"Tayuya? Really? You sure are changing fast, huh" Karin said once they had gotten started. "Oh, well. I suppose she is nice enough."
Today's exercise was a new one.
Karin would create mud balls that she would then throw at him. His eyes were closed. He was to use chakra sensing to locate their position, honing in on the energy that held the balls together. Then he'd dodge them.
Thwack.
Another mud ball hit him in the chest. Well, he was supposed to dodge them. Didn't mean he was able to.
Thwak.
Another caught him in the face.
He felt the next one coming.
He yelped, jumping over one that would have hit in the privates.
"Karin. Karin! What the fuck?!"
"It's training." She said in return.
She did seem to take a bit too much pleasure in it, though.
Orochimaru seemed to know everything that was happening around the base.
So it was no wonder that he was already chuckling when he saw him coming. Well, it could also have been his long face, who knew.
"You surprise me sometimes, Naruto-kun."
"I aim to impress." He managed to snark.
"Oh?" Orochimaru lifted an eyebrow, definitely amused now. "Go on, then. As far as I remember, your Silent Walk technique is still shaky, at best."
Naruto winced. He definitely couldn't make good use of it yet. It was a jutsu that was supposed to muffle the sound one's feet made. In his hands, it almost did the opposite, with the wind whistling and pushing things away.
It was especially bad that day.
Orochimaru was in an amused mood, so it could have gone worse, but still. He probably wouldn't drink again for a long time. It wasn't worth it, if this was the kind of decision that seemed like a good idea at the time.
Like most days, he crawled back to his rooms, where clones were undoubtedly practicing as well.
He passed Tayuya on the way.
For a moment, he wondered what to say. Hello? Want to go eat something? …Thanks?
Would things be awkward? He didn't know her that much, but she was pretty nice to be around.
She spared him the overthinking.
"Hey there, fucktard." She had a little smile on, though. "Want to play some music?"
He smiled too. "Sure."
Once he stopped worrying about things changing between them, he found that he was feeling pretty great, actually.
Life in the camp was pretty nice. It felt like home, even.
He had a few friends, and probably the best teacher he could find for his goals — one that had the skills and willingness to bend the rules to get him there.
The occasional meeting with Tayuya was a nice bonus, of course. He found out that he could focus again, now.
Two weeks later, Orochimaru surprised him by announcing he would be leaving for the Mountain's Graveyard.
"…Why, though? There is nothing in that region besides a few mining towns, isn't there?"
"I have reason to believe this could help you with your little ancestor problem. Call it a hunch." Orochimaru said simply. "Did you make any progress on that front?"
"No, not really." He admitted. Seemed like he was going to follow his teacher's gut feeling. Once more.
Orochimaru knew he had won. "Then make your preparations, and be on your way. Find the Ootsutsuki ruins there and try to see if that works. Consider this part of your training."
"How is this training?"
"At some point, you're going to have to get back to the outside world. You'll need to keep your identity under wraps."
"Do you think I am ready?"
"For this much, yes. Still, you will go with Anko. In case any real trouble arises, the kind that even she could not handle, she knows how to Reverse Summon me there."
"I see. Thank you." He hesitated. "May I ask for Karin to join us?"
"Do as you wish."
"So you didn't even consider taking me with you, then, fucktard?" Tayuya asked, getting in his face.
"Uh, I…"
"I'm kidding!" She laughed. "Damn, you're still such a fucking square."
He sighed. "Yeah, well… I'm going tomorrow anyway."
She nodded. "Alright."
"Want to give me a proper goodbye?" He gave her his best roguish grin.
What they had was very casual. Pretty nice, too.
"Damn, who died and made you boss?"
Still, she followed him to his quarters.
When he arrived the next morning, only Anko was ready.
"You've got a hickey on your neck." She grinned. "Not that much of a kid anymore, then? Must be my advice."
He pulled his collar higher and did his best to ignore her teasing.
Karin arrived later. Naruto stared.
She was wearing body armor over standard infantry clothing, complete with arm guards and bandages around her ankles.
"You know this is just a standard journey, right…?" Naruto asked. "We're just supposed to find some ruins."
