Chapter 22: Family? (Patreon)

The night air was crisp, the scent of damp earth and fresh leaves filling Naruto’s lungs as he sat near their makeshift camp. The fire crackled softly, casting flickering shadows against the surrounding trees. Sasuke was sharpening his kunai, eyes occasionally darting toward the darkness beyond their campfire. Sakura was lying on her side, arms folded beneath her head, trying to get some rest but still alert enough to listen for danger.

Naruto sniffed the air.

Something was off.

His nose twitched as he caught the scent of something—or rather, someone. A girl. And…

A bear?

He stood up.

Sakura lifted her head slightly. "Where are you going?"

Naruto glanced toward the forest. "I smell something weird."

Sasuke snorted. "You always smell something weird."

Naruto ignored him. His feet were already moving, his body light and silent as he leaped onto a branch and sprinted through the treetops. The scent was getting stronger, mixed with sweat and fear.

Then—

A scream.

Naruto stopped. Below him, a girl with wild red hair, round glasses slipping down her nose, was running for her life. Behind her, a massive bear charged forward, snarling, its powerful paws tearing up the dirt with every step.

The girl tripped.

The bear reared up.

Naruto tilted his head.

Should he help her?

He exhaled softly.

Then, instead of attacking, he called out, his voice calm and even.

"Why are you chasing her?"

The bear froze.

The girl gaped at him in horror.

But Naruto wasn’t looking at her. His sharp eyes were locked onto the massive beast, waiting.

Then—like a whisper in his mind—he heard it.

"She got too close to my cave. My cubs are inside."

Naruto blinked. "I think your cubs are alone right now, since you’re here chasing her. Some humans might find them. Some might kill them for fur. Or for fun."

The bear’s pupils shrank.

It spun instantly, bolting back the way it came, crashing through the underbrush in its rush to return to its cave.

Silence.

The girl sat frozen on the ground, chest heaving, staring after the retreating bear. Then she turned her wide red eyes to Naruto.

"What the hell," she breathed. "Did you just talk to that thing?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess."

She scrambled to her feet, brushing dirt off her torn clothes. "Thank you. Seriously. That was insane. I thought I was gonna die."

Naruto was already turning to leave. The bear was gone. Problem solved. Time to go back to camp.

But the girl hurried after him. "Wait—wait, hold on!"

Naruto sighed. "What?"

She stared at him. Her glasses had slid down again, and she pushed them up absentmindedly as her gaze locked onto his face. Or, more specifically—

His hair.

Her eyes widened. "Red hair?! What was your name again?"

Naruto blinked. "Naruto Uzumaki. Dattebane."

The girl lit up. "No way! I’m an Uzumaki too!"

Naruto tilted his head. "Really?"

"Yeah!" she grinned, practically bouncing in place. "I knew it the second I saw you! Uzumaki hair, Uzumaki eyes, Uzumaki—uh, weirdness!"

Naruto frowned slightly. "…Weirdness?"

"Yeah, yeah, like the crazy chakra, the ridiculous stamina, the not dying easily thing—"

"Huh." Naruto had never thought about it like that. He just figured he was… himself.

The girl crossed her arms. "So. Who’s your parent? Are you a full Uzumaki?"

"My mother was Kushina Uzumaki."

The girl gasped. "No way!"

Naruto blinked. "Yes… way?"

"That’s so cool!" She practically vibrated with excitement. "I don’t even know my parents! I mean, my clan’s dead and my assholic teammates are dead too, so I guess I’m alone—but not anymore!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly. "Not anymore?"

She smirked. "We should stick together!"

Naruto stared. "Why?"

"Because we’re family, obviously."

He considered that for a moment.

That was actually… a nice logic.

Made sense. Animal sense.

Naruto gave a small nod. "Okay."

The girl grinned triumphantly. "Hell yeah!"

"But," Naruto said suddenly, eyes sharp. "You can’t eat my ramen."

She blinked. "Huh?"

"Buy your own."

"Wait, what—?"

