The Akatsuki's Heir

Chapter 13: Move It!

Kakureta Janguru Arc

ACT III: Move It!

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Team Shumokuzame had been travelling for the past two hours in the forest. While searching for the Suna teams, they kept quiet in fear of alerting any danger moving about in their surroundings. The journey was quite dreary, and their ears were met with discomposing tranquillity marred with the cries of birds or the buzzing of bugs.

Naruto wondered where this mission was heading. Zetsu had opened up the walls of the forest and had given him one of his classic creepy smiles. He couldn't pinpoint whether the plant man was trying to reassure him or laugh at his misfortune. With that fleeing thought, he couldn't think about the condition of the Suna Team. If the team had not been instantly killed entering the forest, they would have left tracks.

It would be visible in the mud instead, something or someone had destroyed those tracks. He could remember his mother's story about the place-

"The forest once had an emperor that ruled over everything, flora and fauna alike. One day, he fell ill and passed away." Konan murmured to a ten-year-old Naruto. The boy had put his head on her lap with his cerulean eyes looking up at her, enthralled by the tale.

"He didn't name an heir to the throne, and the forest drowned in chaos. There were many attempts to control the entire population but to no avail. Many put their claim to the throne, but others opposed them and rightfully so, like the beast of the Northern Winds. Others wanted to keep the forest away from evil eyes like the Monkey King."

Hearing those two names, Naruto got up and peered into the book. He tilted his head, looking at these two beings' rough and dark sketches. He rubbed his fingers over them, trying to deduce the two figures. Konan could not help but chuckle as she ran her hand through his head.

The little boy squinted at smaller stick figures on the borders of the fading white page. "W-Who are those, Kaa-chan?" Konan grimaced at his question. She cleared her throat and replied, "W-Well, they are supposed to be humans like us. Just like the others, they wanted the forest to themselves." She took a pause and gazed into her son's eyes, "But, they wanted the others to leave, and these people wanted to take the forest by force with their magic."

Naruto pouted and exclaimed, "That's mean! The emperor wouldn't want that, he wanted them to live together like a happy family!" Konan happily nodded at her little blonde. "What about the magic, Kaa-chan? Was it like one of the jutsus you and Tou-chan use, or maybe like a magical broom or staff?"

"It wasn't magic, Naruto-chan. It was the power of fire that scared the creatures. It erupted in the forest and corrupted everything it touched. " She flipped multiple pages, revealing various caricatures of flames of different colours, some red, some orange, others blue, and at the centre it was pure black. "That's why, after such torture, the forest took matters into its own hands. They say that the people and creatures there were cursed by the forest itself. It slowly blocked all of its exit points, and since that fire, no one has ever left after they entered into it."

Naruto hummed, listening to his mother.

Sokudo stopped his team from venturing forward. He pointed towards the puddles of blood leading into the deeper parts of the forest. Akira grabbed at the remnants of what seemed to be a Suna zeal and handed it to her teacher.

"They got attacked in their first hour or so," murmured Sokudo.

"The blood seems fresh, Sokudo-sensei. They might be out thei--" exclaimed Kirito.

"No. The blood has dried out while the puddles could be contributed to the daily afternoon showers." He looked at the path in front of them. It was marred by spiky and likely poisonous vegetation. If he led his team down this path, it could be fatal. There was also the worry of what carried the Suna teams away. "We should return to our plant friend. We'll have to inform the Kazekage of his child's loss."