Big Trouble in Little Waves Part 1
I don't own Naruto and other copyrighted content: All content goes to their proper owners
Oda sat at the dinner table early that morning, already hard at work. Tazuna, Zabuza and Kakashi got up earlier and already were with their new allies in coordination. At his insistence, of course. With less need for security, the rest of the crew got a rare opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Kakashi opposed this, but Oda viewed it as a good way to recover morale and prepare for the fights ahead.
He was used to getting up earlier than this, usually his duties starting well before the crack of dawn. Not having said duties to do however, he also allowed himself a hint of laxness. Despite this, he resolved to make use of this time. Having grabbed his storage scroll, he pulled out a shocking amount of writing supplies, artifacts, and other things both familiar and not to the shinobi. Getting an ink bottle and brush, he began to write ancient kanji onto sheets of scroll paper. With each stroke, it flashed with amber glowing energy, and each flash grew in intensity as entire phrases began to become stronger.
"Old man, how can you be up so early…?" A familiar voice groaned as it accompanied rough, tired footfalls.
"Years of repetition and routine, dear Naruto. I don't like wasting time, so if I am going to be up, I might as well use it." Oda answered, continuing his work on the scroll without skipping a beat.
"Why do you sound like Old Man Third? I swear all you old people are the same." Naruto groaned, rubbing his temples.
"I'm a spry young blooded king of one hundred. My grandfather before he died? Eight hundred and fifty-six. That is old. Don't know how he did it, considering the amount of sweets he ate, but he did it." Oda corrected, before finishing the scroll, and curling it before sealing it with red wax.
"I reject your reality and substitute my own. Either that or I need coffee now to attempt to deal with you." Naruto said, turning on his heels towards the kitchen.
"You're too young, energetic, and vigorous for coffee, Naruto." Oda countered as he began another scroll.
"Don't care. Getting some anyway." Naruto replied tiredly, getting ready to start the coffee.
"Explains why you're so short. That stuff stunts your growth so young." Oda said, not entirely telling him the truth that is a rumor.
Upon hearing that, Naruto slowly set down the coffee making supplies and stepped away from the coffee maker. Satisfied with his ploy working, Oda began to work on his second scroll, amber flashes of mystic energy with each brush stroke catching Naruto's attention.
"So what're you up to, old man?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Well after looking through my supplies, I noticed I didn't pack any spell scrolls. So I'm making some for later. Sometimes you don't have the time in battle to cast a spell from scratch, so a spell scroll speeds up the process immensely. Well, as long as you have the scroll for the spell you want. They're only good for one use." Oda explained as his calligraphy got more and more complicated.
Naruto had a skeptical look, but nodded. "I think I get it. So you're basically storing a spell away to use later in case you need it?" He asked.
"That is correct. Considering we are dealing with more physical based foes, I'm stocking up in the short term on amber magic. Though I never am a fan of making spells for that lore. I swear, the kanji want to eat the page sometimes." Oda said, muttering the last bit.
"Amber magic? Yeah, let's pretend I know what that is…" Naruto snarked a bit.
"It's the lore of beasts. It's a very shamanistic and more primal kind of magic. Usually involves granting increased physical strengths, senses, summoning beasts, or even turning into beasts." Oda explained with a sigh, trying to bite back a remark.
"Just like that, you have my attention." Naruto replied with a shit eating grin.
"This is one of the last lores I'd try out on a beginner like you. If you're not careful, the beast can take over, and you will be gone forever." Oda warned.
Naruto sighed at that. "Typical. It's always the cool stuff that has the worst drawbacks…" The orange clad blonde replied with a pout.
"Power demands sacrifice Naruto. Magic is the greatest example of that. You don't make magic, you borrow it. And you better be willing to pay the price." Oda explained sternly, looking at the boy with an intense focus.
"Fair enough, old man." Naruto replied, going to find something to make for breakfast before noticing something shiny on the table.
Barely sticking out from a stack of scroll paper was a small dark purple shard. Jagged on the sides, it had a head that was as perfectly smooth and rounded as you can get. As if it was a piece of something much larger and radiated with energy to match. Unable to resist his curiosity, Naruto reached for it only to have his hand slapped away by Oda.
