Now, chapter 12 is up on a run, I'll be laying out some news about my other stories.

No worry, nothing's stopping, but a bit slowing down, mainly because my main beta writer and friend's is in need of a break.

Asides from that, I'll just be writing so long I can in my free time, but AJD (A Jinchuuriki's Destiny) and TQT (The Quirky Tutor) will both be on a small break, for now at least.

And for the big news, I finally found the correct timeline dates of the One Piece World - The Library of Ohara got a timestamp of all of it and it looks pretty legit.

Grand Line - Night

It being now night, the ship that left the Fishman Kingdom a few hours ago, was still in the vast ocean of the Grand Line. With its destination on the late night was still to be the Alabasta Kingdom.

It was also the first voyage in years for Naruto, who now was still staring down to the deep ocean that the ship was sailing through, while still wearing the clothing in which he left the first place that he actually could call home.

Leaning over the rails with his arms, it was an easy speculation that he was feeling a bit of homesickness already, as the sad expression on his face could be seen, but it could also be the bandages of his right shoulder that were on him, but he didn't complain on it.

He instead focused his thoughts on something else.

Flashback

A hour before the departure, Naruto was seen gathering his final belongings that he'd be able to take with him, with his room being left with the clothes he grew out off and drawings and presents he received over the years from his friends.

Closing his final bag, Naruto had now fully prepared himself and turned towards the open door where Madam Shyarly was seen waiting.

"You got everything you needed?"

Reluctant to answer, Naruto stood right up and had the bag slung over his shoulder before grabbing for the rifle he owned, with the holster with his gun already on his waist.

"I am now." Naruto said after a while, before he then approached the woman that had taken him under her wings. "All is prepared."

"After all these years, and you've grown up into a fine young man, ready for the world." Shyarly said, approaching the young Uzumaki, and ruffled her fingers through his hair. "It felt like only yesterday when I employed my first human bouncer."

Naruto felt a bit embarrassed at the often confusing signals that Madam Shyarly gave to him, on one side she tried to flirt with him and on others she was treating him like a spouse of hers. It was easy to say that their relationship was complicated at best and 'confusion' at worst.

But nothing less, their relationship was at normal by most of the time as he was thankful for her generosity, and he was sure to mention it.

"Shyarly, I cannot express enough how-"

THUD!

Cutting him off from saying his sentence, Naruto got a box shoved into his chest, that was wooden and also looked new by the looks of it. It was also quite long for whatever it contained.

"This…is a gift from me and the girls, the crew and everyone else on Fishman Island who appreciated for what you did for our country, so consider this as a good luck token." Shyarly stated, smiling to conceal the sadness she actually was trying to suppress.

*Kiss*

And when she said that, she pecked Naruto's cheek by surprise, causing Naruto to be stunned by this move, only setting him more for confusion.

"Please watch out, alright? She pleaded with concern. "You've got a lot of people who are really are looking up to seeing you again."

Flashback end

With that memory was ending in his mind, Naruto was seen staring at the object he now was holding into his hands. The present he was given by the people he befriended on Fishman Island, wasn't disappointing.

What was he given? An Tantō blade that was just the right size and it had an orange and black grip, his colors, with on it, something carved in that was in his language, which only a few from the scholars were able to write in perfectly, and it had an reminding line that was touching as he read it.

Brave the Seas.

'Those Merfolks really put that much effort, didn't they? Even carving it in your own language.'

The words didn't help much then to put a warm smile on Naruto's face, who promised himself to keep this parting gift and use it wisely.

He then looked up, as the best part of sailing the seas of him was happening again. The stars lightening up the sky and numerous dark colors were visible to watch, it was an sight that never got to bore Naruto out, as it was one of nature's beauties.

It felt good being back on the open sea.

"A beautiful night, ain't it, kid?"

That moment however was unfortunate to be interrupted by someone coming right behind him and introduce his presence by speaking.

Turning his head around, Naruto eased up and saw who it was. "Ah, Bishop, it's you."

"No need to tense up, kid. Stand down." The older man stated while he stopped next to the young man and patted him on the back whilst he himself looked up to the clear sky.

"You admiring the view?"

"Always, sir." Naruto snorted, admitting it bluntly. "It's one of my most favorite things to do when I'm alone. It gives me a sense of tranquility, if I'm being honest."

"Yeah, I can agree to that…" The hat wearing man nodded before he took a glance at what was in Naruto's hand, and noticed it was a sword of some kind.

"New sword?"

"Yeah, present from the people back home." Naruto nods as he shows it to him, "They wanted to give something to me before I departed, told me to open it once I was gone."

"Do you know how to swing around with a blade like that?" Bishop asked. "I've seen you shoot but not wield something else."

