Chapter 3

AN: Hello once again everyone and I am still amazed by how popular this story is becoming. It already has 217 Followers, 189 Favorites, 45 Reviews, 4 Communities, and nearly 4,400 views. Anyway not much else to say at this time so I will answer a few reviews…

Jebest4781: That probably won't happen since I have never seen the Gargoyles show before.

Ultima-Owner: Huh never really thought of it like that but it would kinda make sense.

FoxDemon1023: It will follow the movie plot but there will be slight changes and expanding on some areas due to Naruto being involved. For instance the whole travel montage after the leviathan attack will still happen but I will expand on it to add some character development for some of the characters.

Wolf's Bar: I have the basic plot of the whole story fully planned out in my head.

Rebmul: Regarding Kurama that could work but would likely take a LONG time.

Blaze1992: You seem to be forgetting that this isn't a carbon copy of the Naruto from Canon in regards to his mind-set. Also you answered your own question regarding him staying out of history since he has no powers other than Henge, and Tree-Climbing Exercise at his disposal.

Rebirthed King: He spent nearly 8,500 years alone after the sinking of Atlantis. As for Seals and friends he was trying to keep a extremely low profile, and from what I understand seals require specialized ink infused with chakra something he isn't able to make considering his lack of chakra usage due to his injuries.

Darkwarp: Already answered your review via PM.

Anyway I am pleased to present to all of you the next chapter of Fox of Atlantis which will cover up to immediately after the Leviathan attack..hopefully. Oh and before I forget remember that I will not be going into great detail regarding everyone's appearance since they look exactly the same as in the movie.

Naruto was currently sitting in the passenger seat of Helga's car as she drove them to her employer's home. Normally he would have been extremely cautious about blindly following someone to meet with their mysterious boss but his gut was telling him that this was a meeting he couldn't afford to miss. As the rain continued to pour and lighting flashing every so often they pulled up to and into a gated driveway with a large "W" in the iron archway above it.

They drove up the long driveway and Naruto's eyes widened upon seeing the large mansion at the end of it. After parking the car Helga led Naruto into the mansion where his eyes once again widened at seeing all of the various ancient artifacts and suits of armor. Naruto idly makes his way over to one of the suits of armor to get a better look at it only to stop when Helga says "This way please, and don't drip on the Caravaggio" referring to the expensive rug beneath their feet.

Helga leads Naruto to an elevator and says "Step lively Mr. Whitmore does not like to be kept waiting" as she enters it with Naruto following close behind. After the door shuts and the elevator begins to descend Helga turns to Naruto and begins straitening his shirt and jacket "You will address him as "Mr. Whitmore" or "Sir". You will stand unless asked to be seated. Keep your sentences short and to the point are we clear?" she says causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow and nod dumbly.

The elevator stops and the door opens revealing a dimly lit room with walls filled with various pictures and artifacts. On the left side of the room there is a large bookcase filled to the brim with books, while on the left side there is a large Aquarium that takes up the entire wall. Naruto steps out into the curious as to who this Mr. Whitmore when he hears Helga comment "Relax he doesn't bite…Often" mischievously before closing the elevator door.

Naruto walks further into the room inspecting the various artifacts before spotting the aquarium which to his shock has a pair of live Coelacanth swimming around in it. He then notices a large framed portrait above the fireplace of two men standing side by side. His eyes widen when spots one man in particular "Old Man?" he says as the man he recognizes is in fact none other than his adoptive grandfather.

Naruto takes another step towards the picture when he hears someone say "Finest explorer I ever met." Causing him to look to the side where he sees an elderly man in a blue bath robe doing yoga who looks the same as the one in the portrait. The man turns to Naruto and smiles "Preston Whitmore, pleasure to meet you Naruto" he says before going into another yoga pose causing his bones to crack.

Naruto looks on as the Whitmore begins another yoga pose this one cracking his back before asking "Did you really know the Old Man?"

Mr. Whitmore shifts to another yoga pose before chuckling "Oh yeah met old Thaddeus back in Georgetown. We in the Class of '66 together and stayed close friends till the end of his days. He even dragged me along on some of his danged fool expeditions. Thatch was crazy than a fruit bat he was, spoke of you often though." he says before shifting to where his lower torso is straight up in the air.

Naruto seeing what is about to happen quickly kneels down to eye level with Mr. Whitmore just in time as his bathrobe falls down due to gravity. Naruto looks Mr. Whitmore in the eye before saying "Funny he never mentioned you" with his eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion.

Mr. Whitmore hearing this just chuckles "Oh he wouldn't, he knew how much I value my privacy and keep a low profile. Now I bet you are wondering why you are here? Well take a look on that table" he says before pointing to a table that has a wrapped package on it. Naruto walks over to the table and picks the package up his eyes widening at seeing it addressed to him from his grandfather. Mr. Whitmore stands up and does a few stretches "Thatch brought that package to me years ago. He said that if anything were to happen to him I was to give it to you when everything was ready" he says.

Hearing this Naruto raises an eyebrow in curiosity before unwrapping the package. Upon seeing that the packages is none other than the Shepherd's Journal Naruto nearly drops it in shock. Naruto hesitantly runs his hand over the cover of the book before turning towards Mr. Whitmore "It's the Shepherd's Journal the key to finding Atlantis!" he says.

Mr. Whitmore finishes pouring himself and drinking two cups of red wine before laughing "Atlantis good one I wasn't born yesterday, son" he says before going behind a changing screen.

Naruto narrows his eyes hearing this and opening the book "No look coordinates, clues it's all right here" he says.

Mr. Whitmore pokes his head out from behind the changing screen and takes a look at the page "It just looks like gibberish to me" he states dryly before going back behind the screen.

Naruto's eyes narrow even more as he begins to get frustrated "That's because it is written in a dialect that no longer exists but it is clear as day to me. I have spent my whole life studying ancient dialects and I can assure you that this is in fact the genuine Shepherd's Journal. I would be able to tell if it was a fake…My Grandfather would have been able to tell if it was a fake. I will stake everything I own and believe in even my own life that this is the real thing." he says trying to convince Mr. Whitmore.

Mr. Whitmore steps out from behind the screen dressed in a white suit and brown tie. He looks to Naruto for a moment before taking a seat at a table near the aquarium. Naruto follows him and stands behind a chair on the opposite side. Mr. Whitmore studies the look in Naruto's eyes for a moment "All right, so what do you want to do with it?" he asks.

Naruto's eyes widen for a moment in surprise before saying "I'll get funding I mean the museum-They'll never believe you" only to get interrupted by Mr. Whitmore. Naruto's eyes narrow as he says "I'll show them, make them believe!" he states.

Mr. Whitmore just smirks "Like you did today?" he says with a sarcastic attitude.

Naruto narrows his eyes at hearing this "YES…Wait No…how did you? Never mind I will get to Atlantis no matter what even if I HAVE TO SWIM THERE!" he yells full of determination.

Mr. Whitmore just steeples his fingers together in front of his face as he smirks "Congratulations Naruto, that is exactly the kind the kind of determination I wanted to hear. However forget swimming son, we'll travel in style!" he says before pushing a button on the table. The top of the table slides away as a bunch of models of various vehicles including various trucks, one that has a large drill on the front, a hot air balloon with several smaller balloons connected to a larger one. There are also trucks with small single seat vehicles resembling airplanes. Finally there are small sub-pod looking vehicles, one that resembles a transport sub of some kind, and the center piece which is a massive submarine that's defining characteristics are the small little domed turrets on top of it and the large sphere-shaped glass command bridge.

Naruto kneels down and looks at the models in shock as Mr. Whitmore continues "It has all been arranged, the whole ball of wax" he says before getting a whispered "Why?" from Naruto. Mr. Whitmore places his hand on Naruto's shoulder "For years your granddad bent my ear with stories of that darn book and I didn't buy it for a minute. Finally I got fed up and made a bet with the old coot that if he ever found that darn journal not only would I finance the expedition but also kiss him full on the mouth…" he says before showing a picture of both him and Thatch spitting and wiping their mouths off "Imagine my surprise when he found the darn thing" he finishes getting a chuckle from Naruto.

Mr. Whitmore sets the picture down before walking towards the portrait of him and Thatch above the fireplace "Now I know your granddad's gone Naruto, but Preston Whitmore is a man who keeps his word. You hear that Thatch? I'm going to the afterlife with a clear conscience by thunder!" he yells tapping the portrait with his cane. Mr. Whitmore then sighs sadly "Your grandpa was a great man Naruto. You probably don't realize how great, but those buffoons at the museum dragged him down and made a laughing stock of him…he died a broken man. If I could bring back just one shred of proof that he was right that would be enough for me" he says solemnly. Mr. Whitmore then turns around and smile "Well what are we standing around for? We got work to do!" he states energetically.

This sudden change of mood surprises Naruto for a moment before he says "But Mr. Whitmore we will need a crew, geologists, engineers, doctors…" he begins.

Mr. Whitmore just chuckles before laying out a sheet of papers with the profiles of various people on them "Got them all the best in their fields…Gaetan Moliere, geology and excavation, the man has a nose for dirt" he says pointing to a picture of smiling man with a goggled helmet accompanied by a headlamp. He then points to another picture which is clearly a prison mug shot "Vincenzo Santorini, demolitions, busted him out of a Turkish Prison". Next he points to a picture of a girl likely no older than 17 or 18 wearing a engineers hat "Audrey Ramirez, engineer don't let her age fool you as she has forgotten more about engines than you or I combined will ever know. They 're the same crew who brought the journal back" he says not mentioning the names of the other members of the team.

Naruto raises an eye hearing this and asks "Where was it?".

Mr. Whitmore places a photo on the table of the team consisting of the same people whose profiles are before him with the addition of Thadeus Thatch. However Naruto notices that this Audrey girl isn't in the picture but there is a man wearing the same style of clothes that resembles her which causes Naruto to think that said man is her father. Mr. Whitmore then smirks as he says "Iceland!" after a dramatic pause getting a "I KNEW IT!" from Naruto.

Mr. Whitmore chuckles at this before he looks at Naruto "All we need know is an expert in gibberish. So it's decision time. You can build on the foundation your grandfather left you or you can go back to your boiler room at the museum" he says.

Naruto stand there for a moment in shock as he processes everything and that after so long he finally can get back to Atlantis. After a few minutes he smirks and says "I'm your man Mr. Whitmore, but first I will need to quit my job, pack, and-Already done don't like to leave loose ends" only for Mr. Whitmore cuts him off. Naruto is silent for a moment at having found out that Mr. Whitmore is two steps ahead of him "Well what about my cat?" he asks only to hear a meow and his cat to jump up on his shoulder.

Mr. Whitmore stands up and walks over to Naruto "Your granddad had a saying, "Our lives are remembered, by the gifts we leave our children". This journal is his gift to you Naruto, Atlantis is waiting" he says.

Naruto smiles fondly at the journal for a moment before smirking "Well then what are we waiting for!" he nearly yells.

A few days later Naruto is standing on the deck of a large ship as it sails through the Atlantic Ocean towards the point where the crew will begin their descent and search for Atlantis. As he leans against the ships railing Naruto idly caresses the crystal necklace hidden beneath his shirt. It was the same necklace that the King and Queen of Atlantis gifted him with during his stay there before its fall, and the only reason he is where he is today. Without the necklace he would have died during the sinking of Atlantis and or to the passing of time. It honestly blew his mind that thanks mainly to such a small thing he finally had a chance to return to the one place he had felt at home in his entire life.

Sure he lived in Konoha but it never really felt like a home to him. A home is suppose to be a place you feel safe, look forward to coming back to, have people there waiting for you simply because they care about or love you none of which he ever felt or received in Konoha. However there was the exception to this regarding Hinata.

He honestly couldn't believe how dense he was regarding her feelings towards him. To be honest he kind of blames it on his parents as both of them were pretty dense at first regarding their own feelings for each other. The sad thing was that he kind of suspected that he knew of her feelings for him at a subconscious level but due to his lack of a proper childhood had no idea how to respond to them. This really wasn't a shock as during his early years not once was he ever shown actual "love" or had anyone tell him that he was loved. If he was completely honest with himself he could actually picture himself discovering what love is and falling in love with Hinata. Of course he had now obviously discovered what love is after being alive for over 8,500 years but still had yet to fall in love or to be more precise fall in love and had it reciprocated as he had fallen in love with Hinata during his time of isolation while the world advanced. Obviously he was unable to act on his love and had come to terms with it and would always hold a special place for Hinata in his heart.

To be perfectly honest he actually hoped that the dream world that the Infinite Tsukiyomi trapped Hinata in was one where she could experience the love he had for her and could live happily with the dream version of him.

Naruto is snapped out of his thoughts when he hears the ship intercom come to life "Attention all hands to the launch bay. To whoever took the "L" from the Motor Pool sign ha-ha we are all very amused" the female voice says before cutting out. Naruto chuckles a bit before pulling an "L" from within his jack and throwing it overboard into the ocean. Even after being alive so long he still had a penchant for playing pranks. Naruto then began making his way to the launch bay passing by the many vehicles that are part of the expedition.

He then spots a blonde haired woman and walks over to her "Excuse me I need to report in?" he says getting the woman's attention.

The woman turns revealing herself to be none other than Helga Sinclair before she says "Yes Mr. Uzumaki?" surprising him.

He is about to say something when a voice cuts in saying "Blondie I got a bone to pick with you" as a old man whose appearance just screams prospector in the back of a wagon is lowered down via a hook.

Helga sighs as she looks at Natuto and says "Hold that thought" she then turns to look at the man and asks "What is it now Cookie?"

The now named Cookie reaches down into the wagon and pulls up a box "You done stuffed my wagon full to bustin' with non-essentials. Look it all this Cinnamon, Oregano, Cilantro. What in the cockadoodle is Cilantro…and what is this?" he says throwing various jars from the box before throwing the whole box, then picks up a green leafy head.

Helga just rolls her eyes at this "That would be lettuce" she says causing getting "Lettuce ugh…Lettuce" from Cookie in response. Helga then grabs the head of lettuce from Cookie and holds it up "It's a vegetable Cookie the men need the four basic food groups."

