Chapter 11: The Liar and the Slacker

A/N: I have been asked if Naruto will end up with Hinata in this story. I figured that this was as good as a time as any to answer officially. The answer is yes, Naruto and Hinata will be paired up in this story. However, don't expect it to be quick. Naruto would be out of character if he suddenly went from being infatuated with Sakura and went over to Hinata. So, even when Hinata joins the crew, Naruto is not going to notice her for awhile. He will eventually, but how long eventually is…well…you're just going to have to keep reading to find out.

As for any other pairings, I have several planned out. Some Naruto characters will be with Naruto characters; some One Piece characters with One Piece Characters. There will even be a couple crossover pairings. As for what they are, I'm going to keep them quiet for the time being.

XXXXXXX – East Blue

Sailing was proceeding smoothing this morning, the fifth day after leaving Gaimon's island. The winds were strong and steady and with Nami's exceptional navigational skills, there wasn't any trouble. Luffy was sitting at the very front of the skiff in what he officially declared to be the 'Captain's Seat'. Shino was sitting in his usual spot, working on his journal. The current entry was about Gaimon and his island, with all the unique creatures that inhabited it, particularly the many usual combinations of insect species. Shino had written down the coordinates for the island, but he had made sure to do it in code. No one was going to find Gaimon because of him.

Zoro was sitting opposite of Shino, looking at his swords and apparently in deep thought. What he was thinking about could be anything from new Santoryu techniques to when he was going to get some more rum. Who knew: maybe he was even thinking of Kuina. Sasuke was sitting at the very end of the skiff, trying to be as far away from the group as possible. He was simply staring into space and ignoring Sakura's obvious and anxious attempts to get his attention (which lasted two hours before she finally gave up). Though, he was thinking intensely on a certain item he had in his pocket.

As for Naruto, he was currently inside the skiff's small cabin, much to everyone's relief. He had been doing nothing but complaining, ranting and whatnot rather loudly since they left the last island. Something about Zoro being a cheater on top of a bastard, how Nami was totally evil for siding with Zoro because of 'technicalities' and his frog wallet. How Luffy was completely stupid, stupid and stupid for letting the arrogant, moron of an Uchiha headcase join the crew. He even went out on Shino for being a 'traitor' and insulting his height. Not surprisingly, Naruto didn't say one bad thing about Sakura.

Of course, this all resulted in Naruto getting pounded into a pulp (with several nasty bug bites) for being a brat, jerk and insulting her precious Sasuke-kun by everyone except Luffy, who was still overly happy that he got 'Chicken Man' into his crew and wasn't paying attention to Naruto's big mouth.

That's how Naruto ended up inside the cabin. He had stolen…borrowed…one of Nami's pens earlier and drew a target on one of the walls. Luffy was the outermost ring, worth ten points, with two more rings, each one smaller then the previous ring, representing Shino and Nami. Shino was worth twenty points and Nami being thirty.

Naruto spent about ten minutes trying to decide whether to put Zoro or Sasuke as the bull's eye. He had various reasons for choosing either one. In the end, he simply labeled bastard for the middle. That way, it would represent both of them.

Naruto then started throwing his kunai at the makeshift target and tried to think of more pleasant things. Humiliating Zoro. Eating ramen again. Humiliating Sasuke. Date with Sakura. Did he mention humiliating Zoro and Sasuke? And Shino too while he thought about it…and Nami. And Luffy, just for the heck of it.

Outside the cabin, Nami was looking over her map vigorously and constantly shaking her head. "We're being rash." She finally declared outloud for everyone to hear.

Sakura looked at her. "Why?"

She looked at saw that Luffy was still lost in La La Land. "We can't sail to the Grand Line like this." Making sure that everyone else heard the answer, especially the idiot that was supposed to be the Captain. Sasuke's gaze also shifted to her.

At the words Grand Line, Luffy's attention instantly shifted to Nami. "What? What about the Grand Line?"

Shino spoke up, though his gaze never left his journal. "Nami simply said that if we wish to travel to the Grand Line, we cannot do so in our current condition."

"You're right!" Luffy exclaimed, surprising everyone. "That shrub man gave us a lot of fruit, but we need meat to keep our strength up."

"I'm not talking about food!" Nami shouted and adding two more points for Luffy.