"Actually, a fun fact, I used to learn how to work with a sword, back in my free time with the Sun Pirates." Naruto putted the Tantō back away as he answered. "When given the opportunity, I would be taught the basics of swordsmanship by some members of the crew."

Remembering back, Naruto at first had little to no actual interest in Swordsmanship or what he used to call it back in his old Shinobi home, 'Kenjutsu'. His interest however spiked when he began watching Hachi's training with his own swords on a regular basis.

The watching turned then to often teachings, especially by Hachi who was the most experienced and best swordsman of the then Sun Pirates, having given pointers, tips and also valuable lessons of how to handle a blade in battle, especially in close quarter combat.

That training however was cut short with the death of Tiger and the disbanding of the Sun Pirates, leaving basically a half-trained Naruto on this front. Giving Bishop the idea.

"I think I know someone who can help training you with a sword like that. There are enough capable warriors in Alabasta who are renowned swordsmen, especially in the Royal Military."

"You sure about it?"

TCHK!

The sound of a lighter going off, it was used by Bishop who ignited the end of his pipe, as he exhaled out a small puff of smoke out of his mouth as he seemed to enjoy it before he then answered to the boy.

"You've proven yourself more than once kid, so giving you the chance to expand your fighting abilities is the least I can do for you." Bishop stated before then pulling out an folded newspaper that he held within his raincoat.

He then offered it to Naruto who accepted it, seeing it was a copy of the World Economy News Paper, the most recognized newspaper in the seas, and by the looks of it on the date, it was an edition of today.

"Thought you'd might be interested in what's in the front page." Bishop told him as he then walked off. "I'll speak to you tomorrow. Good night."

"Night." Naruto replied before he starts unfolding the paper, and the first page was that of a major headline that peaked his attention right on. The picture also did not fail either, as it was of something he hadn't seen in a long time: It was a picture of the Third Hokage next to another person with the headline:

Assassination at Peace Talks leads to outbreak of war in the Elemental Nations!

The peace talks were supposed to take place in the Land of Tea, came to an abrupt end when an explosion happened just mere minutes before the first meeting could take place.

The two parties that were involved in the talking were the Suna-Konoha delegation, with the Fourth Kazekage Rasa, and the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen. With the other party that was supposed to be attending being the Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki and the representative for Hidden Sound village, Kabuto Yakushi. The Iwa-Oto delegation.

The talks, originally set up and prepared by diplomatic efforts that were made by diplomats from the Levely and also from the local Daimyos and security oversight of the Marines, including an supposed Vice Admiral, were to discuss the efforts of de-escalation that needed to be brought to fruition. However, those talks never took place.

The explosion went off around 1 in the afternoon. Just when both leaders entered the building. With over twenty lives being lost, none of the diplomats or members of the Iwa-Oto delegation were hurt. Both the Kages of their respective villages, however, died in the explosion.

The aftermath of the deaths caused both villages to point fingers directly at the Iwa-Oto delegation and the absenting Kumo, all of whom denied any involvement in this.

All communications between the villages have, as feared, closed down as the villages have now gone into full mobilization of their forces. Preparing for all out military action.

War. The Fourth Shinobi World War has now become official.

'And yet again, these fools now are going into war high on emotions.' Kurama stated his opinion on what he had just read along. 'The same rallies, the same cry for justice, victory and all that crap, all while the first coffins are already being build.'

Naruto just had a blank expression as he stared at the Third Hokage's picture. Having just now absorbed the news correctly into his mind after he finished the whole first paragraph of the article.

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, is now no more among the living. With the only words left on the young Uzumaki's mind being the following.

"Farewell, Old Man." He simply stated.

The boy then folded the newspaper, not bothering onto finishing the rest of the article as he threw it then away into the sea and watches as the ocean drenched the paper before it sank into the vast blue.

'Not gonna finish the article?'

"As if I should bother anymore caring for that place in the first place." Naruto responded to the Fox. "Its late, I'm going to sleep now."

'You do that, kid.' Kurama replied with a yawn. 'Tomorrow's going to be a interesting day once we reach Alabasta.'

Agreeing on that in silence, Naruto reached the door and turned on the knob before opening it. Then, for some reason, he turned his head back to the sky.

….

He then went inside before closing the door behind him, as he then went on to his own bed, not having noticed that from one of the masts, he was being observed this whole time.

That person however disappeared into thin air.

Cargo hold

The figure then re-appeared within the cargo hold where luckily it was mostly filled with crates and barrels, covering his stowaway status. The person had already made his spot and managed to get back without being noticed.

The darkness of the cargo hold soon was illuminated by the candle fire he soon ignited, revealing the stowaway's identity.

