The Masked Shinobi

The Scars of War

Warnings: minor swearing, mention of torture, minor injuries

Please enjoy!

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"Hey, Haku, how long have we been here?" Naruto asked with his usual impatience and curiosity.

"It's been about five days since your fight with Goto's men," the teen said as he continued brushing his hair. Before pinning it in its usual bun and adjusting his clothes before strapping on his weapons pouch.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, suspicious of the main goal of this odd group.

Although the young Uchiha doesn't trust any of these rogue ninja, he has to admit that if they had to be captured by any criminals, he would prefer these three. Since they have done no harm to him or his team unless it was for the betterment of their health, such as stitches and applying bandages to tender wounds, the masked Shinobi was a good medic and regularly checked how their healing injuries were progressing.

"Master Zabuza and I are going to gather some more supplies, such as water and food. You will be staying here with Master Wolf. Since your Sensei is still recovering, there shouldn't be any issues, but we still don't want to take a chance of his health worsening due to all the stress." Haku explained with his usual calm tone, but he had a faint smile on his face.

"Can I come with you? I'm so bored here, sitting in a stupid cave!" The hyperactive blonde shouted with a large grin.

Haku only gave an apologetic smile and calmly answered. "Sorry, Naruto, but I would prefer if you stayed here with your sensei if you were to come with us. He would be worried about you, and that could be a detriment to his health."

"Plus, you'll likely only slow us down. If you want to learn how to survive, boy, then you need to learn patience." Zabuza added with a gruff tone as he strapped his sword onto his back.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled furiously at the insult.

"Naruto, he's not wrong," Sakura drawled out in an unamused voice.

"Hey! Who's side are you on, Sakura?" The blonde yelled.

"Naruto, please keep your volume to an indoor voice" Obito's exhausted tone came from the corner of the room. He laid on the futon that was laid out for him. So he can not only watch over his team but also rest since he still has a killer migraine. While Iruka sat next to him.

"Sorry, Sensei, I just don't like sitting here. I have too much energy to be just sitting here doing nothing." Naruto quietly apologized, standing with a slouch and lazily kicking his foot at the ground.

"Well, you can help me roll up these bandages." A familiar, patient tone called out, gaining everyone's attention.

"Fine," the blonde answered with an exaggerated sigh as he turned to look at the man who had just entered the room. Who was none other than the mysterious wolf-masked Shinobi, as he carried a small basket of freshly cleaned bandages.

However, the mysterious Shinobi wasn't in his usual attire. Instead of the black hoodie the Wolf always wore, it was now a black short-sleeved shirt, pants, and combat boots. While still covering his head and neck with a black headscarf that framed the ever-present porcelain mask.

"We won't be gone long," Zabuza said as he walked past Wolf. Haku followed close behind, giving the masked man a head bow along the way out of their hideout.

Once the Rogue Mist Shinobi were gone, Wolf made his way over to the group and took a seat, placing the basket in front of him. Before grabbing the end of a strip of bandage and beginning to roll the clean fabric. Naruto grumbled under his breath before sitting next to the mask ninja. Then he grabbed a piece of bandage before starting to roll it like the man next to him. Sasuke and Sakura soon joined in to help the masked Shinobi roll the bandages.