Chapter 6: Into the Grand Line
Cocoyasi Village: Conomi Islands
East Blue Sea
"This is your ship?" Nojiko asked in surprise.
The black sailed vessel she stood in front of looked nothing like any marine ship she'd ever seen.
"Yeah, we captured it from some pirates," Naruto informed her. "We decided we might as well put it to use, but we haven't had a chance to repaint the sails yet."
"Are the Marines so hard up for ships they couldn't give you one of their own?" Nojiko queried.
"That's... a bit of a long story," Naruto told her hesitantly.
"Yeah, nothing you need to worry about," Kiba added, looking decidedly nervous.
They were hiding something from her, but she decided not to press the subject. After all, she wasn't being entirely open with them. So instead, she boarded the ship, dragging the suitcase she'd packed behind her.
"There are some empty quarters below deck," Naruto told Nojiko after following her aboard. "Feel free to claim whichever one you want."
Thanking him, she decided to take him up on his offer, heading down the stairs and below deck. The hold contained some crates and barrels and quite a bit of rope and chain. Looking around she was wondering which room she should check first when one of the doors began to open.
Did they have another crew member on board? But the person who walked out of the room was Naruto. How had he gotten down here before her?
"What are you doing down here?" he demanded of her.
"You... Um... told me to pick a room. "She replied, still trying to figure out what had just happened.
"Oh? I did?" he asked her. "Does that mean you're coming with us?"
"Uh... Yes?" she'd replied, her confusion causing her response to come out as more of a question than a statement.
"Have you picked out your room yet?" a familiar voice asked from behind Nojiko.
Spinning around quickly to face back toward the stairs, she confirmed it was indeed Naruto, dragging the still unconscious fish-man behind him. She turned back and forth between the two Narutos several times to confirm she wasn't seeing things.
"Ah, so your identical twins?" she asked, glad to have a logical explanation for Naruto's earlier positional and behavioral changes.
"Not exactly," the Naruto by the stairs answered. "It's probably easiest if I just showed you."
Nojiko jumped as two more Narutos popped into existence next to her without warning. Poking one of the new additions, she confirmed it felt solid. Then it's one, the two new ones and the one that had first started this situation by coming out of the room vanished.
"Pretty neat, huh?" Naruto said proudly.
"You know, I'm going to go and pick my room now," Nojiko answered. "I could certainly use bed to lie down on."
"You better get used to strange things," Naruto advised. "Lots of people on the Grand Line have devil fruit powers. Any many of their powers are even more unusual than mine."
A couple of days ago, she'd been sure stories about devil fruit were simply myths. Now she'd personally seen the powers of two people who had consumed them. One of whom she was traveling with to a place where such people were common. Just what had she gotten herself into?
0o0o0
Former Pirate Ship
East Blue Sea
Naruto stood at the bow of the ship enjoying the sea breeze. One good thing that had come out of his meeting with the two Nezumis was that he'd had a chance to get some spare uniforms. He just felt more comfortable wearing one for some reason. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see they belonged to Nojiko.
He still had reservations about bringing a civilian. And they were only magnified by how shell-shocked the blue-haired young woman was the other day when she'd first learned about his power. Thankfully, by the next morning, it appeared she had fully recovered. She even took Akamaru's devil fruit power in stride.
"So, how much do you know about Luffy's crew?" Nojiko asked him.
"Well, there's Pirate Hunter Zoro and some long-nosed kid named Usopp," he counted off. "There were a couple of bounty hunters named Yosaku and Johnny and a cook by the name of Sanji who associated with him. But I'm not sure if they're members of his crew or not."
"I guess you already know about all of them I got a look at," Nojiko told him. "I was hoping I could help you there."
"Don't worry, we'll find them," Naruto promised her.
But she didn't seem comforted by his assurance. The poor girl was probably still worried about what the pirates would do to her sister.
"Anyway, you said you hadn't been able to repaint the sails yet," Nojiko stated. "Is there any reason for that?"
"We don't have any paint," he answered.
"I thought that might be it," she said cheerfully. "We really should get some, unless you want to risk other marines mistaking you for pirates."
