Summoner in the Elemental Nations (Naruto Celestial Menagerie Quest)

Andy slowly, with some hesitation moves towards what looks like the Tazuna house. He thinks it makes sense. In the end, those are characters that he remembers from the canon storyline. Trustworthy, genuinely wanting to improve the lives of people in the Wave. Good people in other words.

Andy, focus. While this may be a correct assumption, Naruto is still a world with pretty lacking worldbuilding. Those pirates are an excellent reminder of it. If this is a canon world in the first place. Also, you are a stranger that enters the unknown territory, and how those people suffer at the hand of strangers, their reaction will most likely be hostile. And some of those people will want to kill you, or at least force you to do their bidding.

This realization works like a cold bucket of water. For Andy it still felt kind of unreal, to end up in a fictional world, but it's his life now. A life that he may lose if he makes any mistakes. In the end, he is just a normal guy. Well, was a normal guy. It doesn't mean he can't feel nervous, entering his first potential life and death situation. Not yet, but it will happen soon.

Andy inhales, and exhales a few times, trying to calm his nerves. In return Fancy, clearly noticing his nerves, gently moves his head, while giving Andy a chance to pet it in return. Even when Fancy tries to be supportive, he is still such a spoiled animal magical beast thing. Andy seeing this laughs, and the Zabu unearths herself out of the sand, to offer her own gesture of support, if far more awkward with her own very massive limbs.

"Thanks. I needed this." Andy smiles when something inside of his soul clicks. Grows. Provides calm, and warmth. When he pulls on that energy, Andy almost wants to laugh out of giddiness. The feelings of safety. Yes, this kind of summoning couldn't come at a better moment. At least safety, hopefully, shouldn't be an issue.

The Shield card shows up in his hand, and with the fascination he observes it. It feels like it almost vibrates in his hand, wanting to be released. With nothing holding him back, and no witnesses as far his eye can reach, the shield-like creature as big as him projects in front of him.

<I will protect. Friend.> This is all it says, calmly levitating in front of him.

"And I look forward to working with you, Aegis," Andy whispers, fascinated by this beautiful object. No, it's not just an object. He doesn't know Card Captor Sakura show well, but he knows those magical contain intelligent beings, and The Shield is supposed to be one of the smartest ones. "Come here, I will hug you."

And Aegis follows the suggestion, touching his new friend in a bit awkward hug, that they quickly stop afterward.

This encouragement, and realization that at least he isn't as vulnerable anymore, allows Andy to calm down a bit. The situation is still complicated, and he needs to prepare a specific image of himself.

Machine Theme… may help out in fact. Presenting myself as a shinobi, at least to some of those people should at least make them wary enough to at least not to attack him on sight. And for civilians, I need some local clothes. My jeans, black blouse, and a shirt with New Jersey Devils logo scream outsider. Well, being a puppeteer from Suna is a way to do it? Sure, why not.

With that suggestions, he asks Zabu and Aegis to be prepared for the transformation, as Fancy still looks like a normal horse, which is fine for those circumstances. When Andy asks them, if they feel different, or awkward in any way, they deny it.

King. Feels Optimal. Ready.

<I feel the same as I always do.>

Happy with that confirmation, he jumps on Fancy and slowly moves, while pretending that Zabu is his massive 'puppet'. Once he feels he is close enough to Tazuna's house, he will repeat the command for Zabu to hide, while recalling Aegis to his card form.

Grandma. Mom. Bro. No matter what happens, I hope you are happy. Because I know that you would tell me that 'No matter what, simply be yourself.' And I will be. I had a chance to back off, and in the end, I'm going in. None of you raised a coward.

The image of a small child prostitute comes to his mind, and he feels that he can make a difference. The Land of Waves needs a change. And he's ready for it. For some reason, he has a feeling that if he had a mirror in his hand, his eye would glow, just like in some shounen show.

So it's my determination shounen moment. Feels really damn nice, huh.

With no more delays, Andy rides on his horse toward Tazuna's house. It's time to fix things.

* * * * * *

It's a pretty short distance, especially by horse. With no other people around except Tazuna, he comes closer to a very passed out, drunk carpenter.

