It is now time for me to begin the disclaimer! And, I...oh. Oh. Really? Yamato? Why are you here, and why now?

Yamato: I am Kozuki Oden!

No you're not. You want to be Oden. Do you have eigth-grander syndrome?

Yamato: What's that?

Never mind. I'm guessing you're here to do the disclaimer?

Yamato: That is right! Author-san does not own One Piece, Naruto, or any characters created by other artists/authors!

In hindsight, maybe Coby should never have left the Alvida pirates' ship.

Sure, he hated it, hated being Alvida's punching bag, loathed being forced into piracy against his will – admittedly to all who heard the story, it was hilarious, however; he resented the fact that no one came for him when he was away, that the Marines never got to liberate him from his personal hell. However, Alvida provided stability. Clean and shine her ship, clean, and shine her shoes, clean and shine her ego. Maybe not so literally but having to call a massive woman whose guttural voice ripped through calm and silence usually found on the seas the most beautiful woman in the world amounted to nothing else lent him to many a sarcastic opinion, though he would not dare to voice it. It was a routine, Coby lamented, that he had become familiar in and found some perverse comfort within.

The first disruption came when three of the Alvida pirates lost their heads in front of his very eyes.

Then, was the sheer gall of the boy with rubber powers.

Seeing a one-hundred and thirty million Berry bounty in the flesh.

Now, an utter perversion of his dream – he wanted to be a Marine, but Axe-Hand Morgan – he was despicable! He, as a Marine, was supposed to serve and protect the people under his jurisdiction! Yet, he behaved no better than a pirate! That was not the sort of marine he wanted to be; Coby decided.

As Luffy and Boruto had begun their rampages throughout the Marine base, Coby moved up to Zoro's cross, where he was still hanging.

"Oi, oi, what are you doing?" Zoro asked as Coby began to fiddle with the knots tying him to the cross. "You'll be killed for doing that, you know!"

"I can't bear to watch the Marines act like this anymore. I want to be an honourable Marine, not…someone like Morgan!"

"I can't go!" Zoro insisted hotly, as much as his bonds and hunger let him. "I still have to stay here for ten more days!"

"You won't have those ten more days! Helmeppo's going to have you executed tomorrow; he never intended on honouring your deal!"

Zoro stared in shock. So that bastard never planned on honouring their deal?

"Luffy got angry and punched him," Coby continued. "And Boruto did something which scared the Marines around him away. The Marines are after them! Please help them out!"

As Coby kept trying to unravel the ropes binding Zoro, he still remained silent, his impassive gaze still staring into the horizon.

"Those two are the only ones who can save you, but you're the only one who can help them now!" Surely Luffy and Boruto were strong, but against a Marine captain and an entire base, could they emerge victorious? Coby had his doubts, nonetheless.

However, he would not have the opportunity to secure Zoro's release, for many Marine soldiers, all in the standard sailor uniform, aimed their rifles – appearing to be an older make than the standard .338 Justice-giver rifle commonly seen in the grander line – towards both Zoro and Coby. Seemingly commanding the troops was a Marine of rather average stature and the standard uniform, albeit with an ascot in a lighter green rather than the navy-blue standard expected of the Marine sailors. However, even more strange was that this was an officer, raising the question of the absence of the "Justice" coat, or any similar equivalent, from his back.

"That's him, commander Ripper!" A Marine with his rifle aimed at Coby pointed out. "He's trying to untie the prisoner!"

"I see." The now named Ripper noted. Turning to Zoro and Coby, he began to speak. "Unfortunately, it is against the orders of the Captain to assist prisoners. However, if you submit peacefully and quietly, I may be able to spare your lives."

Zoro chuckled. It was a dry chuckle, no mirth hidden within. "I've never submitted to anyone. And I have no plans to do so now."

Coby was far less amused. These Marines…just looking at them made him angry! "You're all a bunch of cowards!" He finally bellowed out. "I used to look up to all of you! How you worked to defend justice and protect innocent people and caught bad guys! But right now, you're no better than pirate scum, letting Morgan and his son run around scaring the people! You're all spineless cowards!"

"Orders are orders." Ripper tried to seize control of the situation. "And you are aiding a criminal, are you not?"

"What crime has he committed?" Coby bluntly asked. He was already emotionally spent; he had no more patience for the Marines of the 153rd Branch and their 'bullshit'.

Ripper paused to think of an answer before he gave a clipped reply. "Does it matter? He is still a criminal." He signalled to his men. "Aim!"

A brief pause occurred as the remaining Marine soldiers moved to align their rifle sights towards Zoro and Coby.

"Fire!"

However, before the Marines could pull the trigger, a hulking form began to fall from the sky, landing on the ground with a massive thud, launching a great dust cloud into the air. Not long after, a distinctive chuckle rang from the cloud.

