Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The Nameless Hero. ❯ Chapter 3: Worn out faces ( Chapter 3 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Grimstrife 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 07.30.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 284 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action | Type: Songfic | Uploaded On: 07.30.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.1K | Visits: 284 | Status: Completed
Chapter 3: Worn out faces
(Authors Notes sorry it's been so long but life h as been busy. I'm a little rusty, so&nbs p;bear with me and I
hope you enjoy . I used to rush for action too muc h. I still plan to have plenty of i t. I had done so
much in my head with the rest of the characters, so I&nb sp;am trying to incorporate more of them ;in my
story. )
Naruto felt the&nbs p;gentle breeze waft over his face carrying&n bsp;the comforting scent of the blossoming sp ring
flowers. Fingertips pressed against his& nbsp;cheeks and he felt a warm smile str etch across his face. He
opened his ;deep blue eyes and found Sakura staring ;back. Her hair for a brief instant flas hed a deep
black and then returned to its cherry blossom pink. He reached h is hand up to touch her as bright < br> golden sunlight engulfed her making it ha rd for him to see her face. The lig ht grew brighter engulfing
even him unti l he found himself amidst a sea of golden light that seemed to swirl violently&n bsp;around him.
"We are one," echoed all around him and suddenly ;he fell. His feet hit a dark stone ;path and he
regained his faculties just in time to avoid the blade that st ruck for his heart. A shadowed figure st ood
before him, blade in hand, glowing&n bsp;eyes with various different colors surrounding the pupil.
"You're dead. I killed you myself," Naruto said in a moment of& nbsp;confusion before the man struck again, < br> his blade sinking deep into Naruto's stom ach. He winced in pain as he fell t o his knees. The man with
drew his& nbsp;blade and held it poised for another&nbs p;strike when a young black haired woman ;appeared in
front of Naruto and caught& nbsp;the blade between her hands.
"Snap out of it Naruto, we still need you&acir c;€¦.I needs you." Naruto could only&n bsp;see a small part of her face
th at wasn't turned away from him and on&nb sp;it was a single tear.
Naruto's eyes&n bsp;flashed open and he found himself still&n bsp;laying in his old apartment. He sat up and
cradled his face in his hand s a lite cold sweat dripping from his&nb sp;face.
"Why?" Naruto thought as he&n bsp;remembered the vivid dream.
"To remind you what you are fighting for Naru," A deep voice echoed in his mind. In an instant Naruto
leapt from his bed and threw the&n bsp;small pot that was next to him again st the wall. As the last of its
shattered pieces hit the floor, Naruto clen ched his fists and coughed up a few ;anger filled words.
"I didn't ask you." His voice pierced the silence that filled the room and he turned to&nb sp;the window
above the bed which was&nb sp;still opened and looked over his old home. The silver light from the moon
bathed the village in its calm peaceful&nbs p;light and, for a moment, he could almo st forget what was
happening here, but&n bsp;only for a moment. He sat on the&nbs p;bed his back to the corner and stared& nbsp;at the
silver streams of light that poured through window.
"If they knew what I knew, would they still fight?"&n bsp;He thought to himself as his eyes&nbs p;grew heavy
again.
"Sakura, don't push& nbsp;yourself!" Two figures stood in middle o f the night covered street. A woman with
slender build and light pink hair fell to her knees clutching her side, bl ood seeping between her
fingers. A man&n bsp;in tight dark clothing and short brown&nb sp;hair reached down and pulled her arm over his
shoulder to brace her and pulled her to her feet.
"You need t o go to the hospital, Sakura. Your repor ts can wait. You're wounded." His height ;caused
Sakura to have to walk on t he front part of her feet, but it s till felt better than supporting her own ;
weight.
"No, Inowa, I have to give my report to the Hokage immediately. Sh e'll be furious if I don't." Sakrua
had a little trouble catching her breath and ;he shoulder length hair kept getting in ;her face.
