Accidentally Uchiha || stuck in Naruto

chapter 20 || The Boy in the Mask

Chapter 20 || The Boy in the Mask

The boat ride towards Tazuna's village was quiet for the most part, after an outburst from their favourite blond nearly blew their cover, the shoreline came up quickly, the sound of water lapping at the dirt filling the air, a small and serene sound.

The wooden oar steering the boat broke the surface with reserved splashes, the bubble of the wood moving through the water kept as quiet as possible.

Tazuna had gone into more detail during their ride, explaining all of the information that Ace had already known to the rest of the team. Filling in the missing pieces and giving a big guilt trip of a performance on the state of things.

The situation was tough, a town of people in need of help and supplies, and the overlord choking all of the supply points for his own gain. A tale as old as time.

As the team stepped onto the sodden dirt, Ace stumbled a step, her ankle rolling in the slip of the mud. Her hand shot out and gripped the first thing she could get her hands on, stabilising herself as best as she can.

"Woah, are you alright?" Naruto asked, grabbing her shoulder in return to the grip she had on his.

"Yeah I'm all good, it's just slippery." She responded, lying through her teeth.

About half way through their boat ride, Ace had started to feel off. She was warm, much warmer than she should be in the cool misty air. Her skin sensitive to every little gust of wind, as if she had come down with a cold in the hour it had taken to get to the shore.

She took her time to steady herself, using Naruto's shoulder as a support while she flicked the mud off of her shoe.

Kakashi stood quietly on the bank with Sasuke, the first two to disembark who now stood by, watching everyone else struggle, enjoying their little patch of solid ground.

The leader of their troupe observed his student quietly from the bank, the pale tone of her face ringing alarm bells to his highly experienced brain. Had she also been scraped by the poisoned weapons of the rogue nin they fought?

"You've got to get better balance dork." Sasuke spoke up, offering a hand out to Ace from the dryer grass.

"Yeah yeah" Ace rolled her eyes in return, taking his hand easily, trusting him to pull her up to safety.

"Where's my help? I'm not a ninja like yous" Tazuna grumbled to himself, clumsily staggering off the boat himself, his feet planting solid into the mud, his weight causing him to sink in. "Still haven't told me where my sake went." He continued under his breath as he wrenched himself free.

"You probably left it back in Konoha!" Naruto points accusatorily at the man, fed up with his attitude.

The group was off to a rocky start as they returned to their journey. Naruto was antsy, his head on a swivel trying his best to detect any sign of an enemy. All his senses on high alert as the rest of the group simply watched.

Sakura cringed in second hand embarrassment, slowing her pace to align with Ace, who had lagged a little behind, keeping up the rear of the group silently. The pink haired girl couldn't bear just how energetic and all over the place Naruto was.

The knucklehead was making a fool of himself at the front of the group. "Seriously what's gotten into him" she elbows Ace lightly, pointing at the boy, who was darting back and forth like a chicken who'd lost its eggs.

"The inner machinations of his mind are an enigma," Ace quoted, amusing only herself, knowing nobody else here could possibly get the joke. Her head was pounding and she wished for nothing more than a couple Panadol to quell the ache.