The next day, Naruto and Sakura arrived together at Konoha's gates. Shortly after, Sasuke appeared, his cold gaze sweeping over the pair. He noticed how Sakura clung to Naruto's arm, using him almost as a shield. Sasuke let out a half-smirk of scorn at the scene he considered pathetic. 'Pathetic... still chasing after useless connections', he thought, the memory of that cold night intruding on his mind.
Flashback
Sakura and Ino approached Sasuke during a moment of relative privacy in the Uchiha residence. Wearing their kimonos, with a subtle blush on their cheeks, they stopped before him. The soft whisper of the fabric slipping echoed in the silence as, in a synchronized, hesitant, yet intention-laden movement, they slid the sleeves down their shoulders, letting the garments fall to their feet, revealing the lingerie they had carefully chosen, hoping to spark some flicker of interest. Each expressed, in her own way, the desire to share a different kind of intimacy, perhaps even considering the possibility of a future together, given the solitude of his clan.
Sasuke, standing in the center of the room, his onyx eyes as cold as ice, watched them approach and shed their kimonos. His expression did not waver, remaining impassive in the face of their exposed vulnerability. Finally, his voice cut through the silence, laden with a cutting disdain. "Don't waste my time with useless distractions," he said, his tone flat and uninterested. "I don't need foolish games." His eyes briefly scanned them, without any trace of desire or curiosity, before fixing on a distant point in the room. "I have more important matters to resolve." For Sasuke, that emotionally charged and hopeful offering seemed to hold no significance whatsoever, a trivial deviation from his solitary path. He treated them as if they were an insignificant obstacle, an irritating noise in his thoughts focused on his revenge.
For Sakura, who already carried the weight of rejection, Sasuke's words were a painful blow, reopening old wounds with a cold cruelty. For Ino, always proud and confident, the direct contempt was almost an affront, a slap in the face of her audacity. Both retreated, after dressing, feeling humiliated and insignificant under that empty gaze that showed nothing but impatience and disinterest.
End flashback
A palpable tension hung between the two boys, their gazes locking in a silent challenge that lasted almost an hour, until Kakashi and Tazuna finally appeared, breaking the stalemate. Kakashi, observing the tense interaction, frowned slightly beneath his headband, sensing the charged atmosphere between the genin.
Naruto felt the hostility emanating from Sasuke, although he didn't fully understand its origin. "Why does he always act like this?" he thought, briefly clenching his fists.
Naruto couldn't help but feel a certain respect for Tazuna's liver. So early in the morning and the old man was already clutching a bottle of sake. 'How can he handle it?'
During the journey, Tazuna liked to speak effusively about his construction projects whenever questioned about his country. He described the natural beauties of the region and, with particular pride, the bridge he was building.
Naruto listened attentively, surprised by the grandeur of the bridge described. 'But why would such a big bridge be necessary?' He pondered, feeling that there was something more behind that project.
Tazuna limited himself to saying that the bridge was crucial for solving trade problems, but avoided going into details, preferring to ramble about a luxurious mansion he had built in another country.
The journey proceeded without incident until they approached the border. Naruto, with his heightened senses, noticed the presences and their chakras long before they became visible.
The two individuals ahead were ninjas, and they were doing a reasonably good job of concealing their spiritual energy. Discreetly, Naruto made a hand signal to Kakashi, indicating the presence of two hidden enemies ahead.
Then, his eyes caught something absurd: 'a puddle in the bright morning sun, on a dry road where it hadn't rained for days, seriously? Really?'.
Naruto cast a questioning glance at Kakashi, who merely nodded slightly, a silent acknowledgment, without offering further information. A pang of nervousness began to gnaw at Naruto's stomach. He looked at Sasuke and Sakura, but both seemed oblivious to the situation, showing no reaction. Frustrated with the sensei's passivity, Naruto took an apple from his supply pouch. Pretending to take a bite, he focused his chakra, subtly molding it in the palm of his glove, drawing a quantity of chakra ink to form a seal he had recently learned.
With an exaggerated grimace, he spat out the apple, as if it were spoiled. Sasuke let out a mocking laugh. Naruto seized the opportunity to stage a small squabble, positioning himself as if to confront Sasuke, and then threw the apple, apparently towards the Uchiha, but deliberately missing the target. The thrown apple landed in the suspicious puddle, about twenty meters away from them, and exploded in a sudden discharge of lightning that spread in a five-meter radius, crackling for almost ten seconds.
Kakashi watched the scene attentively, waiting for any movement from the hidden ninjas. Sakura and Sasuke stared in astonishment, speechless at Naruto's sudden display of power.
Sasuke was the first to break the silence, his voice laden with indignation. "Why did you throw that at me, Dobe?"
"It wasn't at you, Teme," Naruto replied, pointing to the puddle where two blackened bodies now lay. Kakashi stared at Naruto with a serious expression. "Naruto, you should have waited! We didn't know if they were enemies or what their target was."
"That's exactly what I wanted to know! You should have warned us!" Naruto retorted, his frustration overflowing. "After all, what did you teach us those silent codes for?"
"Are... are they unconscious?" Sakura asked, her voice still trembling with surprise.
