Naruto stood atop the Fourth Hokage's monument with a hollowed look in his eyes as he gazed upward at the full moon; the twilight illuminating the entirety of the village in a manner that gave the village almost a sense of majesty.

When Naruto was younger he thought if he could achieve the level of power and skill he possessed here and now he'd have a sense of satisfaction, yet for some reason that elation eluded him.

A Jinchurriki's Tale Ch. 39: New Beginnings

As Naruto returned home to his surprise Ino was in his bed sleeping, waiting for him no doubt...

Naruto couldn't help but crack a smile as he climbed into bed with her and wrapped his arm tenderly around her waist.

Ino's eyes opened slowly and she sleepily smiled up at him.

"Hey Naruto, you were out late again and I got worried..."

Ino said as she reached her hand up and cupped his whiskered cheek with a grin.

"I'm fine Ino I was just in the spot again thinking..."

Naruto said with the same hollowed look as earlier. In response to this Ino's facial expression reflected one of concern.

"Naruto something's bothering you... I can tell, you know you can talk to me about anything right?"

Ino said as she looked Naruto in the eye, Naruto putting up a weak smile and nodding his head.

"The thing is lately I've been dissatisfied... It's like nothing's really a challenge anymore... In the shinobi world I'm considered Legendary yet there are still those out there stronger than me... Like Zero..."

Naruto said, clenching his fists as the memory of his last defeat flashed before his eyes. Naruto was awoken from his daze as Ino gripped his arm.

"Whatever you decide to do I will always support you Naruto, just promise you'll keep me by your side..."

Ino said, Naruto smiling in appreciation at the beautiful blonde angel in his bed.

"I promise Ino, I will always keep you at my side..."

The Next Day...

Tsunade gave a heavy sigh; drinking a cup of some high quality sake she had bought the day before for just such an occasion! The sweet liquor had a hint of cherries and vanilla surprising enough; but only someone with a refined pallet for sake such as Tsunade would even taste it at all, her private party came to a halt however as a swift knock rapped on the outside of her office door.

"Come in!"

Tsunade called out; sealing the Sake and the cups in their appropiate seal. The door creaked open and both Naruto and Ino walked into the office and bowed politely.

"Sorry to bother you Lady Hokage but Naruto and I have a request of you."

Ino said, Naruto nodding toward Ino and smiling before turning to face Tsunade once more.

"Lady Hokage Naruto and I want to take a trip to explore the other continents and possibly spread Ninjutsu to those that need it, we don't know what we expect to find but our findings will benefit the Land of Fire as well as the other nations. Will you permit us to consider these terms a mission and fulfill them on behalf of the village?"

Ino said, keeping eye contact with Tsunade as she spoke.

Tsunade after a minute of having a very serious expression on her face cracked her face into a smile.

"My, you both have put a lot of thought into this haven't you? Very well but in doing this you must follow a few additional orders..."

Tsunade said, her mind trailing off as she stood up and strolled over to what appeared to be a closet.

"Damn it where are those things..."

Tsunade muttered trying to find a particular set of items within a disorganized mess.

"Here we go."

Tsunade said triumphantly as she placed a large, rectangular chest on her desk and opened it for Naruto and Ino to see. The box was filled with stones that emmited a warm blue light; Naruto looking at them in wonder and Ino looking up at Hokage in question.

"These are known as Shinobi Seals, place one in an important area and you can warp from one to the next. There are seals connected to these stones placed all over Konoha but only those bearing Konoha's Seal will be allowed passage, when you arrive at one of these strange and dangerous new places you can activate a seal there and warp back and forth with ease. I trust you'll use them appropiately."

Tsunade said with a big smile on her face.

"I'm so proud of you both, if you both ever need anything feel free to ask."

Naruto and Ino both bowed to Tsunade out of respect.

"Thank you Lady Hokage."

Both Naruto and Ino said together.

Two Days Later...

Naruto and Ino had traveled to the land of waves to buy a ship and after spending about half a day buying food and supplies they were off. The ship they had bought was a medium size vessel with enough room to have four people sleep comfortably each and every night. Currently they were sailing east in hope of finding new lands, people, and cultures. Indeed the possibilities were endless!

A few more days had passed and as always they were surrounded by ocean without a single small island in sight let alone a new mainland. Naruto and Ino weren't discouraged though, in fact they were enjoying their trip so far and were equally thrilled about what exciting new things await them; then suddenly without warning two ships approached from the rear. Both the ships as they came closer appeared to have Pirate flags raised.

"Naruto we have company!"

Ino said, equipping her weapons and armor while unraveling her scroll of sealing and turning to face the rear of the ship.

"Hold up Ino I want to try out this new technique I've been working on..."

Naruto said with a grin, placing his hand on Ino's shoulder and stepping in front of her. Naruto closed his eyes and placed his hands together, without any effort or technique Light Naruto and Bloodlust Naruto stepped from his form and rotated their palms toward each other in front of Naruto.

A highly condensed Rasengan began to form in the empty space between the three different forms of Naruto. After a minute the Original Naruto pointed out both his pointer fingers foward and laced his other fingers together, effectively forming the shape of a pistol. The swirling, raw energy condensed even further into a small intensely glowing marble of energy before exploding forward in an enormous beam of energy.

After the light from the explosion faded one of the three ships was a crumbling pile of ashes; any survivors already in the ocean and swimming toward their allies in the other ship. In a quick burst of speed Naruto appeared on the nearest pirate ship only to be surrounded by at least twenty men who all had their swords drawn and pointed at him.

"Boys hold your swords, I want to have a word with this one..."

A large man said as he stepped forward, the man was clad in a suit of black armor and had intense mist colored eyes which almost demanded authority, with a white beard and mustache he definitely looked like a warrior with experience.

"Boy what kind of power did you use on my ship? I was just going to rob your ship but you have me intrigued..."

The armored man said as he got a good look at Naruto, circling him as his men put away their swords and retreated to a safe distance.

"I have trained almost my entire life to achieve the level of power I have, it isn't simply something I could teach someone else. Now me and my partner on my ship over there have no intention of killing you but we will not hesitate to defend ourselves. With that being said could you guys give us some directions? Were heading east and looking for the mainland."

Naruto replied, grinning like a small child who had the upper hand in a game.

The armored man studied Naruto with a serious expression on his face, after a minute he broke into a smile.

"If you're headed east that's your business but be careful, you may be strong but there's a cival war breaking out that way so keep your eye out for any trouble. If you head northeast two or three more days you should hit the nearest port, now get the hell off of my ship."

The armored man said in a neautral tone. Naruto smiled and bowed his head before vanishing in a burst of speed back to his own vessel. Ino was ready to go into combat at anytime, but lowered her guard upon Naruto's return.

"They're going away and they gave me directions, they're nice guys."

Naruto said as he sat down on the wooden floor of the deck. Ino couldn't help but laugh at how quickly Naruto changed a simple robbery into a different situation entirely.

"Naruto you're a strange guy, you know that?"

Ino said, continuing to laugh as the sun rose further into the sky.