Yo. So, here’s another chapter. I just realized that not a lot of people have read both Naruto and One Piece… at least not as many as I had initially assumed. So, I’ll make sure to explain all the terminology that I happen to use. It’ll generally be brief. And if I happen to miss any explanations, anything can be googled. Their explanations are lightyears better than mine. Soooo, on with the story.
XOXOXO
Disclaimer: I don’t own neither One Piece nor Naruto. Leave that ish to Oda-Sensei and Kishimoto-Sensei.
Pairing: Law X OC
Rating: M
Chapter 3
The tension between the two was broken just as the waiter arrived. Grinning, he set the plate of sandwiches and the bottle of sake down on the table. He nodded once more at the hooded figure and her aged companion and left them to enjoy their meal.
Rayleigh eyed her sake bottle. “Are you even old enough to drink that, little miss?”
“Hn.”
“Oh? Is that so? How old are you then?”
“… 22.”
“Really? Here on this world, you need to be 24 to drink.”
Hitomi’s eyes narrowed.
Rayleigh laughed. “I’m joking, little miss. You really need to loosen up. Really, you’re such a kill-joy.”
Hitomi’s cheeks burned a little in embarrassment and humiliation. Nobody’s ever talked to her like that before. Back in her clan, people only conversed with her regarding the matters of business. In fact, this was the longest non-business related conversation she had experienced in years. Even though this old man was annoying, he was good company.
Rayleigh cleared his throat and a serious expression overcame his face. “Can I assume that since you’re from a different world, you don’t know anything about this one?”
Hitomi nodded.
Rayleigh looked grim. “Is that so? I don’t know which world you came from little miss, and it looks like you can take care of yourself. But be warned: that level of skill isn’t going to be enough for you to survive here on the Grand Line.”
Rayleigh watched her as she pondered his statement. His hand slowly snuck towards the sandwiches the waiter had left on their table. But is movement did not go unnoticed by her sharp red eyes. As he reached towards her meal her Sharingans flashed to his hand. She promptly snatched the plate away and placed it out of his reach.
‘Hmmmm. Her eyes are abnormally sensitive. And her coordination is exceptional too. This one is an interesting find indeed…”
-----
Hitomi caught the sneaking movements of the old man as he reached towards her sandwiches. Before he could reach them, however, she repositioned them closer to herself. When she looked back up at him, he asked her a rather startling question.
“Tell me. What is your dream?”
Her dream? Did she even have such a thing? In her previous world she lived only to fulfil her missions. She had no free will of her own. Then it hit her. There was one thing she craved.
“I desire freedom.”
Rayleigh smirked. “Suitable. Now listen here, little miss. I’m going to tell you about our world. Make sure that you listen carefully. First off, hand me your map.” Hitomi complied and passed it over. “Our world is divided into four seas: North Blue, East Blue, West Blue and South Blue. They are separated by two formations. The first is the Red Line, The only large landmass found on this world. It forms a complete band around our planet. The next is the Grand line, a dangerous sea that spans the world perpendicular to the Red Line. The Grand Line is surrounded by waters known as the Clam Belt, and like the name suggests, it is completely calm. No winds and no currents. It’s infested with monsters, so stay clear of that. There are islands scattered throughout the world, and they are where the majority of our population live.”
He paused to look at her. “You say that you crave freedom? Then become stronger. Nobody will listen to the weak. Find me again and I’ll teach you the powers of the world.”
He gazed intently. “But, in order for me to be able to do that, you need to awaken your Haki. Fight. Gain power, and meet me on the Sabaody Archipelago. I’ll be waiting for you there. And as for the rest of your questions… solve them yourself. I’ve told you everything that you need to know.”
The old man stood up and turned to leave. However, before he departed, he smiled sadly at her.
“I can tell that you’ve not been treated pleasantly in your previous world. I hope that you will find happiness in this one.”
And he left.
-x-
Hitomi pondered his words as she lay down in her hotel room. How did that man know so much about her? Was it a normal occurrence for people in this world? Were they all so maddeningly insightful and annoying? The only way to know was to find out herself through her own experiences. It looks like she would have to set sail after all.
But first, she had something to do. She reached over to the bedside table and grabbed the notebook and pen that were placed there. She placed the tip of the utensil on the white surface and began to write.
