And here we are with another chapter, I've really been on top of it with this story. I might update this a couple more times before I update a different story but it depends on how much muse I end up having for those stories. Don't worry though they will get updated too. Anyways a bit of a slower chapter this one compared to the past few chapters. I want to get through a few chapters before I do a time skip to Punk Hazard. Anyways I'm still getting pairing questions and as for it I'm still unsure but if you really want to see it be your pick at least leave reasoning. Anyways that's it for now, let's get on with the chapter.
The following day
The hypnotic sounds of soft beeps was the first thing the blond pirate woke up to. He moved his eyes around slowly taking in his surroundings and as his vision cleared he noticed the familiar walls. "The medical bay of the Polar Tang" he thought to himself as he let out a breath. He closed his eyes again and thought back to where he had been before he had blacked out. Marineford to save Fire Fist Ace. His eyes opened and turned his head to his left.
Sure enough the former second division commander of the Whitebeard pirates was laying down on a bed similar to his. The man had IV tubes connected to his arms and bandages wrapped around most of his upper body. Most likely having been treated by Law for the burns he received from Akainu.
Turning his head to the other side parallel to him Straw Hat Luffy was also out cold. Like his brother he too had been bandaged, though his were for all the hits he had taken as opposed to fire damage.
Bringing his attention back to the ceiling of the medical bay the blond tried to push himself up only to feel pain in his arms and chest. He took deep breaths as his head hit the pillow once again. Waiting a few minutes he took in a deep breath before pushing himself upright, disregarding the discomfort he felt in doing so. He turned, letting his legs hang off the bed and took a good look at himself.
He noticed that just like the other two his chest had been bandaged up. "After Akainu shot that dog attack at me he managed to punch me with his magma fist. I took most of the attack with my arms but some got my chest too." He thought. He brought his hands up to his face and saw that they too had been wrapped up. He tried flexing his fingers but that caused spikes of pain to shoot through his body.
Apart from that he had a medium sized bandage on the side of his face from where he had been punched by the same man. Being careful not to make noise as to not wake up the other two patients he headed to the door and walked out.
Naruto walked down the corridors of the Polar Tang until he arrived at the stair set that would lead up to the main cabin of the ship. Luckily for him the door was already ajar so he only had to use a little bit of force to open it.
The crew stopped whatever they were doing to see who it was. Once they realized it was their crew mate they resumed their activities.
"I wasn't expecting you to be up yet." Law commented from one of chairs. "How do you feel?"
Naruto took a seat next to Bepo and swiped some of the chips he was eating, ignoring the glare the bear threw at him. "I've been better. My arms, chest, and face hurt. My hands do too but to a lesser degree than everything else." He replied.
"That's to be expected. You've got second degree burns on your arms and part of your chest from that punch you tried to block from Akainu." The surgeon explained. "Your hands got burnt slightly from when you stopped him from impaling Ace, though for all your injuries your Haki managed to decrease the damage. They should be healed in about two to three weeks. Chances are they'll be scarred though." He finished.
Naruto nodded and accepted a plate of food from one of the crew mates who had been cooking. All the fighting had built up quite an appetite and he dug into the meat he was provided. "So what happened after I passed out?" He asked in between bites. "I saw Whitebeard beating Akainu's ass then a laugh."
Law went onto explain how Blackbeard had appeared on the scene at the end of the war with some of the most dangerous prisoners from Impel down as part of his crew. "He somehow found a way to steal Whitebeard's Devil fruit powers, making him the first person to have two devil fruit powers at the same time. Shortly after that he fought the marines before everything was stopped by Red Haired Shanks. I don't know much after that since we had to get out of there quickly." He explained.
"Damn. So much for an alliance with Whitebeard." He took another bite. "Now the world is down one of the Yonko and the Whitebeard pirates are most likely disbanded." Naruto added after.
"So where are we right now?" He asked.
"We're on our way to Amazon Lily at the moment." Law replied taking note of Naruto's raised eyebrow. "Boa Hancock followed us after leaving Marineford and told us we could take Straw Hat there. Seeing as he wouldn't be safe anywhere else it was our best bet." He explained.
"How's that going to work? I thought Amazon Lily didn't allow men to enter." The blond asked.
