CHAPTER 31
The forests outside of Konoha were serene. Mornings were particularly peaceful, with the trees subtly creaking as they reached into the sky, swaying their branches along with the cool breeze flowing in from the east. The sun shone warmly over the region, pouring light onto the leaves and trickling energy down to the roots of the trees, where at the bottom of the dense forest were scarcely any bushes or foliage.
The path to Wave Country from Konoha meandered through the tightly packed cluster, just slim enough for a normal carriage but nothing more.
Birds soared over the trees, perching and flying off, sometimes diving through the cloud of leaves, snapping up a dead branch and flying away to their nests. Winter was coming and most of the birds had migrated, only a few birds that had already laid eggs in the branches and inside the hollow of trees remained, piling leaves, branches, and berries in their homes for warmth in readiness for the cold gale that would rumble through Fire Country from the west.
A woodpecker pecked the trunk of a tree, sounding both nearby and far away.
At the bottom of the forest, between the tightly packed trees, some animals padded. Wild deer chewed on the stumpy, hard grass that carpeted the forest floor. Two foxes bound aimlessly between the tree trunks, yipping and yowling as they searched for their warren. A family of beavers that had travelled from a close by river feeding into Wave Country tramped leisurely toward the water, drifting to another slim river somewhere inside the forest, ignoring the playful foxes and going their merry way.
Some wild chickens picked at the roots of trees, pawing at the damp soil with their feet and picking out ants and ticks from the floor, and high in the trees a sullen owl slept.
The animals of the forest lived in harmony with each other, only doing what needed to be done for sustenance. A delicate balance was maintained.
A yellow flash at the treetops disrupted the tranquillity, and the animals fled.
Naruto wheezed through grit teeth, swearing words he could never voice as he dangled from a branch. His right hand held onto the branch, saved from splinters in his palm by the bandages around his hand, while his left wrapped around Sandy's middle. The Uchiha boy exhaled peacefully, sound asleep and uncaring about the precarious situation they were in; hanging on a branch many metres over the soft, damp ground.
A piece of paper covered Sandy's face, tied around his head by a string, with a level five chakra suppression seal drawn on it, preventing the boy from leaking yin chakra from his pores, putting all around him to sleep.
"Can't you be gentler?" Sandy murmured with a yawn, limp and heavy in Naruto's arm. "Please and thank you."
Naruto's arm strained, baring his teeth and swearing as he felt his shoulder muscles tighten. He swore again, this time directed at his lazy brother, who couldn't be bothered. He groaned as he pulled himself up, using as much power as he could muster with only one arm and sliding onto the branch, dragging Sandy up and draping him over the branch.
Naruto stood up and rolled his sore shoulder, spitting and snapping his teeth.
"These were the coordinates you gave me, I think," a toad said blearily, forcing himself to keep awake. The toad, Gamahiro, was on top of Naruto's head, lying with its arms and legs outstretched, as if it was Naruto's cap. A Hirashin seal was etched onto the toad's forehead. It watched as Naruto flexed his fingers, pulling his arm back and pushing it forward, easing the strain out from his right shoulder.
The toad gathered itself, drawing its arms and legs underneath its body and peering down. Its eyes lit up and it pointed at the base of the branch.
"Look."
Despite his irritation, Naruto looked to where the toad indicated, and he exhaled when he saw a Hirashin kunai lying inside a bird's nest. The chicks in the nest squealed in high-pitched tones, mouths gaping and waiting for food.
"Don't ask how they got that kunai into their nest. I put it on the ground last time I was here." The toad shrugged.
Naruto grunted. "I'll see you later, Gamahiro."
"Yup." And the toad popped into chakra smoke, dispelling itself.
Naruto carefully stalked to the nest and snatched the blade, storing it inside a kunai pouch at his lower back, walking backwards faster, in case the parents swept in. He strolled on the branch to his brother, who was still slumped haphazardly on the branch, blissfully asleep. The paper on his face fluttered with his calm breaths. The branch didn't so much as bend under their combined weight.
