Drifting

by AlphaDelta1001

Naruto is many things; troublesome, wild, unpredictable, adventurous, untamable, unique. But there's a benefit to being wild and unpredictable; no one has the faintest idea what you're going to do next. NarutoHarem

4. Mugen River Arc - The Way Forward

NARUTO

Drifting

The Way Forward

Naruto looked baffled. "I didn't know this village had a discipline squad."

"I-It doesn't," Tayuya murmured, looking over the gang of thugs smirking unpleasantly at them. "That's the Jako Gang, a group of thieves Gato hired to be his muscle in the area. They're a low profile group, but they're incredibly dangerous… especially their leader." The girl shimmied away when she saw the boss tap his liquid blade against his shoulder. "H-He's strong…"

"Really?" the blonde asked before looking back towards the wall of rabble-rousers towering over them. After taking stock of their appearances and getting a feel for the Zen of the atmosphere, Naruto smirked, "I'll be the judge of that."

"Well? What say you kid?" Jako asked while nodding to the smiling blonde.

"What say me what?" Naruto fired back, giving the man a cocky smirk.

"My boss ordered me to bring you in dead or alive. Are you gonna come quietly or are you gonna start something with me too?" the man asked. His men snickered when he gestured for one of them to start the intimidation chain, weapons quickly being brought out to the front of the line from wherever they were being concealed. "Personally I'd prefer it if you gave me a little bit of trouble so that I'd have a good enough excuse to beat on you. That or I can just cut your throat right now and end this pathetic little farce."

"Same here, but I'd prefer not to get my top dirty with your scum excuse for blood once I start cracking your heads open," Naruto exclaimed while tugging on his collar to loosen it up. "Seriously, this jumper's brand new. Do you know how expensive these things are?"

Tayuya gripped his arm tightly and shook him so that the boy looked at her. "Are you nuts? Don't start bantering for a fight with these guys! They'll kill you."

"I said it before, Tayuya-chan; they can't kill me because I'm too awesome," Naruto joked before glancing back at them. "Though the big guy looks like he can actually throw his weight around in a fight, I'm pretty sure I can take him."

"Y-You're kidding me? Please tell me you're just playing," Tayuya shook him frantically.

"I never kid about these things, Tayuya-chan. I'm absolutely serious," Naruto replied flatly, making it impossible for the redhead to discern the validity of what he was stating. All she was able to take from his tone and expression was that his once playful gaze had become serious. The shadow beneath his goggles also fell across his eyes, giving him a really cool looking glare to go with his smirk.

"N-No… don't do it… Naruto…"

"Well? What's it going to be, blondie?" Jako asked again, raising an eyebrow, "Fresh stock or dead meat?"

"How about… neither?" Naruto asked, gently pushing Tayuya back so that he could step forward. He cracked his knuckles one after the other while eyeing his prey with excitement and anticipation, "Put up your dukes, goat boy. Let's see what you've got."

"So it's the hard way then, eh?" Jako chuckled, looking around at his men before directing several of them forward. Those with swords and bats stepped out and began approaching the kid in force, all of them brandishing their weapons with intent to harm. "As you wish. I'll make sure to kill you and that red haired bitch behind you quickly."

Naruto's expression immediately darkened at that threat and he spared a brief glance at the girl over his shoulder. When the band of mercenaries marching towards them broke out into a full on charge and Tayuya's eyes widened in fear, the boy caught in the middle of the confrontation clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.

"Leave Tayuya-chan out of this!" he shouted.

One of the men in front of the squad sprinted ahead with a terrifying cry of battle, trench coat trailing on the wind and katana pulled back, ready to slice his target down with a single strike. Naruto responded instantly to the man's attack with a blinding dash forward. He caught his would be assailant off guard when he appeared directly beneath him and plowed his fist right into the man's face through the loop in his arms formed by the grip on his weapon. The impact of the blow sent the thug blasting backwards in a shower of perspiration and straight into the ground with a deafening crack.

The mercenary could only twitch lifelessly where he landed, his busted mug bleeding out all over the floor.

"YOU BRAT!" another gangster shouted, lunging at the boy with a wooden staff. He held it above his head and swung straight down at his pint-sized target.

Naruto grinned widely and brought his left arm up, blocking the blow at close range. The impact caused the staff to shatter, literally turning the weapon into nothing but a shower of splinters. The jinchuriki then took full advantage of his opponent's shock and slammed a full right cross across the lowlife's face, dropping him. The next man to follow up came at him swinging with a short blade, which Naruto quickly leapt back to avoid before hiking up the brute's forward leg and kicking him across the face, sending his third 'kill' spiraling into the road in a magnificent one-hit take down.

The rearguard moved quickly to join their comrades in battle and within a few short seconds of the starting gun being fired, the party was in full swing.

One after the other, mercenaries and lowlifes of all shapes and sizes came at Naruto kicking and screaming as the boy dashed between them in the form of a small orange blur, dishing out blows and dodging every attack sent at him. This was where the jinchuriki's many years of brawling on the streets and training in the forests finally bore fruit, the current battle seeing him trade swift, decisive blows with the mercenaries while receiving zero damage in return. Those with swords were quickly dealt with by the agile youngster when he ran circles around them and jumped clean over full grown men's heads, firing off devastating attacks that left countless thugs reeling. Those assaulting him from behind or looking to punch it out with him were given the exact same fate as those moving to meet him head on; a swift beating followed by unconsciousness.

Naruto acrobatically and gracefully moved through his foes, cutting them down with elbows, high kicks and the occasional low blows that brought many of them to their knees. The grin he continued to sport as he smashed in faces left and right showed just how much fun he was really having. It was like he was back in his territory deep in the forests of Konoha, ducking low hanging branches and swinging through vines. Every individual he encountered provided him with a new obstacle to overcome, which he skillfully worked around and cleared up to make way for the next one. He made the whole thing out to be like a game of tag, trying to avoid his opponent's weapons while at the same time skillfully swinging between individuals.

Two in particular tried to hit him with staffs from either side in an effort to cut him off, but Naruto countered their attempt by leaping between them, performing a quick series of flips before sending a split kick at both parties, connecting with their faces. After a momentary hang time, the blonde then spiraled back down to the ground where, upon landing on his back, launched a double kick at a thug coming at him from ahead, knocking him out just as he had done everybody else.

Within minutes upon the start of the confrontation, Jako's once smug expression slowly deteriorated into one of utter shock and disbelief as he watched wave after wave of his men literally get taken down by a brat no older than ten. His jaw hung open on his flabbergasted face when he saw five of his subordinates try to surround the runt and attack him at once, only to have their target leap into the air, hang upside-down in mid-jump before spinning at them with kicks from both his feet like a top. The squad of mercenaries was smacked around and knocked away, allowing the blonde to drop back to the ground along with their unconscious forms and rush at the last remaining thug wielding a ball and chain.

"You rat! Just die already!" the gangster roared, skillfully spinning the iron weight around before flinging it at his target full force.

Naruto ducked right under it, weaving through the whipping chain before ramming a fully cocked right straight into the man's stomach once he was within range. The blow blasted the attacker back several feet like he was hit in the gut by a charging bull, the jinchuriki slowing to a stop and watching the stunned individual drop to his knees. Blood dripping out of his mouth, the groaning and seriously injured long-ranged combatant then fell flat onto his face with a deafening thud, his knock-out accompanied by a small cloud of dust.

This final take down signaled the defeat of the last of three dozen men sent to deal with the blonde punk, all of whom were now lying across the wide open road either whimpering in agony or showing zero signs of life.

Tayuya, who had been watching the entire fight from the sidelines, stood silent and stunned. She gazed in utter disbelief at the scene before her, watching as Naruto stepped around his fallen adversaries, dusted his hands down and then, after securing a good position on the highway, turned to face the leader of the pack, Jako.

The way he turned onto the wind and stood between her and the last of the mercenaries was, in her opinion, one of the coolest things she had ever seen.

"I… I don't believe it," the red head exclaimed, a smile quickly forming on her face, "H-He can do it. Naruto-kun can actually beat them!" A warm expression crossed Tayuya's face as she gazed at the boy's shoulders, her eyes shimmering with excitement and her cheeks glowing in admiration.

Jake on the other hand was beside himself, "Y-You… how did you?" He gritted his teeth and stepped forward, bringing his liquid chakra crafted sword around to point at the kid. "Who the hell are you?" Sweat visibly began to drip down his brow as he locked his best death glare on his surprisingly powerful adversary. "This kid is no ordinary street punk. What the fuck is he?"

"Who am I?" Naruto repeated with a sly grin, grabbing his goggles and pulling them down over his eyes. "Well, how about a stranger from out of town passing through and looking for some trouble. Satisfied?"

"FUCK NO!" the gangster roared, swinging his weapon back and chucking it at the boy.

"Man. I have to come up with some kind of introduction for myself. Maybe something with epic music in the background while I'm striking an awesome pose," Naruto thought before backhanding the incoming projectile and causing it to slam into a nearby wall, cracking it on impact and impaling the surface. Villagers watching in that area quickly ducked for cover, while the jinchuriki lowered the blade he used to defend himself.

"You've used up the last of my patience you little shit! I'm taking you down right now!" Whipping his other arm out, a second tube suddenly popped into view from Jako's wrist.

The lead mercenary then held both arms out like he was slinging web from them and fired off a barrage of densely compressed balls of liquid chakra. The blobs shot through the air at the speed of bullets, startling Naruto and forcing the youngster to break for the nearest alleyway, dodging pellets as they came at him. "Holy shit! AHH! W-What the hell?! Whoa!" The chakra gobs tore up the road behind him as he retreated, sending rubble and debris flying into the air.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" Jako laughed, rushing forward and keeping the orange monkey in his sights as he began firing upon buildings. The wooden homes and shops Naruto managed to take cover behind had holes blasted into them, the air quickly filling with dust and splinters. The cackling thief then ceased running and glared through the shit storm he'd created, trying to lock back onto his hidden foe.

