I: The Boy Who Fell from the Sky

Dawn Island was almost always a peaceful place, barring the occasional bandit or pirate, but no big names with big bounties ever came, not since Red-Haired Shanks came ten years ago. It helped to have a Marine Vice-Admiral call your island a home. Unless you counted the outlandish escapades of one Monkey D. Luffy, the place was very peaceful, quiet and normal.

Until that blond-haired boy fell out of the sky.

"What the hell...?"

Naruto Uzumaki woke up with a headache and a general sick feeling in his stomach. Also, there were about twenty strangers crowded around him as he lay on the floor. Any self-respecting ninja would be suspicious.

He got up, pulled out a kunai, and assumed a defensive stance to keep everyone back... or he tried to. He was so out of it, he stumbled, cut his hand on the kunai, and fell over again, this time on his face.

They pulled him up now, they were carrying him. Where? A hospital? "I'm okay, I can walk now," he said, and it was true; his strength was slowly returning to him. They let him go, but continued to lead him somewhere.

"You just fell from somewhere pretty high," a man said. "We need to get you checked out."

"Hey, mister!" piped up a child's voice. "Why'd you fall from the sky? What were you doing up there?"

He had no idea how to explain. So he lied. "I... I don't remember a thing... I'm sorry, but it's true."

"But how did you –"

"Give him some space, kid," someone said.

They carried him to the hospital like he'd suspected. He told the nurse he was perfectly fine, but she still checked him, prodding him in different places and asking him if it hurt, examining his whole body.

Finally, she was done. "Seems like all you have are some bruises and a mild concussion," said the bespectacled woman. "But from what I hear, you fell from pretty high up."

He shrugged. "I really don't remember how I got up there, honestly."

She appraised him sceptically. "Amnesia, huh?" He nodded. She turned, about to leave the room, but he stopped her.

"Uh, but, where am I, anyway?"

She turned back and looked at him. "You're on Dawn Island, in the Town Square's hospital."

He slumped, disappointed. He'd never heard of there. "Uh... okay, thanks."

She gave him another analyzing look, then turned to the door. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Alright." She left, shutting the door behind her.

Five hours later, Naruto was admitted from the building, still having no clue where he was. He'd asked everyone in the whole hospital building about Konoha, the Elemental Nations, the Land of Fire, and anything else to do with his home, but turned up with nothing. No one seemed to know anything about the world outside their little island!

The last thing he remembered was being in Konoha, training with Kakashi, Sakura and Sai. He'd begged Kakashi to show off Kamui. After a few minutes of grovelling, Kakashi pulled out his Sharingan. Naruto threw a kunai directly at Kakashi's face... and there it all went black.

He knew Kamui sent objects to other dimensions. But was it possible Kakashi had aimed wrong and transported Naruto instead of the kunai?

He'd asked the hospital workers how far they were from the Elemental Nations. All he got was blank or confused looks. Now, he had no clue what to do.

"Hey!"

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned around. His eyes widened as he saw the arm connected to the hand stretching ten feet away to its owner. "What the hell?!"

The boy who'd stretched ran up to him, his hand decreasing in length as he got closer. The skinny boy wore blue shorts, a red buttoned vest, and his face was shaded by an old straw hat on top of his head. The boy let go of him and smiled widely. "You're the guy who fell out of the sky, right?"

Naruto didn't compute. "But... your hand. What kind of weird jutsu is that?"

The boy looked confused. "Jutsu? Don't know what that is. Is that what they call Devil Fruits where you come from? Where do you come from? Is there an island in the sky you fell off of?! Can you show me –?"

"Slow down!" Naruto stopped him. "First of all, what are Devil Fruits?"

"Oh, you don't know? Well, I didn't know either 'till I ate one. A Devil Fruit is a magical fruit that gives you a special power when you eat it! I ate the Gum-Gum Fruit when I was little, so now I'm a rubber man!"

"..."

The boy frowned. "It tasted really bad though."

Naruto suddenly wondered if he'd met an islander who was 'special' in the head. He didn't really know how to handle the situation and started wondering how he could sneak away.

"But anyway, I'm Monkey D. Luffy!" He stuck out his hand. Naruto shook it hesitantly. "What's your name? And seriously, how'd you fall out of the sky?"

"Uh... I can't remember. And my name's Naruto."

The boy looked disappointed. "You don't remember anything? That sucks! Anyway, you don't seem hurt from falling from so high up. Where'd you get so strong?"

Well, at least Naruto could brag a little. Even if no one else believed him, he could talk to this idiot. He drew himself up and pointed a thumb at his chest. "I'm a ninja, so I got strong from all my ninja training! I'm gonna be the next Hokage, the leader of my village, when the current one steps down." He slumped. "Well, I'll do that if I can find my way back, at least."

Luffy looked at him, eyes wide. "You're a ninja? That's so cool!" He puffed out his chest. "I'm gonna set sail out of this place soon and be a pirate! I'm gonna find the One Piece and be the next Pirate King!"

The boasting and over-the-top confidence reminded Naruto oddly of himself. "Cool... but, um, what's a Pirate King? Does he rule over other pirates?"

Luffy shook his head. "The Pirate King doesn't rule anyone but himself!" He held up his hands in delight. "But the Pirate King isn't ruled by anyone! He's the most free person in the world!"

A shopkeeper on the side of the road interjected into their conversation. "Don't listen to Luffy, new kid!" he said. "Ever since he ate that Devil Fruit he's wanted to waste his life being a stupid pirate."

"What?" Naruto was astounded. "He really ate a Devil Fruit? They're real?"

The man nodded. "Don't I know it. I was in the bar when he ate it ten years ago! Saw his body start stretching all over the place too!"

Naruto turned away. Magical, power-giving fruits? Real? Well, if his theory was correct, he was in another world. He'd seen some pretty strange stuff himself anyway. Maybe here, Devil Fruits were as normal as chakra... but Luffy said he'd never heard of jutsu before.

"Tell me, old man," said Naruto, ignoring the sour look that crossed the shopkeeper's face, "you ever heard of chakra? Or jutsu?"

"Chakra? Jutsu? Never heard of it. And who're you calling old man?"

But Naruto ignored him, scared now. How could he have any hope of going back to his own time if there weren't even any jutsu here? Unless...

He turned to Luffy. "Hey, Luffy, what can these Devil Fruits do, anyway?"

Luffy smiled. "I don't know all of them, but my old friend Shanks told me there are hundreds, with all sorts of powers too! Devil Fruits can let you control fire, sand, all sorts of stuff! And it can change your body, like mine did, or it can make you be like an animal, like a wolf or a lion or a –"

"Okay, I get it." Naruto said. So... maybe there was some hope? If there was a Devil Fruit that let you change dimensions, maybe he could eat it, or find someone else who'd ate it and ask them to send him back... it wasn't much, but it was his best shot. "Luffy, when you set sail, are you gonna see more people with these Devil Fruit things?"

Luffy nodded. "Sure! I'm gonna have to look all around the world for the One Piece, after all!"

Naruto tensed. This was the first person he'd met who had any intention of leaving the island: it was his only hope. "Can I come with you?!"

Luffy stopped. Looked him up and down. Thought about it for a second. Naruto was sweating, waiting for his answer.

"Hmm... no."

END OF CHAPTER 1.