Cookie just crosses his arms hearing this says "I got your four basic food groups, Beans, Bacon, Whiskey, and Lard" he says counting off each on his fingers.

A siren starts to ring right before Helga shoves the lettuce into Cookie "All right, cowboy pack it up and move it out" she says before walking off.

While this whole ordeal was going on Naruto just stood there watching in amusement and silently chuckling to himself. However when the same female voice from before comes over the intercom telling everyone to head to the launch bay and that final loading was in progress he makes his way to a cargo elevator. He steps onto the elevator with a bunch of the other crew before it begins lowering them all down to the launch bay.

In the launch bay Naruto sees the massive submarine that will ferry the crew to Atlantis along with various crew members and vehicles boarding and being loaded up. As he makes his way towards the submarine someone bumps into the back of him.

Naruto turns to see a stack of crates filled with sticks of dynamite and other such explosives being pushed in a wheelbarrow by the man he recognizes from the profile picture as Vincenzo Snatorini or "Vinny" for short. Naruto is about to say something when Vinny cuts him of by saying "Hey junior if you're looking for the pony rides they're back there" he says thumbing behind him before walking off.

As he walks by Naruto notices a stick of dynamite on the floor and picks it up "Hey you drop a stick of dynamite" he says alerting Vinny causing him to stop and Naruto walks up to him handing him the dynamite. Naruto then begins eyeing the various explosives and asks "So what else do you have in their?"

Vinny tosses the stick of dynamite into the pile "Oh eh gunpowder, nitroglycerin, notepads, fuses, wicks, glue, and…paperclips big ones" he says listing off the stuff he as while bringing his hands up to show the size of his paperclips "You know just uh office supplies" he finishes with a chuckle.

Naruto also chuckles hearing this "What about letter openers, staples, and a stapler?" he jokes getting a chuckle and smirk in response from Vinny before he walks off to board the sub.

As he nears the submarine he is spotted by Mr. Whitmore who is bearing a blue sea captains jacket and hat walking next to a tall man wearing a brown button up jacket and pants "Naruto! Where have you been? I want to introduce you to meet Commander Rourke he lead the Iceland team that brought the journal back" he says.

Rourke looks at Naruto and smiles before extending his hand which Naruto grabs and shakes "Naruto Uzumaki pleasure to meet the grandson of old Thaddeus. Although I have to ask why is you name Uzumaki instead of Thatch like your grandfather?" he asks politely.

Naruto smiles a bit hearing this "Well I am not actually his grandson by blood. I was actually an orphan and after finding this out Old Man Thatch ended up adopting me" he says explaining the situation.

Rourke just chuckles at hearing this "That's just like old Thaddeus to do such a thing" he says before spotting the Shepherd's Journal in Naruto's hands "I see you got that old journal. Nice pictures but I prefer a good western myself" he says getting a chuckle from Naruto.

Mr. Whitmore then elbows Naruto a few times in the side playfully with and says "Pretty impressive eh?" referencing the submarine and everything.

Naruto just nods before saying "When you settle a bet you really settle a bet" as the three make their way towards the nearest boarding ramp.

Mr. Whitmore chuckles a bit before saying "Well your granddad used to say that you couldn't put a price on the pursuit of knowledge" with a fond smile of remembrance.

Naruto smiles a bit hearing this before saying "Believe me this will be small change compared to the value of what we are going to learn on this trip".

Rourke then smiles before he chimes in saying "Yes this should be enriching for all of us".

Before anything else can be said the intercom announces that launch will commence in 15 minutes. Hearing this Rourke , and Naruto say their goodbyes to Mr. Whitmore before walking up the boarding ramp into the sub while Mr. While tells Naruto to make them proud. Crew members then close and lock the various doors and hatches of the sub.

After all of this is done Rourke who is now standing on the command deck of the submarine which is located in the large glass sphere at the front of the sub turns to Helga and says "Lieutenant, take her down."

Helga then steps forward before saying "Diving officer submerge the ship, make the depth one-five-zero feet" getting an "AYE!" in response as the various crew members pulls levers and turn switches as the clamps holding the ship up above the water in the launch bay release. The sub splashes down into the water as Mr. Whitmore watches on giving them all a thumb up before crossing his fingers behind his back with his other hand.

The sub begins to sink into the depths emptying its ballast tanks which create bubbles. In the command bridge Naruto stands next to the glass viewports and watches the ship sink into the depths with an anxious smile on his face. After waiting for so long he was finally on his back to Atlantis, and finally on his way back home.

End Chapter 3

Quick End AN: Well there is chapter three and the crew is finally on their way to Atlantis. Now I KNOW I said I would likely cover all the way up to immediately after the Levaithan attack. But this chapter was starting to drag on and was already over 4,000 words long at the point I ended it so I decide to save the Leviathan attack for next chapter.