Piracy Of The Last Jinchuriki

by R8handman

Black Zetsu refused that his work all these centuries was for nothing and decided to destroy the shinobi world he influenced, and in doing so Naruto found himself in a Land eerily familiar to his home. Finding this Land is troubled and wanting a place to belong. Naruto decides to use the ruins of his past to help this country. His future is unknown in this pirates infested world.

9. Friends

Disclaimer: Like everybody else in fanfiction, I own nothing. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, and One Piece belongs to Eichiro Oda.

"Standard" - Normal Speaking

"Italics" - Thoughts

"Bold" Tailed Beasts Speaking and Techniques/Moves

-Bold- - Places and timeline -

---

Flower Capital: Shogun Castle

Hurried foots echoed throughout the castle as darting eyes looked at the unconscious servants and guard, unaware they had been sent to blissful sleep. A clap of his hands ordering the summons for any of the shinobi in their employment.

Nothing happened.

"Why is every one asleep!?" thought Kurozumi Semimaru as his mind tried to figure out what happened. He didn't take a break for two weeks to return to this mess.

Semimaru had taken two weeks off to rest in Kibi due to his old age. Only to return with palace gates locked and being unanswerable to the people complaining about the thief who robbed them last night. Semimaru had access to the spare key that unlocked the rear entrance doors; the elderly man entered the castle, rushing to meet Orochi.

Only stopping at the sight of snoring samurai guards, grating his nerves even further. Then, entering the Shogun chambers, his worst fears were gone at the sight of the unconscious complete Zoan transformation of Orochi, but there were. The large eight heads thankfully still attached their long necks. But Orochi had passed out and slumped to the floor with a nasty smell.

"What the hell is going on today?" Semimaru flushed angrily before coughing into his fist and calling, "Orochi… wake up!"

The eyes of the monstrous form of Orochi snapped open in fear and yelled immediately, "BARRIERS NOW!"

Semimaru just recoiled from Orochi's outburst and sighed as Orochi shifted back to his human form, hugging himself and shivering like he had seen a ghost.

"Orochi… I take a two-week break to Kibi, and this is what I return to!?" snapped the elderly clan member at his younger but more powerful Kurozumi.

Pulling the tufts of his hair in indignation, Orochi whispered in fear as his eyes darted around, "He was here again!"

"Who?" frowned Semimaru with a raised eyebrow.

"Kozuki Oden!" whimpered the Shogun as he huddled on the floor, "He was here last night and the night before that!"

"That's impossible," Semimaru muttered as he shook his head in denial, "He is dead. We made sure of it."

"He came back as a ghost!" cried Orochi with a maddening look on his face, "All because of that masked man's help!"

"What?!" Now concern was etched on Semimaru face.

"They began to visit me every couple of days at midnight since you left for Kibi." The Shogun complained as tears and snot poured down his face as he bit his fingers with deep anxiety.

Semimaru was unhappy at the state of the Orochi. He grasped Orochi's shoulder and began to shake him out of his panicking thoughts, telling him, "Orochi, take a deep breath and calm down…."

Orochi took a deep breath and sighed but still felt the jitters in his body.

"Maybe the stress of being the shogun could make you be seeing things." Semimaru affirmed with a knowledgeable nod, "You just need a holiday."

"I am not crazy!" Orochi snapped in anger as the fear ebbed away from his body.

"I didn't say you are," Semimaru said as thoughts began to conspire in his mind, "Now, what were you saying about the masked man."

---

Flower Capital: Kyoshiro Mansion.

The clone at Okagakure pulled an all-nighter again, forcing a build-up of mental stress and fatigue due to the excess clones running around and helping the villages build their infrastructure until they popped to send back their memories and fatigue.

However, even with his impossible large reserves, he was still a human. So to mitigate the effects of the shadow clone Naruto meditated instead of sleeping through the ordeal.

That is what he was doing right now, sitting cross-legged in his room at Kyoshiro mansion, his eyes closed and not moving an inch. His two swords were lying on the side, while the room had a futon and a low table with

"Oh, what's going on here?" Komurasaki's voice echoed throughout the room.

Opening an eye, Naruto saw Komurasaki poking her head through the doorway and looking at him with an expression that Naruto could not identify. Then, standing up and stretching his shoulders, Naruto picked up his blades before seeing Komurasiki looking around his empty residential room.

"Oh, that's right, you've never been to my room here."

"Yes," Komurasaki nodded before giving him a grin, "I never expected it to be simple. It's so unlike you."

Naruto lets out a chuckle of laughter, "Then you should see the room at my home… It's nothing simple, Komurasaki."

Komurasaki nodded, "Again, which region did you come from?"

"Kon-" Naruto bit his tongue to avoid the slip-up of his birthplace, "I came from a village in Kuri."

"Kuri…" Komurasaki said fondly before a glazed look came across her face, "That place brings me memories. It was where I was raised before everything that happened…."

"So, where is Kyoshiro?" Naruto asked her.

"He is sleeping," Komurasaki told him before explaining, "He had a busy night."

"I see. Where do you want to go?" Naruto asked her with an eye smile, "Do you have a customer or-"

"Before we go." Komurasaki gave him a worried look. "How is your palm? Is it still burnt?"

Naruto then raised his hand to show her his fully healed hand, with no signs of burns and scars.

"Wow, that's fast!" whispered Komurasaki in surprise.

"I heal faster than most people, remember?" Naruto reminded her before a clone popped and sent its memories to the original.

"All is good," thought a glad Naruto as he found the memories satisfiable, "The school is doing well."

---

Sitting in the back of the classroom and watching children whispering, glancing, and fidgeting at the sight of Ace and his crewmates, Naruto couldn't help but send a warm smile to them. Only for them to look at him with their awed eyes and faces. The village leader attending this classroom seems distracting, even if it was a clone. Naruto was sitting cross-legged with a sincere expression as he watched the teacher teach the students a bit of arithmancy.

This was the first time Naruto had entered school grounds since establishing it and assigning the headmistress. Tsurujuro supervised everything on his behalf. Today the students were feeling the high expectations from their teachers, so they were seemingly pushing themselves to be better than they were before.

The classroom was seemingly full of ten and eleven-year-old students struggling with the current topics. All except Tama, who is six years old and hurriedly writing notes down on her parchment and scrolls.

Mihar turned to look at his crew members, most of them looking bored except for Deuce, who wrote down his experiences in the journal and asked a couple of teachers in this education facility. While Ace surprisingly seemed to be interested in the class and had a severe expression on his face.

"So, this is a school?" Ace thought with interest, "It looks and feels different than I have heard about it from Sabo."

Mihar turned around and whispered in a surprised voice, "Captain, you never ever had any-"

"Education?" Ace said, finishing the sentence before letting out a snort and muttering, "I never had formal education… I was raised and fostered by bandits and a crazy strong gramps that nearly killed me numerous times through hellish training once every few months… The only proper education was from a kind bar owner called Makino. She taught me simple things like manners and how to read and write. Math was my favorite subject."

"Cause of counting right?" Mihar guessed.

"I tell you, there's just something about counting how much food you eat and berries you have." Suddenly Ace's eyes caught the sight of Tama's concentrating expression as she attempted to solve a math problem on the board involving arithmetic without using the abacus. As these questions were meant to improve children's mental calculations.

Ace knew the answer, but any child of Tama's age would struggle with these types of questions without any assistance. Suddenly the girl had a wide grin on her face as something clicked within her mind and surprisingly wrote down the correct answer.

The teacher just smiled with an affirmative nod at Tama's correct answer and told her with an impressed voice, "Excellent as usual, Tama."

Tama just nodded with a happy smile on his face before returning to her desk. Soon the teacher explained how Tama solved the arithmetic equation, much to her classmate's confusion.

"Hey, Mihar?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow, "Is a kid supposed to be that smart?"

"Not really," Mihar says as he shakes his head with an impressed look at Tama, "In my ten years of teaching experience. I don't remember a child able to solve this equation without assistance from a teacher."

"She is a prodigy," Naruto spoke up.

"What?!" Mihar mutters in surprise.

"O-Tama is a prodigy," He repeated with a proud smile, "That girl was so good in her classes that the teachers suggested she should be placed here."

"O-Tama, is that smart?" Deuce asked with a surprised look on his face. "I see… so what profession does she want to enter."

"Oh, she has a dream that-"

Naruto was interrupted by the teacher, who clapped her hands to grab her student's attention, "Children, as you may have noticed, we have guests today. Some of them you don't recognize, but there is one you must recognize here."

"It's the village founder! / It's Narutomaki-sama!" chorused the students in excitement as they whirled their heads in the direction of Narutomaki.

Naruto just smiles and gives a little wave to the children before winking at Tama, who just blushes with a happy smile.

"Narutomaki-sama, do you have anything you want to say to the students?" the teacher asks with a grateful tone, "Your wisdom would be invaluable to the students."

A surprised look crossed Naruto's face before tiny body tremors trembled through Naruto's body, drawing some concern from the classroom residents.

"Pfff-," only for Naruto to throw his head backward and begin laughing with a face full of amusement, "-HAHAHAHA!"

Everyone sat in stunned silence as they watched Naruto holding his sides from laughter while wiping a stray tear from the corner of his eye before regaining his composure.

"Why did you laugh?" Ace asked in confusion, "What did you find so funny?"

Naruto extends a hand before gesturing to the students, "Because they are doing much better than I was at their age! All of them!"

Stunned silence filled the classroom as Naruto's mind seemed immersed in his past, "I was the worst student in the academy, and it wasn't just about my grades. Teachers found me a nuisance because I was always up to mayhem and didn't care about my education."

"I don't believe…" a student who looked taken back by what their great founder just said, "A great leader like you must've been perfect from the start."

"It may be unbelievable, but I am still a child at heart sometimes." Naruto chuckled fondly, "At that time, I was just a wild child that was hated by nearly everyone. So, don't look surprised we all had our phases… Even the great Kozuki Oden did."

"He is right," Tama said with a nod, "I heard a lot of tales about Oden-sama's young days."

"All right, O-Tama, can you explain to your dear brother and the classroom what you know of the man called Kozuki Oden?" Naruto asked in encouragement.

All students blinked as they looked back and forth between Tama and Naruto before reeling back in surprise.

"BROTHER!" Screeched half of the classroom in shock while the others just stared at Tama and Naruto's faces for any signs of resemblance, "TAMA, YOU ARE RELATED TO HIM!"

"Why didn't you tell us?" a girl asked with a stunned expression, "I mean, we are friends, O-Tama chan."

Tama just shrugged and muttered, "I didn't see it as a big deal," before racking her mind about the tales she heard about Oden in the mansion.

"It is a big deal!" a student said, receiving a lot of agreed nods.

"Now…. Now…. I know this is a surprise to you. Still, we teachers and schools have known about O-Tama's familial relationship with Narutomaki-sama." Their teacher told them.

All students just looked at Narutomaki, laughing at their shocked expressions, "Well, since the cat is out of the bag." Narutomaki said with an eye smile, "I asked the teachers to not tell any student about O-Tamas ties with me so she can be herself. I am surprised it lasted this long."

The teacher clapped her hands for attention before inclining her head toward Tama, "As you were saying, O-Tama?"

"Kozuki Oden was a wild child." Stated Tama as she recalled the conservations she had with Ashura, "When he was four years old, he killed a bear by throwing a boulder. Then, at age ten, he started a gang war against the Yakuza after being backlisted from their gambling halls. He was arrested after that, and it started his wilder teenage years."

"Man, this guy sounded awesome," Ace thought with an impressed face, "I only robbed from thieves for the money to buy a pirate ship when I was a kid."

"So, you see what I mean?" Narutomaki said with a smile as he walked up towards Tama and ruffled her hair, "A person deemed a rascal, and a troublesome guy can become something amazing, anyone can. Look at Kozuki Oden rebuilding Kuri when it was a lawless land. Look at him in the legendary hour, carrying nine retainers above his head and shoulders. While at the same time, being boiled alive."

Naruto then asks, "Speaking of dreams, does anyone want to share what is their dream?"

A boy is taken aback by the question before blurting out, "My dream… my dream is to take after my father's business stall."

Noticing the boy's disappointment and discomfort, Naruto frowns as he asks the kid, "Why are you looking so down?"

The boy just lowers his gaze from Naruto's steadfast eyes and mutters, "My older brother is set to inherit it."

Naruto just gives an encouraging smile, "So what? Your dream isn't over yet!"

"What do you mean?"

"Just prove to your father that you are the better person to run that business… maybe your passion will make your father change his choice."

The boy slowly nods before mumbling, "But I haven't told my father about my dream."

"Then tell your parents about it," Naruto tells him before the girl next to him takes her turn.

"I want to climb Mount Fuji!" the girl said with a strong voice,

"I want someone to kill Orochi!" said another girl.

"My dream is to marry a girl I like!" said a boy.

"I wish someone to make the scary dragon go away!" mutters a boy.

"I want to be the Yokozuna one day!"

"I want to become a kunoichi or doctor!" Tama said with a resolved look on her face.

