Chapter 18: Naruto's Agony, An
Excruciating Dream
"…."=speaking.
'…'=thinking.
"'Inner thoughts'"=images or memories within somebody's head.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece.
Special Thanks to SwordoftheGods; Beta-reader for this chapter and author of Coby's Choice, the inspiration for this story.
Strap in a get ready, this chapter aims to hit you right in the heart.
Loudly, noise was everywhere around them. Calls for space, splashing waves, the tumble of wheels over cobbled stone roads, even announcers proclaiming challenges, stories, shopping deals and more. The fresh smell of the ocean mixing with people, food, chimney smoke and more came together in each and every nose.
The Going Merry came into a spot on the wharf, with Ussop explaining to the ninjas how it was called a berth, Gin leapt for the dock, Nami threw him a mooring line and a heavy splash signalled Zoro had dropped their anchor overboard. Some of the ninjas were barely standing upright from training with their tutors at daybreak. Sakura and Sasuke each had a hand on the railing while Naruto was bouncing with energy and excitement right beside Luffy; the knuckleheads leaping over the side together.
"Wha-Ohhhhhhh! This is gonna be so awesome!"
"Oh yeah, let's have a really great time here, Captain!" Naruto was shaking with excitement to find another place to explore. Hiding how deep a swirling hole was building his gut and his head.
"Well, this place truly does seem like it'll fit. Port towns always have something of everything, after all,"
"I agr….agree with you sensei," Sakura replied, sucking in a breath between her words. "And so many people…with so many shops and so….so much to see. This place almost feels like our village back at home." Sasuke and Zoro let out a shared grunt, while the others finished up with the boat.
"You know…there seem to be a lot of pirate ships here right now. More than I had imagined there would be," Nami announced to the group. Sure enough, not a few but a few dozen ship's masts had the telltale jolly rogers fluttering in the breeze.
"Hmmmm. Hey, Kakashi," Gin questioned him." Who's dat Marine ya called over th' snail to collect Arlong off the Conomi Islands?"
"Hmmmmm..." Kakashi racked his brain. "Ah...Smoker. Genzo made the call somebody who went by Smoker pledged they'd set out that same afternoon."
"Ah see," Gin linked the dots. "Them bounty hunters Yosaku an' Johnny did say he was powerful. It's near a week since we was in Cocoyoshi village, and him bein' gone it's a good way for any pirate 'round here to step in, get ready for a voyage, and get back out again 'fore the Marines come back."
"Well, if that's the case we might have to make this stay a quick one," Sanji remarked, a fresh smoke in his lips. "Still, might take them a while to get back here or deliver the fishy maggots to somewhere good enough for transport to Impel Down. We might have a few days, but nothing more than that."
"Well, we could just ask them," Kakashi slipped in. Everyone turned over, making him blush with the attention. "I did ask Genzo how to use those snail things. And kept the number for the one he used and a little nudge that Genzo…appropriate it from Nezumi's ship. We could send a message back to Cocoyoshi asking if the Marines have left yet, after finding someone willing to let us use theirs."
"Well, I'm gonna find where they kill people." As ever, Luffy's claim left his crew confused. "I gotta see where the King of the Pirates was executed." He tried running off, with Ussop and Sanji scrambling to stop him before the Rubber-man fell flat on his face. Looking up, he felt something thin and sharp around his ankles.
"Why not wait a moment," Kakashi shamelessly asked him, pinching an end of ninja wire in his fingers, while Sasuke held the other end. "I think each of us need to choose a place to meet up first,"
"That's right," Nami replied. She was forcing the mental picture of the Arlong pirates locked up out of his head, with ideas for shopping.
"But Old Man," Luffy complained, "you and Nami are the smartest out of anyone in this whole ocean. You both can do fine, and everyone was talking about wanting to shop and stuff. I don't need anything like that, so why stay around if none of us are going to leave the town without the ship?"
For 3 long moments, some even caught themselves nodding their heads at the idea...from... 'Did Luffy just think about something that wasn't his stomach?' Ussop tried to comprehend the impossible, alongside most of the group while the ninjas and Gin were more thoughtful.
"There might be one short—comin', Don Luffy," Gin brought up. "With all th' cut-throats roaming here, I wouldn't put it past 'em to try and steal our ship. A Caravel like the Merry's a fine vessel to have anywhere on this ocean."
"No! No way! Nobody is going to steal the Merry!" Ussop shouted, horrified.
"Like how Nami did from you back at the restaurant, Ussop?" Sasuke inquired.
"Hey, that was in no way my fault!" the sniper denied. "She tricked me with feminine whiles, and by that note, Sanji shouldn't be trusted either. He'd let any girl give'em a flash one second and steal our Merry the next one!"
Nobody could deny that, Sanji himself said nothing; the silence owed to a crimson trickle down his face at thoughts of a scene in his new favourite book.
Nami meanwhile made a few glances before painting on a cute smile, her hand forming an "okay" sign. "You all can forgive me for that little matter, right? I even forgave any debts you owed me over getting my home in more trouble."
"Gin does bring up a good point," Kakashi observed, rubbing his mask with one figure. At his feet, Luffy kept squirming to get his legs untied. "Taking down our flag might avoid announcing that we are a pirate crew either. Then, perhaps taking shifts to guard the boat would go a long way."
"Hey, I got something for that, sensei!" Naruto was waving with excitement, both his hands crossing in a signature move. "Shadow-clone jutsu!" In a flash, one dozen Naruto's were scattered across the Going Merry; four in the stern, five in the centre, two in the lookout, and one right beside Luffy's seat.
"Yeah, we'll all watch the ship together," the platoon declared.
"No matter how many times you see it, it never fails to amaze you," Sanji grinned over at the show. "Heh, I guess you can be right about one or two things, Sanji," the first mate nodded with his own smirk.
"I think I'll still stay behind with those of you, Naruto," Gin decided, looking up at the ones on their boat. "Pulling down the colours won't do much, Kakashi. In truth, it might give others more incentive to raid us if they got no deterrent. I've got a bounty on my own head and might bring attention from any hunters in this town, as well. If the spare Naruto's an' Ah stay here 'till morning, we can sleep on board with the same night-shift routine."
Everyone nodded, with Sasuke and Sanji volunteering since they were the next up on the roster.
"Alright!" Nami announced, setting her foot down. "We have too much shopping to do here, and too little day-time to do it in! Hey, Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto. Are all of you ready?"
"Hmmm."
"Yeah, believe it Nami! I'm ready to stop standing around here!"
"I hope this trip sounds nice, and I can buy those tonfa's Gin talked about." Each of the Genin replied.
"Hey, Nami. Mind if I join the four of you too?" Zoro stepped up. "I'm in need of some new swords, and this town should have a swordsmith somewhere."
"Maybe we'll be a party of five," Kakashi announced. Reaching to a jacket pouch, the Jonin also pulled a specific scroll. "My students and I should replenish our kunai and shuriken wherever we can. Gin told me a few weapon shops might have some for sale. All of this might cost quite a bit of money, though. And I have something that might offset the costs."
Another second later, smoke billowed from the scroll, and Arlong's iconic Saw-blade was resting on Kakashi's shoulder. "I kept this after Arlong Park fell down, and a few other things from Arlong's money room. Selling them to a weapons shop or trading near a bank might net us a bit of cash for all of this shopping. Do you agree Nami?"
The navigator herself swallowed, a rock dropping down her stomach; recalling the many repulsive crimes she'd seen the ugly weapon bestow. Until a hand fell on her shoulder. "Hey Nami? You okay? Maybe do you want me to break that sword?"
Luffy got back to his feet when Kakashi let go. Now he eyed his navigator carefully, honest black eyes searching her foggy brown ones. As their orbs met, his touch eased her, letting the fog of horror clear with reassurance. The girl let out a sigh, sliding a finger around her collar. 'It….is today hotter than normal? I think I'm sweating a bit.'
"Yeah, I'm fine Luffy," her voice stronger now, filled with confidence that wasn't present moments before. "Kakashi is right, selling that old thing should get some extra. Plus, since he and Zoro are the strongest ones here; they can carry all the clothes and accessories me and the Genin need!" Neither of the two men looked eager for this condition, but Luffy got excited again.
"Yeah, I told you Nami and Kakashi can handle anything!" Now turning on his heel, the airhead was off before anyone could stop him that time. "See ya! Have fun shopping! I'll meet you at the execution stand; or some place where food will be!"
"Hey, wait. Luffy!" "Don Luffy!" neither Nami nor Gin could stop it before he turned around an alley; Sanji was still too stuck in his pervy mind to notice the by-play between the pair, while Zoro and Ussop were distracted with a second orange blur. "I'm coming with you, Captain!"
"Naruto!" Sakura called after him, both wild boys vanishing around a corner.