Jiraiya, having himself snuck into the ship that now was reaching for Alabasta, now had made it his mission to follow the long-lost boy Naruto after crossing paths with him in sheer coincidence.

Only he wasn't alone as now two small figures jumped out of him, one being powerful summoning toad Fukasaku, and the other toad being of the opposite sex, with purple hair and being the magnificent other of the male toad, her name being Shima.

"So that's the Child of Prophecy the old senile sage told us about? My goodness, he sure looks like young Minato."

"I don't think its the right moment to talk about it, Ma." Fukasaku noted. He turns to his former student/now summoner and saw the look on his face.

"Jiraiya-boy?"

The shadows that laid over his eyes then went away as he looked upwards while leaning into the back of the crates, answering to his sensei.

"I'm doing alright, thanks for asking…"

POOF!

Then a puff of smoke then appeared on Jiraiya's lap, as it caught the attention of both the two strong Toads who turned their heads towards the source.

What came out of the smoke? It was none other than the small red toad messenger with blue markings around his eyes with an pair of green goggles.

"Kōsuke." Fukasaku called the toad by his name. "I presume you got a message for us?"

"Yes, Lord Fukasaku, I have." The messenger toad responded with a respectful tone as he handed over a small rolled up paper to the Sannin. "It came from Konoha, Lady Tsunade to be precisely."

Jiraiya took the paper and rolled it out for him to read the message he was given, and it took for him a moment to finish it.

"And, Jiraiya-boy." Fukasaku asked, wondering what it was. "Something happened in the village?"

"Nothing much, except for two things." Jiraiya said putting down the paper and paraphrased. "For one, the elders and the Fire Daimyo are in discussions of appointing a new Hokage, which is causing tensions within the village with the first candidate having come forth."

Shima asked then. "Oh, who is this first candidate?"

The name that the gray haired Sannin would state, was that of the taste of venom in his mouth as he spoke it out in distaste.

"The War Hawk Danzō Shimura. He had applied for the position the moment the old bat's death was announced."

The mere mentioning of that name was enough for the green elder toad to know this wasn't good news, as he himself has met him once in an meeting with the Third.

It didn't take long enough for Shima herself to state her own concern and ask. "So, does this Shimura have a chance?"

"He was at first, until a second candidate was put up forward by one of the clan leaders. Shikaku Nara." Jiraiya responded, knowing the Nara man. "He managed to convince the other clan leaders to rally their support behind her, with the Daimyo favoring the second candidate at the moment."

"That sounds relieving, who is it?" Shima wondered. "The second candidate, I mean."

Jiraiya however, had his eye twitching uncomfortable and nervous as he answered to the elder toads, but he did.

"Tsunade is the second candidate." He answered. "And it took a lot of convincing at first, but she said she's willing to take the position so long her work at the hospital isn't interrupted."

"... But she hates that position."

"Yet, she agreed to it." Jiraiya stated within that reasoning. "But for the moment, the chances are high that Tsunade will be the next Hokage, giving the amount of support of the clans."

"Alright, but what's the second news?" Fukasaku requested.

"A more dire situation occurred." Jiraiya said, as he informed the toad elders. "Just a few hours ago, the Suna Council took an dumb decision in the worst possible timing."

"What decision was that?"

"To put it mildly - they just committed a Coup D'etat." Saying it like that about Konoha's only other big main ally.

It wasn't much of a shock to the Sannin, who had monitored the Sand Village's situation, but it still came as a surprise that it would happen at the moment it would be the worst. Given that they were perceived as the weakest of the Five Great Villages, they were at odds with not only their neighbors, but also with the Daimyo, who for the longest time had cut off the budget for Suna's military, putting the sand village in an even worst position.

And with the death of Rasa, the more radical factions now have taken the opportunity and committed their power grab with their rebelling shinobi against the Fourth's loyalists and anyone closely related to him, were being pressured now.

This left Fukasaku to shake his head at this development and asked. "Just adding more fuel to the fire, but why is it brought up?"

"Tsunade told me in the letter that the Fourth's children were outside the continent when the Coup happened, and wants me to meet up with them now." Jiraiya stated with the intentions of doing what he was asked to do. "They were on a diplomatic mission with a few others to the Grand Line."

"You mean that Gaara boy?" Shima questioned. "The one whose seal you fixed?"

The one who's seal was fixed? It was one of the Jinchuuriki that Jiraiya had met over the years, one of the few if he was able to say, with some in person and others in secrecy due to their former affiliation to the villages that weren't on good terms with the Leaf.

