To Walk the Path of Freedom
"Geez Naruto, you'd think we'd come across something by now. It's been days since we set out and the only thing we've done is float across the East Blue and run out of food. Some journey this is turning out to be." Spoke the deflated form of Lucy, as she laid down on the deck of the ship. Her Captain looked over at her with a smile and shook his head. "Don't worry Lucy, we'll come across something soon! I just know it!" He responded enthusiastically which made the navigator groan
She continued to mope around. "At least the Marines had given us bounties. And too my knowledge they're the biggest in this whole crummy sea." She explained, slamming the two papers back on the deck.
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
LUCY
155,000,000 beli
Naruto's face turned into one of confusion when she put the papers on the ground. "Only 155 million?" He began to speak, before meeting her eye-line. She sighed, "Yeah, I read the paper talking about it and it looked to be that the Government had played down the whole issue. They made up some crap about Jalmack about him killing himself or I don't know I can't remember. It looks to me that it was probably the Celestial Dragons influencing the media to make it look like they can't be killed by us 'commoners'." Lucy explained to which Naruto sat back against the mast of the small ship before looking at his bounty. "However, you need to know that even with the suppression of the news from the Government that the Celestial Dragons will stop at nothing to get their revenge. The one and only Vice-Admiral Garp had volunteered I heard to conduct an investigation in Goa despite us taking out the communications relay and Cipher Pol will be tracking us for the foreseeable future." She finished telling Naruto who felt some relief, knowing that Garp would make sure none of the people of Goa saw any harm by putting all the blame on him
"Hmm, if that's the case then I'll just have to work that much harder to protect you and everyone else who joins us on our journey! I'm not running away from the Government my whole life! I've been there and done that! And if they send Admirals and Cipher Pol agents after us that just means I'll need to get stronger! Wait. . . Rayleigh!" Came an outburst from Naruto and Lucy fell back in shock. She quickly stood back up and punched him in the head, "What the hell was that about Naruto! You scared me you idiot!" Scolded Lucy but Naruto just rubbed his head before straightening out
He began to tell her. "Lucy! We'll go seek out Rayleigh! The ex vice-captain of the Roger Pirates and get him to train me!" She laughed at his words before saying, "Naruto, Silvers Rayleigh was one of and still is one of the strongest people on this earth, what makes you think that he'll agree to train you at all?" Her words caused Naruto to form a grin. "I've met him before, he's an old friend of my Dad's!" She sighed, "Well if that is the case then I'll come with you, by the way you should check out your bounty." Finished Lucy before tossing a paper over to him
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
PORTGAS D. NARUTO
304,000,000 beli
"304? Not too shabby." The teen expressed which made Lucy gape. "That's 304 million beli!? You could buy a house on a reasonably nice island and never have to work another day in your life with that money! Hmm, maybe I'll just knock you out and hand you in myself for the money?" She told him and he laughed. "Yeah right! Like they'd ever try to negotiate with someone who has a bounty!" Laughed Naruto to which Lucy chuckled as well
His laugh was then interrupted by Lucy. "So how'd you shoot the bullet back at Jalmack? I've been dying to know! Can you control gravity or something?" The navigator asked and Naruto's eyes subconsciously shifted to his hands. "The truth is I was just as shocked as you when I did it. The only thing I can really make sense of is that I can feel everything around me in a way. Like when I see them and focus on these objects and can feel them moving through or just existing in space. So when Jalmack shot that bullet I felt it coming to me and to save myself I redirected the direction it moved through space to back at him."
