Disclaimer: Like everybody else in fanfiction, I own nothing. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, and One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda.
"Standard" - Normal Speaking
"Italics" - Thoughts
"Bold" Tailed Beasts Speaking and Techniques
- Kyoshiro's mansion -
Naruto woke and felt the effects of a hangover. He was thirsty, and the light in the room blinded him. In addition, his mind was ringing with the worst case of migraine he had recently. Naruto sent his chakra to his brain, carefully healing the brain from his over drinking last night. Slowly, the migraine vanished.
"I think we all drank too much. We all passed out drinking too much," said Komurasaki, with a groaning voice.
Naruto propped himself upwards from the tatami floor, looking at countless sake bottles littered the room. He found Komurasaki holding her head in annoyance at her hangover. Kyoshiro himself had just woken up and was repeatedly blinking as he tried to shake off the hangover. "Looks like he is used to drinking." Naruto thought.
"My mind is so hazy, I can remember some weird things…. Ahh, my neck is stiff." Kyoshiro groans out, looking like he had nodded off to sleep in his sitting position.
"Yeah, I remember that Naruto-maki began walking on the walls and was on the ceiling, without falling down, and then performed a kabuki dance while on said ceiling. He said he was a gallant sage from the east and falls for no woman wiles, when I asked something of him." Komurasaki muttered with a confused face, "Either it happened or someone spiked this groud."
"Why did I even try to repeat that old introduction from the Pervert Sage?" thought Naruto slapped his forehead in frustration, "I'm almost glad the summoning contract is nonfunctional, because Black Zetsu killed all the summoning animals. I don't want to explain that asking favors from giant talking animals is what I'm doing. Man, I miss everything from the old days."
Komurasaki and Kyoshiro shared questioning glances at Naruto's somber expression, before the somber look turned into an embarrassed blush from Naruto.
"Wait, that really happened?" Kyoshiro said with a gaping mouth as he looked at Naruto, then he burst out in uncontrollable laughter. "I never thought this day would come. Someone refusing to go along with Komurasaki's requests is one thing, but pulling a response like that?"
"And I remember you gave me a dropkick when I refused and yelled something about a sibling, I think?" Naruto says as he points at the only woman in the room.
A silence filled the room as Komurasaki blushed and hid her face behind her palms.
"Did I say that that?" mumbles the geisha with an embarrassed expression. "I stopped doing that years ago."
"But you Naruto-maki were more astonishing than her. Dancing a kabuki dance upside down without falling. Now I need to know what was that?" Kyoshiro asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's just Ninjutsu. I picked it up when I was 12 years old." Naruto answers with a straight face.
"Water and Miso Soup should ease this hangover for Kyoshiro and me." Says Komurasaki as she left the room. "I will ask for some. Naruto-maki, would you like some too?"
"Yes."
After taking a bath, Naruto heard a flurry of activity in the mansion. Wondering what was taking so long for his miso soup. He walked down the hallway, when he came face to face with an old man being escorted by a group of samurai.
The old man is bald on the top, with long white hair on the sides and back of his head. A long white beard flowed from the back of his head. In his hands was a biwa, which he held firmly with his thin, spindly fingers. The man was also dressed in extravagant kimono.
Starting at Naruto, who stood in front of his way, the elder muttered out loud, "Disrespectful brats, didn't his parents teach him to bow his head in front of his betters? Well, I guess trash gives birth to incompetent trash."
Naruto froze in shock as the words rang in his ears. He stood in the hallway, not moving, as he processed what he had just heard from the passing elder man who was being escorted into Kyoshiro's office.
Then Naruto's shock turned into vehement fury. He didn't care if anyone insulted him. Still, insulting or talking badly about someone they hadn't met without a good reason, Naruto hated that. It caused misunderstanding and strife between people. This caused his harsh childhood.
