Naruto: Different Path

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After quickly and meticulously preparing, Naruto and his team set off for the Hidden Cloud Village. 

Being experienced Anbu members, their speed and survival skills were far superior to those of regular ninjas, making their journey smooth and efficient. 

By the end of the day, they had already reached the borders of the Land of Fire. 

Contrary to what people might think, a ninja's life isn't just about fighting and killing—it also involves dealing with necessities like food, shelter, and rest. 

However, in the heat of battle, such matters are often overlooked. Things were relatively relaxed since they were still within the Land of Fire borders. 

In this situation, Yamato's abilities became quite handy. He could instantly grow a wooden house from the ground using his Wood Style. 

If given more time, he could likely even craft furniture. 

Having Yamato around made the journey more comfortable, as they could travel with portable housing. 

Wood Style truly was a practical and versatile kekkei genkai.

Before they knew it, the team, disguised as merchants, had reached the small neighbouring country of the Land of Hot Water. 

They briefly stopped in a city to restock essential supplies before continuing toward the Land of the Moon, closer to the Land of Lightning. 

Small nations like this, situated between two large countries, had developed their ways of surviving, and the Land of the Moon had now become an ally of the Land of Lightning. 

Upon arriving, Naruto and his team began gathering intelligence.

Naruto, being underage, couldn't go to many places, so he had to rely on his three adult teammates, who were all highly experienced. 

He tasked them with gathering intelligence while he headed to an inn to rest. 

One day passed, and they hadn't gathered any particularly valuable information. 

After three days, they had enjoyed themselves but still hadn't found much useful intel. 

Based on Naruto's assessment, if the Raikage were planning an operation against Konoha, they would have to pass through the Land of the Moon. 

It would be nearly impossible to stage such a large-scale operation without the cooperation of the Land of the Moon.

The Raikage would need to heavily deploy troops there, allying with the Land of the Moon to launch a swift attack on the nearby Land of Hot Water. 

By the time Konoha responded, the enemy would already be at their doorstep. 

However, the intelligence gathered over the past few days suggested something odd. 

The Land of the Moon appeared to be operating as usual, with no significant movements, and there was no sign of any ninjas from the Land of Lightning.

Naruto thought, "Could they be covering their tracks that well? Not a single piece of information leaking? It's not impossible." 

"If I were in their position, I'd do the same." But that only made the task of gathering intel even harder. 

Naruto realized he might have to resort to more drastic measures. 

That night, Naruto called a meeting with Yamato and the other two team members to discuss their next steps. 

Naruto suggested, "Since our intelligence gathering hasn't made any progress, our next option is to capture a ninja from the Land of the Moon and interrogate them." 

"Though this carries the risk of exposing ourselves, we can't afford to wait any longer."

The others agreed with Naruto's plan. Even Yamato saw it as a viable option. "Since there are no objections, let's proceed with this plan," Naruto said.

Flash and Shadow quickly captured a ninja from the Land of the Moon. 

Like many ninjas from smaller nations, this one needed more organizational discipline and skill. 

However, he was adept at running away and saving his skin. 

After being brought back, all it took was Naruto pressing a kunai to his throat and giving him a menacing look for the ninja to break down completely. 

He even wet his pants and confessed everything he knew about the village's affairs. Unfortunately, the information he provided wasn't useful at all.

Naruto needed more support. This wasn't Konoha, where they had skilled ninjas capable of reading memories. 

None of his team had the necessary abilities to extract the intel they needed. For the moment, Naruto was at a loss for what to do.

His teammates also admitted they had no better ideas. Naruto then decided to take one more risk.

Naruto turned to Yamato and said, "Yamato, I've heard that those skilled in Wood Style are also excellent with transformation jutsu." 

"You can replicate even the smallest details, including the target's voice and appearance, making it nearly impossible to tell the difference." 

"I need you to transform into this captured ninja and infiltrate their village to gather information."

Without hesitation, Yamato replied, "Understood, Captain. I will do my best to complete the mission."

Before Yamato left, Naruto handed him a specially crafted chakra seal and secretly marked him. "Yamato, if you are in extreme danger and can't escape, just channel chakra into this seal, and I'll come to get you immediately."

Yamato gave Naruto a grateful look. "Thank you, Captainn. I will complete the mission successfully."

With that, Yamato left, while Naruto, Flash, and Shadow stayed behind at the inn. The waiting period was always the hardest part. 

Naruto began asking Flash and Shadow about their experiences in the Anbu to pass the time.

Even though teammates weren't required to share personal stories, Flash and Shadow had started to view Naruto as a true comrade. 

As the conversation deepened, they opened up about their past.

Like Naruto, it turned out they hadn't been specifically trained for the Anbu. 

They had graduated from the ninja academy and later joined a four-man squad with their Jōnin instructor. 

Over time, the squad's missions became increasingly difficult and dangerous, but through countless life-and-death situations, the team grew closer.

However, one day, everything changed. The brothers' eyes filled with sadness as they recounted the story. 

During a mission, one of their teammates was killed by the enemy. 

The other teammate sacrificed himself as a decoy, allowing the brothers to escape. 

Only the two of them survived that mission, and they were devastated afterwards. This grief led them to join the Anbu.

"So, Captain, what made you join the Anbu?" Flash asked.

"Me? My story isn't as complicated as yours," Naruto replied with a smile.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Naruto turned to see that Yamato had returned.

From the look on Yamato's face, Naruto could tell his findings weren't significant. 

Yamato sat down and said, "The ninja village seems normal. Nothing out of the ordinary is happening." 

"I was worried that I'd be discovered if I stayed too long. I don't mind, but if we're exposed, it'll compromise our mission."

Naruto nodded. Yamato had made the right call.

Yamato continued, "I've stationed Wood Style clones at all the major entrances and exits of the village. They're hiding in the trees, so if anything significant happens, we'll know immediately."

Naruto replied, "We'll wait and see if your Wood Clones can bring us any good news. Let's all rest for now, and we'll decide our next move tomorrow."

The next day, before dawn, Yamato received information from his Wood Clone and immediately woke up Naruto and the others. 

As shinobi, they had to stay alert even while sleeping, so Naruto woke up instantly. 

Yamato said, "I just received intel from my Wood Clone." 

"Many Moon Country ninjas have started moving out but aren't heading towards Konoha." 

"Instead, it seems like they are going toward the Land of Lightning."

Naruto responded, "We'll follow them, but we must be careful not to be seen. Let's quietly tail them."

Naruto kept thinking about the intentions behind these ninja's movements as they followed. 

"Are they planning to meet with Lightning Ninja before launching an attack? That doesn't make much sense." 

"If they were attacking from the Moon Country, it would be much closer and offer the advantage of surprise." 

"Raikage surely knows this. But why are they heading towards the Land of Lightning? It seems unnecessarily complicated." 

"Raikage must have a more dangerous plan in mind, but I can't figure out what it is yet," he pondered.

The ninja group soon entered the Land of Lightning but didn't go to the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Instead, they arrived at a small coastal town. 

Being on the border, a town like this didn't have many shinobi stationed there, and the Lightning Country typically didn't waste resources defending such places.

Naruto and his team managed to slip into the town and closely observed the movements of the Moon Country ninja. 

After several days, Naruto started to doubt whether following them was the right decision. Perhaps this ninja didn't have any valuable intel after all.

However, one day, Yamato's Wood Clone spotted someone significant—a shinobi with the kanji for "lightning" marked on his shoulder. 

This ninja was none other than Darui, one of Raikage's most trusted men and a high-ranking Cloud shinobi.

Darui's presence confirmed to Naruto that something important was about to happen. 

Raikage wouldn't have sent someone like him otherwise. 

Darui wasn't alone either; several other Cloud ninjas were with him, and it was highly likely that one of them had sensory abilities. 

Because of this, Naruto's team couldn't observe too closely and had to be cautious in tracking their movements.

At first, they noticed the increasing number of shinobi arriving, but they couldn't figure out the objective. 

Then, three days later, a large group of ninjas started moving towards the nearby port. 

However, the ships at the port weren't heading towards the Moon Country. Instead, they were sailing towards the Land of Water.

This revelation shocked Naruto. 

"Could it be that the Mist and Cloud are planning a joint operation to attack Konoha?" 

"But if that were the case, Cloud ninja would just go directly to the Mist, then attack Konoha by sea from the Land of Water." 

"With two great nations teaming up, their odds of success are already high. There wouldn't be a need to involve the Moon Country," he thought. 

The more Naruto considered it, the more confused he became. Yamato and the others were also at a loss. 

Naruto, being the captain, had to make a decision. 

After careful consideration, he decided they should continue to focus on the ninja heading for the port.

Naruto and the other three team members snuck to an isolated spot and entered the water. 

They swam towards the Land of Water, staying underwater for most of the journey. 

They only surfaced far from the port to avoid detection. Even if someone spotted them from a distance, anyone would unlikely care. 

Once they were far from the port and out of sight, Naruto had Yamato use his Wood Style to create a boat, disguising it as a merchant ship from the Land of Lightning. 

They quickly set off, following the ninja's ship ahead. 

Thanks to Naruto's Use of Water-Style techniques to propel the boat, they soon caught up with the larger vessel. 

Seeing it was a Lightning Country ship, the ninja on board didn't think much of it, as Lightning Country ships weren't allowed to set sail without permission. 

But Naruto was observing closely. He noticed that there weren't many Cloud ninjas on the large ship—just about the same number as the Moon Country ninjas. 

After carefully analyzing the situation, Naruto realized there were no high-ranking or elite ninjas like Darui aboard. 

Additionally, the ship couldn't carry many more ninjas than it already had. Naruto reconsidered his previous theory. 

If the Raikage and Mizukage had truly planned a joint attack, the Raikage would have sent elite ninjas to the Land of Water, and then they would have attacked Konoha together. 

However, the Cloud shinobi aboard weren't particularly strong, and there were few.

As Naruto pieced the clues together, he suddenly had an idea. "Wait! I think I understand now."

He turned to his team and said, "Yamato, help me use Water Style to propel the boat even faster. Flash, Shadow, you two row with all your strength." 

"We need to get ahead of them as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Captain!" The three immediately sprang into action. 

Their combined efforts sent the boat speeding forward, cutting through the water like a blade. 

They had passed the larger ship in no time and were heading swiftly toward the Land of Water.

Though their rapid progress drained much of their chakra, Naruto's team soon arrived at a small, uninhabited island. 

Though deserted, this island was a common stop for ships travelling to and from the Land of Water. 

The island had edible plants and wild animals, making it an ideal resting spot for passing ships. 

Naruto guessed that the Moon Country ninja, on a non-critical mission, would likely stop here to rest.

Naruto and his team quickly reached the island and began executing their plan. 

If his hunch was correct, he believed they could prevent the Raikage from attacking Konoha.

The first thing they did after reaching the island was eat and rest. 

They had spent a lot of chakra and energy on their journey. Before resting, Naruto made sure to sink their boat to avoid detection. 

Once they had recovered, they began setting up traps all over the island. With everything in place, all they had to do now was wait.

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