Naruto: Tales of Ashihara

Prologue – Arc 1: The Soul Robber

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Chapter 1: Home

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"It's been a damn while already, are we still far from your village Sasuke?", says Tsubai as it's almost been a day they're on the road.

"No, we're getting close.", answered Sasuke.

"How fast could you have been there if it wasn't for us, mister Sasuke?" asked Himari.

"Mister? Why are you calling him mister? I'm sure this guy is younger than me, he looks like he's not even 20."

"Oh you think? To me, he really looks like an adult. And anyway I'm still younger than him."

Listening to them Sasuke thinks of asking…

"I'm 17 and Tsubai is 20." says Himari. "We met when I was around around 10 so we've been friends for some years already. And no we aren't a couple, we're just friends. Just saying, 'cause you were probably gonna ask at some point."

"Can she read minds or something?" thinks Sasuke. She just answered every question that came to his mind,… except for one, that he asks for himself.

"And why is it you left your home village? What's so unpleasant there?"

"Oh no big deal. Tsubai is just in bad terms with his daddy and wants to get away from him for a moment. I'm going with him, because I know he easily feels lonely... And also I don't have anyone else than him since the war."

"The war?…"

"Sheesh... You really confide yourself too much Himari." says Tsubai. "He didn't even ask for anything. And I'm not just in bad terms with my old man, it's much more complicated. I'm not a kid in his damn teenage phase running away from home."

"What happened during the war?" asks Sasuke.

Both of them paused for a moment after hearing this question. Sasuke thought he maybe shouldn't have asked that.

"You don't have to answer, it doesn't really matter…"

"No it's good" says Tsubai. "A lot of things happened during that damn war don't you think? We all lost something that night. "

"We're not ninjas" says Himari with a saddened voice. "We weren't supposed to play any role. It was a day like any other, until something like a giant bomb dropped really close to the village."

"One of Juubi's directed orbs?" thought Sasuke. They really were unlucky then.

"The explosion stroke the village and many perished. My parents were home, right next to the blast location. And Tsubai and his mom too. This night I really thought he died too. It was unreal. How could this happen so fast and change so many things?"

Sasuke didn't know what to say. He wondered if he could have stopped the beast from doing this. He arrived on the battlefield really late, at the point where the Juubi was already about to evolve into his 3rd form. These explosion happened when he was in Konoha. If he had made up his mind earlier, If he accepted Naruto earlier, could he have saved all the people who died this day?... No! There's no time for regrets, everything has already happened and it can't be changed. Thinking about different paths won't change anything.

"And you? Not to be annoying but what did the war take from you" asked Himari. "You were out there fighting like all the others to save the world weren't you?"

What he lost? That's a good question. This war killed a lot of people, even unconcerned people like their family, but for Sasuke, the only thing he can remember is having been offered to come back on the right path. It's kind of like he already lost everything before the war. There was nothing left, he could only come out as a winner. The only thing left to take was his life.

"An arm at least?" says Tsubai bending his 2 meters tall body over to see under Sasuke's cape.

"Yeah…" he answers.

Even though to him, this lost limb is more the symbol of what his past's mistake took from him. This arm is only the price he had to pay to be able to go home again in the future.

"You don't talk much. Don't you have any family?" Himari asks who's trying to break Sasuke's silence.

"Yeah of course! Ask the damn last survivor of his whole clan's massacre if he has family." answers Tsubai.

"Oh, I'm really sorry I didn't want to be mean or something."

Family? Are these the people who wait for you at home? Are these the people you can call home? Are these the people linked to you by more than only friendship? In this case, Sasuke thought appropriate to call Naruto his brother. It's way more than just a friend. But Naruto isn't the only person Sasuke wants to call family. There is another person in Konoha who's been waiting for him. Someone who's always cared for him. He also thought of her a lot during his travel, more than about any one else. When he really had no one, after his clan's loss, she was the first person to help him back up. Always being on his side must have got her a lot of hate from other people. She must have really suffered a lot of his actions. Sasuke now feels he will never be sorry enough for what she had to go through because of him.

"Welcome back Sasuke" they hear someone say. Sasuke couldn't recognize this voice, it definitely isn't someone he used to know, but this person surely knows him.

"A shinobi? We must be close to your village." says Tsubai who already found the person standing on a branch a few meters away.

This guy? Where did Sasuke see him already? It's one of Naruto's teammates, probably the one who replaced him in Team 7, but Sasuke doesn't remember his name.

Coming down on the ground to face the group of travelers, the shinobi says:

"You don't have to recognize me. After all, we only met a few times and I never told you my name. I'm Sai. Nice to meet you again!... Are they your friends?"

Sai. That's it. That was the name. He doesn't really look like the same person anymore. He somehow seems more human than when they met at Orochimaru's hideout.

"Hello, my name is Himari. The tall guy is called Tsubai and the caped one is Sasuke. We're just travelers looking for a safe place!"

