At The Edge of Time
"Now that you mention it...I haven't felt sea sick at all this night." Choji admitted.
They all ran to the side of the ship.
There were ripples surrounding the ship as is sailed through the unknown.
"The water reflects the stars," Shawn commented, "almost too perfectly."
"We are approaching the edge of time." Grandma said coming up.
"So then, where are we?" Ino asked.
"We are sailing within time itself. To get to Him, we must fall away from time."
"How do we plan to do that?" Neji asked.
"Um...there's something wrong up ahead." Sarah said pointing forward.
Everyone hurried to the front.
Not far from where they were, they could all make out what looked like a bend in space.
"What is that?" Bara asked.
"That is what scholars like myself call "The End of Time". We fall off time as we know it, and enter His world; a series of time zones and spacial rifts. I suggest we all head under, you don't want to be on deck when we fall off."
Everyone hurried down to the lower deck.
"Brace yourselves." she warned.
They felt the ship tilt, then the floor became a wall.
Sasuke quickly grabbed the door way as Bara clung for dear life.
Most of the guys did the same.
Hinata clung to Naruto; Sakura to Lee; Tenten to Neji; Sarah to Kiba; and Ino to Shikamaru.
Grandma's feet clung to wall.
The ship jerked and everyone except Grandma lost their grip and fell into a pile at the end of the hall.
They all looked up at the deck opening.
Something was sucking the ship in; the door swam into a twist, dragging the whole ship, and eventually them with it.
When it reached them, everyone lost consciousness.
Bara was the first to wake up.
Cautiously, she walked outside to see that it was a clear sunny day, but it still felt strange.
Kiba woke next and walked out to investigate too.
He sniffed the air. "Hey, there's no wind."
"No wind?" she replied and looked up at the sails that stretched like they were being pushed in a certain direction.
"Then how's the ship moving?" Bara asked.
"Because He wants us to come to Him." Grandma said. "Remember, we are in his world now. He controls most beings in this zone."
"Most?"
"Some resist his will, but the ones that don't are usually large and terrible."
After a while everyone else awoke, and was briefed by Bara and Kiba.
"For the remainder of our trip at sea, until we find land, I will need those who can see things from a distance to always be on the lookout for anything headed our way." Grandma said.
Neji and Hinata turned on Byakugan, Sasuke and Sara the Sharingan, and Shawn did both.
Neji turned around instantly and strained his eyes. "Looks like something's coming."
"Yeah...I see it too." Sasuke said.
"What is that?" Bara asked.
"It's...getting larger..." Hinata said.
"It's like a giant arrowhead with alot of arms..." Shawn said.
Grandma's blind eyes widened in fear. "Neji, Hinata! Stay on your guard, you two will be the most useful in this fight."
"What is it?" Naruto asked.
"A Kraken." she sighed.
The boat shook for a minute.
Everyone heard a low rumble below them.
"Stay away from the edges!" Shikamaru warned.
Sasuke unsheathed his chokuto and wrapped his free arm around Bara.
Naruto and Sakura backed up next to them as well.
Everyone knew it came for Bara.
A tentacle shot up from the right of the ship.
Like a snake it shot down, straight for Bara.
Neji quickly ran in front and hit a couple of places on it's tentacle.
The tentacle fell on the deck, limp as a noodle.
"Cut it now!" Grandma ordered.
Sasuke cut the tentacle quickly, his sharingan scanning the water for its next strike.
Their eyes saw the next attack coming...right behind them.
Hinata's turn, she ran between it and Bara and paralyzed it as well.
Shawn used a sword he made from his bones to cut it off.
A full minute passed with no activity.
"What's it doing?" Sakura asked.
"It's just sitting there." Neji said.
"Looks like it's waiting for something." Shawn said.
Their eyes narrowed and they gasped.
"It's gonna smash into the boat from below!" Bara yelled.
"Abandon Ship!"
Everyone landed on the water and made way for land.
The kraken bisected the ship, making it look like it exploded.
It crashed into the water and jetted towards its prey.
Everyone just reached the beach when it, moving too fast, slid up on the sand.
It gave a low growl, then used its remaining tentacles to quickly pull itself back into the water.
It stayed there for a minute before disappearing back into the water.
"Ah, this is convenient." Grandma said while everyone's attention was still on the water.
"What?" Sakura asked.
Her question was answered in what looked like an entire civilization, half submerged in water.
The buildings were old and some lay in ruins.
"This place must be ancient." Naruto said.
"No sign of life here." Neji said.
They walked up to an old stone bridge.
"Looks like it's centuries old by the looks of those vines pokin out." Shikamaru observed.
"The Gate of Innocence," Grandma said startling everyone, "is a curious one indeed. It is strengthened by true insight, and blocked by the illusions that we've come to know...such as time."
"Grandma, wha-" Sarah began.
"Unlocking this gate is better than unlocking the Gate of Thought, for The Gate of Innocence prepares the mind and gifts one who unlocks this with the rare ability to bend nature to their will. You all," she said pointing to the former rookie 9, "Have got so far as the gate of power. However you three," she said pointing at the remainder,"have reached The Gate of Perception, a gate before Innocence."
She turned and started to walk on the path.
Everyone exchanged glances with each other, wondering what made her reveal that to them.