AN: Well, here goes nothing. This is the first fanfic I've ever written so any and all constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. I'm not too sure about what the update speed is going to be but I should hopefully have something out by sometime next month. Now, without further ado.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or One Piece

A well-built muscular man stood looking through his telescope on the top of a marine vessel that bore a large bull-dog with a spiked collar and holding a bone as its figurehead, staring intently at a small island in the distance. He wore a black double-breasted suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a red tie. Over top of his suit he wore a large marine jacket with red and black epaulets draped over his shoulders like a cape. His short black hair spiked wildly off of his head sticking up into the air, and his sideburns were beginning to gray. He had a well defined jaw masked behind his black goatee and bore a scar on his face near his left eye, the stitches used to close it still visible.
"Are you sure that they're on that island?" he questioned the marine standing next to him taking his eyes off of the island and gazing at his subordinate.

"Yes sir!" he responded loudly, "The pirates were seen docking their boat at the harbor not too long ago." The man returned his attention to the island his eyes widening as he saw smoke rising from its lone village which was bathed in an orange glow.

He quickly closed the telescope handing it back to the officer, his blue eyes hardened as he turned and began walking towards his quarters to prepare for battle, "Hurry up and get us over there now, you know just as well as I do how ruthless these pirates are."

"Yes sir!"

Fires raged throughout the small village of Konoha as it was ransacked by pirates, stealing everything in sight. Blood drenched the ground and the smell of death permeated the air as dead bodies lay strewn all over the once happy town. Men were beaten and tortured as they watched their wives being violated before the eyes of their children who would be killed soon after followed shortly by their parents. Cries of sobbing children rang out through the village as they wept over the dead bodies of their parents, generally followed by the din of gunfire, quickly silencing their anguished screams. The man stepped onto the island and his ears were immediately assaulted by the pleas for help from those that had still survived, a deep scowl quickly formed on his face and his anger was easily noticed by his men who were feeling the same way.

"Go!" he shouted tossing his right arm forward as he ordered his men, "Save as many as you can and leave no pirates alive, we're taking no prisoners!"

"Yes sir!" the marines chorused as they rushed into the small village intent on ending this massacre while some people were hopefully still alive. Gunfire sounded around the village as the marines did battle, their anger growing at every dead body discovered, at this rate it looked as though the whole village had been killed. Their commander walked through the village paying no heed to the shots fired around him, every so often a pirate brave enough, or stupid enough, would get in his way only to be sent flying by an incredibly powerful punch instantly killing them. He looked up and saw a small cottage in the distance that had caught fire, he quickened his pace hoping to find at least one person who had survived this massacre.

A woman with ankle-length red hair leaned against the wall of her home blood slowly trickling out of her mouth and her other wounds pooling around her body. She wore a high-collared, sleeveless dress that was torn and ripped in multiple places with an apron over it that had been ripped as well. Her feet were clad in an odd type of sandal and shoe hybrid covering most of her foot but leaving her toes and heel uncovered. In her arms she held an infant, her child, wrapped in a blanket that had become stained with her blood as she fought tooth and nail to protect her child from harm. Around her lay the bodies of at least fifteen pirates she had killed to protect her son who was now crying loudly. "It's alright Naruto," she whispered to her child in a rasping voice as she looked down on him, finding that it was becoming harder and harder to find the strength to breathe, "mommy's here, I won't let anything bad happen to you." She soon noticed that her body was covered in shadow and her head snapped up in surprise at being caught unaware, fearing for her son's safety. Her tensed muscles immediately relaxed as she realized that it was a marine, but not just any marine, it was Garp the Fist, Hero of the Marines, and one of the only people capable of going toe-to-toe with Gol D. Roger the Pirate King himself. Garp knelt down in front of her and was moving to pick her up when she shook her head. "It's too late for me," she rasped, now wheezing with every breath she took, "I beg you, please take care of my son."

Garp gazed solemnly into her eyes, her violet-blue orbs staring right back into his light blue ones. "I will," he nodded, "what is his name?"

