Wash Down The Pain

by Mar 'Darry' Darren

Fate always has plans for those who are unaware of it. For Naruto, it was the beginning of something that he had coming all his life; blood, tears and joys. Even with the lamest power in the world, Naruto will become the strongest in Konoha and the rest of the country by the time he is done. Now watch him do it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece. Only what I come up with.

Wash Down the Pain

First Trainers and First Tragedies

"Come back here, demon!"

"Todays is the last day you will spend in our holy village!"

"Get what has been coming to you!"

Konohagakure (Hidden Behind the Leaf Village) was one of the five most powerful Shinobi settlements along the Elemental Nations. It is home to powerful Shinobi clans and ruled by the champion among them, the Hokage. But also, this village is home to the youngest successful prankster; Naruto Uzumaki.

Being an orphan, he should be at the orphanage and wait for a family to adopt him. But he was kicked out two years ago, at the age of four. Now that he is six, he spends his days pranking the adults with paint, glue, feathers or all the above. As for where he sleeps at night, he has an apartment room in a complex that hasn't been maintained in years. And for his diet, he eats only Ramen; the one food that he can afford and that isn't rotten.

But while the village sees Naruto as a no-good orphan, a waste of space, the boy is a victim through-and-through. Shops will only sell him expired food products, clothes torn with bugs and usually force him to look in trash cans for meals. And when he is not begging, and being denied of food, Naruto is bullied by practically everyone.

The kids sneer and tease him, some even use him for target practice. And the adults just watch with a vicious smirk, waiting for Naruto to fight back and scold him for harming their 'innocent children'. That is why Naruto can't make friends and has to play alone; the only fun he has to make the adults look like idiots.

But the worse day of the year has come for Naruto; his birthday. And that is because that day is the anniversary when a terrible fox demon attacked the village and the previous Hokage was killed to stop it. Right now, the mob is hunting down Naruto in a delusional belief that they are doing their hero a favor by harming the blonde orphan.

Unfortunately for Naruto, he made a wrong turn and came across a dead end in an alleyway. "NO!" The wall was too high for Naruto climb, and even too slippery to get a good grip.

"Yes, end of the line brat!" Naruto turned to face the mob, complete blocking any passage out. But when they got their weapons ready for Naruto's blood,

"Hey! I am trying to enjoy my drink in peace!" Everyone, Naruto and the mob, turned to see what looked like a street beggar. His clothes were ragged and torn, poorly knitted together. His face was unshaved, in like years. His black hair was something of a bird's nest. On his lap was a worn out conical hat. Then there was the rather clean sake bottle in his hand. "I mean it, take it somewhere else or find some other day to keep the neighborhood up! I want to sleep tonight!" It was a surprise that they didn't spot him earlier, he stuck out worse than a sore thumb.

"You old geezers should just scram and stay out of our alleyways!" One of the mob members shouted. "And don't pull that 'homeless broke' routine on us! It is nobody's fault that you can't work for a living!"

"All I said was that you were spoiling my drinking time." The old beggar responded with indifference. "And just what the hell are you fuckers doing with that boy over there? Is this some secret club march of pedophiles? I can't stand your kind."

Naruto couldn't understand a few of those words, nor understood why the mob suddenly got hot under the collar; they sounded both angry and embarrassed by the beggar's mumblings. "WHAT THE HELL!? WE ARE NOT PEDOPHILES!" Yet another one from the mob let her voice go through the roof, really scaring Naruto; not that the mob noticed.

"Thirty-three men and women, armed with rusted tools and a boy who isn't ten yet, stuck at a corner." The old man remarked. "That is a formula for a pedophile gang, simple at that. You do know that if you touch that boy, you can be locked up forever?"

"And why the hell is an old bag of bones like you protecting that monster-!?" That man from the mob blew his lid, and suddenly clamed up. Then he hit the ground with a loud *thub*. There was some kind of needle sticking out of his forehead, which was frozen stiff along with the rest of the face.

"Sorry, my finger shot out on reflex when your disgusting voice hit my ears." The old man said calmly and then lifted his head to show eyes that spoke of no mercy for the mob. "And if you want a monster…" Naruto was scared out of his wits and saw the mob people stiffen up similar to shoulders to the attention of their superior. "I will give you one. For each of you fuckers."

