Chapter 2: Arrival in Marinford
Marinford
Paradise; Grand Line
Naruto couldn't help but gawk at the size of Marinford as he made his way through the city.
He'd heard of what cities were like from some of the merchants that visited their island. He'd even seen some pictures. But none of that had prepared him for actually being here and having his senses assailed. There was so much going on and so many people that it was almost overwhelming. And you could easily get lost among all the twists and turns of the buildings.
Naruto was suddenly very grateful for the detailed directions the captain had given him before they'd parted ways. Examining them again, he continued along his path, occasionally stopping just to marvel at his surroundings. But he soon found himself standing in front of the recruiting office.
Opening the door, he entered, finding himself in a small lobby with a few chairs on the side. There was a desk across the room with a woman sitting at it. She wasn't wearing a uniform but she was the only one in the lobby so he walked across the room to her desk.
"Can I help you?" she asked him.
"I'm here to sign up for the marines," Naruto responded.
"Just like that?" she asked him. "You don't have any questions or concerns?"
"Nope," he answered. "I've wanted to be a marine all my life."
"Well that's certainly refreshing," she told him. "Usually our recruiters have to twist arms to get anyone to enlist."
The woman then grabbed a paper from a stack on her desk and handed it to Naruto along with a pen.
"Just fill this out and sign your name at the bottom," she told him.
Leaning over the desk Naruto began to do just that. The form was pretty basic personal information about himself and any health issues he might have. So Naruto progressed through it pretty quickly.
"Our next basic training group begins in four days," the woman informed him as he was nearly finished. "This packet will tell you where and when you need to show up and give you general information on what your service will entail."
Finishing up and signing his name, Naruto traded the form for the folder she was holding out to him.
"Do you have a place to stay until then?" she asked him.
"Not exactly," Naruto replied, having sort of assumed you would just start your training as soon as you signed up.
"Well do you have any funds to get you by until then?" she queried.
"Some," Naruto replied vaguely.
"If you head down the street to the right you'll come to an inn by the name of The Seagull's Nest," she told him. "The Marine Force will subsidize your stay there. Just show them the packet and they'll give you a discount."
"Thank you," Naruto replied graciously.
"Also, do you want me to sign you up for the Officer Exam?" she inquired. "If so you'll need to show up at 2:00 PM the day before basic training starts."
"There's an exam to become an officer?" Naruto asked. "What's on it?"
"There are two parts," she told him. "It is a test of your combat skills and a general exam that covers everything from marine rules and navigation to general history. The curriculum is actually in that packet. But if you're hoping to become an officer, you may want me to sign you up for the next exam instead. Three days isn't much time to study for it."
"When is the next exam?" Naruto asked, considering her offer.
"A month after this one," she answered.
As much as he would like more time to fully prepare, Naruto doubted the small stash of beri he'd brought with him would last that long. No matter how much that inn was subsidized it probably wouldn't even feed him for a whole month.
"No, this one will be fine," he told her. "Besides I'll ace the combat portion easily."
Taking out a small piece of paper she began writing on it then handed it to Naruto.
"This is directions to the Marinford Public Library," she stated. "It has any number of books that cover the material on the test. You don't have a lot of time to study, but every little bit helps."
"Thanks again," Naruto responded earnestly. "You've been a huge help."
"Just doing my job," she replied modestly. "And good luck with the exam."
Waving goodbye, Naruto left the building and then examined the directions to the library. He'd head there first as it was already well into the afternoon and he wanted to make sure it didn't close before he arrived.
The directions were easy enough to follow, but despite that, when he'd completed them he didn't see the library anywhere. Well, the last instruction had said to take the second right, but maybe she hadn't counted that small alley he'd passed as the first one. Anyway, he should be close to it, so if he got to higher ground he'd likely be able to see it.
That in mind, he jumped onto the roof of the nearest building and began to scan for anything that might be a library. Then again, what exactly did a library look like from the outside? He'd never seen one before. Maybe it was one of the buildings he'd been standing by and he just didn't recognize it.
But one thing he did notice quickly was that he wasn't the only person up there. Just a couple houses away was a tall and well-built man with fair skin. He had a wart on the left side of his nose and waist-length, spiky white hair that he usually ties back into a pony tail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended further down his face. He was well dressed in a vice admiral marine uniform.
Curious as to what brought him there, Naruto approached the man.
"What are you doing?" Naruto asked when he was only the a few feet away.