"You, don't need to worry," Kakashi promised the group. "Naruto can look after himself and is good at escaping trouble. But just in case," With two fingers, a shadow clone of Kakashi appeared then vanished in a blur. "My own shadow-clone will follow those two and send a warning if a ruckus starts to build. Trouble somehow seems to draw around Luffy like bees to honey."
"And we all have the scars to prove it," Sanji muttered dryly, pulling himself together. "Alright. Ussop and I have a shopping list of produce to keep the Merry well-stocked. Keep an eye on Nami, and let's enjoy the sights."
"Whaa-hoo! Hey Captain Luffy, I'm comin' with you!" Naruto barreled down the street, practice letting him weave around the crowds with ease.
"Oh, now where is that boy running to?" A voice trailed behind him. "Not sure, but he seems happy. I guess he's friends with the other one who blew on by."
"I hope they both stay safe," a third person spoke, while Naruto slowed down; still listening. "I wouldn't want them to get hurt by all the pirates swarming here now."
"Such energetic kids are a good sight. That blonde one especially; I'm certain he's a nice child."
Naruto heard every word, his mouth dropping under the weight of a growing wonder. Looking around, he heard more. Saw more as people walked by.
Nobody noticed him. Nobody glared or whispered. Those who did find him looking around…they smiled. They waved. Some moved around him as he looked on down the road until one bumped in.
"Oooofffffhhh!"
"Oh, I'm sorry." With that, Naruto fell into shock; the person who'd apologized, looked down at him from beside a stack of crates in the man's arms. "Guess I wasn't watching close enough. I'm sorry for colliding with you like that. Hey, you aren't out here alone, are you?"
"Naruto!" Luffy's shout rang through the pair; he was just up ahead, turning about to flash his trademark grin.
"Come on Naruto! I want you here with me!" Throwing back one arm to yank his nakama forward, the captain missed something critical.
Naruto's legs gave out, only the rubber arm keeping him from the low dirt.
'I want you here with me!' I want you here with me!' The boy had to throw his head aside, violently.
'Wh….what is this….this awful feeling?' Naruto asked, one hand planting itself between his chest and tummy. It felt as if, a revolting void crawling through him with spindly barbed legs. Naruto's head felt light, his chest scrunching together with sharp edges, a 20-pound, sour lead weight sat in his throat. He was seeing dark spots blotting up his vision. Now his body barely felt anything, all the weight and turbulence were centred in his head, crushing his mind to fragments…'No, I don't like this. I don't want to feel this. What is going wrong with me? I never felt this back in the village.'
"Yeah!" Another happy cry pierced his ears; Naruto looked up, seeing Luffy grinning still. With a strength of will even the great Monkey D. Luffy couldn't fathom, Naruto pushed all his feelings aside; and focused only on a person.
"Hey, Captain, so where are we going?" Huh, huh? Is-is it this way!" His feet back on solid ground, Naruto pointed to one alley and took off runny. Luffy followed, chasing Naruto down each and every turn. The pair wove through the streets, one excited for adventure; the other desperate to keep moving, keep getting away from whatever he felt.
Naruto could literally push the maelstrom inside him back with every step he ran, still laughing, still smiling at how he avoided feeling it.
It took some hours before he was running down again and got yanked to a stop. "Huh?"
Looking back, he saw Luffy with a plain, bland face watching him.
"Captain Luffy, come on! We gotta find this gallows-place remember? Let's keep moving, keep going!" Naruto cried, his face twisting now as the bad feelings came back through him the longer he stayed in one place.
"Uh…Naruto. I think it's this." Jabbing his thumb to the left, Luffy turned to look while Naruto finally noticed what was around him instead of just feeling it through instinct. Sure enough, they were inside a broad open square, with one wide platform caped atop a high, iron tower in front of a hall.
"Whoa….." Naruto finally stopped; the awe and amazement washing anything else from his mind away. He felt the rush of Luffy pulling him in, swaying before the older teen's arm returned. Both boys stared straight up at the tower, and the stockade on the platform.
"This is it? This guy. Gold Roger. That last King of the Pirates. This is where the guy you want to surpass died, Captain Luffy?" Naruto spoke solemnly.
"Yeah." Luffy had spent the days between the crew's Uchiha revelation and this moment talking about Roger, Shanks, and everything he knew about the Pirates and the One Piece.
"There it is. Naruto. You sat and listened to my stories about Gold Roger more than the others did. This really is the spot. This is where they executed the King of the Pirates. The place where the Greatest Pirate who ever lived…died."
Both boys looked up. "And it where…. where this Great Pirate Era started. Right?" Naruto questioned his partner.
"Yup."
'So. This big metal thing. It's like the Memorial Stone Kakashi-sensei showed me," the Genin tried to make an analogy. 'Somewhere to symbols that a great being died, and their actions remind anyone who sees it that they were here.'
Both stood still for a long time. Luffy even tried climbing it, but Naruto held him back. "Captain, that's where the guy died from? If you go up there, might you die too?"
"Nope. I gotta be the King of the Pirates first, so I won't die," the rubber-brained captain promised, grasping one hand to his bicep. "Going up there means I can see what Roger saw when he died. It'll be so cool."
Luffy took off again, but while running Naruto appeared at the edge of this sight; replacing a trash bin.
"Oh, whoa, wow, cool! More mystery-switchy powers!" With him distracted, Naruto ran to block the D.'s path with crossed arms.
"Captain, if you go up there, Nami, Zoor and Sanji—sensei might not like it."
"Good thinking Naruto," a familiar voice came behind the Genin. Glancing up, he found a certain mask and wild grey hair looking down.
"Oh, Kakashi-sensei! Hi."
"Hello to you as well," the visitor replied, looking towards the Captain.
"Nami is looking for you both to do some shopping, especially Naruto after he ran off on her. Plus, just strutting up there might draw a crowd."
"No way. I wanna climb it," Luffy complained, stamping one foot for good measure. Coaxing the clone Kakashi to sigh, thinking over another solution; the former loner putting some forcibly developing people skills to work. "Well, why not I bring you back here tomorrow, just before sunrise? I'm sure the view will be better, and you'd watch the whole city come to light."
"Oh, yeah! Great idea, sensei." Naruto shouted out, turning around to run up to Luffy. Grabbing his ear, the appendage stretched for Naruto to whisper in the elongated channel.
"Captain, it'll be just like the sunrise at the Hokage Monument. All shiny and warm."
"Shinny?!" As Luffy turned his head, the ear snapped out of Naruto's fingers and went back in place. "Oh…okay then. Well, I guess we better go find Nami."
Clone-Kakashi felt a ton of bricks knock him sideways. 'That….worked….?'
"Okay, well, let's go!"
Naruto took off without a second thought. Jogging down another road, he turned left and right, then right again, even going in an obtuse square from the winding cobble roads.
All until he came to another berth by the harbour.
"Huh?"
The Genin looked left and right. He didn't see any of the crew, only dozens of ships and several times more people.
"Where did they go. Huh, I guess I got lost from them," Naruto surmised. Folding his arms, the boy looked around, then up to the rooftops.
'Oh, I'll look around up there and see where everyone is.'
Off he went; and it said something about the town that a boy leaping over the rooftops barely registered among the rouges in the streets, residents from the Grand Line, or anyone else that was staying shut inside until the Marines came back.
Naruto went further and further…all until he heard a cry.
"Whahaaaa…haaaahhuuuhaaaaaaaa!"
Looking to his left, he spied a playground where several children were gathering in a circle.
'What's goin' on?' Leaving his search on hold, Naruto went down and closer to the group.
"Hang on, Toshiro-kun. We all fall sometimes."
"Ahhh…but-but-it hurts," a young child whimpered, holding one arm covered with dirt and sand.
"Hey. Hey kid, what hurt you?" As the ground turned for Naruto, he saw through the circle how the boy was lying on his butt, nursing one arm and with a couple bruises.
"Bullies," a girl declared, pointing out across the yard. Sure enough, Naruto looked over to see a crowd of other boys leering over at the smaller ones.
"They come here and threw us off the parks.[1] The mommies and daddies aren't here when they come around, so they don't get in trouble, and hurt us whenever they wish."
Naruto glared at this. Frowning with distaste towards the other group. "Okay. Give me about 20 seconds, and those bad boys will be running out of here."
20 seconds, 10 clones, and several transformations later, the bullies were gone, booking it away from another even larger gang of guys that came charging at them. Naruto didn't throw anything to hit anyone, and the playground was liberated without so much as a punch.
"There you all go," the Genin proclaimed, smiling.
The cheers that came echoed in his ears…and pulled some old feelings back with a vengeance. Now, Naruto was…...a blank. Children came up to thank him, and others pulled him with them to join in a game of tag.