And this obsolete old-timer had just disrespected his parents after what they did for him, their sacrifice, their hopes, dreams that he could usher an age of peace for Shinobi. Dreams that he failed to fulfill. Rage simmered inside him as his left hand reached for the hilt of Nidai Kitetsu, the blade ready to sing an execution of an old-timer who overstayed his life.
Every year at the Fire Festival, Kurozumi Semimaru met with Kyoshiro, either he or Kyoshiro headed to the Onigashima Banquet with Orochi to celebrate the downfall of the Kozuki Clan.
But recently, Orochi said there was no need for it. So, he headed to inform Kyoshiro that they will attend the annual fire festival banquet this year at Onigashima.
He entered Kyoshiro's mansion only to meet an individual who didn't kneel with him. Him, a ruling member of the Shogunate family. But Semimaru never cared about people bowing down to him. Instead, he preferred to degrade them like he did with the Kozuki clan and Wano's people. So he insulted the tall blonde Samurai with whom he just crossed paths and walked away, continuing his day.
Suddenly, his vision failed, his own breathing choked up as he alone felt death caress his soul tenderly in anticipation, before the shadow of death recoiled at a voice of fury mentally echoed in his mind. "Back off. He is mine."
Suddenly, his sight returned, and his breathing eased, and he fell to his knees, gasping for air.
"What the hell was that?" mentally gasped the elder.
"Semimaru-sama, are you alright?"
The voice of one of his guards brought him to his senses. Glancing feverishly, Semimaru found himself covered in a barrier he instinctively deployed around him by crossing his fingers, separating him from his own guards. He felt safe from any harm in the barriers created by him eating the Barrier-Barrier Fruit. A devil fruit he had eaten years ago.
Faking a smile and pushing his terror down, "I am fine," he says as he undoes the barrier. "Maybe it's just old age catching up on me?"
Semimaru looked at Kyoshiro, who was waiting for him in his office, without any care at what happened. "You look like you nearly had a heart attack. Do I need to get you a doctor?"
Naruto was about to draw his swords when he felt an arm grabbing him and pulling him into a locked dark room to separate them.
Turning angrily on the person who dragged him off his target, only to see Komurasaki. Pulling his arm off her grasp in annoyance and drawing the sword, he raised his foot to attempt to smash in the door. But before he could do it, the blue-haired geisha tackled him to the floor. The Nidai Kitetsu clattered to the floor in the opposite direction.
"Do not do it!" Komurasaki said as she pulled Naruto's arms.
"Get off me!" Naruto growled angrily at her attempt to keep him here.
"You can't, he is-"
"I don't care. He just insulted my parents." Naruto hissed at her.
"He has done much worse to others, and he is still alive. Think about it," Komurasaki warned with a dreaded expression.
"What do you mean?" asked Naruto before snorting. "Do you mean he is strong? Well, I can take that old fart anytime."
"He is related to the Shogun. He is Semimaru of the Kurozumi Clan," Komurasaki explained as she rubbed her slanted teal's eyes in frustration, pausing as she nodded at Naruto's surprised face. "Harming him will bring trouble on many people, not just you. So please let it go this time, for my sake and Kyoshiro's."
"Ohhh, shit. No wonder he looked familiar. I drew his face in the Bingo Book along with the others." Naruto exclaimed as he picked up the cursed blade, sheathed it back to its hilt, and looked at Komurasaki, who looked confused by his words.
"Bingo Book, what's that?" asked Komurasaki.
Naruto gave an awkward chuckle at the question as he thought of an excuse. "I have… a bad memory since I have been alone for a long time." Naruto babbled as he lied. "I find it hard to remember people's faces. So I draw them and write their names. So I remember them more easily. That's what a Bingo Book is."
Komurasaki deadpanned as she stared at Naruto's nervous expression. "Nevertheless, you tried to kill that old man. So I think your excuse is genuine or just a simple way to get out. After this, I wonder if I should trust my safety with you being my bodyguard."
