(AN: I do not own Naruto and Splatoon.)
Chapter 1: New Beginnings
A young sun-blessed spiky blonde hair boy by the age of six was running away from a mob. It was always like this for the young boy known as Naruto. Most of the time, Naruto had to run away from mobs that chased him.
Six years ago, the village was attacked by the Kyuub; the nine tailed demon fox. The Kyuubi decimated the village and killed countless villagers, shinobi and civilians alike. Many lost their mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. But then, Kyuubi was defeated by the Fourth Hokage. Every year, the village would have a massive celebration of Kyuubi's defeat. Once all the eating and drinking was done, they would start to play their favorite game; Fox Hunt. And unfortunately for Naruto, he was always the one they hunted.
"WHERE DID THAT DEMON BRAT GO!?" Naruto, who had managed to give the mob the slip and was hiding, heard a villager demand.
"FIND HIM! HE COULDN'T HAVE GONE FAR!" A woman shouted out to the crowd and the mob began splitting up to find him.
Naruto let out a soft, almost silent breath of air. Most of the village is usually out looking for him, to beat him bloody and attempt to kill him. Oh yes, this wasn't their first attempt. Even when not celebrating this "holiday", they hunted him down to kill him. "For the Fourth Hokage" they shouted to their beloved hero, they worshipped him like he was Kami himself.
Naruto was by no means stupid, he was actually quite smart for his age. He studied Konoha's history, he had to in order to become Hokage. Naruto both loved and hated the Fourth Hokage. Naruto respected and admired the Fourth for his skills, especially during the Third Shinobi World War. However, he hated the man for sealing the Kyuubi within him. That's right, Naruto knew the truth. Any smart kid would know it if given enough clues and believe him, Naruto knew the village kept such a secret poorly hidden.
Back to the present, Naruto began to move silently. Naruto learned quickly to be quiet and move silently to avoid detection. He eventually found himself a shed he believed he could hide out in for the rest of the night. Naruto had a terrible apartment but he couldn't go to it tonight because the villagers would be expecting that. That and they would trash the place up, they had done it numerous times already.
Naruto was supposed to have ANBU protecting him during this time. However, most of the ANBU protecting him either didn't like and/or ignored him. Only one ANBU was willing to protect him, a female with long purple hair. Unfortunately, she wasn't on watch tonight so it wasn't her watching over him.
'It's probably that man with the gravity defying silver hair.' Naruto thought bitterly. Naruto felt that the man hated him in some way though he didn't know what. Either that or he wanted nothing to do with Naruto.
Naruto suddenly tripped as he accidentally walked onto something and fell onto the floor. Cursing the fact that he was too busy thinking, Naruto looked and saw that he accidentally kicked something onto a pole that had a large dust mop at the end of it.
*'Aw, Crapbaskets.' Naruto thinks to himself as the dust mop falls and hits a bucket that was full of orange paint onto Naruto.
"I THINK I HEARD SOMETHING OVER HERE!" Naruto heard a muffled voice shouting outside a bit away from the shed.
'I gotta get out of here.' Naruto thinks to himself as he tries to get up. Keyword 'tried'.
Suddenly, the orange paint that was spilled all over Naruto was condensing around Naruto. Naruto tried to wipe the paint off but it wouldn't come off and began to surround him.
'W-what is happening to me!?' Naruto thought frantically as he tried harder to wipe away the paint as it soon enveloped his body 'I'm not supposed to die like this! I'm supposed to become the next Hokage! Heeeeelpppppp mmmeeeee!'
Naruto nearly shouted out the last thought as he felt weightless and felt like he was falling.
When the shed was opened up by the villagers that came to investigate the noise, all they would find was a puddle of orange ink and both the bucket and the large dust mop on the floor.
"The demon brat couldn't have gone far!" The man said to his fellow villagers "Spread out, find clues of where he could have run off!"
The villagers nodded and began running off to search the local area. However, they would never realize that Naruto wouldn't ever be found again.
Meanwhile…
After Kami knows how long, Naruto groaned as he opened up his eyes but immediately closed them when a flash of light hit him. After a couple of minutes, he opened up his eyes using a hand to block out the sun.
"I hate that cursed ball of light." Naruto growled out before he noticed his hand "What the-"
His hand looked normal but his fingers, which were circular, were now blocky. Not only that but he didn't have fingernails anymore.
"What?" Naruto asked before he looked down and saw that his body figure changed. He was thinner than he normally was. He got up and found that the clothes on him were a bit heavy but it was barely noticeable "What happened to me?"