She shrugged, "Well I guess that makes sense. Have you figured out any other abilities?" She queued him again to which Naruto stood up with a grin. "Watch this!" He exclaimed before sticking his hand through the mast of the ship and pulling it out again. Lucy was shocked to say the least and ran up to the mast and tried to repeat the same action but to no luck. "Y-you went right through it! Like a ghost!" She yelled and and Naruto laughed and laid back down
"Yeah, it's something I first figured out before we left Dawn Island! I was playing around with my Devil-Fruit and then decided to try warping the space around me! And this was the outcome!" He told her with a smile and Lucy laid a playful punch on his arm. "That's what I like about you Portgas, you always so unpredictable to what you're going to do!" She told him with a smile of her own
It was not long until she asked him another question. "By the way, because of our bounties we'd be outlaws now, yes?" Naruto nodded in response to her words. "Now the real question is are we setting out to be Revolutionaries with that Dragon guy or are we going to be Pirates?" She continued to say which made the teen boy ponder for a second. "Well, I for one want to become a Pirate! All I've ever wanted was to be free really and not have to bend myself to anyone's rules or anything like that. And the way I see it, as a revolutionary I'd still be answering to Dragon or someone above me. As a Pirate I'm free to do whatever I want!" He expressed to Lucy
"Well you'll find a lot of that freedom you're going on about on the Grandline, but we need more things before we go! For starters we need a bigger boat, and more hands. There's no way two people can survive alone on that sea with this little piece of junk!" Lucy explained with her hands folded. "Don't worry about all that I'll figure it out. But once our crew is officially formed we won't answer to anyone, and everyone will be free to do what they want!" Naruto responded to which Lucy smiled
She chuckled, "Well if you're doing it then I'll follow you, Captain!" Naruto smiled at her declaration before he stood up, noticing something in the distance. "Hey you got a telescope on you Lucy?" He queued to her and the lady responded to his question by pulling one out of her pocket and holding it to her eye to look in the direction that Naruto had pointed to. "Looks like a really small island, with what looks to be a small wooden hut just off the shoreline!" She relayed to him just before their little boat began to wobble because of some weird waves
Seeing this, Lucy ran back to the ship's wheel in an attempt to move the vessel away from the waves or at least steady it but Naruto kept his eyes on the water. Eventually, he saw a large dark object move under the surface of the sea to under their boat and as the object did a small crack formed on the deck. "Lucy get up in the air!" He communicated to the navigator who jumped in the air before changing her body to her bird form
Naruto was quick to follow her lead and jump as well, holding onto her ankle as both Devil-Fruit user's watched the boat be torn in half as a figure emerged from the water to confront them. "You humans will die for trespassing upon my land and sea!" Exclaimed the beast loudly, to which Lucy flew up higher in the sky. The beast in question was covered by a jungle green tarp of some kind which only left a hole around the face area but the monster's face went unseen do to the lack of light going into the hole. Moreover, the beast was huge in nature, clocking in around 10 feet in height and had ocean-blue, webbed hands and feet, which were the only part of the beast that could be seen from underneath the tarp. Naruto looked up at her, "Lucy! Bring us to the island where it came from!" Naruto ordered his navigator who snapped back at him
"Are you out of your mind! We've been Pirates no less than 30 seconds and you want to fight the monster that almost killed us!?" She shrieked back at Naruto who responded with a grin. "Of course I do! My family lives in the East Blue and I'm not letting a thing like that roam around and potentially hurt them! And well this thing is asking for it!" Naruto told her to which the navigator sighed and sweat dropped in her bird form. "You know, you can be an idiot sometimes you know that!" She barked back at the Devil-Fruit user and a toothy smile was his response. "It's all apart of being unpredictable!"
"I hope you know what you're doing cause I don't know how much help I'll be against that thing!" She told him while she flew closer to the island before Naruto let go of her ankle and dropped his form onto the sandy beach. "Alright! I'm over here you big ugly thing! Come and get some!" Naruto yelled out across the sea to the monster who dived back into the water to swim over to Naruto. In response to the impending attack, Naruto pulled his trademark staff off of his back and readied for an attack.
Within a few seconds, the beast burst forth from the water with its fist drawn back before quickly shooting the fishlike fist at Naruto. "Hundred Brick Fist!" The monster yelled, but the teen was able to see the path the monster's fist was taking and fazed right through the attack with the help of his Devil-Fruit. This caused the giant sea beast to look around for a sign of Naruto before looking behind and seeing the Pirate jump on his back. Naruto equipped his staff and deployed it around the beast's neck in hopes of knocking it out.
"Go to sleep! Go to sleep! Go to sleep! Go to sleep!" He kept saying which only seemed to make the beast angrier. "Get off my back, filth!" It yelled as it reached back and got ahold of Naruto a swung him down to the sand below. The Pirate hit the ground with a loud "thud" and was a little shaken but this only lasted a second because before long, Naruto was ready to fight once again. The beast ran quickly at Naruto again, seeing as though he was standing up, and prepared another attack. "Great White Shredder!"
