Time skip warning… sort of anyway.
The beginning of this chapter is 12 years before the One Piece storyline begins. Naruto is currently 8 years old making him twenty when the storyline begins. He is the same age as Ace.
Chapter 4: Sunny Pirates disbanded?
Floor boards creaked as muffled footsteps were heard coming from the hallways. Sunken faces told a story of depression and disbelief. It had been a month since Tigers death but it still remained at the forefront of everyone's minds.
Arlong hadn't been seen for weeks and it didn't come as to much of a shock to the crew when they finally got notice that the fish man was now serving time in impel down. Apparently the rage filled fish man had gone back to teach the villagers of Foolshout Island a lesson for their betrayal, only to be defeated by a vice admiral who went by the name Borsalino.
This news certainly didn't help the already depressed fish men in their conquest for a meaning. Even Jinbe wasn't his normal self, holing up in his new room as captain and only making the most basic of commands for 'his' crew. Perhaps the most effected however, was none other than the resident cabin boy, Naruto.
Even though Naruto had only known Tiger for a short while, the relationship he had formed with the fish man had been his strongest as it resembled that of a fatherly/son bond. Even though the boy had been strong as Tiger had died, it did not mean that he copped well afterwards. As soon as Tiger had taken his last breath Naruto had broken down into tears with the only one willing to comfort him was Jinbe.
That attitude had continued over the last month, for the short amount of time Naruto spent outside of his room he noticed an understandable amount of reserved hatred projected in his direction. He knew that the only thing holding most of the crew from harming him was the fact that it wouldn't have been what Tiger would've wanted.
He understood though, they had only ever been betrayed by human's in the past… after all it led to their captains death… their brother's death. A hero like Tiger just didn't come around that often and Naruto was able to acknowledge and deal with the hate directed at him, it wasn't as if he hadn't done it before.
Still, he had never dealt with losing someone close to him before and it was slowly tearing him apart. The guilt for not being able to change Tiger's mind about using human blood for a transfusion, the hate of his own race for their betrayal, but most of all he felt an overwhelming sense of sorrow. A hole in his heart that could never be refilled… it was safe to say that the boy did not want to feel like this ever again.
He had two options
First, he could block everyone and everything out and become an emotionless person whose only reason to exist was to keep his promise…
Or he could grow strong enough to prevent this from ever happening to those close to his heart that he would surely gain in the future.
His choice in the end was decided by his promise to Tiger… how could he become a symbol for hope and freedom if he himself wasn't free? Cause to Naruto, blocking off your emotions was like trapping yourself in your own body.
So now he had decided that he was going to become strong enough to protect all those that held a place in his heart, all he had to do now was become strong… easy right? Wrong! If he truly wished to become strong enough to protect all that he loved while also becoming a symbol of hope, he would have to be strong enough to take on the strongest people in the world.
With all that in mind Naruto made his way towards the captain's quarters in order to talk to Jinbe about the continuation of his training. It was bad enough that he had already wasted a month away already; he certainly wasn't going to allow himself to waste away any more time.
As he walked down the hallway he could feel the hatred that seeped out of the fish men that he had passed, he wondered where Kaneshiro was as he hadn't seen the man in a month. Coming up to the door he gave three firm knock's on the door before standing back as he heard a rustling coming from behind the door.
After a minute of waiting Naruto found himself becoming agitated as he waited for Jinbe to get off his lazy ass and open the door. Just as he was about to knock again, the door was pulled open to reveal Jinbe in all his… glory? Standing in front of Naruto, the Whale shark fish man looked as though he had just woken up from a month long sleep… and he smelled like it to.
Pinching his nose shut, Naruto made his way into the room against his better judgement. Taking a seat in one of the chairs positioned in front of the desk that was off to the side, he waited for Jinbe to sit down in the captain's chair only to see him sit in the chair next to his. Sighing as he understood what was going on immediately Naruto turned to face the hulking figure as he started the conversation.
"You're in the wrong seat" Blunt as it was, it got his point across to the 'captain' of the sunny pirates. A worn out sigh escaped the fish man's lips as he tiredly made his way around the desk in order to take a seat in the captain's chair. Even then it took a stern glare from the cabin boy for the captain to actually sit down.
