Chapter 40: Final days in Konoha

"What's that over there?" Fu asked excitedly as she dragged me to a new store. "Oh, it's just flowers… how about that one?"

"It's a civilian office supply store," I replied.

Fu buzzed with enthusiasm as she bounced from store to store, shooting the briefest of glances in before she rushed to the next one. It had been like this ever since she had been released from the hospital.

Every day, Fu would somehow find me, regardless of if I had been in a training ground or even at Tsunade's apartment and she would proceed to drag me around Konoha as she explored it.

At first, she would fly around Konoha, carrying me with her, but I managed to convince her that she would be able to see more things if she instead took the streets.

"Man, Konoha is so much bigger than Taki," Fu marveled. "It's like, the more I look, the bigger it gets. I wonder if I'll ever be able to see all the shops… And there are so many people here as well, it's crazy."

"Well… we aren't exactly hidden underneath a giant tree, so we do have a lot more civilians," I commented idly. "And this is a major village, so its size is to be expected."

"Yeah," Fu nodded enthusiastically. "Where should we go next? I want to go see what a civilian school looks like. We didn't have those in Taki."

That's odd. I could have sworn that there were some civilians in Taki. Surely they would need to teach their civilians something, right? Unless they didn't have one in order to pressure their civilians into becoming Shinobi.

"Did everyone go to Taki's academy?"

"Yep, they…"

"FOUND YOU!" Karin announced loudly as she landed in front of us.

Ah, yes, another normal occurrence. Karin was trying to become a Konoha Shinobi and Fu didn't really have a choice in the matter, what with being a Jinchuriki.

They'd both been placed in the same catch up class in order to ensure that they knew the laws for Konoha and how to operate as one of its Shinobi. It wasn't anything too different than what they were used to.

"Ah," Fu squeaked, "Karin… what're you doing here?"

"Looking for you," Karin muttered. "We're scheduled with Iruka-sensei today and he'll be angry if I arrive without you again."

Oh, Iruka was going to be teaching them today? Something about what Karin said got me thinking.

"Do the other teachers not mind when Fu doesn't arrive?" I asked suddenly.

"They used to, but lately they've just been marking her as absent when she doesn't come to class," Karin replied. "Why?"

"Just checking," I answered. Fu's identity as Chomei's Jinchuriki wasn't exactly a secret, but it wasn't advertised either.

I wonder if the academy teachers found out about her and were being petty and ignoring her like they had once done to me. Seeing as they were heading to the academy right now, I could simply get answers directly from the source.

"I'll go with you two… there's something I need to speak to Iruka-sensei about."

"You're going to walk me to the academy?" Karin asked, a blush starting to form on her face.

"Well, it's a bit late, so we'll have to run if you two want to be on time," I replied, immediately shooting down the obvious though in Karin's mind. "As it stands now, you two are going to be late."

"Ah," Karin gasped. "We need to go now. I don't want to be yelled at by Iruka again."

"I can get us there faster," Fu announced. Wings sprouted from her back as she grabbed Karin and attempted to grab me.

"I'll follow from the ground," I said quickly. Really, I just didn't want to fly with here and another passenger. I didn't exactly know how many people she could carry before losing control and crashing… and I really didn't want to find out.

"I'll run TOOOOO," Karin shrieked as Fu took off into the air, flying at high speed.

I chuckled as I raced after them, keeping them in sight as I jumped across rooftops.

Landing in front of the academy, I found Iruka standing outside, his arms crossed across his chest as he waited for the two Kunoichi.

"It seems that the two of you are on time for once," Iruka hummed as the duo landed in front of him. "But you were cutting it a bit close."

"Sorry Iruka-sense. I had to travel across Konoha in order to find Fu and she flew us back," Karin explained, her hair ruffled by the high speed flight.

"And I was exploring Konoha with Naruto," Fu cheerily responded.

"Naruto, you say?" Iruka hummed.

"Right over here," I waved, walking over.

"I see… well, this is the first time that anyone hanging around you has arrived on time… miracles do happen."

I rolled my eyes. "That was only when I was an academy student. I'm much more responsible now."

"So I've heard," Iruka replied. "It was nice seeing you again, but I've got a pair of Kunoichi to teach."

"About that," I began. "There's something that I want to discuss with you… in private preferably."

"Can it wait until after class?"

"Not really. I don't really have much time."