Her words struck Naruto's heart as he felt himself dying inside, before giving her an apologetic look, and then his eyes turned distant. "I am sorry, it's just my parents meant a lot to me," Naruto whispers out aloud.
"I understand, as I still miss mine," Komurasaki replied. They both sat in silence, thoughts concealed, but beginning to appreciate each other.
"I am not sure how to define this. We are friends, aren't we?" Komurasaki inquired.
"Were you raised in an overprotective environment? Of course, we are friends." Naruto said with a laugh, and smiled fondly as he remembered Gaara and his siblings as he added, "Many people who were hostile to me became friends after a few things."
"What do you mean by that?"
"It was a headbutt or a punch, or a talk and show of trust, or just me being me and they like me," Naruto tells her. "So, if you ask me, we are already friends."
"Thank you," says Komurasaki sincerely.
"Also, drinking with you and Kyoshiro was the first time in a while I have gotten drunk like that." Naruto admitted with a soft smile, "It was fun drinking with you and Kyoshiro,"
"What was that even? I mean that Kabuki dance." giggled Komurasaki with a smile. "Were you a performer in the theater?"
"Do me a favor. Just forget that part," Naruto says with an annoyed expression on his face.
"How can I? It seared into my memory already." She giggled and tugged at his Kimono fixing it.
Naruto was about to retort at her when his ears pricked at Kyoshiro calling for them.
"Let's go. Kyoshiro-oyabun is looking for us, especially you," Naruto tells her with a smile.
-Onigashima-
Kaido looked at the two brats that were definitely not his children. He knew their father as he worked with him as a pirate. But, despite their small form, he didn't know if they inherited their father's raw physical strength. These two teenagers showed potential to enter his crew. But will they survive? Because only the strongest survive in his crew, and the weak are killed in it.
Now standing in front of him, they looked weak to him. They both looked at him with unease. Something caught his eyes. The young girl also had steel in her eyes that tried to challenge him, while the young boy met his eyes with a mature expression.
Amused, Kaido lets out a snort and then asks with curiosity, "Did your father teach you anything that prepared you for the sea before he died?" The question rang in the silent room.
"He taught me headbutt annoying people-anirsu," huffed the girl in an annoyed tone.
"My father mainly focused on me to learn to navigate the seas and the grand line. He also tried to teach me how to use an axe, but I was still learning the basics as he focused on navigation," stammered the boy.
Kaido nodded before bringing out a bloodied dagger that looked like a pin needle in his huge hands.
"I heard you stabbed one of my men who brought you in yesterday. Can I ask why?" Kaido said as he raised an eyebrow in interest.
"I stabbed him because he tried to perve on my sister. That person deserved worse. If I had an axe, he won't have his hands to feel anything," growled the boy.
"Pay-Pay? So you care for me! Why can you express it more?" says the sister as she clumps on her brother and squeals in a high-pitched voice.
"Knock it off, sis, you are being annoying right now," said the thirteen-year-old boy as he tried to escape his sister's hug.
"Silver Axe has raised a pair of interesting children," Kaido reminisces as he remembered his times in his former crew.
"Brats, you are here because I owe your father, but I don't care what happens to you two." Kaido then stands up and says, "You will start at the bottom of my crew and work your way up by proving yourself upwards. That's if you can?"
Ulti frowned at Kaido, her eyebrows furrowing, her high-pitched voice dropping to a growl. "What do you mean by that?"
"You are just brats with no interesting devil fruits, or have even learned Haki. Do you think you can survive in one of the Emperor's crew that easily?" Kaido tells them with a glare and growls. "Ask my only child. That rebellious brat is always alone, crawling inside the attics to hide from me and trying to escape this island. My heir is struggling to survive on this island and crew… So what do you think is going to happen to you?"
Their silence was enough to answer Kaido's question. He stood up and said, "Follow me. I am giving you a chance to survive on this island."
