Sage

Ch.11

In comparison to entering the country, leaving proved to be far more of a chore. The two of them had been checked for any 'contraband' which Naruto knew to mean any signs of rebel influence. It had taken a good hour before they were cleared to finally leave and cross over into Kusa no Kuni. Unfortunately for them, despite leaving the land of Rain, the clouds over head made no attempt to dissipate; Shizuku's mood seemed sombre after that.

Naruto had never taken much stock in borders between countries; they were mostly artificial anyway, only really being true on maps. However the difference between Ame and Kusa was almost strangely apparent. No sooner were they out of the relatively flat and barren country behind them before they found themselves walking through a large, jungle-esque area. Everything from the plants to the animals seemed vastly over-sized; mushrooms the size of small buildings seemed especially prevalent.

Another strange thing was that there seemed to be no obvious roads anywhere; they seemed to stop right at the border with Ame. This left them to trek through the jungle with only a small map to tell them the way. Naruto was never sure why, although he suspected it had to do with his Deva Path's gravity abilities, but he always had an innate sense of direction; he just instinctively knew which way was north and such. That proved helpful when the sky overhead became blotted out by the thick canopy of jungle foliage and they couldn't even tell where the sun was.

However this had the added benefit of blocking the rain which lightened the mood for the both of them; although they could have done without the rather oppressive jungle heat. Along that line the two had abandoned the rain-coats they had picked up in Ame in favour of their lighter attire; Naruto in his robes and Shizuku in her Miko outfit. However they decided to keep the sugegasa hats they had picked up; Naruto liked the look of them and they kept the upper half of his face hidden meaning he could keep his eyes open without anybody seeing them.

"You know, as a monk I'm supposed to be in tune with nature and the animals around me." Shizuku was quietly giggling to herself as Naruto held his hands in fists, the one around his Shakujou turning white. "But that would be a whole lot easier without all of these bugs!" As if to prove his point a rather large and lazy-looking fly landed on Naruto's outstretched arm. The blonde was physically restraining himself to not just slam his other hand down on it. The jingle of a monk's Shakujou was for the express purpose of warning insects and bugs away from him so he would not step on them; unfortunately they did not seem to be getting the message.

"I have no idea what you mean." Her voice was calm but Shizuku still had her hand across her mouth to suppress her giggles. Naruto had been getting more and more irritable the further they got into Kusa; far from the usual serene monk persona he normally wore. Naruto just cast her a rather pointed glance, his eyes momentarily flaring with Chakra to light up his Rinnegan.

"Why isn't this happening to you?!" The girl just shrugged; honestly she too had thought it was rather strange that not a single insect had come anywhere near her since arriving in the country.

"I don't know, I guess animals just like me better." Naruto just gritted his teeth as he shook off yet another bloodsucker looking for its next free meal. He sighed irritably as he noticed the area around them growing darker; no doubt the sun was going down; not that they could see it.

"Alright, well we might as well stop for the night anyway." At that Shizuku froze, looking at Naruto with wide eyes before turning that same frightened gaze around her.

"Here? As in the middle of the jungle?" Naruto nodded absently as he began the process of unsealing all of their equipment and supplies. "Are you kidding? Did you see the size of some of the animals we passed?" Naruto quickly waved her off with a smile as he continued to lay out the two sleeping mats they had; he had made sure to pick up a second one during their trip through Ame.