Chapter 036

"Man! That was great!" Naruto exclaimed while smiling towards Tayuya. "Hanare-oneesan's stew was filling, but nothing beats several bowls of ramen after three days without eating even a single smidge of food. I tell yah, I was close to passing out back on that road fighting all of those guys at once…"

"No kidding," Tayuya replied, continuing to look up at the boy as they turned into the street and began following it. With that topic on the floor, she raised an eyebrow at him. "W-What happened to those mercenaries anyway? Did you kill them?"

"Kill them? Oh hell no. Not those dumbasses. They weren't worth it," Naruto replied with a distasteful frown. "I just knocked all their teeth out. Dogs can't bite without teeth. Isn't that how the saying goes?"

"I guess. It's… still a pretty weird thing to say though," the red head murmured. Still, she couldn't help but giggle when she imagined those men running off without teeth in their gums. That had to be some spectacle if this boy was able to come out of that cluster-fuck in one piece.

Naruto caught onto her giggling. "Hey… you've got a cute laugh, Tayuya-chan."

"Wh-What are you talking about, shithead?" the girl snickered, breathing sharply to stop herself before looking away. "I don't have a cute laugh. You're being weird."

"But it's true. Come on," Naruto grinned while trying to sneak a peek at her flushed face. "Show me that smile, Tayuya-chan. Please! Pretty please!"

"No. Go away," the red head said while shoving him away playfully. "Idiot."

Naruto grinned, kicking his feet up into strides as he moved along, allowing time for the young musician next to him to calm down. Glancing across every once in a while to check on her, he then saw her readjust her flute in her grip, which instantly brought him back to the first time he saw her.

While on that note, he couldn't help but speak up on the matter. "You play that really well you know."

"Huh? My flute?"

"Yeah. It was really good. I never met anyone who could play an instrument like that so well."

"Oh…th-thanks," Tayuya exclaimed, brushing several strands of hair behind her ear while smiling at the jinchuriki. "I don't really know any songs… I just play it by ear. I mostly use my flute to cast genjutsu on people to get them to give me money for food. It's really nothing special."

"Nothing special? It's fantastic! You're fantastic!" Naruto said loudly while throwing his arms out, stopping them in their tracks. "I'd really like to hear you play for me again. No genjutsu this time, just straight up flute music."

"Really? Y-You mean it?"

"Yes. I really mean it!" Naruto nodded firmly, seeing the girl look at him in awe. He grinned even wider before turning to face the path ahead again. "Of course, before I do sit down to listen to you play I need to make one stop first."

"Stop? Where?" Tayuya asked curiously. "Aren't you new to this dump? Where do you possibly need to go around here?"

Naruto chuckled and pointed up towards the rooftops. "There!"

Following his gaze, the young musician looked towards the sky and squinted, figuring it would be somewhere far away. However, her eyes widened when her gaze fell upon the enormous dam towering over them in the distance further up the empty tributary. Double checking to make sure he was pointing in the right direction, Tayuya paled.

"There? Are you mental?"

"Nope. Just pissed off," Naruto replied while placing his hands on his hips. "I heard from Hanare-oneesan about what happened to this country and why everything here is so messed up. She said some Gato guy came here and built that thing, and now I have to take it down."

"How the fuck are you going to take that thing down?" Tayuya shouted at him, now looking terrified at what her rescuer was planning to do next. Looking at his expression, she could see he was being serious. She had no idea if he was just messing with her, trying to act brave or was actually planning to go there. Either way, she was scared for his wellbeing. "Don't screw with me. Are you really going to go up there?"

"Yeah. Why not?"

"It's a fucking fortress!" Tayuya shouted, grabbing him by the arm and pulling on him roughly. "It's crawling with mercenaries and people working for Gato! The man is an industrial monster and a vicious gangster. I'm grateful to you for saving me, but what you want to do it… it's suicide!"

"I've broken into places more heavily guarded then that eyesore, for sure," Naruto grinned, his eyes not tearing away from the structure for even a moment. He placed his fists on his hips, ignoring the girl with her arms wrapped firmly around his limb. "Believe it. I promised Hanare-oneesan that I was going to do something about it, so I am, and when I set out to do something, I do it. I never go back on my word."

Tayuya gave him an incredulous stare. "You're crazy! I won't let you go up there!"

"I'd listen to the girl, kid."

Looking down in surprise, Naruto and Tayuya suddenly saw a large group of men stroll into their midst from the gaps between buildings on both sides of the road. They appeared like phantoms from the shadows, grinning sinisterly and dressed perfectly for the part of coldblooded killer. Any villagers in sight immediately ran for the hills the moment the dangerous mob of gangsters came into view and began to fill up the road. They soon came to block the kids' path completely, forming a tight wall of bodies before them.

Appearing even more intimidating then the last army of thugs from before, the two youngsters looked upon their ranks from left to right before focusing on the leader of the group, a tall man with black, sharp eyes, brown spiky hair pulled back into a short ponytail, and a goatee. He was also wearing a blue coat with yellow lining over a white top, and dark-colored pants underneath, and had a light blue scarf around his neck.

Tayuya stared at them nervously, "Oh no…"

Naruto blinked. "Huh? Who the hell are you guys?"

The large mob snickered in response as the captain of the platoon stepped forward with a wide smirk across his face. He brought his right arm out and flicked his wrist, a small tube popping out from a built-in slit that began to ooze a strange liquid. The substance dribbled down his hand before hardening into what both youngsters identified as a makeshift knife, which he then raised swiftly towards the pair.

"We're the discipline squad, boy," the leader Jako exclaimed with a menacing grin. "And we're here to teach the two of you a lesson for messing up the boss's staff".