"Shishishishi!" Luffy jumped down between the Marines and Zoro as the cloud began to dissipate to reveal Captain Morgan. However, he was nothing like his majestic self; he was barely breathing and hurting all over, struggling to move his bulk as the impact with the ground shattered many a bone. Such an impact would have killed lesser men of lesser stature, but Morgan could always be proud of his iron endurance and physique.

"YOU ACCURSED NINJA!" Morgan let out an unholy yell of rage, as he attempted to find Boruto, to no success. There were the Marines, that irreverent Straw-Hat bastard, and the traitors in the courtyard who dared defy him. However, that ninja, who destroyed his axe-hand and left him for dead; he was next, to be killed, to become an addendum to Morgan's legacy of greatness. "COME OUT, THAT I MAY KILL YOU MYSELF!"

"Why would shinobi reveal themselves to fight in the open?" Boruto's voice seemed to originate from everywhere in the base. Morgan blindly swung, hoping to hit him somehow, though it pained him to do it; this was a despicable pirate who dared to defy him and his greatness, no matter how dangerous he was; he would be dying today!

Meanwhile, Luffy took the swords he retrieved from Helmeppo's room, three katana blades; two of which were quite plain-looking with matte midnight-black scabbards, and one which sported a pure white colour scheme. Having bundled them up together, he moved to hand the bundle to Zoro. Unfortunately, it seemed the remaining Marines had decided to act on their orders, and multiple volleys of bullets accompanied by countless wisps of black smoke and many a BANG-BANG-BANG were sent at Coby, Zoro and Luffy.

I can't die here, Zoro thought. Not now, not when I'm so far away…

The bullets never hit him. Nor did they hit Coby, for that matter. Instead, Luffy had places his own body in front of the two to tank the impact of the bullets. Yet there was no blood, nor any bullet hole; rather, the bullets bounced off Luffy's body, not having any impact. "That won't work!" he laughed, especially at the flabbergasted faces shown by the Marine soldiers.

"The stretching, and now this…W-what the hellare you?" Zoro stuttered out. He had seen many things, but such weirdness? It was too much, even for him.

"I'm Luffy!" Luffy said with such force and conviction. "The man who will become the Pirate King!"

"Pirate King?" Zoro was quite astonished, his mouth agape. "Do you even know what that means?"

"Pirate King means Pirate King! What else would it mean?" Letting out a toothy chuckle, Luffy handled the sword bundle to Zoro. "Which is yours? I couldn't tell, I just brought all three."

"They're all mine." Zoro answered, wiggling his arms within the confines of the rope. "I use a three-sword style of swordsmanship."

"You'll take them, right?" Luffy asked. "If we fight together now, you'll become a government defying villain! Would you prefer that, or being killed by the Marines like this?"

Though Zoro was annoyed by Luffy's words, he did not show it on his face, instead sporting a grin. "What are you, the devil's son? But isn't your friend handling most of the action, anyway?"

"Boruto was kind enough to let us fight the rest of the base! Shishishishi!"

"Fine." Zoro looked quite resigned. "If I'm just going to die here instead, then I'll be your pirate!"

"Woohoo! So, you'll join our crew! This is great! Alright! Alright!"

"Okay, NOW HELP ME OUT OF THESE STUPID ROPES ALREADY!" Zoro cried, irritated.

The remaining Marines were awed. "What is he?" Ripper did not know either; he could not answer his men. Morgan might have been able to, but no one wanted to ask him anything or for anything, and even so he was in no condition to do so.

Morgan, by now, was heavily panting, on one knee, coughing up quite a bit of blood. His steel jaw was no longer there; it had been knocked off around the time when Zoro gave his verbal assent. That sneaky criminal, he seethed, where was he? As he tried to find that elusive ninja, Luffy was still struggling with the ropes tying Zoro up.

"Hurry, hurry!" Coby kept urging, though it seemed that Luffy's efforts rather made the bound Zoro even more uncomfortable, as it appeared that his handling made the ropes much tighter.

This, whilst the Marine soldiers had now switched to drawing cutlass swords and began charging towards the three. "GIVE ME A DAMN SWORD!" Zoro yelled, visibly irritated at Luffy's tomfoolery.

"LUFFY!" Coby screamed. A cry for help, given the hopeful inflections within the tone. He didn't want to die here just yet, not like this!

His death was not to come yet, for none of the sword blades struck him down. Rather, they would meet the steel of Zoro's own katana swords, the standard issue saber contrasting with the straight blade hamon of the white sword held tightly in his mouth. Zoro's other two swords, each held in his arms, did the same thing: holding the remaining Marine blades at bay.

"Move, and you're dead." The Marines felt compelled to comply; Zoro was fearsome!

He turned his attention back to Luffy. "Now that I've fought and defied the Marines, I'm a criminal. I'll honour my word and be your pirate. But I will tell you this right now!"

