Diamonds and Pearls

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. The crews will face some obstacles to get to the treasure. I do hope that I haven't made it too easy for them. I also think that I have decided what I want to do with the older generation. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Chapter Notation: It was self-defense and the boars didn't suffer. The scene may be difficult to read for some people, so I put up warnings before and afterwards.

Chapter 16

"Uh oh." Sasuke says as he looks towards the forest, a few minutes later.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asks in confusion at his pearl's concern over some mysterious threat.

Itachi blinks. Oh that was not good. Wild boars. Those tusks could tear a man apart. There were a lot of them. It was a whole herd and they were coming right at the pirate crews.

"Sasuke, get back on the ship." Naruto says.

"What? No. I can fight." Sasuke protests the order.

"I'm one of your Captains and I'm telling your sexy arse to get back the ship. You're still recovering. You're in no condition to fight." The blonde snaps at him.

The First Mate gives Naruto a dirty look. He was not going back to the ship. His rib was mostly better. Besides, he couldn't just leave his crew to face a herd of wild fucking boars! He was still a pirate. Sasuke was not a cripple!

"Naruto, I love you. But I'm not going back to that ship." Sasuke insists.

Itachi and Gaara sigh. This wouldn't end well. Neither pirate was going to budge. That and they doubted the boars were going to politely wait for them to finish their "discussion."

Warning Boar Battle

They were proven right, when a boar charged at the bickering couple. Thankfully, Kisame thrusts his sword straight through its skull. Sasuke and Naruto blink. Shit they had almost been gored to death.

"Thanks, Kisame." Sasuke says in shock.

"You're welcome. So brat, are we good? I dropped the ball last time, but I saved his pretty arse this time." Kisame says.

"Yeah. We're good. Wait. What the fuck are you doing looking at his arse?!" Naruto demands.

Sasuke smacks his forehead. Nevermind. If he wanted to bicker with Kisame over jealousy, he'd just take advantage of his distraction. He is soon fighting back to back with Suigetsu.

"Good to see you back in action. You sure that blondie isn't going to throw a fit about this?" His crew member asks.

"Oh he'll throw a fit. I just don't give a fuck. He can deal with it." Sasuke says as he swings his sword at one of the wild boars.

"TAKE THAT!" Jugo says as he sends one of the boars flying with a swift punch.

Rin blinks. The man had to be mad. He wanted to face wild boars with only his bare hands? Did he have some kind of a death wish?

She manages to climb onto one of the trees to avoid being gored to death by a charging beast. On second thought, it didn't really matter. All of them were at least half insane and most of them were borderline lunatics.

"Well these might be useful." She says and starts throwing coconuts at the beasts, knocking them unconscious.

Temari and Shikamaru were fighting side by side. The married pirates were doing their best to deal with the wild animals. Shikamaru was surprisingly good with a sword, when he wasn't being lazy.

"This is such a drag. Remind me again, why we are on this wild goose chase?" He asks his wife.

"Because if we find that treasure, we'll be richer than we could have ever imagined and our Captains wanted to go on said wild goose chase." She snaps as she slams her sword into one of the boars.

Gaara sighs. He flings out some of his daggers, striking a few of the boars. Itachi was a madman with his sword. He was practically a blur. His movements were really that fast.

"On three!" Hinata calls out to Kiba and Karin.

They nod their heads. The boars come charging at the Hyuga woman. Kiba and Karin fire off their muskets. They went down instantly. Unfortunately, neither had many bullets on them. So they knew that this battle wasn't over yet.

"By God, these beasts are fucking impossible." Hidan snarls as he charges straight at some of them with his blade drawn.

Kankuro and Konan were fighting against some boars. Honestly, the Sabaku sibling had always been a little freaked out by the blue haired woman. She was just so stoic.

"DUCK!" She cries out and Kankuro does exactly that as the rest of the crews continue to fight the wild beasts.

Konan drives her sword through the beast's heart. She sighs in relief. It looked like they were slowly starting to win the battle. That's when the sound of a cannon rang out and the rest of the boars ran away.

End of Boar Battle

"That wasn't one of our cannons." Naruto says after hearing a cannon shot ring out.

"Definitely not. We better get moving." Kisame agrees and the pirates all rush into the forest.

Meanwhile Guy's crew had just arrived near the island that the pirates had. There was only one problem. While the pirates had been aware of the wicked reef, his people weren't.

The bottom of their boats were shredded. They only had one chance. They fired off a cannon. Hopefully, a royal vessel would be nearby and help them.

"SWIM MEN! SWIM TOWARDS THE SHORE. IT'S OUR ONLY HOPE!" He thunders out.

The men all try to swim towards the shore. Unfortunately, some really didn't know how to swim. The ones that did were bravely trying to help their drowning comrades or swimming towards the shore as they were instructed to do by their Captain.

Guy couldn't believe it. They had finally found the pirates and they had crashed against a reef. Damn it! Now he was fighting to save the lives of his crew, again.

"Don't worry, Kakashi! I'm coming!" Guy calls out as he drags three of his sailors to the shore.

He kept going back. Guy knew he had to push on. He was able to bring twenty men ashore, before a sailor told him that everyone that could be saved had been. They had lost half of their crew to that damn reef!

"Let's make sure that their deaths were not in vain. CHARGE MEN!" Guy bellows.

"AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN!" They say and the ones that could run or walk stormed the beach with their eccentric Captain.

They had to do it. They've come so far. Guy wasn't going to go back to the Queen of England empty handed. If he couldn't save his best friend and her lover, he knew that he was done for.

He could only hope that somehow Kakashi was alive. The man had more lives than a cat. He had to be alive, right? Surely, he couldn't have already perished.

Meanwhile back in England, Mei mentally counts to a hundred. It was the only way that she could keep from strangling the Spanish King. No matter how much she despised him, she couldn't do it.

"So what do you think, Queen Mei? Should we gather up some ships and launch an assault on these barbarians of the sea?" The King inquires.

What she thought is that she would like to see him buried six feet under. The Spanish ruler made no secret of his contempt for her. Her didn't think that a woman should rule a country alone. That was alright. Most people didn't, but he was especially vexing about the issue.

It was in the little things really. He constantly said things in such a way that she jus knew that he was patronizing her. The fiery Queen wouldn't allow these insults to go unanswered for long though.

"That would be a grand idea. Do you happen to know where any of these pirates are though? It wouldn't make much sense to send out a fleet without a location." she muses.

"Well no, but if they sail long enough…surely, they will come upon the fiends." He replies.

Mei was rather tempted to bang her head against the wall. What a waste of time, money, and manpower. He honestly expected to send two royal fleets to just sail around aimlessly until they happened upon pirates? How stupid was this man?!

"I think it would be a good idea to get a more specific location first. Of course, I would never tell you what to do with your fleet. I just do not believe that my Navy will respond well to such an order." She says.

That should trick him. If he thought that she didn't have the guts to order her men to go on a wild goose chase, then he'd be satisfied. The King could delude himself into thinking that he had a clever plan and was such a bold leader, but she knew the truth. He was weak.

Weak men didn't stay on the throne long. She would eventually find a way to deal with him. Mei just had to find a way to make his death look like an accident. She didn't want to risk angering the Vatican or starting a war.

"Very well, My Lady. Though if you wish, I could speak with them on your behalf. I would not mind helping you. I know that this must all be overwhelming at times." He begins.

Mei felt herself twitch. She knew that she needed to calm her fury. Getting into a verbal spat with him was not advantageous.

"That's not necessary. Besides, I don't think they would take kindly to a foreign Monarch ordering them around. I do hope you understand." She says in a sweet voice.

She hoped that it fooled him. Over the years, Mei had perfected it. Thus far the only man who had ever seen through it was Kakashi. This man was no Kakashi.

"Oh I understand completely. Do not give the matter another thought. A woman such as yourself should have a husband to make these types of taxing decisions and be siring heirs." The Spanish King says.

Speaking of Kakashi, she could only hope that somehow Guy would rescue him. She wasn't a fool. She knew that she would have to dissolve their romance.

Her heart had made her send out a rescue mission. She wouldn't have done that for anyone else. Kakashi was different though.

She was far too fond of him. Mei needed to be strong. England should be her first concern, not her second. The English Queen needed someone who could rule by her side. As much as she adored Kakashi, he was not that man. He was far too wild to ever be content to be constricted by the millions of rules that courtly life required.

"Thank you for your understanding." She says and smiles sweetly at the King.

"Of course. I hope you don't think me too forward but, I don't know how you manage it." He continues.

Mei raises an eyebrow. She didn't know what he was going to say, but she knew that it was going to be incredibly offensive. Still she feigns interest.

"You don't know how I do what, Your Grace?" The busty woman asks.

"You look as beautiful today as the day you were crowned. No worry wrinkles at all have marred your face. It is quite impressive." The King finishes.

Oh yes. She wanted to strangle him. My God, could the man be anymore irritating. Still she cooled her ire. It simply wouldn't due to be accused of murder.

"You are a flatterer, Your Highness. Come. The hour grows late. I am certain that you will wish to retire. Do not hesitate to ask the servants for anything, should you need something." Mei states.

"Of course. You are quite right. Nothing good happens after midnight." He states and heads to his chambers for the rest of the night.

Elsewhere Haku and Obito heard a cannon go off. They blink. They cautiously approach the ship that had given the distress signal. In the distance, they could see that it had partially sunk in fairly shallow waters. That meant it had smashed into a reef.

"Do you think the crews could have possibly survived that?" Haku whispers to Obito.

Obito frowns as he considers the other man's question. Well the shore wasn't that far off. It was possible, if they knew how to swim, they might have been able to make it to shore.

"Depends if they knew how to swim or not. Most sailors don't. Something about going down with the ship. You lot fancy that to be noble. In reality, it is just stupid. Why would you ever make your living on the ocean and high seas, when you don't know how to swim?" He inquires.

"You wouldn't understand. There is honor in going down with your ship. I suppose that is why I'm a Captain and you are a shipyard owner." Haku muses out loud.

The older man merely shrugs. He couldn't really argue with that. He had never had an inclination to become a sailor or a pirate. He loved the sea, but he knew that the sea didn't always love men back.

"Well I suppose the only way to check, would be to get out some rowboats. Let's go ashore. They might need our help and there's a good chance the pirates are there." He observes.

"The pirates are most certainly on that island. I can see their ships and their flags." His new friend ponts out.

Obito rubs the back of his head sheepishly. How on Earth had he missed that? He shakes his head and mentally chides himself for his lack of observational skills. Well no matter. At least now, they knew that they had found the right island.

They were one step closer to rescuing Kakashi. Oh and one step closer to avenging Haku's dead lover. He quickly orders the crew to get out some rowboats and they head towards the shore.

Back in the forest, Naruto pushes Sasuke against a tree. He figured that they were far enough away form the shore now, that the people from the other ship wouldn't be able to sneak up on them.

It was time to give his Pearl a good talking too. Sasuke was far too willing to put himself in danger, especially when he didn't have to. Naruto wasn't going to let him keep doing that.

"Naruto, get the fuck off me. We have to grab the treasure and get out of there before they find us." Sasuke hisses at him.

"No. Sasuke, you were hurt. You still charged into a fight with wild boars. You know that's crazy right? You could have gotten killed. I don't know what I'd do, if I lost you. What would Itachi do? What would the crews do?!" The blonde asks.

Sasuke sighs. He knew that he was going to have to kick his lover's arse. There was really no other way around this. It was touching that Naruto was so concerned for his safety, but he was a pirate. He didn't need to be coddled.

"I was not going to hide on the ship, while our crews were in danger. I might not be a Captain, but I am a First Mate for a reason. Naruto, you can't expect me to just sit around and do nothing while our friends might get killed." He growls at him.

"Sasuke, I admire your loyalty to our crews. But don't do it again. I can't lose you. I almost lost you once. It's not going to happen again. If I have to tie your sexy arse up and hide you away until the danger passes, I will do it." Naruto warns him.

"Fuck you! I'm not helpless. I fell overboard. That could have happened to anyone. I'm not weak!" Sasuke yells at him.

Naruto sighs. He caresses Sasuke's cheek. He wanted to protect his pearl, not piss him off.

"I know you aren't weak, but I am. I can't stand the thought of losing you. Just promise me that you'll be careful. You promised me that once we found the treasure, I could ravish you on the chests. If you die, I can't do that and that would make you a liar." He teases him.

"You are such a pervert. You are lucky that I love you." Sasuke mutters and kisses him.

The blonde pirate quickly kisses back. Well at least that fight had ended. They fought like cats and dogs, but they made love like angels and demons. That was just who they were.

"You two can screw each other's brains out later. For now we have to avoid whoever shot off that cannon and find the treasure!" Itachi snaps at them.

The two lovers break apart. Well at least they had the decency to look embarrassed. Gaara just shakes his head in amusement and kisses Itachi's cheek.

"Try not to be too cross at them. Emotions are running high now. That's all. Come on. Let's get our treasure and get out of here." Gaara says with a smile.

"They need to keep their wits about them, but I suppose your right. GAARA, WATCH YOUR STEP!" Itachi cries out and quickly pulls the red head back as he takes a step further.

It was a good thing that he did. The ground caved underneath Gaara. Apparently a hole had been dug and some grass had been thrown over it to hide it. The hole had to be at least 10 feet deep and there was no way that you were going to be able to climb out of that without a rope.

"Thank you, my love. That wouldn't have been fun." Gaara mutters.

