AN: As usual, I'm late. Blame me for being a dick. Also, those reviews I haven't answered for the last couple months? I'll reply it once this chapter's up. Sorry about that. Also, again, sorry about my delays. Lost the mood to type for the past couple months. I'll get back on stuff, I promise.

Previous chapter summary: After getting shipwrecked, Naruto arrived at Whirlpool, and reached the site of his ancestor's village. He cleared the village and buried each body he found within individual graves and erected a monument to those who died within the war of old, and further affirms his conviction on achieving peace.

CHAPTER 24: A CHANGE IN PERSPECTIVE

Beated by: Serious Sam. As usual, good guy, even better writer. Thanks a lot for all the patience with me!

Uploaded: 12 October 2018

-CHAPTER START-

I woke up.

Or at least that's what I thought happened, but my eyelids felt like they were glued shut. My whole body felt like it had a massive weight on it from how stiff I felt. I am barely able to move a finger, and even breathing was a major effort. But I could feel warmth coming from my left, almost refreshing despite the cold and numbness permeating the rest of my body. So I remained motionless on the hard surface, feeling the heat slowly peeling off my lack of senses.

I don't know how much time passed, but I finally managed to open my eyes. The brightness of my surroundings blinded my eyes for a while, forcing me to shut them quickly as a small groan escaped my lips from the pain. After a while I slowly reopened my eyes – things were blurry but were becoming clearer by the minute. The first thing I noticed was a small torch close to where I was. It was the source of the light that pained my eyes, and heat that was warming me up.

Strange as it sounds, I was very grateful for both.

I took sight of everything around me. The torch was the main attraction, yet around it, I noticed brick walls with small wooden windows on each side of the sparsely appointed room. A house, one that was nearly empty, if I guessed right. I said nearly because I spotted a couple pieces of furniture at the edge of my sight. Still unable to move my head, I settled for staring at the wooden roof, made from reeds of sorts, I believe, with only the sounds of animals and insects in the air as my company.

"You're awake," came a voice from somewhere, distorted from the confusion my senses were in. I assumed the voice was of a man in his twenties, yet it had an emptiness I could not put my finger on. A creak echoed within the walls as a door on the wall directly in front of me opened, and at the edge of my sight in walked the largest person I'd ever seen, a veritable giant against my own small 5' 4" frame. Clad in what seemed to be pure black he approached, while his silent footsteps unnerved me due to how totally out of character it was for his immense body. Fear wracked my body from the thoughts of what such a man could do to me in my current state, but there was nothing I could do except stare silently, thoughts of my end swirling within my mind.

I saw him grab a wooden cup from the table before walking towards me. I took notice of his gravity defying spiky blonde hair as he crouched beside me. "Drink," he almost commanded, placing the cup against my lips. It was only then I noticed how thirsty I was. My lips felt like sandpaper against the cold, refreshing water that flowed down my parched throat, and I almost felt reborn again just from the chill as it spread through my body. All too soon, the water ran out, a lot of it just spilling from the sides of my trembling lips.

He placed the cup beside my bed and grabbed what looked to be an animal skin pouch tied to his waist. I could clearly hear the sloshing of water as he untied the opening and placed it on my mouth before letting me drink from it. It did not take long before I finished the entirety of the bag's contents. My dry skin was wet from some of the water splashing on me. "Take a rest," he said afterwards. "You're still weak. You were dying when I found you. I may have healed most of your injuries, but you still need to rest."

"Where… Where am I?" I spoke, my voice cracked and distorted from my body's condition, or at least that's how it felt like to me.

"You're in Whirlpool," came the giant's reply as he placed a hand on my back and helped me up into a sitting position. I let out a groan as my pained body protested against the sudden movement but I ignored it, leaning on the stone walls for support. The stone's chill sent a tingle down my spine, but I took it as a sign that I am still alive and well, and this was all not just some elaborate prank or pre-death hallucination.

"B-but I thought Whirlpool was uninhabited."

"Not anymore." His eyes scanned my body which I only then realised was still covered with what I was wearing before I left port. Just a regular pair of pants and shirt that somehow survived my ordeal, though there were a few holes in them now. Our eyes met – his sky blue and mine brown – and what I saw in them, or the lack of it – sent shivers down my spine totally unrelated to the cold stone I was leaning on.