Iruka sighed, before turning towards Fu and Karin. "You two can head to class so long. I'll be there in just a minute."

Karin grabbed Fu's arm and tugged her into the academy. "Come on, let's go."

"But I want to hear what they're talking about." Fu whined.

I watched in amusement as the duo disappear into the academy before turning serious.

"So what's this about?" Iruka asked.

"I've heard that Fu has been missing some of her classes and some of the teachers aren't really doing anything but marking her as absent… I remember what it was like when I was a student and some of the teachers ignored me…. She's not being discriminated against due to being a Jinchuriki, is she?"

Iruka smiled softly and patted me on the shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about that. Things were different for you… Back then, the teachers couldn't separate the image of you from the Kyuubi… there were few who didn't lose someone in the attack all those years ago," Iruka sighed. "The work that you've been putting in and the things I've been hearing about you has changed this villages view of you and Jinchuriki in general."

"That's nice to hear, but what about Fu?"

"Still worrying about others," Iruka hummed. "What I'm saying is that there isn't much of a stigma for being a Jinchuriki. Fu isn't being singled out. I'll keep my eye out and make sure that doesn't change."

I took a breath and then nodded. "Thanks."

"Think nothing of it," Iruka smiled. "Now, I've got a class of two Kunoichi to teach and for once, I'm the one that's late."

"See you some other time then," I said as Iruka walked off to class.

Much like the time before the Chunin exams, I slowly walked through the village, taking in the full sight of it. It's funny how much has changed since then. I was so worried about the invasion and if I was going to be ready.

Back then, it felt like I had some impossible task to accomplish. There was still so much to be done. It felt like I wasn't going to be ready or good enough to be able to make an actual difference. I'd only really had Kurama on my side… Things were different now.

Now that Kumo had entered into an alliance with Konoha and both Orochimaru and Danzo were dead, the future was looking brighter. The once impossible task of ending the Akatsuki and saving the world was no longer a shot in the dark.

Team 7 was growing stronger, Tsunade was working on fixing the damage done by her Creation Rebirth which would in turn make it a usable Jutsu with few downsides and I… I was soon going to be mastering Kurama's Chakra, something that would grant me enough power to fight on even terms with a person like Uchiha Madara.

"Naruto?!" A female called out. "Is that you?"

"Hm," I hummed as I turned around and was greeted to the sight of team 10. "Oh, it's you guys… It's been a while since we last met."

"It is you," Ino goggled. "For a second I thought that you might have an older brother. What happened?"

"Just hit a growth spurt," I shrugged. "So what's up with you guys? You seem..." I trailed off as I took in their dirtied clothes and Asuma's pristine ones.

"We just got back from a mission," Shikamaru droned.

"We had to help a farmer plough his fields," Choji added.

So they were back to working on D-rank missions? I guess things really were beginning to calm down.

"And we really need to go to the Hokage and report that we've completed the mission," Asuma butted in.

"I'll walk with you guys," I began. "I was already heading that way after all."

Asuma took a cigarette out, lit it and took a long drag before exhaling the smoke, before nodding his acceptance.

Falling in step with the team, I exhaled a small Wind Style Jutsu in order to blow his smoke away.

"You seem well versed in using Wind Style Chakra to be able to do that," Asuma commented, taking another drag. "I've heard quite a few things about you in these last few months. I wonder how true they are."

"Well I'll need to know what you've heard in order to tell you if it's true," I replied easily.

"I'll start with the simplest one. Ino said that you saved her life when she attempted to possess you. That you unflinchingly confronted the Kyuubi to protect her."

"SENSEI!" Ino Squawked, her face turning red.

I had to keep myself from laughing when I saw the embarrassment on Ino's face. "It's mostly true. The Kyuubi wasn't exactly happy that Ino was in my head and wanted her out. She wasn't in too much danger, however. The Kyuubi knows that I didn't want to kill any Konoha Shinobi, so it wouldn't… so long as they weren't intending to do actual harm to me."

"It sounds like you've got good control over the Kyuubi then," Asuma nodded. "So I'm guessing the other thing about how you singlehandedly stopped the Ichibi is true too?"

I was glad that Kurama was keeping himself preoccupied by watching one of the various series in my head, because if he'd just heard what Asuma had said, he would be pissed.

"Already heard and I'm lamenting the fact that you killed Hidan."

'Hidan needed to die, he had Anko's blood in his system and I didn't know how to get it out,' I thought back. 'And besides, that's one more Akatsuki dead ahead of schedule.'

