Author's Notes:
Hey guys! Kind of stuck on how to write the next chapter of my One Piece fic like I got a couple ideas but I don't know how to link them well :/ . I didn't want to stop writing because of that so I wrote this after watching some One Piece videos and reading some sad Naruto fics as well in hopes of giving me some ideas on how to link my ideas together. I hope you guys enjoy this!
Disclaimer: Naruto and One Piece are owned by Masashi Kishimoto and Eiichiro Oda
Chapter 1: A Promise Of A Lifetime
Naruto Uzumaki, the 6-year-old blond Jinchuuriki walked down the streets down toward his favourite food stand in the village, Ichiraku Ramen, with a smile on his face. Today was the 10th of October, the day of his birthday, and the day where he would usually hide or run away in fear as the villagers would chase and mercilessly beat him to a bloody pulp. He always hated his birthday. Today however was different. The Ichirakus invited him over to their stall for some ramen, free of charge. The Ichirakus were like the family he never had with Teuchi-jiji being the loving and stern grandpa and Ayame-nee chan being the cheerful and loving older sister. Just thinking of all the ramen he was going to eat with his pseudo family brought an ear-splitting grin to his face, with a hint of drool trickling down the side of his mouth. His happy thoughts were interrupted by a foul smell. He sniffed the air and gagged slightly.
"Gah, that smells awful! It almost smells of... oh no..."
The familiar smell of blood combined with the rising plumes of black smoke coming from the direction he was headed was enough for him to connect the dots. He silently pleaded that it wasn't what he was thinking and that he was wrong but as he came closer to the food stand, he knew his fears were correct as before him lay the collapsed form of Ichiraku Ramen in a flaming inferno. He ran forward, looking for any survivors and what he saw made his legs go numb. In front of the stand was the bloody form of a man he knew all too well.
"Teuchi-jiji! W-what happened? Who did this?" Naruto screamed in desperation as he fell to his knees next to the old man and lifted his hand, grasping it tightly to his chest but received no response as he was passed out from blood loss. He looked up, frantically searching the burning remains of the Ichiraku stand in hopes of spotting Ayame only to lose all colour in his face as he spotted her body lying under the collapsed wall, slowly burning away. Naruto couldn't help but throw up on the ground, tears spilling from his eyes.
"Ayame-nee chan..." Naruto whimpered.
The flames that licked her body illuminated a brick wall nearby. Written on the wall was 'DEATH TO ALL DEMON SUPPORTERS!'. His tear soaked cerulean eyes faded and shifted into slitted red eyes. The boy's body shook fervently as he began to hyperventilate, his sadness slowly combining with rage. A thin wispy layer of red chakra crept out from his navel and slowly encompassed the blonde in a fox-like cloak. Before the boy fully lost control of himself however, the pained cough of the man in his hands caught his attention. Naruto looked down and the intense rage on his face contorted into a look of fear as Teuchi's hand were sizzling from the intensity of the red chakra. No sooner did the chakra retract from his hand, giving the old man some room to breathe.
"N-cough-Naruto, my boy... please don't do anything stupid. Even th-though those stupid idiots d-deserve a penalty worse than death, y-you can't kill them... you'd be no better than them. Besides, a Hokage can't go killing his people, now can he?" Teuchi tried to joke but began to cough out blood.
" I-I don't think I have much time left so let me tell you s-some things that need to be said. We don't blame you for what happened here. You're just a misunderstood child who just needed a little affection. You have been nothing but a joy to have around. You are our number one customer... and also like the grandson I never had. So please Naruto... please don't walk the path of hatred. Find those you can call nakama and protect them. Help those in need and show the world the wonderful boy we know you to be. Make... us... proud... mago (grandson)..."
By the time Teuchi spoke his last words, the red chakra retracted back where it came from, leaving a vulnerable and fragile boy in tears. Beside the Third, the Ichirakus were the only people who treated him like he was worth something. Like an actual person. Loved. But now they were gone. He clutched at his chest, his heart felt like it was in the clutches of the Shinigami himself, crushing it to nothing, but he wasn't so lucky. At least he would have died and be reunited with his pseudo family; but no. They were gone, forever, while he was still alive. Naruto could only let out a pain scream into the sky. The sky began to pour down in response as if the heavens them self were crying. The hand at his chest clutched tighter; his knuckles becoming white.
'Maybe if I died, all this pain would disappear, and I could finally be happy. Free… No. What am I thinking. I can't meet Teuchi-jiji and Ayame-nee chan now. I'll be spitting on the promise I made to them.'
The boy shakily stood up, and stared sullenly at the stand before glancing down through teary eyes at Teuchi, who held a small smile on his face. Naruto took this in, saying one final goodbye before running in the direction of the gates. He needed to get away from this place, if only for now, in order to grow stronger and protect others from ever getting hurt because of him, maybe take up medic-ninjutsu as well, it was the least he could do for Teuchi-jiji and Ayame-nee chan.
"Damn it, I was too late." Looking up, Naruto spotted a tall man wearing a white spotted thick billed hat that over shadowed his eyes. He wore a long black coat with yellow insignias strewn about near the hem of the coat, which reached past his blue jeans. His tattooed hands were clenched into a fist in anger. He looked up and stared right into Naruto's eyes. "Those eyes... you lost someone pretty close to you, didn't you?" Naruto could only nod, trying to hold back the flood of tears that were pooling in his eyes at the mention of his family. "Damn it, I'm sorry kid, I tried to prevent something like this from happening, like what happened to me, but I was too late."
"-hy" Naruto mumbled.