"Naruto D. Newgate," she replied Garp's eyes widening imperceptibly as she handed her child to him, "and take this," she stated as she struggled to remove her necklace, once she finally had she placed it into Garp's open palm. It was a white gold necklace that bore a circular silver pendant that bore a red swirl, "it's an Uzumaki heirloom that has been passed down from generation to generation to the first-born of the family." She gazed up at the man as her vision began to blur and her body grew cold, "Please," she begged, "turn my boy into a man that can be respected, no matter what he does...and tell him...I loved him." she finished as she exhaled her last breath her head tilting forwards as her eyes closed for the last time a contented smile on her face in the knowledge that her one and only child would live.

Garp stood up, his new charge in his arms as he looked down solemnly upon the body of his mother and drank in the scene of her body surrounded by those of the dead pirates. Years later he would tell the story of her death to Naruto, of her love, her protection, and her refusal to die until she was certain that her child would be safe. As Garp walked back towards the village it began to rain, and as the heavens mourned the loss of a great woman his only thought was, "What have I gotten myself into?"

(5 years later)

"Oh Shit!" Naruto thought as he ran away from his crazed caretaker, weaving back and forth between the trees as he sprinted through the vegetation. The boy was extremely tall for a five year old, having already passed four feet in height a long time ago. He wore a black and orange tee-shirt, black shorts and black shoes. His blonde hair stuck up into the air wildly seemingly defying the laws of gravity. Naruto screamed in terror as the tree next to him was shattered by a cannonball his blue eyes widening in disbelief, "Is that crazy old man trying to kill me!" he screeched running at speeds he would've never imagined he was capable of.

"Bwahahaha!" Garp laughed uproariously as he chased after his young charge, a cannonball carried in his left hand. He shifted the cannonball to his right hand and shouted, "Fist Meteorite!" before pulling back and throwing the cannonball as if it were a baseball, his laughter grew even louder when his young charge let out another frightened yelp when it landed no more than 5 inches away from Naruto.

"Stop trying to kill me you crazy old man!" Naruto screamed back at Garp in response to the man's laughter, not paying attention to where he was going and running right into someone sending them both tumbling. Naruto eventually came to a stop sprawled across the ground. He quickly got back to his feet and was about to start running when he noticed four men standing around him glaring as the other man got back to his feet.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing punk! Do you know who we are?"

"Hehehe," Naruto chuckled sheepishly while rubbing the back of his neck, "uhh...no." His response just angered the five men even more.

"Boss can I just kill this brat?" one said as he pulled out a gun, cocked it, and pointed it straight at Naruto's head. Naruto's eyes widened for an instant before his gaze imperceptibly hardened and his muscles tensed in preparation for a fight.

"Sure, mak..." his voice trailed off as his jaw hung open in shock at seeing his crew mate get sent flying by one of Naruto's punches. Naruto rushed over to the nearest man punching him in the gut before he could pull out his weapon. He bent over in pain and was hit in the face by a roundhouse kick sending him sprawling on the ground out cold. By this point the other men had managed to pull out their swords and charged Naruto. He ducked under one slash and delivered a jarring blow to the man's jaw, the force strong enough to spin him around before falling to the ground. Naruto dove out of the way of one man's lunge causing him to impale the man that had been trying to get Naruto from behind leaving the captain and the man who had just recovered from a blow to the jaw as the only ones left.

Naruto took up a stance across from them his feet planted firmly on the ground as he made a "come on" gesture with his right hand. Both men charged at the same time wildly slashing at Naruto, he ducked under the first slash and spun around the captain's attack leaving him behind the two men. He jumped in the air and spun quickly delivering a devastating kick to the back of a man's neck knocking him out and sending him tumbling across the ground. The captain turned to face Naruto unleashing a flurry of slashes at the boy, Naruto ducked and weaved around the blows, slowly inching closer to the man. Once he was in range Naruto knocked the mans arm out away from his body interrupting his slash and leaving his body wide open. Naruto rained punches down on the man's torso his fists beginning to blur slightly before he jumped into the air delivering an airborne uppercut to the man's jaw sending him into the air. As the man began falling towards the ground head first Naruto pulled back his left fist before launching a punch that caught the man directly in the jaw before he hit the ground. There was a loud crack signalling that Naruto had at least fractured the man's jaw before he was sent flying away from the boy landing roughly on the ground unconscious.

Naruto sighed deeply and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he tried to get his breathing under control. It was just then that Garp had entered the clearing, he took one moment to examine his surroundings before bursting out laughing, affectionately ruffling Naruto's hair earning a glare from the young blonde.

