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Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise or its characters.
Previously….
Naruto stood victorious, his fists by his side.
There was no elation in his face.
Neither was he emotionless.
No…he was bored.
Chapter Fifty Eight: A Choice Has Been Made.
One week later…
Naruto patiently waited with a look at the clock. How much longer? His hands trembled with pain, but not in a bad way. It was the type of pain where you felt like some progress had been made—something which was becoming tougher and tougher recently.
He had been training continuously for the past week without a moment of rest, and every second since that fight with Lee's team had been a constant grind to get a level up or a stat increase. He did everything he could think of. He sparred a bit with some of the other Genin, he doubled his exercise routines, and he continued to work on his Taijutsu by fighting against his shadows and even Wukong whenever he summoned him.
The warrior monkey had been growing stronger, that much was sure. Naruto could still beat him, but it was getting tougher and tougher to do so with every passing moment.
There was no other explanation.
He simply wasn't improving.
The reason came to him pretty easily. The reason he originally leveled up so quickly was because of the abundance of enemies who were stronger than him. The system nearly always leveled up Naruto or gave him an exorbitant amount of XP whenever he fought and won against someone stronger or higher level than himself.
Recently, however, there was a problem.
Naruto was pretty confident he was the strongest Chuunin in Konoha. He didn't want to boast, but out of all the Chuunin that he knew, he immediately knew that he was the best. And that was without using his shadows…he shook his head. I'm definitely the strongest Genin now—that's not even a debate anymore. The younger Naruto would have been ecstatic with the news, having finally gotten one over all of the other Rookies. The current Naruto tried not to weep,
He could, of course, try to fight some of the Jonin shinobi. He had tried—don't get him wrong—and it had spectacularly failed. It wasn't that anyone rejected the offer, the blond literally couldn't find anyone to fight. The Jonins were already obscure enough on their own, and ever since the death of Shikaku, it had only gotten worse. Kakashi sensei, who had gone off about how Team Seven would meet again regularly, had gone dead silent, and was nowhere to be seen.
That left one last option.
Get assigned a mission.
He needed a mission that was difficult, preferably outside of Konoha and didn't need too many other variables for him to keep track of. Pretty much, the mission should be difficult enough to evoke the system to give out a quest regarding the same thing.
Getting quests was tough when all you did was stay in one place and train your ass off. Quests usually meant there was something unique happening, something worthy of mention as according to the system.
And that's where he found himself now.
In the Hokage's office.
He had somehow managed to get an appointment with Tsunade, though that was probably because he was Naruto Uzumaki. He knew that the woman was most likely going to be incredibly busy, but he desperately needed to get a mission. Or more specifically, a quest.
In front of him was the Legendary Saanin, now even more famous as the Hokage of the Lead. Blocking his view of Tsunade were multiple stacks of papers filled with entire paragraphs of random text. Her hand moved like a flash as she signed several papers every few seconds.
I've got to convince her somehow!
Naruto tried for a smile. "Yo—"
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune interrupted him with a loud thud as the door she just opened collided with the wall. "Lord Higura is refusing to pay his promised donations—"
Tsunade talked impassively while continuing her signing. "Threaten to remove all support to this Lord by the next election. I've made it clear several times that we aren't bowing down to these old assholes any longer. No ifs or buts about it."
Shizune gulped. "O-of course, Lady Tsunade."
She continued to sign for a few minutes before putting her pen down with a clack into the wooden desk. She stretched upwards before finally settling her eyes onto Naruto, who had an irritated expression on his face, but decided that he didn't want to get on the bad side of the woman in front of him.
"Naruto!" She said genially. "Long time no see, brat. What can I do for you?"
"Nothing much…I just wanted to check in on how you were doing," Naruto said, knowing not to demand his wants immediately. That would be the dumbest thing to do in this situation, and he knew that from experience. Both Tsunade and Hiruzen held the same position, but they certainly weren't the same people.
Tsunade had a weird glint in her eyes as if she knew exactly what Naruto was doing, which was probably true. She understood that the blond had come to ask for something, and his visual secrecy of the topic likely meant that she wouldn't take it well.
"Hectic. Hectic would be the best way to describe the current state of things. Things were already bad enough, and ever since the death of Shikaku…they are getting only worse. I've managed to hold everything together for now, but who knows when the cracks eventually become too much for me to bear. It doesn't matter how much glue you use to stick two broken pieces together, it won't be as strong as it originally was."
"Hmmm…you seem to be doing fine."
Tsunade chuckled. "Appearances can be deceiving, brat. I'm the best example of that. In more ways than one. Anyways, we will be needing a new Jonin commander as soon as possible."
"Who could that be?"
"Let's see. Someone who is calculating, strong, and above all, loyal to their village. Let's go through a few potential candidates. If we're talking pure firepower, arguably Might Gai is the strongest Jonin we have. However, his mindset wouldn't be suitable for the position, nor does he seem like someone who would want to be there. Asuma would deny it immediately. Kurenai could maybe take it…but I think we both know that there's a better choice."
Naruto nodded in understanding. It was obvious. "Would he really take it though?"
Tsunade shrugged. "That depends on his mood, really. Kakashi would be perfect for the role, and I trust that he would do a good job. I can't order someone to take the position, so there's no point in worrying whether or not they're going to accept. Either they say yes or no. We move on. So, how are your friends doing?"
"Good. Sakura is training with a secret Jonin that nobody would tell me the name of. Sasuke is nowhere to be seen. I haven't seen Shikamaru for a while, actually, but I don't particularly blame him. The others are all training as well as far as I know. Everyone seems excited to train for some reason."
"Good, good. I hope none of them are too disappointed with the recent lack of missions. The safety of our village has been severely compromised for the past few months, and I wanted to solidify those before we start pouring in missions once again. For the moment, it's going to be really tough to get any missions out of Konoha."
Naruto's heart dropped. She managed to get his topic of choice without even knowing, and instantly cut down his hopes without even knowing. "No missions at all?"
"None would be a stretch. We have to get our money somehow. Simply put, the bulk of missions going out of the village's borders are being taken up by Jonins. Hell, I've gotten Anko to leave a few times. I guess you're kinda bored from this conversation. What's on your mind and how did it disturb you so much for you to visit little old me?"
Naruto took a deep breath.
Sometimes, you were faced with a decision.
And in those times, the difference between a successful and unsuccessful person was made..
Naruto went for it.
"I want a mission. Outside of Konoha."
Shizune gasped.
Tsunade sighed loudly as if she expected this answer. A hand went to her temples, massaging the skin tightly. "Are you deaf?"
Naruto put his hands on the desk, standing up. "I've been stagnating. It's boring here. I have nothing left to do. The Jonin Exams require a minimum age to apply now, a mandate which you recently signed."
"I signed that because Konoha has a track record of pushing prodigies towards higher and higher status and eventually producing psychopaths that have zero loyalty towards their own village." She answered in such a way that it felt like she rehearsed that message several times.
He blinked. "Uhh…fair enough? Regardless, I want to get out of here. I'll take anything as long as it's outside of Konoha. Please, Tsunade."
She shook her head. "Not possible."
"Why?" Naruto asked with a scowl on his face.
"Why? Are you really asking that? Are you acting dense on purpose, Naruto? There's a terrorist group out there that wants to capture you! Why the hell would I send you out when the safest place you could possibly be is right here in Konoha?!"
He wasn't acting dense. He knew it all, of course. But he needed to hear it from Tsunade herself.
"I'm safe, am I?" Naruto asked bitterly. "They know where I live, Granny! Those two Akatsuki members came here for me. I was supposed to die there, not Shikamaru's dad! My life isn't worth more than anyone else's. You aren't allowed to make that decision—"
"Your life isn't worth more than anyone else's—I'll agree to that. But the beast you hold within you…it's worth a lot. If Shikaku was faced with a situation where his life would prevent the loss of the Jinchuriki to the terrorist organization, he would gladly die. Don't taint his sacrifice by throwing away your own life."
Naruto felt his blood pumping at a record pace. "How many lives is this monster within me worth? How long can we continue this? Shikaku is dead—who's next? They're going to keep on attacking Konoha until nothing is left! At least if I go outside they would be confused as to where I am. I'm in a trap! How do you not see that?"
"It's going to be fine. You sit down tight and let the adults handle this."
Naruto scoffed. "They've been doing a good job of it so far, eh? You haven't seen that orange-mask guy. He can literally teleport! You don't understand how it feels: the constant fear of being kidnapped randomly. He could teleport in and take me away to wherever he lives, and I wouldn't be able to do a thing!"
"Jiraiya, whom you haven't seen in a while, has been working on seals with Fuinjutsu masters from all around the globe just to counter the masked man's teleportation. We haven't seen the masked man since then, so hopefully it worked."
He laughed harshly. "Yeah, let's just hope the seals worked! Nothing will happen! One day, I'm going to disappear into the night, and no one is going to even notice. Totally fine, right?"
"What is your plan, then?" Tsunade asked plainly.
Naruto was startled by the quick change in pace. "T-the other Jinchuuriki. I want to meet them at least once. They formed their own group—I'm sure they have more information than we do about the Akatsuki."
"You want me to send you a trip across the country to find the other Jinchuuriki? Where you'll be at the risk of being caught in the middle of the journey. The other Jinchuuriki who, by the way, were against working with Jiraiya, who had offered them help already. The same group, if found and captured, would immediately give the Akatsuki everything they want in a nicely wrapped gift. You want me to send you to them?"
Naruto blinked. Well, I didn't know that. "Yeah."
"Enough of this, Naruto. Konoha is safe. You'll be fine. Don't worry about all of this and keep your mind only on training, nothing else.
"But—"
"Dismissed."
Naruto left the Hokage's office with a wide frown on his face. His hands were trembling and his face was red with rushing blood.
If tears of anger didn't exist, they did now.
