"Speaking"

'Thinking'

"Demon/Summon Speaking"

'Demon/Summon Thinking'

"Jutsu/Attack name"

With the large city standing before them, Lisanna and Nojiko stand on the deck of the ship wondering just where Naruto disappeared to.

"Um...TenTen-chan? Just where did Naruto-kun disappear to? And...how did he do it?" The blue haired girl asks.

With her hand placed against her forehead TenTen looks off into the distance. 'That idiot. I mean ya this is a serious situation but does he really have to race off in THAT mode?' She thinks to herself not hearing Nojikos question.

With the situation of Bee admitting to the town which could then lead to the entire world learning about Naruto and Bee being Jinchuriki is certainly a bad situation but still...TenTens body then stiffens as she notices a difference in the air or more like the aura left over from Narutos quick departure. 'Wait this... it can't be! This isn't the usual aura Naruto-kun exudes when he's in that state...no this is certainly different. It's far too weak to be that mode so just what is going on? And just what has he been keeping from us all this time?' The brown haired weapons user looks off in the direction of the town wondering just whats wrong with Naruto as she crosses her arms across her chest before she pouts a little.

It doesn't take her long to snap out of it, but at the same time she doesn't want to worry either of the two younger girls so she decides to bite the proverbial bullet and suggest they do something that certainly wasn't her favourite thing to do. "Oh that doesn't matter, so how about we all go shopping for something to wear tonight when the marine captain treats us?" She asks the pair and to which Nojiko happily agrees, however Lisanna looks at TenTen with a blank expression on her face for a moment before she reluctantly agrees.

The trio then begin their return to the town, or more specifically the shopping district.

XxX

'Damn damn damn damn DAMN! Just what the hell is Bee thinking? I mean ya he told Nami-san and the others about us being Jinchuriki but since it's them I don't really mind, but rapping that to an entire town! That I can't allow. Now just where the hell is that damn platform...' Naruto wonders as he races over the rooftops with only a very faint yellow aura surrounding him. His eyes whipping from side to side as he tries to find this elusive platform that the worlds most infamous man had been executed on.

"Naruto. I would advise that you cease using that mode. At least until we're away from any of these cities since your currently radiating our power and are essentially a living beacon. Yes you may be using a much weaker version but still. Besides you already said that you don't want the rest of the world to know about you and Bee being Jinchuriki, and this action is quite counter-productive. So just calm down already!"

With a weary sigh Naruto nods his head and lets the faint chakra shroud fade. 'I know Kurama and I'm sorry. I've just had a lot on my mind lately. Isobu being captured, seeing Orochimaru again and him scaring the hell out of Lisanna-chan and now the issue with Bee...But your right I really have to calm down.' Naruto takes a calming breath as he notices a crowd travelling further into town and a sense of foreboding fills his being as he comes to realize that Bees 'concert' had either already started or was just starting. And he certainly hoped it was the latter.

"We can resume this conversation later on after this current situation has been dealt with! Besides you humans are too damn curious, I wouldn't be surprised if one of your companions besides Bee have already noticed somethings off with you. Although I am surprised that idiot hasn't said anything about it yet." Kurama informs his host with a irritated tone before he goes silent to ensure Naruto can focus.

As Naruto follows the crowd he soon arrives at the large village square that was packed to the brim with civilians and marines. As his blue eyes scan the crowd he quickly notices a tall platform at the far end of the square. With a deadpan look he focuses on the platform with had both Bee and a straw hat wearing pirate with their arms locked as they were both singing and dancing on top of it.

'You have got to be freaking kidding me...just what the hell is Luffy-san doing there with Bee?' Naruto wonders for a moment before he slaps himself on the side of his face hard. 'Ugh it doesn't matter why he's there. What matters is stopping them.'

"Attention ladies and gents, rodents and rents. Its time to unveil my next greatest hit! With my new and neat compatriot of my amazing rap-beat. It be called the Generational Ninja Heat!" The tall and buffed dark skinned shinobi yelled out to the crowd gathered below as he made various hand and body gestures. The crowd had mixed feeling and reactions to Bee and his crazy antics. Many of them thought Bee was an absolute moron for his style of rap-talk as well as his current actions, while others were somewhat curious as to what made him tic so they thought that some of their questions could be answered by listening to his so called song.

"Yo say Ho!"

But much to the dismay of the few and relief of the many, Bee never had time say anymore than that before a loud shout interrupts his newest attempt at releasing his song to the people.

"THAT'S ENOUGH BEE!" Naruto yells out at the top of his lungs which draws the attention of everyone in the immediate vicinity and they all look up at him standing on the roof of a nearby building. "Bee as you should damn well know there are some things better left unsaid. And if that rap is about what I think it is then you had better damn well remain silent!"