Something else was churning inside of Naruto; he just…stood there…...unmoving…unsmiling…..unable to grasp something he'd wanted all his life. His face was one of loss; mouth agape, eyes smoky, nose twitching to take shallow breaths so much he was near gulping for air and could not tell at all.
The weight was back. But instead of one ugly sensation crawling through him, a pure suffering entity, Naruto felt heavy; some weight measured by the tons kept him sinking down a pit; darkness, detached from him; he couldn't feel anything….nothing….void occupied to boy's emotions on reflex straining harder and deeper than it ever had.
"Mister? Mister?"
"Huh?" Blinking Naruto looked down to find the boy who had called him down.
"Are you okay? I went to get my mommy."
It was only then that Naruto noticed a show casting over him. Looking up, the orphan found a woman unusually tall. She peered down at Naruto; with something he didn't recognize and could place…anywhere.
"Young man? Toshiro told me you were not moving and might be sick. Would you please hold still?" She knelt down, beaming with the kindness every parent should give to another child. One hand gently lifted the plate on Naruto's forehead and felt around his brow.
"Hmmmm. It doesn't feel like you have a fever, but you were very unresponsive. Why not come over and sit down on a bench?" One gentle hand came across Naruto's back, steering him towards the edge of the field. Another parent was there, listening while one child was pointing over at Naruto.
'Oh no!' his mind raced, recalling how before only pain, shouting and untold layers of spiteful eyes always ensued from this in his life. He stopped moving, his eye tightly shut; wincing for the blow to come. Pushing back a dread searing through him as a roaring fire, ready to detonate the last sliver of the mask he'd desperately been wearing for days.
"Oh? Are you feeling alright?" Slowly…. hesitatingly…Naruto opened his eyes to face the other woman.
Her smile disarmed him. "Thank you."
"Kenta was just telling how you protected him and Toshiro from a gang of hurtful boys. You really are a kind and thoughtful person. Kenta, why not go talk with this boy. He is precisely how you should act, one day."
That was it. Naruto…something inside him SHATTERED!
All at once! The clawing sensation, a twisted monstrosity of agony born from 12 years of ostracism burst from deep in his soul. The layers of depression to keep it contained shattered to slivers, leaving Naruto to literally shake all through each muscle fibre, every millimetre of skin, every tissue in his organs.
Thrashing, the boy felt his legs running; the playground and anyone there left far behind, no sound, no touch, nothing could reach him; the calls of the parents, shouts for help, or even his own chilling scream. The orphaned jinchuuriki's world became a swirling chaos of wonder, desperation, confusion, anger, terror, despair-
-he felt ill; something coursing through his stomach, chest and lungs, and all while an indescribable weight kept pounding in his skull.
Images flashed before him: of mothers in the park sharing praise, care and joy towards him. Of Cocoyoshi village where the families welcomed him for games and company; '"Mimi! Stan! It's getting late! What are you doing with that boy!" Naruto froze, a terrified deer caught in headlights. Some of the parents had come over to the commotion and were eyeing him and the others. Looking across them with his mind blank, Naruto blinked as each of the adults kept smiling as they strode up to him. '"Young man? Thank you for helping us on Nami's behalf," a woman smiled down, patting Naruto over his head. "I even heard you were the one who defeated Chew," another complement came, the father who spoke placing on hand on Naruto's shoulder.'
The Baratie came into his mind's eye: 'Patty the cook roping Naruto into a bear-hug, with the others joining him to praise Naruto all the while from his hard work to the popular sexy-jutsu. Naruto himself could only blush, trying to shake off their attention. "I'll never forget any of you, ever!" Naruto promised, trying the push down the strange feelings in his chest. Somewhere between a tight pain and weird happiness, these emotions were pushing for tears to reach his eyes.'
Those same strange feelings were now back, with the sharp edge of broken glass. Beyond them, back to Hamna village and Nami no Kuni; where nobody knew he was a Jinchuuriki and those he saved smiled with glee and gratitude; acknowledging him.
Beyond it all was Konohagakure. Recalling memories of nights spent within darkness itself; wallowing in terrible feelings within his own home, or waking up from nightmares to find nobody, and nothing but dark, endless lonesomeness far worse than any dream could ever become.
Another memory came: 'Naruto was looking up to see a mask he liked, when "Hey you little brat—get outa here!" Shoving him back, hard to the dirt; Naruto pulled himself up while a crowd of adults gathered around him. "I don't want you here. You're nothing but a pest!" "That kid's just a troublemaker." "Nothing but trouble." "He's a bad seed." Glowers, fear, even revulsion surrounded Naruto, all while a solid mask knocked his head back, thrown by the same man who'd shoved him.'
'Back in Konohagakure's playground, running with a group of children as their parents called and Naruto stayed back. "Freak! Why don't you die?" "I told you to stay away from that boy!"'
The scene he just had in the Loguetown park came next. "Young man? Toshiro told me you were not moving and might be sick…. Why not come over and sit down on a bench." Gently, Naruto found one hand across his back, steering him towards the edge of the field. Another parent was there, listening while one child was pointing over at Naruto.
"Thank you." Opening his eyes, Naruto faced the other woman.
"Kenta was just telling how you protected him and Toshiro from a gang of hurtful boys. You really are a kind and thoughtful person. Kenta, why not go talk with this boy. He is precisely how you should act, one day."'
The contrast of both was ripping Naruto's mind apart. Until one came….deeper in his sub-consciousness than ever. 'Winter…fresh flakes…an empty pearl—white street with one little girl kneeling in the snow. "Hey. What are you doing?!" he called. Naruto, all 4 years old, waddling through the snow.[2] "What're you doing out here in the snow like this? And if you just keep crying, how am I gonna find out?" He walked up, took her hand, and pulled the girl along. Until they came to a huge house.
"I'm alone. I don't have anyone, but I never cry. For real. I never, ever cry."'
Now….it happened.
Naruto stopped cold, curling down into a ball.
Somehow…he couldn't think. Couldn't describe it, or anything. Well over a decade of feelings were tearing through him. At long last….he broke his word and cried.
Horrendous, searing sobs were pouring through him. No longer denying leagues of painful truths.
'I lied. When did I ever, or who even believed me! I was feeling terrible. Now, there's people who do like me, and why could I have that back…I want….I know….I feel…..I don't…' His face pressed tighter on itself, power building deep inside him; the pure truth of his emotions drowning down the entity sealed inside him from taking power from it.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
One, long shout. Chakra rippled through the alley, stones cracking under its blazing blue flare. Naruto let it out, then fell; slipping back into softer sobs. Letting his emotions go in one direction they never had before. Outwards, free of anything else to temper with them.
A confused mess, Naruto folded in over himself, inside a shady alleyway, all….alone. Hours may have passed and he wouldn't have known.
"Naruto?"
0…0
After Naruto and Luffy ran off, the rest of the Straw Hats still beside their ship shook their heads.
Nami whined, bringing two fingers to her forehead. "Naruto was so excited about shopping, and he dashes off at the first distraction. He can't just wear those crazy orange clothes all the time."
Resigning herself to take Naruto out later, Nami turned her full attention to herself and the other two preteens at her left and right.
Following this, the Straw Hats parted into separate groups. The larger one led by the girls, Sakura held the savings all the Ninjas had gained at the Baratie tightly. The cook and their sniper walked up one alley to track down their own orders, while Gin moved up to the railing.
"Eh, Kakashi," the Man-demon called from the deck. "Catch." A tonfa sailed through the air, with its target lazily turning about to catch with his blind-side.
"Ahhhhh…" Gin had to swallow at this surprise. "I'll need anothah tonfa to have a matchin' set too. Use that one for a basis, and don't forget Sakura need her own pair. I'll put a bet you know how to spot some good weapons. Before you sell th' saw-blade; maybe keepin' it'll do well for us just as much. And Zoro. This place will have plenty of sword shops to choose from. Just keep an eye on the quality of any blade you get."
Waving back, the Jonin slipped to weapon to his belt and caught up with the others. As a unit, they walked around, admiring the sights all around them down a separate street from Naruto and Luffy's. Sakura herself looked about, before letting out a squeal.
"Clothes!" Within seconds after running, Nami was right there beside her, both sliding through the door of "Robecce Clothing."
"Oh, please, not that, yet," Zoro growled, one hand on his remaining sword. "We need to get weapons here too. There has to be a swordsmith here somewhere."
"Well, while I might agree somewhat, Zoro," Kakashi spoke up, "letting those two channel some enthusiasm right here might leave them more palpable later on."
The comment aside, showing how little the Jonin, Zoro or Sasuke possibly understood about females, the three made the cardinal mistake of walking in behind the pair.
