Disclaimer: I don't own anyone.
Author Note: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.
(Three weeks later)
"Have you guys heard anything from Naruto?"
Sakura blinked and put down her cold glass of green tea as the lively chatter in the outdoors of the restaurant died down. It had been over a month and a half since her teammate decided to run off and only yesterday did her unpredictable teammate send her a letter. It wasn't even a very long letter. With how much her teammate loved to ramble, she expected four pages from her.
All she got was two pages worth of writing and even then it felt like Naruto was hiding something from her.
The table squawked when Shikamaru dropped his own glass of tea on the table. The glass whimpered as droplets of cold tea marked the table alongside the bones scattered around the plate. The other plates jumped up before crashing back down onto the table. Sakura frowned and regarded Shikamaru, who shrugged his shoulders and sunk even deeper onto the chair.
"From what I understand from her letter, Naruto decided to join a pirate crew," Sakura admitted. She pressed her lips into a thin line as a tickle of frustration crept up on her. Of all the things she could do, this is probably one of her most reckless plan. The lights blinked as the members of Team Ten swirled their head at her alongside the other two members of Team Eight. "It seems to be new because Naruto said that there's only three of them for now."
Ino slacked her jaws and raised her arms up in the air while Hinata only dropped her shoulders. Pale, lavender eyes flashed with concern and Sakura took a sip of her tea again. Naruto becoming a pirate? It shouldn't surprise either of them. It would have been a matter of time before her restless teammate decided to do something like this.
"Has she lost her mind?" Ino demanded, smacking her hands on the table. Choji and Shikamaru let out a sigh while Kiba and Shino regarded the 17-year-old teen with rolling eyes. Several heads turned around, only to swirled away from them when Ino threw a dirty look at them. "It's one thing for her to go around travelling the world but becoming a pirate is a whole new level of recklessness, even for her!"
The pink-haired teen grimaced and took a sip of the cold green tea. Her whole body hummed with relief as Ino looked at her with disbelief. What can I do? Tell that knucklehead to not become a pirate? She snorted. Once the blonde had an idea inside of her head, there was nothing that could stop the stubborn idiot from following through with her decision.
Hinata let out a sigh. "You shouldn't put levels when it comes to Naruto-chan."
Sakura bobbed her head and took another sip of her cold tea. She felt the bubbles of amusement creeping up in her throat but she swallowed it down when Ino narrowed her eyes at her. The pink-haired girl bristled. Why was she glaring at her for? Hinata was definitely right. How could she even think of putting levels when it came to Naruto? Her teammate was in a whole different playing field when it came to recklessness.
"Naruto is completely sane," Sakura finally answered. Ino raised her eyebrows and let out a rather exasperated elephant-like snot while Choji flickered his eyes to Shikamaru. The black-haired teen only grunted and threw a narrowed glare at his teammate. "She just doesn't care about the possible problems that will come with her becoming a pirate."
Mumbles of agreement echoed throughout the restaurant and Sakura numbly realized that everyone in the restaurant had heard the whole conversation between them. It made sense they would listen in on their conversation. Everyone wanted to know what her teammate was up to, now that she left their island for some dangerous adventure.
Ino pinched her nostrils and let out an annoyed sigh before dropping her head back down on the table. The plates jumped up alongside with their forks and spoons before crashing back onto the table. The chair squeaked and Sakura balled her hands into a fist as several eyes flickered from her to the other members of Konoha 9.
A circle of grey smoke trailed towards her, moving around in a rather languid dance. Sakura coughed and wrinkled her nose as the smoke crept up into her nose and began to burn her lungs. Shikamaru let out another puff of his cigarette before squashing it down on the ash tray. What's up with him? Did something happen between him and Temari? No, Ino would have told her if anything happened between those two.
"Naruto always wanted to have an adventure," Shikamaru stated with a tired sigh. His tone was flat and thoughtful as the birds chirped their afternoon song. There was nothing about his tone that spoke about his feelings on the whiskered-teen's decision but Sakura could see the tightened grip around the male's hand. "Becoming a pirate would be something that would give her that adventure she had always been longing for."
Did everyone know about her first dream except me? Sakura furrowed her eyebrows together and shoved down the bubbles of irritation that crept up in her stomach. It shouldn't bother her that much but it did feel like her teammate seemed closer to everyone but her. After all, if Shikamaru knew it then it stood for reason that Choji knew.
She would also have to ask Sasuke-kun if he knew about Naruto's dream but she doubt the teen would tell her any answer about that.
Letting out another sigh, Sakura lifted her glass of tea and took another sip. It did not escape her notice that Choji threw a concerned look at Shikamaru or that Hinata eyed the male with suspicion. Now that I think about it, Shikamaru and Naruto hang out a lot until a couple of months ago. But it wasn't something out of the ordinary with how strong their friendship was.
"Going out and becoming a pirate is something you should expect Naruto to do," Choji commented. Hinata and Sakura exchanged glances before bobbing their heads in agreement. The pink-haired teen chuckled and lowered her glass of tea as the Akimichi heir chewed on what could only be his sixth chicken wing. "If she wasn't born here then I think her being a pirate would make sense."
Sakura chuckled. "I can't imagine her taking orders from Marines all that well."
"She barely takes orders from the Hokage well," Shikamaru reminded them with a snort. Laughter flooded the table as the laughter of little children pierced through the air. The pink-haired teen rubbed her crying ribs and her laughter died down when she saw Konohamaru staring at her and Hinata with irritation. He is probably angry we didn't try harder to stop Naruto. That was the only explanation for that glare.
The Third Hokage's grandson always seemed to have a very close relationship with her teammate. He used to bug the blonde to play ninja with him and his friends before pestering the girl for training.
Sakura took in a deep breath and waited for the younger teen to make his usual rude comment to her, only to blink when the brown-haired boy grunted and walked away from them. That's weird. He had always been rude to her from calling her ugly to implying that she was some kind of monster, but him being quiet was just strange.
She shook her head and stared at the smiling faces of the young children. A little blond-haired girl dashed forward with a mischevious smile as another brown-haired child charged after her. The bright sunrays struck them, bringing out almost an angelic glow to them and not for the first time did Sakura see the image of a grinning Naruto.
C'mon Sakura-chan, just one more bowl of ramen!
A shaky breath came out of her mouth and Sakura steadied her shaking shoulders. "I really hope those crewmates and that captain of hers are going to be good to her and that they know what they are doing, because Naruto certainly doesn't seem to understand how dangerous the ocean can be."
If her teammate was the type to think ahead before every action then she probably wouldn't be having this much concern for Naruto. But the whiskered-teen was more known for following her emotions and heart then following with her head. I know she says that she is prepared but if I haven't check over her stuff then she wouldn't even have spare clothes. And that was with her and Hinata being here.
Who knew what kind of shenanigans Naruto would be up to without anyone keeping her in check.
"I don't think Naruto will end up joining someone who is bad," Choji commented. Hinata bobbed her head while Sakura curled her lips into a slight smile. Well the boy did have a point because her teammate wouldn't be with people who hurt her. Even though she knew that, her stomach still rolled around with concern. "I think the pirates that she found might be good people."
Sakura let out a sigh and closed her eyes.
"I just hope Naruto knows what she is doing."
"Why are you guys looking at me like that?"
The warm breeze tickled the back of Naruto's head as she lowered Konohamaru's letter. She finished reading Hinata and Sakura's letters just a few minutes ago, so it was only right for her to begin reading her foster brother's letter. But how could she even focus when her two friends stared at her letters like it was something out of this world.
She released a sigh and fixed her eyes on Ace. The raven-haired teen eyed the pile of letters with vivid curiosity and if that curled fist told her anything then it was that she was lucky that he didn't try to grab the letters. Too curious for his own good. A little chuckle escaped her lips as Masked Deuce gazed at the letter in her hand with curiosity.
"Well no one writes letters back to their home once they start this journey," Masked Deuce asked. He tightened his mask as a fish crashed right back into the water. His blue eyes regarded her with curiosity before moving back to the open letters that rested on top of the seat. He glanced at Ace, who stood behind them with a smile on his face.
It feels wrong not to write letters to them. Naruto exhaled and looked up at the sky. A single cloud skirted across the bright blue skies, dancing like it was having the time of its life over there. She took a deep breath and placed Konohamaru's letter on top of the pile before sliding the pile of letters into her backpack.
Once they reached their next destination, she would send them a letter.
"I have to write letters or else I will have a bunch of people hunting down my ass," Naruto explained. Masked Deuce blinked and raised his eyebrows at her while Ace tilted his head to the side. The blond-haired teen let out a yawn and leaned back, causing their little boat to rock to the side. "Seriously, they worry too much even though I can kick their asses to the ground."
Masked Deuce pinched his nose and looked at her like he knew the reason for their concern. She snorted and flickered her eyes to Ace, who flashed her an amused smile like he understood the reason for their concern. What do they know that I don't know? She scowled and then paused when she felt the waves of slight envy coming from her friend.
She wished Ace would just talk about what the hell was bothering him.
"Do you do things that makes them worry about you?" Ace asked, quirking his lips into a grin. His grey eyes gleamed with amusement and that smile playing on his lips spoke volumes of how much he wanted to tease her. "Tell me, Fishcake…were you that mischievous little girl that was always getting herself into trouble."
Naruto felt her cheeks burned with embarrassment and threw a scowl at her captain before folding her arms against her chest. She wasn't that bad. The worst thing she ever did was steal the Forbidden Scroll and that was it. Well, it wasn't completely true. There had been a few times when she nearly caused an international incident but no one needs to know that.
"I'm a very responsible person," Naruto replied, schooling her expression into a poker expression. Masked Deuce snorted while Ace looked at her with unconvinced eyes and lips twitching with the greatest desire to laugh. She scowled. "I'm serious! I do an amazing job when it comes to listening to orders."
Ace and Masked Deuce exchanged glances before her Captain finally said. "Sure you are, Fishcake."
"Meanies! The both of you are officially meanies!" Naruto grumbled, poking her tongue at them. Ace chuckled and leaned his whole body forward until the two of them were only a couple of inches away from each other. The heat radiating out of his body was so hot that sweat began to form around her forehead and arms, which made her tempted to toss away her favorite orange jacket.
She blinked when Ace ruffled her hair and felt her heart twirling around with amusement at the smile playing on her captain's lips. His grey eyes continued to glow with amusement as his yellow open shirt danced alongside the warm breeze of the sea. It really was difficult for her to stay serious when the boy would give her such smiles.
Actually, it was difficult for her to try and be serious with those two around her.
Masked Deuce cleared his throat and Ace pulled his hand away from her hair. She puffed her cheeks and threw a half-heated glare at the first mate, who did not look one bit amused by her action. He only threw the both of them a glare before shaking his head. Why was he the one shaking his head? She should be the one complaining about him ruining their moment.
Well it didn't matter anyway.
Now that I think about it, I'm kinda lucky I have summons. She rubbed her jaws and gazed at her two friends before looking back at her zipped-up bag. Without her toad summons, it would be impossible for her to send all those letters to her friends but Ace and Masked Deuce didn't have that. Then again, Masked Deuce didn't really have anyone that he wanted to send letters to if she considered their conversation in that island.
But Ace did have a little brother and if he was anything like Konohamaru then he would probably want a letter.
"Do you guys want me to have one of my toad summons to send a letter to your families and friends?" Ace and Masked Deuce blinked and dropped their mouth so low that they reminded her of a dead fish. She shrugged her shoulders and smiled wider at them. "They will probably need time to locate them but they can give them a message if you want."
Her two friends blinked and exchanged glances as the birds sang their cheerful song and the fishes did their usual acrobatic dance. She waited for them to say something to her, to inform her whether or not they wanted the opportunity to reassure their family of their whereabouts. Out of all the communication methods they had, hers was probably the safest way for them to communicate.
"I think your toads will be very annoyed with Luffy," Ace finally said with a chuckle. Naruto blinked as the man offered her a wide smile. "If he doesn't try and eat your toad then he will ask them a bunch of stupid questions like whether or not they can poop."
The blonde snorted and shook her head before looking down at the sparkling waters. He really does love that little brother of his. She could understand why her captain loves his little brother if he was anything like Konohamaru. Except well she wouldn't spend the whole time bragging about the younger boy because that would make her foster brother get a big head.
Masked Deuce snorted and then chuckled. "You really can't stop talking about your little brother, can't ya?"
"I think it's adorable that our Cap has a brother-complex," Naruto curled her lips into a teasing smile as Ace's cheeks reddened into a bright shade of red. Masked Deuce snorted and eyed their blushing captain like he found her words to be an understatement. "It just goes to show that our Cap is a real softie to his brother and will probably do everything in his power to protect him."
Hopefully he won't do anything stupid like what Itachi did. She exhaled and rubbed the back of her neck. The love between brothers was still a puzzle for her to figure out but Naruto did know that kind of intense love was reciprocal. She knew without any doubt that if anything ever happened to her Captain then his little brother was probably going to take some reckless path.
Ace nodded. "I promise to myself that I won't let anything happen to him."
Masked Deuce curled his lips into almost a smile filled with envy while Naruto gazed at him with a knowing smile playing on her lips. That was something she expected from him, but there was something she feared from such strong words. If you promise to protect him then who is going to cover your ass? She took a deep breath and eyed her captain.
"Then that means you probably need to get a lot stronger, don't you Cap?" Naruto asked. Ace blinked while Masked Deuce looked at her with curious eyes. She leaned her whole body forward and wiggled her finger at the male. "Once you go to the Grand Line then you will meet opponents who are a hell lot stronger than ya and you can't protect him if you're weak."
Ace gazed at her for the longest time and the smile on his face dropped like the fading raining. Her heart almost swell with guilt but it was for her captain's own good. Sasuke went insane after learning the truth behind his brother's actions, alongside his death but that didn't need to be spoken out loud. That was her best-friend's story to tell.
"I think the Cap is strong enough," Masked Deuce commented. His eyes fixed on their captain before flickering towards her. Her friend's eyes spoke confidence of their friend's skill, earning a little sigh from the blonde. "You worry too much about the Captain's strength, Naruto. We're going to be fine once we finally reached the Grandline."
Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and took a rather deep breath. How did she go about this with those two? With a matter like this, she couldn't just rest on it. Her two friends had people who loved them and as long as she was with them, she was going to keep them alive. I know how strong grief can be. The blonde exhaled.
"If Ace and you die then it will be your families that will get hurt," Naruto stated. The smiles on their faces faded and the blonde fixed her attention on those grey eyes of her captain. Out of all of them, he was the one that she needed to warn because Masky was the most sensible one. Her sweet, lovable captain just lacked sense at times. "So you better keep on getting stronger so that they don't get hurt…especially your brothers."
The words hovered between them and the tension grew so thick that her throat began to clog up. Ace's eyes fixed on her like he was trying to figure out the truth behind her words. Naruto allowed her smile to drop as both set of eyes continued to fix her on her. She waited for them to ask the unspoken question to her.
"Did you lose a brother?" Ace finally asked. His tone was quiet and heavy as his grey eyes seemed to flash with understanding while Masked Deuce regarded her with curious eyes. The birds stopped chirping and the boat stopped rocking as both eyes begged for her to answer the question. Their eyes almost demanded for an answer to the question.
Naruto felt her whole body grow heavy and closed her eyes as teary pale, lavender eyes flashed before her eyes. Furious black eyes replayed before her eyes too and her stomach began to bubble with sadness and grief. She had been lucky that her fight with Sasuke, didn't end up with either of them dying but with them getting badly injured.
"Hinata-chan lost her older brother figure and she grieves for him every day even though it has been nearly a year since he died," Naruto answered. She clasped her hands together and leaned her whole body forward as her eyes rested on the two of them. "Another best friend of mine practically went insane when his brother died. So you better get stronger for them."
That was the best thing that she could tell them without going into much details, because it was still too soon for her to open up about her experience.
She didn't want to see that kind of grief again and if she could prevent that from happening again then she was going to do it.
How did Fishcake convince me to get onto this ocean-going restaurant?
Ace curled his lips into a frown and stared at the glimmering dresses that the women on the other tables wore, before glancing at the men dressed in their dinner suits. Unlike everyone in this boat, the three of them were underdressed. Even if he buttoned up his shirt then he would still pass off as some scruffy teen and the same went for Masked Deuce.
Naruto had undid her usual ponytail, making her golden hair looked even more like a river of gold, and sat in a way that almost reminded him of some of the nobles that he had seen in the Goa Kingdom. If I think of technicality then Fishcake is considered a noble at her home. It was understandable but it didn't mean he couldn't notice the difference between them.
"Why did you have to give into Naruto's request?" Masked Deuce whispered to him as Naruto flipped through the menu. His first mate gazed at the grinning blond before throwing him an exasperated look. "Is it so hard for you to tell her that we need to get to the next island and get a better boat before coming to a fancy-ass place like this?"
He leaned closer to the male and muttered. "Could you say no when Naruto pouts and puts on that puppy-dog look?"
Masked Deuce kept quiet and threw him a half-heated glare before looking back at the grinning, humming blond. He snorted. It seemed like even his first mate couldn't say no if he had those bright waterfall colored eyes directed at him. How could anyone say no to that? It was the second most difficult thing to say no to! The only thing that could top Naruto's pouts was Luffy.
Ace lowered the menu when he caught sight of a large, muscular man with a creepy-ass smile heading their way. His eyes fixated on the three of them and there was a tickle of disgust creeping up in his eyes alongside dismissal. I should have definitely fought harder when it came to Naruto's request. He could already tell what was going to happen to them.
"Do you three dumbasses have any money on you?" The man demanded with a sneer. Ace clenched his hands into a fist and felt the blood inside of him boiled with rage. Did he just imply his crewmates were idiots? Out of the three of them, he was probably the least intelligent one. Masked Deuce was going to be a doctor before he came here, while Naruto seemed to know a lot of stuff.
He pushed his chair back, only to blink when a sunkissed foot brushed against him. Ace thinned his lips and snuck a glance at his only female crewmate, who had a large fake smile playing on her lips. The tightened grip on her menu told him that she was upset but for some reason, her eyes seemed to be directing a warning at him instead of the asshole in front of them.
Let me handle this!
That was what her eyes told him and Ace grunted before pushing himself back into the seat.
"Does your fine restaurant accept ryo?" Naruto asked with a fake cheerful tone. Ace frowned and tilted his head to the side as the blonde pulled out a fat frog-like wallet from her pocket. The big-round innocent eyes of the frog wallet clashed with the serious eyes of his crew mate. "Because if it does then I've plenty of money to pay for the food."
How much money do you have on you? And what the hell is ryo? Ace scratched his head and glanced at Masked Deuce, who eyed the wallet with eyes filled with wonder and curiosity. Right, his first mate might know from that book Naruto's godfather wrote. The man probably mentioned their currency in that book of his.
The muscular man eyed the wallet with greediness but then quickly schooled his expression. His black eyes still glimmered with hunger as he eyed the fat belly of Naruto's wallet. Maybe we don't need to do a Dine-and-Dash. That meant less fun for him but if he could actually get some decent food that wasn't ramen then he would kiss Naruto's feet.
"Ryo?" The man asked. "I never heard of that kind of currency before in my life."
Naruto bobbed her head and rubbed the back of her neck, not looking one bit irritated with the man's rude tone. It was almost like the blonde was used to that kind of rude behavior. She doesn't even seem faze over the way people keep looking at her whiskered cheeks. It was like the blonde was so used to this kind of cold behavior.
It was weird because his crewmate was the daughter of a hero.
"It's one of the few currency from the Grand Line," Naruto replied with a pleasant tone. The chatter in the restaurant grew quiet as several heads turned around to stare at them. Their eyes looked at their female crewmate like she was somekind of weirdo for being in this restaurant. Their eyes looked at Naruto like she was some kind of exotic creature. "So can you let me and my friends eat?"
"I will have to ask the owner if he accept your currency," The man declared with a fake cheer. "But you'll leave if we don't accept your currency."
Naruto bobbed her head and the fake smile on her face only faded when the man walked away from them. She slumped her shoulders as if a huge weight was taken off of her shoulders. The blonde relaxed her shoulders and dropped her head on the top of the table. Fishcake must have been controlling her temper. That was the only explanation for her trembling shoulder.