"Damn. I overdid it. Where'd that bastard run off to?"

Just as he began searching through the wall of clouds rising up from the alley more intensely, a spark suddenly caught the man's eye and forced him to look up. When he did, Jako saw a sparkler shoot up from the smoke, zip through the air and dart straight towards him. It didn't look like a kunai or anything particularly dangerous, but not being one to take any chances Jako fired at it with his chakra launcher, intercepting the firework only for it to suddenly split up and multiply, before each of the dozen now smaller sparklers detonated around him.

The firework explosions encompassed the man with bright flashes and hot, stinging flickers, not only blinding him but stunning him. The bewildered Jako staggered back and waved his hands out in front of him, hissing in pain, "Gah! Damn it! You little trickster!" Trying to regain his senses, he was then hit by something small, fast moving, and round. The iron ball that came shooting from the smoke next smacked him clear in the forehead, causing the mercenary to yelp in shock and squint through a blurry vision to see exactly what was hitting him next.

Unfortunately, thanks to the stun bombs and the smoke messing up his vision, Jako couldn't make heads or tails of anything further than ten feet away from him when he was suddenly and inexplicably bombarded by a shower of iron pellets from somewhere directly ahead.

The half-blinded bastard was clipped in the shoulders, chest, fingers, toes, and even the genital area, an assault that was near impossible to defend against. The man cried out in torment as he was gradually pushed back into the wall of a building on the other side of the road, flailing his arms out in front of him uselessly with not a single portion of his body being spared from the onslaught.

"F-Fuck! Stop pelting me with crap you son of a-GAGH!" His words were literally caught in his throat when something small was shot into his mouth, which he swallowed. A split second later, his face turned bright red and he began spewing fire uncontrollably. "GAAAAAHHHH! WATER!"

"How do you like my Wasabi Pellet?" Naruto laughed as he came sprinting out of the dust keeping him concealed. With an opportunity finally presented to him, the boy in goggles zigzagged out from his sniping position and darted straight for his foe, watching him stumble about, clutching his throat and gushing flames. "Cool huh? Maybe not for you, but for me definitely! Bon appétit."

"Y-You!" Jako gagged, throwing his wrist out and firing off another salvo.

Naruto ducked the string of globs before drawing back his left and chucking a barrage of kunai at his attacker. His aim was right on the mark when his lightning fast blades sliced into the man's extended limb and flung it back. Jako looked up from his spot to see the tube and his arm skewered by throwing knives, a sight which further infuriated him and his efforts to destroy this wretched boy.

"Hold still!" the man roared, throwing his only free hand forward as a stream of powerful liquid jetted out. The torrent remained attached to his limb as he whipped it across, striking straight down at the blonde standing directly in his line of sight. The length of elastic slammed into the ground and split the earth with a terrifying crack, just like the individual, high-pressure shots he'd fired off before.

The swing was way off though, and Jako soon turned skywards to see the blonde haired boy he had tried to smite finishing his three story leap of evasion before diving straight back down at him feet first. The gang leader responded by relinquishing his hold of his whip and firing off a couple more rounds at the agile jinchuriki. Naruto saw them coming though, spinning and contorting this way and that accordingly before bringing his own gauntlet hand around and firing off a response.

In the blink of an eye, Jako suddenly found himself seeing red when multi-colored paint splattered across his eyes and left him with a make-up nightmare he just did not need right now. The boss cried out in agony when a burning sensation started gnawing at his face and he stumbled backwards along the road, clutching his painted visage. At the exact moment he started staggering, Naruto made landfall and grinned up at his handiwork.

"My eyes!" Jako cried out. "My eyes! I can't see!"

"That's great, because you're not going to like what I'm going to do next!" Naruto exclaimed, charging at the wounded enemy for one final attack. As he was making his approach, Jako began firing at him blindly with his liquid chakra launcher, but the nimble troublemaker from Konoha dodged every one of them with ease before jumping straight at the man and landing in a crouched position on top of his chest, while he was still upright. Securing his position, Naruto then grabbed both sides of the gangster's face, reared his head back, and slammed his forehead straight into his.

A loud crunching sound rang out, seconds before Jako's body went limp and he crashed to the floor with a bloody, swollen bruise on his forehead. Still perched on top of his opponent, Naruto chuckled and pulled his goggles back up, grinning brightly at his victory.

"Good fight."

Hopping off, the blonde dusted his hands on his jacket and looked around at the results of his hard work. The entire street was littered with unconscious and wounded mercenaries, all of whom had been laid out in a way that it was almost reminiscent of a massacre. The fact that they were still alive didn't make this genocide, but a completely one-sided battle that had ended in the protagonist's favor. It was a total victory for the blonde who celebrated it the only way he knew how; by nodding approvingly and smiling proudly.

A small shadow flew over Naruto's head, followed shortly by the red-breasted swallow that had traveled with him all the way out here fluttering down to perch on his shoulder. The boy grinned across at his companion, who gave him a chirp in greeting.

"Awesome, huh?" Naruto asked, before spinning around to see Tayuya and a whole mass of villagers in the background gaping at him. He looked at them one after the other and, upon giving them a cheerful grin, gestured over his shoulder at the various stricken individuals lying around him. "I think we should tie these guys up so that they don't run off when they regain consciousness. Yeah?"

Not getting an immediate response Naruto quickly went about dragging mercenaries safely across to one side of the street and, using whatever rope he could find, bound their hands, feet and bodies together. Making sure that they had no more weapons on them and that the most dangerous of the platoon, Jako, had his hands especially bound to keep him from using his chakra tubes, the jinchuriki then proceeded to make a head count. He whistled when he got to the grand total.

"Thirty eight? Damn. I'm just running through these people like bowls of ramen," Naruto chuckled. He then turned to see Tayuya looking curiously at him, his sudden swivel causing the girl to jump back at how close they were, "Not bad for an academy student, huh?"

"N-No. Not at all," Tayuya replied with a warm smile. "Y-You were amazing."

Naruto grinned bashfully and rubbed the back of his head, "Thanks. I've had a lot of practice."

The sound of clapping from the sidelines then caught the pair's attention. When they looked across the street to see what it was, they saw a young shop keeper come walking out from behind a stall applauding them with a big smile on his face. Villagers standing nearby slowly caught onto the rhythm and, one after the other, joined in the revelry. Applause and cheers came down upon the two children from all around, baffling the one on the receiving end of it all as he looked around at the crowd now starting to gather.

After a few minutes of nothing but whistling and ovations of approval, the clapping stopped, leaving Naruto to confront a street filled with beaming villagers.

"Hello!" Naruto exclaimed, waving toward the throng with a cheerful smile, "What's up everyone?"

"You beat them all!" the shopkeeper that had started the clapping chain exclaimed, stepping toward him with an excited smile. "You defeated the Jako Gang singlehandedly!"

"This boy defeated the most notorious gang in the village! All of them!" another man shouted.

"He stood up to Gato's men and won!" a woman called.

"Let's hear it for the stranger!" With that, another cheer came up from the group of onlookers, who raised their hands in the air and praised the youngster once more for his victory. Naruto blushed at the amount of attention he received, whereas Tayuya quietly smiled in his direction and congratulated him in her own little way.

As cries of liberation went up and the villagers in the area applauded for a second time, attracting more and more people to the circle, a clearing of a person's throat amongst a small portion of the crowd had everyone stop and turn. Those closest to the interruption quickly parted, allowing the unknown interloper through to the center. When silence eventually came to reign amongst the people, the next thing Naruto and Tayuya became aware of was an elderly man around his eighties, dressed in traditional village robes, wooden sandals, a kazaori eboshi, and holding a long walking staff, suddenly come shuffling towards them from the back.

Tayuya moved aside, allowing the village elder a place to stand and gaze down at Naruto, who looked back up at the octogenarian curiously.

"Are you… the one who has been fighting for us, boy?" the old man asked in a soft voice.

Naruto smiled and nodded brightly, "Sure! You can say that. Who are you supposed to be, old timer?" The entire crowd sweat dropped at the boy's bold addressing of their voice of wisdom, while Tayuya shook her head in amusement at his naivety.

"I am Hiro… the village elder. As such, it is my duty to thank you for saving us from the heel of these vagabonds." He glanced briefly at the thugs that had been tied and lined up against the nearby wall. "These insufferable upstarts have been bullying and harassing us for months; robbing us of our livelihoods and living off of the sweat of our people," the elder stated while bowing his head to the youngster. "Thank you so, so much for what you've done."

"No problem," Naruto replied happily, looking around at the tired yet smiling villagers before focusing all his attention on the dam he could still see peaking over the rooftops. "So… what's it going to take for me to bring that thing down?" All eyes moved away from the blonde to look up at the towering eyesore responsible for the town's suffering. "That's the monstrosity that's been the real pain for you people, right? Gato's White Wall. If I destroy that thing, will your lives down here go back to the way they were?"

"Yes," the elder replied, taking his staff into two hands and leaning against it. "The river is this country's life: the blood flow to its heart. To remove the dam would mean the revival of our community and the return of order to the land. We will be able to reclaim everything we'd lost and had stolen from us."

"That's great," Naruto chirped, grinning towards Tayuya to see her return his smile with one of her own. "See. Easy."

"Maybe for you, you crazy blonde," the redhead retorted.

