Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything Hobbit or LOTR related.

Beta: Kitsune! Thanks a bunch for all your hard work!

AN: Since some of you already commented on it: I don't plan on adding any pairings that aren't canon. Not right now, in any case. Should that change, you guys will be the first to know.

There will be some very close Bromances! Probably. I love the idea of the dwarves adopting Bilbo as their own.

Chapter 3

Getting this strange chakra under control took quite a bit of effort. Nature here was wilder than he'd ever seen in the elemental countries.

The chakra here was strange, wilder and, while a select few could use magic (and how weird was that!?), he had never heard any mention of chakra. So, did that mean people here didn't use it? Didn't know it existed? Or were just unable to use it?

He did notice he had a small chakra system through his body (getting some time alone to meditate and find it was another problem with the company hovering) but he didn't think his body was capable of producing more than it currently possessed.

However, Hashirama hadn't been dependent on his body's reserves. He had been a Sage, able to draw chakra from nature and use it to power his jutsu and, while Bilbo had not consciously been doing anything, that was the closest he came to explaining a tree growing that fast, underground.

Sensing nature's Chakra was an easy thing to do, like he'd done it a hundred times before (and he had). Once he familiarised himself with the feel of this wild chakra, getting it under control became the hardest part.

It flew through him with an ease he hadn't expected. He guessed it flowed through all Hobbits, to a certain point, but remembering to be Hashirama, memories of having the Mokuton, both or even something entirely different, had made the difference.

The Chakra flew so freely that it affected plant life around him, or at least that is what he suspected.

Getting it to stop was one of the hardest things both Bilbo and Hashirama had done in quite a while, because when he wasn't actively focusing on it, the grass would grow, flowers would bloom and trees creaked as they turned towards him.

It was very distracting and also not good, because Beorn's house was completely made out of wood. It reacted to him... wanting to grow, to move and it was eager to do so, meaning he spent a lot of time outdoors.

Wood with feelings… That was new. He'd never experienced that before.

Like right now, he'd been testing these 'new' powers ever since he came outside a few hours ago.

His stomach grumbled. It had to be almost time for lunch…

Not quite yet. He was still experimenting. He'd managed to create a little sprout, not bigger than his hand but…

It blinked at him.

The sapling tree had a face and eyes and it waved its two branches around as if to wave at him.

"Hello."

It opened its mouth and cooed at him.

Bilbo giggled, both in delight and from nerves. What had he just done? He'd never created a tree with a personality like this before.

He gently stroked the leaves at the top of the little tree's head. It hummed contently.

"You are adorable." Bilbo giggled as it tried to catch his finger. "I think I'll call you Tobirama."

It giggled happily.

He couldn't help but compare the sapling to his once-brother when he'd been a small child, before Tobirama had seen the battlefield. He'd been just as adorable.

And the sapling had red eyes as well, so that made the resemblance even bigger.

Not that his once brother had ever resembled a tree…

Never mind…

He tried to take his finger back, but little Tobi didn't let go of his finger.

"I'm going to need that back, Tobi." He smiled at it.

Tobi huffed.

"Haha, let's see. You want to stay with me?"

Tobi nodded.

"Oh, you're so cute." Bilbo gushed in true Hashirama fashion. He couldn't help it.

The sapling was still planted into the ground, so he couldn't take him with him like this. He looked around. "I'll be right back."

After looking around for a little while, he found what had once been a small cup of tea (Man-standard) and ran back to Tobi.

Tobi pouted at him and raised his hands as if to ask for a hug. Bilbo gently stroked the side of his face. "Just a second, Tobi. We'll be on our way soon."

He dug his hands into the earth surrounding the sapling and gently dug him out. He then planted him with extra earth into the tea cup.

Tobi looked around in wonder as Bilbo took his cup in hand and stood up. "It's easier to stay together like this, right?"

Tobi nodded with a smile.

"Let's show you off to the others!"

There was a spring in his step as he entered the house. "Look! I made a tree!"

Beorn chuckled at him and even Gandalf smiled in amusement. Thorin, the only dwarf in the house at the moment, raised an eyebrow.

"Good job, little Wanderer." Beorn encouraged him.

Bilbo set Tobi's cup on the table. "This is Tobirama, Tobi for short."

Tobi waved at them, but he seemed much less enthusiastic than before. "I am Tobi."

"You can talk! Oh, isn't that just amazing!" Bilbo burst out as he took the cup back in hand and brought Tobi close to cuddle him. Tobi threw his little hands around Bilbo's cheek.

"An Ent." Gandalf breathed in wonder. "You've… made a little Ent?"

Beorn hummed in delight. "Little Wanderer keeps surprising us."

Meanwhile, Thorin was still spluttering nonsense in shock.

Bilbo raised an eyebrow at them all. "Is it really that unusual?"

"No one quite remembers when nor how the Ents came into being." Gandalf started his explanation. "Most anyone can remember is that they were give life by one of the Valar. Yavanna would have appealed to Manwë to protect the trees of Arda, which she feared for, after the creation of the dwarves by her husband, Aulë. Very few Ents remain now, and it's been Ages since new ones were born. Remarkable. When you think you've learned everything there is to know about Hobbits, they still manage to surprise you. Remarkable."

"I remember your people having a close affinity towards all things that grow. I had no idea it went this far though." Beorn admitted with a smile.

Bilbo smiled.

Maybe things were more complicated than him simply remembering another life? True, Hashirama had had the Mokuton, the ability to grow trees, but he had never made living trees like Tobi.

Was this a combination maybe? Mokuton and the magic/wild chakra here?

He wondered what else would be different?

Beorn's house was peaceful and Bilbo felt relaxed for the first time since running out his door. He hadn't been able to completely relax in Rivendell.

Rivendell had been beautiful, but it didn't feel real. Too perfect, too clean, too… just too much, and while the elves had been nothing but courteous with him, their distaste of the dwarves had been all too clear. It had been uncomfortable.

So, yes, he honestly preferred Beorn's home, from the flowers, to the giant bees, and the other animals, to the dirt that he could once more feel between his toes.

He sighed, looking over the land.

It was such a pity they couldn't stay here for long. Already, Gandalf and Thorin were mapping out their route for the next few days. From what Beorn told them, the goblins had been chased away, but the orcs were still skulking about nearby.

He mourned the loss of his little blade in the tunnels under the Misty mountains.

Still, he would need to have something to protect himself with. Bilbo had never felt the need for a blade, but Hashirama had grown up so used to them that the idea of not having one now was deeply unsettling.

He didn't feel comfortable asking the dwarves. Ever since things had calmed down a bit, the dwarves had behaved… coldly. Almost like they had at the beginning of their journey. A lot of them had relaxed a bit around him, treated him somewhat kindly, but now…

They weren't sure what to think if Bilbo now, with his strange powers and his living sapling. That was obvious. Most of them kept a wary eye on him and Tobi, but the younger ones loved the little… Ent? Fili, Kili and Ori were always around, playing and poking at Tobi, wide smiles on their faces. Bofur had eyed the little sapling warily, right until Bilbo had introduced him to Tobi as a good friend. Tobi had eyed him just as sceptically, but then he had waved at the dwarf. Bilbo was sure he had seen Bofur melt at the cuteness.

Tobi was the cutest. No one should be able to resist him. At least, that was Bilbo's opinion.

Bilbo was feeling surer of himself now, having gotten a good feel of this world's chakra. Being a sage in his last life sure helped with that.

He spend quite a bit of his time alone, and he spend it practicing. He didn't bring more trees alive, but he practiced getting a good feel of the chakra, tried to manipulate it enough to move it around, and things like that.

They didn't end up staying long at Beorn's which Bilbo thought was a pity. They stayed about two more days, for Beorn to go into the mountains and check their story, and for them to restock the supplies they had lost once the giant was satisfied with them.

Their days of rest passed quickly and before he knew it, they were getting on top of a pack of ponies, ready to continue their journey.

"Little Wanderer, this is for you." Beorn handed him a small pouch.

"Ah, thank you?" Bilbo accepted the pouch, curious to what was inside and why Beorn would give him anything?

"There are seeds from my garden in there." Beorn explained with a smile. Tobi who had climbed out of his little tea cup just this morning and turned out to have two little, wooden legs now, was sitting in Bilbo's front jacket pocket, peeked out of it and waved at the man.

Beorn chuckled.

"Thank you. But… Why?" Bilbo asked the man.

"Your people need greens around them. Healthy greens. Where you are going there are none. Not in Mirkwood, not around the mountain. The dragon burned everything green the day he came, and Mirkwood… the forest has been sick for a long time. These might help you keep a clear mind."

"Thank you." Bilbo clutched the little pouch tightly.

"Take care, little one. Dwarves do not understand things that grow." And with that omnious warning the skin-changer turned towards both Gandalf and Thorin. "Go now, while you have the light. Your hunters are not far behind."

So they did. Their ponies ran fast and swift and it only took about two hours for them to reach the forest. Bilbo immediately understood what Beorn had said. The forest looked dark and angry. Dread settled inside him and Tobi whimpered, hiding in his little pocket.

Gandalf dismounted and approached the archway that stood at the entrance of the forest.

"The Elven Gate." He touched the stone. "Here lies our path through Mirkwood."

"No sign of the Orcs. We have luck on our side." Dwalin said as they got off the ponies and grabbed their supplies.

"Set the ponies loose. Let them return to their master."

The dwarves grumbled but they too had spotted the large bear following them during their ride. So grumble they did, but they released the ponies either way.

"This forest feels sick, as if a disease lies upon it. Is there no way around?" Bilbo couldn't help but say. He really didn't want to go in there.

"Not unless we go two hundred miles north, or twice that distance… south." Gandalf replied, still observing the entrance to the forest. He walked inside, muttering to himself. He came back out, and there was an urgency to him that hadn't been there before.

"Not my horse, I need it!" he yelled harshly.

What? The dwarves muttered in confusion, but Bilbo understood quickly.

"You're not leaving us?" He asked indignant as he stepped towards the wizard.

"I would not do this unless I had to." Gandalf said quietly as he reached for his horse.

He shot Bilbo a look. "You've changed, Bilbo Baggins. You're not the same hobbit as the one who left the Shire."

Bilbo snorted. "That's a nice way of saying it."

Gandalf smiled at him. "You'll be fine, Bilbo. Trust in yourself."

The wizard turned towards the whole company. "I'll be waiting for you at the overlook, before the slopes of Erebor. Keep the map and key safe. Do not enter that mountain without me."

Thorin threw him a look.

"This is not the Greenwood of old. The very air of the forest is heavy with illusion that will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray." Gandalf continued.

"Lead us astray? What does that mean?" Bilbo asked confused. The forest, or the trees could use some form of genjutsu?

"You must stay on the path, do not leave it. If you do, you'll never find it again." Gandalf warned them as he got on his horse and rode off. "No matter what may come, stay on the path!"

Thorin grunted and turned towards the forest. "Come on, we must reach the mountain before the sun sets on Durin's Day. Let's go. We've but one chance to find the hidden door."

They entered Mirkwood and Bilbo gulped, really not wanting to go inside. But he couldn't stay behind either.

The path was somewhat clear, and visible. For now.

"The path turns this way." Thorin called out.

Something hung in the air though. Something sick. It wasn't actually the trees, bilbo realised as they kept on walking. The air was foul, and affected everything inside the forest.

The path kept disappearing and reappearing at random.

"This way." Dwalin yelled out again after losing the path for the umpteenth time.

The air grew heavier, walking in a straight line became harder.

"Air…I need air." Bofur said from next to him.

And suddenly all the dwarves started complaining.

"My head, it's spinning! What's happening?" Oin said.

"Keep moving." Thorin barked out.

Bilbo blinked. His eyes felt heavy. He bumped against the dwarf before him. Had they stopped?

"Nori, why have you stopped?"

"The path, it's disappeared! Again!"

"What's going on?"

"We've lost the path!"

He couldn't make out who said what any more.

"Find it. All of you, look."

"Look for the path!"

Bilbo couldn't do more than stand around and try to focus on the dwarves, who began to walk around dizzily in hopes of finding the path. The further they walked the harder it got. It was as if they were walking towards the infection…

"I don't remember this place, none of it's familiar." Balin muttered next to him.

"It's got to be here."

"What hour is it?"

"I don't know, I don't even know what day it is."

"Is there no end to this accursed forest?!"

"Gandalf said to stay on the path!" Bilbo half-shouted as best as he could, to gain the company's attention.

"We're going around in circles!" Thorin snarled back. "Getting off this path might actually take us somewhere!"

Moods had been very sour since entering the forest…

"Can we then at least go that way? To the less sick part of the forest?" Bilbo pointed behind them. "Not to the even sicker part you seem to want to go into."

Thorin snarled wordlessly and Bilbo actually took a step back in shock.

The dwarf startled at that, and blinked excessively, as if trying to clear his brain.

"Why don't you magic us a tree to get us out of this mess?" Dwalin asked sarcastically. "Bloody Hobbit."

"Well, maybe I will." Bilbo retorted back with a smirk.

"I am Tobi!"

Bilbo blinked in shock. "You know, you might not have meant it, Dwalin, but that might actually be a good idea…"

"What are you blabbering about?" the dwarf asked gruffly.

"Let's ask a tree!"

Bilbo looked around, and picked one of the healthier trees around them. It was quite beautiful with a light white, silvery bark. It was very big and sturdy and he could see reddish leaves which might be autumn colours, but it was very striking. He placed both hands on the trunk and gently guided the wild nature chakra through it.

He made sure to try and remember what he did with Tobirama, then gently tweaked it. He wasn't growing a new tree, he was waking one.

The tree groaned, and started moving.

The dwarves yelped in surprise.

Really, they were so easily startled. They had seen this before, after all.

The tree pulled its roots from the earth and turned to show them a face. It was a crinkly face make out of tree bark.

Big eyes blinked at him. The branches that made up it's hair, started growing. Nt growing bigger, but… Were those blossoms? The blossoms appeared, bloomed and a twinkling dust was released from them.

The air immediately got less dense, and Bilbo finally felt like he could breathe again.

"I ammm… awake?" Spoke a low, raspy female voice slowly.

It reminded Bilbo of the older female (grandma) hobbits in the Shire, but deeper. More earthly, if that made any sense.

The tree (Ent?) turned towards him and inclined her… head?

"Thank *breath* you, young Wanderer, *breath* for your assistance." She spoke very slowly, but he didn't have any trouble understanding her.

He smiled brightly. "Hi there!"

The dwarves were still gaping at him.

"Hmmm." The Ent hummed/growled at them. "Dwarves *Breath* with axes."

"Oh, don't mind them. They're with me. They won't hurt you, or any of your friends." He shot the dwarves a stern look.

They grumbled, but they seemed clearer as well. Whatever that pollen was, it was helping.

"So, what is your name, fair lady?" Bilbo asked with a smile.

He couldn't help but imagine the faces of his old shinobi friend if this had happened in Konoha.

"Who are *breath* you?"

"My name is Bilbo Baggins. What is yours?"

"Flora." She said with a large exhale.

"Flora, it's nice to meet you."

"I am Tobi!" Tobi yelled excited from his pocket as he waved his little arms around.

"It is *breath* nice to meet *breath* you as well, *breath* young Tobi." Flora greeted slowly.

"You understand him?" Bilbo breathed in awe.

Tobi had only been saying that one sentence, over and over, ever since he had been created. Hearing a grown Ent talk, filled him with worry though. Had he made a mistake with Tobi? Had he somehow hurt the little sapling.

"Hmmm… Young *breath* Saplings take *breath* decades to learn *breath* to talk. He is *breath* quite advanced *breath* already, *breath* for his age." She said. "Much *breath* will become clear *breath* with time."

Bilbo sighed in relief.

The dwarves shifted uneasily. Only Kili dared to come forward. "I am Kili. You're really big!"

"No, *breath* you are *breath* very small." Flora replied.

Kili laughed in delight and Bilbo couldn't help but smile.

"Thank *breath* you for *breath* waking me."

"You are very welcome."

"Can we stop wasting time?" Thorin grumbled. "Can she help us or not?"

"She is right here. Ask her." Bilbo snapped back annoyed.

Thorin blinked at him in shock.

"You *breath* need help?" She leaned down to look at Bilbo.

"We're looking for a way out of the forest. To the east."

"Hmmm... That *breath* way?" She points into the trees, looking at him with big eyes.

"Um, if that is east, than yes. We are quite lost."

"Shall *breath* I walk *breath* with you? To the *breath* east?"

"That would be really nice. Thank you." Bilbo said before Thorin could open his mouth.

She reached for Bilbo with her arms, lifted him up and gently deposited him in the branches of her hair and he clung to her. It was very high up.

"We *breath* should leave *breath* as soon as *breath* possible. It is *breath* not safe here, *breath* for fleshlings. Creepers *breath* lurk *breath* nearby."

"Creepers?" Ori squeaked.

"Nasty *breath* creepers, with *breath* all their legs *breath* and their *breath* webs."

"We're taking directions from a tree. Brilliant." Dwalin muttered.

"If you don't like it, feel free to consider walking in circles for who knows how long. I don't mind waiting at the edge of the forest to see if you ever emerge." Bilbo shot the biggest dwarf a sharp grin.

TBC.

ENTS! Bilbo can wake up the trees and make them into Ents! I love little Tobi! He's largely inspired by Groot (from Marvel!) and he's the reason I started this fic in the first place 3 I hope you all like this twist ^^

Please, let me know what you think? Do you love Tobi as well? ^^