"Ow! What was that for!?" Naruto demanded, shaking his hand in pain.
"Don't touch that. Honestly, how did that get out of the storage scroll." Oda sternly said as he picked it up daintily.
"What is it?" Naruto asked curiously.
"That is a shard of one of the pearls of Izanami. It is an artifact of great rarity, and even greater power" Oda answered, the sternness not leaving his voice.
"What does it do?" Naruto asked, looking it over while resisting the urge to try to touch it again.
"If used properly, it can be used to resurrect something from the dead, without retribution from the goddess. No one knows why, but she really wants these shards, and is willing to allow cases of undeath to get these." Oda explained.
"So, if I knew who my parents were, I could use a couple of these to bring them back if they're already dead…?" Naruto asked, somewhat hopefully.
"That is within their power, yes. However, they are extremely hard to come by. It took me a decade to track this one down, and it's the only one in my personal possession. Even in the thousands of years of Seaheart's existence, we only have been able to accrue a small handful." Oda explained with a sigh.
Naruto sighed as well. "So much for that option…" He replied, going to make himself some breakfast.
"Tell you what, Naruto. The next two of these shards we find, I'll save them for that purpose." Oda said, trying to cheer him up again.
Naruto smiled a bit at hearing that. "Thanks, old man. I really appreciate that." He replied, his mood successfully improved.
As Naruto left for the kitchen, Oda looked down at the shard of the gem. He knew why the boy was so tempted. It was an artifact of great power. However, while he knew the kid meant well, many have been tempted by this power before. He only hoped he didn't need to use it.
A bit later at the bridge
To anyone who visited the Land of Waves but a month ago, the sight before them now would look like insanity. Tazuna and his men working under the protection of Gatō's men. Large barges full of supplies and even larger ones with massive cranes were moved into further assist in some of the harder work. Supplies of all kinds flowed into the village like never before. If they didn't know the man who somehow made this possible, Zabuza and Kakashi would have to pinch themselves.
"A month ago, I would've asked if you were smoking something I should be worried about if you'd told me I'd be seeing this." Zabuza said to the cycloptic Konoha nin, passing the time by sharpening his blade.
"I'd probably say that to throw you off your game, to be fair. Well, that or a kunai to the knee." Kakashi answered, reading his Icha Icha Paradise book.
"As if you would've gotten the chance. I'm wise to how your Sharingan works now thanks to Haku, Kakashi." Zabuza snipped with a smirk beneath his bandages.
"How a good kid like that ended up with you I'll never know." Kakashi mused out loud intentionally.
"I was lucky enough to come across him. Though, even with my training, he's too soft and kind for the life of a mercenary ninja." Zabuza admitted with a shrug.
"From what I have learned from Naruto, kindness has a power all of its own. And I think your new boss sees that too." Kakashi said.
Zabuza gave a brief chuckle at that. "It seems like that blonde brat of yours may have a talent for bringing people together if your motley crew of a team is anything to go by." He replied in jest.
"His ability is only matched by Oda's." Kakashi quickly answered.
"That Oda certainly is an odd one. You don't meet many men like him in this world. At least, not many who live to his age." Zabuza said with a nod.
"Makes you wonder if he's telling the truth on everything he says." Kakashi mused.
"You know as well as I do how difficult it is to lie to people like us, Kakashi. Once an Anbu, always an Anbu." The Kirikagure no Kijin replied.
"Even then, his ability to observe people, understand them, and talk them out of conflict is… unsettling. He picked up on Gatō's weaknesses before either of us, and he's turned an enemy into a stalwart ally. Not to mention his knowledge of topics that, before this mission, I thought were mere myths and fairy tales." Kakashi explained, clearly having done some thinking about the "king" in their midst.
"When you think about it, that makes his story even more believable. So, either he's telling the truth… or he's the world's greatest liar and is working with those things in secret." Zabuza replied, having clearly done just as much thinking on the matter.
"Combine that with his abilities and sheer power, and I sincerely hope it's not the latter option." Kakashi said in agreement.
