The smell of rotten garbage wafted through the air as the morning sun's light struck against hill after hill of discarded trash that seemed to stretch on for miles upon miles. Dirty, ragged, tired people rose from their makeshift beds and homes and made their way to the tall, steel doors of a large city that was surrounded by an even taller brick wall. It wasn't long before the steel doors slid open and a small troop of guards, clothed in what appeared to be hazard suits and armed with guns, stepped forward with a large pile of garbage that was quickly thrown out into the gigantic junkyard. The crowd of filthy people watched on, like a pack of wolves eyeing their fallen prey, but dared not to take even a step closer to the armed guards. Soon enough, the trash was dumped out, the guards retreated back into the confines of the city walls, the steel doors shut…and the people descended upon the newly-tossed waste like it was an oasis in a desert.

It was just another morning for the people in the Gray Terminal, the dump of Goa. The Gray Terminal was the result of the Nobles of Goa's attempt to remove every single piece of trash from their city, including certain people, who were forced out of the city.

Not far away, on a large pile of trash, a pair of sapphire eyes watched in disgust as the people fought and argued over who owned what, who saw what first, and who owed who imaginary favors that had yet to be paid back. A small boy, with dirty, tanned skin and spiky blonde hair growled in anger. He turned away from the scene and began to make his way down the mountain of garbage, ignoring the cut that he received in his dirty white shirt from a jagged pipe that jutted out as he did so. Once he reached the bottom of the hill, he brushed his hands on his dark orange shorts and headed for the edge of the garbage dump that made up a man-made shoreline of trash with the adjacent ocean.

He ignored any and all people that he saw on his way to the water and, the second he had made it there, he leapt in without a care. He did not resurface until a few moments later—in his arms was a struggling fish. He tossed it on the banks and swam back.

It was just another morning for Uzumaki Naruto.

Wordlessly, Naruto threw his catch over his shoulder and headed for the small hut he had made for himself near the edge of the Gray Terminal, where the trash began to give way to the lush forest that made up the bordered a large section of the Gray Terminal. As he walked, he heard voices call out to him.

"Oi, brat, wanna share that with your elders?"

"Damn runt…always walkin' around like he's better than any of us!"

"Leave him be…the kid never talks. Probably too stupid to know how to."

"He's what? Seven? We can kick his ass and take it later, anyway."

Naruto glared straight ahead, never turning to look at anyone as he made his way to his hut, 'Bunch of pathetic bastards…'

Once he reached his destination, he quickly ducked inside and set to work making a fire from a few sticks and pieces of paper that he had rummaged up a few days ago. Uncaringly, the boy stuck the fish on a stick and placed it over the fire to cook. Silently, he sat there and stared into the flames as he waited for his meal to finish. His hut wasn't anything special—it was something that anyone his age could make. A few sticks rammed into the ground, a cardboard roof with a hole in the top for smoke to be let out…it wasn't something that the seven-year-old was proud to call a home, but it worked and that was all that mattered.

He faintly heard the noises of the loud and obnoxious children that would play around the forest, as it was the only place they could get to that didn't smell horrible. He growled. It was no secret that Naruto hated the people—short and tall, young and old—that lived in the Gray Terminal. The people, in turn, hated him. Everyone hated each other, really. Everyone was a threat to everyone else's survival here. It was just the mentality that everyone grew.

"Oi, Naruto-kun~! C'mon out and play! Bring that fish out with ya, too! If you don't, I'm gonna tear this crappy little house down with you inside it, you shitty little brat!"

Naruto's anger spiked as he heard a voice call for him from just outside his hut. Getting to his feet, Naruto stepped outside the hut to find one of the dirty middle-aged men he had observed digging through the trash no less than a half-hour ago. The man grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, and licked his dried lips, "Just hand over the food, kid, and I won't hurt ya."

"…ff," Naruto muttered something incoherent, his head hung low and his fists clenched at his side.

"Eh? I couldn't hear ya, brat. Unless you wanna get killed, you had better have said that you'd move your ass and get the damn foo—"

The man was cut off when a foot lodged into his gut with surprisingly tremendous force, forcing the air from his lungs and causing him to fall onto his back. Naruto stood over the man, setting his foot back on the ground with a hate-filled glare, "I said fuck off!"

The man saw red. Sitting up and lunging for the boy, he was confused when he grabbed nothing but air. Behind him, he suddenly felt someone grab hold of one of his shoulders and the back of the tattered and filthy rag he called a shirt. A few moments later, he was tossed into the air and his head collided with the ground. Naruto stepped forward towards the man again. Kneeling down, he grabbed the man's throat. The man let out a low groan of pain as Naruto lifted his head to look him in the eye.

"See these?" Naruto pointed his face. More specifically, he pointed to one of the six whisker-like marks that were on his cheeks. Naruto shook that man violently, "These are the scars that the first bastard who mugged me left! Never again—he was the first and the last! If there's one thing I hate as much as those damn Nobles, it's you pathetic muggers! Tell all your filthy, shit-faced, pathetic friends that if they ever think to come near me, I'm going to kill them! I'm only leaving you alive to carry out the message, you hear me? Get lost, you son of a bitch!"

Naruto threw the man's head back to the ground and gave him one last kick in the stomach for good measure. Without bothering to listen to the man's reply, Naruto ducked back into his hut and grabbed the fish, which by now had finished cooking. He put out the fire and quietly ate his meal, taking some pleasure in the fact that, if the man was conscious, he was smart enough not to come looking for a rematch…at the moment, at least.

As he finished his meal, Naruto left his hut and headed out into the forest. The trees were almost as tall as the stone wall that separated the city of Goa and the Grey Terminal. The canopy of the forest practically blocked out the vast blue sky, except for a few sunny patches that managed to poke through the lush grass. Despite its beauty, many knew of the true dangers that lurked within the forest. Huge, rampaging animals roamed the woods, waiting for stupid and unsuspecting prey to wander by. Naruto walked in without a care in the world.

This had been his daily routine for over a year now. Naruto had been in the Gray Terminal for as long as he could remember, an orphan without anything but a name that he wasn't even sure was his—it was just the only name he knew when he was dumped at the steel gates of the city and, of course, he was denied access. He had since raised himself, getting by on scraps and the rare pity of the other people who called the Gray Terminal their home. That changed last year when, for the first time, a six-year-old Naruto found himself at knife point, forced to hand over a good set of rags he had found in the garbage. For good measure, the mugger had given him his six little reminders that the Gray Terminal had a quick and unforgiving side to everyone, even children.

Since then, determined not to be a victim a second time, Naruto had begun to train in the forest, fighting the wild animals to gain strength and skill. He had worked his way up, from the occasional fox or snake to wolves. Today, his goal was to kill his first bear. As he walked into the woods, Naruto gave a rare smile, however small it might have been. Quiet—it was something he rarely got to experience, and so he looked forward to it.

Quiet meant no people, and Naruto loved it when there was no one around.

'People…they're either pathetic, back-stabbing bastards that only think of themselves or they're so caught up in how great they think they are that they ignore anyone they think is below them!' Naruto frowned, 'I hate them all. It's better to just ignore everyone and live for yourself.'

"Hey, Sabo, you around? Sabo!"

"Up here, Ace! And shush up! What if someone hears us?"

Naruto growled and cast a sideways glance to his left. Through the trees, he could see two boys, maybe a year or so older than he was, chatting away happily. One was dressed in all blue, with a black top hat and blue goggles. He had short blonde hair and a missing tooth that showed when he grinned—apparently, he was 'Sabo'. The other one wore a loose yellow muscle-shirt and red shorts, having black hair and freckles—that one was 'Ace'. Naruto rolled his eyes in disgust. The way they moved, talked, looked—it was clear in every way that the two weren't from the Gray Terminal.

'Just another couple of brats who think it's cool to pretend to be tough and hang out at the Gray Terminal. Probably gonna go brag to their friends tomorrow…' Naruto thought venomously. As he walked on, Ace spotted a patch of blond from the corner of his eye. He frowned.

"Oi, Sabo," Ace whispered to his friend, pointing towards Naruto, "You think that kid over there saw our treasure?"

Sabo turned to look at where his friend pointed and grinned, "Ace, my friend, you just saved us a ton of trouble! That's our target for today!"

Portgas D. Ace blinked in confusion. He had met his friend Sabo, a kid who had just started living in the Gray Terminal, just a few weeks ago and the pair had quickly bonded over a common interest—becoming pirates. To this means, they had begun to amass a secret treasure in hopes of one day buying a ship to set sail on, but were so far a ways off of success. They had become thieves—stealing from whoever had anything that was worth something. The blonde brat that had his friend grinning like an idiot? Just one look told Ace that he was definitely not the type of person who had something worth stealing.

Sabo, catching his friend's look, smirked, "Don't look at me like I'm crazy, Ace! You know who that is?"

"Um…clearly not," Ace frowned.

"That right there is Uzumaki Naruto! Rumors travel fast around the Gray Terminal, and the hottest rumor going around is that Naruto there found a really good treasure last month! I mean, really good! I hear he's lookin' to sell it to get outta the Gray Terminal, but he short of just a tad bit enough to do it, so he's savin' it! We've just gotta get our hands on it if it's worth that much! This could shave years off our goal! Heck, we may even finish this year!" Sabo grinned.

Ace returned the gesture with a toothy grin of his own, "No way! What's the plan then? Knock him out and tie him up until he talks? We can't let this one go!"

"You're tellin' me!" Sabo chuckled, rubbing his hands together, "Way I see it, the quickest way to find it is to follow him! He's gotta have it in some kinda secret spot only he'd know! If we just tail him, he'll lead us right to it and then we can steal it right out from under his nose!"

"Nice!" Ace nodded, "Let's get to it, then, before we lose sight of him!"

'Duck under the claw. Roll to the left. Hit the right hind leg…' Naruto's mind ran almost mechanically as he went toe-to-toe with the large, snarling mammal. The bear he had found had to be twice the size of an adult male. Whereas any normal or sane person would have steered clear, Naruto had unknowingly shocked his two followers by throwing rocks at the thing. A few short moments later, Ace and Sabo watched, astonished as their target began to fight the bear and shocking them further was the fact that it looked like he was winning.

