Author's Note:
So for those of you who are familiar with my upload schedule, know that this chapter was not next in the rotation. The reason for this change is that I want to finish this story as soon as possible to focus of the larger ones. This doesn't mean I've lost interest in this story far from it, it's just that I know I can write the chapters faster than my other stories. (Even though I'm having a little writer's block in chapter 7 :/)
The point is, I will be writing this story exclusively until it's finished which will be in 5 chapters give or take. That will only take about a month or so to write and since all I'll be doing is focusing on this one story, I can give it my all without having to divert my time all that much. Savvy?
Anyways, I hope you will all enjoy this chapter as it is one I really wanted to write. Remember, please review it honestly and let me know if there is anything I wrote incorrectly.
And for those of you reading and do not have a FanFiction account, please message me on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or Deviant Art if you have any questions.
Also, I'm sorry this was delayed. I just keep writing with more ideas coming in which changed a lot of how this turned out.
Cheers, Happy New Year, and Thorrablot!
Enjoy!
Pirates vs Ninjas: Battles of Love and Will Chapter 5: War Within Our Walls
"So this is Konoha?" said Sanji looking at the village.
"Pretty average looking don't you think?" added Usopp.
"As average as a village can be while filled with ninjas" the cook replied rubbing his side. The run to the village made his wound act up and was whining for attention. It wasn't first time he had broken his ribs in a fight but that didn't mean it got any easier to deal with. He needed to find Chopper as soon as possible and get his ribs iced.
"Are your ribs hurting again?" asked Usopp noticing his crewmate's actions. "We're both pretty banged up; maybe we should see a local doctor."
"I'm not resting until I know that Nami-san and Robin-chan are safe" the cook replied stubbornly. "But more importantly, I don't think we can trust anyone while we're here, even if it is a doctor. We're now enemies of this place and they are looking for us, so the only doctor was can trust is Chopper."
The sniper nodded agreeing with Sanji's way of thinking. "In that case, we should probably start looking around for clues to figure out where exactly are we, that way we can also figure out where the others are. And to tell you the truth..." Usopp said squinting, "nothing here looks all that familiar. Even the...feeling of this place seems weird. I can't explain it any better."
"No you're right on the money" said Sanji lighting a cigarette. "Something is very weird about this place."
xXx
Nami slowly made her way through the Hokage tower that stood above all other buildings in the village. She had quickly learned that this tower was the home of the village's leader and the home of all the information she would need. Knowing that the tower would be crawling with guards, Nami brought out her old cat burgling skills and managed to sneak into the building which to her surprise, was far less guarded than she anticipated.
Moving floor by floor, the young navigator looked at every door trying to find a charts room or better yet, some kind of communications room. She had noticed that some of the guards had been wearing some kind of communication device; possibly a model of Den Den Mushi. This meant that there must been some kind of archive filled with communications logs. If they were updated as often as Marine Logs, then there was a possibility that she could find some chatter about the rest of the crew. If not that, then she could at least find out where she was.
When she made it to the third floor, her eyes landed upon a label that made her smile: MAP ROOM. Making sure the coast is clear, she inched to the door and placed her hand on the door knob. As expected the door was locked, making the former cat burglar to fish out her lock pick and began to work on the lock. After a few moments, the familiar click of a lock mechanism unlocking made the young woman grin.
"Haven't lost my touch" she said to herself quietly before entering the room and closing the door behind her. The room she was in, though not as large as she expected, was filled from floor to ceiling with scrolls. Packed on shelves and even on the table in the center, nearly all the information Nami could want was at her finger tips. But what she really wanted was attached to the rear wall as wide as her arm's spread and framed; a map of the area.
Or...she thought that was it.
Instead of the map being that of the village and the surrounding era, it was a map that showed many nations and some water.
"What the hell is this?!" she exclaimed loudly, frowning deeply at the map. Instead of a detailed map, it was a very rough indication of countries she had never seen before. Each country was marked with a symbol of the elements ragging from Sand to Water. The only other apparent marking was that of what she guessed were the capital cities, one of which was Konoha nearly in the center of the Country of Fire.
Nami looked at the map at every angle but was unable to find any other additions or locations. Aside from the naming of the countries and capitals, there were no other cities or towns marked on the map. No towns, outposts, roads, trade routes, smaller bodies of water, harbors, nothing. What kind of idiot drew this map? There was no way that an area this large was filled with this scarce amount of populated municipalities. To make matters worse, there were parts of the map clearly sectioned off as their own territories, but without any labelling of any kind. Even the bodies of water were unnamed making the entire map emptier than the Hokage building.
