Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: First of all, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year and I would also like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.
(13 and half years ago)
Why hasn't she come? She told me that after three days that I can come out of the punishment room.
Naruto couldn't remember why the matron dragged her into the small punishment room. It was probably because she got into a fight with one of the girls. She couldn't even remember why they fought but it was easy to remember the dark shadow painted over the Matron's face as she dragged her into this large, cold room.
There was a tiny radiator in the corner of the room but it wasn't enough to generate warmth that could spread across her whole body. Even though a fluffy warm blanket covered her, she still didn't feel warm. No matter how many times she pressed her hands against the radiator, it wasn't enough for her to feel that stabbing warmth that Konoha should have during the winter. If anything, the cold pierced through her skin and bones.
She gazed at the window and felt her heart twisted with longing at the sight of her fellow orphans running across the lawn. She wanted to join them. They looked like they were having so much fun, running across the lawn and being able to play ninja. If she hadn't gotten into a fight then maybe that could be her playing with them.
Why did the woman have to notice her then? The caretaker had been so content in pretending that she didn't exist. Instead of giving her food at least once a day, now the woman hadn't given her any food since she entered this giant, lonely room. No, that wasn't true. The woman gave her food on the first day she entered this room.
After that…she just seemed to forget to give her any food.
How many days has it been since I ate?
The growls had been constant on the second day, a never-ending alarm to remind her that she needed to eat. But the growls seemed to have stopped a few days ago. The shivering and aches in her bones hadn't changed though. Naruto wished it did. It was so difficult for her to sleep when her head ached and her whole body trembled like a leaf.
Naruto shook her head and dragged herself even closer to the window. She didn't look at her fellow children, not when her stomach rolled around with envy. Instead, she gazed at the weird mountain that always loomed in the background. It was a strange mountain that looked nothing like the mountains in the orphanage's library.
If a mountain was either flat or had a triangle shape in their books then this mountain had strange faces on them. Well, not strange faces. One of the older kids told that those strange faces were the Hokage. She didn't know what the Hokage was but it was definitely not food. An ache pierced through her forehead and Naruto winced.
She needed food.
Naruto glanced at the tall trees and blinked when she caught sight of a masked man standing on top of the tree. Even though a mask covered the man's face, she could practically sense the waves of anger coming out of him. That had never happened before. She had never been able to sense people but then again, she was starving and her mind could be playing tricks on her.
It did that a lot when she thought about it.
A soft knock on the window drew her attention away from the door and back onto the window. The masked man stood right in front of the window, not at all bothered by the fact that at any moment one of her fellow orphans could be running up to this part of the lawn. He should be careful because her fellow orphans would yell and cry for the caretaker if they saw the man here.
She furrowed her eyebrows together when the masked man unlocked her window. A warm breeze tickled through the opening of the window and Naruto couldn't stop herself from shivering. The fluffy blanket covering her whole body was definitely not enough to make her feel warm, which sucked. She wanted to feel warm again.
She also wanted the ache in her stomach to fade.
"How long has it been since you had food?" The masked man asked. The mask covered his face but it definitely did nothing to hide the silver-hair that seemed to defy gravity. It was funny because even though his hair color was the same hair color of the caretaker, his voice didn't sound old and mean like the caretaker.
It sounded strange because the tone coming out of his mouth was the same tone that the caretaker would give to the other children. What was that tone? And why was he using it on her? She wanted to ask him but what if he got angry with her? The caretaker would get furious whenever she opened her mouth. Well the caretaker got furious if she even drew her attention.
It was because she was a bad girl.
"I don't know," she admitted. She couldn't even remember how long she had been inside the room but she definitely knew that it had been longer than three days. Had it been 10 days? 14 days? She couldn't tell. What Naruto did know was that she couldn't even leave the room even if she wanted to, because the caretaker locked the door.
No matter how many times she tried to open the door, it wouldn't even budge.
The masked man only gazed at her for the longest time before holding his hand out to her. Why is he holding his hand out to me? The caretaker never offered her hand to her but then again there were a lot of kids in the orphanage. They needed her more than she did. She was just a ghost who was only lucky if the caretaker decided to give her more than one meal a day.
