Disclaimer: One Piece is the intellectual property of the great Eiichiro Oda, while Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. Anything else you might recognise from other shows/manga/books/etc do not belong to me. I own nothing but the plot to this story, and the odd OC that I have created. Please support the official release!

~ Chapter 1 - Dawn of a Ninja-Pirate's Romance ~

"I still don't get why I have to be the one who goes everywhere," a blond young man complained.

He wore a black uniform jacket with an orange zip and buttons on the waist and sleeves. Around his forehead was an elastic headband with a stylised leaf on the metal plate. He wore orange trousers and the standard shinobi sandals. On his left arm was a red armband with the Uzumaki crest. His right arm was completely wrapped up in white bandages, right up to the finger tips. The outfit was finished with a red, short sleeved haori, with black flames along the bottom.

"Because, Naruto, you're the Saviour of the World," a pink haired woman said beside him, "Everyone wants a glimpse of the man who prevented the end of the world."

The woman wore a sleeveless red qipao dress that reached down to her upper thighs, with white trimmings and a white circular design on the back, tied with a black obi. Underneath the dress was a pair of black shorts. In addition, the woman wore black gloves, grey elbow and knee protectors, and high-heeled shinobi sandals. She wore a red coloured headband like a hairband, with a similar metal plate to the blond man.

"But Sakura-chaaaan," Naruto petulantly whined, "It's boring!"

"Shannarō!" Sakura yelled, pounding Naruto on the head, "How do you think I feel! Kakashi-sensei sent me with you 'cause I'm the only one who'll keep you in line! And with Sasuke-kun who knows where, you're the one people want to see!"

The pair were currently travelling through the islands of Mizu no Kuni, returning from seeing the Godaime Mizukage, Terumī Mei. It was the final leg of an around the continent trip that Naruto was made to do, to oversee the signing of a treaty that would see the Allied Shinobi Forces become the Shinobi Union. The Union was an attempt to maintain the alliance that saw old enemies become new friends. It also included several smaller nations and villages.

It had been two years since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, and in that two years, the Elemental Nations were undergoing a period of rebuilding. The war had killed off a good quarter of the eighty thousand shinobi that made up the Allied Shinobi Forces. With the loss of many experienced shinobi, the Five Great Nations were left needing to rely on each other to maintain the balance between the smaller countries. In the aftermath, smaller shinobi villages attempted to gain more strength, only for the ASF to come down hard and fast. One such battle was when the remnants of Otogakure, leaderless due to the change of heart of Orochimaru and Kabuto, making a play to annex Yu no Kuni. It failed, due in no small part of Sasuke effectively annihilating the invasion force single-handedly.

"Hmph. Doesn't mean I have to like it, 'ttebayo," Naruto muttered with a pout.

"Anyway, how's things between you and Hinata?" Sakura asked, deciding to change the subject.

Almost immediately after Naruto and Sasuke had their final battle at the Valley of the End, Naruto had a private conversation with Hinata. To this day, no one knew what was said between the two, but once Naruto was given his prosthetic arm, he asked Hinata out on a date. Initially, it was a 'thank you' date, as Naruto admitted that if it wasn't for Hinata's intervention when Neji sacrificed himself, he might have lost all hope. However, when Hinata brought up her, albeit ill-timed, confession during Pein's attack on Konoha, Naruto found himself in a very sticky situation. Given that he nearly succumbed to Kurama's malice, the events leading up to that were very hazy for him, and he couldn't even remotely remember the confession. Nevertheless, Naruto wasn't about to break the heart of the one person who unconditionally supported him throughout his life and was willing to date Hinata further, much to the surprise of everyone who thought Naruto was a dense idiot.

"We, er…We decided to break things off," Naruto confessed, frowning slightly.

"What!? When?" Sakura demanded.

"It was at your nineteenth birthday party, actually," Naruto explained, somewhat sadly, "We…We realised that it wasn't exactly what we hoped for. Hinata was in love with an idea of me. Not…Well…Not the real me."

