Lotus Blooming! Book 2

Chapter 51 -- Tailed Beast Chakra Training Cont.

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I stared at the walls, my mind too focused on a peculiar chakra. It was definitely the Nine Tails' chakra, but... Naruto was in here. I bit at my lower lip in agitation. The skin of my palms have been rubbed bare, but not even the pain could distract me from that chakra. 'What were those two guys called? From the Hidden Cloud...' I continued to chew on my lower lip. The memory popped back into my mind from my time at the Yukimura Compound. 'The Gold and Silver Brothers... Kinkaku and Ginkaku. They survived the belly of the actual beast by eating it...' I pursed my lips and turned to Naruto's concentrated face. 'If they're using Orochimaru's reanimation jutsu, it wouldn't surprise me if they chose those two... With huge reserves of chakra, those two were known as formidable foes. Along with the four out of five of the treasured ninja tools of the Sage of Six Paths, their power was magnified. The question is, when will Naruto take notice.'

It didn't take long after all. As soon as there was a surge of it, he immediately stopped concentrating on his task. And he flew back from the force of the explosion.

"Didn't work, huh?" Killer Bee asked. "You were close. That's a shame!" He exclaimed. Naruto didn't respond. He just locked himself in his thoughts. "You lost your focus! And you have yourself to blame!"

Naruto cast a glance up to me to verify what he'd felt, and I couldn't suppress my anxious expression quick enough. 

~*****~

"You two have been at it for a while," Killer Bee comments as I remained on my hands and knees, sweat dripping down my face, my limbs shaking from exhaustion. "Half-hearted attention, not enough preparation."

"Something's been bothering me for a while now," Naruto comments as he sits up.

"What is it?" Killer Bee questions.

"Earlier... I thought I sensed the Nine Tails' chakra." Naruto mentions, and I stiffen once again. I avoid his gaze. "But there's no way someone besides me has the Nine Tails' chakra, right?"

"You probably just imagined it," I lie.

"Chakra here is cut off. Both inside and out. Nine Tails is only inside you. It's a bad joke, no doubt." Bee states.

Naruto remained silent for a long time, and he shot me a look I knew all to well. "Where's the bathroom?" Naruto asked.

"Go outside. It's the door to your left." Bee explains.

"I gotta go too." I hum and follow after Naruto. "Naruto, hold on," I quickly interject as I follow closely. I don't have to say anything at all, because the exit is blocked.

"Stop, Naruto." Shino's father, Shibi commands. "Naruto. I'm sorry, but I cannot let you pass. Ren, will you please escort Naruto back to that room."

"Naruto, please," I plead as I grasp his hand.

"Why is Shino's pop here?" Naruto questioned, pulling his hand away from mine. "Why are they watching us?"

"Enough, just go back with Ren, I'll tell you there." Shibi explains.

"Why can't you tell me outside?" Naruto asks.

Shibi remains silent, and then an unexpected voice breaks the silence. "Shibi, I'll talk to him." Iruka's voice rings out.

"I-Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto exclaims. "What're you doing on this island?!"

Iruka smiles. "We have a secondary mission on this island." Iruka explains. "And we're here to back you up. We heard this place is dangerous."

"So why can't we go outside?" Naruto barks.

"There's an unidentified creature that we're trying to confirm." Iruka states. "That's because--"