A Different Kind Of Journey 24 Arc 2: The Search Part 2

I don't own Naruto. Kis.h.i.+moto Does.

Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.

Take note: Recently, The beta reader for this story will be very busy for awhile. So that means I will be alone on writing story. I'm just a beginner writer so please go easy on me whenever there is a mistake in the story.

Thank you for understanding :)

BETA EDITED BY: TERRAFOX2002

Arc 2

Chapter 11: The Search Part 2

"What the heck just happened?"

Everyone was caught by surprise as the enemy, which was Kisame Hos.h.i.+gaki who they were fighting suddenly vanished into thin air. What was once the chaotic battleground, was now turned back into a quiet land, with the ruins of the destroyed rocks scattered everywhere.

Neji wondered on what the in world happened just now. One moment he was giving all he got to beat the man and then in just a blink of an eye, he was gone as if he just faded away from existence. The brown haired Hyuuga observed his surroundings once more and he saw an unknown unconscious man on a small crater that he did not knew.

"What!?" Neji muttered. He was really confused right now. Who was that man? and why he was wearing an Akatsuki uniform.

"Looks like this one was used as a decoy." His sensei, Might Gai said as he inspected the unconscious body of the man.

Silence then took over for awhile. Neji suspected that there was something going on here. He just realized that the enemy there were fighting just now was, in fact, some kind of decoy or just a way to delay the mission. Then something came up to his mind like a bolt of lightning. There was no trace of his little cousin. She was suddenly nowhere to be found.

"Hanabi!?" Neji exclaimed. He immediately used his Byakugan to search for any trace of her chakra and after a few moments of searching for his cousin, he finally found her laying in on the watery ground in a few distances away from his former spot.

Neji immediately rushed to her. By the time he got there, the Hyuuga girl was slowly recovering from her accidental fall." Hanabi, are you alright?" He asked as he helped her stood up from the ground immediately.

"Hey big cousin, can you slow down for a bit?" Hanabi finally spoke. She asked her cousin to pull her quickly from the ground.

"Oh, I apologize," Neji said. He quickly slowed down and did carefully helping her. By the time it was finished, He bowed his head down to apologized which amused the other.

Hanabi could only shook her head and sighed." Neji, You don't have to be so formal, It's alright, I'm fine okay?" The Hyuuga girl explained. She was just really annoyed at the moment.

"What happened to you by the way?" He asked. Neji also explained that he was so busy fighting the enemy that he didn't really notice what his cousin was doing the whole time during the fight.

Hanabi could only sigh. She explained that she was hiding in a certain spot during the fight as she was preparing to sneak up behind the man and ambush him from behind. When she had executed her move and was about to strike the man from behind when he suddenly vanished into thin air. She then found herself on the wet ground after that whole ordeal.

Neji then took a deep breath. He was ready to burst out the truth." I guess we were fighting some kind of illusion just now." He said. He really couldn't believe that the fight was all just a mind game.

"Yeah, looks like it, but we better get going now," Hanabi said. She then finally recovered and headed straight to the rest of their group. They really couldn't really waste their time here. Someone's life is in danger.

Neji blinked a couple times, before snapping back to reality. He also then headed for his cousin to catch up with her and the rest of the group who were investigating the body.

Everyone was really wondering what happened just now. They were kind of expecting a full blown fight that would last for a longer time but instead it was suddenly cut when things were just escalating. The only thing in their minds right now is that if this was just an illusion being projected by the real enemy somewhere, then the reason why it was suddenly cut because of the fact that someone must've interfered with the real one somewhere.

Both Hanabi and Neji were thinking of the possibility of the ones who were responsible for this were none other than the time travelling trio themselves. They were not really sure but they've just got that feeling that they were in this mission too.

They also recalled that the lavender-haired girl told them about being a.s.signed to a team. Could that be Team 7 that were placed into?

(Interview)

"We recalled Himawari telling us about being a.s.signed into a mission by Lady Hokage a few days ago. She was really excited about it."

