Chapter 20

Blanket disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the X-Men

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Well, we finally made it to Moon Country. This chapter is mainly plot driven but no truly epic action just yet. Here's chapter 20:

{ } Signifies Latin

[ ] Signifies Hand Signals

Last Time:

Illyana nodded. "Actually the whole Cult of personality that this sorceress Ketsueki had going for her was based around the number seven. I understand the mystical connotations but this woman was obsessed with it."

"What 'mystical connotations' do you mean Illyana-chan?" asked Hinata

"Well, let me see…." said Illyana. "Seven means many things in different religions and cultures but a few examples I can think of off the top of my head are the Symbol of Totality of the Universe, the Perfect Number of Divine Abundance, the Symbol of Eternal Life, the Number of the Perfect Man, the Cosmic Coordinates of Man in the Universe and the Symbol of Positive Renewal to name just a few." Illyana looked around and saw everyone else in the room had their eyes swirling. "Ummm….Sorry about that everyone. Was that too much information?"

"You knew all that off the top of your head Illyana-chan?" asked Anko blearily.

Sakura was holding her head. "I'm going to be having nightmares about giant number sevens trying to squash me all night…."

"Let just remember to keep the maps hidden and leave it at that." said Naruto as he kissed Illyana's cheek making her smile.

Flashback End….

Soon the team was welcomed to the Royal Palace and ushered inside before King Tsuki Michiru. "Welcome old friends and new! The Crescent Moon Kingdom is happy to have you here!"

Royal Palace of the Crescent Moon Kingdom, Moon Country Day 6

King Tsuki Michiru was very excited to see Naruto and Sakura again and graciously welcomed the others as well. After formal greetings the King invited them to join him and his (now remarried) wife Lady Amayo for lunch.

"You've really slimmed down and gotten fit your highness." complimented Sakura. "You must be working out a lot. As a medic I know how important it is to stay in shape."

King Michiru chuckled and said, "Well, it makes Amayo happy."

Naruto asked, "Is Prince Hikaru here?" I'm surprised we haven't seen him."

"Hikaru-kun is out studying abroad with his teachers." said Lady Amayo. "He does send his greetings though. He's grown a lot since you last saw him and is sorry to have missed you."

"Speaking of growing; both of you seemed to have blossomed into fine young adults." said King Michiru. "It seems like yesterday you were both just kids."

The group chatted about light subjects and soon Team Anko was introduced to the Royal Soothsayer Senkensha and the Royal Historian Nazo.

Nazo was a fairly nice looking man with brown hair and a beard. He had a rather plain appearance (it didn't help that he dressed like a druid either) but seemed very friendly and enthusiastic. The only thing on him that wasn't plain was an ornate silver necklace with a blue gem in it. Nazo's eyes were drawn towards Anko as he presented himself to the ninjas. "I'm Nazo, the Royal Historian. I was the one that sent that map book with the mission parameters. I hope it has been useful. I'll be joining you in exploring the Cave of the Seven Brothers. My family has been studying it for generations so you'll have to pardon my excitement. This is like a dream come true to me."

Senkensha was a very elderly woman with a raspy voice like she'd been a smoker most of her life. She dressed similarly to Nazo and also wore the same kind of necklace as he did. "I welcome you to the Crescent Moon Kingdom Lord Naruto, Lady Sakura and friends. I am Senkasha and I have been the Royal Soothsayer since before King Michiru was even born. Like Nazo I'm very excited about all of this. Nazo and I come from the same clan you see. Although we are distant cousins we both trace our roots back to the first Royal Historian of Moon Country. However, I'm not quite as limber as I used to be so I'm leaving the adventuring to you and Nazo." she chuckled.

Soon the King ordered his people to get rooms for their guests. Once sleeping arrangements were being made, (the threesome had to explain they all slept together which caused a few blushes here and there) it was agreed that they would enjoy the King's Hospitality this evening and start planning their mission in the morning with Nazo….