"Well, I want to leave a mark on this world to prove that I existed," said Ace joining in the conversation.

Suddenly all in the classroom burst into chatter as they discussed each other dreams until a knock on the door prompted their attention.

"This is an interesting conversation, Narutomaki-sama," Tsurujuro said with a smile before asking him, "Mind if I join in."

"Of course," Naruto said with a nod, "This is your school, after all, headmistress."

"My dream is to reunite with my husband Kin'emon again and see him fulfill his dream and Oden-sama's dream," Tsurujuro said with a smile.

"What was Kozuki Oden's dream?" asked a girl.

"The dream was to open the Land of Wano's borders and connect with the outside world. The Land of Wano has been isolated for centuries to protect itself from outsiders." Tsurujuro explained with a serious look on her face, "But something had changed Oden-sama's mind about it. Therefore, opening the borders became Oden-sama's dream."

A girl raised her hand, which made Naruto ask her, "Yes, what is it?"

"Narutomaki-sama do you have a dream?" asked the girl with a smile, "I really want to know! A person like you doing everything for us must have huge aspirations!"

Naruto felt his insides die as he mentally whispered to himself, "Kids don't hold their punches… I still want to be the Hokage of Konoha! I want to! I want to!"

Naruto then walks up to the kid and crouches. "Hey, maybe you should focus on your dre-"

"Do you have any advice for us or not!" a kid interrupted with a huff in the back of the class, "History is boring! Talking about dreams is boring! It's not like they will all become real like magic."

"Manners, you brat!" Naruto snapped back at the kid.

Naruto then stood up, walked to the front of the classroom, and looked at the classroom before remembering when the third Hokage visited the academy to teach a poem to young budding academy students.

Closing his eyes, Naruto could perfectly recall that day. He chuckled, remembering how immature he was in his academy years before his eyes turned sharp.

"I don't expect you to memorize this or learn the meaning of this poem at your age…." Naruto explained, "But when you grow up one day, I want you to recall these words that were once said to me by another. Do you understand?"

All kids just silently nodded.

"This poem is about a way of thinking that will be useful to you in the future, and it also concerns the will of fire."

Confusion etched on every face in the classroom from Naruto phrase.

"The hell is this will of fire?!" Ace asked, confused, "Are you talking about my will because I am the fire."

"No," Naruto said drily before reciting the poem, "When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew."

Deuce just mutters, "That is a beautiful poem…."

Tama sat there stunned in silence as she tried to figure out the poem.

"Well, I have to go," Naruto told everyone, "I know there is already a pile of paperwork in my office waiting to be finished."

---

-4 hours later- Forges

It was nighttime, and the roar of flames in the furnace was already making the coals glow red hot. Naruto then propped the slab of prepared steel into the furnace. Hitetsu was an insane sword maker. He could fashion a high-quality blade in 4 hours. If any other sword makers attempted to produce a blade with a similar quality, it took them at least three days. That's how accomplished Hitetsu was.

In the past few weeks, Naruto's skills in crafting a katana went from an amateur level to an acceptable level. Thanks to the guidance and instructions of Hitetsu. The clones helped a lot with the training, and lessons significantly contributed to the rapid growth and jump of his smithing abilities.

Naruto looked and felt the furnace temperature as he felt for the correct sensation of the hot flames from the method, he learned from Hitetsu by seeing and assisting with the process numerous times in the past month.

He then grabbed the hammer and brought it down with a clang on the heated tempered steel. Naruto then brought the hammer down again with a more precise strike as he started to fashion the blade remembering the grueling training and work that he was placed in for the past three weeks.

He learned lessons from Hitetsu as they worked the forge at night during his free time. The first lesson was assembling a blade from the prepared parts of Hitetsu, the katana pieces including the hilt, collar, pommel, hand guard, and the blade and the scabbard. They repeated the process numerous times until Naruto lost count.

As for crafting the blade, it is an entirely different story. First, you must choose the iron ore you will use to craft the blade. Then, when crafting it, you should focus on three main factors: The shape, the surface of the steel, and the pattern on the hardened cutting age. The next thing Naruto learned was how to pay attention to the degree of tapering from the blade base to its tip, curvature, length, thickness, weight, and balance when crafting a perfect blade.

Usually, the preparations required for making a katana-like blade is melting river sand with high concentrations of iron and charcoal to acquire the purest steel needed for the forging before hammering out the impurities out of the iron. It is a very ancient procedure that lasts about three days in total, and it's a significant tradition in Wano-"

"Forget that method, Narutomaki. I taught you that part so you could learn from the tradition of the country of Wano's superior craftsmanship compared to the world," Hitestu snapped at him with an annoyed look before explaining.

"Don't use normal iron sand from the river mixed with charcoal-like it's not the only source of iron in Wano. There is Drunken Iron Ore that is very abundant in this country. Heat the ore when mixed with charcoal and cremated animal bones and hammer it until the flames turn deep purple as it removes the impurities within the charcoal, bones, and the ore. You know the rest.

Naruto remembers his first sword, and his eyes had gained a hardened look as he checked the blades for any deformities before smiling as he saw the impeccability of this iron ore, "Perfect… It's not like the others! So, this is the difference between the normal iron and Drunken Iron Ore?"

"Amazing!" Naruto whispered with a smile as he reheated the steel slab into the furnace, remembering the sword forging lessons he had with Hitetsu.

---

-THREE WEEKS AGO-

"That's a good blade you made there… Do I get it?" asked Hitetsu with a strained grin as he nodded while inspecting the katana Naruto had made.

"Umm, yes!" Naruto replied, already proud of his first sword being inspected and praised.

"Really?!" pressed Hitetsu with a strained smile.

"Of course, I made it myself…." Naruto mumbles before gaining a nervous look on his face.

"…." stared Hitetsu with an unimpressed look on his face.

"You're being sarcastic," Naruto muttered as he realized what happened.

"Hm," snorted Hitetsu, taking the blade and started reheating it in the forge.

"He was being sarcastic." Naruto groaned as he buried his face deep into his bandaged palms asking, "Am I that bad?"

"No, you were a bit arrogant thinking you could make an excellent sword on your first try," Hitetsu replied, lecturing him, "Crafting and smithing swords takes time to master. Novices aren't meant to be good on their first try, Narutomaki."

"Sor-"

"Don't apologize," Hitetsu muttered with an impressed look, "For all I care, this blade is a good first attempt. In fact, it could be better than the first sword I made in training."

"Really!?" Naruto asked, already his interest piqued by the old man bringing his unknown past.

"Don't get too excited about that," Hitetsu warned. "I was eight years old at that time, and my memory isn't sharp as it was and is a start of a hobby of mine. So that sword could still be much better!"

Naruto's shoulders slumped down as his body sagged down from the disappointment and shame of the possibility of being outdone by a former eight-year-old kid that was currently an old man.

"You got the skills and knowledge. Now you all need is the experience," Hitetsu reminded him with an encouraging tone.

"Experience? I know how to deal with that," Naruto muttered as he formed a hand sign and whispered, "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

Numerous Naruto popped into existence and immediately grabbed the smithing tools that were duplicated on them and started to scurry around the forges.

"Until you can make a sword that I deem is up to good standards. Then, only use the normal iron sand ore from the river," Hitetsu said as he shook his head, "Do not use the Drunken Iron Ore supply in the corner."

"What's that?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It is one of the main reasons the factories are here in the Land of Wano," Hitetsu explained with a grim look on his face, "It's an ore able to create unparalleled weapons at the hands of skilled metallurgist and blacksmith. The land of Wano is abundant with this rare ore, and its people are the best in using it."

"Now you go start with making swords until your experience is good enough to handle Drunken Iron Ore," Hitetsu muttered before handing Naruto a small wooden doll that doesn't have any hands or feet. "Clean and maintain my kokeshi doll collection. It helps a lot with the applying and shaping the sword on the flames."

"I don't believe that!" deadpanned Naruto before he dodged an incoming hammer from an irritated Hitetsu.

---

-Present-

From Dusk to Dawn, he worked on the blade tempering Drunken Iron Ore unto the shape of a curved katana. Once he finished with the blades shape and temper, he immediately began sharpening and grinding the edge against a granite rock block with unrestrained focus. Naruto then looks at the katana he had worked on since the morning, inspecting for any flaws within the blade before deciding to test it. Finally, he swung the sword, quickly cutting through the hard granite stone used to sharpen the sword.

Immediately Naruto checked the blade for any scratches or nicks on the blade's steel before gaining a massive grin as he saw the blade was in perfect condition.

"Good. Very Good." Nodded Hitetsu in approval with a smile, "That's what I call a sword that has the quality of Wano craftsmanship."

Hitetsu then began to check the sword for himself. It is a moderately curved katana with a white edge and a distinct dark that appears like a stream of sakura petals. Its handguard is shaped in the form of a silver petal; the hilt is wrapped in the color magenta, and the hilt has a silver cap on its end. Continuing the design of the hilt, the sword scabbard is the color magenta with its end cap also made from silver.

Suddenly Hitetsu's eyes widened as he ran his hand across the sword, feeling it out, "Unbelievable…. This is a magnificent sword," Hitetsu muttered with a rugged look before swinging it across the still-hot furnace, easily cleaving it into two with a hiss. Immediately.

"It's quality, resilience, sharpness. I am amazed in three weeks-"

"Technically, it's been three years of experience crammed into three weeks," Naruto muttered humbly with a tired yawn, "Shadow Clone Justu. It's awesome if you are willing to nearly work yourself to death."

"There is no mistake. You just crafted a Meito blade ranked as a Grade Sword, on the same level as Sandai Kitetsu I made years ago." Hitetsu summarized as he placed the sword down.

"The sword you sent overseas," Naruto realized with a surprised look.

"Yeah… Narutomaki, I am really impressed here. Really, I am." Affirmed Hitetsu with a marveling look at the blade, "But there is a final lesson I want to teach you.

"About what?" asked Naruto.

"On how to craft a cursed blade," said Hitetsu, his voice graver than Naruto had heard.

"Cursed Blades!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the swords strapped by his sides before asking, "Like all of the swords in the Kitetsu school!"

"Yeah, but before we cover the topic, we need you to name the katana you just made," Hitestu told him before his eyes glanced at the fine blade in his hands.

A name?" Naruto questions before explaining, "I didn't name my previous forty swords I made.

"This is a Meito quality sword! A Grade Rank in quality! It must have a name before it's added to the Meito Encyclopedia," Hitetsu insisted with great pride at his student and only successor.

"Fine! Fine! Geez, your badgering reminds me of-" muttered Naruto with a sigh before a memory of a pink-haired girl reeled in his mind making him stop in his tracks as he thought deeply.

There was a well-known philosophy in the land of iron that the Samurai lived with… Every sword had a personality of its own and grew with its user. Naruto could attest that the Uzu-Uchiwa had a habit of being determined, unforgiving, and cold-hearted toward enemies; however, it was still fiercely protective towards him and hesitant to cut when Naruto was lashing out in anger and fury. The sword was lenient on spilling some blood, but it didn't like massacres.

As for the Nidai Kitetsu… It craved blood and was a troublesome sword that liked to carve up people, including himself. Honestly, the only thing Naruto liked about the Nidai Kitetsu was its extreme sharpness. Everything else about the blade is tamed down by Naruto's insistence. Also, the sword becomes kind of jealous if Naruto uses Uzu-Uchiwa.

Naruto's eyes run over the magenta scabbard and hilt, looking at the sword just crafted. Its sword guard was shaped into a petal, a Sakura petal. Closing his eyes, he somehow knew the sword's personality mirrored someone he knew very well. A former teammate of his… The sword has a slight temper, but it's loyal and insecure… The sword gave him a vibe that was very similar to a young Sakura at the formation of Team 7.

"Sakura… Sakura Ringu!" Naruto mutters with an unreadable expression on his face, "The sword's name is Sakura Ringu ."

"I see. The blade pattern looks like petals, especially Sakura petals! And the hand guard is also shaped like a petal too! Did you know cherry blossoms have historically been associated with the samurai?" Hitetsu asked before nodding with approval and saying, "Wait here, I want to show you something."

After a while, the old man returns with a paper, "Fill out this form… It's a recommendation to the International Meito Encyclopedia." Hitetsu said with a proud smile.

"What for?" asked Naruto.

"For your blades, Narutomaki." Explained Hitetsu with a proud smile, "I want to add them to the Meito ranking."

"Your crafted Grade sword, Sakura Ringu, should be added as a Grade sword to the international Encyclopedia of Meito swords. My recommendation is still accepted." Hitetsu mumbles.

"How are you going to send the parchment outside of Wano?" Naruto quizzed Hitetsu with a bewildered look," Every port is guarded and scanned from items and people that belong to the lower hierarchy in Wano."

"With this!" Hitetsu says as he brings out an old but strong-looking hawk with a piece of paper attached to its neck collar. The paper was seemingly fluttering off in a particular direction.

"That's a Vivre card to the man's son who knows and updates of the sword encyclopedia- "

"How on earth do you possess this information!?" Naruto asked, looking thunderstruck, "You, a very talented and famous sword-smith and collector of kokeshi dolls in an isolated country, suspiciously have a connection outside."

