Author's Note:
It has come to my attention that some of you are not fond with my depiction of the Ninjas as well as my depiction to the Pirates. To answer the people whom I didn't personally explain, please take a good honest look at what I have written thus far. I took the time to explain in detail why fights went the way that they did. It bothers me as a writer when people read over my work, and then make an accusation when the answer was written in the chapter they had just read. I'm not mad, just tired of it happening again and again.
If you think I did something wrong of it that I could have done better, please do so with full, sound arguments. Cuz gods know I'm gonna get 'em this time.
Pirates vs Ninjas: Battles of Love and Will Chapter XIII: Of Gods and Monsters
"So how do we tenderize this fox?" asked Sanji.
"You heard Luffy, aim for the legs" answered Nami.
"And afterwards?" asked Zoro.
"Leave that to me" said Luffy grinning as he cracked his knuckles. Zoro nodded and began to run at Naruto while Sanji began spinning in place.
"Santoryu Ogi:" said the first mate drawing all three of his daito katana and began spinning Shusui and Sandai Kitetsu in front of him as he ran at his target. When he reached Naruto he jumped off his right paw and locked eyes with the elbow joint. "Sanzen Sekai! (Three-Sword Style Secret Technique: Three Thousand Realms)" The attack successfully landed and cut through the demon's exposed flesh and in passed to the bone. Naruto roared in pain and tried to swipe at the swordsman but the green haired pirate avoided the attack and ran back to the rest of crew.
"Diable Jambe…" said Sanji before charging at Naruto faster than the eye could see. He jumped into the air and aimed his burning right foot at the left elbow joint. "Premier Hachis! (First-Rate Mincemeat)" He drove his foot into the joint and there was an explosion of white light when it landed, but Sanji could tell that it was not enough to incapacitate the limb. "Extra Hachis! (Highest-Rate Mincemeat)" he shouted unleashing a fierce barrage of flaming kicks at such speed that to the others watching bellow, looked like one giant kick. Naruto barked in pain as he could feel not only his flesh burning, but his very bones.
Finally, the cook both heard and felt the satisfying sound of bones breaking as the elbow joint gave under the power of the attack. Naruto began to fall forward forcing Sanji to quickly get out of the way before the ninja's already broken snout plowed into the ground.
"It is now time for my attack" said Brook holding up his shikomizue. "Nami-san, please shock me if you would."
"Eh? Are you sure?"
"Hai. It will give my sword the edge it needs to pierce through the monster's bones. I should know, for I am made only of bones! Yo ho ho ho, Skull Joke!"
"Alright if you're sure" said the navigator raising her Clima-Tact "Thunder Charge." She created a Thunder Ball at the end of her bo-staff and pressed it into her crewmate.
"YOOOOOOOO HO HO HO HO!" shouted the musician as he felt the electricity flowing through his body. Not wasting any time he began to run as fast as he could at the giant demon fox. "Hanauta Sanchou:" he cried jumping into the air, "Yahazu Kaminari Giri! (Three-Verse Humming: Thunder Arrow-Notch Slash)"
While Brook's sword-style didn't have the same level of cutting as Zoro's, it did have unrivaled piercing. And combined with the power of lightning, there was nothing that he couldn't pierce. The attack bore through the rear right knee joint almost effortlessly causing Naruto a great deal of pain. Now barely able to stand on his remaining good leg and not able to heal fast enough to keep pace, Nico Robin took advantage to give the final blow.
"Cien Fleur: Big Tree (Hundred Flowers)" she said crossing her arms. Using her Devil Fruit ability, she made 100 arms grow from the left side of Naruto's hip which formed into a giant hand. It reached down and grasped the fox's ankle and began to pull back bringing him down like a house of cards. However, instead of leaving it at that, Robin continued her attack. "Clutch" she added clenching her fists harshly, and without hesitation snapped the leg in two.
"Yo ho ho ho! That put lightning in my bones!" joked Brook as he returned to his crew.
"Arigatou mina" thanked Luffy grinning, "Now it's my turn. Nami, start making thunder clouds as high as you can above him."
"E-Eh? Ok" answered the cartography a little confused by her captain's plan.
