It rained that day.
The clouds soaked the earth, showing the sadness of the sky and, right at the entrance of the village, they waited patiently. Both of their hair and clothes were soaked because of this rain. Still... Why were they here? It was because Tsunade ordered them to wait for their master at the entrance of the village, Konoha.
Because they couldn't find Toru, they felt something was wrong. He was not in any room, there were lifeless bodies scattered on the floor. They could not figure it out and their suspicions were growing.
They trusted the Hokage, who told them that they could find him and Yamato at the entrance of the village, but... it had already been a long time since they arrived.
The rain continued and some thunder was heard in the distance.
A silhouette could be seen approaching from the outskirts of the village. The silhouette of a man in the military uniform of Konoha.
Hinata and Ino ran to where the man was, for that man was Yamato. It didn't take them long to get there, but... he passed right by them without even looking at them.
He was holding his shoulder in pain, where a small cascade of blood was spilling out. He had some mud on his clothes and a lifeless expression on his face.
"Sensei, what happened to him?"
Ino asked, however, Yamato continued walking without giving an answer.
"Follow me..." Yamato said.
This made both Hinata and Ino feel confused. They wanted to ask Yamato what had happened to make him be in that condition, it was as if he had been in a battle. They also wanted to ask where Toru was, but it just seemed that Yamato didn't want to answer questions, so, with many questions in their minds, those decided to follow their sensei.
The atmosphere became uncomfortable, they began to feel nervous, as they could not understand anything that was happening. They were cold, their clothes were soaked with rain water, but that was not the worst of it, since that unknown feeling invaded their hearts, that feeling we all know as... fear.
They walked through the streets of Konoha in the rain. They were not carrying umbrellas, so at no time were they able to cover themselves from the rain.
All was silence until they realized they had returned to the hospital. When they entered, they saw that the lifeless bodies were no longer there, everything had been cleaned, the blood, the organs and the cut pieces of flesh, everything was clean, because ANBU always works fast.
Taking advantage of this, Ino approached Hinata and whispered in her ear.
"Are you all right?"
Ino watched as Hinata's body shivered. Not from fear, not from the cold of the rain... simply, she felt a strange sense of loss.
"Yes, I'm fine..."
But her words were the opposite of what she felt. Still, she managed to fool Ino, who nodded her head and continued walking.
They came to a door. This was the room where Toru was supposed to be. Seeing this, Hinata used the Byakugan for a second to see through things, her eyes widened as she saw the silhouette of that woman they all call Hokage, for she was the one who ordered them to go to the outskirts of the village to wait for Yamato.
He opened the door and his eyes quickly met Tsunade's eyes. Yamato looked at the ground as he closed his eyes.
"Hokage-sama, I have failed my mission."
"Mission?" Hinata and Ino asked each other in unison, however, they got no answer. Instead, Tsunade sighed and from her shirt pulled out a small book, which was handed to Yamato.
He received it and looked at it for a few seconds, before Tsunade, with a slight frown, walked past him, only to stop at the door a second later. "I'll think about your next mission, don't fail again..." Having said that, she left the room, closing the door softly.
All was silent until Yamato walked over to the window and looked out at the scenery.
The rain wouldn't stop and some thunder could be heard far away from the place. The cold breeze came through the window, so he closed it to prevent his students from catching a cold, although doing so was useless, as they were waiting for a long time at the entrance of the village, in the middle of the night and in the middle of the rain.
"Yamato-sensei, what's going on, I don't understand, where's Toru, why is he hurt, why hasn't he said anything since we got here?"
Ino got tired of this awkward silence and decided to speak. Hinata was about to ask too, but her friend took the words out of her mouth.
In response to this, Yamato sighed and looked them in the eyes. There was a three-second silence and, after that, with a slight smile on his face and with the same empty look as the day they met, he finally spoke.
"I failed as a teacher..."
But his words were something that neither Hinata nor Ino expected, indeed, they did not understand what he meant. He simply said that, at the same time that he extended his hand to hand them the book that Tsunade gave him.
They accepted it and took it in their hands.
"Turn to the last page..."
