Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece. They belong to their respective creators whose names I can't spell.
Portgas D. Ace was sitting in a quaint little inn as he waited for his ship to finished being repaired. He wore black boots, black knee-length shorts with an eyelet-studded orange belt, and a blue pouch belted around his left leg. He also wore a short second belt with a large red "A" on the silver buckle over his right hip, but left it unfastened and threaded the free end along the back of his shorts. A dagger in a green sheath hung at his left hip. On Ace's left arm, he wore a Log Pose and a red and white striped bracelet around his wrist, an orange elbow guard, and his "ASCE" tattoo. He wore a red beaded necklace and an orange hat with two blue smileys, one frowning and one smiling, and a string of red beads sitting above the rim. Two long orange side straps hung down sides of his hat and met at a large medallion of a bull's skull with orange tassels.
It had been two weeks since he set sail from Mt. Colubo and already his raft was in need of repair. He chuckled to himself as he thought about how much he needed a shipwright and a helmsman.
His chuckling earned him a glare from a blonde man sleeping in a hammock inside the lobby of the inn. Taking time to study the man Ace noticed he looked to be around his age. He had on an orange vest that left his chest exposed and allowed the rare looking green gem around his neck to shimmer. He was wearing a pair of black pants and black sandals that covered his feet save for his toes. On his head was a black hat similar to Ace's except it had a pair of goggles strapped across the front that drudged up some bitter memories for Ace. On the ground next to the lazy man's hammock was a large scroll. His eyes were a deep blue and at the moment were fixed into a glare at the black haired pirate.
Ace had seen the blonde everyday since he arrived on the small island but he was always asleep in the hammock and never seemed to move from his perch. His thoughts were put on hold as he saw the young woman that owned the inn come in. She was pretty in Ace's opinion and she wore a bright, welcoming smile on her face that switched into a scowl when she saw the blonde.
"Today's the day I finally get you away from my shop you bastard!" She said pointing an accusing finger at the blonde.
"Yeah, yeah. Just bring me something to eat, will ya? I'm starving here." Judging from the blonde's nonchalant response Ace could tell that this was reoccurring debate. The woman's eye twitched as she walked away mumbling to herself.
"Damn freeloader. Get a job!" Deciding to make his presence known Ace called out to the woman.
"Thanks for letting me stay here while my ship's being worked on." The owner's personality did a compete 180 switch as she smiled brightly at the pirate.
"No problem. I'm always happy to accommodate a paying customer." As she said this she shot another dirty look at the blonde who had fell back asleep.
"Hey what's the deal with that blonde guy? I've seen him in that hammock everyday since I've been here." Ace's question caused the young woman to sigh dramatically.
"Honestly I don't know. He showed up about two months ago and no matter what I do he won't leave. I suppose he is a good luck charm though."
"Why do you say that?" The pirate asked with a raised eyebrow.
"For the last few years this town has been plagued by bandits. They come from the village across the way and to raid our town because there is a large Marine presence in their own. But in the months since he's been here the raids have stopped."
The two spared a look at the sleeping blonde only to find that he was snoring with a large snot bubble rising and falling. Sweatdropping, Ace turned his attention back to the woman.
"Why aren't the Marines doing anything about the bandits in your town?"
"We don't have enough money to pay them for their services." She replied while shaking her head sadly.
Ace's face turned grim. It seemed these Marines were little more than mercenaries for hire. It was nothing new to the young pirate since he had seen some of the more seedy officers during his short time of traveling. It seemed the people in the town were in a hopeless situation. Shaking his head, Ace decided he had done enough talking for the moment.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Which room am I staying in?" The woman seemed to snap out of her daze and blushed heavily in embarrassment.
"Oh! My apologies, you're in Room 22 for the night. Enjoy your stay."
"Will do." Ace replied while tilting his hat and taking the room key. He spared one last look at the sleeping blonde before heading to his quarters.
(Later That Night)
Lying in his bed Ace thought about the plight of the townsfolk. It wasn't in his personality to just let the bandit raids continue and he decided that he would do something to help these people. Standing up from his bed he was getting ready to leave his room when he saw the signs of someone moving outside below his window. He caught a glimpse of the person when the moonlight hit them and was surprised to see it was that same lazy blonde from the lobby.
"Where are you off to?"
Ace didn't expect an answer since there was no way the blonde could hear him. Instead he opened the window and jumped out to follow the blonde. He was careful to stay far enough away that his presence wasn't picked up. He trailed the man to a small clearing in a nearby forest and saw that he was standing in front of what seemed to be a group of bandits. Was this man in cahoots with the thieves? Ace got his answer as he listened to their conversation.
"We've had enough off your meddling you brat. We're gonna rob this place for all it's worth." One of the bandits said trying to sound intimidating. If the blonde's response was any indication, his attempt failed.
"You guys sure talk a lot." He said while picking his nose. This seemed to set the bandits off as they all reached for their weapons.
"Get him!"
Ace watched impressed as the blonde moved with ease through the various sharp blades and dispatched the bandits in no time at all. He was fast, that much was obvious to the pirate and if the unconscious group of pirates was anything to go by he was also strong.
"You can come out now."
