5 Naruto meets the straw hats

"Listen up men," fake luffy, now fully recovered pronounced before a crowd of pirates. "You may not know theses face now but from here on out every one of you is a member of my crew, the Straw Hat Pirates."

"Once I become the King of the Pirates," the imposter continued. "You guys are going be crew of the Pirate King. And for that goal you all will serve as my arms and legs in the adventure that are to come."

All the pirates cheered by the Fake Luffy's words.

"It's like a dream come true," said one pirate. "I can't believe we get join the notorious crew of the man who destroyed Enies Lobby, created chaos at Impel Down, and charged into the heart of the Whitebeard War."

"This legendary pirate is going to be our captain," another cheered. "He's really a candidate for the title of Pirate King!"

"But before we set sail for the New World," Fake Luffy continued, biting off every single word as if it were flint, "We need to teach those a lesson for disrespecting me! And one of them is known as "Burning Will" Uzumaki D. Naruto!" For a terrifying second, there was silence. It was deafening. Like a mighty wave; so too his words rippled out amongst those that'd assembled too become his subordinates, plastering their faces with expressions of shock, awe, and in exceptionally rare cases, fear.

"Eh?"

There wasn't a single pirate alive that hadn't heard that name.

All the pirates gawped at their captain and what he'd just said. "Burning Will" Uzumaki D. Naruto?" They thought he was joking, such were their expressions. Monkey D. Luffy wanted revenge? On the only man who had dared to murder not one, not two, but three Tenryubito and escape with hundreds upon hundreds of slaves-not to mention equally priceless treasures and artifacts- and invaded Impel Down, no less?

The infamous rookie who, given enough time, might very well fill the vacancy left by Edward Newgate, one of the four-now reduced to three-Yonkou? Their captain wanted the head of Burning Will brought before him like some spoil of war? No way. Impossible. Truly, if there was a man more terrifying than "Strawhat Luffy" then "Burning Will" clearly fit the bill. At length, members of the newly reformed Strawhat Pirates began to murmur amongst themselves, with a complete and utter lack of regard to "captain's" orders.

"Burning Will" Uzumaki D. Naruto?" "Gashed" Albion, another of the rookie pirates joining the Impostor Straw Hat Pirates repeated in a shocked tone. "Damn, that makes my bounty of $92,000,000 berries look like chump change!"

"No way," gasped Lip "Service" Doughty, another rookie pirate whose head was worth $88,000,000. "He-He's here in Sabaody Archipelago?"

"But I though he vanished forever," one of the pirates said, quaking with fear.

"This is not good," another pirate answered fearfully. "That guy tends to attract an Admiral from miles away."

"Which mean there a Marine Admiral may be on his way here by now," a third pirate cried out.

"But there's more!" fake Luffy brayed, wheezing in a brash tone that would make even a donkey cringe. "Now there's only one reason I gathered you all here today! Some low life scumbags claim to be his friends, and, as such, they too, have had the nerve to disrespect me, your beloved boss! And they are still somewhere here in the Archipeligo! I want you to hunt them down, and drag them, kicking and screaming to me! And then, then that so-called legend will come running over here like the fool he is! Gyahahaha!"

"You mean if we hostages, Burning Will won't harm us?" A stray voice murmurred.

"Th-That's right!" Someone stammered! "If we take his friends captive then there's no way he'd lay so much as a finger on us!"

"YEAH!"

Their logic continued to degenerate further, much to the ire of a single pirate among them. He watched the fools bolster themselves with false hope, with the delusion that, by taking hostages, their lives could somehow be spared from the wrath of the man who'd once burned an entire island to ashes in a fit of rage. The fools. They had no idea, they their lives, would soon be made forfeit.

"Kami, may you have mercy on the fools!" Cackled a man of such infamy, that those around him, his brother included, shivered in fear.

"Blood Spatterer" Caribou displayed no such fear. He, with a bounty of $210,000,000 berries, did not fear the reputation of the man who-rumor has it-had once fought off this likes of Admiral Kizaru himself and managed to escape from Akainu with only superficial injuries. Nay this pirate did not fear this man; because fear was an emotion as alien to him as mercy and kindness were any pirate, only moreso.

He too, remained utterly ignorant of the man with the fake mustache being led toward them by fake Zorro and fake Sanji. So fixated was he upon Burning Will in fact, that for the moment, that he even forgot to burry the marine scout that had "oh so foolishly" tried to shoot him not an instant ago. He left that man's fate up to his brother, Corribou, and those of his faithful pirate crew; while he waited and watched and willed away the minutes with his wiley plotting.

"So you've come at last, eh, Burning Will?" His eyes were filled with hatred, his soul with vengeance. "Yes by all means, come! Come here Burning Will, to Grove #46! Because I'll be waiting. And this time...this time...I'll finally have my revenge for what you did to me all those years ago!"