-Kyoshiro's Office-
"All of us will be going to Onigashima next week." Kyoshiro told Komurasaki and Naruto, before turning to the geisha. "Consider this a step into becoming an Orian."
Naruto frowned before asking. "And what am I supposed to do there?"
"The Fire Festival is a day for everyone in the Flower Capital. No, the people of Wano wait for it annually. We celebrate freely without any problems from Orochi." sighed Kyoshiro.
"I know that," Naruto says. He was allowed to witness the celebration from the edge of the Flower Capital, with Hitetsu being a watchdog, preventing him from getting into any trouble during his grounding period. The celebration reminded him of the annual festival celebrating Konoha's founding day.
"In Onigashima, it's a bit different. The annual festival is called the Golden Festival. It's wilder and different in taste. Orochi and every official of the Land of Wano will be there." Kyoshiro explained to them with a sigh. "Also, the Mimawarigumi and Orochi Oniwabanshu will also escort them. All attending the Golden Festival will celebrate with the Beast Pirates at a banquet. This year we will be attending the banquet as Orochi guests."
"This could be a wonderful opportunity, something I might never get again," Naruto thought.
Naruto then asks, "When will we depart?"
"One week exactly at Habu Port in Hakumai. You can have a week off." Kyoshiro tells him with a nod, "Komurasaki will practice as a shamisen and preparing herself for the banquet."
"If you both don't have any problems, you both can leave." Kyoshiro says.
Naruto stands up and leaves the room silently. He could hear Kyoshiro and Komurasaki still muttering in hushed voices. Exiting the mansion and into the busy streets of the Flower Capital. Suddenly he felt something on the rooftops trailing him.
Tensing, Naruto scanned the rooftops. "A single person, he is good at being out of sight and not create any noise, and he is erasing any smell he leaves behind. Their presence is hidden, but not their location. I must lose him or eliminate him. I was an idiot to nearly lose control. Somebody must have noticed that." Naruto thought as he mentally banged his head.
He began to walk in the direction of Amigasa village, ignoring the vendor calls and people around him.
-Kyoshiro's Office.-
Denjiro stared at the figure of Naruto-maki disappearing in the crowd of the Flower Capital.
Sighing, Denjiro looks at Hiyori for answers. "He looked like he was in a bad mood. Hiyori-sama was Naruto-maki and was about to attack Semimaru?"
"Denjiro-san, he was about to kill Semimaru. So I had to stop him and then calm him down," said the blue-haired geisha.
Denjiro lets out a breath of relief, before nodding to Hiyori in thanks. "Thank you, Hiyori-sama. Things could have been disastrous if Naruto-maki had gone through it. We need him to be our ally when the time comes to take Kaido's and Orochi's heads."
"Semimaru made him angry by insulting his parents." Hiyori tried to explain but was relieved to see Denjiro held no ill will to her bodyguard.
"That's understandable. Looks like we need to make him keep his head down and not cause any trouble that will grab attention from our enemies."
"I will keep an eye on him during the festival, too. Oh, I am sure he will not cause any trouble at the festival. I just want him to be there…" Hiyori says to Denjiro, who raises an eyebrow questioning her.
"There is nothing going on between me and him." protested Hiyori with a scarlet expression and then whispers, "Because he is my friend, and I owe him for getting me out of trouble with Urashima."
A dark look came across Denjiro's face. "That reminds me, ban that bastard from entering any establishment I own," Denjiro growls. "If he enters them. I will start by ripping off his nails, then work the way up.
-Onigashima-
Kaido found Yamato at the shore, wiping the blood off her Kanabo as she stared at the water in a daydream. Unaware of his presence, Kaido spoke to his child, his voice rumbling. "Oi Yamato."
Yamato lets out a shriek of surprise, whirled around to look at him apprehensively. Before acknowledging him, "Father." Her orange eyes holding a mixture of compliance and defiance.
"Relax." snorts Kaido in a mixture of amusement and annoyance.
