CHAPTER 22: No Place To Call Home

The first thing Naruto did…

Well, no. The first thing he did was hole himself up in a seaside inn, and sleep until the next morning.

That was the only way he could process the last few days.

Toru was dead.

He somehow couldn't wrap his head around this sentence.

Toru was dead.

How many times had he rolled his eyes, complained about the younger Uchiha? Too many to count.

The stupid jokes, the endless nagging and prodding…

The easy friendship, the unwavering loyalty.

He was crying for his friend.

Sasuke was likely alive, but… his closest friend had been killed in front of him, and there was a Tailed Beast inside him, now.

He had killed someone.

It had been very deliberate, too.

He had felt he had no other choice, at the time. But was it true…?

He wasn't so sure.

That was how he fell asleep.

Once more, he had been too weak. Now, he was also a murderer.

Naruto slipped out at the first crack of dawn.

He bought a newspaper that he kept carefully folded.

He ate something light for breakfast, then sat down on a ridge overlooking the sea.

The sea was tumultuous today, he noted absentmindedly.

There, with trembling hands, he opened the paper, looking for the date.

Three years, and some.

He had somehow managed to jump more than three years in the future.

"That's the present now." He corrected himself, hysterically.

He felt himself panic.

"Three fucking years?!"

That meant he had been born sixteen years ago… even though he was only thirteen.

Toru… No, Toru was dead.

Sasuke, Ino, Sakura… Karin, too. They were sixteen and something, now…?

Holy shit, Konohamaru was almost his age.

Then something scarier occurred to him.

"Is everyone even still alive?"

Three years was a lot of time. In just one year, several of his classmates had died already.

And that had been when they were just regular genin.

Naruto stared at the sea, unsure of how to proceed.

He tried to catch up on the world's events.

Relationships between Leaf and Sand were tense.

Hidden Mist and Cloud had territorial skirmishes going on, particularly on Red Island, fighting for its territory.

It hadn't erupted in a full war, but the seeds were there.

Stone had a tentative alliance going on with Mist, so if it came to that…

The Elemental Nations would likely tear themselves apart, once more.

He informed himself of the major Village's leaders. Nothing had changed too much here.

Uchiha Fugaku was still the Hokage.

The man named A, fourth of the name, was still in power as well.

The leader of Suna was still Rasa, but there were rumors that a woman puppeteer, named Chigusa, might take over soon.

Mist was headed by Yagura, who had gotten rid of his major opponents in a terrible purge of his government.

Ōnoki still wasn't ready to relinquish his station.

The land of Rivers was gaining traction under a leader named Tao.

And the nation of Rain, headed by the man named Nagato, — he had recognized the name — was becoming very powerful, too fast, according to the other villages.

He was somewhere up north, in the Land of Hot Springs.

It was a long way down to Konoha, which would take him a week in his weakened state, he estimated. He didn't know the way, so it might be a bit longer, even.

He needed to get back. Then he'd get answers from Sarutobi and…

…And what?

Three years had gone by.

Everyone likely thought him dead.

Sasuke had probably become strong, so much stronger, with Kakashi training him. He would get over it, and he had his family.

The old man… Sarutobi. If he was still alive, had a lot to answer to, but he didn't really feel like seeing him.

Biwako would definitely manage.

Sakura was in civilian school, likely. What was it called, high school..? She probably had distanced herself some from shinobi life.

He never even had the time to write to Karin. What did she think…?

Konohamaru? He was young, he would bounce back, too.

Kakashi was a veteran, and had weathered more losses than anybody under thirty should. He would likely be fine.

Did he even need to come back…?

Ino.

What about Ino?

He knew there was the possibility she might have liked him. And well… he might have started to feel something himself, even though he hadn't known what to make of it.

But… She had been thirteen, then. She was almost seventeen now, and had thought him dead for more than three years.

He was still thirteen.

What hope did he have there? This was ridiculous.

He stopped walking. His heart ached.

Coming home might be a bad idea, even.

And there was the fact that for the first time since he had joined the Academy… he was free.

Entirely free. Why did it scare him so? He had wanted this, didn't he?

He counted the money he had on himself.

It didn't amount to much. About 5,000 ryō. Not even enough to survive a full month out there.

He sighed.

He would not go to Konoha. At least not now. He knew he would have to access the Fourth's safehouse at some point.

Maybe he'd reconsider, but he didn't think this would be anytime soon.

He needed to figure out a few things. Notably how to survive entirely on his own.

He'd stay a few days… maybe longer in this fishing village. It looked like a safe place.

While he was near the sea, fishing to eat would be easy enough.

He'd need money to get somewhere to sleep. Sleeping in a tent was sometimes a necessity for shinobi out in the wild, but that was not very restful sleep. If he actually wanted to get stronger…

And he needed to. Then he would need a decent place to sleep. What else did people with a Shinobi background do for money…?

