2013.10.20 For all the feedback, thank you! Salamat! ありがおう! Grazie! Merci! Gracias! Hvala vam! Danke! Medaase! Selamat! 谢谢你! Tack! Dank je wel! Hope I didn't leave anybody out.


12

YIPIA agents, along with the original Yonbaka and the ship's crew, were paralyzed in shock at what they were witnessing. They could not quite ascertain which was more unbelievable, a giant crab, the size of a blue whale, that had suddenly emerged from the sea's depths, or a teenage kid standing on water and then leaping a great height from the surface to dodge the crab's snapping claws.

The other boy, the pale one suddenly emerged from the lower deck on top of a giant bird almost as big as a light aircraft, yet it didn't look like a real bird, more like an animated drawing of one.

"Lure it away from the ship, Naruto," Sai shouted. Then almost simultaneously, out came something flat and white from the edge of one of his drumsticks. It waved in the air like a flag but then Sai motioned as if he was writing on its surface with the tip of the other drumstick.

The non-shinobi below then saw smaller animated birds emerge from his work. What seemed like rectangular pieces of paper were attached to each bird descending at a fast speed. The paper exploded upon making contact with the giant crab that caused it to instinctively snap its claws wildly. The ship bobbed from the waves created by the monster's struggle but the force at least created some distance from danger.

The men on the ship gripped the railing hard to keep from sliding but their eyes were glued to the astonishing scene. Was it a mirage from the smoke because of the explosion, or were they really seeing identical copies of the blond kid below? The middle one of the triplet was holding a ball of blue light in his hand. And after the two beside him had finished moving their hands frantically over the ball, the one holding it charged forward to the giant crab.

"Look! He's running on water!"

A blinding light was followed by an explosion. They supposed it was caused by the luminous ball that had made contact with the crab. They shielded their eyes and waited till the noise subsided. Naruto remained standing on the surface from where he attacked, waiting for movement. Sai circled the area, likewise on the lookout for the creature's return.

The crab seemed to have disappeared in the darkness but the ship was still bobbing vigorously. In fact, the ship's up and down swing seemed stronger than before.

"I…don't…feel… too good."

Aoyama's heart stopped. "Get a hold of yourself, Lee-kun," he pleaded.

Lee swayed drunkenly on deck. "Why are there sho many people here?" He wasn't aware that he was seeing double, nay, triple as once again the symptoms of having drunk sake manifested itself.

"Aaaah!" One of the crew screamed as he pointed upward. At the other side of the ship, three huge tentacles hovered above and was about to descend. But then a great barrage of sand flew out near the bow and formed three umbrella-like shields to protect the vessel. Everyone turned to that direction and saw Gaara standing on a protruding part of the control room's roof at the very top. His arm extended toward the new monster while one hand held the neck of his guitar. Sand was still coming out of the guitar hole.

"What is that? Is that sand? How is he doing that?"

"Does it matter? He's keeping us alive!"

All these people are in danger. I musht do shomething! Despite his uncontrolled swaying Lee managed to press a button on his keytar and out came two long chains from each side as he zoomed up at an angle toward the middle tentacle. With amazing speed that made him invisible to the naked eye, he wrapped the chains around the appendage. Lee stopped his circling and clung to the side of the tentacle like a sailor atop a mast surveying land up ahead.

The witnesses blinked at the mere split second it took for all these things to occur. Lee's next action made their jaw drop further.

"Is…is…he…singing?"

"The lonely boy that I am…hash my heart shet on youuuu…."

The large tentacle waved in the air as it felt the pressure of the tightly wound chain but Lee continued to sing. "With all… my youthful strength…protect you… I… will…!" He then clung to the tentacle and made like he was opening a bottle cap with his body. This initial movement turned into rapid spinning motion that twisted the tentacle upward, an improvised version of his lotus move.

