Chapter 1

Burning Water

It was fortunate.

That was the last thing on his mind as a barrage of jutsu came raining down his way, his throat coughing up blood and black dots dancing in his vision.

His students—the young, hopeful new leaves—would arrive back at the village. They would continue his—and his older brother's—legacy. They would achieve what he couldn't. The village would be safe in their hands. There would definitely be hard times ahead, but he just knew they would pull through. They had to. And those kids were nothing if not stubborn.

It was also a shame.

A shame that he couldn't see them grow any older. A shame that he couldn't look over the village from the mountains one more time. A shame that, in the end of the day, he still couldn't keep his promise to his older brother.

He knew that he still had an ongoing conflict with the Uchiha. He knew about their discomfort regarding the Uchiha Police Force. He knew about their secret, hushed talks about a potential coup. He had spent nights thinking about it, about ways to solve it, about the way his brother would have wanted it—but there was a war, and he would be damned if he couldn't give it his all to focus on defending the village and everyone in it.

He had his regrets, but at the very last moment as he drew his last breath, he smiled. A battlefield was never a bad place to go.

It was rather weird, when Tobirama had expected to go to the Pure Lands or the Purgatory, only to open his eyes and find himself cradled in someone's arms. He panicked at first, only to find his own limbs flailing about. His very small limbs. It took him an embarrassingly long time to realize what kind of situation he was in. Being reincarnated had, after all, not been something he would even dare to consider.

The person who was holding him was his mother, he later found out. But after twice being held by the woman—in both cases she was crying and saying something he couldn't quite understand—he never saw her again.

He felt heavily disoriented and weirdly semi-conscious for apparent weeks as a baby. By the time he could make coherent thoughts that last more than ten minutes, he had already managed to crawl. And in all those times, memories of his previous life kept flowing in.

Tobirama learned fast, even from before. One look around and he could recognize the place as an orphanage. Not a very religious one, fortunately for him, because he couldn't for the life of him be subjected to any other beliefs because he just couldn't force himself to care at this point.

The life in the orphanage was rather peaceful. The place was clean, the nannies were nice, and the food was tolerable. But Tobirama also learned something.

Some children sucked.

He had been reborn with the exact same features as before—worryingly pale skin, snow white hair, sharp crimson eyes—in other words, he was born as an albino, again.

It didn't really bother him before, but it was somehow a problem now. He couldn't stay long under the sun, his eyes often itched, and he just felt generally weaker. The worst though, was the bullying the other kids subjected him into.

Tobirama liked children before. Loved them, even. They were the whole reason behind the concept of a village. His brother had wanted to make a place where children could grow up safely, away from battles, blood, and death.

Tobirama didn't know if it was the lack of danger or what, but these children growing up with him in the orphanage? They were Annoying with a capital A. They called him names, played pranks on him—which he mostly evaded—and just became annoying, obnoxious brats in general. He could beat them up, but that would mean trouble, and being in trouble while you're in an orphanage was a big pain in the neck.

That was why Tobirama always spent time alone by himself.

It was surprising and entirely unexpected when he found out that he was not in any of the Elemental Nations. In fact, he wasn't sure that this was the same world as his previous one.

The ocean, pirates, world government—There was so much information that he could barely process everything in one sitting when he first found a public library. He was further bewildered when he saw the maps—the Blues, the Red Line, The Grand Line—it just strengthened his belief that he had been reborn in an entirely different universe.

But it begged the question—Why did he still have his memories? Was it a mistake? Something like a glitch in the reincarnation system? He didn't know, he had a feeling that he might never will.

Another thing was that his sensory abilities apparently still stayed. He could feel it—the presences of people, their voices, the beating of lives all around him—as clear as he had before. But he didn't have any chakra. He couldn't do a single jutsu, even the one requiring the least power. That, among a thousand other things, pissed him off the most.

He never verbally complained, though. Not even once. Living at war had beat whines and complains out of him. He just had to go forward, no other way about it.

So he did what he did best, that was, surviving. He woke up before others, did a couple laps of run around the neighborhood—eventually, the small island he was born in—then went about the muscle training, holed himself up in the library, and went back to the orphanage to do chores and earn some pocket money. It became his routine for years and years.

"Just what kind of trouble are you getting yourself into?" one older, female kid in the orphanage asked once, when Tobirama arrived back with especially bad, darkening bruises and a couple bleeding scratches.

"Nothing." And that wasn't a lie. He had just been training.

