Fox Among Eagles and Sharks
A Naruto Shippuden and Assassins Creed Black Flag Crossover
Luckily enough, the plan to get medicine from Charles-towne succeeded, between Thatch and Edward's efforts. Such victory was bittersweet in the end, when Thatch announced his retirement afterwards. Worse yet was that he didn't live to see it, when he was killed about six months afterwards off the coast of Ocracoke thanks to a British plant who set up an ambush for them, and their bid to keep Nassau as the place of their pirate republic was a vain effort anyway as the British claimed it back three months prior to that, a flop which James had a few unkind, choice words about.
It was bad enough to have to limp away as all of Blackbeard's fleet were sunk and several Man O' War's battered the Jackdaw to try and see her to the same fate, Rackham mutinied both Edward and Vane in one foul swoop only days afterwards, just after they'd crippled a slaver ship to successfully gain information on where the Sage could be found, aboard a ship called The Princess.
"I can't believe this!" Naruto shouted, pacing the small cell of the Jackdaw's jail in agitation, arms crossed over his chest. "That slimy, no-good... Grrr!" He kicked one of the bars. All that earned him was a sore foot on top of it all.
"Calm yourself," Adewale told him. "This will not be the first time a pirate crew suffered a mutiny. Nor that I've been in such a position."
"How can you be so calm?!" Naruto demanded, whirling on him. "Rackham intends to sell you off to the next slaver he comes across!"
"Aye, but what some intend never comes to pass," Ade assured him confidently. "And even if he succeeds, I know my way around enough to not let it last. I am no stranger to the scene of slavery." He paused, giving the boy an appraising look. "You should be wary of such fate for yourself as well. I don't think I need to tell you that my people are not the only ones to suffer such hardship."
"I'd like to see him try!" Naruto barked, earning a small chuckle from the man.
"Well spoken. Then we are in agreement with each other."
"So, do you have a plan then?" Naruto asked hopefully.
"The plan, is to save our energy and wait, for now, and coordinate our efforts with those still aboard the ship whenever the opportunity presents itself. Vane's crew may have outvoted his usefulness, but I don't think our own mates have lost their loyalty, and some among Rackham's crew might soon grow to dislike him. He is not known for his abilities as a captain."
Naruto nodded, seeing his point, though if there was one thing he detested greatly, it was waiting.
As good fortune would have it, some of their own crew freed them two weeks in, saying that Rackham faced certain, blatant mutiny otherwise, of which their mates voiced quite loudly until the man had agreed.
It wasn't simply the threat of mutiny that swayed his decision, though. As Adewale had put it before, Rackham was a very poor captain. At best, he managed to take schooners, and fled from other brigs and frigates almost as soon as they first attacked, limping away. The only relief breathed by the crew was that he wasn't dumb enough to try taking on a Man O' War, but his incompetence was certainly felt in the unhappiness of the crew. He let those he'd imprisoned out only for their help and advice on how to take bigger prizes, and so that he would have a better helmsman at the wheel than himself.
Vane had been ruthless, and Edward self-absorbed, but both had at least been competent and rewarded their crews with enough prize to keep them somewhat satisfied, if not outright glad.
It surprised no one that he brought the battered brig limping into Nassau before long, hopped off the ship, and went rushing to accept the King's pardon. He was both unwelcomed and unallowed to return either to any crews nor the British flag, thrown in the same prison he'd first used to take control of the very same ship.
There was still another problem though, and that was finding Edward and Vane, after they'd been set adrift. Ade bade the crew - and Naruto especially - to have patience and that they would find them soon as they could, but the needs and pleasantry of the majority came first before only two other people, who they weren't even sure were alive to be found.
They were docked just off of Andreas Island, taking rest and drink at the tavern, when a familiar face approached Naruto again.
"Well tha's a sour mug if I ever did see one," James greeted, startling Naruto into glancing behind him as he sat on the beach.