Haha Island….Day 7

Team Hebi were on shore stretching their legs as the crew of the Windbreaker offloaded the animals and the barrels of cargo. The young civilian couple and their newborn were welcomed by a large family and bid a friendly farewell to Team Hebi (mainly Karin who helped with the baby). To Sasuke; this trip had been nothing but the world's longest and most demeaning D-rank mission in his life. Four days of shoveling manure and feeding livestock was not something a member of the prestigious Uchiha Clan should ever be lowered to. However; Sasuke was prepared to bare any indignity necessary to end the life of his traitorous brother….

As for his teammates, Karin was reading her new book with unabashed glee as she got to a particularly juicy passage. "Oh Ruto; who'd have ever guessed that the innocent princess would like it rough? [giggle, giggle] Show you new disciple in the arts how it's done Yana [giggle, giggle, giggle]….

Suigetsu found himself more and more interested in Karin's book and asked, "Hey can I read it?"

"No you moron, it's mine!" Karin snapped. "Get your own damn copy."

"Stingy bitch!" growled Suigetsu. "I've never even seen another copy for sale."

"That's because it hasn't been released yet, idiot! I bought it black market." replied Karin smugly. "You can buy your own copy in a couple of weeks when it is officially released onto the market." Things predictably went officially downhill from there….

Given how long this trip was taking Jūgo got to thinking. 'How do we even know Itachi and Kisame are even going to be in Moon Country when we get there? With this detour to Sea Country they could be long gone by now. Come to think of it; how are we going to be able to afford to get back?'

Crescent Moon Kingdom, Moon Country, Royal History Room

Nazo was showing a map to Team Anko after breakfast. "This is Gake Island which is where the Cave of the Seven Brothers is located. Like its name implies; Gake Island is primarily cliffs with small beaches here and there. It's shaped rather oddly and about thirty feet up is the cave entrance which is actually carved out of the cliff face." explained the bearded man. "We assume there was originally a cave network there and the Seven Brothers expanded upon it but we really don't know. If you travel about fifty feet into the cave itself we'll see a portcullis that blocks the entrance to the top floor of the seven floor structure itself. The key to open the portcullis has been in the Royal Family's Vaults for centuries. After that there is nothing save the maps copied from the little book you have a copy of."

"So are you sure you're up to this trip Nazo-san?" asked Anko. "No offense but we ninjas are used to dealing with dangerous situations like these. In a situation like this we can't guarantee a civilian's safety."

Nazo waved it off with a jovial smile. "This is the biggest mystery in Moon Country and has been for centuries. I simply cannot miss being there when we get to the bottom central chamber!" he said enthusiastically.

Illyana narrowed her eyes as her finger traced across the floor maps to the room he mentioned and said, "What makes you so positive the Ketsueki Stone is in this particular room Nazo-san? It seems to me it could be anywhere in the structure."

The historian seemed flustered for a moment and then said, "Back in my Great-grandfather's writings he claims that the Ketsueki Stone is in that room on an altar. This was passed down through the family to me."

"So do these writings still exist?" asked Illyana. "I'd love to see his reasoning that brought him to the conclusion that the Ketsueki Stone resides there."

Nazo smiled apologetically. "I wish I could see those writings he left too but his work was lost in a flood before I was born. It's a tragic loss because I think he might have deciphered some of the strange foreign language in those books."

"That is tragic." said Illyana in agreement. 'He's lying through his teeth. What's your game Nazo-san?' thought the blonde sorceress.

The other members of Team Anko were acting as if they were looking over the maps carefully but were listening to the conversation between Illyana and Nazo. Illyana was suggesting routes they already knew were dangerous from the map transcriptions and Nazo was conveniently suggesting safer routes for various reasons. Sakura looked over the areas he mentioned and noticed his finger occasionally trace over the Latin texts that he was obviously stealing glances at. 'He obviously knows the language and is making up flimsy excuses to avoid certain chambers that Illyana has pointed out are trap rooms to us. Why is he hiding his knowledge and lying to us? Is he planning to use us to get the stone for himself?'

