2

I'm going crazy.

"Haku! How long more till we get to dry land?"

"A few more days." I replied as we both huddled in the storage room that the captain of the rather shady looking ship had kindly arranged for us to sleep in. It's a little cluttered, but otherwise the living conditions here isn't that bad. This isn't what is driving me crazy, what is driving me crazy is the girl, or rather, who the girl is.

The girl I found in the sack of the Kumo nin is Hyuga Hanabi. Impossible. There's no way this is possible, but the evidence is right here in front of my eyes. Canon Hanabi is around five to seven years younger than Hinata, I'm sure about that. In canon, Hinata was kidnapped by a Kumo shinobi when she was three years old, resulting in the Hyuga affair, so Hanabi shouldn't exist yet. But right here in this world, Hanabi had been born early. That alone told me that something had changed. From what I can see, the Hyuga affair did happen, but the Kumo shinobi somehow escaped, got himself in the Land of Water instead of running back to his village from what I understand in the monologue he gave before I killed him, and kidnapped Hanabi instead of Hinata. There are so many things wrong here that I don't even know where to start. The Kumo shinobi didn't get himself killed by Hiashi? He actually escaped out of the Land of Fire? Hanabi and Hinata are apparently of the same age? They are twins?

What? How? Why? Just…

WHERE did I exactly got myself reincarnated to?!

This is obviously a different Naruto world, a world different from the one that I had read about in my previous life. With Hanabi's early presence, there's no telling who is now alive and who is dead. For all I know, the first Hokage is Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama is the villain here. Maybe Jiraiya deserted the village instead and Orochimaru is the only loyal Sannin left.

All of my prior knowledge may very well be shot to hell.

After getting over my initial shock, I brought Hanabi along with me to find our way out of the Land of Water. I cannot just leave her there, I just can't. It took us about another week of following the river, but we eventually found ourselves in a town that also serves as a port. However, Hanabi's clothings and eyes are too recognisable in the run-down town, she will be snatched up by shinobis or civilians who fear anyone with kekkei genkais the moment we took a step in there. I gave her a set of my spare clothes that I brought along with me to change into so that she can blend in as a local and gave her a blindfold to cover her eyes so that no one will recognise her as a Hyuga. We are playing the role of an elder brother who is taking care of his blind younger sister. I also purposely dirtied ourselves to look like street orphans, no one in the Land of Water pay much attention to them. Hanabi went along with my plan with little fuss even if she is annoyed at getting dirtied. I think being brought up in a shinobi clan might have let her understand the importance of what we are doing. Compared to children her age in my previous world, she is very mature even if she throws a little tantrum every now and then, but it is nothing I cannot handle.

I led the blindfolded Hyuga around town trying to find a way for us to get a boat or ship that is willing to ferry us out of here. The Third Shinobi World War and bloodline purges might have ended, but the entire country is still on lockdown. The only way we can get out is to find someone who is willing to smuggle us out, or to steal a boat and use it to get out of here. Personally, I prefer if we can find people who are willing to smuggle us out. I have no idea how to row a boat or operate a ship, even if it is a small one. I don't even know how to navigate the treacherous waters surrounding the country.

After visiting a few shady establishments, I managed to find someone who went by the name of Noki. I don't think that is his real name, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that he is a smuggler that smuggle goods in and out of the country with his crew even if I don't know what the goods are exactly. He never told me the specifics and it is better for me if I don't know. However, he is having troubles trying to get in touch with his contacts in the Land of Water due to the wary eyes of the Kiri shinobi border patrol. He is a little notorious around these parts and it is a little difficult for him trying to move around undetected.

The moment I know of his trouble, I volunteered to help. No one will suspect a kid being involved in smuggling operations and Noki seems like a nice enough man despite his career choice. For starters, he didn't beat us or chase us out of the shady bar that Hanabi and I were hiding ourselves in. I think he have a soft spot for kids given the way he treated me and Hanabi, especially Hanabi, since she is playing the role of a blind girl and Noki always remind her to watch her steps whenever we move about together.