Luffy just titled his head.

"You know my dream! And I'm joining your crew only to help fulfill that dream, to become the World's Greatest Swordsman! If I wind up having to abandon that dream, you had better accept responsibility, and pay with your life!"

"The Pirate King would accept nothing less on his crew!" Luffy laughed heartily as he motioned for Zoro to duck, before swinging his leg back, stretching it out as it swung towards the mass of Marines.

"Gomu Gomu no Muchi!" Luffy cried, the leg technique certainly acting like its namesake whip, striking and scattering the many Marines who had been summoned by Ripper. Sprawled along the ground, these Marines began to try and get up, however, they found themselves either beset by multiple fists being launched from stretching limbs or threatened by the wickedly sharp blades of Zoro's swords as they were swung.

Morgan tried to get up. He would not fall here, and nor would his Marines! Though the soldiers who performed so dismally and showed weakness – that was unacceptable behaviour! He would deal with them later, but the more immediate threat was still to be dealt with. That accursed Uzumaki Boruto…he would have to send the Vice-Admiral a bottle of fine sake to express his condolences later; that accursed scumbag was to die!

However, those musings would remain dreams, as Boruto had finally reappeared, sword drawn again, lightning sparks running throughout the blade length.

"Sword Art: Light Fang Strike!"

The lightning blade pierced through Morgan's heart, exiting through his back; Boruto, letting the lightning fully discharge from the blade, left it in Morgan's body as he jumped to where Luffy and Zoro were, the two pirates standing victorious over many Marine soldiers. Only commander Ripper and about a section worth of soldiers, perhaps nine or ten (it was hard to really tell) were in any condition to fight. Yet they did not seem particularly willing to do so anymore. Morgan was dead; his tyranny would finally be gone!

Where, though, was Coby?

The question would be answered as Helmeppo revealed himself, having put a pistol to Coby's temple, whilst holding his neck by his own elbow. He looked quite distraught; tears were rolling down his face and his eyes looked rather red – a pale red, not the crimson of blood nor the vermilions oft-seen in many art pieces.

"Surrender yourselves or he gets it!" Helmeppo snarled, acting quite unusually wrathful. Morgan never really showed much fatherly affection to him, and had earlier, arguably, threatened his life; not even the Marines still awake could understand why he appeared to genuinely mourn the Captain. Indeed, Helmeppo's actions looked to be more of a false bravado; his legs kept shaking as his knees continued to knock together, though amazingly the flintlock held to Coby's head remained quite steady.

Zoro and Boruto both said nothing, the former sheathing his swords and the latter moving to remove his own from Morgan's corpse.

"One funny move, and I'll shoot!"

Luffy only responded with a toothy grin.

This seemed to steel Coby again; his earlier shaking and chattering ceased upon seeing the smile. There was just something about that smile of Luffy's, he reminisced, that it held quite the power; it would inspire you to dream and dream big; you would be pressed to find yourself a conviction; you could even stare down death in the face, Coby mused, having been spurred on with such a smile. Most certainly, Coby determined, that was what he would now do!

"Luffy! I don't want to get in the way of your dream! Even if it means dying!"

"I know! Give it up, shitty son! Coby is really ready to die, and unafraid!"

Helmeppo found himself eating a punch to the face as Coby ducked; he seemed unable to fire the shot. He lay on the ground, sprawled, barely breathing.

The Marines who were still alert began gaping, before tossing their weapons up in the air. They were free from Morgan's corrupt rule at last! No more kowtowing to that stupid son of his, nor cowering and living in fear of their superior officer. Forget about trying to arrest those pirates, had protocol not forbidden it, the Marines would have lavished upon their pirate saviours a massive banquet!

Cries of "we're free!", "Morgan's gone!", "really?" and "I can't believe it!" began to spread through the base and the entire town, as Zoro, hunger finally catching up to him, collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.

It was not often that Food Foo offered promotions, much less eating for free. Yet that was the very reception which greeted Luffy, Zoro, Boruto and Coby as they gorged themselves on the feast offered by the grateful townsfolk. Even Ririka had to be recruited again by her mother and daughter to assist in sating the appetite of the pirate crew – one that even led its members to a state of disbelief.

"How the heck could you have a larger appetite than me?" Zoro, bewildered, questioned Luffy.

Luffy, ignoring him, turned to Coby. "Tastes good, does it?"

Nodding in affirmation, Coby bashfully turned to granny Risuka, who was serving up a plate of burgers – no sides, but each burger was topped with quite an abundant amount of beef, flame-grilled and fresh vegetables – to Boruto, who began munching on them in earnest.

"It's no problem!" Risuka chortled! "You all saved the town! This is the least we can do. We'll make the costs of the food back again, now that Morgan's gone and the folk will begin to come back!"

