Straw Hat Naruto

by SmoK1ngP4pers

3 long peaceful years has passed since the Fourth Great Shinobi war and since Sasuke returned back to the village. After a heartbreaking conversation with Sakura, Naruto acted rashly on a mission costing him being sent to another universe. Waking up on the Straw Hat ship, what adventures awaits Naruto and can someone in this universe fix his broken heart? NarutoxNami? ZoroxRobin

19. It's Not What It Looks Like

AN/ Hey guys, just to say that I did a lot of editing from chapter 1 to 5. It was mainly to fix it up, punctuality and stuff. But I also took out and added several minor things, nothing that changes the story to what you know, just little things like the chemistry between Naruto and Nami is now less flirty.

Anyway, hope you enjoy

Chapter 19

The Straw Hats could feel the aches on the back of their necks staring at the great height of the sky scraper in front of them.

"Stark-san said find the tallest building, right?" Nami asked the group.

"Yup-" Usopp replied, "No doubt about it, this is it. I mean, look at how huge this thing is!"

Sanji tossed his finished cigarette and crushed it beneath his feet, "What's inside it though? And what's it got to do with the card Stark gave us?"

They all looked back down to the entrance of the building. Tall glass doors with silver handles.

"Looks like we're about to find out." Robin said, quite intrigued as they marched towards the building.

Upon entering, the crew found themselves completely spellbound. White marble floors sparkling wonderfully against the chandelier lights up on the ceiling. A small handful of luxurious tables and chairs and a ray of beautiful flowers, all placed in perfect positions to add a flawless blend of colours to the room.

"Amazing!" Nami squealed excitedly to herself.

"How lavish." Robin formed her cute smile.

The rest were far too awestruck by the room's beauty to add their opinion.

"Can I help you?"

All eyes focused on the smiling receptionist across the room, standing behind a counter.

The pirates all marched towards her, with some still admiring their new surroundings.

"Yes, hi-" Nami studied the receptionists name badge, "Wendy, lovely name. Um, I was wondering if you could help us with something-", She retrieving the gold card in her pocket she received from the Lord Commander. She handed it over to the receptionist and said, "Stark-san gave us that card and told us to hand it over to anyone who works in the tallest building in The Pit. The thing is, we have no idea what he meant or what this place is?" She giggled lamely to herself, making Wendy also giggle innocently.

"Don't worry, I'm sure I can inform you with anything you need to know." Wendy studied the golden card and immediately gasped in shock. "This is…"

She quickly regained her composure and smiled at her customers, "Right, I think we should start with the basics. Welcome, to Roger Hotel. The number one hotel in all of The Devil's Pit."

Everyone's eye lids slightly raised.

Angel quirked an eye brow, "Hotel?"

"Why would Stark-san give us a card to pass on to a hotel?" Chopper questioned.

"Oh but it's not just any card." Wendy informed cheerfully, "It's the card. It grants access to our most luxurious suite located on the very top floor. When it comes to rooms, there's nothing else that comes even remotely close. It's a two story suite with the most incredible view of the city. You won't find anything like it anywhere else I guarantee it. The room is also included with heated floors, a spacious Jacuzzi, its own minibar-" Wendy continued on and on, describing the extensive features of the room with the majority of the Straw Hats now having stars for eyes, loving every word.

"… A bathroom and shower in every room, and of course, unlimited room service at any time you please. And it's all reserved just for you."

Nami quickly broke out of her ecstatic state, shattering the stars in her eyes, "Wait a minute, just how much is this all gonna cost us? We can't afford to be spending a heap load of money for a room like that."

Wendy gave a friendly giggle and showcased the gold card, "You won't need to spend a single belli. Everything's already been paid for, that's the beauty of this room."

The Straw Hats made a collective, "Huh?"

"Lord Commander Stark bought out the room when the hotel first opened. He told us that that suite is completely restricted and must not be used by anyone. That is, until one day, a pirate crew shows up with this exact card you gave me." Wendy informed, "Excuse me one second." She nodded before she began to look for something around her desk closets.

"So Stark was saving that room for us all this time-" Luffy said emotionally to himself before bursting into full on tears, "HE'S SUCH A NICE GUY!" Rivers of tears ran down his face.

"Oi, calm down. It's just a room." Zoro told his captain.

Wendy sprung back up from her desk, handing Nami a stack of similar looking gold cards, "Here you go, eleven card keys." She pointed at the two elevators doors nearby, "Inside those elevators, there's a thin, rectangular key whole made solely for those cards. Once you insert the card, the doors will automatically close and take you to your suite."

Nami inspected the cards, a little overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events and Stark's generosity.

"Thanks." She muttered quietly.

"Nami! Hurry up!" Yelled Luffy inside one of the elevator with the rest of the crew.

The navigator's eyes expanded violently, "So fast!"

Moments later, the Straw Hats found themselves into two separate groups inside two different semi spacious elevators.

Inside one carriage was Franky, Robin, Angel, Usopp and Naruto. The other held Luffy, Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Chopper and Brook.

Inside elevator one, Robin's carriage. Apart from the upbeat, salsa music playing in the background as elevator music, everyone was silent. Nami on the other hand had her work cut out for her in her carriage. Luffy and Chopper were enjoying themselves by jumping up and down to disrupt the flow of the elevator. She scolded them with all her might just to get them to stop.

Elevator One

Back inside the silent carriage, signs of life begun to emerge. It all start with Angel. Out of nowhere, she started to hum the rhythm of the salsa elevator music while tapping her feet to the song. This alerted the eyes and ears of the rest.

Robin, with her arms crossed, was surprisingly the one who followed next with additional humming, perfectly matching the melody of the song while tapping her finger on her arm.

Elevator Two

Zoro took a glance at Luffy and Chopper being all gloomy in the corner from Nami's scolding then groaned heavily. "How long is this lift gonna take?"

"Someone's a little impatient today." Sanji taunted with a sinister smirk, ""What's wrong, Marimo? Sexually frustrated?"

Zoro shot an evil, murderous stare to the blond, "Huh?! What was that?!"

"You heard me, Shitty Swordsman."

Nami looked above the elevator doors, the light from one floor number gradually increasing. She noticed that they were only half way up then exhaled sighed in defeat as she heard the commotion behind her, "Don't make me scold the both of you, too."

Elevator One

Franky was the next to join in with a rhythmic hissing noise to accompany the humming of the two girls. This lead to Naruto and Usopp to look at one another, silently contemplating their next move.

In the end, they both gave a shrug and a smile as they eventually joined in.

The sniper and former Leaf shinobi were on vocals, sounding out the sounds of the instruments while air playing them. Naruto tapping his hands, air playing the bongos while Usopp was on the air maracas.

Elevator Two

"Ne, Nami, the girl downstairs said unlimited room service right?" Luffy said almost drooling on his shirt, "Unlimited meeaatt."

Shaking her head, Nami sighed heavily, "Luffy, Stark-san was nice enough to buy out the best suite in the whole island just for us. Let's not abuse his generosity by cleaning out their entire meat storage just to fill your stomach."

The mot quiet out of all Straw Hats, Brook, standing the back, suddenly raised his hand, "Um, Minna-san, I'm sorry."

All eyes landed on the skeleton, "Sorry for what?" Sanji questioned sceptically.

An audible and squeaky fart rang through the air. There was a silent paused as everyone processed what just happened.

"BROOK, WHAT THE HELL!?" Sanji screamed as everyone ran to the opposite end of the small elevator.

Zoro quickly covered his nose his hand, "COULDN'T YOU HOLD IT IN!?"

"HOW DID I GET STUCK WITH YOU GUYS!?" Nami shrieked with puddles of tears in her eyes, pressing herself as hard as she could to the elevator doors.

Luffy and Chopper, rolling on the floor laughing was brought to an abrupt stop. Silence ripped through the air as Brook's poison like gasses finally reached their senses.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" Chopper cried desperately.

"LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT!" Luffy cried, banging the silver doors with his hands like everyone else.

Elevator One

Smiles were curved on everyone's faces as they played perfectly to the elevator music with each member performing their role beautifully.

Elevator Two

"HOW IS IT SMELLING WORSE!?"

"WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS!?"

"OPEN THIS DOOR ALREADY!"

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"

"HOW CAN THIS BE MY FAULT, MARIMO?!"

"YOU'RE THE ONE FEEDING HIM!"

Elevator One

Heads were bopping and shoulders were swaying, the crew then suddenly froze as the music came to an immediate stop. They all made quick eye contact before the music suddenly resumed and they continued 'playing'.

*DING*

Both elevator doors opened simultaneously, Naruto's group stepped out of their carriage with smiles and laughs. Their eye brows raised as they stared at Nami, Luffy, Sanji, Chopper and Zoro all laying on the ground face first, looking as if they're in a rush to leave the lift.

"What are you all doing?" Naruto quizzed.

Nami sluggishly met his gaze with pissed off eyes, "Don't ask."

Naruto raised his hands defensively, "Woaw, okay, I won't." He joked heartedly before turning silent as his eyes viewed the suite for the very first time.

Nami and her group eventually found themselves on their feet and left the elevator, but they too turned quiet when they first saw their new accommodation.

Surprise was their first response. They all expected to arrive in some sort of hallway, instead, the elevator doors opened up right in front of their living room suite.

And what a suite it was, incredibly spacious with dark tiled floors and light coloured walls and ceilings. A large sitting area with a cerulean rug, a couple of long grey sofas and a masterfully crafted coffee table in the centre.

The Straw Hats ventured deeper inside their new living quarters, admiring the openness, the freedom, the sense of 'less is more', and the black, grey and white colour schemes. And thanks to the glass windows, the room was eye dazzlingly bright and beaming with life.

Everything looked new, expensive, modern and untouched, well maintained too, not a single dust particle in sight.

They began to notice other features such as the stairs to the second floor on the left side of the room, an open doorway leading to another room on the right hand side, addition comfy chairs, abstract paintings on the walls, deep green curtains, little wooden tables, lamps, and an elegant piano right at the back of the living room, sitting beside a window with a spectacular, one of a kind view of The Pit.

"Sugoooiii!" Luffy voiced, spinning around trying to look at everything, "Is this really all for us?"

"Sure seems like it." Nami answered in amazement.

They all began to split up in smaller groups to explore different parts of the suite.

Naruto found himself alone, and approaching the back of the room next to the piano. He stood inches away from the unbelievably clear window, absorbing the architecture and beauty of the city below.

He then approached the piano, forming a small smile as he does so. He softly traced his finger over a couple of the keys before whispering, "Hello, old friend. It's been a while."