"Zoro, Sanji" he continued getting the attention of his first mate and cook. "I need you to get me as high into the air as you can."
"How high?" asked Sanji knowing that alone he could send his late night thief flying fairly far.
"Very. Now stand back" ordered Luffy brining his right thumb into his mouth. His crew knew what he was doing and quickly gave him room. When they were clear, he began biting down on his bones. "Gear Third" he said before taking a very deep breath, "Hone Fusen! (Bone Balloon)" The pirate began to blow air directly into the opening between the Distal Phalange and the Proximal Phalange inflating his hand to a monstrous size. He then shifted the contained air from his right hand, through his arms and into his left hand. He took a wide stance and anchored his feet before twisting his hips.
"Gomu Gomu no Gigante Pistol!" Luffy cried sending his gigantic left fist at Naruto, punching him square in the face. (a/n: Before anyone corrects me, the spelling of Gigante Pistol was wrong from the beginning. Luffy is Brazilian but most of his attacks are either Japanese or English. The first time he uses Portuguese is when he uses Gear Third and Giant Pistol. The Portuguese word for Giant is Gigante but is spelt without the e. The reason for this is because of a translation mistake most likely on Oda's side; though I think an assistant who was supposed to get the accurate translations made the mistake. Yes I know that Robin doesn't speak Russian and Nami doesn't speak Swedish, but they should :p And Sanji speaks a lot of French and Franky speaks a lot of English so there XD)
Naruto howled as pain as his skull was now even more damaged than after Chopper had pounded him into the ground. As he reeled in pain, Luffy pulled back his fist along with the air to flow into his body.
"Zoro, let me jump on your swords" he said.
"Nani?" said Zoro and Sanji at the same time, knowing that is was normally the blond lady's man that launched the crew into the air.
"Sanji will kick us both into the sky then you send me even higher."
"I get to kick this lazy ass? Fine by me."
"Hmm. I'd be offended by that if the other way around didn't get your ugly ass shoes on my swords" shot back Zoro with a cocky grin.
"Shitty Marimo-"
"Will you both shut up and save it for after we beat that monster fox?!" shouted Nami angrily.
"Hai Nami-san~" chirped the cook holding out his right foot for Zoro to jump on.
"Hmm" was all Zoro said as he drew two of his swords and jumped onto his rival's foot. Luffy then jumped onto Zoro's swords that were held with the blades crossing and going in front of him.
"Armée de L'Air Power Shoot (Air Force Power Shoot)" shouted Sanji launching them both into the air. There was a great amount of momentum behind the kick, but when it ran out Zoro knew he was up next.
"Ichi Gorilla, Ni Gorilla" he said making his biceps triple in size. He then swung his arms wide with all his strength sending his captain flying into the clouds above them and out of sight.
"Gomu Gomu no..." began Luffy stretching his right leg into the sky and forcing the air contained within his body into his foot, knocking his sandal off.
Back on the ground, Nami began to grin. "Now I know what you're planning, Luffy" she said creating a Thunder Ball. "Thunderbolt Tempo!"
With all her might, the navigator swung her Clima-Tact throwing the ball of electricity high into the cluster of clouds. Immediately the dark clouds began to crackle with yellow lightning causing a clap of thunder to sound across the heavens. But as Nami's lightning began to crash down and electrify the Straw Hat wearing pirate, blue lightning struck him from above and electrified his inflated leg. Luffy blinked in surprise as he was able to feel the lightning in his body. He wasn't feeling pain, far from it, he felt an adrenalin boost as if he were in Gear Second. Not letting it go to waste, he looked down at his target and shouted above the crashing thunder.
"GIGANTE THOR AXE!"
With all his might, Luffy brought his foot down from the dark heavens that glowed blue and appeared as a mighty beast emerging from the blackest sea. On the ground the Straw Hats watched in awe and excitement by their captain's final blow against the giant fox demon. Tsunade watched the falling pirate speechless, unable to comprehend both what she was witnessing and what she feeling. Aboard the Thousand Sunny, Usopp and Franky cheered Luffy on as Killer B and Gyuki observed the final battle in silent amazement. Naruto of course was not able to understand what was coming towards him, but Kurama did.
