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)

23. Chapter 23: Dragons and Sea Kings

Chapter 23x: "One after another:
Dragons and Sea Kings."

Important: Rewrite. Over the past 3 weeks, after getting Grammarly and re-reading my earlier chapters, I have edited and re-written each one to create a cohesive story and add smaller tweaks. None of the events have been re-conned over removed, everything has remained. Instead, aside from grammar and word choice, some extra details were added and others simplified, like the fight with Buggy and Alvida in Loguetown, Sakura getting cut at the Baratie or fighting against the Arlong Pirates. Plus, I split one chapter in half: Chapter 21: "No plan survives a Monkey D." Chapter 22: "Kakashi vs. Garp." If you'd like, re-read this whenever you'd like, and I guarantee it'll be more enjoyable.

Plus, Chapter 23 has been extended. Events in that chapter have been extended to span "Lost Island" and "Warship Island." You and read this chapter from beginning to end and enjoy it more. Or re-read from Chapter 1 and appreciate so more. Enjoy.

Welcome back, and first things first. After leaving this in suspense, no regular updates, and the mountain load of fresh votes since the last update…..The Kunoichi addition poll is closed.

4th place, with 3 votes=Rin Nohara. (clearly, somebody the fandom is not that enthusiastic for)

3rd place, with 35 votes=Hinata Hyuga. (over 10x more than Rin, surprisingly expected, but despite all the love, not the qualifier)

And in 2nd, the silver medalist, and nevertheless the one whom won't join the Straw Hat Pirate crew…..Uzumaki Karin.

THE WINNER IS TSUNADE! Tsunade won something….…God help me.

Suddenly all the obstacles that have been impeding my writing make sense. For now, read and enjoy a fresh chapter in Growth Through Chaos.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece. They are the property and brainchildren of Masashi Kishimoto and Eiichiro Oda, respectively. "Growth Through Chaos," however, is all me.

"…."=speaking.

'…'=thinking.

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

Please Read and Review, with detail.

Cannonballs were flying, whistling airborne and landing in salvoes around the fleeing pirate ship. "Sasuke. Shout when you see the next one! Gin, can you still hear him?" Sanji exclaimed from the mid-ships where he stood with Naruto beside him. "Hh."/"Aye, Sanji. Loud an' clear." Both replied, Sasuke from the crow's nest with his Sharingan's trained on the Navy squadron pursuing them, and Gin at the helm.

"Lemme—." "No!" At Luffy's complaint, his entire crew shouted in sync. "Old Man Kakashi might be there!" The Rubber man continued kicking out, constrained to the mast of his own ship. "Zoro come cut me out. Then you, Sanji, Naruto and me rocket over, we sink the Navy, and look for Old Man-ashi!"

'We've been running for hours now, and that's all his mind's on?' Sakura mentally groaned. "Captain Luffy, if Kakashi sensei—" "Save it, Sakura," Zoro cut off the pinkette. "He won't give any more thought than the last three times we explained it. Just keep us sailing."

"Nami-nee," Naruto cried to her. "Do we need more speed?" Nami covered her face from whips of wind or sea spray. "That would help a lot. Yes."

"How about Sasuke, Sakura, me and 20 clones go standing on the water and push us?" Trying to imagine that, Sanji especially frowned until— "Incoming, for the centre!" Sasuke's warning came with both his eyes on the navy. Right on cue, rumbling announced a fresh salvo from the Navy ships.

"Gin, angle us to starboard! Everybody, tack!" Nami's commands were followed, Merry turning sharp to the right over the surf. "One is going to connect!" Everybody wince, except for Sasuke himself. Suddenly, in a cloud of smoke, he substituted with a Sakura, placing her in the crow's nest and him beside Zoro. "Kid?" Next, both swordsmen vanished in a cloud, leaving a barrel in place. Zoro was at the stern, Sasuke gripping his haramaki, and a cannonball dead in their sights. Focused, Zoro's blade sang from its white sheath, splitting the iron ball in twain; both pieces went sailing past him and Sasuke harmlessly.

"Whoooooa!" Usopp was close enough to see it, "real good save you both." "So. Cool!" Naruto sang with stars in his eyes. Zoro had sheathed his blade, then reached over the rub Sasuke's hair. "Good call, and some quick action, kid."

"Zoro, stay there watching for more," Nami exclaimed. "Sakura, get Sasuke back up there, fast." 2 seconds and both cabin-Genin executed substitutions, leaving Nami amazed, then looking at the third on the ship. "Naruto. I'm sorry but about pushing the ship. The answer is no." "But I can do it, believe it!" Nami still shook her head. "Why?" "Because Marines on those ships will have rifles. Just one sniper could kill any of you, or reduce your clones one-by-one. It'll leave us drained and no better off than before."

"Drained, like how Luffy looks right now?" Usopp's question pulled the brother and sister's attention onto their captain. Luffy was quiet and limp, doused from head to toe with seawater. Something that gave their cook an idea. All as the chase continued, in sight of a crowd of onlookers off to the port side, some 4 kilometres away.

0…0

"Miss. Apis, please keep your head beneath the railing," Standing at the bow of their ship, Dragon spoke a gentle command, tall and unbothered as both occupants duct low; one deliberately, the other less so. "Mr. Kakashi!" Attempting to stand too quickly, Kakashi pitched forward. Landing hard on his knees and one elbow, Apis grabbed his torso as two thoughts flared in his head 'Chakra fatigue…now of all times…..My students, my comrades are—'

Rhythmic thunder came echoing in his ears, torturing the Jonin. He careened his neck in time to watch another salvo fly, erupting into waterspouts that obscured the fleeing pirate ship. "Mr. Face, Mr. Kakashi looks hurt," Apis called over. "And are the Marines coming closer? From that direction, we're right in their path!"

"Yes," Dragon answered the girl, who froze mid-crawl towards the fallen occupant. "They do approach us, in pursuit of that pirate ship. They may turn about, should fate demand we collide. Worry not." Protests were clear on Apis' face, but a silent look from Dragon silenced her. Motioning towards Kakashi, she looked, then with effort propped him into a less awkward position. "Kakashi. A spyglass is within the trunk you rest on," Dragon's voice reverberated. "Leave the large one where it is. The lens may glint in the sun that hangs over the Navy ships. Young Apis at risk is unacceptable." The girl froze, while Kakashi looked around, absorbing the warm rays on his forehead and mentally picturing angles such sunlight could bend. 'He's right. No cover to position beneath, and it only takes one flash to notice us. I'll have to be careful.' Kakashi held a tiny scope in hand, sliding the two pieces open, he crouched low, resting the spyglass centimetres above the deck and angled his eye to the lens.

Aboard Going Merry, 3 figures and another 6 half their size were trimming the sails. 'Sasuke…Sakura…Nami…why is Usopp so bandaged?...Where are Sanji, Zoro and Captain Luffy?' Through the lens, he watched the Merry turn south, changing the angle of view and revealing Zoro and Sanji on the stern, both grasping some makeshift net with a hip with sandals, a head, and a Straw hat. 'What could they…be…' Through his mask, Kakashi's jaw could be traced from his gaping mouth. One load of cannonballs, he counted seven, landed in the expanded Luffy-shaped net. Then the cook and the swordsman pulled wide on the rubber-man-made net, elastically discharging the ordinance back to its senders.

"Inventive." Dragon voiced, as the return fire hit the prow of one battleship. 'That's something to say, I suppose,' Kakashi mentally groaned, then continued cruising his gaze around the deck.

'I don't see Gin, yet all the rest are accounted for outside. He must be at the helm." Then turned his view to the squadron closing in. 'Can Vice Admiral Garp be aboard those ships?' With a shiver of dread down his spine at such a thought, beads of sweat could be felt along his forehead and palms. 'Was Luffy battered while they were sailing away? Can Nami guide them to evade the Navy, and if she can, what could their destination be?' Question after question came rolling through his head, stress mixing with his own helpless situation until he pulled the spyglass away from his face, and—

-spotted his own baby den-den snail on one wrist.

"Do not." Sharp as a whip, Dragon's voice cut through Kakashi's attention. The man wasn't even looking at him, only ahead, yet Kakashi caught a hit of red and some wider awareness about his saviour. "Navy vessels carry black den-den snails," Dragon spoke. "Those actively search and tap into calls made between other snails, eavesdropping on them." The looming figure didn't bother looking towards the younger man, still focusing only on the Going Merry and Navy ships with full attention.

