Yo, it's Ken
Welcome to 2024! That won't age well haha but for now it's still the beginning of the New Year and the beginning of the Journey to the East/Renegades Arc. I'll be honest with you guys I was not supposed to write this chapter or even publish it yet, I was supposed to be nice to myself and give myself a little break after the back-to-back chapters for closing out the Land of Iron Arc but I was hit with a wave of inspiration, and it looks like we're here now haha.
Let me talk about this arc a little before I get into the reviews. If I had to describe this arc in a few words I would say, "Naruto, Public Enemy number one and the friends he makes along the way are faced with the reality of the Ninja World in a fun and dramatic journey leading to Naruto's mission being accomplished, but at what cost?" It's not my best work but I'll let you do with those words what you will.
Lets get to reviews!
Dragonkeeper10: Hey there! As always I'm a big fan of your reviews and how they are laid out. Yes, Naruto thanks to the involvement of Danzo and his schemes is now the target of multiple groups who are all hunting him down for various reasons and we'll see those groups collide as they all get closer to reaching their target all the while our boy is just trying to live his life. Yes, in one of the last scenes Naruto did encounter the mystery woman now you know me and spoilers, so I don't have much to say but I'm looking forward to the interaction a lot so look forward to it. The final scene is an aftermath but it is also a reference toward Naruto's next companion, so I'd like to see what you think of that. My plan is to take a deep dive into all the jutsu types and chakra this arc so look forward to that! Thank you again for reading, I hope to see you in the next one!
Jagsboy: Jags! It was a little sad for me to write Kurotsuchi's departure as well, but I've got something up my sleeve, so we'll see her again soon also yes she's aiming to become Kage so she could make Naruto a home where he can be safe instead of in constant danger and isolation on the road even if that means she has to let him go for now. It's an interesting concept but not for this story I'm sorry, Kuro is still in top shape for achieving her goals. The mystery person unfortunately is not an OC this is in fact a character we have met before in canon so that means I'm doing a pretty good job at concealing her identity so far you'll find out very soon but for now you can take another guess and enjoy this new chapter. Jags you never fail to surprise me I won't say much but you are onto something with the connection of Karin and the Land of Whirlpools happening to line up you'll have to see and as for any old records I'll go into details with those later. Also, yup this first chapter is strictly the Hidden Leaf and their reactions to Naruto's profile while setting up their role in the future of this arc Naruto is only one character and I am planning of pushing my limits to try and encompass the world in this story. Thank you so much for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
dastewie2012: Hey there! I'm glad you are confused, that's kind of the point lol however I'll say this. You'll have to see but I'm genuinely impressed with your guess and that's all I'll say. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
Krieger Techpriest: Krieger! Of course my friend, my policy is the truth and nothing but. I'm glad you were surprised, this was a very emotionally charged chapter and I wanted it to reflect the closing out of the Arc as Naruto's journey takes him elsewhere. Akatsuchi is a pretty cool guy, I wrote him a little bit but I may have to write him a little more as I will be eventually. Will Onoki change indeed? I'm looking forward to exploring that concept as we move forward with the story. Thank you again for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
thor94: Hey there! Regarding the Bingo Book I already made plans surrounding it here in this chapter so there isn't much I can say without you reading this chapter in the first place so what I'll say for now it that there is definitely some foul play at work. Regarding Sasuke his current status is still down as missing nin as he has yet to have completed any work on an official capacity other than this mission, he has with finding Naruto but things will begin to shift with this chapter. That I promise. Thank you for reading!
Hnbutt: Happy New Year to you too! Our mystery person unfortunately isn't a twin of Naruto she is someone we've met before and you'll get to see here soon so look forward to it. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
DictatorK: I'm glad you liked the story enough to binge read the entire story, I'm impressed and honored. I also enjoyed writing for the Land of Iron Arc as I always wanted to get a little more exploration of the samurai and thought it would be really cool for Naruto to be exposed to the world outside of his own so I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading!
Alexander4443: Welcome to the new year bro. Thanks as always. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
zidius: Thank you! While I won't exactly say Naruto will be using his sword in every single one of his fights, he will be using his sword pretty frequently in fights and I'm looking forward to writing those so look forward to them. Thank you for reading I hope to see you in the next one!
Poizonn98: Well, here's your next chapter lol Thank you for joining the Discord and your questions so far, I appreciated them! Regarding Naruto and Kuro these two are in a relationship of sorts kind of an unspoken but known relationship because neither one of them thought to make things official both on the grounds of ignorance and because they're ninja, they could die at any moment. You will be seeing so much more from this story I promise I'm pushing my limits with this one so looks forward to it! Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
ecoBlade: I'm really glad you caught back up on this welcome back! I'm glad you enjoyed the arc as a lot of heart went into writing it. Now for the Bingo Book, admittedly this is my first time navigating through trying to write a Bingo Book profile but allow me to clarify a few items. Despite how it may look there is a plot specific reason why it looks the way it does with some of the entries that I'll touch on in this chapter. The Jutsu list isn't really a part of the Bingo Book as much as it is a little Jutsu progress report I wanted to sneak in for you guys because I'm considering adding something like this to the end of the chapters for this arc just to add a little view into Naruto and co's development I will say you are right about the Kenjutsu aspect though, Naruto's Kenjustu is at Jonin Level and will be updated to reflect that. I get it, the contract thing is a trope but I considered that Jiraiya, Minato, and Naruto having the same sage mode sans Jiraiya because his is slightly different just felt a little boring to me so I decided to use this trope because I have a contract in mind for Naruto so Naruto with sage mode and summoning will still be a factor in this story just not with the Toads and I'll let you read an find out. Thank you so much for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
Spellbat: Spellbat! Thank you for joining the Discord btw and I see we've got an expansion deeper into the Spellbat(s)? in your reviews. Kuro and Temari meeting each other is something I've had in the back of my head for the longest time and I'm looking forward to writing that because it will be happening guaranteed. Also, it is not Hinata you see here it is someone else, but you'll get to see Hinata in this chapter who is a character I'm looking forward to writing for as well with these changes so look forward to it. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the next one!