"Wahahaha!" Garp laughed out, still ruffling Naruto's hair despite his protests, "As expected of my grandson! You know what? Since you're obviously..." Garp trailed off and a light snore could be heard coming from the man. Naruto looked up to see a large bubble coming from the man's nose telling him that Garp had fallen asleep. Naruto screamed in annoyance as he jumped and kicked Garp in the chest knocking him over and causing Garp to wake up. He immediately stood up and punched Naruto on top of the head, afterwards grabbing the front of his shirt and bringing him up to eye level. "What the hell was that for brat!"

"You fell asleep in the middle of talking!" Naruto screamed in reply. Garp looked embarrassed and sheepishly scratched his cheek as he set Naruto on the ground.

"Anyway," he said changing the topic," what was I talking about?"

"You said 'As expected of my grandson! You know what? Since you're obviously...' after seeing the guys I had taken out."

"Right, as I was saying, since you're obviously strong enough I've decided to let you join the Marines like you wanted."

"Seriously?" Naruto asked his eyes gleaming in excitement with a huge grin on his face, Garp merely nodded in response a similar grin on his face. Naruto jumped onto Garp and wrapped his arms and legs around the man in a large hug, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he screamed in joy, Garp's grin only grew wider as he hugged his adopted grandson simply enjoying spending time with the boy.

"And," Garp added, "You'll be serving under me to help you get acquainted with the Marines before you're ready to stand on your own two feet."

"Hell no!" Naruto screamed in reply, "I've had to deal with enough of your hellish training as is! I'll get stronger my own way!"

Garp looked down on the boy he held in his arms, already proud of the man he was turning into, "Fine, if you want to be more independent who am I to stop you? However, if I find out that you've been slacking on training without me around the training I'll give you will make everything you've done so far look like a walk in the park." A chill went down Naruto's spine at the threat and he merely nodded in response not trusting his voice at the moment because of his fear. "Good, I'll bring you back to Marine HQ with me when my vacation is over in the next couple of days, now let's go back home I think you've had enough training for today." Garp pried Naruto off of him and set his surrogate grandson on the ground, both beginning the long trek back to their house.

"Holy Shit!" Naruto screamed his head tilted back completely as he stood gaping in front of the large fortress, "It's fucking huge!"

"Hurry up brat," Garp said as he shoved Naruto in the back sending him stumbling forwards causing him to almost lose grip on the pack he had slung over his shoulder, "we don't have all day."

"Hey!" he screamed angrily at his surrogate grandfather, "this is my first time ever going anywhere outside of the village back home, just give me a couple seconds to take it all in okay!" Garp merely grinned while he affectionately ruffled the boy's hair, only serving to anger him even more.

"Let's go brat, I'd like to have you drafted and assigned to an instructor by the end of the day." With that being said Garp removed his hand from Naruto's head and began walking through the gates of Marineford into the giant fortress. Naruto followed closely behind grumbling under his breath about crazy old men.

After a few minutes of walking down the large corridors of the fortress they entered a large room with a high ceiling. To the right of the entrance there were a multitude of ropes to direct the flow of people to the multiple desks located near the wall similar to the set up of a bank. Directly in front of the entrance there was a large open area littered with benches to provide a sitting area for those waiting on people in line to register. The room was filled with a large amount of people, the lines of those waiting to register were well past the end of the ropes and there were barely enough benches to seat everyone. Naruto's gaze dropped to the floor in exasperation at how long this was going to take failing to notice the lone desk next to the others that had no line whatsoever. "Hurry up brat," Garp said as he shoved Naruto in the direction of the lone desk, "let's get this over with quickly so I can get some donuts."

"Quickly?" Naruto questioned, "Have you seen the lines? It's going to take forever!" Hearing no reply Naruto looked up to see Garp with a blank expression on his face pointing over Naruto's shoulder. He turned and followed Garp's gesture finally seeing the desk the man was indicating. "Oh, hehehe," Naruto chuckled sheepishly while he scratched the back of his head, "I guess I didn't see that earlier. Why do they have that desk if no one uses it anyways?"

"Simple, it's to speed up the process for anyone who's joining the marines that's backed by, or related to, an officer of Commodore rank or above. Since they generally accompany their relatives it helps to keep objects from being thrown across the room in frustration and helps keep us sane as well. Now hurry up so I can go get those donuts."
"Screw donuts old man! When this is over we're getting ramen!" Naruto yelled excitedly as he sprinted towards the desk before his surrogate grandfather could punch him, or do anything else in retaliation.