The elder standing before the Good Samaritan raised his hand and momentarily placed an end to his exclamations. "I must first warn you young one, it is a dangerous venture. That enormous barrier represents the full strength and hold that Gato has over this country. Anyone who dares to approach him with the intent of stopping him will be met with fierce resistance. All the brave souls who have already tried to negotiate with the man all suffered greatly at his hands and were swiftly punished. It would be selfish of us to trouble you with such a task so full of mortal peril… but…"

"Oh, it's no problem," Naruto waved dismissively, stunning the crowd.

Jaws dropped all around while Hiro's eyes widened in response to his all too casual reply. "A-Are you saying you are willing to stand against the great Mugen River Dam?"

Naruto nodded affirmatively, "I've been willing ever since I came to this village, oji-san. Hanare-oneesan told me all about what happened to this place, and I want to teach whoever this Gato person is a lesson about not taking what doesn't belong to him," Naruto stated with a firm voice and a roguish smirk. "I'll beat him black and blue like I did his cronies and bust open that wall! I can promise you, I will get your water back!"

"Y-You will?" Hiro asked, his body trembling with a mixture of delight and fear.

"That's Gato's base of operations up there. It's crawling with guards and workers," a villager spoke up from the masses.

The jinchuriki slowly glanced back up at the obstruction with a careless air in his expression. He raised his hand towards it and enclosed the wall within his fingers in a tight, vice-like grip, "It doesn't look that impressive from where I'm standing. It did before when I was up on the hill, but now it's just pissing me off." He looked down at Tayuya to see the young musician looking towards him curiously. "It's causing nothing but pain and trouble for all of you. Something that bad can't be left standing there."

"Then… you will help us? Truly?" a woman cradling a baby in her arms asked.

Naruto smiled at the mother and nodded. "I will. Believe it!"

"Th-Thank you," Hiro nearly cried, bowing gratefully to the boy. He looked back up at the child to see him grinning excitedly, "We have no money to pay you… we couldn't even afford to call for help. But should you succeed in destroying that wall, we will pay you back however we can …"

Brushing his nose and nodding in understanding, the blonde then turned and began heading down the road towards the dam, only to stop at the edge of the crowd who had parted enough to allow him passage. He tilted his head at the barrier, giving it a once over and allowing time for Tayuya to catch up to him.

The two youngsters stood side by side as the ninja in training brought his hands up and formed a square with his fingers, looking through it and up at the dam.

"What are you thinking, Naruto?" Tayuya asked, wondering what the jinchuriki had cooking up.

Naruto squinted thoughtfully, "I'm just wondering how I'm going to crack that sucker open without flooding the entire countryside. I guess I can just blow a hole out in the middle and let the water drain safely out into the dry riverbed before knocking a few more in. It looks sturdy enough," the jinchuriki murmured, rubbing his chin after analyzing the entire structure. "It's still got me scratching my head though. Gato's blocking off all the water with that thing but the river should still be flowing like normal behind it, right?"

"Yeah?"

"With all that water backed up behind the dam… it all has to go out somewhere, otherwise it would have spilled over already. Wouldn't it?" Naruto asked, surprising Tayuya at his observation.

It was a pretty solid question. What Naruto was asking was where all the excess water was going if not down the river? Gato had pretty much stopped all water flow except for a tiny stream thousands of times smaller than what the massive deluge previously was.

What the jinchuriki had in his head was something similar to a plug at the end of a hose. The water was still flowing through the tap and being stopped by the plug. The output would back up as more and more water came and with nowhere to go, well… it's safe to say that some piece would have to give. The dam shouldn't be able to stop thousands of tons of water on its own. If that was the dam's main purpose then the river would have gone over its limit a long time ago. So how the hell did Gato stop it from overflowing?

After some thinking an idea suddenly popped into Tayuya's head, "He must be redirecting the water through underground pipes." It was this conclusion that clicked with all those who were well within earshot.

"Even though there's no water coming through the main line the dam is still producing a lot of energy," a nearby villager spoke up, catching the pair's attention. "In order to control the entire country's supply of water Gato built a secondary, emergency line in case of flooding, and is using it to redirect the entire river through thousands of miles of pipes to a whole other country."

"Then I'll use that to my advantage," Naruto smiled, looking back towards Tayuya. When the girl felt his eyes on her she looked at him in surprise. "Do you want to help?"

"M-Me?" the redhead blinked. Comprehending the situation, the flute player freaked out and began waving her hands in front of her frantically, "Wait! I-I'm not a shinobi. I'm not even a shinobi in training. I can't help you. All I can use is weak genjutsu and that's it. I'm not a carefree idiot who can do impossible things like you. I can't do anything."

"Of course you can," Naruto smiled, taking her by the hands and holding them up. The girl blushed brightly under his intense gaze, yet the boy paid her reaction little mind. "Don't ever doubt yourself. Always think that you can do more than what other people, including you, think you can do, dattebayo!"

The girl stammered. For some strange reason the blonde ball of energy standing before her was incredibly persuasive with his words, even if they were few. The way he spoke to her with such conviction and confidence in his voice made it impossible for any person to doubt him or say no to him. These thoughts were what plagued her mind as she fell under his charismatic spell, her cheeks heating up for the longest of moments before she gave the boy a stiff nod.

Before Tayuya even knew what had come over her, she had already agreed to accompany him on his mission, "O-Okay…"

"Sweet!" Naruto cheered, looking around at the anxious villagers with an eager smile, "We'll be back before you know it. This won't take long."

"Be careful, young warrior," Hiro spoke from the center, looking across at the two worryingly, "As with every road, Jako is not the only obstacle Gato has lying in wait for you. There is another, much more powerful foe guarding the wall ahead…"

"Hmm?" Raising an eyebrow, the jinchuriki looked towards the defeated gang tied up against the building. "There's a person much stronger than goat-boy?"

"Yes," Hiro murmured, his limbs trembling as the face of the individual appeared in his head, "They call him Crow; a vicious assassin with a five-million bounty on his head and the blood of thousands staining his hands. He may not be a ninja, but he has slain many with his sword. Be careful…"

Acknowledging this piece of info, Naruto waved, "Thanks, oji-san." He then gestured for Tayuya to follow and ran off, the bird on his shoulder taking flight to glide alongside them. The redhead did as she was bid and pursued, not wanting to be left behind to worry.

The villagers saw the boy off; with the elder murmuring uneasily at the future he saw waiting over the horizon.

"Good luck young Naruto. Dangerous beings hunt along the path you walk…"

XXX

Two hours later…

"THAT BASTARD, JAKO! I knew that arrogant, thick-headed son of a bitch would screw up one of these days! I just knew it!" Gato roared as he stormed down one of the main halls inside of the dam, followed closely by Zori, Waraji, and a man dressed in black samurai robes, a katana sheathed in a black scabbard at his side, and a black tengai that completely covered his face. He also had a raven perched on his shoulder with red, glaring eyes, which blinked as its head snapped here and there to every sight and sound.

It was only a few minutes ago that Gato received word from one of his contacts down in the village that Jako and his entire gang had been taken down, and dragged by the villagers to the town's jail for processing. Though Gato had every right and authority to bust them out, he just didn't feel like it at the moment for a couple of good reasons.

Number one; he had hired them to be his muscle and had ordered them to complete a simple task, which the boss and his crew failed miserably. Number two; he also didn't want them back in his ranks because he was pissed.

Gato was pissed because he knew that with the failure of Jako and his followers, the blonde haired brat targeting his goons would be coming up here next. The brat, who had taken out a whole battalion's worth of hired gangsters and hoodlums, and was now gunning for the dam.

Judging from the amount of time that had passed since Gato had sent word out for Jako to get the job done, chances are the little shit was already here. Damn, he could already be sneaking through the vents and pipelines as they spoke.

Though Gato was probably just being paranoid in front of his crew, he didn't want to take any chances. This was why everyone was acting so edgy around the workplace now, because the chief had just sent word out to every employee, guard and soldier on duty to be on the lookout for a boy capable of taking out even the best mercenaries they had out here. This whole situation was so messed up the man wished he had hired some rogue ninja for extra protection.

Why he didn't do so in the first place he had no idea? Perhaps he never expected to have a ten-year-old demon of natural disaster to suddenly come trouncing onto his territory one day and mess everything up.

All four of the heavy hitters of the institute moved at a hurried pace, the latter three standing at the flanks of their boss.

"He was indeed very impudent that Jako, sir," Zori inputted.

"That's the thing with common thieves and criminals. You can never trust any of them," Waraji also added with an amused smirk.

Hearing that one of their most powerful assets in the area as well as a majority of their forces had been beaten by a kid was almost laughable. To think that they were throwing money to get assignments done by scum like that, when all they should have done was find a kid like the one giving them such a headache now and have him deal with the problem.

It sure had Gato's underwear in a twist. The man was seething to an insurmountable degree and was biting down hard on the cigarette in his mouth. As they weaved through corridors and passed by worried workers trying to get out of the way, the group suddenly felt the ground at their feet tremble.

Even though it was a small tremor, the fact that it was able to travel through solid rock had the boss and his cronies stop in their tracks.

Gato, Zori and Waraji looked at the floor in surprise, while the man with the basket headwear looked around silently.

"What the…?" Zori murmured.

"There's thousands of feet of solid concrete around us… how can…" Waraji shook his head until he saw his boss chuck his hand up to silence them.

Gritting his teeth Gato listened in for anymore disturbances.

Sure enough, several seconds after putting their ear to the air, they all felt the ground shake again, this time followed by the telltale sounds of an explosion echoing throughout the various hallways. With those two disturbances, more and more tremors and low echoes began to reverberate through the corridor, accompanied by the rattling of pipes and the hissing of valves.