It is kind of weird that no one is around. And that this house is far away from other settlements. You would expect people working hard to help others to have more… visitors?

Well, he may as well do the first good deed for the day. Ignoring the smell of alcohol in the air, he raises Tazuna up, mumbles something under his nose, and politely knocks on the door He hears the stops, although they move in slowly. Andy isn't surprised by what he assumes cautiousness, as it starts to get pretty dark.

"May I ask who's knocking?" Smart woman. If Andy lived in this place, he sure as hell wouldn't open up a door, without some preparation. Also pretty polite.

When Andy wants to introduce himself, he wonders how he should actually call himself. Andy is not a very Asian name, so something more appropriate is needed. Ando works as a Japanese-sounding name, pretty similar to his own in a way. And some basic surname…

"Akira, M'am. I'm a new visitor to this place. I wouldn't bother you, but I found this… passed out drunk man under your door, so I wanted to inform whoever would answer my knock on the door. If he isn't part of the household, I won't bother you anymore." Andy politely states back.

"Father. No, please come in. Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I was busy cooking a meal, and for some reason, I missed this. I appreciate it.." The sound of the sliding door greets him, and what Andy notices is a polite, and warm smile. This lack of sudden wariness kind of caught him off-guard, expecting hostility. What he remembers in canon, Tsunami was in fact a warm, obliging, gentle woman with a will of steel. Heck, she wanted to commit suicide by Gato's thugs, so Inari wouldn't worry about her anymore.

Also her beauty surprises him. Andy at best had mixed luck with ladies makes him not really used to beautiful company. He had a girlfriend in the past, but it feels like this woman is out of his league. He chuckles a bit embarrassed, which in return grants him a far more genuine, warm smile.

"This man is in fact, my father. Sigh… he should at least try to knock on the door first. Again, I apologize for forcing you to do this, Akira-san."

"It's alright, Ma'm."

"Feel free to call me Tsunami."

"Yes, Tsunami-san. Anyway…"

"Feel free to stay for a bit. It is late, and you must be tired. Oh, such a beautiful horse." When Tsunami slowly moves past him, Andy takes off his shoes (remembering about this Japanese custom) enters inside, and lays Tazuna on what looks like a prepared tatami frame bed. Once Tazuna is put in there, Andy goes back to Tsunami and Fancy enjoying the company. He gets close, without interrupting them.

Fancy of course enjoys the attention, almost showing off like a mammal version of a peacock. Sigh, this horse is such a…

"Attention whore." Andy states in English, to make sure Tsunami doesn't hear this kind of vulgar, if amused remark, making Tsunami raise an eyebrow in an unknown language, that in return makes Fancy slightly kick him in the shin! Andy glares back at the horse-like creature, that snorts in amusement back. "Yes, yes, you damn spoiled horse. You know it's true."

"What language is that?" Tsunami asks, and Andy winces at this blunder. Because explaining this may be a bit hard. Weirdly… it makes her even more relaxed. Andy wonders why.

"Ah, that's English. I'm… from very far away." Understatement of the millennia right there.

"Engrishu? And how far?" Tsunami asks confused, and even with a confused look on her face, looks fabulous.

Get your mind off the damn gutter. Focus.

"From outside Elemental Nations." At her curious, if slightly skeptical look, he nods. "I will explain it soo, as I know how it sounds. Also yes, Fancy, enjoy the attention of the nice lady. You're hopeless." Andy coughs awkwardly, and Tsunami in return smiles at the compliment. Andy wonders if he should do it, but it may also make explaining things easier. Or more complicated.

He looks around, making sure that no one is really around, and desummons the horse, and in what looks like tiny particles of light, enter his own chest. So this is how desummoning process looks like.

The look of wariness returned on Tsunami's face, but it was pretty well hidden by her smile. In the end, she invites him to the house, and with expert movement prepares a nice, green tea. Andy with fascination observes her expert movements. It's fascinating to watch.

"Thank you for the invitation. Also, I'm surprised by the trust you show me."

