Chapter 4

"Hey, idiot…" A loud smack sounded, followed by an unhappy groan. "Wake up!" This time Naruto felt a kick to the side and rolled to his feet.

"Hey! Don't kick your captain." He barked. Luckily for him, the headache was just a faint memory now, making it easier to wake up and stand correctly.

"I've been kicking you for years, and it won't stop." Sasuke commented with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, yeah… Did you guys find out anything?"

"Hn…"

"Well, that's a no from Sasuke… How about you guys?" The blond interpreted.

"I followed a few leads, but it was impossible to come up with where the jewel was hidden. All that I really managed to find out is that the auction to sell it is tonight." Shikamaru informed.

"Yeah, I got that too… Kiba, anything?"

"Not really, the hot women here are all married." He replied

"Not that, about the jewel." Naruto corrected while punching the man.

"Oh, that… No one I talked to knew anything about a priceless gem. Are you sure it will be auctioned?"

"That's the word on the street, but I didn't see any gem either at the pre-auction showcase." He revealed.

"Were there any hot chicks?" Kiba asked… talk about a one track mind.

"Mostly old fat guys, but there was one person there who was awfully enticing." The blonde recalled with a smile spreading across his face.

"Really now?"

"Yeah, now forget about that… Grab some cash, we need a buy in to take part in the auction. When we find what we are looking for, we'll steal it, and all the entry fees… We'll make a killing." Naruto declared with a grin.

"You think it is that easy?" Shikamaru wondered while devising a new plan.

"Nope, but luck is on our side today. I'm sure it'll go just fine."

"Overconfident as ever." Sasuke scoffed, but followed the other three towards the auction house.

"Good evening, and welcome to the Amagiri Clan's auction, we have so many different items up for bid today including our very special Jewel of Light, so open your pocket books wide, she'll go for an amazing price…. Our first item: A brilliant gold statue depicting an artist's take on what the legendary gambler, Tsunade looks like… In the nude of course… Starting bid: 5 pounds of gold."

The auction continued on with a tremendous amount of gold being paid out for the different rare items. A few of the old men had already packed up and left after not winning the few items they were after. Shikamaru was analyzing the possible locations for the safe where the goods were kept based on the movements of the auction handlers after receiving their payments from the winners. At that moment, Naruto was puzzled when he saw that young woman from earlier, standing at the side of the stage.

"What's Hinata doing up there?" He wondered out loud.

"Wait, what did you say?" Shikamaru asked with a sudden interest.

"Hinata? She's that girl I was talking about."

"You moron!" Sasuke shouted and smacked the blonde upside the head.

"Hinata means 'Sunny place' or 'in the sun'." Shikamaru informed. "The Jewel of Light, the gem filled with sunlight, it's all the same thing. We've been looking for a 'what' when it was a 'who' all along."

"Wait, so you mean!?" Naruto started in an astonished voice. Sasuke and Shikamaru were nodding happily now that he finally got it.

"You mean she has the jewel with her?" That earned another smack by Sasuke.

"No you moron, that girl is the jewel. The information we got was slightly distorted."

"Oh… W… Wait so you mean she's being sold?" Naruto managed to duck under the following smack since it was very obvious that was what was going on. Had he not been hung-over, or an idiot, he would have figured that out by the lot number attached to the bench she was sitting on earlier.

"SOLD! To the man with the monocle… Now then, to the main event, we have our precious jewel." A person, looking like a security guard, pushed the young woman forward and into the spotlight. "She is a rare find, known to have an unusual power that has yet to be unlocked. To the right person she could be a force of overwhelming power, but at the very least, she will make a most glorious trophy. This maiden will have a starting bid of 100 pounds of gold."

The bidding started and the price quickly rose past 150 pounds of gold and then to 175. Steadily it continued to climb as she looked down at her feet. The auctioneer motioned to the guard who came out and forcefully lifted her face so the crowd could see her better.

"195 pounds of gold… Can I see two hundred?"

"300 pounds of gold!" Shouted a voice. All members of the auction were now looking at an orange clad, blonde haired man, who was now cringing from a punch to the side from the raven haired man to his left. Hinata's eyes suddenly darted up and saw the man grinning towards her. The heat rushed to her face and colored her cheeks a rosy red, causing her to look away shyly.

"3… 350!" Shouted another man after seeing how cutely she was smiling.

"375!... 400! 450!" Shouted a choir of other men now in the fray.

"Crap, this isn't going our way." Naruto admitted. "Back me up guys." He pushed past Sasuke and headed into the aisle and ran towards the front of the auction house. His crew mate grumbled and followed his lead. The giddy auctioneer didn't see him coming down the aisle in his greedy blindness until the blonde was landing on the stage.

"I bid… Your Life." In an instant, he pulled a short knife from his boot and slipped the sharp blade under the man's neck. "Sounds like a deal doesn't it?" He whispered to the man.

"Actually…" The man muttered and the stage became crowded with five guards with guns at the ready. "I think a counter offer of your life sounds good."

Naruto saw the smile on Hinata's face drop when he let go of the blade and it clanked on the ground. The man smiled triumphantly as he leaned forward and picked up the blade. Naruto stood helplessly as the man came around behind him and brought the blade up towards his neck. Seeing this, Hinata looked away, knowing what came next.

BANG! A loud shot echoed through the auction hall, causing everyone to jump, hoping to find the location of the blast. Hinata turned back and saw a bright smile on the blonde's face as the blade fell from only inches away from his neck. His right hand was placed just inside his black vest, holding the grip of his flintlock pistol. The man behind him slipped to the ground while he pulled the gun from its hiding spot and pointed it at the guard standing behind Hinata.

"Why didn't you tell me you were being sold? I would have freed you then." He playfully scolded.

"I… I thought you knew." She replied in her sweet, soft voice. Just as he was about to reply, a thunderous explosion rocked the auction house. Pieces of the ceiling fell to the ground and the audience started to panic.

"Don't know what that is, but we gotta go!" Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her off the side of the stage, in the direction his crew went. He ran down the hall as fast as he could go when there was a shriek and he felt Hinata's hand tighten. He looked behind him and saw a guard holding her arm until he was persuaded to let go with a puff of smoke and a projectile to the cranium.

"Keep moving!" He shouted and pulled. She didn't even have time to think and was pulled along as more explosions thundered inside the building. She looked back up ahead and saw another guard blocking the back exit with a musket rifle pointed at them. They kept running right at the man as a shot sounded with a cloud of smoke and the guard fell to the ground. Stepping out from around the corner was Sasuke, holding a smoldering gun.

"Let's Go!" Naruto shouted and leapt over the guy and out into the door into the village with Hinata in tow. When they spilled out into the street, everyone from the auction was running in random directions as explosions sent piles of earth soaring into the air. Sasuke then ran up to Naruto's left side and Shikamaru did the same on the right. They were both carrying large bags of loot from the auction and fell into a synchronous run with the blonde.

"Is Kiba getting ready?"

"Yes, he took off the moment you ran up."

"Good, any idea who is attacking?"

"No, but the positive side is that they are coming from the desert side of the Island." The four people continued running and dodging falling debris as they made their way to the north of the island. Once they set foot on the dock, Naruto stopped to catch his breath. And let go of the woman's hand.

"You're free now… you can do what you want." She nodded with a bright smile.

"Thank you. But where do I go?" She looked back towards the village that was now burning in the darkened night sky, then back towards the blonde.

"If you want…" Naruto smiled and held out his hand. "You could always come with me." He offered. Hinata looked down at his hand when another explosion rang out, causing her to jump and grab his arm instead.

"Well, maybe… just for a little while." She reasoned and stepped aboard the Akamaru.

They pulled in the mooring ropes and shoved off from the small dock. When they were turned about, they set sail and moved away from the island. Flashes of light from canon fire shot outward from the shore line towards their small ship, skimming by the hull.