Inside the mindscape where the lord of foxes had been forced to be nothing more than a muted observer, he shouted to the man who now brought the final blow to the most glorious battle the world had seen in centuries.
"Do it, Mugiwara!" Kurama shouted with a roar so mighty, that Naruto roared as well giving the king of demons one moment of control.
Luffy shouted his own war cry as he finally entered the range of his final attack. He brought his foot down onto Naruto's back silencing the oversized skinned fox by driving him into the ground with a mighty crash. The lightning that was stored in the attack struck the fox at the same time and shocked him painfully. The actual power behind the attack was enough to break Naruto's back as well as his ribs, with enough left over to break the ground beneath as it drove through him. The ground shook so violently that the Straw Hats were barely able to stay standing. Dust and wind flew in all directions covering nearly the entire battlefield from view, making both the Sunny-Go Recovery Team and the rest of the crew uncertain of who was the victor.
"Kuso, I can't see a thing!" shouted Sanji, covering his eyes.
"Where is Luffy?!" asked Nami.
"Santoryu:..." began Zoro will all three katana drawn, "Tatsumaki!"
He created a tornado above them that very quickly fixed their problem, and revealed that their captain was tumbling out of the sky, now much smaller due to the side effect of using Gear Third. Before he hit the ground, Nami ran a dozen feet away from the rest of the crew and jumped into the air to catch him.
"Are you ok Luffy?" she asked.
"Ya I'm good" he replied with his voice being squeakier than usual. "Did I beat him?"
Both he and his crew turned to look at the jinchuriki who lay unconscious in the dirt. At that moment, his body began to recede, quickly shrinking back to regular size and form. In place of the eight tailed fox, was Naruto beaten and broken at the bottom of a crater with very little of his orange jumpsuit left. He was covered in blood and was missing several teeth, but more importantly was not moving and was breathed slowly and steadily.
It was decided. The battle was finally over.
"The demon has been defeated!" shouted Brook with joy. "Everyone! Victory is ours! Yo ho ho ho ho ho!"
The Straw Hats quickly joined in with the celebration, as did Usopp and Franky who were still aboard the Sunny-Go.
"They won!" cried the sniper with tears pouring down his face as he jumped into the cyborg's arms.
"Flashy and amazing. Mugiwara never fails to amaze me" said Franky with a grin on his face.
"Let's go!"
The two pirates rushed out of the prow and jumped off the side of their ship. The other two remained alongside the pirate vessel still awestruck by the battle they had just witnessed.
'They actually won. Kurama-jiji much be pissed' said Killer B scratching his cheek.
'On the contrary, I think that he, at this moment, is the happiest he's been in many years' replied Gyuki with a pleased smile on his face.
'That makes no sense.'
'It will. Shall we switch places and join them?'
The jinchuriki nodded and Gyuki receded back into his body.
As the pirates celebrated, Tsunade watched them with her jaw on the floor and her eyes opened wide, shaking with confusing and a relief she had never felt before. "Impossible..." she gasped, "they defeated him." It was truly something that the Hokage has having trouble believing. The legendary power of the Kyuubi was feared by all and it had been a miracle that he had been stopped the first time he rampaged. And despite that, these pirates managed to not only stop him, but truly defeat him. The Ichibi no Shukaku alone was strong enough that no amount of human effort could overpower him, so the Kyuubi no Yoko would be beyond the realm of possibly.
And yet here she stood, alive with the king of demons back in his prison. Seeing was believing, but it would take a bit of time for it to sink in.
"You were incredible Luffy!" shouted Usopp as he ran up to his cremates.
"I've never seen anything so Super in my life, Luffy!" complimented the shipwright grinning wildly.
"You guys were awesome too! You stopped him with the Gaon Hou" said Luffy with his own smile. Suddenly his eyes widened realizing something. "N-Nami!"
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"I'm returning to normal size!"
Before the navigator could react, Luffy's shrunken body rabidly returned to normal. Problem was, he was no longer the weight of a child and Nami was now unable to support him. They both crashed to the ground with Nami beneath Luffy, and both froze. While it was only for a couple of seconds, it was far too long for Sanji.
"Enjoying yourself you shitty rubber man?!" he shouted kicking his captain off Nami and sending him flying to the edge of the crater. "Nami-san, are you alright?"