Naruto wondered what the old man meant when each of the men and women suddenly screamed. Their eyes were filled with fear, like they all saw a demon appear before them. And they all dropped their weapons and ran around, as if they were chickens with their heads cut off.

Since the alleyway was a narrow passage, the mob ran into the walls and knocked themselves out. The only ones left conscious were Naruto and the old man. "Be grateful, boy. I now have an itch to spill blood but I hate scarring kids, I lose sleep; and I haven't slept any good lately."

The old man pressed himself against the wall to stand on his legs. But he didn't get far when he felt something collide and attached itself to him. "Thank you, sir! Thank you!" The old man groaned to see Naruto give his legs a bear hug, one that was rather uncomfortable.

"Whatever. Now let go and get to your parents, kid." The old man tried to get going but Naruto didn't let go. "I said…!" The old man turned to yell at the blonde boy, only to see sadness in those sky-blue eyes.

"I don't have any parents. They are dead. All the other adults just want me to die." The old man twitched terribly. What kind of kid is this? Saying such things and yet sounding so sincere? "But you saved me! You didn't want to hurt me, sir!"

"My name is not sir!" The old man finally found his voice. "It's Mar. Mar Darren." Naruto looked up and the old man cut him off. "And if you going to get chummy then you can just call me Darry. I am fine with that."

"Okay Mr. Darry…"

"Just Darry."

"…Darry, are you a ninja?" Naruto asked. "The way you moved, when you scared all those jerks and I know that you scared them good! How did you do that? Is it a Jutsu!?" Mar just couldn't believe how hyper this little was; and yet had so much loneliness and sadness in his eyes.

"Eagerness is something to admire but being hyper can be bad for your health, boy." Naruto then got into the old man's face.

"Stop calling me boy! I am Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Fine, fine." Mar was able to get Naruto out of his face. "But no, I am not a Shinobi. I got my power in another way." Naruto was surprised and curious, and didn't say a word. That was a good signal, meaning Naruto was willing to listen.

"Long ago, I ate a very curious fruit; an Akuma no Mi (Fruit of the Devil). Each one grants the eater a unique ability with the only catch to not be able to swim. Not much of a hinderance on dry land." Naruto nodded. "I call the one I ate the Ishu-Ishu no Mi (Drinking-Drinking Fruit). And at first, all I could do was be immune to getting drunk and instead making others drunk all around me."

Silence reigned in the atmosphere, but not for long until Naruto started to laugh. "Old man, that's the stupidest power I ever heard!" And Naruto kept on laughing while the stranger just shrugged with indifference.

"But those big kunai look cool! Can I hold them!?" Naruto got back to being hyperactive but the old man was silent and walked out of the alleyway. "Hey! Wait! Tell me!" And that was the beginning of a rather 'interesting' friendship.

XXXXX

After a couple of days of attempting to lose Naruto, Mar gave up. "What do you want?!" Naruto laughed nervously,

"Sorry about this but I really want to thank you! For what you did for me back there!" The old man sighed, which Naruto quickly responded. "Really! I want to thank you for saving my life! But you just won't listen and I can't let you go just yet!" Naruto took a huff and stared at Mar, as if daring the latter to look away. The blonde was even ignoring how his eyes hurt from not blinking the whole time.

"FINE!" That started Naruto but the blonde boy didn't even flinch, he had been doing that and a lot of it as long as he can remember. "If you are not going to take 'no' for an answer, you might as well be my squire." Naruto tilted his head, his six-year-old mind is still havening trouble with these 'big' and 'strange' words. "Meaning that you will travel by my side, sleep by my side, eat by my side and even train by my side."

"Train!?" Naruto got into the old man's face yet again. "You mean I can train to be like you!? Please teach me!" Naruto had a thousand more questions but Mar silenced him with a mean grip on the head.

"First of all, pipe down! It hurts my ears." Mar grumbled. "Second, yes I can train you. And before you ask, I can't teach you how to use my Devil Fruit powers. They will stay with me until I die." And Mar thought that will keep Naruto quiet but,

"That's fine! I still want to learn! I want to be like you!" The old man sighed, what does shake this kid off?

"We just met, nothing special about that."

"It is! You are the first person to help me! To want to help me!" Naruto sounded and looked like he was going to tear up. "Really! Nobody wanted to even look at me in all my life! They all say that I am a no-good demon kid that not even my parents wanted me!"