"Oh! Hey, um..." he trailed off, looking conflicted. "Um... what... what should I call you?"
"James not good enough of a name for ya?" she quipped with a slight smile.
"Oh, well... I wasn't sure," Naruto defended sheepishly, flushing. "And you threatened Edo before that you'd basically cut off his manhood if he said anything to anyone..."
"Aye, I did," James smirked, taking a seat on the beach next to him. "So just stick with James, then."
"Oh... okay."
There was a moment of awkward silence, the boy not sure how to go on, but thankfully James handled that well enough for him.
"I heard what happened with Thatch up north," she hummed. "And with Kenway. It's a shame, for both of 'em."
Naruto hummed sadly in acknowledgement.
"So, what do ye plan to do now?"
"We're going to go out there and find Edo, of course!" Naruto declared, earning himself a frown.
"If that's what you want..." she supplied. "Though personally, I think you should give up on that pursuit." When Naruto gave her a scowl, she continued. "You remember what I said, back in Inagua? Edward's doin' nothing but pissin' away his life, and everyone's under him. Man like him is sinking, and he'll drown all those 'round him so long as they let him."
"You sure have a low opinion of him," Naruto grumbled.
"Or perhaps yours of him is a bit too high," James cautioned. "He's been at this gig for years now, and where has it gotten him? Marooned somewhere, his pirate republic all but gone, many of those who shared his dream dead or having abandoned the path he continues to pursue. Aye, he was an infamous captain for a while, but now, he may well be at the bottom of the sea, feedin' the fishes, as far as we know."
"No way! He's out there just waiting to meet up with us again, maybe even on his way here now!"
"Maybe," James agreed. "But a lot of things happen in this wide world of ours. There's no guarantee," she pointed out. "And anyway, where has it gotten you? At this point, you're nothin' but his loyal lapdog, chasing after a dying dream more likely to end in disappointment than anythin'."
Naruto growled displeasure, giving her a glare. "Oh yeah? And who asked your opinion?"
She rolled her eyes slightly. "What I'm gettin' at is, why don't you set your sights to the Assassins instead? Edward is always going to be holding you within his shadow at this rate, and at worst, it'll end with you dead 'fore you're even a man. You have the skills necessary and you have the Sense. We'd be more than happy to have you."
"I dunno..." Naruto hummed, looking skeptical. "Not that you guys don't seem kinda cool yourselves, but..."
"I heard also that you sailed Blackbeard's ship once, against a Man O' War even, and did fairly decent too. I'm not sayin' to give up entirely on that lifestyle, but you don' need Edward to achieve success and recognition. I'm not sayin' to agree without some thought put to it neither, but I think bein' one of us would suit you fine, if you just gave it a try."
Naruto still looked uncertain.
"Come with me to Tulum," she offered. "You can talk again with my Mentor and the other assassins, see how you like it. If you decide it's not for you, there's nothin' stopping you from going back to your life here. I'm sure your mates would understand."
"Maybe..." Naruto hummed, giving it some real consideration. A thought occurred to him and he glanced her way in question. "Um... so if you're here, does that mean you're after someone? Or were you just dropping in to say hello?"
"Aye, I have a target," she confirmed, looking mildly surprised he'd picked up on it. "If you'd like, I can even give you a crash course on how we handle our business, and you can decide afterwards if you like."
Naruto paused, thought on it, then nodded. "I guess there's no harm in it."
"Good man," James smiled as she stood up, dusting sand off her clothes. "Come on, then. The timing's just right as it is." As they passed by Adewale, she gave him a slight wave and told him, "I'll be borrowin' this lad for a bit, maybe some longer, if he chooses!"
Ade gave the boy a questioning look, but all he offered up as he passed was, "What he said!", before sauntering after. He followed her to her schooner.
"So where are we going?" Naruto questioned as he followed her to the helm.
