I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.


Arrival

"This war's going to be over by the time we get to this island," Ryuu complained, one arm stroking up and down Fu's bare back.

In the last couple of weeks, they'd had to deal with pirates three times, an imposter pretending to be Naruto, and a trip through a waterway where there was no wind or current, then had a mushroom Naruto had bought during their resupply grow by devouring all of their food and water. Ryuu had had enough stored for emergencies in a scroll for Fu to eat, but the rest of them had all starved, minus Ryuu, who didn't need to eat or drink to survive thanks to his prosthetics. Or at least, they starved until Naruto and Guy got desperate enough to eat some mushrooms. Then Tayuya had to put both of them down when they tried to fight while hallucinating. It wasn't overly hard with her Genjutsu, and Kabuto had managed to reverse the effects of the mushrooms, mainly turning purple, growing mushrooms of their own over their whole bodies, and violent hallucinations, then Naruto had finally summoned Lord Fukasaku in order to have him bring them some of Lady Shima's insect cooking. Ryuu had passed on the option to eat food, and had massive amounts of sympathy for the others. However, even as they were forced to eat bugs, they all agreed that Fu keep the normal food, on account of being pregnant. They were also attacked by pirates, including the person that sold Naruto the mushroom, during the trip through that ravine, but compared to dealing with the mushroom and insects, that was basically an afterthought. After that, they'd wound up on an island where in order to win a woman's hand in marriage, you had to defeat them in battle. And somehow, Naruto had ended up technically engaged to the leader of the village. Hinata had not been pleased, though understanding that it wasn't Naruto's fault, and the two women had ended up getting into a fight over him, resulting in Hinata's victory. Which meant that, according to the laws of the village, the village leader was technically now engaged to both Naruto and Hinata, though no one expected either engagement to ever actually go anywhere.

After that island, they then ran into the problem of Guy accidentally sending Kakashi an SOS via a Turtle Summon, and when he arrived to help, he and Guy ended up in a fight when Guy thought he was an imposter. The fight had resulted in a fair bit of damage, a headache for Ryuu, and a odd bit of trivia about Kakashi and Guy's past that Kakashi used to convince Guy he was himself. Then, most recently, they'd met up with Chojuro and helped capture an Iwagakure rogue shinobi who was trying to start a war between the Hidden Mist and the Hidden Stone. However, after he'd been captured, Chojuro decided he wouldn't be executed in exchange for a favor from Iwagakure.

"I'm sure we'll get there before it starts," Fu said, smiling up at him.

He sighed, then reached down, kissing her. "You know you're not allowed to fight, right?"

"I know," Fu smiled. "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to throw up again."

She pushed herself up, pulling on a bathrobe before heading to the ship's bathroom. Ryuu sighed, pulling on his underwear and pajama pants before following, stroking her back and holding her hair back for her. After several minutes, she used Water Chakra to wash her mouth out before brushing her teeth. Then, they both headed to their room to get dressed, Ryuu choosing his basic Uchiha outfit for the day, though he took the scroll containing his long-sleeved shirt and flak jacket. Once they were on the foggy deck of the ship, Fu sighed heavily, taking a deep breath and grimacing.

"I hate morning sickness," Fu said.

Ryuu nodded, smiling sympathetically and kissing the back of her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her. He used his nose to brush her hair away from her neck before kissing it. It had grown out a little recently, now hanging just past her shoulders, but it looked good.

"Only another few weeks," Ryuu said.

Fu snorted. "Only. You're welcome to find a seal to let you deal with it for the rest."

Ryuu chuckled. "I would if I could."

Fu nodded, smiling. "How much longer until we're on land?"

Ryuu smiled, inhaling deeply through his nose. "Anything Isobu?"

"Do I look like a seagull to you?" Isobu asked. "And the fact that I actually do smell land just ahead of us doesn't mean anything."

Ryuu grinned. "We're here."

"Really?" Fu asked excitedly. "Finally!"

