Chapter 5: The Aburame Clan

XXXXXXX – East Blue, Morgan's base, Courtyard

Saying that Captain Morgan was not pleased with what was happening would be a vast understatement. The damned rebels that were defying him kept popping out of whatever holes they dug. It would be his job to put them back in those holes and make sure they stay there.

Current count of the rebels: four. One DF User Pirate, the Pirate Hunter-turned-Pirate, a spineless boy and a young shinobi. Morgan knew that the World Government and Navy Headquarters would want him to recruit any shinobi they could, but as they saying went 'dead men tell no tales'. What the higher ups didn't know, wouldn't come back to bite him in the rear.

Besides, those rebels defied him, humiliated him and broke his statue. They were dead. Pure and simple. He then ordered a counterattack.

"Captain! They're too much for us!" one Marine protested.

"It's hopeless! We can't fight a rubber man, that demon Roronoa Zoro, and that ninja all at the same time!" another one added.

"They're just too strong!"

On the other side of the courtyard, Luffy flexed his muscles, Zoro got his swords ready and Naruto brought up his fingers in a cross shape. All were ready for the Navy's next move.

"Hear me! All of you cowards who were whining just now…will shoot themselves in the head."

What?

"I won't allow defeatists in my outfit! On my order…FIRE!"

All the Marines were shaking at this statement, but three in particular were shaking violently. Slowly, these three raised their guns and aimed them at their heads and Morgan called out, "Ready!"

Zoro grunted, "There is something wrong with those Marines."

"You guys have to do something!" Koby shouted. At that, Luffy and Naruto took off towards the Marines.

"Why don't you something, chicken?" Zoro asked before joining the other two.

"FIR – !"

"WAAAHH!!!" all three Marines screamed and dropped their guns instantly, as if they were on fire. A few seconds later, the three Marines were slapping their right hands, shouting "Get them off! GET THEM OFF!!" This caused Naruto, Zoro and Luffy to stop running and everyone looking at the scene, specifically at the guns.

There were a number of insects crawling all over the guns. Everyone's eyes them moved up and look at the Marines. On their hands were several more of the insect and those close to the threesome could see some bit marks on the hands.

"Only fools follow the orders of a leader whose intentions do not benefit all those under his command."

Immediately all heads turned to the source of the voice. It was the unknown boy that had accompanied Luffy, Naruto and Koby earlier that day. He was standing at the base of the courtyard walls, the upper half of his body hidden in the shadows.

"Hey man!" Naruto called and waved his hand. "Where have you been all day? We could have used your help earlier." Naruto then took a second to consider what he was seeing. When he formed his conclusion, his smile fell. 'No way! You mean that cloud that guy makes…they're really bugs?! Wait a second, didn't he let them crawl…GROSS!!!' Fortunately, no one was paying any attention to Naruto.

The boy stepped out of the wall shadow and responded, "Running recklessly into an occupied Naval base with the intent of causing chaos and theft against those who have already proved themselves hostile is not a wise maneuver. As a shinobi, it would have been better for you to apply stealth and secrecy to achieve your goals."

That snapped Naruto back to reality. "What? What are you saying?"

"That you are overconfident, conceited, and egotistical."

"What?!"

Zoro smirked and Koby said, "He's saying you're an idiot."

"WHAT!?"

"Another rebel!" all heads turned turned to Morgan. "Kill them all!"

At this Luffy started running again. "Hey! I'm your enemy!" Luffy then threw another punch, but it was blocked by Morgan's axe-hand. "Try putting me to death!"

Koby cried out, "LUFFY! NARUTO! DESTROY THIS LOUSY NAVY!"

Morgan grunted. "You have neither rank nor status. I'll teach you to defy your betters." Raising his axe-hand, he attacked shouting, "I'M CAPTAIN AXE HAND MORGAN!"

"Nice to meet you," Luffy replied as he jumped over the axe. "I'm Straw Hat Luffy."