"She's right," Zoro said, stretching back. "We don't a drop of rum aboard."

"I'm not talking about rum either!" Nami shouted. She took a deep breath and tried again. "We're headed for the Grand Line, the most dangerous sea line in the world. And don't forget the most successful pirates alive are after the One Piece as well! And their ships are big and sturdy…"

Sasuke was listening intently now. These people hadn't mentioned anything about the Grand Line prior.

"…ours are just little tubs," Nami continued. "And most of our crew are people with no experience at sea. If we go on like this, we'll never succeed at this foolhardy venture."

"So what do we do?" Sakura asked.

"Following Nami's logic, we should acquire a proper vessel as soon as possible." Shino stated.

Nami nodded. "That's right. We're going to plan ahead and prepare." She looked over her map. "There is a small village a little south of here. We should be able to get a ship there."

"AND EAT MEAT!!!"

XXXXXXX – East Blue, Syrup Village

A young boy was sleeping soundly in bed…sort of. His blanket was only covering his left leg revealing that he was only sleeping in his boxers, while his right leg dangled over the bed. His left hand was slumped over the head of the bed while his right rested near his pillow, which the front of his face of currently buried into.

There was no alarm clock in the room, like one would normally expect. Not only because the boy detested those vile things, but because they're was no need for it.

"HORRORS!!!" A loud voice screamed. "WE'RE DOOMED!!! THE PIRATES ARE COMING!!!"

The boy groaned into his pillow. Automatically his right hand grabbed the pillow and put it on top of his head in a futile attempt to drown out the noise.

"THEY'RE ATTACKING THE VILLAGE!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!"

The boy did a silent countdown. Once he finished, he knew that the villagers would start responding now.

"What?! Pirates?!" One would say.

"Well, that's Usopp's morning commotion. I'd best be off to work," Another would say.

"He's at it again," one would laugh as he read the newspaper.

Then. "JUST KIDDING!!!" Usopp would then out break laughing, then the villages would chase him and attempt to beat the hell out of him. They never caught him.

And that's how his day started. At 8 o'clock. Every damn day.

"SHIKAMARU!!!" Yep, right on time, the boy thought miserably. "GET UP ALREADY!!"

"Why is everyone so loud in the morning?" Shikamaru asked his pillow.

"GET UP NOW!!!"

Muttering under his breath, Shikamaru rolled over, put his feet on the ground and sat up, stretching as he did. He then walked over to his dresser and started putting on the first things he touch. Five minutes later, a dressed Shikamaru, wearing some gray pants, a fishnet like shirt with a lightblue vest over it and his usual sandals. He listened to his mother give him the morning lecture of being irresponsible, too lazy, being smart mouth with her, etc. He started eating while his dad, who was drunk yet again, rambling on about 'the good old days,' which always involved something called the Ino-Shika-Cho…whatever the hell that meant. Shikamaru was sure that he heard his dad mention what it was once or twice, but he just drowned it out like everything else. His grandmother would then wobble in and start talking as well, trying to get someone to wash her feet.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked out of the house and yawned. Guess now was the time to go do some cloud gazing. He walked to the outskirts of the village and saw Usopp, wearing his usual brown overalls and bandana thing and carrying a bag, filled with who knows what. He was stretching out on a tree, saying. "Hah! I did it again today! Just a little jolt of excitement to enliven this boring little village."

"You know, some of us like boring and quiet," Shikamaru called out. Usopp was caught by surprise and stumbled a little, but not enough to fall out of the tree. Usopp looked downwards and said. "Oh, it's you. You scared me for a moment. I thought you were some of the villagers."

"Did it ever occur to you that the villagers might not try to kill you every morning if you just stopped your stupid, little jokes?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Usopp asked.

"Where's the fun in being woken up violently every morning thanks to you? And my mom tells me to grow up. How old are you? 14? 15?"

"I'm 17!"

"Sure you are…I don't know why I even bother to talk to you…"

"HEY!!!" A young voice cried out. "Don't insult the Captain!"

Both Shikamaru and Usopp turned to see two young boys headed their direction. Usopp's face brighten when he got a good look at them. "Hey! It's you guys!"

"Aye Captain!" One boy, known as Pepper cried out. He had dark green hair that resembled a pepper. He wore a light green shirt with a skull and crossbones on it, with black shirts and waving a wooden sword around. "Good morning, sir!"