The girl scoffed, "Well, just don't get into any big fights, Whitey"

Tobirama shot her an icy stare, "Don't call me that"

"Not my problem if your parents forgot to even name you"

And with that, the girl sauntered back to her group of friends. Tobirama glared at her back before going to his room—a small space in the attic, because apparently no one wanted to share a room with him—and flopped onto the makeshift bed. A memory—one of a crying, beautiful woman—came into his mind. He brushed it off and went to sleep.

Tobirama left the orphanage at the age of 14. Not the ideal age, but he had some savings from helping around the place, and he just couldn't bring himself to stay there anymore. Not when he didn't have a single thing that tied him to that place, and especially not when there was a whole vast world full of mysteries out there. Tobirama had always loved the unknown, and the seas in this world? They called to him, to his soul.

He rented a place—a shabby one, but it was in a relatively safe neighborhood—and took on some jobs. He had spent the entirety of his first life fighting, so doing some chores felt foreign, but they were also weirdly… relaxing. And for a meticulous, hard-working person like him, they were easy. He quickly got a raise wherever he worked, and managed to pool some money.

At 16, when there was nothing more he could learn from that place, Tobirama set sail. Not as a merchant nor a pirate, no. He just went to the closest island, and after being satisfied with what he could find, he went to the next one. And then the next one, and the one after that. He became a lone adventurer, looking for books and knowledge, sometimes herbs, foods, and animals. He wrote a journal, more to himself than others, and kept track of what was happening in the world.

Learning about the World Government was… unpleasant. From the news, he could plainly see the way the government and the marines were put in an overly good light. A blatant rose-tinted glasses. Tobirama even had to rip the pages stating the marvelous work of the marines for blasting a 'corrupted' island to the ground along with its 'potentially dangerous' inhabitants. It was full of sugar-coated bullshit that Tobirama felt almost nauseous.

And he didn't even want to start about the Celestial Dragons. Nope. He didn't need his blood pressure up so high right now.

The pirates took his attention, though. To think that a bunch of people risked their lives for gold, strength, and glory—yeah, this world was not that different from the previous one, after all. Tobirama could associate pirate crews with shinobi clans, each of them trying their hardest to prosper, to continue living, that they killed everyone standing on their way.

He learned that the sea he was born in was the most peaceful one—which explained the lack of anything interesting happening—So it was a surprise when he met one pirate crew on one of the islands he visited, three years since he had started sailing. He was about to sail around the island to dock at a different place but the crew took notice of him and they approached his small boat.

"Give us all of yer valuables" a bulky man with one eye and uneven-cut beard said, likely the captain, if his overly large pirate hat was anything to go by.

"And what if I don't want to" Tobirama responded, his expression never changing. He didn't have many things he could call his own, but he did have quite a lot of money.

"Yer gonna regret it" and with that warning, the guy unsheathed a sword, pointing it at Tobirama, silently promising a world of pain, or no world at all.

One, two, three… twelve people. Tobirama could fight, but more than 10 people was pushing it. And there could be reinforcement—on their side—coming, and while he was a fighter, he knew when to let matters go.

With a sigh, Tobirama handed his things to the pirates, carefully hiding his own blade and one bundle made up of ragged cloth behind him. He should at least try to keep these two things—

"What's that?"

-So much for keeping things.

"Oh, these are—"

Sharp, cold blade was pressed to his neck, a drop of blood sliding down and seeping into his cloth.

Tobirama narrowed his eyes. Slowly, he passed the bundle to the pirates, who were visibly happy with their catch and already planning to spend the money on whatever. After he was robbed blind, the pirates laughed—the loud, cocky kind of laugh that he knew too much—and brought out their weapons.

"Thanks, boy" the captain said with just a bit too much mirth, and that was when Tobirama realized that his suspicion was true; those guys never intended on letting him live in the first place.

It was an instinct, and annoyance most of all, that made Tobirama took out his short blade and fought against the pirates. It was a desperate attempt, seeing that he was just a 19-year-old boy fighting against 12 grown ups, all of which around 2 meters tall. But he was a fighter, and they were going to kill him anyway. Might as well try.

To his surprise, he was almost winning. Almost. He could have, if the reinforcement for those cowards didn't come. He was quickly surrounded, and really, it could have been the end for him if he didn't risk his live to steal back his ragged bundle. He opened it and, with a flurry of thoughts in his mind, munched on whatever was inside.

