Growth through Chaos

by Animephilosopher1

As they return from the Land of Waves, Team 7 fall into somewhere far more chaotic and divided than the Ninja World. Follow Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi, after they find themselves in the World of the One Piece. Growing through a Special brand of Chaos across trials, battles, training and more as members of the Straw Hat Pirates on the Grand Line.(LuffyxNami, Kakashi x Robin)

17. Chapter 17: Sharing the past

Growth Through Chaos: Chapter 17: Sharing the past and moving to the future.

Results of Garp and Smoker:

By a strong margin of 21 to 7, Garp is on his way to Loguetown! Thank you everyone for voting, and I am privately glad to have this chance to write something so original. However, Smoker and Tashigi will not be overlooked….it is time for a funeral.

"…."=speaking.

'…'=thinking.

"'Inner thoughts'"=images or memories within somebody's head.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A tense air hung around the wharf, dense enough that you'd need an axe to cleave through it. A Navy ship up above was now meters away, pulling in beside a second one; a makeshift prison barge. Genzo could barely swallow past the lump in his throat. His conscious split between hope and instinct.

The leader watched on as a mooring line was tied down, followed by the gangplank and brick wall of a man striding down. The figure he unlit cigars crossing his jacket, with a shock of white hair and one weapon tied over his back. "So this is really him, huh, Johnny?"

"That's right, Yosaku," the bounty hunter-turned-protector answered his partner. "Smoker, the White Hunter. Don't know about the girl beside him, though."

Smoker had his jacket closed and there wasn't a cigar in his mouth. At his shoulder, a younger woman stood whilst additional men were filled up behind them as the leading officers stared over the townspeople of Cocoyashi village and thralls of others from across the Conomi Islands. "Which one of you three is Genzo? The guy I spoke with on the transponder snail?" Smoker called with a bitter edge in his tone.

"I am," the local officer replied, with Johnny and Yosaku flanking him. "I take it that you are Captain Smoker? We have the Arlong Pirates and the Marines who conspired with them over in that ship. And the logbook you asked for is in my possession."

"You don't have it here with you?" the bespectacled lady asked in confusion. "If you hand it over to us then-"

"Quiet, Tashigi!" her superior snapped, brisk but not unkind. "It makes sense that they aren't wavin' it around. If crooked Marines are involved, leaving these people to suffer, they don't have much of a reason to trust us straight outa the gate."

"But sir," she protested. "True Marines stand for justice and service. We can-"

"Then where were you when my Dad got killed!" a child's voice rang up from the beach. Turning their eyes, a boy with a green beanie occupied everyone's attention. "Arlong came to my home, Gosa Village. His crew turned everything upside-down when one person couldn't pay him. There was so much killing, and my father among them. Another Marine, with a face like a rat was around and even shot some people here just because Arlong let him to. Why should any of us believe that you aren't different from them!?"

The female Marine's mouth hung open, unable to reply. Until her sight was blocked by a white jacket, carrying the symbols for "Justice" covered by a signature jitte. "You're right, kid," Smoker answered him for all the Marines behind him. "All I can say to you is that I'm sorry. And I want to see this traitorous, bloody monster pay for every crime that he's done. If a Marine was corrupt here, then he'll pay for it along with Arlong, and anyone who was tied with them." The man's words carried over the crowd, drawing their entire attention to him. "You all got my word on that."

"I'm not really one for formalities, but this is somthin' one nobody under my charge can take lightly. If you'll allow it," Smoker propositioned, "I'll take each of the Arlong Pirates off your hands, and we'll hear testimonies of every one of you. Then ensure this scum, and the insults who let'em run around get buried so deep in a prison no sign of daylight will reach 'em."

"But first." The Marine drew to his full height, standing at the best attention he could muster. "I heard from Genzo how a single Marine tried to fight off these bastards and got killed by him. A woman named Bellemere."

"That's right." A new face stepped out from the crowd; Nojiko. "Bellemere managed to ambush Arlong, but when her rifle was right in his mouth, he bit the barrel to pieces. She meant to protect my sister and me, after adopting us years ago. And our mother met her death at Arlong's hand without a flinch."

"Nojiko!" Genzo shot himself in front of her, as Smoker's face morphed, turning into a glare promising death in his gaze. Tensions began rising until the Marine dropped to his knees. Smoker's forehead met the ground, his crew following their captain; prostrating themselves before the people.

"I met Bellemere years ago before I made Captain," Smoker announced. "That woman was indomitable, even pledging to fight any fools that come poking around in the East Blue. I'm sorry. For the suffering you've had, and from losing her."

"Her death never should have gone ignored, and everyone behind me wants to put that right." Raising his head, Smoker faced a stunned group before him. "First, I'll be moving each of the Arlong Pirates and crooked Marines aboard my ship. Then, if you'd show us where her restin' place is, we'd desire to hold a formal ceremony from one Marine to another. Once all that is done, will you consent to turn over the Logbook that you mentioned when you called me here?"

Nobody moved, the Marines holding the full attention of the crowd before them. Nojiko's hand came to her mouth, the woman's form trembling at this promise. Genzo beside her felt tears stabbing in his eyes. After several swallows, he could speak again. "I would call that fair enough. All the rouges are inside the ship right here. The two men beside me are former bounty hunters, and the best guys I can supply to help move those fishmen anywhere."

"That won't be a problem," Smoker gruffly declared. "I'll move all od those bums to the ship myself a few at a time. Arlong' bounty does mean a pretty if somebody's lookin' to claim it. If you two," he nodded at Johnny and Yosaku, "and everyone else will meet with my subordinate Sergeant-Major Tashigi, she'll record accounts of everything you say."

Both parties nodded and everyone split up. Johnny and Yosaku led Smoker inside the smaller Marine ship, while Tashigi walked over with Genzo and several men to address the crowd. "Yosaku and me'll speak after all these guys are packed away tightly." "Yeah, you got an issue with dat?" Smoker just gave a tilt of his head at their offer and strode aboard the barge and moments later, smoke came billowing through holes from the ship. "What? Fire! Did those men honestly escape!?" Genzo panicked.

"No, sir," Tashigi intervened, the other Marines doing the same with more in the crowd. "It's Captain Smoker's Devil-fruit at work. All is under control."

That rendered the crowd excited, recalling another Devil-fruit user's role in Arlong's downfall. Slowly, the smoke they could was shifting towards a hatch in the deck. Seconds passed, the dense vapour growing stronger until Arlong was brought into the daylight. The Shark-Fishman was air-born with nowhere to reach, moving higher and higher until the Marine Captain stepped above deck, his shoulders linked to the clouds entrapping the prisoner.

"Quit struggling," Smoker snarled, "or I'll pump it to your lungs and let ya suffocate." Rapidly, the cloudly links to Smoker's limbs extended until they reached the deck of his own ship, where additional men trained swords and gun barrels on Arlong. Chains were brought forth, cuffing the Saw-tooth Captain, until Smoker was satisfied and released the smoke.

Arlong didn't say anything, apprehensive eyes wondering over the smoke.

'So, this guy's encountered Logia's before, huh?' Smoker silently grasped.[1] '.Damn, I was hoping to have a chance to rip him to pieces,' Turning back to his job, a few at a time, each of the prisoners was transported to waiting men ready to cramp them all into a brig.

While Tashigi worked diligently to collect the accounts from each person in the assembly.

'Every detail must be meticulous, otherwise, these criminal pirate filth may not receive the justice due to them at the hands of Navy authorities with a fair and indiscriminate will,' the junior officer pledged.

Finally, all was done, rendering Smoker free to martial a special party of men together.

"Captain Smoker?" Turning, the White Hunter found Genzo facing him, with a leather-bound book outstretched. "Here is the logbook you asked for."

Taking it in hand, he read through some random pages, slowly…. carefully…. with an iron will keeping his hands from shaking with rage. "Tashigi!" the roar from him forced everyone to jump, and she was beside him within seconds. "Lock this up in that safe I got in my quarters. Then… I'm gonna hunt that Rat into a Yonko's territory if I gotta!" The Captain broke with formalities now, tearing three cigars from his chest belts and lighting them.

While her Captain kept fuming, Tashigi obeyed and his men continued very, very briskly.

After another moment, Smoker took a breath and let out a cloud twice his size from the cigars. Crossing back down to the wharf, he stood before Nojiko. "Miss. Will you lead us to Bellemere's grave? It's several years overdue for her to be honoured and remembered as a true Marine should be."

It took only minutes before she and Genzo were walking to the cliff-side, Smoker and Tashigi following them at the head of a parade with several Marines in dress uniforms. Along the way, more from Cocoyashi village turned up, joining the processing. Upon reaching a simple wooden cross, the Marines reformed into ceremonial positions. Smoker stood before the grave, with Genzo and Nojiko beside him in a daze, and he spoke.

"To serve and uphold justice. To enforce and maintain the order of the World Government. To fight in the service of a cause that will demand all that you have to give and more. These are what every Marine is expected to do.

"One Colonel, and each man under him, threw that aside. And those you wished to serve and protect suffered from it, Bellemere. You gave the people of this Blue so much, and the Marines even more. I still recall how you spoke about not standin' around while pirates threatened innocent, ordinary people when I joined up."

"We can only give justice for what was taken from you. And honour the courage and commitment you undoubtedly showed, in every choice you made. From the moment you decided to stand beside us, to staring down death for those you took into your own care."

Nojiko openly wept, the memory of her beloved mother's death passing in a blink, and now recognized by strangers she had known with pride, broke her heart. 'Na…. mi. AH…I…. I wish you…- that-you-could-see-this,' her thoughts raced.

Smoker stood back in respect, watching as Genzo held the young woman upright; trying to hide his own grief beneath his cap. Turning back to the grave, the Marine Captain froze a second.

His mouth dropping open, Smoker would swear he saw a woman, tall, tough, and sassy, shimmering in the sun behind the gave.

"Uhhhh…. umm…. Men! Salute!" Smoker commanded them.

"SIR!" At this signal, lines of Marines cocked their rifles to the sky. In turn, volleys rang through the island, marking respect for the fallen.

Once they ended, the Marines stood vigil over the grave. Led by Tashigi, each one began to sing. The tune was long, melancholy, and with purpose.

"The Sea watches us quietly. Guiding us through our death and our birth.

"From humble hometown waters, to the waves at the end of the earth.

"The Sea carries us carefully. Through the dark of night and light of day,

"To the World that is just and peaceful, so that we never lose our way,

"All our pain and suffering, it swallows up in its warm embrace.

"So knowingly and gently, washes them all away.

"The sea watches us quietly. Guiding us through our death and our birth.

"From humble hometown waters, to the waves at the end of the earth.

"There will come a day, I'm sure, when I must heed its solemn call,

"And walk side by side with my old friend, resting in its foamy waters." [2]

Without music or joy, they sang. A requiem for the fallen, it travelled over the site, down across the waters and high to the heavens. Helping a single spirit pass over into the peace she now could feel.

0…...0

Elsewhere in the East Blue, night had fallen with an ink-coloured shade. Clouds above were hiding the moon, while tranquil seas gently caressed the Going Merry.

Hatake Kakashi and Roronoa Zoro were sharing the deck, one forward on the bow and another near the stern. Zoro had completed an evening training session one hour ago[3]and was staring out towards the distance. The swordsman was still digesting Sasuke's motivations, grappling with the magnitude of how much his young nakama had suffered and what he had set before himself. Revelations that were further compounded by Kakashi, having taken the swordsman's challenge for his life story.

'The guy's own father reached a level of shame powerful enough to kill himself,' the swordsman reflected. 'Following that, his own team and sensei, this 4th Hokage, goes and dies under a year later. Growing up, training, and bonding with people like that…only to watch them die in front of you.'

Gripping his fist around the hilt of Wado Ichimonji, Zoro frowned ahead, torn between his head and his gut. 'Losing Kuina was one thing, but Kakashi has been through a ton more than I have. It's rough to imagine it. But I still think he's got the wrong idea to try and talk Sasuke into working towards giving up his revenge.'

