There were four people spying on them once they got to land. When Zoro pointed them out three of them, the little kids, ran away. Naruto watched curiously as the older boy jumped out of his hiding place and declared himself Captain Usopp, leader of a pirate fleet that would attack if they attacked. He grinned when he heard the word army and stepped forward, a thumb pointed at himself.

"Hey, hey, I've got an army too!"

Usopp gasped dramatically, "You're lying!"

"Am not!"

Nami stared at Usopp blandly, "You're lying"

"Gah, s- she knows!", the darker skinned man yelped, accidentally exposing himself as a liar.

Luffy started laughing at him and the liar turned on the defensive, telling them not to underestimate him. Naruto was grinning at his flailing, amused by the man who seemed to tell tall tales as he reminded him of Konohamaru. Not that Konohamaru was a liar but he tended to exaggerate his own heroics quite often.

He then realized the thought was new. Konohamaru… that was the brat who wanted to learn his Sexy Jutsu to defeat Hokage-jiji, wasn't he? Huh. He must've come to know him quite well later.

Anyway, Luffy's charisma and Usopp's curiosity regarding them had the teenager leading the four pirates towards his village to eat. Naruto gravitated to Usopp and asked him things, partly to see if he'd get a lie or a truth and partly because he had taken a liking to him. Maybe because of the reminder. Maybe because of something else.

That's how he got a lot of general info about the Syrup Village. And the names of the three kids who had run away. Tamanegi, Ninjin, and Piiman. Onion, carrot, and pepper respectively. How weird. But then, his name could mean a swirly ramen topping.

They got to the town's restaurant and Luffy predictably ordered meat. Naruto was disappointed there wasn't ramen. He craved his favorite food…

Nami, and partly Luffy, divulged their goals to Usopp and got some news.

"A ship and crewmates, huh…", the liar mused, "The only place that owns a bigger ship is a mansion a little ways off the village. Although, the owner is a frail young woman who spends most of her days in bed", his eyes turned thoughtful and experienced as he folded his arms, leaning back, "The rich aren't immune to grief either…"

Naruto was inclined to agree. But he was also unsure of whether the mansion owner would give the ship to anyone, let alone pirates. Nami seemed to ponder that too. Luffy just asked for more meat. He sweatdropped. The glutton.

Then Usopp said he'd join them if they let him be captain.

"No thanks", the pirate crew of four chorused.

After talking and eating a little more Naruto was getting bored. Then Usopp said something about time and left mysteriously. The blond looked after him, curious.

"I'm going out to explore!", he declared to his crew (still weird to think about) and jumped out of his seat.

Zoro snorted, disbelieving, "Don't scare him too much"

Naruto elected to ignore the remark. Well, not completely. He stuck his tongue out before leaving.

He rushed outside and bumped into the group of three kids that were Usopp's little pretend pirate crew. They didn't have time to scream in terror even though they seemed to want to because Naruto rushed past them speedily.

"Hi guys, bye guys!", the ninja greeted and left them standing there, shocked.

Tamanegi, Ninjin, and Piiman traded shaky looks, "S- So fast!"

"How are we supposed to beat the adults!?"

"Don't give up! We need to rescue Captain Usopp!"

Naruto was amused they hadn't seen their 'Captain' running in the distance but he left the kids in his dust and couldn't hear more of their shouts. He was kinda sorry he would miss the hilariousness that would result in the kids meeting his friends. But then he remembered how stir crazy it was to stay still after so long on a boat and was sure he made the correct choice.

xXXx

He caught up when Usopp was sneaking over the wall surrounding the mansion. The ninja just straight up walked after him, hopping to the other side of the wall seamlessly and soundlessly. Usopp was already sitting by a tree talking to a pale young woman. About a giant goldfish he supposedly bested. Definitely made up. He frowned. Why would he lie like-

The girl was smiling. Oh. Naruto grinned and idly hid behind the tree Usopp was leaning against to listen.

"-the feces were so big and long I thought it was an island and actually docked there-", he explained animatedly.

Gradually Naruto drifted next to him, grinning mischievously at the girl as he plopped down next to the tale absorbed Usopp. She smiled as she saw him put a finger to his lips and didn't say anything, listening to the tale. Then when the brown skinned young man came to the most dramatic part of the tale, the fight, Naruto piped up.