NaruRias2: Thank you so much for reading, I'll continue the good work while I hope you continue reading. Thank you again for reading!
Kopi Susu Dingin: I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Naruto and Kurotsuchi's interactions were ones I enjoyed writing as well. Thank you for reading I hope you stay healthy and safe as well.
Phew we had a good bunch there! Thank you all and as always if you have any questions, thoughts, or criticism please leave them in a review and I'm more than happy to react to it as I read all of them and will get to as many as possible.
Now a few more things before I let you guys get to reading, last Arc focused on swordplay and Kenjutsu with a splash of new jutsu here and there but for this arc I'm pushing Chakra and eveything known about the justu types to their limit throughout the span of this arc so I'll be taking a deep dive and exploring these concepts in this arc hopefully making for some entertaining fight scenes and interesting elements.
My questions to all of you to put into your reviews after this chapter, Who do you want to see join Naruto in his journey next on the road to the Land of Whirlpools? The other question I have for you is Who do you think the other person in the last section of this chapter by the river is?
Anyway, I'm super excited to start this arc as it may be the biggest one yet and by far one I'm planning on pushing past the heights of the Land of Iron Arc so look forward to it.
There is a Discord now! It's still new so there's still a lot of moving pieces I'm putting together but I've got stuffed planned out. It's just a cool palce to hang out, talk about the story, and chat about various things. I'll occasionally put-up polls for feedback and addtions, answer questions and chat, I'm even goign to put sneak peeks of chapters for the channel to read and check out so if you are interested, I'll leave the link here! Poizonn98 also told me you don't need the https stuff so you can just use this section of the link thanks Poizonn!
/M3unJBNpJ4
Thank you all again for reading and I hope you enjoy!
-Ken
Next Time! Chapter 28: A Blade Named Vengeance (1/24/2024)
{...}
Chapter 27: Found You
"Hey Granny… Thanks … for everything."
That single sentence haunted the mind of Tsunade since the minute she would see the back of the blonde-haired boy for the last time in her brown eyed vision, she nearly tore her office apart there and then she had to resist every part of herself from getting up and going after the blonde boy.
After that she just felt empty for a little while, she drank more the alcohol helped in preventing her from burying Danzo in the ground with just her fists and giving those council geezers a true piece of her mind. Being the hokage was awful and it only got worse the more time had passed since he was gone.
Sakura would still show up for training in medical ninjutsu along with Ino occasionally, but she had felt something change in both of the girls, she could see guilt in the eyes of her pink haired protege, a look she knew all too well.
In Ino's eyes she rarely saw much other than make-up to try to compensate for probably restless nights. She had been obsessing over a little white flower, slowly day by day she could tell the subtle differences in everyone since Naruto's departure.
It brought them all down.
Driving Tsunade even madder by herself, her drinking increased and so did her sadness. She started cursing her late teacher for his inability to properly care for Naruto, she cursed Danzo for targeting the boy now after all of this time, and she cursed herself for folding underneath their pressure.
With those pictures circulating the village thanks to Danzo's scheme there was no way to safely protect Naruto while trying to find a way to get the news under control, for the sake of his safety she sent him away. All the work that he had done to gain some favor with this village was gone with a single story.
It was bullshit.
She hated it so much.
One day Jiraiya came to her office after her summons to nullify the toad contract Naruto had made. She had used genjutsu to try and fool her old friend but of course it didn't work, and he saw right through her and how she was actually feeling.
He spoke to her and comforted her, most of all he gave her hope. Jiraiya said he was going to bring Naruto back home in the meantime, she would find a way to try to take care of his treatment here in the village to prevent further issues.
The determined look on Jiraiya's face made her believe that he could do it and believe she did. Then Jiraiya had left to find Naruto, she had waited and waited for some kind of update or news about the boy.
However, she never received much.
Jiraiya would come back occasionally and report his recent findings before he would leave again using a different route from any sightings of Naruto, she watched as Jiraiya's reports became more and more sparse with the passing months.
A sinking thought started to creep in her head.
That Naruto hadn't made it.
Slowly as the months continued to pass, she watched several changes happen in the village, Sakura continued her training with her, but she was always completely exhausted but had a determined look in her eyes. Kakashi became more diligent, if not a bit more closed off while the change she had seen in the village felt like it was slowly going away… back to normal.
Like it had accepted the fact that Naruto was gone.
Maybe in her age she had grown to be too sentimental, still thinking about his antics and his goofy grins and jokes. He annoyed her but she genuinely adored that boy.
Maybe it was time that she let him go too.
Jiraiya hadn't reported anything in a while, not since some kind of sighting in the Land of Rice but it had been months since then.
