AN: Here we go.
…
"AGH! THIS SUCKS!"
Naruto breathed heavily after having yelled at the top of his lungs for the hundredth time. He looked at the sky and gave a little growl, his annoyance slowly rising in level towards anger. He grabbed his backpack tighter, somehow feeling safer at having something from Konoha with him. The blonde looked around him again trying to absorb whatever information he could about the setting. Kakashi always told him that if he was in an unknown place, the first thing he should do was gather information.
Naruto closed his eyes and tried to remember.
The last thing that Naruto remembered his Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori colliding. Naruto's eyebrow rose a little in slight aggravation at the thought of the Uchiha.
"I'm going to kick his ass next time I see him." He thought with a growl. Realizing that his thoughts were straying more towards kicking Sasuke's ass rather than dealing with the current situation.
When Naruto's Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori collided there had been an explosion. Naruto remembered that the air and space around the collision looked like it was warping. It looked just like the space above Ichiraku Ramen on a hot summer day. The heat waves from the Ramen Store would waft up into the air, warping the air. It would act as a lens of sorts, bending whatever was behind it. It was funny how in that critical battle Naruto had thought of Ichiraku Ramen but that was the closest thing Naruto could compare it to in his mind.
Then…
Then he had blacked out and woke up here.
The place was a swamp. That was the only way he could describe it. There were twisted trees sprouting out of the muddy swamp in every single direction that the blonde could see in. Thankfully the swamp wasn't dark and devoid of sunlight like other ones that he had been in. The trees weren't very tall and there was plenty of sunlight shining from the sky. There were sparse patches of grass every few yards as well. Naruto saw patches of water here and there and he had seen a couple of streams of water while he was walking. The whole landscape was slightly tilted as if he was on the side of a mountain but it wasn't vertical enough for him to too far ahead.
"Stupid trees," Naruto grumbled. He hoisted his backpack, gripping the straps tighter. When he awoke the backpack was next to him. He had looked inside and found energy bars, three bottles of water and his toad pouch for money. Unfortunately there was no money to be found inside. When he had awoke he had not been groggy at all and the wounds from all his battles had healed.
Whther that was due to the Fox or some other factor… Naruto had no idea.
But he had been walking for hours and the Jinchuuriki had enough of it.
"WHERE AM I!" He faced the sky and yelled at the top of his lungs again.
And everything changed.
It wasn't that Naruto was transported to a different place. It wasn't that Naruto could see clearer, hear more or taste better. No, it was different. It was more about getting the same amount of information as before except that this time, Naruto could focus on each and every sight, scent and taste.
And now he knew that he was not alone.
"About time." Kyuubi growled in satisfaction.
"Fox?" Naruto muttered in surprise. He had communed with the fox before but not while he was awake like this. Their talks usually happened when he was unconscious or asleep. But right now he was fully conscious and fully aware of his surroundings. Naruto had heard the Fox speak right into his head.
"Quiet Brat!" Kyuubi snapped in irritation. Naruto winced at the sudden increase in volume. "I have been trying to get through to you for the last hour or so… but something has been blocking me. Whoever it was, they decided it was necessary for me to intervene."
"What's going on?" Naruto asked aloud again.
"I SAID QUIET!" Kyuubi practically roared in the blonde's mind. Naruto, however, was ready for it this time but that did not make it any more pleasant. It just helped him withstand the splitting pain in his head for that second.
"They have been following you and surrounding you for the last hour. Only an completely incompetent fool like you could miss it." The Tailed-Beast berated his Host. Naruto could practically taste the mockery & dissatisfaction in the fox's tone. "There are around three of them. I do not sense chakra from them but… I sense something else. Something much older… much more basic than chakra. You will have to figure out a way of escape."
"That shouldn't be a problem." Naruto reached behind him and pulled out a kunai, attached to the ring at the pommel was an exploding tag. "I'll just create a diversion and get away."
"They're coming brat." Kyuubi warned.
Then he said something that sent a chill down Naruto's spine.
"Be careful. They're not human."
"What the HELL DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE NOT-" Naruto's thoughts were cut short as a shrill scream filled the marsh.
Naruto immediately turned around this way and that. The sunlight that was so bright before seemed much dimmer and the shadows were much darker than he remembered them to be. They seemed to stretch and twist, much like Shikamaru's Shadow Technique but Naruto knew that this was just a result of his fear. What Kyuubi had said struck a deep chord in the blonde's mind.
There is a pride in all of us. That Humanity has tamed Nature & Mother Earth. We stand at the top of the food chain, we are a special existence.
But instincts die hard.
There was a time when humanity was naked and helpless, too small and too ignorant of the world. Humans were nothing more than feed and they quivered in fear everytime the sun went down. There were things in the dark that humans were afraid of, things that go bump in the night that remain deep within our minds as some mindless instinctual fear that grasp out hearts within its cold fingers. There used to be things before humans invented what was fire to allow us to see in the dark, to allow us to evole and allow us to learn how to fight, survive and conquer.
But these things were still in the world.
And Naruto was about to get a good look at one of them.
A worm came out of the ground.