"If you stood on the tail but the fish took a dive how did you hold on?", he asked.

Usopp's sentence turned into a shocked screech mid-word and he scrambled back from the sudden interruption, "HYAA-ah? Naruto!?"

The ninja held up his hand, "Yo!"

The girl at the window giggled into her hand, delighted. Usopp stared between them.

"Kaya, why didn't you say something!", he demanded.

"S-sorry, Usopp-san!", the girl, Kaya, giggled between words, "He wanted to surprise you"

Naruto's mischievous grin was on, "I tried to be quiet since you said your hearing is as good as a bat's"

The long nosed youth was instantly back on his seat with a self important expression and a solemn nod, "Ahem. Of course. You have improved on your sneaking, my disciple"

"I'm a ninja"

"Ninja apprentice, then", he corrected himself.

"I already graduated"

"Ninja apprentices should listen to their master!"

"You're not my sensei!"

Kaya was done giggling and had gone to a full blown laughter. Usopp glanced at the window, looking proud of his work. Naruto smiled too, dropping the playful argument. Instead he asked what happened next. Usopp startled, having forgotten, but continued telling the story easily enough. It became a game to spot inconsistencies in the story, which Usopp was forced to cover up with more tall tales.

Some time later Naruto heard voices outside the tall fence around the mansion. Familiar voices and high pitched ones from children.

"Oh", he said out loud, "Luffy and the others are here"

"Huh? How would you kno-", Usopp's sentence was cut off as he whipped to stare at Luffy jumping over the gate with his pretend pirate crew and Naruto's crewmates.

The ninja jumped up with a big grin and a wave, "Hi guys!"

"Naruto! Is she the mansion owner?", Luffy pointed towards Kaya.

The girl was startled, "I am..."

"Great! I've got a request!", he stated.

"A request?", Kaya asked, smiling slightly, "Of me?"

"Yeah! We need a big ship!", Luffy spread his arms wide to indicate the size, thankfully not doing something mind blowing like stretching them.

Unfortunately, a loud shout from the direction of the door carried over to them right then. A butler. Someone Kaya called Klahadore. Who demanded them to leave. Naruto's face scrunched up, eyes squinted in displeasure. He sounded condescending and like the villagers who had stared him with disdain.

Usopp was inching away, trying to leave quietly. It was way too conspicuous.

Klahadore's attention instantly gravitated to him. Naruto's brows pinched further, weight shifting to the soles of his feet. He didn't like how this was going. The butler adjusted his glasses with the heel of his palm, eyes shadowed and dark. Round glasses. Round glasses. His neck prickled with anxiety as his mind screamed liar. Betrayal.

Oh. Kabuto was a turncoat. He hadn't remembered that before.

"You're the son of a filthy pirate", the butler dropped the insult bluntly, casually, as if it were fact, "It's no wonder you're a liar"

That drew Usopp's hackles up, "Did you say filthy?"

Naruto took a single step forward, the fresh sting of new memories still on the surface of his mind. It wasn't fair to Klahadore to paint him with so much loaded suspicion but Naruto didn't care at the moment. The butler was still spewing nonsense and lies, goading Usopp. Like Mizuki had goaded him.

Usopp moved. He was fast for a civilian. Naruto's eyes tracked Klahadore's minute shifting, recognizing it as a fighter moving along with the hit. The punch connected. It shouldn't have made the butler fall down that gracelessly. That instinctual shift should have let him stay on his feet or literally roll with the punch.

He looked to Zoro. The swordsman was eyeing Luffy with maybe half his attention on the commotion. He didn't seem to notice.

"I'M PROUD THAT MY FATHER IS A PIRATE! I'M PROUD HE'S A GREAT WARRIOR OF THE SEA!", Usopp declared admirably, startling Naruto out of his thoughts.

He proudly declared he was the son of a pirate for everyone there to hear. Klahadore was clearly prejudiced against pirates as he continued with his accusations. Usopp went to punch him once more but was stopped by Kaya's call. She insisted Klahadore wasn't a bad person. Naruto wasn't so sure. Usopp stopped nonetheless, getting away instead.

Naruto stared after him as he threatened he'd never come back to the mansion. His feet moved on their own, going after the known liar with a good heart.

"Naruto?", Nami called after him.

