Sage

Ch.14

"Okay so what first? Food or supplies?" Naruto got his answer in the form of Shizuku's stomach rumbling rather loudly, even making a few people passing by turn their heads, much to the girl's embarrassment. Naruto just grinned as his eyes began searching for the nearest café or restaurant they could get something cheap; they really needed to get some more money soon. "Okay food it is." Shizuku just put her head down in even more embarrassment as her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red.

The two were standing in a busy street in Taki, civilians and Shinobi alike wandering around for either leisure or business. They just had to sit through a rather arduous and boring talk with a village representative to make sure they had no ulterior motives for being in the village. After about three hours of moving between various departments in the village leader's tower they were finally released into the village itself. Naruto quickly rummaged around in his pouches until he produced a small handful of ryo, almost all the money they had left.

"You go grab us something to eat, we'll meet back in the square in a few minutes. I'll go see about getting some Chakra paper and maybe some odd jobs for money." Shizuku seemed nervous about splitting up while Naruto just gave her a calming smile as he patted her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we're perfectly safe here, just try not to annoy anyone, okay?" Before Shizuku could round on him in irritation for the comment he ran off laughing, waving his hand in a somewhat placating manner. Shizuku just sighed as she also began to look around the street for some food; her eye naturally drifted to a nearby dango stand as a healthy gleam appeared in her eye.

Back with Naruto he was currently moving through a rather thick crowd which was surprising considering it was still fairly early in the morning. The sun was nowhere near its zenith in the sky and the various shadows were long and stretched. Luckily with the jingle of his shakujou most people respectfully moved out of the way for him; he sighed with a smile, just another benefit of being a monk.

He had to admit the village was rather beautiful with the enormous tree standing sentinel at the centre. A small river wound its way through the middle of the village, skirting around the tree before falling from an enormous cliff as possibly the largest waterfall Naruto had ever seen. Strangely he couldn't quite discern where exactly they were in the country despite the fact the location should have been fairly obvious. He shrugged it off as some kind of village defence, although it definitely intrigued him as it couldn't be a Genjutsu.

He ducked into a side alley, deciding he wasn't going to be able to find anything in such a crowded street, opting instead for the quieter, less populated areas. Of course, not being a native to the village, he quickly became lost with only the ever-present tree as a reference point. Sighing in mild frustration he just decided to ask the next person he saw for direction; unfortunately the street he was in seemed to be rather close to the edge of the village and was completely empty. Luckily as he turned a corner he nearly walked right into a large man with a muscled physique and shaved head.

"Hello, do you mind point me in the direction in which I could purchase some supplies? I was hoping to get some Chakra paper for my companion." The man looked down at him, craning his neck due to the considerable size difference as he cocked an eyebrow. People usually weren't on these streets during this time of the day so he was slightly surprised at the monk's presence. Gruffly he pointed in the general direction of the tree, somewhere around it's base.

"All Shinobi-related supplies are sold in the main trading area on the west side of the tree's base." Naruto inclined his head politely in thanks as the large man turned to go. As the blonde monk made to leave he noticed the young girl trailing after him, obviously not his child as the two shared no physical resemblance. She was around his age with a shock of mint green hair falling limply about her face, in rather stark contract to her caramel skin and pure white clothing. Just as they passed one another the girl raised her head slightly from where it was submissively bowed and Naruto was able to catch a glimpse of her startling orange eyes.