4 Passing the torch

Nami considered herself to be a practical woman.

She had to be, serving as the navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates. Her overbearing logic, greed, and overall reason were practically a necessity when surrounded by a bunch of testosterone fueled men-most of whom acted like boys-and pirates, no less. She had an answer for everything. Every change in the wind, in the currents, for every cloud into the sky, and then some.

But she didn't have an answer now. Not for this.

Only a moment ago, Monkey D. Luffy-fake that he was-had shot a perfectly harmless stranger. One who had little to no monetary concern whatsoever, claimed to be a master of Haki as well as a pirate, and, apparently, believed that bullets could not harm him. While she found this interesting, the fact that he claimed to be a wanted man whom both the World Government and the Navy were pursuing was more than enough to set her threat estimation to a bright get-the-hell-away-from-this-guy red.

"Miss?"

She blinked.

"Get down."

Unfortunately, she'd been too mesmerized at the time to even consider fleeing. That, and she really didn't want to turn a blind eye to the fakes who were claiming to be them-that ugly bitch didn't look a damed thing like her-and give them the satisfaction. Instead, she sat there, her eyes growing ever larger as negotiations broke down between the pirate and the faker, ending in the former taking a mouthful of lead from the latter, to which the former smiled disarmingly.

BANG!

Imagine her surprise when the bullet went clean through his skull, wedged itself in the wall, and that smile did not fade in the slightest. He'd died on his feet, she supposed. It wasn't exactly the cleanest way to go, but away he had went, or so she'd assumed. Then the first ember settled upon her nose. Nami blinked. Brushed it away, alarmed at this sudden turnabout as well the disbelieving screams offered by the crowd in reply, scrabbling back from the cloaked stranger as if he were the devil himself.

Which, given the eerie circumstances of his supposed "death", was a distinct possibility.

The cloaked stranger half-turned, exposing a blood red iris over his shoulder. Flames licked across the gawping wound that had severed the left side of his face. But instead of blood and guts and gore as there should have been, there was naught but flame. Glowing tendrils of smoky shadow and flame gathered about the offending injury, forming up on one another after the other, gaining substance and form; until something miraculous happened.

Bereft of the tattered cowl that once shielded it the ruined portrait that was his face consumed itself in flame and simply closed the wound from the inside out. For a moment, for one blessed moment in the instant before he yanked that blasted cowl back into place, the orange-haired woman saw his face. She recognized it almost instantly, for how could she not?

He was a handsome fellow, if intense.

But that absent thought was neither here nor there.

Oh. My. Gods.

Despite herself, despite all her calm, cool, level-headedness, Nami lost the ability to breathe. She'd seen him. She'd seen his face before, many, many times over the past two years. His was a face that was known even in Weatheria, for tales of his infamy-exaggerated or no-had spread far and wide, even there. She saw him in those flickering embers of flame and fire and she wanted to say something but she could not bring herself to speak the word she wanted so very desperately to say.

'This is...

She was looking at a man. A man amongst men, a man whose very soul was said to be blacker than the ninth circle of hell. A man who murdered, murdered whomever dare stand in his way, and a man not to be trifled with; because his wrath was simply not something that musn't be aroused. She'd heard the stories. She'd read the papers. This was the one man whom stirred in her both fear and respect; though whether the former was stronger than the latter remained to be seen.

This was...

"Oi oi oi, young lady!" She dimly recalled the warning Mr. Haredas had given her. "If you see Burning Will on Shabondy will you give him my regards?" Nami had dismissed the comment at the time, chalking it up as nothing more than one of the man's many quirks. "Thanks to the donation he made we'll be able to continue our research here for what might be another decade!"

She hadn't bothered to ask how it was that Mr. Haredas knew one of the most infamous rookies in the Grand Line. Let alone why said criminal would possibly make a donation to something other than whores and booze. She'd been busy at the time, far too busy to take heed of what might have been her only warning. But how could she have known that Mr. Haredas would know...

...that "Burning Will" a.k.a Uzumaki D. Naruto would be on Shabondy Archipeligo! It was also at that time that Nami realized something else, something far more devastating than knowing that she'd nearly been duped into accepting a cursed necklace from a potentially chivalrous stranger. No, this was worse than that. Much, much worse. She had looked him in the eye and she hadn't even known! She;d been shooting the breeze with a mass murderer without even knowing it!

"Oh, this is just too much."

His words, the words of the man who had the entire world after his head, gently tugged Nami from her reverie. The infamous rookie had doubled over with one hand clutching at his stomach as though it might burst between his fingers. He was laughing, Nami realized. Incredibly, he seemed to find the fact that he had been shot, amushing somehow and at length, he straightened, standing woodenly and not taking enough care.

"I came here looking for Monkey D. Luffy." He snickered softly to himself. "But you know, I never expected to find him this quickly." Suddenly, he turned, his gaze fixating on Nami with such an intensity that for a moment she thought he might turn on her as well. He didn't. Instead, he looked her up and down as if truly noticing her for the perhaps the first time. Nami felt her cheeks darken, such was the overbearing power of his eyes.