"We're never going to eat," Masked Deuce grumbled. He threw an annoyed look at the whiskered-teen, who seemed to be completely unfazed by their friend's annoyed look. A collected growl echoed between the three of them and Deuce slumped his shoulders. "Really Naruto, did you have to be honest with him? We could have done a Dine and Dash instead of going through this."
Ace bobbed his head and Naruto looked unimpressed with the both of them. Her blue eyes seemed almost faded like she was in another place and another time. The frown on the teen's face deepened and the raven-haired teen waved his hand at the blonde. Dear god, what was going through her mind?
"Do you know how hard they work to make this food?" Naruto asked. Ace blinked and the blonde eyed the menu before looking at them with faint amused smiles. "For you guys, Dine and Dash means free food but for these people, it means that they're losing money. I don't know their situation but they probably need this money to make a living. It isn't easy to make money."
What kind of life did you have? Ace regarded the blond-haired teen and then looked at the menu. It was so easy for him to not think about it because he could never afford all those kind of fancy meals. Hell, even the normal ordinary stuff were things that he couldn't afford because Dadan was very much stingy when it came to money.
It didn't help that it was fun.
"If they don't accept your money then we're going to starve," Masked Deuce observed. "You have to take that into consideration, Naruto. What are you going to do if he doesn't accept your currency? We finished up all of your instant ramen because we had to make sure Ace can keep his new power under control."
Ace frowned and tilted his hat up. They shouldn't make the blond-haired teen take responsibility for her actions because he should have been the one to tell her no. Masked Deuce wouldn't be fretting if he had been able to look away from those large blue eyes and just tell Fishcake that they were going to stick to their original destination, which had been a small island close to this current ship.
"If he doesn't accept then I tell him that I work under him for two weeks to pay off whatever debt we will get," Naruto replied with a casual shrug. Ace pressed his lips into a thin line and glanced around the restaurant. All the other customers looked away from them but there were a couple of males who eyed his female companion with hunger in their eyes. "In those two weeks, Ace can get even better control and you can start learning how to fight."
Masked Deuce eyed her. "Haven't you noticed that every staff member who works here is a male? I don't think they will accept you."
"Oh I notice the sexist environment but I'm pretty sure that I can get the owner to accept me," Naruto answered. Their friend raised his eyebrows as a gust of wind swirled and twirled around them. She flashed them a secretive smile and chuckled. "Trust me when I say that you won't find anyone more stubborn than me!"
Ace sighed. "And you are proud of that?"
"Yup," Naruto declared with a grin. Her blue eyes sparkled with happiness as a stream of golden sunrays washed over her, making her already bright hair even brighter against the sunlight. Ace could only stare at the grinning blond as his stomach fluttered with what could only be described as joy. "Why wouldn't I be proud? My stubbornness is the reason that I got my job at the age of 12!"
Their menus dropped and Ace almost dropped his jaw. 12? Why would Naruto work at the age of 12? Was she forced to work or something? No, it didn't seem like his female friend was the type of person who could be forced to do things. Besides, the girl glowed with pride when she mentioned how old she was when she started to work.
"Divine goddess! I know now why I have been put on this planet and that is to serve you!"
Ace blinked and swirled his head around, only to slack his jaw at the sight of a blond-haired teen staring at Naruto with heart in his eyes. What the fuck is happening here? He scratched his head and looked at Masky, who stared at the teen with unamused eyes. No, if anything the male looked almost annoyed by the words coming from the male's lips.
"Are you talking to me?" Naruto asked, pointing to herself. The teen vigorously nodded his head and seemed focused on his blond-haired friend's eyes but Ace noticed the stolen glances at his crewmate's generous chest. His eyebrows twitched but he held it in. His crewmate was a very strong woman. "Great! Just great! Why the fuck do I attract perverts?"
Ace snorted and flashed the blonde a little smile. "Probably because you're one hell of an attractive woman."
The whiskered teen flushed a deep shade of red, which earned raised eyebrows of the blond-haired teen, Masked Deuce and a couple of the other male customers. Ace could feel the looks of envy being thrown at him but his eyes only fixed on the pink cheeks of his very much flustered crewmate. It was odd but satisfying to know that this reaction came from him.
