Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version:
Arc V: Kusanoka's Vengeance:
Chapter 25: Delivery, Ambush in the Mountains!
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The next morning Naruto awoke to an insistent rustle on his tent. "Stupid branches." He mumbled. His mind was still fuzzy with sleep, so he wasn't too worried about what it was. Dismissing the noise, he was prepared to roll over and go back to sleep. Then Sasuki's impatient voice carried through the fabric.
"Oi, get up, it's time to break camp. And make sure you wash up." She said.
Naruto's eyes shot open. He bolted up in his bed roll with his heart hammering. It was that time already? A second later he had to shut his eyes against the harsh light that greeted him. "Alright, I'm up." He called.
He heard an annoyed grunt from Sasuki, then the crunch of the dirt under her feet as her footsteps quickly retreated. Naruto's head dropped back to his pillow, and he let out a groan. The adrenaline that woke him up had already faded and he was left tired and sweaty. His eyelids were painted red by the light pouring in through the thin fabric of his tent. Last night he was the second to last to keep watch. Kakashi insisted they maintain someone on look out even with his clones. It had been uneventful. 'Better go wash up.' He thought tiredly
After about a minute he mustered up the energy to get up and make his way to the tents entrance. He paused at the foot of his bed roll to snatch up his right arm guard, which had all his supplies sealed inside.
Zzzzzzpppp!
The sound of the zipper cut through the quiet atmosphere of the early morning. Mind still fuzzy from sleep, Naruto only wore his boxers. He made a beeline for the stream that cut through the forest. There he crouched at the bank and unsealed a bar of soap from his armguard. It was a special kind of soap that was scentless and would help disguise his own. He shivered as his hand dipped into the ice-cold water. It felt like tiny needles were stabbing at his hand. Letting out an annoyed grunt, Naruto quickly channeled fire chakra into the water. In seconds steam rose from the surface. The stream now felt as warm as a freshly drawn bath.
With a pleasant sigh he started to scrub his face and upper body with his soap-coated hands. He tried to be as thorough as possible, getting underneath his arms as well as his back, but a more complete wash would have to wait.
His skin tingled as he rinsed the last of the soap of his hands. The white suds left in their wake were quickly swept downstream, disappearing amongst the dark green ripples of the water. For a moment he stopped to smell the fresh air. There was a heavy scent of pine from all the evergreen trees.
Suddenly, he heard a startled gasp. His head snapped to the find. Sakura stood to his right, her cheeks blazing red and light green eyes stretched wide in shock. It took him a second to realize why. Mostly because a slight breeze danced across his bare skin and made him shiver. Crap, he was only wearing his boxers! Naruto felt his own cheeks flood with heat. In an instant he reached out and snatched his armguard, quickly unsealing a new shirt and pants. He quickly tugged on the pants before taking his time to wrap the kimono-top around himself and sinch it closed loosely.
"Uh, sorry about that. I guess my mind was a little fuzzy and I didn't think to go further away." He muttered.
He managed to get his blush under control and turned his eyes back to look at Sakura. Her cheeks were only lightly pink by then, though she seemed to be trying to avoid looking anywhere but his face.
"N-no problem. It's bound to happen in the field, I've just never seen a guy in his underwear." She replied. Though slightly meek at first, Sakura seemed to gain more confidence by the end. She even got a teasing glint in her eyes as she pointed to something off to the side. "Although, you could have just used the portable shower like the rest of us did."
Naruto followed her finger to a tree not too far away. A nozzle hung from one of the lower branches, with a tarp wrapped around a make-shift frame of sticks. From the gap between the tarp and the ground he could see the earth was still dark from the last shower. Now that he looked a little closer, Sakura's hair seemed to still be slightly damp. Oh.
"Huh, so that's what Sasuki meant by wash up." He muttered, remembering Sasuki's order earlier. That broke the tension completely, making Sakura giggle at his absentmindedness. Though in his defense he was honestly tired and disoriented after waking up. "Well, I suppose we better get back to the others and break our things down." He said.