Zoro, beginning to gulp down a cup of rice wine, suddenly turned towards Boruto. "How many others have you gathered beside me for your crew? You guys did say you were in the middle of gathering a crew to make our new captain," he jerked a thumb at Luffy, "the Pirate King. Surely, you must have a good number gathered."

Boruto chuckled. "Nope. I'm the first mate, and he's the captain. You're the first one we've recruited so far."

"HUH? Just us three?"

"Pirate crews have to start somewhere!" Boruto laughed.

"At least tell me you have a ship. Please." Zoro did not beg, though hints of it bled into his tone.

Luffy, overhearing it, pointed at a small sailboat, the same one they had procured to sail into Shells town. "That one!"

"That."

"We're working on getting a new ship." By now, Boruto had finished his plate of burgers, and giving thanks, handed his plates, neatly stacked, to Rika, who was just managing to balance the entire stack.

"Not that Boruto will need one, when he can walk on water!" Luffy smiled. "But we'll get one this big," he stretched his arms upwards, "before long!"

"You can walk on water." Zoro turned back to Boruto.

"Yes?"

"How."

"He's a ninja!"

"Ninja? Hmm." Zoro let out a smile. "That explains how you ran up the walls of the base earlier, doesn't it? Show us some ninjutsu sometime."

"You mean other than the Rasengan and the lightning blade techniques?" Boruto sighed. "Honestly, I got bugged by Luffy all day long before we started this pirate crew to show him ninjutsu, and now you're doing the same thing." He put his palms on his face, head bent slightly downwards. "Goodness, this is going to be a recurring thing whenever we recruit new crew members, isn't it?"

"Why the fuck were you not the captain instead of this dumbass?" Zoro looked resigned. Rika giggled, though Ririka looked aghast. Using such coarse language in front of her daughter! The nerve of these pirates, she thought, though Risuka motioned for her to let it go. Rika would learn what they were saying anyway, she had always said. Would it not be more useful to teach her right from wrong, with the knowledge of such? To this day, no one has really found a satisfactory answer to this question.

"Hey, hey!" Rika spoke up. "Where are you guys gonna go to now?"

Luffy finished placing a piece of food into his mouth. "The Grand Line, of course!"

At this time, a contingent of Marines began to enter the building. Or, more accurately, the Marine contingent stationed themselves just outside the entrance to the restaurant, with only commander Ripper – relatively unscathed from the earlier entanglement – entering the base.

"Is it true that you are pirates?" He attempted to confirm. What sort of question was that, Boruto thought. He was a famous pirate. Luffy mentioned his dream to become Pirate King publicly for the Marines to hear many times. Even Zoro declared he would become a pirate. Why bother seeking confirmation, Boruto thought, when you already had it?

"Yep!" Luffy absentmindedly replied. "We gained a member and we're now an official pirate group!"

"We appreciate that you saved our base and this town from Morgan! However," Ripper adjusted his cap, "knowing that you are pirates, we, as the Marines, cannot simply stand by quietly! Please leave this town at once!"

Zoro and Boruto began to tense, hands reaching towards their swords. Luffy, however, merely smiled.

"Out of obligation, we will refrain from contacting Headquarters."

This did not sit well with the remaining populace of Shells town, many which had begun to gather outside Food Foo, many looking through the windows, others jostling between Marine soldiers in an attempt to see what was going on.

"How can you talk like that?"

"Even you were scared of him!"

"Weren't you supposed to protect us?"

"We owe them our lives!"

To the Marines' credit, they did not flinch, nor move to retaliate at all. Luffy, nonetheless, simply began to get up from the wooden chair he had been sitting on. "Guess it's time for us to go anyway! Thanks for the food, granny!", receiving a hearty chuckle from old Risuka in response, who began consoling her distraught granddaughter.

Coby stayed standing as Boruto strode past him; Ripper did not ignore this. "Aren't you part of their crew?" He inquired. Best to be sure; he didn't want pirates to stay and cause trouble.

"Eh? I'm…" this was his chance! He wanted to say it. He wanted to be a Marine. However, he couldn't let the words out. Why couldn't he?

"Is he?"

Luffy was about to exit the restaurant as he turned around. "Not exactly," he began, "but I know what he's been doing before. See there was this fat old hag Ahiruda…"

"Ahiruda?" Zoro whispered.

"He means Alvida." Boruto hissed back. "We left her to drown somewhere, I think."

By now, Luffy was back beside Coby, poking his finger on Coby's temple. "He was her…"

Coby never let Luffy finish his sentence as he smashed a right hook into Luffy's cheeks, and in response, Luffy began hammering him with fast strikes to the head. Was it really necessary? Certainly, Luffy did not really feel the impact, for Coby was still quite scrawny, and most definitely did not possess the bulk nor power needed for a powerful punch. Moreover, he was a Rubber man! Only Grandpa's Fists of Love hurt him. Luffy shivered subconsciously as he thought of his grandfather, though that was stopped upon Ripper's voice ringing out again.