Just as he was about to press on a key, Sanji's voice rang through the air, "Naruto! Come over here!"

The sage withdrew his hand from the instrument and followed the voice, leading him past the open doorway on the right side of living room and into a small square room. In this smaller room, there's two doors on both sides. He noticed that all three girls were in the room on the left and Sanji on the right.

Naruto followed Sanji and instantly walked into a large, incredibly spacious and luxurious bedroom with another mind blowing view. "Nice, tops my room back in Konoha… just about though."

Sanji barely heard a word he said as he pointed to the second bed on the far end of the room, Naruto followed Sanji's finger and instantly knew what the cook was implying, "Oh, we got to share rooms."

"Yeah-" Sanji replied.

"Got any ideas on who you want as a roommate?"

The cook's eyes instantly shifted to love hearts, "Of course I do. Oh, Nami-Swaaannn!"

"Don't even think about it!" Nami's scream echoed from the other room.

Sanji head and shoulders dropped in depression as Naruto chuckled awkwardly for his friend, all the while overhearing the girl's conversation in the background.

"Look, this note says that all the clothes in the rooms is ours to keep." Angel voiced happily.

"And you said Stark-san wasn't going to give us any special treatment, Nami." Robin teased.

"I know, I know, I take that back. Let's try out these new clothes a little later, I'm in need of a really long shower right now."

Sanji finally snapped out of his state and focused on Naruto, "Since my plan's a bust, you wanna share this room together? I'm sure everyone's already picked their rooms by now anyway."

Naruto shrugged casually, "Sure? Dibs." He pointed to the bed beside them nearest the door.

"That's settled then."

The two blondes high five as Sanji headed for the exit, "I'm going to check the kitchen, and before you ask, no. I'm not cooking you a gazillion bowls of ramen."

Naruto crossed his arms and pouted childishly. After his little moment, he turned around to view the girl's room, making eye contact with a quiet Robin. The two pirates shared a sweet little nod before going about their own business.

Several hours later

"Libraries, aquariums, shopping centres, armouries, museums, casinos, The Devil's Pit really has everything you can think of." Angel smiled widely and linked arms with Nami as they strolled on one of the many busy streets of The Pit.

"You can say that again." The navigator retorted cheerfully.

"I think I even saw a sign for a park somewhere around here?" Usopp added, next to Nami.

Seeing two familiar faces in the distant, the three pirates came to an unexpected stop.

"Hey, isn't that Naruto and Robin going into that tavern?" Usopp questioned. He then took a closer look, "Those two look happy… wait, are they… they are! They're holding hands?!" He panicked to his frozen friends, "When did they become more than friends?!"

Their hands connected firmly, fingers interlocked, smiling and laughing expressions with Robin holding Naruto's arm with her free hand.

Angel and Nami remained wordless as they watched their two friends enter the tavern, 'What's going on here?' Angel thought anxiously.

The red head worryingly turned her eyes on Nami, Angel can feel her uneasiness to the point that she could almost see the navigator's thoughts rushing at a hundred miles an hour.

"You want to stop by and say hello to them?"

Nami took a few seconds before she could ignore the discomfort in her chest and shake her head with a semi fake smile, "No, It's none of our business. Besides, I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for that."

Angel wasn't convinced, she stayed silent and tighten the grip on Nami's arm for comfort.

"Oh!" Usopp surprised the girls, "I forgot! Stark told me to pay him a visit at Neo Head Quarters, he's probably expecting me right about now."

"Want us to come with you?" Nami asked, keeping her propaganda of a smile, "We won't mind?"

"Really?! Thanks you two, I was a little nervous to go on my own."

"No problem-" Angel answered and pointed, "I think the Neo Head Quarters is that way."

Tavern

Naruto released Robin's hand to pull out a chair for her to sit, "My Lady." He gestured cheekily.

The archaeologist smiled with a cute giggle, "Why thank you, kind sir." She sat gracefully as Naruto sat on the free chair across her.

The blond leaned forward on the table with a goofy smirk, they shared a long round of eye contact until Naruto broke the silence, "So, are you enjoying our very first date, Robin-chan? Because I know I am."

The busty girl giggled once again, "Oh I'm having a wonderful time, Naruto-kun." She leaned in very slowly to the point their nose almost touched and whispered, "It's almost a shame that it's all an act."

Naruto nearly chuckled and whispered back, "it's the best way to gain information without drawing too much attentions to ourselves. To everyone else, we're just two young people madly in love on a normal date, no one would question that."

"I'm flattered, but you do know I'm considerably older than you?"

They both leaned back as Naruto waved her question away, "Nah! Age is just a number baby!" He relaxed on his chair, rested his hands on the back of his head, scanning the other customers in the tavern, "So, where are we on our list of 'Dodgy looking places where people might be talking about The Chosen Ones' list?" His voice now serious, losing his sense of playfulness.

"Are we really naming it that?"

Naruto shrugged effortlessly as Robin sounded a single chuckle and answered, "Well, after numerous unsuccessful recon attempts in several bars, hotel lobbies, casinos and even a shady looking alley way, this would be our third tavern of the day."

"That many huh?" Naruto sighed deeply, "The clock is counting down, Robin. The more we know about The Chosen Ones, the better prepared we are for when we eventually meet them face to face."

"Indeed." Robin replied thoughtfully.

Naruto sat up and straightened himself, "Yosh, time to go to work. Are you set?"

Robin manifested an ear on all the undersides of every used table inside the tavern before nodding in confirmation.

"Nice-" Naruto stated, "So am I."

Robin paused to question his remark, "I've been meaning to ask, what do you mean when you say 'you're all set'?"

The blond was taken a back, "Huh? Did I forget to mention? I've had three shadow clones under the transparent jutsu following us all this time? They've been gathering information from the very beginning."

"Could have fooled me? I haven't noticed anyone following us?" She confessed in shock, gaining a chuckling apology from the male, "A transparent jutsu, so they're invisible?" She quizzed.

"Yeah, totally invisible. They keep their distance away from us and stay in the shadows, if they move too much the jutsu's effectiveness eventually wears off, so it's a jutsu not exactly suited for a fight. But if they're standing completely still, they're almost impossible to detect. The jutsu is so good at hiding the user's presence that it can… oh I dunno… sneak up behind a pretty archaeologist and grab her shoulder without her even noticing?"

Robin released a sharp gasp as she felt the light touch of someone's hand on her shoulder. Just by the using her peripheral vision, she could tell that no one was visibly behind her, but the soft, comforting hand on her shoulder was telling her otherwise. And that fact alone was a bizarre one to accept.

"Cool, huh?" Naruto smirked cheekily.

Minutes ticked by like a swift summer breeze, Naruto and Robin maintained their relationship act perfectly, all the while dividing their attentions to their own conversation and the conversations of the customers around them.

"So, um-" Naruto stated carefully, avoiding eye contact with a hint of embarrassment, "What's Nami's and Law's relationship like?"

Robin paused for a second, following it with a mischievous smirk and a playful hum, "Oh? Could that be jealousy that I'm hearing in your voice?"

The boy flinched, gaining a blush on his cheeks, "J-jealousy!? Why would I be jealous?!" He returned defensively, waving his hands in rejection, "It's just, I'm curious. They seemed really close that's all."

She stopped to think once again, observing his unusually introverted behaviour, losing her teasing mood.

"They are close. Very close." She explained distantly. "But I'm afraid that's all I can say about that. If you want to know more, you'll have to ask Nami yourself."

Before Naruto could react, a waitress made her presence aware and asked for their orders.

Time continued to pass, after ordering a couple of drinks, their focused returned to their current mission.

"I'm a little relieved that Jagger was the first Chosen One we encountered." Confessed Robin, sipping on her tea.

"What makes you say that?" Naruto asked with little effort, scanning his environment from the corner of his eyes.

Robin's gaze lowered, "Remember, Takashi? Jagger's first mate?"

Naruto forcefully raised an eye brow, "Unfortunately."

She tried to laugh at his joke. She couldn't, "His devil fruit allowed him to take full control of someone's body. He took me out with a single look. He shut my entire body down with just one look. I felt so powerless, so infuriatingly useless. I don't want to feel like that ever again."

Naruto shot a quick glance at the distressed archaeologist and sympathised, "I know. Luffy told me everything that happened." He leaned forward to display all his attention were on her, "Robin, listen to me. That's all in the past now, Luffy and Zoro was there to help you when you couldn't help yourself." He looked away as a smile creeped into his lips, "Recently, someone very special to me has taught me that I don't need to take on the world on my own, and that I need to be more open and share my feelings with my nakamas since that's what being a part of a pirate crew is all about. And she was right." They both smiled, instantly thinking of the same person.

"So let me give you the same advice that I got. Don't be so hard on yourself, we're in this together."

His words cut straight through her, happily nodding her head in acceptance.

Satisfied, Naruto leaned back and relaxed, "Luffy also told me that Zoro lost his shit when that Takashi guy took you out."

Robin's eyes widened in disbelief, "He did?"

The blond resumed surveying, focusing chakra in his ears thus putting little effort in his choice of words, "Oh yeah. Luffy said that he'd never seen Zoro so protective or pissed off about anything or anyone before. And knowing how hot headed he is, that's really saying something."

Robin could feel the edges of her lips slowly lifting, 'He did all that… just for me?'

The increasing pounding in her chest was becoming harder to ignore, but she didn't find it discomforting. In fact, she invited it.

"You must mean a hell of a lot to Zoro if you have that kind of effect on him." He voiced casually, flinching as he noticed trouble from the corner of his eye.

With the way her heart is rushing, it's almost like Robin was injected with a heavy dose of adrenaline. She was so lost in her thoughts that Naruto's words became mere background noise.

"This isn't looking good."

'This feeling that I'm having…'

"They're looking this way."

'It feels nice.'

"I think we've been found out."

'It feels right.'

"Are you hearing what I'm hearing?"

'I need to see him… I need to see Zoro.'

"Robin!"

The girl snapped out of her daze in a hurry. Her eyes refocused on the blonde's uneasy face,

"Kiss me."

Her heart skipped a beat, a light blush rushed to her cheeks as she questioned her hearing abilities, "Excuse me?"

Naruto leaned in, needing to whisper. Robin followed by mimicking him.

"Don't turn around-" He ordered with his serious, jounin voice, "A couple of guys behind you have become suspicious of us. They look familiar, I think we might have crossed paths with them earlier."

Robin paused to focus on her devil fruit abilities.

'It's them again? It can't be just a coincidence right?'