Mar stared at Naruto, sitting on the ground and with tears running down. "…I will be a hypocrite to shrug you off, kid. I doubt that you are lying, not after those fuckers tried to do to you…"

"Every single day." Mar stopped and looked at Naruto. "It wasn't just today. They chase me every day of the year! Even when I try to stay home, they just break down my doors and run me out into the streets! And today is the day they want to hurt me the most, it is my birthday! I hate my birthday!"

Mar looked into Naruto's eyes the whole time; truly nothing but sadness, loneliness and pain. The kind that only widows and war survivors usually show, of the trauma they went through. "Fine." The old man said softly and yet Naruto heard him, "I will show you my moves." Seeing Naruto brighten up, Mar raised his hand. "But first I need to know if you are up for it; the training will be hell on earth, could even kill you if you are not ready."

"I am ready! I went through hell ever since I was four!" Naruto shouted off but Mar just chuckled.

"That's not good enough, kid." Naruto pouted like the kid he is, making the old man chuckle slightly harder. "You showed me the pain of your past for sure, now show me your determination. What is that you resolve to do, should that you want to become stronger?"

"To protect this village, from itself!" Naruto answered and Mar was surprised. This was not what he expected, least from a six-year-old. "My home is here, if I like it or not! I have a couple of friends and this is their home! I have nightmares of them being killed by those mobs and I want to protect them! I have very little and I don't want to lose them! That is why I want to be stronger!"

Mar said nothing. Then he chuckled again before letting a loud laugh, like that of a jolly giant. "You are such a kid, kid!" Naruto growled and actually waited for the old man to be done. "Do you think that protecting this stinking village and a pair of people are going to keep the mobs off your back?! Is that all you have!?"

"YES!" Naruto didn't care if anyone heard him after that shout, in the middle of the village. Mar didn't respond until after a moment, he wasn't in the mood to hear this for a small reason;

"If you are going to scream to the heavens and want me to spill my gusts, then do it over lunch, I am starved." The old grumbled and then felt someone take his hand, dragging him rather roughly. "Hey! Take it easy, I am an old man!"

"You eat here?" Mar couldn't believe what he was seeing; a ramen shop that looked like it was put together rather well but with less than appealing building materials. It looked more like an out-air shack than a restaurant. "Tell me that noodles aren't the only thing you eat!"

"Hey! Ramen tastes good and isn't bad as sweet stuff! And I love this place too! I have been coming here since I was kicked out of the orphanage! (1)" Naruto huffed and took a seat with glee. Mar knew that he couldn't talk his way out of this and sat down too.

And Mar had to admit, the food and the service weren't half bad. The big surprise was that such good food was served by only two patrons; a man and his daughter. "So, what do you want to know, kid?"

"Everything." Naruto said clearly, even with noodles dangling on his lips. And so, Mar told him all there is to know about him. Mar was an elderly man with a path covered in blood; he was a mercury, a bodyguard, a bounty hunter and all of them went out in smoke. Despite wearing rags, being penniless and living off the cheapest beers, Mar was still an accomplished martial-artist and an adept swordsman, as well as a weapons expert in general.

Mar even showed Naruto something that no Shinobi has ever seen before, something that he kept with him from the far ends of the world for years; a revolver pistol. Bronze metal tube and trigger, wooden handle and contains fine black powder to launch lead bullets fast enough to breach even Shinobi armor. The idea of such a weapon both scared and impressed Naruto.

Then there were the pair of blades. The katana for the heavy and destructive swings was called Reimei Itami (Pain of Dawn); the rapier for swift and soundless jabbing was called Yuugoku Toge (Toxic Thorn). Naruto loved them, wishing for a pair of blades to call for himself.

"All right then, now that we have been introduced, we can get started on training." Mar said, they had finished their meal and found a remote location to get started, and Naruto looked like he was ready to burst with excitement. "I have to warn you one last time, you can still back down from this. The training will be brutal and merciless, you will feel like your body is about to be crushed flat and you will even fall into several comas from the sheer pain."

"I told you already that I know pain! I felt it every day until we met!" Naruto wanted to say more when he felt a killer flick to the head, one that sent him to the ground in pain. "Hey! That really hurt! Was that finger made of steel!?"

"No, it was strong as steel." Mar responded. And Naruto tried to ignore the lingering pain on his forehead to hear more. "It is one of the many tricks I know and unless you listen, I will drill these into your skull. Don't blink or your will die during your training."

