Well, hello all! As I promised, a chapter this week and now with finals finally done the updates should resume to a more normal pace (let's all hope at least). Thanks for all of your well-wishes for my finals; I think, overall, I did well (thank God). Hum… About this chapter, I got a few comments that Naruto seems out of character but I'm not sure what to do, if suddenly going from a twelve year old little boy to an undisclosed aged man with children and a dead wife doesn't change a personality than I don't know what will. I'm trying to leave as much of the boy in as possible (sometimes I do it better than others) but keep in mind that he really isn't completely the same person anymore. If you can keep that in mind I promise to double check myself before blindly declaring him to be close enough to in-character. Thanks for the warnings. That said, enjoy the chapter!

:BREAK:

Exodus

Chapter 08

Ganten moved towards the packs with their supplies as the two intruders, Gaara's siblings, approached. He noticed that Tenmar had already moved with Moab to stand defensively next to Mina, but in a nonchalant way. Rin was standing with Naruto and Gaara, a position that would put the boy in danger if they decided to attack, but a good place for him nonetheless as his abilities would come in handy. Anyways, Ganten trusted Naruto to protect him if there was a need. He scanned the camp quickly, making sure that everything of value was guarded. His eyes landed on Uzu, still slumbering unawares, blissfully curled around his blanket. Ganten snorted, yes, everything of VALUE was protected.

Naruto's mouth opened and Ganten's attention was drawn to him immediately; this was not a side of his father he'd seen before, and perhaps not a side he would see again. "Good morning." A voice that was clearly Naruto's and yet so unlike him - filled with none of the warmth or happiness it usually held - called out. "I would ask what you're doing in my camp, but I see no reason to play games. Let me tell you first, we already know of your ambush; sending a puppet to masquerade as yourself is very clever, but it will do you no good. Don't insult me."

Ganten's eyes widened, realizing that his father had said that partly for his benefit. He hadn't noticed until moments ago, but as his father indicated, there was a presence behind him. It had approached at the same time as the others and so had managed to confuse his nose. Amazing. Ganten turned his head to glare into the forest, eyes quickly catching onto Gaara's brother now that he knew he was there. He stared at the man for a long moment before Kankurou shrugged, jumping to the ground and walking in a purposefully casual manner towards his sister.

"Can't blame a guy for trying. We're obviously not gonna win in a power war." Kankurou said as he moved to stand next to Temari. "We just want what we came for. Let Gaara go."

"I have no intention of allowing you to take Gaara." He held up his hands as both Temari and Kankurou's mouths opened in complaint. "This is according to his will; I would not take him otherwise." He glanced briefly at Rin, who nodded and then turned his attention to Gaara. "I'll give you a few moments to speak with them before we leave." Naruto turned, walking back towards the fire.

"Regardless of what you say, he's still OUR brother! Do you think we'll just let you ta-" Tenmar fell silent as Naruto spun around to face her again.

"Don't talk to me about your 'family bonds'!" Naruto spat out. Ganten was taken back; he'd never seen his father so angry. He realized the tone of his voice now; it wasn't because he was taking on a role as a firm leader, it was because he was holding in his rage. He truly hated these people. "What kind of family doesn't show love to a young child? What kind of family would curse him to an existence like this? I'm giving you a chance to talk to your brother, and only because he requested it. Now go do your talking in the woods, I don't want to see you again."

Ganten's eye were wide as both Naruto and Rin walked back towards the center of camp and he found himself wondering if he would ever see his cheerful, smiling father again. He may be an idiot at times, but that was how he was best. Not all anger and seriousness as he was now. Maybe he'd snapped… Ganten looked up at Tenmar to see his own feelings reflected in his older brother's face. Worry, fear.

"Father…" Tenmar asked slowly, walking away from his post beside Mina. "Are you alright?"

For a long moment Naruto didn't answer, his eyes focused on the fire, hands folded together. Then he turned his eyes up towards Tenmar, and in a voice far more Naruto-like, replied. "Argh! People like that just piss me off, you know?"

Tenmar grinned, running a hand through his short pony-tail. "I know… They piss me off, too." Father was back.

Naruto sighed, taking in a deep breath. "I mean, where do they get off," he raised his voice in a mock imitation of Temari, "'We won't let you just take our brother.' Bull shit! They just wanna keep him so no one else gets his power." He let out another frustrated growl, shaking his head as he did so. "Makes me feel dirty just talking to 'em… Anyway we should break camp while Gaara's talking to THOSE PEOPLE." Naruto turned a dark, playful grin on Ganten, who was still frozen by his post at the packs. "Would you like the honor of waking Uzu, or should I send Rin to do it?"

