Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or One Piece.
A/N: Sorry for late update, Memodo and I have been busy. Here's a 9,965k Chapter for the 1 year anniversary. Thanks for a great year.
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Beta: Memodo Shiki.
Chapter XI.
Last Time.
He yelled at another Marine to see Jonathan to investigate the base before the man walked away to a hallway. Robin followed before using her powers to knock him out and take his clothes to disguise herself. She walked to Jonathan's office and saw Usopp in a Marine uniform being yelled at by Drake.
"Oh, hey there fellow Inspector!" Usopp said with a grin. "Remember me? I'm Usopp in your Division." Jonathan looked to Robin before speaking. "Major Sheppard, you know this man?" Robin just smiled before speaking. "I've never seen him before in my life." Usopp was taken out as Robin talked with Jonathan.
When they walked outside,, Naruto, now wearing a black mask covering the bottom half of his face walked out of a room. "Oh, Arashi." Robin said walking to him. "Do you know this man?" Jonathan asked having Robin nod. "Yes, he's with me." She replied wrapping her arms around Naruto's right.
Naruto blinked before hearing the Marines mutter. "She's dating one of her men?" One said before another spoke up. "Well, the Commander's married to Jessica." Naruto blinked at that missing Robin move one arm lower as the Marines moved passed them. Naruto jumped as she left after pinching his ass before sighing.
"I'll never understand women."
Now.
Robin.
Robin walked into a library with the logs before picking one out. She went through several pages before stopping on one. 'This is strange... There are times when no ships enter or leave, why is that?' She thought before noticing she was being watched by several Marines.
A few minutes went by before she saw the Marines run out. She smiled at that before putting the book back. 'Well, sounds like the boys made their move.'
Med Bay; Naruto, Nami, And Chopper.
Naruto walked back in as Marines walked past with an alarm blaring. Kobato walked past him as he stopped by Chopper in his hybrid form and Nami. "The girls escaped from jail. That must have been the explosion we heard earlier." Kobato walked over to them after talking with the guards that kept everyone out during operating.
She explained she was just told the Marines knew that they were disguised as pirates before holding both Chopper's and Nami's hands. "We need to get you to safety, who knows where they could be!" Naruto blinked at that as he sweatdropped. Chopper explained that they're the pirates the base is looking for before she screamed.
Naruto jumps at her and closed her mouth just as she fainted. "Shit!" Naruto cursed as he heard the guards bang on the doors. He turned to see Nami was tied and gagged before taking Chopper and used a Genjutsu (Illusion Technique.) to hide them as two Marines ran in.
Nami tricked them into thinking the pirates escaped through the ceiling vents right as Kobato woke up having Naruto shimmer into sight as Nami covered Kobato's mouth. "No screaming, please. I need you to stay quiet for a while, OK?" She asked before Chopper spoke up.
"Nami, we've got to get out of here now." Kobato, who nodded as he spoke, looked at Chopper. "Y-You were big... How?" She asked as Chopper went into his human form. "I ate a devil fruit and that's what gives me the ability to transform." He explained as Kobato just stared at him.
"We'd love to explain how his powers work, but we're pressed for time." Nami said as Chopper went back in his hybrid form. "Wait, I' like to help you. As a thank you for teaching me about medicine." Kobato said as they made a plan of her helping them escape by having Chopper hide in a gurney to race pass any Marines.
And if caught, she'll pretend to act like their hostage. They put Chopper on a gurney and ran down towards the docks.
Sanji, Luffy, Usopp, And Zoro.
Sanji and Luffy were able to get both Usopp and Zoro out of the jail fighting their way out to the bridge and hid by a rock near it.
"There's no one guarding up top." He said standing up. And was pushed back down as Sanji gained a tick mark. "Baka (Idiot)! Do you want to get caught?!" He asked before looking up. "It must be a trap." He said before sighing as they had no other choice. As they went up to the top, with Usopp yelling they'll need to save them, they saw a group of Marines waiting.
The Crew started to fight as Usopp made good use of the Dials he brought from Skypiea on the marines he fought. After fighting the Marines, they continued on to the docks only to see it was filled with Marines pointing weapons at them.
Nami, Chopper, Naruto, And Kobato.
"I think your ship is on Base 88. Most of our docks are closed due to budget cuts and the only one on the Western side is dock 88." Kobato said after Nami explained the Merry landed on the West side of the base. After running for several minutes, they made it to the docks, and ran into Usopp.
Naruto saw they were surrounded before taking off his shirt and hat. He cracked his neck as he looked at the Marines before creating a bunch of clones that outnumbered the Marines. Naruto smiled as every Marine minus Drake was knocked out. Naruto lifted his pistol and his sniper rifle at the man.
"You're going to let us go to out ship." Naruto said as they made their way over. Kobato and not surprisingly Nami acted like a hostage. They walked to the Merry just as the anchors holding it inside gave way having it fall in the water. Kobato ran off as everyone jumped on.
They sailed beside the edge of the mountain before Naruto blinked. "Where's Robin-chan?" He asked only for Robin using her power to swing to them out of her disguise. She fell to Naruto who caught her bridal style before letting her down. "Thanks, Naruto-kun." She said holding a rolled up paper.
She unrolled it showing it's a map of the base as canons fired at them. Nami directed the Crew to the gate in front of them. "But it's too shallow here... Why put a port here? It doesn't make sense." She said looking at the water as Naruto steered. "We don't have any cannonballs!"
Usopp said coming up from the bottom. "They took everything!" He yelled as Luffy's stomach blew up with air and shot the cannons fired at them to the gate.
BOOM!
The gate blew up having them cheer just before Nami realised something. "AAAHHH!" She screamed running down to see all the gold was gone. "THEY TOOK THE GOLD TOO!" She yelled as smoke blanketed the area. "Turn the ship around!" All but Naruto looked at her confused. "Would real pirates leave gold?!"