-Hanabi

"We're not really sure for now, there are hundreds of D-rank missions being a.s.signed to first timers or rookies, we can't deduced the fact that they've been a.s.signed into a S rank mission such as this.

-Neji

(THE FIGHT)

It was like watching a big fight in person instead of witnessing it live on TV. The Uzumaki siblings stayed in their spot as they witnessed the whole scene unfold right before their eyes. But of them prepared themselves if just in case the raven haired teen needs back up.

Himawari gave a worried looked." Nii-chan, are you sure Saradnee will be alright?" The lavender haired girl asked. She really wanted to helped her adopted older sister.

Boruto gave an a.s.sured smile." Don't worry Himchan, She'll be alright." He explained. He still kept his hopes up on his Uchiha teammate. He would also tell people not to underestimate the latter or else they would really get the beating of their lives.

As the battle continued between the former member of the swordsmen of the mist and the raven-haired rookie, It was like a David vs Goliath scenario, Kisame was all over the place, trying to consume the girl with his deadly water attacks and jutsus combined it with taunts to reduced the latter's confidence.

As for Sarada, she was not that knowledgeable on water techniques but based on her experience on facing a group of rebellious nins before during her trip to the village of the hidden mist years prior, She finally knew what to do at least for now. The raven-haired girl then studied her opponent's recent moves against her. It was aggressive yet a bit reckless. She found herself evading every strike and slash attempted on her. It was like a cat and mouse fight, the fast versus the furious.

Kisame on the other hand, was getting annoyed, he was aggressively attacking and unleas.h.i.+ng his wrath against her but somehow, the girl kept evading his best attacks which baffled him. She looked like a mere beginner to him. He then began performed a jutsu which summoned some kind of water dragon and he ordered it to chased the girl.

Sarada narrowed her eyes, things just got a little bit harder. She found herself being chased by a water that looked like a dragon." You've got to be kidding me." She muttered.

Kisame could on grinned. This had really tired her out, he thought, if he could keep this up, when the time came he can finally strike the exhausted girl, and get rid of her.

On the other hand, Sarada's brain was just too fast to think already of a solution. She knew exactly what to do. She then performed a jutsu which summoned a shadow clone as a decoy and as a distraction. By the time, the water dragon turned its direction to the clone, the raven-haired teen then executed her final move. She immediately found an opening and quickly charged towards the man and then threw shurikens at him to distract him.

Kisame had been ready for this and decided to use his large blade to blocked the shurikens, and when he finally caught the girl charging towards him, He raised his large blade above his head and was now on its way to smash the girl.

Sarada having been predicted this earlier on, quickly evaded the attacked as the large blade smashed the ground instead. The raven-haired Uchiha then stepped on the blade and then used it as a bridge to climb and performed a powerful kick on the surprised man's face.

Kisame who had not antic.i.p.ated this, found himself being met with a powerful kick in the face which sent him flying to a distance and crashed into a tree.

(Interview)

"Since He was being the aggresor, I tried to lure him into spot where he is unable to react fast and I quickly saw that opportunity.:

-Sarada

Meanwhile, the Uzumaki siblings were secretly cheering for their raven-haired friend as if they were watching the s.h.i.+n.o.bi world champions.h.i.+p on the live television.

(Interview)

"It doesn't surprise me for one bit. Sarada is a slick girl with a strength of a monster, I gotta say!"

-Boruto

"Saradneesan is quite the power girl, so lesson learned, don't mess with her or get beat up.

-Himawari

Sarada landed on the ground safely, She then attempted to charged yet again but was then suddenly stopped as someone grabber hand. The raven-haired girl then turned her eyes directly to the one who stopped her and she widened her eyes I'm shocked to see that it was none other than her Uncle Itachi, who finally was out from his trance.

"He has had enough, so please stop"

Itachi said. He then also turned around to face a certain spot where the siblings were hiding.

