A/N: This story is going to be put on hold for a bit. I'm going to put up a new story and I can't focus on both stories at the same time. Now I'm not starting a new story, I'm just posting what I have on my mind right now, or else it won't leave me alone.
Also, some parts of this chapter were rushed, so I'm going to edit them later.
Densetsu no Yonnin (The Legendary Four) - Chapter X (Rework in Progress)
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Naruto
(Training Ground 3)
About an hour after they decided to leave Konoha for good, the four walked into their personal training ground. They needed to tell their benefactor that they decided to take him up on his offer. They found Danzō sitting in the same place as when he was talking to Sasuke.
"Hey, Danzō-san," Sasuke called.
Danzō turned his head to Sasuke, and when he saw his friends with him, he gave a nod of satisfaction. "I take it that you all agreed to my offer," he asked, though it was unnecessary.
"Yes," Sasuke replied. Hinata and Sakura also gave a verbal affirmation, and Naruto gave him a slow nod.
"Excellent," Danzō stated. "Now here's the plan: If you want to leave Konoha you must leave when the security is at its lowest: at night. At exactly 3 AM, you four are going to meet one of my agents in the market district. He is going to disguise himself as a merchant and will be driving a wagon with the number 53 on it. His role is to sneak you four out of the village in the wagon. You must meet him at 3 AM sharp otherwise it will throw the plan off," he explained.
"Yes," Sasuke answered.
"Umm, Danzō-san," Hinata spoke up, "Won't people notice that we're missing."
"You won't need to concern yourself with that. I will cause a distraction that will draw the village's attention. You four just need to focus on getting to that wagon on time," Danzō explained. "Now once you leave the village, my agent will drive you out to a secure location. Then, you all can go on to lead better lives. Understand?"
"Yes," Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura agree.
Naruto, who had remained silent for most of the discussion, simply stared at Danzō with suspicion.
(Leaf Village Streets – 4 Days Later)
"Hello, there," the store clerk greeted Sasuke and Sakura.
The duo was tasked with getting all the food they needed on their one-way trip out of Konoha. They had arrived at the grocery store and spent the last several minutes picking out enough food to last one month. Now they were just placing down the first batch.
"And how are...," the store clerk trailed off when the duo left the checkout counter and walked back into the aisles. A few minutes later, they came back with more food. "And how are you...," the store clerk failed once again to finish his sentence since his customers walked back into the aisles again. For the third time, Sasuke and Sakura returned with more food. The store clerk waited several seconds but the duo didn't move this time. "And how are you doing today, Uchiha-sama?" he asked.
"Fine," was Sasuke's quick reply.
"Okay...," the store clerk was put off by Sasuke's bland response but didn't voice his displeasure. He tried once again to make small talk. "Do you think you have enough food," he joked as he gestured to the pile of fruits, vegetables, and canned goods that almost covered the entire counter.
Sasuke and Sakura stared at each other before tilting their heads to the ceiling; both having the same thought. It was about a certain blonde sighing contentedly as he pats his inflated stomach. Sitting in front of him were stacks of large empty bowls that almost reached the sky.
Sasuke and Sakura tilted their heads down and gave each other knowing looks. "...Yeah, we're gonna need more," Sasuke decided, and Sakura agreed. The duo went back into the aisles and picked out more food to account for Naruto's monstrous appetite. The store clerk smiled nervously as he watched this happen.
Several minutes later, the duo came back with more food, and this time, the pile covered the entire counter. "You've got a lot of food there Uchiha-sama," the man pointed out, not noticing Sasuke's eye twitching. "What are you getting it for?"
"Nothing that concerns you," Sasuke's response was cold as he held the required amount of money up to him.
The store clerk frowned but took Sasuke's money. He gave the young noirette back the required change, with a discount included, and started to bag all the food. "Are you sure you both can carry all this, Uchiha-sama? This is a lot of food," the store clerk asked the pair.
"No, we don't need your help," Sasuke dismissed with a twitch in his eye.
"Okay..." The merchant was put off by Sasuke's dismissal but didn't voice it. He simply bagged the rest of the food. Sasuke and Sakura picked up the bags and walked out of the store without giving the store clerk another glance.
"That was a little harsh," Sakura spoke up.
"We don't have time for pointless conversations," Sasuke replied as he carried most of the bags. "Did you want to stop and talk to him?"
"No. No. I don't even like him," Sakura answered. "I'm just saying that you could have let him off easier."
"I've been putting up with people like that for years. Trust me it gets very annoying seeing people worship the ground you walk on," Sasuke explained. "It took everything in me not to snap at him for that discount. And him calling me Uchiha-sama wasn't helping."
"Yeah. You always have this twitch in your eye whenever someone calls that," Sakura pointed out. "Are you sure you got all that," Sakura asked.
Sasuke was a little bit behind her as he was carrying most of the bags. He was up to his shoulders in grocery bags and was clearly struggling. "Yeah, I got it," Sasuke affirmed.
Sakura was confused about why Sasuke said that. She had less than half of the bags in her hands, so she could help him out with some. "Okay...," she relented. Silently, she promised that if he dropped them, she would take half of the bags and carry them, no matter what he said.
