HIDDEN MIST RECOVERY I

In truth, the trip to the Hidden Mist Village could've taken less than a day, with the fairly recently discovered cheat of using the toad pools. It would definitely save a lot of time but there's also the kids to think about and their experience.

Much of this is to give them a sense of the world and see as much as they can before they all return to the Hidden Leaf to enroll in the Academy. There's a lot of growth to be had in traveling through the land and seeing the towns and villages along the way, seeing people work the fields or travel with their caravans.

Of course, there's training to be had on top of that, as well, which is lessened because of how much time they spend on the road. Then again, that in itself could be considered training as they've gotten progressively better and faster at running and using the Body Flicker. They've gone through their training intensely and pushed themselves to their limits day after day. Despite having a bit of a late start, Naruto and Hinata would argue they've more than caught up to the level of most of their peers. The kids may even be stronger than they themselves were when they were their age, although truthfully speaking they weren't the strongest when they were kids. Not that they'd openly admit to that.

For now, they'll simply travel on foot and then by ship, which has already been arranged to meet them and will sail from the Land of Waves. It probably would be faster to run to a coastal town in the Land of Fire and then take a short ship ride from there, but this offers another invaluable experience for the kids. The trip will take longer but they can always use that time for some more training.

There might also be another reason Naruto insisted on coming here. Slightly petty but he did want to show off.

The Great Naruto Bridge.

An impressively long structure that connects the Land of Fire to the Land of Waves, reaching far into the horizon where the other end can be seen as a speck on the sea. It's gone through some modifications over the years, mainly some railings to prevent people from falling off but there's also the addition of archways dotted at select intervals that provide a bit of decor but also a bit of shelter should it be needed.

The kids stare up at the nameplate. "Woah."

Naruto tries not to look too proud but he fails miserably. His hands on his hips, his head raised high, gives a light laugh. "Yup, that's right!"

Shoto turns to his teacher. "So, shisho, you were named after a bridge?"

Hinata chuckles as Naruto's head drops instantly. "No! The other way around!" She calls out.

"Oh." Shoto looks back to the large wooden plate.

"Why'd they name if after you, Dad?" Kotori tugs on his shirt.

"Yeah, you never told us anything about this!" Yokumaru looks up to him, as well.

Hinata clings to Naruto's arm and looks past him to address the kids standing opposite her and waiting for an answer. "That's because he's really humble despite how big he talks."

Naruto pulls his arm free and walks in front of them, his back facing them. "The tale of my legendary adventures begins here!" Hinata is sure he's just being overdramatic to try and prove her wrong, but she knows better. "My first big mission was to help the bridge builder and protect him from some really powerful shinobi. The people in the town on the other side were in trouble and my team got rid of a corrupt mobster and freed them! So they named the bridge after me 'cause of how much I helped." He turns around and grins to them.

"Being freed from a mobster…" Yokumaru fights back a pained smile. "Sounds like what you did for me."

Hinata places a hand on his head and pulls him into a hug, gently caressing his hair. He accepts it.

"Ye, I guess it does. This place is really special to me… We'll stop to say hi before we move on."

The five of them head onto the bridge which has its fair share of traffic; people walking or driving carriages to and from the neighboring Lands. The bridge itself is fairly long and would still take a considerable amount of time to cross. That's presumably why some sections have been adjusted to accommodate anyone needing rest.

As they get closer and closer, they see more decorations placed around the bridge and they hear music and merriment from the direction of the town. Banners give colour and lanterns give light, preparing any who travel on the bridge for what's to come.

With the town now very clearly visible, they see that the entire place is decorated in colourful decorations and bright lights. Stalls line the streets and even the very end of the bridge, offering various foodstuffs to be eaten, games to be played, and memorabilia to be bought.

Naruto looks around in confusion. "Huh. Didn't know there was a festival going on."

"Festival!" Kotori hops in place and immediately grabs Yokumaru and Shoto's hands and leads them further in. "We're gonna check it out!"

"Don't make decisions for me!" Shoto's protests are deafened by the crowds as she drags them further in.

Hinata giggles and hooks Naruto's arm, sticking by his side. "A festival is good once in a while. Kids could use something uplifting."

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto places a hand over hers and they walk to the town to enjoy the festival themselves.

While their senses are assaulted from all sources, there's one particular sense that's affected the most. Smell. The most stalls here are food stalls and while some offer various sweets and snacks, by far the dominant food is ramen. Each stall vies for customers, beckoning them and offering them a culinary experience they've never experienced, each chef promising theirs is the best.

Naruto looks like he's in heaven. "So many…"

"I don't think even you can eat from all of them."

He looks down to her and smirks. "Sounds like a challenge."

They look around to find the kids and see them simply… standing in place, staring at one stall. Jaws agape, they squint at whatever they're looking at.