Gaara continued to repel the other two tentacles as another one sprang up from the water. Seeing that Lee had control of one, Gaara shifted his sand to stop the fourth. But then four more tentacles emerged from the other side and clung to the ship. That sent a new wave of panic among the helpless onlookers.

"Dang! Just when I was starting to enjoy this trip," Naruto griped. "Why can't my life be free of annoying giant monsters?"

And what do you mean by that?

I didn't mean you, Kurama… though you were kinda annoying…before….

You're more annoying than I ever was.

No, I wasn't. You were. You- *sigh* Let's not fight, okay? Let's just get rid of this thing.

Only if you admit you're the annoying one.

Geh!...Fine, fine. I'm the annoying one.

"Aaaaaaah!" the men screamed as two of the tentacles managed to creep up on deck.

A few, who were straining their eyes to look for help, caught sight of Naruto again from a distance.

"Look at that, he's glowing orange! And he's grown a tail, no, tails!"

"Help us!"

"Naruto," Sai shouted. "You can't attack it while it's clinging onto the ship. It'll put everyone in danger!" he warned.

"What do we do?" Naruto asked, realizing that his attack was indeed too powerful not to cause damage to nearby innocents.

"We'll work to pry it off. Just stand by and deal the final blow!"

At that, Sai sped toward the ship and signaled to Gaara.

"Take cover!" Gaara ordered the scrambling men.

Sai then released more explosive tags, carefully aiming at the tentacles at starboard.

Gaara focused on his jutsu and willed his sand to form into the shape of hands that gripped the three tentacles. The one that Lee had twisted had withdrawn, pulling Lee down the water with it. Lee can take care of himself, Gaara thought with confidence. His sand was spread out thinly and not enough to crush the three large tentacles. The massive weight was compounded by the splashing water but he knew he couldn't afford to lose his grip. He leaped down toward the railing at port and extended his left arm toward the water. He then slowly raised his outstretched hand as if drawing something from below.

Sai continued to make like a fighter aircraft and attacked the clinging tentacles from above, aiming with sniper precision so as not to cause damage to the ship. After a few more strikes, the four tentacles withdrew from the stinging barrage.

The onlookers gasped in fear when seawater shot up like geyser by the ship's edge ten meters high from where the three sand-gripped tentacles were. Gaara, however, seemed the one in control with his hand raised to that angle. The water descended like waterfall and left a great amount of sand in the air. The seabed was a plentiful source of his jutsu material albeit a tremendous amount of Gaara's chakra was needed to pull it out. He had to raise it as high as possible to be rid of the water that was adding to its weight. With his last amount of chakra and strength, he willed the seabed sand to mix with his own sand until it enveloped the tentacles. "Sabaku Kyū!"

The tentacles flailed and retreated below just as Gaara's knees gave way. Some of the crew rushed to help him. The ship was still quavering from the strong waves that told them trouble was not past. Something serious was happening below.

The last tentacle disappearing from the surface served as the signal for Naruto to take his turn but just before he could dive forward, the giant crab caught him from behind with its claw. Naruto found himself in a vice grip while being pulled down deeper into the water.

Sneaky, Kurama thought. Naruto, you can get yourself loose, can't you?

Of course! Taju kage bunshin no jutsu!

Naruto's clones multiplied until the claw was pried open.

We can't just leave it be. It'll just attack again.

Meanwhile, Lee was going wild under the ship. Yatatatatatatatata! He had swum toward the octopus' head and attacked one of its eyes with a series of drunken knife hand strikes until his fist penetrated through the membrane, effectively blinding the creature. The resulting injury along with the damage it incurred from above sent it convulsing. It sunk down to the sea's depths and was never seen again.

The raging water subsided after a while. The men, who were mostly either sprawled on deck or clinging to railings, began to recover their composure. Two crew members gained enough sense to draw down a life raft when they spotted an exhausted Lee wading on the water.