(Meanwhile)

"Achoo!"

Many miles from grove #46, Naruto suddenly sneezed.

"Bless you." Robin chimed pleasantly.

"Ah, thanks." Naruto raised his gaze to meet her own.

It was a mistake.

Once again, he was stricken speechless.

He took in the large eyes, perfectly coifed hair, clear skin, full lips, and lean, firm curves and he marveled at her. Hers was a beauty beyond describing, but, ultimately, it was the eyes that ensnared him him. Her eyes were cool, twin pools of crystal blue, not unlike his own. Hers were eyes that knew pain, but at some point that pain had been taken to pieces; it had been dissected, dissasembled, examined from every angle, and then, summarily conquered.

Despite all the majesty her eyes held, keeping his gaze focused upon her face was quickly proving to be its own a trial, thanks in part to the open blouse and the glorious sight that lay within. Naruto felt his cheeks inexplicably darken as a result. Then he chastised himself with a shake of the head. He was a pirate for crissakes! So why couldn't he stop staring at a pair of...of...of...

"Haven't we been through this already?"

Once more, her voice gently tugged him from his reverie. Once more, it wasn't for very long. He had a fleeting glimpse of her face, then the details swarmed him like a plague of locusts; devouring what little restraint that he had left. The sudden lack of tension triggered the fire within and suddenly, he inexplicably, undeniably, hot. He felt the flames boil in his body, his blood, and, with great effort, he quelled them.

Pushed them back down, so that he might focus on the task at hand.

The woman had a gentle look about her and it was then, in that instant, that Naruto realized the identity of this buxom beauty. Unlike Franky, she was instantly recognizeable; because the last two years had done little to diminish her beauty. On the contrary. Time had only enhanced it. She smiled softly, and ultimately, it was that dangerous, deadly smile that sealed his fate and won his heart all over again.

It was then in the silence, as her eyes entreated him for an answer, that Burning Will could hold his tongue no longer. It had been years since he'd seen her last; that last little fleeting glimpse of her smile, her words, having etched itself into his memory forever. Now, his own words threatened to overwhelm him. Say something. Something. Anything at all you blasted fool! Just stop standing there, stop gawping at her like she's a piece of meat-

"It's been a long time, Naruto."

Whump.

Naruto took the words like a blow to the gut. The air rushed out of him, taking all manner of tension and anxiety with it. Gone. It was all gone. Gone was the strain. Gone was the pressure. Gone was the urge to prove himself, to demonstrate unto her that he was not the same strange, stupid, foolish boy he'd been when they'd first met in Alabasta; because now he was more. So much more, so much the better for it and and still so very much in love with the woman standing before him. Immediately, he dismissed these thoughts as folly. They were feelings from his past. A past he'd left behind. But perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

No.

He mercilessly slammed the lid on that train of thought before it unraveled any further. Renewed desperation coursed through him; scouring him clean like those great and all consuming flames that'd been a part of him for the last two years. Searing fire lanced through his chest and, in that instant, he ached. He plucked at the strands, struggling to knit what remained together, to reassemble his thoughts so that he might finally break this dreadful silence.

"My...apologies." Naruto gasped out in a rush, suddenly abashed at having rehashed his actions for so long. "It has...been quite some time since I've seen you last."

She smiled, and in that instant his heart ached.

"It has, hasn't it?"

"You're...looking well." It was the first compliment he could think to say and at once, he regretted it.

"I could say the same of you." Robin supplied calmly. "Burning Will, Uzumaki D. Naruto." Naruto felt his cheeks darken, and not just from shame. Here, standing here before him, was a woman. A woman with such a figure that a goddess would turn green. She was beautiful and she was lovely, in all aspects of the word. Few, if any, could hope to be a match for her in terms of appearance, let alone grace.

Even Boa Hancock, the great Pirate Empress herself, might be hard pressed to outdo such a bodacious beauty. She'd been beautiful the last time he'd seen her. Now, she was drop dead gorgeous. There were no hidden truth in her words now, as there had been in Alabasta. Robin remained brutally honest, if a tad polite, although her years with the Strawhats might have tempered the strange, tempestuous creature she'd once been, years before.

He needed to say something. Anything.

"How have you been?" He asked, and immediately cursed himself for the words thereafter. Damnit

all! He'd read the papers. He'd seen the devastating aftermath of the Buster Call upon Enies Lobby. There was no knowing what kind of trauma that must have put her through. And then, after all that, to be separated from her nakama for two, not one, but two years, was too much to ask of anyone.

Especially Nico Robin.

"Well." She acqueisced, the corners of her lips turning up in an expression that was not quite a smile, not quite a frown. "I've been well." The silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity. Naruto would have been content to have that silence last, had it simply stayed that way. To have simply allowed this moment to exist, would have been truly, truly wonderful; to work out whatever differences still lay between them. He just wanted it to last, for a little while longer.