No, it exploded out of the ground.
It was unlike anything Naruto had ever seen. It was large enough to swallow a horse whole and its whole body was this pale-egg shell color that creatures obtained from absence of sunlight. There was hair all over its body, matted down to its skin due to the continuous stream of gel-like body fluid it was excreting. Around what Naruto assumed was its head were tentacles, weaving about and tasting the air, twisting around one another and spreading apart and thing. What its mouth was supposed to be was simply an open hole with serrated teeth lining the opening and insides as far as the eyes could see. There were no other eyes or nose on this creature. Its segmented body parts rippled as it rose into the air, screaming in delight at this fresh piece of prey that it had found. It rippled and shuddered in excitement and its body fluids began to come down like raindrops.
Naruto stood there as some of the bodily fluids got on him.
"Huh?" The blonde finally said, his blue eyes wide with shock, his voice dumbfounded beyond measure.
The worm was screamed and turned in his direction, charging straight at him.
And Naruto leaped out of the way as fast as he could.
"SHIT SHIT SHIT!" Naruto yelled as the worm immediately changed direction and charged towards him.
This nightmare of a creature was obviously carnivorous and it was constantly releasing that shrill scream as it lunged towards Naruto. Part of its body was still understand and it seemed to be simply stretching on and on and on.
Regaining his wits, Naruto threw the kunai with the explosive tag attached to it.
"DIE!" He yelled.
The kunai stabbed itself into a body segment and the worm recoiled in pain, its shrill cry rising in pitch. Naruto winced and covered his ears for a bit. He looked at the explosive tag. The body fluids from the Worm was constantly being released and it had doused the fire that had been burning the tag. The blonde cursed and began to form handseals.
"Kagebunshin no Jutsu." Naruto whispered and four puffs of smoke accompanied him. The blonde shared a look with his clones and they all began to take out kunais and shuriken.
The worm lunged towards the group of blondes once more.
Naruto and the clones all dodged, displaying their acrobatic prowess while bombarding the creature with their kunais in midair. The creature, despite its size, was ridiculously fast and simply due to its speed, some of the kunais rebounded off of it. Nevertheless, most of the blades found their target and embedded themselves deep within the warm.
Then one of the clones got caught by the worm.
With a sudden snap of its body, its muscle rippling with strength, the worm bent itself in half and swallowed a clone whole.
As the clone disappeared Naruto got the knowledge and the experience it had moments before it died.
Naruto could not help but swallow a breath in fear. This creature whatever it was, chopped up its prey and swallowed them. Its serrated teeth wasn't for eating, it was for killing. The Kagebunshin, for a brief moment, had seen the remains of a large deer within its stomach, its eyes bulging and its innards spilling out as its skin was being melted by the digestive juices of the worm.
"What kind of monster…" Naruto muttered.
While Naruto had been dazed the worm lashed its body a few more times and slammed into the rest of its clones all of their memories hitting Naruto like a brick wall.
The blonde swallowed, frozen in place. He looked at the worm as it began to rush towards him. Time seemed to slow down and yet, Naruto could not do anything.
And right before the worm could swallow Naruto whole, ripping him apart with its serrated teeth, right when Naruto was close enough to smell its rotting breath, his saviors appeared.
And they slammed into the worm like a wrecking ball.
More precisely, they slammed into the worm, their movements wild and frenzied and way too fast for Naruto to see. They cut into the worm, spinning, cutting, ripping and tearing into the worm like a bullet tears into flesh. The worm's screams got louder for one moment right before one of the warriors closest to its head ripped through the worm's body like a cannon ball, emerging on the other side of its body.
The worm fell to the ground with a thud, its body shaking the ground with tiny tremors.
"Filthy Worm," The one who had delivered the killing blow spat on the ground and kicked the creature. "This one will be enough to feed our village for weeks." He was obviously the leader. He nodded to the other two and they reached into their pouches and took out knives. They began to cut the worm into neat little sections. Naruto realized in his stupor that the worm had come out of the ground at last, its whole body showing. It was at least twenty feet in length and the entirety of its hairy body gleamed with fat and muscle.
"Is the human alive?" One of the others asked.
"He got the worm's filthy poison on him," The leader began to walk towards Naruto and he drew his sword. "Stupid human… I'll put you out of your misery."
Then the blonde, finding that he could move again, leaped backwards out of the reach of this strange creature.
The creature in front of him cocked his head.
The other two rose from their work of dividing up the worm, their eyes wide with shock.
But Naruto was the one who was surprised the most.
They weren't human.
They were fish.
More like walking fish.
They had bulbous bodies with long lithe muscular limbs. They resembled fish in that there was no separation between their bodies and head, just a single long body part. They differed in coloring from blue to green to red. The leader was neon blue in color and he was a bit bigger than the other two, which were green and red in color. Their limbs ended in three fingers and even their feet ended in three long digits. They wore no clothing except for a single dirty loincloth wrapped around their waist. On their backs were large spike-like appendages that protruded out. Their eyes were large and were able to move independent of one another. Also the blue one was only a little taller than Naruto while the other two were barely four feet tall.