Naruto looks to Hinata who looks equally confused as he is. "You kids okay?"

They all point simultaneously, drawing their teachers' attention to the stall.

Masks. Some masks are painted in a girl's image, pink hair and green eyes. Another mask- of a boy with dark hair and dark eyes. One mask of a man with white hair, face and one eye covered by a mask of his own. However, the most prominent mask is of a boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and whiskers on his cheeks. The masks of that boy have by far the widest selection of alternate expressions, most of them comical and goofy.

"It's you…" Kotori whispers in disbelief.

"Uhh…" Naruto's brain shuts down.

Hinata looks around and now being closer to where most people are gathered, sees how many souvenir stalls have items displaying what's very obviously Team Kakashi, and Naruto in particular being the dominant presence.

"It seems to almost be a festival for you, Naruto. Or rather…" She brings his attention to a banner that hands just over the very end of the bridge that reads 'Welcome to the Naruto Festival' "... that's exactly what it is."

He whips head all around. "Seriously?"

"I'm gonna buy a mask!" Kotori skips to the stall to buy a mask.

"I'd like one, too." Yokumaru follows right behind her.

"Uhh, you're not gonna buy one, too, are ya?" Naruto almost pleads to Shoto.

The boy crosses his arm indignantly. "Of course not."

"Oh, thank goodness." Naruto breathes a sigh of relief.

Shoto makes his way to the stall. "I'll buy two."

Naruto hangs his head in dejection, with Hinata patting him in comfort. Defeated, he walks to the stall to pay for whatever masks they've selected. Kotori's Naruto mask has a grin on its face, Yokumaru- a smile, and Shoto's- one with its tongue sticking out and one with a shocked expression.

"I take it you guys aren't gonna let this die out…"

"Nope!" Comes a swift answer.

The man behind the stall takes the money and nods to Naruto. "That's a good costume, pal. Actually looks like real shinobi gear. But ya missin the orange, mate. Naruto wears orange, dontcha know?"

"Ah, um, right. Yeah, just… trying out somethin' else, y'know? Hey, how long's this been going on, anyway?"

"The festival itself? We been celebrating getting rid of Gato ever since we… you know, got rid of him, but the festival became this big only in the last couple years. Was more of a local thing before but now…" the clerk spreads his arms to motion at the scale of the celebrations. "This your first time visiting?"

"Kinda, yeah. Thanks a lot, mister, we gotta go find the inn." He gives an excuse and moves away from the stall. "He thought I was wearing a costume of me!" He protests as they rejoin Hinata.

She nods towards the town. "I can see why." There, they see dozens of children of varying ages, dressed in orange jumpsuits that are close enough to what he used to wear as a kid. They also have whiskers painted on their cheeks, some more shoddily than others, and blonde wigs held in place by homemade headbands.

There's even some adults dressed up and with actually dyed hair as you can see their actual hair colour at their roots.

"This is weird." Naruto states.

"This is great!" Kotori exclaims.

Yokumaru points to a nearby stall. "They sell charms over there."

The kids are more than excited to buy as many little Naruto trinkets as they can. Masks, charms to hang onto your wallet or belt that have his facial features painted on them. There's even one stall that offers to paint whiskers on people's cheeks for a small fee, which the kids immediately jump on. Even Hinata gets her cheeks painted and gets herself a Naruto plushie which she happily clings to as they continue.

She looks up to him, slightly worried that he's not his usual energetic self. "I didn't think you'd be this grumpy about a festival in your honour."

"I'm not!" He gets defensive. "It just… feels weird, y'know? Having my face plastered everywhere, celebrating what I did."

"It's not like this is the first time. Whichever village we go to, people always swarm around you and ask you every question under the sun." She giggles. "But you always get flustered then, too, even though attention's all you ever sought when we were younger and want to be Hokage."

"I guess things changed?" He shrugs. "The more I did things, the less I somehow cared about being recognized for it. Figure as long as people are safe and happy, that's all that matters. Thinking on it now, I don't wanna stand above them like some kinda icon, I wanna stand with them. Seeing all of this makes me realize that might not be possible."

She springs in front of him and stops in the middle of the road. She wraps her hands around his neck, still holding onto the plushie of him, and presses her forehead against his as she lightly tugs him to get closer.

"You're a kind and sweet man, Naruto Uzumaki. You don't have to view this as being put as an icon but rather as them wanting to be with you even though they think you're away from them. You've inspired a lot of people over the years and each is more grateful to you than the last."

He leans over and kisses her, not saying a word. He wraps his arm around her waist and she simply gives in to the moment.

When they break, she taps him on the shoulder. "I was trying to be supportive, not romantic."

"And yet you did both." He smiles warmly. "Thanks."

