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The Roaring of The Sea.

Chapter 5: Mercenaries.

Two months passed and while they'd become more at home in the timeline, Nagisa and Indra were also increasingly nervous. Unable to pin-point exactly when to act in order to prevent Obito's manipulation and Rin's death. At the same time they didn't know where to find Madara or Black Zetsu, which had put a halt to any thought of attacking them head on.

Keeping an eye on Team Minato became easier however. It was a relief to have summons again, not only because of the advantage it gave them in battle, but also for reconnaissance. Before, Nagisa was resigned to sending out clones, which could become suspicious should they be noticed, even if they commonly changed their appearances. Now they only had to send a summon.

Indra had sent two of his younger hawks to keep watch over them, while she'd stationed a tiger in the Forest of Death. Both animals were not unusual to the Land of Fire. Without that weighing over them, they focused more on their training. Nagisa found teachers in chakra control and medical ninjutsu with the Tigers.

The clan had helped many Uzumaki in the same areas before, and Arashihime promised to teach her everything she'd taught her previous summoners. When she wasn't working with them she focused on fūinjutsu and training her Byakugan. She even taught Indra a few things about fūinjutsu. Orochimaru had taught him a lot in the three years he studied under the sannin, but fūinjutsu had never been expanded on other than some basics. When he didn't join Nagisa learning fūinjutsu, Indra honed his new Rinnegan and his EMS abilities.

He'd only had the two Dōjutsu for a few months, and while he'd gone mostly by instinct during the Fourth War, he needed to train his eyes. In two months he'd made progress. Nagisa had as well, but for now she had trained her Byakugan as far as she could; her eyes' range made a vast improvement.

After a few weeks it became clear they couldn't remain in Uzushio any longer, simply training and living their days in relative peace (aside from recurring nightmares). They couldn't go on ignoring the war on the mainlands. Kurama was very vocal about it, astonished it had taken them so long to become restless. He understood why they'd not announced their presence to the world though, because leaving the island and becoming involved in the war would do just that.

They had healed, created back stories, and laid the foundations to their plans; it was time to leave and make names for themselves. Perhaps even make a difference in the war. The first time they traveled to the mainland they chose the Land of Fire to come ashore. It was closer to Uzushio than the Land of Water or Land of Waves.

Because her eyes clearly connected her to the Hyūga clan, Nagisa had opted to keep her eyes hidden behind a white cloth. Anyone would assume she was blind, but thanks to her sensory skills and her Byakugan, Nagisa could see perfectly. It kept rumors of an odd redheaded Hyūga at bay, which was their desire.

Neither were ready for the news that a rouge Uchiha and Hyūga with suspiciously Uzumaki red hair to float around the hidden villages. The last thing they needed was the Hyūga and Uchiha clans – much less the other villages – up their asses. It would only last so long, especially given their chosen profession, but that was better than the alternative.

They didn't actively seek out the war front and agreed to stay out of it as much as possible. Instead they took up the missions that were neglected because of the war. Missions such as guarding important figures and even some lesser known ones. Escorting merchants and like from place to place, and the occasional assassination (Nagisa wasn't very comfortable with the latter, but Indra typically handled the messier missions knowing this).

With the war there was more than enough free missions for mercenaries to pick up the slack. At first no one cared to notice, but eventually they'd become too well known for the hidden villages to ignore. In the last two months since seeking missions, mostly in or near the Land of Fire, they'd finished a handful of jobs. Usually staying in civilian villages they passed through before returning to Uzushio for a time.

It was the completion of a mission that saw them passing through the Land of Fire presently.

"Oi, bastard! We should stop near Tanzaku-gai and get some ramen," Nagisa said happily, her mouth salivating at the thought of ramen.

She didn't get to eat it often anymore. It was difficult to get the ingredients in Uzushio since it was just them on the island, so they had to go to the mainlands for it. With the war food was more and more scarce in civilian villages. The hidden villages paid a lot of money for any and all supplies they could get their hands on, and food and weapons were at the top of the list.

It may have increased the flow of money for the merchants and farmers, but it left the smaller villages without as much to buy for themselves since the hidden villages bought in such bulk. It wasn't so bad in the Land of Fire compared to the other countries, but that was only because the Land of Fire had plenty of fertile farm lands.

Indra withheld a sigh. "Our client is expecting us soon, and you want to stop for ramen?"

Nagisa continued to grin and even though he couldn't see her eyes he knew they shown bright with mischief and the prospect of ramen.