"Rrrggh," Garp growled with his eyes narrowed while he shook his fist angrily at Naruto, "We're getting donuts you brat! How can you even like that ramen crap anyways?"

Naruto froze mid-stride and turned to face Garp. His eyes alight with flame as he glared back at the man, "Don't you dare say the name of ramen in vain!" he screeched pointing his finger at the man accusingly. Garp walked towards Naruto and delivered a brutal blow to the top of his head with his fist before he picked him up by the back of his shirt and tossed him towards the desk.

Naruto landed hard on the ground and rolled a couple of feet before finally coming to a stop right in front of the desk. He quickly stood up and looked around, embarrassed that his surrogate grandfather had just thrown him across the room. Luckily it seemed that no one had noticed the embarrassing incident, that is until Naruto heard someone clear their throat behind him in an attempt to gain his attention.

"Ahem," an older woman, probably in her mid-to-late-fifties said, "do you plan on getting registered or just looking around the room like a buffoon?"

"Hehe," Naruto nervously chuckled as he turned around and faced her, "Sorry about that, I would like to enlist in the marines."

"Which officer is your sponsor?"

"Garp the Fist." Naruto responded, not noticing the woman's eyes widening in surprise.

"Garp the Fist?" Naruto nodded in response, "Well, it's not everyday we get a new recruit that's sponsored by a Vice-Admiral, here fill out this sheet," she said handing him a form, a clipboard, and a pen, "and return to me when you're finished."

Naruto nodded in affirmation and strode off in an attempt to find a place to sit down. Naruto spotted Garp off to his right sitting on a bench with an open space next to him so he walked over and sat down next to his surrogate grandfather. Naruto began filling out the form answering all questions truthfully aside from his name which he listed as Naruto D. Uzumaki. After about twenty minutes Naruto had completed the form and returned to the old lady.

"Here you go." Naruto said handing her the form. She grabbed the form and quickly glanced over it making sure everything had been properly filled out, everything seemed normal until she looked at the boys age.

"It says here that you're only five years old, surely that's not true?"

"Well, if you want to get specific I'm technically somewhere around five and a half give or take a few days." Her eyes became the size of dinner plates.

"B-But you're at least 4'10" tall! How in the world are you only five years old?" Naruto gave an embarrassed grin as he sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

"I'm kinda tall for my age, although it's no surprise give who my father is, he was huge, or at least that's what Garp told me." The woman merely stared at him for a few moments trying to determine whether or not he was telling the truth, unintentionally making Naruto more uncomfortable. Eventually she just shrugged, she couldn't tell if he was lying and honestly she didn't really care.

"Here's your room assignment and the instructor who will be teaching you at the naval academy. You are to report to him and give him your assignment form before going to your room. Good luck." Naruto took the forms with his assignments on them and nodded in thanks to the woman before turning around and heading off to find Garp. He hoped they'd get ramen instead of donuts since this could very likely be the last time he ate with his grandfather for a long time.

As time passed Naruto quickly became the star student of his class, despite his abysmal grades on written exams, dominating everyone else in any combat practice or anything that involved physical activity. Because of his high skill Naruto was allowed to graduate early from the academy, graduating in one year rather than the usual three. While not unheard of it was still rather uncommon, especially considering the one who had graduated was a six year old.
He had grown even taller over the year, measuring in at a startling 5'1". The wind blew his wild blonde hair about as he stood atop a building staring intently at the ocean waiting for the ride to his next assignment. He was currently wearing an unzipped, black track jacket with two orange stripes down the sleeves and a black tee-shirt underneath it. The Uzumaki heirloom pendant hung down around his neck resting on top of his shirt. He wore black cargo pants and had a katana sheathed on the left side of his hip. He was wearing black sneakers with an orange, grinning kitsune on their side as well as two orange stripes on their heel.

Spotting a ship approaching on the horizon Naruto leapt off his perch landing silently on the ground and began walking off towards the port at a leisurely pace. By the time he had arrived at the port the ship was only a few minutes away from arrival so he quickly gathered his things and stood ready to greet his new superior officer. As is tradition for anyone who graduates early Naruto was given the rank of Ensign and was placed under an experienced captain who would mentor him and help him rise through the ranks quickly. The marines were in a constant battle with pirates and always placed a high priority on the training of marines with great potential to be future high-ranking officers.