Naruto began to walk around. He looked like he was in the wilderness and he could see a large city not far from his position in the wilderness. He sees a bond and goes over to it. When he looked at the pond and saw his reflection, he was shocked that he fell back. He hesitantly looked at his reflection again and took in his new appearance.
Naruto found that he no longer looked human, he looked completely different. He had three blond/yellow octopus-like tentacles above his face with a single sucker on top of them and with the ends being orange and had blond/yellow spots among the orange ends. At the back of his head, he had what looked like a squid mantle with fins that were a lighter shade of blond/yellow that looked see through. Below the squid mantle was a pair of long tentacles that had the ends of a squid tentacle, the long tentacle on the right reached just above his waist while the long tentacle on the left reached down to his thighs. There were three suckers on both tentacles while the end of the tentacles had suction cups (similar to Inkling girl's hippie hairstyle). Naruto saw black markings around his eyes with two sharp edges and a thicker underline and two added dashes, one bottom left/right of their respective eyes closest to the ear (so like Octoling Girl's eye dash) and another dash top right/left of their respective eyes that pointed to the forehead. His eyes were two-toned, the irises being cerulean blue while the pupil was violet and he had a black line in the pupil (think Kurama's eyes). He had blond/yellow thick eyebrows (Inkling boy eyebrows) and he retained the whisker-like markings on his cheeks. He had pointed ears (Inkling ears) and his teeth had prominent fangs among them. When Naruto opened his mouth, he saw that his tongue's tip had a small line in the middle that split the tongue tip into two.
'What happened to me!?' Naruto mentally yells in his head 'What did that ink do to me!?'
After observing himself some more, he didn't know what to do. Sure, he looked different but he had notable features that he possessed while he was still human. Naruto decided to take a walk in order to fully grasp the situation while trying to find civilization.
After walking for some time, Naruto kept going over and over about his new changes. He eventually found a small town. As he explored around the town, Naruto found other beings that looked more squid-like than he was. A species that Naruto soon came to understand as Inklings. Apparently, the ink that did this to Naruto did more than change his appearance. He could understand the language of the inklings, despite having never seen nor heard the language before. Though he can't write it, he can somehow speak it. Not only that but the inklings thought of his appearance as exotic and wondered how I came to look like this.
Naruto kept wandering around town until he heard something. He moves to investigate and sees an inkling male training on some sort of training grounds. In his hand was some kind of weapon that had a long barrel on it and something on the top of it with a magnifying glass. Naruto watched as the inkling trained, hitting target dummies. Naruto watched in awe and amazement as the man trained.
Not long afterwards, the man sighed as he took out the last target. Naruto moved from his current position to meet the man in person.
"Ah, there we go." The man said with a smile "Now I'll be ready for the upcoming splatfest."
The inkling man had an orange beanie on his head with a pair of goggles that he uses to protect his eyes.
'This may very well be my last.' The inkling man mused.
This inkling man was known as Phineas, he was a legendary splatfest champion. Phineas was a master of different weapons, his preferred weapon being chargers. Phineas enjoyed sniping out his enemies from across the arena and setting up ambushes for opponents trying to flank him.
"Whoa!" Phineas heard and looked over, seeing an awe struck Naruto "You were amazing sir!"
Phineas noticed Naruto's appearance and was on guard immediately 'He looks like an inkling, but also has features of an Octoling. This is the first time I've seen something like this.' Phineas chuckled "Thanks kid. What brings you out here?"
"I was passing through when I heard your training." Naruto informed him.
"Ah, I see." Phineas said with a nod "Still, where do you live? I doubt your parents would leave you alone like this."
Naruto deflated when he heard that question and mention of parents. Something Phineas immediately noted.
"I don't live anywhere and my parents are dead." Naruto told him sadly while looking at the ground.
"...I see, so you are an orphan." Phineas replied with a frown.
Orphans were rare among inkling society, but not entirely unheard of. Now Phineas didn't know what to do. Here was an orphan and there was no orphanage in town. Inkopolis has an orphanage but he didn't know if the sir or lady in charge would accept Naruto.
"...Why not live with me then?" Phineas proposed. 'If I can get him to be with me, perhaps I can find out more about him and why he looks like a hybrid of an inkling and octoling.'
Phineas had planned to leave splatfest soon, since the next generation would take over soon enough. Phineas would be remembered for a time but he would eventually be forgotten. Phineas had no children and having fangirls made it impossible to get into a relationship with a lady that wasn't a fangirl. So for him, this was an opportunity for his legacy to live on through Naruto while also recruiting Naruto into their society instead of the Octarians where he would likely be brainwashed like all Octolings.