But Naruto was already leaping away into the trees.

The girl scrambled after him, still sputtering. "Wait! That’s not fair! What kind of family member doesn't share ramen?!"

"An Uzumaki one," Naruto called back.

And just like that, a new part of the pack was added.

—ToT—

Sasuke wasn’t sure what to think when his weird/creepy/ridiculously strong teammate came back with a redhead girl trailing behind him like an excited puppy.

Naruto landed lightly in the middle of their makeshift camp, barely making a sound. The girl, on the other hand, landed with a stumble, panting slightly, glasses askew.

Sakura, who had been resting against a tree, immediately sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Who—?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Naruto. Explain."

Naruto plopped down by the fire, grabbing a ration bar from his pouch and biting into it. "This is Karin. She’s an Uzumaki. She’s with us now. Dattebane."

Sakura blinked. "Excuse me?"

Karin, who was still catching her breath, shot Naruto an incredulous look. "That’s how you introduce me?!"

Naruto tilted his head, chewing. "Should I have said more?"

"Yes!" Karin huffed, dramatically placing a hand on her chest. "Like, hello, my name is Karin, I am an incredibly talented and skilled kunoichi from Kusagakure who happens to be the last known female Uzumaki in existence! And that I am now generously offering my superior abilities to you peasants!"

Sasuke let out a slow breath through his nose. "Great. Another loud one."

Sakura stood, hands on her hips. "Hold on—just because she’s an Uzumaki doesn’t mean she can just join our team!"

"Why not?" Naruto asked, blinking at her. "She doesn’t have a team anymore."

Karin crossed her arms. "They’re dead. Rip. Too bad. Oh well."

Sakura flinched. "Oh well?"

"They sucked anyway," Karin said bluntly, then waved a hand in the air. "They only ever tried to use me, and besides, Naruto literally just saved my life, so I owe him."

Naruto frowned. "You don’t owe me anything. I just helped because you were in trouble."

Karin squinted at him. "You do realize that’s how making friends works, right? Someone helps you, and then you stick around because you appreciate it?"

Naruto hummed. "So… like a pack?"

Karin grinned. "Exactly."

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose. "I hate everything about this conversation."

Naruto ignored him.

Sakura groaned, exasperated. "Okay, fine. Let’s pretend we accept this for now. But how do we know she’s not gonna betray us?"

Karin gasped dramatically, clutching her chest. "Betray my own blood? How dare you!"

Sakura deadpanned. "You just said you didn’t care about your dead teammates like, five seconds ago."

Karin paused. "…That’s fair. But still!" She turned to Naruto, pointing at him. "You trust me, right?"

Naruto tilted his head. "I don’t trust anyone."

Silence.

Karin's eye twitched. "…Okay, ow. That hurt a little."

Naruto blinked. "But I don’t distrust you either. So it’s fine."

Karin considered that, then nodded. "I’ll take it."

Sasuke crossed his arms, glaring at the fire. "This is stupid."

Karin smirked at him. "Aww, what’s wrong? You mad that I might steal your spot as Naruto’s favorite?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Naruto doesn’t have favorites."

"Wrong," Naruto said instantly.

Everyone turned to him.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "…Who?"

Naruto swallowed his last bite of food and stared him dead in the face. "Ramen."

Sasuke sighed.

Karin burst out laughing.

Sakura groaned.

Naruto stretched, yawning. "Anyway, she’s staying with us now. Dattebane."

Karin grinned. "Hell yeah, I am."

Sasuke muttered something under his breath about idiots attracting idiots, but he didn’t argue further.

Sakura just shook her head. "Fine. But if you screw us over, I will personally make sure you regret it."

Karin smirked. "Aw, you do care."

Sakura rolled her eyes.

Naruto, satisfied that the conversation was over, curled up against a tree and closed his eyes.

Karin sat next to him.

Sasuke stared into the fire.

Sakura sighed and leaned back against the tree.

And just like that, their pack got a little bigger.

—ToT—

The night was quiet. Too quiet.

Naruto’s nose twitched as the scent of unfamiliar sweat and steel hit his senses. His eyes snapped open, glowing faintly in the dim light. His teammates were dozing—Karin curled up against the tree next to him, Sakura leaning against her pack, and Sasuke sitting near the fire, arms crossed, pretending he wasn’t half-asleep.

The smell grew stronger.

Naruto sighed.

"Three," he murmured.

Karin shifted groggily. "Huh?"

Before Naruto could answer, the branches above them rustled—and then, in a blur of motion, three shinobi dropped down from the trees, their faces hidden under dark Ame headbands.

"You're too relaxed!" one of them sneered. "That’s a mistake!"

Sasuke’s eyes snapped open just as the attackers raised their hands in a blur of seals.

"Multi-Cloning Jutsu!"

Poof.

One second, there were three. The next, there were dozens.

"Tch—" Sasuke leapt to his feet, Sharingan spinning to life.

Sakura shot up, kunai in hand, instantly on guard.

Karin blinked blearily. "Ugh. What the hell? Can’t a girl get some sleep—"

"ATTACK!"

The clones lunged.

Naruto sighed. "Why do people always do this?"

Sasuke was already moving, cutting through the clones with a kunai, eyes analyzing their formation. "Tch. Annoying."

Sakura ducked under a strike and slammed a fist into the nearest clone, dispelling it instantly.

Karin stayed back, watching the battlefield with sharp eyes.

Naruto didn’t move.

The Ame genin noticed. "Oi—what’s with the redhead? Too scared to fight?"

Naruto blinked slowly. "No."

And then he vanished.

One second, he was there. The next, he was everywhere.

A flicker of movement—then a clone's neck snapped sideways, dispelling into smoke.

A blur—then another clone exploded into a mess of shattered bark as Naruto punched straight through it.

A heartbeat—then an entire line of clones burst apart in a single sweep as Naruto moved through them like a phantom.

The remaining clones hesitated.

Naruto exhaled. "You picked the wrong fight."

One of the real Ame genin—the leader, most likely—snarled. "Don’t back down! He’s just one guy!"

Big mistake.

Naruto turned to them.

And then he moved.

A sudden gust of wind exploded through the clearing as Naruto surged forward at inhuman speed, chakra-enhanced legs propelling him faster than any of them could track.

He appeared behind the first Ame genin.

"What—?!"

Naruto’s hand snapped up, grabbing the back of the genin’s head—and then he slammed him face-first into the dirt.

The second Ame genin barely had time to react before Naruto twisted and drove his elbow straight into their gut, cratering the ground beneath them.

The third tried to run.

Naruto didn’t let him.

"Nope."

He moved.

A single jump—and then he was in front of the fleeing genin, waiting.

The Ame shinobi barely had time to register what happened before Naruto reached out and flicked his forehead.

It should’ve been a joke. A simple flick.

It wasn’t.

The impact sent the genin flying backward, flipping twice before landing in a heap next to his unconscious teammates.

Silence.

Naruto stretched, popping his neck.

Sasuke lowered his kunai, eyes sharp. "Well. That was fast."

Sakura sighed, rolling her shoulders. "I didn't even get to do anything."

Karin smirked. "Damn. That was hot."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

Karin grinned. "Nothing."

Sasuke shook his head, stepping over the unconscious Ame genin. "They had a scroll?"

Naruto crouched, rifling through their packs. He pulled out a Heaven Scroll.

He held it up. "Lucky."

Sakura let out a breath of relief. "Finally! We can head to the tower now!"

Sasuke nodded. "Let’s move."

Naruto slung the scroll over his shoulder. The battle was over.

Just another step closer to whatever came next.

The journey to the tower was… unsettling.

Not because of enemy shinobi. Not because of ambushes. But because the entire damn forest seemed to be alive, and it had decided that Team Seven was the most interesting thing to exist.

Everywhere they went, something slithered, crawled, or skittered just a little too close.

