Naruto and the rest took the unconscious group to the outskirts of town where no one else would approach before settling them down.
"How long will they be unconscious for?" Neji asked
"The time can vary, it can be now, or hours from now" Naruto replied
"Why does it vary so much?" Neji asked
"Because if I want them to wake up now, they will, if not, they will keep sleeping" Naruto replied
'Sleep with their eyes opened? Creepy' Tenten still couldn't get used to how they all still have their eyes open despite being unconscious.
It was unsettling to look at.
"Then wake them up now" Tenten said
"Kay" Naruto walked up, and...
*Pa*
Delivered a vicious slap across the face of one of the men, causing blood to splatter out, as well as a tooth.
"Ah!" The man's eyes widened from the pain as he gasped
'That's how you wake them!?' They were stunned, they thought that Naruto would use some sort of medicine to wake them up since he seems to dabble in this often, yet all he did was slap him very hard!
"Th-That's it? That's all it takes to wake them up?" Tenten asked
"Huh? What else? If I slapped you when you're asleep, wouldn't you wake up as well?" Naruto rolled his eyes as if he was stating the obvious before doing the same with the rest of them.
"Where are we!"
"Release us!"
The men all shouted, but what followed was another round of slaps that knocked out another tooth from each of them...
"...."
"Still going to shout?" Naruto wore an evil smile as he looked around
"Let us go or-"
*Pa*
*Pa*
The one who spoke got slapped twice this time, and each slap knocked out another tooth. Blood splattered everywhere, but that only got the others even more riled up.
"Dammit, if you don't le-"
*Pa*
*Pa*
*Pa*
This time, he delivered three slaps, causing blood to splash onto the ground, painting it red.
"You-"
*Pa*
This time, Naruto didn't stop slapping, he wore the same evil smile as he enjoyed the resounding sound that echoed in everyone's ears.
"What a crisp sound" Naruto laughed
Now, no one spoke, as they watched Naruto slap that man until all his teeth were knocked out, and his blood flowed out of his mouth like a river.
"Eh? No more shouting? Come on, I am very welcoming" Naruto smiled
"...."
'That demon!' The rest all gulped, becoming silent as sweat rolled down their face.
Seeing that he was young, they weren't expecting such cruelty from him.
"Is no one going to say anything?"
They all shook their heads
"Hah? So you won't speak? Then why did I capture you for? If you have no information, I may as well kill you all then" Naruto's smile dropped as he spoke with a cold tone
*Pa*
He struck each of them across the cheek, knocking out yet another tooth.
"Ah! I'll speak, I'll speak"
"No, I'll talk, what do you want to know!"
"Me, I'll talk!" After Naruto spoke, they all felt genuine fear that he was going to beat them again, so they didn't dare to hesitate.
Naruto's eyes curved into a crescent shape, he licked his lips as a cruel smile rose on his face.
"Did you...just speak without my permission?" He asked
*Shudder*
It was now that they realised, Naruto is simply looking for excuses to beat them up....
"Uh...shouldn't we stop him?" Tenten asked
"Do you dare to stop him?" Neji replied
"....L-Lee, will you stop him? He's also slapping granny Sansho's grandson quite hard" Tenten asked Lee.
"I would love to, but....for some reason, my body says I should not" Lee replied
"..."
So even Lee is feeling hesitant!? This is a first!
"Alright, so I ask, and you speak, got it?" Naruto sat down and smiled gently
The group nodded
"Is your boss Raiga?"
"Yes" They replied
"Where is he right now" Naruto asked
"He is at the burial sight"
"Lastly, tell me everything you know about his abilities or skills" Naruto leaned on one hand as he asked with a smile.
"This...I only know that he is very skilled in lightning release" One of them said as they scratched the side of his cheeks.
"Same"
"I also only know that much"
They all had no clue about Raiga's abilities aside from the fact that he has lightning release, though Naruto's expression didn't change much.
"Seems like I have no more uses for you all then" He took out a kunai and revealed a sinister smile
"Y-You said you'd spare us if we spoke"
Naruto crackled
"When did I ever say that?"
"Ah! Save us!"
"Hahahaha! Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will save you"
"..."
Tenten, Neji and Lee watched in stupor, who's the villains again? Thankfully, Naruto was only scaring them, and didn't kill them outright....yet.
"I've gotten what I want, Lee, you got anything you want to add?" After getting bored with messing with them, Naruto glanced at Lee and asked.
When he was brought up, Lee took a step forward with a frown on his face.
"Karashi....did you know that granny Sansho is worried about you because you disappeared" He approached Karashi, who was bruised on both cheeks from Naruto's slaps.
Karashi stared at Lee, and his expression softened a little
"I do..." He replied
"Lee....pl-please let me go, I-I promise I'll leave this gang, and-and-"
"Stop" Naruto crouched down and interjected
Lee turned to Naruto in confusion
"Is something wrong?" He asked
Naruto stared at Karashi in the eyes
"Answer me, is this a promise, or is it just empty words?" He asked
"I-I promise! I will go back to grandma and live honestly" He said desperately
His pupils trembled, and there was a trace of hesitation in his voice that was caught by Naruto. It was too obvious to him.
"Last chance" Naruto said coldly
"Naruto, he already promised" Lee cut in and said
Naruto sighed
"Lee, he will betray your trust, will you still let him go? His promises are just empty words at the moment, just so he can hold onto this pitiful 'power' that he has over the towns folks, even abandoning his grandmother" Naruto said coldly
"That's not it!" Karashi suddenly shouted
Naruto lifted a brow
"Oh? What's not it? Betraying our trust, oppressing the people, or abandoning your grandmother?" Naruto asked
Karashi clenched his fists
"You have it all, so why are you interfering with my life, stopping me from crawling out of the hell of being weak!" He screamed at Naruto
"You have power, so you can do whatever you want, but me, I will just return to being bullied, cause worries for grandma, and live a worthless life! Do you know how it feels to lose your parents because you were powerless!" Tears rolled down his face as he yelled, his breathing became uneven.
The other three behind Naruto were about to say something, but Naruto stopped them
"Go on, what other complaints do you have?" He asked
"And you act as if none of this is your problem!" Karashi yelled
"Yeah, it's not, what of it" Naruto rolled his eyes and said
"....h-huh"
"So, any more complaints? If not, I'm going to bury the others and drag you back to your grandma" Naruto stretched his arms and said
"...."
Naruto smiled as he reached out his hand and grabbed Karashi's collar
"No more complaints? Good" Naruto picked him up and threw him to Lee
"As for the rest of you....it's a good day to die, no? I heard your group does funeral service, let me return the favour" Naruto's eyes curved into a crescent shape
"N-No-"
"Help!"
"AHHHH!"
Their screams were cut short as a kunai slashed, splattering blood onto the ground once more. This time, silence filled the air. Karashi's pupils shrunk when he watched Naruto kill those people, realising now that he too, would have been killed if not for his grandmother...
"I changed my mind, burying them will take too much time....humans are biodegradable, I'm sure it's fine to leave their corpses here, right?" Naruto looked back and asked
"...."
"Anyway, I'm starving, let's go get ourselves a ice serving of curry when we get back" Naruto laughed as he tucked the kunai away
!!!!!!!
"H-How about we stop by town to get some food instead?" Neji suggested
"I agree" Tenten nodded
"Eh? But I want to eat granny Sansho's curry again" Lee tucked his lips and said
"Right, and granny Sansho must miss her grandson a lot~" Naruto grinned
"Naruto, I swear, I will some day tear your face apart" Tenten muttered
"What? How can you say this to me? I'm just thinking of the wellbeing of granny Sansho, why are you so aggressive?" Naruto spoke with an aggrieved look, which only served to anger Tenten even more.
Lee flipped Karashi over his shoulders to carry
"How about I bring him back myself, you three go get food elsewhere?" Lee asked
"Great idea!" Tenten immediately said excitedly
"Fine, but keep a close eye on him, we'll meet you in the shop soon" Naruto said
"Alright, see you then" Lee said as he left in the direction of granny Sansho's shop.
After he left, Naruto stretched
"Man, I'm famished, haven't eaten anything since this morning" He said
"What about the curry?" Neji asked
"Oh, I didn't eat it" Naruto replied
".....NARUTO I WILL TEAR YOU APART!!!!!!!!!!!"
Tenten's scream echoed in the distance, and even Lee, who was already quite far turned around.
"Huh? Did I just hear Tenten?" He muttered
He then shook his head
"How can that be, we're so far away already" He laughed
During the travel, Karashi was silent, just staring bitterly down at the ground that shifted rapidly. To him, Lee has always been a sort of idol, powerful, brave, and never backing down, all these traits that he felt he could never have.
"Karashi-san" Lee spoke
"Mn?"
"You....shouldn't say things carelessly, earlier, Naruto....he may not seemed like he minded, but I think he was quite shaken by your words" Lee said
"Hah? That blonde kid? He's got it all, what did I say to shake him up?" Karashi felt it was insulting for Lee to say that, since he felt Naruto, like Lee, had everything he didn't have.
Lee sighed
"Naruto never even seen his parents, they died when he was born" He said
"....th-that, he's still born in a better environment than me, I get bullied everyday because of my weakness, with how strong he is, he is probably worshipped" He snapped
"Naruto isn't worshipped, he grew up as an outcast, I heard from my sensei that Naruto lived alone and the village is filled with people who hate him for some reason" Lee responded calmly
"...." Karashi fell silent again
"Naruto strives harder than anyone else, which is how he got to where he is today, he never backed down despite all this, so perhaps, you can do the same" Lee said with a smile
"I-I-..."
Karashi's hands trembled
"I...was told that as long as I joined the gang, grandma won't be harmed" He said slowly
"Karashi..." Lee's eyes widened, as he saw hope in Karashi's character
He smiled
"We will make sure no one can harm granny Sansho, don't underestimate us, we will defeat Raiga!" Lee clenched his fist and raised it up high
Karashi's eyes moistened
"Please....do" He muttered
Meanwhile, Naruto, Tenten and Neji had arrived at the town, ready to buy some food before meeting up with Lee.
"How much for the fruits" Naruto asked
"Fr-Free!" The vendor shook
"Huh?"
"Take them, just spare my life!" The man cried
"...."
Naruto looked behind him, towards Tenten and Neji
"Uh, did I do something to them?" He asked cluelessly
"....let's talk about the massive explosion that happened in the distance" Tenten's lips twitched as she replied
"Oh~, right, but I'm a nice guy, I won't take it for free" Naruto smiled
After paying in full, Naruto walked off with a smile on his face
"See how kind I am, I'm paying in full when he offered the fruit for free" He grinned at Tenten, who rolled her eyes in disbelief, just how shameless can a person be???
"Urgh, I'm off to find other things to buy, Neji, make sure he doesn't go around threatening the people" Tenten said
"Oi oi oi, don't make it sound as if I'll definitely threaten them"
"You already did" She replied before leaving
"Well, she's not wrong"
He then nudged Neji
"So, how's the progress between you two? You two seem rather close" He winked
"Shut up" Neji responded coldly
"Wow, cold~" Naruto sighed
-Konoha-
In the hospital, Haku, having recovered quite a bit, can now walk properly, though he still feels a bit weak and requires more time resting. He sat up, and looked out the window with a rather empty look on his face.
*Shree*
The door to his ward opened up
"Hey da-uh...h-hi" He initially thought it was Zabuza, but when he turned to look, he was surprised to see Hinata standing there, with a basket in hand.
"Hi" Hinata smiled faintly as she closed the door behind her and placed the basket on the desk, by his bed.
Inside, Haku saw many of his favourite snacks and sweets, which lifted his spirit. But he was a bit confused as to why Hinata was here.
"I heard from Naruto that you were injured quite badly so I came to check, I'm glad to see that you're recovering now" Hinata said
"Yeah....I didn't expect to run into such a strong opponent" Haku looked down and sighed, the feeling of helplessness was slowly craling back to him.
He thought he had become stronger, but standing before Raiga at that time, he was mercilessly slapped by reality.
"What really happened that day?" Hinata asked
Haku leaned back on the wall
"What happened....I was helpless the entire fight, unable to even injure that man" Haku muttered
But then he smiled
"On the plus side, when he was about to cut my head off, I was able to redirect the strike so it only slashed my torso" Haku said as he slid his finger across where he was cut.
Hinata's pupils shrunk, she didn't think it was this bad, for it to actually be such a life threatening situation.
"Thanks for visiting" Haku smiled calmly at her
"It's not a big deal" Hinata replied
"To me, it is...I don't have many friends, you're one of the only ones I have, so having you visit me makes me very happy" Haku said
For a moment, Hinata couldn't help but see herself in Haku.
"Also, thanks for always dropping by for training" He added
Hinata smiled at him
"I'm thankful for the training as well"
The two conversed, enjoying one another's company.
"Haku...do you ever feel helpless when you compare yourself to the others?" Hinata asked, and her gaze dimmed a bit when she asked, as she felt that she was just projecting her own insecurities at the moment.
"Of course" Haku replied
"Hm?"
"Especially Naruto, who seems to grow stronger every time I meet him, it's frustrating to see the gap widen, but at the same time, isn't a goal meant to be chased? It may be a goal that I'll never reach, but it means I always have my sights on something as I move forward" Haku said with a calming smile.
Seeing Haku's smile, Hinata's mind flashed to a scene of a boy smiling at her, declaring his desire to improve. For a split second, Haku's calm smile overlapped with the young Naruto's bright grin.
'Just like back then, he-...'
She shook her head
'What am I thinking'
Haku noticed that Hinata was acting a bit weird, so he decided to change the topic
"How's your jutsu going?" He asked
"Huh? Oh, right, your advice really helped, now, I can do this" Hinata said as she held her palm in front, before the power of rotation spun around it once more.
But unlike before, faint crackling sounds could be heard from the rotation force around her palm. As the force became sharper, the crackling sounds became more obvious, and Haku saw lightning spark from it.
Unlike before where the force is like a drill that is at the tip of her finger, it is now a fine needle that lays facing up from her palm.
"Before, you told me that by condensing a drill like force across my entire palm isn't suitable for the eight trigrams, which I agreed with as it is fundementally a palm technique, so now it is a sharp needle that will pierce the body when I strike with a palm strike" She said before dispersing it.
"But the concentration required to condense the needle during battle is too high, I don't know when I'll be able to properly use it in battle" Hinata sighed
"It's already very impressive, and I noticed that you implemented lightning chakra into it as well" Haku said
"Mn, I did try, but as you say, it was just faint sparks, any more and it becomes unstable" Hinata smiled wryly.
"It's already very impressive considering how much you have changed it" Haku responded
*Grrr*
"Ah, I guess you haven't eaten yet, here, I brought plenty" Hinata said as she took some food form the basket.
Haku's eyes lit up when he received the fruit tart.
"These are my favourites, how nice" He smiled brightly
Hinata watched Haku eat elegantly, his facial features would leave even some girls ashamed, and she sometimes wondered if Haku really was a boy.
"How'd you know what to buy? These are all to my liking" Haku asked
"I....asked someone" Hinata replied, Naruto warned her to not say he got her the basket, so she went along with it.
"Probably Naruto then, wonder how he's doing" Haku chuckled
"I'm sure he's fine"
-At this moment, far from the village-
"No no, how can I take it for free, I will pay in full" Naruto said to the shop keeper as he bought a few onigiris.
"What a detestable person" Tenten whispered to Neji, who nodded
"You know I can hear you, right?" Naruto's lips twitched as he walked over with the food
Tenten crossed her arms
"You scared these poor towns folks silly, now they think you're trying to rob them when they see you at a shop" She replied
"Hey now, I said it before, I'm already being very nice for paying in full when they clearly, very willingly, want to give me their stuff for free" Naruto responded
"Shameless" Tenten huffed
Naruto rolled his eyes
"And said shameless person is holding all the food, your choice, onigiri or curry?" Naruto replied as he started to munch on the onigiri in his hand.
"Wait wait wait, let's talk it out" At the mention of the curry, Tenten hurriedly said
"So, what was it about me being shameless again?" Naruto asked
"Hahaha, what shameless, you're an upright person" Tenten laughed awkwardly, her smile looked rather forced and her lips twitched.
"Hm, that's a lie, I'm clearly very shameless" Naruto shrugged
'What do you want me to say then!?' Tenten thought, but didn't say, as she felt Naruto would say something stupid again.
Naruto truly left Tenten frustrated, and seeing her loser her mind over this, Naruto let out a faint laughter. He threw the bag over to her, and smiled.
"Sorry, I guess I had too much on my mind, and I needed a way to vent" He said with a slightly apologetic look on his face.
Tenten received the bag with glee, but after hearing what Naruto said, stared at him, as if things were slowly being pieced together.
"Naruto....do you perhaps know Raiga?" She asked
"Huh? Where'd this come from?" Naruto asked curiously
"It's just, when you heard Raiga was the target, you acted strangely, and when his henchmen showed up, you seemed to carry quite a bit of resentment towards them, not even hiding your desire to kill them after you got the information out of them" She furrowed her brows and said
Naruto let out a deep sigh
"People don't like girls who are too smart" He said
"Huh? That-"
"But I think that's bullsh*t, thanks for noticing" Naruto smiled
He rubbed the back fo his neck
"Yeah, I know that guy, barely....I only know his name and his appearance, I don't even know what he does usually" He replied
Neji saw a flame in Naruto's eyes, and it reminded him of himself
"Is it revenge you seek?" Neji asked
Naruto smiled coldly
"Oh, most definitely, he put nii-san in the hospital, so I am prepared to put him six feet under" He said with a twisted laughter
Tenten and Neji gulped
"No wonder you seemed so eager to join" She muttered
"Well, what can I say, I'm a petty son of a b*tch"
He turned around
"Now let's go, Lee is still waiting for us" He grinned
"Yeah....Naruto, if you ever need someone to talk to, we are always free to listen, bottling things up won't help" Tenten added
Naruto seemed to be in thought when she said that, and soon nodded
"Yeah...I'll try" He replied and ran towards the curry shop
Tenten and Neji followed closely behind, feeling that they have gotten closer with Naruto as friends. He may joke around with them, but he has never opened up to them this way before, so to them, it was a big step-up.
"Tenten, Neji..." Naruto said when they got close
"Yeah?"
"Sorry for lying about the curry's taste...."
"That....yeah, I'm not forgiving you for that" Tenten's expressioned darkened as she spoke, remembering the disaster of a curry that burned her tongue.
Naruto looked back, but he had a playful grin on his face
"Yeah, I don't mind, cause it was hilarious to me" He replied, soon laughing as he ran even faster
"Th-That prick!" Tenten's mouth was agape from shock when she heard what Naruto said, he had zero reflection on that matter!
Naruto crackled as he ran back to the shop, whilst being chased by the furious Tenten who was tempted to throw weapons at him.
Neji just followed along, smiling as he watched the bonds of this group grow stronger.
"You're here" Lee saw thre three enter, and revealed a big smile
"How's the kid?" Naruto asked
"Karashi is repenting" Lee replied as he pointed over to Karashi, who was hunched over by the table, eating.
'Repenting?'
The three walked closer, and the moment they walked up, their eyes began to burn as if they had been hit by pepper powder! RIght before that sensation hit, they saw a bright red curry in front of Karashi, that was emitting a strong heat, causing the air around it to fluctuate.
Neji's byakugan activated instinctively, and the pure white colour began showing signs of turning red....
'J-Just how spicy is that thing!?'
Karashi's entire face was red, and his lips were swollen completely, but he didn't stop eating as tears ran down his face.
They couldn't tell if it was tears of bitterness and regret, or it was from the pain inflicted from the curry...
Granny Sansho walked up
"Would you three like some?" She asked
"I'm good" Tenten waved her hands and said
Neji shook his head frantically, while Naruto gave her a polite smile as he spoke
"I don't eat much, the curry from noon was more than enough for me" He said
'Bullsh*t' Tenten and Neji thought
"Hohoho, alright then" She smiled
Lee patted his arm
"Since we're all full, let's head out for Raiga" He said
"Mn, we'll head to the burial sight, and I want you three to hold onto this" Naruto passed each of them a cigarette, as well as sunglasses.
"This is?"
"Antidotes, I will be using poison against him"
"What about the sunglasses? Will you be using some sort of bright light?" Tenten asked
"Nah, that's just to look cool while we attack him" Naruto replied
"....I'll stick with no glasses, thanks" Tenten's lips twitched as she passed it back
"I like it" Lee grinned as he wore it
"...." Neji stared at it, and after some thought, he also put it on
'Now we just look like bandits with the cigarettes....' Tenten thought
"Take care" Granny Sansho said
Karashi also turned around, and raised a fist towards Lee
"Wreck his sh*t" He said
Lee returned with a grin
"Of course!"