He was alone.

Everyone he knew has passed on and left behind their legacies.

He wasn't given that option.

He noticed that he wasn't aging like his friends and was told by the massive beings inside his seal that he had become immortal.

This pained him. He was afraid to love anyone because he knew they would die many years later.

And so, nearly a century has passed and one Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze decided that he would leave the Elemental Nations. Chakra was no longer used, or used sparingly, there because of the peace that reined over the land. The long-haired blond packed all he needs for his trip onto the boat and set out on the high seas.

7 Years Later

Luffy had been dropped off at Dadan's Country by Garp some time ago, and he had managed to become brothers with Ace and Sabo after much trouble and promises.

Currently, the three boys were in the forest to hunt down an animal for food.

"I'm huuuunnngrrryyyy! Where's food?!" Luffy pouted as he dragged his feet behind him. Ace's eyebrow twitched and he scowled at the younger raven.

"Would you shut up, Luffy! Crying about it isn't going to make food appear any faster!" Luffy glared back at him.

"I'm not crying!"

"You are!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Ace laughed when Luffy grew confused at being tricked. Sabo sighed though he also had a smile playing on his lips.

"Calm down, you two. We're definitely not going to get any meat with the two of you shouting." Sabo placated them. Ace and Luffy quickly shut up at that.

The three then walked in a semi-silence for a while before Ace began to get angry and frustrated at still not encountering any animals.

"What the hell is going on?! There are normally many animals in this forest, yet we can't seem to find any of them!" Ace exploded. Luffy whined out 'meeeaaat' as he collapsed on the ground with his stomach fiercely growling. Sabo was fairing no better and grasped at his stomach. He looked up with exhaustion.

"This is weird. Usually even the bigger animals would be out here to eat us, but they aren't even here." The blond deduced.

"Well, we gotta keep looking if we wanna eat. Get up, Luffy, we gotta go." Ace poked the youngest in the head with his pipe. Luffy sat up with a hand on his stomach.

"But ace... I'm too hungry to move..."

"How else are you going to eat if you don't get up to hunt?" Luffy gave him the teary puppy eyes with a trembling lip to go with it.

"Will you carry me?" He asked hopefully. Ace bristled.

"Hell no!"

"But Aaaacce!"

"Haha! Oh, come on, Ace. It's just a piggy back ride. It won't kill you." Sabo piped in amusingly. Ace turned to glare at him.

"Then you do it!"

"But you're the oldest."

Ace sputtered for a comeback before sighing.

"Alright, Luffy. Get on." Luffy cheered and scrambled onto his back. When he was comfortable, and with a huge happy smile, the three continued on their search.

As they got closer to the sea, they were all slumping and dragging their feet (except Luffy). When they broke through the forest's tree line, they felt...something. They couldn't tell what it was but whatever it is, it sent chills up their spines. Looking around, they spotted something bright by the ledge of the cliff.

They saw a man with long, spiky blond hair looking out over the sea. They couldn't tell much about him, but they could see that he wasn't wearing a shirt and had loose, baggy pants. He was sitting cross-legged and was supporting his head on one hand with his elbow resting on his knee.

The three stood to observe him for a few moments. The older two boys were broken from their muse when Luffy walked out from behind them.

"Luffy! Get back over here!" Ace shouted.

"You don't know who he is, Luffy! You could get hurt!" Sabo backed up the older raven. The two ran toward him. Luffy managed to clumsily dodge their attempts to grab him and ran closer to the unknown man.

Luffy stopped a few feet from the still man. He couldn't feel anything bad from the blond. Rather, there was something warm and natural about him that drew him to the tan man. Ace and Sabo stopped beside him and regarded the man wearily.

"Um... Mister? Are you okay?" Sabo tentatively asked. The boys started when the man let out a long relaxed sigh. Ace and Sabo got into defensive stances on front of Luffy.

