Growth (1)

Just two days ago, there was another pair of footsteps next to mine. Though we didn't chat much, the feeling of having someone that you can rely on—it was inexplicable.

Now, here I am, walking alone in solitude. My honed footsteps produced no noise as I walked in the dark forest. With Ryuma and Kiba in my pouch, sealed in storage scrolls, I currently was a cloaked wanderer and nothing more.

'Strength.'

I've been thinking for a long time. If I was strong enough back then, there would've been no need for all those tragedies that I've gone through. Even now, Gin ultimately died because I still wasn't strong enough.

'Gin provided me the way.'

All I needed now was time, time to grow and ready myself for the future.

'An isolated ground, where no one will be able to find me. The place where I can acquire the necessities for survival.'

I've decided. With there being no lead to the whereabouts of Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, the most efficient choice that I could currently make was to train.

'And I am in the land of fire as well, the place that provides me the best condition for survival out of the whole Elemental Nations.'

Unlike me 3 years ago, I could hunt. I knew how to build a sufficient shelter. Moving from place to place, under the chase of Kiri ninjas, gave me a good amount of experience.

I stopped walking. Raising my head up and gazing at the bright moon, I asked myself,

'Have my life become more peaceful than in the past, where I was useless?'

The answer was obvious—yes.

And with that, I knew that I was going in the right direction. Though I lived the life of a wanderer, my mind was more peaceful than it ever has been.

Therefore, the boy continued walking into the dark woods under the moonlight, not having a particular destination in his mind.

__________

"Pfff—hahahaha!!!!" The tanned man with the unique eyes of strangely green-coloured irides surrounded by red, laughed boisterously, "One of the seven swordsmen of the so-called 'Bloody Mist,' lost against a chunin and kid?!"

This man's name was Kakuzu, the notorious bounty hunter who loved money over all else.

Behind the counter, the bald-headed man, Zangei the bounty exchange master in the land of fire, said warily, "The information isn't currently confirmed though. It's mostly based out of speculation."

Kakuzu wasn't listening. Instead, he seemed busy counting,

"Five… no, ten? Retrieve Kiba against one lucky kid, and sell it for… fifteen." Kakuzu grinned greedily as he placed his hand on his chin, "Not bad of a deal, I suppose. But… twenty maybe."

Zangei couldn't help but ask, "Twenty-thousand?"

Kakuzu turned to Zangei with a frown, "Twenty-thousand? Are you joking with me?"

He then said , "Twenty-million, dumba**."

Zangei seemed to have tensed up in fright at what Kakuzu has just spoken.

"Actually, thirty... no, fourty." Kakuzu then muttered, much to Zangei's exasperation, "…Do you think they will accept fifty?"

Zangei, whose feeling of disbelief overwhelmed fear, spoke without realizing, "Why don't you say that after you actually attain that Kiba?"

"…What's your name?"

That's when Zangei realized what he just said. His face paled up and his body trembled, thinking that he was dead for sure.

"Z-Zangei…"

"…Zangei."

Kakuzu stated with his scary-looking ryes headed to the baldie, before snorting in amusement,

"I like you."

"…Huh?" Zangei found his body relaxing from a sudden change in Kakuzu's demeanour.

"You are right. I should get that sword first." Kakuzu stood up from a seat that he was occupying,

"Fifty then I suppose… or not. Sixty, seventy… f*** it. Hundred… or is it too little?"

Leaving the dumbfounded Zangei by himself, Kakuzu walked out of the bounty station.

__________

"Reminds me of the old days," I said to myself as I sat in a cave that I found, while chewing on a dried piece of meat.

I've traveled around the land of fire, avoiding civilization as much as I could. Looking for a place for me to stay, I roamed, and eventually ended up in a cave similar to the one we dwelled back in the Amegakure.

"How strange. Yes, strange indeed."

Cave. Wet and humid. I disliked this condition back then, and yet, found myself in another one again. I found myself cracking laughter; is this what people call the homing instinct?

'...Rain.'

The dark and harsh memories have eroded, and what remained in me were the wistful memories. Amegakure, though provided me with a harsh reality, was the place that gave me a sense of familiarity unlike any other.

'One day, after reuniting with those three,' I thought as I stood up from my spot,

'Let's return to Amegakure, my homeland.' I believed that that's where my peace lied, 'The war in Ame is now over anyway—hold on.'

I froze,

'Are those three thinking the same as me?'

Perhaps they already are in Amegakure; it was something worth thinking about.

Regardless, discarding those thoughts, I walked to the outside of the cave casually, and leaned down to pick up one dead leaf on the ground. I stared at it intensely.

<Though everyone has their own nature affinity, that doesn't mean that one can't use other elements. Take Sarutobi Hiruzen, the 'Professor,' for an example. He is known to have mastered all 5 elements.>

I recalled Gin's words as I closed my eye, focusing on the flow of my chakra from within.

<Again, your strongest suit is chakra control. Though someone like me, who's quite bad at managing chakra, won't fathom learning anything other than his or her own nature affinity, it's a different story for you. And there is one element best suited for a swordsman.>

'Wind Release.'

I then expelled my chakra to the leaf that I was holding onto,

"Unlike the fire, the wind cuts into two—hm?" I reopened my eye and saw the leaf being burnt by a potent fire.

Extinguishing the fire and discarding the ashes, I picked up another leaf and repeated the process.

Once again, I was granted the sight of an intense fire.

"...This is going to take some time."