There wasn't much to the journey through the strange portal. One minute they were on Mt. Fear, the next they found themselves in an unknown land.
Goemon, being the first to step through the portal, was the first to arrive at this new destination. He barely had time to look around and wonder where he was when he was hit from behind by a large, shrieking object. Both Goemon and this newcomer fell forward onto the grassy floor beneath. "Ow...What the hell was that about?" Goemon complained.
"S-Sorry, Goemon," came the reply.
"O-Omitsu?! You came? Where are the others?"
"Of course I came, Goemon. I said I was gonna protect you, and I meant it. As for the others, I'm assuming they'll be here soon. I was the first to go through that vortex thing on Mt. Fear after you."
"Great, great. So...do you think you could get off of me now?"
"Oh, right. Sorry, Goemon." Omitsu quickly stood up and helped her friend to his feet.
"Okay. Huh...Where are we, exactly?" Goemon looked around and saw nothing but trees. He moved closer to one and rubbed a shiny gray area in the wood. "Wait, I've seen this before..."
--
The ocean was unusually calm on that day. Waves were small, fish were not jumping, the breeze was light...If only the ocean could have known that it would be disturbed very soon.
"Eeeeyaaaaahhhh!" Something literally appeared out of thin air and hit the surface of the water hard. That something was underwater for a few seconds before emerging and revealing itself as none other than the kunoichi Yae.
She gasped for air and coughed, nearly sinking once again, before calming herself enough to stay afloat. She could see land far in the distance, but she knew it would be difficult to reach, especially for the others, who didn't have the same advantage that Yae did while in the water. And no matter where she looked, she could see nobody. There was no sign of any of her friends.
Seconds after fearing the worst, Yae's anxiety was assuaged slightly when she saw a green and blue ball fall into the ocean. "Sasuke! Sasuke?" The Clockwork Ninja didn't float back up. "Sasuke? Sasuke!" Yae dove down in search of Sasuke, and hopefully Goemon and Omitsu as well.
--
As for Ebisumaru, he had hit the ground rolling. More specifically, he found himself rolling into an older gentleman who was quite displeased to find himself on the floor beneath the portly Ninja of Justice. He cursed profanely while Ebisumaru frantically stood up and apologized for his "clumsiness."
The old man himself had a long white beard and hair to match. He muttered under his breath as Ebisumaru helped him up, but threw the ninja's hand aside once he was back on his feet. He bent down and picked up his walking stick before whacking Ebisumaru's arm with it. "What's the big idea, sonny?!" he yelled in a hoarse voice.
"I, I'm sorry, sir! Really, I am," Ebisumaru said, backing away as he rubbed his sore arm. "Say, you remind me of someone I know--"
"Do I look like I care, sonny? Now scram before I call the police!" He rapped Ebisumaru with his stick several more times, yelling "Help! Police!" the whole time.
"Eek! I already told you I'm sorry, sir!" Ebisumaru whined. He ran away, practically in tears and covering his head. He could hear the old man chuckle and say "I showed that punk a thing or two, didn't I?" behind him.
Ebisumaru whimpered and fiddled nervously with his thumbs. Despite the fact that this city he had found himself in was bustling with people, he felt completely alone. He didn't recognize even one of these people. "Goemon? Sasuke? Yae? Omitsu? Where are you guys? I'm scared..."
--
"I thought so. Looks like we're back already."
"What do you mean?"
"We're back in the future, Omitsu. So I'm guessing we'll be running into Jurokubei again soon enough." Goemon turned his head to look at Omitsu, who seemed to be staring off into space with her mouth slightly agape. Clearly expecting a response and receiving none, he cleared his throat, causing her to jump.
"Oh, right, Jurokubei...That awful man...What an awful, awful man..." Omitsu's voice trailed off as she turned away from Goemon and blushed deeply.
Goemon slapped his forehead in exasperation, but gave no other response to Omitsu's odd behavior. "Anyway, the others still haven't shown up for some reason. Why don't we wait here and eat something?"
--
Meanwhile, Ebisumaru was still wandering around the town he had the immediate misfortune of ending up in. He received unsettling looks from the strangers that passed him by, but the Ninja of Justice tried his best to remain proud and cheerful, at least on the outside. After all, he was the Ninja of Justice. But what could possibly be so strange about him that he captured the attention of so many people?
