"Wow, is this the sea?" Ino leaned over the edge of the fence near the docks as she gazed upon the vast ocean that glittered under the sun.
"First time here eh? Hahaha, you'll be seeing these places a lot more often when you take on more missions outside the village" Asuma removed the cigarette from his mouth and tapped the ashes off the end.
"Really? Yay" Ino clapped her hands and giggled
Shikamaru stared at the sea with a dead gaze before pinching between his brows
"I hope I never need to come here again"
"Eh? Why? It's so pretty though" Ino huffed at him
Shikamaru's lips twitched
"You'll see" He replied
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Ino tilted her head to the side and asked
Ino turned to Choji who, for once, was not eating anything.
"Choji, what does Shikamaru mean?" She asked
"Dunno" Choji replied
"Also, did you run out of snacks? Want to buy some before we head off" Ino asked
"I'm good, I have some still" He replied
"Oh" Ino didn't know why Choji wasn't eating at the moment, but for some reason, she felt that it has something to do with what Shikamaru had said earlier.
The three siblings got off the carriage and Erin walked towards the dock where he started speaking to a man.
"Seven people" He said
"No problem" The man smiled
As Erin handed him the money, a small note was slipped into the man's hand, in which he tucked away and nodded.
"Sir, we have everything sorted" Erin waved over to Asuma and the rest with a cheerful smile
"Alright, time to set sail then" Asuma laughed as he led his team onto the boat with Eric and Eris following closely behind them.
When they got on board the sail boat that stood five metres above water, and fifteen metres in length. There were cabins below, with wooden railings around the edges.
"We should arrive in just three days time" Erin said
"Aw~, I miss my Na-kun, I hope to get back as soon as possible" Ino sighed
"Hasn't it only been just a day?" Choji asked
"Tsk tsk tsk, Na-kun is worried about me, so of course I need to get back as soon as possible" She said with a proud grin
Eric glanced over when Ino began speaking of Naruto and his ears perked up
"Oh? Are you jealous?" Eris giggled
"No, why would I be" He refuted quickly, but his gaze remained on Ino
"I get it, she's pretty, strong, and cheerful, hard not to fall for such a girl, right? But it seems like she's already taken lil bro" Eris ruffled Eric's hair, but surprisingly, he didn't push her away like he would normally.
"I guess" He muttered back
"Oh~" Eris's gaze curved into a crescent shape as she patted his back
"You're growing up" She giggled
Eric huffed, but was slightly pleased by what she said. He also seemed to have made up his mind about something as he walked over.
"Ino-chan" He said, his gaze warmed up compared to when they first up, and his voice became softer
"What?" Ino glanced over, her smile still as dazzling as ever
"Would you mind me asking who you're referring to as Na-kun?" He asked
"Oh, him? Hahaha, a golden haired fox boy who is just the cutest thing to tease, also, I think we're dating now" She rubbed her chin and replied
"Th-Think?" Eric asked in surprise, which was a question everyone had in their heads as well
She thinks? Why did she say that? Was Naruto and her not a thing already?
"Aw shucks, this is embarrassing haha, you see, although we've spent a lot of time with each other nowadays, neither of us has actually confessed, well, he said he liked me a buncha times, but I mean, we never officially confirmed whether we're dating or not since I never accepted yet" She replied
"...what's he like?" Eric tried his best to keep calm as he asked
Ino's eyes brightened at these questions
"Well, first, he-"
"I'll stop you right there, once Ino starts talking about this, she won't stop" Asuma interjected with a wry smile
"Aw~ you're no fun, sensei" Ino tucked her lips and said
"And you're an absolute earful once you start talking about Naruto" Asuma retorted
Eric sighed
'So I really stood zero chance, huh?' He walked towards the bow of the ship as he leaned on the railings, gazing towards the endless blue sea with an empty gaze.
"Given up already?" Eris asked as she leaned on the railing beside him
"Yeah, I saw the shine in her eyes, she really likes the other guy" He replied
"Well, why don't you confess? Although I doubt she'd accept, it's better to get these things out of the way, y'know? Better to try than to regret" Eris shrugged her shoulders and said
"...maybe"
*Splash*
The waves crashed onto the ship, shaking it gently as it began to set sail. Ino's eyes brightened as the ship departed from the dock, and she watched the land slowly shrink into the distance.