"Yeah, we'll get around to that when we have some time," he replied.
"I also couldn't find any spare lumber," she added. "What are we going to do if the ship needs repairing? And you don't have many variety in food. I said I could cook, but I can't exactly work miracles. You know, we could stop back at my village quickly. I'm sure everyone would be happy to give us the supplies we need after how you helped us."
"Turning back now is too far out of our way," Naruto pointed out.
Nojiko looked disappointed by his pronouncement, and he wondered if she might be feeling a bit homesick already. She could be beating around the bush, not wanting to admit that openly after the scene she made the other day.
"You know, if you're having second thoughts about leaving home, I'm sure we can find someone who will take you back," he offered.
"No, it's not that," she quickly answered. "I just think we need to be fully prepared. You said yourself the Grand Line was a dangerous place."
"Actually," Naruto replied thoughtfully, "Loguetown should be only about an hour from here. We could stop there and get supplies without wasting much time."
"That sounds great," Nojiko cheerfully declared.
"Besides, there's a good chance Luffy and his crew will stop in Loguetown as well," he told her.
"Oh? Why is that?" she asked, tensing up a bit.
It seemed however much she wanted to save her sister; she still grew nervous at the thought of facing the pirates again. Not that he could blame her. An ordinary civilian would be no match for even normal pirates. And Luffy was no normal pirate.
"It's the birthplace and execution site of Gold Rogers," Naruto answered. "It's almost like a tourist spot for pirates."
"In that case, do you mind if I take a turn in the crow's nest?" Nojiko queried. "I'm the most likely to recognize their ship if we come across it."
"Go right ahead," he responded.
0o0o0
Loguetown:
East Blue Sea
As they neared Loguetown, Nojiko examined the other ships in dock through the telescope. Sure enough, there was the Going Merry. Of all the rotten luck. Why did she have to suggest this in the first place? But there was still hope the two parties wouldn't run into each other. After all, her companions just wanted to get in, get their supplies, and leave as quickly as possible.
"Their ship isn't here," she yelled down to Naruto, who was at the helm.
Or maybe it was one of his clones? She hadn't figured out a way to tell the difference.
"But it looks like there's another port farther north," she added. "We should check there as well."
"Setting course now," he yelled back.
Unsurprisingly no ship in the northern dock matched the false description she'd given them. So, she climbed back down to the deck as the ship was docked. Phase one of her plan was a success. Now she just needed to make sure they didn't bump into anyone from Luffy's crew.
But this was a pretty big town, so what were the odds of that? She just needed to try to convince them to stick together. If they split up, she wouldn't be able to keep an eye on both marines.
"Akamaru and I should stay here and guard the ship," Kiba suggested.
"Yes!" Nojiko responded but winced as she realized she sounded far too excited about that. "I mean, that's a good idea."
If they thought it odd, they wouldn't say anything. And it certainly made her job easier to only have one of them running around town. So, leaving with Naruto, they made their way into town.
"So, do you and your sister have any family back in Cocoyashi Village?" Naruto inquired.
"No," she answered solemnly. "Our mother was killed when Arlong took over our village. We don't have any family left but each other."
"Sorry," Naruto replied. "I didn't mean to bring up any bad memories."
"Don't worry about it," she told him. "It happened a long time ago. Not that you ever truly get over it."
"I know what you mean," he replied. "I'm an orphan too. My father died over a decade ago. You learn to deal with it, but you never really stop missing them."
Looking down a side street to her right, her eyes went wide. She'd let herself get too caught up in their conversation and forgotten what she was supposed to be doing here. Now Zoro was directly running their way. Frantically scanning the area, she spotted a shop that looked promising, grabbed Naruto's hand, and dragged him inside.
"What's the big rush?" Naruto asked her after they were safely inside.
"Ah, just excited about shopping," she answered nervously. "You know how women get about shopping."
Inwardly she kicked herself for coming up with such a lame excuse.
"You're excited about buying lumber?" he asked dubiously as he examined the contents of the hardware store they'd entered.
