Sail
AN: Edited on September 3rd, 2024. Fixed Sakazuki to Akainu. Next chapter is in progress btw. As of editing this, the story has 120 kudos, 28 bookmarks, 6 comments, 1961 hits, and 88 subscriptions.
Chapter II: Sail!
A white bird with a large beak and uniform was flying over a stretch of sky-blue water, toting a bag of newspapers and bounties, and a pocket for payment.
Circling overhead a few times, it finally settled upon an island.
It just so happens that Garp was nearby.
Reaching out with a few gold coins in exchange, he grabbed a stack of bounty posters and a newspaper.
“Let’s see, any new rookie pirates to pick off?” he mused, and he shuffled through the stack of paper.
His eyes bulged. “What?”
There they were, the three posters.
Two of them had bounties so high it was absolutely unheard of for rookies.
Serioiusly, the two of them added together reach over two billion berries! 1.5 billion and 900 million?
What did they do to earn those bounties?
And he seriously doubted either bounty was that high to due careless killing and cruelty and general endangerment to civilian life, since in the photo both (a horned girl shouldering a kanabo and a blond-haired boy with whiskers) were giving off devil-may-care smiles as bright as the sun.
“Oni Makami” Yamato and “The Storm” Uzumaki Naruto, eh?
Hopefully none of his grandchildren (especially Luffy and Ace, darn those two thick-headed brutes) run into them.
And the third poster was... a boy with midnight-black hair, covering one eye and falling to about shoulders’ length. Eyes as sharp as a hawk, though not shaped like so.
It was Uchiha Sasuke, gifted with the epithet of the Devil Swordsman.
With a bounty of forty million.
“WHAAT??”
Garp smacked his forehead. Of course, the moment he took his eyes off them, the eldest went and became a pirate. Of course.
Flipping to the newspaper, Garp’s heart nearly gave out again.
Ah, that’s why their bounties were so high.
Headline:
YŌNKO KAIDŌ DEFEATED BY OWN CHILD "ONI MAKAMI" YAMATO AND ROOKIE “THE STORM” UZUMAKI NARUTO
Wano
Onigashima. The devil’s island.
Kaidō, one of the four emperors of the Grand Line, named the world’s strongest creature, stood before them.
Naruto and Yamato both swallowed.
They had been training together, for years now, ever since Naruto freed and fed Yamato when her father had imprisoned her. (Footnote: in this AU, Yamato never got to see Oden’s log despite being imprisoned with the samurai, so the whole “I am Oden” thing doesn’t exist, unfortunately. I couldn’t find another reasonable way to connect these two.)
And after years of preparation, here they were.
Kaidō rumbled, “So, my rebellious daughter, you’ve come to challenge me? With assistance?”
“I don’t see you as my father, and I have not since that day you locked me up and starved me. We will be freeing Wano from the Beast Pirates!”
Kaidō laughed. “Wororororo! Then come! Prove your resolve with actions, not words!”
Naruto laughed. “Alright!”
Vermillion crackles of power sparked around the trio, clashing with each other and releasing a dense wave of power that blew away the surroundings.
“Oho?” Kaidō raised an eyebrow. “Another Haoshoku user? At least you know how to choose your comrades.”
Naruto grinned, but with malice rather than confidence or pride. “And we’re going to kick your dirty ass, dragon man!”
And the battle truly began.
Kaidō brought down his kanabo upon the duo with a thunderous roar, “Thunder Bagua!”
Yamato leapt up to intercept the forceful attack with Takeru (she named her kanabo Takeru), but with decades more experience and power, Kaidō slowly pushed her down into the ground.
Naruto unsheathed his sword with a clink. It was hard to not pick up swordplay in a land full of samurai and that was known for its sword techniques and smithing.
His arms turned into a shiny jet-black, and the sword came swinging upon Kaidō with incredible velocity. Wind began to howl and shriek while gathering into a furious spiral at the tip of the haki-infused blade.
“Sword Style: Rasengan!”