The blue studied Naruto.
"Slare!" the large blue one gripped his crude cutlass tighter. "This human is moving."
The green one peeked out and shuffled over towards the blonde.
Naruto frowned and took out a kunai in the blink of an eye.
The large blue one put out a hand halting the small green one from approaching any closer. Slare shot an annoyed glance at the leader.
"I can handle it… Bluegill."
Naruto realized that although he could understand them they weren't speaking his language. They were speaking in their raspy, gurgling voices, almost like they were drowning.
Bluegill nodded towards the Jinchuuriki. "He has a weapon… and he's a human." He narrowed his eyes. "And he resisted the Marsh Worm's poison." He waved his cutlass in front of him. "How the hell did a human boy get poisoned by the Marsh Worm and is moving within a few minutes?"
"Maybe he's not human." The red one lumbered over to them. While Bluegill and Slare held a sword this guy held what looked like a dagger. He was wiping them on his loincloth and was in the process of sheathing them.
"Burgle," Bluegill hissed. Naruto realized they had long tongues, perhaps long enough to reach their eyes. "Do not sheathe your weapon."
"Why?" Burgle shrugged in a motion that was surprisingly similar to humans. "HE's just a boy. If we leave him alone he'll just get scared off. Watch this."
Then Burgle opened his mouth and took a step towards Naruto showing all his teeth and raised his arms into the air, screaming in that same shrill way that the worm did earlier.
"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" Naruto yelled back.
Slare actually fell back on his butt in shock, his eyes widening. Burgle froze in that same pose and it no longer held the same scary effect as before, his scream dying out to a shallow mutter. Bluegill to his credit did not try to slice the boy in two.
"He… he…" Slare swallowed. "He just… he just spoke…"
"He just spoke Nerglish." Slare muttered. He glanced at Bluegill. "By the Deep Mother…"
"What do you mean Nerglish?" Naruto muttered then he pointed his kunai towards Bluegill. "You! Are you going to attack or not?"
"By the Deep Mother…" Bluegill muttered. Then he shook his head. "Who would have thought…"
Burgle calmed down and cleared his throat rather in a rather ashamed manner. "I'm so embarrassed. That means he heard everything we said."
Naruto looked at Bluegill ready to attack a moment's notice. But deep down the blonde knew that he didn't really have a chance of getting out of this alive. Despite Slare's rather small frame and Burgle's comical actions… he had seen their frenzied state. They had tackled the worm and literally turned into a whirlwind of death. Their speed was nothing to laugh at and facing three of them… Naruto wasn't sure how it would turn out.
"Bluegill," Slare muttered. "He's the one."
"Quiet." Bluegill snapped.
"Bluegill!" Slare got up, slapping his own loincloth to get the mud off of them. But from what Naruto saw it only got dirtier. "He's the one that Swamp Talker was talking about."
Bluegill's slitted pupil moved towards Slare then back towards the blonde.
"Who was talking about me?!" Naruto demanded. "Who?!"
"Relax human boy~" Burgle shuffled a bit closer to Naruto. "We've been waiting for you~"
Naruto pointed his kunai at him. "Not a single step closer!"
Then Bluegill put his sword away.
Naruto's eyes widened.
Bluegill spread out his hands in a gesture that meant that he wanted to talk. "We simply wish to talk little one… you are barely older than a tadpole yourself. I am sure that you wish to figure out why you are here and where this is."
"What… how…"
Slare actually began to jump up and down in excitement. Burgle actually began to dance in little circles around the blonde.
Bluegill sighed. He looked back at the worm than at the blonde.
"Give us a moment and we shall talk."
…..
After they finished gutting the worm and cleaning it, Bluegill built a little box-like crate out of stick with long wooden poles so that it could be carried on their shoulders. But instead of leaving right away Bluegill ordered Slare to build a fire as the sun was setting. Currently the three fish-men and Naruto sat around the fire.
"My name is Bluegill. I am one of the Raid Leaders of my Tribe." Bluegill gestured at the small green one. "This is Slare and-" He pointed at the red one. "This is Burgle."
"Nice to meet ya." Burgle said in a smile, showing all his sharp teeth. Slare simply studied Naruto.
"Um… nice to meet you too." Naruto gulped. "I didn't get the chance to say this before but… thanks for saving me. What was that thing?"
"It's known as a Marsh Worm." Bluegill explained. "It's one of the monsters that live in this region. We hunt it for food for the coming winter."
"You said I was poisoned?"
Bluegill nodded. "Yes… it cannot see. However it constantly releases a rancid bile which acts as poison towards humans. You got some of it on you. Then it releases its scream, using sound waves which bounce off of objects to see. Not only that once its bile lands on something… it acts as poison. So it can detect you using scent," Bluegill touched the base of his own face and Naruto realized there were two small nostils. "And hearing."
"I see… is that why I wasn't able to move?"
"You should have died." Burgle cut in. He shook his head this way and that. "But you lived. Probably because you were destined by the Deep Mother to come to us."
"What… what is this talk of the Deep Mother?" Naruto asked. "And what are you guys?"
The three shared a look.
Slare began.
