It's time to Head Out - Part 4

Somewhere in a particular restaurant, in the Hidden Grass…

Two figures sat opposite each other eating food together on a table. Sitting amongst regular people, none knew the disguised ninjas in their midst.

"That'll be 350Ryo, Sir," A young lady said as she collected the plate that had been emptied.

"Here you go, young lady," The man smiled as he handed over the money.

"But Sir, this is…" The young woman was confused seeing a stack of notes, much more than the amount she had mentioned to be paid.

"Hehe, A young beautiful lady like you deserves that amount for the handwork you do…" The man said, simultaneously peeking from the side of his eyes at the assets of the woman.

"You're very kind… Sir," the woman said blushing from the way that the man kept stealing looks from her.

"…" The other man who had accompanied the first man to the restaurant gave looks of disapproval of the first man's actions.

…

"So young lady, would you happen to know anything about the… Uh… Hozuki castle perhaps?" The man asked politely.

"The Hozuki castle?" The woman was taken back by the subject.

"Sure sir, I've been hearing it here and there from our customers, So I might know something…" The woman replied.

"Oh…" The man immediately took out a journal and a pen from his pocket.

"W-What are you…"

"Don't worry, young lady… I'm just a journalist," The man explained as he started to write notes into his pocket memo.

"I see, in that case…"

"…"

…

A few minutes later,

The two men walked out of a restaurant and headed towards a nearby alley.

…

*Sh!*

"Hmph, now that the initial preparations are done, we must head over to the castle immediately," Jiraiya said.

"So, I take it that you are the one that is going to infiltrate into the castle?" Orochimaru asked.

"Who said I am the only one, You'll be infiltrating too,"

"With the two of us we can cover more ground," Jiraiya explained.

"How do you plan to enter the castle? Are you going as a prisoner, or journalist or…" Orochimaru paused.

"I'll try infiltrating as a journalist,"

"I'll have to leave it to you to bring out the boy," Jiraiya said.

"I hope you won't stop me from having my share of the fun?" Orochimaru asked intending to stir some ruckus and despair while also hoping to gain some test subjects to experiment on…

"Orochimaru! This is the Hozuki Castle, a prison jointly built by all the nations. We cannot afford to slip up here," Jiraiya warned.

"Tsk!" Orochimaru clicked his tongue seeing that his request was shot down.

"Let's go!" Jiraiya said the following which, both departed in the direction of the Hozuki castle.

————

Back in the land of the waves…

"Ugh…"

"I see you are awake," Naruto said in an excited voice.

"…B-big brother Naruto," Inari cleared his eyes as he slowly woke up.

"Ouch," Inari felt his swollen-up face sting from pain when he tried touching it.

"Here," Tsunami sat down next Inari and held a folded cloth that contained ice cubes next to Inari's face.

"Thanks…" Inari said in a low voice.

*Knock*

*Knock*

*Knock*

"Come in!" Tsunami said, following which the door opened to reveal two old men.

"Grandpa, Old man Matsuda," Inari called out respectively.

"Inari," Tazuna called out his grandson's name excitedly, but before he could rush to hug him, a figure landed before Inari.

"Old Man," Naruto stared at Matsuda.

"Inari, this old one begs for your forgiveness. I was unable to help when you needed it the most," Matsuda said in regret.

"It's all right, Old Man! No one could've done anything in that situation. Besides they were strong, only ninjas like Big brother Naruto could handle them," Inari said.

"…" Tazuna and Matsuda remained silent.

Inari then turned towards Naruto.

"Big brother Naruto," Inari called out.

"Uh, huh?" Naruto responded.

"I want to become a ninja," Inari said suddenly stunning everyone in the room.

"Inari, You can't!" Inari's mom Tsunami interrupted.

"Yeah, Inari, It will be very difficult for you," Tazuna also discouraged the thought.

Naruto looked at Inari.

"Inari, you remember what your dad taught you right?" Naruto asked.

"…"

"Listen, Inari, It takes a long time a long time, hard work, sweat, and blood to achieve the strength you want to protect someone,"

"And sometimes, even with that strength it is still not possible to surpass the strength of what the world may have in store for us," Naruto said thinking back to the past he came from.

"What I'm trying to say is, It is not a life meant for you, I want you to live your life here amongst the others and become a strong builder like your grandpa, or a fisherman like your dad or anything else you wanna be. If you ever face any trouble down the line, the Leaf Village is always there to help you out. And, if you still want to become a ninja, The leaf is there for that too," Naruto assured Inari.

Both Tsunami and Tazuna agreed with Naruto's words.

"Thanks for coming all the way here on short notice," Tazuna said.

"Hehe, It's no problem at all ya know, This is on the house," Naruto smiled.

"Thanks, Big brother Naruto," Inari also bowed towards Naruto.

"Anytime," Naruto replied.

"Wanna stay for lunch?" Tazuna asked.

*GGGRRRR!!!!!!*

Naruto's and Inari's stomach growled at the same time, leaving everyone in the room speechless.

"Guess, I don't have a choice now," Naruto said, leading to everyone laughing in the room.

————

Hidden Stone…

*Knock!*

*Knock!*

*Knock!*

"Come in!" Onoki said.

"You called?" Kurotsuchi, the granddaughter of Onoki asked.

"Yes, Regarding the Hidden Sand, I have decided to send you and Akatsuchi to the Hidden Sand to keep an eye on things for me," Onoki said.

"Woohoo, I'm finally getting to go outside this village," Kurotsuchi danced excitedly on the spot.

"Don't take this lightly, I would have sent more people but this is to gather intel only," Onoki said.

Soon Akatsuchi also entered the room and Onoki explained the situation.

"When are we leaving grandpa?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"Leave right now. I'll lead you till the gate and use my technique to make you two fly. It will work only for a little while. Try not to get into any trouble," Onoki said.

"Don't worry Grandpa!" Kurotsuchi assured.

"Akatsuchi! Carry me all the way to the gate!" Onoki commanded.

"Yes…" Akatsuchi immediately followed through on the order.

…

At the gate of the Hidden Stone, Onoki stared at the two.

"What are you waiting for grandpa?" Kurotsuchi asked eagerly.

"Hmph, I wouldn't be sending you two if the situation wasn't dire…" Onoki said following which he touched the back of the two at once.

< Earth Release - Light-Weight Rock Technique >

"…Woah…" Kurotsuchi was surprised

"YYAAAAYYYY!!!" Akatsuchi was very excited for the first time in his life to using that same technique although not his own to be able to fly.

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Kurotsuchi shouted mid-air.

"Be careful you two, I want you back safe!" Onoki said, however by that time the two were almost out of range.

"It's time for you to head out," Onoki thought as he stared at his Granddaughter.