As the ship pulled into dock Naruto stood at attention, immediately saluting his superior officer as he disembarked. The newly arrived captain looked odd to say the least. He had long curly black hair and a face with a skull-like appearance. He had an abnormally long neck and muscular arms but extremely thin legs. He wore gold, short-sleeved chain mail armor beneath a blue tunic that bore the marine symbol on its front. A helmet with a large, red plume sat atop his head and he wore a rope belt around his waist. A straight sword hung off his right hip that bore a cross on its pommel.

"Ensign Naruto D. Uzumaki reporting for duty sir!" Naruto stated proudly as he saluted his new captain.

"At ease Naruto," Naruto's posture visibly loosened as he relaxed his tense muscles, "I am your new commanding officer Captain T-Bone. Get your belongings loaded onto the ship and I'll brief you on our assignment in my cabin once you've finished." Naruto nodded in acknowledgement and began to carry his things on board. As soon as he had finished Naruto wandered around looking for the captain's cabin. He found the door to T-Bone's cabin open so he knocked lightly on the door before walking into the room announcing his presence.

"Ah, Naruto," T-Bone said looking up from a newspaper he had been reading, "I hope your accommodations are all right? If not I will do everything in my power to make sure you're time with us is a s comfortable as possible, even if I must die to do so!" he said with expressing his great, some would say too great, care for his men.

"Hehehe," Naruto laughed sheepishly while scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "no need to do something so extreme sir. Everything is perfectly fine."

"Well, if you ever need anything all you have to do is ask and I will do everything in my power to help."

"Is he like this to everyone or is he just being nice to me to suck up to Garp?" Naruto thought. "Understood captain. You mentioned you were going to brief me on our assignment earlier, what is it?"

"Ah, yes, for the next year we will be patrolling East Blue. Depending on how you perform during this long-term assignment you may be promoted to Lieutenant or Lieutenant Commander, so work hard and do your best! Also, I see that you carry a sword on you, am I wrong in assuming that you're a swordsman?"

"Yeah," Naruto replied resting his hand on the hilt of his katana, "I'm not all that great at using it though, I prefer to use hand-to-hand combat but having multiple options, especially when it comes to combat, is never a bad idea."

"While I dislike curved swords, I would be willing to teach you what I know about swordsmanship if you would be willing to learn."

"Really?" Naruto asked with a huge grin on his face, T-Bone merely nodded in response returning Naruto's smile, "Thank you!" Naruto said while bowing to his captain.

"It's no problem at all Naruto, I will do everything I can to turn you into the greatest swordsman you can be!"

"Hehehe, thank you captain. Now if you'll excuse me, it's been a long day and I'd like to get settled in then get some sleep."

"Sleep well Naruto!" T-Bone called out as Naruto left the cabin. This was going to be an interesting, and trying, year to say the least.

(2 years later)

Naruto was currently relaxing on the dock with his feet dangling into the water enjoying the refreshing sea breeze as it tossed his blonde hair about wildly. His rate of growth hadn't slowed over the past few years and despite only being eight years old Naruto was already 5'7" tall. He was wearing the same outfit he had worn since he became an Ensign, an unzipped black track jacket with two orange stripes down the sleeves with a black tee-shirt underneath it. The necklace given to him by his mother hung down around his neck resting on top of his shirt. He wore black cargo pants and had his katana sheathed on the left side of his hip. His black and orange sneakers sat beside him as he gazed off into the distance.

He had learned much over the years under the guidance of Captain T-Bone; he had now actually become proficient at using his sword in combat rather than just swing it around wildly. Rather than use it for the bulk of his fighting, Naruto had begun to develop his sword style which strongly resembled iaidō and focused on incapacitating his opponent with one strong and swift slash before re-sheathing his blade. He matured greatly over the past two years of active duty, and while he was still fun-loving and laid back he was capable of becoming serious at the drop of a hat. Due to natural skill and being fast-tracked he had quickly progressed through the ranks and had already become a Captain at the age of 8. There was even talk in the marines that he could possibly become an Admiral by his twenties if he kept advancing at this rate.