"Yeah. Right. I'm not taking any chances. Half your missions seem to turn out more complicated than expected." Karin huffed.
Anko snorted a laugh.
Naruto gave Karin the side eye. "Sorry to drag you into this, by the way, Orochimaru… Sensei. Seems to think this is really important. And I couldn't think of anyone other than you." He smiled.
Karin put her nose up in the air. "And don't you forget it."
Mountain's Graveyard was an unclaimed territory standing between the Land of Waterfalls and the Land of Rice.
It was a land of dense forests, where the bones of gigantic creatures were found all over.
Not many people ventured there, of course. Call it either superstition…
Or the remnants of some older human instincts, screaming to stay away from here at all costs.
The trio set up camp for the night at the edge of the Land of Rice, after covering a lot of distance during the day.
A few clones stayed out in the field for the night, keeping watch for them. His stamina had grown enough that maintaining clones that stood still was child's play to him, now.
The next morning, they crossed the border into the Mountain's Graveyard.
Ninja rarely traveled through here. It was a land of no rules, besides local law, since there was no central government.
The trees were shaped in a way that was very different from those in the Land of Fire, Naruto noticed. It seemed they had a tendency to spiral out of control, growing crooked and busy. Their branches looked withered, and brittle at the same time.
Traversal was slow, since they had to stay on the ground most of the time.
Another thing was there were almost no remains of human settlements.
The first town they came across was a mining town, near the more rocky parts of the country.
They settled in an inn there for the evening.
The town was in a pretty bad state, and half of it was basically in ruins.
The other half was just desolate, and people had wary looks on their faces.
Karin did a cursory scan of the surrounding area, and concluded there was no threat, as far as shinobi were concerned.
Anko nodded, heading out on her own. She waved at them, telling them she'd find them if there was trouble.
They shared a look before heading out on their own. They would split and ask for information about any Ōtsutsuki.
"Mind if I sit here?" Karin asked in overly shy tones. This was one of the three bars of the town.
Gathering information was a subtle art, one that she was well-versed in. She would have to slowly thread the needle, and ask about what she was actually curious about in a way that would make it seem as if this was just a natural evolution of the conversation.
The man grumbled a vague answer, then turned around. He did a double-take at the beautiful red-head.
"No… No… Not at all."
"Thanks." She smiled. "I'm just passing through this country, I have to meet my brother in the Land of Rice."
"Really? Are you traveling on your own? In here."
She laughed playfully. "No… Of course not. I have found two strong shinobi to protect me."
"Ah. I see." He nodded. "This is good. You never know what kind of things you're going to find around here. It can get very dangerous."
"Dangerous?" She made a show of widening her eyes. "Is there something we should keep an eye on?"
"Well…" He hesitated. "There is a rumor that the mercenary, Ghost Hand, has been spotted around here, just a few days ago."
"Ghost Hand..?" She put a hand over her mouth, looking scared.
"Yes." He leaned forward, looking and spoke in hushed tones. "Rumor has it the red armor he wears was originally white."
Karin held back a snort. This was obviously an urban tale. What kind of mercenary would wear white armor?
"Oh my…" She tried to look as earnest as she could "Thank you for warning me, kind sir. Is there anything else I should know?"
"Well…"
In another bar, Naruto sat down at the counter. The man gave him a brief look, nodded, and went back to his drink.
Naruto spoke. "You know where some of the Ōtsutsuki ruins thing are?"
The man's eyebrow rose a bit. "Sure. Don't know why anyone would be interested in this old shit, though. Here's how to get there…"
'Well, that was easy enough.'
Night had barely fallen.
Apparently, there was one old temple that was supposed to have been used by people to worship the ancient clan, just five kilometers north.
He hesitated. It was still early.
Waiting until morning, only to find out this was nothing of interest would prove frustrating.
He was sure Anko and Karin had found some useful information of their own, so he might as well get a head-start.
Also… he had a few mobility techniques he wouldn't be able to use if they were traveling with three people.
He looked around. What was the clearest place here?
There was one building that was taller than the rest, and it would do perfectly. He walked up the side of it, until he was standing on its rooftop.
