The Twisted Family Tree

Chapter 4: Old Enough to Kill Old Enough to...

When Luffy and co finally returned to the village they ended up meeting Usopp on the way. The man looked absolutely miserable and was sporting a brutal red slap mark across one of his cheeks. He didn't even notice their approach, kicking a pebble absently as he heaved in big breaths. It was clear to everyone that he'd just done something physically exhausting and, if the downtrodden look on his face was any indication, his mental state wasn't much better.

When Usopp finally did notice their approach he simply muttered a bitter, "Oh it's you." before suddenly blinking and looking at Luffy in shock, "You're not dead!?"

"Dead? No. I just woke up!" He explained, the three kids nodding in agreement beside him.

"Anyway, we know everything - we have to tell everyone about the pirates!" Piiman shouted anxiously, trying to steer the conversation to the big issue.

"Tell everyone?" Usopp's face twisted into a grimace before immediately turning into a wide - too wide to be real - smile, "Hahaha! You guys should know better; I was lying." He stared at the three with an amused look on his face. "I just really hate that guy so I tried to make him look bad." This statement was punctuated by a nervous chuckle.

The three children looked first at him then among themselves.

"Lying?" Ninjin was confused by his leader's words.

"I really thought it was true!" Piiman sheepishly admitted.

Tamanegi was the most suspicious out of the three, "Why were you playing along?" He directed at Luffy in consternation. The straw-hat wearer just gave him a questioning look as if he didn't entirely understand what he was getting at.

"But the captain shouldn't do that!" Ninjin started.

"Yeah, captain's should never make up stories about others - I don't like it..." Tamanegi trailed off slowly.

"Let's go, I'm hungry!" Piiman concluded, turning to leave without so much as a glance as Usopp. The other two followed him and before too long the three were disappearing over the horizon. The remaining people on the street all had serious expressions on their face, recognising what Usopp had done.

"You sent them away to protect them didn't you?" Nami stated, more a rhetorical question than anything.

Usopp nodded slowly, "No one in the town would believe me, it's better if I do this by myself." If his body language was anything to go by, the man was absolutely terrified of the idea of fighting alone.

Naruto looked over at Luffy blankly, "We're helping aren't we?"

"Yep!" Luffy grinned.

"Good people like you shouldn't have to fight alone." Zoro muttered lowly at Usopp, standing and stretching his limbs.

"You guys are helping me..." Usopp clarified with an unrecognisable tone, "Why?"

"Because the enemies outnumber you!" Luffy explained good-naturedly.

"Because you look scared shitless." Zoro sarcastically added. Nami and Naruto remained silent and simply nodded in assent.

"Idiots!" Usopp's voice grew furious, "The great Usopp isn't scared! I don't need your sympathy." He spat out in frustration.

"I don't feel sorry for you..." Naruto frowned, he felt bad for how inadequate Ussop felt as a result of them.

Zoro snorted, "We're commending you for your courage." Usopp stared at the man in wonder, amazed that this random group of pirates were both so willing to help and so laid back about it.

"Why else would we risk our lives." Luffy finished with a dark grin plastered across his face.

The five of them stood at the top of the cliff-side entrance, staring at the now oil-slicked pathway up. Usopp grinned at the sight while Nami smirked in approval - for them this was exactly how they liked to fight. Luffy likewise had no issue and was content to watch the oil slowly slide downwards from gravity ad they waited. Zoro and Naruto were the only two displeased with the situation - Zoro had always been one to prefer fair fights while Naruto was uncomfortable with such underhanded tactics.

"Do we have to do this?" The blonde asked carefully.

Usopp looked over to him, "If they can't even get up here then we won't have to fight!" He looked relieved by the idea.

"If they can't even get up here then they're not worth fighting." Zoro sneered as he tried to justify the trick to himself. Luffy nodded emphatically at this while Naruto remained silent, still frowning in displeasure.

"Anyway," Usopp began to speak, "What're you guys good at?"

"Stretching~" Luffy announced in a sing-song voice.

"Cutting." Zoro added in a deadpan voice.

"Stealing!" Nami chirped in.

Naruto considered the question, "I... don't know." It was true, he'd never really thought about his powers beyond using them to restrict people or to escape them.

"Hmm, we'll have to fix that later!" Luffy concluded, nonplussed by Naruto's admission.

Usopp meanwhile, looked at the horizon, "The sun's rising... they should be here." An uneasy feeling was forming in the pit of his stomach.

"It is morning..." Zoro agreed slowly.

Nami suddenly cupped a hand to her ear, "I can hear some shouting north of us." She frowned, "You don't suppose...?" She seemed scared to voice her thoughts.

"The north!?" Usopp had a horrified look on his face, "Oh no! I assumed because they spoke down here that they'd use this entrance - there's another entrance at the north side of the village!" He hurriedly explained to the others. Nami gave him a look exasperation while Luffy hunched his shoulders, tensing in preparation to dart off.

"Where're they going to attack from!?" Luffy demanded.

