Arrrrr, well shiver me timbers, there be a little something fer ya landlubbers... It be a tale written many ago which I pillaged from the depth of me ol HDD and decided to share with ye all. You may all partake in the bounty of this tale and maybe get hornswaggled out of a few reviews...

Arrrr... Don't forget you scallywags; September 19 is international talk like a pirate day... Arrrr.

The Kyuubi: Pillage and Plunder

It has been said that with each decision you make, a world is created... Therefore, for each and every decision you could have made, there exists a corresponding world. this is the main basis of the theory of multiple realities or the multi-universe theory. With infinite worlds in different states of advancement, if you were capable of moving from one world to another, you can stumble upon a world very similar, yet so different than the one you currently live in, thus every possible permutation of the world exists, whatever you can imagine probably exists out there.

Now everyone knows the progression of the once outcast of Konoha, Naruto, as he grew up to be an exceptional ninja with the help of friends along the way, but things could have gone differently, especially if the world was a much different place…

Chapter 1

"Ahoy there!" Called out a blonde haired man, with a hand held in the air, while walking down a steep embankment towards the aging docks of the marina. The gulls were squawking overhead, nearly drowning out the thunking and creaking of the tread boards underneath the feet of the young man. He was man with no family and no real background, but suddenly found himself with a vast amount of wealth when he turned 21. Most guys his age with that kind of fortune would find a quiet village and a beautiful woman to enjoy life with, but he had different ambitions…

"Ahoy Gaki!" Greeted the old white haired man known the island over as Jiraiya. He was a perverted old man, who enjoyed chasing the ladies, and was once a decorated captain of the Fire country's navy. He had since gone into business designing ships for the merchant trade on the small, independent Island known primarily for its protective uzumakis, or whirlpools, protecting it... Uzumaki Island and its well protected port, Uzumakigakure no kaikou (the port hidden in the whirlpool). Being an independent island outside of the reach of the 5 elemental islands, you could find many illegal goods and services, so it was the perfect port to attract pirates and their business.

"Oy, I'm not a kid anymore; I am 25 now." Naruto reminded as he smacked the old man on the back jovially.

"Maybe to you, but I'm still over twice your age, so you're still a kid to me." He replied while shoving the blonde backwards.

"That just means you're old." Jiraiya snorted at the blonde's comment before he stood proudly and puffed out his chest.

"Not old…seasoned. Just the way the wenches like it, right?" He commented with his signature smile of perversion while ribbing the younger man with an elbow.

"Sure they do… Well, back to business. Is she ready?" Naruto inquired, bringing him back to the task at hand.

"She sure is… We just put her in the water to check the bilge for any leaks, and she's looking good."

"Is that her over there?" Naruto asked, pointing to a magnificent ship floating in port. The sails were drawn in, showing off its 3 large masts. This galleon class vessel had matching foremast and mizzenmast with a gargantuan mainmast between them, each with three large sails per mast.

"You've got the eye of a captain, aye; that be your ship."

"It's better than I thought it'd be." Jiraiya nodded in agreement with the offhanded assessment.

"I tell you what boy, when you brought me those plans, I thought they would never work with the sheer weight and volume of the hull, but man, those calculations were perfect. Once I realized there wasn't a single error in the math, I could set in and build her without worrying."

"That's great. Is she armed like ordered?"

"Well, if anyone asks, those 30 canons portholes are just for looks… you didn't get the artillery from me." Jiraiya mentioned while looking over his shoulders. Even though the island was known for shady dealings, there was still a risk when dealing in weapons of war.

"Fair enough… What about that special main canon?" This was where Jiraiya started looking weird and nudged closer as to not be overheard.

"I don't know who designed that thing, but I'd like to meet him one day." The old man whispered close enough that he could smell the alcohol on his breath.

"That will be hard." Naruto commented while backing away with a sullen look. "The plans for both the ship and canon were left to me by my father, Namikaze Minato."

"You mean the Minato? I remember that boy back in my days as captain of 'Gamabunta.' He was quite the boy… So that was your father…"

"Now I expect that you will keep the wraps on these plans?" Naruto confirmed, knowing that the fewer people who knew of them, the better.

"Yeah, that's not a problem… Anyways, what will you call her? The ship?" Naruto looked back out at the massive ship and thought about it. You could see the dark crimson sails even in their closed state, which started the young captain's mind rolling.

"Kyuubi."