Abruptly, he averted them.

"Hehe." He chuckled softly as his gaze slid away from her. "Hehehe...HAHAHA!"

The formerly cloaked stranger laughed; it was a deep, throaty sound and it chilled her to the bone. Everyone, including the "Strawhat Pirates" cowered before that laugh. Only the fake Luffy managed to maintain some of his former beligerence. He jammed the flintlock pistol back into its holster, wiped the shock and dismay from his face, and rushed to his feet as though he feared someone would somehow beat him to the punch.

"A-Aha!" He laughed, painting a smile upon his face when all eyes eventually found their way back to him once again. "Y-Yes, its just as I suspected! The great "Burning Will" has decided to join us, after all!" Seeing their captain's bravado-feigned though it most certainly was-the crew of imposters seemed to regain some of their former bluster. It was only "Burning Will" who smiled in kind.

"Oh, I'll join you alright." He paused, smiling sardonically. "But first, I have a question."

"S-Sure!" The "Luffy" seemed to be rapidly regaining his composure, Nami realized, and her own awe at the sight of "Burning Will" was rapidly evaporating. She found herself making for the door, all respect for this so-called criminal lost and forgotten. Then an unusual inquiry stopped her cold. She paused, her curiousity piqued, and before long, it became clear to her just what kind of man this "Burning Will" truly was.

"Tell me, Luffy," Burning Will continued with that deadly soft tone of his, "Why waste a bullet on me like that? Aren't you a rubberman?"

The silence was deafening.

"Hey, that's right." Someone whispered. "I heard that "Strawhat" was made of rubber, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, that's right!" Another added.

"But then...why use a pistol?" Still another asked.

"Shh! Quiet! He'll hear you!" For a moment, fear seemed to prevail over the bar patrons. Then "Burning Will" took a step forward. It was a small step, nothing imposing about it whatsoever, but the intent behind it remained clear. Peering upward at "Luffy", he reached into his breast pocket. Everyone cringed aside in terror, expecting him to pull out a weapon of some sort; only to flush with shame as he exposed a wanted poster bearing the latter's face.

"Also, would you mind telling my why you don't look a damn thing like your wanted poster?" he asked genially.

In that moment, as the whispers grew ever louder, Nami mentally reassesed her opinion of "Burning Will". Now would have been a perfectly reasonable time for her to leave, as she could not hope to gain any coin from staying to watch the impending brawl. Like a certain priate she knew, "Burning Will" was well renowed for his legendary tempter and an annoying tendency to incinerate those who vexed him.

It was for this reason, if not her own personal satisfaction, that Nami observed the proceedings with great amusement. She couldn't be bothered to deal with the fakes herself of course; but witnessing their downfall would still be all too satisfying. Especially at the hands of this...rather handsome pirate. Now, if only he'd take off that blased cowl too so she could get a good look at his face...

Meanwhile, the tension was reaching a breaking point.

"You better watch yourself, buddy" "Luffy snarled at his fellow rookie in a dangerous tone. "You might be a hotshot with a $350,000,000 Berries on your head, but my bounty is $400,000,000 Berry which is higher than yours. Meaning I'm ten times more dangerous than you can never be." He loomed over "Burning Will" with his girth, cleary trying to use his reputation in a feeble attempt at intimidation.

"Yes, and more's the pity." Burning Will sighed. "Unfortunately, you're not the Luffy I'm looking for."

"What?"

Burning Will cocked his head to one side, the smile dropping from his face to shatter across the floor like so much broken glass. Abruptly, the bounty poster in his hand began to fizzle and wither, burning itself from the bottom up. In a matter of seconds, it had been reduced to a pile of ash on the floor. Now it was that everyone's attention fell upon him, this stranger who had not once, but twice, demonstrated the powers of flame and fire.

"H-Hey...did he just...

Nami watched as the realization flowered in their eyes and withered in equal measure. She watched as they shrank back from him, men, women, and children alike. Watched, as Naruto brought his palms together, and called upon his element for the third and final time. When they parted, he was clutching a brand, no, a pommel, no..was that a hilt of some sort...?

Weaving streaks of orange-yellow flames flung themselves between them as his hand straddled the shadow flame once more; but this wasn't an etching of fire.

It was fire, inside the blade.

Where the crimson burned, and for several inches past it, the sword became transparent as glass. It as as if the limb itself had become flame, and that flame banished the darkness to the trees and was something almost unholy within its majesty. Now spread from shoulder to fingers, his hand blazed out flame, nearly three and a half feet in front of him, and then died down. Nami was on the verge of forsaking this endeavor altogether before Naruto smiled and brought the blade around in a sweeping arc.

Cold dread froze the lot of them further as the pirate placed his hands further apart.

'He'll set the bar on fire!'