My father taught me a lesson I used my entire life – if you want to see the true nature of a person, look straight into their eyes. He also taught me how to read body language and as a result, I ended up being someone I'd consider a good judge of a person. The knowledge rarely failed me and helped me multiple times throughout my life.

But as I looked into the man's eyes, I saw nothing but emptiness. Despite his seemingly gentle demeanour, within them was a darkness unlike anything I've ever seen before, and as the rebellion's main negotiator, I'd met some bad souls in my life. All of them paled in comparison to this man in front of me. Yet, as empty as those eyes were, I could see a light behind that emptiness – it was just well hidden. And at that instant, I could see that this giant meant me no harm. It might take me a while to trust him still, but at least for now, I could see that he had no evil intentions towards me.

"C-can I know your name?" my voice was still rough, and talking took a bit of effort, but I never stopped staring into the giant's eyes the whole time.

"Call me Uzu." He stood up and walked off, leaving me to ponder on this mysterious being. Last I heard, Whirlpool was uninhabited since some big war wiped out the entire clan living there. No survivors. Not to mention the thousands of invaders who died. People avoided the place like the plague, for various reasons. The most common one was the rumour that the island was haunted. Events like the war were usually associated with vengeful spirits for good reason. Also, it was common knowledge that Whirlpool housed the Uzumaki clan, who were very skilled in ninja arts. People were scared a trap might have been left behind that would obliterate them if accidentally triggered.

Rumours and truth somehow always seem to become warped with time.

Yet here I am on an island considered haunted, meeting someone telling me Whirlpool is no longer uninhabited. I was grateful, of course, but I had absolutely no idea what happened other than the fact that this man saved me. And like a ghost, he re-entered the small hut with the same cup in hand, but this time, a wisp of smoke was floating from the contents, and the thick smell reassured me that this time, he wasn't bringing me water.

He offered me the cup. "Can you move your hands?"

I nodded, lifting my trembling arms. Its warmth brought colour back to my shivering palms. As I brought it to my lips, I caught sight of a thick, green sludge that smelled bad and probably tasted worse. But I knew this wasn't poison – the man wouldn't have saved me just to kill me afterwards, so this had to be medicine to help me recover. So without further questioning, I took a drink. The foul tasting liquid flowed through my throat, nearly causing me to gag and throw up but I held on, finishing every single drop. The warmth spread through my body and almost immediately I felt stronger, a fact confirmed by my hands which weren't shaking nearly as much as before.

Uzu nodded and sat down cross-legged beside me, placing his sword – previously tied onto his waist – on his lap. "It will take you a while to recover. My estimate is two weeks. We will see how it goes within a couple days." He closed his eyes, not allowing me time to reply as his breathing slowed down and his body relaxed with what I presumed was a meditative stance. Taking the cue, I laid back down and closed my eyes, thoughts wandering every which way as I did… most of them involving this mysterious person right beside me.

Sleep came quickly that night.

-BREAK-

The light from the morning sun peered through the open window – though they were more holes than windows, since there was no glass – warming my face and waking me up. I felt a lot stronger than yesterday, probably thanks to that foul liquid I drank. Just the memory of it was enough to make me gag. It was not pleasant. I pulled myself up and using the walls for support, I dragged myself around the house on trembling legs, trying to get my bearings. I struggled and panted, but I eventually reached the wooden doorframe which I rested my shoulder on.

A small campfire was the first thing that met my eyes, one that probably doubled as a cooking area as well, if the two wooden spikes beside were any indicator. A seat made of split log pieces was beside it. The house itself was built on a pile of stone at the end of a cobbled road, probably from the ruins of the war long passed. Everywhere around the house, foliage grew unchecked, concealing and eating through the remnants of humanity that once lived on the island.

More importantly, Uzu wasn't there.

Just as my head turned around to look for him, he appeared out of thin air. Startled, I lost my balance and my shoulder slipped, sending me towards the ground. Uzu caught me before I made my condition worse, holding me up with one hand. "Are you alright? You shouldn't move. You haven't recovered yet." He slung my arm over his shoulders and led me to the makeshift bed of straw and animal skin that I presumably slept on yesterday.

