The sounds of clashing metal rang though the forest as four individuals all stood in the middle of a training ground. Three of them were Konoha's renowned "blade wielders", jonin Sarutobi Asuma, tokubetsu jonin Gekko Hayate, and Anbu member Uzuki Yugao; while the fourth, whom the others were all currently attacking, was a shirtless (just shedded his coat like in Punk Hazard) Roronoa Zoro. All four of the competitors stood in a stalemate with Shusui clashing with Yugao, Sandai Kitetsu holding off Hayate, and Wado Ichimonji keeping Asuma's chakra knives at bay. Well, one of them anyway, his other one had its spiked knuckles embedded into Zoro's forehead. As devastating as this would be for a normal man Zoro hadn't flinched and was instead glaring at the smoking shinobi with blood flowing down his face. The fact and sight of this caused the other three to all become unnerved a bit which led to Zoro smirking and using the opportunity to send them all backwards.
An impressed whistle sounded off from Mitarashi Anko as she, Yuhi Kurenai, and Robin all sat on the sidelines watching the four fight with the snake user siting on a branch above the other two. "You snagged one hell of a piece of meat there Robin" laughed Anko, watching the green haired man's sweaty and bulging body more than the actual fight.
"I've never seen anyone so casually shrug of an attack from Asuma's chakra knives before, especially when he's running wind chakra through them" stated Kurenai, thoroughly impressed. "There's even the fact that he seemed to meet the blade with his forehead rather than attempt to avoid it."
Robin giggled at her new friends' opinions of her husband and then smiled fondly towards him. "Well, he doesn't simply call himself the "World's Greatest Swordsman" to get attention. Zoro trained himself relentlessly for years, suffered immense pain, and overcame many grueling challenges that would easily have killed anyone else to get as strong as he is today."
"And no one's ever beaten him before?" asked Anko, sending yet another dango stick flying into a nearby tree to continue forming her picture of a Fuma shuriken.
"He has only ever lost again two swordsmen before" answered Robin. "His childhood friend and his title's former holder, Dracule Mihawk, when they first met. That scar across his chest is the result of that battle."
"I was wondering how anyone could survive a cut that large" stated Kurenai, not taking her eyes off of the fight in case it got out of hand.
"So he's lost against non-swordsman then" asked Anko, now hanging upside down from her branch.
Robin nodded as a sad look crossed her face since she really didn't like remembering her husband's loses and almost deaths at the hands of stronger opponents. "Yes, against a man made of lightning, one made of ice, a cyborg who has the ability to repel anything, and a man of pure light."
"You have people made up of raw elements?" asked Kurenai in shock.
Robin nodded. "As you know I possess the ability to "bloom" copies of my body anywhere I wish, which was granted to me by a devil fruit. Now, there are three types of main devil fruits in all. The first is called Paramecia, which grants its users a power that affects their body, allows them to manipulate the environment, or produce substances. My devil fruit is part of this category. Second is the Zoan type, which allows its users to transform themselves into another species or inter species hybrid. This type contains many sub categories such as carnivorous, ancient, and mythic allowing those wielders to become things like dinosaurs or a phoenix. Finally is Logia type, which can be considered to be the most dangerous one as well, allowing their users to transform themselves in a natural element or force of nature such as Ice, Magma, Smoke, and Snow."
Anko whistled again, now laying down on the branch. "How in the hell are you supposed to keep track of all those different types? My head hurts even trying to remember the ones you said."
Kurenai nodded, wincing slightly as Asuma received a slash across his right leg from Zoro's Onigiri technique. "Having to battle against those who can transform into mythical creatures or raw elements. It must've been difficult for you all to compete against them."
"At first it was" stated Robin, before she smiled. "After we were split apart and then reunited however, foes became "simpler" for us. Some of us more than others" explained Robin, saying the last part as a memory of Zoro effortlessly cutting a giant Pica in half crossed her mind.
Back on the battlefield, Asuma, Hayate, and Yugao had stopped to catch their breathes as Zoro simply grinned ferally at the them. "This guy's an animal" panted Yugao.
"We *cough-cough*, need to try and get through his guard somehow" stated Hayate.
"That'll be difficult" said Asuma, taking this time to light a new cigarette as his old one had run out. "Only my charka knife was able to land a blow on him the last time we all tried to attack and I'm pretty sure that he leaned into it."
"What if we, *cough*, what if we tried to do the same but with my shadow clones instead? While he's *cough-cough* distracted with me and the clones then the two of you will be open to attack him from the front and back" explained Hayate.
"It's worth a try" stated Asuma.
"We're with you Hayate-kun" agreed Yugao.
Hayate nodded and stood up straight. "Leaf-Style, Dance of the Crescent Moon" coughed Hayate, as split into clones and launched his attack.
Zoro's grin only widened as he saw the four Hayates dashing towards him and leaping around with their swords drawn. They then stuck at him from all different directions before their blades were blocked by his katana. The green haired man was about to send the group away again when he saw a flash of blue chakra behind him and a glimpse of purple in front of him. "Nice try" growled Zoro. "Santoryu, Great Dragon Twister."
