I own nothing.


Outside the Human Auction House, the marine battalion that had been deployed in response to an emergency signal from a Celestial Dragon's portable Den Mushi inexplicably froze.

Five dark shadows were walking outside, and they brought with them a racket straight out of hell— they were arguing, bickering, fighting amongst themselves, even as they emerged from the relative safety of the sieged house under the broad sun. In full view of the cannons, these criminals made absolutely no distinction between friend and foe for they were far too engaged with each other.

"All right," Being the first one to step into full view, Monkey D. Luffy cracked his knuckles. "You guys, stand back."

Naturally, this elicited a less than favourable response from his companions standing nearby— it was one of immediate rage from two of its intended recipients whereas the third pressed a hand to his forehead in sheer exasperation and the other quietly followed behind. How could one man be so incredibly dense?

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Eustass 'Captain' Kid glowered, a notorious pirate from the South Blue and the captain of the Kid Pirates who was infamous for destroying several towns who refused to pay him tribute. "I said that you should stay away!"

"Try to give me one more order," Trafalgar Law growled, the 'Surgeon of Death' from the North Blue and the captain of the Heart Pirates who was renowned for carving out the hearts of all those who opposed him, "And I would take both of you out by myself!"

Sasuke simply watched the almost argument with a raised brow, somewhat surprised to see three supernovas who were supposed to be rivals by all accounts bickering against each other in a way that almost reminded him of the early days of Team Seven— even more unbelievable was the fact that he was actually considering working together with these three.

Breaking out of this encirclement would be easy for him but there were slaves inside who would certainly be unable to escape the chaos of the upcoming fight and he had no desire to display the true extent of his power for the entire world to see. Sasuke had immediately realized that the battle going on would certainly prove to be a difficult one with people to protect, as such making use of these pirates to give more time for the slaves inside to escape was the most optimal path he could see.

The shinobi highly doubted that these pirates would be able to get past a marine admiral if by some insane miracle one managed to arrive in such a short time, but Sasuke would gladly step back and allow these three to rampage around if it allowed him to stall for more time. The three pirate captains made excellent distractions to draw the focus of the marines for a moment and would make excellent scapegoats even if he chose to escape all by himself.

Besides, if they were strong enough to be able to have been perceived as a genuine threat by the world government then eventually befriending them might also prove to be beneficial in the distant future. He had already seen the potential in Luffy and the other supernovas were comparable by bounty, if nothing else.

"Take aim!" A loud order accompanied by the harsh clacking of metal and machinery drew his gaze back to the defensive perimeter the marines had formed around the auction house, the marines were quick to respond when their masters were endangered if nothing else. "Three of them are captains! They each have bounties well over one hundred million!"

Then the voice paused, perhaps realizing for the first time that there was a fourth amongst the infamous pirates whose face held no wanted poster and was not so easily recognizable as such. "And that other one...

"I have nothing to do with these three," Sasuke spoke and smirked when the pirate captains scowled in annoyance at the way he'd spoken of them, he understood perfectly that neither side would emerge from the ensuing conflagration unscathed but perhaps Naruto had influenced him more than he'd previously through if fatuous banter was what came to his mind when encircled by at least a hundred enemy soldiers.

"He must be their accomplice!" The marine in charge came to the opposite conclusion, though Sasuke's sharp gaze caught his eye twitch at his response. But the shinobi drew no amusement from the face, there was only a strange calm that had taken over his mind for he had known that he would he would inadvertently be drawn into the confrontation the moment he set foot outside.

"FIRE!"

Sasuke's lone eye only narrowed as he watched the marines aim their guns towards them in tandem— they might be the standard in this world but guns were a crude weapon in his opinion. They were too loud and flashy and mere bullets would do nothing against a majority of enemies that could actually threaten him, even if they were practically inescapable for most humans.

Incredibly loud noises barked from the weapons, minor shockwaves of air blasting the surrounding dust and dirt as the marines continued firing in volleys of lead and metal. It was an odd thing, watching bullets travel through the air as if in slow motion— he could actually outrun the thing and place his kunai right between every shooter's brain before the bullet from the sniper could reach him and that was exactly what he was about to do.

But fire burst forth from behind him before he could move, as a lone Lunarian flashed to his side in a burst of speed.

Tongues of brightness screamed into existence and lashed out of nowhere, taking the marines by surprise— showing neither mercy nor any discrimination. Some of the vanguard marines burst into flame upon contact whereas others simply evaporated, but human flesh was not enough to stop those terrible tethers of fire and brimstone which twisted around the cannons and crushed them into shards of molten iron that detonated when their payload caught fire.

But that was not nearly enough to break the forces of the world government, whose resolve would not be broken even by the corpses of their own comrades. Some of them wavered in the face of death but not a single one of them moved.

"Continue shooting!" The marine captain bellowed, not even pausing to display the smallest iota of respect for his fallen men. "Shoot them before they take out the rest of our cannons!"