"The breeze feels great" She smiled as she felt the wind blow past her
"I don't know what Shikamaru was complaining about, this is amazing" She giggled to herself
Shikamaru sighed as he closed his eyes
'I'll give her five minutes top' He thought to himself
-Five minutes later-
"Urp..." Ino was slumped over the side of the ship, holding her hand over her mouth
"Still like the sea?" Shikamaru asked
"..." Ino couldn't answer, she felt that if she opened her mouth, everything would rush out
"Sea sickness eh?" Eris walked over and smiled
Ino glared at her, but turned her eyes back to the sea
"Urgh"
Out of desperation, Ino...threw the kunai Naruto gave her...
"You've gotta be kidding me" Shikamaru recognised that kunai, and was stunned, did she really just throw that thing at the deck!?
"What's that?" Eris asked
"To think she'd use it like this" Shikamaru sighed
In mere moments of that kunai landing, everyone watched as a golden light flickered by them, and a boy with bright yellow hair appeared in front of their eyes.
"Ino, is everything alright?" Naruto exclaimed as he quickly searched for Ino
"Wh-Who is this!?" Eris, Eric, and Erin were all taken aback by Naruto's sudden appearance
Naruto quickly found Ino, slumped over the railing with a sick expression.
"Goodness, one moment, you'll be feeling better in no time" Naruto vanished from where he stood after he finished speaking
"H-Huh? Wh-What just happened?" Eric was in a daze as he watched a person pop in and out of existence
"Oh, that's just Naruto"Asuma responded
'Him?'
*Fwoosh*
In mere moments, Naruto appeared once more, holding a wrapped up bundle in one arm, with a cup containing an orange substance.
"Drink up" He helped Ino up and had her drink the content
At first, Ino felt like puking the moment he opened her mouth, however, after she drank it, her dizziness gradually faded along with the urge to turn her insides out.
The next second, Naruto nailed two nails onto the ship, one onto a nearby pole, whilst the other onto the railing. He then unwrapped the bundle he brought with him, revealing a hammock that he tied to each nail.
"Up you go" Naruto placed her on the hammock before vanishing again
"Th-This..."
*Fwoosh*
He reappeared with a tray of various fruity drinks
"Each contains the same medicine you just took, drink them sparingly throughout the trip, roughly one drink every six hours" He said as he slapped a seal onto the pole next to Ino's head
"This here will blow a gentle breeze whilst blocking out incoming wind, sand, or any other substance from the sea"
*Poof*
Another Naruto appeared, and picked up the tray in Naruto's hand
"I'll keep this clone here to take care of any other needs you require, I need to head back to training, or sensei will plant me six feet under" Naruto said, he then gave Ino a quick hug before vanishing once more
"...he comes and goes like the wind" Asuma rubbed his chin and muttered, whilst everyone else was left speechless
Ino was just as stunned, he appeared, vanished, appeared again, gave her a hug, then vanished, all whilst making sure she felt better.
"Hehehe" She covered her mouth and began giggling to herself
"Naruto, I don't think you should interfere with our mission" Asuma coughed as he spoke to the clone Naruto left
"I'm just a clone, please speak to the main ego" The clone responded with an empty expression
"Na-kun, an orange juice please" Ino said
"Of course" Naruto's expressionless face became bright and vibrant as he handed her an orange juice
"Ino, you shouldn't be this spoiled on a mission, he can't always be there for you" Asuma sighed as he pinched between his brows
"Of course sensei, treat this as a one time thing" Ino waved her hand and said
"...say that to me when you're not getting a shoulder massage and face mask..." Asuma's lips twitched, because the clone has already applied a face mask on Ino whilst giving her a massage as she enjoyed her drink
"Hey Naruto, can I have some medicine" Choji asked, he held back on eating as he was afraid of the sea sickness, but seeing how Ino was enjoying herself, he started to crave some food again.
Naruto tossed him a sachet
"Use about ten grams per cup of water" He said
"Thanks" Choji accepted it gleefully
"Uh, Naruto, mind if I have some as well?" Asuma suddenly asked as well when he realised Naruto gave it to Choji without much thought.