Oh. Most of them became mercenaries for hire. Killing a single person had been more than enough for him. He'd figure something less lethal. Maybe there would be some tracking missions… or capturing rogue shinobi..?

He could sell some seals. Nothing too dangerous, but basic supplies shouldn't take him too much time to figure out. They could go for decent amounts of money, especially if they required low amounts of maintenance.

Maybe he could teach some general chakra manipulation… or even Taijutsu for a decent price?

Then he figured it out. Why had he gotten stuck on such a narrow world-view?

He didn't have to rely solely on his shinobi skills.

He posted an ad a few hours later.

Odd Job Agency:

No job too small. None too big. Need a shelf brought up, help on a construction site, one more fisherman…?

Fair rates.

Friendly and Experienced Service.

Leave a message in Postal Box Number 11, Fishing District for a quote.

Naruto pinned it wherever he was allowed to.

'That should do.' He nodded to himself.

The first jobs came fast.

A single day after he had put up his flyers, he had three different messages left in the post box he had rented.

They were pretty small jobs, for sure. But they would also allow him to keep himself alive for the time being.

Once he had confirmed all three of them, he rented a small wooden house for two weeks, in the most remote district, by paying for a full month upfront… Leaving him with just enough for a few days of eating.

He took a look at the contracts.

Landscaping job, painting job, and… insect feeding?

Well, it seemed like none of these would be too physical for a trio of clones.

He created three clones, and gave them random names, from the top of his head.

Then no jobs came for several days.

He had grossly overestimated the demand in this little town. There were only so many jobs a random "agency" that popped up out of nowhere would be able to receive.

What an idiot he had been. It had been easy enough in Konoha, with an endless supply of jobs, demands, and offers. The small village of Umi-o-miorosu was not Konoha, far from it.

He sighed. Where to go from here?

Naruto spent the next few days in a funk.

A dead friend, nowhere to go… No real plan.

And he was spending too much time alone. He had started having conversations with his clones.

One of them was ranting about what was wrong with the shinobi world. Naruto tuned him out, he knew exactly what the clone was saying… It was him, after all.

"We need to move." He ended up saying.

One of the clones, currently nose deep in a book about sealing, lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Where?"

"What's the closest town we can get a bounty for the dead Uzumaki?" Naruto asked.

"Legally?"

"Uh, yeah. Sure. I don't really like it, but the guy's dead anyway, so…"

Another clone confirmed what he already knew. "Probably the Land of Rice. The Land of Hot Springs wants to stay neutral, they don't really do bounties."

"Can one of you guys look it up?"

A clone nodded. He thumbed through his book, finding the local map. "…There is the town of Haraji, it's close to the border. There would definitely be some demand for shinobi skills, too. Or just demand in general."

"How far is it?"

"Two days, I'd say."

"…Let's pack up, then. We're leaving tomorrow."

"What about this place? We rented it for one more week."

"Fuck this place."

The clone shrugged and started packing.

Ever since the Nine-Tails had been extracted, he had felt different.

His own chakra seemed to be… more abundant, for one. Likely because it wasn't used to hold back the Nine-Tails… and hide the seal itself. He couldn't estimate it very precisely, but it felt as if he were working with about double the amount he previously was able to use.

That was without taking in account the chakra the Nine-Tails had left behind.

Naruto could feel the deep well of power within him. He had never tried to use it, knowing what it was exactly, but it was there.

But the changes that he could not get used to were the physical ones.

The seal that Sarutobi had likely put on him years ago had faded.

His face had changed shape, ever so slightly, and so had his eyes. His skin was tanner, too.

His hair was getting lighter by the day, and his eyes were now a strange shade of purple. And there were some marks on his cheeks that looked like… whiskers?

He assumed this had something to with the Nine-Tails, too

Naruto would likely get used to the changes, but it was very disconcerting to look in the mirror and have trouble recognizing your own face.

He never gave his own name anymore.

Sarutobi was a clan that only existed in one village… And he didn't feel as if he belonged there anyway.

And his own first name felt too distinctive.

He would just use random names when needed.

The trek to Haraji was uneventful, as running hidden in the forest was something every Konoha ninja learned early.

Haraji…

Was not what he had expected.

First, it was very crowded. And chaotic. All the time. It was easy to get lost because the streets were so narrow.

There seemed to be some sort of theme to most of these streets, Naruto thought, because he passed around ten very similar shops in a row, one after the other.

It was hot here, very hot.

The town itself felt old, and there was something of older Land of Fire architecture in some buildings. He wasn't sure about the city's — and by extension, the land's — history, but he wouldn't be too surprised to learn settlers had come from down south.

Compared to Konoha, most buildings were pretty low, never exceeding three-four floors.

He asked several people for directions, until he found the Bounty Collection Office.