"We are murlocs."
"Oh." Naruto replied.
There was silence.
"WHAT ARE MURLOCS?!" Naruto yelled comically, growing frustrated. "YOU CAN'T JUST SAY YOU'RE MURLOCS AND SIMPLY STOP IT THERE!"
Slare shared a look at Burgle who was beginning to smile.
"What are humans?" Bluegill asked, seriously.
Naruto stopped.
"We…we're…" He began then stopped again.
"Mmmmm" Kyuubi growled, somehow pleased. "He's a smart one."
"Ok point taken," Naruto sat back down and pointed at Slare. "Why does he keep talking about this Deep Mother and what do you mean I was meant to be sent here?"
Burgle looked at Bluegill then at Slare. "He really knows nothing. He really is the one."
Slare began to explain.
"Us murlocs live in tribes… and clans so to speak. We are of the Marshfin Tribe." Slare puffed up his chest (Naruto: Do fishes have chests?) with pride. "Our tribe's Seer, Swamp Talker, foresaw you coming."
"Huh? Seer? Swamp Talker?"
Bluegill looked at Slare who shrugged.
"He saw in a dream that a blonde human boy would come to this world from a world not of our own. He would be our savior." Slare continued. "Swamp Talker is never wrong." He added.
Naruto frowned. "So… you're saying… you saw me… in a dream?" The blonde put his hand on his chin.
Burgle nodded. "Swamp Talker is famous among all the Murloc Tribes. He may not be as strong as other Seers but his prophecies are never wrong. They say he can commune with the Deep Mother and is her messenger."
"What… what else?"
"We were given strict orders not to harm you." Bluegill then opened his hand. "And to bring you back if possible."
"It's an invitation of course!" Slare shot a look at Bluegill. "But… Swamp Talker said you would want to come… that you would have to come."
Naruto crossed his arms and began to think.
He had been thrown into this world with no information and nothing to go on. The only thing he had for companionship was the stupid tailed demon speaking in his head all the time. Coupled to that he had almost been killed by an oversized worm. He looked at the Murloc. Sure they were strange but he realized that he felt a lot better with them around. He felt a lot better being able to talk with them and just having the presence of others.
He was just so tired of walking by himself.
"Ok I'll go." Naruto decided.
Bluegill let out a sigh. Burgle smiled and Slare actually did a fist pump.
"Why? Is me coming such a big deal?"
"It is." Bluegill looked at his comrades then at Naruto. "Swamp Talker said to ask you this only if you decide to come with us…"
"What is it?" Naruto put his hands in front of the fire. It was getting a bit chilly. "What do you need?"
"Our tribe is in danger." Slare interjected. "We are going to be wiped out… and we need your help."
….
"Are things moving the way you want them to?"
There was laughter in his voice. No… he wasn't laughing. He just had laughter in his voice, like a constant joy, amusement, mockery… all those things that laughter can represent. Somehow he was conveying it with just his voice alone.
"They are." This was a female voice. Somehow he could see that this figure that spoke was wearing a hooded robe that covered every part of her body from head to toe. The only visible part of her was her nose and mouth. Her eyes were shrouded in shadow and no one would dare to meet the endless abyss, which they were.
"I'm glad they are," This time when he spoke there were bells chiming in the background. "If they didn't you would have no chance at winning this gamble. Which it is… a Gamble. A rather sad one at that. A rather boring one. Just a little game like usual."
There was anger in her voice this time.
"The lives of mortals are not to be gambled with… they are not ours to control. They are ours to watch over and if necessary guide… we do not meddle in the affairs of mortals."
"And why not?" The laughter in his voice turned scornful, almost hateful. The bells did not ring this time. "We gods give blessings to our favorite mortals… we gods agreed not to converge upon each other's worlds. But that pact was made a millennia ago. The times are changing and we gods must change with it. The Ancient Ones have been asleep for the last Beginning and End and I imagine they were remain that way for another universal cycle."
"We are gods… we are to watch the world… not control it." There was sadness in her voice.
"Yet you meddle in them just as we do." His laughter was practically a snarl.
"Only because you force our hand!" He could see her growing desperate trying one last time to plead to her old friend. "Please listen… it's not too late. Leave the world as it is, have hope in the mortal men, we can still pull out and-"
"It is too late old friend." The laughter was still there but it was much quieter. "Much too late. Every world we look at there is hunger, famine, sadness, weeping, desperation, frustration, anger, jealousy, envy, pride, gluttony, sloth… and war."
"Oh the endless war."
She could not say anything back.
"And I will bring this war that they love so much to all their front steps." The man was getting excited, more frenzied. "I will give them the war that they all so love, the war that they crave, a war to end all wars."
"And finally…" He paused and there was no laughter. "All will be naught. There will be peace… and silence. At last."
Then he disappeared.
The woman shook her head. "You are wrong old friend…" She whispered. "There is hope in us yet."
"Awake little one…" She whispered. "Awake. Your destiny is a cruel one I know and it will get crueler still. You will face adversary in the most unexpected of places… I am sorry for doing this to you but you were the only one we could think of."