Hinata was thinking along the same lines. 'King Michiru has placed a lot of faith in Nazo-san and that soothsayer Senkensha-san. Their body language shows they are up to something. It's subtle but it's there. There old woman knows more than she's saying but hides it well. Nazo….Well, he's a terrible liar. It's painfully obvious from his facial expressions that he's reading the Latin. He gets an alarmed look on his face at every room Illyana has pointed out so far.'

Anko was watching her apprentice manipulate the conversation so Nazo would tell them indirectly what he knows. The jonin's gut reaction was to interrogate the guy but they couldn't under these circumstances so Illyana was taking the correct tack. 'Good girl Illyana-chan. Your training under Ibiki and I has really paid off. I have to say you already had a knack for manipulating others to your will anyway though….'

Naruto was mentally going over the path that Nazo indirectly was suggesting. As he looked over the route he noticed from memory that the rooms being avoided were full of mechanical traps that a ninja could probably avoid but a civilian could not. One thing was obvious to Naruto though; 'Nazo believes the Ketsueki Stone exists one hundred percent and he has some use for it. What could it be?'

That's when Kyubi's voice came in through his head. 'He can use magic like your demonic mate. He may be planning to use the stone to enhance his own powers.'

'Are you saying he's some sort of sorcerer Kyubi?' asked Naruto.

Kyubi answered, 'Bah! He isn't worthy of the title. Your mate can use very little over her magic in our dimension and she is still vastly more powerful than this one. His power is like parlor tricks compared to hers.'

'Ah, that's good to know, thanks Kyubi.' said the blonde.

'You may want to make him disappear inside that cave anyway ningen. He is hiding knowledge and that could be potentially dangerous to you and your mates.' replied the ancient fox.

'If it comes to that they won't ever find his body.' said Naruto darkly.

'Good to hear.' said Kyubi as he vanished back into the recesses of Naruto's mind.

After spending the day pouring over maps and data with Nazo the group decided to scout out the top floor the next morning to examine the nature of the chambers and the traps. They informed King Michiru and Amayo that evening what their plans were and the royal couple seemed pleased that the mystery might be solved soon.

That night….

Naruto and Sakura were carefully shadowing Nazo as he crept down to the old soothsayer's room. He knocked on the door and entered quietly. The two ninjas quietly started listening into the conversation after concealing themselves.

Inside Senkensha's room….

Senkensha greeted her companion in her usual raspy voice. "What brings you here Nazo? You seem concerned. From what the ninjas said at dinner tonight everything is running smoothly. The top floor isn't that dangerous and if you can't convince them to proceed tomorrow then you can the next day. You must be patient."

"I'm afraid they may be on to us Senkensha." said Nazo in a worried tone. "I'm positive that the blonde girl Illyana-san is a sorceress. Her power dwarfs my own. I need you to channel Lady Ketsueki so I may speak with her."

Outside Naruto and Sakura's eyes met for a second in surprise before they continued to listen.

Senkensha said tiredly, "Very well, I will call upon her." The old woman's raspy voice suddenly changed into a commanding female voice that sounded much younger. "What is it that concerns you Nazo? Senkensha has informed me you are concerned about my revival."

"Lady Ketsueki; the ninjas have a powerful sorceress with them and I believe she could pose a danger to your revival." explained Nazo.

"Interesting." said Ketsueki. "When you come to my inner chamber bring her with you. If she is powerful she could be useful to my plans."

"I do not wish to put your plans at risk my Lady." said Nazo slightly taken aback. "Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

Ketsueki sounded displeased. "Do not question my judgment Nazo. Your clan has existed solely to serve me for 500 years. Bring her to my chamber and have her pick up the false stone on the altar. I will take care of the rest. Am I understood Nazo?"

"O-of course my Lady! As your humble servant I shall see your divine will is carried out." groveled Nazo.

Senkensha's voice returned to normal. "Foolish boy!" she rasped out. "If you anger Lady Ketsueki then she will not grant us what we wish. You don't want to end up dead like your parents do you?"

"N-no!" said Nazo. "I'm not rebellious like they were."

"That's what I thought. Do Lady Ketsueki's bidding and you shall be rewarded." Senkasha cleared her throat. "Now off with you. I am tired and you clearly need rest yourself."

"Yes of course Senkensha." said Nazo as he headed towards the door.

Hearing the historian coming Naruto hand signaled Sakura and the two returned to their rooms in a body flicker….

Meanwhile in the Royal History Room….

Illyana and Hinata were going through the books that Nazo had concealed in the back of the History Room behind a hidden door. Hinata found the door's hidden switch easily enough. They were mostly in Latin and Illyana was thumbing them as Hinata searched through books in their native tongue and for anything else hidden around.

Illyana was rather excited. "These are all books of spells Hinata-chan! Some are said to have been penned by Ketsueki herself. I have hit the jackpot! If only I could use the higher level ones….well, I can in Limbo. {Lightning} of this level could be really handy….So could this {Charm of Protection}. It uses little magic so I could cast this one as is."

Hinata was thumbing one of the few in their own language. "This seems to be a book on alchemy Illyana-chan. I don't get it but I bet you would find all of this very useful."

Illyana took the alchemy book from Hinata and started gathering all the books up on a storage scroll. "What are you doing Illyana-chan?" asked Hinata with a sweat drop.

"These books are far too valuable and dangerous to be in the hands of someone like Nazo." said Illyana with a gleam in her eye. "I'm going to….appropriate them for the safety of the elemental nations. Besides, I'm sure Nazo is the only one who knows about this room and there will be no proof we were ever here. Seal!" she said as she sealed all of the books in the scroll. "Presto! It's just a room full of empty bookshelves."

Hinata stifled a giggle. "If I wasn't a ninja I'd say stealing is wrong Illyana-chan."

"It's a good thing you're a ninja then Hinata-chan." said Illyana with a smile as she formed a stepping disc. "Let's get out of here." With that the two kunoichis vanished leaving an empty room behind.

In Nazo's own quarters….

Anko was rifling through Nazo's room stealthily while he was out with Sakura and Naruto shadowing him. It had been child's play for her to pick the lock. She was currently reading a very old journal that was out on the desk with a particular page marked. The words were faded but it was clear enough for her to make them out.

The Ketsueki Stone

Lady Ketsueki created the Stone from a fragment of the Seventh Star which is actually a comet. I have no idea exactly how this was accomplished. I am too old now too journey down into the Cave of the Seven Brothers so I leave this information for my descendants. When the Seventh Star draws near Lady Ketsueki's spirit is fully revived so we can speak with her directly by channeling her spirit through ourselves. She has informed me that she is ready to inhabit a vessel until we find her a body that is appropriate for her to be reborn in.

Once we find that we can commence with the ritual to cleanse the body of impurities so she can once again walk among us. I've detailed this in full in Latin with the ancient texts so others may not read it. Once she has fully revived our clan once again will serve her as the Sorceress Supreme that she is.

I entrust this task to my Grandchildren however many generations away to ensure Lady Ketsueki's revival the next time the Seventh Star appears.

Anko quickly noted the date of the entry was over two hundred years ago. 'Given the comet arrives every one hundred and two years I guess it's safe to say this is from the time before last.' Anko was going to read some more but heard someone approaching and quickly set the journal back on Nazo's desk the way she found it and concealed herself. Soon she heard a key fumbling with the lock on the door and vanished in a body flicker to find the others.

After messing with the troublesome lock on his door; Nazo came into his room and sighed. "What a day…."

The ninja's guest rooms….