"They have paint too," she quickly pointed out, grabbing up a large can of white paint and trying to smile convincingly.
Eventually, he nodded and went around looking for the wood and tools they would need.
"That's all you're buying?" Nojiko asked when she saw him preparing to make his purchases.
"It seems like enough for now," he answered.
"It's better to err on the side of caution," she told him and proceeded to grab up lumber from around the store and add it to the stack he was carrying.
Soon it was piled high enough that it blocked his vision. That will help if they have any unluckier encounters. Naruto paid for their supplies and managed to maneuver his way outside the shop again.
"This is a lot of stuff," he complained. "I'm going to get some clones to help me."
"No!" she ordered quickly. "I mean you don't want to cause a scene, don't you? Not everyone is used to seeing devil fruit powers."
"I guess not," he admitted. "But I can't even see where I'm going."
"Don't worry. I'll guide you," she assured him.
Now they just needed to get some food, and they could leave. Wait, there was Zoro again, running toward them from directly ahead. Not having time to be choosy this time. She twisted Naruto sideways and shoved him through the nearest door, following him inside.
"What are we doing in a clothing store?" he asked.
"I need to buy a raincoat," she lied. "It looks like it's going to rain."
"The sky looked clear to me," Naruto countered.
"Just, trust me, I know these things," she insisted. "You should probably buy one too."
"I'll risk it," he responded.
So, she began to look over the raincoat. When she concluded she'd stalled long enough to give the green-haired swordsman plenty of time to get out of the area, she selected a dark purple coat and purchased it.
Continuing their shopping trip, she located a grocery store and led Naruto inside. The place seemed to have a pretty nice selection. Fruits, vegetables, a wide variety of spices, a blond cook. Wait... a blond cook? Looking again she confirmed that was indeed Sanji shopping in the same store as them.
At least his back was turned, so he hadn't seen them yet. Running over to him, she shoved him to the ground behind an aisle. That would hide him from Naruto's view if he peeked out from around the lumber.
"Close your eyes and wait there quietly for a minute," she whispered to Sanji in her sultriest tone. "I have a surprise for you that I know you'll enjoy."
Sanji listened to her without even glancing back to see who had said it. So, she left the now grinning fool there and went back to Naruto.
"This store doesn't look very good," she whispered to him. "We should go to another one."
"Why are we whispering?" he asked.
"Because it would be rude if the owner of the store heard me insult it," she told him.
Leading him back to the door, she started to walk out but came to a sudden stop when she saw Zoro run by a third time. What on earth was he doing? She watched him run into an alley a short distance away and again began to leave the store.
But she came up short a second time when Zoro ran right back out of the same alley he'd just entered. That's it, she was going to kill that idiot.
"What do you keep stopping for?" Naruto asked.
"There's a crowd outside," Nojiko claimed. "I just don't want you bumping into them. Don't worry, though, they're moving on."
Her luck from that point improved a little. She was able to find another grocery store and buy some food and spices without running into any other familiar faces. And surprisingly, it had started pouring while they'd been in the store.
"Looks like you were right about the rain," Naruto conceded.
"Next time you'll know not to doubt me," she answered with a small laugh.
It figured that the only luck she'd have today was being right about the bad weather. At least she had her raincoat. Setting down the groceries she was carrying, she took her coat out of its bag and began to put it on. Meanwhile, Naruto had managed to find his way outside and was already being soaked by the rain.
"Stop that pirate!" a feminine voice cried out.
Despite the fact she'd only gotten as far as putting one arm into the sleeve of her new coat, Nojiko ran outside in response to the call. But she was relieved to see it wasn't one of Luffy's crew, instead being a man with a big red nose who looked more like a clown than a pirate.
Turning sidewise so he could get a look at the man, Naruto moved in front of his path to block him. But instead of a collision, the pirate split into pieces. His upper body flew over Naruto's head while his feet ran right between his legs.
She watched his parts re-attach themselves on the other side and continued running toward the docks. She still wasn't used to seeing devil fruit powers on display. But turning back, she saw that the woman who had called out hadn't slowed her run and crashed into Naruto. Both of them went sprawling with the lumber and tools Naruto was carrying tumbling all over the place.
