In Memory of Leonard Nimoy
Who inspired Lord Raven Uzumaki
Chapter Sequence 7, Back in Black Part 1, The Return of Lady Rouge
"Talking." 'Thoughts.'
XX The Water Palace, Capital of the Land of Water.
One of the most opulent buildings in the Land of Water was the Capital's crown jewel known as the Water Palace which had served as the home of not only for the Government but also the Daimyos of both times past and the present, for the moment the Palace was calm and peaceful that was however shattered as a certain individual walked down corridors making his presence known to everyone.
The Water Ambassador otherwise known to many as The Negotiator walked down the corridor of the Water Palace with anger clear upon his face for all to see and feel, the negative emotions of The Negotiator were so strong and Poulter that everyone could feel and experience them even at a distance as this man walked down the corridor with a purpose in mind.
Directly behind him were none other than three of his most trusted RED bodyguards who are some of the most battle hardened warriors the organization of mercenaries had produced, one of the servants then notice him walking towards the main reception hall where the current Water Daimyo was attending to affairs of the state.
The service in question quickly bowed and began opening the doors motioning for someone else to help him with his task off to the side, the room was rather large and ornately decorated that would have rivaled the palaces of ancient France in their heyday.
The large throne of the Water Daimyo was shrouded in shadows only allowing the details of the Daimyo himself to be present, the one feature that seem to stand out above all others was his strangely colored eyes one blue and and the other green.
As the sounds of the Ambassador as he entered into the large hall it was then that Daimyo shifted his gaze towards one of his most trusted warriors and lieutenants despite what the pathetic Templars thought, he realized from the way his friend was moving something had happened that would be a huge blow to their plans.
"This will be a private conversation all others will leave... NOW!" the Daimyo commanded making his point very well known as the room emptied of all life except the two men in question.
As soon as the room was cleared the Negotiator walked up to his friend remained on his throne but it was clear from the narrowing of his eyes he was not happy, "What has happened to put you in such a foul mood!"
The Negotiator knew that he could let some of his more darker emotions free in front of the Daimyo, "The invasion was a failure, they knew we were coming and set a trap for the foolish Adm... He walked right into."
"And what of the Adm. if I might ask?"
"Dead as well as well as almost 80% of his crew, plus the Heavy Assault Class Dreadnought has been destroyed... What ever the hell happened to it was strong enough to break it in two." The Negotiator said remembering the wreckage.
This greatly surprise the Water Lord as he knew that the ship in question was the most perfect weapon in taking a port of a small country, any hearing how the ship had been so thoroughly decimated was a cause for alarm.
"Were you able to acquire any survivors?" he asked hoping for a positive this time.
"They let me keep three ships but they were how shall I say disarmed of all weaponry and only given enough food to make it back to the Land of Water, I have only been able to piece small bits of the battle together but is not good." He said to his friend but also frowning with anger at what he had been told but also surprised by the level of fear and many of the survivors eyes.
"I assume you have many others trying to piece together more at this moment?" The Daimyo asked.
"Indeed I do however it will take some time before we have a accurate report my Lord, in the meantime I believe it would be unwise to initiate a retaliatory strike at this time." The Negotiator said trying to get his point across to is much as possible.
The Water Lord nodded his head in agreement and then spoke, "I agree with you wholeheartedly, we are in no position to try to take the Land of Spring and at least not at the moment... without the Dreadnought we will have to consider taking Spring the hard way and we will need more ships then we can possibly spare at the moment."
"I understand what you mean my Lord if we tried to take it again anytime soon we risk retaliation from the other nations, however we may have another problem as well one of the reports I received and a survivor I personally was able to interview revealed a troubling problem!" the Negotiator said seeing the look of curiosity upon his old friend the Water Lord.
"And what would this problem be?" he asked.
The Negotiator was trying his best to comprehend what he would say and ultimately decided to just come out with it knowing that this could not be ignored, "It would appear that Lady Morgan the Snow Mariner Lord has not only survived the Purge but has also found a new member who was responsible for the Adm. demise as well as every single Templer on board his ship."
The Water Lord now had a look of concern upon his face as he stood to his full height and walked down the stairs, "Do we know who this person is?"
