Author's Note: Hello! How are you? Cool! Me? I'm still drinking in sorrow for the discontinuing of my main project, but mainly, I'm planning out a horror story that, if I can pull it off, will contain hundreds of Lovecraftian monsters! That, along with exams coming in two weeks, is taking up most of my time, which is why there are fewer updates nowadays. (Oh, and also cause I can't upload the chapter)

Anyways, I'm writing this to also address the last chapter, and a writing thing that I maybe should've clarified at the beginning of the story. Thanks to [007Rajesh1], a reviewer with a very keen eye, they point out that there is a lack of description for who is talking at any point in time in the last chapter.

I'm going to assume he has problems when both Zoro and Sanji were talking at the same time(because the other ones can be figured out easily with context clues), greatly mimicking their antics in the show. To show this, I used (""Hey! We're not lovers!"") double quotation marks, which means there are multiple people speaking at the same time. Please get used to me not revealing who's speaking, because I only do it if the context allows me to(And if you don't like that, get better at English so you can effortlessly read between the lines!)

I hope that clears things up, and I hope you enjoy this chapter. Ajax… out!

"So, to what does my crew owe the please, Uzumaki Naruto?" The crisp click of the woman's heel as she came to a stop on the verdant grass was mesmerizing, and the enchanting smile that bloomed on her delicate features even more so.

"R-Robin?!"

"Robin... You know this duel-refusing coward?"

"Robin-chaaaaaaaan!" Indeed, this woman of tantalizing nature standing just a few metres away from them was Nico 'Devil Child' Robin, historian of the Strawhat Pirates!

Naruto greeted her with a brusque nod, and for once a serious expression finally nestled upon his whiskered cheeks. After their brief greeting, both drew close, and once they were of intimate distance, he gently grasped her hand in his and kissed her knuckles; chaste. Short. And o' so sweet...

"My, is this what Ivankov's been teaching you?" He could hear her whisper as his lips left her succulent skin. Looking up, he saw an amused look in her eyes.

Naruto smirked and let go, "Mmm, for an okama, he's quite the knowledgeable one in etiquette. Sadly..." He sighed in hyperbolic melodramy, his eyes shifting to stare sneakily at Sanji, "It seems a certain blonde hasn't been learning it despite his two-year stay there,"

Robin stifled a laugh as the grotto filled with Sanji's complaints; something about being a "gentleman" and "the proper way to treat a lady" that completely flew over her head as she soaked up the presence of Naruto's mischievous smile. She gasped, and beautiful blue eyes met her hueless black. Suddenly, she felt very stuffy, and though there was a light breeze blowing past them, Robin still felt hot all over.

"—Robin?"

Memories flooded her head when she heard his voice; their time together, working quietly on the bridge, no one but each other and the cold to keep company…

"—Robin?" The worried tone of Naruto shook her out of her reverie, "Are you okay?"

"Mn?" She blinked at how close he was, and she could feel a creeping blush come about her face and neck. Thankfully, he didn't notice(and if he did, he didn't say anything), while the others were too far away to glean anything meaningful, "Oh... I'm fine,"

He was still worried, so she smiled and reassured, "I'm fine, really. I-It's my emotions running high. It's been two years, after all," She turned to gaze at her gawking friends. Ignoring their reactions, she started walking off, "Come. Let's look for our captain,"

But everyone just stared at each other. Even Naruto knew something was off: Robin almost never lets her emotions 'run' high, two years apart from her friends or not. Regardless, they followed after her— if not fascinated by this new side of hers, then because she was right...

Now, where the hell was that damn Straw Hat?

It turns out(whether this was good or bad he didn't know), it was terribly easy to find the nineteen-year-old.

"Everyone gather! Pirate spotted a few docks away! Reports say it's Strawhat Luffy!"

"What are we waitin' for then? Let's get 'em!"

Because if there's one thing he's good at, it's finding trouble... Naruto and co thought to themselves as the stampede of men in white coats rushed past the group, heading straight for the dock where the Thousand Sunny was…

"Yohohohoho! It seems we know where our dear captain is!" The cheerful chuckle of Brook was the first to break the silence that'd formed since Robin's slip up, "So, Ninja-san, shall we?"

"Hai, I can't believe you guys got to meet a cool ninja first! Isn't that right, Usopp?" And the depressed mumblings of Chopper followed soon after as he took a passing peek at Naruto's figure in front.

Usopp, who was also admiring him, nodded vehemently, "Yup! It's totally unfair only Robin and Brook knew we had a ninja on our team!" He said, pointing an accusing look at both of them.

And it also turns out that it wasn't that hard to find the other members of their little group of misfits either.

Naruto sighed tiredly as he reflected on spending the last three hours of his life walking around trying to find the rest of his crew; Brook was the first. It was pretty easy, actually, him being a superstar and all, with the only problem being the crew's trepidation on his decision, but they'd already met in person, and thus he wasn't very worried.

Next was Usopp and Chopper, who were with each other when he found them buying cotton candy at an outrageously expensive price(he didn't know which was eviler: the wanted pirates, or the business conning them for all they were worth).

Then there was Franky. Naruto already knew the shipwright was accompanying their ship, so he didn't bother making a round trip just to recruit him for the "Straw Hat" witch hunt…

'Now all that's left is the captain,' He thought to himself as he gave Brook the affirmative when the skeleton repeated his question, 'Let's hope he doesn't cause too much trouble...'

Sadly, he did just that.

[Gomu Gomu no… Gatling!]

A flurry of punches struck the pacifista in the gut(do robots have guts?), each fist striking its joints with pinpoint accuracy. Without much fanfare, the cyborg collapsed in on itself, too damaged to continue functioning. But just as quick as it was to fall, two more came to replace their fallen brethren.

Just as Luffy was about to destroy them too, he heard whispering in his ear:

"Luffy! C'mon, we're gonna miss our ride!" Luffy swerved past a laser beam to face the speaker.

Standing on the side of a tree, his body impossibly held up by his feet alone, was Naruto. When he saw the gesture, Naruto raised a hand in a "come hither" gesture.

In response, Luffy grinned and gave him a thumbs-up, "Sure thing ninja guy!" Before grappling towards Naruto's location.

-Thud!-

Seeing Luffy land next to him, Naruto nodded and pointed at the ship a few hundred metres off the archipelago.

"Took you long enough," He muttered lazily, "But whatever. Everyone's already on the ship, all that's left is the two of us,"

Again, Luffy flashed him his signature grin before both men began to sprint off for the Thousand Sunny...

A/N: Yo! So... Sorryforlyingabouttherebeingnoromanceinthestory! Well technically, this story doesn't have any romance, just Robin pining for Naruto due to some stuff happening in the two-year timeskip. And yes, I, AjaxWasHere, am probably the first fanfic author to have one of the main characters deny someone else's confession and have it be a major plot point! kekekeke! Anywho, I must be going, seeya!