Chapter 7:

AN: Hello everyone I am finally back with another chapter. Now I would first like to apologize as I had intended to have this out by Christmas as a present for all of you that are enjoying it and as a thank you for all of your support.

However life reared its distracting head and I was really busy. Then Christmas, My Birthday and New Years rolled around. I ended up binging Seasons 6 and 7 of Game of Thrones which I got or Christmas along with Deadpool and Logan.

Then New Years rolled around and I decided to celebrate for once which was a mistake….still can't remember what happened between 8 pm New Years and the morning of January 2nd…I do get flashes of being on Fan Fiction though so there is that.

Anyway time to answer a few reviews…

NecrorexSparda: Haven't thought about yet but it likely won't happen so won't need to worry about it. As for who Naruto will replace in my Naruto x TP crossover he will be replacing Jim.

UxoriousBark: Will try to soon.

Ultima-owner: Considering what the consequences were of his actions the King's choice was understandable.

Blaze1992: Will likely leave her fate up to a coin toss.

Well that's all for reviews this time around however I thank all of you who reviewed.

Now before I start the chapter I have come to a decision regarding what to do next. I have decided that I will cover the sequel before jumping into my Naruto x Treasure Planet story. However if the Atlantis sequel leaves Netflix and I have finished this story then I will shift over to my Naruto x Treasure Planet story until I am able to buy it.

Oh and one last thing I am going to be doing something new at the end of these start of chapter Author Notes and begin recommending a story I come across and really enjoy. So without delay the honor of being the first recommended story goes to…"The Good Left Undone" by Darth Malleus, It is an absoulutely AMAZING Naruto x Star Wars crossover that starts/takes place at the start of Order 66. Now I won't say anything more as to avoid spoilers but it is excellently written and REALLY enjoyable to read.

Naruto smiles as he walks over towards the King and kneeling down on one knee with his head slightly bowed. The King chuckles seeing this "Rise my friend you know that you don't ever have to kneel before me" he says.

Naruto chuckles as he gets up before sitting down on a nearby stone "Old habits die hard, besides it's been awhile" he says.

The King smiles "That it has my friend. How did you survive as when your clone told me that you hadn't made it inside the barrier I thought you died" he asks.

Naruto smiles as he rubs his crystal necklace "I think it was due to her majesty that I survived" he says shocking the King. Naruto sighs before continuing to explain "When the wave hit me I was slammed into the barrier. However when this happened the barrier's energy somehow resonated with my chakra and created a protective bubble around me" he says explaining his survival.

The King nodded in understanding remembering how versatile Naruto's chakra was "But how does my late wife factor into all of this?" he asks.

Naruto rubs the back of his neck "My theory is that before her passing her majesty commanded the Sacred Crystal's energy to temporarily combine with my chakra to form the bubble-like barrier that saved me. However this had the unintended consequence of further damaging my chakra coils even further" he says finishing his explanation.

The King leaned back in his seat absorbing everything he had been told. To think his beloved wife had even managed to save Naruto before her passing. The King wiped a lone tear from his eye "How badly were your coils damaged?" he asks.

Naruto sighs tiredly "I am now only able to use it to alter my strength and speed to slight super-human levels, alter my appearance using my Henge jutsu, and use my Tree/Water-walking jutsu" he says.

The King's expression saddens hearing this "I'm sorry to hear that Naruto I know how much your jutsu's meant to you" he says.

Naruto smiles sadly as his jutsu were one of the few things he had linking him to his people. Despite all the hardship he had gone through back in his home dimension it was still his home dimension. It was where he spent almost 17 years of his life. Where his parents were from and where they sacrificed their lives for him.

The blonde former shinobi waves his hand dismissively "It's alright I have long since come to terms with it. Anyway after I was washed away I ended up living in isolation waiting for technology to reach a point where I could search for the Atlantis…though I did go crazy for about a century" he says.

The King raises an eyebrow hearing this "You went crazy?" he asks finding it kind of hard to believe that Naruto of all people would go insane if he hadn't after everything he went through back in his home dimension.

Naruto chuckles sheepishly "Yeah but I have no memory of what happened in that period of time…though I have been getting snippets of it every now and then" he says rubbing the back of his neck as ever since he had started reading the Shepherd's Journal he has been getting flashes of what happened when he went insane.

