Hello everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; if you are enjoying it please continue supporting me and my other works. Now then with nothing else to say let's begin.
Mist and Maelstroms: Chapter 19
With Naruto, Mei, Kisame, Raiga and Ao
Naruto was walking hand in hand with Mei as they continued their trek to Kiri; Naruto was nearly bouncing with excitement as they continued down the road.
"Oh man I'm so psyched" Naruto said "this is going to be the second country I visit; wave was cool but now I get to see a actual foreign ninja village" he said and Mei giggled.
"Well don't get your hopes up to high Naruto" Mei said making Naruto look at her "well it's uhh…" Mei began and Ao stepped in.
"Lady Mei and Yagura's battle was so intense that a quarter of the village was leveled" Ao said making Naruto go wide eyed "luckily that part of the village was abandoned so no civilians were killed but that section of the city is now a pile of splinters, coral, volcanic rock and rubble" he said and Mei pouted.
"Well, I had to beat him somehow" Mei said and "anyway the village is still under construction; and sadly, it will be at least another year or 2 until it's complete" she said.
"That's not too bad" Kisame said "I remember the Tsunami that hit back about 15 years ago; washed away my neighborhood" he said.
"Well with me and my shadow clones I can help out" Naruto said "I can make several hundred and go help out every day; after all I'm here to help build relations aren't I" he said and Mei smiled.
"I think that can work" Mei said as they walked up a hill and Mei stopped everyone "well Naruto here it is; Kirigakure" she said as she pointed to the village.
Naruto looked and saw a village in a valley with cliffs popping up throughout the village; there was a light mist over the village to which Naruto wasn't surprised considering the name.
"Hot damn; looks a lot different than Konoha" Naruto said and everyone chuckled.
"I wonder if my old training ground is still open" Raiga said as he looked at the village.
"Well if it is that can be a great place to train right pervy sage" Naruto said to no response "uh… Jiraya" Naruto said as he looked around. "Hey where the hell is he" Naruto said alarmed and everyone started looking around.
"What the hell" Kisame shouted "how could we lose him; who was his partner" he said and Mei smacked him on the back of his head.
"You were you idiot" Mei shouted "Me and Naruto, Ao and Raiga and You and Jiraya; you left your battle buddy behind" she shouted and Kisame paled.
With Jiraya
Jiraya was sitting on a bench 10 miles back at a small road house eating his second helping of dumplings 'where the hell are those guys; it's been an hour already' he thought as he took another bite.
With Naruto and crew
"I think I know where he is" Kisame said to the fuming Mei.
"Well go fucking get him you stupid fuck" Mei shouted and Kisame began running down the road; Mei turned to Raiga "you go with him" she said and Raiga chased after Kisame. "Ugh… I work with idiots" Mei said rubbing her temples.
"They'll be fine Mei" Naruto said reassuringly "lets go and check out the village" he said and Mei nodded.
"Ok" Mei said as she, Naruto and Ao made their way to the village.
2 hours later: Kirigakure council chambers
Mei was sitting in her seat as Naruto stood in the middle of the room; all around him in a circle were the members of the Kiri council consisting of military and civilian advisors. Unlike in Konoha where clans and civilian council members had a say in Kiri Mei was fully in charge and her word was law.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the council; this is Naruto Uzumaki, my apprentice and the one here to build relations between Kiri and Konoha" Mei said introducing Naruto who stood in the middle of the room.
"Nice to meet you all; glad to be here" Naruto said in his usual upbeat attitude; one of the council members stood up and smiled.
"Welcome to Kiri Uzumaki" he said walking up to Naruto and shaking his hand "here in Kiri you are becoming quite well known" he said making Naruto confused.
"Huh… how so" Naruto said and the man chuckled.
"Well foe one you are the new wielder of the executioners' blade and apprentice to the new Mizukage" he said "not to mention the first non-Kiri born member of the 7 ninja swordman in over 60 years; you've turned a lot of heads" he said and Naruto chuckled and another man stood up.