Across the deck, Kakashi himself was cursing. The weight of Icha-Icha Tactics in his tool pouch was agonizing. 'Why couldn't the moon be kind and provide the light for my favourite book? It was even better to read through it for a second time. To think the hero at the climax would be-'

"GU-AAAAAHHHHHH!" In a snap, two noises came with a spring! Zoro, closer to the source, stormed into the lounge with a solid guess about what was going on.

Sure enough, a giant mousetrap occupied the room, directly before the fridge and pinning a certain rubber man under the hammer. Luffy was pushing off the ground while trying to move his knees and slide out from underneath. Zoro groaned while Kakashi arrived, followed by Sanji.

"I thought this would happen," the cook muttered. "Several before shutting my eyes tonight, and he still tried it."

"Hey, who's stealing all our food!" Several puttering feet carried Naruto through the door, in his collared pyjamas and with a buck-tooth cap on his head. Once in the doorway, he looked between the fridge, to the table, then down to the floor. "Captain, you woke all of us up with this much noise, ya know!" the boy tried to chastise him, striding forward as Luffy kept struggling under the mouse trap to reach his goal. Naruto had both arms folded, walking around to stare at Luffy's head, between it and the fridge when- "Gu-AHHHH!"

A rope on the floor became taunt; its loop closed on Naruto's ankle and hoisted the boy to the rafters. "Huh! Hey! Hey, this isn't funny," Naruto cried, swaying from one side to another while his audience choked. "Believe it! Someone let me down! Luffy was stealing our food! Who set up this trap anyways!?"

"Naruto," Sanji spoke up. "You...just triggered your own back-up trap."

"Ghuuu?" The knucklehead slowly recalled making this very prank just a short while ago.

"I did? Well, don't say it to anybody," Naruto insisted, trying to get down. "Please, Kakashi-sensei, this would ruin my rep."

"Too late, Naruto," Sasuke called over from the doorway, while Sakura and Nami strode in and had their own laugh at the scene. Sanji whipped up a midnight snack for everyone, then pried Naruto and Luffy out of their traps and back asleep.

Soon sunny skies, crisp and salty ocean air, and the sound of waves promising a comfy day were all around them. The entire Straw Hat pirate crew were gathered for breakfast, especially a certain knucklehead blushing as his sensei recounted the trap from last night.

"HAHAHAHAHA-Naruto, what kind of fool trips into their own trap?" Usopp was rolling over the floor while Naruto himself turned red.

"Hey, I said I get it, okay?" Naruto muttered over.

"Well, it'll certainly happen again," Sakura chirped. "You fell into the same trick during our training, twice. Remember, cutting yourself down from one loop sensei tricked you with, then getting snagged airborne by a second one in the same place?"

Even Sasuke smirked at that detail, as did everyone else at Naruto's expense. "I get it. I get it. I get it. I get it. I get it."

"You know," Kakashi spoke up, from behind his favourite book. "I recall giving a lecture of how merely saying 'I get it,' isn't really the same as actually 'getting it.' 'Get it?'"

"Sorry Naruto," Nami shrugged, "but sometimes looking straight at your own mistakes can be a good way to learn." Kakashi, Zoro, and Ussop both nodded at this. "Miss. Nami," Sakura spoke up after a strong breeze threw strands of hair into her eyes. "After we eat, do you remember what I asked for last night?" Nami spied what she was pointing to, and nodded.

"Yummy! Sanji, this breakfast is tasty!" Captain complimented.

"GGHHHUUUUU! Luffy, you stole our food!" Ussop exclaimed, stomping one foot on his empty plate and pointing straight at Luffy. Gin and Kakashi noticed their own toast and eggs were gone, and the former leapt in with Ussop.

"Okay. While all of us are up," Nami announced, over the three rolling around the cabin, "let's discuss where our next destination is. There's a small islet that we should reach by tomorrow. Then we could spend some time there, but the next place after that could be, well, anywhere."

"Hmm? You really haven't decided on a new destination?" Kakashi inquired, quite seriously. In reply, the rest of the crew looked sheepish; especially under the watch from all the ninjas.

"To be honest with you," Nami continued, "before, I was always looking for new people to steal from or getting back to Cocoyashi Village. But now that it's safe and out from Arlong's grasp, having the chance to go anywhere is… well, new to me."

"You're not the only one, Nami," Zoro spoke up. "I was always wandering around looking for new opponents or a town to stay in before I met Luffy."

"That's eashweee! We're gwoing ta th'Gran Lwine!" Luffy proclaimed holding Gin away while Ussop was yanking on his stretchy cheeks. Pulling himself out of it, Luffy shook his head. "Everything we want to do and find is on the Grand Line. I have a crew now. All of you have your own dreams, and we just beat a lot of pirates here! Let's go to the Grand Line, men!"

"Yeah, believe it!" Naruto shouted together with him. "That's where we'll find our way home too! Bring it on, let's get going!"

"Slow down, Naruto," Sakura admonished him. "Chef Zeff used to say that the Grand Line is a Graveyard, where a lot of people can die. If we just run there without making sure we're ready, things could go really, really badly! And we don't know for sure if the Elemental Nations are even there for sure!"

"Ya got a sharp mind, thinkin' like that, little lady," Gin nodded at her, walking back to the table. "Don Krieg, myself, and all ah 5,000 crewmates went there with that same attitude. Now…so many are dead." The former cut-throat had to blink away tears for his own crewmates.

Kakashi especially found himself uncomfortable but for different reasons. 'There's no Hokage here; no mission to follow, and no absolutely clear way for us to follow. It's…...strange. Really strange to lack something that clear to fulfil a mission or a goal.'

"We are ready!" rang a forceful declaration from Sasuke. "Arlong himself came from the Grand Line. And so did the crew that followed him. We beat them, so we should be ready to handle that place, too. The sooner we go there, the sooner all our goals can be fulfilled. Right?"

Few people felt up to challenging the boy, recalling what his goal was from their conversations earlier.

"Ya, Sasuke's got it right!"

"HUH!" Kakashi's eye was wide, while Sakura dropped her teacup! The cry had come from Naruto, who was waving his arms around and swinging side-to-side. "We're better than Captain Krieg, or Arlong, 'cause we beat them! And we can still get better with more training together and beat anyone we run into! Why not head there starting today?"

"I like the sound of that." the first mate smiled with the boys, gripping his sword. "After winning over Buggy, Kuro, Krieg, and now Arlong, I guess there isn't much left the East Blue can offer up for us. The sooner we run into stronger enemies, the more skilled I can grow. And that needs to happen a lot for me to keep a promise and defeat Mihawk, someday.

"But. We need to stop somewhere else first," Zoro announced, frowning. "I need to get some new swords after the two I had were destroyed by him. Plus, Cocoyashi village didn't have everything we needed for a voyage like this one. If we can find a town to stop in close by, we can buy everything up and then head to the Red Line and enter the Grand Line."

"Shishishishishishishi! I like how that sounds, Zoro. Maybe we can find more meat in a bigger town. And a musician, too. We need one for this to be a great pirate crew!" Luffy spoke, wrapping his first mate in a friendly headlock.

"I don't see how that is so important, Captain." Kakashi tried to moderate them. "And who was this 'Buggy' that you defeated before?"

"Wait!" Gin shouted out, planting both hands on the table. "Cap'n Luffy. Zoro. The two ah you taking about Buggy the Clown?! The Immortal?"

"Hm. Yup," Zoro answered with a smirk. "We ran into a fight with that clown, just Luffy, Nami, and me. He and everyone with him were really weird, plus they tried to kill Nami after she stole treasure from them."

"WHHAAAATTTTT!" Sanji roared from the kitchen. "Somebody else hurt Nami-swan! Where are they? I want to cut them into fractions!"

Luffy and Zoro both grinned, sharing their story about meeting the eccentric, disembodied clown. Sanji became satisfied after hearing about how Buggy nearly attacked Nami but left his lower half behind, for Luffy to kick his family jewels. Gin, Sasuke, and Kakashi were befuddled over a Lion-tamer and swordsman on a unicycle; but stranger things had already crossed their paths before.

"Even before him, I met Zoro and we won a fight with Captain Morgan! Next, we found Ussop and his town was in danger from another pirate called Kuro, too! Then we met all of you right after that." Luffy finished, taking another mouthful of meat.

Most of the crew thought over this. Until Gin spoke up. "Ya know, Don Krieg kept a track ah major players in the East Blue. Just in case we ran into 'em. If Don Luffy beat all ah these guys, then there ain't nobody here to challenge our crew on these seas. Maybe we are ready for the Grand Line. With some extra prep."

The rest of the group mulled over this until Kakashi rose to his feet. "First, we learn more about this 'Grand Line.' Then we can plan our next step. Captain," the Jonin announced, locking eyes with Luffy.

"I also want to train Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto up more, and improve some of my own moves before we head into the same place that Mihawk came from. How about we spend a few days on the islet Nami talked about, then sail to somewhere close to the Grand Line and ask around for more specific info about the place."

"I like that too, Kakashi," Nami chimed in, standing at her feet. "I'd like some days to rest, without keeping this boat sailing. Maybe even try on my bikini and get some time in the sun."

Watching Nami slip into a striking pose, Sanji's glee nearly shook the boat, while Kakashi's eye traced her figure.

"That…. sounds nice," the Jonin muttered. "Still, if we take our time, it could involve trying some different restaurants on the way. With some very rare, very tasty meat."

That sealed it; Ussop and Nami even groaned at the inevitable.

"Yeah!" Luffy exclaimed. "Alright! We're going to a town, somewhere! Then off the Grand Line, to find the One Piece!" the Straw Hat Captain declared. "So, where is it?"

"Lougetown!" Gin announced. Nami shot a look at the pirate.

"I've heard of that place, Gin! On one of my maps, Loguetown is the final port in the East Blue, right before the Grand Line."

"Tha's right, Nami. Loguetown is 'round 2-day's sailin' from the only way into the Grand Line, through Reverse Mountain. It's a pretty famous place, too."

"Oh? What's so important about a town?" Sakura chimed, following her curiosity.

"Little gal," Gin nodded towards her. "It's the city ah the beginning and the end. Gold Roger, the King ah the Pirates. The man whose treasure everyone chases to be the next King? He was born there. It's where his execution was held too. The spot where the entire Great Pirate Era kicked off from!"

The ninjas barely clued into that, but the reactions from Ussop and Luffy were totally different. Each shared a sense of awe that passed through the natives from the East Blue, even driving their captain into silence.

"Gin is right," Nami spoke up. "We should be able to collect everything we need there, with a little haggling. Learning some fresh news about both the East Blue and the Grand Line on the way would be nice too. But there is something else that we have to do there. In fact, it's our most critical priority."

The busty teen looped her arms around Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, pulling them close with a smile bigger than Luffy's. "Shopping~!" she sang.

"Yesterday I was talking with Sakura, and she barely has any clothes at all! All of the ninjas here just have enough to fit into one backpack each! Nobody, especially a girl, can live off of wearing so little! I need to take her and the boys out to buy new clothes and dress up!"

"Miss Nami, that would be amazing!" Sakura squealed with glee. "I don't even have a bathing suit, or anything for time in a bath or the sun. Out here with all this water, it would be really good to have one; especially with some perverts aboard."

The last comment came with a glare towards Sanji and Ussop, unforgiven after a wardrobe malfunction and pestering to learn the transparency jutsu.

"I want to go too, Sakura!" Naruto called in. "Getting some new stuff sounds cool! Maybe we can get more Ramen? And see where this famous guy came from. Oh- but I'm still looking forward to training more, right, Luffy?!"

Only silence met the Genin. "Captain Luffy?" More of the crew looked over at their captain. The excitable teen…was totally quiet.

"Loguetown. The place where Gold Roger both lived and died. I gotta go there and see it. The spot where he got killed, and the search for the One Piece all started from."

Slowly lifting the straw hat from his head and staring down at it, Luffy's face evolved from complete reverence to an empowering grin.

