Kasek: Here it is, the timeskip. From Naruto's side, anyways. I might focus on the others next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor One Piece

Naruto blocked Kisame's sword with his katana, pouring as much haki as he could into the blade. "Eat... THIS!" He pushed the blade away, but before he could attack again, he jumped to his left, and two feet attached to very long legs stamped the ground where he had been standing. The legs shrunk in length as the body they were attached to- a boy about twelve years old- came down from the air.

Naruto had changed over the past couple of years. Instead of his old orange ensemble, he wore a regular black t-shirt with netting in the v-neck and black pants, on top of which he wore a dark orange armor set- breastplate and matching backplate, shin guards, and arm guards. He also had the katana's sheath at his side- it was rather plain. The sword itself had a unique tsuba that looked very much like the spiral often seen on the backs of Konoha ninja.

He looked his new opponent over. He had brown hair that framed his face and went down to the bottom of his neck, and he had a rope tied around his head fisherman-style. He also wore fisherman-style clothes, with the short-sleeved top and shorts, as well as straw sandals. Naruto grinned as he put his katana into its sheath and settled into a taijutsu stance. "If you wanted to spar with me that badly, all you had to do was ask, Inari."

'Inari' smirked. "And where would the fun in that be? Besides, you have to keep on your toes at all times in a fight."

Naruto smirked back. "I suppose that's..." He ducked under a kunai that came from behind him. "Darn it, Itachi, I'm talking here!"

Itachi appeared from one of the bushes. "Ah, were you? Anyways, it's time for dinner. Tsunami invited us over again."

Naruto grinned. "Great! I love her cooking!"

--

Naruto slurped up his ramen that Tsunami had cooked for him. "Ah, this stuff's the best! Well, except when compared to Ichiraku's, anyways."

Tsunami smiled at him. "You say that every time."

Inari grinned. "So, you guys beat down any more of the Gato Corporation's thugs recently?"

Naruto shook his head. "What makes you think that we did it this time?"

Inari gave him a flat stare with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Naruto sighed. "Yes... a couple of thugs were harassing a girl, so I taught them a lesson."

Tsunami sighed as she watched the others eat- Itachi had some salad, and Kisame had some sushi. "I can't believe they decided to come back and start bothering us again... we have the will to fight back now, of course, and they're not in total control of the country's income, but still..."

Itachi swallowed his food. "For now, it seems to be just minor thugs just bullying people around, and the occasional underground deal... however, it seems that some major deal involving some powerful 'merchandise' of questionable origin is about to come through here at noon tomorrow... if out of nothing other than curiosity, I intend to see what it is."

Naruto grinned. "I like this idea. I hope you don't mind if I come along."

Itachi nodded. "Of course. I judge you to be an upper jonin level shinobi, even without your 'special chakra'."

Inari gulped down some water. "So, where do I rank when it comes to a fight, then?"

Iachi glanced at the young boy. "Considering that you've only been training under me for the past year... I'd say lower chunin in taijutsu alone. Considerable progress considering that a genin could've beaten you in a fight when we met, and that you do not actually use jutsu."

Inari chuckled. "Wish I could, but even though I'm great when it comes to stuff like water walking, I mess up on the jutsu every time."

Naruto nodded. Naruto thought it was a weird condition- being able to control chakra through any means other than a handseal- but he supposed that that was a result of not being trained from a young age to do so. Kisame bit into a piece of sushi. "Still doesn't mean you're coming with us. Your mom would kill us if you got hurt. Your grandfather, too, if he wasn't out on business."

Inari lowered his head. "Yeah, I know..."

Tsunami smiled. "Glad you understand, Inari."

--

Naruto peered out from behind some crates and watched the scene in front of him. Itachi and Kisame were at two other locations along the wharf. He recognized the two people standing by the gangplank to the large and rather expensive looking ship- they were Gato's old henchmen, two swordsmen who were fairly proficient in... well, Naruto just knew that they were proficient. He remembered how many pieces they had left Tazuna's door in, and Tsunami claimed they did it in an instant.

Waiting at the bottom of the gang plank was some manner of young man, flanked by two bodyguards in standard suit and sunglasses attire. He had on a long, fur-lined coat, with fur on the cuffs as well, and no shirt underneath it. He had short, spiky blond hair similar to Naruto's own, and he was also wearing goggles like Naruto once had. However, this man's eyes were dark, and he certainly didn't have Naruto's charm- he had some cross between a grin and a sneer on his face as someone began walking down the gangplank.