With my assistance, I managed to help Noki link up with his contacts. Noki kept his word and allowed us to come aboard his ship the next time he and his crew leave for the next shipment. Lady Luck was also smiling down on us as his destination happened to be the Land of Fire, where Hanabi's home is located.

Even if Hanabi and I managed to secure our passage to leave the Land of Water, Noki is a firm believer in earning your keep among his crew. Hence, even a kid like me have to help out on the ship although Hanabi is exempted from this due to her 'blindness'. I don't mind the arrangement. Noki is kind enough to help me and Hanabi when he could simply leave me in the Land of Water after taking advantage of my assistance. The ship is crammed with people and crates of goods, but he still cleared out a space for Hanabi and I to stay in the ship's storage room. Given my young age, there's not much I can contribute since I don't have the strength to lift all the heavy load, so I decided to make myself useful by becoming the errand boy of the ship. Delivering drinks, towels, verbal messages, and meals are what I usually do in the two weeks I was with Noki's crew.

"You are spacing out again." Hanabi complained as she gave a huff and put her hands crossly on her hips. "Reply me! I'm bored here!"

"I'm tired." I replied as I lay down on the floor to get some shuteye. It's finally night time and I just want to sleep right now. Noki is a slave driver.

"Can I take off my blindfold? Pleeeeeeeeasee?" Hanabi whined in a whisper and leaned in my direction, her face near mine and keeping her voice low so that her cover will not be blown. At least she's smart enough to know the importance of her cover. There's no telling what Noki will do if he found out that both of us possess kekkei genkai, even if he appeared kind to us. There was a man that used to love Mum and I too, but look at what he did.

"No." I replied sternly and flick my finger on her forehead, causing her to trip and fall on her backside. "Not until we are safe in the Land of Fire. Even then, you might need to keep the blindfold on until I pass you into the safe hands of the shinobis of your village. Do you know that your kidnapping might have very well cause another war? Just endure it for now."

"Hakuuuuuuu."

"No. Go to sleep, it's late." I said as I turn on my side away from her to get some sleep.

"I've been doing nothing the whole day." She complained as she moved to sit beside me. She had long since memorised the layout of the storage room by fumbling around since she had nothing better to do for the entire duration of our sea journey. "I'm going crazy!"

Your presence itself is driving me crazy and you don't see me complaining about that, do you? You are not even supposed to be born yet.

Despite my inner thoughts, I just sighed and turn back around to face her.

"Will you keep quiet if I tell you a story?" What story should I tell? I may need to change the context to something a child of a shinobi can understand too. Hmm, decisions, decisions…

"Really? You have stories to tell?" Hanabi said excitedly as she lay down beside me on her side to face me.

"How well do you know about summon animals?"

"Otou-sama said that you have to form a contract with them, and you also need to convince them to fight alongside you." Hanabi answered seriously. "But I don't know much beyond that. Most of my clan don't use summons."

"Right. So this is a story of the summon realm. Listen carefully, cos I'm not going to repeat myself. A long, long time ago, in the lands of the summon realm of… let's call it Africa for now. The King of the lion summons, Mufasa, and the Queen of the lion summons, Sarabi, had a son named Simba…"

"Take care of yourselves now, kiddos."

"Thank you for giving us a ride here, Noki-san." I said respectfully and thanked Noki on Hanabi's behalf as well.

"You guys are heading towards Konoha, right? Just follow the main road down there. It should be safe even for kids like you since it is heavily monitored by the leaf nins as long as you stick to the main road." Noki helpfully pointed out with his finger in a direction that leads out of the coastal town that his ship had docked in.

After saying our farewells and receiving some food and water from Noki, Hanabi and I set out for Konoha. I am having mixed feelings about this. Things are obviously different in this world from the canon one that I had read about and there is no telling what will happen if I am added to the mix. I have no idea what to expect from the shinobi world since my original village is pretty much isolated and cut off from the outside world. Hanabi doesn't know much either about her village since she is usually cooped up at home with her sister and she is only four years old no matter how mature she is. I could have asked Noki, but that might have raised suspicions that we don't need.

