Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

A/N: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.


Where is she?

The branches flapped back and forth as Ace flickered his eyes around the area. It had been over two hours since Naruto left him alone with the masked man and his cook still hadn't come back from her walk. Was he worried that she was hurt? No. It was clear from the talk between her and Gamakichi that his friend was a strong woman. But the fact she hadn't come back meant something happened.

He took in a deep breath and then blinked when the leaves above him rustled again. A quick glance at the tree showed him that Naruto was lying on top of the branch, blue eyes focused on the night sky above them. His crewmate had a little sad smile playing on her lips as she pulled out a leaf from the branch.

"You're okay, Fishcake?"

Naruto placed the leaf onto her lap before flashing him a large smile. Ace stared at the stretched lips before curling his lips into a tiny frown. That's definitely not a genuinely a happy smile. That smile felt like someone pointed a sword at his subordinate and threatening her to smile. He definitely did not want his friend to smile like that.

"I'm doing amazing!" She declared with a cheerful tone. Ace pressed his lips into a thin line and Naruto only smiled wider as if believing a simple smile would be enough to reassure him. "I'm just stargazing, Freckles! You wanna join me? The view from up here is amazing! You can see everything from here!"

Her tone screamed cheerfulness and the little bounce told him that Naruto was happy, but Ace couldn't help but feel doubt. He didn't know a lot of things about his first crewmember but losing someone like a godfather was difficult. It had to be difficult even if the man hadn't raised her while she was growing up.

He took in another deep breath and grabbed the first branch before pulling himself up. She doesn't have to force herself to smile if she doesn't feel like it. Their masked companion didn't know her and was definitely sorry for the fact that he brought up her dead godfather. Not a single one of them would blame her if she wanted to cry.

Naruto flashed him a grin as he took his spot right beside her. His 17-year-old crewmate stretched her arms and leaned her whole body against the huge tree trunk. Ace gazed at the stretched lips that now wobbled before moving towards her blue eyes. His heart grew heavy at the sight of those blue eyes becoming moist. She definitely can't hide her emotions.

"You know you don't have to pretend to be fine," Ace commented. A large bird flew across them and headed straight through the open ocean. In the distance, he could see their masked companion making a fire and even though he couldn't hear anything, he could see from the scowl that their masked companion was scolding himself. "It's okay to be sad."

He glanced at his companion and smiled slightly as the blonde regarded him with trembling shoulders. Did he say too much? Maybe it would have been better for him to keep his mouth shut. No matter how much he tried to be comforting, he was never going to be good at it like Sabo. His brother had always been more comforting as Luffy liked to remind him whenever he did a crappy job of comforting him.

"I'm doing fine," she muttered. A single tear came out of her eye and trailed down her whiskered cheeks. Ace felt his heart grow heavy and a part of him wondered if he should call her out but if he called her out then was he taking things too far? He didn't know. This type of thing was difficult because he hated crying.

He exhaled and gazed at those red, moist eyes before letting out a sigh. "If you were doing fine then you wouldn't be crying."

The blonde blinked and then rubbed her eyes as if trying to erase those marks. Ace tilted his hat down and looked down at the ground, where only the grass greeted him. Silence was now the best thing that he could give her because he didn't know what to say to her. He already did enough damage by saying those things to her.

"Shit, I actually thought I was done with crying," Naruto muttered. Ace allowed his lips to twitch into a smile but his smile died down when the blonde stared at him with embarrassment. She rubbed the back of her neck and looked at him with a shaky smile. "I'm not usually a crybaby 'cuz it takes a lot for me to cry."

Ace only nodded and stared at the trembling teen. He didn't know whether it was true or not but his crewmate was almost always smiling, and if she wasn't smiling then it was because he messed up in some way or form. She only gets temperamental when she thinks I'm looking down at her because she's a girl. That was definitely not the case.

