Loose Ends | New Beginnings
Loose Ends New Beginnings
New World
Hyūga Hinata let out a small sigh as the News Coo dropped a newspaper and a stack of Wanted Posters in her hand after she exchanged the proper sum of money.
Of course, on the front page, was her past, gleaming at her from the black and white print.
The Shinobi Pirates, huh? She chuckles at the cliché, and simultaneously apt and inapt title of the pirate crew.
Yes, they were reincarnated shinobi from another world.
No, they were not anywhere close to the typical shinobi of this world. Assassination, infiltration, espionage? The only one in that group of reincarnates that Hinata thinks would even vaguely fit that description would be Sasuke and Shikamaru, and even then, the former would likely opt for power over finesse. The name of the crew was likely derived from their former lives rather than its composition.
No matter. Hinata rifled through the stack of wanted posters and kept the ones of her goal crew. She shuffles through the rest of the news, and then discards the excess paper.
She walked across her ship, small as it was, and released the anchor, and departed from Sabaody Archipelago.
Sailing by herself was a dangerous endeavor, but ever since her reincarnation, Hinata had been practicing her navigation skills. Taking the seastone-bottomed ships of Amazon Lily, she had gradually worked her way through the intricacies of marine navigation, until her prowess earned her a spot on the crew of Boa Hancock, the Queen of Amazon Lily.
It is safe to say that solo navigation was not an issue for her in the least. The more troublesome thing is the combat. She's alone after all, and any half-decent crew could overwhelm her with sheer numbers.
Lucky her navigation could usually shake off pursuers quite easily, and sometimes even lead them into traps that the wild ocean set up.
Shaking her head free of contemplative thoughts, Hinata set sail. According to the newspaper, the Shinobi Pirates were last spotted sailing from Sabaody Archipelago into, oddly enough, Paradise, despite having New World capabilities. She had initially come here in hopes of intercepting them, but it seems she was too late, and thus remained there for a few days to catch wind of their future route.
It seems like she had found it.
It was cloudy the day she finally caught up. The gray sky stirred with something ominous, and Hinata frowned as she anticipated a storm. Adjusting the sail and course of the ship, she prepares for the onslaught of rain and wind. Humming as she worked, Hinata quickly moved things offdeck and corrected all navigation equipment to handle to incoming storm.
With her ship being quite small, Hinata settled down in the hull without a second though, and watched the storm pass inside. Good thing the ship had windows, albeit small ones. Otherwise, she'd have to weather the storm on the deck.
Hinata glanced at the map pinned on the wall, pale eyes narrowing in though. She was now a week into sailing in Paradise; it had been smooth so far, despite the obligatory Grand Line turbulence. A News Coo at her last stop brought further news of her past friends. It seemed like they had arrived at an island called Water 7 just a few days prior, and so, that was her destination.
Hinata sits down in a cross-legged position, firmly planting her hands upon her bent knees and closing her eyes. There wasn't much for her to do, so now was as good a time as any other to practice her Kenbunshoku Haki.
She stretched her senses to the absolute limit. Learning Kenbunshoku Haki was frustratingly difficult (in complete contrast to Busoshoku Haki, which she picked up quickly and wielded naturally), and so Hinata kept a regular schedule to practice and enhance her abilities in this area.
The familiar feeling of "knowing" sneaked into her consciousness. Hinata feels the presence of the numerous Neptunians lurking in the stormy waters, of the adaptive birds in the sky despite the roaring wind and rain, and…
And people?
Hinata opens her eyes, alert and cautious. Her Kenbunshoku Haki was quickly cut off, and she scowled.
Really? As I am this close, there's going to be a New World level crew? The Haki of one of the members rivals the Seven Warlords, and the others are no joke either!
Hinata pursed her lips in thought and activates her Kenbunshoku Haki again. Her Haki range would only be shorter than the unknown people, so there was no reason to abstain from further scouting her potential enemies.
She focused. "Three major signatures, along with three smaller ones," she muttered to herself quietly.
Hinata readied herself after a quick glance out the window. The storm seems to be setting up the two ships on a direct course towards each other. She sucked in a breath, and silently prepared herself. She quickly grabbed a pair of sheathed daggers hanging upon the wall; though Hinata still preferred to use her own two hands, from her time in the Kuja Pirate crew, she had learned that even precision fell to simple thick skin and flesh. What use was there in striking key points when those vital points were armored with countless layers of cloth, rock-hard skin, or even tons of fat and flesh?