Putting aside the annoying the lack of craftsmanship, Nami was able to determine a few pieces of crucial information. Though she had yet to see the entire world, she had a photographic memory of every map she had ever drawn. No matter how hard she tried to recall, there was no map that resembled anything to what she was looking at. Could she be in an entirely new part of the Grand Line? Most certainly, but there were many things that were bothering her; nearing to the point of madness. Now it was beginning to make sense. The village, the villagers, the lack of anything related to seamanship, and the overall lack of familiarity.
She was no longer in the Grand Line.
How was that possible? The memory of Skypiea was coming to her, but this was something completely different. The idea of a different world was ludicrous, but what else could be going on? Did it have something to do with the violet light she had seen? It had to be. Nami had so many questions but so few answers, and to her disappointment, she was not going to find those answers here. She began looking around the Map room trying to find anything more viable. Only after a few minutes of looking over the shelves did she notice a very old looking scroll at the back of the top shelf. She reached back and gently pulled out the scroll before spreading it across the table.
Despite it being old, Nami was able to make clear that the scroll was a diagram of the very building she was in. However, the diagram showed not only the tower, but a large structure that lay beneath.
"A secret chamber? Mmm...could be interesting" she said, wondering if there was treasure in this secret location. She decided that with nothing more to learn from the maps it was time left. She took the old scroll with her and snuck back out of the Map room. She might still be able to find the communications room, if one existed.
xXx
Before the gates of Konoha, Zoro, Franky, Killer B, and an immobile Sasuke thrown over the cyborg's shoulder entered after an hour of travel; Killer B's beasts were to be thanked for that.
"See the tower right there before us?" said Killer B pointing at the Hokage building. "That's where we gotta go to get money for this dumbass." (a/n: I fuckin' hate writing the dialogue for Killer B -_-)
"Mm. Let's go" said Zoro as he began walking through the gates.
As the trio walked down the main street of the village, most if not all the villagers noticed them and watched them with awe and confusion. A swordsman with green hair was walking in-between a Cloud nin and a blue haired man in his underwear carrying Uchiha Sasuke. They all began to murmur which caught the attention of the first mate. His sharp eyes scanned the growing crowd of villagers. Just like Killer B's village, there weren't any swordsmen, pirates, or Marines. Not something he was getting used to.
"The hell? What's with the lack of swordsmen and sailors?" he asked.
"There aren't any swordsmen around here yo" replied the jinchuriki. "The only swordsmen around here are the samurai of the Land of Iron in the far North and the 7 Swordsmen of the Mist. And in regards to sailors, the only place you're gonna find them is on the Eastern coast and islands of the Land of Water a few hundred miles East of here." (a/n: Just so ya'll know the Land of Iron isn't even on the Naruto World map so I have no fuckin' clue where it is. I'm just guessing as a snow covered nation is has to be in the North. Goes to show how little Masahi planned all this shit out, making it up as he went along.)
"And all these men with those bandanas with metal plates?"
"Shinobi. Every nation has them. Except the Land of Iron. They're all samurai and hate us. But as long as we don't go on their land and mess with them, they won't mess with us."
"Hmph, can't say I'm all that impressed" said Zoro eyeing up one of the Shinobi. "I've seen small fry thugs tougher than these ninjas."
"Ha! Don't let'em hear ya or they're gonna crya" Killer B half whispered.
"There better be a place I can get a drink after this" he muttered.
"Tch. I'm more annoyed about this place's architecture!" grumbled Franky. "It's so ugly, and old, and not Super!"
"Really?" said Zoro looking over at the shipwright. "That's what you're concerned about? You need to set your priorities."
"Maybe I should offer to fix up the place and make a little extra money?"
"Ha ha! With the way you dress bro they wouldn't let ya!" laughed Killer B.
"Why would that matter?"
"Ha ha ha!"
"So that's it?" asked Zoro gesturing to the Hokage tower with his head.
"That's it. Not as cool as bro's place but that's where the Hokage is. Better go drop off the Uchiha" replied the Cloud nin flicking his knuckle off the former Konoha nin's head.
The trio walked to the door of the tower and walked past the two guards posted there as they were dumbfounded by the party. When they reached the first floor, a fair-skinned woman with shoulder length black hair wearing a dark violet kimono noticed them and walked briskly towards the outsiders.
"Sumimasen! Who are you and what are you do-" she began irritably, already at her wits end having to deal with all the orders Tsunade was shouting at her. However, when she saw Sasuke shackled and over one of the strangers' shoulder, she knew exactly who they were.
"Yo, where's the Hokage?" asked Killer B with a grin.
"P-Please follow me" said the kunoichi walking to an upward staircase.
They walked in complete silence mostly due to how much Shizune was intimidated by the trio. When they made it to the door of Tsunade's office, the medic nin asked them to wait a moment as she knocked on the door.
"I don't want to hear it!" shouted a voice clearly that of a woman.
"Tsunade-sama, this is important" assured her assistant urgently.