At first Ace didn't move as he thought that there was another bandit lying in wait but when the blonde shot bland stare at the bushes where he was hiding Ace figured he was talking to him. Stepping out from his hiding spot Ace rubbed his head and smiled as he spoke.
"Those were some good moves."
"Why were you following me?" The blonde deadpanned and Ace shrugged his shoulders with indifference.
"I was just curious I guess. So you're the one who's been keeping the bandits away from the town?"
"What of it?" At the blonde's raised eyebrow Ace responded still shrugging.
"Just seems kinda stupid to me." That made the blonde close the distance between them in a hurry.
"What'd you say you bastard?" Nonplussed by the blonde's confrontational tone, Ace elaborated.
"I mean why don't you just bring down the whole operation? That way you don't have to worry about them coming back all the time."
"…" The blonde allowed himself to fall into a contemplative stance as he considered Ace's words.
"Actually that's not a bad idea. I don't know why I didn't think of that sooner, thanks." Ace shrugged not really thinking too much about it since that was what he planned to do in the first place.
"No problem. You need some help?" The blonde scoffed at the suggestion.
"Yeah right like you could keep up with me."
"How about a little wager?" Ace's grin soon spread to the blonde.
"I'm listening."
"If you win I'll buy you whatever you want from the tavern, no matter how much it costs."
"Deal!" The blonde said without giving it any further thought. Ace sweatdropped at the quick response.
"But you didn't hear what happens if I win." The blonde just waved him off and responded confidently.
"Doesn't matter. You won't win."
The two fighters stood among a flurried mess of debris and bodies. Some dead, some unconscious. The building that had once housed over one hundred bandits now looked as if a tornado had struck it. There were man sized holes throughout the building that were created when one of the two had thrown a bandit through the dry wall. The roof was cave in and shingles dangled dangerously from it. Even after all the damage dealt on the bandits, Naruto and Ace stood unscathed in the middle of the prone bodies of the defeated marauders.
"51." Ace said with a smirk directed at the blonde. Naruto responded with a smirk just as large.
"51." Ace blinked at that. What were the odds that there were exactly one hundred and two bandits in this warehouse?
"A tie, so what do we do?" Naruto didn't get a chance to answer the question due to a bandit emerging from the tattered remains of the hideout.
"You die!" The poor bandit didn't even take two steps towards them before a piece of the battered roof fell off and crashed into his head, killing him instantly. The two fighters blinked before looking at each other and shrugging.
"52. I win." Ace said with a smirk and Naruto voiced his displeasure.
"That doesn't count he was knocked out by a fucking piece of wood!"
"Well I destroyed the building so it counts as mine." Ace shrugged and Naruto could feel his eyebrow twitch before he accepted his loss like a man.
"Whatever, so what do ya want?" Ace tilted his hat with a grin on his face. Leaning in close to the blonde, Naruto felt a tad bit uncomfortable.
"I want you-"
"Let me stop you right there, guy. I don't care if you swing that way but I am one hundred percent for the ladies. I mean it is flattering but-"Ace sputtered at the insinuation.
"What the hell are you talking about? I was gonna say I want you to join my crew!"
"Your crew?"
Naruto blinked a few times when it donned on him that the black haired man didn't want him to perform and deviant acts on him. Ace's eyebrow twitched as he wondered what was going through the crazy blonde's head.
"Yeah. I'm starting a pirate crew and I want you to join me."
"A pirate crew huh? What would I be doing on this 'crew'?"
Naruto was definitely interested, if only for the fact that he had nothing better to do. Besides Ace was his first real acquaintance since arriving in this world. Banishing the dark thoughts that began to surface, Naruto listened to the pirate.
"Whatever you want to do. Being a pirate is about having as much freedom as you can, my dream is to have the most freedom of any pirate."
After the explanation Naruto could definitely say that he was interested. Having as much freedom as possible was exactly what Naruto was looking for. It was the complete opposite of his life in Konoha.
"Sure." The grin the blonde had threatened to split his face in half. "I'll join."
"Yosh!" Ace exclaimed pumping his fist in the air. He had gotten the first member of his crew.
"So does this pirate crew have a name?" The stilled unnamed blonde asked. Ace nodded with a smile on his face.
"We're gonna be called the Spade Pirates." The blonde seemed to take the name into consideration for a moment before nodding to himself.
"Spade Pirates huh? I can deal with that. You got a name or should I just call you captain?"
"The name's Portgas D. Ace. What about you?" Ace said extending his hand towards his new comrade. The blonde reached out and shook the extended limb with a grin.
"Naruto Uzumaki."
A/N: Yo. This is my first time writing a story for this site and I'm really trying to get the hang of it. I was given this account by my friend (because I didn't want to wait to upload) and I changed the name. I had this idea and after reading so many awesome Naruto/One Piece fics, I decided to try it out. In this story Naruto will be a member of the Spade Pirates under Ace. In fact, he'll be the only member. But all of that will be elaborated on later. For those who are wondering about his skill set, he is currently as powerful as he is during the Fourth Shinobi War. He has no abilities outside of those except he has Asuma's Chakra blades because I think its badass. Let me know if it's any good or if you spot any grammar errors because like I said, this is my first time writing.