Welcome folks, another update coming at you, this time for Boundless Opportunity. We are moving along pretty rapidly and doing a bit of time skipping but soon we'll be plodding along at a steady pace with the full crew. Till then though we have the Alabasta arc to still cover so lets get that underway. Sadly no real action on this chapter as it is a buildup with some reveals between Naruto and Robin. That being said, next chapter will be the start of some violence. Some involving the StrawHats themselves too. First a brief segment about the poll I posted and the typical blurb about the server I can typically be found on.

Alright, so the poll was a great success. Thanks everyone for your input, I have taken it into account. Now you'll notice no results. That is on purpose, I want to only reveal which we are going with once we get to that point of the story.

Lastly I want to invite you folks to a discord server hosted by AizenTheGoat. It's a big community that is pretty much active at all times of the day and night and a lot of different writers from across fanfiction can be found there. I would love it if you came to give it a try. A link can be found right here→ /dV9hH5zd5F


Chapter Four

Trouble Converging on Whiskey Peak

Practically from the moment Naruto had returned to Alabasta he had known things were going to be annoying. There hadn't been many officer agents to have been killed by those outside the organization.

Baroque Works was funny like that, a lot more dangerous for its own people than the enemies they faced usually were. That was a problem right now though. Not only was it rare for them to come up against a target or enemy that could go toe to toe with them, in the East Blue it was all but impossible.

Naruto had an inkling that the Strawhat crew broke that mold but he wasn't about to give Crocodile more reasons to be interested in the crew, especially when they were just starting out. That might be hard though, being as the cover story he and Robin were planning to use was that Arlong had killed Mikita while she was being careless.

"Relax, he'll buy the story. Especially if you tell him you wounded Arlong but he managed to get away. It downplays that pirate crews' involvement as well that way." Robin, or rather Miss All Sunday reassured him.

"I know, still I would rather he have no interest in the Strawhats. At least not yet." Naruto replied.

"I have to say I am a little bit confused by your actions in regards to them. Staying out of their way and even helping them out a bit. What has you so worried about them? What exactly is your connection?" Robin asked.

"So curious, like always. Initially I wanted to see what my father found intriguing about the Captain of the crew." Naruto said, causing Robin's eyes to widen at the fact Red Hair Shanks was interested in this crew as well.

"After watching for a bit though, I get it a little bit. I think if you saw them in person too you'd be even more interested in them than I am." Naruto continued.

Robin was silent for a little bit as they continued to walk. She wondered if that was true. She hadn't really felt much interest in other people outside of her present company since she was a child. Her mind almost exclusively centered on the poneglyphs and what secrets they held.

"I guess we had best get this shit over with." Naruto grumbled unhappily as he looked up at the large door before them.

"Relax. If you are too worked up he might grow suspicious." Robin reminded him.

"Right." He sighed before motioning for Robin to lead the way.

The woman did just that, taking him down the long halls to meet with Crocodile himself, something Naruto had yet to do. There was always some separation between Crocodile or Mister Zero and the rest of the organization.

When they stepped into the office and Crocodile sat at a ridiculously oversized table, Naruto played up surprise at one of the warlords running the show, something that had Robin sending small approving nod toward him as Crocodile grinned from the 'shocked' and 'awed' reaction from Naruto.

"Why all the secrecy? Would the government get upset with you running Baroque Works?" Naruto asked, not that he actually cared much for the answer but playing up his confusion worked in their favor.

Crocodile ignored the question for one of his own. "How exactly did your old partner die…Mister Five?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the obvious accusation. "What do you mean? Didn't Miss All Sunday give you my report?"

"Oh she did, but I'm wondering what is true and false in the whole thing. I mean you're report says that Arlong killed Miss Valentine and that you wounded him but he managed to escape just to get offed by some nobodies in the East Blue. Kind of makes me wonder just how strong you are supposed to be if some has been hiding in the weakest sea beat you." Crocodile growled like his namesake.

"He didn't beat me, he ran away from me. I think it's saying something about the damage I did to the bastard if some punk kid and his crew finished him off." Naruto argued.

