C03
After the visit to Konoha, Mitsuki was much more curious about the outside world. And he wants to go out.
"Can I?" Mitsuki approached Orochimaru one day, asking for permission.
"Of course. It's always good to be exploring the outside world." Orochimaru had said with a neutral smile as he stood facing a row of test tubes.
"Have you been practicing?" Orochimaru asked, turning to Mitsuki fully.
"Yes. I got Suigetsu to practice with me." Mitsuki nodded.
"Then you're free to go." Orochimaru gave his permission.
"I'll be back." Mitsuki said before leaving the room.
"Mitsuki? Where are you going?" Log bumped into his younger clone in the corridor.
"Out. I received permission from Orochimaru." Mitsuki smiled and answered.
"By yourself?" Log asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
"Yes." Mitsuki nodded and walked past Log.
The older clone quickly walked to Orochimaru's lab.
"You're allowing Mitsuki to go free outside? It's dangerous." Log questioned calmly, and Orochimaru replied with the same demeanor.
"Of course I wouldn't let him go alone."
………
Mitsuki, clad in a simple blue kimono, walked out of the hideout. For some reason, Yamato did not stop the child.
Venturing outside the hideout was new to the boy. He was as new to the world as much as a newborn baby bird.
Mitsuki walked into the forest, smiling and greeting the birds that he had seen when he came out with Jugo. An adult deer approached him as Mitsuki carassed its magnificent horn. The deer even allowed Mitsuki to climb on and gave him a ride.
The deer trotted around the area, bringing Mitsuki around as the boy witnessed the changing of the landscape. As Mitsuki ventured further and further away, he found his surroundings to be quite familiar. And then he realised, he was in the forest of Konohagakure!
Mitsuki's deer stopped when it heard a few sounds that seemed like deer neighs. Soon, a few adult deers stepped out of the trees and Mitsuki stared back at them.
"Wahhhh! Nii-chan! Nii-chan! Where are you?!" Mitsuki blinked when he heard incoherent wails from afar. He waited for a few moments before a toddler stumbled out of the bushes, looking quite ruffled up.
"Nii-? Who?" The little girl with bright blond hair and sky blue eyes stared back at Mitsuki.
Mitsuki hopped off the deer and walked slowly towards the toddler.
"Why are you crying?" Mitsuki had no idea why the little girl was crying.
"I'm lost. Nii-chan lost me." The little girl answered, sobbing.
"You're lost? You don't know the way back?" Mitsuki tilted his head.
"I don't know. Ewerywhere looks the swame." The toddler jumbled up her words.
"Then-" Mitsuki was interrupted by the rustling of the bushes.
"Ish that Onii-chan?" The little girl wiped away her tears bravely before toddling up to the bush. But Mitsuki sensed something as amiss.
"Wait, no." Mitsuki propelled himself forward like how he always pounced on Suigetsu. Pushing the little girl aside, the hand that was supposed to grab the toddler landed on him instead.
"Tch! You grabbed the wrong one!" Dangled by the neck, Mitsuki was held up by a large hand.
"Dwon't hurt him!" The toddler sobbed helplessly at the side.
"Don't worry, you're the one we're looking for, Uzumaki princess. We'll just-" Before the bandit could finish his sentence, Mitsuki had pulled a kunai from his sleeve, elongated his arm with the Soft Physique Modification jutsu and stabbed the man from the side, releasing his hold on the boy.
"Ow! That hurts! You know ninjutsu?" The bandit gasped upon seeing and feeling his own blood. It was rare for a child of his age to know ninjutsu, and even how to wield a kunai.
Mitsuki leapt back and braced himself with a kunai. In his eyes, it was just another practice session just like with Suigetsu.
"We did not sign up for this! But he's just a child! We don't lose to a random child! He's not even an Academy student!" The bandit's partner screeched indignantly. With that, the bandits charged at Mitsuki. With a little training with Suigetsu and Orochimaru, Mitsuki managed to hold off his own and even scratched one of them on the arm with his kunai. But he was quickly worn off as an in-training ninja. With a couple of hits, Mitsuki was beaten flat on the ground, the bandits towering over him.
"Himawari! Hima! Where are you? Where- Ah! There you are!" Before the bandits could speak, a blond boy of Mitsuki's age walked into the fight.
"Onii-chan! Help! He's going to get beaten!" Himawari wailed, waving her short hands for her brother's attention.
Mitsuki, having beaten to the ground, turned to the owner of the voice. His eyes were blurry but the striking golden hair and blue eyes were hard to miss.
"Ah ha! Another Uzumaki! We striked the jackpot!" The bandits screeched in glee.
"W-What? What's happening?" The blond boy stumbled backwards upon seeing Mitsuki almost getting killed.
"Let's finish him off first." One of the bandits cackled, looking down at Mitsuki.
"Sorry child, you interfered with our plans." The other bandit nodded and raised his kunai.
"NO-" Himawari and the boy screamed, but was cut off with a loud screech from the ground below. There was a loud crack and rumble, like a mini earthquake.
"W-What? Something's coming!" The bandit stumbled at the earthquake.
"SHAAAA!" The ground nearby broke apart as a large brown snake emerged, baring its fangs at the bandits.
"WHAT IS THAT?!" The bandits screamed but was quickly silenced when the snake charged down at them in breakneck speed, chomping their bodies whole.
"It's him..." Mitsuki sat up and looked at the snake. He recognized it as one of Orochimaru's snakes lounging around his parent's room.
When the screams had died down and the snake slithered back to Mitsuki's side, the reptile looked down at the boy calmly.
"A-Ah no-" Before Himawari could snap out of her fear and call out for Mitsuki, the boy had nodded at the snake and in front of Himawari and her brother's eyes, the snake swallowed Mitsuki whole and dove back into the ground.
"O-Onii-chan, d-did he just g-get eaten...?"
………
When Mitsuki woke up again, all he could hear were Karin and Suigetsu arguing.
"Why did Orochimaru-sama let Mitsuki go out alone?! He's only 5!" Karin complained loudly, screaming at an innocent Suigetsu.
"How should I know?! And he's turning 6 by the way. You should ask Log!!" Suigetsu took a step back from the rampaging woman, pointing fingers at Log.
"Log! Explain!" Karin snapped at the older clone.
"Mitsuki was given permission by Orochimaru. Our snakes are also following closely. There won't be any serious problems." Log explained calmly.
"Look at Mitsuki now! He's all hurt!" Karin pointed at Mitsuki without noticing that he was awake.
"It's an experience, Karin. Mitsuki will be fine." Orochimaru stepped into the room as everyone quietened down immediately.
"Orochimaru-sama." Jugo, who was silent at the side, greeted.
"How are you feeling, Mitsuki?" Orochimaru approached the now conscious boy and asked.
"Not bad. A lot better." Mitsuki tried closing his fingers and moving his arms before answering.
"It'll be better faster if you bite my arm." Karin offered her arm and stuck it under Mitsuki's nose. Not knowing what to do, Mitsuki turned to the rest of the adults for help.
"Karin, Mitsuki is fine. You already healed him when he was unconscious." Suigetsu pulled the woman aside as she throwed punches at the poor man.
"Mitsuki, what happened?" Log stepped forward to ask.
"Some bandits wanted to harm a little girl. I fought them, but I lost." Mitsuki recollected, not at all affected by what had happened.
"That was brave of you, Mitsuki, trying to help someone." Log ruffled Mitsuki's hair.
"I fought them like how I did with Suigetsu, are they that much stronger?" Mitsuki tilted his head and asked.
"Hey! Are you underestimating me?! I was going easy on you, you snakelet! I could punch you to Kirigakure if I wanted to-" Suigetsu shot back indignantly until Karin landed a punch on his head, dissipating into water before forming back again.
"Shut up, Suigetsu." Orochimaru warned, glaring at Suigetsu as if daring him to punch Mitsuki to Kiri.
"Mitsuki, where did you go?" Jugo asked, since he was the first one that brought Mitsuki out.
"The deer gave me a ride to the forest of Konoha."
"Konoha?!"