AN: I got another chapter ready for you all, hope you enjoy it. As any of you Diablo fans will notice is that I have not yet gotten to the storyline of the game and this is mostly all me writing an original beginning for Naruto. I probably won't get into the actual storyline of the game for another couple of chapters because I want to introduce new characters. Hopefully when I get into the Diablo III storyline I'll be faster with updates because I really want to finish this story for myself and all the fans, but I don't want to rush it either and get sloppy.

Thank you again for all the favorites, followers, and reviews it is much appreciated.


Chapter 3

After a day of rest, Naruto and his group began to help repair the damages to the village of the Tribe of the Clouded Valley by the goatmen. Since the tribe was more than happy to allow Naruto and his group to stay in their village, Naruto returned to the temporary house he made on the plateau in order to retrieve his supplies as well as the forgotten armor and anything else left by his two companions. After dispelling the house he created he returned to the village to continue helping with anything else they may need of him.

Naruto spent time with the people of the tribe and was quite popular with the children after seeing his strange powers. Whenever he wasn't busy he would play with the children and tell them stories of his own adventures, they were always happy when he could spend time with them. Li-Ming also spent time in the village dispensing her own knowledge of the world to the young who have yet to venture out on their own. She even gave current maps of Sanctuary just so the young men and women could see how big the world is outside the Teganze Region. Naruto's group was only able to stay a few days before the council decided it was time to travel to the next village to make known their decision. Suffice to say the children were sad to see their new friend go but he made a promise to visit them all again.

Before they left he also made sure to heal anyone in the village who had any debilitating injuries or deadly illnesses. The entire tribe was indebted to their blonde hero and claimed him to be a Spirit Brother to the Tribe of the Clouded Valley, meaning that he would forever be an ally of their tribe and will always aid him if he seeks help. Naruto was truly thankful for this honor and claimed he would do the same if they ever needed his help in return. He left the Hiraishin seal in the same clearing in the village his clones used before and explained to the tribe that if they were ever in an emergency to channel some of their energy into the seal and he would come to help them at any time.

Naruto, Li-Ming, and Nazeebo traveled with the council to the next tribe on their visit and headed toward the tribe of the Clan of the Seven Stones to the northwest from the Tribe of the Clouded Valley. On their journey there they had another run-in with some goatmen but with such a group of highly skilled Umbaru warriors, thirteen Witch Doctors, an incredibly capable wizard, and Naruto, the goatmen never really stood a chance and their journey was only impeded temporarily. After their short encounter with the goatmen, the group decided to make haste to the next tribe and began moving faster than their normal leisurely pace.

Naruto could feel the worry emanating from the Witch Doctors and other Umbaru warriors but he could tell it was more than just the safety of their village they were worried about, so he decided to ask Nazeebo about it while they were running through the jungle. "Hey Nazeebo, why do you all feel more alarmed than what I feel you should be about the goatmen, is there something else troubling you all that we should know about? Because even Li-Ming doesn't seem all that surprised about them but you all are giving off a deeper vibe of concern than I would think."

"The Khazra, or goatmen if you prefer, were once of the Umbaru people many ages ago. But they were turned into the beasts you have seen today by evil mages who corrupted them using demons."

"So it was the Umbaru they used to create an army. All these generations and we had no idea where they had taken the people from to create the goatmen." Li-Ming having heard their conversation spoke then, giving her own insight on the matter.

"What do you mean Li-Ming, you know who did this to their people?"

"Yes, it was the Vizjerei, the ancient mage clan who were the first to summon demons over three-thousand years ago. It wasn't until the Mage Clan Wars, about fifteen-hundred years ago, that the goatmen were created by summoning demons to possess humans. I had just never known what people they used to do this."

"It was the Umbaru who were turned into the Khazra, but the Khazra eventually drove out these… Vizjerei, but they became week-minded and were fully corrupted by demons and forced into servitude. It was the Witch Doctors who, after years of torment, eventually rid the Teganze of the Khazra. That is why my people and I are so concerned right now, we have thought to be rid of these beasts for over a millennia. To see them now must mean that demonic activity is on the rise again which is not good for anyone."

"That is indeed troubling news, but goatmen have been seen widely in the western kingdoms. So that is why I wasn't really surprised at seeing them since I have seen plenty of them before in my travels. I just thought they were as common in this region as well."

"I am afraid not, the Umbaru of today only know the Khazra as part of our history, and this is the first that the current age of Umbaru have seen of them."

"That is really bad, is there anything we can do about it now to stop them?" Naruto asked and Li-Ming was the one to answer.

"There really isn't much we can do. The portals from hell can be opened nearly anywhere on Sanctuary, and the only way to stop them is to kill the ones who open them. But it will be difficult to find out who opens them because it could be anyone from powerful demons or humans themselves who still practice demonology."

"You mean the Vizjerei you were talking about before are still active after all these years and still summon demons?"

"No, after the Mage Clan Wars ended the Vizjerei vowed to never toil in demonic magics again and instead promised to vanquish demons. And even though they were once the most powerful of the mage clans they are still active today but will probably never be trusted by the people again. They even tried to recruit me into their ranks but I refused, not wanting to be associated with them or with any mage clan really. They all just came with too many rules for my taste. So that's why I set out on my own, I didn't want to be bound to any clan and be forced to live by their rules."

"Haha, a free spirit. I like that."

Li-Ming gave Naruto a wide grin. "Why thank you. I enjoy the liberated feeling as well."

The trio grew silent ending their conversation. This was definitely troubling news to hear but there wasn't much that could be done about it now. If the portals could be opened anywhere then there weren't any preventative measures they could take. They would just have to endure the attacks until they got to the heart of the matter firsthand, but there was no telling when they would get close to finding those who could open the portals or for what reasons.


Over the next two weeks Naruto and his group visited the other two Umbaru tribes alongside the council and continued running into goatmen along the way. Naruto impacted the other tribes much in the same way as the Tribe of the Clouded Valley. He helped them fend off attacks from the goatmen, he helped rebuild any damage to their homes from the attacks, and he also treated any serious injuries or deadly contagious illnesses to give members of the tribe an equal chance at living with their loved ones.

When they arrived at the first village on their journey, the Clan of the Seven Stones, Enobakhare was the one to speak to his tribe and tell them the decision of the council. As expected the tribe was shocked at their decision but after hearing the experiences of the Witch Doctors firsthand they slowly began to accept their proclamation. It would only take time for them to adjust to the new lifestyle but many of the young non-combatants were honestly glad for this, especially the many women who were mothers and feared the warriors life for their children.

The Clan of the Seven Stones gave much thanks to Naruto for helping them with the Khazra and curing their diseased, but especially for reviving Enobakhare and his fellow Witch Doctor and tribesmen, and for that they too named Naruto Spirit Brother to the Clan of the Seven Stones. Naruto was glad to have that honor again and he created another Hiraishin seal near the center of their village and told them the same thing he told the Tribe of the Clouded Valley about what it did and how to use it.

