Naruto uchiha

Chapter 22

Naruto lay asleep on the soft grass as the bright rays of the sun shone through the canopy of trees. For most part of the night, the blonde had spent meditating to clear his mind and in pursuit to better understand his chakra. Even though, he knew what chakra was, it was still such a mysterious thing to him. Several questions had brazed through his mind like- similar to humans, did chakra have a consciousness of it's own? If one could summon souls from the pure world to the land of the living, did it mean that chakra has the ability to grant life and death, more essentially, did chakra have the ability to create life. Considering that the Rikudo Sennin had basically created consciousness for the bijuu out of nothing with his rinnegan, could he also do the same thing? There were so many questions in uncharted territories such as these and it frustrated Naruto that he couldn't find the answers to them.

He stirred a little as the bright sunrays fell directly on his eyes. He kept his eyes closed, still somewhat tired from all the fighting yesterday. He breathed a content sigh as he enjoyed the gentle breeze that was flowing in the area. It was certainly refreshing to be near the shores. Extending his senses slightly, he could feel the life force of all the living beings around him, the chirping of the birds, the squirrels sitting atop some of the trees and for a moment, Naruto truly felt delight in being alive. The essence of life was indeed a beautiful thing. He was intrigued when he felt a familiar chakra approach him and realized it was the shinobi who had disguised himself as the Kiri Hunter ninja. Interested to see what the person would do, Naruto pretended to be asleep on the ground as the person came close to him.

The shinobi knelt beside Naruto with a sort of amused as well as confused look on his face. Confused cause the person did expect someone like the Shiroi Shinigami to be leisurely napping in the middle of the forest and amused because of the nonchalant look on Naruto's face. Naruto immediately opened his eyes and spooked the person, making him jump back.

"I apologize for disturbing you…" Naruto stared at the beautiful face in front of him momentarily. The person had an androgynous look with long black hair, pale skin, dark brown eyes and a slender frame. For second Naruto considered the person before him to be even prettier than Sakura and Hinata but shook his head at the wild thoughts that were forming in his mind.

"No, it's quite alright. You don't have to apologize." Naruto replied with a small smile as he stood up. He noticed the small basket the person was carrying and asked, "Are you collecting herbs for something?"

"You have a keen eye. You're right. Someone close to me was injured recently. And I'm here to collect some medicinal herbs for treatment." Said the person in a gentle voice. Yet again, Naruto was surprised at the pure devotion he could sense from him. For a mere second, he was saddened by the fact that his team would most likely have to face him in battle.

"Are you a shinobi?" The person asked as he noticed the Konoha headband on Naruto's forehead.

"Hai. That I am. My name's Naruto Namikaze." The blonde introduced himself. "And what might your name be?"

"Haku…" replied the person as Naruto nodded. They became quiet for a few seconds, not sure what to say exactly. While Haku knew exactly who the person before him was, he didn't wish to reveal his true identity and Naruto simply played along for the fun of it. "Do you want me to help you out in picking the medicinal herbs? It would be faster if both of us looked for it…" suggested Naruto.

"That does sound good. I'm glad for your help." Haku said. The two then moved further into the forests and looked around for any viable herbs that could be used for healing. About half an hour passed as both had collected quite a good amount. Haku stole a few glances towards Naruto in astonishment. He was surprised at the kind and gentle behavior portrayed by a shinobi of his caliber.