"We're not sure. She just told us we could take him there." Bepo replied as he moved his plate away from Naruto who was trying to swipe more chips.
Sometime later at Amazon Lily
The crew had made it to the Kuja pirates home and immediately had a problem. While Boa Hancock was ok with them staying on the island, the previous empress voiced her concerns that men weren't allowed no matter who they were. Straw Hat Luffy was the only exception. In the end it was decided that the crew would spend their time on the outskirts of the island and would be supplied food by the warriors.
While most of the crew were drooling over the amazons who were currently serving them food Naruto and Law were sitting off to the side watching the crew make fools of themselves around the women. Naruto too was admiring a certain short haired woman, 'Ran' if he heard correctly. As she passed by with another woman carrying more food his eyes subconsciously trailed down her backside.
As she disappeared behind the makeshift barrier they had created to stop the men from entering the village he turned to meet the amused grinning face of his captain who had caught him staring. Rather than try and make up an excuse about how he wasn't staring he matched the grin and chuckled slightly. "If you tell me you didn't think she was hot, I'm going to question your orientation." Naruto jabbed.
"No I agree with you." He replied "Only I'm more discreet with my gaze."
Naruto laughed for a second before his face turned serious. "Law" He called out. Seeing he had his attention he brought up what had been on his mind since he had woken up.
"We need to get stronger. We also need more crew members. As it stands our chances of surviving in the new world as we are, are very slim."
"I'm aware" The surgeon answered as he looked to his crew eating and laughing. "I've been thinking the same thing for a while now. Originally the plan was to head to the new world as soon as possible, but that's changed." Naruto nodded at his captain prompting him to continue.
"I've heard something that made me change the original plan."
The blond sat up straighter having a feeling that some big news was coming. "What exactly have you heard?"
"While you were securing our alliance with Jewelry Bonney I met up with an informant who told me about the situation with Fire Fist Ace. That wasn't everything though. I found out exactly what Doflamingo is supplying to Kaido." He revealed. "You know who Vegapunk is?"
"The scientist with the Marines? Yeah what about him?" The blond answered.
"Two years ago there was a massive explosion that wiped out all life on an island in the new world called Punk Hazard. It was said that the explosion was caused due to a failed experiment by Vegapunk. I got word that Caesar Clown, his former colleague, is on the island creating SMILEs. Artificial devil fruits that he supplies to Doflamingo, who then supplies them to Kaido.
With this in mind I have a plan. We're going to have to go to Punk Hazard, but to get there with no issues I'm going to have to join the Shichibukai. Once done we'll head to the island and stop Caesar from producing the fruits. The moment he's out of the equation Doflamingo won't have product to supply." He explained hoping his vice captain would catch on.
Naruto's face broke out into a grin as he did indeed catch on. "And without product Kaido will be upset. Even though we'll be on his shit list he's sure to kill Doflamingo for his failure as he doesn't seem like the most reasonable guy out there."
"Exactly. But it's not gonna be easy. We do need to get stronger." He said before stopping as he noticed his navigator heading their way.
"Captain. Ace is waking up. Straw Hat Luffy shouldn't be much longer either." He reported.
"Thank you." He said as he stood up and headed into the sub. Naruto chose to stay put as he figured they'd be coming back out anyway. In the meantime he'd admire the view.
Inside sub Law walked into the medical bay and sure enough Ace was sitting up on the bed, checking his surroundings.
"Where are we?" The Mera Mera no Mi user asked.
Law doesn't answer immediately as he checks over the man's readings on the machines before doing the same to Luffy, who still hadn't woken up. "I don't have any spare clothing for you unfortunately but your shoes are over here." He motioned next to the machine. "Meet us outside and we'll talk." He ordered before heading back outside.
A few minutes later Law and Naruto were joined by both brothers, the younger of the two having woken up not long after Law had left the room. Their presence was noticed by the Amazonian's, who immediately went to inform their empress that Luffy had awoken.
The two brothers took a seat across from their rescuers and for a few seconds it was quiet. Everyone waiting to see who would speak first. The silence was broken by Ace "First let me thank you for not only helping me but saving Luffy as well. If you guys don't mind could you let us know what's happened?"