"What do you want to talk about?" asked Jinbe in an effort to get the meeting over with as quickly as possible so he could get back to… moping over the loss of his brother? Man he was depressing. Naruto in turn looked straight into the eyes of his captain as he asked the question that he had come here to ask.
"When does my training start up again?" Now that got Jinbe choking on air. Whatever Naruto had wanted to talk about, Jinbe would've never have guessed it be this. Even so, the captain couldn't stop a grin that ran across his face as he marvelled at the character that Naruto held inside his small body… well small to a whale shark anyway.
"As soon as this meeting ends" Jinbe responded as he allowed his grin to grow into a full blown smirk as he thought this would be the perfect way to get the crew back to the way they used to be. Naruto in turn allowed his own grin as he was happy that his own training would begin so shortly.
"Then what are we waiting for?" Naruto asked his captain before he got up from his chair and headed to the door while Jinbe began to follow after the boy.
Everyone's eyes were drawn to the pair as they made their way to the front deck were they would continue Naruto's training from where he left off. It was with slow realisation that all the fish men recognised what was going on and when they finally did they found their looks of scorn turn into grins of their own. Shifted was the overall tone of the ship as many of the crew men jumped into the water while some set about training themselves around the pair that started it.
Laughter and smiles soon replaced the gloom that had taken hold of the crew as they slowly became themselves once again.
And just like that everything slowly went back to normal… well as normal as it could be without Tiger and Arlong there though several people would argue that the loss of Arlong wasn't a bad thing. Still, smiles and laughter had returned to the sunny pirates as Jinbe finally took his new role seriously as he now captained the ship with a practiced ease that he had gained as first mate.
Naruto had finally caught up with Kaneshiro again who admitted that he had been avoiding the boy as he dealt with his own demons after the death of Tiger. After that, he soon went back to apprenticing under the man to learn more about becoming a shipwright as a skill that would benefit him in the future.
Alongside getting back into his fish man karate and shipwright trainings, Naruto also started up his general knowledge again with Aladdin while also asking the man for basic first aid knowledge. Aladdin was all too happy to teach the boy some of what he knew about the fine art of healing and soon Naruto was on his way to becoming a well-rounded individual.
Little did he know of the many trials he would face when growing up.
xX- Time skip 2 years –Xx
Just over two years had passed since Tigers death and a lot of things had taken place since that fateful day. Naruto was now ten years of age and had improved by leaps and bounds when it came to his abilities. Progressing to level 16 in fish man karate when out of water, Naruto was now considered to be strong enough outside of water that he would have been a weaker one of the crew.
Inside of water Naruto was only at level 9 which disappointed him greatly but he was happy with his progress as a swimmer. Whenever he had spare time, Naruto had spent it in the water in an attempt to become a better swimmer than any human had before and learn how to hold his breath for longer.
Due to this the boy had come away with a swimmers body that was beginning to tone even at his young age due to all the training he did and stood at a height of 4'6". Just above the average for his age. Still, his physical aspects weren't the only things that had improved as Naruto was proud of both his general knowledge and improvements in first aid and shipwright ability.
A lot had happened outside of Naruto's improvement in the last two years however, and not all for the better either. The first thing that the crew did after Jinbe finally took over was to head back to fish man island… they may have stirred a little bit of trouble on the way in the form of freeing some slaves.
That was a story for another time however as they lent their ship out to the mermaids and fish men that they had saved since they were on their way to fish man island anyway. Naruto had been left in awe at all the different sceneries that he experienced as cabin boy for the sunny pirates. That was something else that Naruto noticed, the confused stares that he would receive from all the fish men and woman when they saw him or learnt that he was a part of the crew.
He didn't mind though, it was just more people to prove himself to.
Preparing the boat to dive under the sea and towards Fish Man Island was another amazing experience that Naruto had as he meet with some old man named Silvers Rayleigh. The old fart had practically radiated power and when Naruto had asked him if he had completed his dream he had laughed and told him that he had but every day was still new.
Revitalised by the experience Naruto told the man of his own dream to which the old man had laughed at which made Naruto mad but he was quietened by a raised hand from the old man.