It did not.

Franky had to go and ruin it all by jacking his jaw.

"Owwwwh!" He shouted! "What's goin' on here! How do you know this guy, Robin?"

The archaelogist of the Strawhat Pirates s shook her head lightly, the motion sending a wave of raven hair cascading down her back. For a moment her eyes lingered; locking within and caging his heart forever. Then she turned aside, gracing him with a smile for the first time in what felt like-to him-a truly truly long time. Whatever trespass he had first committed, whatever mistakes he had made on the road to Shabondy Archipeligo, he could see them all, in her eyes. He saw them all; every flaw, every error, every one of the men and women who'd laid their lives down for his sake so that might arrive here, to this moment, and he knew that their sacrifices had not been for naught.

It was worth it.

"Franky, meet "Burning Will" also known as Uzumaki Naruto." He saw it in her eyes and the soft, not-quite-shy smile that be-spelled her lips. Whatever sleight of hand that had first caused them to part ways, apparently she bore him no ill will over it. Good. The last thing he wanted was to make an enemy

All was forgiven.

"Burning Will?" Franky gawped in disbelief. "Owwwwh! You actually know this suuuuuper guy? This is that guy, "Burning Will" in the flesh?"

"Unless you'd like me to charbroil what's left of yours, I suggest you be silent." Naruto snapped back, irate at the pervert cyborg that nearly broken his knuckle only moments before. He wouldn't be making that mistake again. "Maker perserve me, if I hear one more word out of your mouth, I swear I'll-

"You're looking for Luffy, aren't you?"

Naruto made a squelching sound.

He already knew who had asked the question. When he turned to greet it, Robin was looking at him expectantly, arms folded, eyes oddly distant. Almost as if she were staring through him, past him, and aways beyond him. He wanted to turn, wanted to follow her gaze, but sheer astoundment prevented him from doing such. How? How on earth had she known that he'd been searching the Archipeligo for Luffy, this entire time? He hadn't even told her that!

"Geh...how did you know I was looking for him?" He ventured.

"Woman's intuition." Was that a hint, just a hint of smug satisfaction in the pools of her eyes? Naruto did not doubt it to be so. Perhaps the old Nico Robin was in there somewhere, after all. She'd certainly held onto that stereotypical confidence of which she been so proud. Why not relish the chance to trump him, as she'd just done so now with little to no effort?

Bah, women gave him a headache. But that was not the reason for which he had had come to Shabondy.

"So is he here?" Naruto asked, suddenly eager. "Luffy, I mean. If he is, I really need to-

"Unfortunately, he isn't." Robin's answer sent his spirits plummeting, but only briefly. "Not yet, that is. I'm the eigth to arrive. Luffy should be arriving any day now. May I ask why you're so interested in meeting him, Naruto-kun?"

"Well, there was that eating contest in Alabasta, and-THAT'S NOT THE POINT" He shouted! "You're distracting me again, damnit! I'm not here because of that! My reasons are my own and that's the way they'll stay!"

Robin laughed softly.

"You haven't changed at all, have you?"

"Oh, yes I have!" Naruto answered, eyes darkening with anger. "In fact, I can show you how much I've changed right now!"

"Hold it!"

"Now what?" Naruto painted indifference onto his face, despite the storm brewing behind his eyes. It was Franky. The cyborg had remained silent thus far, apparently content to let the two have their moment, but now, he'd decided to intervene. He loomed over Burning Will with shoulders squared, forearms practically bristling in frustration. Naruto leered up at the perverted bot for a moment longer before honouring him with a secondary response.

"Say, you wouldn't happen to know where Luffy is, would you, Franky-san?"

"Nope!" Franky answered stiffly. "Usopp and Sanji have been here already. Usopp's out to get fuel, and Sanji's stocking us up on fuel. Hoooooowever," he drawled angrily, "Something's been bothering me for awhile now. You keep telling us you're Burning Will, but you keep asking for Luffy! How do we know you're not some sort of Government spy or something, huh!"

"Franky," Robin began, "That's enough-

"So you doubt me, hmm?" Naruto wasn't having any of it. Squaring his jaw, he took a small step forward. "You doubt what you've been told then, Franky?"

"As if!" Franky growled, "I just don't trust you!"

"I knew it!" Naruto fired back, "Then that means you don't trust Robin, either!"

"I'm more than willing to take Nico Robin at her word!" Franky retorted, put on the defensive by the blonde's explosive retort. "However! Just because she says you are who I think you are, doesn't guarantee you're the real deal-

"Amateratsu."