"It only takes three minutes to get there from here," Usopp replied in an equally quick tone, "The landscape is pretty much the same so we still just have to stop them from getting up the slope!" Luffy, satisfied with the response, turned and began to run.

"I'll only need twenty seconds to get there!" Luffy shouted behind his shoulder as he disappeared into the treeline.

Just as he shouted Nami slipped into the oil they'd put down and, in her panic, grabbed Zoro, "Ahhh!" She screamed, pulling the man down into the oil with her. Zoro grunted in anger and confusion. While this was all happening Naruto was still staring at the spot Luffy had run off from before he suddenly blinked in realisation of what had happened.

"Luffy!" The blonde shouted before he dashed off in pursuit of the teen.

Usopp, caught between helping Nami and Zoro or stopping the pirates, simply turned toward the direction he knew the north entrance was at and ran off, "Damn it!" He cursed, angry he'd caused this mess with his lack of forethought.

Somehow Naruto was the first to arrive at the northern cliff-side. He'd lost Luffy somewhere in the forested area surrounding the village and so had presumed when he did finally reach the beachhead that his captain would already be there and, knowing him, engaging with all sorts of enemies. To be greeted with the sight of a slope bereft of life and a beach rapidly filling with pirates was disoncerting to say the least.

He only wondered for a moment what'd happened to Luffy before dismissing it from his mind. He had more important things to worry about right now - like the considerable amount of pirates who were leaving their ship and making their way toward the entryway to the village. Naruto frowned as he watched them silently, hidden from their view.

He wasn't sure what to do. The blonde would have very little trouble stopping the pirates from getting up the slope; most of them looked weak and undisciplined. Of course, doing so would likely summon the stronger enemies and engaging without any information probably wasn't the best way to deal with things.

"This is your last warning!" Naruto was interrupted mid-thought by Usopp's voice, "If you don't turn around now my billion strong crew will destroy you!" The man was standing directly in the middle of the slope and holding his slingshot in his hands. From the tone of his voice and the lie itself the man was delirious with fear. Still, Naruto couldn't help but respect the fact that even with that fear he still stood strong in the face of the pirates.

"What a stupid lie!" One of the pirates growled out, his head adorned with cat ears.

"You dare to try and trick me?" The hypnotist, clearly a leader, was shaking in anger, "You really are a pain."

"Captain! We found treasure on these boats! At least four or five million beli's worth!" Another man announced loudly, pointing at Nami's boat.

Usopp saw an opportunity and quickly took it, "That treasure is mine - if you leave right now I'll let you have it!" He shouted down at the pirates. The hypnotist considered his offer for a few moments before a satisfied smile appeared over his face.

"Hmm, I'll definitely take the treasure," He explained carefully, "But I don't see why I should have to leave." At this the man pulled out a circular blade that was hanging from some string. "Now, when I say one, two Jango you have to let us through."

Usopp stared silently at the man, confused by his odd actions. Before he allowed himself to be hypnotised however, he was struck across the back by a wooden staff. Immediately following the weapon was the hard heel of a boot as Nami bowled over the top of him. The woman looked furious to say the least and even from Naruto's position in the trees the girl's anger was palpable.

"That's my treasure! Don't touch it, not even a single beli!" At this she brandished her staff viciously and looked over to Usopp, "And you - don't give my stuff away as you please."

Usopp grimaced at her words and gingerly rubbed his head, "Ok, ok! You didn't need to hit me though..." He grumbled.

"That man's a hypnotist, I was just stopping him from tricking you." She explained easily. The orange-haired girl suddenly looked around in surprise, "Where's Luffy? He should be here already."

"Don't know but we need to deal with these guys." The man replied, settling his goggles on his face as he did so.

"You go," Nami spoke with an air of false confidence, "I'll back you up from here." Usopp nodded grimly and shuffled through his bag, legs shaking in fear.

Naruto watched the entire exchange concealed in the forested area surrounding the cliff with no small amount of concern; he was pretty sure there were too many pirates for the two to handle and from the looks of Usopp and Nami's body language they knew it too. Despite this, Usopp engaged with the opposing warriors, throwing a handful of caltrops on the floor of the slope in reaction to the pirates beginning their ascent. The group screamed and hollered as they travelled toward the sling-shot user. Some fell victim to the painful objects on the floor but most avoided them and so Usopp and Nami turned tail to run, recognising a futile gesture when they saw one.

Unfortunately for them some of the caltrops were spread out across their exist and so they hesitated in their retreat. That stutter in movement was all that both Naruto and the pirates needed to recognise they were in a state of weakness. Even being as far away as he was Naruto was the first to arrive in front of Usopp, wood growing and coalescing around his arms as he held them out in an x-shape to block the attack of a pirate swinging a stone axe of some sort.

The two clashed just in front of the long-nosed liar and Nami, who'd turned to see Usopp about to be struck, couldn't help a sharp stab of relief hit her at the appearance of the nature-boy. Immediately following that was embarrassment that she was being saved by a child of all people. Of course, her sense of self-preservation ruled over even that shame so she was still happy to see him.