Gaara was one of them, and was one of the unfortunate souls of mistreatment, abuse and dehumanization by both the village and even his own father, both of whom had the interest of turning the One Tailed Jinchuuriki into a mindless killer that would kill Suna's enemies without a flinch, even when it came to a cost.

"Yes, that's him, and what are the chances, we're going to cross paths." Jiraiya told them. "Because their diplomatic mission is at the Alabasta Kingdom. Where we're heading right now."

There, he would meet Gaara, and better, hopefully have a confrontation with Naruto.

Meanwhile

Ryugu Palace

While one ship had made its way towards its destination, one already had with the intention of harmonious reasons.

And the guest of honor had brought a gigantic fruit basket twice his size of a normal one, as an present of wellbeing for the Queen. Full with exotic fruit, and even toys for the children, it was packed and airtight, delivered right in front of King Neptune and Queen Otohime, who were quite surprised by it.

"I will say, this is…quiet the surprise, if I'm going to be honest." King Neptune stated with truthfulness in his words but stayed humble. "But nevertheless, I thank you for this gesture."

"Bwahahahaha! It's my pleasure, I handpicked these gifts myself."

That laughter came from the Vice Admiral, who had come down here in the name of the World Government to check on the situation. Just, that person wasn't an normal Vice-Admiral, but instead he was the infamous 'Hero of the Marines'

Monkey D. Garp. Inside a air bubble, while sitting with his expensive suit on the ground, not minding it at all, next to the gift with a monkey-like grin.

"Seriously, I handpicked all these gifts myself, as a friendly gesture. For a matter of fact, I bought it all with my own salary." Garp confessed to them with his recognizable grin on his face. "I hope the kids will enjoy these gifts, given they had a rough time lately."

Seeing the fondness of the Marine, Queen Otohime couldn't help but smile at the thoughts and responded. "That's very generous of you, I will tell someone to bring the presents to the children upstairs. My sons are still there protecting little Shirahoshi in the tower."

Garp's tone changed when the children were mentioned, and he asked then the following question. "The threat still valid? After the attempt on your life, Your Majesty?"

The two monarchs turned to one another and nodded, before then turning to Garp and replying.

"Yes, unfortunately, we believe that by now with evidence presented by the Ministers, that there was foul play within our own security forces." King Neptune explained. "We've at least identified one guard to be involved, Hordy Jones, to be the main conspirator on the plot against the Queen."

Listening to this, Garp could see that the King was a bit distrusted of what had happened - a member of the very same army he served in, had committed a treasonous act that had almost cost the life of his loved one.

The Queen herself kept herself quiet for the moment, as her husband continued.

"Right now, more information is being brought out about Hordy's background, including the views he holds. He's from the Fishman District, grew up watching the likes of Arlong as heroes, and has a deep down hatred for humans…"

Hatred. That was perhaps the sole reason or the main one. That undying feeling that didn't seem to want to go away.

Garp then wanted to ask about something he was told right before he arrived at Fishman Island, about how the assassination attempt was stopped.

"I heard that the Queen was saved by a boy… a human boy to be exact." The Vice-Admiral brought up with his head raised up. "That said human boy had taken a bullet for the Queen, am I correct?"

"You are correct." Otohime raised her head up and responded. "If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be standing here right now. One of whom you might know. From what I know, he was a former Marine just like you."

"Oh, He was?"

"Yes, his name is Frederick Bishop."

…

"Bwahahahaha!" Garp's response was that of laughter after hearing that name, with even some tears seen on the corners of his eyes. "Ahhh, of course it's him. Should've figured out that by now."

"So you do know him?" King Neptune asked, leaning forwards. "How?"

Garp spoke humbly about it, old memories kicking in. "Me and him go way back, to the time when I was a captain and he was a grunt fresh from the academy. Under my command, he was the best NCO a Marine officer could have. In the time I turned Vice-Admiral, he got a promotion to Captain a year before Roger' execution. Thing is, he turned down many promotions to Commodore and even to Rear-Admiral."

Both monarchs were stunned by learning this, they knew that the Alabasta native was a known Marine, but this was not what was mentioned before, let alone him having declined such military promotions.

"Its kinda funny if you think of it." Garp began, remembering as he was handed a glass of tea by one of the Queen's servants. "Back in the day, while myself, Sengoku, Tsuru and Zephyr are often seen as the big shots of the Navy because we took the spotlights most of the time. Most of our victories couldn't happen without the support of the field officers like him and many others, like Bishop, who retired from the Marines after Roger's execution, for personal reasons."

Drinking the cup of tea, the curiosity now only spiked the King's interest, so did that of the Queen, who was faster than her husband to ask a question.

"Why did he leave?"

