Chapter Text
On an Unknown Beach
It was quite humid. Not an uncomfortable heat. It felt like a humid breeze like that on the beach.
He could confirm his theory by the grains of sand clinging to his backside. Sneaking through his tattered meshed net under armor and the cuts on his gashed pants.
Great, his wounds had sand in ‘em now. Wonderful.
“Ugh…” Naruto groaned, blinking his eyes to confirm his surroundings and gather intel on where he was.
Naruto was very confused. The last thing he could recall was his harsh fight against Sasuke that left horrible scars on their body, removing a limb from each of them. He recalled lying on the ground next to him as they had a heart-to-heart conversation, exhausted and barely clinging to life after their fierce battle, feeling he had finally reached the Uchiha.
Suddenly being on a beach was very alarming.
…but not as much as the three creatures hovering over his face as Naruto opened his eyes.
“What the…” Naruto awkwardly commented as he stared at the three creatures as they bolted from his side.
Well, startled two of them. The one that looked like a round chicken bolted without a hint of fear. In fact, Naruto could feel a sense of raw malevolence from the strange chicken.
The other two creatures had a sense of familiarity to them as well. There was a big fluffy cotton ball of a sheep, almost as if it was a caricature of one. And then there was a red-furred cat that stood on its hind legs, running away in a panic only to trip over a mysterious device left in the sand and plant itself face-first into the sand.
“Well, I’m definitely on a beach,” Naruto muttered, his lips twitching as he refrained from laughing at the poor cat’s plight as he glanced at what it tripped over.
It looked like some sort of handheld device with a massive screen. It flickered on, and a simple phrase appeared on the screen.
“The towers are the key… The tree holds the truth?” Naruto read the statement aloud, taking in his surroundings.
It was a bright and sunny day. One that he could see everything clearly. A minor peak of land with a ruined structure built into it obscured his vision to the north, but he could see a roaring ocean and islands scattered in the distance. And some sort of structure to the south. A rig of some kind?
And was that island shielded by a forcefield?!
“What in the world is going on?” Naruto grimaced, rubbing his temple with his only available hand.
He glanced over at his stub of a right arm to see it had scabbed and healed over. Kurama’s doing most likely. Naruto would have liked to have a word with his partner, but he could sense the Nine-Tails sleeping within, the endless battle they had endured taking a toll on him just as much as it had on Naruto.
For now, Naruto had to make a plan of attack to figure out where he was and what had happened. His chakra was at its limit, and he couldn’t utilize it at the moment, so seeking everyone out through it would have to wait.
The more pressing matter was to find or make some shelter so he could rest and recover. With a good night’s rest, Naruto could at least have recovered enough to start seeking answers of where he was and how he arrived here. And what these towers and this tree were.
“The ruins look like a good enough of a place to start,” Naruto muttered as he pushed himself off the sand and started to trudge his way toward the stairs that led upward.
Only to feel a slight tug at the knee of his pants.
“Huh?” Naruto paused, glancing down to see the cat creature tugging at his leg. In its paws, it presented the device to Naruto. The innocent and almost happy expression on its face convinced him to take it. He sensed no malice. “Guess it couldn’t hurt. Thanks, little guy.” Naruto patted the cat-like creature on its head.
It happily mewled before scampering away.
Naruto chuckled at the cat-like creature, shaking his head. He turned back to the stairs, making his way up as he had planned while glancing down at the tablet he was handed.
While he was resting, at the very least he could fiddle with it.
Who knew? Maybe it would have some of the answers he sought?
Nightfall
Through the flickers of the campfire he had built, Naruto sat against the stone wall as he absently scrolled through the files on this device.
It had some intriguing notes about this place. It also had some blueprints for some basic equipment that could come in handy. Others, he wasn’t so sure about. What was a Palball?!
What did it mean it was meant to capture Pals in?!
Naruto shook his head, compartmentalizing that information for later. The bigger question was how he could make this stuff. There weren’t any instructions, just a list of items. Maybe it would give instructions once he gathered the material it asked for.
And did he really even need them? Hopefully not. He hoped his stay here wouldn’t be that long.
Putting that aside for now, Naruto glanced at the map that was on the islands he found himself currently situated on. The Palpagos Islands. A series of islands that he had no idea existed.
Naruto scowled, scanning the layout of the islands. Somehow he could hear Sakura admonishing him in his mind for not paying attention in class. Bleh! He never liked the classroom anyway! He learned better outside of it!
He shook his head as he scanned the nearly empty files called the Paldeck. A file of all the creatures that were found on these islands. The creatures on this island were called Pals, apparently.
The only three that were available but grayed out were the three Naruto had seen. Lamball, Cattiva, and Chikipi. There was little other information about them other than a small blurb of data that was mostly unhelpful.
Although, if Chikipi was supposed to be delicious, he might have to give that a go. Hopefully it would taste like chicken…
“Meow!” A familiar mewl drew Naruto’s attention. He glanced over at the stairs that led to the ruins he was resting in to see the Cattiva he had run into earlier skipping in his direction. Clutching something in its paws before presenting a series of red berries to Naruto.
“Eh, are these edible?” Naruto paused, knowing better than to simply eat a berry he didn’t know.
It was a lesson he had learned on his trip with Jiraiya. Ate a few berries that didn’t treat him well. Learned that his regeneration had its limits and struggled with poison, especially food poisoning.