"Little One… protect the ones dear to you. Protect them."
"And through them you might be able to save the world."
…
Naruto awoke with a start.
"Ughhhh" He groaned and rubbed his temples together. It was one of the strangest dreams he had in awhile. This was also one of the most vivid dreams he could remember. But the strange thing was the more he tried to remember the more he seemed to forget. It was already rapidly dissipating before his grasp and the only thing Naruto could think about was protecting the ones dear to him.
"But they're all back in Konoha." Naruto thought sadly and looked down at his hands. "And I'm stuck here… at only Kami knows where."
Inevitably Naruto's thoughts began to wander towards his friends back in Konoha. He remembered the other Genin who were training to become stronger. He remembered Chouji who stayed behind to fight that fattie from Otogakure no Sato. He remembered Neji and Shikamaru who stayed behind to fight some of the other Sound Four members. He remembered being aided by Kiba and Rock Lee, squaring off against the two weird Kekkai Genkai users. One of them, Kimimaro was his name, used bones and seemed to be extremely strong.
But Naruto knew first hand how strong Rock Lee was and he had no doubt that the green-clad genin would win.
His thoughts strayed away from Rock Lee and his strength towards his hopeless love with Sakura. Though Rock Lee seemed plenty cool in Naruto's opinion he knew Sakura didn't think otherwise. Naruto smiled sadly. He knew that the only person on Sakura's mind was the Uchiha Progenitor. The only reason Sakura could depend on Naruto so much was because he was the only one who understood the hole left in her heart after Sasuke had escaped.
They were family in a way…
Team 7… Kakashi-sensei…. Sakura-chan… Sasuke-Teme…. In a way they filled up the hole in his hearts more than he could ever have known.
Naruto missed them.
"I'm going to go back to them." Naruto decided, his blue eyes clearer than ever. And for the first time since coming to this strange world he became more at ease. "I have a way of getting back… and I'm going to get back to them."
"You are the first one to wake up." Gurgled Burgle.
Naruto turned around to face the red murloc. "Morning Burgle." He smiled at his new friend, showing teeth. "Good to see you are up early as well." Then Naruto frowned noticing that Slare and Bluegill were not with them. He realized he hadn't seen them when he woke up. "Where are they?" He asked.
"They went ahead to let the tribe know of our arrival." Burgle replied, smiling back. At first Naruto thought these guys should never smile… ever. But the more he saw it the more attached to these murloc guys that the blonde became. They were… dare he say it or think it… kind of cute in a way.
"Then they woke up before me?" Naruto said with a smile.
"They never went to sleep." Burgle winked. Naruto raised an eyebrow surprised that the creatures had eyelids.
"Come on Naruto Uzumaki," Burgle got up and dusted off his loin cloth. "We too must head to the tribe. They will want to meet you. I imagine the tadpoles will take great joy in meeting a human for the first time."
Naruto's imagination shot wild at the word 'tadpoles'. He imagined little tiny tadpoles with legs and the face of an murloc. He could not really imagine cute little tadpoles turning into these… less-than-pretty beings. He just had to accept that the word tadpoles referred to their young.
"There's so much to learn here…" Naruto whispered.
"Come on then!" Burgle smiled and hefted up a small sack of the Worm Meat they had hunted yesterday. "We have a long day ahead of us."
They began to walk and Naruto launched into a dozen different questions about who the murlocs were, whether they were the only beings in this world, what was this world and etc.
Naruto was happy to know that there were other humans in this world as well… as well as other beings.
But there was truly one thing that was on Naruto's mind…
And it was what the Murloc Tribe needed help with.
"Murlocs needa fresh supply of water to live." Burgle explained. Burgle was nice and talkative and extremely friendly. Naruto actually liked the red guy a lot. "We don't care what type of water it is… whether it's salt water or fresh water. We just need a constant supply of it."
"Must be hard to travel." Naruto commented while walking.
Burgle shrugged. "It depends on the murloc in question. Some of us can go for months without needing it… but for a tribe to live… clean water is essential."
"And these…"
"Sil'ath." Burgle provided. "Or Argonians as you humans like to call them."
"They're basically reptilian men?" Naruto asked, making sure. "They're basically the reptile version of you guys."
Burgle nodded. "Except bigger and faster. Their scales also provide greater protection."
"Doesn't sound that fair."
"The Deep Mother is fair to us all Naruto," Burgle said with pride in his voice. "The Sil'ath may be physically superior to us but they have not been blessed with the magic of the Deep Mother."
"You mean…."
Burgle nodded. "They cannot use magic like us Murloc can. They are one of the few races that cannot use magic at all."
"And what did they do?"
"Not all Sil'ath are evil." Burgle shrugged. "Murlocs like to stick to ourselves… we do not stick our noses into the business of other races and they do not pay us any mind. But Sil'ath are different. Sil'ath hate murloc. We do not know why. What's important it they hate us."
Naruto frowned in displeasure.
"Not so different from humans after all…" Naruto thought, thinking back to his own past.
"Oh you'll realize brat," Kyuubi rumbled. "Humans… are capable of atrocities far greater than any other beings of nature."