"I guess I'll just have to be happy with watching him lose his fight against Hidan in here."

I rolled my eyes, Kurama was being a little overdramatic.

"I heard that."

'I know you did. That's why I thought it.'

"Naruto," Asuma interrupted my internal dialogue.

"Sorry about that. The Kyuubi wasn't exactly happy that you thought I was controlling it," I replied. "Yes, I stopped the Ichibi."

Team 10 stopped in their tracks.

"It… talks to you?" Shikamaru said slowly.

"Biju aren't exactly mindless monsters," I explained. "Ino can attest to that, the Kyuubi did threaten her after all."

"But… it can talk to you while you're walking," Ino began. "You don't need to be in your mind for it to communicate."

You know what, I'd forgotten that I was talking to an average trio of Genin and their Jonin-sensei. I'd gotten so used to having to deal with larger things that something like Kurama being able to talk to me whenever he wanted no longer seemed like a big deal. Oh well, it was too late to keep that one quiet.

"I Haven't needed to be in my mind to talk to the Kyuubi since the Chunin exams," I said easily. "It's not really that big of an issue though."

"This is a very serious matter, Naruto," Asuma replied, snapping out of his daze. "The Hokage needs to know about this."

"She does. What, do you think I'm an idiot?" I shot back, not being especially enthused with how Asuma was acting. "I've already told everyone that needs to know about it, the Hokage and Jiraiya specifically."

"I think I'll just double check with the Hokage then," Asuma said, not believing me.

Well, that's just annoying. I get that I'm the walking equivalent of a nuclear bomb, but I'd managed well enough up until now and there wasn't exactly enough cause for concern. I was willing to bet that Asuma knew precisely Jack shit when it came to Jinchuriki.

"Probably less than that."

We continued our trip to the Hokage's office, only this time we walked in silence. Ino, Shikamaru and Choji were all scared by how Asuma had been acting while the Jonin himself was highly stressed.

I suppose if I'd just been told that a thirteen year old kid had been hearing voices from a giant fox that once almost destroyed my village, I'd be nervous too.

I soon found myself standing in Tsunade's office alongside team 10 as Asuma checked if I was telling the truth and that did let her know about Kurama being able to speak with me.

"…And?" Tsunade asked, looking unimpressed.

"The Kyuubi's able to speak to him at any time in the day," Asuma repeated. "He shouldn't be able to hear it, something should be done…"

"I see now," Tsunade nodded in understanding. "You've obviously got a lot of knowledge when it comes to Jinchuriki and their seals. So much that you believed it was important to bring up something that I was already aware of and give your advice on the topic."

"Well, I…"

"Tell me, Asuma," Tsunade interrupted. "What great knowledge do you have that I'm obviously lacking?"

Asuma looked very much like a child that had been scolded by his teacher, not being able to look Tsunade in the eye.

"None," He muttered.

The office remained silent until Tsunade continued. "How did this even become an issue?" She asked, turning to me.

"That was partly my fault," I admitted. "Asuma heard some rumors about me and was asking questions… he said something that annoyed the Kyuubi and I told him that… and now here we are."

Tsunade let out a sigh as she rubbed her temples. "I see. Asuma, I appreciate that you tried to bring something like this to me. Next time, don't keep pushing a point that you know nothing about."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," Asuma replied stiffly.

"Now, do you have anything else that you have to report?"

"Just the completion of a D-rank mission for my team," Asuma replied.

"You can take that to the mission hall," Tsunade said. "Naruto… stay behind."

Well, it wasn't exactly like I was going to go with team 10 to see their debriefing for a D-rank mission of all things. Team 10 soon left the room, their footsteps echoed down the hallway until fading out to silence.

"You know, I think you might have been a bit overly harsh with Asuma," I began, "I mean, it was mostly my fau…"

Before I could finish my sentence, I found myself tackled to the floor, Tsunade pinned my arms and hastily crushed her lips against mine. After getting over my initial surprise, I pushed upward into the kiss. Tsunade hummed as she released my arms and pulled back from the kiss.

"So," I began, taking a deep breath. "You're a clone."

Smirking, Tsunade leaned forward. "Try again," She whispered into my ear.

She was the real Tsunade?! Then what brought this on? Grabbing her waist, I sat up and positioned her on my lap. We met for another brief kiss, before she pulled back once again.

