A Different Kind Of Journey (Hiatus)

Arc 2 : Sand Part 1

After a few more hours of travel, Kakashi suddenly stopped, surprising the group.

The forest was getting darker now and the group, he noticed, were slowing down—bar Naruto.

They needed to rest.

"Why are we stopping, Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto almost growled.

Kakashi could only sigh. "Naruto, if you toned down your rage for a moment, maybe you would have noticed how dark it was getting."

The furious little blonde scrunched his face. "No, we can't stop! Every second we waste means there's a bigger chance that Gara could be killed!"

Kakashi was unmoved. "Naruto," his voice steady, "Is this really the example you want to show to our new members?"

The blonde jerked his head towards the rookies, redirecting his impatience. "Why did they have to come!?" he pointed. "They're not even useful for this kind of mission!"

Boruto and Himawari kept quiet. They were children getting scolded by their father, even with the age difference. But they didn't want this for their young dad. Besides, it was Granny Tsunade who assigned them to this mission.

"Why did you guys have to come with us!?" the angry blonde repeated.

The Uzumaki siblings lowered their heads but kept their silence.

Himawari's lower lip trembled. She was taken aback by the sheer anger of her young dad. The younger Uzumaki was excited to get to know him more, but seeing him now—the growl in his voice and the lack of warmth in his blue eyes—she was beginning to understand how difficult that may be.

Sarada, on the other hand, was shocked that the person she looked up to as a role model was now blaming them for the struggles of this mission.

"You three are going to ruin everything!" Naruto nearly screamed.

"If it wasn't for you guys…!" the Jinchuriki roared, "If it wasn't for you…!"

"Naruto…" Sakura painfully whispered.

Kakashi couldn't stand this anymore.

"Naruto, that's enough."

There was a sharp whistle in the air as the trees around them rocked and quaked. But they all stood where they were—shaking, but unmoving.

With red slowly overtaking his vision and his fist trembling with tension, he looked each of every single one of them in the eye... and let go.

Naruto turned and walked away.

"Dad started blaming us along the way and Nii-chan and I were pretty much having second thoughts at that point. But honestly, was it really the right decision to come along on this mission...?"

– Himawari

"For a young kunai, the old man knows how to rant. Although, we had to understand what he was going through then."

– Boruto

Kakashi sighed, ordering the rest of them to set their sleeping bags up for the night.