Crocodile stared over at Naruto. His eyes were worryingly intelligent, as Naruto had expected, still the warlord's suspicion wasn't making Naruto's plans easier.

"Say that I believe you, what am I supposed to do with you now? Your partner is dead. I know the two of you were a little bit more than just working partners too." Crocodile revealed, causing Naruto's eyes to widen in actual shock. He schooled his features quickly though and went on the offensive.

"I figured you would probably give me a new partner. Maybe someone nice and cute like Miss Valentine was. She was a lot of fun between missions." Naruto said, he wasn't totally lying but maybe he could get Crocodile to leave him without a partner if her thought Naruto was just going to try and get in their panties. That way Naruto wouldn't have another person looking over his shoulder all the time. That had been why he wanted to bring Mikita into his plans in the first place.

"Hmm…we don't really have anyone ready for advancement that I am aware of. At least no one I would want to pair with you, Mister Five." Crocodile said.

"Something temporary then?" Robin interjected.

"Oh? You have an idea?" Crocodile asked.

"Just a temporary solution until a new officer agent is available. I will keep an eye on him and he can lend me a hand with some of our missions." Miss All Sunday said.

Crocodile hummed at that idea. She had mentioned needing a partner in the past, and as little as he trusted in Robin herself he did trust her to keep working toward Baroque Works goal as it moved her closer to her own goal. It would keep a good eye on Mister Five who he knew was hiding things from him as well as lend some extra muscle to the important tasks he entrusted to Miss All Sunday.

"Alright. That works for now. I want you to keep an eye on him though, understood, Sunday?" He asked.

"Perfectly." She replied.

"Good, then with that out of the way, I want you to perform another surprise inspection of Whiskey Peak soon. The princess and that lummox of a bodyguard she has still think they have us fooled. The closer we get to our end game the more likely they are to make a move so keep close on them for a while." Crocodile ordered.

"Alright." Robin said with a bored shrug of her shoulders. "Come Mister Five, I'll fill you in on this situation as we go."

With that the two of them left Crocodile behind as they returned to the outside. Robin and Naruto made some idle chatter, as Naruto was already completely aware of the situation surrounding Vivi Nefertari. Neither planned on letting the girl come to harm, but they did plan to make it look good until the perfect time to wreck Baroque Works came.

"So, off to Whiskey Peak?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. Banchi will take us." She said, causing Naruto to grin at the thought of the giant turtle.

"Sweet. I love that thing. With his little cowboy hat and cigar." Naruto laughed.

"Those were my idea, he's cuter now with a little costume and he and I can match." Robin said playfully as she adjusted her own cowboy style hat.

Naruto chuckled again at the mental image of Robin finding a hat big enough for the giant turtle. Then he broke into full laughter at the idea of her trying to teach the creature to smoke.

"I'm glad it entertains you so much." Robin said with an amused grin.

"Well yeah, how did you get him to start smoking?" Naruto asked.

"Oh it wasn't that hard, the trick was just getting him to stop eating them." She explained, causing Naruto to snort at the thought again.

"Come on, he'll take us straight there so we might as well grab some food and drinks for the trip." Robin pointed out as she motioned toward a small shop.

"Sounds like a plan." Naruto grinned.


A few hours later, Robin and Naruto were enjoying a surprisingly relaxing picnic on the back of Banchi the Turtle. Robin had enjoyed Naruto's childish reaction to getting to use the turtle for transport. She supposed it was a bit fun to have the animal carrying them, and the attire she had trained him to wear along with the cigar took that even further.

They lounged on his back eating some cheap sandwiches from a Nanohana based shop and occasionally enjoying a cocktail Naruto mixed up from the ingredients he had in a small cooler.

"So you spent time as a bartender then?" Robin asked.

"Nah, my dad was just kind of relaxed with the idea of my sisters and I drinking. We liked to try new drinks so it just kind of happened that I developed a skill with it." Naruto responded with a shrug.

"Hmm, tell me about your family." She requested. Naruto hummed for a moment contemplating it before slowly nodding.

