The Mask I Hide Behind

The Ninja Hidden in the Leaves

Last Time

Kakashi had taken it upon himself when he got the boy as his student to be there for him when he needed someone. Even if it was out of self-pity, he wanted to do it. But how could he do it if he didn't even know Naruto's personality? How could he protect his Sensei's son like that? So he gained his resolve and decided to talk to the boy when he came out of the restroom. He would just wait patiently for that time to come.

And he did wait. And waited some more, and some more, and some more, but Naruto still wasn't coming out. It had been over 30 minutes and Kakashi was worried. So he knocked on the door and called out for the boy who had already left for the woods. "Naruto? You okay in there?" he asked, but received no answer. "Naruto?" he asked again, knocking on the door. "Naruto! Are you in there?" he yelled, catching the attention of the others in his group, causing them to rush toward said bathroom. All the while Naruto was gone.

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As Naruto arrived in the forest, he immediately took a deep breath and sat against a tree. 'Why did I choose an energetic idiot as a mask?'  He asked himself. It was straining, honestly. Most days he wasn't around this many people a lot. Although he took strolls through the village, a lot of his day was often spent in his house. He even trained indoors. He did plenty of exercises in his room or in the mindscape with Kurama after finding out that Kakashi wasn't actually going to teach him anything.

After maybe about 4 minutes of rest under a tree, Naruto sensed a presence nearby. It's chakra was neither familiar nor a stranger to the boy. It was confusing him so he asked Kurama.

'Hey, fox. Wake up.'

'What is it now, kid, I was having a nice dream that you were quiet and let me sleep'

'Too bad it was just a dream then. You feel that?'

'That chakra?'

'Yeah. Know who it is?'

'Not exactly. However I've felt it before. This may be weird to you, but it reminds of me of the times where I was in Uzushio. It might be an Uzumaki.'

'One of mom's relatives, huh? Let's pretend we didn't notice it yet.'

'Good idea, kit.'

Meanwhile, with the others, everyone was concerned about Naruto. They had no idea where he could've been. "This isn't good, Asuma Sensei." Shikamaru stated, hand on his head, as he tried to figure out what happened to the blonde. "Yes, but nonetheless we need to figure out where he could be." the man replied, releasing some of his cigarette smoke. "Troublesome blondes." the boy sighed in response.

Sasuke was worried. A bit too worried in his opinion. I mean, why should he care about that dobe? All he ever did was get on the boy's nerves. I mean, he didn't even show the normal amount of respect you should give an Uchiha. Tsk, what jerk. However, that didn't at all explain why his heart was beating so fast in worry. Clutching his chest, he felt like it would explode with nervousness.

He hadn't felt this way before. Sure he'd been nervous a couple times, but this was a completely different case. "Naruto..." he quietly but audibly mumbled in despair. 'What is this feeling?' he thought, desperate for an answer.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Naruto was relaxing against a tree as he sighed out loud. "Hey, Kura, I'm thinking about just telling them. This is getting pretty unhealthy for me. I'm always tired and strained, and it's not like I get any sleep either." the blonde mentioned to a small orange fox on the floor. "Why are you just now mentioning this, I've been telling you this for a while now. It's about time." it responded, nonchalantly.

I hope you didn't forget about the possibly Uzumaki chakra signal the two had found. The owner of said chakra was smiling to himself. He didn't know he had been found out. If he had, it would definitely be a first. But Kurama and Naruto weren't mean enough to keep him in the dark for too long. "Hey, wanna figure out who it is?" the boy asked, and the fox nodded. This took the man aback for a minute. He was honestly having trouble comprehending how the pair figured out that he was there.

When he tried to back down and just go back, he was met with a Shadow Clone of both Naruto and Kurama. "Hey, you came all the way here. We might as well hear you out." the boy said upon seeing the guy for the first time. Of course the man was hesitant, not knowing the full extent of their powers, but he figured he could just make a run for it later if it gets too bad. "Alright, so..."

"Where the hell did that dobe go?!" Sasuke yelled, his frustration shockingly evident. Kakashi didn't know how to react. Usually the boy would just 'Hn' and roll his eyes, but he was being so...so vocal. "Sasuke, calm down. He can't be that far out, he hasn't had that much time. But I have a plan now." the silver headed jonin said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Our best scouts have, unfortunately, been put in other groups, so you and I will have to use our Sharingan to track him. By the time we reach him, we'll most likely be drained, so Asuma and Shikamaru, along with Choji, will make sure he doesn't get away again."

"Good plan, Kakashi. We'll go with that." Asuma said. "Yeah, sure but what happened if we can't catch him?" Shikamaru asked. He had been planning out the exact same thing as Kakashi but that was the one thing in his way. "Then we'll call in the other groups. No way he could past thirteen of us. Plus the better scouts are in those groups as well as genjutsu experts. Naruto...needs work on genjustsu." Kakashi explained and the boy nodded, satisfied. "Alright, let's head out!" Choji shouted.

Okay! Finally and update! This story will probably only have like five more chapters, then it'll be over. 😭 I know. Tragic. Anyways, don't forget to vote and a little follow wouldn't hurt either.

Ttyl my little readers. Ja ne.