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NA - Chapter 107: What about a night stroll?
🕑 Added 2024-09-23 11:25:19 +0000 UTCDisclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
“Dialogue”
‘Thoughts’
-Author notes-
Chapter 107: What about a night stroll?
Several armed toads emerged from within the smoke cloud, attempting to block their escape.
“Let’s go,” Itachi insisted.
As much as he wanted to stay and continue the fight, Kisame knew he was supposed to follow Itachi’s instructions. Their leader had told him many times that in situations like this, Itachi had the right to choose their course of action, and Kisame had to comply.
“Fine!” Kisame attempted to leap onto a nearby roof but was stopped by a toad wielding a pair of sai knives.
In total, four toads appeared from the summoning.
They were all around the same size as Gamadachi, but Naruto had never seen these particular ones before.
“Go grab your teammate and keep him safe,” Jiraiya told him before taking off.
Itachi and Kisame had to carve their way through, fending off the toad warriors as they leaped from one roof to the next.
Naruto watched them getting farther away and felt a bit relieved.
‘I’m still too weak...’ he reminded himself.
No matter how powerful he had been in the past, his previous cultivation was gone, and he had to start anew, in a world he didn’t fully understand, and with a body that wasn’t his.
He thought he had been careful so far...he had tried to avoid standing out too much or making powerful enemies. But trouble seemed to follow him regardless.
These men had just admitted to receiving orders to capture him, and they came from an organization called Akatsuki.
‘They’re likely after the Kyubi…’ Kisame, at least, seemed oblivious to who his parents were, so the only other logical explanation for trying to capture him was to extract the demon sealed inside him.
Naruto walked over to Sasuke and knelt beside him.
“He’s alive at least…” he noted, checking his pulse. It was weak, but there.
He glanced at the cursed seal on Sasuke’s neck.
‘No wonder you were so desperate to become stronger… your brother seems like a very dangerous man.’
Naruto had only faced the fish-man, but his instincts told him that Itachi would have been a much more difficult opponent.
Not that he was a match for Kisame either. At least, not yet.
‘I need to become more powerful… before they find me next time,’ Naruto thought.
And it wasn’t just those two. It appeared that a mighty organization was after him, which meant there were likely even more dangerous members among them.
‘Jiraiya seems to know about them... I’ll try to get some answers later.’
He placed Sasuke in a sitting position next to the blonde woman and then waited.
As the area became more silent, and the scared citizens who had been hiding began to peek out into the streets.
A few houses and shops had been destroyed, but given the circumstances, this wasn’t too much damage.
Some of the villagers stared at Naruto, and a few began to approach.
‘I hope they’re not planning to charge me for the damage...’ he considered.
Just as one of them was about to speak, they all heard someone land on the roof.
Naruto initially thought it was Jiraiya returning, but quickly realized it was someone else.
The citizens began to panic, thinking the two scary men had come back. They screamed and scrambled to run away.
“Huh?...” A very confused Maito Gai looked around. “What did I do?...”
“They thought you were one of the men who destroyed part of the town, moments ago,” Naruto said, walking over to him.
“Itachi! So he was here?!” Gai’s eyes scanned the area until he spotted Sasuke. “There he is.”
“Wait, you knew about those individuals?” Naruto asked.
“Yes, they attacked Konoha this morning. They must have found out that you and Lord Jiraiya left through the North Gate.” Gai knelt next to Sasuke and checked his vitals.
“Hmm… his life doesn’t seem to be in danger, but I should take him back to Konoha as soon as possible.”
“They attacked the village?... They came looking for me, didn’t they?” Naruto’s question surprised Gai.
“How did you—” Gai’s question was cut short as Jiraiya returned.
“I lost them!” He seemed in a bad mood and didn’t even notice the jonin nearby.
“So even the Great Sannin couldn’t stop those two… or maybe you were already too exhausted from your previous activities,” Naruto remarked.
“How dare you! I’ll have you know I could go on for hours without end!” Jiraiya exclaimed.
“I didn’t need to know that.” Naruto frowned.
“Lord Jiraiya!” Gai stood up and greeted him with respect.
“Oh, you are… Maito Gai, right?” His eyes moved to Sasuke.
“I presume you came looking for that boy.”
Gai explained about the attack and about Kakashi being put in the hospital by Itachi.
“The healers say he was hit by a very powerful genjutsu, and they don’t know when he’ll regain consciousness.”
“A powerful genjutsu…” Naruto glanced at Sasuke. “I believe the same thing happened to him.”
Gai looked worried. This meant Sasuke could also be unconscious for an unknown amount of time.
“So that’s how they found us so quickly…” Jiraiya muttered.
“Don’t worry, Naruto. I’m sure Tsunade will be able to heal your friend and your sensei,” he added.
“Great,” Naruto said with little enthusiasm. He wasn’t sure if he should consider Kakashi his sensei since the man had barely taught him anything. And he definitely didn’t consider Sasuke a friend. Teammate was as far as he went.
“Lady Tsunade?! She’s coming back?” Gai’s eyes widened.
“Yes, that’s why Naruto and I are traveling right now. We’re on our way to speak with her,” Jiraiya said, though he wasn’t entirely sure where she was at the moment.
“This is great news!” Gai exclaimed. “You think she’ll be able to heal my disciple?”
“Of course!” Jiraiya made yet another promise, despite not knowing if it was possible.
“Then, I’ll take Sasuke back to the village and wait for your return!” Maito Gai said, excited.
“Well then, let’s head back to the hotel,” Jiraiya suggested.
“I think we should leave this place…” Naruto glanced around. The townsfolk were still staring at them. “Unless you want to pay for all the damages.”
Jiraiya looked around and quickly understood the situation.
“I’m sure the folks here will be reasonable and understand that we weren’t the ones responsible for th—”
“What about the prostitute and everything you drank? By the stench on your breath, it wasn’t little. And I doubt you paid for any of that before storming off,” Naruto commented.
Jiraiya now looked troubled.
“You know... I’m suddenly in the mood for a night stroll, how about you?”
