edit the chapters I've already uploaded; improve the grammar, correct the punctuation, and dress up the formatting. I'll also be removing the honorifics and other minor things like that. All to the best of my abilities. I will NOT alter the plot as I'm editing; I'll keep it as it is and continue from there. The plot, powers and abilities, relationships, and characters would remain the same and steadily progress as I continue the story.

I'll be uploading/updating those edits little by little with no particular schedule, maybe three to five chapters per upload/update. That means it doesn't have to be a Friday or Sunday for me to upload edited chapters of Shadows Smirk.

To be honest with you, there can't be more than fifteen to twenty chapters remaining to finish Shadows Smirk. Twenty-five chapters if I really want to draw out the climactic conclusion, taking into account the modifications and other changes I've made to the story's ending (in my mind, yet to be written).

As I'm doing all of that, I'll also be writing Whisper Group.

Yes, two shameless self-promotions at once XD

Here's another one…

PREVIEW

That night, he ran from the Chosen Hundred.

Winded from killing his brothers and sisters, he escaped as the rest of his siblings crowded around their Master.

Taken from Orphanages around Fire and Wind country in a multitude that raised more than a few eyebrows, children aged three were separated from the crowd while the rest were carried off for ROOT training.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Tumbling to the ground and craning his head back to look at the person he crashed into, his teary eyes were met with a deathly wide grin, a mouth of serrated teeth and cruel eyes that held his gaze in eternal petrification.

The boy couldn't move.

Nothing moved.

This person's killer intent washed around him like an endless ocean, racking his pursuers to a faltering stop at the edge of the camp.

The man wasn't looking at them though, eyes directed solely on the person that collided with him while he was preparing for a well-deserved night's rest.

This boy's look and smell was unmistakable.

A Leaf brat.

A Hyuuga brat.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"You will fail...and Konoha will burn. But everything will be fine, boy," Danzo drawled, shifting his dark eyes from the Hokage's seat to the man favoured by the village, Minato Namikaze. "Because I will rebuild Konoha from the molten ash."

Minato frowned.

Done speaking his mind and outlining his stance on the matter, Danzo left the tent.

Minato would rather diethan let that happen.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The last thing Naruto did was slice off the Chunin's right hand and slide the ninja's tanto across her throat, allowing her to bleed out in the bliss of unconsciousness.

The boy watched the blood pulse from the throat wound, wearing a grim look and empty eyes, till he was satisfied the Star Kunoichi was dead.

He scattered rubbish from a trashcan over the dead body and left for the electric grid, sliding his new tanto into a sheath on his back.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Was it your idea to bomb the school?"

Ten curled away, truly offended. "Of course not. I'm not some…some…some…psychopath!"

Danzo gave the order and Ten obeyed.

That didn't make him a psychopath.

It didn't!

Naruto's unmoving silence displayed his doubt, but who was he to judge?

Everyone in CORE was insane in their own creative way.

How they managed it was another thing entirely.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

All of Kumo was Whisper Group turf, adding the northern, eastern, southern and a few spotty places in the central regions of Snow Country were also classified as territories under Naruto's watchful gaze, primarily protecting the forgotten people considered to be the dregs of society and also those families in desperate need of financial intervention.

Western Snow country was being troublesome.

Patrolling their territory and ensuring the war between Konoha and Iwa, and their allies, didn't harm those in their care was the priority of the rapidly growing crime family.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"The Whisper Group," Sasori began, "is a clandestine group that has monopolised the criminal underworld so thoroughly, they might as well be the criminal underworld." Sasori took a moment to let that statement sink in, continuing, "To the best of my knowledge, they are made up of a vast network of families, relations, and friends. One family I managed to identify was almost literally lifted out of the gutters by the group's Leader, saved by their own hands from crippling poverty."

"Who is this 'Leader'?" The Raikage asked, firing off another question, "And what about the family you identified as WG? Bring them in for questioning!"

"The family I located has gone missing; maybe relocated elsewhere, or likely killed." The spymaster shrugged. "As for their leader, I do not know who or what he is." He held up a finger before the Raikage could lose his patience, seeing the vein throbbing on the man's neck at all the money he was spending hiring Sasori's services. "But…the rumours I hear from non-members is that the Leader is a person of great cunning and that he moves around with an alien disguised as an angel. His 'Guardian Angel' they say"

"Guardian angel…?" Fuu Yamanaka breathed under his breath. "Alien…?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The men and women in dark suits snapped to their feet as their Boss entered the dining hall, halting their dinner in favour of standing upright and moving their right fists to their hearts, puffing out their chests in respectful salute.

"Boss!"

The voices of these people echoed in their tens of thousands.

The air was charged with their unfaltering, unyielding loyalty.

His tools.

The assembly dropped their salutes and bowed, much to his amusement as he took his place at the head table.

Not all fights saw the light of day or the pale rays of the moon.

The significant battles happened in the secrecy of the criminal underworld, and that was where they resided as one big, happy family.

Whisper Group

That's it for now.

Since I'll be continuing where I left off (that is, Chapter 8), expect the next chapter on Friday, and edited updates of Shadows Smirk here and there.

Stay safe and have a great day.

Foy.