"Your pirate crew reporting for duty!" The second boy shouted. He was slightly taller, was wearing a red bandana with the same skull and crossbones on it, on his head. His purple hair covered his eyes, so how he saw was anyone's guess. The hair and his bandana resembled a carrot top. He wore a black jacket, yellow pants and swinging his own wooden sword around.

"Great…" Shikamaru muttered. "Captain Troublesome and his lackeys…"

Neither Usopp nor the two boys heard him. Usopp merely jumped down with his tree and greeted the boys. He then asked. "Where's Onion?"

Carrot shrugged. "Still sleeping, I guess." He then looked at Pepper. "Right?"

"Yeah…probably." Pepper agreed.

Usopp shook his head in disappointment. "That boy…"

"…is the smart one that understands sleep?" Shikamaru supplied, yawning as he did.

"Yes…NO!!!" Usopp replied. Before he could comment further, a panicked voice was heard from over the nearby hills.

"WE'RE DOOMED!!!" The boy, Onion, screamed, tears in his eyes and wearing glasses. He wore a yellow shirt with a blue vest and brown shorts. His brown hair simply lay flat, with a very small part sticking up at the top, making it resemble an onion. "THE PIRATES ARE COMING!!!"

"Yeah right…" Shikamaru said. "And my mom doesn't have a temper, my dad isn't drunk and reminiscing about the 'glory days' and my grandmother doesn't try to get someone to wash her feet, every hour on the hour…"

"It's true!" Onion protested immediately. "I saw them with my own eyes! A ship flying a skull and crossbones is coming from the north!"

"Liar!" Usopp, Pepper and Carrot all said.

"It's true!" Onion insisted. "Its sail has the sign of Buggy the Clown!"

Shikamaru noticed the boy's panic steadily increasing, as did Usopp, who looked pale. "Y-you're…not…lying?" He asked, voice breaking up.

"It's true! We're in danger!"

Usopp tried to run off, shouting that it was time for his snack. Pepper, Carrot and Onion all shouted. "DON'T RUN AWAY!!!"

"I have a medical condition – if I don't eat my snack on time…I die." To which, the boys merely called him 'liar!'

"Captain! Don't you want to become a real pirate!?" Carrot demanded.

"A real pirate wouldn't be afraid of other pirates!" Pepper added.

"And besides…there are only seven of them and half of them are children!" Onion finished.

"Only seven?" Usopp repeated, slowly calming down. "Then it's not a big ship?"

Onion shook his head and held up two fingers. "No. Just two little ones."

Usopp then thrust a fist into the air. "Alright! Usopp's pirate crew, prepare for action!"

"You're joking, right?" Shikamaru asked

"We'll defend our village!" Usopp continued without pause. He then took off running towards the beach, with the three boys eagerly following him.

Shikamaru sighed. He saw a number of possibilities here. The first one was that the 'pirate crew' was just a bunch of kids who just happened to find one of Buggy's boats. Meaning that they were just playing pirate like Usopp and his little gang of idiots.

The second was that they were a bunch of people who had escaped from one of Buggy's attacks, stealing one of his boats as a means of escape. Knowing that Buggy liked to attack everything within sight, that was a likely possibility.

The third was that they were actually were some of Buggy's pirates, maybe some kind of new recruits, and that this was some kind of trial run for them. The possibility was also likely. Send a group of fresh recruits to a small village that would put up little or no resistance and see just how devoted they were to the pirate life.

There were other, smaller options, Shikamaru thought to himself. He considered what he should do. His father was the sheriff, technically anyway. He could go and get him, actually making his father work for once. He then looked at the shore where the other four had gone, his curiosity slowly rising.

Which could it be? Reason Number 1? Number 2? Number 3? Was it another reason? Was it a mixture of reasons?

"Damn," Shikamaru swore, walking to the beach himself. "Me and my stupid curiosity…I have to know what they're doing…"

XXXXXXX – East Blue, Syrup Village, North Shore.

The two boats owned by the Straw Hats pulled up to the shore, and the group secured the boats to the shore. Luffy looked around. "What do you know? There really is an island here."

"Of course there is," Nami replied, gesturing her map. "It's right here on the map."

"Hmm…" Luffy said, he then looked at the skiff. "Where's Naruto?"