Naruto had no retort to that.
"These Sil'ath," Burgle continued. "They're not part of Sil'ath kingdom. They're raiders… pirates… scum. Outcasts of the army. Deserters." Burgle spat as he spoke and Naruto could see the murloc's sinewy whipcord muscles bulging. "They came not to wage war…. But to starve us to death."
"How do you know they're not part of their kingdom?" Naruto replied.
Burgle gave him a flat look.
It was the same look a predator looks at prey. The same look a shark has right before it tore into its food.
Emotionless.
Flat.
Dead.
Naruto suppressed a shudder.
"They have humans with them."
Naruto decided not to inquire further.
"Civilized they may be… but they are still closer to their original forms child," The Kyuubi chided. "They are still but beasts." Naruto could have sworn there was sadness in the demon's voice.
"W-what are they doing to the water?"
"There is a large lake above our tribe. Up on the mountain." Burgle turned away from Naruto but the anger in his voice was still there. "The water trickles down like rain through a river… but once the Sil'ath and the Humans arrived there… the water in river turn black. Fish all died. Which is why we hunt Marsh Worm." Burgle held up his sack which was beginning to smell a little.
"The water turned black? Is it some kind of Ninjutsu?" Naruto frowned. He wasn't the expert on Ninjutsu but he had never heard of-
"No." Burgle cut him off. "Magic. Not this… jutsu or chakra that you speak of." Burgle looked at Naruto. "It is Magic. Come…" For the first time Burgle smiled, his eyes curving into little slits. "We are near the camp."
And Naruto saw a Murloc Camp for the first time in his life.
….
They lived mostly in tents made of large strips of leather. In his mind Naruto had imagined a tribe of maybe 20-30. But it was much larger. There were murlocs everywhere and there were many toddler murlocs running around as well. To be honest, Naruto was thankful that these tiny little Murlocs were not some mutant-cross between a tadpoles and human. Instead they looked exactly like their mature counterparts except a lot smaller. He also realized that there were other murlocs that were of differing shades. Purple, pink, orange, black and even ones with a white hue. They all had the same expression and spikes on their back and most of them carried a weapon of some sort. Bluegill, who seemed large compared to Burgle and Slare, was one of the smaller ones. There were Murlocs that were the regular size of humans and some were even taller.
And to Naruto's pleasant surprise… the camp was clean.
It did not smell like fish at all.
But when he walked into the camp, past the wooden spiked fences, he felt a hundred stares drill into him.
Naruto walked into the camp with Burgle, feelings the murlocs stare at him.
"He must be the one Swamp Talker was talking about…"
"So he's the human?"
"Slare said he's from another world…."
"So he can save us? He can?"
"Maybe he can be a friend with Meron…"
"He better pull out that sword or I'll eat him whole."
"He's pretty small for a human no?"
Naruto tried to ignore the whispers and the stares.
Burgle turned around and smiled at Naruto. "How does it feel? The Tribe likes you."
"How can you tell?" Naruto replied dryly. He looked around at the Murlocs who were staring at the walking duo.
Burgle showed his teeth.
"No one tried to eat you yet."
"Yet." Naruto thought grimly. Then Burgle stopped and Naruto had to stop himself from bowling into the smaller murloc. He was sure that it would have been less than pretty.
And in front of him was the largest tent, which from what Naruto could tell, was smack dab in the center of the whole village.
Bluegill opened the flap and came out.
"He wants to see Naruto." Bluegill jerked a thumb (or one of the fingers… they only had three) behind him.
Burgle looked at Naruto and nodded.
"Um…" Naruto hesitated. "What do I say?"
"Say what you want to say human," Bluegill placed a hand on the handle of his sword. "But beware… Swamp Talker is not to be taken lightly."
Burgle smiled. "Good luck Naruto."
Swallowing his fear, Naruto plunged into the tent.
Swamp Talker sat amidst a bunch of blankets…
He was huge.
Swamp Talker was dark purple, almost black due to the lack of sunlight in the tent. Instead there were candles burning softly here and there which seemed to sway along with the lightest of breezes. Swamp Talker was sat in the middle of the tent, cross legged. Naruto thought that he would be wearing some kind of ornament but there was no such thing.
"So you have come."
Swamp Talker's voice reverberated through the tent and it seemed to shake Naruto down to his bones.
He heard the Kyuubi hiss.
Something was different about Swamp Talker than the other Murloc.
"It is the Blessing of the Deep Mother." Swamp Talker said, as if he had been reading thoughts.
Naruto frowned slightly.
"It is Holy Power… demons do not fare well against it. But do not be wary… I do not hurt you. Slight discomfort for the Fox within you… that will be for." Swamp Talker explained. Then he gestured at the open space in front of him, for Naruto to sit.
The blonde ignored the Fox's discomfort and sat cross legged in front of Swamp Walker.
Swamp Walker began talking.
"I know why you are here… Naruto Uzumaki," The giant Murloc began to draw patterns in the sand in front of him. "You are part of the Deep Mother's plan."
"I'm part of the plan of your god?"
"You are the part of the plan of many gods." Swamp Talker narrowed his eyes.
