Rise of the Whirling Tides

Key

"Hi there" Normal Speech

"Hi There" Thought

"Hi There" Biju and techniques

"Hi There" Biju thoughts and techniques in head

Flashbacks

"Hi There" Normal speech

"Hi There" Thought

"Hi There" Biju and Techniques

"Hi There," Bijuu thought and techniques in head

Summary Chapter 28: Vladimir confronted Machvise on Flower Top Hill battling it out with the man, eventually overpowering him with the combined use of Doton and Katon Ninjutsu. The Student of Son Goku finished the job by releasing Son's chakra that had been gifted as a last resort. Using Son's chakra, Vladimir was able to utilise the Lava Element and melted Machvise alive under a tidal wave with the aid of two clones. Tsuna a fellow Shinobi of Team 5 retrieved Rebecca, and they retreated. Meeting up with the other operatives, all direct members of the Royal Family had been saved, before being safely transported to Uzushiogakure no Sato.

Author Note: Link to discord channel ( h , t , t , p , s, : / / discord . gg / mX728eD ) just remove all the commas and spacing.

Read and Review.


Chapter 29: The Vault

Uzushiogakure no Sato

Naruto leaned back in his chair; the Rinne-Sharingan gazing upon the new arrivals to Uzu no Kuni. In the Uzukage Office were the members of Team's 3, 4 and 5. Accompanying them was Suzuka, Houjin, Vladimir and a shrunken Son Goku. The company of thirteen stood in formation, the three team's at the back, in front was Houjin, Vladimir and Son Goku, in front of them was Suzuka. Standing beside Suzuka was a group of four, consisting of an old man, two young women one in her mid-twenties who had pink hair the other in her early twenties with dark brown hair, lastly was a little girl no older than maybe seven years old who had long pink hair. These four were King Riku Dold the Third, his two daughters Scarlett and Viola and lastly his granddaughter Rebecca. The group of Shinobi had returned after completing their mission to rescue King Riku and his family from Dressrosa and Doflamingo's clutches. The group, however, had returned with an unexpected guest, Monet one of Doflamingo's crew members, locked in stasis mode. Naruto had transported the woman immediately to receive medical attention under the watchful eye of a clone. The snow woman had been badly burnt in her battle against Houjin, the same person who brought her back.

"King Riku, it is a pleasure to have you and your family grace my Village." Greeted Uzumaki Naruto, the Shodai Uzukage of Uzushiogakure no Sato. The being of pure chakra climbed to his feet and gave a humble bow in greeting to the four guests. "I hope you will make yourselves at home during your stay." The Uzukage walked around the desk in the middle of the room, approached the King to shake hands with him.

"You have my thanks Uzukage-sama and my gratitude. My family and I are forever in your debt." The King knelt before the Immortal Sage, bowing his head in thanks. Behind King Riku his two daughters Viola and Scarlett knelt down, joining him in thanking Naruto for their rescue. If it weren't for Naruto's help quite possibly Scarlett would be dead, Rebecca an orphan and Viola would have been forced into Doflamingo's servitude.

Naruto waved a hand nonchalantly, "While the contract between our people may not have been signed, I believed us to be allies long ago, so my assistance is but a simple matter. For now, I hope you and your family will take refugee in the Uzumaki Compound. When the time comes, Uzushiogakure shall lend its assistance in reclaiming your Kingdom. Doflamingo's hold has been loosened with three of his officer's death, the capture of another and Doflamingo being incapacitated, maybe even dead. Until that time you are welcome to stay as long as you like" Spoke the Uzukage with a beaming smile in place. Out of the corner of his eye, the Uzukage could see Rebecca hiding shyly behind her mother, looking at the horned man with a curious, anxious and fearful gaze. This was a strange place for the little girl whose life had suddenly been turned upside down. One moment she had been living happily with her mother, then they were on the run for their lives.

The Uzukage crouched down to Rebecca's level, being only three feet away from the little girl, "Rebecca-chan would you please come here. I have a favour to ask." The Sage spoke in a soft, friendly tone while making a beckoning motion with his right hand. The little girl hesitated, but after being prompted by her mother, slowly walked forward up to the man with strange eyes. Rebecca, slowly walked up to the Uzukage, until she was only a few inches away.

Naruto raised a hand, making the girl flinch, before resting it atop her head full of pink hair and gently rubbed. "There's no need to be frightened. Uzushiogakure is now your home. You are one of my people, and I give you my word, as long as you live here no one will ever hurt you, your mother or your family." Naruto spoke calmly, trying to ease the little girl, the girl was but a child and had been thrown into a civil war, whose mother had almost been taken away. A child separated from their parent was a story Naruto knew all too well. Not only was it his own, but many of the children living in Uzu to shared this store. Three of them were his prime students. Thinking of the past, Naruto looked up towards Suzuka with a solemn expression. In the back of his thought, the reflections of his two male students came to mind. Shiina was perhaps the only one with a happy story; the girl had migrated to Uzu with her parents. The team development reminded Naruto of his own, Shiina raised by loving parents, Yamato had lost his at a young age, and Odin had never known his.

The girl looked up with big pink eyes, "Really. Mumma, Papa, Auntie and I can live here with you." Naruto chuckled softly, patting the girl's head again, giving her a nod in the affirmative.

"To welcome you I even have a gift. Suzu-chan could you come here please." The Kage laughed heartily as he spoke to the little girl, forgetting his position and affectionately calling Suzuka. If the woman wasn't wearing a mask, everyone would see the massive blush staining her cheeks. The woman wasn't quite used to public shows of affection. The anbu operative approached arriving by Naruto's side, crouching down to level. Naruto turned and began to whisper into the young woman's ear, who in return gave him a questioning gaze. The Sage merely smiled in response. Obeying the orders given, the Kunoichi reached into her right hip pouch and removed a scroll, handing it over to Naruto.

Unrolling the scroll and pushing a little chakra into it a puff of smoke erupted, startling the little girl who made a sound "Eep!" and jumped back in fright. Naruto gave a reassuring smile and held out a hand, in that hand was a strange pale gourd-shaped fruit with a swirl pattern. At the sight of the fruit, the Riku family recoiled.