Looking around wildly, the head honcho growled through his teeth and ran forward, following the signs down the soulless passage for the way out. Moments later, the alarms started to blare. "Shit! SHIT!" Gato shouted, his small feet trying to carry him at top striding speed while his bodyguards followed closely behind. "FUCK! He's here… that little brat is already here!"

Zori and Waraji hurried after their chief along with their other bodyguard, whose bird companion began cawing incessantly. They marched through the concrete hallways, following the sounds of destruction and, hopefully, the source of all this commotion.

OOO

Meanwhile…

Down in the central turbine room…

Tayuya was honestly feeling quite entertained right now as she stood off to the side at the main entrance to the large hall watching Naruto blast away at the pipes with all the firepower he could muster from his already absurd arsenal of many things. The blonde was acting like a kid in a toy store from the way he was jumping about, using the gauntlet on his right arm to fire off explosive pellets from his sling shot and, with his free hand, launch exploding tags at every conceivable angle.

Wherever the projectiles landed they detonated, turning once solid and expensive equipment into twisted, burnt skeletons of what they previously were. There was already plenty smoldering all across the chamber so it was safe to say that the boy was indeed getting the job done.

Jumping over a couple of workers trying to stop him, Naruto kicked a guard off of his feet and sent him sprawling to the ground, before launching himself at a huge wheel latched up against a wall. Knocking some levers in to set him up for the next big move, he began turning the huge valve till the 'Open' bar read 'Closed.'

"This looks important!" the jinchuriki shouted, spinning the wheel till it was stuck tight. The moment the bar turned red, the dials on every pipe in the entire area encompassing the main switch hit 'Danger' or 'Full' at the exact same time, and all the pumps started going haywire. One by one, lines began to explode, and jets of water began shooting out in all different directions.

Upon seeing every important apparatus in the room start fluctuating like crazy, Naruto ripped the valve from the wall before chucking it across the floor. He then pulled out a cluster of kunai with explosive tags attached to them and threw them straight into a nearby wall. He didn't even know if that area was even important, the jinchuriki just wanted to blast as many holes into as many surfaces and pipes as he could, all in order to get things kick started for his grand finale.

Everything was falling perfectly into place…

That was until the kunai he chucked eventually landed and detonated with such force it ripped right into the concrete, resulting in thousands of kiloliters of water suddenly pouring into the room like the glass in an aquarium had just shattered. The once grinning blonde freaked out when he saw the wall of water about thirty feet high coming straight at him and, not needing to be told twice, legged it towards the entrance of the turbine station.

"SHIT! NOT GOOD!" Naruto yelled, the pursuing tsunami tearing up machinery and ripping apart platforms one after the other. "Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! That was overkill! I shouldn't have done that! I didn't even know that was a God-damn main line!" He looked up to see Tayuya backing up at the sight of the flood chasing after him, remaining dead center in its path while employees went dashing right on past her.

Upon seeing absolute disaster suddenly strike the dam within minutes of the attack's outset, workers and guards that had previously been trying to stop the blonde haired demon from tormenting them quickly turned tail and dismissed their previous task of trying to catch him. Now everyone just wanted to get the hell out of there before they were caught in the raging torrents and drowned.

The blonde reached Tayuya ahead of the water and tossed his gauntlet arm up; flinging a small line from his launcher that hooked itself around a walkway several stories above. As soon as it was tied, Naruto wrapped an arm securely around his companion and the pair shot straight up towards the ceiling once the high-speed pulley activated.

The musician let out a cry of fright and latched onto Naruto for dear life as they went rocketing skywards.

"Sorry! Got a little carried away there!" the jinchuriki chuckled, earning a scowl from the girl.

They hit the walkways within seconds and looked down just in time to see the massive turbines in the room get washed away. Upon setting their feet on the metal railings, they separated, allowing Naruto to fully retract his lure.

"You really know how to make a mess, don't you?" Tayuya asked with an amused smile in play. Even with her heart pounding away at her chest, the musician still had the presence of mind to comment on the boy's mockery of the conservative world.

"What can I say, I'm a natural," the delighted Naruto replied.

Shaking her head, Tayuya was about to give her savior some witty comeback before something over the boy's shoulder caused her eyes to widen. "LOOK OUT!" The girl leapt at him and tackled him to the floor, just as a cluster of arrows sailed over their heads. When they crashed on top of each other, they both looked down the railing to see four Gato Company guards running their way.

The one that fired the arrows from his crossbow reloaded while his companions charged at the pair with swords.

Naruto gritted his teeth and was about to draw a kunai to deal with them, but was stopped when Tayuya pushed him back down and pulled out her flute. Without even needing to second think her next move the girl blew into her instrument and began playing a speedy yet familiar tune. Naruto looked at her when his ears caught the sound of beautiful music filling the air and, even when not the intended target of the technique, the jinchuriki knew exactly what this was.

"Genjutsu?"

The sound waves traveled fast. The guards advancing on the two kids were immediately caught by the melody and within seconds their screaming charge transformed into a muddled stumble. Moments later, they all collapsed face first onto the walkway, knocked out in one shot.

Tayuya removed the flute from her lips and grinned, before looking back down at Naruto pinned underneath her. The pair stared at each other for several seconds, taking a moment to contemplate why they appeared so close to each other until their actual positions became realized. Blushing brilliantly, the musician hopped off of Naruto so quickly it almost looked like she shunshined and as soon as she was back on her feet, started playing with her hair.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the genjutsu splash back, Naruto pulled himself up till they were both standing. "See. Didn't I tell you that you weren't useless?" the boy exclaimed, "Thanks for the save, Tayuya-chan."

The redhead looked back at him firmly, "Don't think anything of it. You saved my life, so it only made sense to return the favor."

"Whatever you say," Naruto chuckled before looking back down over the railing, where he could see half of the chamber was already filled and that the water level was steadily rising. "Yeah, we should get out of here."

"How long will it take, do you think?" Tayuya asked, referring to the boy's vast knowledge and experience in destroying everything in his path.

The blonde looked down at the metaphorical watch on his wrist. While his companion became a little bit irked at his attempt to look professional in his task, it did bring a small tweak of a smile to Tayuya's face seconds before Naruto brought his arm back down and opened an ear to their surroundings. The sound of creaking pipes and bursting banks became all too pronounced by this point, earning an understanding nod from the jinchuriki.

"We've got twenty minutes till this place brims, then I'll remove the walls," Naruto stated, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Do you want to get a good seat to watch the fireworks?"

Tayuya raised an eyebrow, "A good… seat?"

"Wouldn't want to miss the final act," the jinchuriki said, shrugging his shoulders. "They're the best bits in a play. Come on. It'll be fun."

Lips turning upwards, Tayuya shoved him in the shoulder firmly. "Lead the way then, shithead."

Chuckling at the affectionate nickname Naruto began jogging down the walkway, where both he and his partner in crime hopped carelessly over the unconscious guards, leaving them to roll around where they were lying and plotted a course for the nearest exit. "Why'd you give me that nickname anyway?" the blonde asked curiously while climbing a flight of stairs, looking back to see a smirking Tayuya following close behind. "It doesn't seem like something you should really say in public."

It was crude and should have been demeaning too, but coming from the musician it didn't feel too bad. It actually made him laugh a little on the inside.

"Only to you, blondie. I don't know. I guess it just suits you. What? Did you want me to add an affectionate suffix to your first name like you did mine or do you want something even worse like wonder boy, kitty-kun or Mr. Whiskers?" the girl joked while giving him a wink. For some whacked up reason, her first choice sounded much better.

Naruto sighed, "Well… I guess shithead's at least a step up from dead-last and loser." No doubt. Those names had been getting old for quite some time now.

It was funny. No matter where he went or who he ran into, there was always somebody waiting for him up ahead with a new title to add to his name. Seriously. Was he a magnet for this crap? Surely there wasn't that much shrapnel flying through the air that he was constantly clipped by it on every pass. Not even Sasuke got this much affection and he was supposedly the best damn student in the group with the largest fan club ever recorded.

The jinchuriki swore as he started hiking up stairs with Tayuya that he was going to get a new title when he got back home, and none of that spirit hazing nonsense that the rest of his class had come up for him. He wanted an epithet that was cool and did his image justice.

OOO

After several minutes of climbing, the pair eventually arrived at one of the emergency towers in the middle of the dam. The hatch was kicked open and the swallow trailing after the two children flew out first, shortly followed by Naruto and Tayuya, the latter of which was a bit out of breath. The jinchuriki pulled the girl up to safety and made sure that she was okay before flipping the exit shut.

"Well… that was fun," Tayuya muttered, brushing her greasy hands down her shorts. "Slow down a bit next time. Those last two flights nearly killed me."

"Sorry about that," Naruto replied sheepishly, "I always forget that I've got way more stamina than anyone else I know. I can run forever at any pace I set."

"Why do I find myself believing that?" the red head wondered out loud while giving the blonde a thorough look over.

"Come on. Let's get over to the other side before the barriers burst. I want to get off this damn thing in case it decides to cave in on itself from the water eating away at the weight bearing pillars," Naruto said while extending a hand to her.

The girl brushed it aside and smirked at him. "I can move just fine on my own, thank you very much. But I'll let you point the way. You seem to know what you're doing."

Grinning proudly at the voice of confidence, Naruto hopped down the station while Tayuya used the nearby ladder. Once both of them were on the main road passing over the dam between the two sides of the river, the pair quickly made their way over to the village's side to get a good shot of the banks bursting.

However, just as they were starting to get traction in their retreat, a group of figures up ahead caused them to stop.

Standing beside a line of railway tracks used by workers to transport goods from one side of the dam to the other, there stood a short man in a suit and sunglasses, flanked by three noticeably taller cronies who were each armed with swords. A mini tram waited alongside them within jumping distance, a sight that told the two kids that the group in front of them must have used it to make their way to this point of the structure smack bang in the center.

