When Naruto and Hinata returned for the night, Sasuke and Sakura were there waiting for them, sitting outside in the lamp-lit darkness. The hour had grown late indeed, and the lower parts of the city were now abuzz with activity as its citizens gawked over the unexpected destruction that had been visited upon it. Nevertheless, it was not late enough to delay what needed to be discussed any longer. Sakura spared just enough time to verify Naruto hadn't mentally scarred the other girl, and then she went right into it.

"Naruto, Sasuke. We need to talk."

"Yeah, I know," said Naruto, dropping Hinata's hand and approaching, leaving her behind.

Sasuke gave him an odd look, so Naruto clarified. "Yeah, I figured out what you're doing out here, okay? I even told Hinata before coming over here. I just… I need to hear it from you."

Sasuke sighed and then nodded. "...Alright, then… To put it simply, I'm leaving the village for good. That was the plan. That was always the plan. And I'm so damn sorry for not telling you two."

"Okay," said Naruto, glaring at his friend. "I get that, but I don't get why this is such a big deal for you. Why now? Why do this at all? Come on, man, you gotta admit this sounds crazy."

"I'm wondering the same thing myself," said Sakura.

Sasuke took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"...Okay… This might take a while… On the day that my family died, my brother had a warning for me. He told me something which has long been known to be the truth… the Sharingan is coveted, and if other countries found an opportunity to acquire even a single set of our eyes they would sacrifice entire teams to ensure it happened. It would be even better if I could be recruited permanently to their side. As such, my life is an asset to Konoha only so long as I am trusted, and a threat otherwise."

He paused and watched as their slightly incredulous expressions told him they were at least paying attention. When they said nothing, he moved on.

"The one thing that would save my life, Itachi said, was the protection of the Third Hokage. Given that the Uchiha clan is no longer trusted by the people, Itachi told me that my safety would come to an end on the day that the Hokage died. It's politics, you see. If a foreign country no longer thinks that Konoha will put themselves out on a limb to save my ass, then the chances they try something I'll regret skyrockets. Hell, someone internal to Konoha might even order ANBU to kill me, giving my eyes out to other Jounin in secret instead of simply hoping that I'll grow up to be loyal. Simply put, if I stay in Konoha I'll die, either from internal or external threats, and my brother estimated a few years before it happens… at the very best."

"Wait, hold on," interrupted Sakura, brow furrowed in desperate concentration. "That must be an exaggeration, surely. It doesn't matter whether you're well-liked by everyone or not, no one's going to start a war over your eyes. Because that's what would happen if someone attacked you inside the village. I mean, I know I give you grief about your ego, but come on!"

"Besides," continued Naruto, "It's not like they're gonna just forget about what you can do for us, right? I mean, you're Kakashi's disciple, and despite all the shit I give you about your bounty or whatever, everyone knows you're gonna be the next Copy Ninja some day. They're not gonna give up on that just 'cause they don't like you, man."

Sasuke let out a breath and frowned, scratching his head as he tried to put this into words, only to be surprised as Hinata interrupted them.

"I'm sorry, but you're wrong," she said, startling everyone present from her position far outside their circle.

"Excuse me?" asked Sakura, confused by the interruption from the last person she had expected to express an opinion here. "Who's wrong?"

Hinata looked deeply uncomfortable at her choice to butt into her friend's conversation. "You're wrong... about what other countries would be willing to do to get the Sharingan. If anything, Sasuke is understating the problem."

She paused for a moment, as if debating continuing, then pressed on. "When I was three years old, a kidnapping attempt was made to acquire a set of the Byakugan, and I was the target. Cloud was willing to sacrifice their head shinobi in the attempt, and my uncle lost his life in the aftermath. Not only were the stakes that high, but a war truly was almost started over it. The only reason I lived was because my clan was..." She faltered for a moment, casting another uncomfortable glance towards Sasuke. "Well, because they were alive and able to fight and die for me."

All three of the others looked shocked by this revelation, even Sasuke.

"Wait," said Sakura, "That actually happened? Why haven't I ever heard about this?"

"Because... because I only learned it recently myself, and I'm not actually supposed to have told you," admitted the Hyuuga girl. "But this sounds like something you won't be able to tell anyone else about anyway, so..."