Her brown eyes looked at Naruto's headband tied on a small piece of wood while she reached toward it, she hadn't touched it, nor did she allow herself too. It was the representation of her hope in his return and here she was ready to put it away because it was too painful.
"Lady Tsunade!"
"What's gotten into you? Did you get a hot date or something?"
"No… Ma'am… It's the Bingo Book, it's updated."
"Of course, it was Shizune, that book updates every 10 or so months with fresh information… why are you bringing it up?"
"Shizune, what is it? Some kind of S-Rank criminal?"
"Look!"
"Shizune, relax, you're acting like a mad woman. I'm sure it's-"
Tsunade's words died in her mouth while her eyes landed on a face, she hadn't seen in such a long time, she felt herself almost allow tears to run down her face before she looked up toward Shizune.
"Is this… is this real?"
Tsunade asked not wanting to believe in the hope she felt again so quickly only for Shizune to confirm for a fact that it was indeed real.
Naruto Uzumaki was alive.
"Summon Kakashi and Shikamaru…Tell them it's urgent."
Tsunade said while Shizune all but dashed out of the room to fulfill her order while the brown eyed woman chuckled while staring at the updated image of Naruto. He had looked the same, but he had changed as well, he looked taller but more importantly full of life.
She hugged the book to her chest before sighing.
"Damn it, brat. I underestimated you again."
Tsunade said while soon after two puffs of smoke appeared in the room revealing Kakashi and Shikamaru standing in front of her while the blonde hokage quickly regained her composure. The pair of Jonin looked toward the hokage with confusion.
"I hate to be that guy, but I was just wrapping up a debriefing with a squad I finished a mission with… did something bad happen to cause this sudden call?"
Shikamaru asked while Kakashi agreed with the black-haired teen silently before Tsunade took a deep breath before she lifted the closed book.
"You both remember our discussion we had a little while ago regarding the situation that had happened more recently back then, right? Well, this is in relation to that, whether that's good or bad well I'll leave that to your discretion… page 162."
Tsunade said as she tossed the book Kakashi caught it out of the air while he looked at it, "The Bingo Book?" the man spoke before he opened it to the page the woman was referring to before his eye widened. Shikamaru gave the man a look before he took the book while his eyes widened.
"This is real?"
Shikamaru asked while Tsunade felt a smile creep on her face while she nodded her head, Kakashi huffed before he chuckled, Shikamaru felt a smile grow on his face while he sighed.
"What a drag…"
The teen said while Tsunade cleared her throat, "This is a genuine article, and it was updated very recently as well… Not to mention with certain additional pieces of information that shouldn't be here" the woman spoke while Shikamaru looked toward her.
"High treason? Wasn't Naruto banished under different grounds? I also don't mean to rain on parades here but despite the legitimacy of reasoning this is public information for shinobi, that means that we certainly aren't the first to see this."
Shikamaru said while Tsunade nodded her head, "That's very accurate, I suspect certain parties are moving to close in on Naruto by making him an even higher value target. That leads into the bad news. With this update to the bingo book that means the bingo books of several other lands have been updated as well. Basically, meaning that with this latest issue. Naruto has now become fair game, making him the number 1 target of the world." the woman said while Kakashi and Shikamaru flinched at the information.
"That's a pretty big deal, with Naruto being such a high value target if he wasn't already in constant danger he now will be. He has to deal with that alone."
Kakashi spoke while Shikamaru gripped his hand into a fist, "High Ranking officials such as yourself are the one who draft the Bingo Book aren't they? so, if that's the case the how would this information be able to be falsified. This is clearly grounds of treason itself, isn't it? Said parties should be subject to answer for this." Shikamaru spoke in an angered tone while Tsunade sighed.
"In any normal case you would be correct, high-ranking officials are responsible for the creation of the Bingo Book profiles and while manipulating the information is a crime that's where the issue is born. I'm not the only high ranking official able to manipulate the Bingo Book, the Fire Daimyo is capable of that as well. If said daimyo made the adjustments, then unfortunately that doesn't connect this to anyone else in some substantial way. While there are suspicions, I cannot act on theories. Mor accurately I can't play into hands."
Tsunade spoke while Shikamaru's eyes widened before he looked to the side, "So this update has made Naruto into a criminal, what would the benefit of making the world an enemy of Naruto even have?" Shikamaru pondered while Kakashi sighed.
"Though it is unusual, Naruto received a profile for the Hidden Leaf being a banished nin and all. I don't want to sound too crazy or anything, but don't you think this if there was some kind of scheme surrounding Naruto. Is a bit of a misplay?"
Kakashi spoke while the blonde woman grinned, "Bingo. Kakashi, is absolutely right. I think you're forgetting the good news here gentleman." Tsunade spoke while Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.
"I mean... I'm glad Naruto's alive and all but I can hardly find anything great about him being a target to the entire world."
Shikamaru said while Tsunade shook her head, "Naruto isn't just the world's target but he's also our target as well being a banished and dangerous ninja and all, right? A part of my job as Hokage is the distribution of the Bingo Book to the Jonin of the village." the woman spoke while Shikamaru looked toward the woman in confusion.
"It says here that the target is A+ rank threat. I for one happen to believe this is quite concerning for the Leaf Village to have to worry about wandering around. So, for the safety of the village, I'm drafting a mission for the capture of this threat alive according to the Bingo Book."