"Don't you want to go out, Naruto-chan?" The man asked her with a sad tone. Why was he sad? And who was Naruto-chan? She wanted to look around but she knew that there was no other kid in this room except for her. "Aren't you hungry, Naruto-chan? It looks like you haven't eaten for days. You can take my hand and go find a place to eat until I talk to your caretaker about your situation."
She stared at the large hand before gazing up at the masked man. Who was Naruto-chan? And what did he mean find a place to eat? Was it one of those places that they called a restaurant? She heard of those places. The other orphans talked about it constantly whenever the caretaker decided to take them out to eat.
The caretaker always left her behind but that was normal because she wasn't adoptable. She wasn't pretty like the other girls and she wasn't even a boy. Boys were more likely to get adopted then little girls. Naruto didn't know why but it was something that she noticed whenever some couple came to adopt a child.
They would either adopt the prettiest girl from the batch or pick a boy.
She wished the caretaker would let the parents see her because she wanted a family too. She didn't want to stare through the doors and watched another child being hugged and taken care of. Why couldn't she be one of them? She wanted someone to hug her too. She wanted someone to smile at her and play games with her.
"Who's Naruto?" Naruto finally asked, inching away from the stretched-out hand. The man jolted and jerked his head at her before balling his hands into a fist. Was he angry with her? Of course he was. No one liked it when she asked questions so why would that man be any different? But how was she supposed to know who Naruto was? She didn't know anyone with that name.
The man relaxed his grip. "That's your name."
My name is Naruto. She had a name, a strange name but it was better than having no name at all. Having no name sucked because it felt like she didn't exist. If it wasn't for the fact that the other kids liked to pick on her for her whisker cheeks, she probably would have thought that she didn't exist. The caretaker never acknowledge her unless it was for food.
"How do you know that's my name?" Naruto leaned her whole body forward and placed her hands on the ledge that separated her from the nice man standing in front of her. "The caretaker always call me you. If I have a name then wouldn't she call me, Naruto? I think my name is you but I can help you find, Naruto."
She felt an anger that reminded her of an exploding volcano and Naruto took a step back. She was stupid. She shouldn't have said those things to the man but he seemed different from the caretaker. Everything about him was softer than the caretaker. He didn't talk to her like she was some kind of annoying fly but like she was someone important.
"I just know that's your name," The man finally answered. His tone sounded even softer like he was afraid to hurt her. She wished the caretaker hurt her because hurting her means that the caretaker acknowledged her. It meant she wasn't invisible. In the eyes of her caretaker, she was nothing but a little ghost. "C'mon Naruto, take my hand so you can go out and find a place to eat. If I have known that she has been starving you then I would've brought you food."
She felt her stomach howled at the mention of food and Naruto ducked her head. Her cheeks burned with a strange emotion and she couldn't stop herself from shifting her legs back and forth. Should she take his hand? She was hungry. She was also really, really thirsty. If it wasn't for the little sink in the corner of the room, she probably wouldn't have any water.
"If I go out then I'll get into trouble," Naruto said softly.
The man shook his head. "If anyone is in trouble then it is your caretaker! Letting you starve like this—"
"—It's because I'm a bad girl and bad girls don't deserve to get fed," Naruto declared. She wanted to keep her tone strong but it was difficult to keep her tone steady when those eyes looked at her with sadness and warmth. Why did he look at her like that? She didn't understand why a stranger could look at her like that when her own caretaker looked at her like she was a monster.
The man took a deep breath. "You aren't a bad girl, Naruto and you deserve to get some food! Now take my hand and go look for a place to eat! I'll pay for your meal."
Maybe it was because he was the first person to give her a name or maybe it was because he told her that the caretaker was wrong, but that was the first day she took an adult's hand.
It would only be the next day that the Hokage's son adopted her and the orphanage had its fund cut.
That was also the last time she ever truly starved until she made that bet with Zeff.
(Now)
"Are you really going to let her starve? Naruto-chan hasn't eaten anything in the last 5 days!"
Sanji darted his eyes from the window, where he could clearly see the pretty blond-haired girl shivering from starvation, before looking back at his foster father. It had been five whole days since that stupid bet began and not once did this pretty blond-haired girl demand for food. Not once did she move from her spot, always having those ocean-blue eyes stuck on the ocean ahead of them.