Some tension leaves his child's body, as she asks with a confused look. "What do you want from me? Training was yesterday."
"I am here to give you something you want badly, people that you can trust." Kaido offers as he gestures at the siblings who trailed behind him.
Shock, hope, pity and anger filled Yamato's face as she took "They are children- no teenagers? They shouldn't be here on this island."
"We had nowhere to go," Ulti says before her brother, Page One, mutters, "And not of a choice."
Kaido glared at their outburst, and immediately they were silenced. "Anyway, Ulti and Page One meet Yamato. If Yamato insists on being called Oden, ignore that. I have enough brats playing dress up." Kaido grumbles as he twirled his Kanabo threateningly in Yamato's direction, stifling any words about Oden from Yamato.
"What do you want me to do with them?" asks Yamato with a suspicious look on her face.
"Good question." Kaido grins as he speaks approvingly at his daughter, "Protect these two and help them get stronger. In five years, they will join my crew."
"And if I refuse?" Yamato asks, testing her father's expectations and temper.
"They can't survive my crew right now, they will die, and you will have only yourself to blame for their deaths, as you refused to help them," Kaido explains callously as he took a swig from the sake gourd in his hand.
Yamato looked at the teenagers with "I will do it, but not because you told me to do it."
Kaido ignores her words and says, "I expect great things from all of you. Don't disappoint me, Yamato. I know you don't want a repeat of the last training session."
Yamato winced as she held her bandaged ribs tenderly, before looking at the siblings.
"Follow me…" Yamato says as she notices how hungry those two are.
"Where?" asked Page One.
"Juki will help us. He has food hidden for us. He has his own pantry that only he and I have access to."
Ulti's stomach then growled in hunger. And in response, she said shamelessly, "What are you waiting for then? If you can get food, I can help by cooking it."
"Sis, cooking is good. She does excellent Nacho's," says Page One with a gleam in his eyes. "Also, the cheese dip is out of this world."
"What the hell is a nacho?" Yamato mutters in confusion as those two followed her.
Naruto has left the Flower Capital. He crossed the bridge that connected regions and entered Kuri. Once, he entered the shade of the remnants of Kuri's forest. Naruto sprang up in the tree and blended into the forest without traces of where he was.
Learning how to hide was one of the fundamentals of being a Shinobi. There are levels of techniques for how to hide. First, the basics blend with your surroundings and do not leave any trail. All Chunin are masters at this trick.
Advanced tricks included concealing your movement by making them undetected by moving with the wind or hiding between the dancing leaves, something accomplished Jounin could do.
The hardest trick was to extinguish your chakra from being detected by sensors, but this wasn't effective, as using Ninjutsu or Genjutsu and hiding your chakra simultaneously was impossible. So, you could only hide from sensors if you don't use any Ninjutsu or Genjutsu or not molding any chakra.
But this stalker wasn't a sensor, as people didn't have access to chakra in this world, but whoever followed him was an excellent tracker. But Naruto wanted to make the hunter be the one being hunted.
So once he sensed the confusion of his stalker on where he went. He immediately sprang from the shadows and attacked his follower.
The follower was dressed as a ninja, a female ninja, a Kunoichi, which surprised Naruto.
Naruto's hand crept to a hidden kunai pouch underneath his kimono. As soon as he felt a kunai in his hand, Naruto cut the distance between him and the Kunoichi as he landed at the ground, bypassed her guard through tremendous speed, and pressed the tip of the kunai at the Kunoichi throat.
"Don't move," Naruto warns coldly as the captured Kunoichi processes everything that had just happened.
The female ninja froze in surprise as she felt the cold kunai pressed in her jugular. She immediately struggled for dominance over the kunai as she tried to pry the tip of her neck. Another kunai immediately answered it, hovering over her heart. Immediately, the silent threat stopped her struggling as she realized her life hung in the balance to make Naruto able to take a clear look at her face.