"When we heard about you participating in the chunin exams we watched the broadcast and were very impressed by your skills" he said and Naruto blushed from the praise and a woman stood up.
"Not to mention you and our Mizukage being a couple" she said making Mei blush "I mean it's not everyday a Kage begins a romantic relationship with someone from another village" she said and Mei looked at her.
"Hey nationality and where you are born shouldn't stop you from loving someone" Mei said and the woman chuckle.
"Well said Mei" Naruto said walking up to her and kissing her cheek making the council chuckle and Mei blush harder "I couldn't care less about where she's from; things like race, nationality, and things like that don't matter to me, I like Mei for who she is" he said making Mei smile.
"Well, we are glad to hear that Naruto" the woman said "we all welcome you here to Kiri and we all hope your time here will help us build our alliance with Konoha and bring peace and prosperity to our 2 village's" she said and Naruto nodded.
"Thank you all and I swear I won't let you down" Naruto said with vigor.
With Jiraya, Kisame and Raiga 30 minutes later
"C'mon I said I was sorry" Kisame said to a still pouting Jiraya "it was a honest mistake" he said as they continued to walk to the Mizukage tower.
"You left me behind" Jiraya said annoyed "I was waiting at that stand for 2 hours; and you said all you were going to do was go and get snacks" he said and Kisame shrugged. The 3 men made it to the Mizukage tower and went inside; they started ascending the stairs in order to meet with Mei and Naruto to let them know they were now all present and accounted for.
They all approached the door and Raiga knocked "Lady Mei we are here" he said waiting for a response.
"Come on in" Mei responded through the door; Raiga, Kisame and Jiraya all entered the room and saw Mei and Naruto eating some lunch "good you found him" Mei said.
"Yeah, he was still in the same spot I left him" Kisame said and Jiraya looked at him with a tic mark.
"I'm not some sweater you left behind in a restaurant" Jiraya shouted "so how did it go; did the Kiri council welcome him with open arms" Jiraya asked and Mei nodded.
"Yep; Naruto is a welcomed guest here" Mei said looking at Naruto "now that Jiraya's here we can begin training, helping and boosting relations" she said and Naruto smiled.
"Damn right we will" Naruto said with enthusiasm "so where we be staying" Naruto asked and Mei smiled.
"Well, those three" Mei said pointing at Jiraya, Kisame and Raiga "will be staying in a 3 bedroom apartment in the south side of the village" she said and the 3 men nodded. "You however will be living with me at my house" Mei said and Naruto perked up.
"Woah cool I can't wait to see your place Mei" Naruto said.
A few minutes later
Naruto was standing outside a small cottage like house with a small front yard and a slightly larger back yard "this is where you live; I thought Kage had mansions and stuff" Naruto said looking over to Mei who rubbed the back of her head.
"I kinda blew it up fighting Yagura" Mei said embarrassed "this is my house until a new mansion is built" she said and Naruto began to wave his hands.
"No, no, I didn't mean it like that" Naruto said "I'm just surprised that's all; besides I think it's kind of adorable" Naruto said and Mei rolled her eyes.
"Adorable? How so" Mei asked and Naruto shrugged.
"I don't know; it kind of looks like one of those houses from like a postage card or something" Naruto said and Mei giggled "well let's go and check it out" Naruto said as Mei grabbed his hand and led him into her house.
Upon entering Naruto saw that the house was furnished modestly and looked very cozy "looks nice; a lot nicer than my apartment" Naruto said. Naruto then heard some pitter patter and saw a brown and white cat run up and leap into Mei's arms.
"Koro; hi baby" Mei said with a smile on her face "Naruto this is my kitty Koro isn't he cute" she said holding the cat and petting it.
Naruto looked at the cat and smiled "hey buddy how's it going" Naruto said petting the cat and making it purr with his ear scratched; Koro leaped out of Mei's arms and jumped into Naruto's arms. Naruto now holding the cat began to stroke his fur as the cat nuzzled him "I think he likes me" Naruto said with a smile.