The King chuckles a bit hearing this "Well it is great to have you back my friend and I assume you will be staying when the group you came with leaves in the morning?" he asks.

Naruto smiles amusedly hearing this "Yeah that is the plan, though I still need to think of an excuse to tell the group as to my staying behind" he says thinking about how he couldn't just tell the group that he was an over 8,500 year old citizen of Atlantis that survived its sinking.

The King nods in understanding "Well it was good seeing you again and welcome home. However I sadly have to cut our reunion short as I need some rest" he says tiredly.

Naruto nods his head in understanding before his expression turns serious "Understood old friend and it was great seeing you again as well. However before I go and tour the city I have to ask…How long to do you have left?" he asks.

The King sighs tiredly hearing this "I was hoping you had not noticed that. Even with the crystals healing and life prolonging capabilities my age has finally caught up to me. The healer has given me 6 months to a year left to live though it could be as little as 3 months if I overexert myself too much" he says with an air of accepting his own mortality.

Naruto's eyes widen in shock before his expression becomes downcast. It really wasn't a massive surprise that the King was nearing the end of his life as he was nearly 20,000 years old as he was already nearly 12,000 years old when Atlantis sank. Naruto sighs somberly "I see my friend and I will be by your side till the end" he says.

The King smiles hearing this knowing that when he passes Naruto will be around to help guide Kida when she becomes Queen. He then turns to Naruto "Thank you Naruto now why don't you go look around the city" he says tiredly before leaning back in his seat.

Naruto smiles before standing up "Will do and it's great to be home" he says before turning around and walking out of the throne room. As he was making his way down the throne room steps and along the walkway leading to it Naruto was oblivious to the fact that someone was watching him from the shadows.

As he walked by one of the stone pillars on the side of the path a hand suddenly shot out from behind him covering his mouth and pulling him into the shadows. Naruto turns his head to see Kida is the one holding him "I have some questions for you" she says. However before Naruto can even respond while internally berating himself at dropping his guard Kida suddenly says "Now come with me" and begins leading him away.

Kida begins leading him out toward and outer part of the city before they crawl along a ridge in a column surround by falling water. They then come out in an area that has several ruined stone buildings that have been overtaken by vegetations giving it a jungle-esqe feeling.

Upon entering the secluded area Kida smiles as she turns to Naruto "There is so much I have to ask you about the surface world. When did the flood waters recede? How did you find your way here? What is life like on the surface world?" she says excitedly rambling on and on with more questions.

Naruto chuckles goodheartedly at this "Slow down Princess Kida one question at a time" he says with a smile.

Kida stops her mass-questioning and crosses her arms over her chest with a slight pout "Very well then however only call me Kida as I tire of always being called "Princess" Kida. Now for my first question when did the flood waters recede?" she asks.

Naruto smiles slightly at hearing her wanting him to call her just Kida "Well I am not sure when the flood waters receded as I was rendered unconscious when the flood sank Atlantis. However I do know that the flood only affected Atlantis as the surrounding landmasses were left untouched" he explains.

Kida listens intently to this before nodding her head "Very well then for my next question how did you survive the great flood as it is said that all who were not in the city center were consumed by the great flood?" she asks

Naruto raises an eyebrow at this question as from the sound of it Kida has no knowledge of how exactly Atlantis was protected "Before I answer that I have to ask what you remember of the day of the great flood?" he says wanting to first know what she can remember.

Kida looks at Naruto for a moment before sighing "All I can remember is the sky going dark and people running around and shouting. Then a bright light like a star floating above the city. My father said it called my mother to it and I never saw her again" she says sadly at the end of her explanation.

Naruto's eyes widen a bit hearing this as he thinks "She doesn't know about the Heart of Atlantis? This makes no sense surely the King would have told her about it in preparation for her ascension to being a Queen" . He then sighs "I am sorry Kida but I can't really go into detail about how exactly I survived as it pertains to certain things that only your father is allowed to tell you about unless he is unable to for…tragic reasons. I can however tell you that I was protected from the great flood but swept away from Atlantis by it" he says not liking having to avoid Kida's question. However it is as he said the only one allowed to fully tell her about the Heart of Atlantis is the King himself. The only instance in which he would be permitted to tell her fully about it would be if the King were to suddenly pass away without telling her first.