"Have… have you found anyone else?" I asked hopefully. "I wasn't the only one on our boat. There should be others."

"No." His words were curt, emotionless and felt like a stake through my heart. Immediately the faces of my comrades flashed in front of my eyes as anger burned within me, my fists clenching with hate. I vowed the images wouldn't leave me until the day I died. "I only found you, washed up on the beach clinging to a piece of driftwood."

His words felt distant and hollow as I lay still, planning to get back to my home country and end the oppression after reuniting with the rebellion. There was so much I wanted to do, but at the moment there was nothing I could do.

"How long will I take to fully heal?"

"About 2 weeks."

I sighed in relief. "That's good." That would give me enough time to think of the best way to soften the blow when I returned as the bearer of bad news. I turned and met the dead blue eyes of Uzu with my own. "Thank you. For everything." His only reply was a small nod before he stood up, wanting to leave the hut again.

"Wait!" I yelled out, causing him to stop and turn to face me. "Can you… can I ask your help to find my friends? They might have drifted to the smaller islands in Whirlpool. It's possible that they are alive, just like me."

Uzu stared into my eyes. A small shiver of fear ran down my spine as I met them, conveying my honesty as best as I could. Our stare broke as he turned around with a small nod before walking away. The air around him seemed to warp and shiver before a multitude of his copies appeared around him out of nothing, not breaking stride as they walked toward the sea in unison. My eyes widened in surprise, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what just happened. I barely caught sight of them much before they disappeared in the blink of an eye. As I stared in amazement, my mouth moved by itself and asked, "What… what are you?"

"I am Astartes."

I just laid there, my mouth agape in confusion as he disappeared from my sight without a trace. The only sign he was ever there was the small gust of wind he left behind. Minutes passed as I stared at the ceiling of the hut, only then realising how much my entire body still ached from the short walk and conversation. 'I give up,' I thought. He was too big a mystery for me to handle. Rest and recovery is what I needed now, so I could make the near impossible one man trip back to Wave Country.

-BREAK-

A week passed, and I felt my strength return thanks to Uzu's skills and weird medicinal knowledge. Three times a day, he fed me that disgusting green liquid, made up of… well, I didn't want to even think of what went into it. But despite the taste, I couldn't argue that it helped me recover. Not only that but every day, he did this weird thing with his hands, where they glowed green and he placed them on my chest. They felt cold and warm at the same time; both gentle and soothing. When he did that, it was like all the soreness I felt from moving around that day (I always ignored his advice to sit still) just disappeared. Never asked what it was, I just figured some questions were better left unsaid.

Oh, and I confirmed there were no ghosts or anything haunting the island.

That was one stupid rumour debunked – now, the only other one was the still active traps left on the island, and to be honest, I had no interest in testing that one out.

As usual, Uzu was gone when I woke up, something I'm already used to. Today, however I felt a bit stronger, so I decided to use the day to exercise a tiny bit. A week of being idle was wearing on me, and to be honest I was starting to go stir crazy just lying there all the time. I exited the hut and made my way towards a ruined pier down by the water.

Once there, I began a simple calisthenics routine. My body groaned from the movements, but after a while, the ache died down and I pushed myself a bit further, enjoying the salty ocean air and strong breeze that cooled my sweaty body. It didn't take long before my partially recovered body began to ache from reaching its limits, a sure sign that I was – as Uzu told me – still injured.

I slumped on the sandy beach, trying to let my body cool down. As I lay there, still panting from my short exercises, my mind drifted towards my hometown. 'I need to get back,' I thought. 'I can probably leave this place within two weeks if Uzu was right. It's enough that Uzu healed, sheltered and fed me, so I can't really ask him to take me back to Wave. Our fight isn't his fight. But I still need to find a way to get to Wave myself though, and in my condition a small raft isn't going to suffice. I don't have the strength to swim or tread water for very long if it capsizes or sinks, and the weather in this part of the world is unpredictable at best.'