Sasuke takes the lead from there on.

"I met these two only a few hours ago. They are being chased by a mysterious man. I'm here to see Naruto. He needs to know about this man. The village should be aware of him, it seems really serious."

"Sorry, answered Saï, but Naruto is on vacation currently. He left only 2 days ago, to go in another village with his girlfriend and a group of other friends."

"His girlfriend? Naruto has a girlfriend? And where's Sakura?"

"She's with him. She's part of the friends, not the girlfriend don't worry!"

"And they left you behind?" asks Himari trying to get into the conversation.

"Ahah, no it's not that. They wanted me to come actually but I chose to stay here. I just didn't feel like going on vacation. And I wouldn't have left the last third member of the Ino- Shika-Cho trio alone."

"... Ok... We'll be leaving then." says Sasuke already leaving.

"Hey wait! Didn't you say there's something important we should know about? The Hokage is still here, you can still talk to him about it."

"Yeah…"

Sasuke goes forward to follow Sai in direction of the village.

"Looks good. Actually it's the first time I ever go into a hidden village. They usually don't let anyone in." said Tsubai with the same empty expression he seems to always keep. "It's also the first time I see one of those, since they aren't called hidden for nothing… Not to be indiscreet, but is this Sakura your girlfriend?"

"... Maybe." answered Sasuke wondering how people like Tsubai know about Naruto and him but not about Sakura who fought for even longer than him in this war.

It was actually to see her that he wanted to come back to the village, but since she's not there, it feels more like a pain in his ass to have to report to Kakashi.

"I see." says Himari wanting to get into the conversation again. "So you have a girlfriend mister Sasuke. How is she? Do you have kids? No, that's a stupid question. Of course no, you're still young. Are we going to join her on vacation?… and Naruto, and his girlfriend, and others? Would be cool, I'd love to meet all these people! Don't you Tsubai?"

"... So we're going to see the Hokage?" asked Tsubai, completely ignoring Himari's questions.

"Hey I asked you something. Don't ghost me like that. We're just face to face."

"Ah, sorry it's just there was so many questions I didn't know which I was supposed to answer to so I elected to ignore them all. Could you start over more slowly?"

"Yes I'm going to make a report about the man who assaulted you. He's really weird and suspicious. I have to tell Kakashi about it." said Sasuke to interrupt their discussion.

"Really? It's THAT serious? I mean Hokage level serious?" asks Himari.

"Everything that's slightly important needs to make its way to the Hokage's office." explains Sai. "Even if it's not that serious, it happened around his village, to one of his ninjas."

"No… It really is serious. Their pursuer may have something to do with the Juubi or the Rikudo-Sennin." corrects Sasuke.

"That damn Katashiki! what the fuck does he want from me?" says Tsubai spontaneously.

"What did you just say?" suddenly asks Sasuke.

"What?"

"His name? What is it?"

"Oh? Katashiki?"

"Yes? How do you know it all of a sudden?"

"Ah it's right how do I? I don't know, as if it just popped in my head. I don't remember him saying it, do you, Himari?"

"No, I didn't hear him say it."

Katashiki? So that's this mysterious man's name. Sasuke now knows his name, some of his weapons and what seems to be his goal. He can at least inform Kakashi of these things first.

Now standing a few meters away from Konoha's gates, Sasuke freezes on place. He just looks at the door and starts thinking about what awaits him inside of the village. Neither Sakura or Naruto are there, so he has no one to see except he Hokage. And for the rest of the villagers, he is still the missing-nin who joined the despicable snake Sannin's side and later Akatsuki, and who plotted to annihilate the village and the ninja world. They surely don't want him around anymore, just like they didn't want him to be released from jail after the war. The reason he left the village after being freed is because he wanted to earn back his place in Konoha, and he didn't consider even a single second that he was done with this. He doesn't deserve to walk in the streets of this village like nothing ever happened yet.

"Is something wrong?" asks Himari who noticed Sasuke standing still, now behind them.

Sasuke doesn't say anything and just looks forward to see the gate and the main street in front of him.

"If you're really uncomfortable with the villagers seeing you, you can put your hood on and play it quiet until we reach the Hokage's mansion" suggests Sai who understands very well what is stopping Sasuke from moving forward. "We'll try to avoid the big streets and places and make it quick".

"… Sounds good… Okay" answers Sasuke, still irresolute. He puts his hood on just like Sai suggested and slowly goes to follow him inside.

Later, in the Hokage's office, Sasuke explains everything he knows to Kakashi. The Hokage simply answers:

"I see. That is quite mysterious? You should keep looking after this man. Minamoto Tsubai. But his name, Minamoto, I already heard it, somewhere. Where was it?"

"Kakashi, where's Naruto? I need to tell him about that too. And quick."