The Pirate turned to see the tarp on the Beast's face sliding down revealing some sharp teeth though they were still partially covered by shadows of the tarp. The attack was almost upon him before in a move that surprised everyone , Naruto vanished. The monster looked around the surrounding area after missing his attack, with both of its hands ready to attack at the first sign of the red-head. "Hey, I'm up here!" Came a voice behind the hulking beast and it turned to face it
Standing atop a palm tree branch was Naruto with his arms crossed and grinning while looking down at the beast. "Come down here and fight you human coward! I'll gut you like a bird!" Roared the monster before picking up a boulder and throwing it at Naruto. Lucy watched on as the boulder collided with the tree, destroying it in the process yet there was no sign of the teen anywhere after the dust cleared. "Quite the the arm you got!" Exclaimed the boy with red-hair as he now stood behind the monster, leaning against another tree
The response came in another punch from the beast which tore the tree apart and splinters shot everywhere, including at the monster. It staggered back, raising its hand to its head before wildly slashing around. 'Got ya!' Naruto voiced in his head as he ran out to hit the monster but just as he made his presence known the beast stopped moving. Naruto watched as its hand shot out and was able to grab him by the neck and hold him upwards to the sky. "I've been watching you carefully through our fight, calculating every move you make. I understand your secret Devil-Fruit user!" Exclaimed the beast to which Naruto began to struggle to get out but only seemed to lose more energy
"Struggle all you want vermin! There's no escaping my grasp this time! My hands had sea prism stone implanted on the surface of them, every Devil-Fruit user's weakness! But let's not end things too quickly! I want to enjoy killing you human, and I want you and your race to pay for the crimes you've enacted on mine!" Finished the beast before it removed its tarp revealing a tall muscular fish-man with sharp teeth that lined his mouth. He then punched Naruto in the stomach with his spar hand before throwing him to the ground a few meters in front of him.
The teen struggled to get up as the fish-man grabbed him again, making sure his palm was touching the Devil-Fruit user. He threw him against the ground in the opposite direction and watched Naruto struggle to get back to his feet. "I want you to remember who killed you human!" He began to yell out as Naruto swung his staff weakly back at the fish-man who caught it. He then delivered a punch to Naruto's ribs and let him slide across the sand into a tree. "Remember the name Kiji human! Because it's the last one you will ever hear!" Came more words as he walked over to the winded Naruto
Before long, Lucy dive bombed at Kiji from the sky in hopes of saving her Captain from the evil fish-man. "Lucy! Wait! His hands have sea stone! You can't let him touch you!" Naruto explained to his fellow Devil-Fruit user who didn't seem to hear him in time. She scratched at Kiji with her talons as he prepared another attack. "Feather Missile!" Lucy proclaimed, shooting her feathers at him which just seemed to ricochet off or leave minor cuts
This did not stop Kiji as he then managed to reach and grab some of Lucy's feathers to pull her in closer. He placed his sea stone on her which caused her to revert back into a human before he raised her up above his head. Kiji was readying himself to drop the girl on his knee which would surly break her back but he did not have the time as Kiji looked past Lucy to see Naruto standing right by him with his hand outstretched. "Almighty Push!" He screamed and Kiji watched as his body was blown back by an invisible force into the trees of the forest
Lucy then fell to the ground and began to stir a little. "N-Naruto. . .did you g-get him?" She asked weakly, the sea prism stone still having some affect on her. He kept his eyes on the direction Kiji flew in. "I want to believe I did but unlikely, this guy is going down! Do what you want to me but the moment you bring my friends into it the gloves come off!" Naruto began to speak before looking at his navigator. "Lucy, this fight is mine! I need you to scout the island and see if there's anyone else on it!" He ordered which took her off guard
"Why, are you afraid there are Marines stationed here or something?" She asked him to which he looked back and smiled. "No I'd just feel bad if me and this guy levelled the island in our fight and ended up destroying a village!" Naruto spoke to which Lucy faulted. "How about I look for a boat considering our friend in there already destroyed ours." She told him before flying off
Right on queue, the trees began to rustle in Kiji's direction and Naruto readied himself. "Where'd the girl go? Don't tell me she ran away!" Yelled the fish-man and Naruto chuckled in response. "No, I sent her along. Besides, now that I know your little trick I don't need her help anymore!" He explained to Kiji
"Bold words Portgas D. Naruto! Yeah I saw your wanted paper, 304 million!" He yelled back at the teen, already answering his question before he asked it. "What're you, a bounty hunter? Looking for your next big score? Cause I'll tell you right now you won't find it here!" He claimed taking a step forward and showing his lack of fear of the fish-man. "I'm no bounty hunter scum! I'd never negotiate with those ignorant Marines and that disaster you call a Government!" He countered, preparing his own battle stance
Naruto chuckled, "Glad we agree on something! But you hurt my friend and I can't so easily forgive you for that!" He told Kiji before making the first move. "Universal Pull!" Kiji immediately felt the opposite of what he felt moments ago as he was now being pulled towards Naruto. The fish-man remained level as he flew through the air and grinned as he got closer to his target. "Bad idea human! Bringing me closer to you!" He exclaimed before shooting his hands in an attempt to grab Naruto who in a blink disappeared. "Up here Goldie!" He yelled as he flew through the air above Kiji and when he was directly above the fish-man he spoke, "Almighty Push!" This attack sent Kiji into the ground and it felt like all of gravity was weighing down on the fish-man as he struggled to move
Before long, Kiji countered with raising both of his fists connected to the sky at the Pirate. "Fallout!" Came the counter from Kiji as an invisible stream of energy came at Naruto, unknown to the teen. It took a fraction of a second until the Pirate was blasted back by the attack, tearing some clothing and cutting him to some degree in the process. "Damn, that hurt!" He yelled out before getting back up and the fish-man did the same
The two then looked at each other for a few seconds before continuing their fight, all the while knocking down trees and making craters all across the grove of forest and beach where they were.
With Lucy. . .
"That idiot better know what he's doing!" Lucy exclaimed, out loud as she glided around the island and looked for anything that could be used to sail. She did end up spotting some ships on the other side of the island to where Naruto and Kiji were fighting but after a close inspection she found them to be destroyed. Lucy kept looking around the island for any sign of anything that her and her Captain could use to sail and before long she spied something, though it was not something she would have wanted to see.
Looking off the coast of the island just coming off of the horizon was three ships carrying the banner of an organization Lucy knew all too well. "Dammit! They're here now!? The damn Government! Always getting into other people's business!" She cussed out loud before looking along the island again for Naruto. Once she spotted him she dived back down to the ground and landed beside the fish-man and the teen Pirate.
"Back so soon? Looking for another shot?" Kiji taunted as Lucy threw up her wings and pointed them at him. "If I did you wouldn't be so lucky as you were last time!" She retorted to the beaten up Kiji and Naruto walked over to his navigator and stood in front of her. "I told you this fight is between me and him Lucy! Why'd you come down here?" He asked her and Lucy crossed her arms
She sneered back at her Captain, "Well I'll have you know I didn't come back down here to steal your fight Naruto! I came to warn you that it appears the World Government has sent some Cipher Pol agents after us or even him and they should be here within 15 minutes." She told the two and Naruto took all his attention off of Kiji and looked at her. "Damn, did you find a boat we can take? Cause if it's all the same to you I don't really want to fight a whole bunch of Cipher Pol agents right after fighting the creature from the black lagoon." He explained to Lucy and Kiji responded instead. "They say humour in battle is a sign of cowardice!" He told Naruto in a low voice
The ladder just turned back with an annoyed look on his face. "Yeah, you'd know a lot about that wouldn't with your emotion range of a stick!" He then looked back at Lucy. "So did you find a boat?" He asked her once again to which she shook her head. He sighed, "Well the only thing I can think of is fight these guys and take one of theirs!" He told her to which Lucy shook her head with a smile. "Of course that's the conclusion you'd come to Naruto." She chuckled to him
The teen then turned back around to face the injured fish-man. "Our fight is over! My navigator and I are leaving now but I swear if you hurt anyone in the entire East Blue I'll know and I'll come back here to clean your clock all over again!" He threatened but the fish-man responded by walking over to the two Devil-Fruit users. "Save your breathe human! These Cipher Pol agents aren't after you, they're after me. Ever since I left Fish-man Island and came here I've killed every human Pirate or Marine that has came close to my island." He began to explain. "The way I see it humans are the reason why I had to leave my home and humans are the ones who have caused never-ending pain to me people!" Kiji spoke to the two
Naruto grew puzzled before asking Kiji a question. "So why are you telling us this?" Kiji looked down at his opponent and then looked back out towards the oncoming ships. "You are the only opponent I've faced during my exile on this island that has managed to best me." He answered Naruto. "Wait! What do you mean bested you? We weren't even done our fight yet!" He countered but the fish-man kept his eyes on the ships. "You held back the entire duration of that fight, not to mention you limited your Devil-Fruits abilities." He spoke again
"Well he did only get the thing a few days ago!" Lucy chirped and Kiji nodded along. "I plan to take on these vessels and perhaps kill everyone aboard. Cipher Pol was the reason I left Fish-man Island and now I'll be the reason for their death." Explained Kiji which caused Lucy to get a little creeped out by the way he talked but Naruto wore a face of determination. "What about our fight then! We weren't finished!" Naruto complained but Kiji ignored the request to continue
"You and your navigator are free to go. And you have my word that I will not harm any civilians, not that I ever would to begin with. The only people that I harm are those humans that come to my island looking for violence and the odd merchant ship for supplies though if they are innocent I let them pass after supplying me with some goods." Kiji told the two and to that Lucy began to walk away to look for a boat once again but Naruto stayed beside Kiji
The fish-man looked down once again at Naruto who stood by his side. "I have granted you mercy human, something I rarely do. Why do you stay?" He asked of Naruto who grinned before facing the same way as Kiji, towards the Cipher Pol ships. "Every man on those vessels are going to stop at nothing until you're dead and considering your condition I'd say that they might succeed. However, I still want a rematch so I'm going to assist you in taking these bastards down. Besides, they have taken things away from me as well and no amount of money or gold could ever repay that debt." He exclaimed to the fish-man before grinning once again. "And I want to make a proper entrance as a new up and coming Pirate!" He excitingly told the other two to which Lucy faulted and Kiji looked one the teen with a puzzled face
The underwater dweller then looked at Lucy again. "Are you staying as well?" He asked her to which she sighed. "Unfortunately I have to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't accidentally tear a whole in space. But other than that I'm excited to bash some Government skulls in!" Lucy answered, taking her place beside Naruto and Kiji
"Alright! I got a clear image of their deck! Here we g-" Naruto began to say as he blinked out of existence and onto the deck of the closest of the three ships. Lucy then began to transform into her bird form before flapping her wings and getting off the ground. "If you plan on going for the boat itself, leave one alone. Considering that you're destroyed our old one we need a new boat." Was the last thing Lucy said before flying off in the direction of the ships
Kiji remained in the same position for a few more seconds and thought to himself. 'That guy really is quite unpredictable.' He thought before running along the beach and diving into the water and swimming over to the rest of the action
On the first ship. . .
"Get him!" Yelled a man clad in a black suit. As he spoke another three wearing the identical outfit aimed their weapons and shot. Naruto say this happen after clubbing another Cipher Pol agent over the head with his staff and watched the guns fire. In a flash, he vanished out of sight before appearing behind the firing squad. "Missed me!" He exclaimed before hitting all three with his staff and knocking them out
Naruto then rolled across the deck to right in front of the man that gave the order and used his staff to knock the pistol out of his hand. "Lucy! Got one coming to ya!" Naruto told his navigator before kicking the man off of the deck causing him to fall towards the sea below. Before he did however, Lucy had caught him with her talons and flew back around the ship and released the man, sending him flying into another gunner atop the ship in the helm.
"Get some cannons trained on that ship! It's overrun with the Pirate scum! Blow it out of the water!" Yelled an agent from the ship that was parallel the the one Naruto and Lucy were at. "Oi Naruto! Get that push thing ready! Feather Missile!" She yelled out and sharp feathers coasted towards the ship and Naruto ran to the railing and extended his palm behind the attack. "Almighty Push!" He followed up with and the feathers had been boosted with speed and sliced and pierced through the wood and thin sheets of metal being used on the ship
The crew of two continued to beat up various agents on the ship before they watched a spiral of water emerge from the ocean and land on the ship. Emerging from it was Kiji and he grabbed the closest two agents and hurled them through a wooden wall and into the interior of the ship. "Fallout!" The fish-man proclaimed as 10 agents were blasted back by the energy produced from the attack
"So you finally decided to join the fight! Shift!" Naruto laughed before proclaiming his attack as well. The attack he had just used had disabled the gravity around some agents and made it so there was a new gravitational pull on the railing which pulled each one of them towards it and off the side of the ship into the water below. Kiji did not respond to Naruto's bickering but instead continued to pummel the oncoming agents into the ground.
Before long, more agents appeared on the decks and this time they were equipped with harpoons and lances that were tipped with sea stone. An agent threw one of these lances at Naruto and it grazed his arm, leaving a cut which caused the teen to drop to a knee at the sudden exposure to sea stone. "Well this just got a whole lot more complicated!" Naruto spoke out loud to no one in particular. The agent that had thrown the weapon then goy over confident and went closer to the kneeling Pirate and pulled out a knife from his pocket. Before he could stab the teen, Naruto rolled out of the way behind the man and swiped his legs before slamming the spear down on his head.