"Unless it has something to do with that attack on the Kazekage, I don't want to-"
Suddenly the Senin was cut off by Zoro abruptly kicking the door of her office open. This caused both Shizune and the Hokage to jump before Zoro and the others walked in.
"I think this belongs to you" he said coolly as Franky took Sasuke off his shoulder and tossed him in front of Tsunade's desk. She looked at the boy who she had not seen in years before looking back up at Zoro.
"You're the bounty hunter that defeated Uchiha Sasuke? I wasn't expecting you for another few days" said Tsunade with a frown, not appreciating her door being kicked open. (a/n: Since the only distance that has ever been given an estimated time of arrival is the distance between Konoha and Suna, which is tree days, I have no idea how long it would take to travel from Kumo to Konoha. It appears to be twice as far away on the map, but in the Manga they get there in what seems to be 5 minutes as Masashi does not know how to show pacing).
"We had some help of my bros" answered Killer B. "I'd be hella too long on foot and slow."
Tsunade frowned at the jinchuriki's choice of words before quickly looking over the other too two. "Shizune, tell Morino and a few ANBU agents to come here immediately. And make sure that Naruto and Sakura do not hear anything about this" she ordered not taking her eyes off the green-haired swordsman.
Shizune bowed quickly and left the office hastily, leaving her Kage alone with the three odd men. The legendary medic examined both Franky and Zoro leaving Killer B aside as she had looked at his file before. Undoubtedly the cyborg was the most strange to her. His attire was ridiculous, as he wore almost no clothing safe an open shirt and some kind of underwear. Aside from those stand-out features along with his blue hair and oddly shaped arms, his face was what confused Tsunade the most. His chin was strangely shaped with three points instead of a single smooth one, and his nose was made of metal. Not only was it made of metal, but it was clear that it was bolted right onto his skull. She had seen odd modifications done to the human body over the years, but his was for some reason the most peculiar.
As for Zoro, he was strange for an entirely different reason.
While he too had odd coloured hair, and his dress was not one that was worn commonly around this part of the world. On top of which, the three katana that rested on his right side made Tsunade feel...uneasy. While it was not uncommon for some shinobi to carry short swords, mostly with ANBU members, true katana were hard to come by and even less were katana that boasted that level of craftsmanship. Was it possible that this man was from the Land of Iron? By law shinobi and samurai were never allowed to tread on either other's lands leaving the old warriors secluded in the far North.
But could it be that this man was a defector? A true Ronin; a masterless samurai? It would make sense, as it was his eyes that set him apart. They were not the eyes of a shinobi. They were the eyes of a seasoned warrior who had seen many battles and much death. As a child Tsunade had seen old Kakemono (wall scrolls) of the samurai of old, and they too had eyes like his. It was eerie for her, as if something from the distant past had come back from the dead. It did not help that the swords that were attached to his waist were also giving off an eerie vibe.
To the untrained eye, those katana would seem to be nothing more than very decretive swords. While she admitted she has limited to no knowledge of swords as a scalpel was the only blade she needed to master, she did know that swords fell into two classes: simple blades used by civilians and chakra blades. The Legendary 7 Swordsmen of the Mist were infamous as being the greatest swordsmen of their generation. But what made them so legendary was not just their skill, but their swords. 7 legendary swords for 7 legendary swordsmen past down from generation to generation was what made them stand far above the rest. Each sword possessed a special ability that attached itself to the name of the sword. To match their ability, each sword appeared far different than any sword that was ever made; each designed so uniquely that one would not even be about to recognize them as swords.
But the blades of this bounty hunter were different. They were all Daito Katana (long swords) each made by a master swordsmith that would have been carried by only the most distinguished samurai lords. And despite being far more beautiful than other blade she had ever seen, they gave off a mixed aura of danger and intimidation. It also went without saying that those swords in combination with the green-haired man, who was fairly intimidating on his own, made it even worse.
"So are we just going to stand here in silence?" said Zoro not amused. This snapped Tsunade out of her train of thought and frown once again at the former bounty hunter's attitude.
"No, I have a few questions for you. Who are you?"
"Roronoa Zoro" he replied.
'Even his name is strange' she thought. "That's a rather odd name if you don't mind me saying. Tell me, why did you take on Uchiha Sasuke? He has done many crimes but we've yet to place him in the Bingo Book" asked the Hokage. (a/n: Did anyone else think that was stupid by the way?)
"He pissed me off" stated Zoro plainly. "I tried asking for directions and he tried to stab me in the back." The answer was unsettling and yet completely expected for Tsunade.
"Where are you from Roronoa-san?"
"A place far from here" he said.
While his answers were truthful, Tsunade took them as suspicious. She knew she wasn't going to get any information out of him and decided to leave the questions alone. Just then, the door of her office opened revealing Shizune holding a medium sized case with a tall man dressed in black and two long scars on his face. Behind him were three men in black hooded cloaks and wore odd animalized masks.