"An Akuma no Mi!" spoke the startled King, eyes quivering at the sight of one of the legendary Devil Fruits. The King had only ever seen a handful Devil Fruits in his entire life. The King's daughter had eaten one of them, the Giro Giro no Mi turning her into a Ganriki Ningen (Insight Human).

Naruto chuckled at their reactions, "This is not just any Devil Fruit, but the Ito Ito No Mi (String String fruit) that used to belong to none other than Doflamingo Donquixote." Revealing to them its origins, that in the Uzukage's hand was the fruit that belonged to Doflamingo the man who had taken over Dressrosa and destroyed their lives shocked them to the core, to the point it looked like they were about to faint.

Looking to Rebecca, the Sage never lost his smile, "Rebecca-chan can you please listen closely to what I have to say? I have a big favour to ask you." Naruto emphasised the word big, showing the importance of what he was going to say.

The little girl looked from the fruit up to Naruto, then back to the fruit staring at it with a curious gaze, the gaze lasted momentarily before her attention returned to Naruto, before giving a cute nod. The tiny child looked to Naruto with an adorable expression, like she was trying hard to listen to what he had to say.

"This fruit used to belong to a bad man, who hurt a lot of good people. But the fruit isn't bad, just the man. I want you to have this fruit, not because I want you to be bad like him, but because I want you to be good and use it for good. Do you understand me." Naruto said trying not to use overcomplicated words so she could understand, while his gaze was soft showing one of compassion with a hint of tenderness all directed to the young girl. Rebecca would no doubt have a difficult life, being royalty and a member of the traitorous Riku family, at least in the eyes of the people of Dressrosa. Naruto wanted her to become a symbol for good and to use the Ito Ito No Mi to accomplish it, to correct the wrongs done by Doflamingo.

The little girl reached out with tiny hands grabbing the strange fruit, before looking to Naruto with what he could only call eyes full of determination, "I think so. This fruit belonged to a bad man, and you want me to use it for good. I want to do good with it, so everyone can forget the bad man!" spoke the little girl clutching the fruit tightly to her chest like it was a precious treasure.

A laugh escaped Naruto's lips as he climbed to full height, casting a gaze to the Riku family, "I apologise for my forwardness. But I wish for the little one to obtain something from this tragedy. Doflamingo took your homes away; this is a type of repayment for the sins against your family. Don't discriminate against the Ito Ito no Mi it was merely a tool used for evil." The Ito Ito was truly not to be blamed, it was but a tool of war, just like the Bijuu had once been, controlled to cause death and destruction. Naruto hoped in Rebecca's hands it would become a tool to save countless lives. Some might think him a fool for giving away such a powerful Devil Fruit to a child who was not one of his own, thinking perhaps the fruit's powers would be better off in the hands of one of his Shinobi. It may be true that one of the Uzushiogakure Shinobi might be able to make full use of the Ito Ito no Mi's powers, and that giving it away was merely on a whim of his or maybe even a mistake. Whatever it was, Naruto was following a feeling in his gut, even though technically he didn't have one, this feeling was something he had chosen to act on. It wasn't fate or anything else telling him to do it; Naruto did this of his own accord.

Riku bowed his head to the Kage, "I thank you again on my family's behalf. We humbly accept this offering and will ensure Rebecca possesses the knowledge she needs about Devil Fruits and their abilities." The King wasn't going to reject the gift, while the King hated Doflamingo, he wasn't going to hate the Devil Fruit, or it's abilities. Riku was someone aware of the fruit's power, and if his granddaughter could obtain even a fraction of it, he would be happy for her as it meant Rebecca would have the strength to protect herself in this cruel world.

Clapping his hands, the three Chunin teams stepped forward, "Team 5, please escort King Riku and his family to the Uzumaki Compound, ensure they settle in comfortably. You and your family have had a long day. Please rest up, and tomorrow a team will show you around the village, giving you a tour and allow your family to buy any necessities." Team 5 lead by Sayo alongside her team-mates Sazuki and Tsuna greeted the King and his family. Everyone was instructed to join hands then all seven disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

As the immortal watched them leave, he couldn't help feel as if he was forgetting something or someone. Naruto felt a little niggling in the back of his mind. Whatever it was the Sage would reflect later going through the Uzushiogakure archives on the Riku Family to find the source as he felt they were in some way connected to it. Whatever was missing gave Naruto a bad omen, what in the world could affect his memories?

Naruto shoved the thought aside and turned his attention to Houjin, "You collected the Hira Hira no Mi (Ripple-Ripple Fruit) from Diamante correct?" the Kage brought up the query to the second generation devil fruit user. The boy nodded his head in the affirmative and removed a pale red squash shaped fruit with swirl-like markings. Naruto accepted the Devil Fruit and began to examine it carefully, like every other Devil Fruit Naruto had examined in depth in his own time after obtaining it, the fruit held a minuscule amount of natural energy, with a nod the Sage waved a hand, "I want written reports of each battle on my desk tomorrow morning. All of you are dismissed, Suzuka remain behind."

The shinobi bowed in respect to the Naruto before departing from the office, leaving Suzuka alone with the Kage. The Sage tossed the fruit up and down, catching it and motioning Suzuka to follow behind. The female anbu followed one step behind Naruto as he left the office. The Uzukage headed down through the tower towards it's lowest floors, greeting Janice the middle-aged Secretary who sat behind her desk. Behind Janice was a steel door leading to a supply room. Naruto headed to the door walking in, Suzuka shutting the door behind them.

The Uzukage headed to the back of the room, where a large double door metal closet was positioned firmly against the wall. Opening the doors, there was nothing inside; it was empty. Closing the doors, Naruto rotated the knobs for the closet to the right, but once they stopped turning, the Kage held it in place for five seconds before releasing. The knobs rotated to the left, and a click was heard. On the metal door, a sealing array lit up. Placing a hand upon it, the seals began to move onto his flesh, digging in before they lit up red. The seals extracted themselves from Naruto's flesh and returned to the doors. The doors swung open, the back of the closet was gone revealing an elevator. Walking into the elevator, Naruto beckoned Suzuka to follow. The elevator was large enough to fit six to eight people depending on their size. To the right was a keypad with five-floor buttons G, B1, B2, B3 and B4. G was for the ground level, the main entry into the Uzukage Tower. The other's stood for basement floor one, basement floor two, basement floor three and basement floor four.