Tsunade spoke while Kakashi looked toward her, "You mean we're going after him and bringing him back here?" the man spoke while Tsunade nodded her head.
"Official mission business of course, Naruto is fair game now. This update to the Bingo Book has now made our live easier in a sense, I'm predicting a certain party wasn't aware of the true blow back of fear mongering. No laws broken for just capturing and bringing back a criminal for justice, right?"
Tsunade said while Shikamaru huffed, he understood exactly what she was saying. After all this time they couldn't just leave for no reason to go after Naruto as his banishment was legally binding on the word of the hokage. However now that Naruto was in the Bingo book registered as a rogue shinobi and potential threat they could finally go after him and bring him back under the guise of a mission.
It was genius.
"Right now, we need to take full advantage of this situation. Unfortunately, the bad news is there are still far too many cards on the table to make any major plays so for right now I'm prioritizing the capture. While you all are bringing the target in, I'll do my best here to crumble any back up plans and finally take care of any obstacles regarding this operation."
Tsunade spoke while Kakashi and Shikamaru looked toward the determined gleam in the blonde woman's brown eyes while she closed her hand into a fist pointing at them.
"I won't let anything else stand in the way of setting things right."
Tsunade said before she cleared her throat regaining her composure, "I want the both of you on this mission, it's an S rank capture mission. You'll need to assemble your squads, once you do report back to me for briefing." Tsunade said with a small smile on her face while Shikamaru nodded his head along with Kakashi.
"Immediately."
Kakashi said while they wasted no time in disappearing from in front of her desk while she chuckled. For a moment there she sounded just like Naruto back then, when he saved her.
Tsunade had trusted her old friend but, in the end, Jiraiya was only one man and she had tons of faith in him but the more hands on the operation the better, this way there would be a further and more spread-out search for Naruto not giving the blonde a lot of options to hide from them. Meaning that they could track him down and bring him back.
That Bingo Book issue had been the best thing she had seen in a long time.
Now she felt that Naruto was closer than ever.
{...}
The sound of heavy panting was heard while a field covered with rocks and grass had massive holes all over it, various ninja tools had been scattered all over the ground stabbed into it while two figures ahead of the third one farther away one looked toward her.
"Incredible… just incredible! Your youth is outstanding!"
"Are we sure… she still needs training today? She looks pretty good to me."
Tenten admitted while Rock Lee gave her a big smile before he shook his head, "While it may seem like she's already gotten a lot stronger. I highly doubt she's hit her limits just yet isn't that right…" the black-haired boy grinned as he looked up toward a green-eyed figure.
"Sakura."
Lee said while the pink-haired girl panted while looking toward the pair on the ground, her hair was pulled into a short ponytail with the sides cut down evenly leaving her ponytail spiky. She had grown a little taller since they began their training while her muscles had become more toned from the training she had been going through. Her hand landed on a large black axe with red leather wrapping on its hilt, the girl lifted the weapon while resting it on her shoulder before giving the pair a determined look. "I'm still… good to go…" the girl spoke while Tenten paled.
"Sakura, while I respect your growth we've been training for hours. I think we're at a good spot to rest for now, you've improved greatly but you're wearing yourself down. Don't let Mr. Youth over here be a bad influence."
The brown-haired girl whose hair was free from her hair buns to travel down to her shoulder pointed toward Lee who grinned, "Alright then Sakura, we'll go again!" the black-haired boy spoke while Tenten gave him a glare.
"What did I just say?"
Tenten spoke with annoyance in her voice while Lee smiled, "Sakura is operating at 120% right now to continue to get stronger. Who am I to deny her of pushing past her limits completely to reach new ones? I myself am also reaching new limits along with her, even you too Tenten. You've grown a lot since we started. We'll give it our all for one last round!" the boy said while Tenten gave him a look before she looked toward Sakura who smiled at him.
"Thank you, Lee… I have to catch up to them. No matter what. For Naruto."
The girl spoke while Tenten looked down at the ground before she took in a deep breath. It had been such a long time since they received the news of Naruto's banishment. After that they pretty much heard nothing, while she knew Naruto to be incredibly strong, she couldn't stop that pessimistic thought from creeping in the back of her head.
She hated to think about it, she wanted to believe but with everything that has gone on. Naruto may very well just be gone…
Tenten lifted her pair of blades that were connected with a chain before her brown eyes caught on to Sakura's determined green ones. She still believed with all of her heart that Naruto was still out there waiting for them to find him.
So, she wanted to believe too.
"Second Gate of Healing: Open!"
Lee yelled out while he stomped his foot to the ground crumbling it while Tenten flinched at the boy, "Geez, you're going to do that that close to me?! At least give me a heads up!" Tenten yelled while Lee gave her an apologetic smile.
Sakura looked toward the pair in front of her while a determined look returned to her face, for the past 10 months she had been putting herself through rigorous training both mentally and physically. Training with Tsunade in medical ninjutsu all the while training with Lee and Tenten in utilizing her physicality, it was exhausting and nearly shattered her sometimes, but she had to push.
Naruto would push himself that far and beyond just to protect the people that he cared about, who was she to complain while he was still out there fighting alone?
She would make it to him and when she finally reached him, she would…
Sakura stomped her foot while looking toward Lee and Tenten while the ground cracked underneath her feet, "Sakura… wait. You shouldn't try that yet." Lee said while Tenten gave the girl a look of concern while the pink haired girl only looked back at them.