"It is very clear that you aren't crew mates!" He bellowed. "Leave this town at once! We won't tolerate pirates causing any trouble here!"

Coby, lying on the ground, could only wail in his mind as Luffy and his small pirate crew fully exited the restaurant. He…he did all of that on purpose. So I could achieve my dream, Coby realised, dejected. He really did have to rely on Luffy and Boruto for everything, didn't he? To save him from Alvida, to save him from himself, to achieve his dream…

Getting up, as he began to stand, facing Commander Ripper's back, he decided. He would take the next step forward, though it felt like the first step all over again! Otherwise, how would he ever achieve his dreams?

"I…wish to join the Marines!"

Ripper turned around at this declaration. This kid…the Marines could use men like him, men with a sense of justice, dedicated to upholding peace, law and order. He seemed to be scrawny, Ripper noted, but that could be changed. Now, how to…

"Commander, I am against this!" A marine soldier to his right, quite burly, perhaps his only really distinguishing feature, protested. "Pirates have been known to plant spies amongst Marines! We should conduct a background check…" he did not finish, for Coby interrupted again.

"It's been my dream since I was little! I will become a Marine officer, no matter what!"

Internally, Ripper was quite impressed, though he decided to perform one more test. To him, conviction was good, but how long could it last? Even Morgan, before he became the tyrant he was, held justice in high esteem as well. Walking towards and past Coby, he began to speak again.

"We have lost many of our fellow men to pirates. A Marine's life is not easy, not at all. Are you prepared? To risk your life?"

"I am!"

"Then, permission to enlist, is…granted!"

"Yes, sir!"

"That was a pretty lame act," Zoro commented as the nascent pirate crew walked along the main alley towards the harbour of Shells Town. "I wouldn't be shocked if they saw through it."

"As long as Coby can join, it's good enough." Boruto gave his own opinion whilst he moved to prepare the boat to leave. Just as Luffy prepared to board the ship, his attention was caught for a final moment.

"Luffy!" There was Coby, along with Ririka bringing Rika with her (Granny Risuka still had to run the restaurant herself, so she unfortunately could not farewell the young pirates) at the harbour. "Thank you! I'll never forget all you've done for me! For helping me achieve my dream!"

"I've never heard of a pirate being thanked by a Marine, much less saluting one!" Zoro was bewildered. Since when did that happen? Never mind, he thought, as the sail unfurled, and the small boat began to depart.

"Let's meet sometime again, Coby!"

As Luffy bade Shells town goodbye, Coby felt the presence of many men behind him. What…who was there?

"All hands, salute!"

It was commander Ripper and a great many of the Marines at the base, all holding a salute towards the retreating ship as it became a speck on the horizon. Ripper, still holding his salute, looked towards Coby's astonished face.

"That's a very good friend you have there." He allowed himself to smile, as Coby's own eyes began to water.

"Yes, sir!" he affirmed.

Ripper began to speak again. "Our salute just now has violated the laws of the Marines! Therefore, we will all go without food for a week! Understood?"

"SIR!" the Marines party to this had responded. However, their jolly mood brought about by the fall of their late captain would dissipate far more quickly than they had expected.

"COMMANDER! COMMANDER!" Yet another Marine came running from the base, looking quite huffed and puffed; his sweat dripping onto the ground continuously, his face flushed with a pale red, gasping for breath.

"What is it?"

"You have to see this!" Saying no more, he handed a piece of paper over. When Ripper looked at it, his face began to show his distress.

"What have we done?"

G-U base was always quite busy.

After all, it was commonly thought of as the next strongest Marine base in the Grand Line other than Marineford, and for good reason; the 'Whirlpool Ten', as the ten other vice-admirals and rear-admirals under the purview of vice-admiral Uzumaki Naruto were known, were considered to be some of the more elite fighters of the Marine Force. Laxus Dreyar was by far the strongest of the ten, though it did not mean that Gajeel Redfox, Inuzuka Kiba, Panther Lily nor Bickslow were slouches, either.

As such, G-U base was often called on to respond to and eliminate Pirates attempting to cause mayhem in the New World – not near the territory of the remaining Emperors; though one would find many a G-U marine soldier speaking with pride of the Totto land campaign, it would be quite a bit of time before they would be sent out to do such a thing again.

The organisation in general was not ready to cope with the consequences of the fall of another Emperor of the Sea – not when there were still two more, and the number of potential contenders to achieve such a position, such as the fast-growing crews of the White Snake and Red Dawn Pirates, who each began to whittle out their own corners in the New World; the Three Crown Princes of Totto Land, though many observers would agree that Charlotte Katakuri appeared to hold the upper hand at the moment over his remaining siblings, making him the likeliest to succeed his late mother; nothing would have really changed.