Naruto pressed the B3 button, and the doors closed shut. The elevator began to move, descending downwards, heading deep underground before coming to a sudden stop. The doors slid open, revealing a massive underground facility. The facility was over one thousand metres long and one thousand metres wide. Underneath the Uzukage tower was the Uzushio Research and Development Department, consisting of four floors. Floors B2, B3 and B4 were all the same size, with high rooftops for maximum coverage, here is where the bulk of the villager's technological research was conducted, meanwhile B1 was much small only one hundred metres by one hundred meters and could be considered the employee area as a cafeteria was stationed here, along with sleeping capsules, providing rest for the researchers.

Looking out, Naruto could see wide open space but also a number of cubicles. Walking onto the third floor, a man in a white coat raced over to greet the Kage. The man was in his late forties with grey hair, beard and black eyes with glasses, wearing white pants and a brown top. The man raced over and greeted Naruto, "Greeting's Uzukage-sama, it's a pleasure to see you on this fine day. How may I be of assistance." The man bowed, there was a sign of deep respect in those ageing black hues of his.

"Dr Gero always a pleasure, I'm afraid I don't have time for pleasantries, I'm here to access the vault." Naruto got straight to the point as he greeted the man called Dr Gero. The doctor looked up, taking note of the fruit the Kage was holding, the man seemed to understand why the Kage was visiting that particular vault. Without a word, the doctor began showing the Immortal Sage towards a large circular pad, in front of it was a four-foot podium. The Immortal and the Kunoichi stepped up onto the pad, the doctor followed after, before clapping his hands. The pad glowed as a large sealing array appeared beneath it, and the three vanished in a flash of white.

The device was a teleportation system set up allowing researchers to move around the facility swiftly and efficiently. If they had to walk it would take hours to get one from side to the other, maybe even a day. For a shinobi, this distance was no an issue, but to an ordinary person, it was. It would have been an inefficient use of time to make them walk back and forth, that's why the system was put in. To activate it all, you had to do was step on, think of your destination and clap your hands together once. The devices could even be used to move between each floor. Every pad had a number and letter assigned to it for easy use. If you didn't know which number you wanted to go to or forgot, the podium contained a detailed list of every device, where they connected to and their station number.

In a flash of white, the trio arrived at the end of the facility, where they were greeted by a giant metal door, that stood close to ten metres high. Dr Gero approached the door, where a keypad rested in the middle, beside it a palm and eye scanner. The doctor began pressing the number's on the keypad, but it wasn't just a number pad as it also had a keyboard attached. Once the number code was added, Dr Gero typed in his password. Everyone who had access to the vault had their own password that went with their palm and eye scan. Once the password was entered, the doctor scanned his right palm then placed his right eye to eye scanner, after his eye had been examined the Doctor put a right palm on solid metal right next to the pad. A large circular sealing array lit up on the door, glowing a bright blue. Seals travelled down the door and wrapped around the doctor's hand, slipping beneath his flesh. The seals retreated, and the array glowed green. The door hissed as the locks clicked. The door began to slowly open outwards. Dr Gero stepped back as the vault door opened, once opened the Doctor remained outside allowing Naruto and Suzuka to enter.

Naruto nodded his head in thanks and walked on in, the young woman fast behind him. Once the two had entered the metal door closed shut behind them, sealing them in. It was a safety measure should anyone enter the vault with the intents to steal its contents. The door would slam shut, swinging back quite fast. If someone wanted to escape they would have no chance to steal anything. Why? Because inside the vault was a wall that had a door which leads to a secondary chamber, the main vault. The door on the chamber required a passcode to enter, ensuring it was almost impossible to get into the true chamber and exit in time. Even if someone tried once someone entered the vault, if they tried to exit before the door closed, a wall of chakra would prevent their exit. Lastly, once the main door was closed, the vault couldn't be opened from the inside for an hour. Once someone entered the vault, countless seals that covered the inside would notify Naruto directly, once Uzushiogakure acquired an Anbu Captain Commander and Jounin Commander they would be alerted as well.

Approaching the second chamber door, Naruto placed a palm against it and channelled chakra directly into the metal. The metal door clicked and opened inwards, allowing the two Shinobi entry. Entering the room, inside were rows of shelves running up the right and left. The entire room was permeated with the thick aura of natural energy; seals had been placed on the ceiling connected to seals outside that would store natural energy and transfer it to the seals in the room. The energy would flow to the shelves where there were countless cylindrical containers filled with green coloured water. Approaching the closest set of containers on the right, there were fifteen container's lined up together with strange fruits bobbing up and down. Each of them was a Devil Fruit, each seemed to be overflowing with natural energy. Why was this? Naruto had been experimenting to find out why.

Amongst the fifteen Devil Fruit's, two were recognisable as the Tsuchi Tsuchi no Mi (Earth-Earth Fruit) and Ono Ono no Mi (Axe-Axe Fruit) which had belonged to Egburt Thornton aka Blacktooth and Estella Beelzebob the First Mate of the Blacktooth pirates. The amount of natural energy coursing through these two fruits appeared miniscule when compared to some of the others

Naruto approached am empty containers and placed the Hare Hare no Mi inside, before channelling chakra to his right index finger. The finger pressed on a metal plate that rested on the shelf beneath the container, and using chakra Naruto engraved the name of the fruit onto it. Each container had a metal plate that accompanied it so that the fruit's name could be written. Casting a gaze onto the other fruit's, Naruto walked up to one that was shaped like a giant strawberry but was light green. The swirl like pattern reminded him of the blowing wind. The plate labelled the fruit as the Kaze Kaze no Mi (Wind-Wind Fruit). This was the Devil Fruit that Houjin's mother originally possessed. After rescuing the boy, Naruto had tracked it down and retrieved the fruit storing it inside the vault, until the day came where he found a suitable candidate for its power.