But why did she get fluster when he complimented her and not that blond-haired teen?
"My gorgeous, divine goddess!" The blond-haired male cooed. The redness on Naruto's cheeks died away and that bashful smile playing on her lips changed into a tight smile. He couldn't help but also noticed that his smiling crewmate also had her hands curled into a fist. The male looked almost unfazed or he probably did not realize that he was going to get punched soon. "You are definitely way more attractive then these two punks."
The smile on Naruto's face widened and Ace felt his throat becoming dry as those bright blue eyes darkened into what could only be described as a siren's call. There was something about those blue eyes that lured someone into an enthralling trap. He almost tugged his collar when the blonde licked her lips.
He only tilted his head when those slender fingers of his blond-haired crewmate crept up the boy's sleeve. The blond-haired boy with his swirly eyebrow reddened as steam erupted from his ears. Several of the male customers shot looks of envy to the male while Ace only furrowed his eyebrows together.
Wasn't she annoyed just now? So why was Naruto changing her tune?
"You know you're such an attractive boy and you say such sweet words," Naruto hummed. The chatter died down and Ace felt his lips twitched into a smile when he caught sight of the mischievous glint in his crewmate's eyes. The blond-haired girl let out a disappointed sigh and patted the male's chest. "But too bad for you, I know your tricks."
Masked Deuce snorted and looked at Naruto with a faint amused smile while Ace grinned. Chuckles echoed throughout the restaurant as several of the girls stared at his female crewmate with bobbing heads. A few of the female customers even laughed when the male turned to complete stone at the comment. Some of the men snickered while a few of the girls looked at the whiskered teen with disapproval in their eyes.
"Tricks?" The boy cried.
Naruto nodded sagely. "Yeah, tricks! You think I don't know such cheesy lines? I bet that you say those words to every attractive woman that comes to this restaurant."
One of the chefs snorted and bobbed his head while the blond-haired teen slacked his jaw at Naruto. His female crewmate patted the male's chest and leaned back in her seat while Masked Deuce regarded the blonde with knowing eyes. Did he expect Fishcake to say those words? And how does she know that he was a playboy? He really couldn't tell the signs.
"Lil' Eggplant, must you always try to flirt with every damn passenger who has a set of breasts?" A guffy voice growled. The chatter died down and the smile on the boy's face faded, replaced with a scowl as an elderly, blond-haired man walked towards them. The wood screeched as the irritated man flickered his eyes between the three of them. "Now which one of you three come from the Elemental Islands?"
Ace blinked and exchanged glances with Masked Deuce before flickering his eyes to Naruto. So that's the name of her island but why is it plural? They would probably have to ask Naruto once they got the whole thing sorted because it sounded interesting. Actually, everything about Naruto was interesting if he thought about it.
He had never met someone like Naruto before.
"You've been to my part of the Grand Line, Old Man?" Naruto chirped. The elderly man gazed at the blond-haired teen and skirted his eyes from her golden hair to the whisker marks on her cheeks. He seems to be searching for something. The old man's eyes kept flickering from Naruto's forehead to her arms before moving to her waist. "Not many people can reach that far in the Grandline."
The elderly man did not say anything but it didn't escape his notice that the old man had begun to inspect Naruto's bag. His eyes lingered on the mysterious characters surrounding her bag as the silence in the restaurant began to grow even more thicker. Why wasn't the old man saying anything to them? And why was he looking at Naruto with weariness?
His crewmate might move around like a soldier at times but she wouldn't harm a single soul.
"I've been in your island long enough to know a kunoichi will never come this far for no reason."
Now that was the last thing he ever expected to hear from this old man.
A/N: So we see a little glimpse of Konoha and their reaction to the knowledge that Naruto decided to become a Pirate. Naruto tells Ace and Masked Deuce that they needed to get stronger and the trio also met Sanji. Now here are a couple of questions for you:
Q1: How did you feel about Sakura's POV
Q2: Who do you think will win in a battle of wills: Naruto or Zeff?
Q3: How do you think Ace will react to Naruto's explanation about being a kunoichi?
Please do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter and what could be done to improve the story.