Kida narrows her eyes in annoyance hearing Naruto avoid her question for the most part. However a moment later she sighs "Very well then for my next question how is it you found your way back to Atlantis?" she asks hoping to get an answer this time.

Naruto chuckles a little and smiles "Well it wasn't easy and if it wasn't for this journal I never would have made it back" he says before pulling the Shepherd's Journal out of one of his pockets.

Kida seeing the book quickly snatches and begins perusing its content. Her expression changes from one of interest to confusion and shock. Kida then looks to Naruto and holds up the book "You mean you can understand this?" she asks pointing to the runic writing in the book.

Naruto raises an eyebrow as he says "Well yeah I can read Atlantean just you" he says before seeing her downtrodden and confused state "You can't read can you?" he asks.

Kida shakes her head "No one can such knowledge has been lost to use since the time of the Great Flood" she says while saying "Great Flood" in her native language. She suddenly thrusts the book into Naruto's chest with a smile and says "Show me how you read it".

Naruto grins a bit as he looks to the book and begins reading in Atlantean "Follow the narrow passage for another league. There you will find the fifth marker/Follow the narrow passage for another league. There you will find the fifth marker" with Kida copying what he says but in English.

Naruto smiles hearing this "Yeah that's it, oh and how was my accent?" he asks.

Kida grins mischievously "Boorish, provincial…and you speak it through your nose" she teases.

Naruto grins sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck "Well to be fair until a few days ago I had not spoke in Atlantean for over 8,500 years" he says.

Kida chuckles a bit before grinning "Here now let me show you something" she says before grabbing his shirt and dragging him over to an object concealed under a cloth. Kida removes the cloth to reveal a fish-shaped craft that was a few feet longer than Naruto was tall. The fish's "Head" made up the front of the craft with its body being slim and where the pilot would sit while three fins stuck out the back with one on each side and another in the center.

Naruto's eyes widen seeing the craft "It's an Atlantean Fish-Flyer…and it's in great condition" he says as he kneels down and rubs his hand over the smooth stone head of the craft.

Kida nods her head "Yes but no matter what I try it will not activate" she says in frustration.

Naruto quirks an eyrbrow hearing this as he gives the craft a closer look. He doesn't see any cracks or wear on the surface of the craft so it likely isn't the internal crystal that is preventing it from activating. He then looks at the external crystal slot and inscription pad located just behind the head right in front of the pilot would sit.

He then looks to the instructions by the crystal slot "Did you place your crystal into the slot?"

Kida just nods and says "Yes I have done that"

Naruto continues reading "Gently place your hand on the inscription pad?"

Kida once again nods "Yes" she says.

Naruto continues reading "Did you turn the crystal one-quarter turn back?"

Kida once again nods "Yes" she says again now getting a little impatient.

Naruto raises an eyebrow and continues reading "While your hand was on the inscription pad?" he asks.

Kida is about to say "Yes" when she suddenly realizes she had done that "No " she says.

Naruto chuckles a bit hearing this "Well that's the problem right there though you deserve credit for even getting this far" he says before turning around and seeing Kida with her arms crossed over chest and an annoyed expression on her face. Naruto gulps a bit seeing this and steps to the side "Well um give it a try" he says stepping out of the way.

Kida walks over the craft and takes off her necklace before following the instructions. The inscription pad glows a light greenish-blue before the various lines around it and the eyes of the head glow as well. A slight screeching noise is heard momentarily before the craft begins to float several feet of the ground and a slight humming noise is heard.

Kida looks on in amazement as she says "Incredible" in Atlantean.

Naruto chuckles a bit hearing this and says "You got that right" in response. Kida then takes a step toward the machine and goes to press a finger to the inscription pad. Naruto's eyes widen seeing this and he opens his mouth to say something to stop her. However it is too late as the craft rockets forward. It quickly reaches a slanted wall and ricochets off it before shooting up towards another wall. It ricochets off that wall as well before hitting another wall and the process repeats several times. The craft ricochets off one last wall and heads straight towards Kida and Naruto forcing the two to duck for cover as it sails a few feet over their heads narrowly missing them. The craft then crashes lodging itself in a rock and begins to sputter as several blue sparks of electricity arc off of it.