Another fruit that caught Naruto's eye was a fruit shaped like a purple gourd. The fruit seemed to release a foul miasma, as the water it was in had turned a murky purple. The engraving labelled it as the Shoki Shoki no Mi (Miasma-Miasma Fruit) an upper tier Logia fruit, that turned the consumer into a bad air human, allowing them to turn their entire body into a thick, foul-smelling purple vapour. This miasma could then be used to create countless diseases in those who inhaled or came in contact with it. Naruto hadn't found the fruit. Instead, it had been handed over by a new immigrant, a young rabbit mink who found the fruit by chance. The fruit had been under Naruto's nose the entire time, as it had manifested on Uzu no Kuni. The girl had only come across it when she had been exploring the forest of Uzu no Kuni.

Soon after the Shoki Shoki no Mi was found three more were collected from Uzu's shore. One was a fruit shaped like a group of green and blue bananas with round tops. The second was a cross between an apple and pear with a light pink shade. The last was round shaped like a black avocado, but wrapped around the middle was a ring of white. Naruto didn't know what these three fruits were, but from the last one, he could feel a tremendous power. Each of them had a question mark on their plates. The amount of energy coursing through them appeared so bright it was blinding.

Of the other eight fruits collected, five had been identified as the Nagi Nagi no Mi (Calm-Calm Fruit), Goe Goe no Mi (Scream-Scream Fruit), Atsu Atsu no Mi (Hot-Hot Fruit), Ame Ame no Mi (Candy-Candy Fruit) and the Toro Toro no Mi (Jelly Jelly Fruit), the first three were Paramecia class types and the last two Logia. Naruto had either came across the fruit in trade or killed the previous owner to claim their bounty and extracted the devil fruit. The last three of the eight Naruto had taken from the marine's when he rescued Houjin, Miyuki and Mariko. One was a metallic coloured fruit that looked like a cross between a pear and a mango. The second was a was a black coloured fruit shaped like a pomegranate, the stem was white and was shaped like a horn. The last fruit was a green fruit crossed between a kiwi and an apple with the standard swirl design.

In order, these were the Tetsu Tetsu no Mi (Iron-Iron Fruit), Sai Sai no Mi: Moderu: Kurosai (Rhinoceros-Rhinoceros Fruit: Model: Black Rhinoceros) and the Ringo Ringo no Mi (Apple-Apple Fruit). The Tetsu Tetsu no Mi was a Paramecia Devil Fruit that turned one into a Tetsu Ningen (Iron Human) allowing them to manipulate and produce a liquid iron from their body. Sai Sai no Mi: Moderu: Kurosai was a zoan class fruit that allowed one to turn into a black rhinoceros. The last one the Rengo Rengo no Mi gave the eater the ability to grow any type of apple from whatever they touched. Naruto had heard about certain Devil Fruits with rather useless abilities, but this was truly unbelievable.

As for the natural energy in these fruits, the energy inside was miniscule when compared to the unknown fruits, but when compared to the ones taken from Blacktooth the three fruits stolen from the marines had double the amount of stored energy while the five he extracted had half. Naruto hadn't really noticed the natural energy at first due to how little it was until he properly examined them, but that only happened when the Shoki Shoki ni Mi arrived in his hands it was so swollen with natural energy, he had sensed it immediately. Naruto started paying attention and begun experimenting with the Devil Fruits, after those experiments he had then placed the seals inside the vault allowing the room access to natural energy. Afterwards, Naruto added natural energy absorption seals to each container enriching the water inside with it, the reason behind the green changed in colour.

Thanks to the experiment, removing Devil Fruits from pirates and finding some on Uzu no Kuni Naruto found fruits removed from users possessed less natural energy than their counterparts in the wild. As time passed, they would draw in natural energy, allowing the quantity to grow, strengthening the fruits over time, maybe even causing a mutation. Naruto even learnt that Devil Fruits preferred places thriving in natural energy. He did this by capturing the wielders of the Goe Goe no Mi (Scream-Scream Fruit) and Atsu Atsu no Mi (Hot-Hot Fruit), before setting up three controlled areas. Naruto first tested the Goe Goe no Mi setting up three small orchards growing the type of fruit it was known to reside in, one overflowing with natural energy, one partially flowing with natural energy and one with barely any natural energy.

Naruto then killed the consumer of the Goe Goe no Mi and watched what happened, within moments a strange kind of energy left his body and headed towards the field overflowing with natural energy to take root. Naruto repeated the process with the Atsu Atsu no Mi using the three same controlled fields. However, he replaced the area overflowing with natural energy to one with none, leaving one partial natural energy field and two with barely any. Killing the devil fruit user, the essence left their body and immediately went to the second field with a partial flow of natural energy. Naruto had continued to test the theory by reviving the people he killed and made them consume the fruits before redoing the test with different control fields, proving his theory. Given the option Devil Fruits would always reform to the closest area with an abundance of natural energy, if not they would take the best available option. It was almost like they had their own sentience.

However, this didn't tell Naruto where they came from or how they came into creation. All he could tell was that these Devil Fruits acted similarly to chakra beasts when the host was killed the essence would leave and begin the reformation process, sometimes taking months to come back into existence depending on where they became rooted. The essence would absorb the surrounding natural energy to assist in the restoration process. To keep itself protected the essence would fuse with a fruit, one that shared a connection to its original form. Once the essence had recovered the typical signs of a Devil Fruit would manifest as the fruit mutated thus allowing it to be eaten, in the meantime while sitting there before being consumed it would continue absorbing the surrounding natural energy in an attempt to undergo another mutation. Once ingested the Devil Fruits powers would gestate in the body, helping it to undergo its mutation.

By examining the Kaze Kaze no Mi Naruto had theorised that this mutation step underwent by Devil Fruits was to become stable enough to be passed onto a single offspring. In that offspring, the powers of the Devil Fruit would mix with their DNA beginning a period of mutating again, in order to become stable enough to be passed onto the next generation. When the Devil Fruit reformed, it would retain some aspects of its mutation, appearing to develop even faster than before, as Naruto had noted with the Goe Goe no Mi and Atsu Atsu no Mi, while not on the same level as the Kaze Kaze no Mi still showed signs of their progressing mutation.

From what Naruto could tell the ability to pass on its heritage was only possessed in the middle stage of its mutation, meaning Devil Fruits had a third and final step. What would happen once a Devil Fruit had completed its final mutation?