She has brown hair tied in pigtails, wears over-the-top makeup and a pink-colored Kunoichi attire. She was a woman close to her middle age, and Naruto noticed signs of fading beauty, and she was putting on a weight, as her body turned to stout. But that didn't affect the woman's capable physicality and her skills as a Shinobi. She had more strength than an average Jounin. "No, her physicality could be classed at the Akimachi Clan level." Naruto thought.
The pink-clad Kunoichi kept her breath under control and whispered calmly to him calmly, "You are good, where did you le-" She froze as she felt Naruto's annoyance.
"I am asking the questions Kunoichi, you will remain silent and do what I say. If you don't follow my instructions, the results won't be pretty. Blink twice if you understand," Naruto threatened her.
The pink-clothed Kunoichi blinked twice.
Naruto smiled. "Not that it wasn't so hard. Now what is your name, Kunoichi?"
"Shinobu."
"Now Shinobu, what do you think I should do with you?"
"Maybe you can let me-" Shinobu said tensely, before she felt a pair of hands grab her hands and bind her with ropes. Then, turning her neck, she saw another man that looked identical to the man holding a Kunai at her throat.
"Ninjutsu?" She asked, confused.
"One of my favorites, Shadow clones Jutsu," Naruto says as he removes the Kunai from her throat.
The pink-clad Kunoichi lets out a sigh of relief as the pointy object is removed from her throat.
Naruto then stared at her in the eyes. "Now I will ask you some questions. I want you to answer them truthfully. I haven't prepared a soundproof place for torture, so I don't want to torture you for information." Naruto said nonchalantly at Shinobu's pale face.
Looking at Shinobu's pale face. "Look, I don't want to torture you or hurt you at all. If you answer this truthfully, I will let you go. I am a man of my word." Naruto promises her.
Her nod made Naruto start with the first question. "What Shinobi faction do you operate in?" Naruto asks her.
"I am in Orochi Oniwabanshu." The words she uttered were curt and short, a practiced lie.
Playing along with her, Naruto raises her eyebrow and presses further, "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am."
Her response was a sigh, and Naruto began rummaging for something in his kimono.
"No, seriously, I am-" she paused as Naruto brought out a small book. The blonde man began flipping through the pages, and familiar faces caught the Kunoichi's eyes. Drawn faces of Orochi and his clan members, the Kyoshiro family, Akayaza Nine members, and even all members of the Kozuki clan, finally flipping to a page that contained a drawing that was a sketch of her younger self-wanted poster.
"History books, while most of them are filled with Orochi's propaganda, still have sketches and descriptions of significant events. So I drew everyone important to them." Naruto explained as he remembered Jiraiya's words explaining how he gathered information. "Information is very easy to gather. You just need to look at the right places. But the hard part is discerning the lies from the truth."
The Kunoichi began to stutter in surprise as she realized in the grasp of an expert that outclassed her and maybe the entirety of Orochi Oniwabanshu. "I never heard of an individual like him."Shinobu's thoughts were cut as Naruto rapped his fingers on the page of the sketch.
"Now, on your page, you were present in the legendary hour and declared that you have sided with the Kozuki clan as you cut ties with Fukurokuju and Orochi Oniwabanshu to save the Akayaza Nine from their execution," Naruto informs her. "I have written your status as unknown, so you can either make it Alive or Dead, depending on your answer."
All signs of resistance were gone from Shinobu. Naruto felt a bit guilty, putting a potential ally in this position. "Wow, Ibiki, your psychological interrogation methods are a bit too much for me." Naruto thought with a shudder, and then mentally whistled.
"Do you have any allies who know you were following me?" Naruto asked Shinobu.
"No one. I didn't even tell my brother Shinosuke." Shinobu confessed with a voice that held no lies.
"I see. You should have brought some back up with you, not that it would have changed anything. Your objective?" Naruto says coldly.