"Sabo, what the hell, man? You didn't tell me the kid was crazy!" Ace whispered as he and Sabo watched on from a nearby bush. Naruto leapt back as the bear clawed the earth where he had once stood. The blond quickly rolled to the left side of the bear and kicked the bear's leg—hard. The bear let out a roar of pain before whipping around and biting at Naruto, who jumped back again.

"I didn't know!" Sabo whispered back, "Look, it's fine! He's gonna tire himself out fighting that thing and, even if he doesn't, he doesn't know we're here! We can just sneak up and knock him out or somethin'!"

"Why didn't we just do that in the first place?" Ace whispered back.

"Because we're supposed to be thieves, not warriors! He's fighting a bear, you idiot! I'm not taking that on!" Sabo replied.

"Excuse me…"

"Well, I'm definitely not gonna fight him, idiot!" Ace shouted back.

Sabo frowned, "Then let's just stick to the plan!"

"Hello?"

"It's a stupid plan! What if the damn bear kills him? What are we gonna do then?" Ace questioned.

"Are ya kidding me? Look at him go! He's kicking that thing's ass!" Sabo shot back.

"OI! DUMBASSES!"

Sabo and Ace blinked, coming out of their argument and turning to find Naruto glaring down at them from their crouched position, the bear laid out on the ground next to him. Ace and Sabo immediately broke out into a cold sweat at the sight of the dead carcass—the idea of running away suddenly became a very, very good-looking option to the pair. Naruto frowned, annoyance clear on his face, as he growled.

"Get lost. I can't focus with all your yapping, ya damn brats," Naruto sneered, turning around and walking over to the dead bear. Ace growled in turn.

"Brats? We're the same age as you! Heck, I think I'm a year older than you!" Ace roared, standing from the bush and walking out into the clearing that had been the makeshift arena for the brawl with the massive mammal. Sabo stared at his friend as if he had grown a second head.

"Don't care. You act like a brat, you're a brat. Beat it," Naruto shot back.

"Why you little—"

Sabo's hand clamped firmly over Ace's mouth as he held his partner back from trying to tackle the fellow blonde. Giving a nervous, toothy grin, Sabo quickly tried to disarm the situation, "Hehehe…sorry 'bout my stupid friend here, um…Naruto, right? We were just interested in what ya were doing out here…there's been a lot of rumors in the Gray Terminal about ya. Is it true that you have a huge treasure?"

"Treasure? If I had anything like that, I wouldn't be in the Gray Terminal, dumbass," Naruto frowned, "Leave."

Sabo and Ace shared a glance.

"Liar! C'mon, just tell us what it is! That's all we wanna know!" Ace shouted.

"Ace, calm down! If he doesn't want to tell us, he doesn't have to…" Sabo spoke, glancing at Naruto, "But we are curious, ya know."

"You guys deaf or are you just really stupid? I don't have anything worth stealing, so take a hike!" Naruto growled out, his anger starting to work its way into his voice. Naruto turned away and bent down to examine the bear. Ace and Sabo nodded, reaching into their pockets.

"Well, if you won't tell us, then we might as well just lea—now, Ace!" Sabo shouted, whipping out a small pipe from his pocket. Ace pulled out a similar pipe as the two leapt forward to strike at Naruto. Naruto's head turned around quickly to glare at them before he rolled away from the two, stopping a few feet away from the pair and falling into a fighting stance. Sabo and Ace smirked and pointed their weapons at Naruto.

"Sorry, Naruto, we really would've like to have just found the treasure and taken it, but looks like we'll have to beat it outta ya! Not too late to tell us where it is!" Sabo grinned.

Naruto sent a chilling glare their way, "Figures…you're just like the rest. I don't have any treasure—and it looks like I'm going have to beat that into your head."

Ace frowned, his and Sabo's composure put off a bit from the glare, "Big shot thinks he can take us both, huh? Sorry, Naruto, but this is for our dream! Let's go, Sabo!"

Ace charged forward, swinging his pipe down at Naruto, who simply stepped to the left to avoid it. Growling, Ace swiped horizontally—Naruto ducked under it. Ace swung right—Naruto stepped back to dodge. Frustrated, Ace began to swing wildly at Naruto, who swiftly dodged every blow. Naruto finally kicked up, striking Ace's hands and sending the pipe flying into the air. Ace's eyes traveled upward in surprise to see his weapon gone. When he looked back at Naruto, all he saw was a powerful left hook flying towards him. It struck dead on and sent him twirling to the ground.

Sabo, who had been sneaking up behind Naruto, swung his own pipe. Naruto twirled around and caught the weapon mid-swing before delivering a powerful punch to Sabo's gut, causing the boy to fall to his knees and spit up saliva, leaving his pipe in Naruto's hands. Naruto tossed it into the woods uncaringly as Ace recovered and charged at him.

"For a dream?" Naruto scowled, "Justify it however you want—you're still just like the rest."

"Just shut up and stay still!" Ace roared, ducking down and sweeping his leg out at Naruto's feet. Naruto leapt up over the sweep and kicked Ace in the forehead, sending the boy back onto the ground, sprawled out. Sabo stood up shakily and threw a punch at Naruto, who, once again, caught the punch. Gripping Sabo's arm, Naruto turned and tossed Sabo into the air. He landed next to Ace, groaning in pain as he landed face-first.

Naruto sighed, shook his head and walked off.

Ace growled as he pushed himself into a sitting position, "Just you wait, bastard! We'll find out where you hid your damn treasure and we'll beat you down too!"

He never got a reply—Naruto had disappeared into the forest.

Letting loose a sigh, Ace fell backwards onto his back to stare up at the canopy, "Sabo?"

Groaning, Sabo uttered a weak, "W…What?"

"You come up with crappy plans."

"You again?"

Naruto glared at the pair before him—Ace and Sabo hadn't waited more than a single day to come back and attack him again. He had woken up to the two calling his name, daring him to come outside and face the two like a man. The two boys were smirking, despite the bandages that were on their faces. In their hands, both held a long staff, shoddily put together from pipes similar to the ones they had used yesterday. Sabo pointed his staff at Naruto.

"If we can't beat you up close, we just need to increase our range!" Sabo declared boldly, "Bring it on, Naruto! This time, your treasure is ours for sure!"

"I already you that I don't have treasure…" Naruto grumbled, scratching the back of his head in irritation.

Ace smirked, "And we already told you that we'll beat it out of you if we have to!"

Naruto let out an annoyed groan as the two rushed forward, determination blazing in their eyes. Sighing, Naruto fell into a loose stance and quickly decided to make sure they got the message this time—leave him alone or you're gonna hurt. As Ace and Sabo gave their battle cries and leapt into the air, staffs swinging, Naruto made his first move.

It was finished in a matter of minutes.

The thieving duo was piled on top of each other, their staffs snapped in two at their sides. Naruto, completely untouched, snorted and walked off without another word. Ace, as he had done yesterday, coughed and pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Tomorrow for sure, bastard! We'll kick your ass into next week!" Ace roared, shaking his fist in the air threateningly.

Ace and Sabo began to regularly take up the challenge of fighting Naruto once every day. Every day, whether rain, snow, storm, heat, the duo would seek out and challenge Naruto over the treasure that they were certain he had. Naruto would, in turn, remind them that he had no such treasure and would tell them to leave him be. They would fight, Naruto would emerge victorious, Ace would vow his revenge, and the cycle would repeat the next day. It became such a common occurrence that some people in the Gray Terminal began to watch the bouts out of either boredom or amusement, placing bets on whether or not it would finally be the day where Ace and Sabo stole a win. To everyone else, it looked like the three had formed some strange form of friendship—to Naruto, however, the two were just annoyances that bothered him every day. He hated seeing them, hated hearing them, and hated just about everything about them.

Two years had passed like that, and Naruto was now nine while Ace and Sabo became ten. The day was like any other—Naruto had awoken, caught his breakfast, cooked it, eaten it, went out into the woods to fight a bear or some other animal, and returned home before noon.

Ace and Sabo, for the first time since they had started to challenge him, hadn't shown up that day to fight him.

'Finally decided to call it quits, huh? Good riddance…' Naruto sighed, lying down in his hut.

"Oi, did you hear? That Ace stole from the Bluejam Pirates!"

"Eh? That little brat did? Doesn't he know about Porchemy? That guy's a psycho!"

Naruto rolled over on his side and glanced outside to observe the two women walking by. Either they didn't notice that he was listening in or they didn't really care—Naruto guessed it was probably the former—but either way, they were talking loud enough for probably half of the Gray Terminal to overhear. The pair came to a stop a few feet away from his home and began to dig around in the trash for any useful items.

"I know! Those Bluejam Pirates are brutal—all they've ever done is cause trouble since they started docking in the cove! I hear that Porchemy skins the heads of his victims!"

"Apparently, they've already caught one of those kids. Porchemy is trying to use him as bait to lure out the rest!"

"Poor bastards…even if they give back what they took, there's no way Porchemy won't kill them."

Naruto paused. Frowning for just a moment, Naruto rolled back over and pulled the old rag he used as a blanket over his head, closing his eyes in an attempt to take a quick catnap.

'Figures those idiots would go and get themselves killed…well, it's not my problem.'

Ace and Sabo gulped as they stared intently at the wooden shack before them. They stood in an abandoned area of the Gray Terminal, gripping their staffs tightly in their hands. From the shack, they could hear the sounds of crying and what sounded like fists colliding with flesh—hard. A pang of guilt reverberated in the both of them as they heard a coarse, weak voice cry out for help. Behind them, the setting sun mixed in with the twilight sky. Sabo took a momentary glance at Ace before his eyes turned back to the shed.

"I…If we go in there, Bluejam's not gonna just let this go. Porchemy's in there, too…we might really die," Sabo spoke.

Ace merely nodded.

"Even if we just grab Luffy and run…Bluejam will hunt us down," Sabo continued.

Ace nodded again, this time a bit more hesitantly.

"That's right. No matter what you do, you'll probably be killed by the Bluejam Pirates."

Ace and Sabo turned to find Naruto approaching behind them. Their eyes widened.

"N-Naruto? What are you doing here?" Sabo shouted in surprise.

Ace frowned, quickly overcoming his shock, "Get out of here, Naruto. This doesn't concern you."