"Watch out Lucy! The weapons have sea stone on them!" Naruto yelled up to his winged friend who was still flying around avoiding the lances. "Got it! How's Kiji?" She asked him which caused the teen to look in the fish-man's direction again. When he looked, Kiji could be seen using one of the agents as a club and he flung the man around, hitting various other agents either into the water or through the deck. Naruto looked back up to the flying Lucy. "I think he handling himself quite well!" He voiced to her
The trio continued to fight but it had seemed that more and more agents kept coming, some of them choosing to leave the ship they were on to get to the ship where Naruto, Lucy and Kiji were to stop them. Naruto continued to take down multiple with his staff and Lucy was still able to avoid any precise shots taken at her because of the distance she had between herself and the ships. But Kiji was not as lucky, the fish-man was getting either sliced or stabbed by the odd harpoon which was due in large part to his previous fight with Naruto. 'Damn!' Naruto voiced in his head before looking to the sky to see his navigator
"Lucy!" He yelled back to her. "Take care of that third ship! It's the one we'll be taking! Take it and get it to the other side of the island!" He ordered her to which she questioned, "Why what are you going to do?" Naruto smiled, "I'm going to end this fight! Get Kiji and get on that ship!" He told her again and she nodded
Naruto turned back to face the space between both the ship the three of them were attacking and the parallel vessel that him and Lucy had attacked just a few minutes prior. "I hope this works." He spoke to himself as he opened the palm of his hand to the sky. Naruto felt his hand get denser as he focused his power into the palm of his hand, and soon a sphere began to take shape. Eventually the sphere had completely formed. Though it had warped a bit, taking the initial shape of a sphere but having clouds of dust rotate around it. Moreover, it was also a mix of black, blue and purple and seemed to behave violently in Naruto's hand. He then forced his palm to the sky and released it. "Black Hole." He spoke as the sphere flew to the sky and before long water particles began to follow before other things such as loose pieces of wood and debris
Before long, the agents aboard the ships began to be pulled by the black hole and floated a few inches off the ground. Gravity in the area of sea where the three ships were seemed to be turned on its head as the ships, the agents and the ocean water around them began to float in the sky. Though nothing was absorbed by the black hole as Naruto had only used it as a means of distorting gravity to get away.
After seeing the black hole's success via all the floating agents and ships he cracked a grin and ran to the other end of the ship and looked out towards the boat Lucy and Kiji took that looked to be halfway to the island and out of the black hole's range of attack. "Well guys it's been fun! Better luck next time!" Naruto waved back to the agents before running and diving off the edge of the ship before it was swallowed up by the black hole's gravity distortion field. In a snap, he teleported once again onto the third ship that housed his navigator and previous fish-man foe.
In the blink of an eye, Naruto appeared on the deck of the ship and was confronted with the sight of Kiji laying face down on the deck whilst Lucy took the wheel and steered the ship. The teen bent down and inspected the fish-man and concluded that he was still breathing but needed to be patched up to stop some bleeding. "Lucy, take us southwest." Naruto spoke before getting up and walking to the door that lead into the ship
The navigator nodded in response. "I haven't checked the inside of the ship yet so don't be surprised if there are any stragglers. And let me know if we have enough supplies or otherwise I'll need to make a stop." She responded to her Captain to which Naruto spoke back. "Got ya, by the way don't bother dropping him back off. He may hate all humans but he fights like a champion! And that's cause for me to send him an offer!"
Naruto then set off into the ship and looked room to room for medical supplies before finding some littered on a table in what looked to be an office. He scanned the room over and saw some paintings along the walls of some Nobles and reacted by tearing down each one of them. "They even make their troops parade around in ships with pictures of themselves decorating the walls? Typical of those egomaniacs!" Spat Naruto before scanning the room one last time to see if he missed anything but quickly concluded that there was nothing else
He walked out of the room before being entranced by a smell and turning towards the door across the hall and walking into it. Looking inside, Naruto came across a huge kitchen with some food prepared on the table. "Huh, looks like some of them were going to eat before they attacked us. Don't mind if I do!" Naruto expressed, eating the food in a matter of seconds. He then paced over to the fridge to see if there was anything else he could get his hands on but there was only a small quantity of meat. The teen did not stop himself from eating this as well prior to turning around and walking back out of the room, burping as he did so.
Walking back onto the deck he found the unconscious form of Kiji still laying there and he knelt down once again beside the fish-man and wrapped his wounds with the medical tape. Before long he was patched up and dragged against the mass by Naruto and left to rest as the Captain walked up the stairs to Lucy and leaned against the railing prior to looking out to the sea ahead of them.