'Eavesdropping?' Kakashi thought in the back of his mind, turning over and over anything he could do, or how the sailing ship could escape or fight off the pursuing squad. 'Nothing? Not ANBU training, nor Sensei went in-depth over naval combat. How can…huh…'

Turning his face, Kakashi felt pressure over his back building as some whistling force kept pulling on his hair. "What? Is the wind picking up?" Apis asked. Something didn't go unnoticed elsewhere.

0…..0

"Another salvo's coming!" Sasuke warned. "We got it," Sanji and Zoro answered in sync. "Get focused, cook." "Just don't let him go, moss head." Then Luffy spoke up. "Just throw me and let's go see if Grandpa's hmm-!" Luffy kept shouting until another canon salvo landed in the net made from his elastic gut.

"Usopp, the yardarm needs another thirty degrees, and Gin, steer the rudder to starboard," Nami called from a sun table where sea charts and a small notebook lay open. "There's a current here we'll slide right into, then move out of range from the Navy. Eventually."

"How long will eventually be?" Usopp called over. And in a rare moment, the ship was relatively quiet. "Huh?"

"Nami? Hellooo?" Usopp asked the Navigator. "Now isn't the time for daydreaming. How long is eventually?" Nami remained stock-still, staring skywards and barely moving. "Nami-nee?" "Miss. Nami?" Naruto and Sakura both came right up to her, shoulder to shoulder and a blush crept across Naruto's face.

"Everyone hang—on!" Nami snatched both Cabin Genin with each arm then dropped in a low crouch.

"What was that?" The First mate called. "Zoro, Sanji, get down here! And Sasuke, hold tight!" Nami exclaimed towards the stern and up at the crow's nest.

"Nami, what is—" Sasuke tried to but- "No asking! It's coming!"

"What's coming?!" Zoro demanded, while Sanji came twirling around one corner, alone. "Nami-swaaaaaa—"

"I'm free! Yeah!" Luffy's voice exclaimed, they tailed in the air behind him. Sudden, unexplainably, a powerful gust erupted straight into the Going Merry's sails, propelling her forward, going from average to beyond top speed inside of 3 seconds.

""-aaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNN!" Even Sanji's words went sailing into the air, from the unbelievable force billowing around the ship, sending anybody unready to nearly fly overboard. The cook went head-over-heels, until he found something to grasp, hanging on a plank from the stairwell by his fingertips. Gin lost his hold on the helm and hit a wall inside the lounge, while Sasuke went sailing out from the crow's nest and straight for open water.

"Kid!" Zoro's voice came. "Gum-Gum snag!" Something caught Sasuke by his shirt collar and held him there for a second before reeling him back in. Luffy and Zoro were grasping the railing of the stern, while the captain's retracting arm held its grip on the errant Uchiha, all while the Merry began leaping over the surf from the sheer velocity of such divine winds driving into her sails.

Winds coloured with a ghastly shade of green continued ploughing into the Merry and the Navy ships. Every vessel lost crew, equipment, or cannons overboard, entire masts were sent careening so close they wound up entangled, or the rest of the vessels threatened to capsize. While aboard the Merry, Nami had her back pressing to a wall grasping her arms around Naruto while he held on to her, but somebody stood tall beside them.

"Naruto! Grip the floor of the ship, like water walking." Opening his eyes, Naruto found Sakura standing upright. 'Huh? Okay…focus, mix the chakra. Feel just e…enough.' It took a second, but he found his grip and stood up.

"Now make clones and help Zoro, Sanji and Usopp. I'll get Captain Luffy and Sasuke." In no time, all of the crew were holding onto a copy of Naruto while Sakura ran to where Luffy was still reeling in Sasuke. Once he was aboard Sasuke rushed over to Zoro. "Naruto," the Uchiha barked. "Get to the helm, or we'll lose any capacity to steer." With a nod, the clone left Sasuke, where the student held onto his teacher. 'This is luck. But why does this wind have a green colour?' Sasuke pondered right as the tint disappeared and with it so did the force propelling the ship.

The Going Merry kept flying until the keel met the water surface, cruising through their speed dipping low enough that everyone on board could stand unaided. "Bad wind!" Luffy exclaimed. "Battle stations, everyone! Nami, turn us around, we're going back to beat up those ships!"

"No!" Three different shoes, from Zoro, Sakura and Sanji sent Luffy face-down on the deck. "Dumbass!" Sanji barked. "We just got away from certain death, and you want us all to go back?"

"Old Man-ashi's gotta be there," Luffy insisted, single-minded as usual. "We're going back to find him, or tear through those ships to find some message, or writing, or something and say where Grandpa went with'em."

And one person agreed. "Yeah, that's a good plan. Come on, and follow me back!" Naruto appeared beside Luffy, rolling up both his hands. "Hey, why not Sakura, Sasuke and me go underwater? The Captain can fling Sanji-senpai and Zoro airborne, so we hit'em above and below? Believe it!"

Sasuke's and Sakura's rebuttals died on their tongues. 'That…But…' 'What…"

"Did...Gin?" Usopp held one hand up, whispering to Gin. "Did Luffy and Naruto both just give half-decent plans? One right after the other?"

"We aren't going back." Zoro strode forward, with Sasuke a half-step behind him. "How can you know that monster you're related to wasn't aboard those ships Luffy? And after outrunning so much fire, you honestly think Kakashi wants us to run directly back to the frying pan?"

"If Grandpa was there, those cannonballs woulda be faster. Or he'd leap high and punch a hole through the ship," Luffy answered him, and nobody asked how or if he was sure.

"Okay. I'm being honest," Sanji strode up, with a fresh smoke in his lips. "Maybe we should circle back. I managed to spot those ships hit by the same gust. They'd wind up scattered at least. Maybe even keeled over and at risk for sinking."

"We can't let sensei drown!" Naruto exclaimed. "Kakashi…is…a Jonin, dobe," Sasuke bit back. "If he could sneak up on Zabuza, plus slide in and out of Arlong Park, do you really think he'd get captured by anyone? Sakura reasoned that Vice Admirals can't be any stronger than Jonin, including Garp. He's not drastically stronger than Kakashi, or Hawkeye Mihawk, so an idea of our sensei captured hold under an ounce of sense."

"Good thinking," Zoro nodded to Sasuke, folding his arms. "We should stick to our arranged plan. Cruise around until we can spot Kakashi again. And keep dialling up people he'd sail to."

"No, we go back to the Marines, and right for Old man-ashi!" Luffy continued pressing for his plan with Naruto backing him up. Zoro opposed him with Sasuke at his hip/ Sanji took up the side opposite to Zoro, naturally, with Usopp and Gin standing neutral.

Few of them noticed something. Or multiple somethings that were missing around them. But somebody did notice. Looking about with curiosity. 'How can one gust of wind come erupting; then vanish so fast we don't even have any breeze?' Nami was looking around, to a flag, to the sails, and feeling the steadiness of the ship under her feet. So steady that...they...

"WGHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" One, long screech out of Nami tore through the arguments going back and forth. Everyone turned to look towards her, where she stood trembling through shock and sweat tearing through her. "Nami? What's wrong?" Luffy asked. "Are you hurt, Nami-nee?" "What is it?" Naruto and Sasuke's words went over her head.

"The-the-the-the ship isn't moving. We have no breeze. That current and the wind together! We're screwed! We entered the Calm Belt!"

"What's that?" Usopp asked. "GHRRR!" Gin collapsed, losing strength in both legs, and landing on his butt.

"Calm Belt! A part of the sea where nothing moves a muscle!" Nami screeched.

"Nami, don't make me hungry with muscles and clams," Luffy answered her.

"Oh, Sanji-senpai. Can we cook muscles and clams in Ramen?" Naruto asked.

0…..0

"…..Mr. Face. What's wrong now?" Apis, using a nickname Dragon had insisted on, questioned him. While Kakashi glared ominously at his companion. A companion wearing fear and apprehension written on his face.

"What is it?" Apis asked as well. "Mr. Face?" The girl had been celebrating after watching Marines toppling over each other from the powerful breeze. "Is there something wrong with the ships? Could that breeze come again and make us topple over?" She was gripping a necklace in her palm, something she'd held silently moments before, like a prayer.

Kakashi noticed all this, and when Dragon did not answer him began deliberating multiple options to try and force an answer.

In a whirl, Dragon strode to a small chest, pulling out a larger telescope and snapping it open. Lifting it to his eye, Kakashi followed suit, training his gaze further where the Going Merry had travelled. 'They look safe. 14 heads, seven of them blonde, and now I see Gin. Nobody fell overboard. Are they arguing? Luffy and Naruto are standing tall with Sanji. Sakura gesturing at Usopp. Here come Zoro and Sasuke…. now Sanji is standing beside Naruto…. they stopped?'

'What is happening?' Moving his lens, Kakashi found Nami. 'She's…terrified. Why? Dragon has the same look. Neither one is moving…. wait, moving? Moving!" Kakashi grasped that his target had been stock-still the whole time. No dip in the water, no gradual slide forwards, and turning his scope to the sail painted with the Straw Hat's jolly Roger, he found it flat and empty.

"Where are they?" Kakashi calmly enquired towards Dragon. "Every part of the ocean has either a breeze or sea currents on the move. Or is that a part of the East Blue that is a calm haven?"

"They are no longer IN the East Blue," a hiss responded to him. "Currents. That final turn, mixing with sea currents and the massive wind propelled from out from the East Blue Entirely. And into the Seas that hold more death than the Grand Line. The Calm Belt."

"The Dead Seas?" Kakashi asked, cocking his head towards Dragon. "Nearly a month back, hearsay mentioned a second name for the space between the Grand Line and the Four Blues." Apis was listening now, while Dragon did not move his attention away from the telescope trained on the distant Merry. "It's called the Calm Belt, a space nobody would sail since, honestly, they're unable to sail. No wind, no currents, not even clouds hang over it. A complete stagnant void. That's self-explanatory enough for why sailors avoid it. Yes?"

"Yes," Dragon answered, simply. "Do you have friends aboard that boat, Mr. Kakashi?" Apis called up. "Well why don't we help—"

"That. And a second reason." Hearing that, Kakashi turned his attention back to Dragon.

When no further explanations came, Kakashi brought the spyglass to his eye again and found the Merry in time to see the ship tilt. "Well, there has to be some form of movement," Kakashi answered. "I can see the ship mo.. -WHAT! UHK, WHA, WHA WAAAAAA….." Turning his head up, Kakashi's bare eye followed one rising body of water emerging from directly beneath the Going Merry.

One, then four, seven, followed by parts, fins, and more came erupting out of the water. Immediately Kakashi's sight of the Merry was lost, even his eye sliding away, just enough he could spot the massive forms erupting through the surface, gliding to varied heights and all of them terrifying. Snapping back, the Konoha jonin brought the scope to his eye again only to spot.

'EYES? TH-th-is—' Two pairs of eyes were probing opposite directions, like some aquatic chameleon. Then the walls of water fell, unveiling a collage of colours and shapes, strange yet structured enough to identify some form of creature. Every form was a creature, and so massive Kakashi lowered the scope and could still make out shapes from such distances away. Something he hadn't needed since….

'Those…that size…' Recalling his sensei summoning the Mighty Gamabunta, and encountering the sea creature Momoo at Arlong Park, Kakashi managed to at least begin thinking enough that his mood exchanged awe for abject terror.

"Sea Kings." Deep, worried tones came as Dragon spoke. "Those creatures are Sea Kings, natural forces beyond anyone's capacity to conquer or suppress. They venture across all the Blues," Dragon continued, "then gather within those distant waters for breeding. Sailors, the Navy, every Pirate Crew alive, now you see why none save the desperate sail into the Calm Belt."

Turning about, Kakashi found himself face-to-face with the inner hull, and his legs spread out before him. 'I fell?' Shooting to his feet, Kakashi brought the scope up again, then from the mass of sea monsters, found some coloured black and grey. 'Largest…largest…too small…too small…. there!'

The Merry was perched on the snout of some enormous ell, now even further away and too distant to pick out those aboard. Then suddenly, one smaller Sea King, not dissimilar from a frog, flew high from the waters for the Merry. The larger Sea King's head moved, causing a shift and—

With a gasp, Kakashi realized his lungs were burning. Sucking oxygen back in, he lost sight of his crew, again. Taking delicate care and forcing himself to breath, Kakashi digested how each Sea King appeared to his naked eye. All of them were titanic. Watching some breech or swimming about on the waves, it took a herculean effort to calmly raise the spyglass to his eyes and comb the view for the Going Merry.

There it was, perching atop the same behemoth's snout. Then suddenly, an eruption of black smoke billowed out from above the Sea King's mouth. 'Smoke?' Immediately, the creature's head rose, lips curling open to unveil jagged, house-sized teeth tightly shut.

Putting pieces together, Kakashi swore he felt hairs on his head turn from grey to white. Other Sea Kings were diving now, dissipating as the colossus's head bent backwards and shook.

"Is that big one gonna sneeze!?' Apis exclaimed. And sneeze it did. One, record-setting, colossal sneeze erupted from the Sea King, generating tidal waves, and launching the accidental occupant high. High enough and with such force the ship kept streaking across the heavens.

Collectively, Kakashi and Dragon each followed the path of the ship with both spyglass and telescope pointed skywards and turning without falling over. On, and on, and further the sea-faring ship went cruising above them yet dropping lower and lower that Kakashi even managed to spot those aboard for another headcount.

'Everyone's there. Gin and Usopp in the air, Sakura is…standing? Ah, clever, but Sasuke needs both hands. Zoro and Sanji are, hugging? There's Nami holding her arms around Luffy, and one extended arm wrapped around…Naruto. And he's grinning.' Sure enough, Naruto's head was thrown back with a wild smile. 'Of course. And hardly the worst solution there was,' Kakashi reasoned, still following the ship. The…'…vanishing ship.?'

Turning his gaze to the bow, the spectators witnessed half of the Merry disappearing into an empty void. Within seconds the entire ship was gone like it'd evaporated from sight until the lip of a wave came into view. Kakashi shifted his scope down slighting, parallel with the ocean now and pointing…towards empty seas.

"A vanish island?" Dragon spoke. "A mirage?" Turning his attention away, while still holding the spyglass to point which direction to look through, Kakashi met a fierce grin. Their destination was set, no question.

0…0

Once the Merry stopped flying, she didn't stop. One impact and rather than sink down, the ship was airborne again. And again, then again, skipping further and further beyond a veil she'd passed through. Aboard, everyone was exercising muscles they didn't know they had to stay aboard and keep everything else from falling over. "Those ropes are gonna break!" A massive crash came below deck, "Akh, my weights!" Zoro exclaimed. "AAHAHH! Island!" Luffy, once again, was pinned to the mast and slid high up the poll until his head was resting under the crow's nest, giving quite the lookout's view of what lay in their path, and a destination. "We're gonna crash into an island!" "NOOOOOOOOO!" Nami was holding Naruto's head in her chest, while Sanji had Sakura. With another skip everyone went bouncing, high enough they spotted the landmass Luffy had. "Wait, we—are we slowing down?" Usopp called. And he was right, slower, slower, skipping ripples in the sea, the Merry had one last skip and then came to a stop with one massive splash.

Rocking gently, somewhat, the Pirate ship had finally stopped but more than some moments passed as everyone digested what had happened. "Wh-wh-wh—" "We're clear," Zoro announced, untangling himself from Usopp. "Everyone, check yourselves and around the ship," the swordsman ordered them, "Find what broke and what's still intact. We might've hit something and have leaks sinking us." "NO!/NO!" Usopp and Naruto both exclaimed in sync, one scrambling out from Nami's embrace and then leapt overboard to go running over the waters around them. "OWW!" "Naruto?" "I stubbed my toe on something," the boy called up at Sanji's call. "Wow, there're some cool statues here, ya know." Walking to the railing, the entire crew aboard found their ship was surrounded by sunken ruins. Looking about, even the seawater around this strange island was lined with stone blocks, with stairways that led to a stone road curving up into a forest, thick knotted roots engulfing stone pillars, and peculiar statues shaped akin to some figural serpents. "Who would build stone under water like this?" Naruto asked. "They wouldn't, dobe." Glaring back up to the deck, Naruto locked eyes with Sasuke. "Who'd you know? You live here, and we've found a lotta stranger stuff, ya know."

"It's an abandoned island, little brother," Nami answered him, pulling Naruto's attention away from Sasuke. "Keep inspecting the haul. Zoro's right, we're lucky to get outa that nightmare, but something might've broken on our way down. I'll examine our chats and find out where exactly we wound up."

The crew examined the rest of the island leaving Luffy still tied up high on the mast. Sanji was pissed to discover everything in his kitchen had been scattered throughout the lounge, along with perishables that weren't stored away in the fridge. Usopp discovered his workshop wasn't any more chaotic than ordinary while Sakura opened the lady's bunk, then immediately slammed the door.

