Itachi had been sailing with the Whitebeard Pirates for a year now. A year and a half in this strange new world and he had never. Felt.
Freer.
It was an incredibly rough start as he had to learn the common language of this world first, but Izo and Marco were surprisingly patient teachers. At the next populated island they stopped out, Thatch had gone out and gotten a bunch of language learning books. Grateful for their aid, Itachi attacked the books with fervor, his Sharingan helping him immensely. Within a month, Itachi could read and write fluently and within two, he could speak like the rest of them if not better, even with a slight accent.
He was quite flattered when Thatch attempted to learn his native language as well, but without the ease of access to material, it had been slow going. Eventually, Thatch had to give up as he was getting behind on paperwork, but he still made an effort to converse with Itachi no matter how simple the conversation. It endeared Thatch to Itachi and he cherished the memories and experiences he shared with the kind man.
Eager to learn more, Itachi would talk quite often with the other commanders and Whitebeard himself, asking about the world and its many intricacies. They all found his enthusiasm to learn endearing but also concerning when he asked even the most simple of questions. They thought he had amnesia and attempted to drag him to the ship nurses to be checked out, but Itachi would have none of it. When he had first arrived on the ship, the check-up he had after cleaning himself up was nothing but torture. Too many of the nurses had stayed to "help" in the medical bay. The nurse, Lire was her name, who had checked him up had also checked him out. It really didn't help that her hands lingered a touch longer or strayed further then they should've.
Yeah. Itachi had not at all been interested in going back.
Additionally, he had proven himself multiple times in skirmishes, easily wiping out whole groups with a few select jutsu and his sword. He was so incredibly efficient that the marines still didn't have a picture of him or his name for his wanted poster. All the commanders had laughed at the wanted poster as it had seemed so absurd:
Wanted Dead or Alive
Image
Unknown Whitebeard Commander
100 Million Berries
Description: Wears a black cloak with red clouds
Extremely Dangerous
Location of tattoo: Unknown
Alias: Unknown
Extremely proficient with the sword
The wanted poster essentially just stated "Powerful individual under Whitebeard. Watch out." As if the entire crew wasn't dangerous or something. All the commanders had congratulated him though, claiming that 100 million berries was probably one of the highest starting bounties ever recorded. He heard something about a Nico Robin.
He was glad to see that the poster only mentioned his use of his sword and nothing else. He had noticed pretty early that kunai and shuriken were very unique weapons in this world, used mainly by the shinobi of Wano Country. As such, he rarely, if never, used his shuriken or kunai, relying heavily upon his sword. He did most of his work from the shadows to try and keep his identity even more of a secret than it already was. Judging by the poster, he had done that very well, especially since he let his fellow comma- crewmates take the spotlight of the fight, whether it was Jozu smashing through the enemy with his diamond body, or Marco swooping above the fight diving and fighting. He was hesitant to call them fellow commanders as he wasn't technically one himself. Whitebeard had offered him the position of 17th division commander, as he had proved himself to be an incredibly formidable and competent fighter, but Itachi politely declined, stating that he wished to truly explore the world and to find something worth living for.
Whitebeard had laughed at his comment, "Family should be more than enough to live for. Perhaps, Itachi, something else is gnawing at your soul."
Whitebeard took a big swig from his tankard and grinned at Itachi's contemplative stare, "Something to think about, eh? Well, no matter, you can be the unofficial 17th commander. You do seem to hold quite a few unofficial titles now."
With a light smile, Itachi had only bowed to him and walked away, Whitebeard's words weighing heavily on his mind.
That conversation had taken place a couple of days ago and Itachi still thought about it.
"What am I looking for exactly?"
His thoughts turned to the mysterious little note that had been in his lap when he had first woken up in this world.
Live unburdened.
Now how was he going to go about doing that?
A loud crash brought him out of his thoughts as a flaming body flew by him and off the ship, hurtling to the ocean below.
Itachi smiled in amusement.
Portgas D. Ace. One of their more recent "recruits" had a penchant for getting himself in trouble, although most of it stemmed from the fact that he was actively trying to kill Whitebeard. This would be his 68th attempt now? When he had first arrived on the ship, the hate and malice that smoldered behind his eyes tugged at his heart. It reminded him of the look he had gotten from Sasuke. It was not a good look on Sasuke's face and neither was it on Ace's. He would rather see a smile on his face and happiness in his eyes. He had gone out of his way to talk to him or bring him food or even smile at him when he passed him on deck. The others had noticed and left him to his devices to bring the wayward pirate around. He had even been given the unofficial duty of fishing Ace out of the sea.