Naruto snapped his fingers twice. Sandy groaned, whining petulantly, "Carry me…"
"Tch."
Sandy groused a bit louder when his brother picked him up by the scruff of his neck. Naruto hefted his brother onto his left shoulder and sprang off the branch, bounding from branch to branch, moving weightlessly at the treetops in such a way that the ambience wasn't disturbed. The animals of the forests returned to their grazing, forgetting the presence of the visitors and not sensing them as they hurtled above their heads. Naruto's footsteps were soft and measured, though his pace was speedy but precise.
A woodpecker rapped its beak into a tree and Naruto deftly turned left, leaping and running deeper into the forest, turning right when he heard the creaking groan of a tree. He kept running for a few more minutes, before he stopped abruptly, exhaling heavily from his mouth and searching the forest floor with his activated byakugan.
A corner of his lips quirked up when he saw that he was at the right place.
The soil of the forest floor was damper, not sopping wet like mud but healthily earthy. Bioluminescent moss grew on the roots and trunks of the closely packed trees, with mushrooms and stubby grass coiling out in patches at random sections of the ground. He looked up at the branches, and the leaves were more closely tangled, leaving only a few thin beams of sunlight through the fat, flat leaves.
The trees of the forest shook, rustling from an invisible wind.
The boy squatted slowly, carefully carrying his weight and his brother's weight as he lowered himself, slipping off the branch and landing on the soft floor, barely feeling the shock of impact on his knees when they collided with the ground.
"Hm…" Sandy mumbled, slumped bonelessly on Naruto's shoulder. He removed the seal on his face. His Mangekyo eyes curled into a waning smile at the sight around him, beaming at the rustling trees and waving back at them. He didn't move to come down.
The lights from the glowing moss illuminated the way and Naruto marched onwards, carefully moving through thick shrubs, hand outstretched and pushing away branches from slapping his face. Then his hand settled on a glass surface, and the rest of the plants bent away once he found it.
A grin jumped onto Naruto's face.
Naruto slowly slid his fingertips down until he found a doorknob. He glanced back and saw that the rough, natural path he had walked through was gone, smothered invisible but branches, shrubs, and grass till it was gone. The bioluminescent moss and mushrooms were gone as well. Naruto inhaled deeply, then pushed into Sage's Greenhouse.
It was like he had walked into a completely different world.
The sun shone over a large opening that had once been an observatory many decades ago, now abandoned and released back to the land. The roof to the observatory was gone and the tiled ground was replaced by pure nature, leaving just a wide expanse of open brick walls that held twisting vines and prickly thorns. The grass was soft and lush, gleaming vibrant shade of green. Many trees loomed outside of the brick walls. A babbling brook bubbled mutely across the greenhouse, with a few fish swimming up and down its length, and even a family of foxes lapping at the water, eying Naruto and Sandy but otherwise ignoring them.
There were exotic plants neatly growing around the greenhouse. Plants of dozens of colours, shades and tones that had never been seen before, flourishing in this strange ecosystem. They vibrated subtly, opening their leaves out and collecting as much sun as possible. Their existence made the air sparkle a little, adding a twinkle to the glittering stream and a jovial scent in the air that relaxed the two boys.
The centrepiece of the greenhouse wasn't the assortment of exotic plants that added a strangely welcoming sparkle to the atmosphere, but the gigantic tree at the very middle of the massive greenhouse.
The God Tree, Naruto whispered in awe in his mind.
It towered so high in the sky that Naruto had to squint to see its branches and leaves, spread wide and open almost over the entire region, though never blocking the smaller plants from receiving as much sunlight as possible. Its deep brown trunk creaked quietly, as if it was inhaling and exhaling, standing on dense roots that threaded through the planet.
In his amazement, Naruto's shoulders slacked and Sandy fell, landing face-first on the grass. He didn't notice this, or realize when all of the aches and pains of his body vanished, leaving him with every breath. The soreness of his shoulders and calves ebbed, massaged from his system by nature itself. His mind became clearer and his chakra replenished itself. There had been a small pain at the front of his head for some days now, but that too went for good.