The ground ruptured beneath his feet in that instant and vomited a geyser of mud and rock that curled around the rest of the men in a wide shield of rock even as what remained of the cannons deployed their payloads. Sasuke languidly leaned out of the way before a stray cannonball could take out half of his face.

His wrist twisted and a single kunai was thrown towards an incoming cannonball at hypersonic speeds. But instead of exploding outward into a series of glowing embers because of a projectile piercing it cleanly as one might have expected, the ball of death was instead deflected to the side as the blunt side of the kunai clanged against the cannonball.

But that was not the end of it, the deflected kunai maintained its motion and continued moving straight at another cannonball headed their way even as the deflected cannonball was thrown right in front of another canon payload which struck its metal casing at breakneck speeds— two explosions simultaneously rang out, one caused by a kunai cleaving straight through a metal ball full of gunpower whereas the other was caused by two cannonballs crashing into each other at supersonic speeds.

Without warning, the shockwaves spread throughout the grounds and deflected the rest of the lead projectiles which passed harmlessly by either of his sides. For his part, Sasuke looked completely unfazed despite the multiple holes and breaches that had been created around and behind him as not even a single mortar shell had the opportunity to reach their group.

"Pathetic." Sasuke tsked, his voice deadly in the sudden silence as an almost otherworldly red glow started shining beside him. He glanced at his side and saw Ariel bending to one knee and touching a hand to the ground with a look of sheer apathy on her face.

His companion held her hand aloft for all the world to see as a glowing brightness gathered above her hand, the ensuing thunderclap that heralded the activation of her powers almost stunning the enemy force that surrounded them as her fingers closed around that tiny conflagration of pure flames.

The subsequent explosion was nearly instantaneous as raging red whisps of magma spread outward from her hand across the ground and curled around the Lunarian before exploding outwards in cracks and grooves in a curtain of fire that seemed to stretch on for all eternity.

For a moment, nothing happened, then a howl ripped through the first grove as the ground underneath the second formation of marines inexplicably caught fire and melted. The unfortunate marines caught in the devastation screamed, some threw themselves upon the ground and some rolled around but the burning flames inadvertently spread and consumed the rest of their body in a sickening display of ruthlessness.

To all who watched, it seemed as if the first blast had nothing but a practice shot to get the juices flowing as the men caught in the devastation were not able to do so much as scream because their vocal cords were instantly turned to ash— entire torsos fell into themselves and arms tumbled to either side a moment later as the blaze worked its way to the rest of their bodies which seemingly crumbled onto themselves in a spreading pool of ruin.

"Fuck." Eustass Kid spat, eying Ariel curiously even as the rest of the world burned around him, "The woman can control fire."

For some reason or another, Sasuke suddenly found that statement to be most amusing and made no move to intervene as a gigantic metal apparatus thrust itself between the impending sheet of flame and doom. Ariel frowned even as the hand made up of metal burst into flame and turned towards the captain of the Kid Pirates who had interrupted her massacre before it could truly get underway.

For a terse moment, the two held one another's gaze; because it was a standoff, and neither was willing to yield. The Lunarian frowned her voice lost somewhere between a growl and a hiss even as a dark cloak perfectly concealed her wings. "Why?"

Sasuke understood her thoughts perfectly. Even he could not accept the thought of being weak, for weakness and an inability to protect one's self was what led to failure, disaster and death— had he possessed strength when he was at this tender age, had he been born the same type of absurdly rare child genius with metaphysical levels of intellect and talent that was the epitome of human ability like his brother then perhaps his tale would have ended much differently.

Both of them had learned this the hard way, which was why he made no move to intervene as Ariel held Eustass' gaze for a long moment and the shinobi could have sworn that her hands flashed red with fire for a brief second before the Lunarian relaxed. She looked away, as though her eyes remained as they were with anger and challenge burning in them even though they lacked a modicum of supremacy that the opposing pirate captain possessed.

"I've got nothing against you, woman." The redhead retorted a moment later even as the marines cowered before their unexpected saviour, excitement and challenge danced in his eyes as they glanced at all the devastation around them, "I just can't let you have all the fun, is all."

"Is that so?" Trafalgar Law finally cut in, his exasperated voice breaking through the tension as smoothly as water as he adjusted his northern fur hat that was decorated with dark black dots. Sasuke noticed the way his long marked fingers tapped his sides in a pleasant rhythm as he glanced at the Lunarian with open curiosity, "Well then, why didn't you say so right from the very beginning?"

"Too busy admiring their handiwork," The redhead answered his fellow supernova, his gaze subtly moving to the ashen remains that had once been a marine before he paused, seemingly considering his words for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly and turning towards Sasuke and Ariel.

"Whaddya say, the both of you?" Eustass finally spoke, his eyes dancing with mirth even though his mouth broke out into a cracking grin that seemed almost inviting on his glaring face. The man was clearly enjoying himself if nothing else, "After we wipe out these marines, you wanna join up with me and my crew?"

