Naruto awoke face down in the water. Panicking he splashed about as he lifted his head out of the water, choking and spluttering, trying to catch his breath. When he finally calmed his breathing down he wiped the water from his eyes, and while treading water started looking for Hanabi and her ship he'd fallen from. But instead of the black night sky and dark water from the night before, he found himself swimming in clear blue water with a calm, clear sky with a bright sun above him. Figuring that he must have been knocked out for a few hours he started to turn in the water to find the ship, hoping that he hadn't drifted too far away for the Hyuga to find them. But as he searched for the ship he couldn't see it anywhere. In fact he couldn't see anything close by at all, except a speck of land off towards the horizon. Realising that staying afloat in the water until a ship came by to pick him up wasn't the best idea, Naruto started swimming towards the land. As he swam he thought about what he'd learnt from Hanabi the night before. Konaha, his home destroyed over a thousand years ago? She couldn't be right about that could she? Maybe she'd been lying to him, or maybe she had konoha confused with some other place. He hoped she was alright and that after the attack from the Jubi he'd fine her on the ship moored up at the island he was swimming towards.

The warmth of the water had slowly been replaced by a cold chill, as Naruto pushed on swimming towards land. He'd lost track of the time he'd spent swimming, and by this point he no longer cared instead choosing to focus on the island before him rather than the cold, his body cramps and the continuous growls from his hungry stomach. With each stroke his arms screamed in pain as he pushed his body further past its limit. All the years he'd spent training in blitzball had given him great endurance, but that was for a half hour game, with a break. With everything he'd been doing for the past few days he now felt he was taking part in a survival exercise. Finally as he got closer a yellow sandy beach came into view and sighing a breath of relief he pushed on, the thought of being dry and a long rest encouraging him on. He was forced to stop sooner than he expected though when he was suddenly hit in the head by an unseen object. He flailed about in the water as he righted himself before trying to find the source of the sneak attack. Were there monsters in the sea like in the ruins, he worried as he prepared himself for another possible attack.

"Hey."

He looked up; the call had come from the beach he was heading towards. Squinting his eyes he was able to make out a small group of people standing on the beach.

"Hey." Someone called out again, waving his arms trying to get his attention. "Are you ok, can you get us the ball?"

The ball? Naruto thought as he looked around and there floating just beside him was a familiar blue blitzball.

"Blitzball? Yes!" he cried out. Since the attack of the Jubi of Sin he'd found himself stranded in this strange foreign world, were everything was strange to him. The sudden appearance of the blitzball, an item he recognised filled him with a sense of hope as he reached out and grabbed it.

"Hey." He called back, waving his free arm letting them know he'd seen them, before then threw the ball up above his head and then dived underneath the water. Then as the ball started to descend, Naruto shot out of the water as if fired from a cannon facing away from it. As the two approached each other Naruto started to rotate his body till he was upside down and swung his leg, making contact with the ball, sending it back towards the beach as he diving back into the sea. The ball flew in the air only a few inches above the water, leaving behind a wake that cut through the gentle waves before coming onto the land, pass the spectators that had gathered and into the trees behind then.

After taking the shot, Naruto swam towards the beach, till he could finally stand on his feet. With his legs groaning in pain from the long swim he started to walk, making his way up the beach as a group of five men approached him. When they met there was an odd silence as the group looked him over in wonder, trying to understand the wet orange and black clothed young man in front of them.

"Erm, hi?" the blonde sheepishly said as he ran his hand through his wet hair causing a small spray of water as he spiked it up. But as soon as he spoke be was met by a barrage of questions.

"That was awesome."

"What team do you play for?"

"That was a fluke, there's no way you meant to do that."

He looked on in disbelief as they asked their questions, getting louder and louder as they tried to talk over each other till eventually he couldn't understand a word they were saying. So while they continued to shout over each other, he chose to ignore them instead and look at his surroundings.

The group talking to him all had tans from spending so much time in the sun playing blitzball. They all wore matching green tank tops and shorts decorated with orange designs which were strange he thought. Maybe they were a team practicing rather than just having a kick about, with the clothes they were wearing he hope it was a uniform because if it wasn't he really didn't like what the place considered fashion.

"Hey quieten down." A loud voice suddenly called out that instantly silenced the group that had become a deafening rabble as well as nearly giving Naruto a heart attack. Meanwhile the silenced group parted, letting the sixth man he hadn't even realised was there pass through them and stop in front of him only a few feet away.

"Can you do that again?" He asked, his voice still loud as he held out a ball to Naruto who was looking him over.

He looked about the same age as himself and was dressed in the same colours as the others on the beach, but rather than tank top and shorts he seemed to be wearing what he could only describe as a short sleeved jumpsuit with the legs cut off. Also unlike the others he wore a red sash around his waist that blew in the gentle sea breeze, his arms were wrapped in white bandages from his hands to his elbows and despite the heat from the hot sun it appeared as though he was wearing orange leg warmers. But that wasn't the strangest thing he'd noticed about the guy. Rather than have his hair short or long and free flowing like the others on the beach, his dark black hair was styled as though someone had placed a bowl on top of his head and then cut round it. And then there were his eyebrows. They were so thick and bushy. He wondered if he'd ever considered plucking them to thin them out when the guy raised one, making it look like a hairy caterpillar was crawling across his face. It was then he realised that he'd been so caught up looking at him that he hadn't replied to his question and he was still waiting for an answer.