He hopped off the side of the ship, diving into the water after Ace. He grabbed him before he sunk too far and quickly kicked to the surface, clambering onto the water's surface with Ace slung over his shoulders. Some of the crew watched over the side of the boat in mild interest as he walked back.
"HOLY SHIT! THAT'S SO COOL! I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT! EXCEPT MAYBE HOW ADMIRAL AOKIJI RIDES HIS BIKE ACROSS THE OCEAN BUT ACTUALLY STANDING ON WATER WITH NOTHING IS ACTUALLY NUTS!"
That about summed up Thatch's reaction when he had first seen Itachi water walk. Many other members of the crew shared similar sentiments and amazement at the ability clamoring to know just how he did it, even Whitebeard looked curious.
So, Itachi waved his hands to quiet everyone down and waited until all attention was on him, many leaning in eager to hear about this amazing ability.
With a small smile on his face, he said,
"It's a secret."
Quite a few people left an impression of their faces on the deck.
Walking up the side of the hull, Ace still slung over his shoulder, he asked, "When are you going to stop this? I do believe the very first failure should've proved more than enough that you can't put a scratch on Whitebeard."
"Shut up," Ace growled at him, "You know nothing of how I feel or what I want."
Reaching the deck of the ship, Itachi gently placed Ace down," You know, I have a little brother who used to be like you. Ever the hothead. Plenty smart, but always tended to do things before he fully thought them out."
Ace perked up at this bit of information.
"You have a… little brother?"
Itachi smiled down at him, "Of course, although up until recently, he was doing his utmost to kill me, but the hate that was in his eyes is oh so very similar to the hate in your eyes. What is it that you hate with such fierceness? Hate with every fiber of your being? That kind of hate is something that I am quite familiar with, especially since I was on the receiving end of it."
Ace looked quite surprised at the cheerful tone that Itachi used to deliver such a morbid statement. He was quite taken aback as well by the fact that Itachi's little brother was the one that had hated Itachi so much. It made him think of Luffy and the impossibility of Luffy hating him that much. It was…confusing. Looking back up at Itachi's patient gaze, he sighed.
"I…was born to a rather bastard of an…individual. He gave me this face. He gave me the dirty blood that runs through my veins. I blame him for the death of my mother. He's the reason she's dead. He's the reason for the ruin in my life. He took so much from me and he just fucked off and died without any care or any responsibility. And I absolutely despise him for it."
Ace's hand gripped his shorts, anger evident upon his face as well as the flames that flickered around his shoulders.
"Ah, so you're Gol D. Roger's son."
Ace's head whipped towards Itachi, surprise, hurt, and anger in his eyes.
"So what? What if I have that bastard's blood in me," he ground out, "You disgusted? That the blood of your precious captain's greatest rival flows through me?"
"I couldn't care less in all honesty," was Itachi's calm reply.
Ace blinked in surprise at the statement, expecting something more aggressive.
Itachi continued, "I do not believe that the sins of one's father should be heaped upon those he brought into the world. A son is not responsible for the sins of his father. An old comrade of mine once said, 'Those who don't follow orders are trash. But those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash.' I can see that you truly care for your old crew and they love and respect you just as much. That is more than enough to lift you from this shadow that you have imposed on yourself. You are capable of so much more than you are making yourself out to be. Lashing out now is useless. If you really looked, you'd see that this crew is something else. Held together by bonds stronger than gold or promises. They're held together by love and it's all because of Whitebeard. Whitebeard's greatest treasure is his crew. His family. A lot of the crew calls him "Pops" because that is the role he fills in their lives. He is like a father, and they're all his sons and daughters. Give him a chance. I'm sure you won't regret it."
Stepping away from Ace's slumped form, Itachi waved, "Your secret is safe with me. You should tell me about your little brother sometime."
He didn't catch Ace's look of surprise or the bit of warmth that crept into his eyes as he rounded the corner.
Ace seemed to have taken Itachi's words to heart. The attacks lessened overtime before stopping completely. He would come to the mess hall to eat instead of sulking. He smiled more and laughed and overall seemed to be adapting well to the crew. He was polite and more willing to talk with the crew members, even with some of the commanders.
Itachi smiled. He could see that Ace would be a great addition to the crew. More than likely, he would replace Doma as the 2nd division commander. He definitely had the power to do so.
The day Ace got Whitebeard's jolly roger tattooed on his back was when he sought out Itachi. He hadn't approached him since their conversation from so long ago, only giving him a smile and a wave whenever they saw each other.
Itachi hadn't minded. Letting the young man find his way and rhythm with the crew was quite fun to watch.
The festivities of Ace officially accepting the Whitebeards as his family, was finally winding down, most of the crew passed out or heading back to their rooms.