Without wasting any more time Naruto unsheathes one of his tri-pronged kunai and immediately hurls it at the platform. The crowd watches the kunai sail through the air before it imbeds itself in the platform directly in front of Bee. The people look on with confused looks since as far as they know the blonde who had just interrupted the show just so happened to be the captain of the ship the rapping shinobi was on.

Much to the surprise of everyone in the square at the moment, a sudden flash of yellow light appears at the kunais location. Those who were standing nearby had to cover their eyes at the sudden blinding light that impaired their immediate vision but that soon fades and to their surprise and great confusion they now saw Naruto standing directly in front of and glaring at the dark skinned shinobi who was at least a foot taller than his blonde captain.

"Why'd you stop my concert Yo? This be totally outta wack. Ya be dissing the Bee in front of all them peeps as well as the lady with the giant rack! Hells ya she sure be stacked!" Bee states as he points out into the crowd at a random woman who just so happened to overhear his comment and then chose to cover her ample assets as she turned a deep crimson.

With his back to the crowd, nobody except Bee could see the serious look in Narutos eyes as he made eye contact with his fellow Jinchuriki. Naruto knew he had to give Bee a good explanation for effectively ruining his concert that he had to have spent the couple of hours at least while setting up so he decided to give the clearest and most direct reasoning that would certainly shut the kumo shinobi up...for the time being at the very least. "Isobu's been captured." Naruto flatly states which caused Bees jaw to drop.

"Are ya serious Naruto? So our three tailed bro be captured? Then to his rescue we must go, just you and me gotta sail and row!" Bee calls out as he raises his fist in the air.

A deadpan look covers Narutos face before he places a hand on Bees shoulder just for the pair of them to vanish from sight in another yellow flash leaving a confused Luffy still standing on stage wondering why the two shinobi looked so serious only to watch as the pair disappear in a blinding flash of yellow light. The pirate youth proceeds to stand there utterly confused yet somewhat ecstatic about seeing Narutos teleportation technique again. With that currently on his mind Luffy sits down in a crosslegged position for a few minutes as he attempts to mentally process the current situation until a certain bare chested marine called out to him.

"You there! Are you the pirate Straw Hat Luffy?"

Luffy curiously looks over the edge of the platform to see the marine Captain Smoker glaring up at him with a thick trail of smoke trailing behind him from his two cigars. The man was holding up a wanted poster in his right hand that had a picture of Luffy on it, as well as a 23 million belli bounty posted.

"Shishishi Yep I sure am!" Luffy says with a big grin on his face as he remains in a crouched over position while he looks down at the marine captain completely oblivious as to why he was there.

XxX

Back on the ship a flash of light brilliantly lights the room within the ship that was currently used as Narutos quarters. Upon the light fading the forms of Naruto and Bee were standing upon his bed for just a moment before the hachibi Jinchuriki quickly leaps off the bed and taking the chair by the desk leaving Naruto to sit on the bed so he was facing Bee.

Without saying a word Bee simply raises a fist in Narutos direction and holds it there. Taking the hint Naruto raises his own and fist-bumps Bees before closing his eyes.

Once Naruto opens his eyes, he then finds himself in a bleak and expansive wasteland, with nobody else around except for the giant form of the Hatchibi with none other than Bee sitting on his head. As he looks down he finds himself sitting between Kuramas tall ears.

"Naruto. Can you please explain what you meant by Isobu being captured? Also how did you find out about this?" Hatchibi politely asks as he settles himself into a more comfortable position for what he knew would be a long and in his opinion, a very important discussion.

Upon sitting himself down and leaning back against one of Kuramas ears Naruto then starts to tell the pair about everything that happened that day from the moment he left the others and not withholding any information. So they would be well aware of Orochimarus involvement with the Marines as well as everything involving Isobu.

"So ya be telling us that not only did ya see dat cursed snake. But ya also made time ta gave that little cat o yours a good ol shake." As those words left Bees mouth; Kurama and Gyuki give Bee a blank look as they shake their heads in annoyance. While Naruto on the other hand slaps his hand to his forehead upon hearing Bees words.

"Dammit Bee! Can you at least TRY and be serious? From what Orochimaru told us, Isobu was badly wounded during the fight before being captured. And I do mean badly!" Naruto says with clear irritation in his voice as he glares in Bees direction. "And from what he told me it was those two Admirals that we met at the kage meeting awhile back that brought him down. But sadly Orochimaru had no clue as to how he was injured so that tells us nothing about the abilities of these Admirals either. So our first order of business should be to inform Kankuro, Tenten-chan as well as Aurora-san about the current situation since I for one DON'T want them to find our during dinner since that would be a bad time for them to find out, and once that's taken care of then I will ask Smoker-san about Isobus location immediately after dinner."