"I know you guys are hiding there so you can come out now!" He added much to the surprised of the siblings who glanced at each other before deciding to come out from their hiding spot.

Itachi then turned his eyes back to the girl." Look, I don't want any more of a commotion going on here, so what do you want to talk about?" He asked the girl.

"Itachi, what the heck are you doing!?" Kisame who was just recovering from the beating yelled out to the latter.

Itachi ignored his friend's pleas as he gave a serious looked at the raven-haired teen." Now what is it that you guys want to know?" He asked yet again as he let go of the girl.

Sarada, on the other hand, took a deep breath. She hoped that he can answer this simple question.

"Do you know where the Akatsuki is keeping the Kazekage?"

(A DECOY)

During the battle with the Akatsuki member, Itachi Uchiha saw how the whole team struggled against his deadly mind games and illusions. They were mentally exhausted instead of being physically drained. They also realized that the enemy was just an illusion to distract them and delay their mission so that the organization could extract the tailed beast out from the Kazekage's body.

Everyone was currently observing the decoy's body. Chiyo recalled that this black haired young man used to worked for the Sand village and served in the council for four years. She was wondering about what he was doing here since his disappearance after Akatsuki a.s.sault on Suna.

There was silence that took over the area. Lady Chiyo explained the fact that not just the organization but many sought out the power of the Jinchuriki's and used them for their selfish intentions.

Sakura then turned her eyes to her blonde teammate who was looking down and holding his stomach area which contained the mark of the seal which kept the powerful Kyuubi inside of him.

"Naruto." Sakura could only muttered his name. She was getting even more concerned and worried about her teammate's situation.

On the other hand, Kakas.h.i.+ sighed. "I think we should better get going, there's no time to lose now." He explained while the rest turned their eyes to him.

There was really no time for them to just stand there and wonder. They needed to proceed with the mission and rescue the Kazekage as soon as possible.

As the rest of the team left the scene, Kakas.h.i.+ wondered about the three rookies, He could only hoped that the clone that he sent had finally found them and that they were alright.

(THE LOCATION)

There was deathly silence in the open field. Sarada gave a serious look at the older Uchiha. She also turned her eyes to the Uzumaki siblings and nodded as an a.s.surance that everything was alright. She wanted to know the location where the Akatsuki were keeping the Kazekage.

"Dammit Itachi!, don't tell them anything!" Kisame was furious. He had warned his friend to not tell any cla.s.sified information, especially the whereabouts of the Kazekage.

On the other hand, Itachi just kept quiet. He observed the raven-haired girl for a few moments before sighing all together." Tell me, Why should I tell you the Kazekage's whereabouts?" He asked.

"What's it to you?" Itachi asked. He wanted to know the real reason why they wanted to rescue the Kazekage besides being him the leader of the Sand village or being the priority of a rescue team coming from the leaf village.

Sarada just kept quiet. She really didn't know what to say right now. She had to admit that she was not that really good of an explainer just like her blonde teammate but she had to really think of a way to answer this question.

Sarada then took a deep breath and then opened her mouth." It's because that Uncl- I mean the Kazekage is not just any kind of person." She explained although she almost made mistake on calling the latter "Uncle".

Itachi then began listened to the girl's reason. Sarada, on the other hand, based her answers to the true stories that she heard from the Seventh Hokage himself back home. She would go onto explain that the Kazekage was not just the leader of the sand village, but he was a person that really inspired and helped a lot of people especially the Seventh himself. She also explained that the Kazekage was the only hope of the sand village because he was not corrupt or selfish like the other leaders. Without him, the future of the village will be dark forever.

The Uzumaki siblings were just really watching their friend in awe, They really didn't expect that she would speak like that. It was kind of new to them, to be honest, but they were really proud of her for showing her confidence.

As for Sarada, the explanation part really made her tired but it was worth it. She had told him every good reason that she had to know where the Kazekage's whereabouts. "Please, I need to know." The Uchiha girl added.