"Why are they shooting at us, and who are they?"

"I… I think they are from Sunagakure." Hinata informed. "They have attempted to capture me before, but this time they brought their land ship, 'Shukaku' the sand demon. I heard the men talk about it, which was why they were so eager to sell me today."

"Great… We're like sitting ducks in this ship." Naruto cursed.

"Should we return fire?" Kiba wondered.

"No." Shikamaru answered. "They're firing blind, if we show them a muzzle flare, they will know where we are at. Another salvo of cannon projectiles floated overhead, one just catching the railing at the aft of the ship and knocking one of the swivel guns into the sea behind them.

"Damn, what is the range on those?" Naruto shouted. He looked over at Hinata and saw a scared look on her face. She was looking out into the dark sea and raised a shaky finger just off to the starboard side.

"Hinata? What is it?"

"P… Pirates. There is a huge pirate ship up ahead… no three of them. Maybe a frigate, a merchant ship and a strange, scary galleon."

"Where? How?" Naruto asked wondering just how she knew in the blackness of the night.

"I… I can see very well in the dark. Sometimes I can even see through certain objects."

"Really…?" Naruto looked in the direction and squinted, there wasn't much he could see in the moonless night. "Well, let's hope you're right… Kiba! Take us starboard!"

"Aye." He cranked the wheel and the ship turned with a creak. Another set of cannons arrived at the edge of the shore and started firing in conjunction with the sand demon.

"We're going to die!" Hinata shrieked and crouched on the deck. They were now close enough to the large pirate ships that you could hear the water running up underneath it and sloshing against the hull.

"Naruto-kanchou!" Called out a voice, just barely loud enough to make it over the sound of rushing water.

"Return Fire!" Naruto shouted back. A massive series of booms rang out as thousands of pounds of iron projectiles were hurtled back at the island; effectively forcing the land based units to fall back against such overwhelming firepower from the sea. The naval vessels had the land units out ranged and were safe at their current distance.

"Naruto?" Sounded Hinata's voice while looking at the blonde in wonder. He turned at the sound of his name and looked into her eyes.

"What? Did I forget something?" He asked.

"No its… I didn't know your name."

"Ah man… I forgot to introduce myself? Well, I guess that wasn't so smooth of me, but… I am Uzumaki Naruto." He bows in his best 'gentlemanly' way. "A pirate and captain of the 'Kyuubi' and this is my fleet." He finished with a proud gesture to the mass of ships floating by.

"Oh…" She breathed. She looked up from the deck of the Akamaru and had troubles wrapping her head around the sheer size difference between the sloop and the massive galleon.

"Oh sorry… I'm Hyuuga Hinata… I'm pleased to meet you… Naruto-kun."

"The pleasure's all mine." Interrupted Kiba while he reached for her hand. He quickly found his hand being slapped away by Naruto.

"Who's steering you fool?" He scolded.

"Oh crap." The Inuzuka jumped back towards the wheel and adjusted the ship's course.

"Bring us alongside the Kyuubi." Naruto ordered. The small ship eased up near the much larger ship, just close enough so Naruto could grab the boarding line. He tied an extra loop in the line and placed Hinata's foot in it and placed her hands higher on the rope. She looked at him suspiciously until he placed his foot in the other loop, his right hand on the rope, and with his left he wrapped it tightly around Hinata's waist and held her tight to his chest.

"Bring us up!" The slack was pulled from the line and they started rising towards the deck of the ship. Within a minute, there were a set of hands reaching out to help them aboard.

"Welcome back Naruto-kanchou." Kakashi greeted before heading back to the railing and started pulling up the loot taken from the island.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Sakura asked while looking at the beautiful woman now on deck, almost in admiration.

"You could say that, but in the end; I think I found something better." He smiled at the young Hyuuga, but when she smiled back there was this strange whirring noise coming from the front of the ship.