A few days after their visit to the Clan of the Seven Stones the groups made their way to the last village, the Tribe of the Five Hills. It was a little awkward for Nazeebo to see his old tribe again and he would not enter until they were informed of the council's decision. Zunimassa was once again the one to deliver the message to her own tribe and they all couldn't help but be reminded of what Nazeebo tried to tell them several years ago. Naruto and Li-Ming stayed with Nazeebo outside of the village to keep him company and to wait until the tribe was finally informed.

A little over twenty-five minutes later the trio was approached by a young Umbaru woman who had a few pieces of armor on her with face paint, and Naruto got the feeling that she was most likely a Witch Doctor in training since she seemed very young, probably in her early teens. Nazeebo however knew exactly who she was and he couldn't help the pride and happiness that came to his heart at seeing his only family he had left in his younger sister. "Lakumba, it does my spirit good to see how you have grown, and you have taken to your training well it seems. I always knew you had great promise to become a Witch Doctor, I could not be more proud."

Nazeebo was not prepared to have his little sister rush to embrace him as a pool of emotions he had once forgotten overtook him. He immediately dropped his weapon and mojo to the ground as he removed his mask and returned the embrace of his sister. "Brother! I am so sorry! You did not deserve this, I wanted to come find you but I was not strong enough. I could hear the spirits telling me the truths of Mbwiru Eikura but I feared no one would listen since I have not yet taken the trials. I missed you so much, I needed your guidance." Nazeebo's little sister was in tears by the end of her words unable to contain her emotions.

"Y-you can already hear the spirits?! I always knew you would surpass me one day but this… this is unprecedented."

"But I did not have the courage to fight for you, I could have…" Nazeebo loosened his embrace to hold his sister at arms length in order to look at her face.

"No, do not concern yourself with such things, only the council would have any sway over the tribes. You did what you had to do and I will not fault you for such things. Even if you can hear the spirits clearly you are not ready to be out on your own if the tribe had banished you as well. I did miss you as well dear sister, I am just glad you are safe and in good health."

"I am glad you are also well brother. Is this the man who showed the council the truths of Mbwiru Eikura?" Lakumba looked towards Naruto indicating him.

"Yes. This is Naruto Uzumaki, the man to show the Umbaru the correct path. And this is Li-Ming she has also given her aid to the Umbaru against the Khazra and has shared her own wisdom as well. My companions, this is Lakumba, my young sister, the only family I have left." Nazeebo introduced his fellow travelers and little sister to each other.

"A pleasure to meet you Lakumba. Always glad to see a fellow woman well on her way to becoming superior to their male counterparts." Lakumba gave a small laugh and Li-Ming snickered at her own veiled insult but neither of her companions were really perturbed by it. Nazeebo couldn't be more proud of his sister and Naruto could always respect people with natural talent, gender be damned. He knew plenty of women in the Elemental Nations who were way more powerful than most men not to mention the Rabbit Goddess who gave him some of the most trouble in the war.

"It's very nice to meet you Lakumba. I'd just like to say even if you have a greater gift than most, never stop trying to improve yourself. I have known a few prodigies myself who thought they could get by on talent alone, but if you keep working hard and never give up, you'll be capable of things not even you yourself could have thought possible."

"I am very grateful to meet the two of you as well, and I will surely take your words to heart Mister Naruto."

"Just Naruto is fine Lakumba, mister makes me sound old."

'Pfft, you are old you brat.'

'Zip it furball! You're even older than me!'

'And proud of it! Us Biju have no shame for our ages. Only you humans are vain enough to care about that.'

'That's because humans have a finite lifespan!'

'Well that's not our problem is it?'

'Just shut up!'

'Don't listen to Kurama Naruto. If you want to think of it another way you could be considered a baby immortal.' Isobu said trying to be helpful but instead he just made it worse.

All the Biju couldn't hold their laughter after hearing that because in terms of being an immortal he is not very old at all. He could actually still be alive in his world without his immortality and to the Biju who have lived nearly a thousand years Naruto is basically like an infant to them and it was just too good not to poke fun at him.

Naruto was just standing there with an annoyed expression and a twitch in his eye from his Biju companions mocking him. But to Lakumba and the others around him, it looked like he was really upset about being thought of as old and Lakumba couldn't help but giggle a little at the amusing expression on his face.

"Haha, very well Naruto. Please come brother, everyone in the village anticipates your presence and wish for your forgiveness. They also wish to meet your two compatriots who have helped our sister tribes. They especially want to thank Naruto for curing Zunimassa, everyone was overjoyed that she is no longer in danger of meeting with the spirits prematurely."

Naruto and Li-Ming followed Lakumba and Nazeebo into their village and both could tell that Nazeebo was a little apprehensive of seeing his tribe once again on better terms. The feelings of the tribe were mostly of shame and regret for banishing one of their most proficient Witch Doctors and the high priests could not apologize to Nazeebo enough but he didn't hold it against them and forgave them to ease their minds. It was a happy reunion for Nazeebo to see his fellow tribesmen, they all gave him their apologies and thanks for continuing to help their tribe by finding the one to enlighten them.

A great feast was made that night in celebration for their new peaceful beginnings and to Naruto for guiding them, they also celebrated the return of their lost brother Nazeebo giving him high praise, and they also celebrated the renewed life given to Zunimassa. She was a very beloved member of their tribe, so seeing her in greater health really gave rise to their spirits and they also gave even more thanks to Naruto because of it. And it went without saying that the Tribe of the Five Hills also made Naruto a Spirit Brother of their tribe, and Naruto made the same Hiraishin seal for their tribe to use if they ever need help again.

After another few days of staying in the village and helping fend off more attacks by goatmen, it was time for the traveling Witch Doctors of the other tribes to return home, and it was also time for Naruto to continue on his way as well. In the morning of a new day the council gathered again before their departure to say their farewells and to make plans to meet again to discuss the future of the Umbaru. Naruto, Li-Ming and the rest of the Tribe of the Five Hills came out to see them off as well.

It had been agreed the night before that Naruto would use the Hiraishin seals that he left in the two other villages to transport the traveling council members, with their only being eight in total, because of the increased danger that the returned goatmen represented. It was decided when the council first left the Tribe of the Clouded Valley that they didn't need any more warriors to come with them since there were already so many Witch Doctors and so the other warriors from the Clan of the Seven Stones who accompanied the Witch Doctors initially, also stayed in their tribe when it was time to move to the last tribe on their journey.

When they were ready Naruto made two clones and told the two groups that all they had to do was place a hand on their bodies and the clones would transport them to their tribe. Enobakhare and his group all placed their hands on either the clone's shoulders or back and the other group of Witch Doctors did the same, and in an instant the two groups were gone. Naruto turned to the tribe to say his own farewells because he needed to move on to see who else he could help next.

