The shadows

ch 29

Nauto was headed to the orphanage. After finishing the sealing class, answering many questions, and then spending a little extra time with rookie 9 when they noticed they were all friends with Naruto, it was finally time to say goodbye.

Most of their parents were waiting for them, so they made Naruto promise to visit them more often. Now it was time for Naruto to do his routine visit to the orphanage. He needed to deliver a few things and spend time with the children.

As soon as he got to the orphanage, kids rushed to him, pulling him into a group hug. It was so comforting to know he was making an impact on their lives. He quickly made a few clones to help around and went to the matron.

The matron gave him the usual updates and thanked him for the items he had brought. A little project Naruto was doing was making a safe playground for the kids. So far, he had a clear area with a sandbox, a few swings and slides, and a seesaw. He was planning on building a miniature obstacle course.

He finished the design a few weeks ago. His clones were unsealing the materials, and some older kids were gathered to help. Naruto used a Tasuki to tie his kimono sleeves up and got to work.

It was just after noon, and the sun was high in the sky. The kids were inside having lunch, but Naruto decided to stay out and work. He was sawing the woods for the next part of the obstacle. Even with the help of his clones and children, he was still building the skeleton.

He wouldn't finish the skeleton today, but he wanted to ensure it was stable enough not to fall on children until his next visit. He was deep in thought and almost got a jump scare when someone said his name.

"Naruto! You are supposed to be resting, not working yourself to the ground under the sun." Shisui yelled at him.

Naruto turned towards him with a guilty look on his face. Near the entrance of the playground were Shisui, Raido, and Genma. They looked as if they just came back from a mission. Naruto took a look at them. Since they were all in their jonin outfits, it couldn't be an ANBU mission.

They weren't visibly injured as well, so it was probably a B-rank mission. Sometimes the Hokage would give ANBU some easy B ranks as jonins as downtime for them. It helped with regaining strength and their mental state quite well.

Constantly being on A or S ranks back to back often took a toll on the ANBU. In those missions, they always had to be alert and in life-or-death situations. It would leave them paranoid and jumpy. So a mandatory downtime where they could only take C or B ranks with other jonin or chunin could help them relax.

Naruto put the saw down and walked towards them. "Good afternoon, Genma-san, Raido-san, Shisui-nii. Are you coming back from a mission?" Naruto asked with a polite bow.

Genma opened his mouth to answer, but Shisui beat him to it. He shunshined behind Naruto and grabbed him in a headlock, giving him a noogie. "Don't try to get away from the subject, brat. The doctors said you should rest, so what are you doing here?" Shisui said.

"I'm sorry, Shisui-nii, I promised to visit the orphanage, and I can't leave the project now. The skeleton is unstable. It might fall down and hurt someone." Naruto said, trying to get away half-heartedly.

"Fine, you sneaky brat. But you aren't lifting a finger. I will help you make it." Shisui said, finally letting go of Naruto.

Naruto was trying to fix his hair when he heard the other two jonins chuckle. "You guys are just so funny. I didn't even know this place had a playground. Do you two want some extra help? We got some time." Genma offered.

"Yeah, now that you mention it, I don't remember a playground either," Raido said.

"Well, there was no playground until a while ago. I made it when I first started visiting the orphanage. The place was so miserable. The building was falling apart, and everything was a mess. It took me a long time, but I used my shadow clones to help me get this place in shape." Naruto said with pride.