'It's not as bad as it looks; I'm just in a lot of&n bsp;pain." Inowa looked over Sakura his eyes& nbsp;filled with
concern. After a moment ;he turned his gaze away hiding his eyes from Sakura.
"Can't you see she is just punishing you?" He said quietly in to the gentle night breeze.
The broad brace wooden doors to the Hokage's office opened&nb sp;and Inowa dragged Sakura into the
cen ter of the room. Tsunade scanned over th e pair as Sakura pushed herself free fro m Inowa's
support. She stumbled for a&nb sp;moment as she attempted to step forward.&n bsp;Inowa reached to help her,
but she&n bsp;simply shook her head. Sakura stopped a&n bsp;few feet from Tsunade and attempted to&nb sp;pull herself
straight.
"I have a ;report Lady Tsunade." Tsunade folded her han ds in front of her face and peered at the
young woman in front and the n into the brown eyes of the man be hind her.
"Proceed," was all she said&nb sp;as she waved her hand slightly.
"I&nb sp;encountered three nin from other elemental ;countries with details about our situation. They were
attempting to cross back into& nbsp;their countries with the information. I was able to neutralize two of the
t argets, but the third was intercepted by ;a Root operative.
"I see, so my hu nch was right. It is also interesting to see that our enemies have taken and&nbs p;interested
in keeping this conflict a secret too. Then we agree it would be&nb sp;bad for our enemies to take advantage
of&nbs p;this situation." Tsunade returned her attention& nbsp;to Sakura who was sweating a breathing&n bsp;heavily
under her own weight.
"Very& nbsp;well, report to the Medical unit to ;receive proper care for that wound. I n eed you up and ready
by tomorrow. Y ou are to report to this address. There is some one there who I need you to escort for a
while; you are also to show him the field command and&n bsp;the layout of essential points, but not&n bsp;the
secondary command and shelters. That& nbsp;information he doesn't need. You'll be b riefed on the details of
this individual later this evening. Dismissed." Tsunade brok e her gaze a turned back to the pil es of
papers on her desk she was&nb sp;rifling though. Sakura's body relaxed and with difficulty she turned around
only t o find Inowa already lifting her from th e ground her small figure which seemed t o weight nothing
to him.
"I got&nbs p;ya." Inowa smiled and carried her from ;the room.
Kiba moved silently across th e room his eyes locked on Naruto. He&nbs p;stopped right In front of him, a
grim smile across his face and a mad&nbs p;look in his eyes. His hand slowly reac hed out as he drew one
finger forwa rd and then "flick". Naruto's head slightly moved to the side dodging the a ttempted flick at
his nose and he rolled over.
"What do you wa nt Kiba?" Naruto didn't even bother opening&n bsp;his eyes before asking. Kiba let out ;a
confident chuckle.
"Since when can I sneak up on you? I almos t had you." Kiba smiled and put his hands on&n bsp;his sides.
Naruto rolled over slightly&nb sp;and opened one eye.
"Check your pocke ts." Kiba gave him a confused look and&n bsp;rifled around in various pockets of his&n bsp;vest
and shorts until he felt someth ing foreign in his lower left vest pocke t." He pulled a small star shaped
p iece of folded paper out and unfolded it. His face filled with anger and he crumpled& nbsp;the small sheet.
"Damn you," he sai d as the paper fell to the floor sh owing a small drawing of a smiley face&n bsp;with its
tongue out and the phrase&n bsp;"You still suck," written on it. Naruto&n bsp;sat up as Kiba attempted to recover
from his humiliation.
"So, did you& nbsp;have something to tell me or did yo u just come here to show me how lit tle you have
improved?" Kiba snapped bac k to his old self after a quick "ja ckass" under his breath.
"Yeah I did,&nb sp;I know that I told you in my wri tings that I would be the one to es cort you, but It seems
there was a& nbsp;kink in our plans." Naruto gave him ;a tired look.
"Well, Tsunade has ordere d me to go on a probe mission, so&n bsp;I won't be around for a while.
