Chapter 8: Itachi's Odyssey (Part 1)

Chapter 8: Itachi's Odyssey (Part 1)

Things were not going well for Itachi Uchiha and Davos Seaworth. Hours after the Ninja had been briefed on the nature of the Sea of Second Chances, he decided to set out West. Sympathetic to the young man, Davos offered to take him on his own modest sloop, introducing it as Shireen. Burns made sure they stuffed every provision they possibly could, while also slapping a few protective seals that Sasori left behind on the hull. While pale, the leader still insisted on seeing them off. Plus, he handed off another of the Hokage's S-Rank Wind Scrolls to Itachi. Said Ninja smiled when he heard who made them, deciding he had something else to look forward to in this Sea.

Just a few minutes after Shipwreck Cove was out of sight, a storm had completely blown the duo off course. It was only thanks to Davos' frantic helmsmanship, and Itachi's Sharingan predicting the lightning strikes and tsunamis that the ship was mostly undamaged. The storm was so ferocious that they had no choice but to head for land the instant they spotted it.

Once the ship was secured, Itachi grabbed Davos and his bag, and dashed across the water. "SEVEN HELLS! Warn me next time!" the old sailor cursed.

"My apologies," the stoic Uchiha responded. Before he said any more, the two had already gotten on shore. Davos grumbled and cursed under his breath the second he was put back on his feet.

The next few minutes were spent quickly getting some shelter up in the form of a tent, with some seals to make sure it could take a storm. Davos was surprisingly efficient at it, considering the fronts of his right fingers being gone. When the shelter was complete, Itachi unsealed some wood that he obtained from Burns, arranged it, and used a small Fireball Jutsu to get it started.

Once finished, the duo took a seat.

"So Itachi, tell me about yourself," the jovial sailor insisted, clearly bored.

The Uchiha looked the Westerosi Lord right in the eye. He was silent for a good while, until… "You first." The slightest hint of a smile could be seen.

"Ah…man of many words, are ya? Still, I guess I owe ya that," Davos admitted. "Well, not much to say about my own life."

Itachi simply raised an eyebrow at the veteran, which didn't go unnoticed.

"All right ya cheeky bastard. I was the son of a crabber. We didn't have much, so I had to resort to smuggling as soon as I could row." Davos didn't sound particularly regretful, which Itachi couldn't help but note.

"So I assume most of your life was an attempt to stay under the radar," Itachi guessed.

"Yeah…but that all flew out the window when the siege happened." This was when Itachi noticed his new friend fidget with the sword by his left hand.

"You don't have to talk about it now if you want," Itachi spoke up.

"Your concern's appreciated," Davos said. "But it does feel good to actually talk about this sort of thing."

"It does?" Itachi wondered.

"Yeah, you should try it."

The former Akatsuki paused before shrugging. "Sorry, maybe next time."

Davos chuckled. "Don't think you're going to get away with that forever."

"Well…I can be very persuasive," Itachi said with fake menace.

"I don't doubt it…especially if you were able to keep Kisame restrained for years," Davos chortled.

"Hmm…not as hard as you think," Itachi thoughtfully added.

"Still…he and Halibel did make things rather tense sometimes. Thank the Seven Jinbe was there."

"I'm still having trouble believing that Kisame just happened to run into such strong water users right off the bat," Itachi admitted.

"Well…let's just say that this world has a habit of making the unusual commonplace," Davos agreed.

"That so?"

Before Davos could retort, they heard a scream out in the distance.

Without a word exchanged, the two dashed out. Itachi held a kunai close, while Davos had unsheathed his cutlass. The Ninja slowed down so as to keep his comrade in sight. After around five minutes of trudging through wet sand and mud, they found someone.

It was a tall young man with a mop of black hair. All he wore was a tattered pair of pants. His muscular chest was completely bare, exposing a tattoo on his back. It was a purple cross of bones, with a mustachioed skull over the intersection. When Davos and Itachi got closer, they noticed another series of tattoos on his left arm. A. S. C. E.

The stranger was on his knees, hands clutching his head. He was hyperventilating so much that he didn't even notice the newcomers. His freckles were splotched with trails of tears.

Having seen enough, Itachi knelt in front of the young man, and looked him in the eye. Using a Genjutsu to sooth the stranger to sleep, the Ninja picked him up and started heading back. Davos kept a hand on his sword, eyes sharp as he covered them. Even with an unconscious man in tow, they made it back just as quick, no doubt helped by the storm stopping.

The two immediately began treatment for shock, laying down and drying him off before unsealing a blanket. Let it never be said that Itachi or Davos were unprepared.