Kaidō’s eyes widened as the blade narrowed missed chopping off an arm. What is that usage of busoshoku haki? He quietly contemplated it while effortlessly blocking and countering further attacks. It’s dangerous, it may be on par with Oden’s technique in terms of pure piercing and cutting strength.
“So, you’re not all talk after all! Wororo, I’m going to have fun with this!”
Kaidō let out a ground shaking laugh, and he shifted into his hybrid form, blue scales growing and covering his arms and pectoral muscles. A branch of orange scales covered his left arm, giving an odd look of bicolouration. His hands and feet turned azure, his fingers and toes into sharp claws. A tail sprouted from behind him, shaking the earth lightly as it dropped with a thump. His horns elongated into the likeness of some sort of devil rather than dragon.
Naruto and Yamato did not back down. Yamato’s body silently grew fur, and her face elongated into a snout, and into the head of a wolf. White clouds wreathed her body, and together with Naruto, she charged head on with simultaneous war cries.
The ensuing clash flattened the area around them. Trees were torn from the ground, the earth was mauled with scratches and pits, and rocks were blown to bits.
Kaidō was not an emperor for nothing. His strength was unparalleled; despite being outnumbered, each and every one of his strikes pushed them back. With an ungodly roar and a furious swing of his kanabo, Kaidō cracked the very earth beneath their feet, sending Yamato and Naruto back.
“Not bad, but not good enough either!”
With a cry, he sent Yamato and Naruto toppling to the ground. Their skin kissed the ground, and bruises and scrapes marred their arms and legs.
“Is that it?”
Kaidō sighed. “It seemed that I will not be able to lose, after all.”
He turned around, morphing back to his base form, foregoing the protection of his mythical devil fruit. exposing his broad back to them, unafraid of any sneak attacks.
It was a mistake.
A sharp pain erupted from his back, and he leapt back, but a wound from half a sword was already implanted upon his broad, scaly back.
“You... you DARE?”
Anger filled Kaidō being at the blatant dishonor. “Have you no honor as a warrior?”
Naruto snarled. “Did you have any honor when you killed Oden? Did you HAVE ANY HONOR WHEN YOU KILLED MY MOTHER? ”
He dashed forward, with a half-broken blade and a heart of fury. “You’re going down today, no matter what!”
“Naruto!”
Yamato was barely able to knock away the club aiming for the blond’s head, and the two comrades stood there, panting.
“Yamato, can you distract him for a moment? I have a plan.”
The child of Kaidō nodded. “Got it. This better end him though.”
Through his fatigue and pain, Naruto was able to muster a smile. “It should. Now go!”
Yamato dashed forward, and the father and daughter clashed once more, their Haoshoku haki clashing in an enormous battle of will.
Her wolf ears twitched as Kaidō’s attack missed her by the width of a hair, and in just a few moments, was barely holding.
Kaidō roared, annoyed at this war of attrition. “You have fought well, but this is the end for you,” he rumbled.
And in a flash, a deadly dragon of legend hovered in his former place.
“Wororo! This is your end!”
His head cocked back, jaws opening wide, and a blast of incendiary power began to gather within his throat.
Yamato cursed. “It’s his Blast Breath! Naruto, what’s your plan?”
He simply grinned. “Give me your kanabo real quick. Think you can toss me up to his height?”
Yamato squinted. “Probably. Why?”
“You’ll see. Now let’s go!”
Yamato shrugged. She didn’t have any plans for this contingency after all, so with a quick spin and burst of busoshoku haki later, Naruto was flying through the air like a bullet.
“Take this!” He hurled the broken fragment of the sword straight at Kaidō, only for it to miss as the dragon tilted his head easily, dodging the spinning projectile.
“Blast Breath!"
Kaidō roared, and in a single blow released everything he’d been saving for the past few minutes.
Naruto gritted his teeth and swung Takeru. The collision knocked him back, and after enduring the immense heat, he finally gave out, and began to fall.