"Uhh…" Hitetsu trialed before asking Naruto urgently, "Forget about the last part. Can you do that for me?"

"Not unless you tell me how?" Naruto requests before an idea struck him, "You have a secret that no one knows!"

"Uhh…" an extremely uncomfortable look crossed Hitetsu's face.

"You worked as an official before Orochi took over," guessed Naruto

"Before Orochi took over, I had connections that allowed me to talk to a certain man like me." Nods Hitetsu before sighing, "Shimotsuki Kozaburo was a swordsmith in Wano like me. The art of smithing a sword is a hobby for me, but it was his greatest passion for him." Hitetsu says as he indulges a bit of his past.

"Both of us had a rivalry that produced our greatest work. Kozaburo's greatest masterpiece was a blade he forged and named Enma. While Ame no Habakiri was my masterpiece. Both swords became Meitos, ranked among the twenty-one Great Grade Swords, and both blades were wielded only by Kozuki Oden throughout his life!"

Naruto just nodded as he listened to the old man.

"55 years ago, Shimotsuki Kozaburo left the country illegally and settled far away. So Kozaburo became my outside contact that knew the sword encyclopedia writers." Hitetsu explained before sighing, "But ever since Orochi took over, I haven't contacted him."

"What will the parchment explain?" Naruto asked,

"We will send both forms for Sakura Ringu and Yondai Kitetsu, their length, description, and what Meito Rank I will assign them to Kozaburo, who will pass it to Sword Encyclopedia writers."

"Yondai Kitetsu?!" Naruto exclaimed with a surprised look, "A fourth one?! So you are continuing the series?"

"Not exactly. The person who will finish the Kitetsu sword series will be you," Hitetsu explained with a grave expression, "At your final lesson, you will be crafting the Yondai Kitetsu. At the same time, I will be your assisting swordsmith and the one showing how to curse a sword.

"I am keeping the Nidai Kitetsu along with Uzu-Uchiwa on me," Naruto said as he clasped the blade's scabbard and laid them on the table, "Those two new swords… Yondai Kitetsu and Sakura Ringu, what do I do with them."

"That's up to you," Hitetsu told him with a soft, sad smile, "I gifted my best sword to my son on his second birthday and sent the other overseas."

"You have a son?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, "Nobody in the village told me."

"Because I had one, and I never told anyone… he died, and I couldn't help him," Hitetsu sighed with a sad look.

"I am sorry… my condolences," Naruto said, offering his sympathy.

"You know, sometimes you remind me of him," Hitetsu chuckled with a sad smile, "He was a wild child and then grew into a responsible young man. I think that happened to you too… An irresponsible child with hardships became a proper young man. Both of you like the color orange."

"Your son must have been an amazing person."

"Oh, he was," Hitetsu nodded with a bittersweet proud look on his face, "He was my pride and joy… but look at the time, we both need to go to sleep."

Hitetsu then scurried out of the forges and towards the mansion.

"He is hiding something…" thought Naruto before looking at the sword Sakura Ringu, "So what should I do with you, Sakura?"

---

-A WEEK LATER-

Naruto had followed Hitetsu's instructions and studied the Nidai Kitetsu to mirror its latest predecessor, the Yondai Kitetsu. A cursed blade will be made, one following the schooling of the Kitetse.

Once he was done with his homework, he decided to take a stroll in his village.

"Hey, Narutomaki!" Ace's voice called out in a hint of pleading, "Put it on your tab! They don't accept berries!"

Whirling in the direction of the sound, Naruto looked at the scurrying Ace, being chased by a vendor who was pissed at him and yelling to the streets, "He did a dine and dash!"

Naruto just sighed, already feeling a brewing headache coming along his way… Today is the day he returns to the capital as the weekend is over.

"Put it on my Tab," Naruto calls to the vendor, who immediately stops chasing Ace.

"You don't have one, my lord!" the vendor calls back in a polite tone.

"Then make one." Naruto tells him with a sigh.

"Hey, Narutomaki. My crew just finished getting everything required for fixing the ship!" Ace called across the teacher, "Your sister is there watching us fix our ship."

Naruto watches Ace enter the tunnel leading out of the village and disappear into the system of tunnels across Wano.

Naruto then headed to the stall and sighed once he saw the bill. Emptying his pocket for chump change, he paid the man before heading to the beach where the spade pirate ship was washed up.

---

-KURI BEACH-

"It looks very different than the ones the rich guys in Wano ride." Tama thought as she stared, amazed at Ace's pirate ship.

The Piece of Spadille was smaller than the Beast Pirates' ships but much bigger than the Wano officials ride when they go to Onigashima. Chains lined the ship with a figurehead of a flaming horse skull. It also had a black sail with a cross and bones with a flaming skull wearing a hat like Ace's.

The Spade Pirates were charming people. Mihar helped her with her recent homework while Deuce read her tales from his journal. Skull kept talking about how strong and cool pirates can be.

Ace was different. He did not fight like a samurai or a shinobi. He was very weird as he turned into fire and was not burnt by flames. He shoots a stream of fire bullets from his fingers, creating huge fists made of flames that devoured their targets. Even more strangely, his body passed things through it by turning into flames.

She always found it easy to make friends, but most of them were awed by her status and relationship with her brother. She didn't like that part. But Ace and his crew didn't care about that. They spent much time distracting her brother from his office by drinking and partying. In response, she swore she saw her master, Hitetsu-shisou, take over the paperwork. He was even more efficient than her brother.

Her main hobby was playing ninja with the other kids, and some kids boasted they would become a ninja or a samurai that would take down Orochi and his friends. But, at some point, playing with and growing up next to her brother's side, she decided she wanted to enter the profession of being a kunoichi.

Her Big Brother humored her request, training herself to be a kunoichi. He asked Shinobu to take Tama under her wings in her spare time. Shinobu just looked at her earnest eyes and then agreed to show her the basics.

Shinobu showed her how to throw shuriken and kunai with fantastic accuracy at moving targets. But her Big Brother, Narutomaki's skills were unparalleled. His shuriken is guided with strings, and he changes the trajectories of his Kunai mid-air by hitting it with another kunai.

But what's even more impressive is her brother's ability to throw a kunai that can easily slice and penetrate through metal and stone. He was seen as the strongest person in the village, even Ashura acknowledged it. The arsenal of ninjutsu he had was unknown and counting. His swordsmanship had improved bounds and his level was now on par with the likes of Ashura.

Tama knew she was knowledgeable for her age, and her brother recognized her by calling her a prodigy. Tama excelled at nearly every topic at school and had to skip a couple of grades. Now she watches Ace and his crew sitting in front of a bonfire, replacing the wooden planks with new ones by burning their edges to make them more waterproof under the insistence of Deuce.

She sat there watching them as she began to weave a pile of straw-Kasa Hats as she watched the crew argue over the simplest of things…

"Hey, mind if I join in, Tama."

Tama turns around to see Ace crouching at her level with a big grin on his face. Tama just nods before handing him an unfinished hat. Ace takes it and starts to weave the thread of stews into the conical shapes of a kasa hat.

"Captain, don't start to slack off and laze around," a crew member grumbled at Ace as he carried a plank, "We have been in this country for too long… We shouldn't stick around here too much."

"I am not lazing around," Ace snapped back with an irritated look. "I am giving the kid a bit of company."

Ace suddenly brings out a box full of Dango sticks and hands one to Tama, who immediately smiles and says gratefully, "Thanks!"

They sat there weaving straw hats until a weird longing and feeling entered Tama's mind. It's something she never felt before, a desire to….

---

Portgas D. Ace sometimes liked things to be simple in his life. Sure, he was the party's life and the wildest and most famous rookie currently on the grand line. But his life was nothing simple, having the blood of the most hated man in this world running in his veins and being taken by that man's enemy and raised between mountain bandits. Being the son of Gol. D Roger was hard and unfair on him, even if many people knew that he was his son.

On the upside, meeting Luffy and Sabo was a blessing to him, and so was forming this crew, and now he felt he had gotten a new best friend in Narutomaki. But life always tried to make things complicated.

"Ace! Take me to the sea with you!" Tama asked in an earnest tone and puppy eyes that were difficult to turn down, "I'm old enough!"

Ace just decides to reply with a deadpanned look on his face, "But you're only five."

"I'm already five!" huffed Tama with a pout, slightly annoyed at his denial.

Suddenly Mihar and Aggie 68 came looking at Ace's handiwork.

"You're good at that," Aggie muttered, complimenting Ace's unfinished kasa hat.

"Yeah, I am!" agreed on Ace before putting another straw and threading the hat one step closer to completion.

"You're going to leave soon, right?" Tama asked uncertainly.

"Yeah!" Ace told her while focusing on his kasa hat, "I have to finish this before that, and then-"

Tama cuts off Ace by clasping her tiny hands and trembles in sadness as she hiccups. "I… don't wanna say goodbye to… Ace and everybody else…."

"Tama…" Ace says with a surprised voice before smiling, "We'll come back! After we become a more fabulous pirate crew!

"Then, will you let me join your crew?" Tama asked with tears before rubbing her eyes and demanding, "I wanna go on an adventure with you! Ace! Let me join your crew!"

Ace smiles before patting Tama on her head and tells her, "To be a pirate, you must be strong! When I return, I'll take you along if you became a bewitching Kunoichi or something."

Tama's face morphs into one with a massive smile as she squealed in excitement.

"Ace! Is the bewitching thing required?!" Aggie chuckled while Mihar grinned behind him.

"Ace! I got it! That's a promise, okay?!" Tama interrupts with a sparkle of excitement in her eyes.

Ace just gives Tama a smile before he recoils in shock at the person behind her and hisses a whisper, "I think you…. should ask your brother first!?"

"Tama, what's the meaning of this?" growled Narutomaki in a quiet tone.

Ace prayed for Tama's sake as he stepped back in nervousness. The reason for that was because he saw the shadow of his adoptive grandfather on Narutomaki's face as the blonde leader cracked his knuckles eerily similar to how Garp would do it. Ace knew that he wasn't a child anymore, he was an adult and had grown much stronger. Despite that however the fear and horror he had experienced in his youth flashed in his head. The days he used to try running away from Garp alongside Sabo and Luffy only to be caught and given a hellish beatdown to try and make them stop wanting to become pirates. The nerve of that old man daring to call it training, that wasn't anything of the sort.

"I helped raise you, and you asked to be a kunoichi, as you requested! You also have a dream to become a medical doctor to look forward to!" Narutomaki whispers with an incensed look, "Now you want to run away as a pirate and join a pirate crew at age five!?"

"Not any pirate crew, Ace's and his crew are awesome." protested Tama before yelping at the sight. Narutomaki's eye started to twitch in annoyance.

"If there ever comes a day for you to leave Wano in a pirate ship, O-Tama." Narutomaki growled at her sister before adopting a calm look on his face, "It would be in my non-existent pirate crew…. If you want to join a pirate crew, you need to ask Hitetsu-san for permission, and you will know what he will say."

The unanswered question was already known by everyone.

Tama then nods her head glumly before Ace decides to cheer her up by saying, "Don't worry, I will visit again. I am sure!"

Narutomaki looked at the ship repairs, going steadily well for a ship and crew that size, before asking, "So, when do you think the ships repairs will be done?"

"In a week," Deuce replied with a sigh, "We will still have to take her for a test run on these waters."

"I see…." Narutomaki whispers before he whirls around his eyes, scanning the treetops and tossing a barrage of shuriken into the trees and their leaves.

Ace immediately activated his observation only to sense the presence of himself, his crew, and Narutomaki and Tama. No one else was in the clearing around the beach or on the beach.

"Big Bro…" asked Tama with a worried look on her face as she looked around.

"Must be my nerves?" Narutomaki muttered before smiling in a warm voice, "It's nothing. I am feeling a bit jumpy."

---

-One Day Later: The Forges-

Naruto had just finished sharpening the blade and could already feel a curse from the sword he had just made. Of course, the curse was weaker than the one in the Nidai Kitetsu, but it was no joke.

Hitetsu was assessing the katana with disbelief and awe as he whispered, "This contradicts the Kitetsu series. Every previous generation was stronger than its predecessor…." Hitetsu informed him, "My Sandai Kitetsu was a Grade sword. You crafted the Yondai Kitetsu, a new Skillful Grade Sword….

Hitetsu then looked at the sword and Naruto with a deep, conflicting look.

"The 51st Skillful Grade Sword was just crafted. It's a big deal, but I have no problem with it," Hitetsu said while shaking his head before he warned Naruto with a concerned look, "But you shouldn't create swords at this level without knowing what to do with them. "

"Why?" asked Naruto.

"You can't leave unused swords lying around. Especially Cursed ones!" Admonished Hitetsu before advising Naruto, "Pass the swords to someone."

Naruto looked at the Yondai Kitetsu and felt its whispers for blood… The blade would require a master that is hot-blooded and a certain respect for strength; fortunately, Naruto knew a specific person that had these qualities.

