"It's been a while, Kakashi..." John said, pretending to be innocent. "And I see you brought your friends."
Kurenai pointed her kunai at him and yelled, "What's a wanted person like you doing out in the open?"
Exaggerating his innocence, John raised his hands and answered, "Ms. Yūhi, am I right?"
His remark had a jagged edge, and the group was taken aback. How was Kurenai known to him? Outside of so Leaf Village circles, she wasn't exactly a famous kunoichi that others would rember.
Asuma moved forward, frowning. "Don't take this the wrong way, but there are so questions we'd like to ask you. If you're not involved in our mission, we won't need to escalate this."
John calmly interrupted, "I actually have a question for you too."
"Hold on!" Jada abruptly yelled. Everyone was taken aback by the cry.
"Jada...?" Asuma wondered, looking in her direction.
"Asuma-sensei, please allow to ask him a question first."
Asuma paused for a second. However, when he saw that her Sharingan was activated, he gave in. "Alright..."
She moved in closer to et John's intense stare. "What does Elysium an to you?"
John knew why she had wanted to ask. Not because she thought he was Arthur, but because she wanted to know if he was a secret player.
So he played his role correctly and pretended to be unconcerned as he asked, "The Uchiha girl's asking absurd questions. We only t once, little girl, but I can already tell you've got a lot of hatred in you."
She retorted angrily and resolutely, "Don't dodge my question."
In truth, he was just trying to psych her out. With bitterness in his voice, he shot back, "Hmph... that snake never ntioned those who had loved ones."
The implication made Asuma's heart race. "Which two are you talking about?!"
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
After those words, John turned and ran into the forest.
"Stop!" Kakashi cried out.
Instinctively, Jada began running after him. But then she abruptly stopped when she heard a well-known voice yell, "Asuma-sensei!" When she turned to see who it was, her eyes widened in disbelief.
Two figures were rushing toward them. It seed unreal; they had hardly dared to hope, but here they were, Ino Yamanaka and Shikamaru Nara.
There was no genjutsu, no abnormal fluctuation of chakra, and surely this couldn't have been a transformation—it had to be them.
"Wait, Asuma!" Kakashi warned upon seeing the Jōnin moving toward the two.
Asuma lost all sense of reasoning. He didn't seem to care what the others were thinking. By the way his forr students walked, by the way they looked—it was them.
The mont they arrived, Asuma knelt down and encircled them both with his arms. Ti seed to be paused as the others in the group stood motionless, taking in the incredible scene.
Shikamaru and Ino looked at each other bewilderedly, trying to make sense of everyone's facial expressions.
"It's really you two, isn't it?" Asuma wondered as his eyes were filled with tears.
Jada's Sharingan faded as she stamred, "I-I don't understand. W-what are you two doing here?"
"Is this part of the exam?" Shikamaru wondered.
The group remained silent as Asuma let go to process the impossibility.
"Why are you all behaving so strangely?" Ino inquired. "It's like you've all seen a ghost."
Kakashi just stood there as he tried to determine what sort of trick this was.
"If you're talking about the Chūnin Exams," Kurenai said, stepping forward, "they ended almost a year ago..."
Shikamaru and Ino were now in disbelief. So Shikamaru warned, "If this is so kind of test, it's not a very good one."
Jada drew closer to the confused pair. Then she firmly said, "We're not playing. You two... You two shouldn't be here."
After shifting and collecting his thoughts, Kakashi spoke in a steady, solemn voice, "During the Chūnin Exams, you passed away. Your funeral was also held. For you to be here now only tells us that John's set a trap."
"Hold on, Kakashi!" Asuma suddenly said. "Let's hear them out."
Kakashi couldn't believe what he had just heard: Let's hear them out? Surely Asuma couldn't have gone so insane that he actually thought these two were his deceased students.
"Asuma," he finally said, "I was waiting for the mission to be over to tell you this, but you can't bring back the dead. You have to co to terms with the fact that your students died during the exams. Whatever clues we've been following were traps set up by John."
At those words, Shikamaru and Ino beca startled. The fellow Leaf ninjas weren't joking.
"I'll only believe it after I hear from them," Asuma insisted.
Then the group all looked toward the two.
"When did we die?" Ino wondered, now scared.
Shikamaru managed to calm himself down first. Then he closed his eyes and revealed what he knew.
"Look," he admitted, "the last thing we rember was fighting this shinobi with Chōji. Ino and I got separated from him and found ourselves wandering the forest. So I wrote sothing down on the ground for Chōji to see in case we went missing. After that, we found a trail and ran in this direction."
Ino confird this story to be true.
"What did you write down?" Kurenai interrogated.
"I.S.C. Yagura," Shikamaru answered. "It's the acronyms for our formation and my favourite shogi strategy. That's what I told our team to rember in case we ever got lost during the exams."