"Kakashi?" Naruto headed towards the front of the ship, with most of his crew following, and stared at the massive main cannon. The barrel of the beast was spinning rapidly and was clearly the source of the whirring noise. Naruto knocked on the side of the stationary portion of the cannon in disbelief.

"Naruto-kun… What is that?" Hinata asked as she saw the strange object.

"Something my father left me. I've never seen it act like this though." He commented while studying the device.

"It's strange… I think I've seen something like this before." She commented while struggling to recall from her memory.

"Really? Where?"

"A book… This... this is something like what was on the 'Yondaime Hokage', the flag ship of the Fire Island's Navy. I'm sure I saw something like this, just smaller, much smaller." Naruto raised his eyebrows in interest

"Hinata? Are you not from Wind Island?" Naruto asked

"No… I'm from Konoha… the port hidden in the leaves."

"That… You're from the place who killed my father?" She looked up at him with a puzzled look.

"Namikaze Minato; he was the captain of the Yondaime Hokage when it was brought down by the very ships he swore to protect. The navy killed my father!" She looked crushed and started shaking her head.

"No its… it can't. They said he went down by Lightning Island after saving a whole fleet of Navy ships. He, he's a hero."

"You're wrong, Hinata-san." Interrupted Kakashi. "I lost my eye in that battle. The ship Minato tried saving was mine. I was the only one who got out alive.

"I… I didn't know." Hinata sniffled before burying her head in Naruto's vest. She bawled for many confusing minutes while Naruto could do nothing but hold her as she wept. Eventually her crying subsided and she pulled herself away from him

"I'm sorry its… All the members of my family are part of the navy, including my parents… and… it would mean… my… that my father took part in sinking the ship my mother was on."

"Oh… How do you feel about that?" Naruto asked. He saw something at that moment which he only ever saw in himself, a glint of anger sparked in the young woman's eyes.

"I… I want… My father… to pay." Naruto nodded and embraced the small girl.

"Then you're in luck… My true mission is the destruction of Konoha and her Navy." She nodded in his chest as the crewmembers looked on like their captain had gone crazy.

"You really intend to stand at war with a Navy? They have at least 50 ships, all at least equal in strength as 'Susanoo'." Ino muttered.

"True, but they usually only travel in teams of three. If we take them out, one team at a time, I'm sure we can take them down." Kakashi mentioned, he had the look of one who desired this war.

"Come on… you too Kakashi?" Ino asked. "What about Asuma?"

"Kurenai, his late wife was aboard as well. He only came on in hopes of following her in battle with the ones who took her." Kakashi revealed

"You… you guys are insane."

"Remember Ino…" Naruto voiced. "You are able to leave at any time, I won't force anyone. Now take Hinata down to Shizune… And Hinata… Don't hesitate to ask for anything."

"We don't get to talk anymore?" She sniffled.

"Tomorrow. Right now I'm just so… so tired." Naruto took a step forward and fell to his face.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata knelt on the deck next to his fallen body and let out a relieved breath of air to see he was just asleep. The whirring of the canon slowed until the sound and movement completely stopped, returning it back to normal.

"Is he going to be ok?" She wondered out loud.

"Don't worry." Sakura coaxed. "Naruto isn't a normal person. There's been something off about him for as long as I have known him. Once in a while he'll do something weird like this, but when he wakes up, he'll be good as new. Now come on, let these oafs bring him to his cabin, I'll show you to your bunk."

Knock, knock, knock… "Naruto-kun… I'm coming in." Hinata opened the door to the captain's quarters and stepped into the room. So far, Naruto has been asleep for three days since passing out on the deck of the ship. Every day, Hinata would take it upon herself to take care of him in his condition. It wasn't the most flattering tasks but she couldn't let him suffer.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata knelt down next to the bed and wiped a damp cloth across his face, smiling while taking in his features. She turned away to place the cloth in the small bowl on the floor and when she turned back, she found a pair of blue eyes looking at her. She blushed while she was frozen in his gaze and didn't even notice the hand that pushed a lock of hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"You had your hair trimmed." He commented before pulling himself up into a sitting position. She was still watching him with her hands held together in front of her chest.

