4.1

Naruto was a little skeptic on the whole vision bit, but he had an idea on what Rhae possibly went through. "From what I'm guessing here, this mentor of yours gave you a purpose at some point of becoming a priestess, right?"

"That is correct." Rhae answered before a looked crossed her half visible face. "By the way you spoke, you met someone that was similar as I, correct?"

A bitter smile was present on the Uzumaki's face as he remembered Haku. "In a way, yeah. And before you ask, he's dead." He said as he's still annoyed if Haku was still either a boy or a girl.

"Of course." Was her response as she motioned for them to resume their walk. "Now… even though I'm considered a priestess -a low one at that by many of my peers- I'm at least glad of my blindness as I don't have to work on seeing visions through candles or fires, which is how we usually receive messages from our Lord."

Though mildly glad to get back into track of things, Naruto quirked his head at this fact she brought up. "And why's that?"

"I've been told from my mentor that some visions are sometimes prophecies and I typically go from there."

This merely confused the hell out of him, causing him to voice his thought. "I don't understand what ya mean."

"To my understanding, prophecies are a double-edged sword. You have to handle them carefully. They can add depth and interest, but you don't want to be too literal or too easy."

A knowing look crossed his whiskered visage. "Looking underneath the underneath."

"...Excuse me?"

"Sorry, something one of my teachers taught me and I believe that applies to practically everything."

Rhae adopted a thinking pose as she thought through his words. "Pardon my words, but I see what you mean by that, Naruto."

Naruto merely chuckled a little on what she did there. And it seemed his response was a little infectious as she followed suit.

"Getting back into things," Rhae said once the mood settled, "from my lessons from under my mentor, I was told something quite interesting that pertained to prophecies." This got Naruto's attention as the pair made their way through a hallway as if she was leading him somewhere. "She said that Gorghan of Old Ghis once wrote that a prophecy is like a treacherous woman. She takes your member in her mouth, and you moan with the pleasure of it and think, how sweet, how fine, how good this is… and then her teeth snap shut and your moans turn to screams." Naruto unconsciously crossed his legs on this bit. "That is the nature of prophecy as it will bite your prick off every time."

The Uzumaki soon scratched the back of his head, while briefly patting his lower regions a little on the… recent analogy. "Yeah, I can understand what you're talking about. People being so focused and entrapped to prophecy in one way turns out to be for another and if focused on the former, then you'd get screwed."

"I wouldn't put it like that, but you have the gist of it." She responded as they eventually made it passed a doorway towards the outside. Despite feeling the contrast of heat, Rhae didn't seem bothered by it and neither did Naruto. "And even if you do know about prophecies, you don't want to change its course or alter it or else it might turn out badly that it might happen anyways -despite you adverting it- or something else will occur."

"Thus most prophecies are self-fulfilling when people try their best efforts to prevent them in some shape or form." Naruto summarized.

"Exactly."

The shinobi looked out towards the scenery of his current view of Volantis as the sun setted before them and admitted it was a nice sight to behold. After several moments of processing the recent topic, one needed to be discussed. "You kept talking about prophecies, but never really went into what it is your religion is hanging onto exactly."

Naruto could possibly tell the blind girl was blinking from behind the cloth wrapped around her head by the time she spoke next. "Ah, yes, I believe so."

"Then mind telling me what it is?

"Why of course. But before telling the prophecy, I should tell you the backstory behind it all."

Naruto merely shrugged. "Eh~ don't see why not since got nothing else to do."

"Great." She said with a smile before coughing into her hand as she faced North-West… or at least the direction she thought it was… as she leaned against the stoney ledge. "Now… the story dates back before the Great Wall in Westeros was built. Our god -R'hllor- has a foe that seeks to destroy all life as we know it, whose referred to as the Great Other. Both are equal, powerful forces in their own right with the Lord of Light siding with the living... and the dead with the Other."