Naruto's jaw practically dropped off his face when he saw who it was, a small box in one hand, an umbrella being used as a cane in the other. It... it can't be! Didn't Zabuza... kill him? Even if his wounds weren't fatal, he fell into the ocean from atop a very tall bridge, for crying out loud!

Indeed, on the gang plank stood none other than Gato himself, or at least a very convincing copy of him. The man at the bottom of the gang plank took a step forward. "You have the goods, old man?"

'Gato' grunted, and opened the box, revealing some kind of fruit. "Here you go, Besuke- the power of invisibility in the form of a fruit... that is, if you brought him."

'Besuke' nodded. "I've got him, alright. Bring him out, boys!"

Two of the guards, who were standing over by a crate, saluted, and gave the signal to someone else. That someone else was operating a crane, and it lowered down to the crate and caught the front of the thing and lifted it up, sliding the door open. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw that none other than Tazuna was inside, his hands bound together. Naruto felt a flare of haki come from a different section of the wharf, and he stifled a groan, settling for rolling his eyes. Just great... just what we needed, Inari came along after all. Tsunami is going to kill us...

The guards brought Tazuna in front of Gato and threw him to the ground. Tazuna's eyes widened when Gato put his umbrella-cane down forcefully on the ground in front of his face. Gato smirked. "Well, well, Mr. Bridge-Builder. Long time no see. How's life been in Wave without me?"

Tazuna looked up, and the fear was apparent on his face. "Y-you... you're dead..."

Naruto could tell by the slight tilt of Gato's head that he had most likely rolled his eyes under his shades. "News flash: I'm not. I never was. I've just kept my head down since my embarrassing near-death on your... what do you call it? That... Great Naruto Bridge." Naruto smiled to himself- he couldn't help but feel pride every time he heard that name. Despite the fact that there were no whirlpools or anything to justify a name like that, it was still an awesome name for a bridge. It didn't hurt that it was apparently named after himself.

Tazuna managed to get up on his knees, and was trying- with some effort, due to his weight- to get back on his feet. "So, why get revenge on me now? Why have you waited so long to make your presence known in Wave again?"

Gato chuckled. "To be honest, my... superior has only recently given me the ability to move freely. So, I only recently got control back of my company. But rest assured, I am back, and I am going to have my revenge on you." He walked behind Tazuna and used his cane to push him back onto the ground with surprising force, and then put his foot on his back. "You know... I wonder how much a man like you can take..."

Tazuna gulped. "H-how much... what?"

Gato sneered. "Weight, my man. Weight."

Tazuna didn't know how to react, until he felt a much greater pressure on his back. "Gah! What... how are you applying that much pressure?"

Gato gave a much more sinister chuckle. "Wouldn't you like to know..." Again, Tazuna felt an increase in the pressure. He likened it to a bit greater than what he could lift with his arms, but since it was being applied directly to his back... to be frank, it hurt. A lot. The kind of hurt that made him cry out in pain.

Naruto grit his teeth as he knew exactly what was about to happen when he felt Inari's haki spike again. Great, here it comes...

"SUPER-STRETCH PUNCH!" Gato looked up when all of a sudden a fist attached to an extremely long arm punched him in the face, sending him tumbling across the ground towards his bodyguards. The fist retracted back to Inari, who was now in the open. "Keep your dirty shoes off of my grandpa!"

All of Besuke's guards immediately moved into a defensive formation around Besuke. Besuke himself looked like he thought that hat he just saw was incredulous. "How did he stretch like that? That ability can't be human!"

Gato got back up, and Naruto was surprised to see his eyes, now that his sunglasses were gone- they were solid black with white pupils. He tensed- those eyes greatly reminded of... he could almost feel the cold from the imagined ice. Gato wiped his face on his sleeve, and growled when he saw blood. He shook his head and regained his composure before he got too angry. "Ah... I had heard that there was one who had eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi in Wave... I didn't realize it was your own grandson, Tazuna."

Tazuna squirmed around, and looked at his only grandson. "Inari?! What are you doing here?!"

Inari grinned. "Well, right now I'm rescuing you!"

Gato snapped his fingers, and his two guards ran to his side. "Take care of this brat."