"That's my next step. To living up to my promise to Shanks!" Zoro, Ussop and Nami understood now. But the rest….

"Who is Shanks?" Naruto asked what was on the other's minds.

"Huh!..." Luffy stopped staring at his hat, shifting over to Naruto. Several faces followed, Luffy trying to make sense of what had come, then dropping a fist into his hand. "Oh! I never told you did I! Some of you guys don't know about Shanks! I gotta tell ya!"

"What's so important Captain Luffy? If Shanks is a friend of yours, is it so important that we need to know about him?" Sasuke inquired.

Luffy met this with another smile, reaching to the heart of his soul. "Shanks is the reason I set out to be a pirate. I wouldn't be alive if he hadn't been around, and he's the one who gave me this hat!"

A short story followed, describing everything Luffy had done with the Red-Haired pirates. Everyone but Zoro fell off their seats at hearing about how Luffy stabbed his own face to prove he was tough enough to be a pirate. Naruto did one worse by calling it cool, and the first mate agreed; leaving Sanji, Nami, and Kakashi to nail the latter upside his head, then demanding an oath from Naruto to never try the same thing.

What followed was how Shanks would brush off anything done to him, Luffy eating the Gum-gum fruit, Shanks losing his arm to save Luffy, and finally gifting him his precious Straw Hat.

"That's when I decided I would become the King of the Pirates! Shanks in on the Grand Line too, and now that I have a crew and I'm tough enough, I'm eager to go there and become a famous pirate."

After hearing his story, Sanji lit a fresh cigarette, Gin didn't know what to say, and each of the Konoha ninjas were deeply impressed. Naruto found himself reminded of Iruka and the Hokage, especially their belief in how he could one day become Hokage; while Kakashi's hidden smile was clear to spot; Sakura and Sasuke didn't know what to think, the former having never had such an inspiration in her life before, while the later recalled a shadow of feelings for his own father but without such inspiring feats.

"Yeah, and Luffy isn't alone either! Right pal!" Ussop spoke up, looping his arm around the shoulders of his friend. "Uh-huh! Your Dad was really great too, Ussop! He's the only guy who could be a better shot than you are!"

"Right!" The sniper took a dramatic bow towards the rest of the crew. "You all see, my dad and I follow a similar strategy. We both joined different crews with a frontman to claim he's the captain, but the real power and brilliance come only from us! Yassop is my dad's name and he's part of the Red-Hair Pirates too! And he's a sniper, just like I am! That's a real smart system, huh?"

Nobody bought it for a moment, and Luffy was too happy to care. "Yassop told me all about Ussop, and when I met him, he had to join my crew! Yassop even said he wanted to stay with his wife and Ussop, but when the seas were calling him for adventure, he just had to follow it!"

Gin and Sanji both narrowed their eyes at their nakama. "So, your mom was okay with all that? Leaving home to become a pirate like your father too?" the chef inquired through his smoke.

At this question, Ussop's mood dropped harder than a Devil-fruit in the open seas. A grieving mood came to his face, filling Sanji with regret. "Uh….my mom. She got real sick you see, and…and passed away. I was a little kid. Afterwards, I kept running around talking about different pirates coming to our home or helping out Miss. Kaya to feel better."

Sanji hung his head. Unbeknownst to everyone, to cook was thinking back on his own childhood, and a loving woman always in bed, very sick. Nami had already heard this story, but this time she raised a comforting hand to Ussop's shoulder. Gin and the ninjas were respectful; but Naruto himself drew a face, totally unable to relate. Having never even met his own parents or their names. At all…. ever.

"So, you both want to go there to find these men; Shanks and Yassop. Especially because one of them saved the Captain's life." Kakashi summarized.

"You got it!"

"Yeah, I want to go there and become a brave warrior of the seas! Facing every challenge with nerves of steel and showing the world the strength of Captain Ussop!"

"Hey, I'm the captain!" Luffy complained. Causing the crew around the table to laugh out loud.

"You know, what kind of roles do we have here on this crew, Captain Luffy?" Kakashi asked from the blue.

"Ahhhh, dat's a good point, Kakashi," Gin replied to the Jonin. "Don Luffy, I'm wonderin' that too, hereabouts. You named Zoro the first mate, Sanji's the cook, Nami is the navigator, and Ussop's always talkin' round bout a sniper. Do the kids, him, and I have any role in the crew."

Everyone at the table eyed their captain, with a classic mouthful that somehow wound up in his greedy gullet.

"Wha's th' ribig-rehal? Yoor-"

"Swallow first Luffy!" Nami berated him, right in her seat to his right. After gulping down a load wide enough to stretch his throat, Luffy shot a dim look at Kakashi.

"All of us are Nakama, and old Doctor guy said we should get a ship's doctor too. After we get a musician. Do you really need some kind of job here?" Now the Genin were looking over at the oldest men around.

"Well, Don, it'll be for what I'd do day-to-day. Just in general if nothin' big's blowin' up in our faces," Gin replied, lost to have a captain and didn't make demands every other moment.

"Plus," Kakashi stepped in. "Technically, you were employed by us to travel until we find our home island. I'd feel bad letting that go without giving some work back in exchange. Usually, Jonin in our village use their time to train, or as security inside the group we live with. Genin often do small jobs, cleaning, running chores, or babysitting to build into-"

"Don't lie, sensei!" Naruto exploded, now standing in his seat. "All that kid stuff was not what ninjas do! We need to get out and get big missions, and get strong."

"Maybe not," Nami purred with a dangerous look. "That sounds an awful lot like a cabin boy's role. They're the lowest rank on a crew, doing odd jobs like cleaning, running at the other's whims, and learning all about sailing by learning on the job. Kakashi can keep his title as 'Jonin' or 'master-at-arms,' and as for Gin we could use a 'Quartermaster' who knows about sailing and fighting."

"And we have three new Cabin-kids. Or maybe…Cabin-Genin," the navigator smirked connivingly.

Both men pondered their roles, while the other three appointees were sharing gob-smacked horror.

"SHishishishishsishishishi! Great Idea, Nami!" Luffy proclaimed, looping an arm around her shoulders. "That's real easy. Gin's Quarter-guy, Kakashi's the Jonin, or arms-guy, and we have three Cabin-Genin!"

"No! Luffy give us something else, please, please, please!" Naruto wailed, throwing himself on the table to bow.

"Hahahaha! A little too late, Cabin-Genin!" Zoro's mocking drew glares from each of the kids until Nami herded them out for their new chores.

The day continued, with the newest Straw Hat Nakama settling into their roles. Zoro continued training on deck, with Kakashi beside him doing his own intense exercises. Envy was heaped upon them, solely from the Cabin-Genin as they were broken into the meticulous roles involved with sailing by Nami and Gin. Ussop and Luffy forced Sanji into playing tag with them until Naruto jumped in with a demand for hide-and-seek.

"Hold up, Naruto!" Gin called over. "If you come in th' Lounge firs', I can give yer art one last touch-up, and it'll be complete."

"Oh wow!" An orange bolt flew through the door, leaving Team 7 perplexed.

"What kind of art can Naruto be doing right now?"

"Watch out, Sakura," Sasuke answered her. "We might find out soon."

Kakashi gave a shrug, then pulled a kunai from his pouch. 'Alright, now, let's see if Pakun is truly out of reach.'

With a prick on his finger, the masked Grey-hound wove his hands through five symbols, then planted one hand to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

"Whaaaa!" Zoro nearly dropped his load, several spiralling signs flew over the deck, centred from the Jonin's hand, lingering for some moments. Looking over, the swordsman found the Jonin sweating mildly.

'I…. I barely feel…. anything,' Kakashi realized. Holding the power for a moment longer, he completed the jutsu. Its reward gave a cloud of smoke, then nothing. Rising to his feet, the Hatake stared at his hand.

"Sensei, what did you try and summoning?" Sakura was at her teacher's shoulder.

"Well, Sakura," he replied. "I have a contract with a pack of Ninja-Hounds. I often use them for tracking, ambushes, scouting, or even messengers. Previously, I initially wanted one to track down Nami after she slipped away at the Baratie, but the jutsu failed."

Sasuke stood a short way away, while his teammate only cocked her head. "How can that happen, sensei? I read about the Summoning-Jutsu before, and even the most preliminary tries can bring something out from the technique."

"Correct," he nodded. "I executed it properly, but still nothing emerged from the jutsu. I'm going to pour over this for a while and try to figure out why. As for you,"

Giving her a trolling smile, the Jonin slowly pointed back towards the deck. "I believe that Gin assigned you to 'swab the deck cleaner than a mirror,' Kakashi recalled, with two fingers curled to quote the words.

"Wouldn't want Nami to revoke your shopping rights for being lazy, do you?"

Pouting with all her might, the Cabin-kunoichi had to stomp off back to her job, passing by Sasuke who went back to tying and untying the mast lines.

But, suddenly a door was thrown open with a bang.

"It's finished, believe it!" Naruto came flying out, shirtless and with something on his shoulder. "My tattoo looks so cool, ya know! Hey sensei, what do you think? Huh? Huh?"

Kakashi couldn't blink, watching Naruto parade his bare left shoulder around; sporting a jolly roger with whiskers clear on each bony cheek and the Konoha head-band design on its forehead.

Sakura's jaw hit the ground, while Sasuke's face was blank.

"So cool!" Ussop and Luffy both exclaimed, running over for closer looks. Zoro took one look and smirked, "Guess you're a true pirate-ninja now, Naruto. Good pick, too."

'Kushina….' Kakashi bemoaned, looking towards the heavens. 'Please forgive me.' Imagining what the Hotblooded-Habanero would do with the picture of her twelve-year-old son getting a tattoo.

Nami herself came out the next moment, in a tank top and showing a new tattoo of her own; a spiralling vertical cross with a large sphere off the top arm. Luffy and Sanji were right beside her.

"OOOOOOOH, real cool tattoo, Nami," the Captain eyed it, googly. "It kinda looks like pin-wheel guy's hat, and a piece of food. Is that what it is?"

"Hahahahahaha~!" Surprise made Nami laugh from deep in her tummy. "That's right Luffy. You got it. Genzo's pin-wheel and one of Bellemere's Tangerine trees. I'm glad you like it."

Turning to face the younger Nakama, she smiled at his excitement. "Naruto walked in when I showed the design to Gin and asked to get his own too. It looks pretty cute on him."

"So that is what the three of you have been pouring over lately," Sanji nodded, taking a smoke. Gin strode up beside him, nodding. "Some'a my best work, there. And Ah bet Nami's happy to git Arlong's mark gone fer good."

"You have no idea how much, Gin," the young woman smiled, loud enough to send her thanks to the heavens.

"Hey!" Naruto called out, grabbing their attention. "Ya know, I wonder what happened to that Marine guy that Arlong was with. The one that Captain Luffy sent flying."

0…...0

Nezumi, Former Colonel of Marine Branch 16. A proud realist and career Marine, to himself alone, was utterly beyond saving.

The toothless man couldn't even cry, no sound was made through the steel grip on his throat; in a hand strong enough to punch apart eight mountains.

'Whyyyyy. Why oh why oh why oh why oh why must I suffer?' the Rat silently moaned. 'How can any of this resemble fairness for my sake? After losing my teeth, swimming to an island with no hospitality, and drifting around in the ocean for days on a raft. This is where I wind up.'

"You repulsive, back-stabbing, corrupt piss-stream!" his captor roared, followed by a mix of rancid and putrid stink from Nezumi's pants. The snarl facing him started to gag.

"Ahh-ghukkk! Calling you a maggot is unfair to maggots! How did something this low get in the Marines on the first day!? Monkey D. Garp declared, while at his side Bogart was glaring with revulsion. "Why the hell did I snag you outa the sea in the first place, toothless?" Garp asked, somebody, no one, it didn't matter.

While the Rat tried to spit at his new nickname, Bogard something whispered to Garp.

"WHAAAAA! How'd I forget that? About this stinkin' traitor pallin'-around with pirates who murdered his fellow Marine!"

