Naruto:Blast to the Past

Chapter 14: Persona Part I

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
"Hmm...."- Bijuu
"Hmm...."- Flashback

AN: For reasons that will be explained throughout the course of this chapter, said chapter is composed of fifty percent of flashbacks or something like that. Also, each flashback is in order in which they happened. At any rate, enjoy!

Chapter 14:
Persona Part I

A hooded figure walked calmly with the crowd composed mostly of merchants as they made their way to Kumo. Said hooded figure was the only one wearing a cloak, which made him stand out from the rest of the group that he was with. He was also the shortest one there. Most of the other merchants had not bothered to ask the person who he exactly was or why he was trying to hide his face from them. In turn, the person didn't interact with them. What the other merchants would be more surprised to learn of was the fact that the cloaked person was even more nervous to approach them than they were of doing the same to him. And the reason for this was simple: the cloaked person was none other than Naruto who was trying to remind himself of what his plan was.

On hindsight, however, the blond did realize that his furry partner had warned him of this. Mainly about rushing out of Uzu without much thought. But in his defense, getting the Hiraishin from his father had made him too excited. There was just no way he would be able to contain that excitement, not that he saw any reason to do so in the first place. His first task had been to master it of course. But then he realized another issue: he only had that one kunai. If he was going to use it in combat any time soon, after he mastered it of course, then he would have to have many more of them. In order to accomplish that, Naruto had done something that he had never done before: he researched. As a side note, books DID have a lot of useful information in them. At any rate, the blond had soon found out that the only possible location that his father could have made his Hiraishin kunais from was none other than Kumo. Only that village possessed the mines with the metal required. Naruto had wondered how his father had been able to acquire the metal given the fact that Konoha and Kumo didn't have the best of relationships during this era.

"How the hell would I know such a thing?" Kurama had said after Naruto had gone to the fox for some answers. "I was never sealed inside the Yondaime. And before you ask what I already know you're going to, even after I was sealed in your mother, I didn't know of anything of the real world. I only caught glimpses of it during your mother's stressful moments. And even then, it was barely. That damnable Mito wasn't an expert of fuinjutsu for nothing."

So with Kurama out of the question, Naruto had instead decided to deduce it on his own. And his theory was that more than likely his father had been able to purchase the metal during the period of time where Konoha and Kumo weren't at war between the Second and the Third one. Of course, since he still couldn't remember when the Second Shinobi War ended, he just couldn't wait around. He needed the technique in his arsenal. And that was why Naruto was glad that shadow clones were there to help him. It really was the best true technique that he could have learned first. With the clones, he had taken to doing all the research that he needed for his little operation. It was also through the clones that Naruto had been practicing with the Hiraishin for the past three days. It was a slow process of course since there was only one kunai. But the blond wasn't deterred in the least.

"Just don't over do it," Kurama had recommend after he had seen what his host was doing. "The overloads of information could cause you to pass out afterwards from all the stress placed on your brain. Undo the clones after you know you're at a safe place."

And Naruto had taken the advice gratefully. After all, he really couldn't afford any screw ups. It was do or die on this one. Everyone else was the enemy, and he was alone. Okay, so scratch that. He wasn't alone. He still had Kurama, and it went without saying that the furball was indispensable. The fox was really helpful with all the advice he had to give and all the knowledge he contained. Not only that, but Naruto found the bijuu's presence relaxing. So far, the fox had been the one true friend that Naruto had been able to turn to. After all, no one else knew of who he really was nor of what he had been through so far.