They shook the heads at that before Nami turned to Naruto. "U-Turn!" Naruto pushed the pole hard to the right having the Merry turn around into the smoke. The alarm went off to let the Marines know where the other ships are as Nam directed Naruto past several of them.
After narrowing passing the last of the ships, Robin walked up with the map and explained there are multiple docks not being used due to budget cuts having Nami look at the map and saw they're near one unused dock. "OK! we'll hide the Merry in this unused dock!"
Naruto, following Nami's directions, sailed them to said dock before dropping the anchor. Nami changed out of her disguise as they went to the kitchen. "Well... What do we do now guys?" Usopp asked sitting down at the table. "If you asked me, I think we should make a run for the gate." Zoro said from his spot at the table.
"You have a point there. These Marines mean business. Too bad we have to leave the gold behind, but our lives are more important." Usopp replied putting his arms on the table. "You're the Captain Luffy, what do you think?" Chopper asked as Luffy laid his head on the table.
"We need to get our gold... But I need something to eat." Sanji got up and walked to the fridge. "I hear ya. Just give me a second and I'll whip something up." He looked to see what was in it before starting to cook. "Just so I understand you correctly, you guys want to leave without our gold?"
Nami said from her spot beside Naruto arms crossed under her bust. Naruto looked over, only to look away as her breasts were pushed up giving him a clear view of her cleavage. The others minus Robin who was leaning against the wall nodded. "Well; that's too bad. Because pirate treasure is always divided up."
Naruto chuckled at Nami saying that, only to winced as Nami stomped on his foot. "Just think of all the stuff we could have bought." The others did think of that before Nami spoke up. "Of course I would get eighty percent." The others complained at that before she explained it would be to repair the Merry.
Later, after eating, they discussed on how to hide the Merry as they talked about the adventures they had. "There's still a bunch of ship parts outside, why not make the Merry look like an old Marine ship?" Naruto asked pointing out to see a mast leaning to the side.
They went outside and crudely built a ship shaped box around the Merry. After finishing, they sat to plan on getting their gold, and Nami's Waver as she forgot it. "OK, listen up!" Usopp said rolling out the map with a Dial over the picture of the dock they're using. "We'll need to split up into two teams."
"First, is the Gold Recovery Team. It consists of Luffy, Zoro, Robin, Naruto, and Captain Usopp. The second team will be the Waver Recovery Team. And that is, Nmi and Sanji." Usopp finished getting Sanji to gain a heart in his eye as well as make one with his hands.
"So, Usopp you're just going to leave me alone with the ship?" Chopper asked. "Yes, we can't risk you getting injured." Usopp replied as Naruto stretched. "I'll leave several clones with you." Usopp pointed to the map as they came up with the routes for each team to go. "Nami, do you remember where you hid the Waver?"
"Yes, on the Eastern shore." She said pointing directly across where they are on the map. "That's opposite of us, it'll take you too long to get there." Usopp said before looking up to see a small blue boat with patches of wood on it. "That'll work. You two go on that, and you'll be there in a jiffy."
Sanji And Nami.
Sanji rowed them to the other side of the base as Nami looked to make sure no one would spot them. Along the way, Sanji was telling her what a dream come true it was before rowing faster as they saw Marine ships just behind them. They made it to the other side and went to the bank before running into another part of the base.
As they went inside, they stopped as a Marine walked out of a room holding a sabre. Sanji knocked him out having them continue running down the hall.
Naruto, Robin, Usopp, Luffy, And Zoro.
The Crew ran in the woods up to the base as there was no Marines in the area. They stopped on a cliff seeing a part of the building leading to the vault where their gold is. "Breaking in that spot should be the shortest route." Robin said as they nodded with Usopp using his grapple belt to shoot rope down.
As it wrapped around the railing, Luffy tied the other end to a tree and then zip-lined to the door. avoiding the spotlights, they went inside and ran down a long hall. At the end, they saw a very large vault with seven large gears on it. In front of it are the dials for each gear before they walked up to it.
Luffy tried breaking it with a punch, only for it to bounce back to hit Zoro. "You know.. If Nami wasn't the only one who can drive the Waver, she would be better coming here instead." Naruto said putting his hands in his coat pockets. Usopp went and started to turn the dials.
Only for spotlights to turn on showing Marines were behind them. Naruto sighed before looking to the others. "Usopp.. We'll take care of them. Focus on the vault!" Naruto dashed forward and started punching any Marine in front of him as Zoro attacked with his swords and Robin stayed near Usopp to use her powers on any Marine that got near them.
Usopp went to getting the combination for the vault. After getting the combination for one, a gear turned before falling off right behind him. "If that hit you, you'd be dead by now." Robin said as Usopp gulped and went back to unlocking the vault. After getting the last one, the vault door fell down.
Revealing an empty vault with a large poster of a fish with elephant tusks, and trunk. "It's a trap!" Naruto yelled out, bring one Marine's head down on his knee to knock him out. Suddenly, the door opened showing the real Sheppard with another group of men. "RUN!" Naruto yelled kicking him out-of-the-way and created several clones to attack the other Marines.
The Crew ran out as more doors were open and ran back outside.
Chopper.
"And Pirates don't get scared." Chopper said pacing back and forth. A Clone raised his eyebrow at that. "Being courageous doesn't mean you don't have any fear. It means you still do what you need to do with the fear." He said before Nami and Sanji sailed in on the waver. Naruto shook his head before looking down.
"The gold wasn't in the vault! It was a trap." Nami looked up before the clone dropped down. "They walking near the woods back here but could be in the base as well.." Nami nodded before leaving without Sanji.
The Others.
The Crew walked in the Medical Hall before Naruto spoke up. "We're back in the Med. Bay." Usopp shushed them before hearing Kobato talking to. "Tou-san. (Father.) Listen to me!" They walked in to see an old man talk to Kobato.
He is a small man with white hair and red sunglasses on his head. He's wearing orange overalls with blue stripes on his collar along with the Marine symbol on his back.