Naruto summoned the flames back to the surface of his skin, turning his cloak to ash. They devoured the arms of his cloak with tongues of black flame and then the rest of it, exposing heavily bandaged forearms, the like of which were laced with strange black markings, barely seen beneath the bandages. With the destruction of his cloak, everything about him was revealed, as were the bulky protustions that had been bound to his back.

He was a spiky blonde young man with fox-like whiskers, sapphiric blue eyes, very handsome in addition. He was very tall, with an athletic outline. He was wearing an orange sleeveless coat, black short-sleeve shirt and pants, red gloves and boots. He was carrying two swords behind him; one a katana the other a wakizashi, both of which, now wreathed in flame with their master.

Naruto was eerily aware of the entranced looks the resurgence of his given element had bought. Franky looked as if he'd just busted a cog. Likewise, Robin's expression was equally stunned, but even as he looked on, her surprise began melting, molding into something else; something he daren't give thought to.

'No,' he forced his emotions back down. 'Now is not the time. No. No no no...

Willfully, he banished the flames from his body.

"Satisfied?" He asked Franky, folding his legs and dropping into a squat between the two of them. The last of the flames spurted from his body and dissipated, turning to quiet ash upon the deck; and then they too, were gone into the afternoon. "Because I won't be doing that again." For a moment there was silence, and in that silence, he gauged at best, their reactions.

From Robin, he sensed amusement. Franky, well...

Finally, Franky recovered his voice.

"That was...

Naruto grimaced.

"So help me if you say what I think you're about to say-

...SUUUUUUUPER!"

"Argh!"

Two of three things happened in that instant. First, Naruto twisted from the crouch into which he'd fallen, and flung himself at Franky. Second, Robin burst out in laughter, and third, a very familair, very unamused voice rang out on the hill just above the Thousand Sunny. So loud was it, that it caused both pirates to immediately cease their squabble and turn toward the source of the sound.

"YOU!"

Naruto detected a blur of orange hair in his peripherals before everything went straight to shit.

Something very fast, very large, and very solid crashed into his back and sent him sprawling. His head kissed an iron hard board and black spots speckled before his vision. By then, he'd already phased out of existence, his body turning to flames as whatever it was came around for a second pass. Imagine his surprise when the reinder carreened off of him and and carreened into the railing of Thousand Sunny, stunning itself for a moment.

'What the hell is a reindeer doing here?'

And that moment was all he needed.

He simply tracked with the motion, took aim, and fired.

"Dos Fleur!"

Suddenly, the reindeer was gone. A pair of hands wrested him away from the ensuing gust of flame, instead hurtling up the mast and out of harms way. Naruto hesitated for a moment, fearful of further endangering the Thousand Sunny any more than he already had. Confusion warred with wrath as he rounded on Nico Robin, a round of expleititives and questions already forming on his lips.

"Robin? What the hell are you doing-

"Oi! Robin! Get down!"

Naruto half turned, his eyes flying wide and large as he picked himself off the deck. Almost immediately thereafter, a strange looking projectile skittered across the deck. With a deafening hiss reminiscent of a boiler exploding, a giant venus fly trap reared up before him seconds later, jaws wide and gawping as they closed around him. Not an instant after the fact, a bold bolt of fire ravaged its roots to the core; eviscerating the carnivorous plant beyond any hope of survival.

"Bothersome weed." he hissed, curling his nose at the noxious smells the creature gave at its sudden departure from the land of the living. Within seconds, it and its brethren, foul-smelling and all, had been reduced to little more than dried husks upon the deck. He didn't even bother to turn when the great hulking fist of Franky came hurtling toward his head; because he'd already caught it, not even bothering to become intangible.

"You're awfully quick to attack me, Franky." He mused, his expression turning thoughtful. "Why is that?"

"You know damn well why!"

Naruto shook his head.

"Actually, I don't know. But, Franky, you should know...

He drew the cyborg close, a sly smile flitting across his features.

...that I don't pull my punches."

He didn't pull this one, either.

Flames licked across Naruto's fist, wreathing his wrist in fire. He clenched his fingers and they erupted; spreading outward in an orange discharge so violently sudden, that the infamous shipwright likely saw little more than a red-white blur before the debilitating blow struck. When he finally came to he realized that not only had he been ejected from the Thousand Sunny, but now, one of the Yukimarin Mangroves was upside down; seeing as Franky himself was wedged within one of them.

Even as he struggled to free himself from the sappy tree, he was forgotten.

Naruto was already moving on to his next target. As he'd suspected, a steadily darkening cloud was indeed forming above him, burgeoned by a series of red and blue spheres sweeping upward into the stange nimbus. Lightning crackled from within its depths, popping many of the resin bubbles surrounding the Sunny. The coating itself remained all but unbreached, but there was absolutely no guarantee it would remain as such.

His fingers flexed for the second time.

"Hiken."

The compressed fist of fire expanded with alarming speed, erupting upward from the Thousand Sunny in a veritable ring of flames; so searing, so intense, that they veritably obliterated the gathering clouds above it, clouds that should not have been forming in the first place. He didn't have the time to admire his handiwork. Yet another strange plant was already sprouting behind him, crumpling before the first, so he hadn't the time to see who'd launched the weather-manipulating attack.

Naruto was still in the process of extricating himself from its withered jaws when he caught sight of the sniper. Robin was shouting something at him, but he paid it little heed, shoving his forward with such force that a wall of superheated air rushed forth from the motion. It hurtled upward towards its target, the offending sniper blissfully unaware of the massive hurt that was headed his way.

"Stop!"

He registered the words as if through a haze, and turned, wondering who it was that dared to shout at him so. They were under attack! There was no reason for anyone to be shouting at him, least of all her! And still, he couldn't help but wonder...

"Stop! Naruto! Stop!" Robin's words finally reached him, just as he saw who the supposed "sniper" was. He also saw who was standing beside him, her flaming orange hair too much of a dead giveaway to be mistaken for anyone other than whom she was. And the blast was hurtling toward them both. Too late, he realized his mistake. Too late, when he realized whom he was about to attack, about to incinerate, about to kill, he saw his folly and understood.

"Shit!" He tried to pull back the blast, but it was too late. He could only watch, watch as the invisible column of boiling current hurtled through the atmosphere a harbinger of doom and destruction for its unwitting target. A target that was never reached; because a blade sliced through the fire and the flames as though they were butter. Sundering and severing them; raining down in a series of soft sparkling embers, bringing no harm to Nami or Usopp, leaving the sparks to sputter, then die.

Naruto could feel several pairs of eyes boring into his back-save for Robin-each sporting a withering glare, but he was already repentant for his deeds. Shame, embarrassment, and disbelief washed him to his toes. What was that just now? He hadn't gone off like that since Mariejoa. He shuddered with revulsion at the memory. All that blood, so much blood, bloody bodies everywhere and then had come the rage, the deep, all consuming fury that'd swept him up and splattered the world a deep, impregnable scarlet...

"Looks like we made it in time, after all." A smooth voice wafted across the clearing toward them, gently plucking the blonde from his bloody reverie. Foe that, he was grateful more thany any of the Strawhats knew. He held no desire to revisit those darkened days of memory and misery. Relieved to have something with which to preoccupy himself, his attention shifted toward the small hillock from which the voice, and Nami's disbelieving cry, had come.

"Rayleigh-san!"

There, standing upon a small hillock were Silvers Rayleigh and Shakuyaku. To Nami, Usopp, and Tony Tony Chopper, Silvers Rayleigh and Shakky looked exactly the same as they had two years ago: Silvers Rayleigh a handsome old man who was wearing his glasses, and Shakky a slim and tall woman with short black hair, two tufts pointing upwards, and, as always, she was smoking a cigarette.

To Naruto, they looked like a pair of complete strangers. Powerful, complete strangers. Of course, everyone knew the name "Dark King" Silvers Rayleigh, but this was Naruto's first time seeing the man; bearing witness to the living legend live and in person. That man had just sundered the powers of the Mera Mera no mi as if they were nothing. That if nothing else, demanded respect, and warranted caution to the highest degree.

If he engaged this man, even in his advanced age, Naruto knew that he would not emerge unscathed. He couldn't afford a battle like that. Now now, not with an Admiral at his heels and the World Government breathing down his neck. Surely they'd gotten wind of his arrival by now. Meaning, that his window of opportunity for finding Monkey D. Luffy was about to slam shut in his face.

That, and that thought alone, stayed his hand.

"Silvers Rayleigh?" His voice conveyed none of the awe he felt, being in the presence of this magnificent man. "Didn't expect to see you taking center stage." Turning toward the Strawhats, most of whom were either stunned or outright irate, he did the only thing that might possibly remedy the situation. An act of insolence so demanding, so great, that it could shatter the core of his being and shake his very soul.

"All of you, listen up!" He barked loudly! "I have something to say and you're going to hear me out!"

Unceremoniously, he knelt.

Uzumaki D. Naruto, the man known as "Burning Will" the man who'd raided Mariejoa, freed thousands upon thousands of slaves, penetrated the impenetrable undersea ghaol known as Impel Down, the man whose bounty was superceded only by that of Monkey D. Luffy himself, took a knee. He reached around to the matchless blades that adorned his back, and laid them on the deck at his feet-careful to remain facing away from Robin as he did so-genuflecting before the Strawhat Pirates as a whole.

"Hear me, Strawhats." He began slowly. "My name is Uzumaki D. Naruto, son of Minato and Kushina. Some of you might also know me as "Burning Will". My bounty is that of $350,000,000 berri for various crimes and offenses, some of which are so terrible that they have been stricken from the history of the world itself. For the past two years, I've been training, honing my skills and abilities, and searching. Searching for all of you."

He paused, letting his statement hang, unadorned between the lot of them. One by one he read their expressions, his gaze falling first to Nami, then Chopper, Usopp, Franky, and finally, Robin. Shock, dismay, horror, confusion, and amusement. Then his attention shifted, sweeping toward Rayleigh and Shakky, noting that both the former and latter where entirely too pleased by his actions.

Though that struck him as odd, the Strawhats hadn't attacked him yet. That was good. What he said next would truly test their mettle, as well as his own. He was choking on his own pride as it was, bowing before them and offering his swords in defference. Truly, it went against his better judgement to demean himself in such a manner, but demean he did and continued:

"Now that I've finally found you, after all these years, I have something that I must ask of you. But I warn you, consider your situation carefully before you give your answer; because if you should refuse my offer than I promise you, I will be a formidable enemy to you all, should you ever cross me." He felt the tension spike at that, and it occurred to him that they might indeed attack him after all. They might perceive his actions as a threat and forgoe any means of parlay on his part, if he pressed the matter further. It was a risk he had been born to take.

Willing himself to be calm, to speak slowly, and coherently, Naruto forged on ahead.

"But I digress. I have not come here to quarrel." He bowed his head further, nearly scraping the grass turf of the deck. "Quite the contrary, I believe that the proposition that I am about to offer you will be mutually beneficial to all." Every word boiled in his gut, every syllable brought him one step closer to shattering the facade he'd worked so hard to project outward, if not for his sake, than their own. The next sentence tore a hollow hole inside his gut.

"I hereby humbly ask permission, to join your crew.

The silence was deafening.

Shock had wiped their faces clean. Even Rayleigh and Shakky seemed to be at a loss for words; such was the audacity of Naruto's proposal. Only Nico Robin remained unfazed throughout, though her expression also emained torn somewhere between stoic and charigned. Naruto did not move from his position, intent to await them and their decision, should it be made in his favor.

Then:

"NANI!"

"I thought this might happen," said Rayleigh. "Now, why don't we all sit down and talk about this?"

"W-What's there to talk about, Rayleigh-san!" Usopp cried in disbelief! "You heard what he said! He's killed people! He almost killed us! And now he wants to join our crew! No way! Absolutely not! There's no way in hell that I'm letting this guy anywhere near Luffy!"

"I heard about you," Tony Tony Chopper said fearfully as he cowered behind Usopp. "You're the one that attacked Impel Down, burned down Mariejoa, and murdered three World Nobles. Scary! You're a scary guy! There's no way! No way, no how, can you be in our crew!"

"Nooooooooo way!" Franky seconded. "The new "armored me" wants nothing to do with this guy! Nothing at all!"

"Ah!" Chopper gawped, his fear momentarily forgotten, as was that of Usopp. "Franky! Is that you?"

"Owwwwwh! It sure is!"Franky laughed boisterously. "But we'll save that for later! Right now we need to decide what to do with this bastard!" Naruto sweatdropped wondering if Franky had conveniently forgotten the brutal beating he had received only moments before. There would be no deciding of anything, he reminded himself. He'd finally found the Thousand Sunny, and he planned to stay with the Thousand Sunny, until he found, and presented, his offer to Luffy.

Until then, he wouldn't be budged. Even if everyone denounced him and spat at him and refused to allow him in the crew-

"I think we should give him a chance to prove himself." Robin interjected politely. That one threw him for a loop and half. He'd half-expected a vehement refusal on her part if anything else. Her support, though marginal, suddenly meant the world to him. He caught her gaze, suddenly aware that she was smiling, smiling, as if she found the disbelief and confusion of her crewmates to be the most natural thing in the world.

Yes, her smile seemed to say, I accept you. Yes, it said, I forgive you. Yes, it assured him, I want you to be a part of this crew. He had no idea what he'd done to warrant such kindness, but he knew at once that he didn't deserve it. He was rotten, rotten to the core. He hadn't freed those slaves because of any righteous bullshit. It had simply been a a bit of temporary insanity. A bout of foul morality. A horrifying fit of decency, that was all, he told himself.

And then Usopp had to go and muck it up.

"R-Robin!" Usopp spluttered loudly, with Chopper nodding emphatically all the while. "Did you not see what he did to us back there! He tried to kill us! He nearly burned down the Thousand Sunny while he was trying to do it, to!

"He didn't attack me." Robin said pointedly, as if this solved everything..