"You're right about that," said Sasuke. "I understand that Sakura and Naruto think you can be trusted, Hinata, but I have to remind everyone that if word got out that I was doing this then I would be dead. End of story. Make no mistake, I know of at least three powerful people inside Konoha who want me dead right now, and they were only quiet about it because the Third was alive. All they really need now is an excuse, and then that would be the end for me."

"But…" started Sakura, "But, the current Hokage contenders aren't like that. Kakashi is still the top choice and there's no way he would allow something like that…" she paused, abruptly aware of something she had forgotten.

"It doesn't matter who they are," said Sasuke. "The Fifth won't have anywhere near the political power that the Third had. Anyway, Kakashi isn't the only one who'll be in the race, is he? You're thinking of someone else."

"My father," admitted Hinata, eyes downcast. "He's pushing for power in the new order, and I'm… sorry to say that he's both unforgiving and rather… focused on the issue of Bloodline eyes. He always thought it was foolish that the Uchiha clan never restricted the Sharingan the way we do."

The others were uncomfortably silent as Sasuke nodded, grimly spilling his long-held secret worries to his friends.

"This isn't even counting the danger that some enemy nation will ambush the three of us on a mission just to get me. I really don't want to be responsible for your deaths as well as mine." He sighed. "I just don't see a future for myself back at the village, and neither did my brother. He made me promise that when the Third Hokage died I would leave the village for good, hiding my identity and ensuring that no one would ever connect me with the Uchiha clan again. Heh… That hasn't exactly worked out so well so far, but..."

"He just wanted you to leave?" asked Naruto, aware that they were losing ground in this argument. "What about your friends? He just thought you should forget it all and start all over?"

Sasuke nodded. "Kind of. I get the feeling he didn't really see friendship exactly the same way as we do. For that matter, he had seen his own best friend die just days beforehand, and I think… well, I think it did something to him. But he didn't expect me to leave with nothing. Remember how I said that my brother met Gold Roger?"

"Wait, what?" interrupted Sakura. "The Gold Roger? As far as I've been able to tell he's the most notorious person to have lived out here in the last hundred years. There was a break-in the other day at a Gold Roger exhibit here on the island, and that alone made the front page even though he's been dead for more than a decade. He made it to our island? How? It was totally sealed off until just recently."

"Don't ask me," said Sasuke. "Apparently he made it up to the sky to discover some sort of country in the clouds, too, so it sounds like nothing was out of the question for that guy. But my brother was really quite impressed with Roger, and he got a promise that there would be a space for him in his crew when he grew up... but that never happened. I think Itachi was expecting more pirates to follow in Roger's footsteps and find a way through the barrier, but obviously that never happened either. He never said it outright, but I can tell he wanted me to find my way off the island and join Roger's crew in his place."

"And that also never happened," finished Sakura. "He died, and there's no crew for you to join... Wait, is that was this is about? You joined up with these people because it's the next best thing?"

Sasuke was quick to deny this. "No, that's not what's happening. He... no, I want to see the world. I've already seen so much amazing stuff out here. It was Itachi's dream, and now... now I think it's my dream too. I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder for the day some enemy assassin hunts me down, or some acquaintance betrays me. I just...want a chance to leave the name behind and do something different."

As he said those words, Sasuke was struck by the strangest sense of deja vu, but whatever it was that had triggered it just wouldn't come to him.

"Dude," started Naruto. "You've seen the bounty posters. Hell, I'm planning on hanging mine up on the wall when I get back. They say, 'Wanted: Dead or Alive.' It's way too late to come out here and pretend no one wants to find you and kill you, you know?"

Sasuke laughed. "Naruto, I could spend the rest of my life transformed if I wanted to. These people out here don't know the signs, or what to look for. They don't even know they should be trying to rip my eyes out. If I just left all that behind, no one would ever connect me to my bounty."

Sakura nodded, leaning back in her seat. It was a workable plan, and she even knew that her teacher had managed the art of long-term transformations. If he kept to the plan and never returned to a ninja village again it would be unlikely that anyone would ever find him out. Except...

"Except, you're not actually planning on doing that, are you?" she asked, staring straight into his eyes. "You're staying with this crew. This band of weirdos that got you into trouble in the first place."

"Well, I haven't decided-"

"No, I think you have. I think that whether you're aware of it or not, your only plan right now is to stick with these people until something makes you leave."