All five ninjas made it back and met in Naruto's room since it was the largest. They were all sitting together rapidly exchanging information once Naruto set up a silencing seal.

"So the old lady's a medium that can channel the spirit of Ketsueki and the grand plan is to revive her because the Seventh Star is empowering her." said Naruto.

"Don't forget she wants to meet Illyana as well." said Sakura. "That could be really dangerous so we need to protect you Illyana. If you end up in that chamber alone make sure you don't touch the fake stone on the altar."

"I wasn't planning to." said Illyana as a bright spark popped in her hand. They all were soon blinking the spots out of their eyes.

"What the hell was that Illyana-chan?!" asked Anko.

"Sorry, I was able to cast {Charm of Protection} successfully but {Lightning} is out of my reach." said Illyana.

"Well, whatever you cast was like a mini flash tag." said Naruto rubbing his eyes.

Illyana brightened up. "That's brilliant Naruto-kun! Instead of channeling the magic into power I'll channel it into light. I'll call it {Flash}."

"Whatever you call it don't do it again. My eyes are more sensitive than yours." grumbled Hinata.

"Sorry Hinata-chan!" said Illyana guiltily.

Sea Port, Moon Country Day 8

"I guess we're already to attempt the cave." said Anko as her Team and Nazo loaded aboard a sailing skiff to head out to Gake Island. It was early and the weather was clear so they could actually see the island from where they were. It was a tall island that was fairly close to the Lighthouse that marked the entrance of the harbor. It was surrounded by buoys to ward off passing ships for navigational purposes. The waves were calm some the trip was easy enough and a half hour later they beached the skiff and headed up towards the cliff with the cave on it.

Nazo pulled out a rope with a grappling hook and tossed it up towards the caves entrance thirty feet above them. Securing the rope on his first try he tested it and found it was solid. "That's pretty good." complimented Anko. "I didn't take you as the outdoor climber type."

Nazo blushed at her praise. "Oh, I've been here many times to the site. Do you need help getting up? You can use my rope."

"Nah, we're all good. See you at the cave!" said Anko as she and her team walked up the vertical surface as if it was level ground.

Ten minutes later, a huffing a puffing Nazo was greeted by Naruto who grasped the historian's hand and pulled him up. "What kept you? The rest of the team is waiting inside the cave by the wrought iron gate."

"Sorry, I'm just not superhuman like you ninjas." replied Nazo. "But I do have the key!" he said as he pulled an ornate brass key out of his pocket.

Naruto nodded. "Great! If the key doesn't work we've brought plenty of explosives." Nazo's eyes were as big as dinner plates and his face was etched with horror. Naruto laughed. "I'm sure the key will work just fine." Seeing Nazo's body sag in relief Naruto led Nazo down into the cave. Crystal lamps lined the walls as they got away from the entrance. "How do you suppose those crystals work Nazo?" asked Naruto.

"They are made of a type of phosphorescent rock that the Seven Brothers chose specifically to light this place." explained Nazo. "There are several small coastal caves all around Moon Country that are filled with these. While they are kind of rare in the rest of the world they are fairly common here." A massive portcullis came into view as well as Anko and the others. Nazo felt Hinata's glowing eyes focus upon him and felt a bit creeped out. In the dim light of the cave her eyes looked downright sinister to the Royal Historian. He wondered what she actually saw with those eyes.

"Care to open the gate Mister Historian?" asked Anko lightly.

"I'd be honored my lady." said Nazo as he pulled out the key. Turning the latch; the sounds of metal shrieking that hadn't been oiled in centuries ground upon the ears of all present and the gate rose about two feet before it ground to a halt. Once everyone's ears stopped ringing Anko looked at the solidly made gate for a second before she turned to their resident medic Sakura with a blank stare.

