Chapter 49: Changes in the Land of Whirlpools.
Arc: Against Foreign Powers

Disclaimer:
I do NOT own Naruto. Naruto is the work of Masashi Kishimoto, please support the original work.

As they travel into the fast east, Naruto and Hinata reached the shore after a week. Along the way, they met some unpleasant people, mostly bandits, but with Naruto and Hinata's combined might, even if the three Bandit Armies from before appeared, Naruto was confident to take them on.

Regardless, after they reached the shore, Naruto unsealed a boat made with chakra-infused wood and modified using Naruto's Fuinjutsu. You can control the boat through chakra strings, be it the boat's speed or to steer it around.

Thanks to the boat, it only took Naruto and Hinata a day to reach the Land of Whirlpools.

LINE

SHHH… SHHH… SHHH…

While watching the waves and the whirlpools that plagued the ocean blue, Hinata sighed as she felt the cold breeze touch her skin, her long, dark-blue hair swaying as it moved along with the wind. From beside her, Naruto was weaving a set of hand seals with focus.

"Summoning Jutsu: Karasu," Naruto mumbled, slamming his hands into the ground as a massive cloud of white smoke enveloped the two.

CAW! CAW! CAW!

Suddenly, a massive crow, about twice as big as them, appeared on the shore, crying out as it soared toward the skies.

"Long time no see, Karasu," Naruto said, waiting for his summon to land on the ground.

FOOSH…

CAW!

While obsidian wings gently flapped, Karasu looked at his master with joy and worry, his talons slowly touching the ground as he let out one last cry. "How are you, Naruto?"

"Couldn't be better," Naruto shrugged and smiled, "This is Hinata Hyuga, and she'll be with us from now on," Naruto softly touched Hinata's hand to bring her closer to Karasu. The crow looked at Hinata for a moment before averting his gaze back to Naruto.

Seeing this, Naruto didn't push the matter as he patted Hinata's back and asked, "What happened while I was gone?"

"A lot of things," the crow paused, looking at the forest. "First things first, I've become stronger than before. Even now, I can still defeat you," Karasu said, yet his voice contained no joy.

Both Naruto and Hinata noticed the anomaly, but Naruto still praised his friend.

"Not so fast," Karasu stopped him, "There's a problem. Something's been trying to control us, the Chakra Beasts. As I have proper intelligence, I can resist it, but not for long. On the other hand, the other Chakra Beasts are already under the control of that thing, though that thing controlling them hasn't done anything yet," Karasu said.

"Do you know what this, 'thing,' is?" Naruto inquired.

"No, but whatever it is, it's making me stronger, and not only me, every Chakra Beast are getting stronger," Karasu said and sighed, "However, the 'Bosses' seem to have reached a ceiling with their growth. I'm also nearing that limit. I reckon it's thanks to the Uzumaki's handiwork," Karasu voiced out. It made sense, who in their right mind would create something far stronger than them? What if it rebelled?

Despite hearing that the Bosses can no longer get stronger, Naruto was still worried. He was only Jonin-level right now, a Kage-level can stomp him easily. He had yet to forget how Karasu once humiliated him.

"How strong are the Bosses right now?"

"Above Kage Level, but still below what an Uzumaki Fuinjutsu Master can do. They're definitely stronger than anyone alive, based on the notes you reverse summon to me," Karasu said, nodding his head.

"So my Godfather is stronger than the Bosses," Naruto concluded, only to be rebuked a second after.

"No, he's not. I said Uzumaki Fuinjutsu Master, other Fuinjutsu Masters are below an Uzumaki in terms of Fuinjutsu. Otherwise, the Uzumaki would've long fallen during the Warring States Era."

"Right, I forgot," Naruto scratched his head and pondered, deep in thought. "Do they trouble you? The Bosses?" Naruto asked and Karasu shook his head.

"I'm just worried about the person trying to control me. Right now, I want to be sealed away inside of you, preferably inside you so I can see the fox," Karasu cried out in laughter. "Either way, I just don't want to be controlled by that voice," Karasu cawed in anger.

"Sealing you with the fox is impossible. The Eight Trigrams Seal is in a precarious state, one touch, and Kurama's chakra leaks into mine. I don't want that, so I'll be sealing you into my… uh, does my back sound good?"

"Whatever. Just get it over with. Good luck, Master," Karasu said, but the next second later—THUD! Karasu fell to the ground, heavily breathing.

"Karasu!" Alarmed, Naruto asked Hinata to activate her Byakugan. "Nothing is off, he's just exhausted and needs a little rest. He said he was resisting a voice's mind control, right? It's probably because of that."

"I see, thank you Hinata… and sorry, I couldn't introduce you to Karasu properly," Naruto rubbed his head while he drew a Seal Formula on his back with the help of a shadow clone.

"It's fine, I understand. He was probably hurrying to tell you about the problem," seeing Hinata have no problems, Naruto smiled and sealed Karasu inside the specially modified Storage Seal on his back. "Then, let's go meet Zabuza and Haku," he said and started running when he remembered something crucial.

"Hold on, Karasu forgot to tell me where Zabuza and Haku are!"

"Byakugan!"

With Hinata's dojutsu, the duo was able to find traces of Zabuza, Haku, and Karasu's trail. Not long before the sunset, Hinata found Zabuza lying asleep inside a cave with Haku meditating by his side. If Hinata hadn't been informed by Naruto beforehand, she wouldn't have believed that the lazy man was Zabuza Momochi, one of Kirigakure's swordsmen.

When Naruto entered the cave, Zabuza's closed eyes opened like he had been waiting, while Haku slowly stood up with a smile.

"Damn it, you made us wait for over a month!" Zabuza cursed and spat on the ground.

"Why? Haven't Karasu been serving you two?" Naruto raised his brow, and Haku chuckled. "Naruto-san, don't worry about Master too much. He's just itchy for some action," Haku whispered loud enough for Zabuza to hear.

"HAKU!"

"All right, all right. Tell me what happened while I was gone. Karasu already reported to me, but I feel he was hurried so he might've missed a few details," Naruto said and watched as Zabuza's demeanor changed instantly.

"Oh, before all of that, this is Hinata. I'll introduce her more to you after this meeting. Hinata, meet Zabuza and Haku," Naruto patted Hinata's back and the three greeted each other.

"Naruto…" Zabuza started and started recounting his and Haku's story when they arrived in the Land of Whirlpools.

[FLASHBACK]

SHAAAAA!

Violent like a waterfall falling down on a bee, it rained nonstop as if the clouds have turned into angry dragons, wishing nothing more than to drench the world with its woes.

As red mixed with transparent, a figure with snow-white skin fell to the ground, rainwater splashing all over his delicate body and thin clothes, making him look like a fragile lone grass blade in the middle of a storm.

ROAAAAAR!

"FUCK! HAKU!"

CAW! CAW!

Just as a tall man with pale skin roared, a giant crow appeared above his head and cried out in anger, driving the other giant beasts surrounding them for a moment as they glared at the team of unlikely friends with red, rage-driven eyes.

"Zabuza, quick, their attention won't stay on me for too long! RUN!"

The crow suddenly yelled out, making Zabuza grit his teeth and run toward the person he treated as his son. "Damn it, Haku. You better have a good explanation later," Zabuza cursed under his breath but his eyes were filled with worry rather than anger.

"Karasu, thank you!"

Zabuza shouted and dashed away from the scene like a fish swimming in a pond, running away from a fisherman.

CHIIII…

As the rain poured above his head and blocked out any other sound, Zabuza could hear his rapid heart rate as well as the heartbeat of the person he was holding. 'Thankfully, he's alright,' Zabuza thought and sighed in relief.

CAW!

"Zabuza, I'll see you back in the cave. The voice is back," Karasu yelled out and flew like a thunderbolt.

"Damn it, why the hell is this happening?" Zabuza mumbled. He was already used to this as it happened before already, though it wasn't as severe as today. 'If only Karasu could fight a little more,' Zabuza sighed in frustration.

Karasu was strong, Zabuza knew that. Ironically, Karasu couldn't help much in terms of fighting as there was a voice trying to control his mind. What's worse is that the voice's influence would get stronger if Karasu stayed nearby other Chakra Beasts.

"Cough! Cough!"