Nonetheless, the waters around G-U were the safest in the New World to this day, from the many ills that preyed upon many an island in the Grand Line. Even with one of the Whirlpool Ten on leave or absent, this still proved true; the remaining nine were still just as capable.

It was this situation which Vice-Admiral Hoshigaki Shizuma found himself in.

Unlike the vast majority of the Whirlpool Ten, Hoshigaki Shizuma, like Panther Lily, was not human by nature. Rather, he was a fish-man – a tiger shark fish-man, to be precise, though his family did appear to have quite the amount of surface contact – he kept his old 'MARINE' headband with him, a memento of his clan's shinobi past, though he could only access few chakra-based techniques. It wasn't much of a problem, anyway, not when he was extremely skilled at Fish-man Karate, although that was not his primary source of strength. Rather, Shizuma was one of the few individuals capable of wielding the Samehada blade – one of the Supreme Grade Swords, if one could call it a sword, really, as it did not in any way look close to a sharp weapon. Rather, Samehada was alive. Instead of a sword blade and sharp edge, it consisted of a beast – yes, that was a most apt description coated in many a dull blue scale not unlike serrated razor teeth, and there were numerous such scales on the blade, which grew with chakra consumption – his own, really, for the most part (it should be said, however, Samehada was not picky with its diet in energies, it could, according to Shizuma, stomach Devil Fruit energy and Haki, though it often loathed the taste of Busoshoku Haki); the sword's fearsome reputation arising from the bloodthirsty manner with which it devastated entire squadrons of men – as uncle Kisame had put it, before he had taken the sword from him, "Samehada doesn't cut – it shreds!"

Walking into the vice-admirals' lounge, a spacious room filled with a few couches and ornate tables decorated with many an engraved flower into the wood, he plopped down onto one, slightly sinking in. In the room with him was an older man, perhaps about fifteen or so years older, the 'Justice' coat he wore overlaying a deep maroon button-up shirt and dulled brown pants, contrasting with Shizuma's own dulled breast-plate and dark grey trousers. His aura exuded power and serenity, almost as one was in awe standing near him. This was not very surprising, for vice-admiral Gaara, known to be second only to Laxus Dreyar amongst the Whirlpool Ten, was a monster in terms of strength. The terrifying power of the Juuin Juuin no Mi (Curse-Curse fruit), though only realisable in the hands of an able user, could manifest the will of the user on many a hapless victim, in addition to the myriad of punishments inflicted before by Gaara's curse seals.

It was whispered amongst many Marines at G-U base that Gaara's old master was the one to educate him on the potential of his own Devil Fruit, though none would have any idea where to seek him, or even being certain of his existence. For the individual thought to be his teacher was the One-Tailed Tanuki Shukaku, whose whereabouts are still not known, as Kurama would refuse to say anything more about his annoying 'little brother'.

As Shizuma sat down, he found his attention drawn to the newspaper held in Gaara's hands.

"What do you have there?"

Looking up, his eerie, pupil-less green eyes staring into Shizuma's own, Gaara answered, "today's newspaper."

"I know that," Shizuma drawled, "I meant, were there any events of significance which happened in that paper?"

"You just want an excuse for Naruto to send you on another mission."

"Hey, Boss is cool with me butchering them pirates when they're unrepentant bastards."

How exactly Shizuma, perhaps the most ruthless and bloodthirsty vice-admiral at G-U base, become such a trusted confidant of Uzumaki Naruto was a question that left many outside observers befuddled; it appeared, at first glance, that Shizuma was the antithesis of 'Merciful Justice', for his bloodlust was said to be unrivalled amongst the many Marine men. Some supposed that Shizuma was the very representation of the 'Merciful Justice' policy, having himself been a former petty thug from the Fish-man district; others whispered that Uzumaki Naruto had simply been the first to say yes when Shizuma came to give his life to justice and government; still others would believe that Shizuma was recruited specifically because of his desire for death, to be deployed when 'Merciful Justice' was rejected.

Whatever the case, the fish-man officer had been a pioneer; his own ascension to the ranks led to a massive rise in the number of fish-men Marines at G-U base. Much loved by his comrades, human and fish-man alike, he owed the Boss everything, he supposed. Unlike his uncle…

Gaara, skimming through the newspaper, merely grunted in acknowledgement. "Nothing of note in the Grand Line where we are, although…hmm, Sudak Pirates annihilated."

"Who did it?"

"Naruto's daughter. Himawari destroyed the entire armada."

"Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say. It was a shame, though, I wanted to do it myself."

"Shizuma."

"What? They're some of the worst devils on this sea!"