Nami remained frozen for a few moments but quickly got to her feet. "A-Aa I'm fine Sanji-kun! No need to worry!" she said dismissing the cook's concern, her cheeks slightly flushed. Due to her focus being on the curly eye browed chef, she did not notice Robin looking at her with an amused smile on her face.
"Excuse me, could you bring Naruto over here?" asked Tsunade not sure how they would respond.
"Why?" asked Luffy who had recovered from the kick.
"I just need to know if he's alright. As much of an idiot he is, he's still like the little brother that I lost so many years ago."
Luffy looked at the legendary medic nin for a moment before sighing and throwing his right hand behind him into the crater. When he felt Naruto's waistband, he grabbed it and pulled the ninja out of the hole, throwing him towards the Hokage where he landed next to her. Without taking her hands off Hinata, Tsunade examined the unconscious boy and saw that despite his wounds, was not in critical condition nor was his life in any danger.
"Is she going to be alright?" asked Nami looking down at Hinata.
"The worst it over, though it will take some time before she fully recovers" explained the Sannin. "Her internal organs will have to heal naturally and her body as a whole will have to repair itself while only taking in nutrients from an IV; just until her intestines have healed of course." Tsunade paused to look up at the Straw Hats and for the first time in days smiled. "I cannot thank you all enough for what you have done. Today you have accomplished the impossible. You defeated the king of all demons who has lived unrivaled for so long. He could gone on another rampage and killed us all. You've saved the world."
"Ya we tend to do that a lot" admitted Usopp with a laugh.
"I know it seems pointless to say, but all charges have been dropped and you may stay in the village for as long as you like."
"Well that's a relief" said Zoro in false gratitude which earned him a look from Nami and a laugh from Killer B and Brook.
There was then laughter that did not come from the pirates or the ninjas. In fact, it was a laugh that only one present recognized.
"Ha ha ha ha. Well done. Well done indeed" said a deep ominous voice. All present turned to look at the source of the voice and saw that from Naruto's body, red energy steadily emerged. It rose over his body, no more than three or four feet but never detached, and began to form into the head of a demonic looking fox. "Good morning, or would it be more correct to say 'good afternoon'?"
Tsunade gasped at Kurama knowing that it could be no one else but him. The pirates stirred slightly at the demon unsure if there was going to be another fight or something else entirely.
"Who are you?" asked Luffy curiously.
"Oh where are my manners? My name is Kyuubi no Yoko Kurama, Lord of Foxes, Master of Tricks, and King of Demons; but you may call me Kurama. You are Monkey D. Luffy-Sencho correct?"
"Aa, that's me. You wanna fight again?"
"On the contrary, I wish to congratulate you on your victory and for your incredible display of strength" reassured the demon king with a genuine smile.
"Don't listen to a word he says!" shouted the Hokage. "He's just trying to trick you!"
"Hold your tongue woman!" snapped Kurama with rage in his eyes. "Do not interrupt me when I am speaking, especially when I am speaking to our saviours. You may be a chief of a small village by birthright alone, but you are nothing to me. Instead of opening your mouth, you should focus on saving the girl's life. Oh never mind I'll do it myself."
Before the Hokage could say anything, the fox lord opened his mouth and breathed a ring of crimson fire that stretched over all the mortals before him and passing through them, and vanishing into thin air. Immediately they began to check if they had been harmed, but Zoro looked at Kurama after looking down at his abdomen.
"I'm healed" he said in surprise.
"Me too" added Sanji pressing onto his ribs without feeling any soreness, let alone any pain. From behind, they heard their doctor stirring as he sat up rubbing his eyes.
"What time is it?" Chopper asked. "I'm hungry. Sanji, do we have any cotton candy? AHHH! I'm awake!"
"Chopper! Are you alright?" asked Usopp running up to him.
"I-I think I'm fine. Did we win? Did I hurt anyone?"
"Are you kidding? You were amazing! You kicked his ass without hurting anybody else! You were amazing Chopper" reassured the sniper with a large grin on his face.
The little reindeer looked at his friend with wide eyes before tears began to form and snot rolling down his nose. "Th-Thank goodness..." he said sobbing a little in relief.
"Impossible..." gasped Tsunade looking over Hinata's wounds repeatedly, "She's completed healed; as if nothing had happened."
"Of course. Such a small wound is as easy as breathing to heal" answered Kurama matter-of-factly.
"Wait, your healing ab-" began the Godaime remembering the Kyuubi's power, but was cut off by him as his attention returned to the pirates.
"Now where was I? Oh yes, you and your crew Monkey-sencho, have put up the most incredible fight I have seen in centuries. I take it you've had many battles such as this on your travels."
"Yup. I've beat gods before too" confirmed Luffy picking at his nose with his pinkie finger.
"Ha ha I believe you! I see in the eyes of both you and your crew that you have seen events that would make the layman go mad. You fight with your hearts on your sleeves for that you have earned my eternal respect. And for the actions of the mortals of this realm as well as those of my sad excuse of a jinchuriki, I humbly apologize and beg for your forgiveness" said Kurama bowing his head low.
The Straw Hats were honestly surprised by his actions. Clearly they were not as imprinted with the lore that surrounded the demon king as the people of this world were, but they knew that he was a true god and having him bow to them did feel strange.
"And are you not also responsible for what happened?" asked Robin phrasing her sentences carefully, more to acquire answers than to avoid offending him.
"I am sorry for the actions of Uzumaki Naruto as there was no way for me to stop him" explained the fox god looking at each member of the crew as he spoke. "Due to the seals that his father had cast upon us both, as well as other factors, I have little to no power or control while I remain bound to his son. It took twelve years for the seals to open enough for the boy to even learn of my existence, only made possible by his rage. And while the seals do weaken with each passing day, I gain no more control than I did the first day I awoke in this horrid cage."
"Are you saying that you have not the slightest bit of control over him when he is enraged?" continued the archeologist.
"None at all" answered Kurama with genuine displeasure at the truth. "Thanks to these deals, my dear, I was nothing more than an observer and have been for years. All I could do was sit in my cage and every so often this annoying blond brat would have a temper tantrum and use my power. I can still remember him arrogantly saying that as long as I was staying inside him I owed him my energy as rent. As if I remained there by choice. I, the king of all demons, reduced to a water well by a blind kit and leaving me to do nothing but watch the world burn, helpless. It was nearly enough to drive me mad."
"Well, can't blame you there" agreed Zoro with a small nod of his head. "And power without control is a recipe for self-destruction."
"Wise words, young one. And those who acquire their power quickly are those who are first to perish."
"Back at you."
"Wait dammit!" cut in Tsunade slamming her fist into the ground making the group look at her. "You talk about how you have no control and that it's all Naruto's fault, but you just now healed everyone without batting an eye. I know for a fact that your so called healing abilities cause irreparable damage to the body with Naruto as proof. Do you dare mock the meaning of the title jinchuriki?"
"Oh how the pot calls the kettle black" snarled the old fox. "But leaving that aside, if you know how to listen then you would have realised that the young swordsman clearly stated what the boy's faults were; many you are already quite familiar with."
"You mean Naruto training to use your powers? That's what Jiraiya tried doing for nearly three years! All that did was nearly kill them both!"
"Spare me the patronization" the demon lord snapped back at the blonde woman. "Jiraiya was a fool and we both know it. I was there those 2 and half years and watched him 'train' your beloved Naruto, and did not see him once train his godson. I do not think I have ever seen someone less fitting of the title of master, aside from that makeshift Uchiha."
"Then who else than him?! Who on earth could train a jinchuriki?!"
Kurama looked at the Hokage with an expression that was both emotionless but somehow still filled with intense loathing. "So what you saying to me at this very instant is that in all your sad pathetic ability to envision and wonder, that I was not a candidate to train him? After all, if you haven't forgotten, this is my power we are talking about."
"Are you insane? Putting the training of a child in the hands of the demon who was defeated by said child's father? Do you think anyone would have stood for something so ludicrous?"
"Well if memory serves me right we have seen three out of the nine jinchuriki: Killer B, Sabaku no Gaara, and of course the blond fink. Killer B was trained by Gyuuki and he is undoubtedly one of the strongest warriors in the world. He isn't perfect, not by any means, but is realms away from what his kohai are. No offence meant."