"You would really do that?" Naruto asked with stars in his eyes.
"Of course." Phineas said with a smile while scratching his head "Come along, we need to get adoption papers and such to make it official."
"Alright sir." Naruto said as he followed Phineas.
Some months later…
Naruto watches in excitement as he watches his new dad, Phineas, battle in Splatfest. He was among the crowd watching and cheering for Phineas, who was taking out an enemy team of inklings by himself. Since the day he was adopted, Naruto was raised and trained by Phineas. Phineas was a true pro, he knew when to adapt and change out his style when in splatfests so he wouldn't be so easily predicted.
This splatfest was no different. Of course, this was a team match so Phineas had a team. However, Phineas' team was focused on inking everywhere while Phineas would take out enemy inklings and support his comrades should they be attacked by enemy inklings. The goal in splatfests was always the same.
'I kinda wish that they would have different winning conditions other than "ink as much as you can".' Naruto thought to himself as he watched. Even 1v1 matches were the same, ink as much as you can. That was the whole gimmick for "Turf Wars". Honestly, Naruto wishes for something different.
Of course, it was no surprise that Phineas' team won the round and won the final splatfest in probably a long while. Phineas and his team leave the arena and Naruto runs off to meet Phineas. It didn't take him long to find Phineas. After a small moment of the two of them hugging, they heard a cough and looked.
Naruto and Phineas see an old man and two little inkling girls. The old man had a cane that he used to help him walk.
"Marvelous work out there, Phineas." The old inkling told him.
"Cap'n Cuttlefish." Phineas replied as he got out of his hug and saluted "It is an honor to see you again."
"At ease, Phineas." Cuttlefish replied, to which Phineas ended his salute "How's your father?"
Phineas sighed sadly "Not too well. I fear he may pass away soon enough."
"...I see." Cuttlefish sounded sad "A real shame, your father was one of the best I knew."
"Yeah, he was." Phineas replied with a smile "So, what brings you out here."
"Well, when I heard the son of a wonderful friend was doing his final splatfest before retiring, I wanted to see it all happen in person." Cuttlefish answered before gesturing to the two inkling girls "Of course, I brought my granddaughters with me."
"That was so cool!" The inkling girl with black tentacles said to Phineas with stars in her eyes.
Phineas chuckled "Well, I guess introductions are in order." Phineas kneels down to Naruto "Cap'n, this is Naruto, my adopted son." Phineas gestures out to the group "Naruto, this is Cap'n Cuttlefish. He was the leader of a platoon of inklings during the Great Turf War, he was my father's commanding officer."
"Hello, Cuttlefish-jiji." Naruto replied with a smile and wave.
"Hello there, youngster." Cuttlefish replied before gesturing to his granddaughters "These are my granddaughters, Callie" Cuttlefish points to the inkling girl with black tentacles "and Marie." Cuttlefish points to the other inkling girl with white tentacles.
'Callie and Marie, huh?' Naruto thought to himself as the sister gave a pose '...Why do I have the sudden desire to eat calamari? Wait a minute, wouldn't that be cannibalism now?'
"Nice to meet you two." Naruto gave a smile.
"You too." Marie replied with a smile of her own.
"Wow, you look awesome!" Callie awed as she went over to Naruto and began examining his appearance "You look so cool!"
"Thanks." Naruto blushed at the praise.
Naruto, Callie, and Marie would have a bit of talks while Cuttlefish and Phineas had a bit of conversation themselves while watching the three interact. Cuttlefish questioned Phineas about why Naruto looked like a hybrid of an inkling and octoling, but all Phineas would say is that he had no idea why Naruto looked like that nor did Naruto know himself. Little did anyone know that this would have a real effect in the future.
Couple of Years later…
Four years had passed since that fateful day that Naruto was brought into the Inkling world. During that time, Naruto learned all of what he could from Phineas and Cuttlefish. Phineas trained Naruto so that when he came of age, he would be able to participate in Turf Wars and Splatfests. Cuttlefish, alongside Phineas, taught Naruto about their world and more.
Naruto had learned a lot during this time. Like the fact that humans are extinct in this world and how squids and octopuses evolved into the Inklings and Octolings respectively. There were very few things left in the world that are connected to the extinct humanity. One such thing was Judd, a cat that was sentient, served as the judge for turf wars and splatfests. Another thing connected to the extinct humanity was a fax machine that apparently activates every now and then. Splatfests happen even without a theme, but when the fax machine does activate, it gives the splatfest a theme like Cats and Dogs.