And Mar did train Naruto. First things were to fix Naruto's malnutrition, underweight and poor balance; the problem was that the villagers were forcing a poor diet on the blonde boy. Thankfully, while Mar doesn't prefer Ninjutsu, the old man was able to teach Naruto the basic techniques that he picked up over the years; the Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique), the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Technique) and even the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique).

The Henge helped Naruto get into establishments that used to forbid the blonde from entering; supermarkets, clothing stores and even pharmacracies. With that problem solved, Mar got Naruto started on some physical exercises. And while push-ups and sit-ups were for home gyms, Mar preferred the more 'unorthodox' way. A couple of examples were playing dodgeball while blindfolded & bounded by rope, and running one-way laps against a rapid river.

Mar not only had physical training in mind, he had plans to coach Naruto into learning which kind of martial arts style suits him and his interests as well as a personal weapon to use. There was also the internal energy that was similar to Chakra that got Naruto's attention; and Mar said that it was possible to learn, just with more painful training.

The training was hell. Every day, Naruto will collapse on his bed with aches everywhere and too tired to even moan about it. But the blonde loved it; this was pain with results and Naruto loved the results. Every day he will feel hurt all over but also stronger too. Stronger and faster, and better at hiding from the mobs too. This was a blessing in disguise; which was better than a curse through-and-through. This could even mean a better life for Naruto.

XXXXX

But it was not to be. Not since that day marked one entire year since the pair first met,

"This has gone on long enough old man!" Once again, a mob confronted Naruto and his mentor. "No more of you defiling our stores, our streets and our properties! Today is when you leave us for hell, for good!"

It was supposed to be yet another day of training but the pair figured that the mob was especially angry because Mar actually got them in trouble with the Hokage on Naruto's seventh birthday. It will explain why this one was rather larger than a year ago, and half of it were Konoha Shinobi too. And instead of an alleyway, this was the one of the training grounds for Shinobi; now the pair on practically the backyard of Konoha.

"Okay kid, get ready to run." Mar spoke to the boy clutching his leg; Naruto was still scared of the murderous masses, even after a year of conditioning and training. The blonde had hoped to actually learn some techniques from his friend the old man. But this today is not going to go the way anyone expected.

"SCRAM NOW!" Mar suddenly grabbed Naruto, threw the boy to his right and took out Reimi Itami, slamming the katana down to the ground. "Hanguōbāsupuritto (Hangover Split)

The ground shook and a large cervix cracked between both parties. "If you want my boy, you will have to catch him! If you can!" Mar shouted out to the civilians on the opposite side, where Naruto was. And the blonde boy finally got to his feet and fled to lose the civilians. "And if you want me, come and get it!"

Naruto dared not to look back but he could have heard a terrible roar followed by screams. Unfortunately, this didn't deter the chasing civilian crowd (I've got to stop this!). "Get that brat! We can kill the old man later for what he did to our Shinobi friend!" Naruto didn't know what was more stupid; the fact that some civilian thinks like that or that the crowd cheered for it. Who can a civilian crowd do that got a Shinobi mob to scream of bloody murder?

Then, in a cruel twist of fate, a bad case of déjà vu, Naruto ran into a dead end. Only, it was more Shinobi and with the intent to harm the blonde boy. "Nice chase, demon. But you have no where to run this time."

"And no old man to save you either!" The civilians cheered and Naruto really looked doomed there. Yet he was ready for it this time, and showed no fear. Naruto will dodge one and kick back, dodge another and punch the lights out, and dodge again. But a civilian got a good shot and bashed Naruto's cheek badly, followed by a real beatdown.

In no time at all, Naruto was covered in bruises, swelling and cuts. And when he saw another one coming, the blonde braced for the pain. Instead, the earth shook again and the mob were sent kissing the ground, away from Naruto. The boy only had the strength to lean on one of the trees.

"Hands off, bastards!" When the dust started to settle, everyone saw a horrible sight. It was Mar and nearly every square inch was covered with blood. Blood no doubt from the Shinobi crowd separated by the cervix. "That's my boy, touch him again and you're dead."

Mar walked past the civilians and Shinobi, towards Naruto. "Hey kid, you look like shit. Sorry I am late, ninjas these days are like cockroaches; they just won't stay down." The old man commented and Naruto actually smiled at that. Then Mar pressed a hand on a very large swelling right on Naruto's cheek, then took a sharp breath.