He didn't feel anything.

Nothing changed with his body. He didn't feel any burst of power he would with chakra, he didn't feel any pain, his wounds weren't closing.

But when the attacks finally came, they just… went right through.

He looked down at his body, at the holes without blood that were closing with watery edges, and then it clicked.

A water logia wasn't so bad.

Eating a devil fruit, in Tobirama's opinion, was a bad idea in the end. Sure, he was lucky to get a water power, something that he was highly familiar with, given his previous life. But that meant he couldn't swim. Him, a lone adventurer that sailed the seas, couldn't save himself from drowning. It was a farce.

He had tested it, of course. In these waters, devil fruits were just little more than legends, so he couldn't completely believe in any stories. But the weird, uncalled weakness he felt when he dipped his hands in the seawater confirmed the rumor of the weakness of devil fruits.

It was annoying, the fact that he had to think about ways to travel from now on.

"Are you a marine?" a man asked just as he was taking the last of the pirates' money. He hadn't wanted any spectators to his powers, but it was inevitable. Now some villagers were looking at him like he was their savior.

"No, I'm not" Tobirama answered simply as he heaved some shiny treasures, wondering if there was some kind of a bank on that island to turn them into cash.

"You should be," the man said again, weirdly persuasive, "with your powers, boy, you can go a long way."

And that was something he used to hear, a long time ago. Not now, though, not in this world, and Tobirama was a bit taken aback.

"I'll think about it."

And with that, Tobirama took off.

There was no way he would be a marine. And, after this little incident, not a pirate either. He knew that he shouldn't generalize things, that there might be 'good' marines and pirates, but really, he didn't want to meddle in this world's messy and apparently deadly affair. He was satisfied with his travels.

He may change his mind, though, when he met a certain black-haired idiot.

It had been three months since Tobirama ate that godforsaken fruit. Usually, it was about time to pack his bag and go to the next island but he still couldn't come up with a way to sail alone without risking falling to the waters once. Currently, his best idea was a big, sturdy, armed ship, but that would attract too much attention, and attention often led to trouble.

Tobirama had rented a house at the edge of the forest, near a cliff overlooking the ocean, relatively far from other villages or towns. It was on one afternoon that was just a degree too hot that he felt it: a presence of someone going into the forest alone. It wasn't a rare occurrence, as many people hunt animals and look for herbs, but they never went this deep.

It was just on a whim when Tobirama decided to keep an eye on this individual. For sometime, it seemed fine, too. This person, whoever it was, was most likely strong enough to fend for themselves, sauntering around the forest and went out the opposite of where they came from, in another words, near where Tobirama was.

Tobirama was wondering just what this person wanted, when the presence just… disappeared.

Or not disappear, no, but close.

Tobirama glanced out the window, his hand holding a brush halting in its movement. He could only see the few trees and some depth to the forest, but his senses felt much more. The animals, plants, even the ones in the trees and the ground.

The wind blew, the edges of his paper moving frantically as he put a paper weight on top of it. He looked up at the blue, cloudless sky, and at the sun, its brightness bringing water to his eyes. By all means it wasn't the usual time for him to go out of the house—or any building, really—but the vague presence bothered him.

Tobirama brought a hand up to his face and sighed. Curiosity got the better of him, after all.

The guy was uninjured.

Tobirama checked—for the fourth time—for any signs of fighting, whether on the guy or the surroundings. None. The guy didn't look ill, either; just unconscious. Tobirama was just glad that the raven was still breathing, so he didn't need to dig a grave to dump a body.

…come to think of it, maybe he should just throw the guy into the ocean. He didn't need anyone to bother him at the moment.

—except the guy decided right on that second to wake up. The black-haired stranger just sat up abruptly, looking highly disoriented as he looked around, and eventually, his gaze landed on Tobirama.

"Huh" the raven said dumbly, "Who might you be?"

Tobirama stared blankly at the guy. Yeah, he looked just fine.

"No one" the albino answered as he stood up, brushing the dust off his pants. He was already sweating a ton, and going off on a stranger just because he was annoyed wasn't gonna help him.

"Pretty sure I was on a cliff" the guy—for whatever reason—kept talking, looking at the direction of the cliff, just far enough for him to see the outline of the sea.

Tobirama thought back on the position the guy was in when he first found him: just inches from the edge, one arm dangling limply. "Yes. It was dangerously close" he muttered under his breath, grabbing his first aid pouch and tying it on his waistband. He was just about to leave when his hand was grabbed from behind. He had to reel in his instinct not to just stab.