Naruto ignored the both of them, "I won't pretend to know what's going on here—I thought I was going to be rescuing you two bastards. Whatever is going on in there, though, I'm assuming you two dragged someone else into your mess. Now they're in there, going through hell because of you. They're waiting for you to save them, but you're out here, too afraid to take a step closer."

Ace glared at Naruto but said nothing. Naruto stepped pass the boys, never looking at either of them. Sabo frowned, "H-Hey, what are you—"

"If you aren't going in, then I will."

Naruto stepped closer to the shack, cracking his knuckles as he did. The wooden wall looked weak from age and rot—one good kick could probably get him inside the building without losing the element of surprise that the front door would ditch. The Bluejam Pirates had begun to gain notoriety over the past year, when they began to dock in the cove of the Gray Terminal as a hideout. Everyone knew of their brutality…Naruto sighed.

'I suppose I can't blame them for being afraid…I'm a bit shaken myself…' Naruto frowned, glancing down at his right hand. It was trembling slightly. Shaking his head and steeling his nerves, Naruto was about to rush the wall. He stopped, however, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning, his gaze met the determined eyes of both Ace and Sabo.

"Oi, what do you think you're doing? Thinking you can steal all the glory while we warm up?" Ace spoke.

Sabo smirked, "Yeah, we were just stretchin'! Don't wanna pull something in the middle of kicking ass, right?"

Naruto looked at the pair, a rare smirk finding its way onto his face, "Whatever. Just don't chicken out and run off on me, understand?"

The three boys turned to glare at the wall before charging at it, each of them leaping up into a kick directed at the obstacle. As their feet collided with the wood, they smirked as they felt the wall give way to their combined strength. Soon enough, the trio had burst into the room, their adrenaline pumping through their veins.

"STOP IT!"

He ran a hand through his greasy black hair as he snarled in frustration and disgust. On the ground before him lay Porchemy, too beaten to even move, let alone stand. He scratched his beard irritably as he observed Porchemy in silence. The large, muscle-bound man was covered in bruises, his long silver hair caked in dried blood. Three brats. Three stupid, fucking little brats had brought down a member of his crew. His eyes snapped angrily to the large cutlass that lay next to the man and he snarled once more. His man was armed, no less…

"I've heard about today's little turn of events, Porchemy…" he muttered, "You're pathetic."

Weakly, Porchemy lifted his head, "C-Captain, I'm sorry…"

"Shut up. Don't look at me. I don't want to see your disgusting face again," he pulled out his flintlock, cocked the weapon, took aim, and fired without another word.

"Dammit, Ace, I had Luffy! We coulda just ran off! But no, you had to be a tough guy and stuck around to fight!" Sabo snapped, crossing his arms—both of which were covered in white bandages—and glaring at his partner, "He had a sword!"

Ace, who was also covered in bandages from head to toe, said nothing, opting to glare at Luffy, who was crying his eyes out next to Naruto. It was kind of off-putting for Ace…he had never seen Naruto hurt before. They had fought countless times before, but he had never so much as punched the blonde. Naruto had taken a good slash to the chest, which was why his torso was completely wrapped in white. Naruto, rather than comment, simply rubbed Luffy's head comfortingly—the first nice gesture that Ace had ever seen Naruto do.

"Damn…Bluejam's never gonna forgive us! He's gonna be after our butts!" Sabo sighed.

"I…I thought I was gonna die!" Luffy cried out.

"Shut up! How long are you gonna cry?" Ace snapped venomously, "You just a damn crybaby!"

Naruto sent a heated glare at Ace as Luffy gave a few tearful hiccups and began to breathe deeply in an attempt to calm himself and prove the older boy wrong.

"Pretty big talk coming from someone who was too scared to even go into the shack alone! If I hadn't shown up, you would of just end up leaving this kid to die!" Naruto growled, "Some friend you turned out to be!"

Ace returned the glare, "I ain't his damn friend, bastard!"

"The kid doesn't seem to agree," Naruto muttered, "Either way, the kid was taking the brunt of your mistake! Quit being such a—huh?"

Naruto felt a tug at the hem of his shirt. Glancing down, he met the tearful gaze of Luffy, clutching weakly onto the worn white rag. Luffy was just a kid—a seven-year-old who probably hadn't seen violence or been on the receiving end of anything like that in his life. Naruto had busted into the place to find him hanging in chains, dripping with blood and tears. The fact that he was doing so well was a miracle in Naruto's opinion and certainly gave the blonde some grudgingly-earned respect for the kid.

Now that Naruto looked at him, he did see a small resemblance to Ace, but it was nothing that would make him say they were related or anything, just small things such as the black hair, the tanned skin, the same eyes—even if Luffy's were much softer than Ace's. The kid wore a simple muscle-shirt and shorts, much like his Ace, but the large straw hat was the thing that stuck out on the boy.

"L…Luffy…"

Naruto blinked, "What?"

"M…My name's Luffy, not 'kid'…and t-thank you for saving me…"

"…Okay, Luffy. Don't mention it," Naruto sighed, rubbing the boy's head once more and glaring at Ace, "If you want someone to be angry with, be angry with yourself for letting Luffy get caught up in your mess, dumbass."

"Since when were you supposed to be a mother, bastard?" Ace was about to lunge at Naruto, but Sabo held him back.

"Alright, alright, enough, you idiots! Geez…at this rate, you two will end up killing each other for Bluejam!" Sabo sighed, turning to Naruto, "Thanks for the help, though. It's appreciated—by me, at least."

Naruto nodded stiffly, turning to head out, "Whatever—I just couldn't stand all the people talking about it. I couldn't get to sleep with all the noise."

As Naruto was walking off, Sabo frowned and glanced around the small group. Sabo's eyes stopped at Luffy's straw hat and the red bandana that Ace had on as Sabo's hands reached up to touch his own black hat. Plucking the hat from his head, Sabo grinned as Ace looked at him in confusion.

"Oi, Naruto!"

Naruto turned, only to get smacked in the face by something. Ignoring Ace's snickers and Luffy's laughs, Naruto rubbed his forehead, glaring at Sabo in annoyance, who merely chuckled sheepishly. Naruto bent down and picked up the offending object—Sabo's blue goggles, which normally rested on his hat. Looking at them in confusion, Naruto sent a questioning gaze towards their owner. Sabo grinned.

"Figured that you might as well take 'em. After all, you're the only one without something cool to wear on that dome of yours!" Sabo smirked.

Naruto gave the boy a flat stare, but reached up and slowly placed them on his head, "I don't get you idiots sometimes…"

With that Naruto, walked off without another word.

Naruto truly began to pick up in his training after his encounter with the Bluejam Pirates, figuring that they would come for him one day. He began to challenge even tougher foes that the forest had to offer—powerful alligators and giant tigers. Ace and Sabo had stopped challenging him constantly and had instead taken to training their own bodies as well, fighting against both wild animals and each other. Luffy, who had become a good friend of both Ace and Sabo, also trained with the pair. Occasionally, Naruto would stumble upon the group during his own training. He would reluctantly join the group at their request and spend the day sparring with them.

"C'mon Ace, I got half my dinner riding on this match!" Sabo cheered.

Luffy grinned, "Let's go, Naruto!"

The two were sitting off on the sidelines of a clearing that they constantly sparred in. Naruto had stumbled out of the forest as they had shown up and Ace had immediately challenged Naruto, as he normally did. Ace was the only one who could match up against Naruto—Sabo fell just a bit short and Luffy was no match for anyone in the group, despite his Akuma no Mi powers.

Naruto ducked under the right hook that Ace had thrown at him, throwing an uppercut in return. Ace leapt back to avoid it, frowning as he saw Naruto rush him. Naruto and Ace began to launch a flurry of blows, with the two blocking anything thrown at them and returning with a punch or kick. Naruto dropped down as his leg shot out and he swept Ace's legs out from under him. Ace fell to the ground and quickly rolled to the side to avoid Naruto stomping on him. The two stood still, panting and glaring at each other.

"Not bad, Naruto…" Ace muttered, "But I've been catching up to you. Today's the day I take my first victory!"

Naruto smirked, "C'mon then, Ace. Stop talking and fight."

Ace charged forward, letting loose a roar as he did so. Naruto stayed in place, readying himself. As Ace drew near, Naruto ducked low and swept again. This time, Ace jumped into the air to avoid Naruto's leg and brought his own leg down onto Naruto's shoulder. The blow connected, causing Ace to smirk, only for that smirk to vanish when he realized that Naruto seemed unaffected by his attack. Naruto grabbed Ace's leg and reached up to grab the collar of his shirt. Whipping around, Naruto threw Ace into a nearby tree, with Ace's back colliding with the hard surface in a loud and dull thud.

Ace fell to the ground, groaning as he nursed his back.

"Nice try, Ace," Naruto grinned, reaching up and adjusting his goggles, cringing a little as he moved the arm that Ace had kicked. Naruto had begun to warm up to the three since Luffy had arrived. Though he was still cold and distant to anyone else, around the trio, Naruto found that he could smile.

"Yeah! You owe me half your dinner tonight, Sabo!" Luffy cheered.

Sabo sighed, "Dang it, Ace, you almost had him!"

"Oi! If you think it's so easy, why don't you fight him, Sabo?" Ace grumbled as he sat up.

Sabo laughed, "I'm not an idiot like you! There's no way I'm fighting him!"

Naruto chuckled as he walked back towards the trees, "Right, well, have fun with that. I'm off."

Luffy frowned, "Aw, c'mon, Naruto! Stick around a bit longer! I wanna fight you too!"

"Sorry, Luffy, but unlike you lazy bums, I have to both hunt and cook my own food—I don't skip out on paying in restaurants in town. Sun's setting, too, so you guys might want to head home before the tougher animals start coming out," Naruto waved them goodbye over his shoulder as he walked on. The trio chorused their goodbyes and took his advice, heading back through the forest and down the mountain. By the time Naruto made it home, it was already nightfall. Drowsily, Naruto decided that it was too bothersome and he would just go to bed without dinner that night.

Ducking down into his hut, Naruto removed the goggles that Sabo had given him and pulled a rag over his body, gently closing his eyes and allowing sleep to take him.