"Did you find any food Naruto? Considering we haven't eaten in days I'd hope that this ship has something." She asked him to which Naruto went wide eyed and began to sweat profusely. He made an audible gulp and responded, "W-well Lucy I didn't see anything in there, t-the crew must've also been out when they came to attack us." But then, much to his terror, Naruto let out a faint burp which caused the navigator to snap her head over to her Captain and look at him with a hard glare. She sniffed the air and clutched the railing beside the wheel. "Did you have some meat Naruto?" She asked him quietly and he nervously chuckled before giving his answer. "Well actually I did no-" He didn't get to finish as Lucy's grip tightened on the railing, causing the wood to burst from the pressure. "Well maybe I found a little." His answer corrected, not daring to lie to Lucy
"You found food and didn't think to share?" She questioned him again in a low voice. "Well actually I was-" He was cut off again by Lucy who jumped at him and grabbed his neck. "YOU IDIOT! WE HAVEN'T EATEN IN DAYS AND YOU TOOK ALL THE FOOD! SPIT IT OUT! SPIT IT OUT! SPIT IT OUT!" She screamed at him as she choked his neck. Naruto's face went blue and he tried to speak. "L-ucy, w-we can ju-ust get-t m-m-more!" He managed to get out but she didn't listen. "NO! There's no 'we' in this! You're going to get more! Grab a rod and start fishing!" She ordered him and threw him to the deck below
She stormed to the top of the stairs and looked down at the form of Naruto. "Don't you dare take a break until you catch something! You hear me!" She yelled down to him. He stood back up and faced her. "Hey don't you forget I'm the Ca-" He was cut off by an intense glare from Lucy and Naruto began to sweat a little before turning towards the storage compartment located against the wall on the deck of the ship. "You know what I think I'm going to go fish for some food." He finished saying and Lucy just turned and went back to the wheel
After a few minutes, Kiji began to wake up and pushed himself off of the mast into a sitting position. "Where am I?" He asked to no one in particular, his eyes adjusting to the sun above him. Naruto yelled back to the fish-man from his sitting position on the side of the ship while he fished. "We fought those Cipher Pol agents and got away on one of their ships." He spoke to Kiji who stood back up at the sight of Naruto
"You humans again!" He began to say. "Where have you taken me?! I can't see my island anywhere!?" Kiji question and Lucy walked down the stairs from the wheel and began to talk. "It wasn't safe there, the news of the missing Cipher Pol ships would have made it back to someone soon and they would surly send someone stronger to deal with all of us." She explained to him but Kiji responded by getting into an attack stance. "Hey! Can you two be quiet! I'm trying to fish and you're scaring them all away! And don't make me ring your neck again Goldie!" Complained Naruto which made Lucy angry at the fact that he told her to shut up
Kiji gritted his sharp teeth, "I don't want to stay here and sail with a bunch of humans! Your kind have already caused me and my race enough pain! Your Government took my father from me and forced me to live outside of my home! The only reason I'm not killing you both where you stand is the fact that we fought off the Government together and I choose to let the both of you live for aiding me!"
"Well yeah, and that if you tried that Naruto would just kick your ass again!" Lucy chimed back. "Besides your fight sounds like it should be aimed at the Government rather than Pirates or even humans in general. Why do you even hate us so much?" She went on to finish to which Kiji shook his head. "I was an early adult when the Great Pirate Era had begun at the age of 15 and I watched as Pirates stormed my home in order to get to the New World! Thousands of fish-man and merpeople captured and enslaved by the slavers that came with them! My father died during a Pirate raid when the Marines that were suppose to defend us and promote justice shot him dead! They said he was nothing but a feral beast but in reality he was just trying to alert them that some fish-men had been stuck in a collapsed house and needed help! I know because I saw him get shot, and I could do nothing because they'd do the same to me! Years later I saw innocent children get picked off the streets by your human slavers to be brought to Sabaody to be traded like some kind of object! I killed them and as a result had to leave my home because if I didn't more people would get hurt! So don't tell me that there's a difference between Pirates and that Government trash! You humans are all the same, bringing chaos wherever you go and not caring who gets hurt by it!" Kiji ranted which left Lucy speechless but Naruto got up from his position and walked over to confront Kiji
"My father gave everything so that I could have a chance in this world. He was a Pirate yet one hundred times the man of any person in the Marines. Like you the Government took him away from me and I spent every fiber of my being loathing them for it. That was until I met some Marines that took care of what was left of my family, I hated them but they treated me no differently then one of their own. And recently, like you, I caused a commotion with the Government that caused me to leave my home behind me. I may be getting carried away with telling you all this but I want to say that not all humans are evil. I'm sorry for what happened to you but I think you hating all humans like they're some kind of disease is stupid. Every race on this planet has evil people in it yet you use those people as a reason to hate them all! Yes I'm a Pirate but that doesn't mean I go around killing people because I want to! Even though you won't accept it, we both know your pain. And with that I'm willing to offer you a spot on my crew, not as my subordinate but as a friend." Naruto told Kiji and outstretched a hand to the fish-man who looked it over and did not move
His eyes then grazed over his bandages and he sighed. "You both fought off Cipher Pol with my and patched up my wounds, and for that I am indebted to you both. I will come along with you both but once we reach Fish-man Island it is my plan to leave." Kiji stated to which Naruto smiled. "That is unless I manage to convince you otherwise!" The teen beamed at his newest crewmate and the fish-man rolled his eyes
"Quite the crew we got, a fish, a bird and some teen who can warp space. Can't say I've seen that before." Lucy chuckled as she spoke to which Naruto turned and grinned at the both of them. "I forgot! We don't have an official name for our crew yet or a flag!" He yelled at them. The navigator turned to the fish-man. "Any ideas?" She asked him to which he shook his head
"What about the Portgas Pirates? Or the Freedom Pirates?" Naruto mentioned to which Lucy cringed. "I'm not parading myself around the Grandline as a Portgas Pirate! That's stupid!" She exclaimed to which Kiji spoke up. "What kind of name is the Freedom Pirates?" He asked and Naruto dropped his head in sadness. "If you guys didn't like it you could've just said try a different one."