The coldness in the air seemed to become a bit more chilly as she spoke, causing Naruto to shiver a little. 'Is it just me or did it get colder all of a sudden?'

"Now the story behind it all had different tellings, but this is the gist of it all… as it started during the Long Night roughly eight thousand years ago." Rhae said in a grimly tone. "The entire world was covered in darkness and terror reigned supreme with the dead marching all over to slay the living. One day, R'hllor had chosen a champion -named Azor Ahai- to help slay the dead, but to do that he needed a weapon that would actually kill them. And before you ask, any other weapon would've just shattered against their enchanted weapons that turns everything to ice. Now… Azor Ahai had to create his first attempt on the weapon for thirty full days and nights, but when he dipped it into water to temper it, it shattered." She then heard Naruto snort. "Is something funny?"

"Sorry but the way he tempered it is outright bad for any blade." He then explained a bit of backing. "I've been trained as a smither and one thing I do know, you should not temper hot metal into water or else all that hard work you did would go to waste."

The blind girl nodded. "I understand that, Naruto. But you should also understand Azor Ahai didn't have the proper means of tempering metal in oil back then so that part of the story is quite understandable."

"Alright and sorry about interrupting ya."

"It's forgiven." She said with a soft smile. "Now… where was I?" She asked herself before remembering where was left off. "His second attempt in making the sword took him a full fifty days and nights before capturing a lion and plunged it into its heart to temper the blade and once again, the blade shattered."

'...Now that's just ridiculous.' He thought with a scrunched up face. 'Why the hell would he temper the blade in such a way?'

Not knowing Naruto's present thought, the blind girl continued. "On his third and final attempt, he worked on the blade for one hundred consecutive days and in the end, he plunged the sword into his loving, consenting wife's heart to temper the blade. And as this happened, her willing sacrifice powered the sword and converted it into the legendary Lightbringer."

"...Okay, I gotta say it but I'm glad that third attempt worked or else all of that would've been a waste of time... and a wife." He vigorously shook his head in a comedic fashion. "Actually, scratch that, if you really think about it-it's still pretty awful."

"Yes, indeed it is." She sighed. "Point is, his wife's soul was able to empower the blade to make it strong enough to make anything that came into contact with burst into flames. Using this weapon, Azor Ahai fended off the dead and the Great Other so everyone could be safe. But… not everything could have a happy ending as he suffered from his wounds in his final battle and wasn't able to slay his final foe. The sword became lost and the Great Other had to lick his wounds, swearing to attack the living once again when he was back at full strength."

Naruto was glad to know how this whole religion was at least based off of. But there was still one thing he was curious about. "And what's this prophecy supposed to be?"

"I would say it in High Valyrian, but I doubt you would understand it." She said with a now present smile.

"...Yeah~ You're probably right." He chuckled out before blinking. "Wait, why would you bring that out?"

"Because in the common tongue, confusion arises for those that are not really knowledgeable in the prefered language."

"Okay… so what's the prophecy?"

"The Prince or Princess that was Promised will bring the Dawn."

"...Doesn't really roll off the tongue with the princess bit."

Rhae merely giggled in response. "No, it doesn't. To which I agree." She breathed out a sigh. "Most followers of R'hllor are sometimes ignorant on that fact and go with the male savior. But in actuality, it could be either a man or a woman that would be our would be savior against the Long Night. After all, the word Prince in High Valyrian is actually genderless."

Naruto nodded when hearing this as a thought came to mind. "And what's up with this prophecy anyways?"

The blind priestess responded. "It is written and said that after the long summer, the Long Night will come again. And when it comes closer and closer to this time, Azor Ahai will be reborn and complete his/her task to take down the dead and finish off the Great Other once and for all. But if he/she fails, the rest of the living shall meet its end.

There will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer -the Red Sword of Heroes- and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him.

And the prophecy claims that Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt in order to wake the dragons out of stone. This shall occur after a long summer when the long winter descends upon the world and the red star bleeds in the sky upon his rebirth. the Prince that was Promised will have the blood of the dragon."