Pulling Nezumi's face back to his, both the Vice-Admiral and the piss-pot were nose-to-nose. "I'm gonna pound you into the smallest pieces I can make," lower than a whisper, Garp's voice resembled death itself. "Then maybe call up the brat Sakazuki. He'd sure love to roast up the leftovers."

0…...0

Back on the Going Merry, once the last of their chores were complete, the Cabin-Genin were pressed right back into ninja training.

The ship had reached the islet exactly as Nami forecast. Kakashi sent Naruto off first, running laps across the island to complete his water-walking exercises. Gin was leading two dozen clones around to search for different supplies, leaving the others to enjoy their time on the beach. Luffy had run off exploring while Sanji, Nami, and Ussop stayed aboard, watching the ship, reading a newspaper, and pouring over a handful of vials and a set of tiny shots, respectively. 'Just a few more dabs of this hot sauce. Then I've gotta find a way to test my latest invention: The Tabasco Star!'

Back on the beach, Kakashi suggested Sakura, Sasuke, and Zoro remove their shoes and start running over the sand. At first, they barely thought anything of it, until 10 steps in the sand dispelled that fog. After some minutes of their feet sinking deeper into the loose surface, different leg muscles nobody felt before were screaming.

"Kakashi-sensei! This is really difficult to move on!" Sakura called over, wobbling on her legs and feet.

"Yes, I'm certain it is," the Jonin replied, from a hand-stand position crossing over different laps; struggling himself to stay balanced on his hands while pushing his entire body up. 'If only Guy could see me now. At least here he won't turn it into a race,' he thought ruefully.

"Wouldn't we get more progress by moving faster and further on a trail? Or what about across the water like we were doing at the restaurant?" Sakura suggested.

"I thought you'd enjoy the change of pace. Now keep going, else there won't be any shopping with Nami in-store for you." Her teacher's threat sent the pinkette off again, while the Jonin-sensei had to focus on his own struggles.

'This sand-running will allow their entire feet and leg muscles to develop since it doesn't have a stable platform, especially for the muscles in the balls of their feet, toes, and calves, rather than the heels and thighs. [5] Footwork and balance like that are essential for their speed and composure. At least with Naruto's stamina, he'll be able to complete Sanji's laps and then do this running as well.'

'After my talk with him. It's past time this happened.'

Lowering his body down, Kakashi's gloves and calloused hands left them unburnt by the sand, while the same principles as sand-running were applied to his palms, fingers, and forearms.

Several minutes later, Gin returned with the clones carrying the fresh-water barrel and baskets worth of fruits. Zoro finished running first, only standing upright from his time with sea legs on the ocean. Sasuke was behind him and fell to the sand once he couldn't stand any longer. Zoro was ruthless though, demanding his new protégée get to his feet and then yanking him up after too long.

"Eh, Kakashi," Gin spoke to his crewmate. "Ah'm gonna work through with my tonfa for a while. That a prob'em?"

"Not at this moment. Although, I was hoping you would be willing to spar with Sakura at one point today." Kakashi's answer left the girl to jerk with surprise, squirming under Gin's gaze.

"She doesn't have the highest degree of practice in actual combat, and nothing can replace experience," the Jonin elaborated, before turning his single eye towards his students.

"Sakura, you'll be allowed to use each of your skills, weapons, and jutsu against Gin, but not towards a lethal degree. But beforehand, I want you to practice further with the transparency jutsu and your elemental affinity." As the kunoichi visibly relaxed at this news, Kakashi's attention moved towards Zoro.

"Zoro. One detail I noticed in your swordsmanship was footwork. Improving that would transfer into greater balance and mobility with all of your techniques." Kicking up some sand, the Jonin continued. "I take it you're already feeling the results from running here on the beach. This was a part of it, and further dedicated practice would be a notable benefit to your swordsmanship. Otherwise, I imagine you would prefer to train with Sasuke?"

Both the swordsman and the avenger nodded at this. Kakashi himself approved, so long as Sasuke continued his own jutsu practice beforehand. Each of the four broke off, Sakura finding a shady spot on solid ground, hidden from the sun as she rehearsed the hand signs for her jutsu whilst focusing on her arm. Gin had his single weapon out, twirling it around while composing his balance for the following practice.

Zoro and Sasuke remained close to each other, Zoro kicking off his boots and shifting around barefoot on the earth before drawing his blade. Sasuke stood facing the open water, taking several breaths then executing the signs for his clan's signature technique, releasing a continuous fireball across the surf.

Kakashi watched everything closely while waiting for his important job that day.

"Heeeeyyy! Hey-huh-huh-I'm back! Believe it!" Naruto came running up the waves, waving over to the beach. Coming up to the group, he found they had moved on to different things, with a spark of jealousy towards Sasuke.

"Naruto!" At his name, the Genin faced his teacher. "For today, you and I are going to be working together on your skills. Including the fundamentals for a new jutsu. But first, let's head further inland to find a wide, open space."

At this the boy was jumping with delight, almost singing aloud about getting to learn a new jutsu. Kakashi himself remained patient, indulging him before turning towards the island and moving away from the group. Naruto hustled to catch up, smiling brightly all the while.

"Hey! Hey sensei, there's one of those out here! Just seven turns that way!" the boy called over, pointing to his right. Kakashi barely noticed, his mind somewhere else; worried over an immensely crucial matter. The man strode forward, placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder and guiding him further down the path.

'He must have found that from the shadow-clones memory transfer. I'll explain it a little later. This cannot wait,' he deduced, glancing around while Naruto questioned what was going on.

This continued until Kakashi found a quiet place and brought them to a stop. With a deep breath, he moved over to a flat boulder and took a seat. "Naruto," fixing the Jinchuuriki with a serious eye, he took a deep breath.

"I was honest with you, and there is a technique I will introduce you to today. However, there is something else we need to discuss beforehand."

"What-what-what-what-what-what? Come on sensei, this time is in the way of my training, and Sakura-chan or Sasuke are already getting stronger!" the boy complained, itching to get started. "How can something be bigger than us getting stronger?"

"The Kyubi, and how you are a Jinchuuriki," Kakashi answered, cutting to the point with a razor.

At this, Naruto came to a stop; his face evolving from excitement to fear, gulping down at this news.

"You and I haven't even spoken a word of it since Hanma Village. What I told you there still stands, Naruto," he reassured the sacrificed orphan in a calm voice. "You are my student and my comrade first and foremost, but ignoring your prisoner would be extremely irresponsible. What do you know about that so far? Take your time and tell me everything."

Naruto didn't answer. Not immediately. His mind was travelling back to the night Iruka and Mizuki had unveiled the truth. Stories from how the demon-fox had nearly destroyed his village, been defeated by the 4th Hokage ‑Naruto's personal hero- at the cost of everything he had, the ways other people hated or despised him in his own home. All of it and more.

Thoughts and feelings left behind when he departed for Nami no Kuni months ago… all came back this moment with a vengeance.

Naruto was shaking, his breaths growing shallow and erratic, blinking at those thoughts for some moments, until by strength of will, he pushed it all away and wore a fragile smile. "Uhhh. W-well, Kakashi-sensei. Oji-Hokage-san told me a little more after things with Mizuki and Iruka-sensei. About how it was sealed inside of me the day that I was born, and how other people blamed me for it. I haven't thought about it at all for a bit. Not since we first got to the Baratie, ya know?"

Kakashi nodded. "Indeed. Naruto, if you want, it is actually possible to see the seal that contains the fox. However, do you know of how you could possibly use the Fox's power, at all?

"Huh? S-s-s-s-sensei, I'm not the Fox! You-you said so, I'm Naruto! I can't do anything with it!" the boy protested, growing shaky with his words. Kakashi remained placid, holding one hand up to calm it.

"Yes. You are correct, and so was I, Naruto," he continued. 'Maybe, I need to coach him through this,' he decided. "It looks like there are a couple things that Hokage-sama didn't tell you about it.

"You see, another important part of having a Biju sealed inside of you, is that tiny parts of its chakra are mixing in with yours. This means it might be possible that you can stay yourself, but at the same time draw on parts of the Kyubi's chakra in a fight. Using its power to beat enemies greater than yourself and growing powerful as a ninja."

At this news, Naruto was quiet for a bit. "Huhhhh? Whaddya mean? I never did that before?"

At this, a frown came over Kakashi's face. "I see. Naruto, you may not have realized this, but the truth is that you have done that once before. All the way back in our fight with Zabuza and Haku at Tazuna's Bridge. Do you remember after Haku defeated Sasuke, a sudden rush of power came over you? Something that allowed you to match Haku's speed, breaking out of that ice-prison jutsu?"

Naruto followed his teacher's words. Thinking back, far back, to before his wish to the Genie had brought them far away from Konoha and the Ninja World he'd grown up in.

"Ohhhhh!" Dropping a hand into his palm, understanding was clear in his blue eyes. "You mean that was the Kyubi's chakra. Yeah, it made me real powerful, sensei."

Seeing they were on the same page, Kakashi nodded. "That is correct. It allowed us to win that fight. Nothing like that has happened since, but it is still very, very important Naruto.

"Please, remove your shirt for a second and come here. As I said, it is possible to actually see the seal that is keeping the Kyubi-no-Kitsune locked away inside of you. But while it might not threaten Konoha from here, we could still be in a little danger from it. I want to check the seal and ensure it's working properly, then we have a lot to talk about."

0…..…...…0

Meanwhile, back near the beach, Sasuke was throwing a handful of shuriken towards Zoro. The pair stood amidst charred and tiny fragments of glass in the sand. Throwing stars bent around the swordsman, while Sasuke shifted his hands. Yet, the first mate shifted his blade, turning it in a flourish, causing the shuriken to fall around, randomly. Sasuke gasped, moments before a tug yanked him off his feet, straight into Zoro's grasp with Wado Ichimonji levelled at his heart.

The shuriken hung about harmlessly, the ninja wires connecting them to Sasuke's hands taunt around Zoro's blade. "You've done that trick one time too many, kid. I'm not skilled enough to cut steel yet, so I tied the wires around my blade to pull you in this close. You understand?"

Snarling at this lesson, taking it as a wound to his pride, Sasuke nodded. Zoro let his Nakama back down to his feet, sliding the wires clear from his blade then turning a glare down at his sparring partner.

"There something you want to say, kid?"

"I've never failed with that move before, Zoro-san. How could you have seen those wires without a Sharingan after I used my fire-jutsu to screen them?" Sasuke demanded, fiercely.

"Simple," Zoro gave back without a care. "You've done it to me several times before, even as far back as our spars at the restaurant. It became predictable.

"The same move reused several times over doesn't guarantee it'll work, Sasuke. You've grown stronger since we met, but the details in some of your moves are still the same without any changes at all. You just reuse the same one exactly from before and expect their nature to bring results."

Sasuke was still glaring up at Zoro, unmoving. Zoro himself merely scoffed. "Let's go again, then."

It continued this time with Sasuke dashing in, two kunai held ready in his hands. Elsewhere, Gin and Sakura were both aboard the Going Merry. Sakura had managed to leave more of her arm obscured before cutting that practice short to save chakra. Now she was pouring over different lists, writing out any and every tactic, strategy and scenario she could think of for combat. Sanji was nearby giving his own critiques, proving to have an aptitude for strategy. Nami herself was still going through the newspaper while Ussop's chemistry set lay about the deck.

Gin stood apart from the group, working through a handful of his Man-Demon style techniques; watching closely on the beach all the while. 'How long'er those two be? Ah can't just start fightin' with Sakura, else Sanji'll git in the middle for hitting a lady. Still.' Looking back towards where the younger pirate-girl worked, he nodded some approval.

'She's certainly makin' good use of the time. Plannin' like that saved dozens back in Cocoyashi village.'

Sakura herself stopped in thought, working to recall as many theoretical strategies from the Ninja Academy as she could. 'After using these in Miss Nami's Village, I should double down on them going forward. Maybe even prepare a few unique ones for fighting out on the open

ocean.'

