Naruto:Making Of A Hokage

Encounter With The Beast

Choji walked along the docks in calm steps. They were gathering information so it would be best to appear calm, as not to make others nervous. He had seen the looks some of the villagers sent his way. Unlike the Hidden Leaf, this villagers weren't used to seeing many ninja around.
"… That thing just wiped out everything!"
Choji turned his attention to the source of the noise, finding a group of men sitting around a round table on the outside of a restaurant. There were a few plates on their table with bits of food left meaning that they were just chatting at the moment.
' Perfect,' thought Choji as he moved closer to the group of men.
One of the men laughed, "Are you actually serious about this? Am I supposed to believe you?"
"Don't be a fucking idiot," another men growled, tightening his grip on the glass of beer he held. "You might have just gotten back but everyone here is freaking out about that thing. Ask anybody and they'll tell you the same thing I did."
"Excuse me," Choji broke in.
The group of men stopped their conversation, looking at Choji in a mixture of shock and annoyance.
"What does a ninja want with us?" one of the men asked a bit bitterly.
"I only want to hear of this 'thing' that's attacking your ships," Choji explained politely.
One of the men crossed his arms, his scarred face looking at Choji's. He held the stare before braking it and letting out a sigh, "You don't seem like a bad person so I'll tell ya. You're a ninja so you might be able to do something about that thing."
The man exchanged glances with the others before clearing his throat. "You see kid, we were attacked by this horrible monster. We were just fishing when a giant whirlpool appeared beneath us, but that wasn't the worse," the man paused before taking a sip of his drink.
"This thing just broke out of the water before shooting the ship with something. Next thing we know, we're shooting through the air and land miles away from where we had just been," his expression hardened, "It was by pure luck that a ship was sailing around where we landed, if it hadn't been for that… Well, I wouldn't be telling you this story."
"I see," Choji nodded, "Do you know of anyone who could take us there?"
The man broke into a laugh, "Hate to break it to ya, but nobody around here is that stupid."
"Thanks for your help," Choji bowed slightly out of respect before beginning to walk away from the restaurant.
His expression was serious as he walked. He had gotten some information on the beast, which he now thought was more likely to be real, but he hadn't found a way to get to it. They could walk there but the strain would be too much for them. And in the case that there was a beast then they would be too tired to take it down.
' Guess, I'll go tell Naruto about this. Maybe he found a way to get there."
With that last thought Choji left the area, unaware of the two pairs of eyes watching him leave.
Hinata walked through a crowed street with many shops and businesses around. Wave was a very peaceful place in her opinion. It reminded her a bit of Konoha in that aspect. Everyone walking around the streets with no problems of their own.
She looked down, sadness written over her features as thoughts of her own problems filled her mind. Hinata wasn't ugly, or at least she hoped not. Naruto and Ino... she simply couldn't understand them. When had that bond formed exactly? She couldn't even remember a time when they were together when they were younger. Why did Naruto choose Ino instead of her?
After Naruto's long trip she hoped to have him come back with changed feelings, after all time could change a person. Part of her knew that it was wrong to wish for their relationship to end but she couldn't help it. Her feelings for Naruto were still there.
The stinging feeling of tears gathering in her eyes broke her out of her train of thought. She wiped the gathered tears away before pushing those thoughts away. They weren't needed now. She was in the middle of a mission and had to be professional.
Her attention turned to a few civilians gathered on the outside of a shop. She could hear their voices from where she stood and could make out the fear in which they spoke.
"Did you hear? That thing attacked merchant ships!"
Hinata walked closer to the crowd in order to hear them better.
"But they weren't any ships. They came from the Cloud village!"
The Hyuuga's eyes instantly widened, taking a few steps back instinctively. Cloud… The village that had tried to kidnap her once. She could still remember how she spent days crying herself to sleep out of fear, remembering the ninja about to get her.
She swallowed hard before walking away from the crowd. Albeit a bit afraid, she knew that the others would help her if need be. She only needed to get to them soon.
"How's life been kid?" Tazuna asked with flushed cheeks as he took another gulp of his beverage.
Naruto chuckled lightly as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. "I've been great old man," he responded, "What about you guys?"
Tazuna shrugged, "Wave's doing great, well… except for that thing."
The blond's expression turned serious. "I need a way to that thing," he explained, "Do you know anyone that can take us there? Or at least give us a boat?"
"Can't you just rent one?"
"About that…" Naruto trailed off, knowing that he was currently out of money. "Let's just say that I don't really have the means to get one, at least legally of course."
Tazuna chuckled as he took another drink," Fine, I might know someone but he's not normal like us. He's a bit… odd."
"That's not really a problem," Naruto assured, "It's not like we'll need to talk to him for too long anyway."
"Alright then," Tazuna sighed out, "Go to the eastern docks. Look for the house on the peak of the hill overlooking the sea. Pretty easy to spot, there's even a statue there."
Naruto grinned before standing up to leave, "Thanks old man."
"Just make sure to visit once you're done," he responded, "Inari would probably like to see you again."
"Don't worry, I'll make sure to visit," Naruto affirmed before walking out of the bar. Now all he needed was to meet with his team.
Naruto made it to the team's meeting spot, right in front of the inn they had stayed in the previous day. His brows furrowed upon getting there, finding that everyone was already there.
"Why are you guys here so early?" he asked upon coming closer, "This isn't even the time we're supposed to meet."
"We just found the information we needed quickly," Ino responded, with the other two ninja nodding in agreement. She turned her attention to Naruto, watching him expectedly, "What did you find out?"
Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "Not much," he admitted to them, "I only learned that the monster was attacking fisherman. But I might have found us a boat."
"Really?" Choji asked in surprise.
Naruto nodded, "It's not definite since I haven't met with the person but it's likely that he'll give us one." He cast a look of seriousness at his team, "What did you guys find out?"
"Let's see if I understand this," Naruto began while raising a hand to prevent anyone from interrupting. "That 'monster' can create large whirlpools and fire attacks. It attacks ships that get close to it and ended up doing the same to merchant Cloud ships. Now there are some Cloud ninja here, which means that they most likely came to investigate the disappearance of their ship."
"That's pretty much it," Ino assured with a nod. She dug both hands into the pockets of her trench coat before letting out a sigh, "These Cloud ninja won't make things easy."
Naruto silently agreed while thinking of how to go about the situation. Ino had spotted the ninja but they had apparently not seen her. Surprise was on their side but then again, nobody in his group had the slightest clue as to what the Cloud ninja would be doing. They could be only looking for the source of the attack or even attack the monster, for all he knew.
"Alright everyone," Naruto broke a short moment of silence before reaching behind his head and untying his headband. "Take off your headbands, we don't want them to know where we're from in case we run into them… We can't have a conflict between the villages just because of this mission."
Choji and Hinata took of their headbands, the Akimichi wearing it on his forehead while the Hyuuga wore it on her neck.
Ino watched them from the side, not having a headband to take off herself, and chose to speak to Naruto. She still had a small question about all this.
"Naruto," she called. Naruto looked at Ino with a raised brow, giving the indication to speak. "What do you really think about all of this?" she looked firmly into his eyes, reminding him of how intense her gaze could be, "I know you're a bit worried about this so don't keep it all to yourself like you did before, okay?"
Naruto smiled. After all this time Ino could still read him like a book. He didn't know whether to be afraid or glad to have someone read him so well but, looking at the concerned expression on Ino's face, he found himself not minding as long as it was her.
His expression softened as he took Ino's hand in his, caressing it with his thumb. She blushed at the sudden action before he spoke, "I'm a little worried…"
"But not too much," he continued, after seeing a look of worry wash over her face, "All of you guys have grown a lot and I'm sure that you'll do great. It's just that the thought of facing Cloud doesn't sit well with me. Those guys are known for starting conflict. And I really don't want to be the reason for conflict."
"I was thinking the same thing," Ino commented as Naruto pulled his hand away from hers before unzipping his vest. She watched as he took out a single scroll before putting his katana's sheath away and finally taking off his vest and sealing it into the scroll. "You're vest too?"
Naruto nodded as he pocketed the scroll. "I don't want them knowing my rank, it'll give me the edge if we're to fight. Them not knowing my rank I mean," he put his sheath back in place before turning to the rest of his group, "Alright guys let's get going. We don't want those Cloud ninja getting to the 'monster' before us."
The two Cloud ninja walked along the docks of Wave. The female of the two appeared to be annoyed while the male seemed to be in a daze.
"Seriously, why did he have to call me… dammit! Just thinking about it pisses me off," the kunoichi glared at the space ahead of her in obvious rage.
The other Cloud ninja looked at his teammate oddly. "He called you a 'he.'
It's no big deal," he spoke nonchalantly. The kunoichi glared but he didn't seem to mind, "Besides, you're not the most feminine person around, Karui."
Karui delivered a hard punch to the shinobi's stomach, making him gasp for air before doubling over in pain. "That'll show you," she growled before stomping away.
"I brought this on myself," he muttered while nursing his stomach.
"Come on Omoi!" Karui yelled from the distance, "Let's go already. We have to find a lead on the boats."
Omoi followed after her, albeit a bit slower since his stomach was still in pain.
"I guess this is it…" Naruto muttered skeptically.
The rest of the group held the same expression, looking at Naruto in wonder.
"Are you sure this is it?" Ino asked while looking at the home and wondering just what had possessed a person to put statues like that there.
Naruto chuckled awkwardly. Tazuna had said something about a statue, not four statues.
The home was simple. A handsome two-story home with wooden walls. Pretty normal overall save for the statues surrounding it.
They were statues of the original Team 7. On the left side of the house was a statue of Sasuke with his arms crossed, looking off in the distance. On the other side was a statue of Sakura, smiling with her hands crossed behind her back. The next statues only added to the awkwardness.
A tall statue of a smiling Naruto was in front of the front door, legs spread wide to allow access into the house. Finally, to finish things off, was a giant statue of Kakashi with his feet on either side of the house, squatting right above it and giving a thumbs up.
"J-just who the hell would make this?" Ino muttered in repulsiveness.
Choji looked at the statues with a twitching eye, "They're um…"
Naruto noticed the quick glance Choji threw him, as if wondering if he would offend him by talking bad about the statues, "Don't worry about it. Just say it, I'm looking for words to describe this things as well."
Hinata had an embarrassed blush on her face, "Do we..? D-do we really have to go in there?"
The leader quickly glanced around the area in order to see if anyone would see them walk into the building. 'Nothing,' he turned to his group before nodding firmly, a look of panic on his face, "Let's go in before anybody sees us."
The group of ninja wasted no time in following the blond to the front door. Naruto knocked at the door quickly, not wanting to risk anybody seeing them.
"Who is it?" a voice asked from within the home.
Naruto let out a sigh of relief before speaking, "We're looking for a boat. Can we talk to you?"
There was nothing but silence for a few minutes before the door opened slowly, a single eye peeking through the half-closed door.
"Who are you guys?" the man behind the door asked in suspicion. "How did you find my home?"
"Can you let us come in?" Ino asked while looking out for anyone coming their way.
The man hummed, pondering the thought for a few moments before closing the door.
"Dammit!" Naruto was the first to react, knocking on the door loudly. "Come on let us in! I'm standing under my own crotch here!"
The door opened once again with the same brown eye studying the ninja. "How do I know you're real?"
"W-wha-?" Naruto let out in pure shock.
Ino slapped a hand to her face, not believing what was happening.
"We're real," Choji told the man with a polite smile, "We're just here to ask for your help."
The man studied them once more before fully opening the door. A man with short white hair stood before them. He had a short beard on his face and a scar running across his right cheek. He wore a plain grey shirt with light brown pants.
"So now you need me?" he scoffed before crossing his arms, "I knew you'd come crawling back to me."
Choji looked at the man incredulously, "Huh?"
Naruto ran a hand through his hair, looking at the man in annoyance. "Tazuna sent us here," he began in an attempt to make the man understand, "Tazuna, drunk bridge builder that said he knew you. He, told us that you would help us."
"Tazuna?" the man asked in recognition.
Naruto's eyes lit up in relief, glad to see that the man was finally going to understand, "Yeah, Tazuna."
The man smiled before placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "How have you been? I haven't seen you in so long? How is your daughter doing?"
The blond chunin turned to his team in defeat, looking at them for advice. Ino gave him a shrug, almost as if telling him to just go with it. He shook his head, knowing that maybe he was reading too much into it.
Turning to Ino once more, he found her nodding with a look of seriousness on her face. He let out a sigh before turning to the eccentric man once again.
"Um, yeah. She's fine, how are you… friend?"
"Pretty good," he responded happily before going into his home and opening the door for them, "Come on in Tazuna, don't be a stranger. "
' I am a stranger,' Naruto thought in alarm but followed nonetheless. His team fell into step behind him, standing awkwardly around the house.
The man sat on a chair, looking at them oddly, "Why have you brought me here?"
Naruto's right eye twitched before taking in a breath to calm himself, "You brought us here remember?"
"I did?"
"You did," Ino broke in with an annoyed look before her expression grew serious, "Now tell us what we want to know. Why do you have those statues outside?"
The man chuckled before shrugging, "They did something for Wave so, why not?" He rose from his seat, taking a nearby cup and drinking its contents before setting it back down, "Can I get you something to drink?"
"We're good," Naruto answered before scratching the back of his neck nervously, "I'm just here to see if you could lend a boat to my good friends."
"Sure," he replied almost instantly. "It's at the bottom of the hill. There's a small cave there which I use as a dock. I don't sail anymore these days so feel free to do whatever you want with that boat."
Naruto felt guilty but knew that he was technically telling the truth. Tazuna had
wanted them to get a boat which meant that telling the old man that Tazuna wanted a boat for his friends wasn't a complete lie.
"We have to get going," Ino spoke up, having watched Naruto's internal debate.
"I'll see you later Tazuna," the man waved as the group left his house. Once they left he couldn't help but chuckle. "Kids these days are too fun to joke with," he looked out the window of his home, watching the group moving down a set of stairs leading to the bottom of the hill, "They're good kids though, Tazuna's going to laugh when I tell him all of this."
A few hours had passed since the group finally found a way to move. It was a medium-sized boat with a white sail. The thing looked old and worn out but it still worked fine and, thanks to Naruto's wind jutsu, he could increase the speed in which they moved at any given time. Setting the thing up had been a bit difficult but they had eventually found a way to make it work.
Naruto was leaning against the railing of the boat with Ino at his side. Choji took control of the wooden steering wheel, keeping their movement steady though he appeared to be a bit bored at the lack of different scenery. Hinata stood against the single cabin of the boat, looking a bit bored herself.
"Where was this thing supposed to be?" Ino asked Naruto after having enough of their aimless sailing.
The blond scowled as he looked around the ocean before narrowing his eyes in the distance. "Wait a second…" he muttered to Ino as he concentrated on the horizon.
Ino looked at Naruto oddly before turning the same direction and finding the shadow of a faraway mass of land.
"You see it, right?" Naruto asked her for assurance.
"Yeah," she responded, "There's something big over there. Probably an island."
The blond grinned before glancing at Choji over his shoulder. "Hey Choji!" he called out over the loud wind, gaining the Akimichi's attention. "Turn the ship rightwards, there's something over there!"
"Got it," Choji complied as he turned the boat to the right before it began to shake uncontrollably, "W-what the?"
Naruto and Ino stumbled under the boat's uncontrollable shaking, quickly gripping the railing tightly in order to keep from going overboard.
"What the hell is going on?" Naruto let out in surprise as he glanced at the area in front of them to see the water not too far away begin to spin in place.
His eyes widened in alarm before turning to Choji, "Turn the ship around! There's a whirlpool up ahead!"
Choji quickly turned the steering wheel but to no avail, as they were already being dragged by the whirlpool. "What now Naruto?" the Akimichi asked in panic.
Naruto gritted his teeth, not really having anything to get them out of the situation. Beside him Ino took a firm hold of his arm in an attempt to get him to calm down and think of something.
"Hinata!" Naruto called out once he thought of something, "Use your byakuugan to see what's causing this thing."
Said Hyuuga stumbled over the boat with her byakuugan active. She made it to the railing where Naruto stood before looking at the water with a focused gaze. "There's something in there," she informed with a look of confusion on her face, "It's a large chakra signature."
"There's someone in there?" Ino let out incredulously.
No sooner than she said that, the water in front of them shot up, an enormous figure emerging from the ocean.
The group looked at the towering figure in pure surprise, its dark blue scales and snake-like body highly visible now. It lowered its dragon-like head to stare at the group of ninja in rage, emitting a low growl with its piercing black eyes glaring into them.
"W-what is that?" Choji stammered in shock.
"Is it the monster?" Hinata asked the group in a bit of fear.
Ino gulped at the towering creature before regaining her composure and looking at Naruto for directions, "What the hell do we do now?"
Naruto smirked before unsheathing his katana, its blade glistening with the sun's ray. "We've found the monster…" he began as wind gathered around his blade, raising its sharpness and reach in a dull white glow. "Let's take it down. Everyone, follow me!"
Naruto jumped out of the boat with his team following after him. He made sure to land a safe distance away from the creature and just enough to avoid being caught in the whirlpool.
"I'm going to attack that thing head on," Naruto announced while throwing a quick glance at his team, "Choji, as soon as you see an opening I want you to attack with as much power as you can. Hinata stay with Choji and make sure he's not attacked on his way to that thing." He turned back to the beast before breaking into a run, but not before throwing one last look at Ino, "You're coming with me. Let's go."
"Right." The group chorused as Ino ran after Naruto.
The blond couple charged at the creature, running over the whirlpool though managing to keep their footing through using more concentration on their water walking.
Naruto leapt at the creature, swinging at its exposed neck once close enough. The beast bent its large body oddly before snaking under the swing. The blond was left airborne but quickly turned his body to watch as the creature neared Ino, who was already running through hand signs.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" Ino exclaimed as the water in front of her rose before taking the shape of a dragon and shooting at the beast.
The beast dove into the water in an instant, dodging Ino's attack without much trouble. She cursed before looking at the area beneath her, trying to catch a sign of the beast.
Naruto landed on the water with a plan already forming on his head. "Ino, I want you to use that jutsu again," he called over to her with a confident grin visible on his face, "Use it at the same time I use my own."
"Alright," she answered just as the beast emerged from the water between them.
Almost in synch, the two blonds ran through hand signs.
"Wind/Water Style: Wind/Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A dragon of pure wind formed in the air above Naruto, while one made of water formed in front of Ino. The two launched their attacks, shooting at the beast in a fast speed.
The beast let out a growl before spinning in place, creating large powerful waves around it. The two attacks crashed against the waves, dispersing with a shockwave though not stopping the large waves.
"Shit," Naruto cursed as he watched the large waves near him.
Ino ran through more hand signs before jumping high in the air and slamming both hands on the air beneath her, "Summoning Jutsu!"
Smoke gathered beneath the airborne Ino. Two large broad wings emerged from the smoke, followed by a large yellow beak and the brown feathered body of a large eagle.
Ino landed on its back before rushing at Naruto, the eagle swooping down and using its talons to pull Naruto out of the way and into the sky.
"Are you alright Naruto?" Ino yelled from the top of the eagle.
Naruto gulped when seeing just how sharp the eagle's claws were. "Y-yeah!" he yelled back before getting over his initial shock and turning back to the creature, "Drop me off on top of that thing, I'll kill it in a single attack."
"Alright," she agreed as the eagle began to move towards the beast, its broad wings creating gusts as it soared through the sky.
The beast watched the incoming eagle and turned its attention to the other two ninja. It struck its tail out of the water before swinging it in front of the two ninja, creating a large wave that threatened to swallow them up.
"Ino!" Naruto yelled, trying to get her attention.
"On it!" She answered loudly as the eagle stopped midflight before flapping both its wings at the two ninja.
A powerful gust shot at Choji and Hinata, sending them both through the air just in time to avoid being swallowed by the wave. The eagle proceeded to fly towards them, reaching them quickly before catching them on its back.
"Thanks," Choji answered with a bit of panic left on his voice.
Meanwhile Naruto turned back to the beast to see it gathering a large amount of water on its mouth, molding it and spinning it at a fast pace. The ball compressed into something much smaller before the beast took aim at them.
Naruto's eyes widened in shock before turning in Ino's direction, "Ino, get us out of here quick!"
The kunoichi raised a brow before turning to the beast, watching as it gathered water.
"It's not just water," Hinata informed with her byakuugan active, "There's chakra all over it. It's more like a concentrated amount of chakra mixed with water for form."
The beast shot its powerful beam at the large eagle summon. Naruto gritted his teeth before putting his katana in front of him while hoping to be able to take such an attack.
A large shockwave rocked the area as the beam met Naruto's blade. The blond let out a grunt as he struggled to keep a hold of his blade, absorbing the chakra of the beam with its seals burning bright in color and shaking uncontrollably.
"Dammit, I'm not going to be able to hold this off," he closed his eyes in thought before they shot open. "Got it…" he muttered to himself before taking his left hand off of the katana, instantly letting out a grunt upon feeling the pressure against his right arm.
He ran through hand signs with his left hand before putting it to his lips. "Wind Style: Devastation!" he let out most of his chakra with the attack, dropping his hold on the blade as the gust of air shot out of his mouth.
The powerful wind pushed against the highly unstable blade, taking it a fair distance away from them before it finally reached its peak.
"Hang on guys!" he yelled to his team as the blade exploded due to all the chakra.
Giant waves formed on the area, powerful winds shot in all directions and a powerful shockwave rocked the area, pushing everything on its path away.
The four ninja were left defenseless as the powerful shockwave sent them hurling through the air in no clear direction.