"Hey, wait!" the guy said. Tobirama raised an eyebrow in a silent question, prompting the guy to go on, "I'm sorry for the disturbance but I need to ask you something. Do you happen to—huh, are you sick or something?"

Tobirama frowned, confused, "No, I'm not"

The guy scrunched up his face, seemingly not believing it, "You're awfully red, though. Like, the whole of you" the guy flicked his gaze to Tobirama's hand, "Sweating a lot, too" now there was a touch of concern in his voice.

"I'm fine. Just the heat" and Tobirama left the conversation at that, waving his hand dismissively and walking back to the direction of his house.

Tobirama was starting to feel lightheaded. Maybe he should try to go out more often when it's hot, just so he could grow immune little by little. He sorely missed Konoha and its weather that was just perfect. Not too cold nor too hot. Not humid, but not dry, either. The rain came nice, the winter pleasantly cold, the summer windy hot, with colorful spring and beautiful autumn.

Now he just wanted to fling himself to a river somewhere.

"So this is your house? Looks nice. Can I please come in?"

…maybe after throwing this guy to the ocean first.

Tobirama had known that the stranger was following him, but he had also thought that the weirdo would eventually leave. Tobirama had, after all, given him the cold shoulder all the way back home. It was clear that the guy was just awfully bad at seeing subtle signs. And now there he stood, right at Tobirama's front door, waiting eagerly to be let in.

Tobirama sighed, being reminded of a certain person with the same shiny puppy eyes.

"Sure. Make yourself at home—"

"Sweet! Pardon the intrusion!" and the guy strode right in cheerfully.

Tobirama blinked. He really shouldn't have told him to make himself at home, even if it was just a form of politeness.

Because the guy took it a tad too literally.

Tobirama looked on as the guy suddenly stopped and glanced around "You got some water? I drank all of mine!" the stranger said, waving his water bottle and walking to the fridge. Tobirama stared in stunned silence as the stranger acted like they had been old friends, going about his house and taking all the food he saw.

"Man, I'm hungry! Thanks for the food!" the guy swallowed—no, he breathed in all the food, fruits and vegetables and meat altogether. The fast diminishing of Tobirama's food didn't affect the albino as much as the poor table manner.

"…Didn't you kill a few animals in the forest?"

"Huh?" the guy gulped his mouthful, "How did you know? Well, I was actually about to make fire before falling asleep. Raw meat tastes bad, you know."

…'Falling asleep'? The guy was just falling asleep on the edge of a cliff?

Tobirama shook his head. He should be used to idiots, what with his brother being Hashirama freakin' Senju. I shouldn't get pulled into their pace, much less being interested in what they're saying. Just focus on the task at hand.

And with that thought, Tobirama sat on the sofa opposite of the stranger.

"So" he started, tone calm and professional, "What did you want to ask me?"

The stranger—now that Tobirama look closely, they couldn't be too far apart in age—looked up at him, "What?"

"You said you wanted to ask me something"

The stranger furrowed his brows, apparently thinking, before lighting up, "Oh yeah! That" he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, "Do you happen to know someone with a devil fruit power?"

Whatever Tobirama thought he would ask, it wasn't this.

"No" the albino answered, "What does that matter?"

The stranger frowned, "That's weird. The folks at the town said there's someone with that power around here—Oh" his stare landed on Tobirama and stayed.

Tobirama heaved a sigh and stood up, "There's no one like that here. You must be already aware; The East Blue is the weakest sea. Anyone with any kind of power would most likely sail off already" he reasoned, perfectly aware that the stranger was on to him. "You should leave. I could give you the directions back to town—"

Clang

Tobirama stared at the knife near his neck, blocked by his own blade. His gaze shifted to the stranger, "Biting the hand that feeds you?" he asked calmly, not really angry or anything.

The stranger smirked, "Just making sure of something"

As if that explained anything, the raven started attacking.

For a few minutes, Tobirama just dodged around, not fighting back, but after he was sure that the stranger wouldn't stop unless he did something about it, he attacked.

The fight was short and long at the same time, just like every fight Tobirama had ever been in. And it stopped, surprisingly, when the stranger managed to land a slash on Tobirama's upper arm. The attack cut through, no blood came out as the 'wound' bubbled at the edges, water forming and closing it, the skin binding and coming back together as if it wasn't cut in the first place.