Naruto also learned of Inkling and Octolings' weakness to water. Sure, they can survive swimming in water, as long as they don't let water into their body like the mouth or nose. Ears were safe though since inklings and octolings still had to clean those. Among other things like Inklings don't have bones and they can turn into a squid and back, which Naruto learned how to do. So in Naruto's opinion, there are advantages and disadvantages to his new form and life. But he didn't care much about them since he wasn't being glared at by people like the villagers did to him.
Naruto also quickly learned that despite his new change, he kept his chakra. The problem now though is that Naruto had no way to learn chakra-related techniques. All in all, Naruto is a stronger and faster inkling that didn't know how to use his own chakra outside of physically enhancing his own body. It was unanimously agreed by Cuttlefish and Phineas that if and when Naruto goes into turf wars and splatfest, he was going to dominate the competition.
Naruto learned from Cuttlefish about the Octarians since the old man kept eyes and ears on them. Even after the Great Turf War, Cuttlefish felt that despite the war being officially 'over', he knew that deep inside it was only the beginning. Octarians haven't been seen since the end of the Great Turf War, but Cuttlefish was convinced that they were plotting revenge for their defeat. To him, it was only a matter of time.
On another note, Naruto held a strong positive relationship with Callie and Marie. They were the same age after all. The two of them were learning how to sing and become musicians. Naruto wished them good luck in their future, Naruto himself was thinking of perhaps getting a hobby of being a DJ. He was going to do turf wars and splatfests but he needed something whenever he wasn't doing those.
As to what Naruto was currently doing, he was with Phineas and Cuttlefish at the Inkopolis' first annual Youth Folk-Singing Contest. Callie and Marie had been preparing for this contest since it would be the deciding factor of their future career as musicians. Naruto would normally be bored of this kind of thing but he stayed to cheer the two girls on. In the aftermath, the girls had won by a landslide. Not to say that the other people that came were bad, but the music that Callie and Marie made was incredible. They got the rewards and once everything was done, the two girls joined the group.
Naruto was giving the two hugs "That was incredible!"
"Thanks Naruto." Callie replied with a smile of her own though he had a small blush. Marie wasn't much different.
Over the years, Callie and Marie began to grow a strong attachment to Naruto. They didn't know why but they loved being in Naruto's presence, more importantly his attention.
"So what will you two be doing now?" Phineas asked the two squid girls.
"We will continue our studies and once the time comes, we'll look around for what works perfectly for us." Marie informed them.
"I still think it would be better if we just be hosts of Inkopolis News." Callie told Marie with puffed cheeks, looking a bit annoyed "We can really get our image out and become famous."
"Yes but we're trying to be musicians, not news hosts." Marie countered.
Naruto chuckled as Callie and Marie began their little argument. It was always like this between the two when the talk of their future as a duo was in question.
"Whelp, let's go get something to eat. My treat." Cuttlefish replied as he walked away with Phineas and the three squid kids following.
"Yay!" The squid kids cheered as they followed.
Some Years Later…
On a train heading toward Inkopolis was Naruto, now a seventeen year old. It has been seven years since the first annual Youth Folk-Singing Contest. Naruto has changed a lot since that time.
Naruto has long since ceased looking for ways to return home. After all, who would want to return to a village that hated and scorned him for something beyond his control. Naruto learned the truth on why they treated him like that. That's right, he met Kyuubi one day. For a time, the two of them didn't get along well but that eventually changed. They work together as partners with a mutual trust to survive in this world.
During these years, Naruto had completed his training with Phineas. Not long afterwards, Naruto decided to begin going into turf wars and splatfests. Of course, it was near the end of splatfests and since that time, there hasn't been any splatfests. Naruto became quite famous, especially when word got out that he was the adopted son of the legendary champion Phineas. Naruto loved this new life of his a lot.
During this time, Naruto talked with the Squid Sisters and their relationship has improved leaps and bounds. Naruto got to know a lot about them and vice versa for them about Naruto. They even knew, alongside Phineas and Captain Cuttlefish, about Naruto's past as a human in another world. Of course, the squid sisters were shocked and surprised by this piece of information while Phineas and Cuttlefish, surprisingly, were not.
"I figured you were a resident from another world, you acted completely different from a normal inkling and you were really curious about everything about our world. History, technology, culture, etc." Cuttlefish told Naruto when he had asked about why he wasn't surprised.