As a result of this he had made quite the name for himself and you would be hard pressed to find someone in East Blue who hadn't heard of Uzumaki D. Naruto "The Prodigy". He had received multiple invitations to join the different Cipher Pol agencies ranging from 1 to 8 but had turned them all down telling them that his place was with the marines like his surrogate grandfather Garp. One such letter sat next to him on the dock but there was one key difference; the letter was from a Cipher Pol agency that didn't officially exist. Originally thinking that it was a prank of some sort Naruto had questioned Garp about CP9 and was surprised when Garp confirmed their existence.

He had received their offer one week ago and since then he has been trying to decide what to do. Naruto had been given a deadline and today was the final day; he would have to make his decision in a mere few hours and he was still undecided. Naruto heard footsteps approaching him and turned his head spotting his grandfather walking down the dock towards him with his hands in his pockets and a neutral look on his face.

Garp sat down next to Naruto and gazed at the horizon with him, "Have you decided yet?" the older man questioned.

"I don't know," Naruto replied, " I really love it here, but joining CP9 is the opportunity of a lifetime. I just can't decide."

"You're running out of time; ready or not in an hour you're going to have to make your decision."

"I know I just—I just can't decide. If I join them I might never be able to see you again, and you're the only family I have left."

"Naruto, I'm a Vice-Admiral, you barely get to see me as it is. Besides, we can still stay in touch with Den Den Mushi and because I'm relatively free to decide where I patrol I can visit you wherever you're assigned to at the time."

"...I know it's just..." Naruto paused trying to find the right words to express himself, "I don't know it's just that I get this strange feeling of anxiety about leaving. I know I shouldn't, I mean I was fine all those times you had to leave while I was staying at Dawn Island. I guess I'm just really nervous about this."

Garp placed his hand on Naruto's head and affectionately ruffled his hair, "It's okay to be a little nervous this is a big change in your life and you're only 8 years old. By all rights you probably shouldn't even be in the marines yet. But you're my grandson, and you're stronger than half the people in the marines right now; becoming the best in the CP9 should be easy for you."

Naruto turned and looked at Garp before he gave the man a slight smile, "Heh," he chuckled, "I guess you're right." Naruto looked at the ocean one last time before his gaze hardened with resolve, "I've made my decision," he said as he stood and began striding resolutely down the dock back towards Marine HQ, "I'm joining the CP9 and I'll become the best agent they've ever had!" he shouted punching his fist into the air as he continued walking.
Garp chuckled slightly at his surrogate grandson's antics before looking back at the ocean before he sweatdropped as he remembered something, "That dumbass forgot his shoes." he thought as he stood up, grabbed Naruto's sneakers, and began walking after the boy mumbling about how kids never pick up after themselves under his breath.

(7 Years Later)

"I've retrieved the objective, awaiting further orders," Naruto said clearly into his baby Den Den Mushi in a monotone voice.

"Good work Uzumaki. Exterminate everyone, there can be no witnesses."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, "B–But sir, there are civilians on the island, surely we can..."

"Uzumaki, follow your orders," the voice responded in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Sir, I beg you to reconsider, there must be..." Naruto managed to choke out, still shocked at the order.

"Uzumaki I gave you an order! Follow it or you will be executed no matter how skilled you are!"

"Yes sir," Naruto ground out through clenched teeth before hanging up. He threw the Baby Den Den Mushi across the room in rage causing it's receiver to be destroyed on impact with the wall of the warehouse he was in. Naruto stepped over the unconscious bodies in the room as he slowly made his way over to a crate in the center of the room.

His dress shoes made a slight tapping sound as he carefully stepped around the bodies not wanting to get blood on his suit. Naruto had continued growing over the past seven years and had reached a ridiculous height of 9'6", while he was by no means the tallest person to have been in service to the World Government his height was still abnormal. He wore an all black, pin-striped, three-piece suit with an orange tie and an orange handkerchief tucked into his breast pocket.

Once he reached the crate he easily opened it with his bare hands and looked inside. Within the crate he found over one hundred different devil fruit that the pirates had been stockpiling and were planning to ship out. He reached in and grabbed the first fruit that caught his eye. It was some strange form of banana that was blue and in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Naruto gulped loudly as he eyed the fruit, he had heard from Lucci that the things tasted like shit, and knowing Lucci that was probably an understatement. "Well," he sighed, "here goes nothing," he peeled the fruit and shoved it into his mouth chewing and swallowing as quickly as he could. "Holy Shit!" Naruto exclaimed as he fell to his knees and began dry-heaving because the taste was so foul.