"I wonder what kindo eatery we gonna be at? And are you gonna be sitting by yo little ol cat?" Bee rapped and was just about to start on another line before Gyuki raised one of his oversized fingers and promptly covered his Jinchurikis mouth much to everyones relief.

"Enough of that Bee." Gyuki then turns his gaze back to Naruto. "Naruto, you've come a long way since we first met all those years ago. Myself and all our fellow Biju have come to respect your genuine care for us so I know very well that you will stop at nothing to accomplish this goal. And with everything you've managed to accomplish during your time as Hokage, we all are quite impressed. But that still doesn't change the fact that at times...well like Bee you can be quite stupid!" Gyuki states and to which Kurama smirks at while nodding his agreement.

"Back on that island there was no reason for you to resort to using your biju cloak...and four tails was way overkill. Now that's been established, I do agree that the two of you should avoid using our chakra during combat as much as possible to prevent this so called World Government from getting any ideas about sealing our fellow Biju into you humans." Gyuki then looks at the dark skinned shinobi that was currently sitting on the bridge of his nose. "You better be listening Bee since from this moment on I will refuse to give you even a tiny sliver of chakra unless it's absolutely necessary. But even without us helping in an obvious way, the two of you still shouldn't have any real trouble...I would hope."

"Ah there ain't nothing that me and ol Naruto can't handle. In fact they'll fall once I stomp em down under my shinobi sandal."

Hearing this Naruto rolls his eyes. "Gyuki...Bee. Since coming out to sea I've fought two pirate captains. Arlong was obviously one of them. The other was some clown called Buggy. Although there was a considerable difference in their levels of skill there was something that they each had in common. The fact that neither of them seemed to know that much about what we shinobi are capable of, granted Arlong seemed to know a little about our elemental manipulation but not much else so it should be safe to say the outside world doesn't know anything about the art of fuinjutsu since it is one of the most difficult of the shinobi arts. Which means that out here...there's nobody that's better at it than me." Naruto says with a somewhat cocky grin on his face before becoming passive again. "So it's safe to say that they won't be able to seal him into someone that works for them and make them into a Jinchuriki. Although for all I know they might still find a way to use his power. So we-"

"Must do whatever we can to rescue him. As I told Naruto earlier, if they refuse to release him then there's still something we can do. At that point Naruto and Bee can tell the government that there are eight other biju that will stop at nothing to rescue our brother. And the fact that six of us are far more powerful than Isobu is..." Kurama states with a malicious grin before he continues. "Along with the fact that when angered, each of us is easily capable of annihilating an entire island along with everyone on it. Let the government know that we Biju are allied solely with the Elemental Nations...and their Kage..." Kurama gags a little as he says the latter part.

"Hehehe thanks Kurama. But lets hope it doesn't come to that and only tell them that our nation has an mutual agreement with Isobu and maybe about him having strong siblings. I've already thought about the details so don't worry about that. But now we should probably finish our preparations for tonight." Naruto tells them and to which they all agree. And now with the important parts of the conversation covered they all decided that it was about time to return to the real world so they may finish any preparations as they await the return of the others.

XxX

Back on the ship both Naruto and Bee open their eyes and pull their closed fists away from one another. And with their business taken care of, Bee promptly leaves the room so he could get dressed in something a little more respectable for the occasion.

Now that Bee had vacated his captains quarters, Naruto now had the opportunity to look through what clothes he had brought with him. He quickly walks across the room towards his modest closet which he quickly opens to reveal; one fourth worth of the closest consisted of his red sage coats, another fourth consisted of orange jackets with half being short-sleeved and the other half with long sleeves, another fourth had his orange shorts along with orange pants, and the final quarter had what most wouldn't expect from the likes of Naruto since this quarter was packed full of black ANBU-grade uniforms along with body armour for when he knew he had to focus on any important infiltration missions, and all along the bottom of the closet had multiple pairs of black shinobi sandals.

'Hmm...quite the selection wouldn't you say Kurama?'

'Ya some selection since you still refuse to stop wearing that ridiculous orange outfit...but at least this time you had a small amount of intelligence to bring along some ANBU grade clothing and armour since that is a damn sight better than your usual attire!' Kurama comments with a small cackle of amusement. 'However what do you plan on wearing to this dinner your crew is now supposed to attend? Since all I see at the moment is an ungodly large amount of orange, and of course your red overcoats.'

'Well as a matter of fact-'

'I don't suppose your going to bring out that little green tropical number? You know the one you were wearing in your disciples mindscape?' Kurama adds with a mischievous grin.

'...Don't even joke about about that Kurama...or should I inform Gyuki about what else happened in there?'

At that point Kurama went dead silent except for the odd grumble of annoyance leaving Naruto to smile to himself since he knew he just won that little argument.

