"There is no place where you can run from us!" Mr.5 exclaimed as he began to pick his nose again.
"I'll find a way!" Vivi exclaimed, "I will survive and make it back to Alabasta alive!".
"You are never leaving this place alive!" Mr.5 yelled as he aimed his snot at Vivi, "Take this! Nose Fancy Cannon!".
He then flicked the booger at Vivi, who stood frozen.
Just before the snot could reach her, Kushina jumped in its path and sliced it in half, causing it to miss Vivi and explode behind her instead.
"Ms. Kushina!" she exclaimed in fear.
Kushina ignored her and shuddered in disgust as she furiously cleaned her blade.
"You made me cut his booger!" she exclaimed.
"Better you than me," Naruto whispered under his breath as he jumped towards Vivi as well.
Vivi tried to attack them but stopped when Kushina suddenly pointed her blade at her.
"Don't get hasty. We are here to save you." Kushina stated.
"Mr.5, the two of them seem to be unusually strong. We should proceed with caution." warned Mr.5.
"No need to worry," Mr.5 reassured, "From what I've heard, they don't seem to have any devil fruit powers. So dealing with them shouldn't be an issue".
"Why are you protecting the princess of Alabasta. Didn't you say you had no interest in whether she lived or died".
"Circumstances have changed, we are protecting her now," Naruto replied.
"Well, it doesn't matter. You're our enemy now, and since you're in the way of our mission, I have no choice but to deal with you." Mr.5 spoke as he began to walk forward.
"I'll take care of him," Kushina stated and began to walk towards him.
"You can't defeat me, young miss. I have eaten the Bomb Bomb-".
"I'm not interested," Kushina interrupted, "You made me cut your gross snot with my precious katana, and for that, you're gonna pay!".
"I'm a 'Bomb man'-I can make any part of my body expl-"
Kushina didn't let him finish as she dashed forward and grabbed him by his face before he could react.
"I told you, I'm not interested," Kushina muttered as she smashed his head into the ground with such force that she knocked him unconscious.
Still holding on to his head, she picked him off the ground and threw him at , who had frozen in shock at her partner's swift defeat and wasn't able to move away in time.
Dusting her hands, she walked back to Naruto and the shell-shocked Vivi.
"You seriously scare me sometimes," Naruto stated.
Kushina shrugged in response, "Tell her about the deal",
Naruto nodded and explained to Vivi the terms of their contract in exchange for helping her.
"I'm sorry, but I can't agree to these terms" Vivi replied after she heard Naruto's contract.
"You know how strong the two of us are" Naruto spoke, "With our help, you should reach Alabasta without any trouble. It's a good deal if you ask me, and it's not like we are asking you to hand over your kingdom to us. We'll just be declaring it as our territory."
"Have you ever heard of Alabasta before?" Vivi asked after few seconds of silence.
Naruto shook his head in negative.
"It's a peaceful kingdom known for its great civilization and prosperous nations." She explained, "Well, it used to be, but now, it's in the middle of a civil war. A few years ago, signs of the revolution had begun to appear and since then my kingdom has fallen into total chaos. It was during that time when I first heard of the organization known as the Baroque Works!" she exclaimed, "I learned that the populace was being manipulated by this organization but any information about them was scarce
so there was nothing I could do about it back then, that's when I decided to infiltrate the organization myself with the help of Igaram and learn about their goals".
"And, what did you find?" Kushina asked.
" 'Establishing an ideal nation.' that's what they say their goal is, at least that's what they say to their followers, to create an ideal nation. But it's all an enormous lie! Their true goal is to take over the kingdom of Alabasta!" she revealed, "That's why I have to hurry back and tell everyone the truth before the civil war destroys my nation".
"I see..." Naruto replied, "If you don't reach there in time and the civil war erupts, then there'll be no nation left for you to save or for us to take."
"So, who's the one pulling the strings?, you did say that you discovered their truth," Kushina asked.
"The boss's identity!?" Vivi exclaimed, "I can't tell you that else your lives will be in danger too!".
"We are pirates!" Naruto stated, "Our lives are always in danger!".
"It doesn't matter, I'll never tell you anything about him. As strong as you two are, you'd never stand a chance against one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Crocodile!"
"So it's Crocodile!" Naruto exclaimed as Vivi covered her mouth in shock.
A sudden noise caught their attention, as they turned to look they spotted a vulture and sea-otter spying over them from the balcony above. They took off as soon as they were discovered.
"Who the hell were they?" Naruto asked as he watched them fly away.