Sasuke frowned. "And I suppose that something is you?"

"No man," said Naruto. "We're gonna stay with you and make sure you don't get yourself killed."

Sakura was quick to agree. "I still think you're going way too far with this self-exile thing, Sasuke, but it doesn't matter. I'm not going to be able to live with myself if I see your bounty crossed out in the papers one day. I need to know if these guys are capable of having your back or not, and I'm not going to take either of your words for it."

"Wait, you mean..." said Sasuke, looking deeply concerned.

"Yep," she sighed. "I'm coming along with you, at least for a little while. For that matter, personally I think you're going to get sick of this place and want to come home before too long. Seriously, Sasuke, you're the absolute last person I would have expected to like it out here. Everyone's totally nuts! Even Naruto's getting tired of it all, and he's the craziest one here."

"Yeah, dude," agreed Naruto. "It's a nice place to visit and all but I don't think I'd wanna spend my whole life out here. Look… man, about the village thing... I'm gonna help you, alright? I swear it. I'm gonna become the Hokage anyway so I'll just do that and then I'll order everyone to think you're cool. I mean, you're a total toolbag so they'll all probably just humor me, but it'll keep you safe, you know?"

At this, Sasuke placed his face in both hands and moaned in misery, so Naruto continued. "In the meantime we'll keep you company till you get bored of this place. That's a promise."

As Sasuke processed this unexpected pronouncement, Sakura turned to Hinata. "Sorry about this, Hinata. I don't mean to speak for you here. Are you going to be okay with this?"

"Oh... yes! Yes, I'm... fine," she said, looking back over to Naruto. "Besides, I've found it quite interesting out here."

Sakura turned back to him. "That's that, then. Oh, and before you think everything's fine here, there's something else you need to wrap your thick skull around. Are you paying attention?"

Still holding his head in his hands, Sasuke found he was completely unsure of what to say. He did, however, return to meeting her gaze before she continued to speak.

"Don't think for one goddamn second that we would have just given up on finding you if you had disappeared, dumbass. I don't expect you to be so stupid as to try and run after this, but since you honestly seemed to think just melting into the night was the smart thing to do the first time around anything's possible, I guess."

"Right," said Naruto. "I don't care if you end up deciding you have to live the rest of your life in a cave on the highest mountain in the world. You're never completely getting rid of us. You know it. I know it. We all know it, so just give it up already."

Once again he found himself speechless. He'd never exactly been comfortable with asking for help, and although he technically hadn't done so this time it certainly felt like he had. Finally, he said, "...Thank you. I'm... sorry it happened this way."

And that was that. Already past midnight, it didn't take long for the other three to retire for the night. Sasuke stayed awake a while longer, considering today's events. He felt… foolish, in a word. All of a sudden the reasons he had had for not telling his friends about this seemed far less valid. He'd told them everything and… well, it hadn't been the end of the world. More than that, they'd agreed to help him. He could tell they didn't really believe what he was saying right now, but still...

Why had he been so afraid of this? What would his life have been like if he had left them forever without saying a word?

Robin laughed, but in her state it came out like a small snort right next to his ear. "Sasuke… don't make the same mistake I did."

Would Naruto and Sakura have been forced to fight the world for him? Could they have? He didn't have an answer, but the thought stayed with him for the entire night.

After everyone else had left for bed, a single ear, completely unnoticed by everyone present, disappeared from inside the nearby bushes. In her bed, Robin finally let herself fall asleep, secretly smiling.

-The Next Day-

-Fourth Day on Water-7-

The new day dawned with an unfortunate obligation. It was the day that Jiraiya had requested to be re-summoned, and Naruto's hopes were set on the possibility that his teacher would be spending most of the morning and early afternoon roaming the town rather than immediately proceeding into his training. One thing, however, was certain. Naruto had developed a sudden strong need to summon Jiraiya away from Hinata and the others.

Though things weren't exactly normal between them right now, Sasuke was quick to agree with his assessment. "Yeah, I'd prefer if we didn't get him near the women here anyway," he said, looking uncomfortably towards Nami and Robin. "I fear for what might happen."

So Naruto did summon Jiraiya in an out-of-the-way area in the middle tier of the city. His master gave him a time limit of several hours and then disappeared, hopefully to do some actual research on the outside, and not just run around chasing skirts.