Naruto deadpans seeing this before turning to Kida who is looking sheepish and chuckles "So who's hungry?" he asks offhandedly causing Kida to giggle slightly.

A few minutes later Naruto and Kida are climbing up the side of a large stone statue using the various vines and carvings on the statue as hand holds. When they reach the top of the statue their presence scares away some small flying reptiles. As they stand atop the statue they can see the entire city of Atlantis.

After a moment of looking at the scenery Naruto sighs sadly and wipes a tear from his eye. Kida seeing this is confused so she asks "What is wrong?"

Naruto just smiles sadly "It's that I still can't believe that I am finally back home after all these thousands of years. There is also the fact that I wish that Old Man Thatch was here to see it with me. He took me in off the streets simply out of the kindness of his heart. For years he would tell me stories about Atlantis and how one day he wanted to see it and prove to everyone he wasn't crazy. Each time he told me about Atlantis a small part of me would feel guilty for not telling him the truth about myself and even more so when he passed away" he says sadly with his tone full of guilt.

Kida places her hand on Naruto's shoulder in a comforting manner hearing this "I am sure if he was as kind hearted as you say he was then he would have understood your reasons for not telling him" she says in a comforting manner. Naruto smiles a bit hearing this as the two then spend several minutes just looking out at the scenery before them.

A little while later Naruto and Kida climb back down statue and make their way to the waterfront where several men are standing on stilts in the water and using spears and nets to catch fish and other aquatic animals.

One of the men notices the two and smiles "Greetings Princess Kida! We caught a great haul today!" he yells excitedly catching their attention. The man then holds up a large lobster-like crustacean before another man tosses one over to the two. The creature lands in Naruto's waiting arms and quickly wraps its tendril tail around the former ninjas arm. It then snaps at Kida several times with its pincer-like claws before Naruto grabs it with his other hand and bites down on it just behind its head. A crunching noise is heard before the creature goes limp and Naruto starts carrying it over his shoulder like a bag of rice.

Kida giggles seeing this before the two continue walking and asks Naruto about his companions. As they walk Kida says "Tell me about your companions. Your physician, he is called Cookie?"

Naruto chuckles a bit hearing this "No that's Sweet" he responds.

Kida quirks a brow hearing this "What is?" she asks in confusion.

Naruto grins a bit as he says "The doctor, he's Sweet"

Kida's eyes widen hearing this "Oh he is kindly" she says in realization.

Naruto chuckles again as he says "No that's his name" enjoying the little back and forth going on and the little prank he is playing on Kida.

Kida adopts a confused expression as she says "His name is Kindly?"

Naruto finally having enough of his little prank chuckles a bit and says "No his name is Sweet but is kind as well" fully explaining the topic.

Kida thinks it over for a moment as they continue their walk and enter a marketplace filled with people selling their wares. Off to the side Audrey and Cookie spot a man getting a tattoo which causes Audrey to gawk in wonder as the man giving the tattoo has many of his own. Cookie then tells her something about how that nothing and shows her his stomach which has a bunch of tattoos of the 38 United States and jiggles his belly making them "Dance" which causes Audrey to get grossed out a bit.

As they pass the two Kida's eyes widen in understanding "Oh I understand now" she says referencing their conversation about Sweet. Naruto just chuckles again as the two continue their walk.

Several hours pass and as night begins to fall Kida and Naruto head to a small house. On the way two giggling children run by them into the and into the waiting arms of their father while the mother stands next to him with a plate of food. Off to the side in one of the window ledges a large four-legged purple with yellow stripes, 5 yellow eyes, and three large mandible like fangs lizard raises its head and watches the scene before setting its head back down on its front feet.

The father sees Kida and Naruto and smiles as he waves them over "Come feel free to join us we have plenty of food to spare" he says excitedly.

Kida and Naruto smile as they walk over to the man "Are you sure after all we wouldn't want to impose?" Kida says getting a nod of agreement from Naruto.

The man just smiles and shakes his head "Nonsense we would be honored if you joined us for dinner Princess Kida" he says. However as the man looks at Naruto his eyes widen in shock before a massive smile graces his face "You are most welcome to join us as well High Commander Naruto" he says shocking Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widen hearing this as he was amazed that somebody other than the King or Royal Guards remembered him "You remember who I am?" he asks in disbelief.