He brought the other hand up and flexed it and his fingers closed around the fires. Held them, and the blade re materialized. Simply appearing from the chakra, glowing reddish black as was his skin, the crescent hook of a tip dangled from a relatively simple and not at all oblong pole of a handle, one that he shouldered it deprecatingly. Naruto didn't seem to mind at all that he was holding a weapon composed of more flame than actual steel, and if he did, he wasn't doing much to convey that annoyance.

Once more, the gaze of Burning Will found hers. His eyes narrowed slightly, a silent, unspoken warning that told her to, quite simply, get down.

"Kagatsuchi."

By the time she did think to drop to the floor, a screen of orange blaze was discharged without warning. While everyone felt the strong heat of the orange flame, the only ones who absorbed the worse of the orange fire were the Imposter Straw Hat Pirates. Unable to believe their eyes nor their ears, the unlucky imposters were flung clear out of both bar and battle, sent flying across the next street where they caromed into the stall of an unfortunate dung vendor.

Yet strangely, the only one that was left standing was the mysterious stranger who seems unharmed by the flames. It almost seemd as if the orange cone of destruction might have originated from his very flesh. But that was impossible. The only person she'd ever seen using such an ability had been dead for two years now. The only other man who held such an ability had vanished from the face of the earth for six months after making a name for himself in battle and blood and booze.

Now, as a curtain of orange flames swept itself between them, roiling, boiling, baring its fangs with a mind numbing intensity, she began to understand. With a squelching soft sound they retreated inward, forming human flesh once more.

"Sorry about the mess," the cloaked stranger apologized to the shocked bar owner paying for the damages inflicted by the fire. "I believe this should cover the damages, plus a little interest for making me those last ten bowls." The owner gawped as he beheld the stack of berri that had just been handed to him. Muttering to himself that he'd "never seen so much money in my life" he offered his most humble gratitude and swiftly departed.

Nami sweatdropped.

'Is this guy for real?'

But before she could hope to voice her opinion on the matter, the eyes of Burning Will found hers once more. They were no longer the smolding scarlet they'd been previously she realized, though the thought of staring into serene sapphire brought her little comfort. She could still see the rage burning beyond his vision. At length, he smiled. It was a warm smile, this one, bellying the flames he had so blatantly released upon Shabondy Archipeligo.

He chuckled, it was a soft, amused sound.

"I see you heeded my warning, miss navigator." He let the statement hang, unadorned between them. "And for that, you have my thanks." There was a strange twinlking with in his eyes as he spoke; because Nami held no illusion that this vagabound did not know who she was, having ascertained her true identity. All that remained, was to see what he'd do with the information he'd gleamed from her.

As with most men, he didn't fail to disprove her suspicions.

"Nami." He spoke suddenly, looking as if he'd just had the mother of all epitomes. "That's your name isn't it? So you're the navigator of the "Strawhat'" crew, are you?"

'Like hell I'm admitting that!' Nami thought to herself. 'No way! Absolutely not!'

"I...don't know what you're talking about." She really, really didn't want to reveal her identity. Bad enough that "Burning Will" was here on Shabondy Archipeligo. Bad enought that he'd already razed a bar and barbecued a band of ungrateful imposters. But it would truly, truly be bad for her if she was to be recognized in the company of such a man, one who had the World Nobles breathing down his neck, no less!

"For all your skill, you're a poor liar." Naruto sighed and sent her deception crashing down around her ears. "I'll ask you again. You are Nami, are you not?"

"Like I said," Nami began anew, desperately hoping to impress upon the rookie the need for silence. "I have no idea who or what you're talking about-

"Do not lie to me." For a moment he was fire and brimstone again and Nami could see the murderous intent raging just beyond the veil of those crystalline orbs. Suddenly the likeness of herself was thrust before her face; because Nami was looking at herself. In the form of a wanted poster. "I recognized you from the moment I walked into that bar and your face has only grown even more beautiful than the one in this poster. Now, I will ask you again. Are you, or are you not, Nami-san?"

'Even more beautiful?' She wondered at the compliment for a moment longer before his tone convinced her to comply.

...yes." she relented, albeit softly. "What do you want with me?"

"Nothing, really." Naruto answered.

"Eh?"

"Really." Naruto grinned foxily. "I just wanted have the honour of meeting the infamous "Cat Burglar" face to face." He mused this aloud, the smile simply refusing to leave his face. "I must say, however, your bounty does not do you justice. Or does the World Goverment truly see you as so little a threat?" He shrugged then, dismissing the matter as an afterthought. "But I digress. Say, If your captain was anywhere nearby, you'd tell me, wouldn't you? You see, I've been searching for him for the past two years and now I believe that he might be here in Shabondy."

"And why might you be looking for him?" Nami demanded.

Naruto's expression darkened instantly.

"I've a score to settle with him."

A cold pang of hooror seized upon Nami's heart. A snake of dread coiling inside her gut, a snake of losing everything she'd ever held dear, and not knowing the price. The look in his eyes was a strange one; torn somewhere between amusement and nostalgia, in direct contrast to the stabbing spike of panic that stabbed through her breast. How could he say such things and remain nonchalant? How could he have a bone to pick with him, of all people?