"Damn. We gotta massive problem, y'all!" Gin had opened the hatch to the men's quarters, shouted, and then leapt in. Zoro was the closest to him, bending low as well where he found Gin standing in a few inches of water. "Did my weights crash a hole down there!" "Whaaa!" Usopp materialized beside them, shoving Zoro away to scurry down. "It can't be, believe it." Naruto was back aboard, stripped to his waist and wringing a damp shirt out. "I didn't see anything, even swimming underneath a few times. I saw no holes down there."

"Yer right," Gin's voice called him, as the man came back out from the hatch. "It's worse'n a leak. Th' strength weights down 'ere hit our freshwater barrels. They burst. Somebody, grab buckets, or we ain't barely save more than a few mouthfuls."

"Oh great!" Nami exclaimed, shooting to her feet, before placing one hand over her breast, sucking deep breaths in, and sinking down to her knees. "Nami?"/"Nami-swan?" Looking up, she found Naruto and Sanji peering over her, one of them carrying a glass filled with an orange smoothie and a straw. "Nami-nee, can't we just refill the water or get new barrels from somebody?" "Give her a sec, Naruto. There's ramen in the kitchen waiting for you. "RAMEN!" He was gone in a second, and Nami accepted the smoothie, pulling herself back up. "Thanks. I still can't believe we actually got away from the Sea Kings, all thanks to a sneeze." "All thanks to you inspiring him, and gorgeous, brilliant dove," Sanji sang over Nami. "Yeah," Luffy called down, "that sneeze was a great idea! You got awesome timing, Nami. Go and stick all that smoke in the Sea monster's nose?"

"Somebody with common self-preservation?" Sakura's eyes were blazing white and snarling with shark teeth. "That was the most thoughtless, reckless, scatter-brained, desperate plan Naruto ever made! Miss. Nami made one sneeze, so he went running and wasted so many paper bombs, and we blew away like snot so fast we almost hit an island!"

"But Sakura, it worked, didn't it?" Naruto was back outside again. "We were kinda desperate, too, ya know."

"You still spent a lot of our explosives, Naruto."

"No, I didn't, Sasuke," Naruto snapped with a grin. "I made three clones and had them set up all of theirs, then set them off." Pulling out the few he'd been allotted, Naruto held all of them up. "Not one went to waste, believe it."

Sakura's finger, held in the air, slowly slid down with her deflating temper. Sanji even strode over to give Naruto a pat on the shoulder. "It worked, that's what matters in the end. Plus, nothing in the kitchen wound up broken. Unlike our cabin thanks to the musclehead's weights."

"What was that!" Zoro's forehead knocked against Sanji's. "How can that be my fault? And you just wasted water with smoothies and ramen?" "I had already measured it when Gin discovered them broken," Sanji answered, "and those had to have spilt out somehow, moron." Both boys were glaring face-to-face, with barely millimetres separating them. "I had to throw them aside, or we'd gotten hit with cannon fire!" "Laziness ain't an excuse, Mr. green man! "What you got, speaking out of turn at your first mate, cook!" "I only take orders from the captain, Sakura & Nami-swan. You're 200 years too stupid to join them!"

Usopp and Nami wound up steering Sasuke and Naruto away from taking sides between Zoro and Sanji. "Usopp, how are your injuries feeling?" Nami enquired with the bandaged sniper. Looking himself over, and turning arms, legs, and his torso, Usopp had an answer. "Okay, I guess. I feel good enough to patch up anything that broke on the Merry. And I should use the transponder snail to see if anyone we know has seen Kakashi, or not."

Nami nodded, then picked up how somebody was quiet. Luffy hadn't said anything since they'd come to a stop. One glance up the mast and she found why…. her captain's upper half was compressed under the crow's nest, including his lips. "Hey Sasuke, would you pull Luffy down before he stops breathing?" Following orders, and with Naruto helping too, both teammates did just that and the second Luffy's head was loose: "Somebody find water! Captain's order!"

"Huh?" Looking down, Luffy found most of his crew gawking up at him. "We gotta outa danger, we can't sail with only drinking booze. And we still don't got Old-Man-ashi! Find water, then we set sail to get our ninja!"

'Whenever he says anything practical,' Nami shook her head, feeling the sweat and a soft thump in her ears, 'uh, it feels hot today.'

"Luffy's right," Zoro leaned away from Sanji. "Now this dump looks like nobody's been here in years. Anyone, is this place on any maps or charts we got?"

"That isn't a problem, Zoro," Nami interjected. "There should be found and fresh water here, no doubt. We should disembark and I'm going to collect my measurement tools."

"Miss. Nami?" Sakura asked her, "are you certain? This place looks like abandoned ruins. And half-flooded ones, too. We're still alone, too. If anyone did live here, wouldn't they have come down after seeing us descend from the skies?" Sanji, Gin and Usopp were each deliberating Sakura's points, while Luffy was now calling for somebody to tie him down.

"Nami-nee? Can Captain Luffy come free?" Naruto called down to her. "Yes," Nami spoke up without thinking, to her own surprise, but it was too late to rescind the request. Luffy was free now, and looking out over the deck across the ruins they'd landed in. "This mystery place looks like some fortress. Maybe it's a spot for fighting?"

"Who knows," Nami shrugged, stepping up beside him. "But people indeed would have lived here at some time. And that's how I know there's a spring or some source of fresh water on this island." Looking out across the area, Nami continued elucidating. "Whoever did live here wouldn't spend years installing these statues, or erect larger buildings, carved in stone. People need water every day, and without any, you don't find animals, let alone civilizations on any land mass. Without regular food or fresh water, this place wouldn't sustain any population for some time. Sure, it's abandoned, but people often migrate after some years or generations. And I didn't spot this island anywhere on the maps that we have, so it's likely a lost or uncharted one, this close to the Calm Belt."

Most of the crew were listening, especially Sakura at the holes in her own conclusion. "Whoa Nami," Luffy's head would up right before hers, "you're real smart. How'd you know all that?"

"I'd come looking through spots like this, to find treasure," she explained, grinning forlornly at something on her mind. "When ruins get abandoned, people only take what they can carry, and so much gets left mind. Jewels, treasuries, archives, or something made from materials worth a few million berries. I read a few books on treasure hunting and archaeology, looking through ruins to figure out where to look and what. And these ruins could be especially ancient, maybe thousands of years old; back when people got around using canoes, longboats or on catamarans."

"So, we need to go searching, for water, for treasure, and so I can add this island to my own map of the world!" Half the crew were not that surprised at one priority, and the rest barely cared. "There are more important—"

"Buda-buda- buda- buda- buda… buda-buda- buda- buda- buda-… buda- buda- buda- buda- buda-" All the snails was ringing. Or, all the snails attached to a person's wrist, not the large one. Sakura clued in fastest, with the simple-minded Luffy milli-seconds behind. "Buda-buda-click."

"Sensei/Old-man Kakashi?" Nobody on the breathed…."Yo?" Kakashi's voice spoke out. "Captain? Sakura? Are you the only ones there or—"

"SENSEI!" Naruto exploded, seizing Sakura's arm with both hands, and holding the snail to his face. "Where-where, where, say the word and I'll beat up that Garp guy to find you. Are you at Baratie, are you drowning, are you—hmhmwhmwrrhry-Wrwrwr!" Somebody's hand muffled Naruto's mouth as the rest of the crew assembled around Sakura's baby den-den or clicked open their own.

"I'm not very far away," Kakashi answered, "I even was close enough to watch you all by those…Sea Kings, then fly off into the distance and vanish completely from sight." The snail's face grew dopy, and its voice sunk in a drawl.

"I cannot even pick between which to explain why I now have a strand of white hair." A few of the crew assembled let out deep breaths, mixing guilt with awe.

Zoro even looked one way while Gin held one hand to his temple. 'One…ah my crew…are still livin'. We met Garp, not so different than meetin' Mihawk, and nobody's lost.'

"How long until you can sail over and join us?" Zoro spoke up. "I imagine you want the cabin-genin to keep training until you reach here?" "That ain't imported, moss-head," Sanji cut in. "Say that to me again," Zoro dared him with a growl.

"Enough, no fighting!" Luffy was running for the snail, threw both hands over Zoro and Sanji's heads, then forced both together and held them there to vault overhead and draw up to the snail. "Old Man, Grandpa ain't behind you, is he?" Luffy pleaded, still holding two people face-to-face and...

"Come back here fast, captain's orders, if he ain't, okay?"