"Yep! The client can wait a few more hours. We completed our end of the contract, Indra. I think we earned some ramen, 'ttebayo!" She cheered, pumping her fist into the air victoriously.

"Hn..."

She frowned momentarily before smiling. "That isn't a no-o," she sang and chuckled. "You'll learn to love ramen one day. But when we get home I'll make some onigiri with extra tomatoes, promise!"

He didn't hate ramen, but he doubted he'd ever love it either; Indra's lips turned up into a small smile at the pleasant thought of Nagisa's cooking. It was easy to forget that Nagisa could cook because she was always eating at Ichiraku's growing up. But it really should have been obvious, not even she could live off ramen alone.

He'd come to enjoy her cooking, it was what they'd lived off of since they crashed on Whirlpool. It reminded him a little of his mother's cooking – though Nagisa wasn't afraid of being spontaneous and experimenting with foods and spice. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't (and when it was bad, it was bad. A rare occurrence, thankfully).

They'd stopped at this particular ramen bar before, and wouldn't be surprised if the owner was somehow related to the Ichiraku's. Neither were sure when exactly the Ichiraku family arrived in Konoha. Nagisa knew it had to be well before her birth since she'd been told her mother was a regular customer at the stand.

"Ah, back again I see," the owner, a man between his fifties and sixties said. He had graying, thinning, brown hair and dark beady eyes.

Ichimaru Ginta had lived in the village closest to Tanzaku-gai for nearly fifty-five years. His family had started this stand on the outskirts for the sol purpose of catering to wanderers and Shinobi. The recipes had been in the family for generations.

Chains of ramen bars run by his relations popped up around the Land of Fire and other countries from time to time, but only his second cousin, Teuchi, had successfully founded a booming business inside one of the hidden villages. Indeed, Ichimaru's was the lesser known cousin of the Ichiraku Ramen bar inside Konoha.

For the last few weeks his best customers had been these two wanderers. Even then he had a hard time believing the woman, probably no older than his son who was eighteen, was a Kunoichi. She always had a white cloth tied around her head, covering her eyes, insinuating she was blind. He assumed she was blind, yet she never acted as if she were.

She walked without the aid of a stick or her male companion. Soon enough he became aware that she must be sensing chakra to get around, but it was still eerie how she never asked where something was and never bumped into anything or anyone. Ginta never asked, but he knew she must be a kunoichi since no civilian could have pulled off such feats. He had no way of knowing that Nagisa was no more blind than he was, but that her sight was far better than his could hope to be.

The raven-haired man was the same age as his partner, and Ginta had no problem buying him as a shinobi. He was rather aloof and cold. He only ever saw emotion of any kind when it was directed at Nagisa. Indra was hard to read, unlike Nagisa who was nearly an open book. After years of serving people of every variety, Ginta believed he'd become rather good at reading people. But with Indra and Nagisa he only ever got a faint picture.

"Yep! Two large bowls of miso ramen with extra pork for me, please," she said enthusiastically. Her vibrant hair unlike any he'd seen in years (since Uzushio's fall), was held by two orange bands in pigtails.

A red headband with a metal plate depicting a spiral on it hung from her throat. Indra's mirrored Nagisa's, but it had a black band and hung from his waist, hooked to a belt. They were rather worn, and most people tended to look right over them. The only reason Ginta had noticed was the fact he'd seen the two many times and he tended to notice small details. At first he'd been shocked, having not seen that symbol worn openly in years.

He had little doubt Nagisa was an Uzumaki with her red hair, but Indra was obviously just a survivor of the hidden villages destruction. He lacked any of the Uzumaki defining features. Ginta hadn't mentioned his suspicions. He knew how coveted Uzumaki's were. Though he doubted the two of them wore those headbands without having the power to protect themselves. It would have painted a large target on them otherwise.

"A bowl of salt ramen," Indra said. He always ordered the same thing, but so did Nagisa.

"You've got it," he replied and began making the large amount of ramen no doubt needed. Nagisa might start out with two bowls, but she usually ordered a few more after finishing her first order. At least she did if Indra didn't drag her off first.

When served Nagisa smiled and broke apart her chopsticks. "Itadakimasu," she said, before digging into her first bowl.

The entire time they ate Indra noticed how her shoulder would randomly tense, and he too felt the eyes on them. Instead of looking around for the watchers, he simply opened his senses and finished his ramen.

"Thanks, Ginta-san," Nagisa said, finishing her second bowl.

"Is that all today then?" the old man asked surprised. The blindfolded girl nodded, a small frown coming over her lips for a split second before she returned to her normal cheer.

"I'm afraid so. But we'll be back, 'ttebayo!" With a farewell wave, Nagisa linked arms with Indra and they walked off. A quarter of a mile down the road, Nagisa leaned her head into Indra's shoulder.

"We're being followed..." she muttered under her breath.

"Hn," Indra replied, "So it seems. Do you know how many?"

She'd been trying to learn the Minds Eye of the Kagura, which was a common ability in the clan, but she wasn't very good at it. Her strength lied with her chains, which were perhaps stronger than her mothers had been. Still, working with the tigers and her Byakugan supplemented what she couldn't perfect with the Minds Eye of the Kagura.

"Three. They're not ninja, just bandits. They probably saw us as an easy target since I'm blind." Nagisa smirked faintly, and Indra snorted. "They're not our biggest problem though. You might not have noticed yet, but there's a fight about five meters ahead of us. Iwa and Konoha..." Nagisa frowned.

Indra nodded. Now that she pointed it out he could faintly sense the chakra output from the battle. They would have to go through it or around in order to get to the capital and their client. Chances were they'd be spotted either way, if their impending fight against the bandits didn't alert them ahead of time.

"Let's deal with our weakness first," Indra said, and they both came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the road. His hand went to his sword handle, and they watched unperturbed as the three bandits exited the wood around them.

For civilians and traveling caravans this would pose a problem, which was why they hired ninja, but for Indra and Nagisa – two well trained ninja – it was more of a nuisance. Nagisa shied away from the sudden atmosphere, playing up her supposed weakness. Edging closer to Indra's back she allowed a small gasp to escape her lips as she looked around.

To anyone she looked like the frightened young woman hiding behind her protector. Indra was always amazed how she could play a roll so well, when as long as he'd known her she'd always been so extroverted. Confident in herself and her abilities. The bandits played right into the act. Sneering and leering at Nagisa, while all but ignoring Indra's presence.

"Look what we have here," a man they took as the leader said. "We'll make this real quick. We want the girl."

Indra's expression didn't move an inch. "And why should I hand her over?"

"The boss isn't asking. He's telling you we're taking the girl," said the largest of the bandits, a nearly middle-aged man with a few scars that stood over six feet tall.

The other two were slighter than him, around the same height and build as Indra. It was rather strange to hear he wasn't the one in charge, usually that was how bandits worked. Instinct told Indra the man wasn't talking about the first one to speak up.

"W-who is y-your b-boss?" Nagisa quaked, mentally thanking Hinata for inspiring her. "Why w-would an-anyone wan-want me?"

"Don't play coy girl, you know why. Uzumaki's fetch a grand price and our employer wants you," the last one said.

Nagisa's shoulders dropped, and under her bandages her eyes narrowed and seethed like white fire. She had to stop herself from snarling like a fox, but her hands clenched in the fabric of her long tunic and shorts.

"Try it. I guarantee you wont live to try again," Indra said. A similar fire burning in his chest at the realization of what these bandits and their employer wanted with Nagisa. Outwardly he showed nothing but calm.

The burly one yelled, hefted his large halberd over his shoulder and ran for Indra. The man was tall, largely built, and had strength, but compared to Indra's speed he was slow. The other two bandits had darted past Indra and their partner for Nagisa, who they expected to be easy pickings.

A ninja would have thought twice before rushing in, most knowing the stories behind the Uzumaki clan, but these weren't trained ninja. Noticing one getting behind her to knock her out, she rotated her body, letting the man's hand sail past her body.

"Don't make us hurt you woman. For every bruise our pay gets docked." He snarled, annoyed the blind redhead was able to dodge his attempt at knocking her out with a blow to the back of the neck. She'd ducked and jumped in the next second to avoid Gorou's attempt to cut her Achilles heel.

Nagisa laughed, shocking them still for a few seconds. Her laugh was mocking, like a child playing with a new toy. Gritting his teeth, the first bandit, Tsuo, reached out and grabbed her by the throat and squeezed. To his shock she just smiled, her hands shooting out and jabbing him in multiple places along his arm. He shouted, feeling as if his entire arm was being continuously ripped into. He was forced to let her go and stumble back, but before she even hit the ground she exploded – violently.

"Wh-what the hell is this?!" Jin shouted, spinning around to see his partners being caught in an explosion. He probably had the most knowledge of ninja, but it was little more than a civilian would have and rumors his father told him. He'd never truly believed ninja to be more than hype.

Tsuo was on the ground clutching his arm and screaming from the broken and bleeding leg the blast had caused. Gorou looked dead, blood leaked from his mangled right arm and his skull looked to have cracked when he hit the ground. He and Tsuo both had numerous burns of varying degrees from being so close when the redhead's clone exploded.

Taking his eyes off Indra was a mistake, however. He found himself kicked into a tree and held there by glowing chains connected to the back of a reemerged redhead. Nagisa approached him as if she could see him, and he was visibly unnerved by it.

"Y-you're both ninja then."

"You mean your boss didn't tell you that?" Indra asked, his sword pointed at the mans throat. "Speak and we may let you go."

"What about Tsuo?" he asked, though he really didn't care. He was trying to buy time and break his bindings.

He realized as he watched the woman make a solid clone, which walked over to his pained partner and pinch something in his neck that sent him into unconsciousness, that there was no way out of the chains. He'd only heard rumor of the Uzumaki's ability to create chains with their chakra, seeing it in person – being bound by it – was another thing entirely.

"He'll live," Nagisa said. "He'll probably never regain the same control over his arm and leg again, though."

"Your other friend might not be so lucky. So, I'll ask this again – who do you work for?" Indra asked, pressing the tip of his sword against flesh.

Jin gritted his teeth, but realizing he was in a situation he couldn't get out of he complied. "Ito Shinrin, he's..."

"We know who he is," Indra interrupted, his tone dark. "He recently hired us. Seems we were right to be leery of him, Nagisa."

"It seems so," she said dejectedly. "We're already on our way there, so we can have some words with Ito."

"You have what you want. Will you let us go?" The sword was removed from his throat.

"Personally I wouldn't, but Nagisa is a bleeding heart. Just know if you target us again there'll be no second chances."

Jin nodded and had little choice but to watch them leave. Despite being a bandit and have few morals himself, his father was a samurai before his death and if there was one thing his father drilled into his head it was honor (not that he'd taken the lessens to heart like his father wanted). He doubted Tsuo or Gorou would have had the same mindset about the situation.

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Indra knew the moment they were within a few meters of the battle, that Nagisa wouldn't have been able to leave the Konoha-nin to fight alone. He thought he recognized three of the ninja as the parents of three of his former classmates – Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Chōza. They were handling their own, as was expected of the infamous tag team of Ino–Shika–Chō, but the odds were against them at three against nearly a dozen ninja. It looked like they'd been ambushed on their way back from a mission.

"Indra," Nagisa muttered. "We have to help them..."

He didn't say anything, instead watching as Chōza was taken down by a tag team of three ninja. He nodded, knowing it was a moot point to argue with the dead last when she'd already made up her mind. Nagisa rushed to Chōza's aid. She body flickered next to the downed man, who struggled to stand and defend himself.

She decided not to use any of the skills remotely similar to the Jūken, which she'd been deconstructing with the aid of what she'd seen from Neji and Hinata, what they'd both told her in confidence, what Benihime had known of the style, and the little Indra had copied of their style with his Sharingan.

She had no desire to copy the Hyūga's taijutsu completely, she knew it would only cause them problems with the clan in the future, but mixing bits of it into her normal taijutsu was helpful. And with the Byakugan at her disposal recreating the deadlier aspects of the style was possible for her – but she still had a long way to go before she was anywhere near the level Neji or Hinata had been.

Instead she drew a trench knife from her hip pouch, one of the few weapons she had experience with before arriving in the past, and channeled her wind affinity through it. Pivoting on her feet she spun in a near complete circle, lashing out with her knife. The three ninja easily moved out of the way, but were still caught by the wind chakra. One grasped at her neck, her gray eyes wide upon realizing her throat had been cut. The other two were taller and instead took damage to their flack jackets, chest, or shoulders.

"How the hell!" one growled, noticing the cloth covering the redhead's eyes. Nagisa snorted and sped at them, kicking and punching, her knife still in her hand but in a reverse grip. Occasionally she'd serge her wind chakra through it, making cuts – some deep and bloody, others shallow and paper-thin appear on the Iwa-nin's bodies.

They put up a good fight. She had to back off to avoid one who mixed their taijutsu and sword-work so well together that if she'd been any less flexible or skilled she'd have been disemboweled twice over. Eventually, she got sick of being on the defense and threw her knife into the ground, before using what improved chakra control she had to pull-a-Sakura. Taking a running jump into the sky, she cocked her right fist back and precisely channeled her chakra into and around her fist.

"Dattebayo!" she shouted as her fist connected with the flat side of Yokumo of Iwa's sword. The man's eyes widened, having intended to twist the blade so to cut the seemingly-blind girl across the chest. Instead he felt like he'd been punted by the Yonbi (Son Gokū to those who knew the Four-tails' name).

His sword rattled and then shattered into little shards all at once, and when the her fist sailed into his face he was blasted twenty feet back, the ground turning up from the chakra-wave her punch caused. While still alive, Yokumo of Iwa was down for the remainder of the fight with many broken bones.

"Shit," one swore under her breath, looking at the panting redhead who was slowly unclenching her fist. With her ken eyesight she saw chakra burns which were quickly healing up. "What the hell is she... no blind person could do this, ninja or not!"

"Keep it together, Sorano," her fiance beside her said, glancing back at his teammate who remained unresponsive.

Nagisa panted slightly, though her chakra was hard to deplete she had felt the effects of that last move. For a split second her control over her chakra had faltered, breaking the bones in her hand as a result, but unlike the man now unconscious and broken, hers healed within moments of breaking thanks to Kurama.

She could see why Tsunade and Sakura were two of the only ones to master the Strength of a Hundred seal in her timeline, and why Sakura wore gloves. She'd never seen Tsunade-baachan wearing gloves when she fought, but maybe that was due to having more control and experience than Sakura.

Together Sorano and Taichi of Iwa attacked the distracted redhead – but within seconds of their movement the girls had snapped around to look directly at them. Being unable to see her eyes, which both assumed useless, this nearly made them stop, but as jōnin in the midst of a war they ignored the oddity.

A few feet away a shadow clone of Nagisa was crouched down next to Chōza, checking his chakra coils for any damage or irregularities with her Byakugan (not that the man knew that) and healing him. While she worked he sized her up, noticing she couldn't be older than seventeen or eighteen.

Her hair was long and straight (there might have been a touch of a wave in places). She wore practical shinobi clothes and a traveling cloak. Her skin was neither pale or tan, but a peach tone, while her eyes were a mystery. He'd seen blind civilians before, but never a blind ninja.

Most who lost their sight retired – some worked as Academy teachers and others, shamed, chose to become shut-ins or worse. None more so than the Hyūga and Uchiha clans who prided themselves on their eyes. Yet this woman didn't have any issue fighting off jōnin, and she seemed to know at least the basic's of healing as well.

"There, I've done what I can," she said, standing. "Are you alright?"

Chōza nodded, groaning as he stood, but otherwise fine. Looking over to where his best friends and comrades fought, he noticed the woman's companion for the first time. "I'm fine. Thank you for helping... though I have to wonder why you did and what village you're associated with."

"We're not affiliated with any current villages," she said, a sad undertone to her voice. "let's just say I couldn't in good conscience leave you three to fight alone – not so out numbered."

He frowned but let it go. He'd keep his guard up, in case they were double crossed by these strangers, but until then he was glad to have the help. The two rejoined the fight.

On the other side of the battlefield, Indra was helping Shikaku and Inoichi out. He didn't know the two in the future, not beyond a few words said in the streets or at the Uchiha mass funeral when he was eight, but he realized the disaster it would be if the three men died now.

He didn't know the exact dates Shikamaru, Ino, or Chōji were born in his timeline, but he didn't particularly want his former classmates to cease to exist should their father's die.

Like Nagisa, Indra refrained from outright using the Uchiha taijutsu stances and Sharingan. Instead he used a mix of taijutsu he'd either copied over the years or learned during his time in Sound. Despite his best efforts he couldn't completely stop himself from using the Uchiha style, but it didn't appear that Inoichi or Shikaku had noticed. His sword flashed around him, his speed almost too much for Inoichi and Shikaku to make out.

Shikaku had been watching the strangers in the moments he wasn't neck to neck with an enemy ninja. Noticing small things right away. Like how the man would look over at his female companion, as if to reassure himself she was alright. How he moved like a cat, sized up his opponents like a bird of prey, and struck like a snake. He never seemed concerned for him or Inoichi, but kept them in his line of sight at all times – ready to move if they needed aid.

The way he fought and moved, the ninjutsu he showed (fire release and lightning release primarily), and his skill with a sword led him to one conclusion – this man was very, very dangerous. He was holding back, but so was the kunoichi – who he'd observed just as well. They were jōnin at the least... Kage level in the worst case scenario.

He didn't know how right he was. They were holding back, both to protect their identities and because the battle would have been over too quickly – questions would be asked, questions they didn't want to answer. But after facing a goddess hellbent on screwing humanity over, there was little the two found a challenge anymore. Other than each other, that is.

Finally, the three Konoha ninja and two travelers met in the middle of the battlefield, some breathing more heavily than others. Nagisa rubbed her stomach where a deep gash was healing over slowly, and Indra nursed a few cuts and a dislocated shoulder (which Nagisa took quick work of, popping it back into place with little more than a look of warning to her comrade). Chōza was the least injured thanks to Nagisa's prior healing, but Shikaku and Inoichi looked like they'd seen better days.

"Do you two want me to heal you?" she offered, looking at them through her blindfold. Shikaku and Inoichi looked to Chōza who nodded.

"It's fine," he muttered, letting them know they didn't have to worry about her killing them instead of healing them (which was well within a medical ninja's power).

They nodded and Nagisa approached, going through quick hand seals and hovering her glowing hands over their wounds. After a few minutes of concentration and focus she released a breath she'd not known she was holding, lowered her hands, and backed away – closer to Indra. She'd only a few weeks of practice as a medic, what little Benihime had begun teaching her and what the Tigers had continued to teach her in preparation for learning the Strength of a Hundred seal.

It was like their version of sage training – the only requirement was perfect control, or as close to perfect chakra control and mastery of the Strength of a Hundred seal as one could get. Since the Tigers hadn't had a summoner since Benihime the only other one capable of passing on the knowledge of the seal was Tsunade, who learned from Mito. It was very different from working with the toads who were more taijutsu and ninjutsu based as a clan.

The Tigers on the other had, while considered to be deadly in combat because of their predator status, also focused on chakra in general and things that could be done with it. Be it ninjutsu, genjutsu, or medical-ninjutsu. She had no skill in genjutsu, even as her chakra control improved everyday, and no real interest in it either. But she was proud to say she was progressing well in medical-ninjutsu. She couldn't help but think Tsunade-baachan would've been proud.

"Thanks," Shikaku said rubbing his ribs, which had been broken in three places. They were just really sore and tender now. He'd get them looked at in Konoha to be sure nothing had been missed.

"Yeah, we were getting pretty overrun there," Inoichi said. "I've never seen you in Konoha before... are you part of one of the minor villages?" He looked them over for a forehead protector of any kind.

"Just traveling ninja," Nagisa chirped, smiling widely.

"If the threats over, we should go. We have business in the capital," Indra said, looking down at the redhead.

"Huh... oh right. I guess we do," Nagisa said, rubbing the back of her neck. She looked passed them, in the direction of Konoha before smiling. "It looks like your backup is almost here as well, so this is goodbye, I guess."

"Are you sure you don't need any medical attention?" Chōza asked. "You were nearly bisected by that last attack."

Shikaku and Inoichi looked taken back, seeing as the girl didn't act as if she'd been injured that badly, and Indra looked at Nagisa with a critical eye. Looking her over the Nara and Yamanaka could see where she'd been wounded, where her clothes had been cut, but there was no over flowing bloody wound – just red scabbed over skin poking out from beneath cloth.

Nagisa laughed sheepishly. "No, I'm fine. I'll be healed before you know it, ttebayo!"

"I see. Thank you again for the help."

Shikaku looked at them with inner suspicion, his focus mostly on the redhead. You didn't get many redheads in the Land of Fire, and that shade of red... it was almost unheard of. As they started to leave he called out, "Can we at least have your names?"

Indra stopped and looked back from where they'd started walking off, in the direction of the capital as they'd said, with calm onyx eyes. "It's better if you don't."

And the two continued walking away, almost as if they'd never gotten involved at all. A few minutes later the team from Konoha arrived, just as the Ino-Shika-Chō team had secured the living Iwa-nin for the T&I unit. Had Nagisa and Indra stayed a few more minutes they would've been faced with a spiky-haired blond with clear blue eyes (and something of a resemblance to Nagisa) leading his team of chūnin and jōnin to what he expected to be a bloodbath.

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AN: So... it's been a while. I'm sorry for the lack of updates recently, it just seems this year gets busier and busier. I won't go into excuses, other than I simply haven't had the time or the inspiration as of late. I do continue to write and I hope to update quite a few soon, no promises though (as I can't predict when something will come up). Until the next update, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. After this chapter things will begin to pick up, both for Nagisa and Indra's relationship and the Kannabi Bridge arc.