This is Ryu Kotei and I do not own Naruto or One Piece!
"Yo!" Normal Speech
"Yikes!" Thought/mind speak/Books, journals, etc.
"Boo!" Demon speech
Chapter 1: New Nakama
Minato Namikaze and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, were training their daughter, Uzume Namikaze-Uzumaki, in their family styles and how to control the power of the Nin-Tailed Fox's chakra. "Alright Uzume," said Minato as he sent another Shadow Clone to his daughter, "keep at it!" Unbeknownst to the family, a pair of cerulean eyes was watching them with cold sadness; those eyes belonged to Uzume's twin brother, Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki.
When the Nine-Tailed Fox attacked, the Third Hokage had sacrificed himself to seal the demon fox's chakra and soul into separate bodies; Uzume was given its chakra and Naruto was given its soul. Ever since then, Uzume was given praised while Naruto wasn't given anything at all. "Will I ever find happiness?" asked Naruto.
"You will…find it…Naruto," said a bellowing, ragged voice. "You alright, Kurama?" asked Naruto. Naruto met the soul of the demon fox, Kurama, when he was five years old and over the period of two years, the both of them had become close friends. Kurama knew he couldn't hide his illness any longer. "Kit," said Kurama trying to settle his breathing, "just like everyone…I cannot live without chakra. My body barely has enough chakra…to alter the seal. I…I won't live to see the next morning with you." Naruto was shocked and saddened that his only friend that was with him for seven years was going to die.
"If you die," said Naruto as tears welled in his eyes, "what's going to happen to me?" Kurama couldn't handle seeing the only mortal that he viewed as a little brother so upset, so he came up with a solution. "I'm going to talk to the Shinigami," said the fox, "I'm going…to see if he can…replace me with nine other souls. I know that…that they won't be like…like me, but I'm…I'm not leaving you alone. Naruto…I have always…loved you as if…as if you were my own kit." Naruto couldn't hold back his tears, knowing that he was actually going to lose the only person he considered family, even if it was a demon. "Could you read some stories for me, Son?" asked Kurama. "Sure thing…Father," said Naruto as he began reading a book from his shelf.
Later that night, Naruto found himself in his mindscape that he and Kurama had built. Naruto looked around and saw the giant red fox before him, his one and only friend. "Hey there, Son," said the fox as blood dripped from his mouth. Kurama was border lining death as blood was dripping from his mouth and his breathing was ragged in a fast pace. Even his skin was pale enough to turn the fox's fur into a sickly pink color. "Daddy," cried Naruto as he hugged the fox's paw, "please don't go!"
"I am truly sorry Naruto," cried Kurama as he wrapped one of his tails around the child, "There is nothing…I can do…to stop this." Each sob from Naruto tore at Kurama's dying heart as blood and tears fell from the fox's face. "The Shinigami has picked…the nine souls that…that will take my place…inside the seal," said Kurama as he lied down, "Do not…do not think that they will…force you to forget me…They are here…they are here to help you…help you get through your life and…and train you to achieve… your goal." Naruto ran to hug the fox's face and sobbed into the creature's fur. "I'm going to miss you, Father," cried Naruto. Kurama weakly laughed and said, "I'll miss you too…Son." The fox closed his eyes as its last breath left his lungs, drifting off into eternal slumber.
Naruto soon felt empty…and cold. The blonde turned and saw the very thing that not only sealed Kurama's soul inside him, but took him away: the Shinigami. "YOU BASTARD!" cried Naruto as he slammed his fists against the phantom's chest, "YOU TOOK THE ONLY ONE I ACTUALLY CONSIDERED A FATHER AWAY FROM ME!" The Shinigami shook its head and mumbled something about hating its job and then said, "Naruto, I have already placed the nine souls inside of you. You can meet them whenever you are ready." Naruto dried his tears and thanked the death god and vanished into his dreams. "Now I'm glad that I made that deal with Kurama," said the Shinigami, "That kid will need a family to keep him from breaking."
The next morning, Naruto went into one of the forests that surrounded the village with a kunai. The boy began to carve into the tree and when he finished the side of the tree now read:
Here lies Kurama,
The spirit of the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Though he was a demon, he was always a father.
As Naruto spoke a prayer, a voice broke the silence. "Hello," said the voice "Is someone there?" Naruto turned and rose to see a pink-haired girl. "Can I help you, Sakura?" asked Naruto, catching the girl's attention. Naruto knew that the girl was Sakura Haruno, one of his sister's friends. "Yes," said Sakura walking up to Naruto, She was always curious about Uzume's twin brother, Naruto, but Uzume would always talk bad about him."I was wondering what you were doing out here." Sakura saw the burning incense and realized what she had done. "I'm paying my respect to my father," said Naruto.