Morgan's strike that missed ended up slicing clear through a nearby fence for a good thirty meters.

Luffy, who was still in the air, rotated his body and slammed both of his feet right in Morgan's face, causing Morgan to fall to the ground. Recovering quickly, Morgan got back on his feet and charged. Luffy met the charge with his own, readying his arm for another punch. Morgan attacked first; bring his axe down once again. Luffy managed to avoid this and said, "I'm not going to die, and…" Luffy smiled.

"…he's not your only opponent!" cried a voice from behind Morgan. Turning around, Morgan saw Naruto's foot connect squared with his face. This caused Morgan to fall back into Luffy's fist. The two continued to hit Morgan back and forth like some weird version of volleyball.

"STOP!" Luffy barely hesitated as he continued to hit Morgan, completely ignoring the said person.

"I said STOP! You BASTARDS!" Helmeppo continued, holding a gun mere inches at Koby's head. He gave a short laugh. "One false move and four-eyes gets it!! If you even blink, I'll shot!!"

Koby was about to start panicking when several things entered his mind. Luffy's statement how he would chase after his dream, letting nothing stop him. How Naruto said no one would hurt his friends. Even Zoro said he had a dream and that he refused to die.

All these things were running threw Koby's mind. They were all so brave, so determined. And now…now was going to be the time he did something that was brave. Koby screamed out, "Hey Luffy! Naruto! Don't let them win because of me! Let them kill me!"

Luffy smiled, "Koby, you're a good guy!"

Naruto added, "We'll turn you into a brave sailor yet!"

Luffy said, "Hey idiot son! Koby means it!"

Helmeppo's hand with the gun began shaking furiously. "Hey! I told you not to move or I'd shoot!"

Luffy smiled, "Sure!"

Naruto just looked at Luffy. 'Ok, now I'm lost. Luffy, just what are you planning?' Naruto then saw that Morgan had gotten back up and was prepared to attack Luffy while his back was turned. Before Naruto could call out a warning, Zoro came rushing by and sliced Morgan causing the Marine Captain to finally fall unconscious.

"Nice!"

"No problem…Captain!"

"THAT DOES IT! SAY GOOD BYE TO…WAAAHHH!!!!!!"

Naruto turned back and saw that Helmeppo had dropped his gun and was slapping himself all over the place shouting 'Get them off! GET THEM OFF! DAAADDDDDY!!!!!!'

While he was preoccupied the unknown boy calmly walked up behind the idiot son and hit the back of Helmeppo's head. The idiot then too fell to the ground, unconscious. The boy then raised his arms, letting all of his bugs return.

Naruto put a hand on his stomach and shivered. 'That's going to take some getting used to.'

All the Marines (those that were still conscious) were completely silent. After one moment, one said, "The Captain lost!"

"Captain Morgan has been defeated," another one added.

At this Luffy, Naruto, Zoro, Koby and their silent companion all turned on faced the Marines. Zoro readied his swords and asked, "Any one you still want to capture us?"

Luffy raised his fist, Naruto crossed his fingers, shouted 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu', producing ten clones and the boy raised his arms. All waiting for the Marine's response.

What they did completely surprised Naruto.

They were cheering. Others began dancing and others threw their weapons in the air as a sign of celebration.

"Hooray!"

"We're FREE!!"

"Morgan's reign of terror is over!!"

"Huh?" Naruto asked. He then turned to Koby and said, "Hey, aren't they suppose to be upset that their Captain lost?"

Koby smiled, "Not if Captain Morgan was ruling by fear!"

It was then that Zoro fell to the ground.

"Hey guys! The dead guy is dead…again!" Naruto shouted, beckoning the other four to them and dispersing his jutsu.

"I guess we shouldn't be surprised, he did say that he had been out here for nine days without food." Koby replied.

"Then let's head into town and eat!"

"I would recommend another place." The silent boy said.

All three turned to him. Naruto was the first to speak up, "Uh, listen, where do you suggest we go? Another island? I don't know who you think you are but –"

"Have you truly not guessed yet?" the boy interrupted. Without out waiting for an answer, the boy reached up and moved the cloth on his forehead up, revealing a leaf headband underneath.

Naruto's jaw dropped. "No way! You're a Konoha shinobi!? How!? When!? WHERE IS…" Naruto was caught off abruptly by the boy's hand.

"It would seem that despite your leaf hitai-ite, you know little about Konoha's present situation." The boy answered. "My name is Aburame Shino. If you all follow me, I'll bring you to a place where you can eat and where you," Shino pointed at Naruto, "can get the information you seek."

Luffy considered for a moment then nodded. "We're in!"

Koby looked back at the Marines nervously, "What about them?"

In response, Shino made a hand sign. Instantly, many smoke bombs went off (courtesy of Shino's insects), covering the courtyard in thick, black smoke. "Now, let us leave." Shino commanded.

XXXXXXX – East Blue, Morgan's base, Outskirts of the island

The shinobi known as Aburame Shino had been leading the other three (four including the unconscious Zoro) for about thirty minutes. By this time, they had left the town and were on the uninhabited part of the island.

Naurto shook his head in irritation. "Yo, Aburame. Where the hell are you leading us?"

Shino stopped. "Here," he replied simply. He then turned and said, "And my given name is Shino. My family name is Aburame."

"Huh? Then why did you give your last name first?" Naruto asked bewildered.

"Naurto, the majority of people in the world give their last name first, then their first name." Koby responded. He then added. "For example, Luffy gave you his last name first."

"He did?" asked a shocked Naruto

"Yes," Koby replied slowly. "He said that his name was Monkey D. Luffy. Why do you think he goes by Luffy and not Monkey?"

"Because it sounds cooler."

Before Koby could comment, Shino said, "We have been accepted."

Before anyone could ask what he meant, all five of them began sinking in the ground. "What the hell?"

"Do not be alarmed." Shino said as they all began sinking even lower. Seconds later, they were submerged at the chest and still sinking. Naruto then gulped as they continued to sink even lower. 'I really hope that this guy knows what he is doing'. Naruto prayed as he was now up to his neck. Gulping again, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he went completely under.

A few seconds passed and Naruto realized he could still breathe caught easily. He heard Koby muttered 'wow'. Quickly, Naruto opened his eyes. What he saw amazed him.

They were in a giant underground cavern. It had to be at least a good 50 meters tall and perhaps twice that in width. Lamps lined all of the walls, illuminating the entire cavern. There were several tunnels scattered all about as he saw several men and women constantly walking in and out of them. All of them dressed similar to Shino, except that they wore even more than him and many had a small gourd on their backs. Every single one of them wore a leaf headband as well. It was the ceiling that amazed him. He could see a nice clear, blue sky with sunshine and clouds. Seeing his mouth dropped, Shino mutter, "genjutsu".

Naruto then look at his feet and saw the land he has standing on: a small piece of land that seem to be floating in the air. Looking further down, he saw four men stand in a rectangle formation, all making the Tiger hand sign. A few seconds later, their piece of earth landed strait between them.

It was then that three men walked up to them. "Greetings to you all. Welcome to the Aburame Compound. I am Aburame Shibi," The one in the middle said. "Shino has informed us of your respective situations and we wish to assist you."

"How do you guys know that if he never talked to you?" asked Luffy

None of the Aburame spoke, but the buzzing of insects suddenly increased. "Oh," Naruto replied, shuddering a little. "You mean you guys can actually understand your…bugs?"

"Insects," all four answered. Shibi then spoke up,"Yes we are able to facilitate communications with the insects. Now then, if the ones called Luffy, Koby and Zoro accompany Musen, he will lead you to the mess hall where you can obtain nourishment." Musen stepped forward and summon his insects. The bugs then formed a stretcher. Gesturing to Zoro, Luffy and Koby nodded and slowly (one hesitantly and the other very hesitantly) laid Zoro on the mass of…bugs. The four then walked away through one of the tunnels to the left.