"Not only that but we are aware of that world you come from." Phineas added "Our old unit went there once, it was about around the time of when the Konoha was being built and we met with the First Hokage and his wife. Your last name also gave you away, considering that the first hokage's wife was a member of the Uzumaki Clan's royal bloodline."
Naruto wanted to know more about that story but Cuttlefish didn't want to bring it about, Phineas said that it was because of old memories of the good old days before an accident happened. Regardless, Naruto found out that the first Hokage and his wife entrusted them with some old techniques that Naruto felt that he could use. Some of these techniques were also from the Uzumaki Clan. So Naruto spent some time learning and honing his skills with these techniques. Not only that but he underwent a training regiment that the Kyuubi devised. Turns out, because the Kyuubi has been sealed for so long, he had taken up a hobby of collecting information about shinobi stuff ranging from techniques to personal stuff. So the training regiment that Kyuubi put Naruto under was complete Hell, who knew that the fox was a sadist?
As to the here and now, Naruto was currently on a train that was approaching Inkopolis. Naruto's appearance had only matured since he was a child. Naruto wore a black sleeveless muscle shirt, loose shorts with black and orange stripe leggings, and he wore black boots that had orange stripes among them as well as the Uzumaki clan symbol on them. He wore orange arm sleeves that had two markings at the top of it that exposed his skin while looking like the cuts made in squid when it is cooked and had his middle finger covered. He wore an orange belt that was connected to a red belt that had a holster on it. He had an orange strap wrapped around his chest with an orange with gold outline pointer that doubled as a buckle connected to a red strap that went to the lower right half of his body. These straps on him were meant to hold his ink tank on his back.
Naruto looked over the sights as the train eventually arrived at Inkopolis. When it came to a stop at a station, Naruto walked out of the train. He was leaving the station when, at the entrance, he noticed someone.
This someone was an inkling girl that had two long yellow-green tentacles that reach past her waist and hang from both sides of her head in front of her ears along with a bang while also having four small squid arms on her neckline (her hairstyle is the Inkling Girl's "Hippie" hairstyle). He had fair skin and magenta eyes.
The female inkling was looking around before she spotted Naruto.
"There you are!" She shouted as she ran over to him "I was afraid I'd miss you when you returned."
"Hey Ripley, nice seeing you here." Naruto said with a smile.
Naruto knew this inkling girl, her name being Ripley. He and Ripley had partnered up in many Turf Wars, mostly at the same time while occasionally being on opposite teams. The two of them formed a friendship and became the best of friends.
"I take it the sisters couldn't make it?" Naruto asked, continuing from where he left off.
"Nah, though they really wish they could." Ripley shook her head "Apparently, their boss had some important news planned that he wanted the sisters to reveal."
"Is it a Splatfest?" Naruto asked. Since his debut a few years ago, which was near the end of the splatfest season, there hasn't been a single Splatfest since. Naruto was aware that the machine is random and could activate at any time, but Naruto really hoped for a splatfest season. He wanted to participate in one, since he only made it to the near end of one.
"Don't know." Ripley replied "But it was urgent since the sisters couldn't convince their boss otherwise."
"So, shall we go to the plaza and see what's up?" Naruto proposed.
Ripley nodded in agreement and the two began their trip to Inkopolis Plaza. In Inkopolis, there was a system called "main hubs". These hubs were where inklings went to the most, so there was usually a large group of inklings in the area. Not only that but shops were stationed there as well, alongside an occasional food joint like cafes, food trucks, or restaurants. Inkopolis Plaza was the biggest of these hubs, due to the fact that it was located at the center of Inkopolis. There was a tower called Inkopolis Tower there as well that housed a battle lobby, a location where inklings can attend Turf Wars. But the main reason why the two were going there is because it happens to be where the Inkopolis News Studio was located.
Later…
Naruto and Ripley arrived at Inkopolis Plaza after a bit of a walk. Just in time too, as the TV screens around Inkopolis changed from their usual shows to the Inkopolis News Studio opening video screen.
"Looks like it's starting." Ripley said as the screen turned to live feed of two inkling girls.
On the left of the screen was an older version of Callie. Her tentacles were still black with a pink gradient at the ends but her hairstyle was now different. Back when she was young, her hairstyle was somewhat messy and much shorter, with the longest one falling just past her left ear. Now, her tentacles are very long and tied in a large bow on the back of her head, leaving the ends to dangle. Her eyes, eye markings, eye brows, and ears haven't changed much if at all. However, Naruto could see that she now wears a pair of chunky milk-white earrings on her ears. Her outfit, which has no sleeves and ends in shorts, is black with a reflective texture. On the front are three pink marks, which, somewhat morbidly, are made to look like the cuts made in squid when it is cooked. With this outfit, she wears pink tights, white gloves, and a small, white, shirt collar necklace. Callie also wears a pair of black wedge shoes with a texture similar to leather, which have a shiny pink material on the bottom and two pink buttons on either side of the ankle. She wears a pink and white hat resembling the Japanese fast food ikayaki on her head and has a mole on her left cheek. In short, Naruto found her to be quite beautiful.
On the right of the screen was an older version of Marie. Her tentacles remained milk-white with the ends being an unsaturated gray gradient, while her hairstyle was different as well. Like Callie, Marie's tentacles were much shorter and messier. Now, her tentacles are tied in a large bow on the right side of her head, with the ends wrapped around to the other side and curling up slightly at the ends. Like Callie, her facial and ears haven't changed much but simply matured like Callie's. Not just that but like Callie, Marie has chunky milk-white earrings on her ears. Her outfit, which has no sleeves and ends in a skirt, is black with a reflective texture. On the front are three green marks, which, somewhat morbidly, are made to look like the cuts made in squid when it is cooked, and the inside skirt facing is also green. With this outfit, she wears lime green tights, black shorts, white gloves, and a small, white, shirt collar necklace. Marie also wears a pair of black wedge shoes with a texture similar to leather, which have a shiny green material on the bottom and two green buttons on either side of the ankle. She wears a green and white hat resembling a calamari ring, and has a beauty mark on her right cheek. Like Callie, Naruto found her to be quite beautiful.
Naruto was quite distracted by the sisters' beauty that he wasn't paying much attention to what was being said on the news. At least until Ripley elbows Naruto when she notices him staring at the squid sisters. She gave a giggle at Naruto's blushing cheeks.
"They sure are real beauties, huh?" Ripley teased Naruto, causing him to blush even more "I don't blame you. They are pretty hot."
"I haven't seen them since we were children, we walked separate paths. This is the first time I'm seeing them in so long." Naruto tried to defend himself. "They're appearance caught me off-guard."
"Don't try defending yourself, you would have still done the same thing if the three of you met in person." Ripley grins as he walked over to Naruto and ran her hand across his body "I mean, you are quite muscular for an inkling. I think the girls would be drooling to see these bad boys."
"But not you though." Naruto countered as he pushed away Ripley's hands from his body.
"Course not, I'm not into men." Ripley said with pride "I'm a proud lesbian."
"Yeah, whatever." Naruto rolled his eyes "You have yet to find someone other than me and the sisters that actually interact with you. I'm not counting turf wars and you know why, teamwork and all."
But Ripley could reply, they heard the 'newsflash' warning that got their attention. That is when they see two photos pull up on the screen. One was of the Great Zapfish around Inkopolis tower with the one next to it being gone.
"Inkopolis' Great Zapfish has… vanished!?" Callie stated with shock on her face.
"Wait, seriously!?" Marie looked shocked as well.
"How does something that big go missing overnight and not be noticed?" Kyuubi commented from within Naruto.
'I don't know Kyuubi.' Naruto mentally replies as he sees Callie complaining about losing power in Inkopolis while Marie tries to be positive and hopeful 'You would think that they had security guarding it at all times?'
"Or perhaps these squids think that they are superior to other races that the thought of someone kidnapping the Great Zapfish was thought to be impossible."
'...You know, you may be right about that.' Naruto conceded to the point Kyuubi made.
Naruto quickly found out that Inklings were the most dominant race in the world. Since the Great Turf War, inklings remained uncontested for years. Perhaps since they have been the most dominant that the thought of another race challenging their rule was not possible. It appears that this superiority complex has now bit the race in the ass for thinking of such a thing. Hopefully, when the Great Zapfish is returned, they will learn from this humiliation.
(AN: No surprising they don't since it gets kidnapped again two years later and probably again with the upcoming Splatoon 3 game.)
"I wonder if it has anything to do with that UFO crash?" Callie wondered aloud.
"Sounds likely to me." Marie agreed with that assumption.
"That's all for now." Callie said before both she and Marie struck a pose.
"Stay Fresh!" Callie and Marie spoke together and almost after that, the news broadcast ended and everything returned to normal.
'One thing is for certain, I need to meet with Cap.' Naruto thought to himself 'With that city wide broadcast, Cap is going to hear the news and will act immediately.'