The man with the rat like mustache and shades smirked when he saw the duo stop, the trembling at their feet caused by the imploding dam becoming more prominent. "So you're the two little mice running around and causing all the trouble? Honestly, from what I've been hearing about you, the so-called demon kid, I expected you to be taller."

"Likewise," Naruto shot back when his once puzzled expression deteriorated into an irate scowl. "So you're Gato, I presume?"

"Correct," the boss replied while adjusting his tie, tapping his cane to the floor and laying both hands comfortably on top of it. "I am Gato of Gato International; the boss of the company and chief overseer of all industries, trade and networks operating underneath the banner."

"Normally when meeting a famous person I would say 'nice to meet you' just like everybody else. But after hearing about your organization and what you've been doing here in this country, you don't even deserve a 'fuck you'," Naruto replied with a smirk, before jabbing a finger in his direction, "But I'll say it anyway. Fuck you, you short-ass prick!"

"My, such kind words. It's exactly what I'd expect from a street punk and his cohort," Gato chuckled, tilting his head at the pair glaring him down. "You've been busy."

"Yeah. You wouldn't believe how exciting my day has already been. It's been real fun beating up all those dimwits and dumbasses you call henchmen," Naruto replied sarcastically. Unlike those other dozens of cannon fodder that had been more of a bother than a challenge, at least Jako got him to work up a sweat. The blonde slammed a fist into his open palm with a loud thump, a clear sign that he was pumped and ready for more, "Would you like to join them in the hospital wing? I heard there're still plenty of beds to be filled."

Gato gritted his teeth and backed up a little, but then remembered he still had several more cards left to play. He smirked back at the blonde after seeing him step towards them from a safe several yards away. "You talk big, brat. Care to back that up with action?"

"Sure. Give me your best shot," the jinchuriki replied while waving a hand, beckoning them to bring it on. "Ready when you are."

"Oh, I won't be doing the fighting today. No sir. That's why I have these dogs to do it for me," Gato replied while gesturing grandly to a smirking Zori, Waraji, and the faceless samurai with the raven perched on his shoulder. "These men take out the trash and guard their master's interests. Disposing of you should be no problem."

"I bet that's exactly what the other guy thought before I cracked his skull open," Naruto chuckled, rolling his head around and stretching his neck. "I'll give you points for trying. So who's going to be my next opponent?"

Gato grinned across at the cocky blonde. "Crow!"

The samurai wearing the basket clicked his sword and strode forward, the raven on his shoulder flapping its wings once before taking off. The sight of the big black bird taking flight prompted the swallow on Naruto's shoulder to also leave, not wanting to be around for the next show about to take place. The two birds went and situated themselves on the nearby railings, finding themselves the perfect seats for the bout. It was definitely going to be a big one.

Naruto surveyed his foe, finding his appearance quite intriguing. He'd never fought a samurai before, not to mention someone who actually looked as impressive as he was. His shadow alone had the academy student slide his feet out and widen into a steadier stance.

"So you're the Crow oji-san and the villagers were talking about," Naruto murmured, smiling when he saw the man's covered head lower. "Damn, you really are scary. Maybe now I'll finally be able to have a descent fight."

"Be careful what you wish for, boy," Gato spoke up over the stand-off with a confident smile in play. "The result it amounts to may leave you in a state of regret, if not complete and utter despair."

Expression twitching momentarily, Naruto's face then lit up with sudden and clear realization. "Oh, that's right!" Flexing his fingers, the blonde then slapped his hands together to form the snake seal, quickly followed by dragon and tiger. This precise combination of signs not only caught Tayuya's but also the opposition's attention, "While we're still on the subject of the fight, I think it would make things a lot more interesting if we raised the stakes a little."

Gato, familiar with the concept of ninjutsu for shinobi, reversed some more after seeing the youngster flip through the seals. "What the hell are you talking about? What are you doing?"

"Nothing much." As carefree as Naruto's response was, both Gato and Tayuya shivered from head to toe when they saw the mischievous and sinister grin suddenly spread across his face. Matters were made that much worse when he ran his tongue across his upper lip, "I'm just going to collapse this dam into the river."

"W-Wait… WHAT?!" Tayuya shouted, looking up at the boy in alarm.

"Did you really think that all I did inside your funhouse was run around, torment your employees, sabotage your lines and bust in a wall to flood the place?" Naruto asked in an almost maniacal voice that had the bad guys standing in his path visibly back peddle, all except for the samurai in black. "Hell no! I'm not that transparent, nor am I that stupid to waste time doing meaningless bullshit that can just as easily be cleaned up. I spent the first hour sprinting up and down this God-forsaken constipation from one station to the next, planting explosives in every corner I could find. I laid out over a hundred bombs throughout this wall, all set to detonate on my command."

Everybody's jaws went slack, especially Gato's.

"Oh shit," Waraji choked, looking down at his feet. "That means we're…"

His partner in the beanie growled and pointed at the antagonist. "He's bluffing! Fucking smart-aleck… there's no way he had the time to do that!"

"Are you absolutely sure about that?" Naruto asked snidely, seeing the men start sweating buckets where they were standing. "Back in my home village, just for the shits and giggles of it, I was able to hit every single person at the same time across two kilometers of suburbs in one morning with only a box of fireworks and a fuck ton of peanut butter. You should have seen the reviews I got for the stunt; I was ducking and dodging angry civilians for weeks."

Naruto recalled wanting to pull off a prank like that for months. A full day before launch was spent gathering all the materials he needed and then, in the span of about three hours, he rigged every bedroom inside of Konohagakure's suburban areas to blow. Every villager within earshot of each other was rudely awoken at the crack of four by the sounds of gunfire going off under their beds, the mattresses of which were propelled feet off the ground and tossed all about the room, depending on the positioning of the charges. It didn't take whole neighborhoods to figure out who it was behind the unexpected attack, with hundreds upon hundreds of disgruntled adults setting out on a quest to collect the head of the one responsible as a trophy.

That was one of the best weekends Naruto ever had.

"Now, imagine me doing that, but with tons of explosives," the jinchuriki exclaimed.

"You sneaky little cretin," Gato growled, bringing his cane up and pointing it at the blonde. "Don't think you'll get away with this!"

"I'll definitely get away with this. You'll see," Naruto replied at level. "Fact is; I want you to see me get away with this."

"Don't bullshit with me you son of a bitch! You're still on the dam! You blow it; you send us ALL to hell!" Knowing that he had him cornered with this, Gato pressed home his advantage. "Get it? Boom! Us dead. You dead. Everybody loses. Even you're not that fucking crazy. Be serious for a moment!"

Blinking in confusion, Naruto then flashed the short man a sly smile, which had Tayuya leaning away at its intensity.

"What are you talking about? I am serious…"

The girl looked at him in panic, "No! WAIT!"

"Katsu!"

The ground shook violently beneath both parties as one after the other in rapid succession the explosives strewn throughout the dam went off. Looking across and over the side, Gato saw the walls of his magnificent creation crack from blasts inside the structure detonating outwards, with the most intense explosion occurring just next to them. The explosion hurled black smoke and bits of concrete through the air, choking up the air space and letting everyone know that the stupidest decision that could have ever been made was made. Everyone except for Naruto and the samurai in black looked upon the rising cloud of destruction in disbelief.

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" Gato roared over the bombs still discharging, the world around them shaking like they were standing on top of a large, running motor. "DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?"

"I sure do," Naruto shouted back, removing his hands from their seal position and pointing towards the big boss. "And by the way, the name is Naruto… Naruto Uzumaki! And don't you forget it!"

"FUCK!" Gato yelled, quickly turning heel and jumping onto the tram. The now panicking Zori and Waraji followed after him, taking the driver and passenger seats respectively. A quick retreat was needed now, the preparations of which gave the superior enough time to look back and curse the child for this outrage.

His eyes then fell upon the still stationary Crow, who had not moved since he was ordered forward and was still facing down the two kids.

"If you're not coming with us, finish him! I'll pay you double if you return with his head!" Gato ordered, to which the warrior returned with a single nod without even bothering to look back. The business owner then focused on the still grinning jinchuriki and his worried looking companion, "You'd better hope Crow kills you here and now Uzumaki. I guarantee that you will not like the life that will be waiting for you should you survive!"

"Looking forward to it!" Naruto shouted and waved.

The tram kicked into life and took off down the line, leaving behind the black assassin and its adolescent targets standing firmly upon the collapsing structure. With the explosions starting to fade and the barrier starting to give way, it became apparently clear to all those who were watching that it wouldn't be long now till the entire thing fell apart and allowed thousands of tons of river back into the lowlands.

This was what the jinchuriki had planned from the very beginning.

"Why aren't we falling?" Tayuya asked, grabbing the boy's sleeve and pulling on it. "You set off the bombs, didn't you? Why haven't we been blown sky high or straight down to hell?"

"For something this massive you'd need tons of explosive tags to completely level it. I only used whatever I had in my pockets, which wasn't even close to what you'd need to incinerate this thing," Naruto replied, smiling at the girl looking at him in astonishment.

"Th-Then… what you said back there…"

"Yeah. It was part bluff." He grinned warmly, "Don't worry, we're not going to die. I set the bombs off in specific places that will cut away the walls but leave the weight-bearing pillars intact. It's the same method I used to mess with one of the clans back in my village when I took away all the nails in their home and let the walls come apart on their own, but the frames were still held in place."

"S-So that means…" Tayuya's eyes widened in realization and a smile appeared on her face. "You set it up so that the water would drain through at a controlled rate and that the resulting flood wouldn't destroy the village."