Obeying their sensei's words, they both opened the book. They turned the pages one by one, it didn't take them long to realize that on each page, there were pictures and names of people who seemed to be criminals, no, they were, for there were also their crimes written under their personal information.
Two seconds passed until they could reach the last pages. Then, as they reached the end, both of their eyes widened as they felt their hearts clench.
On the last page of that book they found....
[Asahi Toru (Renegade Ninja - Rank A)
Age: 12
Height: 5.08 (1.55 m)
Weight: 38.5 kg
Nickname: Shinigami
Nationality: Fire Country
Village of origin: Konohagakure
Chakra Nature: Fūton, Katon, Shakuton.
Kekkei Genkai: Unknown Dojutsu.
Crimes Committed: Treason, first-degree murder, attempted murder, theft of confidential information, tampering with confidential information, selling confidential information, breaking and entering.
Bounty on his head: 10,000,000 ¥]
A deep silence was felt throughout. Ino clenched the book in her hands tightly and her gaze grew dark as she looked at the last page of this book. She sighed heavily and her hands began to tremble, the same was happening to Hinata, who clenched her fists tightly.
"Sensei... this is a joke, right?"
Still staring at the book, Ino had a heavy feeling in her heart.
In response to this, Yamato sighed and returned his gaze to the window. Outside, it seemed that the rain was slowly stopping. Again he touched his shoulder where he felt pain, for Toru's dagger had managed to leave a deep wound.
When he looked at his hand, he could see blood staining it. He narrowed his eyes for a second, and then looked back at his female students to answer the question, but then his eyes widened in shock.
Both girls were holding the book tightly as tears welled up. They both looked at the floor and said nothing more. They knew, that nightmare they had just a few days ago, had come true. Now everything made sense, why Toru was acting so strangely that day, the last date they had and that false promise he made when he left Konoha to rescue Sasuke.
'Why...'
Hinata and Ino asked themselves inside their minds.
Yamato looked at this, and could only remain silent, staring out the window as he listened to his female students cry silently.
-Far away from Konoha-
Okaminaru's hurried footsteps and heavy breathing could be heard in the emptiness of the forest. It had already been quite a while since he crossed the border of the fire country, besides, it seemed that the rain was already stopping, which was good for Toru's health, who was on his back, completely unconscious.
'Toru-dono has used all his chakra. I still don't know what happened, but I guess that doesn't matter now. Besides, the chakra he used to summon me is about to run out, at any moment I'll disappear. I must do something fast, my mother told me that I must respect and protect Toru-dono, I won't break my promise, men don't break promises'.
He narrowed his eyes and looked ahead with determination.
'I will try to share my chakra with Toru-dono. That way I can keep the summoning going a little longer, while I do that, I must go further and find a place to hide. It's sad that I can't bring him to my clan. If there are people who are following him, then it is dangerous to take him, I would be risking my family. The location of my clan must still be kept hidden... otherwise, the same thing will happen again as it did back then... The human in the mask...'
Okaminaru shook his head. Thinking too much would get him nowhere, so he would simply finish this errand before getting lost in his thoughts.
"Toru-dono, is he awake?" he looked at the unconscious boy on his back and asked. After not getting an answer, he sighed and turned his gaze back to the front. 'No, he obviously isn't, if someone was able to cause him these injuries, it's very likely that he won't wake up for a long time. I'll look for a quick shelter and try to prepare some medicine for his wounds, so the healing process will speed up a bit, the only problem is that I don't know the prescription of the medicine I should use.'
Increasing speed, Okaminaru continued to move farther and farther away from the land of fire.
-Days later-
Slowly he opened his eyes and a small moan of pain came out of his mouth. He felt pain all over his body, but he could also smell something, as if he had been stuck in a bush. When he was able to open his eyes fully, getting used to the light that spread in front of him, he looked at his body, which had a kind of green plaster on his wounds.
The smell emitted by this strange viscous mass was that of some flowers and herbs mixed together. He quickly remembered that he ordered Okaminaru to take him away from Konoha, so being in this place was surely the work of that wolf.
Apparently it was a small cave, hidden somewhere unknown. The walls seemed damp from the surrounding environment, there were also some ants walking back and forth, carrying small bits of leaves and seeds.