"Ok you 2 now remember no jealousy" Mei said speaking to both Naruto and Koro "Naruto is my boyfriend and Koro is my kitty so play nice; I have enough love for the both of you" she said and Naruto chuckled.
"Sure, thing babe" Naruto said.
"*Meow*" Koro responded while licking his fur.
"Good now then I'm going to get us some drinks so we can relax" Mei said as she walked to the kitchen.
Naruto still holding Koro went to the living room and sat down on the couch while petting the cat "already feels like home" Naruto said.
The next day
The next day came around and Naruto along with Jiraya, Kisame and Raiga were all clearing away rubble from what used to be a large apartment complex. Naruto was wearing his pants, sandals, muscle shirt and gloves while doing the manual labor; as he picked up another large piece of concrete, he handed it to one of his few dozen clones and put it into a wheel barrow wo be thrown in the pile.
"Man, this is one hell of a work out" Naruto said "I feel by the end of the day my arms are going to be dead" he said and Kisame who was using a sledge hammer to smash the larger chunks chuckled.
"Well kid this is your training" Kisame said and Naruto looked at him "nothing like back breaking labor to help you get stronger; shit when I was a boy, I had to use 2 carpenter hammers to smash a 2-ton boulder" he said and Naruto looked at him in shock. "Took me 3 months and about 2 dozen hammers but I got it done" Kisame said as he began swinging his sledge hammer again.
"Think of it this way Naruto" Jiraya said as he threw another piece on the pile "if you keep this kind of conditioning going you will be able to lift that sword like it was made of Styrofoam" Jiraya said and Naruto nodded in understanding.
"Yeah, that would help out a lot actually" Naruto said continuing his work "even after all that training using the sword is tiring as hell even when I pump chakra into it" he said and Raiga laughed.
"I'm so glad I got the Kiba blades; I'd hate my fucking life if I had to lug around a big ass sword like you 2 do" Raiga said and Kisame flipped him off.
"Asshole" Kisame said before looking at Naruto "if you think your sword is heavy try lifting Samehada; it's at least twice as heavy as yours" he said making Naruto go wide eyed.
"Seriously" Naruto shouted and Kisame nodded.
"Yeah, seriously and that's not even the heaviest one; the heaviest sword we got it the 'Helmet Splitter'" Kisame said "I couldn't lift that damn thing if my life depended on it" he said.
"Shit; well, the more you know I guess" Naruto said as he continued his work.
A few hours later: Kiri training ground; with Naruto and Raiga
"Ok Naruto watch this" Raiga said to Naruto as he pointed his finger at a target; Raiga raised up his thump and began to form a small ball of water the size of a ping pong ball at the tip of his finger. "Water Style: Water gun" Raiga proceeded to shoot the ball of water to the target; the water bullet hit the target and went right through hitting the tree behind it.
"Woah that was so cool" Naruto said in awe "how can something so small be so powerful" Naruto asked and Raiga chuckled.
"When you fire a water bullet out of your mouth its bigger and slower so it hits more like a punch" Raiga explained "but the water gun technique uses velocity rather than size in a fight; which is why I'm going to teach you this" he said.
"Alright cool so what do I do" Naruto said and Raiga nodded.
"Ok first you'll want to take the position I just had" Raiga said as Naruto put his right hand out in front of himself and formed his hand like how Raiga did "good now you will focus you water chakra into your finger tip" he said and Naruto nodded.
Naruto began to focus his chakra into his finger tip; a little bit of water came out from one of his canteens and formed a ping-pong ball sized ball of water on the tip of his finger "Ok now what" Naruto asked.
"Now you will launch the ball at the target down there" Raiga said pointing to a human shaped target 30 yards away; Naruto aimed at the target and fired the ball of water.
The ball of water traveled about 2 feet and Naruto sweat dropped "uhhh…" Naruto said pointing at the small puddle and Raiga began to laugh.
"You really didn't think it would be that easy would you" Raiga said and Naruto grew a tick mark "this technique requires good chakra control, propulsion, hand-eye coordination, breathing control, and even knowing angles" he said and Naruto paled at this.