Naruto shivered.
"You must first learn the ways of this world." Swamp Talker shook his head. "I wish to tell you everything but there is no time. You cannot stay here long. As soon as you pull out the sword you must leave and take Meron with you."
"Whoa whoa," The Jinchuuriki held out his hands. "I do not understand a word that you are saying."
"There are three things I must tell you." Swamp Talker continued.
Naruto sighed.
"No one ever listens."
"I always listen." The Fox grumbled.
"You don't count."
"I loathe you human."
"You cannot return to your world for three years."
"WHAT?!" Naruto cried.
There was a sudden increase in murmur and Naruto could have heard he heard shuffling outside of the tent. He could have sworn he heard steel being drawn.
Swamp Talker cocked his head at him.
"Sorry…" The blonde realized his position. He was in the middle of a the murloc camp, in an one on one meeting with someone equivalent to the Hokage… any sudden noise or movement on his part could be an invitation to kill him.
Swamp Talker nodded.
"The Sil'ath and the Humans… they are protecting the artifact that is ruining our river. The Artifact belongs to your goddess. Take it. It is yours and only you can touch it."
Naruto didn't reply, simply listening to the shaman talk.
"And take Meron with you." Swamp Talker finished.
Naruto nodded.
Swamp Talker gestured at the door.
"You may leave now."
The blonde got a tick mark on his head.
"What was that?"
"That is all the Deep Mother told me to tell you." Swamp Talker gestured at the tent flap. "You may leave."
"But-but," Naruto started. "I didn't even get to ask any question yet!"
Swamp Talker stopped drawing patterns in the sand.
Naruto looked at the gigantic murloc with clear blue eyes.
"One question." Swamp Talker allowed.
Naruto opened his mouth to ask his question.
"Ask him how to survive in this world brat."
Naruto froze.
"Ask him how the beings of this world fight," The Kyuubi continued. "Survival… over all."
"How…" Naruto swallowed. "Teach me the fighting techniques of this world."
Swamp Talker smiled.
With Teeth.
"Finally… you are asking the right question." Swamp Talker gestured at the tent flap once more. "Bluegill will teach you."
…
Bluegill took Naruto away from the village into a large clearing, almost devoid of any trees.
And on their side was the sandy beach, leading to the endless ocean.
"Focus," Bluegill gurgled, snapping his fingers. "You must focus Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto nodded.
"I do not know this Chakra or Ninjutsu you speak of." Bluegill continued. "Even in our world we all fight different… but the basic core is the same."
"We have differing bodies like us murlocs, sil'ath and the humans," Bluegill took a long stick and began to draw pictures on the sand. Naruto looked on. "We also have different magic as well."
"Then what's the same?"
"This is the same." Bluegill drew one symbol for each figure on top of their heads.
Naruto frowned.
"We are able to borrow the power of gods."
The blonde heard the Kyuubi breathe in deeply in his head.
"It is different for every race." Bluegill explained. "Us Murlocs… our only god is the Deep Mother. Therefore we all only borrow the power of the Deep Mother."
"Other races serve multiple gods… meaning humans…. They may serve different gods. However one human can only serve one god." Blue gill drew two simplistic humans in the sand. "One human can serve Fire god… another can serve Deep Mother. But one person cannot serve both."
Naruto was absolutely captivated.
"Receiving the Blessing of your God changes you. You gain abilities pertaining to your God. Most receive strength and speed. Some receive magic. Others may receive ability to seduce, or talk." Bluegill studied Naruto. "Perhaps you being able to speak Nerglish is a part of your Blessing."
"So what you're saying is," Naruto tried to sum it all up. "Everyone can call upon a god? To borrow their power? And it will change how they fight?"
The Murloc nodded.
"Is that how you defeated the Marsh Worm?"
Bluegill laughed.
"No no… no need to use Deep Mother's Blessing to hunt Marsh Worm. Perhaps when we go to destroy the Sil'ath and the humans on top of the lake we will use it. Most definitely. But we have not used it in front of you yet."
The Jinchuuriki stared at Bluegill expectedly.
"You wish to see." Bluegill surmised.
Naruto gave the Murloc a crooked grin.
Bluegill drew his crude cutlass and Naruto leaped back a few yards.
"You have good movements," Bluegill praised the blonde. "But until you find your Blessing… you cannot fight in this world."
"Come on then Bluegill," Naruto took out a kunai. "Let's see how great this Blessing really is."
Bluegill rushed Naruto.
Seeing it again, Naruto was amazed. The Murloc had no fat on their bodies to speak of and they were fast. They were faster than anything Naruto had seen before. It wasn't just their push off and speed that was fast, it was their fighting style. Bluegill spun sideways, forwards, and diagonally and his arms constantly moving in frenzied motion. He was a whirling ball of death and Naruto knew that in that single moment, if he made a mistake, he might end up losing a limb or two.
Naruto threw his kunai and a couple of shuriken towards the Murloc who batted them away with his Cutlass without even changing his frenzied rush. Naruto began to chain his handseals together to form some clones as a distraction.