Sandy stood up beside his brother and, in sync, the two inhaled deeply, exhaling from their mouths.
For Sandy, the pain at his elbows and knees trickled from his being, like water pouring from his head, washing filth into the drain, which greedily drank his pain and achiness. The joints that were broken during his Atonement healed and strengthened. His back straightened and the dull headache in his head, from apprehension at returning to Konoha, went with all of his worries, feeding into the god tree and replaced with the innate knowledge that everything was going to be alright.
Somehow, everything was going to be alright.
Their shoulders loosened and they sighed, relieved.
They didn't even spring in alarm when a pair of arms wrapped around them and Sage's head appeared between them, beaming excitedly. "Well, if it isn't my two most favourite people in the world!" he walked forward with them, brimming and shaking. "C'mon, everyone's waiting."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sage took them close to the god tree, where a twisted, knotted root rose from the ground at the base of the tree to reveal a slim opening into the ground. The gap was just wide enough to fit one person at a time, descending downwards. At his prompting, Naruto ducked into the opening and stalked down with careful feet, feeling the soft earth underfoot and keeping his hands on either side of the tunnel. He heard Sandy shuffle in after him, and then Sage came last. The tunnel entrance closed, with the root slipping back under the soil, and the tunnel was delved into complete darkness.
"Don't worry. It's just up ahead," Sage said from the rear.
Naruto blinked and his byakugan activated, just as some fireflies wormed out from the earthy walls, illuminating the short tunnel in warm orange and yellow lights. Naruto gaped, walking slowly until they got to a section of a tunnel where they started climbing up. Naruto's hands grasped some tough roots, pulling himself up and digging his toes into the soil. Sunlight opened up over their heads as they clambered out of the ground.
Someone came to Naruto and helped him out of the hole, dusting the soil off his shoulders. They were in a different greenhouse, somewhere inside Konoha but in a sparsely wooded area. The air didn't shimmer like Sage's greenhouse and the scent of flowers and plant life wasn't as rejuvenating, though the place was still fairly choked full with colourful flowers and spindly saplings.
Naruto's eyes swam, not paying much attention to this new setting.
"Tenzo," Naruto breathed, clasping hold of his brother's shoulders. His pale eyes filled with emotion and he gave a shaky grin. He looked around, seeing many of his brothers and sisters warily approaching him. Naruto spared a hand and held it out to one of his other brothers, a portly boy, black-haired boy with black swirly markings on his cheeks. "Brother Bones…"
Tenzo smirked, holding Naruto's shoulders as well. "Welcome home, brother."
Around them, their siblings converged on them, their wariness disappeared and they hurried to Naruto, chattering and beaming, embracing their runaway brother for the first time in three and a half years.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sixty-seven CORE siblings came to see Naruto in that Yamanaka greenhouse. In solidarity with their brother, and as penance for their wilful blindness to his suffering, they undid the tracking/suicide seals on their tongues, renouncing their former master, Danzo. They sided with their big brother, wholly and completely.
Twenty-five CORE siblings refused to leave Danzo's side.
Naruto didn't have the heart to blame them. They had been raised to live and breathe for Danzo.
Brother Bones, Naruto's brother of Akimichi descent, told him that those who stayed with Danzo felt that Naruto should be thankful for his training. He was worked harder than the rest of them because he was Danzo's favourite operative, and that was an honour. They took offence that Naruto took his privilege for granted. They renounced him as their brother, loyal to Danzo to the bitter end.
"Wheelie says…if you know what's good for you…" Bones said slowly, his voice shaking and unable to continue. A quiet shiver passed over the other siblings, watching Naruto to see his reaction.
Naruto pursed his lips, humming. He looked at Sage, and the nature boy smirked.
"He won't try anything here. He's smarter than that."
The relief in the greenhouse was palpable. Fighting was forbidden in Sage's greenhouse locations. It was a safe space for all of their siblings.
They all loved Wheelie, but they were also afraid of him. His fervour in following Danzo was unnerving.
"He's made his choice." Naruto shrugged, reaching out with a grin and swooping one of his sisters into a bear hug, nearly lifting her off her feet as she screamed in mock outrage.
"Hopefully he changes his mind." Tenzo crossed his arms, leaning in and whispering into Naruto's ears as his brother dropped his sister, cringing away as she beat harmless fists against his back. "If I have to choose between him or you—" he stopped when Naruto faced him with a serious look, holding Tenzo's stare. "…I won't want to choose…but I will…"
Naruto turned to Tenzo and held his brother's face, bringing his brow to gently touch Tenzo's. A solemn moment lingered between them, and a silent, wordless prayer.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
One hour later
Namikaze-Uzumaki Household
Itachi didn't like being a bother. He didn't like making a fuss. He didn't like making noise or getting in the way. That was why he didn't follow his uncle Minato and father to see the Fire Daimyo, who had just arrived from the Fire Capital with his wife and sons ahead of tomorrow's Hokage Swearing-In, and Itachi didn't trust himself to not fidget while they were greeting the old Daimyo. The Kazekage was also on his way, and the Raikage had sent his best wishes, unable to make the trip.
His aunt Kushina was still upstairs. Itachi didn't want to bother her either.
His mother was inside the house, animatedly watching a Kumo sitcom. The screen door was open, allowing her to see her son as he played in the backyard whenever she turned to look.
Itachi was kneeling in his garden, which was a small patch of the backyard close to the toolshed, cordoned off with small, smooth pebbles he collected from a river in the Uchiha clan compound. The boy wore a slightly oversized sunhat his aunt Kushina lent him and a pair of rain boots, stabbing a small trowel into the soil with both hands, not because he was planting anything in particular, but because he liked digging.
The garden hose lay near his heel, as well as a small watering can that was toppled on its side. Water trickled from the nozzle of the hose. He preferred using the hose; it felt more grownup.
Dirt smudged his hands, smearing over his brow when he wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, sitting back on his heel and admiring his work. The ground was mutilated and tousled. The boy snagged a leaf from his left side and pushed the end into the ground, carefully patting the ground to keep it upright.
A glimmer of a smile crossed his face.
A neat row of upright leaves spread out before his eyes. They weren't much, not more than five leaves in a row, but they were impeccable in his eyes.
He picked up the hose and sprinkled a gentle arc of cool water on his "plants", inhaling the scent of damp earth and watching the soil darken as he watered, imagining that he was helping them grow. The occasional chirp of birds, singing nicely from their perches in the trees and soaring through the air, was interspersed by the choreographed laughter of a studio audience from the television inside the house. Itachi's mother giggled, carefree, glancing at her son and then returning to her Kumo sitcom.
Itachi enjoyed slow weekends.
He froze when he heard a rough scratching on the fence, looking to his right just as someone tumbled over, landing in a low crouch. They had unruly blonde hair and pale eyes, and their eyebrows shot up when their eyes jammed.
Itachi's eyes narrowed. Kushina's large sunhat shaded the boy's face from clearly being seen.
The person smiled nervously, slowly standing upright. The boy's quick eyes saw the bandages around his throat, hands and feet, his dark clothes and the wet soil scuffed on the sides of his sandals. He wasn't wearing a Konoha forehead protector or a shinobi vest. He was lanky but he didn't look old. Older than Itachi, who was five, but not enough to be too wary.
Still, Itachi was cautious.
The person quickly held up his hands.
Itachi glanced at his mother, who was guffawing at something on the television. He looked again at the person, and he was now squatting on the other side of Itachi's garden, wordlessly staring at the boy's plants in awe.
He looked at Itachi, pointing at the leaves with raised eyebrows. He didn't speak, but Itachi imagined he was asking, "Did you do this?"