"None taken, Jiji" replied Killer B truly amused by the situation.
"This then leaves us with Gaara and Naruto who were shunned by their villages and given no training. However, despite the distrust and rage, Gaara was self-taught and partially taught by Shukaku giving him a surprising level of control; given the circumstances. In comparison to our fool in orange, it is quite clear that your methods of training him were utter failures and his training should have been left to me.
And might I add, I've seen the way your ninja train here. I wouldn't pay a fifth of what you pay them for their work and abilities. Why oh why was I not in Tetsu?" he asked himself as he looked to the sky before muttering under his breath. "Goku was right, we should have chosen a strong Uji rather than a broken one."
"Naruto's dream is to succeed me as Hokage" stated Tsunade through a clenched jaw. "But thanks to you ,the dream that's also his birthright might never happen. You took away his parents, his childhood, and his future. How dare you blame him for all that you-"
"SILENCE!" bellowed Kurama causing flames to erupt from his floating head and a crack of thunder to crash above him. "Listen you spoiled, conceded, wretched human for I will only say this once. Unlike you, I was here every single day watching the world from his eyes and felt what he felt. His dream, though was in fact his birthright, was nothing more than a method of gaining attention; attention that he should have had and that wasn't given to him by a bloodthirsty mob! If anyone is to blame for his incompetence and weakness, it is you Godaime. You who were blinded by the memories of your fallen brother and lover did not allow Naruto to grow and strengthen. Instead you kept him close and sheltered him, leaving him to fall further and further behind. He had a target painted on his back since birth and no matter what you were told, you refused to make a warrior out of him.
You could have righted the wrongs of your dead master who failed to assign the kit a proper master as Hatake Kakashi had no interest in his students other than that pathetic weevil Uchiha Sasuke. Instead you let him be 'trained' by another incompetent named Jiraiya who barely put any effort into correcting the boy's foolish ideologies or even train him to fight and strategize.
The world wanted Uzumaki Naruto dead and no one did anything to make him ready. And do you know what that says about your tiny world? That your problems as well as Naruto's, started long before I returned to the village of Konohagakure. And you know what? Things are only going to get worse.
But perhaps the tides of fate have finally shifted" said the fox god, changing tones as his eyes shifted onto the pirates who had been listening patiently. "Monkey D. 'Straw Hat' Luffy-sencho, Roronoa 'Pirate Hunter' Zoro, 'Cat Burlgar' Nami, 'Sogeking' Usopp, 'Black Leg' Sanji, Dr. 'Cotton Candy Lover' Tony Tony Chopper, Nico 'Demon Child' Robin, 'Cyborg' Franky, 'Humming' Brook. What you all have done today has changed the course of history. It was not by some freak accident that you found yourselves in our world, but made so by divine hands. Your words have reacted this poor fool and have shamed him to his very foundations; as feeble as they are. Your words Monkey D. Luffy have finally made him see what he has been running from his entire life. Many have tried to tell him the truth but he never once listened, claiming it was better to be a fool than to change. But now, he was finally cornered and forced to see things for how and what they really are.
Naruto has always survived because others had done things for him. His so called allies have saved him, I've saved him, and luck that does not belong with one so cursed has saved him. But there is no avoiding the truth and you have made him see it and feel it. Do you know what that means Mugiwara no Luffy? The significance of your battles today?"
"He's an idiot and I wanted to hit him. That's all" answered Luffy without hesitation; a resolute look on his face. Kurama burst out laughing remembering just how much the young pirate captain wore his emotions on his sleeves.
"I cannot blame you!" said the demon king; his laughter began to die down as he looked up to the sky. "I know that it seems hard to imagine, but years ago this world was not the bleak and hopeless place it is now. In my youth the world was filled with men who put their dreams into their swords and took on the world without fear. Yes, in those days men sought their dreams by going on incredible adventures; and I could not sit idly by. I walked in the world of man and joined them on their adventures, knowing it was better to live them instead of merely observing them.
