Naruto: The Shattered Eyes

The chessboard had shifted once more and the game had yet to start. Schemes gave birth to more schemes. More schemes gave birth to more seedlings.

A forest had been planted, yet no trees have borne fruit.

Suguru sat at a roadside shop, partaking in a few sticks of dango. Though he did not attempt to hide his face, he appeared as a normal civilian in the senses of others. No trace of his growing chakra reserves would ever be spotted leaking out of his body.

In a sense, Suguru was meditating as he ate his snacks. His mind was reminiscent of the time he had visited the Senju compound, tranquil and at peace.

The recent occurrences had created a large stockpile of information he had to process.

A new year was due in a few days. In the original, Naruto's batch was set to be graduating in a few weeks. Although it was likely that such an event would still push through, there were a lot of variables that could shift its nature.

Suguru wondered how that would go, especially since the depths were brewing up a storm.

'My plans have been derailed a few times.'

Suguru had been forced to change his code of conduct and even reflect on his own arrogance. Leaving Sunagakure had seemingly plunged him straight into the chaos of Konohagakure.

At this point, Suguru had no desire to stay within the Land of Fire.

Thus, he was headed to the Land of Hot Water. He needed to complete his collection of Dojutsu. 

With only the Ketsuryugan and Byakugan left of his initial plans, Suguru was more confident of taking the former over the latter at this moment in time.

After all, a certain someone had participated in the destruction of their own clan just a year or three ago. Suguru wasn't sure. However, he was certain that it happened before Hidan had joined the Akatsuki.

"Oyashiro En should still be setting up his business, and Chino is likely still very young..." Suguru muttered as he got up to leave.

He threw his dango sticks into the trash bin and poured chakra into his eyes. The moment his Sharingan appeared, he flickered into the distance, weaving through branches and trees at great speeds.

***

Suguru arrived silently within the Land of Hot Water. He wasn't here to devour villages again. Instead, he was looking for the Valley of Hell.

Tracking down Oyashiro En's movements would be difficult given his lack of information. Although he could use the business route with Amai to get to him, Suguru had to be geographically close first.

Otherwise, it would take too much time before their businesses could interact.

"Hmmm,"

Flickering through the forests, Suguru found a vantage point from where he could use his Shinrakugan to look around. Using a combination of both Dojutsu had been very useful in systematically parsing through the lay of the land.

He stood on a cliff near the foot of a mountain. The wind around him blew like a gentle caress, and the Land of Hot Water stretched out before him.

'A country that knows peace...'

Suguru smacked his lips. He realized that, while he was here, he could visit some hot springs. It would be a waste if he did not partake of the local attractions, after all.

Just imagining the blissful feeling of submerging himself in the embrace of a sulfuric hot spring already calmed his nerves.

That was when Suguru spotted exactly what he wanted.

"Ah, I see that the universe agrees with me!"

Chuckling, Suguru observed the small settlement surrounding a similarly small but cozy hot spring. The people there were going about their business as usual. Suguru inwardly nodded. Such a place would prove to be a good first taste of the Land of Hot Water.

Thus, Suguru set his sights on the settlement and moved at a leisurely pace. He leaped over branch after branch, maneuvering like a bird of prey — with harmonious grace.

Since he wasn't flickering at every corner, Suguru was able to appreciate his surroundings more.

Life force was abound, flowing through the trees and into the ground.

The world breathed, and so did he.

***

Upon arriving within the settlement's vicinity, Suguru's Shinrakugan spotted the presence of a group of individuals with slightly more chakra than the average civilian. They traveled on the ground, like ants moving towards sugar.

Suguru's gaze pierced through the foliage and bore witness to their rugged faces.

"Hm,"

Looking elsewhere, Suguru also spotted the presence of Yugakure shinobi, rushing through the trees. Their chakra levels varied, but it was clear to him that this small security issue would not prove problematic.

Thus, Suguru ignored them. They would fight amongst themselves while he relaxed in a nice hot spring.

With his silver hair in full view, he jumped off his branch and onto the beaten path. From there, he wore his Konohagakure headband and posed as a normal shinobi of the leaf.

Walking into the settlement, Suguru smiled at the curious residents and walked over to someone who looked to be guarding the gates.

Suguru stared at the young man's tightly shut eyes. His limbs were outspread as if he were making a snow angel and his head was tilted in quite the uncomfortable direction. A smooth stone was propped under his neck.

Leaning on a wooden post, the young man's snore topped off his appearance like a cherry. One kunai would be all it would take to end his life then and there.

"..."

Seeing how one could doze off like this with bandits just a few hundred meters away, Suguru was amused. 

It was a stark difference to the tension that the Land of Fire was currently subjected to.

Thus, Suguru put his hands together and split his chakra.

'Shadow Clone Jutsu,'

A single clone appeared beside him and flickered off into the distance. Suguru's gaze then fell onto the young man on the ground.

As he squinted, Suguru felt an instinctual tug in his gut.

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