Legends. People simply adore speaking of them—whether to frighten a small child into obeying, or to immerse one's listeners into an enthralling adventure which may or may not be true. Now, most people don't put a lot of stock into a legend. They dismiss it, calling it an old folk's tale or a belief of fools.

But were the people who had believed in legends really crazy? Indeed, how can we call them crazy when so many of them risked their lives for a mere storyteller's word? Yes, these folk, the fabric of whom many legends are woven…the pirates. They were an entirely different race of men, indeed, for they were the sea's children. Strong, proud, wild and cunning, they ruled the ocean. Dodging many a country's navy, they were determined to carve their own destiny and a way of life into a world of tradition and rules. Much of the pirate's life revolved around chasing legends, seeing if they were true. One such legend pirates often spent their lives searching for was that of the seven pearls of Demons. These pearls were said to be the darkest ebony of the sea, and were supposedly scattered all over the world, one in each of the seven seas.

But how could someone search the oceans? And even if they were to topple that obstacle, what if some unknowing fishermen accidentally discovered the pearl? Yes, these uncertainties brought many pirates to their knees in defeat. However, some pirates, those more cunning, those more determined, found a way around this.

This is their story.

Chapter 1: Of Mangoes and Pink Birds

Naruto Uzimaki was a, if anything, entertaining person. Yes, he could be quite annoying, he knew that, but when it really came down to it he could easily brighten anyone's day with his antics. Grinning at the feel of the salty sea air mussing his blond hair, he looked out across the endless expanse of ocean which surrounded the ship. This was the life, he decided. He was first mate on the Avenging Fox, a fine ship made of dark wood. It sailed faster than any navy's cruiser, and was simply beautiful with its fine craftsmanship.

"Stop messing around dumbass, or I'll have you thrown to the sharks." Naruto's smile widened as he heard the reprimanding tone of his best friend's voice.

"Did you actually say a whole sentence in one breath? I'm so proud of you Teme! We're finally making progress with your pathetic social skills!" He jumped down from his precarious position on the rigging and glanced down at his friend.

Sasuke Uchiha, his best friend and captain of the Avenging Fox scowled at him and walked away, muttering to himself under his breath.

The crew of the Avenging Fox held these two in highest respect. For, though they were only a mere twenty years old, they had quite a reputation. Indeed, the elusive Sea Fox and the Stone-hearted Avenger were a renowned pair, wanted posters of them at every corner in the world. It was simply unbelievable that the two had once been orphaned beggar boys. How had they come so far? Not many knew, and those who did were held in close confidence to Sasuke and Naruto and thus wouldn't dare tell a soul.

While Naruto began going about the ship to assess that the crew's morning activities, Sasuke strode purposefully to the stern of the ship, vigilantly watching for any sign of the tribal island of Cacicuna where they occasionally dropped anchor.

The inhabitants of the island rarely ventured out of the forest, preferring instead to stare at the pirates warily from within the leafy foliage's confines. This was quite alright with Sasuke, who as long as he could remember had never been too particularly fond of excessive human interaction. As a result of this, Sasuke actually liked the island, as much as was humanly possible of Sasuke to like anything, anyway. It gave him a chance to let Naruto and the crew enjoy their rum while he would stand at some distant point of the island and relax in solitude. Yes,
he was looking forward to it, he thought decidedly as the distant outline of the island appeared over the horizon.

A baby tiger curled playfully around the limber, pale skin of her calf, purring contentedly. Her pink lips curled into a gentle smile. All animals naturally took to her. Because of it, her people thought of her as something as a forest goddess, born into a human body. Though they treated her with great respect and reverence, Sakura knew in her heart that she was no princess. She was just a girl who the Cani Tribe had discovered upon their shores and raised. It was probably a good thing that they had thought her a goddess, she knew, because otherwise they might have killed her. Mere child that she was, they nearly threw her into the ocean. It was when her pink hair had been riled by the breeze and she opened her emerald eyes that the chieftain had paused in announcing her death sentence. She was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Still, this would have been not enough to save her.