"I'm on a dingy with a young girl, Apis, and a certain…. Nami? Naruto...?" Nobody answered Kakashi. "Hello?" Everyone was watching the cook and the first mate…lip locked. They're lips had connected with furry building in their eyes until the pressure erupted and they exploded apart. "Ghk-pwh-aak!"/"ah-ahk-ahk-ahk" Zoro was throwing spittle from his mouth, and Sanji kept raking his fingernails over his lips and tongue. "Disgusting. Disgusting!" "Luf-LUFFY!" Zoro seized his captain's face, and held it there, tightly. "What in all that's holy in hell!? You just held Dart-brow's lips over mine!" "GGHHKK!" At hearing what Zoro confessed, Sanji collapsed, blood flying with each cough and his face a pale-white shade. "Violation! Moss-head, ugly, disgusting moss-head taste is on my lips!"

"That ain't my fault!" Zoro shouted over at him. "Huh? Sorry Zoro?" Luffy asked him innocently. "We got Kakashi back. What're you both mad about?" They answered with a fist and a foot, "You made us kiss!/You made us kiss!" Launching Luffy skywards off the ship. Standing there, Zoro and Sanji were so furious most of their nakama cleared the deck. Usopp and Sakura were hiding, Nami had one hand over her lips, smothering a giggle, yet Naruto and Sasuke were each standing there, frozen and staring forward.

"Excuse me," Kakashi asked as the cooks and the swordsmen were still in hearing range. "Sakura? Did Naruto and Sasuke share another kiss?" The crew could hear a pin drop, freezing everyone who heard that. "I…take that silence as a yes. I'll hurry back and sit the pair of them down for…. a talk about a talk. These sorts of feelings are natural and—"

"NO! NO! BELIEVE IT! NO!" Naruto's exclamation made the whole ship hop on the sea. "LUFFY MADE ZORO AND SANJI-SENPAI KISS ON ACCIDENT!" With that confession, pandemonium erupted across the deck: Usopp falling over, Gin was shaking so much he couldn't make a sound, Nami was going cross-eyed staring between too many things, Zoro, and Sanji each squealed in terror, Sasuke took his turn sputtering out things nobody could make-out. And Naruto—

"I LIKE GIRLS!" the Uzumaki exclaimed. "TEME IS WAY TOO UGLY, TOO COOL, AND HE'S A GUY! DO YOU NEED MORE PROOF THAN THIS!" Naruto drew both hands together, his fingers pointed, and waves of chakra swirled about him. "HAREM-JUTSU! BARE FANTASY PARADE!" Immediately, right in front of Nami, the entire deck was engulfed with smoke, and out emerged several dozen naked teenage girls for all that the crew could see. "WWWOWOOOO! NARUKO!" Sanji was spinning in pirouettes, "NARUKO! TWIN NARUKO?! TRIPLET NARUKO'S?!" He was hyperventilating, turning from one sexy illusion to the next, then the next, and the next with blood-red hearts in his eyes: basking in the medicine after his recent horror.

Gin, who hadn't seen this before, stood frozen with blood seeping from both his noses. Until he let out a loud "YEEE-HAAAAW!" He was touring the views alongside Sanji. Even Zoro stopped, drinking in the spectacle until he fell backwards overboard, with blood from his nose. "GHHHAAA! Beautiful!" Usopp was bowing in reverence to the fantasy brought to life.

"~Nar~ru...~to~?" Immediately, the parade of sexiness froze, so terrified that every clone dispelled, leaving the deck empty. Gin, Usopp and Sanji were still on their knees and felt dangerous shivers running down their spines.

"Na~ru~to?" Nami tightly murmured, glaring with a tick on her brow, and her full attention on her little brother.

"Nami!" Kakashi's voice cut through the moment. "I am approaching you, with company. Do you recall somebody on the Going Merry in Loguetown before you and I went charging back to the square?" Thinking back to that moment, Nami blinked and put some implications together. "You found help from that man? Kakashi," Nami knelt by Sakura's wrist, "Naruto called that man 'Mr. Tattoo.' He was still aboard when we got to the ship and promised he'd find you/ Before Sakura, Sasuke and little brother Naruto went back on their own."

"Well, he delivered on that promise. Mr. Tattoo, is here," the snail answered as the rest of the Straw hats caught up; Zoro needed a

few extra blinks to recall once he got back aboard. "The pair of us are in a dingy, with Apis. We found a young girl drifting alone in the sea, and she appeared quite excited about where you wound up flying to. I won't make you wait. See you shortly." With that, the snail went asleep.

"Sanji." Luffy was back and at his call, both his cook and swordsman noticed. "YOU!" Zoro went high, Sanji went low, and both struck Luffy with their face's red as tomato paste. Instead of flying overboard from the impact, Sanji kept hold of one hand and once the elastic snap brought Luffy in reach for the pair of them to continue pulling at his face. "What could why how moss fool stack-gghkk why not," Eventually lost patience trying to speak. Zoro took Luffy by the ankles and Sanji took a few steps back. Zoro went spinning, with Luffy flailing out from him like a hammer-weight in at the games, but with Sanji in play, it was baseball. "Pull!" On cue, the Swordsman let go, sending Luffy at Sanji's spinning heel and batting him into a homerun to the outfield. "WWWWWWWWWHHHhHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhy?"

The further he flew up the island, Luffy's cries dimmed to a light hum until a rumble in the trees and several dozen scattering birds identified where he landed. "You/I'm go find water!" Zoro commanded Sanji at the same moment the cook declared the same. "I'm/You go training." "This! Never! Happened!" With that agreement, both strode in opposite directions, grabbing their respective protegees on the way and continued off the Merry.

"Nami, Sakura," Zoro called back, "Go find our idiot captain. If he finds me first, I'll cut him and still sleep soundly tonight." Sanji had nothing more to say. Usopp crawled out from his hiding place behind Gin. "Ah guess you, me an' Sakura are stayin' aboard, Usopp." At Gin's suggestion, Nami finally got a grip. "Uh, uh-uh, nope, nope," Nami announced, crossing her wrists over themselves. "I'm not going after Luffy."

"Why?" Usopp's question was answered with a pause. Nami still felt a tickle pass her lips. "Why? Uh, why—oh!' "I'm not going alone, of course. Sakura, grab a few of those storage scrolls and come with me."

"Why Nami-san?" the younger girl enquired. "Oooo, wellll," Nami answered with money signs in her eyes, "these ruins mean lost things. Lost things somebody meant to come back for or failed to recall in a hurry. We might even find a buried hoard, or treasure on this island."

"Of course, she wants to go on a treasure hunt," Usopp voiced aloud. "I can see where Don Luffy landed," Gin announced, pulling the other nakama's attention to him. "He's somewhere up da ruins." Gin passed a spyglass to Sakura and fixed one arm on the tree line. "I see it. Nami-san, let's go."

Soon the girls were on a hike, following a wide paved round from the stones positioned by the shoreline. Sakura's eyes were everywhere, taking in the position, the larger blocks flanking each path, and after several minutes she turned around. 'Whoa.' From up top, she drank in with her eyes how the Merry sat in the bay, lined with the stones identical to those they'd walked over, with parallel abutments forming a square field. 'It's a small pool. And maybe this was a road once upon a time?' Her own Inner-voice was quiet, too, sitting at a mental desk and working to sketch it out, until. '"Wait, Nami-san is moving. Let's go!"

"Hey Sakura. Did you find something?" "No, Miss. Nami. wait up." Once she was parallel, Nami and Sakura strode further up until they encountered structures, open fields and… "Could those be Sea Kings?" Sakura was kneeling by a fallen statue, (description) "Maybe. The one I've seen up close was Momoo. The ones we just got away from hardly looked identical." Nami was standing back, staring over the fields to pick out details. "That's not the only statue. But I don't think they're Sea-king's either."

"Why?" Sakura stared over her shoulder. "Look closely," Nami encouraged. "There's another one out there. I saw several more sinking in the water close to our ship. And there another attached to the roof of that house." A glint in the sunlight caught Nami's eye and she strode to a patch of grass. Kneeling, she quickly stood up examining something in her palm. "The design's engraved on this pendant, too. Maybe it was a popular image, or people that lived here identified themselves with it."

"Oh," Sakura reasoned, 'Like headbands between shinobi, or how pirates and marines each sail under a certain flag?' "Miss. Nami, could that pendant be treasure, then? And, if we're looking for things that people left in a hurry, shouldn't that involve searching every house?"

