Naruto's POV (Nearby Iron Festival - Land of Iron)
Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, and Shino all marveled at the new attire they were now in. Instead of their regular clothes, Muri and the Okama clan had new tailored outfits that fit suspiciously well. The clothes were made of thick, breathable fabric. Soft to the touch and yet undoubtedly dense. They were a solid earthy brown, both the top and bottom, covering nearly every inch of skin. Apparently, this was Okama-made gear designed to protect them from the environment of the Irminsul Wildlands and protect them from minor slashing and piercing attacks. Their new Chunin vest, standard supplies, and extras were sealed in scrolls for the missing shinobi. Even healthy medical supplies had been neatly sealed into a scroll. As the group familiarized themselves with their various packs and gear, Muri summarized the new information as they began to prepare to leave.
"As I said before," Muri began. "We will be traveling to a specific part of the Summoning World. The inhabitants of this world, our world call it the Irminsul Wildlands. This is where the majority of our inhabitants of the world live. Few of us are fortunate enough to have the power to own land outside of the Irminsul Wildlands. Though even clans similar to us, also hold some land in the Irminsul Wildlands for political reasons. For they would need the summoner and convergence points, as we discussed earlier. As such, it is perilous; some creatures there will be the nefarious type, others simply seeking to use us as a food resource, and some seeking to enforce your servitude. Furthermore, the actual landland is a massive tract of various extreme biomes. This will test not only our strength and wit but also your ability to survive. If this was not troublesome enough, we would likely be separated. Hopefully, not for long, I will be able to track the lot of you and aim to unite you soon enough; however, in the meantime, you must be cautious and survive; we have no way to know for certain who or what we will face. Our goal is to reunite and then strike out and find your friends as a group. They may be lost in the Wildlands or kidnapped or killed by various summoning clans. Once we have saved them, our goal will be to find and defeat the group that has attempted to force open a new Convergence Point. That goal MUST be achieved as well. If they keep doing such as they please, they may damage the film that separates our realms irreparably. I can only speculate the consequences of such a situation; it must be avoided at all cost. We must achieve both goals. To control the number of clans that evolve as nature intended, and ensure the safety of the mutually beneficial system of summoning between worlds. At this point, I will arrange for your group's transportation back home. Do you all understand this?"
"Understood!" Naruto declared, his voice filled with determination. As a member of the Leaf Village and a summoner of the Okama clan, he was driven to succeed in this mission, no matter the challenges that lay ahead.
"I tire of this discussion." Sasuke spat impatiently. "We understand the mission. Hurry up and get me to my family, tanuki." *4*
"I apologize for my teammate's harsh demeanor!" Hinata squeaked. "He's simply coming across as crass due to the stress. We will do our best to save our friends and aid your land…"
"I find the arrangement agreeable. I do not mind aiding you as long as we ensure the safety of our friends first." Shino agreed as well.
"Excellent." Muri nodded as he suddenly began to weave a long and intricate series of hand signs. As I said, be on guard; there is no telling what you're in for." The group did not flinch, determined to see this through. "Reverse Origin Summoning Jutsu!" Muri yelled loudly as he finished his technique. Suddenly, smoke surrounded the group before separate strands slowly enveloped each other. Naruto lost sight of the others as smoke covered him entirely.
'Don't worry, Lee, Choji, Yuno, Kiba, and Sakura,' Naruto thought as the smoke felt as it now lifted him and was racing through the air. There was some indescribable whine that pierced Naruto's skull. 'We're coming!'
Smoke blocked almost everything, but some light would momentarily be seen. Brilliant colors that Naruto could not process flashed as Naruto felt his body grow heavy as if he was falling…
Naruto - Irminsul Wildlands (South Swamps)
Suddenly, the smoke that had become Naruto's world disappeared. Exposing Naruto to a breathtaking view. There was a massive mass of land beneath him. Split into chunks of vibrant biomes, each much larger than the Leaf Village. Each was nature in a state Naruto had never seen. Plantlife covered everything it could with an endless thickness; flowers, bushes, shrubs, trees, and even the grass grew to absurd lengths. The mere strands of grass seemed to be taller than him. Regardless of kind, the trees were thick and as tall as easily rivaling the size of the most significant buildings Naruto had ever seen. But the biomes were all different; Naruto saw a massive sprawl of icy mountains with frozen rivers cutting through them, a gigantic swamp filled with spindly trees covered in moss and weeds, a forest much more significant and thicker than even the Leaf forest, a hilly sprawling dessert, a body of water that seemed to be a lake yet was the size of a small ocean, a flat plain seemingly holding only ludicrously long grass and thick curling trees. Naruto was stunned as the wind whipped violently at his face…
"Wait! Why am I seeing this from above?!" Naruto cried as he realized he was rapidly falling towards the massive swamp land he had seen before. "What the shit Muri! Hinata and Shino come here!" Naruto said he had to save those two. Sasuke's fancy-smancy teleport thing to save himself. But to his shock when he looked around to spot his friends they were nowhere in the sky. Panicked, they were lower Naruto focused but did not see them. 'Surely they must've just spawned elsewhere. Muri did say we'd likely be separated.'