Rhae soon scrunched up her face as she scratched part of her locks. "Though there seems to be more of the prophecy as I could feel it in my heart, but since I can't exactly read anymore and properly find anything that has it written down, then I can't research more into it."

"Hey, it's quite alright, Rhae. I got quite a lot of information there so I believe that's enough."

The priestess in red nodded and gave a warm smile. "Now… going back earlier when I spoke about prophecies, there's another thing to consider in which certain details about them could be misinterpreted from it's actuality."

Naruto rose a questioning brow. "Which is…"

"People always searching and dwelling further into specifics that causes confusion from the actual fact." She answered before holding up a finger. "For one detail, the One that was Promised is born amidst smoke and salt. Many would believe our hero would be born on an island or at a coastline and many would search from there. But if one could look at it in another way, our intended hero could've contracted grayscale as it's commonly contracted in said areas. Many would look over those with greyscale and search somewhere else, soon causing our downfall from being ignorant."

"Yeah… that would suck badly if that were to happen."

"Quite indeed."

"...Ya'know, you seem to reveal quite a bit of sensitive information to a guy like me."

"It's not really sensitive information at all, Naruto. Anyone could've asked for it, but are often afraid to do so."

Naruto snorted. "Figured as much."

"...So tell me, does our chat suffice for you to believe in our Lord?"

"Honestly? No, it does not." He said as he could feel her eyes on him. "It'll take much more than just a simple conversation to convince me to convert. Besides, I already have several things I believe in that might suffice."

"And what would they be?"

He mildly scratched his whiskered cheek while giving out a chuckle. "Well~ they aren't religious or anything…" 'Even though I do have my beliefs from the one back home,' came the quick thought. "But they are philosophical in nature. One being that when people are protecting something truly special to them, they truly can become as strong as they can be. And the other is the Will of Fire."

The first one made sense to the blind priestess while the other made her curious. Something told her that it possibly coincides with her Lord's teachings. "And what is this Will of Fire you speak of?" She asked.

"I… don't know all of the details for it honestly, but everyone back home is supposed to be a family unit with everyone loves, believes, cherishes and fights to protect our village with how the deceased did so before us." He scratched his blonde locks with a heavy, frustrated sigh. "Though with what I was treated in the past, I believe part of the philosophy doesn't fully work with most people." Despite the negative comment that got Rhae rather curious, Naruto briefly smiled. "But one thing that stands out is that each of us has the strength to continue fighting against all odds, building the willpower and strength of oneself."

The priestess hummed. "To my understanding, it's supposed to be symbolic of the hopes and dreams of the dead passing onto the living and so forth."

"My thoughts exactly."

"But one thing that has me curious is why you think that one philosophy doesn't fully apply to you?"

Naruto merely stood in silence as parts of his hair covered a hollowed gaze. "I'd… rather not talk about it."

Rhae could tell something possibly happened to him in his past that was hard to discuss. And as much as she wanted to pry, she decided against it. "It's quite fine."

The pair leaned against the balcony ledge in comfortable silence soon after, with the sun sinking and disappearing in the horizon. Whatever tension was present left just like the twilighted sun's rays.

Feeling more of the cold in the air, Rhae decided to go back inside. Feeling the tug against his arm, Naruto quickly got the silent message she sent as they walked back inside of the warm temple.

"So what will you do now, Naruto?"

"Eh~ Who knows. Just follow the flow or whatever."

Rhae formed a coy grin. "And here I thought you didn't want to do such a thing."

Knowing what she was referring to, he smirked. "That's with destiny and fate, Rhae." He then groaned. "But if you're talking about in the now? Well, I need to head back to the inn I'm staying at. It's getting late and the people I'm traveling with are probably wondering where I'm at… Despite me leaving a note for them."

The priestess gave an understanding nod. "Then it's been a pleasure chatting with you."

"Yeah, same here."