"Oh no…" Sakura groaned, "You had a good thing going!"

"Yeah, well. It's not all bad. It was a mutual thing," Naruto assured, "We're still friends, and I think Hinata's seeing a noble from Atsushi-heika's court."

"Well…I suppose that's good. Though, I still can't get over the fact that you're on a first name basis with the Fire Daimyō," Sakura said, shaking her head.

"Well, he's family. In a distant sort of way," Naruto explained, while grinning, "His mum's an Uzumaki. Who knew?"

"And it had nothing to do with the fact that he's not so subtly encouraging a match between you and Atsuko-hime?" Sakura drily asked.

Naruto blushed, rather furiously. The youngest granddaughter of the Fire Daimyō was a rather forward character, and nearly always left Naruto feeling uncomfortable whenever they met. If Naruto was truly honest, he wasn't all that comfortable with the fame he had.

"What's wrong?" Sakura then asked, noticing Naruto's change in mood.

"It's just…All this fame…All this acknowledgement. I dunno…It just feels…Fake," Naruto replied, unable to put his feelings properly into words.

"What? Why?" Sakura inquired, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

"Because…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, racking his brain for the right words to answer his friend.

"Because?" Sakura probed.

"I…I still remember my childhood, Sakura-chan," Naruto wearily admitted, "The staring. The isolation…The hatred. I mean, it's weird I know, but to see people I still remember treating me like trash, now being all flustered around me and the like. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, dattebayo!"

Sakura's frown turned to a sad smile.

"I get that, and it's not weird," she said, "Anyone would be unsettled by it."

The pair continued to run across the still waters, as there weren't any ferries available to take them to the border of Hi no Kuni. Normally, water-walking would be discouraged across open water, but thanks to the Sanbi no Kyodiagame Isobu, who had made the area his domain, the seas in between the islands of Mizu no Kuni were pretty calm. Sakura then exhaled with a slump of her shoulders, causing Naruto to frown.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Just thinking," she sighed.

"About Sasuke?"

"Just wondering where he is. It's been nearly two years, and we haven't heard a thing," Sakura replied. However, upon seeing a strange look on Naruto's face, she added, in a dangerous tone, "Haven't we?"

"Um…Well…" Naruto hesitated, clearing his throat.

"Narutoooo…"

"Pleasedon'tbemadbutI'vebeenintouchwithhimsinceheleft," Naruto blurted out, all at once.

"Shannarō!" Sakura punched him again, causing Naruto to face plant into the water. It was only due to Sakura hoisting him up by the scruff of his neck, that Naruto didn't nearly drown.

"Ouch, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, "S'not my fault. I thought he would send letters to you through his summons."

"Well, he didn't," Sakura huffed, "What is that moron doing, anyway?"

"He figured out a new Jikūkan Ninjutsu with that OP Rinnegan of his," Naruto muttered, "Said he was going to go through Kaguya's Dimensions and something about discovering Kaguya's origins."

"Why would he want to do that?" Sakura inquired, perplexed.

"Dunno, really. Just said that there's nothing about where Kaguya came from, and he didn't want any more surprises," Naruto replied.

"He does realise that much of the history about the Elemental Nations before the formation of Konoha is almost non-existent," Sakura drily stated, "And anything that is written down is almost impossible to gain access to?"

"That's what I said!" Naruto exclaimed, "Then the ass says that he knows that, and that's why he's going through Kaguya's Dimensions. To see if he can find anything important there."

"Oh…that moron…" Sakura growled.

Naruto, sensing that his long-time friend was about to blow a fuse, changed the subject, though struggled for a topic to talk about. Fortunately, an answer came in the form of a small fishing town.

"Hey, let's go and take a break over there. I wonder if there's any ramen," Naruto drooled, as he ran off, thinking of the glorious food of the gods.

Sakura shook her head in fond exasperation, and swiftly followed.