My thoughts were put on hold as I saw something on the ocean horizon. Squinting hard, I saw what seemed to be multiple black dots. I couldn't make out what they were though from this distance. My worry died out as the dots moved away, seemingly out of notice and I let out a huge breath, one I never knew I was holding and my body relaxed, although some parts began to ache and I just grinned, inwardly cursing myself for not following Uzu's advice to stay put.

I continued my exercises, toning them down a bit since by body was groaning in protest. As much as I wanted to, it was probably best not to push things too far.

But about fifteen minutes or so later, those dots registered on the horizon again, and this time warning sounds went off in my head. They got louder when I saw they were moving closer, and weren't just dots anymore but ships. Three large ones to be precise, with several more small ones surrounding them, heading straight towards me and at that moment, I knew things had taken a turn for the worse. Wave had no worthwhile Navy to speak of – her only seaworthy ship was the frigate Undeterred me and my friends captured and sailed on, which was sunk when those privateers attacked us.

That meant these were either pirates, or the ships who sunk the Undeterred in the first place. No matter how you looked at it, this was bad news.

A sudden burst of adrenalin rushed through my body and the pain vanished as I leapt and began sprinting as hard as I could towards the woods, hoping to escape within the overgrowth. I had half a mind to call out for Uzu, but I immediately squashed that thought. He wasn't part of this fight and despite the fact that he was bigger than any man I'd ever seen, he was no doubt outnumbered and after all the comfort and help he'd given me, there was no way I was going to lead him to what would assuredly be his death. These men were trained killers. So I ran, pushing my injured body to its limits.

But a sharp twinge of pain caused me to cry out and stopped my escape before it even began. I crumpled to the ground but continued to pull myself forward as best as I could, my muscles screaming in agony the entire time. It didn't take very long for the attackers to make it to the shallow water – I had only managed to crawl twenty or thirty feet and would be easily found by the trail I had left, so I gritted my teeth and rolled over to face them as I realized there was no use running away anymore. If I was going to die, then I would die like a man and not a coward.

Faces of my fellow comrades appeared in my vision one by one, mocking me and my uselessness. Tears fell from my face, disappointed at both myself and our rebellion, that in the end we weren't able to do anything against Gato and the stranglehold he had on us.

I watched as the ships' anchored themselves and three dinghies were lowered into the water. They rowed slowly towards my position, like they were drawing out the inevitable conclusion of my death. The people quickly disembarked and hit the sands, running straight towards me and before I knew it, I was face to face with their leader, a bear of a man who no doubt had the strength to match.

"Still trying to escape I see," came his gravelly voice, his cutlass glinting in the sun. A bloodthirsty grin with discoloured teeth split his face. "Where ya think yer gonna run to?"

I gathered all my strength and pushed myself up to face the captain of the fleet that attacked me and my friends who left Wave to find help. "Fuck you!" I spat on his worn shirt. It wouldn't do anything other than piss him off, I knew that. But at the moment I wasn't thinking straight. I just wanted him dead but I knew that was just wishful thinking at this point. I wanted to do something, anything that would hurt him and make him remember me but yelling and spitting was all I had the strength for.

It was a pitiful effort, and I knew it. He knew it. And the men standing behind him knew it.

"Feisty, ain't 'e?" His eyes didn't leave mine as his comrades laughed. "Ya know, yer friends are all dead." He placed the point of the cutlass underneath my chin, forcing me to raise my head and look at his hideously scarred face. "I killed 'em, just like I'm gonna do to you. Most of them drowned when that storm wrecked your ship, but a few washed up on the other islands. I hunted them down, one by one, torturing them until they died. Then I left their bodies where the wild animals would tear them apart." He pulled the blade from under my chin with deliberate slowness, like he was enjoying the feel.

"I bet they put up a good fight." I tried to sound defiant, but fear and pain muted its effect. It actually sounded hollow and small.

"Not really." This got another hearty laugh from his crew. "They were all worthless. Just like you." The point of his blade poked me in the throat, drawing a thin trickle of blood. "Weak, starving, tired, injured… it wasn't even fun." His face came closer, making sure he got my full attention. "But just so ya know, I guessed you wuz here. On this island. Yer just lucky I found everyone else first. And they're dead because of you and that stupid little rebellion."