Dadan was a formidable woman who was the boss of the Dadan family and he knew how strong a woman could be. I guess I should just think she might be a younger version of Dadan. Except his foster mother would rather yell at them then to admit that she cared about them. She hadn't even seen him off because she was afraid to get emotional. His foster mother might try to act tough but he lived with her long enough to know she was emotional.

He exhaled and looked back at the blond-haired teen.

"It's normal to cry if that person means a lot to you," Ace commented with a light tone. He allowed his voice to grow soft as the teen gazed at him with trembling lips. He offered her a tiny smile and tilted his hat at her. "Even if he wasn't a part of your life growing up, he was still your godfather. It's okay for you to be sad."

The blonde closed her eyes and rubbed her cheeks before turning her head away from him. He stared at her trembling shoulders before looking away from her. Maybe that had been the wrong thing for him to say to her but what else could he have say to her? There was nothing else that came to his mind.

"He wasn't just my godfather," Naruto finally said. Her tone was soft and quiet as she rested her eyes on him. "Jiraiya was also my mentor and he took me out of my home for three years. He was the only one that encouraged my first dream of exploring the world and told me stories that fueled my dream. Out of all the father figures I had in my life, Ero-Sennin was the one that meant the world to me."

You two are gonna be strong marines.

Gramps might have lost his marbles if he thought for a moment that Luffy and him could become marines. The moment those marines found out about their heritage, they would execute them and make them an example to everyone. His idea of protecting us is going to get us killed. He exhaled and stared at the shooting star.

Besides, becoming a marine meant taking orders from the very people that tried to kill his mother and that was the last thing he wanted.

Call me Granddad.

He allowed a little chuckle to escape from his lips and Ace closed his eyes. If Grap was killed then he would probably be just as sad as Naruto. The only reason he was alive was because the old man took him in, despite being the son of the devil itself. It's too bad he doesn't want to accept the fact that neither me and Luffy want to work under a bunch of people. He cleared his throat and gazed at his quiet female crewmember.

"He must have been an amazing person."

Naruto gazed at him and then let out a little chuckle before flashing him a smile. Ace blinked. Did she really just smile? Well why was he even surprised? The girl was constantly smiling and humming during the day, but it felt different if you asked him. There was something about this smile that made his toes curled up with warmth.

"If I don't think about his pervy habits then yeah Ero-Sennin was amazing," Naruto answered. She chuckled and looked at him for the longest time before looking up at the leaves. "If the leader of my village and my foster parents discouraged me of following my dreams then he encouraged it. He tells me if I ever have the chance of accomplishing my dream then I should take it."

Ace hummed and closed his eyes. You two are gonna become marines whether you like it or not. His head throbbed like it always did whenever he thought of Garp's fist of love. He tucked his head between his knees and glanced at the smiling blonde before tilting his head upwards. It wouldn't be long before his adoptive grandfather learned about his actions.

He was probably going to be disappointed in him but this was his life.

"Y'know my Gramps doesn't like my dream of becoming a pirate," Ace commented. Naruto gazed at him with furrowed eyebrows and he allowed a little snort to come out of his nose. He smiled slightly wider as blue eyes continued to stare at him. "That old man wanted me and my little brother to become marines like him instead of becoming pirates."

He waited for the blonde to question him but Naruto just hummed and stroke her chin. Her blue eyes inspected him like she was trying to figure him out and for a brief moment he wondered if the blonde could figure him out. It would be impossible because they had only known each other for a short time. No, his friend must be thinking about something else.

"Grandparents always want to protect their grandchildren even if they aren't blood-related to them," Naruto mused. He blinked ad the blonde furiously shook her head before rubbing her stomach. "The previous leader of my home treated me like a granddaughter and he would always discourage me from doing this, because the world isn't a fair place."

You're going to do things my way!

He knew the main reason Garp wanted him to become a marine because if he desired to be anything but a pirate, then his adopted grandfather wouldn't care one bit about his dreams.

"I understood why Gramps wants me to be a marine but the old man is being naïve about my situation."

The words spilled out and Ace grimaced as blue eyes regarded him with curiosity. He didn't come here to talk about his own situation and he certainly did not mean to tell her that much. But there is something about her presence that makes a person want to open up. He shook his head and flickered his eyes to the thoughtful eyes of Naruto.

"I don't know what's your situation but your Gramps must love you if he had that much belief that you could overcome your situation," Naruto commented. "Because I doubt that an old man could be that naïve but then again that is just my thought."

You wouldn't think like that if you knew Gramps or know my situation. Ace exhaled and closed his eyes. From the moment his mother gave birth to him, people already hated him because he carried the blood of Gol D. Roger. Most ordinary people would wish for his death before they even got to know him. The marines would kill him.

If they didn't kill him then they would make him some kind of poster child and he didn't want that.

"Maybe."

Naruto quirked her lips into a slight smile and stared at him like she knew that he didn't believe her words. For someone who smiles like Luffy, she is definitely more observant than him. He rubbed his hand against the tree branch and sniffed the smoke before relaxing his shoulders. He blinked when the blonde flashed him a smile.

"Y'know if you ever wanted to talk about your situation then I'm willing to listen," Naruto said and Ace blinked. The blonde cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck. "I know from experience that people feel better when they talk about their problems."

Ace chuckled and stared at the sincere eyes of his friend. The moment that this girl found out about his blood then she was going to either leave him alone or try to kill him. Not everyone can accept a person like me. He had been lucky to be born even though he probably didn't deserve to be born. Another sigh escaped his lips.

You just keep living and hope that you find out the answer to your question.

He shook his head and looked at the smiling blonde. He didn't know why Garp's words echoed in his ears but maybe it was because there was something about her tone that reminded him of the old man. Now that he thought about it, his subordinate seemed way too good to become a pirate. She had been willing to share her food which was something that no pirate would do.

"Are you sure you want to be a pirate? Because you sound and act like a hero."

The blonde snorted and let out a low-throaty laugh.

"I care about my friends and comrades, Ace and if being a hero means caring about them then I will take your words as a compliment."


"Naruto, I'm sorry for bringing up Jiraiya."

The blonde looked away from her cup of ramen as the early morning sunrays kissed her skin. Blue eyes looked regretful as he flickered his eyes from the cup of ramen and Naruto only put down her food. Even though her stomach rumbled with hunger and Ace gazed at her with concern, she forced herself to relax her arms.

"You didn't know," Naruto said. She took in a deep breath and forced herself to smile at the male even though her heart begged her to tell him that he was an asshole for bringing it up again. Of course he would bring it up because normal people would apologize for those kind of things. I shouldn't expect Masky to be any different. She grimaced.

It was better for everyone if she just rolled with it. I have been doing that for the last 12 years of my life. Naruto inwardly grimaced and looked up at the faded blue skies. Yeah, it should be easy for her to smile and just continue to pretend that everything was all good. After a couple of days, she could actually genuinely feel okay being around the boy.

The best way to kick off the process was for her to change the topic.

"Y'know you haven't told Ace and me your name."

The masked man blinked and then grimaced while Ace shot her a frown. She thinned her lips at the silent question and shook her head before picking up her ramen from the ground. It was better for everyone if the topic of Jiraiya was pushed aside for another more interesting topic. Naruto exhaled and slurped on her ramen as Masky lowered his head.

"I abandoned my birth name when I started my adventure," Masky admitted. The blonde frowned and tilted her head to the side before scratching her head. Ace knitted his eyebrows together into a thin line as he gazed with their companion with a curious smile playing on his lips. He glanced at her and the blonde held her hand out up to him.

She didn't know if it would be a good idea for him to ask whatever questions burned through his mind. If he abandoned his name then he probably doesn't see any good in his name. Naruto rubbed her jaws and let out a small yawn before glancing at their boat, which stood right in front of them with its half-made form.