Then he frantically looked toward Asuma. "Asuma-sensei, you were the one who taught us to always be prepared for cases like these."
Everyone's minds were trying their best to comprehend this situation. Their story checked out, and there weren't any signs that these were impersonators.
So how was this possible?
Jada's thoughts were racing more than anyone here. Then sothing finally hit her.
"John ntioned being involved with a snake," she revealed. "Do you think he ant Orochimaru?"
The group began to understand what she was getting at. Yet that didn't make much sense if she was referring to the forbidden Reanimation technique.
These two were flesh and blood, with no abnormalities hinting that they were corpses.
While the Jōnin continued to interrogate them, Jada's thoughts were pierced like lightning by a ntal ssage.
'Jada, you have to get ho soon!' ca Alice's voice.
Startled, Jada concentrated. 'Why? What's the matter?'
'Just get over here quick! Minato and Kushina are back in the village!'
Jada's heart fell.
A few hours ago in the Leaf Village.
Through Naruto's window, the morning light woke him up. Still carrying a hint of sadness over the absence of his cousin William, he tried his best not to think about it.
He was honestly quite sad that William was not present, as they had spent so many monts together. However, he brushed aside those emotions and reminded himself that he would see William again.
He had plenty to keep him busy until both his cousin and Jiraiya returned.
After taking a quick shower, Naruto walked to the kitchen to prepare breakfast while rummaging through the cabinets. His new favourite morning al—a bowl of scrambled eggs accompanied by rice cakes—ca together nicely.
Once he had finished eating, he left the bowl on the kotatsu (a low, wooden table fra covered by a futon). When he returns ho, he will clean the place up.
"I sure do wonder what they're up to," he silently asked himself, referring to William and Jiraiya. He then smacked himself on the face as a reminder to stay positive. "Let not forget to pick up more milk later."
After breakfast, he bounded out of his apartnt and headed toward the village flower shop. He smiled while on his way; it was a lovely ti of day.
As he entered the shop, he imdiately spotted Hinata, who was close to a display of roses. Seeing her helped him forget his earlier worries.
"Sorry I'm late," he called out as he approached her.
"That's okay; you're right on ti," she softly replied.
Hinata served as a comforting reminder of the bonds that connected him to this village. Thanks to the players, they had really connected on a much more personal level.
Together, they wandered through the store, admiring an assortnt of flowers—lilies, daisies, and roses all seed to sing. A wildflower arrangent particularly captivated Naruto, but he had no idea how dazzlingly Hinata's eyes lit up when she spotted a specific tulip.
Inoya Yamanaka, while the new head of the Yamanaka clan, still operated the clan's flower shops. She approached them and said, "You two sure do look cheery." The comnt caused Hinata to blush. "I sure do wonder how Ino would have grown up with you two."
There wasn't any sorrow when she had said this. Everyone in the Leaf Village had moved on and believed Ino was in a better place.
"Ino was really sothing in the academy," Naruto encouraged.
"Yes," Hinata added, "I really loved how she took care of herself. Kiba included."
The comnts were pleasant to hear for Inoya. That's when she pointed to a bright yellow tulip.
"This is a rare specin," she said. "Breeding it requires a lot of work, and few have succeeded."
"What does it represent?" Hinata wondered.
"I'm glad you know that flowers have anings," Inoya smiled. "This one ans that the past will co back in unexpected ways."
Because of the flower, they spent the next few minutes reminiscing about the past. These simple monts together were what being a citizen in the Leaf was all about for him.
After they made their selections, they exited the store. That's when Hinata beca playful. With a joyful squeal, she leaped onto Naruto's back for him to carry her to their next destination.
He was startled by her weight and almost stumbled before soon finding her act funny.
"Hinata, what are you doing?" he chuckled, trying to steady them both.
She giggled shyly. "I thought I should show more affection."
"More affection, huh?" he grinned after adjusting her on his back. "I think I like the sound of that!"
With a playful smirk, he started to walk. The villagers glanced at them, so smiling warmly, while others looked on with puzzled but amused expressions.
Hinata snuggled closer as they walked through the village. She was quite happy being on his back.
It wasn't long until they finally found a peaceful spot beneath a blossoming tree at a park.
Lowering himself, Naruto let Hinata slide off his back. She leaned against him and found comfort in his presence. With her head resting on his shoulder, she whispered, "I'm so glad you ca back."
"You know, I really never left. I've always been here for you and the others when you need most."
Hearing this caused her to nuzzle against his side.
In the park, ti seed to pause. While the world continued to turn around them, they sat together in solidarity.
How could Naruto not feel tranquil?
He sensed that their shared experience was evolving into sothing more significant than simple dates. He found solace in her, just as she found solace in him. They were more than just friends on an outing; they were growing closer and forming a bond that felt destined.
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