"Morino, thank you for coming here on such short notice" said Tsunade "I know your work keeps you busy around the clock."
"It is my pleasure Hokage-sama. I would not miss this for the world" he replied with a small grin on his face. "Well well, Uchiha Sasuke" he said walking around Zoro and looked straight down at the 15 year old missing nin. "It has been a while since the last time I saw you, and if you don't mind me saying, was not expecting to see you alive." Morino paused to kick Sasuke in the ribs making the traitor cringe with pain. "I was not surprised that after your brother slaughtered your clan you would be hell bent on revenge, nor was I surprised you ended up going rogue to get to him. I was surprised however that you would take his place in Akatsuki after you killed him. Was it worth it?"
The only answer Sasuke gave the head of the K.T.I.F (Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force) was a growl as his body was still bound.
"Take him to the cells" said Morino to the ANBU agents. All three of them nodded. Two of the agents grabbed Sasuke by the arms to carry him while the third agents grasped a senbon that Tsunade recognized as being coated in a strong tranquilizer. As the masked shinobi left the Hokage's office, Morino looked at Zoro with curious eyes.
"You're the one who took him down?" he asked the swordsman.
"Yup."
"Very impressive. He has become one of the most powerful ninjas from this village and even killed his master who was one of the three legendary Senin."
Zoro merely frowned at this. "I don't know whether I should laugh at that or feel bad for this entire village that a kid is one of their best fighters."
That was not the best thing the first mate could have said.
His words immediately made the Konoha shinobi glare at him as he had just insulted them on multiple levels. Adding more salt to their wounds, Killer B had doubled over laughing at Zoro's comment.
"A kid you beat in one hit no less!" snorted the jinchuriki.
Tsunade leaned back from this new piece of knowledge. One strike? That was enough to defeat Sasuke? How strong was this bounty hunter? Why were there so many strong characters appearing; both being swordsmen no less? Were all of these events related? Her suspicions of Zoro appeared to be true and she knew that she had to get more information from him; one way or another.
"Your reward Roronoa-san" she said hiding her emotions and opening the case Shizune was carrying. "While Uchiha Sasuke did not have an official Bingo Book bounty, please accept this 100,000 Ryo reward."
Zoro looked at the stacks of bills within the case and nodded before reaching for the case.
"To make it official however, I must ask you to sign this form to confirm this transaction and to inform our Bounty Stations" added the Hokage. Zoro looked at the form vaguely before signing his name with a pen offered to him by Shizune. After taking his money, Zoro turned for the door and was presented a fist by Killer B who was leaning against the wall.
"Be seeing you bro" he said grinning.
"Ah" replied the green-haired swordsman bumping his fist. "You're going to stay here?"
"Just to chill for a bit, for there is a certain motherfucker I need to hit. See ya round Bro.
"You too bro" replied Franky bumping the jinchuriki's fist before leaving with his crewmate, the door shutting behind them.
"Was that a smart thing to do Roronoa? Signing your name and picking a fight with these guys?" asked Franky.
"Take a look at this money" said Zoro opening up the case and handing a stack of bills to the shipwright. "Do these look like Beri to you?"
Franky took the stack and pulled free one of the bills. He examined it on both sides carefully before returning it to the stack. "I've never seen currency like this."
"Exactly. Weird money, weird towns, no Marines or pirates, no weapon shops, no guns, but ninjas at every corner. Something is very wrong here. I don't know where we are, but we need to find Luffy and the others fast."
"Wait just a minute Killer B" said Tsunade strongly as she rose from her seat. "Who exactly do you want to hit, for I will not tolerate a foreign ninja picking fights in my village."
"Chill oba-san, I just want to meet someone that I've heard about for years" he said taking a few steps closer. "The only guy who can stand head to head with me other than bro A; your jinchuriki."
Tsunade's jaw clenched. "Now listen here...stay away from him at all costs."
"Gyuki always talked about how the Kyuubi was so much stronger than him; therefore his host should be really strong too. I wanna see which one of us is stronger" he said ignoring the Senin.
"If you dare touch Naruto I will personally have you arrested" Tsunade threatened, raising her voice.
"You'd risk a war between Kumo and Konoha over a little spar?" asked Killer B coyly. "I'm callin' your bluff old lady. All I'm asking is for a spar with this 'Naruto' guy away from the village and that's it."
"So that you can kill him?" she accused angrily. This immediately wiped Killer B's grin from his face.
"Unlike Konoha, we don't constantly kill own, you old bitch" he said in a demonic voice.
Both Tsunade and Shizune froze at what they heard. The room was filled with a vicious killing intent making them both sweat and realize they were not in any position to tell this man what to do. Without saying another word, Killer B opened the door of the office and slammed it behind him. For a few moments the medic nins remained silent, until Tsunade finally found her voice.
