Finding My Ninja Way: A Naruto Fanfic

Chaptet 11. Dogbreath

Shino made it known that just because we chose to move on didn't necessarily mean to continue our mission without informing Lady Tsunade. We set up camp near a woodland area that was pretty scarce heading towards Amegakure. While Kiba and I waited for him to fill out the temporary report, I couldn't help but recreate fond memories inside my head of my parents. It was a little habit I had when it came to passing times- reminiscing back when they were alive.

"Oi, Fang. You should really keep your appetite up," Kiba muttered as he tossed me a small cloth-made bag from his vest. "Teriyaki meat bites. Got them before we left Konoha."

I sent him an open-mouthed smile, and opened the bag, the sweet smell of teriyaki hugging my nose. This had been the longest I went without a bowl of the flavored ramen. Just knowing that alone made me all the more eager to scarf down the snack-sized meal.

"Do you think we're actually going to find this guy?" He asked me afterwards. "I mean, of course, Sasuke was the only Uchiha like we said before but, are we missing the bigger picture here? Even if Takihiro isn't a legitimate Uchiha, what about Keiko?"

I shrugged. "I know I was the only one to meet her out of the three of us, so being forced to take my word for it that I trusted hers of being in Sasuke's bloodline isn't exactly the easiest choice to go by. But for some reason, I just felt like she was telling the truth, and if that's the case, Takihiro has two parties tracking him now. We have even more of a chance to catch him."

Kiba laid down on his back along the dirt-covered ground and let out a yawn. "You know what's got me thinking? If Lady Tsunade let us question Sasuke, maybe he'd be able to tell us the truth of what's going on. Get this- if he doesn't even remember Takihiro or has no recollection of leaving the village with him, we can suspect Takihiro used some kind of occular jutsu the second they separated. I mean then we have to worry not just who he is, but why he's doing what he's doing. Don't you think that can play a huge factor in how we profile the guy?"

"As much of a logical idea as that is, there's a reason Lord Fifth doesn't want that to happen. Did you forget the main reason we're tracking this man? It's so that way there's no chance in it linking back to Naruto. Honestly, Kiba-"

"He does make a good point though," I added quietly. "If they could find a way to poke at his memory without tripping up the reason why, it could be beneficial towards us. The only problem would be Sasuke himself catching on to us."

Shino turned his head to me slowly. "It's an unnecessary risk no matter how you look at it. Right now, we're in a set position to take care of this matter quickly and easily. There shouldn't he any discussion of a possibility in jeopardizing that."

Kiba frowned. "Based on what? A feeling?"

"Isn't that what we're going off of in the first place pertaining to this Keiko Uchiha? A feeling? Why should this be any different?"

I rolled my eyes and let out a frustrated breath of air. "Believe me, this is just as confusing for me as it is for you two. Every time I think about it, the thought of actually knowing I've seen her before is haunting my mind right now. It's something I can't just set aside. Now that I've got a memory brewing at the forefront of my mind, I'm sure it has to be something critically important to what we're doing here."

Shino scoffed. "That's not possible. You've never been on any missions outside the village gates until now, and there's no way we wouldn't know of another Uchiha walking the paths of Konoha." He placed his hand to his head. "Uchiha, Uchiha, Uchiha. My mind can't keep up. It's like every corner we turn, we turn into a bit of déjà vu. Worst case scenario, this Takihiro guy actually is reverse summoning the Uchiha Massacre. Although, I find that seemingly impossible for him to replicate."