"Kyuubi?"

"Aye. Named for the nine large red sails. It just seems to invoke a feeling that it is a demonic ship. Every port will know the name; the demon left to me by my father." Jiraiya's face broke into a wide grin and nodded with satisfaction.

"Aye, that be a fitting name. You got your crew ready?"

"I believe so. There's one guy I need to still recruit and I'm taking a major risk by bringing a female medic on board, but that wench can punch a hole through you if you're not careful, so I believe she will survive."

"I see… Is she hot?" He asked with a glitter in his eye.

"Well, kind of, but she's really into my best mate, so I try to not indulge in wondering about it."

"Very noble my boy… You may decide to go back on that once you are out to sea and she's the only piece of ass within miles." Even the blonde started getting nervous with that level of thinking from the perv.

"Well, I guess I'll figure that out when the time comes." Naruto grinned wide at the old shipwright and held out his hand. After the customary handshake was finished, the 'Kyuubi' was now in his possession.

"See you around." The blonde lifted his hand in a small wave and headed back towards his house to finish packing his belongings for the trip and headed headed towards the local saloon with his loaded pack in tow.

When he stepped into the establishment, everyone stopped and stared at the man in bright orange pants and shirt, covered by a black vest. He had a cutlass (cliché pirate sword) attached to his waist and a grin plastered on his face. Naruto looked around the place until he spotted the man he was after, an old silvery haired guy with a patch over his left eye.

He had been a top rate sailor for many years until his first mate lost his life in a battle where he lost his eye. After that he disbanded his crew and stopped sailing. Now, he was just a man who spent his life reading smutty novels in skanky bars with a drink in his hand.

Naruto slid into the seat across from the man and wasn't even acknowledged. He sat for a moment, staring at the man who was probably only 10 years older than he, yet seemed to have much more knowledge than a common man. You could see the discoloration around the eye patch from the scar tissue signifying that it wasn't just for show.

"I told you before, I won't set sail again." The one eyed man finally mentioned while taking another sip of whiskey. The comment didn't even spark any emotion with the blonde.

"Who said I was here to ask again?" Naruto inquired. The guy ignored the question and flipped a page in his book.

"So why are you here then? You were pretty adamant about recruiting me a year ago after I taught you everything you needed to know about captaining."

"Well, I figured nothing I could say would change your mind, I just wanted to let you know that I will be setting sail tomorrow morning at 5am sharp aboard the 'Kyuubi' a ship built from the plans my father left me."

"And?"

"And well… I thought you would have liked to see the main canon in action." Naruto could see his eyebrow raised, it wasn't often that one would outfit a main canon on ships these days, most battles were fought at broadside.

"Did you give the canon a name?" The blonde's smile returned to his face while he stood from the table and turned for the door. He looked back over his shoulder and leaned in with a whisper…

"It's called Rasengan." Naruto started chuckling when the book the man was reading dropped to the table with a thunk before he picked it up again and continued reading, trying to recoil from the sudden intrigue. The blonde headed out the door and into the streets of the port town, knowing the seed had been sown and all he had to do was wait with his fingers crossed.

Naruto was just arriving back at the harbor as the sun was setting and went straight for his newly crafted ship, 'Kyuubi'. When he stepped onto the firm deck, his smile broke out again; it was almost too much to take in that this was entirely his. He closed his eyes and took in the sound of the wind slapping the ropes against the masts in a rhythmic tune. He slowly opened his eyes and headed to the aft of the ship to the captain's quarters where there was a simple bed in the corner and a massive desk in the center. Upon the desk sat a captain's tri corner hat, one he always dreamed of wearing. He placed the satchel of his belongings on the floor and picked up the hat before trying it on his head. He grinned and flopped into the captain's chair and threw his feet on the desk.

"Belay that order!" He shouted while point a serious finger at an imaginary person and started laughing afterwards.

"This is going to be great." He called out happily and tossed his hat back onto the desk and started to unpack his belongings before turning in for the night. The gentle swaying of the ship would be one that caused many a person to feel nauseous, but Naruto felt at home and had the most restful sleep of his life onboard 'Kyuubi'.

When morning came, there was a thick and heavy fog lingering over the port, blocking off visibility to just a few meters. Naruto was dressed with his new hat and stood on the deck of his ship, pacing and waiting for his crew to arrive. He was waiting for about 15 minutes before the sound of bickering rang across the waters, bringing a smile to his face.

"Sasuke-kun! Don't walk so fast; I can't keep up."

"Then don't bring so much stuff." The obviously male voice grunted back.

"You could offer to carry something at least!" She threw back, but to no avail. The raven haired man appeared through the fog and started to ascended the long board connecting the ship to the dock below and nodded to Naruto.

"Permission to come aboard captain?" He stated as happily as the unemotional man was capable.

"Of course Sasuke, you're the first mate after all." Sasuke was wearing his usual blue jacket and black shorts and quickly jumped to the deck with his small knapsack in hand. What came next was actually kind of funny. A young woman with pink hair, dressed in a red shirt and black shorts, was trying to drag two human sized chests up the ramp, while cussing and swearing to their uncooperative nature.

"Need help Sakura-chan?" Her eyes looked up with a glare at the captain's question.

"What do you think?" She growled through clenched teeth. Naruto chuckled before heading down and helped her load the large chests on deck.

"That is a lot of medical gear." He commented, while pushing one chest to the front of the ship where the sick bay was located.

"Actually, only one has medical supplies." She informed while pulling the luggage into the only place that could be her room, which she shared with sick bay.

"And the other?" He asked, not sure what was so valuable

"My clothes, duh!" Naruto instantly dropped the other case to the ground and turned his back

"Gah… you're on your own then." The captain replied and abandoned the struggling medic. He was headed back to the side of the ship while his other hired hands started steadily flowing onboard and filing towards the crew quarters.

The time was approaching 5am now and all the hands were running about the ship, preparing to cast off on the maiden voyage. There were men hanging from the ladders on the masts and standing by near the anchoring locations for the sails.

"Captain, we are ready for departure." Sasuke declared. Naruto nodded and kept an eye on the lifting fog while the clock started ticking. There were no more boarders as far as the eye could see, so with a sigh, he stood up straight.

"All hands, prepare for launch. Bring in the mooring lines and cast off." The docking plank was pulled aboard after freeing the lines from the dock and was secured to the ship for travel. The massive ship started slowly drifting away from the dock right as Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw a man running straight towards them at a high rate of speed. His usual smile came back to his face as he ran to the port side and held his hand out as far and as low as he could. The man jumped like some inhuman thing and just barely grasped the outstretched hand to be pulled aboard.

"You're late Kakashi-sensei."

"Aye, there was this old lady…" The silver haired man was flung onto the deck before he was able to complete his excuse.

"No more excuses, now I'm sure you know what to do here, LETS GO!" Naruto jumped up to the helm and grabbed the large wooden wheel. Kakashi looked out at the crew scrambling to ready the sails and shook his head.

"My first impression is... I don't like you guys." The older man ran about the ship, ordering the different crew members what to do so they all got on the same page before indicating to the captain that they were ready.

"MEN! Full Sail!"

"Aye, captain." Rang the reply. The large sails dropped and the wood creaked while the ship accelerated quickly. The acceleration was quite unusual for a ship of its size, all due to the design which maximized sail area to pull every last bit of efficiency out of it. Within a few short minutes, the ship left the safety of the port and headed towards the open seas.

"Prepare for passing through the uzumaki zone; extend the auxiliary sails!" Two large arms extended outward from each, the foremast and mizzenmast, and soon after four large sails opened and filled out in the wind.

You could see the look of panic on the 'landlubbers' as they saw the great whirlpools surrounding the island come into view and the ship was headed straight for one of them. Naruto wiped a bead of sweat from his face and held tight to the wheel; if he let go now, the whole ship would be lost and all was riding on him. Right before reaching the edge of the massive current, he spun the wheel starboard and placed the ship along the edge of the current and angle the ship to catch full wind. The sails rippled in the breeze as the ship tilted on the horizon of the whirlpool. The addition of the sails and current's speed on the edge helped them to reach escape velocity and into the wide open expanse of the great blue ocean.

"Bring in the auxiliaries!" Naruto commanded while locking the wheel straight on towards the horizon. Once the sails were secured, he sighed and headed towards his cabin. He stuffed his slightly shaking hands into his pockets to hide them from view; holding that many people's lives in your hands is always difficult, but no one else needed to know just how difficult it was.

"All officers, to the captain's quarters." Naruto ordered over his shoulder before he opened the door and headed into his room; sitting upon his chair behind the desk. He leisurely propped his feet on the desk and waited for his officers to filter in.