"What about me?" Naruto asked, indicating his stomach.

"If you tell Buki here what you would like, he shall retrieve it and meet us in the council room."

"Ramen. Lots of it."

Buki nodded and disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

"Now then, Naruto-san, if you kindly follow me." Shibi said.

"Wait a second, I'm not your son!" Naruto protested.

Shibi raised his eyebrows. He then started speaking in a whole completely different language, to which Naruto was completely lost. He then turned to Shino and continued to talk to him in that strange language, to which Shino responded perfectly. They continued talking for several minutes before the taller Aburame turned back to Naruto. "Forgive me, Naruto." Shibi said "Shino had informed me that your knowledge on our shinobi customs was limited, and I had assumed that you knew of the honorifics and the language that the shinobi has used amongst our fellows, seeing your use of the term Kage Bunshin when creating your shadow clones."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto replied.

"Then I shall explain on the way to the council chambers." Shibi said, turning around and beckoning both boys to follow. As they walked, Shibi explained that the shinobi had a collection of terms, called honorifics, that was used to describe the relationship between themselves. Shibi then started explaining that the shinobi also used their own language, as a means to deceive enemies and keep their techniques secret. As Naruto was listening to all of this, he began wondering how much more of the ninja ways and customs he didn't know about.

About ten minutes later, the three stood infront of a large doorway, two monstrous wooden doors blocking their paths. Shibi then raised his arms, bugs flying out. The bugs began crawling into several spots on the doorframe. Moments later, the bugs disappeared in those spots and the doors began opening. Shibi then led Naruto and Shino inside.

It was a small room, lined with lanterns like the in the main cavern, but it had a central light up on the ceiling. At the end was a semi-circle table which had spots for seven people. Six of those spots were currently filled. Behind that table on the wall were several maps and pictures. In front of that table was a smaller one, set for two. Buki (at least Naruto thought it was Buki, all of these Aburame looked the same to him) was standing in front of that table, indicating several bowls of ramen set out for Naruto before poofing away. Shino lead Naruto to the smaller table and the two sat down, while Shibi walked up and set at the empty set on the council's table.

The Aburame elder, most likely eldest, in the middle spoke up, "Now that we all accounted for we would like to hear a little of Uzumaki Naruto's life up to now." Naruto froze, half of his noodles in his mouth. He was not going to talk about Meadow Village to these guys. The elder smiled. "It is not that we distrust your statement about you being a shinobi. You have the basic skills that were taught to the Academy students back in the old days. We merely wish to hear how much you have learned and how much you know of Konoha's customs."

Naruto slurped the rest of the noodles into his mouths. Slowly, he began telling about his early years. He told of Iruka-sensei and how he trained him for a little over a year. He then said that Iruka went missing when a fire started at their home and that he hadn't seen him since. It was partly the truth. Naruto then produced a picture of Iruka-sensei and asked his standard question. Receiving a no, for an answer, Naruto continued his tale, saying that he stayed in his home for several years before taking off in search of Iruka. He ended by telling how he met Koby on Alivida's island, and all their misadventures here on this island.

All eight of the Aburame listened quite intently to Naurto's tale, never interrupting once. When Naruto finished, the Aburame Head Elder spoke up. "Your tale is quite unique, Naruto-san. We are sorry to hear about the loss of your sensei." The head elder paused for a moment, unleashing several of his bugs which quickly disappeared. "The insects will report to our intelligence operations to see if any information about Iruka is among the Navy's reports. That is the reason why we, the Aburame clan, have relocated ourselves to this island."

"Why are you guys even on this island in the first places?" Naruto asked. "Shouldn't you all be in Konoha? I can't be Hokage of Konoha if all you guys are scattered around."