Lee wasn't quite sure what happened. One minute, he was swinging back and forth on deck and the next he was underwater watching tako-san swim away or more like fall away from him.

Gaara was still breathing heavily from exhaustion but he grinned upon seeing his former Chuunin exam opponent. His confidence in the taijutsu master's skill was not unfounded.

"Are you alright, Lee-kun?" Aoyama asked with concern.

"Uh…yes. I'm fine," Lee answered. But the faces of the men around contorted into a grimace when Lee raised his right arm covered in thick mucus. He whisked his hand a few times to get the eye membrane goo loose, which resulted in everyone getting splattered. And since Aoyama was nearest…

Why is it always me? The agent winced as he wiped his sticky face. Eew.

"Anything?" Gaara asked as Sai alit from his bird.

Sai shook his head. He had been circling the water's surface area where Naruto previously was. "He'll be fine," he said. "He's not alone." Gaara nodded at this.

Just as Aoyama was about to ask what "not alone" meant, they heard a great rumbling followed by what sounded like a huge implosion underneath the sea. The resulting crestless wave sent the ship to be swept away a great distance but, thankfully, it remained safe and intact.

"Will you be alright?" Sai asked Gaara.

"Yes, I'll be fine. See what's going on."

Sai leapt onto his bird once again. "Come with me." He grabbed Lee's hand to get him on the bird. Another bout of drunken fist while the ship was swaying might create more damage in worse ways than a giant creature could.

"Woohoo! We're flying! Amazing!" Lee's excitement rose as they themselves ascended.

"Are you drunk again?"

"Of course not, Sai-kun. I never get drunk. Gai-sensei said sake is bad for me. Why do you ask?"

"…"

"Do you suppose that wave was caused by Naruto?" Lee asked.

"It's possible." Sai strained his eyes to see something clearer from afar. "There!"

"What is that?" Lee could see something like a silhouette of a mound-like reef except it kept bobbing up and down. The animated bird decreased its altitude at a steady pace until the object became clear.

"Ooy! Good thing you came. I need help with this."

"Naruto, is that - ?" Sai uttered. Naruto was walking on the water's surface while hauling a giant crab claw behind him.

"Ano ne," Naruto began with a scratch of the head. "I hit it with an O-dama Rasengan and it kinda exploded into pieces. And this claw hit me and swept me back up. Then Kurama and I got to thinking that crab meat seemed tasty so I kinda dug inside that crack there and it's really pretty good-dattebayo. I thought I'd bring it to the ship, y'know. For dinner."

"We already had dinner," Lee replied casually.

"Yeah, but after all that action, I got hungry again."

"Now that you mention it, I'm a bit hungry myself," Lee said though he wondered why. He already ate a full meal at dinner.

~アホ~アホ~アホ~アホ~

"There! Over there! It's them! They're all fine," A crew member reported while holding a telescope.

Aoyama grabbed the telescope to confirm. Naruto was with Sai and Lee on top of the animated bird. A large red crab claw floated behind them, attached to Lee's chain. How uncanny. Whatever the explanation for why they were hauling a claw, or for everything else, he was glad they were all safe. He breathed a sigh of relief. Is this what a shinobi is? He turned to look at the lone shinobi behind him, who was acting like it was just any ordinary day in his life.

Gaara had regained a bit of his strength and was now just relaxing by a bench, tending to his bass. He was not at all surprised at the report he heard, of course, so he just continued wiping his guitar gently with a cloth, amazed at the expert craftsmanship by which the music ninjutsu shop reinforced the instrument. Despite its musical qualities, the make was apparently waterproof. His sand had settled back inside. As a special treat for himself and his sand, he plucked a few chords and took pleasure at the melody. He found it an effective way to restore lost chakra.

~アホ~アホ~アホ~アホ~

Ryo, Kota, Saku and Taiko were detained in a single cabin after things had settled. They had all feared for their lives while the giant creatures were attacking. The danger was past for everyone else… except for them.