Ganten jumped immediately from his spot, racing towards his brother; for once a grin mirroring his father's spread across his face. /That's right. Uzu's gonna pay/

Rin stood for a moment and watched Ganten run off towards his brother. He was glad Ganten decided to wake Uzu. For one, Ganten wasn't afraid to dish out bodily harm to the redhead and for another, it gave Ganten something to focus on beyond Naruto's frightening rage.

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"A-are you enjoying your breakfast?" A frightened, yet conniving voice called out as Sasuke and Shikamaru sat eating their morning meal on the ship. After turning in the thieves on the last island, the captain had been uncharacteristically concerned for them, making sure they had enough blankets and pillows (a meaningless gesture as they would be in Port Town by mid-afternoon) giving them special breakfast considerations and even offering his personal cabin for their use, if needed. "I do hope you're feeling well, the rocking of the ship isn't for everyone." The captain continued, rubbing his hands together in a nervous fashion. Sasuke pinned the man with a dark, annoyed glare and the man jumped up a foot and back two. "O-of course, for two ninja such as yourselves, I imagine that a little rocking would be nothing." He added quickly.

"Is there something you want?" Sasuke asked bluntly, annoyed at the man's presence. The man didn't seem to realize that it wasn't kindness that stopped them from turning him in, but rather because it was too inconvenient to wait for another ship.

A small squeaking sound escaped the man's lips before he bowed slightly. "Just-only to see if there was anything you desired, master ninjas."

In any other circumstance, Shikamaru would have found the scene rather humorous. The man was almost as big as a horse, and it was definitely muscle, not fat, that built the man's bulk. Having him kowtow to their every whim, them being such young, small looking boys, it must've been a large slap in his pride's proverbial face. But the man was grating on his nerves. "We're fine." He replied lazily and watched as the man left the room, backing out with his face still towards them, body twisted in an awkward bow. "Damn, that man's annoying as hell."

Sasuke grunted in agreement, looking down at his plate. He'd finished eating a while ago, but the idea of going above deck to have that man follow him around was less than appealing, so instead he stared at his plate. He couldn't wait to get off this ship and away from that captain. At least he had the private pleasure of knowing that once the man's ship docked at that little island again, he would most likely be carted immediately off to jail. It was a small consolation for their current annoyed state. The door to the cabin creaked open again and Sasuke turned angry eyes towards it. The captain must have remembered some other fawning he could do. "WHAT?" Sasuke spat out, realizing too late that it was not the captain that entered the cabin.

"Just gathering some of my things! We'll be at Port Town within the hour, I'll wager." A cheery, unfazed voice replied.

Sasuke immediately recognized the man he'd talked to last night. He bowed his head to the man in apology, but the man waved him off, smiling.

"It's been a while since I've gone back to my own country… Daddy's getting excited, 'Livia." Sasuke looked at the man, for the first time noticing a small dark haired girl, no older than five, hanging onto the man's hand and peering out at Shikamaru and himself through large hazel eyes. "Where are you boys headed?" The man asked, turning a grin upon them.

Shikamaru glanced at Sasuke questioningly before replying. "We're hoping to meet up with some people in Port Town."

"And then?" The man prompted.

The two boys stared at each other for a moment. They couldn't very well tell the man that they were planning on getting on a ship for the new continent. It was illegal for ships to carry unauthorized passengers over the Great Sea, their hope had been in the excessive amount of money they could offer a ship's captain to smuggle them aboard. Telling that to a stranger was not high on their list of priorities.

The man nodded, their moments silence was all he needed to understand the situation. "I see." After a moment of looking them over he smiled. "My name's Thomas, this is my daughter, Olivia. I think I can help you boys out… for a price."

:BREAK:

Uzu was swimming in a mountain lake; the sun was shining brightly as he splashed gently through the cool water. He plunged down into the depths and looked above him, the sun was gleaming through the surface of the water and he could see a figure floating above him. There was something familiar about that form, so curious, he propelled himself upward. The vision that met his eyes when he surfaced caused his heart to skip a beat. Brown, spiky hair, pale skin, small smile playing at the edge of his lips… "Shi-… er…" Uzu blushed. "I-I didn't think I'd get to see you again."

The boy's mouth parted as he moved towards the redhead, low voice whispering his name. "Uzu… Uzu…" The voice got louder as the boy moved closer, and began to change. "Uzu… Uzu!"

Uzu pulled away from the boy slightly in shock. "What was that? You sounded just like Ganten, there."