Unfortunately, that means you'll be getting a different escort." Naruto sighed and turned& nbsp;his gaze to
the window.
"That's&nbs p;gonna make movement a little more difficult . Any idea who?" Kiba had a big goo fy smile on his
face that Naruto kn ew meant no.
"Thanks Kiba, what would&nb sp;I do without you?" Kibas smile vanished&nb sp;and his eyebrow began to twitch.
"I&n bsp;resent the tone in your voice." Naruto&nb sp;ran his hands over his face and turne d back towards Kiba.
"Well, if I'm about to have company, I'd better get re ady." Naruto pulled up his hood caging h is wild
blond hair again and place his mask over his face. Kiba stared at&n bsp;the oni carving that was the mask and smiled.
"I always thought that th ing suited you." Naruto stood and Kiba f ound himself looking up slightly. He
gav e Naruto a quick nod and headed for ;the door. Naruto saw him out and then&n bsp;returned to the room.
He walked over to where the carpet was and rolled ;it up revealing the dark chakra burn on the floor.
He sat in the center&nb sp;of it and began to meditate.
Sakura&n bsp;walked with a newly invigorated step as&n bsp;she moved down the cobblestone road to the old
apartment she knew rather&nbs p;well. She was surprised to feel a tigh tening in her stomach as she
approached& nbsp;the building. There it was in front ;of her. Of all places, why here? She&nb sp;had avoided this
place for 3 years now, ;but she had her orders, so she walked&n bsp;up the stairs. She stopped in front of the
door and felt a twinge in&nb sp;her side. The Medical shinobi had done a good job sealing and cleaning the
wound. Now it was up to the m uscles, which would take some time to he al. She opened the door and
entered ;a hallway with doors on either side of& nbsp;it. She walked until she came to th e one on the paper
Tsunade had give her and knocked lightly.
"The Bl ade Hero?" Sakura thought as she stared&n bsp;at the door knob. Suddenly the door swung open and
she was brought back ;to reality. There stood before her the masked figure she had heard so much
about, and for an ins tance his presences seemed somewhat familiar. ;
"Hello, I am Sakura Haruno. I have ;been assigned to escort you and give yo u an up to date on the
field c ommand." Sakura watched the man for a re sponse and, after what seemed like several minutes,& nbsp;
he nodded.
"After you then." Naruto said motioning with his hand down the&n bsp;hall way. Sakura lead him out to the
street and continued ;toward the field command which had been established not far from the hospital.&n bsp;
"I have read a lot about you." Sakura said attempting ;to break the silence, but Naruto only n odded
and remained silent.
"Why did ;you come to Kanoha? For that matter, ho w did you even know what was going on here?"
Sakura couldn't help but ask&n bsp;the questions that had been bouncing arou nd in her mind since she had
been fully briefed on her a ssignment. Naruto stared off into the horizon for a moment before
answering.
"If you have read so much about me, then you should alread y know the answer. It's what I do. As for
how I knew, you would be&nbs p;surprised to find how many powerful people& nbsp;know what's happening here,
even stuff&n bsp;you don't know. I thought you were m y escort and not my interrogator." Sakura's&n bsp;eyes
grew wide and she felt the ;urge to ask him to explain, but decided to hold her tongue.
"How did you&n bsp;get wounded?" Naruto suddenly asked breaking&n bsp;the silence once again.
"Huh? How did you know?" Sakura&n bsp;was surprised. It didn't hurt to walk&nbs p;anymore and she herself had
almost for gotten about it.
"It's the way you're&nb sp;holding yourself. You are guarding you side rather closely. I can excuse the smell
of blood due to battle bu t the two together often mean a fresh&nb sp;wound." Sakura blushed slightly feeling
em barrassed by her short comings.
" I ;received the wound during my counter espiona ge mission. I was attack by a root operative
attempting to stop me from rep orting his activities. Let's just say I got careless." She looked at her
feet&nb sp;not wanting him to see her shame.
"And the Root nin?" Naruto asked.
"He' s dead." Sakura felt a little confidence serge back. Naruto shrugged.
"You're alive,&n bsp;he's dead. That's what counts. If you're& nbsp;gonna be escorting me then you are going to
have to be prepared for th e worst. So keep your head upâ€&br vbar;or someone is going to take it off, and
loosen up or the first place&n bsp;they are going to attack is your side. Sakura nod ded feeling a little better
about this&n bsp;stranger.
"I want to believe he i s here to help."
The rest of th e walk remained silent until finally they&nbs p;approached the field command. Numerous tents&nbs p;
and tables sat in various positions in a field that was wedged between a wall and the hospital. Several
men and&n bsp;women wandered about the camp and several people lay in stretchers with various w ounds.
In front of the camp along t he road stood six bedraggled nin being scolded by&nbs p;a large, heavily
armored young man in& nbsp;a long red coat with wild brown hai r that hit him mid back.
"That's fi eld commander Choji Akichimi. He's a nice guy, but he has become a bit abrasive,"& nbsp;Sakura
said as they approached ear shot of the conflict.
"You are a lousy bunch of no good piss ants! ;You walk right into an ambush, and then walk right into
enemy territory in ;attempt to escape! Does that sound like ;an effective strategy!" Choji was almost
barking at the nin.
"No sir!" They&nbs p;responded in unison.
"Root's nin are more skilled on average than Kanoha's, althou gh it pains me to say. So what is&n bsp;our
best weapon!" Choji's brown eyes ;were filled with anger.
"Strategy!" they&nbs p;all responded in unison again. At that ;point Choji noticed the approaching pair. "You're dismissed, but don't think I'm don e with you! Lucky bastards." Choji turned&nbs p;away from the nin
and walked straight& nbsp;up to Naruto, stopping only a few i nches from him. His large belly nearly t ouched
Naruto's and he looked right into the eyes of his mask.
"Choji sir!" Sakura exclaimed due to the aggressive& nbsp;nature of his advance. After a moment&nb sp;of silence
and staring, Choji took a& nbsp;step back and let out a short grunt .
"Only a coward hides behind a mas k." Naruto stood quietly while Sakura began&n bsp;to sweat.
"Choji, he's come to help& nbsp;us, you shouldn't talk to him that way." Choji turned to Sakura, a different&nbs p;
look of anger filling his face.
" You have lost any right to tell me what I should and shouldn't do. I though t we had already
established that, and its SIR to you." Sakura's eyes hit the ground and& nbsp;she nodded.
"Yes, sir." Naruto lifted&nb sp;his hand and Choji's eyes drifted back&nbs p;to Naruto his bulbous and rosy cheek < br> flexing slight.
"No need to attack m y escort. Haven't you ever heard the say ing, "don't kill the messenger?" As for
my mask….I wear this because I no longer live the life my old fa ce belonged to. That is my reason. So,&n bsp;
since that time, this has been my face." Choji scanned over the mask, looking over eve ry exquisite
detail.
"Fine, I don't ;care what you wanna wear. I just wanna& nbsp;state now, I don't want you here. T his is a
Kanoha matter, not the bus iness of some upstart who wants glory. G OT THAT? As for your escort, our
pr oblems are older than this." Naruto folded his arms ;and nodded.
"Understood. Then I will do my best to avoid you, unless matters&nb sp;dictate otherwise." Choji grunted.
"I gues s that will have to do given that L ady Tsunade herself has agreed to let yo u help." He turned
his head to spit.
"Ah, I see you are enjoying the well mannered company of our&nbs p;good field commander." A young voice
c ame from behind. Choji his eyes widened and he stiffened up. From behind him cam e a man who had
to be in his&n bsp;mid to late teens. He stood a good&n bsp;foot shorter the choji and was much thinner. He had a
red and brown jump suit on with&n bsp;a long white robe over it. His hair& nbsp;was a light brown and was kept in&n bsp;
a tight pony tail that stood up ;on the top back part of his head. His brown eyes scanned over Naruto
and&n bsp;a large smile filled his face.
