I don't own Naruto or One Piece. I do however own...no I take that back I don't own jack shit!
"Talk" Talking.
'Think' Thinking.
After meeting Vivi for the first time since the Revere things went to shit. Apparently that is the theme of my life, we met up with members of my crew, who apparently ran into some trouble with a town full of bounty hunters. Yea apparently Cactus Island was a trap for pirates, ain't that just a bitch? Apparently while I was chasing Vivi The Straw Hat Pirates and a few of my guys got into a fight with the entire town. Apparently they kicked the asses of Mr. 7 a...clown-king sort of person, Miss Monday a...heavily muscled woman, and Mr. 8 who turned out to be Igaram, Vivi's loyal bodyguard.
We were then attacked by Mr. 5, some asshole who ate a devil fruit that could turn his body into a bomb. The bastard picked his nose and flicked a booger of all things at us and it blew up. Then his partner Miss Valentine used her own devil fruit to fight by decreasing and increasing her weight.
To tell you all the truth, I don't remember much of the fight. I saw the two of them hurting people and getting a kick out of it, it brought up some very bad memories. I remembered getting hit in the arms by exploding booger bullets when Mr. 5 tried to attack Vivi, then Bashura tore open Mr. 5 and broke his leg like a dry twig, he then scared the hell out of Miss Valentine. But then Mr. 5 came back to life and shot him in the back with booger bullets from a gun. (Seriously I cannot make this shit up)
I barely remembered what happened after that, but I do remember punching him in the face. I punched him so many times that I know I broke it beyond any normal repair. I punched him for many reasons, because of all the crap that happened to me, that I broke my promise to Shirahoshi, I didn't kinetically enhance my punches with what I learned in the Fishman Dojo, I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to make him suffer...God I just wanted to inflict so much pain on him.
If it wasn't for the sleeping poison (And yes the town apparently drugged our food), and both Vivi and Kotetsu holding me back I would have beaten him to death. I don't know what would have happened to me if I did that...but I am glad they stopped me from doing it. Miss Valentine scooped up her partner and ran away, I did not see them again for a long while.
After losing control I couldn't face anyone, it was monstrous, Hody Jones always told me humans would judge me harshly for the tiniest thing. This was not tiny, this was huge. But instead of judging me they showed me kindness instead of hate. Honestly I was at a loss for words.
Thankfully Luffy and Zoro were fighting over a communication issue for who the townspeople really were. I punched them to make them stop, and between you and me it felt kind of good to do it.
Thirty or so minutes later Igaram and Vivi told all of us who they were and why they infiltrated Baroque Works. Apparently Alabasta was being played by "Sir" Crocodile one of the Shichibukai, he was somehow responsible for the drought that was plaguing the lands and King Cobra was framed for it. Luffy volunteered his entire crew to help her, much to her protest. But say one thing about Luffy, he doesn't take 'no' for an answer.
I however did say no.
It did not go over well with Luffy, he called me heartless after hearing Vivi's sob story. But I couldn't, a good lot of us were injured, I had my arms damaged, Bashura was literally shot in the back, Kotetsu had some burns on his chest from the fight, Gin was still dying a horrible poisonous death and we really didn't know if Carmen could fight or not.
Vivi understood, but it still felt like I was stabbed through the heart. It didn't help that Gin of all people talked to me about it, right or wrong I knew that I had to help regardless if we were injured or not. Now he didn't exactly say it like that, but I knew what he was thinking. And then we saw Igaram...dressed like Vivi, ugh I can never get that image out of my head. Gin then told me he smelled gunpowder on that ship and well...
I dived into the ocean after telling Gin to take the wheel, and I managed to save Igaram before the ship blew him sky high, my goal was to dive into the water if it wasn't for a bridge of hands sprouting out and we literally slid back into the town.
It was then I met Miss All-Sunday, the Second in Command of the Baroque Works. I hate to admit this but she was a sight to behold, I wouldn't call her an exotic beauty but she was definitely way above average. She not only showed me my bounty poster labeling me as "Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto with a bounty of forty-five million beli (By killing Captain Nezumi and most of his crew, Captain Stark and most if not all the Arlong Pirates. Honestly what horseshit), and informed me she leaked Crocodile's identity to Vivi for whatever her reasons were. She then departed but not before giving me a gold plated zippo lighter with the Baroque Works Jolly Roger on it.
Well I couldn't exactly leave Igaram there by himself, so he temporarily joined us on our ship. Guess Luffy got his wish for us to help Vivi liberate Alabasta. I only wish we weren't exactly forced to do it in that sort of way.
I also really wish Gin didn't nearly die the next day.
"I hate this." Carmen complained.
"Quit complaining Carmen, at least we're alive." Gin turned to look at her.
"Eyes forward Gin!"
It has been a hour since Naruto saved their butts from drowning, and while they were grateful the small group was woefully lost. Naruto lead the way, the dim surroundings in the tunnel being their only source of light. None of them were shivering cold thanks to Naruto pulling the water off of their clothing thanks to his water manipulation.
There however was one problem, the suits were absolutely ruined and that left the humans of the group in their underwear.