Yes mortal men were flawed then too, but they strived for their own form of perfection and did it with more passion than I have ever seen. That has changed greatly over the past few centuries and I suppose that we Kami are partly to blame. Passion has been replaced by greed and we did nothing to stop it spreading like a disease, only acting when it was too late.
But now it seems that the world has received another chance. I stand resolute that you finding your way into our world was not an accident; that you becoming allies with Hyuuga Hinata, the one human who was not blinded by hate and controlled by a history told by liars. I always knew that she would play a part in the changing of the world but she never had her chance to shine. You have given her that chance as well as helped change Uzumaki Naruto for the better."
"OK time out!" cut in Nami rubbing her temples. "I'm totally lost here. I know that we know nothing about your world but how can what these ninjas know be so different from what you know? They hate you so much but you seem to be so much more calm and respectful."
"Oh I have my hate for the humans don't you worry about that" replied Kurama with a wide grin on his face. "The reason for my collected thoughts is simply because I know the forgotten history of the world as I took part in creating in. It could tell you everything that has happened as well as all the players involved, but that would take many hours and I doubt that you would all want to listen to me ramble for that long. And after all that you have done for us today, I will not trouble you any further.
Now Monkey-sencho I must ask you one last question. As you fought with Uzumaki Naruto you were enraged by how little he valued people's dreams. I know you spoke it before but please humor me for I have not heard one's dream said aloud with such conviction in so many years. Tell me, what is your dream?"
"To be the Pirate King" Luffy answered with determination in his eyes.
"A king" echoed the demon lord with a pleased smile on his face, hearing exactly what he wanted "I expect nothing less from you. Make sure you achieve your dream and live life to the fullest. If you fight with your heart and sail the seas with your nakama by your side, then the entire world will become your oyster. Best of luck to you."
"Aa" nodded the captain of the Straw Hats with a grin of his own. Whatever tension that remained in the air was now washed away by the allegiance between the demon king and the future pirate king, allowing Tsunade to audibly sigh in relief. She was confused, there was no doubt about that, but she decided it was best to keep her mouth shut and be grateful for what had happened. Quickly however, Kurama blinked and looked back down at the still unconscious 15 year old ninja.
"It would seem that my time is up" he said, his eyes returning to the others. "While I doubt this will be the last time we speak, I would like to confess a selfish desire that I had been wanting to ask since the fight ended. I have not done this in a long time, but I was planning to beg for you all to help defeat the evil organisation known as Akatsuki and set this world free. In the end the reality is that it is not your problem and it must be dealt by those who are responsible. After what you have done today, I believe we now have the strength to do so, and as a thank you, I will personally send you all back to your home world."
"You can do that?" asked Usopp finally happy to hear some good news, as he had been terrified by Kurama's outbursts.
"I will need to rest and require a little help but yes I can. Until then I suggest getting some rest yourselves and make whatever preparations you need. Till the next my friends" said the nine-tailed fox before returning at last to his jinchuriki's body. The mortals present were silent for a few moments unsure of what to do now.
"Well that happened" said Sanji lighting another cigarette. "What do we do now?"
Luffy grinned and turned to face his crew. "What else?" he asked.
The Mugiwara Kaizoku-dan looked at their captain with grins of their own, knowing exactly what he was talking about.
Next chapter: From the Heart.
Omake:
Beyond the Hokage monument stood Gaara with his arms folded, waiting for the inevitable. He kept thinking of how he would fight his enraged friend as well as Matsuri who had just confessed to him. Fear and love, two emotions that he had no experience with due to his upbringing, but was honestly eager to learn about love from his student; or his teacher one could say. Fear on the other hand, that was something he'd never experience. Even when he "died" when he was kidnapped by Akatsuki, brought with it a calming feeling that all the suffering he had endured in his life was coming to an end.
But despite having his life returned to him, he still behaved the way he always had: stoic and calm. And what has fear? He saw it in the eyes of his enemies, but never felt it himself. What was it like?
Suddenly, a massive red orb flew past the former jinchuriki faster than he could react, and exploded when it his the ground. Gaara's eyes were wide as he slowly turned behind him and saw that half of the village had been obliterated. He could feel cold sweat rolling down the back of his neck as he slowly turned back to face the direction of the attack.
"So...this is fear..." he said to himself, knees shaking. "Fuck."