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"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X785]
~ With Shisui's clone, in Warrod's home ~
"But of course, this place is quite far away," Shisui said with a casual shrug. "Not within Ishgar, but beyond the eastern sea."
"And what else have you seen in your travels?" Warrod asked, refilling their teacups with a gesture that caused a nearby vine to pour steaming liquid from a blossom.
The question opened the floodgate, and Shisui found himself describing transformed versions of places he knew—the desert land with underground rivers where people can manipulate sand itself (Suna, though he never calls it that); the mountain country where temples cling to cliffsides so steep that supplies must be delivered by trained eagles (a modified description of Kumo); the island nation where volcanic heat is harnessed to power entire cities (based on a mission to a small country near the Land of Fire).
With each description, he was careful to frame these places as distant but of this world, implying they laid on continents beyond Ishgar. He spoke of cultures and customs, of strange foods and stranger celebrations, drawing from his actual experiences but reframing them to fit his new reality.
Warrod listened with growing fascination, occasionally asking questions that revealead his own extensive knowledge of geography. The clone navigated these carefully, neither confirming nor denying specific locations, letting Warrod draw his own conclusions about where these places might be.
"You paint such vivid pictures," Warrod said eventually, a note of wistfulness in his voice. "It makes an old tree like me wish I could uproot and see these wonders myself." He sighed, and the entire house seems to sigh with him. "But my duties as a Wizard Saint keep me rooted here in Ishgar. There is always some crisis or another that requires attention, some threat to the peace that must be addressed."
"The Wizard Saints," Shisui's eyes widened, recognizing the term from his research. This time, he was thankful that he had listened to his instinct earlier. "I've heard they're the most powerful mages on the continent."
Warrod waved a woody hand dismissively. "Power isn't everything, young traveler. Some of us are simply old enough to have accumulated more magic than sense." He chuckled, but there was a weight to his words that suggested a deeper meaning. "But enough about old trees and their responsibilities. Tell me more about the island with the fire fountains—how do they prevent the water from boiling away?"
And so the conversation continued, with Shisui crafting careful tales from his past, translating memories into stories that seemed exotic rather than impossible. Throughout it all, he watched Warrod carefully, alert for any sign that the ancient mage would see through his deception.
But if Warrod suspected anything beyond what Shisui had presented, he gave no indication. His interest seemed genuine, his questions born of curiosity rather than suspicion. It's almost disappointing, in a way. Part of Shisui—the part trained to prepare for worst-case scenarios—would find it easier to deal with outright disbelief than this apparently innocent acceptance.
Yet another part of him, the part that remembered what it was like to simply share stories with friends around a campfire, found unexpected comfort in the exchange.
The conversation continued to flow like a gentle stream, winding through topics with easy grace, but beneath Shisui's calm exterior, warning bells had begun to chime. He had shared too much, painted pictures too vivid, walked too close to the edge of truth. For every question he deflected, Warrod would ask two more, his curiosity seemingly bottomless.
'I don't know if he is doing this on purpose, but this man could give the guys at the T&I department a run for their money.'
It was time to leave, before the inevitable slip could occur—before he mentioned a name or detail that could not be explained away as merely foreign.
"The sun's position has changed quite a bit since I arrived," Shisui observed, glancing toward a window where afternoon light streamed in at a steep angle. "I should continue on my way while daylight remains."
Warrod followed his gaze, seemingly surprised by the passage of time. "Ah, yes. We old trees tend to lose track of hours when engaged in pleasant conversation." He rose from his chair, which seamlessly reintegrated with the floor as he stepped away from it. "It's been refreshing to hear tales of distant lands. Most visitors bring only news of the troubles plaguing Ishgar."
Shisui stood as well, offering a respectful bow. "Thank you for your hospitality. Not everyone welcomes strangers who appear uninvited on their doorstep."
"Doorstep?" Warrod's eyebrows raised, and a smile cracked his wooden features. "You were hiding in my forest, young man. If I turned away everyone who tried to spy on me from behind a tree, I'd miss all the most interesting conversations." He winked, and a small flower bloomed in his hair, then wilts dramatically as if for comedic effect.
Despite himself, Shisui smiled. There was something disarming about the ancient mage that made it difficult to maintain his usual guard.
"Will you return to Crocus?" Warrod asked, leading the way toward the door. "Or does your path take you elsewhere?"
Shisui hesitated, uncertain how Warrod knew that he had been in Crocus, then realized that the mage was likely making an educated guess based on Fiore's geography. "I haven't decided yet. I prefer to let the road suggest my next destination."
Warrod nodded, as if this philosophy made perfect sense to him. "A life without rigid plans. There's wisdom in that approach." He stopped at the threshold of his strange home, one hand resting on the doorframe that seemed to lean into his touch like a pet seeking affection. "Should your wandering feet bring you this way again, my door will be open. I would enjoy hearing more of your tales."
"I'll keep that in mind," Shisui said, stepping out into the clearing. The forest seemed different now—more attentive somehow, as if the trees had shifted their branches to better observe the interaction.
"And," Warrod added, his tone shifting slightly, "should you ever find yourself in need of assistance, this old tree has been around long enough to have roots in many places. It would be no trouble to help a fellow appreciator of the world's wonders."
For a brief moment, alarm rang out in Shisui's mind. However, his years of ANBU training had allowed none of the alarm to escape his person. 'Root… Is this some kind of a twisted joke by fate? By that damned being?'
The offer hung in the air between them, clearly significant but ambiguous enough that Shisui could not quite determine its full meaning. Was it simple hospitality? Or did Warrod sense something about him?
"That's very generous," Shisui replied carefully. "Thank you."
Warrod waved a dismissive hand. "It's selfish, really. The more you travel, the more stories you'll bring back. I'm investing in future entertainment."
Once again, Shisui's extensive training played a major role to not give anything away. 'Entertainment… This definitely feels like a way for that being to tell me that he is still watching me…'
With that, Warrod offered a final nod and stepped back into his home. The door—which Shisui now noticed was not attached by any visible hinges—closed.
Alone in the clearing, Shisui took a moment to center himself. The encounter was unexpected but not unwelcome. Having a potential ally of Warrod's caliber could prove valuable, even if maintaining his cover story might become increasingly difficult with repeated interactions.
He turned and headed into the forest, moving with purposeful speed but not so quickly as to seem like he's fleeing. Only when he was certain that he was beyond the range of even enhanced perception such as that of a Hyuga Elite or a Elite Sensor of the Uzumaki Clan, did he increase his pace, branches and undergrowth blurring as he moved with the speed that once earned him his nickname.
After almost an hour of moving away with incredible speed from Warrod's clearing, the clone finally came to a stop in a small break in the trees. 'This should be far enough that no one, not even a mage of Warrod's apparent power, should be able to observe what happens next.'
With a final check of the surroundings, the clone formed a hand sign and released the jutsu, dispersing in a small puff of smoke. The memories travelled back to the original Shisui, completing the transfer that began in the tavern.
Back in the clearing, the trees that witnessed the clone's departure bent slightly, their leaves rustling despite the absence of wind. A small bird with unusually bright green feathers emerged from one of the trees before it took flight from a branch, circling once before heading back toward the strange house at the center of the perfect circle of trees.
Inside, Warrod sat in a chair that was not there moments before, eyes closed in concentration. A smile played across his wooden features as the green bird alighted on his outstretched finger, dissolving into a swirl of leaves that were absorbed into his skin.
"Most interesting," he murmured to the empty room. "Most interesting indeed."
The forest listened, and remembers.
~ End of Chapter 06 ~