Sakura said, "Alright I'll do it." She slid on her gloves and (after making sure everyone was braced for the noise) pulled the gate up the rest of the way. After the sounds of metal scraping stopped she said, "Damn that thing needs to be lubed." Nazo just stared in shock at Sakura's monstrous strength and everyone else acted as if it was perfectly normal to lift multi ton iron gates on a regular basis.

Stepping into the front room Nazo walked to the center and pulled out his large copy of the map. With every step dust fine flew and the room and gave everyone the impression the room was filled with smoke. Nazo pointed towards a passage on the left. "Let's go this way." he said as he opened the door.

"Wait a second!" called Anko as Nazo stepped on a pressure point as he entered the next room. Anko tackled him to the floor which buried his face in her breasts as they hit the flor. While Nazo was in his own private heaven darts dripping in poison shot out of holes in the walls at high velocities. Hinata activated are karyudogan and stared deflecting darts with her kunai at impossible speeds. Sakura leaped up and stuck flat on the ceiling with chakra. Soon all the darts passed under her. Naruto pushed Illyana behind him and created a shield of wind chakra that protected them both from harm. Once the storm of darts had passed Anko rolled off the hapless historian who was suffering from a nosebleed and she said, "Was anyone hit or grazed?" Seeing everyone shake their heads 'no' Anko's angry gaze turned upon Nazo. "Are you a complete idiot?! You leading us into obvious traps will get us all killed!"

While Anko was reading the riot act to Nazo who was both frightened of and in love with the angry kunoichi; the others regrouped. When Sakura landed from her perch on the ceiling Hinata held a needle up she'd snatched out of the air towards the end of the barrage. "It's a fresh present for you to examination later Sakura." said Hinata with a smile.

Sakura pulled a container out of her medic kit and said, "Thank you for thinking about me and your kind gifts Hinata." She soon snapped the sterile container closed and said, "I'll formulate an antidote to this little obstacle." Seeing that Naruto and Illyana were up Sakura asked, "Are you two okay?"

Illyana nodded. "I was ready to teleport us out but Naruto-kun protected me." She hugged Naruto from behind. Naruto turned around and kissed Illyana's forehead as she leaned into him. Hearing Anko had finished with Nazo they all turned to face their team leader.

"Is everyone okay? This idiot nearly got us killed." said Anko. "I'm going to check this room before we proceed" she said as she hopped up onto the ceiling of the dart room and looked around. "I count seventeen floor pressure points and sixty dart launchers between the four walls. Do you see anything Hinata? I know you've got better eyes than I do."

Hinata hopped up on the ceiling beside Anko and reactivated her karyuhdogan. "There's energy gathering around the dart launchers and behind them. I think they are reloading as hard as it seems to believe."

Illyana sensed magic in the walls as well as around them. She then sensed Lady Ketsueki's presence. It was as if the spirit was trying to probe the young sorceress' mind but Illyana's psychic shields were far too strong for Ketsueki to penetrate (After all, Illyana's psychic defenses couldn't be breached by the likes of Professor Xavier).

"The next doorway has scorch marks around the edge Anko-sensei." said Hinata. "I don't think proceeding this way would be wise"

"Let's go back and take another path Hinata-chan. I'm not in the mood to be roasted." said Anko. "We'll take the right path."

Nazo looked terrified suddenly "I-I don't think we should go that way."

"Let's just peek in then." said Anko as she led the group out. Everyone got in a defensive position as Anko opened the door to the right of the entry room. Inside was a mummified corpse propped in a sitting position with a straight sword lying beside it. Anko checked the floor and walls carefully before she said, "The only thing in this room is this body. It's safe to enter."

Nazo rushed over to the corpse and kneeled in front of it. Then he started muttering under his breath as he went through hand motions. When he finished he turned to the others. "I'm terribly sorry about that but I needed to say a prayer for this fallen one. I believe from the necklace this may be an ancestor of mine." He picked up the sword and removed the necklace and said to the body, "I will carry on in your place." Nazo went to place the necklace around his own neck and suddenly started choking. He then passed out and dropped the necklace to the floor.