"What was that kid?"
"Why are people so stupid. Why do we have to suffer because of how damn stupid they are! People think I'm a demon, so they burn down the only place I feel at home. Including some of the only people to have loved me."
The man stayed silent, not knowing how to respond. He himself asked these questions when he was younger; when his hometown was burnt along with everyone he knew. Before he could muster any sort of comfort, the boy interrupted him.
"I promise. I'm going to get strong enough that my name reaches the heavens. I'm going to be the world's greatest medic and protect all my nakama! I won't let anyone die because of me ever again. I promised them... I..." Naruto couldn't continue as he broke down into a sobbing mess, the tears he tried to hold back flooded and cascaded down his cheek. The man was shocked at the child's conviction.
"Heh, you're strong kid." The man murmured.
"W-wha?" Naruto choked out confusedly.
"I believe introductions are in order. My name is Trafalgar D. Water Law, also known as the Surgeon of Death and the greatest doctor alive. Despite the cards life has dealt you, you continue to push forward for the sake of others, it's admirable. Come with me and I'll teach you everything I know, you'll become the successor of my legacy. So, what do you say?" The newly named Law exclaimed, holding his nodachi up in front of him.
He didn't know why he said that, or why he went out of his way to try to save those people. He was the heartless Surgeon of Death. A pirate feared by many. Yet those flames and the pained scream of a child reminded him too much of himself. Reminded him of the family he lost to the stupidity of others. He was traumatised by those events. He didn't even care whether he died. The lead poisoning made him a lost cause anyway. Yet it was Cora-san, a man who charged head first into any hardship thrown at him with a smile on his face, that brought him out of his darkness. And like how Cora-san helped him, it was his turn to help this boy in front of him. A boy who reminded him of both himself and of Cora-san. Naruto's face took on a look of shock as the tears began to lessen. He wiped the remaining tears from his eyes and look at Law with new resolve.
"Thank you, Law-sensei, I'll be the greatest and strongest medic alive, that's a promise of a lifetime!"
(Time skip)
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat at his desk looking sombre. Not even the hidden Icha Icha book he kept stored in his drawer could lift his spirits as today was a painful reminder of what he lost. Today was the 7th anniversary of the loss of the Ichirakus and his pseudo grandson. He was so exhausted that day from dealing with the civilian council that he collapsed in his bed and demanded not to be disturbed until the next day. He left the protection of the people in the hands of the remaining ninja, who unbeknownst to him at the time, were avid Kyuubi haters. Because of his callousness, not only did the Ichiraku family die, but Naruto had all but vanished. The old man took it hard and only blamed himself for not looking after Naruto better. The soft Hokage that he slowly became over the years, toughened up as if he was in his prime again. The feared ninja known as 'The Professor' was back. The ignorant ninjas and villagers were dealt with severely to say the least. He popped open the cap of a bottle of sake he kept for this day.
The room was engulfed in a blue light and no sooner did a man appear out of thin air where the chair in front of his desk once sat. The sudden appearance of the man made Hiruzen spit his drink out and go on alert. He stood up with a fierce glare on his face as the Anbu, who were hidden around the room, sprang to the Hokage's defence and surrounded the mystery man. The man wore a black-sleeved, yellow hoodie with a smiling insignia on the front of his chest. His sleeves were rolled up, revealing tribal-style tattoos on his arms; tattooed on the back of each of his fingers are letters that spell D E A T H with a black cross on the back of his hands. The man was also sporting a pair of jeans with odd markings on both the knee and ankle area, similar to the white fur hat that sat on top of his blonde hair. Pierced in each ear were a pair of small golden earrings. Lastly, the most striking feature of the young man before him was the nodachi he carried over his shoulder. It had an oblong-shaped hilt trimmed with short white fur, a purple grip with two white rings around it and a yellow pommel. It was sheathed in a black scabbard decorated by white crosses from the opening to the bottom, and with a small piece of red rope tied near its opening. "Who are you and what are you doing here." Hiruzen asked calmly as he directed his killer intent at the man.
"Heh, it's been 7 years and you forgot who I am? You must be getting forgetful in your old age Jiji." The young man looked up with a smirk. The Hokage looked on shocked at who it was. Only two people were brave enough or were allowed to call him Jiji: Konohamaru and-
"Naruto? Is that really you?" Sarutobi asked, his voice held a hint of desperation.
"The one and only. Glad you still remember. You still have a seat to hand over to me after al-" Naruto began before being tackled to the floor in a mess by the old man. The elderly man had tears in his eyes as he hugged the blonde in front of him.
"By Kami Naruto how I'm glad you're all safe. I'm sorry for not being there 7 years ago, I failed you and the Ichirakus." Naruto could only return the hug as he gave a sombre smile.
"It's okay Jiji, it wasn't your fault. It should be me apologising for disappearing all those years ago. I made a promise to Teuchi-jiji that I would grow stronger in order to protect those precious to me. I trained like there was no tomorrow so that no one would experience what I did." Sarutobi was amazed at the boy's conviction and gave a warm smile to him.
"I guess all I can say is welcome home Naruto." He said getting up. Naruto smiled and got up as well.
"It's good to be back."
Author's Notes Again (Heh sorry)
And there we go, a story about Naruto carrying on the legacy of one of, if not my most, favourite One Piece character, Trafalgar Law. The characters are a bit OOC and reactions may be a bit rushed if you know what I mean but hopefully they'll be a bit more accurate in the chapters to come when I have more experience writing. Leave a review and tell me what you guys think of the story so far. Adios!