"Not yet but we will in time my friend, we do know his moniker... He calls himself Black Fox, and oddly enough he seemed to know the admiral and killed him without a problem and he took the Phoenix blade as a price, we should know more by tomorrow." the Negotiator said.
The Water Lord now realize that things had become absolutely dire and they needed to take action, "This greatly complicates things, the Admirals informed me even before you left that if this endeavor failed it could take almost a year and a half before who have the necessary military force not only to defend ourselves but also to strike a secondary blow... And now you tell me our greatest threat is still alive."
The Negotiator nodded his head, "I believe so myeloid and I have rumors of at least two more, that means we could have at least 4 of these people to contend with as they will be an unknown... however these two are simply rumors but they're better than nothing."
"Very well dispatch our agents to go and deal with these so-called rumors, and make sure nothing can be traced back to us." The Water Lord said.
"I will make the preparations immediately and within a week's time we should be able to send the first strike team and infiltration unit to the more sensitive target."
"And the second possible target?" he asked the Negotiator.
"The second possible target will be handled during Operation Moon my Lord and with that we will have an even greater asset and its riches and if we lose it it will not affect our plans greatly... Lord Sage of the First Civilization."
XX Hidden Resistance Stronghold, Capital of the Land of Water.
the resistance members had to shut down the seals to avoid being detected so they missed the last sentence being spoke by the Water Lord and the treacherous Negotiator which angered them greatly wondering what secrets will be revealed, "Did we listen too long, have we been detected?"
"Negative Sir, we shut the seals off just-in-time however we missed last bit of their conversation." One of the seal experts said with had studied once under an Uzumaki.
The Resistance Leader could only let out a sigh that they had not been discovered because of this close call, but the information itself had proven quite valuable in all honesty.
One of the other resistance members could hardly believe what they had just learned and that the Land of Spring had stopped a full-blown invasion even if it had not been on a massive scale but that would soon change, "It looks like we'll have to keep an ear to the ground if we want to learn more about this invasion, however I am more concerned about this operation Moon and what it means."
The Resistance Leader could only nod his head in agreement wondering what was at stake, "I agree but at the moment we need to warn Mei in the Land of Spring about what's going to happen."
"What about the fact that the Mariner Lord's are still alive and that the capital is now going to start hunting them down again, what should we do?" one of them asked.
"We send that to Mei as well, remember she has two living Mariner Lord's with her right now and if anyone can find them it's them besides our military leader is in far more danger then we are, she's going to need all the help she can get." the Resistance Leader said knowing that they were relatively safe and that the real danger was in the Neo Caribbean itself.
XX Black Vixen gun deck, Land of Spring.
Naruto stood on the deck of the Vixen looking out over the water with a look of complete fury as he stared at the Fire vessel which was more not more than 400 feet from his own vessel however the fire troops and ninja were keeping their distance possibly out of fear, his own presence upon the deck actually made some of the workers on that ship flinch as they got a good look at him.
Karin and Haku could almost swear they heard him growling at times and it was clear his presence upon deck kept land of fire at bay as there had been several attempts by the shinobi to get closer to his vessel but stopped the minute they saw him upon the deck or the dock, the only other person that seem to have this effect on them was Raven himself who had also joined his nephew.
Jiraiya also stood upon deck of a ship and actually flinched with the two of them looking at him as if they wished him to be cut into pieces, the old pervert clearly felt animosity the two Assassins could throw his way as well is the killer instinct since it was palpable for all to feel.
Right at this moment however one of the crew members came up to them with some important news, "Capt. Lord Raven."
The two of them turned to him with a clear look of curiosity despite the hatred they were throwing the Fire vessel, "We will be most grateful for any distraction you undoubtedly bring us which should have some good news correct?"
The young man in question nodded his head in a positive and had a great deal of respect for the both of them as he then spoke, "I believe so Sir the delegates from the Land of Wind wish to speak with you both."
Naruto could only smile behind his mask as he turned to his uncle and said, "It would appear fortunate smiled on us this day uncle, we may just get a new ally out of this."
"Indeed, however I would recommend caution considering our unwanted shadow." Raven said knowing full well they would use any opportunity with them missing to try to infiltrate the ship.
However right this moment several crewmembers appeared on deck with what looked like high yield and very accurate Sniper Rifles ready for work, "Have your meeting Sir and we will make sure none of them get too close to the ship... Without killing them of course."
Raven could not help but smile, "Fascinating, if they get a little too close and pushy remind them that this ship is ours, and if they do not respect our sovereignty you have the right to take a leg off in the process to defend that sovereignty and our property."
The snipers all nodded and began making their way towards the crows nest as the gun crews quickly joined in loading the main deck guns and aiming them at the Fire vessel getting everyone on that ship's attention in the process, the two Assassins then disembarked of the Vixen walking over 100 feet to the Land of Wind vessel.
XX Gun Deck of the Phoenix, Land of Spring.
The Captain of the Phoenix stared out at the Black Vixen wondering just what this dangerous vessel was capable of and was still surprised that the ninja had tried to board the ship several times which had leveled the larger ships guns right his vessel, the Vixen was a tiny bit larger in some areas but was heavily armored compared his ship which was just a Heavy Cruiser compared to this Battle Cruiser which was then unfamiliar design to him.
He then noticed both the Capt. and Lord Raven leaving the ship and once again practically every weapon and sniper was pointed right at him and his vessel giving a clear intention that if the ninja were to follow them or attempt to board the Vixen they would be fired upon without a moments hesitation, he quickly motioned for one of his officers who gave him the signal to keep an eye on their VIPs.
Just then however one of the radio operators then walked out and handed his captain a piece of paper, Jiraiya instantly became worried as he had seen look of concern upon the Captains face already in whatever was going on now was definitely worrisome.
The Captain looked up from the paper as the old pervert approached and handed it over to him, the old pervert in question was shocked by what he read realizing that they were going to leave and soon.
"It says here that they only want Team Seven and Rock Lee to act as an escort team for a high profile client we can hire a ship to send them back as soon as possible, and we can remain here to keep an eye on them." the old pervert said until he noticed the look on the captains face.
"The order said I'm to take them back and my ship is a lot faster than anything we could charter at a moments notice, all hands prepare the ship for sailing at once." Many sounds were heard of the ship's crew preparing to sail the Phoenix.
Jiraiya could hardly believe what he had been told by the captain, "We can't just give up this kind of an opportunity Captain."
The Captain however was in no mood to argue decided to make his presence clearly known, "An opportunity, an opportunity my ass... Take a real good look at the Black Vixen and you tell me what kind of a opportunity we have, honestly!"
Jiraiya and his granddaughter as well as many of the other ninja were surprised by the conversation but were also surprised when the legendary pervert could not come up with a convincing counterargument, the Captain on the other hand decided to hammer the point home.
"I have no intention of taking on a ship that single-handedly broke a super dreadnoughts in two, my vessel is a Heavy Cruiser that thing over there is a Fast Attack Battle Cruiser with a enough firepower to turn my ship into scrap metal." he said to the old pervert however he could still tell that is argument was not getting through.
"Then we can just leave some teams behind to."
"Are you out of your mind Jiraiya, if I leave you or any of your men behind it will be in international incident which by the way I have orders to prevent at all costs while trying to bring this kid back in." the Captain said trying to make his point as plain as possible.
The Captain then decided to remind them of their primary mission objectives and orders as well as their rules of engagement, "Do not forget that right now there are many things happening and if you attempt to do your own thing you will put a lot of people in danger and create a very volatile situation with a country which I might add is technologically superior to us at this moment in time, plus our orders are to bring in Naruto Uzumaki not creating international incidents with a former ally... If anything our superiors need to be apprised of the situation and I have special operational command authority by both your Hokage and Fire Lord himself, so do not test me."
The crew of the Phoenix were surprised that their Captain could be so assertive and yet they knew he was capable of much, he then turned and began to speak for all to hear, "Make sure all crew and passengers are accounted for and get the ship sailing back home NOW!"
Every crew member responded immediately and began to do their work to ready the ship for sailing, the Leaf ninja realize that things were about to get more complicated.
XX Gun Deck of the Sand Scorpion, Land of Spring.
Naruto and his uncle heard the sounds of a ship leaving port and were surprised to see the Phoenix making its way to the open ocean, the two Assassins looked at each other realizing that one of their biggest problems was leaving and that something was going on that they would have to worry about later.
