Hey, guys. There's been such a lot of you writing, that I wanted to get Chapter 2 out right away. Please review- thanks!
Jaw dropping, Naruto stared in amazement at the monstrous (clothed!) croc standing before him. His mind was still muzzy, but it appeared to be at least eighty feet long. He was shaking his head in dumb-founded surprise when an image of the scroll popped into his head. His suddenly remembered signing the contract, which made the crocodile in front of him a bit more explainable. Sitting all the way up, he cleared his throat to speak. "Excuse me, but can you um….. please explain why I look like this?" He indicated his scaly green body with one fist.
The giant croc peered sharply at him before replying in a gruff voice "This look is part of your bloodline, as is an alliance with crocodiles and alligators. The croc indicated the horde surrounding Naruto. Naruto eyed the crocodiles surrounding him. There were now nearly twenty of them, all with their heads facing various directions, alert for danger.
The croc inclined his head gently, then continued. "My name is Wani [Japanese for crocodile] , boss of the Crocodile Summons ." As Naruto's eyes sought the croc's again, his attempted smile came out as a kind of grimace (his new physiology did not allow for much range of expression). "Well, I was known as Naruto, but I think I will go by Croc now."
The massive reptile threw his head back and laughed (of course it sounded gruff and not joyful at all). As his laughter died, he spoke to Naruto. " I like it. It 'suits' you now." A small chuckle escaped his massive jaws.
Naruto stared up (who ever heard of a croc with a sense of humor?) and said "Ok, I get it." This was followed by a deep breath, then "Do I have permission to summon your kind?" Naruto nearly held his breath while awaiting the answer.
The great beast caught his eyes and replied "Sure kid. You can always do that. After all, you are our first summoner." Then a sly look crossed his eyes while he watched Naruto scramble uncomfortably in the mud trying to get up. "The way out of the swamp is over there." Then, with a tilt of his head indicating a direction to the left, he puffed out of existence, leaving Naruto to head off in that direction. Naruto sighed, shook the kinks out of his massive body and started walking through the swamp with at least four crocs following him and the cries of wild birds echoing behind.
After nearly a day of walking through seemingly endless black water and spongy land with his only companions the crocodiles that never left his vicinity and the unseen, but always heard wild birds, he stopped to take stock of himself. The exercise had not tired him out and he realized that his new form must have come with increased endurance. Looking around, he noted that the scenery had changed little. As far as he could see, it was black water, split by meandering chunks of land and dotted with water trees. His gaze stopped as he realized that the cries of the birds had fallen quiet. Quickly, he crouched down and shortly he heard shouting in the distance. Swiftly, he dove into the brackish water and silently began to swim in the direction of the shouts. He barely noticed his croc companions following stealthily behind.
As he approached the source of the noise, he saw that it was a small group of merchants and their families. They appeared to be threatened by a group of armed bandits. He watched for a moment, taking in all the details, but when he saw one of the bandits roughly grab a little girl, his eyes darkened in hate and his teeth bared in an involuntary snarl.
He surveyed the scene one more time, then began to swim very fast, but also very quietly towards the bandit with the little girl. As he approached the back of one of the bandits, he leapt out of the water with a loud roar- scaring both parties. Grabbing the unlucky bandit, he raised him over his head, then threw him at the others in his group. The bandits reacted quickly and another came at him, attempting to land a punch on his face. Instead, Naruto leaned in, then bit down on the man's forearm and shook his head violently, resulting in a loud cry of pain and red gushing from the wound. Releasing his hold on the arm, Naruto hit him with a hard right. His scale hands drew more blood from the bandit's face. The other bandits had drawn back in horror and then ran away in fear while the one with the little girl was screaming in fear and panic. "I'll kill her if you come closer. I will!"
Naruto, if his face allowed, would have smirked as he notice a large crocodile moving in on the man to his back. Speaking in a gruff voice, Naruto said "Turn around." Trembling, afraid to take his eyes off Naruto, the man did not look back. The croc snapped down on his leg, forcing him to drop the girl. She swiftly ran back to her family as the man was dragged into the water. Naruto then turned his attention to the merchants and, taking a step towards them asked "Are you all right? hope ya did not get hurt did ya?"
The presumable leader of the group tentatively took a few steps towards Naruto, then responded in a shaky voice "We're fine- thanks to you. Is there anything we can give you to repay our debt?"
Naruto looked down at himself and said with a shake of his head "Yeah, some new clothes would do- if it is not to much trouble."
The leader's head bobbled as he said "Not at all! If you want, you can accompany us through the swamp. We will give you food in exchange for protection from bandits and your choice of our belongings. We are on are way to the Village of the Hidden Mist."
Naruto gave his best approximation of a smile, then said "Sure." The merchants wasted no time going through their packs and he was soon the owner of a larger pair of black pants and a brown poncho-like thing with a hood. Gathering together, they started the trek to the Village of the Hidden Mist.
Well, that was Chapter 2- hope you liked it. Please vote on my profile. Also, check out my other story 'Naruto, the Birth of a Bounty Hunter.'