'Why are they following us? Do they have a problem or something? If they don't leave soon, I'll give them a problem.'

Robin flashed her eyes open to meet Naruto's gaze, "They think we're following them. They sound like they're prepared to go hostile."

"I know. This ain't good. This is a recon mission, fighting will only give us attention we don't need. And if we leave now, it'll look even more suspicious on our part."

His intense gaze was burning through her, the seriousness in his eyes was astounding, leaving zero room for emotions. It was almost like he was a completely different person.

"I need you to kiss me, Robin."

Her cheeks brightened once again, "But why?"

Naruto spotted that the two angry men stared at them had started to leave their seats, "People tend to feel uncomfortable when they see public displays of affection. It's probably the only way for those two to believe that we're here on an actual date and not gathering information on them. We need to kiss, it's the only way to keep this clean. Hurry, they're coming. And make it look believable."

The girl panicked. Having no time to think, she rushed in and pressed her lips against his.

Their sensation of rush slowly evaporated into a calm breeze as their lips touched and began to intertwined beautifully. Their lips were soft and gentle to one another, taking their time to perfectly match their partners pace. They both parted their lips simultaneously to allow their wet tongues to meet half way, using only the tips to deepen their contact.

The two pirates froze on their feet, even feeling embarrassed at how the two Straw Hats could kiss so passionately in public.

With light blushes on their cheeks, the two men sat back down on their table, 'Jeez, get a room already.'

Naruto's and Robin's tongues and lips finally parted, though their faces remained close.

"You hear that?" Naruto voiced formally, not a single drop of emotions in his words. "They bought it."

Robin remained frozen and completely speechless.

Satisfied that it's safe, the blond leaned back, crossed his arms and formed a smug smirk, "Damn, I know I said make it look believe but we didn't have to use tongues. That was one hell of a kiss though, you're future husband is one lucky guy."

He opened his eyes to see a motionless archaeologist. "Robin? You alright?"

She was far too deep into her thoughts to receive his voice. 'Naruto-san and I just kissed. It's not like it was by any means romantic. I don't need to tell Nami do I?'

She then focused on herself, what that kiss did to her, 'I kissed another man. Someone other than, Zoro-san. And I felt…"

Robin suddenly broke out into a chesty, joyful laugh, surprising Naruto in the process.

"Of course, I can't believe I've waited this long." She continued to laugh while shake her head, "Of course that was always going to be my answer."

Naruto grew worried, his friend participating in a one sided conservation was not a good sign. "Hey, are you feeling okay, that kiss didn't freak you out or anything, right? It's just for the mission."

Robin stood from her seat with a huge smile, finding a nice bounce in her step, "No, that's the thing, I didn't feel anything in our kiss."

Naruto flinched and played hurt, "Oh, thanks, it was good for me, too." He replied with dead sarcasm.

"I'm sorry, but I need to go." She quickly headed for the door but stopped when Naruto asked for her to wait.

"Where are you going? What do you need to do all of a sudden?"

In that one moment, with one smile, Naruto had never seen someone display so much life and overwhelming acceptance in one person.

"To share my feelings."

Exiting the tavern and leaving Naruto with more questions than answers, the blond found himself sighing heavily and soon following his friend out the door.

Sitting alone in one of the dark corners of the room was a man with caramel brown hair, hazel coloured eyes and a scar shaped of an 'X' on his left cheek bone. He threw his head back and took a swig of his glass. As he drank, his eyes widened to the reflection of Naruto from a mirror across the room as the blond left the building.

He slowly placed his glass down while gawking at the empty exit, 'Was that him?! It was, right!? The one we're after? Black Lightning Naruto Namikaze. Heh, just my luck. I guess I know who my target is. Jagger-sama will be thrilled when he hears about this."

Inside Neo Head Quarters

"Why did Stark ask you to visit him anyway?" Angel questioned, walking down a long corridor with red carpets and red walls.

"No idea?" Usopp responded, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Angel viewed to her right, seeing an unusually distant but obviously thoughtful navigator. "What do you think, Nami?"

No reply. Not even a slight change in expression.

Angel began to worry, she could practically read Nami's thoughts like they shared a psychic link.

'Nami hadn't been the same since we saw Naruto and Robin holding hands. She's barely said a word since. And rightfully so. She's probably trying to come up with a logical explanation for why they looked like a couple. Hell, I'm trying to finding an explanation. I know both Naruto and Robin don't like each other in that way… or did I miss something? This is playing with Nami's mind more than I thought, she needs to get to the bottom of this and fast.'

In order to snap Nami out her funk, Angel delivered a light elbow to her friend's arm. "Nami." She voiced forcefully.

The navigator quickly shook her head to focus on her friends, "Huh? Sorry, did you say something?"

"I asked, why you think Stark- Oh never mind, we're here anyway."

The three Straw Hats came to a stop, now facing a Neo-pirate standing behind a large, metal door. A door that looked so secure, it could easily be mistaken for a door belonging to a bank vault.

"Do you have an appointment?" The Neo-pirate asked formally.

Usopp started to sweat, "Uhh, no, we don't. Stark-san just told me to meet him?"

The Neo-pirate studied Usopp for a second, taking a closer look.

Then he remembered, "Oh! I thought I knew your face from somewhere! You're the guys are from the Straw Hat crew, right? Why didn't you just say so? You're the Lord Commanders honoured guests."

The three visitors laughed awkwardly as Angel spoke up, "Actually, these two are from the Straw Hat crew. I'm just a friend."

The Neo-pirate waved her comment away and sidestepped out the way, "Ahh, details. Please, come in, come in."

Feeling slightly nervous, Usopp gulped, reached and opened the heavy metal door.

The trio found themselves stepping into vast, open, circular room occupied by a large handful of busy Neo-pirates. On the walls there was numerous book shelves containing books or important documents. On the left side of the room, there was two big notice boards, one had images of dozens of profile pictures of what seemed to be pirates. The other board looked like a giant map of The Pit.

However, what got Usopp's and the ladies attention was the man standing at the back of the room, standing behind his desk, in front of a wide rectangular window that overlooked a great view of the city outside.

Stark, looking over a document with a subordinate, suddenly noticed his three visitors. He gave a friendly wave before dismissing the subordinate, "Ah! So you've finally arrived! Welcome to the most secure room in the whole island."

The three pirates ventured deeper within the room until they've reach Stark's desk.

Nami took another glance at the room then briefly studied the Lord Commander for a moment, noticing the indigo coloured ring attached to his necklace around his neck and quickly wondered how valuable it was, "Is it always this busy around here?"

"Everyday." Stark answered reluctantly.

The older man focused on Usopp, "I bet you're wondering why I asked you to come here."

The sniper opted to stay silent, allowing his small nod to answer.

Emotionless, Stark opened one of his desk closets and reached for a shiny wooden chest inside and place it on the table in front of the Straw Hats.

The three took a quick look at the chest then refocused on Stark.

"Well, open it then." The older fellow insisted with a cheerful smile.

Usopp took a step closer and placed his hands on the chest. Slowly opening container, Usopp's mouth became as wide as the open chest as he marvelled at the item within.

Angel and Nami took a step closer to gain a clearer view.

"Hey!" Angel said enthusiastically, "Cool gun."

The three stared in admiration at the weapons long, silver, glistening barrel and black handle.

Usopp took hold of the gun with both hands, finding it heavier and colder than he anticipated, all the while appreciating its craftsmanship as Stark opted to explain,

"To be precise, it's actually a modified six shooter revolver with capabilities of firing a projectile in six hundred meters per second. One of the most powerful handguns I've ever made."

Usopp lifted a curious brow, "Modified?"

"I took the liberty to examine the bullets you use in our little challenge earlier. I only had a quick look but I managed to modify cylinder's diameter in order to accommodate your ammunition." Stark paused to look Usopp's astonished eyes, "Why don't you place one in and try it out?"

Too amazed to speak, Usopp did what he was asked and grabbed one of his pellets from his pouch. Freeing the cylinder, he slowly and gently slotted the pellet in its socket, flawlessly sliding into position. He closed the cylinder, resonating a clasping noise as he did so.

"You're right! It fits perfectly!" Usopp rejoiced.

Stark looked proud of his creation, "There's a second compartment within the chest, inside it, you'll find one hundred Usopp style bullets. All constructed from Sea Assimilation Stone armed with my devil fruit abilities. They will be your trump card. Your last resort."

Usopp panicked, he looked at the gun in his hands, then at the chest on the table, then at Stark, then at the gun, then at Stark again, "Wait a second! You can't be serious? You're not actually giving all this stuff to me are you?!"

"Of course I am?" Stark replied casually.

"B-b-but why? I can't take this? And besides, I already have my Kabuto and it works just fine for me?"

Stark prevented the urge to sigh and walked around his desk to stand toe to toe with Usopp, "Listen to me, you're a sniper, whether you like it or not it's your job to protect your captain. Luffy was a very special person to my captain's only son, Ace. Now, Rayleigh taught Luffy haki to protect himself. I'm giving you this, the mark of my trade, and the only way I know how to contribute to Luffy's journey as a pirate."

Stark placed a reassuring hand on the young man's shoulder, "You don't have to use it if you don't want to. But I ask of you to keep it by your side at all times, it'll give me some peace of mind knowing you have the ultimate back up weapon."

Usopp took a second to absorb the older man's words. Once ready, he gave Stark a confirming nod, "A-alright, I'll keep it with me all time. I promise."

Stark removed his hand and smiled gratefully, "Good."

Returning the weapon back in its place, Usopp closed the chest and took hold of it with both hands. "Thanks, Stark-san."

"It's my pleasure."

The two shared a respective look before Usopp and his crew mates headed for the exit.

Without turning around, Nami waved goodbye, "Thanks again, Stark-san."

Just as they were about to leave, Angel suddenly stopped without her friends noticing.

"Um-" She voiced nervously, causing Usopp and Nami to stop and look her way, "Why don't you two go on ahead without me, I want to ask Stark-san something first."

"You sure?" Nami quizzed sceptically, "We can wait for you outside?"

Angel waved her hands in rejection, "No, no, you don't have to do that. I'm sure you two have things you want to get on with, like trying out your new gun or shopping or finding Luffy or Naruto?" Angel's eyes made direct contact with Nami, sending a silent, girl only message.

Nami caught on immediately and suppressed a blush while a question mark appeared above Usopp's head.

"Okay fine-" Nami succumbed, "Find me later."

Angel smiled the best she could, "I will."

The red head watched her friends exited the room as the great metal door closed. Her smile quickly disappearing as she faced Stark who had a curious expression on his face.

Some dark, random alley way

Ring… Ring… Ring… Clank.

"Jagger-sama."

"Quentin." Replied the bald transponder snail, "How many have you recruited so far?"

"Only two so far. Progress is slow, I have to work carefully in order to prevent suspicion from the Neo-pirates." The man with the 'X' shaped scar on his cheek replied.

"Just two? What the hell are you doing over there?! You know that's not good enough, Q… but, as long as you're adding a stable number to my crew, then I won't deem you worthless just yet."

"Thank you for your patients, Jagger-sama."

The transponder snail paused for a second, "Anything you'd like to add?"

Quentin's lips curved into a smirk, "The Straw Hat pirates."

The snail's eyes widened in alarm, "What about them!?"

"They're here. I've seen them with my very own eyes. Including, Naruto Namikaze. The number one priority on our hit list.'

On some jungle island deep within the New World.

Jagger held his transponder snail with a death grip, almost crushing it to pieces.

Behind him was a familiar looking mining facility with civilians for workers and pirates for guards, all screaming abusive slurs at the tired slave like workers.

'Damn it all! Timing couldn't get any worse. I'm on the other side of the New World and Azazel ordered Kazama to infiltrate The Devil's Pit to retrieve The Key. Kazama should be there by now and he will find the Straw Hats. And the way he looked so interested in my fight with that bastard Naruto, I'm sure he'll go straight for him.'

The Pit

"Jagger-sama?" Questioned Quentin.

The captain then formed a plan, one that elicited a sadistic, manic, crazed laugh, "Oh the irony! I gave him the chance to join my crew and he rejected me. But with you and the Straw Hats on the same island, Naruto will soon be happily working for me."

Quentin smirked, understanding his captain's words.

"You know who you're next target is-" Jagger commander, "Naruto Namikaze. Recruit him, make him slaughter his own crew mates as slowly and excruciatingly painful as possible. After that, take him to me. I'll decide his usefulness then."

"As you wish, Jagger-sama."

"Oh, and one more thing. Get this done fast. There's another player inside The Pit that poses a potential threat to your new target. Make sure Naruto's on our side before anyone else gets to him. Understand?"

"I do, Jagger-sama. But can I ask? Who is this other player?"

Q stared at the silent transponder snail for a moment before it replied, "That's something you don't need to know. Just play your role. Remember, failure is not an option, Q. In my crew, failure is weakness. You know what happens to those who show weakness."

Northern Sector -some street within The Pit

With an excited smile and a pounding chest, Robin couldn't deny an extra step in her walk. Her strides also felt lighter and she knew she was rushing somewhat. But despite her efforts, the man she's looking for continues to elude her.

Finally wanting some help, she spotted an elderly man nearby, organising his collection of fruits in front of his shop. He didn't look too busy so she made her approach.

"Excuse me, sir. Do you think you could assist me?"

The older man turned around to greet her, "Why of course I can, young lady. How can I help you?"

The archaeologist smiled in gratitude, "I'm looking for a man. A man with green hair. He's wearing green clothes, carrying three swords around with him."

The man pinched his chin and tried his hardest to remember someone of the description. He begun to hum, actively searching his memories as Robin spoke once again,

"He probably looked lost? He is directionally challenged."

The man ended his memory search with a shake of his head, "I'm sorry, dear. I haven't seen a man with green hair and three swords."

"No, that's alright-" Robin reassured, with only a touch of disappointment, "Thank you for your time."

As she began to walk away and resume her search, Robin happily retreated to her thoughts to think of Zoro.

'I can't wait to see you.'

Eastern Sector

Walking peacefully in one of the many busy streets, Naruto's casual walk came to an abrupt halt as he heard a frightening familiar voice coming from inside a fancy clothes shop.

There were two voices inside, it was obvious that they were negotiating about discounts percentages and prices. What was also obvious was that the unfamiliar voice, the one probably owned by the shop owner was losing this 'negotiation'.

Naruto chuckled uncomfortably while dropping a sweat drop, 'She's at it again.'

Not daring to enter, the blond waited outside for his crew mate.

Minutes later, Nami exited the store with a smugly proud expression and a handful of colourful bags in each hand.

"I'm pretty sure they're not allowed to give one hundred percent discounts?"

Nami opened her eyes to see Naruto, smiling and running a hand through his hair. A new weakness she discovered about herself as she felt her knees weakening.

"Actually, if you must know, I only managed to drop it down to eighty five percent." She replied defensively.

The blond laughed, taking in the sight of Nami in her tight blue jeans and pink bikini bra.

He looked away to view the long and busy street, "Wanna hang around with me for a bit?" He met her in the eyes.

Nami suppressed a slight blush as she answered, "S-sure? Okay."

The two exchanged a small smile before they began to walk side by side in companionable silence.

Despite the lack of conversation, it felt nice and comforting to be alone with one another. It's been a while since it was just the two of them.

But Nami's happiness was ended when she noticed Naruto putting his hands in his pockets.

Those hands, it only reminded her of where they were no longer than an hour ago.

Masking her slight distress, Nami broke the silence with a question, "Where's Robin?" She plastered her best fake smile.

Naruto didn't falter, he didn't even made eye contact, just continued exploring as he shrugged unsurely,

"No idea? She was acting weird on me earlier though?"

The girl contemplated his answer. In this short pause, she swallowed her dignity and asked the questions that's been eating away at the back of her mind.

"Hey, is there something you haven't told us about you two?"

That gained his curious attention, "Huh? Me and Robin? No…? I don't think so?"

His gaze penetrated through the navigator and due to the sensitive nature of the conversation, Nami broke eye contact, "Are you sure? Because I saw you two holding hands earlier." She explained, masterfully hiding any form of jealousy in her voice.

"I just thought, that maybe, I dunno, you two were-"

"N-no! That's not what it looked like!" Naruto panicked, sweating bullets, aggressively waving his hands in rejection.

"We were doing a recon mission, gathering information on The Chosen Ones that's it." He explained anxiously with a shaky smile, "We only pretended to look like a couple to avoid attentions to ourselves."

Nami's eyes widen in relief as the two continued to walk, a little smile was forced on her lips.

"Oh, is that so? That's all it was?" She did her best to hide her relief.

The blond laughed awkwardly, "Y-yeah, I promise." He replied, exhaling a breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

Feeling reassured, Nami regained her usual flare and finally reinitiated eye contact, "You really know how to make a girl misunderstand a situation, don't you?"

She playfully hit his arm with the handful of bags in her hand as they shared a chuckle.

Noticing the many bags in her hands, Naruto ended their walk, "Want me to carry those for you?"

She followed his eye sight, "These? No it's fine, they're not that heavy."

The blond started to unwrap the bandages on his left forearm, "Oh come on, let me be a gentleman and give them here."

Reluctantly, Nami passed all her shopping into Naruto's hand. He hovered the bags below his wrist seal and in a puff of smoke, the bags vanished from sight.

As he started to wrap his forearm with the bandage, Nami gave him an incredulous, crocked stare.

"What?" He questioned innocently.

"Carry my bags?"

She made a single snicker as she continued her walk, leaving the male by himself.

Confused, Naruto raised his shoulder in bewilderment, "What?"

He caught to her in seconds, shoulder to shoulder they strolled.

"That wrist seal of yours sure does come in handy." Nami stated, "You store all sorts of things in there, don't ya? Like that necklace you're wearing, I've never seen you wear it before. What else are you hiding in there? Ready cook ramen?"

"Hey, don't diss the wrist seal-" Naruto retaliated playfully, nudging her shoulder with his, "I made the seal myself if you must know."

"Oh, you did, did you?"

Naruto paused to revisit old, pleasant memories before he rubbed his left forearm, "Yup, Kakashi-sensei said I had a hidden talent for sealing jutsu. He said it must ran in the family since the Uzumaki clan were sealing specialist."

He then gripped his Uzumaki necklace with his thumb and finger, "And this necklace belonged to my mom. It's actually one of the very few things I have that belonged to my parents."

The girl studied him for a second, seeing so much pride and love in his eyes was almost a privilege to watch.

If Nami was being honest, it truly was a privilege. Since Naruto's failed attempt to return to Konoha through the summoning jutsu, he's become less inclined to talk about his previous life as a shinobi. The only time he would say anything are times when people asked. She figured it was his way to move on and focus on his new life with her and the rest of the crew.

"That necklace must mean a lot to you?" She asked gracefully.

His smile grew to a full on goofy grin, "You bet."

Sometime later, the two found themselves stumbling into a long, incredibly lively and vibrant street. It reminded Naruto of the first small town Jiraya dragged him to when he trained to master the rasengan. The entire stretch was jammed packed with food stalls and colourful gaming stalls. The smell of a wide range of delicious foods all blending into one was a glorious treat for the nose. And the looks of joy on people's faces as they played games, it got the two Straw Hats excited to participate.

"The Pit really has everything you can think of." Naruto said, venturing deeper into this noisy street.

"Angel said something similar." Nami smiled cutely.

"Theatres, schools, hospitals, shooting ranges, training areas-"

Naruto was interrupted by what looked like a cross between a homeless man and a psychotic mental patient standing on a wooden box and screaming for all to hear.

"The end is coming! Silas has seen the future! Silas saw the stars coming together and it destroyed this world and every world in existence! The end of days is upon us all!"

"The Pit even has the village crazy guy." Naruto finished, earning him a laugh from the navigator.

"Hey! You two youngsters!"

The duo turned their eyes to an older friendly looking fella inside a game stall. He was easily within his fifties.

"Yeah, you two." The man gestured for the two pirates to come closer.

Tempted by the man's gesture, Naruto and Nami approached.

Arriving, they studied the game owners stall. It was a long and rectangular in shape. At the back were numerous moving targets all swaying in different patterns, some horizontally, some vertically. Attached to the ceiling and wooden posts were a large number of adorable stuffed toys, ranging widely from colours, sizes and type of animal.

The older man smiled kindly at the two pirates but focused mainly on Naruto, "Hey there, young man. Fancy a quick play? The rules are simple I promise. Don't you want to win a cute cuddly stuffed animal for your girlfriend here?"

The blond and Nami looked at one another for a quick second before their cheeks began to blushed fiercely. They shook their heads and waved their hands in rejection towards the stall owner.

"N-no-" Naruto interjected embarrassingly, "It's not like that, we're -"

"Not boyfriend and girlfriend." Nami finished as she and Naruto sweated with wobbly smiles.

The older man kept his innocent expression, "It's cute how you two finish each other's sentences."