Even the Crew of the Sand Scorpion was surprised to see their Fire Country counterpart leaving so soon, one of the crewmembers motioned for them to follow him into the private cabin of the Captain.
Sitting behind a desk was none other than Gaara himself along with his siblings, Naruto immediately pulled down his hood and mask revealing his face for all to see and walked up to his old friend with a smile upon his face.
"You look good Gaara so how have things been for you?" the hyperactive blonde Assassin asked.
Gaara could not help but smile as well it meeting did some things about his friend at least not changed, "I have been well however this current situation with you leaves much to be desired."
"Indeed it is only logical that you would be concerned about your own village and the repercussions, I assume you are aware that there is more going on than you can possibly understand." Raven asked him.
The One Tailed host simply nodded his head, "Indeed Naruto you did not explain much in your letter only that things seem to be moving in the favor of a particular group, perhaps since we are in person you would care to explain."
Naruto turn his head to Raven seeking guidance and if it was safe to bring his friend into this battle, much to his own surprise his uncle simply nodded in approval as he then began to explain, "As I said in the letter I began to relive my ancestors memories, my particular ancestors were a powerful group of warriors called the Assassins Brotherhood."
Tenari was honestly surprised by this statement, "So what's so special about these Assassin's and their Brotherhood?"
Naruto nodded his head and then spoke, "I'll give you an abridged version of what's going on basically back in the year 1191 A.D. one of my ancestors known as Altair was involved in stopping the Templer Knight's from obtaining what was known as the Apple of Eden which granted them the ability to control all of mankind, and while he prevented the Apple calling their hands he could not stop the war from continuing long after his death."
Everyone in the room was listening intently as he continued, "Then another ancestor named Ezio Auditore Da Firenze was brought into the war that he did not ask to be part of and made a great deal of change but also learned that if the Templars were allowed to continue the world suffer and that time was their enemy, he was the first to learn about the event that changed our world of Templars still wish to enslave humanity."
All of the Sand Ninja were shocked to learn this bit of information, were it was Raven spoke next, "Fortunately for all of us the first event was stopped however some years later the secondary event while not as strong did occur and reset our planet in great ways that we are still dealing with effects even today."
Everyone continue to listen knowing that there was much to take in, "Even the last hundred years have not been free from Templer influence and interference, the second great ninja war almost broke out earlier if it had not been for the actions of the Assassin Brotherhood in the secondary group of Templars known as Knights to stop a corrupt group of Assassins and the old Templer guard that still exists to this day which is more commonly known as the RED's."
Gaara was surprised to hear that there were actually good Templars, "What happened to these Knights?"
"The RED Templars have been hunting them down and eliminating them along with our order, their ultimate goal at this time is our and the Knights genocide to prevent them from taking over this world... They're also responsible for helping the Akatsuki in attaining their goal would be to capture of all of the Jinchuriki, for what purpose we still do not know but it cannot be good." Naruto said to them.
Temari looked from Naruto to her brother and realized that they were in great danger, "Can anything be done to stop them?"
"The only thing we can do is kill them and try to fix the damage they have inflicted upon others, but it's never that easy." Naruto said.
"Why not?" she asked them.
"Because The RED Templars are notorious for always having a great deal of power at their disposal and they have never been easy to kill, even for us it takes time to make sure that the person we are targeting is truly a RED Templer and not innocent bystander my dear." Raven said to her.
"For those very reasons most of the villages can't do anything to them unless they've been exposed and even then they have so much power they can do things to circumvent the law itself, because we work in the shadows and have no direct allegiance to any country or village we are free to operate for the good of all mankind but it doesn't always make it easy and we have to be careful not to kill an innocent." Naruto said.
Gaara and his Sensei Baki realized that the brotherhood was much like the ANBU of ninjas but without any of the restrictions they came with being associated with a village, and truth be told they had already seeing signs of RED Templars but at least only in other countries thus far.
Kankuro was at a loss for words, "Man you and my brother have the worst luck I swear, and yet at the same time you're also the most dangerous people I know."
"Thanks, I think?" Naruto said as he looked at the puppet master.