She was right, and the mention of treasure pulled 100% of Nami's attention to their goal. "Yup, let's get to it." Picking the one with a statue still attached to its roof, Nami carefully slipped inside the stone hut. Glancing around, she moved in further with Sakura behind her They found moss indoors and cool shade, with a few patches of grass and plants but otherwise the dirt floor inside was cool and damp.[1]

"There isn't any furniture, and I don't see a safe," Nami spoke up. "Check the floors. Maybe somebody buried their positions and intended to come back later." Kneeling, Nami brushed away dirt and soil, looking for any hint the ground was disturbed. Sakura did the same, but her hip nudged one of the stone blocks in the wall. A low groan came from that, building louder and sharper. Nami glanced at it, then up to the roof above them where the source of the groan was centred. "No! Oh no!"

It collapsed, with a sharp crack Part of the wall shifted, with the roof and iconic statue falling inwards over the house.[1] Dust clouds shot up with no sign of either Nami or Sakura, until a separate stone outside vanished in smoke, revealing them both kneeling with Sakura grasping Nami's shoulder.

Both took moments to catch their breath. "Uh…perhaps it would be safer if we didn't look inside of these houses, Miss. Nami."

"No, no-, ummm." Nami got her breath back, turned and examined a separate building. With no such roof. "Let's have a look at that one." Walking up, Nami's hopes were dashed at multiple stone blocks scattered inside. "We'd need an archaeologist to dig our way through this to reach the floor. And I don't see any safe, or wall cavities either."

Moving on, the pair kept poking around individual structures (features) [3] with a lot more caution. Some houses only had a few walls standing with rubble scattered inside and scattered about in a random spray beyond it.

"It's too bad so many of these are too unstable," Nami complained, staring at one, then between Sakura and the door. "Nope. You're only around 1 foot smaller than me. I should have brought Naruto with us. The shortest on the crew to poke around could poke around any of them, or go investigate with those clones of his."[4]

Immediately, Sakura froze and sank to her knees. "Huh? Sakura?" Nami knelt beside the girl, unaware of another voice inside Sakura's head. '"A foot? A full foot?" Inner Sakura was measuring her chest with a ruler, then examining a whiteboard with diagrams of Nami's chest. Comparing both, jotting equations in a notebook then a few equations later and "See's right….."' Both the real Sakura and her mental self were kneeling forwards with gloomy clouds hanging above their heads. It took several moments for Nami to rally her, but Sakura would not share why, instead stealing glares as the navigator's stacked assets would sway over the course of their hike.

They did find buildings with open sunlight, with the interiors overgrown with plant life. "How about inside these, Miss. Nami?" Sakura enquired. "Maybe." Nami pulled a tiny notebook from one pocket and taped a pen open to one page. Sakura stood there witnessing Nami glance over their surroundings, down to the bay, further up the hill, then gradually make casual strokes in the book. Stepped around her, the girl found it was a surprisingly detailed map. "We'll come up through here again looking through them. For right now, I think Luffy's somewhere by the large temple up this hill. Let's head there and find them, then poke around it for more treasure."

Deposits the book away, both girls continue up the paved road spiralling further to the peak of the island. Nami made multiple glances back behind them to gauge where the Going Merry was, and after a single hour pulled open her baby den-den.

"Buda-buda-buda-buda-buda….buda-buda-buda-buda-buda…buda-buda-Click. Who is it?"

"Zoro?" Nami answered. "How is everyone? Who's still aboard the ship.?"

"The sword pair are still off training, my darling," Sanji's voice answered. "Naruto and I made a few trips for fresh water and he's cleaning the kitchen down now. Usopp…he actually asked me about learning Black-Leg style like Naruto is, so Gin's on look-out." That surprised the girls, who each nodded and then turned over towards where the speck of their ship stood on the waterline. "Sakura and I haven't found Luffy yet. Gin, can you spot us along the stone track and lend some directions for how close we are to where he flew up here?"

0…0

Back down ton the Merry, Sanji flushed at the mention of Luffy's name, and felt an itch to have something slam into his head and drive that horrid memory of a…..'A violation! That was a violation that Moss-Head and I both suffered.'

Desperate for a distraction, he looked over where Usopp was holding a bizarre pose, then snapped two wild kicks up high but slipped on the landing. The cook had approached Sanji about more ways to fight, and while he'd accepted Sanji had highlighted the bandages covering Usopp. 'He's stubborn. It's too early to see if he's dedicated, plus Sasuke and Sakura both abandoned learning from me since we left the restaurant.'

"Drop down into plank, or practice stances, Usopp," Sanji steered him back to what they had been doing. "And those kicks would only miss their target if a real foe was charging you."

Usopp slumped over, embarrassed, yet he still dropped low but both arms on the deck while Sanji's foot was prodding at his legs, gut, and butt, forcing the boy into the correct positions. "You're smart for wanting to get stronger. But unless you can physically pull them off, learning my kicks will only leave you exposed."

0…0

Further up the hill., Gin guided both the girls around until they found multiple flattened trees and a long indent in the earth. All leading to a sizable hole. "Did he go inside?" Crawling forward, Nami and Sakura found a solid wall with a narrow corridor extending to either left or right. Picking one, they continued walking through the complex and into a large antechamber with a larger room beyond it. "Luffy?" Nami called with two hands cupping her mouth. "Nami? Hiya Nami, in here. Come and see, come and see who's here." Walking further inside, Nami and Sakura discovered a circular atrium with an awe-invoking dome ceiling. Luffy sitting on the ground inside, and he wasn't alone.

"Sensei?!" Sakura exclaimed. Indeed, right there in the centre, beside Luffy, was Kakashi Hatake. Turning at the call, the iconic figure was sitting on a stone slab beside Luffy with a pair of long sticks beside him and appeared exhausted. "Ah, hello there," the masked man waved to them with a lazy effort.

Sakura broke into a run, with Nami jogging behind her, and threw both arms around the greyhound. "Phhh." "Sensei, you are back! You are back—wait!" Scrambling away, Sakura stood before him with both hands planted on her hips and glaring to him. "Why didn't you call us that you were here? And why didn't Captain Luffy call over a snail?"

Nami, jogging up behind her, stopped short immediately, and noticed they were not alone either. Two additional figures stood a few meters away: a tiny girl with a yellow dress, long braids down her back and a tall white cap on her head, plus a looming figure in a green cloak. The girl was staring back at them, while the other was unbothered and had his eyes trained on the ceiling. Nami followed that gaze, while Sakura continued glaring as Luffy glanced down at his wrist.

"Uh. Oh, I forgot. Shishishishishi. Sorry," Luffy answered. "I was looking in here for some meat," and an impressive rumble came at that word, echoing through the chamber. "But then I found Old Man and got too happy. Sorry, sorry." Luffy still wore a wide grin, while Kakashi fetched a set of crutches that were resting on his left and tried to stand up. "Sakura…hh…..our…..my guests…..they want to…..explore. I was…. a little…drained and wanted some…hh…. some quiet time before Naruto…..and Luffy could tackle me."

Sakura could easily imagine that, and more puzzle pieces fell into place with only a few outliers. "But sensei, you said you were a long way away after Zoro and Sanji kissed. How did you get here so rapidly?"

"Who cares?" Luffy exclaimed, rocking back and forth in his seat. "Kakashi's back and we got two new friends. They wanted to look around this mystery place, so I said yes. Then I gotta carry Old Man down the hill since he's choka tired."

"Chakra, Captain Luffy," Kakashi warily set-straight. "Sakura, I'm more exhausted than I felt after Zabuza. And since Mr. Tattoo," he nodded to one side, "decided to carry me around, he wanted to explore with Miss. Apis. I….." With a hint of embarrassment, Kakashi gave in to the inevitable. "I couldn't…. walk down to…anywhere." "So they had to carry you," Nami smized.

"It's incredible how you've found Lost Island!" the girl, Apis exclaimed. "I live close to here, on Warship Island. Mr. Face and Mr. Kakashi saved me after I got lost in a storm. Once there we have a legend about a place called Lost Island with the Dragon's Nest. And thanks to you flying off that Sea king—"

"This isn't the Dragon's Nest." Mr. Tattoo interrupted Apis' glee. Everyone turned their eye to him as the figure drew back a hood, revealing raven-black hair, a strong face plus one distinctive tattoo covering half his face.

"You?" "Indeed, me," the figure answered, his actual name unknown to all but Kakashi. "As I have promised, Kakashi is reunited with you. Fate….is an unquestionably a curious, fickle force in this world."

"Look to the ceiling." Following his instructions, Nami and Sakura were floored by amazement over the murals spanning the roof. "Hey, are those the same designs of the statues outside, and the pendant, Miss. Nami?" Nami drew the keepsake back out at Sakura's words, and Apis scurried up for a close look, too.