"Well, I guess he didn't attack you, but-

"To be honest with you guys," Naruto said in an honest tone as he stood woodenly, not taking enough care, "When I began my Pirate career it wasn't my intention in attacking Impel Down and Mariejoa. And I only attacked you because you attacked me first." His tone held no malice, no spite whatsoever, but somehow, those words rooted everyone

"A course it wasn't," said Shakuyaku. "Jiraiya and Tsunade told us the reason you attacked those places was because you were trying to save a friend of yours. Ayame, I think her name was? But more than just saving your friend," Rayleigh also said. "You ended up freeing thousands of slaves at Mariejoa as well as raiding their treasury which means you most likely have several items of substantial value in your possession."

"Well, it wasn't like that at first, not when I arrived in Mariejoa," Naruto began to articulate. "But when I saw how miserable all those slaves were, how they were suffering and being treated as less than human, I just couldn't leave all of them like that." Then his expression darkened. "And if I just so happened to make off with a few dozen legendary treasures and weapons then what of it? I doubt the Tenryubito had any real use for them, other than collecting dust."

"I expected no less of you, Burning Will." Rayleigh laughed. "Good job!"

"Eh?" Naruto blinked.

"I figure you must have arrived here sometime last night," Rayleigh carried on. "Following the incident at the Shipyard Coating there have been a large number of attacks on slave traffickers as well as slave owners themselves. All claimed that a mysterious hooded figure attacked them by using fire, while freeing the slaves. Obviously, you're the only pirate who can wield fire so-

"Wait wait wait. Rayleigh you know this guy?" Usopp asked, confused.

"Well not personally," Rayleigh replied. "But Jiraiya and Tsunade told me what kind of person he is." His gaze slid back to the brooding blond, who, thus far, remained all but inconspicuous, despite his infamous reputation. "He's not all bad, I can assure you. In

"Oi...so why are you really here?" Usopp asked.

"Like I said, I want to join the Straw Hat Pirates," Naruto answered his question. "Not those impostors running their mouths around town,the real thing. Unfortunately, not a one of you seems to know were your captain is, and I haven't had any luck in finding him."

"Why would you want join us?" Nami asked him in suspicious tone. "I thought you were hunting down Luffy."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly.

"Actually...well I'm doing this to honor a friend of mine," Naruto told her. "I want help Luffy in becoming the new King of the Pirates."

"Your friend?" repeated Usopp.

"Four years ago," Naruto began to explain. "I met him in my hometown. He was hunting for someone named Blackbeard, and rumors of his appearance must've brought him to where I lived. He stayed for only a few months, but in that time, we became very good friends. He was so impressed with me that he offered me to join his Pirate crew."

"Well why join us instead of this guy's crew?" Tony Tony Chopper asked hesitantly.

Naruto's expression turned dour.

"He...died."

The sudden somberness in his eyes rippled across them all.

"I'm sorry," replied Tony Tony Chopper in an apologetic manner. "I didn't mean to-

"No, it's perfectly alright," Naruto said to Chopper. "Besides, my reason for joining Straw Hat Pirates is to honor his memory."

"You said that your friend offered you a place in his pirate crew?" Robin asked him.

"He did," Naruto answered. "He was impressed with my fighting abilities when we fought and offered me a seat in his crew, the Whitebeard Pirates."

"The Whitebeard Pirates?" Usopp repeated. "You're friend was a member of the Whitebeard Pirates?"

"Yes," Naruto confessed. "His name was "Fire Fist" Ace, the 2nd Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates."

Robin blinked, but said nothing.

"YOU KNEW ACE?"

Nami, Usopp, and Tony Tony Chopper were very much suspired that Naruto had, at some point, prior to his pirate career, been friends with Luffy's brother Ace.

"So you want to join our crew just for Luffy's brother?" Tony Tony Chopper asked

"Yes I do," replied Naruto. "But I felt like I should ask your captain first. Do you know where I can find your captain?"

"He's not here," replied Nami with a devilish greed and smile on her face. "Knowing Luffy he'll probably be the last one coming. But if you want to join our crew is going to cost you something, especially after what you ."

"Wait a minute," Naruto protested. "I thought you said you weren't going to charge me!"

"I said I won't charge you for information," Nami pointed out. "But since you attacked us, and singed my hair, I will charge you if you want to join our crew. With interest, of course!"

"How much?" Naruto asked.

"$5,000,000 Beli," Nami cheerily named her pirce.

"$5,000,000 Beli!" Naruto cried out loud. "Come on I already paid that much in getting here to this island!"

"You don't have to worry about that Naruto dear," said Shakky. "Since you're a godchild of Jiraiya and Tsunade, I'll pay for it."

"Arigatout, Shakky-san," Naruto said with growing appreciation. "I'll pay you back, I promise."

"E-Excuse me,"

Naruto glanced downward, surprise to find Tony Tony Chopper tugging at his sleeve.

"M-May I ask you a question?"

"Sure, why not," said Naruto.