Temari was still trying to grasp all of the revelations she had learned this day however it is what it happened in the Land of Spring most recently that still had her scratching her head, "But why were they so interested in the Land of Spring and Waves, it makes no sense to me?"
Raven realized this question was coming and answered as best he could, "That is indeed a good question, while we are uncertain of their motives we do know that whatever it is is highly important and they are willing to kill for it... And logic says we must find out what it is first, before they do."
Gaara had a feeling this is where they came in, "That's why you recommended us to set up a military and trading post in the Land of Waves?"
Naruto smiled at his friend as he responded, "That's part of it but I also know that Wave is a huge trading port and if anything they could help out your economy greatly since you are still in recovery after what the snake did."
All of the people from the Land of Wind immediately nodded their heads knowing that their country need all the help it could get at this moment, Naruto then realized that they could get even more here, "Plus setting up an alliance with the Land of Spring could also help you out a lot as well."
"That's a good idea, we could set up a consulate here just like we did in the Hidden Leaf." Kankuro said.
The two Assassins then looked at each other and then turned back to their allies, "You have a consulate in the Hidden Leaf?"
Temari was the first to quickly realize that something could come of this, "Yes we still have our consulate but there's been some debate whether or not it would be a good idea to keep it at this time."
"It would indeed be a good idea to keep it my dear, keeping a close eye on the Elders and the councils might prove useful not just to us but you as well." Raven said to her trying his to emphasize his point.
"You want us to spy on Hidden Leaf for you, that sounds a little dangerous if you ask me." She said honestly trying to find a reason not to do it and yet wanting to go back as well.
"We still have some allies in the village however we have no way to contact them, plus it would be a good idea for you to keep an eye on suspected Templars and see what they're up to and since you have diplomatic immunity they can't do anything to you without getting the village military force suspicion upon them." Naruto said.
The three siblings and their Sensei immediately looked at each other and realized they had a point, however a new question arose who to trust.
"That's all well and good but who do we ask for help without advertising to these Templars, that appears to be the biggest problem we got right now?" said Kankuro.
Naruto gave them one of his huge smiles as he spoke, "Luckily we have two contacts in the village that we know will can be trusted, and in all likelihood they have others they can contact as well."
"And they would be my old friend?" Gaara asked.
"Remember the crazy snake lady from the exam, she's an Assassin in training and her boyfriend just happens to be my old Sensei from the Academy and the only remaining full-fledged Templer Knight in the village at this time."
The 4 Sand Ninjas nodded their heads in understanding realizing that there was much happening in their world and they would soon play a pivotal role in it, the only question now was what was going to happen in the meantime as it was clear these RED Templars were simply not going to be idle.
XX The Kishimoto Café, Land of Spring.
The fresh air was crisp and inviting including the scent of coffee and tea being served that day at the café where Morgan and Mei were currently sitting enjoying each other's company without the threat of being destroyed by some water country zealot, it was clear since the purged happen that much had happened to both of them in many different ways that had affected not only their own survival but of those under their command.
Morgan could not help but enjoy the coffee of her homeland as she felt the rush what many called the real black gold not that annoying oil that she needed to lubricate her ship with, "I've been dying for a good cup of coffee for so long Mei, and to have it here my homeland with a little less snow is very enjoyable."
Mei herself could now understand why her friend have been so desperate in the war and return home this was a beautiful place with a without the snow, and this Café had some of the best tea she had ever tasted in her opinion.
"I can see what you mean Morgan and I do have to agree that the new name for your homeland seems to fit like a glove, and yet all around your homeland and the smaller islands it is still a Winter Wonderland." The resistance leaders said noticing the look of contentment upon the mariner Lord's face.
"Yes it is I just wish everyone was here to see it." Morgan said.
"Do you know if anyone else made it besides you that this?" Mei asked her hoping for a positive answer this time.
"Not many of us I'm afraid to say, Rouge was lucky that not many people on her ship were killed but it needed massive repairs and she headed home as fast as possible, I don't know what happened to Jack per se but I do know that Rouge does know and the last time we talked he was fine just not the man we remember." Morgan said.
"And the others, how are they?" Mei inquired.
"In hiding at the moment but we can get a hold of them easily if it's needed and right now it's looking like that need could be coming real soon." Morgan said.
