Ninetail 35

The days passed pretty quickly for Naruto. His training became much more energetic and inventive as he tested various ways to mold his chakra.

Saiken had kept away for now, unsurprising given the incident with the Kiri Anbu.

The Octopus......

Naruto decided to take it as a win that it only sometimes tried to attack him. More often than not, it didn't mess with him anymore.

He wasn't sure how to read that yet.

He hummed as he made his way out to sea, this time above the waves. Getting the hang of water-walking again was quickly going just like when he first learned it as a human; unsteady at first, but once he got moving, it became more and more instinctual with every step.

Now stopping? Stopping was a bit more tricky.

Namely....

"Ahh, dammit!" Naruto said as his bottom half sunk into the water for a moment.

Naruto had gotten very accustomed to having the body of a fox. Namely, whenever he came to a stop, he would often sit down instead of just standing there. That was just what he did when he was fully stationary, it was more relaxing than standing on all fours all the time.

That said, keeping his rear end above water was something entirely new for him, as opposed to his feet. He had to literally control the chakra flowing around his ass to keep himself afloat, and that was both weird and hilarious to think about. Granted, he could use his tales to keep him afloat.

Naruto hummed as looked around in search.

He found something quickly, but not what he was after.

"Oh boy, you again," Naruto said as he saw the Octopus poke its eyes above the water to look at Naruto. "What, you ready to fight again?"

The octopus looked sorely tempted but also very distracted somehow. In fact, it looked like it was searching for something else entirely, as if Naruto wasn't the intended target this time.

The octopus dipped down beneath the waves.

"...That's almost concerning," Naruto murmured with a furrowed brow before continuing on his way.

It took him nearly an hour of searching aimlessly, but he finally found it again.

The island.

The same island he had stumbled across in his first days exploring the sea. He had seen it a few more times since then but hadn't actually approached it until now.

Why was he now?

Naruto had no idea. It was a whim more than anything.

He didn't actually come onto the island, walking on the waves just off the shoreline as he circled the island.

He stopped as something caught his eye.

Just before the treelines of the beach, there were two wooden pillars. Each of them had the same thing carved onto it.

A fox with nine tails.

Between them was a set of stone slabs stacked on top of each other.

....An altar?

He felt a bit awkward now.

A bit of movement and his eyes snapped to the trees and saw a figure hiding behind them.

He could sense their fear, hear their deep breaths as they attempted to calm themselves.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Naruto spoke up, greeted only by a gasp and then silence.

Slowly, cautiously, the person crept out into the open.

It was a young woman who looked up at him with eyes of awe and bewilderment, wearing simple clothes with her bare feet treading across the sands. "You...you can speak?"

"Yeah, I can," Naruto answered, smiling and making sure not to show his fangs. "What's all this then?" he asked, nodding to the altar.

The woman swallowed thickly. "A-after you visit, w-we began making a tribute to you every week, Golden One. A-a gift of fish as thanks for not destroying our island."

Naruto sighed. "You all don't have to worry about that. I have no plans to destroy any place. I was just taking a stop here last time while I tried to figure out which way to swim home."

"I...Truly?" she asked, skeptical yet hopeful as she watched his huge, golden form. Still amazed but the fear was subsiding to a respectable degree.

Naruto nodded and then chuckled as he looked at the forest and the people much further within. "Yes, and also yes to you kid. Yes, you, the one who asked if you could all keep the fish for yourselves. I appreciate it, but I'd need a lot of fish to even taste them. I just hunt a whale if I need a snack."

He heard murmurs of relief and worry.

He looked back at the woman. "You are the leader of these people, right?"

"Yes, Golden One!" she assured quickly, obviously alarmed that he knew that.

Naruto nodded as he addressed her and the entire island. "The name is Naruto. And I'm sorry about scaring you all."

In retrospect, Naruto wasn't surprised when it was the children who were the first to come to the beach, a few rushing out before an adult could stop them. He would have done the same, probably.

Naruto chuckled as he saw them looking at him in awe and amazement, everyone's fears slowly waning with every word he spoke.

He wasn't sure, but Naruto had a good feeling about this.

Meanwhile

Sakura was convinced that her most mundane missions were doomed to always be anything but.

The simple escort mission to wave? Turned into a fight against the high-ranking missing ninja and a crime lord.

The mission to guard an actress? Turns out she was the lost princess of the Land of Snow and they ended up helping her depose her evil uncle.

The first Chunin exam they enter? They end up dealing with Orochimaru, who manipulated the Sand village to go to war with the Leaf!

And now? A simple mission to map out the paths Naruto had made, and what do they find?