Surprisingly, Sasuke didn't drop them. On the entire way to his apartment, not once did the bags touch the ground. Sakura knocked on the door and a few moments later, Hinata opened it and let them in.
"Hey, guys..." Naruto greeted. He was lying on his back on the couch while gripping his right hand to his chest. Beside him lay two piles of scrolls; one was neatly organized in a stack, and the other had scrolls that were thrown in haphazardly.
"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke greeted back as he and Sakura set the bags down on a nearby table. As soon as he did, Sasuke collapsed onto a chair, breathing heavily.
"Sasuke-kun!" Hinata called. She rushed over to him to check him over, but Sakura stopped her.
"Don't worry, he's fine. He's just exhausted," Sakura explained, and Hinata relaxed.
"Why is he exhausted?" Hinata asked.
"Well, Duck-butt over here decided to carry most of the bags," Sakura threw a thumb over her shoulder to the panting noirette who slowly stood up from the chair. "I told him he didn't have to do that, but he didn't listen."
"Sasuke-kun, why would you do that?" Hinata questioned.
"Because I wanted to," Sasuke answered through pants. He ignored the disbelieving looks from Hinata and Sakura.
"I know what you mean, jackass. I do that sometimes, too," Naruto spoke up. "I don't know why, though. It just feels good when I do it," he explained, and Sasuke nodded in agreement.
Sakura could only shake her head. "Boys," she sighed. She turned back towards Naruto and noticed that he was cradling his right hand. "Baka-chan, is your hand okay?"
"Huh?" Naruto lifted his head up to look at Sakura. "Oh, yeah, I'm good. I've just been making a lot of storage scrolls."
"How long have you been doing this?" Sasuke asked.
"About 2 hours," Naruto answered, and Sasuke and Sakura winced in sympathy. "Though I kept messing up the kanji, so I had to throw a lot of them out."
"Are you gonna be able to seal the food up," Sakura questioned. If Naruto couldn't seal the food up right away, they would have to leave the food out, which would probably make it go bad. They also didn't have enough room in the refrigerator.
"Yeah, I can do it," Naruto reassured with a thumbs up. "It's just an aching hand, I'll be fine." The other three smiled at the blonde's reassurance.
(Park – The Day of the Escape)
"Okay, Hinata. You can do this," Hinata told herself as she gripped her fists in front of her chest. She was taking multiple deep breaths in and deep breaths out.
The bluenette was standing just outside the park entrance with her back against the wall. She spent the last few minutes summoning the courage to do what she needed to do. She poked her head around the wall to look into the park and saw that just like last time, her little sister, Hanabi, was there taking a stroll with her bodyguard.
Hinata pulled away from the opening and pressed her back against the wall again. She took in more deep breaths to ease her thundering heart. When her breathing calmed, she turned her gaze to the letter clutched in her hand. She couldn't say goodbye to her sister directly, so she would have to settle for this. She hated having to do this, but there was nothing she could do.
Hinata poked her head out into the entrance of the park, and her heart quickened. Hanabi and her bodyguard were walking toward the exit where she was. "Okay, Hinata. It's now or never," she told herself. The footsteps of the approaching pair got louder, and the bluenette prepared. "Okay, now."
Her mind wanted her to move, but her body remained frozen. "What? Why won't my body move?" she questioned herself. No matter what she told herself, her body refused to move. Hanabi's footsteps were getting louder, signifying that they were almost at the exit. "No, no, no! Come on, move!" she shouted in her head, but it was to no avail.
She needed to do this. She needed to tell her sister goodbye. If she left without saying anything, she would never forgive herself. So why wouldn't her body move? When Hinata's desperation reached its peak, she remembered something Sasuke taught her and her friends during one of their training sessions.
So, she rolled up her sleeve and pinched herself hard on her forearm. The action was painful, but it did the job. Hinata's anxiety was replaced with pain, and in that split second, she found her body moving on autopilot. She turned into the entrance and just as she planned, she bumped into Hanabi. In that split second of contact, Hinata managed to slip her letter into Hanabi's sash that was around her waist without anyone noticing.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" Hanabi shouted, not noticing who it was.
"I-I-I'm s-so s-s-sorry," Hinata stuttered out and gave a quick bow. Before anyone could say anything else, she sped off away from the two.
"Nee-sama...?" Hanabi muttered. The girl had a different set of clothes and a blue ribbon around her head, but Hanabi could have sworn that she heard her sister's voice and saw blue hair.
"Hmph, that girl can't see where she is walking. No wonder she was banished. The Hyūga clan doesn't need someone like that to lead them," Hanabi's bodyguard sniffed before turning to the 6-year-old brunette. "Let's go, Hanabi-sama. Your relaxing hour is over, and you have more training to do," he stated.
Inwardly, Hanabi frowned at the man's words about her sister and the thought of more training, but outwardly she had a neutral expression. "Yes, let's go," she replied and walked in front of her bodyguard toward the Hyūga Compound. She wrapped her arms around her waist as she thought about her sister. "Hm?" she hummed when she felt something in her sash. She pulled it out and saw that it was a piece of paper with her name on it. She realized that it was a letter and quickly folded the paper up and stuffed it back into her sash before her bodyguard could see it.