"—ake up! N-Naruto, you gotta w-w-wake up!"

"Hn?" Naruto's eyes cracked open to see Luffy hovering over him, shaking his body. Naruto's groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He turned to look at Luffy, still half-asleep. He was woken up completely a second later, when he noticed the tears in Luffy's eyes. Naruto grasped Luffy's shoulders.

"Luffy," Naruto spoke in a clam and even voice, "What happened? What's wrong?"

"S-Sabo…!" Luffy cried.

Naruto frowned, "What about Sabo? Is he hurt? Where's Ace?"

"T-The Nobles…" Luffy hiccupped, "T-They took Sabo!"

Ace punched the tree for the five-hundred and fifty-first time—he'd been keeping count. By now, his knuckles were sore and bleeding and the bark on the tree was fading and chipping off with each punch. He had been there all day, doing nothing but simple exercises. Luffy had run off somewhere, probably back down the mountain to Dadan's. Ace hadn't even considered going home yet. He also hadn't considered talking to Naruto, who was glaring at him from the other side of their usual clearing.

He had been there for a half-hour now.

Neither had said anything.

It was Ace that had decided to break the silence, "…You probably blame me, right? I was right there…and I couldn't stop them from taking him."

Naruto was silent.

Ace punched the tree again, "I was…beaten and pinned by those pirates that bastard had with him. That fucking Noble hired the Bluejam Pirates to get Sabo...I was too weak to stop him."

He got no response.

"I…should've been stronger. I should've stopped Sabo from going! I should've chased after them, caught them at the gates and rescued Sabo!" Ace roared, punching the tree harder and harder, "I could've saved him!"

Silence.

"But…then, that man…Sabo's father…he threatened Luffy and I. He told Sabo that he would have us arrested and killed if Sabo didn't come with him…and Sabo…that idiot! Sabo went with him! Just like that!"

Ace let out a frustrated growl—at this point, he wished Naruto would scream at him, hit him, tell him how pathetic he was for just letting Sabo go like that…anything! Anything stand there and be completely quiet!

"Bluejam…he told us that if Sabo was a Noble, it was better he go home! He said that Sabo went because it was what he really wanted, deep down inside!" Ace yelled, "He said that it's…that it's best to just forget about Sabo!"

"From now on, don't come to the Gray Terminal. You and Luffy should just stay away."

Ace's head turned so fast that he was sure he had almost gotten whiplash. Naruto was leaving, heading back into the forestation towards the Gray Terminal. Growling, Ace ran after him to catch up to Naruto.

"That's it then?" Ace roared, "You don't want to see me or Luffy again, is that it? I fuck up and Luffy's dead to you?"

"Stay out of the Gray Terminal!" Naruto snapped back, never turning around to face Ace.

"You blame me, don't you? It's my fault, right?" Ace pushed, "Why don't you just say it to my face, bastard?"

"Stay away from the Gray Terminal!"

"Fight me!" Ace suddenly demanded, reaching up to Naruto and grabbing his arm, "If you beat me, I'll stay away! If you lose, then help me rescue Sabo!"

"Rescue him from what? He chose to be where he is now!" Naruto wretched his arm out of Ace's grip, "I won't fight you and I'm not giving you an option on this—stay away from the Gray Terminal! Stay out of Goa! Just head back down the mountain and stay there!"

Ace growled in frustration, throwing a fist aimed at Naruto's head, "I don't take orders from you, bastard! Fight me!"

To Ace's surprise, Naruto did nothing to dodge or block his attack. His fist collided with Naruto's cheek, forcing his friend to stumble back a few steps. Naruto rubbed his cheek; his head hung low as Ace glared at him. Neither of them moved nor spoke for what felt like hours, though Ace knew it was only minutes. Finally, Naruto spoke up, lifting his head to glare at Ace.

"You done?" Naruto questioned.

Just as Ace was about to shout again, Naruto's fist collided with his face. Ace was knocked to the ground, clutching a bloody nose as Naruto stood over him, glaring down at him with a mixture of anger and disappointment.

"…Sabo chose to go with that man to protect you and Luffy. If you guys keep coming to the Gray Terminal, you're just going to get hurt! Just forget about the Gray Terminal!" Naruto spoke, his voice surprisingly calm and quiet, "Stay away."

Ace stared at Naruto as he walked off. He remained there, unmoving until nightfall finally came. As the moon showered the forest in a dim light, Ace pushed himself off the ground, turned round, and headed back down the mountain path.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto had not seen Luffy or Ace the next day or the day after that. He had gone about his normal day, catching breakfast and training out in the forest alone. By the time he began to head home, the sun was setting and the "nightlife" of the Gray Terminal began to start up—muggers that waited until people slept to try and rob them blind. Naruto, who normally would have felt a burning anger for the thieves, found that he couldn't manage the emotion. He felt…

'Empty…' Naruto sighed, thinking briefly of his friends for two years now and of his friend of half a year, before quietly reminding himself, "It's for the best…"

"Oi, did you hear? A Tenryuubito is coming tomorrow! An actual Tenryuubito!"

"Bah! What's it matter? They sure as hell ain't comin' to see us!"

Naruto listened in with only a sliver of interest, ignoring the two gossipers that crossed his path to his home. That had been all that anyone had talked about for a month now. Apparently, a Tenryuubito—the World Nobles—was coming to survey Goa tomorrow as a part of a world-tour sort of deal. Other than that, Naruto didn't know and he didn't care—the Tenryuubito could just go die as far as he was concerned.

"Fool! Don't you know the huge celebration that'll be goin' on in the city? Think of how great the trash is gonna be for the next few days, hell, maybe even weeks!"

The gossipers walked out of earshot as Naruto continued on his way to home. As his hut came into view, he gave a heavy sigh, determined to simply go to sleep and hope that tomorrow was somehow better. Scratching the back of his head, Naruto gave another sigh.

"Oi, kid, how's about you come over here and play with us a bit? Bring whatever valuables you got…we'll be keepin' them safe from now on for you."

Naruto let out a frustrated growl as he heard the voice sound from behind him, "You caught me on the wrong day, you son of a bi—"

As he turned around, Naruto's words caught in his throat. Behind him were a group of fifteen men, each of them bearing a familiar tattoo…the jolly-roger of the Bluejam Pirates. Naruto suddenly became very tense as he eyed the large swords and multiple pistols the men had brought with them. As he took a few careful and slow steps back, Naruto glared at the man that stood at the head of the crew. He was a tall, large man with deeply tanned skin and coal-black eyes. His greasy black hair flowed down past his neck, and his hands were shoved deeply into the pockets of his dark green pants. He wore, along with them, a tan shirt with suspenders and draped a dark blue captain's jacket over his shoulders.

"…Captain Bluejam?" Naruto frowned.

The man grinned and pulled a flintlock from his pocket, "The one and only."

Naruto's eyes caught the gun before turning up to look Bluejam in the eye, "…I don't suppose you're just going on a leisurely stroll with your crew?"

"Well, that's one way to put it," Bluejam shrugged, donning a crooked grin, "It's just gonna end with you being very, very hurt and us getting very, very rich. Rumors travel fast round these parts, my boy…if I recall, they seem to say that your friends stole from my crew…and then you helped them beat the crap outta some of my men."

Naruto flinched, tightening his hands into fists. Bluejam laughed.

"I don't really care about that, though. I like strong people—I doesn't matter how old you are. If those guys got beat, they were weak and useless," Bluejam muttered, "I care about money, though. I lost out on quite a bit of it because of you and your friends. Now, it's time to pay the piper, brat."

"In case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly have goldmines to pay you with, buddy," Naruto growled out.

"Not according to the other rumors I've heard," Bluejam shot back with a smirk, "I hear you got yourself quite the hidden treasure—one that sells for quite the price, if I'm not mistaken. Plenty enough to pay us back with interest! Now…why don't you be a good boy and fetch that little treasure of yours? You won't get hurt if you do."

"I'll tell you what I told the other fifty people that came trying to steal from me," Naruto snarled, "I don't have any fucking treasure. Leave me alone."

As Naruto tore his eyes from Bluejam to turn away, he heard the click of the flintlock's hammer being pulled back. Growling, Naruto froze.

"I heard that you've been trying to save that treasure to buy your way out of the Gray Terminal and the Kingdom of Goa all together…sounds like it's worth quite the bit. So, I was wondering to myself one day…what could possibly be worth that much? What great treasure could he have found in this shitty place?" Bluejam shrugged to himself, his flintlock pointed at Naruto's head, "That's when I figured it out. You lucked out big time, you know that? Finding an Akuma no Mi amongst the rubbish of the Gray Terminal…where is it, brat? Where's the fruit?"

"I don't have anything like that!" Naruto growled out, "I've never even seen an Akuma no Mi!"

"Oh…I see, I see…" Bluejam motioned for his men, "Well, maybe you'll be more inclined to talk after my buddies here rough you up a tad."

Naruto glared, falling into a fighting stance as he saw the men pull out their weapons and begin to step forward. He frowned as he heard the mad cackling of Bluejam, who waved his gun back and forth in the air mockingly.

"Not so fast there, brat," Bluejam smirked, "I want to do this the easy way, so don't fight back to much. I'm known throughout the East Blue for my skill with guns…I can easily poke a hole in your head with a bullet without killing you. You're gonna be a good boy, so behave and take your beating until you want to talk."

Naruto directed a seething glare at Bluejam, who merely pointed his flintlock at the boy, giving Naruto a look that clearly dared the boy to test his skills. Hesitantly, Naruto lowered his arms and braced himself as the men marched forward, each of the men letting out a dark chuckle as they got closer and closer.

"Well, I gotta admit it, brat, I didn't think you'd handle yourself this well. I'm impressed," Bluejam muttered, kicking Naruto in the stomach. Naruto gasped as the air left his lungs, coughing up a mixture of saliva and blood. The stars were poking out in the night's sky now, and most of the people of Gray Terminal had retired for the night…not that it mattered, Naruto supposed, since none of them would help him anyway. He lay in a broken heap, battered and bruised, caked in his own dried blood that flowed from the multiple cuts that ran along his body.