"They're gonna kill us," Saku squeaked.

"They must be some kinda super robots or somethin'," Ryo said.

"We're doomed," Kota murmured.

Taiko couldn't manage a word. He just shook like a leaf all throughout.

The door suddenly slammed open that sent all four men to rush to one corner and quiver in fright… But it was only Aoyama who walked in. He proceeded to the long table and took a seat then bade the other four to do the same. The men adamantly walked away from the corner and drew out their chairs.

"It seems…" Aoyama began.

Our robots also have mind-reading abilities. And they told me you're the mastermind, was what Ryo expected to come next.

Saku recalled how he pushed Sai off the upper deck. Ryo's brilliant plan seemed so stupid now. Clone or not, you will still be charged with attempted murder!

You can't be granted parole. Off to the electric chair with you! Kota supplied in his head.

Taiko was one second close to a heart attack.

"We owe you an apology," Aoyama finished his first statement.

"Eh?"

"The boys vouched for your innocence," Aoyama said, quite oblivious to the shocked faces in front of him. He felt too awkward owning up to the blunder. He just proceeded to address them individually. "Naruto-kun said you noticed the disturbance in the water first and thought it was made by dolphins. I suppose if you did not send him to check, he wouldn't have been able to block that giant crab from attacking the ship... And Lee-kun insisted you were just training him for Rakugo. Now I don't know what kind of training that was, Kota, but he seems to really appreciate it... And Sai-kun claims he felt something was wrong with the water's movement from where you were so he jumped down on his own. Saku, from the monitors, it really looked like you pushed him but after the strange events earlier, I'm inclined to believe his word. As for you, Taiko, we didn't have a monitor in your room but the agents who busted in said Gaara-kun was holding a towel to your face. He later said you cut yourself shaving."

No way! The four men still couldn't believe their luck. No way! There had to be a fine print to all this somehow. They could not be that lucky.

"The boys requested to talk to you privately," Aoyama said.

There it was! They want to get their hands on us! They want revenge!

"No! Please no," the men begged. They had risen and backed up against the wall as they pleaded.

Aoyama was not completely surprised by this. "I understand your concern. We were all surprised by their abilities too-"

"No, you don't get it," Kota said. "Just please, don't get 'em near us."

"Please, Kota-shishou!" Lee scampered in from outside and bowed. "We want to continue our rakugo training." The other three shinobi became visible by the entrance. The original Yonbaka men stood frozen in place. It's a trick!

"I'll give you some privacy," Aoyama said quite eager to head out and be done with this apologizing business. And he still had to see to the ship's minor damages. Further delay wasn't an option.

"What are you? What are you planning to do?" Saku asked, his voice unintentionally attaining the highest shrilly pitch that could break a wine glass.

"We are shinobi," Gaara replied simply. "Our aim is to accomplish our mission assigned to us."

"Mission?" Kota repeated.

"The mission is to capture the syndicate," Sai supplied.

"We still need your help to accomplish that," Naruto finished.

"Y-you mean you won't k-kill us?" Taiko asked despite his trembling.

"Why would we do that?" Lee asked incredulously.

Could it be they really don't know? Ryo contemplated.

"Because they tried to kill us," Sai replied…with a smile.

"Gomenasai!" Four men were suddenly bowing dogeza on the floor.

"Mah… we considered telling Aoyama-san," Sai said. "But it would not help our mission in any way."

"We won't do anything stupid from now on. We'll teach you Rakugo properly," the men promised, still in disbelief that their lives had been spared.

つづく


Disclaimer: No real-life giant sea creature was harmed in the making of this chapter. But real life greedy human octopi in govt deserve to get their eyes poked. Thank you, Lee! *winks at Shirayukihime* This one's for you, 仲間!また来週ね!

Up next: Intermission Chapter #2 The Three Pledges


Sakura: I was told I get to play a part! Yatta!

Yui: *trollface*