All the Aburame were silent for the next several minutes before the head elder said. "The place that was known as Konoha is no more. It was destroyed approximately twelve years ago, along with all the other shinobi villages."

Naruto's jaw dropped and he began to feel sick in his stomach, like he had drunk expired milk. "W-What?" he asked softly. He began remembering all the stories that Iruka-sensei had told him about Konoha. It was supposed to be a place where all his dreams were supposed to come true, it just couldn't be gone. It just couldn't. "H-how?" Naruto managed to choke out.

"It began over twelve years ago," Shibi spoke up this time. "The shinobi villages were prospering well, despite our…problems, both internal and external." Shibi turned to the collection of pictures on the back whole and gestured to one of the maps in the lower corner. "This map shows the location of the shinobi villages, located on two dozen islands found in the South Blue." He then turned back to the two boys and continued. "Young ones like you and Shino were rolled in the Academy, to become Genin: the starting rank of the shinobi. They were guided by their chunin and jonin superiors, who were in turn guided by our Hokage and village council. The shinobi would travel to other islands, performing missions to finance our villages. Everything from babysitting, to assassination was an acceptable mission. Our village, Konohagakure or the Village Hidden in the Leaves, was the largest and strongest of all the shinobi villages." Shibi paused for a moment, considering. Finally he continued. "Unfortunately, despite our strengths on October 10th, in the year 1509, the demon known as the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or the Nine Tailed Fox in the common tongue, attacked our village."

Naruto froze at that last statement, especially the date. That was his birth date. Naruto felt as if God himself must have hated him if Konoha was destroyed the day he was born. "You mean this…fox demon…destroyed our home?" he asked softly.

"Yes and no." spoke another Aburame elder. "Information during that time is relatively unknown due to the chaos that incurred. What is clear is that the demon attacked our home and caused much destruction. However, after numerous losses, our current leader: the Fourth Hokage managed to defeat the beast, but at the cost of his own life. Exactly how he did is not known, but it was said that the Fourth forever sealed the Kyubi in a prison." The elder then turned to the back wall and pointed to four pictures at the very top. "Those four are the only shinobi to be granted the title of Hokage. The one on the far right is the Fourth."

Naruto eyes instantly found that picture. It showed him a young man with bright blond hair and a friendly smile. 'So, that man defeated the nine tailed fox and saved the village? He must have been very powerful. A true hero. I wish I could had met him, if only once. He might even have given me tips on how to become the next Hokage.' After collecting his thoughts, Naruto asked. "I don't get it, if he saved the village, then…"

"…how was it destroyed?" supplied the head elder. "If the disaster had ended there, the shinobi would have survived. Unfortunately, the Kyubi's attack was merely the beginning. A mere three days later, we were under attack again. This time by all other members of the Biju."

"The Biju?"

"Tailed Beasts in the common tongue. Nine immensely powerful demons, perhaps the most powerful of them all. They are known by the number of tails that they each possess, from the one tailed to the nine tailed. The Kyubi was a part of this group, and most likely the strongest of the nine."

"So the other eight attacked because their pal was killed?"

The head elder shook his head. "Do not misunderstand. The demons were categorized as a group, but they held no loyalty to each other. It was not uncommon for members of the Biju to fight each other."

"They why…?"

"Did they attack? There are theories, but there is no clear answer. One possible motive is revenge. The Biju have run amok for centuries. During all that time, numerous organizations tried to collect them for power and war efforts. Our own hidden villages have tried this. Our history states that about 30 years prior to the attacks, Sunagakure or the Village Hidden in the Sand, was the closest to achieving this with the Shukaku the Ichibi – One-Tailed Demon Tanuki. However, the Shukaku managed to escape them before being sealed, but not before nearly destroying the entire Sand village."

One of the elders that hadn't spoke up yet snorted. "That reason is illogical. If revenge was truly their motive, the Biju would have attacked decades ago. No, it was something else that led them to attack."

The Head Elder nodded. "Regardless of their reasons, all eight of the remaining demons attacked us. And their attack wasn't limited to just Konoha this time, but all of the shinobi villages. The fighting lasted for two days, with the Biju nearly victorious. The Kages -"

"Kages? I thought you only had the Fourth Hokage."

Surprisingly, it was Shino who answered him. "Among our hidden villages, the five most powerful are known as Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure and Kumogakure or the Villages Hidden in the Leaves, Sand, Rock, Mist and Clouds respectively. These five are known as the Five Great Shinobi nations. Only these five countries are allowed to call their leaders Kage. Thus they are the Hokage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Mizukage and Raikage."

Shibi nodded. "Well said Shino. Continuing, the current five Kages managed one final counterattack and defeated the demons. They accomplished this by doing the one task that the world has been trying for centuries: they sealed the demons into humans."

Naruto's only response was 'huh'?

"The demons spirits were sealed into infants and young children. It was once thought that this method would be the most effective for controlling the demon's power and becoming powerful weapons for the shinobi villages."

"That's sick." Naruto said.

The head elder spoke next. "Your response is appropriate. However, that was the only method we had left. Moving on, the Biju's attack left all of the shinobi villages in utter chaos. Some villages were completely razed and causalities were high. It is believed that 30 of the total number of ninja perished." The old Aburame paused once again before saying, "And still, the danger had not passed. For a short while later, we came under one final attack."

"You're kidding." How much destruction and death did these guys go through anyway?

"We would not kid about this," one of the elder spoke harshly. "The final attack was not of demons, but of humans."

"What?"

"We mentioned earlier that shinobi had internal and external problems. The source of the external problems was that of the World Government and Pirates. The shinobi were hated by both sides. The World Government feared us as a threat to its power and world stability, while the Pirates hated us because they saw us as 'business rivals.' Both sides have tried to destroy us in the past, but we were able to resist them. This time, we were far too weak."

"Who attacked?"

"Supposedly a multitude of different pirate groups. However, many of those groups had never been seen prior to the attack and vanished shortly after."

"Day after day," Shibi said, "More and more came. For every ship we defeated, three more came. When the days turned into weeks, our own numbers falling and the enemies rising, we were left with one choice: flight. We gathered our families and abandoned our ancestral home. No one made an attempt to stay together as a group. It was every family for themselves and we ran in whatever direction we could."

Naruto was silent as he absorbed all of this information. All of the shinobi's old homes were gone and all of the survivors were scattered throughout the entire world. He then remembered Iruka's own dream: I want to reunite the scattered shinobi, Naruto. No, not just reunite them, but truly unite them in a way that they haven't been before. After a few minutes, Naruto said, "Aren't you guys trying to find the others?"

None of the Aburame spoke. Finally, it was Shino who answered. "While we have relocated ourselves to this island to intercept the Navy's information about the other shinobi, we are not actively searching." There was a hint of anger in his voice.

"What?! Why the hell not?"

The head elder raised his hand. "As we said, all the shinobi are scattered about the world. All of them would have hidden themselves much like we have. The odds that we would find any of them are slim to none. In addition, any search parities would be prey to both the Navy and Pirates. Thus we do not have the numbers nor the resources to conduct an extensive search."

"What kind of reason is that?!"

An elder sighed. "Your attitude is similar to our newest generation." He paused and looked at Shino. "We only have 19 jonin, 34 chunin and 22 genin in our clan. The rest are the civilians in our clan. Take your own position: you have been looking for your sensei for two years and have found nothing. Conducting a search is foolhardy."

Shino spoke out. "It is not foolhardy to look for our fellow shinobi. The dangers are great, yes; but actively searching for our fellows has a greater chance of success than listening to the Navy's reports hoping for something."

"That is speculation."