"Well guys it's been fun getting to know everyone and helping you all out, but I'm afraid that this is where I must depart as well."

Much of the tribe was sad to hear that, especially the children who Naruto had become popular with again. Naruto gave the kids a bright smile assuring them that he would visit again. And knowing that Li-Ming was most likely going to accompany Naruto as well, had a few of the younger men who developed somewhat of a crush on her sad to see her go but were grateful for the knowledge of the outside world she had given them. Li-Ming being her playful self gave them her own bright smile and waved her goodbyes to them and the rest of the tribe.

Zunimassa approached the two to send them off and give her final thanks. "Sage, Naruto Uzumaki and Wizard, Li-Ming, you two have the gratitude of all Umbaru and will forever be welcomed among our tribes. Naruto, there is nothing the Umbaru can give you that can be great enough to compare to what you have given us. You have saved our people, cured our sick, rebuilt our homes and village, and have guided us to the right path, but your unending kindness is what I will remember the most. All I can assure you is that all Umbaru shall pray to the spirits for your safety and well being in your travels. You will forever be in our hearts, Spirit Brother of the Umbaru."

""Spirit Brother of the Umbaru!"" The entire tribe chanted as one to show their support and faith in Naruto. Naruto could not be more honored by their gesture and he gave them all a deep bow to show his thanks in his own way.

Nazeebo made his way out of the crowd and approached Naruto and Li-Ming. "To show my own gratitude on behalf of the Umbaru, I will continue to accompany you on your journey, if you would have me."

The crowd was shocked at Nazeebo's declaration and some felt shame rise up again thinking he has still not forgiven them for their betrayal. None were more upset than his sister who had finally got her brother back. "Brother! Why?! Why would you leave now, are you still upset with the tribe?!"

"No, I harbor no ill will towards our tribe and I am truly happy to be accepted back by all of you."

"Then why?"

"I had visions from the spirits last night as I slept, and they have told me to follow this man. Many Witch Doctors can feel a deep foreboding of the future coming from the spirits, the Khazra returning to the Teganze is one sign. I believe it will only get worse from here, and the spirits tell me that this man gives hope to our future and I will not allow him to fight alone. I will fight alongside him and with me I will carry the will of the Umbaru to see that our world is saved."

"Brother… but…"

"If Nazeebo wants to come with me then I have no problem with it, his help is more than welcomed. I promise you this Lakumba, you will see your brother again, I'll make sure of it. I'll be sure to bring him back to your tribe in one piece."

"I… I see, then please have a safe journey and keep each other safe. Goodbye brother."

"Goodbye Lakumba, I will return to you and I want you to take this. It is the key to our mother's wardrobe which contains her own legendary vestments. I want you to continue your training to grow stronger and only take up her armor when you are ready."

"I will brother, I promise I will become stronger and work hard everyday."

"May the spirits guide you little one."

"May the spirits guide you brother."

After a short embrace between the siblings the group of three were seen off by the tribe with loud cheers wishing them safe travels and the three waved back to them as they walked away into the jungle.


A few hours later the trio were still traveling through the jungle but Naruto's two companions had no idea where he was going. Nazeebo wasn't bothered by it since he fully put his trust in Naruto and would follow where ever he leads but Li-Ming would prefer to know where she was going so she could better prepare herself.

"So Naruto, where are we headed exactly if you don't mind me asking." Li-Ming has had her suspicions of Naruto for a while now, because it seemed to her that he had no knowledge of Sanctuary at all, not even the basic knowledge of demons or history. She wanted to know just where he would lead them to and had a feeling that he would finally give an acceptable answer if her suspicions were correct.

"Well I was thinking we go west and cut through the Marshlands and get a boat ride to the Skovos Isles or something, probably head to Philios first and see what's there." Naruto couldn't help but give himself a mental pat on the back for paying attention to the little lectures Li-Ming gave to the young Umbaru about the world he is in, which he found out is actually called Sanctuary. He also got a good look at the maps she made for the tribes and memorized the major bodies of water and land masses as well as some major cities she made note of.

'I knew it! You could pretend all you wanted that all your attention was on those small children, but I could tell you had one ear open while I was teaching the young, ignorant Umbaru about what they should know about the world. Just what are you and where do you come from? It's possible you have amnesia and have lost all your knowledge but you told us you have memories of your home and I wouldn't believe you had amnesia anyway. You are too sure of yourself to have lost any memories. But let's see how you handle your little oversight.'

"Well that sounds like a splendid idea! It's just too bad there are no boats on the west coast of the Marshlands, since the only settlements there are far to the north at the strait of the Twin Seas or all the way to the south at the cape of the Sea of Light, but you knew that right?"

'Well shit, I walked right into that one.'

'You sure did Naruto-kun, I like this woman. She is cunning and shrewd just like a cat, and she is probably just as smart as your Nara friend. Her intentions have been very clear you know, she has been keeping a close eye on you.'

'You're right Matatabi, I haven't given her enough credit, but lucky for me I'm known for thinking outside the box.'

"Of course Li-Ming, but I never said we needed to hire someone to give us a boat ride now did I? I'll just create my own boat!"

"Of course you would, how could I ever forget your mastery in carpentry?" Li-Ming said sounding a little perturbed by his response, she thought she could catch him off guard but it seemed he had an answer for everything.

"Haha yup, piece of cake. We'll get there in no time! All we have to do is get through the rest of this jungle and cross the Marshlands to the coast and I'll make us a boat to get to the main island of the Skovos Isles."

"Well do you think we could speed this up a little, I'd rather not have to spend any more time than I need to in these jungles. No offense Nazeebo."

"None taken, if you would like, perhaps I should lead the way. I know swifter pathways through the jungle that should see us out of here a few days faster than our current pace."

"Please do, I think you are more than qualified to show us through here since this is your homeland. Unless our fearless leader has any objections."

"Hey, I'm not a leader of anything. I don't have a problem with you two joining me on my journey but I don't think I'm any more important than either of you, so don't go thinking you have to do what I say or anything. So there is no problem with Nazeebo leading the way out of here."

"Well I'm glad you think that way Naruto and respect us enough to see us as equals, because if I wouldn't listen to my teachers before than there's no reason to believe I would listen to you any better. However, I'll admit that your words carry more weight than my past teachers since they were all idiots."

"You should really show more respect to your teachers you know. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for those who were willing to teach me what I know."

"Oh I would give them the proper respects if I didn't basically teach myself everything I know. Most of the things I learned from the tomes at the Yshari Sanctum could barely be understood by my so called teachers. Everything just came naturally to me whereas others struggled for years to understand their studies. There is only one I would give all my respects to, my first and only real teacher, the one who started me on my path to magic, but she is no longer among the living."