"Mind telling us why you abandoned your name?" Naruto asked. "You got problems with your family?"

Masky blinked and slurped on his ramen as his blue eyes darkened with irritation. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. Yeah, that definitely confirmed her suspicion that their new friend wasn't close to his parents. Family can be difficult or so Sakura-chan would always complain whenever we had missions. She had foster parents but that had been temporary.

We will always be family, Naru-chan.

Yeah, family didn't mean that she had to be connected to them through blood.

"I was supposed to become a doctor like my brother," Masky finally admitted with a scowl. Naruto blinked and cracked her knuckles as the male looked down at his food. "But no matter how much I tell my parents that I want to go on an adventure, they will force me to go into my brother's path. I failed my first year and so I decided to go on my adventure before my parents and brother convince me to give it another chance."

Naruto hummed and blew a single of strand of her hair away from her forehead. Being a medic doesn't only mean having good chakra control, but having motivation. That had been Hinata-chan's explanation on why she didn't become a medic. Her best friend might had good chakra control but she lacked motivation when it came to that career move.

Her friend had an amazing Kekkei Genkei that would be useful for a medic-nin.

"What about your family?" Naruto blinked and jerked her head up as Masky gazed at her with curious eyes. The blonde raised her eyebrows at the male and the man elaborated his question. "Well you figured out that I had problems with family and well I figure that you might be in the same boat as me."

The blonde sighed and closed her eyes. It was only fair for the boy to make that conclusion because she knew she would have made the same conclusion if she was in his shoes. Ah, but should I tell him about my family? It felt weird. No one had really ever asked her about her family while she was growing up but then again…

Why is she mocking us with that appearance? How do we know it isn't possessing her?

Her jaws tightened and her blood boiled with irritation.

"My parents died when I was barely an hour old," Naruto finally answered. Masky winced while Ace gazed at her with unreadable eyes. "So I don't really have any problems with my family because I never really got to know them. The only thing I knew about them was that my Mom came from a tiny island hidden in the whirlpools while my Dad was the leader of my home."

She kept her tone nonchalant while Masky and Ace blinked at this piece of information. Why would she even hide it? She had no reason to hide her heritage. If those two ever ended up back in her village then they were going to find out when they saw the Hokage Monument. She clicked her tongue and gazed up at the sky.

Ace frowned. "If your Dad was the leader of your home then why would you want to be a pirate? I know you want freedom but being the daughter of a leader must be comfortable."

Masky bobbed his head in agreement and the blonde tilted her head as she gazed at them. How could she explain things to them? The whole thing was definitely more complicated than they thought. It isn't like I can tell them about Kurama. They wouldn't understand the whole complicated idea of seals and would come to the same conclusion as the villagers.

Instead, she would have to go with another story that could have been her life if Obito hadn't killed her parents.

"You think being the child of a hero is easy? It's fucking horrible," Naruto finally said. Ace and Masky exchanged glances as the blonde kicked up her heels and gazed out at the ocean. "No one looks at you like you are a person but an extension of your family. If you do anything amazing then they expected it because your parents was amazing. People are too fucking scared to say shit about you because they see you as an extension of that person."

I don't understand Naruto-neechan! I do well in school like you told me and they still compare me to Gramps! They say that it is only expected because he is my grandfather!

She stretched her fingers and closed her eyes. No matter how many times she tried to make a solution for her little brother-figure, nothing seemed to work for him. No one, outside of his team, seem ready to acknowledge the fact that he isn't his grandfather but his own person. That probably would have been her fate if her father hadn't died.

"I think being a child of a hero is better than being a child of the devil," Masky commented. Naruto blinked and tilted her head to the side when Ace stiffened at those words. "I heard that a year before I was born that the World Government went to the South Blue and killed a lot of pregnant women because they heard Gold Roger was acting more like a father over there. They suspected that he was going to have a kid."