"But I gotta tell ya, yer the most boring kill of the bunch so far. So let's make this more interesting…" Immediately my rage turned to a sinking feeling and formed a pit in my stomach. "I'll let ya get up, and ya'll run. Give us a good chase, and maybe we'll make yer death quick. How's that sound?"

"Fuck you, you crazy bastard! I'm not going to be your entertainment!" His face shifted from amusement to white hot rage in an instant. He was pissed off that I wasn't going to play his game. "If you're going to kill me, just do it now!" I screamed, ignoring the burning pain in my chest, my eyesight blurry from overexertion and dehydration.

Adrenaline pumping through my veins, I got my legs underneath me and launched myself forwards, planning to smash my fist into his balls. I wanted the pain I gave him to linger way after he was done killing me.

…or at least, that was the plan.

My body was still recovering, so I was too slow. Before I managed to move forward even a tenth of the distance, the heel of his boot smashed into my cheek, sending me sprawling back onto the sand. Pain exploded in my head as blood, spittle and teeth flew from my mouth.

"Too bad," is what I heard, though I wasn't sure since my senses were swimming with pain. "I was gonna be generous and kill ya quick, but you had to go and get all mouthy on me. So now? Now I'm just gonna cut pieces off yer body and make ya watch. So, what goes first? Fingers? Toes?" His hand darted out, faster than I could follow and latched itself onto my jaw, squeezing hard. "Or how 'bout I just rip that mouthy tongue of yers out of yer fucking head?"

My eyes were no longer open at this point. I could only listen to the man's cruel gloating, my mind replaying the sight of our ship burning before being torn apart. The faces of my friends flashed before me, tormenting me with my own failure, the memory of one of them tossing me overboard into one of the lifeboats before arrows rained down and they were boarded.

"You carry our hope. Escape and find help, for us and for Wave."

It was the last words I'd ever hear from any of them. Somehow though, I escaped. The mercenaries missed their chance to wreck my boat. However, as bad luck would have it, the violent tides around Whirlpool finished the job for them.

I'd be dead by now if it wasn't for Uzu saving me.

'I wish I was stronger!' my heart cried at the memories. 'I wish I could kill this bastard!' I felt warmth flow down my face from tears I didn't know I shed. 'I wish someone would save me. Someone, anyone please save me! Help me stop this man and his crew! Help me get back to Wave and free everyone who's suffering from Gato's tyranny!' And in a moment of weakness and desperation, despite my earlier decision not to do so, I called out to the only other person that might be able to make a difference…

"HELP ME!" In a last ditch attempt to save my life, I screamed as loud as my parched throat allowed me to, surprising the mercenary pirates as my voice echoed through the trees and onto the empty beach. I repeated the mantra over and over again, waves of my pain laced into my helpless cry. My screams slowly turned into unintelligible sobs as the adrenaline left my body, tears once again flowing down my face, droplets falling on the sand beneath "Help me…"

"Ya know what? I'm tired of yer shit," so the captain growled. My cry for help didn't make any difference – not that I expected it to. The only thing I could hear was the sound of his sword cutting the air as he lazily swung it around. "Spare us yer pity party and fucking die already."

I squeezed my eyes shut tighter as I heard sound of his cutlass heading towards my neck. All I could think about is that I would die a coward, not fighting with my own sword against Gato and his men until my last breath.

Like a hero.

Like a man.

"Mizuchi."

A small voice, no more than a whisper on the ocean breeze was all I heard before a powerful gust of wind swept over us. It wasn't cold or salty, like it came from the beach but calmer, and more peaceful.

A second later liquid splashed on my face, assaulting my nostrils and lingering on my lips. It was thick with a salty, familiar coppery taste.

Blood. And by the smell, lots of it.

But what surprised me was that despite the amount I was smelling, none of it was mine. Other than the pain from overexerting my weakened body and the kick to my face, there wasn't anything else wrong with me. I hadn't been cut. I hadn't been stabbed. I wasn't dead.

And even more strange, it was eerily silent. Not even the cry of a seagull could be heard. And the captain and his men weren't laughing anymore.

Slowly I cracked my eyelids open. The first thing that caught my eye was the amount of blood around me. The landscape was practically painted red. Groans of pain came from all around me, but I didn't bother looking. Or more specifically, I couldn't look away from what was right in front of me.

It was something I wouldn't forget. Ever.

A massive trench was carved through the now bloodstained sands, but that was not what surprised me the most. Several mercenaries were lying to either side, their groans of pain mixing with the ones coming from the surroundings. Those he could identify – the ones that still looked like bodies - were the ones quick enough to try dodging whatever attack had just been unleased on them.

But none of them were quick enough. Each was missing at least two limbs – one man, who looked to be the second biggest person after the captain – was sawed in half just above the waist. The beach was decorated with various hunks and strips of flesh from whatever wind that blew past us. There was still a few intact heads and from the vacant look in their eyes, they didn't have time to register the pain, let alone the idea that someone could attack them in such a brutal fashion. Blood dripped from the maddening pile of viscera like thick red rain, the stench nearly choking me.

And yet, among all that carnage and blood there was one lone, untouched patch of ground. And it was where the captain was standing. How that was even possible I do not know – but from the look on his face I couldn't tell if he was more surprised by the attack that created the trench and wiped out his men – or the long, dark blade stabbing him straight through his heart from the back, its sharp edge glinting within the sunlight. Not a single drop of blood marred the blade – and behind him stood Uzu, his face an impassive mask despite the carnage around him.

"W-what… what was that? What are you?" My eyes looked into his sky blue ones as he pulled his sword free, letting the limp body fall on the bloody sands. As terrible as the wound was, I could tell the captain wasn't dead yet.

"I am Uzu." It was the same reply he gave me from when we first met. Ignoring everything around him – even me – he grabbed the captain's hair and yanked upwards. With a single swing of his dark blade he decapitated the man, blood fountaining from the bloody stump that used to be his neck. I turned away as best I could but out of the corner of my eye I saw Uzu walk into the woods, carrying the gruesome trophy with him.

Between the bits of human flesh scattered all over me, the blood dripping around me and the scent of carnage and death assaulting my nostrils, the bile in my throat became too much to hold down. I bent over and emptied the contents of my stomach on the ground next to me.

In less than a minute Uzu came out from the woods, sword in hand. I barely heard his voice as he murmured, "I guess most people I met haven't seen bloodshed like that before." Still doubled over from puking my guts out, I wiped my mouth on the back of my sleeve and asked in a trembling voice, "W-where are you going?"

"To those ships." He pointed with his sword at the trio of warships still anchored in the water. I couldn't see what was happening on the decks of the ships, but it was definitely chaos. I knew that wouldn't last long though, and once order was restored, I figured only one of two things was going to happen – either they would gather the remaining men and launch an even bigger attack, hoping they could simply overpower us with sheer numbers, or turn tail and run back where they came from.

Given their history and how they murdered my friends, I wasn't hopeful for the second option.

"Why?" I found the time to ask between large gulps of air.

"We need a ship."

I stared at him in confusion for a moment before he answered my unspoken question.

"We need one to take you back to Wave."

"…What?"

"I would like you to stay in Whirlpool here with me until you recover completely," Uzu explained, "But I believe you have a rebellion to fight for."

"…Umm, yes. That's right." After what just happened, the thought of how I would get back to Wave didn't even cross my mind. I didn't know how I could face the members of the rebellion after we had lost everything but I needed to return, at least to pass along the news that I never found help and that we should look for it elsewhere – and prepare for the worst.

But then one fact struck me. "Even if you could get a ship, how are we going to sail it? Do you know how? I heard that the people of Whirlpool are all great sailors."

Uzu shook his head. "I do not."

"Then what use is hijacking a ship?! If neither of us know how, and with the tides in Whirlpool as dangerous as they are, we'd just be sailing to our deaths!" I was irritated, frustrated and took out my anger on Uzu, something I deeply regretted to this day. Yet Uzu's face didn't twitch or even change expression. Then I realized this was the same person who just slaughtered an entire platoon of men without breaking a sweat and I immediately bit my tongue, internally cursing myself at my poor choice of words.

"I believe I will learn. Wait here." He slowly walked down the beach, not stopping as he headed straight for the water. I was about to call out to him and ask what the hell he was doing – it didn't matter if he stood on the beach and waited for the men to arrive, or started swimming towards the ships to attack – either way he'd be an easy target – but he surprised me and took a step on the water, walking on the surface like it was solid ground.

Then he blurred from my sight and reappeared twenty metres away – still standing on the water.

I just stared as he rapidly made the same movements, disappearing and reappearing in a straight line towards the ships. It took all of ten seconds before he made it to the closest one and started running up the hull.

At this point, I mentally gave up and decided that no matter how impossible I thought it might be, I wouldn't be surprised at anything Uzu did from now on.

From afar, I watched as he leapt over the rail and onto the deck. Bodies flew left and right through the air – sometimes whole, sometimes in pieces – and fell into the water below where they bobbed and floated like dead fish, turning the sea an angry red with their blood. It didn't take long before I saw Uzu leap to the next ship and the process repeated itself, with more bodies raining down into the sea.

At that moment, I knew the fleet was experiencing what the landing party had just minutes before: a total, brutal annihilation. No quarter or mercy would be given – and there would be no survivors.

After the third warship was 'cleared', a loud crack echoed across the beach. I had been absentmindedly staring off at some random point in the distance, trying to sort my thoughts and avoid the carnage but my eyes snapped back towards the ships and my mouth gaped open at the sight. Two of the three massive warships had been sliced down the middle and were breaking in half, the lumber groaning and crackling echoing through my ears despite the distance. Like matchwood they tore themselves apart and began to sink. Then like a mirage, somehow a copy of Uzu shimmered in being in front of each one of the broken ships.

A flash blinded my eyes. I covered them and looked away, but once things cleared I saw that every ship save one was on fire, the red hot flames making short work of the broken hulls. In mere moments, the wreckage and whatever survived were eaten whole by the inferno, and the remains sank into the sea.

All told, it took barely fifteen minutes to clear and sink the entire fleet, leaving the smallest ship still afloat.

Like an angel of death he walked on the surface of the water back towards the beach, black sword in hand, fires of the burning ships creating an ominous glow behind him as smoke billowed up and rose to the sky, blotting out the afternoon sun. He blurred from my sight again and reappeared a few feet in front of me, sheathing his sword. I stared into his eyes, terror gripping my heart at the sight of this monster in human form.

But as I stared at him another voice inside me – one of hope and happiness – screamed, 'This is your chance! Say it! Just ask him! He's more powerful than an army! He could singlehandedly save everyone in Wave!' I blinked, slowly breathing in, gathering whatever courage I had left to ask for his help.

"Uzu…"

And he exploded into a puff of smoke.

Words stuck in my throat when he disappeared. I cursed myself for being afraid of a man who had saved me and nursed me back to health, but then I heard footsteps from behind me and turned around. Uzu stood there, back from the woods where he had apparently taken the captain's head and disposed of it. Blood was all over his face, giving him a ghastly, cannibalistic look. He wiped the blood from his lips with the back of his hand and at that point I realized this wasn't some copy or clone – this was the real thing.

I quickly shook my head. Not the time to think about whatever he was doing with the gruesome trophy he took. I swallowed the lump in my throat and welled up my courage, deciding for better or worse I would speak up and hope he agreed to my request.

"Uzu-san, I –"

"I will." His words abruptly cut me off. Surprise and shock rolled over me once again as I failed to form the words I wanted to. I stuttered a bit before I gave up and just sighed, calming myself enough to ask another question.

"Umm… you'll do what?"

"You wanted to ask for my help to liberate your country – Wave – from the tyrant that is currently in control," he answered simply, as if he was reading my mind.

Once again I was at a loss for words. How did he know what I was about to ask of him? What it just a calculated guess or could he actually read my mind? What was this man? Or for that matter, was he even really a man at all? This, and many other questions ran through my mind at breakneck speed.

"How… how did you know?" I asked simply.

"I learned it from that man," he replied, jerking his head towards the forest in the direction he just came from.

