A New Path

Ch. 16 Infiltrating the Bases

Naruto leapt from three to three with three Genin trailing behind him. It had been a few hours since they had left Konoha and the sun was high in the sky. They had been heading west and the blond was already noticing the climate change. It was growing a little warmer and he assumed that this meant that they were nearing the Fire Country's border. Beyond this border was a small area filled with rivers that would lead to the Sand village. Since they had come this far it was time to change directions, he didn't want to pass the border on accident and get his village in trouble. He knew that he could keep on going but looked back at his companions. Neji seemed okay while Ino and Choji were panting lightly with some sweat on their foreheads.

The Chunin moved his gaze forward and saw a small clearing on the distance. He signaled his team to stop moving as he landed on a branch. "We're going to take a small rest," Naruto informed them with a serious look on his face, "Make sure not to eat anything since we'll be moving in less than an hour and I don't want you throwing up on the way." The three Genin nodded in understanding. The blond was a little taken back since he expected some complaints but dismissed it, "Okay, let's go."

The group of ninja went over to the clearing, Ino and Choji had looks of relief on their faces as they made their way to a small stream with fresh water while Naruto and Neji stood next to each other in the middle of the clearing. The Hyuuga had his byakuugan active while the blond crossed his arms and stared ahead with a frown.

Neji deactivated his byakuugan and turned to Naruto. "There's nobody around but there are some traces of chakra around," the Hyuuga reported with a pensive look. It was normal to have leftover chakra around environments since battles between ninja took place almost anywhere, the leftover chakra would disappear after a few days, what was not normal was the type of chakra he had found, "From the looks of things this chakra is not ordinary, it loos different."

"How is it not normal?" Naruto questioned, already thinking of what to do with his team if they were in any kind of danger.

Neji shook his head and put his hands on his pockets, showing he had no need to be on the alert for now. "I'm not sure but it feels as if the chakra is tainted, dark even," he explained, "I haven't seen anything like this before but whatever it was isn't here anymore."

Naruto nodded in affirmation. "Rest for now Neji, we'll be moving soon," he ordered as he moved to sit against a tree. The blond dug into his pocket and took out a paper and a small brush with some ink. Ever since Jiraiya had taught him the art of sealing, the blond would always carry the necessaries to practice whenever he had free time. He dipped the brush into the ink before getting to work.

On the other side of the clearing Ino drank water from a canteen, feeling the water cool her mouth and wash away the thirst she had been feeling. Choji sat next to her with his head submerged on the water. He was apparently cooling his head while taking gulps of water. Ino was of course disgusted by this and turned her gaze to her other teammate. Neji was standing against a tree with his arms crossed and a thoughtful look on his face. She felt relieved that Neji wasn't being rude to them though his superiority complex wasn't fully gone, she guessed that Naruto had had a positive impact on him.

Ino looked at the other side of the clearing and saw Naruto writing on a small paper. 'What is he doing?' she wondered as she watched the blond continue to write. A thought struck Ino and her eyes widened, 'Could it be that he was writing a letter to someone? D-did he meet another girl while he was away?' The kunoichi shook her head, trying to rid herself of the thought, there was no way that someone else liked Naruto like that, was there?

She shyly made her way over to Naruto, hoping to get to the bottom of what the blond was doing. "Hey Naruto," she greeted with a smile. The blond looked up from his work to Ino with a questioning look on his face, "What are you doing?"