“It seems your gamble has failed, whatever it was in the first place, vermin.”
Naruto, through the one eye he was able to open and mouth full of blood, smiled. A smile that didn’t belong on someone who’d just lost, who’s falling to their death at terminal velocities.
His eyes glinted with triumph, instead of defeat.
Kaidō, now no longer in his beast form, spat out blood as the half-broken sword pierced his back, once again. His face was filled with disbelief, stunned shock.
“Again? How?”
Naruto smirked. “String, you idiot. Why would I chuck away my weapon for no reason?”
And with a final pull of the two strands of haki-reinforced wire, the sword went clean through, and Naruto and Kaidō fell from the heavens.
Yamato ran over, and Naruto landed safely in her arms, though the impact did bring yet another crater to the ground. Kaidō lay there, coughing blood and dying.
“You won.”
Naruto glanced at him with a side eye. “I did. We did. And Wano is free.”
Kaidō let out a dying laugh, “Wororo... You may not have had honor, but that was a beautiful finish.”
Well, at least of all the people, I died at the hands of my own daughter and her comrade. Wasn’t Joyboy the one destined to defeat me?
He closed his eyes for the last time.
I suppose this isn’t too bad after all.
And on that note, the batte of Wano at Onigashima concluded.
Winner: Wano.
---
The aftermath of the battle was quite chaotic. Upon seeing the former Kaidō laying still on the ground, the All Stars and Tobiroppo all had split decisions on actions moving forward. King wanted to disband, while Queen suggested they rebrand and continue. In the end, a massive all-out brawl occurred, in which the Tobiroppo sought to take advantage of, and succeeded.
Day later, with the All Stars heavily wounded by each other and the Tobiroppo, Yamato and Naruto emerged. Quickly defeating the Tobiroppo and the All-Stars, they subjugated them all, and had them cuffed to seastone in a matter of minutes.
However, the duo failed to recognize and capture a very important group.
The real trouble began here.
“It’s a Marine ship!”
Naruto turns quickly, bewildered. “What? But isn’t Wano closed off? What reason did they have to come, and how do they know that Kaidō is gone? We haven’t taken down the flag yet!”
Yamato responded just as confused, “I don’t know! Let’s go and halt them.”
But she quickly paled. “Whoever they are, their presence is unbelievable. They’re on par with Kaidō!”
They quickly steeled themselves and walked forward. Only to be greeted by the sight of another ship, this one a pirate ship .
Bearing a jolly roger with slanted red stripes across the top.
“RED-HAIRED SHANKS?”
Well, this situation had gone out of hand quickly, hadn’t it?
Naruto did what he did best. And that is talk.
Walking up to Shanks’ boat, he jumped. In a single graceful leap, he landed upon the deck of the Red Force, and was immediately pointed at by dozens of guns and swords.
“Woah, I’m just here to talk!” he raised his hands in a placating manner.
“At ease,” a voice spoke. All the weapons were dropped, and Naruto saw Shanks approach him.
“Hi there, old man! Are you Shanks?”
The entire crew of the Red-Haired Pirates shuddered at the blatant disrespect.
Said old man’s eyebrows twitched. “Old? I’m barely thirty!”
“Still almost twice my age, so you’re old! Anyway, what’re ya doing here?”
Shanks glared at him a bit, before walking away a bit and gesturing for Naruto to follow. “Saving your ass from being ambushed by an admiral. That’s Akainu there, you know. One of the three admirals of the Navy, and one of the strongest men in the world.”
He sized Naruto up. “You’re strong, but not that strong. Did you have help taking down Kaidō?”
Naruto’s eyes widened. “That’s some incredible range on your sensing. Yep, Yamato helped me! She’s really strong, and we took him down together.”
Shanks nodded. “I see. Well, with me here, it would not be logical for Akainu to attack. This would brand you as a pirate though, if they considered you to be allied with me. If you want, I can pretend to fight you. Maybe they won’t label you as an outlaw then.”