"I'm sorry to hear that Li-Ming. My own Master was taken from me early in my life and he couldn't be there to see me master many of the techniques that he should have rightfully taught me himself, but I know that old perv is proud of me for what I have accomplished."

"Hahaha, talk about showing the proper respects yourself Naruto, calling your own master a pervert."

"You guys have no idea, that man was a shameless pervert and he openly admitted it himself! I can't tell you of all the times I had to pull him away from his peeping on hot springs or all the times he was beaten when he was caught."

"Ugh! How utterly despicable, if he were to have ever peeped on me, I would have been sure to destroy him completely."

"That's a little harsh, don't you think?"

"Absolutely not!" Li-Ming then looked at Naruto suspiciously with narrowed eyes. "You know, they say the apprentice always follows in their master's steps, so does this mean you are a peeping tom yourself? Hmm, does it Naruto?"

"What?! No, of course not, I've never peeped on anyone!"

'Well, except my wife, but that doesn't count! And she knew I was there so there wasn't anything wrong with it anyway.'

"Hmm, well you be sure you keep it that way, or ELSE!"

"I got it! I got it! Jeez, I almost forgot how scary women can be."

"And don't you forget it either."

"(sigh) Nazeebo can you just lead us out of here already."

"I was just waiting for you two to finish your little lovers quarrel."

"Hmph, as if I would ever! The very nerve, Nazeebo!"

"Hahaha, please forgive me. It has been some time since I have been with companions for so long. It is nice to be able to enjoy traveling with others again."

"Hehe, no worries Nazeebo, I almost didn't think you had a sense of humor beneath that mask of yours!"

"Well, I don't really have much of one, but I just couldn't resist the easy opening."

"But at least you still know how to have fun!"

"Let's just get on with this already. I still want to get out of here quickly and I think a good run will do us all some good."

"Very well, follow me and let us be swift."

The trio of travelers ended their conversation and began running in pace with each other through the jungle on their way to the western coast of the Marshlands. They took occasional breaks for rest or to eat, or to fight off various predators of the jungle, but they continued on at a steady pace until night would fall and Naruto would create another temporary home for them to rest in. Although it was never said out loud, all three companions were quite glad for the company they shared. They all know how difficult it can be to travel alone and they were grateful for the camaraderie.


It only took the trio about a day and a half to get through the jungle and about another two days to get through the Marshlands and onto the coast where they would travel over the ocean to get to the island of Philios. They didn't have much trouble to deal with but a few overzealous predators that thought they had an easy meal but were instead turned into a meal themselves.

Naruto also made sure that they had enough supplies such as food and water before they made their journey over the ocean and sealed them inside his sealing scrolls so they wouldn't be burdened with carrying everything. Li-Ming and Nazeebo were certainly curious about that particularly new development and after a short explanation about the scrolls, the two did not hesitate to ask Naruto to seal away a few of their own items so they could carry less weight themselves. Naruto had no problem with it and gave them their own scrolls to seal their belongings in. He had developed a way for others without chakra to use sealing scrolls years ago since he figured the people from the new worlds he would enter wouldn't have chakra of their own, but he decided to only give them to people that he could trust.

The group of three were now upon the coast of the Marshlands overlooking the ocean before them, ready to begin another leg of their journey. Naruto was excited to begin this part of their trip because he wanted to see a new country with a different civilization; he was curious as to what kind of people he would encounter this time. He loved the Umbaru people, they were very honest and simple but also proud and fierce warriors that have learned to hold onto and fully protect their own with his guidance. Now he wanted to see what these new people would show him, and if they needed his help too, he would give it freely. He was also pretty excited to make his own boat too, he has never made one before so this would be a new experience for him.

"Well there she is, the great ocean blue! We can finally set sail to a new destination and see what awaits us. Let's do this!"

"Someone's a little excited aren't they?" Li-Ming said with an amused expression as she and Nazeebo watched Naruto run off onto the beach like a child on a sugar high.

"Yes, it is good he still has his enthusiasm."

"Ha! I don't think that's something we have to worry about him losing any time soon."

"Indeed."

The two followed Naruto's direction seeing him going through his hand-signs again and watching as he started to create a boat for them to cross the ocean over. When they reached his location and stood next to him when he finished they both had perturbed expressions adorning their faces, and Li-Ming voiced her thoughts in a dull tone as she stared at Naruto.

"No."

"Huh?"

"No."

"No what?"

"I am not sailing across an ocean in a row boat!"

"What? Why not?! It'll be fun, I can make oars for all three of us and we can work like a team crossing the ocean. It'll be so cool! We'll be like explorers searching for a new land!"

"There aren't any new lands you dolt, everything on Sanctuary has already been discovered! Stop messing around and make a real boat!"

Naruto couldn't help but start laughing and rolling around in the sand at their expressions. He knew Nazeebo was put off by the small skiff too with his body language and thought it would be fun to mess with them a little, even he wouldn't use a row boat to cross an ocean. After a few minutes he got up and wiped his eyes since he was starting to cry from laughing so hard, and could see that Li-Ming's face just looked annoyed now.

"Are you done yet?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Well, everyone can hop on now."

"What?! This isn't funny Naruto! I will not get on that deathtrap!"

"Relax, I only need to get us a few yards out into the ocean so I can make the real boat, or do you think making a beached one right here is a good idea."

"Oh, well that does make more sense now, glad I thought of it!"

"Sure you are."

After Li-Ming and Nazeebo got on, Naruto pushed them out onto the water and used a long branch he found to push them into deep enough waters so he could make a boat that would be safe enough for them to travel in. He only had to place his hands onto the floor of the small boat and pump more chakra into it as he let his imagination do the work in creating the boat. The wood started to expand and reached a length of about sixty feet and then started to engulf the trio until they were surrounded by wood all around them even over their heads. They were in complete darkness until candles started to light up the narrow hallway that they were standing in.

"Well, let's start the tour from the inside first since we're already here."

The inside of the boat had separate rooms for them like his houses but they had bunk style beds built into the walls with a rail board in front to keep them from rolling off. Each room was a decent size, not too small or too big, and they had their own desk built in with drawers for supplies and built in dressers for clothes and they each had a circular window so they could view the outside from their rooms. There was also a kitchen in another area that was big enough for the three to cook and eat comfortably in, Naruto also made two separate bathrooms for men and women just to be courteous to Li-Ming.

"Thank you for the separate bathroom Naruto but why couldn't you make bathrooms, with showers no less, in your other houses, hmm?"

"Well those were just temporary and for sleeping, so I didn't feel they were necessary."

"Well it would have been nice don't you think?!"

"I don't mind bathing in the river, it's natures bath. You should enjoy it Li-Ming!"

"Whatever, how did you even get fresh water to run through this thing anyway."