"Have you figured out why I'm doing this?"

"I think so," I began. "I'm not exactly into S , but, if you want, I can bring another team here and you can yell at them."

Tsunade stared at me dumbly, before her body began to shake and she finally let loose a roar of laughter.

"You… You think," Tsunade struggled to get a breath in. "That I… GAHAHAHA."

"Well, that was obviously the wrong answer," I muttered, suddenly feeling very stupid. "In my defense, all the blood that's supposed to be in my brain has rushed off somewhere else."

Tsunade finally began to calm down and took several slow and controlled breaths. "I think I needed that," She hummed, leaning back. "Sorry, but sometimes you unintentionally say the most hilarious things."

"Glad to be of some help," I deadpanned.

"Aw, don't be like that," Tsunade said, placing her hand on my cheek. "The mood might be ruined, but you did actually help me out with a little stress. I've received news that the Kumo delegate that were sent to escort you are nearing Konoha. You'll be on your way to Kumo this time tomorrow."

Already? I mean, it was about the right time for that to happen, but I still had a few things I wanted to do.

"So we need to make the most of the little time I have right now?" I asked.

"That about sums it up," Tsunade replied, bringing her face closer to mine.

There was a knock at the window just before our lips met, ruining the mood once more.

"Sorry, but the two of you have even less time than that," Jiraiya announced, sliding the window open. "It seems the Kumo Shinobi are ahead of schedule."

"How long have you been there?" Tsunade growled, disentangling herself from me before standing up.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jiraiya smirked.

Tsunade's fist audibly clenched before she let out a breath. "I swear, if you weren't going to be escorting Naruto tomorrow, I would currently be breaking every bone in your body."

I pushed myself to my feet and straightened my clothes. I hadn't known that Jiraiya was going to be escorting me to Kumo.

"But I am, so you can't." Jiraiya teased. "By the way, I've got this great new idea for an Icha Icha book. It involves an unlikely relationship with an age gap. Would the two of you like to hear about it?"

Wow. I didn't know whether to be impressed with Jiraiya's bravery or just call him a straight up idiot.

"You're really trying my patience," Tsunade growled. "Maybe I should just have the Kumo Shinobi carry one of Naruto's Kunai back to Kumo, that way he won't need an escort."

Jiraiya immediately paled. "You can't do that?!"

"I'm the Hokage," Tsunade smirked. "Whatever I say goes."

"Alright," I interrupted, wrapping an arm around Tsunade's waist. "If the Kumo Shinobi really are here early, we should probably get ready and stop taunting each other," I shot a pointed look to Jiraiya, before smiling to Tsunade. "Don't you think?"

Tsunade let out a sigh before nodding. "Yes."

An amused look crossed Jiraiya's face. "Well, well, it looks like…"

"Jiraiya," I interrupted, emphasizing his title. "There is quite literally nothing stopping Tsunade from snapping you in half like a twig once you return."

"Got it," Jiraiya said a little too quickly.

There was a knock on the door and I let go of Tsunade and moved to stand next to Jiraiya.

Tsunade quickly recomposed herself and sat behind her desk. "Come in."

The door opened and Darui entered along with C.

"Hokage-sama," Darui nodded his respect. Removing a scroll from his jacket, he placed it on the table "Raikage-sama has sent us to retrieve Uzumaki Naruto as per the alliance agreement."

Opening the scroll, Tsunade quickly looked through it, before nodding. "It seems that everything is in order. I've prepared a room for the two of you to rest in before your departure tomorrow."

"Is that really necessary, Hokage-sama?" C asked suddenly. "We don't need much rest, we could be ready to leave in a few hours at the most."

"Unfortunately it is," Tsunade replied. "You see, there was an issue about two weeks ago where Konoha was infiltrated by a pair of Shinobi that were disguised as Kumo Shinobi that we now assume to have been a part of the Akatsuki. They were uncovered by Danzo Shimura who has sadly passed away."

Ah, right, the cover story for Danzo's death. I was glad that Tsunade had told me about it earlier otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face.

"A village elder being killed is a very serious incident," Darui said, his eyes widened. "We'll be happy to stay in Konoha so that you can ensure that we are not Akatsuki agents."

"Thank you for your cooperation," Tsunade nodded. "But Danzo wasn't killed, he died from an illness."

"If I may ask," Darui began. "What illness did Danzo have?"