The six shinobi were all surprised when they were suddenly launched into the air and found themselves being slashed from all directions by a large twister. When the attack finished Hayate's clones were gone and the three remaining competitors landed on the ground weakly and exhausted. "You guys done yet!?" shouted Zoro, from where he'd been standing before his attack.
"Yeah I think you kicked their asses enough for today" stated Anko, as she and the other spectators approached the fallen opponents to help them up.
"Are you alright Asuma?" asked Kurenai, worried in case the jonin was as bad as he looked.
"They're fine" answered Zoro, resheathing his katana while walking towards them. "I held back so other than that slash on his leg they've only got minor cuts and bruises."
"Y-yeah *cough*, we're fine" said Hayate, slowly standing up to show that he was alright. After the others got to their feet and Zoro reached the group then Robin walked over to her husband and gave him a small victory peck.
"Another excellent battle Zoro-koi" stated the blue eyed woman, wrapping her arms around his right one and turning towards the others. "Now, I believe that you all owe us a meal, Fufufu!"
"A deal's a deal" agreed Asuma, who started to take out another smoke before Kurenai grabbed it and crushed the offending cancer stick in her hand.
"What did I tell you about those" scolded the genjutsu mistress.
Robin giggled to herself as she watched the bickering "couple". It was so nice to finally have some friends in the village, especially ones who were so open minded about them and Naruto. It also didn't hurt that Olvia took a real shine to Hayate and Yugao due to their expertise in kenjutsu, while Naruto had an instant friendship with Anko, and Zoro and Robin found themselves getting along well with Asuma and Kurenai.
"Let's go get some dango!" shouted Anko.
"No" said everyone, causing the purple haired woman to scratch her head in embarrassment.
"You're as bad as Naruto" stated Zoro. "Can't we just go home and take a nap Robin? They can buy us dinner another time."
"Truthfully, I'm quite hungry" said Robin. "We can sleep after we have a snack. Alright Zoro?"
"Wanna get some barbeque then?" asked Asuma. "I know this place that's pretty good."
"I could *cough-cough* eat" – Hayate
"Sounds good" – Yugao
"Sure, I guess" – Anko
"Tch whatever, as long as I can lay down in one of the booths" – Zoro
"Fufufu" – Robin
- Elsewhere
Olvia fell to her knees in exhaustion as a certain bun haired girl ran over to her. "Are you alright Olvia?" asked Tenten, placing her hand on the panting girl's shoulder. "We really should stop for today. I don't need to be a Hyuga to know that you're almost out of chakra."
Olvia brushed the hand off and shakily stood up with the help of one of her katana. "I-I'm fine. I can go a few more times."
"You seriously need to stop Olvia" stated Naruto, walking over to the girls concerned while Lee was busy fighting his mass of shadow clones. "You don't have as much chakra as me so it's alright if you can't use more than three shadow clones."
"Plus you're still new to using chakra at all, so you need to be careful to not strain yourself by using too much" cautioned Tenten.
"Yosh, she's right!" shouted Lee, as he continued beating the crap out of Naruto's clones. "Your flame of youth will extinguish too early if you throw all of your wood onto it at once."
"I know, I know" grunted Olvia as she managed to stop shaking and stand completely up straight. "If I use up all of my chakra at once then I'll pass out or die."
Tenten grimaced. "Yesh, you say that so casually."
"Her and mom always talk about death and other dark things really calmly" stated Naruto. "You'll get used to it." The blonde was then sent into the ground by a kick over the head thanks to Lee.
"Yosh! I win again Naruto-san!" shouted the bowl cut boy, giving a thumbs up and a teeth gleam to the two sweat dropping girls.
Tenten sighed in frustration before she turned back to Olvia. "Anyways, if you don't stop for today then I'll have no choice but to restrain you and I know that you're too tired to stop me. So, are you going to come willing or not?"
Olvia nodded and smiled gratefully as the weapon kunoichi helped her steady herself and watched as Lee pulled Naruto out of the ground. Olvia had met Tenten by checking the girl's father's weapon shop for a special katana she could use, and Lee through one of Zoro's meetings with Might Guy for training. Since then Olvia and Naruto have been spending nearly all of their time, when they weren't stuck in the academy, with the two training or just hanging out. Olvia and Tenten developed a bond thanks to their mutual love for all things sharp and quickly became best friends in the short time that they've known each other; while Naruto and Lee found their own bond of "eternal rivalry" in each other. This just happened to be the conclusion of one of their numerous training sessions where they were all working to improve each other's skills.
Olvia smiled as she saw, the now conscious, Naruto laughing heartily with Lee. 'It's so nice that Naruto finally has a real friend' she thought before Tenten noticed her smile.
"What're you thinking about?" asked Tenten, who then got a teasing glimpse in her eye. "You're not looking at Lee are you?"
Olvia glared at the other girl and placed her left hand on her katana hilts. "Don't make me cut you, Panda-chan" threatened/counter teased the green haired girl.