Tsunami sighs gently, to quickly follow up with a polite smile afterward. It feels more genuine again. "If you wanted to hurt me, you would already do it. Also, your strange language and weird clothes prove that you are really from far away. I never heard of this language, and your clothes are weird, and nothing I recognize. Unless… you want to seduce me?" Tsunami's random comment almost makes him spill the tea, and Andy coughs surprised by this commentary, to which Tsunami answers with small giggles. This isn't what he expected to hear.

"No no. I just… wanted to help really. I witnessed what happens around this place, and it's depressing." At Tsunami's grimace, Andy adds. "Something is wrong, and I wanted to investigate for a bit. Asking politely the locals if possible." Tsunami smiles yet again, and presents him with what looks like Japanese butter cookies?

"I wonder what are you really, Andou-san. I want to say shinobi with what you did, but you lack…"

"Excuse me, but I lack what exactly?"

"I would call it menacing aura. Every single shinobi I've seen in my life feels like they can crush you without trying. Bigger than life. Like standing in front of the predator that wants to eat you." Andy not knowing what to say to that, simply lets her continue. "Unless you are one, but I don't feel like you are a bad person. Also, you lack a headband that pretty much all shinobi wear." Tsunami muses to herself. "Could you tell me about yourself if you don't mind?"

What a loaded question. The truth is ridiculous but in the end, he doesn't feel like it will hurt in this case. He shouldn't let paranoia guide all his actions, especially in front of a normal civilian woman. Who would she say this to? Gato? Yeah…

Also with Tsunami being a civilian, and knowing shinobi, her knowing that 'weird' exist makes it far easier to believe in, than if he tried this in his own world for obvious reasons. Also with her experiences, it's no wonder she thinks of shinobi as pretty much bad people. As Andy doubts Gato would hire someone with good morality. In the end, Andy does tell her the truth.

"That's… I don't even know what to say. Are you saying that you have your abilities for… two days? And you're really not from here." Tsunami still sounds, well, skeptical, but it's not a complete denial. "If you really wanted to lie, you would think of something less ridiculous."

"Yes. As ridiculous as it sounds. As I said before - I just want to check the situation and react to it. Especially when I noticed that young girl moving out of the brothel… something snapped in me. It's messed up."

"You're a brave man, Andou-san. I don't know what I would do in your situation."

"I still don't know myself. I… miss them."

"Your family." Tsunami gently states and Andy nods in return.

"Yes. I hope they are alright." Andy closes his eyes, and it's hard to fight this loneliness. Yes, he knows that his 'doppelganger' is there, but something may always happen, like an accident. It's just a worry he can't help himself. When his eyes land on the familiar photograph he also notices a small chair with engraved on it an intriguing family crest. When Tsunami notices where his eyes roam, her stoic, almost dead look catches him off-guard.

I guess it's that infamous Japanese stoicism. Not trying to show a 'weakness' in front of a stranger. Although it may be simply a survival trait in this messed-up place. Weakness can literally get you killed here.

"Those people in the photograph are my father Tazuna, whom you already… met." Tsunami deadpans a bit, and Andy in amusement smiles at her tone. "And my adopted son Inari, and my deceased husband Kaiza."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Those words sound completely empty, a platitude, but he means them. At Tsunami's nod, he adds. "If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine."

"It's… alright." No, it's not, but it's not like he can do anything about it. "It's a pretty long story."

And in the end, she talks about Kaiza. That she married, and they both adopted Inari into their family when he was a toddler. Andy knows the story, but hearing it again is blood boiling. And this time, it's real life. About their peaceful, humble life. When he notices her shaking, without a word, Andy simply states.

"From where I come from, my mother would tell me to let it out. To not bottle those feelings. It's alright to cry. From my experience, it at least lessens the pain a bit." At her surprised look, Andy smiles as gently as he is capable of. "Living in this place must be a nightmare. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. And yet you are a single mother, who raises a son on her own. You are a strong person, Tsunami-san. It's admirable."

"Andou-san… thank you." She whispers back. "You are a really good man." Is he? Part of him still wonders what he wants to do. And the more traitorous part whispers to him that he was willing to abandon this place. To simply gather supplies, and move the hell out. Is this the right choice, though?

"I… hope so." When without a word he gently stands up and hugs a crying woman, she stiffens at first a bit, but in the end, returns the gesture. "I hope you feel at least slightly better."