"Before we get started, I would like to introduce you all to each other: Our first mate, Uchiha Sasuke, medic, Haruno Sakura, cook, Akamichi Choji, strategist and navigator, Nara Shikamaru, and finally Hatake Kakashi, general advisor. Take Kakashi-sensei's advice anytime it is given, his knowledge of sailing is second to none."

"Understood, kanchou (should mean the captain of a warship), but what is the purpose of this voyage?" Shikamaru asked.

"Good question… We're really just looking to have some fun and maybe make a ton of cash in the process. The nature of this mission is now open to discussion and suggestions." Naruto informed to a surprised group of sailors

"As long as we got food, I'll go anywhere." Choji replied, happily stuffing his face with a bag of chips he brought aboard.

"Alright, a good place to start… We need to acquire some funds for our voyage; I used the remainder of my fortune with the primary outfitting of the ship, so any suggestions on cash flow?"

"To be clear… we are pirates, yes?"

"You are correct Shikamaru, anything goes except for bankrupting good people." Naruto replied while straightening his hat.

"Alright, good… I don't have a desire to attack valid merchants, so we may have to do a little more research on our targets…"

"Cerebral pirates…" Sasuke commented while mulling over the concept and nodding.

"Kakashi-sensei, have you heard of any prime targets?" Naruto questioned, seeing as how he always had his ear to the pulse of the sea ways, seeing as how he practically lived in a bar.

"I heard from a few naval officers in the saloon that there was an investigation on a merchant who runs Wave Island, by the name of Gato. He was getting rich off of the shipping lanes between the islands around Wave. Technically what he is doing isn't illegal, so the navy can't move on him, but he is putting smaller merchants under with his questionable practices by forcing higher than normal mooring costs for all but their own contracted ships. There is also talk that he may be hiring privateers to pirate the other competing merchants and stealing back the very product he sold to them."

"Sounds like a prime target, any objections?" Naruto saw no complaints and Shikamaru pulled out a large map a compass and a protractor.

You could see, via the map, that the world was 98% water; all of the world's known land masses, which were few and far between, were accounted for on that one navigation map. The largest of these islands were known as the 'elemental islands': Fire Island, Wind Island, Rock Island, Lightning Island, and Water Island. Each of these large Islands held a fortified port, which only a fool would dare attack. Shikamaru did some quick calculations with the tools and nodded upon completion.

"We should arrive in two days, we just need to adjust course two degrees to port and we'll be on track."

"Good work Shikamaru, tell the helmsman to make the adjustments…. Let's go to Wave Isle!" After the captain's orders, the officers filed out of the room, leaving Naruto to ponder the first mission as captain and the first mission for the Kyuubi.

As soon as the sun came up the next morning, Naruto went topside and looked out across the sea towards where they were headed. After about an hour, he saw something on the horizon. He pulled out his handy scope and looked outward.

"Man the crow's nest! Look 4 degrees starboard at the horizon!" He ordered to get confirmation.

"Aye, captain." Shouted one of the men before he ran up the ladder. He brought a large scope to his eyes and peered across the sea and found the object the captain spotted.

"There be two ships approaching, one is a sloop and the other is a frigate." He called down.

"Are they flying any colors?"

"No sir, they are incognito." Naruto held his hand to his chin and thought while looking towards Kakashi, where he was plunked down on the deck reading one of his books.

"Go to half sail and prepare for battle!" He finally commanded after deliberation.

"AYE SIR!"

"Good call Naruto." Kakashi complimented. "Those who don't fly colors are normally pirates."

"Kanchou, there is something I'd like to discuss." Interrupted Shikamaru.

"About?"

"We should think about expanding our fleet? While the Kyuubi is a brilliant ship, it lacks maneuverability. If we were to add two maneuverable ships to our side, we would have enough capabilities to go after the more dangerous targets."

"It is a good plan Shikamaru, but why talk about expanding when we are only on our first voyage. Besides, we need plenty of loot to buy more ships." Naruto reminded.

"True, but who said anything about buying? The thought was: if we could keep the damage to a minimum, we could plunder the coming ships and add them to our fleet."

"Hmmm, I see. Do you have a strategy then?"

"Actually, I have five." He replied with a smirk.