Barely half an hour later, and the pair were sat in a café, with Naruto slumped over the table and Sakura sat opposite, sipping from a cup of oolong tea and reading one of Senju Tsunade's medical journals.

"Whyyyyyy," Naruto moaned. It had turned out that the small town didn't have a single ramen bar, much to the horror of Naruto.

"Really, Naruto," Sakura giggled, "It's not that bad."

"Not that bad? Not that bad?!" Naruto retorted, on the verge of hysterics, "I haven't ramen in nearly a month! That's not bad. That's a nightmare!"

"Stop overreacting," Sakura said, dismissively.

Naruto groaned, and sprawled over the table once more. If he was being honest with himself, Naruto was bored. Not that he didn't appreciate the period of true peace, but in the last two years, he hadn't had a single good fight. It was maddening. The remaining unsealed Bijū were living lives of solitude, and the last time he sparred with Kirābī, he got yelled at by the Yondaime Raikage for almost burying Kumogakure in a rock slide. Since then, he was forbidden for so much as training with the jinchūriki of the Hachibi.

This left Naruto feeling adrift. Almost without a purpose. Despite the peace, however, there was still plenty of work for shinobi. On top of relief and rescue during natural disasters, there were still the likes of bandits preying on civilian caravans. Occasionally, the odd shinobi went rogue and needed hunting down. Not to mention the increase in pirate activity in the last two years. The latter was actually a common topic for a lengthy discussion, from the highest ranks of any village leadership, to the lowest of commoners. Stories varied, of course, but the common factor was that the pirates lacked chakra, something which was thought to be impossible. Naruto knew better, given that he was well aware of the origins of chakra, but it did raise the point that outsider folk were coming to the rather isolated Elemental Nations, for the first time in written history.

Speaking of which.

"Sakura-chan."

"Hm…?"

"That ship, over there," Naruto slowly said, squinting to get a better look, "What does it look like to you?"

"What...?" Sakura looked to over where her teammate was gazing, "Looks like a…Huh? Is that a black flag…?"

"That's what I thought," Naruto nodded, "Pirates?"

"Could be," Sakura hummed, "Are you going to take a look?"

"Of course I am dattebyo!" Naruto stated, and jumped towards to sea.

He landed, just shy of the water, on a pier. He paused, briefly, thinking over what to do.

"Hmm…Bijū Mode seems like overkill," Naruto commented, "Sennin Mode, it is!"

Thanks to leftovers of the Yang portion of the Rikudō Chakra, Naruto could enter Sennin Mode, almost instantly. The visuals had changed. He no longer had pigment around his eyes, nor the toad-like eyes that came with the transformation. Even his Bijū Mode had taken on a new form.

Within moments, Naruto's eyes morphed into the orange coloured irises and slit pupils, the visual proof of him entering Sennin Mode.

"Huh, seems like the stories were right," Naruto remarked, "They don't have chakra."

BOOM

"Ora?" Naruto looked up, only for his eyes to bulge outwards at the sign of several cannon balls being fired at the coast, "Kuso!"

He then leaped into the air, and catch the balls he could reach, either deflecting them into the water, or back towards the pirate ship. Unfortunately, he missed one.

"Look out!" Naruto called out in warning. It was unnecessary, however, as Sakura was there.

"Shannaaaaarō!" she yelled, punching her fist forward. A loud explosion erupted due to the impact, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted. Fortunately, the dust cloud blew away, leaving behind an unhurt Sakura, with her fist raised.

"Heh. Tsunade-shishō throws them harder than that," she smirked, "Go get them, Naruto!"

"Yosha!"

He then leaped, pumping chakra into his legs, over the entire length of the water and landed on the deck of the ship, right in the middle of the crew. Naruto then stood up from his crouched position, blinking in surprise at the expression of the pirates around him. Every single of one them, even the one who Naruto assumed was the captain, had dropped their jaws, almost to the middle of their chests.

