Birthright of the Lost

By Silver Dragonfly

...::o::...

Shanks blinked sleepily and yawned as his gaze and senses swept across the small clearing he and Naruto had made camp in while they stayed on the island of Uzu. He didn't necessarily like what he found, though he wasn't really surprised. He had, after all, noticed several occasions upon which Naruto had been presented a new puzzle or exercise to master, and in each of those occasions the teen had pursued the exercise to the point of fatigue and even injury to see it finished or mastered.

He glanced across the clearing to the clone heating water over the fire for the morning's round of ramen.

Shanks eyed the clone speculatively. "He's back at that clearing, isn't he?" Shanks finally asked after several long moments.

The clone looked up, eyes wide, laughing nervously, "Uh, what do you mean 'he'?"

Shanks narrowed his gaze at the clone and frowned. "I have been able to detect your clones for months now. I'm surprised you even thought such a trick would work on me." Shanks stated then let out a sigh, "It's much too early in the day to be murdering my nephew." He followed this statement by flicking a nearby pebble and watched with satisfaction as it hit the clone like a bullet between the eyes, causing it to yelp as it dispersed.

Another clone strolled out of the forest edge to replace the first in tending the kettle. "Was that really necessary?" The clone asked.

Shanks shrugged. "He was foolish."

The clone glared at him, but set about pouring out the water, first into a waiting cup of instant ramen, and second into a waiting cup for tea.

Shanks was amused, but not surprised, by the order of priority: ramen and then tea. "So what exactly is he trying to do?" He asked the clone.

The clone shrugged. "Not sure at this point. He wasn't really sure when he summoned us and we haven't had any updates from him since then. Just orders to keep watch." He said while moving around the clearing to deliver the cup of tea to Shanks.

Shanks accepted the offered tea, sipping as the clone moved back to get the waiting ramen.

The clone continued on with its business, tidying the camp and banking the fire for the day before it gave him a wave and disappeared into the forest edge once more.

Shanks watched the clone go as he continued to sip his tea before moving on to the waiting ramen and let his mind drift.

It was strange, he thought, to be separated from his crew and not in the Grand Line. He had taken short shore-leave trips away from his crew in the past— usually to visit Mihawk— but they had always been just on the edges of his Observation Haki if he focused. But this was different, and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about it. He wasn't really worried; after all, they had Benn to keep an eye on them, but they were his crew, his friends, and his family. Family was here in this world as well, Naruto had drifted into his life like a lost boat at sea, and Shanks had latched on to the treasure it had held quickly.

He had enjoyed their trip through the Elemental Nations so far; it was a pretty country and reminded him of several islands he had visited in the past. Yet, it was missing something that he had learned to love in his life on the sea. It was that something that he now knew would always call him back. Even if Naruto chose to stop visiting, Shanks would never come to the Elemental Nations except to visit, though he suspected he wouldn't need to worry about Naruto not returning to the Red Force… and on that note he should probably make sure his absent-minded nephew didn't blow himself up, along with the rest of Uzu.

It didn't take him long to return to the now familiar ruins of Uzuhshiogakure. Once there he moved through the rubble and fallen buildings to return to the Fujin test clearing they had found the previous day. He slowed as he approached the area, reaching out with his Observation Haki to determine if it was safe to enter the space without some advance warning. What he felt had his eyes opening wide, as he quickly moved past the last obstacles of rubble to see it with his own eyes.

The entire clearing was alight with glowing fujinjutsu, and interspersed amidst it all were clones of his nephew, each one focused on their individual tasks. Each of the statues had a clone sitting before it with the seal glowing in the air between the statue and the clone. Scrolling lines flowed between and around them all, meeting in cardinal points with another clone at each anchor point. In the center, the stone slab was once more raised from the ground, unlike the short foot or so it had risen before, it now rose closer to six feet, its entire form covered in glowing seals. It was at this centerpiece that he identified the single non-clone of the group.

Shanks watched as the blonde teen moved slowly around the stone pillar, a brush in one hand and a dish of ink in the other, eyes focused completely on the faintly glowing lines his work was leaving on the stone. Shanks let his eyes travel over the elegant lines, how they interacted, how they moved around and through each other. How this one anchored those, how these added guidelines for this one over here, how this group all worked together to achieve this, and then he understood.