"Abaco Island, just a ways north of here." She stepped aside and leaned against the rampart. "An' you're taking the wheel." Naruto gave her a look of surprise. "You just leave the navigatin' to me and my crew."
Before long, the island came into view, and she pointed to the tall rigging of a galleon on the other side, beached on a sandbar well out of the water.
"You see, there?" she directed. "That's where we're headed."
"Right," Naruto hummed, though he was mostly focused on his task of steering. He'd handled Thatch's frigate before, and the Jackdaw on a few occasions while Rackham had been in command. James' smaller schooner was much more nimble and easier to handle than both of the other two. "This ship handles nicely," he mused aloud.
"You're not too bad at handlin' her either," James returned. "If you like, we could make this a more long-term affair. Perhaps even get you one of your own."
Admittedly, it was a tempting idea.
"I have no idea where I'd get a crew though," he felt the need to point out.
"I's not that hard," she shrugged. "There are plenty of men about the Indies that would be willing to join up, I'm sure, same as any other crew found its foundation."
She broke away from conversation to bark out some orders for half-sail as they neared their destination, telling him to swing the ship around wide and circle the island while she got a good look through her spy-glass.
"Beach is crawlin' with Spanish navy," she mused as she surveyed the island.
"And there's no dock," Naruto observed.
"A dock'll do us no good here anyhow for this job. See that galleon washed up ashore? She'll do us much better, and I see no soldiers anywhere aboard it. We'll jump overboard as we pass it by, and use it for our approach, while the crew keeps sailin'. If all goes well, he'll never even catch whiff of us coming."
Naruto nodded, and they did as she planned, handing the wheel off to someone else as they leapt off the deck and dove into the waves below, paddling to the sand bar where the larger ship was grounded and abandoned. They scaled up the empty cannon ports to deck, quickly glancing around, and then climbing over the last ledge when they were certain there was no one waiting on it to raise alarm.
"You remember how to use the Sense?" James questioned, leaning over the rail and surveying the island below.
"Of course!"
James nodded. "Use it, and tell me what you see."
He blew out a breath and tried to focus his senses, until his sight and hearing changed like he had managed to do before. His own words sounded strange to him, almost like he was hearing from underwater.
"Everyone below looks... like they're glowing red, except you look blue. Its weird."
James nodded. "Those who you call friend appear blue when using the sense. Anything that's your enemy or a danger appears red, whether they be human or animal."
"How do you figure that?" He tilted his head.
"Its the same for all, from what I understand. A lot of us don't know how or why its that way, but there are a few theories," James explained, her words crisper to him than his own. "The Sense transcends what we normally see and hear of the world, shows us things that are there but invisible to the naked eye, includin' the auras of people and their intent. The Sense reveals that intent to our eyes, where most would only be left to guess."
"Its weird," Naruto hummed. "But I think I get it."
"An' there he is," James growled. "My target." She pointed to one of the figures. "You see there?"
He nodded.
"To my eyes, he appears gold. It separates him from the rest. Somehow, the Sense knows how to differentiate, and shows me who my target is."
"That's really amazing," Naruto marveled.
James nodded, patting him on the shoulder. "C'mon. Best we get down to business. I don't want him getting away, and we're on a time-limit."
"How so?"
"I'm not only here to kill 'im, but to make sure he doesn't get his hands on something important as well."
Naruto blinked, but nodded, and followed James to leap off the ship into a thick cushioning of leaves below when no one was looking their way.
James whistled for a lone soldier to grab their attention and lure them close, before springing out and sinking her hidden blade into him, and dragging his corpse into cover.
"Now you give it a go," James said, nodding to another man that was approaching their hiding spot, none the wiser. "And try to keep it quiet. Th' point of our work is to do it quick and clean as possible. Get in and out without anyone seeing if it can be helped."