The blush on Nami's and Naruto's cheeks deepened as the man reached for something underneath the counter of his stall. In seconds, he placed a plastic tray holding five rubber balls on top the counter in front of his customers.

"You get five balls to throw at the targets. If you make hit, the target lights up. Three hits wins you a prize, but five hits wins you the grand prize. Whatchu say? Interested?"

The two pirates consoled one another with a look. After a shared shrug, Naruto replied, "Sure? Let's do it. Oh wait, I don't have any money on me to play." He turned to the navigator, "You won't happen to have some left do you?"

Nami scratched the back of her head while laughing nervously, "Sorry, I don't. I kinda spent my budget on the clothes."

"There's a chance that you won't have to pay at all." Said the game master.

"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned with lean eyebrows.

"You see, the way this whole street works, the motto is play before you pay. If you manage to win a prize, you won't have to pay at all. But if you don't, then its pay the piper." He informed, "The games available here are quite tricky you see, so us game masters don't mind to be lenient with the rules. So, are you confident you can hit at least three targets, young man?"

Naruto stayed quiet to study the game. Studying the white rubber balls, the distance between him and the targets, the targets themselves and their rhythmic movements and constant patterns.

It looked simple enough, just aim and throw, something he's been doing all his life with shurikens and kunais.

Doing his best to hide the overconfident smile on his lips, Naruto answered with a cheeky grin, "Yeeaahh, I'm pretty confident."

The stall owner side stepped out the way as Naruto gripped one of the ball and prepared to throw, aiming at one of the moving targets. With an effortless throw, Naruto's ball hit its mark with pin point accuracy, illuminating up the target in the process.

"Woo-" The game master cooed, "That's one. You have some arm on you, son."

The blond picked up another ball and laughed, "Thanks."

"You've done something similar to this before?"

Naruto played along and hummed in thought, "You can say that."

He threw another effortless throw, achieving identical results as before.

The stall owner crossed his arms, nodding his head impressed, "Just one more."

Slowly, the customer gripped the third ball, threw it lightly in the air before catching and launching to one of the targets.

"Nice! That's three out of three-" The game owner said respectfully, "Can you make that five out of five though?"

Naruto smirked at the challenged. He then looked at Nami who looked pleased to have secured a toy, "What do you think? Think I'll make the other two?" He asked.

The girl crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "You won't if you keep looking at me." She teased spiritedly.

"Oh, I see how it is." Naruto nodded in disbelief, pretending that her comment wounded his feelings.

He took hold of another ball then locked his eyes on to hers. Both pirates wore tiny smirks, Nami believing he was stupid to actually attempt what he was about to do, and Naruto wanting to prove her wrong.

The two Straw Hats held their stare, neither breaking eye contact nor displaying signs of faltering. That was until Naruto suddenly launched the ball to the other side of the stall, causing Nami's eyes to widen by a centimetre. In shock he actually threw the ball without looking, Nami shot her gaze to the targets and found four illuminated targets. She quickly regain eye contact with her friend only to find that same smirk on his smug lips.

Nami was irritated with his self-satisfaction as equally as she was impressed. She then noticed that he's been looking at her for some time now, and his pleasant stare was threatening her cheeks to flush. But something inside her couldn't stop her from ending their silent eye contact.

Thankfully, Naruto picked up the last ball and dashed it towards the targets. Neither of them gave even a second of thought whether that ball was going to hit its mark, they already knew the conclusion.

Nami couldn't figure it out when it was, but sometime during this little moment they're in, she realised there was something different behind those cerulean blue eyes. The overconfident, playful bravado from before was lost and something sincere, earnest and honest took its place, almost as if he was looking into her naked soul.

But just like a stroke of lightning, that deep gaze of his was gone as quickly as it came. A goofy grin took its places as Naruto laughed and talked with the stall owner. It took the navigator a few seconds to recover and organise her mind from her intense experience, but when she did, she instantly dropped a sweat as she was greeted by a massive panda stuffed toy sitting on the counter.

"Here you go young lady, the grand prize-" Said the game owner happily, "A giant panda."

The two customers laughed uncomfortably at the toys vast size.

"I think it's little too big for me to carry-" Nami confessed while chuckling.

Naruto turned to her, "You know, I can store it in my-"

Nami suddenly kicked him in the shin to end his sentence short.

As Naruto winced in the background, she noticed something cute and orange dangling from the ceiling. "Hey, you think we could have that as the prize?" She asked sweetly, pointing to her object of interest.

The game owner followed her finger to retrieve the item. Seconds later, the owner passed Nami a small, hand held sized stuffed fox toy causing Naruto gave a big smile in approval.

After giving their thanks, the duo left the game stall to continue exploring with Nami's new friend wrapped safely in her arms.

"Thanks for this." She told him kindly, hiding the smidge of red on her face.

Somewhere in The Pit

A man stood on the very edge of the roof on one of the many sky scrapers inside The Devil's Pit, taking in the sight of the other sky scrapers, the grand colosseum in the distance and the insect sized people moving far below his feet. He lazily lifted his head up towards the sky with an uninterested expression and sighed deeply.

He removed the hood that covered half his head to unveil all of his spikey purple hair lightly swaying in the breeze.

'So this is The Devil's Pit. It was a lot easier to infiltrate than I hoped. I didn't even set of Stark's barrier. It's still active, I can feel it.'

The man lowered his unthreatening gaze to view the city. The emotionless, unconcerned looked on his face seemed to have been permanently stuck on.

'Should I kill Stark and retrieve The Key now or later?'

He lazily placed his hands in his pockets and sighed heavily once again.

"Whatever. I'll decide when I decide."

The man made a complete 180 on his spot, turning his back to the hundreds of feet drop. He released his hands from their pockets, extended his arms and leaned back, allowing the weight of his body to push him over the edge.

Eastern Sector

"What's this?" Naruto questioned out loud.

He and his female companion found themselves at the back of crowd gathered in front a large stage. On this stage were two podiums facing the crowd and a large wheel of chance in the middle. There was a man wearing a tacky yellow suit and sun glasses standing behind the left podium with a small wooden chest. Another individual who looked obviously upset was leaving the stage.

"A quiz." informed a random pirate beside the Straw Hats.

"Is there anyone else in this crowd who thinks they can outsmart my quiz?" The man on the stage questioned obnoxiously, "Remember what you're playing for, ladies and gents-" He opened to wooden chest to showcase a pair of beautiful emerald studded earrings.

"Vintage emerald earrings from the ancient island of Cascandria worth over a million belli."

Nami's eyes glittered with belli signs.

"This baby is anyone's game, but remember how the game works, I spin the wheel of chance and whatever category it lands on, you'll have to answer ten questions about that subject. Give an incorrect answer or fail to complete the quiz will mean you cough up 50 thousand bellis. So, do I have any takers?"

No answer from anyone as the crowd talked amongst themselves.

"Naruto, could you hold baby Kurama for a second." Nami said, placing the stuffed to in his hands.

The boy smiled happily at the toys new name, "You're really gonna go up there?" he asked, "Those earrings are nice but what if you can't answer all the questions? How are you gonna pay 50 thousand belli?"

Nami took a confident step forward, "Don't underestimate this girl's intelligence, Naruto. And besides, if by some chance I do lose, I'll just place the bill on you." She gave him and playful wink before heading to the stage.

Naruto's jaw and uttered a string incoherent sounds.

"You might want to start thinking of ways to pay that 50 thousand belli." Said the pirate nearby.

Naruto shifted his eyes to the man, "Huh? What makes you say that?"

The guy folded his arms as the two watched Nami climb up the stairs to the stage, "Because the game is rigged. The first couple of questions are all common knowledge that anyone can answer, but then about half way, the questions become stupidly difficult. He starts to ask questions no one can answer unless you're an expert in the category."

The blond dropped a sweat and exhaled awkwardly, "Is that so." He sighed a dry laugh.

On stage, Nami stood behind the free podium as the quiz master approached the wheel of chance.

"Looks like we have our next contestant." Said the man in the suit, "Care to tell the audience your name?"

"It's Nami."

"Okay, Nami. Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

The girl gave a so and so nod with confidence as the quiz master proceeded with spinning the big and colourful wheel of chances.

The crowd held their breath watching the wheel turn alongside the rapid ticking noise of the apparatus. Eventually, the ticking died down until the arrow on top of wheel landed on a picture of a cloud.

"Your category is weather!" Explained the man in energetic fashion, causing a lean smirk on Nami's lips, "Are you familiar with anything to do with weather by any chance?"

She crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders for fun, "Weather? Yeah, I think I know a thing or two."

10 minutes later

"Well, what do you think of my new earrings?" Nami tucked some of her hair behind her ear to showcase her new, shiny, green jewellery to Naruto.

The blond laughed uneasily, "They're great Nami. Looks good on you." He praised, finding her knowledge on weather astounding as it is frightening, "You were amazing up there. You didn't even hesitate on any of the questions." Naruto passed baby Kurama back to the navigator.

"Thanks, but those questions were easy anyway, that wasn't even remotely challenging." She replied casually, hugging her stuff toy.

The two Straw Hats watched as a group of men clear the stage by replacing the podiums and wheel with a long rectangular table with numerous chairs all facing the crowd.

"Alright! Time for today's second event!" Said a new game master in front of the stage, "This event is a speed eating challenge! Six contestants head it out in an all you can eat battle, the contestant who eats the most in 10 minutes wins the grand prize. But, if you happen to be the other five, you lose 10 thousand big ones!"

The crowd cheered excitedly, obviously liking this new game better than the last.

"Now, you may ask yourself, what kinda of food will be used for this contest? Well, ask no further because… today we're going to be using ramen!"

Naruto was jolted with excitement. His eyes wide from enthusiasm with clenched fists shaking from anticipation.

"I'll be right back." He told Nami in his serious, deep voice, already walking towards the stage.

The navigator blinked in questioning, wondering what made him so serious.

For the next 10 minutes straight, Nami couldn't stop herself from laughing even if her life dependent on it. Watching Naruto competing with a crazed look on his with while practically inhaling his food was one of the nastiest but funniest things she'd ever seen.

Somewhere in the Northern Section of The Pit

Robin's aimless search for Zoro led her to a random street near outskirts of the island. Despite her unsuccessful attempt to locate the swordsman, her will to find him remained diligent as ever. She stopped her walk to observe her surroundings and contemplate whether it's better to use another method in finding him.

Just as she was about to turn around and return to the hotel, she spotted a tiny smidge of green hair high above ground level inside one of the many balconies on the inner wall of The Pit.