Wierdy-Beardy
Name: Silvers Rayleigh
Appearance: Old, glasses, long silver hair, scar over eye, white cloak, spotted pants, and the strangest beard.
Thoughts: A senile old man who’s too perceptive for his own good. Irritating. Strong and extremely perceptive. Surprisingly wise. Will look forward to meeting him again.
Hitomi let out a sigh of relief. This was a small habit of hers. She had an urge to profile all the interesting and memorable people she came across. She supposed that it was her way of remembering and becoming close to them, even if it was one sided. She also tended to make up nicknames for them. This was for her purely for her twisted sense of humor.
Now that she had gotten it out of her system, she replaced the notebook back to its original place on the stand. She closed her eyes and thought about her situation on this foreign planet. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as she had originally assumed. She drifted off to sleep with a small smile on her face.
-x-
The next day, Hitomi found herself back in the convenience store she had visited the previous day. She was gathering all the supplies for her impending trip. She learned that the means of navigation were based on a little spherical devise called a ‘Log Pose’. It was an odd little contraption that resembled compasses. After her initial confusion, she quickly became accustomed to using it.
She purchased all the materials she needed for setting sail, and proceeded to the docks. She examined the selection of ships the dealer had to offer, and her eyes fell on a small boat.
It was made of beautiful dark wood, and its build was elegant. The mast rose proudly from the center of the boat, and the sails spread widely apart. The masthead was an ornately carved wolf which was carved only from the chest-up. Its head was tilted back with its eyes closed, as if it was mournfully howling towards the moon. The font at the side of the ship read ‘The Lone Wolf’.
It was love at first sight. Hitomi knew that if she was going to sail around the world, she would need a ship that she adored. ‘The Lone Wolf’ went above and beyond her expectations. She informed the dealer about her choice, and they came to an agreement. The little ship was quite pricy, but Hitomi felt that the money was well worth it.
The dealer looked at her knowingly and inquired about her future whereabouts. When she didn’t respond, he laughed and asked if she was going to be a pirate.
A short nod.
“Well then, where’s your flag?”
She continued to blankly stare at him.
“What? No flag? That should be your first course of action. After all, a flag is a pirate’s pride.”
Hitomi wondered if this ‘pirate flag’ was like the village headbands back in Konoha. A village headband is a source of identification and an item of honor for many.
The dealer pulled her from her train of thought as he proceeded to inform her about what it exactly meant to fly under a flag, and how to make a jolly roger. After he finished his explanation, Hitomi nodded her head in thanks and boarded her new vessel.
She sat down and thought about what her symbol should be. The dealer had mentioned that it should be unique and a representation of those flying under it. A representation, hn? Hitomi had an idea in mind. She took out a black piece of cloth and proceeded to paint on it. After she was finished, she looked at the end result. She had drawn a grinning skull, but it didn’t end there. Instead of drawing empty eye sockets, she had drawn in her Sharingan. Across the skull’s forehead were silver colored side bangs, leading up to long silver hair falling past the skull’s jaw. Behind it was a pair of twin-crossbones.
‘There. A decent representation, if I do say so myself.’
She copied the mark onto her sails and took a deep breath. It was finally time to set sail.
She steered her new ship to the coast and looked back at the island she had arrived on. This little island would be the starting point for her waiting adventure. After a moment of appreciation, she pushed off of the shore and set sail.
-x-
It had been a few weeks since Hitomi had left the island, and she was still sailing to her destination. She had kept herself occupied by training, but after a point even that became wearisome. With no other entertainment on board, she was starting to go a little insane. Plus, her rations were starting to empty out. She needed to arrive at her destination, and fast.
Her salvation came by soon when she spied a landmass approaching her ship. She eagerly unfurled the sails and rushed towards the awaiting island. Within the hour, she was docking her little boat. She walked toward the bustling town, which was thankfully a lot more normal than the previous one. The houses were cubed, and people wore dull pants and shirts. Hitomi was astounded with the extent of the difference in cultures between islands, even when they were neighboring and closely affiliated. ‘Exploring all the different cultures should be interesting.’ she mentally drawled.
After resupplying her supplies and rations, she walked around to sightsee. But it wasn’t like there was anything exceptionally special, what with only normal people walking around. But that soon changed when she turned around a corner which opened up into a humungous plaza. But it wasn’t the location that was attention grabbing, but rather the people present.
