A Hero's History

By Silver Dragonfly

…::o::…

"I don't like it." Yasopp muttered. "They just decide to drop by now, when the Captain isn't here?"

Benn didn't reply but kept his own gazed locked on the ship that was approaching them. There was no mistaking it for anything other than the ship of Monkey D. Dragon.

"Why would the revolutionaries suddenly seek out a Yonko?" Yasopp muttered, though it was obvious he wasn't actually expecting an answer.

Lucky Roo approached the two from the galley. "What's the plan, Benn?" He asked, his usual snack absent for the moment.

"Let them come along side. " Benn said finally, "Full alert, but nothing aggressive. We will see what message Dragon carries for the Captain and proceed from there."

His words led to a flurry activity as those who had been waiting for a command scurried to work.

.:o:.

Shanks had suspected Naruto was the target of some hero worship from what he had learned of the shinobi war, from both his nephew himself, and his furry tenant. But this… this was unexpected.

They had left Uzushio the previous day, finding that navigating the whirlpools out and away from the island was much easier than navigating them to the island. From there Naruto had led them to a small country he called Wave, explaining he had some old friends who lived there and that they could stay with them for the night before they set out inland to Fire Country and Konohagakure.

The whole family had been thrilled to see Naruto, and when Naruto had introduced Shanks they had stared silently for several moments, inspecting the redhead before finally smiling and stating anyone who called Naruto friend, let alone family, was welcome in their home. They were friendly enough folk, and it was obvious the old grandfather of the family, Tazuna, respected Naruto a great deal despite calling the blonde a short brat. Shanks had politely not corrected the man who was in fact, at this time, shorter than his nephew. The old man's grandson, however, idolized Naruto and was in no way subtle about it, although Naruto seemed unaware of the fact himself.

That night he had heard the story of how just over six years ago Naruto and his genin team had saved their entire country from poverty and a tyrant merchant by the name of Gatou. Shanks had enjoyed hearing it and promised to share it with his crew who would also enjoy a tale from Naruto's youth. Naruto himself had actually seemed a bit embarrassed by the whole thing.

However, one fact had stood out to Shanks. A fact he didn't think the family or Naruto had meant for him to take notice of. Naruto's teacher had been mentioned by name, as had the girl on his team, Sakura. Yet, they never named the last member of Naruto's team, though the fact that there had been three genin present was mentioned, and that intentional removal of the unknown individual bothered Shanks. There was more to this story than he'd been told. He decided not to bring it up immediately, however, suspecting Naruto would only dodge and try to change the subject.

Shanks had thought he might ask about it now as they began to travel across the bridge that connected the small country to the larger continent. He had just opened his mouth to voice the question when a plaque displayed proudly midway across the bridge caught his attention. Approaching a bit closer, he began to realize just how important a part Naruto had played in this country, even more now than with the stories of the night before. He turned to his nephew who was also staring at the name plaque anchored on a raised pillar mounted evenly within the stone parapet.

"The Great Naruto Bridge…" Shanks read aloud and eyed his nephew from the corner of his eyes. "You didn't know about this?"

Naruto blinked, glanced to his uncle and then back at the plaque, "No, I mean, maybe a rumor of it but I never…"

Shanks chuckled. "You get into these types of situations often?" He asked.

Naruto groaned. "I'm not trying to! I just—"

Shanks patted his nephew on the back and started walking once more. "So why are we walking to Konohagakure instead of using your Hirashin?"

Naruto fidgeted.

Shanks glanced back over his shoulder. "I've dragged you all over the New World at this point, it's not like I'm going to be bothered by a bit of foot travel… I just prefer to be at sea."

"I thought… well you might like to see more of the land I grew up in." Naruto said quietly after a few moments.

Shanks paused, letting Naruto come up beside him, and smiled as the teen stopped at his side. "I would be honored."

Naruto grinned. "Great! There's a great hot spring resort along the way. This time I won't have to worry about being kicked out because of Ero-sennin or Baachan."

Shanks snickered, "Sounds like fun."

Naruto's smile soften, "Yeah, those were good times."

.:o:.

It was while the pair was chest deep in hot water with sake floating on a tray between them at the promised hot spring resort that Shanks decided it was time to bring up his earlier concerns. "Naruto… who was the third genin of your team when you were on that mission in Wave?"

Naruto froze, his eyes going wide for a long moment before he relaxed, poured himself a cup of sake, and quickly downed it.

Shanks watched silently, waiting.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto said quietly.

Shanks considered this for a moment, "Why would no one say his name? Why have you never spoken of him?" Shanks asked gently. He almost hoped to hear that the now named individual was dead, but somehow he knew there was more to it.

Naruto took another drink and let out a loud sigh, resting back further and raising his gaze up toward the twilight sky. "Sasuke is… well Sasuke. And nothing with Sasuke has ever been simple."