'Shit, guess I'm on my own. Better find the others soon.' Naruto inwardly complained as he allowed his chakra to flow. With a flex of both of his hands, he called out. "Wind Style: Personal Atmosphere Level One!" He cried as wind chakra burst from him, wrapping around him and attempting to push up against his downward fall. But the momentum was simply too much! Naruto strained his jutsu, managing to slow his fall, but it wasn't enough! Realizing this, Naruto channeled a massive amount of wind chakra into both fists as he held both out as if to catch himself with them.
'New idea!' Naruto thought as he drew close to the middle of a massive river. Naruto waited until he drew precariously close to the swamp's murky waters. Then, with a mighty shove of both hands, he slammed his palms toward the water. A massive amount of wind nature chakra slammed into the water through its dark depths. This caused an enormous boom, and water shot up and rose in waves from all directions from the impact. Naruto could hear the crunch of the stone beneath the water. The force of which overwhelmed Naruto's falling speed enough to slow his descent to a slow fall. Naruto smiled as he willed the chakra to keep him afloat.
"Suck it swamp!" He roared victoriously. "You can't get one over on Naruto Uzumaki!" Feeling quite satisfied with his survival, he scanned his surroundings. Long trees covered in vines and other plant life protruded from the water. The water itself seemed nearly black, with thick moss and weeds being present throughout. Naruto pulsed his chakra and was stunned at what he felt. Their tracking techniques were useless… there was simply too much chakra… it was absurd. The chakra in the air seemed to bristle; Naruto swore he could feel it in the wind against his skin. It would be nearly impossible to track each other without it running interference. Though Naruto supposed Muri had been confident he could find them… either way, he had no intention of staying in the swamp. The constant sound of buzzing insects and the deep, pungent smell were annoying. And with the moist air and beaming sun, it was hotter than hell. Naruto shot off towards the nearest tree, quickly landing on one of the higher branches. 'Better stick to the trees, they say wet mud can be as deadly as quicksand. I guess I should find some high ground so I can scan the area. Can't waste time waiting, Muri said they could be in peril.' Naruto decided before he heard a loud whooshing of water and air. Naruto turned around with a raised brow to see only a massive maw of teeth flying toward him. "Shi-" Naruto started to cry before the gigantic jaws of death slammed shut, attempting to swallow him whole.
Naruto appeared a short distance away on a branch of another tree, substituting to avoid being dinner. He looked at the tree to see it falling and a massive giant reptile smashing into the water. It looked similar to a lizard but much larger and more aggressive than any Naruto had seen. Its entire body was covered in thick scales, the top portion thick and sharp, and its long body was dense and dark green, making it difficult to spot in the water. "Was that a giant lizard!" He cried in shock. His senses screamed danger, and Naruto drew Riptide as he leaped to another branch. Watching as a smaller than the first creature missed another dive, though being smaller wasn't much. The first was easily the size of a large building, this one was merely a small building. Naruto cursed as watched the two hungry gators, seemingly focused on attempting to eat the blonde. But suffered the same as the first, crashing into the murky bottom below.
"To think a mere human would dare roam in our swamp. As well as being brazen enough to disturb it." A deep voice sounded from somewhere in the water. *5*
"We are not lizards! That is even worse than calling us alligators. We are the crocodiles of this swamp. Besides, brother, Is that a human?" The smaller one rumbled. Its voice was deep and warbly. As if speech was difficult for it. "I've never seen one. Is he one of those… um…"
"Shinobi is the word," the other one boomed. "Though to us he is mere prey, the chakra-enhanced ones are said to be extra tasty. Call the others, and we shall crush him and use him as a garnish." The bigger one answered. Naruto could not see where they were within the deep water, but their voices echoed out of it.