"Hey!" Luffy snapped back, abruptly pushing himself between them even as the Lunarian's expression crumpled at the unexpected invite whereas Sasuke simply gave a disdainful grunt in response. The captain of the Strawhat Pirates either missed their uninterested expressions or simply did not care for their opinion as he pouted in an almost petulant manner, "No fair! I had asked him first!"

"And I asked him second!" Eustass spun on the rubber man, retaliating with his usual sarcastic mannerisms. "You wanna make somethin' of it, Monkey D. Luffy?"

"I am not interested in joining any organization at the moment, pirate or otherwise," Sasuke answered, shaking his head at the two of them. His words were clear though it seemed neither pirate cared much about them for they continued their stare down. The shinobi could tell that they were both men who wanted power like many others, the kind who revelled rush of excitement gained from a life or death battle and gained pleasure from the rush of adrenaline that came with fighting an opponent similar to or more powerful than themselves.

Even now, they wanted to feel their hearts pound within their chest and prove themselves to be the strongest of the strongest here. Both of them wanted to outshine all those who came before them in one way or another and there was nothing really wrong with it, but this was neither the time nor the place of such squabbled. For a terse moment, it looked as if the two might start fighting right on the spot were it not for Trafalgar Law's subtle clearing of the throat. All eyes fell upon the criminal worth two hundred million berries who had mostly kept quiet thus far. "I don't know about the three of you, but I have no intention of sticking around waiting for that admiral to show."

At that reminder, the two pirates finally seemed to remember that there was no time to waste— a navy admiral was indeed on the way and they hadn't the time to waste bickering. Eustass slowly turned away from Luffy with a contemptuous gesture and instantly whirled around swatted at the marine vanguard with a dark look on his face.

A stray mortar was fired towards them at that very instant, throwing a sphere of metallic death directly toward his face. In response, the pirate simply spread his arms wide open as though he were greeting an old friend— the cannonball stopped cold at that moment, and its trajectory instantly halted as it froze scarcely a centimetre from his open palm. The redhead snorted and flexed his hand, purple sparks spraying outward from his fingers as a result. "Repel."

For a moment, the cannonball hung there, suspended in the air before it jolted backwards from whence it came— the subsequent explosion not only created a virtual wall of explosions between the marines and their group but it also had the added benefit of bleaching forth a cloud of thick smoke that gave Luffy and Trafalgar Law enough time to launch counterattacks of their own.

Somehow, Monkey D. Luffy's right arm had swelled, growing to gigantic proportions— normal only at the shoulder, it swelled outward toward the elbow, towering over them both as it turned into the arm of a giant. Sasuke idly noted that a body made up of rubber was far more versatile than he had originally expected because simply by blowing into his thumb as if his appendage were a balloon to be inflated at leisure, the Strawhat Captain had increased the size of his fist tenfold to the point where its shadow loomed over most of the clearing.

"Gear third!" Luffy announced proudly, much to the dismay of the now cowering marines. "This arm is the arm of a giant!"

Likewise, Trafalgar Law had produced a countermeasure all his own. Several yards to the right, several other marines stood beneath the space of what could only be described as a large blue dome that the shinobi suspected only he could see and that too because of the power of mantra that almost rivalled the Sharingan in terms of perception. A moment later, the captain of the Heart Pirates causally swung his sword downward and it was over— one moment the marines were standing there and the next, they had been ruthlessly reduced into mere shambles of their former selves as their bodies were cleaved apart by an unseen force that even Sasuke could not perceive.

"Shoot them!" Someone screamed, it was the captain who had taken shelter behind a wall of rock and could do nothing but bark orders in rage and creeping fear. It was clear that he had a Devil Fruit power related to rocks but was useless before the supernova since he could do nothing but defend, "Shoot them now!"

"O-Our weapons!" One of the marines shouted back as his rifle started moving upward into the heavens at that moment. "They're flying away!"

Swords, guns, bullets, and even the cannons themselves were hoisted upward— each of them left the earth of their own accord, heedless of the laws of gravity and together joined to form a massive appendage one by one that soon attached itself to the arm of Eustass Kid. The kunai in his own pockets struggled to free themselves from their sheathe as if they too were being pulled by a strong magnetic force.

Magnetism, Sasuke instantly realised as he looked up at the gigantic hand that was being formed above them. His lunarian companion stepped back to his side and they both stood back and watched countless pieces of metal move outside from within the auction house. All sorts of trinkets came together one after the other and became one, locking and interlocking in ways that should not have been possible as metal took the shape of a hulking monstrosity that could only be described as another gigantic arm, of sorts.

Having control over magnetism was a notoriously dangerous power in a world where most weapons were made up of iron and it made a rather stupendous sight when combined with Strawhat's enormous arm at its side— a hulking fist fused through iron and steel alongside an equally gigantic arm of flesh made it seem as though a titanic monstrosity was reaching down to pluck them all from the face of the earth and scour Sabaody clean.