"My&n bsp;name is Konahamaru Sarutobi, anbu captain.&nbs p;You must be the one I have heard so much about."
(Authors Notes sorry it's been so long but life h as been busy. I'm a little rusty, so&nbs p;bear with me and I
hope you enjoy . I used to rush for action too muc h. I still plan to have plenty of i t. I had done so
much in my head with the rest of the characters, so I&nb sp;am trying to incorporate more of them ;in my
story. )
Naruto felt the&nbs p;gentle breeze waft over his face carrying&n bsp;the comforting scent of the blossoming sp ring
flowers. Fingertips pressed against his& nbsp;cheeks and he felt a warm smile str etch across his face. He
opened his ;deep blue eyes and found Sakura staring ;back. Her hair for a brief instant flas hed a deep
black and then returned to its cherry blossom pink. He reached h is hand up to touch her as bright < br> golden sunlight engulfed her making it ha rd for him to see her face. The lig ht grew brighter engulfing
even him unti l he found himself amidst a sea of golden light that seemed to swirl violently&n bsp;around him.
"We are one," echoed all around him and suddenly ;he fell. His feet hit a dark stone ;path and he
regained his faculties just in time to avoid the blade that st ruck for his heart. A shadowed figure st ood
before him, blade in hand, glowing&n bsp;eyes with various different colors surrounding the pupil.
"You're dead. I killed you myself," Naruto said in a moment of& nbsp;confusion before the man struck again, < br> his blade sinking deep into Naruto's stom ach. He winced in pain as he fell t o his knees. The man with
drew his& nbsp;blade and held it poised for another&nbs p;strike when a young black haired woman ;appeared in
front of Naruto and caught& nbsp;the blade between her hands.
"Snap out of it Naruto, we still need you&acir c;€¦.I needs you." Naruto could only&n bsp;see a small part of her face
th at wasn't turned away from him and on&nb sp;it was a single tear.
Naruto's eyes&n bsp;flashed open and he found himself still&n bsp;laying in his old apartment. He sat up and
cradled his face in his hand s a lite cold sweat dripping from his&nb sp;face.
"Why?" Naruto thought as he&n bsp;remembered the vivid dream.
"To remind you what you are fighting for Naru," A deep voice echoed in his mind. In an instant Naruto
leapt from his bed and threw the&n bsp;small pot that was next to him again st the wall. As the last of its
shattered pieces hit the floor, Naruto clen ched his fists and coughed up a few ;anger filled words.
"I didn't ask you." His voice pierced the silence that filled the room and he turned to&nb sp;the window
above the bed which was&nb sp;still opened and looked over his old home. The silver light from the moon
bathed the village in its calm peaceful&nbs p;light and, for a moment, he could almo st forget what was
happening here, but&n bsp;only for a moment. He sat on the&nbs p;bed his back to the corner and stared& nbsp;at the
silver streams of light that poured through window.
"If they knew what I knew, would they still fight?"&n bsp;He thought to himself as his eyes&nbs p;grew heavy
again.
"Sakura, don't push& nbsp;yourself!" Two figures stood in middle o f the night covered street. A woman with
slender build and light pink hair fell to her knees clutching her side, bl ood seeping between her
fingers. A man&n bsp;in tight dark clothing and short brown&nb sp;hair reached down and pulled her arm over his
shoulder to brace her and pulled her to her feet.
"You need t o go to the hospital, Sakura. Your repor ts can wait. You're wounded." His height ;caused
Sakura to have to walk on t he front part of her feet, but it s till felt better than supporting her own ;
weight.
"No, Inowa, I have to give my report to the Hokage immediately. Sh e'll be furious if I don't." Sakrua
had a little trouble catching her breath and ;he shoulder length hair kept getting in ;her face.
'It's not as bad as it looks; I'm just in a lot of&n bsp;pain." Inowa looked over Sakura his eyes& nbsp;filled with
concern. After a moment ;he turned his gaze away hiding his eyes from Sakura.