"Naruto?" the woman reacts as they recover.
"Tenten?" he replied.
The two of them knew each other.
"Ah, I don't have time for this," Tenten cried out, jumping to her feet. "Buggy is getting away."
She then ran off after the departing form of the pirate.
"I'm going to help her," Naruto informed Nojiko.
In a flash, two clones were next to Nojiko gathering up the fallen supplies while the real Naruto ran off after Tenten. Not wanting to be left behind, Nojiko got up and followed him. As she ran, she got her other arm into her raincoat so it wouldn't drag behind her, but didn't see the point in buttoning it up, as she was already soaked.
It quickly became obvious that even her top speed wasn't enough to keep up. Naruto was gaining on Tenten, but both were pulling farther ahead of her.
"Wait for me!" she called out.
Glancing back, Naruto summoned a third clone. The clone scooped her up in its arms without warning and ran with her in pursuit of the original Naruto. She struggled reflexively for a moment before calming down.
As embarrassing as it was, this was the only way she'd be able to keep from getting left behind. Still, being carried through the street, soaking wet, was not how she'd envisioned the day going.
0o0o0
Big Top:
East Blue Sea
Buggy and their crew had made it back to their ship and sailed off as quickly as they could hoist the anchor. As they pulled away, he let out a sigh of relief for having escaped that island.
"Captain, a ship just left the dock in pursuit of us," Mohji informed him.
Grabbing a telescope, he looked at the ship himself, worried Smoker was coming after him. But in all the rain he couldn't make out who was on board.
"Keep running," he ordered, deciding to play it safe.
But the other ship proved faster, slowly gaining on them. Still, as the distance shrunk, he was able to get a better look at their pursuers. He didn't see Smoker anywhere on the other ship. Just that markswoman, who was chasing him earlier, and a couple more young marines. And she'd soon learn that she was biting off more than she could chew.
"Bring us about," he ordered. "Prepare to open fire."
Turning the ship until their port cannons were facing the other vessel, they fired three shots. Two of them went wide to either side. However, Buggy was pleased to see the third taking a trajectory that would have it land right on top of a blond marine standing at the bow of their ship.
Seeing it hit he turned to Cabaji beside him.
"That was almost too gruesome… HE CAUGHT IT?!" Buggy screamed suddenly.
What kind of a person could catch a cannonball with their bare hands like that? That kid was not normal. Still, he couldn't protect the entire ship at once.
"Keep firing," Buggy ordered. "I want that ship—GAH!"
The end of his order was cut off as he was forced to dodge the cannonball the young man had just caught. He'd thrown it back at him?! Examining the hole left in his deck, he struggled to get his heart rate back under control, realizing how close that had come to hitting him. That kid is not just normal—he was a monster!
Of course, with Buggy's ship no longer fleeing, the other vessel was closing rapidly. And while he was still trying to recover from the shock of the most recent attack, his attacker himself landed on the Big Top's deck.
"You're boarding my ship?" Buggy mocked the blond. "Do you think one person can take on my entire crew?"
"How about ten?" he asked as nine more blonds popped into existence around him.
That made nine copies of a boy who could catch a cannonball and throw it back. As he realized that another boy, a large dog, and that markswoman from before all jumped across, the two ships now having been pulled up next to each other.
"My crew is still more than capable of handling you themselves," he said as quickly flew up above the ship and out of range.
"Captain Buggy!" several of them cried out in protest.
But they weren't given much time for protest as they were attacked by their opponents. It's not like they had any room for complaint in the first place. He was just more valuable in coordinating the fight from up here where he could get a good view.
"You call yourself a lion?" he yelled at Richie. "How can you be losing to a dog?
There, see? His motivational speaking would be the key to their victory. He spotted someone else who looked to need his help.
"First Zoro and now you're losing to a woman, Cabaji?" he berated.
Although oddly enough, while he'd been trying to motivate Cabaji, the woman was the one who seemed to be fighting harder in response to his call.
