A Thousand Years

The Council

A few days had passed and Naruto was improving rapidly. He had begun to hang out with his friends more often and seemed to be much happier after his move to the new apartment. He was just about to head out when a knock came at the door.

He hopped up from his bed and opened the door.

"Hey Naruto! How's it going?" Yori asked with a grin.

"Good! Oh, um... why are you here?" He asked, trying not to sound rude, though the man didn't seem to mind.

"Just checking up on you. And for some news..." He motioned for Naruto to get closer and his voice lowered. "The council decided to help you become a shinobi." He whispered dramatically.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"What? What do you mean?" Help him become a shinobi? Why would they do that?

"Well pretty much the entire village knows you wanted to become a shinobi but weren't able to because of... well, circumstances. They think you have some potential and want to offer you a private sensei!" Yori stated, seeming to be excited for him. "You'll be able to catch up to your friends in no time, even surpass them! Plus I hear the person they have in mind is really strong. So, what do you say?" His smile faltered upon seeing the boy's hesitation.

"...I... I'm not sure." He struggled to get the words out. "It's really nice of them to offer that... but could you tell them that I have to think about it?"

Yori's expression soured for a split second before returning to a cheerful smile.

"Of course, I'm sure they'll understand. Anyways, I'll see you later!" He waved before disappearing, presumably to speak with the council members.

Naruto stepped out of his house and began sprinting towards the old training field.

"Sensei?" Naruto called to the familiar field. "Sensei are you here?"

No response.

He frowned, if she wasn't here then he wouldn't be able to find her. He's had no luck the last few times he tried looking for her. It was like she didn't exist outside of this place. He sighed, supposing that it was his fault for not coming for training in the past weeks. He hoped that she wouldn't be mad at him.

A figure strode through the tall trees, this was the deep part of the woods with twisting vines and little wildlife. It was as if the animals dared not tread there and even the insects refused to play their songs. Weak beams of light struggled to push through the canopy of leaves that hung high overhead, making the floor of the forest shadowy and difficult to see. The person, however, moved without hesitation in their step, they moved with purpose.

Then the figure stopped. They stood still for long while, as if they were listening to something that wasn't there. Suddenly, they glanced left and darted away. Voices could be heard approaching, they were quiet and difficult to hear but still comprehensible. For a moment, they seemed to grow closer but then slowly faded away.

A man with dull black hair approached the village gates, his eyes were a sharp green that greatly contrasted with his pale complexion. Once he reached the tall gates he was promptly stopped by two guards.

"State your name and-"

He held out a scroll, cutting them off.

One of the guards took the scroll and glanced over it. He then rolled it up again and nodded to his partner.

"You may enter."

The man tucked the scroll away and stepped into Konoha through the now open gates.