"Is everything all right, Hanabi-sama," her bodyguard questioned.
"Yes, everything is fine." Hanabi's tone was neutral, but inwardly she was vibrating with excitement.
Meanwhile, Hinata was catching her breath and hiding behind a building. Even though she was panting as if she had just run a marathon, she couldn't stop herself from feeling giddy at her successful plan, so much so that she couldn't keep the smile off her face. She poked her head out just in time to catch a glimpse of Hanabi walking behind a building. A small, content smile grew on her face.
"Goodbye, Hanabi-chan."
(Ichiraku's Ramen – The Day of the Escape)
"Hey, Teuchi-jiji! Hey, Ayame-chan!" Naruto called to the kind ramen stand owners; one of the only people who have ever shown him kindness.
"Oh, hey, Naruto-kun," Teuchi greeted.
"Where have you been? We haven't seen you in a while," Ayame asked while giving the energetic blonde a cheerful smile.
"Sakura wouldn't let me," Naruto grumbled. "She says eating ramen all the time isn't healthy. And I don't know why. I've been doing it for years and I've been fine."
"Well, she's not wrong," Teuchi told him. "Ramen is good, but that doesn't mean it's good for you. You can eat it occasionally; you just shouldn't eat it all the time."
"Hinata, told me the same thing," Naruto grumbled with a pout, and the ramen stand owners laughed.
"So, Naruto-kun, what will you be having today?" Teuchi questioned.
"I want one large bowl of every type of ramen you have," Naruto declared.
The other two paused at Naruto's request. "You want one of everything?" Ayame asked, just to make sure she heard right.
"Yep," Naruto confirmed with a grin.
"Even the vegetable ramen," Teuchi raised an eyebrow.
Naruto's grin faltered, but he forced it back in place, "Yep, even the vegetable ramen."
Teuchi and Ayame traded glances with each other. It wasn't like Naruto to eat vegetables willingly. Usually, either Sakura or Hinata would have to talk him into it. But now Naruto was doing it on his own. As if that wasn't strange enough, he requested one of each type of ramen they had. The ramen shop owners didn't know what was going on, but they vowed to figure it out.
"Okay, then," Teuchi spoke. "Let's hop to it, Ayame-chan." He received a vigorous nod from his daughter and the two went to work cooking Naruto's order.
Naruto simply sat in his chair watching the pair work. He was always mesmerized by the fluidity between the father-daughter ramen duo as they cooked his favorite dish. From Kneading the dough. Cutting it into strips. Mixing the broth with different seasonings. Putting it all together with various toppings. The duo did all of it without missing a beat.
Naruto was surely gonna miss this sight.
"Here, you go!" Teuchi placed the first bowl of ramen on the counter in front of Naruto. "First up, Shoyu Ramen."
Naruto stared at the bowl of divine deliciousness with his mouth salivating. After muttering his thanks, he broke apart his chopsticks and began eating his ramen. He shocked the cooking duo even further when he ate the ramen slowly. He savored everything in the bowl: the noodles, the toppings, and the broth, and committed it all to memory. "Ahh...," Naruto sighed in contentment, "Delicious as always."
Teuchi and Ayame were still confused by what just happened, but they still continued to cook the rest of Naruto's order. From Shio ramen to Tonkotsu ramen, and from Tsukemen ramen to Hakata ramen, Naruto ate it all and committed each taste to memory. He even forced himself to eat the Vegetable ramen. Finally, the last bowl was Naruto's favorite: Miso ramen. He took the most time with this one as he never wanted to forget the taste.
"Ahh...," Naruto sighed. He placed the empty Miso bowl on top of the stack of 14 bowls. For a little while, he sat in his chair, sifting through the memories of each type. Naruto broke out of his thoughts to pay for the ramen. He handed the money to Teuchi and stood up from his stool.
"So, Naruto-," Teuchi spoke up, attempting to figure out what was bothering Naruto.
"Teuchi, Ayame," Naruto spoke, intentionally cutting him off. He was staring at the counter as he spoke his next words, "You two were the nicest people I have ever met. I'm happy that I met you." Naruto told them with the utmost sincerity. He looked up from the counter and gave the pair the warmest smile that he had ever given anyone, "I just want you to know that." He turned away from the two confused and touched chefs to exit the shop.
Without giving Teuchi and Ayame a second glance, he walked out of the shop ignoring the calls from the duo as he started on his trek back to Sasuke's apartment. As he walked, his mind flashed back to the first time he met them.
Back then, he was simply a lost four-year-old child walking around in the unforgiving rain. Then, he saw Ichiraku's Ramen Shop. He didn't know why, but he felt drawn to the shop. He had a strong feeling that it was because of the warm homely atmosphere and the delicious smell emanating from the building. Much to his surprise, Teuchi and Ayame didn't shoo him away like the other villagers. They welcomed him in and even gave him a bowl of ramen for free. This was the first time in a long time that anyone had shown any form of kindness.
From that day forth, Teuchi and Ayame had cemented themselves as two of Naruto's loved ones.