"Enough." The head elder cried out. "Shino, you have stated your position before and have been denied. Even if we did send out a search party, you would not attend. As my grandson, you will one day be the Clan Head."

"My father will obtain that position long before I do." Shino retorted. "In any case, Naruto-san is already part of Luffy's Straw Hat crew. Once they are ready to leave, I will ask to accompany them."

"You will do no such thing!"

Shibi cleared his throat. "Honored council members. Shino and I have had a long discussion about this. After much deliberating, I have decided to support my son in this."

"Shibi! You go against this council!" This time, it was the head elder who spoke up, anger in his voice for the first time.

"Hey can I say something!" Naruto yelled. He wasn't in the mood to listen to a bunch of old guys argue about Shino's future. All eight faces turned to him. "Now, I know that I'm the one that knows that least about how the shinobi work, but one thing that I do know is that when someone receives a headband, they are considered an adult." Naruto remembered all the times he had asked Iruka to allow him to wear the head band, Iruka always said no. He would then go and say that he wasn't ready for the adult responsibility that the headband represented.

The head elder looked right at Naruto for several minutes. Finally he said, "Normally when one receives the hitai-ite, they are considered an adult. However, Shino and other members of his generation have received theirs through own our blessings."

"Which would mean that we ourselves have made him an adult and that he is free to make his decision." Spoke an elder.

At this, all seven members of the Aburame council began arguing in the shinobi language. Naruto couldn't help but noticed that even with this arguing, their voices never reached the point of shouting. Naruto couldn't make any sense of this. Turning to Shino, he was going to ask what they were saying, but the other boy merely stood up and motioned him to come. "We shall leave the council's presence while they deliberate. If you follow me, I will lead you to the mess hall."

"Thanks man. And listen if I know Luffy, he'll accept you into his crew the moment you ask him. No hesitation, no questions asked."

"That would be most appreciated."

XXXXXXX - East Blue, Morgan's Island, Aburame Compound Mess Hall.

When Naruto and Shino entered the mess hall, what they found didn't really surprise them: Luffy, Koby and Zoro were all centered at one of the tables with a mountain of empty dishes stacked in the middle. The two boys joined them at the table while Luffy continued to shove food down his throat and Zoro merely comment that Luffy seemed hungrier than he did.

The four continued to watch Luffy devour the Aburame's food stores. As fate would have it, Shibi entered the mess hall right as Luffy proclaimed that he was full. Shino and Naruto turned to face Shibi, anxiously waiting for what the council's final decision was.

Shibi first turned to the other three. "I trust your meal was satisfactory?" Receiving a nod from them, Shibi turned his attention to the two young shinobi. "Before I state the council's final decision, I have been told to tell Naruto-san that he is invited to remain with us should he desire to do so."

Before Naruto could answer, Luffy did it for him. "Sorry, but he's a member of my crew. We have a whole lot of adventures to go on!"

At that Naruto smiled. He remembered Luffy's own insistence that Naruto was in his crew (despite Naruto telling him that he wasn't) and Zoro's own statement about being a man and not going back on his word. Besides, since he was searching for Iruka, and now any shinobi, would it really be a bad thing to stick with these guys? No. "You heard the captain. Thanks, but no thanks."

Shibi nodded again and Naruto swore he could almost see a smile on that face. "Very well," he then turned to Shino. "Shino, the council has decided to grant your request…on the condition that Luffy accepts you. We will not allow you to journey alone."

Shino nodded and turned to Luffy. "Captain Luffy of the newly formed Straw Hat pirates. I would be honored to accompany you on your adventures."

"Cool. You're in!" ("Told ya," Naruto said) Luffy then grabbed Koby and started doing a victory dance, singing 'I've got another crew member' at the top of his voice. After a few minutes of this, he then asked Shino, "Are you a musician?"

"No."

"Damn it!"