'With Luffy?'

What on earth had that idiot done this time? Angering one of the world's foremost pirates, whose bounty was already so dangerously close to his own? If Burning Will had any business with Luffy, then it certainly wouldn't prove to be pleasant. Of this, if nothing else, she was certain. Fury washed Nami to her toes. If Luffy truly was in danger, and it was any fault of hers for leading Burning Will find him...

"I think its best you get out of here." Naruto said suddenly. "Although that attack may have knocked the wind out of them, they won't stay down on count and may take it out on you if they come back." A fleeting fixation of concern flitted across his features. "And if they're anything like who I think they are, then they will be back."

"So you're just going to leave." Nami stated flatly. "Just like that?"

"It's obvious you don't know where he is." Naruto answered. "Therefore, I see no point in haraunging you further."

"Hey," Nami called out to the stranger who was heading to the doorway. "Wait a second-"

"Nami," someone in the room called her name. Hearing her name called out, Nami turn to where the one that called her name. In that direction was someone she fully recognized.

It was Usopp, but far different than before. Instead of a tanned, slim teenager, he was now taller and muscular. He was wearing what appeared to be a new pair of goggles around his neck and has some ear protectors on. He also now has a little goatee along with a new white suncap he wears on his head. In addition he has a new pair of rolled-up yellow pants with red suspenders, and a couple of walking boots. He has a brand red shoulder bag, but he still has his white/blue striped wrist band on his left arm.

"Usopp? Is that you?"

"Yeah it's me," he replied. "It's great seeing you Nami, you seem to have change."

"So have you," Nami responded happily. "You were here all the time?"

"I was," Usopp answered. "I was about to use a new technique I learned on that guy that bothering you until that fellow in dark cloak steps in. You know who he is?"

"No," Nami replied. "He was looking for something in town. He looked familiar, but I can't seem to recall who he is."

"Well we better do what he said," said Usopp. "Because those imposters he blew away—they'll be back."

While the two of them quickly left, the imposters emerged from where they fell—burned, injured, humiliated—and angry. They didn't heed the fact that they could have easily, all too easily been burnt to a crisp by the legendary "Burning Will". At least, "Monkey D. Luffy" didn't seem to recognize that.

"Find that guy," Fake Luffy angrily snarled. "Shoot him on sight!"

0o0o0

At the same time the cloaked stranger—who happened to be Uzumaki D. Naruto—was making all due haste from the scene he had created. He'd seen the looks on their faces, all of them. They'd seen his face. That navigator certainly had. While it was indeed regrettable that she knew next to nothing where the whereabouts of Monkey D. Luffy were concerned, there was nothing that could be done about it and thus, it was time to move on in his search.

For the time being.

Naruto knew he'd just pulled himself back into the limelight. While he didn't regret in helping that orange-haired woman, the last thing he need was for the Marines to find out he'd taken shelter on Shabondy. If they did, theyd call in an Admiral to look for him, certainly. Should that happen, not only would the fighting destroy the Mangroves, but the chance of finding Luffy as well. He couldn't risk a battle to distract him from his destination, especially with Akainu.

Even through Naruto is confident in his fighting abilities; he was still not yet ready face Akainu….yet. He needs the time and place if he was going to be ready to avenge Ace's death. That is why he has spend years mastery his powers to full measurement should he faces Akainu. He had thought Akainu will be the one send to come after him after he attacked Mariejoa, but instead was Kizaru. As his perverted mentor once told him—always pick the right time and right place to fight your enemy.

Naruto also thought about those imposters back at the bar. Whoever those idiots were, they didn't realize what kind dangerous siltation they'd got themselves into. While they appeared to dress in the similar fashion of the Straw Hat Pirates he remember, they look nothing like the originals, let alone act the part right. The leader that was pretending to be Luffy—was the worse of them.

"That fat fuck should be grateful I didn't kill him outright." Naruto groused aloud to himself.

He reminded him of the World Nobles, though rather less extreme. Awfully cruel and arrogant, using Luffy's status to act with impunity, getting away with everything while the men and women around him lived in utter fear of his reputation. Surely he must've been a brilliant liar, if he was able to fool everyone into thinking he's the real deal. But he's an idiot for thinking he could possibly emerge unscathed. also stupider than he imagined. While the imposter Luffy may not realize it, his arrogance was leading to his downfall far sooner than he realized.

And to the imminent arrival of an admiral.

0o0o0

(Meanwhile, in Mariejoa)

"What you mean you're coming with me?" Kizaru asked in drawn disbelief. "There's no need for two Admirals—"

"There are two extremely dangerous pirates roaming around on Shabondy Archipeligo," Akainu cut him off. "Not only "Straw Hat" Monkey D. Luffy but "Burning Will" Uzumaki D. Naruto as well…this truly is a job for two Admirals, if not three." He let the statement hang unadorned between the two of them. The silence was deafening. For a terrifying second it seemed like Kizaru would outright refuse the offer of his fellow admiral.

Then he sighed.