Getting towards the central bonfire, she gave a sad smile. "Though it's a shame it had to end so soon."

His blue eyes landed onto her blindfold as if trying to look directly into her eyes. "Why's that?"

"...I don't have that many people have… pleasant conversations with." Rhae admitted. "It's all business, research or discussions about our Lord. I hardly have anything that was like what we discussed with others, asides from my mentor. Anyone else is practically non-existent."

Naruto was saddened when hearing this as he understood what she said quite well. Though a small idea crossed his mind. "I don't plan on leaving Volantis for the next few days, Rhae. Maybe… I could stop on by until I leave."

The blind priestess in red gave a warm smile upon hearing this. Happy that she might have more time interacting this young man beside her.

"I would like that." She said. "I would like that very much."

He once again gave her a fox-like grin by the time they reached the temple's entrance. "I'll be sure to come on by sometime tomorrow, I promise."

"And are you sure you'll keep it, Naruto?"

"Hell yeah!" He boasted, which got her to jump a little on the surprised action. "If there's one thing you should know is that I always keep my promises, 'ttebayo!" Once letting go of her arm, he missed the small displeased look on her face. "See ya later, Rhae!"

And before she realized it, he was gone. The blind teen didn't know how but she felt his presence suddenly left all of a sudden, along with the warmth he carried. But if Rhae still had her sight, she would've seen Naruto run off in unimaginable speeds before leaping over the temple's gates.

-Insert GoT: Lord of Light-

"He is quite the interesting boy," spoke a smooth, feminine voice. "Isn't he, my child?"

"Of course, my Lady." Rhae turned around and gave a massive smile at the source. She then walked forward and gave her a dear hug. "I have missed you."

"The same with you."

From what Rhae had heard of descriptions of her from her fellow worshipers and others, she was an elegant, beautiful woman who always wore the same style of dress in a brownish-red color. Her eyes were emerald green, yet they seem to be brightened as they've melded with bright ambers. Fer richly dark, copper hair glowed whenever near any natural flames. And around her neck was a choker with a ruby centerpiece.

Parting the embrace, the blind priestess greeted her savior, her mentor and mother figure of her life. "I didn't know you were coming back from Pentos so soon."

"My business arrangement there came a bit too short for my liking. So I didn't want to waste any further time before resuming my full duties at this temple."

Rhae gave a curt nod, knowing what her mentor meant.

With her being the High Priestess here in Volantis, their Lord's First Servant had many duties to uphold. One oversaw all sacred and religious duties while pleasing their beloved God. Another was supervising the scores of fellow priests and priestesses on their respective duties. And even though many of Rhae's fellow practitioners receive visions from R'hllor, they aren't exactly clear unlike her mentors; whose is much more clearer and focused.

Hooking her arm around her surrogate daughter, the High Priestess walked inside and spoke a question. "Tell me, my child, did you come across any trouble when I was away?"

"None at all."

"Are you sure? Nothing like what happened the last time I was away?"

"Once again, no."

"Shame… Would've enjoyed showing the new blood their place again when they tried harassing you. Even those that tried to bed you."

Rhae could only roll her eyes behind her blindfold. "Of course you would. But honestly, things were quite fine when you were away."

"Asides from what happened over in Meereen."

"...Well, there's that."

Last week was an interesting time at the temple with a lot of people in an uproar. Rhae heard from her fellow worshipers they had distinctive visions about a whiskered warrior combating against a Valyrian beast at Meereen's main fighting pit. When he… or she fought against the flaming monster, the person wielded both a flaming greatsword and a giant carving-knife in order to take it down.

And it was from there many speculated this person was Azor Ahai reborn.

Rhae was rather skeptic upon hearing this as her fellow priests and priestesses were merely jumping to conclusions. They could've realized this person was not their intended Savior, but possibly one of his fellow warriors to combat against the Great Other's army. But with the Long Summer drawing closer and closer to its end, people were getting desperate in finding their reincarnated Hero.

