Max & Naruto Uzumaki: Ship

One summer day, young Naruto Uzumaki was practicing the water walking technique he had learned during the Chunin exams a couple months ago. The blonde, orange clad boy had managed to luck out in recently discovering a beach that no one else but him knew of, with the ocean providing more than enough room for him to walk around on.

*Just hope I don‘t run out of chakra too soon...* Narutothoughttohimself as he run along the ocean’s watery surface, his bare feet feeling a bit cool, all the while, having to make sure he distributed the right amount of it through his soles. Sure, it was tricky, but if it meant he‘d be able to use more awesome jutsu, then so be it! In fact, he actually believed that at the rate he was going, he may become Hokage in no time!

Unfortunately, that cockiness had blinded him to the point where he found himself smacking into something wooden, knocking him into the water. Upon resurfacing, Naruto spat some of the salt water out, wincing from the fresh sting of the collision with the object his face made. When he managed to gather his bearings together, he looked up, his blinking in surprise to find himself staring at a fairly sizable sailing ship, and one that had to be centuries old model at least. Before he could angrily ask whose idea was it for a ship to suddenly get in his way, he heard something that faintly sounded like music playing on deck.

Blinking in confusion, Naruto decided to go up and investigate.

~

Max was as happy as a sheepdog could be, considering that his master, Prince Eric (soon to be King) had recently gotten married to his new wife (and soon to be queen), Ariel. The couple were dancing to the music serenading while the ship was bringing them to the destination where they were to spend their honeymoon.

All the while, Max himself was dancing along with some of the sailors that were enjoying the music. That is, until Max stopped in mid-step, his nostrils flaring and sniffing the air as a curious scent made itself known to him. It was akin to noodles cooked in a salt broth, with other yummy flavors mixed in.

Max didn’t recall any of the sailors bringing any pasta onto the ship, much less anything similar cooking up in the kitchen.

So, putting his nose to the floor of the deck, the sheepdog got to work with tracking down where the scent was coming from.

~

Naruto had finished climbing all the way up, canceling out his wall walking technique and holding himself up by gripping onto the edge of a low windowstill. The kid blinked in surprise when he took through it, looking at the people celebrating, amongst them including a couple, consisting of a handsome black haired man and a red haired woman dancing to the music. From the way their strange clothes guessed, he could only guess they were wealthy, with their facial expressions indicating they were happy about something.

Before he could speculate on what was going on, he saw a white and grey sheepdog with fur that was so shaggy that his eyes were obscured. Naruto was a little confused when he saw the huge canine sniffing around, as if looking for something. But then, as the dog got closer and closer to the windowstill, the gears in his head turned, making him realize that HE was what the dog was sniffing out!

Naruto involuntarily gave out a sharp gasp, proceeding to then immediately cover his mouth with one hand upon realizing his mistake once he saw the sheepdog start look his way. The boy immediately attempted to hide by pushing himself away from the windowstill and pressing himself against the side of the ship.

For a while, Naruto stayed like this, hoping that the dog didn't get a good look at him and would just go away as he heard sniffing sounds get closer and closer... Then it suddenly stopped for some reason...

Blinking in confusion, Naruto decided to take a quick look, thinking that perhaps the dog had gone away, thinking he was just seeing things. So, he slowly leaned himself back towards the windowstil, until he felt his nose suddenly pressing against something big and wet.

That was when Naruto found himself staring face to face with the sheepdog, whose head was larger than Naruto’s own. In fact, the sheepdog as well have been a bear from how much bigger he was compared to Naruto!

He stared at Naruto, panting loudly with that large pink tongue hanging out of his mouth and hot breath blowing in Naruto’s face. The very same face, of course, that the sheepdog was close enough to give him a greeting that only a friendly dog like him knew how to give.

The dog proceeded to then thrust his head forward, his big, slobbery tongue smacking itself on Naruto‘s right whisker marked cheek. With how big the dog was compared to Naruto, the tongue was easily able to push the skin of his cheek upward and tilt his head back. The blonde boy’s right eye was forcibly shut while his left one voluntarily closed, his nose crinkling from the wet sensation and the way the skin of his whisker marked cheek felt from being pushed up so hugely and casually by the dog.

As soon as the tongue swept off, with driblets of slobber sent flying, Naruto grimaced as he felt his cheek bounce for a bit from how much it had been lifted up by the dog.

The instant his eyes opened, Naruto gave the sheepdog a wry grin.

”I guess that’s one way of saying hello...” He chuckled before scratching the dog behind the ears, which earned him another two licks on the cheek each lifted the skin up, and caused it to bounce after they swept off.

“Max!”

The sheepdog looked away for a moment, staring at the red haired woman and giving a bark her way. Thankfully, he didn’t forget to plant his tongue on the center of Naruto’s face, dragging it up from the chin to his forehead, lifting both of his cheeks and nose upward as it stretched his face out before flicking it off.

As it turned out, Max’s tongue was so strong that it accidentally pushed Naruto off of the ship, causing him to land back in the water, watching as the sheepdog ran off to greet his master and mistress.

Naruto resurfaced, looking up at the ship with a grin.

”Hope I can see that mutt again at some point...”