Damn, I was sure I'd get everything that happens in this story day done in one chapter. Ah well, one more for the roster eh? I wonder if there will be some who are still scratching their heads at the end? Incidentally, congratulations to Wuxmus for figuring out something that very few would have noticed, that's a keen eye you've got there! Well... best get started on the next one I guess, I don't want this situation dragging out longer than it has to.

Disclaimer: Ok... Naruto just got kinda badass.


As black as the seal on my soul

The day came in a drowsy dawn, the thick air providing little satisfaction to the warm breeze that passed on by. The birds seemed to be quite content in their shaded trees, chirping away as they watched the ground for morsels to eat. The other inhabitants of the woods were just as idle, napping in their holes, warrens or wherever they called their home. There were few who would admit that the time had come to begin moving, most would rather ignore the sun and say it was dusk.

The same of course could be said for Naruto, who had no other choice but to acknowledge the morning and be on his way. He walked sluggishly, his posture hanging as sweat ran down his face and neck. His hand raised to rub his sleepy eyes, his other to waft cool air into his haori. Unfortunately for him there was no such air on offer. And what was more, Eko was heating up pretty badly in the light of the blazing sun, despite the fact that most of him was obscured behind his wielder.

Naruto let his arms hang as his mouth stretched wide open, releasing a large and loud yawn that almost made his lungs burst from strain. "Hy-yaaaaaaan!" he exhaled, almost catching flies for his breakfast. There had seldom been a day more suited for lethargy, and as expected this was a day that could little afford it. He wanted to get to Uzu no Kuni as soon as was possible for him, and for that reason he decided not to risk missing a boat that could take him there.

"Come on, even if you miss the boat at least you'll be able to relax when you do get there." Eko said, in an attempt to bolster Naruto's enthusiasm. Since the blade knew no such thing as tiredness, and spent a great deal of time inactive, it was only natural that he would be impatient and ignorant to the needs of those who could freely move. "Man, for someone with a monster sealed inside of him, you really don't act like it do you?"

"Whaddaya want me to do, throw my head the air and start laughing evilly?" Naruto asked in reply, clearly in no mood for the Ekokaeten's jibes right now. He was tired, hot and starving, no way was he in the mood for being made fun of by a heavy ass sword with an attitude problem. He'd sooner take on Kakuzu bare handed than listen to the blade's bullshit. "Keep it quiet or I'll pawn you off for some ramen!"

Even though Eko knew Naruto wasn't serious in his threat, he quietened down for his sake. Though this of course wasn't without a brooding sense coming from the great sword's form, but Naruto was more than a little willing to ignore that. In fact, even if he hadn't been willing he probably would have ignored it anyway. Up ahead, from in the midst of the trees, something very interesting was stepping out before his sleep-craving eyes.

"Hello friend, you seem to be in quite a state!" called out an ugly man, with a voice almost as greasy as his dark hair. He and a friend were blocking Naruto's path, by the looks of them they were nothing more than lowlife bandits looking to score on any sole traveller that passed them by. "It looks like those things you are carrying are weighing you down, why don't you let us do you a good deed and lighten that load for you, huh?"

Naruto, who had come to a stop, looked at the two bandits with raised brows. The first one, the one who called out to him, bore a thick moustache and loose hair that almost obscured his eyes. And in spite of the weather, he was dressed in thick, ragged clothes like some sort of rural rat. The same impression was made of his shaven head friend, who sported a thin scar on either side of his lips that suggested someone had punched him in the face while he'd been drinking. As a result, he had a permanent smile that was in no way befitting of his sour expression. "What a pain… take care of these guys will ya?" Eko asked, with a clearly annoyed tone.

The two bandits reached behind them and pulled out short daggers, the blades of which were dull and dirty. Both of them wore malicious looks as they slowly approached Naruto, ideas of eating well clearly on their minds. "Don't think you're gonna scare us with that big toy on your back!" the second bandit announced, twirling his blade in his hand as if he were the one playing around. "Who do you think you're fooling, with something that big?"

They hadn't gone very far though, before they both came to a stop with confused looks on their faces. A smile had appeared on Naruto's face, his brow creasing in a rather creepy manner. "Ok then… come on." he said, in a light hearted tone that was almost like how a father would beckon his child. The two bandits seemed hesitant to Naruto's invitation however, but held their ground uncertainly. Naruto saw this and decided to try and convince them, holding his arms out in a welcoming manner as his smile widened further. "…Come on!"

The second bandit, who was clearly not as brave as his expression would have others believe, reached out and touched his comrade's shoulder. The first bandit looked to his ally with a frown, he at least had some more stones than that. "Hey… let's get outta here." the second bandit said, his brow twitching anxiously at the scary aura he felt coming from Naruto. "Look at him, he doesn't even have much on him! Let's just leave this creepy bastard alone ok?"

Not liking the sound of that, Naruto took a step forward. He looked a little upset at the bandit's reaction, and realised he would need to try harder to get them to come at him. "Aw don't say that!" he called, causing the two men to jump in shock. It was almost funny how suddenly the tables had turned, the bandits feeling like they were the ones being approached by a dangerous person. "Let's do this, you keep your knives, I'll just use my hands ok? Or do you want me to keep them behind my back?"

As if to prove his willingness, Naruto slipped his hands behind him and grinned broadly at the two bandits. He waited for them, listening for the sounds of their footsteps. But what he heard was not them coming closer, and as he opened his eyes, he found they were definitely not getting any nearer. "Hey come on!" he cried, as he started running after the fleeing cowards. Both of them had discarded their daggers and were pounding through the trees, crying out as they realised they were being pursued. "It's not like I'll kill ya!"

"Stay away from us!"

"Don't be like that!"

"… I take back what I said… you do act like you got a monster in you."


An hour passed by, and Naruto didn't feel the slightest bit cooler. After a while he had decided to give up on chasing those bandits, since it seemed unlikely they were going to attack. That had left him in a rather disappointed mood, coupled with the fact that when he stopped he had lost all sense of direction. When he had finally found his way back to the road, he found himself stepping into more than just a path.

Down at the bottom of a steady hill, there lay a village that Naruto couldn't help but faintly recognise. However much he tried though, nothing came to mind. He began to descend the hill with tired eyes, quietly wondering why he remembered this place. But then he reasoned that he had seen many places travelling with Kisame and Gaara, so it wasn't unfathomable that he would wind up somewhere he'd been before, or that looked like somewhere he had visited.

The village below seemed to be the definition of pastoral living. The houses looked like relics, more like cottages and huts than anything else. There was definitely a rustic feel about the place that was accented by the people living in it. Farmers, most of them, and other such people who lived off the land. They were all dressed in tunics and other such loose clothing that did well to keep one cool in a day. The children however seemed to think nothing of the weather, so content they were with their games.

"Pretty peaceful place huh?" Naruto thought, looking around the village with half closed eyes. From the nervous looks the villagers were giving him, and how the children came to a stop to stare at him and his giant sword, he could tell his presence here was being a bother to them. He couldn't help feeling the desire to just hurry and move on, he was sure he wouldn't miss these guys either. "Just as intolerant of strange people with giant swords as any other though."

He smirked as he heard Eko's faint chuckle, the giant sword was about the only one who would laugh at anything Naruto said or did. Though those laughs admittedly had higher chance of coming if Naruto hadn't intended to do anything funny in the first place. Not for the first time the blond boy felt random animosity for the blade, who had always delighted in the punishments Kisame had dealt out to a certain stupid boy.

His thoughts were interrupted though as he came to an unexpected stop. In front of him, just a few metres away, a young girl of maybe seven or eight years old had come to a stop, staring up at Naruto with large, round brown eyes. Naruto stared back at the girl with the long raven hair, wondering just what it was about him that made her stop in her tracks. The girl turned to face him with a curious expression, cocking her head as she watched his face. She then closed one eye, her tongue slipping out of her lips as she studied Naruto closely.

"What's with this girl?" Naruto thought, as the young girl took a step towards him. Other people were beginning to stop as well, looking at the pair with questioning faces. The girl seemed oblivious to it though, and instead only moved closer to Naruto. Growing curious himself, Naruto crouched down on the ground to look back at the little girl. Soon they were almost face to face, both wearing the same blank look as each other. But then the girl's eyes wandered, and Naruto came to realise something. It wasn't him she was staring at, but the markings on his face. "Oh, you think I look kinda like a kitty, don't ya?" he asked, giving a friendly smile.