"Um, Sanji-san? Miss. Nami?"

"Hmmm? Something up, Sakura?" the Navigator replied, while Sanji came out from the lounge. "How do ships usually fight with each other out on the open ocean? If we run into another pirate crew and they start a fight, is it better to be up close to fight them, or further away at a distance?

Sanji took up the answer. "That depends on what kind of weapons you have." Setting down a cool drink beside the ladies, Sanji took a breath while reflecting on a good answer.

"We only have three canons on this caravel, so nearly every kind of ship on the seas will have more firepower than we do. Leaning on our captain's Devil fruits or Kakashi's Ninja powers will be our best bet to fight at a distance, but we'll still have a disadvantage. Otherwise, we can try to out-sail our enemies with Nami-swan's navigating or get up close to board them. Naruto's clone-ability would especially be a good method to use in that scenario."

Ussop perked up at this, nodding eagerly. "Hey, I'm a really good shot too, Sanji! Don't count my skill with the canons or my special stars out yet. We could also use how the Ninjas walk over water to try and take down another ship too, since that's one thing even devil-fruit users or Fishmen can't perform at all."

"Hmmm. Good thinkin', Ussop," Gin chimed in. "Beside's all dat, looking for the weathah or surroundings can be a handy principle. Fog and Islands are good places to hide behind, either to escape someone pursuing y'all or to hide and ambush."

Sakura herself continued writing all of these down, building different strategies for the crew to use in the future. Things kept on going back and forth between them while back on the island, Sasuke got thrown down again by Zoro.

Glaring up towards the green-haired warrior, Sasuke took a mental tally of all his ninja tools. 'I'm totally out, and still haven't gotten Zoro away from his sword at all.'

"You did better that time, kid." Zoro nodded, now sporting bruises on his arms, and a single foot-sized mark on his face. "That kick caught me by surprise. But if this is how you want to defeat the guy who orphaned you, then you're being stupid about it."

"WHAT!" Sasuke snarled up, loud enough for the others to hear. Zoro didn't respond. Instead, he cleared his blade and sheathed it.

"Kid. All that you've done is throw out different skills and expect the quality they have to do the work for you. Now, you're too predictable, and just double-down on what you've got, not try anything new or unexpected." [6]

"I've always won at the Ninja Academy!" Sasuke proclaimed. "Nobody there could challenge me at all, and I have to grow more powerful to kill It- …to avenge my clan! It's just the same as you getting stronger to beat Mihawk!"

Zoro fixed him with a stoic glare, unmoving and thoughtful.

"You're half right, and half wrong, Sasuke. First, I need to get stronger, you're on the money there. But Mihawk isn't sitting on his hands right now either. He's the Best Swordsman in the World, and to stay like that I know, without any doubt, that he's training too. Improving and sharpening himself to ensure that he will keep that title. A swordsman's oath and his blade in bound by their word; but this guy you wanted to kill. He's a ninja too. Isn't he?" Sasuke nodded, shaking to leap back into a fight. Zoro returned his glare, staying easy to drive a point home.

"Then it sounds like killing you first will be all that matters to him just as well. I'm willing to bet this guy is also training himself, just as Kakashi has been while teaching you, Sakura, and Naruto. Whoever killed your family, if he's truly in the top league, then he likely has become a better fighter now than when he tortured you. [6]

Thinking back to his own revelation towards a certain rival, Zoro stepped forward. Taking Sasuke by his arm, the older teen pulled him over to the shade where they both sat down.

"Listen, 'cause I'm only going to tell you this once," he snapped to the boy, shifting in discomfort. "When I was a kid, I had a rival at the dojo I trained at. My sensei's daughter Kuina. On my first day there, I challenged her to a fight and she accepted. So-"

"What!" A roar cut off the story. Looking up, Zoro watched a Black-and-Blonde blur knock over Ussop, sail over the railing and dash through shallow water to deliver a kick for his face. Zoro blocked it, while Sanji followed this with a handstand, raining kick after kick on his first mate. "You started a fight with a girl, you senseless imbecile! Forget that first-mate title, I'm going to kick some decorum into you right here and now!"

Elsewhere, a shout of agony rocked the Merry, followed by a column of flame erupting from the deck. Ussop was running sideways, hands to his face and screaming, "WHHAAAAHH-OOOWWW-HHH-HHHHHH-HHHHHH-HOT-HOT-HOT-HOT-HOT!"

Gin threw the sniper overboard, where the shallow water quickly solved Ussop's problem, as Sanji and Zoro wrestled around one another. Sasuke was watching the pair until a crazy sight left him stupefied.

"Gum-Gum: ROCKE STAMP!" Luffy came sailing down from the sky, flying a break-neck speed feet-first. Both his cook and first-mate had only seconds to get out of the way before their captain stomped down at the tree behind them; his rocket's impact with force in his legs shattered the bark to splinters, sending the whole tree clear off its stump and spinning further away from the island.

"Shishishishishishishi! Perfect. Now I got a new move to use on anyone who tries to hurt my crew." Their captain's voice came whimsically amidst the dust. Everyone else only blinked, Sanji and Zoro especially.

"Hm?" Luffy took a glance around. "Zoro? Sanji? Why'd both of you nearly come in my way?"

"I was teaching this idiot a sense of propriety, Captain!"

"Can you think about anything but women at all!?" Zoro shot back at the cook. "And quit jumping to one idea, pervy-cook! Kuina kicked my ass! That and the 2,001 times I sparred with her!"

Nobody moved at that news. Sanji even had to blink a few dozen times.

"Oh. That sounds alright then," he spoke while letting the first mate have a bit of space. "Hey, captain. You were training too right?"

"Yup," Luffy replied. Sanji himself threw down his spent cigarette and turned about to face the trees. "Well, I don't like feeling useless right now. Why don't we go to a separate part of the island and have our own spar together?"

"You wanna train with me!" Luffy cried with delight, palming his fist with a grin. "Okay! Hang on!" Throwing back his left arm, Sanji had one second to gulp. "Wait!-No, not this close-!"

"Gum-Gum: Pistol!" Luffy's fist came flying, for Sanji to duck by a hair. Pulling it back just out of counter-kick, the Rubber-man spun about to let his own leg fly out at his partner. "Whip!" Sanji dropped in a splits and the leg sailed over him and felled several falling trees.

"WHAT DUMB-ASS DID I GET FOR A CAPTAIN!?" he shouted before rolling around the falling trunks Luffy knocked towards them. Zoro and Sasuke had to scramble out of danger, all the while Luffy ignored them, hounding Sanji while trusting his rubber nature to take a hit.

Sanji weaved around each collapsing tree, snarling now before dashing to drive a Collier-Shot right for Luffy's chest; sending the younger pirate flying to a cliff. "I'll kick your ass into fractions for that!"

Soon, both were gone; the sounds of their own fight and wreaking boulders grew lower. Leaving others on the beach in a blend of bewilderment.

"Zoro-san?" At Sasuke's voice, the swordsman came back to his prior point. Standing up, he walked over towards the last Uchiha, even as the others on the ship came across to listen in.

"As I was saying. Kuina was my rival, and within my first year at sensei's dojo, she defeated me 2,001 times. I challenged her that often, and she won each and every fight.

"All because she trained just as hard as I did. I was driving myself from before dawn until long after sunset, endlessly working to improve and grow stronger. I defeated every student in the dojo, even adults that were twice as old as I was. Yet, Kuina still defeated me because she was doing the same; training just as hard as I was, leaving the gap between us as the same."

Placing one hand on his sword, Zoro's gaze rested on the blade"You asked to train with me, and I pledged that you would be able to kill this clan-murdering bastard by the time our paths depart from one another. If you truly want to grow, start by becoming more personal instead of predictable.

"Each of those contests with Kuina actually compelled me to learn how to use two-sword-style. And then invent my own three-sword-style: Sentoryu. Something unique, with different moves that I invented myself. I'm not saying you should sacrifice what you've already got, Sasuke. But start using what you have even better or developing something different that someone else won't expect at all."

Sasuke blinked his eyes, taking in this new idea, slowly "I'm going to meditate for a bit," Zoro announced. "Think over what I said for a while, then we'll resume sparring again."

Gin, meanwhile, called over towards Sakura. "Alright, Little Lady. Now that the cook's gone, let's git sparring. Sanji'd blow a gasket if I were fighting with ya right in front ah him. Now that Don' taken him, we'll put this window to use."

Sakura gulped, glancing wistfully towards her plans, but she didn't want to disappoint her sensei again. Set them together, she followed Gin over to the middle of the deck. Ussop, standing in the surf, stole a glance back at the Merry, then looked down to his pouch. "Well. I might as well practice my sniping now. That Tabasco Star really has more potency than I imagined. But nailing someone's mouth or face could still be tricky."

While the Sniper strode off to set up his own targets, Sasuke himself stood still for a while, before turning over to watch Zoro. His eyes took on a gleam at the sword resting on his teacher's shoulder.

Nami herself began to feel out of place. 'Hmmmm. Maybe I should get my bo out and join them? No, the sun won't be this high forever,' Nami soaked in the warm sun. 'I'll grab my swimsuit. Still, I wonder what Naruto and Kakashi are doing?" she asked herself.

0…...0

Back in the clearing, Kakashi kept a very close watch on Naruto while speaking about Jinchuuriki.

"The Kyubi is considered top-secret. Even details like these are kept hidden from any lower than a Jonin's rank. But, given how we are right now, keeping things from you might not be the best choice.

"After I examined your seal with my Sharingan, everything appears to be balanced and intact. It's also designed to allow a fraction of the Biju's chakra to be funnelled into your own chakra and kept locked away. That was a crucial point made by the Four Hokage for your own safety. But it can also allow you to draw on its power easily enough to be dangerous."

"Yeah-" Naruto cut him off. "You just told me that if I go with too much the seal can break, and I would die. And that happens each time a Biju breaks out from the person holding it inside of them."

Watching him carefully, Kakashi stayed silent. Letting the boy process this on his own.

"Basically, I'm stuck with the stupid Kitsune for life. And if the seal breaks, it might hurt our nakama if they are around me." Naruto summarized in a tone filled with fear. His body trembled at the idea of the ones he'd met dying because of him; all whilst the Biju within him sneered with glee at such a concept.

"Yes," Kakashi answered, blunt and direct. "In another ninja village, Kumogakure, that happened quite often with the Gyuki. However, it never did inside of Konoha and the chances of that happening to you are very small. For now. They might grow larger if you use the Kyubi's power too often, and-"

"WHY!" Naruto screamed. Facing his sensei, tears mixing anger and fear were rolling past his whiskered face. "WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME, SENSEI!? FOR MY LIFE TO BE SO BADLY SCREWED LIKE THAT SO MUCH!?"

Begging the only source of answers he had, Naruto curled into himself, his fists tight and trembling. "I…I…. Sensei, I'm not the Kitsune….and I don't want anything to do with it either! Why did everybody hate me for maybe letting out that monster, when I'm gonna die too if that happens! It's unfair, from so many people, even-!"

More may have followed, but a hand came to rest on Naruto's shoulder, drawing his attention towards a certain Copy-ninja.

"Yes. It is unfair, to say the absolute least."

Naruto stopped cold…awe growing through the fog of rage in his mind. Hearing sympathy from anyone was still so alien to him.

"Naruto, do you know what a ninja is?" Kakashi continued, in a gentle voice. Drawing from memories to emulate his own sensei. 'Minato-sensei. I hope this will work.'

"Ummm…sensei. Ninjas save people, don't they? They rescue their comrades, protect their homes, and follow their nindo to the end. Right?" he answered. Kakashi nodded.

"In general, yes. But at the same time, a ninja is one who endures. We are people who set goals for ourselves and are measured by what stands in the way of those goals. Everything that we surpass is what a ninja can be judged by, even things we find hateful and unfair."

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi thought back towards how his other two students had become angry before. And what shocked the pair of them into growing more amicable with others and their situations.