Garp answered. "I don't think he could handle how things were run by the Government, especially how things have turned for the worst." Not wanting to invoke more information. There were reasons why Bishop decided to leave, on good terms of course, as he still had a reputation amongst the ranks. "Why you ask?"

"Because he now is on the way retuning home, with young Naruto Uzumaki." King Neptune spoke, thinking it was alright to say it. "They both are on their way to the Alabasta Kingdom."

Hearing this at first hand, Garp's face grew a grin, knowing what he will do later on after this visit.

To hell what HQ wanted him to return, he's got other plans!

Few hours later

Next Morning

Naruto's quarters

Having now taken hours through the Grand Line, the ship that was making towards the Alabasta Kingdom with an Eternal Pose, the crew was already up and busy steering the ship towards its destiny, watching the sails and preparing for landing once they saw the land.

One person however wasn't out, and that was Naruto, who instead of sleeping like he had planned to, instead had put his time into something he hadn't done in a long time.

Meditating, a practice he never thought would ever cross his mind, not even in the times of him being on the Sun Pirates crew, or even back in his old home. Only now, it felt like a urge now to do this.

Where this sudden urge came from, was not a question Naruto wanted to answer, but instead just followed that need, having now been doing this ever since he entered the room.

And it was good that the door was locked from the inside, because if someone would see what was happening to Naruto whilst he was meditating, they would've not believed it that he was partly covered in bright orange and yellowish flames

Yes, he was covered in flames, as Naruto for the last few years, ever since the death of Tiger, had been training with Kurama on how to control, work and use his chakra, as he had been doing that in secrecy for it.

Having made profound progress, Naruto now had tapped into Kurama's powers, and unbeknownst to him, this would only be the beginning.

Only, that progress had to be interrupted-

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*

Opening his eyes upon hearing that noise.

"Naruto, Bishop here." The man spoke from the outside of the door. "We're nearing Alabasta, so get up and help the crew out."

"Okay…Gimme a moment." Naruto responded, his chakra flaming body appearance vanished away back to normality, before he then got off the bed and began to strap his boots on.

'Jeez, kid, get some different socks.' Kurama complained out of nowhere. 'That stench is only going to be worse when you reach that desert island.'

"How about you keep the sweaty feet comments to yourself for now? Because I can pretty much guess you can do better taunting than that."

'I can, but you'd call me a pervert then.'

"Screw you." Naruto spoke back before he finally finished tying up his shoelaces as he then walked up towards the door, getting ready to move.

Honestly, the Fox can be often a great help, but also a great pain to his mind.

"LAND ON SIGHT!"

The ship was only an eye distance away. Naruto was seen leaning over the rails to watch how they were making their way to the final destination. For which he luckily could just watch and see how they were getting closer.

It was then he happened to be approached by someone right next to him, who also began leaning against the rail and starting a conversation.

"You must be the new kid Bishop's talking about, am I right?"

That thick accent caught Naruto's attention, as he turned around and saw it came from a bulky guy that stood a bit taller than him but looked like around his age, looking like a sports guy who could give an intimidating look.

Instead, he was offering his a smoke from a pack of cigarettes, having already one out.

"You want one?"

"... Sure, one couldn't hurt." Naruto said, for the first time, he accepted a small cigarette and put the butt into his mouth before he then was offered a light by the guy who held one, igniting the end of it before Naruto then inhaled a stroke of it into his lungs.

Of course, it being his first time, Naruto coughed it out as his body rejected the chemicals immediately at first, causing a bit of a scene that the bulky person couldn't help but laugh at.

"That your first time?"

Naruto recovered from the coughing and responded. "Yeah, yeah it is."

"Goes figures, was my first reaction also when I began smoking with my pa." The bulky person mentioned before, he then extended his free hand to greet him. "Lemme introduce myself first, name's Victor Denley, but you can call me Vic for short."

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto accepted the guy's hand, shaking it. "Just call me Naruto, works for me."

The two tested each other's grip, to which Vic wasn't dissapointed that the kid was holding himself against the former athlete.

"Yeah, it works just fine. So the boss told me you'd be joining the Legion, that right?"

Naruto nods. "Yeah, that's true."

"Good, because he told us how you can handle a gun, and that you're levelheaded." Vic mentioned. "Are you good with that rifle of yours that you brought with you?"

"Well, I can shoot a rifle, if that's what you're asking." Naruto replied before asking the following question. "Why? You're a rifleman?"

"Nah, Support Gunner, mainly because I got terrible aim, but I'm fine with my position."

The two conversed for the whole time while the ship was making its way towards Alabasta, to which Naruto got to know Vic to a good degree as they talked about what they used to do back in their homes.

"So tell me, Vic, where you from?" Naruto asked.