"Naruto!" She breathed in joy.

The boy didn't react, grunting as he held back the force of the axe with his arms alone. Usopp, unfamiliar with his powers, was worried he'd just witnessed a kid break both his arms in order to protect him. Of course, when Naruto showed no sign of pain and actually pushed back with his hands he knew something weird was going on. When the boy's right arm morphed into a sharp blade of some sort he grew even more suspicious of foul-play.

Naruto meanwhile had rapidly changed his arm to imitate a sword's edge in the form of wood before stabbing forward with it. The pirate, who was still reeling both from the force of Naruto's block and from the shock of seeing his mysterious powers, suddenly found himself pierced in the side of his stomach and he screamed in pain. The blonde didn't visibly react to the sound and simply pushed the man off his blade with his foot. The pirate flew backwards and tumbled down the slope, colliding with several of his crewmates as he did so.

Naruto's hand quickly returned to normal, blood dripping off of his fingers onto the floor of the slope.

Usopp took in the scene with silent awe while Nami simply stared with a combination of gratitude and disbelief; she'd known Naruto had eaten a Devil Fruit but she'd assumed he either wasn't well versed in his powers or it was simply a weak one - he'd never given such a brutal display of strength in front of her. It was disconcerting to say the least considering she'd assumed the boy was only in the crew out of one of Luffy's passing whims. Now she understood that deep beneath the veneer of stupidity and naivety that her supposed captain wore there was a perceptive mind - why else would he have Zoro and Naruto as his first two crewmembers?

This then begged the question; what did he see in her?

But she didn't have time to think about that right now considering the dozens of pirates that were now staring in horror at their fallen comrade. Something told her that things were about to turn bad really fast and, if the tense look on Naruto's face was anything to go by, the blonde realised the foreboding feeling in the air as well.

For several seconds both sides just stood silently in the aftermath of Naruto's appearance.

"Oi!" Jango shouted loudly, "Hurry up and start moving, you idiots! He'll kill us if we're late." As soon as the fear was voiced the pirates were scrambling over the top of each other to get up the slope.

"He's right, Captain will murder us if we don't move!" One particularly scared pirate reiterated. His terror seemed to travel through the group as a sense of hysteria washed over them. One by one they started charging at Naruto, Nami and Usopp.

Nami stepped back from the sight in fear while Usopp drew his slingshot shakily. Naruto meanwhile extended both hands out wide similar to a gesture of welcome though the expression he was wearing indicated it was anything but. Just as the first few pirates were within feet of them Usopp's first shot flew out of his slingshot.

"Makibishi Jigoku!" This time, instead of simply dropping the caltrops on the ground, he shot them out of his slingshot. They struck the Black Cat Pirates with force and sunk deeply into the skin of the men. Several squeals and groans of pain reverberated around the cliff-side all at once but very few were stopped by the attack. Most simply shrugged off the small pain of the weapons and continued their assent.

Naruto, resigned that he'd have to stop them, spoke harshly, "Okkanai Yasuragi!" Dozens of vines sprouted up out of the earth and wrapped around many of the hapless pirates, holding them in place. Naruto's hands were splayed out wide as the vines twisted and contorted around the bodies of countless pirates, stopping their ascent. Despite his best efforts though, a few avoided his vines. Nami, seeing the efforts of Usopp and Naruto, struck at some of the pirates with her staff, knocking them down the slope.

Even with the orange-haired girls involvement the Black Cats still kept coming and so Naruto, still holding many of the pirates in placed, prepared to use more powerful and dangerous techniques of his devil fruit. Before he could however, he was distracted by a long stretching arm that flew past his face and hit several of the still advancing Black Cat Pirates. The assault of the stretched fist on their enemies caused a chain reaction as they fell down the slope and knocked dozens of their crew with them. Naruto allowed his vines to recede as the pirates he'd been holding in place were dragged down to the bottom. In seconds almost all the pirates were back where they started at the beach in a heap of tangled limbs.

"Nami!"

"Usopp!"

"How could you step on me like that!?" - "Next time, tell me where north is!"

Luffy and Zoro screamed angrily in sync from their position at the very top of the slope.

Jango's eyes narrowed as he took in their appearance, "We don't have time for this." He announced suddenly, "If we don't hurry, Kuro will kill us." The way he said it implied it wasn't just an expression of speech and, from the way the group of pirates reacted to their captain's name, it seemed they took it literally as well. Luffy and Zoro meanwhile stomped forwards angrily until they were beside Naruto, in front of Nami and Usopp. The three stared off against the invading pirates before Zoro sneered.

"They all look weak." The swordsman evaluated. Luffy didn't respond but nodded his head in agreement.

Jango sighed, "I guess it can't be helped." He looked over at the imposing ship they'd arrived on, "Sham! Buchi! Come help deal with these people." As he spoke he beckoned two mysterious people on the deck to come ashore. Immediately, the two figures jumped off the ship and darted up until they were beside Jango.

"Oh, is this a job for the Nyaban brothers?" A voice loudly interrupted, "You haven't needed us to kill someone in a while..." The big one, Buchi, grinned as he spoke.

