A better life

Chapter 13: News

Naruto was walking down the streets of Taki. However, as he was walking, he noticed that the streets were less crowded than usual. Well, at least in terms of the Shinobi that were walking through the streets. There weren't as many as he'd usually expect to see.

The blonde saw a familiar figure in front of him and walked up to him.

"Hey Gorou? Where is everyone?" Naruto asked looking at the elderly male in front of him.

"Um . . . I'm not sure; I think Shiro's out looking for something in the stores and I think Fū's training," Gorou said looking at the blonde male in front of him.

"No, I don't mean them, I mean the other shinobi of Taki. There's usually more around here than there are today," Naruto said looking at Gorou.

"Oh, I think they were sent to Konoha," Gorou said looking at Naruto. The blonde was more than a little shocked to hear this and looked at the elderly male in front of him.

"K-Konoha? Why?" Naruto asked looking at Gorou.

"Apparently something went wrong during the Chunin exams, and most of the village was destroyed. They offered to pay Taki if we sent some shinobi to help with the clean up. I'm pretty sure that the reason we were sent is because . . . well . . . it's Konoha. And well . . . you know," Gorou said looking at the male in front of him.

Naruto nodded hearing this and once again began to walk down the streets.

"Oh, but before I go, do you know which store Shiro is at?" Naruto asked looking at Gorou.

"He's at a book store. Although I'm not sure which one. You should probably try all of them just in case," Gorou said looking at Naruto.

When the blonde heard this, he nodded and began to walk down the streets. Naruto then walked to what he thought was the closest book store and walked inside. When he did, he noticed that the female behind the counter gave him a dirty look.

"Yeah, I'm not too thrilled about being here either. Tell me, did a young boy with white hair and blue come in today?" Naruto asked looking at the female in front of him.

"Yeah, he came in and said he was looking for some book. I told him we didn't have it and he left," The female said looking at Naruto.

When she said this Naruto nodded and walked out of the building. Naruto then once again began to walk down the streets onto the next book store but stopped, seeing the male that he was looking for.

"Hey Shiro!" Naruto called out to the male. When he said this, the male turned and looked at the blonde Uzumaki.

"Oh? Hey Naruto, what's up?" Shiro asked looking at the male in front of him. Naruto was about to speak however stopped himself when he saw the small book that Shiro was holding.

"What's that?" Naruto asked looking at the male in front of him.

"Oh it's a book with all the known Taki Kekkei Genkai in it. I was hoping that reading it would give me a better idea of how my family's works," Shiro said in response to the male in front of him.

"Oh, that's cool," Naruto said looking at Shiro.

"Yeah...I guess. Anyway, what did you need?" Shiro asked looking at the male in front of him.

"Oh yeah! About that, I was wondering if you could help me with something," Naruto asked looking at the male in front of him.

"I guess it depends on what it is," Shiro said looking at the male in front of him.

When Shiro asked this, Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll. Shiro sighed seeing this and took the scroll from Naruto then read it.

When Shiro was finished reading the scroll he closed it and looked at Naruto. "Yeah, I can do that. It shouldn't be too hard. When do you need it done?" Shiro asked looking at Naruto.

"Oh . . . Uh . . . whenever is fine," Naruto said looking at the male in front of him.

"Okay, I'll let you know when the arrangements have been made. Is there anything else you need?" Shiro asked looking at the blonde male in front of him.

"Can you buy something for me?" Naruto asked looking at the male.

"No," Shiro said looking at the male in front of him.

"Oh no I didn't mean- here let me explain. I was going to do some training with Fū later, and I was going to buy some chakra paper. However, I know that if I go in and ask for it, they're going to charge me a lot more than what it's actually worth. So I was hoping I could give you the money and that you could buy it for me," Naruto said looking at the male in front of him.

Shiro sighed again hearing this and looked at the male in front of him. "Do you have the Ryo?" Shiro asked looking at the male in front of him.

Naruto nodded when Shiro asked this and reached into his pocket to pull out the amount of Ryo needed. When he did, Shiro began to walk down the street.

The two then arrived at the weapons shop and Naruto stayed outside of the building whilst Shiro walked in.

It was only a few minutes before Shiro walked out of the building. When he did, he handed him the two pieces of paper and Naruto smiled. "Thanks Shiro," Naruto said giving the male in front of him a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Please try not to bother me with something this tedious again," Shiro said as he began to walk down the streets.

"Thanks Shiro! I'll be sure to repay the favor someday," Naruto shouted over to the male. Before Shiro had the chance to say anything, Naruto began to run down the streets.

"Repay the favor? . . . Why, they're just pieces of paper?" Shiro wondered as he turned and began to walk down the streets. As he walked away Naruto smiled continuing to walk down the streets towards the training ground that his team usually went to. When he arrived he saw the girl that he had come to love training with.

"Hey, Fū!" Naruto called out as he ran up to the girl. When he did Fū turned to look at him and smiled.

"Heya Naruto! Did ya bring them?" Fū asked looking at Naruto.

As she asked this, the blonde nodded and pulled out two small pieces of paper. Fū smiled seeing this and extended her hand. When she did, Naruto handed her a piece of paper and the two sat down.

"Okay so if it burns it's fire, if it gets wet it's water, turn it to dust it's earth, if it tears it's air, and if it crumbles it's lightning," Fū said looking at the blonde in front of her.

Naruto nodded and the two held up their pieces of paper. "I'll go first," Naruto said looking at his friend. When he said this, Fū nodded and Naruto looked at his piece of paper before beginning to pour a slight amount of chakra into it.

When he did the piece of paper tore into two halves. "So it's wind," Naruto said looking at the paper. Fū nodded when he said this and then looked at her piece of paper.

"Okay, now it's my turn," Fū said as she began to pour chakra into the piece of paper that she had. When she did the paper became wet and started to drip.

"So your affinity is water?" Naruto asked looking at the female in front of him. When he asked this Fū nodded and stood up.

"It's not a lot at the moment, but it's something to start with," Fū said looking at the male in front of her. When she said this, the two stood up and looked at each other.

"We can start working on our elements tomorrow. For now, I think regular sparring should be enough," Fū said looking at the male in front of her. When she said this Naruto nodded and pulled out a kunai; ready for action.

"I'm ready whenever you are," Naruto said with a smirk. Fū pulled out her own kunai and readied herself. The two then ran towards each other and their kunai met. As the two continued their sparring session, they were unaware that there were two pairs of eyes watching them.