Tenten face reddened in embarrassment as she gave her own glare back. Olvia has always called her that to mess with her ever since the sword wielder had heard her dad call her that once. "I told you not to call me that" whined Tenten.
"Aww, is Panda-chan blushing?" teased Olvia, before Tenten let go of her best friend's arm and let her fall to the ground in her weak state.
"You can crawl home" pouted the brunette as she started walking away.
"Fufufu" laughed Olvia, having apparently inherited her laugh from her mother. "Come on Panda-chan, I'm sorry!"
"Then stop calling me that!" shouted Tenten, turning around to yell at her best friend again.
Naruto and Lee laughed at the two girl's back and forth. "The fire of their friendship burns so brightly!" laughed Lee.
"I know!" laughed Naruto. "They're so close you'd think they were guys!"
Silence filled the field suddenly and Naruto paled in fear when he saw the two girls glaring at him. "Are you trying to say that guys are better friends then girls Naruto?" asked Tenten.
"H-heh, n-not exactly, just that guys get along better with each other is all" Naruto tried to explain horribly.
"That's sexist Naruto" stated Olvia, in her mother's calm anger.
"N-no, I mean that guys don't fight as much as girls and usually make up right away" panicked the blonde.
"Oh alright, that makes sense" said Olvia, causing everyone around to stare at her in surprise.
"R-Really?" asked Naruto.
"Yeah, I mean, I'm sure mom would agree with you right?" asked Olvia, giving her little brother a devious smirk.
Naruto lost all of his color at the thought of his surrogate mother finding out about what he'd said. "N-no!" he shouted. "Y-You can't tell her Olvia! Please don't!"
"I already know Naruto-kun" stated Robin's voice.
The group all turned to see said woman emerging from the surrounding forest with a dangerously happy smile on his face. "Mom!" shouted the woman's kids at seeing her, one in joyful victory and the other in petrifying fear.
"W-what are you doing here!?" shouted Naruto. "I t-thought you were with dad and the others!?"
"I came to let you two know that we were going to have dinner so we wouldn't be home until late" explained Robin. "That gives you a few hours of rest until we have a "talk" about views Naruto-kun. Fufufu!"
Before anyone could say anything else the Robin before them disappeared into petals. "Whelp" said Tenten suddenly, breaking the silence after she'd disappeared. "I guess we'll see you guys tomorrow then. If you're still in one piece that is Naruto-kun."
"Yosh! Survive this and you'll truly be great enough to be my eternal rival Naruto-san!" shouted Lee, giving the boy a thumbs up before the two of them jumped away to head to their respective homes.
"Better get some sleep and heal up Naruto" stated Olvia, now managing to stand up on her own and placing her hand on her brother's shoulder. "Otherwise mom might kill you and you'll be a rotting corpse rather than Hokage. Fufufu!"
"Not funny Olvia!" shouted Naruto in panic. "Even dad's afraid of making mom mad and he's the toughest guy I know! What am I gonna do!?"
Olvia smiled at the blonde and scratched his whiskers with a finger, something she's been doing as a sign of comfort since they've met, and said. "Relax Naruto, it sounded like they were going to have fun so maybe they'll be in the mood when they get home and papa will make mom forget all about it."
Naruto shivered at the thought. "I'm not sure which option scares me more. I mean, either way I won't be able to get much sleep tonight."
"Why don't you just use a silencing seal around your room like I do?" asked Olvia, causing the blonde to turn to her.
"Why didn't you tell me about that a year ago!" shouted Naruto.
Olvia shrugged. "I thought you knew that's why mom taught us it a few months ago."
"Why didn't I think of that" sulked Naruto, trying to brush the memories of certain nights out of his head. He's too damn young to be dealing with this stuff. 'Why did mom have to tell me the truth when I asked about the noises?'
"Come on Naruto" said Olvia, wrapping her arms around the sulking boy's shoulders. "I'll buy you some Ichiraku and help you put up the seal before they come home. Alright?" Naruto wide grin and life in his eyes instantly sprung back at the mention of his favorite noodle as he nodded vigorously before speeding off with Olvia chasing after him.
- Meanwhile in a nearby tree
A mysterious half black/half white plant man watched the two kids dash off from his placed coming out of the tree. 'This new family isn't leaving' he thought with a frown. 'And they seem more than capable of protecting him too. This will definitely complicate things for us if we want the Kyuubi-no-Kitsune. I'd better update Pain-sama.' He then sank back into the tree leaving no trace that he'd been there.
Hope you all enjoyed this chap and that it wasn't too short for you! As of now the Roronoas have been in Konoha for one year (two years before the series start) which means that means that their respective ages are now.
Naruto = 10
Olvia = 13
Zoro = 35 (I'm thinking that it took a year from the reunion to find the One Piece).
Robin = 44 (But still beautiful!)
Like I said, I hope to upload at least one chap every week so please keep reviewing if you like this fic! Being able to see what you all think of DoF really helps me to keep my quota for you guys! So thx a lot to everyone who has and cya next time!