"I know you are an orphan Robin, but tell me about yours in exchange." Naruto said.

"Why?" She asked, genuinely confused by the request.

"I dunno, I guess I just want to get to know you better. I mean why did you ask about mine?" He replied.

Robin was quiet as she thought about why she wanted to know. She couldn't honestly say why she wanted to know more about his family and him in general. The best she could do was chalk it up to the fact she was a curious person and he and his family were interesting people. After all, the head of their family was a Yonko.

"Alright you make a good point. I asked you first though so you go." Robin said.

Naruto smiled faintly at that before humming in thought on how to describe his family. He almost snorted in amusement at the first adjectives to come to his mind. Best not to scare the woman off. He was still hoping to convince her to travel with him when they were done with Crocodile and Alabasta. That would come in time though, for now he had best stop stalling.

"Honestly you will laugh but for the most part we're a pretty normal family." Naruto said. He broke into laughter at the disbelieving stare he got in return form the blue eyed beauty.

"Okay, okay. Maybe not that normal. Still my mom and dad both did their best to make sure we all got the chance to be normal kids, or as close as one gets while among the crew of a Yonko. I mean they trained us a lot. Like a crazy amount now that I think about it…but they did that so that we could survive in this world." Naruto said.

"Makes sense, people from all over would be after a Yonko's child." Robin agreed. She blinked in surprise when Naruto snorted.

"You would think so, right? My parents did too. Turns out the opposite is true. People see you and run in the opposite direction. Was pretty annoying when my sister and I set out to try and see the world. Had to join the Revolutionary Army to even really get into any good fights…it helped we shared some ideals with them, sure but between you and me, I know Kushina only joined up so she could test herself finally." Naruto explained.

"Your sister sounds a bit wild." Robin pointed out.

"You nailed that one. She's always been the most brash of the family…" Naruto trailed off at the surprised look he was getting from Robin.

"What? It's true! She's way worse than I am." Naruto declared.

"That's kind of scary." She said as a small smile spread onto her face.

"Hah, sure. Well, tell me about your family." Naruto urged.

"No, you haven't really told me anything about yours yet. Keep going." Robin said with her amused grin still in place.

Naruto clicked his teeth in annoyance but gave in. He saw her point after all.

"Alright well you probably know plenty about my parents. They aren't blood thirsty reavers like the government makes them out to be, you of all people know how the government is." Naruto said, mercifully ignoring the wince his partner showed at that.

"Uhm, my elder sister Kushina has her own crew, I think my two little sisters have signed up with her in my place too. My dad says that she and I are really similar except that Kushina is a bit more wild…the other two are pretty reckless too. I hope her crew keeps them all under control." Naruto said while mentally laughing at that thought. As if.

"I don't really know much about your two little sisters." Robin pointed out.

"Oh yeah. Most people don't. Mom did a pretty good job at keeping them out of the public eye unlike Kushina and me. Let's see. Tayuya is the older one, she's a devil fruit user and she's pretty mean. Mom is always complaining about her lack of manners saying stuff like 'how did i go wrong.' That kind of stuff. I think she does most of it out of habit now because she used to do it just to rile up mom and Kushina." Naruto explained.

"Now, the youngest of us is Karin. She is motley like mom and Kushina I guess. She can be all proper and cunning and stuff like mom most of the time, but she has a short fuse like Kushina does." Naruto smiled as he recalled his siblings and parents. He missed them, but he knew that they would catch up whenever he made his way back over to that side of the globe again.

"Your family sounds like a lot of fun. I think most people imagine some sort of evil bloodsucking monsters when they think of the Yonkos and their kids." Robin joked.

"Heh, yeah probably. Dad hardly does any actual pirating anymore. He has some territories and collects protection but most just sits around and relaxes with mom and his crew. Like they are waiting for something, kinda." Naruto admitted causing Robin to gain an intrigued glint in her eyes.

"Now then. No more avoiding it. I know that for you, talking about your family is kind of hard for you but I can't help but want to know." Naruto gently prodded.