'I... I feel strange. This feeling, I feel a strange pain in my chest, as if something was squeezing my heart. I had to run far away to avoid being killed by Danzo's ninjas... I also hurt Yamato-sensei. I wonder what Ino and Hinata's reaction was when they found out what happened... Haha, it's possible that they may have developed feelings of hatred towards me, after all I'm a criminal and it's normal for everyone to hate criminals... Although I feel it's better this way, if they hate me, they won't come looking for me, that will keep them safe. I, on the other hand, feel a strange taste in my mouth? Are they sweet berries? That taste is weird, it reminds me of the bread with fruit filling that Shou-san used to make... Ha~ I'm hungry, how long was I unconscious?'
Getting up from the ground, another small groan of pain came out of her mouth. Even moving was difficult. Apparently, the thorns that stabbed him had poison on them, still, how did the poison disappear so quickly? Did this slimy, green stuff on his body have something to do with it?
He walked slowly through the cave, getting closer and closer to the light that stretched out at the exit of the place.
He staggered because his body was too weak, but to his good fortune, he had recovered enough to be able to stand. So, he continued to walk out of the cave, at that moment, he frowned a little due to the sunlight that hit him in the face mercilessly.
'A forest, eh... This doesn't seem to be the wolf village, so I guess it's okay. I don't want to cause trouble for anyone else for the next few days anymore. Now, where is Okaminaru? He wasn't in the cave, I can't see him out here either...'
Surveying the surroundings, Toru began to explore the place. The trees were rising from the ground, as if they wanted to reach the sky. Birdsong could be heard echoing easily in the vast forest that stretched out endlessly and, though it was strange to him, it was all peaceful in some way or another.
He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. He still felt a lot of pain in his body, but he could bear it, this was nothing compared to the tortures his father inflicted on him. It could be said that he was grateful for this, because thanks to his father, his body was resistant to pain and beatings.
He continued to stand there, looking at the sky and thinking about everything that had happened. He did not know very well how long he was unconscious, nor what happened after this, however, this time he should not make mistakes in his actions.
Hiss...
A high-pitched whistle was heard. Immediately after, a gigantic shadow appeared before him. Its long tongue and the hissing sound coming from its reptilian mouth made Toru's eyes widen in shock.
A large red-scaled snake looked him in the eye.
Toru's breathing became heavy from one second to the next, for his wounds would not allow him to defend himself, so this would be his end, devoured by a snake. Or so it should be, but something strange happened.
Reacting to his imminent death, the red and blue light flared in his eyes like a torch whose flame is eternal, little by little, the pupil in his eye deformed until it became a mystical looking X that slowly turned on its own axis.
The snake opened its eyes, for the chakra emitted by those eyes gave it a strange sense of danger. It gave a small hiss again and turned around to leave the human with the dangerous eyes.
'What was that...'
Toru touched his head in pain. He felt as if his eyes were burning, at the same time that sharp needles were sticking into his eyeballs. The sensation bounced around in his brain before finally returning to his eyes and disappearing completely.
A strange sensation, that's what it was, that's what he thought it was, since he felt no pain other than the first second that the needle sensation appeared.
'My eyes... I feel that they are different from normal...'
"Ahh! Toru-dono! At last I find you!"
Spotting the human boy in the bushes, Okaminaru ran so fast that, upon reaching where Toru was, he had a hard time slowing down, causing his hind legs to give a small skid on the ground, kicking up a bit of dust in the process.
"Ha~ I was looking for food and when I came back to the cave you were gone. I got really scared, I thought that red snake I saw a few days ago had eaten you... if anything happens to you, I won't be able to keep my promise."
"Promise..."
"But that doesn't matter now, let's go back to the cave before that snake appears. Those kind of snakes are very agile, even my speed wouldn't have been enough to beat it..."
"A red snake... I met it a while ago, but it left when it looked at me..."
"Really...? How strange, it looked hungry, I thought it would jump up and eat the first thing that came in front of it. I guess that's good, with those wounds you won't be able to fight like before."
"..."
He looked at the ground remembering what happened with the red snake. He sighed a second later as he just woke up and already felt tired again.
"How many days has it been since we left Konoha?"