"Deep Sea Magic: Swamp." Bluegill threw his cutlass at Naruto's feet.
And the sand instantly became a swamp, interrupting the blonde's concentration. However, hours of training came back to Naruto and he managed to avoid sinking down to his knees. Quickly channeling chakra into the soles of feet, the blonde leaped upwards off of the small spot of marsh in the middle of the sandy beach.
Bluegill appeared in front of him and threw a punch. Naruto crossed his arms and received the blow grunting at the strength behind them.
"That was my punch," Bluegill gurgled, his eyes growing pale and wide. "Now I punch with Deep Mother Blessing."
Then Bluegill's other fist, glowing an eerie bluish purple, came soaring through the air and slammed into Naruto's guard.
Naruto flew back around twenty feet from the blow, both his arms broken.
"BRAT!" Kyuubi yelled in his mind. "CHANNEL CHAKRA INTO YOUR ARMS NOW!"
"I know that!"
"NOT THAT BRAT!" The Kyuubi sounded panicked, almost afraid. "HE LOST HIS SENSE OF REASON. YOU GOT BLOOD ON HIM AND HE TASTES IT… HE CAN SMELL IT. HE'S NOTHING BUT A BEAST NOW… HE LET HIS INSTINCTS TAKE OVER. DEFEND YOURSELF."
Naruto began to channel chakra into his arms to regenerate them and looked up.
In that instant Naruto knew that the Kyuubi was right. Bluegill wasn't acting on reason anymore. He saw a small splatter of blood near the Murloc's lips which was quickly licked away by his long tongue. A shudder of pleasure went through the Murloc's body.
Bluegill had picked up his cutlass and he rushed towards the blonde again, becoming a whirlwind of death.
The blonde knew that there was no time to heal.
"Ah," Naruto exclaimed. "Shit."
So he did the only thing he could.
He kicked sand into Bluegill's face.
Not just a few fistfuls of sand.
Naruto channeled chakra into his feet and he kicked in front of him sending a huge tidal wave of sand into the Murloc's face.
"That should have bought me some time." Naruto kneeled and began to concentrate on healing his arms.
Bluegill emerged from the wave of sand as the dust began to clear.
Naruto looked at him.
His eyes were still flat… emotionless.
Dead.
"Bluegill…" Naruto called out to him. "Are you… ok?"
The murloc hefted his cutlass and licked it.
Naruto sighed and made up his mind.
"I'm going to have to kick your ass huh…" Naruto held out his hand to the side.
"Rasengan." Naruto whispered and a bluish orb began to form.
"I hope you're sturdier than you look Bluegill…" The blonde bent his knees, getting ready to meet Bluegill's onslaught. "Cause the moment you show your opening… I'm going to shove this in your mouth."
Bluegill began to glow a puplish blue again.
"That Blessing of the Deep Mother thing…" Naruto thought back to the two punches. "How much is his regular fighting style going to be reinforced now…"
"And after I kick your ass," The blonde bent his body lower seeing Bluegill do the same. "You're going to teach me that Blessing jutsu."
Bluegill screamed in delight and Naruto replied with one of his own.
Then right before the two collided… Naruto had his first Fated Meeting in the world.
It was a human boy… or so Naruto thought.
He was lithe and just like the murlocs that Naruto had seen, he was all whipcord muscle. He was lean, fast and struck like a viper. Right before Naruto's rasengan collided with Bluegill's senseless rush the lean boy interposed himself between the two, a single wooden spear in his hand. The boy wielded the spear with precise control, spinning it sideways. It knocked into Naruto's hand and sent the rasengan into the sand creating a small hurricane. The other end of his spear knocked into Bluegill's wrist as well sending his cutlass flying. Then in one smooth movement he stabbed the butt of the spear into Bluegill sending the murloc onto the ground and slammed him on the head, knocking him unconscious.
Naruto stared at his savior.
"Who the hell are you…."
The boy was only a bit taller than Naruto but considerably thinner. He had blue hair with deep green eyes with a boyish feature. He looked every part the human except Naruto spotted what looked like a sparkle here and there on the boy's neck and down but he realized they were small bits of scales. Also, instead of ears the boy had these two fin looking appendages on the side of his head.
"So you're the one everyone in the village is talking about." The boy said.
"My name is Meron… and I'm the son of Swamp Talker." Meron swiveled his spear. He turned his cold eyes on Naruto, the sea storm beneath them rising to the surface. "He said it was my destiny… to meet you. It is nice to meet you Naruto Uzumaki."
"And I look forward to working together with you."
AN: END! I originally wanted the chapter to be longer but it just kind of ended up this way. I know my writing style isn't really up to par right now but I hope you guys can bear with it. Meron is… hahaha… he's not really Murloc but he's been raised by murlocs so he identifies with murlocs. This chapter was more of an introductory chapter for the world and the setting for Naruto's first quest. Next we will work more on Plot Development & Naruto & Meron's relationship dynamics. We shall see. I'd love if you guys review and let me know what you guys think about the story. Until then~
PS: Also… out of the Stance of Shadow & Curse of the Samurai… I'm thinking of picking up one of them again. What do you guys think?