---

-Flower Captial: Orochi Castle-

Fukurokuju was having the worst year of his life… He is the ultimate Ninja of Wano and had been forced to sleep by a criminal. The masked man somehow had made each of his Shinobi within the castle be knocked out in a sleeping trance every time he broken in the castle to torment Orochi-sama. So security has been tripled under the advisement and orders of Semimaru, so his time of laxing and sleeping has been cut in half.

Fukurokuju grit his teeth as anger and shame filled him, he was in here for the money and the power, and it worked for entirety of Orochi's reign as the shogun, until now.

He was interrupted out of his thoughts when he sensed the presence of one his subordinates enter the room shadows.

"Fukurokuju-sama," came a voice from the shadows.

"Yes… Hanzo" replied Fukurokuju as his elongated head turned to look at the reporting shinobi.

"I think I found what we were looking for?" Hanzo answered with hushed secrecy, "I can't confirm the information about the man. Getting close to him and identifying him without being detected is impossible. But he is near a pirate ship and a crew."

Hanzo raised a bandaged bleeding arm with a long gash that made it look like it'd been sliced open.

"A pirate ship, you say?" muttered Fukurokuju with a raised eyebrow, "And they aren't affiliated with the Beast Pirates."

"Yes, a pirate crew is currently in Kuri." The masked shinobi repeatedly muttered, "What are your orders?"

"A pirate crew that reached Wano is no joke," Fukurokuju assessed before issuing an order, "Don't do anything until all of them leave and then apprehend the man, do not tell anyone about this until you capture the man in the act with evidence."

The ninja nods immediately before disappearing into the shadows with a single determined thought, "I will catch him no matter what."

---

-Three Days Later:-The Lab-

Naruto stares at the 99% done seal that was the Gozu Tenno. In his mind, Naruto had a single choice, abandon it or not. Poring over the notes in those scrolls of Root, it seemed the seal compatibility won't work for him or any adult. It required a child to be the vessel of this seal and one with chakra. The seal will be placed through an injection of cells.

"Unless I get married and have a kid or do what Orochimaru planned, cloning himself to have a child. The theory and process are detailed in the MAD notebook," thought Naruto as he calculated all possibilities before his morals caught up and sighed, "This is so wrong, but I need it to work."

The Gozu Tenno was the basis for him to develop space-time ninjutsu so he could cross back to his dimension and finish off Black Zetsu…His best option right now was to use the MAD notebook that he stole from Queen labs and use the method in it on how to clone a human and imprint the Gozu Tenno, but the current technology he had in the lab was not enough to accomplish it.

"So, I need to use a child or kidnap one?" Naruto muttered, aghast with his hands buried to his face as he weighed his options, "This is so fucked up!"

Naruto personally wanted to abandon this project, as it was close to the practice of creating a Jinchuriki from a young person. Kurama and the tailed beasts were good friends after he got to learn their names and befriended them. The big problem was he was willing to do it on himself, but the seal will 100% fail and he'll possibly die. Do it on a child and the seal will be successful, but the consequences will be unknown.

"This is too complicated for a clone to decide," thinks the clone before it dissipates into a puff of smoke, transferring his thoughts and memories to the original entering the capital.

---

-Flower Capital: Kyoshiro's mansion

Komurasaki, otherwise known as Kozuki Hiyori, looked at Denjiro as he managed the dirty money of the Shogun. Her bodyguard, Narutomaki's mood suddenly shifted as he looked like he had learned something that made him unhappy.

"What's wrong?" Hiyori asked Narutomaki with concern, "Did something happen?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Komurasaki-chan," Narutomaki told her with a soft smile, "It's just have been a rough day for me."

"I know so tell me about it, that-"

Puru – Puru – Puru!

Narutomaki's expression turned alarmed as he dug out a tanashi snail with light pink puffy hair gathered into a topknot. Hiyori immediately recognized who the tanashi snail was contacting despite not seeing the person for over a decade. She looked at Denjiro's face that was mirroring hers.

"This is…" Hiyori thought hopefully as she stared at the smart tanashi waiting to be answered.

Narutomaki stared at the smart tanashi with deep concern and immediately muttered as he headed out of the room apologetic, "Sorry, an emergency just came up! Please excuse me!"

Once he had left the room, Hiyori looked to her caretaker.

"Hiyori-sama!" Denjiro face was a mixture of surprise and happiness.

"I know, Denjiro-san!" Hiyori said with a hopeful voice, "If Ashura-san is alive and knows Narutomaki! Then he must know where Kawamastu is."

Denjiro's expression had now calmed down as he seemingly assessed the situation.

"We should listen to the conversation," Denjiro suggested with caution, "To confirm if it's Ashura."

Denjiro then used his skill in sensing the aura and voices of others. He found Naruto's aura in an empty room in the most remote part of the mansion. Then, using his skills as the twilight thief, he silently headed to Naruto while giving Hiyori a piggyback. Once they approached the room, they pressed their ears and eyes to a hole in the sliding door.

To their surprise, they saw and heard an increasingly animated Narutomaki listening to an inaudible voice from the smart tanashi, which had a full-blown expression of panic on its face.

Pressing her ears closer, Hiyori strained to make out the panicking voice words, only for her to make a couple of words out, "Crew…left… island… save."

"WHAT!" A yell came from Narutomaki, interrupting the other person on end at smart tanashi. Hiyori was stunned as she had never heard Narutomaki's voice full of panic.

"I KNOW THEY FIXED THE SHIP! BUT DID THEY HAVE TO GO THERE OF ALL PLACES? WHY?!"

A different voice came over from the other end, a female one, albeit one Hiyori couldn't recognize.

"SHINOBU! PLEASE TELL ME THEY DID NOT DO WHAT ASHURA JUST TOLD ME!"

Denjiro's expression had turned into one of stunned disbelief once he heard two familiar names and confirmed Hiyori's suspicions with a shocked nod, "It's impossible, but Hiyori-sama. Ashura Doji is alive along with the Kunoichi that stood up to Orochi and his ninjas."

"So, he is an ally to the Kozuki Clan!" thought a relieved Hiyori. Learning one of her closest friends was a staunch ally to her family brought her a feeling of joy that she barely got these days, "I am glad he is not an enemy!"

"DAMN IT!" Narutomaki swore before asking Shinobu, "Did they have any reason to go there!?"

A chatter of words from Shinobu calms down Narutomaki's animated expression and his panic.

"I see, so that's what happened," came a sigh from Narutomaki as he conserves with Shinobu on the other end of the Smart Tanashi, "Get Ashura back here,"

"Here are your orders. First, relocate the families who had their children taken by those guys to the village as fast as possible." Then, Narutomaki ordered in a steely voice, "I will save the girls and intervene personally in Onigashima."

"Of course, Narutomaki-san!" agreed Ashura's grave voice on the other end of the snail.

"I am not sure what will happen after this! We could come to a skirmish with Kaido much earlier than planned," Narutomaki assessed before giving his final order, "So, send word across the villages that we are implementing a level 3 lockdown, now!"

"Ashura is already doing it. The orders are being issued!"

"Good… now if I don't return or end up captured by Kaido. Make Hitetsu the leader of the village. I don't know how he is on the level of a former daimyo. His paperwork efficiency rates are the same as Yasuie-san," Narutomaki said before closing the connection.

Denjiro immediately pulls Hiyori to the beginning of the hallway and pretends as if they heard nothing and come down to investigate the outburst.

Narutomaki burst out of the remote and had a worried expression that she had never seen. Once his sight caught them, he immediately rushed over to them with a strained look on his face saying, "Sorry-"

"It seems you have something important to do elsewhere," Denjiro interrupted him with a relaxed expression on his face in a reassuring tone, "It's okay."

"How-"

"We heard you yelling…." Hiyori told him gently, "You must be really worried if you had an outburst out like that."

"You heard?" he asked as he glanced around.

"No!" Denjiro denied with a shake of his head, "Your yells were too muffled to make out what it was."

Instant relief flooded Narutomaki's face before he gave them an apologetic bow and "Thank you! You have no idea how worried I am right now because of what is happening at my home."

---

-Onigashima-

Yamato was looking at the last available pages of Oden's journal… the remaining pages that detailed what happened on Laugh Tale had been torn out by someone. If only she wasn't stuck on this island as Kaido's son and with those cuffs, she would be out there doing something instead of being holed up in her father's place.

"YAMATO!"

Yamato's head snapped alert at the shriek that came one floor below her. Yamato was sure she hadn't pissed off Ulti by doing something against her.

"YAMATO!" Ulti howled out, "PLEASE COME OUT! THOSE BASTARDS-"

Yamato felt horror flood her veins as she rushed down the mansion floors and recalled her father's weak subordinate's drunken words for the past couple of weeks since her father and every officer left on an expedition.

Yamato collides with Ulti, who rushing down the hallways and is panicking with tears starting. Immediately, Yamato grabbed Ulti by her shoulders and stared at Ulti's shocked eyes, and whispered to her, "What did they do?"

"They just kidnapped a bunch of kids," Ulti whispered before explaining to Yamato, "They kidnapped three girls from their families and are planning to sell them to slave traders at Mogura Port."

Yamato felt sick in her stomach as she muttered in deep anger, "These idiots! My father abhors any deals made with slave traders with his factory workers. He captures and buys some for the factories but never sells them."

"Page One is arguing with them to be released back to their families," Ulti whispered, "They said if we interfere with them, they will kill the girl's on the spot."

"Is there anything we can do?" Yamato asked, "Like steal a ship-"

"We can't steal a ship from the port. They are too large for a group of three people to steer." Ulti told her before a worried look crossed her face, "Besides, if you step off this island, those cuffs would blow up, and you will get injured from the explosion and even possibly die from it."

"There is no use in talking with them," Page One said as he came in with his hands flecked with blood splatters and a swelling bruise on his right side of the face, "They won't budge without any officer. Telling them what to do."

Immediately a concerned Ulti rushed over to her brother's side and thoroughly inspected his face for any signs of injuries, much to the annoyance of the 17-year-old teen.

"Pay-Pay, are you ok?" Ulti fettered over her sibling with worried eyes that slowly became enraged, "Who did this to you?

Calm down, sis. I am just getting my Axe from the room to chop these guys into pieces,

"Oh, they will pay!" Ulti swore as her gripping fingers cracked and scratched the wooden, "They dare do this-"

"So, are you angry about the children being kidnapped or me being hurt," Page One asked with a deadpan look.

"BOTH!" Howled an enraged Ulti as she looked around for her morning star mace, ready to crack some skull with a mixture of headbutts and her weapons.

Suddenly a click echoed down the hallway.

"They locked the doors to the floor below down!" Yamato's eyes flashed in anger before commanding the siblings, "Damn, it looks like we will jump down from the live stage and don't destroy the castle… I can't afford my dad to be angry at me for destroying any portion of his castle."

"Wait, aren't doors between the floors only locked down during an emergency?" asked Page One.

---

-WATERS AROUND ONIGASHIMA: 5 min ago

Sitting on the flaming horse figurehead of his ship, Ace looked at the Giant Skull Island growing more prominent as they got closer to Kaido's headquarters.

On top of the ship, the crow's nest, Deuce and Leonero scouted ahead at the island through the binoculars looking for any signs of dangers.

"The place they said children were being held," called down Leonero as he peered through his binoculars, "It must be that island!"

Ace stands up and says, "We're finally here," Before placing his orange hat on top of his head as his eyes flash in anger with a challenge, "I'm going to fight you… Kaido!"

Entering the island was easy, security looked and felt lax until the guards put some feeble resistance, only for Ace to mop them up quickly with his bare fist.

"Hey, let's go," Ace ordered as the crew looked at the defeated guards before climbing up the stairs at the open jaws of the skull mountain.

"I thought the Onigashima gate guards would be stronger." Skull complained before sighing, "What a letdown."

"Hey, don't lower your guard." Cornelia warned cautiously, "Our enemy is the Emperor of the Sea."

"Yeah, I know," Skull grunted in agreement.

Once they climbed up the stairs and passed various buildings within the Skull dome, they noticed the quiet atmosphere within the Yonko territory. Walking even further, they reached an enormous hall with many multi-level towers and private rooms that looked like they could house thousands of people.

A towering castle within the Skull Dome was at the rear end of the large hallway. It's interior looked familiar to Narutomaki's mansion, with its sliding doors, paper lanterns, and even bonsai tree arrangements.

There was one problem the entire place was empty. Nobody was here on this island.

"What?" muttered Ace, asking and complaining simultaneously, "Why is no one here!"

Suddenly the back of his mind screamed as his Observation Haki sensed a person jumping from a balcony behind them. Whirling around, Ace narrowly dodged a swing from a Haki-infused club before thrusting a palm at the midsection of his significant opponent.

Flames erupted through his palm and onto his opponent's midsection before blasting them into a crash, caving in a wall. Suddenly the entire hall was flooded with enemies rushing toward him and his crew.

"There are the intruders!" one of the beast pirates cried out.