Nodding his head he caught the ball as it was thrown to him, as everyone moved away to give him more space. Facing everyone he spun the ball on his finger as he closed his eyes and took some calming breaths. This is what he needed, a bit of blitzball to help relieve the built up stress. As his eyes snapped open he threw the ball over his head and away from him. The green clad group watched on, thinking that maybe he'd slipped, and one was about to go retrieve the ball when two Naruto's suddenly appeared in puffs of smoke, surprising them. The two clones caught the ball and started kicking it about, passing it back and forth between each other, faster and faster before being kicked straight back towards the original. As though he had eyes in the back of his head, seeing the ball approach be jumped, kicking the ball as he did a back flip and nimbly landed back on his feet. The force of the kick sent the ball rocketing back across the beach, kicking up the sand as it went before finally heading out to sea, towards the horizon.

"So, what do you think?" one of the clones asked as they flanked the original before they disappeared the same way they appeared as the crowd looked on in shock and awe at what they'd just seen. Finally the youth with the bowl haircut spoke.

"Your fires of youth must be burning like an inferno to be able to do that, you're certainly no amateur." He shouted, as he bounced about in excitement. "I'm Rock lee, team captain of the Takigakure aurouchs. What about you? Are you freelance? Or do you have a team?"

Ignoring his confusing talk about youth Naruto replied. "No I play for the Konoha Spirals." He said with pride, puffing his chest out as everyone suddenly went silent. Not expecting that kind of reaction he looked at the once boisterous group around him which once looked at him in awe now looked at him in confusion, disbelief and one even in anger.

"Who did you say you played for?" he was asked again, be he didn't understand their confusion. Everyone knew who the Konoha Whirlwinds were.

"Konaha was destroyed over a thousand years ago."

Hanabi's words rang in his head. No one would believe he'd come from some religious place destroyed a thousand years ago. What was it Hanabi said.

"I... erm... was on a ship and was err, attacked by the jubi?" He said sounding more like a question than an answer, but he never noticed, more concerned with the possible beat down Hanabi said could happen for mentioning Konoha. "I got too close and uh... my heads all foggy. So I don't know where I am or where I even came from."

"You were attacked by the Jubi?" Rock Lee asked as his fuzzy eyebrows raised high on his forehead.

"Erm... Yea." He replied as he took a step back, readying himself to run and swim out to sea if they got violent.

"And yet you're still alive?" Lee continued. Suddenly he stood straight, his right hand held in front of his face with two fingers pointing towards the sky as he bowed his head. "Praise be to Jashin." The remainder of the Aurouchs immediately copied their coach's actions.

Relieved that they weren't going to attack him Naruto relaxed, dropping down to sit in the sand.

"You look exhausted." Lee commented as he sent the team back to train. "How long had you been swimming out there?"

Naruto scratched his head in thought before replying. "I've no idea. I just woke up surrounded by water and swam for the first bit of land I saw."

"Well Jashin must have been smiling down on you for..." but before lee could finish he was interrupted by the loud rumbling of Naruto's stomach. The blonde smiled uncomfortably as Lee burst out laughing.

"Your hungry aren't you?" Naruto just nodded as Lee grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up to his feet. "Follow me. I'll take you back to the village and we'll get you something to eat."

Silently Naruto followed Lee off the beach and towards the forest his stomach still calling out for food. Looking back over his shoulder he watched the Aurochs continue to train, passing balls back and forth while one tried to copy his shot, only to miss the ball and land on the back of his head instead. He chuckled to himself, it'd taken months for him to perfect that shot, so he wouldn't be mastering it any time soon. He'd spent hours upon hours, every day at the training ground working on his passes and shots hoping one day to be the greatest blitzball player of all time. He'd spent so much time there training his team mates often said he should make the place his home.

Home.

"Hey Lee!" He called out causing the young man ahead of him to stop. "Konoha was destroyed, wasn't it? A thousand years ago?" He'd only just met him but something inside him told him he could trust the guy so he had to ask. "The place is just rubble now, isn't it?

"Yes." Lee replied, speaking a lot quieter than he had earlier as he rested against a tree. "All those years ago, the world was filled with these big city's ran by machine, machines. They'd do all the work while people would just play around and enjoy themselves. And then, well, just look around you."

The blonde looked around himself and for the first time noticed the old decaying building just down the path they were walking.

"The Jubi came and destroyed all the machina cities, Konoha too. That was about a thousand years ago, just like you said. The Jubi's our punishment for letting things get out of hand, for not trying to achieve anything through hard work. It's just so frustrating that we're the ones suffering because of what everyone did back then." Lee explained as he looked at one of the stone columns, and ran his hand along it. "Of course the important thing is that we work hard and repent for our sins, and eventually we'll be forgiven!"

It was just as Hanabi said. Lee and Hanabi couldn't both be lying. Why would they.