The amount of fucks Gin gave were nonexistent, he just used the remaining parts of the suit as a makeshift belt for his tonfas that he left hanging on the side and duel daggers he strapped to hang behind him. He also paraded in his black boxers without a care in the world.
Both Vivi and Carmen were mortified. Clad in blue and pink respective sets of underwear the two women walked behind the men, Carmen was wielding her war fan like a club, threatening both Gin and Naruto from looking behind them to ogle.
"You know I don't get you two. If you're in swimsuits you're fine, but if it's underwear you're all 'Nooo don't look!', double standards much?" Naruto asked.
"It's different Naruto, at least with swimming suits we are decent. We aren't in our underwear on the beach!" Carmen protested.
Considering that Naruto grew up on Fishman Island where women wore little more than a bikini top, he didn't exactly see what the huge deal was about. Naruto scratched the back of his neck before saying. "Listen I came from an island where people walked around half naked. I also saw the both of you in towels." And Vivi naked, but Gin did not need to know that. "Besides, if you got it, flaunt it."
"Bwahaha! And here I thought you were some sort of prude. You went up one notch in my book kid." Gin laughed in response before patting his Captain on the back.
While Carmen looked like she was ready to beam both men upside the head with her war fan, Vivi's face couldn't have been any redder, it made her even more grateful that she wore her cloth mask to hide the lower part of her face.
A few minutes later the three of them came across, of all things a stone wall with a primitive-looking door separating them from whatever was on the other side. There were also dozens of clothed skeletal bodies riddled with bullet holes lying in front of it.
"Finally weapons, real life weapons!" Gin exclaimed, or course that also meant that something killed them as well. "This is a trap. I know it is a trap."
"Of course it's a trap Gin, the question is what killed them." Naruto said looking at the entrance with suspicion.
"Am I the only one who notices that they got here before us. I mean they are obviously pirates, somehow they managed to get down here like us." Carmen pointed out the obvious details on the skeletons.
"Gin, you're the gun expert. Why don't you tell us?" Vivi asked.
Lightly humming Gin knelt by one of the bodies to examine it. He didn't know how old the bones were, if the person was male or female, or who the pirate crew even were. But Gin knew his bullet wounds, and right now that was enough. "There were multiple shooters, volley fires. The bullets went through them like a hot knife through butter from the looks of their..." He reached into a holster to pull out one of the pistols. "Ugh, sub-par weaponry they didn't get a chance to defend themselves."
Naruto cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck. "So on a scale between one and ten, what's the chance of me ending up like those poor bastards?"
"Nine...perhaps an eleven." Gin said.
"Naruto, what are you going to do?" Vivi nervously asked.
"What I do best Vivi, punch things. Thousand Tile Shatter Fist!" Cocking back his right arm, Naruto ran as fast as he could and punched the wall next to the door. The rock wall didn't stand a chance against his fist as it crumbled away to review the room behind it. "Holy shit, guys you have to take a look at this."
Gin was the first to arrive, scowling in displeasure before whistling at the weaponry. "A automatic gatling gun? Where the hell did Jack Lee get one of these?"
"At least we know what killed these guys, do you think it's salvageable?" Naruto asked.
"Fuck no, besides this thing being out of ammo the air under here rusted the crap out of this thing." Gin moved his hand to the trigger device and pulled on it, only for the thing to groan in protest. Naruto also spotted the corrosion and rust. "This thing isn't even worth scrapping. Not even those guns on those pirates are usable."
"Honestly Gin, you seem more interested in weapons than anything else in life." Carmen said, as she strolled through the large hole on the wall. "Eyes forward boys."
"Dammit Carmen, you could have stayed behind us." Naruto irritably said before turning his head down the well lit hallway. "All right, we got what looks like a pirate lair that seems to be working after thirty plus years and no idea what to expect. I'm up for any ideas or suggestions."
"I bet there are going to be a lot of traps." Vivi suggested from behind him.
"But we don't know how many of them are working or not, we got lucky with this trap being defective after thirty odd years. But the rest is iffy at best." Carmen countered.
"But unless they had forty years of food on them, I think Jack Lee and his crew are nothing more than skeletons now." Gin added in.
"Charming Gin. Just charming." Naruto dully replied. Running his hands through his spiky blonde hair, he was the first to take a few steps forward down the hallway. "All right, lets move cautiously, check every door, every possible secret entrance, and whatever you do don't trigger a trap."
"I got eyes of a hawk Uzumaki." Gin smirked.
"Yea they are really bloodshot like ones."
(Mock Town)
Mock Town was going about its casual day, pirates arrived and left the island. Fights broke out. Murders were committed. It was the same thing day after day leaving the residents to go about their day walking over drunken bodies on their way to work. In fact no one even batted an eyelash when a body crashed through the window in one of the bard to lay unmoving in the street.
The only person who seemed to even care was in said bar, clutching her hands in her black hair. "Can't you two go a day without beating someone up!?"
"Sorry Shizune." Bashura apologized, he dropped the unconscious body of a hapless pirate into the floor.