Naruto strokes his chin. “Maybe? What’s it like, being a pirate?”
Shanks smiled a bit at the question. “Well,” he began, only to be interrupted by another clean arming by his crew. The guns and swords now pointed at Yamato, who was shouting at Naruto.
“Naruto! Are you trapped? Come on, I can make an opening!”
“I’m fine! Calm down, we’re just talking!”
Yamato settled down and frowned. “If you say so.”
Shanks raised an eyebrow. “Is that Yamato?”
Naruto laughed. “Yep! That’s her alright. Yamato, come here!”
Shanks watched as the horned girl leapt over his entire crew effortlessly, landing beside Naruto with a small crater from the impact.
“Shanks?”
“Yes, pleasure to meet you, Yamato.”
“He’s here to help us, isn’t that cool?”
“...Why would he do that?”
Naruto spun around, as if he had a revelation. “Yeah, why would you?”
Shanks could only laugh, “You’re just asking now? It’s because you’re a new generation. For the world to truly change, my generation of pirates is not enough. Our roles as major players will be over, and it’s our duty to usher in a new era.”
He then turned towards the open, endless sea. “And also, I knew Oden. Not very well, but he was a part of Captain Roger’s crew, which I was also in. So think of this as a favor for an old comrade.”
Both Yamato and Naruto’s jaws dropped. “YOU WERE IN GOLD ROGER’S CREW?”
“Yep. A cabin boy, actually.”
Yamato grinned. “That’s so cool! Do you have any stories?”
Naruto suddenly jumped into the air. “Wait, I forgot!”
He ran away in a burst of speed, and landed in front of the Navy fleet. “Hey, Sakuki guy! I have prisoners for you! Take them!”
The admiral sneered at the boy, and didn’t reply. However, the Magma Logia reconsidered, and with a wave of his hand, men were patched down, and soon enough, 500 Gifters, 6 Tobiroppo, 3 All-Stars, and many others were captured aboard the fleet of Marine ships. The Beast Pirates were completely subdued and later incarcerated in Impel Down.
With so many prisoners, it was simply illogical to wage war, so Akainu frowned, and directed the fleet away. They left without a single fight.
“Don’t ever come back! Remember, this land is protected by me and Yamato, so if you ever come back we’ll kick your arses!”
And following Akainu's departure, he jumped back onto the Red Force. “Ok, now tell me stories! I’m planning to leave in a while too, so this information will be helpful.”
Shanks smiled, “Are you setting out to be a pirate?”
Naruto grinned. “Yep! Since these Marine guys seem like assholes, I’m going to go against them!”
His eyes glazed over as he remembered his past. “I’m going to find a family on the sea, and have an adventure of a lifetime!”
---
Upon a snowy hill, there lay a shrine. Three men and a fox sat upon its steps, silent yet reverent of the serenity.
The man with the large head of white hair first spoke up, breaking the silence that was as fragile as the snowflakes in the air.
“We killed Orochi. Kaidō is dead. Wano is liberated. Oden-sama has been revenged.”
Ashura Doji, the large and rotund bandit nodded. Denjiro continued. “Our duty as the Akazaya Nine has been fulfilled. What now?”
Kawamatsu, a kappa and retainer of Oden, agreed. “Our duty is done, but Wano is still at risk. We’re not strong enough to open the borders yet. Yamato may stay behind, but chances are Naruto-san is going to leave. We’ll be here, helping maintain peace and prosperity until the strength of the land is back, and until Momonosuke-sama, Kin’emon, and the others come back.”
“They’re not coming back,” grumbled Ashura. “They’re gone.”
“They are coming back. Lady Toki said so herself. Do you not trust her?”
Ashura was silent after that.
“Fine. Let’s leave the seat of daimyo empty for now. We have waited for over a whole decade; we can afford to wait another one.”
Onimaru, the fox-like komagitsune, yipped, and curled around Kawamatsu’s legs.
