Dangerous Bond

Part 16

A tall dark haired male stepped out into the light. Naruto glanced at his teammates in confusion. Both shook their heads, indicating they did not know the man before them.

The blonde furrowed his brow. He couldn't sense anything wrong with the person. His chakra was normal, if not lower than their own. So why did he feel uncertain about him?

The male had bright lime colored eyes and a short pointy nose, his brows thin and matching his raven hair. He must've been as tall as Kakashi, maybe a little shorter. His clothes were rather dull, dark colors with light grey. He wasn't dressed in shinobi clothing but neither in civilian, it was more personal flavor.

The man smirked, showing his perfectly white teeth, though a little on the sharp side.

Taking on a relaxed stance with calmness etched on his face, Naruto was anything but that. He's learned the best way to analyze an enemy was to calmly look at the situation before making a rash decision which could easily lead to death.

A ninja must see underneath the underneath after all.

The unknown crossed his arms and leaned against a sturdy old tree.

Sasuke was becoming impatient with the silence and subtly moved closer. Sakura watched with hawk eyes, wanting to join Sasuke in the approach and was about to when Naruto signaled her to stay put. For some unknown reason, she listened. The blonde was never thought of as a leading type but when it came down to it such as now, he seemed to radiate his calm and collected leadership. He held himself straight and strong, Sakura had to admit Naruto suited the role.

After confirming Sakura wouldn't move from her position, he signaled Sasuke. The Uchiha glared at Naruto, feeling threatened to be ordered around as if he were lower than the blonde.

Naruto saw the defiance in his eyes and rolled his own in return, signaling that he had it under control.

Sasuke, although reluctantly, backed off.

"Your silence is making my teammates impatient, please state who you are or we will be forced to detain and take you to the Hokage" Naruto calmly ordered, any growl in his voice completely gone as a professional tone took over.

The man huffed with humor "My name is Ikoro" he slowly stated. His voice silky smooth.

"Ikoro-San. Are you a member of this or any village?" Naruto questioned, by now the blonde had deposited his kunai, knowing Sasuke was too stubborn and careful to stow his weapon and Sakura simply didn't want Naruto's other side to be left unprotected.

The man simply stared at Naruto, no answer given.

The boy hummed silently to himself in thought.

"You'll not answer?" The blonde tried, raising a brow.

Ikoro lost his ongoing smirk and uncrossed his arms, standing straight instead of leaning against the bark.

"Let's play a game, shall we? I'll answer your questions if you answer mine, sounds fair doesn't it?" Ikoro suggested in a devilishly sweet tone.

Naruto stayed silent, contemplating whether to play his game or not. he could win or lose, it could go both ways at this point.