Law recounted the events following them going down. From Whitebeard's death to Blackbeard stealing the mans powers and Shanks appearing at the very end before they made it out. "Apart from that we don't know much else. We had to get you two out of there quickly to be treated quickly." He explained. They gave the man a couple minutes to take in the fact that his former captain and 'father' was dead.
Ace shed tears for a few minutes before the sadness was replaced by something else. Anger. "Teach… no, Blackbeard is responsible for all of this." He seethed. Parts of his body igniting in response to his anger.
"I hope you don't plan on going after him again." Naruto said getting his attention. Seeing the look in Ace's eyes he elaborated "You tried that once and look where it got you. You need to plan carefully otherwise next time you'll be in an even worse situation."
It may have sounded harsh but it was the truth and the man needed to hear it. Seeing that the atmosphere in the area had gone down Law took over.
"So what do you plan to do now?"
Ace took a minute to think before answering. "I'm going to look for my crew mates. Marco, Jozu, Vista, all of them. We'll figure it out from there."
"You can sail with us for a while, no doubt the marines will still be looking for you since you managed to get away." Luffy told him having been oddly quiet the whole time.
"That could be a good idea for now." Ace replied having mulled it over before turning back to Law and Naruto. "As for you guys, you two risked your lives for me and for that I owe you one. Should you ever need my help just let me know." He declared with the upmost seriousness.
Law reached into his pocket and tossed something to the former spade pirate. "A den den mushi?" The man asked.
"One of the reasons we were at Marineford was to try and secure an alliance with Whitebeard but the plan obviously changed." The captain replied.
"You two were a big part of the rescue." Luffy spoke "Kizaru destroyed the key I had to free Ace. Without you using your power I don't know how I'd have gotten him out of there." He added before he also took on a serious look. "If you're willing, the Straw Hat pirates are willing to form an alliance with the heart pirates."
Law and Naruto smirked, at least one thing came together. "Securing an alliance with you was also a goal." He replied before throwing a snail at him as well.
Naruto frowned and blinked multiple times as Law continued talking with Luffy. "How many snails do you carry around in your pocket?" He asked but was ignored. His question only elicited a chuckle from Ace who had heard the blond ask the question. Soon the conversation stopped as Boa Hancock appeared and threw herself onto Luffy asking if he was ok much to Ace's amusement and Naruto's silent envy.
Out at Sea
The word of Whitebeard's death had spread around the world quickly. The rise of Blackbeard and his crew was a hot topic among pirates and civilians alike. However, among a select few there was also another topic of importance being discussed.
Eustace 'captain' Kidd and his first mate Killer were seated at a table on the main deck of his ship, surrounded by his crew as they looked over a newspaper. "So Whitebeard is dead and Blackbeard stole his power. Not to mention Trafalgar Law and that damned Deathdealer made bigger names for themselves." He said angrily before slamming a knife onto the table. "We're falling behind!"
"What do you want to do?" Killer asked.
"We're gonna head to the New World. With one of the Yonko down the balance of power has shifted and I don't know what's going to happen. What I do know is that the heart pirates are going to become big players soon. I can feel it. Set sail to the New World!" He yelled getting a chorus of 'yeah' from his crew mates.
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On another ship out at sea, an older man in a well tailored black suit was standing at the edge of his own ship. His subordinates dressed in a similar manner standing behind him waiting for him to speak.
"It won't be long before the sea is swept into chaos. Pirates will soon be spilling blood over Whitebeard's territories." He said before taking a drag of his cigar. "Blackbeard will most likely try and capitalize on it and when he does, chances are he'll be joining the Yonko ranks. His actions at Marineford prove he'll be a threat in the future."
"One of the rookies was there as well father." One of his men commented handing him a newspaper.
Capone 'Gang' Bege took another puff of his cigar before taking the paper. He notices a picture of Trafalgar Law jumping off the scaffold with Ace. Another picture below it showing Naruto just after he had kicked the severed head of Gekko Moriah into the ocean.
"Those two will be a problem in the future as well. Trafalgar Law doesn't do things for no reason. He doesn't do things out of the goodness of his heart, he's planning something." He commented before focusing on Naruto's image.
"And his second in command, to kill a Shichibukai and come within seconds of killing Doflamingo. He's made quite the statement. Individually they're strong but together if not dealt with quickly…well let's just say your chances of survival are slim to none." Capone commented.
