Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Combined Elements ❯ Incident on the boat ( Chapter 5 )

Combined Elements

 

Chapter 5: Incident on the boat

Several heads turned to watch the group of ninjas as they entered the small sea-side village. They could have been described as more than an unusual. It was hard to say which one of them stood out the most: Gaara with his blood red hair, Naruto with his orange jumpsuit, or Kakashi as the oldest of the group.

 

Naruto and Sakura had managed to get through the desert without too much sunburn, although you wouldn't be able to tell from Naruto's complaints. First, they went by all the shops and bought needed supplies for surviving in Snow Country's wilderness, including a new set of clothes for Gaara. Then they searched for a suitable hotel. The boat wasn't scheduled to leave until the next morning, so they had some time to kill.

 

Naruto and Sakura went to find an open area in the forest where they could train, Kakashi remained in his room to read his book, and Gaara explored the village market. He didn't much like the new outfit, but he was going to need it, and it was more comfortable than the Kazekage robe. He walked around the stands, glancing at the things for sale, and thought about the Sand village. He knew Kankuro and Temari would do fine for the short while he would be gone, but it didn't stop him from worrying.

 

In the evening, the whole group got back together in the hotel restaurant, ate dinner, and went to bed. Each had their own room on the same corridor as the others. The beds weren't very comfortable, but at least the rooms were clean. Each room even had its own bathroom. Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi were asleep almost immediately. Gaara lay on his bed, looking out the window for most of the night.

 

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The horn on the boat sounded loudly as it slowly moved away from the dock. Anybody who had still been sleeping would have been quickly awakened by that sound. It was a large boat, more like a cruise ship. Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Gaara stood at the railing, watching the familiar land disappear.

 

At around noon there wasn't a piece of land in sight. The boat cut through the small waves easily, picking up more speed as it went along. Naruto had already grown impatient five minutes after departure, so he had gone to explore. By now Sakura had had enough of the never changing view as well and walked toward her cabin down below. Inside the boat is was dark and damp. The lamps and fake, fancy carpet didn't do much to improve the conditions.

 

When Sakura arrived at her cabin, she found it was very cramped. The bed fit into the wall, and she had to pull a lever to make it descend. It was less comfortable than even the beds at the hotel, and she soon found herself walking towards the door again. Even joining Naruto in his exploration was better than staying in that cabin for too long.

 

Outside, Kakashi and Gaara still stood in the same place, simply enjoying the sea breeze. Neither one of them talked for a long time, until finally, Kakashi cleared his throat. “We should discuss what our course of action will be once we get to Snow Country.” Gaara nodded, still staring at the sea. “According to Jiraiya, Orochimaru has control over a small village in the middle of nowhere. The only thing we know is that it is located among the mountains. Some clue that is.” Kakashi smiled under his mask. He hadn't heard Gaara joke more than twice in all these years. “I guess the only thing we can really do is start looking. I borrowed a map from the library in Konoha. We'll know to avoid the few cities there are, and look instead where no village is listed for miles.” Again, Gaara nodded. Plan settled. The two ninjas resumed their silence.

 

Suddenly, the stopper in Gaara's gourd flew out, followed by sand. Just in time, the sand formed a shield in front of Gaara. It bent back dangerously where the icicles hit it, but the sand held. Both Gaara and Kakashi were surprised by the sudden attack. They hadn't anticipated this. The two ninjas pushed back from the railing, backing to the middle of the boat. The water next to the boat was swirling, forming a small whirlpool. Kakashi and Gaara stepped back as the water suddenly rose to form a huge dragon type creature. This wasn't a normal jutsu. The eyes of the dragon shone bright blue, and it was looking directly at them. The whole massive body was formed out of water, making it partly transparent. If you looked closely it was possible to see the setting sun behind the creature with shining eyes.

 

The dragon bared its teeth at the two ninjas. Then it heaved back its head spit out more icicles with frightening speed. Gaara stood next to Kakashi, with his arms crossed, ready for battle. The sand was limited to that in his gourd, but it would have to do. The icicles bounced off another shield which hid both Kakashi and Gaara from view. “Gaara, could you keep your sand near for defensive purposes?” Gaara turned his head to look at Kakashi, and then nodded. The sand wall dispersed, allowing the dragon to see them again. Kakashi stood with his legs spread wide, while his hands moved at unthinkable speed to form several signs. Behind him fire formed in mid-air. The fireball kept growing, and slowly it formed into a dragon as massive as the one next to the boat. The only difference was that this dragon did not have the strange shining eyes. Before the fire dragon was completely formed, the water dragon again spat out a rain of icicles, attempting to break Kakashi's concentration. However they were easily blocked by Gaara's sand, and soon the second dragon was complete.

 

It turned on the deck, facing the water creature and without warning, flung itself at the icicle-spitting monster. Both creatures screamed an ear-piercing scream as the elements collided: each one destroying the other. Soon, there was nothing left, but some steam. Kakashi and Gaara waited incase another attack came. In the meantime, Naruto and Sakura had managed to find their way back to the deck and were demanding and explanation. The other passengers and the crew also looked stunned and confused. The captain's voice rang out over the speakers, assuring everybody that there was nothing wrong.

 

Finally, Gaara gathered up his sand and went to retrieve his stopper. Kakashi explained what happened to Naruto and Sakura who were both stunned at first, and then disappointed at having missed all the action. The rest of the day, was spent quietly. No more attacks came. Naruto was sulking in his cabin when night fell, and Sakura and Kakashi were having dinner in the back. Gaara again stood in the same spot as before the attack. Although it hadn't been too hard to defeat that dragon, the shining eyes still worried him, as did the amount of sand in his gourd. It wouldn't be enough to defeat a strong opponent like that sound ninja that had come for him a week before. Hopefully they would reach land soon.

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this FanFic except Saara Mizu and some of the minor enemies. The rest belong to Masashi Kishimoto.