Even though Hinata specialized in Busoshoku Haki, she finds it lacking the sheer piercing power of having bladed weapons on hand, especially when others could use Busoshoku Haki as well.
She stepped out on deck just as the last few raindrops fell, and the stormy winds and cloudy sky seceded. Hinata peered into the distance, and there it was.
A ship – in fact, the ship she had detected below-deck during the storm – floated no further than a few dozen meters away. It was relatively small for a pirate crew's ship, especially one with such powerhouses, and the crew all stood on deck.
Hinata froze in her tracks, declarations of intent choked within her throat, unable to release.
"H-Hinata?"
Uzumaki Naruto stood there in all his densely resplendent glory, eyes full of hopeful confusion, staring right at her.
Thankfully, she was well past the stage where she'd faint just from eye contact. Hyūga Hinata took a deep breath and steeled her back.
She smiled at not only him, but also her former comrades behind him. Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Hatake Kakashi… maybe not Uchiha Sasuke, but seeing as he's here, perhaps he had redeemed himself. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?"
Her reception was surprisingly warm, despite the fact that Hinata was never too close with any of them. Of course, they shared the close camaraderie that all genin of their generation had amongst each other (save for Sasuke), but not much beyond that.
So, to her surprise, Hinata was welcomed aboard not only quickly as the next member of their crew, but also with a large amount of fanfare and warmness far surpassing her expectations.
"So, Hinata," Sakura smiled at her, cheeks rosy and red from the alcohol being passed around. "Where'd you end up?"
"I landed on an island in the Calm Belt called Amazon Lily," Hinata replied while sloshing around a cup of sake. Nostalgia brewed inside her pale eyes, and she continued to explain. "It's an island of only women, funnily enough."
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "Really? How'd that work, wouldn't the population die out extremely quickly?" Her eyes glinted with burning curiosity. "Or perhaps they've found a way to artificially impregnate women?"
Hinata shook her head, lightly blushing at the implications. "No, nothing of that sort. Women leave the island frequently just for the goal of conceiving children; they return once pregnant. Somehow each time they give birth, it's always a girl, as long it was on Amazon Lily."
Sakura reeled in shock. "Really? Huh," she allowed a dash of contemplation to sneak onto her face. "I wonder…"
Hinata coughed, and Sakura broke out of her trance. "I do have to ask, though," Hinata spoke, quickly moving the conversation in another direction. "What happened after we died? Is Sasuke now an ally?"
"Ah, right," Sakura sheepishly grinned. "You weren't there for the end of the war. We had to explain to Shikamaru as well. Those two – Naruto and Sasuke, that is – duked it out after we defeated Kaguya. Seems like that was enough to work out all the problems and bad blood between them, and Sasuke came around in the end."
Hinata blinked. "Huh. I suppose that's fair, Naruto does seem to have that effect, doesn't he?"
Sakura lifted her eyebrows. "No more Naruto-kun? Did all this reincarnation stuff make you rethink your romantic target of choice?"
Hinata shook her head and smiled with a sort of finality. "No. It's not like I'm craving a romantic relationship or anything, so for the foreseeable future, I'll likely not pursue an active relation with him. I'll just do my best to support him as much as possible from the side. It's better this way; Naruto has never been the most astute when it came to things like romance, you know?"
"That way it'll be less of a headache for both of you," Sakura nodded in agreement, before sneaking a sly grin. "You know? You've even picked up his little catchphrase!"
Hinata's cheeks finally gained a smidge of red. "I couldn't help it, you know? Not after stalkin- no, following him for so long."
They looked at each other before laughing.
The celebration died done after a few hours. Despite downing many cups of strong alcohol, most of the group were only tipsy, and not full out drunk. (For the better; if any of the powerhouses were to become drunk, the ship might have sunk)
It was after all the noise quieted down that Naruto found himself alone, standing on top of the deck, watching the stars. The sun had just gone down, and the first stars of the night were beginning to show. Naruto stared up at the countless glittering twinkles in the sky, but his mind was miles away from appreciating the view.