"Millennial Dragons," Mr. Tattoo spoke up. Nami, Sakura and Kakashi each turned their attention on him. "Creatures which, by legend, can live for over thousands of years. The murals above, and throughout this island, depict those wonderous creatures. I have some colleagues with a deep interest in archaeology, and this find will undoubtedly fascinate them."

"But what do you mean this isn't the Dragon's nest?" Apis complained and immediately covered her mouth with both hands. Staring between Kakashi, Sakura, Nami and Luffy panicky, she was caught in a spotlight which Kakashi and Sakura noticed, but Nami still had her attention on the ceiling.

"Yeah, look closely there." Raising her finger, Nami drew their attention to one section, where people were arranged kneeling or facing the fluid, winged creatures in the sky. "It looks like two islands are depicted up there. One of them has a dome, like this one. And opposite to it is another with extensions. It…. almost looks like a battleship." Indeed, the others, even Luffy picked up on the details easily, with Sakura examining more of the figures and Luffy looking at one person, then somebody else.

"Hey Apis, didn't you build this place?" "How could she Captain Luffy," Sakura admonished him. "This island is abandoned, with hazardous ruins probably thousands of years old."

"But her hat. Look at it," Luffy pointed at Apis, then a kneeling figure on the roof, and back. "Same hat, the one Apis is wearing and up on the nice picture." Sakura could feel her tongue tying itself into knots, and so did Inner Sakura over that detail they hadn't picked up on.

"Apis?" Nami asked. "Does that part of the mural look like Warship Island? You said you live there."

"Well-spotted, boy," Mr. Tattoo spoke up. "I have visited that destination and indeed, the mural depicts Warship Island near-perfectly."

"Please, cease cause Miss. Apis such discomfort." At the request, Sakura tore her eyes away from the other girl and down to her shoes, guiltily. "Miss. Apis admires the legend. She spoke of it to me at one phase of our journey when Kakashi was asleep," Mr. Tattoo continued. "Legends of the Millennial Dragons and Lost Island are not universally synchronized. Instead, they remain separate, and some tales of these creatures include how their bones would be bought and sold for immeasurable value."

"Sold? Immeasurable?" Nami's glee was clear in her voice, with money signs in her eyes. She was drooling at that news and sped up to their company. "Tell us more. I have…an academic interest in the legends?"

'Academic…. or profit?' Kakashi dryly thought. "Hey Nami," Luffy spoke up, "didja see any of these mystery dragons on the way up here?"

"There are not," Mr. Face answered. "This Lost Island, however, like other myths, appears to have been combined with the Dragon's Nest. Evidently, from this mural, they are not one and the same."

Mr. Face then pulled a sizable tomb from beneath his cloak, and a pen. Opening it, he fixed the ceiling with a careful look then took the writing instrument to a page. Sakura studied the mural too, as did Kakashi, Apis and Nami, while Luffy just sat there, swinging his legs. Until another rumble from his stomach echoed throughout the room.

"Man, I'm hungry. Hey, you all are here! Let's get food!" Immediately, Kakashi and Sakura were snatched off their feet, and Nami felt something snake its way around her hips. "Luffy?!" Facing away from them, Nami's scarlet face was hidden by the tight grip wound around her, then yanking her off her feet. "Apis. Mr. Tattoo. Follow me for a party!"

Luffy took off, with Nami slung over his shoulder and the other two nakama held under his opposite arm.

Tearing through the antechamber, Luffy went barrelling outside the looked around. "Merry…Merry-ah, the Merry!" Spotting his ship, he took the direct way down, running towards a cliff wall and leaping over it. While the girls kept screaming, his sandals landed on a slanting tree root. Sliding down, Luffy kept his balance and was laughing at the thrill, moving further and further on until the root grew narrower and he had to leap into the sky again.

"Hahahahah!" "Ahahhhh!" "Luuuuuuufyyyyyyy! Let, let me down!" Nami thoughtlessly demanded, even kicking her legs out. "Why, I'd drop you, Nami?" Instead, Luffy changed his grip on her, with his thumb digging into her spectacular ass. All while they kept sliding down, skipping over roof-tops, or jostling when Luffy had to run over spots. "Guyyyyyys! Hey Guuuyyysss! We got'em We got'em!"

"Captain?!"/"Kakashi!?" "Oh, Zoro! Sasuke!" The pair with swords were standing in Luffy's path, with amazement on their faces, and Luffy wasn't slowing down. Instead, he went barreling right past them and on to the Merry growing closer and closer b the second.

"Don't crash!" "Why not? I'm made of Rubber?" "We aren't!" Kakashi exclaimed at Luffy's answer to Sakura's request, and they were barely a few dozen meters from the Merry now.

"Nami-nee!" With the last shout, Luffy collided with the Merry so hard the entire ship shook on the water. "Guhha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Guy, I got Kakashi back!"

Nobody answered him. "Huh?" Luffy was sitting in the midships of the Merry, with splinters in the deck and nobody else around him. Looking left and right, he found two large square blocks stuck out from the deck. "Nami? Old-Man? Sakura?"

"WHaaaaaa! Luffy, you, you," Usopp scurried down from the lookout, spluttering, and drove a heel-kick into Luffy's skull. "What did you just do wreak the Merry like that!"

"Huh? But I found Kakashi and got hungry. So, I came running straight down here. I even passed-oh, Sasuke and Zoro." Jumping to his feet, Luffy scanned is eyes over the island and found where he'd gone past those two. The next moment a long arm shot out, looping around both Zoro and Sasuke too fast for them to evade. "Uh?" Immediately, their feet left the earth.

"Luffy, we better not Craaaaaaaaaaash-!" Yet, they crashed. The Merry shook on the water again, with both Zoro and Sasuke colliding with the haul too fast for one to swap out with a substitution.

"Sanji! Time to eat! Time for a Party! Let's Celebrate!" Luffy was ecstatic, until behind him half a dozen figures arose with ire.

0…0

2 hours were gone and it was the middle of the afternoon. Luffy's face still was various shades of purple, with swollen lips and ears, and his rubber nose was tied across his face in a knot. Naruto was still refusing to leave Kakashi's side, Sanji had prepared a massive banquet, and everyone had mugs in their hands.

Except for the Genin, who Kakashi insisted were not allowed alcohol. "I had my first sake long before I was their age, Old-Man," Zoro argued. "No," was Kakashi's only answer, and he was not alone. "My little brother isn't allowed any drinks either, not until he's fifteen," Nami declared.

"This smells so delicious," Apis complemented Sanji as the cook stood guard over a sizzling platter he was cooking over open flames. "What could that Mr. Tattoo still be doing all the way up there?" Usopp asked, leaning backwards in his seat.

"He mentioned that he wanted to look over the ruins and was drawing on a large paper sheet when we left him," Sakura answered. She and Nami had changed from their regular clothing into the new wardrobes taken from Loguetown. Nami wore a deep pink bikini on display through a translucent skirt around her waist. Sakura had changed into a baby-blue one-piece suit, with booty shorts and a white crop top over it, with occasional glances at the navigator with envy.

"Swanshi? Hoth mush thime phor meath?" Luffy question required a moment to translate: 'Sanji. How much time for meat?'

"It's ready when it's ready, you idiot," the cook answer. "And after putting two holes in the ship, you get to help yourself last. The first portion goes to Kakashi, the ladies, and our mademoiselle guest, Apis."

"Hey, so Kakashi?" Usopp spoke up. "How did you wind up getting to this island so fast?" At the question, Kakashi looked over at Apis. "That is something I owe to her." Munching on her dinner, the girl noticed people had grown quiet and looked up. "What? Is there…something wrong?"

"How'd you get Kakashi-sensei and Mr. Face here so fast, my lady?" Naruto asked her. Immediately, she nearly dropped her meal and was squirming, trying to hide away from the spotlight. "Could it, be a devil-fruit?" Nami spoke up. "It's okay, really," the navigator gently coaxed, "our captain ate one a while ago and it made him most of him into rubber."

"Yeah," Luffy snagged one corner of his mouth and pulled, stretching a quarter of his face aside by 2 feet, held it then, then let it snap back together. "Whoa!" Apis' surprise was not hidden on her face. And now more relaxed, she answered. "Well, when I was little I ate one. It was called the Whisper-Whisper fruit, or something. And since then, I've been able to understand or talk to almost any animal."

She continued to explain: "After Mr. Kakashi, Mr. Face and me watched you all come flying here, Mr. Kakashi decided to try calling you, but we remained still too far away. So, after moving closer and a short call, he hung up and a Sea-king came erupting out of the water."