Chopper half-cringed, as if he expected the fearsome pirate to grow horns and a tail and start spewing fire, with the latter being well within the range of his abilities. When Naruto did no such thing, Chopper mustered up his courage to ask the question that, to a doctor like him, needed answering.

"I heard Silvers Rayleigh and Shakuyaku say the name of Tsunade," Tony Tony Chopper alleged. "Do you know Tsunade the "Slug Doctor?"

"Yeah I do," replied Naruto. "She's my Godmother. You're a fan of her?"

"Oh I am," Tony Tony Chopper said happily. "She's regarded as one of the greatest medical doctors in the world. I always wanted to meet her."

"Well, if we run into Granny Tsunade someday I'll introduced you too her," Naruto promised.

"Thanks," Tony Tony Chopper replied cheerfully.

"I'm going go out and look for Luffy," said Rayleigh. "Naruto why don't you come along? I'd like to have a little chat with you."

"You know where Luffy is?" Nami asked.

"I didn't say I know where he is," Rayleigh answered back. "But have a good idea where he might be."

"All right then," Nami said before turning to Naruto. "If you manage to find Luffy make sure you bring that idiot back to the Thousand Sunny since he has a bad habit in walking into situations."

"I will," Naruto replied before turning to Rayleigh. "So I take it you really are Sliver Rayleigh, the right-hand man of the King of Pirates?"

"Jiraiya and Tsunade tell me you're a Haki Master," said Rayleigh. "I take you also learned Haoshoku Haki ?"

"That I do," Naruto replied. "Learning Busoshoku Haki took some focus and time. Kenbunshoku Haki was hard and painful to begin with. But Haoshoku Haki, man, that, was a big surprise."

"Haoshoku Haki is an extraordinary form of Haki that cannot be attained through training," Rayleigh gives out the details. "Only one in a million people carry it. It's no surprise that you possessed that power. You probably inherited from your parents and I."

"Eh?"

"I said," Rayleigh repeated, "That you most likely inherited the"Conqueror" Haki from your parents and myself."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked confused on what Sliver Rayleigh just said.

"Naruto," Rayleigh began slowly, "I know this going to be shocking to you, but I'm your grandfather."

Everyone, excluding Robin and Shakky, screamed.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"

Next Time: Pillar of the Inferno! Burning Will and Strawhat Luffy! Allies? Or Enemies!

"B-B-Burning Will?" Fake Luffy gawped openly. "Y-You mean this is...

"Gentlemen," Naruto began slowly, very slowly. "I be placed in a bewilderment." His gaze swept across the deck, scouring for any sign of the instigator that had so roused his wrath; locking upon one Demalo Black. "Here I came here, looking for Monkey D. Luffy." He thrust a hand imperiously towards the cabin, towards the fake Luffy. "And upon a sudden, I find this, a crew of impostors. Sailors abandoning their posts, without orders, without leave. Men before the mast, and taking the ship for themselves."What be that, I wonder?" he mused aloud, refusing to smile at his crudely crafted metaphor.

He let the silence hang, until everyone choked on it.

"Mutiny!" Someone shouted suddenly.

Naruto didn't skip a beat. He didn't care that he couldn't see them. He knew the voice by sound alone. It was Termari. She was here somewhere, hiding among them, tucked safely out of sight, he knew that much. For a moment, he almost laughed at the absurdity of it all. What a persistent

"Again?" Naruto held a hand to his ear, feigning deafness.

"Mutiny!" Came the reply, though slightly exasperated.

"Aye." Naruto nodded, his form bending, shimmering beneath wave upon wave of oppressive heat. "Mutiny. And what fate befalls mutineers? Now we know the answer to that, do we not? Mutineers...Hang!"

Flames boiled outward from his fist.

"Now...all of you...DIE!"

"Hiken!" Naruto roared, his knuckles bursting before the command; summoning a spiraling pillar of flame, subsequently engulfing everything within a three mile radius. The fleet never stood a chance. A massive fist of heat and fire barreled forward, its jaws wide and gaping as it lurched toward its prey. Within two beats, the entire Navy fleet was all but decimated, and everyone was left to wonder at the aftermath of the attack.

"A-Ace!"

Luffy gawped. "That was Ace's attack, just now!"

"Oi!" Naruto barked. "Baka Yarou! Do I look like Portugas D. Ace to you?"

"Eh?"

"Nanda?" Luffy blinked, suddenly very much aware of the blond standing at the helm of his ship. "Who're you?" He squinted at the blond whose body roiled and broiled like so much flame and he found his words taken away as he recognize the color of those flames; because this was the very same power that his brother had wielded, prior to death. It couldn't be. No way...

Naruto grinned wickedly.

"Haha! I've finally found you, Luffy! Now, let me join your crew!"

Luffy blinked, then grinned.

"Sure!"

Everyone-excluding Robin-facefaulted.

"DAMNIT LUFFY!"