"I'm going after him!", Naruto threw over his shoulder, continuing on at a faster pace.

After all, he didn't want Usopp to be alone with his thoughts like he had been.

xXXx

Naruto took back what he thought about Klahadore. He'd been right to hate him from the start. Round glasses guy was not to be trusted. The man had been planning to assassinate Kaya! For three years!

The ninja had easily kept up with Usopp who had kind of coldly asked why he was following him. He'd just said he wanted to and that was that. They'd sat on a hill with a view of the ocean, quiet and Usopp steaming with leftover nerves and anger. Then Luffy had appeared. He'd hung upside down by his ankles from a tree branch.

Apparently Naruto's new captain had known Usopp's father, Yasopp, since he was a kid. The man was sailing with Red Haired Shanks whom Naruto had never heard of.

Red Haired… The nickname piqued his interest for some reason. Yet he couldn't quite grasp it.

But then. Then. Klahadore had come under the cliff they were perched on and talked to a funny looking guy about their plans to assassinate Kaya. Kaya. The sweet mansion owner who laughed at Usopp's stories and Naruto's prank. Who was an orphan. They wanted to kill her just to get rich and to live outside the life of a pirate!

People like that existed everywhere, he guessed. That didn't mean he had to like it or tolerate it.

Luffy jumped up, "HEY! YOU TWO! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THE MANSION LADY!"

Suddenly Naruto had a moment of deja vu to a certain forest where he'd tried to gather info on the situation. He shouldn't have expected Luffy to stay still. Of course he wouldn't. Usopp was terrified for all their lives, trying to get Luffy to stand down. Not that it would've helped either way. Captain Kuro, or Klahadore, and his companion Jango had already noticed.

"Did you… hear anything?", Kuro asked, eyes shadowed.

"N- No, nothing at all we just got he-", Usopp tried to explain, terrified tears in his eyes.

"Why should we tell you!?", Naruto shouted defensively, outraged.

"We heard everything", Luffy admitted, to Usopp's shock and Naruto's exasperation.

The ninja sighed and improvised, scowling down at them, "Yeah. And we won't just let you kill Kaya!"

Usopp, shaking and sweaty, crossed his arms along with the blond boy and stared down his long nose, "Y- You w- won't s-s-succeed!"

Jango and Kuro traded unimpressed but serious glances. Then the weird guy lifted a disk hung from a string and started swinging it back and forth. It was somehow mesmerizing.

"When I say 'one, two, Jango', you will fall asleep", Jango's voice tried to pull Naruto in more but he blinked the haze from his mind and decided this was too dangerous, running down the cliff and taking a throwing knife out.

Usopp called after him, scared. He paid the teen no mind, trying to cut the string, but was intercepted by Captain Kuro whom he was forced to dodge.

"-two, Jango!"

And suddenly he felt sleepy. The ninja dropped the knife and brought his hands to a familiar seal.

"Kai!", he shouted, chakra flaring, and the illusion dissipated from him.

Somehow it felt… stickier than normal genjutsu. The blond turned his still clearing head towards the illusionist, a daunting realization forming in his mind.

"You're… the one who hypnotized that fox bear", he voiced, "You gave them the means to attack Wheat Village!"

Jango raised an eyebrow, seemingly sleepy himself, "Hm… Yes, they paid good money"

Naruto couldn't say or do more as Luffy suddenly crashed to the ground next to him. His head was squished under his shoulders, neck at a weird angle. His first instinct was to say dead. But he remembered. Rubber man. It still didn't stop him from being alarmed and distracted. That's what he blamed it on. That, and the sticky illusion.

Something hard hit him on the back of his head and he went down. The last thing he saw was the traitor butler adjusting his glasses, declaring no one would believe Usopp.

That… slimy… snake!

Everything went dark.

xXXx

When Naruto regained consciousness only a short while had passed. His head throbbed like the back of it had cracked up. He might have been dead if he didn't have enhanced healing thanks to the fox. He noticed snoring nearby as he sat up slowly, vision swimming for a second.

"Lu… ffy?", he mumbled.

Right. He'd gotten knocked out by the fake butler. And Jango cast that weird sleeping jutsu. Er, hypnosis. The ninja hopped on his feet and staggered, head pounding, before hobbling to kick Luffy over from the undignified sleeping position he'd quite literally fallen into.