"I want a two man team keeping an eye on him for his entire stay here but do not engage him" she said shakily. "Same goes for Roronoa and his associate, and Naruto and Sakura as we cannot have him and Killer B meet. Rotate the teams so that we have 24 hour surveillance on them. I want hourly reports on their locations and activity. Go."
From outside the window of her office, a shinobi with brown hair, bandana styled forehead protector, and senbon in his mouth nodded and vanished into thin air.
"Shizune, I need you to go through all the Bingo Books we have to find anything on this Roronoa Zoro. Get Sai to draw a composite sketch of him to circulate his photo if the name doesn't ring any bells. And finally, try to contact Testu (Iron Country) to know if Roronoa is one of theirs, and same goes for Kiri (Mist Village). I don't care if you have to arrange an exchange of goods for them to listen just do it."
Tsunade reached for her secret bottle of sake and was about to take a swig when she was interrupted.
"Hokage-sama..."
"Shizune I swear, if you say one word about me drinking, I'm going to-"
"May I have some" she finished. Tsunade looked at her assistant almost stupefied before handing the bottle to her. If Shizune was drinking, then something big was going to happen.
xXx
Alone once again, Luffy and Hinata walked aimlessly through the village. Due to their encounter with Sakura, Hinata became the story teller and told Luffy of what had happened between Naruto and Sasuke, from how they were friends on the same team to how they fought at the Valley of the End.
"...and because of that, he's been trying to bring Sasuke back. That's just how Naruto-kun is...always there for his friends" she said.
Luffy nodded. "That happened to me once."
"Really?" asked Hinata surprised.
"Ah..." he said looking up at the sky, "When my crew and I were in Water 7, we learned that our ship, the Going Merry, was too damaged to keep sailing. We kept repairing her and she had made it across so many leagues of the most brutal seas in the world...but she didn't have any more in her. As captain, I made the decision to scuttle her and get a new ship...but Usopp hated that.
He yelled at me about how Merry was nakama and you don't leave nakama behind. He was right, but we all knew that she couldn't keep going. We kept yelling and then I got really mad and told him that if he hated how I ran things that much, he should leave."
Luffy paused for a moment and looked at the ground. Hinata saw the pain in his eyes and felt a pain in her heart.
"Y-You didn't mean that did you?" she asked.
"No...but it was too late" he said frowning at the dirt. "Sanji, our cook, kicked me to stop the fight and started yelling at me for what I had just said was the worst thing possible. He was right and I tried to take my words back...but Usopp had had enough. He said that the truth had come out, that he was like Merry, too weak to have around...so he said that he would leave."
"You didn't let him" Hinata said half as a question and half as answering herself.
"No..." said Luffy looking back up. "He challenged me to a duel." Hinata's eyes widened. "Usopp said that we would fight one on one for Merry. We both knew that no matter who won, it would be the end between us."
"Luff-san..."
"I'm not clever like Usopp..." he continued, "Usopp planned out that enter fight and controlled it. He kept attacking me, setting up for the next attack, had traps for attacks I didn't even make yet. If it wasn't me Usopp was fighting he would have won. But none of his attacks were strong enough...so I beat him." He turned to look at Hinata. "I told him that he could keep Merry Go...that we were going to get a new ship and keep sailing...and I told him goodbye."
Hinata covered her mouth trying to hold back her tears. She couldn't even imagine how painful it must have been for them. "I'm so sorry Luffy-san...what happened afterwards? Did you and Usopp-san make up?"
The captain shifted his eyes away from the heiress before speaking. "Ah, I was gonna welcome him back to the crew along with the other...but Zoro stopped us."
"Zoro?"
"My first mate. He said what Usopp did was inexcusable, and that someone who doesn't respect the captain is not someone who should be part of the crew.
'Is leaving the crew such an easy thing to do?!'
Zoro said that we couldn't trust a guy that made such a decision on just a whim. He said he couldn't follow a man who would forgive someone that would just walk over him. So if I did forgive Usopp without Usopp begging for my forgiveness...then he would leave the crew."
Hinata stood there with her mouth agape. "Th-That's just...he went too...what happened next?" she stuttered unable to find her words.
"We waited for him to apologize" said Luffy taking off his straw hat. "But when he didn't show, we set sail."
"Demo..."
"Even if we wanted to wait any longer we couldn't, as Gramps decided to attack us. But then he did show up. Even though cannonballs were exploding around us, we could hear Usopp calling to us."
"So then you welcomed him back?" asked Hinaya hopefully.
Luffy looked into the inside of his hat recalling the memory of that day. "My orders were to continue sailing away from Water 7 and defend the new ship at all costs. We all pretended not to hear him because he wasn't saying words that meant anything. We waited for him to say it."