"Aaaaaand why is it so important that you come with me?" He asked again.

"Burning Will." Came Akainu's curt reply.

"Oho?" Kizaru arched an eyebrow. "So that's the reason, is it?"

Akainu cringed, refusing to admit that he had a personal stake in this. Because it was personal. He'd been humiliated by a certain pirate nearly a year ago-though said pirate'd fled from him rather than fight-when Jewelry Bonney had-quite literally-been snatched out of his grap in Impel Down. Most speculated that Burning Will's infiltration of prisons past were solely to gain followes to his cause.

Akainu knew better.

Jewelry Bonney hadn't even spent all of an hour in the infamous undersea ghaol before another, nameless prisoner, had joined her. Akainu hadn't taken any notice, nor did he care for that matter, who appeared to be in her crew. All he knew was that, somehow, Burning Will had snuck into Impel Down, massacred the guards, defeated Magellan with substantial ease, and made his departure. And after his escape, amongst the countless hordes of prisoners that could not be recaptured, was Jewelry Bonney. He shouldn't be dwelling on such a simple matter, but still, it irked him. He'd caught up with this so-called escapee, only to have his ship burned out from beneath him whilst Burning Will and his fellow fugitives made their escape.

But Borsalino was peering at him expectantly, and thusly, Akainu had to grace hm with a reply of his own.

"There no doubt in my mind Monkey D. Luffy is stronger than he was before two years ago," Akainu continuesd "He's probably acquired the use of Haki by now. And "Burning Will" Naruto…this is the same man that defeated you a year ago, and he's bound to have only grown stronger by then." He pointedly left out the fact that it was either him or her that had to accompany Kizaru; given that Aokiji was now the new Fleet Admiral in place of Sengoku.

Naturally, they'd been expected to find a replacement for Aokiji in the last two years. And they had. Unfortunately, the replacement for Aokiji had an annoying tendencey that involved the careless slaughter of not only the pirates she was assigned to capture; but that was neither he nor there. He wanted Burning Will alive. Therefore, she, wasn't to be permitted on Shabondy for the duration of this assignment, lest half the population of Shabondy find themselves massacred.

Honestly, that bloodthirsty woman scared him shitless.

"You don't have to bring that up," Kizaru complained wistfully, referring to the bruising he'd received at the hands of Burning Will. "It's embarassing...

(Flashback)

Mariejoa was burning.

Great columns of flame swept through the spire; sweeping clouds of ash and smoke across the whole of Mariejoa. They devoured everything without pause, sparing only those terrified slaves who fled for their very lives, some risking a glance back at the strange, swirling inferno that raged behind them, occasionally taking the form a man at times, a demon the next, then something else entirely and altogether.

For these were no ordinary flames. Contrary to the whims of the wind, the fire seemed to move of it on accord, barreling down not on the slaves who tried to escape its wrath, but whomever was foolish enough to dare impede their path. Those who sought safety and shelter from these flames of justice found that safety, and those who wished other wise, those who served the World Nobles, found themselves charred and burnt and branded in recompense for their temerity.

There was naught but travesty for those who tried to recapture the escapees, fishman and giant and human alike. All were freed. None were left behind. And all the while, the once proud land of Mariejoa burned beneath these flames. It was to this scene that the Marine Task Force and Admiral Kizaru arrived. It was within this carnage, this chaos, that they first heard the sound of screaming of shouting, and, most eerily, of laughter.

"Spread out." Kizaru began to issue the men their orders almost immediately. "He should be here somewhere, hmmm?"

A dim, cool blue illumination spread across the plaza, gradually brightening.

It started as a whisper.

Then, all in a rush, he came into focus. Eyes burning with blue flame, puffs of fire escaping his lips with every breath, body alternatively invisible, wispy as black smoke and gleaming, hard iridescent black metal muscle. He appeared in their midst without warning, then vanished. There one moment, gone the next. With his sudden departure so too did seven marines forsake their bodies for the underworld.

Suddenly, Kizaru was alone in the plaza. He stood there for a moment, blinking, slowly registering the loss of his troops. The bluish glow was already fading rounding a nearby corner with an indefatigable speed...

...only to find itself headed off by Kizaru. The admiral was already fading into existence as the robed figure skidded to a halt before him, its eyes little more than twin sparkles of crimson in the twilight. An impasse was struck. For a moment the assasin stood there, bouncing on the balls of his feet while he considered his next move. Borsalino wasn't too accomadating in that regard.

"Yasakani no Magatama." he drawled lazily.

Piercing pinpricks of light lanced out from his fingertips, skewering the shadowy assailant; riddling him with holse as though he were cottage cheese. The silhouette did not cry out under the barrage, nor did he flinch or whimper; much to Kizaru's annoyance. Instead he answered with a gush of fire; a veritable sheet of violet-indigo flame rushed forth against the harsh jeweles of infinitesmal brilliance and set the entire courtyard awash with flame.