They explained that their gold wasn't in the vault to them as Kobato looked to see her father about to drink beer from a flask. "No drinking or smoking in the medical area!" She yelled before helping the Crew get back up to the mountain with an unused path. They walked to the top and talked about a new plan before Nami drove up to them.
They explained the situation to her having her sigh and sit down on the Waver. "That old man said he would have our bait in plain sight." Usopp said remembering what Mekao said to him before leaving. "So the Commander would have our gold in plain sight?" Zoro asked looking at the base.
Luffy went with Nami to the Commander's office as the others waited. "If you all want to go to the Merry, I'll watch them." Naruto said crossing his arms. Zoro and Robin shrugged before doing that. A few minutes went by and Naruto saw Nami and Luffy holding a large bag jump out of a window before he jumped down and landed on the Merry as Nami sailed to the ship.
The box fell off as they sailed to the gate with Luffy sitting on the figurehead. Marine ships sailed to them before rolling their sails up and dropped their anchors. "They dropped their anchors?" Nami asked looking out from the stern of the Merry. "Maybe they gave up?"
Naruto asked before noticing they were sinking and shaking as they hit reefs before Nami ran to get the map. "I knew it! I knew there was a reason the Marines would use a shallow bay with reefs on the base as a fort. They can regulate the water's depth with the sea gate."
"That would explain why there are times when no ships enter or leave." Robin said from the Crow's Nest. They hit several reefs before stopping as the water lowered to puddles. "Somebody help!" Usopp yelled as holes formed on the hull. Naruto looked at the bed before sighing.
"Any way of getting out of here?" He asked as spotlights shone down on them from the base. "Attention, Straw-Hat Luffy and Crewmates! All of you fought valiantly against one of the Marines great fortresses. And for that, I salute you. You may be the enemy, but you've impressed me greatly." Jonathan said over the loudspeakers.
"However it's time we end this game. This is checkmate. You've got nowhere to run and you're surrounded so don't even think of trying to escape! You've put up a good fight, but accept it, you've been beaten! Now, listen as Commander of this fortress you have my word that you and your crew will be treated with the utmost respect."
"Come quietly and I'll even make you a deal." Nami glanced down to Luffy who smirked. "You, Roronoa Zoro, and Uzumaki Naruto are the only ones with bounty on your heads. So I have no choice but to hand you over to headquarters. However, I promise to let the rest of your Crew go free."
Jonathan continued as the cannons pointed at the Merry. The Crew sat on the deck and decided on using an Impact Dial to blast them over the wall and have the Sky Octopus float them over. "Where is it?" Naruto asked as Luffy grinned. "I have it!" He said reaching in the front of his pants and pulled it out.
"Not it!" Naruto said raising his hands and stepped back. "But I'll have a clone do the dial." He said creating a clone that went to the storage of the Merry. After getting ready for the octopus. The Merry went flying having Naruto hiss as he held his right arm. "Damn it!"
He cursed as Robin used her powers to pull the octopus around the Merry and Nami used a Heat Dial to inflate with Naruto who ran over and blew fire out of his mouth having them go higher and having them fly away from G-8 as a missile hit a cannon that was about to fire at them.
Later, the Crew floated having Usopp, Chopper, and Naruto fix the holes on the Merry. As soon as they finished, the Merry fell down fast having them go to the deck. The Merry hit the water with a splash as the octopus fell to the deck, now back in its small size. Chopper tended to the burns the octopus gained from using fire to keep them afloat.
They threw it in the water and said their goodbyes before going to bed.
A Few Days Later.
Bang!
The Crew minus Naruto ran out to the deck. And saw Naruto shooting the sniper rifle on a table. "What are you doing?" Nami asked as Naruto looked to them. "Fiddling with this. I'm board so I thought I'd learn how to use this rifle as it's the only one on the Merry."
They saw multiple books on sniping and working on a rifle near him before seeing he made some modifications to the rifle. It's now a bolt action that as soon as Naruto pulled it, showed he can keep several bullets inside and a black scope.
"What are you shooting?" Zoro asked before Naruto pointed to the sea. Looking out, they saw a red ball very far away. "That thing? I can barely see it." Usopp asked looking through binoculars. "Can you hit it?" Naruto loaded the gun before looking through the scope.
Zoro, who moved to Naruto's left saw he had both eyes open. "Why aren't you closing one eye?" Naruto, not looking away, answered. "To look for trouble." Zoro raised an eyebrow at that. "What trouble will you find out there? There are no ships." Naruto turned the rifle to the left and took a shot.
The others looked to see a shark jump out of the water and get hit in the head. "Dinner!" Luffy yelled as Naruto turned the rifle back to the ball. "I've been doing this for thirty minutes." Naruto said pointing to a ruined tag on the table. "Sea water ruined that. I seem to shoot better with both eyes open."
He took another shot and hit the ball before they sailed to the dead shark. Naruto looked up as storm clouds started to form before putting the gun around his shoulder.
A Few Hours Later.
Rain poured down as the Merry sailed from a Marine ship that was chasing them. Naruto steered through the cannon balls as the waves hit the ship while sailing faster away with Nami's direction.
Later, they docked in a large island with a very tall mountain before walking trough to a bar. Naruto's now wearing a black trench coat with orange flames on the bottom and a burnt orange shirt. He has black cargo pants on with a pouch tied around his right thigh and black boots.
They opened the door and saw a spiral staircase leading down before going inside. As they walked down, Naruto noticed wanted posters with some having a red 'X' over them indicating they were caught on the wall. "The highest here is 20,000,000 Berries." He said as they reached the bottom and went through swinging doors.
Naruto, who was last looked to see his, Luffy's, and Zoro's posters by the door as well. They ordered food and talked for a while as Luffy got more and more food. Naruto stretched as he leant back in his seat. Only for something to be put on his head as he leant his head back.