That was smart. No… not smart. Brilliant. Though he didn't look it, Naruto was naturally gifted in the art of devastation. Where the hell had he been this entire time?

Speaking of which, the abovementioned blonde nodded toward the girl affirmatively before glaring back at their second and now main concern, which was the masked man staring both of them down. The shadow drew their eyes toward the obstacle in question and had both of them tense when the samurai stepped forward.

It was hard to ignore the shaking at their feet even while being confronted by Gato's last pro. With his last challenge yet to be dealt with, Naruto's fists clenched. "The barriers should let go in about twenty minutes. I can't guarantee that this platform won't give out as well, but I'm staying."

"Wait. You're not going to run?" Tayuya asked. Looking at his face, she could see how serious he was, which had her even more concerned for his safety. Between fighting the man in front of them and the impending doom of their foundations giving way, there only seemed to be one clear option available here. "No! Don't fight him! Let's get out of here while we still have the chance, Naruto!"

"If we run he'll follow. I'm not sure if I can fight him and protect you at the same time, and I most certainly am not going to let him hurt you," the jinchuriki stated while shrugging his arm out of her grip. "I swore to myself that I would never let any of these people hurt you ever again. Gato's real strength over others lies in those he has under his command, so that means that this whole nightmare will end once I kill this man right here and now. If I don't, a lot more people are going to suffer."

Tayuya remained silent as she returned his gaze. As admiral as his actions were and his words sounded, she still felt he was being awfully stubborn and was frustrated by his resolve. Why the hell was he putting his life on the line for people he didn't know? Why did he want to fight so badly? Why was he doing all of this for them? For her?

"Why do you care so much?" Tayuya finally asked.

Naruto smirked confidently, "Because I do. Because it's my choice. I want to do this. That's all you need to know." He looked back at her and nodded over his shoulder. "Go. I'll meet you on the other side of the river."

Feeling the strength behind his words and the power in his expression, the redhead was compelled to move by them. Whether it was his intensity, his determination, his will or the image he conveyed when he spoke to her she didn't know. All she knew was that she could trust him, no matter how impossible or how dangerous the situation seemed.

After a few paces back and a few moments of contemplation, Tayuya responded to his command with a few simple words. The girl smirked, "Don't you dare lose to him!"

Naruto grinned. "No problem."

With that, Tayuya turned and ran as fast as her legs would allow, looking back for one brief moment to see the jinchuriki smile at her before glancing back toward his foe. "Give him hell, shithead."

Naruto's gaze fixed squarely on his target.

Several moments of silence passed between the boy and the samurai before either side dared to say anything, which to no surprise started with the ever energetic prankster always eager to banter with his rivals. "You look really tough for a scrubby old bird. I can tell you're much different from those other jerks I fought earlier today. Hopefully that's not all for show." His only response came in the lowering of the man's head, which had the jinchuriki chuckle, "Not much of a talker huh? That's cool. But I usually like a little back and forth with my opponents. It makes fights like these more entertaining."

The ground continued to shake as more and more of the barrier beneath them gave out.

Flicking his wrist, a kunai slipped into the blonde's grip. Upon securing his weapon of choice Naruto assumed a crouching stance. His opponent had a sword and judging from how calmly he was presenting himself he definitely knew what he was doing.

This Crow had experience. The proof was in the aura.

"Well… come at me," Naruto said while smirking, "Let's see what this terrible Crow demon can do."

The samurai tilted his head, his expression hidden behind a veil of straw and shadow. Was he put off by the boy's confidence? Thrown by his smirk? Offended? Naruto couldn't tell.

Then, when it appeared as though the samurai was having second thoughts, without warning, he sprang into action.

There was about a spread of fifteen meters distance between both the jinchuriki and his foe, so it was no surprise Naruto's eyes bugged out of their sockets when, in a flash, the swordsman suddenly appeared standing directly in front of him. The black hollow slit of the basket that was his face floated directly in front of the blonde's widening eyes as the samurai's hand began to draw his sword from its scabbard in lightning fast time, alerting the shocked youngster to the danger.

"WHOA!" Naruto cried out, swaying back as far as he could when a streak of light carved through the air where his body once was. The assailant had drawn his weapon in a textbook Iai motion straight from the sheath with the intent on ending his target's life in a single blow. Only the academy student's quick reflexes and natural flexibility saved him from being bifurcated.

Naruto glared up at the man still in attack position towering over him, his body bent backwards at 90 degrees. "Holy squirrel-fucking shit, this guy is fast!"

Reacting quickly to the dark assassin glaring down at him, the blonde bent backwards even more, slamming a hand into the ground and performing a flip, at the same time spearing a kick straight up to his foe's chin. The samurai leant away from the attack and lashed out with a glancing blow. The youngster slipped away and made a hasty retreat.

Naruto swore he had never backpedaled faster than he ever had in his life when the samurai came dashing after him, easily catching him with his ungodly speed. "Son of a bitch, he's REALLY fast! How the fuck is someone wearing a bathrobe able to move that fast?" Grinning briefly at the prospect of the fight, Naruto leant back to avoid another incoming slash, ducking low a split second later when the man returned with a second strike for his head. The dark assailant pursued him left and right when the jinchuriki attempted to shake him off in his fallback with a zigzagging motion, but the older warrior was persistent. He stuck to him like his shadow and lashed at him at every given opportunity.

Side-stepping a full circle, Naruto freaked out when another blow came from below and he was forced to jump away. He hit the breaks the moment both feet slammed into the ground and he skidded to a stop several meters away. Though the blonde managed to buy himself a few valuable seconds of air, it wasn't long till the light on his feet Crow came charging at him again, katana at the ready.

"Okay, running isn't going to get me anywhere and trying to shake him off is doing me nothing. His speed is great and he's got good eyesight. Damn it." Naruto gritted his teeth, stepping back little by little as the man advanced. Arms hanging at his sides, the jinchuriki began awkwardly swaying his upper body from side to side, picking up the tempo as he took into account his opponent's footwork. "He likes using that sword of his. If that's all he knows, then let's test the waters."

Crow lashed at him with another strike, but Naruto returned fire by ducking under it and throwing a swinging hook. The swordsman elbowed his strike away and fell back, lashing upward at the kid with his blade, only to see his nimble little opponent leap right over it, enter his defensive circle, and slam a right kick straight into his stomach. The blow caused a loud crunching sound to echo out, which sent the samurai blasting backwards. Though it looked like a clean blow, his sudden flight away from his opponent was mostly out of surprise.

Upon sliding to a stop, the masked samurai looked up sharply. Even though his face was covered and he didn't utter anything audible, his actions still clearly conveyed his shock.

Hands still hanging at his sides in a wide stance, Naruto smiled and began swaying again.

"He's ridiculously fast, but I can match his speed with my tricky moves. I knew all that running around would pay off one day," Naruto thought happily before charging at the samurai, who immediately rushed at him in kind, sword cocked. The blonde frowned as he closed the distance, ducking low when he telegraphed a swing aimed for his head. "I need to land some body blows. That'll stop his feet."

The blonde rammed into the man's stomach with a shoulder tackle, sending the fierce Crow off his feet and sending him through the air with an unconventional battering technique. Naruto traveled with him and hammered several body shots into his gut, seconds before the samurai countered by bringing his sword over his head and striking down. The small attacker rolled right out of the way when the weapon speared the ground, getting back to his feet and going airborne when the samurai followed with a sweeping slash immediately afterwards; the sword missing him by inches.

While in the air Naruto spun around and tossed a barrage of shuriken at his target, the projectiles separating and converging on the warrior moments later. Certain of a hit, Naruto's grin widened…

But shock overcame him instead when the samurai suddenly vanished in a shadowy blur.

"What the hell?"

The moment Naruto's foot touched the ground the swordsman reappeared right in front of him with a downward stabbing blow. Eyes widened further as the child swung his body around to meet his opponent.

"Son of a bitch, this again?!" the jinchuriki thought while ducking. After avoiding the attack, he backpedaled quickly, dodging and weaving under flashes of katana coming after him. The streaks of the sword slicing through the wind at high speed filled the air around the blonde in a terrifying display of cutting speed as he swayed and leapt away from the warrior. The assault was so fast there wasn't even any time to blink or breathe. Naruto was forced into a fallback state with a frustrated look on his face. "Shit! Shit! When do I counter? HOW! He's gotten even fas-WHOA!" Even his thoughts were cut short when more attacks came pouring after him.

Upon being pushed back several yards down the dam, the jinchuriki drew a kunai from his pouch and began blocking hits. Sparks flew through the air when he traded parries with the samurai until Naruto was violently thrown back by a full-power swing that connected with his guard. He flew a good distance, flipped a few times to gain control of his flight before eventually skidding to a stop when he managed to slam both of his feet into the concrete road.

"Bloody hell," Naruto gritted his teeth, his legs shaking from taking the hit. "His swings aren't just blindingly fast, they're also unbelievably heavy. He'll cut clean through me if I stop for even a second, but he's not giving me any time to weave hand seals." He looked down to see his knees trembling, barely keeping him up despite his adrenaline rush. "The damage is already getting to my legs. I have to end this quick or I'll be in trouble!"

Another explosion rocked the dam they were standing on as another outlet for the water in the lake behind them was formed. Little by little, the massive swell being held back started feeding directly into the land once more, but in spite of this tremendous success, the whole liberation plot that Naruto was going for would mean nothing if he didn't defeat the final element of the village's despair.

The swordsman, once again prepping himself for another attack, was the long-arm of Gato's force here. If the weapon of the tyrant used to deal physical pain upon the villagers remained, then the people would never be free of this nightmare. It would continue to come back to haunt them again and again, until there was no one left. This vision of a future filled with pain and torment, was a future Naruto was not going to allow. He was determined to finish his opponent right here and now.