Besuke shook his head. "That won't be necessary. Guards! Remove this annoyance!"

His four guards suddenly dashed at Inari. Naruto smirked- Inari could take them out no problem, if they weren't shinobi. He watched as Inari charged towards the guards, primed for combat. One guard threw a punch, which Inari ducked under and then kicked him in the face by stretching his leg. He stretched it more than necessary as the man fell backwards, and then swung it at another guard, knocking him to the floor with excessive force. He jumped back as another guard kicked out at him, and then stretched out his arms and grabbed both guards' heads, and then smashed them together, knocking them out.

Besuke growled, while Gato smirked at the situation. "As I was saying, Zori, Waraji, take care of this brat."

Waraji sneered, which was accented by his scars and eyepatch. "With pleasure, boss." They dashed towards Inari, hands on the hilts of their katana. Just as they reached Inari, there was a flash of steel, and the sound of metal on metal. Their eyes widened- along with Inari's- when they saw Naruto standing inbetween the guards and Inari, his sword placed such that he was blocking both of their swords- which was a lot harder than it looked.

Naruto clicked his tongue as he pushed their blades back. "Inari, go rescue your grandfather. I'll take care of the swordsmen."

Inari nodded. and started to run around the two men. Zori did not look pleased with this development as he placed his sword back into its sheath quickly. "Oh no you don't, brat!" He drew his sword again at a speed faster than the untrained eye could see, and yet Naruto again appeared in front of him and blocked it.

Naruto smirked. "Please, I beat you guys when I was twelve. What makes you think I'm going to lose again?"

Zori grunted as he kept trying to push against Naruto's blade. Why... can't I budge him? "You got lucky that time, brat. If it had been a straight-up fight, you'd be long dead."

Naruto's smirk seemed to take up more of his face than should be possible. "I'll give you that, but... I'm not a shinobi for nothing."

Zori began to grimace as he put more and more force into his blade. "You look... more like... a samurai to me."

Naruto chuckled at the thought. "Well, I hear the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages wore samurai armor... I guess it's just good armor."

--

Inari was running towards Gato, his fists dragging behind him. "Super Stretch..." Before he could finish his attack, Gato disappeared and then reappeared right in front of him. Inari, who hadn't been using his haki seriously, did not see the attack coming and was punched in the face. Gato's eyes widened as Inari's neck began stretching in the direction that his head was forced to go from the force of the punch, and then the neck snapped back, bringing Inari's head right back into Gato's face, causing his feet to drag on the ground as he was pushed back a few feet.

Gato checked his face for blood again- luckily, this time there wasn't any. "It seems we have a stalemate here... neither of us can really harm the other with our attacks. You're too stretchy, and I'm too heavy."

Inari smirked. "You want to test that out?" He charged Gato again, ready to punch him in the face.

Gato frowned. "Not really." He pointed his umbrella at Inari, and with the push of a button a blade came out of the tip. He slashed at Inari, but Inari dodged it and made a kick from the side, which stretched out and caught him in the side. Gato grunted as he was sent sliding a few feet. "Ow... darn it... looks like you can use haki... this is it for me, I'm out of here." In the blink of an eye, Gato was gone. Inari blinked again, possibly hoping it would bring him back.

"Where'd he go?"

--

Naruto smirked as he stared his opponents. Both were now weaponless- the blades of their swords had been shattered, the pieces lying around them. "I suggest you give up. I don't particularly like killing."

He noticed some movement on the ground, and looked down. Was his shadow getting... bigger? He looked up, and realized it wasn't exactly his shadow that was getting bigger. He jumped out of the way as Gato landed where he had been standing, leaving a sizable dent in the ground. He snorted. "Zori, Waraji, we're leaving." They both nodded, and started making a mad dash towards the expensive boat. Naruto grit his teeth as Gato began walking back towards his ship. "What makes you think we're going to let you walk away, Gato?"

Gato looked back at him. "Ah, you're the brat who gave Zabuza that kunai he almost killed me with. Well... how about this, then, jinchuriki. I'm going to take Tazuna hostage, and then you're going to let me go. How's that for you?

Naruto furrowed his brow, and then dashed at Gato, sword raised. Gato merely smirked, and disappeared before Naruto reached him. Naruto's eyes widened in horror as he saw Gato appear by Tazuna, the blade on his umbrella pointed at the man's throat. "Hehe... just try it. I'm more than willing to kill him, you know."

