Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Naruto. The opinions of the characters are in no way shape or form my own. Enjoy :)

Uzumaki Naruto was always a prankster. He had been since his birth, and would always continue to be until the day he died. While he always did rile up a bunch of people with his pranks, they were all relatively harmless. No one got hurt of course, and he would clean it up afterward, whether he had been caught or not. All in all, Naruto definitely loved his pranks.

But Naruto also loved another thing, just as much and even more than pranking. And that was adventure. He wanted to explore the world! See all the beautiful wonders it had to offer and have one of the best adventures ever! He wanted to set sail from the dingy island he lived on, where everything was peaceful, save for the occasion ruckus caused by himself.

Of course, all goals, much like his to set sail from his home, had obstacles. His obstacle was that he was not an adult. He was not at an age where he could simply leave without consent. He would have had to beg his grandfather to let him go.

Note, the key words there were "would have had." Because now, Uzumaki D. Naruto was finally an adult! He had turned 17 merely a week ago, and despite the looming winter months, he was ready to go! Though he would still be required to attempt to sneak off the island, as while his grandfather and grandmother could not stop him legally, they still had some say and Naruto didn't really have any wish to confront him before leaving.

He had already packed his supplies, hidden in a tanned leather bag underneath his bed, the one place where no one in his household would check. He had secretly gathered and hidden away non-perishable supplies close to the point where he had planned to set sail from, and even built himself a little dinghie for the occasion years ago.

His name was Uzumaki D. Naruto and he would be damned if he didn't leave the island and see the world!

"And where exactly do you think you're heading off to with that bag, Naruto?"

Naruto groaned. This was the one thing he hadn't hoped for. To be found out by his seemingly all-seeing and all-knowing grandfather. Kami knows how he located him, considering he had snuck past their room with the grace and sneakiness of a mouse. It was as if the man had eyes on him at all times!

He knew there was no way out of this, as his grandfather would know if he lied.

"I'm...I'm leaving," Naruto stated firmly, turning to face his grandfather, Sarutobi Hiruzen, mayor of the town, and by default, island of Konoha.

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "To do what exactly?"

"I wanna explore the world, old man!" Naruto replied sincerely, his eyes burning fiercely. He would run from the old man if he had to, but hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

Sarutobi's eyebrow remained raised, his expression otherwise not changing.

"And pray tell, how are you going to go about that?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he revealed his plan.

"Well, I have my spare clothes and all that ready, and I have a dinghie which I was going to use to get off this island."

"A dinghie?" Sarutobi asked incredulously. How in Kami's name did his grandson expect to get through the Grand Line on a rowboat?

"Yeah! I made it myself!" Naruto exclaimed proudly, though he suddenly quieted down as he remembered his grandmother was still asleep.

Sarutobi shook his head. His grandson had clearly not planned for the hardships of the Grandline, if his idea to go out on a dinghie he made himself was ant indication.

"Just...come with me for a minute. And before you protest, I'm not stopping you from leaving."

Naruto, who had just been ready to open his mouth and do exactly that, quickly shut his mouth as his interest was peaked. His grandfather was letting him go? Now that was simply unbelievable.

He quickly followed his grandfather into the house, intent on finding out what he wanted.

Naruto walked through the quiet halls of the Sarutobi mansion. While it was grand in size, there was not much interior decorating done, as the Sarutobi's were a humble family, only having a large home because the townspeople had insisted on it.

Naruto recognized the route as the one to his grandfather's office, but instead of entering it, his grandfather merely walked past it, turning into the hall that lead to the basement.

'Why are we going there?' Naruto thought, confused. Whenever his grandfather ever needed to talk to someone privately he would always use his office. Naruto had even been forbidden from entering the basement, and while he had tried out of curiosity, the door never seemed to budge, no matter how hard he pushed or pulled it.

Sarutobi placed his right hand on the center of the door, then after a brief moment, reached for the handle. Naruto, watching with baited breath, saw it easily turn in Sarutobi's aged hand, a click sounding indicating it opened.

'What the hell did he just do?'

His grandfather walked down the stairs into the darkness, and Naruto followed behind after a moment.

The stairs descended a a few steps before stopping at another door. Sarutobi repeated what he had done for the basement door, and opened it, gesturing for Naruto to follow.

Naruto entered after his grandfather, stepping into the even darker room.

"Close the door behind you, please."

Naruto did so, slowly closing the door. The second he did, the room they were in illuminated with bright light.

"What the..."

The room they were in was not an overly large one, but the awe in his voice was caused due to the contents of it. There were maps everywhere! The whole room had to be covered in them! The flooring was simple hardwood, cleaner than Naruto would think it to be. At the opposite side of the room was a simple workbench, with a few stray papers lying around, as well as a pencil and eraser.

"What...is this, old man?" Naruto asked, the wonder easily distinguished in his voice.

"A simple room with maps of the Grandline from my days of youth. I was a fairly accomplished navigator after all."

Naruto shook his head, not understanding. "If you were a navigator, why did you stop? It can't be old age."

Sarutobi chuckled, dismissively waving his hand. "That is a story for another time. But for now, I understand you want to explore the world?"

