OMG I'm so sorry for the delay, two years, I am so bad. And after I promised to be quicker with he updates. It's okay if you hate me. Truth be told I don't know when I would have updated if it wasn't for the sweet message I got from a reader some time ago. I feel so old, this story is over 7 years old now and I haven't even managed more than 36 chapters, wow. I have to up my game. Anyway you might want to reread the last two-three chapters before getting into this one, that's what I did. Hope you like it.

Chapter 36 - Something Sheepish

"Oh man, this is the best sushi I've ever tasted," Obito said after he'd finished the last bite and thrown the empty plastic container into the nearest trashcan. "You guys should get some, the sushi back home tasted like cardboard compared to this stuff." Obito rubbed his belly.

"We'll have to get some on our way back then," Minato said. "Looks like our ride has arrived."

The others were quick to look into the direction that Minato pointed and sure enough they could see the red cart in the distance.

When the horse-pulled cart stopped in front of them the driver jumped down from his seat to greet them.

"You must be the team from the Leaf Village," he said. "I am Tahiko, welcome to our humble islands."

"Thank you," Minato said, inclining his head. "I am Minato Namikaze, the leader of this team and these are Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, and Kushina Uzumaki."

"Uzumaki huh?" Tahiko said. "You wouldn't happen to be from the Land of Whirlpool, would you?" He eyed Kushina who gasped in surprise.

"Y-yes I am, how do you know of my country?" She asked.
"I once met a man from there, a long time ago, now that I've come to think of it, his name was Uzumaki too, Kashi… Arashi? Yes, Arashi Uzumaki was his name, do you know him?"

"M-my uncle," Kushina stammered. "He died a year ago, he never told me about this place."

"Oh," Tahiko said, bowing his head. "Please accept my sincerest condolences. I liked the man, and I heard about your country too."

"Thank you," Kushina said, too stunned to say anything more, not only had this man known her uncle but he also knew of her country's fate, it turned out her home country wasn't so little known after all.

"Please, I've made room for you in the back of the cart," Tahiko said, gesturing to his red vehicle. The journey to my home won't be more than an hour, an hour and a half at best."

"Thank you," Minato said, then gesturing to his students he said, "Alright, you heard the man, get your stuff into he cart."

About half an hour into the journey Obito and Kushina were both getting sick from riding on the bumpy road. Karachi was wearing a mask so he couldn't be certain but Minato suspected that Kakashi was a little road sick as well. Rin was admiring the view. There was nothing but green hills and ocean water in sight, and sheep, lots and lots of sheep. It was no mystery where this country had gotten its name.

"Say, Mr. Tahiko," Rin said. "How many sheep do you have exactly?"

Tahiko laughed. "Yes most tourists ask about the sheep, well I'll say there are about twice as many sheep as there are people," he said. "I myself have twenty of them. My wife will have a lovely lamb's leg prepared for our dinner tonight, it's our specialty."

"Really?" Kushina asked while trying to steady herself in the back of the cart. "I'd have thought your specialty was whale meat."

This time Tahiko didn't laugh. "I can see why you'd think that given why you're here," he said. "But no. The whale meat isn't a big part of our culture."

"But you do eat it, right?" Rin said, having seemingly gotten bored of watching the never-changing landscape.

"Yes we do," Tahiko said. And he said no more after that but stayed quiet for the rest of the ride.

Tahiko's wife welcomed them into their home, which was located in Hammerville, the biggest town in the country, according to what Minato had read. It was a lot bigger than the Leaf Village for sure.

It was beautiful and colorful like his own village and a lot bigger than what he'd expected for such a small country. To get there Tahiko had driven them through several mountain tunnels, one of them located under the water to cross between two of the islands. It was incredible.

The first thing Tahiko did was show everyone the guest rooms that had been prepared for them. It was a pretty big house but they only had two extra rooms it seemed.

"There are two beds in each room but we've got enough mattresses in the basement for everyone. We weren't sure how many members your team would have," Tahiko explained.

"This will do fine," Minato assured the man. "We'll only need one extra mattress."

After Tahiko left for the basement Minato dumped his bag on the floor of the first room.

"Obito and Kakashi, you will share a room with me, I'll sleep on the floor and each of you can have a bed, Rin and Kushina you each take a bed in the other room, I think that will be the most comfortable solution for everyone."

There was a murmur of agreement, though Obito and Kakashi looked displeased at the idea. Kushina was secretly pleased that she didn't have to share a room with Kakashi and saw this as an excellent opportunity to better acquaint herself with Minato's only female student.

"Now let's unpack, and then we will meet downstairs for dinner," Minato said and Kushina followed Rin into the guest room across from them.

Somewhere on the ocean not that far away Tsunade and Orochimaru were surprised to see a very sober Jiraiya returning from the bar.

So how was it? Feel free to review if you think I deserve it, I want to know how many are still reading this. I won't tell you when I'll update again because let's face it we don't know but I am on a Naruto high right now so might not be that long. if you're still reading this in 2017 I love you.