Not that Naruto himself wasn't eager to get back so he could meet up with Hinata again, but that was totally different. Still, thinking about who was waiting for him put a spring in his step as he returned. This time, he passed the area of devastation where the fight they had seen last night had broken out. Apparently, several people had been swallowed by some horrible black force, losing all sense of time until they had been regurgitated later, half-dead and fully disoriented.

Naruto hoped that Tobington was alright. The man had probably quit early for the night since he had been planning to set sail in the morning, but Naruto couldn't be sure. He just didn't have it in him to go hunting through the docks on a wild goose chase when there was someone wonderful waiting for him.

Naruto returned to the lodge in the full springtime of his youth.

-Later-

Usopp roamed through the streets of Water-7, his mind set on his task. Stuffed into his pouches and packs were the materials that would make him a new man. Ever since his… 'encounter' with the CP9 member he and Naruto had… 'fought' on Enies Lobby, his mind had been abuzz with ideas. All of a sudden, no trap was too dangerous, and no trick too underhanded.

For a man set on wicked mechanical deeds, Water-7 was the perfect place to shop.

He had nearly reached the limits of his budget when he saw something very strange up ahead of him. Off in the distance, he could just make out the receding figure of Naruto turning down a particularly sordid street. That was only a little odd, to be honest―Usopp himself had accidentally wandered down that same street while exploring, not knowing what manner of services it offered. He had found himself in the awkward position of pressing onwards, hoping to pass by the extremely colorful shops and move into more normal territory, but no― after every 'café' there was a 'massage parlor, and after every 'massage parlor' there was another 'café', and that was completely ignoring the buildings that were just unabashedly brothels.

So, yeah, it could have merely been an embarrassing mistake, except for one thing. Naruto was currently disguised as Condoriano, walking down the street as boldly as could be. The real Naruto was definitely back at the hideout, so this one must be a clone.

He gulped. Deep in his heart, Usopp knew what this meant. His new friend was having a moment of truly shameful weakness, and it was coming at the worst possible time. He didn't want to believe it, but Naruto was betraying his new girlfriend after just one day!

Usopp didn't have a choice. He had to intervene. Darting through the scattered pedestrians meandering through the city streets, he ducked into the sordid street, watching as 'Condoriano' walked calmly into one delicately-labeled establishment. With a nervous laugh, Usopp slinked in after him, approaching his friend and calling out his name before placing one hand on his shoulder.

"Condoriano!" he cried out, dripping with merriment and then faltering slightly when he noticed the knife that had just appeared at his belly. But, hey, there was no way Naruto was going to hurt him, so he continued. "C-come, come with me, you lovable rascal, you. You don't want to go in here! You've got the wrong place entirely!"

Condoriano gave him a knowing glance and removed the knife, allowing himself to be redirected straight out the door, much to the disappointment of the greeter inside.

"Pardon me?" asked Condoriano. "I'm assuming you've got quite the discount arranged if you're so boldly marketing to me. And my name isn't… that. You've got the wrong person."

Usopp waited until they were outside to lay into him. He poked the larger man in the chest with one accusing finger, prodding him periodically to punctuate his words. "Now you listen here, bub. I'm just trying to save your reputation, you understand? I honestly can't believe you'd do this, Naruto! She's such a sweet girl and you're just spitting in her face!"

The man's face darkened.

"Naruto?" he asked. "Oh, I see how this―"

"No! Don't you interrupt me, you horrible excuse for a friend! I'll have you know I'm putting myself out on a limb for you here! I've never been more disappointed with someone in my entire life, and let me tell you that I'm including myself and my own father in that assessment!"

Condoriano glared down at him. "Oh brother… this just gets better and better… You're part of this whole Condoriano thing too, are you? Look, I'm not Naruto, but you can tell him that when I see him he's in for a bit of payback."

As Condoriano moved to get around him, Usopp sighed dramatically and spread his arms wide. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but I'm doing this for your sake. Call this 'Lord Usopp's Tough Love!'"

With that, Usopp wound up and punched Condoriano with all of his might. His fist hit the man's chest with a faint *bof* noise, but the clone didn't explode into smoke. The man just continued glaring down at him as Usopp grew more and more puzzled. The moment stretched for an eternity. Finally, the man spoke.

"Well! Something tells me this isn't going the way you planned it, hmm?"