"It was gathering information on you. Someone like you being close to the Shogun's dog was worrying. So I took it on myself to tail you and find out." Shinobu says as her resolve was built up, answering the man's questions and defiant fire formed in her eyes, "To determine if you are a threat to the people of Wano."
Immediately it sealed Naruto's deal, and in a flash, Naruto raised his kunai, immediately cutting the ropes, and to his surprise, he found the ropes already halfway rotting away. Ignoring that, he looked at the surprised look on Shinobu's face.
"There you are free. I am a man of my word." Naruto told her dismissively.
"Why did you free me? Aren't you going to turn me over to Orochi? You are one of Kyoshiro's men, aren't you?"
"Tch, I never liked Orochi. As for Kyoshiro, he is just my employer." Naruto said in annoyance, before turning his heels and making his way to Amigasa village, picking up speed as he left the free Kunoichi to her devices.
"Wait-" called Shinobu, but it was too late, as Naruto had already disappeared from her sight, and the sounds of wind howled in his ears as he traveled through the village.
- Amigasa Village -
Tenguyama Hitetsu woke up to the smell of something nice, it wasn't the smell of the musty home of his. The smell of rice and dashi broth, a food they have once a month. He woke to see his word with his duplicates created through his Ninjutsu. One was serving rice and broth. While the others cleaned and dusted his home.
"I am surprised…" yawned the elder before continuing to speak. "That you decided to spend time with me and not dig those tunnels."
Stretching his back, he felt the tension in his ageing body. The last twelve years have not been kind to him and the people of Amigasa village. They were blessed once Naruto-maki began to live here. He dispelled the poison from the river, and once a month, he brought rations that lasted a month for the entire village. The money his ward was gathering was now enough to cover this village and in Kuri for a year.
The hard worker has cleared a section of the forest in his free time. Only he in the Village knew what the plan was. Create a secret emergency food storage that could feed this village for five years.
Two years after they shared it with Okobore town, that town was easier to live in, as they skillfully used all the waste food thrown from Bakura town. As the town with the largest population in Kuri, it was getting harder to feed its people without starving them.
But the big plan was something else. Two months ago, Naruto returned from Ringo in an incensed mood. After asking him where he could blow off steam. Naruto-maki headed to that area, and a slight time later, tremors were felt throughout the region of Kuri.
"Ohh that plan is still going on." Naruto answer to Hitetsu when he asked what he was doing in Ringo, "It's going to be useful in the future. I mean, the first tunnel to Ringo is halfway through."
So far, Naruto planned to create tunnels connecting to other regions in Wano. Planning how the tunnel would connect and what he would use it for. Naruto was still unsure what to do with the tunnels he was planning to do, but if Kaido or Orochi came knocking, he would evacuate the villagers in the tunnel.
As he sat and ate with his guardian. Once all the rice and dashi broth was finished, Naruto spoke bluntly, as he saw no way of easing this on Hitetsu.
"I am going to Onigashima, as the Geisha bodyguard." Naruto says as he stares at the old man in the eye.
"Naruto-maki…. Are you fu-"
"Nnnnaaruuuuu" Naruto was saved by the lisping voice of a young toddler girl. Immediately, they both snapped their heads to O-Tama. O-Tama, who just said her first words. Her first words were his name.
"Say that again, O-Tama." Naruto said as a goofy grin formed on his face.
"Naru.." giggled the toddler, before letting out a cute
"Can you call me Big Bro Naruto?" Naruto gushes in excitement as he whisks her in his arms and looks at her with a giddy look.
"Naru?" she asked in confusion.
"Take what you can. She just said your name," said the old man with a happy smile.
Suddenly, screams outside the hut disturbed their conversation, freezing O-Tama, who began to wail from being scared.
One of the village samurai barged into the house. "Naruto-maki, there is trouble in Okobore Town. We need you."