The stars shone in the night sky. The North Star was easy enough to find for any Leaf ninja.
"North… should be there, then."
He channeled Wind chakra through his body to make himself a little bit lighter. Not too much, as he would need to be able to focus on the next step.
While keeping the wind chakra coursing, he took a deep breath. This was something he had only been able to manage a few months after carving the Fūjin and Raijin symbols into his body.
Lightning crackled around his legs. It was a strange thing, keeping two elements running at the same time. A very conflicted sort of feeling.
It took some compartmentalization.
He opened his eyes.
Naruto squatted down, flexing his quadriceps. He pushed off the floor, managing not to damage it.
He leaped toward the sky like a cannonball.
It was exhilarating, this feeling of shooting off, unconstrained by gravity for a moment.
Then it reasserted itself slowly, as he reached the apex of his jump.
He smiled, held the Ram seal and transformed into an eagle.
In this form, it would be easy to glide down until he reached his destination. His sharper eyesight would also help, of course.
Karin felt Naruto leave town at very high-speed.
'Oh, this stupid mother-'
She excused herself, and left the man in the bar, thanking him for his time. He smiled and raised his glass at her.
Surprisingly enough, the building was mostly intact. Well, besides the roof, which had crumbled ago.
Naruto, despite not being half the sensor Karin was, — yet — could sense some trace of a very old chakra.
It had the same feeling as the one he had felt within himself. And strangely enough, it reminded him of the Nine-Tails, as well.
There were a couple snakes, large ones at that. But they seemed to have some degree of consciousness, as once they took a whiff of his smell, they just left him alone.
'Is this something related to Orochimaru?'
It was hard to tell what the man was actually doing or planning, most days.
He didn't exclude the snake sage having given him some sort of immunity against snakes, even though he hadn't made him sign the contract yet.
Considering the number of times he had drawn his blood, he could just as easily have slipped him something.
He sighed. He wasn't even sure why he still trusted the man. Somewhat.
'Well… There's nothing here besides that altar…'
Might as well try to meditate and reach for it.
He sat down in full lotus and did so.
Nothing really happened. He sank deeper into the trance, just keeping enough spatial awareness to feel out for any possible threat.
Naruto still wasn't sure if this was a sensor ability, or something the Nine-Tails had left to him, but there was no denying it was useful.
Prodding at the leftover chakra was taking too long. Meditating had never been his favorite thing in the world.
He felt a chakra he knew above him. Within him, maybe? No threat.
'Is this working? Is this some Ōtsutsuki ghost?'
A hand grabbed his shoulder, fingers pointing at his jugular.
"I finally found you." A gravelly voice said.
Ghost Hand, the mercenary, kept their hand on the cultist.
Any kind of sudden move, and they would summon a chakra blade, hopefully ending the man's life in one surgical cut.
The man had the gall to look surprised, actually.
He spoke, not seeming too worried. "Who are you, then? Ōtsutsuki?"
The Ghost scoffed from behind their helmet. "That's the best you could come with?"
The man moved, surprisingly fast, and in a crack of lighting, he was suddenly standing two meters away.
The man turned around. No, man was pushing it, as he looked like a teenager, eighteen, maybe. He frowned. "Look, I know you have no ill intentions, I can feel it-"
They rolled their eyes behind the helmet. What would he know? It had been a long day, so if the blond wanted a fight, then a fight he would get.
"Okay, maybe you do, now. Have it your wa- Wooow."
The spectral hand had extended from their left side, and the man-, teenager had dodged it at the last moment, too surprised.
'He's fast, even without using his Lightning Release.'
"What the hell was that?" He asked in wonder.
The man in the armor gave no answer, of course. Only Orochimaru cared enough about bragging during a fight to explain how his techniques worked.
Naruto summoned a sword, not too unlike the one he had crafted for Sasuke. The man was wearing armor, and he was good enough not to kill anyone by accident.
He weaved hand seals around the grip of his sword — he really should practice more one-handed seals, he knew — and channeled wind chakra. He was better at mid-range techniques with it than he was with Lightning
"Wind Release: Air Slash"
Sharp blades of wind surrounded the shorter man, aiming at dismantling his armor.
