Chapter 3

One week after leaving the port of Wave Isle, the small fleet approached a massive island to resupply. This island was surrounded by a sharp mountainous ridge with two giant cracks in its flawless outer shell. As they moved closer the sheer size of the walls became even more apparent, towering at least 5 times higher than the masts of the Kyuubi.

"Bring in the sails; we'll ride the current in." With the sails tucked away, the ships entered the lightly lit tunnel in a single file line. The outer shell was an impenetrable, mile thick protective shield around the entire land mass. The fleet soon reached the end of the tunnel and were soon in awe at the spectacle before them.

"So this is Iwagakure no kikou (Port hidden in the Rock)." Inside of the protective barrier lay a lush land exploding with life. Birds were soaring overhead and the trees waved in the breeze; there was even a large waterfall rushing behind it all adding to its beauty. It was so picturesque, something only a painter could imagine after ingesting a hallucinogenic drug.

Almost an hour passed from the time they entered the tunnel to the point where the harbor came into view. There were at least 150 ships currently docked and you could see scads of people running about the island; clearly the place to be to plan the next mission.

Xxxxx

Iwa was the largest port city which openly allows pirates to freely come and go through their port. With this allowance, they have become an even bigger hub for contraband than Uzumakigakure. The increased size and safety of its waters are what brought this booming city most of its gold from merchants and pirates alike.

'Kyuubi', 'Susanoo', 'Akamaru' and 'Mistress Kurenai', named after Asuma's late wife, threw out their mooring cables and were securely strapped to the massive dock. Naruto breathed in the sweet scent of the clean, fruit infused air and let it all out in a sigh.

"Alright men, we all drew lots before arriving. Those that drew evens will get second shift for shore leave. The officers will be out all day to plan our next raid. Stick with us and we'll all be set for life." Cheers rang out from the men onboard from both the disembarking crew and those staying aboard. Although those with the second shift had to wait for their turn, they would get the increased enjoyment of hitting the nightlife of the city. Once all the crew hands were on shore, the officers met on the dock to have a discussion. Kiba, Shikamaru, Sasuke, Asuma, Kakashi, Choji, Sakura, Ino, and Shizune Were all huddled together.

"Today's mission…" Naruto started in a hushed voice. "Is to gather intelligence. We need to find our next lucrative target. We need something similar to hitting Gato; lots of cash and little damage to the villagers.

"Hey, that's great and all, but there aren't too many opportunities like that. Maybe we can go old school and loot a whole village." Kiba suggested.

"I don't know…" Naruto was apprehensive, he didn't want to steal all of a person's belongings and then find out they couldn't buy food and went hungry.

"Well, maybe if we find one of those really fancy villages we can take all their currency and leave them their houses and their belongings. Then we could get loaded and not have to worry about whether or not they could survive." Ino offered.

"You may have a point." Naruto relented. "…But that would be low on the list. Best scenario is another corrupt corporation, if you can't find any good info on them, then we can look into rich villages. Also, I'd like us to be on the lookout for something to combat that mist crap Zabuza pulled on us; we may stumble across more pirates from there, and we barely made it out of the last one alive. Get two or three pieces of intelligence and meet back in the bar by nightfall."

"Hey Naruto-kanchou?" Sakura cooed flirtatiously.

"No need to flaunt yourself Sakura-chan, two apiece, minimum, then you can do what you want."

"Really? Alright girls, this will be easy." She shouted and headed into the city.

The hours passed and it was now time to meet back up. Naruto entered the saloon first and reserved a large table in the far corner of the establishment for privacy. Within the first 5 minutes, all but the girls had arrived and were gulping down some refreshing ale.

"Well, I guess we can start, Shikamaru, you take down all the details so we can analyze the information and hopefully by the time we've gotten ours straightened out, the women will be back." Shikamaru nodded and pulled out a pad of paper and a pen and started taking down the pieces of information. About halfway though, the women entered and plopped down with a satisfied sigh.

"Man, we would have been here on time, but the shopping was so good, that we had to drop off our bags at the ship before coming in." Sakura chirped happily.

"We only want the information Sakura-chan."

"Yeah fine." Sakura slapped down a sheet of paper with all three of the women's findings on it, listed by name, before she stood up again.

"We decided to head for the hot springs for a bath, so… See ya." The three women filed back out of the bar as quickly as they entered, leaving the men of the group to determine the next destination.