He, who had never had any formal training, found himself beginning to understand how they worked, why they worked, and what was needed to make them. He could not sit down and start doing what Naruto was doing at this moment, he would never be able to in fact, but he found he understood it regardless.

His nephew was recreating the very seal that had created the puzzle. Shanks was certain now that the original had been the work of several masters of fujinjutsu. Naruto was doing it all himself, and if Shanks was interpreting correctly, enhancing it and adding more. It was amazing, beautiful, and perhaps a little scary, just how much talent his nephew had; who while technically still a teenager had perfected his craft to master's level.

It was in the same moment that Shanks came to this realization that all motion within the clearing came to a stop. The seal work pulsed, once, twice then faded from site, the clones vanishing in a cascading series of pops and displaced air. As the light faded the stone pillar at the center, it began to sink downward just as it had the day before, disappearing into the ground until once more, it rested flush with the ground around it, a circle of stone inlaid with five discs of lighter color.

Shanks looked from the stone in the ground up to his nephew who stood above it, looking downward, a satisfied smiled on his face. "That is incredible." He stated quietly, catching Naruto's attention.

The teen looked up, startled, and then blinked before blushing. "Umm, well… you, I wanted to understand it and I've always—"

"Learned best hands on. You completely rebuilt the entire piece, and even added to it." Shanks stated, cutting the teen off. "You did in a single night, what others probably took days if not weeks to build."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed by his uncle's focus on what he had just done. "I just—"

"Have you slept at all?" Shanks asked, cutting him off yet again.

Naruto blinked, surprised by the sudden change of topic. "Uhh no, I couldn't stop thinking about the seal and, well, sometimes it just happens when I'm working on something." He offered in way of explanation.

Shanks shook his head in amusement, "Let's get you some breakfast before your clones eat all of it."

The blonde yelped and then grabbed his uncle's hand to drag him along behind him, grumbling as he went. "Those bastards… I warned them about eating my ramen, like I wouldn't know they had done it…."He all but growled under his breath as they went.

Shanks laughed, the antics of his nephew's clones always causing mischief and entertainment.

.:o:.

Kureha chuckled as she poured herself a glass from the bottle Captain Takumi had offered her with a flourish after she had boarded The Spiral Wind once more. She had grinned and told him to put her newest traveling companion to work while they were on board.

Captain Takumi and Rubio had faced each other for several long moments before grins broke out on both their faces.

"So my little brother is finally being let out to play?" Captain Takumi said, amused.

Rubio grumbled at being called little, but mostly ignored his older brother's jibe. "Aunt Belle is mad that you didn't come to see her. She said to tell you that floating around on a wooden toy is not an excuse for not visiting family."

Captain Takumi grimaced, The Spiral Wind was no wooden toy, but it was well known how Aunt Belle felt about sailing. She had traveled to the Gateway of the Lost while pregnant, and the experience had left her with very strong feelings about ever sailing again. "Go find Tiberious, you know my first mate, and get to work, brat." Then he turned back to Kureha, "Obasan, my cabin is yours once more. Please, make yourself at home and I will join you to discuss things once we are underway."

That is exactly what she had done. He had heeded her request to stock up on the good stuff and now she could start compiling all that she had learned into a formal report to send back to the home island. Arrangements would need to be made, and contact established.

She had learned, through pure chance and luck, that Uzumaki Shanks had arrived at The Gateway of the Lost, and before being found had been picked up by Gol D. Roger. From that, and his lack of claiming the name Uzumaki, he had completely slipped past detection by the Uzumaki clan. They would have to remedy that fact, as they never abandoned their own. Then there was the new blonde, the one who had revealed that the famed Yonko was in fact one of theirs. He was still a nearly complete unknown. From all reports, he was young, but incredibly strong. But one fact was certain, this new blonde who claimed to be family, had never passed through The Gateway. This brought on further questions and possibilities; things Kureha wasn't even sure she wanted to fully consider. They had built and thrived here in this world, but she knew there were those that continued their search for a way back.

The Uzumaki did not want to stay lost.

…::o::…

Thank you for reading. And for those of you who leave me wonderful feedback and support, Thank you!

One Piece and all its characters © Eiichiro Oda

Naruto and all its characters © Masashi Kishimoto

Special Thanks to my beta readers (and sounding boards): Blue Melodie & Aria Ino.

P.S. If you were wondering, yes I did have fun with a few names...