The voice laughed, as darkness replaced the sunny scene. The boy disappeared along with the water, and all Uzu could hear was a dark laughter. Suddenly Ganten's voice rang out loud and clear, "Now you'll pay for what you've done!"

"Aarragghh!" Uzu jerked fully awake as the wind got knocked out from his body. He gasped for breath, eyes flashing open, searching for the danger. Above him, the sun shone, the birds sang and the large, white head of his brother glared down upon him.

Ganten waited a moment, until Uzu seemed to be getting his breath back and socked his brother in the stomach once more, for good measure. He watched as Uzu gasped once again, rolling onto his side and quickly scuttling away. "You can run, but don't think you can hide, bastard! How dare you cuddle with Rin all night!"

Uzu's mind was blank he only knew that he had to escape Ganten's rage until he remembered what he did. A pair of feet appeared before him and Uzu quickly crawled towards them, grabbing onto them and hiding his body as best he could behind them, he poked his head out between them to glance at Ganten. He heard laughter, and looked up to see that his father was attached to that pair of feet. Reaching a hand up, Uzu pleaded, "Father, please, help me! Ganten's gone mad."

Naruto continued to laugh, grabbing his middle son's hand and pulling him to his feet. After doing so he patted his son's shoulder and shook his head. "Ganten's gonna kill you. Best you take it like a man, son."

Ganten moved forward, knuckles cracking as he advanced. "Uzu."

"Y-yes?" Uzu's eyes widened as his brother's aura seemed to explode.

"Do you remember what you did last night?" Ganten demanded.

Uzu thought for a moment. He remembered getting the fire wood for Ganten, but that had been nice of him; Ganten wouldn't want to kill him for THAT. When he got back, Father had already fallen asleep and without a blanket, so Uzu gave him his own, and then… Uzu's eyes widened and he allowed a small noise to escape his lips. "I… crawled into bed with you and Rin?"

"Bingo."

:BREAK:

"I'm sorry."

Temari stared at her youngest brother in shocked silence for a moment. He had never apologized for anything. Ever. "Wh-what are you saying?" She could feel tears beginning to well in her eyes and she fought them back. She wasn't sure why she wanted to cry, but it was obvious that this one night with those people had changed her brother. He seemed more relaxed, there was an aura about him that could almost be described as happy, or at the very least, content…

"I know I've caused you trouble and I'm sorry." Gaara's eyes were almost soft as he said that. He turned, walking back towards Naruto's camp. There was a kind of finality to the gesture.

"Wait!" Kankurou grabbed his brother's shoulder, stopping his movement. He muttered under his breath something that sounded vaguely like 'baka.' "Do you really think we could let you just leave with this guy? What about our people? What about the plan-?"

Gaara fixed him with dark look, but he didn't respond. After a moment Kankurou's hand fell from his shoulder, his face falling. /That's right. Why should Gaara care about what happens to our people? They never cared about what happened to him…/

Gaara hesitated when he caught his brother's disappointed and almost worried look. "… I'll be back in four years. I have no plans on betraying the sand village, but I will not take part in our current mission."

"What about your own safety?" Temari asked, finally finding her voice. "What if that man's using you?"

Gaara stared at her for a long moment before turning away from his siblings for a final time. Hesitating before he walked away from them he replied simply, "He's not." And then he was gone. Temari and Kankurou stared at each other for a long while, partly tempted to chase after their brother and partly amazed at the change one night had had on him. They must have thought for a moment too long because the next thing they heard was the sound of a ferocious howl in the not too far distance, followed by the sound of gigantic feet dashing at a northeast direction, heading away from them. Temari was still until the sound of the feet was out of the range of her hearing, and then, like she was coming out of daze, she snapped her head up, "Shit! Gaara! Kankurou, get ready! We gotta go after them!" She shook her head, rebuking herself mentally. Gaara's change must have shaken her more than she realized to have simply watched as he disappeared with that man.

:BREAK:

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he stared at the man, whose smile remained almost vacantly in place. "A price?"

Thomas nodded, smile widening as his daughter glanced between himself and the two boys with wide-eyed wonder. "You see… I have a…" He sighed; digging through his bag as he spoke, smile falling as he searched distractedly. "I have a pass." He finished, holding up a folded piece of orange paper, smile triumphantly returning as he did so. Noticing that neither boy seemed to recognize what he was talking about he unfolded the paper, handing it to the boy he'd spoken to the night earlier. "You see, it gives me permission to take myself and my household across the Great Sea. I know for two ninja, sneaking onto a ship wouldn't be impossible, however, considering the length of the voyage…" He trailed off, for the first time showing sings of noticing the dark look on Sasuke's face. "No good?"