Sakura was browsing through stalls, while Nami dashed into the change rooms. The pinkette needed everything, grabbing shirts, shorts, some colourful pants, even undergarments, the last of which she discreetly snatched to avoid lingering by the sizes. Sasuke and Kakashi resigned themselves to looking through the male sections.
Nami kept parading out the changeroom curtains; the salesman flattering her with exquisite, flamboyant prose, the pile of her likes growing higher and higher. Sakura herself took more time, but Nami came over rapidly and took over.
"Oh no, that looks terrible on you! Come on!" The kunoichi went flying after Nami grabbed her shoulder. Dragging through the aisles, she set her young friend in place and held one piece up after another.
"No!...No!...Oh, Cute!...Uh—uh!...Fabulous!...Too much Green!... Far too big, you're too young for this!...I'll throw you overboard if you dare wear that!... Oh, perfect!" One after another, Nami kept sizing up Sakura like her own mannequin; and then sent her over to the changing rooms.
Sasuke was holding up one dark purple shirt. "Hm. Not bad?"
"Oh never!" The piece flew from the Uchiha's hands, Nami replaced it while searching for more. "Sakura now has her own stuff, so you need all my full attention, Sasuke. Come on!"
Faster than even he could escape, Sasuke went through Nami's garments ringer; more and more things measured up with him as she went to town with the boy.
"Black and Navy, are way too bland; you need new ones and those that won't clash with your eyes. Red, maybe some lighter colours, don't you dare touch purple, ever; your hair's too close to navy for it. Hmmmmm?"
More and more were held up to Sasuke's neck, waist, and even beside his head. The Uchiha couldn't say or do anything, caught somewhere between bewilderment and the pang of his own mother doing the same thing while she was still alive.
Nami finally gave him his own pile and pushed him through a curtain. Both the Genin tried on several outfits and Nami added her own favourites to the pile by the desk.
"May I deliver these to your lodgings?" The clerk asked, Zoro and Kakashi paling at the thought of having to carry it all.
"No thanks. It's all a touch too, expensive for our taste. See ya!" Waving back, the Navigator took her charges through the door.
While the salesman was crying, Zoro and Kakashi were caught before jogging to catch up.
"But Miss. Nami, you said that red top looked perfect for me," Sakura whined, as Nami flicked her forehead lightly.
"It did. So now we know what to look for. You only liked that one Sakura. That's not enough. If you want to spend money on clothes, make sure it's worthwhile, and that you love it to your core. If you wear them all the time, they have to be something you totally love yourself in. Always put every care you have into each little choice. I'm going to have to trust you to make these decisions, Sasuke here is just as hopeless as any guy; grabbing the first thing he finds, then complain about it after."
Six more shops followed, with Kakashi and Zoro in the background while Nami broke her word and made her ultimate approval centre to anything the Genin had; Sasuke, she especially spoiled over to his unspoken chagrin.
By the end, The Genin each had nearly two weeks' worth of clothing and appeared like they were coming out from a hurricane. Kakashi managed to get some utilitarian clothes that fit his personality and Zoro didn't buy anything else.
"Oooooo, Miss. Nami thank you, thank you, thank you!" Sakura professed, skipping beside her new best friend.
"You're welcome, Sakura. And don't worry, I'm sure you'll need a change of them eventually once you grow out more."
Nami walked on, before noticing someone was missing. "Huh? Sakura?"…."Oh….."
A few metres back, the pinkette was on he knees, moping as she tried to hide her barely—adequate assets from view.
"Sakura? You okay?" Looking towards her sensei, the kunoichi noticed one thing in the corner of her eye.
"Huh? Oh, a bookstore!" With a turn-about fast enough to rival Jonin-class, Sakura was on her feet again and through the doorway of another shop; the others following behind her.
Within, the girl was browsing through the shelves, collecting several copies.
"Hmmmm. Any Ship of Every Era…The Rainbow Mists Volume 4…A Warrior's guide to weapons…Success of the Celestial Dragons….World Atlas of the World Government volume 90…..Ooooo!
"The Devil-Fruit Encyclopedia. No doubt, we need this." The kunoichi's stack grew larger and larger, as Kakashi clued in to what she had in mind.
'Sakura did take to learning more about this world leagues ahead of myself, Naruto or Sasuke. That comment to put her intellect to use went deeper than I'd imagined.'
"Does she really need that many books? They'll cost a fortune." Nami whined, coming in by Kakashi's shoulder.
"Money well—spent, if it saves our lives." At the masked man's comment, Nami shot him a question with her face alone.
"A ninja must always endeavour to gather information. Sakura was reading through every book in the Baratie to learn more about the East Blue and the Grand Line after we started there. Now, I think she wants to build up on that for where we are heading to now, instead of sailing in blind."
"I'll chip in my share of the crew's treasury to pay for them."
Realization dawned on Nami, until the last detail blocked it. "Share! What are you talking about, we never agreed on that! All the others are far too fast and loose with cash; all that money is mine!...to approve of," she amended, wise enough to recognize Zoro right in the doorway.
Sakura finished up and took some 11 different volumes to the counter; needless to say, it took some convincing before Nami herself relented. Only to morph into surprise as Kakashi whipped out a scroll, wrapped it over their package, and it vanished with smoke.
Curling the now intricately designed paper, the Hatake flashed a look at the clerk. "Devil fruit. You might want to tell anyone who comes in for encyclopedias, they are dangerously real."
He walked off with a wave, Sakura jogging behind and asking for one to sort their clothes inside.
"Hey, wait a sec," Zoro spoke up. "Why'd you say that ninja pow—"
"—Shhh!" Kakashi's hand was on Zoro's mouth. "Surprise is another weapon in a Ninja's arsenal. If someone comes at me thinking I have those powers, the obvious option is to use the weakness of every Devil-fruit. Well, the joke on them will involve rolling over on the ground dying…from laughter," the assassin amended with a smile.
The ninjas walked on, Sasuke working hard not the laugh. Zoro looked on and nodded, while Nami's eyes were tiny and petrified.
'I hope nobody on this crew will make a habit of morbid humour like that,' she pleaded.
"Okay, I've had enough!" Zoro spoke aloud, exasperated; the hand that wasn't holding Arlong's saw-blade locking down on Sasuke's arm.
"I need some replacement swords. Now! Sasuke brought up that he wants to learn how to wield one from me, too. Let's find a swordsmith's shop!"
Steering his new discipline, Zoro walked down one alley before turning through a doorway. A dark one with-
"AHH!" "PERVERTS!" "Mommy, why did those boys come into the girl's room?" "GET OUT!" Several flying shoes, one hand-mirror and a single panty were flung out the doorway, followed by the boys.
"Hey, why'd you drop in on us like that!" Zoro called back, while Sasuke dragged him off; both ignorant of the lingerie pieces stuck in their hairdos.
Even Nami had to double-take, throwing a flat look at Zoro. "How does this never fail? Sakura, now do you see why I panicked when you and Sasuke let Zoro wander around on his own?"
"Yes," the Haruno dead-panned, whilst Kakashi groan.
"That," Kakashi slid in, "was more my mistake than theirs."
"Don't repeat it," Nami warned him, stepping forward to relieve Sasuke, but left Zoro's token where it was.
"Alright. Zoro, we'll find your shop, but never walk off on your own. Never."
The group continued, Kakashi and Nami each on either side of Zoro to keep him on track; the pervert staving off the temptation to finger the lacy thong now stuck in the neck-line of Zoro's shirt; the material so thin and weightless the swordsman had no idea.
"Hm?"
"Kakashi."
"Sasuke? Do you see anything?" Following his Genin's outstretched arm, the Jonin eyed a window with several bizarre snails on display.
"Den-den Mushi? Some people call them transponder snails. Why did those catch your attention, Sasuke?" Nami inquired.
"The smaller ones. On the sign." This announcement led the party to see an oversized mannequin with one tiny shell on his wrist. 'Baby-Den-den Mushi. Messages always in hand,' was printed on a sign.
"Those look like radios we use back home. Maybe buying some could let us stay in touch if we become separated again like between Don Krieg and Arlong," the Uchiha shared his idea, before looking back to glare at his swordmaster.
"And if Zoro, Luffy or Naruto ever run off again, we can still talk them through how to get back or track them down before they stir—up too much chaos."
That sold it. Nami outpaced everyone into the store and began haggling with the owner. 30 minutes and 175,000 bellies later, they came back out with a collection; a single adult den-den-mushi in Sasuke's care while Nami held a unique basket with 10 smaller baby ones.
"No sense in spending more than we need; but that asking price for 350,000 on-sale for the set was way too unreasonable," the navigator complained.
"The money's worth it, Nami; to stop Luffy from running off, starting fights, or getting snatched by giant birds again with no trace for us to follow," Zoro reminded her.