Marineford - Meeting Room - 2 Weeks Later

Marineford appeared in shambles, a large hole on one of its floors, and pieces of floating ship debris could be seen as far as the eye could see, as the remains of countless marine ships floated, bobbing up and down. The marines were running back and forth working around the clock to remove the debris and find any survivors.

Meanwhile surrounding a table in a temporary meeting room was a collective of marines. Around the table was seven Vice Admiral's from right to left, Vice Admiral Momonga, Vice Admiral Issho, Vice Admiral Orrin, Vice Admiral Strawberry, Vice Admiral Claire Dufour, Vice Admiral Momousagi, Vice Admiral Tsuru and Vice Admiral Comil. Near the head of the table were the three Admiral's Borsalino, Kuzan and Sakazuki. At the head of the table was none other than Fleet Admiral Sengoku.

Sakazuki and Borsalino looked worse for wear but functional as they had begun the recovery from the affair they had suffered at the hands of Otsutsuki, Hagoromo. Sakazuki right eye was gone, replaced by a yellow mechanical eye. The eye moved back and forth, connected to the Admiral's nervous system, what was left of the original eye had been carefully removed, so as not to damage the optic nerve and surrounding blood vessels. Any damaged nerves were replaced with electrical wiring, before being carefully hooked up to the new eye. The new eye offered many advantages, one was a zooming feature allowing Sakazuki to see up to a mile away, and spotting the tiniest of details, the second was it could track movements faster than the eye could see. It even possessed the capabilities to track Borsalino when he moved as light speed. The eye was a revolutionary piece of technology, at least in the eyes of the Marines.

Lastly, the arm that had been removed had been replaced by a mechanical prosthesis. The metal while not on the levels Seastone or the new metal shipped from Uzushiogakure, was still durable in its own right. The arm looked ordinary but could change its shape as it was designed like a swiss army knife. Components could rotate creating tools for various combat situations. The arm was equipped with a sword containing a seastone tip, a Gatling un, grappling hook and more.

Sengoku massaged his temples, as the marine's around the table read over the latest report concerning the developed Uzushiogakure no Sato. Almost a year ago had Issho been deployed to find out more about this neutral nation with an ever-growing military. "As you've read, it appears Uzushiogakure no Sato and it's Uzukage, Uzumaki Naruto are not to be underestimated. Half a dozen to a dozen of his operatives was able to infiltrate Dressrosa with Doflamingo being completely unaware. This same number of operatives was then able to deal significant damage not only to Doflamingo himself but also the Donquixote Family. From eyewitness accounts, we have gathered close to one hundred reports. Taking the information from all it had been constructed into one detailed file." Addressed Sengoku, lifting up one of the copies in front of him. The man's expression revealed that a heavy weight seemed to rest on his shoulders. Doflamingo was a Tenryubito, the Gorosei were coming down on him to do something about this.

"The Uzukage has been contacted in regards to this attack and has stated that as a neutral nation they accept Missions from the highest bidders. King Riku, paid for an A class mission to rescue his two daughters and granddaughters. The Uzukage has been gracious enough to supply us with a copy of the documentation of this mission request, dated and signed by King Riku Dold, three days before the operation began. A copy of the transaction has been supplied detailing the amount paid, a deposit of Five Hundred Million Belly. Two Hundred and Fifty Million before, Two Hundred and Fifty Million after the operation had been completed." recounted the Fleet Admiral. The exorbitant price for the mission seemed to shake the marine's, although they had already been made aware of the prices from Issho's report, it still shook them to their core. Five Hundred Million beri was not a small amount. It was not something that everyone could pay.

"The Gorosei have demanded Uzushio hand over the operatives who underwent the operation and their names to be released. The Uzukage has denied their demands and told them kindly to…." Sengoku cleared his throat appearing awkward about what he was going to say, "Fuck off The only thing the Uzukage has released is what I can assume to be the alias for one operative" Sengoku informed the group, the Uzukage had been quite liberal in his words, literally telling the Gorosei in a little to fuck off. The letter had read 'Dear Gorosei. Uzushiogakure is a neutral nation and is not part of your Government, we do not answer to you. In regards to your demand for my shinobi I have two words for you, fuck off. Following that get fucked.' Followed by the drawing a blonde man with two fists up flipping them the bird, with a shit eating grin. Around the man were a number of fishcakes.

The letter had not been received well by the Gorosei and they were demanding a fleet with all Admiral's to head to Uzu no Kuni to take the Uzukage and his people prisoner. They were even calling for a buster call to be made to obliterate the island. Not long after that Sengoku received a letter from Otsutsuki, Hagoromo, saying that if they even thought of laying a hand on Uzushiogakure, he would wipe out the Tenryuubito from Mariejois. At first, the Gorosei thought the letter was a fake a hand made of pure energy erupted from it. The hand had destroyed one of the walls to the room before pointing towards the port, beams of blue energy shot out of the hand, destroying every single ship docked, leaving them in ruins. This was the reason why the Marine Headquarters was in such a state. The letter and appearance of the man had scared the Gorosei silly that they were demanding extra protection for the Heavenly Dragons.

"Eyewitness accounts say, that a young boy no older than fourteen was first spotted, wearing what can be identified as Uzushio Military Uniform and a red battle robe. Not long after a boy of similar age in Uzu Military Attire and blue hair appeared. The two intercepted Diamante, one of Doflamingo's Elite Officer's. Witnesses recount that the second boy made off with Scarlet, the Eldest Daughter of King Riku. The first boy proceeded to fight Diamante, in what appeared to be a completely one-sided battle. The boy has been identified as a Logia user in possession of the Kaze Kaze no Mi (Wind Wind Fruit) that was last seen over nine years ago when the previous owner died." Sakazuki's mechanical eye moved ever so slightly at the mention of the previous Kaze Kaze no Mi user.

"The boy appears somewhat skilled in the use of his Devil Fruit powers, using them to push Diamante back into a corner while showing off his mastery with a weapon. From reports, the teenager's favoured weapon is a giant hammer axe shaped tool, hammer on one side axe on the other which he wields with ease. Combining wind and weapon was enough to push Diamante to the point of nearly ending his life. Only to be attacked by Monet another member of the Donquixote Pirates. The two clashed in a heated battle. Not only can the boy use the powers of the Kaze Kaze no Mi, but it appears he may or may not possess a second Devil Fruit power, one that allows him to create fire. From Issho's report, we believe this to be an ability granted through the use of 'chakra' that the Shinobi of Uzushiogakure can use. While we don't know exactly what it is, the Uzukage has only stated, chakra can perform miraculous feets." Recounted Sengoku, they had been numerous communications with the Uzukage who had been kind enough to deliver brief explanations, however only releasing just enough information to fill in a few blanks, it still left them with many questions.