"It looks good… I like the expression in your eyes." Her hair was now trimmed up to where her bangs fell right above her eyebrows and the length of it was currently pulled up into a pony tail. There were two locks of hair that would fall down and frame out her face, one of which was now tucked behind her ear.

"Um… how are you feeling?" She asked after finally getting her voice back.

"I'm actually feeling pretty good, how long did I sleep?"

"About three days."

"What!? How could I sleep for three days? Wouldn't I still have to hit the head?" This caused Hinata's face to turn completely red.

"Y… Yes you would."

"Huh? You mean?" He looked over at her and pointed at her inquisitively. "Did you?"

"Yes I saw it!" She shrieked and buried her face in her hands.

"Eh, saw what?" He asked, not following her.

"Y… y…your p… p… pen… … …" and that was all she wrote for the young woman. The embarrassment was too much for her and she passed out.

"Hey Hinata?" He called out to her fallen form and lightly slapped her face. After the first attempt, he gave up and placed her on his bed. Now fully awake, he put on his hat and headed out onto deck.

"Captain on deck!" Shouted the first person to lay eyes on the blonde. Naruto stepped out into the bright sun and stretched out his arms with a big yawn.

"At ease boys… I'm going to hit the head." After his return, he was happy to see Hinata back among the conscious and out helping where she could. The moment he made eye contact with her, he smiled and she blushed and looked the other way. He shrugged his shoulders and headed back up to the quarter deck.

"Hey Kakashi-sensei." He greeted. "Where are we?"

"About half a day's travel from the Island of Grass. We decided to stop there to resupply and figure out the next plan of attack."

"Works for me. The next thing on my list is to figure out what the deal is with that cannon. Once we get that figured out, we'll be able to stick it to those navy guys." Naruto looked back over to where Hinata was now helping clean the deck. The moment she became aware of his gaze, she quickly turned away and moved to a different part of the deck.

"Kakashi-sensei, how has Hinata been fitting in?"

"Actually quite well. She respects everyone and they respect her in return." The silver haired man replied

"So why is she acting so weird?"

"Weird?" The older man asked inquisitively.

"Yeah… She's been avoiding me since I woke up; she even passed out when I asked a simple question."

"You shouldn't have to worry; I'm sure she has her reasons." He told him knowingly. Not many could overlook the clear signs she was showing. "She was the one looking over you while you were out."

"I figured that one out… But why would she do that?" The blonde wondered.

"Now that is something you're just going to have to figure out yourself."

After pulling down their pirating flag, they headed into port under the guise of escorts for the retrofitted merchant ship. At that particular port, there was a search team that would come out and take a look at your ship and crew. With the increasing amount of pirating taking place on the open seas the island was cracking down on pirates venturing into port. Now having a heavily armed escort wasn't anything unusual to see; there was the major problem of the hidden under deck howitzers on the ship posing as a merchant ship. The search crew was just getting started when the women came out from their quarters and headed topside. Just the appearance of four beautiful women on the ship was enough to strengthen their claims as merchants, but with a few techniques performed by Ino, they had completely forgotten the rest of the inspections and following her into town.

"I don't want to know what she said to them, but let's go before they change their minds." Naruto commented with a laugh. He was headed for the dock when he stopped next to Hinata.

"Hey, do you want to head out together?" She started blushing and looked away. He seemed a bit down at the taken rejection and moved to head out by himself until her quiet voice sounded.

"Ok, I'll go."

"Really? That's great!" He took off happily towards town with the young woman following at some distance behind.

"Why are you following so far behind?" Naruto called out after 30 meters into town. He stopped and waited for Hinata to catch up to him and stand by his side. Looking around he spotted a bench outside of the local shopping district and motioned for her to sit next to him. She never answered his question and sat down, nervously looking at her feet and tapping her fingers. He watched her with an amused smile.