"We haven't had fun for some time." Sham agreed, his figure slim and tall.

"Stop messing around - we're already late and you know how Captain Kuro is!" Jango whined in distress.

The two supposed brothers narrowed their eyes as the hypnotist spoke, clearly understanding what he was implying. Immediately their entire attitude changed and they moved toward Luffy's group with a much more serious demeanor. They knew from personal experience how unforgiving Kuro was, which meant they had to deal with these people - and do it fast.

Zoro stepped forward with a smirk on his face, "I'll take care of these two." He announced, his confidence palpable. Sham, recognising the size of the man's ego, decided to to an unorthodox approach. He began to cower in fear.

"B-But Jango," He stuttered in fake terror, "That guy seems really strong!" Zoro, disgusted with the shivering of his opponent, strode toward him, intending to knock him out in a swift blow.

"Coward." The pirate hunter muttered absently.

Sham squealed at this and fell to the ground, "O-Oh, uh..." It was like the man's life was flashing before his eyes. Zoro ignored the attitude and simply prepared to knock the man out. Before he could move however, Naruto interrupted him.

"Wait." The blonde announced, "He's trying to trick you." And to be honest, Naruto wondered how on earth no one else picked up on it. After all, the cat-man was practically radiating dark intentions. Zoro's eyes narrowed immediately as his crewmate spoke and his previous lax approach shifted into a much more defensive one. In reaction to this Sham himself straightened his posture and a dark smirk flickered across his face.

"Hmm, it seems you caught me," The man intoned dramatically, "No matter... Buchi, let's take this guy out now!" The two brothers grinned in anticipation while Zoro merely drew his three blades and positioned himself in the default stance for Santoryu. Without another word Zoro darted forward, intending to put Sham out of commission.

As soon as he reached the slim cat-man he slashed all three of his katana at the man, hoping to catch him across the chest. Sham however, managed to avoid the blades by contorting his body, his incredible flexibility saving him from injury.

"Neko Baba." Sham announced cockily as he moved side-to-side to avoid Zoro's strikes. What proceeded was a game of cat and mouse as the swordsman slashed and hacked at his opponent while Sham simply did his best to avoid the strikes. As soon he he had the opportunity the cat-man launched himself further back than usual, several meters away from Zoro.

His reasons for doing so soon became clear when his brother's voice broke through the sounds of their battle, "Kyatto Za Funjyatta!" The large man jumped toward Zoro, intending to land on top of him and deal damage through his body weight. Fortunately, the green-haired man saw it coming and simply leapt away. A small crater formed where Buchi landed and the two cat-men immediately launched into action.

"Neko-Yanagi Daikōshin!" They shouted in synchronisation as they darted at Zoro. They attack wildly with their claws but Zoro had little trouble blocking their strikes with his three blades. It was obvious to all watching that while the brothers were fast and worked well together they didn't have any real style to their attacks and Zoro's superior skills were shining through. The swordsman blocked their attacks easily while the two wasted their energy pointlessly attacking.

Before Zoro could retaliate another voice broke through the air, "What is going on?" Kuro could be seen at the top of the hill - behind Naruto, Nami, Usopp and Luffy. His expression was nothing short of furious and he was wielding a pair of long, wicked claws. As he spoke the man carefully adjusted his glasses with the palm of his hand.

At the man's appearance Buchi and Sham visibly cowered, their fear palpable. Jango and the rest of the Black Cat Pirates meanwhile, looked absolutely terrified. To Luffy and co. it was clear that the man's arrival and obvious displeasure was not something you wanted.

"C-Captain!" Jango stuttered in terror. Kuro narrowed his eyes and concentrated on the man, a wicked look flashing across his face.

"You are late, Jango." He hissed in fury, "What is the point of the plan if you fools can't even follow it? I won't have you messing anything up."

Jango quickly begged for forgiveness, "But captain these guys got in the way - they're too strong for us to deal with." He grimaced as he finished speaking, already knowing what was coming.

"Oh?" Kuro raised a delicate eyebrow, "Well I guess you're all useless then. And you know what I do to useless trash?" Kuro disappeared in a flash of speed. All around the slope countless pirates began to shout and scream in pain as they were struck by an unknown force. To the normal eye Kuro was just a blur as he flickered through the crowd of pirates and dealt untold damage to friends and foes alike. His attacks continued on for several seconds and Naruto, who'd been standing silently as the two Black Cat Pirates had talked, found himself twisting instinctively to avoid a slash from Kuro's claws.

Unfortunately, while Naruto had moved fast enough to avoid any damage the strike still left three jagged lines down his shirt. The blonde frowned; if he'd known the attack was coming he'd have used his Logia powers to avoid any damage but he hadn't had the conscious ability to transform due to the unpredictable nature of the man's attacks. Now because of that his shirt was ruined.

The rest of Luffy's group meanwhile eyed the ruined state of Naruto's shirt in concern - it was clear that if you were hit by Kuro's claws then significant damage would be dealt. Zoro and Nami in particular narrowed their eyes as they took notice of the tightly wound bandages wrapped around the entirety of Naruto's body underneath his shirt; the boy had never indicated he'd had any injuries and, from their interactions, didn't seem impeded in any way - which begged the question; what was the purpose of the bandages?

Finally, after countless members of the Black Cats were struck down callously by their captain, Kuro stopped his assault. He reappeared at the top of the slope with a dark smirk. It was obvious to everyone that he was pleased by his actions - pleased that he'd taken out his own subordinates. Jango likewise didn't seem surprised by the actions while the two Nyaban brothers were shaking in fear.

"Nuki Ashi." Kuro intoned quietly from his position looking down at the crowd.

While Nami, Zoro and Naruto were all eyeing the wounded Black Cat's with great distaste Luffy was almost shaking in anger - attacking his own crewmates so coldly and without any regard for their health disgusted the straw-hat wearer. It went against everything he believed in about pirate crews and only made Luffy more sure of his decision to help the village. Usopp was also shaking, though for him it was out of terror.

It was at this precise moment that another presence made itself known at the top of the slope, closer to the forest than Kuro.

"Klahadore!" Kaya shouted across the mountainous terrain, "Stop this at once!"

Kuro's raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Ojousama? What are you doing here?" He questioned mildly.

"Stop with the act - Merry told me everything!" Kaya screamed back, her voice tinged with anger and fear.

"He's still alive?" Kuro had a pondering expression on his face, "I'll have to fix that later."

"Klahadore, you want my wealth right?" Kaya stuttered out fearfully, "If you stop I'll give you everything!"

The pirate snorted, "You misunderstand, I don't just want your wealth, I want your peaceful life too. And the only way I'll get that is by killing everyone here." The man allowed a vicious grin to flicker across his face. As soon as he announced this Kaya panicked and reached into her coat, hands shaking as she did so. Pulling out a pistol, the girl took aim at her supposed butler with in fury.

"If you don't stop then-" She gulped, "I'll stop you!" Her voiced wavered as she spoke and it was clear Kaya didn't have the heart to follow through with her threat.

Kuro smirked darkly, "Will you now?" He darted forward, intending to kill the girl while she was still hesitating. Before he could get close however, he was struck across the fist but a stretching arm.

"Osu!" Luffy grinned widely, "Time to fight then!"

Kuro stood up, fury etching into his being. Just as he was about to move to fight the teen he was interrupted by the sounds of voices behind him.

"Don't fear! The Usopp Pirates are here!" The three kids, Tamanegi, Ninjiin and Piiman, had appeared behind Kaya. They were wielding makeshift weapons and looked out of place on the battlefield.

"What are you guys doing here!?" Usopp was stricken with terror.

"Captain lied to us again!" Piiman explained.

"Not a very good example to set!" Tamanegi elaborated, "But don't worry, we're here to fight."

"And we'll never run like cowards." Ninjiin concluded bravely.

"Oh?" Kuro laughed cruelly before tensing up and moving toward the children. The three kids visibly shrank at the sight of the terrifying-looking man but held strong, refusing to back away.

"You guys!" Usopp shouted hastily, "Take Kaya and run... You must protect Kaya!" Usopp ordered in desperation, hoping to get them away from the fighting.

At this the kids looked visibly relieved, "Yes, captain!" They chorused proudly, moving to grab the girl. Unfortunately they'd forgotten about the approach of the dangerous pirate.

Kuro smirked, "Die." He moved to strike out at the three.

This time it was Naruto who interrupted.

A loud clash could be heard as Naruto stood in front of the pirate, arms sharpened into wooden blades, holding off the claws. Vines were visible all around his body and contorted wildly around him. Wildlife sporadically shrunk and grew all around the boy. It looked like for all intents and purposes that the natural life was responding to Naruto's cold, angry expression on his face. Luffy and Zoro found the entire situation very interesting, after all the boy hadn't displayed much negative emotion in the time he'd been with them. Right now he was visibly upset.

"Get out here." Naruto requested softly to Kaya and the children. They quickly obeyed, scrambling away into the forest that outlined the top of the cliff-side.

"Tch!" Kuro clicked his tongue in distaste, "I guess I'll have to deal with all of you before I can kill the girl." He turned to look down the slope where many of his injured and incapacitated crew-mates lay, "Jango, follow them and do your job."

The hypnotized, who'd been watching the scene unfold, moved quickly, "S-Sure thing, captain!" The man moved up the slope, intending to leave. Before he could get far however Zoro stood in front of him.

"You're not going anywhere." The swordsman was grinning darkly. Jango grimaced slightly before noticing two presences moving directly toward the green-haired man. It was the Nyaban brothers again, they had moved to intercept Zoro.

"Oi Buchi, I guess we'll have to get serious with this guy." Sham's bravado was clearly fake to everyone but it seemed the brothers' fear of their captain outweighed their fear of Zoro.

Jango nodded in thanks, "Sham, Buchi; hold him off." And with that the man continued his journey up the slope. He passed Luffy, Nami and Usopp, all three not moving an inch. Luffy, most curiously, was watching the man with a contemplative expression on his face.