"The boy and Monet clashed in a head-on battle. Neither able to one-up the other as Monet's snow was only melted by the boy's flame's or pushed back by his wind. One of the most surprising scenes was that the boy was able to create a hurricane altering the weather itself and temporarily overpower the woman. After that, the eyewitness accounts drop and we don't know what happened, only that the streets were set ablaze with a fire so strong it was seen from the sea. Diamante wasn't seen afterwards. The Uzukage reports that the operative claimed to have killed Diamante, the only remains we found was a broken sabre. Monet's wellbeing is unknown and considered deceased" The sabre couldn't even be called that anymore as it had been melted into a pile of scrap.

"The Uzukage refused to release the boy's name. Because of this, it has been decided to label him as the Kazegafuku (Searing Wind), with the defeat of Diamante and Monet, a One Hundred Million Belly bounty has been placed on the boy's head." Pulling out a wanted poster, Sengoku unrolled it showing the picture of a fourteen-year-old boy, giving a cheeky smile, resting by his shoulder was a giant hammer axe-like weapon, beneath the picture was an amount of One Hundred Million. The picture had been provided by Uzushiogakure. Of course, they could only make out the lower half of the boy's face, as the upper half was covered a shadow. After the reveal the poster was rolled back up, "They will be distributed to every bounty office tomorrow morning."

"This boy isn't the only one to make it onto the wanted poster's, he is simply one of seven bounties. The next belongs to a boy no older than ten years old who had the ability to fight one on one with Machvise, killing the man with apparent ease. The accounts of the soldiers who experienced the battle said the boy, could coat himself in earth creating a hulking earth based armour and manifest a stone hammer. Before seemingly encasing all the soldiers in some kind of mud racoons. While trapped the soldiers found the mud was transparent on the inside allowing them to continue to view the fight. The boy was then seen manipulating fire to coat the armour, to burn Machvise before breathing a ball of fire. Like Admiral Akainu's Magu Magu No Mi, the boy was able to coat in lava and use it to create two doppelgangers. The boy has the ability to manipulate earth, fire and lava while using a Warhammer as his primary weapon in battle. Again the boy's name has not been released. No alias has been created for him, but a Fifty Million Belly bounty has been placed on his head." Sengoku showed a second wanted poster, that had Vladimir's full appearance on it, the red-haired youth was giving a peace sign while sticking his tongue out. The two pictures showed Uzu didn't care about the bounties at all like it was child's play to them.

Putting the poster down, Sengoku pulled out a third. On it was a masked woman with black hair tied in a bun. From what they could make out the woman was dressed in some kind of military attire, black from head to toe. The mask she had was black with a white web-like pattern.

"Next belongs to a woman of unknown age, dressed in a military uniform and mask, belonging to a black ops team connected to Uzushiogakure's Shinobi Forces, called the Anbu. The woman goes under the codename Kuroikafu (Black Widow). The guards who witnessed her battle with Doflamingo have reported the woman has mastery with bladed and projectile weapons. Using a masterful craft to somehow throw multiple projectile weapons from shuriken to bombs. The woman has an unknown ability to manipulate the elements of wind and water, using them in tandem. The wind summoned can be sharp enough that it could cut through string created by Doflamingo. Not only has she shown the ability to wield the elements, but for a brief moment even duplicated herself creating three doppelgangers. But the deadliest ability this woman possesses, is perhaps her use of poisons, concocting a poison so powerful Doflamingo Donquixote lies on his deathbed. Doflamingo's condition has been stabilized but continues to flare up, there is only an estimated ten percent chance of survival. A Four Hundred Million Belly Bounty has been placed on her head."

The poison used by the woman was incredibly vicious. The Shichibukai's internal organs had been liquefied, it was only thanks to current medical advancements at the hands of Dr Vegapunk the man was able to live if you could call it living. Every movement caused bones to break and dissolve into dust, blood would boil away as pain coursed through every fibre of the pirate's body. Doflamingo was more machine than man. It was only thanks to the man having a powerful will that he was able to survive, for now, that was. Currently, he was being housed in a medical bay twelve at Marineford, allowing the World Government to keep an eye on his condition. Doflamingo was being watched twenty-four seven.

What Sengoku didn't tell them, however, was the fact Doflamingo no longer appeared to be in possession of the Ito Ito no Mi, the Devil Fruit user had appeared to have lost his powers and was now a mortal man. Sengoku had no idea how he had lost the ability, normally one had to die. Dr Vegapunk theorised that Doflamingo lost it during the trip, as while being escorted to the Marineford medical bay, Doflamingo passed away, but only for a few moments before being revived. Doflamingo had legally been declared dead for one minute, before coming back. Perhaps it was in this short moment that the powers left, thinking their owner deceased.

Little did they know, the power's had actually been stolen, mainly due to the fact Doflamingo wasn't conscious enough to say anything and Dr Vegapunk hadn't used the mind probe yet, thanks to an accident in the man's lab. An explosion had gone off destroying years of research, they were still looking into it to see if it was an accident or sabotage. What was odd that for some reason Dr Vegapunk had no memories about creating the mind probe, even worse every time the man had an idea or was given the idea to make a mind probe, within minutes it had been forgotten. It was truly baffling to the marines. Any prototype drawings seemed to be destroyed overnight.

As for Pica the man with the high pitched voice, he had arrived after Suzuka extracted the fruit, and the guards, they had fainted from blood loss near the end. During the theft of Diamante's fruit, no one had been around except Monet who had been taken back to Uzushiogakure.

"The woman's abilities and that of the two boy's show a frightening resemblance to those used by Otsutsuki Hagoromo." The name made everyone shiver, while Sakazuki and Borsalino visible flinched from hearing it. The name had shaken them to their very cores. From eyewitness accounts and the memories supplied from Sakazuki and Borsalino thanks to Dr Vegapunk the World Government suspected that Uzushiogakure and the Strongest Man Alive were in some way connected.