'Well anyways Kurama, these aren't the only clothes I brought. I brought two other outfits that are hidden behind these ones. The first is the one I'll be wearing to dinner tonight and the other...well lets just say I have no reason to wear that one anytime soon.'

XxX

Down in the shopping district three women with very different backgrounds were walking down the busy street doing a little window shopping until they finally find a good enough store to go into. The brown haired woman was walking alongside the long haired brunette who looked equally disinterested with being in this particular district, unlike their third companion however who seemed all too thrilled to be there with them as she dashed from store to store with almost Lee-like speed.

"So have you found a good enough place yet Nojiko-chan or are we just going to be wandering around all day?" Tenten asks with an exasperated sigh as she would be more than happy to just find a place, get their clothes and head straight back to the ship

The blue haired youth looks back at TenTen with a shocked expression. How could she even say that? That of all things. If there was a list of Nojikos favourite things in the world, then shopping would be right up there at number three, with Tangerines being number two and her beloved family at the highest possible point. "How can you even say such a thing Tenten-chan? There's almost nothing that can beat getting a good deal! I mean...what else did you do in your spare time?"

"...I trained with my teammates almost every single day of the week. After one of Guy-senseis daily workouts most people would probably collapse and end up in the hospital for a couple days at least. I can guarantee that neither of you would be able to handle even a single training session with him." Tenten replies as she looks up into the sky and smiles faintly as she starts to think about the past.

A slight shiver runs down Nojikos spine as she the begins to contemplate how difficult such a workout could possibly be. Now while the blunette was looking a little uncomfortable at such a thought, Lisanna on the other hand looked somewhat amazed. She almost looked even a little giddy at the thought of such a workout. "I'm sure it was worth it in the end right Tenten-chan?" Nojiko innocently asks and without thinking she continues. "After going through that kind of training on a daily basis, I'm sure you'd be able to protect your loved ones." The moment those words left Nojikos lips, the neko saw the kunoichi noticeably flinch, as well as a couple small tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes. However just as quickly as that reaction came, it suddenly disappeared, almost as if it had never happened, even though the devil fruit user knew that she saw them for a fact.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Tenten replies with an emotionless tone before she turns around and walks towards the nearest dress store. She momentarily pauses just as she reaches the entrance. "You can't be expected to prepare for every eventuality. Some things just happen that you have no control over... but it doesn't help anyone if your stuck in the past."

The two girls watch the kunoichi walk into the store without another word. "Uh...what do you think she meant by that?" Nojiko quietly asks.

"...What do you think she meant. Obviously she had to have lost someone important to her. Although she seems to be trying hard to keep moving forward...At least that what I think." Lisanna replies with a shrug. "But we should probably avoid that subject. It's better to avoid opening old wounds...whether they be physical, emotional... or both." With that being said the neko momentarily glances backwards before walking into the nearby store.

Nojiko slowly nods before following after the brunette into the shop the kunoichi had previously entered.

XxX A couple hours later XxX

A well built man wearing a black suit with the jacket wide open exposing his bare chest to the elements was currently leaning against the doorway to the marine headquarters here in Logue Town with his arms crossed. The mans name is Smoker and at the moment he currently held the highest ranking at this station. A ranking he was fairly proud of as well as the reputation that no pirate has ever escaped from under his ever watchful eye...That is until he met the young pirate Straw Hat Luffy. Somehow the kid had managed to escape from him during their little duel in the village square, however although he has yet to escape the island, the very fact that Smoker managed to loose sight of the kid was a personal insult to him. An insult he planned to rectify just as soon as his current duties to the youth from the newly discovered nation were fulfilled.

Smoker looked down the street that led to the harbour as he impatiently tapped his foot on the ground while he awaited Naruto and his crew to get around to actually showing up. But much to his dismay nobody has shown up yet and it was a quarter to, and ya they still had fifteen minutes until they were supposed to be there but still...

The sound of someone calling out to him broke him out of his irritation induced slump as he looks to see whom was calling for him only to see it was only Tashigi and that new recruit alongside her.

"It's about damn time you showed up Tashigi! You know very well I don't even want to do this but I am obligated to." Smoker scolds her before he readjusts his gaze to her companion. "As for you, I know you only recently got out of the hospital and yet you still insisted on joining the marines. And even though we have no record of you committing any crimes...it doesn't mean I'll trust you anytime soon. But if you continue to listen to your superiors and successfully carry our your orders then there might actually be hope for you."

"Yes sir." The dark haired young man replies before Tashigi grabs him by his arm and starts to drag him into the station.

"Oh and Tashigi...Don't forget you still have to go on patrol, and you might as well bring the newbie along and show him the ropes. Oh and by the way, what was your name again kid?" Smoker asks as they start to walk past him into the open doors with Tashigi momentarily pausing just long enough to give her superior a quick salute.

"It's Sasuke...Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke manages to say before Tashigi finishes in pulling him into the station and well out of sight.