The man chuckles for a moment before smiling again "Of course I remember who you are as it is thanks to you that I am alive today and have my family" he says.

Naruto quirks a brow hearing this before his eyes widen in realization "You're the boy I saved the day of the Great Flood!" he says after getting a good look at the man's face.

The man nods his head "Yes I am and for that I am in your debt. Now please joins my family for dinner it is the least I can do for the man who saved my life" he says.

Naruto chuckles a bit hearing this "Very well then but after this consider your debt repaid as the food smells wonderful and I have long missed Altantean cuisine" he says getting a heartfelt laugh from the man before he leads Kida and Naruto into his house.

Sometime later everyone is happily eating their food even Sweet, Vinny, and Mole who had stumbled across the scene and was invited in. Naruto was sitting on the a cushion using a pair of utensils which consisted of a wire connected to two nubs that went over his index and middle fingers on one hand and a three-pronged wire connect to a hand in his other hand to eat an orange colored rice-like dish with long green noodles in it.

Kida was sitting next to him with her own food but was taking a break from it as she said "Cookies are sweet but yours is not. Sweet is kindly but that is not his name. Audrey is also sweet but she is not your doctor. Finally the little digging animal called Mole…He is your pet?" she says trying to understand everything Naruto had told her about his companions.

Naruto swallows the food that was in his mouth before grinning "Close enough" he says with a chuckle.

On the other side of the room Vinny, Sweet, and Mole are sitting together eating their own food. Vinny holds up a prawn-like creature with multiple eyes that was still alive and looks at it in confusion. Sweet seeing this holds up his own and smiles "Oh don't forget to eat the head that's where all the nutrients are" he says before ripping off the head of his prawn and slurping down the innards. Mole pops up between the two holding half of his own prawn in hand minus the head with a massive bite taking out of it showing he bit the thing and two and ate the head before burping.

Back at where the trucks are parked several of the gas mask wearing men of the group walk up to the back of it and open the flap to the cargo bed. They pull out a crate and drop it to the ground before opening it to reveal several rifles. They each grab a rifle and cock it all the while breathing ominously through their masks.

Having eaten dinner and said their goodbyes to the family Naruto and Kida were standing near a body of water with many of the firefly like bugs flying about. As Kida held a long stick with a glass globe at the end illuminated by several of the fireflies contained within Naruto stood near a plant and slowly tried to catch a firefly.

He slowly brought his hands around the insect before it crawled onto his finger "You know Kida during my trip back here I feared for the state that the city would be in after all these centuries. However I am really glad to see it still alive even after all this time" he says. The firefly then begins to crawl along his hand before going up his arm "You know I forgot how cute these little guys are when they aren't formed into a fiery column of death" he says with a chuckle.

Kida's expression saddens hearing this as she says "We may be alive but we are not living. True we may be alive but our culture and way of life is dying. We are like a stone the ocean beats against, with each passing year a little more of us is worn away" she says sadly as Naruto puts the firefly on his arm into the glass sphere.

Naruto's expression becomes downcast at hearing this "I won't let that happen anymore Kida" he says with determination since he would not let his home die.

Kida smiles slightly hearing this "I have brought you here to ask for your help. There is a mural here with writing all around the pictures" she says in wonder.

Naruto smiles hearing this "Well lead the way" he says before turning around as he thought he heard the bushes rustle. Not seeing anything Naruto shrugs his shoulders and turns back towards Kida only for his eyes to widen and a very small blush to adorn his cheeks "Uh Kida what are you doing?" he asks as she is in the middle of taking off the blue skirt she was wearing.

Kida stops what she was doing and looks at Naruto over her shoulder "You do swim do you not?" she asks before finishing taking off her skirt leaving her in the blue bikini bottoms shad had on underneath it to accompany her blue tube top she was wearing.

Naruto blankly stares at her for a moment "Oh I swim pretty girl…I mean pretty good" he says absentmindedly gazing at her incredible figure. Meanwhile internally he is saying "Damn it Naruto focus this is Kida were talking about we shouldn't be thinking about thoughts like that. Okay just picture her as she was as a little girl when you would look after her and banish those perverted thoughts".

Kida smiles hearing this "Good it is a fair distance to where we are going" she says as she begins walking into the water while Naruto begins stripping down to his boxers. As he strips down he sets the Shepherd's Journal down in his coat so it wouldn't get wet. Meanwhile Kida dives under the water quickly for a moment.