"HAHAHA… to be young again, perhaps you should place a D. in your name with a dream like that. Still, I can't say that I would be sorry if you somehow complete such a dream…" By the end of Silvers speech both of them had a wistful smile on their faces. It had truly been a talk that Naruto would remember for a long time.
It hadn't taken long after that for the Sunny Pirates to reach Fish Man Island and man was it a sight to see. Naruto certainly hadn't seen anything more beautiful in his life.
"It never get any less special" Aladdin whispered to himself as he looked upon his home while a fond smile formed on his face.
And truly it was as Naruto noticed the pure life that it exuded out; it was truly a sight he would never forget. Naruto got the same confused looks from earlier as he was seen walking with the Sunny Pirates crew as they went through Fish Man Island towards the palace. He took it all in stride however, fully expecting it due to earlier experiences.
It was when the people of Fish Man Island noticed that Fisher Tiger didn't seem to be among that the Sunny Pirates suddenly became more and more reclusive and quickened their pace. This worried the people a bit but they were all confident that Tiger was just doing something else at that time. Naruto couldn't believe the size of the palace or the fact that he was going to be allowed to enter as one of the Sunny Pirates.
If Naruto had been driven to awe at the outside of the palace, then he was catatonic at seeing the interior and had to be pushed along by Aladdin who chuckled softly at the awestruck boy. The boy soon moved after some more pushing from the crews doctor but at a sedate pace as he tiptoed the whole way, afraid to break anything so delicate looking. The crew members that saw this just laughed to themselves before moving on.
Arriving at the throne room Naruto almost fell over in amazement again but this time it wasn't because of the building that he was in. It was the pure size of the King and who he presumed was the Princess since she was a lot younger looking and prior knowledge about the family that he received from Jinbe.
Lining up in front of the royal family the Sunny Pirates all bowed in greeting as the King looked on with a critical eye. Seeing a human boy had certainly surprised him but the greater question that he needed to ask was about the whereabouts of one Fisher Tiger.
"Where is Tiger?" Was a simple question that had unspeakable consequences as Jinbe stepped forward to address the King as the new Captain.
"Tiger is no longer among us" Jinbe paused to allow everyone in the room to take that in before he continued, hoping that this wouldn't be blown out of proportion.
"In saving so many slaves Tiger was taken down in an ambush by an army of marines while giving us all the time we needed to escape" Only allowing half the truth to be known to the public while he would tell his King and Queen the full truth in a more private setting.
The news rattled the room as a gasp escaped everyone that hadn't previously known about Tigers death and Naruto was subjected to just how much Tiger meant to the people of Fish Man Island. The princess young as was (about 4 years old) even began crying although was quickly subdued by her mother and three brothers.
The room was silent after that for quite some time and Naruto soon began to fidget at the growing tension that the silence was emanating. About to something stupid, Naruto was glad when Jinbe spoke up once more.
"We lost twelve men including Tiger over our last journey but we also gained one in return" Jinbe stated as he looked over in Naruto's direction with a smile on his face that only grew at the site of Naruto's bewildered one. Meanwhile Naruto was cursing Jinbe for planting everyone's attention on him.
Seeing no way out of it Naruto stepped forward and did his own individual bow towards the royal family. After which he stood tall and waited to be addressed only to blink suddenly when he noticed everyone's much more relaxed visages as some even began to chuckle quietly… had he done something wrong.
"Be at ease young one" King Neptune said with a wide smile that reflected his amusement at the boy. Doing as he was told, Naruto relaxed his shoulders as a calmer air filled the room as the royal family inspected the boy. It made Naruto very uncomfortable but he managed to consciously hold himself back from fidgeting under the many gazes.
"And what brings a human boy such as you to Fish Man Island?" Neptune asked as everyone leaned into hear his answer, even his crew mates were interested in what he would say. Naruto then looked up directly into the eye of the King of the Ryugu kingdom as he replied.
