-Grand Line-

-Going Merry-

What did it mean that the Devil Fruits contained a literal devil? What did it mean for them that Chopper had a long-forgotten type of ninjutsu? What did Sasuke's fundamental discoveries actually lead him to understand about the world? He was disappointed to find that the answer was, at first, "Not Much."

Sasuke was quite willing to try and teach Chopper what he knew about chakra, but the control over Earth and Water that would be necessary to teach him any elemental ninjutsu was really more Sakura's purview, to be honest. He had no idea how to begin teaching someone the art of Wood, and he obviously had no copied techniques to even start from.

For now, this led him to focus on the other question. What had he learned about the Devil Fruits? That the Tailed Beasts and the Devil Fruits were somehow related, that seemed obvious enough. But where, exactly, did either of these things come from? Why did the Tailed Beasts only appear in the Elemental Kingdoms? Why did the Devil Fruits appear only on the outside? Sasuke could remember being taught that the Sage of Six Paths had eaten a fruit from the Tree of Life and granted chakra to all the people of the world, but he didn't remember anything in that story about the Sage turning into a rubber-man or a crazy animal-person.

Sasuke attempted to ponder this matter with Naruto, but then changed his mind. Naruto was only barely interested in the subject, despite the fact that it concerned his own powers. The rest of the crew was out for similar reasons. Normally he could rely on Sakura to provide a second intellectually invested voice to a mystery, but she wasn't here, was she?

No… wait, maybe there was someone else he could talk to.

He found Robin reading in the ladies' bedroom. A knock at the door caused her to open it without getting up from her seat, a single hand blossoming and disappearing without effort.

"What is it, Curious One?" she asked, not looking up from her current book.

"I found an odd mystery that relates to the Devil Fruits, and I'm having trouble de-mystifying it. I understand you're a historian? Can you answer some questions about the world out here?"

Robin paused, blinking for a moment, as if she had finally begun paying attention, then closed her book with a snap. "Certainly. I'd be more than willing."

Soon, they were sitting by the tangerine trees on the upper deck, with Robin taking a chair and Sasuke sitting in the grass. She was bandaged in a number of places, but if she was still truly hurting then she hid it well. Sasuke decided he might as well just start talking.

"I discovered that consuming a Devil Fruit creates a small demon that resides in a space connected to one's chakra pathways," he said, as Robin stared at him, "This is similar to certain things we see in the Elemental Kingdoms, but I can't figure out if the two are actually related."

The beautiful woman continued to stare directly at him, not saying a word. Eventually, he felt a blush rising up, so he coughed to clear his throat. Before he could say anything else, she spoke up.

"How certain of this are you?" she asked.

"Very. I saw the one inside Chopper with my own eyes. It was a human-shaped demon of black and green fire. It tried to speak to me, but I broke the connection before it did so."

She closed her eyes, then looked off toward the ocean. "I see… Am I correct in assuming that there are no Devil Fruits in the land you came from?"

"You assume correctly."

"There is a common rumor among the credulous that the Devil Fruits contain a literal demon that gives us our powers," she said, holding out one arm that blossomed into a spread of other delicate limbs like a paper fan unfolding, before they all faded away. "I had assumed that in time a more mundane explanation would surface. It's very interesting that I would hear otherwise."

Sasuke turned to gaze out at the ocean as well, but there was nothing there except sea and clouds. "The thing is," he said, "We have something like these demons as well. They're extremely rare- only nine of them exist- but Naruto himself had one sealed inside of him as an infant."

"Oh?" she asked, turning his way, "He's displayed no strange abilities so far, at least when compared to you."

"No, they don't normally manifest that way. They're sealed with techniques that allow its holder to draw upon the demon's power directly. Naruto has access to tens, or even hundreds of times as much chakra as a normal ninja of his age and training, but the only effects on his body are the facial markings you see as well as increased ability to heal from wounds."

"Interesting. Perhaps less useful to those of us without access to your… techniques to draw upon," she said.

"True… But, while the creatures seem to be similar, the demon inside Naruto, the Kyuubi, is on a completely different level from the demons inside the Devil Fruits. Looking at the two of them is like comparing a lit match to a bonfire. It makes me wonder if they're actually connected at all."