He didn't understand why she would push herself through such a stupid bet. Starving the way she did was no joke. It wasn't even admirable. If anything, he would describe it nothing short of stupid. She could learn from so many chefs so why did she seem glue to this stubborn old man beside him? There was absolutely no point for her to do this.
"Yup," Zeff grunted. The old man barely looked away from the sizzling pan as the other chefs stopped chopping their ingredients. Their eyes fixed on the old man, giving him various looks of disappointment but it wasn't going to change the old man's mind. Sanji would know. They had been having the same argument for the last five days and the old man still refused to change his thought.
Clenching his jaw together, Sanji looked out at the window. That pretty kunoichi rubbed her slender arms and still had that stubborn glint in her eyes. It was odd how her spirit still hadn't broke with the lack of food. Was she even human? Why wouldn't she just give in and beg for food? He could practically hear the other chefs whispering to each other as their eyes fixed on them.
"You have to give her something to eat," Sanji growled. He wanted to raise his hand and smack the old man for putting the slightly older kunoichi through this ordeal. He lowered the fire on the stove and glared at the man, who saved him from starving the first time around. How could this old man give him food when they had been stuck on the island, but refused to give a pretty girl some food.
Zeff eyed him. "She refused to eat your food, didn't she?"
Groans and gasps broke out of the kitchen and Sanji balled his hands into a fist. So the old man knew he tried to give that pretty kunoichi some food and knew that his Naruto-chan refused to accept his food. Did he also knew that Naruto looked at him with furious blue eyes and looked at him like he was some kind of asshole for giving her food? No, he probably knew it.
The old man had been keeping an eye on the blonde whenever he had the time.
"She thanked me and told me that unless you concede then she won't eat a single thing from my plate," Sanji grunted. He wanted to shove the food inside that small mouth but it would have been disrespectful. Besides, her eyes told him that she probably would murder him if he tried to make her eat before their stupid bet was over. "Naruto-chan is a stubborn one."
His foster father clicked his tongue and looked to the window as the pan continued to hiss in content. Will this stubborn old geezer just change his mind so that she can finally fill her body with some nutrients. He promised her friends that he would keep an eye on her, even though he already planned to do it since she made that idiotic bet with his foster father.
"Nothing you say or do, will make me change my mind Lil' Eggplant," the owner declared. Zeff tightened his grip on the pan and that irritated glint in his eyes told him that the man was actually serious about going through with this. This compassionate old man was actually going to let some poor girl starve herself for a full seven days because he couldn't just treat her like the others.
It would have been cool if it had been anyone but a girl.
"Your pride means that much to you?" Sanji demanded. His foster father gazed at him with unreadable eyes as everyone else turned off their sizzling pans. The heat inside of the kitchen immediately changed from the eternal-burning heat to a freezing cold room that caused almost everyone in the room to shiver. "Naruto-chan is starving because of you! So what if she wants to work under you and learn from you? Let her!"
His chest heaved up and down as the old man refused to show any signs of whether or not his words affected him. If it wasn't for the fact it would have wounded the man's pride, he would have reminded him of the day where he gave him all of his food. But there was a reason that neither of them talked about that painful day.
"I give her food then it automatically means that kunoichi won," Zeff explained slowly. Sanji clenched his jaw and balled his hands into an even tighter fist. Blood dripped down from the palm of his hand as his guardian narrowed his eyes at him. "If I teach that girl then it automatically means I'm going to hit her and I'm not going to be some lowly man that hits a woman because she made an innocent mistake."
He knew his foster father was different from his biological father. It had been obvious from the way the man handed him all of the food, before cutting off his leg. This old geezer actually respected women, never thought that his dream was ridiculous and actually seemed to like that kind side of his. That man saved him when his own father wanted him to disappear from his life.
Zeff accepted him when no one else did and declared himself as his father when his own father rejected him.
Sanji shook his head and cleared his throat. "You can try and not hit her!"
"Either I treat her like you and the other chefs or I don't train her at all," his foster father said flatly. Zeff dragged his foot and wooden peg across the floor, making his way towards the very same window that loomed over Naruto. The man regarded him carefully before folding his arms against his chest. "If she actually wins this bet or convinces me, then I'll give her the respect that a soldier like her deserves."