"Believe me, I know more than a little about an unfair life. If you want, I'll tell you about some things that happened to me before I became a Jonin. Not about important missions I finished or great enemies I overcame. But about what I lost in my life, and what I did to endure it."

This was followed with the story of Sakumo Hatake, right up to his death. "Everyone in the village turned against my father. Right up until…he took his own…." Kakashi had to swallow several times. Turning over a stone he left untouched for years, a second time within months.

"I found him in our home after he killed himself. After that, Naruto, I became focused completely on being the perfect ninja; you might not know this, but I actually graduated from the Academy at age five and became a Chunin when I was six years old."

"Whoa! Huh?" Naruto went from horrified to excited, then confused all within seconds. "Uhhh. Sensei I forgot. What's so big about a Chunin?"

Kakashi's face fell flat. 'Did he really just ask that?'

"Naruto. There are five official ranks that a ninja can have after they complete the Academy." Kakashi, with straining patience, explained. "Genin, Chunin, Jonin, Anbu, and Kage. You, Sasuke, and Sakura are each Genin, and I am a Jonin, an elite ninja. Chunin are in the middle, the same rank that Mizuki and Iruka had. Didn't you learn this in school?"

Naruto's face scrunched up in itself before a light bulb clicked, and he went totally sheepish. "UH…huhuhuhuhuhuh. Now I remember them, sensei. Guess I fell asleep or didn't really try to hear when Iruka-sensei talked about it."

"Hhhhhh…"

'It looks like my work is going to be harder than I thought,' the lazy greyhound reflected silently before taking another breath to speak about the other matters.

"Coming back to what a person can endure. After completing several missions, I was assigned to a team with a new sensei and my own teammates. But that was during the 3rd Great Shinobi War, and a lot of people were dying."

"On one mission…" Kakashi had to stop, repressing a shudder threatening to course through him. The image of Obito's body buried under rubble, and Nohara Rin's mouth coughing blood flashing in his sight.

"Both of my teammates died in that war. On separate missions right before my eyes. The first one saved my life and became crushed beneath a giant bolder. As he lay dying, he begged me to protect the one I still had left…but even she died right in front of me a short time later."

Kakashi had to fight the instinct to grasp his right hand, recalling the sickeningly wet sensation of it piercing through her heart. Naruto didn't speak. Rustling leaves up above and distant waves become the only sound between them.

"Then, during the Kyubi attack a year following the end of the war, even my sensei and his wife died in the fighting. I wasn't allowed to join, as several younger ninjas were kept away from it to ensure the future of our village would grow up and nurture those to come after them."

"I lost…everyone I have ever known. Every one of those losses was a mountain, too steep to climb myself."

Turning aside, Kakashi's single dead eye met Naruto's wild blue ones. "It took everything I had to endure that. And become the ninja I am now. I tried to do it on my own but fell down several times. Still, there were others, people who picked me up along the way." Without meaning too, Kakashi's mind brought images of his rival Might Guy, the grandfatherly Third Hokage, and even Pakun and the other dogs to his conscious.

"That is how I became a great ninja, and why I will not allow any of my comrades to die. Again"

"Naruto," he addressed his bewildered student. "That even includes preventing you from becoming lost to the Kyubi-no-Kitsune. I know you have been through an immeasurable amount of suffering as a Jinchuuriki. But you are still right here, and you became a ninja despite all of it. Even your dream to become Hokage deserves only praise and support."

"I want you to understand this so we can prepare for it, and ensure nothing happens that will endanger you, the crew we are travelling with, or anybody at all. But that can only happen if the both of us work on it together. Do you understand?"

Naruto didn't reply at first. Pure awe could be written on his face, even facing the ground for a long time. Kakashi decided to be patient as the minutes passed by.

"Sensei…. I…" Naruto's voice cracked under the pressure. The maelstrom within him was compressed beneath a mask. Looking up, he gave a fake smile. "I guess I shouldn't talk about things being fair to you. With you Sasuke, Sanji-senpai, or Nami around. They lost people just like you, too, and hurt a lot." After this, a new look of sheer determination and will came into Kakashi's sight, sending him for a ringer by recalling the same from the young Jinchuuriki's father. "I swear I won't let that evil Kitsune out! If I have to, I'll only use him to protect our nakama, and get strong enough to make sure he stays in his cage! I give you my word. And I never go back on my word!" A fierce smile joined Naruto's pledge. Giving Kakashi more than he'd hoped for.

"I know you will," he answered. "In that case, I'll focus your training on growing strong enough not to rely on the power very much. Still, if you feel the same sensation as the one you did against Haku, then try to use only a small amount of it or come and find me immediately. For now,"—standing up, Kakashi moved directly into the middle of the clearing—"let's focus on this new jutsu I promised."

"YEAH!" The knucklehead's mood shifted on a dime, jumping high at this piece of news.

"Alright. Now, this ninjutsu is a little special, Naruto. It's an A-ranked technique and was actually invented by the Hokage himself. One of his most famous, ever."

0…0

The rest of the day brought more and more revelations for the Straw Hat Pirate Crew. Until each of them gathered by the beach. Kakashi was satisfied with Naruto's progress but had to blink after finding the sight near their ship. Nami was down on the beach, swinging around a bo-staff. Gin was up on the deck while Sakura was slumping over a chair, exhausted and sore all over. Sasuke and Zoro were the closest to them, sitting together in silence under the watch of the sun. Noticing how they were meditating, Kakashi left the pair be. Taking in the sights of the rest of their companions, until… "Huh? Where did Naruto go?" the Jonin noticed, belatedly.

"Sanji-sensei! Hey, Sanji-sensei! Sanji-sensei, I'm back and ready! Come on out, ya know! I want to get some more Black-leg training!" Naruto was up in the Merry's Crow's nest, scanning the beach with his eyes covered, impatient to start with his second instructor.

"Naruto!"

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei?" the boy called down to his teacher. "I'll take care of finding Sanji. For now, Sasuke and Sakura completed a certain exercise that you haven't finished yet; so, they're a little more along in that way than you are."

"WHAATT!" A flurry of orange shot down the mast, over the deck and suddenly was pouting in front of Kakashi. "What is it, sensei! I can't let Sasuke get ahead of me, believe it. I gotta be strong to help him and help our crew. What is this new thing! Come on, tell me!"

With a chuckle, Kakashi gave him the instructions for running on the sand, leaving the jinchuuriki to shoot off without his sandals on and went up hopping around the sun-burnt sand. After throwing the footwear back towards him, Kakashi moved towards the ship; finding Ussop reading through a newspaper and his kunoichi student draped across a lawn chair.

"Sakura," moving over towards her, he took a place by the railing near the chair. "I hope that sparring with Gin went somewhat well."

"Ghhhhhhhr. Sensei, I'm sore all over, and in the worst kinda ways," a croak came past her lips. Sure enough, the girl was covered with bruises and contusions, her muscles taunt and only taking shallow breaths with each word.

"Try to breathe deeply and tell me how it went," her teacher coached her.

Following his advice, Sakura recounted how things had gone. "At first I managed to get around him well and landed good kicks. Suddenly though his style changed. I couldn't touch him at all, sensei, and any form of taijutsu I used was met with a sharp hit on my wrists, knees, and elbows. I got around that with the substitution jutsu at first and even used several of them to try and bait Gin. But he saw through that and grabbed me by my hair.

"I tried to kick him in his groin from there but he held me out of range and was just too strong, sensei. Still, Gin actually nodded, and said it was a good idea to use dirty tricks like that if I had to."

Nodding at this news, Kakashi noticed how Naruto was cruising back across the sand while Sasuke and Zoro remained unperturbed. "Keep going Sakura. Is there anything else?"

"Well," pulling herself up, Sakura managed to sit up, blushing somewhat at her teacher. "I did use the clone-jutsu to make copies of myself, then channelled a small amount of chakra to my feet to dash in, giving a strong black-leg kick to his face. But sensei, Gin just stumbled with it and was still able to fight. A short while from there, I ran into a low amount of chakra and became too tired to use any more taijutsu. From there, things went so bad that Gin decided to end things, and I lost the spar."

Shuffling her feet and looking downcast, shame was clear to see in the girl's form. Embarrassed at think of how she'd failed her sensei, Sakura retreated into her own thoughts.

'If that really had been a true enemy, I wouldn't be able to help Sasuke-kun or Na…or Naruto at all. I got a few good hits in, but Gin shouldn't be any more than a highway bandit from nearby Konoha. That was all the success I was able to make at all, fighting on my own.'

"Sakura!" Kakashi's tone shook the girl out of her stump, finally noticing the gentle hand on her shoulder. "You made a good effort then, and the strategies to use the jutsu in your arsenal are not something to be ashamed for. I know you aren't a heavy-hitter like Zoro, Sasuke, Sanji, or myself. But that doesn't make you a weak ninja at all.

"You discovered an important lesson today. You do have limitations, but how we work within those limitations can be what determines our success. You were successful in Cocoyashi Village working beside Johnny, Yosaku, Ussop, and Nami. Teamwork like that is critical, and something I value the most about any skills a ninja can have. Still, there can be times when you become forced to fight separately. And that is what we are preparing for right here."

Looking up, Sakura could feel relief flooding through her heart; Kakashi's praise went a long way to lift her spirits, with a noticeable change.

"Now, taijutsu is evidently your weakest branch of ninja arts right now, and your chakra levels are too low to last very long in a fight. Think back towards the spar right here, and think of what you could develop to stand a better chance in it, then focus on applying those skills to go forward."

Leaving her to her thoughts, Kakashi moved across the caravel to the shoreline. Jumping from the railing, he took a breath before resuming his own training regimen.

0…0

Evening came around to find Sasuke and Zoro hanging in a tree, Zoro by his knees and Sasuke with chakra at his feet, doing sit-ups. Shirtless.

Sakura had hearts in her eyes at the sight, swooning over her crush, his sweating form highlighted by the sunset.

Luffy also stood near the beach, while a cloud of dust dissipated to reveal he was alone. "Huh! Where? Darn, where did Old Man disappear too!?" Shifting left and right, even crouching down are lying back, the rubber man didn't find any trace of the ninja. "Come on, are you Old Man?"

Suddenly, Luffy's ankle was seized from underground. "I am where you least expect it, Captain." Jarringly, Luffy found himself neck-deep in the sand, stretching his neck around to face the Grey-hound holding his hat.

The Jonin had taken over for Sanji as Luffy's training partner, and despite outclassing him decisively could not help but become impressed with the Devil-Fruit user's grit, ingenuity, and endurance. Placing the hat back on his crown, Kakashi stood up with a badly needed stretch. "Why don't you try and get out for a while, and I'll take a break on-board the ship."

Leaving him behind with stars in his eyes, Nami handed him a glass filled with water back aboard the Merry. Ussop and Gin were doing their own practice together in a contest for who was the better shot. Sanji and Naruto also came out from the tree line.

"You did good learning today, Naruto," Sanji praised him once they reached the group. "For now, let's get back to the kitchen and prepare some dinner for everyone."

"Fooooodddd!" a shout rang across the beach. "Yeah, Sanji, meal-time! Come on, I'm starving right here. I need a lot of meat to get my strength back!"

Sanji couldn't obey; fixed in place with a cigarette dropping from his mouth. "Ghu-Hahahahahahahaha!" Naruto even fell over, rolling with both arms wrapped over his middle. "Looks like sensei got you really good, Captain. Believe it!" Naruto laughed.

"How can you find this funny, Naruto! Our captain lost his head…. okay, he literally did this time!" Sanji admonished him, with a second to correct his statement over their crazy captain.

"It's fine, dumb-ass-cook!" Zoro called from his place in the tree. "Kakashi just yanked him under the sand to trap him in place. Hurry up and cook before that endless pit in his stomach steals dinner from everyone."

Taking this hint without even a comeback, Sanji nodded and was inside the kitchen moments later. Naruto was behind him, finding the cook with hearts in his own eyes, swooning over Nami at the table. Quickly enough, sandwiches were brought out to the beach where the crew gathered for a bite.