Kakashi thought back to those events while Apis continued explaining. 'Kakashi closed his baby den-den, and immediately a massive form cam erupting from the waters behind him. Spinning about, his head swam from chakra fatigue, but his body didn't fall. A geyser of water came soaring up beside them as Dragon merely turned his head and Apis let out a scream. Pale-green scales materialized as the water column climbed higher, and Kakashi recalled a similar event with a giant Sea-cow.'

'A massive Sea-King revealed itself, staring at the tiny ship below with a hungry eye. "Shit!" "EEAAAAAaa!" Another screech masked the curse Kakashi let out. The behemoth reared it head, then froze completely. The predator's eyes expanded to twice their size, starring down at them completely cowed. 'Is…. this Sea-king is sweating?' Indeed, from the Sea-King's head a steady stream too regular to be seawater was pouring out. Following its gaze, Kakashi finally noticed it was staring down at someone, and Dragon was staring up at it, meeting the beast eye-to-eye. Keeping his gaze transfixed, the sea surface around them was moving with the creature's trembles, but it wouldn't or couldn't leave.

'"It's sorry. Mr. Face, this Sea-King is sorry." Apis had spoken up, staring from their visitor, over to Dragon, then to the horizon and back. "Mr. Face. Listen, I can hear what this creature is thinking. It sees strength and wants to swim away. Don't let it." "Why?" Dragon asked, keeping his eyes locked with the Sea-King's. "We don't know how long it'll take to sail after Mr. Kakashi's friends." "You," Apis was speaking up to the Sea-King now. "If we let you have food, will you pull us to where we want to go? And Mr. Face will stop scaring you?"'

"The big Sea-King said yes, he was pretty terrified of Mr. Face. So after throwing a line to him with a steel rod, he pulled us all the way here, enough through a storm that came out of nowhere, and straight to the other side of this island. We thanked it and threw it some food. Then some birds told me about the temple all the way at the top as it swam away."

Out of the Straw Hat, each of them digested this news separately. "The guy…all he did was glare at ah Sea-King. An' it followed commands?" Gin asked, with more awe than disbelief.

"It's real," Luffy declared, his lips now back to normal but his nose still tied in a knot.

"You think so, Luffy?" Sanji enquired at their captain. "Uh-huh," Luffy nodded, barely reacting. "Shanks did that same thing when he saved me. Only he said, 'Get Lost,' and the Moster got outa there. Mr. Tattoo has gotta be a strong guy and good guy if he's like Shanks."

Most of the crew digested this, gradually, then looked up over the island, wondering where this mysterious figure could be. "Well, I'll set aside one portion if he comes down and joins us," Sanji resolved.

"But the big thing is, we got Kakashi! Everybody!" Luffy raised his mug to the air, pausing for the rest to join him. And join him they did. "To Kakashi!"

"KAKASHI!" Everybody cheered. With that a full celebration kicked-off: barbeque, stories, laughing, games, and Luffy sticking a pair of chopsticks between his jaw and nose. Naruto copied him, then witnessed Zoro and Gin arm-wrestling. Before long he and Sasuke had their own contest, followed with a swimming race with their mentors inching them on. "Kick harder, Naruto!" "Stroke with your back, Sasuke!" The score was one-one, when Zoro and Sanji chose to break the tie with a challenge between them with a two-on-tow climbing race up a cliff.

Sakura stood at the top, with Nami at the bottom, "and no clones, Naruto!" "Awwwwww, I was gonna carry Sanji up," the blonde complained, earning glares from the other team. "Ready. Set…. Go!" With two climbing up the usual way and the genin using chakra-grip, Sasuke and Naruto shot up the cliff, Sanji leapt high to get a solid grip and climb…with Zoro copying the ninjas and landing flat on his back without chakra. "~Stupid Moss-head~" Immediately from the taunt, Zoro was back up and climbing behind Sanji's sizable lead. Naruto was laughing too, until his leg met something, and he fell back and down, right into Sanji. Sasuke had a smirk while retracting his leg, but did not spot Sanji catching Naruto on the way down. Zoro was even with both now, and Naruto got an idea. Once his chakra-grip was solid on wall, the Uzumaki seized Sanji and sped up the wall again pulling his teacher behind him.

"No cheating, dobe!" "Nobody said that wasn't allowed, Sasuke," Nami answered the boy, standing up passed Sakura and watching victory slip out from his hands. "Naruto and Sanji win!" Sakura announced, with a sheepish look at Sasuke. "Wha-hoooo!" Zoro still hustled up the wall, then once they were all at ground level he planted a mug of beer before Sanji for a fresh challenge. On and on the party went winding late into the night until the rest fell asleep where they stood. Except for one person.

Hobbling away from the campsite on a pair of crutches, Kakashi had Monkey D. Luffy on his shoulders, snoring loudly in his ear. 'I certainly need, to get myself some earplugs,' Hatake made a mental note. 'Now…where is he?' Moving to a solid block, Kakashi sat down, depositing Luffy beside him and waited. Waiting. Waiting.

"You want me to meet him?" Somebody behind Kakashi asked.

"Do you not wish to? Monkey D. Dragon," Kakashi whispered. Siting back-to-back, both men were staring at Luffy, as a bubble of snot popped from the snoring figure.

Several minutes later, Luffy was even further away from the cape, with Kakashi trying to wake him up. "Luffy." Clapping. Prodding. Even twisting one ear didn't disturb his sleep. "You're missing food."

"Food!" In under a second, Luffy was wide awake. "Where's Old-man-ashi? Huh? Why aren't we on the Merry?" Looking around, Luffy took in the shadows of night between the abandoned ruins. "Food for thought. Somebody here wants to meet you." Kakashi turned his head, and Luffy followed, spotting somebody standing tall to one side.

"Hello, Luffy," with a fierce grin on his face, the figure continued standing before them. "Ahh? Who are you?" A moment. A second moment.

It took six until Luffy recalled. "Oh, Mr. Tattoo!" Leaping to his feet, the Straw hat had to scratch his head, then boxed forward. "Thank you for saving Kakashi. I am in your debt, and offer my graginitude….no my fruititude…. huh, uh?"

"There is no need for gratitude," Mr. Tattoo answered with amusement in his voice. "There never should be, between either you and me, Luffy. Tell me. What do you know, of your father?"

"My Dad?" Kakashi was inching away as Luffy scratched his head. "Do I have a Dad? I don't know. Do you?"

End.

About the final Straw Hat Shinobi. Joking aside, Tsunade and Karin were neck-in-neck, changing the lead day by day, until one pulled far ahead of the ret. The final results were Karin=48 votes, and Tsunade=62 votes. I exclusively counted only a single vote from every Reviewer. Any messages which had more than one vote, the first one named was counted. Instincts and pacing rarely lie when you watch them closely, hence the first name that somebody typed down, (x, and [blank]) that told whom somebody especially wanted to see unless stated to be a secondary vote.

[1]= After stone huts or buildings are abandoned, plants or animals could occupy them over multiple seasons and decades. But any roofs of stone or tiles would prevent sunlight from reaching indoors unless the whole space collapsed. Poking inside any space that's been abandoned is extremely hazardous since it's difficult to gauge how solid the structural integrity is after multiple centuries.

[2]= Or any ruins that have walls and platforms with no roofs used perishable materials instead of stone or clay for the upper levels. Most of the buildings in Pompei'i were 2, 3 or even 4 stories high. Only the ground level was made of clay, cement, or stone while the upper levels were made of wood. Greek temples and stages often had wooden roofs instead of stone since it was less hazardous to move and repair.

[3]=Objects excavated from archaeological digs are organized into 3 groups: artefacts, ecofacts, and features. "Features" involve anything too large or heavy for an individual person to move or carry. Buildings, statutes, and stelae (large stones engraved with messages or declarations) are features. While ecofacts or floral or faunal remains which are unmodified by people (animal bones, burnt wood, seeds and grain, petrified insects). Bones are often used to make tools (axes, arrowheads, flutes, a comb), human modifications which change them into artefacts.

[4]=multiple pieces of media reference SBS trivia, including the height and other measurements of varied One Piece, or Naruto characters. Height is one characteristic for all of them that is the most consistent no matter which source anyone looks for: Nami is 5' 7'', Sakura as a 12-year-old was 4'10", and Naruto at the same age was 4'7".

Chronologically, Sakura and Naruto in "Growth through Chaos" are around the same months as the Chunin Exam preliminaries, accounting for side-missions depicted in filler or flashback scenes between the Waves Arc and meeting the Suna siblings. The timelines in Naruto have become a convoluted nightmare from filler and retcons, leaving these conditions open to interpretation.