In the suspended moment of the chief's surprise at her appearance, a pack of wild dogs attacked the tribe with much vigor, flashing jagged teeth. Yet, as soon as the dogs saw her, they stopped in their tracks. This unlikely occurrence had been what allowed her to live to the young age of nineteen. This was all that Sakura could remember. She knew she had been about seven when they found her, because she bore a crudely written note in her pocket saying so. However, anything about her past which had been before the island, she could not recall. Sakura often liked to theorize about who she had been, where she was born, but her fantasies were limited to the primitive knowledge the Cani Tribe had to offer.

However, there was a man who often inspired her fantasies about the world like her tribe could not. He was mysterious and silent, and whenever he landed on the island with his great ship she would quietly observe him from the treetops. Although he never had actually taught her about the outside world, he was there; another pale skinned human, like her, and he fascinated her. There was something more about him too, she admitted quietly to herself, that drew her to him. Perhaps it was his raven colored hair and dark fathomless eyes, or maybe it was the regal way he carried himself, or maybe though he was oft seen with a sword by his side, he had the graceful hands of an artist. She wasn't sure.

Today, like every other day, she traveled to the diminutive, concealed beach he always occupied on his visits. Usually she was disappointed when she arrived; he had not been there in quite some time. This time, however, she could barely contain her excitement as she glimpsed his broad form leaning leisurely against a boulder. So excited, was she, that she accidentally made the mistake of letting her long, pink hair blow freely in the wind. Normally she held it back with one hand, and though she quickly recaptured it, she knew it was too late.

Movement attracts the eye. And judging by the tensing of his shoulders and the instant snapping of his head in her direction, he had witnessed the brief flash of color within the dark forest leaves.

Sasuke had been so relieved when they finally landed at Cacicuna. It was fairly early in the day, judging by the sun, so he would have quite a few hours of time to himself. Excusing himself briskly from the crew, he made his way to his place of solitude, the dark leather of his boots crunching sand with every step. He had naught been thinking more than an hour when a startling bout of color caught his eye from within the forest. At first instinct, he feared an intruder. Puzzlement soon settled upon his brow when he realized that no members of his crew had such a flamboyant color to sport—although he wouldn't put it past Naruto to purchase something of the sort. The natives too, had no resources to produce such a color. What was it then? Some sort of brightly colored bird? He shook his head. His imagination—Naruto constantly liked to point out how "lacking" and "sad" and "dull" it was—was running away with him. It always seemed to, for some reason, whenever he came here. Sometimes he would think he saw a pair of glowing green eyes staring at him, but surely there was no one there.

Nevertheless, agitation ate away at him until the sun sank over the horizon. Tomorrow, he would go on a hunt for this pink creature…whatever it was. Sighing from exhaustion, he laid down on a coarsely made bed of palm leaves and fell asleep.

The way his chest rose and fell was mesmerizing. It was dawn, and Sakura had been inching closer to his stagnant form since midnight, careful to not wake him up. She was a mere foot away from him at this point. Slowly, she leaned over him and stared at his handsome face with a childlike curiosity. His features were calm, entirely relieved of the tension which had resided there the day before, and he looked almost content. Somewhere, deep inside of her, a warmth bubbled up and spread throughout her body to the tips of her fingers. And suddenly she had the oddest urge to touch him, to discover if his skin was really as soft as it appeared, to run her fingers through his fine dark hair. Forgetting all pretense of being cautious, she gently brushed the proud curve of his jawline with tentative fingers. She gasped at the sensation which came from feeling his skin. It was not coarse like the natives' so often was, but as smooth as the down which covered a newborn bird. Marveling at this new found knowledge of this man she had watched for years, Sakura failed to note that the breathing of the man was becoming more even, more frequent.

That is, until, he caught her wrist faster than even her jungle honed reflexes could react.

A/N: sooo. i wanted to portray the boys a bit differently. i mean, they're not ninjas anymore, so Sasuke's not gonna be all like hypersensitive to people's presences...not as much anyway. also, Sakura's supposed to be a sly jungle babe...so yeah.

also, i'm gonna give naruto a dark side...it's what makes him such a feared pirate...so stay tuned ;D

constructive comments are always welcome, and so are reviews. until next time (: