A Different Path

Scars Of Chalk

Suddenly, Naruto froze. He heard a hissed laugh in the distance which seemed to be getting closer and closer, despite the heated battle going on. He used his chakra tails to strangle any remaining snakes and threw them away from the area to gain more visibility before he signaled the three toads to get close to him and to the other shinobi. He felt Sasuke jump at his right while Sakura walked at his left and Kakashi remained behind them, between the toads and the trio. The giant figure slithered closer as uneasiness crawled up the kunoichi's porcelain face.
"You know, I'm glad Gamakichi isn't here, or else he wouldn't even be able to look at him in the eye." Gamahiro let out a humorless chuckle, his grip on his blades tightening.
"You could've mentioned that he is this big, Naruto." Sakura laughed nervously while fiddling with her fingers.
"I agree." Sasuke breathed out, clutching at the Jinchuriki's katana as his composed gaze fixed on the giant snake who was now standing a few meters in front of them.

"I'm recalling some bad memories from this." Kakashi pulled his mask down to revealing his Sharingan, his muscles tense and ready to attack at any moment.
"Long time no see, Naruto." The snake almost seemed to purr in a sickeningly sweet voice. He obviously ignored the ninjas and the toads.
"I can't say I'm glad, Manda." Naruto's face grew emotionless, and a little cold, his tone flat.
Manda was coloured purple and had black rings running down intervals on his long body. He had massive fangs, presumably carrying venom in them and green, piercing eyes that most creatures fear. He also had four horn-like protrusions on his head.
"Do not lash at me like that, dear. I am not here to fight you. For now." He hissed slowly, his forked tongue running along the smooth edges of his jaw. "I am just a mere messenger, and I had to take a look at you myself, after all these years when Jiraiya has kept you away from me." A deep chuckle came out of his muzzle.

"You're starting to sound like Orochimaru. Go on, then." The blond folded his arms on his chest as he tapped his foot on the ground twice to let Gamabunta, Hiro and Ken know that they can stand back.
"These snakes were just a warning, a little gift from that sly Toneri of yours. And for your information, Orochimaru is not quite fazed by any of this, so far. We shall see." Manda clicked his tongue as a wave of sadness came over Naruto as soon as the word 'Toneri' left the snake's mouth. "The true hell is about to break loose. Prepare yourself. I do not wish you to die before I can have my way with you. So keep that in mind, will you, little fox?" He smirked, barring his white fangs.
"Of course. And how many has he promised you this time, may I ask?" Naruto kept it formal, despite the presence of the bile which was sitting at the back of his  throat.
"One thousand. Given their plans, I have a feeling I might be getting much more than that." Manda smiled slyly while his eyes narrowed. Before any more vile words could escape his mouth, Naruto quickly grabbed his katana out of Sasuke's hand and cut down the snake's body, leaving a trail of dust behind. Manda disappeared in a puff of white smoke but a satisfied look seemed to have remained on his face.

"You knew, didn't you?" Sasuke muttered, his gaze softening even though Naruto was looking straight ahead, and not at him.
"Know what?" Sakura's brows furrowed slightly.
"That it was a Shadow Clone." Kakashi pulled his mask back up as he eyed the worried pinkhead.
"Yeah. I knew as soon as he got close enough for me to tell that his chakra signature was fragmented, which only meant that he was here either to observe or to pass a message." The blond ran his fingers through his blonde locks while his eyes returned to the normal ocean-blue.
"We should be getting back, now that this snake problem has been fixed." Gamabunta nudged Naruto gently with the tip of his slimy finger. "The Great Toad wishes to see you before you leave, Naruto."
"He said something about another prophecy." Gamaken placed his sasumata on his back, blinking at the shinobi as a sign that he had acknowledged their presence.
"Very well." The young Uzumaki nodded his head to no one in particular and jumped onto the toad's back, followed by the three ninjas. Once the toad had started jumping, Naruto was able to feel Sasuke desire to go back to their previous position. But he could also feel his uneasiness. So he slowly laid back as the raven got the message and moved closer until he was basically leaning onto the blond's back, his hands placed on his shoulders.

He closed his eyes to enjoy the delicate feeling and pushed away any thoughts of what was bound to come.

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Heya! Missed me? I know you've missed updates, though! Anyway, I didn't intend to make this chapter this long but it came out like this. And I'm not complaining.
I also want to show you guys something!

Thank you so much to Utau-tori ❤️ for making this amazing drawing that you guys can relate to! That's basically what Naruto looks like in this story. And I also wanted to say.. GUYS, YOU ARE AWESOME. Over 90K views is seriously insane, though. I never thought that this book would almost have 100K views! It really means a lot to me! So thank you, guys! You're the best!
Next time, on Naruto Shippuden:
'The Child Of Prophecy'
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~See ya!~
~Bella~
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