In reality, though, he was so terrified he wanted to jump out of his skin. He called out for all his friends, but received no familiar voice in response. Despite his seemingly crippling fear, he yawned loudly, drawing the attention of everyone around him. "Wow, I'm really sleepy," he mumbled. "I'd better find someplace to stay for the night..."
Ebisumaru finally swallowed his fear and asked the nearest pedestrian where he might find an inn. Thankfully, rather than biting his head off or even hitting him with a stick, the man pointed him in the right direction. Ebisumaru thanked him and scampered off before this helpful stranger got any violent ideas.
He walked for what seemed like hours through a maze of streets. Finally, he came to a relatively humble building among several taller, more majestic ones. A slightly worn sign above the door read "Neo Inn." "Well, it's better than nothing..." Ebisumaru said as he walked inside.
"Welcome!" This sudden shout greeted Ebisumaru as he entered and nearly gave him a heart attack. It was so loud and so sudden, it seemed like the man who said it had been waiting for years to say that one simple word to somebody. The voice, which belonged to a short, middle-aged gentleman sitting behind a desk, continued after a while. "You look like a man of distinguished tastes. How would you like to stay in our Gold Suite this evening, absolutely free?"
Ebisumaru was elated upon hearing this. "Free? Oh, you bet I--Wait a minute. What's the catch? Goemon always told me there was a catch. Why are you letting me stay for free?"
The innkeeper was taken aback by this display of skepticism and began sweating and rubbing his neck. "Umm...Well, you see, uh...Oh! You're our one millionth customer! As an expression of our gratitude, please accept one free night in our luxurious Gold Suite!"
"I don't know...This is starting to look a little fishy, if you ask me..."
"Food will be freshly cooked and brought to you at no charge--"
"All right, it's a deal!"
--
Yae dove and swam as quickly as she could, but was barely keeping up with the sinking Sasuke. The pressure was almost too much for her to bear. Her lungs felt as if they were going to explode. But transforming now would be too risky; something could happen to Sasuke in that time, after all. She would try her best to catch him first.
"Just a little further..." Yae reached her hand out to grab Sasuke's. "I've almost got you...There!" Yae clasped Sasuke's wrist, just barely slowing his descent. Unfortunately, it wasn't slow enough. The Clockwork Ninja's other hand had come in contact with something large and metallic, and its deep growl indicated that it felt extremely hostile towards those who had disturbed it.
"Uh-oh...I guess now would be a good time to transform." Even as she thought this, she concentrated on awakening her greatest power. She was bathed in a pink glow for a second before it dissipated and revealed a significantly different Yae. She was now a mermaid, complete with a pink tail shaped like a dolphin's tail fin and gills as well as lungs. She grabbed Sasuke's wrist and swam up towards the surface as fast as she could. The jaws of the creature chasing them clamped down on only water mere inches behind them, giving her plenty of motivation to hurry even more.
"Ah! Finally!" Yae at last reached the surface of the water and was once again able to breathe the salty ocean air. Sasuke, though, was still motionless. "Sasuke, wake up!" she shouted, hitting him on the head at the same time.
Sasuke awoke with a start. "Wha--?! Miss Yae, what was that for?! I--" Before Sasuke could finish this sentence, he and Yae found themselves flying through the air on a powerful stream of water. They screamed and tumbled in midair as they came back down, hitting the water with a huge splash.
Finding themselves underwater once again, Sasuke and Yae swam for the surface and reemerged as quickly as they could. "That's what that was for," Yae said after taking in a huge breath of air. Sasuke gasped when he saw what Yae was referring to.
It was clearly a robot, though it had been painted to look like a snapping turtle. The craftsmanship was sloppy; even from a good thirty feet away, Yae and Sasuke could see that the turtle's beak and hands were jagged and the coat of paint was uneven. Of course, the former characteristic wouldn't make defending against this behemoth any easier.
"Let's hope this works..." Yae said as she armed herself with her trusty bazooka, a long-range weapon of considerable power. After aiming in the general vicinity of her opponent's head, she fired it off several times. Though each shot would have have hit the turtle somewhere in the face, only a handful of them actually did, bouncing off without making so much as a miniscule dent. The others were caught in its mouth, chewed, and swallowed within a matter of seconds. "Well, that's not good. I don't suppose you could throw your Firecracker Bombs that far, eh Sasuke?"
"Obviously not! The best option at this point might be to run away."
"Or swim in this case. Hang on tight, Sasuke." The Clockwork Ninja wrapped his arms around the mermaid's neck as both of them sped off, closely followed by a very bad-tempered turtle.