(Uchiha Compound – The Day of the Escape)
Sasuke breathed in heavily as he gazed around the living room in his former home. He had spent most of the day simply walking around the Uchiha Compound, taking in all the sights and committing them to memory. This was most likely the last time he would ever see this place, so he wanted to make sure he never forgot it.
There was the shop that his aunt and uncle used to own. Every time he'd go out to train, he would sometimes visit. There was a playground where the young Uchiha kids used to play whenever they had free time. Sasuke remembered watching the kids play, but he never joined them. He instead liked to train with his family.
There was the training ground where Itachi's girlfriend Izumi would sometimes hang out with him. At first, he never really liked the older girl. She seemed to act bossy towards him, never took him seriously, and would always get a kick out of calling him "Chibi-kun". But now he found himself missing his unofficial older sister. His brother was always busy since he was in the ANBU, so Izumi and Sasuke would pass the time by spending time together.
There was also the dojo where he and his mom would train in kenjutsu. He first wanted to learn how to wield a sword because he found out that his older brother used one. He practiced using a sword for about a week until his mom found out. Mikoto Uchiha used to be a shinobi and she specialized in using a sword, but she retired from active duty so that she could raise her children. Her skills accumulated over a decade of rust, but she could still explain the basics to Sasuke. From that point on, Sasuke would learn kenjutsu from his mother.
Sasuke even visited the lake where he first performed the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu. He had spent all day and a few hours of the night perfecting that technique to show off to his father. That was the day he gained acknowledgment from his father and was allowed to wear the Uchiha family crest on his clothes. It gave him hope that he could finally get out of his brother's shadow.
Sadly, that day would never come.
Sasuke shook off that depressing thought and looked around the room once again. As he did so, his mind conjured up a scene to replace the dilapidated home. He and his older brother were just coming home from training, their mother was in the kitchen cooking dinner, and their father was in his office handling clan business. His father would ask them how training went, and they would tell him that it went great. His mother would call all of them for dinner, and they would sit down and eat the wonderful meal that she cooked.
He suddenly found himself missing the homely atmosphere that his family provided.
Tears began to form in Sasuke's eyes as the hole in his heart where his family used to be started to grow. He wiped away the tears before they fell, but the hole in his heart was still there. He walked out of the room to try and escape the depressing atmosphere, but he wasn't watching where he was going, and he found himself in his parents' room. Being in this room did not help. In fact, it only made the hole's growth accelerate.
Sasuke's eyes roamed all around the room. In the two years since the Uchiha clan was massacred, the only time it was visited was when the bodies were collected, and the two times Sasuke visited, including this time. Other than those times, no one had visited, so the room had remained untouched and there was a coating of dust everywhere.
Sasuke wandered around the room and rubbed his hands along the furniture, not caring about the dust. He continued to wander until he came across a closet. He opened the closet door, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw the contents. Inside was a haori and a sword in its sheath. The haori was black and had white diamonds along its bottom. On the back was the red and white fan symbol of the Uchiha clan. The sword was sitting in a holder with a similar layer of dust to the furniture. The sheath was mostly black with a bit of white on the end, and the handle was black with a red guard. Sasuke instantly realized what these items were.
These were his father's haori and his mother's sword.
Sasuke hesitantly reached out his hand and pulled the haori off the hanger. He held it up in front of him, examining it. For what, he didn't know. After a few seconds, he slipped the haori on over his clothes. He immediately felt a sense of calmness and comfort wash over him. The noirette looked over to the sword and picked it up. He held it up in front of him with both hands, but he didn't take the sword out of the sheath.
The calmness and comfort he felt multiplied tenfold. As he wore the haori and held up the sword, he swore that he could feel Fugaku and Mikoto embracing him from beyond the grave. The depression he felt evaporated as if it was never there. Sasuke didn't know how long he stood there and didn't care.
All he knew was that he was not leaving the village without these items.
(Unknown Location – The Day of the Escape)
When Sakura opened her eyes, confusion flooded her mind. She saw that she was in a library, but this one didn't look like any library that she had ever been in. For one thing, the books on the shelves didn't have titles; they had dates and times on them. A lot of books were also partly faded out.
Curiosity getting the best of her, Sakura reached up and opened one of the books. She idly noticed that the shelf had 'Happy' written on it. A warm smile blossomed on her face when she saw the book's contents.
There were no words inside, inside it was a moving picture. The picture depicted a scene of her and her friends eating lunch at the academy. They didn't speak, they simply enjoyed each other's presence as they consumed their meals.
Sakura gazed at the scene for several moments, admiring the tranquility of the moment. Afterward, she closed the book and put it back on the shelf. She picked up another book and looked inside. This time, it showed her reading a book in the academy. Beside her, Hinata and Sasuke were silently reading theirs. Naruto, on the other hand, was struggling to stay awake. Taking pity on him, Sakura pulled the book out of his hands and placed it standing up in front of him with the cover facing the teacher. Naruto was confused at first, but then understood what she was doing. He sent her a grateful smile before he laid his head down and went to sleep.