"Kaido is the only one we need to see!" yelled Ace before he spun around, creating a vortex of flames that engulfed the beast pirates. But unfortunately for them, they didn't stand a chance against his flames as they felt their skins seared by the heat before losing consciousness.

"Ace!"

"Guys, go save the children while you can!" Ace commands his crew as he decides to stall some time against three powerful monsters.

"Got it!" Deuce yelled as he grabbed a downed beast pirate and rushed towards with crew following him, yelling, "Leave it to us to captain!"

Suddenly Ace sensed two major threats behind his back and immediately dodged their attacks before he felt incoming danger from the one, he blasted away. Unable to dodge the incoming blow, Ace intercepted the kanabo club with his bare fists and legs in the flurry of clashes. Suddenly he felt his left shoulder bruise by the swing of a spiked club, and he reeled back in pain as he suddenly realized all three of his opponents were Haki wielders.

Taking a step back, Ace managed to catch sight of his opponents through heated shimmering air and flame sparks. A tall female with white hair ended in aqua green to blue square locks. She had large orange eyes and a pair of curvy red horns on top of her head, and in her hand was a long and slim kanabo with studded spikes. She was dressed in a long-sleeved white garment with a diamond-shaped design on both sides and an indigo, wisp-patterned bottom half that was seared from the blast. Below it was a pair of red hakama pants and sandals and a large purple and white behind his back.

"A priestess?" Ace thought in surprise as from what he knew of them, they usually cleaned temples and prayed at shrines in the village, "What is a Miko doing here?"

Ace then focused on the other two. They were younger and shorter than the maiden dressed as a Miko, but the pair shared a heavy resemblance to each other that made Ace think, "Those two must be siblings."

The brother was pale-skinned with sharp, angular green eyes and purple hair styled in a side cut that was shaved down on the left side of his head and the right side kept long and swept down, reaching his collarbone. Strangely he had a pair of small, upward-curving horns on the sides of his head. Also, he donned a mask covering his lower face up to the nose, split down with a middle white and black half. The teen then places a laterally green and white bicolored horned bucket hat that snugly fits his horns, and in his hands was a large sharp battleax.

The sister had a light complexion and large, round, violet eyes fringed by long lashes. Her hair reached her mid-back and had rounded locks, mainly blue but with thin, pink-colored streaks running through and ending with blunt bangs falling on her forehead, which was split near the left. Like her sibling, she had longer horns and resembled a bull. Her lower face is covered by a pink mask with a scalloped edge trimmed with a white stripe. The sister was clenching a spiked morning star club that was seemingly black and imbued with Armament Haki.

Ace then charges towards them before he is intercepted by the one with a kanabo in a clash of flames and a crackle of lighting that begins to crack the floorboards before they impact blew both back. Immediately Ace imbued his fists with Haki to knock away the Haki-infused axe aiming for his bicep. Then judo flipped the girl about to headbutt him. As a result, both were sent crashing to the floor before they immediately recovered to their feet.

A shadow of kanabo rushing towards his face made Ace intercept it as the woman repeatedly swung her kanabo at him, each blow blocked or cancelled by an intercepting fist. Suddenly Ace kicked into high gear. His fist wreathed in flames and collided with the Haki-infused black kanabo resulting a huge shockwave that sent streams of flames and a current of sparks of purple electricity across the hall and made the pair of sibling's skid on their feet as they were pushed away from the impact zone

"Who are you?!" Ace yelled as he put more weight on his punch, "State your name!"

"You first!" called out the woman in indignation and with a frustrated face as she evenly clashed with him.

"I'm Ace!" Ace yelled at her, "I'm here to take Kaido's head!"

The resulting clash began tearing and cracking the wooden floorboards up all around them. Suddenly Ace could feel the island shaking from their collision. Before raising a flaming stomp to kick away the weapon out of the Miko women's hands before he felt her overpowering and then sent him flying away by her momentum.

"She is strong!" Ace thought mid-air before backflipping and landing 20 meters away from her and the two siblings.

"You three are strong," Ace compliments them before nodding at the tall young woman. The flames within him are turned into another notch as he told the tall woman, "Especially you."

A moment of silence as each side attempted to anticipate what the other would do before a yell called out to him, "Ace!"

Ace turns to see his crew looking relatively unharmed and accompanied by three terrified girls surveying the destruction he had caused while clashing with his enemies.

"All of the children are okay!" Deuce informed him with a look of relief.

"But our target, Kaido, is nowhere to be found!" Mihar added with a disappointed sigh.

"What?!" Ace growled in surprise before eyeing the large woman for an explanation.

"Father and the others went on an expedition." Then, the large woman with red horns informed, "Right now, not a single officer is here on Onigashima!

"Father?!" Ace asked with a surprised frown as he straightened his orange hat.

"What?!" Leonero gasps in surprise, "So she is Kaido's daughter?!"

"My name is Yamato! I think we've had enough of this rampage!" Yamato yelled in resentment, "If you have time to wonder who I am, get out of here right now, and take them back to their families!"

"We'll do so." Ace said as he tipped his hat politely with a little bow before asking, "But is it okay for you to let us go?

"I have no obligation to protect this island." Yamato snorted with a mixture of anger and disbelief.

"Hey, idiot! You do have a responsibility to protect the island!" The girl with the morning star club corrected, "Wouldn't your dad be pissed at you if you told him that straight to his face."

"Ulti! Now is not the time!" Snapped Yamato with a threatening stare.

"Pay-Pay take my side in this!" Ulti cried at her brother demandingly as she looked at him.

"Don't call me Pay-Pay, Big Sis. It's Page One." Page One groaned before asking Ace and his crew, "So you are here to take the children back?"

"Yes, but wouldn't you all get into trouble for allowing that?" Ace asked.

"First of all, under my father's orders kidnapping Wano citizens is forbidden!" Yamato stated as she explained with a disgusted look on her face, "My father forbids that Wano citizens to be trafficked out of the country. He says if that happened, the workforce for the factories would be reduced dramatically."

Ace considered the words before his catches before Yamato's handcuffs and thought, "Strange..."

Ace was snapped by his thought when he heard Leonero call out, "Did you hear what she said? If Kaido isn't here, there's no point in us staying."

"Let's go back!" Mihar asked as he looked back at the exhausted and terrified girls.

Ace then looks at the scared girl's face before extinguishing his flaming fist with a calming grin.

Suddenly the sound of an impact reverbarating throughout the island was immediately followed by an enraged howl that echoed throughout the skull dome, "YOU IDIOTS!"

Ace's freckled face sweat dropped as he realized who he had just pissed. To his further surprise, Yamato dropped her weapon and peered in the entrance direction with a glimmer of hope. Then, suddenly, a racing figure blasted through an incoming wave of Beast Pirates, sending them flying and dazed to the ground.

Another incoming wave of Beast Pirates scattered under the onslaught of the two swords-style swordsmanship and martial art techniques that came from Naruto. Cutting through the enemy muscle sinew and snapping their bones callously continued until all Beast Pirates recognized him. Once they saw the dark cloak, the straight single-edge sword, and the white porcelain kitsune mask, they made a run for it until all the people left in the hallway were Ace and his crew, along with the girls and Yamato and the siblings.

The figure skidded to a stop right next to him and stared at him dementedly. Ace swore it was Narutomaki's face hidden behind the porcelain kitsune mask but sensing him through his Observation Haki told a different story.

There was an aura of tranquillity and calm power emitting from Narutomaki's body. A feeling that told Ace that nature itself now sided with Naruto.

Narutomaki walks up to him, glancing around before asking in a weary voice, "What were you thinking? And where is Kaido? Shouldn't he be out by now?"

---

Naruto was a bit peeved at Ace and his crew for entering Onigashima, guns blazing. It would just be too much trouble for him to deal with. As Kaido and his All-Stars were monsters.

Once he arrived at the shores at Udon and saw the once turbulent waves be even more turbulent than they should be… Naruto opted to use Sage Mode. Over the past three years, he refined his skill in harnessing nature energy. He can now gather and mix Nature Energy at accelerated rates and even extend the time limit of his Sage Mode.

Racing across the surface of the waves through the soles of his feet, Naruto could already feel a clash shockwave vibrating across Onigashima. He dreaded the situation even more as Ace and his crew were probably outmatched against Kaido and his forces-

"What do you mean he isn't here?" muttered Naruto with disbelief at Ace as he ignored the three particular people staring at the back of his head with so much intensity that they could have bored a hole through his skull before asking, "Did Kaido get drunk and took his crew for a camping trip?"

"I think you should ask his daughter?" Ace told him as he pointed at surprised Yamato.

"You think I should ask Yamato…" Naruto tells him with a ruthful shake, "She is an Oden wannabe that doesn't want to do much with her dad."

"HEY!"

Rolling his eyes at Yamato's outburst Naruto just stared at Ace with unflinching eyes, "So whose brain did you inherit to make you think it's a good idea…." Naruto asks as he prods a finger on Ace's chest and tells him, "I mean, the worst-case scenario you could have died, and the best-case scenario right now is that Kaido will come too drunk to care about the property damage you just did to his headquarters."

"HEY!" yelled Yamato again as she stamped her foot in frustration, "Naruto!"

"What is it, Yamato-chan?" Naruto said with a happy-to-go smile behind his mask.

"Wait, you know each other?" Ace asked with a surprised look on his face.

Glancing at the masked man with a happy face, Page One answered the question, "He did kind of save Ulti and me four years ago while wearing this mask on from idiots ganging up on us."

"Yeah, he did…." Ulti continued with a nod before she tilted her head in confusion and snapped at Yamato's direction. "Wait… So you knew about him and never told your dad? Kaido-sama wants this guy in the crew!"

"I especially asked her to not tell anyone." Naruto mutters with a groan, "And here I hoped she would keep the end of her bargain."

"You-" Yamato muttered hotly-

In a flash, Yamato's hands pried off the mask, revealing the yellow toad-like eyes with a horizontal bar-like pupil and the orange pigmentation behind them.

"HEY!" Naruto growled as he attempted to grab the mask back from Yamato, "Give that back!"

"Your eye-" Yamato stutters in a stunned voice, "I don't remember them being yellow… Nice eyeliner, though? It does look the one Oden used."

"It's my sage mode," Naruto snapped at her as he wrenched his mask off her hands, his eyes already receding back to blue as he depowered down with a sigh.

"Wow, so you are that person!" Ulti said as she recognized him with an impressed nod, "The one who always guards Komurasaki even before she became an Orian? Whiskers-san?!"

"Don't call me that!" Naruto tells her with a frown before he looks at a smirking Yamato.

WHACK

"OW!" Yamato yelped as she rubbed the sore part of her head where Naruto had whacked her with the Nidai Kitetsu.

"You revealed my identity, so you did kind of deserve that," Naruto muttered in disapproval.

"Well, sorry! I'm feeling a bit miffed at you, and I couldn't stand to talk to you while you wore that mask," Yamato told him before lowering her voice in a threatening tone at Page One and Ulti, "You two will shut up about this or I will tell the entire Beast Pirates what happened that night!"

"You wouldn't!" Page One yelped in horror.

"I think we should agree with her," Ulti muttered in a hurried agreement, "I mean, this guy did save our lives four years ago. You and I do owe him at least this much."

Naruto then looked at Yamato's scowling expression, looking away from his questioning eyes before she muttered, "Why?"

"Why what?" asked Naruto in confusion.

"Why did you do it?" asked Yamato with a hint of resentment in her eyes.

"What did I do?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"YOU DIDN'T VISIT?! OKAY!" yelled Yamato in anger before huffing with an angry pout as she began to list her frustration at Naruto, "You didn't visit for three years at the Golden Festival. No letters, no calls, or no messages explaining why? And then you came out of the blue after three years and practically ignored me to talk-"

"Well, forgive me for that; I was busy!" Naruto snapped at her as he threw his hands in the air.

"Doing what?" asked a miffed Yamato.

"Running a village and some stuff!"

"Some stuff?" asked Yamato as she crossed her arms with an annoyed look, "What stuff is this?"

"Oh, would you believe me when I say he oversees and runs four villages?" Ace says in an attempt to try and defuse the tension between them.

"Dude!?" growled out Naruto as he pinched his nose in annoyance, "This is already a level one disaster thanks to you and your crew invasion. If Kaido were here, it would have been a level five. Yamato removing my mask made it level two. Any more I would have to declare level three or possibly even level four?"

Yamato then just raised an eyebrow before she asked, "Okay, then what about-"

"We will talk about this later," Naruto interrupts her as he shakes his head.

"But-"

"I said we will talk about this, just not now," repeated Naruto, this time more firmly.

"When then?" asked Yamato with a steely look. "Because I don't want to wait another three years."

"After the kids get off this island," Naruto tells her with a sigh, "I promise."

"Okay." nodded Yamato glumly before she looked at the scared children and just walked up to them.

"You have been scared…." Yamato said nervously as she extended an arm and crouched at their level, "I am sorry for everything my father and his crew had done to you and your families."