I don't want to go to Konoha where most of the plot had happened. I don't want to get myself tangled into that mess. The best course of action now is to see if we can find any Konoha shinobis patrolling this route and to drop Hanabi off with them.

Hanabi and I walked for a few hours, following Noki's advice and sticking to the main road. Our hairs are unkempt and our clothes are torn in a few places from all the travelling we experienced since we first met in the Land of Water, but otherwise we are ok. Hanabi still had her blindfold on just in case some nasty bandits or shinobi found out about her heritage and attempt to kidnap her again. She didn't like the arrangement, but I somehow managed to persuade her. I held her hand as we walked, and I am trying very hard to see if I can spot a Konoha shinobi border patrol squad that might help Hanabi find her way back home. Apparently the location of the lookout of the border patrol are a secret from the civilians, none of them were able to direct me to a known location where Konoha shinobis congregate other than the Konoha village itself and the town we initially found ourselves in do not have any Konoha shinobis at the moment. I'm very tempted to just call out for them and hope they show themselves to us, but that might not be a very smart move and I have no idea if I will attract the right kind of attention.

"Let's rest here for the night." I said as we entered a small hole within a large tree not far from the main road. Some shinobi probably had hollowed it out for resting purposes. It's too neatly done for it to be anything but the work of a shinobi. The interior of the hollowed tree will shelter us from the wind and cold during the night.

"Ne, Haku." Hanabi tugged on my sleeves to get my attention as I gave her the all clear to remove her blindfold in this small and enclosed space. It's not healthy for her eyes to keep her blindfold on all the time. She blinked a few times to adjust to the waning sunlight that is disappearing thanks to the setting sun as I took out some rations for us to eat.

"What is it?" I said as I munched on a dry dough-like thing. I don't even know what to call it and it does not taste remotely nice, but at least it is filling.

"Will you go back to Konoha with me?" Hanabi asked as she sat in front of me, her face a few inches away from mine and I instinctively tilt my head back to gain some distance. I prefer my own personal space uninvaded. Hanabi, on the other hand, have no concept whatsoever regarding personal space.

"Nah." I replied dismissively as I handed her one of those circular dough-like atrocity. "I will see if I can drop you off with a Konoha patrol or if we reach Konoha itself, whatever comes first. But I am not going to stay in Konoha."

"But, but, why?!" Hanabi's voice rose a few notes higher as she started to visibly panic and her hands flailed about. "Konoha is nice! You will love it! You don't have anywhere else to go anyway!"

I scowled and Hanabi immediately kept quiet. She knew that I don't like to be reminded of the fact that I lost my home. I didn't tell her of my past before meeting her, especially about my parents, but I told her enough for her to know that I have nowhere else to go and no one will miss me even if I am dead.

"The world is a big place. I'm sure that I can find a place to stay." I said as I took a gulp of water to rinse my mouth of the yucky taste that is still lingering there.

"Can't that place be Konoha?" Hanabi said softly. "If you don't stay there, we will probably never meet again."

"That will probably be the case." I admitted. "But Konoha is a shinobi village, and I don't exactly have a good impression of any shinobi village that I know about. You will forget about me soon enough anyway."

"I won't!" Hanabi said fiercely and for a moment, I thought that she had awakened the ability to use her byakugan instinctively. Despite the fact that she was born with it, she still hasn't learnt how to use it due to her young age. Her parents had not gotten around to teach her yet. "I won't forget you!"

There was a fleeting moment of warmth in my heart, but it faded away as quickly as it came. I patted Hanabi on the head and lay down on the floor. All the walking had tire me out. Hanabi had also finished eating by now and she lay beside me and gave me a hug. I wanted to free myself, but it only encouraged her to tighten her hold on me.

"What do you want now?"

Hanabi lifted her face to look at me. She put on a pleading expression and her eyes started to glisten.

Oh no, not the waterworks.

"No, Hanabi. Don't you dare."