Sakura would usually berate Naruto for falling asleep in class, but she let him sleep this time. He had been doing a lot of reading lately which had been exhausting for him. His words, not hers. So, she decided to give him a break.
Sakura put down that book and picked up another one. This time it showed her and Sasuke at Training Ground 3 in the evening. Sasuke had gone out to do extra training, and Sakura went after him about half an hour later. She witnessed him jumping between the trees surrounding the clearing when she arrived. She was mesmerized at the fluidity of his movements, but the trance was broken when he slipped, fell, and scraped his knee. Sakura rushed to help him and started pulling out her bandages. Sasuke tried to put up a tough front and say that he was okay, but she was having none of it. After she bandaged his knee, Sakura told Sasuke that they were heading back to his apartment. Sasuke didn't argue, but before he could stand, Sakura picked him up and placed him on her back. Sasuke protested vehemently with a small blush on his face, but Sakura ignored it and carried him all the way home. She did, however, spare him from further embarrassment by avoiding the public streets.
Sakura gave out a hearty laugh at that moment. Seeing the usually stoic Uchiha get all flustered like that was very amusing to her. It was also kind of adorable, but she would never say that out loud.
The next book she looked at was of her standing in front of Hinata defensively. They had encountered some bullies a few minutes earlier, and they started picking on them. Sakura was unbothered by their words, but Hinata started to shrink into her jacket. The pinkette saw what the words were doing to her friend, and she became angry. While the bullies were distracted, laughing their butts off, Sakura ran up to them and punched one of them hard in the face. The blow sent him flying, and he was reduced to a crying mess. The other two looked back at Sakura and saw that she had a murderous look on her face. They both turned their tails and ran, and the crying boy went after them. Sakura came out of her furious trance and turned to Hinata to give her some reassuring words. The words of comfort worked, and Sakura got the idea to take them out for cinnamon buns. Hinata immediately brightened up, and they both left to visit the pastry shop.
Sakura continued to view the books, each book sending a warm feeling through her heart. She was about to pick up another one when she saw a peculiar sight. It was a large void, where a shelf should be, and black tendrils were spreading out from the sides. She had no idea what this was or why it was here, but she felt like she needed to find out. She reached out a hand to try and touch the void.
Sakura's attempt was halted when a black and white hand shot out of the void and latched onto hers. She panicked and tried to free herself, but it was no use. The strange hand tightened its grip and threw Sakura away from the void. Sakura grunted as she landed on her butt from the throw. The hand started to move out of the void, and from it appeared an arm, and from that appeared a body that was entirely black and white. A body that was also a perfect copy of hers.
Sakura's eyes widened in shock. She knew what this apparition was from the talk she had with Inoichi. "Are you Inner me?" she questioned.
Inner Sakura didn't answer, instead, she just walked over to Sakura and slowly bent down in front of her. "Don't ever go there, again," were the only words she spoke.
Sakura was confused, but before she could voice it, Inner Sakura's hand shot out and latched onto her forehead. Sakura felt her mind become hazy and she fell unconscious.
(Hokage Monument)
"Sakura-chan... Sakura-chan..."
Sakura could vaguely hear a voice calling out her name and feel a hand nudging her. Her eyes fluttered open and were met with the sight of Hinata and Sasuke standing over her and Naruto crouching over her with a hand on her shoulder.
"You awake now?" Naruto asked.
Before she answered, Sakura looked at her surroundings. The four were on top of the Hokage monument sometime after midnight. The village life had mostly toned down; the only people who were awake now were the ninjas patrolling the rooftops and the merchants taking in shipments. Each of the four were carrying large camping bags, Naruto also had a bag full of sealing scrolls.
"Yeah, I'm awake," Sakura answered. She adopted a contemplative look as she thought about the strange library full of her memories.
"Are you alright, Sakura-chan?" Hinata asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a weird dream," Sakura explained.
"Ah, I know what you mean," Naruto spoke up. "I have weird dreams all the time. I once had a dream that we were swimming in a bowl of ramen."
"That's not surprising," Sasuke muttered, but Naruto still heard him.
"What's that supposed to mean." Naruto shot Sasuke with a dirty glare.
"I mean your addiction is so bad that it's invaded your dreams," Sasuke elaborated.
"I do not have an addiction," Naruto protested.
"Yes, you do," Sasuke responded easily with a smirk.
"No, I don't," Naruto insisted. "And even if I did, it's not as bad as you are with onigiri and tomatoes."
Sasuke's face twitched. "Hey, onigiri and tomatoes are delicious! Don't you dare insult them."
"I'm not insulting them, I'm just saying you can't say I have an addiction when you act the same way," Naruto explained.
Sasuke didn't say anything to deny Naruto's claim for several seconds, "...You have the bigger addiction."
"No, I don't!"
"Yes, you do."
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do."
"I think you're both wrong."
As if in sync with each other, Naruto and Sasuke turned their heads to face Sakura who had a shit-eating grin on her face. Hinata suddenly felt dread pool in her stomach.
"If anything, Hinata has the biggest addiction. I mean, have you seen the way she devours cinnamon rolls," Sakura explained and threw a thumb over her shoulder towards the bluenette.
Hinata became a blushing and blabbering mess as she shrunk into her coat.