"Uhh… no," admitted Usopp. "Honestly, I was expecting you to explode just then. So, then, uhh… you're the real thing, huh?"

"That's right!" exclaimed Jiraiya, eye twitching with irritation.

"SMOKE BOMB!" screamed Usopp, as he pivoted in place and tried to sprint away at maximum velocity. Jiraiya simply grabbed his collar and lifted him off the ground while Usopp continued running fruitlessly in the air.

"You didn't actually throw anything down there, kid," critiqued the elder ninja.

Usopp gulped. "Yeah, I, uhh… I haven't had time to make any yet. So… exactly how screwed am I?"

"Only one way to find out!"

Unfortunately for Naruto and Hinata, the springtime of their youth was cut short when Jiraiya deposited the moaning body of the young sniper at the Straw-Hats' residence.

"Naruto, we're leaving."

"Wait, what?" asked Naruto, looking uncertainly between his girlfriend and his master. "Now?!"

"Yes, now," replied the Sage. "Don't give me that face, you asked for this. We're both on a time limit and my mood has been ruined, so we're doing this now. We're going to the mountain and we won't be back for three days. Don't worry about grabbing your things. You won't need them."

So it was that Naruto and Jiraiya disappeared, leaving Hinata suddenly alone. She was despondent, struck by the stark contrast between her newfound companionship and its sudden absence. Sakura did her best to help out, still stunned by the almost surreal awareness that Naruto hadn't yet screwed this up.

"Look on the bright side," she said, "This will give you both a chance to figure things out. When he gets back it should all be a little less overwhelming, and you'll both be happier for it."

"...You think so?" asked Hinata, automatically deferring to a voice of authority.

Sakura sensed this deference with an ironic wince. This would be a lot easier if she'd ever had the time to gain any first-hand experience on the matter herself. Nevertheless, she soldiered onward, putting her hand on the other girl's shoulder and saying, "I know so. It will be fine. Come on, we're going to be here for a while, so we might as well meet everyone else a bit more thoroughly."

"Meet everyone? But I already…"

"Well, I was too busy worrying about the whole Sasuke thing last night, so I didn't get a chance. Why don't you come along? We can see what everyone else is doing, alright?"

Together, the two of them moved out into the main room where they found Nami working on something. She looked up when they entered and gave them a small wave, somewhat restrained by the small tools she was holding.

Sakura smiled to see the other woman and approached the main area. It appeared as though she was repairing the group's famous straw hat.

"Where is everyone," Sakura asked.

"Don't know, and I don't really want to know," responded Nami, returning to her work, weaving a strand back into place. "Sasuke is keeping an eye on Luffy today, so I'm taking advantage of the chance to let my hair down, so to speak."

"Gotcha… So, I take it you're the sane one here, then?" asked Sakura, sitting down on one of the benches beside her as Hinata followed behind.

The other woman chuckled. "Funny, I was going to ask you two that. Well, that's not entirely fair to Sasuke, but he's got the whole superpowered teen male complex going so he might as well be as crazy as the rest of them."

Sakura laughed at this assessment, but then Nami continued with, "Besides, I've got Robin here to help me, so that's something."

A gently waving hand appeared as if from nothing, directly beside them. Not quite startled, the two kunoichi were nonetheless a little put off by this. It took them a moment to find the slender black-haired woman curled up in a chair turned somewhat towards the window. She had made absolutely no impact on the room at all until she had decided to reveal herself, which was the very first time anyone had managed that since they had sailed from the Elemental Kingdoms.

"Oh, hello," said Hinata, determined to make the best of this. "I think we didn't really get an introduction before at the party. I'm Hyuuga Hinata."

"Haruno Sakura," added the other girl, nodding.

Robin looked mildly confused when she asked, "Party…? Oh, of course you mean last night. I'm afraid my sense of what constitutes a lively social gathering has gone right out the window recently."

She smiled, and there was something odd about it. It wasn't the happy and ritualized connection of meeting a new person, or even the forced cheer of someone putting up with something unexpected. She looked like she was happy with the world as a whole rather than being simply happy to meet them, saying, "Robin. Just Robin, I'm afraid. It's good to meet you, Miss Hyuuga. Miss Haruno, you would be the one who took good care of Sasuke and Naruto, correct? They've told us a fair bit about you."