"Well we know one thing. We must be getting closer to the treasure. That was clearly designed to be a boobytrap. Madara must have made them to protect his stolen loot." The elder Uchiha brother muses.

The red head nods. He looks around suddenly on high alert. Who knew what sort of traps, Madara and Kurama had laid out for anyone foolish enough to try to steal their treasure. They might have been dead for hundreds of years, but that didn't mean their traps wouldn't still work.

"Well we defeated an English ship. I think that we can handle some traps." Gaara says with more confidence than he felt.

"I certainly hope so, my love. I certainly hope so." Itachi mutters.

Deidara was looking around excitedly. This was a grand adventure. They were going find the long lost treasure and be rich.

"Don't worry! We'll find all the treasure. We didn't come all this way for nothing." Deidara exclaims cheerfully.

"How bad are our injuries and did we lose anyone while fighting the boars?" Sasuke asks.

Hinata stops to do a brief head count. Hmm they were missing some people. That wasn't good.

"Kakuzu, Zetsu, Baki, and Ino are all missing. That doesn't necessarily mean they are dead though. Maybe we just moved on too fast for them to keep up with their injuries?" The bluenette suggests.

Sasuke nods. He didn't believe it for a moment though. He knew them all. They were pirates. If they were still alive, they would have followed them. Come Hell or high water, they would've followed them.

He didn't want to say that to Hinata though. She seemed an unexpectedly gentle person to be a pirate. Well most of the time she seemed too kind to be a pirate anyway.

"Good to know. We'll double back for them after we find the treasure." He states.

Sasuke shivers slightly when he remembers how quickly and easily she had slit the throats of several men in battle. The moral of the story was do not judge a book by its cover. Naruto kept her around on his crew for a good reason and it wasn't just because of her looks.

Idly, he wondered how many members of their crews actually believed him. How many really thought that their comrades might actually be alive and how many saw through his lie? He couldn't tell. Sasuke knew that the lot of them all had excellent poker faces.

"AHHHHHH! OH MY GOD! IT'S A SKULL!" Sakura scream in horror.

Naruto blinks. He rushes over to Sakura to see what she was talking about. A skull? Why would there be a skull?

He bends down and blinks. Yes, there was a skull peeking out of the sand, just a few feet away from him. Clearly the rest of the body was hidden underneath. Someone had either gotten stuck in quicksand or shoved into it. That wasn't the only thing funny about the skull though.

"That skull is charred. He was burned alive before he sank completely. He's been here for awhile too. Not a hint of skin or hair on him." Kisame observes.

EVERYONE BE CAREFUL, THERE IS QUICK SAND NEARBY. WATCH YOUR STEP!" Itachi roars.

Gaara frowns. Someone had really wanted that man dead. He doubted that the poor son of a bitch had stumbled into quick sand and a fire just happened naturally. Still Kisame was right. That skeleton was old.

Was it possible that this person had tried to steal Kurama's treasure, while the legendary lovers had still been alive? Had his corpse been there all this time?

"What a drag. This means there are probably more traps around here." Shikamaru observes and his wife nods in agreement.

"Don't make me regret this. You are still horribly outnumbered. If you try anything stupid, you can join him in the sand." Itachi says as he frees Kakashi.

He didn't want to do it, but they needed every man and woman they could get. This forest was just filled with dangers. There was also the fact that they might not be the only ones on the island. It was possible that whoever fired off that cannon had already swum to shore.

"See? I knew that you were growing soft on me." Kakashi says smugly as he was released from his chains.

"Kakashi, don't provoke him." Rin warns her childhood friend.

It was a miracle that he was still alive. Why did that man insist on tempting fate? Honestly. Sometimes she half wondered if he did indeed have some kind of a death wish.

"I wasn't provoking him." The silver haired man protests and the assassin just rolls her eyes at his denial because they both knew that was a lie.

"There's a waterfall in the distance. I think I know where he might have hid the treasure." Sasuke says.

Itachi nods in agreement. He knew where Sasuke was going with this. Everyone would expect a cave, but almost no one would have looked behind a waterfall. That's what he and Sasuke would have done, if they wanted to hide a treasure from the rest of the world.

"Alright! Well let's get going. Be careful guys. We don't know what other surprises Madara and Kurama might have left for us! OFF WE GO MEN!" Naruto exclaims.

"AHEM!" Sakura growls at the blonde.

"Oh. Right. OFF WE GO MEN…AND WOMEN!" The Captain of Konoha says and they all head off.

None of them knew what else might lie on this island. Still if someone had been willing to murder another man, that meant they had the right place. They were closer to Kurama's treasure than anyone had been for hundreds of years. Success was well within their grasp.