If he moved, he would feel a searing pain in his chest, causing him to believe that at least one or two ribs may have been bruised or, worse yet, broken. Glancing at his quivering hand, Naruto noted that three of his fingers were a dark color and bent in disgusting ways. He couldn't move them, and the pain that each digit caused him let him confirm the obvious—they were broken. Naruto quivered in pain as Bluejam nudged him with his foot, a thin layer of sweat glossing his dirty skin. Weakly, he glared up at Bluejam.

"…I-I…" Naruto wheezed out, "…don't have any A-Akuma n—"

Naruto was silenced as Bluejam kicked him once more, sending him rolling down a heap of garbage. Bluejam and his crew chuckled as he heard Naruto's cry of pain.

"I really didn't want to use this, kid…I wanted it to be a surprise, but it looks like I'll have to go and spoil it. Do you know what time it is?" Bluejam grinned, motioning for his men to hand him something. One of the Bluejam Pirates tossed Bluejam a small box, which the man caught expertly and held in the palm of his hand towards Naruto, "It's an hour until midnight, brat. As soon as the clock strikes midnight, the Gray Terminal's gonna disappear. It's all gonna go up in smoke, brat, and everyone in it is gonna die. We tricked your little friends, Luffy and Ace, to help us plant these bombs. The Gray Terminal will die tonight!"

"…L…L-Liar…! L-Luffy and Ace…they wouldn't have…c-come back here," Naruto groaned out.

"Oh, it was very easy to convince them. We found them out in the forest, moping around all down and blue. I told them, in exchange for helping us with a little job, we wouldn't beat the crap out of you and them for hurting my crew and stealing my money. They didn't care so much about themselves, but when I mentioned your name…oh, you shoulda seen them jump at the chance to help me! Of course, they had no idea that they were killing everyone else!" Bluejam cackled, "But I'm a merciful man, you know? Tell me where the fruit is…and I might reconsider blowing this shitty place sky-high."

The sound of Naruto's panting and groans of pain met Bluejam's ears.

"I'm giving you this offer once. You know what's gonna happen, don't you? As soon as this place lights up, everyone will see it from miles away…even down the mountain. Little Ace and Luffy…they'll just be oh-so concerned for their dear friend Naruto…they'll come running without a second thought. They'll get caught up in the flames, you know. They'll burn to death. So, it's your choice…either give us the fruit or your friends and everyone in the Gray Terminal will die."

Silence met his ears. For a few moments, no one spoke. No one moved. Bluejam and Naruto simply looked into each other's eyes, testing each other.

"…T-The fruit…i-it's in a thrown o-out, worm eaten chest…buried u-under the h-huge oak tree where the coast meets the f-forest…Y-You'll know it w-when you find it. T…There's a s-scarecrow made of t-trash r-right where it's b-buried…" Naruto muttered, cringing as he did so. Bluejam grinned, turning to his men.

"Alright, you two stay with the brat. If he's lying, we'll be teaching him a good lesson when we get back, so make sure he doesn't go anywhere," Bluejam spoke as he pointed at two of his men. He then motioned for the rest of them to follow him as he turned and walked off, "The rest of you head back to the ship and grab some shovels. We'll be done in the hour, just enough time for us to blow this place to hell!"

Naruto's eyes snapped open at that, his anger and adrenaline fueling his will to stand up, though all he could manage was to push himself into a sitting position, "Y-You fucking bastard! You promised you wouldn't do it!"

"Eh? Sorry, brat, but I don't have a choice in the matter. It's a paid job, you see, and I always finish my work," Bluejam gave Naruto a sickening grin before chuckling darkly, "Take a good look at this place, kid, because it won't be here to see the sun rise."

Bluejam and most of his crew disappeared soon over the tops of the man-made dunes of garbage, leaving behind the two crew members and a broken and despair-ridden Naruto. Naruto cursed, thinking back to the day he had found that damn fruit. He was fishing, just like any other day—a huge storm had ran rampant the other night, and that always brought out the biggest and tastiest fishes out from the deeper waters.

He had noticed it drifting by, harmlessly and innocently splashing in the waters of the ocean—a cyan-colored fruit, with a strange, raindrop-like shape drifted in front of him. He had been enticed by the intricate and captivating wave-like pattern that ran over the skin of the fruit. It wasn't until he had it in his hands did he realize what he was holding. He had heard rumors of the Akuma no Mi before—drunken men, raving about how they would one day find one and use its powers to rise from the Gray Terminal to beat down the Nobles that looked down on them or people raving about how they would sell the first one they came across and live in the lap of luxury for the rest of their days.

He had hidden it, determined to one day find a buyer for it and leave the Kingdom of Goa…but he knew the second he brought it out into town to sell, he would have everyone after him for the money he earned. He didn't know what to do, so he hid it…soon after, he had become friends with Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. His dreams of leaving slowly faded from his memories as he spent the days away, training and spending time with the trio.

Naruto drew himself out of his thoughts and shakily reached up to touch the goggles that had fallen around his neck during his beating. He glanced over at the two Bluejam Pirates—they weren't even watching him, probably figuring that he would be unconscious or too beat to even move. Glaring and mustering what little energy he had left, Naruto quietly began to drag himself to the cover of a particularly large stack of junk.

Once behind it, he paused to listen and hear if the pirates had noticed him.

"I say good riddance. The bastards in this place have been nothing but fucking trouble!"

"You said it. Other town's we went to ran away, afraid at the mere sight of us! We pick the one hideout where the people try to rob you back! Not that there's much to steal, anyway…"

'Good,' Naruto pushed himself off the ground, ignoring the painful aches of his body ordering him to stop and lay down. Quietly yet quickly—or as quickly as he could manage in his current state—he ran off in the direction opposite of where he had pointed Bluejam.

'…I…hate this place!'

His hands worked tirelessly, digging away handful after handful of dirt as his broken fingers seared in pain. The moonlight showered down on him, providing him with the little light that he needed to find his true hiding spot—a small, dead bush that was under the shade of a large oak tree—it was the farthest point in the Gray Terminal from the ocean, a place no one ever went to, as many relied on the ocean for food if they could find none in the trash.

'I hate the people that live here! The people who hurt each other to survive like dogs!'

He could feel blood start to leak out from under his fingernails. His arms and hands ached—his whole body was wracked with pain. He did not stop once, not even for a moment.

'But this is the place where I raised myself! This is the place where I have lived and clawed out such a stupid, crappy life for myself!'

His pace only increased as he scraped against something in the dirt, rock and clay.

'This is the place I met Ace! The place I met Sabo! The place I met Luffy!'

A few more handfuls of earth were tossed over his shoulder. He bent down and lifted an object in his hand—a small, worn and dirt-covered shoebox that he had found among the trash that fateful day. Ripping open the lid and tossing it to the side uncaringly, he reached inside and pulled out its contents.

'This is my home, damn it! I won't let it or its people be killed! Even if I have to live in this crappy place for the rest of my life…'

His hands trembled as he looked down at the fruit…the same cyan color, the same intricate wave-like pattern, the same raindrop shape…

'I will protect it, even if I have to sell my soul to the devil!'

Naruto brought the fruit to his mouth. His lips quivered and he trembled in fear of what he was about to attempt. He paused, turning to look out at the Gray Terminal, tears stinging at his eyes—he probably only had a half-hour left. Giving one final, bitter laugh, Naruto steeled his nerves.

"Knowing my luck, I bet it tastes like crap…"

By now, Bluejam must have come back to where he had left Naruto. He had probably killed the two pirates he'd left with him for failing, and Naruto figured that he was probably looking for him. It was for that reason that Naruto had opted to take the long way around the Gray Terminal to reach his goal. If he had to guess, it had already been at least twenty minutes since he had eaten the Akuma no Mi—ten minutes left.

'How do I even use my power? What power did I even get from that stupid fruit?' Naruto growled in frustration as he tried to figure out exactly what he was going to do outside of a basic idea—he didn't have much time left to do it, either. He heard a few people that had yet to fall asleep call out to him, questioning where he was going and why he was in such a rush, but he paid them no mind, as he couldn't afford the time to.

His legs burned and his chest ached, his breath coming out in labored wheezes as his stomach did flips in his belly, nausea overtaking him.

'Damn…' Naruto scowled as the world around him began to blur, though he never once stopped his running. He could still make out his goal in the distance, coming ever-so closer with each step he took. Any other day, the mere sight of it would have disgusted him, reminding him of the world he hated so much…now, he had thought that it never looked so beautiful.

The large, steel doors that led to Goa.

'I can't stop Bluejam…not alone…' Naruto panted, 'But if I tell the king…even if he's a rotten Noble, it's still his kingdom, dammit! He's got to be able to do something! At the very least, he could call for the gates to be opened and let the people in while the guards work to put out the fire!'

In the back of his mind, Naruto grew a nagging fear that Bluejam would appear before the gates, ready to kill him and set fire to the Gray Terminal.

'Well, I ate that Akuma no Mi for a reason! If Bluejam gets in my way, I'll use its power to kick his ass!' Naruto declared mentally. As he drew closer, he began to question how he would get the doors open. Were guards still manning them? If so, could he just pound away at the door or scream his lungs out to get them to open up? How much time was left until midnight? Would he make it?

These questions plagued Naruto's mind as he ran and ran, getting closer and closer to the doors. He almost tripped in shock and surprise when he got within just a few feet of the doors…he heard creaking, the sound of large gears moving and clanking against each other. The doors began to bulge out and split from each other, slowly pushing outwards.

The doors were opening.

Naruto's heart soared and his grin of relief threaten to split his face as he watched a small platoon of about twenty guards, donned in their normal hazard suits and carrying their normal rifles, stepped out in uniform from behind the doors. Naruto's spirits picked up as did his energy as he rushed to the first guard he could reach, running faster than he thought his small, scrawny legs could carry him. As he reached the guard, he collapsed to his knees in a sweating, bleeding, tired, panting mess.

It didn't matter though, not to him.

'I made it!' Naruto grinned despite his aching body practically screaming in agony with pain. Naruto reached out and grabbed the guard's leg, catching his breath before he managed to speak out to get his message across.

"…P-P-Pl…Please…t-there's g-going t-t-to be a…a…a," Naruto panted, struggling to get his warning out, "…a f-fire! T-T-Tell the…king that…the Gray T-Terminal's in danger!"

The guards turned to each other, there confusion evident in their body language. The guard that Naruto had reached out to leaned down, lifting Naruto's head to look him in the eye.

"Who told you that, boy? How do you know this?" the guard questioned.

"I…I-I w-was to-told by—"

"No one outside of Goa's High Town was supposed to know about it."

Naruto's heart dropped.

The large clock-tower in town rang out, sounding as midnight arrived. Behind him, Naruto felt a wave of stinging, mocking heat strike his back as the night's sky lit up and several huge explosions sounded out, the ground shaking from their force. The screams of the people were instantaneous. Plumes of smoke towered up and into the sky, while the flames cackled and danced amongst the hills of garbage. Despite the sudden surging heat, Naruto felt the cold sensation of dreadful realization and a sense of betrayal washed over him as he watched a few of the guards laugh at the scene before them. Slowly, the large steel doors closed, blocking Naruto's image of a quiet and sleepy, peaceful town behind them.

The Gray Terminal was burning.

"Well, I guess it doesn't matter that you found out as long as the plan went off without a hitch," the guard said, readying his rifle. The guard pointed the gun down at Naruto's head, his uncaring eyes shining beneath the mask he wore, "Sorry, brat, but you're going to have to die now."

"W-What…?" Naruto muttered meekly, tears surging to his eyes.

"You're about to die, so I guess I might as well explain," the guard sighed, "You're probably too stupid to understand, though, being raised here. The Nobles decided to remove Goa's flaws so that the Tenryuubito would be impressed with the kingdom and, in turn, the kingdom would become even richer and more popular. The Gray Terminal was decided unanimously to be burned up—it's been planned for months now."

"Stop fucking around!" Naruto roared, his voice tired and his throat raw but his anger fueling his adrenaline, "These are people of the Kingdom of Goa! How can that bastard call himself a king? How can he abandon his people like this? This is murder!"

"Murder?" the guard gave a confused tilt of his head, "Kid, why do you think you people lived in the Gray Terminal? It's because you people are nothing but trash. This isn't murder. It's just cleaning. Now die."

Naruto watched as the guard's finger fell on the trigger.

'No way…I'm going to die?'

The trigger was pulled.

'Ace…Luffy…Sabo…I'm never gonna see them again? Gray Terminal…everything…everyone is just going to burn up?'

A shot rang out.

'Please…I can't die here! Not until I've saved my home! Not until I've saved everyone! Not until I know that those three are safe! I can't die—I need to live!'

Naruto shut his eyes tight as he braced himself for the impact of the bullet. He felt something hit his head and enter it. An indescribable feeling that made him sick to his stomach washed over him as he felt liquid hit his skin and heard it splash onto the ground behind him. He was terrified—he knew if he opened his eyes, he'd see the crimson redness that was his own blood. It was at that moment that Naruto was sure he had died.

"…What?"

"How is it possible? What the fuck is that brat?"

"H-He's cursed! A devil! A monster!"

Confusion washed over Naruto when he realized that he could still hear his own thoughts, that he could still feel his pain-wracked and sore body. Slowly, he dared to crack one eye open.

On his clothes and on the ground was water.

He reached up and felt his head—no bullet wound. The guard before him quickly readied his rifle again and fired at Naruto once more. This time, out of a morbid curiosity, Naruto watched as the guard pulled the trigger—he did not brace himself nor did he close his eyes. The bullet flew out and struck him in the chest. Water splashed out of him and a hole was left, but the wound quickly closed up as water rushed to fill it before it disappeared, leaving no mark whatsoever. Naruto grew the smallest of smiles that quickly expanded.

He had found his new power.

"He's cursed alright, but he's no monster! This brat has eaten an Akuma no Mi!" another guard roared out in a grizzly voice. Naruto pushed himself off the ground and glared at the guards defiantly, who each took a step back in fear. They weren't fools—they knew how powerful people who ate an Akuma no Mi could become. Naruto pointed at the large steel door.

"Open those doors! The people of the Gray Terminal are getting in there!" Naruto commanded, "After everyone is evacuated, I'm going to force the king to put out the fires myself!"

"You think you can topple a kingdom, brat? One kid with an Akuma no Mi power isn't going to defeat an army!" a guard shouted back, pointing his gun and shooting at Naruto. Just like before, the bullet pierced through him harmlessly, splashing water onto the ground. Suddenly, the panicked screams began to get closer. Turning to glance over his shoulder, Naruto found a large crowd of people from the Gray Terminal rushing towards the city in hopes of refuge. Naruto turned back to the guards.

"Open the doors or I force you!" Naruto roared, charging forward. More bullets were fired at him in vain as he closed the distance between him. Once he was close enough, Naruto threw a punch into one of the guard's gut…only for his fist to turn to water upon impact, causing his attack to harmlessly splash him with water. Naruto pulled back his fist and stumbled back, looking at his hand in horror as his heart fell into the pit of his stomach.

The guards looked at Naruto…before they began to crack up laughing.

"Some power, idiot!" a guard laughed, "You may be durable but you can't even fight? You're supposed to defeat the kingdom? What a joke!"

'No…No!' Naruto fell to his knees.

"We can throw him in the ocean after we finish up here—he'll sink like a rock!" another guard laughed, readying his gun. As the panicked crowd rushed forth toward the gates, the guards took aim. Naruto's eyes widened as he watched on. The bullets flew out, shooting into the crowd and striking the people. While some dropped to the ground, killed instantly, other fell while screaming in pain and surprise, clutching their bleeding wounds. Soon enough, a second wave of bullets would put them out of their misery.

"Stop it! Please, just stop this!" Naruto cried, trying to grab one of the guards, only for his hands to once again turn to water. He passed through them and fell to the ground while the guards laughed in glee and continued to fire into the screaming people. More people fell down, dead. By now the crowd, despite their panic, realized what was happening and turned to run back into the flames and away from the city.

"Don't let them escape! Kill every last one of them!" a guard roared.

"No! Don't! Please, I'm begging! Stop all of this!" Naruto begged, tears pouring from his eyes. He closed them tightly as he heard more shots cry out over the flames and screams. The dull thuds of bodies colliding with the ground met his ears as he cringed.

"Stop! Please!" Naruto cried, raising his head to the sky and tearing at his hair, "Please! STOP!"

The guards, who were in the middle of reloading, froze, much to Naruto's confusion and relief. What remained of the crowd disappeared into the flames, using the moment of ceasefire to quickly escape the death that awaited them. Naruto watched on as, slowly and one by one, the guards began to drop to the ground, passed out cold for some unexplainable reason. Naruto, shaking and dripping in sweat and tears turned to look at the Gray Terminal.

Bodies were already piling up. The highest mountains of garbage were ablaze in the fiery hell as the inferno pooled down and trapped anyone who was unfortunate enough to be caught inside of it. Smokes rose into the sky, covering the moon and stars. Despite this, the light of the fire still lit up the skies, and the heat rolled in waves, slapping Naruto in the face along with the ash carried by the wind that licked the flames. The screams began to grow louder and louder, pleas for help and mercy, cries of pain…

Naruto could only kneel there and watch with tear-stained eyes as his home burned before him.

"Did you see zat, Dragon-boy? Zis boy…he has eaten a Logia-class Akuma no Mi of ze vater element! Not only zat, but he just used Haki!"

"Don't assume that it's a Logia so quickly, Ivankov…"

"No, no! I definitely saw it! No doubt about it! Zis boy's potential is staggering! Don't you agree, Kuma-boy?"

"…I believe it is a Logia…"

"You see? I knew it!"

Naruto's head snapped to look at the three people who were approaching him. While one was rather tall for an adult, the other two were simply giants. All three wore dark green cloaks that kept most of their bodies obscured from view, though Naruto could still make out their faces with the light of the flames. The most distinct one was a tall man with a humungous head and curly purple hair. On his face was makeup such as black eye-shadow and purple lipstick. He spoke in a thick accent and seemed to be trying to convince the shortest of the three that Naruto was impressive. The tallest of the group had his hood down and carried a bible in his hands. He wore a white hat that forced his messy black hair to fall past his shoulders and had two, round animal ears on his head that reminded him of the bears he had fought in the forest. With tan skin and a powerful jaw, Naruto found the fact that his eyes had no pupils or iris—just the whites of his eyes—to be rather creepy. The last one had long, black hair with a prominent widow's peak and a leathery tan with a strange tattoo on one side of his face. His sharp black eyes were examining Naruto while he rubbed the bit of stubble on his chin.

"W-Who are you people?" Naruto, who normally would have been hostile to any potential threat, found that he could muster the heart to speak in anything but monotone. Before any of the men could reply, however, Naruto heard a familiar voice call out in the flames.

"I won't run away!"

Naruto's head spun so fast that he nearly snapped his neck, as his gaze was drawn into the flames. He suddenly recalled what Bluejam had told him—that Ace and Luffy would come looking for him, try to rescue him from the fire…

"That was…Ace's voice…" Naruto muttered. He quickly got to his feet and charged into the fire, much to the surprise of the three men.

"V-Vait! If you go in zere, you vill burn to death!" one of the men called out after him.

As Naruto disappeared, Emporio Ivankov turned to his allies.

"Are ve simply going to let such potential go to vaste?" Ivankov frowned.

"…He must have something worth saving in there," Bartholomew Kuma muttered quietly.

Both of the men turned to Monkey D. Dragon, questioning their next course of action silently. Dragon seemed to stare into the flames where the child he had just seen vanished into with a strange and knowing smile on his face. Sighing, he turned to his two commanders and waved his hand towards the raging fire that begun to spread even farther and farther out, engulfing as much as it possibly could into its fiery jaws.

"Our goal first and foremost is to rescue as many people as possible. That boy won't abandon this place…not like this. I'm sure we'll see him again tonight."

Smoke filled his lungs as the dry air drew tears from his eyes. Naruto coughed, running as quickly as he could through the flames. Surprisingly, despite the fire surrounding him, poking and nipping at him from all directions, Naruto felt nothing more than a bothersome itch whenever the flames touched his skin. Whether that was included in what Naruto was officially declaring a useless power or not, he didn't stop to consider. He just ran around aimlessly, searching in vain for his friend.