The boy nodded, choosing not to scream for his mother. "Daddy says they're from Hidden Mountain."
The person mouthed, "Wow…"
A tinge of a smirk glanced on Itachi's lips. He knew the person's amazement was exaggerated as if he was talking to any other child, but there was some genuine wonder in their pale stare. He swelled a little, proud.
"Why did you climb the fence?" Itachi blurted out, and the person smiled laughingly, tapping his chin, and shrugging melodramatically. "You can't talk?"
The person shook his head.
"Why?"
He tapped his throat, shaking his wrist.
"You got hurt?"
The person nodded.
"Who hurt you?"
He touched his chest, pressing his finger on his heart.
Itachi's eyebrows knitted. "Why?"
The person made a flippant hand gesture, and Itachi hummed with a slight frown. He didn't like being dismissed; if he was going out of his way to not be a bother, then the other person should at least not push him away.
Seeing the younger boy's lowering mood, the blonde snapped his fingers and held up a finger, reaching into his sleeve with his other hand and pulling out a small notepad. A pencil followed, giving the boy a cheery thumb up.
Itachi looked at the notepad, flicking his coal-black stare up at the brimming grin of the stranger. He grunted and dropped the hose, grabbing his trowel and looking once more at his crowing mother before he returned to stabbing at the earth.
The stranger scribbled in the notepad. Hello, again. I'm Naruto.
Itachi looked at the chicken scrawl of words, chewing on his tongue, then he muttered, "Na…ru…to…" The person's smile widened. Itachi found himself smiling at the person's expression, scoffing and tucking his head down to his garden, holding his trowel with both hands and impaling the earth twice more. Idly, the boy said, "I'm Itachi."
A hand was thrust into his line of sight. Itachi followed it up to the owner of the hand, seeing Naruto give the boy an encouraging nod, as if saying, "Nice to meet you, Itachi."
"Hm." Itachi offered his fingertips, not wanting to dirty Naruto's hand, but Naruto instead went for a full handshake. Itachi appreciated the sentiment.
Then, the blade of a katana touched Naruto's neck and he chuckled warily, a large bead of sweat on his throat. He slowly released Itachi's hand and raised his hands, surrendering without a fuss. Carefully, he turned around while still squatting, and winced at Mikoto.
The woman's eyes were narrowed into thin slits and her teeth were gnashed.
"You broke my nose…" she swore, her seething, venomous tone sending cold tendrils down Naruto's back.
Naruto was now sweating profusely, grinning shakily. He hesitantly signed, "You ambushed me and my friend." He sniggered tensely when the woman pressed the blade closer to his neck, basically snorting smoke from her nose. "Let bygones be bygones."
Mikoto jaw tightened and her posture straightened, glancing at her son and seeing his wide eyes. She spat on the ground and dropped her arm, sheathing her blade in one smooth motion but not putting away her weapon, holding onto it in her left hand. "Why are you even here? I should have you reported." Her words were frank and straightforward, much like her son's. "Just because that mission was called off doesn't mean I can't still turn you in."
"I was invited. Minato and Kushina wanted me to be here." Naruto looked surprised, letting his hands fall as he gestured, "I'm a guest for the next few days."
The woman slowly breathed out, closing her eyes. "Typical of them to forget to tell me that a wanted fugitive is allowed back in the village."
Naruto shrugged helplessly, not sure what to tell her.
Mikoto was just as weary, rubbing her suddenly sore temple. "Who even are you?" the last time she had crossed paths with him, three years ago, he was a mission target and she and Kushina were tasked with bringing him back to the village. Now, he was apparently a friend of the family. A guest in the Hokage's house.
"Minato will explain everything," Naruto assured her, giving her a hopeful smile.
"Yeah." She sighed, looking at her son, then back to Naruto. "Later." Itachi silently watched them, forehead creased in a wordless question. She smiled fleetingly at her overly observant son, saying, "Later."
Naruto reached over and lightly patted Itachi's shoulder, waving and stalking to the house. Behind him, Mikoto ushered Itachi into the house with the promise of snacks.