"Say what?"
Luffy looked up at Hinata with eyes filled with both sadness and happiness.
"I'M SORRY! I'm sorry for my stubbornness! I was wrong! Even though I was stubborn until now...even though I said I was leaving the crew...I want to change all that, but I can't! I can't so I beg of you! Please take me back with you guys! Just one more time...let me be your nakama!"
"I will never forget those words. Even though Usopp is a liar...those words were filled with more truth than anything else he's ever said; other than his oath to become a proud warrior of the sea."
Luffy placed his hat back onto his head to look the Hyuuga kunoichi right in the eyes. "Usopp leaving the crew, setting Going Merry on a pyre, and making the decision to leave him behind when he didn't apologize, were the hardest and most painful moments of my entire life. I've always been a happy go lucky kind of captain leaving all the hard things like navigating and stuff to Nami and the others...but during that time in Water 7...I finally understood the responsibility of being a captain. Zoro said it best, we aren't playing some kids game.
So I need to ask you X-ray girl, is this Sasuke guy sorry for what he's done?"
Hinata bit her bottom lip at the pirate captain's question. She had thought about Naruto's friendship with Sasuke and did have her doubts about it. She had never really liked the Uchiha as he behaved very much like her fellow upper clansmen. Also, the fact that he nearly killed Naruto truly gave her reason to hate the last of the Uchiha, and she had never hated anyone before.
At the same time, she did love Naruto and wanted him to be happy. But with the news that Sasuke had tried to kill him a second time during Team 7's encounter with Orochimaru, she was having trouble believing in Naruto's ambition.
"I-If I were to be honest with you...I would say that he is not sorry for his actions" she finally admitted.
"The he should forget about this Sasuke, cuz he isn't his friend" replied the captain with a serious face, "If he can't, then he is a big fool."
"B-But...Naruto has his dreams..." Hinata said trying to find a way to defend her crush.
The young captain took a step closer to Hinata looking her once again in the eye. "Listen...I've been called a fool too for having dreams. But I know who my friends are and I know what I have to do to achieve my dream. Friends don't stab each other in the back cuz friends are supposed to be like family. Naruto looks like someone who talks a lot but doesn't act which I really don't like. A long time ago my friend Shanks told me that before you have dreams of being a king, first you should be a man, which is what I'm going to do before I accomplish my dream."
Hinata was at a loss for words. She had never heard anyone criticize Naruto that way before, or at least put it in that manner. Many had made fun of him for saying that he wanted to be Hokage, her own father included. However, what Luffy was saying was completely different to what she had heard. He too had a big dream like Naruto and seemed to be equally if not more driven to achieve it. She could see it in his eyes that he had done and seen many things, making her believes in his crazy tales with almost total certainty.
But what touched the young Hyuuga heiress most was how he described friendship. Hinata never had friends before entering Team 8, and even then they were by no means close enough to be considered family. Her own family could barely be considered family. So what drove this man who she had only just met, who had such a welcoming and commanding presence, to say the words that he was saying now?
"W-What is your dream Luffy-san?" she managed to ask.
"To become the Pirate King" said Luffy strongly.
Yet another comment that she could not fully understand but only feel by the look in his eyes. She was going to ask him what it meant when she froze as a voice called her name.
"Oi Hina-chan there you are!"
Hinata turned around to see a thin lanky man with thin brown hair, brown eyes, and a sleazy arrogant grin on his face. Even though she had never seen this man before, she sadly knew who he was and she did not want to see him.
"I've been looking for you my dear fiancé" he said wrapping his arms around her. Hinata tried to look away from him but he succeeded in kissing her cheek and neck. "Your father wants to see the both of us so we can discuss the wedding. Let's not keep him waiting eh?"
The young man turned both himself and the kunoichi away from Luffy and began walking away. In those short seconds of them turning, Luffy was able to see Hinata's eyes. He saw the distressing look in them and how she was on the verge of tears. For some reason, it reminded him of what happened in Thriller Bark. That leopard guy. What was his name? Absa something. That zombie that wanted to marry Nami. Why was it making him think of that? This guy reminded him more of Helmeppo than Absalom, so what was making him think that? Maybe it was due to Hinata having the same eyes that Nami had back at Arlong Park. Wait, now he was thinking of that time too?
"Yo fiancé guy" he called out finally. Just as Hinata's fiancé turned around, Luffy's extended arm flew at him for his hand to grab the lanky man's collar. He shouted in confusion as he was reeled in by Luffy, but was not able to say anything more for the Straw-hat wearing pirate nailed him right in the face with a devastating haymaker that flipped him backwards perfectly onto his back.
Hinata stood there mouth agape as her fiancé lay broken on the ground with blood flowing out of his nose and mouth, and a few teeth missing.