Her lips began to quiver and the frequency of it got faster and faster at each passing second. Hanabi's entire body starts to tremble as well and I can see the liquid in her eyes threatening to spill out.

"Alright! I will consider about it, ok?"

Hanabi's expression suddenly did a one eighty and she gave a cheer. The hell, it was an act all along? I got fooled by the infamous puppy eyes jutsu?!

"Yay! Now you will go back to Konoha with me!" Hanabi pointed a finger at me. "Don't go back on your promise! Otou-sama told me those that went back on their promise will never become a strong shinobi!"

"I don't even want to be a shinobi. And I said I will consider the option, doesn't mean that I will definitely go to Konoha with you. I'm dropping you with the patrols or at the village gates and that's where we will part ways." I retorted as I turned away from her on the ground, trying to get myself some sleep. There's never a moment of peace and quiet with Hanabi around whenever we are alone.

"Hakuuuu!"

We rose at the crack of dawn the next day, had our breakfast by finding some wild fruits to eat, refill our water supply from a nearby stream, and got ourselves ready for another long journey. I helped Hanabi put on her blindfold and we both set out once again, with me holding her hand so that she doesn't faceplant on the ground or knock into anything else. We should be safe since we are now in the Land of Fire, but I don't want to risk any chances regarding Hanabi's safety. If that Kumo nin was able to escape all the way to the Land of Water, there might be a small chance that his allies or other foreign shinobis are hiding nearby as well. I wonder where the Konoha border patrol went? I haven't seen any hide nor hair of them. Are we still too far from the heart of the country where the village is located? Surely they must have noticed us by now, right? Or did something happened back at the village so that is why there's no one here to man the roads?

The both of us made small talk throughout the journey to stave off the boredom, although we both made sure not to give our identities away in our conversations. I address Hanabi as "Hana" whenever we are outside to prevent any unwanted eavesdropper who might listen in on us as we passed by. It has been that way since we are in the Land of Water. The word 'Hana' means flower, and it is a common enough name for girls in the Elemental Nations. We won't raise any suspicions that way.

We spent two more days travelling in this manner, and the road we were on gradually smoothed out and looked more well-maintained the more we walked further inland. We are probably getting closer to Konoha. Noki had told us it would be about a three-day journey to Konoha by foot, although it might take us longer since we are both kids. However, at the rate Hanabi and I are going, I think we can expect to see the legendary gates of Konoha within the next day or the day after that. Maybe we can see them before the sun sets today if we are fast enough. Who knows? It's not like we have a map to keep track of our location. I wonder how the Konoha village gates look like in real life? Will the eternal chunin guards be stationed there? What are their names again? Ko-something and…

I forgot. Whatever. I will see if I can remember their names if I see them.

Still, why is there not even a single presence of shinobi along this road?! I know shinobis are supposed to be all sneaky and stuffs, but this is taking it a little bit too far!

The displacement of air and the whistle of a flying projectile is all the warning I had before I pressed Hanabi onto the ground with my body. A shuriken flew passed our heads and embedded itself onto a tree next to us with a 'thunk' and several shinobis appeared. Three of them. I'm not sure if there are more hiding around, but I will assume the worst case scenario that there are at least one or two more that managed to hide from my view.

The best part? They are Kumo shinobis. Fuck. Why are they still here so close to Konoha! What is Konoha's border patrol doing?! You will have thought that Konoha would have killed the Kumo shinobis after what they did to kidnap Hanabi!

"Hand over that girl and you will live, kid." One of the shinobis, a male, said in a monotone voice. "It was good thinking on your part to cover her eyes in a blindfold and pretend that she is blind to hide her identity, but you can't fool us."

I took a step back and placed myself in between the Kumo shinobis and Hanabi, my right hand clutching onto the cylindrical water bottle that I always kept on me. How are we supposed to deal with this situation?!

The only way that I can think of that might help us is a distraction. We need a distraction and then the both of us need to hightail out of here towards Konoha. We should be very close to the village after walking for so long. I extend my chakra senses, trying to feel for any potential water source other than the one I'm currently holding in my hand.

