Hinata noticed this almost immediately. Naruto being Naruto took a bit longer, but he immediately commented on it once he did. "Terra?"
"I think I know who one of the thieves is," said Terra. "I'm not sure if he's the careful one or the talented one though."
"Oh?" asked Naruto. "What makes you think so?"
"He's declared you his rival, and you showed him the basics of fuuinjutsu," said Terra. "One of our afternoon spars about six months ago."
"Oh?" asked Naruto, trying to think.
Hinata and Naruto both came to the same conclusion and said the name at the same time. "Konohamaru?"
flashback!
"Uhm, Naruto?" asked a confused-sounding Hinata.
Naruto immediately spotted the box painted to resemble foliage that was inching its way through the training ground. "Uhm. What is THAT supposed to be?"
"Ah! As expected of my rival!" said the box.
"I've got a rival?" asked Naruto.
"All ninja heroes have a rival," said Terra, nodding. "It's one of the signs of you going for the goal of Hokage - if you didn't have one then nobody would take you seriously for such a position."
"Oh," said Naruto and the box. "That makes sense."
"Ah HAH!" said the box, continuing on. "As expected of my rival!"
"Can you lose the box? I feel kinda awkward taking a box marked up with crayons as my rival," said Naruto.
"Oh, right," said the box before exploding violently.
present:
"Oh yeah, that was one of the first chances for Hinata to practice medical techniques and you to use your Heal technique," said Naruto.
"They'd used too much smoke powder for the explosion, and what was intended to be a Dramatic Reveal ended up being a rescue," said Terra. "You remember what happened after they revived?"
flashback:
"Well, THAT certainly didn't go as intended," said the boy with the scarf.
"Okay, does my rival have a name?" asked Naruto.
"Konohamaru Sarutobi!" declared Konohamaru.
"The grandson of the Hokage?" asked Terra.
"Yeah," said Konohamaru, sneering at the reaction of the two girls.
WHACK!
"Ow!" said Konohamaru, having just been whacked atop his head.
"I'd have expected Jiji's grandson to be a little more cautious," said Naruto. "You could have injured your two buddies here! And a future Hokage should NEVER forget that he has trusted comrades!"
"See!" said Konohamaru. "That's why you're my rival! You got to teach me!"
"I don't think that's what a rival is supposed to do," said Naruto, glancing to Terra for confirmation.
Terra just shrugged.
"Okay, well," said Naruto, scratching his head. "I suppose I can show you the basics of seal work."
"Why seal work?" asked a scowling Konohamaru.
"Because seals can do lots of neat stuff," said Naruto. "And using smoke-bomb notes is a lot better than explosive powder. Less chance of catching things on fire for one thing."
"Oh yeah," said Naruto. "Huh."
"So, some people, and not ME at all, MIGHT say you're responsible there," said Terra. "Or an accomplice or something."
"Who would be the other thief then?" asked Hinata.
"No idea," said Naruto. "You?"
"No, if it was one of Konohamaru's friends I'd expect them to be working with him, but it doesn't sound like that." Terra thought for a few minutes. "It might just be someone who saw an opportunity."
They walked in silence for a few minutes, mulling it over.
"Well, I guess I gotta at least ask Konohamaru about it," said Naruto eventually.
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(Posted Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:17)
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