"It's because I'm a sage and it's a part of the nature of my chakra. I can manipulate and create the elements with my energy, and this entire ship is made from my chakra, so my energy is already continuously flowing throughout the entire boat which is generating the water to run in the bathrooms and kitchen."

"I have still never heard of a sage that can do these things, there are no sages out in the world that are like you."

"Well that just makes me all the more awesome doesn't it?"

"I think someone could use a lesson in humility."

"No worries Li-Ming, I've been humiliated plenty of times!"

"I don't think we're thinking of the same thing Naruto."

"Do you think we can continue our tour to the outside of the ship now and get on with our journey." Nazeebo finally spoke up not wanting his two companions to get into another squabble and waste more time when they should be moving forward with their travels.

"Of course! Let us see the outside of my amazing ship!"

The three then moved up the stairs at the end of the hall to walk out onto the deck of the ship. There wasn't anything too elaborate on the outside of the ship, it looked like a normal cog class ship that Naruto had seen before in the Elemental Nations. It has a single center mast with two square sails on it to pick up the wind and a cargo net that leads up to the crows nest on the top of the mast. There was stairs on either side leading to an upper deck at the rear of the ship where the helm to turn the rudder was and a wooden railing all around the ship to keep anyone from falling off. Overall it was a nice little ship that wouldn't draw too much attention to itself.

"I have to say Naruto I am quite impressed with your work."

"I agree, it is a very nice vessel indeed."

"Thank you! It's the first time I made a boat actually. I don't think I did too bad myself. Well, let's get to it!"

After his last remark, Naruto made a small crew of shadow clones to man the ship so they could get moving. He had experience working a ship from helping the crews of other boats when he was on several different missions in the past from the Elemental Nations, so it was simple enough for the clones to work together without much direction. Without further delay they all set off heading west to the island of Philios as their next destination.


The voyage for the three was an easy one that only took them another three days with slow winds, since the coast of the Marshlands they left from was fairly close to the island of Philios. It was about mid-morning and the clone in the crows nest announced that he could see the outline of the island in view of his telescope and they should make landfall in a few short hours. Naruto and the others were on the deck of the boat just taking in the scenery around them as they awaited to finally reach the island.

"Although the boat ride was comfortable enough, I can't wait to be on land again. I actually haven't been to the Skovos Isles and have wanted to come here for quite some time, so this will be something for me to look forward to." said Li-Ming.

"Is there anything you know that you can tell us about this place Li-Ming?"

"Well, from what I have read in history books, the Skovos Isles are home to the Askari, which is a matriarchal society that is home to the Oracles and Amazons. It is a dual monarchy ruled by two queens."

"Two queens? Do you mean…"

"No you pervert, they each represent the two major castes of their society, the Amazon warriors and the mystic Oracles. Men are a part of their society and can hold any number of positions within their community but their voices hardly carry any weight and they can never hold any of the highest offices of their government. Do you see now why I've wanted to come here for so long, the beauty of a society ruled by women must be absolutely heavenly."

"I'm sure it's something alright. How about you, you excited Nazeebo?"

"It is always good to gain new wisdom through experience. I look forward to the knowledge this excursion will bring."

Naruto and all his clones manning the ship suddenly stiffened in their posture or stopped what they were doing which did not go unnoticed by his two allies as Li-Ming voiced their concern.

"What is it Naruto? What's wrong?"

"You ever get the feeling that something bad is about to happen."

"Sometimes, but not always."

"Same."

"Well, I just got that feeling and it's getting worse. So, you should probably brace yourselves cuz it's gonna get a bit rough pretty soon."

"Wha…" Li-Ming could not finish her sentence as giant columns of water started to shoot up on either side and the front of their boat that completely towered over them.


(Several minutes earlier: Temis, capital city of Philios)

Running could be heard down the halls of the great palace heading in the direction of the throne room of the two queens of the Skovos Isles. The two queens, Xaera and Celestia, were in a meeting with their Generals and Priestesses when they heard the rapid footsteps climbing the stairs leading to the open entryway to the throne room. They saw one of their warriors run up the throne to kneel before her two queens and speak to them.

"My queens! It is just as Queen Celestia foretold, our scouts have spotted a ship off our eastern coast within the Black Waters!"

"And the ship is not of the Askari sort."

"No Queen Xaera, the ship is not of Askarian design, it looks more like the vessels of those of the kingdoms to the north."

"It seems that crew must have not been given the news of the recent dangers to our eastern waters." said Queen Celestia.

"That or they chose to ignore the warnings. Either way, it is of no consequence to us, but I want our scouts to be watching everything that happens to that ship. If we can find any weakness to try and deal with this new calamity, I want it found!"

"Yes Queen Xaera, it shall be done!" With that the Askari warrior immediately departed the throne room to deliver the queen's orders.

"It is an unfortunate fate that could have been avoided for these people, but all we can do is pray that their deaths are swift and our Goddess Athulua watches over them."

"Celestia, can you use your scrying pool to show us what happens to this ship? I would like to see for myself what weaknesses I can detect in this thing firsthand."

"Yes, I can do this if you wish."

"Thank you. All of you come and observe as well so we can try to come up with a plan to finally end this."

""Yes my Queen!""


"What the hell is that?!"

The giant columns of water fell back into the ocean to reveal a large amount of thin deep red tentacles of a giant squid that wanted nothing more than to destroy the ship and consume the inhabitants within.

"If I had to guess, someone just released the kraken on us."

"I can see that, Naruto!"

"I was just answering your question. You don't have to bite my head off."

Nazeebo, being the more well grounded of the trio decided to cut off any further arguments since there was something a bit more pressing at the moment. "Now's not the time for bickering, we must focus on survival now."

"I just don't see how we can survive something like this out on the ocean, we are at a clear disadvantage, especially if the ship is destroyed."

"As long as we work together we'll make it through this. I won't let anything happen to either of you, I promise, we'll be on that island just in time for lunch!"

Li-Ming, Nazeebo, Naruto and his clones all took up defensive positions to fend off any attacks. The tentacles of the creature began to wrap around the ship to hold it in place and use the other free tentacles to start hammering the ship with blows to break it, however the creature had some trouble with that. The group of warriors and clones took action before any real damage could be done to the ship and the clones focused on blocking the blows of the tentacles before they could hit the boat but the blows to the clones had enough force to dispel them fairly quickly.

Li-Ming started off by summoning a lightning hydra on the waters to begin electrocuting the tentacles on the port-side of the ship, while she fired a ray of frost that began to temporarily freeze the tentacles as they tried to move away. The lightning hydra that she summoned is a three headed water dragon that rose about eight feet above the surface of the water that launched bolts of electricity from their mouths dealing heavy damage to the creature. Li-Ming's ray of frost did do damage to the tentacles but she was only trying to slow them down, so she would move the beam to different tentacles in order to keep them from moving too quickly so her hydra could focus on causing more damage. Her hydra also gave off constant waves of electricity so it was saving itself for the most part by keeping the tentacles at bay.