'Sasuke Uchiha huh. Hmm...weird name and just why the hell is his hair styled like a ducks ass?' Smoker passively wonders before shrugging it off as unimportant as he stares at the door the pair entered for a few more moments before shaking his head and returns his gaze to the street.

After waiting for several more minutes Smoker was now looking down at a small pocket-watch which showed that Naruto and his group had only another thirty seconds before his obligatory dinner he was supposed to treat the kids crew to would become null in void. But much to Smokers great displeasure Naruto and his crew appeared in a swirl what contained a mixture of mist, leaves as well as sand, with the two non-shinobi being held by a respecting escort.

"Hey there Smoker-san! It's exactly 6pm right now so we're right on time now aren't we?" Naruto grins at Smoker whom was now scowling at the blonde.

"It would seem so...But how is it that you just so happened to arrive precisely at six?" Smoker focuses on the blonde haired shinobi whom was wearing a orange kimono with images of various toads from Mount Myoboku etched on it.

"Well you did say to be here for six right? Well a good shinobi should always be on time..." Naruto starts to say before he coughs into his hand while uttering the name of a certain white haired sensei of his. "Like I was saying... A good shinobi should always be on time and not make the other party wait. Especially not making their students wait for him for a good three hours and then make up some stupid excuse." Naruto then starts to ramble on for a bit about tardiness which caused a couple members of his group who knew very well who Naruto was referring to, to snicker a little before Tenten finally had enough and lightly bonks Naruto on the head to shut him up.

"Like our so called Leader is trying to say, we wanted to be right on time so here we are." Tenten steps forward in her tight fitting red short-sleeved chinese dress that stopped just above her ankles, the dress had slits on the sides which showed off her shapely athletic legs beneath it, so she was standing beside the blonde as she places her hand which was covered with a black glove that covered up to her elbow on her hip. "So where exactly will you be taking us Smoker-san?" She asks with a friendly smile on her face.

"The place is called Clover Field. It's a pretty popular place from what I've been told so I'm sure there won't be any complaints." Smoker replies as he takes out a second cigar and promptly lights it.

"Do they have ramen?"

Upon hearing that particular question everyone immediately turns and glares at the one who spoke them. "What? Did I say something wrong? You all know I love Ramen!"

"...No. This restaurant doesn't serve ramen of any kind. This is a high class restaurant after all."

"But Ramen is-" Naruto starts to say before Tenten quickly covers his mouth. "Naruto-kun. We know how much you love Ramen, but this isn't the time to argue about the menu." The chinese garbed weapons user scolds him before turning to Smoker with a pleasant smile on her face. "Some change in menu would certainly be a welcome change. So shall we proceed? We do have much to discuss...right Naruto-kun?"

Naruto slowly nods before glaring at Tentens hand which still covered his mouth. Once his mouth was released from her near suffocating grip he gives himself a moment to catch his breath. "Yes Tenten-chan is right...about the discussion part at least." He smooths out his kimono out while trying to ignore the annoyed kunoichi standing behind him. "We do have quite a bit to talk about. Some of it is even personal."

Smoker cocks a curious brow at Narutos statement but just shrugs it off in favour of just getting the show on the road since he was getting quite irritated since he had been standing there for nearly an hour waiting for them to arrive. The marine captain chooses to nod to Naruto and motion for them to hurry up so they could get to the restaurant all the faster, and so his obligations over the bet would be over and done with.

XxX

A ferocious clanging of steel breaks the silence that had previously fallen over the training ground situated within the station. Two ferocious competitors each wielding their respective blades leaped back from their point of contact.

In a two handed sword stance Tashigi holds her blade out before her as she is intently focused on the dark haired man she was currently sparring with. Her brown eyes were firmly fixed on his onyx eyes as the two stared one another down. "You're quite talented. Just where did you learn swordsmanship?"

"Sorry but I can't remember...I still can't remember anything about my past besides my name..." The brunette replied as he held his blade straight out in front of him. His eyes focused on hers as they slowly begin to circle one another as the onlooking marines on the outskirts of the training ground cheer the two of them on, although most of their cheers were of course focused solely on their female superior.

Tashigi smiles at the gifted young man she had only found lying on the outskirts of the city awhile back, all the while he had been in a deep coma of which he had only recently awoken from. She had been quite worried about the youth, and especially about his health when she first found him. But her patience had proven fruitful since he had indeed awoken, although much to her dismay it seemed as though he knew nothing of his past, in fact he could barely even remember his own name. But from what she could see although his mind seemed to have forgotten everything, his body on the otherhand seemed to remember everything and then some. In fact she was astounded by his level of swordsmanship since at this point in life she had yet to find anyone as talented with a blade as him, except maybe that green haired man from before, although she certainly knew that there were better swordsmen out there, namely Dracule Mihawk the worlds greatest swordsman...and an ex-pirate currently in the employ of the navy as a member of Shichibukai.

The marine swordswoman points her beloved Shigure at Sasuke as she prepares to charge him, but much to her annoyance he sidesteps her at the last moment and with what looked to be a mere flick of his wrist he nearly manages to disarm her. She sends him a small glare as she blows a couple stray strands of hair out of her eyes. Although the fact that he seemed to so easily block, bypass or otherwise deflect any attack she seemed to throw at her she still had to admit that she was quite impressed with his skill.

"So if you don't mind me asking. Just who is Smoker-san waiting for?" Sasuke asks as he keeps his eyes focused on her which almost made her want to blush if not for the fact that she understood the real reason as to why he was focused on her, and that was because he wasn't underestimating her skills with the sword even though he was fully aware that his skills were superior to hers. Although she might not look it at first glance, she was incredibly skilled in the way of the sword and would only getter better as time went on, especially with a sparring partner as skilled as he was.

"Smoker-san actually lost a bet to someone from a place called the Elemental Nations. Apparently he seems to be some kind of a big shot around there. I believe his name was...Naruto Uzumaki-sama." Tashigi informs him before she prepares herself for another charge.

"...Naru...to?" Sasuke manages to say before a blinding flash of pain flows through his head in a torrential rush that causes the man to scream out in pain causing him to drop his sword as his both of his hands rush up to his head. He collapses onto his knees as he furiously shakes his head side to side as he tries to rid his head of the searing pain.

"SASUKE-SAN!" Tashigi screams out as she has to force herself to slow down just enough so she could readjust her blade to avoid spearing him accidentally. Once she gets in close she notices that he had begun to sweat profusely. She kneels down beside him and calls out to one of the spectators to go grab a medic since she had no idea as to what was happening to him.

"Don't just stand there you idiots! Go get a medic already!" Tashigi orders them with a seething glare which results in the surrounding marines to stop gaping at what was in front of them and get back to work and do just as she says. Moments later a pair of marines return with a stretcher which Sasuke was immediately placed upon before they make their way back into the base and to the awaiting medics.

'Just what's the matter with him? Did something happen to him earlier today? Or...could it be because I mentioned Naruto-sama...no no that can't be it, there has to be another reason...right?' Tashigi wonders as she picks up his fallen blade and places it back into it's sheath. As she races to catch up with the others she tries and tries to figure out a reasonable cause for Sasukes current situation but try and try as she might, the only somewhat reasonable conclusion she could come to was that Naruto might somehow be the cause, but as to why she had no clue. But regardless she knew that she would have to inform Captain Smoker about it nevertheless.

XxX Back with Smoker and Narutos group XxX

As the entire group was finishing up with their respective meals, Smoker soon turns toward the blond haired shinobi shinobi. "So just what business did you have to discuss with me anyhow Uzumaki-san? And just how is it personal?" He asks.

Naruto moves his plate to the side and rests his chin on his hands as he makes eye contact with the marine on the opposite side of the table. "Yes about that. It has recently come to my attention that when the two marine admirals Aokiji-san and Akinu-teme had come to my homeland they came in contact with a giant three-tailed turtle did they not?" The focus of every shinobi in the room was completely focused on Smoker, Aurora in particular was glaring at him while she started to twirl a senbon needle between her fingers.

With an eyebrow cocked Smoker now cautiously looks at the shinobi around him, with nearly all of them on edge, especially the white haired woman with the steel needle that was still twirling between her fingers. "...Might I ask how you heard about that? That information hasn't even been made public yet."

"Like my master before me, I have my sources. So can you please tell me what they did to Isobu, and just where he is right now?"

"Isobu?"

"That is the name of the three-tailed turtle. And...he is a personal friend of mine so you can probably imagine my displeasure at learning about how he was brought down." Naruto glares at Smoker but does his best to keep an even and civil tone.

"Sorry to say but I have no idea where this...Isobu is. I'd imagine that they probably brought him to a research facility on the grand line that's run by ." Smoker tells them after a long pause. "However...I can put in a request to Fleet Admiral Sengoku about releasing that information to you. But that could take a little time."

"...So be it. But you have to inform him that Isobu does have siblings. And they won't take this lying down. In fact if Sengoku-san does refuse to release Isobu then it will both hurt any chance of our nation joining up with your World Government, as well as the fact that I will be obligated to inform Isobus siblings both about what happened to him as well as who did it..." Naruto leaves that threat hanging in the air for a moment before adding onto it. "And...most of them are equally powerful...although a number of them are significantly more so."