Naruto turns to see Kida surface and immediately blushes again at seeing her now wet tube top cling to her chest tightly showcasing her sizable chest, and the beads of water slide down her flawless lightly tanned skin. His brain immediately stops all thought at seeing the incredibly sexy scene and he nearly faints while thinking "…I Don't think I am going to be able to picture her as the little girl who would always ask me to tell her stories anymore after seeing that".

He lightly slaps his cheeks before stepping into the water so it was up to his waist. He coughs into his fist sheepishly and clears his throat "Well let's get underway" he says before following Kida as she dives underwater.

As they swim underwater their crystal necklaces light up a small area around them so they can see where they are going. They continuing swimming s they pass several sunken buildings and statues with many of them showing damage indicated by the crumbled bits on the ground. Naruto follows Kida as she swims towards a large building with a dome shaped roof. The two swim into the building before Naruto follows Kida as she swims up and a moment later they breach the water's surface into a small air pocket near the roof of the building.

They take both take a gulp of air as Kida smiles "Are you all right?" she asks.

Naruto grins back as he says "Well I didn't drown".

Kida giggles hearing this before she says "Good now follow me" and takes a large gulp of air before diving back down underwater. Naruto shakes his head amusedly before he does the same. He follows Kida as she swims straight down and stops in front of a massive mural that their crystals shine light on. Naruto takes a moment to get a good look at the mural before his eyes widen and he gestures for them to go back up.

When they get back to the air pocket and take a breath Naruto grins "It's the Great Mural of Atlantis!" he says excitedly. Kida hearing this raises an eyebrow in confusion. See her confusion Naruto begins to explain "The Great Mural of Atlantis is the visual history of Atlantis from the very founding of the city. It is essentially the complete history of Atlantis itself!" he says rather excitedly amazed that the form the looks of things the whole mural is still intact despite everything that has happened.

Kida's eyes widen in shock hearing this "The light I saw that day. The star in the middle of the city what does it say about that?" she questions intently.

Naruto sighs hearing this knowing that there is no way to get around telling Kida the truth. He sighs heavily knowing that the King was likely going to not be happy with him for this "It is the Heart of Atlantis. The Heart of Atlantis is a giant crystal of energy that holds many mysteries and is the bright light you remember from that day. It's what saved Atlantis from being completely destroyed by the Great Flood and is what has been keeping not only you but also me and the entirety of Atlantis alive all these years" he explains much to Kida's shock.

Kida then thinks of something "Wait then where is it now?"

Naruto sighs once again this time tiredly "Only your father would know as despite me being the head of the Royal Guard and having knowledge of the crystal its actual location when hidden is only known to the Royal family namely the King and Queen. Furthermore I am liable to now lose my place as a Royal Guard for revealing this information to you" he says.

Kida's eyes widen hearing this "What why would that happen" she asks.

Naruto runs his hand through his hair for a moment before saying "Mainly because it was not my place to have told you this Kida. That responsibility is your father's and he would have done so when you became Queen as is tradition. Now we should probably get back as we have been here to long" he says before they dive back underwater.

As they swim back to where they came from Naruto can't help but think on everything that happened. He had been forced to reveal secrets that were his right to reveal and he hoped that the King wouldn't be too angry. His thoughts then drifted to the Shepherd's Journal as something just didn't seem right with the fact that the page that was missing just so happened to be the one regarding the Heat of Atlantis.

These thoughts persisted in his mind as he broke the surface of the water from where they initially entered. As the wet hair blocked his vision he made his way to the steps where they dove in only to hear a voice say "You have a nice swim?".

Hearing this Naruto wiped his hair of his eyes to see the grinning face of Rourke kneeling down by the water's edge. Behind Rourke was the gas mask wearing men armed with rifles, along with the rest of the group each armed with a gun with the exception of Audrey who had a wrench and Sweet who didn't have a weapon at all.

Seeing this and realizing what was going on Naruto grit his teeth and scowled "Shit" he said finally putting everything in place and realizing that he had been betrayed.

End Chapter 7

*End Note*

Hello everyone I would first like to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. It was originally going to be out two weeks ago *February 8th-11th* however I ended up getting the flu which prevented me from finishing the chapter