"Oh?" Borsalino blinked as black spots speckled across his vision for a moment. "You're a Logia-type, aren't you?" The intruder did not honor him with a response. At least, not of the verbal realm. His heel crackled outward, little more than an electric blue blur, and for the first time in nearly a decade, Kizaru tasted blood in his mouth. The flinty, acrid taste caght him off guard, lending his attacker just enough time to plug his knuckles into the admiral's gut.

Damn but the boy was quick.

Then there was pain. Pain, searing and agonizing, pain, the likes of which he'd never felt before; even as he felt one of his ribs splinter beneath the blow. Haki. Somehow, the boy had embued both blows with haki, so much so that he was able to deal actual damage to his physical form. The lad doubled back and Borsalino braced himself to dissolve before the next attack could find his face, or worse.

And then, as suddenly as they had come, the flames were gone. So too, was their master. Kizaru blinked the heat haze away from his eyes and spat the blood from his mouth as he struggled to take in the signs he'd been given by his body. The boy darted out of sight around the next corner, nearly loosing the hood of his cowl as a stray beamn took out the hem of his robe.

Then he was gone again.

Undeniabaly irate, Admiral Kizaru stormed around the corner.

"Ryuusenka."

Kizaru stood in dumbfounded disbelief as he materialized directly in the gaping maw of an inferno. And still the intruder reached out with the flames, past him farther, farther, farther still until his element was barely even recognizeable...

KK-KRAM!

An unspeakably bright flare peeled open the horizon behind them. Despite the shouts and the screams of his men, Kizaru didn't turn. He'd seen this technique before, already he knew what he would find there, should he show his back. The destruction of their fleet, ruination surrounding them, one and all. With the loss of his ride home, he stormed into the keep, ready to do battle with this flaming apparition whose abilities so greatly resembled those of Portugas D. Ace.

Still, he couldn't believe his eyes.

He sat motionless as god atop the mountain of corpses, the demon awaited their approach. Set upon his throne of destruction he inclined his head politely, looking down upon them for the ants that he clearly thought them to be. So still was he, that Borsalino almost mistook him for a statue at first. But a statue did not move, nor did it laugh as this one did. here was a rare breed of man. The first man to actually murder a Tenryuubito since the founding of the World Goverment itself.

He was smiling.

"Well now...are you the one who did this?" he asked through a strained grimace.

"Did I do this, you ask?"

The man laughed; it was a deep, throaty sound.

"My name, is Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it well, you who allow the subjugation of those who are oppressed." He beckoned, indicating the chaos and destruction that had not so long ago been the holy land of Mariejoa. "Do you see this?" He asked. "This is your justice. This, is the sin that the World Government permits, because the children of the twenty kings desire it to be so, because they, wish it to be. It is filth. It is perversion. It is decay."

He scoffed, rising from his throne of bodies and flesh.

"Tell me, Admiral Do you know why it is that I have not simply destroyed, this postule of a city?" He stood woodenly, not taking enough care. "I will tell you. Were I to destroy this place, this Mariejoa, I would leave no evidence of my existence behind. Therefore, I have decided instead to wait for one of your so called "champions of justice" a Marine Admiral, to find me in this place, so that I could make my cause clear-

Kizaru snapped his heel forward.

Naruto twisted, arching his back at the very last instant. Instead of striking him in the face, as the admiral had intended, the whisp of light banked overhead, narrowly missing its given target; where it screamed off into the horizon. The blond held his pose for a moment longer before he straightened; bending at the knees with all the grace of a fluid dancer, such was the ease with which he rose again.

"I warn you, do not underestimate me so easily," Naruto pointed out. "I have mastered all three forms of Haki."

"I tell you what's not going be easy," Kizaru began to warn Naruto. "After what you did the World Government is not going rest until they catch you. I'm sure they going place a enormous bounty on your head, if you're able to fight me evenly. Yet even if you kill me here, there will be other that will still coming after you." He sneered with a smale as he'd always done, but the pirate's remark failed to leave him anything less than amused.

"I'm not trying to kill you," Naruto declared. "Not yet. I've made sure that the others managed to get away. As I said previously, fight me at your own risk, but know that you, shall not pass, regardless of the outcome." He clapped his hands together and suddenly his hands were wreathed in flame. But these were more than any flame. All manner of color and perception clouded his fingertips; wreathing his hands in various shades of oranges, reds, yellow, indigo, violet, black, and beyond.

Kizaru pondered these flames and their eerie properties before speaking.

"I take you won't surrender, then?" Kizaru ventured.

"That depends." The burning spectre blew a drawn out breath. "Are you truly intent on fighting for a cause so unjust?"

"Now, isn't that a silly question?" Kizaru drawled. "I've come here just for you."

The burning man did not find this amusing.

"So you've come to take my head, Marine Admiral?" He swept his fingers forward in a grandiose gesture, encompassing the ruination surrounding them. "I must say, you have dissapointed me. I'd hoped that you, of all people, would understand. But if you do not, then perhaps you'll fare better than the others. Sure." He shrugged his shoulders, and the cloak fell to the wayside, smoldering away in a trail of embers. "If you desire my head, by all means...

...try and take it!"

He raised the flames to the surface of his skin, and brought them not only into his arms but around his face. He allowed them to break through his scalp and form a living crown; a blatant mockery toward those he had slaughtered. There was pain there in his face, pain as they broke the skin and as they broke through channels of power that he had blocked long ago. He was powerful again now.

Powerful and dread.

"What do you think you are…Fisher Tiger?" Kizaru challenged Naruto on that fact. "I'm sure you know what happened to-

"Not at all."

"?"

"Not at all," Naruto replied. "I originally came to Mariejoa to save a friend. But after what I saw there I decided to free every slave that was imprisoned in that living hell. I can understand why Fisher attacked Mariejoa in the first place. For that he has my deepest respect and admiration through I can never truly hope to measure up to him." Seething on the face of his skin, the flames hissed and spat at the distance between them, threatening to devour the admiral at the slightest provocation.

"Hmm, but the only difference between you and Fisher Tiger," Kizaru pointed out, "Is that you killed three World Nobles. It's my job to bring to Justice and see you answer for crimes." He too, was drawing upon his own power, willing himself to ignore the visible strain that had been inflicted upon his body already. Dark whisps of shadowy flame did their level best to intrude upon the light he was exuding and failed; filling one half of the courtyard keep with light, the other, with flame.

"Now," Naruto sneered. "If you think you can take me down…bring it!" Tendrils of smoke flame burst from the strange tattoo's etched into his wrists, visible even amongst the etchings of shadow and flame. They began to take shape, form, abandoning the ethereal and favoring the material. For a moment, Kizaru marveled at it. He watched, witness to the strange shaping of the serpentine creature, almost as if it resembles...

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!"

The mighty beast of white and black flames plowed forward, jaws gaping wide. For him. For its prey, its victim, onrushing with such a speed that it occured to Kizaru that he'd best move out of the way before it intercepted his current trajectory and-

A hand seized upon his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"Going somewhere, Kizaru-san?"

And then there was only blackness.

(End Flashback)

"What's wrong with you, Kizaru?"

The harsh, grating tone of Akainu irrevocably dragged Borsalino from his memories. He went to speak, but for some strange reason there was blood in his mouth. Why on earth would there be blood in his mouth, now, of all times? He drifted amidst these thoughts for a moment before he recognize the dull, aching throb in his mouth as his own, as his tongue, protesting the forces that had been applied unto it.

He'd bitten his tongue, Kizaru realized. The flinty, metallic tang tasted hollow in his mouth somehow, leaving him with an eerie sense of foreboding. He doubted from the look of Akainu's face that his fellow admiral felt anything like it at all. And why would he? Akainu was too wrapped up in catching Burning Will to think of much else. It mattered to him only that they inflict the most righteous, heinous "justice" upon this man whom dared to do with the world as he pleased.

Still, Kizaru had been prompted to reconsider Sakazuki's proposition.

"Say," Kizaru began, "Sakazuki...

"?"

"Perhaps two admirals would be best after all."

0o0o0

(Meanwhile, Back on Shabondy Archipeligo)

"Whaddya mean you can't find him!" Fake Luffy raged impotently. "He has blond hair, blue eyes, and whiskers for crissakes! How many guys like that do you see around here, huh! He's Burning Will, so he can't be that hard to find, SO FIND HIM! NOW!" While he continued to swear and spit and spew all other manny of improper babble, a large pack suddenly swung around and bumped into him.

"Uugh!" He cried, falling into an unglorious heap.

"Oh, did I bump into you?" The hooded person asked. "Sorry about that!"

Everyone gawped.

"Does that guy not know who Straw Hat Luffy is...?"

"He's so dead."

"Hold it right there!"

The hooded person in the parka turned, exposing his face. His was a young face, a face that should have been easily recognize. Were it not for the ridiculous fake mustache he was currently wearing, someone might have indeed recognize him, and the oversized pack which he was wearing. Thankfully, they did not.

"Hmm?"

"You just bumped into me on purpose didntya!" Fake Luffy snarled. "Do you know who I am! You tryin' to start somethin, huh, punk! You made a fool of me in front of all these people! ME, a pirate with a $400,000,000 Berri bounty! Now, on yours knees!" He demanded, prodding a gun against the cheek of the silently unamused pirate who had not a clue as to what was going on. "Tremble in fear! And beg for mercy!"

"No thanks." The hooded person in the parka mumbled. "I'm in a bit of a hurry so-

"That's it! You little runt-

Veeen!

One burst of Haki later...

And Fake Luffy and co. found themselves taking a very long nap.

(Meanwhile, even further away on Shabondy Archipeligo...)

The galleon was massive.

Sails that would soon be fat with wind were currently furled. A deck which often bore the brunt of many scurrying feet was now pristine near to perfection. Everything about it, this ship which bore a massive lion's head at its tip, was maginificent. Perhaps even moreso, considering it had been lying here in wait for the last two years. Approaching this masterfully made craft, with its skull and crossbones held high; fluttering in the breeze, only could only marvel at in outright awe.