As an afterthought, he quickly created a shadow clone and sent it to go finish his packing up. Sakura fell in beside him and they began to walk back up the bank towards the tents. Though his dark green one was the only one still standing. While they were walking, he noticed she kept glancing at his chest. Though he wasn't sure why, it was the perfect time to get her back for her teasing.
"What, want to get another glimpse of my ripped muscles?" He said, holding up his arm and flexing his bicep.
To her credit his teammate managed to hold her composure. She even went as far as raising an eyebrow in a very Sasuki-like way and gave an exaggerated huff.
"As if. I was just curious about that tattoo on your chest. I didn't have you pegged as the flower kind of guy." Sakura answered.
He blinked and glanced down to his chest. It seemed like he hadn't properly fastened the shirt when he covered up. A large part of the right side of his chest was exposed, revealing a black cherry-blossom mark right above his heart.
"Oh, that. Nah, that's a seal," He said, idly running a finger over the flower. The seal was one of his earliest forays into sealing. The thought of how excited he'd been when it was complete and the praise he'd gotten from his grandfather made him smile.
"A seal? What's it do?" Sakura asked curiously, her head tilted to the side.
Naruto chuckled sheepishly, feeling heat flood his cheeks with embarrassment. "Honestly, it's a bit embarrassing. I'm sure you've noticed how good my chakra control is considering how much I have, right?" He asked. When Sakura nodded, he continued. "Well the truth is that's not exactly natural. I always had trouble maintaining chakra control and using Shadow Clones didn't help cause it just made my reserves grow faster. So I made this seal as a shortcut of sorts. It limits how much chakra I can use at once, which also lets me gain better control while my reserves are still growing." Naruto explained.
Of course, such a useful seal had its downsides. While releasing it would give him access to all his chakra at once, it would also shoot his control all to hell in the aftermath. Not to mention it slowed the rate his chakra replenished when wearing it.
"Whoah, that's pretty impressive. From what we learned in the Academy, sealing is pretty complex." Sakura said. He could see her eyes were still dancing with curiosity, most likely she wanted to ask him a million questions. It was something he'd come to expect from her.
"Oi, hurry up you two!"
It was hard not to jump at Sasuki's sudden shout. She stood by where their tents had been, hands on her hips and her eyebrow quirked in an annoyed arc. Naruto looked at Sakura with a sheepish grin. "Guess we better get going before Ms. Moody gets even more upset." He joked.
Sakura stifled a giggle with her hand, the only indication of her mirth being the shiver of her shoulders. Together the two quickly raced towards Sasuki. They really did need to get going. The Land of Rivers was still almost eight hours away.
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Naruto tried not to spend too much time admiring the view. Tried being the operative word. Despite the fact he had been here a few times to visit his grandparents' house, the sheer difference between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire always seized his attention. Having grown up knowing nothing but vast swathes of dense forest with the occasional plain, it was hard to adjust to the Land of Rivers.
A vast web of interconnected rivers and streams crisscrossed the land like veins. Thin stretches of woods were scattered about between rivers. Where the land wasn't covered in trees or water, large rocky ravines dominated the surroundings. He knew them to be full of unique minerals that were perfect for making the weapons the famed Village of Artisans was known for.
They'd mostly been traveling by way of the ravines since entering the country. It was much less tiring than traveling by tree.
He had his sensing ability constantly active to scan for threats. It was a lot more limited when in motion, but it was more than enough to notice anything significant. On the edge of his sensing range he felt a jumbled mass of chakra signatures pop up. Nothing major, most likely a few hundred civilians. Maybe a thousand at most. According to the map Kakashi had shown they were supposed to be near their meeting spot.
"Oi, Kakashi-sensei, I think I'm sensing that village we're supposed to deliver the package at." Naruto yelled. He had to shout to be heard over the wind in their ears.
His sensei glanced back and nodded in acknowledgement. "Good. Keep a look out for anything off. Let's start to slow the pace. No need to approach at a full sprint." He ordered.
Ahead of them lay a large ravine. Twin walls of angular grey stone rose high above a narrow path, casting it into a light shadow. A sigh of relief left Naruto's lips as the pace gradually slowed to at first a slow run, then finally a normal walking pace by the time they entered the ravine. The fit wasn't exactly the best, but there were still several feet between them.