"I'm okay," the man's soft baritone voice chimed. He turned towards them showing six whisker-like marks upon his cheeks and bright blue eyes. He responded again, "hello there, boys. What brings you here?"

Luffy grinned and answered for them.

"We're looking for food! But we haven't found any and I'm soooo hungry! Hey! Hey! Do you have any meat?!" Luffy rambled.

"Don't go telling our business, Luffy! We don't know what this man could do to us!" Ace hit Luffy over the head. Luffy clutched at the injured spot and poured with tears at the corner of his eyes.

"But Ace! He seems really nice!"

"You don't even know him!"

"So what! I'm hungry and I want to eat!"

Ace growled and was about to hit him again when Sabo pulled him away from the younger D.

"Clam down, Ace!"

"Let me go, Sabo! He's asking for it!"

"Hitting him won't accomplish anything!"

"It may just knock some sense into him!"

Luffy stuck out his tongue and pulled down his right eyelid. Ace was practically steaming now.

"Why you little—"

Laughter cut them out of their own little world. They turned back to the man to see him with a big smile on his face. For some reason, the three boys were all enraptured by the joyous sound.

When the older blond stopped, he had an amused look in his eyes along with a bit of wistfulness.

"You boys are so cute!"

"I am not CUTE!" Ace rebuked. The blond just chuckled. He straightened up and let a small smile play on his lips.

"If you're all hungry, I have food cooking over there," he pointed to a small home that was further along the cliff. The boys' jaws dropped when they saw who was cooking on an open fire.

It was the same man!

Sabo and Ace pointed shakily to the double.

"Wha-?! But-?! How-?! HUH?!"

Luffy grinned really big with stars in his eyes.

"COOOOOOL~! There's TWO of you!" Luffy gushed. The blond chuckled again.

"Yup! But that's only a clone. I can make many more of myself if I wanted to," he informed them.

"Really? Is that your Devil Fruit power?" Sabo asked. The man titled his head.

"I've heard of Devil Fruits but I haven't eaten one. This is something I learned from my homeland," he told them. The three looked at him in shock and awe. Ace then gave him a suspicious look.

"Your homeland, huh? Who are you, and what are you doing on Dawn Island?" Sabo shot the freckled boy a disapproving look before turning his attention back to the other blond since he was curious as well.

"My name is Naruto. Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto. I came here because it was one of the few islands that had a large forest that remind me of home. It also smells refreshing living by the sea," the now known Naruto told them. Luffy bounced up to him and tugged on his pants to get his attention.

"Ne, ne! You said you have meat, right," Naruto nodded, "then, let's go!" The raven grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the two story house. Naruto went along with it as Sabo and Ace trailed behined, still not too sure about this mysterious blond.

As they all made it to the house, Ace was still shooting glances at the older blond, Sabo relaxed a bit and asked the man some questions pertaining to if he fought any pirates or Marines or if he travelled, and Luffy made up a song as he swung his and Naruto's arm back and forth.

"MEEEAAAT!" Luffy cheered and sped off to the clone that held out a huge piece of meat and viciously tore into it. Ace and Sabo was salvating at the delicious smell. Naruto nudged them forward.

"Go ahead, you two. I don't think I could eat that huge seaking all by myself. Besides, if you don't get to it, the little one will finish it all for you." At this, the two dived in and ravaged the cooked seaking. Naruto chuckled when the three fought over a piece of meat. He quickly snatched his own portion and dispelled his clone in a smoke-less poof.

To Naruto, the scene of the three boy brought back nostalgic feelings that he mostly stowwed away within his memories. Seeing how close they are to one another despite fighting over food, reminded the blond that there is still love and bonds in many shapes and forms.

Maybe...being with and around these three will show him that it's okay to love and trust someone again. Afterall, the boys have already wormed their way into his heart.

And there's something about the freckled boy that seems familiar. Not just in how he looks, but he can feel a kind of kinship to hum. It's as if they share somethinf in common.

Eh. It'll come back to him soon. Meanwhile, he'll just enjoy the moment.