“Besides,” Kawamatsu smiled. “This can be our way of repaying our debt to Uzumaki-san. He helped us greatly; this would’ve been impossible if not for me. So, we’re going to stay here and allow him to go off and be free to do what he wants.”
“After all,” his voice turned wistful. “We’re all the same. We’ve been bound to this land and Kaidō for so long, we also desire that freedom and peace of mind, don’t we?”
The countless swords that had once been grave markers for their fallen comrades were replanted into their rightful places.
East Blue
Uchiha Sasuke took in the open sea, breathed, and felt free.
He was the first of their not-so-little family to set off for the sea. After the tragedy with Sabo a few years back and the involvement of the so-called Celestial Dragons, he couldn’t help but be reminded of Orochimaru, Kaguya, Madara, and even a bit of himself in their mannerisms.
And he despised it.
Sasuke set out at age 17, the age that the four of them had agreed upon. The sea was calling, there were people and things to find, organizations to destroy, and places to explore.
Gosh, Luffy really got to him with his enthusiasm for exploration, didn’t he?
And here he was, on a little boat that he, ah, liberated from the clutches of a wealthy man, sailing from island to island in the East Blue. Supposedly this was the calmest and safest of the four oceans, with rather weak pirates and marines. Sasuke would agree; no opponent has lasted very long against him, despite his lack of any devil fruit powers.
However, Sasuke did find something interesting. He could, on occasion, summon a flow of peculiar energy that was close yet far from chakra. This energy allowed him to predict movements and make incredibly astute observations. It was like having a Sharingan again, but with no visual cue that would give it away.
It would be an incredible weapon given time and effort spent on honing it. And since he had retained nearly nothing truly useful for combat from his time as a shinobi, this would comfort him to have as a contingency.
Sasuke’s head swerved around. The loud cawing of a News Coo had disturbed him, and the sound was only getting larger.
And there it was, the bird. Sasuke dropped a few coins into its pocket and took some bounty posters and a newspaper.
Flipping through the posters quickly, he looked for any bounties to hunt in the East Blue.
But instead came upon a familiar face.
There he was, his brother in all but blood, with the familiar whiskers, spiky blond hair, and sunny smile. He even had a replica of a hitai-ate.
“The Storm,” Uzumaki Naruto. Bounty of 900 million berries.
Well, it seems that he’ll become a pirate after all. Can’t have anybody else claim that first mate position, can he?
Turning to newspaper, he was met with another surprise.
“Kaidō is dead, eh? No wonder that idiot has such a high bounty. Well, guess I’m the one chasing behind playing catch up this time. I probably don’t stand a chance right now.”
Sasuke stretched. It seemed that he wasn’t the only one. Maybe besides Naruto, the others also came along.
Fishman Island
“Thousand Tile True Punch!”
Despite its excessively long and frankly almost stupid name, the technique was hard-hitting. In a single blow, Sakura’s fists emitted enough power to completely blow her brother away, and Fukaboshi hit a nearby coral with a resounding grunt.
“Sakura, what have you been doing to train? Have you been bugging Jinbe again for tips?”
Sakura giggled. “Maybe. I can neither confirm nor deny this information.”
Her brother groaned. “Well, at least with that, father will be more lenient if you still want to leave.”
She pouted. “Of course I do! I’m seventeen now, I think I’m allowed to go out, right? And look!”
Sakura concentrated. This was what she had been working on for years now, and it finally came into fruition.
After a few seconds of concentration, her tail split.
Into two, human legs.
“See?”
Fukaboshi nearly fainted. “Since when? How? But you’re not even close to being thirty yet, so how? ”
Sakura puffed her chest in triumph. “I tricked my bodies into thinking I was! Just tweak some hormone stuff here and there to simulate the organ states and stuff, and boom!”
“And, pray tell, how did you tweak hormones?”
Sakura shrugged. “You know, I just used haki.”
Fukaboshi slapped his forehead. “Ok, sure. Let’s go back, ok?”