"Stop lying around and get up!" he ordered his crew, as many of those cowards were no longer participating, instead being sprawled out on the ground.
It was then he noticed one of the blonds was standing over his feet, which were still back on the deck, examining them curiously.
"Don't touch those!" he screamed.
"Oh?" the boy said in response. "You mean I shouldn't do this?"
He then stomped down on one of them hard, and Buggy was sure he felt some of the bones snap from the impact. Furious at the boy for the assault he flew down and got right into his face.
"I told you not to do that!" he screeched.
But the blond just smiled, and it was then he realized that he was now only inches from the person he'd flown up to avoid. The last thing he remembered was a fist heading for his face.
0o0o0
Loguetown:
East Blue Sea
"I want to thank you again for your help, Naruto," Tenten told him. "Without the use of your ship, Buggy and his crew would have gotten away."
"Just doing my duty," he told her. "Anyway, there's no reason you can't take these three back by yourself."
The three he was referring to were Buggy, Cabaji, and Mohji, the three leaders of the Buggy Pirates. Buggy was wrapped up in several nets, which were themselves put in a large sack that Naruto was carrying to make sure no body parts got away. The other two were more traditionally bound and walking behind them.
"Nonsense," she told him. "This is the second event I owe you a lot for. I'm not letting you go without meeting my Captain. I'll make sure he puts you in for a commendation."
Naruto acquiesced but still didn't look happy. He must be one of those people who just wasn't comfortable with praise. They soon entered the base, allowing themselves to get out of the storm. Another marine approached the two of them plus three captives as they dripped all over the entranceway.
"We've recaptured Buggy the Clown," she informed him. "Where's Captain Smoker and Ensign Tashigi?"
"We're sorry, Ensign Tenten," he replied. "But they left town to chase after Straw Hat Pirates. They had been looking for you before they left, but no one could find you."
She'd been left behind. Smoker and Tashigi were after the Straw Hat Pirates without her? That's just great.
"Wait," Naruto said to the man, "Luffy was here in Loguetown?"
"Yeah, but he managed to escape," the marine responded. "Why? Have you run into them before?"
"We were chasing after the Straw Hat Pirates as well," Naruto answered. "But we didn't know they were here on the island."
"You're after them too?" asked Tenten. "If that's the case, I have a favor to ask you. Please, take me with you."
"Uh, I don't know if that's a good idea," he replied.
"I know I'm the one who owes you," she admitted, "So I shouldn't be asking for more favors. And if you're both going after the Straw Hat Pirates, I might run into my captain."
He still appeared to be mulling over the idea, probably wondering if she'd be worth taking. Crashing into him earlier probably hadn't made the best impression.
"That's not what I'm worried about," he reassured her. "It's just … oh forget it. If you're that determined to come, I'd be happy to have you along."
"Thank you," she replied graciously. "You won't regret this. I'll find a way to pay you back for everything someday. I'll just grab a couple of things and meet you at the ship."
As Tenten turned around run off to get her things and Buggy, who was contained in a sack spit out threats towards Naruto's direction.
"Just you wait, you bastard!" Buggy yelled from in the sack. "When I get out of here, I'll make you pay for this. You'll regret the day you ever meet Buggy the Clown!"
"Oh, you want a rematch?" Naruto asked threateningly.
"I'm sorry," Buggy quickly answered. "Just kidding."
"Smart!" Naruto replies with a smirk.
0o0o0
Former Pirate Ship
East Blue Sea
Naruto saw Tenten making her way through the rain to the ship, carrying a satchel over her shoulder. The worst of the storm seemed to have passed, but there was still a good amount of rain falling. He greeted her as she came aboard the vessel.
"We didn't have time for proper introductions before," he declared. "But this is Ensign Kiba, Akamaru, and Nojiko."
Tenten nodded to each one as he introduced them.
"Everyone, this is Ensign Tenten," he continued. "She'll be joining our crew. I'm sorry this isn't the best weather for a welcoming party."
"Nice job finding her," Kiba whispered approvingly to Naruto.
