Hello, hello. Chapter 54 hot off the presses. Time for Naruto to debut his new power. As always, thanks to everyone who left a review, and followed and favorited since last time. But enough of my prattle, on to the chapter! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto or One Piece

Chapter 54: Running on the Wind

Naruto didn't wait for Shura to respond and jumped forward. The orbs of wind followed after his feet, catching him before gravity could assert its dominance. It was a nostalgic sensation to Naruto. He couldn't help but be reminded of flying through the trees and while this new application of his powers didn't give him the smooth flight Six Paths Sage Mode had, but he couldn't help but feel this was a better fit for a ninja of the Hidden Leaf.

"You think you can best me in the air," Shura roared, obliviously not impressed by Naruto's newfound mobility, "The sky is my domain and you Blue Sea dweller don't belong!"

He urged his bird froward and gripped his lance tight, causing it to begin to glow red. Naruto could easily feel the priest's frustration and anger and couldn't keep the grin from his face.

'Let's see how well you deal with this,' Naruto thought willing the last orb into his left hand, an aura matching the one that surrounded his other hand and feet forming around the extended extremity. The moment the conjured sphere of wind touched his hand its lazy spinning grew more intense. He held it as the distance between the two combatants closed.

Shura thrust his lance, the tip glowing red hot. He grinned when Naruto jumped upward to avoid the strike, and thrust his left hand at Naruto. He triggered the Dial hidden under his jacket's sleeve, an invisible thread of String Cloud shooting out. The unseen string silently shot up at the airborne pirate, intent on limiting his mobility. Shura couldn't hold back his grin when the fine but tough string wrapped around his enemies arm.

He pulled hard with his left and thrust with his right, aiming for Naruto's center. Naruto brought up a knee to block the lance, an action that elicited a grin from the Sky Rider. That grin faded when a blue green blur shot up and affixed itself to Naruto's knee. The heated lance struck the spinning orb, blocking its attack.

"I think," Naruto said tauntingly, "That you committed to early to an attack and left yourself open. Homing Rasengan!"

The attack didn't come from the spheres he held but from below; the fourth orb of wind left behind after the jump rocketed upwards and crashed into Shura's lance. The sudden attack from below ripped the weapon from its master's hand, sending it flying into the air.

Naruto dropped down, landing on Fuza in a crouched position, his right arm pulled back.

"Rasengan," Naruto shouted, snapping his arm forward while he stepped closer to Shura. The orb of rapidly spinning wind slammed into the Priest, the howling gale drowning out his pained grunt as the attack knocked him off his feet.

Shura was sent flying into the treeline, the sound of snapping wood following him as he disappeared into the foliage. Naruto reared back, ready to slam the tempest he held into the bird, but paused when his Haki picked up the bird's emotions.

He jumped off the frightened fire breathing bird, landing on two of his wind orbs as it flapped its wings in an effort to flee. Naruto watched as it flew above the treeline, vanishing into the late afternoon sky before he let down his guard.

"Guess that's it," Naruto sighed, "At least the bird knew when the fight was over." He turned his attention inward for a moment and frowned.

'It's only been about two minuets,' he thought, trying to calculate the amount of time that had passed since he entered this state, 'I don't think I've got a lot of time left, so I should head back down. But first….'

He jumped over towards Gan Fall, who still was trapped in whatever Shura had used to immobilize him and his bird. Naruto glanced at his right arm, where the Sky Rider had wrapped presumably the same substance around him twice before. The first time he'd use Blazing Spiral to free himself, an act which seemed to have completely removed whatever it was. This time, however, the brute force of his Rasengan had only broken what his eyes and hand now found to be some sort of thread.

"Hang on, Gramps," Naruto said, spinning the wind in his hand faster, "I'll cut you loose."

"'Gramps'," Gan Fall repeated with an amused huff, "I can still teach you a thing or two, but it would seem in this situation, you're better equipped than I."

"Any idea what this stuff is," Naruto asked as he focused on the wind orb. He knew he could increase its speed, but he wondered if he could alter the shape. After a moment of visualization, the orb began to distort, elongating into more of a cone shape.

Naruto smiled as he swiped the Drill Rasengan around Gan Fall. He felt resistance from the binding threads, but the grinding tempest tore them apart after a few moment of applied pressure.