While the ninjas grappled with this, the group moved further on until they ran into Ussop and Sanji.
"Oh, hey. Hey guys, we're over here!"
"Ussop-san. Come over here and get your snail," Sakura waved back. Curious, the cook and the sniper walked over, with a peculiar fish slung out between them and several other bags worth of oddities and supplies.
"Whoa! W—w—w—w—wait, so now we can call Luffy or Zoro if they ever bull-rush ahead or get lost again?" Ussop nearly fell over at the news.
"Well that aside, if the ninjas ever go scouting again, they can message us back about what kind of dangers are ahead. Great thinking, Sasuke," the cook complemented, while Sakura fixed his to one wrist. Meanwhile, while Nami looked back at Zoro, something was missing. Looking one as she made a face, Kakashi giggled at a certain token resting in his pocket.
'If Sanji saw that, he'd start a fight with Zoro. Better to be inconspicuous. Maybe I'll slip it into Nami's purchases.'
"Uhh, Sanji?" Done, Sakura was pointing over at the souvenir across his shoulders; a massive blue fish sporting tusks, a flimsy rod from its forehead, and wide fins.
"Oh, it's called an Elephant Blue-fin Tuna fish," the cook explained. "I won it from another cook by the harbour in a culinary face-off. Some call it the gem of the sea. This is going to be the centre-piece of our send-off feast for the Grand Line." The cook promised.
"Yeah, and I got some awesome stuff too," Ussop declared, fiddling with a goggle—contraption over his bandana. "Hahahaha. Look at these. Cool right?"
"You didn't waste money on those, did you?" Nami asked; a sickeningly—sweet coo that left Ussop bleach-white.
"Uh—uh—uh—n—nada—ne'—NO! No Nami, I—I won them. There was a shooting contest with a bounty—hunter here called 'Daddy Masterson.' The Marines left him to keep some order here while they left to get Arlong. Since we don't have any bounties except for Gin, he wasn't interested and let me keep these after I won a shooting—contest with him."
The navigator and self—proclaimed treasurer slipped away with approval. The rest of the groups traded stories, all until-
"Hey! Hey there guys!" Luffy came running up the road.
"Luffy!" Nami shot out from the crowd, her basket of baby—den—den—mushi thrown in Kakashi's arms—––exactly when the Jonin went still…his student's doing the same.
"Luffy, ~I have a present for you~" Nami's call made the boy in her crosshairs trip in a spin.
"A present. Is it meat? I'm coming!" Her captain barrelling down, Nami waited there while Sanji growled out how unfair life was for Luffy to gain such affection from Nami and not him. Zoro whacked the cook and reminded him why as Nami showed their captain the transponder snail and slid it over his wrist.
To any onlooker they could be taken as a couple; but Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi didn't care.
"Luffy. Where is Naruto?" Looking to the side, Nami and her captain found Kakashi looming there, the air around him growing like a telltale storm.
"Huh? He's not with you? Did you find him after we met at the Execution stand?"
At Luffy's question, Kakashi dispelled his clone only to find it had been watching them but had not found Naruto since he left.
"Something is wrong," Sasuke declared, pushing his load into Zoro's arms. The swordsman nearly dropped it, while Kakashi immediately sealed away the Elephant Blue-fin tuna fish.
"Sakura, Sasuke and I just felt a ripple. It happens when a ninja's chakra flares up, often under an intense fight. I think Naruto is caught somewhere and in danger right now," Kakashi explained to them. Nearly in an instant, nearly, the crew shifted to a far more serious mindset, while Luffy went rigid.
"No way!" he growled, one—foot stomping on the ground. "No more of my crew are gonna get in trouble with anyone unless I'm there. Everybody!"
No one moved at this reaction. Luffy was dead—serious, nearly equal to when he learned of Arlong's crimes to Nami and Ussop. "Zoro, don't come with us, you'll get lost. Split up, everyone; Ussop, take Sasuke, walk to Zoro to the Merry then get Gin and start looking! Nami, Sanji, Kakashi you guys go look now! Sakura, you come with me!"
Reaching out with one arm, the pinkette left her load behind while Luffy took off running. "Feel where Naruto's mystery—power came from! Everyone, call on the snails when you find Naruto! Go!"
Within seconds, their captain disappeared around the corner; with Sakura under one arm and the others left in shock.
'Did Luffy just take charge of something? And give good orders?' Nami's head was swimming.
'Wow. Never seen him act like this before," Zoro mused. 'Good thinking, captain. This way one ninja will be with us to follow where this chakra—flare—thing came from.'
"Come on Sasuke, let's get going," Ussop took Sasuke's hand and Zoro's with his other one and took off for the Merry.
Kakashi shook himself, gathered—up all the new acquisitions and looked over at Sanji and Nami.
"Follow me." With that command, the man broke in a run, with the cook and navigator hot on his heels. The trio wove through the streets as Kakashi's finer attention and experience traced the final signs of Naruto's chakra—flare.
'That was almost like back on Tazuna's bridge. But it does feel like his chakra, not the Kyubi's. What could have left such an outflare so intense? Often emotional distress or a single intense burst develops this kind of effect, to anyone under Kage—level anyway. Naruto…'
Fewer minutes than fingers on a hand passed by, and it was all too long for Kakashi's preference. Gradually, he led Nami and Sanji to a playground, looking left and right.
"Kakashi, where is he? Can you feel him at all?" Nami demanded, worried in her own right.
"No, but I do have other ways," he answered, turning one nose up to the air. "Hmmmm. He was certainly here, right in this spot. Something drew him further into the park….but…."
Turning to his right, the man was jogging slower, determined not to sway even a fraction from Naruto's scent. This continued all the way to an alley, one with cracks in the cobbled street and buildings, common as cobb webs, lighter scars dancing with wilder patterns the further in you looked.
'Oh no,' Kakashi stopped there, while an orange blur went out beyond him.
"Naruto?"
Right there, inside the alleyway, Nami found the missing Nakama on the ground. His entire body twitched at her call, looking up inch by inch. Crimson swelling with shades of blue brighter than she'd ever imagined sent another shock through Nami.
"N-Na…." his voice croaked hoarsely; Nami shot off her feet to Naruto's side.
"What happened? How did you become—are you hurt?" Softly as she could muster, the girl pried Naruto's arms apart to look him over. After finding he hadn't any obvious wounds, she looked back towards him.
Now Naruto's eyes were wide. Behind her, Kakashi and Sanji were still there with faces defining worry and care.
"Bhwa-huha-hugu-AHHHH!" Nami almost rocked over at the force colliding with her. Bewildered, she caught her bearings again as Naruto's arms were wrapped around her middle in a grasp not even the strongest man alive could break. He buried his head to her chest, moving both arms more and more and more to try and press further into something; acting like she were the last sliver of life he could grasp from the hands of Death.
Confused, Nami took the obvious and hugged Naruto back. At her gesture, he achieved the impossible by crying harder than before. Nothing made sense to Nami, her own shifting causing Naruto to fight against it and hold tighter.
'WH…..what could have gone on here? He wasn't hurt but I never have seen anybody this distraught.'
As moments went by, she found that he grew less volatile the more she accepted him. So, the girl resigned herself and tucked his head beneath her chin, folding herself around to shield Naruto against whatever had caused his torment.
Kakashi looked on, even more lost than the others.
"Old man. What the hell is with him!" With those words, a single hand seized Kakashi by his jaw.
Turning him around, Kakashi let the cook back him into a wall while Sanji left his hand raised to handle things, not his feet.
"How much has that boy suffered? What could have caused Naruto to become this emotionally distraught?!"
Hidden from everyone inside his mind; Sanji's own memories were stirring. Of another blonde child spilling tears everywhere from behind an iron mask; for them to build even stronger as….
'"Stand back!" a girl bent aside iron—bars in her strength. "Listen! Don't ever come back here! You'll definitely meet kind people someday!" A child ran across the battlefield, never turning to look or giving a sliver of thought for what was left back there.'
"I know this kind of tears. What kind of life has Naruto had. Tell us this instant, now," Sanji hissed, determined not to let any hint to his past slip.
Kakashi stole a glance towards Naruto first to find Nami was standing now, holding the 12-year-old in her arms. Looking over at them, she glared at the pair.
"I'm stronger than I look," Nami spoke. "Let's find a place to get Naruto some food and a large glass of water. Then, we can ask him. Sanji, call the others, but give us some space until we find out why and what happened here."
Nodding, the cook dialed-up his new baby-den-den, "Buda-buda-buda….buda-buda-buda…buda-buda…CLICK."
"Hey, who's there? Can you all hear me?" Luffy's voice rang from the snail's lips.
"Captain? Everybody, have you picked up?" A chorus of each voice in the Straw hat crew followed, clearly everyone testing theirs for the first time.