I assumed – correctly, as I found out later – that he somehow managed to get the information he needed from the captain's head. The one he took into the woods, and then came out with blood on his face and lips.

I decided right then and there that I didn't want to know what method he used. Some things were best left unasked.

"Are… are you sure? Our country is poor, so we can't pay you. It doesn't look like you need weapons or armour. Maybe…" I looked away sheepishly, trying to think of something, anything of value that I could offer him in trade. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind.

"There is no need," Uzu said firmly. "I have no need for fame, or power, or spoils."

"You don't?" I was even more confused than before. "But… but I'm asking you to put your life on the line to help us – help my people. Literally for free, if you mean what you said."

"I know."

"Then why?" My mind was screaming at me to shut up, to just accept his offer to help and stop asking questions, but at the moment my natural curiosity was stronger. "Why would you? You saved me, twice in fact. You killed those men that attacked our ship, avenged the death of my friends and even saved a ship to take me back to my homeland. I don't understand. I haven't done anything for you, and you just said you don't want anything in return. Why would you go out of your way to help us this much?"

"Because of my oath."

"Your oath?"

"I swore to help people live in peace, free from crime, oppression and tyranny, and I will do everything in my power to achieve this. And from Girika's memories, I have learned that Gato's stranglehold over your country began not long after I left the Nations to live here in Whirlpool and learn the true meaning of peace."

"You left the Nations?"

Uzu nodded. "I did."

"Why?"

"I was told that the method I was using to achieve my goals wasn't the right method."

"Method?" Against my better judgement I asked, "What method?"

"To annihilate every single criminal scum that crossed my path with extreme prejudice." Uzu replied, his usual emotionless tone broken by the slight darkness fleeting within his eyes. "How serious the crime was mattered little. There was only guilt, and I doled out their punishment."

I never told him, but at that time, I could truly picture in my mind the sight of this giant of a man as he brutally murdered the criminals he found, before mercilessly dismantling their operations and killing their personnel. But as I thought about it a bit more, I recalled a story I heard from some of the other rebels in Wave. Stories about a man who hunted down criminals, finding them guilty and making them atone for their sins… with their lives.

Death was swift and brutal. The condition of the bodies would turn a man green.

And even more unbelievably, the stories were circulated not by the people he had saved, but by those he had hunted. The organizations that still existed – and lived in fear that they would be next ones on his list – had given this mysterious mountain of a man a name.

"Wait, are… are you the one called the Invisible Death?"

"Probably."

I was both dumbfounded and awestruck at the same time. This man was the reason so many criminal empires had turned to rubble and ash. For a brief, fleeting moment I wanted to say he couldn't be the real Invisible Death, since there were probably at least a dozen others who bragged about owning the title, but after observing his strength and skills first hand, I couldn't argue against him.

Was I actually about to get help from his man – no, this legend – against the tyranny my country found itself in?

A smile appeared on my face. There was no bigger help I could get.

My friends hadn't died for nothing.

Tears pooled in my eyes as I looked at him, no longer with fear, but with gratefulness and hope. He returned my look for only a few seconds before staring back at the sea, out towards the ship he captured from the mercenary pirates.

"I will take you back to your home," he declared, as if it was as natural and easy as breathing, "And return your peace."

"But do you know how to sail a warship?"

He nodded. "I do now."

I remained silent, no way of knowing how true his words were, but deciding the only thing I could do at this point was to put my trust in him and his skills. And as I stared at the horizon, where the ocean met the sky, a swell of confidence bloomed within my chest.

For once, I knew that we could win. For once, I knew we had true strength on our side.

And for the first time in I couldn't remember how long, I knew the rebellion had hope.

And that, my readers, was how I met the man would later come to be known not as the Invisible Death, but as the Great Saviour.

Chapter 1: How I Met the Great Saviour, Tales of the Saviour, by Nakai of Wave.

-CHAPTER END-

So how was it? I tried doing this chapter a bit differently, but we'll go back to Naruto's perspective, with the new chapter, whenever that may be. Though if I'm honest, I don't think this chapter worked out too well, but I want to hear what you all think about it. Read and review!