Itachi just stared at the girl. He then observed her eyes. She was the girl from the bakery shop! He never really thought that she was a s.h.i.+n.o.bi herself and was on this mission. But he can see the truth on the girl's eyes, She was not lying and those words that she had said just now came from the heart.

Itachi sighed as he pointed to a certain direction." The hideout is in that direction." The man said. He would go on to explain that the hideout itself was a huge cave and a giant red arch would be standing before that particular cave.

"There is also paper seal placed on that huge boulder covering the cave. You have to find four other paper seals that are placed somewhere around this forest and once you removed them all, then you can finally remove the main seal on the boulder." Itachi explained. He was giving the right details for them to be careful when they proceeded.

"Would there be consequences once we remove the seals ?" Sarada asked. She wanted to make sure that there will be no sudden traps once they removed those seals.

Itachi smiled. "I guess you guys have to find out for yourselves then." He explained. He really didn't what those seals were capable of once they were removed.

Sarada nodded in understanding. "Thank you." The raven-haired girl thanked her Uncle as she beckoned the Uzumaki siblings to follow her to the direction that the latter pointed.

As the time travelling trio left, Silence then took over the whole area yet again. Itachi smiled as he watched the trio disappeared into the forest towards their destination.

"Dammit! that hurts!" The disgruntled annoyed voice of Kisame exclaimed. He finally recovered and stood up from the ground. He then managed to walk but was limping all the way to his partner.

Itachi just sighed. He then headed towards his friend and helped him regained his balance and composure." Are you alright, Kisame-san?" He asked. He showed his concern for him.

"What the heck are you doing!? Do you realize what you've done!?" Kisame scolded the Uchiha. He was really confused and furious for his friend had done just awhile ago.

Itachi sighed but smiled." Calm down Kisame, I know what I'm doing." He simply explained. In fact, He really wanted the trio to succeed in their mission.

"Do you realized if the rest of the members discovered about this?" Kisame asked yet again. He felt like an old man with his blade acting as a cane to support himself.

Itachi sighed, yet again." You know a good relaxing tea would solve everything." He said as he tried to lighten up the mood while the other just grunted in annoyance.

"What happened to you by the way? You looked like someone who has been knocked out by a kid two times." Itachi asked. He was just wondering, In fact, he did not see the whole fight unfold. He only saw the last part of the fight where he saw hid blue skinned friend getting kicked in the face by the girl just now.

Kisame gave an annoyed face." Yeah, That must be the girl you're always talking about and she just beat me up like a rag doll." He explained with sarcasm in his tone of voice. He would then go on to explain that this girl had the Sharingan and he swore that he saw it with his own eyes.

Itachi just sighed and smiled at his friend." I know but let's just put that aside alright?" He said much to the surprise of the blue-skinned man.

"You treat him as if she was a member of your family," Kisame commented While the other just simply smiled.

As for the Uchiha himself, He wondered about the girl. When he stared into her eyes, He saw her memories which really shocked him. Memories of seeing his younger brother who was now a grown up man and the girl herself calling him "Papa". He began to connect the dots and found himself realizing that she was not just any other person working in some bakery shop or nor she was just a normal girl.

She was an Uchiha and her future niece.

(Interview)

"I've always had that feeling since the beginning and I was right all along to figured that she was indeed my little brother's daughter and my niece.

-Itachi

(THE SEALS)

When the first team, which was Team Gai arrived the front of the hideout, they were suddenly greeted by a large red arch which meant that they were in the right place.
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Hanabi widened her eyes in surprised. She found herself staring at a very large circular boulder that stood higher and above the red arch. She deduced that this giant boulder acted as the door to the cave.

"Gaara's on the other side of the boulder," Pakkun informed as the small pug examined the cave.

"What's the plan?" Tenten asked. She really didn't know what to do with the boulder.

"I say we smash it!" Rock Lee suggested on the other hand. He was confident that they can destroy the boulder.