Nazeebo summoned his own creature, on the starboard side of the ship, inside a pool of piranhas that he called a bogadile, while he himself began to fire off flaming skulls that would bite onto a tentacle and explode in a shower of fire. The bogadile was essentially a giant 30 foot crocodile that began to swim around his side of the boat biting off chunks of the tentacles of the giant squid but the squid was still massive compared to the bogadile so it only slowed it down so much. Fortunately the bogadile was strong enough to escape from the tentacles by barrel-rolling and using its sharp scales to tear through its grip but the flaming skulls that Nazeebo was launching at the tentacles were not quite doing the damage that he would expect, which Naruto would voice soon enough.

Naruto himself was not idle as he, at the front of the boat, simply took out his trench knives that he started to use a long time ago just as Asuma once had. He imbued the knives with wind chakra and began hacking away at the tentacles, both up close and from afar by firing off wind blades, easily cutting through them with no problem. However, one problem did arise, in that as soon as they were cut off they began to regrow within moments so his plan wasn't really working as well as he hoped. But another problem presented itself when tentacles in two groups of three began to come together generating power at their tips aiming towards Naruto. Naruto could feel the heat coming from the tips of the tentacles and had a guess as to what would happen next.

"Um, Nazeebo, I don't think your exploding skulls will be too useful against this thing anymore."

"Why is that?"

"Cuz I'm about to get roasted myself pretty soon."

As soon as Naruto said that the tentacles launched two streams of fire towards him but he was already prepared and was doing the necessary hand-signs while he was talking in order to summon up a water wall to defend against the fire attacks, and it held up like he needed it to.

"I see, I suppose my firebombs aren't very useful against this creature."

"Don't worry about it Nazeebo, Naruto wasn't exactly cutting it either."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny Li-Ming. All you're doing is stunning the thing and just keeping it from moving."

"Well lightning should be very effective against water monsters okay! This thing is just stronger than I anticipated!"

"Riiiight."

"Just shut it. I can't see the body of this monster so it must be directly beneath the ship. I don't see what else we can do from here, the tentacles can regenerate, it isn't weak against fire and lightning isn't too effective either and it's protecting its body by using the ship as a shield. It seems like we are at an impasse for the moment because I don't know how long the ship can hold out but jumping into the water is just suicide at this point. We are in a losing battle, Naruto."

The trio kept on fighting and not really getting anywhere. Nazeebo switched to launching his poison darts since his firebombs weren't doing enough and his other attacks didn't do so well on water. But while they continued fending off the tentacles Naruto was pulled into his own conversation in his head.

'We all know you can finish this quickly Naruto. Why beat around the bush so much?'

'I know that Shukaku, but I told myself before this journey, that I wouldn't just take over all the fighting on my own all the time. These people need the experience themselves in order to grow and get stronger. There will be bigger and harder fights ahead of us so it's better if they push themselves hard now while I can watch over them.'

'I agree with Naruto, this world will become stronger if its own warriors learn to push themselves beyond their limits. Him being here to watch over and defend them will ensure they survive and become stronger for it.'

'Thanks Chomei, that's exactly what I want for them. I can't be there all the time so they need to fight through this while I can be there.'

'Well that's all well and good but I think you're gonna have to take over pretty soon brat.' Before Naruto could question Kurama, he just felt what his long time partner felt and voiced his concern out loud.

"Oh shit."

"What? What do you mean 'oh shit?' Don't say that. That's never a good thing to say, so why are you saying it!"

"Um, nothing, just don't look behind the ship in the next ten seconds. Shadow clone jutsu!"

Everything paused for a few moments, even the tentacles they were fighting off seemed to take a breather as the trio and new set of clones looked to the rear of the ship as more columns of water pierced the ocean but this time revealing giant dark green tentacles towering over them. They were now surrounded on all sides as their fight continued to look bleaker and bleaker by the moment.

""Oh shit."" Even Nazeebo knew that this was as good as an 'oh shit' moment as you can get, and voiced it along with Li-Ming.

"I can smell the poison emanating from this new foe, so I am afraid that I once again will not be of much use against this creature either. Please forgive me for failing you."

"You didn't fail Nazeebo, you're not alone here, so don't take this burden on yourself. I couldn't do much better myself, I am simply not strong enough yet. It was wonderful meeting the two of you, and I would gladly be able to call you friends, something that I never had much of until now. I had fun on this journey as I hope you two have as well."

"Yes, you two are important allies of mine as well that I would call friends with great pride."

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go talking like these are your last words or something! Didn't I give you two a promise already, and you should know that I never go back on my word!"

"How can you say something like that now! Can't you see how hopeless..."

"Stop right there! I also told you that nothing is hopeless either before didn't I! I know you have a lot of questions surrounding me Li-Ming and after this you're definitely gonna have more, and I'm sorry that I'm not ready to speak on those matters yet, but you will survive this, both of you! I made your sister a promise too Nazeebo and I intend to keep it."

After Naruto's words, Li-Ming and Nazeebo watched as he sprinted towards the left side of the ship only to jump off and dive into the depths of the ocean. They ran in his direction and stopped at the rails to look as they tried to stop him.

""Naruto!""

"What is that idiot thinking?!"

"… I … I think we should believe in him. After what he has done for my people, I have given him my complete trust. So I will trust in him now as well."

"That moron better survive this!"


Naruto dove deep into the dark waters but could still see clearly the two giant squid that surrounded his boat, both of them had their giant eyes locked onto him as he dove deeper into the waters. Naruto knew from the beginning that these creatures were not natural, he didn't need sage mode to feel the demonic energies coming from them, and they looked demonic as well. Both of these demonic squids had multiple eyes instead of the natural two that normal squid have as well as way more tentacles than the norm. Their heads also had many jagged spikes jutting out from them and a single giant horn growing from the center of their heads up along its entire length that looked like a curved blade. Naruto could also tell that they were feeding off the negative emotions of his companions which is why they waited so long to resume attacking but he would soon make sure they regret giving him the time he needs.

'I didn't really want to reveal you guys in your natural forms so soon but this is just too good an opportunity to not show off. So, Gyuki, you wanna help me out with this one? This seems like it would be your area of expertise.'

'I am not some slimy squid! I am an oxtopus!'

'I thought you were an octobull?'

'B said oxtopus flows better.'

'He would say something like that. But anyway, come on! Let's show these two wannabes who the true king of cephalopods really is!'

'Very well, I have been wanting to stretch my legs a little bit. Let's put on a show.'

'Let's make it one Killer B would be proud of!'

'Yes!'