"A gift." Naruto picked it up and saw it was a straw cowboy hat with a long chin cord that came to his chest. Naruto looked to see Robin smiling at him resting her head on her hand. "Thanks." Naruto said before putting the hat down on his back having the chin cord hold it in place.
"Ahh, I'm stuffed!" Luffy said patting his large stomach. "I bet you are." Zoro said crossing his arms. "You ate a ton!" Luffy looked back at him before replying. "I can still eat more." Naruto smirked before Sanji spoke. "Man, those were some simple yet delicious dishes. Nami-san, Robin-chan, would you care for some dessert?"
He asked as Naruto looked around at the people drinking. "I'm fine arigato (Thank You.) I'll have some coffee." Robin replied with a smile getting Sanji to stand up. "No more for you!" Nami yelled as Usopp, Chopper, and Luffy tried to get more food. "If no one stopped you, you'd go on eating forever!"
"Are we low on food?" Sanji asked sitting down after bringing Robin her coffee. "We haven't earned much, and the gold we have will go to fixing Merry first." Nami said with a sigh. "So after we stock up on food, we'll have nothing left." She finished slumping down in her seat.
"Oi (Hey), let me say that as your Captain. You guys are spending way too much money!" Luffy yelled as he looked up from his plate.
Bonk! Bonk! Bonk!
Only for Zoro, Sanji, and Usopp to hit Luffy on the head. "It all goes to feeding you!" They yelled as Naruto sighed. "Well, I spent almost all the money I won from Alabasta on food and supplies on fixing the Merry, I only have enough left to cover this meal." Nami sighed at that.
"Is there any way to earn some quick cash here?" She asked as Sanji looked to her. "I didn't see any casino's here." Nami glanced to the bartender as she noticed he was staring at them. "What's wrong?" Sanji asked having her look to them. "Nothing." Naruto saw a man walked up to the bartender, talk for a moment, then hand him two hundred Berry coins.
The bartender walked to the door by the bar and took the man inside before walking back out by himself. "You saw that right?" Naruto asked getting Nami's attention before Zoro spoke. "He's probably a pirate. And he just had a suspicious exchange with the bartender."
"You smell it, right? The scent of your beloved money." He asked as Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp started fighting over the food having bones hit Zoro. "Are you calling me a money fiend? Nami asked having Zoro nod. "You're spot on Zoro. The thr-Two things I like are money and tangerines."
"Luffy, Chopper, Usopp! I smell an adventure. This isn't the time to be fighting" She finished walking to the bar as Naruto followed putting his hat on having it shadow his eyes. "Hey." Nami greeted the bartender getting his attention. "We have this chronic problem of being flat broke."
She leant over the bar and grinned. "I don't suppose you have any good business advice that will help us strike it rich would you?" The man said nothing for a moment before Nami continued. "Oh, don't worry! We have enough to pay for what we ate here. But I've just got this feeling."
"That you know something interesting." The man sighed before speaking. "You're just a bunch of kids." Nami smiled before patting Naruto's arm. "But we're famous pirates." The man nodded at that. "I noticed. I saw his face on the wanted poster. And I heard you're hard up for some money."
"But you don't want to throw your lives away because of it do you?" He asked having her shake her head. "Of course not. That's a given. Even so, we really need the money." She said sitting down on a stool. "And doesn't the saying go, 'Nothing ventured, nothing gained'?"
"We're on the wanted list, so we can't just obtain cash out in the open, you know? And it's not like we always get our hands on the treasures we seek, either. No one hits the big time without taking a few risks here and there, right? And we're used to illegal and underground arrangements."
"We've been through countless dicey situations." he finished as the others walked to them. "Of course, it's not like we want to throw our lives away. But... It's more than just the money. My comrades aren't the type of guys to give up just because it's dangerous. Especially our Captain and Ninja here." She said pointing to Luffy and Naruto.
"That being the case, would you mind sharing? Where the smell of money is coming from." She finished looking at the man who sighed and shrugged. "There's no cure for bakas (Idiots.) and pirates, is there? Now I'm positive you want to die young." He said as Luffy talked with Zoro.
He took them to the door and unlocked it. The Crew walked in and saw a dugout tunnel and stairs leading down below ground. He handed them a lantern before they started to walk down before the man spoke. "Show two 100 berry coins at the end of this tunnel. That's the password."
"Why did you become a pirate?" The man asked Luffy who looked back and grinned. "To become the Pirate King. Besides, the ocean is nice and free, right?" Luffy asked before following his crew. They walked for several minutes as Zoro held the lantern as he leads. Only to stop as a face appeared in front of him.
He jumped back, held the lantern, and let it go as it burned his hands having Naruto catch the handle. "I would have let it drop." Naruto said as several torches lit the end with another door as an overweight guy guarded it. Nami showed two coins having the man open the door.
Luffy ran inside and saw a large dome dug out with several stories of dining rooms. They walked to a railing and saw different Jolly Rogers hanging off the railings. They saw a large chain move beside the railing and a large row ship hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room as a water wheel brought water in and filled a pool at the bottom.
"They must have come from different bars and restaurants." Naruto said seeing more people than their bar could have brought. "Hey, babe," A man said from a poker table. Naruto growled a little before the man continued. "You come here to bet? The Bookmaker's on the top floor."
"Bookmaker?" Nami asked before the man looked confused. "You mean you're not here to race?" He asked as Robin walked up with a look of recognition. "Ah yes, this is the place. It's been awhile, so I didn't recall it at first." Nami turned to her for answers. "W-What? Tell me."
"I was here before with the Captain of another pirate ship I'd boarded. It's not regular, but they do have a race every feOrganised by pirates, for pirates, the anything goes, Dead End Race." She explained as Sanji lit a cigarette. "By pirates?" He asked taking a drag.
"Ex-pirates to be precise. All the citizens of this town was once pirates. The goal is different every time, but the starting point is always here. The participants sail via Eternal Pose adjusted for the final goal. The rules are simple. Whoever reaches the goal first, is the winner. The winner will then receive the prize."
"And whatever should occur en route is your own problem. Yes... No matter what happens." She finished as Luffy and Chopper got excited. "That race sounds dangerous. We... It might not be so bad with a crew like ours... And it looks like Luffy is eager to join." Nami said before looking to the man.
"Say, who else is entering the race?" The man looked to them before answering. "I'd say about a third of the people here. The guys at the bottom are the third favorites to win." They looked to see two giants drinking by the water.
One is a dark-skinned, has a red-nosed with brown hair and beard. He's wearing a red tunic and a cap.
The second has dark haired and dark facial hair. He's wearing blue pants along with black sandals and a sleeveless black and gold vest.
"They are the giants, Bobby and Pogo. And on the terrace in front of us. An old rival of Arlong, and the second favorite, Grampus Merman, Willy." They looked to see a Meran drinking from a large barrel.
He is an Orca fishman. He's wearing a helmet, golden chains around his neck and an orange shirt with black stripes.
"Even a Merman!" Nami said as she, and Usopp gave nervous grins. And then Nami punched Luffy lightly and grounds her fist on him. "Wait Luffy, we haven't decided on entering the race! Besides, there's no point taking part in a crazy race like this-" She was interrupted as Robin asked what the prize is. "300,000,000 Berries."
Nami blinked before yelling. "We're joining!" She and Sanji went to the top floor as Zoro, Chopper, Usopp, and Luffy went down a floor after hearing the food is free. "I've signed." Nami said before the overweight man gave her an Eternal Pose. She looked and saw 'Partia'.
"Is this where the goal is?" She asked making the man nod. "There sure are a lot of pirates joining. We didn't see any ships." Nami said looking at the list of people who joined. "So that ballsy ship in the port is yours?!" The man asked having her sheepishly nod. "Yeah."
"Everyone hid theirs around the island! What if the Marines sees it?!" The man yelled at her.
Unknown Ship.
"Jiichan (Grandpa)!" said a little boy as an old man fell over beside a boiler.
He has brown hair, under a large white cap. He's wearing big brown overalls, that go up to his chest, with patches stitched into them. Under that, he has a long sleeved blue shirt, with a collar. He also has light brown gloves, and standard shoes.
The man is short with pale skin, a bald head, a white mustache, and white eyebrows. He also has a pink nose and sports a brown shirt, black suspenders, brown gloves, and brown boots.
He tried to help him up as he coughed violently. "Jiichan. (Grandpa.), hold on!" He yelled as he got up and went back to work.
S.H.C.
"It's OK if you're a little late to the start tomorrow, it's going to be a parade start." The man said as Nami stood up. "Wait. Everyone usually places a bet here too. There anyone you wanna bet on?" Nami smiled as she raised her hands in a shrug. "Don't be stupid! I'd bet on us of course."
"Oh great! You'll get 350 times your wager if you win." The man said clapping his hand on his thigh. "Who's the favorite?" She asked over her shoulder. "Gasparde. General Gasparde." He replied as they left to go back to the others. Only to see Robin and a clone of Naruto sitting at the table.
"Where are the others?" Nami asked as Naruto opened his mouth. Only to shut it as Robin ran her foot against his leg. "Down below eating, along with the real Naruto-kun." Nami narrowed her eyes at that before she continued. "It's all free." Nami relaxed at that before sitting beside Naruto.
Down below, Luffy had a pile of lates in front of him as he stretched to get other plates from waiters that walked past him. They talked for several minutes before Naruto saw a hand reach for Luffy. Using the Kawarimi no Jutsu. (Body Replacement Technique), Naruto switch places with Luffy having his head slam on the table, break it, and slam on the floor.
Zoro stood up and held on to Wado as he looked at the man who attacked.
His hair is wavy, light brown, and chin-length. His outfit consists of tall black boots, black cargo pants that reach to mid-shin level, and a bright yellow zippered jacket with black stripes along both arms and a high black collar that is zipped up.
The jacket also bears a red hook design on the left chest, with the word 'SICK' under it. This hook is also tattooed on his left cheek in smaller form.
"What was that for?" Zoro asked as Luffy looked confused that the food was gone. "He was stealing all the food!" The man yelled before looking down. "He switched places that fast?!" Naruto slowly got up, and picked up his hat before dusting it off. "Now I know we're all pirates here, but shouldn't we play nice?"
"You have the ability of a Devil Fruit?" The man asked getting Naruto to grin. "No, I'm just that badass. Now, go back to your seat, and I'll forget this ever happened. Or I'll kick your ass six ways from Sunday." He finished as other pirates walked up annoyed at having their food stolen as well.
A red aura from Naruto got most to back down except for a small group that attacked. Naruto dashed around dodging bullets before hiding behind behind a table. "Damn it! I need to get a gun!" He cursed as the man who attacked first dodged attacks fluently before pushing a table and ran along side it before jumping to the moving chain.
Naruto followed suit watching the group above him try to get the man. "Naruto-kun? What are you doing?" Naruto looked to see he was passing Sanji, Robin, and Nami. "Fighting." Nami shrugged before drinking from a tea cup. "Ok, don't get lost." Naruto snorted at that. "I'm not Zoro."
They rode up to the row boat as the man used the oars to knock all but one man up. "I've seen that fighting style before, but I can't place it." Naruto aid crouching on the edge of the boat. "You 'Elemental Sage' Naruto, right? didn't think I'd see a 78 Million bounty here." He said getting Naruto to nod. "The one and only."
One man with short pink hair and a purple sleeveless shirt stood up and pointed his saber at them. "Don't get quickly because you have a 78 million bounty! My oyabun (Boss.) has a 95 million bounty!" Naruto just looked at him before punching him across to the top floor. "I don't care."
Naruto and the man jumped down and landed in a rouch to a shadowed dining room. "Obnoxious pests..." Naruto looked to see candles light up the room revealing two men.