"If you're done being a couple," Shoto's voice startles them as they see the kids have rejoined them during their moment, "There's a lot of ramen to eat."

An uncertain voice comes from behind them. "Naruto?" They turn around to see a woman dressed in plain clothes, dark blue hair reaching all the way to her lower back. She steps a step closer, a questioning expression on her face. "You're… Naruto, right?"

Naruto shares her look for a moment, "Yeah, do I… Wait." Before he recognizes her. "Tsunami?"

"Yes!" She smiles and approaches the group more confidently. "I barely recognized you! Dad said you'd grown but I guess I didn't realize how much… What brings you back here?" She looks at his traveling group. "And who are your friends?"

"This is Hinata," He places an arm on her back as she gives a light bow, "And these are Kotori, Yokumaru, and Shoto, our... protégés, if ya wanna call 'em that. Guys, this is Tsunami. She's the daughter of the bridgebuilder I told you about."

They all bow, with Shoto giving his traditional Teshin clan bow of grasping his fist.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Hinata smiles warmly.

"Why don't you all come to our house? I know Dad and Inari would be happy to see you again."

"Sure thing!" Naruto exclaims. "I was actually thinking of heading right there."

Tsunami giggles. "I'm afraid you would've found an empty house if you were thinking of our old place."

Tazuna slams his mug on the table, laughing heartily. "Well, I'll be damned! In just two years, you're a dad and a teacher? Ya sure went ahead and grew up, huh?"

Looks like it's a good thing they ran into Tsunami. Their family's gotten a bit more influential over the past few years, with Tazuna becoming the head architect around these parts and the head of his own company. That meant a more comfortable life for him and his family, which included a bigger house in the middle of town. It's not what most would describe as luxurious but it's a clear improvement and has so much more space.

Currently they're sat in the dining room, drinking tea and just finished catching the family up on recent events, and also catching the kids up on exactly what happened 6 years ago.

Inari grins from ear to ear. "So you guys are gonna be ninja, huh? That's awesome!"

"Yeah!" Kotori beams. "Are you a ninja, too?"

"Oh, no, not at all. I'm just a carpenter, is all."

"But dad said you protected the village!" Kotori almost can't believe that someone who's not a ninja would go that far.

"I mean, yeah. We couldn't just sit back and do nothing, you know? We don't have ninja in this village, but you don't need to be one to want to protect it. We picked up whatever we had that could pass as a weapon and stood our ground."

"That's really brave of you." Shoto compliments him.

Tazuna places a hand on his grandson's head, proud. "Hah, I wager he was around your age when all that went down. This kinda stuff's probably normal for shinobi, not so much for us."

Tsunami giggles at her father's antics. "So what even brought you back here, anyway?"

"We're actually here to board a ship for the Hidden Mist. We're on a mission to travel between the Great Villages and Naruto wanted to travel here from the Hidden Sand." Hinata answers.

"Oh?" Inari smirks and leans on the table. "You missed us that much, bro?"

"As if. I just wanted to show off the bridge, is all!" Naruto retorts. "But then we saw that festival… What's that about, anyway?"

"Oh, just a little something to show our appreciation, is all! We started going big with the festival a couple years ago when a local group of kids put on a theatre show of your group beating Gato. Everyone seemed to like so we just… leaned in on that."

"Feels like ya did a bit more than just lean, gramps." Naruto laughs.

"Haha, I suppose did!"

Tsunami taps her son on the shoulder to get him to sit straight. "I'm glad to see you again, regardless of the reason."

"But if you're here for get to the Hidden Mist, I guess those shinobi are here for you, then?" Tazuna wonders.

"Oh, they're already here?"

"Yeah, they've been staying at the inn since yesterday."

"Then I guess we better meet up with 'em, huh?" Naruto confirms with Hinata before standing up. "Sorry to cut the meeting short."

"It's quite alright." Tsunami stands and takes a few packets she'd left on the nearby counter. "Before you go, please take these. If I'd known you were coming, I'd have prepared a lot more." She hands one each to the kids.

"Thank you kindly." Shoto takes it with both hands while bowing.

"Thanks!" Kotori grabs hers.

"Thank you." Yokumau smiles and holds his close.

"Oh my, so polite! Your teachers have taught you manners well." Tsunami giggles.

Inari mutters under his breaths. "We can be sure Naruto didn't teach 'em that."

But it's still heard, as evident when Naruto grabs Inari in a headlock and gives him a noogy.

"Oi!" The boy tries to protest but can't fight back.

Everyone laughs and Tazuna's the one to finally get the party moving. "Come on, I'll take you to the inn."

Arriving at the modest town inn, Naruto and Hinata enter with the intention of asking the barkeep where they might find the Hidden Mist shinobi but that doesn't seem like it'll be necessary as they immediately spot two such individuals sitting at a table in the corner.