"It… does. Thank you again, Andou-san."

"It's alright. And about that family crest, if you wouldn't mind?" Andy changes the subject, trying to lift the mood a bit, and Tsunami nods, deep down thankful for the subject change.

"It's a Miyamoto Clan family crest. A clan I'm part of."

"You're… a nobility?" Andy asks, completely caught off-guard by this turn of events.

"Yes, although in the Land of Waves it works in a bit different way."

"How so?"

"In the Land of Waves we have a law, that if someone proves their worth in the eyes of Wave citizens in some impressive way, he or she may be granted nobility status. This happened to my great grandfather when he proved his worth, as a 'mere' levy soldier in the eyes of his samurai superiors, while protecting those lands from the Land of Water invasion. It's the country on the far East from those lands."

"I would love to hear your geography lessons, but it is kind of getting late. If you don't want to continue we may do it later." Andy politely offers, and Tsunami waves it off. Andy does want to hear some information here, but he is fascinated by that unexpected reveal.

"No, it's alright. In the end, as a mere 'commoner' he proved his worth to the point that even battle experienced samurai noticed it and granted him a nobility status as a reward. I don't know many details, but it was an impressive result that saved our lands. Later on, he kept proving his prowess, which only confirmed in the eyes of our Daimyo that this system works."

"Normally this wouldn't be acceptable, what I suspect a mere commoner rising so high in a social status." Andy states, and Tsunami nods.

"Later on, my grandmother explained to me that this 'generosity' is mostly explained by the low population of the Land of Waves. We literally can't afford to waste the potential of anyone, and this reward system encourages it. This motivation makes anyone believe that they can become someone important. It's a bit ingenious system." Tsunami states and Andy nods at this. Pretty much a very tempting carrot approach. "It obviously doesn't happen often, or easily, but it does. And once someone proves his worth, that status becomes hereditary." Interesting, such fascinating information to learn about. Ahh, Kishimoto, you could do it better man.

"Any other dangers? You mentioned Land of Waters."

"Honestly it's still strange that someone attacked us. Land of Waves is a small land, with not that many resources. We mostly fish to sell to others. Fish and seafood pretty much."

"Is Land of Water an island nation?" Andy knows it is, but well, he isn't supposed to 'know it'. Explaining that Elemental Nations from where he comes from is 'fictional' may be a step too far.

"Yes, it is."

"I guess it may be their way to fight to secure a monopoly over fish and seafood trading. If they are the main supplier in this area, it means they may demand higher prices."

"It makes sense." Tsunami nods at this. "It never crossed my mind. And afterward, Land of Fire took us as the vassal state." Andy nods at this. Fire Daimyo would like to make sure something like this doesn't happen ever again. And well, no one wants to anger someone as big as Land of Fire over the small island nation really.

"Interesting. Although I wonder why you live on your own here? Where are your servants?"

"That's… the fault of Gato, although we only hired one maid, my friend." Tsunami almost growls at this, but quickly regains her composure. "Although in our case, our clan works in the field or in households like anyone else. In the end, we were never ashamed of our commoner roots." It kind of explains why Tsunami still is so good of a housewife, and Tazuna works as a simple carpenter.

"Our clan always was a very minor nobility house, so we worked pretty much for other bigger families." Andy nods at this, and it kind of reminds him of the poorest Polish Szlachta members that worked for other nobles, even at fields if necessary for money, that his father mentioned to him in the past. Good old days when his dad wasn't a piece of garbage human being. And how normal people respect Tazuna and his family. "We completely lost contact with our Daimyo Akio-sama. He is a good, honest man, so I fear the worst, but I still believe he is alive." Tsunami sighs in sadness. "And with no news from Land of Fire, we suspect that in fact we are betrayed, and Gato simply bought their 'loyalty' with his money." Tsunami spats in disgust, and continues. "In fact, this house is our holiday house, while the villa Gato lives in was our mansion, that we have decided to gift to our Daimyo, so he could turn it into a museum representing our history."

"Thank you for telling me this, Tsunami-san. I have a question though."

"About?"

"I noticed that pirate symbol not far from here. I just wonder… who they are?"