"Wake up! We gotta- stop Kuro", he half stated, half yelled.

The pirate snored louder. Eye twitching, Naruto crouched by his captain's side and pinched stretchy skin between his nails. Tightly.

"Hrm?", Luffy cracked his eyes open a fraction to bat away at him.

Naruto pulled, stretching the skin up. Then let it snap back into place. Luffy sat up abruptly and knocked a surprised Naruto to his butt.

"Huh? Whad am I doing here?", the rubber man muttered, squinting at the cliff.

"You fell asleep because of that hypnotist guy", Naruto informed him, holding his head and brow furrowing as the pain intensified again.

"Oh", Luffy was more awake and noticed the pained expression, frowning, "What happened to you?"

Naruto pulled his attention away from the pulsing at the back of his skull and stood up. There was an evil plot to stop.

"Doesn't matter. Where's Usopp?", he deflected, looking up the cliff but didn't hear nor see him.

Then he turned back to the shore's direction, hearing noises there. Familiar noises. Zoro and Nami. And the three kids. He felt a grin tug at his face as he waved. But his mind was on the problem of the missing Usopp. Luffy was staring at him. What? Was there something on his face?

"I'm gonna go find Usopp", Naruto informed him, turning to run up the cliff.

Before he could, a stretchy hand grabbed his arm and stopped him. The ninja looked back at Luffy's serious eyes.

"You're hurting. Can you fight?", he asked.

Oh. Concern. That was new. He gave a slight grin, "Of course"

The rubber arm let go. He dashed up the cliff, making the three kids yell in shock down below. Naruto hoped Luffy explained what they'd stumbled upon to the others. The ninja jumped nimbly from tree to tree, towards the village where he could hear shouting. He needed to find Usopp!

Naruto soon pinpointed the noises to the mansion and ran straight there. What he found was shocking. The two guards at the mansion gates were knocked out. A crowd of villagers was swarming in through the gate. Usopp was trying to drag Kaya out of her window. The ninja dashed past the villagers and to the known liar.

"Usopp, what're you doing!?", he yelled over the shouts of the villagers.

"Naruto? But- But you were-", Usopp let go of Kaya in shock.

"I've got a thick skull. What's going on here? We need to focus on defending the village, not raising panic!", the ninja stated, remembering flashes of an invasion, of panicked civilians dying, of the mob facing down Gato.

"But- They're going to attack the village! Kaya, we need to get out of here!"

Another butler had a gun. It was aimed at Usopp. He probably thought Usopp was trying to kidnap Kaya. Naruto frowned. This was getting nowhere. The ninja dashed to the long nosed teen and hoisted his weight over his slight shoulder, grunting with the effort.

"This isn't helping! Let's go back and make a plan!", Naruto told the protesting Usopp, running away from the situation.

He got back into the now mostly empty village, setting the older teen back to his feet, and wobbled with a groan. His head was throbbing. Ugh. Usopp was quiet except for harsh breathing. A water droplet fell to the ground and Naruto looked up to see tear tracks on the guy's cheeks.

"They don't believe me…", the teen's voice was shaking with emotion, "Why won't they believe me?"

Naruto… didn't know what to say. So he just stayed silent and shifted closer. His brow was pinched in pain and sympathy. Usopp sniffed and started walking back towards the shore, steps slow and shuffling. He stared for a moment before catching up and walking with him as silent support. Shadows were deepening. Soon it would be night.

And the pirates would attack tomorrow morning, at dawn. Naruto started thinking of possibilities on what to do.

"Oi! Captain Usopp!", came a shout from up ahead, and he looked up to see everyone coming towards them.

He saw Usopp quickly dry his tears from the corner of his eye. The liar smiled and greeted them with false cheer. It was a painfully familiar expression and Naruto turned away. The others got to them, Usopp Pirates quickly rambling about knowing the situation and how they should warn everyone. The ninja winced, folding his arms.

"Warn everyone…?", Usopp's voice trembled ever so slightly before he threw his head back and laughed, "WAHAHAHA, What pirates? It was a lie! Just like all the other times! It was- It was revenge on that butler, he's not actually a pirate"

Naruto's head snapped up, mouth open to object, but he paused as he realized what the teen was doing. It also caused his headache to spike which made it harder to think of a response. Everything about this situation sucked. He watched as the other kids walked away, dejected that their captain would come up with a lie to hurt someone.