"W-Why did you do that Luffy-san?!" she gasped at the captain's actions, though felt very guilty for secretly feeling extreme relief.
"Don'know. Just didn't like him" replied Luffy turning around and began to walk away. Hinata stood there stunned, unsure of what to do next. She looked back and forth between Luffy and her fiancé, debating on either helping the unconscious sleaze ball she was being forced to marry, or the man that helped her. For the first time in her life, the Hyuuga heiress acted selfishly and ran after Luffy.
xXx
"The hell is going on man?" grumbled one of the guards at the gates of the village. "We've seen the weirdest shit lately, and now the Hokage wants us to look out for an 8 foot tall skeleton swordsman?"
"Pretty weird shit" admitted the other guard that stood to the left of the first. "About time something happened."
"What do you mean?"
"It's been so damn boring lately. Finally something interesting is going on."
"Now wait a minute" said the first guard turning to face the second. "You're telling me that you're happy that an 8 foot tall skeleton swordsman attacked and maybe killed the Kazekage, and said skeleton is probably making his way to this village?"
"Better than just sitting here and nothing happening, yes."
"You're crazy and stupid!"
"Oi, no need to get offensive" retorted the second guard now facing the first. "All I'm saying is that with things being so calm and boring, having a bit of excitement is good that's all."
"Right, like this threat of our demise is 'exciting'. That's the exact word I'd use to express it."
"Well you're just being all negative about it!"
"I'm being realistic! What would you even do if an 8 foot tall skeleton swordsman walked into the village right now?"
"I'd fight him."
"You'd fight him?" repeated the first guard in disbelief. "You?!"
"I can handle myself" replied the second guard.
"Ha! I'd love to see that!"
On perfect cue, Brook casually strolled between the two guards and walked right into the village. Their jaws dropped realizing what was going on and starred at Brook's back for a few moments before look back at one another.
"Was that?..." asked the first guard.
"Yup" wheezed the second.
The first guard immediately began to fumble with his radio to pull the radio box out of its pouch. When he succeeded, he flipped it over revealing a red button and pressed his thumb forcibly onto it.
A loud siren rang across the village silencing every man, woman, and child. (a/n: Imagine an air raid siren). They all knew what that sound was and what it meant. Immediately the populous began to run; parents grabbing their children and shinobi running to their battle stations.
The Mugiawara Kaiuku-dan also heard the siren and looked up to figure out what was going on. From inside the Hokage building, Tsunade looked up from her papers and looked at Shizune with panic stricken eyes.
"He's here..." breathed the young medic nin clutching her clipboard.
"Get eyes on him now and wait for me to get there" Tsunade said as calmly as she could. She was about to leave her office with her assistant when the door slammed open revealing a member of the Radio Corps.
"Hokage-sama! Both Team 9 and Team 10 have failed to meet their scheduled radio updates 3 consecutive times. We don't know where they are, but we picked up some radio chatter that they each engaged two man teams that had connections to the skeleton swordsman."
Tsunade's eyes widened in horror realizing that this wasn't a random Akatsuki encounter, this was a full out invasion.
xXx
In another part of the Hokage building, Nami heard the siren.
"That sounds sort of like a Marine base siren" she said to herself. "Why do I have a feeling one of those idiots just did something wrong?"
Knowing that the Hokage tower would be overrun with guards in seconds, the young Navigator snuck out of her hiding place and quickly made her way out of the building. Unfortunately for her, she ran into a kunoichi with pink hair.
"Who are you!? Identify yourself" shouted Sakura taking a fighting pose.
"Oh you know, just a wandering map maker" Nami said waving her hand dismissively.
Immediately Sakura jumped forward with her right arm reeling back to punch the red-haired woman. Nami managed to get out of the way, allowing Sakura's fist to make contact with the wall and adding a large hole to it. Whilst in the middle of her dodge, Nami fished out her Perfect Clima-Tact and snapping all three pieces together into a cross.
"Cyclone Tempo!" she shouted swinging her Bo and unleashing the "boomerang" piece at Sakura. As soon as it made contact, it sent Sakura hurtling backward into another wall and through it, knocking her unconscious.
Knowing that she needed to escape before anyone else discovered her, Nami ran for the window which she knew that if she reached it, she would make it to the ground floor as the drop was rather short.
She did not make it however, as she collapsed mere feet from the window and was caught by the shinobi that Tsunade had sent to deliver her orders.
"I'm gone for 5 minutes and all this happened" he muttered chewing on his senbon before making sure that both girls were alive.
xXx
"Ara..." said Brook looking at the ninjas atop of the buildings around him, "What is going on?"
From the group of ninjas on the ground, one of them stepped forward. He had silver hair with most of his face covered and an erotic book hanging out his back pocket.