The kids just shirked themselves away from Yamato. They hid behind the crew with a nervous look making Yamato's worried expression nearly break down. Immediately guilt flooded Naruto's body as he saw Yamato just adopt a mask that he was forced to wear during his lonely childhood. A mask that was thrown away after he found friendship and happiness in the Konoha, and now a mask that he revived to hide his grief and guilt over the death of his entire world.

"Yamato…" Naruto tells her, assuring her as he whispers in a low voice, "They are just kids. They can be a bit naïve and a bit stupid sometimes. Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, of course," Yamato mutters in a shaky voice.

"All right, let's take you back to the Land of Wano." Naruto told them with a smile while shooting an apologetic look at Yamato, "Your families are waiting for you at your new homes!"

"What a relief!" a girl sighed in relief before asking with a confused expression on her face, "Wait, what do you mean by new homes?"

"You girls did live in a remote area at the edges of Kuri," Naruto told them, describing the small remote village the girls lived in, "The Village was faring better than most of Wano. Highly skilled workers lived there and managed to get decently safe food compared to the poisoned food in the wild, but there were only small portions and difficult to find."

"After what happened today with you girls," says Naruto to the girls with a sober expression, "We are moving everyone in that village and relocating them to somewhere safe, so this won't happen again."

Shocked looks flashed on the girl's faces as they nodded, seeing the assuring look on Naruto's calm eyes as he explained, "The place you are going to live is protected by my friends. It has many rules, but it will make your lives easier..."

"Papa and Mama won't get hungry there?" asked the youngest girl as she sniffed, "My parents struggle with the living expenses to food for my brother and me alone."

"I promise that won't happen," Naruto promises them with a nod, "We have enough food and crops to feed many more. We even have a school better than the one in the capital."

"School?!" asked the eldest-looking girl with startling happiness, "I thought that was only for rich kids in the flower capital."

"Not anymore," Naruto told her with a shaking head, "Even some adults who missed school entirely in their childhood are taking night classes if they want to."

"How many people live in this place?" asked the other girl.

"Six thousand people live and work in Okagakure, while in other regions, the average is around five thousand people." Naruto told her as he recalled a recent report that projected the population growth within the villages, "In the coming years… we expect a lot more people to arrive in it, we just don't want to overwhelm the place too quickly."

---

-Okagakure-

The form for the Swords was already done. Their names, length, and descriptions were listed in the form. Hitetsu attached the form to the falcon with a soft smile on his face before sending it away.

Deciding to leave a note in Narutomaki's office, Hitetsu enters the room, sees a pile of paperwork, and then looks at the unravelled scroll at the edge of his desk. Immediately his eyes scanned the crossed-out letters and scribbles underneath the ancient scripts he could read easily due to his hidden and secret past.

"Boy! What the hell are you thinking?" Hitetsu thought as he grabbed the parchment and scanned the attempted translation, "Is this the Poneglyph on Onigashima? Why is he attempting to translate it?"

They were crude attempts to professional attempts, and he would succeed in translating it if he had him assisting. Hitetsu kept his panic and conflicting thoughts within him before pocketing the scroll and its content. Then, intending to discuss this with Narutomaki as he thought, "There are consequences to this knowledge, Narutomaki!"

---

-Onigashima Port-

After countless thanks and apologies, the children left with Ace's crew back to the shores of Wano. Surprisingly, Ace stayed with Naruto on the island.

Looking at Ace's and Yamato's demanding expressions, Naruto sighed before saying, "Just don't make your dad bust me up for this?"

"Relax… You will just be holed up in your place for another three years," Yamato told him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, she is a bit mad at you," Page One told Naruto with an exciting look, "I am surprised that the Son of Kaido is pissed about this whole not visiting thing?"

"What do you mean?" Ulti exclaimed at her brother, "This is Yamato you are talking about; she is a bit spoiled sometimes by her dad, even is always in tough love mode, and when she doesn't get what she doesn't want, she just throws herself in a routine that goes, I am Oden then training then eating and repeat."

"Shhh." Naruto hushed them as he stared at Yamato, twirling the club within her hands, and Ace taking a menacing step, "They are starting their fight…."

"I'm not convinced such a strong person isn't a captain or anything," Ace said before throwing out a challenge, "I'll settle this!

"I got nothing else to do..." As she accepted the challenge, Yamato said, "I'll fight you!"

Both disappear momentarily in a flash as they easily break the sound barrier. Then, they clash with flaming fists and a Haki imbued club. The resulting shockwave reverberated through the mountain's region of Onigashima.

Ace springs into the air and clasps his hands together before releasing an indiscriminate volley of flames that hit and shook the mountain valley around the Skull Dome, kicking a vast dust cloud. Yamato barely avoids the attack as she jumps and skids into a safe zone.

Naruto casually dodged one hurtling toward him and pulled Page One to the side to avoid another one. Surprisingly, Ulti seemed to read the movements of the attacks and jumped to higher ground to avoid any attack like that.

"Thanks," Page One mutters before joining his sister's side.

Ace then launched himself into the air, and his right fist became a fist of hot flames before pulling it back and lashing out a punch.

"Fire Fist!"

A powerful torrent of flames exploded from Ace's clenched fist. The flaming fist rushed towards Yamato, who stared in shock before she acted.

The kanabo turned into a darker shade as Yamato imbued it with her Haki. She swung the club fiercely and clashed with the incoming fiery torrent creating a brief crackle of electricity in the clash. Yamato struggled momentarily as she dug her feet into the rocky ground, overpowered, and returned the flames to Ace with her club.

The explosion shook the entire island, briefly turned night into day, and sent a shockwave across the island. Then, its wild waters turned calm as the shockwave flattened the wild waves and current before they returned.

"Okay, thats got to hurt." muttered Page One with a wince as he felt the heat of the blast sting his face.

"Not for me." Naruto told him with a shrug, "The Ten-Tails makes this looks like a toy firecracker."

"What?" Ulti asked with a confused expression.

"It's a long story," Naruto told her dismissively, "Oh Ace is ok."

---

Landing safely in front of the steps of the Skull Dome, an unscathed Ace questions Yamato, "Why? Why aren't you going to the sea if you're so strong?!"

"I want to, but I can't…" replied Yamato with a hint of frustration in her voice, "So, you'll never be able to understand my feelings!"

"What?!" scoffed Ace.

The reason I stay here without going to the sea…" explained Yamato, her voice filled with loathing at herself and her Kaido, "It's all his fault. My father, Kaido!"

"It's all his fault," Yamato repeated before she lamented, "I can't believe he's my father..."

"It's all your father's fault?" Ace asked with a fuming look as he clenched his fist in anger, remembering his father and the turmoil he had within himself.

Ace's mind flashbacks to the day he was sitting on the cliff, bruised and injured after a bar fight.

"Hey, gramps," Ace recalled as he asked his grandfather with a dead look on his face, "Do you think I deserved to be born?"

His grandfather's answer still mystified him, but it kept him alive, "That's something you'll see as you live."

"Are you making excuses?" Ace growled out before his feet and legs burst into flames as he yelled, "You can't choose your parents, Yamato!"

---

Yamato was honestly jealous of Ace. He has what she wished for a long time. A ship and crew that he could sail with anywhere he wanted as a pirate. Something her father denied her of.

Then out of nowhere, in the middle of the duel, Ace asked her why she wasn't out in the seas if she was so strong. Immediately she got offended by it and told him a summary of her circumstances.

So, when he got even more pissed off, he yelled to her, "You can't choose your parents, Yamato!"

Yamato felt slightly startled as the dawn started to rise, making Ace extinguish his flaming fist and tell her again in a calmer voice, "You can't choose your parents, Yamato!"

"Shut up!" snarled Yamato as she slammed her Kanabo to the ground, "You don't have to tell me that!"

"You sure?" asked Ace.

"As long as he's my father," Yamato explained as she shook her head in denial, "I don't have freedom!

"The only thing I have..." Yamato said to herself as she clenched her fists.

The only thing she had were those memories… Her father cuffed her and walked away as he left her in that dark cave.

"I-It's heavy. Why are you cuffing me?!" she asked her father.

"Because you're thinking about the wrong things," he tells her with a frown.

"You don't even have one good reason to leave this island!" He explained before ordering her, "If you're my son, become stronger for me! Don't think about anything else!"

"No... Uncuff me! Father!"

"I've been confined on this damn island and put in handcuffs," Yamato explained to Ace with a downed and frustrated expression, "Which will explode if I step out, so I have no choice but to stay here for my entire life. Just because my father is someone called Kaido..."

"Even though handcuffs were inevitable, if you hate your father so much," Ace said in disinterest before asking Yamato with anger, "Why are you letting them chain your heart?!"

Yamato lets a stunned gasp and a startled look.

"Did you become stronger to protect your father?" Ace calls out at her, "Or to let off some steam by fighting someone like me?"

Yamato's hands clenched again as she shook with anger.

"No! You became stronger for yourself!" Ace explained before inquiring her, "Yamato! What do you wanna do!?"

Yamato then stared at the dragon statue at the tori gate before an image of her father flashed in her mind making her drop her weapon and clatter onto the floor as she stumbled back in fear.

"Think about it." asks Ace at her angrily, "Don't you have the answer deep inside your heart?"

Yamato gasped before closing her eyes and clenched her heart as she thought, "Inside of my heart, what do you wanna do?!"

Yamato then recalled all of Oden's entries she read in his journal and made her mind up.

"I… I - I…" stutters Yamato repeatedly before making up her mind. Then, stepping into the light of the dawn, she slowly walked towards her dropped club.

---

"What is she doing?" Ulti asked as she looked at Yamato slowly walking up to her dropped weapon.

"I have no idea…." Naruto said as he munched on a bowl of popcorn that Ulti had whipped out of nowhere, "I never knew Ace was good at using words. He is almost as good as me… almost." Before he adds, "This popcorn is tasty Ulti. What else you can cook?"

"Oh, a lot!" Ulti said happily at the compliment to her food, "I am still writing my cookbook in my room."

"What the hell is Talk no Justu," asked Page One with a raised eyebrow as he watched the encounter with a fascinated look in his eyes.

"My Ultimate Weapon…" Naruto explained with a laugh, "It's basically a good amount of therapy and good old manipulation only reserved for enemies I like and find a good side within them. Might have to use it on Kaido as the last reserve, though?"

"You are going to fight Kaido-sama?" Page One asked with a stunning look.

"Key word here is I might," Naruto tells them before raising an eyebrow with a surprised look at what Yamato was attempting to do.

Ulti opened her mouth and swore, "Holy Shi-"

CLANG

SMASH

Yamato had just jumped and swung down fiercely at her father's statue. As her swing released a stream of electricity as it dented the metallic statue dragon and broke it into pieces

"I admit... I was holding myself back." Yamato said despondently. "I couldn't help dreaming... But I couldn't do as I wished."

"The explosive handcuffs... Kaido's son... An impossible dream... I'll be stuck on this damn island… I have no choice… It's all my father's fault... That's what I was telling myself." Yamato listed out as tears climbed to the corner of her eyes

"But I now realize. I wanna sail out to the sea and go on an adventure! I wanna live freely, like Oden!'" Yamato wept as she struggled to hold back her tears, "To the sea… To the sea…Getting off this crappy island, I wanna live freely!"

"That's it, Yamato!" Ace said before punching the broken statue with a flaming fist and partially melting it, much to Yamato's shock, "That's how it should be."

"What?" Yamato gasped.

"You know what to do now." Ace tells her firmly.

Yamato quickly wipes the tears out of her eyes before nodding in agreement, "Yeah!"

Ace just lets out a small laugh.

"This is kind of cute," Ulti said as she looked at the friendship forming between Ace and Yamato before asking Naruto, "Don't you think so too?"

"Nah, Ace already likes someone else," Naruto tells her as he ruefully shacks his head, "A marine woman… I think her name is Isuka. He mentions her a lot when he gets wasted on alcohol."

"Then what about you?" Ulti teased with a smile, "I think you and Yamato will make an even cuter couple."

Naruto just scratched his head at going out with someone before realizing the problem and sighing, "I don't see any romance in my life due to the baggage I carry around."

"Yamato's baggage is her daddy issues and her dad," Ulti told him before asking him with a raised eyebrow, "I don't think your baggage is that big?"

"Daddy issues like that are tame compared to what I am carrying around," Naruto tells her with a sad chuckle.

"Hey, guys!" Yamato called cheerfully and waved at them, "It's over. We worked everything out."

"We noticed!" Page One called back as he began to walk to the cliff where Ace sat and overlooked the waters. Naruto and Ulti followed suit.

Yamato held her hands behind her head as she walked up to Ace shaking her head in disbelief before sighing, "I can't believe I ended up like this with someone who came to kill my father."

"So, you love your father." Ace deadpanned as he fixed his cap on his head.

"No way!" Yamato denied it heatedly.

"She does!" Ulti called her out with a smirk, "What was that custom-made tuxedo you ordered for your dad for his birthday last year, then Yamato!"

"So you were lying," Ace grinned with amusement.

"Gee!" Yamato huffed before she pouted, "You keep attacking my weak point."

"Sorry, sorry." Ace apologized with a grin as he scratched the back of his head.