"So Naruto, you want to go a few rounds in Turf War while the sisters do their usual work routine or do you want to surprise them?" Ripley asked.
"Neither, I have some business to do before I do any more turf wars." Naruto told Ripley, getting her attention "Once I'm done, I'll rejoin the turf wars."
"What kind of business, maybe I can tag along?" Ripley asked.
"The personal kind." Naruto told her "So don't wait for me."
"...Alright then." Ripley shrugged after a moment of pause "See you on the field."
Ripley waves as she walks away, Naruto waving back at her before he moves to a different area. Ripley, who watched as Naruto walked past a corner, immediately turned around and began to follow him.
After a few minutes of walking, Naruto made his way to an alleyway with a sewer grate on it. He was completely aware of Ripley following him, being trained as a shinobi allowed him to pick up the sense of being followed and having subtle, seemingly random glances without exposing anything.
'She was always curious about what I did when I wasn't in Turf Wars. Better to have her know now than never.' Naruto thought to himself as he pretended to look around to see if he was cleared before going into his squid form.
The moment he went into the sewer, Ripley came out of the corner and went over to the grate.
'Let's see what you are up to.' Ripley thinks to herself as she turns into her squid form and follows Naruto's trail.
Meanwhile…
Naruto came out of the grate in a new location; a large, outdoor area surrounded by mountainous formations and octopus-shaped rocks. Naruto could see several waterfalls around in the sights. Naruto's gaze soon fell onto the shack in front of the grate.
'He must be inside.' Naruto thought to himself as he got off the grate and walked towards the shack. 'It won't be long until Ripley arrives here as well. Might as well tell Cap that we are getting a new recruit.'
Naruto arrives at the door of the shack and knocks on the door "Cap, you in?"
"Naruto, is that you?" An old familiar voice called out "Come on in, you are always welcomed here!"
Naruto opened the door and walked inside and saw Cap'n Cuttlefish sitting on a couch with the TV on.
"Hey Cap'n, how have you been?" Naruto asked the old inkling.
"Naruto, welcome back." Cap'n Cuttlefish said as he got up and walked over to Naruto "How was your training trip?"
"Great, I finished my training in fighting as an inkling. Still training as a shinobi, though." Naruto told Cuttlefish.
Cuttlefish nods "Good, good."
"Have you heard the news about the Great Zapfish?" Naruto asked Cuttlefish.
The captain looked confused. "What news?"
"Oh boy…" Naruto looked nervous, knowing how Cuttlefish was going to react "Come with me outside the shack, you'll want to hear this."
Five minutes later…
Ripley came out of the grate and immediately noticed that she wasn't in Inkopolis anymore. She didn't have the time to look at everything when she heard an old voice speak.
"Th-th-the... Oc-Oc-Oct... The Octarians are coming! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ripley looked at the source and saw Naruto trying to calm down an elderly inkling.
"Calm down, Cap!" Naruto told Cuttlefish "We can handle this easily, you know that. We've been training our whole lives for the time that the Octarians raise up once more."
"You're right, you're right. I lost my cool there." Cuttlefish concedes as he calmed down before he noticed Ripley "Oh, uh, hi there…"
Naruto turned and saw Ripley "Ah, about time you showed up." Naruto commented, getting a surprised look from Ripley "If you took any longer, I would have had to look for you in the sewers to see if you got lost."
"Y-you knew I was following you?" Ripley asked, shocked and surprised.
"Yup." Naruto informed her "It's not hard to know when someone is following you. I spotted you easily."
"You mean you let me follow you?" Ripley asked.
"Of course." Naruto nodded "If I didn't want you to follow me, there were a lot of times where I could have escaped your sight and lost you."
"So, I see you two know each other." Cuttlefish commented, getting both inklings' attention before looking at Ripley "Well, if Naruto trusts you enough to let you follow him, then that means that he knows you're reliable." Cap'n Cuttlefish gives a peace sign "I'm Cap'n Cuttlefish, leader of the legendary Squidbeak Splatoon!"
"I'm Ripley, someone who has been friends with Naruto for the last few years." Ripley introduced herself.
"Ripley is quite the capable fighter, she can definitely hold her own in a fight against the Octarians." Naruto told Cuttlefish.
"I can see that clearly with that look in her eye." Cuttlefish replied to Naruto "She will make a fine addition to the splatoon."
"Hold up, what are you two talking about?" Ripley asked, confused "Who are the Octarians and what is this 'splatoon' you speak of?"
"That is kind of a long story…" Naruto told Ripley.