Nami grew upset at the inaction of her supposed crew-mates, "What are you doing? Aren't you going to stop him?" She demanded. Luffy blinked slowly as he watched the man disappear into the trees.

"Naruto," The straw-hat wearer announced, "Go help the ojousama."

Naruto nodded, "Ok." And without any preamble the boy jumped back away from Kuro before darting off toward the treeline. The captain of the Black Cat Pirates growled in frustration - unhappy with how things were going. Before he could move to stop the blonde however, he found himself facing Luffy.

The teen had jumped to replace Naruto as soon as the boy had left and was grinning from ear to ear, "So, about that fight?"

Naruto found them facing off against Jango deep in the forest. All around the immediate area trees had been cut down viciously, only stumps remaining. Kaya was sitting on the floor with her back against a tree and she was clearly exhausted. Two of the children meanwhile had scattered around her in the face of Jango's cruel looking circular blade. The other was being held by the Black Cat pirate with the blade against his throat - it was the one with the glasses, Tamanegi. The man was smirking darkly at the group , delighting in the fear he was bringing out of them and his hostage.

Naruto moved without hesitation, placing himself between the pirate and Kaya and the two kids. Jango narrowed his eyes in worry at his appearance, gripping Tamanegi tighter.

"What are you doing here?" The man was concerned about his sudden appearance and what it meant for the battle at the slope.

Naruto, seeing an opportunity to scare the man out of fighting, explained lightly, "Your captain's a little busy right now. He won't be coming to help, if that's what you're wondering."

Jango shrugged, "I think I'll be fine." He gestured with the blade at Tamanegi's throat, "Here's how it's going to work; the girl is going to come with me and this brat. When I know I'm far enough away from you I'll let the kid go."

Naruto grimaced, "Sorry, but I've been told to protect her."

"Do you want this child's death on your conscience?" Jango was ignoring the fact that he was talking to another child to begin with as he made his threat.

Naruto tensed his muscles and drew in the power of his devil fruit. All around him the ground shook as the countless trees Jango had mutilated regrew and and healed and a sea of leaves flew around the group. For Kaya and the kids it was an awe-inspiring image, as if nature itself was submitting to the blonde boy's whims.

"Let him go." The blonde requested carefully.

"You don't scare me, boy." Despite what he said the man did look slightly cowed, "You think this is the first time I've seen a devil fruit user? You certainly aren't the strongest either... control over greenery? Pfft." The man snorted loudly and it was obvious he was trying to convince himself of his own bravado. Naruto didn't react to the man's insults, instead choosing to tense in preparation for a fight.

Naruto closed his eyes, "Last chance. If you don't release him and surrender then I'll have to get serious." At this the trees seemed to lean in around the group, responding to the blonde's growing frustration.

"Go fuck yours-" Jango paused mid-sentence before letting out a shrill scream, "AHHH!"

As soon as the man had started speaking vines had erupted behind him, wrapping his arms and raising them in the air. As this happened another vine closed around his throat and pulled him backwards while two small wooden blades formed from the branches scattered on the floor around them and shot out of the ground from under his feet, effectively stabbing them and pinning them in place like stakes. This meant his feet were held in place while he was pulled until he was laying on his back on the floor. As soon as he landed his hands, which had been held outwards by the vines, were also stabbed by wooden blades.

The result was Jango spreadeagled on his back on the floor, all his limbs held down by wooden stakes. It all happened in a seconds and the man was screaming bloody murder throughout. Even as it finished his screams devolved into small moans of pain.

"Kutsujokuteki Yasuragi." Naruto announced quietly, his voice tight and controlled. Kaya and the kids were staring wide-eyed at the scene, shocked at the merciless brutality of the blonde boy. Tamanegi was still unmoved from where Jango had been holding him, not even having had time to react before the man had been captured.

Naruto walked slowly over to the pirate who was still groaning from the pain he was in. He crouched down beside him and grabbed the man's head by his hair. Offering an apologetic look the boy slammed Jango's head into the ground. Hard. The hypnotist's eyes rolled into the back of his head as he was knocked unconscious from the force of the blow.

"Wow." Zoro's voice pierced the air, "That was pretty cold. Didn't know you had it in you..." The man was leaning on one of the few unharmed trees a dozen meters away. He had an impressed look on his face, as if he'd enjoyed the callous actions of Naruto. Knowing him he probably had.

The three children were broken out of their spell by his appearance, "Wah!" They squealed in fright.

"Does this mean Klahadore's been stopped?" Kaya voiced uneasily, trying to make sense of Zoro's appearance.

Zoro just shrugged, "Dunno, probably." The man looked up at the sky before settling his gaze on Naruto, "Now that this guy's been dealt with, let's go find out." The swordsman didn't wait for a response, moving off in a specific direction. When no one followed he turned to look at the group, "What? You don't want to see?"

Kaya and the kids looked uneasily at each other while Naruto, lacking their fear, simply pointed in a completely different direction, "Ah, the cliff-side is that way, Zoro-san."