Fishman Island’s Ryugu Palace is a sight to behold. Fashioned out of multicolored coral and iridescent mother-of-pearl, the rainbow architecture fits perfectly into the island’s colorful theme.
The Hard Shell Palace is well King Neptune currently resides. After the incident that killed Queen Otohime, he has been frequently locking himself up. That incident (which Sakura will never forget; she will find the culprit one day and tear them apart) is also what’s leading to his adamant refusal for Sakura to leave.
Sakura walked up to her father. “Father, I want to leave.”
King Neptune stroked his beard with an impatient hand. “Again, why? Give me a good reason.”
Sakura waved, “You know, to go around, explore, meet people. Please?”
He sighed and moaned into his wide palms. She’s been begging to leave for years, but after the commotion in the New World, it got a lot more intense for some reason. This was the fifth time this week already!
He then thought of ways to stump her into not leaving.
“How will you travel on land?”
A pair of legs later (not that way), King Neptune accepted his loss.
“Fine, but the overworld is dangerous and filled with monsters. You saw those rookies that beat Kaidō , didn’t you? You can go, but only if you can best your brother in combat. Then I will know that you can handle yourself.”
Fukaboshi coughed, face reddening from embarassment, head hung in mocking shame. “She already did, Father. It wasn’t even close, I think Jinbe might have been teaching her.”
King Neptune threw his hands into the air and grasped at his thick beard. “Fine! Go! I’ll have a boat prepped by tomorrow.”
Sakura yelled with joy, and she hurried out of the throne room.
Finally, she was going to see Naruto! And Sasuke! She couldn’t wait.
A team reunion, seventeen years in the making.
Amazon Lily
Amazon Lily is an infamous island of the Grand Line.
For one, it is an island composed entirely of women.
How they’ve managed to maintain a population through their methods, no one knows.
However, the other quality of Amazon Lily that makes it secluded besides for its gender composition is its location.
Right in the middle of the Calm Belt, the nest of Sea Kings.
This single fact has meant that most people would not be able to approach the island, let alone invade it, and with seastone being the only way to safely traverse these deceptively still waters, the World Government is the only force that can easily enter and exit. If they ever wanted to, the WG could easily invade and take over the island without much trouble. A single admiral would be capable enough, since seastone is not a naturally occurring resource of Amazon Lily.
So, luckily for the Amazons, their leader is a Shichibukai, one of the Seven Warlords as appointed by the Government.
However, a non-government affiliated pirate would certainly put a wrench into this, wouldn’t it?
So, that is why at dead of night, a small boat studded with covered seastone at the bottom was setting out.
The Snake Empress, Boa Hancock, waved farewell. “Hinata-chan, do be sure to come back at some point, alright?”
Hyūga Hinata smiled, her pale lavender eyes that followed her from last life crinkling. “I will. I’m sorry for leaving, but it really is what I want.”
Hancock patted her head. “I understand. Stay safe, alright? And stay away from those men. I’m sure you’ll be fine, since you are the best user of haki in this village except for me, and you’ll be able to handle yourself, but I can’t help but worry, you know?”
Hinata was quiet for a moment, and poked her fingers together, bringing back the shy demeanor. “If you don’t mind me asking, onee-chan, why do you hate men so much?”
Hancock’s gaze glazed over, into one of hatred and despair. She took off her coat, and a brand shone on her back. A single circle, garnished with three triangles on top and one on the bottom. A mark burnt into her skin.
“This is the hoof of a Celestial Dragon. Me and my sisters were slaves to them, before we managed to escape. That is why.”
Hinata’s words were caught in her throat, and she simply hugged Hancock. The gesture was enough for Hancock to calm down and return the gesture.
“Just... be careful, alright?”
Hinata nodded, and with a final wave of goodbye, departed.
Her little boat, studded with shards of seastone inside, parted gentle ripples upon the calm water, and slowly disappeared over the horizon, and Hancock stood there, watching until she became but a speck that melded into the glowing, rising, sun.