"Ace!" Naruto called, coughing slightly, "Ace! Answer me! Where are you? ACE!"

"…N-Naruto? Is that you?"

Naruto's heart stopped as he heard the coughing voice over the roaring inferno. He began to look around, straining his eyes in the dry, smoky air to see through the dancing flames for any sign of his friend.

"Ace! Keep talking!" Naruto shouted.

"E-Easier said than done, you idiot! A-Are you okay?"

"…I'll manage!" Naruto called back, shifting closer to where he thought he heard his friend's voice, "Is Luffy with you?"

"Luffy's back home! It's just me and Dadan, our guardian!"

"Dadan? You mean the leader of the Dadan Thieves?" Naruto shouted in surprise before shaking his head, "Forget it! You can explain later! Tell me what's around you!"

"We're just caught in a ring of fire, kid! I'm going to toss up this bastard's sword, so you'll be able to find us in a second!" an unfamiliar voice called out, causing Naruto to assume it was Dadan. His confusion on what sword and what bastard she was talking about would have to wait. Naruto looked up to the sky in search of the promised weapon and, sure enough, moments later, a large cutlass went sailing into the air over a particularly tall wall of fire.

Naruto glared at the obstacle, 'Let's see if this power is worth anything…!'

Naruto thrust his palms outward, closing his eyes tightly in concentration. In his mind, he pictured water shooting from his hands and diminishing the fire in front of him. Water as strong as the powerful churning waves of the ocean caught in a fierce storm and as swift and large as a huge waterfall. Naruto stood there silently amongst the sea of flames, trying to will the water out of his body.

"Naruto, did you see that? Naruto!" Ace called out to him.

Naruto's eyes snapped open just in time to catch two large bullets of water shoot out of his hands. The globs sailed through the air, slamming down into the ground just before the fire and splashing into a tower of water that fell onto the fire. Sure enough, as the water cooled the flames and opened a pathway through it, Ace stumbled out carry a heavyset woman on his back—Dadan, Naruto assumed. Both were bruised and beaten, clearly tired and bleeding from cuts along their arms.

"You two alright?" Naruto frowned.

"We're a lot better now than before. How did you put out the fi—never mind. Doesn't matter right now," Ace muttered, turning back to the flames, "If you think we're bad, you should see him."

Naruto glanced behind Ace to where he was staring. On the ground, flintlock and sword beside him, laid the beaten body of Bluejam. His clothes were singed and torn and his mouth hung open, revealing his now-missing teeth. A pool of his own blood was forming around him and he was covered in bruises and cuts himself. Naruto glared down at the man, feeling no pity for the man whatsoever.

"He dead?" Naruto questioned.

Ace snorted, "He will be. Leave him."

"No more talking. We're getting out of here—now. You two are coming with me back down the mountain and that's that," Dadan spoke up, eyeing Naruto and Ace. Ace nodded, and began to walk carefully around the flames towards where he could just make out the forest through the smoke. It took a little bit for him to realize that Naruto wasn't following him. Turning around, Ace was suddenly overcome with a sensation of dread as he saw the look in Naruto's eyes.

Naruto's eyes stuck out amongst his beaten and bruised body—they burned with a strong and energetic determination.

Ace immediately began to shake his head, staring his friend in the eyes, "No…no, no, no, no! Naruto, don't do this! You can't seriously be planning on sticking around here! Look around—it's over! The Gray Terminal is done for! We gotta get outta here now or we'll all die!"

"…I can't leave, Ace. This is my home," Naruto slowly began to walk backwards toward the flames, offering a smile to Ace's sad face, "Look after Luffy, alright? Make sure you meet up with Sabo again, too! I'll be alright, so don't worry about me, Ace!"

"Naruto…come with us. Come with us back to the mountain and you can look after Luffy yourself!" Ace shouted.

"Don't be an idiot, kid! There's nothing anyone can do for this place now—you're just throwing away your life!" Dadan yelled.

Naruto shook his head softly, "No…No, I'm the only one with the power to do something for this place now."

With that, Naruto turned around and ran off into the flames, ignoring the cries of Ace and Dadan behind him and never turning to look back once.

More water gushed from his hands in a steady stream as Naruto put out flame after flame. It must have been at least an hour since Naruto had left Ace and Dadan to try and save his home. Naruto wiped the sweat from his brow as he stumbled onto the next flame. He had put out fire after fire, released a river of water and yet no apparent difference was made. A blanket of flames still covered the Gray Terminal, screams were still echoing out, and the towers of smoke were just as tall as they had been. Moreover, though he didn't want to admit it, Naruto could feel the pain and exhaustion beginning to take their tolls.

'….J-Just one more…if I can just take out one more flame…' Naruto told himself as he tried to aim a shaky arm at another flame. The next thing Naruto knew, he was on his back, looking up to the smoke-covered sky. Naruto frowned, struggling to push himself up, 'W…When did I fall?'

"You're going to die if you continue to push yourself, you know."

Naruto's eyes traveled up to find the cloaked man from earlier—the one with the tattoo—staring down at him. Naruto sent a weak glare at the man, "S…S-Shut up! I…I can still go on…"

"Why do you struggle so much to save this place? I already have everyone who is still alive on my ship and we're about to head out. No one alive is still in this junkyard except for you," the man informed him, "There's no reason to stay here and lose your life over something so meaningless."

"…M-Meaningless? Meaningless?" against all odds, Naruto felt one last surge of adrenaline as he pushed himself into a kneeling position to send a fierce glare to the man before him, blood leaking out of his mouth as he roared, "I hated this place! This place has caused me nothing but pain and sadness! I hate how the people here do nothing to help each other and can only think of themselves! I hate how the Nobles of the city are so self-righteous, treating anyone they see as below them like they're just things to be discarded! I ABSOLUTELY FUCKING HATE THIS SHITTY PLACE!"

The man watched as tears flows down Naruto's eyes, the boy's hands clenched tightly into fists and he began to pound away at the ground in a fit of rage and frustration, hard enough to draw blood from his worn and weary hands. Naruto panted to catch his breath, swallowing twice and hacking up blood and saliva on the ground before him, forcing him to bow his head.

"…But this is the place that I met Ace! This is the place I met Sabo! This is the place I met Luffy! Without this place, I never would have met any of them! Without this place, I never would have grown strong enough to stand alongside them! Without this place, I never would have been able to laugh with them, to train with them, to talk to them!" Naruto roared, "THIS IS PLACE IS THE HOME THAT I HATE AND LOVE SO MUCH! I CAN'T JUST LET IT DISAPPEAR BEFORE MY OWN EYES!"

"…You fool," the man muttered. Had Naruto been paying attention, he would've noted the man's eyes slightly widened at the mention of Luffy's name. But Naruto was too tired to pick up on such small details. Naruto could only continue to glare up at him as the man looked down at him, his sharp eyes burning with passion and knowledge. The man outstretched his arms, motioning to the burning land around them and he looked Naruto in the eye.

"You utter and complete fool!" the man roared back, "Tell me, boy, what is a home? Merely a spot! A location! A good home is made from the memories one makes there! Tell me, boy…what made memories so good that it made you want to protect this place, even if you died? Was it this place? Or was it your friends?"

Naruto fell silent, his tears increasing as he found that any words he could reply with died on his tongue. The man kneeled down to Naruto's level and patted his head, ruffling the blonde's spiky hair.

"This is why you must live on. A home is not made by a location, but by the people who live with you in that home. Where are those people? Are they safe? Waiting for you, perhaps? Go to them. Make a new home, one where you can continue make fond memories with your friends," the man spoke softly. Naruto shook his head, an ashamed look crossing his teary eyes.

"…I'm not strong enough! I can't protect them or my home! I thought…that if I lived for myself, I could just be strong for myself!" Naruto cried, "But now…I want to live for them! I want to protect them! My friends…I want to be able to protect them from anyone that would hurt them! But even if I want to…I'm too weak! I can't do it!"

"I see…you wish to become stronger, so that you can create a home where your friends can be safe, is that it?" the man extended his hand to Naruto, his charismatic and strong eyes staring into the boy's very soul, "Come with me, then, boy. I will make you strong and, together, we will change this world. We will make it a world that everyone can call a 'good home.' But the choice is yours. Do you truly wish to grow stronger to protect them or do you merely wish to continue to live alongside them?"

Naruto stared at the man's offered hand. Shakily, he reached up…and grabbed the goggles Sabo had given him. Clutching them tightly in his grip, Naruto raised his head to the sky.

"ACE! LUFFY! SABO! I SWEAR…" Naruto yelled out to the sky, "I WILL BECOME STRONG! I WILL PROTECT YOU ALL! I…PROMISE YOU GUYS—THE PROMISE OF A LIFE TIME! I WON'T LIVE FOR MYSELF ALONE! I WILL GROW STRONG…AND PROTECT MY FRIENDS!"

Naruto threw his hand into the man's larger one before passing out, the blue goggles still clutched in a vice-grip in his other hand. Wordlessly, Dragon lifted the boy onto his shoulder and walked back to his ship—a massive, darkly painted ship with a dragon twisting around the entirety of it. As he got aboard, the sails dropped and Ivankov and Bartholomew immediately rushed to his side, eyeing the boy in his hands. Before either of them could speak, however, Dragon looked at the pair.

"Are all the people we rescued safe and aboard?"

The two nodded.

"Good," Dragon glanced down at the boy he held, "See to this boy's wounds—he should be considerably exhausted. Get him some new clothes, as well as a bath. Make sure you don't lose those goggles of his, either. I don't think he'd ever forgive us if we did."

Handing the boy to Ivankov, who immediately rushed to get the child to the sickbay, Dragon stalked off to his quarters as his large ship began to pull out of the cove, leaving behind the fiery Gray Terminal to disappear by the time morning came. Kuma watched his captain leave before glancing back at the flames behind them. After a minute of silent observing, Kuma, too, headed to his own quarters for the night.

Naruto gave a startled gasp as he shot up, his heart racing as he eyes glanced wildly around the room he was in. It was a simple oaken room, with a large oil lantern hanging over top to provide light. Cabinets crammed full of different books, medicine and drugs lined the walls, as did about fifteen other empty cots, each with nightstands next to them. Judging from the white curtains that hung around each cot, Naruto quickly concluded that he must have been in some sort of infirmary, like he had seen in pictures from books and papers that were in the Gray Terminal.