The girl blinked in surprise as Naruto spoke to her, her brow arching and her already round eyes widening. "A… kitty?" she repeated, with a slightly dazed look about her face. But then something inside her seemed to snap, she looked for a moment to be in a state of shock. It was Naruto whoever who was shocked, as the girl's moment passed and was overtaken by some peculiar urge that the blond boy could never have anticipated. "ONIISAMA!" the girl cried, lunging suddenly at Naruto and throwing his arms around him gleefully.

"Wha-WHA?" Naruto exclaimed, as he fell back from the weight the young girl threw onto him. He hit the ground hard, with Eko cursing in annoyance while the girl giggled gleefully. Whatever joy she was feeling was clearly one sided, though at least the villagers around relaxed under the impression that Naruto was familiar to the girl. That at least got them moving, but Naruto was pretty much stuck where he was at the moment. "Oniisama?"

"Aiko!"

The young girl, Aiko presumably, gasped in shock as she was lifted by the scruff of her floral blue and pink kimono and into the air. Naruto slipped up to a half seated position as he looked up at the person currently scolding the girl. "I'm sorry about her, are you-" the woman standing in front of Naruto began, before coming to a pause. Like little Aiko, she too gave him a hard stare, though she was frowning through a pair of thick red brows. In this case however, she was hardly alone.

Naruto stared up with the same expression, looking over her long red hair and sharp blue eyes. He couldn't shake this dominating feeling that came from that woman, like a watchful wolf or something. This woman was dressed in a tea green tunic and carried what looked like a sack of rice under her arm. However, that rice sack hit the ground as her stair suddenly became bewildered. At the same time, she and Naruto's hands flew around, pointing at the other accusingly as they cried out. "YOU!"

And in that moment, attention was once again back upon Naruto, with this woman now included. It seemed the relaxed feeling they'd had from seeing Aiko accept Naruto had gone as soon as it had come. The only person who was oblivious to the tension in the air was little Aiko, who hung by the cloth around her waist with a big smile on her face. "Okaasan!" she called out, pointing her own hand down at Naruto quite happily. "It's Naruto-oniisama!"

The girl was ignored however, since the looks between the two "grownups" seemed more important. One of the villagers, a fisherman judging by the pole he carried, came over with a tough expression as he watched Naruto through a pair of eyes that looked like they were closed tight. "This guy giving you trouble Naomi-san?" he asked, giving Naruto a look of warning that was ignored by the person receiving it. "Need me to get rid of him?"

Naomi, apparently, blinked in surprise, looking to the fisherman beside her. She took a moment to give a reply, even as she shook her head she still seemed to be frowning. "No… it's fine Taiki-san." she said, as she put Aiko back on the ground. In moments the little girl was kneeling beside Naruto, beaming down at him with a cute face. Naomi quickly collected herself and reached down, grabbing Naruto by the arm and helping him to his feet. "This is Uzumaki Naruto, he's an… old friend."

Naruto, who was still in shock at the unexpected reunion, was left bewildered to what was going on around him. The fisherman Taiki however seemed dissatisfied with what he heard. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully while he studied Naruto, before his brow rose in astonishment. "Could it be… Naruto of the Sea?" he exclaimed, suddenly moving in to grab Naruto by the shoulder. Though Naruto started in shock, the fisherman had a strong grip that kept him from backing off. With his other hand, Taiki quickly drew imaginary images on Naruto, before suddenly letting out a broad grin. "It is! It's Naruto of the Sea!"

Naruto then got a strange feeling as he began hearing what sounded like excited whispers all around. Wherever he looked, people were staring back at him with wide eyes. "Wait a minute… isn't this place?" he thought, as he was hit with a sudden revelation. This was the village he and Kisame had travelled through years ago, the place where he had first met the boy known as Haku. He recalled the blazing fires that had struck this place, and how he had stormed through with Eko in hand to save the villagers as best he could.

Before he knew it, he seemed to have developed a following of sorts. The children who had been playing around heard Taiki's announcement and in no time had surrounded Naruto with awestruck looks. "Naruto the hero?" they asked, clearly enthralled by what they heard. Naruto looked around them all, and their eyes widened as much as their smiles did. Yet for some reason, he couldn't help feeling uneasy from all of this attention he was receiving. "The guy who fought off twenty monsters?"

Naruto looked around himself uneasily, trying to keep the situation calm with a nervous laugh. That seemed to have the wrong affect though, judging by the sudden sparkles appearing in the children's eyes. But before anything noisy could happen, he once more felt a hand grip his shoulder tight. Looking back, he realised it was Naomi who had a hold of him, a strangely reluctant look on her face. "Let's go." she said, as she scooped up her dropped rice sack and began to head away. Naruto looked between her and his tiny crowd, already deciding which option he preferred.

"Come on oniisama!"

Aiko's small hand grabbed onto his as Naruto was pulled from the street and after Naomi. "Uh… yeah." he said weakly, as he walked hand in hand with the little girl. This sudden departure seemed unacceptable though, as the gathering of children followed after them. "Man… what the hell is going on?" he thought, personally cursing his so far foul luck. He wasn't exactly the sort who took delight in having an entourage of people who didn't even reach his waist. "I shoulda stuck with Gaara!"


Seagulls flew overhead, squawking their tunes ignorantly as they soared across the sky. The heat hadn't let up for a moment, but thankfully Naruto was no longer caught out in the sun. Naomi and Aiko had taken him to the place that was presumably their home, a small hut with an awning that stretched out to provide some much needed shade. It was here that Naruto sat on a folding chair, with Eko resting beside him as they watched the children playing around.

Naruto, who was still trying to work out why the children were acting out strange adventures that he had apparently gone on in his strangely exciting life. Of course, he wasn't dumb enough to say he had a normal life, but he was pretty sure he had never fought a group of dragons atop the tallest mountain in Kaminari no Kuni. If he had, he would probably remember. "So uh… you gonna fill me in on the details?" he asked, looking to his left.

Naomi, who was also seated, glanced at Naruto with a faint look of embarrassment about her. It was strange that even in that case, she still managed to seem angry. "I guess I won't leave you hanging." she said, her words spiting their meaning. She sat back with her arms stretched out on either side of her chair, looking more relaxed than Naruto felt at that time. She looked at Naruto through a single open eye, her expression unassuming even if her words weren't. "Once you disappeared, Aiko was a little upset. So to calm her down, I started telling her stories, using you as the main character."

Naruto and Eko now had their full attentions on Naomi, neither of them reacting positively or negatively. Naruto stared at Naomi with squinting eyes, his head dropping a couple of inches as what the fiery haired woman was saying got through to him. "…Eh?" he murmured, clearly showing his attempt had failed. Naomi realised this and let out an annoyed sigh, closing her other eye as her brow creased in an indicative manner.

"She was always asking me "what do you think oniisan is doing?" and "Is oniisan a hero?"." she explained, with an obvious air of discontentment around her that Naruto could hardly blame. She probably wasn't too keen on a student of Kisame being so revered in her daughter's eyes. "So while the two of us were moving from place to place thanks to a certain someone, I'd make up adventures and stuff to calm her curiosity.

"Trouble is, during our jumping from place to place we stumbled across this village, which was in the middle of repairing from some serious damage. As it turned out, they had their own story about a certain blond boy who had quickly become something of a legend." she continued, before giving Naruto a sideward look that held a thin smirk of understanding. "Apparently he drove off some evil Shinobi who tried to burn the village to the ground, and doused the flames with a wave that disrupted the flow of the waters and brought fish back to these parts. And so came the myth of "Naruto of the Sea", friend to those in need! Of course, Aiko started telling on the stories I told her and… well… let's just say you've got a very strong presence in this village."

She listened out for the words of exclamation she was expecting to hear, or the sounds of Naruto getting excited by her explanation. But she opened her eyes in surprise as what she heard again, was faint laughter. "Heh heh heh… that's kind of embarrassing." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head with a weak smile on his face. Naomi couldn't help but smile herself at this; it seemed Naruto had grown up more than she had thought.

"Hey, Naruto oniisama!" little Aiko called, as she ran over to her mother and alleged elder brother. With her came all of the children she'd been playing with, and soon they had all gathered on the ground before their blond "hero". That so called hero was left looking amongst them bewilderedly, wondering what on earth had gotten them so excited. "Tell us about the things you've been doing!"