"They started it, between them bragging about having a fifteen million beli bounty, and wanting to rough up the new guys, we had to take action." Hearing a low groaning sound, Kotetsu looked down and kicked one of his former opponents into unconsciousness. "See? Self-defense."
"You two are going to be the death of me. It's almost been a week and we still haven't found Goldenweek or Carue. We checked every bar, and hotel on the island, I'm out of ideas." Shizune sighed before sitting on the bar stool. "Bartender, get me something strong please."
"Right away." The bartender said, taking in the minimal damage of his bar and took something from the top shelf. "So, you're looking for your friends huh? When did they go missing?"
"Almost a week ago, we looked everywhere without any luck." Shizune handed him a wad of bills and took the glass. "I don't suppose you've seen a small girl in a pink hat and a giant duck?"
"Sorry ma'am, I would have recalled seeing them."
"It's the same old story." Kotetsu sighed before taking a seat next to their doctor. "Listen, this is Goldenweek we're talking about. That girls is scary dangerous when she wants to be."
"Carue is...well he'll turn up." Bashura sat next to Shizune, his weight making the stool groan in protest. "If you keep stressing yourself about them, you'll give yourself an ulcer."
"I've already had two ulcers." Shizune bitterly mumbled.
"Wait, seriously?" Kotetsu's sandy-blonde eyebrows rose in surprise. "You haven't even been with us for two months. How did we give you two ulcers already?"
Taking a sip of her drink, Shizune shuddered from the taste before setting it down. "It's not because of you. My teacher was the reason I had them."
"Was she the one who taught you everything about medicine?" Bashura asked.
"Anything and everything, she was the best teacher I ever had, but she was also...ugh..." She lightly set her forehead on the cool wood of the bar. "A drunken gambler with the worst luck I had ever seen."
"She couldn't have been that bad." The bartender remarked.
"In the fifteen years I was with her, she gambled away over five-hundred million beli in every casino in the Grand Line."
That stunned the three conscious people in the bar, the bartender even pulled a bottle from the middle shelf and set it in front of her. "You poor dear, this is on the house."
"How did she...how...oh my poor wallet." Kotetsu patted the area where he kept his wallet, making sure it was still there with him.
"Is that how she managed to get drafted into the Whitebeard Pirates?" Bashura curiously asked.
"Yes. She lost a poker game to one of Whitebeard's Commanders." Shizune drowned the rest of her drink and began pouring another from the bottle given to her. "She did not tell me in person, I only read it in a letter she placed on the table in the hotel we rented for the night. She left me all by myself all because she didn't want me to be indebted like she was."
"And yet you're still searching for her." Kotetsu said.
By now Shizune drowned her third glass and was red in the face. "Yer damn right! I want to give that big breasted bitch a piece of my mind! I plan on screaming that she was a horrible teacher, and that my uncle was much better off without her." She then drowned her fourth glass and began swaying back and forth in her seat. "Ans then...ans then I will do wadever the hells I wants...ans you knuckle heads will be stuck with me, ye got that!"
"Of course." Bashura took the bottle from her when she reached for it again. "Come on lets get you back to the ship, you've had a long day."
"I'm fiiiine...it was only ten drinks."
"Sure it was. Come on Shizune, tomorrow you're going to wake up and take charge again, and we'll pretend that we didn't see drunk you." Kotetsu grabbed her, and made sure she was steadily on her feet. "Does that sound good to you?"
"Okay." Shizune tiredly said, Kotetsu had to support her weight as they walked out of the bar.
"Have a good day bartender. Thanks for the booze." Bashura said before following after them.
"Take care now, make sure that little lady drinks plenty of water." The bartender bade them farewell before looking at the unconscious bodies. "Aw crap, I shoulda asked them to drag these bastards outside first."
(Back with Naruto)
"Empty, just like the last one." Gin reported after coming out of a bedroom.
"Seriously? Not even a pair of pants?" Naruto said in disbelief.
"Hey, these people either were fatter than hell or had feet smaller than my sister."
"You have a sister?"
"Fuck if I know Uzumaki."
Carmen walked towards them, instead of parading around in her underwear she was wearing a loose white shirt, a pair of brown pants and black boots that went to mid calf. "Gin you're looking awfully shameful."
"Oh knock it off, you got lucky finding your clothing." Gin barked in annoyance.
"At least you can look at me without the threat of getting my fan to your head." The pink-haired woman said in a teasing manner.
"I think he is more grumpy that he hasn't found any guns." When Gin's face only soured, Naruto palmed his face. Honestly, he hated guns. Gin was proficient with them. It was really hard to say no to his preferred fighting style when it was useful.
Vivi exited another bedroom, she still had a purple cloth covering her lower face, and was dressed in a blue shirt and a pair of white pants with sandals, her Peacock Slashers were wrapped around her waist safely. "I didn't find anything in here."
"I can't make heads or tails of this damn place. First we got some automatic gatling gun at a secret entrance, a bunch of living quarters that were abandoned. There was even a kitchen that didn't even have a crumb in it." Naruto said.