'Is even possible for a person to drop their jaws that much?' Naruto thought, raising a brow in confusion.

A scant few moments later, the leader of the pirates shook his head to regain himself, and drew his cutlass.

"I don't know how you did that brat, but you're going to regret boarding my ship," the grizzled man said. He then turned to his subordinates, "Get him!"

A unified battle cry came from the pirates, as they charged him at the same time. Naruto was hardly fazed, simply cracking his neck and knuckled in preparation. Barely a few secondly later, and the deck was full of unconscious or groaning in pain pirates.

"Well," Naruto began, as he dusted his palms, "That was…slightly amusing."

He then heard a slight whimper, and turned to its source, the pirate captain.

"Wh…Wha…What are you?" he whispered, wide-eyed.

"Me?" Naruto asked, a finger pointed at himself, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. I'm the future Nanadaime Hokage, and the guy who just kicked your minions' asses.

"Now, who the hell are you?" he then asked, "The type of pirates I know are a lot less obvious than you guys are."

The captain shook, not in fear like before, but in anger. With roar, he drew his cutlass, and wildly charged at Naruto, who dodged with a startled yelp. Once the rogue was past him, Naruto chopped at the pressure point on the pirate's neck, knocking him out.

Sighing slight, Naruto then gathered up the unconscious pirates, while knocking out those that were still awake, and placed them in a pile.

"Kaeru Kaeru no Jutsu!" he then said. A cloud of smoke later, and instead of a pile of unconscious bodies, there were as many toads standing to attention. It was a technique that Jiraiya taught Naruto, one that allowed for easy transportation of prisoners. Naruto then went through the seals for another technique, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Once again, a cloud of smoke appeared. This time a medium sized toad, wearing samurai armour, appeared.

"Naruto-dono," the toad greeted, "How may I be of assistance?"

"Hey Gama," Naruto waved back, "Mind taking these prisoners with you? And have someone use Gyaku Kuchiyose to bring them to Konoha?"

"As you command, Naruto-dono," Gama bowed, before taking the transformed prisoners back to Myōbokuzan.

With that being done, Naruto jumped off the pirate vessel and back to the harbour. Waiting for him, was Sakura, who had been tending to those injured by the debris caused by the explosions. It was good fortune that no one was killed, though a few suffered minor injuries.

"All done?" Sakura asked.

"Yup. Easy as ramen," Naruto grinned.

Sakura involuntarily snorted at the altered idiom, before asking, "Who were they, then? Nukenin turned pirates?"

"Nope," Naruto shook his head, "These guys had no chakra."

Sakura blinked, "What?"

"Mhm. I was in Sennin Mode. I couldn't sense any chakra," Naruto explained, "I think they're from beyond the eastern waters of Mizu no Kuni."

"Naruto, that's absurd!" Sakura argued, "No one has been able to return from venturing that far."

"Dunno what to tell you, 'ttebayo," Naruto said, with a casual shrug, "I knocked 'em all unconscious and had them sent to Konoha via Myōbokuzan. T&I will suss them out."

"Right," Sakura sighed, "Well. This has been…amusing. Let's get back to Konoha."

"Finally!"

The pair then left, heading westwards to Hi no Kuni and towards their home.

Konohagakure no Sato had changed a lot, over the past six years or so. Much of the reconstruction that followed the Konoha Crush was destroyed, in turn, during Pein's Assault on the village. In the aftermath of the Fourth Shinobi World War, Konoha went under a lot of rebuilding, to the point that Naruto didn't recognise it one bit from his early Genin days. Not to mention that the head of their sensei and Rokudaime Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, finally had his head on the Hokage Rock, which had initially begun just prior to the start of the war, but was postponed until after the war had ended.

There was a lot of talk about extending the village beyond the circular valley in which the village was currently situated, due to a lack of space. However, most of those discussions were tabled for when the expansion was really necessary.