Smokers eyes widen at the implication, however even though Naruto did give him some seriously dangerous information for him to relay back to headquarters, he didn't exactly give him any numbers as to either how powerful the siblings were or how much more powerful they happened to be. For all her knew the turtle could have only two more siblings...or he would even have two hundred. That little piece of information had been deliberately left out, which showed that Naruto wasn't quite as dumb as he looks.

"That almost sounds like a threat Uzumaki-san." Smokers gaze never leaves Narutos. The tension in the air was building up and could practically be cut with a knife.

"It's not a threat...it's a promise! Personally I'd prefer it if this can just be resolved peacefully. However..." Naruto trails off as he closes his eyes. A couple moments and a few calming breathes later Naruto reopens his eyes. "I have learned something over time. Not everything can just be talked out peacefully, there are times where action is needed over discussion.

"And just how much could you have learned in such short a time. You can't have been around for more than a couple decades."

"...Which is more than enough time to have experienced war..."

One after another Smokers cigars fall out of his mouth and bounce off the ground as he turns to the other shinobi sitting at the table.

"I was only sixteen when war broke out. Although I have no intention of going into detail on the war itself, I will tell you this much although I know there's no way you'll be able to believe me without knowing what skills we shinobi possess. There was a man...if you even call him a man, by the name of Madara Uchiha..." Hearing the name Madara causes Smokers eye to twitch in recognition, but not from his first name, no what caught the marines attention was the mans surname of Uchiha. Especially since he had heard the name not too long ago from the raven haired youth that Tashigi had brought to the base. "Madara Uchiha could be better compared to a force of nature that just an ordinary human with how powerful he had become. I highly doubt that there would be many people here in the outside world that would have been capable of stopping him. But he had a specific goal which would've resulted in the end of all humanity."

The thought of such an end, especially from a mere human was laughable at best, however when Smoker looked into Narutos blue eyes he could tell that there was truth behind them. But still the thought that even a single person would be capable of such a feat would be impossible. Even considering the most powerful men in the world that Smoker was certainly aware of like Fleet Admiral Sengoku, Edward Newgate aka Whitebeard, Shiki the Golden Lion, Gol D. Rodger and of course the man who managed to capture the late Pirate King, his eternal rival and nemesis the Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp just to name a few. Now as powerful as these figures were Smoker didn't think that any of them had the power nor the intent to destroy the world, although technically Whitebeard does have the ability to but not the drive for such blatant destruction of human life.

"There are people far stronger in these seas then you seem to understand Uzumaki-san. One in particular literally does have the power to destroy the entire world."

"What!?" Was the single unanimous response of every shinobi in the room as well as Nojiko, however Aurora on the other hand merely flinched only a little at that statement.

Smokers gaze drifts to each of them with a hint of amusement, but he pauses on the one sitting between Naruto and Aurora. "You don't seem as surprised about that as your comrades seem to be little girl."

Lisanna utters a small squeak of surprise at all the attention that was now focused on her. "Well...I'm from the grand line so of course I've heard about the one you speak of. It's the captain of the Whitebeard pirates... Edward Newgate, also known as Whitebeard the worlds strongest man...right?"

"Ok Lisanna-chan, when we get back to the ship we're seriously going to be having a talk about how much you really know. Cause in our line of work information is key." Naruto comments to the neko whom was sliding down in her seat in a vain attempt to avoid any further confrontation as she made herself as small as she could, before he once again refocused his attention on Smoker.

"If what you say is true then I guess my previous comment was a little rushed. But still I can't really believe any single person is as strong as Madara was near the end of our war without more information on the matter." Naruto then looks over to Aurora who, upon closer inspection, her fingers seemed to be twitching in either a need to do something or something was on her mind. "Are you alright Aurora-san?"

The swordswoman looks at Naruto with a passive and somewhat stable expression on her face. "I am fine Naruto-sama."

Naruto narrows his eyes at her with a disbelieving look. "Smoker-san? Would it be alright if we sent Aurora-san and a couple of your fellow marines back to your base? I have a task I would like them to do."

"Oh?" Smoker pulls out another pair of cigars to replace the ones he previously dropped and promptly lights them. "And just what task would that be Uzumaki-san?"

"I was hoping you might be willing to allow Aurora-san to make what we call a Bingo book. Essentially it's a book that contains any and all information we have on missing ninja and other various criminals. But in this case it would contain information solely on pirates. After making a couple we would of course give you a copy as a matter of convenience." Naruto explains as a couple of his fellow shinobi nod in agreement to his idea, especially since as they all know that information is a weapon.

"Hmm...I don't see why not. However I do think a matter of payment should be considered." Smoker states and to which Naruto nods and motions for him to continue. "Since we do have quite a large supply of information on the various pirates of the world...and more specifically the grand line, I believe you should be willing to offer something of equal value. I would like for you to give us temporary command of a group of your fellow shinobi. So we might see if we marines and you shinobi are able to work together."

"Are you mad/What the hell!" Were the responses of Tenten and Kankuro.

Naruto motions for them to remain silent. "At the moment I cannot agree with those terms. Especially since you're unable to give me information on Isobus whereabouts. However I am willing to bring your request to my fellow kage so we can discuss your request further."

Smoker nods in understanding. "Fair enough. For the time being I will allow your crew access to our documents regarding the pirates. However we can resume this current discussion either tomorrow or a couple days from now. I will try to get the information you seek on that giant turtles location. But for the time we should call it a night." The bare chested marine then stands up and orders a couple marines to escort Aurora to their archives. But just as they were leaving Kankuro started walking alongside them. "I'll go as well. That way we can get this done twice as fast."

With the business at hand finished the remaining people at the table leave and head back to their ship.

XxX

"So Naruto, your telling us that this...Captain Smoker wants us to give them a number of our shinobi, even just temporarily? And if that wasn't bad enough, Isobu the Sanbi has been captured as well? Oh Shukaku is going to be annoyed about that." Gaara asks with a frown on his face through the screen his image was emblazoned upon.

"Ya that's how it seems to be." Naruto replies as he's standing before five large screens in the newly built communications room upon their ship. "However Smoker-san did neglect to give us any numbers as to how many shinobi we lend them or as to their skill level. And the matter concerning Isobu, I have already taken steps to resolve it so don't worry."

His fellow kage nod in partial agreement to what Naruto was saying, however one aspect of it most if not all were quite unsure of. "Naruto... I hope your not suggesting that we lend them genin. Sure as troublesome as they can be, you should know that they won't be able to handle it."

Naruto rolls his eyes a little at the Naras comment. "No duh Shikamaru. Of course I have no intention of sending anyone fresh outta the academy to do this level of work. Do you think I'm stupid...ok wipe that damn smirk off your face!" Naruto points at Shikamarus monitor in mock anger before continuing. "But if we do send them anyone then the team should be strong enough so they will understand that our nation isn't meant to be messed with. Do you have any ideas?"

"Uzumaki as you can imagine, this isn't a simple request. Much discussion will be required before we can reach a decision on the matter. And that talk won't be tonight because I have another accursed meeting to attend in the morning and a mountain of paperwork to finish tonight, as I imagine the same is true for the rest of you?" The Raikage states which all the others easily agree with. "And even more so for our newest member. Isn't that right Yondaime Tsuchikage?"

All eyes locked on the brawny, dark eyed and grey-haired and bearded man with a bulbous shaped nose. "Yes this week has been quite busy for me since I've only recently taken my fathers place as Tsuchikage. But now that our village has finished it's personal business, I feel that it's time that we send you our representative, along with my apologies about the delay on that matter." Kitsuchi says with an apologetic expression.

"Hehe it's fine. I understand that you guys were busy and the trip so far has been pretty easy so no worries."

"That's good to hear you haven't had much trouble. So anyways your free to pick up our representative whenever your ready."

"In that case how about now? Unless they're already asleep." Naruto asks.

"No it's fine. However I do ask that when you use the Hirashin jutsu...please use the kunai outside our village as your relay point? Some of our older shinobi that managed to survive the third ninja war still have nightmares regarding your fathers technique." Kitsuchi replies which results in the other kage getting a good laugh out of it.

Naruto just gives the man his trademark grin."Sure that's fair. I'll be over right shortly I just have to tell the others where I'm going otherwise Tenten-chan might get pissed about me disappearing out of the blue. Just send someone to greet me when I get there."

"Of course. I'll be seeing you soon."

The screens before Naruto go black one by one as the various kage cut off their connections. Naruto stretches his arms out as he leaves the room and heads off to inform his crew about what was going on since we wanted to maintain the vague image of him being responsible, especially to the pair of non-shinobi aboard.

Ok Now I have to take the time to apologize for how long it took to get this chapter out. I originally planned to have it out a couple months ago, however...well lets just say the chapter was being difficult and annoying since no matter what I wrote it just didn't seem to fit right, leaving me to have to constantly rewrite the damn thing.

And for those of you who remember about that poll. When I ended it sometime ago and have chosen exactly whom will be in a relationship with Naruto, and once again like I've previously said, not every woman on the ship will be with him. However in regards with pairings I have chosen them for the rest of Narutos crew. Both current and future members. One of which I admit will be fairly difficult to write for but at least I won't have to worry about for quite some time.

However sadly one of the few problems I've been having is how I'm going to put out this damn prophecy. I already have an idea of how I want it...but it's not the easiest thing for me to do but I'll still do my best.

Now while I do hate and for the most part ignore any flames. I do however appreciate constructive criticism. Since that will at least let me know what I need to work on in my writing. And yes I am aware that my style of writing could greatly be improved upon and while I am trying it does take time.

Now once again sorry about the severe delay!