"I know what you mean, I lost so many good men and women to that son of a bitch... Good friends just so he could make that son of a bitch of a Daimyo happy." she said remembering the past and the pain that it would cause.
"He's dead now, Black Fox saw to that." Morgan said with a smile on her face.
Mei was now curious as this was information she was not aware of, "He killed that bastard, how?"
"Well you saw part of the battle from shore but I was there in the thick of it and he saved my ass when I took on the Adm. who I might add was still better in swordsmanship than me, and then it becomes like an angel of mercy to me but an angel of death to him." she said pausing for a moment to get a sip of coffee before continuing.
"And then they fought the whole time he was just calling the Adm. Capt. like an insult, then the Adm. got a good look at his face and I swore I could see fear their on this man who had put the fear God into us... they fought for a few more seconds and eventually he just killed him then did that thing with the sword on the entire ship." Morgan said.
Mei was at a loss for words for a few seconds, "Okay remind me not to piss him off."
The two of them could not help but let out a giggle however their moment of glee was interrupted by a sudden appearance of smoke to the left of the table and what looked like a rather large gecko with a parcel on its back, Mei instantly recognized to had sent this summoner animal and you that something had gone awry.
The gecko quickly stood to attention and saluted her as it then took the parcel off its back and then handed it to her and spoke, "Lady Mei, this package is to be delivered to you as soon as possible and please forgive my tardiness but it was difficult to locate you."
Mei took the package from the gut tell as if nothing was wrong but knew that the message had been delivered to her, these contents were obviously important enough to risk this kind of exposure but at least it looked like a simple mail delivery.
"Think you for the delivery, and I hope for more in the future." the gecko once again saluted her and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke leaving the two women shocked and knowing that something big was about to happen.
However the two of them simply continue to enjoy their lunch already making plans to visit the war room as soon as possible.
XX The Daimyo's Residents and Military Headquarters, War Room, Land of Spring.
The War room was once again a Bastian of activity as all of the information that had been brought from the Water Resistance was put out in front of their eyes, at this very moment the large doors to the room opened revealing the Spring Lord and the two Master Assassins as well as the Mariner Lord of their lands herself Morgan entering the room with looks of concern.
Koyuki was the first to make it to the table as she then spoke for all to hear, "Report Gentleman!"
One of the Adm. turned to her and spoke, "It would appear my lady that our country is an even bigger prize then we first anticipated, from what has been gathered at great risk to the Water Capital resistance movement indicates that they will once again attempt to invade our country however it appears we have at most a year and a half before they have the military strength to try again my Lady."
This surprised one of the younger of the Generals in the room that had fought in the resistance before the liberation of the Land of Spring, he knew that the next engagement would be far more diverse and dangerous and on multiple fronts making a last battle look like a simple schoolyard fight.
"Even with a year we may not be able to prepare the adequate forces and supplies to repel an even more auspicious invasion, and even with the aid of the airships there's no guarantee we can defend our borders and definitely and to make matters worse there are two primary routes to capital." The young General said.
One of the few female admirals nodded her head as she pointed to a three-dimensional map of their country and noticing the root that the Daimyo herself and her Ninja bodyguards she had at the time had taken, "This root here my lady is the same one you used to take back your throne however it also presents a secondary opportunity to invade our country and is a second front however more defensible one since it is a strong bottleneck at this point here however it will take time to properly outfit this area which we may not have to since they were far larger territory then we'll and will undoubtedly have access to more resources."
Koyuki had only had a chance to skim the basics of what she was reading but understood that unless some kind of miracle occurred even with this much time they would still be overrun, she then remembered who was standing next to her and his unusual ability to do the impossible, "Naruto what are your thoughts on this particular problem?"
Naruto stared at the map as well is the information as he read it realizing that neither side could take any kind of aggressive action at this moment at least officially, after all all the other nations would be keeping a close eye on this region now something had to be done but without causing any kind of problems with the other territories.
He then looked over at Morgan and and then remembered one of his more recent ancestors memories they came flooding back and their attitudes towards those who tried to take what was not theirs especially as he read one particular document that said the Land of Water needed to be able to rebuild its forces without any kind of problems.