Naruto made a single seal, and a shadow clone appeared beside him. "Go check."
Kakashi continued to stare at Naruto, who merely shrugged. "Just speeding things up. I can't stand this dragging on."
"What techniques did Naruto use?" Sasuke asked, his curiosity finally overcoming his irritation. Kakashi replied without taking his eyes off Naruto, "One is the Shadow Clone. But it's something that requires a lot of chakra."
"I can learn that too!" Sasuke demanded, but Kakashi shook his head. "You don't have enough chakra for that technique, Sasuke."
Before Sasuke could protest, Naruto interjected with a smug grin, "I can because of the Kyuubi's extra chakra and the first technique I used is the 'Inazuma no bakuhatsu' (Lightning Explosion) seal." This only made Sasuke huff, angrily looking away. Naruto's clone returned, his expression grim. "Both are dead."
Naruto looked at the bodies, genuine surprise etched on his face. "Oh... I didn't think it would be that strong." But that was the only reaction he showed.
Kakashi, with a serious gaze fixed on Naruto, asked, "Was this your first time... taking a life?"
Naruto glanced at the bodies, his voice surprisingly calm. "No, Kakashi-sensei. The first time... was a wild boar. I was out of money, needed the meat to eat."
He approached the bodies, taking out a scroll from his pouch, and waited for Kakashi to finish searching them.
"It's different," Kakashi said, his voice carrying a serious tone.
"How?" Naruto retorted, his voice cold. "A life is a life. Do you have any idea who they are?"
Kakashi stepped aside so Naruto could seal the bodies. "They are rogue ninjas known as the Demon Brothers."
"I see. Any leads?" Naruto asked, his voice remaining impassive.
Kakashi said no.
Resuming the journey, Kakashi kept an eye on Naruto, waiting for any sign of guilt or change in mood, but there was nothing. Naruto remained as before, calm and reserved. He noticed Sakura's eyes on Naruto, a glimmer that looked like passion or admiration.
Sasuke also looked at Naruto, but his expression was harder to decipher. Perhaps anger? But why? As night fell, they set up camp so that the next day they could find transport to the Land of Waves.
Naruto quickly prepared the meal. Instead of looking for firewood, he used a pot with a heating seal and made a delicious stew with vegetables he took from a storage seal. Kakashi thought he had never seen anyone use seals so casually. Moreover, Naruto was an excellent cook.
Kakashi also noticed that Naruto used seals to set up his tent and placed some around the perimeter, saying they were alarms. He shared his tent with Sakura. Kakashi thought about denying it, remembering the incident between Sakura and Sasuke, and let it go. Sasuke stayed alone in his tent.
The next morning, Kakashi paid extra attention to Naruto and Sakura's tent. The unusual silence emanating from it made him slightly apprehensive, as did not being able to open it. Seeing that the two were clean and there was no suspicious odor lingering in the air, he relaxed a bit, although he maintained a watchful eye. "Strange... so quiet..." he thought, scratching the back of his neck under his headband.
Naruto prepared breakfast with the same efficiency as the night before. Sasuke watched the whole scene with a disguised curiosity, his dark eyes fixed on the soft smile that played on Sakura's lips. 'What happened to the annoying one?' he thought, frowning slightly.
After the meal, they set off to find transport, leaving the campsite discreetly.
The conversation with the boatman shed a dark light on the situation in the Land of Waves. "Life here isn't easy, you know?" the man said, rowing strongly. "Gato controls everything... the trade, the food... the hope." He sighed. "That bridge... it's our only chance of freedom."
Naruto frowned. 'Didn't they realize that that jerk Gato can simply destroy or take the bridge? Seems obvious to me!' He kept that thought to discuss with Kakashi later, feeling that crucial information was missing.
Naruto noticed Kakashi's dissatisfaction with the information obtained. The sensei kept a distant, thoughtful look. Naruto rolled his eyes silently. "He could have figured all this out if he had bothered to ask, instead of reading that stupid book!"
As they advanced towards Tazuna's house, a dense and sudden fog enveloped them, swallowing visibility. "Is this normal around here?" Sakura asked, her voice laden with surprise and a touch of apprehension. Naruto narrowed his eyes, focusing his senses. "There's a weak layer of chakra mixed in this fog... trying to hide something. I need to clear this." Naruto acted instinctively upon sensing chakra in the fog, taking a seal from his wrist.
"Fuuton: Daitoppa! (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)" he shouted, releasing a powerful gust of wind. The strong wind swept the fog away, revealing the surrounding area. Naruto looked carefully, his heightened senses on high alert. Kakashi narrowed his eyes, watching the dissipating fog.
Sasuke immediately pulled out a sharp kunai, his posture tense as his dark eyes scanned the forest. Sakura, although still surprised by the sudden fog, wielded a kunai with firm hands, positioning herself protectively in front of Tazuna. "Stay behind me, Mr. Tazuna!" she said, her voice slightly trembling, but determined.
From the depths of the forest, an imposing figure emerged, carrying a gigantic sword wrapped in bandages on his back. A hoarse laugh echoed in the dissipating fog. "Well, well..." the deep voice resonated. "Looks like a brat is messing with my little game." Zabuza Momochi's menacing presence filled the air.