Kitchen utensil crashed into the ground as several jaws dropped at those words. Sanji could only blink and dropped his jaw at his adopted father. He is actually going to hit her if she wins the bet? No way. His foster father told him that men weren't meant to hit woman. That it was a rule and that he would kill himself if he ever heard that he hit a woman.
"Boss, didn't you tell me and Sanji that you won't subject a woman with your kicks when we demanded for a female cook? Why the fuck is she any different?" Patty demanded. Sanji and a couple of the older chefs bobbed their heads and gazed at the older male. Even though his fellow chef annoyed the crap out of him, he couldn't deny that Patty was right to remind him. "Why the hell would you be okay to subject her through it?"
"Yeah, you shouldn't harm an innocent female!"
"We don't want you to put her off!"
"She will give up if you kick her!"
More and more roars of protest erupted in the kitchen as the chefs around him, waved their dirtied spatulas and wooden spoons at the old man. Red sauce splashed against the white walls and a calamari even smacked Zeff across the face, but his adopted father remained unfazed. His dark eyes flickered from him to the other chefs before he finally dragged his wooden leg across the floor.
The floors shrieked and the protest died down. His fellow chefs dropped their tools and slid their hands across their ears, wincing at the ear-splitting sound. Sanji only flinched slightly before looking at his foster father with curious eyes. What the hell was the old man going to say? Because nothing about his previous words could explain his change of attitude.
"Do you people even know what it means to be a soldier?" Zeff asked. The chefs blinked and the middle-aged man grunted before darting his eyes back at the window, where Sanji could clearly see his poor Naruto-chan shivering like a terrified little rabbit. "Being a soldier mean that Naruto is clearly a trained fighter, not at all like the female cooks that came here to train. If she wins then I will respect her pride and for any female soldier, I'm showing her disrespect when I treat her differently from all of you."
The 16-year-old chef frowned and knitted his eyebrows together. He could hear whispers of disapproval coming out from his fellow chefs as they gazed at his adopted father like he was being an idiot. Sanji would have done the same but he knew his adopted father could be logical. He understood the logic but he wanted to be certain when it came to the future.
"So you're saying if she can defend herself then it's okay to hit her?" Sanji asked.
His foster father pinched his nose. "Well if I'm training her then yes! But it doesn't mean that you can hit every women that hits you! You should only hit a women if your comrades are in trouble or if you're in trouble! You will be an idiot if you don't do it in any of those situations."
Well I wouldn't hit any women at all if you haven't said that. Sanji bit his tongue and looked out at the window. If Naruto hadn't came along the way she did then he would presume that his adopted father would be disappointed in him if he ever hit a woman. But if certain situations meant that it was okay then…well he would hit a woman.
As long as his foster father didn't abandon him then he would hit a woman if it meant that his own life was endangered.
"If you're worried about her then take the boat and visit her, Ace!"
Ace rubbed his jaw and blinked as Masked Deuce rubbed his bruised knuckle. One moment he had been dodging his crewmate's fist and legs and the next moment, he found himself being punched by the male. It wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't thought that it had been five days and they still had no word from the blond-haired girl.
"What makes you think I'm worried about her?" Ace continued to rub his throbbing jaw and eyed his friend, who had a rather large scowl playing on his lips. Why would he even be worried about Naruto? His blond-haired friend was more than capable of taking care of herself, except starving herself wasn't the same as her punching someone in the face.
Starving herself was a whole different ball game but he knew Naruto had her pride. If he told her to forget about it then his friend was going to be upset with him for not believing in her. Not that he didn't believe in her. The kunoichi might seem like Luffy but she was probably smarter than his little brother. She understood the consequence of her actions.
Besides, Ace had no doubt that Naruto wouldn't make a bet that she could lose.
"I landed a hit on you," Masked Deuce stated, pointing to his throbbing jaw. His blue eyes inspected him closely as if he was trying to find more clues on how he figured out that he was concern for Naruto. There couldn't be many signs and just because he landed a punch on him, didn't mean that his concern for Naruto was the reason. "And that wasn't enough to snap you out of it! Also only Naruto can make you look at the ocean like a lovesick fool."
Lovesick fool? The words repeated in his head again and again like a never-ending song before it finally sunk into his mind. He could feel his cheeks burning up with embarrassment as his friend continued to look at him with knowing eyes. His friend shouldn't give him those eyes. There was nothing going on between him and the pretty blond-haired girl.
"I'm not a lovesick fool!" Ace finally spluttered. Lovesick fool implied that he was in love with Naruto, which was impossible. They had known each other for only a month and a month wasn't enough to fall in love with someone. Besides, didn't love make your heart feel strange and all that kind of stuff? That was certainly the explanation that Garp gave him and Luffy when he decided to give them the talk.
Masked Deuce snorted and flickered his eyes towards the road. In the far distance, there was a little bar alongside the various other buildings and Ace had a strange idea of what was going through his head. Is he going to bring up that woman from two nights ago? There had been a very good reason for his actions.
A very logical reason that didn't involved Naruto.
"Really now?" Masked Deuce asked, raising a single eyebrow at him. "So why didn't you take that woman's offer of another night? You were so eager to sleep with her on the first night."
I knew I shouldn't have slept with her. Ace bit back a groan and clenched his jaw together. He had been drunk and well the woman was attractive, really attractive, which was why he slept with her in the first place. Had it been worth it? Yup. Did he want to do it again with her? Definitely not. In a couple of more weeks, they would start their journey again.
"I didn't want her to get attached," he answered. Ace kept his tone calm and even as his hand wandered up to the back of his chest. The black-haired male rubbed the back of his neck as his friend offered him a look of disbelief. "What? It's the truth! I didn't take her up on the offer because if I slept with her again then she would think that we're in a relationship. By the way, what does that have to do with Naruto?"
Why does he want to connect all my actions to Naruto? The question lingered inside of his mind. He balled his hands into a fist and took several deep breaths, waiting for his blue-haired friend to explain the link between Naruto and his first ever one-night-stand. There was no connection between them if you asked him.
"I'm pretty certain that you slept with her because she looked a little bit like Naruto," Masked Deuce said flatly. Ace blinked and dropped his jaw, earning a little snort from the blue-haired man. I definitely did not sleep with her because she looks similar to Naruto. His blond-haired friend was definitely a lot more prettier and definitely looked different from the woman last night.
The only similarity between them had been the blond-hair and blue eyes but that was it.
"Naruto's hair is definitely a lot more brighter than her," Ace stated. His friend didn't look one bit convinced by his words if those rolling eyes told him anything. What the hell does he want me to say? There was nothing else that he could compare the two of them, besides their bodies and talking about Naruto in that way was definitely wrong.
She was a member of his crew and a friend and you should never look at your friend with lust in your eyes. That was only common sense if you asked him.
"Whatever you say, Captain," Masked Deuce said, snorting and looking up at the blue sky with his lips curled into an amused smile. Ace blinked and knitted his eyebrows together when his friend offered him a thoughtful look. "But you know if you're developing feelings for our resident kunoichi then you better not make a habit of sleeping around with every pretty thing who looks your way."
Why the hell are you talking to me like I already have feelings for Naruto? The question lingered on the tip of his tongue and he wanted to ask his friend but something stopped him. What stopped him, he didn't know but he wished the question could just spill out of his mouth. What did his sex life had to do with Naruto? They had no obligation to each other.
He certainly didn't have those kind of feelings for Naruto because they had only known each other for a month.
"Why?" Ace lowered his hand and tilted his head to the side as blue eyes looked at him like he was some kind of idiot. The blood inside of him boiled up with irritation as his friend continued to look at him like he was an idiot for even asking the question. What was so stupid? He didn't understand why his friend thought that it would be a bad idea for him to sleep with someone.
It wasn't like Naruto and him were in a relationship. The two of them were nothing more than friends and that was good enough for him. So what if he kinda liked the way her hair shone when the sun hit her? And that he missed having her around? It was normal. He missed his little brother too and he was pretty certain that he wasn't in love with Luffy.
"How the fuck will any sane girl think you've actually feelings for them if you build a reputation for sleeping around?" Masked Deuce waved his hand around and looked at him for the longest time before looking towards the ocean. "She will never ever take you seriously if you decide to flirt like that playboy chef."
Ace thinned his lips. "I don't have those kind of feelings for her."
His blue-haired crewmate smacked his forehead and pressed his lips into a very thin line. Why the hell does Masky think that I've feelings for Naruto? It had been pure coincidence that the first girl he ever slept with, was someone with similar hair colour to Naruto. But that didn't mean anything if you asked him.
It wasn't like he chose the woman because he wanted to sleep with Naruto. There was no way he would do that to his female crewmate, not when she was the first person to join his crew. Not when that pretty girl defended his existence…not that Naruto and Masked Deuce knew about it. So what if he probably wanted to hug her for saying such pure words? Or that he was now constantly watching her?
That didn't mean anything.
"I give you six months before you take back those words," Masked Deuce declared. Ace gawked at the male, who had now decided to make his way towards his backpack. The male zipped open his bag and pulled out his blue notebook before taking a seat on the ground. "I bet after six months, you will end up asking our resident kunoichi out on a date."
He frowned. "Why me?"
For all Masky knew, Naruto could be the one to ask him out.
"Because you're the one who is already looking at her with lovesick eyes," Masked Deuce stated. Ace felt his cheeks burned up with embarrassment and his blue-haired friend flipped open his book. "Ever since she defended Gol D. Roger's theoretical child, you have been looking at her like you would marry her on the spot."
The raven-haired teen furiously shook his head. "Why the hell would I look at her like that? Gol D. Roger's child has nothing to do with me."
He had nothing to do with that horrible man, who was the cause of his problems. So what if Naruto defended him? That didn't mean anything. Naruto was a nice person. Of course she would say something as sweet as that. But just because she told him that no child deserved to bear the sins of their father, didn't mean that he was practically falling in love with her.
He didn't even have a crush on her.
"You tell me," Masked Deuce said cryptically. Ace frowned. Did his crew mate figure out that he was the son of Gol D. Roger? No way. His friend would have killed him by now if that had been the case. The man had made it clear to him and Naruto about his intense hatred for the man that created him. "But if I were you, I would worry about her meeting the actual child of Gol D. Roger."
The raven-haired teen blinked. "Why?"
His friend offered him a cryptic smile and looked at him like he had him inside of a trap. What the hell is going through his mind? Ace eyed the blue-haired teen with weariness and allowed himself to sink down into the ground. Why would he care about how Naruto feels if she found out that he was the child of Gol D. Roger? There was no need for him to worry about it.
"Because if they were ever to hear that there was a pretty little thing that vouches for their right to live…well I wouldn't be surprised if they ask her to go out with them."
Well I'm the only child of Gol D. Roger and I can definitely say that I've no plans of going out with Naruto.
Masked Deuce really was an idiot if he thought just a bunch of sweet words were enough to make him fall in love with Naruto.
I think I need to find a successor for Ero-Sennin's book series because god knows that I can't write his erotic scenes as well as he did.
That was the single thought running through Naruto's mind as she flicked through the pages of her godfather's unfinished work. It had been only four days since Ace and the others left her alone. They left her alone to handle the bill, also giving her more than enough time for her to think about the other half of Jiraiya's book.
The plot was easy for her to fix and changing the female lead's figure wasn't the problem, but it was the erotic scenes that got her stump. It had been so much easier when I was getting laid. Her eyebrows twitched and the whiskered teen dropped her shoulders. When Shikamaru and her had sex, she could always used it in some way to get inspiration for the scenes.
Now that part of her life was done, the next couple of scenes seemed stall.
She flickered her eyes to the pirate boat docked right next to the restaurant before looking back down at her book. Maybe it would be a good idea to try some other kinks inside the book. But what the hell can I use? I'm pretty sure Jiraiya used every kink that there is inside his book. The growing irritation crept up inside of her stomach and Naruto grinded her teeth together.
Thinking of a new scene when there wasn't much difference to the other scenes was like trying to drag Choji away from a mountain of food. It was impossible. Maybe I could give it to Sanji because I'm pretty sure that he has similar taste to Jiraiya. The only difference between him and Jiraiya was the fact that the male seemed to be smooth when it came to flirting with the ladies.
"Give me all of your food supply!" The scream pierced through the air as a gunshot thundered across the air and Naruto lowered the book to the ground. The tsunami of fear washed over her, telling her that almost every customer inside of the restaurant was terrified of what happened. Not that she could blame them. Anyone would be terrified if someone shot in the air.
The fact that it was a gunshot means that it's the pirates attacking the restaurant.