On cue, Naruto rushed out of the cabin. "Here I am!" He shouted apparently back in high spirits (He scored six bull's eyes). He then spoke very loudly in the shinobi tongue, making Sakura and Sasuke step back from him. Even Shino raised an eyebrow.

Naruto looked at them. "What?" His gaze shifted to Shino. "What? I got it right this time!"

"Then allow me to congratulate you," Shino replied. "It's not every day that you hear that someone is going to give birth to a healthy litter of kittens."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "WHAT!? But…I…I said 'I was going to be Hokage! Let's go!'"

Sakura shook her head. "Your exact words were: I'm going to give birth to 8 healthy kittens in six days." Nami added four points for Naruto then.

"I'll get the catnip," Luffy said laughing. Nami giggled under her breath. Zoro had a smug look on his face. "Maybe he'll be quieter from now on."

Naruto stumbled over his next words and finally chocked out 'I hate cats…'

Sasuke then started walking away from the group. Luffy noticed him first. "Hey, where are you going? You have to join my crew!"

"Sorry, I have my own plans," Sasuke said coldly as he walked away. He had thought about it. Truth was: he had been tempted to join them, especially since they claimed to be going to the Grand Line, but he pushed that thought out of his mind. In the end, he wanted nothing to do with a bunch of idiots. Seeing how they acted, he figured that they would get lost, or simply get killed by some real pirates.

Naruto scowled. "Luffy, let him go. We don't want him for the crew. He's no fun and a showoff to boot."

"No, he can't go!" Sakura yelled as she leapt off the boat. "Why are you leaving, Sasuke-kun? We need you."

"One, I don't like you guys. Two, I don't like the loser. Three, I am an Avenger and I walk my path alone…comrades will only slow me down and get in my way."

Zoro huffed. "An Avenger huh? What would a kid like you know anything about vengeance?"

Sasuke stopped, imagines coming into his mind. The biggest one being that man's face. "I know plenty. None of you have any idea what happened to me. I'm going to get my revenge. That's my first priority."

Zoro shrugged, then crossed his arms. "Maybe so. But kid, if you think you're the only one with a hard past, then you're even dumber than Naruto and that's saying a lot."

"HEY!!!" Naruto instantly protested.

"Hey is for horses," Shino said simply. "Are you claming to be a horse now, in addition to giving birth to kittens?"

"BUG KING! Shut up!"

"Insects."

Sasuke ignored Naruto and Shino's conversation. His sole attention was on Zoro. "It doesn't matter, you sword obsessed idiot. That is my path. I will gain my revenge and I don't need help. Why do you guys even care? You hardly know me."

Luffy spoke up. "So what if we barely know you? I didn't know anyone else when I started looking for my crew. Not Zoro. Not Naruto. Not any of them. That doesn't mean we can't get to know each other and have some fun along the way." He broke out into a smile. "Besides…the moment you stepped foot on this ship, you become a comrade. One of my crew."

Sasuke gave him an ugly look. "Comrade? I don't need those. None of you know what it's like to be alone…to be completely cut off from society…to know that something awful happened and that you couldn't do anything about it."

Naruto froze, his temper against Shino quickly dissolving. He was listening very intently to Sasuke now.

"What the hell do you know about me?!" Sasuke suddenly cried out, his voice angry. "None of you have experience anything horrible like I have! Now leave me alone! I'm out of here!"

"I know all to well," Naruto spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "I know how it's like to be alone. To know that something horrible happened and that you couldn't do anything to stop that. Oh yeah…I know that all too well."

Before anyone else could say anything, Zoro pointed at a nearby cliff. "So…what do you think is up with those guys up there?"

Usopp, Pepper, Onion and Carrot all gasped, the latter three screaming quite loudly. "AAAGH!!! THEY SEE US!!!" The three young boys then took off running as first as they could go.

"Hey you guys!" Usopp cried after them. "Don't run away!!"

No luck. The three boys either didn't hear him, or were too scared to comply. Seconds later, they were out of sight. Usopp gulped. "Then there's only one thing to do…" He grabbed his slingshot. "FIRST STRIKE! SMOKE STAR!"

Shikamaru was hiding in some bushes off to the side, watching everything and commenting on how stupid several of these people were. At least Pepper, Carrot and Onion had gotten the right idea and ran.