Instead of thinking of the ever-expansive sky filled with countless stars present before him, he was thinking of a only a single object within his mind. More specifically, Hyūga Hinata, his past and current target of romantic interest.
Honestly, it was only years into reincarnation that he realized what all those snide comments on how "dense" he was meant. After connecting the dots within his mind, Naruto was simultaneously embarrassed, livid, and filled with regret.
Affection doesn't get much more obvious than red cheeks every time she talks to you, fainting in your arms, and constant sweet words of encouragement, does it?
During Pain's invasion of Konoha, she had jumped into the fight as he was down, standing proud and tall, defending him with all her might.
Her "death" was what pushed him over the edge.
Yet somehow, after all was said and done, in the aftermath of the fight, Naruto had failed to reciprocate her feelings, despite his original intent to do so. And in the end, it would prove to have been his final chance to do so properly, for they all died before he could ever confess to her.
But, in this second life, this second chance…
Unconsciously, Naruto's grip on the sides of the ship tightened, and the wood creaked under his iron hold.
This time around, he'd give her what she deserved all along. An answer.
Conclusion reached, thoughts sorted, Naruto let out a small sigh of finality. His breath condensed into a white mist that quickly dispersed in the cold night wind, and he swept a gaze along the stars before finally retreating to the cloying warmth of his cabin.
Hinata had been noticing something unusual for a few days now.
It felt like a shadow was constantly following her. Every now and then, she'd turn around from doing some menial tasks to catch a brief glimpse of the silhouette of a person.
This happened daily, at random intervals. But without fail, it would occur whenever she had spare or free time to do unimportant things.
She had suspicions as to their identity; after all, their crew was only so large. And seeing as she had nothing to do with Sasuke, and Naruto is very much of the direct and confrontational personality, she narrowed the suspects down to Nico Robin, Shikamaru, Kakashi, and Sakura.
However, all that was thrown out the window one day, when she turned around with a snap, and her natural senses picked up a blast of haki, perhaps as a panic reflex, as the stalker ran away. She never gave chase, as she never felt the need to, but…
Huh. Such strong haki… it could only have been Sakura and Kakashi of the four she suspected (Shika and Robin were more intelligent than physically strong), but in the brief instant she turned around, she didn't catch any trace of Sakura's bright clothing. The cloth was far darker and subtle, more like the outfits of the males members. But why would Kakashi stalk her?
Finally, after perhaps a week of this, she decided to put an end to it all. This time, she gave chase.
Once the stalker turned tail, Hinata narrowed her eyes, and gave chase. Activating her kenbunshoku haki, she strained the muscles in her legs and followed. Turning corners and racing down passages after the shadow of her unknown target.
It wasn't long before whoever she was chasing approached a hallway with a dead end. Smiling at their cornering, Hinata slowed down and looked at them, only to see…
"Naruto?"
Said boy gulped under her gaze and tight hold. "Uhh… fancy meeting you here, Hinata?"
She shook her head quizzically. "Naruto… why have you been stalking me?"
Naruto grinned sheepishly and began scratching the back of his head in earnest. "W-well, you see, I've just been wanting to ask you something, but haven't found a good time to ask…"
Hinata's heart rose before she forcibly crushed it back down. She levelled a disbelieving gaze at Naruto. "Really now? And pray tell, why would you need to flee every time I turn around?"
He just continued awkwardly laughing, eyes flitting around nervously as if chasing an invisible fly.
Hinata let out a sigh and shook her head lightly. "Well, I'm here now. We're alone, and I have nothing else going on. What do you want to say?"
Naruto's fidgeting stopped for but a brief moment, and then resumed at full force. Nay, it came back with even greater force than before.
"W-well…" his words jumbled together and were so quiet Hinata could not hear them.
She exasperatedly asks again. "What's the matter?"
Hinata watched as several conflicting emotions clashed around in his azure eyes, bouncing off of each other rapidly, until finally they settled into the familiar look of determination that had drawn her to him in the first place. What was really troubling him this much? He usually is never this conflicted of anything, whatever he is about to ask must be a big request.
She mentally shook the thought free. No matter. I shall help him in any way I can.
"Ahem," Naruto cleared his throat. "Hinata, I'm sorry."
She tilted her head in confusion. "For…?"