"So, who's the stiff?" The man in charge asked him.

"..Huh?"

The man sighed. "Is this your first time..? Who's the bounty on?"

"Oh!" He understood, now. "It's an Uzumaki missing-ninja."

They might have been somewhat related, now that he stopped to think about it.

The man's eyberows rose. "Uzumaki, eh? Thought most of them were gone, now."

"They are, yes."

"First name? There's almost no Uzumaki left in the book either, we assumed most were dead."

"Suijin, I think."

The man frowned. "We don't have it."

"..What? Really."

"Nope. Where was he from?"

"Iwa, I guess. That's where his brother was from."

"…There's no Uzumaki from Iwa." The man frowned. Was the kid wasting his time…?

"No Uzumaki Ryūjin either…?" Was there just no bounty on them? That had been most of his plan.

"…" The man hesitated. "There was a man named Ryūjin, but he came from the Dodai clan. He has a bounty on him for killing a few people and defecting, years ago. I remember that one."

"Yes. I think that's the guy. But he called himself Uzumaki."

"He might have had ties with the clan. Definitely looked like one." He paused, a weird expression on his face. "So… Wait. Let me get this right."

"Yes?"

"The stiff you have in this scroll is Dodai Suijin?" He pointed at him, hesitant.

"Yeah. I guess so."

"…"

"What's the deal?"

"He was one of Iwa's sealing experts. I wasn't aware he had left the village either, before today." He checked his book. "But you're right. We have a bounty on this guy. S-rank missing ninja, too. He stole several village secrets when he escaped. I assume he joined his… brother, then. The corpse will go to Iwa, and they'll pay us. We'll give you the money right now, though, of course."

"S-rank?" Naruto wondered.

"…You didn't know?"

"Not at the time, no."

There were some ridiculous things, when it came to the ninja world. But hearing this child had defeated one of Iwa's best almost topped the list.

But a stiff was a stiff.

"Very well. Let me make sure the stiff is who you say he is, and I'll get you the money. The amount is 30 million ryō."

Naruto's eyes widened.

'THIRTY MILLIONS?!'

That was more money than he'd ever seen in his life. This would change everything.

Not trusting his voice, he nodded.

He handed the man the scroll, who unsealed the corpse on the table.

The dead man looked very similar to his brother.

And what a terrible face he had made in his last moments.

Naruto looked away while the man examined the corpse.

"It's still warm." The man said.

"…I sealed the corpse as soon as the guy died." Well, the Fourth had, technically.

The man nodded. He left the guy on the table and went into one of the back-rooms.

He came back with a briefcase, handing him the promised money in cash. Most bounty hunters wanted no money trail leading to them.

Naruto bowed, sealing the case immediately inside the seal he had on his hand.

Bad practice or not, he was not about to walk around with millions in cash.

He left the corpse on the table, and exited the building.

He had a lot to think about.

Despite what the bondsman had said, the corpse wouldn't be sent to Iwa.

He had a call to make, instead.

Somebody had been very interested in a few specific corpses, and had asked to be warned if one of them passed the doors of the office.

He was sure the man in question had asked the same request of most bounty offices in the Elemental Nations.

If somebody had the money, as well as the influence to do this kind of thing, it was that man.

The man in question arrived the next day, his aura as chilling as ever.

He laughed, paid the bondsman the sum he had promised without blinking and left with the corpse sealed in a scroll he had brought for this specific purpose.

He went straight into Haraji's streets. There was someone he had to find.

Naruto was staying in a pretty unremarkable hotel.

Now that his money troubles were seemingly over for… well, the next decade, it seemed, he was wondering where to go.

He could quite literally go anywhere he pleased. For the first time in more than a week, he felt optimistic.

Maybe he could go around the world, learn more about chakra for a few years…

He could become stronger, build a new life somewhere when he was done with that. Then he would have to sneak into Konoha, find the scrolls he had promised his father he would find.

"Yeah. Sounds like a plan." He said, to himself.

It would be his first taste of freedom.

It was exhilarating, just as it was scary.

Now… which country first? Which one was safe, and still at peace…?

Somebody knocked at his door, softly.

He stiffened, looking toward the window. Did he have time to escape?

No, wait, it was not necessarily an enemy. There was no one after him, now.

He relaxed a bit. It was likely the hotel's personnel.

He still sealed everything important within himself. He'd have to find a better solution, as it was considered kinda risky.

He opened the door and froze.

A pale-faced man loomed over him. Naruto couldn't feel his chakra.

This was not a civilian, though, far from it. If he focused, Naruto could feel a bottomless well of energy coiled within the man.

It reminded him of a snake.

The man's golden eyes stared at him, shining with interest.

"Kukukuku. What do we have here…? A little Uzumaki. Or is it Namikaze, perhaps?"

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