A shot blasted near the Straw Hat group. Everyone turned their heads to the source. A young man with a slingshot was shouting. "Away you blasted pirates! I, the Great Captain Usopp, rule this village! Turn back now, or my eighty million men will attack you all! Even the ninjas in this village fear me!"

"WHOA!!!" Luffy and Naruto cried. "REALLY!?" Naruto then crossed his fingers. "Ill even up the odds! Tajyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" One thousand more Naruto's appeared, covering a majority of the beach, on top of the two boats and several even standing in the shallow ocean water. "BRING THEM ON!!"

This caused several reactions. Luffy, Shino and Zoro didn't flinch, seeing how they saw him create quite a few at Morgan's Base. Or maybe they just weren't impressed. Nami and Sakura gave a jerk surprise in spite of themselves (and Nami was tempted to give Naruto a hell lot of points for that, but she settled for five). Sasuke's eyes widen in shock when he realized that these things were Shadow Clones and not real ones.

As for Usopp…his jaw hit the ground, foam was forming at his mouth and his eyes almost literally shot out of his sockets. He was screaming rather loudly.

He then threw himself at their feet. "HAVE MERCY!!!"

"Huh?" The original asked. "What are you talking about?"

Sasuke said. "Naruto…I can't believe it…"

The Narutos all looked at him and beamed. "What?" They all asked. "That I'm so awesome?"

"…I can't believe you just did something stupid like that when the fool is obviously lying."

"WHAT?!" They all screamed. They all looked at Usopp.

"It's true! I admit it! I lied! Have mercy!" Usopp groveled on the ground.

Shino spoke up. "You said that there are ninjas in this village?"

"YES!" Usopp cried, as face still in the ground. "FOUR OF THEM!"

Luffy was laughing hard. "You're funny! Talking in the dirt!"

"Funny!?" Usopp repeated, standing up. "I'm a proud man! Which is why they call me Proud Captain Usopp!"

"You have many self proclaimed titles," Shino observed.

"Nevermind that," Luffy replied. "You said that there was a village here? Do they have a restaurant?" At the word, his mouth started salivating "I want some me…" Zoro hit him on the head. "We're here for a ship, remember?"

Sasuke decided to take advantage of leaving. He turned and walked a few steps when his own stomach let loose a hefty growl. He didn't move, merely stood there as if cursing his dreaded stomach.

Sakura instantly saw an opportunity. "Well you should have something to eat first…and do something about those clothes! They're too small for you. And maybe a hair cut as well…"

Sasuke didn't move from his position, but his stomach let loose another grumble. Finally. "…ok…Just lunch though…and maybe…a change of clothes…"

'Score!' Inner Sakura roared. 'That a girl! You've got him to stay a little longer! Now…just reel him in!'

All the Narutos swore. So close. They almost got rid of the bastard Uchiha.

In the bushes not too far away, Shikamaru was watching everything. Just who were these crazy idiots and fools?

He watched as Sasuke slowly turned around and walked back to the others. The one called Naruto finally got rid of all his clones and didn't look very happy at all. Sasuke then looked in Shikamaru's direction. "What do we do with that one?"

'What?' Shikamaru thought. 'He saw me?'

"I was wondering the same thing," Shino said simply and turning on his direction as well.

"Huh?" Naruto asked, along with Luffy.

Shikamaru sighed and stepped out into view. "Ok. You found me. So now what?"

"Why don't you tell us your name?" Nami asked.

"That's Shikamaru Nara," Usopp answered. "Believe it or not…he's one of the ninja." That got several surprised reactions from the group.

"Has anyone told you that you have a big mouth?" Shikamaru whined. Great. This was going to spell a whole lot of trouble.

Sakura walked forward and offered him a hand. "Hello. I'm Sakura."

"I don't care," Shikamaru said, yawning in her face.

"Excuse me?" Sakura replied, a little insulted.

"Women are nothing but trouble." Shikamaru said evenly. "They like to boss me around, think that they know everything, are completely arrogant and at the same time clueless." He then pointed at Sasuke. "And given how you acted around pretty boy there, you're no different."

Naruto instantly ran over to the other boy. "WATCH YOUR MOUTH OR I'LL SHUT IT FOR YOU!!!"