"Yeah, not intending to die, so, not really down to be eaten, ya know? Maybe find a deer or whatever you "crocodiles" normally eat. I'm just in search of other humans. Have you seen any?" Naruto asked, smiling wide.
The two apparent "crocodiles" emerged to the surface of the water. Each was roughly the size of a small carriage or boulder. "He's showing us his tiny teeth!" the smaller, apparent little brother said. "Our food intends to fight back!" Panicking, he raised his tail and slammed it three times. In mere seconds, rushing water was heard as the two soon became four. The two new ones were even larger, nearly twice as much.
"My sons, you better have a good reason to call us. Your mother and I had nearly cornered some rabbit clan members." The largest of the four and father boomed.
"It is rare to catch them, though I see they made an interesting discovery." The mother's voice was just as deep and hard to identify. "It has been thousands of years since a human stepped foot into the Irminsul Wildlands, let alone our new swamp."
"Let's feed upon his bones~!' The runt of the group cheered.
"Indeed." The older sibling agreed.
"SILENCE, SONS!" The father roared furiously. There was a pause as the father considered the situation.
'So I fell from the sky and landed in a swamp infested with overgrown lizards. Even more confusing, they are now arguing about whether or not to eat me… what are the odds…?' Naruto thought with a deadpan as he stared at the group. Content to let them bicker, he stayed in place, it was rather funny to the blonde.
"Human." The father called.
"Uh yeah?" Naruto asked, perplexed at the situation.
"We shall spare you from our hunger should you agree to be our summoner…" The father smiled at the blonde, which looked crooked and alien on such an enormous, inhuman creature.
"Nope, can't do that," Naruto replied simply. "I am already an active summoner of the Okama clan. Also, again, have you-" Naruto stopped talking as he jumped for his tree, barely escaping a powerful stream of water, which quickly cut through the tree he had been using. "What the hell?!" Naruto snapped.
"He is a part of one of those wretched clans!" The crocodiles roared in sync. Before all four shot off their pressurized water beams. Naruto dodged each with relative ease.
'So apparently, keep the news I'm a summoner on the down low with other creatures.' Naruto thought as he jumped from tree to tree to avoid the rapid leaps of teeth and beams of water the crocodiles offered. 'Right, let's just take it to the sky…'
"Wind Style: Personal Atmosphere Level One!" With a wild flail of his arms Naruto sent himself up and the crocodiles away. Naruto shot off high into the sky, well above the trees and reach of the crocodiles. "Suck it, you crocky, whatever-" Naruto stopped as he felt air under his control being separated from above. He whipped around to see a massive-looking bird swooping down to gulp him up. It looked like the largest and most bloodthirsty pelican *6* Naruto had ever seen. With a cry of surprise and defiance, Naruto allowed wind chakra to flood Riptide and unleashed his attack. "Uzumaki Style: Slicing Wave!" Naruto called and unleashed a chakra line, slicing through the bird's left wing. With a call of pain, it fell short of the blonde as the massive creature fell into the swamp below. Naruto's eyes scanned the sky, and several more birds flew around, most of them of considerable stature.
'Guess the sky is a no-go.' Naruto thought to himself. He glanced down to see the bird that had attacked him being pursued by the crocodiles, the four of them quickly and mercilessly ripping into the mostly defenseless creature. 'Yikes, I guess it's better than me.' Naruto thought as he lightly touched down at a tree decently far from the feasting crocodiles. 'Suppose I'll keep moving. Swamp seemed to be in the southern portion of the Wildlands, so if he moved north he should arrive in the center of the land. Apparently the Okama clan kept a hideout there and they could use it to serve as the main camp.
Mind decided and now fully aware of how dangerous this place was. Naruto grimly leaped from tree to tree. 'Stay alive, guys… I'm coming.' Naruto swore to himself.
X-X
1.) The Okama clans are in fact raccoons, but some raccoons simply have different names in Japanese culture. Like they are nearly the same thing but with different names, so I choose both. Which is pretty cool and is the birthplace of this recurring joke.
2.) So for this arc I tried to keep the animal list limited to species that are either indigenous to Japan, commonly brought to Japan, or at least at one point did. Crocodiles as you may know are the latter option of the three. Apparently in Japan's past they once had crocs and gators. Also the name of the clan is a reference to the crocodile pokemon, Krookodile.
3.) So in the last note I talk about me trying to stick to animals once or previously living in Japan. However birds tend to be everywhere due to migration, and I like pelicans so boom pelican here. Poor Perry the Pelican…