Surrounding two combatants was a large cheering crowd. Hitomi could see wagers for different values being constantly placed. ‘A match, hn?’ Hitomi’s interest was piqued. She approached the crowd, and with no struggle wove her way through to the front where she could get a clear view of the fighters.
The first man was average. He was tall and heavily muscled, but Hitomi could tell that he was rather unskilled. She supposed that he had an inflated ego because of his above-average strength. He wore no shirt, showing off his built torso, and white cotton pants. He has a scrunched up face that looked like it was stuck in a permanent grimace. Very unattractive. He wielded a large sword that looked like it was taking all the man’s energy just to keep upright. He wasn’t going to do much damage with that at any rate.
Hitomi scoffed. This man was useless. She turned her eyes over to the remaining contender. Hitomi did a double take. Ahhh. Now this one was good. Unbelievably good, to be precise. She’d never encountered anyone this skilled before. This man… he was nobody ordinary. He wore a long blood-red top that was open in the front. He too had a large blade, but there was no doubt that it was extraordinary. It was black and menacingly curved. If she had to guess, she would say that it was cursed. Around his neck was a cross-shaped pendant. The man has a neatly shaven goatee and mustache, and wore a black hat with a plume on it. But those weren’t his most prominent features.
As soon as Hitomi gazed into his eyes, she felt her mouth go dry. Gold. His eyes were pure gold. Deep and menacing. Hitomi felt like she was staring at a hawk that had its eyes set on a prey.
Hitomi nudged a stout man next to her. Receiving his attention on her, she gestured toward the powerful man and asked, “Who is that?” The man looked at her, shocked. “You don’t know Hawk-eye Mihawk? The most powerful swordsman in the world and member of the Shichibukai? Have you been living under a rock?”
Hitomi ignored the man. Shichibukai. Seven Warlord. So there were six other people of this man’s caliber? Now Hitomi knew for sure. If she wanted to survive, much less live freely, she’d have to become stronger. Much, much stronger.
The muscled contender guffawed loudly. “Hawk-eye! I am the great Bubassa! I am undefeated! Anyone who I have ever fought against has miserably lost. Forfeit your label to me, the rightful owner of the title ‘The Greatest Swordsman on Earth’!”
Hitomi snorted. This idiotic nuisance couldn’t even begin to compare to the master standing across from him. He was going to get himself killed.
Hawk-eye calmly regarded his opponent. After a moment, he reached up to his necklace and grabbed it. With a little pull, a tiny blade no bigger than a letter opener was unsheathed.
“I apologise. This is the smallest blade I currently possess. I shall counter any attack you decide to throw at me. Come.”
Bubassa’s face turned a violent shade of purple.
“Dammit! How dare he look down on the great me!”
He recklessly charged towards Mihawk. When he lifted his blade to strike him, Mihawk made the smallest of moves. So small that any normal observer would have missed it. But nothing escaped Hitomi’s Sharingan. She saw that Mihawk had raised his hand a mere three inches, and that was enough to stop Bubassa in his tracks. The reckless idiot had charged straight into the knife and impaled himself in the heart. His raised hands dropped the heavy sword he was wielding, and a few seconds later his body crumpled to the floor along with it.
Gasps were heard throughout the crowd, as well as the grumbling of the losers who had to pay up their lost bets. Hitomi mentally eye-rolled. Didn’t these people have any common sense? What kind of idiots would bet against this powerful man? Plebian folk bemused her.
Mihawk apathetically stared at the body of the dead Bubassa laying at his feet. He then turned his piercing eyes towards the crowd.
“Anyone else who wishes to challenge me?”
Murmurs ran through the crowd. After witnessing that overwhelming display of strength, nobody had the courage to stand against him.
Seeing that his question received no response, Mihawk turned to leave. But before he took a step he sensed someone approaching him. He turned around to face them.
Hitomi stepped into the center of the clearing as she approached Hawk-eye. Sensing someone approaching, he turned around to meet them.
“You too wish to challenge me?”
“No. I wish to measure my strength in order to see the difference in our skill levels.”
---
Mihawk was surprised. Never in all his years has he ever received such a response. While questioning the oddity of the intention, he met the person’s eyes. Upon meeting the scarlet orbs were all his doubts cleared.
“Alright, outsider. I shall fight you seriously.”