"In fact, a lot of the powers displayed by the Shinobi of Uzushiogakure show a remarkable resemblance to the abilities used by Otsutsuki, Hagoromo. We enquired with the Uzukage who responded that Hagoromo had been the Kage's senior apprentice under their master teachings, before killing their master and stealing the remains of his secrets, what these secrets are the Uzukage does not know. The Uzukage seemed fit to leave the name of his master anonymous. It can be assumed that as fellow students the Uzukage has powers equal to or close to Otsutsuki Hagoromo and has passed these to the Shinobi of Uzushiogakure no Sato. From the collected reports we can create a summary of the abilities used by these Shinobi of Uzu no Kuni. Dr, Vegapunk as theorised that this aforementioned chakra is some kind of energy source that Uzu no Kuni has weaponised and can use freely. This 'chakra' as it's called we believe allows them to manipulate the elements themselves fire, wind, earth, water and lightning. Hagoromo himself as displayed control over sand, life and lava, the last shared by the unknown ten-year-old child."

"Because of this, I am warning all marine's, not to underestimate the Shinobi of Uzu no Kuni and Uzushiogakure no Sato." Warned Sengoku, they just couldn't run the risk of offending these people. Even though the village had only recently come into existence, the power its people held was mind-boggling. In four years it had truly blossomed into a force that they couldn't take likely. If this was its strength after four years, how strong would Uzu be in the coming years? Especially when one of its operatives could push Doflamingo to the point of death.

The marine's whispered amongst themselves. The very idea that not just one person could possess these vast arrays of abilities was truly frightening, and if all the Shinobi of Uzushiogakure possessed similar abilities just how strong would the country be? Just looking at Otsutsuki Hagoromo and his terrifying level of strength caused fear to rise at the very idea of Uzushiogakure's potential power.

"If I may be so bold, you said seven bounties. You have only said three. What of the four?" questioned Vice Admiral Tsuru, "From the urgency of which you called this meeting, and this conversation I can only assume they have to do with Uzu no Kuni?"

Sengoku gave a cough to the woman's question, preparing himself for what was to be said "You would be correct. Of the remaining two bounties, one comes from rumours that have been spreading along the Grandline. If it was just rumours, there would be no concern for alarm, but they have been confirmed to be true. Less than a year ago, Captain Egburt, 'Blacktooth', Thornton, died from wounds suffered in battle." There were one or two gasps around the room regarding the news of the pirate's death. The pirate known as Blacktooth was a well-known slave trader, who worked prolifically for the Tenryuubito, carrying a bounty of Four Hundred Million Belly on his head. The man had once been a candidate to become a Shichibukai before the spot was claimed by Doflamingo.

"Who killed him? Was it one of the Yonko? Or maybe one of the new rising stars?" Questioned Vice Admiral Momonga, the marine was back to full health, since his clash with Otsutsuki, Hagoromo.

"No. Apparently it was a fourteen-year-old boy." The answer to who killed the pirate, shocked every marine present. Blacktooth was someone who could fight on even grounds with Doflamingo, to be killed by a boy less than a third of his age, was impossible. If the boy could kill Egburt, did that mean he had the ability to kill Doflamingo?

"How can a mere child be strong enough to kill Blacktooth? Saying that means the boy could potentially even kill Doflamingo! Surely there is no way a child can be that strong!" roared Vice Admiral Orrin, the man prided himself on his physical strength but in a battle against Blacktooth, there was only one option, utter defeat. Orrin refused to believe a boy could kill Blacktooth. What Orrin didn't know was that Yamato had managed to catch Blacktooth off guard time and time again, as the pirate had constantly underestimated him. What they couldn't know was that it was Naruto who killed him; Estella simply assumed it had been Yamato.

"From what we've gathered from the Blacktooth pirate's, eyewitness account from first mate Estella, the boy only managed to achieve a win, by undergoing some kind of transformation. As for how strong this ability is, we don't know. Estella was knocked out before Blacktooth was finished off. We only know this because Otsutsuki Hagoromo showed himself. We don't know what he was doing there, only that Estella said it was because of him she had been made aware of Blacktooth's death. Hagoromo then left, leaving the woman to die. The crew of the Blacktooth pirate's arrived retrieving the woman's body. Word is not long after the rescue, Estella Beelzebob died, with just enough strength to recount what she had experienced." Explained Sengoku, they had only heard of this thanks to a spy planted in Blacktooth's crew, ordered to keep an eye over them. "Blacktooth and Estella's son, Egburt Junior has taken over as Captain."

Egburt Junior was just as dangerous as his father and one of very few second generation Devil Fruit users. The World Government had wanted to kidnap the boy and make him a part of the Operation Second Birth, but Blacktooth had made sure they never touched his child. Now the boy had grown up to be almost as strong as his father, they couldn't touch him not while Junior was surrounded by the pirates of Blacktooth crew. While Estella was dead, there were many other members of the Blacktooth pirate crew who were just as deadly. One of these was Aldrich the Barbarian who had a bounty of Three Hundred and Thirty Million Belly on his head. Another was The Unholy Bishop, Garroway Braxton, who had a Two Hundred and Fifty Million Belly bounty. Both men were incredibly dangerous in their own right. Together they could take on a single Admiral and fight to a standstill. Not to mention the Blacktooth Pirate's had four other members of similar stature with bounties over One Hundred Million Belly.

Many had often asked if they were so strong why were their bounties so low. The only reason their bounties hadn't been raised any higher was due to Blacktooth's status with the Tenryuubito. The World Government didn't want to annoy the man, because he could have easily turned the World Nobles against them, simply by cancelling all shipments to Mariejois. This also applied to Blacktooth's bounty of Four Hundred Million, the World Government had originally wanted to increase it up to Eight Hundred Million but hadn't been able to do so due to pressure placed on them by the World Nobles. But with his death, they could soon raise the bounties of his old crew members.