"You mentioned a price?" Shikamaru asked, grabbing the pass from Sasuke as it became obvious that the dark eyed boy wasn't sure what to make of it. Either that or he didn't care.

The man's smile returned. "Yes! You see, there are three kinds of sleeping arrangements on the kind of ship that can cross the Great Sea. The lowest level is reserved for those that can barely afford the trip and usually is the worst conditioned, often people are forced to sleep next to either the ships machinery or with a cargo and it's not very pleasant. For those that can afford a little more there's group sleeping quarters on the upper levels. It's alright, as long as you're willing to live with a lack of privacy for a few months and constantly keeping an eye on your possessions. And then, each ship has at least a few private cabins. With the four of us, it would be perhaps a little cramped, but I think far less cramped than living in group quarters."

"So you want us to… pay for a private cabin and in exchange you'll let us in on your pass?" Shikamaru stared at the man skeptically. It seemed far too simple for that to be the only trick involved, and yet, he was uncannily good at reading people and couldn't catch even a hint of deception in the man's stance.

"That's right." The man looked at the two expectantly. "Well, do we have a deal?"

Sasuke glanced at Shikamaru and shrugged. He didn't care; as long as they got across the Great Sea he would be happy. The closer to Naruto he was, the better he felt.

Shikamaru shook his head, then stretched out a hand. "Alright. I guess we got a deal."

The man's smile seemed to extend from one ear to the next as he pumped both boys' hands in a firm handshake. "Great! That's just great, isn't it 'Livia?" The small girl blinked up at her father through long eyelashes and, after a moment's hesitation, nodded.

Shikamaru stared at the girl, wondering what he'd gotten them into. Oh well, at least Sasuke didn't seem to mind the good natured man. Strange, considering the small range of people they'd met that hadn't annoyed the boy. /We should be arriving at Port Town any time now-/

"Port Town, ahoy! Prepare the ship for docking!"

:BREAK:

Naruto dropped his transformation, laying on the ground gasping for breath. Tenmar quickly handed him his clothes as the man sat up, grin on his face. "Only took three hours."

"Three hours of hell…" Uzu muttered flashing Ganten an annoyed look. After his brother had beaten his still-dazed-from-sleep body relentlessly, he'd then added insult to injury by forcing the redhead to take care of the little baby monster, who'd spent the whole ride cooing and giggling like it was a wonderful thing.

The white haired boy shrugged the look off, offering Rin a hand in standing up. "As soon as Father's got his breath we should get going. We've got about half hour's walk to the main road, and then another half hour's walk to the gate of Port Town one of the three main entrances. The other two are by the bay or by way of the Great Sea. It's afternoon, so I don't expect the entrance to be overly busy. If we had arrived a few hours earlier we would have ended up hitting the morning market rush. A few hours later and we would have hit the rush on their way out."

Naruto laughed between strangled breathes. "All-gasp- part of my plan."

"Yeah, right." Uzu said pouting. "It's all luck."

Naruto jumped to his feet, suddenly having no problem breathing at all, and smacked Uzu in the back of his head. "Don't contradict your father."

"Daddy! Ow!" Uzu shifted Moab to one arm, rubbing the back of his head with the free hand. "That's where Ganten hit me!"

Naruto smiled innocently, folding his hands behind his head. "Oh, really? I hadn't noticed."

"Liar." Uzu muttered, pouting. Moab squealed in delight, slapping his small hands against Uzu's lips. "Stop it, demon child!" Uzu hollered, lifting the baby away from his face so that it couldn't reach him and shaking it slightly. "What do you think of THAT, monster?" The baby squealed once more, flailing its arms happily. Uzu's eyes narrowed as he stuffed the child under on arm and carried it like a sack of potatoes. "I hate you."

"Aw… But he loves you! Don't you, Moab-chan?" Tenmar cooed, lightly tickling the baby's cheek.

Ganten glanced around as his family teased Uzu, everyone was standing and seemed ready to move out, even Gaara who was standing to the side, staring quietly at the group. "Alright, let's get going!" He called, clapping his hands. "The sooner we get to Port Town the sooner we can find a ship and get help for Mina."

Without responding, the family slowly moved as a group through the woods, still bickering good-naturedly as they went. "You know, Tenmar, if you love the monster so much, why don't YOU take 'em?" Uzu was demanding.

"Uzu…" Naruto replied, "Don't you know that no one makes Moab happier than you? In fact, I think for the rest of the journey, I should put you officially in charge of taking care of him."

"WHAT?" Uzu cried, tossing the baby towards Tenmar, who caught it easily and returned it to his brother. "Why? I hate this-this THING."