‘Outsider’. He had called her ‘outsider’. He too knew that she wasn’t from this world. That was why he was taking the duel seriously. But his intentions didn’t matter to Hitomi. He was going to show her the difference between her and him, and that was all that mattered. She took a fighting stance and readied herself. She waited until he too was prepared, then charged.
While she ran toward him, she brandished Shippou Kiremei. She jumped and swung it straight downwards. He easily deflected it and counterattacked. Hitomi would have been dead if not for her Sharingan seeing the swing and her reflexes getting her a hair’s breadth out of range.
‘Hn. I’m really no match for him at all.’
Seeing that swordsplay would do her no good against a master like him, she leaped back to put distance in between them. After sheathing Shippou Kiremei, she started forming hand-signs.
Because Hitomi was of mixed blood, her Sharingan was permanently activated. This resulted in a low chakra storage, which further resulted in her reduced capability of performing ninjutsus. She had increased the storage with training considerably over the years, but it was still far from being desireable. She only had a limited number of jutsus that she could use before she ran out chakra, so she had to exercise caution when attacking.
Hitomi finished the hand-signs and inhaled deeply. She muttered, “Fire release: Great Fireball.” before spewing out a wall of flames towards him. The fireball was over 30 feet tall and quickly threatened to overwhelm the Warlord. She heard gasps and exclamations coming from the audience, but concentrated on maintaining her jutsu. She was abruptly stopped, however, when Mihawk got rid of all the flames with a simple flick of the sword. He was completely unharmed, but looked curious at the strange technique she had just performed.
‘Hn. No effect. Let him try this one, then.’
Hitomi rapidly completes more hand-signs. “Earth Release: Soft Embrace.”
The ground at Mihawk’s feet immediately softened, pulling his feet underground. But this technique was also to no avail, as he effortlessly cut himself a path to solid ground.
‘Again no effect. I have to go all out in order to injure him.’
More hand-signs. Red eyes meet gold. “Lightning release: God’s Fury.”
The air was filled with a deafening rumble. The air became charged with electricity. Bolts of lightning crashed down from the heavens above onto the skilled swordsman. A large cloud of dust filled the air, restricting everyone’s vision. Hitomi waited restlessly for it to settle so that she could see the damage that she had inflicted upon her opponent. But her wait was short lived when she suddenly felt his presence directly in front of her. She immediately jumped back, but she was a split second too late. Her cloak fell in tatters around her, cleanly cut in too.
Hitomi lowered her head. She realized that she had been defeated. He could have struck her down anytime he had felt like it. He had missed that last strike on purpose, aiming only for her clothes and not the body. Hitomi smiled bitterly. She really had a long way to go.
“Outsider. You are a pirate, are you not?”
Hitomi met Mihawk’s golden eyes.
“Hn.” She nodded.
“Then you should not cover yourself.”
She looked up at him confused.
“You are a proud pirate. Raise your head with pride and strive to become stronger. Your skills are not bad, but they need a lot of polishing up. With time and effort, you will be strong. I have seen many promising rookies this year. Make sure that you survive. What is your name, outsider?”
“…Gintamashi Hitomi.”
“I am Dracule Mihawk. Become stronger, then come to test your skills against me once again.”
He sharply nodded and turned to leave. The crowd split open to form a path for him. Hitomi watched him leave, stunned that he would have such faith in her and her potential. When she realized that the attention of the crowd was now solely focused on her, she vanished in front of them to escape back to her ship.
-x-
Hitomi’s Log Pose had already set, so she proceeded to sail to the next island. She thought about her battle with the Swordsman Warlord and sighed. He was right. She really did have a lot that she needed to improve on. She would have to train intensely in order for that to happen.
But… first things first.
Creepy Vampire Hawk
Name: Dracule Mihawk
Appearance: Dark red overcoat, violet pants, black boots, giant black sword, neatly shaved goatee and mustache, hat with plume, and piercing golden eyes.
Thoughts: A creepy man that’s way too strong. Need to train in order to fight him again. Very serious and deadly. Beware.
There. Now she can train in peace of mind.
XOXOXO
Wao. That’s a lot of words. Like for reals. Utter insanity. ‘Yawn’ Oh, would you look at the time. My clock says that it’s BEDTIME. So good night, and until next time. Which should be really soon. Wait for the next installment, it’ll be out before you know it. So… bye bye.
ns 172.70.39.117da2