"Do you think these assholes up and abandoned this place? If they did I am going to be pissed." Gin growled out.
"That doesn't seem likely." Vivi said, she gestured at the lights. "I am not a pirate, but if I was going to abandon a hideout for good wouldn't I destroy it so my enemies would be unable to use it for their own purposes?"
Both Gin and Naruto looked at her like she grew another head, Carmen only giggle a bit. "Well look at you princess, we'll make a pirate out of you yet." She replied before taking the lead. "Come on boys, there has to be more to this place."
The three followed her lead, much to the increasing confusion of the place, they came across more empty rooms that looked like they were vacated of life. That was until they came across another door, except it was sealed shut and made completely out of steel.
"All right, one busted down door coming up." Naruto said before cracking his knuckles again.
"Hold on Uzumaki lets not use brute force just yet." Gin advised his Captain before making his way over to the side where an electronic lock was. Even after all these years it was still up and running. He peered at it with a frown. "It requires a four number password."
"Well that narrows our choices down to a million combinations." Carmen sarcastically said with her hands on her hips. "We'll be down here for years."
"Not of you figure out the password. I mean think about it, "Black" Jack Lee was a bloodthirsty and greedy bastard, the password must relate to his vices. So add in the numbers with the letters they represent..." Gin placed his right hand on the keypad and typed in the numbers. "Kill."
"Access denied." A feminine robotic voice said.
"Stab."
"Access denied."
"Grr...Gold!"
"Access denied. Goodbye."
"Goodbye, what the hell does that mea-ahhhh!" Gin screamed bloody murder when a trapdoor opened underneath his feet and he fell down the shaft.
"Gin!" Vivi screamed in alarm. She ran towards where he fell, and only felt intense heat from the open shaft before it closed. "Naruto what was that?"
"A trapdoor, hold on!" Naruto clenched his right fist and punched the area where Gin fell down. The trapddor loosened and he pried it out of the ground. "Gin are you down there!?"
"Gahhh! What sort of asshole builds a trapdoor over a fucking lava pit!" Gin screamed at the top of his lungs and the former Krieg Pirate rushed up the pit. The bottoms of his feet and the palms of his hands were bleeding from the jagged edges of the wall he held on to to prevent himself from falling to his death. He emerged from the hold in the ground, his ass literally smoking as he slumped over on the floor.
Naruto looked at the comical sight, his mouth twitched, and he snorted through his nose. Carmen's lips quivered, and her entire body shook. Vivi covered her mouth, her shoulder shaking.
Then all three began laughing at the exact same time. It was honestly too much to see the normally unflappable Gin in such a state. "Oh I wish I brought a camera." Naruto said.
"I hate all of you, Carmen I hope you got some extra clothing so I can bandage myself." Gin pitifully growled at them. "Uzumaki, punch the damn door down."
"See what happens when you try for subtly? You get your ass burned." Cracking his knuckles, Naruto rotated his right arm before he punched at the door. Forcing the kinetic energy into his punch he watched with wondrous glee as the steel cracked and bent under pressure. But then there was a sudden back blast that sent the blonde flying backwards until he crashed into the wall opposite of them.
"Naruto!" Vivi cried out in surprise. When the tiger shark fishman slid down the wall with a terrible cracking sound, she rushed to his side and looked him over. "Are you okay?"
"My dorsal fin is smarting, and I think I slipped a disc but I think I'm okay." Naruto gritted his teeth in pain before he slowly shook his head to get the chips of rock out of his hair. "Ugh, what the hell happened?"
Gin got to his feet, dusted off the back of his boxers and looked at the door. "It looks like some sort of safety measure, a sudden breach and boom you're done." He then smirked and looked at his Captain. "See what happens when you try for bullying your way through things?"
"Oh fuck off Gin." Slowly getting to his feet, Naruto felt the bones in his back crack in protest, but he could move without falling over in agony. Together with Vivi they both walked over to the hole in the door and scratched the back of his head. "We better be more careful from now on. Barely a few hours in and we've already been blown up and burned by lava."
"Speak for yourself Naruto." Carmen lightly huffed.
"Yea, yea. Just be careful, I don't want to fill your positions anytime soon." Naruto took the lead again and entered through the hole to reveal a man made hallway with near blinding lights. "Geeze, how the hell did Jack Lee get all this stuff down here?"
"Better yet, how did he build all of this. Wasn't he just a pirate for ten years?" Vivi asked.
"I honestly have no idea. But I doubt that it was from people volunteering for it." Gin bluntly said before following after his Captain. "Jack Lee was rumored to be a real piece of work, even for a pirate."
"I rather not think about that Gin."
The four followed the path for roughly three minutes until they came across a fork in the road. There wee absolutely no signs to indicate which was they should go, especially since the hallways looked the same.
"So...left or right?" Naruto dully asked.
"I'm heading to the right, my gut tells me that something wonderful is at the end of the tunnel." Gin said before taking the lead. Carmen looked at both Vivi and Naruto before shrugging and followed after their First Mate. The foursome traveled down the hallway, and I do mean down since it took a sudden slump downwards.
They then heard a click, a rumble followed it soon after. "Gin...what did you do?" Naruto demanded.
"I didn't do shit Uzumaki."
The sound of something heavy crashing behind them said otherwise, and the four looked with bug eyes to see a boulder rolling towards them. They screamed their lungs out and ran down the slope as fast as they could.
"This sucks! What was I thinking when I volunteered to come with you!?" Carmen exclaimed.
"You're the one who wanted to get stronger, so run faster woman I am not going to become road pizza twenty thousand leagues under the sea!" Gin barked out.
Vivi's brown eyes widened when they saw their exit, or more specifically the lack of one due to three other boulders and crushed skeletal remains ahead of them. "Naruto do something already, can't you just punch these boulders into pieces!?"
"I got a better idea, keep your heads down!" Naruto ran full force at the boulder ahead of them, jumped, and kicked off of them. The blonde fishman flew like a bullet at the boulder, his right fist cocked back and he punched at the boulder. The kinetic energy he released not only shattered the rolling boulder, but turned it into noting but useless gravel.
Landing on his feet, Naruto dusted off his knuckles and looked towards Gin. "Gut feeling huh?"
"Perhaps you're only hungry. You should have eaten lunch like I told you two." Carmen seconded.
"Not a word you two. Not. A. Word." Gin growled in irritation.
(Fishman Island – Meanwhile)
"You seem troubled Jinbe." Madame Shyarly commented.
"Is it really that obvious Shyarly?" Jinbe lightly asked.
"As obvious as those big teeth of yours."
Ever since the funeral for the entirety of the Arlong Pirates, the Knight of the Sea had been down in the dumps. The whale shark fishman was always known for his discipline, duty and honor. But he had been neglecting his duties, not only as a Captain of the Sun Pirates, but for the World Government as a member of the Shichibukai. He had been spending most of his days either in the graveyard reflecting or in the Mermaid Cafe talking with the owner.
It had been more of the latter lately.
"Tell me something Shyarly, am I a good person?"
"Of course you are, why would you ask such a thing?"
"Because of what I have done. I let loose a monster that terrorized the East Blue for ten years. And I personally trained Naruto, the boy who not only killed him, but has been going against everything Queen Otohime preached until her death."
A small smile came to Madame Shyarly's face, she gave him a 'I know something you don't know' look. She moved her hands to her crystal ball and projected an image of Alabasta. "Have you ever been to Alabasta Jinbe?"
"I can't say I have, it's far too...dry for my tastes." Jinbe lamely said, unconsciously placing one hand on his neck where his gills were located.
"Your student recently has been there."
"I haven't heard anything about it."
"Not surprising considering the scandal that went on over there. Your fellow Shichibukai "Sir" Crocodile conspired to take over the country by killing the King and over half the population to do it."
"I never met Crocodile."
"And you probably never will. Monkey D. Luffy may have been the one to take him down, but your student and his crew were behind the scenes dealing with the Baroque Works organizations members among other things."
"Are you sure?" Honestly Jinbe was having a hard time believing what he was hearing.
"My powers have never failed me Jinbe, your student helped save a country, those wanted men, Gin "The Man-Demon" and "Blood-Soaked" Kotetsu, also saved many lives. Perhaps he isn't too far gone as you thought he was." Shyarly said, giving her own small shark toothed smile.
Jinbe looked into the crystal ball and saw the demolished cities, especially Nanohana and Yuba. But he saw the people, young and old working hard to rebuild them. He saw that their spirits were high, and that the future for the kingdom was very bright. "Naruto helped do all of that..." He trailed off, a smile soon graced his face. But then he wiped it away. "I still need to speak with him, regardless of the good he has done, he has a lot to explain."
"But of course, what Hatchan revealed to us is troubling."
Not too far away in the Fishman District Hody Jones was gnashing his sharp teeth. So far he had heard nothing regarding his weapon. What Skorka said touched a nerve in him, the kid was two months away from his influence and if what the cripple said was true then Naruto not only betrayed him, but the cause as well.
"Beli for your thoughts Captain?" Zeo asked.
"It's what that cripple said about Naruto betraying us. My entire being is trying to deny it, but my instincts are screaming that everything I had done to shape him to our will is all for naught." Hody confessed to one of his officers. He then clutched the armrest of his throne, threatening to crush it under his grip. "I trained that brat, I taught him how to use Fishman Jujitsu, I even taught him a few of my personal attacks! And he used them to kill my idol!"
"The irony is not lost on me Captain, but think about this way. Naruto has been loyal to a fault, he may have complained, but he followed your orders because you put the fear of your wrath into his mind."
"Yea, and what about it?"
"Perhaps he did it for a reason besides Jinbe ordering him to confront Arlong." Zeo said. "Knowing him he would try to reason with him first. Perhaps try to recruit him for our benefit."
"And it failed horribly." Hody bitterly remarked.
"Arlong was also not known for playing nice. He more than likely told him no in the harshest way imaginable before telling his flunkies to attack him."
"Sounds to me like you're defending the brat."