"What should we do father?" One of his men asked.
"Let's have our meal and then prepare to head to the New World." He ordered.
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"Captain Drake are you ok?" a man asked.
X Drake was standing on the main deck of his ship looking out towards the ocean as his men looked over the news that was the hottest topic in the world at the moment. He closed his eyes "Things at the Navy hq will never be the same."
His crew looked slightly confused by this. "What do you mean captain?"
"While Whitebeard did die they failed to execute Ace which can be seen as a loss on their part. Not only that but Blackbeard has shaken things up now that he's revealed to the world that he has two devil fruits under his control.
The navy will have to respond" He explained. Making sure everyone was paying attention he continued. "Also Trafalgar Law and the Deathdealer have shown their power. Their teamwork was over looked in favor of the Whitebeard and Akainu battle but if you paid attention you'd see they cut through everyone that got within feet of them. They've made themselves bigger targets for the marines." He finished.
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On another ship somewhere on the ocean a double elbowed man had a hand on his chin as he contemplated the current state of affairs. "What's going on now?" He asked out loud.
"What do you mean?" Asked a pirate.
"I'm talking about Trafalgar Law. Straw Hat Luffy and Ace are both future enemies. Law doesn't do things just because. He's got some ulterior motive for helping the two. Whatever he's planning it can't be good."
"We should kill him now before he get's too powerful." One of the men yelled out. Some of the pirates nodded having the same thought process.
"It'll be almost impossible right now. He has both Ace and Straw Hat plus the Deathdealer. Trying to take them on now would be suicide." Apoo replied.
"Yeah don't you remember, there was originally eighteen more rookies with bounties over a hundred million berri and one guy killed them all and happened to join up with Law." Another man told them.
Apoo stayed silent as he listened to his men talk amongst themselves. "We need to get stronger fast. Everyone seems to forget Law's devil fruit power makes him almost invincible. Aside from that the Deathdealer has fought against two admirals now and came out alive both times. Things will have to change in the New World."
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Another ship in the ocean had another crew discussing the same thing. A large winged man was listening as his 'fallen monk' pirates discussed the recent changes in the world.
"The key to all of this will be Blackbeard" He pitched in. "He has a strong crew plus the abilities of Whitebeard. There's no doubt about it, his crew will be the center of this storm for some time yet."
"So what's our plan going to be captain?" One of the men asks.
"We're going to need to gain strength and allies. Law is beating us all to it. Saving Straw Hat and Ace for whatever scheme he's up to and adding a big name like the Deathdealer to his crew. He's moving and we have to do the same."
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"Captain Hawkins what's wrong?" A man in a dark robe asked as his captain hadn't looked away from his cards.
"No matter how many times I go through the cards, Straw Hat Luffy and Ace's chances of survival never reach zero." He replied.
His crew sweat dropped as that's apparently all he was concerned with. One guy was going to ask how 'their' chances of survival was looking but ultimately held his tongue. He didn't want to get killed after all.
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Back with Naruto and Law, the group had finally set off again. Ace and Luffy had stayed behind as Rayleigh arrived at Amazon Lily having swam there of all ways possible. Most of the crew was inside, leaving them two to talk.
"So where to now?" Naruto asked leaning on one of the rails on the edge.
"No doubt everyone is heading to the New World by now. But we're gonna wait a little. We're gonna focus on getting into the Shichibukai." Law replied.
"Hmm. You never did say how you planned on doing that."
Law smirked "My method is one you should be familiar with. After all you used to make a living off of it before I found you."
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise "Bounty hunting."
"Yeah just a little different. We're not gonna kill them. We're just going to take their hearts and hand them over to the marines. One hundred or so should be just about enough." Law revealed.
"So where should we start?" Naruto asked. "Just know unless we get some big name pirate I'm not gonna be at one hundred percent since my hands are kind of burned."
"I know. It shouldn't be too stressful but we'll start back at Sabaody. There's always a good supply of pirates there."
Alright I'm going to go ahead and end it there. I know some of you will have noticed that Bonney didn't appear to give her thoughts. That's because she'll be seen next chapter and you'll get her thoughts and some good interaction with Naruto. As always if there's anything you guys wanna see feel free to let me know in a review or PM me. Later.