"But what you need to know is that the Octarians have been wanting revenge for the Great Turf War of 100 years ago. I've been keepin' an eye on them this whole time, of course…"
"Then how did they manage to squidnap the Great Zapfish?" Naruto asked the old inkling with a raised eyebrow.
"I, uh… was distracted by something." Cuttlefish spoke sheepishly.
"...It was crab cakes, wasn't it?" Naruto spoke in a deadpan voice.
"I can neither confirm nor deny it." Cuttlefish looks towards Ripley as Naruto says ("That just tells me that I'm right!") "Regardless, you gotta help me rescue the Great Zapfish!"
"I'm willing to lend a hand in helping you." Ripley told Cuttlefish with a determined nod. She had no intention of backing from this.
"Excellent! Starting today, you are Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon!" Cuttlefish announced to Ripley.
"I take it that Naruto is Agent 1 or 2?" Ripley asked.
Naruto chuckled, "Nope, I'm neither." Ripley looked surprised "I'm Agent 9. Before you ask 'why', I have a very special connection with that number."
"Agent 9 here will be helping you in the field, since he will be showing you the ropes." Cuttlefish told her "The other two agents, Agents 1 and 2, will be watching Octarian communications and movements so that we know what their next move is and where we can locate the Great Zapfish."
"Our priority, however, is to free the Zapfishs that the Octarians have captured thus far." Naruto added, getting Ripley's attention "They use the zapfishs to power their domes and prevent us from advancing further into their territory. In order to ensure that we reach the Great Zapfish, wherever it may be, we need to take down their domes by freeing the zapfish."
"With that all said, let's get you in your Hero Suit!" Cuttlefish announced "Come along, I will show you what suit you will be wearing and where to change. Naruto, I suggest you change as well."
Naruto nods as Cuttlefish and Ripley go into the shack. Naruto pulls off his backpack and opens it, revealing his hero gear and his Hero Shot.
Minutes later…
Cuttlefish looked at Ripley as she wore the Hero Suit provided to her.
"What a great fit!" Cuttlefish nodded while mentally adding 'For a hand-me-down from Agents 1 and 2…' "Now, let's go meet up with Agent 9."
Cuttlefish and Ripley leave the shack.
"Took you long enough." They heard and looked, seeing Naruto in his hero suit.
Naruto wore an exact copy of Ripley's own hero suit with a few extra add-ons. He wore a black cape on his back that had the inkling number of "9" on the back of it in orange outlines while having a hood up to hide his tentacles from sight. He also carried a Hero Shot with him, since he hasn't found a hero version of a weapon he likes unlike Agents 1 and 2 with their Hero Roller and Hero Charger.
"Alright, ready to begin?" Naruto asked Ripley.
"Yeah." Ripley nodded.
"Alright Agents 3 and 9, you know what the plan is." Cuttlefish points out towards where the first dome would be at "Go get those Octojerks! And remember, we are all counting on you!"
"No pressure." Agent 9 said as he began walking with Agent 3 running to catch up.
AN: I LIIIIIIIIIVEEEEE!
In all seriousness, how long has it been since I updated my fanfic? Two years and a month, I think. Honestly, it felt longer for me. I changed up Naruto's appearance of an Inkling to a hybrid of an Inkling and Octoling with a picture that belonged to Fennec87, though changes from the original look were done by me. So here is an update on my fanfic.
Updates:
1. All stories: At this point, I have decided to stop all other stories. I have no intention of updating or continuing those. Instead, I am going to start from scratch. Starting with what was properly the best story; Orange Inkling Maelstrom.
2. I made a lot of mistakes when making the previous stories. But these last two years, I have improved a lot in story making with the help of others. So this story, hopefully, will be a better story than my previous ones. Though I am bound to make mistakes, I know that fully well.
3. I'm not going to repeat my previous mistake of doing multiple stories. Instead, until I feel that I can do it, I will focus solely on this story. As previously stated, until I feel that I am ready, I won't be making any other story until I feel ready. So, expect updates from only this one.
On another topic, I have watched various other things; movies, anime, games, etc. so there will probably be a time that I am willing to do those. I have seen the MCU movies, the Overlord anime, Being Reincarnated as a Slime, Ark: Survival Evolved, and more. Though to make it clear, I am still unsure about Bleach and Highschool DxD and haven't seen those yet and idk if I ever will. I do know that I'll be watching My Hero Academia sooner or later, since it has become so popular and the fact that the writer is a big fan of Star Wars, one of my favorite movies/shows.
For now, that is all for now. I hope you all enjoyed reading this story.