"Can't you see she is just punishing you?" He said quietly in to the gentle night breeze.
The broad brace wooden doors to the Hokage's office opened&nb sp;and Inowa dragged Sakura into the
cen ter of the room. Tsunade scanned over th e pair as Sakura pushed herself free fro m Inowa's
support. She stumbled for a&nb sp;moment as she attempted to step forward.&n bsp;Inowa reached to help her,
but she&n bsp;simply shook her head. Sakura stopped a&n bsp;few feet from Tsunade and attempted to&nb sp;pull herself
straight.
"I have a ;report Lady Tsunade." Tsunade folded her han ds in front of her face and peered at the
young woman in front and the n into the brown eyes of the man be hind her.
"Proceed," was all she said&nb sp;as she waved her hand slightly.
"I&nb sp;encountered three nin from other elemental ;countries with details about our situation. They were
attempting to cross back into& nbsp;their countries with the information. I was able to neutralize two of the
t argets, but the third was intercepted by ;a Root operative.
"I see, so my hu nch was right. It is also interesting to see that our enemies have taken and&nbs p;interested
in keeping this conflict a secret too. Then we agree it would be&nb sp;bad for our enemies to take advantage
of&nbs p;this situation." Tsunade returned her attention& nbsp;to Sakura who was sweating a breathing&n bsp;heavily
under her own weight.
"Very& nbsp;well, report to the Medical unit to ;receive proper care for that wound. I n eed you up and ready
by tomorrow. Y ou are to report to this address. There is some one there who I need you to escort for a
while; you are also to show him the field command and&n bsp;the layout of essential points, but not&n bsp;the
secondary command and shelters. That& nbsp;information he doesn't need. You'll be b riefed on the details of
this individual later this evening. Dismissed." Tsunade brok e her gaze a turned back to the pil es of
papers on her desk she was&nb sp;rifling though. Sakura's body relaxed and with difficulty she turned around
only t o find Inowa already lifting her from th e ground her small figure which seemed t o weight nothing
to him.
"I got&nbs p;ya." Inowa smiled and carried her from ;the room.
Kiba moved silently across th e room his eyes locked on Naruto. He&nbs p;stopped right In front of him, a
grim smile across his face and a mad&nbs p;look in his eyes. His hand slowly reac hed out as he drew one
finger forwa rd and then "flick". Naruto's head slightly moved to the side dodging the a ttempted flick at
his nose and he rolled over.
"What do you wa nt Kiba?" Naruto didn't even bother opening&n bsp;his eyes before asking. Kiba let out ;a
confident chuckle.
"Since when can I sneak up on you? I almos t had you." Kiba smiled and put his hands on&n bsp;his sides.
Naruto rolled over slightly&nb sp;and opened one eye.
"Check your pocke ts." Kiba gave him a confused look and&n bsp;rifled around in various pockets of his&n bsp;vest
and shorts until he felt someth ing foreign in his lower left vest pocke t." He pulled a small star shaped
p iece of folded paper out and unfolded it. His face filled with anger and he crumpled& nbsp;the small sheet.
"Damn you," he sai d as the paper fell to the floor sh owing a small drawing of a smiley face&n bsp;with its
tongue out and the phrase&n bsp;"You still suck," written on it. Naruto&n bsp;sat up as Kiba attempted to recover
from his humiliation.
"So, did you& nbsp;have something to tell me or did yo u just come here to show me how lit tle you have
improved?" Kiba snapped bac k to his old self after a quick "ja ckass" under his breath.
"Yeah I did,&nb sp;I know that I told you in my wri tings that I would be the one to es cort you, but It seems
there was a& nbsp;kink in our plans." Naruto gave him ;a tired look.
"Well, Tsunade has ordere d me to go on a probe mission, so&n bsp;I won't be around for a while.
Unfortunately, that means you'll be getting a different escort." Naruto sighed and turned& nbsp;his gaze to
the window.