It left only five people in the know about the plan.

The ninja dropped his arms to his sides with a stern look on his face, "...That's not going to stop the attack from happening"

"No. No it's not", Usopp agreed, voice forced past tears, "Which is why… I will protect this village! I'll make the attack one of my lies!", the tears fell, "After all, I love this village. How could I just watch them die? Even though they tried to hurt me, I'll protect them"

Naruto felt his heart swell. That was… It was the exact same way he fought for his village. For both of them. After all, it was still his village and he loved it and its people.

Zoro huffed, "You're a pretty great guy. Lying to get the kids out of harm's way"

"Okay. I'm definitely butting into this fight", Luffy stated.

"As long as all the treasure is mine, I'm in", Nami put in her two beri.

"W- What?", Usopp looked at them, baffled.

Naruto reached a fist out, grinning, "It means we're fighting with you, dattebayo!"

The teen flailed about, not getting it, thinking it was only pity that made them say things like that. The small pirate crew set him straight soon enough. Usopp wouldn't be fighting alone and scared. This was his first big fight, after all.

They got to thinking up plans. It was rather simple. Just one path led to the village, everywhere else was cliffs. Naruto was often scolded for bad planning but this, he felt, was definitely not good enough.

"This won't work! Just because they're cliffs doesn't mean you can't climb them!", he stated.

"It's not impossible for you, you mean", Zoro muttered, "Normal folk can't manage"

"It's still a point!", the ninja argued and then looked to their navigator, "And isn't there the other path where we docked?"

A look of realization washed over her face, "Ah! You're right!", her brows scrunched up, "And my treasure is there!"

"But", Usopp started, "They talked about their plan here. It's still the most likely they'll attack from this side. We can't be everywhere at once!"

They all stared for a moment. Everyone but him turned to Naruto. The ninja grinned and made a familiar cross with his fingers. Twenty clones poofed into existence. Usopp's eyes bugged out, a shaking finger pointing at the impossible sight before him. He started counting the copies in his head, then quickly turned away and muttered something about dreaming and 'he has an army'.

Naruto herself was frowning. This… was unusual. He'd tried for fifty like normally. Kuro must've hit him harder than he thought. His head was throbbing more now too. If he tried to make more clones like this… he wouldn't be able to fight.

He shook the thought off. This was manageable. He could do this!

"Anyway, we've got my clones. But there's still one problem", he looked at Usopp, "Klahadore is most likely back at the mansion"

The youth snapped out of his shock, a sort of horror flashing on his face, "Kaya…! Oh no. She- She won't let me back in and- and Kuro is too strong-"

Naruto hit his fist against his palm, a look of determination on his face, "I'll go act as her bodyguard"

"How wi- EEEH!?", Usopp screeched in shock as Naruto's form changed into Merry the butler.

Zoro, Nami, and Luffy took a double take, "SINCE WHEN CAN YOU TRANSFORM!?"

Naruto turned back to normal, head pounding, but he bore it with a grin, "I told you I was a ninja!"

With that Naruto's new and improved version of their defence strategy was implemented. Nami and Zoro at the north side, Luffy and Usopp on the other, Naruto clones everywhere in-between relaying messages, and the real Naruto at the mansion protecting Kaya while keeping an eye on 'Klahadore'.

xXXx

Naruto got into the mansion easily, climbing over the fence and disguising himself as a maid to walk through the garden, then climbing in through an upstairs window that happened to be open. He sneaked inside and stopped as he found Kuro walking down a hallway. Quietly, the ninja walked to the ceiling and started following him, making sure to make no sound and to stick to shadows and blind spots.

It was like the many times he'd snuck in to the Academy or the Hokage Tower. Easier even, since Kuro might be a pirate but he wasn't one with a ninja's perception. Nor did Naruto have to stay out of multiple shinobis sight.

To be honest, he didn't know if he could have hidden from shinobi in the condition he was in. The headache was still bad.

He followed the fake butler into a room where Merry was too. They talked about Usopp. And him. And Merry was seemingly suspicious. About Kuro. That was… a good sign. He talked about how Kaya had gotten Klahadore a present for his anniversary tomorrow, new glasses, and Naruto stiffened. The man dropped it to the ground, crushing it underfoot. That was just-

Kuro was a dead man walking.

