Beta Reader: Toa Naruto

Chapter 3

The next day, everyone woke up in high spirits. After eating breakfast, the crew went right to work, making sure that everything was shipshape. The man in the crow's nest kept a steady watch on the open waters in front of them, whilst Ryūgen talked with his navigator and first mate. Saito was with them, going over the details of their arrival. As everyone was busy doing their assigned duties, the blond, spiky haired shinobi was seated on the roof of the captain's cabin, gazing upon the Rasengan that was in his right hand.

The vision he had the previous night was still very fresh in his mind. The power that he had seen before waking up was incredible. No, incredible didn't even come close to describing it. Looking back down at the chakra sphere in his hand, he began to wonder if the vision he saw in his dreams was what the Yondaime had in mind for his own original jutsu. But was it even possible to accomplish? Even with the training method Ibarra had shown him with the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, it had taken him two weeks to use his wind affinity properly, and another six months to truly master it. Combining his wind affinity with the Rasengan just seemed too impossible.

But on the other hand, if he somehow did manage to successfully complete this formidable augmentation, then he would have surpassed the Yondaime Hokage, which had always been his dream. Not only that, but the newly created Rasengan would be his own original jutsu. The thought of creating his own ninjutsu brought a smile on his face, it sounded really awesome. Dispelling the Rasengan, Naruto jumped off the roof, and made his way below deck for some light morning training.

XXX

The junk continued on its way, entering the waters of Mizu no Kuni at noon. After conferring with his navigator, Ryūgen told the two shinobi that they would be at their location by early next morning. As the afternoon rolled on, the man in the crow's nest suddenly noticed something out in the horizon.

"Boss, we've got company! Two ships with the daimyō's symbols on their side are coming our way!" the lookout shouted. Ryūgen took out a telescope to get a better look at the two vessels. He recognized that the symbol of the daimyō was indeed branded on the sides of the ships, which only made him even more suspicious. Collapsing the telescope, he turned back to everyone on his ship.

"Stay cautious, everyone. Something is seriously wrong with this scenario." he told them. Everyone silently nodded, and prepared themselves for a possible battle. Naruto and Saito stared at Ryūgen, both of them feeling like they were missing something rather important.

"What's going on?" Naruto finally asked.

"The Mizu daimyō's ships are never this far out from the capital. Nowadays, he keeps almost all his ships docked at the harbor because of what's going on in Kirigakure. Just be ready in case this turns out to be a trap." replied Ryūgen. The junk came to a complete stop, as did the other two ships, on both sides of Ryūgen's small vessel which effectively boxed them in. As the daimyō's men made their way to board, Naruto couldn't help but feel that something was off. Meanwhile, Ryūgen made his way to greet the captain of the lead ship, whom stepped forward with his head bowed down. It was at that moment when Saito noticed a body on one of the ships. But before he could shout out a warning, the captain raised his head to faced Ryūgen, making the business man curse aloud as he recognized who the man was.

"Shit! It's a trap!" Ryūgen shouted, just moments before the captain discarded his hat and charged at him, his arm poised to stab him with a dagger. But the assailant never reached his target, has he was thrown back by a powerful roundhouse kick, courtesy of Naruto. The two enemy pirate crews threw their hats at once and attacked from the two ships. Saito, unfazed by the sudden turn of events, flashed through a quick chain of hand seals.

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" he shouted, as the water shot up onto the deck in a swirling stream, before it shot forward, catching several enemies and carrying them away as the stream tore apart the second ship. With the jutsu successfully cutting the attacking force in half, Ryūgen's men surged forward, beating them down mercilessly and tossing them overboard.

On the other end of the junk, Naruto summoned three clones and joined Ryūgen's men in cutting down the imposters. During the scuffle, the man that had attacked Ryūgen in the beginning of the attack was sent flying by Naruto once again by a shoulder toss. But as he got back up, the "captain" was met with the sight of his men being defeated and tossed overboard. Whirling back to face the original Naruto and Ryūgen, he snarled in fury like an enraged beast.