Baring his teeth, Naruto charged in. "Let's punch it out! COME ON!" He tossed his kunai, which was swatted away by his foe before the boy leapt at him with his right corked back.

The moment the jinchuriki came in swinging, the samurai sliced right into him with a sideward blow, carving right through his waist. Naruto passed by the warrior with a shocked expression and his eyes glazed over, a spray of blood occurring moments later. However, when the assailant was certain he'd killed the boy with the decisive blow, the falling child suddenly went up in a puff of smoke shortly before a log fell to the ground out from the cloud, cleaved in two.

The clattering of wood had Crow's attention immediately fixed on the replacement in alarm, a distraction long enough for the real Naruto to suddenly drop down at him from above, kunai in hand.

The boy cried out when he landed on the samurai's back, straddling his shoulders before ramming the knife into his neck. The tussle that followed involved the robed assassin attempting to throw the little hitchhiker off of him, while Naruto continued to bury the knife deeper and deeper without pause. The sound of squealing could be heard all around as the blade drove home, a grin coming across the boy's face before he was suddenly grabbed by the hair and thrown across the dam.

Tumbling over the concrete, the jinchuriki slid to a stop on all fours and glared up, bleeding from the head and lip.

"What?" Naruto shouted, his astonished gaze locking on as the masked warrior ripped the knife from his neck and tossed it to the ground at his feet. "I hit a vital point! I know I did! Why the hell isn't he going down?"

Even though he'd just been stabbed in the throat, the man just staggered towards him with his sword at the ready. He was clearly wounded, but he wasn't showing any signs of being wounded. There was no waver in his step, nor was there any form of outcry in his vocals. No. He just swaggered towards the boy with that haunting vacant stare fixed through his basket mask. Fuck, Naruto couldn't even see his damn expression and tell whether he was in pain. Was he even human?

Grinding his teeth together irritably, Naruto drew another kunai and rushed at his opponent, but the samurai took off, leaping through the air and landing on the railing of the dam. The jinchuriki pursued, jumping after him and landing knife first in a diving drive attack. Their blades clashed in a shower of sparks when they began a deadly dance back and forth across the dam's upper level. Shortly afterwards, during one of their reengagements, after jumping around his foe to try and get into one of his blind spots the jinchuriki was suddenly driven away by Crow's swinging blade and forced to leap up onto a higher platform. That was until the entire section was blasted to bits when the samurai ran his sword through it, the force of which caused it to explode and shower the area in debris and rubble.

Naruto landed amongst the remains of the stand and glared up to see his foe running along the railing a level above, sword drawn and eyes fixed on him. Even from this distance the youngster could feel his intensity as the dam they were on was further shaken by another wall giving in, and more water was sent cascading into the valley.

The blonde took another stance.

"You're no ordinary samurai, but that's cool with me!" the Uzumaki shouted at him, cocking his right arm back, kunai held firm. He too began running alongside his opponent while the warrior continued to hold the high ground, "I'm no ordinary kid either! So come at me with everything you've got, because I won't be giving you the satisfaction of an easy win!"

Crow did as requested and lunged down at him with blinding speed. The warrior attacked the boy with ferocity and agility not like before. His sword carved through the air left and right, attempting to cut the boy as he danced around him using his signature awkward movements. The blonde's footwork and fleetness allowed him to stay just inches ahead of his target as he lashed at him with attacks continuously and without fault.

While dancing across the trembling barrier, Naruto decided to dive in for an offensive himself. He jumped around his opponent who sliced at him with his sword, throwing kicks and slashes with his kunai to try and sneak in some damage. It was an overwhelming assault that drove the collected swordsman back, who continued to swing at him but couldn't due to the difference in range.

While Crow took advantage of the middle-range whenever he attacked Naruto, the jinchuriki neutralized his sword by rushing into close-range whenever the opportunity presented itself and assaulted the samurai with a combination of speed and raw quickness.

Leaping over the man's arms when he overshot a slash, Naruto propped a hand on his opponent's forearm and balanced himself on the extended limb until Crow came back around with another violent attack. The jinchuriki spun around the swinging limb, taking the arm into a hold and locking it behind Crow's back, while expertly wrapping his legs around his neck.

When Naruto attempted to apply pressure, the swordsman staggered back before ramming the hitchhiker into a barrier… or tried to at least. Naruto leapt clear from his shoulders and landed on the ground several feet out. Once the samurai had rid himself of the extra weight, he lunged in again, sword held out at his side for another downward attack.

The jinchuriki swayed from side to side, eyes scrutinizing the path of the incoming move and readying his left fist. He positioned it down a little so that it was propped at his waist.

"Let's see… it's a direct attack from middle-range. The motion is quite wide… and there's a sizable gap between his arms when he swings," Naruto thought. "So…"

The moment the samurai swung in and across, the jinchuriki slid forward and rammed what looked like a cross between a hook and an uppercut right between the two arms holding the handle of the sword. He managed to hit him from below and sway back from the blade, but the power he got from the attack ran straight into his chin and blasted Crow's head back with an almighty 'crack.'

A textbook three-quarter uppercut.

Naruto smirked and quickly leapt away when the samurai staggered and swung blindly with his sword, obviously disoriented. "I can hit you when you come in with a big move. Got yah!"

But it wouldn't keep him at bay for long.

As expected, Crow came back around with a shake of his head and, as if he had received no damage from his opponent throughout the fight whatsoever, charged straight back into battle.

It was a good trade-off between two strong warriors and an awesome display of precision, ferocity and power. The fight looked like one that would last into the later afternoon…

…until the inevitable happened.

The dam began to crumble. More and more explosions rocked the interior and more gaps were blasted into it. Soon, there were four massive, gaping holes punched into the barrier along its entire length, allowing torrents of water to spill out. It was fed evenly into the dried up countryside sure, but the terrible conditions the destruction it was bringing to those on top was making life miserable for both.

Growing exhausted from being attack repeatedly by his foe, Naruto started taking on some serious damage. Misjudging some swings and unable to fight back against the samurai's raw speed and power for a prolonged period, the blonde got cut up badly when he was grazed by the weapon. He attempted to block a low blow, but that carved across his chest and sent him spinning, a spray of blood clouding the air.

Naruto cried out a second time when he was deftly kicked across the face and sent tumbling across the concrete road before ramming into one of its side railings. Spitting out blood, the blonde wiped his face off and glared exhaustedly up at his foe, standing a distance from him in a defensive stance. The samurai had less damage then he had, but the jinchuriki was still determined and beyond calling it quits at this point.

He never gave up, not to the likes of a person like HIM!

Struggling into a crouched position, the boy smirked, "You sure hit hard like I expected you would. You take damage and send it right back at your opponents without missing a beat." Stumbling forwards, Naruto ducked in and ground his feet into the floor. "But you don't hit like you mean it… AND TO ME THAT MEANS YOU'RE HOLDING BACK!" The blonde sprang forward at his foe with an incredible leap and unbelievable dashing speed, swinging his right arm over his left shoulder before carving upwards into the samurai's unguarded face when he bolted right into his defensive circle.

The warrior was too surprised to respond with a counter when the basket across his face was shaved through, splinters and straw flying into the air. Crow staggered backwards in astonishment, grabbing the front of his mask momentarily to assess the damage.

As Naruto backed away from his hearty lunge, he saw to his surprise Crow's body begin to shake with anger at being struck the way he was. This reaction came seconds before he suddenly snapped into life again and rushed at the boy with a renewed flurry of attacks and an unexpected battle cry.

"RAAARRGGGHHHHH!" the assassin bellowed in a deep, gravelly voice worn away from having not spoken in years.

Naruto fell back in shock, using his kunai to block a new series of wild attacks. The sword strikes came in even faster than before, forcing him to dodge more awkwardly and block at unexpected angles. Sparks flew as the katana tore up the ground beneath them from the blind fury of the assault, driving the jinchuriki further and further into the middle of the dam. Though Naruto took advantage of the samurai's anger by landing a few well-aimed kicks into his forward leg to throw him off and striking the body whenever he was open, he was quickly driven off by his enraged opponent.

Crow's anger was truly terrifying. Naruto tried misdirecting him with some flicker jabs at distance, but the sword cutting through the air at unexpected degrees kept the boy from landing them effectively.

There was absolutely no regard shown towards their surroundings, nor was there any concern shown towards his wellbeing.

Crow now had several kunai impaling him, but he wasn't stopping, not even for a moment.

"CRAP!" Naruto shouted when he tried to block a driving blow from the katana. Sparks flashed across his face as he skidded along the ground, trying to hold back the train plowing into him before the samurai pressuring his guard slammed a fist across his face. The jinchuriki was sent spiraling back at the force with blood flying from his mouth, before he was suddenly struck upwards by a blow from the sword. "GAH!" A quick flip through the air followed by a rough landing across the concrete was the jinchuriki's reward.

Clutching the scars bleeding out from his chest, Naruto looked up just in time to block another sword strike from above. The blow drove down on top of him as he attempted to hold it back and recover, his whole body shaking from the effort before he was kicked across the face again and sent crashing into the dam's railing for a second time.

However, instead of being allowed to fall against the wall, Naruto was suddenly picked up and plowed into it by Crow grabbing him by the neck and driving him straight through it. After mercilessly being pushed through several feet of solid wall that shattered like glass against him, Naruto soon found himself being held over the dam's lake on the other side.

The jinchuriki choked out blood as he was throttled by the vice-like grip around his neck, legs dangling uselessly over the side and hands clawing away at the sleeve. Vision blurring from the damage, the child looked towards the masked warrior holding him up, where he could see the anger through the shadow of his mask.

