"You're going to try and fight me? You're just a monk, I don't even recognise that stupid stance." Naruto allowed a fleeting smile to flicker over his lips that slightly unnerved the boys still holding the girl.
"This is the starter stance for the Mizu no Mai. I'm not surprised you don't recognise it, I'm still developing it after all." As he spoke His head lowered and brought his arms up, one in front of his body and one behind so that it looked like his whole body was slightly tilted forwards. Both his palms were facing upwards and his legs were also spaced out in front and behind. In all it almost looked like he was bowing. "It should be enough to show you that a weapon certainly does not make one a shinobi." As if that was some kind of signal the other boy rushed forwards, bringing the kunai down in a high arc.
Naruto waited until the last moment, his eyes still closed before suddenly moving out of the way. His whole body span, so close to the other boy they could have held a piece of paper between them. As he did one hand grabbed a hold of the wrist holding the kunai before sliding under the boy, still in one clean sweeping motion. Continuing the flow of his strangely hypnotising dance he pulled his body into the splits, simultaneously taking out both of the boy's feet from under him. Instead of falling flat on his face though Naruto almost gently rolled the boy to the ground so that his back was to the ground. Throughout the whole manoeuvre he had never let go of the boy's wrist. He backed off, allowing the boy to stand which he did, getting to his feet with a surprised expression that quickly hardened into a scowl.
"What kind of pathetic move was that? It didn't even hurt. If that's all you're going to do then... then..." Suddenly the boy began swaying in his feet, feeling incredibly drained like he had been fighting for hours instead of a few seconds. "H-Hey, what did you...?" He didn't get a chance to finish as his eyes rolled back and he dropped bonelessly to the ground. His two friends suddenly released the girl as they backed away from Naruto, not really wanting to mess with somebody who could take out their leader in a single move.
"He'll be fine in about an hour, he's just exhausted. Even so you should take him now and go, I don't really want to fight you." Not even waiting for him to finish the two boys scurried forward, grabbed their friend and dashed off, leaving Naruto alone in the alley with the girl.
"T-Thank you monk-san." Naruto just gave an easy smile, his almost closed eyes turning up as he waved his hand dismissively.
"No problem ahh...?" The girl took the hint as she moved closer, her head finally rising for the first time to reveal a rather cute face and shining black eyes that seemed common in Suna,
"Matsuri." Naruto smiled again as he reached for his shakujou even though he was a bit unnerved by the look of adoration on the girl's face.
"Well then no problem Matsuri, I'm happy to help out." He turned to go but thought better of it as he turned back to face the smaller girl. "Just remember, a weapon does not make a shinobi. Find your own way in life, never let others tell you what you're doing is the wrong way." With that last piece of wisdom the blonde finally made to leave, only to feel a small hand grab onto his own.
"Wait, I don't know your name." The blonde turned with that same smile that reached his eyes.
"It's Naruto." Again he found looking at that admiring stare slightly disconcerting; it was so foreign to him.
"How can I thank you?" Naruto placed a hand on the girls shoulder, unintentionally reading her chakra and was pleasantly surprised to find she had good reserves for a ten year old considering she was only a year younger than him.
"You don't, like I said I was happy to help." And with that he gave a wave and walked off, leaving the jingling of his shakujou echoing in the alley.
Naruto spent the next few days in Suna taking in the various sights as well as doing odd jobs to earn some food. At night he would sleep in a small out of the way temple near the edge of the village, the kindly master reminding him a lot of Chukaku. Right now he was standing outside a very large and very ornate building, one of the few that weren't cylindrical or spherical. He walked through the door, smiling slightly as he saw the rows upon rows of books, stacked high on shelves covering every wall and more.
This was what his pilgrimage was about; every monk chooses something they want to discover or learn about and they dedicate themselves to it until they are satisfied. Some chose to ponder the mysteries of life and existence, others taking more philosophical routes delving into human nature. Naruto had chosen to try and understand the nature of Chakra itself, to follow in his ancestor's footsteps and hopefully one day surpass him.
That was why he needed to travel, to gain perspective; information tended to be heavily biased towards the ones writing it. That was why he needed to gain a broader understanding of the world, to see the bigger picture from as many angles as possible. He couldn't think of a better place to start than a library, especially one in a ninja village where chakra is part of daily life. However he quickly ran into a problem, the area where all that information was stored happened to be in the shinobi area.
He was not a resident of Suna nor was he a shinobi in their ranks so the information was off-limits for him. Of course if he tried to henge and got caught he could be severely punished under suspicion of being a spy. He sighed as he sat outside on the steps leading up to the library, watching as a chameleon slowly made its way up the wall, stopping occasionally to blend in. They were remarkable creatures; evolution had made it so when they were perfectly still and camouflaged even their chakra was undetectable. He wished he had that ability, it would make getting the information easier.
Suddenly a thought struck him as he got up, quickly making his way back through the streets towards the academy.
"Hey Matsuri." The young brown-haired girl suddenly jumped in surprise as the voice appeared out of nowhere. She sighed as she turned around before a smile fund its way to her face as she saw just who it was.
"Naruto-san!" The blonde just chuckled as he rubbed the back of his head, his eyes still appearing to be closed.
"Just Naruto is fine. How are you doing?" The girl beamed, looking very different from the shy and timid person she had been before.
"Great! Those bullies left me alone and haven't bothered me again. I think they believe you'll come back to finish them if they do." Naruto just returned her beaming grin with one of his own.
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