After a minute or so he managed to regain his composure and righted himself as soon as he did he was overwhelmed by a strange sensation. His body was tingling all over and it felt as though a current of electricity was painfully flowing throughout his entire body. The sensation soon passed but was replaced with extreme pain throughout all of Naruto's body especially his back, tailbone, head, hands and feet. Naruto dropped to his knees clutching his head in pain as gold scales started to form on his skin. His back bulged out and suddenly wings extended from his back while his suit somehow created two openings for them without ripping. As scales began to cover his face his ears extended becoming pointed as they too were covered in golden scales. His sapphire eyes became ice blue and gained a feral look as his teeth extended into fangs, scales spread to his forearms and legs while his hands and feet grew claws. Naruto fell to his hands and knees panting heavily as blue lightning crackled all over his body. Aside from his now golden hair, every inch of his body had been covered in scales and as knelt there motionless he appeared to be some sort of human-dragon hybrid. Naruto slowly stood back up trying to grow accustomed to his new form and its altered height, Naruto had grown even taller now coming in at an even 12' tall giving him an imposing figure.

As Naruto walked towards the exit all that could be heard was the crackling of the electricity surrounding his body. As he reached the door he hesitated for a moment and mumbled something under his breath that was nearly drowned out by the sparks surrounding him.

"I am so sorry," he stated thinking of all the innocents he was about to kill, "please, forgive me," with that he strode out of the door. A few minutes later, screams echoed in the distance before being drowned out by a large explosion.

Two weeks had passed since the incident and Naruto's blonde hair swayed in the breeze as he stepped off his boat. In the past few years his hair had grown to become shoulder length and two long bangs hung down framing his face. He was still clad in his black three-piece suit with his orange tie hanging loosely around his neck and his handkerchief still tucked into his breast pocket. The katana that he had grown attached to was sheathed on his left hip ready to be drawn at a moments notice.

The main gates to Enies Lobby opened immediately for him and he strode through moving with purpose and somewhat hurried steps. He had soon arrived in the tower at the back of the island which CP9 operated out of and began climbing up heading for his quarters. He flicked on the lights as soon as he entered and walked over to his desk sitting down in the chair in front of it. He quickly opened one of the drawers and grabbed a pen and paper setting it in front of him on his desk. Naruto then began writing his mission report quickly without rushing and stood up once he was done. He grabbed a folder and stuck the papers inside; he began walking towards his door but paused before heading out. He turned around and headed back towards his desk; Naruto threw the folder on top of it before sitting down once more as he grabbed the Den Den Mushi on his desk making a quick call. After hanging up he began writing something else on a separate piece of paper; when he finished he grabbed the folder and paper and strode quickly out of the room turning the lights off as he exited.

Naruto strode into Spandine's office with a grim look on his face stopping a few feet away from his desk. The man had been working on some paperwork and looked up when he realized someone had entered his office. He had a square jaw with that was masked by a long and sharp goatee. His black hair was graying near the top of his head and was combed back flowing out behind his head. He wore a black suit with a peach shirt underneath and had a striped coat hanging off the back of his chair.
Spandine gestured towards the couch placed in front of his desk wordlessly telling Naruto to sit. Naruto merely stood silently staring at the man before walking forwards and dropping the folder he had tucked under his arm onto the desk.

"This is my mission report," Naruto told his superior before slamming another sheet of paper on top of the folder, "And this," he stated with conviction, "is my letter of resignation. I'm transferring back to the Marines effective immediately under the orders of Vice-Admiral Garp." Naruto turned around and began walking out of the office, "I'd say it was a pleasure to serve under you, but it wasn't." Spandine merely sat there with a shocked look on his face as Naruto strode out of the building never looking back.

AN: Well, there you have it, the first chapter of my first fanfic is over. I'm basically just laying the groundwork for Naruto's character in the OP universe in this chapter. I'll definitely revisit the time I skipped over in this chapter at some point in the future, but right now I want to get into the main action of the story. Next chapter will be the start of the Enies Lobby Arc, and as I stated before reviews and constructive criticism are welcome and appreciated.