"I'm sorry," Tenten said, addressing Nojiko, "but I didn't catch your rank."
"I'm not in the Marines," Nojiko replied simply.
"Nojiko's sister was captured by the Straw Hat Pirates," Naruto added. "She's come along to help rescue her."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Tenten told her, "But I promise I'll do my best to help bring them to justice."
"Yeah … thanks," Nojiko replied with a strained smile. "That's … uh … just what I wanted to hear."
Naruto nodded, impressed she was trying to put on a front of cheerfulness for Tenten's sake when the thought of her sister being held by pirates made her uneasy.
"If you don't mind my asking, how did you get your ship already?" Tenten inquired.
He didn't mind her asking, but Naruto wasn't about to say that. Nojiko, however, was kind enough to answer for him while he was still deliberating how best to respond.
"A marine captain by the name of Nezumi sent them after Luffy," she said. "He got beat up by the Straw Hat Pirates himself, so he sent some combat specialists after them."
"That makes sense," she replied to Naruto's relief. "I've seen Naruto fight on more than one occasion and he's very impressive."
"I'm really strong too, you know," Kiba claimed. "Buggy's crew was just too weak for you to see what I can do."
"Ah, I wasn't implying you weren't," she assured Kiba. "I just didn't get much of a chance to see you fighting in all the chaos."
"Well forgive me for not having a flashy power or anything," responded Kiba petulantly.
"Now that we're all acquainted, let's shove off," Naruto ordered. "The longer we delay, the farther behind we get."
So they left the dock and set course for Reverse Mountain. Since this wasn't a marine vessel, that would be the only way they could enter the Grand Line. It didn't take long for the rain to let up. Once the wind had dried the sails enough, Naruto set his clones to work and finally repainted the sails white.
Before the paint had even finished drying, Reverse Mountain came into sight. It was then his clone up in the crow's nest pointed out an oddity to him. Off to the side, a fair way from the entrance was a small marine vessel that appeared to have crashed into the side of the mountain.
The currents were supposed to be tricky around the entrance, but they crashed far off for them to have simply been pushed away by the currents. Either way, he decided to investigate and see if they needed help.
As they got closer, Naruto was able to make out several marines standing on the ship. It seemed someone did need help after all. But when he was close enough to make out through the telescope just which was on the ship he gasped.
"That can't be," he said out loud.
"What can't be?" Tenten asked from next to him.
"See for yourself," he told her, handing off the telescope.
She examined the ship herself before letting out a gasp of her own.
"I don't believe it," she declared.
"I'm going drop anchor a short distance from them," he informed her. "I don't want to risk getting the ship too close to the shallows. Then I'll be taking a lifeboat over to see if I can help them. Care to join me?"
"I guess," she replied unenthusiastically.
Making good on his plan, Naruto soon lowered the small rowboat into the water and rowed the two of them over to the other ship. When he got there, someone lowered a rope ladder for them to climb. Only when he attempted to do so, he found it wasn't secured to anything and almost went over the edge of the boat.
Frustrated, he grabbed the rope ladder and jumped up onto the other ship. Making sure it was tied off properly he dropped it to Tenten who used it to climb up. They then looked around to see a small crowd had gathered around them.
"Naruto, Tenten, imagine seeing you here," a portly marine told them. "I haven't seen either of you since that naval exercise thing we won."
And getting a closer look at them, he confirmed that, yes, every single one of them were the other recruits on that exercise.
"I'm sorry, I don't believe I ever got your name," Tenten replied.
"I'm Seaman Chops, ma'am," he told her. "Or at least that's what everyone calls me. Imagine all of us are together again now. What are the odds of that?"
"I'm surprised you even all got the same assignment," Naruto pointed out.
"We must have impressed them with our victory," Chops boasted. "The proctor even told us he'd never seen a group like us before. That we had something special. So they decided to post us all together in a special group."
"It's called the Punishment Squad," another one added. "That's an imposing name, don't you think?"
"So, where's your captain?" Tenten asked them instead of answering.
"You mean our current captain?" Chops queried. "We've had six captains since our squad was formed."