"Yeah, she's got you beat loser. She eats them worse than you do." Sasuke's remark served to make Hinata blush even more.
"And that itself is an amazing feat," Sakura added.
"You guys are so mean." Naruto walked over to the stammering bluenette and gave her a side hug. He gave the other two an annoyed pout, "Cinnamon rolls are good. If she wants to eat them like an animal, she can do it." Naruto's comment and hug had the unintended effect of making Hinata blush even more if that was possible.
Sasuke and Sakura just gave the pair amused smiles before they walked to the edge of the mountain and sat down. Hinata and Naruto joined them shortly after. The four sat in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence.
"So, we're really doing this," Sakura spoke up.
"Yep," Naruto and Sasuke answered at the same time.
"It's kind of strange, isn't it?" Hinata wondered. "I mean, this place has always been our home, and now we're leaving it forever."
"I wouldn't call it home, but it does feel weird to leave it," Sasuke partly agreed.
"Yeah, I agree," Sakura stated.
"Me, too, but think about it. There is an entire world out there for us to see. Imagine all the sights we'll see, the people we'll meet, and the food we'll eat," Naruto nearly exclaimed.
"I am kind of excited, too," Hinata agreed.
"I guess it would be nice to learn about the world by actually going out instead of just having Iruka-sensei explain it to us," Sasuke stated.
"...Oh, who am I kidding, that would be more exciting," Sakura relented. She personally liked Iruka-sensei's lectures, but she had to be honest.
"Yeah, this is going to be the time of our lives," Naruto exclaimed, and the other three gave him smiles of agreement. Suddenly, a thought struck Naruto, he remembered that he needed to replace some of his lost ninjutsu. For several seconds, he was stumped as to how he could do that until he remembered something he read about in one of the scrolls he found. "Hey, how much time do we have until we have to get to the wagon?" Naruto asked.
"About an hour. Why?" Sakura answered and asked.
A foxlike grin grew on Naruto's face, and he had a mischievous glint in his eyes. The other three could practically feel the deviousness emanating from him. "Naruto... what's going on in that so-called mind of yours?" Sasuke asked in trepidation.
The subtle jab failed to drop the grin from Naruto's face. "Something brilliant."
(Hokage Office – 30 Minutes Later)
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Sakura muttered as the four walked into the Hokage office.
"I can't believe how easy it was to get in here," Naruto stated, surprised.
"Yeah, you'd think the Hokage office would have better security," Hinata agreed with Naruto.
"They probably got lazy since we're not in a war right now," Sasuke offered an explanation.
The four spent the next several minutes searching the Hokage's Office for a certain item. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were moving around various things and Hinata stood by the door as a lookout.
"We're looking for a scroll, right?" Sasuke turned to Naruto to ask him a question.
"Yes. It's called the Scroll of Seals," Naruto confirmed.
Sasuke slowly turned his head back to the pile of scrolls in front of him. "I guess I better get looking," he sighed.
"How'd you even find out about it?" Sakura asked.
"I read about it in one of the scrolls I found," Naruto answered, idly throwing things around haphazardly.
"Someone just wrote information about a forbidden scroll and threw it in the trash?" Sasuke asked, bewildered.
"Like I said: You'd be surprised what people throw away," Naruto repeated. He then tilted his head up in thought, "Although, now that I think about it, the scroll might have held some kind of secret plan."
The other three paused at Naruto's words. "Secret plan...? Do you think someone was trying to steal this scroll?" Sakura asked, alarmed.
"...Maybe," Naruto finally replied.
"Well, if they were, they wouldn't have had a hard time," Sasuke stated.
After a few more minutes of looking around, Sakura was finally getting frustrated, "Ugh, where is that stupid scroll?! We've been looking for 15 minutes!"
"It's a secret scroll with powerful and awesome jutsu in it," Naruto explained, "It's not gonna be just lying out in the open."
"I think I got something," Sasuke spoke up catching the other three's attention. He gestured to a corner in the office where under a pile of various items lay a scroll that was about half as tall as he was. They all simply stared at the scroll that contained powerful and forbidden jutsu... that only took them 15 minutes to find.
"...At least it wasn't just lying out in the open," Sakura offered.
"But still, it's not even in a safe. How bad is this building's security?" Naruto asked.
"Well, we found it, let's take a look inside." That statement brought the other three out of their baffled states, and they walked over to stand behind Sasuke, who began to unravel the scroll.
The four were left gaping in shock as they read the contents of the scroll. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined the kind of techniques the scroll stated could be performed. In the academy, they were just learning how to make clones of themselves, switch places with objects, and transform into people and objects. Yet, the kind of techniques in this scroll blew those three out of the water.
There was a technique in which both the user and the target are sacrificed when it was performed.
There was a technique that could disable the body's chakra limiters to give one the power to rival a Kage.
There was even a technique that could summon the dead from the impure world.
"...So... which ones do you want Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"Umm..., I'm not really sure," Naruto answered as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, you better decide soon, we don't have a lot of time," Sakura warned.