"I think they are a variant of Island Cloud," Gan Fall said, his voice increasing in volume to be heard over the sound of Naruto's work, "Shura must have had Dials launch these threads will flying around, making a net to trap us in."

"Man, these Dials sure are pretty useful," Naruto commented as he passed over Gan Fall's head. The threads that were there seemed to be critical for maintain the bind that the Sky Knight and his steed were held in as once Naruto had cut those, Pierre began to sink. The pink bird struggled for a moment and with a triumphant cry broke free, his wings flapping proudly.

Naruto hopped back from the freed pair, a proud smile on his face. That smile faltered as the wind under hid feet abruptly vanished.

"Shit," Naruto cursed as he began to fall. He was about to summon Crimson Chain to stop his descent when Gan Fall swooped under him, Naruto landing on Pierre's back.

"Ha, thanks for the save," Naruto said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "Guess I should have kept better track of my powers. Looks like Spirit Sage Mode doesn't last long."

"It is of no concern," Gan Fall said as the flew back down towards the Merry, "You called for my aid and I will carry out that duty until such aid is no longer required. Also, I owe you a debt of gratitude for saving me. I hold no illusions that Shura would have dealt me a grievous injury had you not interrupted him."

"I wasn't just gonna sit around and let you get stabbed by that guy," Naruto counted, "But maybe you could fill us in about what's going on here. It's been one big thing after another and we're still kinda in the dark. Something tells me you know more about what's going on around here than Conis and Pagaya do."

"Ah yes," Gan Fall said as he brought Pierre in to land on Merry's bow, seeing not only the other pirates but the two Skypiean natives, "I had heard that you 'kidnapped' two civilians. I'm glad that it seems more like that you recused them."

"Yeah, that Enel guy fired off some lightning attack," Naruto said, as he jumped off the bird, "Would have blasted them if Matatabi didn't counter it."

Any further conversion between the two were interrupted when Chopper and Usopp rushed towards them, the pair alternating between singing their praises and asking Naruto about his newest power. Naruto noticed Myukuru was hanging back, and he didn't need Haki to know what she was feeling.

She held up two fingers, indicating that he owed her two free passes to do something stupid. Then she smiled, glad that everything worked out. Behind her was Conis and Pagaya, both who looked forward in a sort of daze.

For a moment, Naruto thought they were staring at him, but then he realized they were looking over his shoulder at Gan Fall. Curiosity got the better of him and Naruto accessed his Haki. He felt a deep reverence radiate from the father/daughter pair mixed with a sense of longing. Unable to help himself, Naruto turned his attention to Gan Fall. Amusement and a humble acceptance of the praise heaped on him from Usopp and Chopper bloomed from the Knight but under that was a deep regret, one Naruto felt was born from a great failure.

Then a new sensation began to burn from deep within the knight. A heated resolved infused his being, a fire that Naruto sensed had for too long been cooled. Naruto could feel it resonating within himself, a drive to accomplish something, to fight to rectify something. Naruto knew Gan Fall wasn't just going to fulfill his obligation to the whistle's call and fly off. Whatever conflict they had kicked off back at Angel Beach wasn't the start of things, but only the newest action in a long standing issue.

And if things were going to get more heated, than Naruto knew they had one thing they had to do before things became too dangerous.

"Gan Fall," Naruto said in a resolute tone, "There's a lot going on. More than just us causing trouble, I mean."

Gan Fall nodded sadly, "Many things hide under the peaceful facade of Angel Island. I should start at the beginning…."

"Wait," Naruto interrupted, drawing a confused looked from everybody else, "There's something more important we have to take care of first. You got a safe place where Enel can't find?"

"Yes, I do," Gan Fall said, not understanding this line of questioning, "But what does that have to do with the current situation?"

"It means you can get Conis and Pagaya out of the line of fire," Naruto said plainly, "If I had thought about, we should have called you earlier. They didn't do anything wrong and keeping them here with us is just making them a target."

"You would have called me just to spirit them to safety," Gan Fall said amazed, "Even in the face of dangerous opposition?"

"I would have if I thought about it," Naruto said with a shrug, "I don't think Luffy'd have minded. He's ready to fight god to get him to forgive them."

"Would have got no complaint from me," Myukuru piped in, "Usopp, Doc, you guys?"

Usopp stuttered for a moment as the focus shifted to him and Chopper, before coughing, "O-of course! How could I, Captain Usopp, let two innocent people suffer for our transgressions!"