"I'm just being practical Captain. Arlong's death is a terrible thing, but it shows that the boy has become stronger. If he is able to defeat every single member of the Arlong Pirates at such a young age, just think of what he can do a year down the road, two years, three years...I shudder to think about it."
For the first time in days Hody Jones cracked a smile. What Zeo said was true, Arlong and their crew were no pushovers, they served with Fisher Tiger so they weren't weak. "When he returns, I am going get my answers out of him, and depending on what he says, he will either become our best weapon or I will have to destroy him."
"Do you think you can even manage to do that?" Zeo lightly asked.
"Thanks to the Energy Steroids I will be, give me three months of steady doses and he will beg for his life on his hands and knees."
"Assuming he doesn't use the ones you gave him." Zeo said, drawing a surprised look from his Captain. "I mass produced them, I keep stock and inventory Captain. You took six from batch number ten, I saw it myself."
Hody gritted his teeth again, glaring at his subordinate. "Nine months then if he even uses them."
"As you wish Captain."
(Back with Naruto)
"I don't trust this." Gin narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
He had a right to be, after nearly falling into lava and getting crushed by a boulder, a long hallway filled with skeletons laid before the four of them. This place was a trap, they knew it, but how it was activated was beyond any of them.
"Lets see...this is roughly a five-thousand foot hallway, and there are fifty dead bodies. This is a trap." Naruto turned his head to the side. "You go first Gin."
"What. Why me?" The surly First Mate demanded.
"Because as the Captain I said so."
Carmen lightly smirked. "You heard him Gin, Captain's orders."
Growing in irritation, Gin muttered darkly muttered something about Naruto and barnyard animals before he cautiously took several steps into the hallway. When he was no more than three feet onto the white tiles did he step on a pressure plate. A wooden mallet sprang up and hit the First Mate right in the groin. Instead of falling forward where a metal spike emerged that would have pierced through his face, Gin fell onto his back clutching his family jewels.
Vivi couldn't help but wince when she saw Gin curled up into the fetal position. "That was...very mean."
"I honestly did not think that would happen. Sorry Gin!" Naruto called out.
"Go surf a tidal wave of dicks Uzumaki!" Gin wheezed out in agony.
"So, any bright ideas Naruto?" Carmen asked.
"I think I got some idea, but it might cave in the place. " That was the problem with his attacks, they were just far too destructive for subtly. "So I have another idea that borders on stupidity."
"And what is that?" Vivi nervously asked.
"First we have to wait for Gin to recover. And then we do it." The blonde said before sitting down. They could wait, the treasure wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. They waited for Gin to literally roll back towards them and a half hour before he was able to walk without limping.
"Okay...what is your bright idea." Gin said, he winced a little bit when he stood up, his fellas were still pretty damn tender.
"We run for our lives and hope not to get impaled." Then without warning Naruto took a giant leap forward and began zigzagging down the hallway.
"That's your plan!? God dammit Uzumaki!" Gin bellowed in outrage before he reluctantly followed after his Captain, his jump wasn't as impressive, and he actually landed on another pressure plate, and three inch steel darts appeared out of the sides of the walls and began firing. "Gah! Why did I agree to this!?" The First Mate cried before ducking and dodging from the deadly projectiles frantically.
Both Carmen and Vivi looked at the two men ducking and dodging the projectiles in pure disbelief. "Are we really following these guys?" Carmen asked.
"I'm afraid we are. Lets hope that fan of yours is bulletproof." Vivi whipped out her Peacock string Slashers, started twirling them to the point they sounded like a fan turned on high. She followed after Gin, her slashers intercepting the deadly darts in a shower of sparks that sent them uselessly tumbling to the floor.
"I must be insane. Yea I'm insane." Carmen said to herself before taking the fan off her back and unfolding it to its full size to expose three purple full moons on the metal. She then followed after Vivi, and she swung her war fan, scattering the darts away from her, using as much of her natural flexibility to keep herself from getting impaled.
The four skipped and ducked and dodged deadly projectiles, iron spikes emerging from the ground, and even spike pitfalls that nearly caught Gin one time before they safely were on the other side. "Uzumaki...you're a fucking idiot!" Gin growled out.
"Shut up Gin. We made it didn't we?" Naruto said.
"Barely." Carmen griped, her entire body slumped over with her rear in the air.
"It can't get worse from here at least." Vivi helpfully said.
Almost as if someone was listening, the floor under them collapsed and all four pirates fell screaming into the dark abyss that ended with a heavy splash.
"Gah! Good going Princess!" Gin spat out a mouthful of salty water.
"How was I supposed to know that would happen?" Vivi protested.
"Murphy's Law honey, Murphy's Law." Carmen sourly said. She then looked around in the water, seeing nothing but darkness around her. "Where in the world is Naruto?"
"I know he fell in with us, he mist be swimming around to see if there is a way out." Vivi said.
Naruto emerged from the water and burst her bubble. "There is no exit, just a lot of skeletons at the bottom."
"So we're trapped until we drown, great." Gin splashed an armful of water at his Captain. "Good going Naruto."
"Shut up Gin. Unlike these poor bastards none of them were fishmen. Just give me a minute and hold your breaths." Diving under the water Naruto focused his energy and gripped the water with his hands. He began to twist his body in the water, creating a corkscrew-like current that caused the three members of his crew to take in deep breaths of air before diving under the water.
Naruto then forced the water to fly above them like a drill and it slammed into the trapdoor above them. It tore through the rock like it was nothing, Naruto and the three members of his crew were then belched out through the opening like a geyser, tumbling soaking wet onto the rocks.
Carmen coughed out a mouthful of water, hacking for air before she got herself under control. "I take back every bad thing I said earlier."
"You said something?" Naruto remarked. Slowly getting to his feet he focused his right hand in their general direction and pulled the water from their clothing once again, leaving them bone dry and tossed the glob of water into the pit.
"I'm still going to call you a damn fool, but you got your uses." That was Gin talk for saying 'thank you'...mostly. The First Mate got to his feet and rotated his right arm with a grimace. "We need to continue onward before something else happens."
No one disagreed with him. This place was a maze of traps that seemed to go on forever, and with each body they found the foursome were growing more concerned with the fact that perhaps Jack Lee's treasure was compromised.
They found themselves in a large cave after what felt like hours of walking. Stalagmites hung from the ceiling, it smelled musky, like a stagnant pond. There were several tables and chairs scattered all over the area with shanties.
Oh and corpses, dozens of mummified corpses. And a forty gun galleon-class battleship that looked like it was half sinking in the docks it was anchored in. It looked pretty old, the wood was cracked and rotting, its sails torn, a Jolly Roger with a simple skull and crossbones on the black flag, the stern showing a decorative skull and crossbones with flowing hair on the back with the name The Ivory Web.
"Holy shit." Gin breathed out.
"You can say that again." Carmen seconded.
"Holy shit." Gin said again.
"What in the world happened here?" Vivi asked. She moved towards the first body and saw that it had a sea axe buried in his skull. "It looks like some sort of battle went on here."
"It was a mutiny." Gin bluntly stated. He kicked over one of the corpses to look at the body riddled with bullet holes. He then looked at the ship, the bow dipping into the sea. "I don't know what went on, but it ended in bloodshed." He said before picking up one of the flintlock pistols and began inspecting it for rust. "Hmm, not bad."
"I don't know about you guys, but I am going on that ship, if Lee had left a hint regarding his treasure it will be in his cabin." Carmen said before making her way to the ship before turning her head towards them. "You all coming or what?"
"All right, lets get this over with." Naruto took the lead as the others followed. They got onto the creaking ship and walked over several twisted corpses before heading to where the Captain's cabin was. The inside of the ship smelled worse than the outside, the smell of death seemed to have seeped into the wood of the ship itself.
"This place is cursed, so much death has occurred on this ship." Gin lowly muttered.
"From what Kotetsu said, I would not be surprised if there were ghosts lurking around in here." Vivi casually remarked.
"Vivi, do not put that evil on me. All these traps and bullshit is one thing, but ghosts is something else entirely! No ghost talk!" Naruto demanded.
"Oh what's wrong? Are you afraid of ghosts?" Carmen teasingly asked.
"I am not afraid of anything, but I do not want to think of, or fight a damn ghost in a sinking ship because with our luck that will happen!" Naruto protested.
"Mhm sure..." Gin said before menacingly moving his arms forward and wiggled his fingers in front of his Captain. "Ooooh look out Uzumaki, I'm a vengeful ghost wanting to possess you."
"Gin, knock it off." Naruto demanded.
"Oooo..."
"Gin..."
"Oooo..."
"Gin..."
"Oooo-ahhh!" Gin screamed out when he accidentally fell through a hold in the floor and he landed with a splash at the bottom.
"I tried to warn you about that." Naruto dully said.
"Gin, are you okay?" Carmen peered into the hole.
"I think I found some pants that fit me!" Gin shouted back.
"Well that's good at least." Vivi replied. At least she wouldn't have to see him running around in his underwear anymore.
When Gin emerged he was wearing a pair of ugly lime green pants and a yellow vest. Naruto barely managed to remove the water from the soggy clothing due to his snickering, Carmen didn't hold herself back, Vivi was the only one who kept her composure...mostly.
Gin was unamused. But he would put up with this embarrassing situation until he could either find some new pants, or until they gathered all the treasure and got the fuck out of there.
When they finally arrived to the Captain's quarters the first thing they smelled was burnt timber. The wood was charred black from a fire, four corpses laid with bullet wounds and one having a sea axe in his chest on the floor opposite of a desk where a fifth was slumped against it.
The figure slumped against the desk was mummified like the rest. He wore a long navy blue captain's coat, beneath his coat, he wore a white shirt and had a red sash around his waist. He wore a light blue cravat around his neck, white, and what appeared to be black sea boots. His long blonde hair reached his shoulders, his beard was well maintained, and he bore a jagged scar that diagonally went down his face and cut through one of his black eyebrows. In his hands was an empty flintlock pistol, one of four scattered on the floor and a cutlass.
"So this is "Black" Jack Lee." Naruto knelt before the corpse and noticed all the bullet holes. "He went down fighting hard."
"Heard he was a tough sob, shame his bounty has been receded or we could take his head in as proof." Gin said before poking around the desk.
"What exactly are you looking for Gin?" Vivi asked.
"A journal or something. Lee here has a shit ton of technology and no explanation of how he got it, I wanna know."
"Screw the technology, I want to know where the treasure is. That is what we came for after all." Carmen said.
Naruto however pried the sea axe out of the chest of one of the deceased men and took Lee's cutlass and sheathed both behind his belt after sheathing the blade. "All I know is this, I'm getting some damn souvenirs otherwise no one is going to believe this."
"I say having over a billion beli worth of treasure is something to believe Uzumaki." Gin said before pulling the final drawer out. "Ah, pay dirt!" He exclaimed before reaching in to pull out a leather bound journal that was blackened at the edges. He then opened it and began skimming the pages.
"Well what's it say?" Carmen demanded.
"Mostly he's bragging about his plunder, casually mentioning that he executed people...ah here we go." Gin cleared his voice and read off the passage. "We captured a science ship today that was filled with various blueprints for the World Government. I spared the scientists so they could add this stuff in my undersea base. Whoever dares to enter my domain will find themselves victims to my deadlier traps."
"Does it say about what happened to the scientists?" Vivi nervously asked.
"He killed them himself after everything was finished and left instructions how to work everything." Gin said, glossing over on that he strapped cannon balls to their feet and threw them into the sea.
"How horrible." The Princess whispered.
"Come on Gin, get to the treasure already." Carmen tapped her foot impatiently.
"Yea, yea hold on." The First Mate skimmed through the pages and silently began reading the pages recording the last couple of weeks before the end came. "Apparently he managed to escape from Horatio by activating a resin bubble as the ship sank. The surviving crew made it to their hideout, but things went wrong and the resin bubble was beyond repair, food began to run out and...well there is just a lot of rambling about everything is his, no one would have what is "Black" Jack Lee's. The only mention of a treasure is a grand vault south of us filled with gold, jewels, beli and so much more."
"Well then lets get off this stupid ship and to that vault. In life or death my ass, "Black" Jack Lee's treasure is ours." Naruto exclaimed. After a while lot of bullshit they were finally in the home stretch. With the money they could scavenge they could build a new ship and not even make a dent.
The joyous mental image was immediately shattered when a cannonball nearly took off his head.
"What the fuck!?" Gin openly cursed before pulling out his newly acquired flintlock pistol. "Where did that come from?"
"Uh, guys...I think you should see this." Vivi dared to take a glance through the newly made hole.
"Oh my." Carmen breathed out in dismay.
Standing on the docks was none other than Capone Beige, Vito, Gotti, and a posse of one-hundred men dressed in long grey trench coats, pinstripe suits, and fedoras. They also say Cricket looking roughed up with his hands bound, Beige's pistol pointed at the back of his head.
Beige looked up to the hole, taking the cigar out of his mouth he spoke to the foursome. "Sword of the Sea" Uzumaki Naruto, you and your crew have five minutes to come out with your hands up, otherwise your associate is gonna sleep with the fishes."
"God fucking dammit." Naruto openly cursed.
(Omake: Goldenweek meets up with a old comrade)
"We're ready to attack Madame Artist, just say the word!" The Captain of Goldenweek's hypnotized saluted her.
"Very well, we attack now-"
"Oh yoohoo! Miss Goldenweek what are you doing here!?"
Blinking in surprise, Goldenweek turned her head to see a very familair ship carrying a very familiar man wearing a swan outfit. He was waving and laughing like a loon as the ship sailed next to theirs. "Mr. Two Bon Clay?"
"I don't work for Baroque Works anymore, you can call me Bentham!" He said, now within talking distance of each other. "What are you doing here? Last I heard you managed to escape Alabasta."
"I did. I joined the Ocean Sword Pirates, they aren't too bad." Minus being forced to do grunt work as the Cabin Girl on a ship that was falling apart. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard that Crocodile was going to Impel Down, I got some business in that prison so I was going to free the lesser members and take their place. What are you doing here?" The Okama asked.
"I just wanted to free a few people myself. I owe them for...well you know." Goldenwek's eyes flashed a little bit, showing Bentham a haunting sadness he rarely had seen in the lazy girl.
"I understand. How about we team up, just this once? I have no doubt that together we can succeed in what we're setting out to do!" Bentham happily exclaimed before reaching an arm out for her to grasp. "Do we have a deal my fello agent?"
Goldenweek dully blinked at the strange man before grasping his hand to shake. "All right, just this once."
"Quack!" Carue protested.
"Don't give me that, it's a good idea." Goldenweek said to the squaking duck.
"Isn't that Vivi's duck?" Bentham asked in confusion.
"It is a long story."
Armageddon: Well folks this chapter might be shorter than I intended, but after the month I have been through I'm just lucky I got it done in time. Have a happy weekend and an eventual safe Fourth of July. You will see more of my lunacy later!