Deep within Naruto Uzumaki, in a place that existed between reality and nightmare, something stirred.
Kurama—the Nine-Tailed Fox, the demon of destruction, the beast that had terrorized nations—opened his eyes.
For the first time in six years, he felt something other than rage.
The sensation was distant, like the echo of a sound from across the world. But it was unmistakable. A warmth. A light. A JOY so profound that it pierced even the prison of seals that bound him.
"What... what is this?" Kurama rumbled, his massive form shifting in the darkness of his cage.
The feeling grew stronger. Not approaching, exactly—more like becoming clearer. Like a signal that had always been there, finally tuned to the right frequency.
And then Kurama REMEMBERED.
Not a memory of this life. Something older. Something from before the Sage of Six Paths had divided the Ten-Tails into nine pieces. Something from the very beginning of existence.
He remembered laughter.
He remembered freedom.
He remembered a figure made of joy, dancing across the world, liberating the oppressed and making even the mountains shake with mirth.
"Nika," Kurama breathed.
The name felt strange on his tongue—or whatever passed for a tongue in this spiritual space. He hadn't spoken it in millennia. Hadn't even THOUGHT it in almost as long.
The Sun God. The Warrior of Liberation. The one being in all of existence that the Tailed Beasts had never feared.
Because you couldn't fear someone who made you laugh.
"He's returned," Kurama said, wonder creeping into his ancient voice. "After all this time... he's actually returned."
The warmth intensified, and Kurama felt something he hadn't felt since the Sage had first created him.
Hope.
And then, impossibly, the great Nine-Tailed Fox began to laugh.
Naruto woke up to the strangest sensation.
He was warm. Not physically—the apartment was as cold as always—but somewhere inside. Like a fire had been lit in his chest while he slept.
And he felt... happy?
That was weird. Naruto rarely felt happy. He felt angry a lot. Lonely more often. Determined, sometimes. But genuinely, uncomplicated HAPPY?
That was new.
He sat up in bed, looking around his cramped apartment. Same peeling wallpaper. Same empty cupboards. Same life that felt like a prison without bars.
But something was different.
Naruto didn't know what had changed. He just knew that he couldn't stay here anymore. Not another day. Not another hour.
The voice in his head—the one that had been growing louder ever since he heard about the Pirate King—was SCREAMING now.
GO. RUN. BE FREE.
"Okay," Naruto whispered. "Okay. I'm going."
He didn't pack. There was nothing to pack. He owned nothing worth keeping, and anything he needed, he would find along the way.
He didn't plan. There was nothing to plan. He had no map, no destination, no idea what he was doing.
He just got up, walked to the door, and left.
The streets of Konoha were quiet at night.
Naruto walked through them like a ghost, invisible as always. The villagers who saw him turned away, refusing to acknowledge his existence. The ninja on patrol glanced at him and dismissed him as unimportant.
Nobody stopped him.
Nobody asked where he was going.
Nobody cared.
And for the first time, Naruto didn't feel hurt by that. He felt FREED.
If nobody cared about him, then nobody would stop him. If nobody was watching, then nobody would follow. He could just... leave. Walk out the gate and never come back.
So that's exactly what he did.
The main gate was guarded, of course. Two chunin stood at attention, watching for threats from outside.
They weren't watching for a six-year-old walking OUT.
Naruto simply walked past them.
"Hey," one of the guards said, finally noticing. "Kid, where are you going?"
Naruto didn't stop.
"Away."
"Away? You can't just—hey! HEY!"
But Naruto was already through the gate, already walking down the road, already leaving Konoha behind.
The guards exchanged confused glances.
"Should we... stop him?"
"It's that kid. The demon one. Who cares if he leaves?"
"Good point. Let him go."
They turned back to their posts.
And Naruto walked on.
The forest outside Konoha was dark and filled with sounds Naruto didn't recognize.
He should have been scared. He was six years old, alone, in a forest he had never explored. There could be bandits. Wild animals. Ninja from enemy villages. Any number of threats that could end his short life.
But Naruto wasn't scared.
He was GRINNING.
The biggest, widest, most genuine grin he had ever worn. A grin that seemed to glow in the darkness, that made the forest itself seem less threatening.
"I'm FREE!" Naruto shouted to the trees. "I'M FINALLY FREE!"
His voice echoed through the forest, startling birds and sending small animals scurrying.
Naruto didn't care. He was too busy laughing.
It bubbled up from somewhere deep inside him—that same warm place that had woken him up. A laugh that felt older than he was, bigger than he was, more REAL than anything he had ever felt.
"AHAHAHAHAHA! THIS IS AMAZING!"
He ran through the forest, leaping over roots and ducking under branches. He had no destination, no direction, no idea where he was going.
It didn't matter.
He was MOVING. He was DOING. He was LIVING.
For the first time in his life, Naruto felt like himself.
Deep within him, Kurama watched with growing amazement.
"This child," the fox murmured. "He feels it too. The joy. The freedom."
Kurama had been prepared to hate his jailor. To wait and plot and eventually break free, destroying the village that had imprisoned him in the process.
But watching Naruto run through the forest, laughing with pure delight at the simple act of being free...
Kurama couldn't bring himself to hate this child.
"He's like HIM," Kurama realized. "Not the same—not yet—but the seed is there. The potential."
The fox settled back in his cage, a strange expression on his massive face.
If pressed, an observer might have called it a smile.
"Run, child," Kurama said softly. "Run and laugh and be free. Perhaps... perhaps you will find him. The one who carries the Sun God's will."
"And perhaps, through him, I will be free too."
Kakashi Hatake stood on a rooftop, staring at the stars.
He had been doing that a lot lately. Ever since Roger had escaped. Ever since the world had started changing in ways he didn't understand.
Ever since he had started questioning everything he thought he knew.
"Be a shinobi," he muttered to himself. "Follow orders. Complete missions. That's what I was trained to do."
But the words felt hollow now.
What was the point of being a shinobi? To protect the village? The village that had produced monsters like Danzo, that had created weapons like the tailed beasts, that had turned children into killers?
What was the point of following orders? Orders that came from a system designed to perpetuate conflict, to ensure that there would always be enemies to fight, always be missions to complete, always be death and suffering?
What was the point of completing missions? Missions that usually involved killing someone else's shinobi, who were just following their own orders from their own village?
It all seemed so... pointless.
So EMPTY.
Roger's words echoed in his head, as they had every day since he first heard them.
"You've got the eyes of someone who's forgotten how to dream."
Had he forgotten? Or had he never really known in the first place?
Kakashi thought about his father. Sakumo Hatake. The White Fang of Konoha. A hero who had become a pariah because he chose to save his comrades instead of completing a mission.
His father had been destroyed by the very system Kakashi now served. Driven to suicide by the shame of breaking rules that shouldn't have existed.
And Kakashi had spent his entire life trying to be the opposite. Following rules. Completing missions. Being the perfect shinobi.
But what had it gotten him?
Dead friends. An empty apartment. A life that felt like going through the motions of existence without actually living.
"What should I do?" Kakashi whispered to the night.
And somewhere, from a part of himself he had thought long dead, an answer came.
Be a pirate.
Kakashi laughed.
It was a strange sound. He wasn't sure he had ever really laughed before—not since Obito and Rin were alive. But the answer was so absurd, so ridiculous, so completely opposite to everything he had been trained to believe...
It was perfect.
"A pirate," Kakashi said, testing the word. "Someone who lives free. Who doesn't let the world tell them who to be."
He looked at his hands. Hands that had killed more people than he could count. Hands that had followed orders without question. Hands that belonged to a machine, not a man.
"What would it feel like?" he wondered. "To just... stop? To walk away from all of this? To find that man—Roger—and sail off into the unknown?"
The thought was terrifying.
And exhilarating.
And impossible.
And...
"Screw it," Kakashi said.
He stood up, took off his ANBU mask, and dropped it on the rooftop.
Then he took off his vest and dropped that too.
Then his forehead protector.
One by one, he stripped away the trappings of his identity as a Konoha shinobi. Until he was just Kakashi. Just a man. Just a person who had finally decided to make a choice for himself.
"I'm going to find Roger," Kakashi said. "I'm going to become a pirate."
He jumped off the rooftop and started walking.
He didn't look back.
The Third Hokage was having a very bad night.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE JINCHUURIKI IS GONE?!"
The chunin guard cowered before his fury.
"He just... walked out, Lord Hokage. We didn't think—"
"YOU DIDN'T THINK?! A six-year-old child walks out of the village in the middle of the night and you DIDN'T THINK?!"
"He's just the demon kid! Nobody—"
Hiruzen's killing intent silenced the man mid-sentence.
"That 'demon kid,'" the Hokage said, his voice low and dangerous, "is the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox. The most powerful tailed beast in existence. And you let him WALK OUT OF THE VILLAGE."
The guard was shaking now.
"I-I'm sorry, Lord Hokage—"
"Sorry doesn't bring him back. Sorry doesn't fix this." Hiruzen took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "Where did he go?"
"East. Toward the forest."
East. Away from the village. Away from the only protection Naruto had ever known.
"Send search parties. Find him and bring him back. ALIVE and UNHARMED."
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
The guard fled.
Hiruzen sank into his chair, suddenly feeling every one of his many years.
First Roger. Now Naruto. The world was falling apart, and he couldn't stop it.
"What is happening?" he murmured. "What is changing?"
He didn't have an answer.
But he had a terrible feeling that things were only going to get worse.
Three hours later, another report came in.
"Lord Hokage," his aide said, looking nervous. "We have another... situation."
"What now?"
"Hatake Kakashi has abandoned his post. His ANBU equipment was found on a rooftop. Witnesses saw him walking out of the village, heading east."
Hiruzen stared.
"Kakashi. One of our best jonin. Just... left?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did he say anything? Leave any note?"
"Witnesses reported that he said something about... becoming a pirate."
Hiruzen's pipe fell from his mouth.
"A PIRATE?!"
"Yes, sir."
The Hokage sat in stunned silence.
Kakashi Hatake. The Copy Ninja. The most loyal, rule-following, emotionally stunted shinobi in the village. Had decided to become a PIRATE.
Because of ROGER.
"That man," Hiruzen growled. "That RIDICULOUS man. He's not just inspiring civilians anymore. He's corrupting our ninja. He's—"
He stopped.
Corrupting?
Was that the right word?
Kakashi had been broken for years. Everyone knew it. He completed missions, followed orders, did his duty. But there was nothing behind his eyes. No life. No joy. No reason for existing beyond inertia.
And now, for the first time since his teammates died, Kakashi had made a choice. A real choice. A choice to live differently, to pursue something that actually MATTERED to him.
Could that really be called corruption?
Hiruzen didn't know anymore.
He didn't know anything anymore.
"Continue the search for Naruto," he said finally. "But... don't pursue Kakashi."
"Sir?"
"He's a jonin. If he wants to leave, we can't stop him without significant casualties. And..."
Hiruzen paused, surprised by what he was about to say.
"...and maybe he needs this. Maybe he's finally healing."
His aide looked confused but didn't argue.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Naruto had been walking for hours.
His legs hurt. His stomach was empty. He had no idea where he was or where he was going.
And he was still grinning.
The forest had given way to fields, and the fields to a road. Naruto followed the road, not caring where it led, just enjoying the simple act of moving forward.
The sun was starting to rise, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. Naruto stopped to watch it, mesmerized.
He had seen sunrises before, of course. But always through his apartment window, always from within the village that hated him. This was different. This was a sunrise in a world that was OPEN, that was WAITING, that was CALLING to him.
"Beautiful," Naruto whispered.
And then his stomach growled.
Loudly.
VERY loudly.
"Okay," Naruto said, his grin faltering slightly. "I should probably find food."
He looked around. Fields. Trees. More fields. No obvious sources of food anywhere.
"This might be harder than I thought," Naruto admitted.
But he kept walking.
Because what else was he going to do?
Kakashi found him about an hour later.
The former ANBU was surprised, honestly. He had expected to spend days searching for Roger, following rumors and tracking leads. He hadn't expected to stumble across Naruto Uzumaki sitting by the side of the road, looking exhausted and hungry but still wearing that ridiculous grin.
"You," Kakashi said.
Naruto looked up.
"You're that mask guy! The one with the weird eye!"
"I don't wear a mask anymore."
"You're still wearing a mask."
Kakashi reached up to touch his face. The cloth mask was still there, covering his lower face.
"...I meant the ANBU mask."
"Oh. Whatever." Naruto's stomach growled again. "Hey, do you have any food?"
Kakashi stared at the child.
This was the Nine-Tails jinchuuriki. The container of the most powerful tailed beast. A village secret. A walking weapon.
And also, apparently, a hungry six-year-old who had just walked out of the most secure ninja village in the world.
"Why are you here?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm going to find Roger-sama!" Naruto announced proudly. "I'm going to join his crew and become a pirate and find One Piece!"
"You're six."
"So?"
"You have no training. No supplies. No plan."
"SO?"
Kakashi didn't have a response to that.
Because honestly? That was exactly what HE was doing. Walking toward Roger with no real plan, no supplies beyond what he was carrying, and only the vaguest idea of where he was going.
He and Naruto were the same.
How pathetic.
How WONDERFUL.
"Fine," Kakashi said, reaching into his pack and pulling out a ration bar. "Here. Eat."
Naruto snatched the bar and devoured it in seconds.
"Thanks, mask guy!"
"My name is Kakashi."
"Thanks, Kakashi-guy!"
Kakashi sighed.
"Are you going to keep following me?"
"Are you going to find Roger-sama?"
"...yes."
"Then yes!"
Kakashi considered his options.
He could leave the kid behind. Naruto would probably be found by the search parties from Konoha and brought back to the village.
But... that didn't feel right.
Naruto had done the same thing Kakashi had done. Made the same choice. Chosen freedom over safety, adventure over comfort, the unknown over the familiar.
Could Kakashi really abandon someone who shared his dream?
"Fine," he said again. "You can come with me. But you have to keep up. And you have to do what I say. Understood?"
Naruto's grin somehow got even wider.
"YES! We're going to find Roger-sama together! This is going to be AWESOME!"
He jumped to his feet and started bouncing around with excitement.
Kakashi watched him with a mix of exasperation and amusement.
"What have I gotten myself into?" he muttered.
But there was a small smile under his mask.
The first real smile in a very, very long time.
They walked together for the rest of the day.
Kakashi had a general idea of where Roger might be—rumors suggested he was heading toward the coast—so that's where they went. East, always east, toward the rising sun and the endless sea.
Naruto talked constantly.
He talked about the village. About how everyone hated him. About the old man Hokage who was nice but never really helped. About his dreams of being acknowledged, of being strong, of being SOMEBODY.
And about Roger.
"He said anyone can chase their dreams!" Naruto explained for the twentieth time. "He said freedom is the most important thing! He said One Piece exists and anyone can find it if they're brave enough!"
"I know," Kakashi said. "I was there for the speech."
"You were?! That's so cool! What was it like?!"
"Loud. Chaotic. Inspiring."
"Inspiring!" Naruto repeated the word like it was magic. "Roger-sama is so amazing! I'm going to be just like him when I grow up!"
Kakashi glanced at the child.
There was something about Naruto. Something beyond the obvious—the container of the Nine-Tails, the village pariah, the lonely orphan. Something that resonated with the same feeling Kakashi had experienced when listening to Roger's speech.
Joy. Freedom. LIFE.
"Maybe you will," Kakashi said quietly. "Maybe you will."
That night, they made camp in a small clearing.
Kakashi built a fire while Naruto watched with fascination. The kid had clearly never been camping before, never learned any survival skills, never been taught anything useful by the village that was supposed to protect him.
It made Kakashi angry in a way he hadn't expected.
How could Konoha treat a child like this? How could they call themselves protectors when they let a six-year-old grow up alone and hated?
Maybe leaving had been the right choice after all.
"Kakashi-guy," Naruto said, interrupting his thoughts.
"Just Kakashi is fine."
"Kakashi." Naruto was staring into the fire, his expression unusually serious for someone his age. "Why did you leave the village?"
Kakashi considered the question.
"Because I was tired," he said finally. "Tired of following orders. Tired of being empty. Tired of pretending that any of it meant anything."
"Oh." Naruto nodded like he understood. "I was tired too. Tired of being hated. Tired of being alone."
"We have that in common."
"Yeah." Naruto's grin returned. "But now we're not alone! We have each other! And we're going to find Roger-sama and be pirates!"
Kakashi couldn't help but smile at the kid's enthusiasm.
"One step at a time," he said. "First, we need to find the coast. Then we need to find a ship. Then we need to find where Roger actually IS."
"That sounds like a lot of steps."
"It is."
"That's okay!" Naruto declared. "We'll just do them one at a time! That's how adventures work!"
Kakashi shook his head, but he was still smiling.
"Get some sleep, kid. We have a long way to go."
Naruto curled up by the fire, still grinning.
"Hey, Kakashi?"
"What?"
"Thanks for not leaving me behind."
Kakashi looked at the child—this small, lonely, incredibly resilient child who had been failed by everyone who should have protected him.
"You're welcome," he said softly.
Naruto was asleep within minutes.
Kakashi stayed awake, watching the stars and thinking about the future.
He didn't know where they were going. He didn't know what would happen when they got there. He didn't know if Roger would even accept them into his crew.
But for the first time in years, he was looking FORWARD to something.
That had to count for something.
Across the world, on the deck of the Oro Jackson, Roger suddenly looked up.
"Captain?" Hiro asked. "Is something wrong?"
Roger smiled.
"No. Something's right." He looked toward the horizon, toward a direction he couldn't explain but somehow knew. "Someone's coming. Maybe two someones."
"Friends?"
"I think so. I think they're going to be important."
He didn't know how he knew. Maybe it was Nika, sensing kindred spirits. Maybe it was his connection to the sea, feeling the ripples of change. Maybe it was just intuition.
But he KNEW.
"Keep sailing," Roger said. "But let's make a stop at the next island. I have a feeling we're about to get some new crew members."
Ace pulsed warmly at his hip.
The child, the sword said. I sense him. The one with the beast sealed inside.
"Naruto?" Roger asked, surprised. "He's coming?"
He has left his cage. He is seeking you.
Roger's grin widened.
"Well then. Let's not keep him waiting."
And so the pieces began to move.
Roger, sailing ever forward with the will of the Sun God burning in his heart.
Naruto, walking toward the sea with a grin that wouldn't quit.
Kakashi, finally free of the chains he had worn his whole life.
And somewhere deep within Naruto, Kurama watched and waited and hoped.
"Run, child," the fox whispered. "Run toward the sun. Perhaps there, we will both find our freedom."
The age of pirates had begun.
And it was only getting started.
END OF CHAPTER 8