Naruto nodded his head, confirming his grandfather's question.

"Why?"

Naruto stopped for a second at the question. He didn't quite know why he wanted to go on adventure. It was simply a feeling he had. A feeling that he wanted to see the world and fly free.

"I...don't really know how to explain it, but I wanna see the world, I guess. I don't wanna be confined to this little town, old man!"

"Hm...I see. Very well then, you may go."

Naruto felt like his heart stopped beating for a second at those words. He hadn't really thought his grandfather was serious. He imagined this would all be to convince him to stay, to prevent him from leaving.

"Are...are you serious?"

Sarutobi nodded. "Very much so. If you want to explore the world, very well then. I am not one to stop you. But I do have something for you. It should aid you on your journey, especially in the Grandline of all places."

Sarutobi got up, walking to the center of the room. He placed his hand on the ground, and almost immediately, a trapdoor appeared. He pulled it up, reached inside and pulled out a small chest.

'How in the world does he do that?' Naruto wondered silently to himself. His grandfather had suddenly become a lot weirder. First he was a navigator for some ship, and he was also seemingly making impossible to open doors open with ease.

He brought it back to Naruto, placing it on the table.

"Do not open this until you have set sail. The Grandline is a dangerous place, and if you truly want to travel you will absolutely need the contents of those chest."

Naruto nodded his head slowly, his hand reaching for the chest. He grasped it tightly and carefully picked it up , expecting it to be heavy. It was not, instead being surprisingly light.

'It's like there's nothing in there at all.'

"Follow me Naruto, to the harbour," Sarutobi said, already getting up and moving to the door.

Naruto was quick to follow, as his grandfather disappeared up the stairs. He was not given a chance to object and say that his boat wasn't at the harbour. But his grandfather must have had his reasons, just as he did for giving him the chest.

Naruto stared open mouthed at the brigantine before him. It was a medium-sized ship, looking to be about eighty feet in length, each side of the ship lined with about 5 holes for cannons, which he assumed were either inside the ship or there were none. It had two masts, one located in the middle and one towards the front of the ship.

The middle mast was much larger, having a crow's nest at the very top, as well as three large sails. The front mast was similar, but with two sails and also not as large. The ship was a dark brown colour, and seemed to be very well made.

"Old man...what is this?"

"Well, it appears to be a ship," Sarutobi paused, before smiling lightly to himself. "More specifically, as I'm sure you're wondering, it's your ship."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock. A ship that big and well made, and his grandfather was giving it to him? He couldn't believe it!

"Old man, I don't know what to say," Naruto said quietly, hanging his head down, light tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. He simply couldn't help it. He didn't think his grandfather would support his dream!

Sarutobi stepped forward, gently hugging his grandson. He smiled kindly.

"Then don't say anything at all, and set sail Naruto. Though, I expect you to come back one day and visit."

Naruto pulled out of the hug, sniffing and wiping his eyes.

He looked up and his grandfather and grinned, giving him a thumbs up.

"You bet old man!"

He turned and ran to the ship, grabbing the swinging ladder and climbing aboard. He suddenly frowned though.

"How am I going to get this thing out of here?"

"Allow me to help you with that," his grandfather's voice came from behind him, though it seemed oddly distorted.

He turned around, only to be faced with two of his grandfather!

"Eh! You got a twin old man?"

"Not at all."

This time, the voice from his right to reveal another Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"The hell?!"

Sarutobi chuckled at his grandson's reaction. No matter how many times he had seen it when people saw his Devil Fruit's ability for the first time, it never did get old.

"I've eaten a Devil Fruit that allows me to create solid copies of myself. Essentially, I am a Clone Human. Now, I'm aware this ship is rather large, so I'll create some clones to man it for you. They will last long enough to take you to the next island, but not much beyond that, so please, try to get a crew member to help you. I recommend watching how they do things to learn how to operate this ship."

Naruto nodded, though somewhat distantly. Now his grandfather was a Devil Fruit user? This day, or rather, night, couldn't get any weirder.

Sarutobi closed his eyes, opening them a second later, and with light pops and some wisps of smoke, around twenty-five clones of his grandfather stood before Naruto, waiting for orders.

"Farewell, Naruto."

Those were the last words of his grandfather as he leaped off the ship and onto the deck.

The clones of Sarutobi quickly rushed around, hoisting up the anchor and readying the sails. Naruto took his place at the helm, finding it fitting as he was now, more or less, the captain. Within ten minutes, the ship began drifting away from the harbour, and into open waters.

Naruto turned the wheel, keeping firm control of the ship so it would not drift. After a few minutes of sailing, he suddenly remembered the chest that was resting beside him. He let go of the wheel, calling for a clone to take over.

He grabbed the chest, going into what he assumed were the captain's quarters. It was a fairly spartan room, with a bed, drawers and a worktable. There appeared to be a closet as well, hidden due to the pale light of the room.

He grabbed the torch that was by the door, waving it around the room, finding a lamp. Bringing the torch to it, he lit it, returning the torch to it's place.

Naruto placed the chest on the mattress, taking a deep breath as he opened it.

"No way..."

Inside, resting upon a red velvet cushion, was a Devil Fruit. It was a shade of pale yellow, almost gold, with red swirls patterned across it. He picked it up, admiring it's almost ethereal beauty as it seemed to glow.

He stared at it for a while, turning it over in his hands and brushing his fingers along it, feeling the oddly smooth texture.

Still in shock, he gently rested it back on the cushion, looking at the other contents of the chest. There were two log pose, one spinning frantically and another pointed solidly back to, what he thought, was the direction of his home island, Konoha.

"He gave me an Eternal Log Pose!" He exclaimed suddenly. He had been wondering how he would get back to his home, but this seemed to solve his problem easily. The other log pose seemed normal, though it was still spinning, albeit a bit slower than before.

Finally, he found a letter, sealed with red wax. On it, he found written:

To Uzumaki Naruto

He raised an eyebrow, wondering who had addressed the letter to him. Maybe it was simply a letter from his old man? But if that was the case, then he would have known he would leave for a long time. Even he didn't think his grandfather had that much precognition.

Finding no answers in his thoughts, he resorted to the only possible thing; opening the letter. using his nails, he peeled off the wax seal, flipping the flap up, grabbing the piece of paper inside and pulling it out.

Dear Naruto,

If you are reading this, then Sarutobi finally deemed you ready to see the contents of this box. That, or you are impulsively going out on an adventure, and he felt it necessary for you to have this. Whichever the reason may be, the contents in this box are yours. Let me start small, and tell you about the log pose, in case you do not know about them. One is an Eternal Log Pose, which will lead you back to Konoha. Next, is a regular log pose. Because it takes roughly 17 years for the log pose to change once you land on Konoha, it may either be pointing in the direction of our home, or spinning as it sets onto another island. It will do so once you sail further out, as Konoha is evenly located from a few islands, messing up the pose.

Secondly, the Devil Fruit, which hopefully, you know what they do. If not, in short, this fruit will grant you immense power, at the cost of you forever losing the ability to swim. Water will be your eternal weakness. Now, specifically about the fruit, it is the Hone Hone no Mi. Eating it will grant you the ability to pull bones from your body, easily replacing the ones pulled, and also giving you a much denser bone structure. Your strength will also be boosted along with this, and despite the denser bone structure, to you, it will feel just like normal. Take notice, your bones will be as strong as steel. Also, it is recommended you read up on the bone structure of the body, and also which bones are located where. Whether you choose to eat it or not is your choice.

Finally, you're probably wondering who I am, and why I'm doing this. Well, my name is Minato Namikaze. I am your father. I can't say how sorry I am for not being there for you, or why I wasn't. All I can say is, that this leads to a dangerous plot that I'm hoping you will not uncover. Heed my words, Naruto, and be careful. You're mother and I both love you very much, and perhaps, one day, we will meet, should I survive.

Become a great man, and no matter what you do, I will love you.

Minato

Naruto's eyes had long since started shedding tears as he read the letter from his father. All his life, he had wondered who he was. Why he wasn't there. Hell, if he was even alive! But now, he knew something! His father hadn't left him on purpose. There was clearly something that had prevented him from doing so. Perhaps, by the slightest chance, he might even be alive.

"I'm gonna go on the best journey ever Dad, and if you're out there, I'm gonna find you! Believe it!"

With his heart set firmly on his goal, he looked at the fruit and knew immediately what he had to do. He grabbed it, taking a giant chunk out of it.

"Bleh!"

He forcefully kept his mouth shut as the vile taste of the fruit threatened to make him throw it up. But he endured, swallowing it, repeating the process, until finally, seemingly almost an eternity later, the fruit was consumed.

He stood up shakily, not feeling any different. He certainly didn't feel like he had been granted supernatural powers, or even any stronger at all.

"Hm...how does this work?"

He sat down on the floorboards, willing for some bone in his body to pop out.

He felt some strain in his arm. He looked over at it, noticing a small white structure slowly coming out. It seemed to be stuck.

"C'mon!"

He pushed harder, willing it to come out. It was almost halfway out when the ship suddenly rocked, breaking his concentration and the bone slipping back inside his body.

Naruto sighed. This was going to take some effort.

Che. More like a lot of effort.

Well I'm back again with another story! My other one's are not abandoned, but they're slow progress as I can't really get inspiration for either. But anyway, this was the first installment of Uzumaki "Dead Bones" D. Naruto. Hope you all liked it, and can hopefully bear with the cliche beginning. There's not many other ideas to start it off, but hopefully soon you'll see some divergence. As for my choice of Devil Fruit, I dunno, it seemed to fit. I was going to give him chakra chains at first, but scratched that idea. I simply liked this more, since I don't like when characters start jumping all over the place and learning many different things. Like some Naruto x One Piece stories where they have him learn Red Leg, Santouryuu, eat a Devil Fruit and other crazy stuff. No! Way too many powers lol. This should hopefully keep him fairly versatile, while also not make it seem like he's getting overpowered. Hopefully...

Later! I'll try and get the next chapter out soon.