Both dressed in the usual striped shirts under their flak jackets. The first is a plain looking man with short brown hair and two faces, one being his own and the other being a Naruto mask that he's flipped to cover the left side of his head as he drinks and eats.

The other is a young man with short blue hair, a pair of black rimmed glasses connected to ear protectors, and a small Naruto charm dangling from his vest. By the second man's side, propped against the wall, lies something wide wrapped up in bandages but the two hilts protruding from the top would indicate it's some kind of odd weapon.

Chojuro notices them and waves a greeting. "Naruto! You're here!"

"Hey!" Naruto waves back. "Chojuro, right? You're the Mizukage's right hand man."

"Ah, I don't think I'd go that far." He rubs the back of his head. "I still have a ways to go." He then turns to the people he's not familiar with. "My apologies, I'm Chojuro of the Mist's Ninja Swordsmen. And this is my mentor and member of the Hidden Mist council, Gonbee."

The man bows. "Former mentor." He corrects. "You hardly need me to teach you anything anymore."

"It's a pleasure." Hinata bows. "I'm Hinata Hyuga, and these are Kotori Uzumaki, Yokumaru Kigatsu, and Shoto Teshin." The kids bow as they're introduced.

"And I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

Gonbee smiles. "I'd bet there isn't a shinobi alive who doesn't know you. And we've been well informed of the rest of you."

"So, enjoying the festival." Naruto looks at the memorabilia of him that they're wearing.

"It's very well put together." Chojuro chuckles. "I'm sure you must be quite proud."

"I guess that's one way to put it."

"If I may ask," Hinata grabs the man's attention, "Why is a member of the council all the way out here? And a valuable member of the Mist's Swordsmen. This feels a bit excessive for a simple escort."

Gonbee gives a light laugh. "For your group, even this is hardly enough. We're here to ensure you travel as comfortably as you possibly can. You're important guests, after all."

"So we're basically VIPs?" Kotori places her hands on her hips.

Shoto lightly taps her elbow, more as a signal to put her hands down. "Don't let it get to your head, we've done nothing."

"Yet! But we're gonna be awesome shinobi in no time!" She continues to boast.

Naruto wraps his hand around her head and ruffles her hair. She doesn't protest and just keeps her posture, messy hair and all.

"Sorry to force ya to come all the way out here." Naruto smiles apologetically.

"Nonsense. It also gave us an excuse to do some much needed business around the area, so think nothing of it." Chojuro smiles and sips his drink.

"Well, we're still waiting on supplies for our trip. We can leave as early as tomorrow morning if you'd like." Gonbee orders another round of drinks as the waitress passes. "Until then, you're free to spend the night as you wish. We did ask to keep 2 rooms free in case you decide to stay here."

Hinata glances over to Naruto. "I think it's best we don't intrude too much on Tazuna."

He nods back. "Yeah. We'll check up with 'em and come back here for the night."

"Very well." Gonbee nods and the group stays for a bit longer to speak with the two Hidden Mist shinobi.

-x-

The afternoon is spent ironing out the details of travel with Chojuro and Gonbee, but also talking about what to expect from the sea and the Hidden Mist itself.

The evening is spent with Tazuna's family and sharing tales of everything that happened in-between their meetings. Inari shows the kids around town and even the workshop where he's taken up carpentry to help his grandpa. This time Tsunami prepares more food to give Naruto and his group something homemade at least for the first couple days of travel. Hinata offers to help and they make lunchboxes that are admittedly a bit extravagant but no one is really complaining.

It's another family scene that makes the kids happy and also slightly sad at the same time. On one hand Kotori is glad to be able to experience this kind of atmosphere but her mind does wander to the orphanage, wondering how everyone is doing. Yokumaru thinks back to his mom, wondering how she's been faring. Seeing people like Tsunami, there's no way he can't think of his own mom. Lastly, Shoto doesn't give away much from his expression but he feels calm. This kind of laid back family gathering isn't something he experienced back home so he's counting his blessings.

Tazuna does ask them to stay in their house for the night but they insist on not being in their way and go back to the inn somewhat late into the evening.

The next morning, Hinata and the kids prepare to leave, placing everything either in bags or in storage scrolls for easier transport. When they get down, Chojuro looks around but sees no trace of the final member of the Leaf group.

"And Naruto?" He asks.

"Really long bathroom break, I think." Kotori answers completely seriously.

Hinata giggles and brushes her hair. "That's not what I meant when I said he has something to take care of." She motions to one particular cliff out in the distance, not too far from town but not especially close, either. "He said he'd spend some time over but he's been a while."

Chojuro rubs the back of his head. "Well, we're all ready to leave soon. I don't know how accepting the crew will be with an unknown delay. I'll go find him."