"I'm here too, using the big one," Zoro reported.
"Good," Sanji replied. "We found Naruto. He's alright and didn't get hurt. Kakashi and Nami got him right now; we'll meet you at the ship but take a long walk-about first. We don't want any bounty hunters or the guys who started this to find their way to our ship."
Luffy fought back but Sanji and Sakura were firm. While this happened, Kakashi came forward to look down at his Genin.
"Naruto?" Rubbing the back of his head, the Sensei managed to coax him to look up towards him.
"S….sensei. Nobody…nobody glared…nobody…..hates…me….here…"
"I'm…not…al…..alone," he croaked out. Still, Kakashi didn't understand.
They walked out to a small café nearby, with Naruto down to hiccups. Sanji asked for a private room and one look from the owner spoke to how they were a parent themselves. Moments after they found themselves inside a booth with screens, where tea, a small plate of onigiri and a large mug of water were delivered.
Naruto sipped it down, slowly. The other three were patient, Kakashi especially focused on a way he could pry what happened to his student; 'Naruto often says what he thinks or feels, much more than Sasuke would. But I'm even more at a loss here than ever. Maybe…hhhh, interrogation won't work here with the other two around. I'll probe first then see what comes.'
"Naruto. Can you hear me?" The tone was solely business, causing Sanji to grab a smoke and Nami to edge closer to the boy.
"Uh….ye-yeah," the Genin croaked, lighter than in the alley.
"After you and Luffy ran off," Kakashi continued, slowly. "I made a shadow clone to follow you in case something bad happened. But after stopping Luffy from climbing the execution stand, you ran off."
"Uh-huh," the boy answered.
"Did you find a fight at all? Or something dangerous?"
"No," Naruto replied, looking at the table, spent.
"Was there something at the park? People maybe?"
"Hhh—uhk," another hiccup came, Naruto dropping his head lower. Nami took that sign and slipped closer to him; surprised at how by a slight contact the boy shuffled much closer to her.
"Uhh…Naruto?"
"Yeah…S-Sanji-sen-sen-senpai?"
The cook narrowed his eyes, trying to stay calm. "Did something different happen? Something you, might have wanted for a long time, but never told anyone about? Not even to us?"
All that ensued was silence. Naruto looked ready to cry again if he had any tears left, or his eyes hadn't been raw from the torrents that already passed.
"Naruto," his sensei this time came back in, thinking back to the last time he'd seen his student crying.
"Did someone glare at you? Or become angry like Sasuke and Sakura were in Hamna Village?"
"N-n-n-n-n-no…sen—sensei," he answered, shaking now. "Nobody glared at me. Nobody whispered or said that I should die. Nobody forced other kids to stay away from me, and one person even me an...an apology."
While he spoke, it was Nami and Sanji's turn to shake; both recoiled at what Naruto described.
"Sensei I don't feel like that. How other people see me, like a germ or something horrible because of the Ky-Huh!" Naruto's hands shot to his mouth, horrified at what he almost let slip, panicking as he looked from Nami to Sanji; then back to his teacher, desperate.
Kakashi didn't move, acting more subtly. "Nobody….Naruto, you mean how others would treat you back in Konohagakure.?You found people aren't like that here?" the Jonin coaxed, the Sharingan—user less blind than before.
"Look at me," he coached the boy, leaning forward to occupy Naruto's sight. "You're saying that...you feel terrible...because people here were that nice to you?"
"Y-y-yes," he answered. Their nakama shooting looks from one ninja to the other, burning to interrupt but somehow unwilling to cut through and upset Naruto with demands.
"Sensei, not just here; everywhere. In Harm's village people were nice to me. Patty, Chef Zeff, Carne, all the cooks and Sanji—Senpai said they wanted me to stay around and were sad when we left. People in Nami's village said they should let other kids stay around me, they even thanked me. Inari, Tazuna, Tsunami and everyone in Nami no Kuni, all of them saw me as me, not something else from the Fox. I….."
He grew silent, the truth building up inside held at bay not with a mask or denial, but emotional exhaustion. "I've always wanted this. I never want to be alone and now I'm not. But why do I feel so bad, and I hurt so much?"
Nobody moved. Kakashi eased back slowly, understanding finally in his mind. Putting the situation together, his face travelled to Nami, then Sanji, and back to Naruto again.
"Naruto…..do you trust me?" The weight of two worlds could almost be heard there. Naruto shifting a little to be confused.
"Ah…..yes? I do sensei."
Kakashi took a breath and leaned backwards. "Nami, Sanji. You were both right not to ask the others to come here. But to put it simply, Naruto had an emotional breakdown from a lifetime with almost as much suffering as Sasuke has."
The cook's head jerked at this, the cigarette nearly falling from his mouth. Nami's jaw hung to the floor; growing pale she looked between both of the ninjas….while Kakashi continued.
"All because of the Kyubi. The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox."
"SENSEI!" Naruto shot to his feet, standing on the table with an exclamation of shock and betrayal.
"Naruto," the Joinin replied, calmly. "Will…you…trust….me? Please." After his plead, a stare-down between them ensued, until Naruto swallowed back and collapsed; the outcry taking even more out from him.
'It's incredible after experiencing this much trauma, he's even still awake," the Hatake observed, then turned back to his explanation.
"Within the Elemental Nations, there are certain creatures known as the Biju; the Tailed Beasts. Giant animals, distinguished by the number of tails that they have and their unfathomable power. An average Biju can level mountains, eradicate entire armies, and are large enough to swallow even Don Krieg's Dreadnaught in their jaws."
"There are Nine of them that have been recorded; some by other villages ours has close ties with. As I Jonin I know of such reports, such as from Sunagakure about the One-tailed Sand-Demon, Shukaku. Or Takigakure's struggles with the Seven-Tailed Horned-Beatle. Yet, the most powerful Tailed Beast in the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Kyubi. And one day it attacked our village, slaughtering thousands. On the very day that Naruto was born."
More followed, Kakashi describing the damage and death toll from that fateful day and the sacrifices made to defeat the creature.
"After Lord Fourth, my sensei, overcame it, people were still left with grief and hatred towards the beast and anyone or anything thing that would remind them of it," he explained. "Sometimes in unreasonable or outright unacceptable ways."
Sanji himself nodded, while Nami was still confused. "What could this have to do with Naruto, though? I mean, he was a baby, just hours born. How could his life be linked to it at all?"
Unbeknownst to them, Naruto slid one hand over his stomach; dread and fear building up.
"Absolutely nothing, to any reasonable person," Kakashi answered. To which Naruto's eyes grew wide, totally lost. "But reason rarely has any place towards strong hatred, revulsion or anguish. So many people lost those they cared for, leaned on, and adored. But the object of their hatred was defeated, so thousands in our home wanted to find something else to channel their hatred towards. From regular civilians to even some shinobi I know, they all wanted to find an outlet for their emotions; towards anyone or anything linked to the Kyubi."
"And they landed on Naruto."
Taking one deep breath, Kakashi paused before committing to his gambit. "Naruto was born that same day. Rumours began spreading of how he was somehow a herald of the Demon Fox, or just a glance at him would invoke reminders of all the loss suffered from that day."
"People let that hatred build and spread, like an epidemic. Parents would ostracise Naruto, leaving him isolated and friendless. Some ninjas even from the clans did the same, encouraging younger children to reject Naruto or make him a total pariah. One incident even involved a group of students daring Naruto to run into a small battlefield near the village, where enemy ninjas almost killed him."
A fist slammed on the table, Sanji was trembling now, with rage, Nami not much better.
"That makes no sense at all, it's stupid and selfish!" Sanji's outcry was matched by Nami shooting to her feet, glaring down at Kakashi.
"What are you hiding?" She demanded. "I mean, that can't be the truth. Nobody is ever that blind or terrible when they're angry!"
"No?" Kakashi questioned her, calmly. "Would you say the same thing about Arlong? And of everybody who followed him?"
Nami almost swallowed her tongue, staggering at this low blow. But Kakashi wasn't finished. "Their hatred towards humanity had to come from somewhere, Nami. And I doubt every human alive can claim to be as happy-go-lucky as Luffy." he continued. "Someone hurt them, so deeply, they decided all of humanity was to blame and revelled in that hatred so entirely, you and your home suffered from it."
"If we were to find another Fishman right here, today," Kakashi propositioned. "Would you be able to look at them without memories of what Arlong, Chew, Kurobi, Hatchan and others did? Or would those memories come back and influence what you would expect or give to that Fishman?"
Nami had to swallow past a lump in her throat several times.
Sanji wasn't happy with this tirade, but he did see the parallels. "So, Naruto was hated by everyone. Kid?"