"At least people are becoming more active in their search for him… or her." Rhae stated, getting her mother figure to nod in response. "Though I worry about the resulting implications."

The High Priestess rose a questioning brow. "What do you mean?"

"Human sacrifices might become more and more frequent, for one. And some priest or priestess would become escentric like the ones that were dealt with in the past. Thus our good name would be tarnished once more."

The older woman gave a knowing nod, reminded on problems of the past. "Ah, yes. I completely understand." Wanting to change subjects, the First Servant spoke. "Well enough about that, tell me about that boy you were with."

"...You saw all that?"

"At a reasonable distance. Wanted to see how you'd do, given the lack of experience you have… without problems." The High Priestess then urged the younger woman. "Now tell me, how was he?"

Rhae formed a small smile. "He was quite nice. Better than any man who've come across our temple… that I've interacted with." She could feel the Lord's Flame of Truth nod. "Sure, he was curious about our Lord, despite not wanting to join our beliefs."

"Nothing's ever easy."

"Right. So asides from that, he shared with me some philosophies he believes in and they were quite interesting. And there's the fact he doesn't fully believe in prophecies as he wants to form his own path if life."

"And what do you think of him?"

She shrugged. "Despite me being blind, my lady, and what time we've had in our interaction, I can see he's got a kindness in his heart… and his soul." Her smile lessened a little. "But there seems to be this darkness buried deep inside and I assume it's with what pain he carries with him each and every day."

"Hmm… I see." The High Priestess then smirked. "Judging by the way you're speaking about him, he's left a bit of an impression on you, didn't he?"

"I… think so… Maybe…"

"And if I've heard correctly, he plans on coming back again in the morrow, correct?"

"That he is." A curious expression was adopted onto the blind priestess' face. "Why you ask?"

Standing in front of the main firepit, the High Priestess gave her surrogate daughter a wide smile. "Enjoy what time you'll spend with him. Talk to him. Get to know him, my dear."

Judging the way she spoke stood out for Rhae. "Our Lord has interests in him, doesn't he?"

"Perhaps… Perhaps not." The smile on the First Flame's lips lessened a little. "It's hard to really say."

"If… If the Lord commands, my lady." Rhae hesitantly said, rubbing her hands together.

"If you're thinking about bedding him, don't. I feel if you try so soon, you'd only push him away."

The young priestess let out a relieved sigh upon hearing this. She had been offered the chance in becoming a temple prostitute in the past, due to her beauty, in order to help convert more to their faith. Yet she turned it down as she knew that wasn't for her.

"Thank you, I… I…"

"Now, you best head towards the kitchen, my dear." Interrupted the older woman. "I believe it's time for supper."

"Of course, Lady Kinvara. I believe it is." Said the blind priestess as she let go of the now identified Kinvara and slowly walked away from her. Making it a few feet away, she turned around slightly and spoke. "And good night to you."

"Hopefully another good night. For the night is full of terrors."

"For the night is full of terrors." Rhae responded in kind. "But the fire shall help burn it all and light our way."

Seeing her daughter in all but blood walk away from the central bonfire chamber, Kinvara looked towards the temple's entrance for where Naruto Uzumaki left earlier.

The whiskered teen was a nice boy as he seemed to have this sort of fire inside of him that possibly drawn others towards him, whether it be for good or bad intentions. And during what time Kinvara saw of them together, it appears that her surrogate daughter unknowingly hopes of seeking out some sort of friendship with him.

Which was good since the blind priestess hardly has any friends, only work acquaintances… as it were.

Now… Kinvara partially told Rhae the truth about her time in Pentos being cut short. It was not because of actual business, but in actuality a vision from her Lord. He showed her of not only the whiskered teen's battle back in Meereen, but of what occured in Old Valyria… in fragments, that is. Her Lord's Light of Wisdom only knew so much, but got a general idea on what was going on.