That was a fun experience.
In response to his question, with one paw, the Cattiva shoveled some berries into its mouth and vigorously chewed and swallowed them with a smile on its face.
“Heh, I’ll take your word for it.” Naruto chuckled at the display of truth the Pal was attempting to convey, taking what was offered into the palm of his left hand.
He glanced at the bright red berries with a bit of apprehension. Just because a creature that lived on these islands and had adapted to its environment could eat these berries didn’t mean he could. But, he supposed he was gonna have to figure out eventually if his stay here was extended for any reason…
“Huh?” Naruto recoiled along with the Cattiva as a blue digital glow surrounded the berries.
In an instant, they vanished, leaving a panicked Cattiva and an alarmed Naruto. A light flickered on the screen of the tablet that drew Naruto’s attention. He picked up the tablet and scanned the screen again to see something that unnerved him.
It was a screen called Inventory with many boxes laid out underneath. And in the first box on the screen was an item called Berries labeled with five.
“What in the world just happened?” Naruto scowled, narrowing his eyes at this revelation, his thoughts spiraling out of control on the possibilities.
He shook the numerous thoughts from his head, focusing on what he knew and what he could see. Laying the tablet onto his lap, Naruto took a single finger and gently tapped on the berries to confirm his suspicion. And in his left hand, several berries appeared on the tablet in a similar manner to the way they disappeared.
“So this is a storage device as well?” Naruto frowned, staring down at the berries and then analyzing the tablet to no avail.
He was unsure what to make of what he witnessed. It unsettled him and left a pit in his stomach. Something wasn’t right about this place. How he mysteriously arrived here. The strange creatures called Pals. Items he collected being stored in this tablet’s pocket dimension.
Naruto absently wondered why the several logs he turned into a makeshift campfire weren’t absorbed by the tablet. Perhaps it was because he simply kicked the tree down, smashed it to bits, and rolled the logs over to where he wanted to camp, never once picking them up.
“I’m in way over my head here,” Naruto mumbled, feeling the onset of a headache building in the back of his head.
Still, he knew better than to pass up on filling his belly. Taking the handful of berries that had reappeared, he popped one into his mouth. It was expectantly sweet with a hint of bitter aftertaste. Not unpleasant by any means, but it added to the flavor.
“Thanks, little buddy. They’re pretty good. Wish I could pay you back for your hospitality.” Naruto forced a smile, noting the Cattiva hadn’t fled after being startled.
It still seemed rather timid, but it became evident why it hadn’t run away despite the shock of the berries disappearing and reappearing in the manner they did.
A howl rang out in the distance. A howl one Naruto identified as a wolf, or likely, a wolf-like Pal.
The skittish Cattiva cowered at the sound, nervously glancing at their surroundings. Toward the stairs, as that was the only location from which something could enter the campsite.
“Guess there are predators out there, huh?” Naruto commented, unbothered by the howl or presence of potential predators. Naruto continued to smile to ease the Pal’s fear. “If you’re worried about ‘em, you can camp with me for the night. If one ‘em shows up, I’ll show them just who the apex predator here is.” Naruto managed to crack his knuckles by simply balling his lone fist, grinning as he did.
Through his confident words and his aura, the Cattiva considerably calmed. It mewled out its appreciation before circling the fire several times, curling into a ball and falling asleep within a matter of minutes.
“Well, that was fast.” Naruto chuckled at the sight. Leaning back against the stone wall, he sighed as he was left alone with his thoughts.
Questions that still needed to be answered. The tablet didn’t have any answers. It left him with more questions. Hopefully in the morning he’d recover enough to start seeking them out, and in the coming days, once he recovered enough from both his physical fatigue and chakra exhaustion, he could use his sensory tools to locate his friends.
It was weird being separated from everyone. Naruto didn’t like it. For all his life, there had always been someone around. To be camping out in these unfamiliar islands all by his lonesome…
How he wished he had anyone here with him. This was uncomfortable. Almost unbearable. Almost.
“Heh, at least I have a companion of sorts!” Naruto made light of the situation, smiling at the strange creature he had met and was sleeping at his camp.
Closing his eyes for some much-needed rest, Naruto exhaled. He wasn’t sure what tomorrow would bring, but he would face it like he always did. He would find the answers he sought and find his way back home.
And that was a promise of a lifetime.
The Next Morning
Night came and went without event, much to the Cattiva’s relief, as it fed on some berries as they walked up the broken stairs out an entrance that led to the other side of the island.
“So that’s the tree,” Naruto whistled as the tree the tablet mentioned came into view.
It was a mighty tree Naruto could clearly see in the far-off distance beyond the island he was currently situated on. A tree that left Naruto certain had something to do with whatever was going on here.
“Guess I should start by figuring out what the secret to these towers is,” Naruto mused, staring off at a semi-nearby tower he could see much closer to him than the tree.
And with that, he made his way down the cliffside path and toward a trail he had noted. The message on the tablet was the only clue he had to go on at the moment. Naruto might as well follow it while he was still recovering from his wounds.
“Meow?” The Cattiva tilted his head curiously at Naruto, trailing behind him as it jogged to keep up with Naruto’s stride.
“You coming with me?” Naruto commented with a smile, observing the Pal as it kept up with him. The Pal showed its comprehension with a nod, making Naruto’s smile widen. “Well, alright then. Welcome aboard!”
“Let's get this journey started, shall we?”