"Gomu Gomu no Gigant Pistol!" Luffy bellowed a moment later, thrusting his arm forward even as Eustass proved himself to be equally forthcoming as he did the same. The giant hunk of steel curled its fingers to form a metal ram that ploughed through the marine formation in tandem with his technique.

For their part, the marines did not even bother trying to shoot at the impending wall of flesh and metal bearing down on them. They were not as delusional as to think that they could succeed here— the few fortunate ones turned and retreated despite the insults and instructions hurled at them by the captain who had not yet emerged from behind his rocky shield.

But for most of them, it was too late. As if trying to copy a giant bulldozer carving its way through mud, Eustass and Luffy simply ploughed through the remnants of the Marine vanguard— there were no weapons to impede them for nothing short of a whole warship could hope to complete such a task and even then, it might fall short. As such, the two pirate captains swept through the ranks of the marines unhindered and Sasuke placed a hand on Ariel's shoulder as she nearly found herself being blown from her feet because of the shockwave that followed.

Grit and gravel sprayed upward from the blast created by the impact, momentarily concealing the grounds from the view and when it had finally cleared, Sasuke found that they were no longer alone. The crew members of the Strawhat Pirates were already descending the steps followed by the other members of Heart and Kid Crews, most of them gaping at the amount of destruction that the five of them had wrought.

From his peripheral vision, the shinobi noticed Rayleigh holding what appeared to be a humanoid octopus in his arms. The older man merely laughed at the sight of all this destruction, amused despite himself as he nodded appreciatively at the three of them, "That was quite impressive indeed!"

Sasuke could not tell whether this comment was directed at him or the others though he had a strong suspicion that it was the former and quite frankly he did not much care. The fact that the Dark King was here with them meant that the slaves were now secure— the shinobi already had an escape route planned for them and he had told the older man to ensure they all escaped before joining them outside. He would have chosen to leave through the same route himself but they had all been seen already and accompanying the escaped slaves would only make their escape route more obvious in the long run.

"I hope you have a way out of here." Sasuke glanced at the Strawhat crew, criminals they might be but they were important to his goals. He would need to help them leave and get further involved in this if they had no means of escape, the shinobi realized that his face would finally appear on a wanted poster by the end of the day despite all his troubles.

"Actually," Sanji grimaced, taking a long drag from his cigarette, "We do."

Sasuke simply raised a brow, somewhat curious about their plan since he knew for a fact that there were no optimal escape routes available at the moment. The shinobi had memorized the locations of key government patrols and hideouts and remembered areas that had the least number of government presence— this allowed him to lead the slaves throughout the groove without ever coming into contact with the law enforcement that should have been searching for them.

"Young master and his friends! Where are the others?" A distant voice shouted and a starfish-shaped creature jumped out of a neighbouring building with several Bon Charis behind him, breaking all traces of subtly as it announced their presence for the entire street to hear. "Over heeeeeeere!"

"Eh?" Ariel exclaimed and the blond chef by his side slapped a hand to his own face and pointed towards the opposite direction without looking up, as if the very sight pained him.

Sasuke followed his finger past the few remaining marines and the skirmishes that were taking place before he finally saw the sight and almost did a double-take at the rather dramatic sight. The hulking Franky and several other Strawhats were waving rather enthusiastically at the starfish-shaved creature and the shinobi could not help but ponder whether they could make themselves any more theatrical.

As if to confirm his suspicions, several of the remaining marines turned and brought many a rifle to bear upon the Strawhat Crew.

"Twist!"

A seconds later, they were writhing on the ground and Sasuke's eye narrowed dangerously as he wordlessly tracked what appeared to be hands that had spontaneously bloomed from their bodies— the many appendages simply fragmented into countless flower petals which were blown away with the wind after a few moments. Judging from the way the unfortunate group of marines were spasming, Sasuke could tell that most of them had been inflicted with irreparable damage to their spines for the hands that had simply blossomed from their shoulders had instantly broken their backs.

The technique had the potential to be turned into the perfect assassination jutsu in the hands of a well-trained shinobi, especially if the appendages could be spontaneously spawned from any surface as Sasuke suspected. If nothing else, Sanji seemed to be equally amazed though he could not say for certain whether the chef's admiration was for the technique or its user. "That was amazing, Robin-chawnn!"

A soft chuckle came from behind him, mixed with the smell of smoke and gunpowder and Sasuke spared a glance for the sound, a lone eye peeking behind his shoulder to find the smiling visage of Nico Robin there to greet him. Although it occurred to him to question her about the technique, her devious smile told him that he would receive no straight answers.

"We should keep moving." She winked playfully at the cook, nodding at Sasuke and then moved on ahead of them. "A storm's coming."

Ariel looked dazed for a moment before she realized that the grove had suddenly grown dark and turned her gaze skyward. A dark cloud loomed overhead, a single cloud that shook and rumbled with thunder which had no place under the clear sky. Nami's voice rang out at the next moment as thunder once again rumbled overhead, "Thunderbolt Tempo!"