The necklace flew back to the body and the corpse rose and picked up the blade. In an instant Illyana moved and struck it down with her soul sword. The corpse collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. She retrieved the sword from it and cast a minor detection spell. "It's no longer animated." said Illyana. She retrieved the necklace as well but noticed the crystal was burnt out.

Hinata was examining it with her karyudogan in silence. She was about to say something when Nazo gasped and jolted awake. "W-what happened?!" he asked panicked.

"You fainted and dropped the sword and necklace you were carrying Nazo." said Illyana as she handed him the items. "Here you go. If you're having fainting spells it's best that we pull out before you are hurt."

Nazo silently accepted the weapon and the necklace. He said, "I'm terribly sorry about all of this. I'll study this sword tonight. Perhaps it has some significance."

Illyana hand signaled to Anko [Later] at her sensei's questioning eyes. Anko nodded.

"Alright, let's head back." said the Jonin. The disgruntled group got back to the Royal Palace and left Nazo in the care of the medics there. He wasn't hurt but he was shaken up.

The ninjas soon regrouped in their quarters under a silencing seal. Anko said, "Can you explain what happened back their Illyana-chan?"

Illyana nodded. "I believe that Nazo now possesses the Seven Star sword which was supposed to hold the will of one of the tomb's guardians called the Seven Sleepers."

"More sevens?" groaned Sakura.

"I'm afraid so." chuckled Illyana weakly. "When Nazo went over to 'pray for his ancestor' he was actually attempting to cast a spell. I think it failed and that's why he convulsed and passed out. When the necklace returned to the body it suddenly sprang up but my soul sword shattered whatever magic was involved and 'killed' it. I'd lay odds the Seven Sleepers are all bodies with weapons nearby. I'm going to look it up to try to prove my theory tonight…."

The group had dinner that night and expressed concern that maybe Nazo wasn't up to the task to King Michiru and Lady Amayo. In the end it was all for naught because Senkensha convinced the royal couple that Nazo absolutely must go because only he had the necessary knowledge necessary. Anko and the others weren't at all surprised about this but it did confirm Senkensha definitely had the King's ear.

Port City, Fire Country Day 9

Itachi and Kisame arrived safely back in Fire Country aboard on the Royal Cruise Liner Paradise feeling rested and refreshed. It turned out the former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist was quite talented at playing shuffleboard. Even the always stoic Itachi was impressed.

"It's been a nice vacation. We should go on searches of this nature again sometime." said Itachi with a completely straight face.

Kisame burst into laughter. "Bwahaha! Maybe we should try to convince Leader that we've picked up their trail to another scenic spot."

"All in due time Kisame." said the Uchiha. "All in due time." Itachi looked out over the sea. 'I wonder what my foolish little brother is doing right now….'

Back on the Ship of Fools….

The Windbreaker was riding roughly over the waves in a tropical storm they ran into on the way out of Sea Country. Everything was pretty much lashed down that could be as the ship and crew rode the violent storm out. Being a relatively light vessel the Windbreaker was pretty much at the mercy of the elements. Down on the main deck where Team Hebi was staying; hay and all kinds of animal residue were flying hither and yon around them. Amongst all the debris soaring about in defiance of gravity the only positive thing that Team Hebi could really see about the situation was at least all the livestock were gone….

By this point Sasuke and Jūgo were both nauseous from the ship bucking up and down and Suigetsu was completely seasick. It didn't make much sense that the shark toothed member of Team Hebi was constantly hurling given he could turn into water but regardless Karin thought it was hilarious to see him suffering and was enjoying the feeling of the boat being tossed about like it was an amusement park ride. Watching the red haired Uzumaki cackling madly as Suigetsu dry heaved again; Sasuke couldn't help but think of a blonde haired Uzumaki who also enjoyed this sort of thing. 'Karin told me she was an Uzumaki but I never imagined she was really actually related to the dobe. This insanity must run in their clan….Oh god….I think I'm going to hurl….' "BLEEAARRGH!"

