"We'll go outside to keep watch over the house," one of the clones said. Naruto nodded as he followed the others to one of the spare rooms Tazuna was leading them to. The clones went outside to be on guard.
(A While Later)
Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were in the room with Kakashi as he rested on a futon. Tazuna and Tsunami later entered the room as well. Naruto was deep in thought and remained silent for most of the time.
"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura," Kakashi said. "I have a few questions for you guys."
"What are they?" Sasuke asked.
"What is a tracker ninja?" Kakashi asked.
"Special ninja that hunt down and dispose of rogue ninja," Naruto replied.
"And how do they dispose of their target?" Kakashi asked.
"They kill their target and destroy the body," Sasuke replied.
"Where?" Kakashi asked.
"Um, I don't know," Sakura replied.
"How should we know? The only tracker ninja we've seen took Zabuza's body away," Sasuke said. Kakashi nodded.
"That's true…and that's what's been bothering me since Zabuza's defeat," Naruto said, causing the others to focus on him.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"From what I know, trackers dispose of the body on the spot, and if she needed any evidence that her job was done, she only had to take Zabuza's head and sword," Naruto explained.
"Also," Kakashi jumped in. "The weapons she used were senbon needles, which aren't very dangerous. That tracker didn't kill Zabuza, she helped him. Zabuza is alive."
"What?" Sakura and Tazuna shouted in surprise. Naruto and Sasuke just stayed quiet and listened.
"But you said he was dead!" Tazuna said.
"I did," Kakashi admitted weakly. "It's possible to put someone in a temporary death state, though. Trackers know the human anatomy very well, and it would be easy for them to do that."
Naruto nodded before standing up.
"He is alive, and he will be back soon," Kakashi said. "I should think we have about a week or two, based on his injuries and how long it takes to recover from a near-death state."
Kakashi sat up and looked at his Genin.
"Sensei, how are you going to prepare us for this before it's too late? You can't move for a while," Sakura asked.
Kakashi chuckled and replied, "I'm going to make you, Sasuke, and Naruto go through some training."
"But sensei, even if we train, it won't be very helpful. The enemy gave you problems even with your Sharingan," Sakura said.
"Sakura," Kakashi said. "All of you helped me out during my battle with Zabuza. You're all growing and improving rapidly."
An eight-year-old boy wearing green overalls and a hat that shadowed his eyes walked into the room. Everyone turned to look at the boy.
"Who are you?" Naruto asked.
"Inari, where were you?" Tazuna asked as the boy went over to the old man and hugged him.
"I've been here all this time, Grandpa," Inari said.
"Inari, say hello to them. These are the ninja who escorted your grandpa," Tsunami said warmly.
Inari turned to look at Kakashi and the group. The young boy snorted, "It doesn't matter. They'll all die anyway. There's no way they can win against Gatō."
"Excuse me?" Naruto replied indignantly.
"If you don't want to die, then you should go home," Inari replied as he started walking away.
"Where are you going?" Tazuna asked.
Inari stopped and said, "I'm going to watch the ocean."
The boy continued walking and went on his way, leaving the other behind.
"Ah, forgive him. He has been like that since a…an ill-fated incident some time ago," Tazuna said.
(Later)
Naruto was walking down from the room they had when he heard sobbing coming from Inari's room.
"Huh?" Naruto mumbled to himself as he quietly opened Inari's door. The young boy's room was modest; it had a bed in a corner and a desk in front of a window. On top of the desk Inari sat, crying and staring at a picture. Naruto walked up behind the boy, too silent to be noticed, and looked at the picture. It was a man with dark hair, a kind smile, and a cross-shaped scar on his jaw. It was clear that the man meant a lot to Inari. Naruto didn't know what to do other than try to comfort the boy. He laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, and Inari nearly jumped out of his skin.
"What…oh, it's you! What do you want?" Inari asked coldly
"Who's the guy in the picture?" Naruto asked, pointing at said object.
"What's it to you?" Inari began. "It's none of your-"
.
.
.
🎉The novel is available in PDF, visit us in our Ko-Fi store🎉
🎉ko-fi.com/madarasama125🎉