"No need to continue this act", the pirate mused to himself, "After all, the village will be overtaken in a few short hours"

A flash of metal, swords, five of them. Naruto barely had time to drop down in front of Merry and prevent him from slashing at the innocent man. He'd blocked with the other throwing knife, the one he hadn't dropped and lost in the last scuffle. Jango or Kuro had probably picked it up.

"Didn't we tell you? You won't succeed!", Naruto growled at the pirate.

"Y- You're-", Merry's voice radiated fear and confusion.

"Get Kaya to safety!", the ninja ordered him, "Now!"

Then he had to dodge Kuro's other hand that also held a glove with five blades. Like claws. Black Cat Pirates. Of course they were claws. Naruto fished a kunai out of his pocket's seal, a slip of paper he'd drawn and put into it yesterday. It fit in his hand better. A much more familiar weapon than the knife.

"I thought I killed you", Kuro's tone was irritated.

The ninja just grinned and spun around, easily following the pirate's speed which would become harder the longer he had to keep this up with the pain in his head. He blocked, swiped at the wrists and arms, dodged, rolled around, jumped over blades and the pirate captain. It soon became clear this wasn't going to last.

Naruto's reactions were slower and Kuro got faster the angrier he got. There might've been taunts but the ninja didn't remember them. Just that a cabinet got cut in half.

He remembered making shadow clones, taking Kuro by surprise and getting a hit on the man's left shoulder. He remembered the headache spike he got when Kuro slaughtered them. And then he remembered making more clones than necessary and nearly blacking out, watching them make cuts and scrapes on the butler's otherwise neat outfit.

There was an opportunity as Kuro's claws got stuck in a wall for a second. In that second, clones had gotten a curtain down and wrapped it around the man, tying his hand behind his back and ripping the sword glove off. Naruto himself had knocked the man down and tried to tie him further.

Kuro's hand hit the side of his head and he knew he blacked out for a split second, all his clones popping. It left him out of action for a whole ten seconds, in which Kuro had gotten the curtain sliced and hissed at him like an angry cat.

"You insufferable brat! I will end you!", the man spat out, hand searching for his other glove and glasses, the visual aids having gotten knocked off near the end.

The blond struggled to get up, grabbing the glasses before the butler. Grinning, he threw them out the window as fast and as far as he could. Then he took the glove and started running in the opposite direction, making the former pirate captain scream after him in rage. Something shattered behind him and he didn't stop to look.

Something slashed at his back and he cried out as he felt five cuts open across it. Ignoring the doubled pain the ninja ran up a wall in a hall-like place they'd reached. He found the window he'd entered in from and threw the glove out there too. More pain spread across his arm as he barely jumped out of the way of getting diced.

"Have fun finding those!", he taunted cheekily before putting all of his strength into running away to the forest. Perfectly in the middle of where he threw the two important objects.

The kid knew that would only slow Kuro down. But Kaya and Merry got away unharmed. The mission was complete. Now he just… Needed a break. And a way to see if his injuries were bad or worse. He caught a flash of blonde at the corner of his eye and turned his slightly lethargic head to see a panting and panicked Kaya who was demanding an explanation from Merry.

Naruto jumped towards them, dropping down next to a tree nearby and nearly toppling over.

Kaya gasped in fright as Merry stepped in front of her. The butler relaxed after recognizing him.

"Kid! What happened!?", the man who resembled a sheep demanded, rushing to him as he saw the blood on his arm.

The ninja grinned weakly, "I threw his sword glove and glasses away. That'll slow him down for a while"

"What about you? There's so much blood!", Merry scolded, worry coloring his tone.

Naruto chuckled a little, "Yeah, about that… Can you help bandage them?"

That freed Kaya from her frozen state as she rushed over. Merry was already taking off his jacket. Naruto himself shrugged his own brown hoodie off and reached into his pocket for some bandages. He'd gotten used to having them there and not around his thigh because it had been one more thing to separate him from Wheat Village. He'd wanted to belong there. He never really had.

Kaya gently took it from him and took in the scratches on his arm. They weren't that deep and would heal easily overnight. The wounds on his back were what worried him.