Ryuu glanced at Naruto, who was calling for an octopus, explaining that the Great Toad Sage had foretold him meeting an octopus who would give him guidance.

"Hey!" a crew member shouted. "The island's coming into view!"

Ryuu and Fu both turned toward the front of the ship and stared through the fog. A moment later, a massive sea of spikes came into view, many of them having dead animals almost the size of the ship impaled on them.

"That's...the paradise?" Naruto asked.

"It's like the Hidden Leaf's Forest of Death," a Hidden Cloud shinobi behind them said. "Although perhaps a whole lot flashier."

"I love it," Ryuu said. "Plenty of room and obstacles to use for training."

"No resort?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry," the Kumo ninja said. "It's safe here. Just remember, as long as you don't provoke them, the creatures here will leave you alone. Well, except for..."

"Except for what?" Yamato asked.

"What kind of paradise is this!?" Naruto shrieked. "You stink giant gramps sage!"

"It lives along the shore," the Kumo ninja said, just as a light-colored tentacle rose behind the ship.

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered. "Octopus tentacles! Alright! Bring on the guidance!"

"Uuhh..." the Kumo nin said.

"Um, Naruto?" Yamato said. "That's actually..."

A massive, light-tan, giant squid exploded up from the water, shrieking angrily.

"A squid!" Yamato shouted.

"It's him!" the Kumo shinobi shouted. "I was just about to warn you that he's the only one you have to be careful of!"

Naruto began to count the tentacles, but Ryuu smacked him in the back of the head.

"There are more than eight," Ryuu said. "Besides, if you're getting guidance from an octopus, there's a good chance it'll be the Eight-tails, which has the lower body of an octopus and the upper body of an ox. This one's not your octopus."

Just then, a tentacle surged down to grab Naruto, only for Ryuu's Susanoo's right arm to form beside him, slamming a punch into the tentacle and knocking it away. A moment later, a massive, brown, hairless ox with a lower body consisting of eight thick tentacles all but appeared beside the ship, slamming a punch into the squid's head.

"Squid, don't deviate!" Killer B shouted. "The rest I abbreviate!"

"What is this!?" Yamato shouted. "Here comes another one now, spouting out weird rhymes!"

"That's the Eight-tailed Beast," Ryuu said, letting his Susanoo's arm fade. "His Jinchuriki is Killer B. He likes to rap."

"All y'all were late, ya hear?" B asked, forming from the Eight-tails' tentacles before beginning to retract them. "Fools. Ya fools."

"It's nice to finally meet you, Gyuki, Lord Killer B," Ryuu bowed, Fu waving cheerfully.

"Hi B, hi Gyuki!" Fu called up to them. "Chomei says 'Hi,' too!"

B frowned at them both. "You must be those two who rescued Yugito. My thanks."

Both nodded, smiling.

"Hey, Octo-Pops!" Naruto called out as B landed on the deck of the ship. "Thanks, ya know?"

"Ya know, huh?" B muttered, pulling out a book and looking through it for a moment.

"What is he..." Naruto trailed off as B muttered to himself for a few moments.

"Glad you made it in one piece!" a voice shouted from above, everyone looking up at the spikes and seeing another Kumo shinobi standing there. "I've been waiting for you! I am supervisor Motoi! Welcome!" He had a gaunt face, messy brown hair, purple paint on the front of his nose, and a light teal scarf. "I'll show you to your rooms! Follow me!"

Just then, Guy and Aoba finally emerged, Guy only barely keeping from vomiting, and they all headed onto the island. Inside of the spikes, there was a full, beautiful forest. Ryuu smiled, admiring the forest as they walked, grinning at Fu, who was having an animated conversation with B about life as a Jinchuriki. A few minutes later, and a brief encounter with a giant gorilla that B told to leave them all alone, they were at a building designed to look like the Eight-tails and had been assigned rooms. They were told to gather again at seven the next day, so Fu and Ryuu both headed to their room to relax.


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