Hence the reason Uzumaki D. Naruto was gawping wordlessly.

This truly was a ship among ships.

"So, this is the Sunny, huh?" He whistled softly. "What a ship!"

Rather fitting, for the man who would one day become king of the pirates. Its outlandish, over-the-top style seemed to be a perfect fit for the Strawhat crew, although none of them seemed to be present at the moment. That dampened his spirits a bit. He really would have liked to have met at least someone other than Nami and her outright hostile approach to things...

"Owwwwh!" A deep, booming voice rang out over the deck. "Oi! Who in the hell're you!"

"Hello?" Naruto blinked, shouldering his pack. "Who is that? Is someone there?" Abruptly, his enthusiasm surged to the fore. He failed to recognize the voice, but, then again, save for Nami, he'd never known any met any of the original strawhat crew to begin with. That one of them might be on the ship lifted his spirits considerably. Might it be the pirate hunter Zolo, Black Leg Sanji, Sogeking, or-

"Not another step if you know what's good for you!" A harsh clack drew his attention, then a single red dot hovered upon his chest, emitted by the thin strand of light the like of which he'd never seen before. A targeting system, perhaps? Seconds later, nearly a dozen other gleaming red periods joined it, leaving a grand total of one dozen weapons locked upon various parts of his body.

"Who's there?" He called across the deck. "Is anyone home?"

"You bet your ass I am!"

Naruto had been expecting some semblance of welcome.

Instead, he found himself face to face with the strangest looking human-being he had ever seen in his life. Words alone could not suffice. Nor could they hope to describe him, this massive muscular monstrosity of mirthful metallic substance. With one of those giant hands, he tilted up his sunglasses and peered across the expanse that sepearated in less than an instant.

"Oi, bastard!" He called. "Keep your hands off Sunny!"

"Alright," Naruto held up his hands. "I'm not touching! See!"

"What the hell do you want!"

That earned a response; Naruto puffed out a stray strand of flame from his lips.

"Is Luffy here?"

"Luffy?" The strange man-bot blinked. "Just how the hell do you know him, huh?"

"Will you believe me if I tell you?" Naruto asked.

"Probably not." The cyborg conceded. "You're not the first to try and play that card. Now get out of here!"

"If you'll just listen-

"I won't!"

"To what I have to say-

"Scram!"

"I'm sure you'll-

"Skedaddle!"

"Understand-

"Get lost!"

"What I have to-

"Beat it, trash!"

Trash?

Now, Naruto considered himself to be a patient man. And with good reason. Long had he suffered through the last two years of endless searching, endless training, making his share of friends and foes along the way. Long had he looked, high and low, for all the secrets that came with the subtle but dangerous art of Haki, and of the Mera Mera no mi and the whereabouts man he'd so fervently sought.

But today after encountering obstacle after obstacle after obstacle his patience was at an end. Here, at the cusp of completing the quest that'd consumed the last two years of his life, being insulted and affronted at every turn...

...something had to give.

"U-RU-SAI!" He bellowed, a great gust of flame sweeping from his form! "Will you just shut the hell up and let me talk, huh, baka yarou!" For a moment, the cyborg cowered, then Naruto felt a round fizzle through his flesh. He paused, peering down at the now gaping hole in his chest. Frowned. Watched as it closed. Then, before the cyborg could fire another shot, he came forward.

"Listen you-

His boots thudded upon the deck as he landed, bringing himself face to face with the strangely clad cyborg. He made it all of three steps before another shot sputtered out of his chest, turned to ash upon contact. He permitted himself a small smile. Then he was upon the cyborg. His hands flashed outward, once, twice, three times, batting aside a great overhand sweep with one and striking barehanded with the other.

It was an abysmal failure.

He'd neglected the use of his flames during the attack-he couldn't bear the thought of damaging the ship-but in the end, all it gave him was a pair of swollen knuckles. Hands throbbing, he backed off, leering furiously.

"YEOW!" Naruto yelped. "What the hell are you made of, cast iron!"

"ATSUI!" The cyborg yowled likewise waving his hand up and down comically as well. "Hot! What the hell are you made of, kono yarou! Why I oughta-

"Franky," A voice like living liquid interjected softly, "There's no need for violence."

"Franky?" Naruto blinked. "Wait. So you're, actually Franky...

"Owwwwh!" The strange cyborg shouted suddenly, eyes sparkling, "That vooooooice!" He turned, as always, striking a pose, "That boooody!" Naruto twisted, a blue-red irses slowly reappearing over his shoulder That niiiice beauty can only be...

For the first time in his life, Uzumaki D. Naruto was truly, utterly, speechless.

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...

"My eyes are up here, if you don't mind."

Her voice gently tugged him from his reverie.

She had a gentle look about her, and it was then, in that instant, that he realized the identity of this bux beauty.

...Nico Robin!" Naruto croaked out in disbelief.

"You're looking well, yourself."

The blond blanched.

"Well...shit."