"If it is, not even the two of us together would have a chance at handling him." Zabuza simply stated with a nod, inspecting the sharpness of his blade.
Kakashi's eye began to wander, before noticing a strange set of rocks being hauled off by some workmen. Amongst the rocks were what looked like bones, having turned to look like rock. Great bones of familiar shape, almost like that of a giant bird's, and even some forming a great tail. His eye wandered further and saw another wheelbarrow. In it was a large, boxy head, with jaws lined with great pickaxe like teeth.
"Glad that thing over there is long since dead." Kakashi muttered.
"By the looks of it, even I'm not crazy enough to try to pick a fight with that thing." Zabuza agreed.
"Let's hope it stays that way. " Kakashi muttered under his breath.
Meanwhile in the nearby swamps
Congregating around a large wooden barge that had been beached, a vampiric ghoul in standard shinobi gear impatiently waited. Lighting a cigar, as how could the thing kill him, finally got those he was waiting for. Half a dozen other shinobi landed in front of him, without headbands. Though some features were different, all of them had sickly gray skin, tight musculature, and hate fueled orange eyes.
With a smirk on his face, the vampiric ghoul pulled his cigar from his mouth and addressed his new minions. "Alright, you half-breed worms! Listen up! You have a chance to succeed where others before you have pathetically failed! Just remember your roles in the plan, don't fuck it up, and you'll do just fine!" He called out.
"Sir, how are we supposed to stand up to a Seaheartian of that level?" One of the strange shinobi asked.
"That, recruit, is where that thing in the barge comes into play. Tell me… do you know what's in there?" The vampiric cannibal said, humoring the pale ninja.
They shook their head in response, however they heard a deep growl coming from the bowels of the barge. That immediately shut up any more potential questions.
"Trust me. Once we release that monstrosity, there won't be anything left of that meddling bastard to wipe up with a sponge…" The ghoul said with a vicious chuckle before putting his cigar back between his teeth.
Later at the changing of the work shift
Oda, Tsunami, and Haku sat on a bench, watching the new hustle and bustle of the village. It gave Oda a great smile seeing that his gambit seemingly paid off. He knew that the vampires wouldn't make it easy, but even they couldn't have that many forces. Like clockwork, fate decided to have a different plan. Soon screams from inside the village could be heard, and people ran past horrified.
"You know. It's uncanny how this happens everytime I think things will calm down. You'd think I'd learn…" Oda said with a deep sigh.
"I'll escort Tsunami-san back home and get the others. I am the fastest one here besides yourself after all, Oda-sama." Haku replied.
"Thank you, my boy. Stay safe, Tsunami." Oda said, standing up from the bench.
"Thank you, Oda-sama." Tsunami replied with a nod.
"Come along, Tsunami-san." Haku replied before picking the housewife up in a princess carry and disappearing in a blur of movement.
In his own flash of impressive speed, Oda ran to the scene of the action, to most, in mere moments. When he arrived, the area was caked in blood and gore. Bodies and body parts strewn everywhere. It didn't take long to find the culprits. A vampiric ghoul, six strange shinobi, and behind them was something far bigger. Feasting on a mound of civilian corpses was a titanic bat monster, brown of fur and black of skin. Its eyes practically glowed red, and a hideous maw of terrible teeth crushed bodies up. Its barrel-like chest was supported by long, powerful wings, and stout recurve hind limbs.
"A Vargulf. Of course, you bastards have a Vargulf. Got any more monsters stuffed in your crypts to show up with? Any undead giants or Ryo-koki's too?" Oda said with clear annoyance in his voice.
The vampiric ghoul smirked sinisterly at that. "Wouldn't you like to know? Sick 'em, boy!" The vampiric cannibal replied, snapping his fingers to signal the Vargulf to attack.
The great behemoth roared and barreled down on the tall redhead. Oda however, using his speed, sidestepped the creature and disappeared. Its momentum however carried it into a line of communication lines. Knocking them down like bowling pins, the great bat titan found itself tangled in the electrified cables, unable to free itself easily. To the Ghoul's frustration, Oda had somehow given them the slip.