Meanwhile, Naruto climbed the stairs and stopped outside the baby's room, which was slightly ajar. He saw Kushina sitting on the windowsill, staring introspectively over the suburbs. He didn't know if he should bother her, but the choice was made for him; his ears twitched and the back of his hands prickled with goosebumps, rippling up his skin to the back of his neck, making his hair stand on end.
He knew this feeling…
It was a sensation he could never get used to.
He stealthily stepped away from the baby room, stalked up the hallway, past the master bedroom and stopped in front of the guest bedroom. A terrible chill flooded his system, firing his adrenaline and screaming at him to flee. His heart drummed in his ears, his throat tightened and his fingers curled till his knuckles whitened, popping.
This wasn't fight or flight. This was different. This was worse.
He exhaled, seeing his breath, and wrapped his hand around the doorknob. He cursed his instincts, roaring for him to abandon ship and leave the village, and twisted the knob, pushing into the guest bedroom.
Someone was sitting at the desk, his back to Naruto, reading a hardback novel. They were alone, or that was what Naruto's faultless byakugan realised, but he didn't believe that.
Morty was never alone.
"Close the door," the boy said quietly without turning around, flicking to the next page.
Naruto shivered and complied, shutting the door, never once looking away from his brother.
"Thank you." Morty snapped his book shut and stood up, fluid in his motions. He turned around and gently sat down on the desk. He stared at his brother, looking at Naruto through his black glasses. His pale face was ever impassive. His black hair was neatly combed back, matching his dark clothing. His gloves were gracefully arranged on his desk, leaving Morty's pale hands exposed. He hummed emotionlessly, lips pulled back a little. "It's good to see you, brother. You look well."
Naruto half-smiled. "We missed you at the greenhouse."
An imperceptive sadness flashed over Morty's expression. "No, you didn't."
Naruto faltered, taking three steps forward and coming to his brother, standing in the middle of the room. "I missed you."
Morty didn't respond, thin lips pressed into a tight line, pushing off the desk and coming to Naruto, who didn't back away or shiver, standing his ground as Morty came to him. The boy's deadpan look didn't so much as twitch, even as he unhurriedly took off his dark glasses, looking at Naruto with pale pink eyes that involuntarily trembled.
Naruto gradually smiled, opening his arms.
Morty scoffed, stepping into his big brother's hug.
Naruto treasured this moment because Morty didn't like direct contact. Even shaking hands was off-limits. For a moment, the cold and death that surrounded Morty vanished. Morty's worries and insecurities backed away from him, and he was alone with his brother.
They stayed like that for a short time, until Morty quietly unpeeled himself from Naruto, looking away with a stoic frown and wearing his glasses again. Naruto almost didn't see the slight tinge of red that ringed his pale brother's eyes. He adjusted his collar and his sleeves, rubbing his nose to regain his composure, all the while Naruto smiled secretly.
"Thanks for that," Morty mumbled.
Naruto almost didn't catch that too, with how airily his brother said it. He clapped Morty on the shoulder.
"I…didn't want to ruin the mood at the greenhouse. It's just as well that I didn't go."
Naruto pursed his lips, nodding in understanding. He couldn't say he was completely comfortable with being around COREs Mortician, but the others wouldn't react so welcomingly if he was there. He patted Morty's shoulder once more, dropping his hand after.
"I also wanted to see you because an acquaintance gave me news that might interest you."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms and nodding for his brother to continue.
"There's going to be a jailbreak tomorrow." Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Orochimaru's assistant. Kabuto Yakushi."
Naruto's mind flipped through his memories of his interactions with Orochimaru, and he recalled a young, bespectacled boy about the same age as him who walked lockstep with Orochimaru or stuck to the Sannin's shadows. He was ROOT, until Orochimaru noticed some talent in him, making a deal with Danzo to release Kabuto to Orochimaru's tutelage. He was both the Sannin's student and assistant.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Where are they holding him?"