"Damn you, Ryūgen! You always keep those blasted ninja with you, just like your bitch of a wife!"

"I should have known you would try to pull something like this, Keisuke. You never could let anything go." replied Ryūgen.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Naruto asked flatly, all the while keeping his eyes on Keisuke, just in case the man tried to pull something.

"Far from it. Meet Kushizashi no Keisuke, a rival arms dealer that once tried to steal my wares and muscle me out of my business. My wife personally showed him how much that was a bad idea once she'd gotten word of his actions; he should count himself lucky that she only took his hand instead of his life." It was then Naruto finally took notice of Keisuke's right arm, or more specifically, what had replaced the man's hand. In place of the normal human hand was rounded-off gauntlet that covered the arm's severed wrist, and had a dagger attached in the middle of it.

"Shut your mouth, you second-rate hustler!" Keisuke roared, as he lunged at Ryūgen in a last-ditch effort to kill his most hated rival. But in his rage, he had forgotten about the blond that was beside his target. Before his dagger was anywhere near Ryūgen's neck, the blade was halted in its path by Naruto's kunai. Keisuke was so surprised at the young ninja's speed that he failed to notice the spiraling chakra orb in his opponent's right hand until it was too late.

"Rasengan!" Keisuke howled in pain as the jutsu collided against his chest, its power strong enough to send him flying through the air, where he crashed into the sea with a mighty splash. The sight of their defeated leader destroyed what was left of the gang's morale, allowing Ryūgen's men to easily triumph over them. Once the threat was completely neutralized, Naruto jumped across the sea to the remaining ship to see if there were any more hostiles lying in wait. But all that he found were the bodies of several men, the horrendous stench they were giving off suggesting that they had been dead for several hours. Finding no one left alive, he leaped back to Ryūgen's vessel, who was speaking with several of his subordinates.

"What's going on?" asked Naruto.

"The junk was damaged in the fight, and we need to dock it to repair it. We just found an island not too far from here. Once we arrive, we'll inspect the damage, and go from there." Ryūgen looked at his first mate, who silently nodded before he began to get the rest the crew back to work. In no time, the ship started sailing through the waters once more.

XXX

The junk reached the island within the hour, and were lucky enough to find a small dock towards the back of the small landmass. Once on solid ground, Ryūgen surveyed the damage to his vessel. Just as he was finishing his inspections, Saito and Naruto walked up to him to get an update on their situation.

"Well, the damage isn't too severe; mostly patch work will be enough to fix it. But because of all the work that needs to be done, we're going to have to stay the night. We'll still make it to my personal dock in the morning, but it just won't be as early as we originally planned." he explained.

"That won't be much of a problem for us. While your men work, we could scout the island to get a better understanding of our surroundings." said Naruto.

"That's actually not a bad idea. I was particularly interested in that large compound I saw when we were sailing in. I'll let you two sort out who scouts what, and you can use some of my men to help." replied Ryūgen. The two ninja nodded and let Ryūgen leave to deal with his ship.

"So, which do you want: the island or compound?" asked the blonde.

"I'll take the island." answered Saito.

"Then that leaves the compound to me. Let's go and gather our squads." The two quickly left to gather their teams. But unbeknownst to them, and everyone else at the dock, a pair of eyes was watching them. Once both groups set off to explore their designated area, they sunk into the rock face from where they once were.

XXX

It didn't take long for Naruto and his group to reach the compound Ryūgen had seen. At first glance it was clear that the place was enormous, despite its poor condition, and that it was going to take a lot more men to search the place than the amount he had with him. Fortunately for the blond, he had the prefect jutsu to remedy the situation.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Twenty-five clones appeared, leaving the crew members in awe at what the blond was capable of. "Okay, each one of you will get two clones to go with you. You guys handle the back of the compound while I and the rest of the clones will search the front." Everyone nodded in agreement to Naruto's plan, finding it to be reasonable, and made their way to complete their objectives. Five minutes into the search, Naruto had enough information to get a rough idea about the seemingly abandoned place.