The shinobi caught sight of the orange navigator throwing multiple yellow orbs into the cloud which rained thunder on the ground below without discriminating between friend and foe. Not for the first time, Sasuke realized that the Strawhat Crew was far more absurd than Team Seven ever had been.


Sasuke and Ariel inconspicuously make their way inside Shakky's Rip-Off Bar, having taken several long diversions after ensuring that the slaves had escaped the auction house properly and making sure they had not been followed here before entering and were only momentarily surprised to see the Strawhats lounging inside without a care.

The shinobi paused at the door as he observed the group which seemed far too upbeat for was about to come for a moment, searching for any visible signs of injury before turning toward Zoro who was seated the closest to the door and had been sharply watching them enter with a subtly hand resting on the pommel of his swords, "Have you all been here before?"

Sasuke scanned the shabby bar for a moment even as Ariel immediately took her seat on a couch and grabbed an available bowl of sweets. His body automatically moved towards the barstool closest to the window, it was the area with the most room and easiest to escape from at a moment's notice. Not that he had any reason to truly escape, but it was better to have the option and not need it than to need the option and not have it. It seemed that they were the last ones to arrive

His mind analysed the faces and matched them with names even if he knew that the Strawhats were perhaps the least threatening group of pirates he had ever encountered— he instantly recognized the few he had met last time and gave them a nod of acknowledgement. He once again registered the green swordsman and the moving skeleton whom he had not seen before in Thriller Bark but had met in the auction house. Then his eyes moved towards Nami and Robin both of whom gave him pleasant smiles before finally moving towards the brilliant pirate who was devouring food at a nearly impossible pace that was Luffy who sat with his legs crossed on one of the larger armchairs.

Zoro kept his eye on them the entire time and simply watched them take their seats before he finally nodded and explained. "Yes, we wanted to coat our ship and Rayleigh was the one we were looking for."

The shinobi acknowledged the green swordsman with a brief nod, and turned towards Shakky who returned his gaze with a friendly chuckle, looking completely relaxed even though she was tending to a wounded fisherman while being surrounded by infamous pirates of all kinds, "So you both are finally back, I hope my husband had not given you too much trouble."

Rayleigh gave Sasuke and his companion a curious glance who simply raised a brow under his gaze even as Ariel tightened her grip on the arms of her couch— the lunarian had improved by leaps and bounds during their stay in Sabaody but being around so many people at once was enough to turn her back into a recluse.

Sasuke was far too used to the constant glances and had been taking them in stride since his early childhood— even now, he was astoundingly handsome. Jet dark hair styled into the form of a crow's wings concealed a section of his left eye, a sharply chiselled chin that accentuated a deific unblemished face of the kind which could make models of this world bow down in worship. He was shrouded by an aura of mystery and nonchalance like an angel that had descended from heaven and he carried himself as though he were a supreme kind.

It was no surprise at all as on the first day Sasuke had garnered immediate adulation from the most of female population since the first day itself. The only reason why he was not counted amongst the likes of Boa Hancock and Cavendish was because he usually stayed low and had never shown his face to the wider public though that might change soon.

"So you were part of Gol D. Roger's crew?" The Strawhat captain's question broke the quietness that had fallen over them all with their arrival, his black eyes were wide with amazement as he looked at the Dark King in admiration.

Rayleigh merely nodded with a smile, if he was taken aback by Luffy's piercing gaze that hovered over each part of his body curiously then he certainly did not show it. "Indeed, I served as his first mate."

"I can't believe it," Nami exclaimed even as everyone exchanged stunned looks at the revelation except Sasuke and his companion who were already privy to the fact beforehand thanks to their dealings with Shakky, "We've been talking to a legend this whole time."

The amazement that swept through the pirate crew was more than justified, the Pirate King and his Crew were arguably the greatest celebrities that had ever graced the grand seas. The only ones who had taken the revelation in stride were Sanji and Zoro, the former furrowing his rolled brow as he asked. "But how could you be free if you were with Roger? I thought his crew was captured after he was executed."

Rayleigh merely shook his head at the question, "That is what the government wants everyone to believe, they spread the story of his caption to showcase their authority to the people. In truth, Roger had turned simply himself in when all was done and over with."

The room fell quiet at the revelation as the Straw Hats processed this new information. Even the shinobi found the fact somewhat surprising and he could not help but raise a curious brow, "Why would he turn himself in?"

Ironically, Sasuke had already known that the tale of Roger's capture by the Hero Garp was not the total truth. Though he had not discounted it entirely, for even he knew that even the greatest of pirates would be somewhat hard-pressed to fight against the entire Navy by themselves— the Admirals alone were insanely difficult to get past and even then, the world government had various other groups which could be called to support them at a moment's notice.