"Hey, Sanji!" Naruto called over.

"Yeah?"

"Today, Ussop and Luffy talked about going to the Grand Line. Is it really your goal to find this Great Blue Place and cook everything there?"

The chef shook his head, smiling at the idea of his own dreams. "You're off by a bit, Naruto. My goal is to find someplace, but not the Great Blue. It's called the All Blue." Some of the Straw Hats paused a moment, listening to Sanji talking about the Legendary place; a spot nowhere on any map, where all fishes of all types could be found. "It's a chef's paradise; one so amazing that many write it off as a myth, but it'll only be that way until someone proves it's real. And that's what I'll do."

"Oh," Sasuke scoffed at this news. "If that's what you wanted, then why waste time to start looking for it? You kept saying 'no' to Luffy at the Baratie, giving any excuse to stay with Zeff all the time. If this was so crucial, why not go for it the first time he kicked you out?"

"Yeah! What gives Sanji? I had to keep asking and asking and asking before you finally left!" Luffy demanded.

Sanji fell silent again; thinking back to the most crucial days of his life: the vessel Zeff's crew attacked, the storm that followed, and one critical moment with a near-living skeleton with only thin grey skin on his bones.

Taking a breath from his cigarette and looking around, the chef made a choice. Sanji began talking, sharing his first attempt to find the All Blue by joining a ship, the Orbit, as a trainee chef. About Zeff's attack on the boat and the storm that ensued. How the old man saved his life, then of having a tiny sack of food while Zeff kept a giant one to himself.

Kakashi remained stoic, while Sakura's mouth hung agape and Gin even had to blink. "S-S-S-Sanji. Chef Zeff really saved you like that?" the kunoichi asked him.

"I think you're wrong!" Naruto exclaimed, drawing glares from everyone in the room. "The Chef always talked about giving people food, not hoarding it! Believe it! There's no way he'd give you a tiny bit and keep a giant sack to himself. You've gotta be remembering it wrong, Sanji!"

Listening closer, some people picked up the denial in his voice. Gin even started pondering it. 'The kid's right. Dat don't sound like the old Chef acted a'tall.'

"Well, he did, Naruto." Sanji continued. "I took it over to the other side and didn't see the old man for a while. Even moving around would waste energy and bring death that much closer."

"At first, I rationed everything out for 20 days; thinking that something would come along before then. At that time, I felt guaranteed that a ship would pass by and spent the nights smiling out at the sun. Slowly…those 20 days went by. More followed." A long pause came between each sentence; tempered with an agonizing despair.

"Weeks…. a month…. I…." Sanji leaned back, his face to the ceiling, one hand slipping over his stomach.

"I started eating less…. food…. the feel of something in my mouth. It became more precious than air at the bottom of the sea." A pause followed this. "The 25th day came. That was the one I ran out on." Sanji's hand came before his face, grasping the memory clear as glass. "One, single, mouldy loaf of bread. That was all leftover of what I had."

Most of the crew had recoiled from their cook. Gin swallowed, hard; the weakness and the agony that came with hunger were still fresh in his mind. Nami's lips were trembling, recalling dangerous nights where she'd been unable to steal a scrap, or Arlong denied her anything to eat; all the worse from recalling the last argument with Bellemere, starving herself to ensure her girls ate their fill.

Naruto was barely holding back tears. Recalling how he'd seen families eating together in his village, and nobody around for him. Even lying on a bed at home on a sunny day, his stomach groaning out with nobody and nothing around.

Sanji lit a smoke and then continued. "I dropped it over the side after my grip fell from a painful wrack from my cursed stomach came with a painful wrack. That bread was worth more than a country to me at that moment, and losing it was torture.

"From there, all the days just…I couldn't count them any longer. Water, a kind we could drink, was still there. But…My clothes become bigger. An empty…dark…torturous pit replaced any feeling in my stomach. Dust was the only thing my mouth could feel.

"And still there was no sign of any ship, people, not even birds up above. Rain, clouds, sunlight, all of it came and went. Months went by. I was closer to a skeleton than a boy…. couldn't even walk anymore.

"I never saw the Geezer once. So, I thought he was dead and crawled over to see."

More continued, of Sanji's decision to kill Zeff and take the giant sack beside him. Of how it fell open, filled only with gold, treasure, and more. Even Nami had to gasp, giving no thought towards the money in light of where it was found in.

"So…. he gave all of it to you?" Kakashi spoke up; the most disciplined one in their midst. "You said beforehand that only two sacks were there; the food he put aside and gave to you, and a second larger one. The old man didn't eat anything."

Sanji nodded. "Strange, isn't it? We had all that money and were starving with nothing to gain with it. All of it was worthless."

Raising his head, Sanji met everyone's eyes, sending their instincts screaming to run. "Next thing I did was shake the Geezer. That was how I saw he was missing one leg. I demanded to know what happened to it." Shifting his eyes to the table, the chef needed several breaths from his smoke to convey this piece of news.

"'I was hungry.' When I asked about his leg, that was his answer. He used a sharpened rock to cut off his own leg; the only thing he ate in that time." [4]

Sakura's scream caused the ship to shake, and the girl hit her limits. Naruto was lost for any words or thoughts. Sasuke had become white, trying to force himself not to throw up. Gin was shaking, Zoro was frozen, as was Luffy. Ussop and Nami couldn't make a sound.

Kakashi couldn't move, both his eyes wide enough for one to edge out from under his headband. Turning that revelation over in his mind, he failed to imagine someone from Konoha doing the same for their own team, even his own sensei.

"That Geezer. He gave all the food he'd recovered to me. I owe my entire life to him, and the greatest lesson I will ever have. When I asked him why, he said he'd had the same dream as I do. The All Blue."

Finally, so much made sense to the Straw Hat's about Sanji. A short explanation followed, of their rescue and opening the Baratie together.

"Whoa!" Naruto exclaimed. The boy was shaking, his arms curling at his hips. Then he exploded with excitement. "Zeff is so awesome! He's the ultimate guy! Sanji-senpai, please, please, please! Teach me to be like him, and all the stuff you learned from him!"

Most of the group could only smile at this reaction, Kakashi even shaking his head at Naruto's single-minded habits. Sanji shared a grin at his upside-down nakama. "You really want to learn everything I got from that Old Man, Naruto?"

"Yeah-yeah-yeah!" the whiskered Genin nodded. "Teach me everything you learned from him! Even how to fight and how to cook! Can you do that, Sanji-sensei?"

Sanji thought it over, while Kakashi himself did the same.

'These two really have hit it off together, even since we arrived at the Baratie. Naruto especially took to learning that Black-leg style more than Sakura or Sasuke. It is certainly a practical method for ninjas like us to have and Naruto certainly needs an overhaul for all of his baseline skills. This might be a good substitute for conventional taijutsu.'

Whilst the Jonin sensei was debating these possibilities, Sanji was looking down at Naruto, grinning. "Alright then. We'll start with practice sessions every day from here on, Naruto. But first, there is one rule I need you to grasp."

Placing one hand on his official protégé's shoulder, Sanji took another look at his past. "That time on that piece of rock. It left me with a single revelation towards my role as a cook.

"Before all of that, I thought it was disgusting to eat leftovers or anything that another person left behind. Starving out there, all I thought of was scraping away piles worth of food, even the night before the shipwreck. My one, absolute rule from that time is to never allow any food to go to waste. I'll feed anyone who's hungry, no matter who they are or what they have done. Nobody can deserve to starve like that. Ever.

"That's the same reason Chef Zeff decided to open a sea restaurant for anyone going about on the ocean. Naruto, if you want to learn anything from me, you must always respect the duty of a chef; to feed anyone who is hungry, and to never allow even a tiny flake of food to go to waste."

A loud bang followed, calling their attention to Luffy; who stood tall and strong out from Kakashi's sand trap. "Sanji, you are a real man. And I get why you didn't want to leave back then. Old Man Zeff saved you as Shanks saved me. Now, we'll find this Big Blue you both want to find and head to the Grand Line!"

Nami, Sasuke, and Ussop each smacked their heads, while Gin, Sakura, and Kakashi let out one simultaneous sigh. Still, Zoro and Naruto nodded.

"Believe it, Sanji-senpai! And if I can make food really, really good, Sakura-chan might even say yes to a date with me, ya know."

Sanji stopped cold. "You want to charm a lady and treat her properly, too?" Straightening his suit, Sanji strode over to his new official pupil, with one hand raised. "Naruto, if that is your goal, then we will get started right now. Get to the kitchen!"

"Awesome!" Naruto bolted. "What do I get to make first?"

"Hhhhh. Not so fast, kid." The chef was still close behind him, and pointing at the used, dirty kitchen space. "If you're aiming to learn how to cook and how to fight, then the first step is the dishes." Spreading his arm across the table, the cook then tapped his foot down.

"Never leave a kitchen filthy for someone else to come and find later. The last thing we do at any time is tidy every centimetre of this kitchen space. Start gathering them up, and I want to see my face shine in each one before you can learn anything about fighting or cooking."

Naruto tried to complain before a solid kick to the noggin set him to the job. The rest of the night witnessed Nami and Sakura in the bath together, Gin asking Kakashi about a certain orange-covered book, while Zoro and Sasuke continued meditating. Once he was satisfied, Sanji and Naruto were back on deck practising black-leg style with Naruto learning to hold a hand-stand and improve his balance. Until the watch was drawn and most fell to sleep.

0…...0

The Straw Hat remained there on the island for four days, either in preparation or relaxation. Zoro set several different exercises out for Sasuke that left the prodigy at his limits, and Sakura still tried experimenting to find what different fighting methods were the most practical, for herself and the crew. Naruto himself had it the hardest of the lot, stuck with dishes and kitchen jobs any moment he wasn't training. He'd complained about wanting to make food and giving it to the crew, especially Sakura, yet Sanji had none of it. Even giving kick after kick to Naruto's head every time he made a mistake in the kitchen. The chef was a strict teacher, recalling exactly how he had been educated and holding nothing back.

Meanwhile, Sakura made the broadest leap by coming to Gin with a surprise.

"You want to learn howda use a tonfa?"

"Yes, Gin," the kunoichi replied, her arms folded back, head straight, mustering her full commitment. "After our spar, Sanji's Black Leg style takes too much out of me to use without some heavy chakra use, and I'm still working on learning new jutsu. I think that using a weapon like Miss Nami, Zoro, and you would be useful to me. I thought about a bo first, but I'd need to drop it completely to use the hand signs for other moves. If I had one tonfa, maybe I could strap it somewhere or pull it out again when I need to in the middle of a fight. Plus, they…really hurt a lot when they connect." She rubbed her side delicately.

After wincing at the sore spot, she swallowed and lifted her head to face Gin square-on. "Naruto is learning from Sanji, and Sasuke-kun trains a lot with Zoro. Nami isn't a dedicated fighter like you, and I want to learn how to use that weapon. Please," bowing her head towards him, Sakura made her plea. "Teach me how to fight better, and to use tonfa's."

Gin pondered this, before looking over at Kakashi. His nod came a moment later. "All'righ, Sakura. I'll warn ya, Ah've nevah been teaching before. This'll be hard on ya, kid, but Ah'll teach ya my own methods, the Man-demon style.

"Heh!" the former Krieg pirate gave a smirk at his own name. "Guess we'll have ta rename it. Daemona's Dance, or some'in. Still, Ah'll have to getcha yer own tonfa's, plus a matching replacement for mine so we both have matchin' sets. We'll take care of that in Loguetown."

Kakashi continued working with his students on their jutsu repertoire. Naruto surprised everyone by learning his new technique the fastest.

"Whahooooooo! I did it! I did! I did it!"

"Indeed, Naruto," Kakashi smiled at his student. "You officially completed the baseline stage of this jutsu. I thought it would be perfect for you to learn. Especially since you have the first stage complete." Naruto spun around, a happy look on his face as the rest of the crew gathered about

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey show us!" Luffy excitedly pleaded. "Come on. Come on show us this mystery-power you got Naruto. I bet you it'll be awesome. Shishishishishishishishishishishishishishi."