Gato froze when a kunai was placed at his neck. "You know, you really shouldn't leave yourself open like that."

Gato looked behind himself and saw Itachi standing behind him. "Feh... looks like I lose, huh?" He smirked. "I don't think so!" He tried to step on Itachi's foot, but Itachi moved it so Gato just created a small crater instead. He then tried to elbow Itahi in the gut, but he already knew better than to let something as heavy as Gato hit him so he got out of the way. Gato then opened up his umbrella and jumped into the air towards his ship, and then he started floating lazily towards it. "Heh... almost a clean getaway. Almost there..."

"SUPER STRETCH STORMWIND!" Gato's eyes widened in horror as he was lifted up... and up... and up. Soon, everyone below looked like ants. He saw that... someone had knocked out Zori, Waraji, and Besuke, and grunted. Well, here goes nothing... He began dropping as fast as a dropped rock, and then he slowed down to a halt again, and he repeated the process until he was almost to the boat. He was right above the boat when Naruto, Itachi, and Inari appeared below him. Itachi threw a kunai, and it pierced right through the umbrella, and caused Gato to fall straight to the ground regardless of his weight. He groaned as he sat up from his fast meeting with the deck. he looked up and gulped- both Naruto and Inari were cracking their knuckles.

"I... don't suppose you gentlemen would be interested in the power of invisibility, would you?"

Naruto smirked. "Don't bet your life on it."

--

Itachi shook his head. "He has some extremely powerful blocks put in his mind... there is nothing in his brain about what happened after he was attacked by Zabuza."

Naruto clicked his tongue. "Maaan. What a waste. So what do we do with him? Kill him like what should've happened to him a few years ago?"

Tazuna grunted. "That would only make us just as bad as him... I've got an idea, if you will. It will certainly give him the message to leave us alone."

--

Gato groaned. Where... was he? He felt pain in lower regions, and when he looked at himself and where he was, he realized that he was being given a massive wedgie by a crane on the wharf. He heard a coughing sound from his left, and was horrified at what he saw- Gaara, his lower half turned into sand, floating next to him, the fruit Gato had been trying to barter off in his hand. "Ah, wait, Gaara! Please don't kill me, I've got information for the Mistress!"

Gaara raised a non-existent eyebrow. "Oh?"

Gato nodded vigorously. "Yes! The Kyuubi's jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto, is here in Wave right now!"

Gaara's eyes widened, the green in his eyes shrinking considerably. "Uzumaki, hmm?"

Gato kept nodding. "Yes! I... ran into him when I was about to give away the Suke Suke no Mi, and he intervened, along with the Gomu Gomu no Mi user and two others."

Gaara closed his eyes. "I see... Then, I will use you to lure them out and kill them. If it works, you may yet live, Gato."

Gato grinned. "Thank you! Thank you!"

--

Kasek: Sooooo..... yeah. When I thought of what a timeskip would be like, this is what came to mind. Inari with the Gomu Gomu no Mi was the first idea that hit me, followed by making Gato come back. Well, aside from near-samurai Naruto. I like him, but I get the feeling I'm going to run into the same problem I have in Kitsu Kitsu- I can't have him use it (the sword) on anyone who also doesn't have a sword because then he would kill them fairly quickly. Guess I'll have to resort to having him get it knocked out of his hands or have him only use it on opponents he needs it against or something.

I use "Super Stretch" for Inari's attacks because he doesn't know the fruit's name is "Gomu Gomu". Also, Super Stretch Stormwind is him using Gomu Gomu no Fuusen (Gum Gum Balloon) and blowing the air at his target.

I know that them staying in one area for a year is extremely unrealistic, but hey, it's fanfiction, I get a freebie like that every once in a while, right?

Sorry for those who were hoping for Sakura to get the Kilo Kilo no Mi~ There are still two fruit that I'm considering for her- one I'm pretty much set on, and the Nikyu Nikyu no Mi (Paw Paw Fruit) which I might give with fan support. If you think you have a better idea for a fruit for her to use, send it in with reasons why~ Original fruits from One Piece only please.

Lastly, I realize that Besuke looks like a fusion of Captain Kidd and Naruto, but meh, that's the first image that popped into my head.

...maybe I should've used a pure-human Absalom lookalike...