Sakura was confused as she had just seen the Fourth Hokage not too long ago. "Yes, my biological father is still alive," said Naruto with a solemn look on his face, "but he was never there like Kurama was." Naruto soon told Sakura about how ever since Uzume had made contact with the fox's chakra at the age of four and how his parents had ignored him in favor of his twin. He then explained how he met the fox's soul and became quick friends only to lose him. "He was always the father I wanted," said Naruto as he stared at the makeshift shrine, "Someone to say 'Hey son, I'm proud of you' or 'I'm here for you champ' or even help pick me up after I've fallen. My real father had never done anything like that, but Kurama was always there whenever I needed him the most."
Sakura's parents were hiding in the trees and heard everything that had happened and were saddened. A child's parents neglected him in favor of the other child, causing that child to view the soul of a dangerous demon as family and to lose such a connection. Both parents jumped down from the tree and before Naruto could run off, Sakura's father said, "Now hold on, we don't want to hurt you Namikaze-san." Sakura's mother enveloped the blond boy in a hug and hummed a lullaby in the boy's ears. "Naruto," said Sakura's father, "I don't know how the Nine-Tailed Fox's soul treated you, but after hear about your pain, I'm sure you'll miss him." Sakura's mother let Naruto go from the hug and said, "If you ever need anything don't be afraid to drop by." Naruto hugged both parents and then hugged Sakura. "Thank all so much Haruno-san," said Naruto. "Please, call me Kizashi," said Sakura's father, "and this is my wife, Mebuki." Naruto hugged the Haruno family again and then left. "I hope that the child will be alright," said Kizashi as he watched the boy disappear into the shrubbery. "Even though Kurama was the demon fox," said Mebuki as she prayed at the shrine, "I'm sure that even he had a heart to help the boy when he could." Just then, Sakura had a thought. "Daddy," said Sakura, "if the fox's soul passed on…what will happen to Naruto?" Both parents wanted to say that the boy would be alright, but neither of them had the heart to say that both Kurama's and Naruto's lives were connected. "We can only pray that things will turn out alright," said Mebuki.
Back at the Namikaze Estate, Naruto watched as his parents had yet again ignored his plea of having them train him and send him to his room. Naruto was remembering how the Harunos had offered comfort to him. "I'm really going to miss Kurama," said Naruto as he lied on his bed, staring at the blank ceiling, "I'm sure he's watching out for me, wherever he is." The boy soon felt a tug in his mind and decided to enter his mindscape and meet the new tenants.
Naruto entered his mindscape and saw that he was standing on a ship in the middle of the ocean. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, but his thoughts were interrupted when he heard footsteps. Naruto turned around and saw a group that consisted of a straw hat wearing boy in his teens, a green-haired man with three swords, a girl with orange hair and a tattoo on her left arm by the shoulder, a long-nosed boy, a man in a black suit with bright blonde hair, a blue-nosed deer wearing red shorts and a pink hat, a woman wearing a purple outfit, a man with a metal nose and large forearms wearing nothing but a tropical shirt and a blue speedo (the horror), and a skeleton with a black afro wearing a ragged purple suit that showed his ribs. "So you guys are the new tenants?" asked Naruto as he received a nod from the group.
"Name's Monkey D. Luffy," said the straw hat wearing boy.
"Roronoa Zolo," said the green-haired man.
"Nami," said the girl with the tattoo.
"I'm Usopp," said the long-nosed boy as he puffed out his chest.
"The name's Sanji," said the blond-haired man.
"Tony Tony Chopper," said the deer as it transformed into a child-like hybrid of man and beast.
"I am Nico Robin," said the woman in the purple outfit
"I'm Franky," said the man with the metal nose as he got into a pose where his forearms were over his head and touching each other, "and you must be our SUPER host!"
"I am Brook," said the skeleton bowing, "Your memories have really touched my heart with such sadness, although I don't have a heart. Yohohohoho! Skull Joke!"
Naruto was completely shocked as he said the one thing that was on his mind, "HOLY CRAP! A TALKING SKELETON!" Naruto soon felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around his body and saw that there arms sticking out of his shoulders! "Relax, Naruto-san," said Robin with her arms crossed in an elegant, yet odd way, "What you see before you are our powers. Powers that you will inherit from most of us." The group then demonstrated their powers and abilities, much to Naruto's amazement. "The only down side is that you can no longer swim," said Brook only for Naruto to shrug his shoulders. "I can always walk on water once I get the technique down," said the blond boy.
The group told Naruto about how they reacted as they watched his memories and decided that if he needed any help to just let them now. Even though he lost his father figure, he gained a new family that genuinely loved him. He had never been any happier.
Yeah, Sakura isn't a shinobi but a good friend of Naruto who helps him out with his family problems. She may not be seen as much, but she does play a role in Naruto's life as a friend.