The two ships came closer and closer. Each minute passed like an eternity. You could tell they were on a direct intercept course with the Kyuubi, but not their true intention. This would actually be a common occurrence around many of the larger islands. The harbor master would send out scout ships to escort a merchant into safe waters if there was a reef or other obstacle in the area. The problem is that pirates would use the same tactic around port villages just to get in close without suspicion.

"Ahoy!" A voice called out from the larger of the two ships when they were within range.

"Ahoy!" Naruto called back and waved. The two boats came up alongside the Kyuubi, the frigate was port side and their captain was walking closer to get a look at the Kyuubi.

"Is she a new ship?" The captain asked, almost getting a greedy smile on his lips.

"You can tell?"

"Of course, with deck boards like that, it could only be new." The captain continued surveying the deck and started to smile openly. "Say, where's your crew?"

"Crew? Oh I'm heading to wave to pick them up, and maybe some armaments. This ship was pretty expensive and I haven't had the time to fully outfit her." At times like this, Naruto was glad he was a prankster at heart and had the art of lying down.

"Oh? It is quite dangerous to be out here alone."

"I'm not alone, that would be stupid. My first mate in down below, he's a little green, if you know what I mean? And my medic, Sakura is on board, but all the heavy lifting has been done by myself… It has been slow going, but we're making it."

"Two people and a wench… Men! Come aboard!" Suddenly the large galleon was being flooded by enemy sailors; ugly, rough looking bastards. There was only a small skeleton crew left on the frigate, just like Shikamaru had planned. Sasuke and a few men snuck out of the canon portholes, while the enemy was occupied, and leapt to the sides of the frigate, easily infiltrating the smaller ship and set in on subduing the remaining crew silently. Now the sloop, on the other hand, was completely abandoned as the tiny crew made a dash to the galleon, making it even easier for Shikamaru to jump on board and commandeer the vessel.

"Did you find the wench!?" The enemy captain called out to his crew as he held a sword to Naruto's throat. Before there was a reply he looked back to the blonde.

"Well, it looks like your days of captaining are already past. Say hello to Davey Jones for me." The man pulled back his sword readying for the finishing blow.

"NOW!" Naruto shouted! The main sails of the two enemy ships dropped and accelerated away from alongside the galleon, surprising their crew. Some attempted to leap aboard their ships at the last minute, but they horribly miscalculated the distance and fell toward the water below. Loud battle cries sounded as the crew of the Kyuubi exploded from below deck, from under canvas tarps, and even came climbing up from the sides through the canon holes and surrounding the intruders.

"Time to surrender." Sounded Kakashi's voice with a blade held to the enemy captain's throat. The enemy captain dropped his sword and Let Naruto loose.

"Kanchou, your orders?" Asked the silver haired pirate.

"Tie up the crew, we will let them go after landing on Wave Isle, and for the captain… He can walk the plank." Naruto placed his hat back upon his head and wiped the blood from his neck caused by the enemy's sword.

"No wait, have mercy." Cried the enemy captain. Naruto stopped and turned to the man.

"You would have killed me and my crew and done unspeakable things to my medic. I am gentle and kind, almost to a fault, but never endanger my crew and friends… WALK THE PLANK!" There was a loud scream before a hard splash down on the surface of the water. Naruto walked to the back of the ship and leaned against the wheel with his head down cast. Once the enemy crew was loaded into the hold, the blonde captain raised his head with a large grin plastered upon it. Their first pirating maneuver was a success.

"Naruto!" Sasuke shouted while bringing the frigate alongside. Looking over, he saw the dark haired guy holding up a hand full of gold doubloons.

"Nice Sasuke! What are you going to name your ship?" The man's onyx colored eyes widened in surprise while Naruto started to laugh.

"Come on, don't be that surprised… to the victor go the spoils, so they say."

"How about… Susanoo?"

"Kind of dark and creepy… I like it. Shikamaru, you want that one?"

"I have no desire to captain a ship, captain… or I guess it should be admiral now, huh."

"Hmm, admiral… I like that. Ok Shikamaru, if that is your desire, we'll find another captain for the sloop."

"Agreed, now according to the ship's registration, it already has a name; it's called Akamaru."

"Akamaru… how quaint…" Kakashi muttered.

"Alright, men, onward to Wave Isle… Full sail!" Naruto Shouted with his finger held towards the horizon. The nine large sails dropped and rustled in the wind, propelling them towards their continued adventure.

Arrrrr, this be the end of chapter 1. Enjoy your day and expect the remainder of this tale to appear be you can swab the poop deck.

...Later