'The Gray Terminal…' Naruto hung his head low, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. Wiping them away with the back of his hand, Naruto glanced outside the porthole that was next to his cot. All he could see was miles and miles of ocean—no land in sight. Wherever he was, he was out at sea. As he looked down at the nightstand next to his cot, Naruto gave a light smile as he saw that his goggles were there, resting on top of the wooden nightstand. Grabbing them and placing them on his head, Naruto shoved off the blanket that had been placed over him, noting a new black shirt and tan shorts. His fingers that had been broken that night were in small splints and, under his shirt, he could see a large amount of bandages wrapped around his chest.

Shrugging, Naruto placed his feet on the cool wooden floor and stood and walked over to the door.

"Oho? You've been out for two veeks. I'm surprised to see zat you can valk around so easily. Well, it is to be expected—ve have high hopes for you."

Naruto jumped and twirled around to find a man sitting in the corner of the room, flipping through the pages of a book nonchalantly. Naruto's eyes widened, 'How the hell did I miss him of all people?'

Naruto recognized the man as one of the three cloaked men he had seen on the night of the fire in the Gray Terminal—the one with the huge head that wore make-up. Seeing the man without the cloak did not make his appearance any less strange. The man had yet to actually look at Naruto, as his eyes were still glued to the book in his hands. As he turned a page, he called out to Naruto.

"So…your name, boy?"

Naruto blinked, "U-Uzumaki Naruto…"

"Vell, Naru-boy, I am Emporio Ivankov. You may call me Ivankov if you vish," Ivankov spoke in the same thick accent he had used before. Reaching to the nightstand next to him, Naruto watched as Ivankov took hold of a strange snail and held it up to his mouth, "Dragon-boy? Yes, ze boy is awake."

The next few minutes were spent in silence as Naruto waited for something to happen. Ivankov was simply flipping through a book, tapping his foot impatiently on the floor. Soon enough, however, the door creaked open, and in walked the man with the tattoo that Naruto had assumed saved him that night. Behind that man, ducking down to get through the doorway, was the giant of a man that had reminded Naruto of the bears he fought in the forest.

The tattooed man grinned at Naruto, "I see you're awake—good. It's been about two weeks, you know. I was beginning to think you wouldn't wake up at all. I am Dragon, leader of the Revolutionary Army and these two are Bartholomew Kuma and Emporio Ivankov, whom I'm sure you've already met. They are both commanders in my army."

"The Revolutionary Army?" Naruto blinked.

"It's no surprise you haven't heard of us. The World Government is trying to keep our existence a secret, so not many know of us yet," Dragon explained, "Your name is?"

"Uzumaki Naruto…" Naruto mumbled, feeling a bit out of place among the adults in the room. Kuma nodded his head in a greeting as Ivankov snapped the book shut and placed it on the stand next to him, sitting up and walking over to Dragon.

"You told me that you want to become strong enough to protect your friends, Naruto. Do you still want to?" Dragon questioned.

Naruto nodded, determination apparent in his eyes, "I made a promise to my friends. I will definitely become strong!"

Dragon smirked and glanced at Ivankov, who nodded and stepped forward.

"Ve noticed your potential zat night, Naru-boy," Ivankov explained, "Ze power of ze fruit you have eaten…ve call it ze 'Kōzui Kōzui no Mi', or ze 'Flood-Flood Fruit'. It is vat is called a 'Logia' class Akuma no Mi and it has turned your body into vater and given you control over ze element of vater. Along vith vis, ve noticed zat you have a particularly rare type of somezing known as 'Haki'. If ve vere to train you, you could no doubt become a very poverful person."

"A poverful person?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Poverful! Poverful, you little idiot!" Ivankov snapped as Dragon chuckled and Kuma's lips turned upward into a very faint smile.

"…Powerful…" Kuma explained quietly. Naruto nodded his head in understanding, a sheepish grin overcoming his face.

"Yes, vell!" Ivankov continued, "If ve vere to train you, ve vould have some conditions, understand?"

"Like what?" Naruto frowned.

"First of all, there will be no quitting half-way through and no half-assing it. I won't lie to you. The training will be hellish and it will push you to the brink of death—sometimes over that brink—but if you can withstand it all, you will be strong," Dragon spoke, "The next is that you become one of us by joining the Revolutionary Army. We aren't a charity, so if you want our help, you'll help us in return. It should be fine, as we have similar goals and dislikes, as it would appear."

Naruto thought back to their conversation that night and nodded stiffly. Dragon continued.

"This last one is more of a warning than anything else. You have to understand this—we are enemies of the World Government. We are enemies of the current world," Dragon explained, "More than half of the world wants us dead right this second and as soon as you're spotted with us, you'll be marked a criminal and a revolutionary and be hunted down by the World Government. Even so, do you still want to go through with this? Now is your last chance to back out."

"The world will hate me? The world already hates me! Nothing has changed!" Naruto answered, reaching up to grip the goggles on his forehead, "I made a promise and I intend to go through with it. I want to be strong."

Dragon and Naruto matched gazes for a short moment before Dragon barked out a deep laugh. Turning and walking to the door, Dragon pushed it open and stepped through the doorframe, never turning back. Naruto stared at the man expectantly, as did Ivankov and Kuma.

"You're gonna go through hell, kid," Dragon muttered, "Welcome aboard. You're training starts tomorrow."

Dragon sighed contently as his eyes looked over a few scattered papers on his desk. The morning sun was just hitting through the portholes of his office and all was a quiet—a rarity, considering the rowdy bunch that made up his crew. His quarters weren't anything special—a dark green carpet, a bed, desk, pictures and maps hung up on the walls and a few bookcases chocked full of different reading material and references. An oil lamp hung from the ceiling, giving light to the room. As he brushed a few of his papers towards a messy and unorganized stack by his Den-Den Mushi, he briefly paused as his hand fell on a report of Naruto's growth and development on his powers.

Ten years. Ten years had passed since he, Kuma, and Ivankov had taken Naruto under their wing.

'He's late, too. I wanted him up here ten minutes ago…lazy brat. Probably napping again,' Dragon sighed, but held a wry smile on his face. He'd be lying if he said the kid hadn't brightened up the ship with his presence. Kuma treated him like a little brother and, even though Ivankov would pretend to be angry every time Naruto called him a 'hag', it was obvious that he really cared for the boy. Their care showed in his development as well—Naruto had become quite powerful in his own right. Dragon was pulled out of his thoughts as his door opened and a sheepish chuckle rang out.

"Sorry about being late, Dragon-jiji! I got lost on the way here! Ivan-nee and Kuma-nii told me that you wanted to see me?"

Naruto hadn't just grown in terms of strength in the ten years he spent training, either. He was now a strong nineteen-year-old, with a well-built form. Nothing overly muscular, but it was clear that he still had some muscle on that thin form of his, without an ounce of baby-fat noticeable. He had lightly tanned skin as he did when he was a child and his hair was still a spiky blonde, falling over his forehead. He was now taller, a fact that he liked to brag about, reaching just above the average height of boys his age. His…attire was a bit odd for a revolutionary, Dragon noted, but it wasn't really an issue. Naruto always wore his old blue goggles around his neck, with a blue tropical button-up t-shirt that he always left with the buttons undone. He would throw on a simple white t-shirt under that and a pair of long, beige pants and black sandals.

That was how he looked as he entered Dragon's quarters at this very moment, an apologetic grin stretching from one set of whisker marks to the other.

Dragon sighed, motioning for Naruto to pull up a chair in front of his desk. Naruto complied and waited for his boss to speak.

"So…you're nineteen now."

Naruto gave Dragon a flat look, "I've been nineteen since October."

"This is correct," Dragon smirked at the boy's annoyed look, "You've been with us for ten years now, Naruto. Do you feel stronger?"

Naruto grinned, punching his open palm, "You already know the answer to that, Dragon-jiji!"

"Good. I've been talking with Kuma and Ivankov…and we have agreed that you are strong enough to earn a promotion to the rank of commander," Dragon grinned as he finished his sentence, enjoying the look of surprise and shock as the blonde almost fell out of his seat.

"Commander? The same rank as Ivan-nee and Kuma-nii?" Naruto cried out in surprise, his eyes wide, "Dragon-jiji, I'm nowhere near their level!"

"Don't underestimate yourself, Naruto. While you may not be able to defeat Kuma or Ivankov, your growth has been impressive to say the least. We wouldn't be offering you the promotion if we knew you weren't strong enough or undeserving of it," Dragon replied, "However…there is the matter of your promotion exam."

"Ah…here's the catch," Naruto sighed.

Dragon chuckled, "It's just a simple mission, that's all. I'm sure you remember Luffy—he's turned seventeen this year. He recently left to start his pirate journey, from what my informants tell me. I would like you to accompany him on his travels to and through the "Paradise" section of the Grand Line. Just check in with me now and then on how he's doing…and, when he makes it to the New World, I want you to size up his work and skill and tell me if he would make a good addition to the Revolutionary Army and offer him a position with us. Are you up for it?"

Naruto grinned, subconsciously reaching up to grip his goggles, "A chance to see Luffy again? When do I head out?"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece.

Few! Longest. Prologue. EVER! Well, there it is, my attempt at a Naruto x One Piece crossover! Please review and tell me how I did, because I'm not sure how this turned out. The pairing is Naruto x Nami and don't think that Naruto's gonna be god-mode just because he has the water Logia! Logia users can only control the elements they produce with their powers unless them mix a substantial amount in with a pre-existing element they have power over. And if that last sentence was confusing, basically, Naruto can't just flat out control the entire ocean. He can do some tricks to manipulate it, but his true powers go a lot deeper than that.

Naruto is still weak to seastone. Also, despite being able to pull some tricks with his powers to manipulate seawater, if Naruto's actual body touches seawater, it's affects still take their toll on him, so, no, Naruto can't swim in the ocean or anything like that.

Well, it's about three in the morning and I have to edit this, so expect an update next month! I will update all my fics (or try to) once a month, unless something comes up! Real life takes priority for an up-and-coming college freshmen, guys!