"Hm. I actually want to know too Kakashi," Ussop joined in. "What did you teach Naruto? And what's so big about it?"

"What's so big!?" Sakura cried out, finally getting her voice back. "Ussop, Naruto learned something faster than we did. At the Academy, he was the worst student in our class. I can't believe he can learn anything this fast."

"There may actually be an explanation, Sakura," Kakashi spoke up, ever the enigma. "A head start can often bring the finish line that much closer. Naruto, why don't you show everyone what you learned?"

"No way!" the boy cried out folding his arms in an X. "Nu-ah, no, no, no. It's a big surprise for when we run into another fight, sure, but I wanna keep this secret for another sparring match with Sasuke. That's why I kept practising it away where nobody would see me."

Ussop and Luffy fell flat on their faces, before jumping up and to hound Naruto. Going on and on while the cabin-Genin raced around the beach until a game of tag started from it. Kakashi and Sakura got roped in, while Sasuke and Zoro stood on the sidelines, their arms folded somewhere between scepticism and jealousy.

From then, they raised sails for Loguetown. More training continued on the way, especially on Sakura and Sasuke's part to not be outdone by their teammate. However, a storm between them and their destination stalled things for one day.

"AHHHHHH!" Naruto and Sakura both cried, feeling the boat shake around from under their feet.

"Hey, you too, keep it together," Nami exclaimed. "This storm is only a small one, but we still need all hands on deck to avoid getting capsized!"

"Huh? What do we need a cap for, Nami?" Naruto called over, while Sasuke and Kakashi were tying down anything loose on the deck.

"Turning over!" Sakura answered instead, crouching down, one arm across her stomach trying to hold back breakfast. "Capsizing means turning upside down, Naruto!"

"Oh!" The boy actually turned pale at this idea, until a laugh of all things came from the bow.

"Shishishishishsishishi! We're doing great Nami. That'll never happen with you as our navigator, so why worry!"

Rain was coming down hard, too much for the rest to see Nami blushing at this praise. The ninjas held tight to the boat with their chakra while Gin and Zoro stayed on deck with their sea legs alone. The entire ship jarred with a sickening, harsh tear.

"The Haul is broken!" Ussop's shrilling report came up from below deck. There's a tear in the wall of the boy's room!"

"Oh no! Not-"

"Naruto, come down here with me!" Nami's exclamation was silenced by Kakashi's command. Immediately, the Genin was with his sensei down the ladder to the room. Inside, Kakashi was already weaving hand signs.

"Water-style: Water-wall Jutsu!" A stream coming through the wooden wall suddenly began shifting, moving from the floor of the room back outside the opening. "I'll hold this leak stable. Naruto, get at least 20 copies out here in a human chain to the storage room. Working with Ussop to make a patch job over top of this tear. Now!"

Nodding, Naruto made his clones quickly grab all the materials, while Zoro and Luffy were working over the sail and Gin took the helm with Nami. Soon enough they had the leak repaired and Kakashi was back on deck. Under Nami's directions, they continued to work hard until a single ray of light came into view.

"There it is! The eye of the storm! Come about inside of it and we'll stay there until it dissipates," the Navigator ordered. The entire crew complied, and the seas became quiet and still. Zoro, Kakashi and Sasuke tied off the lines while Sakura and Ussop both fell over, one over the side.

"Sakura!"

"Ghhk-Naru, don-Blllleeaaahhhhh!" the Kunoichi emptied her gut over the side, the slightest relaxation forcing her shaking stomach to betray her. "Huh…. uhhhhhh."

Nami blinked, watching the boy stand beside his sea-sick teammate at a total loss. "Naruto, try holding back Sakura's long hair, and rub her back until she stops."

Nodding, the boy followed her directions, sliding one hand around Sakura's face the hold her bangs behind her shoulders, then clumsily trying the stop all the pink strands running down her back from sliding forward. Sasuke watched the pair a moment, then walked up to the stern deck to come beside Zoro.

"Well, that wasn't so bad, except it interrupted our training today," Zoro observed, shifting away to take a seated pose. His sword resting on his shoulder, the man's knuckles came together and Sasuke mirrored him.

"Yo," Kakashi's lax daisy call announced that he was close by. "Mind if I join you too? Luffy, Nami, and the others can handle the ship." The three warriors knelt into meditation, Sasuke remaining antsy, stiff and forceful even to an onlooker, while the others were a picture of calm and ease.

Sakura's sorry state soon passed and with a thank-you to Naruto, she came back to the other nakama.

The crew continued for the day and the following night, staying within the eye until the storm slowly lifted and clear, calm weather prevailed the next day. Enough for Luffy to start a game of tag on the deck.

"I told you, I don't have time for children's games, Captain," Sasuke growled at a certain pest.

"Come on let's play tag! It was great back on the beach, and you didn't join," Luffy pouted.

"Zoro said no so he could take a nap and Nami is busy. Naruto and Sakura are in, so come on!"

Sasuke still refused, until Luffy got impatient, running back while carrying the boy under his arm. Sasuke quickly became a game prop, with Sakura chasing after her crush to save him, making a keep-away game between Luffy, Sanji, and Naruto against Sakura. Even with a substitution, the Uchiha still got caught again with no place to stay to escape.

Kakashi had to chuckle, watching it from the corner of his eye while buried in a certain green "Tactic's," book.

"Hm? What exactly are you reading there, Kakashi?" Sanji had come to stand by his nakama and enjoy a smoke.

"Because I want to enjoy what comes next in the story. This one is part of a series in our village. It's actually a romance story written by another ninja."

"Romance?" the chef jerked, turning his full attention to the book. "Hey, you mind if I read it one time?"

"Hmmm?" Kakashi glanced towards him, actually taking one eye off the page. Looking back between it and Sanji, he stole a glance at Nami and decided.

The Jonin reached around to his pouch, pulled out to the first volume, and spoke in a very, very low hush. "It's called Icha-Icha, with the first edition titled 'Paradise.' But do not, allow, Nami, to see, or read it."

Crinkling his eyebrow, Sanji scowled at this news. 'If anything, Nami-swan disapproves of is here, maybe I should throw it out after reading it,' he thought.

Several hours passed before Luffy began demanding food again, only to find Sanji frozen in place; above a pool of blood dropping through his nose, from a face flushed with a special shade of pink. Kakashi himself stayed in the background as everyone tried to revive the cook. "Quick, get him a lot of water and larger amounts of sugar!" Nami ordered everyone.

'This mask really does come in handy,' the pervy Hatake silently remarked. [5] As Gin took the book away first and started reading it himself. From then on, both the scoundrel and the cook had daily morning sparring to decide who would get to continue reading the new treasure they found in Kakashi's back pocket.

0…...0

Within a bar at Loguetown, the patrons inside were trying to stay unnoticed; avoiding the eccentric party occupying the centre of the place. Still, two made the mistake of looking over. With a crash, a grey-beard man went flying out the window in a blood-spray, and the other waved over at a waitress.

"Ma'am?" the same attended spoke to one member of the centre stage. "Your entire meal has been paid for by a generous man. He requested this be passed on to you."

"Oh?" a black-haired, shirtless beauty smiled.

"Hhmmmm. Another boyfriend flashily slayed by your powers, Alivida?" a certain red-nosed clown beside her questioned.

"Yes, it seems so. Still, all the free service aside, how far longer do you expect to wait until Straw Hat may come around here?" she replied with an impatient frown.

"Oh, he most certainly will. That flashy dumb-ass is headed here no doubt, either to reach the Grand Line or to see where the man he wants to surpass met his end. It's actually laughable that idiot can imagine stacking up to Captain Roger at all," her partner replied, shovelling another load into his mouth.

"Captain Roger? You talk like you've met him before, not only heard through an old ship's tale."

"Well of course I do," the red-nose man replied. "Years ago, throughout my time as an apprentice pirate, I met that incredible man in person. It's hard to see it has been 20 years since his execution happened right here. And kicked off the whole Great Pirate Era from it."

More followed, all within earshot of another man who'd run afoul of the Mugiwara crew recently. With a thirst for blood and payback.

0…...0

Another day of sailing later, the ship came in with the horizon. The docks of Loguetown held barely anyone at that hour. Few enough that nobody spotted the silhouette on a rooftop, garbed in an ink-green cloak. Around the figure, ripples were flowing about his clothes, and continued staring at a particular vessel, approaching.

'Fate must be the answer to this. Show me what destiny you have chosen for yourself, and who will stand beside you. My son.'

Right in his sight, one in his thoughts and those of the Straw Hat Crew were assembled at the Going Merry's figurehead. Watching their destination coming into view.

"That's it, huh?" Luffy asked, filled with awe and eagerness. "That is where Gold Roger was born and then executed, right?"

Nami stepped up beside him. "So, you did remember. I've gotta say, Luffy, you keep on surprising everyone here by turning into a nearly different self left and right."

"Whaddya mean? I'm always myself in everything, Nami. Now, let's go there. And then, off to the Grand Line, everyone!" he exclaimed.

Watching him, Nami smiled at this distraction; and the reminder of how Luffy had gone beyond everything to end Arlong; 'Luffy landed on top of Arlong. Standing on top of him, with eyes focused entirely on one, single task. Grabbing his collar, the Fishman was hauled to eye-level "I…will…never…let…you…HARM…. …NAMI…IN…ANY WAY AGAIN! SHE IS SOMEBODY THAT I CARE ABOUT AND WILL ALWAYS BE MY NAKAMA!"'

"You're right. And Sakura and I need time for shopping! Zoro, Gin, angle the sails to starboard, the current and wind will slide us in!"

End.

With every ending comes a new beginning. I hope Bellemere's funeral was a good surprise. And the transition to Loguetown was worth the slower pace. Also, I decided it was past-due for Naruto to receive some due attention. More will be coming in this arc, from Kakashi and more.

[1]-Arlong's encounter with Kizaru.

[2]-Ocean Guide, from One Piece Z. While not the direct English translation, the words align with Bellemere's life so, so well; even in the very "humble hometown waters," she left to become a Marine and returned to with Nami and Nojiko.

[3]-In a set of online questions, Oda shared some day-to-day habbits of all the Straw Hat crewmates. Including how often they sleep; with Zoro labelled as around 4 hours a night with periodic naps throughout the day.

[4]-Zeff's leg. This does differ between the Anime and the Manga; the former with Zeff cutting off his leg to save Sanji from drowning, while in the Manga he ate his own leg after cutting it off himself. The change came about from censorship for the audiences that TV often features, in nearly every form of the Anime. With good reason.

[5]-An authentic running exercise, especially bare-foot. I practice this personally and will swear by it for making marathon running and Muay Thai far smoother.

[6]-I maintain, this is 50% of why Sasuke lost to Itachi in the Search for Tsunade Arc. From the Nami no Kuni arc through the end of the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, he rarely employed strategy or cleaver tactics. Instead, Sasuke constantly employed conventional Ninja skills and his sharingan, riding the coattails of his talent to success. He escalated to more powerful techniques as a situation demand and still only applied them very directly; all of which were impressive for a Genin, remarkable for a standard Chunin, but sub-standard for Tobuketsu Jonin and above. Against Itachi and Kisame, Sasuke jumped straight to the most powerful move in his arsenal, Chidori, and ran head-first to his own defeat when Itachi predicted and deflected it. The occasion Sasuke did outfox anyone was in the Konoha Crush, when Temari let-down her guard and her caught in an explosion.

Like any 12-year-old with a lot of talent, Sasuke built his skills around his talents and aptitudes. Leaving him horribly unprepared to fight anyone who outclassed him, even only learning traditional Uchiha skills to kill Itachi; skills his brother had already mastered.

While in the Shippuden, Sasuke became more innovative and strategic with his own jutsu against Itachi and Danzo; but retained some bad habits against the Raikage.