"That's&nbs p;gonna make movement a little more difficult . Any idea who?" Kiba had a big goo fy smile on his
face that Naruto kn ew meant no.
"Thanks Kiba, what would&nb sp;I do without you?" Kibas smile vanished&nb sp;and his eyebrow began to twitch.
"I&n bsp;resent the tone in your voice." Naruto&nb sp;ran his hands over his face and turne d back towards Kiba.
"Well, if I'm about to have company, I'd better get re ady." Naruto pulled up his hood caging h is wild
blond hair again and place his mask over his face. Kiba stared at&n bsp;the oni carving that was the mask and smiled.
"I always thought that th ing suited you." Naruto stood and Kiba f ound himself looking up slightly. He
gav e Naruto a quick nod and headed for ;the door. Naruto saw him out and then&n bsp;returned to the room.
He walked over to where the carpet was and rolled ;it up revealing the dark chakra burn on the floor.
He sat in the center&nb sp;of it and began to meditate.
Sakura&n bsp;walked with a newly invigorated step as&n bsp;she moved down the cobblestone road to the old
apartment she knew rather&nbs p;well. She was surprised to feel a tigh tening in her stomach as she
approached& nbsp;the building. There it was in front ;of her. Of all places, why here? She&nb sp;had avoided this
place for 3 years now, ;but she had her orders, so she walked&n bsp;up the stairs. She stopped in front of the
door and felt a twinge in&nb sp;her side. The Medical shinobi had done a good job sealing and cleaning the
wound. Now it was up to the m uscles, which would take some time to he al. She opened the door and
entered ;a hallway with doors on either side of& nbsp;it. She walked until she came to th e one on the paper
Tsunade had give her and knocked lightly.
"The Bl ade Hero?" Sakura thought as she stared&n bsp;at the door knob. Suddenly the door swung open and
she was brought back ;to reality. There stood before her the masked figure she had heard so much
about, and for an ins tance his presences seemed somewhat familiar. ;
"Hello, I am Sakura Haruno. I have ;been assigned to escort you and give yo u an up to date on the
field c ommand." Sakura watched the man for a re sponse and, after what seemed like several minutes,& nbsp;
he nodded.
"After you then." Naruto said motioning with his hand down the&n bsp;hall way. Sakura lead him out to the
street and continued ;toward the field command which had been established not far from the hospital.&n bsp;
"I have read a lot about you." Sakura said attempting ;to break the silence, but Naruto only n odded
and remained silent.
"Why did ;you come to Kanoha? For that matter, ho w did you even know what was going on here?"
Sakura couldn't help but ask&n bsp;the questions that had been bouncing arou nd in her mind since she had
been fully briefed on her a ssignment. Naruto stared off into the horizon for a moment before
answering.
"If you have read so much about me, then you should alread y know the answer. It's what I do. As for
how I knew, you would be&nbs p;surprised to find how many powerful people& nbsp;know what's happening here,
even stuff&n bsp;you don't know. I thought you were m y escort and not my interrogator." Sakura's&n bsp;eyes
grew wide and she felt the ;urge to ask him to explain, but decided to hold her tongue.
"How did you&n bsp;get wounded?" Naruto suddenly asked breaking&n bsp;the silence once again.
"Huh? How did you know?" Sakura&n bsp;was surprised. It didn't hurt to walk&nbs p;anymore and she herself had
almost for gotten about it.
"It's the way you're&nb sp;holding yourself. You are guarding you side rather closely. I can excuse the smell
of blood due to battle bu t the two together often mean a fresh&nb sp;wound." Sakura blushed slightly feeling
em barrassed by her short comings.
" I ;received the wound during my counter espiona ge mission. I was attack by a root operative
attempting to stop me from rep orting his activities. Let's just say I got careless." She looked at her
feet&nb sp;not wanting him to see her shame.
"And the Root nin?" Naruto asked.
"He' s dead." Sakura felt a little confidence serge back. Naruto shrugged.