Naruto heard his mentor and saw what could only be the most horrific thing in his life ever; there was a blade going through Mar's back, right through and out in the front, near his stomach. "NO!" Naruto screamed as he saw the life fade from the old man's eyes. But then the strangest thing happened.

Mar's body did go limp and fall on Naruto's, but it suddenly dissolved into some kind of red ooze. One that stank something terrible and gave off steam. It must have been searing to the touch as Naruto continued to scream, not in horror but also of pain. The present crowd had no idea what was going on, not one bit.

Then Naruto stopped screaming and the ooze faded away, leaving behind the blonde and the pair of blades for some reason. One of the Shinobi approached the little boy, armed and with the intent to harm Naruto again. But the blonde suddenly shot out and stabbed the Shinobi with just his hand!

"Demon murderer!" A civilian suddenly shouted,

"We were right all along!"

"You killed one of our own Shinobi, in cold blood."

"Shut up." A voice belonging to no man was heard and the crowd saw Naruto get, hanging off the dead Shinobi with no visible discomfort. But when they gazed in his eyes, they saw nothing; nothing at all, no emotion, no life. And yet Naruto was alive for sure, only looking like something snapped. "You all took the one man that has helped me, all for you to sleep better at night. I can't let any of you leave, alive."

"Not unless we…" One of the more foolishly fearless of the civilians tried to talk tough but suddenly the corpse of the Shinobi was sent barreling into him. And before he could get his bearings, both the dead Shinobi's and civilian's head fell clean off. This finally set off the crowd but it was to no avail.

It was a massacre if there ever was a word for it. Naruto will stab through anyone that moved, cutting out through the flesh. Whoever tried to run, Naruto was always faster and caught them by the throat, crushing their windpipes. Whoever tried to fight, Naruto was always stronger; and he broke their arms at the elbows and sockets.

And it all came down to Naruto and one last Shinobi in his hands, amidst the corpses from the mob crowd. The blonde recognized this one rather well to be a Jonin, one of the highest rank among Konoha Shinobi, and this one was favorite among the civilians to lead the mobs against Naruto. So, it felt really good to the blonde to have the Jonin helpless and at his mercy, the skull in Naruto's hands.

"Ah! Arrgh!" The Jonin moaned out and Naruto felt like tightening his grip, with fingers pressing into the eye sockets.

"AHHH!" Naruto still roared something terrible, his grip becoming so tight that bones started to crack and tears of blood drip down the cheeks.

"AHHH!"

"AHHH!" Naruto let out one last terrible roar, his eyes turning back to those of fury, and finally crushed the Jonin's skull with his bare fingers. When blood start to leak out and become lethally searing at the skin, Naruto knew that the monster of a man was dead; died in pain, ironically, as the latter wanted the former to suffer.

Naruto just let go of his grip and watched the Jonin's dead body tumble to the ground, as if a puppet with the strings severed. He watched the body not even twitch, even with all the blood burning even the clothes and grass beneath. Naruto felt scared and yet satisfied at the same time; and ashamed with himself too;

"Old man, that's the stupidest power I ever heard!" And Naruto kept on laughing while the stranger just shrugged with indifference. "…I can't teach you how to use my Devil Fruit powers. They will stay with me until I die."

That was the only thought that went through Naruto's mind and surely, the blonde felt exhausted. To the point that he was too tired to keep standing. And he simply found the same tree, and sat against the bark. He even saw the old man's swords used in that massacre, in their sheaths; Naruto could've sworn that both of them even twitched towards him.

And, as he was falling to a peaceful sleep, Naruto could have sworn to hear that same voice. "And now that power I share with you, Naruto Uzumaki. Use it well and see how far you go." That voice slowly got faint and faded but not before, "Maybe we will finally meet face-to-face."

End of Chapter 1

*Hello everyone! I thought that I will take a Devil Fruit I created for "Deadly Drinking Pirate" for a crossover fanfic with Naruto. Think of Naruto has having the same powers as my OC Luffy, except without the Gum-Gum No Mi and with a few Naruto spices. Tell me what you think!*

1. I have no idea when exactly did Naruto first met the family in the canon so I have having it at age four and thus at six for the benefit of this story.