Knowing exactly who it was, Robin couldn't stop the edges of her lips from curving into a smile. She felt her feet move almost by itself, then again, then once again, faster and faster with every step. It started as a fast walk but soon it developed into a full on sprint towards the dot of green in the distance. She didn't know why she was running, it just felt like the right thing to do, and she liked the sensation.

In minutes, Robin was running towards a huge, almost cave like opening on the wall of The Pit. Rushing inside, she continued to run up a circling staircase that seemed like it never ended. Though that didn't faze her one bit, she was so close to the person she wanted to see most.

Sometime later, the infuriating run up the staircase soon came to an end when the archaeologist found herself on stepping on a landing. This corridor directed to an open, round doorway beaming with blinding white light. Her run also came to an end and turned into a gentle walk just as she was about to enter.

She stepped inside with a laboured breath, almost losing it again when confronted with a mind blowing view of the entire city. As beautiful the view was, that wasn't her main focus. Her focus was on the man facing that view.

Zoro rested his weight and forearms on the glass barrier with his hands over the edge. A bottle of alcohol laid rest in one of those hands, a single slip and that bottle would come crashing down hundreds of feet onto ground zero.

A serene silence bestowed upon the two as they acknowledge each other's presence.

Fully regaining her breath, Robin took a step forward.

"Toshiro-san and Stark-san were right, the view from up here is truly magnificent."

Zoro didn't turn around to face her. He gave a single quiet hum in agreement as a response.

She paused to evaluate his mood. She's been feeling that he's been strangely distant for the entire day like he is now, though she suspects that may have just been her imagination.

Banishing those negative thoughts from her mind, the girl took another eager step forward, "I've come to a decision about you and me." A tiny smile crept on her lips.

"I want to be with you, Zoro."

The swordsman entire being tensed in an instant, including the grip on the bottle. He also noticed the loss of honorifics attached to his name.

"I think I've always known I wanted to be with you-" Robin continued happily, "I just didn't know how to accept it. I was confused by my own feelings, sometimes scared of them. I know I shouldn't have waited this long to tell you this but now I'm sure, I'm sure I want to be with you because no other man can make me feel the way you do. The way you can make me smile by just looking at me. The way my chest races every time we kiss. There's no one else I'd rather have by my side than you… and I think… I think I might even be falling in lov-"

"Robin."

His voice carried so much authority and demand, it forced her to stop while injecting some anxiety in her veins.

His voice may have been deep and calm, however the death grip he has on the bottle told otherwise.

Zoro finally turned around to see Robin for the first time. His dark, harden eyes staring right though her.

"Let's end this thing between you and me."

Robin's eyes expanded impossibly wide as she felt her heart drop into an endless abys.

"Let's go back to being nakamas." Zoro resumed with a tough expression, "I don't have any feelings for you nor is it my goal to be romantically involved with you. My only goal is to become the greatest swordsman in the world. Nothing more. Nothing less. We are nakamas, and that's how it should have always been. That's the truth."

With shaky eyes, she looked deeply into his eye, desperately trying to find a reason for his cold exterior. However, behind all his talk, she can somehow sense a struggle behind his emotionless mask and his words, making her a little unconvinced of his truth.

"You can't- you can't possibly mean that…" She whispered in denial, "Last night…"

Robin felt her emotions bubbling as her voice began to raise, "Last night… was one of the best nights of my life! You can't make love to me like the way you did last night and say you don't have any feelings for me! You laid me down on your bed and we shared something special together. It was a moment, just a moment but it was so real, and it was something I never felt before."

If possible, Zoro tightened his hold on his bottle, "I don't know what you're talking about. Last night meant nothing, like all the other times."

Tears started to well in Robin's eyes, taking an angered step forward, "Don't lie to me!" She screamed desperately, "I know you felt it too, Zoro. I know you did, I saw it in you! And don't you dare tell me last night meant nothing, you and I both know that's not true! Something changed last night and it changed you too. It's the reason why you're avoiding me today, right? Why you've barely looked or said anything to me, why you're acting so cold right now."

The swordsman kissed his teeth and looked away, "I don't have to listen to this." He took a step to leave the balcony. But he stopped he heard her soft, quiet voice.

"What are you hiding?" She whispered with immense pain, losing all her fire and spirit from before. She lowered her head to hide her teary eyes, "What are you not telling me that made you like this?"

Zoro paused to wrestle her question in his mind. Though that didn't last long. He continue to leave the room, stopping only when they stood back to back.

His jaw clenched as he prepared himself to say his next set of words.

"Robin, you and me can never be together. Accept that."

With that, Zoro abandoned the premises, leaving a distressed archaeologist fighting, struggling to keep her tears from falling.

A couple of hours later - Evening

"Phew, I'm stuffed!" Naruto exclaimed, throwing his spoon inside his empty glass desert cup.

"Well you should be, that was like your thousandth serving of desert." Nami teased, sitting next to him on the counter inside a lively ice cream bar.

The blond watched as his friend finished her last remaining spoonful, "Hey, this was my prize for winning that ramen contest, free all you can eat ice cream, and I'm not the type to pass on free food." He chuckled lamely.

A women with long blond hair and yellow eyes dress in a white and pink dress for a uniform approached the two over the counter.

"Hi you guys, would you like some more?" She asked sweetly.

"No thanks, Shizuka-san." Nami answered gratefully, "I couldn't possibly eat another bite and he needs to stop before he dies from a sugar overload. The deserts were delicious though."

The older women giggled cutely.

Naruto rolled his eyes then focused on the other blond, "So, what's it like to be an owner and manager of a business like this, Shizuka-san?"

She hummed in wonder for a second, "It's alright, it can get busy at times. But business here is going really well though, so well in fact, I'm actually opening another business in a couple of days."

"Well that's great!" Nami cheered.

Shizuka giggled once again, "Thanks… actually, you know what-" She bent down and searched under the counter for a little while. Moments later, she sprung back up with a large bottle of champagne and three champagne glasses, "Let's celebrate. It's from my secret stash so don't tell anyone, okay?" She winked at the two Straw Hats.

"Drinking during work, I like your style, Shizuka-san." Nami complimented naughtily.

The older women laughed softly as she popped the bottle open and poured into the glasses, "Shh, just this once, I promise."

She rested the bottle on the counter. Then the three reached for their glasses and raised them in the air.

"What should we toast to?" The navigator questioned.

"To winning contests and free desert." Naruto joked cheekily.

"A successful future for a second shop." Shizuka joined.

Nami looked at both blonds and smiled, "And new friendships."

The three nodded to another before touching their glasses, placing it on their lips and emptying its content in a couple of swigs. The three released a satisfied sigh then placed their glasses down.

"Right-" Shizuka said almost reluctantly, "Back to work. You two can have the rest of the champagne if you like, my treat." She smiled sweetly then left the Straw Hats, disappearing to the stock room at the back.

Without warning, Nami stood from her seat, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow, "What's up? You got to go back to work too?" He clowned.

"No you, idiot. Restroom," She answered with a giggle, "I'll be back in a sec, and don't you dare touch that champagne until I do." She stuck her tongue out before heading to the ladies nearby.

Naruto chuckled lightly, watching Nami's receding back walking away. Somehow, he found himself studying her form. From the bounce of her long orange hair, her perfectly smooth skin, the two little dimples on her lower back, the lip biting curves of her ass-

Naruto ripped his eyes away from the navigator and shook his head aggressively, cursing himself for his indecency. In the process, Naruto accidently knocked his champagne glass over, spilling a little of its content, though thankfully not breaking the glass.

He scrambled to in his seat to stand the glass and flick any reside of liquid off his hand.

"Maybe you've had one too many?" A new, monotone voice next to the blond announced itself.

Naruto darted his attention on the guy to his left. He wore black and navy blue hoodie, with the hood covering only half of his head so his spikey purple hair was still on show. His purple fringe covered on his eyes, the eye furthest away from Naruto. He also carried a whiskey glass in one hand filled with the stuff.

With a shocked, questioning look, the jinjuriki silently stared at him, wondering how he got there without noticing it. Or, was this guy, who looked roughly the same age as him, sitting next there all this time and he didn't notice or simply forgot?

In the end, Naruto opted to let the matter slide, it's not like it mattered much. Also, he's been quiet for an a few seconds too long and he needed to reply.

"No," He laughed dryly, "That was actually my first glass, I was just a little… distracted that's all." Naruto wiped the remaining liquids on the side of his black trousers, spotting the lack of emotions on his new company's face.

"Not judging ya." The guy replied unresponsively. He finally met eye contact with Naruto with the faintest sign of a smirk, "Besides, a life without fun or entertainment is a life not worth living, right?"

Naruto smiled unsurely, "Right?" He answered a little quieter than intended.

"Oh, I forgot to mention-" The guy added, losing his smirk, "My name is Kyousuke." He gestured a handshake with his free hand.

"Naruto." The blond accepted said gesture with a firm shake.

After a nod, Kyousuke took a tiny sip from his glass then replied distantly, "Naruto Namikaze. The newest addition to the Straw Hat pirates, right?"

Naruto scoffed playfully, "News does travel fast around here."

"True. That, and I know your captain."

"You do? You know Luffy?"

Kyousuke took another sip, "Well, I don't know him precisely, but I did see him once, in Lougetown. We didn't talk, he didn't even see me, but I saw him."

Silence brewed between the two as Naruto accepted the mysterious man's words.

"Luffy is around on the island somewhere, maybe if we see each other again and Luffy's with me, you might be able to meet him properly?" Naruto reassured.

Kyousuke sipped once again to finish his drink. He placed the glass down on the counter and silently stared at it, "Oh, I'm sure we'll meet again. When the time is right."

Naruto frowned on his reply. He was about to question further when his peripheral vision saw something orange and heading straight for him.

He turned to his right, smiled and waved at Nami as she did the same, "Hey, guess what, Kyousuke here said he saw Luffy and you guys all the way back in Lougetown."

Nami casually sat back down on her chair, grabbed the large champagne bottle and started to fill their glasses, "Kyousuke? Who're talking about?"

"Kyousuke-" Naruto reiterated, pointing his thumb over his shoulder, "He's sitting right next to-" The sage turned to his left, shockingly seeing no one there. Not a single sign of someone's presences, even Kyousuke's whiskey glass was gone.

"I think that one glass of champagne got to your head. Lightweight." The navigator teased, filling their glasses to the brim.

The male remained silent, "But… he was right here?" Naruto uttered in confusion, greatly bewildered by the recent events, even questioning his sanity slightly.