"I-I'm sorry for never acknowledging you after the Pain attack, for never responding to your words, and for never realizing… that."
Hinata painfully closed her eyes. So, this was what it was all about.
"So…"
There's more? He doesn't need to apologize, I never blamed him anyways; I'll stop him after this sentence.
"Please, I love you, would you please go out with me?"
The straightforwardness of the request and redundancy and ineloquence of his words struck Hinata like a mighty hammer, and her mind was sent reeling into sheer disbelief. Her eyes widened in total shock, and her body stiffened.
"What?"
In the following week, the crew members began to notice a change in their captain.
At first, it was an awkward tension between their trusty captain, Naruto, and newly joined beauty Hinata. Each time they made eye contact one would quickly break it, and then neither would look at each other for minutes at a time. To former shinobi, it was incredible to see, seeing as how Naruto's dense brick-headedness towards romance and relationships was as famous as his power and dedication.
Then, after a few days of that, it transitioned into something almost intimate. Instead of breaking off into awkward stares, the two would sometimes share a knowing smile, a grin, a look, a gesture. If their hands by chance touched by accident, there was no blushing, no tangible tension, but rather an air of comfort.
It was almost like watching a new couple learn to interact with each other.
After a few weeks of sailing, odd jobs, and confusion, Sakura and Sasuke couldn't bear it and colluded to figure this out. "What the hell do you think is going on?" Sakura muttered to her temporary partner in crime conspiratorially. "I don't know," Sasuke responded. He wore a blank look as usual, but there was a subtle glint of curiosity in his jet-black eyes. "But we'll find out."
One day, they put their plan into action. Through intricate positioning and persuasion, Sakura cornered Hinata, and Sasuke cornered Naruto.
After a round of questioning and simultaneous cries of surprise later, the two came face to face with each other.
Sakura and Sasuke blurted out at the same time. "They're dating now?!"
Their identical expressions confirmed the fact. It appears that this is indeed true.
Naruto and Hinata are, in truth, dating.
Sasuke let out a sigh. "And here I was, thinking that Naruto's horrid lying skills have failed him once again when he became all flustered when I was interrogating him. It seems like it's just the fact it's meant to be a hidden relationship, huh?"
Sakura agreed. "Same here, with Hinata. Since coming here, I haven't seen Hinata truly flustered once, save for just now. It was eerie, seeing her face red and flushed again."
The two of them lean on the railing of the boat, allowing themselves to be gently rocked by the calm waves of the sea. They were fortunately sailing in relatively tame waters, and the sky was completely clear for miles. It was truly a beautiful day.
"Sasuke," Sakura quietly began, with a tone that immediately clued Sasuke in on the fact that the conversation was about to shift to talk of their former lives. "Do you have any regrets?"
He let out a snort. "Is that even a question?"
Sakura rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. Of course we do; I don't think any of us were prepared to die when we did, but most of our regrets were in some way alleviated by second chance."
She glanced at Sasuke. "You've let the past go, haven't you?"
"Hn. There are a few things that I can't let go."
"Itachi?" Her tone softened.
A slow shake of his head signified otherwise. "No. I did spend the first few years here angsty and conflicted over him and… that entire mess. But I got over it."
Sakura wanted to tease him, but the silent weight behind this conversation made her hold the words. "And now?"
"There's only a few things that I haven't gotten over."
"Ah," Sakura let a loose smile grace her lips. "Same here."
At this moment, the two of them couldn't help but subtly glance at each other. Their eyes met, and both turned away in light embarrassment.
The rest of their time was spent in contemplative and awkward silence.
Truly, who is acting like a new couple now?
Besides the entertainment of potential and confirmed romances, the crew was also constantly in training.
After all, certain members like Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi were leaps and bounds ahead of the rest in combat ability, and it wouldn't do to leave the others in the dust without pulling on them.
It was Kakashi, Naruto, and surprisingly Hinata who were doing the heavy lifting on helping others catch up.
Sakura, despite her immense physical prowess, is not nearly as skilled with the usage of haki, with her being born with great strength and power.
Kakashi, despite reincarnating into a relatively secure part of this conflict-strife world, was nearly as strong as Naruto, and arguably stronger than Sakura, disregarding her special ability.
Hinata's life on Amazon Lily led to her absorbing most of their techniques and secrets. Her control over haki is on par, if not surpassing the Queen of Amazon Lily herself.
And Naruto, well, is simply the strongest out of them all. Secretly learning haki together with Yamato, growing up in Wano where the usage of busoshoku haki, or ryūō is incredibly intricate and studied, Naruto has achieved genuine mastery of this skill, or rather as close as you can get to it. After all, though there were several key differences between chakra and haki, the essence of their usage is not dissimilar. And so, with over a decade's worth of a head-start on the mastery of using an energy flow from within one's body, Naruto improved with vastly accelerated speeds and spent much of his time perfecting and innovating ways to use haki, rather than learning how to utilize it.
All the crew members, save Robin, were extremely fast learners, having done this before. And so, their progress was about as close to exponential as you could get.
Sakura leaned back against the railing, and watched as Sasuke sparred with Naruto, practicing his busoshoku haki. Robin was right by her side, watching acutely with a sharp eye.
Each of Sasuke's punches and strikes was accompanied by a low whistle of the air bending around his limbs. Naruto's strikes, despite their speed, were alleviated greatly by tiny and sudden shifts in his form, allowing most of the force to miss him. On occasion, Sasuke even could apply busoshoku haki to specific areas to tank hits and reduce damage taken.
It was hard to believe that this is all from less than a month's worth of training.
Sakura takes note of how nonchalant Robin's demeanor is, despite witnessing someone who was likely weaker than her only a few weeks ago. "You don't seem that surprised," she casually prodded at her.
Robin simply smiled and adjusted her hat slightly. "Of course not," she replied. "It's his second time around after all; I'd almost be disappointed if he progressed any slower."
Sakura's emerald-green eyes widened. "You know?"
A nod confirmed it.
"How much?"
"Everything."
"Shika told you?"
"He did." Robin smiled slightly, waving her hand casually. "I basically raised him in this life, you know? I picked him up when he was only four, and I was eleven."
Sakura let out a low whistle. "Must've been tough, raising a child while being one yourself."
A slight shadow crossed Robin's delicate features before vanishing without a trace. "Hm. It was definitely an ordeal."
Sakura continued to poke at her subtle defenses. "So why, then? If I am to understand you correctly, this was five years after your bounty was initially created due to the Ohara Incident, right?"
Robin was silent.
"I can't imagine the world being kind to one as young as you were with such a high bounty. You must have been constantly betrayed, and had your trust broken."
A chill ran down Robin's spine slowly, allowing her body to savor every drop of that unpleasant and eerie sensation. "How-"
Her sentence never finished. Of course Sakura would understand that, she's been through life once already, a life strife with conflict and war.
The rose-haired girl of the merfolk smiled at her hesitance and confusion, and turned tail and left.
Robin was left to stew in her own thoughts.
Truly, these second timers are frighteningly perceptive.
And it seemed for the first time that the mask she had built over the years for her own security was not nearly as secure as she had made it out to be.
It was on an unsuspecting day when their first major conflict came to be.
Even though they've been laying relatively low, simply sailing around in the New World without much conflict and interaction, news of a strong pirate crew spread fast. In fact, people were already beginning to fill in the gap in the Four Emperors that Kaidō left with the seven-man crew that is the Shinobi Pirates.
Additionally, many people found the name Shinobi Pirates to be tiresome and unimaginative, and the media had taken to referring to them by the background upon which their insignia is embroidered. Unofficially, they were now the Sunrise, or New Dawn, Pirates.
As expected, with their fame came trouble, and this conflict was one ignited by this fame.
After all, the fact that they were sheltering the Devil's Child is a fact that cannot be suppressed for long, and once the World Government catches wind…
"There they are!"
Naruto stood at the stern of the ship, proud and tall, pointing at the ship in the distance. With their unmistakable insignia painted over their pure white sails, the fleet of government ships approached at a rapid pace.
Standing at the forefront of the first ship is a large man. With the signature white coat fluttering around his body and his obvious air of command, it wasn't difficult to identify him as one of the three Admirals. And that red coat underneath…
"Hell," Naruto swore. "It's Akainu."
Kakashi audibly swore as well. "The Admiral who's known for his magma logia powers?"
