I Will Become the Wind

CHAPTER 11 | Leaf-Hidden

Dusk always arrived early this time of year, but that evening, it was also short. Nighttime dropped down on Konoha abruptly, leaving the sky without stars, and the moon muted by smudges of gray.

Though there were several training fields outside the village walls, genin on duty weren't really supposed to be there after dark without a jounin instructor or chuunin squad leader. To get outside and avoid the hassle, Naruto would have to sneak out.

First he left a clone behind in his room in case anyone decided to look in on him. It would have been safer to send it outside the walls instead, but if meeting with Itachi went the way it usually did, a clone would get popped before it had the chance to say anything. He had to make sure Itachi got his message. He wanted to prove he wasn't afraid to meet face-to-face.

And if Naruto got caught coming back, he could make up some excuse about losing track of time on the training fields. He was sure to get lectured for it, but that was something to worry about later. The first and most difficult step was to not be seen leaving in the first place.

Or so he thought, until he reached the gates and no one was at the entry desk.

It definitely wasn't the first time he'd seen it unmanned. But it was unusual for it to be that way at night. Naruto walked outside the gate and stood there, a little off guard after succeeding so easily.

The flickering lanterns outside the gate didn't illuminate very far. Shadows clawed at the edges of their light. Naruto glanced back at the gigantic doors, pulse quickening. He hadn't done something like this since he tried sneaking away to talk to a different Akatsuki member, Konan. Back then, it was quiet because Orochimaru had made it that way.

It was better to get a move on before anyone came back.

Naruto squared his shoulders with a quiet 'yosh!' and started off straight down the path, hurrying to put distance between himself and the circle of warm light. Soon it became dark and very, very quiet.

He decided to walk for a while, then use Sage Mode if it took too long to find Itachi. The trouble was that it required being still, and that's something he didn't want to do until he felt sure no one could see him from the gates.

Did Itachi know he was walking toward him? Did he realize that Naruto had been tracing him this whole time?

Soon the night completely surrounded him, with no sign of the gates or the light. Somewhere deep in the woods, a twig snapped, and Naruto's stomach lurched. But he kept walking forward resolutely. He knew Itachi would never give himself away with even the slightest noise.

Naruto walked until his exposed fingers and toes grew numb in the winter air. He stepped off the path—just enough to press his back to a large tree, not far enough to get lost among the many winding false trails. He closed his eyes and let himself sink into the vast, almost sentient energy of the massive tree.

During his stay at the onsen, a lot of his training centered around improving Sage Mode. In addition to using it in different poses and situations, he discovered it was possible to see clearer and farther by synchronizing with a tree or large stalk. Even though he didn't have a plant body anymore, something about his energy—the flavor of his chakra, as Fukasaku said—still worked well with plant life. Considering how close he'd come to becoming a tree in the future, it felt like fair compensation.

Fukasaku theorized that the effect would be even stronger if he tried it with one of the ancient trees surrounding Konoha—since, in a weird way, they were almost siblings of the thing he'd been. That is what he intended to test now.

Gradually, the dark forest grew clear in his mind's eye. It was no longer invisible. Every single tree was a brilliant conduit of energy, lighting the forest more brightly than the daytime. Inside the massive network of roots and branches, no one would escape his notice, no matter how much they tried to hide their presence.