"Dysentery," Tsunade replied, keeping her face neutral. "He had refused treatment for it… Danzo didn't believe that it was necessary to get treatment for it, preferring to tough it out. In the end, it was the thing that ended up killing him."

The room descended into silence as the two Kumo Shinobi stared at Tsunade with disbelief on their faces. A knock at the door quickly interrupted that.

"Come in," Tsunade called out.

"You called for me, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked as she entered the room, glancing at the Kumo duo.

"Yes. I need you to guide these two Kumo Shinobi to the room that was prepared for them," Tsunade explained.

"Yes ma'am," Shizune accepted immediately.

"Oh, and one last thing," Tsunade said. "The two of you are allowed to roam Konoha, but there is an ANBU detail that's going to be following you. Please understand that this is done for everyone's safety."

"Understood," Darui nodded while C remained silent.

It wouldn't look good for Konoha if either of the Kumo Shinobi were killed in the village… especially if it was done by a Konoha Shinobi. If something like that happened, it could lead to this alliance being dissolved.

Shizune led the Kumo Shinobi out and Tsunade leaned back into her chair. The room's silence was broken by Jiraiya snickering softly.

"What are you laughing at?" Tsunade asked.

"Just Danzo's death," Jiraiya replied. "The man was full of shit in life and emptied of it in death."

Tsunade cracked a smile and I let out a soft chuckle. Yeah, that was a fitting send off for Danzo. Telling the truth about him wouldn't have done us any favors. Now when people thought about Danzo, they'll all think about him as the Shinobi that stubbornly crapped himself to death.

"You know, it wasn't actually that hard to come up with that report," Tsunade said. "Danzo never went to the hospital for medical checkups. The last time he was listed as going to the hospital was about two decades ago. He quite literally made it easy for others to believe that he died because he was too stubborn to go to the hospital."

Danzo's need for secrecy was the very thing that ended up helping us.

"Oh, right. Tsunade, would you mind if I gave you a Hiraishin marker?" I asked. Kunai could be lost, but if she had a marker on her body, I'd always be able to Hiraishin to her location.

Tsunade stared at me for several moments. "I'm not sure how your marker will interact with my body in the future," She began softly. "So, instead, why don't you mark this in the meantime?" She said, lifting her necklace.

Gently palming her necklace, I began to focus and a few seconds later I removed my hand, revealing my marker which quickly hid itself.

"So, how about we all go get some lunch?" I suggested.

"What?" Jiraiya squawked with an indignant look on his face. "Aren't you going to offer to place a Hiraishin marker on me as well? I'm your master, you should at least give me a special one like you did for Tsunade."

Well… I suppose that I probably should. Although the indignant look on his face was funny. Maybe I should get a little revenge on him.

"I mean… if you're sure, but this is the only thing I'm giving you that I've also given Tsunade," I replied, much to Jiraiya's confusion. "Any marker I give you will be strictly above the belt."

Jiraiya gagged and Tsunade stifled a laugh.

"Oh," Tsunade hummed with a look of amusement on her face. "Perhaps the reason why you were watching us earlier was to see Naruto."

Jiraiya gagged harder.

"Well, if that's the case then I'll have to decline, I've already got a girlfriend."

"Hate you," Jiraiya grumbled. "Hate you both."

"We love you too, Jiraiya… Just in a platonic way," I finished.

Before I knew it, the night had passed and I found myself standing in Tsunade's office for the last time before I headed off to Kumo.

"So, this is it," I hummed lightly. The day had finally come and I was reluctant to go, but I knew it was necessary. If I was to master Kurama mode, I needed to have access to the waterfall of truth and not only that, as per the terms of the alliance, I needed to be in Kumo to ensure that Zetsu hadn't infiltrated it.

"It seems so," Tsunade sighed. "But it's not forever… and with the Hiraishin you'll still be able to visit Konoha, but…"

"We're not going to have much time together even if I can return instantly," I nodded.

"No, not until this alliance has time to settle."

Getting up from behind her desk, Tsunade walked around and grabbed my chin, before leaning closer, but instead of the kiss that I'd grown accustomed to, she instead, pulled my headband off and gently kissed my forehead.

"What…"

"We're going to be a part for a while, but regardless of that, I'm placing my full faith in you," Tsunade began. "Although we're not going to have much time now, there will be plenty in the future."