"Yeah." Naruto scratched his cheek. "I first encountered him in Wano. Shanks was there to scare him off-"
(Everyone else face-palmed. So that's where the rumors of them having an alliance with the Red-Haired Pirates came from.)
"-But I later met him again. Nearly burned my boat, but thankfully, I was able to escape in time."
Sasuke frowned. "So, his power is magma, huh? That would be troublesome for a ship battle, especially since ours isn't exactly fireproof." His hand defaulted to the blade on his hip. "What should we do? Flee?"
Naruto shook his head. "No need. We can take him. Sakura, can you use you, ahem, special ability to open a hole in their hull? Discreetly?"
Sakura nodded and smiled at the last part. "Discreetly? Why, I would've done it that way even without you asking; who do you think I am, you?"
"Kakashi." Their senior (in terms of age only) stepped up. "How long do you think you can hold him off?"
The silver-haired man thought for a moment. "Perhaps ten minutes at best."
Naruto nodded. "That should be enough. Kakashi, you and Sasuke go engage him first. Be careful, his magma is dangerous. You'd need really dense busoshoku haki to defend against it, so just dodge it if you can."
The two nodded at his advice, knowing full well that he was serious. Sasuke cocked his head at Kakashi, who smiled at nodded in return.
"Ready," Kakashi began, and held out his hands in a forward position. Sasuke leapt into the air, landed on Kakashi's outstretched hands, who heaved, and Sasuke was sent flying.
The enemy Admiral looked on in mocking arrogance, smirking as the small figure flew towards him.
"Fool," Akainu snarled. He raised his fist, and magma swelled to coat his limb in globs and tendrils. The red-hot magma-covered fist raced forward, a wave of heat pushing into the path of Sasuke.
Sasuke grins, a deadly grin, and with one hand unsheathes his sword. Crackles of haki ran over the blade in subtle charges, and he held his free hand in front of him. With a grunt, his arm blackened with busoshoku haki, and with a deadly hiss his palm met the burning hand of Akainu.
The large man snarled at the dangerous show of disrespect. "Brat." His snarl quickly turned into a smirk as Sasuke quickly lifts his hand off the Admiral's magma, hissing in pain. "You thought far too highly of yourself, and too lowly of me."
Sasuke growled, and his blade lashes out in a flurry of rushing strikes. Akainu simply smirked and surged forward with a fiery hot fist again. Sasuke grunted and flipped through the air to avoid the strike, landing on two feet upon the deck of the enemy ship.
The lower ranked marines widened around the two fighters, too scared to get closer. They enclosed the duo in a ring formation, and Sasuke was left alone facing off against the Admiral.
That is, until a wave of Supreme King Haki flared and knocked out the lower marines.
Hatake Kakashi stood unfazed upon the deck, and now it was a two versus one situation.
"Hatake?"
The man in question jauntily waved. "Akainu! It's been a while, eh?"
The Admiral spat on the deck. "Don't get so comfortable with me. When I heard Smoker report that you've gone rogue, I wasn't sure whether to believe it or not. Guess that question's answered."
"Rogue?" Kakashi waved his hands uncaringly. "When was I ever employed by you marines? I was merely the neutral information broker, I've simply selected a side now."
Akainu grunted, and his eyes blazed with a fiery intensity. "And you've picked the wrong side. No matter, I'll take care of you just the same."
And the clash began anew.
The resounding forces from the intense fight shook the ship. Akainu, despite his immense strength and devil fruit, was pressed to his utmost.
Any trace of Sasuke's initial foolishness had vanished. His sword strikes were quick, deadly, and accurate. The finesse he carried himself with silently stunned Akainu, who had been expecting a dunce of a fighter, and was immediately caught off guard and forced into a bad position. Even though the Uchiha surprised him, Akainu was still much stronger, but Kakashi was a force to be reckoned with as well. And somehow, the tag team is holding their own against the Admiral.
At this point, it was fairly obvious to Akainu that Sasuke had initiated the entire escapade in the beginning as an act; a frustratingly genius maneuver to lure him into a false sense of security. On one hand, his rage flared with how he had been played; on the other, Sasuke's willingness to accept pain to sell his act was, simply put, frightening.
The ship rocked and groaned, the reinforced planks creaking heavily. Akainu sends a glance backwards and realized that the ship was sinking.