As much as she wanted to proclaim the Uzumaki as Azor Ahai reborn -like many of her fellow priests and priestesses- Kinvara didn't want to jump to conclusions that easily. Some of the facts were there like Naruto wielding a sword coated in flames. But the sword he held was not The fabled blade as Lightbringer glowed a pure, white light.

Yet the sword Naruto wielded felt older than that of Lightbringer, despite it being forged during the age of Old Valyria… And it felt connected to something greater.

But there was more to what her Lord initially wanted to show her. So she dwelled deep into the fire in order to see more as to what got her Lord's interest.

...What she saw… was hard to process and understand…

A crying babe with features similar to Naruto's having blood and tears landed upon him. The source of the blood and tears came from people who she felt were no doubt his parents, dying from impalement by a beast that was greater than anything she'd ever seen. And it was done all under an enlarged blood full moon with fire and smoke coating the reddish sky.

Before she could see anything else, the giant fox-like beast turned its attention towards her… somehow… and pushed her away from the vision with a massive roar that would no doubt rupture her ears if it was there personally right in front of her.

If that wasn't confusing enough, the scene shifted to that of a ruined, moonlit city. Fog blanketed most of its sky with smoke rising from most of its buildings. What inhabitants resided within it's blood covered boundaries were crazed and rabid. And each and every one of them were taken down by some sort of hunter as he or she was bathed in their blood… before it's eyes landed upon her.

Things shifted once more as the darkened landscape was replaced with that of that of a massive graveyard, filled with weapons serving as tombstones. A solar eclipse bled an orange light as it trailed towards the horizon.

And in the center of it all was a coiled sword, pierced into a bonfire… with a knight kneeling before it with a stretched hand as a flame linked them together.

Shifting her gaze from the temple's entrance, she looked towards the central fire where everyone prayed towards. The flames were bright and warm, all distracting enough to hide something inside the flame. If one were to truly focus on it, they'd see the same coiled sword she saw in her vision… before she was forced to end it due to her crying blood.

'What are you, Naruto Uzumaki?' Kinvara thought, breaking her gaze from the flame before making her way towards her chambers. 'Why has our Lord's attention been set upon you?'

-River Rhoyne, Night-

"Of course they'd fuck themselves to sleep." Naruto groaned out as he rubbed his eyes, thinking on events from earlier. "Should've realized that by now."

After getting back to the inn, Naruto expected to see Oberyn and Ellaria up and about while having dinner while questioning where he went. Yet they weren't in the inn's dining area. And upon checking up on them in their rented room, he saw the little… party were dead asleep with the rank air of sex wafting in the space with a cart semi-full of food nearby.

Seeing as the Dornish couple wouldn't leave the room until the morning, Naruto made a quick grab of food before heading off once more.

Like earlier, the Uzumaki didn't have any real destination in mind. A part of him wanted to go back to his rented room and go to bed since Oberyn and Ellaria were no longer having their fun, finally granting him the sleep he wanted. Yet another was curious as to what Volantis' night life was like, wondering how it compared to Konoha's.

Guess which one won over…

And so far things weren't all that different… Then again, he was on the poorer side of the Free City and hasn't seen the richer side once the sun setted. He would probably get the chance tomorrow as the idea of infiltrating the Black Wall earlier today still wafted in his mind. But he still needed to discuss things further with the perverted viper on what to exactly do there.

"Can't go in blind like what I did back at the temple." He muttered to himself. "Yet I didn't get the chance to really explore there." A thoughtful look came soon after. "But since I plan on seeing Rhae tomorrow, I might get the chance… And I wonder if I'd run into Talisa while I'm behind the Black Wall since that's where most of the nobles reside?" The shinobi soon shook his head. "Scratch that, I shouldn't do that. Makes me think I'm some sort of stalker or something."

Unbeknownst to him -back in Konoha- a certain, shy bluenette heavily sneezed… Along with an ambitious Master of Coin following the same action at the Westerosi capital.