As Ace came to a standstill, Itachi stared at him expectantly.
"You mentioned you had a little brother. Other than the trying to kill you part, what was he like?" Ace asked.
Itachi smiled softly, "He was a crybaby when he was young. So small and naïve to the harshness of the world. He was a mama's boy, always pestering her and following her. Our father was a strict man, a clan leader. His love was… hard to understand. Not something Sasuke could figure out, so he always sought out mother for hugs and kisses. She didn't mind though; she loved to cuddle with him. He would always follow me around too. I was his cool, smart, doting older brother. In his eyes, I could do no wrong."
Ace had a hint of a grin on his face as he listened to Itachi talk, thoughts of Luffy coming to mind. Itachi's tone became rather sorrowful, pulling Ace away from Luffy.
"Certain… uh… circumstances forced me to leave our village. I had wronged him the most a brother could, but it was all so that I could save him. You would understand, right Ace? That you would throw away your life in an instant to save your little brother's? I made him hate me. Hate me so much that he would train to become strong. So strong that he could kill me. If he could kill me, then he would have risen to a point where very few people could hurt him. It's a warped way of thinking, but our island is quite cut-throat. Success and survivability depended on your strength and very little of anything else. Quite similar to those who travel the Grand Line. Strength determines a lot. Was it wrong for me to do that to my brother? Yes. But it was the only way to ensure that he could live, so I would do it again without hesitation."
Shocked was putting it lightly of how Ace felt. Getting your own brother to hate you that much. It was unimaginable. He thought back to when Itachi had first told him this months ago, and once again, he could not even fathom getting Luffy to hate him that much. He would…he would have to… kill. Kill someone close to Luffy.
"Yes. Your thoughts are correct. I killed my family for the sake of my little brother."
He didn't even bother to dodge the flaming fist. Crashing against the side of the wall, some blood trickled out of his mouth. Hot hands fisted his cloak and held him up.
Rage was written all over Ace's face. He spat out, "You fucking monster. You have no right to even step foot on this ship. Much less be an "unofficial" commander."
Flames licked at his shoulders, itching to run down his arms and incinerate Itachi. Itachi only chuckled lifelessly, looking more tired than he had ever seen him.
"I don't have a right to live. A right to be a part of this family. The sins I carry are heavy and even Whitebeard's love can't ease their burden."
The tension left Ace's face at the hollowness of his voice, tears dripping down onto his hands. He let go of Itachi's cloak, letting him slump against the wall.
"I honestly thought Sasuke killed me, you know? His killing me would be the closest thing I could find for repentance. And you know the worst of it? He forgave me. With his sword in my chest, he said he forgave me. It honestly just made me feel worse. I am so undeserving of his love and forgiveness, especially after everything that I had done to him. When I first awoke on that island and realized I wasn't dead, I wanted to kill myself, but to do so was to spit on Sasuke's forgiveness. To spit on the efforts of my mysterious 'savior'. So I must live. For Sasuke and to find out why I was allowed to live."
Anger morphed into concern as Ace listened to Itachi. He realized just how much baggage Itachi carried with him.
"I guess… I can understand."
Itachi looked up at Ace, who had walked over to the railing and gazed at the moon.
"When I first learned that Roger was my dad. I thought it was cool to be the son of the Pirate King, but listening to everyone say how glad they were that he was dead and that any children he had deserved to die made me feel worthless. It made me lash out in anger and hate against the world because if the whole world hated me, did I not have the right to hate it right back? I asked my gramps what the point of me being alive was and he replied saying that I would just have to live to find out. You really helped me find my place here and I can't thank you enough for that. Just by continuing to live, I found something that made it all worth it. My little brother, Luffy, and my family here are godsends. The love they have for me is all I need and coming here has made me realize that I have made my way through this world against all odds. Now? I feel alive. Free. So I guess all I have to say, and you've probably already heard this from Pops or Marco, is that you just need to live. Go out and live and find out for yourself why you are still alive. I can't forgive you for killing your family, but I can accept that you right now are a very different person. The crew looks up to you and the commanders all appreciate you. Whitebeard respects you, so there is something redeemable in you I guess."
Ace turned and walked off, "You should get a nurse to check out that cheek."
"Thank you… Ace."
Ace stopped.
The ghost of a smile on his face and then he kept walking.
Itachi sighed and got up dusting off his cloak. Apprehensively, he walked towards the medical bay, into the tender clutches of the nurse on night duty.
"I think it's Ilo on duty tonight, so it won't be terrible."
The commanders were quite surprised to see a gauze pad on Itachi's cheek. Him being injured was almost unheard of. Of course, they asked him what happened, and all he said, flicking his eyes towards Ace, was that he fell down the stairs.