Are you really sorry?" Yamato asked before she threw a flimsy jab that Ace caught.

"Hey, Ace… tell me." Yamato asked, "About you and your adventures… About the world… About anything and everything.

"He will only talk about a kid called Luffy," Naruto snickers with amusement, "Man, he won't shut up about him. Sometimes I think Ace is the younger brother and proud of his big brother Luffy."

"Hey!" Ace snarled at the joke and threatened him with a lit finger, "Luffy is the younger one and the bigger idiot!"

"Of course." Naruto says with a calming gesture.

Ace then looks at an amused Yamato before sighing, "It's gonna take a while, so get ready for it, and I won't only talk about Luffy, I promise."

---

-16 hours later-

"And we jumped from the window," Ace laughs as he recalled the times at the ramen restaurant before complaining, "Thanks to Luffy's idiocy, we weren't allowed to eat there again."

"Seems like he caused you and Sabo a lot of trouble!" Ulti snickered as she looked at her brother, "Just like a certain someone with my dad."

"Didn't you get stuck in a wine barrel down the river back at our home island?" Page One reminds her.

"She did?!" Yamato asked with an incredulous look.

"She forced our father to cut and redirect the river with his Axe," Page One recalls with amazement, continuing, "She then got grounded for three weeks after that and wasn't allowed to cook for a week."

Ulti didn't deny it and just glared at him, "I am not making Nachos tomorrow."

Page One face becomes crestfallen before he shrugs his shoulder and mutters, "Worth it."

"I did more trouble than that." Naruto chuckled with a sad smile, "Luffy may and still be a mischievous kid, and Ulti got stuck in a barrel, but I was a child that scared the adults in the place I grew up…."

"Why were they scared?" asked Ulti with a raised eyebrow.

"Pranks," came the reply.

"What did these pranks entail?" Page One asked with deep interest.

"I vandalized shops that pissed me off, had their places boobytrapped and filled them with dead animals that I hunted." Naruto tells everyone as he chuckled darkly, "I skipped lessons and made my teachers track and tied me down, so I wouldn't escape and vandalize more."

Naruto then takes another long gulp of his sake bottle before looking at Yamato's handcuffs and mutters with a buzzed expression, "Speaking of escaping, these handcuffs are practically impossible for me to destroy or remove. So at the moment, Yamato, there is nothing I can do."

Naruto then tilts his head and complains, "If Kurama and the others were awake, I would have easily got you out of it, so in the meanwhile, I will have to figure it out without them."

"Who is Kurama?" Ace asked in confusion as he scrutinized Naruto, "I don't believe there is a Kurama in the village. No one mentioned him."

"Cuz Kurama is sleeping inside of me along with his siblings, right here," Naruto says with a drunk smile as he points at his stomach, "They occasionally kick around and move in their deep slumber."

"Naruto, you are pregnant with a kid?" Ace told him with a confused expression, "I am sure Deuce will agree with me that you don't have a girl anatomy to get pregnant."

"Why not? I can become a girl with the Sexy Justu…" challenged Naruto before his face adopted a repulsed look, "Ewww, no, that's gross and not for me! But is it possible!?"

"You can't be that drunk? You usually drink more than half of the crew combined to get a bit buzzed." Ace asks with a shocked look, "You haven't even passed your first bottle!"

"Hey guys, have you seen how much Naruto had drunk… No way he drank much more than this!" Ulti said as she stared at the surprisingly full Sake bottle and flipped it upside down, only for it to continuously pour sake non-stop.

"The Hell…" Yamato said in a thunderstruck tone, "My father will love this! Unlimited Sake in one bottle! How?!"

"I put a refilling seal on that bottle," Naruto explained with a tired drunken look, "Every time I drink, my seal refills the bottle with the type of liquor in the bottle. This is how my ancestors, the Uzumaki clan got drunk in festivals and celebrations."

Suddenly Naruto looks around, and the air turns a bit heavy as he tells them, "About Kurama and his siblings, keep it a secret before I make you forget it with my jutsu!" Then, before he adds more, "And it's not a pregnancy! It's much more complicated than that."

Immediate nods made Naruto clap his hands and smile before he took another swig from the ever-flowing sake bottle, "It's nice to take a break from everything! No paperwork, guarding duties or listening to Orochi flirting attempts on Komurasaki-san. It gets annoying after a while."

"Hey, how are things on the outside?!" Then, as she clasped her hands and changed the subject, Yamato excitedly asked, "Are there many young people rising to fame?!

"Young ones? Let's see…." Ace said before placing a finger on his chin as he tried to recall names he occasionally sees in the newspaper, "Everyone's talking about Caven-something."

"Here!" squealed Yamato excitedly.

"I'm in a class of my own," Ace tells her before he informs further, "But I heard some dangerous guys are running wild in each sea."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh!" Yamato said she trembled in nodded with overexcitement.

"Kid in the South, Blue and Law in the north, and Bege in the west." Ace recalled as he listed the names before saying with a grin and a proudly with his chest, "But the toughest one will come out to the sea in a few years. It's my brother, and he'll be extremely powerful!"

"How many times do you have to mention your brother?" Naruto tells him with a bored, drunk look on his face, "I mean he's interesting and all, but I can already write his biography thanks to your constant tales…."

"Yeah, how many times?" Yamato tells him with a flushed perplexed expression.

"Who cares?" Ace frowned before grabbing Naruto and Yamato's cheeks and tugging them, "Just listen!"

"Ow, ow, ow!" Yamato yelps before she returns the favour to Ace and pinches Naruto's other cheek.

"You..." Page One muttered in a strained voice as he felt his sister's knees digging into his back, "That hurts! But, hey, stop it, Ulti! Get off me. You are getting heavy!"

"I AM GETTING WHAT!" yelled an enraged and drunk Ulti as she wrapped her arms in a headlock. "HOW DARE YOU CALL YOUR BELOVED SISTER FAT! YOU MEANIE!"

CRASH

"Hey, stop," Yamato yelped as she rushed to their sides and attempted to pry Ulti of her brother, "Ulti, knock it off! He can't breathe."

"No shit, he is turning blue already!" Ace told him as he attempted to undo Ulti's vice grip.

Naruto just stares at the struggle and sighs.

"Now…Now… Good siblings shouldn't fight and kill each other," mutters Naruto before his voice gains a tone of finality as he asks, "Isn't that right, Ulti-san?"

Ulti's grips slacken immediately before she is pulled away from her brother. She looked ashamed and a bit guilty at Yamato's side.

"Sorry," Ulti mumbles with a remorseful expression.

"It's okay…." Page One tells her with a wheeze, "I shouldn't have mentioned your weight. Just make me Nachos tomorrow, and we are even."

"At least you didn't kill him." Naruto tells Ulti before he takes another swig from his bottle and mutters, "It would be a shame if I have to see another pair of siblings get offed again."

Ulti sat looking sick at herself, already affected by Naruto's words, "I am out of here… I want to sleep."

"I think… I should too?" Page-One said uncomfortably before he followed her.

"What's wrong with you?" Yamato asks with a glare, "That was a bit insensitive."

"I don't think she would have killed him," Naruto tells her before explaining, "I already know a person killing his brother for revenge on killing the entire family and clan. So, this is pretty tame."

"What?" a choked sputter came from both Ace and Yamato.

"Well, I have a crazy past…" a buzzed Naruto tells them with a lonely look on his face.

---

Sarutobi and Hanzo looked at the stationed pirate ship, which was solely guarded by a blue masked person flipping and writing through a book. Strangely their ninja instincts screamed not to get involved with the blue-masked muscular man. He was possibly the strongest on the crew they had seen so far.

Slowly both ninjas fall back to avoid any attention, only for the blue-haired masked man to look in their direction with a serious expression before he looks in the direction of a voice.

"Hey, Deuce," Mihar called out with a smile, "The cannons have been repaired, and their gunpowder has been tripled checked."

"Good," Deuce tells him with a grave nod, "We will prepare for departure once the captain comes back."

---

-Onigashima-

Naruto smirked as the sound of Ace crashing through a barrel of alcohol echoed throughout the island,

"He did it again," thought Naruto with a rueful smirk as he looked at a passed-out Ace and his strange case of sleeping out of nowhere during eating and drinking.

"Jeez..." muttered Yamato before letting out a laugh as she asked Ace, "You, pirates, know some fun tricks! Teach me how to do it too!"

Ace just stayed there lying motionless into the shattered barrel of sake.

"Huh? Um... Hello?" Yamato called before her face adopted a full-blown panic at Ace's unresponsive form and stumbling backward as she muttered in shock, "What? What?! What! Ace!"

"This is hilarious!" Naruto hilariously thought as he mentally clapped and cheered on Ace as his peculiar condition continued to mess with Yamato's mind.

"What's wrong all of a sudden?! You were just having so much fun!" Yamato cries out before she clutches her head-on horror as she says, "Are you dead?"

In denial, Yamato shook her head, muttering, "Stay with me!" Before she scrambled to his side, kneeling and yelling, "Help me here, Naruto! Aaaacccc-"

Ace immediately jolts awake, repeatedly blinking in confusion.

"-ccceeee" trailed a wide-eyed confused Yamato.

"Damn it," swore Ace before muttering to himself, "I fell asleep."

"Don't freak me out!" snapped an irritated Yamato, "I thought you were dead!"

"It's my bad. I'm sorry," Apologized Ace before he wiped his face with Yamato's clothes

"HAHAHAHA!" Naruto laughed as he clutched his side. "He got you, Yamato! He really did!"

Yamato just glares at him before tugging her clothes that Ace was using to wipe the droplets on his face and yells at him," I was worried about you!

"But, Gee... Do you wanna call it a night?" asks Yamato as she places a hand behind her neck, "You look tired. Page One and Ulti are already sleeping."

"What are you talking about, Yamato?! I still have a lot to tell you!" Ace tells her he pried wooden shrapnel stuck on his face and lit it, "I got to meet up with my guys in the morning and prepare to leave this country. It'd be a big waste to sleep tonight."

"Hmmm," squeals Yamato excitedly before she demands Ace with a happy look, "Then, don't fall asleep again!"

"I said sorry," apologized Ace before asking her as he turned off his flames and looked around wonderfully, "Now, where were we?"

"You were talking about your brothers again!" Yamato reminded with a smile.

"And you were talking about wanting to become Oden again!" Ace exclaims in realization.

"No, Ace! I don't want to become him." Yamato tells him before correcting him as she holds the journal titled (ODEN TRAVEL RECORD), "I will become him! I'll make it come true. It's our future!"

---

"and that's what he wants to do with his life. " Ace finished saying with a laugh before he gasps and stutters in horror as he catches what he said.

Yamato and Naruto just sat in stunned silence at what Ace had just said.

"What?" mutters a shocked Yamato as she gripped Oden's logbook harder.

"Aaagh!" Ace cries out before he fails his hand in shock and holds out his palms before he clasps them and groans to himself, "Oh... It slipped out! I wasn't gonna tell you that."

Yamato tried to say something but was interrupted by Ace demanding, "Never mind! Forget it! I mean, don't you dare laugh! Sabo, and I won't forgive you if you do!"

Naruto then noticed Yamato trembling hands as she clutched Oden's journal even harder, her eyes full of clearance and amazement as she listened to Ace mutter sombrely, "That's what my brother's dream is!"

Naruto felt that Yamato was seeing something different in those words like she wasn't here but looking in shock and wonder as she pondered on these words as tears of happiness and amazement crept into her orange eyes.

"When Luffy said it, Sabo and I laughed!" Ace said with a crestfallen look, "But we won't let anyone else laugh at it because we believe in him! We think he can do it, so-"

"Ace!" Yamato interrupted him as she shoved the booklet up to Ace's face.

"What?!" Ace asked in annoyance before peering through the side of the book and seeing Yamato's teary face, asking her, "Hey! What's wrong, Yamato?"

"I won't laugh!" Yamato said with a tearful smile before wiping her eyes and informing Ace, "In Kozuki Oden's journal, there's this great man who said the same thing! So there's no reason for me to laugh! Your brother is quite something!"

"That dream is indeed interesting…." Naruto nodded, "Kind of childish and naïve dream, but it's from your younger brother and a great man…."

"Yeah, and that makes the dream interesting," Ace nodded with a grateful smile as he sat back, relaxed, "It's my brother Luffy, and I really think he can do it."

Ace then looks at Yamato questioningly, "You said a great man, said the same as Luffy? That's good to know! I hope I can drink with him and Luffy someday!"

"I'm sure you guys would have gotten along." Yamato said with a laugh, "But he's already dead."

"He is?!" Ace mutters with a frown before he leans his chin on his fist with a smile, "Well, in that case, we can't see him."

"Not exactly," Naruto told them with a deadpan look, "Just get me a live sacrifice and a sample of the departed person's flesh or their blood, and I will summon their souls from the afterlife in a vessel."

"What the hell did you mean by that?" Ace asked dumbfoundedly, "The dead won't just get back like that."