Gaara only gave him a look. They were already dead, no need to discuss this further.

"Well, Shizuma, let's see…hmm, Charlotte Katakuri retakes Cacao island from Charlotte Smoothie…"

"We all know that Katakuri's going to win this civil war."

"We do not know for certain."

"Please. You know this. I know this. The Boss knows this." Shizuma drawled. "Katakuri has always been the strongest of the Big Mom Pirates' sweet commanders. That asshole gave us the most trouble during our Totto land campaign, remember?"

"I do not really recall that."

"Oh, that's right." Shizuma punched his palm with an enclosed fist. "You were part of the diversion force. You didn't have to deal with him. Besides, you're not reading that rag World Economy News, are you?"

"I don't trust anything Morgans puts in his newspaper." Gaara replied. "This is World Guardian." He returned to leafing through the newspaper. "Hmm…still no sign of Shiki…"

"HQ could have told us to deal with the situation." Shizuma muttered. "Those morons at the other Branch Bases have no idea what they're doing."

Before Shizuma could continue his rant, the door to the lounge opened again, revealing a blue-haired woman. Beneath her Marine coat, she wore a knee-high dress coat, a midnight black, adorned with four symmetrically placed buttons on the chest, resembling stars across a night sky. The coat was garnished with fur trimmings around her sleeve cuffs and neck, though which type of fur could not be immediately determined, however, it did have some resemblance to either arctic wolf or polar bear. Wearing a matching, dark, Russian-style hat instead of the commonplace 'MARINE' cap, her hat was stylized with a light-colored butterfly clip, attached to the fur trimming garnishing her hat. The clip itself did not seem to be anything special, save for perhaps the detail put into engraving it; there were no gemstones embedded into the butterfly. Her outfit was completed with a light brown belt around her waist and complimenting, dark brown, thigh-high boots.

Vice-admiral Juvia Lockser was an enigma by nature. Even her own devil fruit should not exist, such that the scientist Vegapunk, upon setting his sights on its effects, had named it a 'fruit of contradiction'. For though Devil Fruit users were known to be hated by the sea, losing their power upon encountering the ocean, Juvia's own Bota-Bota no Mi (Drop-Drop fruit) was one defying the central limitation of Devil Fruits. Allowing the eater to create, control and transform into freshwater, it was a world-defying Logia fruit. However, seawater, instead of simply immobilising the eater, became lethal to the touch of the user, for perhaps, as Vegapunk theorised, the contradiction would then become 'broken'.

Certainly, she was strong. Moreover, she was loved by the officers and the rank-and-file. Their kindness was not left unreciprocated, though towards all but Naruto, she was much more distant. For some reason, it seemed (there was most definitely a tale behind this, though it is a very sad tale, one best left for another time), Juvia had taken to calling him 'Naruto-sama' quite often and could be spotted daydreaming in the middle of her office, before snapping herself out of it, forcing herself to resume her duties. Some Marine soldiers would often whisper to each other, claiming they would hear her berate herself, saying that "he's still mourning! But Juvia wants to make him happy…"

Thankfully, Naruto was still oblivious to such events.

Sitting down in a lounge chair as she greeted Shizuma and Gaara, she began to pour tea – and wasn't she methodical, having prepared some hot tea ahead of time, beginning to sip at it from a fine china cup.

"…alright, let's see if there's anything else of note…Capone Bege begins his piracy career, Five Families in flux…"

"Juvia believes that the West Blue Marines need significant help if they could not handle someone like that."

"Unfortunately," Shizuma mockingly drawled, "the higher-ups believe that we need to put all our resources into defending the Grand Line. Bah! And they would have us sit by as the pirates rampage…"

"Juvia believes it is stupid. Naruto-sama has made this point clear to the higher-ups so many times…"

Gaara gave them a look, and the two ceased their exchange. Finally, one article caught his eye more forcefully than the others.

"What is it?"

"Juvia wants to know too."

Gaara said nothing, merely handing over the paper to the other two vice-admirals.

"Oh!" Shizuma began to laugh. "Well, things have certainly begun to become interesting!"

"Juvia wonders if Naruto-sama knows about this yet."

"The Bossman definitely knows at this point. But what will Laxus say?"

"Didn't Laxus go somewhere else? Juvia doesn't remember seeing him recently."

"Naruto did say something about granting him a request. He didn't say much else, however." Gaara noted, his arms now folded as Juvia and Shizuma began to pass the newspaper back-and-forth, hoping to scour for clues that the other might have missed.

Captain Elfman Strauss started off his day quite smoothly.

Apparently, a pirate vessel had stupidly (and in such an unmanly manner, as well) decided to challenge the flotilla of the 99th division. Naturally, as a man, he had handled it quite quickly and efficiently, the pirate galleon sinking to the bottom of the Grand Line. Who were the pirates willing to do something so unmanly such as declaring that these Marines were outnumbered and had to prepare to surrender? Elfman did not need to know. They were unmanly, having become pirate scum who preyed upon the weak and innocent. As such, he did the manly thing.