"Fi-"
Sakura was cut off by a large puff of smoke appearing between the sides of the training field revealing Kakashi with his copy of Make-Out Paradise in his hand.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Kakashi asked while Sakura looked toward her sensei with surprise, "Kakashi Sensei!" the girl yelled while the man gave her a look, "Sakura, you've been busy. As for you two you're in as good of shape as ever." the man spoke while Lee looked toward the man.
"Good day Kakashi Sensei! What's the matter? Did something happen?"
Lee asked while Tenten raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, normally we don't see you around like this." the brown-haired girl spoke while the man sighed.
"For that I apologize, but I'm not here for an apology. Instead, I have an extremely important mission that I have to offer you all."
Kakashi spoke while Sakara, Lee, and Tenten gave the man a look before he pulled out the Bingo Book, flipping it to show it off to the teens. "The Bingo Book?" Sakura asked while the man opened up the book flipping through the pages.
"We recently got an update on a ninja that has grown to become a threat toward the Leaf Village, the mission is to bring in the target alive for detainment here in the Hidden Leaf."
Kakashi spoke while he landed on the page causing Sakura's eyes to snap open, "Naruto?" the girl spoke softly while Lee pumped his fist in the air.
"I knew it! Naruto was still alive and well!"
The black-haired boy cheered while Tenten put a hand over her mouth, "He's still out there… He's still alive." the girl spoke while Kakashi eye smiled.
"Wait... but you said target. Does that mean we have to hunt down and arrest Naruto?"
Sakura asked while Kakashi blinked, "On paper. Our genuine mission is purely his retrieval, there are things in the works but for now being able to pick up Naruto is the important part." the man spoke while Lee's hand shot up into the air.
"Kakashi! Allow me to partake in this operation! Naruto's been out there waiting long enough! I can't wait to see him again!"
Lee spoke while Tenten looked toward the boy, "I want to join as well! I gotta keep this guy out of trouble and yeah it would be nice to finally bring Naruto home." the girl said while Kakashi smiled at them both before his eyes landed on Sakura.
The girl looked like she was still in shock looking toward the picture with Naruto's face on it, her fingers touching the picture gently while her lip quivered slightly.
Months upon months she had spent training and working just so she could get the chance to go find Naruto who sometimes she wasn't the most confident about whether or not he was still alive. That chance was finally here.
He still looked like Naruto, but he seemed a little older, his hair was kind of different and his face looked like it had a hint of maturity to it now. Sakura's eyes looked down toward the feats section of what Naruto had done, causing her eyes to widen.
He's gone from the Land of Waves to the Land of Stone with plenty of new experiences and multiple battles that he's gone through. Those probably explained the hint of maturity on his face now, he had been fighting all of this time.
Alone.
"Kakashi Sensei…"
Sakura spoke while the gray-haired man looked toward the determined green eyes of the girl who stared back into his eye.
"When do we leave?"
Sakura asked while Kakashi gave her an impressed look before he looked at the three teens, "I should have guessed that you would all be rather agreeable… We need to receive a briefing first but… soon. Very soon." the man said while he eye smiled.
"It will be a pleasure to work with you again, Sakura."
Kakashi spoke while the trio looked toward the gray-haired man who smiled under his mask looking toward them, it looks like everyone has been doing some growing since that day he last saw Naruto in the village the day he left.
Naruto had visited the Land of Waves again after all that time to see Tazuna and the others he presumed; he wondered how the blonde reacted to the bridge being named after him.
The blonde even had an encounter with the Hidden Sound and Deidara of the Akatsuki and managed to live to tell the tale, meaning that the blonde had grown in strength immensely just by traveling out into the world by himself.
He even battled with samurai in the Land of Iron, while he had nothing but faith in Naruto even after everything the boy still managed to surprise him with how strong and resilient, he was even being out there by himself.
There wouldn't be any more wasted time.
Kakashi had spent a lot of time by himself doing his own training especially with his sharingan, he knew if the day ever came to find Naruto, he would have to go far beyond his current limits of strength to ensure he could bring the teen back.
He finally got the chance.
'Naruto…'
Kakashi thought to himself while he looked at Sakura, Lee, and Tenten before he looked into the sky remembering that rainy day that Naruto had left. He closed his eye allowing the wind to blow through his gray hair before he opened it looking back down with a determined look in his stare.
'I won't let you walk away again.'
{...}
"And you're certain?"
"Yeah, no matter how you look at it, this is him."
Shikamaru spoke while Neji grabbed the book inspecting the page with Naruto's image on it before he sighed with relief present in his breath, "You're organizing a unit, aren't you? I'm joining." the white eyed boy said while Shikamaru nodded his head.
"Yeah, I figured. I have a couple of stops I want to make for a few more candidates but you were the first I wanted to make sure was on the case. Man, Choji picked a horrible time to be away on a mission he was my next pick."
Shikamaru spoke almost nonchalantly while Neji inspected the page, "What's the meaning of this High Treason? The grounds of his banishment were due to his involvement with the Nine Tails and the failure of the Sasuke retrieval mission were they not?" Neji spoke with poorly masked anger while Shikamaru gave him a quick look.
"Easy, there are too many ears even in the Hyūga compound. I'd rather not get into the specifics of my current theories at the moment, but I have a strong feeling something is off."