One is a tall, muscular man with short blonde hair and a pale complexion. He has black, wavy patterned tattoos on both his biceps, and a tattoo of x-crossed dark green sabers with black seagull wings and a hook-ended cross on his face. He's wearing a black a-shirt and pants, two golden earrings on each ear, and holsters holding clawed weapons on his waist.
The next man gained Naruto's attention as the pirate he hit stood up. "Gasparde-sama! Why are you here? I thought you were at the ship!"
Gasparde is a tall and muscular man, with dark-blonde hair that is neatly combed to the sides, but with the back somewhat flowing outwardly. He has strong cheekbones, a heavy chin, and squinted eyes.
He's wearing an elaborate Marine jacket. He's wearing the jacket normally, with a brown shirt underneath, leaving his chest bare. He's also wearing black pants with a belt that has two buckles on the side, a purple scarf, brown gloves, and steel boots.
Naruto looked to see everything in the room was slashed as dead men littered the room. "There a problem with me being here?" Gasparde asked getting the man to shake in fear. The other man attacked throwing the first off the railing after Gasparde pretended to not know him.
Naruto narrowed his eyes at that before speaking. "A bit extreme don't you think?" He asked the man beside him, keeping his gaze on Gasparde. "You seem to be enjoying yourself, who are you?" Gasparde asked the man beside Naruto. "My name is Shuraiya." Shuraiya introduced himself putting one hand in the pocket of his jacket.
"A poor, no-named bounty hunter" Shuraiya finished putting on a black wide brimmed hat. The others near them muttered to themselves. "The 'Pirate Executioner' Shuraiya Bascùd!" Naruto looked at Shuraiya before Gasparde spoke. "I know you too. You don't look like a man worth 78 million."
"It is my first bounty." Naruto said getting some shocked looks from the other pirates. "Want to work under me?" Gasparde asked getting Naruto to snort. "Hell no. You're lower than trash." He replied as the other man appeared behind him holding his clawed weapon to Naruto's, but the blonde didn't seem to be worried about it. "Leave him Needles."
Needles let Naruto go, missing the cuts immediately heal. Gasparde stood to leave and Naruto noticed an 'X' over the Marine logo before he left with the other man. Naruto put his hands in his pockets and turned to leave.
Gasparde's Ship.
Anaguma was arguing with a man about tending to Biera before Gasparde walked up with Needles. Anaguma grabbed the flintlock from the man and pointed it at Gasparde. "I'll use this gun to take down a pirate and use the bounty for medicine!" He said as Gasparde smirked. "Fine by me."
"Go and try boy, there are plenty of rookies in the race. If you succeed, I'll let you become a member of the crew." He nodded before running off in the town and past Shuraiya a few minutes after running.
Dawn, S.H.C.
The Crew was getting the Merry ready to sail as Nami looked to see the Pose was pointing to the mountain. "Huh? It's still pointing that way?" Sanji climbed down from the top of the mast before speaking. "Maybe that's where the starting point is." Robin wearing her hat came outside before looking up to the mountain.
"The town is the starting point. This island has several rivers that branch in from the sea. And meet at the main stream in front of us. The other ships should be on standby at the other branches. The starting point is at the top of the mountain." She finished explaining as Naruto jumped down from the Crow's nest.
"You mean we're going up the mountain?!" Nami asked having Robin nod. "Yes, like you experience on Reverse Mountain, right?" Nami sighed at that. "Hai (Yes) but there was a huge current there-" She was interrupted by Robin. "There's one here too. Once every few years, a strong current accompanied by fierce gale winds arrive here."
"So we're going to sail up the mountain?" Naruto asked looking at the mountain and saw several streams on it. "Oi (Hey), are you sure about this? Our ship was nearly wrecked that time, remember?" Usopp asked having Nami sigh before Luffy spoke up, hands behind his head. "We'll be fine! We'll make it somehow."
"The gale's coming!" Nami exclaimed before ordering the crew to get ready. Suddenly, a hard wind pushed them down the river towards the mountain through a tunnel. When they came out the other side, the people from the tow cheered for them as they continued going up to the mountain.
Sanji saw other ships sailing up as well on other currents in the town. "That's interesting. A steam powered ship." He said seeing a large ship.
The ship is gold colored with a colossal Gilded Dragon Prow on the bow, two large masts and many cannons. Its main propulsion is two colossal paddle wheels and a large steam engine. It has the Marine symbol crossed out on the sail.
"Must be Gasparde's, he had the Marine symbol crossed out on his jacket." Naruto replied as he felt the wind on his face. Nami went on to explain Gasparde is an ex-Marine who defected once he stole the ship Salamander his bounty and he has an ability from a Devil Fruit.
"Luffy. If we come to blows with him, I want to fight him." Naruto said staring at the Salamander. "OK, why?" Luffy asked tilting his head. "How he treats his crew goes against a creed I was taught." Naruto replied before Usppp spoke. "What was it?" Naruto turned to him and explained.
"'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon a comrade is lower than trash." Naruto went on to explain his teacher's father failed a mission to save teammates and was shunned so bad from his village that he committed suicide. "After that the leader then made stricter rules to help ninja's who failed a mission."
The rivers started merging as another ship sailed near them. "You think you can make the Grand Fall in that shabby ship?" A man asked standing on the deck.
He is a large man with a large head, and a long black braided ponytail. On his left eye, he has a black sun design around it, and it is closed. He also has an orange sun tattooed on his chest. He's wearing a big coat, with blue and yellow designs, and a purple inside. The coat also has white fur lining the chest area.
"Bigalo, the 'Hanged Man'." Nami said recognizing him before Willy's ship with a drill on it came up on the other side. "It's Willy's ship!" The Giant's ship which was a raft followed suit as they came up to the top of the mountain. They started to incline and held on to what they could.
"We're inclining rapidly!" Chopper in his human form wearing a blue shirt said holding onto the stairs. they made it to the edge as the sun shone before falling down a waterfall having Luffy yell out. "YA-HOO!" They fell on the river below as several ships hit the land beside the river.
The ships started colliding into each other and attacked before Nami spoke up. "From this point on, anything goes! Usopp, stand guard on the aft deck!" Everyone ran to keep watch on the sides and Naruto created several clones to help out. They attacked several ships that got near them as they continued to sail to the ocean.
We're going to crash on that turn!" Naruto yelled out seeing several ships crashed from attacks or hitting the land from not being able to turn. "Luffy~" Nami sang having Luffy look back before jumping over and expanded his stomach. "Gomu Gomu no... Fusan. (Gum Gum Balloon.)"
They hit Luffy as he went to a downed sip and went flying in the air over several houses. "Gran Fleur. (Great Flower.)" Robin created multiple hands that formed into one large one as it grabbed a deck of a house and pulled them towards the water. They went into the ocean with other ships that survived attacks and the fall.
"Well, lets win this race!" Naruto yelled out as they sailed.
A Few Hours Later.
Naruto without his coat and hat hanging on his back stretched as he saw no ships in sight. "Well... At least we won't have to deal with anything while we go to the end line." He said before going to help Zoro check for any damage. When they went into the storage room, Naruto turned to the bathroom before opening the door.
"If you plan on stowing away, you should have gotten on a different ship. We'll probably be attacked sooner or later." He said as Anaguma stood from the tub and aimed his pistol at him. Naruto dashed forward and knocked it out of Anaguma's hand before holding him by his overalls.
"You've got guts kid." He said before walking out and outside as Anaguma feinted.
An hour later, Naruto sat in the kitchen as Nami looked to him while Chopper was tending to Anaguma. "You didn't go easy on him?" Naruto rolled his eyes as Anaguma stirred. "He feinted when I picked him up!" Naruto said before Anaguma yelled as Chopper greeted him.
"A talking deer!" He yelled jumping back to the wall. "I'm not a deer! I'm a reindeer!" Chopper yelled at Anaguma as they argued. "If you're going to call him a monster, forget it." Nami said looking at Anaguma. "He's actually a superb doctor. Although He's not very good at controlling his emotions."
Chopper started to happily dance at that. "Dumbass! Complimenting me won't make me happy! Asshole!" Nami smiled before putting Anaguma's pistol on the table. "Looking for this?" She asked as Anaguma looked in his pockets. "Y'know, if you bought something like this onto a pirates ship."
"Nobody would be to blame but you if you ended up dead. She finished as Anaguma just stared at her. "What are you after? Who sent you here?" Nami asked before Anaguma gulped. "Nami, the kid is still in bad shape. Let's just ask later. And besides-" Chopper said trying to defuse the situation.
But he was interrupted by Anaguma. "To kill you. To kill you all and make some money!" He yelled as Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you want to be straight about it. But there were boards of other pirate ships, why this one?" She asked as Luffy, Usopp, and Robin walked in and stood in the doorway.
"Isn't it obvious? We're the infamous Straw Hat Pirates after all." Usopp said as Anaguma blinked at that. "I never heard of ya, the ship just looked weak than the others is all." Luffy just laughed at that. "Don't laugh! I'm serious!" said as Chopper tried to get him to lie back down.
"Pirates should be used to be being marked for death." Luffy said crossing his arms. "But if you're not ready to put your life on the line. You're not ready to fight me." A hand appeared on the table and threw the pistol to Anaguma. "Show us how serious you are." She said leaning on the railing.
Bang!
Anaguma shot Luffy having the bullet go through his chest and bounce back to hit the wall beside Anaguma's head. Nami explained about Devil Fruits, their weakness of not being able to swim, and that Luffy, Robin, And Chopper have powers. "Even the deer?" Anaguma asked having Chopper go into his human form. "I'm a reindeer!"
"Kill me. Just kill me already! Shit.. Just do it already." Anaguma said sitting cross legged. Naruto looked to see Nami narrow her eyes at that before she spoke. "Impressive resolve... Is what I would saw. Except aren't you treating your life a little too lightly?" She asked resting her arms on the table.
"I don't need to be lectured by a pirate." Anaguma said looking up. "There's no reason to keep living without any hope. I'd be better off not existing at all!" Anaguma finished as Nami's eyes were shadowed by her hair. "Zoro, I'm borrowing your sword. She said standing up, picked up Wado, and stepped over Zoro.
"Oi (Hey.) don't go stepping over people." Zoro said as she walked to Anaguma. "Quit that self-pity crap." Naruto got up and slowly walked over to Nami just as she pulled Wado out of it's seath. "If that's how you really feel, then I'll give you what you want!" She yelled as Naruto appeared in front of her. "Wait Nami-chan!"
"Get the hell out of my wa-Hey!" She yelled as Naruto grabbed her, and carried her over his shoulder to the deck as Nami was struggling and shouting curses along the way.
Later that day, Naruto put a black sweater on over his shirt as snow fell down. He put tarps over the tangerine plants as Sanji talked with Anaguma about Nami being a slave to a Merman named Arlong who took over her village and killed her adoptive mother for eight years and tried to get 100 million berries to buy her village back.
Only for Arlong to go back on the deal when they got there. And Chopper was treated as a monster in both the reindeer herd he was apart of and the village that was on his island before befriending a doctor. "All of us has had the same dark past... Not sure about Naru-"
"I had the same past as Chopper's. I was hated by my village for fifteen years because of something I had no control over." Naruto said his hat shadowing his eyes before walking off.
A few hours went by before Naruto saw Bigalo's ship before the others came out. Sanji and Zoro jumped over and easily took care of the crew before the ships shook. Suddenly several very large Sea Kings came out with both ships on the noses of two different ones. The Merry fell down as Luffy stretched his arm out for Zoro and Sanji to come back.
Bigalo's ship crashed and sunk as the Straw Hats went to eat dinner. As they ate, Luffy talked with Anaguma about a pirate named Shaks saving his life when he was a kid, losing his left arm in the process, gave Luffy his straw hat, and made him promise to give it back once Luffy became a famous pirate.
And how Luffy won't throw his life away but isn't afraid to die to reach for his dream. Naruto noticed Nami looking at the Pose before looking out the window. "I get the feeling we've been here before." Naruto said before looking out the window. "What the hell?" He asked seeing a familiar sight a mile away.
"Give me that Eternal Pose!" Naruto took it and looked to see the nameplate was crudely screwed on before pulling it off. And saw 'Navarone on it instead. "We're going back to G8!" He yelled before breaking the Pose. "Damn you Gasparde!" He yelled before Anaguma spoke.
"He's telling the truth. I saw a large crate of Pose's on board the ship when we docked." Naruto stood up and went to the steering pole as Nami directed them away ass several ships were attacked at the base.
Later, The Salamander.
"GASPARDE!" Naruto yelled as the Merry got near the Salamander. Naruto jumped up and threw several kunai with tags on them hitting the ship's sides and near the crew.
BOOM!
The tags exploded knocking the entire crew in the ocean as well as the mast as rain poured down hard. Naruto slowly walked out of the smoke and up to Gasparde who's standing over a downed Shuraiya. Zoro, Sanji, and Anaguma came up as well as Biera. "I'm surprised you made it here. I guess that 78 million bounty isn't for show."
Gasparde said as Naruto cracked his neck. "Well, I just couldn't wait to kick your ass, so I thought I'd come get ya." Naruto said before Gasparde went on to explain he rigged the race to fix his boredom and bring the winning crew over to join his. "So it's just a game for you?"
"And I thought I hated you before." Naruto said getting into a stance. "Naruto, we're one here!" Naruto looked to see Zoro carry Anaguma away as Biera walked downstairs. "OK I'll get the old man, Shuraiya and meet you on the Merry. Just make sure my kunai is in the floor, wall, or mast!"
Naruto turned back to Gasparde just as Shuraiya stood up. "Wait.. I can still fi-" He stopped as Naruto chopped the back of his neck, knocking him out before Naruto tossed him aside. Naruto looked back to Gasparde and punched him in the stomach. Only for his hand to go into it as green syrup formed around him.
"Shit! Devil Fruit!" Naruto yelled throwing a Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God.) Kunai to the mast and flashed to that spot. Picking it up, Gasparde spoke. "I ate the Ame Ame no Mi. (Candy Candy Fruit.) My body's candy syrup!" Gasparde dashed to Naruto who easily dodged his attacks before slicing his head. Only for it to reform a second later.
Naruto flipped back to dodge a punch before jumping up to a higher deck Gasparde followed and threw a punch at Naruto. Who caught it with his eyes closed. Gasparde saw orange pigmentations form around Naruto's eyes showing he's entering Sennin Mōdo (Sage Mode.)
"You can't beat me now." Naruto said opening his eyes. And punched Gasparde to the other side of the ship. "We need to get out of here, now! There's a cyclone coming!" Nami yelled over the storm before Naruto saw the Merry sail away a lightning cracked in the sky.
Naruto dashed forward as Gasparde got up on his knees and spat blood out before looking down in shock. Lightning flashed as Naruto hit him with a knee in the face Naruto stopped several feet away from the momentum before turning around and heel kicked Gasparde to the deck by the mast.
Gasparde created spikes to replace his fingers before Naruto appeared in front of him. Gasparde brought it down, only for the tips to break off causing him to hiss in pain before Naruto jabs him in the face having Gasparde go to a wall. Gasparde stood up as Naruto ran and jumped kicked him.
Only for Gasparde to harden his body before smirking. "You fought well, I guess 78 million does go a lon-!"
BOOM!
The boiler exploded having the Salamander sink. "Shit! looks like I have to finish this now." Naruto said before dashing over, and uppercuts Gasparde Naruto follows by kicking him high in the air before jumping after him at high speeds. His leg seemed to be on fire as he made his way to Gasparde.
Gasparde seeing Naruto's leg, tried to liquify his body. Only for nothing to happen as Naruto's leg got near and he was kicked to the ship. "Konoha Neppū. (Leaf Hot Wind.)" As Gasparde flew down to the ship, he seemed to be on fire as well just before Naruto dived down to get Shuraiya and Biera.
A Few Hours Later.
Naruto laid down on a rowboat with Shuraiya and Biera as they talked. Shuraiya was talking about being from a shipwright island that Gasparde destroyed eight years ago leaving only a handful alive before Biera spoke. "You know, I was there as well.. I saved a little girl from the water.
"Her name is Adelle Bascùd!" He said before hearing Usopp yell. They turned to see him and a little girl wearing an orange dress with blue dots on the top who looks like Anaguma waving at them from a shore of an island. Naruto squinted his eyes as he looked at the duo. "Who the hell is that with Usopp?"
The Going Merry.
"NANI?! (What)?!" Naruto yelled as Nami explained Adelle pretended to be a boy. "She was a girl all along?" He asked as Shuraiya and Adelle sat in silence processing they're siblings. Later, they came up to the real end goal for the race before a fleet of Marie ships stood in their way.
They fled having Shuraiya, Adelle, and Biera leave on the boat before Zoro looked to see Nami was depressed. "This is a surprise." He said getting her to glance his way. "Nani. (What):?" She asked getting him to smile. "The prize money. You Just passed up 300 million berry prize."
"It couldn't be helped... We had no choice, right?!" She asked angrily before she started to strangle Zoro who turned blue. "Don't fret. We have our whole journey ahead of us." Luffy said with a grin as the Marines chased them. Naruto smiled before walking back. It was just another day for them.
To Be Continued.
A/N: Thanks for reading and let me know of any mistakes.
Beta: Memodo Shiki.
I've got nothing to talk about. Thanks for the great year and the next to be updated will be Ninja On The League.
Talk To You Later,
Lone Wolf Out.