Currently, Naruto was walking on top of the river's surface in order to avoid confrontations from any civilian, slave or security alike that were to pass by. Yet it didn't matter that despite the moonlight shining down from the partially clear skies above, no one would've noticed him anyways. The Volantene would've been too preoccupied with themselves or wouldn't bother checking the river's center.

If they did, then the shinobi would've bolted in order to have them lose sight of him.

Looking up towards the starry sky, Naruto briefly wondered how long he'd been taking this stroll of his. He doesn't exactly have a watch on hand and he wasn't all that knowledgeable in telling time once the sun was down.

...Well he could have if he paid attention to that specific lesson back at the academy.

Thinking on that now, he wondered how everyone was back home. It wasn't the first time he thought about them and will surely not be the last.

Are Ayame and Tenchi doing fine without knowing his whereabouts? Is Tenten doing well without him helping at her family's smithy? Is Ino taking care of his little garden at his apartment? Has Kiba, Akamaru, Neji, Choji, Shikamaru and Lee survived their encounters against the Sound Four- no, Five? What about Hinata worrying about both him and her cousin?

...And what of Sakura? Would she forgive him for killing Sasuke? After all, he did promise her to get him back home, but the heat of battle tends to sway the meaning one way or another. Naruto couldn't afford to hold back as the Teme wanted to kill him and the Uzumaki obviously didn't want that to happen.

'She probably hates me.' He sadly thought. 'Despite him giving her the cold shoulder and defecting to that Pedo-Snake, Orochimaru, Sakura still had feelings for him.'

The truth hurts both ways, no matter how one softens the blow. And with this case, it hurt worse with him seeking her affections, yet hardly got any at all.

"Hope Granny Tsunade, Shizune and Ino can help her out without me there." He muttered out, before looking towards the river's surface once giving out a sigh. The physical reaction got him to notice something shining along the water… and moving against the slow current. "What do we have here?"

Following his curiosity, Naruto decided to investigate. Walking closer and closer to it, he eventually made out an animal's figure due to the moonlight helping out. He momentarily thought it was drowned and dead, but it was actually alive and swimming. The identity of the creature was soon revealed as it's head poked out of its surface in order to receive air into its lungs before slowly walking towards the shore.

"Huh, a turtle." Naruto then scratched his head. "Hardly see of these guys."

He'd only personally seen a few turtles in life while all he knew about them were from books and from Kiba, due to him having to work part-time at his family's veterinary office. And the last time he saw a turtle was being Might Guy's summon when he first met the green spandex wearing man before the first test of the Chunin exams.

The turtle… tortoise… -hard to really differentiate them like crocodiles and alligators- back then was rather large to be half his height while at least twice his width. And this was all due to its shell, which made up half of it's full body. And the creature that was before Naruto at the current time was as long as his head towards his pelvis, in terms of length, while it's width was like his.

Coming up for a closer examination, the Uzumaki momentarily saw the shiny object imbedded into the turtle's shell. But that was overwhelmed upon seeing all the barnacle across both its shell and most of its flesh.

He remembered Kiba having to bail out from a pranking day -back in the academy days- due to him having to spend a good part of the day cleaning up a turtle that was brought into the vet. Kiba said that barnicle on a turtle was considered an illness -his words, not a professionals- which needed to be taken care of. It was due to the stuff somewhat being like a parasite, imbedding themselves into the turtle/tortoise shells and sensitive parts of it's flesh. And this causes a lot of discomfort for the creature as it might have a hard time breathing and seeing properly.

Feeling bad for the creature, Naruto walked up to it and kneeled down. "Hey there." The turtle looked up, but didn't much respond. "I don't know if ya noticed, but you've got quite a lot of barnacle on ya." The Uzumaki then pulled out a kunai from his hip pouch. "I'm gonna help ya out and get rid of that stuff."

Before he could do so, Naruto went off to the side and looked for something edible for the turtle to dine on. It wasn't long as he brought back quite a lot of edible looking plants and prayed to Kami they wouldn't be bad at all.