To my delight, I found that one of the Kumo nin had a water bottle attached to the belt on his hip. The others probably stored theirs in a scroll or something since I don't feel any water source on them. I wanted to see if I can control their blood since blood is mostly made of water, but the Kumo shinobis had stronger chakra than a kid like me. My idea of using their blood against them probably won't work since my control over water mainly revolves around the concept of infusing my chakra into the water, even if I am capable of remotely controlling water without physically touching them. I still have no idea how I did that, but I know instinctively that it is harder to control water infused with the chakra of another's. Controlling their blood will never work since I am so much weaker than them.

Still, even taking one of them down is enough.

My left hand which was holding onto Hanabi's right gave two rapid subtle squeezes, a signal that we had agreed upon that means 'prepare to run at any time'. I felt Hanabi giving an affirmative squeeze in return.

I took in a deep breath. It's all or nothing now.

Without warning, I took control of the water in the Kumo shinobi's bottle and it burst out in a pressurised stream and pierced the shinobi from the side. With a wave of my hand, the spear of water rotates and lengthen horizontally, spinning like a rotating blade and bisect the unlucky shinobi into two. The two halves of the Kumo shinobi fell onto the ground as his blood and guts sprayed everywhere, his face an expression of disbelief as he breathed his last.

I still can't believe how easy it is to take a life in this world. I'm surprised that I'm not even the least affected by it and that I actually succeeded in my sneak attack. What had happened to my mental state?

The other two managed to get out of the way in time and jumped to the side to avoid sharing the same fate as their comrade. I took this chance and pulled Hanabi with me, running past them towards the direction of Konoha. Hanabi took off her blindfold as well to allow her to see where she is running. Our cover is busted anyway, no point hiding her eyes anymore.

"Kiharu!"

"Not now, Ju-chan! The target is running away!"

The two shinobis were on us in an instant and it was only when I mentally commanded the spear of water to rain down on them as water needles that they were deterred for a short while. Even now, I am still a little bewildered at how easy water bends to my will, but I am not complaining.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Bullet!"

Hanabi and I barely managed to duck the bolt of electricity and we quickly scrambled to get up and run again. The only kunoichi of the group gave chase and threw a bunch of shurikens, probably trying to injure our legs so we couldn't run, but I willed the water in my water bottle to emerge and cover us like a shield. It is not enough to stop the shurikens from piercing through, but my chakra changed the density of the water and that was enough to change the shurikens' trajectory and miss us.

The male shinobi suddenly appeared in front of us and punched me in the jaw, forcing me to let go of Hanabi's hand and I was sent tumbling face first into the dirt. The kunoichi physically restrained a struggling Hanabi.

"You think the boss will want this kid? He's good. What he did might be the result of a kekkei genkai."

"He killed Kiharu!"

"We are on a mission. You know the risks."

I growled as I saw Hanabi struggling to break free. What is with this world? It's not hard to imagine what will happen to Hanabi if she was taken back to Kumo. Her entire life will be spent as a baby making factory. She will be raped by men the moment she is old enough to bear children, and they will keep doing so until she cannot do it anymore. And when she finally lost her usefulness, her eyes will probably be dug out and then…

I shivered in rage at the thought of Hanabi's fate. This world is a screwed up world. What kind of world is this where a father will willingly kill his wife and child simply because they are born with powers they didn't ask for? What kind of world is this where kidnapping and raping of children is justified for the sake of the military strength of the village?

I hate this world. I want to die, but I am too cowardly to kill myself. I also want to live, but I am afraid of what will happen simply by breathing the same air as these accursed shinobis and the fear of becoming part of the collateral damage if I got caught up in their spats in civilian towns or villages. Hanabi may be annoying at times and too talkative for my tastes, but she is a sweet girl that wants nothing more than to be back home and reunite with her family. She doesn't deserve the fate that Kumo wants to force upon her, all for their twisted idea of strength.

I will save her. No one deserves that kind of fate, especially her.

