THat was pretty well written fight sequence, kudos. I especially like how you perfectly captured the essence of Danzo as a worthless waste of oxygen who never actually does anything productive (counter productive, on the other hand...) for Konoha but is the first to sling accusations at others that they aren't pulling their weight or are actively detrimental to Konoha with their nonsense hippie feel good policies.
He was a lot more overtly suspicious in Mega's first draft before I cleaned it up, lol. Do keep in mind in this specific timeline the patented Leaf Nepotism™ has Rusumi taking over Danzou's public position. So he is a retired shinobi and not obligated to do anything, really. And those weren't Root chumps he was with, so presumably he did something useful as Jiraiya hoped for.
You were awoken by soft beams of light radiating from the sun, hitting your eyes much to your annoyance. You sat up, still in the tree branch you fell asleep on. Honestly, you were a bit surprised that you weren't attacked in the night, but it didn't matter. Clearly they were letting you go, that's the only reason that could explain why the Leaf ninja didn't even attempt a token resistance to stop you.
"Tch..." you muttered, jumping down from the tree. You groaned in pain, your body was still rather injured but you could power through it. You walked through the forest until you found a small stream filled with crystal clear water. You dunked your head in the water and drank you fill before you had to come up for air. You were no longer under the clutches of Orochimaru, but no doubt he'd probably start sending his minions after you. Not to mention the Leaf, more than likely preparing a special squad to capture you as well. You sighed and sat down, looking at the running water. If your internal map was correct, you were still in the Land of Fire, meaning that if you wanted to go anywhere, it would be a simple choice of what direction you began walking in.
"Shukaku is allied with the Sand so there's no way in hell I'm going there. I'd rather not hide out in the Land of Sound for obvious reasons. Since I joined his cult, I'm sure Jashin wouldn't mind if I hide out in the Hot Springs...or I can forge a new path in another country. Hmph..." you thought, rolling around options in your head.
Well? Where will you go?
[] Go to the Hot Springs Village. You already have allies there, after all.
[] Go to the Land of Frost. You remember long ago it was Matatabi's preferred 'home', perhaps you can find something there.
[] Go to the Land of Lightning. Out of all the Bijuu, Gyuki is the one you respect the most, maybe you can form an alliance with him.
[] Go to the Land of Waterfalls. It's extremely faint, but you can sense some demonic energy even at this distance!
[] Go to the Land of Water. Your encounter with Saiken aside, it seems like a good place to hide and prepare for awhile.
[] Go to the Land of Iron. A snowy mountainous place seems like a perfect place to stay hidden.
[] Go to the Land of Earth. Your knowledge of human history is spotty, but you vaguely recall the Rock and Leaf warring against each other. Sounds like a great place to go to hide from the Leaf.
[] You remember a place humans called the Land of Forests to the far west, sandwiched between the Land of Earth and Land of Wind. Such an obscure place sounds good to hide in.
[] Somewhere else? (Write in; cannot vote for Land of Wind/Sand or Land of Sound.)
[X] Go to the Land of Waterfalls. It's extremely faint, but you can sense some demonic energy even at this distance!
Better claim whatever this is before anyone else gets a chance
Just wanted to give a small update. I've been working on preparing stuff for the next arc (Plus life happening) which is why there hasn't been much noise here. I hope to get everything prepared soon, but we'll see.
Thanks to all who are reading and enjoying this story, even after the long hiatus lol.
Even though you were rather far away, the faint, oh so very faint aura of demonic energy tickled your nose. It was oddly familiar, but you couldn't really think of where you sensed this specific energy before. You had other options, you could have gone back to the Hot Springs for a guaranteed home, but there was something rather intoxicating about the energy you were feeling. It wasn't hard to decide your course, you'll follow the trail of demonic energy.
You took the time to take off your clothes and walked into the river, the cold water was harsh on your injured body at first, but eventually it became rather soothing. After your imprisonment, you found a certain joy in being clean. Never again will you wallow in filth! When you were finished with your bath, you felt rather refreshed and ready for your journey. You put on your clothes and began moving in the direction of the demonic energy.
---
It had been a few days, you weren't going at full speed in order to keep a low profile. You were expecting an attack by the Leaf or Sound at any moment. The Land of Fire's large forests and plains eventually gave way to the Land of Waterfalls, dotted with various cliffs and rivers, which of course gave way to the land's namesake. You could much more easily sense the demonic energy now and it finally clicked in your head as to what it was.
"What the hell is the chakra of the Jubi doing in this country?" you thought. The Lord of Demons' taint was very clear, a vile and stale energy. However, it felt weak, clearly the energy had been living in this place for a long time, slowly losing its worse traits. No doubt that's how humans have been able to live with it.
Your thoughts were disrupted by an audible growl from your stomach. You sneered, you hadn't eaten in days and while it wouldn't kill you due to your immortality, you could still feel the effects such as weakness and headaches. You didn't allow yourself to hunt due to your cautiousness, but seeing how there has been no attempt on the Leaf or Sound to capture you, perhaps you could take some time to find a town or go hunting for food.
What will you do?
[] Go find a town. You don't have money, but it should be easy enough to steal food from untrained humans.
[] Go hunting. It may take some time, but at least it means humans won't see you.
[] Ignore your hunger and continue towards the source of the Jubi's energy. You can eat when you discover what's going on.
Winning Vote: Go hunting. It may take some time, but at least it means humans won't see you.
One more growl of your stomach made your choice for you. Activating your Byakugan, you saw a forest that was nearby and moved in that direction. It didn't take long to reach the edge of the forest, which had narrower trees than the ones that lived in the Land of Fire. Your head pulsed with pain and you swiftly, yet stealthily went into the forest, beginning your hunt. Thankfully, it didn't take long to find some easy prey, managing to bag two adult rabbits.
There was a small clearing that you had found and you went to work making a small campfire, setting rocks in a circle and breaking off some branches to form firewood. Placing the dead rabbits on the ground, you channeled some fire chakra and started the campfire and then using the bloody kunai you had used to kill the rabbits, began skinning them. When you were finished with that, you took a branch from a tree that was perfect skewering size and shoved the rabbits on it, forming a spit to cook the animals.
You watched hungrily, your mouth watering as the rabbits were slowly cooked to absolute perfection. When you simply couldn't resist anymore, you grabbed the cooked rabbits and began devouring them like a wild beast, tearing into the tasty flesh with large bites. But it was in the middle of your dinner that you saw someone in range of your Byakugan sight. You focused harder in their direction and got a clearer picture, it was some oddly dressed girl holding a parasol. She was slowly walking your way, although it seemed like she was more busy looking at her hand.
"Someone out to capture me? She's not wearing anything that identifies her as a Leaf or Sound shinobi...or a shinobi in general. For all I know, she's just a weird girl walking in the woods..." you thought, considering your options.
What will you do?
[] Hide nearby and wait to see what the girl does. You don't want to cause a scene right now.
[] Leave the area as fast as you can. If she still follows you, then you know she's an enemy.
[] Go and meet the girl. It's a risk, but perhaps you can wring useful information out of her.
[] Unleash your killing intent as a warning, to tell her not to come any closer.
[] Throw a kunai with the intent of grazing the girl as a very clear threat.
[] Sneak up to the girl and slit her throat. You can't have any witnesses.