The W.G.S. Beast-tamer was not the Hakuja, though the ships were quite similar in make, design and modification; however, it was his ship. His! And it was, in its own way, very manly.

His fond remembrance of the morning's events was interrupted by a shrill shout –

"Big Bro Elf!"

His second-in-command of the ship, Commander Lisanna Strauss, soon stopped running, newspaper held in her hand – a hand she kept outstretched, even as she began huffing and puffing – she forgot to use her Devil Fruit to help, it seemed, perhaps the news was that shocking.

Elfman realised just how true that was as he read the paper and saw just what his little sister had been referring to.

"Himawari's definitely not going to be happy about this."

Himawari snarled as the newspaper in her hands began to burn and crumble. "So, he finally showed himself, did he?"

Issho only kept slurping his soba noodles as the two sat together in the central cabin of the Hakuja. "Providence has finally made its move, hmm? It seems the die is finally cast."

Sitting next to him, was his beloved die, a red dot on the one face looking to the sky.

In Marineford, one could find many Marine officers in their offices, doing many different things. Most common to any office at headquarters would be a large work of calligraphy, with a motto painstakingly written by brush, designed to remain for eternity. Such was the requirement, for often these works of calligraphy would be a representation of justice; just as justice was to be eternal, so, too, should the words written remain eternal.

One such office contained the words 'Thorough Justice' written in Kanji, hung up behind the desk of the Marine occupying it. The office was quite empty save for the desk, a small bonsai tree tucked away in a corner, and the large Marine reclining in his chair at the desk, reading the newspaper. This Marine was quite tall, much taller than the average man (close to about double their height, actually, if he were another head taller), and very muscular. Wearing a standard 'MARINE' cap and a crimson, double-breasted suit left unbuttoned to reveal the edges of a large, black tattoo and the collar of a vermillion shirt, he looked, especially with his stocky, square face and always scowling expression, to be very menacing.

As he read the newspaper, one of his cheeks began to glow a reddish orange. Magma began to ooze from it, though he quickly willed it to stop, as he did not wish to burn through another desk by accident. Admiral 'Akainu' Sakazuki set his mouth in a grim expression as he gazed at the offending article.

"So, you've finally returned to the great scheme of things, hmm?"

Getting up, he let the newspaper drop down to the ground as he began to walk out of his office.

"So, this is what it has come to. A very promising Marine cadet, now becoming the penultimate embarrassment to his father."

As the newspaper settled to the ground, the offending article, thankfully left unsinged, was revealed for the world to take note.

CAPTAIN MORGAN DEAD, UZUMAKI BORUTO IS BACK.

By Lucy Heartfilia

The World was in for a shock today as news reports from the East Blue point to the re-emergence of a threat previously believed to have been eliminated. Uzumaki Boruto, a notorious pirate with a 130,000,000 Berry bounty, made his first appearance to the wider world in over seven years, during which time he had remained in hiding. Though it was not known what he was doing, he seemed intent on sending the world a message, having murdered Captain 'Axe-hand' Morgan, known for his capture of 'Thousand Plans' Kuro, the Captain of the Black Cat Pirates.

A Marine spokesperson from the base confirmed the deed but refused to say any further. "This is classified information for your safety. We apologise that we cannot reveal any more information, however, if Uzumaki Boruto realises that such information was released, your life may be in great danger."

The Marines warn the public to be vigilant. "If you see him, please notify the nearest Marine base immediately. Please do not attempt to engage him directly, as he is very dangerous. We do not want to see bounty hunters foolishly challenge him. His skills are very powerful, and his bounty is well-earned."

Further tales from the Marine base seem to suggest that Captain Morgan, before his death, had been involved in corruption and abuse of power during his tenure at the 153rd Branch Base. "He forced us to pay him ever-increasing amounts of tribute far greater than the levies the World Government applies and used much of it to commission a statue of himself." A restaurant owner told this reporter.

We can only speculate just why Uzumaki Boruto chose to make his re-introduction to world here, and what message he had decided to send to the world.

Please Read and Review! And I suppose the first SBS material has come in! (Not really, but I want to try this.)

R: So will this be following Boruto's journey with snippets from the other Uzumakis?

That is a very good question, and the answer is...for quite a bit of it, really. There will definitely be some Naruto-centric story arcs, however! We don't yet know that much about his past here just yet; where are the other tailed beasts, what was his childhood like, just what happened on the Totto Land Campaign. So I am definitely planning on writing a large chunk of Naruto's journey in the future, but right now, yes, it is a bit more Boruto centric at the start, but we will see that there is a story-based reason for this.