So far, he was aware of the existence of the secret services and the CP brigades though any information about the leader of the organization and their goals eluded him. Irrespective of which, he knew that the higher-ups of the world government were all powerful individuals and some of them had even been generously hand-picked by the Five Elders themselves. They might not make any attempt to change the status quo but there was a good reason why the Four Emperors had not stormed the Mary Geoise by themselves.

The Dark King sighed wistfully, his face ageing several years in a single moment as he leaned back and continued his explanation, "Roger came down with an incurable disease four years before his execution. It was part of the reason why Crocus joined us without question when he came upon him at the entrance of the Grand Line, he wanted to keep the disease in check during Roger's final journey."

"Crocus?" Ussop exclaimed, his eyes widening in what seemed to be recognition. It surprised Sasuke since the infamous doctor had not been seen for decades and was presumed lost by everyone concerned about the subject, "He was your ship's doctor?"

"Indeed," Rayleigh once again nodded, fingers stroking his beard in rhythmic motions, "We travelled together for three years, eventually conquering the Grand Line. That was when Roger was dubbed the Pirate King though the epithet meant nothing to him by the end of it. Our captain had long understood that he growing closer to death with each moment so he chose to enjoy the time he had left with his crew to the very end, throwing parties and fighting to protect the future."

"That sounds amazing," Luffy spoke, his eyes gleaming with an emotion that seemed far too nostalgic for someone so cheerful.

The shinobi could not understand it himself, but he had seen the same wistfulness in his only friend's cerulean eyes when he used to talk of becoming the Hokage and changing the world. Though Sasuke knew next to nothing of his background, that understanding helped him understand the pirate captain who wanted to be the Pirate King a bit more—the shinobi understood that this was an extremely tall order but he knew that if a pirate were to achieve that dream then it would be someone who that same look in their resolute eyes.

Rayleigh chuckled and glanced at Luffy meaningfully, perhaps seeing the same thing he had in the teenage boy, "He did. Eventually, Roger disbanded the crew and we all went our separate ways, our fates unknown to the world."

To Sasuke's surprise, it was Brook who reacted the most to Rayleigh's tale and the mention of the Pirate King's infamous crew. The moving skeleton's expression softened despite his lack of facial features at the story and a hint of sadness entered his voice as he asked. "Crocus also wanted to find a certain pirate crew, didn't he?"

"Yes, he was looking for the Rumbar Pirates." Rayleigh's eyes meet the empty sockets of Brook and if he was surprised then he did not show it, he merely leaned back and observed the bony skeleton thoughtfully. "I suppose that's a crew you know well."

"They were my friends…" Brook slowly nodded and the unseen tears that welled at the corner of his eyes were clear for everyone to see. The skeleton might not have any eyes but it seemed that he had a heart that beat with warmth and nostalgia just as well as any other, "My family."

The conversation paused for a moment, everyone understanding the unspoken implication and allowing those meaningful words to sink in properly before the Dark King continued his tale with distant eyes. "We all heard of Roger one year after we had conquered the Grand Line when he did something that shocked us all—he turned himself into the Marines."

Sasuke remembered what he had read about this world's history and could not help but speak, "The Marines might have planned to turn Roger's execution into a grand spectacle, hoping to put fear in pirates around the world by executing the greatest of them all. But the plan seemed to have backfired,"

"Roger had other plans," The Dark King seemed surprised by his words and took a moment before he continued, "Those famous words he spoke on the day of his execution ignited a flame of freedom that even the world government could not extinguish. His speech is what ushered in this Age of Piracy, the era where each pirate on the seas now dreams of discovering his final treasure."

The Straw Hats seemed captivated by the tale and a quietness full of amazement fell over the room before Franky broke the silence, his voice full of awe, "So Roger did all of that on purpose?"

Ariel fidgeted nervously in her seat and Sasuke suddenly realized her experiences at the hands of pirates and smugglers had not been nearly as romantic. It had been nearly a month since he had rescued her and the Lunarian had spent most of her time in an attempt to get herself to a level of strength where she would not be threatened by a bunch of humans. She might have lost her eternal fire because of slaver which could have turned her body nigh invulnerable, but her superior physical attributes and her control of fire were more than enough to threaten any human they had encountered so far except Sasuke.

It must have been oddly infuriating to hear someone who had personally witnessed the makings of history speak so fondly of the man whose actions had started the grand era of piracy, especially when it had been smugglers under the employ of the world government who had made her life hell. It must have been a stark reminder that not every pirate was the same, and Sasuke wanted her to understand the lesson so that she could overcome her anger that had nearly consumed him when he had been in her place a few years ago.

"Wonderful!" Luffy whispered, his eyes sparkling with admiration. "The Pirate King sure was amazing…"

The way Strawhat spoke of the Pirate King reminded him of his meeting with the Hokage, how he had been expecting them all to be figures of legend brought once again to this world. In the end, what he had found was a simple normal human rather than a master of the art of control or a god in human skin. They were just as full of flaws and eccentricities as normal carpenters and fishermen that could be found on the outskirts of Konoha, with big goals and dreams just like every other human he knew.