He made a single seal. Dog, using one hand, only. Naruto raised an eyebrow. The man was good.
"Water Style: Water Wall."
The man spat water through an opening through his helmet, which rose around him, and shielded him from the wind blades.
'Alright, then.'
Naruto weaved more signs while the man was distracted. This one took more chakra.
"Wind Style: Wind Lance."
A greenish, almost invisible horizontal arc appeared in front of him, soaring to his target. When he'd jump, he'd blitz with a Lightning Dash, and then he'd force him to submit.
Except the armored man didn't jump. Naruto squinted his eyes, seeing something blue flash at his opponent's feet, before he simply disappeared.
'…What?'
This was a teleportation technique. His chakra sensing ability had been on, and confirmed the man had simply disappeared, reappearing fifteen meters away. There was a very slight chakra mark on the floor, almost invisible to the naked eye.
Another mark was where the man had appeared again.
Naruto jumped on top of the ruins, and saw him from afar.
"That's a nice trick. Care to share how this works?"
No answer.
"We can still stop this, you know." He tried again.
The man in the helmet scoffed. He started weaving one-handed signs again.
'I wonder why he insists on these. Does he have no other choice?'
His chakra senses showed him an imprint of a figure with two arms, so what was this about…?
He dodged a high-pressured water jet that would likely have left a nice hole in his head.
'Well, okay then. Let's see about it.'
Naruto unsealed his favorite bow.
He crafted an arrow from chakra, focusing on the link he had with Sasuke. A blade made out of conductive material shifted its shape until it became an arrow.
He nocked it.
Wind.
Chakra surrounded him, and he focused it inside the arrow. Adding Lightning would be overkill, and he wasn't confident enough in his ability to keep it stable until it reached.
He let go.
The arrow streaked through the sky, its green light illuminating the night.
Fast.
The man let go of whatever technique he was holding, in a rush to avoid the arrow. He disappeared again.
'There.'
In the background, the arrow exploded in a cyclone of wind blades, devastating part of the forest.
He moved, appearing next to where the man had first used his technique, a blade pointing at his neck.
'Nice reflexes on him…'
The man had formed a sort of triangular blade out of pure chakra, and was holding it close to Naruto's gut.
'Now wha-'
"The fuck are you guys doing?" He heard Karin scream.
"Karin?" "Karin…?"
Naruto looked at the masked man — he definitely had only one hand, in the end. He stared back, just as confused.
Karin sighed.
He went out of sight for twenty minutes and got himself in a fight right away.
She saw both them look at each other, confused, she held back a laugh.
"You know him?" They both said, before glaring at each other.
'Oh yeah, I shouldn't call him by his name.' She hoped he had picked something already.
She started talking to the person in the armor.
"Yeah. I came with him. He left town, so I followed. I recognized your chakra once I was in range, so I had to make sure you didn't kill each other."
"I… see." The seal-distorted voice said. The chakra blade faded away.
After some hesitation, Naruto did too.
"Guess we're not fighting anymore, then?" He asked. "He threatened me first, though."
"…He?"
"Well, yes." He hesitated, focusing his sense on the person with more precision. "She's… a woman?"
Karin let out a long-suffering sigh. He could be so smart, yet so frustrating, sometimes.
"That's Sakura, I mean my friend Sakura, you numbskull!"
'Wait… WHAT?!'
He didn't voice out his surprise. He wasn't supposed to know her.
True to Karin's words, the person removed their helmet.
Pink hair held in a ponytail fell as she shook her head.
Green eye, scar. The expression was more severe, but there was no doubt who this was.
… Even the gauntlet that she was wearing was the one he had summoned years ago.
His mind blanked over.
She sighed. Her voice had changed too, and she sounded more confident than in his memories.
"Well. My bad, then. I got caught into something else. I'm Sakura, a… wanderer. Who might you be..?"
Ah, yeah, that.
He went with the first natural answer.
"I am Indra."
Karin slapped her forehead.
Sakura squinted her good eye, frowning. "Indra, huh… Are you sure you're not part of this Ōtsutsuki cult?"
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