"Gah! Nothing!" The man yelled out, fumbling with the telescope as he was startled by Naruto's question.
Turning around the man seemed to calm down when he got a look at the person who had just surprised him. Seeing the other man's face for the first time, he was drawn to the red vertical lines beneath each of his eyes. Was that painted on or some kind of tattoo?
"I mean I was simply keeping a lookout on the area," the man said, contrary to his previous claim. "I am a marine you know. I should be the one asking you what you're doing up here. You aren't causing any mischief are you?"
"I'm just looking for the library," Naruto answered, hoping there weren't any rules against being on someone else's roof. The last thing he needed was to get himself in trouble with the marines only minutes after he'd signed up.
"Ah, if you're looking for something to read, this is your lucky day. I happen to be an author as well as a marine," he declared proudly.
Pulling a small orange book out of a coat pocket he held it out expectantly toward Naruto.
"Thanks for the offer," Naruto responded, trying to decline as politely as possible, "but what I need is some material to study for the Officer Exam. I'm joining the marines myself."
"Still, you don't want to work too hard or you'll just get all stressed out," he replied, holding the book out insistently. "Believe me; this book is great for relieving stress."
Naruto was saved from having to respond when a third figure landed next to the two of them. He was another marine vice admiral who looked much older than the first. He was a tall, tanned, broad-chest, muscular old man, with a beard and a scar over his left eye.
There you are, Jiraiya," the new arrival called out. "I've been looking all over for you. And here you are trying to corrupt our youth again."
"Now you went and got me spotted," the man apparently named Jiraiya said to Naruto accusingly, before turning to the other man.
"What do you want, Garp?" he asked.
"You're Garp?!" Naruto asked the older man excitedly. "As in Vice-Admiral Monkey D. Garp—the Hero of the Marines—the man who fought the King of Pirates so many times?"
"Hey, how come there is no reaction to my name?" Jiraiya questioned him, "I'm a Vice-Admiral too and famous as both a marine and an author."
"The kid just has good tastes, that's all," Garp countered.
"It's an honor to meet you, sir," Naruto told Garp, bowing respectfully to man. "If it's not too much trouble, I'm going to be taking the Officer Exam myself in a few days, and I would be grateful for any advice you could give me."
"Hmm, let me see," Garp said thoughtfully. "Actually there is one thing. Remember that the written exam comes first."
What was Garp trying to tell him? Maybe that he shouldn't warm up before going to the Exam because he'd just be sitting for a while? No, there had to be more to it than that, but Naruto couldn't figure out what it was. He didn't want to look stupid in front of such a great hero, but eventually curiosity won out over his desire to impress Garp.
"I'm sorry, but what exactly do you mean by that?" Naruto asked hesitantly.
"It's just that I got a little confused on that point back when I took the exam and beat up the proctor," Garp declared without the slightest hint he was embarrassed by that admission. "They caused quite a fuss over that, but it all worked out in the end."
Naruto stood dumbfounded at the response. Was that supposed to be a joke? Seeing as Garp was now laughing at his own words so he supposed that could be it.
"Are you ready to reconsider exactly which officer here you should be admiring?" Jiraiya asked him. "And just so you know, the library is one block north of here. There's a big sign so you can't miss it. I doubt muscle brain here even knows what a library is."
"Uh, thanks," Naruto replied a bit shakily, still somewhat shocked by Garp's 'advice'.
But pulling himself together, he decided to depart. He still needed to get to the library before it closed, and was no longer sure he wanted to continue talking to these two. Bidding them farewell, he jumped off the roof and began heading north as directed.
0o0o0
"Not bad for a recruit," Jiraiya said as the two watched him leap casually off the roof. "He even managed to sneak up on me. Granted, I was a little distracted at the time."
"Yeah," Garp agreed. "It's good to see at least one kid with talent who doesn't want to be a pirate. It's all that fool Roger's fault. Why even my own grandson talks of being a pirate, but I'll beat that notion out of him yet."
"You have a grandson?" Jiraiya asked in surprise. "I didn't even know you had any children."
"Ah!" Garp replied. "That was supposed to be a secret."
"Don't worry," Jiraiya told him casually. "I won't tell anyone young Patrick wants to be a pirate."
"His name is Luffy, you idiot." Garp fired back. "Really, and you say I'm the dumb one."
"Yeah, you're just too smart for me," Jiraiya deadpanned.