Currently, Naruto and Sakura were in the Hokage's office, opposite Kakashi. They had given their full report regarding the signing of the official treaty that would result in the creation of the Shinobi Union. Following that, they then explained the situation regarding the pirates, which led to the current conversation.

"You want me to what?" Naruto yelled.

Maintaining his standard aloof expression, the Rokudaime Hokage repeated himself.

"By collective agreement of the Shinobi Union, and the Grand Convocation of the Daimyō, Uzumaki Naruto is to take a group of shinobi and venture beyond the eastern seaboard of Mizu no Kuni," he said, reading off an official piece of paper.

"I'm being asked to become a pirate?!" Naruto's face was a mask of disbelief.

"Technically, the term is 'privateer'," Kakashi cheerfully corrected, with an eye-smile, "You will be government sponsored, after all"

"That's not the point!" Naruto roared.

"Naruto, we, as a culture, have no knowledge of what's beyond our borders," the former sensei of Team Seven explained, "The mountains beyond Iwa no Kuni and Kaminari no kuni are inaccessible, with the sea in between landlocked. No one as survived travelling beyond the sands southwest of Sunagakure. All that's left is the ocean beyond Mizu no Kuni."

"Yeah, but why me?" Naruto frowned, while he folded his arms.

"Because I asked for you, Usuratonkachi," a drawling voice said.

Naruto and Sakura turned towards the direction of where the voice came from, only to find themselves staring at their missing teammate.

"Sasuke-kun!"

"Sasuke!"

Uchiha Sasuke, the second Child of the Prophecy, stood before the open window. He wore a typical Uchiha black high-collared shirt, a flak jacket that exposed his midriff, and light blue pants that were tucked into his shinobi sandals. Over his clothes, he wore a weather-worn, light brown poncho and his head was wrapped with a blue sash.

Normally, the last of the Uchiha would be aloof and calm, but at the precise moment, he was having to protect himself from the wrath of Sakura.

"Two years! Not so much as a note! Not even a 'Hey, I'm still alive. Don't worry'," she scolded, raining punches upon Sasuke, "Would have been so hard to just come by and say hello?"

"I couldn't," Sasuke grunted, "Ow! Sakura, stop! Naruto…ow…get her to stop!"

Much to Sasuke's irritation, however, Naruto was indisposed, having collapsed to the floor in laughter.

"Sakura. The dimensions I went to prevented summoning, for some reason. I couldn't send messages even if I wanted to," Sasuke explained, as Sakura retreated, hands on hips.

"That's a lie if there was any!" Sakura snapped, "You summoned a hawk during the fight with Kaguya!"

"Well I don't know!" Sasuke fired back, "Maybe the Jutsu Kaguya used to transport herself made it so that Kuchiyose no Jutsu worked? And maybe, my Jikūkan Ninjutsu isn't as good?"

"Oh? So, the great and almighty Uchiha Sasuke has found something he isn't good at," Sakura spat, "What's next? He'll finally upgrade his emotional range to a tablespoon? No, a teaspoon?!"

"Stop exaggerating!"

"Oh, I'm exaggerating?!"

"The only way I could contact you, was through Naruto, thanks to our shared Rikudō powers," Sasuke uncharacteristically blurted out, "Be angry with him!

"Wait, what? The prick didn't tell me that his summons didn't work, 'ttebayo!" Naruto looked honestly outraged that Sakura thought he would willingly keep her from her love interest, "And you never raised the problem that Sasuke wasn't sending any letters, so I thought all was good! It's not my fault."

Naruto then finished off, by sticking his tongue out in a childish manner. However, before Sakura could utter a retort, they were interrupted by a soft cough from the Hokage.

"Yare yare," he sighed, "It's like your genin days all over again."

"Ah, sorry, sensei," Sakura apologised, mortified that she behaved so badly in front of the Hokage, even if he was her former sensei.

"Don't worry about it," Kakashi waved off, "It's rather nostalgic really. Anyway, Sasuke please inform your teammates what you told the Gokage."

"Hn. I've found out Kaguya's origins," he announced.

"Nani?!" both Sakura and Naruto said in unison.

"How?" the latter added.

"I found a dimension she didn't transport us to during the fight," Sasuke told them, "It contained a castle. When I explored through it, I found several of her journals that dated to before she ate the Chakura no mi."

"And? What did you find?" Sakura pressed.

Here Sasuke's face became grim.

"From what I could tell, Kaguya came from beyond the eastern border of Mizu no Kuni," he went on, "She was a princess, and a survivor of a war that destroyed her kingdom, and killed her parents.

"She fled here, some eight hundred years ago. When she found the Shinju, she concocted a plan to use the Elemental Nations as the place in which to rebuilt and form and army to get her revenge," Sasuke continued, "From there, you and I know what happened."

"But…Who was she running from, 'ttebayo?" Naruto asked, "Hold on, what could possibly force a monster like Kaguya to run in the first place?"

"According to journal, it was an alliance of twenty kingdoms," Sasuke replied, "And Naruto. I know your tiny mind might not comprehend this, but Kaguya wasn't always all-powerful."

"Shut the fuck up, Sasuke," Naruto retorted, without missing a beat.

"Hn," the Last Uchiha smirked.

"It would seem that this alliance became an official government, similar to our Shinobi Union. They call themselves the World Government, and have jurisdiction over roughly one hundred and seventy different nations," Kakashi added, bringing back the conversation to the topic at hand, "Unfortunately, that is as far as our knowledge goes. The pirates you captured didn't seem to know much else."

"But why are we bothering with this? I mean, it's been centuries since Kaguya fled from wherever she came from, and this World Government hasn't bothered with us," Sakura inquired, "Plus, the increase in pirate activity has only been around for the past two years."

"That's because there was a complex barrier that protected the Elemental Nations," Sasuke explained, "The journals stated that once Kaguya mastered her powers, she created a barrier than hid the Elemental Nations from the rest of the world. To prevent her enemies from finding her."

"So? What happened to the barrier?" Naruto asked.

"Isn't it obvious, Usuratonkachi?" Sasuke asked back, with a mocking grin, though there was no insult behind it.

"Hmm…." Naruto rubbed his chin and closed his eyes, thinking hard. A flash of understanding passed his face as he opened his eyes and then said, "The reformation of the Jūbi?"

"Hai. The power it was throwing around, destabilised more than just the terrain," Sasuke said, "Much of the natural energy was disrupted, according to my snake and hawk summons. We just didn't see it, because we weren't in tune with those powers."

Naruto nodded and turned to Kakashi.

"So, what's the real reason for going?" he then asked, with a raised eyebrow, "It can't be for a recon mission. That's the sort of thing you'd send ANBU on. Not to mention the stuff that Sasuke's told us."

Kakashi sighed in exasperation, "I miss the days when you could be distracted by an offer to teach you a 'cool' Jutsu."

"Oi!" Naruto would deny it later, but his attempted frown was more of a childish pout.

"The Gokage do not like what the World Government represents," Kakashi gravely explained, "While it wasn't much, enough was gathered from the pirates that these World Nobles are a disgrace to humanity. That is why we want you to create as much chaos as possible, while agents will approach this so-called Revolutionary Army, for an alliance."

"Are we sure about who the good are and who the bad guys are, sensei?" Sakura hesitantly asked.

"No. Which is why you are going, Naruto," Kakashi said, "To get more information."

Naruto stood there in silence, mulling over the pros and cons of the mission. On one hand, he was being asked to go into a foreign land, without so much as any accurate information, and into possibly hostile conditions. On the other hand, he was getting increasingly bored, with no one to give him even the slightest of challenges. Even sparring with Sasuke could only go so far before they started to know each other's moves thoroughly. This mission might give Naruto some fierce opponents, and he knew that Sasuke would feel the same.

Looking up, he stared directly at Kakashi.

"So let me get this straight?" Naruto began, "You want me to go in to unknown territory with no first-hand information?"

"Check," Kakashi nodded.

"You want me to blatantly attack a Government that controls almost two hundred separate nations?"

"Yup."

"And you want me to do this, by becoming an outlaw? A rogue. A...Pirate-Ninja...No...A Ninja-Pirate?"

"Seems that way, yes."

Naruto stared at Kakashi. Kakashi calmly met the stare. Naruto started fidgeting. Kakashi maintained his composure. Naruto then began to sweat furiously. Kakashi still maintained his composure.

"Alright, fine!" Naruto burst out, "But I expect to be made Hokage when I get back! Ya hear?! Dattebayo!"

"Sure, whatever you want, Naruto," Kakashi drawled.

"Yosh! Now. Who can I take with me?" Naruto then asked.

"Anyone you wish, within reason," Kakashi answered.

"Hm. Fine. Sasuke, Sakura. You in?" Naruto turned towards his friends and teammates.

"Hn, as if you have to ask," Sasuke smirked.

"Who else would keep you boys under control," Sakura sighed, smiling.

"Alright, 'ttebayo!" Naruto shouted, "Ah. Hold on. I don't think the three of us would be enough."

"So? Who else do you want to take?" Kakashi asked.

"Er…Is Sai available? He is a member of Team Kakashi after all," Naruto said not wanting the former Root operative to feel like he was only on the Team because Sasuke was absent.

"He wants my replacement to come with us?" Sasuke mumbled in disbelief.

"Oh hush!" Sakura chided, trying and failing to hold in a giggle.

This exchanged went unnoticed by Naruto, who looked expectantly at the Rokudaime Hokage.

"Well, he is back in ANBU at the moment, but I can have him take off his mask," Kakashi mused, "Anyone else?"

"Shikamaru," Naruto firmly stated, "I'll need him for his plans."

"And for navigation, I presume?" Kakashi quirked an eyebrow.

"No comment," Naruto retorted, though a slight blush adorned his cheeks.

Kakashi shook his head in amusement before nodding.

"I can have the official paperwork drawn up in an hour, but I will have to have a conference call with the Gokage to inform them of the plan," he told his three former students, "Until then, go do something."

Upon being dismissed, Team Seven exited the office, but before Naruto could get a word it, Sakura grabbed Sasuke by the arm and pulled him towards destinations unknown, leaving the Sennin alone.

"Huh…Wonder what has Sakura-chan in a rush," Naruto mumbled, "Whatever, might as well go get some ramen."

Author's Notes:Yes, I know. It's another story. But it was a plot that wouldn't go away, so I decided to type it up. Anyway, I haven't yet given up on my other stories, I'm just suffering from a lack of motivation, due to the restarting of my degree. Unfortunately, this means that updates will be far and few in between, until probably about March next year. This will disappoint some of you, but I would rather I spent more time writing high quality chapters and posting them, as and when, rather than rush sub-par work, on a regular basis. I'm sure you would prefer I wrote to my usual standard as well.

Just before I go, however, I just want you to know how I have unified the One Piece and Naruto 'verses. Firstly, this is canon for Naruto right up to the end of the manga chapter 699. This means that anything from The Last: Naruto the Movie is not applicable to this work. This is because I needed to reconcile the significance the Moon plays in both Naruto and One Piece. To this extent, the Gedō Mazō was not sealed inside the Moon (which the Rikudō Sennin created in Naruto canon), but a separate Summons Dimension.

On top of that Kaguya, is an Exiled Princess from the Great Kingdom, from One Piece. If you do not know what that is, that is the old enemy of the World Goverment back during the Void Century.

There are a bunch of other changes that I've made to streamline the fusing of the 'verses, but I'll bring them up when they become relevant.

Anyway, this is me, signing off.