Lucy sat there for a second. "What about the Void Pirates, since Naruto can do the space thing?" She asked the group and Naruto loved it. "Sounds good!" He spoke and then they both looked at Kiji for his answer. "What? I don't care what the name is! It won't change the way I'm viewed or anything serious!" He complained but Naruto ignored it
"Void Pirates it is!" Naruto exclaimed with happiness. He then looked at both Lucy and Kiji and pulled them both in for a hug. "Today is our first step in finding our path to freedom!" He yelled out to the high seas
In Loguetown. . .
"Are you sure this is the place?" Asked a figure wearing a dark-blue cloak to another figure wearing the same colour cloak but the only difference being they had four white lines on the back of it, just below a Marine logo. "Hina is sure! Each of you follow Hina and don't leave Hina's side! And whatever you do don't provoke him" Exclaimed Hina, ordering her men who all nodded. She then pushed open the wooden door they were all standing in front of and entered a tavern.
Each person inside went quiet as they watched the Marines walk in one by one. "We are here looking for a bounty hunter! He goes by the alias The Marksman!" Explained one of Hina's men and the people in the bar whispered to themselves before the bartender interrupted them all. "Who's asking?!" He yelled out back to them as Hina took off her hood
"Marine Captain Hina is! Hina wants to know where The Marksman is and should any of you redact this information from Hina than you will face the repercussions!" She boldly stated again before the bartender put down his rag. "Fine, come with me." He finally said as Hina and two of her Marines followed him, leaving the rest of the Marines that came with her at the entrance and the people to talk loudly once again.
They followed the bartender to a backroom and after a few seconds they arrived at a metal door. "Here you are, he's inside. But I suggest you be careful, he's not afraid of anyone! Not even the Marines!" He finished saying as Hina waved him off. "Hina is aware of his reputation and the Government wishes to ask him of something." She explained before opening the door to reveal a man wearing a black leather coat with black fingerless gloves and a brown leather sunhat to go along with it. The room was very dark, only being illuminated by one yellow light bulb that would flicker every so often. He was seated in a chair behind a wooden table with his face hidden by the darkness of the room, holding a revolver in his right hand which was on display on top of the table. "Can I help you miss?" He asked her to which Hina sat and pulled out three wanted posters.
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
LUCY
155,000,000 beli
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
KIJI
189,000,000 beli
WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE
PORTGAS D. NARUTO
304,000,000 beli
"Have you heard of these people?" Hina asked him as he remained motionless. "Maybe I have, bounty huntin' leads ya to hear lots of little things miss. Why ya askin'" He replied to her. "Hina brings a message from the Government that asks for your assistance in apprehending these. . .criminals." Hina told him, though it felt hard for her to admit that her once friend Naruto was now a wanted man
He chuckled, "Miss I'm a wanted man myself, for killin' some Marines if I remember correctly. And why in hell would I help you Government folk when, if I remember correctly, didn't help me when I needed it?" He asked her in a southern accent. She looked at his silhouette. "The Government agreed that you would receive the sum of all their bounties put together and be allowed to go after the one who you hate, free of consequence, the one who took C-" Hina began to say before The Marksman slammed his hand on the table
"Don't you dare say her name!" He yelled which caused the two Marines behind Hina to jump and pull out pistols and aim them at the man. He calmed down before chuckling. "Looks like we got a standoff!" With the blink of an eye, two shots rang out in the small room and the two Marine's bodies hit the floor. The Marksman then stood up and walked around Hina to the door. "I'll except your offer miss, but I can't guarantee that you'll get them back alive." He told Hina who nodded
She spoke, "That's fine, but Portgas must be kept alive or else the deal is off!" Hina told him to which he chuckled. "He's quite the big fish! I might have to keep both eyes open for this one!" He finished saying as a red cybergenic eye glowed
Alright! I hope everyone enjoyed! And now that that's over with I have a few things to discuss! First off, yes Naruto can control gravity as it is an aspect of space. Though he will not have all the power's of the Rinnegan considering that not all of them have to do with Space. Moreover, I'd just like to thank those who left suggestions in the form of reviews! Often I find myself with writers block and these suggestions allow me to move past it by implementing your ideas! If you do have a suggestion throw it at me as more than likely I'll add it! Anyway you all can expect another chapter this month though I will probably wait till the end to post it as I have exams coming soon. Thank you all for reading!
Qwert out!