Robin shook her head, then turned back to fix him with her sharp gaze. "Don't be mistaken. Some Devil Fruits, and their owners, are fundamentally incomparable. If you assume all of these fruits are on the same level as the three aboard this ship, you would be terribly wrong."

Sasuke closed his eyes and nodded. "I see. I suppose that makes sense." He paused. "But that leads me to my next question. Where do these Devil Fruits ultimately come from?"

Now, Robin showed some actual emotion, laughing that musical laugh of hers. "Answer that question, Curious One, and you will have earned a place at any center of learning in the world."

Sasuke sighed, letting his head fall backward to hit the earth. "I was afraid you'd say that. I suppose the only thing I have to go on is the legend of the Sage, then."

"Pardon?"

"Hmmm… I don't suppose they teach you about the Sage of Six Paths out here, do they?"

Robin shook her head, now looking curiously back at him, so he continued. "We have a legend that says that nearly one thousand years ago a man known only as the Sage of Six Paths consumed a fruit from the Divine Tree. With the power of that fruit, he saved the world from some unspecified destruction and at the same time granted the power of chakra to everyone across the entire planet. He stayed behind with us and taught the foundations of what would later become ninjutsu and bushido."

There was silence. Eventually, Sasuke sat up again and looked back her way. She was staring at him intently, just like she had the first time they had met.

"What?" he asked, distinctly uncomfortable.

When she spoke, she did so carefully. "How long ago, exactly, did you say this occurred?"

"Ah, I'm afraid no one knows. It was a chaotic time, apparently, but everything I've heard suggests it was somewhere between nine hundred and a thousand years ago."

Robin breathed in sharply, then let out her breath in a sigh. "That's very interesting to me. We have a similar period in our history. A period of one-hundred years, called the Void Century, that began roughly one thousand years ago, during which there exist no records. Nothing at all, save for the stones that I study. Everything else has been obliterated by the World Government." She paused. "Except, apparently, an unusual legend passed down on an unknown island…"

"That's… interesting."

"Isn't it just… Do you know anything else about that time period?"

"I'm sorry, I don't. The history of our land was very fragmented after that time."

Robin sighed, then resumed looking away. "I suppose I may have to visit this mysterious island of yours one day." Then, she stood up. "I'm sorry, but I have to think about this."

Without a further word, she left, leaving Sasuke alone.

Somewhat unnerved by this strange conversation, Sasuke went down to the other deck to speak with Naruto.

"Heya, Sasuke! How's it going? Enjoying hanging out with your girlfriend?"

"She's not my-" Sasuke was interrupted when Naruto broke out into laughter. "Okay, sure, fine, go ahead and laugh," Sasuke said. Clearly, a year of not being around Naruto had made him rusty. He tried searching for a change of subject. Ah, yeah, he had a good one.

"Naruto, we have to talk about the supply situation. I don't know about you, but I used up pretty much every piece of ranged weaponry I had during that last fight."

"Oh, hey, yeah, thanks for reminding me!" Far from sounding concerned, Naruto actually sounded excited. "Yeah, I was gonna do something about that, but I got side-tracked by the whole staff business."

"You were going to… do what, exactly?"

Naruto looked extremely proud at his friend's confusion. "I've got everything handled, man! The toads have a lot of extra stuff stored for me, and I can get them to bring anything basic as a favor, ya know?"

"Really? That's very helpful. I'd hate to be a shinobi with no tools."

"Yeah. Here, let me show you! Jiraiya-sensei taught me a few tricks that are pretty much only for people like me who've got super chakra. Like summoning without blood!"

Naruto clapped both hands together and, in a puff of smoke, a sturdy looking toad appeared, loaded down with packs. It was hard to tell, but the blue toad looked… female somehow. She had packs strapped to her back, waist, chest, head, limbs, and, in a few places she even had packs tied on to other packs.

"Naaaruto!" the toad shouted, "It's so good to see ya! Glad you're still doing alright out here!"

"Thanks! You're looking healthy, too, Auntie Yuma. Good to see you again!" He turned to Sasuke, beginning introductions. "Sasuke, this is Yumagama, who helped me out during my training. Yuma, this is my best friend, Uchiha Sasuke."