"I apologize for the inconvenience." Hinata bows.

"No, it's alright. Please don't worry about it." With that, Chojuro Flickers away to find where Naruto has been for who knows how long.

And it doesn't actually take him long to find him. He followed the edge of the cliffs standing watch over the sea and decided to make his way to the cape and just go from there. As luck would have it, Naruto's actually at the very tip of the cape, currently sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of two wooden markers.

Chojuro slows his pace, not wanting to disturb, but Naruto sensed his presence some time ago.

Without turning his head, Naruto speaks. "Is it already time?"

"Ah…" Chojuro walks out from behind the trees to join him. "Sorry. Yes, Hinata told me where you were so I came to pick you up."

Naruto stands up and dusts himself off.

Chojuro focuses on the nameless markers. "I heard from the locals about them but didn't actually ask where they were buried. So this is…"

"Where we buried Zabuza and Haku, yeah. Did you know him?"

"The Demon of the Mist? No." Chojuro shakes his head. "He was before my time. I saw him briefly a few times while I was still in training but he went rogue not long after."

"I see." Another slightly awkward pause. "Do you think it's weird?" Naruto's question is met with a questioning eyebrow raise from Chojuro. "They tried to kill us and our client, we fought tooth and nail against each other, and yet… Whenever I think of our encounter, I think of them fondly. They showed me the shinobi world can be a cruel place, but they also showed me it's never too late to realize you'd made a mistake and try and fix it."

"I know a lot of shinobi who've spoken well of their opponents. Ao often spoke of Shisui Uchiha or Chirin Hyuga from whom he got his Byakugan. You can say we arguably learn more about life from our enemies than our allies. Clashing blades and opposing wills shows you a different perspective on things that maybe your friends don't have or can't give you. So I don't think it's weird at all."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

"If I may ask, how did they meet their end? We've only had stories and speculation to go off of for the past few years."

"Well, Haku died when he put himself between Zabuza and Kakashi-sensei's Raikiri. Died in a last ditch effort to protect his mentor. Then this guy Gato showed up." Naruto hisses the name. "He was the one who hired 'em and was keeping the Land of Waves hostage, and planned to kill them all along for the bounty. Zabuza… grabbed a kunai even though he was so weak he couldn't even lift his arms and killed each and every one of his goons. Died by Haku's side from his wounds. That's when I saw a shinobi's true determination, and that he wasn't the uncaring monster we kept hearing about."

"I see. We had no idea that's how it went down. We just thought it was Kakashi Hatake who killed them and that was that."

"No, there's a whole lot more to it." He looks up, a part of him almost expecting it to start snow as it did that day 6 years ago. "In the end, he realized he was human, after all. Kakashi-sensei told me they were resurrected during the War. I wish I'd been able to thank them properly."

"I wish I'd been able to fight the past Swordsmen, as well. Just for different reasons." Chojuro balls up his fist and scowls. "Many of those people were psychopaths who needlessly put comrades in harm's way and passed it off as inevitable loss."

Naruto places a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, didn't mean to bring up things like that."

"No, it's alright. I didn't mean to get emotional. We should probably head out."

"Yeah, probably. I didn't realize how late it got. Guess Kakashi-sensei's rubbing off on me…" He grabs his pack off the ground next to him and slings it over his shoulder.

The group reconvenes back in town, all set for the journey ahead of them. They board, are shown their fairly modest quarters for the trip, and make themselves at home.

The kids excitedly check every single nook and cranny of the ship, with Kotori as always being the most hyped, Yokumaru following her closely behind. Shoto tries to hide his enthusiasm but he's not far behind them, either, acting aloof.

"Any of you been at sea before?" Naruto joins them in looking over the side.

They all shake their heads. For Kotori and Yokumaru at least it's completely understandable, given their situations.

"The Teshin clan mastered the Earth Style and near the earth we have stayed." Shoto says as if that's something to be proud of.

"So that's a no?" Yokumaru glances back.

"That's a no." Shoto confirms.

"Coulda just said 'no'." Kotori shrugs.

Hinata joins them, placing a hand on Shoto and Kotori's shoulders. "We're about to depart. Come say your goodbyes."

They all run off to the other side, where Tazuna, Tsunami, and Inari are there to see them off. And not just them. Word had gotten around that the one who'd arrived the day before was indeed Naruto Uzumaki who stirred them into action years ago. They're all gathered at the docks behind Tazuna and waving enthusiastically.

"Naruto!"

"Why didn't you tell us you're here?!"

"Can't you stay longer?"

Shouting fills the air around them as everyone wants to express their gratitude to their hero.

"Wow, you really are popular everywhere, dad." Kotori smiles up to her father.

Naruto puts an arm around her shoulders and waves back.