However, when he asked, Naruto shifted his gaze away
"Huh? I shouldn't interfere with this mission too much, helping you might be crossing the line" Naruto said with a disdainful expression
"Haha, that? Nonsense, but I am starting to feel a little sea sick, so if you wouldn't mind..."
"I do mind" Naruto smiled
"..."
As the group joked around, Naruto glanced towards the other side of the ship before quickly shifting his gaze back as he maintained his usual smile.
*Splash*
The further out they went, the stronger the waves became, and the more the boat shook.
"N-Naruto, I-I'd really appreciate some medicine for sea sickness" Asuma had one hand over his mouth as he slouched over the edge.
Choji and Ino were doing just fine, Shikamaru kept his eyes closed as he leaned on the pole nearby without showing traces of sea sickness despite not taking any meds.
The three siblings were fine as they were long used to journeys by sea, leaving only Asuma in the swamp as he felt his insides churn.
"Naruto, now that your team is only you and Sakura, do you think they'll fill in a third member for you?" Choji asked
"Dunno, but I don't think we need one, heck, I'm a one man team" He replied confidently
Though he sounded arrogant, no one denied his words as they all knew what he is capable of to some degree.
"Hm..." Asuma looked up, his expression of sickness gradually faded as his casual look slowly became stern.
Clouds were gathering, what was originally a sunny day quickly became dark as rain clouds covered the sun. He felt the wind become stronger, and found the situation to be rather odd.
'The clouds are gathering unnaturally fast, even for the sea, it's too sudden...' He frowned faintly
*Splash*
The waves became stronger, with consistent splashes onto the deck
"Grab onto something! A storm is coming" The captain of the ship yelled
Ino looked around as her expression became serious. She hopped off the hammock and gathered with Choji and Shikamaru.
"You three should stand behind me" Asuma said towards the three siblings, who didn't hesitate and hurried behind him.
"Phew, looks like they're finally taking action" Naruto chuckled
"They? Someone was following us?" Asuma asked
"Yeah, for a while now, it's hard not to notice when they're sticking so close to the ship" Naruto replied as he pointed downwards.
"And you didn't tell us because...?" Asuma asked
"I shouldn't intervene in your mission after all, what good will it do for you if an outsider informed you of an ambush" Naruto shrugged
"..." Asuma nodded slowly
"Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, battle position! The enemy consist of water jutsu users" Asuma said sternly
"Right!"
Naruto stood by the side casually, showing no signs of moving.
From the sea, beams of water shot towards the deck, directed towards Asuma. Asuma held his two blades and condensed a strong veil of wind around the blades before slashing at the beams of water, dispersing them cleanly.
Shikamaru's eyes darted around
'The enemies aren't attempting to kill everyone on the ship, since they only attacked the deck, and not the entirety...an insider perhaps' He frowned as his gaze shifted around before slowly stopping on someone.
Erin, the eldest sibling. He shows no sign of surprise nor fear, as if he had expected all this to happen. Shikamaru instantly put his guard up against him when he noticed ho suspicious Erin was acting.
To still be this calm when the ship is being attacked, it wasn't normal.
*Splash*
Many figures started to crawl onto the deck, each with cold eyes and masks covering their face.
"Do not let your guard down with them" Asuma warned
"Yes, sensei"
*Clang*
Ino lifted a kunai and slashed, knocking down some senbons that flew towards them. Shikamaru quickly mobolised the shadows and pinned a few enemies down as Choji enlarged his arm to knock them all off the ship.
*Swoosh*
Asuma continued to protect the siblings from harm from the shots of water, whilst the three were slowly clearing out the enemy shinobi from the side.
As this went down, Eris held Eric tightly as to make sure he wouldn't slip and fall to the side. Eric looked around with a rather worried expression, however, all that worry was thrown out the window when he saw something he couldn't believe.
Naruto was just standing there, watching everything unfold. He showed no signs of moving aside from avoiding incoming attacks. Ino was there, fighting fiercely, yet he's just there, doing nothing at all!
"Why aren't you helping" He scowled at Naruto, who gave him a shrug
"It's not my mission, so I shouldn't intervene" He replied
"Not your mission? Then what about Ino, what if she gets hurt!" He yelled
"Why are you so worried? No one here can hurt her, and even if they can, I'll make sure she doesn't" Naruto replied calmly
"Sounds like an excuse to just hide away like a coward" Eric growled
Naruto shrugged
"Say what you want, I won't intervene unless I need to"
*Bang*
Choji's arm swept across the deck, knocking many enemies into the air
*Swoosh*
Water blades shot towards them before they could follow up with an attack, so Choji quickly covered the group with his arms.
*Crack*
The enterior of his arm showed signs of cracking under the barrage of the enemy jutsus.
"I'm running low on chakra, the potion is draining it too fast" Choji exclaimed, his hardened exterior from the potion Naruto created was effective, however, it was draining chakra incredibly fast.
Shikamaru frowned
"Hold on for a little longer, Ino, I need to know..." He asked Ino a question
"I can manage 5, 6 if I push myself" She replied
"Good, five is enough" Shikamaru nodded and explained his plan to her
After running it through quickly, he turned back to Choji
"Choji, now!" Shikamaru yelled as all three of them jumped in different directions. Ino's hands were held together.
"Mind transfer jutsu"
She shot out her consciousness, however, her main body kept going even after doing so.
*Swoosh*
The shinobi she took control of began swinging his blade around wildly, causing their side to fall into chaos.
"Duel technique, human top!" Choji enlarged both arms as he opened his arms up into a T pose whilst Shikamar's shadow wrapped around Choji's torso.
*Swoosh*
With a powerful tug from the shadow, Choji began spinning rapidly as he started to plow through the enemies as if he was cutting grass. Every shinobi that came into contact with him were sent flying, whilst Shikamaru used his shadow to immobilise as many as he could as Choji spun.
Ino continued to create chaos by taking over different enemies in the densest crowd, making sure they could no longer maintain their formation.
"Wow, the human top is pretty hardcore" Naruto complement with a surprised look, they made use of the drug he created to turn chakra into a hard layer that covers the body so that Choji's arms became like metal hammers as he spun rapidly.
Eric continued to stare at Naruto, who seemed rather casual about everything. He couldn't shake off the annoyance that he isn't helping despite Ino being on the front lines.
*Swoosh*
A dragon formed by water rose from the water whilst Asuma was busy with defending the streams of water.
'Crap, they were planning that the whole time?' Asuma's expression firmed up as he prepared himself for a heavy blow.
The dragon rushed towards them, and the three siblings huddled closer whilst Asuma's blades began emitting a strong force as he condensed more chakra into it.
The dragon rushed towards them, bashing the pole nearby into bits as it made its way towards them. However, right before impact, the dragon suddenly changed direction and went for Ino!
Asuma's expression changed drastically
"Ino! Dodge it!" He screamed
Ino turned around, but all too late
*Splash*
"INO!"
Asuma screamed as his eyes became red, Choji and Shikamaru also furrowed their brows
*Bang*
"Ow!" They suddenly heard a strong impact, followed by a familiar cry
"What did you say before we parted ways at the village? You'll be careful! Look at this, if that had hit you, what would you have done? Hah!" They turned to see Naruto grabbing Ino's ear as he growled at her
"Sorry Na-kun, I'll be more careful" She stuck out her tongue and said
"More careful? More careful!? This dreg isn't even a fraction of what I am capable of when we are training together!" Naruto lifted up a limp figure that they only took notice of now that he lifted him up
'I-Is that the one who casted the water dragon jutsu!?' Asuma was stunned, and so were the attackers.
Suddenly, the battlefield became silent
"This weak prick almost harmed you, and you have the gals to say you'll be more careful? Had you even had a percentage of your guard up, you'd be able to see that attack coming!"
"Naruto, now isn't exactly a good time to-" Choji tried to say something, however...
"You shut your trap! I'm busy here!" Naruto scowled at him, making Choji back off immediately
Naruto turned his gaze back to Ino who had a pitiful look in her eyes
"Don't think your puppy dog eyes will save you, I'm going to drill you with the basic cautiousness you should have on a mission" Naruto's expression was terrifying
But the attackers quickly snapped out, feeling offended that he took them this lightly. They began a barrage of attacks towards Naruto, in which Asuma tried to help out with as he dashed towards him.
"Naruto, take Ino and back off, we'll hold the-"
*Bang*
A massive hand suddenly appeared behind Naruto and blocked everything. Behind the hand, an enormous giant towering at three metres tall emerged.