Sakura snorted. "Yeah, I'll bet they have. Probably some bad stuff too. In fairness, Sasuke already told me a bit about you as well."

Robin raised a delicate eyebrow. "Did he? Well, there's quite enough things he could have said, both good and bad. I wonder what he chose to speak of."

Sakura and Hinata blinked in surprise at the odd not-quite-question. Though they had basically said the same things, the impact had been decidedly different.

"Regardless," continued Robin, "I'm dearly indebted to the two of them. They saved my life more than once, despite barely knowing me. Please try not to be too hard on Sasuke; it's quite difficult to be in his position."

"I… I'll keep that in mind," said Sakura. "You know about… his situation, then?"

"Let's just say I can empathize with him more than most."

"I see…"

Smiling, Robin abruptly returned to her book, ending that odd conversation in a manner that made them feel off-balance. The two ninja girls shared a glance that seemed to pass unnoticed. The unusual woman was frustratingly hard to read, but it was pretty clear she was at least a fair bit older than them, even though her youthful features argued otherwise. The things she had said, though...

Wait, there wasn't anything between her and Sasuke, was there? Sakura shook her head. No, it was hard for her to imagine him having anything in common with such a well-composed woman.

"Alright, finished," said Nami, holding up the hat. It was in much better condition than the last time they had seen it.

"You did that quite quickly," remarked Hinata.

"Yeah, well, despite it being precious to our captain, he has a habit of not taking very good care of it."

"Oh, so it's not just important because it's part of your emblem?" asked Sakura.

Nami nodded. "He inherited this from someone, but I don't know much more than that. Occasionally I've had to fix it up. Knives, bullets, fire, claws...You know. The usual."

"That reminds me," said Hinata. "I saw something odd earlier. Is Luffy aware that there is a small chakra signature inside the brim of that hat?"

Nami turned the hat this way and that, puzzled by the statement, until it hit her.

"Ohh, you're talking about the Vivre card," she said, working the brim until she could remove the small scrap of paper that had been sewn inside. "Does this look right?"

On her palm the scrap of paper jerked and twitched to the north-by-northeast. As they watched it with interest, Nami explained.

"It's attuned to a person's life force, and from that point on it will tell you both if that person is safe or not, as well as roughly where they are."

Sure enough, as she spoke the paper continued dancing happily to the north.

"That's amazing," said Hinata. "What a useful little technique. Who is this one attuned to?"

Nami made a face. "Luffy's brother."

"Luffy has a brother?" blurted out Hinata.

Nami burst out into laughter. "Yeah, that's what everyone says! But compared to Luffy this guy is pretty normal. You can actually hold a conversation with him, more or less."

"Normal? So the card there is so Luffy knows if he needs to protect his brother?" asked Sakura.

Nami blinked and then shook her head. "Ah, sorry, when I said 'normal' I just meant in terms of sanity, and that's only relative to Luffy. He's still one of the most powerful and notorious pirates in the world."

"Oh. Wow, imagine what a time his family must have had trying to raise the two of them..."

Hinata, meanwhile, had continued to watch as the paper tugged its way in a north-by-northwest direction.

"How can you use it to tell where someone is, by the way?" she asked.

Realizing it was about to escape her hand, Nami moved to tuck the scrap away. "Ah, it's pretty straightforward. It always moves in the direction the person is located."

"But... that can't be right," said Hinata. "It was changing directions while we were talking."

"What?" asked Nami, looking back at the paper.

Some careful observation led them to the conclusion that, yes it was proceeding westward at a good pace, until it finally stopped. While it was true that Ace could more or less fly, Nami knew enough about angular velocity at great distance to realize that he was either far off and going much faster than a bullet, or…

The three girls left the building to investigate, hunting through the streets in the direction the card led them. Eventually they found their target in a street-side restaurant where he was wolfing down skewers of meat.

"There, that's him," said Nami, pointing to the man now sitting at the counter.

The dark-haired pirate was bare-chested, revealing a muscular tattooed torso and limbs with wide shoulders and an athletic waist. His face underneath his odd orange hat was dotted with scattered freckles, showing hints of a confident grin. Sakura was immediately floored by the difference in atmosphere between this man and what she had seen of his goofy younger brother. Then, upon further consideration, she found she was floored by something else.

"You didn't say he looked like that!" hissed Sakura, eyes wide.