He wondered about this Luffy and why he was supposed to be a secret. That kid who'd just run off interested him too. He reminded him of someone but he couldn't quite figure it out. He'd worry about those mysteries later, for now he had to try and get rid of Garp so he could go back to his research.
0o0o0
Naruto set down the stack of books he'd borrowed from the library on a desk in the small, spartan room he'd just got at the inn. It was a lot of material for anyone to get through in just three days. But Naruto wasn't just anyone. Naruto summoned five clones, which he had discovered to be his limit. Dividing up the books between them, they all found a space in the now rather crowded room and began studying.
That night he learned another interesting fact about his power. His clones didn't need to eat or sleep. They also remained even as the real Naruto slept, studying on through the night. And despite some minor complaining on the part of his clones, they continued studying 24 hours a day right up until noon on the day of the exam.
He could probably study for another hour, but he wanted to leave himself plenty of time to get there in case he got lost in the city. Banishing his clones, he headed for the door and … fell to the ground in pain as it suddenly felt as if he had a dozen drills simultaneously trying to bore their way into his head. He tried to ward them off with his hands to no effect. Finally he got some relief as his consciousness faded.
0o0o0
Naruto woke up with the worst headache he'd had in his entire life. Through the pain he tried to collect his thoughts and figure out what had happened. Was this a hangover or something? Had he gone drinking to celebrate his joining the marines? But he couldn't even remember taking the exam.
The Exam! He finally remembered what had caused him to pass out. It seemed he wasn't able to handle the flood of a combined 15 days worth of memories. Rushing to the window he saw the sun already getting low on the horizon. He was late!
Opening the window, he jumped out to the street below, stumbling as he felt another surge of pain. But he grit his teeth and began to run off toward the building he was supposed to have been at hours ago. Arriving, he was horrified to find the place empty save for a few marines. He quickly approached the nearest one.
"Who's in charge here?" he asked the man.
"That would Lieutenant Commander Iruka Umino over there," he replied pointing to a dark-haired man on the far side of the room who was looking over a stack of papers.
Thanking the man, he hurried over to Iruka.
"Iruka, sir," he called out to him. "I'm Naruto D. Namikaze. I'm here for the exam. I'm sorry I'm late."
"So you're the missing recruit," Iruka replied. "And you're more than just late, you missed it entirely. I thought you'd changed your mind and run off."
"I would never do that!" Naruto insisted. "I just had some extenuating circumstances the kept me from arriving on time. Is there any way I can take a make-up exam? Or I could just take next month's exam."
I'm sorry, but there is no make-up exam, and you're scheduled to begin tomorrow," Iruka informed him to Naruto's dismay. "Timeliness is important for an officer as well."
Iruka had a stern face that seemed to break no argument, but Naruto wouldn't be deterred. His dream wasn't to become a common enlisted sailor. He was going to be an admiral, like his father. Maybe even make fleet admiral some day.
"That's not fair!" Naruto complained, "I make one little mistake and now I can't become an officer? There's got to be some way."
Iruka's face softened a bit at this, actually showing a hint of compassion for his plight.
"If you're that determined, there is a way." Iruka replied. "Regardless of whether you pass the test or not, everyone has a month of basic training. Those who passed will undergo a different schedule designed for officer candidates. However, at the end of the month, there is another exam."
"And I can take that one?" Naruto asked hopefully.
"That's right," he confirmed. "It's a much harder exam, the majority of the officer candidates fail to pass it each year. Add in the fact that you won't have the benefit of the month of training for it, and not many who fail the first exam even bother to attempt it. But a few try each year and it's not unheard of for one or two to succeed."
"Thank you very much," Naruto all but yelled at the man. "You have no idea how much this means to me."
"Instead of thanking me, just make sure you show up on time in the future," Iruka replied, trying to take on a stern look again, but unable to completely hide a small smile.
"I will," Naruto promised, and ran out of the room back toward the inn.
He'd make sure he passed the next one, although maybe he'd stick to more normal means for studying this time. His headache still hadn't abated, but a quick examination of his memories showed the effort hadn't been a complete waste, as everything his clones had done seemed to be there.
0o0o0
Naruto walked down the barracks looking for room 121. He hadn't repeated his tardiness from the day before, and after completing all the necessary paperwork, he'd been given his room assignment. Finding his room he entered to discover that it was already occupied.