The room had become loud and rather boisterous as everyone try to think up solutions or were simply arguing with each other as he continued to read the documents formulating his plan.
Morgan realized that he'd come up with a plan and cleared her throat rather loudly everyone's attention as she then pointed over towards him, "I think the Whirlpool Lord has something to say."
He gave her a nodded his head and then held at the document and spoke, "They need to be uninterrupted for a year and a half to pull this off and any kind of distraction will hamper them greatly, this document here also says that they have expanded too far and some of their territories are being held on to by a very thin margin if not a hair... So what I propose is rather simple, we authorize Privateers which is basically legal Piracy to go out and sat there should be both the military side and their civilian side since it is controlled by the government now."
Every single one of the Admirals and Generals realize that this plan was in a nutshell absolutely crazy but at the same time brilliant, "Privately owned vessels going out and attacking their supply line's, that would definitely disruptive commerce and their ability to make war on us... And if we play it just right we could have complete deniability as a cover story saying that we were unwilling to take action and then you two had gone all renegade."
The military leaders began to talk amongst each other realizing the advantage of this plan however they have one concern, one of the admirals decided to voice it, "This plan has some potential however we have one problem, there is only your two ships at the moment that will not be enough to create a significant enough disruption to their ability to make war."
This time Naruto and Mei turned to Morgan, "I might be able to help with that but it will take a little bit of time to get them together."
"What do you mean Lady Morgan?" one of the generals asked.
"I know with the Lightning Lord is, and she in turn knows where the remainder of the Mariner Lord's are and the three remaining Elite Captains or as some call them badass are currently located... And with the assistance of Lord Uzumaki . That would bring up our total to seven ships which can cover a lot more ground of the great Neo-Caribbean." she said.
Raven nodded his head and then spoke, "And you'll have the aid of what is left of Whirlpool to assist you, in fact it would be wise for your vessel Lady Morgan to return with us to undergo some refits once your vessel is seaworthy enough."
Koyuki turned to the man who was in charge of the drydocks, "Is the ship stable enough?"
"Yes ma'am it is stable enough now and we've even reinforced the the ships hole plating with new equipment and materials that should reinforce her to take much more punishment than before, and we've managed to restore her engines completely as well we just need one more day for final checks and she's 100% again." The man said to his leader.
Morgan was actually impressed but then decided to ask Raven herself some questions, "What exactly do you intend to do my ship."
"I believe the shields would be a adequate add-on as well as some new weapons for your vessel, plus the Vixen is in need of her final upgrades." Raven said.
Everyone nodded at this however one general was looking at report that mentioned something about operation Moon, "What do you think this is?"
Raven was the first pick up the document and read it realizing that there was a new operation in the works and it had something to do with the Templars, "We must inform all of our intelligence groups to keep their eyes and ears open for this."
Everyone in the room nodded as they began to study the documents realizing that much was going to happen in the future.
XX Three Days Later, the border of the Land of Fire.
Kakashi Hatake and his squad plus one calmly walked up to their client who was rather large but had a a kindly demeanor about him as he guided a young boy towards a carriage, "Don't worry son will see your mother soon enough and I'll try to convince her to return with us."
"You know won't be that easy dad." The young boy said.
"I have to try now don't I." the larger man said until he noticed his son looking behind him with a bit of curiosity.
The larger man in question turned around to face the ninja with a smile on his face as he then greeted them, "Allow me to introduce myself I am the crowned Prince of the Crescent Moon Kingdom Michiru and this is my son Hikaru."
XX 4 Days Later, just off the coast of Neo Orleans, Land of Lightning.
The Black Vixen and the Frozen Queen moved swiftly through the cold dark waters of night as the rain continued to fall on the Land of Lightning as the two mighty vessels approached the docks, Naruto walked the length of the ship up to about and looked at Neo Orleans for the first time.
The Wreckers were currently checking the deck where the new weapons have been installed as well as the long-range mortars which were at the front of the battle where Naruto now stood, the leader of the group walked up to him and spoke, "The new toys are in perfect working order, and I'm impressed the ship did so well in combat specially against that bloody dreadnought."
Naruto couldn't help but smile, "You're telling me, ever been here before?"
"Oh yes we've been here before nephew, back then these three were just young pups and couldn't help but enjoy the festival."