"Days? Hm... I think it's been almost a week, six days to be exact. Your wounds were very serious, there was poison in your blood, it was difficult to remove it since your wounds had closed due to the burns. When we got to the cave, I left you there and cancelled the summoning jutsu, after all the chakra you used to summon me was about to run out, so I could quickly return to my village to get some scrolls, I needed them to treat your wounds. I ran as fast as I could, it took me almost eight hours to get back. When I returned to the cave, you had a very high fever, so I immediately used one of my scrolls to turn into something smaller, a squirrel, thanks to that I could prepare medicine with the recipe my mother gave me and apply it on every burn and open wound. As for the poison, my mother gave me a special liquid, I made you swallow it, but you almost drowned. One last thing, don't ask me how I made the medicine I put on your body because it might seem unpleasant to you."
"You chewed the herbs and flowers and put them on my wounds, didn't you?"
"How did you guess!"
"Because I smell like dog sage..."
Hearing this, Okaminaru avoided eye contact while laughing a little.
"Well, that doesn't matter anymore. Your wounds are healing fast thanks to my special medicine. Helping those who can't get up is a man's duty, so I will always be there when you can't get up, I will help you every time you feel weak, but I think it won't always be necessary, since we men are strong, we will always sacrifice ourselves for the ones we love."
"Hm... you talk about men, but your voice doesn't sound like one. It's like you're making your voice sound low on purpose."
"My voice was always like that! I'm a man, you'll see that when I grow up my voice will be much better than yours!"
"Ok..."
"Why are you looking at me like that!!! I'm not weird, I assure you!"
"But I didn't say anything..."
Both wolf and human walked slowly through this forest until they reached the cave they came out of. Toru seemed to get along well with Okaminaru. Though he had only met him once during his confrontation against the Okami clan leader, that didn't seem to matter to either of them, as they now talked normally as if they were old friends.
***
Time passed, Toru's wounds finally healed completely. It had been almost a month since they arrived at this cave and Okaminaru never told Toru how he was fed while he was unconscious, but that was no longer important, as it was something that was in the past.
He put on his cloak and scarf, pulled out the two daggers that were under his cloak and made sure his claw shaped earring was tight enough so that it wouldn't fall out. He looked at the engagement ring tied around his neck with a faint smile and then, took the protective plate with the Konohagakure emblem.
"This begins now..."
Using a bone splinter as a needle, he sewed the metal plate to the scarf, so that it was in front of his neck, where everyone could see it.
'Now the ninjas of Konoha are looking for me. I must stay hidden and begin my plan. And this dagger that I have kept since that day... it is what will help me stay away from Konoha... the blood of Yamato-sensei. With this, I will obtain the Kekkei Genkai of the first Hokage, the Wood Element...' Raising his hand to where the blood-covered dagger lay, Toru looked up at the sky and a smile formed on his mouth.
Beside him, that wolf with fur as white as snow and crimson eyes stood. The latter looked at the sky as well, closed his eyes and when he opened them, he felt something on his back.
"Okaminaru, it's time to get a job. The money I bring with me is not enough to finance a lab, so are you ready?"
"Kukuku, I'm always ready for anything, don't worry about that."
"Well said, but first..."
"Yeah, I saw them too, they're all over the place."
"Root Ninjas, they're under Danzo's command. Hahaha, how about we kill them all? I'm going to need guinea pigs for my experiments."
"Well, someone like me doesn't run away from a battle..."
They both looked up into the trees, where dozens of ninjas were watching them with expressionless faces under their masks.
At that very instant, light, red and blue, showed in Toru's eyes. At the same time, while on Okaminaru's back, he put away the bloody dagger so as not to dirty it with the blood of Danzo's ninjas and using his remaining weapon, it ignited with the light of chaos.
"Dansu gyakusatsu: Raifusutoraiku [Dancing Massacre: Vital Strike]"
Toru and Okaminaru disappeared from the sight of the ninja who were present. And then, in that forest somewhere in the world, screams and explosions of power were heard, which soon died away to leave the silence with which it all began.
_________
Well, I've cheered up and published the first chapter of volume 2. So, as you didn't reach more than 300 power stones, now you'll have to reach 350 to publish the next chapter, so I wish you luck, this humble author is going to bed.