"Untangle those cables so that it can track him! I want that Seaheart scum found and fed to it by this evening!" He snapped out at his subordinates.
"Sounds highly unsanitary." A voice said down the street.
Turning to the source of the voice, they glared at the one who spoke. To their surprise, all of the shinobi allied with Oda stood before them, Zabuza and Kakashi at the head. Both elite ninja raised their eyebrows at the sight of the beast tangled in the electrical lines.
"Well that's one big bat. Where's the belfry it crawled out of?" Kakashi said in a joking tone.
"I've eaten bigger and uglier things than this for breakfast." Zabuza replied in his own jesting tone.
"Not had very good hunting then with how skinny you've gotten." Kakashi quipped.
"Sasuke, are those two getting along?" Naruto huskily whispered.
"About as well as we do, apparently…" Sasuke whispered back in confusion.
"Well time to even the odds." Kakashi said, getting into a stance.
Pricking his thumb with a kunai, the masked cyclopic ninja opened a scroll and slid his bloody thumb along its length. Rolling the scroll up and gathering chakra, the Copy Ninja flashed through hand signs before placing his palms on the ground, a strange circle of kanji and other symbols appearing below his hands.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Kakashi called out, a massive cloud of smoke exploding outwards.
When the smoke cleared, before the monstrous shinobi's eyes stood a pack of dogs of different shapes and sizes. The vampiric ghoul simply chuckled viciously.
"Summoning animals, Hatake? Do you honestly believe that will save you?" The vampiric cannibal sneered.
"What can I say? Unlike bats, dogs are a man's best friend." Kakashi answered, getting into a stance.
"Let's hope your pups can fight as well as you do, Kakashi." Zabuza said, drawing his Kubikirobōchō sword from his back.
"Boys? Think you can handle that big bat over there for us?" Kakashi asked his pack.
"It may be big, but we've fought bigger. Uglier, too." The small pug among the pack replied.
Zabuza chuckled a bit at that. "Okay, that one I like." The Demon of the Hidden Mist said.
Meanwhile with Oda
As the red headed king stopped his momentum, he heard the sound of a large scuffle off in the distance. Realizing what happened, he turned to return, only to stop himself. If they couldn't handle that without him, how would they be able to stop this dynasty if something were to happen to him? No, he needed to make sure of that fact. Even in spite of this, Oda couldn't just sit by. He knew what a Vargulf could do. They needed more muscle.
"There's got to be something. Think, Oda." Oda said, rubbing his temples.
As he began to pace, he noticed the strange rocks set off to the side, and the stone-like bones inside them. Fossils. As he looked over the features, his eyes locked in on the head.
"A Tyrant King… I didn't think they got this far east. It can't… could it?" Oda mused.
Slowly taking from the pocket, he held up the pearl shard. Its purple form had an iridescent glow in the sunlight of the day. Thinking back on the morning, he knew the risk. Was this the time to use it? What if he needed it later for something else? The possibilities of both the now and the future rattled in his brain furiously. He was snapped out of this by a loud scream of pain in the distance.
"It might not be the best move, but what other choice do I have?" Oda muttered as he looked at the fossils.
Tapping its side, the shard glowed brightly in purple light as Oda began to speak. "Lady Izunami of old, of death and life! Grant us a tyrant's strength to win this fight!"
Throwing the shard hard, it pierced the rock around the fossil skull. It soon melted into the rock, and soon the skeleton began to glow. Rocks cracked, and quickly crushed to mere dust in the wind by a sudden force exerting itself. The bones began to reform and knit together perfectly into place. Seemingly from nowhere, muscle, sinew and organs began to grow for the bones. Slowly at first, but faster and faster. The once fossil skeleton began to rise and stand on two massive legs. Thick muscle soon encased in black tree bark like skin. It's gnarled ridge and bump riddled skull opened its two softball sided amber eyes.
"Hello there, big… I'll figure out which gender you are later." Oda said, stopping himself.
The great thunder lizard looked down at Oda. The words and presence of this small human carried some mystical effect on the creature, and it got its head down on his level. It sniffed him, and let out a low growl, not a bad one, but the best way it can show positive emotions.