Like a chain reaction; seeing Sasuke completely lose his lunch right beside him sent Jūgo's precarious control over his stomach out the window as well and Suigetsu once again started dry heaving….Ignoring her other teammate's suffering Karin stopped cackling and insulting Suigetsu and hopped over to Sasuke's side. "My poor, poor Sasuke-kun! Let Karin-chan take care of you and nurse you back to health!" she said in a saccharine voice.

Jūgo couldn't decide whether everyone's synchronized vomiting or Karin turning from an evil, cackling maniac into such a sweet caring angel that it nearly threw him into diabetic shock was worse….feeling his stomach shifting itself into reverse gear again; Jūgo prayed, 'Sweet Kami-sama just take me now! This is worse than hell! Please send bolts of lightning to kill me in an instant!' Alas, the suffering man's prayers went unanswered….

Sea Port, Moon Country

"Man, I had no idea you guys had storms like these in Moon Country!" said Naruto as he watched the tropical storm bluster outside. "When Sakura and I were here the first time it seemed like it was perpetual summer."

"Well, we do get storms here occasionally but they usually aren't this heavy." groused Nazo. He was chomping at the bit to get back to the cave now that he had the Seven Stars sword to defend himself with. Lady Ketsueki's revival was so close he could taste it!

Anko came over beside Naruto. "They predict the storm will blow over by tomorrow. We may as well relax. Gake Island isn't going anywhere. Illyana-chan is studying what we found in the first floor. She said that there may be stuff in the lower levels a lot more dangerous than what we ran into trap wise. It surprises me others haven't disturbed the place treasure hunting before though."

Nazo piped up, "Many have but most haven't lived to tell the tale. That's how it got the reputation of being cursed to begin with. If our soothsayer hadn't put together the signs and the Seventh Star hadn't appeared then I doubt we would be exploring at all. Forgive me for being unprepared yesterday."

"I guess we'll take another crack at it tomorrow morning then Nazo." said Anko with a sigh. "Come on Naruto, there are matters to be discussed."

Naruto shrugged and followed Anko off. The pair was soon back in Naruto's room where the others were waiting for them. Once they entered Naruto once again activated a silencing tag. "What have we found out?" asked Naruto.

Illyana said, "Well, I have confirmed that we did meet one of the Seven Sleepers and it wielded the Seven Star sword. I figure that's why Nazo freaked out about that room. I don't have any more information on the sword though so we'll have to see if Nazo spills some information on that. Oh, Hinata-chan and I also have figured out that the traps in there are magically replenished. There's no way darts with fresh poison would be sitting there after hundreds of years."

"So you actually can see magic Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto.

Hinata nodded. "Yes, I see it much the way I see weak points now. Actually it's much the same as the way I saw chakra back when I had the byakugan.

"It's really interesting from a medical point of view." said Sakura. "The karyuhdogan and byakugan have similarities for obvious reasons but it's as if they see different frequencies in the spectrum."

"What about the poison Sakura, any luck?" asked Anko.

"I've already made an immunization." said Sakura holding up a vial. "I'm in the process of brewing enough for all of us. We're lucky that our rooms each have a kitchenette attached so we can work."

"Speaking of brewing, I think some tea is in order my cute apprentice." said Anko.

"Sorry Anko-sensei but Sakura has the stove taken up so it will have to wait." said Illyana apologetically. "Come to think of it, I'm putting that {Charm of Protection} on everybody just in case. I've mastered the spell now and it can't hurt."

"What about Nazo?" asked Hinata.

Illyana and Anko answered as one. "Let him rot."

POSTSCRIPT:

Well, I hated to leave a cliffhanger of sorts but the journey through the Cave of the Seven Brothers was just too darn big to fit in one chapter so we just had the prelude. Next chapter is tentatively named Into the Pit. Blue out. 5/8/15