The now twenty six year old Itachi had been sailing on his own for around three years, drifting from island to island in a search for information about this world's history. In his time sailing alone, he had picked up a simple black cloak to wear over his shirt. He figured that the more he learned about the world, the more likely he would be to come across evidence of other people who had been pulled into it from elsewhere. Eventually his travels and research led him to learn about the Void Century and the existence of the Poneglyphs, which could prove to hold the answers he was looking for. Unfortunately, from what he had gathered, the Poneglyphs were written in a long dead language that he had no hope of reading even if he were to come across one, and individuals who could read Poneglyphs were not only incredibly rare, but also considered extremely dangerous and sought after by the World Government. Not many of these people managed to stay hidden for very long, but one person in particular who went by the name Nico Robin was currently still at large, wanted by the Government not only for her ability to read Poneglyphs, but her connection to a long lost island called Ohara. He decided that finding her and asking for her help would be his best move.

While sailing the Grand Line back towards Reverse Mountain, he suddenly sensed an attack coming his way. Some kind of shock wave. He activated his Sharingan and formed his Susano'o ribcage, shielding himself and his boat from the attack. Fortunately, the attack wasn't particularly powerful. It seemed like whoever launched it wasn't expecting any resistance. He turned to face the direction from where the shock wave had come, and spotted a small black boat being ridden by a man in a black and red ornate coat with no shirt underneath, gray pants, black boots, and a wide brimmed black hat with a large plume. His eyes were yellow and bore a strange ripple pattern in the iris that almost reminded him of the leader of the Akatsuki back in his home world. In his right hand was an enormous black sword with the most absurdly oversized gold crossguard he'd ever seen.

Itachi recognized him immediately. "So the great Warlord 'Hawkeye' Mihawk has come for me? I'm afraid you'll find it takes more than such a lazy attack to kill me."

Mihawk smiled. "In all honesty, I didn't even know who you were at first. I was simply attacking you because you interrupted my nap and I found it irritating. But after seeing you use such a power, there can be no doubt that you're Itachi Uchiha, 4th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. As a Warlord of the Sea, I suppose it's my job to bring you down."

"Your information is outdated," corrected Itachi. "I'm formerly the 4th Division Commander. I left the Whitebeard Pirates for my own reasons."

"I see," said Mihawk. "Regardless, you are a notorious pirate, and I do have a job to do, though I must confess that fighting you right now sounds rather bothersome. To be honest, I put so little effort into my attack because I assumed you were just some weakling whose boat I could sink quickly and move on."

"If I may also be honest, I don't really have time to fight you right now, either," said Itachi with a smile. "Perhaps we should postpone our little showdown until next time?"

Mihawk thought it over for a moment, then placed Yoru on his back. "I suppose I can agree to that. Besides, a battle with someone of your caliber is likely to result in at least one of our ships being destroyed, if not both, and I'd rather not have to swim to the next island. However, next time we cross paths, you will taste the edge of my blade whether you're prepared or not. Be ready for that day, Itachi Uchiha."

Itachi deactivated his Sharingan. "Sounds fair to me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." Itachi turned his attention back to sailing, and Mihawk sailed off in the opposite direction. He sincerely hoped that he would never cross paths with Mihawk again. Not because he didn't think he could win, but because the idea of putting an even bigger target on his head by fighting a Warlord was unappealing. He could think about that later, though. He had an errand to run.

Itachi was sitting at a bar in Loguetown with a cup of tea in one hand and a folded newspaper in the other, having used a simple Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as an ordinary civilian. According to the article he was reading, Nico Robin had joined the crew of a young new pirate after the Warlord Crocodile's attempt to take over the Alabasta Kingdom had been thwarted by Captain Smoker and his troops. Itachi suspected this to be a fabrication to cover up what really happened, as the Navy would have had no reason to suspect Crocodile of plotting such a thing. It was more likely that this young pirate was the one who brought down Croc and the World Government simply didn't want to lose face by admitting that not only was one of their own people actually a traitor, but that he was also beaten by a pirate. Then, the article dropped the name of the pirate captain whose crew Nico Robin had joined. It was Monkey D. Luffy, the brother of Ace! This was getting interesting. Luffy and his crew had likely just left Alabasta within the last few days. If he set sail now, he could potentially catch up to them.

He finished his tea quickly and stood, pulling a fistful of berries from his pocket and placing them on the counter before turning to leave. Back to the Grand Line for Itachi Uchiha. If he was being honest with himself, he was glad to be going back. He had only come to Loguetown to follow a lead on a potential asset who could read Poneglyphs, but it had turned out to be a wild goose chase. It truly seemed like Nico Robin was the last one. The Grand Line had much more potential, since it was more than likely where most, if not all the Poneglyphs in existence were located.

He made his way to his boat, which he had upgraded from the small lifeboat he had sailed away from Whitebeard in. He now owned a proper sailboat, not the most impressive thing in the world, but it was sturdily built, having been purchased from the world-famous shipwrights of Water 7 about a year ago, and it was small enough for him to sail by himself without issue and much harder for large Navy ships to even detect, let alone hit with their cannons.

Itachi prepared to cast off when he was approached by two Marines. "Excuse me, sir?" one of them began. "We don't have any record of this vessel docking here, we're gonna have to ask you to come with us."

I don't have time for this, thought Itachi. Aloud, he said, "Terribly sorry about that, perhaps it was just a miscommunication. I'd be happy to come get this sorted out." He stepped from his boat onto the dock and looked the two men directly in the eyes, activating his Sharingan. They were instantly put under a Genjutsu, believing that this man was politely complying to their orders and that they were escorting him to the station. Itachi quickly got back on his boat, finished his preparations, and cast off before anyone else came looking for him.

Once Itachi was safely on the other side of Reverse Mountain and sailing into the thick of the Grand Line, he undid the Transformation Jutsu, stopping to ask Crocus some questions about Luffy (over some tea, naturally). He had to have passed through Reverse Mountain on his journey after all, so Crocus was the best person to ask. Thankfully, he had encountered Straw Hat Luffy a few weeks back, and was able to answer all of Itachi's questions. One piece of information stuck out to Itachi: the fact that Luffy had come through on a small caravel class ship, meaning it was unlikely that said ship would last very long having to endure the dangers of the Grand Line. At some point the Straw Hats would have to get the ship repaired by proper shipwrights, meaning they would need to go to Water 7. Itachi thanked Crocus for his time, and promised that next time he visited he would stay longer before casting off with his destination set.

It took longer than he would have liked, but he was getting very close to Water 7. One last stop at Long Ring Long Land and he would make it to the Sea Train, and from there the Grand City of Water, where he'd hopefully find the Straw Hats, or at least a lead on their whereabouts. Unfortunately, his progress was halted when the ocean around him suddenly froze completely. He looked around, and as far as he could see the water's surface was now iced over entirely. Unable to move his vessel, he jumped down and ran towards the mainland as fast as he could. There was only one person he had heard of with the power to do something like this, and if he was here, then who knew what else was going on.

"Be careful," said Aokiji, standing over Nico Robin's frozen body. "If she breaks, she'll die. For example, if I were to hit her like this-" He drew back his fist, preparing to end the Devil Child's life. Luffy rushed to try and save Robin, but he wasn't sure he'd be fast enough. Before Aokiji's attack could land, though, a tall figure in a dark cloak managed to get between the admiral and his target, blocking the punch with a strange-looking knife.

"All of you, get back," barked Itachi. "Get Nico Robin to safety. I'll hold him off."

Luffy was having none of this. "No way! He froze our friend, so I gotta kick his ass!"

Yep. He was every bit as impulsive as Ace had described, and then some. "This foe is beyond your abilities right now," said Itachi. "If you fight him, you're going to lose."

"Listen, mister, you don't know a damn thing about me or what I can do. I'm gonna kick this ice guy's ass no matter what you have to say about it! GUM-GUUUUUM-" Luffy stretched his unfrozen arm backwards, preparing a strike.

This guy doesn't learn! Itachi thought. Aokiji used the distraction Luffy provided to break away, getting some distance between him and this new combatant. He then looked where Nico Robin was, only to see she had gone missing. He glanced over and saw that one of the other Straw Hats had managed to swipe her while he was busy with this new guy.

"Guys, get Robin back to the ship!" shouted Luffy. "I'll deal with Ice Guy one-on-one! Don't interfere!"

The other Straw Hats ran off, with Robin in tow. Aokiji returned his attention to the new guy. He obviously wasn't gonna get to Robin without going through him first. Then, he realized something. "Hang on, I recognize you. You're Itachi Uchiha, former Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

"Whitebeard?" said Luffy, turning his gaze toward Itachi. "Does that mean you know my brother?"

"Yes, I know him quite well, Straw Hat Luffy." replied Itachi. "He told me a lot about you, but we can talk about that later. Right now we need to deal with him."

"Right, I gotta kick his ass! You stay out of it, this is just between me and him!"

"No, I'm gonna take you both down right here." said Aokiji as the right side of his body became covered in ice. "Itachi here has a higher bounty than your whole crew combined. As an Admiral I have no choice but to neutralize him on sight. And since I don't have a ship to take you back in, I have no choice but to kill you."

Aokiji sent a flurry of ice towards Luffy at an incredible speed. Itachi weaved hand signs as quickly as he could, countering the attack with his Fireball Jutsu to melt the ice. Then he rushed in, activating his Sharingan and brandishing his Haki-coated kunai, going on the offensive. Aokiji was able to avoid him, but he was fast. Every time he found room to attempt a counterattack, Itachi was more than quick enough to avoid it regardless of the angle or timing at which he attacked.

Then, ever the wrench in the works for better or worse, Luffy came in with a Gum-Gum Storm. This was unfortunately one of those 'for worse' times. Aokiji shattered his body into ice, reforming behind Luffy and freezing him completely before Itachi could intervene. He moved to shatter Luffy's frozen body when Itachi once again managed to get between them and block with his kunai.

Enough of this, thought Itachi. Even if I can't spare the time to beat him right now, I can at least end the fight.

Focusing his chakra into his eyes, he made direct eye contact with Aokiji, putting him under a Genjutsu. Aokiji stood in silence for a moment, then turned around and walked off, muttering to himself about how the other Straw Hats are probably long gone by now.

Itachi grabbed Luffy and ran off in the same direction the Straw Hats had gone earlier. He had to get Luffy and Nico Robin thawed out. Hopefully Aokiji wasn't lying when he had said the latter was still alive.

In the deckhouse of the Going Merry, the crew was arguing among themselves over Luffy's orders.

"One-on-one?!" exclaimed Usopp. "You guys left Luffy out there alone?"

"It was the captain's orders." replied Sanji plainly.

"Even if the captain ordered it, how could you? You're cowards! How could you?!"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Sanji. "He said one-on-one! Don't you understand that?!"

"Cut it out!" Zoro interrupted. "This isn't the time or place! This is a crucial time for the crew. Whether he did it on a whim or not, just be prepared for the worst!"

A voice came from outside the door. "This isn't quite the worst, but it's close."

Zoro was instantly on his feet and had a hand on the hilt of a sword, ready to draw. "Who's there?"

"May I come in? I have your captain with me."

Zoro moved to open the door and see who this was. It was the cloaked stranger from earlier, the one that had saved Robin from Aokiji. He was carrying Luffy's frozen body.

"Aokiji was too much for him. I wasn't quite fast enough to prevent this." explained the stranger.

Chopper entered the deckhouse from the shower room and saw Luffy's body. "Oh no, not him too! Robin's in the shower room already but she's nearly thawed, so set him down gently on a bed, please!"

Itachi had elected to stick around the Merry until Luffy and Robin awoke. Aside from needing to ask Robin about the Poneglyphs and the Void Century, he was also genuinely concerned for the well-being of Ace's little brother. Nami, the crew's navigator from what he had gathered, decided to stay put at Long Ring Long Land until they fully recovered, so the past few days had mainly been introductions and getting acquainted with the crew. He enjoyed hanging out with Nami the most, given that she was the most well-adjusted crew member by far, and would often ask her questions about cartography while they lounged around sipping tea. Everyone on the crew was pretty easy to get along with once the initial tension from dealing with Luffy and Robin's condition had worn off. He enjoyed offering Sanji a hand in the kitchen, as well as training with Zoro, though whenever they got into their inevitable arguments he would conveniently disappear to gather ingredients for medicine with Chopper, or to go fishing with Usopp. He answered questions about his recent past, how he was once a Whitebeard Pirate but set off on his own a few years ago. Naturally, the crew made the connection to Ace, and Itachi confirmed that yes, he did know Ace and considered him a good friend.

Eventually, Luffy and Robin recovered and awoke, and the crew set sail in the direction of the Log Pose. Throughout the journey, Itachi had to answer various questions posed by Luffy, many of them similar to the ones posed by his crewmates previously, though some were more unconventional, and the young pirate became more and more enamored with Itachi with each answer, even if he actually just dodged the question, such as when Luffy asked him about his past and his abilities. Itachi was as vague as he was with everyone else who had ever asked him, saying that he comes from far away and that his powers are "a secret" while flashing the same smile he would give to Sasuke when he was a kid. Inevitably, Luffy asked him to join the crew. Itachi said he would think it over.

And the same one I gave him when I died, he thought to himself. I hope Sasuke is doing alright back home.

Luffy didn't seem to mind these questions being dodged. Apparently it made Itachi 'mysterious' and 'cool' and... wait, were those stars in his eyes?

Itachi sat out on the deck enjoying some coffee and a book on cartography he'd borrowed from Nami. He'd never had coffee before, having normally stuck to tea, but was forced to make the change since Sanji was out. It was a different experience but not altogether unpleasant. It was bitter like tea, but also earthier. It was more caffeinated than he was used to as well. He'd probably still prefer tea, but he had to admit this was a good alternative. As he drank, the bulk of the crew was on deck chasing a giant frog doing a front crawl. He heard the deckhouse door open next to him and footsteps approaching. He glanced over and saw Nico Robin walking towards him.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked.

"Of course not," he replied. "Grab a seat."

Robin sat down in the chair across the table and looked over at him. "So I hear you're the one who saved me from getting shattered by Aokiji. I wanted to thank you for that, I owe you my life."

"It was no trouble, really." Itachi said, closing his book and setting it on the table. "I had my own reasons for intervening."

"Oh, really? And what might those be?" asked Robin.

"Let's just say I'm not from anywhere you've ever heard of," began Itachi. "I'm unsure how or why I ended up here, or who was behind it, and I've come to suspect that perhaps the answers lie in the truth behind the Void Century. I've been trying to find you for some time so that I can ask you what you know about it, and about the Poneglyphs."

Robin was surprised. "You've done your research. I'm guessing you know I can read Poneglyphs, then?"

Itachi nodded.

"Well, to answer your questions, I've only come across one Poneglyph so far, back in Alabasta, but it only spoke of an ancient weapon called Pluton. As far as a potential connection to the Void Century, it's impossible to draw any conclusions one way or another so far."

"I see," mused Itachi. "So would it be fair to say your knowledge of the Void Century doesn't go very far beyond what you learned on Ohara?"

That remark made Robin go from mild surprise to genuine shock. "You know about that place? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'm sure being one of Whitebeard's crew gave you access to all kinds of resources."

"Indeed. I'm sorry to bring it up, by the way. It must be a painful memory."

Robin's head filled with memories of her mother and Saul, and the devastation of the Buster Call. She shook them out before speaking. "It's alright. In all honesty, it's nice to be able to talk to someone about this kind of thing. I haven't been able to have any sort of conversation about it in quite awhile. At least, not with someone who wasn't just trying to use me. You're not just trying to use me, are you?"

"Of course not," Itachi replied, his mind flashing back to his previous life as a shinobi. "I've spent too much of my own life being used to ever want to put others through that."

"Well, that's good to hear." replied Robin with a smile. There was silence for a little bit. Robin knew what she wanted to say, but dreaded the idea of having to say it. But there was no point in putting it off. This conversation had to happen.

"Hey," she began. "The other crew members seem to like you. The captain in particular has taken a shine to you. And since you saved both me and him from Aokiji, you seem pretty reliable, so I have a favor to ask you."

Itachi felt like he might know what was coming, judging by the serious tone in her voice. Rather than voice his guess, he opted to remain silent and let her continue.

"If something happens to me; if I die or have to leave, would you stay with them in my place?"

There it was. It made sense, he had to admit. Aokiji may have been the first one to come after Robin since she joined the Straw Hats, but he wouldn't be the last. Robin knew that and wanted to make sure the crew would be taken care of, since she saw her capture as an inevitability now that an Admiral was after her. Even so, this was quite the ask.

"You really care for them, don't you?" asked Itachi. "You know, they care for you, too. If you were to get captured by an enemy, Luffy would stop at absolutely nothing to get you back. But I think you know that. I think what you're really asking of me is that I step in to prevent them from going after you."

"Yes, I suppose I am," said Robin. "I'm asking you to stop them from picking a fight they can't win for my sake. As much as I believe in them and in Luffy, they just aren't strong enough to challenge the might of the World Government. I've seen what they can do, and these guys are no match. So please, keep them safe when I'm gone."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," replied Itachi. "Like I said, Luffy would stop at nothing to get you back. He'd do the same for Zoro or Nami or any of you, and I doubt I'd be able to change his mind. When we were fighting Aokiji, he insisted on fighting even though he stood no chance and even though I asked him to let me handle it, just because he dared try and hurt you. To him, his friends are everything, and if I tried to stop him from doing what he felt he had to do to save you, I'd be no different than the Navy in his eyes."

Desperation welled up in Robin's chest, but she fought it down to maintain her composure so as not to alert anyone else to this conversation. "Please, Itachi. I can't stand the thought of them getting themselves killed for my sake. I know how stubborn Luffy can be, but if anyone is strong enough to stop him, it's you."

"You would have me use force against him? Tell me, if you have more faith in my abilities than your own captain's, why did you even join this crew in the first place?" Itachi wished he hadn't had to speak in such harsh terms, but this was something she needed to hear.

Robin opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come at first. He was right. If she couldn't have faith in Luffy, she had no place on the crew. Eventually, she did find the resolve to speak.

"Even so, that doesn't change the reality of my situation. Eventually someone else we can't beat like Aokiji or another Admiral will come along, and I could never forgive myself if they died trying to protect me. I've let too many people take the fall so that I could keep running, and I won't let it happen to this crew. They're too important to me. And please, keep this conversation just between us. I don't want to worry them." There was no point in hiding her feelings from Itachi. He seemed to be able to read her without much effort.

"I can keep this conversation secret," said Itachi as he stood from his chair. "But as for the rest of it, you'll simply have to trust in Luffy." With that final remark, he walked away, leaving Robin alone with her thoughts.

Easy for him to say, she thought to herself. Especially since he's so much stronger than Luffy.

Itachi walked down to the deck, joining the rest of the crew as they neared a small island with a lighthouse.