Ryu Uchiha: The Village Hidden in the Storm! [Book 2]

Chapter Seventeen: A Way In

     It was getting cold, and Ryu slightly shivered as he jumped tree limb to tree limb. His mission was clear in his mind, yet as fuzzy as his vision was when he woke up in the morning. He had been told to infiltrate the Hidden Storm Village and retrieve information. No instructions of how to enter, no help, just him. He felt like he would've had a better chance as a sheep try to cross a road filled with hungry wolves.

     After an hour or so jumping nonstop, Ryu began to feel exhausted. He had just went on his first mission, wore himself out fighting the Lightning Five, came back to be hit with the fact that one of his trainers was a spy, then sent right back into another mission, and a really important one, too.

     He sighed. He had never expected things to be this hard, and most definitely not this complicated. Thoughts of Chi suddenly rushed into his head. What've he didn't make it back? What of Chi? And what if he did make it back, but she had been killed in battle? He shook his head of these thoughts and focused. He had to believe that they would both be fine, and after this, they could hopefully worry about their life afterward.

     Just in the distance, he spotted what looked like a wall. The Storm Village's outer wall, Ryu immediately concluded. He had finally neared the village. A smile slowly formed on his relieved face. Finally.

     Out of the blue, however, he heard a loud grumbling. He jumped to the ground in surprise and took covered behind a tree. He looked around, hoping to see what happened. He heard it again, this time much closer. Before he could find a new cover, he stopped and realized what the grumbling was. His cheeks turned red as he realized that it was his own stomach making the noise. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, and his stomach was arguing that it needed something, or else it threatened to shut down his body.

     "What're you doing there, young sir?"

     Ryu, remembering that he was near enemy territory, quickly removed his Leaf Ninja headband and smoothly shoved it into his weapon pouch as he turned around to face the voice's owner.

     The man looked around his late fifties, with streaks of grey forming in his once black hair. He was giant, standing at least six almost seven feet in the air. His warm brown eyes seemed to smile with his lips, giving him a nice vibe. He was pulling a cart behind, which was covered with a large, brown cloth. 

     Ryu opened his mouth to speak, but his stomach decided it was more important and grumbled louder than earlier. The man broke out into laughter, which made Ryu redder. He reached back and brought out an apple from his cart and tossed it to Ryu, who caught it and immediately chowed it down.

     "Where are you head?" the man asked Ryu after he had finished and threw away the apple's core.

     Ryu shrugged innocently. "I don't know. I was just wandering around and I got lost."

     All the way outside the city, young'un?" the man said with a slight chuckle. 

     Ryu nodded. "I guess. I'm very absent minded, you see. I managed to slip past the guards"

     "Is that right? Well, come with me. I'll escort you back in. It's not usually easy to get out of the village, but it is getting in. Besides, one of the guards is my son, and he always lets me back in." He began pulling his cart toward the wall.

     "What's your name, young'un?" he asked.

     "Ryu," came the reply, deciding to stick with actual name to reduce the complexity.

     "I'm Serrin. It's nice to meet you."

     "Likewise."

     At least now I have a way in, Ryu thought as he walked beside Serrin.