Sometimes he can't help but wonder if Rayleigh was the real captain and Roger was just a figure head.
The three of them walked into a small bar and found a quiet corner to sit. They ordered three glass of rum. Since naruto was already nineteen years of age Rayleigh had no issue with it. While the three of them sipped on their drinks they listened to the conversations taking place in the bar.
"Hey did you guys hear. I heard a famous pirate group was captured by a rookie marine"
"Are you for real?"
"Yes. Apparently it's gonna be all over the news soon"
"What kind of rookie marine could be such a thing?"
"I don't know. But I'll have to be on the lookout for that guy then. I don't want to be the next pirate he arrest"
"It seems there is a lot going on that we don't know about" Naruto said with a thin smile. He was seriously starting to doubt his decision. If a rookie marine could do that then what chance do they have against a veteran.
"He sounds tough. But we are not weak either" Roger said with a raised fist.
'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.
"Apart from that we still need money to fix our ship and buy new supplies. We are almost out of supplies." Rayleigh listed out. He had a little headache just thinking about it."Looks like we have to salvage"
"So what did you guys learn?"
"Apparently a lot of pirates have been entering the grand line from the other seas. Just a few days ago a huge fight occured among two of those pirates resulting in the marines interference. Apart from that this town is just a stop point for pirates that just entered the grand line." Naruto informed before exhaling. The information he had was too little. Nothing about the major goings of the grand line, just done minor details.
"What about you Roger?" Rayleigh turned to the trouble maker. Although the information Naruto revealed was too little it was enough for him to know that there was going to be a lot of competition for resources among pirates.
Roger took a big gulp of wine from his cup. His expression turning serious which was uncharacteristic of him as he said "Well it's nothing major but the folks on this island are calling the grand line a pirate graveyard. Not just that but there are actually seven different routes that a person can follow in the grand line. And to navigate this islands we need a compass called a log pose which I have never seen before"
"What?!" Roger shouted at Rayleigh and Naruto when he saw them staring at him in shock and disbelief.
"Are you really Roger?" Naruto asked while looking at Roger like he had just seen a ghost.
"Don't try me, brat?!"A tick mark grew on Roger's head as he punched on the top of Naruto's head causing him to yelp.
"I guess you really do have your moments"
"Not you too Rayleigh! You are supposed to be my first mate!"
As the three of them were jesting and laughing a group of people walked into the bar and approached their table.
The whole bar fell silent when they saw the group of men walking into the bar carrying guns and swords on their person. Some people even hurried left the bar while others remain seated, wanting to see what was about to happen.
"Hey, you!" The pirate in the lead smashed his foot onto their table causing their drinks to spill over. The whole table fell into silence.
"Can we help you?" Rayleigh asked as he looked at the burly man.
"Can you help me? CAN YOU HELP ME?! One of my pirate crew member was captured by the marines because of the stunt that idiot pulled" The man shouted as he pointed accusing at Roger whose face was shadowed by his straw hat.
"Well that's unfortunate but there's nothing we can do about it" Rayleigh said dryly. He was about to return to his conversation when a hand roughly grabbed his shoulder.
"Is there something else?" Rayleigh asked in a monotone voice as he glared at the owner of the offending hand.
"What's with that attitude? Do you even know who we are?" The thug asked as he pointed a gun at Rayleigh. "We are the gorge pirates with a total bounty of 3oo,ooo berries! And nobody messes with us. Definitely not some no named pirates like you guys"
"Hey Rayleigh" Roger suddenly speak up for the first time drawing everyone's attention. He turned to Rayleigh and asked. "Is it okay for me to deal with these guys?"
The whole bar fell dead quiet when they heard Rogers words. Everybody froze still in shock. They were already in a very precarious situation but Roger just pushed them off the edge.
The gorge pirate crew were known to be vicious and cruel. Although they were not some big named pirate crew. They are still famous in the early half of the grand lines.
However, they soon realized that Roger wasn't the only crazy one in the group.
"Is it okay if I tap in as well?" Naruto asked. Although he knew that Roger was an idiot and a very reckless person. That doesn't mean that he would sit still and watch someone insult his friends. Especially not after all that Roger and Rayleigh have done for him.
The whole bar turned to Rayleigh hoping he would be the voice of reason but their hope was completely shattered.
"Not at all. I was planning on doing the same anyway" Rayleigh said seriously. He was the only one allowed to scold Roger. So there was no way he'd let an outsider bad mouth his captain.
The whole bar immediately fell into a commotion when they heard him.
"They are all mad men."
"They must be mentally retarded"
"Well it's too late for them now. Their journey has ended before it even began"
The pirate group that had been in shock immediately became enraged when they heard their words.
"How dare you?! Die!" The pirate immediately reached for his sword. However before he could a fist smashed into his face, and sent him crashing into the group behind him.
The whole bar went quiet again. A look of horror appeared on their faces when they saw the pirate's unconscious form. They all turned to the blonde youth standing in the pirate's previous location with his arm outstretched.
The pirates were the first to get over their shocks. They immediately grabbed their weapons and charged at the group of three.
"How dare you?!"
"That was our squad leader!"
"You are so dead now!"
"I can't believe you beat me to the punch. I was just about to smack that guy" Roger laughed as he stood up from his seat. If Naruto hadn't been so fast to attack, he would have been the one to hit the guy.
"Sorry. I just couldn't stand to listen to anymore of his rubbish" Naruto said wryly.
"Well, it's alright. Let's just get this over with" Rayleigh said as he unsheathe his saber.
"Got it" Naruto and Roger nodded before the three of them attacked the group.
The inhabitants of the bar the the ensuing battle with shock and disbelief. And just as they expected the fight didn't last long. But the outcome went completely different to expectation.
Shock, fear, horror and a variety of emotions coloured their faces. They stared at the three men standing in the midst of bodies of the bloodied and defeated pirates. None of them daring to make a move.
They felt like they had just seen a nightmare. The fight that had taken place was nothing more than a one sided beat down. The pirates were completely powerless and defenseless against their attacks.
The three of them were like monsters. Especially the blonde haired kid. Even with his frail looking body, he was stull strong enough to knock out a fully grown man.
They watched in silence as the group of three nonchalantly walked out of the bar. Leaving a group of groaning bodies behind.
It was only after they left that the bar broke out in a loud commotion.
"Who the hell were those guys?!"
"I don't know but this is definitely big news"
"They are all in for a shock"
...
Meanwhile while the bar was in chaos over their identities. The said people were walking leisure through town.
"That's 5000 berries!" Naruto said joyfully to Rayleigh after counting the berries he looted from the pirates.
"Stop complaining. You are the reason we got into that fight in the first place" Rayleigh said. Though he said that he was actually glad that they did. Thanks to that they were able to gain enough money for them to buy some supplies.
"Yes but we really luck out this time. Roger said as he brought out an object for Rayleigh and Naruto to see.
"Is that a log lose?! I heard some people gossiping about it. They said it's used to navigate the vast seas of the Grand line" Naruto exclaimed when he saw the compass Roger was holding. The reason they have been moving aimlessly at sea was because they didn't have a log pose. But with this they would have a better time navigating the sea.
"I believe the navigator" Naruto said as he grabbed it from Roger before tossing the log pose to Rayleigh.
"Thanks"
"Now let's get going. We still have a long way to go"
With sufficient berries and a log pose the three of them quickly stocked up on the necessary supplies for their journey and immediately left the island.
However, not long after they left, news of their actions had already spread.