None of the marines, who visited this restaurant, seemed like they had enough money and supply for food. There was also the fact that they had to have some brains to know that attacking civilians would make them look bad in front of the public. But they can always manipulate information. Naruto clicked her tongue, dusted the dirt and grime off of her clothes before dashing straight to the doors.
Was she going to kick some pirate's butts because she wanted to be a hero? Nope. That part of her life was done and over with. Was she going to kick their asses because she was itching to punch someone in the face? Definitely. Honestly, she only made this bet with the owner because she respected his values enough, not to force him to fight her.
Besides, his Lil' Eggplant seemed to look up to him and that almost reminded her of how much she looked up to Jiraiya.
You want to explore the world and then become Hokage? Well I don't see why you can't do both, Naruto! Hell, I'll even join you in your journey once we're done with the Akatsuki…I've so many friends that I want to visit.
Crash.
The door broke into tiny splinters and Naruto stared at the scene in front of her. Twenty pirates. Half of them had swords and each one of them had their swords directed to a customer. The chefs seemed irritated and held their kitchen knives like it was a kunai. Well a kitchen knife can still kill someone. She had never tried to kill someone with a kitchen knife but she guessed it could work.
"Are you insane? Why the hell did you come inside instead of running away?" A customer screamed at her. Naruto just shrugged and fixed her eyes at the pointed blade before looking at the man pressing his sword against the man's throat. She flickered her eyes to the other pirates, fixating her eyes on their loose clothes before letting out a little grunt.
A cold blade pressed against her throat and Naruto flickered her eyes to the idiot that dared pressed their sword against her. It really has been so long since someone didn't look at me with fear. The man had a missing tooth and looked at her body with lecherous eyes that reminded her of Jiraiya. She really did miss her perverted mentor.
"Because I'm bored," Naruto answered with a grin. She flickered her eyes to the man, who stood in the center of the restaurant. He held the fat man with a gun against his forehead and the other chefs blinked. "Honestly I heard a demand for food supply and gun shots, which means well I can finally beat someone up again."
The man fingered the trigger and narrowed his eyes at her. "You're 10 years too early if you think you can save everyone here!"
"I'm giving you three seconds to call off this stupid stunt," Naruto said. She kept her expression completely blank as a blade pressed against her neck even harder as the chefs looked at her with disbelief. They lowered their knives and looked at her like they didn't understand what the hell was going on. She clicked her tongue. "And if you don't call it off then don't say that I didn't warn you."
"What are you going to do? Cry?"
And here I was thinking that I would give them some form of mercy. She flashed the captain a smile before smashing her hand against the crewmate's stomach. Silence reigned throughout the whole room as the brown-haired man crumbled down from the ground. Drool dribbled out of his mouth as Naruto slapped her hands together.
She kicked away the pirate and weaved her way through the various pirates that crowded the restaurant. If her opponents had been strong then she probably would have used Six Path Sage Mode or even the rasengan. But the fact that her rather large captor crashed down to the ground from just a single punch meant that those guys were probably nothing.
It was also the main reason that she just punched them in the stomach before making her way to the man that insulted her.
"This is what she's like when she is starving?" A chef cried. "I can't keep up with her movements!"
Whispers broke out and Naruto knelt down to pick up one of the fallen swords. She twirled the sword around before walking up to the sweating man. I don't really know kenjutsu but well I only have to swing the sword. A kunai would be better but well it wouldn't look as badass since she didn't have it in her mouth.
"W-What the hell are you?" The captain yelled, dropping his gun. He trembled and quivered with fear while the hostage looked at her with wide eyes. Naruto hummed and allowed her smile to widen as the man continued to look at her with fear in his eyes. "W-What do you want? Do you want gold? I have a lot of gold!"
"It isn't any fun if you just gave me the gold? Where's the adrenaline?" Naruto pouted and swung the sword at the trembling captain. She could hear whispers breaking out and heard the door swinging opened. Was the owner going to come out and check the commotion? Or was it going to be one of the other chefs? Well, it didn't matter to her. "And I'm pretty certain that I'm human."
"W-What do you want then?" The man cried.
Naruto yawned. "Nothing. I thought you were going to give me a good fight but it turns out that you're really weak."