"Sure he was-" Nami dismissed, "Listen, you're not going to let me drink by myself are you? I mean, I could, but I'm not really too keen on having a hangover tomorrow morning. And we can't let all this champagne go to waste."

Still sceptical about what happened between him and this mysterious Kyousuke, Naruto failed to reply. He stared at the free seat next to him as his mind attempted to find an explanation. Although, an echo of a voice saying his name repeatedly was ringing in his ear, becoming louder and louder by every call.

"Naruto!"

The fear of an infuriated Nami ended all his speculations in an instant. Now sweating nervously, Naruto forgot about Kyousuke, took his eyes away from the seat and slowly faced Nami.

She looked at him with annoyed eyes then at their ready glasses, "Drink."

And that's exactly what they did. Drank the entire bottle in under thirty minutes. They shared it equally so it wasn't enough to get them drunk, just enough to loosen their inhibitions and tipsy.

Both Straw Hats had one, full glass of champagne left as they looked at one another.

"Okay, it's your turn." Naruto voiced happily.

Nami bit the edge of her bottom lip and hummed as she thought of a question, "Ah! I got one. Never have I ever… kissed someone from the same sex."

Naruto instantly froze, looking stunned, sick, and most of all, embarrassed.

Nami knew that look. She burst in tears of laughter, unable to control herself from laughing, "H-how- how did that even happen? And who with?"

With grim, darkened eyes, Naruto exploded, "It was an accident alright!? It's not like I wanted to kiss that bastard Sasuke! Stop laughing! It's not funny!"

Nami easily ignored him and laughed harder than before till her sides hurt. The blond pouted childishly and took a sip of his glass.

After a few moments, the navigator finally calmed down. She wiped the tears from eyes with the back of her hand and stated, "Alright, alright, I'm done. It's your turn again."

Naruto angrily folded his arms and thought, 'She wants to make it personal yeah? Two can play that game.' His eyes suddenly widened as a question struck him.

He purposely avoided eye contact and instinctually lowered his voice, "Never have I ever… kissed more than one pirate captain."

Nami blinked at his unlikely question, not anticipating that question at all. His sudden inward behaviour got her curious and thinking. With a sneaky smirk, she rested her elbow on the counter and rest her chin on her fist, "That caught me by surprise. You didn't happen to imply someone with that question did ya? Like Law perhaps?"

Naruto hid his tiny blush and fidgeted, trying to act normal, "Dunno what you're talking about? I just asked the first random question that came to my head?"

Nami released an amused hum, "Is that so?"

"Y-yeah." Naruto stuttered.

Finding his shy side unbelievably adorable, Nami inched a closer, "Hey, Naruto. You're not jealous of Law are you?"

"J-jealous!? Why would I be jealous of Law? I barely know the guy?" Naruto raised his voice defensively, clearly embarrassed, "The question applied to anyone, Nami. And I don't even see you answered the question." He said irritatingly to mask his shyness.

She hummed playfully once again before reaching for her glass. With closed eyes, she lifted her drink close to her lips, teasingly spinning the champagne its container.

Suddenly, like a flip of a switch, Naruto expression turned unnervingly serious.

"Nami." His voice deep and lost all his usual charm.

She came to an abrupt stop and place her glass down, caught off guard by his sudden change in mood.

The blonde's stare was unusually intense, "I have a confession to make."

Nami felt her heart skip a beat as she felt her body tense.

"I've been meaning to tell you something for quite a while now. I should have said something a long time ago." He continued, never breaking his heart racing gaze.

The navigator's cheeks started to heat up, "O-okay."

"Come here." Naruto leaned in. Nami did likewise to close the distance. His cheek grazed past her as he whispered in her ear. Seconds later, Nami's eyes expanded by a fraction.

The blond leaned back and stared deeply into Nami.

One minute later, a man with a red Mohawk and black sun glasses and a women with brown curly hair stood from their seats.

"You ready?" The man asked with a mean look.

The girl nodded firmly.

The pair marched through the ice cream bar straight towards the backs of two unaware Straw Hats.

Simultaneously, they grabbed Naruto's and Nami's shoulder, violently swung them around and injected a syringe in their necks, pouring some green liquid in their system. It happened so fast that the Straw Hats couldn't defend themselves. So fast that no one else in the entire shop saw it happen.

Naruto's and Nami's bodies immediately felt weak, and it was only growing weaker by the second. Vision and consciousness was also comprised, there was nothing they could do but helplessly fall asleep on the bar counter.

"Well that was easy." The curly headed women taunted.

"Let's bag em and tag em, we don't want to keep Q-sama waiting." The man voiced, picking up Naruto's unconscious body and throwing it over his shoulder. The women did likewise with Nami.

This was gaining a lot of attention from other customers and workers. The man with the red Mohawk smiled and laughed, "Don't worry, they're friends of ours. I think they've had too much to drink."

"Now that's funny, I don't remember ever being friends with you people?" Nami's voice cut through the air.

The new voice alarmed the attackers, they quickly turned around and unbelievably found another pair of Naruto and Nami standing across the room blocking the exit. The Straw Hats had a confident smirk on their faces, Naruto had his hands in his pockets as Nami stood firm with her climattack fully prepared.

"What the-" The male exclaimed in shock.

"How can you be there when-" The women added, stopping only when the bodies over their shoulders vanished in a puff of smoke.

"You two really suck at tailing someone, you know that?" Naruto mocked boyishly.

FLASHBACK

Naruto's cool, soft breath messaged Nami's ears as he whispered, "We're being followed by the two sitting on the table near the exit. They have been for several hours now. I can feel their evil intentions directed us from a mile away. And it's only getting stronger which means they're about to make their move."

"S-so what are we gonna do?"

"Do you trust me?"

"You know I do."

"… Okay, I'll take care of this. But depending what they want from us, this could get a little messy."

"Let's just try to keep this as peaceful as possible, we don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves."

"Roger that. Just because we're pirates, doesn't mean we can't be civil, right?"

END OF FLASHBACK

"Why were you trying to drug us?" Naruto interrogated, "What do you want? And who is this, Q? "

The whole shop came to a standstill, everybody froze and silently observed.

"There's no point in asking questions, Naruto Namikaze." The women spoke.

"You're coming with us whether you like it or not. You can come willingly or we can drag your half-conscious body out that door." The man finished. The two reached for their back pockets and each withdrew a long knife, two knives for the male.

Naruto casually looked at Nami, "Still think we can keep this peaceful?" He teased.

"Oh, shut up. It's not like they're giving us much of a choice." Nami gripped her weapon.

Naruto laughed dryly, taking a step forward, "Sit tight for a second, I'll take care of these clowns."

"Ah-" Nami called out in disbelieve, "You think I can't fend for myself?"

He stopped and looked innocently, "No, that's not what I'm saying. It's just I've never seen you fight before."

Nami prepared her climattack with a smirk, "You focus on the guy with the weird hair, and I'll take on the girl. You'll see that I'm not just some defenceless little girl who needs rescuing."

"Enough!" Screamed the male attacker, "Aoi! Let's take him!"

"You got it, Brock!"

The two charged at the Straw Hats at full force.

Naruto quickly withdrew a kunai from one of his pouches and launched it straight for male's head. Brock easily blocked the kunai with a swing of his knife.

Determining his opponents have some degree of skill, Naruto withdrew a kunai in each hand and engaged, leaving Nami in her spot.

Shinobi tools clashed with knifes as the males met in a standstill. Aoi closed the distance and rained her knife down on Nami. The navigator raised her climattack staff to block with ease, though feeling the strain and force for her opponent.

Naruto quickly learned that his opponent was very skilled. Fast and swift movements, blocking and dodging every one of his attacks, returning the favour and forcing him to go defensive. Sparks from their weapons would fly with every brutalising contact, they even began to throw missed punches and kicks, adding Taijutsu into the mix.

The same was similar at Nami's end, though the navigator, with the advantage of the longer weapon seemed to be on the offensive. Swinging her staff with expert technique, Nami was forcing her opposition to evade or block.

Though after a missed swing, Aoi found an opening and rushed in, slashing her knife from left to right. Unable to use her staff to block, Nami instinctively ducked under the blade. But Aoi came right back with a vertical slash, which Nami parried. The Straw Hat pushed back with all the force she could muster, creating some distance between her and the curly headed women. She spun her climattack between her fingers, generating raging electricity at the tip of her weapon.

Naruto dropped to his knees, spun and tried a low sweep kick. Brock jumped out the way to evade as Naruto launched himself to his feet and begun a barrage of furious combination of punches and slashes, all of which Brock just about managed to block and escape unscathed. In the midst of Naruto's attacks, Brock saw an opening and swung one of his knifes in an upward motion, using enough power to force the kunai out of the blonde's hand and spin wildly in the air. Though this didn't stop Naruto's string of attacks, he continued to assault until he caught the falling, spinning kunai and resumed his onslaught.

Aoi was pushed on the defensive end, the lightning from the end of her opponent's weapon was troublesome. With ever swing, Nami's weapon was inching closer and closer.

Just like that, the table was turned. Brock was now on the offensive, pushing Naruto back near the girls.

The sage anticipated the next swing, making him back summersault out the way. He was now close to being shoulder to shoulder with Nami as he parried another set of slashes. Eventually, Naruto and Nami both applied some force to push their adversaries back and created space. Both Brock and Aoi rushed straight back in, with the male swaying his head to the side to evade one of Naruto's kunais.

Nami pointed her lightning powered staff at the incoming Aoi, "Lightning Spear Tempo!" Unleashing a beam of violent electricity headed straight for the attacker.

Believing he now had the advantage, Brock raised both knives above his head for one devastating attack. Naruto tightened his hold on his only kunai in his right hand and charged it with black lightning, extending the kunai's range and piercing capabilities.

With one smooth, horizontal slash, Naruto countered and smashed Brock's knifes into a thousand pieces with his enhance kunai, rendering the man mind numbingly stunned.

At the same time, Aoi took on the full brunt of Nami's lightning, though somehow she remained standing and conscious. The scorched women charged at her opponent with only her will and fury to carry her.

At once, Naruto performed a set of hand signs and Nami detached one of the parts of her climattack and aimed.

"Wind style – Wind Cutter Jutsu!"

"Gust Sword!"

A massive tidal wave of wind lifted Brock and Aoi off their feet and sent flying violently across the room, crashing and making a huge dent on the bar counter where they laid unconscious and defeated.

The two Straw Hats reorganised themselves as Naruto looked impressively at his crew mate, "Triple threat. Beauty, brains and brawn. You're the whole package."