"He's important to you." Shanks stated, easily reading how even the discussion so far was affecting his nephew.

"Sasuke was my rival, my best friend… my brother in every way that mattered, right up to when he abandoned the village and his team in a quest for power and revenge. He nearly killed me then, and we fought each other many times after that. He was with the enemy at the start of the Fourth Shinobi War and he made a lot of enemies."

Shanks frowned, that explained why Tazuna's family had not mentioned the boy.

"But he was still Sasuke and I had sworn a promise to Sakura that I'd bring him home." Naruto said his voice taking on a distant timbre. "The war got a bit out of control and things happened, but in the end I kept my promise… I brought him home."

"And now?" Shanks asked his actions casual as he poured both himself and Naruto another cup, but he was very aware of Naruto's aura and mood as he spoke.

Naruto shrugged and accepted the offered cup. "He's on some kind of probation and lives in a small compound outside of the village. Mostly keeps to himself. A bit hermit-like I guess. I haven't gone to see him since I started traveling to your world. Family is a touchy subject with him."

"You don't think he'd take it well that you found lost family?" Shanks asked.

Naruto snorted, "His beloved older brother massacred his entire clan when we were seven. He later killed his brother only to find out afterward that Itachi was blackmailed into it because the clan was planning a coup. That's why he was fighting with the enemy when the war started."

Shanks hummed and then shrugged, he supposed that was a good enough reason to not be fond of family.

Naruto sighed again, "I suppose I should introduce you while we are there."

Shanks eyed his nephew, and then flicked a fistful of water into the teen's face, chuckling as the blonde spluttered.

"What was that for?!" Naruto growled, glaring at the older man.

Shanks grinned. "You were getting much too mopey! We are at a resort, it's time to relax, have fun, party!"

Naruto glared, but then settled back into the water again. "No parties. I've seen you party. I don't want to get thrown out… again."

Low chuckles followed by the sounds of splashing and the beginnings of a full-out water fight began to fill the air.

.:o:.

"I still can't believe it." Naruto said as they walked along the well-traveled road. "I got banned…"

Shanks reached over to sling his good arm over his nephew's shoulders. "Oh it's not all that bad, and I have to say summoning the toads to join the fight was genius. We'll have to use that against the crew some time."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but grinned. "That was pretty good."

Shanks chuckled, "We could pay a visit to Kazanonsen on Seacon Island; the crew hasn't been there in a while."

It was at that moment that they cleared a bend in the road and the tall wooden gates of Konohagakure appeared before them, standing open to welcome travelers.

Naruto stood straighter and stopped moving, a grin on his face. "Welcome to Konohagakure, Shanks-ojisan."

Shanks stood up straight and studied the gates. This is where his sister had gone when she had left all those years ago. This was where Naruto had grown up. He considered this as his gaze swept across the open gates to the arch above them, noting the leaf like symbol that held pride of place at the crest of the arch. He turned to face Naruto once more, "Shall we go in then?"

Naruto nodded and stepped forward. "We can go to Ichiraku!"

"Don't you need to 'check in' first, Naruto-kun?" A new voice spoke up as they stepped inside the gates. "Not that you followed procedure and 'checked out' in the first place."

"He's got Sennin status now, Izumo." Another voice spoke up. "He can come and go as he likes."

The man identified as Izumo pouted, "But he's hard enough to keep track of as is with that Hiraishin jutsu, Kotetsu!"

Naruto grinned as he approached the two men sitting behind a table just inside the guard booth. "Izumo-san, Kotetsu-san, this is Uzumaki Shanks, my uncle. I've brought him to visit the village."

Both men leaned forward with grins. "Oh, so the rumors are true about you finding a lost Uzumaki."

Shanks smiled at the two men. "Ah, nice to meet you, I'm looking forward to seeing the village Naruto and my late sister called home."

"Ah, then Ichiraku's is definitely a must stop. It's not only Naruto's favorite, but was a favorite of his parents as well."

"So it is a family thing, then." Shanks said, amused.

"And time to introduce you to the tradition!" Naruto called out and grabbed his uncle's arm to drag him into the village. "Come on!"

Shanks managed to keep from stumbling, but just barely as the two gate guards laughed.

They had moved off the main street and were entering what looked like a market district when they were stopped once more.

"NARUTO!" A voice almost snarled as a sudden blur tackled the teen. "You can't leave me alone with her again!"

Shanks blinked.

"She's nearly killed me a dozen times and your so-called village leader just laughs!"

Shanks gaped at the raven-haired man who had flattened Naruto to the ground. There was no mistaking this young man for anyone else, and yet… "You're supposed to be dead." He finally said quietly, still too shocked to truly react further.

Brown eyes turned and met the shocked gaze of the elder Uzumaki, and then blinked. "Well, shit."

….…::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.