Bile rose up to her throat and Naruto clenched her jaws together. Did they really murder pregnant woman because they might carry his child? She balled her hands into a fist and took in several deep breaths as her blood continued to steam with rage. How could they do something that horrible? This was just as fucked up as the shinobi system.

"Why does it matter who are the parents of a child?" Naruto asked. Masky blinked and the blonde tightened her jaws as her nostrils flared up with irritation. Ace gazed at her with unreadable eyes. "Those pregnant women didn't deserve to get killed! And that baby carries no sin! They did nothing wrong! That baby deserve to live just like every baby in this fucking world."

Masky looked at her with disbelief. "Do you honestly believe the child of the devil deserve to live? They are going to be as evil as their Dad!"

You know the man that those merchants call the Pirate King, Naruto? Well, he wasn't a bad guy once you knew him!

You aren't human! You have never been human and that is why you don't have a name.

She felt the vein on her forehead throbbing and her blue eyes stilted at him. This was only a theoretical situation but her blood boiled and fumed with rage at the knowledge that the man would be that judgmental. A doctor should never be that judgmental but then again humans were judgmental little shits. They always acted like they had the right to be god.

"Yes I believe the child of a devil deserve to live!" She finally snarled. Masky blinked and dropped his jaws at her while Ace gazed at her with wide eyes. The blonde grinded her teeth together and took in a deep breath. "You know why? They never asked for that bullshit! They didn't pick their parents or make their parents do all those terrible things! And also how the fuck do you know if he was a terrible man?"

Masky narrowed his eyes at her. "The World Government—"

"Government would fucking lie if they think that it would keep the peace," Naruto allowed the anger to seep in even more as blue eyes widened. "You don't know Gol D. Roger so how the fuck do you know if he was a terrible person? Because Ero-Sennin tells me that he was a happy-go-lucky, impulsive idiot that gets into fights whenever someone insults his friends! Now tell me is that a terrible person?"

Her heart thundered and raced as Masky took a step backwards. His blue eyes faltered and he glanced at Ace, who had been oddly quiet throughout the whole exchange. Why was he quiet? Did he think she was being an idiot for saying those words? She glanced at her captain and frowned at the serious grey eyes of her captain.

Was he upset with her for defending the potential child of Gol ?

"I'm going to go for a walk."

That was the only thing Ace said before leaving her alone with their thoughtful masked companion. As her eyes fixated on the broad shoulders of her captain, the blonde could not help but noticed the shakiness of his steps and the heaviness in his movement. Something about our conversation triggered him. She grimaced.

Once she was done punching some trees, she better comfort her captain before knocking some sense into Masky because she refused to travel with a man that would discriminate people because of their lineage.


"You okay there, Freckles?"

Naruto rubbed the dirt off of her knuckles and jacket as her eyes rested on her captain. Ace sat against the tree trunk that seemed to have the imprint of his fist against the trunk. She flickered her eyes to the distance, where smoke waffled through the air, and then looked back at her captain. Dark shadows covered his face, almost making the teen look like one of those villains in those picture books that Konohamaru used to read.

Not that her captain was a villain because he was probably the nicest guy that she ever met.

"I'm fine," Ace grunted. Naruto raised her eyebrows and shook her head before taking a seat beside her captain. She probably should keep her mouth shut because that would be the smart thing to do. Then again when had she ever been known to do the logical thing? She was more known for her ability to ignore commonsense.

The gentle breeze tickled her neck as her eyes rested on the sullen eyes of her captain. Something was definitely bothering him but what was it? Was he unhappy about her defending that almost non-existent child of her mentor's friend? Maybe. If he was anything like Masky then he might believe in the same bullshit at their companion.

"Did your brother ever tell you that you're a crappy liar?" Naruto asked. Ace blinked and jerked his head as she locked her eyes onto him. "Because I know you aren't fine, Ace."