The most obvious characteristic that he noticed was that the compound must have belonged to a clan, and a pretty big one at that. From what everyone found, the building had its own meeting room, training room, armory, library, dining commons, and even an outing area. But whatever clan that had lived there was now long gone, or so it seemed. The second glaring fact that he noticed was that a few areas of the compound were still in good condition, as if someone was still taking care of it. One of the clones even found a pantry in the kitchen that was stocked with fresh fish, meat, and herbs. That alone was enough proof that someone was still living in the large estate. And on top of that, ever since he first stepped onto the property, Naruto couldn't help but feel as if someone was watching his every move. But because he couldn't pinpoint where exactly his tail was hiding, he just decided to keep cool until they made the first move.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he entered a room he assumed was a personal study. The shelves inside were filled with old scrolls and books. His eyes surveyed the interior for any clues as to who once lived in the building, when he noticed an old journal on a desk. From where the blond was standing, the book looked as if it was in the very center of the room. His curiosity getting the better of him, Naruto opened the journal carefully and looked at the words on the first page, which were barely readable.

"These are the words of Kirigakure Saizo, personal soldier of the daimyō and Shodaime Mizukage of Kirigakure no Sato." Naruto read softly, surprised at what he was holding in his hands. His musings were interrupted, however, when he felt one of his clones dispel from a killing strike. He was about to go and investigate, when out of nowhere, a blade shot through his chest from behind! Gasping as he began to feel blood dripping from his mouth, he looked behind him to identify his attacker, only to see a brown eyed teenager that looked to be the same age as him. The assailant wrenched the blade out and watched as Naruto dropped to his knees, and toppled over on the ground face first, before he dispelled in a cloud of smoke. The male was so stunned, that he failed to notice the sheet falling towards him until it completely obscured his vision.

Reacting quickly, the assailant cut the sheet to ribbons, only to be drilled in the face by Naruto's fist, sending him flying back and into the adjacent wall. Not waiting for his enemy to reorient himself, the blonde threw half a dozen shuriken in his direction, only for the teen to avoid them by sinking into the wall. Naruto was shocked still at his opponent's strange ability, until he sensed him approaching from below. Not wasting a second, the blond jumped into the air and formed a Ōdama Rasengan, before he slammed it into the ground, rocking the compound's very foundation, as well as destroying large portions of the room.

Naruto didn't have to wait long for the retaliation strike, as the teenage attacker appeared from the debris, his sword in hand and swinging at the blonde's neck. Waiting until the very last second, the former Konoha nin rolled away from the slash, standing back up with two kunai firmly grasped in his hands. Having enough of being on the defensive, he charged the swordsman, opting to get in close and slash at the enemy's mid-section. The young man, however, hopped back just in time, and responded with a thrust at Naruto. In turn, he sidestepped the thrust, blocking the blade with one of his kunai. Capitalizing on the stalemate, he charged the attacker; his kunai kicking up sparks as it slid across the blade. The young man didn't panic at the sudden change of tactics, much to Naruto's surprise, but instead planted his feet and used his strength to send him through one of the walls of the compound. Naruto was quick to get back on his feet, managing to just barely sidestep another stab. With a swift flex of his leg, Naruto slammed his foot down on the blade and pinned it to the ground, giving him the chance knock its owner to the floor with a hard cross to the face. Wanting to end the fight quickly, Naruto threw his left kunai at the attacker's unprotected head.

He was quite surprised, however, to see it knocked out of the air by another kunai that was launched from behind him. Chancing a glance to where the weapon had been thrown, he had to quickly duck the kick launched at him by a young teenage woman. The two engaged in a heavy taijutsu fight, moving further down the hallway, when Naruto noticed at the last moment that she was trying to entangle him with ninja wire. He counted himself lucky that he was able to avoid the dangerous steel cord, as he found out that it was quite sharp going by how easily it cut into his clothing. He managed to land a kick to her stomach, momentarily stunning her, but then had to jump back as a hand holding a sword emerged from the wall on his left, poised to end him in one thrust. Reacting quickly, he rushed through some hand seals and slammed his hand against the wall. A second later, a string of seals rushed toward the sword and wrapped itself around it. With the shout of 'FUIN!', the sword was suddenly yanked out of the hand, as the seals retracted into the scroll Naruto withdrew from his pouch, taking the weapon with it. The woman was so surprised by the quick display of fūinjutsu, that she missed Naruto go through another set of seals.