Nami couldn't contain a blush from appearing, she crossed her arms to hide said blush, "I know, I'm good." She teased.

The two marched across the room, with every silent eyes inside the shop glued to them.

Standing over the two sleeping attackers, Nami was the first to speak, "They just attacked out of nowhere. What do you think they wanted from us? Especially with you, they seemed hung up on you the most."

Naruto studied their faces, "No idea. Let's hand them over to a Neo-pirate. We can ask questions tomorrow morning when they've woken up."

"Good idea." Nami concurred.

Naruto bent down, grabbed their unconscious bodies and slung them over his shoulders like a sack of vegetables as Nami collected Baby Kurama from the counter. Lifting himself to his feet, Naruto and Nami watched a confused store manager walk in the shop floor from the storage room.

"Wh-what happened here?" She voiced in incomprehension, studying the mess, broken items and bodies over Naruto's shoulders.

"We can explain Shizuka-san-" The jinjuriki interrupted with a guilty smile.

Nami worryingly stepped forward, "Yeah, these two attacked us for no reason and things kinda got out of hand."

"Oh no!" Shizuka exclaimed with a gasp, "Are you guys alright?"

"We're fine, don't worry about us." Nami answered, "We're so sorry for all the trouble we caused, we'll pay for all the damages, I promise."

"No, you shouldn't worry about that now, as long as your both unharmed, that's all that matters."

The Straw Hats smiled in relief, "We're going to take these two troublemakers to the nearest Neo-pirate." Naruto explained, "We'll come back later."

Shizuka nodded in understanding, "Alright, just stay safe."

Returning a nod, the Straw Hats left the shop in peace.

Waiting in an empty alley way, hiding in the cover of night and shadows, Quentin observed Naruto and Nami leaving the ice cream bar, carrying his two newest recruits.

The man sighed in disappointment, "Do I have to do everything myself?"

Central Pit – Top floor of a hotel

Inside his pitch black hotel room, the man with the purple hair looked down upon the city. Only the rays of the moon and the lights of the buildings to illuminate the island.

His blank expression still remained as a sinister voice introduced itself, "You have an obsession over heights."

The man took a second to respond as he accepted the presence of another, "They don't call me Sky King for no reason." He responded indifferently.

"Why have you not retrieved The Key, Kazama? Or is it Kyousuke?" The voice questioned within the shadows, hiding from view.

The purple haired male stayed silent for a moment, "I see, so you was watching me, Titan."

"Indeed, you were talking to the Straw Hats were you not? They're one of The Chosen One's priorities. Why didn't you dispose of them? What are you waiting for?"

Kazama placed his hands in his pockets, "An even playing field." He answered casually.

"Did you forget the task you're assigned to do? You're here to take The Key from Stark's dead fingers, not pursuit some pirates."

"I wasn't hunting the Straw Hats, I came across them by chance. And I haven't forgotten about Stark, when I see him, he's as good dead. But I'll decide when that happens. I'm kinda liking what this island has to offer, so I might put the mission on hold for a few days to enjoy my stay."

Titan stayed silent, though it was obvious he was enraged by Kazama's decision.

"How did you even get here?" The Chosen One questioned.

"Look at the sky. The moon is full on this night."

"I see," Kazama nodded lazily, looking up at the night sky, "Azazel sent you. For what exactly? Why is one of Azazel's personal body guards here? To baby sit me?"

"To ensure you're doing what you're told!" Titan snapped, "And from the looks of things, Azazel-sama was right in sending me here. Why are you delaying Azazel-sama's plan, Kazama? The first step to our plans, the first step to world domination and immortality is in Stark's possession!"

Kazama closed his eyes and sighed deeply, "Let me get one thing straight, I don't care about taking over the world, that's Azazel's plans and Jagger's obsession. And immortality, I don't know what Tokiomi's fascination over it. I mean, what's the point? What's the point in being immortal or the 'ultimate being' as Jagger would so dramatically put it, if there's nothing that can entertain me for all of time? I chose to be a Chosen One because it seemed it was the best way to find what I'm looking for... if following Azazel's orders is the price I have to pay to find it, then so be it."

Silenced brewed between the two.

"And don't worry about The Key," Kazama continued, "The Union is still a few months from now. I have time to do as I please. Unless, you could try to force me to take The Key? But would you risk it? Risk your life in fighting me?"

Titan didn't respond, but Kazama knew that the being in the shadows was furious beyond believe.

"Just complete the mission." Titan seethed with anger, "I'll be watching you." His malicious voice echoed into a whisper.

Seconds later, Kazama knew his visitor vanished, leaving him all alone.

"I thought not."

Roger Hotel – Elevator – Late evening

Listening to the same, upbeat elevator music, Nami and Naruto was enjoying some comfortable silence.

Naruto smiled noticing the tight hug around the stuff toy fox around Nami's arms.

"Stark said the population of The Pit was 70,000 right? But the streets are so busy, don't you think there's a lot more people that?" He asked.

"I thought the same thing earlier." Nami answered, "Before I bumped into you, I had a talk with a Neo-pirate. She told me that 70,000 is the average visiting population, that doesn't include the 100 thousand who live here permanently and the 10 thousand Neo-pirates. Also, since that grand tournament is happening in a week, more and more pirates are coming here to watch or take part. So we could expect to see more people in the streets as the days go by."

"Right, I get it." Naruto announced. Then his eyes suddenly widened, "Oh no, we forgot to go back to Shizuka-sans bar."

The two looked at one another with guilt and awkwardness, "We kinda got a little distracted, didn't we." Nami replied.

"We'll just have to go back tomorrow to apologise again." Naruto laughed lamely.

*DING*

The two stepped out their elevator and into their luxurious hotel room, seeing no other Straw Hat in sight.

"Where is everyone? It's almost midnight." Naruto questioned, entering deeper into their spacious living room.

Nami looked around, "I'm sure they'll be back soon."

Wanting to place her new toy on her bed, Nami headed for the open doorway on the right side of the room with Naruto following by her side.

They both entered the smaller box room, with the girl's room on the left and Naruto's room to her right.

"I guess this is goodnight then?" She said softly, "It is getting pretty late after all."

A sudden rush raced within the blond, almost wanting to reject her words, "It- it doesn't have to be." He stutter with a small shade of red on his face.

The girl grew a similar blush, "What do you mean?"

"Well it's just- we had such a good time- well I know I did- I just thought- it didn't have to end right now, right? We can- hang around in my room- if you want- until the others get back I mean."

Nami was a little lost for words. The tenseness in his voice, the invitation to his room, the heat in the atmosphere, it couldn't mean what she thought it meant, could it?

The navigator had to snap herself out of her head to reply, "No-yeah, I would like that, just let me shower first, been a long day. I'll come over when I'm done."

Naruto nodded with a smile, "Okay."

The two slowly made their way to their separate bedrooms. The first time they've been alone for hours. Nami closed her door and leaned her back on it, trying to calm her racy heart before heading to the shower.

Naruto also entered his room, walking to his bed nearby and crashing face first into the mattress. He rolled to lay on his back and stared at the ceiling in disbelieve.

'Where did that come from? Did I really just say that?'

Despite his questions, a hopeful smile crept on to his lips.

Outside, by complete coincidence, Zoro, with another bottle of sake in hand found himself looking up his hotel building. His hand instantly tighten the grip on his bottle.

10 minutes later

Nami finished dressing herself as Naruto stood by the window, admiring the city below, a figure waiting in the elevator, making its way up to the room.

*DING*

The figure drunkenly stepped out the elevator, placed their bottle down on a small table outside the doors and ventured deeper into room.

Moments later, in Naruto's room, the blond heard the flick of a light switch, consuming his room in total darkness. 'Nami?'

Naruto turned away from the view to face the new visitor, only to feel a set of soft lips on his own, a pair of arms around his neck and the pressure of a set of well-endowed breasts on his chest.

It was too dark to see the kissers face, but the surprise contact felt so good that Naruto didn't care. He knew it could only be one person, so he closed his eyes and began to slowly return the kiss. Placing his hands on her waist and matching the passion and hunger in her lips.

*DING*

Although he was enjoying the kiss, something was bothering him from the back of his mind. Nami's kissing felt different than before, and the smell of her breath contained the scent of wine when she hadn't had a single drop of the stuff.

Slowly moving towards the bed, Naruto finally opened his eyes to investigate. It was too dark to tell clearly but what was evidently clear, the colour of this girl's hair was black.

'Robin!'

He withdrew his lips and forced the kiss to stop, "Robin, what's going-"

Robin's muzzled his mouth shut with the palm of her hand, "Shh, no questions. Let's just enjoy ourselves, Cook-san."

Naruto tensed with wide eyes, 'She thinks I'm Sanji?!'

With the slur in her voice, the blond could easily tell that Robin was drunk out her mind.

But he couldn't fight back, the end of the bed collided with the back of his leg causing him and the drunken archaeologist to crash on the bed. This made the older women giggle with lust, enjoying their new position.

She jumped on the bed to rest on her knees and straddle him on his lap. She removed her hand on Naruto's mouth to reach for the helm of her dress, giving the male a second of protest. But his attempt died instantly as Robin used her devil fruit powers. A half a dozen arms and hands muzzled his mouth, lifted his hands above his head and restrained his arms and legs to the bed.

Mumbling inherent sounds, Naruto knew with the kind of force he could break free, but that endangered Robin's well-being especially in her intoxicated state.

Robin began to pull on the helm of her dress. Pulling it past her thighs then hips. Soon enough, she lifted the entire dress over her head, carelessly throw it beside the bed.

Naruto was made speechless for a moment. Having Robin in her laced underwear and straddled your manhood literally took his breath away. The drunken girl leaned in towards his lips for another kiss, turning the arms covering his mouth into flower petals.

"Robin, you need to sto-"

Light originating from the doorway creeped into the room.

"Maybe he knows where she could be-"

Four souls instantly froze still from a heart stopping surprise.

With impossibly wide eyes, Naruto and Robin slowly faced the light, finding a motionless navigator and green headed swordsman. The first few seconds described nothing but shock. As the seconds ticked, allowing time to process, Nami's and Zoro's faces showed everything from mass confusion, anger, sorrow, hurt, disappointment and most of all, heart stabbing betrayal.

Scared and unmeasurably anxious, Robin leaned back, disabling her devil fruit powers into petals, "Z-Zoro."

Naruto supported himself on his elbows. Shaking his head, he looked deeply into Nami's enraged yet sad, tearful eyes and explained,

"It's not what it looks like."