Chapter 311: Road Trip
Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 311: Road Trip
"It's going to take us forever to get there on foot," Naruto commented.
It had been three hours since he left the village behind, along with his two companions, Hinata and Ino. Their destination was a village located near the border of the Fire Country.
"According to my calculations, if we continue at this pace, we'll arrive by sundown," Hinata said as she looked around.
They had just left behind the lush forest that surrounded Konoha and its nearby areas. They were now entering massive plains that stretched for hundreds of miles, with only a narrow stone road and the occasional sign indicating the closest villages or towns.
"I could teleport us there in less than a second. What do you say?" Naruto suggested to the two girls.
This caused Ino to snap at him. "Absolutely not! The journey is part of the fun. I've been stuck in Konoha for over a year. I want to get out and enjoy some fresh air."
"Mmm… to be honest, I'm also enjoying this walk. The weather is nice and the view is fantastic. Don't get me wrong, I love being the Clan Leader and a new mother, but I missed going outside for more than a few street blocks…" Hinata said.
"I suppose I can understand that." He had also spent the last year cooped up inside his cultivation cave. "Very well, let's take it easy on our way there. It's not like we're in a hurry."
"Naruto, I just realized something," Hinata started.
"Hmm? About what?" He turned to look at her.
"You said before that you could teleport to that village. Did you put a marker there in advance?" she asked.
"No, of course not," Naruto shook his head. "I simply have no more need for markers."
"You don't? How can that be? That's the way the jutsu works," Ino said.
"Yes, it was initially designed to use a formula as a jumping point. But once you simplify it enough, you only truly need a source of chakra. It could be anything near the point where I want to teleport to. Like a person, animal, or plant. Every single living thing has some amount of chakra in it. Of course, the source needs to be within the range of my divine senses, otherwise I'd be jumping blind."
"How big is your range now? It must have increased after your last breakthrough," Hinata pointed out.
"I can cover the entire Fire Country and all the smaller areas beyond it," Naruto said.
"That's a massive area to cover," Ino said.
"Yes, but technically, I can go further than that if I use my clones. Thanks to them, I can cover the rest of the continent. Right now, I have a few million clones collecting information across the land. I need to make up for the year I wasn't paying attention," Naruto explained.
"You're doing more than collecting information… you're looking for the last two, aren't you?" Ino asked.
She knew that Naruto didn't care much about spying on other nations for the sake of Konoha or the country. He was searching for the remaining Bijuu.
After the war, the remnants of Akatsuki seemed to have disappeared from the continent, and with them, the two Bijuu in their possession as well.
"If I don't absorb the last two, it's going to take me an awfully long time to reach the final stage of cultivation. And to break beyond that may not even be possible without their chakra. That's how important the Bijuus are to me."
"I'm sure you'll find them," Hinata tried to sound reassuring. She wished there were more she could do to help her husband, but unfortunately, she couldn't create nearly as many clones. And even if she had her clan collecting information, it wouldn't come close to the amount of intel that Naruto could gather with his army of clones.
"Wait, I just thought of something," Ino said, pointing at her belly. "If you don't need the formula anymore, then… does that mean these brands you put on us are completely useless?"
"Talk for yourself. I like mine," Hinata huffed. "And Naruto made it for me—that alone makes it invaluable."
"I wouldn't say they're useless," Naruto responded. "You can still use them to call me. I just no longer need you to activate them before I can teleport to your position. The same goes for the formula kunai I left with Tsunade."
"Mmm… I suppose that...wait!" Ino's eyes became sharp. Her whole demeanor changed in an instant. "We're being surrounded."
The road they were on had just passed through an area with many large boulders scattered around. The moment they got past the first boulder, Ino felt movement nearby. This was a clear sign of an ambush.
"Oh shit, I just remembered." Ino had been spending more time in the Hokage's office and had attended many of the meetings.
Lately, there have been reports of merchants being attacked by bandits while crossing this area.
A mission had been issued, and a team of genin had dealt with the bandits, or so they thought. If they were dealing with a large band, then the genin likely only took out a small portion of it.
"Took you a while to realize," Naruto said, glaring at her with an expression of disappointment.
"You knew?... Of course you knew, what am I saying? Damn it…" Ino's eyes moved to Hinata, who looked somewhat guilty. "You knew too!"
She should've realized sooner. After all, Hinata could see everything with her Tenseigan. And Naruto could feel the movement of a fly on the other side of the country.
She was the only one who still had to rely on normal senses to detect ambushes.
"This is not fair… I also want supernatural senses…" Ino complained.
"Halt!" a large, armed man shouted, peeking out from behind a nearby boulder. "You are surrounded by the BloodKnife Bandits! Drop your weapons and surrender!"
Naruto began to laugh.
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