"So it's you" the stranger smirked, a hint of satisfaction in his voice, "the devil fruit user"

Not seeing anymore points in lying when the evidence was clear, Tobirama confirmed, "I am" he kept staring at the stranger, not lowering his weapon, "What are you going to do about it?"

The smirk morphed into a grin, showing a perfect set of teeth. The stranger settled a hand to his hat, tipping it back. Tobirama wasn't sure if he liked the gleam in the other's eyes or not.

"My name is Portgas D. Ace. Do you want to join my crew?"

"No"

The answer was short, fast, and crystal clear.

But it seemed like this freckled guy still didn't understand. Or, in Tobirama's opinion, deliberately not understanding.

"Why not?" the dark-haired guy said, tilting his head a little.

"Do I need to list the disadvantages of being a pirate?"

"Uh, no, but still. It will be fun!"

Fun. Now that was the most childish reason Tobirama had ever heard.

"I haven't once thought about becoming a pirate, and I'm not going to start now. If you want to persuade me, you're just wasting your time" Tobirama gave his final warning before going out of his house in angry strides, tending to some fast-growing plants that he had planted there, the stranger following behind him.

There was a lot of things Tobirama learned while living with his long-lost brother, the over-energetic, loud-mouthed First Hokage.

One, the fine art of tuning people out. Tobirama had perfected this particular skill and it had proved to be useful in many kinds of situations, now for example.

Two, if the blabbering didn't stop past the limit of one's mental social energy, a good smack upside the head would always shut them up.

Tobirama glanced at the stranger, absently noting that the raven was still going on about how nice it was to set sail as a pirate. Something about freedom or others. Tobirama scoffed. He already had his freedom.

The third thing he learned, though, was quite a problem. Tobirama caught the stranger's eyes, so dark and intense yet there was a gleam that indicated something—

Three, if someone starts using puppy eyes, run for the hills.

And there was a pair of very convincing puppy eyes right in front of him, and Tobirama knew he was just postponing the inevitable.

"—heard you were traveling alone. You're also looking for something, aren't you?"

Tobirama finally leveled his conversational partner (if what they had could be called a conversation at all, rather than the stranger just going off on his own).

"I am" he confirmed. The stranger lighted up at the response and quickly seized his opportunity, "Then let's go together. I'm looking for my thing while you do yours. Let's be partners"

If Tobirama was honest, it did sound tempting. It would, after all, solve his traveling-alone problem. But being a pirate meant a whole lot of new problems, and he wasn't sure he was ready for that. There was one thing Tobirama wanted to know, though.

"Why did you ask me?" he folded his arms in front of his chest, the plants forgotten, "We've just met a couple minutes ago, we don't know anything about each other. Are you that desperate or are you just an idiot?"

At this, the stranger frowned, his wide grin swiped right off. Tobirama blinked at the sudden change of atmosphere around him but didn't so much as move.

Instead of being angry or sulking like Tobirama had expected, the stranger just looked off the direction of the cliff. Then he looked up, made a thinking noise, and looked back at Tobirama.

"Not desperate" he started, "but I like you"

Tobirama raised a brow.

"Uh, not that kind of like like. But… Agh I don't know. I just have a feeling that you're someone I can trust to watch my back when it comes to it"

Tobirama stared for a few seconds before shaking his head, "You shouldn't trust someone that easily"

A grin broke on the stranger's face, all wide and mischievous.

"Nah, I don't trust you", he tipped his orange hat up a little "I trust my gut"

There was a good five seconds of silence, followed by Tobirama's low-breathed chuckle.

He had heard something like that before, said by his one particularly confident student. He smiled at the memory of wiping the floor with Saru's ass at the following training session.

"Alright"

The stranger looked up, his dark eyes shining expectantly.

"I'll join your pirate crew," Tobirama took out his blade, gripping it in his hand before taking a stance, "if you win."

The stranger's grin widened just a tad maniacally.

The fight didn't count. At least, that's what Ace said.

When they were beat, battered, and nearing the ends of their breaths, Tobirama was the last to stand up and finally admitted defeat. But he didn't use his devil fruit once, despite Ace's incessant persuasion through the whole fight. Tobirama thought it was the fair way, but Ace thought the albino was underestimating him. Tobirama had chuckled then, knowing that he really had lost, both the battle and the war. He had stood up and claimed himself to be a part of Ace's pirate crew.

