Kishimoto-san owns Naruto. Nuff said.
Opening theme: Bon Voyage(4th One Piece opening theme)
Chapter 5: Oda
Team Naruto walked out of the Turtle, each with a different expression.
Naruto looked worried.
Lee looked forlorn.
Sakura looked skeptical.
Hinata looked concerned.
And Shikamaru looked resigned.
"Aww… Did it have to be ghosts?" Naruto whined, looking down.
"No wonder he wouldn't take any money," Lee said sadly, "He must have thought any payment would have been unfair on his part."
"M-maybe it's a…friendly ghost?" Hinata asked shyly.
"Oh, c'mon," Sakura said, waving a dismissive hand. "Cheer up! We got a ship for free! Who cares if it's haunted?"
Naruto cared. When you've got an immortal demon resting inside your soul, one tends to be wary of any other spirit that they might come across.
"Besides, most old sailors that age tend to be superstitious," Shikamaru said, "I bet it's just an old tub with some bad history."
"Ahh! There you are!"
The Leaf Ninja looked down to see Kawazaki hopping up to them. They had left the frog at Inari's because, "A talking frog would attract too much attention".
"Did things go splendidly?" Kawazaki asked.
Shikamaru nodded. "We've got a boat."
Kawazaki clapped his webbed hands together. "Wonderful!" He then noticed Naruto's and Lee expressions. "Is there some big secret no one's telling me?"
"No secret," Naruto sighed, "It's just haunted, that's all…"
"Oh." Kawazaki puffed his pipe for second. "Well, I can see why you're worried, but I doubt it's anything serious. I'll handle it when the time comes."
Naruto lifted his head slightly. "Really?"
"Certainly! I am an acolyte of Mt. Oinari, after all! Just leave that sort of thing to me. Now, to the docks!" And Kawazaki hopped off, followed closely by Team Naruto.
DATTEBAYO
Team Naruto arrived at the dock where their new ship was stationed. Vessels of many sizes and styles surrounded them.
"Let's see," Sakura said, looking around, "According to the dock keeper, the…S.S. Kingfish should be 13th on the left."
"Unlucky thirteen…" Muttered Lee.
"Oh, pipe down." Shikamaru groaned, "It'll be fine."
"Oh!" Hinata pointed. "I think that's it!"
Everyone looked to where Hinata was pointing. Sitting at the very end of the dock was their means of arriving at Kaiju Island, the S.S. Kingfish-go. It looked terrible.
"What a tub," Shikamaru commented.
"Oh, so the paint job is sloppy," Kawazaki said, brushing it off. "That's not important."
"Yeah!" Naruto said, pumping his fist, "This is the ship that's gonna take me to mom! Who cares what it looks like?!" He looked at Kawazaki warily. "It's not haunted, is it?"
Kawazaki shook his head. "No, it isn't."
"All-right then!" Naruto leapt aboard the Kingfish's deck and began to issue orders. "We set sail immediately! Stem the stern! Raise the sails! Batten down the hatches!"
"Naruto, do you have any idea what you're saying?" Sakura asked.
Naruto's face went blank. The other ninja sighed.
"Right," Shikamaru said, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Next on our agenda is to find someone with sailing experience."
Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata noticed someone a little ways near the entrance of the dock. The man was rugged-looking, wearing a sailing uniform that was torn in several places. He had one eye covered by a patch. He had several scars all over his left arm, and a cutlass strapped over his back.
"Oh, um, excuse me, sir!" Hinata called out to him. The tough turned to look at Hinata, and the rest of Team Naruto looked on.
"A-are you a sailor?" Hinata asked faintly.
The tough gave her a look. "Ja think I'm a samurai?" He asked sarcastically.
Oda: Sailor for hire
"You're hired!" Naruto yelled. "Get up here!"
Oda stared for a moment, shrugged, and made his way towards the Kingfish. As soon as he was on board, Naruto quickly laid down the law.
"Listen, from now on you're a member of the Kingfish's crew! Got that?!" Naruto yelled exuberantly.
Oda looked around. "Who's the captain?" He asked.
"Me!" Naruto grinned.
"EHHHHH!?" Sakura, Lee, and Shikamaru cried.
"Nuts on the high seas," muttered Oda. Shaking his head, he asked, "Where's the rest of the crew?"
"Those guys," Naruto pointed at the other Leaf Ninja.
"EHHHH!?" Sakura, Lee, and Shikamaru cried again.
"Nuts on the high seas," Oda groaned again, shaking his head, "Ya look like a buncha ninja!"
"We are!" Naruto grinned.
Oda sighed. "Do any of ya know a thing about sailing?"
"That's what you're here for," Shikamaru said.
Oda suppressed a moan. Ma said there'd be days like this!
And so, preparations were made. While Sakura and Lee helped Oda get the Kingfish ready, Naruto, Hinata and Lee went to get supplies for the voyage. (Sakura made Naruto swear not to buy just instant ramen) After saying goodbye to Inari and his family, the crew of the Kingfish set out.
"What's our heading, Cap'n Uzumaki?" Oda asked from the helm.
"Lemme check." Naruto bent down to Kawazaki, who was sitting on the rail in front of the helm. "Which way?"
"A moment, please." Kawazaki closed his eyes for a moment, and then pointed. "That way, if you will."
"Nuts on the high seas!" cried Oda.
DATTEBAYO
Back near the Turtle, the big man Naruto almost fought with was looking at two pictures. One was a photo of Naruto from 3 years ago, the other was one of the photos taken in the bar today. He handed the pics to three others standing near him.
"I thought that kid looked familiar…" the big man said. "I wouldn't have recognized him if it weren't for his whiskers."
"So, what do we do now, boss?" the closest to him asked.
The big man grinned. "We're going after him, of course! I'm not letting a bounty like that just slip away!"
Leader of Team Death: Fuji
As Fuji and the three others walked off, the colorful, belled street performer said, "I believe he is heading to Kaiju Island to the south-east of here. We should catch him before he heads to sea."
Information Specialist of Team Death: Kageo
The masked samurai tapped the ground with a blind man's cane absentmindedly and said, "If we can't catch him before that, we can just take a boat and head out ourselves. I'll be able to find him soon enough."
Tracker of Team Death: Blind the Buddha(gender unknown)
The old puppet-peddle wheezed and coughed as he struggled to walk alongside his younger companions. "It should hardly matter how far away he is. I'll be sure to close any gap between us…(Hack!)"
Senior Officer of Team Death: Daku
DATTEBAYO
Meanwhile, on the Kingfish, a small figure crept around…
DATTEBAYO
Okay, now that was suspenseful! And this omake is just for D Unkown, the first reader to review! FOLLOW IT'S EXAMPLE!
Omake: NejiTen trouble-
Neji: Tenten, with Lee and Guy-Sensei gone on separate missions, this is a good time for me to ask you something.
Tenten: Yeah?
Neji: Well…it's not something that would be…prudent to ask with Guy-Sensei and Lee around, but…
Tenten: What is it?
Neji: Do you…
Tenten: Yes?
Neji: This is embaressing, but, do you…
Tenten: YES?
Neji: Do you, um…
Tenten: Yes?
Neji: …Have a last name?
Tenten: ….
(A cold wind blows through)