This wasn't unexpected as he already knew he'd have a roommate. The real shocker was that the occupant was the largest dog he'd ever seen. Seriously, the white furred animal looked large enough for him to ride.
The dog was looking just as intently back at him. They were still just standing there staring at each other when another boy walked up beside him.
"Oh, you must be my roommate," the boy said. "I'm Kiba Inuzuka, and this is Akamaru."
"They're letting you keep your dog here?" Naruto asked disbelievingly.
"This is more than just my dog, he's my partner," Kiba answered. "But they still wouldn't let me use him for the combat portion of the exam. I would have passed if they had. I mean I've never even practiced fighting on my own."
Naruto examined the other boy. He was brown haired, and about the same height as him. He was also the second person he'd met this week who had red lines painted or tattooed or something beneath his eyes, although they were much wider than Jiraiya's had been. Maybe there was some meaning to it.
"So, are you going to try to take the next exam too?" Naruto asked him, trying to make some friendly conversation.
"You bet I am," Kiba replied. "I had the highest score of anyone who failed. I just need a little practice fighting without Akamaru and I'll breeze through the exam. How about you, what was your score?"
"Well, I sort of missed taking the exam," Naruto said bashfully.
"What happened, you sleep through it?" Kiba inquired.
"No," Naruto replied before reconsidering. "Actually, I guess I kind of did but it's a bit more complicated than that. You see, I have a devil fruit power."
"Really? The other boy replied with a surprise.
"Yeah," Naruto begins to explain. "I eaten the Jūfuku Jūfuku No Mi. I have the ability to created clone copies of myself—Watch this!"
With that, he summoned three clones, and was pleased by the suitably awed look he received from his roommate. Akamaru, meanwhile was going from one to the next, sniffing them all.
"Are they all real?" Kiba queried.
"Well, they're all solid," Naruto replied. "But all of them except the original will just disappear in a puff of smoke if they take any significant blows."
Naruto then banished them all, which startled Akamaru, who had just been examining one of the clones.
"I also remember everything that happened to them after they vanish like that," he continued. "I was using that to cram in some studying at several times the normal rate. Unfortunately, I kept it up so long it was sort of a memory overload that knocked me out cold. I didn't wake up until the exam was over."
"That's a tough break," Kiba commiserated. "But that means you didn't even really fail, so you might have an easy time with the second test. Anyway, what made you want to join the marines?"
"My father was an admiral," Naruto replied proudly. "It's always been my dream to follow in his footsteps."
"Wow! He made it all the way to admiral?" Kiba asked. "My family has been in the marines for generations, and none of us ever made it that far. My great-grandfather was a commodore, and my mother is already a captain, so she might go even further. But not many people make it to Admiral. There's only, like, three of them right now."
Further conversation was put on hold as three other recruits showed up the door. One of them has a face that strongly reminded him of a rat, and two hulking brutes behind him. The rat boy was holding a clipboard in front on him that he was reading at the moment.
"Room 121," he muttered to himself, "That would make the occupants Inuzuka Kiba and Namikaze Naruto. My name is Nezumi and … is that a dog?!"
"Yeah, that's my partner," Kiba replied. "But how did you know Naruto and I would be in this room?"
"I have connections," Nezumi replied, having recomposed himself. "That's what I'm here about. For a few favors, here and there, I can pull some strings and make life a bit easier for you. I see here that you received the lowest score on the Officer Exam, Naruto, so you could use all the help you can get."
"Hey," Naruto replied, disgruntled by his words. "If you're here with us, that mean you failed too, so don't act so high and mighty."
"Heaven's no," Nezumi answered. "I never even took the exam. I have no desire to be an officer, there's too much work involved. I'll simply graduate an enlisted man. Then my father, Captain Nezumi, will make sure I'm assigned to his ship and it's the easy life from there."
"Wait, is Nezumi your family name?" Naruto asked.
"It's my given name," the rat faced recruit answered. "It's family tradition that the oldest son is always named Nezumi. But back to business, I'm looking for a few more subordinates at the moment. All you have to do is a few simple tasks every now and then. In exchange, I pull some strings and get you on my father's crew when we graduate. It's a nice simple assignment in East Blue. You could hardly ask for a safer job in the marines."
"Thanks, but I'll pass," Naruto said firmly. "Unlike you, I want to be an officer."
"With how poorly you did on the first test?" Nezumi asked dubiously. "I can see how you scored so low. You're not too bright to pass up an offer like this."
