Chapter 2
Chapter 2: Bonds You Made
Naruto walked ahead alongside Kisame, who was humming a song. She had washed off her black hair dye, and now her red hair was back. She wore a large straw hat (Kisame gave it to her, or she would get a sunburn again). It would take a while until they reached the border of the Wind Country, which was hot and desert-like, before heading to Amegakure. Naruto rubbed the sweat off her forehead; her Yin Seal had grown larger over the years she had been hiding with Konan, Kisame, and Hidan. Four years into their split, they had been sent to the Wind Country while the others were sent to the Water Country. Only Pein-sama, Zetsu, and Karin had stayed at the base.
Occasionally, Naruto’s group went to Otogakure, where her village had been growing slowly in strength and power. It was fascinating how her curse seal project had evolved into something useful over the past four years.
Her Bingo Book entry had changed a bit over the years. She was now somewhere in the top 500 and getting closer to her allies in the Akatsuki. She wondered if she would be feared like Sasori, Deidara, or Kakuzu one day.
She glanced slightly at Kisame, who gave her a wide, shark-like smile. It was oddly warming. Behind her, she heard Konan scolding Hidan for drinking too much—just a typical group. The four years with them had brought them closer together, and although there had been kinks to work out, they managed to get along well. Her hand reached for the hair tie Konan had made for her before she looked ahead at the road. Her grey ninja sandals hit the sandy path, which became greener with each step as they neared the border.
She couldn’t wait to be home. The rich petrichor smell of Amegakure’s rain was nostalgic for her. Naruto’s blue eyes glanced at Hidan’s animated body movements as he enthusiastically explained the greatness of “Jashin-sama” to a slightly amused Konan. Her mind wandered to a training session with Hidan during their time in hiding. A soft, rare smile crept onto her face—a rare sight that made Kisame chuckle beside her.
Flashback: One Year Into Hiding
Inside one of the Akatsuki’s many hidden bases in the Land of Wind, Naruto stood over Hidan, who was cursing.
“Bitch-sensei, WTF! Can you finally teach me something flashy? Something cool like your clones.”
She punched him—not hard, but enough to make him stagger—before speaking up:
“I can’t. Shadow clones are a Hiden, aka forbidden ninjutsu. If I teach you that right now with the reserves you have, you’ll die!”
“I’m immortal!” he exclaimed. “FUCKING IMMORTAL! I AM FINE! TEACH ME ALREADY, bitch-sensei!”
She rubbed her hair, not in frustration but rather in thought about how she could put this into his numb skull.
“I’m aware you’re trying to get stronger, Hidan, but first, what constitutes a forbidden technique?”
The white-haired man tilted his head back.
“Huh? WTF, bitch-sensei, are we doing trivia now?”
“Simple:
- Jutsus that violate the laws of nature.
- Jutsus causing so much collateral damage that self-preservation and common sense force the village to ban them.
It’s not that I don’t want to teach you. These techniques come with drawbacks. I can use them because I’m a Uzumaki by blood and also a Jinchūriki. I’d rather focus on improving your skills and arsenal with something practical and useful for the organization.”
Hidan flopped onto the ground with his chakra weight.-s
“Fine, but it better be cool or epic, bitch-sensei.”
“Hm... kinda,” Naruto said, smiling at the endearing nickname. She shifted her focus to Konan and Kisame sparring across the room.
“What do you see?”
“Hm... Kisame and Konan fighting like bitches in a bar!” Hidan smirked.
“Not quite. Look—Kisame uses Samehada bluntly, and Konan uses only the soft parts of her paper. They’re not fighting; they’re sparring. Like a conversation.”
Naruto corrected him as Kisame conjured weak water jutsu, and Konan absorbed the attack with her paper.
“WTF does throwing hands have to do with conversation?” Hidan asked as he watched.
“Everything. Taijutsu, or hand-to-hand combat, in the shinobi world, is always about the conversation. Look—” Naruto turned to face him, made a heel turn, and performed an air punch. The second motion was akin to a palm push.
“What do these movements imply?”
“Hm... the first one looks like you wanted to obliterate a fucker, and the second... hm, how do I put it? You were holding back?”
“Hand-to-hand combat can tell you a lot about someone’s upbringing, where they’re from, and what skills they have. For example, ninjas from the Leaf use heavier assault techniques, while Kiri ninjas use swords. But if you pit a Genin of any village against a civilian, the civilian would lose. Why?”
She turned to him as he sprawled on the ground.
“I dunno... because they’re fucking ninjas, bitch-sensei?”
“Close. It’s because they train daily. Now get up. Time to train.”
One Year and One Month Into Hiding
Konan and Naruto had sneaked into Sunagakure in disguise for a nice thermal bath. With a sigh and a towel, the two girls entered the water. It was a “girls’ night out” Konan had suggested as team bonding. Both kunoichis had just finished deciphering a hard Fūinjutsu book and felt that going out was necessary. Their hidden base was buried deep within the sandy dunes of the Land of Wind. It was hot and dry there, with only basic living accommodations and training rooms.
Kisame and Hidan were a handful, although Kisame was less problematic than Hidan. Konan reached over and tugged a dyed-black strand of Naruto’s hair behind her ear.
“Maybe we should get you a hairpin.”
Naruto snickered.
“Kukuku, sure, Konan-Onee-chan. Maybe I’ll make you a hairpin too.”
Konan raised an eyebrow, her amber eyes betraying a hint of emotion as she chuckled.
“Mm, now I’m your big sister? Are you teasing me, little sister?” she said, gently splashing water at Naruto’s face.
They giggled, leaning back to enjoy the hot water, ignoring the other bathhouse guests. Kunochis don´t have much leisure time as others after all.
Flashback: Two Years Into Hiding
"Can you actually breathe underwater with your gills?" Naruto asked, focused on a science project with books sprawled around her supplies. She didn’t look up but could feel Kisame’s chakra before he even opened the door.
The fishman laughed when he registered the question.
“Oy, Naru-hime, that’s basically what they do. It’s my clan’s bloodline limit, of sorts.”
“Aha...” she muttered, jotting notes. “Very useful. Can you swim?”
“The best, if I dare say so!” Kisame smirked.
“Teach Hidan some swimming exercises for muscle building,” she suggested, pointing at a knocked-out Hidan.
Hidan stirred awake and groaned, “WTF?!?! We just trained!”
Kisame whistled happily as he grabbed Hidan and dragged him off to the hidden base’s swimming pool.
Konan, who was folding origami beside Naruto, giggled at the sight.
“You’re a thorough, tough teacher.”
“I have to be. Pein-sama asked me to turn Hidan into a decent ninja. I’ll be damned if I fail a mission. Ku ku.” Naruto glanced at the dozens of paper cranes Konan had folded.
“That’s a lot of paper cranes today,” she observed.
Konan folded another crane before responding. “They say when you fold a hundred, your wish gets fulfilled. What’s your wish, Naruto?”
Naruto closed her eyes, memories of Orochimaru’s lifeless body, her weak eight-year-old self crying, and the glares of the villagers in Konoha flashing through her mind. She smiled bitterly.
“I want peace. Eternal peace.”
Konan’s amber eyes softened as she caught a glimpse of Naruto’s pain.
“Then I’ll do my best, as your big sister, to help fulfill it. Are you sure? You and Kurama could die during the extraction... you can run now, and I’ll never tell the others.”
Naruto shook her head as she and Kurama declared in unison within her mind: “We’re dead set on it!”
Two Years and Three Months Into Hiding
“How did you become a missing-nin, Kisame?” Naruto asked.
They sat in the sandy dunes under the night sky, the stars glimmering softly above. There was no wind, nor was there a sandstorm. Kisame’s blue complexion blended with the shadows of the dunes, despite the yellow sand around them.
“I was betrayed by a friend and branded a traitor. You? How did you defect?”
“I ran during the Chūnin Exams. To prove my loyalty to you guys, I had to kill ten Konoha ninjas. Not that I mind I was a social pariah back in Konoha and the rest. Ku Ku Ku. The rest is history.”, her head tilted her red hair floated in the windy region. Dust beneath the swooshed.
Kisame looked at her, slightly amazed but also proud.
“How bad was your life in Konoha?”
“If it wasn’t for Kurama and my father, Orochimaru, I’d be dead by now...” she admitted somberly.
“I’m glad Orochimaru took you in before he was killed. You’re amazing, pup. Most Genin I saw during my Jōnin days in Kiri wouldn’t have survived this. Good job pulling through.” He patted her back, and she hissed slightly before smiling.
“Thanks, Kisa-nii!”
He laughed heartily.
End of Flashback
Naruto wondered how the others had fared as they finally reached the border, sneaking past the guards and heading toward Ame.
She missed Sasori’s cooking.