"They are traitors." Tsunami bluntly states. "They never touch the civilians to be fair, but also do nothing to help us." That makes Andy think, that there must be a reason for it. Why not 'indulge' themselves in tormenting villagers, right? Something that he may need to check later on.

"Thank you for saying all of this," Andy answers gratefully.

"You're welcome. Excuse me, but I feel a bit tired."

"It's alright. I have a tent, so I may sleep outside. "

"No, please stay in. I have a guest room that you may sleep in. In fact, I insist."

"Thank you. One more important question. About the dangers - how many people are around, Gato's men I mean."

"I don't know how many exactly, but I would say around 50-60 Gato's bandits. And those pirates? There are 15 of them." Andy notices that Tsunami has no idea about the shinobi he has noticed with his binoculars later on. In other words, this info helps, but it's not completely accurate. And may be wrong in some cases.

"Thank you." When Andy notices Tsunami drops to her knees, with hands on her knees, eyes directly on the floor, he wants to ask her to stand up, to not degrade herself, she states.

"Please. I feel like I have no right to ask you, but please… help us." Andy awkwardly looks around, not knowing how to react to this begging. "You showed that you have a special ability that may bring out from this misery. You know what happens outside. I beg you. I will do anything you want as long as you get rid of the tyranny of Gato." When she raises her eyes, there is a deep determination in them. Andy isn't really good with those kinds of situations.

[] Of course, I will. And there is no need to beg, I would do it anyway. I can't see people suffer anymore. (Potential Hero Route).
[] Of course, I will. Gato needs to be taken down, and someone else should take over, who deserves it far more. Like me, Andy thinks in his mind. He may as well start gathering allies for the future Naruto timeline clusterfucks by becoming a proper ruler. (Potential Villain/Neutral Ruler Route).
[] Of course, I will. But can I really do it on my own? I may need to leave… Wave, to possibly tell someone about it. Like Daimyo of the Land of Fire? Or Konoha? Actually, it should be their job, and he may be the only person who may bring that news to them. Pretty much be a messenger. (Neutral Travel Route, Wave Arc dropped, for now at least or forever). Wave Action votes are locked.
[] Write-In.

With this declaration, Andy needs to think about his next step.

[] Those pirates on the North-East. There is something off about them. It's time to visit them.
[] 'Barracks' at the East may still contain some supplies to steal/destroy. Next time they may be full of bandits though.
[] Visiting the bar, and asking people around may be worth doing, to gather more information, and help someone in some ways.
[] Attacking Gato's villa in the North may still be the best bet as fast as possible. He won't see it coming most likely if Andy does it fast enough. That shinobi may be an issue.
[] Maybe it's worth spending a bit more time with Tsunami and Tazuna. Talk with the people they know. Tazuna is someone he still needs to talk with as well. If he is in the middle of gathering money for hiring Konoha shinobi, he may help out in some way. Also assisting in building the bridge/securing its safety of it may be a worthy goal.
[] Write-In.

With nothing else to do, Andy says good night to his current host, while knowing that his creatures are around if something bad will happen. With this, he goes to sleep.

==============

4k words. I think I write too much when I was supposed to keep it at most 3k. Yeah, tomorrow I do take a break, so don't expect a Friday update.

This means you have a whopping 600 points. So the choice is like always between Creature and Power Rolls. Although this time I do a small experiment.

In this and this post I pretty much explain the concept of the second roll. To keep it short if you roll using 600 points this time around, and roll let's say 300 points creature. Instead of banking those points, you may roll for another creature, but this time with those 300 points left. It would be the same with a power roll.

In this case [Power Roll: Second Roll] and [Creature Roll: Second Roll] is the option you need to choose. Otherwise, points are banked.

Like always I hope you enjoy my quest so far, and I look forward to the discussion, that has recently been pretty active, which makes me very happy as a QM. Tomorrow the vote will be up all day and I will close it on Saturday Morning in the +1 timezone (Central Europe, I'm from Poland). Cheers, my dear readers .

So yeah, like always, with 2 more options.

[] Power Roll (600)
[] Creature Roll (600)
[] Creature Roll: Second Roll
[] Power Roll: Second Roll

If I will keep writing more heavy chapters like this, I may need to nerf point income x_X.