"Uhhhh….yeah?" Naruto looked up at his tutor. A clouded tint was in Sanji own visible eye, and he was no longer smoking. "What you muttered about before. How nobody here wanted you to die. In a nutshell, everyone you knew growing up saw you as trash at best, or lashed out at worst?" The orphan began curling into himself again, drawing up both legs in a ball; loading fresh sympathy and horror alike in both Nami and Sanji. "Y…yeah. A few people," Naruto confessed. "They even threw me to the ground or grown-ups would kick at me. I tried anything to be accepted by them. And when that didn't work, I'd pull pranks. Painting houses, scaring people, or causing them to run around mad. That way, at least they'd look at me with something. Because just getting ignored, having everyone not recognize you….that was always worse."
"And…you still want to go back," Sanji questioned. "You want to be 'Hokage,' like a king over people in that place?"
"The Hokage isn't...they aren't a ruler in that sense," Kakakashi answered, while the question shook Nami
"Yes!" Naruto cried, somehow lighter with his goal back on-topic. "I mean, the Hokage are always respected by everybody, so if I became it and a great ninja, they'd have to treat me like I'm somebody."
Naruto wasn't finished either. "If I just ran away, I would be a coward. If I tried actually hurting people back, they'd have been right all along and I'd prove it. Sure, it hurt now, but to become Hokage still is my dream!"
He was smiling now, not fiercely, but….contemplating. "And…..well...I guess..." he sounded confused. as a fresh idea he hadn't thought of was growing. "I never knew my Mom and Dad. The closest person to a family I know was the Hokage. The Third one, Ji-ji" Naruto described, his honesty clear as sunny air.
"Ji-ji would see what happened to me, so he always gave me some attention after the villagers would hate me so much. He's always saying how the Hokage is like a father to all the village, and that he would be a terrible one if he ignored even the smallest person who lived there."
"And there's Iruka—sensei, my teacher before Kakashi—sensei," Naruto continued, smiling now against his sadness-worn face. "Iruka-sensei, he saved my life when those ninjas nearly killed me. And he declared that I wasn't some monster, that I was Naruto of Konohagakure and someone he was proud of."
"If I just ran away or gave—up my dream, then I'd let down him and Ji-ji. I can't do that, so I still wanna get back home, to become the Hokage and change what everybody thinks of me!"
Now….as Naruto's story ended…nobody was moving. Sanji's eyes were large enough to see both through his hair, his jaw hung down in his lap and the spent cigarette was dead on the table. Kakashi wasn't too far behind, his right eye impossibly sported a glint of tearful pride, with a wet sensation in his headband over the left one.
Nami's reaction was the strongest, her hands now over her mouth and trembling. Looking back on her own past, she parallels Kakashi had brought up between her and Naruto, and this boy's reaction sparked an amalgamation of awe.
Taking one breath, she made a choice.
Walking up to Naruto, who still stood up on his chair, the girl gently turned his face towards hers. The smile that greeted him was the broadest Naruto had ever seen. "Then you really are impossible, Naruto. Somebody who will face a challenge everyone else would give up on, with just willpower and not break until you succeed."
Grinning down she took a breath. "You went through all that, and now I'm willing to guess how you finally found kindness here, but bottled it all up. All until it came crashing out like a tidal wave? Kind of like when I stabbed myself when Nojiko got hurt?"
Wincing at her own memory, she missed Kakashi's shudder as the final pieces for this mystery fell into place. Nevertheless, what Nami did see was Naruto contemplate this and find understanding.
"Yeah. I guess that did happen. I mean, I'd always try not to think about how alone I was and used to say I never cried about it; but now right here I got weak and it came out."
"No," Sanji declared. Powerful enough to leave even Luffy trembling. "You aren't weak, kid, at all. To carry on through a life like that and still be hardworking, understanding and altruistic. Nobody but the strongest could ever do that."
"Sanji's right," Nami joined in. Naruto looked between them before she called to him. "Naruto. You've never had any family before. Ever?"
"Yeah," he answered, simply. It was casual enough for Nami to feel another pang through her heart, and strength this decision more than ever.
"Then, I think we should change that."
"You already know that Nojiko and I are sisters, but honestly I think I've wanted to have a little brother too," she smiled at the orphan, who took their turn to be amazed. "I'm proud of you, and I like you, and you are the greatest person I've ever met. Just like how Zoro promised to help Sasuke, I think Sanji and I both want to help you achieve your dream. Your ambition to become Hokage. But…for now and forever. I'd like to be your older sister too. How does that sound?"
Naruto felt another lump in his throat. Somehow it wasn't like the torments he'd felt earlier….but relief for a hole he'd grown so used to feeling it had become forgotten. 'What…family….big sister….she…wants me…..'
"You…..want me?" he asked, fearful. Nami understood though, pulling him into another hug, their 4th in the last hour. "Yes. And for you to come to me if you ever need help or feel lost; like a little brother would."
That did it. Naruto couldn't speak at all. He only replied by returning the embrace and holding it stronger every second. "Nee-…..nee-ch…..ch-" Naruto kept trying to whisper something. "….nee-chan." Sharp ears picked it up, and when Nami looked over at Kakashi, he answered. "It means, 'Older sister.'"
"Nami-nee-chan….Nami-nee," Naruto kept balling. Kakashi had to blink now, using a cloth to wipe the tears moving down his face. Sanji himself turned away, still hiding in his own past for his own reasons. 'Reiju….'
Nami and Naruto didn't move from that spot for a long while. Not until she noticed he fell asleep. After finishing their own orders, the group left with the navigator carrying her new little brother piggyback. They moved through Loguetown easily as dusk began to fall. Until the Merry came in sight with most of the crew aboard.
"Hey, they're back!" Sakura announced, and everyone but Luffy ran up to see. "I thought you said he wasn't hurt," Zoro interrogated them, holding a bokken while Sasuke had a matching one.
"He wasn't physically hurt," Nami explained. "Right now, Naruto's only exhausted. And where did you buy those!" Snapping at her accusations, Zoro and Sasuke both traded looks.
"There's a shop right there on the road that sells gear for a dojo," the Uchiha pointed off to a sign with a bowing figure in armour hanging off a pole. "They were selling these training—tools at a discount, so we bought a pair with what I saved—up working for Zeff. Zoro-sensei insisted that we start training."
Several bruising covering Sasuke testified to that truth. The boy was only stumbling around, avoiding too much weight on his left ankle or right thigh.
"Don Luffy ran off to find y'all after he got impatient. Talked about wantin' to see if Naruto was okay for himself," Gin reported. Looking over at the boy with concern. Nami herself sighed, about to ask someone to go find him, before remembering their new countermeasure.
"Luffy?" she asked into the baby-den-den-mushi. "Nami? What is it? Where are you with Naruto?" the captain asked back.
"I have him on my back, and he'd asleep. We're back at the ship. Come on here as fast as you can. There are a lot of things to share." After the snail clicked off, Nami took it to mean Luffy chose to just run right back without a second thought for anything.
"Kakashi."
"Hm?" the Jonin turned to look at her.
"I'm going to set Naruto down for a while after everything today left him this exhausted. Tell them exactly what you shared with Sanji and me. Sakura, you should take watch tonight with Gin, and give Naruto space." Without explaining further, Nami walked towards the lady's cabin, closing the doors and removing Naruto's jacket. She slipped him into the bed and then moved over to her desk, building a list of what they'd go shopping for the next day while staying vigil over her new younger brother.
Luffy came running up a short time later and vaulted up to the deck. "Hey, where are Nami and Naruto?" he demanded.
"They're in her bedroom and-" Luffy took off before Kakashi finished, bursting inside.
"Luffy! Kakashi has some important things to say," Nami berated him.
"That can wait, I gotta see Naruto first," the rubber man declared. Crossing over, he looked down and Naruto and let out a breath. "If another of my nakama get hurt like you and Ussop did, or Naruto breathing that gas from bastard Krieg, I'd never forgive myself," he spoke. "I'm glad nobody hurt Naruto, but why are his eyes so red? And why is he sleeping?"
Nami looked from her captain to her family and came to a decision. "I'll tell you Luffy, just sit down and don't go anywhere. It's about how Naruto did get hurt on the inside, not the outside."
While the uncomfortably serious rubber man sat down and listened to Nami, Kakashi was telling the rest of the crew the same story he'd given Sanji and Nami, with the cook filling in some details and explanations.
"Sensei, that doesn't make sense," Sakura countered him. "Naruto was always smiling or trying to outdo Sasuke-kun at the Academy. I don't remember anyone treating him like that, and he'd run around laughing after setting up a prank."
Sasuke himself was more neutral, while Zoro, Gin and Ussop picked up a measure of the truth.