"They were 'The Unluckies'!" Vivi exclaimed in horror, "They serve as messengers for Crocodile and execute agents who fail their mission. They will surely inform the boss about our conversation!".
"Chill..." Naruto replied as he tried to calm her down, "I have faced a Warlord before, and compared to him, Crocodile is just cannon fodder".
Kushina shook her head in agreement, "I know who Crocodile is, I can defeat him without any trouble".
"Being hunted by a Shichibukai(7 Warlord of the Sea) the moment we entered the Grand Line..." Naruto stated, "How exciting!".
"You guys, don't you understand how serious this matter is?" Vivi yelled at their laid-back attitude.
"How about this" Naruto asked, "We'll defeat Crocodile for you, and in return, you'll declare Alabast as our territory."
"There's no way you can-"
"You don't have to worry about us" he interrupted, "We can take care of ourselves. So what do you say, Deal?"
Vivi thought for a few seconds then nodded her head, "Deal, but I'll not be letting you rule over my kingdom or anything of that sort".
Naruto nodded, "We can negotiate the terms at a later date but for now, let's get going!"
"I'll help you guys by being a decoy!" Igaram announced as he emerged from a nearby building disguised as Vivi, holding straw 2 dummies in each hand.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Naruto asked in disgust.
"Were you like, roaming around with a copy of her outfit this entire time" Kushina continued.
"I am her protector and as such, I am prepared for every scenario Princess Vivi may come across". he replied, "Princess Vivi, please listen to me carefully, once Baroque Works' intelligence network learns about you, they'll immediately send agents to finish you off. Therefore, I will pretend to be you and sail straight to Alabasta with these dummies aboard" he spoke as he raised the said dummies, and walked towards a boat docked nearby "While the pursuers are busy with me, All of you will head to Alabasta via the normal route where they'll least expect you." raising his hand, he continued "Now then, please give me the Eternal Pose of Alabasta".
As Vivi was about to hand the Eternal Pose to Igaram, Naruto snatched it from her, "So this is an Eternal Pose..." Naruto muttered as he examined it, "I've heard of them before but this is the first time I'm seeing one in person".
"It's like a permanent version of a Log Pose" Kushina informed, "It always points to the Island whose magnetic waves it has recorded without resetting on new islands as a common Log Pose does".
Naruto nodded, "I have a better plan" Naruto offered, "How about we use this Eternal Pose instead, you can come with us as well," Naruto said pointing towards Igaram.
"But Baroque Works-"
"Yes, I know Baroque Works will send assassins after her after they discover who she really is but you don't have to worry about that, we will protect her" Naruto declared, "And with you with us, we don't have to worry about the menial tasks like cooking, cleaning and such as well".
"I agree" Kushina nodded in agreement, "It's really troublesome to clean and sail the ship with only 2 people, this way we can divide our work".
"Are you guys just suggesting this because you don't want to do all the work yourself?" Vivi as in suspicion.
"Nonsense!" Naruto and Kushina both answered at the same time.
"Anyway, we should get going" Naruto spoke as he ignored the glaring daggers from Igaram.
As they all boarded the ship, Naruto bid farewell only to Zoro and Nami since the rest of Luffy's crew was knocked out cold, including Luffy himself.
"Wait!" Vivi suddenly yelled, "Karoo's missing!".
"Who the hell is Karoo?" Naruto asked.
"Is it him by any chance?"Kushina asked as she pointed at the large duck eating food from their kitchen.
"You're here already" Vivi exclaimed, "I've been worried sick for you!".
"He was here before we even boarded the ship" Kushina informed.
"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed as he finished with his goodbyes, "Let's go!"
As they set off the Island and entered the open seas, Naruto handed the wheel to Igaram and walked towards Vivi and Kushina.
"How many people should we expect to be chasing after us?" he asked.
"I don't know the exact numbers but about 2000 people are working for Baroque Works and I've heard there are several town-like bases similar to the one we just left".
"We'll just have to be ready then" Naruto replied, "Speaking of being ready, You can come out now" Naruto called out.
Vivi looked at Kushina for understanding what he meant but Kushina just shook her head and continued, "We've known about you since you boarded our ship back in Whiskey Peak. Come out before he gets restless!" Kushina warned.
"This is a nice ship" a female voice stated as she walked out from a nearby shadow.
" Sunday!" Vivi exclaimed in horror, "What are you doing here!?".
"I ran into Mr.8 a short while ago, he told me everything" Sunday stated.