"Ballywood Kingdom, well, from a southern island called Jean, small place." Vic specified while puffing out some smoke from his mouth. "Used to work with my pa at the filling station as a mechanic, but decided to join up the legion to earn some of that extra cash. Been doing this for a year now."

Naruto huffed while leaning up the rail. "Hope the pay is good for you."

"5000 Belli a month? That's good enough for me, even for a Private. That kind of money is good enough for me." Vic told Naruto what it was, maybe even double what he earned filling. "It ain't much, but its just enough to help pay my pa's mortgage and keep my family afloat. Maybe even pay my sister's college tuition."

"That's a good thing to do." Naruto said, giving Vic a compliment of being this supportive to his family. "You certainly work hard."

"That's how I was raised to be." Vic commented before asking. "But tell me, what were you doing before signing up?"

"I was working as a bouncer for the Mermaid Café." Naruto replied as if it was nothing much, being humbled about it. "Not much pay but it keeps a roof over my head and I get free food."

"The Mermaid Café, like THE Mermaid Café?" Vic asked with raised eyebrows. "Damn, you must be one lucky sun of a bitch. Tell me, what's it like working with them mermaid girls?"

"Normal I guess. Mermaids aren't different than human girls" Naruto told him nonchalant as he was. "Difference is that they get a lot more flock while their jobs are just dancers and waitresses. Nothing much."

"Well, that is one way of putting it like that." Vic said, taking that information to his knowledge, "From what I see, you ain't a Fishman, so what gives?

"Well-"

"All hands on deck! We're gonna dock soon!" Bishop was heard ordering around. "So get yourself useful and prepare for landing!"

This abruptly ended the conversation between the two young men as they both then dropped the cigarettes to the ground before grinding their boots against it to put ot off.

"We'll continue this talk another time." Vic spoke before tapping Naruto's shoulder. "Let's get to business."

"Right." Naruto agreed, time they got to land.

1 Hour later

Central Nanohana

Having docked in the port-town in south-east Alabasta, Nanohana in itself was a busy place, where trade came in and out, especially of that of shipping. With the town being known for having its great shops and irresistible perfumes that were known world-wide.

Now having exited the ship, Naruto was seen carrying all his stuff, that included his rifle and bag that he had slung over his shoulder, with the heat not helping as he was frankly unprepared for the weather.

Because it was hot, which shouldn't surprise him, because Alabasta was…an sand kingdom.

"Alright, everyone to the barracks once you unloaded everything." Bishop told them. "I'll need to bring Uzumaki to the city hall for documents."

"Yes sir!" The group responded to Bishop, gaining a bit of attention from the local population.

"Let's go, kid, follow me." Bishop told him.

Naruto did as he was told and followed the old man, going into the city itself as the crew was busy with the ship.

Once entering the main street, Naruto and Bishop were making their way through the busy intersection where a lot of people were walking past them, mainly doing their daily routine of life.

Some even were taking notice of the two men with their rifles and different attire, something that Bishop was used to, but not Naruto, who felt a bit uneasy.

"Don't mind them, kid." Bishop advised him. "They're used to seeing the likes of us, they just notice new faces when they see them."

"I see." Naruto mumbled as he looked around. "Sure looks like a lively town here."

"It is now, but it wasn't that much a few years ago."

"Hmm, how so?"

"Look around you."

Naruto looked around and at first sight didn't see much, but when he looked closer, especially in the small corners and openings between the buildings, he saw people leaning or sitting in the dark, primarily tired people that were holding onto their belongings.

"Refugees?"

"Internal ones, for the most part." Bishop corrected. "Villagers from towns from outside the big cities, who are coming here from their homes in the badlands and countryside that's been dealing with the drought and bandits making life rough for them."

Naruto just listened and followed up, then noticing that Bishop stopped right in front of a big building.

"This is it, the registration building, here we'll get your visa, so you won't have any problems with the local authorities concerning your stay."

"Alright."

Later

Once inside the building, Naruto had already filed in the normal documentation and picture to be made, as he now needed to wait for the pass to be fully made. Afterwards, he was told by Bishop to later meet him up at the barracks once he was finished, with the barracks being outside on the northern outskirts of the port town.

Whilst being in the waiting room, he decided to get himself a glass of water at the end of the room, it was then just that he happened to walk past the door, just when somebody was about to enter-

BUMP!

Naruto and another person bumped into each other, with the latter was carrying papers, to which she unfortunately dropped to the floor.

"Crap!" The feminine voice spoke, a bit irritated.

"Damn, my apologies." Naruto excused himself as he kneeled down to the ground to start picking up the papers. "Please, allow me."