"But you playing for the Konoha Spirals, that's hilarious." Lee laughed as he put his arm around Naruto's shoulders. "I'm not saying that they didn't ever exist, but I bet a team that lived in all that luxury wouldn't have been that tough."

Naruto chuckled, he knew that Lee was trying to cheer him up, but it wasn't working. When he'd woken up after the attack he thought that the Jubi had just carried him off to some foreign land, that he could get back home in a few days, instead it'd taken him into the future. This all started with the Jubi. Maybe if he could find it one more time it'd take him back home. Until then he'd just have to try and make the best of the situation.

The scenery was breathtaking. From the beach they'd headed inland through the forest, keeping them cool under the shade of the canopy as the tropical birds flew overhead. Once they reached the other side they followed the path up along the cliff side, while several small waterfalls fell all around them. From here you could see most of the island, the lush green forest, the white sandy beaches and the clear water of the lake that the waterfalls plunged into.

Naruto however saw very little of this.

"Why are you doing that?" He asked with a quizzical look as he watched Lee, he'd been walking on his hands since they'd entered the forest.

"Its training." He replied as he looked back at the blonde. "Every day I exercise my legs walking down to the beach, so I walk back to the village this way to give my arms the same workout."

He wanted to laugh. The idea seemed so stupid, he looked stupid and yet he'd been walking like that for nearly an hour now and he showed no sign of tiring. As he considered joining in, Lee pushed off the ground and jumped back to his feet.

"Naruto, did you know that a big tournament's being held in Tanzaku?"

"Yea, I've heard about it." He replied, remembering Hanabi mentioning it to him on the ship before they were attacked.

"You want to play on our team?" Lee asked. "Every team in Spira competes in it before the start of the season. With all those teams and fans someone will recognise you, then you can go back to you old team."

Naruto stopped, and looked out across the island, resting against a small wooden fence that stopped him from falling off the path as he thought about the question. "Sure, why not."

"Yes!" Lee cried out in joy as he jumped up and down in joy. "With you on our team our fires of youth will burn brighter than ever!"

As Naruto watched Lee dance around he came to the conclusion that the Jubi of Sin and blitzball were the only things that Spira and Konoha had in common.

He wasn't far off either.

"Welcome to Tanzaku village." Lee announced proudly as they reached the top of the cliff that overlooked the small village before them.

"So that's your home?" Naruto asked as he looked around, the village was surrounded by a high wooden fence while a small stone shrine stood off the side of the road.

"Yes. I came here ten years ago with my sensei. He trained me and was the coach for the aurochs until he left me in charge two years ago. Ten years on the team, and we've never won a single game."

Naruto quickly looked at him surprised. "You've never won a match?"

"Never." Lee replied the energy he'd previously been speaking with no longer present. "Last year was my big chance, but then I got some news that distracted me and I couldn't concentrate, so our losing streak continued.

Naruto walked beside the black haired teen, putting his arm around his should, trying to comfort him. "That's tough, I've lost matches but to never have a win must have been tough.

"So after last season I quit, so I could focus on my new job. but every time I try to I keep hearing guy sensei's voice telling me that I can succeed if I try hard enough. So I just can't let go until I do." He explained and Naruto was sure Lee was about to cry.

"So you want to win the tournament then? Go out with a bang?"

Lee wiped the sweat and tears from his face with one of his bandages. "I don't care about winning. As long as we do our best, and prove to everyone that you can succeed through hard work, we can walk away happy."

"You kidding me? How can you prove that you've succeeded if you don't win?" The blonde asked confused. "When I say "what's our goal," I don't want you saying "do our best." I want you to say victory!"

"Victory, huh? You think we could really do it?"

"Of course. How else can you prove you've succeeded?"

"Yosh!" Lee cried out jumping up and down, with a fire in his eyes Naruto had never seen before which brought a smile to his face.

"Well if it isn't the one from the sea."

Looking behind themselves Naruto and Lee were approached by a pair of men who'd come up the same path they had. Both were dressed similarly in black trousers and thick green combat vests, they even had the same jet black hair tied up in spiky ponytails. The difference between them though was the younger, shorter one wore a short sleeved gray jacket with blue markings on top of his vest, while the tall one wore an animal skin coat over his vest and had two scars on the right side of his face.

"Keep an eye open, fiends have been reported in the area"

No, Naruto screamed in his mind. The friend he'd fought with Hanabi had been a struggle so the last thing he wanted was to do it all over again.

"After surviving the Jubi it'd be a drag if something happened to you now." The shorter one said before they continued on their way into the village.

"Who were they?" Naruto asked as he watched the two enter the village, as they made their own way towards it.

"That was Shikaku and Shikamaru from ANBU."

"AN what."

"What, did you forget that too?"

Naruto just held his head down.

"Hey don't worry about it, when we get to the village you can go to the lodge and they can answer your questions. They have a lodge there."

"Thanks, and don't worry. By the time we leave Tanzuku, we'll be taking the cup with us." He said with a smile.

"Great!" Lee cheered, as he finally came to a stop at the end of the road. "Well here we are my friend, Takigakure village."