"That's a codeword right," Naruto asked.
"Yes" Vivi replied, still frozen in fear, "She's the partner of Mr.0 ...the boss".
"So, She's Crocodile's partner" Naruto stated.
Vivi nodded, "She was the only one who knew the boss's identity, we found out who he is by following her".
"More accurately... I allowed you to follow me" the woman corrected her.
"Yeah whatever..." Naruto interrupted, "What is it that you plan to do now that you've found Vivi," he asked as placed his hand on his sword.
"Now, now. Don't be so hasty" Ms. All Sunday replied as she raised her hands in surrender, "I haven't been given any orders to deal with you so I have no reason to fight you".
"Meaning, you will come for us when the order is issued?" Naruto asked as he unsheathed his blade, "It'd be best if I just deal with you right here".
Sunday smiled, "Maybe I will..." she muttered as she made a gesture with her hands causing several arms to sprout from Naruto's body and bent him back at a painful angle, "Or maybe I won't"
"Naruto!" Vivi screamed as he moved to help him, but was stopped by Kushina.
"Interesting Devil Fruit power you have" Naruto replied from his bent position as he observed the hands grappling him, "But my guess is, these hands are only as strong as their creator", he then began to exert strength and straighten his body to its natural position, several more arms sprouted from his body to hold him back but none were successful.
Freeing one of his arms from her grasp, he grabbed one of her appendages and began to crush it in his grip. Soon a sickening crunch was heard, after which all of the arms on Naruto's body vanished, "And they transfer the pain and the damage dealt on them back to you," he revealed as he observed her pained expression.
"Should I take care of her?" Kushina asked as she took a step forward.
"Nah..." Naruto replied as he shook his head, "She seems to have her own agenda for working with Baroque Works and my guess is, she isn't loyal to them either."
"Quite an intelligent captain you have," Ms. AllSunday stated as she rubbed her sore arm, "He is right, I'm working with Baroque Works
to further my own goals and for now, they align with yours".
"Get to the point" Naruto interrupted as he picked his nose, "I don't have all day".
"How unlucky you are that you decided to help a princess who is being hunted by Baroque Works and what's even unluckier is the course you're currently on".
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked as he discretely wiped the snot from his finger on Karoo's feathers.
"The current path your on will lead you to islands under the control of Baroque Works. You'll be wiped out long before you even reach Alabasta".
"I doubt that" Kushina replied, "The two of us are strong enough to wipe out your entire organization on our own."
"As interesting as that idea is" Naruto intervened, "Let's hear her out first".
"As I was saying..." continued, "Why go through all that trouble when I can guarantee a safer route" she continued as she threw an object at Naruto, "That's an Eternal Pose, it will lead you to an island just before Alabasta, None of our employees know about this island, so no one will chase after you if you pass through here".
"Why are you giving this to us?" Vivi asked in suspicion, "Are you leading us into a trap?"
"Why would I go through all this trouble to-"
"It doesn't matter" Naruto announced as he passed the Eternal pose to Kushina, "We'll think about it" he replied, "And what is it that you want in return for this favor, I bet you aren't helping us out of the kindness of your heart".
"All in due time" She replied as she jumped off the railing and onto a giant turtle waiting nearby, "Till we meet again..." with that she rode off into the fog.
"Cool ride..." Naruto whispered as he watched the turtle disappear in the distance.
"So, are we following the eternal pose or taking the long way across?" Kushina asked.
"Which Island is our log pose pointing at?" Naruto replied.
"Little Garden" Kushina replied after she checked the maps, "It's a prehistoric Island."
"When you say prehistoric, does it mean..." Naruto drifted off.
"Yes," Kushina answered, "There are dinosaurs on the Island. But..." Kushina interrupted with a smirk as she observed Naruto's excited expression, "The climate there is unbearable for humans..."
A little disheartened, Naruto replied, "Bad climate, I can deal with that".
"There are also several uncurable diseases and illnesses which will kill us if we get infected".
"We'll just have to be a little careful then" Naruto replied with optimism.
"And it also takes around a year for the Log pose to set for the next Island".
"We could visit it and follow the eternal pose from there" Naruto reasoned.
"The sea near the Island is inhabited by a giant goldfish who can devour an entire ship in a single bite.
"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" Naruto accused but soon sighed in exasperation when Kushina turned around and burst into laughter, "I guess we are following the eternal pose" Naruto continued, a little unhappy that he couldn't visit the dinosaur-island.
This story is entering a indefinite Hiatus