Robin was quiet as she swirled the last of her cocktail around. She knew she might as well. She hadn't really been this close with someone…well truth be told she didn't think she ever had. Naruto had a way of worming his way into your emotions though. It was endearing as it was bothersome. So, after lifting the glass to her lips and draining it down she nodded and returned the empty class to the little cooler Naruto had brought with them.

"Fine. Truthfully I didn't really know my parents all that much. I think my father died before I was even born or maybe just afterward. I don't even know his name. As for my mother, she left me with my uncle and aunt on Ohara while she went on expeditions." Robin hesitated there and Naruto narrowed his eyes, not at her but at the way she paused at the thought of her Aunt and Uncle.

"They weren't very good people were they?" Naruto asked. Robin didn't give any indication she had heard him, simply moving on with her explanation. That was enough of a confirmation for Naruto though.

"When the navy destroyed Ohara, my mother had just returned from her trips and we met briefly before she and everyone else on the island was killed. The navy even destroyed the ship carrying all the townsfolk off of the island. They didn't even have anything to do with the…" She disliked even speaking the term.

"Buster Call." Naruto quietly finished causing Robin to flinch.

"Yes. They called it because they wanted to wipe out the Tree of Knowledge on the island. Essentially a giant library and a group of scholars studying the Void Century and Poneglyphs." She commented. The atmosphere of the conversation had darkened considerably from when they spoke of Naruto's family.

"So that's where you learned to read the Poneglyphs. What on earth were they doing teaching a little girl about something like that?" Naruto asked, trying to brighten the mood.

Robin chuckled weakly. It was a start at least. "I'll have you know I passed an exam to be officially recognized by them as a member when I was eight."

Naruto blinked in surprise at that. "I'm sorry, but eight?"

"You heard me, and I didn't stutter or anything." She said with a small smile.

"That's pretty amazing. You are something else, Nico Robin, I have to say." Naruto said with a chuckle.

"I'll take that as a compliment." She replied with an amused glance toward him.

"Oh it most definitely was. Truth be told, I think you are probably the most interesting person I've met in my life." Naruto said flippantly, but his words caught her off guard.

"I mean I rub elbows with warlords and Yonkos, meet Revolution leaders and square off with Navy officers all the time. Who would have thought an Archeologist would be the one with the most interesting story to tell?" Naruto continued on causing Robin to blush ever so slightly. So faintly it was unnoticeable to anyone beside herself.

"I don't know about all that. I mean for the most part all my interesting aspects come from being the Demon Child of Ohara." She said with a shrug.

"Bah. Don't tell me you buy into the government's propaganda about yourself. I mean you really are giving yourself way too little credit." Naruto commented.

"Naruto, this is the first time I have even really sat down and spoken with someone about all this and I have been on the run since Ohara fell twenty years ago." She began.

"So? I mean you really do give yourself too little credit. You don't fool me. You jumped at the chance to pull a fast one on Crocodile and have been planning a way to undermine his plans for Alabasta since we made our pact. Not only that but I've seen you. You play up your calm and collected, cold hearted assassin look. That's not really you you can do what has to be done, but you are a kind person underneath that mask." Naruto said, causing Robin to shift uncomfortably at his rant about her.

She wasn't sure how to feel about his opinion about her. That and she wondered how much of what he said was true. She couldn't really tell where the mask he pointed out began and ended after two decades of wearing it.

The two sat in silence as Naruto realized he'd probably overstepped their current limits. He focused on finishing his own drink and putting everything away before he stared over at the woman who slowly turned to stare back at him.

"Sorry if I came on a bit strong there. I still think all of that is true though." Naruto apologized.

"No, it's fine. I just don't really know how to take all that…whatever it was in." She tried to ease the awkward air.

Naruto nodded at that. It was fair, it was a bit too involved for his own taste as well. He considered Robin more of a friend than simply colleague by this point even if they were a bit distant at times. Still they were both relying on each other pretty heavily to achieve their own goals.

"You never have told me what you plan after you read what's on the Poneglyph in Alabasta by the way." Naruto commented.

