31 Chunin Exam Part 6 (1/2)
”Does it get better?”
I got out of my absentminded state when I heard Gaara behind me. ”Honestly?... I don't know, it depends on you, if you want it to get better then you have to work on it, or else you'd never make it. How do you feel” I turned around and looked at him, I could feel peace and calm rolling off him and knew he succeded. He was sitting upright from the crater looking at the clouds with a soft smile.
”I feel better than I have in forever. I can't hear voices inside my head anymore and it feels good to be clearheaded, I learned to embrace what I am after I confronted him, I didn't know I had all that inside me” He started clenching his hands and raised it towards the sky to look at it while his sand followed his command and returned to the gourd, he looked at the gourd and started brushing his hand over it with a fond expression.
”Good, Shukaku won't cause anymore problems for you, though you'll have to ask its permission from now on to use its power and hopefully befriend it. Now you need to go back to your siblings, I can feel their worry from here, and you need to rest after what happened today, you might be out for a while when you do sleep” He nodded before turning around and walking away, but as he opened the door he stopped.
”What should I do from now on, I feel lost”
”I don't have an answer to that tanuki-chan, only you do, you can do whatever you want, just make sure you don't regret a descision that you make in the future” He stood still for a while thinking about what I said before he started talking again, ”Nii-san, Suna and Ot-”
”I know, already prepared everything, I'll make sure your important people will make it out safe, so don't worry”
He nodded before continuing on his way back. I just stayed sitting there looking out at the sunset. I felt good knowing he succeeded and found his pace, he just needs to set a new goal for himself, hopefully one that doesn't end up bad for him.
After sitting there until it was dark, I felt my clone, that was following Orochimaru dispel, it seems that he didn't stay inside the village and left using one of ROOTs exits. I expanded my perception over the whole forest to see how it was going for Ino and Hinata, since they should be here soon. Ino was 4km to the north, fighting someone, hopefully they'll get their scrolls, and I felt Hinata camping 2km to the west with her Byakugan active. I sent out a pulse of chakra before waving, she noticed it seems, though it was confusing why she didn't get here yet.
”Oh, interesting, someone picked up that pulse” I dropped my disguise before shooting off towards the person who picked up that pulse, whoever it was had a familiar chakra signature, though I'm 100% sure I've never registered it before.
It seems the person noticed my approach, I didn't realize that someone other than sages could detect my presence when I hold it in. I soon felt the signature and it's other 2 companions disappear from my perception.
I could still feel them there but their chakra was simply gone, even a sensor will lose them when they use such a technique but it was too bad that I was chasing them, this is getting more fun. They started running while I casually chased though not for long, the person seemed to realize that I could follow them and stopped.
I soon arrived standing on top of a tree branch looking down at a clearing where there was 3 people, 2 males and a female, standing in a formation looking at me warily. They seem to be from the Hidden Grass Village, though I ignored the males and focused on the female who had the familiar signature. Now that I looked at her I realized why it was familiar and who she was, Uzumaki Karin, a future member of the Uchiha brats Team Hebi.
Crimson eyes, covered with brown glasses, fair skin, and the characteristic red hair of the Uzumaki clan, her hair is short and spiky on both sides with bangs framing her protector. Shes wearing a mesh shirt and stockings, a purple skirt, a light brown short sleeved jacket with a orange stripe going across the chest, and black sandals. She also had the Kusagakure forehead protector on her forehead. I frowned when I saw her chest, neck and arms covered with bite marks, probably from the forced healing that her village put her through.
”Who are you? Why are you following us?”
As if she could feel my mood she instantly seemed to be alert, I could feel intrigue, fear and a bit if hope, though I'm not sure why. She must be using Kaguras Mind Eye to feel my presence, even I can't escape a divine technique like that, she should also have had something to do with hiding her teammates signature. She tensed when she felt a spike in my chakra, so she has good perception if she managed to react before I moved. I could feel her connect to her teammates, but it was too late, I moved and appeared behind them, hitting the 2 males at the back of the neck, knocking them out. I instantly had to dodge chains coming towards me from her back. I kept dodging around her while she was trying to catch me, I allowed one of them to catch my arms to see how strong it is, though I frowned when I felt it didn't have any inherent restraining effect on chakra, it felt incomplete.