"That was a long time ago and you know what silver!" one of the Wreckers said.
"Ho come on labs I didn't say you didn't enjoy it, it was just very hard getting them back on the ship is all." Silver said as he too stared at the city taking out his pipe only now noticing that there was a good deal of rain coming down.
"It never fails you want to have a good smoke and the rain comes down, it's just like get in the shower and there someone at the door." Silver said noticing the smiles on the crew as a parent the dock.
Naruto nodded over to Morgan as she began to disembark the ship as well and turned back to his uncle, "uncle keep an eye on ships and an eye out for trouble I got that feeling."
"I swear your mother must've inherited all that bad and good luck from her parents especially that feeling if you get my drift."
"Duly noted, just be careful keep an eye out for RED's." Not to said as he began to leave the ship with Karin and Haku right beside him.
The three of them met up with Morgan and one of her crew members as they exited the docs, the group followed Morgan since she knew where she was going as he saw just how likely this festival was.
The group then came on a large night club which had a title of being known as Voodoo alley, the bouncer however was about to try to stop them from entering until he noticed who was in the group and was one look from Morgan he parted like the Red Sea letting them and the establishment.
Playing in the background was a song simply known as Voodoo Child which had a unique beat that everyone was dancing to one man saw them immediately motioned for them to follow him up a set of stairs to a large balcony area which had the words reserved for owner attached to it.
Once they made it to the top one of the men attempted to take their weapons by force only to receive a wrist blade touching his throat and even drawing a little bit of blood courtesy of the Black Fox who now looked the man in the eyes, the bodyguard in question immediately backed up actually afraid knowing a stone cold killer when he saw one including one that had restraint which was rare these days even among ninjas.
Morgan however walked through the group of people and gave a disappointing nodded of her head to the man in question, "Trust me you don't want to piss him off, it's been a long time Rouge."
Sitting in a darkened corner was a silhouette of a woman who then proceeded to get up revealing a woman was absolutely beautiful and healthier than most people could dream of, she wore a simple top hat with unique things around and white face paint that looked like a skull.
All in all it was clear that she was not his youngest Morgan but yet time have been very kind to her, she walked forward and got a good look at not only Naruto but also Morgan and then finally spoke, "I see the news of your homeland being free once more has brought you out of hiding my little Snow Princess, and to finally meet the Maelstrom Mariner and an Uzumaki to boot is quite an honor too... I am Lady Rouge of the Land of Lightning and if you two have come to see me it must mean we are needed once more."
End of chapter Sequence Seven, Part One
Story Development Diary,
this chapter was a little interesting but at the same time was something I've been kind of waiting to do for a while now since we finally get to be introduced to the other mariner Lord's and Rouge and Morgan were just the first ones, in the original story they just pop up and we don't really learn that much about them so with this chick live version of the story I got to give them their origin stories of how they came to be and also how Naruto met them.
With that in mind I really started planning this out right when I began the story but I knew that when I was writing it it would evolve the story as well and that was something I was expecting however the original framework is built on is still not only holding up but is actually helping me to keep it moving forward.
This chapter allowed me to show that we have a real central villain who definitely has his own prerogative and agenda and that there's something more about him and this really harkens back to both black flag and unity's main unique villain and that's all I really want say on the matter as I don't want to spoil too much for those who might not know everything about the AC universe.
We also get to see that for characters like Jiraiya and Kakashi things are becoming a little more desperate and to a small degree they are beginning to have both doubts but they are even more determined to get the job done in all honesty, and confrontation with the Phoenix's Capt. is a wonderful scene where he is trying to come up with any plan so he can keep looking for Naruto but is refusing to look at the negatives as well.
Another thing that's recently happened that is also a little saddening is the passing of Leonard Nimoy who was primary inspiration for Lord Raven in this story as well as a few others, his performances for Sentinel prime and especially Spock and the voice work he did in Kingdom Hearts and just the way he talks in interviews was such in inspiration for how I wanted Raven to be in the story.
There's even a few times I give him the fascinating quote, it was just my little nod to him in a way.
plus there are some things to consider thanks to the end of the Naruto universe and also just a little thoughts of how I'm getting and this particular story in maybe it's future installments.
Please read and review.