"Na-kun, how about you lecture me after this" Ino stuck her tongue out as she jumped onto the puppet's shoulder
Naruto crossed his arms
"I'll give you five minutes, if you cannot end them within five minutes, you'll be in some deep sh*t" Naruto growled
"Hehe, no problem" Ino jumped down from the puppet's shoulder and dashed towards a massive group with the puppet right behind her.
*Bang*
It swung its fist at a speed so fast that the enemy could hardly react, sending many into the air and knocking them unconscious with a single blow.
"Shikamaru, Choji, Human wrecking ball!" Ino shouted
"On it" Shikamaru quickly caught on as he jumped onto the puppet's shoulder and a shadow connected to it's hand.
Choji rolled up into a human pin-ball and the shadow connected to him. With that, the puppet picked Choji up and threw him. The shadow connected onto him, turning him into a wrecking ball that the puppet swung around.
The destructive power behind this was immense, with a single swing, a powerful pressure would wash past their faces.
"H-Hahaha, I don't even know what to say anymore...these kids actually came up with this on the spot?" Asuma stared at this in awe
It wasn't long before the enemies decided to retreat as their forces were being taken out left and right. With the massive puppet going on a rampage like that, they couldn't even get close, much less put up a fight.
"Good work team" Ino laughed as she stored the puppet away
"You've got a lot of explaining to do" Shikamaru walked over and said
"Ask Na-kun, he gave me it" Ino replied
Shikamaru's lips twitched, at this point, if it linked to Naruto, he decided it was better to not question it. He was there to see him fight the Ichibi first hand, so whatever Naruto does, he felt it's too bothersome to think about it.
"Four and a half minute, not bad" Naruto said
"See, I can take care of myself just fi-OW!" Naruto chopped down on her head with an expression less look on his face.
"Oh? You can take care of yourself? Really now?" He grabbed her cheeks and pinched it relentlessly
"Ah, jeez, I'm sorry, okay? I won't let my guard down again!" Ino waved her hands around and yelled
Naruto sighed
"Ino...don't make me worry like that, when I saw that water dragon charge at you, my heart almost stopped" Naruto said as his expression became sorrowful
"Na-kun....c-can you stop pinching my cheeks?" Ino asked
"No, I need to relieve my worries" He replied as he continued to pinch her cheeks
"It's really soft, like, seriously soft, it's a little addicting" Naruto said
"Ah! My cheeks are not your playthings!" Ino stomped her feet and puffed her cheeks up
"How cute, there, there" Naruto pulled his hands back and patted Ino's head
"...how can you be so casual about doing all this!" Ino looked down and said as her face slowly began burning up.
Naruto looked indifferent
"Cause cuteness is justice" He replied
"Call me cute again" Ino looked up and said
"Cute" Naruto responded
"Hehehe" Ino placed her hands on her cheeks as she began giggling to herself
"Again, again" She said
"Cu-"
"Enough, can you show your affection elsewhere" Asuma walked over and knocked on their heads.
He placed a cigarette in his mouth
"Naruto, thank you for saving Ino" He added
"It's part of my duty" Naruto responded
"But this lil lass, she could have easily avoided it if she was paying attention" Naruto said as his gaze became sharp once more
"Ah! Asuma sensei, you dummy, I finally got him to let go of that!" Ino huffed
"Hah, now Naruto, don't blame Ino too much, she's pushing herself quite a bit to be fighting on the front line like that" Asuma said, wanting Naruto to drop this matter.
However, Naruto was rather firm on his stance
"Asuma sensei, you cannot spoil children too much, had I not been here, she could have been seriously injured, war may be over, but that doesn't mean it's peaceful, who knows when something unexpected will happen out of the blue" Naruto retorted
"...hm, you have a point, but you're a kid yourself, not to mention, you're all still young, these worries should be the concerns of us adults" Asuma smiled, he was glad that Naruto is mature enough to think of all this, but he also did not want Naruto to think he has to carry such burdens either.
Naruto fell silent, he could understand why he was saying this, however, he was still rather worried about Ino's safety after what had happened just now.
"Na-kun, don't you trust me?" Ino tucked her lips and asked
Naruto turned to her for a moment
"Why am I such a sucker for you" He sighed and flicked her forehead
"Don't let your guard down again, dummy" He said
"I won't" Ino grinned back