"That goes double for me too," Chopper shouted.

"You people," Gan Fall said, his eyes wide.

"Wait," Conis said, tears brimming in her eyes, "You can't…. If you're fighting Enel, you can't…."

Gan Fall strode over to the young woman and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I understand what you are trying to say," he said in a calming tone, "But these are people who follow their own path. And they have decided that such a path is one they would have you avoid. And it is my duty to assist them. My honor as the Knight of the Sky will not allow me to renege on my duty."

He turned back to the assembled pirates, "And that duty is not only to you who called me, but to those I have failed six years ago. When I return, I will tell you all I know and aid you. I feel the time has come to fix my failings."

He walked over to Pierre and ran a hand over his feathers, his face pensive, "You lot remind me of a crew of Blue Sea pirates I met twenty years ago, and thinking of those days makes me feel ashamed of the man I have let myself become."

His words sparked something in Conis and Pagaya, both looking far more relieved than they had been.

"We don't have the time to dither," Gan Fall said, "It would be safer to move while the sun is still out."

"One moment, please," Pagaya said, approaching the group of pirates, "Do you think it would be possible for me to take your Waiver. I'm quite curious to see how its design is different from today's models and fixing it is the least I can do to repay you for this. Ah, assuming we can take it with us?"

Gan Fall traded a look with Pierre, who nodded, "I believe we can carry it with us."

"Well, Nami wouldn't say no to getting it working for free," Naruto said with a chuckle.

"And if we all die fighting god, put it to good use for us, OK," Myukuru said cheekily.

"Y-yes, of course," Pagaya said, a little put out by Myukuru's gallows humor.

"Please don't do anything too reckless," Conis begged them, her eyes still watery, "I don't want to see anybody hurt."

"We'll do our best," Naruto said in an upbeat tone, hoping to cheer her up, "We didn't have that much trouble with that Shura guy, and with all of us together, I'm sure we won't have that much trouble."

His words didn't completely soothe her worry but she shook her head sadly and joined her father atop Pierre. At Gan Fall's order, the pink bird took off, three on his back and the broken Waiver clutched in his talons. Naruto and the others watched as the flew into the horizon.

Once they were no longer visible, Naruto sighed.

"Well, we better get to patching up Merry. Usopp, give me hand in reeling in the mast."

"Well, this is interesting," Robin said as she crouched down near a massive tree root, inspecting the ruined stonework under it.

"It's a well," Zoro pointed out, gaining an angry glare from Sanji, which he promptly ignored, "How significant can it be?"

The forest expedition ventured as far into the forest as the could before encountering a cloudy river. A river that was too wide and deep to cross, even before factoring the Sky Sharks that swam in it. They had paused to consider their options. While Robin took the time to investigate the ruins by one of the massive trees, Matatabi and Nami had ascended into the tree to get a better view of the land, to see if there was any way to cross the river. Luffy followed them, but more for his own personal enjoyment.

"I've never seen anything like this," Robin said, "Sometimes an ancient civilization falls and nature reclaims the territory, but not like this. New trees and plants growing from the cracks and things like that. As far as I can tell, this tree just grew over the well. There's almost no separation between nature and civilization. Even if hundreds of years has passed, there's no way whatever civilization built these structures wouldn't have built in way to avoid tree growth from encroaching on what they made."

"Robin is so smart," Sanji gushed, "I would have never thought about something like that."

"You think," Zoro said with a smile, causing Sanji to snap over to him angrily.

"You say something, Moss Head?"

Above them, Matatabi sighed. "At least they are in good spirits."

Beside her Nami stiffened as she scanned the horizon with a pair of binoculars, drawing her attention.

"Nami," Matatabi said, a touch of worry in her voice, "Is there something out there?"

Matatabi trained her eyes in the direction Nami had been looking, away from the river they could not ford. She could not see anything that indicated an enemy.

"Yeah, maybe," Nami said, her voice reflecting her disbelief over what she saw. She handed over the binoculars, "Take a look."

Matatabi took the binoculars and looked in the direction Nami indicated. Through the thick green foliage she could make out the white that was the sea that surrounded the island. Then she saw it. A structure of stone brickwork, two stories at the most. Its shape was familiar.

"Do you see it," Nami asked.

"Yes I do," Matatabi responded, "But it cannot be, can it?"

"Only one way to find out," Nami replied before turning her head down towards the others, "We found something. We need to head for the coast."