Naruto allowed Gyuki's chakra to flood his system to go straight into a full transformation revealing Gyuki in all his glory to the two giant squid who had enough intelligence to realize there was a real threat to them since Gyuki was close to twice their size in mass, but only had him beat in length but not by much. Naruto created a clone to let his friends believe he only summoned Gyuki but then let him take the reigns since it has been a while since he has been in a fight and he was honestly looking forward to it.


Li-Ming, and Nazeebo could still see nothing below the depths of the waters but could only look on in concern, waiting for their friend to hopefully put an end to this nightmare somehow. They didn't need to wait anymore as 'Naruto' broke the surface of the water and climbed back onto the boat.

"You idiot! (slap) Do you have any idea how frightened you made us? What were you thinking diving down there? You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"Well he only likes to be summoned underwater and he would have crushed us if I did it on the boat so… yeah."

'God I'm lucky that slap didn't dispel me.'

"What are you talking about, what did you summon?"

The boat was suddenly jerked to the side, as if the currents were sucking them in, but only for a moment as the boat was pushed back as the two red and green squids were seemingly launched out of the water in the direction of the right side of the ship. They ran over to the starboard side to see the still airborne monsters crash back into the ocean creating giant waves that threatened to capsize their boat, but before the waves could hit them a new creature rose from the dark waters shielding them from the waves.

They first saw a giant flesh colored horn rise in front of them followed by a second broken one revealing a giant head facing away from them, it continued rising to the surface to show a human like torso with two human arms and eight octopus tentacles breaking the surface of the water. As Gyuki turned to face Naruto's allies he could feel their fear rising again as they saw another giant sized monster before them. Li-Ming and Nazeebo were taken out of their terrified states as the bull octopus creature spoke to them.

"Do not fear me. A friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine. I will protect you all until my dying breath!" Gyuki turned away from them to intercept a stream of fire and a stream of poison directed at him from behind and fired his own larger stream of ink that completely engulfed their attacks and drowned them out. Gyuki then moved away from the ship to reengage his opponents.

"That creature just talked to us didn't it? I wasn't the only one to hear that was I?" Li-Ming was still in a daze not quite believing she was still alive, she became more alert when 'Naruto' started to answer her.

"Of course not Li-Ming, that was Gyuki, and he would never hurt any of you. You'll definitely be safe here okay, just leave it to him."

"What? What is that thing, where did it come from, why is it fighting for us, how does it know you, what is going on?!"

"I told you, I'm not ready to talk about these things just yet, I need more time."

"Zunimassa."

"What is it Nazeebo, do you know something?"

"Not particularly, but I remember something Zunimassa said. She said the spirits told her that 'a man bathed in rejuvenating fires given aid by legendary leviathans would be the one to light the way.' This must be what she meant, this must be the legendary leviathan that gives you aid!"

"Yes, I remember that now too, but she said leviathans meaning plural, so there must be more than one who can come to help you! Just what are you, Naruto?! Now that I am more focused I can't sense any demonic presence from this new creature so you didn't summon a demon. But where did it come from, and how, and why, and what others are there?"

"..."

"We should respect his wishes that he does not want to speak of these things for now, I believe he has earned that right?"

"Thank you Nazeebo."

"Grrrrr, fine! I'll leave it alone for now, but I'll find out eventually!"

"Shit! He's using that here! Quick, secure the ship!" Nazeebo and Li-Ming quickly looked over to see the fight of giants only to see that the octopus creature had its tails wrapped around itself making a dome shape that began to rapidly start spinning as it sunk into the ocean creating a whirlpool that the boat they were on would eventually be sucked into as well.

"What is he thinking, he's gonna get us all killed!" said Li-Ming.

"Don't worry, we'll get it under control!" 'Naruto' and all the clones jumped off the ship to stand on the water as they each placed their hands on the boat and created wooden chains that were attached to the boat as they began to pull it out of the range of the whirlpool. Naruto got the idea of chains from his mother, and he tried to form them on his own like she did but he didn't have that ability so he decided to use his wood; it worked, but it would probably never be as good as his mother's.


As soon as Gyuki overpowered the two attacks from behind with his ink, he immediately moved forward and away from the ship to fight the demonic squids. The squids tried to use their speed underwater to try and cut open Gyuki with their blade like horns and spiky heads to cause damage, but Gyuki's thick skin remained undamaged. Gyuki grabbed the two by their tentacles as they made another pass to try and cut him open and pulled them in towards him and punched them both with his massive fists that sent them flying out of the water again and skip along the surface of the ocean.

The two squids prepared a combination attack in which they intertwined their tentacles together and fired a giant stream of green fire towards Gyuki. Gyuki could have dodged but if he did the attack would have headed straight for the ship so he curled up his tentacles around him to create a defense against it. As soon as the attack died down, leaving only a few singes, Gyuki remained in his curled up form and began to spin rapidly while descending into the ocean, using his Tailed Beast, Eight Twists, to create a giant whirlpool.

The giant squids tried to swim away but the current was too powerful and they were sucked into the swirling waters at a very high velocity unable to escape the whirlpool. Once Gyuki had the two right where he wanted them he rose up into the center of the whirlpool and twisted his body in the opposite direction of the water with his arms sticking out while yelling out his attack. "Tailed Beast, Double Lariat!" Right after he announced his attack each squid crashed into one of his arms below the center of their heads which basically bisected them as the tops of their heads flew into the sky and a rain of blood and entrails fell into the ocean, it was a gruesome sight.

'Wow Gyuki, that was brutal. I didn't know you had it in you.' said Kokuo.

'Yeah! Show them how we Biju roll! The bloodier the better!'

'Speak for yourself Shukaku, only you, Kurama, and maybe Son would fight that ferociously.' said Saiken, not liking the thought of trying to be that gory on purpose. Some of their attacks will admittedly turn out gory like his own acidic attack but it's not like he enjoys the outcome all the time.

'I won't argue that.' said Kurama

'As long as it's a worthy opponent to die by my hands.' said Son Goku.

'I didn't really think they were that fragile, they took my earlier punches well enough, but a win is a win, so I'll take it.'

'Hey, go get those horns from their heads. I think a win like that deserves a trophy, but their heads are too ugly so the horns should be good enough.' Naruto said wanting those giant horns just because they looked cool to him like giant swords or something.

The whirlpool died down and Gyuki dove back into the water to find their heads and grabbed each one by the horn. As he rose out of the water he gave a loud roar declaring his victory that could be heard from the island coast as he lifted the heads by the horns in the air and used his tentacles to rip the heads off and only holding the horns in his hands.


"I… am oddly impressed right now. I have never seen a giant monster battle before but that was actually satisfying to witness for myself." said Li-Ming.

"Yes, quite a sight to behold. Just as long as he fights alongside us."

"Agreed. Shoot, it's coming this way, what do we do?"

"Like I said, don't worry Li-Ming, you guys have nothing to be afraid of from Gyuki."

Gyuki came up to the boat where he spoke to Li-Ming and Nazeebo. "Are you all doing okay?"

"We are well, thank you for aiding us."

"Yes, thank you very much."

"Yeah, thanks a lot Gyuki you saved us big time!"

"You're welcome, I'll take you the rest of the way to the island now to save you some time." With that Gyuki grabbed the boat with his tentacles and put it on top of his head between his horns and swam them over to the island in about twenty minutes. When they reached the shores Gyuki placed the boat back on the waters, stabbed the two giant horns into the beach and grabbed Li-Ming, Nazeebo and 'Naruto' without warning and placed them on the beach too. He said his goodbyes to them and swam back out into the ocean deep enough so no one could see him anymore where Naruto took back control of his body and reabsorbed Gyuki's chakra into the seal. Naruto used the transparency technique to get back onto the shore and seamlessly switched with his clone without anyone noticing. Li-Ming was about to ask questions when Naruto cut her off.

"Now's not the time Li-Ming, I think we have some company at the moment."

"All of you! Drop your weapons and hands in the air! No sudden movements!" Naruto and company were surrounded by Amazon warriors holding up various weapons aimed at the three in defensive positions.

"What?! We didn't do anything wrong!"

"Just do as they say Li-Ming, I'm sure they're just as freaked out as you after seeing all of that. So it's not surprising they won't trust us right away, so don't give them a reason not to, it'll all work out."

Li-Ming didn't have a reason to believe otherwise so she complied with their demands, although with some reluctance. "Fine." All three of them dropped their weapons, and Naruto dropped his scrolls as well to show he wasn't hiding anything. The scouts collected their belongings and lead them into Temis to be brought before their two queens.


(Temis: Throne Room before attack)

The two queens and their followers quickly entered Queen Celestia's scrying pool chamber where they all observed the unfortunate vessel that would become another victim of the recent threat to their eastern borders.

"I want everyone to pay close attention to this creature to see what we can learn from it and form any plans to make our waters safe again. It is vital to our country that we put an end to this monster as soon as possible!"

""Yes, Queen Xaera!""

Queen Celestia brought up the image of Naruto's boat in her scrying pool and they all watched as the red tentacles of their recent troubles began attacking the crew of the ship. The two queens gave all their focus and attention and observed in silence ignoring the chatter of their followers as they too looked on.

"There are so many of that one man, how is that possible?"

"They are putting up a decent fight. All three are definitely capable warriors of some kind."

"The woman is a Wizard without a doubt, and the dark male is most likely from the eastern jungles beyond the Marshlands, a Witch Doctor if I am not mistaken, but I am unsure of the blonde man."

"I cannot see how he is cutting down the beast, those knives he holds are not long enough to reach that far, and no normal weapon has been strong or sharp enough to damage the creature so easily."

"That monster can attack with fire! We have never witnessed such an ability before!"

"Look! The blonde man summoned a wall of water, and it held up against the fire!"

"Are they… really arguing in the middle of a battle?"

"It looks like the Witch Doctor has his priorities in order at least."

A collective gasp was heard from the warriors and seers as they all witnessed the new set of green tentacles that rose up from behind the ship. None of the Oracles or Queen Celestia herself had predicted a second creature had terrorized their waters, so the new information just gave them all a new sense of despair for their people.

"A-another one?! How can this be?!"

"One was bad enough, but two of these creatures can completely cut off our shipping routes to the north as well! How could we not have foreseen this?!"

"Please forgive my failings, as your Queen of the Oracles it is my place to divine such things of this magnitude."

"No Queen Celestia! We would not burden you with such a thing! Do not shoulder this responsibility alone!"

"Enough! We can discuss such things when this is over. These warriors' battle is not yet finished, we will honor them by watching them fight to the death and avenge them by using what information they can give."

""Yes Queen Xaera!""

"They are arguing again."

"It seems they have lost hope with this new foe before them."

"The blonde man doesn't seem to want to accept his fate. It seems he is trying to rally their spirits."

"Look! He just jumped into the ocean!"

"Foolish, how utterly foolish. He will only hasten his death in their own domain."

"Men are known for their grandstanding, he probably just wants to look like the tragic hero."

"But it will do no good in the end, just wasting his life away for nothing."

"He has resurfaced!"

"Then what purpose did diving into the ocean serve."

"We shall see, throughout the fight it looked like the other two looked to him for reassurance and he…"

Queen Celestia could not finish her thoughts as they all saw the two giant squids being launched out of the ocean. They were all stunned into silence as they observed another beast emerge from the ocean and their own growing fear of a third beast to inhabit their waters became apparent.

"A third one! We… we cannot hope to best three of these beasts and this one is nearly twice as large as the other two!"

"Wait, it is not attacking the vessel, and it looks as if it is speaking to them. What kind of beast is this?"

"The first two are attacking it! Which means they must be fighting for territory!"

"With any luck they will kill each other and our problems can be solved."

"Or at the very least weaken each other to the point we can end them with ease."

"Did anyone else see that! That larger beast took note of the vessel behind it and chose to defend against that combination attack instead of evading! It is protecting those warriors!"

"No more chatter! I want everyone focused, I believe this battle will soon be at an end."

Everyone obeyed the queen's order, but they did notice the small gesture made by the larger beast to defend the boat, but could not fathom why it would protect them. It wasn't long before the fight was over and they all witnessed the gruesome end to the two giant squid. They couldn't help but be impressed as well when the beast gave a loud victory cry that they could all hear from the capital. What may have shocked them the most was when they saw the last standing giant carefully place the ship on its head and started moving in the direction of their island.

"Tell our scouts on the coast to continue observing the creature and those people from a distance! I want our captains ready to evacuate the city to the western coast on my command if that beast should target our land!" said Queen Xaera.

"If that beast should leave our island in peace and those people step foot on our land I want them disarmed and brought before us, but do not engage or harm them. I do not want to make an enemy of one who may be able to control such a beast." said Queen Celestia.

""Yes my Queens!""

With the queens' commands given, the Amazons and Oracles left the two queens alone in the scrying pool chamber. "Do you really think one of those warriors is in command of such a beast Celestia?"

"I do not believe it is outside the realm of possibility. That man dove into the ocean with a purpose and from the expressions on his face while they were arguing it looked to me that the man was determined to protect his comrades. And with that beast fighting for them, it just seems too fortunate to be coincidence."

"I see. Then they shall be treated cordially for now, but I will not tolerate any treachery on their behalf."

"Nor would I Xaera, the well-being of our people is my primary concern."

"And their safety is mine."

Celestia and Xaera, the two queens of the Skovos Isles made their way to take their seats upon their thrones to await the newcomers to their land. They would speak to them in person to discover their intentions and determine if they were friend or foe. They would not take any risks upon their kingdom; they may have just witnessed the end to one of their troubles but they would not risk any more.