Chapter 35 - N
The town is bigger this time and Naruto finally finds a couple of maps in one store that once sold magazines and newspapers. He doesn't know where he is until he recognizes the same scribble of a name on the map on a street. At least the words look similar enough. He uses it to navigate thanks to the icons on some spots on the map. He doesn't want to go to what he guesses is the library, but something tells him he needs to. He hopes there are books with pictures he can understand because he can't read zilch. His next stop will be the hospital.
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The library is almost empty. The building he guesses is the Academy of the town not so much. He manages to go inside the library without being noticed and kills eight zombies. There are some good books. It's too bad he is no longer capable of making hundred of Shadow Clones without them exploding. Now he has to be happy with making twenty with eleven looking as sick as his normal clones in the Academy looked. Well, at least nine work.
It takes him three days to sort most of what he thinks is interesting inside some storage seals. The place is not so big and he's counting his lucky stars for that.
Going outside is when everything goes downside. Apparently, his screams of frustration were heard by some zombies because there are a great number of them close to the doors.
Just great.
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The hospital is equally frustrating. There are fewer zombies, true, but he doesn't know what each medicine they are for or what he should take.
He takes everything he can possibly hold.
That means he takes all.
Seals for the win!
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Sleeping inside those machines with wheels is quite comfortable when he is on the road and there's no town near. He's trying to make the Rasengan work but he can advance from the first exercise Ero-senin taught him. When he tries to do it with a clone, it explodes on his face. After an hour of trying he has to let his arm rest for a couple of hours to let the burns in his hands heal.
He tries not to use the food he's found when he can hunt and eat, but sometimes he's really hungry and the grip of his hand is too bad to even grab a kunai steadily—He can't continue like this. It's true he's always been impatient, the only time he can be still is when he meditates and he can no longer do that properly thanks to his wild chakra.
It's probably time to start from zero. Some chakra controlling exercises should help.
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The leaf burns immediately after touching his forehead. He's shoved backward a couple of meters whenever he tries to stick to a tree, destroying some of the bark in the process. He doesn't even want to try walking on water with how cold it is.
This is going to take some time.
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Naruto's probably been without human contact for quite some time. Ever since he came into this world. The only human interaction he gets it's sometimes from Sasuke whenever he annoys him too much. Kurama's link is weaker and more peaceful; he's probably resting.
Naruto should probably not be constantly prodding at those links but he feels so scared at the silence that surrounds him. It reminds him of his days when he was young and he was alone inside his small room orphanage, waiting for the food to be left on his table by the matron before she left with a quiet demand of 'Stay here'.
At least there are no stares this time.
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It's by the week of walking alone that he hears the ruffle of leaves behind him. A kunai goes to his hand the next instant, ready for anything. There are no burns on his skin so he's prepared. Even so, he goes cautiously towards the sound.
He tries to catch the scent with his nose but there's no putrid smell coming from the direction the sound comes from. His nose is not of an Inuzuka but his senses have always been sharper than a normal ninja. Also, the scent that comes from those zombies is really strong so he should be able to catch it.
There's another sound and Naruto shrugs. Best to check. His nose is not that good, anyway.
He approaches. The sound is clearer; there's a fight going on near. Naruto looks from behind some bushes and sees a little girl being attacked by one zombie. He doesn't think twice as he goes to help her. He twirls the kunai in his hands, ready and in position to go through his head. The zombie makes a last choking sound before it crumbles to the floor and the girl falls backward on her butt.
Naruto makes sure the zombie is not going to stand up again before he turns around. The girl's eyes are shadowed by a dirty blue and white cap so he can't see her eyes. But he can see her two small ponytails, her skin slightly lighter than his own, and the arm she clutches tight against her chest.
He doesn't want to scare her but he can see some red on the arm she's trying to hide. Naruto kneels, trying to be at her eye level as much as he can before he speaks, signaling her arm, "Are you fine?"
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