"What the hell I don't have any of those" Naruto said and Raiga chuckled.
"It's a A-class technique and was made famous by the second Mizukage" Raiga said "when I was with the Anbu, I had to learn it as it was one of the standard jutsu everyone had to learn" he said and Naruto nodded.
"Well, I guess I better get started then" Naruto said as he took his firing position once again.
Later on, with Jiraya
"Ok Naruto now it's time to step up your training" Jiraya said to Naruto who was standing ready "now then you remember the rasengan right" he said and Naruto nodded.
"Yeah, it's pretty useful but I haven't used it that often" Naruto said and Jiraya nodded.
"Yeah, but in order to expand your horizons I intend to teach you something else" Jiraya said making Naruto curious "I'm going to teach you how to fuse it with Nature chakra" he said and Naruto sent wide eyed. "As you mostly use water style justu we can infuse your rasengan in order to make it more powerful" he said and Naruto got excited.
"Alright cool so when do we start" Naruto asked and Jiraya chuckled and brought out a bucket of water.
"Right now, kid" Jiraya said placing it in front of Naruto "now then kneel in front of it and hold your right hand over the bucket" Jiraya said. Naruto knelt in front of the bucket and held his hand over it "now form a rasengan in your hand" Jiraya said and Naruto nodded.
"Ok" Naruto said as he began to form a rasengan and after a few seconds had one in his hand "ok now what" Naruto said and Jiraya nodded.
"Now imagine you are performing a waterwall jutsu but only on the rasengan" Jiraya said and Naruto nodded. Naruto focused and the water began to rise from the bucket and wrap around the rasengan; the water was around the rasengan but Naruto's hand began to shake.
"I-I- "Naruto said as the rasengan exploded soaking Naruto "crap… I couldn't hold it" Naruto said and Jiraya chuckled.
"No problem kid; we have 3 years to master this" Jiraya said and Naruto nodded "do it again" Jiraya said as he watched Naruto try again.
With Everyone: later on, that day
Mei, Jiraya, Ao and Raiga were all standing on the shore of a large lake as they looked on silently; Naruto and Kisame were standing on the large body of water in the middle of a special training ground "so what are we doing out here; some training" Naruto asked and Kisame nodded.
"Yeah, but first, we need to see if your worthy or not" Kisame said confusing Naruto "Kid you got heart and a can-do attitude; so, I'm here to see if you got what it takes to become a Shark Sage" Kisame said and Naruto got pumped.
"No way really" Naruto shouted in excitement "oh man that'll be so cool; so when do we start" Naruto asked and Kisame chuckled.
"It's not up to me brat" Kisame said as he began to go through hand signs "you have to take it up with the boss" he said as he slammed his hand onto the water. A massive puff of smoke obscured the area and when it cleared everyone except for Kisame was shocked.
A Giant shark 60 feet in length began circling both Kisame and Naruto; the shark had hundreds of scars and battle wounds and eyes so black that it made the night sky look like it was day "So Kisame this is the pup you were talking about" it said a Naruto shook in fear.
"Yep; Naruto meet Hito-gui" Kisame said "he's the head of the summoning sharks" he said and Naruto looked at the giant shark.
"N-nice to meet you" Naruto said nervously.
"Kisame has put in a good word for you boy and now I must see if your worthy of learning the ways of the Shark Sage" Hito-gui said sizing up Naruto "You must face 3 trials; one of strength, one of speed and one of senses" he said. "If you pass the trails and survive I and Kisame will teach you the ways of the Shark" he said; Naruto looked at the giant shark and swallowed hard.
Naruto clenched his fist as all of his nervousness left his body and he looked into the shark's black eye "bring it on; I'll pass no matter what" Naruto said with bravado that made the shark chuckle darkly.
"Very well boy; don't blame me if you die" The shark said "Let's begin the trials" he said.
Ok another chapter done I hope you all enjoyed it; if you did, please like comment and share with your friends. So, until next time bye.