"Suiton: Mizurappa!" he declared, before he blew out a large torrent of water from his mouth, striking the woman with great force, and slamming her through another wall and out of the very compound itself. The jutsu died down just as she landed roughly on the ground, leaving her a spluttering and dazed mess. But just as she managed to clear her airways of any stray water, she heard a voice from behind her.

"Suirō no Jutsu!" Instantly, the girl was caught, and swiftly immobilized by the technique. Looking behind her, she was met with the sight three identical copies of the blonde haired intruder, one of which was maintaining the prison jutsu. It soon became clear to her that the stranger was adept in corporeal clone techniques. Meanwhile, the first assailant quickly made his appearance and began to do hand seals for what was likely an offensive attack, only for Naruto to cut him off.

"That's enough! You're surrounded!" he shouted, which was the cue for the rest of his clones, and the five crew members, to arrive. The young man's eyes swiveled all around him, futilely trying to find a way to escape. Finally realizing that he was indeed caught, the teenager slowly raised his hands in surrender, and got on his knees as the clones closed in.

XXX

As Naruto got a more decent look at his two would-be assassins, he noted that he was right in his assumption that the two were his age. But, what he didn't expect was that they would also be twins. The male was a fair skinned and toned man with an angular face, short, messy black hair, and dark brown eyes. He wore a dark brown ninja uniform with the sleeves cut off. The female was also fair skinned and toned, but her facial features were much softer than her brother's. Her black hair was tied up into a high ponytail, and she also had dark brown eyes. Her uniform was of the same style as her brother's, except it was gray and still had its sleeves.

Everyone looked at the bound teens with unease, wondering what to do with the two. Both of them refused to talk to anyone once they were brought to Ryūgen and the rest of the crew, but they seemed content with sending looks towards Saito that were downright hostile. When Naruto explained their abilities, the Kiri nin was astonished.

"That's impossible! But, that would mean that they're survivors of the Dochū clan!" he exclaimed.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! You don't mean the Dochū clan, do you?" asked Ryūgen. "The very clan with the Gappei kekkei genkai? My extended family always spoke very highly of that clan."

"I wouldn't be surprised. The Dochū and the Sairento clans are said to be descendants of the legendary Kirigakure clan. They were known to be the top assassin clans in all of Kirigakure no Sato." Saito turned back to face the bound teens, excitement shining in his eyes. "This is great! Their skills would be a boon to our cause!"

"What makes you think that we would help anyone from Kirigakure?" the female finally spoke with a snarl.

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm not with Yagura's or Akira's faction! I represent the vision of Terumī Mei!" Saito said, quickly. The man's confession brought out different reactions from the twins, but none of them didn't sit well with the revolutionist. "Is there something wrong with what I said?"

"While I don't care which faction you belong to, I will not help anyone that followed Terumī's revolt. That fool got what she deserved." said the female.

"Excuse me?!" Saito asked with a hard edge. This time, it was the male that answered.

"She might have successfully brought peace back to the village, but in the end, she trusted the wrong people. She was betrayed by those she tried to liberate; her vision was doomed from the very start."

"Kirigakure is a lost cause. It's become a land of betrayers and back-stabbers." the female added. Saito's fury skyrocketed as his fist clenched tightly and his face turned a dark red. Hearing the brat before him disrespecting Mei in such a despicable manner was quickly eroding away his self-restraint. He was about to physically beat some manners into her, when Naruto stopped him with a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Saito." said Naruto. "You can't expect everyone to be like you or Mei. There will be others who will not view the world as you do."

