The shadows

ch52

They were close. They were following a trail Naruto's spies found. Kakuzu came into Tea Country a few days ago. He contacted the bounty hunter's office regarding one of the bodies, and then he only mumbled something about having another bounty in this country to claim.

They were going to intercept him, hopefully after his bounty hunt. He would be more tired and an easier target. But so far, they were only searching for him. They had no information about who he was looking for.

All they could was search the villages mindlessly while Naruto tried to search for him with his sage powers. Most chunin rank and above ninjas were able to control their chakra enough to hide from most sensors.

Naruto's sage power was different. While to an average person, a person holding in their chakra would not be much different from others, with sage mode, he could feel the difference. He could sense it since it was as if the person was holding something in.

Trying to hold a dam. And not having the natural chakra flow others had. So while they were moving around, he was constantly drawing in small amounts of nature energy to boost his sensory abilities. He couldn't hold the sage mode for very long, and while this state limited his range, it was still effective.

He had a nasty headache from the constant chakra used to enhance his senses, so they decided to stay in an inn and rest for the night. They ordered some food and tea to be brought to their room. Naruto didn't feel like he could keep his food down. The headache made him dizzy.

So he nursed his cup of tea taking small sips. Mikoto was worried about him. "Naruto-kun. Let's get you to bed. I have some rubbing oils for headaches. I can massage your head for you." She said as she started putting the dishes in a tray to be picked up later.

Naruto didn't have the energy to argue. He tried getting up, but his legs gave away before he could fully get up. Thankfully Kakashi was quick to catch him before he could fall. "Thanks." Naruto managed to mumble.

Kakashi just nodded and picked him up, taking him to his room. Naruto was sharing a room with Mikoto, while Kakashi and Tenzo shared the other room. Kakashi carefully put him in bed, pulling the covers on top of him.

A few seconds later, Mikoto was there. "You gave us a scare Naruto-kun. We didn't know how bad your headache is." Mikoto said as she took a bottle of oil from her pack and came to Naruto's bedside.

"It's ok Mikoto-oba-san. I will be ok by the morning. I just need to rest a bit." Naruto said, and it was the truth. His body was still going through some changes from his seal getting messed up. For now, his senses were sharpened beyond what he was used to, and the overload of sensory information caused him headaches.

He also had a weird craving for meat. But Kurama predicted that all changes would stop soon. He wasn't distraught. "Still. We will stay in the morning a bit later. A full night of rest will do you some good. We can't fight him if we are all not in our top shape." Mikoto said, and Naruto wisely decided not to comment. She started pouring a small amount of oil into her palm and rubbing her hands to warm it up before massaging Naruto's head.

"You know, you remind me of her a lot. Not just in your looks. I think that's mostly from your father; you got the coloring from her, though. It's mostly in the way you act. I see her in your smile and facial expressions. How passionate you are about your friends and close people."

"You act calm and collected most of the time, like your father. But I think it's mostly from your upbringing. Itachi and Shisui talk about you all the time. Just like Kushina, you have the power to help people around you in this magical way."

"You make them believe in themselves and push themselves beyond their limits. You help them be who they want to be and shape their own path in life. It breaks my heart to know she had never got the chance to meet the person you became, but I know she would have been so proud."