The vessel looked worse for wear and the only thing keeping it from falling apart was the second rate repair done on it.
"This wasn't what I was expecting" Naruto whined as he laid over the ship railing, staring into the deep blue sea with a bored expression.
It's been a few days since he joined Roger and Rayleigh on their adventure. Thanks to Rayleigh and Roger being generous enough to share their food supplies with him, he was able to recover considerably.
However, for those past few days they have been drifting aimlessly across the oceans. During those time they have encountered two different storms. One of them was even a cyclone which they somehow managed to survive.
"Neither did I. I thought pirating was supposed to be fun" Roger complained from beside Naruto as the two of them stared into the water with moody expressions.
However he knew he couldn't blame them. Even he didn't know that his navigational skills would be completely useless in the grand line.
Naruto slowly raised his hand and straightforwardly asked. "Can I resign?"
"IT'S TOO LATE FOR THAT!" Roger immediately slapped his hand back before he even finished his sentence, causing Naruto to flinch. He then looked at Naruto with a grin that made him realize that he was done for. There was no way Roger was gonna let him leave his crew now.
'Dimwits'
Rayleigh shook his head at them before returning his gaze back to the telescope. This was what he has been dealing with for the past few days.
A few hours went by with nothing major happening except for Naruto and Roger ceaselessly asking him if he caught sight of an island yet.
Before they could pester him for the thousandth time he finally caught sight of a black dot on the telescope.
"I think I found an island" Rayleigh said to the two people lying moodily on the deck. The two of them turned their heads towards him so fast that he was afraid their necks would break.
"WHERE?!" Naruto and Roger immediately brightened up and ran up to Rayleigh who pointed at a dark mass on the far reach of the sea.
"Then what are we waiting for? FULL SPEED AHEAD!" Roger ordered energically causing Rayleigh to shake his head at his eagerness to take charge now.
'What a fast mood change' Rayleigh whistled in amusement. He couldn't say the same Roger that was lying depressed on the ground anymore.
'Just how thick is your skin, captain?'
However contrary to their thoughts about their captain, they promptly ran to their stations. With a destination in sight, it didn't take long for the ship to get there.
The people at the harbor were going about their day when they saw a small boat at sea heading to the harbor. At first they were curious about the ship but after taking a good look at the ship they completely ignored it.
"Land at last! And look Rayleigh there are people here!" Roger laughed excitedly when he saw the crowd people moving about the harbor.
The last island they had been to was completely deserted and only had one half dead person on it, so it didn't count.
Naruto also realized the meaning behind Roger's words which caused him to glare at Roger who feign ignorance.
"Alright, alright. Just remember what we talked about. Prioritize gathering information first before anything else. We'll meet back here when we are each done. Got it" Roger grabbed Roger's collar and said before he could run off. Emphasizing each words.
"Aye aye" Roger nodded with a sheepish grin.
"Understood" Naruto said. Right now he was just happy to be on land again.
"Good. Remember not to draw any attention" Rayleigh reminded them one last time before the three of them split up in three different directions.
"It's kinda peaceful around here" Naruto mused as he walked around the town. When they first got here he saw a few pirate ships at the harbor and had expected it to be quite chaotic but he experienced otherwise.
"That should do it" After walking around the town for half an hour he was able to find out some useful information. Now he just needed to rendezvous with Rayleigh and Roger.
"Naruto, you are here. Where's Roger?" Rayleigh asked immediately he saw Naruto arriving at the harbor. The island wasn't too big, so it was easy to gather information. So what was taking Roger so long?
"I don't know. Maybe he's just running late or he missed his way around the island. Some places are really confusing" Naruto shrugged. He felt like Rayleigh was worrying too much. Yes, their captain was a handful but Rayleigh makes it feel like if he let Roger out of his sight for too long something bad was going to happen.
Right at that moment the two of them heard a loud commotion behind them, prompting them to turn around.
"What the hell is going on?" Naruto groaned as he looked for the cause of the commotion.
However, when he finally found the cause, his eyes nearly popped out when he saw a familiar figure being chased by a group of marine.
"IS THAT ROGER?!" Naruto shouted as he turned to Rayleigh who could only shake his head with a tired sigh. He already foresee something like this happening.
'Oh, for goodness sake'
"Come on, Naruto" Rayleigh said as he grabbed Naruto's hand and turned around to run.
"Wait wait wait, they might not have noticed us. We'll be giving ourselves away if we run now" Naruto quickly tried to reason but as soon as he said that Roger also noticed them and started waving happily to them.
"Hey, Naruto! Rayleigh!"
"Those two must be his acquaintance. Get them" The marine in the lead informed when he saw Roger waving at two strangers. They immediately raised their weapons and prepared to catch them too.
"Okay, let's run" Naruto deadpanned when he saw Roger's action and the marines that were noe eyeing them.
"You think?" Rayleigh scoffed before the two of them ran off into the town with Roger and the marines behind them.
The group ran into a crowded marketplace, causing chaos as they pushed and pull through the crowds causing people to shout in protest. Some unlucky souls were even thrown at the marines to slow them down.
"Sorry!" Roger laughed as he pushed a fatman out of the way and into a cabbage stall. He looked back to see a group of marine chasing behind them with their swords and pistol.
"STOP THEM!" The marines shouted as they chased after them.
"what the hell Roger?! What did you do to get the marines on your tail?!" Naruto shouted as he ran alongside Rayleigh and Roger who had caught up with them somewhere during their run.
He was already starting to regret his decision as their captain was more trouble than he was worth.
"Seriously, Roger. I thought I told you to be discreet. Why did you go up to them and declare that you were a pirate. Moreover, you pulled us into your mess" Rayleigh glared at his captain who replied with a sheepish laugh.
"I only wanted to liven things up since our adventures have been boring lately"
"NOBODY SENT YOU! Naruto and Rayleigh screamed at him.
"We already talked about this Roger. We are still new to the Grand line so we need to gather sufficient information before acting"
"Sorry"
The three of them continued to run from the marines for a couple of minutes before losing them in a empty alley.
"Seriously, Captain. Stop doing that" Naruto groaned after catching his breathe. He couldn't remember the last time he had ran that fast. Maybe it was because he couldn't remember most things.
"Sorry, sorry" Roger apologized but his laugh said otherwise.
'Is it really too late to resign now?' Naruto nearly shed tears since he knew that roger never planned on stopping anytime soon. Rayleigh also realized this. could respond with a defeated sigh and said.
"Anyways I was a bar back there. We should be able to gather sufficient information there before we leave this island"
"Okay" Roger nodded and was about to walk ahead but Rayleigh quickly grabbed his shirt and pulled him back. With a scolding tone he said to roger.
"I'll take the lead this time, Roger. You just follow. Got it?"
"Hai" Roger nodded obediently.
Naruto sweat dropped at this scene. But it wasn't new to him. Whenever Roger stepped out of line Rayleigh would always be the first to put him back in line.