Throughout the fight, Tobirama had found most of what he was looking for in a leader. It was a bit unfair that he had it based on his brother, but he just couldn't help it. Hashirama was as close to perfect as a leader anyone could be, and Tobirama's personality balanced him nicely. Ace was a lot more hot-tempered than the First Hokage, and there actually wasn't much similarities between the two of them. But there were some things that felt familiar.

Like their eyes.

The eyes that shined determinedly in battle. Eyes that looked and lived at the moment, but would at times drift afar, seeing a future that no one else could. Eyes that spoke for themselves, throwing their very feelings out to the open. Eyes that burned bright and proud. Eyes of a leader.

Tobirama was never a gambler, but he was willing to bet his life on this teen.

Ace had been hungry when his boat hit particularly bad waves and he was washed up on a certain island. He had walked around then, deciding to ditch his broken—and breaking, if the creaking of the woods was anything to go by—vessel on the shore. He didn't have much money, or rather, didn't have any at all, and was trying to determine whether to ask for food from some townsfolk or just dine and dash.

He was feeling a bit adventurous, so dine and dash it was.

He approached a woman with a young girl, stopped, and bowed his head a little as he delivered his greetings and asked where the best—and the least likely to go bankrupt—dining place was. Once he got the directions, he bowed again in thanks and practically hopped off.

Just like his other previous attempts at eating free, it was a success. He ran from the fuming chefs, carefree laughter bubbling out of him.

It was when he was trying to stock up on water and snacks that he heard the stories.

"—saw him helping the fishermen two days ago. Making the nets, fixing the boats, the likes"

"I heard he went to the smithy, too. But instead of buying or ordering anything, he gave comments and advice to better their work"

"I heard about that! And do you know the massive beehive by the south cliff near that creepy cave? He helped us harvest the honey. It sold really well in the nearby islands"

Ace whistled at the apparently golden teen of the town. Every place had one, he believed, the guy that almost everyone depended on, that was always willing to help. He had been one before, though only for a couple years, right after he had gone through his… darker phase—or whatever it was—right until he set out to sea.

Ace was about to go on looking for some wood to repair his boat when his ears perked up.

"—owe him a lot for defeating those filthy pirates"

"Yes, I'm glad that I don't have to worry about my kids' safety anymore"

Well, now, didn't that sound interesting.

Someone—most likely a poster guy, based on how the ladies were talking about him—was strong enough to get rid of pirates. Was it a couple pirates? The whole crew? Ace was suddenly curious. He put on his best smile and approached the gossiping ladies, tone as cheery and casual as he could make it.

"Can I hear more about this guy? He sounds like a great person!"

And the stories they had spun for him made his eyes went wide, before settling back, a grin blossoming on his face.

A devil fruit user, huh? Ace hadn't really planned on anything, and he certainly needed to meet the guy first to make sure he wasn't a scumbag.

But it was about time he looked for a crewmate.

Ace looked on from the side as the snow-haired guy—what was his name again? Torama? Tobio? Shiro?—tried to balance his belongings as the villagers kept giving him more and more things. As a thank you, they said. The guy had politely refused at first, but those people weren't taking no for an answer. The guy relented in the end, muttering a thank you, and Ace wondered if the red on his face was because of the heat or embarrassment.

The people on the island had somehow found out about the albino guy's departure, and Ace and him couldn't take ten steps without being stopped by the folks to be chatted or given something. Ace whistled as they finally almost reached the port, "You're popular"

The guy scoffed, "I'm not"

Ace observed the food on the guy's hand, looking for some meat "Those guys like you"

"Just because I helped them a couple of times"

"They said they're gonna miss you"

"They'll get over it"

"Some of them were crying"

"...They'll live"

Ace smirked and chuckled at the albino's apparent discomfort. With a short, calculating thought, the raven decided to ask "If you're gonna act like you don't know them, why help them at all?"

The guy didn't miss a beat before answering, "Because I could" he glanced at Ace over the things he held by both arms, "They were in need of help, and I could give it, so why not"

Ace stared at the guy—Tobirama, he remembered now—noting the calm yet determined gaze on the pale face. The composed shine on the crimson eyes was constant, yet it held a terrifying depth to it.

Ace grinned, settling his orange hat firmly on his head. He couldn't find a better firstmate.

A/N

My first attempt at crossover. Dunno how it turned out like this but it was fun to write ^_^

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Have a nice day!