Dropping them in front of the turtle, the sea creature didn't move at all. Naruto quirked his head as to why it's not going right in and eat. But he figured the turtle was either cautious or very slow to act.

'Most likely both.' He thought before crouching down and picking up one of the plants.

Being sure he was in the turtle's line of sight, the whiskered blonde put the plant into his mouth and crewed. The taste was odd as it was neither dressed in any sauce or cooked, like what veggies he ate in the past. Pushing that aside, he continued eating it before swallowing the planty mush.

Seeing the human eat the plant and turning out got the turtle to bend its neck down enough to slowly start eating.

With the mild task accomplished, Naruto made an extra clone in order to help out on the cleaning process. Each wielded a kunai and coated the blades in a thin layer of chakra to make this easier. But despite this being so, neither needed to be reckless or else the turtle will get really hurt.

The first to go was the bannicle on the shell as the most resided there. It was quite the annoying process to cut them out as some were rather thick and others dug into the hard shell. With everything that was picked off, they were tossed aside into a small pile; even the shiny object that caught his eye earlier.

And once the top part was cleaned off, the bottom was next.

The clone carefully flipped the turtle over while not startling it. Like before, the process the pair had the same form of difficulty. Yet what came after would be the most challenging as the flesh had to be taken care of.

Naruto took a pair of legs while his clone took the other. The soles of the turtle's feet were quite sensitive as it mildly squirmed in their grasp. Little blood was drawn, due to the little buggers digging themselves into the flesh. And with the four limbs eventually done, the turtle was flipped back right-side up.

"You're doing good there buddy." Said the Uzumaki as he patted it's head. "Just a little longer and you're good as new."

The tail was surprisingly easier as there only a few small barnacle to get rid of. The head and neck though were a different story as they were riddled with them. The human and chakra construct made delicate work in ridding the turtle of its ordeal. The nostrils and areas around the eyes were a little tricky with blood being drawn soon after. The sea creature gave off a displeasing sound, due to the recent bits of pain it felt. But they were temporary as Naruto and his clone had to help wash the cuts.

And after what felt like forever, the barnacle cleaning process was done.

"Gotta say but you're one of the easier animal themed jobs I ever worked on." Naruto stated as he dispelled his clone. "Now I don't know if there are a few more of those guys hiding somewhere else on ya, so sorry in advance."

The turtle merely nodded, greatly appreciating the human's work in helping it out. It hardly felt any more pain from the sea parasites that once clung onto its body.

Naruto smiled, seeing the turtle in its current state as it seemed to eat a little quicker than before. Moving away from the animal, Naruto would've moved elsewhere before heading back to the inn for the night. Yet he remembered the shiny object he plucked off the turtle's shell earlier.

Going towards the barnacle pile, Naruto crouched and brushed them aside before finding the shiny object that caught his eye earlier. He saw there was some sort of gem in the object, but couldn't make out the rest of it, due to how dirty it was. Making his way back towards the Rhyone's water, Naruto washed and scrubbed away the filth to see what the item exactly was.

It was some sort of medallion or what he assumed to be one due to the lack of a chain in the little, closed hoop on top. It was primarily a silver, circular disk with five little fin-like objects poking out of the sides. And on the disk was some sort of swirl-like design with either a turquoise or aquamarine gem set in the middle.

'Hard to tell what it is because of the lighting.' Naruto thought through his inspection. Flipping the medallion over, the Uzumaki scratched his chin. 'Also can't make out the lettering and other designs as they must've faded from Kami-knows how long in the water… or whatever. And all I can tell is that this is supposed to look like a turtle.'

Being tired now and having nothing else to do, Naruto decided it was time to head on back and get some rest. Pocketing the medallion, the Uzumaki channeled chakra into his feet and ran across the river's length to make it back to the Volantis port in order to get to the inn quickly. There would be plenty to do in the next day or so before sailing towards Dorne.