"The boy's name is Yamato, one of Uzumaki Naruto's prized students. The marine's who visited Uzushiogakure no Sato remember his appearance and it matches the description given to us by the spy in Blacktooth's crew. From what they saw the boy was in a wheelchair, showing he did not get off scot-free from the fight with Blacktooth. Yamato, no last name, has been given the moniker Bouken Honou no Ou, The Tyrant Flame King, a Master of Fire. The boy is to have a Two Hundred Million Belly Bounty placed upon his head!"

Personally, Sengoku thought the bounty was a little high, considering this Yamato was only a child, but then the World Government had placed an Eighty Million bounty on Nico Robin when she was only eight years old, and that was because she could read the Poneglyphs. In comparison, this Yamato appeared to be on a whole other level, in some way he could see why the Gorosei would issue such a shocking bounty. However they refused to raise it any higher than Two Hundred Million, refusing to increase it by even a single Belly, the old goats had been quite stubborn on this issue. The Gorosei feared the outcome it would have on the world if they were to raise it beyond. Even at that amount, there would be a cascading effect throughout the seas.

There were shocked whispers around the room at the size of the bounty. Issho could only frown at what he was hearing, "Naruto-san what will you do now? At this rate, your people will become the enemies of the World Government. What could possibly be your plan?" Issho couldn't foresee what would happen in the future, but he feared what it could mean for the marines.

"Two more posters belong to the other disciples of Uzumaki Naruto who fought toe to toe with Estella Beelzebob, named Shiina and Odin. Not else is known as the woman died before she could go into detail, only having enough strength to mention the boy Yamato. Not much is known about the two, for now, Fifty Million Belly has been placed on their heads. The final poster to be released is for the Uzukage of Uzushiogakure no Sato, Uzumaki Naruto!" Taking out the final poster, on it was a current photo of the Uzukage in his Kage attire, giving a serious expression. Beneath it was an amount that made everyone's eyes bulge.

"One Billion Belly! Are you insane!" No one really knew who yelled first, but they were all too distracted by the price. Sure they had already seen five individuals obtain or surpass the One Billion Belly limit, but they had all done deeds worthy of it. What could possibly be the reasoning for this Uzumaki Naruto to obtain such a bounty?

"The Gorosei have decided to stamp this number atop the Uzukage's head. If his Shinobi are this strong, how strong would he be, especially when he is the junior-apprentice to Otsutsuki Hagoromo? The Uzukage is a complete mystery, but in four year's he has created many miracles. Because of this, it was decided a bounty to be placed with a flee on sight order. An order has been issued, all Uzushio Shinobi operatives are to be placed with an automatic Ten Million Belly Bounty, with the exception of those with their own posters." This was a directive passed down from the top, not only did specific Shinobi have bounties, but any Shinobi from Uzushiogakure would have an automatic Ten Million Belly Bounty placed on their head. This went to show just how much the Gorosei saw Uzushiogakure as a threat.

The marines began to argue amongst themselves about this reveal. Many were stunned at what had been shown, but they would not question their orders. Some were already planning a way to claim the heads of these Shinobi, for Justice.

Sengoku could only groan, getting a headache, the world was crumbling around him. An entire train of Ciphor Pol members had been killed, Old Tom the shipwright was dead and Doflamingo was barely alive, what else could go wrong? As Sengoku thought this, hiding in the right corner of Sengoku's right eye was a human-shaped shadow that ducked away, disappearing from sight. No one noticing its movements.


Meanwhile across the sea in a large cave

A stone chair went flying through a massive cave. The chair struck a wall and shattered to bits. A mighty roar pierced through the cave as an overwhelming rage could be felt within. Tiny figures around what could only be called a giant, quivered in fear, "Curse that damn Uzukage!" roared the giant man. The man was none other than Kaido, once said to be Strongest Creature in the World. But with the arrival of Yokai Kurama, that title had been long been lost. The beast had once caused a similar uproar over the loss of his title and ordered one of his Elites, Jack to hunt down the fox and take its head. So far the had been no results to find the beast let alone kill it.

Kaido roared with fury, picking up a giant metallic Kanabou. The spiked club was swung sending a number of his own crew flying into the surrounding stone walls. "First it was that blasted Otsutsuki Hagoromo and that Kurama! Now there's this asshole!" Roared Kaido as he slammed the club down onto the ground and picked up a giant jug of sake. The beast placed the lid to his lips and began drinking it, downing the entire contents in one go.

"This puts my plan's back years. If Doflamingo dies how can I produce an army of Zoan users!" roared Kaido in anger, throwing the jug of empty sake across the cave, where it smashed against the walls. The King of Beast's anger shook the cave, causing debris to fall. If Kaido continued there was a chance of a cave in.

"Kaido-sama, perhaps we can ally with Blacktooth's son? He too shares a fascination for Devil Fruit Users. It's not as if we haven't already been working with the Blacktooth Pirates? It's thanks to them Doflamingo had test subjects to try and perfect the SMILES" A woman spoke up, appearing from among the crew. The woman was tall with pink, light blue eyes, wearing very little clothing, limited to two pieces of armour covering her breasts, a thong, a pair of gloves, golden earrings, and an open black cloak.

The suggestion seemed to calm Kaido, "Do it. Ginrummy contact Egburt Junior; see if he can take over for Doflamingo. The continued production of SMILES is a must! Kidnap Caeser from the Donquixote Pirates if you have to! No, do one better force them to submit to Blacktooth's son! Perform a hostile takeover! If they refuse, kill without mercy!" roared Kaido issuing the orders to his crew.

"And someone find out if Doflamingo is alive!" Roared Kaido again, kicking out viciously with a leg sending more of his own crew flying through the air, leaving them half dead. Grumbling under his breath the giant beast sat down and drowned his sorrows away with sake.


Bounty List - Uzushiogakure no Sato

Naruto as Otsutsuki Hagomoro: 5,000,000,000

Naruto as Uzukage: 1,000,000,000

Kurama: 2,000,000,000

Suzuka: Kuroikafu (Black Widow): 400,000,000

Yamato: Bouken Honou no Ou (The Tyrant Flame King): 200,000,000

Kuroka: 150,000,0000

Houjin: Kazegafuku (Scorching Wind): 100,000,000

Shirone: 80,000,000

Vladimir: 50,000,000

Shiina: 50,000,000

Odin: 50,000,000

Uzushio Shinobi: 10,000,0000