"Alright big fella. Time to go kill us a Vargulf." Oda said with a smirk.
Meanwhile with the shinobi
Though Oda hadn't lost contact for long, the shinobi quickly became hard pressed. Kakashi and Zabuza immediately jumped the vampire ghoul, checking its advance. However, their flanks didn't have such a good time. Haku and the Genin quickly were surrounded by a set of faster, stronger and more numerous foes, putting them on the back foot. The hounds in kind found the Vargulf to be not entirely what they were expecting. Though it still hadn't quite freed itself from the cables, it thrashed about with an unholy berserker rage, and frightening momentum with each strike.
However, their conflict was stopped by something. A low rumbling of tremors. Looking down at a nearby puddle, Zabuza, Kakashi, and the ghoul saw something odd. With each of the strange tremors' rumbles, the water would shake. As the tremors got louder, the water shook harder and harder with each rumble. It was at that moment that they heard something else. Footfalls. Very large, powerful footfalls, each as strong as a small earthquake.
Rounding the corner of the street, a large, boxy head with great ridges, bony crests and other hard scaled bumps adorned its head. Black tree bark like scales adorned its frame, with sparse feathers coating the neck and back. Two small arms twitched and gripped with two fingers each. Great legs like tree trunks held aloft a body as tall as the surrounding houses. Its tail alone was as long as a communication pole and thick as an ox. It looked at them all head on with great eyes, scanning them with an unsettling level of cunning. Finally zoning in on the Vargulf, it let out a thunderous roar, its lips curling, before charging in head first.
"What… the… fuck… is that thing…!?" Sasuke asked in pure disbelief.
"Cousin of yours?" Naruto asked, equally stunned.
Without looking at his rival, Sasuke gently punched him in the arm. Too preoccupied with the appearance of the beast before them to do much else. Sakura and Haku could only stare in shock at the sight of the creature as it charged in towards the Vargulf.
Said bat creature roared in challenge as it tried to get to its feet, still caught in the electrical cables. As it slowly got to its feet, it began to find its footing too little too late. The large, feathered reptilian beast slammed head first into its stomach with the force of a runaway locomotive, ramming it through several houses as the Vargulf roared in pain. Backing up, it turned with the speed of a figure skater from hell and slammed its thick tail into the bat beast like a club, knocking it through another two houses.
"Sorry I'm late. What did I miss?" The distinct sound of Oda's voice rang out as they all turned to look at him.
"... Oda-sama? What the hell is that thing and where did you get it…?" Haku asked plainly.
"That is a Tyrant King. What it just hit is a Vargulf. Thankfully, Tazuna's madcap dash for more stone dug up that wondrous thunder lizard's fossils so I could revive it." Oda explained simply.
"Wow! So that shard of Izanami's pearls really does work!" Naruto called out in amazement.
"Was hoping not to have to use it so soon, but I figured the best way to help you guys was to give you about ten tons of muscle." Oda said, a hint of regret in his voice.
"We're glad you did. It's good to have something that big on our side for once." Sakura replied before they all noticed a strange look on Naruto's face.
"What's that look for, Naruto?" Sasuke asked, not liking that look on his blonde rival's face.
"I'm thinking." Naruto said, putting his chin on his fist in a big think pose.
"About what, Naruto-dono?" Haku asked curiously.
"About its name." Naruto simply answered.
His two teammates and Haku all looked at him in disbelief. "Its name!?" They all asked in shock.
"Well, if it got resurrected by an ancient god gem, then obviously it's gonna be staying with us. Those things don't grow on trees you know. So, if it's gonna stay with us, it's got to have a name. Didn't you guys ever have a pet?" Naruto explained, in a shockingly deadpan tone.
"... Naruto. Where would any of us even put that thing?" Sasuke asked in a deadpan.
"Sasuke, you got a lot of extra space in your house." Naruto said, looking at his teammate.
"We are NOT putting that thing in my house!" Sasuke replied in indignant anger.
"Why not? You got that big house and…" Naruto said before being cut off.