"How?" He growled and swung a heavy blow that temporarily pushed back Sasuke and Kakashi. His mind raced, but could not find a simple answer, and decided to shelf this operation for now. With Sasuke and Kakashi, their actions are completely unpredictable in his eyes. Though Akainu was arrogant, he was not foolish. He was fully aware of the powerhouse that is Uzumaki Naruto on the ship behind them, and given how the two weak pirates in front of him could hold him off, even if barely, if the captain was in the equation he would lose.
With an angry snarl, his magma propelled outwards, sending him flying into the air, landing back on a functioning vessel. "Outlaws!" Akainu bellowed furiously. "Don't show me your face until the day you're ready to be captured!" With a wave of his hand, the fleet departed.
In their wake, the lone ship of the New Dawn Pirates stood, rocking slowly in the vestigial turbulence of the waves.
Nico Robin, whose heart pounded like a hammer within her chest the entirety of the exchange, finally let loose a breath she didn't know she was holding.
Huh, that's odd. Every time she has joined forces, she has locked her heart away. At any moment, anyone could betray her, so what was the point of connecting with others if those connections would only hurt? As such, she never felt any pain or tension when her "allies" were under danger.
So why now? Why now of all time, when her supposed allies provide no great benefit towards her besides a fragile shield against the power of the World Government? A truly feeble defense, at that; only one Admiral was enough to shake the whole crew (telling from the way everyone let out a breath).
If the World Government really came at them, she'd be done for.
So why was she relieved that for now, at least, she could stay.
"Robin," a voiced called quietly from behind her. It was Shikamaru. "No, sister."
Robin silently awaited his words.
"You don't have to worry about us betraying you." His face was full of mirth. "We're just using you anyways, so that way the World Government can come after us."
She was stunned into silence.
The implications were clear as day. We won't force you to trust us.
"But, you know," he continued. "We don't exactly care that much about benefits and such, since we've gone through all this once, so don't be afraid to lean on us in the future, ok?"
We won't betray you. We have no reason to. So, trust us, even if only a little bit.
A well of emotion swelled within Robin, so much so that she nearly let tears of unknown origin spill out. But she held it together.
I suppose this is the child I raised, she mused. Looking him up and down, Robin was entranced. Though she had always known it, the sheer realization that in front of her was not a person that would betray her, had no need to so, and probably will be by her side as long as she allows it… She sends a warm smile towards Shikamaru. "Perhaps. I'll try my best."
Maybe one day. That was her promise.
"You know, Robin," a new voice entered, startling her. "You know what the goal of this pirate crew is?"
It was Naruto. "No," she answered. "What is it?"
"To unearth the secrets the World Government is hiding. They're a fishy bunch, you know? And that includes Ohara."
"Y-you wouldn't-" Robin's panic rose. "Why?" she hissed. "It's a death sentence."
Naruto steadily replied. "Because that way, we can show you that nothing will faze us. Not even the world as the enemy. If we die, we die trying. There isn't a chance we'd give you up. Not while you're my friend's sister, and a member of my crew."
He cracked a grin. "And who knows? Maybe you'll be my friend too by the end of all this."
The tears finally fell.
EPILOGUE
In the Holy Land of Mary Geoise, a meeting was taking place.
A gruff voice calls out. "Any news on the New Dawns?"
An equally gruff voice, slated with age, replied. "No. They've been secretive lately, laying low. Last sighting of them was in Paradise, after they took down the monarchy in Drum Kingdom and instated a new ruler."
"And?"
"And nothing."
"Why would an Emperor go to the New World just to do such a banal thing?"
"Why indeed, that is the question at hand."
The first elder to speak slowly folded his hands together. Saint Saturn creased his eyebrows. "Whatever it is, it cannot be good. Send the Admirals after them."
It was a bright and sunny day when Monkey D. Luffy set out.
"Sasuke, Ace!" He called out to nobody in particular. "I'm coming to find you!"
In his pocket was a newspaper, printed upon it the photos of the Whitebeard and New Dawn pirate crews.
So concludes the absurd tale of reincarnation.
They who were reborn have now found their place.
With new players entering the field, their old tale slowly dissipates into naught but long-forgotten memory.
And a new tale begins, only more exciting than the last.
END