"Keep calm. He's in another village on vacation. Well he was sent there on a mission, but since he asked and after what he did 2 weeks ago, I couldn't refuse to give him some time for himself. And in case you're wondering, Sakura went with him. His mission is simply to hunt a sea monster that's getting closer to a village. He went with Shikamaru, and Sakura, Hinata, and Choji went only for the break."

"Hinata? Hyuga Hinata? I see, where's this village?"

"It's a small touristic village's on the east border of the country… And THAT's where I already heard this name." exclaims Kakashi. "This village's leader is called Minamoto Riku. Is he somehow related to the guy you know?"

"The village's leader?… It could be."

"Okay whatever! You can join Naruto there, but don't forget. He's on vacation. He honestly deserves a break after what happened on the moon."

"On the moon? I'll ask him about it. I'll be going now."

"Wait... Thank you, for the village. You were there when it happened. Sir Hiashi is doing well now, thanks to you and the village wasn't destroyed, crushed under a giant meteor."

"That was just natural. I told you when he isn't there to protect the village, I would be."

"And you didn't disappoint. Now I'm sure of it. We were right to listen to Naruto back then, and let you go."

Sasuke just stands there, thinking of what happened 2 years ago once again. Then, he turns around and leaves without saying anything more. Tsubai and Himari were standing, waiting for him at the entrance, as Sai already left earlier. Seeing him back, Tsubai says:

"So? We staying here? What did the Hokage say?"

"Nooo! I want to meet them, to join them on vacation, Uzumaki Naruto and Sasuke's girlfriend." says Himari.

"That's where we're going,…" says Sasuke, "… to your home village."

"What? Damn! How? Seriously, couldn't this noodle-guy find a better place for vacation? This damn villége isn't even an interesting place. Well yes it is, but that's a really bad choice there."

"Can we really not go there?"

"Uh... I guess it'll be okay if someone like you is with me. Plus this Naruto guy is already on the spot."

What Tsubai just said made Sasuke wonder what kind of trouble he could have with his father? How could his presence or Naruto's interfere with their family problems? He prefers not to ask for now.

"Woohoo! We're gonna meet the world's savior!" yelled Himari as they left the village.

Meanwhile in the said village, surrounded with only forest and sea, on the large beach that goes through the whole village, people are running away. Screaming in terror as a giant Octopus that's about 30 meters large is crawling out of water and quickly taking its ground on the beach.

Looking at those mere creatures fleeing in fear, the monster lifted a tentacle up in the air to strike down on them. But at his surprise, one girl wasn't moving just standing right in front of him. This provocation got him, so he tried to hit her and only her, only for his tentacle to be thrown back in the air by a strong push of air. Hitting the tentacle with a palm, she avoided any damage on the beach. Without being given anytime to recover from that hit, the beast feels something grabbing its tentacles from behind.

It was now being thrown away from the beach on a column of rocks on the side. And as soon as it touched the ground, it became unable to move as if something was containing her. In fact, it's its shadow that was being paralyzed. Totally still, the giant octopus looked around to see the shinobis who just did this. Then, one more shinobi, arrived jumping right to its face.

"SHANARO!" shouted the girl as she threw an enormous blow right to the beast's face, pushing it far back in the sea.

"Well that's done!" she says.

"Hey Hinata! Guys!" shouted another man. "Seriously you stole my job here. I'm the one who took the mission."

"Don't complain, Naruto,…" says Shikamaru, "… we just saved you the dirty work, that's all. We take the mission and you can keep the vacation."

"Yeah!" shouts Sakura. "Alone you would have ended it in a second anyway. Here, we were way more creative than you would have been."

"Yeah, right, You guys nailed it, can't deny!" says Naruto as he jumps to the sea to find the beast. "Uh? It disappeared? Guys, the big squid vanished. It's gone."

"Huh? That's really a drag" answers Shikamaru.

"I don't sense it anywhere near us now." says Naruto setting foot back on the beach.

"Hey. It was an octopus, not a squid, Naruto." says Sakura, "Do you seriously still can't make the difference? I thought you were friend with an Octopus."

"Octopops is actually an Ushioni, not a simple octopus." he answers. "Octopuses don't look like bulls I think."

Choji joining everyone back on the beach chooses to ask the real matters.

"Is anyone hurt?"

"No, we did it fast enough." answers Hinata. "The mission is done already. We should still check on the village's inhabitants."

"They seem okay…" says Shikamaru as he sees the crowd all applauding them for what they've just done. "Guess we're done with the job already."

"I don't feel like it's done." answers Naruto with a concerned look on his face.

At the same time, somewhere in a dark cave, deep enough for light to not reach this far, the horned being, Katashiki reflects on what he just witnessed.

"Those damn ninjas,… Because of them, I won't know if any Yamabushi still is in this village. I'll may have to send more Tsukumogami than there are ninjas on the place. I should probably create some more of them…"

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End of Chapter 1 - Next Chapter: The Village of Ryuka