"Indeed, he was." Rayleigh chuckled and Sasuke was once again reminded of the fact that Hashirama Senju had been no more of a god than the men who wrote about him despite how easy it had been to forget that.

The shinobi shook his head, glancing outside the window. He wondered what had become of the blonde knucklehead who had become his only friend, he wondered what had eventually become of Sakura and Kakashi, and wondered what had become of the entirety of the leaf village to whom he had pledged his blade. He might never know and now all that was left was for him to move on, but knowing all that was not the same as doing so.

"In fact, Shanks told me something interesting the last time we met after Roger's execution. He told me about a kid who said the same things Roger used to say." The old man chuckled once again before he stood straighter and his eyes scanned each one of the Strawhats in appreciation. "You've all made it quite far into the Grand Line, allow me to coat your ship for free as a reward."

The crew erupted into cheers at the news and Sasuke simply glanced outside to stare through the window at the constantly bustling street outside. With each moment spent beside the Strawhat crew, he could feel something restless swell up within him. He had once mocked his entire class for thinking that the world was nothing but roses and gold during his younger years in the academy— he had always thought that he had better things to do than sit down in a classroom full of moronic children that had never seen a hard day in their lives.

But the Strawhats were just as cheerful and seemed to have experienced just as much of humanity's cruelty as he had— he could see it in their eyes. None of them might have fought a war or taken multiple lives for the sake of their survival but he could tell that they were not lacking in tragedy when compared to the shinobi of his world. They moved and thought the same way as someone who had experienced death and hatred so why was it that none of them were broken the way he had been?

The Uchiha let out a soft tsk as he stared through the window and idly watched time pass by. Speaking of time, the shinobi had realized that his perception of time was extremely odd for some weird reason and the only possible explanation he could come up with was that the day cycle in this new world moved slower than time back at the elemental nation which was only expected considering he was on a different planet that was seemingly far larger than his own and had multiple moons circling it.

Time here might not work that way but it would be amusing to return only to realize that the dobe was now an old man while he remained young. Sasuke snorted quietly at the thought before once again turning back to the conversation which had continued again after some time. It was Robin who had spoken this time and Sasuke had caught her eyes moving towards him for the briefest of moments before, "Roger left a note on the Poneglyph in Skypiea. Does that mean the Roger Pirates learned the entire history of the world?"

Sasuke caught her cautious glance and remembered that she had been extremely reluctant to share any information related to the Poneglyph when he had asked her about the murals in Skypiea, he had not pushed her back then though it seemed that her hesitation regarding the spread of ancient history had not changed.

"We uncovered many mysteries during our journey, though Oden might have understood more. Roger was not able to decipher everything himself, he could hear the voice of all things." Rayleigh answered thoughtfully. "I'd advise you to continue seeking the truth on your own. You might come to separate conclusions than we did."

A jolt of recognition coursed through his spine as his lone eye narrowed imperceptibly— he thought the voice he had heard back then in Skypiea and could not help but wonder if that had been real. The shinobi had initially considered it a figment of imagination, a sign that the very notion of his situation had slowly been eating away at the back of his mind but he was anything other than a madman and no fleeting afternoon fantasy could have been as real as the whisper that the world had blown into his ears at that moment. It was another clue that he stored carefully into his memory, the first new one he had discovered in months.

Robin seemed to be considering the Dark King's words carefully before responding. "Thank you, Rayleigh-san. I think I would continue searching on my own."

Sasuke noted down her goal, somewhat understanding that the woman would prove to be far more useful to his interests than he had initially expected. From what he had observed of her, Nico Robin was a woman of few words which the Uchiha could so easily relate to in more ways than one considering their history and almost all of their had been entirely pleasant as she neither ogled him nor challenged him in any way or form. She was content with simply referring to him respectfully and heading straight back to business, something that the Uchiha rather preferred.

"But Robin, are you sure? Don't you want to hear the full story from someone who has seen it all?" Usopp looked somewhat restless at her response, "Besides, we can even ask Rayleigh about the One Piece?"

From his tone, the shinobi could tell that almost every member of the Strawhat crew had a goal that they treasured above everything else. He could certainly understand the mindset and even appreciate it in a way, for every strong shinobi he knew had a goal they were chasing after. He had also been the same—be it absurd or insane, he had always possessed a drive that kept him moving and gave him the power to move on with the decisions he had made in his life. He has always been certain and confident because of his purpose.

He had nothing else going for him besides his primary goal of investigating the presence of Otsutsuki in this world and he had been moving forward in one direction while being unaware of which way would lead where he wanted to go so far— but his decision to check upon the Strawhats and Shakky had already given him another clue, coming here was certainly proving to be a fruitful decision.