Zabuza's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Haku coughing, and he hurried his pace.

"Haku, hang in there!"

. . .

"How's the situation?" Karasu asked, looking at Zabuza who'd just arrived.

"I don't know. On my way back here, I saw a couple of dazed Chakra Beasts, so I think that the voice's influence is back again," Zabuza said, letting Haku, who'd just woken up, sit down while giving him a new pair of shinobi clothes. Likewise, Zabuza himself unsealed a few simple shinobi clothes and walked into a dark corner to change.

"That voice… sigh, I don't know if I should be thankful or not," Karasu commented.

"Why?" Zabuza asked, having just finished changing his clothes. He glanced at where Haku was sitting and found no one. 'Where did he go to change?'

Zabuza was confused. It was raining outside, and the cave, though not too small, wasn't so big that you couldn't see one corner from another. 'Whatever,' Zabuza rolled his eyes. Sometimes, he couldn't understand his adoptive son's actions.

"A week ago, when you two arrived, the Beast Wave was already under control by that voice. That's why when you arrived here, I was able to find you without problems," Karasu began explaining, just in time for Haku to enter the dark and gloomy cave.

"Unlike with Master, who will only get attacked by the Chakra Beasts when he encounters one, outsiders without the Uzumaki blood will get swarmed by the Beast Wave within minutes. But with the Beast Wave under that voice's control, they mostly laid dormant, sleeping to slowly cultivate their strength," Karasu paused, his eyes hesitating.

"What is it?" Zabuza urged him when Haku gave him a bowl of warm soup. "Thank you," he muttered and earned a smile from Haku. 'Hold on… when the hell did he make soup?' Bewildered, Zabuza tried to look around but Karasu was already about to talk, making him put the matter at the back of his mind.

"It's just a theory, but I think the voice is deliberately making us stronger. I don't know why, but I have an ominous feeling about this," Karasu sighed, helpless at what to do.

"Let's just wait for Naruto," Zabuza said and looked around the cave, trying to find where the rest of the soup was.

'I don't care how he made it anymore, this shit is delicious.'

. . .

The next day, Zabuza, Haku, and Karasu were exploring the island.

"Are you sure we'll find something?" Zabuza yelled, making Karasu, who was gliding high above them, look down.

"Yeah. I felt a surge of Sealing Chakra from somewhere around the island, but I can't pinpoint where. Maybe something's disorienting my senses," Karasu yelled back.

Just in time, the trio saw a cyan glow emerging from a deeper section of the forest.

"Is it safe?" Zabuza asked, to which Karasu replied in affirmative.

"Then let's go there, see what the hell that's all about. Maybe it's a clue," Zabuza said. Though he was mostly complaining all the time as they traveled, he was the one who suggested venturing out.

According to Haku's words, Zabuza was a very "adventurous" type of person.

[END OF FLASHBACK]

"When we reached the source of the light, we encountered a massive pillar with runic symbols. Karasu said it was one of the Ceremonial Pillars," Zabuza reported.

"Ceremonial Pillars?" Naruto tilted his head. "I think I remember those," he added.

"Anyway, as we were inspecting it, the blue glow suddenly disappeared and the Beast Wave began rampaging again. We hid for a bit and after a few minutes, the blue glow returned and the Beast Wave started to calm down, just like how they always do after each stampede."

"Thank you," Naruto nodded his head, processing the information in his mind.

"I don't recall doing anything here that will trigger this change other than when I opened the Space Barrier. For now, I'll send a shadow clone to locate the Space Barrier," Naruto explained and created a shadow clone, who flickered away as soon as he appeared making it seem like Naruto's Shadow Clone failed. "He'll dispel as soon as he locates the Space Barrier and we'll head toward there," Naruto elaborated and Zabuza nodded.

"Hinata, I'm going to unseal Gaara. Do you want to stay?" Naruto asked Hinata, worried about her reaction. "It's fine as long as he doesn't attack me," Hinata said, "We were in a tournament, no hard feelings," she said despite being a little uncomfortable with the memory.

"Thank you, Hinata, and I'm sorry. I really need Gaara's help," Naruto apologized as the girl waved her hands to say that it was okay.

"Fuinjutsu, unseal!"

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