In a few more minutes, the man was starting to stir. Curious, Itachi scanned him with a basic Sharingan, and was very surprised to see no Chakra (or anything even close) in him.

"Davos…he's not anyone from your world, is he?"

"No…can't say that anyone from Westeros looks like that," Davos admitted. "So I take it he isn't a Ninja if you're asking."

"Hmm," Itachi decided to put that conversation on hold when he noticed the man's eyelids flutter.

"Wha…LUFFY!" The man started to shoot bolt upright, images of magma clouding his vision, only to be gently pushed down by the shoulders.

While Itachi restrained the man, Davos gave a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we're here to help," the old sailor promised.

Taking a deep breath as he finally realized his situation, the man gave a confused look. "Who are you?"

"My name's Davos Seaworth…and that fella holding you down is Itachi Uchiha."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance," the Ninja added politely.

Beginning to relax, the man seemed more bemused than anything as he ran a hand over his chest and turned his head. "Is my tattoo still there?"

"Indeed," Itachi answered. "It's quite the unique design."

"You don't recognize it or me?" the stranger asked with a disbelieving look.

"Son," Davos interrupted. "I don't think anyone from your world is nearby to recognize it."

"What?"

Noticing the confusion, Davos repeated for the umpteenth time that this stranger was now in the Sea of Second Chances. He quickly revealed what the general populace knew about the situation. The stranger's eyes lit up when Davos explained how everyone strong seemed to be drawn West for a variety of reasons.

"Take your time digesting this," Davos suggested as he finished.

"Thanks," the stranger mumbled. He then gave a mild blush as he remembered something. "I'm so sorry for forgetting my manners. My name's Portgas D. Ace."

Ace bowed his head a little to the others. "Thank you for the shelter and explanation." Still, the pirate's expression looked slightly morose.

"It's no trouble," Davos assured. "Honestly, most people need a little guidance when stuck in a situation this mad."

"Why me though?" Ace asked.

"What?" Davos wondered.

"Why me? I let one brother die…my family suffered because of me at Marineford…and my other little brother had to watch me die in his arms. Do I really deserve a second chance?"

Itachi froze as images of Sasuke popped into his mind. His expression seemed downtrodden as he accused himself of being a failure to his own brother. Every mistake played itself repeatedly in his head.

Seeing where this was going, Davos intervened, thinking along the lines of 'Nope…not doing this.'

"Listen you two. There's no way of knowing why. Hells, I get the feeling we'll never know. But what does it matter?" Davos posed the question, earning his compatriots' undivided attention. "I plan to go on, fighting as long as I can, and cleaning up as much of this world's shit as possible. What about you two?"

Hearing that, Itachi and Ace had more considering looks. Before they could respond, a noise called out. It was a shrill mixture of whistling, chattering, and squeaking. Then, the noise was repeated over and over. The distorted chitter grew louder.

"Speaking of this world's shit…" Davos grumbled as he picked up his cutlass, instantly drawing it.

Concerned, Itachi got to his feet, while helping up Ace. "So that's a problem?" the Ninja wanted to confirm.

"Aye…get ready to fight," Davos gravely declared.

All three exited the tent, looking out to the horizon. While Davos could only see a distant disturbance of the water's surface, Itachi's Sharingan got a clear view of what was coming.

Firstly, he saw that it was a pack of around fifty dolphins making that noise. Now he understood why Kisame hated them so much. Back to his observations, the dolphins were all bigger than usual. Their mouths were misshapen by overly large teeth protruding out of their snouts. Scars and horrible gashes completely covered each dolphin's skin. Their fins had been filed down to a razor-sharp point, much to Itachi's befuddlement. And the tails were beating at an unnaturally quick rate.

Then, Itachi gazed upon the riders of the dolphins. They had the general size and shape of fully-grown humans, what with their upright positions, four limbs, and a head. Their skin was varying shades of gray, with black war paint on some of their faces and arms. Thanks to some with bare chests, Itachi saw that they had gills on the side of their torsos. Their nails had grown to the point they could be mistaken for claws. Most of them had small, beady green eyes. Mouths full of sharp teeth shouted out war cries as the pack edged closer to the island.

Not wanting to be surprised, Ace reached out with his Observation Haki. While not the best at it, he was still able to get a general sense of things when exercising that power. Still, that was enough to understand the 'Voices' of the coming pack. He could just feel the sadistic bloodlust emanating from these guys. There was something else though. Ace was barely able to tell, but it seemed as if some greater malice was driving these creatures.

"What the hell are those things?!" Ace loudly asked.

"Samebito pack," Davos grumbled. Seeing something, the veteran stepped to the side. Just in time too, as an arrow flew right through where he was. "Damn scavengers."

"Kill Them All!" came the gravelly voice of the Samebito in front. "Take what you can before we head back to the army!"

"Army?" Ace raised an eyebrow.

"Seven Hells," Davos cursed. "If they're organizing, then something big is brewing."

"We can worry about that later," Itachi decided as he drew shuriken. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" With a quick breath, the metal was thrown and wreathed in flame. The barrage nailed the apparent leader and a few others, leading to them falling off their dolphins.

"REEAGH!" The remaining Samebito screeched as they started waving a variety of blades in the air. A few got out bows and arrows. Before they could reach landfall, Itachi dashed out onto the water, much to Ace's shock. By the time the pack realized what was happening, the Ninja was already amongst them. He was towards the back, showing off astounding agility as he hopped from the back of one dolphin to the next. He started by exclusively targeting the archers, who were not prepared in the least.

Still, that didn't deter a couple dozen Samebitos from dismounting and charging at Ace and Davos. The old sailor instantly moved his cutlass to intercept a hatchet. As he managed to parry and cut down the offending Samebito, Davos couldn't help but smile at how much better he was with a lighter blade. Back in Westeros, his training had been limited to the broadsword, and that was after the fronts of his right fingers were cut off. As a result, he was a poor swordfighter compared to most of the other lords and ladies he called friends. But here, Burns had once suggested the cutlass. With a little training, it fit him like a glove. Back to the present, Davos was tearing through the monsters coming at him. It only took one or two moves for him to bring down each individual Samebito.

As for Ace, he just stood there as the beasts came at him, wanting to test something out. Thinking it was an opening, one brave Samebito lunged at the Pirate with a scimitar. Unfortunately for him, the Pirate turned into fire as his momentum sent him through the now-intangible man. Horribly burned, the Samebito screamed before he fell lifeless.

"Well…still got the Flame-Flame Fruit at least," Ace muttered to himself. Then, he sighed as he noticed the Samebitos still charging, not learning from their comrade's fate apparently. He crouched down, and pointed at the crowd, thumbs up. "Fire Gun!"

The Samebitos were all scorched by the barrage while Ace turned to hit every single one of them. Davos raised an eyebrow after cutting down another brute. "Huh…two fire users on my ship…let's hope they get along," he muttered as he offhandedly relieved another Samebito of its blade (and hand along with it).

Back on the water, Itachi was down to the last few riders. Finally comprehending the futility of their situation, the Samebitos pulled on the reins. "Come on!" one of them shouted. "We need to warn the others about these wretches!"

After slitting another throat, Itachi noticed the fleeing figures. At the same time, Davos and Ace finished dealing with the Samebitos on land.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Fire Fist!"

Davos looked at the others, feeling left out. "Go team," he halfheartedly added.

The two attacks met right at the decimated pack. The conflagration consumed every last one of them. Itachi gave a dispassionate gaze to the crowd of burnt remains, making sure they were finished off. He then walked back to the others, noticing Davos holding up one injured Samebito, his cutlass pressed to their throat.

"Why were you this far west?" Davos questioned.

The Samebito growled, and spat in the sailor's face. Davos simply pressed his cutlass, actually drawing blood. Noticing the impasse, Ace decided to join in.

"Look buddy…you can make this easy on all of us…if you're smart," the Pirate suggested. The Samebito started feeling uncomfortably warm around where Ace was patting his back.

"A lowly soldier wouldn't know anything of worth," Itachi argued as he rejoined the group. He brandished a kunai. "It'd be better to get rid of him now and move on."

"Hehehehe," the Samebito began to chuckle despite his growing pain. "When our army is done with Captain Usopp, they'll come for you and everyone on these miserable 'entrance' islands. YOUR WORLD WILL BURN!"

"Funny you should use those words."

Without warning, Davos leg go of the prisoner and backed away. Then, Ace's hand completely turned into fire, alighting the Samebito. His screaming was brief, since Itachi cut his throat to put him out of his misery.

"Well…did either of you get anything meaningful out of that?" Davos asked as he began to clean his cutlass.

Ace brought a hand to his chin in thought. "Something he said sounded familiar."

"Even if he did act cooperative, I'm sure someone like him would've only given us lies," Itachi surmised.

"Wait…lies?" At that point, realization hit Ace. "I know who that Samebito was talking about," Ace announced. "Usopp is my brother's crewmate."

"And who is your brother?" Itachi asked out of curiosity.

The pirate grinned at the thought of his adopted kin. " Luffy…he called his crew the Straw Hat Pirates."

Davos actually perked up at that. "Wait…Jinbe was on your brother's crew?"

That got an epic reaction of shock. "WHAT? You met Jinbe? He's a Straw Hat?!"

"Unless you know any other big, blue Fishmen who can throw the ocean over their shoulder who were also Straw Hats," Davos couldn't help but tease.

The Pirate just gave the veteran a look.

"Still…to think we would have a lead on them so soon," Itachi mused.

"Huh…why are you so interested in my brother's crew?" Ace couldn't help but be suspicious.

"My partner is traveling with them. He and Jinbe woke up on the same island," the former Akatsuki explained. "It'd be nice to see him again."

"That so?" the Pirate asked.

Itachi settled with nodding. "Maybe I can help this man reunite with his brother," he thought, seeing a chance to make sure that at least one brotherhood stayed together.

Davos smiled at the two. "Well…it seems you two are ready." He was relieved that his two comrades had braced themselves for the coming challenges, instead of wallowing in self-pity like earlier. Hells, he was glad for that Samebito attack getting their heads on straight. The old sailor got up. "Come on, I don't know how long the sky will stay clear, so let's make the most of it."

Nodding, Itachi and Ace packed up their shelter. The Pirate had a look of utter fascination when the Ninja sealed the tent into a scroll, and stuffed it into a pocket. "How'd you do that?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "All Ninja are taught the basics of the Sealing Arts in the Academies," he said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Hmm." Ace had seen the Ninjas of Wano in his homeworld…and none of them could do that. Plus, he couldn't recall anyone else in the Grand Line who could simply create and control fire without a Mythical Zoan. Heat maybe…but never straight up fire. These other worlds' capabilities seemed fantastical to the Grand Line veteran. Curious, Ace pried.

"Is fire a common ability in your world?" the Pirate wondered.

"Yes. All Ninja had an inclination to either various elements or to clan abilities, sometimes both. Fire is my family's usual element."

"How about your partner?"

Itachi actually chuckled at that. "Kisame could barely make a fireball big enough to cook dinner, let alone fight with. No, he was the most skilled Water Style Ninja in my time…and the strongest Swordsman I ever worked with."

"Strong, huh?"

"Indeed…I only ever beat him with misdirection and illusions," Itachi admitted. "Although, we never did use our strongest moves against each other. Perhaps my Mangekyo could overpower him."

Ace paused in consideration, though he was baffled when the Ninja mentioned he could use illusions too. The very idea of such a diverse power-set seemed foreign to someone used to just his Devil Fruit and Haki.

"What about this Jinbe?" the Ninja wondered.

Ace laughed as he recalled meeting the Fishman. "We actually met in a fight. The two of us went at it for five days straight."

Itachi was shocked at the sheer length of time, knowing he didn't have anything close to the stamina needed to pull that off. "What kind of a world makes people that strong without any Chakra?"

At this point, they were done packing. In another few minutes, the trio was on The Shireen, deciding on a course of action.

"That Samebito pack came from west by southwest," Itachi recalled. "If we want to aid this Usopp you speak of…that's our best bet."

"Don't really see any other options," Ace had to admit. "Unless you want to just try and find Jinbe and Kisame."

"From what Davos tells me, considering how the sea narrows, we'll eventually meet them as long as all of us head west," Itachi informed the Pirate.

"It's settled then," Davos clapped his hands together he headed to the wheel. Ace brought up the anchor, while Itachi quickly ran up the mast to set the rigging. Once the ship had set sail, Itachi settled into the crow's nest, eyeing the horizon. Ace had fallen asleep, standing up. Davos chuckled at the two, sure they'd be just fine.

How y'all doing? Hope you like this experimental chapter of mine. Since it was shorter than usual, I was able to get it out sooner. Depending on how it's received, more 'interlude' chapters may be coming, possibly with different crews.

This chapter was mostly to get a feel for how I write characters NOT named Kisame, Jinbe, or Halibel. Plus, everyone (including me) was excited to bring in Itachi. Hope I did his character justice.

With Davos, I made him a much better fighter, just so he could keep up with all the mooks that'd be coming at him. No powers, but he's basically the 'Badass Normal' of the verse so far. It was a bit of a challenge figuring out how he'd interact with Itachi and Ace, considering how different GoT is compared to anime. I feel that it was faithful to his character, but let me know if I could be better.

Now, Ace. I eagerly await your reactions to that curveball I threw. Plus, I couldn't resist the chance to push him in with Itachi, because that dynamic will be so fascinating to explore.

And the Samebitos. They were inspired by a Japanese myth about Sharkmen. I couldn't help myself. To any Lord of the Rings fans out there, the Samebitos will basically be the 'orcs' of my universe. Plus, a lot of my future villains will have armies…and the Samebitos are the foot soldiers. Also, Dolphins are evil, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise.

Next Chapter: The White Castle.

Til Next Time…Have Fun!