I am fairly certain that the only hostile shinobis nearby are the two Kumo shinobis. If they have other companions they will have emerged by now.

I stood up shakily from the ground and glared at the two Kumo shinobis. I can feel my chakra responding to my emotions and swirl angrily within me. The two of them just gave me an uninterested look, not deeming me as a threat.

"Haku! Run!" Hanabi shouted as she tried to break free from the hold of the Kumo kunoichi.

"Hanabi, don't move."

I concentrated and tried to recall the feeling when I first called upon the massive amount of ice to kill the man who sired me. I need that power now, I need it now more than ever. I never liked my bloodline ever since that day as it was what caused my mother's death, the one person who truly loved me. Hanabi is a close second, even if that is because I don't have much interactions with other people beyond my family and her before this.

The kunoichi is currently standing on the moist ground where the water I was controlling had fell when I lost my focus from her companion's punch. I have her where I want her to be.

Hanabi stopped squirming upon my words and the look in her eyes conveyed a sense of unwavering trust. Why? Why does she place so much trust in me? I don't deserve it. Don't look at me in this manner, I cannot take it. I might have just doomed us to our deaths for what I'm planning to do.

With a shout, I managed to focus enough chakra and the willpower to control the water on the ground to rise and it quickly froze into a spear of ice and impaled the kunoichi from below and killed her instantly, she wasn't expecting the sneak attack. I managed to dodge the swipe of the kunai from the last shinobi, who is now attacking in rage.

He is not the only angry one. I am furious too.

I rolled on the ground to get behind him and hugged him from behind around his waist, preventing him from going after Hanabi.

"Hanabi! Go! Go to the village! It shouldn't be too far from here! Keep running and don't look back!"

"Haku!"

"Just go! Go find some help if you don't want to see me dead!"

Hanabi's face was stained with tears as she finally mustered the strength to run towards the direction of Konoha.

"Fucking brat!"

The man's kunai stabbed my arm and I cried out in pain, but I only tighten my hold on him. I am not allowing him to harm Hanabi.

The man kept stabbing my arm repeatedly in an effort to force me to let go of him. He could have just aimed for my neck and kill me straight away, but he probably chose not to in case my abilities stemmed from a kekkei genkai, if I guessed his reasoning correctly. It is a well-known fact that among the great five shinobi villages, Kumo had the least number of clans with kekkei genkai within their village. Noki had told us that much when we were making idle talk with each other on the sea journey to the Land of Fire. I gritted my teeth to endure the pain as I tried to squeeze out more chakra from my reserves, the previous stunts I did had severely drained me of chakra. Using my Ice Release tires me faster than what I had expected.

"You know what? I'm just going to fucking kill you."

"Not if I kill you first."

Ice began to form around us from our feet and spread upwards. I grinned. I'm going to take him down with me. I wonder if I will undergo another reincarnation after I die. If I do, I wish I can land in a better world than this one. If there aren't any more reincarnations, that is fine too. I had already lived once.

The Kumo shinobi began to panic as the ice crept up to us faster and faster. Already the ice is reaching his knees and anything below that is frozen solid. I'm planning to trap the both of us in a pillar of ice. He will either die from the cold, or from suffocation when the ice finally covers us whole, and I will be sharing the same fate as him if all goes well. Being able to control ice doesn't mean that I am not affected by the cold, it's just that I can endure the cold better than most. Maybe if I had shinobi training I can train my powers to the point that I can walk through a snowstorm with nothing more but a shirt on me, but that point is moot now.

The shinobi tried to hack at the ice to free himself but it is no use. These are not ordinary ice.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Burst!"

A huge burst of electricity burst out from the man and I screamed in pain from experiencing the full blast of it. Thankfully, my ice held, but I can feel myself fading into unconsciousness from the vicious attack.

"Fuck you!"

The man held his kunai in a backhand grip and plunged it down in the direction of my neck. It's over for me now, but at least Hanabi is safe from him.

The last thing I saw was an unnatural swirl of air before my eyes closed shut.