"Oh grow up," Shikamaru said and instantly recoiled, remembering how his mother told him those same words everyday. He was about to say something else when Luffy shouted, getting all of them attentions.

"I WANT MEAT!!!"

XXXXXXX – Syrup Village, Nara Restaurant.

"Really!? You're looking for crewmen and a bigger ship!?"

The entire group was in a small restaurant in the village. Luffy and Naruto were eating enthusiastically. After Naruto showed his picture to the new people they met (and getting a no once again) he complained for the first 15 minutes about how he couldn't have any ramen for nine more days left because of the 'no ramen' bet. He settled down when a large, sizzling steak was placed in front of him. Naruto began drooling and began eating in a manner that would have made Luffy proud.

On the way to the village and at the restaurant, they bugged Shikamaru about which village he had been from and who else was with him. He merely replied that they were 'troublesome people with trouble some questions.' Their waitress told them that Yoshino Nara, the owner, would be by to pay them a visit, much to Shikamaru's displeasure.

As the two garbage disposals worked, Shino answered Usopp's question. "That is correct. We require a superior vessel for the voyages ahead. In addition, most of us know little to no knowledge about how to properly man a ship. As such, additional crew members, preferably ones that know how to handle a ship, would be most beneficial."

"And gather the scattered shinobi and uniting them," Naruto added, shoving more of his steak into his mouth.

"Wow!" Usopp cried in delight. "What a great adventure!"

"That's one way of putting it," Sakura muttered, eating her own salad.

Usopp leaned back on his chair. "Well…you won't find any Galleons here in town…But there is a place you can go."

"Where?" Nami asked.

"The owner of the mansion," Usopp said, gesturing with his arms. "Is a young girl and she's bedridden."

"Are you talking about Kaya?" Shikamaru asked. Usopp nodded.

"How did she become the owner of a mansion?" Nami asked, puzzled.

At that moment, Luffy cried. "More meat, please!"

"More rum!" Zoro said.

Sasuke merely held a plate in the air.

As for Naruto, he stuffed the last bit of food in his mouth and shouted. "Gotta go!" He then ran from the table and out of the restaurant. "Where's he going?" Sakura asked.

"Who knows." Zoro muttered, getting his glass refilled. "Who cares."

"Are you guys listening to my story!?" Usopp shouted, trying to get their attention back.

"No," Sasuke answered.

Shikamaru picked up the story. "About a year ago, both of that girl's parents died. They left her with a huge inheritance, a mansion and a dozen servants."

Usopp put his hands behind his head. "She's rich and lives in luxury…but nobody's more unfortunate than her."

There was a moment of silence, then Nami slapped her hand on the table. "Forget it!" She said.

"Why?" Zoro asked.

"We're not going to find a ship here." Nami said. "Let's go find another town."

Luffy merely grinned. "Okay. I guess we can spare the time. And I got a bellyful of meat! Let's grab some supplies and go!"

Sakura laughed and grabbed a sleeve on Sasuke's too small shirt. "Starting with this!" She declared. "And that hair too!"

Sasuke merely grunted and said. "Whatever…" Poor fool had no idea what he was agreeing to.

"By the way…" Usopp said leaning on the table. "You said that you were looking for crewmen…"

"Yeah…that's right…" Luffy said, clueless.

Usopp pointed at himself admirably. "I'm your man! I'll be your Captain!"

"No thanks…" said all the current Straw Hats without hesitation.

"DON'T YOU WANT TO THINK IT OVER!?" asked a shocked Usopp. The door then opened and a woman of mid thirties walked on.

"Uh oh…" Shikamaru said.

"Who's that?" Luffy asked.

"Trouble…" He said. "That's my mother…"

XXXXXXX – Syrup Village, South Beach

Naruto stood in front of a tree at the beach. He grinned and cracked his knuckles. "Let's get to work! I'll show them I can do this!" With that, he grabbed a kunai and resumed his training.

End of Chapter 11

A/N: Not much to say this time. Just that we get to the introduction of Shikamaru. He ended up here mainly due to luck of the draw. He was one of the last ones I thought about to place in this story.

Just in case anyone cares about Nami's Ultimate Idiot Competition, the current score is Luffy: 15, Naruto: 19

Special thanks to Son Kenshin for all your help on this chapter. You gave me some great ideas to work with.

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