The elder sword smith reassured Naruto, "Go, I will look after O-Tama," easing his conflicted expression. With his swords in hand, Naruto set off for Okobore Town.
- Okobore Town -
Ashura Doji was on weekly raids, and this time he heard Okobore Town had gotten a good haul from Bakura town. He headed riding there with the intention to steal all the food that had been given out.
In the last two years, he had stolen both from Kurozumi Orochi's personal farm and from the poorest citizens for the exact same self-sufficiency motives. After the tragedy of what happened to his comrades, who rushed to their deaths to Onigashima.
He just didn't care anymore. There was no one strong and noble like Oden to lead the country again. He hid in Mt. Atama while he rested between raids, gathering a group of desperate men whom he began to appreciate as he formed a bandit group.
Just when he was done raiding the town and focusing his attention on the Shogun garden, formerly known as the paradise farm. He noticed a shift in the air, and immediately he yelled to his men. "Stand back! Something is coming."
No sooner had he said these words, a group of samurai came. Their expressions are serious. Ashura dismissed most of them as weaklings, except one. The one in the orange kimono whose blue eyes were wary of him. Immediately, his men eyed the samurai whom they outnumbered.
The blonde-haired samurai had drawn his blade, the steel lining underneath the sun, and immediately Ashura noticed something wrong and thought dismissively, "His posture is wrong, the grip is not-"
Suddenly he felt an impending danger, as the individual crossed the distance instantly and swung his sword upwards with tremendous force. Ashura immediately blocked the sword, causing a shockwave.
"I am taking back everything you took from these people," those words rang out as blue eyes locked with brown ones filled with rage.
"You brat!" Ashura says as he swung his katana in fury, sending a crescent air slash at his attacker. The attacker ducked the air slash by the breadth of a hair, scarring the earth in its trail of destruction, only stopping when it collided with a large boulder, cutting it in half.
"This guy, his swordsmanship, isn't good enough to beat me, but he compensates for it with his reflexes, strength and speed." Ashura Doji thought warily as he stared at him.
Suddenly, his subordinates made a move to eliminate the biggest threat to them. "Stand back. You are not a match for him." Ashura Doji yells at his subordinates as he points his blade threateningly at the guy in the orange kimono. "Tell me your name. You differ from the others."
"The name is Uzumaki Naruto, but you can call me Naruto-maki, and you are Shutenmaru, the leader of Mt. Atama thieves." Replied the blonde samurai as his allies stared in amazement at him, challenging the strongest outlaw in Kuri.
They both stood opposite each other, staring each other down. The battlefield was silent as they sized each other. Simultaneously, the monsters charged each other, swinging a katana, the other a chokuto. Both weapons collided, creating a massive shockwave on impact that cracked the earth and created a gust of wind that sent others skidding away. Both men pushed against each other's blades as sparks were created from grinding blades, and took things into another notch as they disconnected their blades and then connected them again and again with increasing ferocity.
"Get out of here. You don't want to be caught up in this fight," yelled a bystander from each side. "Naruto-maki/Boss is getting serious right now."
A/N: R8Handman is here. It's been a long while, I am sorry for the wait. I had university exams, and then I wanted a break from doing something. So it took me a while to write this chapter. Next chapter is the fire festival, or the golden festival, as it is called in Onigashima. Will Naruto meet Yamato there or not? Ulti and Page One are there took them in after their father died, with whom Kaido was acquainted. So I picked Silver Axe from the Rocks crew to be Ulti and Page One dad. Also, Ulti stole the dinosaur's devil fruit from Kaido and gave one to her brother to raise through the ranks and become one of the Tobi Roppo. Yeah Naruto met Shionbu and Naruto is becoming better friends with Hiyori. Plus, O-Tama said her first words. How will Ashura and Naruto fight play out?
As for the Nachos, they are Page One favorite food.
Please leave a review. I really appreciate people telling me what I can improve on.
Have a nice day.
A/N 2: Rewrite done.