I smiled and pulled her into a hug. "It's such a pity that I've got to leave just after getting rid of Danzo. Konoha has finally become a place where I feel that I can relax." Once the Akatsuki were finally dealt with, the whole world should feel that way.

"We can't stay like this for too long. The Kumo team will be waiting for you at the gate," Tsunade interrupted, pulling back.

"Yeah," I sighed as I took a step back. "I'll see you soon," I said hopefully. Turning around, I got all of two steps before something smacked my ass.

"And where's my goodbye?" One of Tsunade's clones asked, smirking.

The real Tsunade groaned and I cracked a smile. "Right, sorry," I apologized and kissed the clone on the cheek. "I'll see you all again soon," I said to the rest of the clones.

"Better," The clone smirked. "You better do a lot more growing while you're in Kumo. I'm tired of only being able to tease you… Then again, maybe you could leave a c…"

Before the clone could finish its sentence, it exploded into a cloud of smoke courtesy of Tsunade. "Just ignore whatever it was she was saying."

I walked down the street, heading towards the gate. Technically speaking, I could be there already… I had after all placed a marker on it and on several of the surrounding trees, but I felt I wanted to take one last look around.

I didn't exactly know how long it was going to be before I could come back and visit Konoha, so on the offhand that it was going to be a few months, I decided to have one last look around.

"What's this?" Anko asked loudly as she landed next to me. "You're already leaving and you didn't think to say goodbye to your partner? Well, I'm just insulted."

"Right… goodbye Anko," I deadpanned.

"Cheeky ass," Anko muttered and slung an arm around my neck. "So what're you doing here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be on your way to Kumo right now?"

"I just thought I'd take one last look around before leaving."

"That's kind of stupid, don't you think?" Anko asked. "When you go away on a long term mission, you don't really miss the place, you miss the people that live in the place."

She was right, but there was a feeling in Konoha that I would miss. I'd done a lot to ensure that this village would prosper and now I was taking one last look before leaving.

"Well there's not that many people that I can visit right now," I replied. "Team 7 is off on a mission, I'm not really that connected to the other teams, Fu and Karin are at the academy and Shizune's in the hospital… the only one that I'm going to miss and that I haven't really said goodbye to is you."

"As much as it pains me to admit," Anko began, her arm tightening around my neck. "I'm going to miss you too. It's a pity that I only heard that you were leaving this morning. If I'd heard last night, I would have brought a bunch of alcohol, gotten you drunk and sent you to Kumo with the mother of all hangovers."

I wasn't exactly sure if that would work on me, but I was glad I didn't have to find out before spending the next several days running.

"Let's save that for one of the days that I come back," I replied. "Oh, also…" Digging into my pouch, I pulled out a Kunai that had a white tag with spirals on it wrapped around the handle. "Here, keep this. It's one of my Hiraishin Kunai. If you ever need my help, throw it and I'll come." I would have offered to give her a marker, but I doubt that would go down well, what with Orochimaru giving her a curse mark.

"Aw, it looks like someone's going to miss their partner," Anko hummed as she accepted the Kunai. "I'll only use it when it's absolutely necessary, like when I don't have enough money to pay for dango, or if I don't feel like running all the way back to Konoha."

"Only if you or someone else's life is in danger," I said.

"Hey, if I can't pay for dango, someone's life is going to be in danger."

"You sure seemed to take your time," Jiraiya muttered as I arrived at the gate.

While I could explain that Anko decided to walk me most of the way before we said our goodbyes, I felt that my excuse wouldn't be that appreciated, so I decided to go with another one that was well tested.

"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life."

"Please don't pick up Kakashi's bad habits," Jiraiya groaned while the Kumo duo looked on in confusion. "Have you got everything you need? You haven't forgotten anything, have you?"

Glancing back at the village, a wind blew, rustling the trees.

"No," I said, taking a step outside of the village. "I think I'm finally ready."

And that's chapter 40 done.

Next up, the Kumo arc with a timeskip on the horizon.

Anyways, I'm up to chapter 47 on the spooky P word website.

P
A
T
R
E
O
N

I go by the name of ThatKircguy. Just copy the name and paste it in the Patty Rio On search bar. It'd help me out immensely, but don't worry if that's not your style. I will be uploading weekly, so it's not going to be stuck there permanently.

Also, I post my original stuff there as well. It's nothing much, just two short stories for now, but I'll post more as I write them.

The next chapter will be posted on the 4th of October.
See you all then dudes and dudettes.