Robin slowly nodded, before shrugging her shoulders. "I imagine it will send me looking for the next one and the next one after that and so on and so forth. At least until I find the last one."

"Well that's straightforward." Naruto commented.

Robin chuckled lightly at his dull response. "Well, I will probably go along with whatever takes my interest between interpreting the poneglyphs. Who knows where that will take me."

Naruto nodded, he understood that. "I'm probably going to do the same. I don't really want to return to my dad or sister's crews. I don't exactly know what I want to do either. So I'll just roll with it for now. Kind of jealous that I don't have a big dream like you though."

"Hmm, you are still young. I'm sure you'll find what you want out on the sea somewhere." Robin reassured him.

"I'm not that much younger than you…" Naruto pouted, causing her to laugh at the face he made.

"I know, but that doesn't change what I said at all." Robin reaffirmed.

Naruto clicked his teeth before standing and stretching. Whiskey Peak was in sight now.

"I guess it's about time to work." Naruto said as bent side to side.

"It seems that way. Looks like they have another ship pulling in to their little port." Robin sadi as she pointed out the ship.

"Hah, how is it they manage to con so many idiots into stopping there? That whole gag with the party and getting the pirates drunk is so stupid, but is still works." Naruto laughed.

"I think it has something to do with the shock of people celebrating pirates. It throws crews that are new to the Grandline for a loop and they become easy prey." She explained her reasoning.

"Makes as much sense as any other reason…wait a minute. No fucking way!" Naruto shouted as he took in the appearance of the ship.

"What is it?" Robin asked.

"'It', happens to be the Going Merry. The ship I saw the Strawhats using when I was leaving Cocoyashi village." Naruto grumbled.

Robin became more interested in the ship docked at the Baroque Works outpost and hummed. Naruto had told her everything he knew about the Straw Hats and what he had seen at the island when they had fought Arlong and his Fishmen Pirates. She couldn't lie, the thought of encountering them herself was pretty appealing. That being said, becoming involved with Princess Vivi or her bodyguard could be an issue. It might also cause problems for her and Naruto's own plans. Which meant they were either going to have to drive them off or reorganize their own plans.

"What are you thinking?" She asked her partner.

Naruto had been thinking along very similar lines to Robin as he realized what he had set in motion for Alabasta was going to be put in jeopardy if the Princess was making actual moves of her own. The plan wasn't shot yet, still he doubted the Princess would pass up the opportunity for dragging Luffy and his crew into things if she found out how unlike the average Pirate they were.

"Let's see what's going on first. If we try and run them off, it will just have the opposite effect. That being said, if Nefertari hasn't already truly allied with them they might just go on their way." Naruto explained.

"What if the agents there kill them?" Robin asked and Naruto snorted.

"I doubt that will happen. If anything we might have to play up fighting against them to push them how we want them to go." Naruto answered.

Robin eyed him, knowing his brain was spinning up some crazy plan. She had to wonder briefly why it was she partnered with him when she knew how he worked. She knew the answer, just as he had said she was the most interesting person he had met, she couldn't help but want to watch him in action as well. He was just as interesting in her eyes.

"This might actually help us out too. If we play our cards right and get a big helping of luck somewhere down the line." Naruto finally said.

"So what do you want to do?" Robin asked.

"Like I said, we'll wait for a moment. Till the 'party' dies down at least. Then we'll hop into things ourselves. Might have to come up with things on the fly though." Naruto said with a smile.

"I had a feeling that was your preferred scenario anyway." Robin returned his smile with a smaller but no less amused one of her own.

"Going with the flow hasn't done me wrong yet." He replied before hopping off of banshee's back and moving off to a secluded vantage point to watch over the town.

Robin chuckled and followed after him.


And that is a wrap. Like I said, not a very exciting chapter, but it is buildup for the Strawhats to more properly meet Naruto, in more ways than one. This is probably the shortest chapter I've ever written so it feels weird but for what I have planned for the next chapters this is probably the right place to cut this off.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it.

Till Next Time