Both bowed in greeting, though the toad's efforts were hampered somewhat by all the packs. Quickly, she began unloading some of them with a practiced ease.

"Now, Naruto-boy, I've got exactly what ya need ready right here. I knew it wouldn't be long till ya called for help, all lost out at sea, so I've got all the comforts and weapons of home fer ya. Don't hesitate to call anytime ya need something special, alright?"

"Thanks a lot, Yuma! That really saves my butt, ya know?"

"No problem, but that reminds me, there's somethin' else I need to give ya before I go." Saying this, Yumagama rummaged around in a waterproof pack that hung behind her head where a human might have had hair, pulling out a delicately-wrapped scroll. "Here ya go, hun."

Naruto took the scroll with a puzzled frown. "What's this for?"

"Not fer me to say, hun. Now I've gotta get goin' so I don't miss the daytime specials, ya hear? Good luck to ya!"

That said, she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The scroll they had been handed was wrapped in a red and gold design. Since it was hand-delivered by the toads it was, presumably, safe. Still, there was no indication of its sender. Puzzled, Naruto and Sasuke opened the scroll and began to read.

The message began:

Dearest Naruto and Sasuke,

You must have a deathwish, because after what you've done I'm going to literally rip both of your heads off and leave them for the birds.

"Oh!" shouted Naruto, "This must be from Sakura!"

Sasuke grimaced, but they continued.

I hope you think very, very carefully about that promise, because I'm coming for you. Team 7 never leaves anyone behind, and apparently it's going to be my job to come to the rescue this time. I assume that this will be necessary because the only reason I can imagine that you two would hare off and leave across the ocean without me is that you were kidnapped by rogue agents while ON FIRE.

Anyway.

Since Jiraiya was so pleased to help me send you this message by toad-mail, I don't have to be quite so circumspect about current events. Everyone's worried about these ships from the outside world, and opinion is split on whether we should isolate ourselves or not. Kakashi thinks we should be sending scouting parties out there so that we know what's what when the Daimyou finally decides he wants to start trading missions. Still, the Hokage still hasn't been chosen, and I don't like the look of things here. There are some real creeps crawling out of the woodwork, and no one I'd trust is exactly itching for the job.

That said, I may or may not have convinced my teacher, Tsunade of the Sannin, to return to the village, and she's great. It was really tough just getting her to train me, but I think all the lying, cheating, and blackmail was worth it. You both would like her. She's an amazing healer, which might come in handy after I'm through with you. Still, I wasn't supposed to leave, and she's already on the warpath because I ran away without permission and then sprinted back to the village for two days without rest because certain 'team-members' of mine had just walked right off into the ocean, so she might kill me first.

Anyway.

Watch yourselves. No one's happy that you took it upon your own authority to chase after Akatsuki, and I wouldn't put it past some of the current crop of contenders to send a squad your way just to prove they mean business. But, really, that's not all that important, since I'm going to get to you first.

Again, I'm coming for you.

Be careful, you assholes.

Love, Haruno Sakura.

P.S.

Looks like I might have some help after all.

"That's worrying..." said Sasuke.

"Yeah… wonder what all that means…"

"Oh? Naruto, there's more."

Sure enough, below the letter's end, there was another bit of writing.

P.P.S.

"P.P.S.?" said Naruto, "Did she make a mistake? There's nothing after it. It's just blank."

"Keep going? Maybe there's more."

Naruto began rapidly unrolling the remainder of the scroll. "I'm telling you, man, it's all blank. There's nothing here- except-"

At that moment, Naruto's rapid unfurling revealed a paper tag hidden inside that was covered in ink and symbols. Both boys had just enough time to cry out in shock and dive for cover when the explosive tag did what it did best- it exploded. A small concussive blast sent Naruto crashing into the mast, and Sasuke went flying out into the open ocean.

Battered and lightly singed, Naruto raised his head briefly, then passed out.

On the upper deck, Sanji turned his head to the offending noise, tapping out his cigarette over the waters.

"Lady troubles, huh? Yeah, it's a tough world…"