"Let go of me! She dared to-"

"Betrayal is not something that can be easily be forgiven. It is something that sticks with you for a very long time; you can't expect people who have been betrayed to be so understanding of your cause. You and the rest of your party see the greatness of your village and aim to do something about it; that's the most important thing you need to remember. As long as your revolution continues to fight for a better Kirigakure, then everyone will soon see that that you're better than Yagura and Akira." Saito remained silent, his frame tensed as if he were still planning to strike the captives, before he visibly calmed down. He gave the blond a small nod, signaling that he was going to be alright. During the entire altercation, the twins' gaze never left the blond, their curiosity towards him increasing with each passing second. He seemed to be their age, and yet he spoke the words of an elder who had experience a lot in his life; almost as if he knew first-hand on what it was like to be betrayed. But before they could ponder upon the matter for much longer, the stranger stood in front of the two, making them direct their focus onto him.

"Look, we got off on the wrong foot, so how about we try this introduction again?" he greeted. "We can start with names, mine is Uzumaki Naruto." The two captive shinobi remained silent for a while, before the male spoke.

"My name is Sansei. This is my sister, Sayuri." Sayuri glared at her brother with narrowed eyes, but backed down at the look Sansei shot her.

"Alright, now that we know each other's names, we can get these negotiations underway. I know that you don't want us around, but from what our captain has said, we have to spend the night here due to fact that our ship requires repairs. So what I'm offering is a truce: we stay away from the compound, and you allow us camp out at the docks peacefully. We won't bother you so along as you don't bother us, and we'll gone by first light. Does that sound good to the both of you?" The two twins looked at each other before turning back to Naruto.

"So long as you return my sword, you've got a deal." said Sansei. Naruto nodded, before he and Saito picked the duo up and led them away from their base camp. When they were far enough, the two freed the twins from their bonds. Naruto then pulled out the storage scroll and opened it. With a slight tap on the kanji for "sword", the weapon appeared in a puff of smoke, to which Naruto handed it back to Sansei. With their business done, Naruto and Saito made their way back to camp, when they were suddenly stopped by Sansei's voice.

"So you're from the Uzumaki clan, huh?" he asked. "I would have doubted that claim if it wasn't for your skill with fūinjutsu. But what I don't understand is why an Uzumaki would help Kirigakure no Sato of all places."

"I don't really have a reason to help your village." answered Naruto. "The people are suffering under Akira's regime, and it needs to stop now. If we don't, then Kirigakure will be destroyed."

"You're probably better off letting the village destroy itself. Nothing good will come from your help." This time, Sayuri was the one who spoke. "Say you defeat Akira, then what? Another dictator will rise and kill you to take your place, and will do unspeakable acts just to make sure that they stay in power. It'll be just like the dark ages all over again."

"I don't believe that will happen. If you show the people hope, then they will come together to make sure that such atrocities never occur again." the blond countered.

"There is no hope for Kiri; you're wasting your time." Sayuri shot back.

"Maybe there isn't, but that's just how I see things." said Naruto, with a smile. "I might be a dreamer, and I might be a fool, but I believe in the possibilities of what hope brings to people. And with the hope I plan on bringing back to that village, I believe that things will change for the better." The twins were put off by the blonde's confidence, as they watched the two visitors continue their way back. After making sure that they weren't going strike with a surprise attack, the twins melted into the sand and made their way back to the compound.

XXX

Keisuke struggled to drag himself through the forest with the arm that still had its hand. He was heavily injured from Naruto's last attack, and had nearly drowned on his way to this island because of it. He was in agonizing pain, hungry, cold, and extremely pissed. He swore revenge against Ryūgen and his ninja allies as he continued his arduous trek through the forest, praying to any god who would grant him his vengeance.

Seeing a cave in front of him, Keisuke made his way into it to get some shelter. He went deeper and deeper into the earthen structure, until he came upon an altar that had a weird looking blade stabbed smack dab in the center. It looked large enough to be a Zanbatou, but its handle was similar to that of a kunai. Overall, it was a very menacing looking sword that seemed to gleam in the surrounding darkness. Keisuke was so mesmerized by the weapon that he began to subconsciously drag himself closer to the altar. But the moment he reached out to grab the handle, all hell broke loose as the blade began to pulsate with energy.

Keisuke gasped as he felt his body seize up, as if someone or something was invading his body. He looked up towards the blade he was still clutching, and was shocked to see an image of a man looking back down at him. The man had black hair that had lost its luster and dark green eyes, eyes which seemed to bore into him as if they were searching for something within him. After a short while the spirit gave the wounded man a sinister smirk, before it lunged down upon him, entering Keisuke's body. Now alone, the man started to convulse and twitch uncontrollably, before a loud scream echoed throughout the cave and he was engulfed in a burst of dark energy.

XXX

Everyone onboard the junk woke with a start. Naruto, being the quickest, rushed above the deck to investigate, where he saw a dark purple beam of light shoot up into the night's sky. Meanwhile, back at the Dochū clan compound, the twins were able to see the very same phenomenon. They could barely keep their footing, as the force of the foreboding dark beacon shook the entire island, sending shockwaves all across the area. Sensing a steadily rising vile and evil presence where the light was shining, the two quickly went for their gear.

Naruto, on the other hand, was running toward the energy surge as he watched it die down. Despite that every fiber in his being was telling him to flee, he was determined to investigate just what the hell caused that eerie light show. He had just made it to the sandy shores, when he was suddenly forced to stop as something landed in front of him, kicking up a large cloud of dust. By the time the sand finally settled, he was shocked to see none other than Keisuke, although he was nothing like the man that he had encountered earlier. He could tell from looking into his eyes, there was nothing of the original Kushizashi no Keisuke in them. The sensory organs now had a dark and sickly green hue to them, an unnatural color for an eye, even by shinobi standards. He also noticed the sword he wielded in his left hand. It looked like a blade that a ninja would use, but that raised the question as to where did the arms dealer procure the weapon. His attention was brought back to the present, however, as Keisuke unleashed an animalistic roar, laced a powerful killer intent, before the possessed man charged at Naruto with evil intentions.

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Authors' Notes: Here's another chapter for your guys. As you can see I have placed my beta reader at the top of the page, so everyone knows who is helping me with the story. Thanks again Toa Naruto. There is a change for the story that you will probably notice.

In the original Mizukage, Sayuri and Sansei had the kekkei genkai that belonged to Sakon and Ukon. I moved away from that since I recently watched Basilisk. The skills of the character, Gyoubu Kasumi, were really interesting to me so I gave the twins his abilities. I hope you enjoy the change.

I have also changed the weapon that Naruto carries. While I would have liked to keep Hyorinmaru, I found the blade of Saizo Kirigakure so much better. I liked the technique he could do since I saw them in the manga and anime, Brave 10.

Anyway, enjoy the new chapter.

Glossary

Kushizashi no Keisuke – Keisuke the Impaler

Dochū – Underground Projection

Jutsu List

Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu – Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique - This technique extends water over a large scale, surges and rises up to several dozens of meters high. Then it streams down to the ground in one big cascade, much like a gigantic waterfall. In doing so, it resembles a huge wave, with tremendous power that can hollow out the ground. What remains after that technique's utilization is reminiscent of no less than the aftermath of a natural disaster. This is a considerably advanced ninjutsu, and activating this technique requires a fair amount of chakra.

Suiton: Mizurappa – Water Release: Wild Water Wave - Water gushes out from the mouth like a waterfall and washes away the enemy. One can freely control the power of this technique with the amount chakra one releases. Having many variations, this is a basic Water Release technique.

Suirō no Jutsu – Water Prison Technique - This technique is used to trap a victim inside a virtually inescapable sphere of water. The only downside to this technique is that the user must keep at least one arm inside the sphere at all times in order for the victim to remain imprisoned. This technique requires a sufficient amount of water, which can be provided by expelling it from one's mouth. Once trapped the target is unable to move while within it due to the heaviness of the water. Because of the density of the water it can be used, to a limited extent, for defensive purposes if performed on oneself. It can also be stored in scrolls as traps.

Gappei – Merging – This is the kekkei genkai of the Dochū clan. By merging with the surface of an object, the Dochū clan members are able to move and attack in complete secrecy as well as manipulate any object in physical contact with the surface