Her lips twitched into a wider smile as the captain gulped and flickered his eyes between his fallen comrades. He raised his gun again and pressed the trigger. The bullet flew out but if she had to describe its speed then Naruto would have to compare it to a snail. Honestly, you would think these people would be smart. The bullet crashed against her hand and the blonde crushed it with her hand.
The crumbled bullet smacked the ground and the whiskered teen slid her leg back. Closing her eyes, Naruto raised her leg and swirled it against the man's face. A crack echoed against her foot and she felt the distinct pleasure of a bone crumbling into pieces. Cries of shock impaled against the air as the captain smashed against the wood.
The wall crumbled again and it was not long before the captain blasted off into the sunset like a shooting star.
"S-She did all that without any food in her system," Another chef muttered, ogling her like she was some kind of alien. The words hovered in the air as the customers processed the fact that the pirates had been annihilated in the space of 10 seconds. Naruto let out a yawn and dropped down to the ground, arms folded against her chest.
She blinked when Sanji charged straight towards her. The blond-haired male knelt down and eyed her for the longest time, blue eyes inspecting her like he was trying to find any source of injury. His swirly eyebrows furrowed together when he grabbed her hand. No doubt that the male was looking for any sign of bleeding on her palm.
"I know Naruto-chan is amazing but how are you able to do all of this and not get injured from catching the bullet?" Sanji asked, lowering his cigarette. His eyes flickered from her whiskered marks and the male offered her a serious look as he continued on. "Were you ever experimented on as a child? Because you just experienced five days without any food and fought those bastards like it was nothing."
Naruto snorted. "Experimented? Well I guess I can see why you would think experimentation but I've been through worse."
"Five days without any food is difficult, Naruto-chan," Sanji commented. The whiskered teen paused and stared at the concern eyes of the blond-haired male. He flickered his eyes to the other door and the blonde blinked when she caught sight of the owner staring at her with blank eyes. "And you fought all of those pirates like it was nothing."
"I went 14 days without any food," Naruto replied. The cigarette crashed down to the ground and the blonde chuckled before patting the male on the head. She slid her hand away from Sanji's hand and looked at the unconscious pirates that surrounded them. Hmm, should I put them back on their boat and push them out of here? It would be a good idea. "And I went through 3 days of fighting with very little food in my stomach because of war…so this is nothing."
The blond-haired chef sighed. "You should treat yourself better, Naruto-chan."
He really is a nice guy and he has the same horrible habit that Shikamaru has. The whiskered teen chuckled and ruffled the male's hair again, only to snort when the 16-year-old chef turned into stone. Even though his cheesy lines annoyed her, he had been nothing but respectful when it came to her. She was actually worried that he was like Jiraiya and have the habit of trying to grope her.
Not that Jiraiya did that to her but she had seen her mentor getting grabby to some of the girls in the inns.
"Lil Eggplant!" The owner called out. Sanji stiffened as the owner turned his whole body away from them. "I will trust that you will make Naruto enough food that she can keep up with the incoming orders."
Naruto blinked. "Wait, does that mean—"
"You won," Zeff declared with a gruff tone. "Not even I can stay stubborn when you defended my restaurant without any food in your stomach. But I ain't going to go easy on you just because you're a girl."
The whiskered teen grinned and without a second thought she tackled the old man down to the ground.
"You won't regret it, Old Man! I'll be your best worker for the next two weeks!"
That was the tale of how she ended up working in Baratie for a whole two weeks.
A/N: So we can see the little small ripple that Naruto will have in One Piece. We see Sanji trying to convince Zeff to let Naruto work, only for Naruto to get the chance because of the pirates. We also learn from Masked Deuce that Ace seemed to be developing a type. Masked Deuce also predicts that Ace will be the first to fall and we see a little bit of Naruto and Sanji interacting with each other.
Now here are a couple of questions for you:
Q1: Do you think Masked Deuce figure out that Ace is the child of Gol D. Roger?
Q2: How did you find Zeff and Sanji's conversation?
Q3: What do you hope for the future interaction between Sanji and Naruto?
Q4: How do you think the members of Konoha 11 and Konohamaru will react once they find out that Naruto is learning to be a chef?
Please do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter. In the next chapter, Sanji and Naruto will have some more interactions and Naruto will be reunited back to her crew.