"Hinata? Why do you do that?" Her face reddened and she immediately stopped her fingers.

"It's just a habit."

"A habit? Like a nervous one?" She slowly nodded her head.

"So why are you nervous? Is it because you're bothered by me?"

"NO!" She shouted much louder than she had originally desired. "I mean, no, I… I… you don't bother me at all. You're just… I've never been treated the way you treat me; it's like I'm a person again."

"I don't really follow you, but I'm glad you don't dislike me; actually, being with you makes me feel happy." He mentioned in an ignorant smile.

"It… It does?"

"Sure, you're beautiful, interesting, gentle and willing to help others. You'll never be a pirate with those qualities, but being around you might keep me from turning into one too."

"Why? Don't you like being a pirate?"

"Not really. Back a long time ago, I was alone; I had no parents and no home and only dreamed of being able to afford a good house and get married to an awesome young woman. Then came the day I turned 18; I received a package and with it was a bunch of letters, naval orders and various other things, including a very large bank account. I just seemed to have everything at that point until I figured out how my father died. Since that day I vowed to avenge him, or more accurately, to punish the people who made me live without my parents."

"So you became a pirate for vengeance?"

"Something like that. I also wanted to experience what my father experienced as a captain. Honestly, I wouldn't have become a pirate if my inheritance was large enough to support my entire vendetta alone. There was just no other way to earn capital. Of course we only go after targets who operate in questionable ways."

"I… I think I understand."

"Really?"

"Yep." She smiled brightly; her smile was so wide her eyes started to squint. There was still a deep rosy color on her cheeks while smiling, making her look cuter that before. Naruto couldn't help himself and ran his thumb across her cheek, causing her to jump suddenly.

"Sorry…"

"N… No, that was ok, I was just surprised."

"Really? You didn't mind?" This time he lifted his hand and cupped her cheek, wondering just how it was possible for skin to feel so soft. He tucked that lock of hair of hers behind her ear again and smiled before pulling back.

"I guess we should get moving, we need to get a few things ordered for the fleet." He stood up and moved towards the marketplace when he felt a sudden softness fill his hand. He looked back and saw Hinata, looking away with her head nearly steaming it was so red for the blood rush. He looked down and saw her soft little hand in his and then he glanced back to her.

"Hey… Is… Is this why you're embarrassed around me?" He asked. For a moment she didn't say or do anything until her small head nodded reluctantly. Having her small hand in his helped him to connect the dots of why she behaved as she did, but even then he didn't fully understand it. It was very surprising to him, but he enjoyed the contact, causing him to smile and grip her hand while pulling her to her feet. He kept a firm grip on her and started off again towards the marketplace with Hinata at his side.

Hinata stayed silent while they moved from place to place putting in Choji's orders for produce and other ingredients. Her cheeks remained rosy and was overjoyed to be led around by the hand. She wasn't able to explain her attraction to the young pirate, but feelings such as these aren't supposed to make sense anyways. Once the dealings were complete, the pair were headed back towards port when one of the Kyuubi's crew hands ran up to them in a panic.

"Captain! We have a BIG Problem!" He shouted while making panicked gestures towards the harbor.

"What is it?"

"Ships; Lots of them." The three were now running through the village and out onto the docks. Naruto immediately looked to the horizon and saw the cause of panic. Many large ships were moving into position around the harbor. He ran up the docking platform, with Hinata in tow, and ran up the stairs to the quarterdeck.

"Kakashi-sensei!?" He shouted.

"They're the Akatsuki; a group of pirate captains banded together for an unknown reason. They just sent a message to us demanding our surrender. It would seem that the mining island was one of their territories."

"That isn't good… If they start to attack, the village could be in trouble… PREPARE TO LAUNCH!" Naruto commanded after a quick assessment of the situation.

"Ino hasn't returned yet; we sent someone out to find her but they haven't returned."

"Leave the Akamaru behind for her, the rest of us will go ahead. When Ino arrives, or if we make it to the halfway point, launch and catch up at full speed. MOVE OUT!" The three large ships started to turn out to sea and face the blockade of ships at broadside, ready to rain down their attacks.

"Hinata; can you see how many ships are out there? I don't want to break through one line and find a second."

"Ok…" She grabbed the scope he held out to her and scanned the horizon. "It looks like a single line and about 10 ships. All of them have at least 60 canons aimed from broadside."

"OK, so we just need to figure out this first row…" There was a small puff of smoke from one of the ships, followed by the others firing a single shot.

"This could be trouble…" Hinata commented. "It looks like they are sighting in their attacks. They are expecting a punch through tactic, so the moment we are in range, they will open fire."

"You're right, that is trouble. Any word from Shikamaru?"

"Yeah, but you won't like it." Kakashi answered.

"What did he say?"

"In his words exactly: We're screwed."

"Great… Kakashi-sensei, take Hinata, Sakura and all unessential crew onto the long boats and head for shore. Tell the other ships to retreat."

"And what of the Kyuubi?"

"We're going to attack; I have to give them what they want or they won't leave the island alone."

"No Naruto-kun." Hinata shouted and tightly gripped his hand. "I won't leave; I will face them with you."

"But…"

"She's right." Kakashi mentioned without taking a step. "This is our battle as well. The other ships answered your order with: 'Moron', and 'I respectfully decline', you can figure out which came from which."

"But you all…"

"We are with you captain!" Shouted the whole deck of the Kyuubi, showing their support.

"But…" Naruto's protest was quickly ended when Hinata leaned in closer to him.

"You are the captain. Captain's don't run." She then lightly kissed his cheek and wore a sweet smile while Naruto looked dumbfounded.

A loud whirring sound started up again, just like previously from the fore of the ship, but this time the barrel was spinning even faster and gaining momentum along with intensity of sound.

"What is going on!?" Hinata shouted over the deafening whirring. The whirring continued getting even louder and soon a strange blue light started forming around the barrel of the main cannon, slowly intensifying and condensing into the end.

"I think it is going to fire!" Naruto shouted with pure happiness. "Go, Rasengan!" A deep, hollow 'pop' reverberated and echoed across the ship as a large blue ball launched out from the cannon with the dying down of the whirring. The ball was shrouded with four spiraling tails of chakra, rotating around the base.

"I don't think that is the Rasengan." Kakashi muttered as he saw the ball of energy approach the blockade.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, still happy to see the cannon fire.

"The Rasengan aboard the 'Yondaime Hokage' was much smaller and didn't have the shuriken look to it." The ball of energy was just about to contact the ship in front of them when it suddenly grew nearly 10 times the size, and engulfed three of the ships in its brilliant light.

"Holy Shit!" The ball of light dissipated quickly, leaving complete annihilation in its wake.

"I… I don't think it's over." Hinata muttered while pointing at the place of its explosion. Just like she said, the ocean waters around the epicenter were now swirling, much like the uzumaki's near Naruto's home island, allowing current to start to pull the other two ships near the blast into each other.

"Where's the Akamaru, we have to make a run for it!" Naruto looked behind towards the island and saw the little red sailed ship approaching at a great velocity.

"All hands, Full ahead!" Each of the ships accelerated to their full speed while the other members of the blockade were attempting to regroup and close the gap, except for the two caught in the manmade Uzumaki (whirlpool). Those two were fighting the current in hopes of getting away, but it proved to be too strong and the ships collided. The Kyuubi led the way past the colliding ships, just on the port side of the large current. A few of the closest Akatsuki ships opened fired, but the iron projectiles were falling well short of their desired target.

"This is it, let's get the hell out of here!" Within a few minutes, the ships were fading off towards the horizon. Naruto looked behind and saw one of the two colliding ships break apart and start its journey to the bottom of the sea.

"Yeah, now that's…." Naruto never got to finish his remark as he fell face forward and was asleep the moment he hit the deck.

"Naruto-kun! Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted while trying to wake him to no avail.

...Later