"A holding cell in the T ." Morty rubbed his chin. "He's too young to be thrown into the Firepit but too close to Orochimaru's operation to be left in a Police cell."
"Who's breaking him out?"
"I don't know."
"Who is your acquaintance and what did they get in exchange for this information?"
Morty tucked his hands behind his back. He didn't answer for a short moment, then his thin lips moved, "Sasori of the Red Sands." Naruto's head lowered with a thoughtful grunt. "He heard about the empire you're building. He says he wants a piece." Morty tipped his chin up, stubborn. "I said if he brought something of actual value, I could arrange a meeting with you." The boy's plain face didn't shift, though his light, emotionless tone hardened as he implied, "Tomorrow."
Naruto hummed, long and introspective. He caught Morty's clue as easily as he caught the boy's plain-faced lie that he didn't know who was doing the jailbreak. Or maybe Morty wanted him to know that he was lying and implying. Naruto's eyes were closed, perching his chin in his fingers. He was peeling apart his brother's unspoken message. On one hand, he honestly wasn't even mad that Morty was making promises in his place. Incredibly annoyed, but not mad. On the other hand, he was curious. "And what did you get?"
Morty smirked a little. "What do you mean?"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Don't act coy. What's your payment for getting this info to me?" Morty kept quiet, the infuriatingly tiny smirk stuck on the corner of his lips. He shrugged. "Alright, since you won't tell me what he gave you, I won't give you your reward—"
He stopped when Morty stepped up to him, nearly standing nose to nose, tense. His stance was rigid and on edge. The truth spilt from his mouth like an unquenchable river, rushing and tumbling in his soft, light voice, "He lent me one of his puppets to study. Hiruko. I gave him Shini as collateral." Shini was Morty's second strongest puppet, after Asher. "He's expecting Hiruko back this evening."
Naruto sniggered.
Morty shoved his brother. "Are you satisfied?"
Naruto nodded, backtracking one step and hiding his laugh behind his hand. He casually rolled his wrist, gesturing to Morty, as if asking, "What do you want?"
Morty coughed into his fist and straightened his posture, lifting his chin. "Sister One tells me that you have Samehada and the Nuibari. She says you wish to sell them. That you still have no buyers."
Naruto nodded. "Yes." He kept those swords on his person at all times; they were too expensive to simply lock away in storage. He raised a mocking eyebrow. "Are you interested? They're not cheap."
"No. I would simply like to study Samehada. I'll return it to you in three days. Before you return to Kumo."
"Did One tell you that Samehada is still petrified in stone because of her senjutsu?"
Morty chewed his tongue. "No…"
"Tell you what," Naruto scoffed, rolling his wrist a second time, this time a scroll fell into his palm from a small storage seal at the base of his wrist, "I've been looking for a way to un-petrify Samehada. Do that, and I'll leave the sword with you for the next twelve months."
Morty couldn't suppress his surprise, his eyebrows shooting up from his glasses, staring hard at the scroll in Naruto's hand. "One year?"
"Is that reward okay for you?" he held out his right hand.
"Very," Morty breathed, shaking his brother's hand. He handed over the scroll with his other hand. "Thank you, brother. I won't let you down. I promise."
"Anything for you." Naruto tousled his brother's dark head. Morty was far too enamoured with the scroll in his hands to push away Naruto's affections. He snapped his fingers, remembering something. "Also, don't go around making promises on my behalf, alright?"
Morty nodded fervently.
"Tell Sasori that I'll see him soon."
The door opened suddenly, Naruto whipped around, and Kushina's head jutted into the room. "Oh! Naruto. I didn't know you've arrived." Naruto gave her a thumbs up. "I thought I heard voices…"
Naruto looked around, amused. Morty was gone. All traces of his presence erased.
"Anyway, it's almost brunch. Finish unpacking and come downstairs."
Authors note
That's that about that.
What do you think about this chapter, and the story so far? Tell me your thoughts in a review, would you so kindly?!
See you when I see you.
Foy.