"Yeah, I know," Naruto replied and began looking through the scroll. "Are y'all sure you don't want one?" he asked since when he told them about his plan, they denied wanting one of the forbidden techniques.
"Nah, I'm good," Sasuke answered.
"They're forbidden for a reason, and I don't want to find out why," Sakura shook her head.
"I just don't feel right about taking one of these jutsus," Hinata replied.
"Okay...," Naruto sighed and returned to looking through the scroll. After a few minutes of looking, he found four techniques that interested him. They were the Water Style: Chakra Pulse, Shadow Clone Jutsu, Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation, and Genjutsu: Infinite Darkness. He wrote down all the information that the scroll had on them; what the techniques do, the hand seals needed, the drawbacks, and why they were forbidden.
"Okay, I got those four, now let's see what else is in here," Naruto started, but before he could, Sasuke grabbed the scroll and started to roll it up. "Hey, I was reading that."
"We don't have all day, we have to go now," Sasuke stated.
"But wanted to find more cool jutsus," Naruto whined.
"You already have four of them. That's more than enough," Sakura spoke and gestured to the small scroll that Naruto wrote the information down on.
"You can never have too many cool jutsu," Naruto insisted. When he saw that the two weren't budging, he argued, "You can't sit there and tell me you didn't think all those jutsu weren't cool."
"...Okay, I'll admit some of them were awesome," Sasuke relented.
"Sasuke!" Sakura cried while Naruto did a small fist pump.
"What? They were," Sasuke repeated.
Meanwhile, a pair of footsteps were getting closer to the office. Despite the noise of the arguing trio, Hinata managed to hear it and became alarmed. "Umm... guys," she tried to get their attention.
"See! Sasuke agrees with me," Naruto exclaimed.
"No, I don't. I just said that the jutsus were powerful," Sasuke replied getting an indignant squawk from the blonde.
"Even if they are powerful, they were forbidden for a reason, and we don't need a whole bunch," Sakura explained.
"Eh, they were probably banned because people couldn't handle how badass they were," Naruto waved off Sakura's concern.
"Umm, guys," Hinata tried to get the trio's attention again, this time louder. It didn't work.
"Did you even read the jutsus' drawbacks?" Sakura asked.
"He probably didn't think that the jutsus would have drawbacks," Sasuke jabbed.
"What was that jackass?!" Naruto growled. "Of course, I read the drawbacks. I know about each of the jutsus' costs. But we can overcome them."
The phrasing of Naruto's sentence confused Sasuke and Sakura. "What do you mean 'we'," Sakura asked.
"Guys!" Hinata shouted.
"WHAT?!" Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura shouted back. Hinata recoiled, and the other three winced. "Sorry, Hinata/Hinata-chan/Hime-chan," they muttered a simultaneous apology and waited for Hinata to say what she needed to say.
Before Hinata could explain, the door opened, and Hiruzen was standing in the door frame. Everyone froze; the quartet in fear and Hiruzen in curiosity. The third Hokage raised an eyebrow, "What are you-,"
"Henge!" Naruto shouted and placed his hands in a seal.
A puff of smoke engulfed the blonde, and everyone jumped back or narrowed his eyes in Hiruzen's case. When the smoke dissipated, everyone was left gaping in shock.
In Naruto's place was a girl that was sixteen years of age. She had long blonde hair in twin ponytails, blue eyes, and six whisker marks on her cheeks. She was essentially a female version of Naruto. While that on its own was shocking, what left everyone gaping was that the blonde girl was completely naked. Her curvaceous body was exposed to the world, and the only thing protecting her modesty was two conveniently placed clouds.
Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura's jaws literally hit the floor, and all three of them had raging blushes on their faces. The most surprising reaction was Hiruzen's. A geyser of blood shot out of the third Hokage's nose and launched him into the wall opposite the Hokage office. The old man passed out from blood loss shortly after. Another puff of smoke engulfed the blonde and dissipated to reveal Naruto also gaping at the third Hokage, though he didn't need to pick his jaw up off the ground.
"Holy shit, it actually worked," Naruto muttered in disbelief. "Well, time to go!" he shook himself out of his stupor and rolled up the Scroll of Seals again. He paused when he realized that his friends were simply standing there frozen and staring at him, "What are y'all waiting on, we gotta go!" That finally snapped the other three back to reality, though they all had large blushes on their faces, including Sasuke.
Naruto brought the Scroll of Seals back to the corner it was in but didn't bother to put the stuff back. However, in his haste to get it done, he tripped over a box and knocked the contents out. "Ow, dammit!" Naruto winced. "What the hell was..." Naruto trailed off when he saw what fell out of the box.
It was a kunai. However, it wasn't just any kunai. It had three blades on it instead of the usual one and the handle was thicker. The handle also had paper wrapped around it with kanji markings. Naruto had absolutely no idea what the markings were. He recognized it as a sealing marker, but it was much more advanced than anything that he had seen. He picked up the kunai to examine it closer, but he still couldn't decipher it.
"What kind of fūinjutsu is this?" Naruto muttered to himself.
"Naruto!" Sasuke called, snapping the blonde out of his daze. "Come on!"