"Oh, thank you…" The woman's tone changed when he offered to do that as she kneeled down herself to the ground to grab her papers. "... My bad, I wasn't looking."

"Neither was I, no big deal."

Naruto began grabbing the papers one by one before he then peaked upwards and saw who the female counterpart was.

The woman really looked like she was close to his age, even closer than that of Vic, as she was most likely only a few years off his age. Having sandy blonde hair that was put into four consecutive pigtails.

Her long-sleeved purple blouse with an gray top over it, with a dark blue skirt and a long sash arranged in a bow at her back, he got to admit to himself, she looked kinda fine. The fact that she was carrying a huge looking fan on her back was one thing, but it was the other thing that noticed Naruto's partner' eyes.

'Look at her neck, kid.'

Hearing Kurama's words, Naruto turned his eyes there and saw what the Fox meant, and there he saw a headband hanging from it.

She was a Shinobi, from Sunagakure, the Hidden Sand Village.

But before he could be caught staring, Naruto had already collected all the papers and stood back up on his feet as he offered.

"Here."

"Thanks…." The girl's words halted when she turned her head up to Naruto, making first time eye contact and seeing who the person in front of him was, which she was totally unprepared for.

The man standing in front of him was…very much good-looking, much to her surprise that she gained a bit of a pink color on her cheeks that she couldn't control over.

Getting herself up, the sand blonde girl thanked him politely. "T-Thank you, for the documents." She accepted them from the man who stood perhaps the same height as her, and she could see he was very strong build, and it couldn't be denied he got her attention.

"Once again, my apologies." Naruto apologized as he was being polite. "May I know what your name is?"

"Oh of course, where are my manners. Name's Temari." The girl introduced herself and offered her hand to which they shook. "Its nice to meet you, mr.-"

"Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki, that's my name." Naruto told his name to her with his genuine smile he gave. "It's nice to meet you too, Temari."

Instead of a firm handshake like he did with Vic, Naruto was gentle with the female Suna Shinobi, causing a bit of an unbeknownst first impression on the Suna woman.

"A gentleman, aren't you?" Temari commented with a genuine smile to him, almost tempted to be flirty to this guy she didn't even know. "Say-"

"Naruto Uzumaki!" The receptionist was heard calling his name. "Your ID is ready!"

The expected conversation ended up before it even could've started, with Naruto walking up to the door.

"Sorry, but I am kinda of a hurry today. Hopefully you will understand that."

"Oh, I understand, no problem." Temari replied to him, showing signs of nervousness while holding her stacks. "I got my own documentation, as you can see, maybe another time? I plan on staying in this town."

"You also? That's good, I'm stationed here anyway." Naruto told her before leaving. "I'll see you another time, later."

Once Naruto left, Temari was left alone in the waiting room, on which she now was fully allowed to let her blush to brighten up to herself.

"Wow," She smiled to herself, almost a bit girly, for which she wasn't known for. "Naruto Uzumaki, you're certainly someone I'd like to know more about."

Later

Inside a apartment building, that looked like it was enough for just one person, with one bedroom, a living-room with kitchen and a bathroom. There were already two people living inside it.

One was Kankurō, the younger brother of Temari, who had his own hands busy working on one of his main weapons: his puppet, in essence, one of his tools of being a puppeteer master.

Yes, the puppeteer technique was one of Suna's most known accomplishments and deadly traditions that was pioneered by the village for a long time now, with Kankurō

being one of those in the village who admired this art of Shinobi, and didn't want to disappoint, his work onto it.

Right now, with a few repairing tools, he was repairing one of his most prized puppets, Kuroari, of whom he faced dozens of opponents, and dealt with in some times harrowing and painful ends that he produced over the years.

Trapping enemies inside of him and then impaling them inside the wooden kuroari with his arms like needles without hesitation - a horrible way to die, if he might add.

"Damn it." Kankurō, seeing he was running out of something. "Need more polisher."

He then turned towards the sofa, Where a younger blood-red messy hair boy, with black circles around his hair, and with a Kanji over his forehead, was the sight he hasn't seen him do in a long time.

Gaara, the youngest of the three siblings and the Jinchuuriki of the One-Tailed Beast, Shukaku, was sleeping peacefully, to which it was a new luxury for the last few years of his life that he was still getting used to. Ever since he came across the Sannin, the young brother had gone from a blood-lusted killer, to a now normal-like younger brother who really wanted to try to do his best for his other siblings.

"Mother…." Gaara was heard saying in his sleep, as it was pretty much a guess what he was dreaming about.

That was something that brought a smile to Kankurō, who didn't have the will to end his younger brother's good place, so he stood up and decided to get in his black overall and get to refill his stock with whatever penny he got.

"Sleep some more, little brother." Kankurō spoke some touching words to his little brother. "You deserved it, that much."

About to open the door, the knob began to turn before it was Temari herself who came in the apartment, just to face her brother, much to her surprise.

"Kankurō, what-"

"Pssh, Gaara's sleeping." Kankurō sushed her, pointing backwards to the form of their little brother sleeping.

Understanding now, the big sister of the three smiled upon seeing her little brother sleeping, a sight she found adorable, and refreshing.

"I went to the registration building, got our paperwork for our Asylum application." Temari told him while handing his brother a small stack of documents. "I'll need you to fill in your information on it."

"What, like now?" Kankurō asked, bit annoyed. "Can I do it after-"

"Just do it now." Temari said, a thick mark over her head. "I've been waiting for a solid two hours in that place, and I'd appreciate you at least to fill it before going out."

"... Fine." Kankurō responded before grabbing a pen out of the cabinet and walking over to the table to start filling in. "And, you did something else while you were out?"

Not wanting to reveal much, to embarrassment, Temari did smile and replied to her brother's question.

"Let's just say, I met somebody."

Northern Nanohana

On the outskirts of the Alabasta port city, there was an off-limit area where the civilians weren't allowed to enter. It was a military owned site.

Yet, it wasn't that of the Royal Army.

"MOVE IT!"

Climbing over a wall, were new recruits in their training uniforms, as they were being yelled at by their drilling officers who were not giving them an inch of rest until they fulfilled their objectives.

"Move it, maggots!" One officer yelled at some of the men with veins visible on his neck from the shouting. "I don't want any slackers!"

Another group of trained men in their PT gear was seen crawling through the thick mud, going underneath the barbed wire that kept them down as they went through the sticky brown water that they had to endure.

"This stinks-"

"I don't want to hear complaints, private!" One drill sergeant shouted disapproving the objections from one of the men. "If you want to be part of the Alabasta Foreign Legion, get used too crawling through dirt. MOVE IT!"

"Y-Yes, sarge!" The recruit complied as he continued to crawl through.

*Click!*

"Open fire!"

A dozen guns suddenly began to be fired, as only mere meters away from the parkour training area, that there was an shooting range being used.

Numerous of different variation of weaponry could be heard firing at the dummies that were laid in front of them as targets. With ranging weapons from pistols to rifles being tested.

One weapon however was already being tested, with rapid fire against a dummy that was getting plowed with holes on multiple instances.

Until nothing was left, the weapon was then held over as the person who was using it, turned right over to the watching party.

"What you've seen right there, men, is the power of an Thompson submachine gun - a quiet, powerful gun." The drill sergeant showed as he removed the stick magazine from it and explained. "A normal magazine can have 20 rounds in it, in a stick mag like this, while a drum mag can have around fifty."

While the guns were being explained, Naruto was seen walking up to the entrance as he was let through by the guards who were warned about his arrival.

Hurling his belongings, Naruto got a few eyes looking at him, as they noticed the newcomer. Right before they then turned back to their usual business.

"Naruto."

Hearing his name getting called out, Naruto spotted Bishop and some other guy around the old man's age approaching him, with the other man looking at Naruto as if he was examining him.

"Naruto, I want you to meet Captain Whitehall. An friend of mine and a damn good officer." Bishop introduced him to the cap wearing officer. "He'll help you in your officer's training."

"Officer's training, already?" Naruto spoke. "I mean, I don't want to be given like a silver spoon being given. Sir."

The two elder men glanced to one another before Whitehall began.

"Humble, just like you told me, Bishop. I can work with that." He turned his head towards Naruto. "Son, being given training as a commanding officer holds many responsibilities, and frankly I believe, with what Bishop told me, and your actions in Fishman Island. I believe you're up for those responsibilities."

Looking over to Bishop, who nodded back, Naruto then thought for a moment and took those words to account.

"How about, you up for the challenge?" Whitehall asked Naruto. "To be given training as an commanding officer?"

…

After a short time of thinking it through, Naruto nods his head and replies. "Yes, I am up for that."

Whitehall followed it up by then offering his hand, to which Naruto shook then, in a respectful manner, as he just closed himself another path.

"Welcome to the Alabasta Foreign Legion, Naruto Uzumaki."

That is it for today, people. Man, am I glad I finished this.

If you guys were wondering where I was these past...two weeks, I had to re-do my theoretical driver exam, because it was close to getting expired. Luckily, I passed it after the second time.

Will be working more in the stories for now, hopefully, and I hope to see reviews about this story.

In case you are wondering who Vic is, he's the character from Call of Duty: Big Red One. OG game I used to play back in the day. Old Memories, man.

Anyway, till next time, and peace!