"I didn't think it would be important!" replied Nami.

"How is that not important?"

"He wasn't supposed to be here at all, alright?!"

"...Wow," added Hinata.

"Come on, you two," said Nami, leading the others forward. "We're going to have to approach him anyway. What's the big deal?"

Sakura and Hinata shared another glance and then followed, catching up to the older girl moments later.

"So… he's your captain's brother?" asked Sakura. "So… you run around with this guy?"

Though the question seemed innocent enough, Nami seemed to read something else into it, raising her hands with an amused expression.

"Whoa, no thank you. I already have enough to do with that family, alright? The last thing I need to get in my life is another notorious pirate. Hinata is spoken for, so this one's all yours. Hey, Ace!"

"Wait, what-" began Sakura, and then Nami stepped up behind her and pushed, shoving her forward in an utterly unexpected move. She stumbled ahead of the others and spun around, but Nami had completely disappeared with a speed that would have put some ninjas to shame. Sakura turned back around to see the man looking at her in puzzlement.

"Oh, hey," said the man as he swallowed the last mouthful of his dinner. "What's up?"

She was so irritated that she started grinning. She couldn't help it. "Hi. I don't actually know you, but some total bitch decided it would be funny to drop me right into this without even getting so much as your name."

"Oh yeah? Cool. I'm Ace. I thought you called me by my name, which is why I turned around."

She laughed. Of course. Nami had called him Ace, but she had just assumed that was a nickname. Meanwhile, he craned his head to look past her and saw only Hinata, who flailed her arms in frantic negation and then pointed to a shop sign that was hiding the snickering form of Nami. When the pirate woman stood back up, recognition finally dawned in his eyes.

"I remember you! You're with my brother, right?"

Almost giggling, Nami nodded as she approached. "Sure, I guess that's all I'm known for these days. How's it going? After what you said last time we met I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"So soon? Oh, yeah it's only been a couple months, hasn't it? I didn't expect to be in civilization any time soon either, but hey, I guess that's how things worked out. I saw the new bounties, by the way. Thank you very much for continuing to look out for my brother." Standing up from his seat, he gave a small bow, and then he turned to face Sakura and Hinata, who were trying not to stare. "I'm afraid the posters didn't mention you two, though. Might I get your names?"

Taken aback by the stark difference in politeness and consideration between Ace and his brother, they gave their introductions. Then, pleased to meet them, he beckoned them all onward.

"Come on, let's get out of here," he said, turning and walking off down the street.

As they walked along with him, Sakura was painfully aware of how stupid she had looked so far. Nami, meanwhile, continued her easy conversation completely unaffected.

"What brought you here, anyway?" she asked. "Weren't you still hunting that pirate last time we saw you?"

"Yeah, well, he threw me off the trail and I was hoping to get some more info here. I just got into town, so I haven't had the chance to poke around yet."

Abruptly, someone from behind them started screaming about an eat-and-run, then the restaurant-owner dashed out into the street and gesticulated wildly at them, flinging knives their way.

"Anyway, I've got to get going," said Ace, and then he broke into a run. Startled, all three of them ran after him, dodging the deadly storm of cutlery.

"You didn't pay?!" asked Sakura.

"Nah, that'd set a bad precedent," grinned the handsome man.

"Damn it, warn us next time!" yelled Nami.

Ace merely tipped his hat and dashed down a different route, yelling, "It was very nice to meet you two! Maybe I'll see you around sometime, okay?"

Their pursuit distracted, the three girls eventually reached safer ground and returned home in peace.

"That was… interesting," mused Hinata. "There are so many strange people out here, don't you think?"

"You mean things are more normal where you come from?" asked Nami.

"Maybe? More serious, perhaps."

"Well, I guess that makes sense if everyone's hanging around assassins all day," suggested Nami, and then she laughed. "Sorry about hanging you out to dry there, Sakura. I just can't do this kind of thing with Robin, and you looked like you could handle it."

Sakura sighed. "No, it's great. That's just how I always like to meet new guys anyway… awkward and unprepared."

"Nah, you did fine. But you should have seen your face! Still, maybe now you see what I mean about going after pirate guys like him, huh?"

"...Yeah?"

Nami grinned. "Even when you think you've got an idea of what you're up against, there's always a surprise waiting for you."