"Anko-sensei, what am I looking at?" Sakura asked curiously.

Anko hummed. "I mean, it's pretty obviously a caravan?"

Indeed, they were looking at a caravan of many people and animals, moving to make camp in one of Naruto's footprints.

"You having a Naruto-moment, Sakura?" Ino teased.

"No, not the caravan, those!" Sakura said, pointing to the large flightless birds that were being used as mounts by some of the travelers.

"Oh, those are ostriches," Anko said, glancing at her. "Is this your first time seeing them?"

"That's an ostrich? I didn't think they were that big, or that people could ride them," Sakura said in surprise.

"They're, umm, usually only found down in the southern countries," Hinata remarked. "My family was once offered one as a gift, but we turned it down since we weren't sure how to care for it."

"Yeah, not my kind of gift," Ino remarked. "What now, Anko-sensei? We still going to camp here or should we move on?"

Before Anko could answer, Hinata spoke up. "Umm, hello?"

The other kunoichi turned and blinked as they saw a ferret had scaled up Hinata's side and climbed onto her shoulder, sniffing her.

"Awww, looks like you have a new friend," Sakura said with a smile. The smile faltered as the ferret jumped to her and started sniffing her too. "I guess I do too?"

"Nerugui, there you are!"

An old man approached them from the caravan, running a short distance.

"Is this your ferret, Sir?" Anko asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, that he would be," he answered as he held out his hand, the ferret leaping to his hand and climbing on his shoulder now. "I apologize for him, ladies. He's been rather nervous since we started traveling through here."

"Oh? I wonder why he....." Ino paused and remembered whose footprint they were standing in. "Ah. Right."

"Yes, I imagine the Great Fox has him nervous," the old man said with a chuckle, patting the ferret comfortingly. "Where are my manners? I am Kahiko, the elder of this caravan. And unless my eyes are failing me, I'm guessing you are a ninja from Konoha?"

"That we are," Anko said, subtly studying the old man and his group. She saw no signs of foul play so far, no hints that any of them were secretly ninjas. "If I might ask, why are you passing through here anyway?"

"We are a nomadic people. We often travel the lands, usually east to west and back again along the south. But this is our first time crossing this area since the Great Fox moved south from your village," Kahiko explained, looking back to his caravan. "A lot of my people are a bit worried to be honest, that we might run into him. Others are excited for the exact same reason. To see the one who made such large footprints, a golden mountain I've heard him described! That would be a sight to behold, if you can find the stomach to not be terrified!"

"You shouldn't worry, he's very mindful of where he steps and has excellent hearing. He'll probably notice you long before you notice him," Sakura assured with a smile.

The breeze picked up, and Nerugui suddenly leaped back to Hinata, who caught him in surprise as the ferret curled around the back of her neck.

"Hmm? Tell me, do you know the Great Fox yourselves, perhaps?" Kahiko asked curiously as he looked between them.

"You could say that," Ino said with a chuckle while Sakura and Hinata smiled.

"Perhaps that's why he keeps rushing to you ladies. He smells a bit of the Fox on you, and hopes he'll be safe around you," Kahiko mused as he stroked his beard.

"Smart ferret," Anko remarked appraisingly.

"I should hope so. He's quite an old one, so I would hope he has some good sense about him," Kahiko said with a laugh.

Hinata held up the creature in her hands and smiled at him. "Don't worry, Nerugui. Naruto wouldn't hurt you or any of the people here," Hinata assured softly.

"Hmm? Naruto? That's really his name?" Kahiko said in surprise. "I thought that was just a rumor. Strange coincidence, we passed by a Naruto Bridge a long while back."

Sakura chuckled sheepishly at that. "Yeah, imagine that."

Hinata gave Nerugui back to Kahiko, who nodded to her. "If you ladies are in need of a place to camp, you're welcome to join us for the night. "

"We'd appreciate that," Anko said with a nod. "We'll be along in a moment, we need to figure out our plans for tomorrow."

"Of course, of course, I won't try to pry into secret ninja business," Kahiko said good-naturedly as he turned to leave.

"You want to explain that one to him? That the bridge is named after him?" Ino teased Sakura.

"Don't," Anko said with a serious frown.

"Huh? What's wrong, Anko-sensei?" Sakura asked in concern.

"Sakura, I'm not sure if anyone told you, but you should be careful about advertising that Naruto, the Kyuubi, used to be your teammate when he was human, let alone that he was crushing on you," Anko explained firmly.

Sakura furrowed her brow as she caught on. "Because someone might use me as leverage against Naruto, try and make him do what they want...by threatening me?"

"If anyone was looking for a weakness of Naruto, they would go after his friends. And given how close you two are...." Anko trailed off meaningfully.