Why don't they understand? This place is a fucking cage! People are going to die for me! They'll die for a cause that they know nothing about. Why am I being forced to stay here when the Akatsuki know that the Nine-Tails is here?
He ran straight for his favorite training ground—he had a lot of anger to let out.
[—NTLS—]
Tsunade looked at the retreating back of the blond with a thoughtful expression on her face.
Shizune didn't say a word, merely watching with an impassive look on her face.
"Do you think I'm making the right decision, Shizune?" She asked a moment later.
Shizune nodded. "Of course, Lady Tsunade. Naruto cannot see the scope of the danger that surrounds him. Whether he believes it or not, his life is worth a lot more than anyone else. The Akatsuki want all of the Jinchuuriki for a reason." She shivered. "All of that chakra in one place…I can't even imagine the sort of atrocity they plan to commit."
"Something that would affect the world at once. Mass genocide? Could be. What is their motivation, though? We can only guess."
"Lady Tsunade, if I may make a suggestion," Shizune started, a meek expression on her face. "I think some surveillance on Naruto would be prudent to have. I'm afraid he may turn to some drastic solutions to his boredom…"
Tsunade couldn't help but agree. "That's right. That boy is more than impulsive. I'll order a couple of guards to watch his apartment for a week or two."
Please don't do anything rash, Naruto.
[—NTLS—]
[Skill: Monkey Staff Efficiency leveled up!]
[Skill: Monkey Staff Efficiency is now LV2]
Naruto panted heavily as he finished his training session with Wukong, who had taken the liberty of teaching some advanced techniques with the staff. His skill had absorbed most of the basics originally, but there was a lot more he needed to learn. The staff was tough to learn and utilized some muscles that he wasn't very familiar with.
That wasn't the only reason why he had called him, though.
He needed some advice from the summon.
"Sun, when faced with a tough decision, do you trust yourself or someone else?"
Sun Wukong, ever the freebird, laughed loudly. "Haha! Looks like you want some advice from the master! Well, listen here, young Naruto, love is a strange feeling—"
"It's not about that," Naruto said, sighing.
"Hmmm...sounds like a lie! Why else would you be asking me about that?"
"I'm serious."
"Suuureeeee~. Anyways, your question is an interesting one, young grasshopper. To answer: it depends on who the other person is! Is it someone whose judgment you take seriously or with a grain of salt?"
Naruto tilted his head. "It's the Hokage, so yeah, her judgment is pretty important. I just don't know what to do."
Sun put a hand through his fiery-red hair, his tail wagging excitedly. "Listen here! I'll tell you about Sun Wukong's greatest method for decision-making. Take your hand, you see, and put it on your heart."
Naruto did what he said without much delay, curious to see what was happening and eager to get it over with.
"Do you hear it beating? Of course you do! You're alive, aren't you? Now, ask yourself the question. Your decision, or whatever it is you're thinking about. Listen to your heart! It'll tell you the answer—no, the heart is going to tell you the truth."
Naruto closed his eyes.
Badump.
Badump.
Badump. Badump. Badump.
Badump.
His heart was telling him something.
I see.
He opened his eyes.
Sun grinned. "You got your answer?"
"Yeah," Naruto answered with a smile. "Thanks for the help."
"Well, good luck with your love life. You got your answer, now it's up to you to see what you do with it. Don't get pissed off at me if it doesn't work out—you aren't nearly as handsome as me, so results can differ. Hehe."
"I don't know how it's going to turn out, to be honest," Naruto said truthfully. "But at least I'm gonna be doing what I want to do."
He gave a thumbs-up. "Sounds good."
Naruto looked over at the setting sun.
He may be acting stupid.
But he felt lighter.
A heavy weight lifted from his shoulders. A weight that he never knew was even there. But now that it was gone—he couldn't imagine living under that weight ever again.
I'll be leaving soon, Konoha.
"Hey, let's get some ramen on the way!" Sun said with a pleading expression.
"Sure," Naruto said with a chuckle.
[Ding!]
[New Title: "Traveler" Achieved]
[Title: "Traveler" gives 15% EXP Gain when doing quests outside of Konoha, along with increasing all other stats by 7%.]
[end]
My Pa tre on is back online for those who want to read THREE chapters or THREE WEEKS ahead (chapters 59, 60, 61) and support my endeavor to become an author. So if you can't wait for the next update–check out:
P a treon . com (slash) PaladinKaladin
Yo!
Yeah, we're going there.
Part 1 of this book is ending soon (that means like 2 more months)…there's most likely going to be a 1-2 month hiatus after the ending of this arc with some interval chapters every two weeks. During the hiatus, I'm going to begin updating a new story at the same time which has already been planned out to 4 chapters, but there's still a lot more work to do.
We have one more story arc to go through until the end of part 1. It's going to end with a serious bang, so be ready!
Question of the day:
Do you think the time skip between Naruto and Shippuden was done well? It's an interesting conversation, to be honest.
Make sure to follow, review, and favorite to keep up with next week's chapter and support the story!
Chapter 59 is releasing on Tuesday, 11th of March. Around 2 PM Washington DC time.
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