"Yes, your current captain will be fine," Tenten told them.
"He's been locked up in his room for days," Chops answered. "But we hear a lot of crying from inside. We think he must be really sick."
"So, I take it you had trouble navigating Reverse Mountain," Naruto said, changing the subject again.
"Oh, we weren't trying to use Reverse Mountain," Chops corrected him. "We were just patrolling the area for any pirates who were."
"Then how did you crash?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Well, none of us had ever seen Reverse Mountain before," Chops told him. "So, we were all so engrossed at getting a good look that we didn't notice that none of us were at the helm until we crashed."
"We're going to check how much damage your ship took," Naruto informed them, trying to end the conversation lest he add any more fuel to a growing headache."Tenten, you check the inside and I'll examine the outside."
So, Naruto went to the bow of the ship and jumped off onto land. From what he could see, there didn't appear to be any significant damage. The ship was simply stuck in shallow water. Soon Tenten came back up to talk to him.
"I'm not seeing any holes or leaks," she reported.
"Looks good here too," he told her. "Pull our boat on board then I'll see about getting them unstuck."
After the rowboat had been secured on the larger vessel, he summoned four clones to push the boat back into deeper water. Hopping on board himself he signaled for them to start. Their strength proved sufficient as the boat moved backward. The clones all vanished from following it into the seawater, but that was no matter.
Tenten and Naruto helped them get the boat turned around and ready to sail again, before lowering their rowboat and climbing back down to it.
"It looks seaworthy," Naruto called back up to them. "But I recommend going back to Loguetown and having it professionally looked at."
"We'll do that," Chops called back. "Thanks again."
Their whole crew stood at the stern of the ship waving goodbye. Wait, their whole crew was at the stern of their ship, which was currently sailing directly toward where he was anchored.
"Get to the helm and turn your ship!" He yelled out angrily.
He saw Chops scurry off and waited anxiously as the two ships drew closer. But then the Punishment Squad's ship did begin to turn, and he was relieved to see, narrowly avoided a collision. He watched them sail off briefly, kind of expecting something else to go wrong.
"That's not the way to Loguetown," Tenten pointed out.
"Do you want to catch up to them and make sure they get back safely?" he asked.
"I'm sure they'll be fine," she answered after pondering that for a moment.
Returning to their ship, he was able to hoist the anchor and resume their previous course. Naruto took the helm and approached the treacherous waters at the entrance of Reverse Mountain. After getting a good look at where they were headed, Kiba came up to him nervously.
"You sure you can handle this," he asked. "This isn't exactly your specialty."
"No, it isn't," he admitted. "But I have a plan. Look."
Kiba directed his focus at the bow of the ship where Naruto was pointing. There, he had four clones leaning over the edge and examining the water.
"I don't get it," Kiba admitted.
"Then just watch. We're about to enter," Naruto told him, not having time to explain.
They were all closely watching the position of the rocks and examining the currents. Every so often, one of his clones would vanish, instantly giving him the memory of what it had just seen. Which allowed him to quickly react accordingly and steer the ship. He would then summon another which would take its place.
It was still difficult to pull off. Kiba was right, this wasn't his specialty. But he made it through the gates unscathed and from there the current did most of the work itself. Everyone was gathered around him on the deck watching the ship go up the mountain appreciatively.
"This is amazing," Nojiko declared excitedly. "I've never seen anything like it."
"I haven't either," Tenten admitted. "I traveled through the Calm Belt to get to East Blue."
Soon they reached the apex and began their descent toward the Grand Line. He could see his ocean of birth coming into view, but that wasn't the only thing. Waiting at the bottom was a large marine vessel. He saw Kiba growing nervous beside him but tried to stay calm. They didn't know what it was there for.
When they hit the bottom and entered the Grand Line, the other ship began to approach them. Drawing upon the port side of their ship, he saw an officer standing by the starboard railing looking at him.
"Ensign Naruto Namikaze. Ensign Kiba Inuzuka," he called out. "I am under orders to escort your ship back to base."
"Well, that just perfect?" Kiba says out loud.