They didn't believe it for a second but accepted that Itachi wasn't going to tell them so they left it at that.
Milling around doing their daily routine, many of the crew passed by Itachi sitting on the port side railing, greeting him or just smiling at him. He would nod and smile back, but his mind was far away from the ship.
"Something else gnawing at my soul? Go out and live? Find my way in this world?"
Despite Itachi feeling freer than he had ever felt before, he was still raised as a soldier. A clan prodigy. The expectations of the Uchiha clan and the village heaped on his shoulders since the tender age of eight years old. The concept of following orders drilled into him since he was born. Free will not even a choice.
So now? Now that he was free to do whatever he wanted?
He was out of his depth.
"Perhaps I should… leave? Strikeout on my own like Ace?"
"Whitebeard was right. I don't feel right here. Staying with them isn't an issue, but I just don't feel…fulfilled? But what exactly do I want?"
Itachi had no answer. In his 23 years of living, he honestly hadn't the time to develop a real, personal want. A goal or a dream. Back in the Elemental Nations, his only real desire was to keep Sasuke safe, and even then, that was just out of love and the necessity of the situation.
He thought back to the note, "Live unburdened."
The amount of raw emotion he had felt when he had first read it, what brought it on?
What was he burdened with?
Itachi mulled over that last thought for many weeks.
He had found some answers to that question.
He was burdened with guilt: for killing his family and hurting Sasuke. He was burdened with expectations: from his clan and his village. He was burdened with grief: both of his Sharingan attested to that. He was burdened with loneliness: a village traitor and clan killer.
But how was he to unburden himself from these things? He had always tried to rationalize the guilt, but it still hurt to think about driving his sword through his parents. Hurt to think about torturing Sasuke. The expectations of his clan and his village had been drilled into him since he first stepped foot into the Academy. They were the foundations for his skill, his strength as a shinobi. The loneliness was still there. Despite being part of Whitebeard's family, accepted by the crew and the commanders, he still felt out of place, undeserving of a place on the Moby Dick. His very presence dirtying their concept of family. The only one he felt truly close to was Ace.
Despite their rough start after his ascension to 2nd division commander, he had truly come to appreciate the younger man's presence and vice versa. He had become something like a little brother to him, especially with his insistent pestering for him to show off his shinobi skills. He had barged into his room one day asking for help with his paperwork, catching Itachi in the middle of reorganizing his equipment. He had caught sight of the piles of kunai and shuriken and other tools essential to a shinobi. His eyes had shined so brightly they were essentially stars. He had spent the next 30 minutes squatting beside Itachi either trying to get him to do something cool or asking what each item was. Out of pure habit, he poked Ace's forehead, Armament Haki coating his fingertips, causing him to squawk and fall on his butt. Itachi stared at his fingers and then back up at Ace who was rubbing his backside. What was that he had asked, and Itachi only smiled in response. He made a promise to show Ace at the next island they stopped at and shooed him out of the room.
Smiling fondly at the memory and the role Ace had ended up becoming in his life, his thoughts drifted to Ace's words weeks past.
To find out his purpose, he just had to live.
Perhaps he should leave. Find a place where he truly felt at right. Seek out his own…adventure maybe?
Once again, something to think about. His eyes shifted down to the small crowd starting to gather on the deck. They seemed quite small since he was in the crow's nest, but his Sharingan was more than adequate in picking out individuals in the group. They seemed to be surrounding Jozu, who looked like he was holding a fruit? He could make out some sort of ripple pattern on its pale green skin.
"Ah, a Devil Fruit. I wonder who he's going to give it to. I hope it's not some sort of stupid tournament like Thatch hosted last time he found one."
Off to the side, he saw Marshall D. Teach reading a book and then looking back to the fruit in Jozu's hand. His shoulders dropped in disappointment for some reason and he walked off, the book tucked under his arm. That was interesting. Seems like Teach was looking for a specific fruit. Itachi didn't know his reasons, but he liked the man well enough. Loud and boisterous, but strong nonetheless, the man was quite likable. He got along quite well with Ace and his other crewmates in the second division and pulled his weight around the boat. Itachi was quite interested in that book though, it seemed to be some sort of Devil Fruit encyclopedia, which honestly sounded like a great read.
Perhaps he'll ask Teach about it later. Turning back to Jozu, he just caught him handing the fruit to someone.
"Weran is his name I think? Too many people on this ship to meet that I have yet to meet.. I'm impressed that Whitebeard knows just about all of them."
The crowd dispersed.
Itachi looked back out to the horizon.
"Won't be long before you leave. Oh, what adventures you have ahead of yourself, Itachi-kun!"