Naruto was become quite steamed at the other boy's words. He wanted to give him a nice punch to the jaw to shut him up, but realized starting a fight on his first day wasn't the best idea. So he went with Plan B.
"Get out," he ordered Nezumi coldly.
"Well that's rude," he replied. "I haven't even had a chance to finish speaking with Kiba."
"You heard him," Kiba interjected. "Get out of here. We're sick of looking at your ugly face."
"It's your choice," Nezumi answered smugly, "But don't come crying to me when you realize this is a mistake. I don't give second chances."
Having said his piece, he turned a walked away, his two lackeys following behind him. Naruto stood watching them retreat, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.
"We should probably get changed into our uniforms," Kiba suggested. "We need to be outside for basic training pretty soon."
Agreeing, the two of them did just that. Leaving Akamaru behind, they went outside, joined up with a growing group of recruits and waited. Soon a young purple haired woman came out, wearing a revealing outfit that was definitely not marine fashion saved for her jacket.
"My name is Captain Anko Mitarashi," she announced to the assembled recruits. "And for the next 12 weeks, you maggots are mine. It's my job to make turn you from green civilian into serious marine soldiers. To start things off we're going to go on a nice five mile run. And as a warning, if anyone isn't able to keep up with me, there will be consequences."
Anko took off, and the group moved to follow. She set a decent pace, but nothing Naruto couldn't handle. A number of the other recruits started having trouble as early as a couple of miles in. Some looked practically dead by the time they finally returned back to their original starting point, but everyone had stayed with the group. He could swear Anko looked disappointed by that fact.
They were quickly put to work doing other exercises, situps, pushups, crunches. After she was satisfied they'd done enough, she called them all together.
"That's enough for today," she told them. "But make sure to get some rest tonight, we do this every day."
"That's it?" Naruto asked reflexively.
He did harder training than this back on the island. He'd assumed they'd just been warming up before the real training started.
"I keep getting told that I'm too hard on new recruits," Anko responded. "'Recruits are running away Anko.' 'Words spreading and now no one will even join, Anko' 'That's practically torture, Anko.'"
As she was giving her speech, she stalked back and forth among the recruits, like a predator looking for a sign of weakness.
"So I decided to be nice and ease you into it," she continued. "But apparently I was too lenient. Since one of you was kind enough to point that out, I'll rectify the situation immediately. We're going to repeat all the training we just did, starting with the run."
A collective groan went up, and Naruto saw more than a few dirty glares sent his way. But they weren't given time to do more than look as Anko had already set off again. As Naruto started running, Kiba pulled up next to him. He was glad to see the other boy didn't seem to be much bothered by the exercise either.
"I heard about Anko from my sister," he told Naruto quietly, eying the back of said woman warily as if nervous she'd hear. "She's a sadist who's highly specializes in torture. They put her in charge of Boot Camp training, because of her reputation as loose cannon—especially begin known by the nickname "Goddess of Torture".
"Goddess of Torture." Naruto repeated.
"It's because of her habit of torturing," Kiba explained. "It's mostly on civilians or marines than pirates from what I heard. They brought her here to marine headquarters so they can keep a close eye on her."
A loud huffing noise let the two boys know someone else was approaching from behind them. Glancing back they saw Nezumi, struggling to catch up.
"If this … is some kind of … revenge," he struggled to get out between his labored breaths, "you're even dumber … than I thought. … You're suffering … just as much … as I am."
Naruto certainly didn't feel like he was suffering and was going to tell the boy so. But saying that seemed to have taken the last of Nezumi's strength as he fell to the ground right on the spot and lay there. Naruto and Kiba continued running, noticing Anko glance behind her.
"Looks like we have our first straggler," she said cheerfully in a sinister tone. "You guys keep running, I'll be right back."
Looking over his shoulder, he saw Anko dash back to the boy and pull a whip from … somewhere…one that she immediately proceeded to put to use.
Naruto turned his focus back to where he was going, grinning to himself.
"You can't do this!" Nezumi screeched indignantly from behind them. "My father will have your head for this!"
She didn't seem to be worried by his threats, as she struck him brutally with a whip, follow by Nezumi's scream.
"Your daddy isn't here to save you little boy," Anko mocked with crazed look of sadism in her eyes. "Here I' make the threats! Here I make the rules! Here—I AM THE GODDESS!
She whips Nezumi again, causing him to scream more loudly which made Naruto smile with delight.