He nodded, drawing in an apprehensive breath. He watched the man walking and stop, gazing about, then turned to march away. Steeling his nerves, he glanced around to make sure no one else was close enough to see and leapt out, slinking across the sand with the wire between each hand, and leapt on his back, cutting off his airways with the wire around his neck so he couldn't yell for reinforcements, and dragged him back into the brush flailing and kicking, where he slammed his elbow into the guy's head and knocked him out.
"Good work," James praised sincerely, patting him on the shoulder. "Come on. We've got to move further in."
Naruto nodded and followed, to where they crouched in the brush, closer to the center of the island. James handed him a blow pipe and dart.
" 'member this? Quiet, and efficient." She pointed to her target. "It's that one there. You do the honors this time."
"You sure?" he asked, looking uncertain.
"Quick, 'efore he gets too far away!" she encouraged.
He nodded, stuffing the dart in and aiming. When he was sure he had it lined up, he sent the dart flying, saw the man jump as it hit its mark, and before long he began to go crazy and attack his fellow men, cutting a few of them down before someone finally grew bold enough to off him.
"See? Quick and quiet." She turned and started to creep away, while the soldiers were still wrapped up in chaotic confusion about what had caused the outburst. "Now come along, before they grow aware to our presence."
Soon enough, they returned to James' ship, and Andreas Island soon after, talking of the Assassins and what they were about, as well as what sort of personal gain the boy would get out of it. He was especially eager for some of the tools they often used, like the hidden blade at Kidd's wrist. James assured him that he would have one of his own were he to join them.
One topic that they circled back to though, and that he wasn't entirely willing to drop, was Edward. That was a matter they discussed more thoroughly once they returned from their little adventure on Abaco Island and reunited with Adewale and the crew.
"So, did you enjoy yourselves?" Ade questioned, curious as to what they had been doing or where they'd gone, since he'd had little-to-no explanation.
"I think I'd call it that, yeah," Naruto agreed tamely.
"Naruto has decided to join my crew," James told him abruptly, earning a look of great surprise from Adewale. She paused and looked at the boy. "Unless I'm mistaken."
"But I still haven't given up on Edo!" Naruto added, more or less confirming her words. "I'm going to keep looking for him all the same."
Adewale nodded, waiting for further elaboration. James was the one who supplied it.
"We'll be heading our way to the west, and then south, to Tulum. You remember the place where the Assassins call home, aye?"
"Aye, I do," Adewale nodded, suddenly appearing to understand what the sudden change in company was all about.
"We'll be keeping an eye and an ear out on our way. From what I understand, you'll be searching him out as well, as much as events allow."
"We will be heading east then, to Great Inagua. Hopefully by then we will have heard something. Edward may even already have found a way to make it there himself."
James nodded his agreement, glancing to Naruto.
"I'll be waiting aboard my ship when you've made ready and said everything you mean to," she told him, offering a wave to Adewale and walking back to the docks.
Naruto nodded, then looked back to their quartermaster with a sheepish, apologetic expression. It was enough to gain the man's attention enough to speak before he said anything.
"Don't be sorry. If this is a path you choose for yourself, then I am happy for you. The crew and Edward will understand," the man told him, nothing but acceptance and respect in his voice.
Naruto lost some of his guilt and smiled more broadly. "Y'know I might end up liking it less there than I do here."
"Then you are always welcome to return to us," Ade laughed heartily, roughing the boy's hair. "As far as I am concerned, you always have a home with us, should you choose to return to it, even if it is just for a brief meeting, for old time's sake."
"I definitely will, at some point!" Naruto promised, grinning. "Count on it!"
"You're leaving?" someone barked, Naruto glancing past Ade to the disappointed looks of his fellow crewmates, soon to be former. The guy frowned and motioned to either side of him. "Well don't hold out on us! Don't we deserve a proper goodbye too?"
"Of course I wouldn't forget you guys!" Naruto yipped, sauntering to the counter and snatching up a cup of grog, holding it up for a toast as he grinned at all of them. "We've gotta have a proper party before I go off on my own adventures! I'll settle for nothing less!"