"Even if I do have the space, I don't have a room big enough to hold it! Besides, what would we even feed it!?" Sasuke snapped back.
"Can we focus, people! There's still undead to fight!" Oda yelled.
"Hey! We're only half undead on our fathers side!" One of the shinobi yelled.
"We're not done talking about this, Naruto! We'll finish this later!" Sasuke snapped at his rival before refocusing on the glorified half-corpses before them.
The two elite ninja looked at the Tyrant King and Vargulf's fight in disbelief. "Huh… so THAT'S what that thing looked like…" Zabuza commented in shock.
"Let's hope it can do what Oda thinks it can." Kakashi said in agreement, worrying a bit for his pack.
"If it can, I sure hope it's on our side…" Zabuza replied.
Seeing their opportunity, the pug looked at the other ninja hounds. "Alright, you guys! That thing seems to be on our side, so let's provide some support! Move out!" The pug ordered, calling out to the rest of the pack.
"Right, boss!" The others barked out, and rushed forward behind their diminutive leader.
Taking off at high speed, the pack of ninja hounds surrounded the Vargulf and the Tyrant King. Jumping on top of the bat monstrosity, they began biting and ripping into its flesh with their teeth and digging at it with their claws. The bat monstrosity roared in pain and annoyance as it tried to throw them off while desperately grappling with the feathery thunder lizard. The Tyrant King bit down onto its neck, avoiding its furry allies as it began to use its massive bulk to wrench and throw around the bat beast.
Meanwhile, with Haku and the Genin, things were starting to look up. Though it wasn't by much, they were starting to do better. With their morale raised by the Vargulf being occupied by the arrival of their massive, feathery reptilian cavalry, they could focus completely on the dhampir shinobi. Though they were outmatched, it was clear these half-breed corpses had never really fought together before. Between Team 7's teamwork and Haku's experience, that was slowly allowing them to turn the tide as Haku zipped between ice mirrors for high-speed attacks. Meanwhile, Naruto's Shadow Clones provided them with extra numbers to slowly overwhelm them, Sasuke used Fire Release jutsu to scorch and burn them to keep them from healing faster, and Sakura aided Sasuke on long distance support with weapons.
Growling in anger, the vampiric ghoul curled its right hand into a claw. "Desperate times call for desperate measures." It snarled out in annoyance.
'What does that ghoul think it can do with Kakashi and Zabuza bearing down on it? Unless… oh no…' Oda thought, before realizing too late what its plan was.
"Lore of the Night: Moon's Frenzy!" It yelled, and an eerie white wind began to dance in the air.
It moved and swirled its way like an airborne serpent, before finally reaching its intended casting target of Naruto. Swirling around him, Naruto practically felt his heart stop for a moment. Following that, his heart jump started up racing wildly, and his vision began to blur. Finally his eyes went blank, and his head slumped down. Soon Haku, Sasuke and Sakura felt what they could swear was a heartbeat through the ground. Looking at their blonde comrade, a thick, foul and intimidating orange chakra leaked from him in amounts they never thought possible. Suddenly his eyes opened, revealing a blood red had replaced the sky blue eyes they knew.
"N-Naruto…" Sakura asked timidly, but she was cut off by something that would haunt her nightmares.
Naruto wrenched his head back violently and quickly. Gaping his mouth, revealing his canines practically morphing into fangs, was a sound that would never leave their memories. Bursting forth from his throat was a great howl of bone chilling power. Feral, primal and savage in a level thought left in the dark ages. Echoing across the village, the area turned to an unsettling silence. Chilling even the vampiric ghoul to the bone.
"Oh no…" Kakashi said in a hushed tone, the air having left his lungs.
Well our favorite orange furry curmudgeon is finally here, likely not how he'd planned it. While I would have preferred getting everything I wanted done in a single chapter, multiple factors prevented that from happening. So it will be a two parter. A word from my co-writer.
Uzumaki Ricky: Aloha, everyone! Thanks for your patience on this one! This chapter was fun to write and I hope you enjoy it. See you later.
Will our hero's get the blonde berserker under control? Or will things go down a much more strenuous path? Tune in next time for part two.