Shikamaru spoke while Neji nodded his head, "Then we'll report to Lady Tsunade once we assemble the rest of our unit and come up with a plan." the white eyed boy said while the black-haired teen looked behind him toward the hallway.
"Is Hinata-"
"Don't."
"That bad?"
"I'm worried about what the sudden information is going to cause her to do, I'd rather beg for her forgiveness after bringing him than ask for her permission and have her react recklessly."
Neji spoke while Shikamaru nodded his head, "I can respect tha-" the black-haired teen was interrupted by two loud thumps before the sound of something crashing. Neji and Shikamaru turned around toward the hallway before a door slid open.
"Is it true?"
A voice spoke while Neji grimaced while Shikamaru sweat dropped, approaching them was Hinata with a slight glare on her face her dark purplish hair was tied into a short ponytail while her attire consisted of a white jacket that was open revealing the dark purple tee underneath it that was cut off just at her midriff paired with black training pants and fingerless gloves that had pink cat paw prints on the palms.
"Is he… Naruto's still alive?"
The girl asked while Neji sighed, "Lady Hinata." the boy started before the girl already walked over to them quickly taking the book out of his hands staring toward the picture. The girl sucked in a breath before she placed a hand over her mouth.
"Thank goodness…"
Hinata spoke while Shikamaru looked toward her, "Can't hide it now… we're going to go get him back. Bring him home." the black-haired teen said while Neji shot him a look.
"Good, I'm joining."
"Hinata."
"No, it doesn't matter. No matter what you say you aren't stopping me, Neji."
Hinata spoke with a slight bite to her voice while Shikamaru blinked at the girl, no one had seen Hinata since the day of Naruto's banishment other than when she was on missions with the others. She had stayed cooped up not wanting to see anyone and now she had changed a lot.
She almost looked like a completely different person now.
Hinata was also a lot stronger than she was before from the looks of it as well, "Shikamaru, we report back to Lady Tsunade once the squad is assembled right?" the girl asked while she walked ahead of them outside, still holding onto the book. Shikamaru slowly looked toward Neji who sighed before placing a hand on his forehead dragging it down his face before the black-haired teen chuckled.
"What a drag…"
The teen said while Shikamaru and Neji walked after the girl who was stomping ahead not planning on listening to a single word from either one of the boys.
'Naruto… we're coming. Just hang one a little longer. I'm coming to get you back.'
Hinata thought to herself while she left Shikamaru and Neji in the dust while Neji sighed before he pointed toward the girl, "It's been a while… It's almost refreshing honestly." the boy said while the black-haired teen raised an eyebrow.
"She's smiling."
The boy said simply while a faint smile was on his own face, Shikamaru stared toward the teen before he looked ahead at the girl rushing ahead. His hand went to his pocket before he grabbed the shogi piece, he kept on him looking toward it.
Shikamaru envisioned the blonde holding up the piece with a big grin on his face before he saw multiple figures standing behind him, his teammates and others from the rookie nine all of them had smiles on their faces while looking toward the blonde.
That's right.
That was the effect that Naruto had on people, all of this time a lot of them had coasted and came to their own conclusions about Naruto's fate just to find a way to deal and cope with it but now that they know that he's alive and being brought back.
They were all going to smile again too.
"You better not have changed too much… Naruto."
{...}
"No."
Ino Yamanaka said while Shikamaru gave the girl a look while Neji looked equally as confused, "No? Ino you'd make a good asset to the team. Not to mention this is Naruto we're talking about, he's out there." the black-haired teen tried to argue but Ino shook her head.
"I said no. Now if you aren't buying flowers then I'll see you on some different mission."
Ino spoke while she reorganized the flowers on the back row of the shop, they were all standing in. The blonde girl's experience had been slightly different than everyone else's. She didn't take as many missions as she did before, sticking closely with the shop and helping out at it even more.
They still saw her, but she didn't have the same vibe to her anymore something shifted for the girl the day she came back after Naruto's banishment, while she was good at not showing any outward signs Ino was affected by the ordeal.
"Ino, look I get how this sounds but this book is a confirmation that Naruto is still out there somewhere. Having you around will make finding him all the easier."
Shikamaru tried to argue while Ino aggressively set the flowers she had in her hand down, "How do we know? Time has passed since the book has been updated, we could be chasing a ghost now." the girl said while Shikamaru sighed.
"Ino, I hate to be the guy to say this, but you have to have some kind of faith in Naruto that he's alive and out there. It sounds almost too good to be true, but we have to take this lead and find out for ourselves whether or not it's true."
The boy tried to argue while Ino huffed, "Why can't any of you just… let him go? It's nearly been an entire year and the world thinks of him as some kind of monster. If he's not already dead then he will be, we have to… we have to move on already." the blonde spoke in a quieter tone while Neji and Shikamaru stared at Ino who turned away from them.
That was another factor he didn't take into account.
Time.
The Bingo Book was updated on a fairly decent basis considering everything but the timing of receiving the issue and the actual update could be substantial; it could have been days or weeks, and anything could have happened in that time frame.
Especially since this was now common knowledge. It was definitely a possibility; it could very well be true that they could be too late.
"You're scared."
Hinata spoke up while the rest of the teens looked toward her while her fist was clenched at her side before, she stared into Ino's eyes, "You don't want to believe it, you don't want it to be true. Naruto being dead makes it easier to deal with him being gone in your mind. You're just scared to believe otherwise." Hinata spoke while Ino's eyes widened before she growled.
"Of course, I'm scared!"
Ino barked while she glared toward Hinata, "Why shouldn't I be? Naruto is an idiot, out there in the world alone with people constantly trying to kill him. He's been doing this for over 10 months! He's been suffering, I don't want to think that he's still out there suffering…" the blonde raised her voice while Shikamaru looked toward the floor.
"I didn't want to believe you… when you told me he was gone. I wanted it to be some prank and Naruto would pop out of nowhere to spook me and I'd be pissed at him, and we'd all laugh about it. Yet it was true… It's been true for such a long time. That idiot left that damn flower here and I couldn't even say anything to him, and it's been bothering me. I'm tired of losing sleep, I'm tired of looking at that damn flower, I'm tired of hanging on to some false hope he's still alive even after all of that time. It hurts… and I just want him to rest."
Ino spat out while Shikamaru looked toward the sniffling girl, "Ino…" the black-haired teen said while he remembered the devastated look on her face after she heard the news. She and Naruto while everyone else wasn't looking had become close.
He had become a dear friend to her despite everything and he was just gone without a single word. She was holding onto that still trying to give herself peace from the thoughts of the blonde just being gone forcing herself to accept his fate.
"Ino… Naruto is alive."
"You don't know that!"
"I do!"
Hinata snapped back while she looked at her hands, "I do… I can just feel it. I once thought about him the same way you did… That he was probably dead. I thought it would make it easier, but it didn't. I know you still believe that he's still out there too, deep down. Ino, we have a chance. Look at this picture, his history, the Naruto that we know would never give up and let himself die out there. You know that." the girl said while Ino looked toward her before she closed her eyes.
"Don't do that… don't give me hope."
Ino spoke while the rest of the teens looked toward the crying blonde before Hinata shook her head before staring into Ino's eyes, "I'm sorry, but I will. Naruto has been fighting and believing while making his way through the world. Getting stronger and probably making more friends along the way. That's just who he is and now that we know he's somewhere. I am going to use every ounce of strength that I have to bring him home. We are all going to use every single ounce of strength that we have to bring him home…" Hinata spoke with a shuddering voice while Shikamaru and Neji gave her a look.
"We would really want you to be there too. So, you can bring him back and put your mind to rest."
Hinata said while Shikamaru looked toward Ino who was wiping at her face before she sucked in a breath, "I need a minute…" the girl spoke while the rest of the teens nodded their heads before exiting from the flower shop with Shikamaru lingering for a moment.
"Hey Ino… You can take your time, you know. No one here is ever going to rush you. Because we get it."
Shikamaru said before he walked out, closing the door behind him, the blonde girl watched the door close before she looked toward the front desk she was standing at. Her eyes occasionally glanced toward the flower sitting in its pot that was still being taken care of after all this time.
Generations may have passed for the flower with each bloom being a brand-new flower basically, but the meaning was all the same, Ino for the first time in a long time looked toward the potted white flower because she felt herself tear up.
"Naruto… are you really out there?"
The girl asked the flower before she walked toward it. Her fingers touched the petals gently while she shook her head, "It sounds too good to be true. You've been gone for so long, now you show up all over again giving everyone hope that you're alive… what if you aren't? What if we go all of that way just to find a corpse to bury… I don't know if I could handle that." Ino practically whispered to the flower while she sighed.
"Isn't that mean of you, Naruto? Being out there in the world only to have us bury you?"
Ino asked out loud before she slowly turned the pot allowing her fingers to trace over the words 'Thank you.' that Naruto had engraved into the pot when he left it in front of her shop. Her greenish eyes widened slightly as she looked at the engraving.
She had just thought about it.
Naruto had been taking care of this flower for years.
Every bloom he's been meticulously making sure that this little flower survived no matter what and he did that alone, he never ran to her or anybody for advice on how to do it he just did and probably struggled trying to take care of it too.
Yet it still stands so strong and so full of life.
This flower despite everything was still here even after the struggles fueled by the love of one boy who cherished his birthday present. He never bragged about it, he never abandoned it, and while it was hard to take care of, he still never gave up and took the best care of it as he could.
It was still alive.
"Oh Naruto…"
Ino spoke as she allowed her head to touch the pot before she closed her eyes holding it closely to her.
Tsunade looked toward the group of people standing in front of her as she looked toward them from the roof of the hokage tower, in front of her was Rock Lee, Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Kakashi, Sakura, and Shikamaru the current selections for the retrieval mission.
"All of you are standing here today because you have all been made aware of the threat to the village that has been identified in the Bingo Book."
Tsunade spoke while the group looked toward her, "This is an S-rank mission and must be completed utilizing the utmost caution and care. The capture instructions are inside the book and mission instructions, the target is to be captured alive and brought back to the village for trial." the blonde hokage spoke while the group looked toward her.
"We've recently received a tip from a possible eyewitness about the target's current position, the outskirts of the Land of Lightning. This position is a pending one so the mission will begin as soon as possible to act according to that."
Tsunade spoke while Shikamaru opened a folder with the mission files on the inside of it, it was all theatrics. With certain parties being at play they had to carefully maneuver around the things that were said in the case of information being spread.
Hopefully any third-party privy to this information will lead them right back to the theorized source hence allowing Tsunade to bite the bullet with more evidence to proceed with the next step of her plan while they reach Naruto.
"Lady Tsunade."
Sakura spoke up while the blonde hokage looked toward her student, "Yes Sakura?" the hokage spoke while Sakura cleared her throat.
"It seems like the target is of high value, if there are any outside forces that are also after the target because of the bounty what would their status be?"
Sakura asked while Tsunade almost allowed a smile to slip on her face, say whatever you want about the girl, but she was a pretty good actress. "Any outside parties trying to interfere with the mission. Should be considered hostile and dealt with accordingly and if you are attacked… then you shall counter accordingly." the blonde woman spoke while Sakura nodded.
"Kakashi, you are squad leader for this operation and Shikamaru you are second in command should anything happen to Kakashi you are the one who will take his place."
Tsunade spoke while Kakashi and Shikamaru nodded their heads before the blonde woman looked toward the group before she turned around to look toward the rest of the village while the wind blew through her hair as she took a breath.
"Then all of you shall be-"
Tsunade was interrupted by the sound of the door leading to the roof being opened as the entire group turned around toward the new arrival, Shikamaru's eyes widened before a small smile settled on his face looking toward the newest arrival.
"Ino…"
Sakura spoke while the blonde girl panted slightly while holding a flowerpot in her hands, "Lady Tsunade… I'm sorry." the girl said while Tsunade had a small smile on her face as well.
"I… I'm here because it's super unlikely that he's still out there and as much as I hate to say it no matter our confidence levels, we can't bank on him just still being alive."
Ino spoke while she stared at the potted white flower in her hands before a visage of Naruto grinning at her while they were on their mission under the moonlight entered her mind before she looked back up toward the rest of the group.
"...But I believe it."
Ino spoke while Tsunade felt her smile grow even wider while she let the girl speak, "Somehow, Naruto has been struggling all by himself trying to make it work and it's working like he always has. He never gives up and only gets stronger with each passing day. He is still out there and as long as he is then I won't give up either." Ino spoke while the group smiled at the crying girl as she bowed her head.
"So, I'm sorry I'm late…"
Ino apologized while Tsunade huffed, "Then bring him back and bring him to justice. That is your mission." the blonde woman spoke while Ino nodded her head while she walked closer to the group where Tenten met her halfway gently grabbing the potted flower from her hands before pulling out a scroll she sealed it into before handing it back to Ino.
'Jiraiya… I know you adore that boy but looking at these faces.'
Tsunade thought to herself while she looked at the group in front of her all wearing determined looks on their faces for the sake of finding Naruto.
'They may just beat you to the punch.'
Tsunade thought to herself before she cleared her throat again, getting the attention of the group before she took a deep breath.
"The Naruto Retrieval Mission begins once you are ready to depart!"
Tsunade called out while the large group of people all nodded their heads back toward the hokage as they all vanished into smoke leaving her alone on the roof as she sighed looking toward the clouds passing by lazily through the air.
"It won't be long now… so be patient, Naruto."
Tsunade spoke while the wind blew through her hair again, almost like some kind of response before she turned to walk back into her office.
Another set of footsteps departed before vanishing into smoke as well.
{...}
Meanwhile on a cliff side away from the village the figure reappeared from the smoke kneeling in front of a black-haired man staring toward the ocean ahead of them, "Sir, the mission has been drafted. It appears they are after the Jinchuriki." the man wearing a bug mask said while Danzo turned around to look toward him.
"A mission? That shouldn't be-"
"The Leaf received an issue of the Bingo Book sir."
The masked man replied while Danzo narrowed his eyes, he needed that information to circle everywhere but the Hidden Leaf to avoid any additional obstacles. He made a misjudgement relying on certain influences. The threat of the Jinchuriki is even greater than his promised word of taking care of it was able to handle causing matter to be taken in their own hands.
However...
"I see, no matter. Official mission or not Lady Tsunade has always been one step too slow. Their mission won't mean much if it's already too late."
Danzo spoke while the man in the bug mask looked toward him, "Sir does that mean-" the man in the bug mask spoke while the older man nodded his head.
"Yes, it means that it is finally time. I'll allow their games for now, but their mission was already a failure from the start. You can't complete something that is too late to accomplish after all."
The man spoke while the bug mask nodded his head, "I'm still set to rendezvous with-" the bug mask was cut off again by Danzo placing a hand on his shoulder.
"No actually, there's been a change in plans. I need you to closely monitor the Jonin that are here always as well as any potential others that had some kind of relationship with the Jinchuriki. We shall leave the rest to them…"
Danzo spoke while the wind blew through his hair as well as a small smile landed on the face of the older black-haired man as he opened his palm allowing the leaves, he was holding in his hand to blow away freely in the breeze.
"The pieces I already set at play."
{...}
The water was cold yet felt good on the skin.
An unconscious blonde boy wearing a torn-up fishnet shirt and tattered black and orange pants floated down a river that was rushing past a small village, brushing past rocks and flowing past sticks and driftwood that floated along with him.
It was an odd feeling.
Like he was there, and he wasn't there at the same time.
He could hear a faint voice in the back of his head while he couldn't quite recognize who that voice belonged to, but it was deep before he couldn't focus on it to pinpoint it.
Then he didn't as he felt the unconsciousness swept over the boy again as he continued to float down the river that begin moving a little faster as he floated toward a figure that was sitting in a wheelchair that turned its long-haired covered head toward him.
"The hell is that?"