"To repay a debt to a man who had become the closest thing I have ever had to a father" Now that got surprised looks from everyone in the room as not even Jinbe or Kaneshiro knew of how Naruto truly thought of their ex-captain. Taking a proper look at the boy, everyone noticed "the hoof of the soaring dragon" which told them that he was seen as less than human… A slave owned by the world government. Tears once again escaped the princess's eyes as she saw the easily identifiable mark on his chest.
Naruto then did a slow 360 to show everyone in the room his Sunny Pirates mark that he had emblazoned on his back.
"I have become the cabin boy of the Sunny pirates in order to pay back the person who gave me my freedom as well as to become strong in order to follow through on my promise with said man." Naruto said after he had completed his 360 which got everyone in the room curious and caused the Queen, Otohime to ask the question that everyone seemed to want to ask.
"And what was that promise?" To everyone's surprise Naruto just smirked demonically before he answered the question in a confident voice full of belief.
"I promised to become a symbol of hope and freedom to every slave on this planet. No matter their race, sex, or past I promised Tiger that I would save them and abolish slavery at its core so that it would never return."
A stunned silence echoed throughout the palace as everyone couldn't help but catch their breath in surprise as they couldn't believe what the boy had just said. Whether it was that they couldn't believe that he had said such a dream out loud and publically or that they just couldn't wrap their heads around a kid aspiring for such a goal.
Still, he was currently in the kingdom which arguably got the shortest stick when it came to slavery and as a result no one would even think about notifying anyone about such a dream. It definitely had their hearts pumping as they looked down at the confident boy in front of them. Eyes that held no doubt stared back at anyone who dared search them for any.
"HO-HO-HO-HO… That's quite the dream you have their boy, I welcome you into my kingdom fair cabin boy" (That is King Neptune's unique laugh) Neptune voiced loudly as the meeting soon turned into a feast in celebration for the return of the Sunny Pirates to their home.
It was roughly a year after that though that the biggest changes had occurred.
It all started when Jinbe was messaged a letter from the world government which asked him if he wished to be a Shichibukai which Jinbe immediately took to the King and Queen. After multiple days of discussion with the King and Queen, Jinbe made his choice to become a Shichibukai public knowledge. This ultimately led to multiple sides forming within the Sunny Pirates crew and with the return of Arlong.
It seemed that when Jinbe had sent his approval of becoming a Shichibukai that Arlong had been freed from Impel Down. This led to the Sunny Pirates braking into three different groups as Arlong disagreed with Jinbe's decision even if it freed him from prison. Most of the crew ended up taking Arlong's side due simply to the dislike they felt for becoming 'government dogs'.
Of a crew of 50 fish men strong 35 went with Arlong, Three went off to become the Macro Pirates while the remaining 12 stayed with Jinbe. However, the brake up did not go without violence as viscous words turned into punches of pure wrath. In the end Jinbe was victorious as he knocked Arlong clean off his feet.
Arlong was then picked up and dragged away by what would become the Arlong Pirates as they soon left Fish Man Island to go do whatever they wished. Letting them go would forever be Jinbe's greatest regret. Soon after the Macro Pirates made their exit on much more peaceful terms and just like that the Sunny Pirates had fell to pieces.
It only continued to get worse as the remaining crew members got tired of doing nothing due to Jinbe's role as a Shichibukai restricting them. This lead to a majority of the crew reverting to soldiers in Neptune's army and soon even Aladdin and Kaneshiro left the crew. Aladdin to become a doctor for the merfolk and Kaneshiro joined the shipwrights of Fish Man Island once more.
Naruto became the final member of Jinbe's crew but even he was a loose member as he spent much of his time still with Kaneshiro and Aladdin in order to keep practiced and well-rounded. Still, the training that Jinbe was giving him was invaluable.
This all led to where Naruto was now at ten years old, he still had a long way to go but through all the trials so far his determination hadn't withered once. He was prepared to go the distance to accomplish his dream.
Still, many storms were to come including one that would shake the very foundation of Fish Man Island and force Naruto to leave the Island that had become his home.
Chapter End
Kaneshiro decided to stay due to Naruto's influence.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter; the next one should be interesting… I wonder if any of you know what that one storm will be.
Pairing is still open but I have decided what Naruto's powers will be and you'll just have to wait and see on that end.
Happy to answer any questions or queries so remember to…
R&R