"I… c-can't breathe… damn it!" Naruto managed to squeeze out in his head, gasping desperately as the grip on him was tightened. He looked down towards the raging currents below, where he could see mass amounts of water still emptying itself into the lands beyond the barrier. "It can't end like this… no…" Shaking his head defiantly, Naruto struggled to glare back at Crow to see the menace draw his sword back in preparation to drive it through his stomach, to finish the fight once and for all. "Not here! Not to him! NO WAY!"

Despite the pain, the crushing vice and the hell waiting for him thousands of feet below, Naruto mustered a grin through bloody teeth before forming a familiar hand seal directly in front of his opponent's face.

He was having so much fun having his teeth kicked out of his mouth and bones broken that he almost forgot about the new jutsu he created.

"FOOLED YAH!" Naruto exclaimed before slapping his right against Crow's chest. "Jet Hand!"

The samurai looked a little surprised at the hand seal. But just before he could retaliate with his sword, the assassin was suddenly blasted back by what felt like a herd of charging rhinos running into him. Crow spiraled through the air at breakneck speed across the width of the dam before slamming into a concrete base. The tower of rock exploded in a shower of rubble and debris, choking the entire area with dust.

Naruto managed to latch onto the ledge of the railing Crow had been standing on once he'd freed himself and fell from the killer's grip. Panting heavily from the attempt, as soon as he was up on safe and solid ground, the boy glared up towards the spot his opponent had crashed and stopped mid-flight.

Sure he'd intended to send him packing in one go, but he didn't expect him to stop before he could even take off. Either way, this was great…

A chance was presented to him!

Throwing his right arm out, Naruto cocked back his wrist so that a familiar air tube was able to appear.

By the time the dust settled on the crash site Crow had managed to pull himself out of the pile of debris and back onto the dam's highway. Robes torn, katana missing and looking dazed beyond belief, the samurai attempted to reacquaint himself with his surroundings, only to see the boy he was fighting with charge at him across the way. The assassin was too slow to react to the next attack.

When it looked like the motion for shuriken being thrown just feet from him, a loud crack of air was heard instead before the samurai's vision was blinded by the horrifying sight of red, green and yellow. The warrior staggered backwards in shock when the entire upper portion of his body including his face was splattered with multi-colored paint, which only served as a distraction for Naruto to leap clear at him from in front and ram both his feet into his chest.

Crow staggered even further when Naruto landed against him, the boy driving another kunai straight into his neck and burying it deep to make sure it stuck. Knowing this wouldn't be enough, the blonde then reared his right fist back before slamming it straight into the widened gap of the mask on the individual's face. The gash he managed to land across the basket before helped serve this purpose.

"OPEN WIDE!" Naruto shouted, ripping his hand out just in time to avoid the explosion that followed.

The side of the samurai's cloaked face was blasted open by a shower of gold sparklers from a firework bomb being shoved right into his ugly mug. Though it should have served to piss the enemy off rather than cause any damage, the shrapnel and phosphorous laced with it did more than its fair share. Soon after the pellet detonated, the samurai started screaming out in agony as his face was pretty much melted inside his straw veil.

Naruto sat astride the man's chest as the samurai clawed at his searing face and staggered towards the edge, thrashing about like a mad bull… until the boy realized where they were actually walking, which pretty much had the jinchuriki flip out in panic.

"OH CRAP!" the blonde shouted, at the exact same time another massive tremor rocked the dam they were on as the final causeways for the water were blasted out.

Torrents and torrents of water continued to be let out of the lake, which battered the support beams and whatever sections of Gato's great dam remained. This basically meant the entire structure shook from bottom to top, which resulted in a lot of unintended portions being chipped away. In this particular case: the section Naruto and his opponent were standing on.

Before the jinchuriki could leap clear, the ground beneath the staggering samurai gave way, which meant both of them began to fall over the side. Naruto yelped in shock as they started to cascade with the section of concrete, gravity working its magic and dragging them into the hell of rapids beneath them.

But of course, being known to think well on his feet, just as they were both beginning to plummet, Naruto managed to throw his right arm up and procured the hook from his gauntlet. With it, at the very last second available, he caught onto the jagged edge of the dam that had allowed them to fall and remain fixed to its host, biting hard and holding as other chunks of the monstrosity fell away.

Good thing he managed to grab onto a steel frame.

Just as it seemed the worst was over and he was beginning to breathe easy, Naruto suddenly felt a violent tug on his body and he glared down. There, dangling from his right leg, the boy saw Crow hanging from him and glaring up at him through the smoke lifting off of his messed up face.

It would only be a few seconds afterwards that Naruto realized he had managed to burn his opponent's mask clean off of him. So when the smoldering cleared and the jinchuriki was able to get a good look at his expression, and the raging waters far below still tearing away at the dam, Naruto saw a scarred man around his forties with grimy black hair and red eyes looking back at him. His face already had so many old war wounds and gashes on it, the burns and shrapnel lodged into the right side of his face from the sparkler bomb seemed like a welcome bit of make-up to his already ravaged visage.

Naruto was so shocked by the man's appearance he could only stare in silence.

What came as an even bigger surprise though, about several seconds later, instead of seeing Crow raise a weapon to strike at him or more anger well-up in his eyes promising a painful death, the jinchuriki saw the guy smile? Sure it came shortly after getting a good view of his stony glare and Naruto half-figured he was hallucinating from loss of blood; the jinchuriki was still met with a pleasant grin.

It was almost like the assassin was thanking him, which was weird considering he was an enemy ordered to kill him. Didn't samurai abide by some sort of code of honor or pride or something?

The unmasked warrior Crow nodded to the jinchuriki upon getting his attention before closing his eyes. The moment he did so, the grip around the boy's ankle slackened until the man was only hanging by a couple of fingers, literally.

"Good fight…"

Once those words were uttered, the broken warrior relinquished his hold completely.

Naruto reached out to grab him, but his instinctive response came too late and the boy could only watch as Crow, resigned to his fate, plummeted into the raging torrents of water below and vanished into the foam and jagged rapids. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

The jinchuriki's hand fell limp after becoming fully aware of what had happened and allowed his body to hang there from the ledge, watching the river flow on by and begin to level out. After allowing some minutes to pass, in which the blonde was able to reflect on his battle, Naruto breathed out exhaustedly and, through half-lidded eyes, looked downstream to see the massive canal completely full.

A smile came to his tired face. "Good fight."

The last of the debris from the dam was chipped away, leaving behind a ruined relic of a tyrant and a monument of the destruction caused by only one boy.

While Naruto dangled where he was for a little while longer, staring down at the now calm river flowing through the ruined structure, the birds Swift and Raven up on the railing above him looked down over the side.

Having watched the entire situation unfold and upon witnessing the death of its master, the crow sitting beside the swallow cawed once out of habit, ruffled its feathers, and then took off into the sky. Swift watched its fellow bystander fly up into the clouds, following him with her gaze as he disappeared over the horizon.

This event signified the end of the fight and the liberation of the Land of the Great River.

OOO

Meanwhile…

Up in her farm and looking relatively disgruntled from all the grinding of herbs she was doing, Hanare was attempting to fill out one of her latest client orders from the stock she was able to conjure up from whatever harvest she could. Though there was not much she could gain from the crops, at least the dried up seeds had to count for something. They could be sold for a small bit in other places where they were rare, especially from this country, but she was wondering if her efforts were really going to be enough.

Nevertheless, while she was working her magic on her resources and trying to stretch out the amount as much as she could, an earth-shaking tremor coursed through the entirety of her house. The disturbance rattled fixtures and moved furniture a few centimeters out of place, startling Hanare out of her seat and forcing her towards the door.

"What in the world was that?"

Throwing the entrance open the farmer looked towards the dam further up the valley. When she looked across, expecting to see mists, construction or something else ordinary taking place, her eyes widened in surprise when she saw massive explosions rip across the surface of the great white barrier. These blasts punched a hole into the bottom half at the center of the wall, allowing water to come pouring out at an easy rate.

The next half-hour would prove to be a great show for the farmer, as one after another more gaps were blown along the entire length of the dam. The holes appeared in every space between the main weight-bearing pillars, which allowed the water to come out in a controlled flow and fill up the dried-up riverbed. By some otherworldly force, the entire world on the suffering side of the barrier began to come alive again, as water was once more allowed to flow freely through the country.

Blinking in disbelief and thinking back on the day she'd been having, Hanare eventually realized what must have happened and smiled. An amused chuckle escaped her lips as she leaned against her porch's support beam.

"That little runt… he actually did it," Hanare laughed, shaking her head. "The crazy little fool actually did it…"

Hey! Her day might just get better yet…

TO BE CONTINUED…

---

Author's Note: Wow. That was awesome. I always wanted to chronicle a journey like this for a character, and what character to do it for than for Naruto. I just can't stop thinking about how much damage Naruto could actually cause if he used more of that creative genius of his. Pulling pranks on shinobi and getting away with it, out running Chunin and all that… why doesn't he put those skills to good use.

Basically the chapter highlights the fact that when Naruto thinks up something, it's usually something big. Like when he was stuck inside the Four-Tail's mouth and he had to figure out a way to get out. BAM! He creates tons of shadow clones and makes the Four-Tail's throw him up. I found that both hilarious and awesome, and I think this chapter illustrates his devious, dangerous mind that much more.

Gato was a small time foe here. It's already implied he's already taken over Wave, so it's basically a two year thing in the making. There was no one absurdly strong Naruto faced here, just mercenaries and the last guy. Genin can beat up gangsters and mercenaries in their dozens, if the filler episodes and opening sequences in the anime don't say that.

Hope you enjoyed this latest installment. :)