A ninja must see underneath the underneath

Chapter 23 - Onwards to The Hidden Waterfall Village!

The taller shinobi gave a short nod.

"Bingo." Naruto thought, happy with his guess. Lee was a name that shinobi regularly used as a cover-up name, seeing how it was quite popular.

"Very well then young man. You and your friend may pass. My colleague will guide you through the cave system and point you into the direction of the nearest hospital."

"Thank you very much, sir." Naruto bowed.

"If you break any laws by stealing, committing fraud or vandalizing. Or if we find out you lied about your identity you will be taken into custody and forced to leave the village. Is that clear?"

"Hai." Naruto replied before he followed the shorter of the two into the tunnel.

After a long walk through the tunnels, in which they often changed directions, they finally saw sunlight ahead. When they entered the village, the first thing Naruto noticed was the trees. There were so many of them. They all were very high and their crowns all touched each other. It was as if the village had a ceiling made out of branches and leaves. It was beautiful.

The shinobi guard smiled as he saw Naruto looking around with an open mouth. He tapped the young man on the shoulder. "The hospital is that way." He pointed. "It's not far from here, just follow the small blue arrows." He said friendly.

Naruto nodded. "Thank you for your assistance." He said as the shinobi turned around to head back to his post. As soon as he knew the man was gone, he walked towards the big tree that marked the center of the village. "Now east..." He murmured. "Then I'll need to look out for the inn or Pervy-Sage."

The letter said to meet him at midday, but looking at the sun, Naruto could tell that it was one o'clock already. He carefully put down Kakashi and crouched down in front of him.

"Kashi?" He asked carefully. "Kakashi-sensei?" He said somewhat louder. He sighed as he carefully touched the man's masked face, instantly causing him to jolt awake. "Sorry Kashi, but I need you to get up."

"Where are we?" The older shinobi asked sleepily.

"In the center of Takigakure. We'll have to go through the streets and head east now towards the inn. If we don't want to attract too much attention to ourselves, then I think it would be better if you walked on your own."

"Right. Of course." He murmured while trying to get up.

Naruto supported his sensei, as he started to fall back down with fatigue.

"I'll help you walk," Naruto said decisive, not allowing any discussion in the matter.

Kakashi growled something inaudible as he let himself be held up by the young man's support.

Together, they started heading east.

"Ugh, I'm glad Gai doesn't get to see me in this condition. He'd never let me live it down." Kakashi said with a painful grin on his face.

Naruto snickered. "What's the score nowadays anyway?"

"74 to 76 in my favor," Kakashi answered with a little smile.

"How did you win the last one? Taijutsu skills? Ninjutsu techniques?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Paper beats rock," Kakashi admitted a tiny bit embarrassed.

"Uhm... Alright then." Naruto replied with a skeptical face. "How about the one before that?"

"I managed to eat two more pieces of sushi than he did..." Kakashi added sheepishly.

"I can't believe you guys still consider that rivalry," Naruto replied while stifling his laugh.

"Wait till I show him my newest prize possession," Kakashi said jokily as he nipped Naruto's butt.