The lady of the mansion got the job done quickly. Merry was just ripping his own jacket to bits to tie Naruto's jacket as padding around the wounds. Kaya's hands were shaking and tears ran down her cheeks.

"...Klahadore did this", she whispered, grief and betrayal twisting her face into disgust and sadness, "He did this. To a child"

The ninja looked at her for a long moment before agreeing, "...He did. Though I scratched him too"

"Doesn't MATTER!", Kaya yelled before quieting, "...Klahadore isn't the man I thought he was. Usopp was right!", bigger tears rolled down her cheeks, "And I chased him away!"

Merry finished tying the jacket pieces together around Naruto's middle. He laid a comforting hand on Kaya's shoulder.

"We all did", he said, angry at himself as he stared at the ninja's wounds.

It was quiet for a second. Then Naruto spoke up.

"You messed up. So what?", he took support from the tree behind him and stood up, looking at them resolutely, "You can always try to do better next time"

They stared at him in slight shock. Then Kaya looked to Merry. The man nodded and helped her stand up too.

"You're right, kid. We can do better. Do you know where he is right now?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, not kid!", Naruto told him before digging at his clones' memories and pointing right, "He's at the path to the village over there. Pirates will attack in the morning so we're guarding both entries"

He started walking at a fast pace, tracking the forest around him for noises, and led them through a path he was certain his clone had gone before. The blond wasn't sure what Kuro would do now but he thought a change of his plans was necessary with the condition he'd left the man in. That guy wouldn't like it at all, he bet.

His back twinged with every step but his headache was easing up now that he wasn't doing excessive movements so much. Or using too much chakra which was the thing patching him up. Merry ended up carrying Kaya on his back when her ailing health made her unable to walk faster. It wasn't a long walk. He could hear Usopp and Luffy talking quietly.

The ninja quickened his pace a little, "Oi! Luffy, Usopp!", he called out.

"Naruto!", Luffy grinned, "See? He's fine"

Usopp heaved a sigh of relief as Naruto got out of the trees. He took a look at him and then did a double take as he saw the blood seeping through the bandage on his arm and the strips around his midsection.

"What? What happened?", he asked, worried, "Is Kaya- !?"

The teen's words cut off as Merry came to view with Kaya on his back. The young lady lifted her head up and found Usopp standing there. Her eyes welled up with tears.

"Oh, Usopp! I'm so sorry I didn't believe you! Klahadore is-", her lip wobbled, "-is a horrible person. He hurt Naruto so badly and would have killed Merry if Naruto hadn't stepped in!"

Naruto quickly stepped away and towards Luffy, letting Usopp and Kaya have a moment. He gave a tired grin towards Luffy who was frowning at him. The ninja blinked.

"What?"

Stubborn eyes met Naruto's, "You poofed. You said that doesn't happen if the clones don't get hit"

"Er, it also happens if I'm unconscious", he explained, finding a conversation between Luffy, Usopp, and a clone.

"Oh. Okay", the pirate nodded, pausing before poking his head, fast but not so fast he couldn't dodge… if he was at full capacity.

"Ow!", the ninja clutched at his head "What was that for!?"

Luffy crossed his arms, "Your hurting got worse. Go sleep"

Naruto stared stubbornly, head pounding, back throbbing, arm in pain. He himself said he needed a break. The headache was starting to worry him too. Luffy was worried. Naruto sighed before smiling slightly.

"You'll protect them, right?"

"Shishishi! Of course!"

With that, he found a comfortable spot under a tree and curled up there, using a root as a pillow. It was weird. He trusted Luffy to keep his word. It was like sharing shifts with his team on missions. But at the same time not really. This was more… free.

His brain was half asleep when he realized he might be forgetting something.

I wonder… how Nami and Zoro are doing…

xXXx

Okay. This was getting kind of long. So I decided to split it off here and continue the other half. And I kinda wanted feedback.

Things went a bit more out of canon events then I originally intended. So, I had to rewrite the whole Arc's plot to suit the actions Naruto took here. Which was hard and now I'm having a downright irritating time writing it all out. It was my wish things wouldn't stay canon but putting me to write entirely new events wasn't what I anticipated for this fic.

I quite like the result at the moment. Tell me what you think.

Thank you for all the wonderful comments asking me to continue and telling what you liked! They helped me with writing!