The air was cold inside the pathway. Goosebumps erupted on his arms from the transition. This place probably saw sunlight only rarely.
He took advantage of the slower pace to get a much clearer feel for the signatures he could sense. At first everything felt normal. Just a mass of fairly small chakra signatures that didn't feel like they'd ever been put to any use. The closer they got to the patch of daylight on the other end of the path, though, the more he felt something … odd. It wasn't anything serious. There was just something off … like an insistent insect buzzing about his ears. He couldn't quite tell what it was. Perhaps an effect of the stone?
"Something wrong?" Sakura asked.
Naruto turned to see his pink-haired teammate looking at him inquisitively. Her question drew the attention of the others.
"Naruto?" Kakashi said. The unspoken question was rather plain.
"No," He said with a shake of his head. "Or at least, nothing really big. Just and odd sensation. Maybe it has something to do with the minerals. The stone in this country is known to contain ore that conducts chakra well. I think it's just my sensing interacting with it."
The explanation seemed to satisfy Kakashi, who turned back around and continued to glance around cautiously. Sasuki and Sakura seemed to react similarly. Naruto just wished he was halfway as certain as he sounded. 'Hey, Nine, feeling anything off?' He asked his tenant. All he received was silence. Though that didn't set him on edge. It was common for the fox to be snoozing and not respond.
A chilly breeze howled through the ravine and sent a shiver down his spine. Unbidden, a pit started to grow in his stomach.
"Just the minerals." He muttered reassuringly to himself.
They soon found themselves exiting the ravine to be met by a wave of bright sunlight. Naruto had to squint his eyes against the sudden bombardment after the cool shade of the ravine. Only a few feet in front of them the path widened into a road that cut through a set of trees.
"Come on, the village is a mile or so beyond this stretch of woods. We're meeting the clients a bit outside the village for secrecy." Kakashi said after a few moments.
Naruto withheld a frown as he trailed behind his team in the back of the formation. He was expecting that odd feeling to go away the further they got from the valley. Yet it seemed like it stayed the same. Was this just a particularly ore rich area? Hesitantly, he tapped into his Magnet Style and channeled some chakra into the ground. It spread out like a radar, looking for any traces of metal. He got a rather strong response. Bits and pieces of metal were scattered everywhere around them.
His curiosity satisfied, Naruto determinedly shoved his concern to the back of his mind. With his sensing somewhat off, he took to looking around with his eyes.
The trees loomed over them. Shadows lurked between the trunks and the air was silent and still. Not even a rustle of leaves. This wasn't the forests of the Land of Fire. The quiet was unnerving. There was a musty smell in the air, like rotting leaves. It was unpleasant in the heat. He could sense the normal small signatures of the wildlife, but for whatever reason they made no noise and skulked stubbornly out of sight.
It was a relief for him when they left the trees behind and came out into a rare stretch of open grassland dotted with rock outcrops. The road wound through the rocks ahead, and in the distance he could see a small mountain looming. His senses told him they were barely a mile away from the village based on the mass of signatures. Though perhaps the most curious thing was the set of five signatures that stood stationary between the village and them. Nothing really stood out about them. In fact they were rather … plain, for lack of a better word. Like a bowl of white rice.
"I think I can sense the clients. They're about half-way between us and the village." He said.
Kakashi's head dipped in acknowledgement "Good. Let's not keep them waiting."
Naruto nodded silently and followed behind the rest of his team. The dirt road was mostly smoothed down, but it turned and twisted through the outcroppings of rock. There were even occasional off-shoots that seemed to lead to other places. If he had to guess, most likely one of the many rivers that crossed the countryside. For the inhabitants of the country the rivers were the true roads. The further along the path they got, Naruto started to feel the sensation of something being off. He had the inexplicable instinct to turn and run though he didn't know why.
After yet another sharp turn they finally got eyes on the group that were presumably the clients. It was hard to make out any particular details. They all wore obscuring brown robes, with straw hats pulled down to hide their features. All he could really tell was three of them were pretty tall–one being rather bulky–with two others either short or average in height.
The one at the head–the shortest of the three tall men–stepped forward as they approached. Apparently he wasn't one to mince words. "Good, you're here. Can we assume you have the package." He said.
His voice made Naruto's stomach twist in knots. He didn't know why. There was just something … ominous to it. Still, he wasn't too put off. Though Sakura looked a bit nervous, the utterly bored look on Sasuki's face seemed to indicate she didn't feel anything odd. As for his sensei, if Kakashi noticed anything, he sure didn't let on. He sounded just as laid back and nonchalant as ever when he responded.
"Yes. It's right here." He answered. With a click of the clasp on his scroll pouch, the scroll they'd been entrusted with tumbled out. "Now, the passphrase?"
"As the summer sun fades, and the rains return, the rivers swell, and the grass grows green again." The client replied easily.
Naruto was only half listening at this point. He was trying to somehow take his mind off the sick feeling in his stomach. As a distraction he started to examine the clients more closely, both in terms of physical features and their chakra.
There wasn't much to find in the two shortest figures. The one was rather average from what he could make out about him, brown hair and eyes. He could make out even less of the other one. As for the taller ones, one was significantly bulkier. Even with the robes it was plain to see he wasn't just tall, but there was probably a tremendous amount of either fat or muscle under those robes. It was the last that got his attention though. Unlike the others, he wasn't trying as hard to hide his features. Maybe because of the veil he wore to obscure his face.
A curtain of straight black hair fell on the right side of his face. There were eight bulges poking through his cloak at the back. It was his eyes that drew the most attention. They were an acid green that seemed to dance with some unknown emotion. More unnerving, he was fixated on them. No … on Sasuki.
It was like a stone was dropped into his already upset stomach. Naruto was suddenly hit by an intense foreboding. As if there was imminent doom. With a start, he realized something obvious. Something he should have noticed sooner but he'd been too thrown off to. The clients signatures were too plain. Almost like they didn't exist. Not the slightest hint of anything unique. In the same moment Kakashi tossed the scroll to the client, who quickly unrolled it to inspect. When the scroll unraveled he spotted a seal with characters he recognized. It wasn't a storage seal. A smoke bomb? No … that wasn't the formula for smoke. Gas!
Many things happened at once. Looking back the next few moments were a blur. A burst of chakra radiated from the clients hands and made the seal light up.
'DANGER! STOP HIM!'The nine-tails roared within his mind.
Not that Naruto needed any prodding. He was already in motion before his tenant was halfway through the warning, or before he really had time to think. Only one thing was on his mind.
'I can't let them get hurt. Not like the dreams!' He thought. For once the intense heat and sudden chill of his anxiety didn't hinder him, it fueled him.
His muscles pulsed with the feeling of the Teleportation Jutsu. The world blurred as he stepped between Kakashi and the clients and shoved him back. In the same instant he was already racing through hand seals.
The bird seal had just been formed when a noxious green haze erupted from the seal. It was exactly what he feared. Gas. They'd been set up.
"Wind Style: Absorption Gulp!" He shouted.
With a massive inhalation Naruto started to suck in as much of the gas as possible. He knew he could most likely survive it with the Nine-Tails. This was the only thing he could think of. The only way his team could survive the ambush. The effect of absorbing so much gas was instant, and severe. His vision started to blur. Everything was swimming in front of his eyes.
The last thing he heard was the sharp ring of metal clashing and a scream. Then all he knew was darkness and silence.
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AN/ Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed this. I know it's a cliffhanger but it was sort of necessary with him going unconscious and all. What's gonna happen next? Only I know! This arc is going to end up a little longer than I expected it as far as chapters go, but I didn't want to just rush through it and have nothing but fights.
Oh yeah, I'm thinking I'm finally close to launching my so I might update this chapter to announce it if I do before the next update. The will be ahead of and AO3 in updates, and there's going to be some exclusive content like one-shot teases for potential stories on there, as well as some other stuff.
Anyways, thanks for reading. Next chapter will be out February 1st. See you then.
Until Next Time,
RinneTaicho, Signing Off!