"Ok, so let's throw out any information that doesn't jive with the rest. What do we have?" Shikamaru shuffled through the data and came up with three locations for targets.

"First option is to raid a mining corporation located on Stone Island, strictly a mining port, very few villagers. They have been basically enslaving their workers by coercing them into signing work contracts, then forcing them to pay rent for all their equipment. In the end, most of the workers end up owing money to the company instead of the other way around."

"Second, there is a super-rich clan who are in possession of a jewel that only appears once in every two centuries. Said to be priceless. It was rumored to have been stolen once already, landing it in the current owners. Word on the street is that there will soon be an auction and they're expecting this rare item to go for 100 pounds of gold or more. The downside is that there is not a proper port on that side of the mountain, just a small fishing dock."

"Lastly in a salvage mission. There was a ship that went down just outside of Kiri. Rumored to be very valuable."

"My first instinct says the first one." Naruto commented. "But I also hate clans, they all suck."

"I say we plunder the clan." Sasuke added, clearly wanting to prevent a reenactment of his clan being destroyed by one from the inside when the group became too full of themselves.

"You know…" Shikamaru pulled out his map once more and pointed to two islands. "Ishi is only a day's journey away from the 'Village on the Sand' on the north side of Wind Island. If we hit the mining facility and sustain little damage, we can head straight over to Wind Island and hit the village. Once we hit them, we should probably make ourselves scarce since Sunagakura no kikou will be on alert and we don't really want to face their Gaara and his Armada."

"You really think we can hit both?" Naruto pondered… You could tell he was really thinking about it.

"I like it." Sasuke mumbled.

"You think we can take a few wenches while we're at it?" Kiba asked.

"Of course not, we're not into kidnapping women; that is deplorable. Now what we can do is when we divide the booty, you can feel free to buy a few nights with a lady, at least then we are helping sustain jobs." Asuma reminded.

"Can we raid their ice box?" Choji asked while munching on the complimentary peanuts.

"Eh, sure… Take all you can carry." Choji was one of the easiest persons to deal with on the ship. He stayed quiet and you would forget he was even there if it wasn't for the occasional food comment. It was also easy with his one track mind; as long as his stomach was full, he was content.

"Are we in agreement then?" Naruto looked around and saw no sign to the contrary so he nodded and slammed his fist on the table.

"That settles it. Let's rest up for the next couple days to resupply and set sail for Ishi, then the Village in the sand." With the next destination settled, all that was left was to enjoy the city until it was time to depart.

It took nearly 3 hours for the current flowing through Iwa to carry the red sailed fleet back out into the open waters. They left behind a city most would have deemed perfect for the adventures of the open sea and no one even thought how strange that was. They have all experienced the life and freedom of being a pirate and couldn't imagine going back so early in their adventure.

A strong steady wind soon filled the large red sails and pushed the fleet away from the island at full speed. Surprisingly the waters were calm and they were making excellent time. Unfortunately, though, the weather on the sea can be more unpredictable than roulette.

xxxx

By the fourth day of travel, they could see dark black clouds chasing them from behind, riding on the same air current as they were. Even though they were on the same current, it was easy to see that it would catch up to them in just a matter of hours, and to make matters worse; the sun was setting as well. As the darkness fell, you could see the bright bolts of lightning in the storm behind them, but up in front was a slowly rotating light from the Ishi lighthouse… They had arrived.

"Alright men, this is how this one will work, when we dock, secure the ships with double, maybe even three times the amount of rope. We need the ships secure to weather the storm. Hopefully the cove will be enough to keep the big waves at bay. Now once that is done, we're taking the main building while they are hunkering down, then we'll wait out the storm and head out in the morning. Got it?"

"Aye Sir!"

The Kyuubi led the way into the cove. There were no defenses, no sign of any thing designed to resist invasion, the island was practically being served up on a silver platter. The only signs of life were the three warships tied loosely in the harbor. The ships were quickly docked and the crews quietly headed in land. There were quite a few grass roofed houses, where the workers probably stayed, lining the road up to a large sturdy building. With the storm coming and the wind picking up, you could tell the grass huts weren't going to hold together long. When they got closer to the large building, there were three guys struggling with a heavy chest and couldn't get it through the door.

"Come on, put your back into it." Shouted one of the struggling men. Naruto got a mischievous smile on his face and ran in.

"I'll get this end." He grunted while picking up the dragging end.

"'bout time!" Grumbled the man's exasperated voice. With the chest hoisted in the air, the four of them easily carried the heavy object into the warehouse and placed it on the ground.

"Whew, you sure came at the right time." The man commented, then actually looked at the orange clad pirate. He was of course grinning while looking down the barrel of his pistol; motioning them away from the chest.

"How many men are in here?" Naruto asked.

"Uh, it's mostly a skeleton operation. The workers think we have guards up here, but it is really just us. Please spare us." The men begged.

"I suppose we could." He threw a length of rope towards them.

"Tie yourself up and if you are still alive by morning, we will set you free." They looked up with a puzzled look until Naruto turned to Kiba.

"Take some men and get all the workers out of their huts and bring them here, those houses won't last long in this storm; its going to be a big one."

"I'm on it!"

A loud crack of thunder boomed and echoed through the large building followed by a drove of workers plowing through the small door. Upon entering, their fear subsided as they looked at the large warehouse with no guards, just the three merchants. All the coal and rare metals the men mined were piled up in the warehouse; enough value was stashed away in that building to buy a small island.

"Come on in boys!" Naruto greeted. "I know you guys are upset, but after the storm passes, and of course a moderate fee, we will head out again. You will all be free to do as you please once we leave. There will be a ship waiting for you, so feel free to load it with whatever and go."

After the short speech, the workers grumbled and headed for a corner of the dry building and set up their bedrolls for the night. While they were tucked away and sleeping, the storm was raging outside, pulling and tearing at the sturdy building. Not being able to sleep because of the racket, Naruto set out to explore the building some more. Piles of bauxite, coal, and even some iron ore were separated and stowed away in large carts, but it was the cart in the back that seemed to catch his eye.

He headed to the far corner and lifted the canvas tarp. Below the covering was three chests much like the one he helped to pull in. Curiosity got the best of him, so he cracked open one and beheld a full trunk of doubloons. It would seem as though these guys would sell off the haul and stash the proceeds back here, but why stash away that much? Just the three of them would be set for the next 3 generations… why not go home and live like a prince? Naruto closed up the chest and headed back where the crew was sleeping and soon joined them for a quick nap.

The night sky was still dark when the storm came to an abrupt end. Seeing as how the danger was over, Naruto quietly woke his crew and set them to work loading the most valuable of the cargo. They would leave just enough for the workers to have quite the nest egg upon their return home, but anything beyond that was theirs for the taking. The large warehouse door noisily slid to the side right as the sun was starting to spread its light across the sea. The racket they made woke the workers and brought them stampeding towards them.

"Like I told you guys… We've got what we came for, the rest is yours, including those three."

"Wait you don't know what you're doing!" Protested one of the tied up men, knowing their safety was now in question.

"Don't care! Onward men!" The crews of the red sailed fleet headed down the road, dragging along the cart of riches. When arriving at the harbor, they let out a sigh when they saw the ships were still completely unharmed.

"Let's get this loot loaded, I don't think those three were doing this on their own. I'd like to be long gone by the time someone comes a looking." Within 30 minutes all the loot was aboard the Kyuubi. After the two hauls, they had more than enough riches to supply their fleet for probably 10 years. Naruto was leaning back in his chair once more when a solemn look washed across his face. He opened the desk drawer and started going through an old leather bound journal. He let out a breath of air and shoved it back into the drawer.

"Just need a few more things… Then the real mission can start." He stood up and headed out the door to the wonderful sight of all his crew hands rushing to their stations.

"Bring in the lines! We head to Wind Island!" A gust of wind finally came from the correct angle and the bright red sails dropped, filling out to move the naval vessels forward.

The mine workers kept the three merchants tied up and threw them onto one of the remaining ships in the harbor before loading the hold down with the goods from the warehouse. The work was hard, but with each ton of goods loaded, their burden seemed to have been lifted. Five hours had passed and they were whistling a tune as they closed up the hatch after the last of the goods were loaded. They were bringing in the mooring cables when they saw a small dinghy rowing in from seemingly nowhere. Being a fearing group, they ignore it and quickly set sail. The ship was cruising away at full speed now, but what really bothered the makeshift crew was that the dinghy was still gaining on them until it completely disappeared.