"No." Hanabi muttered aloud. She noticed that there was a seal placed on the middle of the boulder. They cannot destroy this boulder, but they will have to remove the seal on that boulder.

"It's a five seal barrier!" A familiar voice then said. The whole team turned around to see that the main team for this mission, Team 7 had finally arrived.

Might Gai widened his eyes." Kakas.h.i.+! You're just in time my friend!" He greeted his fellow Jounin partner.

"Sorry for being a bit late, We ran to a bit of trouble along the way," Kakas.h.i.+ explained as he arrived with his team along with Lady Chiyo.

"Naruto! Sakura!" Both Rock Lee and Tenten greeted their two old friends.

"Hey guys!" Naruto greeted back. As he shook hands with Rock Lee.

On the other hand, Tenten and Sakura greeted each other in their usual way of greeting.

"It's been long time man!" Rock Lee said.

"Yeah! You still look the same, Lee!" Naruto replied which caused the two guys to chuckle loudly.

Neji and Hanabi's faces turned into looks of disappointment. They were really expecting that the trio, especially Himawari will be here alongside the rest of the team but instead they were greeted with false hope. Although, they tried to think positive. They thought that trio wouldn't be involved in this difficult mission or else they would get hurt.

"So Kakas.h.i.+, what do you know about that seal over there?" Gai asked.

"Just like I said, It's a five barrier seal," Kakas.h.i.+ said. He would then go on to explain that they cannot simply remove the seal on the boulder, It turns out there are other 4 seals located somewhere around this area and they have to remove it at the same time.

"Neji can you locate them using your Byakugan?" Gai then asked his student.

Neji simply nodded and then immediately used his Byakugan to accurately locate the paper seals and then informed the rest that they were not far from the paper seals, the seals were just nearby from their current area. Might Gai also had provided several bluetooth earpieces to the rest for them communicate once they finally locate their targets. Their goal was to remove the paper seals at the same time.

By the time that they finished preparing themselves, they were finally given the signal to go and they all headed to the locations of the other 4 seals. Only, Naruto, Sakura, Kakas.h.i.+ and Lady Chiyo were left behind at the main entrance. They also wore their own. bluetooth earpieces so that they can know if all the paper seals had been removed at the same time.

(MEANWHILE)

The time travelling trio found themselves rus.h.i.+ng their way through the forest. They really have to get those seals before they can go to the main Akatsuki hideout. Although, The blonde teenager suddenly stopped his tracks midway through much to the surprised of the two girls.

"Is there something the matter?" Sarada asked. She was a bit confused about why her teammate stopped midway through their journey.

Boruto nodded. "Alright girls, we really need to discuss on removing those seals, there really could be traps." The blonde teen explained. Maybe his Uncle Sasuke's brother could be right.

"So how do we gonna removed them safely Nii-chan?" Himawari asked. She was wondering on how they were gonna removed the paper seal without triggering any traps.

Boruto sighed but then smiled. He then drew something from his bag and gave them both some kind of rectangular-shaped communication devices which were known as "Walkie Talkies".

"What are we gonna do with these walkies?" Sarada asked. She also wondered on where her teammate got this devices from. Does he even have his own supplier? or was he just buying things out of the blue?

"Simple, Its for us to communicate when we plant those killers in those seals." The blonde explained which made the two girls even more confused.

"Killers? Alright Boruto, what's your plan exactly?" Sarada asked. She was a bit annoyed that her teammate wouldn't tell her the answer straightforwardly.

Boruto then drew something from his backpack yet again to reveal some kind of five explosive tags and he then gave two of the tags to both girls and kept the other three. The blonde then took a deep breath and then grinned.

"Simple, we're gonna blew up those seals."

(Interview)

"It's a good thing, I brought those killers in this mission, I never thought I would be using them soon and h.e.l.l yeah! It's gonna be fun!"

-Boruto

CHAPTER ENDS

AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!