Huge centipedes, as thick as a grown man’s arm, coiled around tree branches, watching with too many eyes. Venomous spiders the size of a fist scuttled over leaves, pausing only to wave a few legs in Naruto’s direction before skittering off. Snakes—long, coiled, and way too interested—dropped lazily from the canopy, curling over his shoulders before flicking their tongues at him and slithering off.

Karin was losing it.

“Why are there so many bugs? Why are there so many bugs? WHY ARE THERE SO MANY BUGS?”

Sakura groaned. "Just ignore them."

"IGNORE THEM?" Karin pointed wildly at a massive millipede crawling over a fallen log. "Look at that thing! It has more legs than I have brain cells! And it’s LOOKING AT ME!"

Naruto tilted his head, staring at the insect.

"You’re creeping her out," he murmured. The millipede twitched, then turned and scuttled away into the darkness.

Karin froze. "Nope. Nope, nope, nope, nope—how did you just tell it to leave?"

"I asked nicely," Naruto said.

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his temple. "Just keep moving."

It was a long night.

—

By the time they reached the tower, the group was more than ready to be done with the damn forest.

The structure loomed before them—tall, fortified, and surrounded by thick walls.

"Finally," Sakura breathed. "We made it."

Karin swayed slightly. "I need a bath. A long one. Preferably somewhere without multi-limbed abominations."

"You get used to them," Naruto said.

Karin turned to him, horrified. "I don’t want to get used to them!"

Sasuke ignored them, stepping forward. "Let’s get inside."

The team entered cautiously, making their way down the dimly lit halls. At the end of the corridor stood a plain room, empty save for an inscription on the wall and a single table in the center.

On the table lay an empty space—clearly meant for two scrolls.

"This must be where we open them," Sasuke murmured.

Sakura placed their scroll on the table.

Sasuke did the same.

The room was silent for a moment.

Then, in a sudden burst of smoke—

"CONGRATULATIONS!"

A familiar voice rang out, cheerful and proud.

As the smoke cleared, a figure stood before them—tall, clad in a Konoha vest, and smiling warmly.

"Iruka-sensei?" Sakura’s eyes widened.

The man grinned. "You made it!"

Naruto blinked. "You were in the scrolls?"

Iruka laughed. "Well, sort of. It’s a summoning technique. Designed to bring out an examiner when both scrolls are opened successfully." He glanced around, taking in the exhausted but unharmed team. "I’m really proud of you guys. Making it here isn’t easy."

Sasuke crossed his arms. "We had a few… complications."

Karin snorted. "Yeah. Like getting stalked by nightmare fuel."

Iruka blinked, finally noticing her. "Uh—who’s this?"

"Karin," Naruto said simply. "My cousin. Dattebane."

Iruka froze.

Sakura coughed. "What?"

Sasuke blinked, then slowly turned his gaze to Naruto. "Cousin?"

Karin grinned, pushing up her glasses. "That’s right! I’m an Uzumaki, too!"

Iruka opened his mouth. Closed it. Then opened it again. "I… wait, what?"

"Pack must stick together," Naruto said, like it was obvious.

Iruka stared.

Sakura pressed a hand to her forehead. "I don’t even know what to say to that."

Sasuke sighed. "It doesn’t matter. We passed. That’s what’s important."

Iruka exhaled, still trying to process everything. Finally, he nodded. "You’re right. Regardless of how unexpected this is… You made it. That’s what counts."

Naruto blinked. "So what now?"

Iruka smiled. "Now? Now you rest. The next phase will begin soon. But for now, get some food, get some sleep. You’ve earned it."

Karin nearly collapsed in relief. "Finally!"

Naruto tilted his head. "Can I sleep outside?"

"NO," the other three chorused instantly.

Naruto pouted. "Tch."

Iruka chuckled, shaking his head. "You really haven’t changed."

Naruto blinked, tilting his head slightly. Then he shrugged. "Maybe not."

For now, they had passed. The real test was still ahead.

—ToT—