"Ussop!" Luffy shot straight to his feet at that moment, breaking him out of his musings as his voice pierced through every conversation in the room. His usually gentle visage was unnaturally serious, "We're not asking anything about the One Piece."

Ariel startled and the entire Strawhat crew turned to look at their companion, surprised by his tone. Ussop who had suddenly become the focus of everyone's gazes could not help but nervously ask, "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to know where One Piece is, I don't even want to know if it exists or not. The mystery is part of the adventure!" The Strawhat Captain stood on the table and declared. "If we knew everything already, what would be the point? I don't want to go on a boring adventure like that!"

There was a moment of shocked contemplation as everyone absorbed his words and it was broken when Sasuke chucked, looking surprised by the laugh that had come out of his mouth.

The shinobi felt no shame in accepting that he rarely felt strong emotions. He might not consider it true now but he had once declassified and deconstructed the basics of emotions as nothing more than a primal surge of different hormones acting up within his body. He had once thought that feelings could be calculated and influenced, ignoring that his hatred and rage had overwhelmed him into making decisions that he never could have considered before.

Perhaps he had seemed to have underestimated the control he had over his own emotions, as he had often found himself being overly dominated by hatred and rage whenever a certain person was brought up. He had been proven wrong then and he was proven wrong once again now as he sat straighter and watched the exchange.

"You really do resemble Roger, seeking adventure at every turn," Rayleigh was laughing out loud, "That strawhat indeed looks good on your head, Luffy,"

Luffy grinned back, his excitement palpable as he leaned forward. "I want to find out the truth for myself, that's what makes the journey worth it!"

Rayleigh's gaze turned sharp as he paused and looked at Luffy once again, a hint of challenge in his eyes. "Do you really think you can do it? Do you truly think that you can conquer the Grand Line for yourself and become the Pirate King as Roger once had?"

The Strawhat just smiled in response before he shook his head. "I'm not looking to conquer anything. I just want to be the freest person on the ocean. That's what being the Pirate King means to me."

Sasuke idly thought about it. From an outsider's perspective— he had never truly been moved by words. He had not listened to Kakashi's words of wisdom and reason even as the Jonin had told him how everyone he had ever cared about was dead neither had he been moved by Sakura's desperate pleas for him to not leave the village even as she had begged and held him far closer than anyone ever had.

At the same time, had to acknowledge that some words had great power over him if he truly believed what the other person was saying or deeply cared about the one saying it. Both his father and his brother had that effect on him and definitely had been moved by Naruto's constant declaration to him about bringing him back to the village.

Perhaps he had been moved by Luffy's desire to become the freest person on the ocean in the same manner, not because he was close to the teenager but because he knew all too well what he meant. A part of Sasuke understood all too well that he had never truly been free as something that vaguely resembled begrudging acknowledgement towards the pirate captain rose inside his heart and he could see Ariel's eyes widen in surprise at the answer.

Rayleigh and Shakky exchanged knowing smiles, clearly pleased with Luffy's response before the Dark King chuckled softly, "Spoken like a true pirate."

"I'm already a big fan of yours, Monkey-chan," Shakky took a long drag from her cigarette and smiled.

Sasuke who had been watching the exchange quietly suddenly tensed, his eyes glancing briefly towards the pocket containing the Den-Den Mushi he had been using to coordinate with the revolutionaries which had just vibrated with the ping of a message. The shinobi understood perfectly what this signal meant— the danger was already here.

"It seems that time has come for us to leave, I must ensure that the escaped slaves leave this island safely" Sasuke slowly stood up and declared, glancing towards Ariel who understood his signal before his eyes turned towards the Strawhats, "You all must also hide for the time being, I have received word that an Admiral is about to land in Sabaody,"

It had been almost four months since Uchiha Sasuke had landed in this world, four agonizing months in which he had thrown himself into a heavy training regime where he desperately spent his every waking moment in an attempt to get himself back to the level of strength he had once possessed. He no longer had chakra which was expected given his current location in a world that completely lacked such energy and had instead worked primarily on his physical attributes since then.

He was weaker than before and he knew it, he could not take on the world government on his lonesome now but he could not just leave either. He had entrusted the slaves he had rescued to revolutionary agents and he had to ensure that they all escaped this island safely before leaving himself. There was no time for idle conversation, as enlightening as it might be.

Subterfuge was an instinct he had gained as a shinobi and Kakashi had made to engrave into their heads the tendency to constantly plan everything out. Sasuke would subconsciously observe the busy adults bustling to get to work, the little children heading to school on their bicycles, and the teenagers chatting with their friends. His eyes were always roaming regardless of where he might be, curious and calculating— the shinobi already had created an escape plan for them but his presence was required to ensure that the last steps went well.

As if sensing his thoughts, Shakky chucked in understanding and stood up to give him and Ariel small pieces of paper from one of her pockets. "Take these Vivre Cards, they would help you find your way back when the time comes."


I think that with this, we have finally surpassed the 100k word count. Thanks for reading, you all are awesome.