"Well, I have my hands full with Mina, and Tenmar takes care of her whenever he can. Ganten's helping Rin until he's healed and Gaara doesn't know anything about babies, do you?"

The raccoon-eyed boy shook his head quickly.

"And he likes you!" Naruto concluded, smiling.

"But Daddy!"

Ganten glanced at his brother quickly. "Until we're on the ship you should probably refrain from calling Father that. We should probably resume calling him Naruto-sama to avoid any confusion for now."

Naruto's face fell into a pout. "Why?"

At the same time, Uzu shook his head. "No way!"

"Look, it's better to avoid any unnecessary questions!" Ganten replied with a shrug. "We don't want any trouble, do we? I mean, we're gonna stick out enough as it is, six guys walking around town looking for a ship across the Great Sea with one baby and one unconscious girl dragged behind them… Not to mention the fact that all of us kind of stick out in one way or another. I mean, Tenmar and Fath- I mean Naruto-sama," he corrected quickly, "are both exceptionally tall and seem to attract a lot of attention from women."

"Really? What a change! A few weeks ago, no one noticed me at all." Naruto grinned.

"Rin and Gaara stand out because they both look a little different around the eyes, although most people won't be able to pick that up right away. And I look funny 'cause of my white hair." Ganten shrugged.

"What about me?" Uzu asked, grinning.

"You just attract attention because you look stupid."

"Oi! That's not true!" Uzu argued, balling his free hand into a fist.

"Oh yeah?" Ganten asked, raising an eyebrow. "Sure looks it from where I'm standing."

"Daddy! Ganten's being mean to me!"

"See? You can't even remember to call him 'Naruto-sama.' Stupid is as stupid does, I guess…"

"Oi! Come here and say that, whitey!"

Tenmar laughed and shook his head as his brothers' argued and chased each other around the group in small circles and zigzags. He noticed as his head shook that strands of hair had managed to escape the bounds of his pony tail and were flipping wildly about in the wind. With a sigh he pulled off the string that held his hair bound. It had never been so hard to keep in the pony tail before he'd been forced to cut it during the battle with Kentaar, of course at that time it had hung down past his belly button, now it barely hung past his shoulders. He missed having long hair, he knew it was kind of vain, but it had been something, the one thing in fact, that he'd worked at on his appearance and now it was gone. Mostly.

Tenmar pulled his string tight as he prepared to tie his hair once more behind his head, eyes widening when he heard a faint snapping noise. With a disbelieving face he moved his hands to the front of his body, staring down at the broken hair string. "Now that's gotta be bad luck…"

:BREAK:

Ahem… Well, what did you all think of it? I think it had its weak points and strong points, but over all, the chapter did what I needed it to do: it got them to Port Town. I have a LOT of fun ideas for Port Town and for the ship (particularly the ship) SO, I've been bidding my time until I could write about it. Kinda nice how it turned out that now that I'm at a point in the story where I can let my creativity explode I'm also at a point in my year during which I can concentrate on my writing. Yay! Things worked out well for me!

OK, I did get a few questions and comments that I wanted to reply on, so let me start now:

Tsugath said: wish we could see more from Sasuke/Shika

My Reply: I put more of them in this chapter than before and you can look forward to them taking up more and more as the chapters progress!

L asked: Does this mean Sasuke will have competition for Naruto? When you said that Gaara may have the same feelings for Naruto as Rin has for Ganten... Sasuke/Shika action! They sure are having fun, aren't they?

My Reply: Ahem… Only the future can tell what will be what (heh heh, didn't really expect me to tell you, did ya?). But, yes, I think they're having fun (as much as Sasuke can have with no Naruto). Thanks for wishing me well on my finals!

Aragornthia said: But aren't you also a writer? In reference to your quote. Good chapter thieves huh? I would have done pirates but thieves work

My Reply: Ah, you caught on to my predicament… Although I also view myself as a writer, I decided my class work was more pressing AND although I love writing it will be Economics that puts the money on the table some indiscriminate time in the future. As to the pirates… All in good time (probably).

SpiritsFlame asked: didn't Gaara bite your ear off last time he was in your story?

My Reply: Yeah… in my AN for Embrace he did (almost forgot) but I love him so… I couldn't possibly hold it against him! Thanks for the nice comments, by the way!

I know this chapter took a week longer than normal, but it was fast as I could with finals! So, um… M-python-girl… call back the religious fanatics, please. The next one'll be faster, I promise.

And last, but not least, I want to thank my beta, QianYun, for all of her very hard work! Thank you!