"Yeah! Coming!" Naruto called back. He briefly looked at the kunai again before he stuffed it into his backpack and left to catch up with the other three. He resolved to figure out the puzzle that was the strange markings later.
"Okay... what the hell was that?!" Sakura demanded as the four were jumping across the rooftops to get to the meeting place. Hinata and Sasuke wondered the same thing.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"Don't play dumb! What was that jutsu? Why did you turn into a naked female version of you?" Sakura shouted.
"Oh, that's my Sexy Jutsu," Naruto proclaimed with pride.
"Sexy Jutsu?" The other three repeated in disbelief.
"What kind of jutsu is that?" Sasuke questioned.
"And where did you get the idea for it?" Sakura asked.
Hinata remained silent as she listened to the conversation with a still crimson face.
"It's my secret jutsu that I use for some of my pranks and taking out perverts. It's surprisingly effective," Naruto explained. "I came up with it after I saw some guys reading a magazine. They were giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls, and I wanted to know what was going on, so I read one of them. I didn't really know what the big deal was, it was just some pictures of naked girls," Naruto remarked missing the disbelieving looks from his friends.
"That needs to be a forbidden jutsu," Sasuke commented.
"Naruto, never use that jutsu again," Sakura forbade.
"What?" Naruto squawked, "Why?"
"What do you mean 'why'? You're turning yourself into a naked girl. You can't do that," Sakura tried to explain.
"But why? What's wrong with it?" Naruto asked in genuine curiosity.
This again earned him looks of disbelief. "W-… well... it's," Sakura tried to come up with an answer. "Sasuke, you tell him," she ordered.
"Why do I have to explain it?!" Sasuke protested.
"Because I can't think of a reason," Sakura replied.
"So, you're just gonna make me do it?"
"Well, somebody has to."
"And that somebody has to be me?"
"Of course! I mean I can't ask-"
"Okay, Hime-chan, I'll only use it for emergencies."
Naruto's words broke the duo out of their argument, and they looked over to see Hinata with a small blush and Naruto with an understanding look on his face. "Huh," they both asked at the same time.
"Hime-chan, just told me why I can't use it. Something about public indecency," Naruto replied. "But it's still very powerful, so I'm only gonna use it for emergencies."
As if they were in sync, Sasuke and Sakura turned their heads to Hinata, then back to Naruto, then back to Hinata, then back to Naruto, and finally back to Hinata. "Thanks, Hinata," they both replied.
"N-No p-problem," Hinata replied.
The quartet continued to jump across the rooftops until they reached the meeting spot. The market district, specifically where all the trading takes place.
"Okay, we're here," Sasuke stated. The quartet sat there in silence and gazed down at all the trade wagons. "...Crap," Sasuke muttered.
"What?" Hinata and Sakura asked.
"Which wagon are we supposed to get in," Sasuke questioned. The question caused the two girls to pause. They looked at all the numbers on the wagon, but they couldn't for the life of them remember which number was the right one.
Naruto, on the other hand, was dealing with internal conflict. He remembered exactly which number wagon they were supposed to get in, but he didn't know if that would be a good idea. Ever since he met Danzō, he had been getting a horrible feeling from him. Something about this entire situation was putting him on edge. He couldn't explain it but, simply being in Danzō's presence was putting him off. It was as if all his senses were telling him 'Get you and your friends away from this man as quickly as possible.' And where had he heard that name before?
Naruto looked at his friends who were still debating over which number the wagon was and made his decision. His instincts had never failed him before, so they wouldn't now.
"It's number 56," Naruto finally spoke up. The other three looked up at him in surprise.
"Number 56?" Sakura asked. Naruto simply nodded.
"Are you sure," Hinata asked to confirm. Naruto nodded again.
Sasuke gazed at Naruto in suspicion. The blonde refused to look any of them in the eye, and it was setting off warning bells. Sasuke shook off his concern. His friend would never lie to them about this, there was no need to be suspicious. "Okay, let's go."
The quartet jumped down in the district and walked over to the wagon labelled 56. They pulled open the flaps and saw that there were stacks of crates inside. The four moved the crates around to make room for themselves and climbed inside the wagon. They sat in silence as they digested the whole situation. They were finally leaving the Leaf Village to live better lives. They didn't know where the wagon would take them, but they felt that their lives were only going to get better from here on.
The four didn't know how long they sat in the wagon; in fact, they almost fell asleep at one point. They snapped awake when they felt the wagon move. They were confused at first but soon figured out what was happening. The wagon was driving away. The four looked outside the flaps. The market district was getting smaller and smaller as they moved away. Their heartbeats skyrocketed as they saw the village pass them by as they rode. The market district, the playground, the academy: they watched all these sights pass with bated breath.
They didn't release their breath until they saw the village gates pass by them. Realization soon hit Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura like a meteor. They were outside the Leaf Village
They were finally free.
A/N: The four have finally left the Leaf Village. But will their life from here on out go as planned? Probably not. But find out how it goes wrong next time.
Fun fact. All the types of ramen that Teuchi and Ayame give Naruto are real types of ramen.
Question: In all the Naruto fanfictions that exist, is there one where the author made Konohamaru the Hokage?
Date: Jul/31/2022