"Sakura, do you remember what I told you in Hamna village. About how some people might celebrate it if Naruto were to die?" The Jonin answered, to which the girl's denials stopped briefly. "Can you honestly say that you never saw Naruto held at arm's length by other people, or that others whispered about how he was a terrible menace? More than a few harmless pranks could warrant?"
Thinking back, through her remarkable memory, the girl actually did find one case; hiding behind her father's legs, she peeked out to see a boy in the centre of the ring. People on the outside were glaring. Whispering, '"Who would dare touch him?"….."Is the Hokage mad, the day he was born was-" "I know but he's still there, and now in the Academy. I might pull my child out if he's in the same building unsupervised." She didn't hear anything from her own parents as they moved off with her in tow.' He legs gave out, dropping in a heap with guilt twisting her guts into knots.
"Naruto has suffered and always wore a mask by smiling. Or tried to distract himself from that pain. Today nobody here was anything like what he encountered in our village. So, with that dream fulfilled his repressed feelings came out in a bang, that each of us felt today," Kakashi explained.
Sasuke was quiet as well, thinking back to memories with his mother and brother more healthily than he had in years. One featured Naruto walking by with both hands in his pockets and a grumbling stomach…as alone as Kakashi described. The Uchiha thought back further, confused. "If Naruto felt that terrible, why didn't it show? Or how did he manage to always make a fool of himself instead of doing something else?'
"Sasuke."
"Hmm?" looking up the Uchiha felt like the Jonin was reading his mind.
"Naruto would always challenge you in the Academy? Even though he was outclassed nearly every time. Word got around in the village," Kakashi explained. "You always were at the centre of attention. You had everything that Naruto craved, even as others would ignore him at best, insult him the most often, or even hit and throw him out of their way."
The last comment brought a wave of guilt to Sakura, remembering how she did that to get around Naruto to Sasuke.
"I think that Naruto did that only because of how popular you were, and maybe if he won, then people would acknowledge him," the Jonin continued. "Even with Inari or on the day that were became a team, Naruto talked about how he's not a coward and wants to earn other people's admiration and respect. He refuses to allow anyone to dictate or direct how he should live his life or what he should be."
"That's probably why he didn't follow orders or instructions well, since across a lifetime he always pushed back against others who said he was an abomination. Or, that he should just die."
Zoro grew stiff at his, Ussop shaking while Gin was stone-faced. Sakura's hands flew to her mouth and Sanji remained calm, having heard it all already.
Sasuke remained stoic, yet contemplative. Hiding the itch in his mind of Itachi commanding him to live only to kill him, and processing Naruto rejecting the hatred of the village and declaring he'd do things his way and nobody else's. A memory even sprang up, of both crossing paths by a river; 'while he sat near the bank Sasuke felt an itch somebody was staring at him. Turning his head, he found Naruto walking by, who made a face as Sasuke then turned away, pouting. The Sasuke did the same, refusing to give anything.' That memory morphed into another one; a conversation between himself and Sakura: "Anyway Naruto just picks fights with you. You know why he's so annoying, it's because he wasn't raised right. He doesn't have a mother or father. No one to teach him right from wrong. Think about it, he just does whatever comes into his head." At her comments, Sasuke started glaring back; something behind her words rubbed him in a bad way. '"If you don't have parents to tell you, how would you know? He's selfish and bratty. He's all alone." As Sakura finished, Sasuke himself spoke up. '"Alone. Isolated." "Huh?" Sakura asked. "It's not about your parents scolding you. You have no idea what it means to be alone," Sasuke spat.'
'Maybe I was wrong too,' in the present, Sasuke's mind confessed something to himself. 'Naruto…he knows about living alone long than me. He's strong, that's for sure, and still wants to earn respect instead of becoming blinded by hatred. Like…..like I was when I endangered him against that Fishman. Or Kakashi pinned me to a tree.'
"So, there you have it," Kakashi wrapped up. "Naruto. Sasuke. Nami…even Gin losing his crew and Sanji starving to near death. A lot of us seem not to have the most blessed lives. Even I'll admit, there isn't anybody waiting for me back in our village, because everyone I ever cared for, is dead."
More casual about feelings and his past than he used to be, Kakashi looked across the fresh shock every had towards him.
"But we find ways to live beyond that, so long as it doesn't endanger others. This meltdown was a long time coming; Naruto even shared he started feeling it before we started working in the Baratie but just pushed it aside. Until today when it all broke apart."
Nami, has decided to become an older sister for Naruto and I doubt he'd even had a more genuine smile before. She likely wants to watch over him tonight, hence the reason why he's inside the girl's cabin now."
"Well, he sure is brave. That's for sure," Ussop spoke up. "Going through a life like that without anybody to lean on, or any chance of things improving…I mean I did fool around a little bit like that on my own island to get some attention from the people after my Mom died, but that was nothing against the scale that he found."
"I see. Still, it also means we have a new responsibility," Sanji announced, more serious than he'd been towards Arlong's crew or cooking. "Naruto and Sasuke both have suffered in the past and have their own ambitions to strive for. And we're going to aid them in reaching those goals; I'm going to up Naruto's training and make sure he's ready to deal with anything people throw at him in his own village now. Kakashi, you have a problem with that?"
The cook met the greyhound's eye, and neither disagreed. Gin himself stayed silent, unable to relate but still impressed with the story nonetheless. 'Sasuke and his clan massacre. Naruto gitin' ostracised. Do all ninjas like them have this sorta tragedy? Does Sakura have her own kind of suffering too?'
Zoro nodded, promising himself to keep a closer watch on his subordinates, as the first mate. Putting that aside, he called over to Sasuke to resume their training. Kakashi joined them with his own, pulling out the Saw-blade and giving some experimental swings, contemplating what to do with it.
Gin and Sakrua took care of the ship while Sanji went to prepare their dinner. By the time stars mapped out the sky, Sanji and Sakura were on the night shift after she traded with an exhausted and sore Sasuke.
'I don't think I'd be able to sleep at all now,' she thought, looking down to the water below. 'Kakashi—sensei was right, I only followed and crowd and maybe hurt Naruto more than others did. But Naruto himself never retaliated back to me. How much heart does he have?'
Thinking back even harder, more and more started sliding into place. 'Naruto...he always runs right in, or likes shouting about what he's doing, even at enemies we meet. Is that from getting ignored so much, and he keeps craving some reactions from an audience?'
From their time in the bell—test to Naruto's terrible entrance at Tazuna's bridge, Sakura's mind continued generating more possibilities; mixing confusion with guilt and horror in an unseen dark cloud overhead.
'What can I do to make it up to him?'
Elsewhere, out across Loguetown, another pirate crew were gathered for a scheme.
"It's true boss, I swear he ran right by me today," one brigand promised to his captain.
"Grr. This is some flashily news. I don't know how could that bastard have flashily—dropped in now of all times? Is fate smiling at me with this kind of opportunity?" another captain grinned maniacally.
"Well, now I can repay him as well, after all a woman's indignity can never be unanswered." As a slender, pale-skinned heart-throb commented, the rest of the men inside were shouting their approval, preparing to repay the man she spoke of with pervy-vengeance.
"Who would dare to lay a finger on the captain?" "Anyone who dishonours her needs to die." "I would do this job for free if she asked me to."
"Guhahahahahahahahaha! Well now, how then show we flashily plan for—"
Before an answer could be supplied, a new face immediately sat between both of the main partners.
"Hey, who do you think you are? Wanna drink, or join in on our party?" The red-nosed one questioned.
"No," an icy voice, laced with disgust, shot back. Pushing a pair of round glasses back to his face, the slick new arrival fixed each with an angry glare. "You are of course referring to Straw Hat Luffy. I desire revenge upon that-"
"Whaaaaaa!" In a flash, several body parts flew over the room in a panicking twister.
"How and why in all the heck are you here? Or alive for that matter anyways?" Captain Buggy demanded, his legs shaking with fear.
End.
[1]-Not a grammatical error; a child is speaking here and a little off her mark for the right words.
[2]-Naruto and Hinata are the same age. Neji was subjected to the Hyuga family seal when Hinata was three, and Hanabi was born five years after Hinata. In the final few episodes of Naruto Shippuden, filler of multiple childhoods include some of Hinata and Neji. In them, Neji did have some time while his father was alive, then at a ceremony for Hizashi's death, Hanabi was nowhere in that scene. Placing these on a timeline, deductively the Hyuga affair happened while Hinata was closer to 4 years old, and Naruto was the same age when they encountered one another on a snowy night.
Wow! That's a wrap, and get ready for the next one. I hope Naruto's reaction was gripping and intense to all the readers, and delivered through the build-up across the prior arcs. Get ready for the next one too; Garp will make his debut, I promise. And an old, fanatical enemy from Luffy's past is ready to even a score.