"The coast," Zoro repeated, "What'd ya see there?"

"It is a bit outlandish to say," Matatabi said, "And I feel that we should see it up close before jumping to conclusions."

"Just come on," Nami all but ordered them, pointing towards the coast, "Luffy, we're going this way!"

Luffy didn't answer. Nami twisted around and saw no sign of their captain. She groaned in frustration, hands pulling at her hair.

"Aghh, why can't he stay put," Nami complained.

"He was the most excited to see Sky Island," Matatabi said, "We should have made more of a point to watch him, given what happened back in Nanohana."

"Sanji," Nami called down to the cook, "Go and wrangle Luffy. Probably best to head back to the ship when you find him."

"Anything you say, Nami," Sanji said with a salute, "One hogtied captain coming up."

Sanji jumped into the trees to begin his search will the rest of the party began to make their way to the coast. A short and uneventful time later, they broke though the tree line and stood blinking in the unblocked light. On the uneven shore, stood a lone building. It was made of stone, though roots and vines from the forest had snaked out to cover a good portion of it. Even a tree had begun to grow on it, though that was a more recent development.

"Looks familiar, doesn't it," Nami said as the approached it. Zoro and Robin spent a moment looking at it before both realized that had seen something similar.

"Wait a minute," Zoro said, "Wasn't that back on the ground?"

"No," Robin said, "Its other half was. Which means this island used to be on the sea. Used to be Jaya."

"I had wondered," Nami said, running a hand over the worn stonework, "Why Cricket's house had two stories but no stairs inside. And why something like that was build on a cliff. But it wasn't build on a cliff, not originally."

"Which means that for years," Matatabi said in a somber tone, "That Cricket has been searching in the wrong direction for Noland's City of Gold. It did not sink into the sea. It was blasted into the sky."

Nami couldn't contain her excitement, "I can't believe the Sky Island we tried so hard to get to is one with the City of Gold on it! This must be a sign of good karma!"

Robin looked up at the unobstructed sky, frowning.

"I don't know how being this high up will affect sunset," she said "But it can't be too long before it get dark. I think we should go back to the ship before we lose the light to see our path. Who knows what sort of predators would love to attack us as we stumble about in the dark."

"Y-yeah, that'd be the best option," Nami said, the wind taken out of her sails, "We regroup and come up with a plan. Hopefully Sanji found Luffy and they're already on their way back."

Hidden amongst the clouds, a village of Shandia sat. Totem poles lined the streets, lighting the paths was flames burned atop them. Inside one of the tipi sat a number of young people. Siting like the leader of this group was the man who had attacked the Straw Hats earlier in the day. His masked removed, his sat with a stern face, a tattoo inked around his left eye. His red hair was pulled back and he held his bazooka as he made sure it was in working order.

"There have been some interesting things happening today," one of Shandians said, "Those Blue Sea folk caused a ruckus on Angel Beach."

"I heard one of them managed to block one of Enel's attacks," another said, "And that Gan Fall was seen heading for Upper Yard."

"Unless he's going to lay down his life," the red haired leader, Wiper, said, "Then what that old man does doesn't matter. Ex-God or God, it doesn't matter, both are our enemies. We live by the principle set down by Calgara the Great. 'Turn on the Light of Shandora'. Anything that stands in the way of that is our enemy."

"It's been six years since Enel took power," the lone woman in the group, Laki, spoke up, "Since then, there has been no one that stood against him. But these Blue Sea dwellers have. If that rumor is to be believed, that one of them could defend against his attacks…."

"I know what you're going to suggest, Laki," Wiper interrupted, "That we ally ourselves to these pirates. They don't know the value of Vearth and can't understand our position. No, we have no need to strike an alliance. But we'll let them fight Enel's forces. Maybe this is the sign we've been waiting for. The true god may have finally answered our prayers, so be ready to head out. Today may be the day we reclaim what our ancestors had stolen from them."

And Cut! Shura is going, going, gone! Spirit Sage Mode Naruto knocks it out of the park! Yes, Sage Mode returns, in a fashion, and boy do I have some plans. Also, looks like a treasure hunt is about to start, but let's hope the Shandians don't rain on the parade.

As always, leave a review if you feel so inclined, maybe let me know what you think about Spirit Sage Mode and drop a favorite or follow so you'll know when the next one drops.

Til next time.