"Konnichiwa Kenshi-san" Kakashi said calmly. "By order of the Godaime Hokage Senju Tsunade, you are under arrest for killing the Godaime Kazekage Sabaku no Gaara and his men."
"Kill? You must be mistaken I did not kill that boy or his friends" said Brook defending himself. "Also, I acted completely in self-defence."
"If that is the case, then please come with us so we can clear your name" said Kakashi trying to not start a fight.
"Are you Marines?" asked the musician.
"No we're the shinobi of Konohagakure and we're-" the one-eyed Jonin began but was interrupted by chatter over his radio. He placed two fingers on his earr piece to hear everything correctly before returning to the pirate musician.
"Things don't look good for you Kenshi-san. It seems that Team 9 and Team 10 were assaulted and there are connections between you and them. Care to explain?"
"Ahhh..." Brook answered. "...What?"
"If one of those teams included a girl with blonde hair, a boy with long brown spiky hair, and a boy with black hair in a ponytail..." said a feminine voice causing them all to look to their right to see Robin and Chopper, "If so then I am your culprit."
"Ah there you are" said Brook happy to see more of his crew. "Good to see both of you are doing well."
"ROBIN-CHAWN!" boomed a voice from the opposite side of the street. "I'm so glad to see you're alright! You're knight is here to assist you!"
"Yo mina! Great to see you all in one piece...though I can't exactly say the same for us" joked Usopp. "And I guess if Robin and Chopper took care of that other team, then the team with the bushy eyebrows guy was taken out by us."
Kakashi was starting to get worried. The number of enemies was increasing. And what made him worry even more was that they were already inside the village without anyone knowing.
"What did you do this time Brook?" scolded Franky from behind enemy lines. "Pissing off this place enough for them to send out their army?"
"As if we should be talking. They sent some bastards to follow us so we must have done something wrong" grinned Zoro looking over his shoulder at the ANBU agents watching them, making them both curse themselves for being spotted. "Most of us are here. Where's Luffy and Nami?"
"We were hoping they were with you" said Chopper.
"So far we haven't seen them" sighed Zoro. "But since we've ended up in trouble yet again, might as well fight a little to kill the time" he added pushing Shusui out of its saya with his thumb.
'How did they get behind us?' Kakashi asked himself getting both pissed and panic stricken. 'They got behind us and we didn't even notice. How is that possible?'
The Straw-hats all prepare to start bashing ninja heads when a voice echoed across the entire village.
"Halt! Do not move a muscle!" shouted Tsunade from atop the Hokage tower. "We have one of your members hostage and if you wish for no harm to come to her you will lay down your arms and stand down! Shiranui."
Her bodyguard with the senbon in his mouth moved forward revealing Nami with her arms bound behind her back.
"Nami-san!" shouted Sanji. "You pieces of shit!"
"I'll take out the guy holding her" said Usopp readying his slingshot.
"I will hold down the woman" added Robin crossing her arms.
"I'll bust through these guys and grab Nami" said Chopper preparing to eat a Rumble Ball.
"Hokage-sama..." warned Shiranui leaning closer to her, "They aren't backing down."
Tsunade gritted her teeth knowing that things were taking a turn for the worst and now there would be a battle that she did not know the outcome. Then from atop a building came a voice of reason that no one expected.
"Don't fight mina!" shouted a young man wearing a Straw-hat. Both pirate and ninja looked up to see not only the young man who had spoken, but a young woman with indigo hair.
"Tsunade-sama, he has Hyuuga Hinata" said Shizune with worry.
"Fuck" cursed the Hokage. "Not only do I have to worry about all this, I know have to deal with Hiashi."
"Stand down! Don't fight them" repeated Luffy, which surprised all who heard his words.
"Nani? Don't fight?" echoed Zoro in disbelief.
"What are you saying Luffy? We can take these guys!" shouted Usopp, doing his best to hide his injuries.
"Just do it, I'll explain later!" answered their captain. From her tower Tsunade frowned and looked at the young man. He was their leader? For someone so plain and young it surprised her that he was the one in command. But if his orders did make his men surrender and he was able to capture Hinata, then he should not be underestimated.
The Mugiwara Kaizoku-dan looked at each other unsure of what to make of their captains orders. Finally it was Zoro who sheathed his katana and held out all three to not only signify his surrender, but to tell his crewmates that their captain had given them an order. One after another the pirates stood down and gave their weapons to the shinobi who placed them all in cuffs and took them away. Tsunade looked back at where Luffy had been standing but saw him he had vanished, clearly to avoid himself from being captured. Was he running away to save his own skin or did he have some sort of plan for having his men arrested? Only time would tell and she was not looking forward to it.
As the pirates walked to where they expected to find a jail cell, they were all thinking the same thing.
"Luffy...what are you thinking?"
Next Chapter: The Calm Before the Storm