"You're alive,&n bsp;he's dead. That's what counts. If you're& nbsp;gonna be escorting me then you are going to
have to be prepared for th e worst. So keep your head upâ€&br vbar;or someone is going to take it off, and
loosen up or the first place&n bsp;they are going to attack is your side. Sakura nod ded feeling a little better
about this&n bsp;stranger.
"I want to believe he i s here to help."
The rest of th e walk remained silent until finally they&nbs p;approached the field command. Numerous tents&nbs p;
and tables sat in various positions in a field that was wedged between a wall and the hospital. Several
men and&n bsp;women wandered about the camp and several people lay in stretchers with various w ounds.
In front of the camp along t he road stood six bedraggled nin being scolded by&nbs p;a large, heavily
armored young man in& nbsp;a long red coat with wild brown hai r that hit him mid back.
"That's fi eld commander Choji Akichimi. He's a nice guy, but he has become a bit abrasive,"& nbsp;Sakura
said as they approached ear shot of the conflict.
"You are a lousy bunch of no good piss ants! ;You walk right into an ambush, and then walk right into
enemy territory in ;attempt to escape! Does that sound like ;an effective strategy!" Choji was almost
barking at the nin.
"No sir!" They&nbs p;responded in unison.
"Root's nin are more skilled on average than Kanoha's, althou gh it pains me to say. So what is&n bsp;our
best weapon!" Choji's brown eyes ;were filled with anger.
"Strategy!" they&nbs p;all responded in unison again. At that ;point Choji noticed the approaching pair. "You're dismissed, but don't think I'm don e with you! Lucky bastards." Choji turned&nbs p;away from the nin
and walked straight& nbsp;up to Naruto, stopping only a few i nches from him. His large belly nearly t ouched
Naruto's and he looked right into the eyes of his mask.
"Choji sir!" Sakura exclaimed due to the aggressive& nbsp;nature of his advance. After a moment&nb sp;of silence
and staring, Choji took a& nbsp;step back and let out a short grunt .
"Only a coward hides behind a mas k." Naruto stood quietly while Sakura began&n bsp;to sweat.
"Choji, he's come to help& nbsp;us, you shouldn't talk to him that way." Choji turned to Sakura, a different&nbs p;
look of anger filling his face.
" You have lost any right to tell me what I should and shouldn't do. I though t we had already
established that, and its SIR to you." Sakura's eyes hit the ground and& nbsp;she nodded.
"Yes, sir." Naruto lifted&nb sp;his hand and Choji's eyes drifted back&nbs p;to Naruto his bulbous and rosy cheek < br> flexing slight.
"No need to attack m y escort. Haven't you ever heard the say ing, "don't kill the messenger?" As for
my mask….I wear this because I no longer live the life my old fa ce belonged to. That is my reason. So,&n bsp;
since that time, this has been my face." Choji scanned over the mask, looking over eve ry exquisite
detail.
"Fine, I don't ;care what you wanna wear. I just wanna& nbsp;state now, I don't want you here. T his is a
Kanoha matter, not the bus iness of some upstart who wants glory. G OT THAT? As for your escort, our
pr oblems are older than this." Naruto folded his arms ;and nodded.
"Understood. Then I will do my best to avoid you, unless matters&nb sp;dictate otherwise." Choji grunted.
"I gues s that will have to do given that L ady Tsunade herself has agreed to let yo u help." He turned
his head to spit.
"Ah, I see you are enjoying the well mannered company of our&nbs p;good field commander." A young voice
c ame from behind. Choji his eyes widened and he stiffened up. From behind him cam e a man who had
to be in his&n bsp;mid to late teens. He stood a good&n bsp;foot shorter the choji and was much thinner. He had a
red and brown jump suit on with&n bsp;a long white robe over it. His hair& nbsp;was a light brown and was kept in&n bsp;
a tight pony tail that stood up ;on the top back part of his head. His brown eyes scanned over Naruto
and&n bsp;a large smile filled his face.
"My&n bsp;name is Konahamaru Sarutobi, anbu captain.&nbs p;You must be the one I have heard so much about."