"I promise I'll be back, alright? And we'll have a huge celebration!" He calls out for everyone to hear.

They all cheer back.

It's then that the ship begins moving, parting from the docks and moving away from the people.

"Ya better come back soon, ya got that, kid?" Tazuna tries to out-shout everyone else to best of his abilities.

Naruto grins and gives him a thumbs up as the ship turns around.

Kotori and Yokumaru run to the back of the ship to give a final wave goodbye to Tazuna's family.

-x-

Soon after departing, Chojuro and Gonbee gather Naruto and Hinata for a brief meeting on the deck, the kids not too far away.

"I know we've only just left for the Hidden Mist, but I must inform you that technically your first mission for our village is to begin now." Gonbee informs them.

Naruto looks around. "What're we supposed to do here?"

"Guard the ship." Chojuro shrugs. "We've always had a pirate problem that's seen an increase since the war. Honestly most of our resources are spent dealing with that. Since we're traveling by sea, anyway, we may as well also keep it safe."

"Then we'll do our utmost to be on alert." Hinata gives a firm nod.

"I apologize to already put you to work." Gonbee smiles sympathetically.

"No need." Naruto turns to the sea. "This is exactly what we're traveling around the Great Villages for, anyway, right? So you don't have to apologize." He looks back to the two Mist shinobi and smiles. "Anything the Mist needs for us, we'll do."

"Thank you for your understanding." Gonbee bows.

"Now then!" Naruto whirls around on one foot and looks for the kids. "While we're not being attacked, someone needs to start on their training."

Hinata giggles. "At least give them time to admire the view."

"They can admire it while feeling the satisfaction of getting stronger!" He makes his way to where the kids are at the front.

"I think Guy-sensei and Lee are rubbing off on you." She follows behind him.

-x-

Having rounded them up and gathered them by the centre mast, Naruto leans back on said mast as the kids sit in front of him. Hinata, Chojuro, and Gonbee observe from the side.

"So, what're we doing now, dad?" Kotori rocks back and forth.

"Can we even train here?" Yokumaru nervously looks around. "I think we'd break the ship…"

"Maybe that's exactly what we'll train to do- control ourselves better." Shoto folds his arms sagely.

"Weeell not entirely. Although that's also on the schedule at some point." He makes a mental note of it. "No, this time you're gonna learn..." Naruto lifts his leg and props it on the mast behind him. He lifts himself up and steps with the other leg. Much to the kids awe, he's standing completely horizontally, "... this!"

"Woah!"

"For real?!"

"Um…" Hinata thinks about how to voice her concerns. "Don't you think it's early for them? We didn't learn that until we were already Genin and had better chakra control."

Naruto crosses his arms. "Such a simple task is no challenge for the disciples of Naruto Uzumaki!" He hops off, landing back on the deck. "Besides, we've both seen how much they've trained. You already know they're stronger than we were at their age. If they're this strong already, there's no point in slowing down their training and hold back something that'll be easy for them."

"You've thought this through?" She asks.

"Of course. They're ready." He nods affirmatively.

"Alright!" Kotori jumps up to her feet. "I'll get this down in no time!"

Shoto stands up, keeping his arms still crossed and pushing himself up only using his legs. "I'm excited for this, too."

"We won't let you down, sensei!" Yokumaru declares.

Chojuro watches on amused. "He certainly has faith in his students. This should be interesting."

Naruto gives instructions of how to gather chakra around the soles of their feet and gives them a line they need to cross just like he did during their Body Flicker training. The mast is thankfully wide enough where each of them can take a side and not interfere with the other two. They line themselves up, leaving the side of the mast with the rope ladder to the crow's nest free, and begin trying to focus their chakra into their feet.

This will take a while.

-x-

The first couple of days at sea are calm and quiet. Too quiet.

Naruto and Hinata do stay on alert, along with Chojuri, in-between instructing the kids and helping them with their mast climbing.

Then, something does actually happen. The lookout up on the crow's nest, who'd occasionally watch with amusement at the kids below him trying to walk vertically, calls out. "Ship to our Port!" He calls out while observing through his binoculars. "One of ours headed our way."

"Slow coure!" The captain orders. "Prepare for meet."

Gonbee approaches the port of the ship, where Naruto and Hinata are already observing. "At times like this, ships who patrol neighboring sectors meet to share information, potentially prisoners or supplies." He explains.

"It's a measure to keep each other updated on what happens in each sector." Chojuro joins them, as well, observing the other ship that draws closer and closer. "May I ask you to use your Byakugan to look at the ship?" He looks to Hinata.

"It's outside of my range at present but I can once it gets nearer. Are you looking for anything in particular?"

"Just a precaution. Look for inconsistency within the crew members or perhaps something amiss in the cargo."

"Chojuro, you don't think…" Gonbee trails off, almost not wanting to finish the sentence.

"Pirates are known to take over ships and use these meets to set up an ambush." He explains more to Naruto and Hinata than Gonbee, who's fully aware of how sailors have been affected by such cases.

When the other ship does come within Hinata's range, she activates her Byakugan and scans the ship, almost immediately finding something wrong with it.

She gasps and places her hands over her mouth in shock. "There's… bodies below the deck. The crew aren't wearing the standard gear under their uniform, it's all makeshift. I don't think any of the actual crew are on board."

Chojuro lowers his head. "I was afraid of that. I'll tell the captain to prepare for trouble."

"So, what do we do in this case?" Naruto asks as the Swordsman begins heading in.

"Don't let on that we know. When they get near to try and dock, attack them in full force. And… try not to destroy the ship if possible." He adds as a precaution.

They nod and Chojuro tells the captain of the situation.

They do exactly that, not letting on that they know the other ship isn't theirs any longer, and allow the pirates to set up a board to connect the two. One man in particular walks across the board, strutting over confidently and apparently being the one in charge.

"Hail, we've a matter to repor-" He's cut off almost immediately.

One plan that was discussed was giving them several minutes of thinking they're in charge, maybe allowing some of them on the boat to break up their ranks. That, however, invites the possibility of their own ship being damaged during a skirmish. And they'd expect some of their crew to board the second ship which splits their own ranks, as well. It's risky, although it has its merits.

No, instead, the direct approach works even better. Ambush them while they're still confident in their ruse since save for having a Hyuga on board, it'd be impossible to know with certainty. And what are the chances a ship would have a Hyuga on board?

[Hiramekarei: Release]

The bandages that cover Chojuro's sword burst into ribbons as an explosion of chakra covers his blade, giving it the shape of a spectral hammer. Naruto had seen it before during the War but Hinata and the kids now see the weapon the Mist Swordsman had been carrying all this time. An unusual wide appearance, resembling a flounder fish, being seemingly held together by two handles for some reason. It's unlike anything any of them had seen and read about.

Chojuro swings and hits the supposed leader directly in the chest, sending him flying over the opposite side of the ship, not to be heard of again. Chojuro grabs each handle with one hand and splits the Hiramekarei, revealing it to actually be two blades, chakra surging through both of them.

Before the rest of the pirates can even react, Naruto Flickers over to two of them, chakra swirling in both palms.

[Twin Rasengan]

He hits them both square in the stomach, the massive force sending them crashing into the captain's cabin.

On the other side of the ship, a blur of lavender head startles two more of them. Before they can draw their weapons, Hinata surrounds her hands in purple chakra, flaring at a great size and blocking the men's view.

[Gentle Step: Twin Lion Fists]

She thrusts her palms right into their chests. The lion's maws open and they grow in size before flying through them, enveloping their whole bodies in a purple glow for a moment before it dissipates and they fall to the ground, coughing up blood.

"Kill them!" One of the pirates shouts out in a panic, although they're already at a severe disadvantage.

Two more of them try to go for the ballista mounted to the side but find themselves stopped.

[Crystal Style: Crystal Hexagonal Shuriken]

A series of six-sided glass-like projectiles embed themselves into the ballista and into the ground around it, preventing one of them from operating it.

[Feather Kunai Barrage]

A series of feathers strike the second ballista just like the shuriken, forcing the man to take a step back to avoid getting stabbed himself.

Although the original plan was for the kids to stick back, they wouldn't be their teacher's students if they did as they're told. They're taking this opportunity to show off what they've accomplished through their training! A long range attack for Yokumaru, and a greater control of her feathers for Kotori. It's not the only thing they've learned over the months, and they plan on showing off a lot more from now on.

Shoto Flickers over next to one of the ballista, now covered in minerals. The man next to him draws his sword to swing at the child who appeared from nowhere. Normally, the sight of a sword coming down at you would be a terrifying experience. Kotori and Yokumaru have shared their own stories of being amidst a nasty situation and in some respect, Shoto expected to be more scared although he'd never admit that.

Instead of fear, he's oddly calm about it. This man is trying to kill him and he's probably good at killing. But… his speed, the force behind his swing… Naruto is much more ferocious during sparring. Much more threatening. Compared to Naruto, this guy may as well be standing still.

Shoto punches the man's swordhand with a trained fist, causing him to drop the sabre in a cry of pain. A kick to the knee gets him on the ground at eye-level with Shoto.

[Earth Style: Earth Spear]

Shoto brings his darkened fist back and another punch directly on the nose sends the pirate to the ground with a broken and bloody fountain of a nose.

As the second man begins to take action, Gonbee Flickers over, placing a sword at the man's throat. "Drop it." He says in a threatening voice unlike anything the kids had heard from him before.

The pirate does as instructed.

[Multi Shadow Clones]

The deck becomes filled with dozens of Naruto clones, all of them surrounding the remaining pirates and standing at the ready. The Clones are prepared to fight, but make it clear surrender is the best course of action.

Everyone drops their weapons and gets on their knees.

The actual ship crew hop on over and put the living pirates in bindings and lock them in the cells in the ship's hold, the lowest level. The shinobi meanwhile, inspect the ship that had been taken over. They do check up on the ones that were attacked by Chojuro, Naruto, and Hinata. All dead.

"Hm." Chojuro contemplates, scratching his chin. "Maybe I should have held back against the leader."

"We caught enough of them alive, no need to worry."

On the other side, Naruto has his arms crossed. "You jumped in. You didn't listen." He scolds the kids.

"Sorry." They apologize in unison.

Frustrated, he rubs his head. "But ya did good, too."

"You said it yourself, shisho. We're strong." Shoto nods.

"Yeah, we're ready!" Kotori chimes in.

"I know you are. For your age." He corrects the misunderstanding.

Hinata kneels down and pulls the kids closer together. "I know you want to prove yourselves. You've gotten so much stronger I can hardly recognize you. But you didn't know what we intended to do. What if we'd decide to set off explosive tags at the ballista and you went in not knowing about them?"

"If you wanna prove yourselves, then we work together, alright? As a team." Naruto holds out his fist, a gesture that Kotori recognizes well from the Hidden Cloud.

She bumps his fist, and Yokumaru and Shoto follow suite although they're slightly more confused.

"Now let's get you back to training!"

For the rest of the journey, they would encounter several other questionable folk and confront them. They caught another two ships of pirates and smugglers, filling up even the second ship's brig. Hinata's Byakugan once again proves an invaluable tool for missions like this.

The kids do stay out of those fights but that's also partly because the actual shinobi are too good at handling the criminals, the most powerful of whom that had some more serious training would be comparable to a Genin. Maybe it's just their luck that they keep running into weaker ones.

Beyond all of that, the kids continue trying to climb up the mast with varying levels of success.

At one point, a light bulb sparks in Shoto. He takes off his shoes and performs familiar handseals as Kotori and Yokumaru look at him confused..

[Earth Style: Earth Spear]

So far he's always used it to strengthen his hands as most of his fighting style is about delivering punches, with only the occasional kick. However, Earth Spear is a jutsu for strengthening the body, not just the hands. He's freely able to dictate which part turns to stone, it's just that his hands are the most useful for his purposes. With enough training, he should be able to cover his entire body.

This time, his feet turn dark brown, gaining an earthen texture.

He keeps his focus on his feet and tries to climb up, carefully placing one foot on the mast before lifting himself and walking up. He doesn't quite reach the goal Naruto had set, but he does much better than his previous attempts. When he loses concentration, he pushes himself off and lands back on the deck.

"Good job, kid." The lookout claps from atop the crow nest, again looking down at the training below him.

"Hey, since when could you do that?!" Kotori points an accusatory finger at him.

"Since always. I've just never had a reason to use it on my legs." He focuses his chakra, attempting to readjust his output to

"And that worked?" Yokumaru wipes his sweat off his brow.

"I thought to use my chakra on my feet in a way I already know, and maybe it'd help me figure out this task. Seems it did." He taps his enhanced sole on the wooden deck. "It's a different way of applying chakra but similar enough."

"Show me how!" Kotori gets way up in his personal space, eyes sparkling.

Shoto tries to get some distance back between them. "Uh, sure."

Shoto helps them get a better grasp of channeling chakra, helping them along while Naruto and Hinata watch on as they keep getting better and better at it.

Ultimately, by the time their trip reaches its end, they manage to learn the tree walking exercise. They get to the top, and stay for a few seconds, before their chakra runs out and they fall.

Naruto catches them mid-air and squeezes them all, cheering with pride. "I knew you guys could do it."

Kotori joyfully returns the hug, as does Yokumaru. Shoto tries to remain stoic, but a smile can't help but creep on his face and he returns the hug, as well.

Gonbee nods approvingly. "I'll be honest, I didn't think they'd get it."

Hinata smiles. "They got it in about the same time we did, and we were older." She walks over and hugs the kids, too. "Well done."

Kotori grins widely.

"Just in time, as well." Chojuro looks ahead, where a large piece of land steadily grows larger and larger. "We've reached mainland Land of Water."

The Hidden Mist is not far away.

Trivia

Gonbee is a super minor character who appeared in the chapter Chojuro, Mei, and Ao debuted in, but only given a name in the Databooks.

Author's Note

Naruto returning to the Land of Waves with his students is a staple of Naruto-sensei fics that I just couldn't avoid any longer. xD