Ace just stared at her with unreadable eyes and only looked up at the sky. What was going through her friend's mind? Was he upset with her for calling him out? If that was the case then she wasn't going to apologize to him. Why would she? There was nothing wrong with her confronting him about his problems. It was natural for a friend to ask.

They might have been together for over a week now but he was her friend.

"You can read minds now?"

The blonde snorted and shook her head before leaning closer to her friend. Musk reeked out of him but it wasn't a horrible scent. He smelt like Konoha during the summer and that made her heart clenched slightly with sadness. It had been more than a month since she began her journey of exploring the world around her.

A month since she left Hinata, Konohamaru and Sakura for this crazy dream of hers.

"Y'know for some reason I can still feel people's emotions around me," Naruto mused. The anger, sadness and resentment in her captain poured out of him in waves while in the distance, Masky seemed to be contemplating if that little fickle she felt told her anything. Hopefully, the idiot would consider her words. "And your feelings are rather obvious, Cap."

Ace tilted his hat downwards and the blonde let out a sigh. It was too much for her to hope that the teen would just suddenly open up if she decided to confront him. Then again if someone asks me to open up because they ask then I would think they are idiots. Talking about emotions to someone that you don't know all that well was something that a trusting idiot would do.

She had never been a trusting idiot even if Sakura and Sasuke shared that belief from her behavior.

"You aren't going to ask me why I'm upset?" Curiosity leaked out of the male's voice and Naruto only gazed at him. If I asked you then would you tell me why you feel so much anger and sadness? That sounded too much in her ears. No matter how badly she wanted to know the answer, if she asked him then would it just push him away from her? She didn't want that.

Being around Ace and hell even Masky was the most fun that she ever had. Her whole body would vibrate with happiness whenever she was around them but that might be because that they were having fun. This wasn't some mission for her. This was actually her chance to explore the world around her, which was more than what some people could do.

"If you want to tell me then tell me but if you don't want to tell me then that's fine too."

Ace nodded and bobbed his head before gazing at her with unreadable eyes. Her throat dried up and sweat dribbled down the side of her face as she took in the seriousness in his eyes. Why was he looking at her like that? It looked like he wanted to gobble her up. No, it looked like he wanted to interrogate her.

"Do you truly believe that the child of Gol D. Roger deserve to live?"

Naruto blinked and stared at the tree standing right across them. Oh. Her captain wanted to know if she really did have the belief? Did she care if Ace decided to kick her out because of this belief? Not really. Nothing in the world was going to make her change her mind when it came to what Masky told her. If anything, she would continue with that belief.

Because if her grandfather had been a horrible man then her father didn't deserve to live and then it meant she didn't deserve to live.

"Everyone deserves the right to live," Naruto finally answered. She closed her eyes and exhaled. "When a baby is born, they don't ask to be born. They were born because either the parents chose to bring them to the world or because they forgot protection. Either way, they didn't ask to be born and so they don't really deserve to die because of their parents."

Ace eyed her. "Masky thinks that a child deserves to die."

Naruto rolled her eyes.

"Masky is an idiot because how can you kill a cute baby?" She puffed her cheeks and then grinned when Ace snorted at her words. Naruto shook her head and stared at her captain. "I mean we're all people and no one deserves the right to pass judgment on someone based on their lineage or where they come from."

Being a jinchuuriki taught her that discrimination wasn't fair and that she was never going to be seen for her own merits.

"You know you're weird, right?"

The fondness in his tone made her smile widened.

"Well I'm your weirdo, aren't I?"

Ace grinned at her words.


A/N: So Naruto and Ace bonded while Masked Deuce is completely ignorant about the whole thing. After the next chapter, there would be a tiny timeskip of a few weeks. Now here are a couple of questions for you:

Q1: How do you think Naruto will react to Sanji?

Q2: How do you feel about the pace of Naruto and Ace's friendship?

Q3: How do you feel about the second scene?

Q4: Who do you think will fall first? Naruto or Ace?

Please do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter.