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Naruto: The Art of Deception 13
🕑 Added 2025-03-11 13:40:30 +0000 UTCChapter 13: Arashi comes out
Ino had drifted off again, her breathing steadier now. The medicine was working. Naruto sat against the wall. His body begged for rest, and after careful consideration, he decided to give himself two hours—no more, no less. Just enough time to let his body recover.
Closing his eyes, Naruto let his mind pull apart everything he had taken from Gaiya. The interrogation had been brutal—not just physically, but mentally. The Genjutsu had ripped through Gaiya’s thoughts like a storm, flooding Naruto with images, fragmented memories, and stray emotions. Sorting through them was like piecing together a puzzle with half the pieces missing. But he had enough to see the bigger picture.
The festival was a distraction. That much was obvious now. While the village celebrated, the Yami Clan worked in secret, preparing for something bigger. A sealing ritual. And not just any seal—something old, powerful, and dangerous enough that even Kuroi Yami, the clan leader, was taking precautions.
The shrine. Hidden deep in the mountains, abandoned for years. At least, that’s what everyone believed. But beneath it lay an underground chamber, reinforced with ancient seals, layers upon layers of barriers. That was where the real plan was unfolding.
Gaiya hadn’t known everything, but he knew enough. His job had been security, keeping outsiders away, making sure no one got too curious. And when Team 10 stumbled onto something they shouldn’t have, they had to be dealt with. It hadn’t been personal. Just orders.
Naruto exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face. He still didn’t know exactly what they were sealing. Gaiya’s memories hadn’t given him that answer. But whatever it was, it was strong enough that the Yami Clan needed to suppress it before it could wake.
And then there was the girl.
Rei Yami. Kuroi’s daughter. Kept out of clan affairs, treated like an outsider in her own home. She wasn’t ignorant—she had heard things, pieced together parts of the truth. But she wasn’t trusted with the full plan. That frustration, that resentment—it made her useful.
Naruto opened his eyes, staring at the cave ceiling. If he wanted to get close to the heart of this, she was the way in.
Pushing himself up, he moved toward the small pile of supplies he’d gathered. He reached into his pack, fingers brushing over cool fabric before pulling out a folded set of clothes. Black, lightweight, practical.
Arashi’s clothes.
But not the ninja gear. This time, he needed to blend, not intimidate.
Naruto stripped off his standard attire, shaking off the stiffness in his limbs as he pulled on something new—casual but well-fitted. Dark trousers, a loose, deep-blue shirt with sleeves he could roll up, and a sleeveless vest to complete the look. Something comfortable, something that let him move freely but didn’t scream shinobi.
Then came the real change.
He pressed his hands together in a seal, chakra weaving effortlessly through his body.
Henge no Jutsu.
The transformation was seamless. His blond hair darkened, taking on a deep chestnut hue, just tousled enough to look effortlessly charming. His face shifted subtly, his jawline less sharp, his features more open, approachable. His skin tone adjusted, the slight tan smoothing into something more neutral. A traveler’s face, the kind of man who could slip into any village and be forgotten the next day.
He studied himself in the compact mirror from his pack, tilting his head. The final touch came naturally. A lazy, easy smile, just crooked enough to be roguish, the kind that made people lower their guard. His eyes still sharp, still watching everything, now held a spark of curiosity, of amusement, of someone who lived for the next interesting thing rather than the next fight.
Arashi wasn’t a threat. He was a man who talked his way into places instead of breaking through them.
He looked over to Ino. Still asleep, breathing steady. Good. Gaiya, on the other hand, wouldn’t stay out forever.
With a quick seal, two clones appeared. One took position beside Ino, the other crouched near Gaiya.
“You know what to do,” Naruto muttered.
The clone near Ino nodded. “Watch her.”
The other smirked. “And if he wakes up and will start trouble?”
Naruto’s grin was sharp. “Remind him why that’s a mistake.”
That settled, he adjusted his vest, exhaled, and stepped into the dark. Time to see what the Yami Clan was hiding.
He had taken the long way around, avoiding the obvious entry points, slipping through the blind spots in the Yami Clan’s defenses. With the festival in full swing, most of their security was focused on the village itself. That left the outer perimeter weaker than it should have been. Sloppy.
By the time he stepped out of the trees, the village was alive with noise and color. Paper lanterns swayed gently from wooden posts, their glow painting the cobblestone streets in soft golds and oranges. Vendors lined the roads, calling out to passing crowds, offering skewers of grilled meat, spiced rice cakes, bottles of sake. Children darted through the festival grounds, laughter rising above the chatter. A firework exploded somewhere above, sending bright streaks of red and blue across the sky before fading into the night.
Naruto breathed in deep, letting his senses stretch outward. The first thing he noticed was the seals.
They weren’t just on the village gates. They were everywhere.
Delicate scripts wove themselves into the village’s very foundation. Seals carved into doorframes. Inscribed beneath vendor stalls. Stitched into the fabric of festival banners. Some were practical, meant for security or preservation. But others pulsed with something deeper, something layered and old. Their energy thrummed beneath his skin like a second heartbeat.
The Yami Clan didn’t just use fūinjutsu. They lived in it.
He pretended to be just another traveler passing through, drawn in by the festival, looking for a good deal or a night of drinking. There was no tension in his shoulders.
As he wove through the crowd, he paid attention to the voices around him fill in the blanks. Excited chatter about the festival. Complaints about food prices. Idle gossip about patrol shifts. But underneath it all, there were whispers.
Tucked between two larger buildings, almost invisible unless you knew where to look, sat a bar. No bright signs, no decorations, no attempt to pull in festival-goers. Just a plain wooden board hanging over the entrance, the paint long faded, the edges worn smooth by time. It wasn’t the kind of place that welcomed strangers.
Perfect.
Naruto stepped inside.
The lighting barely did its job, leaving most of the room wrapped in shadows. Voices filled the space, rough and unfiltered. Laughter that didn’t quite reach the eyes. Low murmurs over drinks. The occasional scrape of a chair against the floor.
A shinobi bar.
Naruto didn’t slow down. He didn’t stop to get a feel for the place or scan for exits like a nervous outsider. He walked like he belonged, shoulders easy, steps unhurried. When he reached the bar, he took a seat, the old stool creaking under his weight.
The bartender, a broad-shouldered man with a scar running down his cheek, barely spared him a glance.
“What’ll it be?”
Naruto leaned forward slightly, letting a lazy smirk tug at his lips. “Sake. And whatever’s good.”
The bartender grunted in acknowledgment, wiping his hands on a rag before turning away. Naruto rested an elbow on the counter, fingers tapping lightly against the wood as he took in the room. Not obvious, not searching, just looking the way anyone would when they were tired and waiting on a drink.
The place was full, every table occupied by men and women who carried themselves the same way. Fighters. Killers. Some still wearing pieces of their uniforms, others dressed down, blending in with the civilians, but the difference was easy to spot. The way they sat, backs never fully relaxed. The way they spoke, always keeping their voices low.
At a table near the back, two men leaned in close, their conversation quiet. A woman at another table adjusted the wrappings on her arm. Her bandages were fresh. Off-duty, but not off-guard.
Naruto rolled his shoulders, stretching like a man who had spent too long on the road. The bartender returned with a small plate of food and a cup of sake, setting them down without a word.
He picked up the cup, took a slow sip, then turned his attention back to the room. Just another traveler passing through, looking for nothing in particular.
And finding everything.
AN - this chapter is for yesterday, sorry. I spent the whole day helping my sister move, so i didnt have time to write it. Later on i will post chapter for today.
Thank you for your support, comments and likes. It does motivate me to write more and more, thank you.