"Where is it!?" Shouted a gruff voice as the three prisoners crashed up through the hatch to the brig. Following behind him was a strange looking man. His pale blue scaly skin looked like something from another world.

"It was stolen… The war chest is gone!" Shouted the leader of the mining operation.

"Who?" Growled the man while giving the man's neck a squeeze.

"Pirates… w… with red sails."

"Heh… first Gato, now you?" The man threw the leader on the ground and leapt off the starboard side of the ship, landing back in his dinghy and started rowing away at a quick pace.

"What was that all about?" one of the workers wondered, but the question was soon answered when ten large ships seemed to appear suddenly. The large sails on them all were black except for bright red clouds. Billows of smoke rose from each ship indicating their canons were just fired. Cascading water splashes shot upwards around the merchant ship until the iron balls started crashing down through the decking and hull of the ship. People were shouting and diving off the side of the ship while it was pummeled. A loud crack shot out when a 42lb cannonball pierced through the side of the ship, just below the water line, causing the sea to flood the hold. Within 5 minutes the ship was headed to the bottom of the ocean with all its natural resources and countless bodies; courtesy of the Akatsuki.

Night had fallen once again aboard the Kyuubi and her fleet. The winds were dead still, leaving them to rely on only the light current headed towards Wind Island. The three larger ships were lashed together like usual so everyone could head down to the mess hall on board the Kyuubi.

"Hey Choji, what's on the menu today?" Naruto asked as he met up with his quiet friend.

"We've got some ramen tonight. There was a guy we picked up in wave who has quite the knack for it. He calls it his famous Ichiraku's Ramen. And to tell you the truth… it's pretty darn good."

"Really? Then I guess I should get some before it's gone." After going through the line, he plunked down with the rest of his officers from the fleet and started in on eating. He had to agree with Choji, it was the best ramen he'd ever eaten. When he finished off his third bowl, they started to talk about the upcoming pillage.

"So what are you guys thinking? Should we go for a frontal attack, or sneak in to locate our gem first?" Naruto asked while working on his fourth bowl of ramen.

"I vote for loud and fast, just how I like my sex." Kiba stated with a perverted grin.

"Kiba!" He was, of course, struck with a chorus of fists from the women.

"I can make both work." Sasuke admitted without having a desire one way or another.

"And I say we should get the lay of the land first by sneaking in and sizing up the place." Shikamaru mentioned.

"How about you two, Asuma, Kakashi?"

"I would prefer to stay with Kuranai. I'm not much for fighting these days."

"I'll sit this one out as well; you guys are the new generation, it's all you."

"OK… well that means I'm the tie breaker. The medics will stay on board since we can't afford to lose them so… I think we should sneak in. It could be fun to try and not draw attention." The last comment elicited a group of stifled laughs.

"Well, if we are going for that plan… Let's load up the landing party aboard the Akamaru and pose as cartographers." The strategist suggested

"Uh…" The blonde's dumbfounded look was just as expected.

"Map makers Naruto… We will pretend we make maps."

"Oh, then why didn't you say so?" Shikamaru shook his head.

"Anyways, we land for a day or two while the rest of the fleet lies in wait out of sight from the village. Once we determine the location of what we want, we take it and head back to the Akamaru. If we run into problems we will light up the town and you guys come in with canons blazing."

"Sure, sounds good. We will go with that plan and we'll wing it along the way." Their leader confirmed.

After the meal was over, the fleet dropped anchor just barely inside the view of the faint flickering light of the village's light house. Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Kiba boarded 'Akamaru' and readied themselves for the infiltration.

"Alright! Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba detached from the anchored fleet and dropped the sails of his small ship. Even though there was next to no breeze, the smaller ship was able to get just enough of one to speed it faster along the oceans current.

"We should wait to act until there is a stronger wind so our reinforcements can arrive faster. If this dead wind keeps up it would take far too long for them to show up." Shikamaru suggested

"I agree, but we can't predict the unknown." Naruto replied.

"True, so true."

The small sloop started nudging closer and closer. They took down the Jolly Roger and raised a simple white flag to advert suspicion. The slight change will add a little more authenticity to their story and help prolong their stay. The ship sailed into the tiny cove and barely made it to the dock before it started to run aground in the shallow waters

"Alright guys… I'll see you around after we figure out what this item is." The four men spread out from the shore and headed inland. Naruto learned early in his training with Kakashi that a village's secrets are always able to be spilled over a tall lager. At that late hour, it was always easy to spot the saloon by it being one of the few places with the lights on. Stepping through the door, we was greeted by a few looks from the drunken men inside, but it wasn't like they could tell who he was anyways. He took a seat at the bar and ordered a pint.

"Here ya go. I see you're new here… are you here for the auction?" Asked the bartender.

"Actually no…" He paused and took a drink of his ale to wet his throat before continuing. "I'm actually part of a mapmaking expedition and we landed here to get our legs back after the storm last night."

"Ah yes, that was a nasty storm."

"Indeed it was. But now you have me a bit intrigued with this auction… Is it open to anyone?"

"If you have the funds for the buy in, but then if you had that you wouldn't be kicking back such cheap ale."

"Aye, that be quite true." After another wetting drink he took up the conversation where he left off.

"Is there anything that may be there of worth to mapmakers? A few of my companions might have the buy in."

"Eh, not sure. They will be having a viewing of the goods tomorrow morning before the buy in, then you can see for yourself."

"Hmm, well, we just may do that before heading out to sea again; might be interesting." Naruto took another drink, emptying his cup and set it on the bar.

"Want another?"

"Yeah, why not?"

The next morning, Naruto found himself waking up in the middle a grassy park. His head ached while he tried to remember how he got there, then remembered the extra drinks at the bar. The hangover was killer but after it dulled a little, his senses returned while pulling himself to his feet. Looking around the park, he noted the location of the sea to the north and realized where he was. There was a strange commotion to the south, so without a better idea he headed towards the sound.

Rounding the corner of a large building, there was a mass of people circling tables of glass encased items. As luck would have it, Naruto found the viewing for the auction without even trying to. The viewers were from all different walks of life. Some were fat, others were old, and most were both. He stepped closer to the tables and tried to catch a glimpse of some of the objects until he started feeling nauseated. He quickly looked around and found a bench to sit in, although there was a problem; an elegantly dressed woman was sitting on the only bench in the area. In a normal situation he would avoid making contact, but the sickness wouldn't pass so quickly. He resigned himself to the fate and sat upon the bench next to her.

"You shouldn't sit here." Whispered a tiny voice to his side. Her voice held a gentle sparkle, but seemed dulled somehow.

"I'm not feeling too well… It'll just be a moment." He replied with his head down in his hands.

"but you…" She turned her head from facing forward and stopped after just a glance. There was something different about the guy but she quickly turned back front. "Fine, you can sit here… just don't blame me for what happens."

"Yeah, thanks." He looked up and forced a smile. Her head wandered down and caught a glimpse of his awkward smile, blushing when she saw that grin. Her eye darted back to front while she nervously tapped her fingers together.

"Um… Are you here for the auction?" Naruto asked to make polite conversation and tried to physically overcome the throbbing pain in his head.

"You could say that." She replied with a saddened face. "Is there something here you want?" She wondered out loud.

"I was looking into that priceless jewel said to shine like a sun; or was it a jewel that looked best in a sunny place?" The girl giggled, the cute look on her face was stunning, and it started to draw attention to her from the crowd.

"Did you see that smile!?" One of the fat millionaires commented to another.

"Just… just gorgeous!" He replied

"I… I think it is time for you to go." The young woman urged, noting the attention being drawn. She was still talking in her ultra-quiet voice but he could tell there was a sense of urgency behind it.

"OK." Naruto stood up and looked back at her. A light breeze came across and blew her dark bluish hued hair out of her face, revealing a set of lavender tinted eyes, without distinguishable pupils. Her cheeks were colored with a hint of pink and she gently smiled at him when he locked eyes with her.

"What's your name?" The girl looked shocked and her index finger curled up to her bottom lip.

"Sorry I shouldn't have asked." Naruto muttered; he turned back and started walking away when there was a loud female voice behind him.

"Hinata." His head turned back and he saw her face redden to a deep scarlet. She let her gaze drop to the ground shyly.

"It's Hinata." She muttered quietly. She then looked up at the crowd and realized she was being stared at and quickly returned to the blank stare she wore when Naruto arrived.

"That girl is… weird… but attractive." Naruto mumbled. He glanced through some more items at the showing, and took one more glance back at the young woman, before his spinning head forced him to retreat back to the Akamaru for a nap to relieve him of his hang over.

...Later