Sakura rubbed her forehead. She hadn't thought about that. She should have thought about that. Naruto's weakness. The thought infuriated her. Was that what the higher-ups saw her as now, a liability because Naruto cared about her? Or...worse, leverage they could use against him?

"I'll keep that in mind, Anko-sensei," Sakura said with a frown.

Anko patted her on the shoulder firmly but had no other words to comfort her.

"Look on the bright side," Ino offered weakly. "If you're ever in danger, your samurai in furry armor will come rushing to your aid."

Sakura appreciated the sentiment, but she sighed and gave Ino a sour look. "That's kind of the issue, Ino."

Meanwhile

Eventually, Naruto left the island and returned to his beach. He learned a fair bit about those people. They had been there for generations. They were aware of the mainland, but rarely did anyone head there. Fewer returned, either making a life in the wider world or meeting unfortunate ends.

He didn't really have a plan or reason when he went to formally meet them. It just felt like a good idea. After all, he might end up fighting a sea monster nearby one day and...actually, that might flood the island and kill everyone. Best to avoid an incident like that. But still! It felt like a good idea.

His ears twitched as he looked up to the great pillars, where his chunin watcher just fell asleep with a rather loud yawn.

Naruto stood from where he sat, glaring towards the edge of the barrier.

He felt more than one presence slip away.

"...Okay, they're gone," Naruto said expectantly.

He was rewarded with a young ninja appearing. One that couldn't be much older than Naruto himself, but with black hair and pale skin to rival Orochimaru.

"Lord Kyuubi," he greeted politely.

"What does Danzo want, Ink boy?" Naruto asked flatly.

"The Kiri Anbu were attacked. Most of them killed," the young Root agent informed.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

"It was not Konoha's doing," the young ninja informed. "They were attacked while crossing the Land of Sea via waterwalking. It is uncertain who or what, but a sea monster may be involved."

"Or the jinchuriki they're looking for," Naruto noted knowingly. At the root's head tilt, he snorted. "I have a good idea how your boss's mind works. He's thinking those anbu found exactly what they were looking for. And he wanted to warn me in case a bijuu came knocking."

The pale boy smiled. "I see you are not as abysmally stupid as they said you were, Lord Kyuubi."

Naruto gave him a dry look but refused to comment.

"There have been reports of some sort of sea monster in the Land of Sea. Lord Danzo is beginning to suspect the Rokubi to be hiding in that area, and is the source of this rumored sea monster."

"Is this Danzo's way of privately nudging me to go take a walk and go sea monster hunting?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"Not at all," the root agent said with a smile that was clearly empty. "I am merely providing you with this information in case it becomes relevant in the future. Konoha has been requested to investigate the situation as a mission."

"Ahh. I see," Naruto said, not entirely buying it but also not dismissing it. “Honestly? It might have been that octopus."

"Oh?" the man tilted his head.

Naruto glanced suspiciously at the waters. "He was gone for a while after the Kiri anbu left. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided they'd be a good meal to follow."

"It does seem to have become familiar and accustomed to your presence," the boy acknowledged. "Thank you for your time, Lord Kyuubi. I shall relay this to Danzo and continue my observations."

The Kyuubi grunted in a bored tone. Naruto allowed Danzo to keep a spy on him because it suited him. And because Danzo knew that his spy was left alone because Naruto was humoring the situation.

There was an understanding between him and Danzo right now, albeit an uneasy one. And Naruto had enough to deal with without worrying about provoking Danzo to do something stupid.

He sighed. He missed being human. Not just everything that went with it, but just the simpler way things were. Sure, being a ninja was complicated at times, but he had to think about things a lot more now. What he said that he wanted people to hear, what he didn't. And thinking around people like Danzo and Orochimaru.

And occasionally wondering if he needed to add Tsunade and Jiraiya to that list.

He meant what he said, he had no intention of letting himself be sealed.

Jiraiya was the greatest Seal Master alive.

Tsunade was the Hokage.

He hated having to wonder if those he cared about would betray him.

But he supposed Sasuke prepared him for that to some extent.

His ears raised.

His snout turned into a snarl.

And Sasuke had nothing to do with it.

The young Anbu watched as he felt Naruto's wrath fill the air for some unknown reason.

He had been here that day when Naruto sped to the north for his first battle with the Hakaju. When a bijuu ran, frantic to protect something against a terrible foe.

He now watched as the creature of living chakra stalked north, tails swishing ominously.

That was not a protective aura, but one of pure wrath.

Just what had conjured the ire of the Kyuubi, he wondered?

He decided it was wise not to ask.