Shibi walked up. "Luffy, the council has also said that we shall give you fresh supplies and a larger boat. Our information has stated that you only possess a small dinghy as a means of transportation." Shibi didn't mention what else the council had said. Specifically, what they had said about Naruto. Everyone on the council had felt a strange, dark power inside of the boy. Even their own insects feared to go near him. This had surprised the Aburame elders considerably. The insects shouldn't even be able to express fear. In the end, both Shibi and his father had managed to quell those fears. Whatever this boy was, he was no cause for concern. 'Though, if he does turn out to be dangerous and bring harm to Shino. I will personally hunt him down myself. Nevertheless, this is Shino's decision.'

The words 'Our information' rang in Naruto's ears. "Specking of information. Did you guys find out anything about Iruka?"

Shibi shook his head.

"Oh,"

Luffy slapped Naruto on the back. "We'll find your sensei! Such a thing is easy enough for the future King of the Pirates."

Shibi then motioned them to follow. "If you are ready, let us head back into town. The chaos that you all have caused has started to abate. And it would be wise for you to leave before the Navy reorganizes itself."

And with that Shibi, lead the five out of the mess hall and back to the main section of the Aburame compound.

XXXXXXX – East Blue, Morgan's Island, Town Port.

Luffy, Naruto, Zoro, Shino and Shibi stood at the port in front Luffy's small dinghy and a large skiff. That skiff was about three times the size of Luffy's dinghy, complete with a sail and a small one room cabin (though large enough for the four). According the Aburames, it was filled with enough supplies to see them through the next month.

On their way to town, Naruto asked if they should hide their hitai-ite this time, like Shino did earlier. Curiously enough, it was Shibi who said no. If they were going to leave, the let themselves show off their ninja heritage and pride.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a little sad that Koby wouldn't be joining them. As they had walked into town, Rika appeared to meet them, along with numerous other townsfolk. Naruto was prepared to either run or fight, but was caught by surprise when they all started cheering at the small pirate group. After ten minutes of hero worship, the Marines arrived. Once again, Naruto prepared himself for a fight. The Marines, however, also expressed their gratitude for the defeat of Captain Morgan. They also said that they wouldn't report them to headquarters, but they still asked for them immediate. They had said it politely, but it was more of an order than anything else.

So, they left. But not before Luffy staged a fight with Koby infront of everyone, getting the Marines to believe that Koby was not a friend of theirs and thus would be allowed to join the Navy since they now believed that Koby had no affiliation with any pirate group.

Zoro finished tying Luffy's small dinghy to the back of their new boat and promptly stepped aboard. Shino swung his own pack over his shoulder and went on next, with Naruto quickly following. Luffy was the last one on board and shouted. "Let's go!"

"Where to?" Zoro asked.

"To the Grand Line. We're going to find One Piece!"

"Aye aye, Rubberman!" Naruto shouted as he lowered the sail and they were off.

Shino stared back at the island that had been his home for all of his life. Part of him was regretting leaving, but the majority was anxious to get out and find the remaining Konoha shinobi out there. Shino then saw that the Marines, Koby and his father were all standing along the port, saluting and seeing them off.

"Luffy. The port." Was all he said.

Luffy turned back and started waving back, constantly shouting things like 'I'm going to be King of the Pirates' and 'Grand Line, here we come!'

Naruto also joined him. "We got a new boat, some new friends and one hell of a cool send off. What else could we possibly ask for?"

Zoro joined his three shipmates and said, "Just one small thing."

"Oh, what's that?"

Zoro's reply was a large fist coming down on Naruto's head and knocking the boy unconscious. "I've been waiting to do that all day. Don't touch my swords again, brat."

"I doubt he can hear you." Shino said.

"Then I'll remind him again when he wakes up."

End of Chapter 5

A/N: It was an interesting experience writing this chapter, I finally went and explained the shinobi's side in this story and their status in the One Piece world. Hopefully the explanations didn't confuse anyone too much.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Naruto. They belong to their respective owners: Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto.