The Eye of the Beholder

I'm redoing this fic, ironing out everything and ensuring that things follow the storyline a little more.

Prologue: They drift with the current

A man leads his students in the direction his feet led him. He was an exceptionally tall man, at the height of 6'5", with shoulder length, messy and spiky blonde hair, blue eyes and a facial structure that could have most females around him swooning if he wanted. His attire was mostly covered by a hooded cloak the color of desert sand. What one could see was that he was wearing a pair of loose pants that allowed for proper maneuverability if he fought.

All four students were female with the oldest being nine while the other three were only a year younger than her. All of them were wearing martial arts attire, just different colors to prevent confusion. The oldest was wearing a red attire with blue lining, she had maroon colored hair that went to her shoulders and dark green eyes. The next one wore a black set with white lining, she had mid-back length black hair, blue eyes and glasses. Another had dark brown hair and green eyes, she wore brown with green lining. The last one had messy blonde hair, light blue eyes and a tan furred cat on her shoulder, she wore sky blue with pink lining.

"Okay, you four," the man said as they approached the coast of the country they were in, "the boatman should be around this area."

The females groaned before replying, "Hai, sensei."

He approached the house closest to the docks and knocked on the door.

The man who opened the door looked to be in his mid-thirties. "Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Would you mind telling us if there are any boats to Nami no Kuni?" the blonde man asked with a polite smile.

"Well, you're looking at the main person who provides transport for people," the boatman said.

The females perked up, almost relieved.

"But I threw out my back recently and it'll probably be another week before I can even bring myself, let alone five others," he said as he held his lower back.

The girls all groaned again.

The first man looked thoughtful and asked "Would you please turn around?"

The boatman looked a tad confused but shrugged and did as was requested.

The blonde man moved his hand down the boatman's spine and then picked the guy up and started twisting the man in many different ways, he then set the boatman down and kicked him in the rear.

"What was that for, I threw my back out and it hurts like crazy," the boatman shouted angrily.

"It does?" the blonde man said with his head tilted.

"Yes it..." he started but realized he wasn't feeling any pain at all. "Wow, how did you do that?"

"I'm a certified doctor, that was a simple bone setting procedure," blonde replied with a shrug. "You should be good for a few months, but try to take it easy for a bit. Now are you well enough to help with transport?"

"No problem," the boatman said to him as he went to get ready.

Within fifteen minutes he stepped outside to see the man wrapped in chains.

The man just stood up and spread his limbs out, breaking the chains.

The boatman just sweatdropped as the man dusted himself off, "Was there any point in that?"

The blonde just looked at him and said, "Those weren't normal chains, they work perfectly in what I use them for."

"I'll take your word for it," the boatman replied as he went to the dock.

"Do you have some extra rope?" the man asked.

"Of course," the boatman answered. "Can't keep going without some spare rope."

"We're going to need that along with the docking rope," the blonde man told the boatman.

The girls groaned again.

"What are you complaining about?" the boatman asked. "I'm the one moving the boat."

"On the contrary," the blonde man replied. "They're the ones that are going to be moving the boat."

He jumped into the boat and secured the ropes to the bow of the rowboat. He then looked over to his students as they placed their packs in the boat. He snapped his fingers and gave them an order, "Dive."

"Hai."

They secured the ropes shortly after they dove into the water.

The boatman just looked at him.

"Are you just going to stand there?" the sensei asked rhetorically.

This snapped the boatman out of his confusion as he stepped into his rowboat, he asked, "If you were just going to have them swim, then why did you need me, and why are you having them swim there anyway?"

"Most of the stuff in their packs can't get wet, and I can't carry them all," the sensei replied. "Besides, your back is better and you don't have to row both ways, so why are you complaining? Anyway these girls are training and this just happens to be an excellent way to do so."

"I'm not complaining, I'm just curious," the boatman admitted.

"Well satisfying curiosity just happens to be a specialty of mine," the sensei replied to the boatman.

The two kept this conversation up until they reached Nami no Kuni.

The students walked ashore, winded due to not only swimming to the island, but pulling a rowboat with two full grown men in it.

"No complaints, you four," their sensei reprimanded them. "I pulled an entire ship to shore during a storm for twenty-four hours straight, so unless you have something to top that, I don't want to hear any groans of complaining."

"Nice story," the boatman commented as he was getting ready to row out.

"What story," the sensei replied. "That actually happened. The sail of the ship I was on tore in a storm and I had to tow it to the next town, the ship was also carrying some medicine for an outbreak. I couldn't simply let the people die, and that was probably the craziest stunt I pulled to date."

"Oh Kami-sama," the boatman replied in complete shock. "And you're just a doctor?"

"A doctor isn't my profession, I'm just certified," the sensei answered.

"What do you do for a living?" the boatman asked, now seriously wondering what kind of profession could get this person strong enough for a feat like that.

"I'm a shinobi," the sensei replied as if it were no big deal. "Why else would I be pushing these girls so hard?"

"Is this the standard for the shinobi world?" the boatman asked.

"No, it's my standard," the sensei replied.

"Okay, crazy man," the boatman said to him. "How about I at least have your names before I go."

"Certainly," the sensei replied. "Students, line up and introduce yourselves."

"My name is Hanami, but you may just call me Nami," the one with maroon hair replied.

"I am Rika, it's a pleasure to meet you," the black-haired girl with glasses said.

"Meimi," the brown haired girl said, then stopped as her stomach growled. "I'm hungry."

"You'll be fed later," the sensei told her with a bit of annoyance.

"And I'm Kagura," the blonde replied. The cat meowed. "Oh, right, and this is Tategami-chan," she introduced her cat.

"And my name is Kaitou," the sensei, now named Kaitou, finished.

"Am I going to be hearing about you frequently?" the boatman asked.

"That depends on whether or not trouble finds us, which although isn't often, that's more than I would like," Kaitou admitted. "I am like an ocean, always drifting with the currents that the winds dictate, my students just happen to be the passengers in the ship."

"A very nice statement," the boatman replied as he kicked off the dock. "You're an interesting man, I hope I can meet you again."

"I certainly hope not, because that means trouble is close by," Kaitou told him.

The boatman just laughed and said, "Well then I hope we never have to meet again."

"Take care yourself," Kaitou said to him. "That's a doctor's order."

"Will do," the boatman replied as he rowed to the mainland.

End of Chapter.

Alright, I'm redoing my story because I honestly wasn't enjoying how it was going from where I was, so here's the new plotline.