Second Time's The Charm

Chapter 30

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Naruto landed on a branch, located high in the thick forest. He placed a hand on the trunk of the tree to lean on it. Beneath him was a small clearing. His eyes focused on the men standing beneath him. The area was a mess, the ground torn up and a few trees had fallen, so Naruto knew a fierce battle had occurred. Now, the two shinobi just appeared to be talking, rather than fighting.

"...The one with gray hair..." Sasuke started as he approached Naruto from behind, "...He's the same ninja we faced briefly in Suna – during the invasion."

Naruto turned to Sasuke with a shocked face, "Wait, what?!" Naruto turned and squinted his eyes at the laughing ninja below, "...How can you tell..." Naruto closed his eyes and thought back, "And which ninja are you talking about..."

Sasuke's serious expression didn't change, "The Sand ANBU that showed up while we were fighting Gaara... The one that activated the seal on Gaara's neck."

Naruto's eye went wide. His head jerked back to the scene below. Naruto's fists clenched as he growled lowly, "...Shikamaru almost died because of him... And Gaara... If Kanoko wasn't there, Gaara would have..." Naruto shut his eyes in anger. Every day, he faced the fear of one day losing control to the demon fox. And this guy... He nearly caused Gaara to destroy everything in sight.

Sasuke eyed Naruto suspiciously. He knew exactly how passionate Naruto could be about those close to him. In fact, he witnessed it first hand during the Suna invasion. So Sasuke wondered... Was Naruto going to act recklessly now, or had he matured at all?

Both Leaf genin were jerked from their thoughts when an explosion boomed below them.

"Ack!" Naruto cried out lightly as a flying branch hit his cheek while he jumped out of the way. Quickly, he leaped behind a thick tree and avoiding the rest of the debris as it flew through the air. Once the smoke blew passed him, Naruto peaked his head around to look for Sasuke.

His blue eyes locked onto Sasuke's form – who was also behind a large tree a few feet from him. Sasuke nodded to him before looking below. The smoke took a moment to clear, and when it did, they found both men missing.

Sasuke held out a hand, indicating that Naruto hold his position while Sasuke went to investigate. Naruto frowned and gave Sasuke an annoyed look as the black hair boy quietly dropped to the ground.

"Who put him in charge?!" Naruto thought, getting antsy. Looking back and forth, Naruto also leaped to the ground. Sasuke either didn't see Naruto move, or ignored him, as he continued to move slowly through the bushes and upturned trees.

Naruto quietly spoke, "Shadow Clone Jutsu." Three clones appeared before smirking and running into the forest, covering more ground. Naruto's eyes moved back to the explosion area, "Tch. Amateur." The area was a mess, but was nothing compared to the destruction Kanoko left in her wake when Kakashi-sensei annoyed her with his Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu. Naruto chuckled to himself at the memory.

Naruto stilled when he heard the sounds of heavy panting and low grunting. Hiding behind a berry bush, Naruto silently peaked through the leaves – biting his tongue when the thorns scratched his skin, "Should have picked a different bush, damnit!"

After yelled at himself, Naruto focused his eyes on the scene ahead. On the ground, holding his bleeding side, was the other man from before – the one Naruto had never seen before. The man looked a little younger than Kakashi-sensei and had messy platinum blonde hair. His outfit looked like a shinobi's, with the white armor plating and dark under garments, but Naruto couldn't place where he had seen it before.