Naruto blinked in surprise at the strange request; he had never really fancied himself as a story teller. But with what Naomi had told him, and the expectant looks on the children's faces, he knew he would have a hell of a time refusing them. So for the sake of appearances, and the children themselves, Naruto put on a broad grin and rose to his feet, planting his foot on a nearby stool to make himself seem more impressive. "Alright then, guess I can't refuse Aiko-chan!" he announced, causing the children to cheer in glee. "You wanna hear about the time I took on and defeated the vile demon Yagura?"

"YEAH!"

"ALRIGHT!" Naruto cried, pumping his fist to get himself going. He took in a deep, powerful breath as he prepared to get himself into the atmosphere. It was surprisingly successful, as his head rose his expression turned to something quite stern. He took several steps forward, the children shuffling out of his way, as he moved into their midst. All the young ones watched him with wide eyes, waiting for what he was going to say. "…You see that?"

Naomi, who had also risen to her feet, gave a grave nod as she stepped beside him. The children became confused by this exchange; it certainly didn't sound like they were being told a story. They all turned their heads to the same place as Naruto and Naomi, looking to see what it was that had captured their performer's attention. Soon they all rose to their feet, their eyes widening as they looked to the hill at the edge of the village. Up there, many figures were approaching, and they didn't exactly look like they were here for the fish.

Naruto, with his well trained eyes, managed to scan the group up ahead with greater ability than the children around him. He managed to pick out two very familiar forms, the bandits who had tried to mug him this morning. Naomi too saw this, and looked to Naruto with a stony expression. "Looks like you dragged trouble our way again." she said, before giving a confident smile. "Why don't you show these kids how much of the legends are true?"

Naruto glanced at her from the corner of his eye, noticing the pleading looks the children were giving him. With this much attention, he couldn't help giving a confident smirk. "Sure… alright." he said, as he turned around and headed towards the Ekokaeten. He could hear the excited gasps behind him, those sounds fuelling his ego considerably. He grabbed hold of his blade and slung it over his shoulders, before turning on the spot and flashing his determined look to his audience. "Time to wipe these guys out!"


Once upon a time, at the foot of a great mountain, there lived a town of simple people. These people lived out a peaceful existence, farming the land without wasting anything. There was no one these people would harm, and no one who would do harm to them. Their lives were free and calm, without the slightest threat to them or their land. This was the way it had been for generations, and how they had hoped it would be forever.

But course, that wasn't to last. On the hottest day of the brightest spring, the town was struck by a so far unprecedented storm. Rain fell upon the town, and lightning struck the houses and ignited them. From the midst of this storm, there came a beast that descended from the great mountain. It was a tiger, fierce and strong. That tiger, who was surely the one behind the storm, let out a thunderous roar that shook the town from its very foundations, demanding that it be fed.

The people despaired. They were left no choice but to give their daughters to the beast, in exchange for their own lives. What had once been a happy town soon became sorrowful and decrepit, a mere shadow of its former self. But the tiger was ever hungry, demanding more and more be sacrificed to feed its insatiable thirst. The town's numbers were dwindling and if nothing was done, soon they would all perish by the tiger's hunger.

But just as hope was about to be lost to them, a figure approached from the dawn. It was a man, whose golden hair shone in the sun, and donning a red cloak that caught the eye of the dying town. The people begged and pleaded for their salvation, praying that this stranger would save them from the evil creature of the mountain. Without a moment's hesitation, the stranger agreed, setting off to meet with the beast that plagued this once gentle place.

They met, as the sun touched the peak of the great mountain. The tiger came down for its feast, but was met instead with the hero of the people. The beast bellowed its fury, calling forth a storm that once more ravaged the town. But the hero would allow the beast to torment no one any longer, and so drew his blade before taking it to his monstrous foe. The tiger met him mid way, and so began a battle that would be spoken of for generations.

As the sun fell beneath the mountain, so did the beast fall to the hero's sword. The village rejoiced in the death of the monster, they were free at last! The only one not sharing the celebrations was the hero, who crouched down by the body of the tiger and whispered unto it a prayer for forgiveness. Then, without seeking any sort of reward, the hero departed into the night, the hero with the whiskered face. And so the village spoke of him, speaking his name into their prayers from that day forth. They prayed, for Uzumaki Naruto.