Zoro froze, an embarrassed looking flying across his face. He turned around with a huff and moved in the direction Naruto had pointed, grumbling about 'stupid villages' and 'stupid formal kids' the whole time.

On their way out of the forest the group ended up meeting Usopp, who had been intending to rescue Kaya from Jango after leaving Kuro to Luffy. Besides being slightly miffed that his chance to be a hero had been taken from him the man was incredibly relieved that she and the kids were safe, tearing up at the sight of them. They quickly exchanged explanations for what happened on their end before continuing their journey out of the forest.

When they returned to the slope they were greeted with a half destroyed cliff-side, gaping holes and rocks scattered all around. What was missing was the Black Cat Pirates and their crew. Luffy and Nami could be seen sitting at the top of the slope, with the former lying on his back and breathing heavily. For all intents and purposes it looked like the straw-hat wearer had won, if the grin on Nami's face was anything to go by.

Usopp, upon realising they'd finally saved the village and Kaya specifically, let out a small smile as he collapsed next to the young teen. When he did Luffy looked up to see the entire group also setting themselves up around them. The exceptions to this were Zoro, who stood silently in the background with his arms crossed, and Naruto, who was spinning a leaf in his hand beside the quiet swordsman.

While Kaya, Usopp and the kids celebrated Luffy and Nami stood, making their way over to the two other members of their crew.

"You won." Zoro stated calmly.

Luffy grinned, "Of course." The teen looked over at Naruto, "You beat the weirdo." The way he said it made it sound like it was fact rather then him asking.

"Yeah," Naruto grimaced thinking about what he did, "I guess so."

"Good!" Luffy slapped Naruto's back, "Good." he ruffled his air, smiling softly. Naruto allowed a pleased look to cross his face for a second at the actions before he quickly composed his expression into something neutral. Zoro watched the interaction silently.

Nami meanwhile inspected the state of her supposed crew. Luffy hate several nasty slashes across his upper body and looked fairly worn out while Zoro had a few small cuts and his clothes were ruffled from his scuffles from the Nyaban brothers - he however, didn't look at all tired. Naruto had no actual injuries though the front of his shirt was ruined and there was still the question of those mysterious bandages underneath...

Overall though, they'd gotten out pretty unscathed.

It was Kaya who ended up grabbing the attention of the entire group.

"So you said you needed a ship?" Kaya directed the question to Luffy.

The next day the crew found themselves once again setting off from an island, though this time it was with an actual ship. Usopp's intended goodbye had transformed into him accompanying them on their journey while Kaya had made an emotional parting with the man. After what seemed like hours but was only minutes the group finally left the beach-side on the deck of their new ship; the Going Merry.

"So, where to next?" Zoro questioned as the five of them stood around on the deck while sailing away.

"Hmm," Luffy adopted an intense look of concentration, "Dunno."

At this Zoro rubbed his head in consternation while Nami let out a wild howl, "Luffy!" Naruto laughed at the scene. Usopp watched it silently, an odd feeling settling in the bottom of his stomach. The warmth that was spreading through his body, Usopp realised, was what it felt like to belong.

"Who cares?" Luffy shouted, "Think about that later! We gotta celebrate a new crew-member." Luffy grinned wildly, "Food!"

Zoro smirked back, "Alcohol!"

The two quickly dashed off to find their respective desires. Naruto grinned at the site before collapsing onto the staircase to relax while Nami sighed in resignation and joined him. Usopp stood dumbly in the same spot for the seconds it took the other two to return. Zoro flew around handing out cups and Luffy jumped into the centre of the deck.

"To a new nakama!" The black-haired teen shouted proudly, gesticulating wildly with his cup. The five members drank with a cheer, Zoro the only one to guzzle down alcohol.

"This'd be way more fun if you didn't have that stupid collar around your neck!" A voice announced suddenly. Naruto, who was sitting on the floor playing with a collection of pirate figurines, winced as he heard the words. He looked over to the person who had spoke them - another young boy a little older than him - and found himself agreeing with the sentiment. The boy recognised he was being stared at and added, "Don't you agree, Naruto?"

Naruto, put on the spot, nodded slowly, "Yeah..."

There was a brief period of silence.

"I'm gonna speak to daddy," The other boy decided, "I'll convince him to take it off." The boy tilted his head innocently at Naruto, sporting a huge grin as he spoke. It was obvious that to him there was now no end result other than the removal of the object from Naruto's neck. The very idea of 'daddy' denying his request was absurd; he always got his way.

Naruto's eyes opened as he quickly sat up and let out a quiet gasp of surprise. It took a few seconds for his mind to right itself before he realised he'd only been dreaming. He wondered why exactly he thought up that particular memory when he slept though - the nightmarish experiences of his past hadn't bothered him in a long, long time. Not because he was over them but more because he simply refused to acknowledge them.

To suddenly remember something - and in particular, one of the worst moments he could think of - was jarring and left him unsettled. The blonde silently slipped out of the hammock he'd been laying in and out of the room entirely, avoiding the hanging feet of Usopp as he did so. When he finally found himself out on the deck of the Going Merry he let out a deep breath he didn't even realise he'd been holding in. The cold sea winds of the night hit his face and he felt his previous anxiety being washed away in the face of such a soothing environment.

After a brief period of simply thinking about nothing Naruto considered the dream. Did he feel uncomfortable with his new surroundings? Was that what brought it on? Somehow he doubted the Going Merry was responsible. After all, he'd been sleeping fine on the smaller boats when they'd left Orange Town. He didn't think it was the addition of Usopp either - the teen was as far from the people of his past that he could imagine. Naruto couldn't think of why he'd experienced the memory and that, more than anything, scared him.

"Oi," A voice pierced through his thoughts, "What're ya doing?" It was Luffy, hanging from the crows nest. The boy had a careful smile on his face that was altogether much more serious than his usual expression, as if he understood Naruto wasn't in a very good frame of mind. Naruto blinked in surprise at his captain's appearance but didn't answer him. "What's wrong?" Luffy asked innocently, recognising the disturbed mental state of the boy.

Naruto didn't know how to respond to the question and so decided honesty was the best path to take, "Nothing really - just... memories." He muttered uneasily, not comfortable with the idea of spilling his heart to the goofy teen. As he spoke Luffy gave him an intense stare unlike anything Naruto had ever seen before, as if he could see deep into his soul.

"Oh!" The stare suddenly broke as a wide grin splayed across the straw-hat wearers face, "I just remembered! Hold on a sec." At this Luffy dropped down to the deck level and disappeared into the hull. There was a series of crashes and curses that could be heard emanating inside that Naruto knew had disturbed the sleep of their other crewmates. When Luffy returned and no one followed though, he assumed they mustn't have cared enough about what Luffy was up to to get out of bed.

The black-haired male returned with a bottle in his hand and a satisfied look on his face. When he approached Naruto recognised the drink as one of Zoro's - it was sake and certainly not something he'd ever seen Luffy have before. The entire concept of alcohol seemed very much outside of Luffy's character.

"I completely forgot about this!" Luffy uncorked the bottle as he spoke and he pulled Naruto toward the front of the ship. When they were there he sat down on the deck cross-legged, pulling Naruto down with him. "My brothers and I did this when we were younger - it's pretty cool!" He explained enthusiastically.

Naruto wondered for a moment exactly how many brothers Luffy had - and why he'd never spoken about them.

"They say," The straw-hat wearer continued, "When you share drinks with someone you become brothers." At this the boy put the bottle to his lips and chugged a few mouthfuls down. As soon as he finished he made a disgusted face that made it clear he hated the taste. He placed the bottle in Naruto's hands, "So, what do ya say?" He smirked at the younger boy.

Naruto didn't move for a moment, content to simply stare at the bottle of alcohol in his hands. Seconds ticked away soundlessly as the boy simply looked at the sake in his hands. Finally, Naruto moved the bottle carefully to his lips and took a small sip. As he did so Luffy looked so utterly pleased with himself that Naruto couldn't help but be happy he'd drank. As soon as he'd had a mouthful the blonde stopped, handing the bottle back to the other with a distasteful look on his face.

"Now we're officially brothers!" Luffy shouted loudly, his voice flying across the ocean.

"How old are you anyway?" Zoro's gruff voice interrupted their bonding. He was walking toward them from the direction of the cabin with a sour look on his face. Naruto realised he must have been woken up by Luffy when the teen went looking for the alcohol.

Luffy quickly replied, "No, no! Let me guess." He put his hand to his chin in a thinking pose, "Hmm, fourteen!"

Naruto shook his head, "No..."

"Then - then! - eight!" Luffy had a cheeky tone as he provided his second guess.

"I-Idiot!" Zoro groaned, "How can you go from fourteen to eight?" He was appalled by his captain's lack of common sense.

Luffy frowned, "Eleven then?"

"I'm twelve." Naruto clarified as he laughed at the banter between the two.

Zoro's eyes narrowed dangerously at this, "See! You did waste my good sake on a brat! He wouldn't even be able to appreciate it." The blonde thought this was probably the most upset he'd ever seen Zoro. Obviously Luffy had made Zoro hand over some alcohol when he went into the hull earlier and, from the sounds of things, it was from Zoro's private collection.

Luffy blinked innocently and replied, "Tastes bad anyway~" He jumped onto his feet, "Blegh, yuck!" He imitated spitting and held his throat as if he was gagging. Then, in the blink of an eye he threw the bottle into the ocean.

"That was expensive!" Zoro sputtered in rage, his eyes following the rapidly sinking bottle. "My sake..." Naruto was sure for a second that the green-haired man was going to jump in after it.

A/N: Probably a lot of mistakes, sorry. It took a while too, sorry.

Finally got that god-awful first part of the crew-gathering out of the way. Things are looking up from now.

Can you guess who the kid in the flashback was?

Kutsujokuteki Yasuragi - Humiliating Serenity.