"You are right. The dead won't like it," Naruto replied with a depressed voice before he complained and shook his fists into the air, "It's sickening. Still, Orochimaru and Kabuto did it, and I wanted to do it to everyone I knew for a final talk. Still, those White Zetsu bastards killed themselves every time they were captured!"

"He is having his mood swings again!" Yamato sighed with a shaking head, "Never knew him and sake made me have mood swings just like my dad."

"Is there even a devil fruit able to bring back the dead?" Ace asked with a frown, "Maybe Sabo…."

"My father once fought a person who can control zombies." Yamato muttered with a frown, "Called Gecko Moria-"

"He is a warlord of the sea. Never met him but heard bad rumors about him," muttered Ace with a distasteful look before grinning at Yamato as she twiddled with her fingers with a happy, nervous expression.

"Um... How about me instead?" Yamato asked nervously as her eyes darted around and then gushed excitedly, "You and your brother, Naruto, and me! If I go out to the sea someday…."

"I will try to clear my schedule for fun pirating activities," chuckled a happy Naruto as he shakes his head, "Then I will have to fulfill your promise Yamato, to take you to the sea."

"That sounds like fun!" Ace agreed with a happy nod and smile.

"Yeah?!" shivered Yamato with happiness.

"But, Yamato, do you know how big the sea is?" Ace asked before throwing a palm into the air, "If you don't hurry, I don't know if we can see each other again."

"Then, Ace, can I have your fingernail or hair clipping?!" Yamato requested with an open palm, "Either one will be fine! Oh, and Naruto, can I have yours too?"

"Okay..." Naruto mutters before he tugs his hair, clipping a piece of his hair.

Ace did the same and handed her a clip of hair.

---

After a while, the light of dawn came on the island as Naruto and Ace stood at the harbor of Onigashima, looking confused at the two parchments of paper Yamato had given them.

"These are your Vivre Card!" Yamato explained as she handed Ace a paper with his name on it and hands, "And this is yours."

"Is this it?" Ace asked in a surprised voice.

"It's just a piece of paper," Naruto said incredulously.

"That's right!" explained Yamato happily as she tore the top corner of Ace's Vivre card, "This Piece of paper will bring us together again!"

"Bring us together?" Ace asked in confusion.

"Look!" Yamato said as she held out the torn parchment that fluttered and moved towards Ace.

"Heh!" Ace chuckled with a smile.

"Impressive…" Naruto mutters with a raised eyebrow.

"Tear off a piece to anyone you don't wanna get separated from or meet again," Yamato instructed them with a happy look.

Naruto made an attempt to tear his card but was stopped by Yamato.

"No need to tear yours…." Yamato tells Naruto with a smile, "You will stick around for me… Just like you promised, I hope so."

Naruto grins before saying, "Of course, I am a man who never goes back on his word!"

Naruto then turns to Ace and tells him as he hands him a torn piece of his vivre card, "Here, Ace take a piece of mine if you want to come back to Wano."

"Okay! I'll do so." Ace says with a smile as he accepts it wholeheartedly.

Naruto then steps into the water's surface, stands on it, looks at Yamato with a smile, and says, "See you around, Yamato… I got a village to run and ensure a sister behaves."

"And I got a crew that is preparing for departure," Ace said with a grin as he started his raft, the Striker, flames propelling and

Naruto then turns back and sees Yamato looking longingly at them before glancing at the handcuffs with a frown.

"Yamato!" Ace calls to her in encouragement, "Don't lose it!"

Naruto grins and calls to Yamato's perplexed face, "Stay strong! Yamato, the day will come!"

They are now far away from the shore and on the seas of Wano, both looking at the vivre card Yamato made.

"ACE! NARUTO!" Yamato's voice echoed across the sea. Looking around, Naruto and Ace saw Yamato hurrying across the snow and waved at them happily in farewell.

"Yamato!" Ace called back with a grin.

"See you again for sure! Ace!" she calls back happily.

"Of course!" Ace chuckles before zooming across the waters on his flame-powered raft.

AND AT LEAST VISIT ME SOON, NARUTO!" Called Yamato out with a smile, "I AM NOT THAT FAR AWAY!"

"I WILL!" Naruto calls back with a grin before looking at Ace, "Race ya."

---

-Somewhere in the New World-

Kaido was feeling a bit happy and pleased as he towered over. He then glanced at the terrified marine ships retreating, hauling back an injured and roaring Admiral that Kaido toyed around and overpowered with a couple of swings of his club.

"That lava stings a bit, though," Kaido mused with a smirk as he acknowledged the lava devil fruit user.

Akainu is strong, but he stood no chance against him after he found himself capable of only giving Kaido a couple of first-degree burns on his scales as Kaido tested him by allowing direct attacks to hit him.

Although the ensuing battle and struggle from Akainu made Kaido feel a bit disappointed when he broke the admiral's pride and arm with a single Conqueror's Haki-infused swing from his club, the admiral only reacted to this by staring at him hatefully before calling his men back and leaving him and his crew along with the loot from the dead world nobles.

Kaido's eyes then swiveled at the world nobles' ship he picked up with his claws and dumped on an empty island killing all those feeble worlds noble that dared to challenge him.

"A good haul from those weak ones! These weaklings have no right to stand on top of the world!" Kaido muttered with a smile, "Only the strong ones are allowed to!"

"Hey, Kaido-san!" King called him down as he inspected the wreckage full of gold and dead people, "You would want to see this!"

Kaido then looked at the wreckage and descended as he shifted back to his standard form.

"Now, this is interesting!" Kaido said with a mixture of apathy and amusement as a black blur rushed towards King.

Massive black claws with blue electricity crackled, streaming on them as they tried to attack King and turn him into ribbons of meat.

The attack failed as the electrified black claws from the incredibly nourished and injured slave were harmlessly scratched against King, thanks to his lineage.

The slave then collapsed, and it was not a human.

---

-Two Days Later: Kuri Beach-

Naruto was the only one who went to see the Spade Pirates take off and depart. He and the crew had spent the last two days talking about how they could leave the shores of Wano without being noticed. Ace invited him into the crew, which Naruto turned down with a regretful look. Tama was asleep after the long party last night for the departure of the spade pirates.

Now in the early morning, looking at the crew preparing for another voyage, Ace was

"Hey pal," Naruto greets Ace with a smile before he throws an extended narrow package towards Ace, "This is for you."

Ace quickly caught it and unwrapped the cloth to reveal a moderately curved katana. Its handguard is silver and shaped like a rounded cross pattée; the hilt is wrapped green, with a silver clasp around its middle and a silver pommel. The sword's sheath is also deep green. It continues the design of the hilt, having two silver clasps in short succession around its middle and the silver end cap.

"A sword?!" Ace asked with a stunned look as he looked at the fine craftsmanship.

"It's the Yondai Kitetsu!" Naruto said with a grin, "My best creation, even though it's a cursed sword."

"Is that why it feels different!?" Ace asked as he drew the blade revealing the white edge and a distinct silver hamon that looked like flames, "Because it's cursed?!"

"Yeah," Naruto replied with a grave nod.

"And you are giving it to me?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow.

"As a parting gift," Naruto told him before explaining to Ace, "Hitetsu-san says only the strong can wield cursed blades.

"Well, I am strong… I can use swords, but I don't know about this?" Ace says before taking a couple of practice swings before grinning, "This sword feels much better than using a pipe; it's light and swift!"

"It's a Meito and a newly crafted one. I am giving it away as a gift." Naruto tells him with a smile before threatening him, "Don't you dare try to give it to someone else!"

Ace then sheathed the sword and looked at seriously before, "You know my gramps told me that my father was a pirate, and he used a sword! So maybe I can show that old fart, I am better than my father ever was when I beat him with a sword when my father always was."

"Your father?" Naruto asked in confusion.

Ace suddenly had a guarded look before giving Naruto a thankful smile as he tipped his hat in thanks,

Ace then says with a smile, "Naruto, I am happy to take this sword and prove to the world I am better than my father!"

"Hey, captain, we are ready!" Deuce calls out on the prow of the ship.

"Well, I guess this is bye for now," Ace tells him as he extends a handshake.

Naruto clasped it firmly and said with a grin, "Good luck, Ace! We will cross paths again, I am sure!"

"Yeah, Bye for now, Naruto!" Ace says as he boards his ship, and then slowly but increasing in speed, the ship departed from the shore and disappeared into the horizon of the sea.

Naruto looked at the shore before muttering, "I will miss those guys."

---

-One Day Later: The mansion-

"Hey, don't look so glum!" Naruto tells Tama comfortingly, "We will see them again, I am sure!"

"You got to say goodbye to them!" Tama muttered with a glare before asking her brother, "Why didn't you wake me up for that?

"You were tired..." Naruto tells her before Tama starts sniffing and holding back tears

"Okay! Okay! What do you want to do today, my treat!" Naruto tells her with a smile.

"You promise?" Tama says with puppy eyes.

"Of course!" Naruto says, unaware of the trap he fell in.

"Well, take me back to that lab under our old home!" Tama with a cheerful and excited look on her face.

"Urk!" Naruto sputtered in surprise before he growled at her, "How?"

"Well, I read it in one of your scrolls," said Tama with an unflinching expression, "You are developing cool Ninjutsu there, aren't you? I want to see them!"

"We are going to have a word on that," Naruto tells her with a frown before smiling as he could never be angry at this child, "Fine, let's go, but you must follow everything I tell you!"

"Give me a piggyback too?" Tama asked with an excited smile.

Naruto laughs before he crouches down and beckons her to climb on his back.

---

-Kuri: Amigasa Village-

Sarutobi was about to kick himself because the crew had left while he was away, and there was no sign of the man that helped them. Hell, he didn't know his face. He was about to report his failure to Fukurokuju when a young girl ran across the abandoned village.

"Big Bro Naruto," the girl asks as she turns to the direction she had come from, "Why did you make it?"

"The lab?" a voice called back, echoing across the empty village.

"Yeah," replied the girl cheerfully.

Suddenly faster than his eye could see, a blonde man appeared behind the girl, scooped her into his arms, and placed her atop his shoulders. The girl just lets a childish laugh that does not seem proper in the current state of people living in wano.

"Well, I have problems that require solutions and results that the village can't help," The blonde man tells her with a grin as he walks, "So sometimes I go to that place and try to fix them."

"What problems?" asked the young child.

"A way to travel from one space-time continuum to another," the blonde man informs her.

"I don't understand what you said," asked the young girl.

The blonde man laughs and chuckles before saying, "You don't understand, then I must be using big words for you, O-Tama."

Sarutobi's eyebrow shot even further as the blonde man suddenly began to weave unrecognizable hand signs. Three self-writing lines shoot out in separate directions before linking together to form a circle. A white light flashed within the circle of words before it. The dirt next to the hut crumbled away, revealing a staircase spiraling downwards. The man then clutched his sister and began to walk down the newly emerged stairs.

He then picks up his tanishi snail to convey a message to Hanzo. "I am going in! I found something that will interest you all."

---

-The Lab-

Entering the lab doorway at the bottom of the stairs, Naruto felt relaxed as he had cleaned up the lab, so there wouldn't be anything too graphic for young girls.

Opening the lab, Naruto looked at the stack of papers and a board full of scribbles of fuinjustu formulas and calculations. Scroll and books were stacked in order, and a box full of important genes of people deemed interesting enough for Orochimaru to collect and study. Naruto then looked at the seal in the tank composed of his cells and the First Hokage, nearly 99% complete.

Naruto then looked at it thoughtfully before he shook his head as he thought, "Project Gozu Tenno is over… it's not suitable to be used even with suitable volunteers. So maybe recreating and modifying Dad's Flying Thunder God Jutsu is the best choice to go back to my original dimension and kill that bastard."

"Big Bro Naruto?" Tama asked as she looked at his face with a thoughtful look, "What are you thinking?"

"Maybe-"

Immediately Naruto pulled her to the side and grasped the blade intended for Tama. Blood flowed from his bleeding palm as he held the blade that had just aimed for Tama.

"You bastard," Naruto snarled in anger at the assailant, who was now struggling to free his sword from him.

Naruto then looked closer at the assassin and, with a shock, realized it was a member of the Orochi Oniwabanshu, Sarutobi.

Gripping the blade edge even harder, Naruto swung around and threw Sarutobi to the Gozu Tenno Project. Immediately Hanzo barges in a flash, his blades poised to kill him.

Naruto easily dodges the blades and swings down with the blade he borrowed from Sarutobi as his blades were back in his office.

"AAAAAGGGGGGHHH" Hanzo screamed as his swords clattered to the floor, clutching his now heavily bleeding hand.

Naruto glanced down and saw a couple of bloody fingers on the lab floor, then boots Hanzo to the face, kicking him through the open doorway. Immediately Hanzo bolted up the stairs intending to call for backup.

"Stay where you are! If you take another step, this girl will die!"

Naruto slowly turned with a horrified look as he saw a recovered Sarutobi, his arm linked with the seal. He clasped a whimpering Tama with a blade at her neck.

"You just signed your death warrant!" Naruto yelled at him, "Let her go right now and I will you a quick death. If you do-"

"No Narutomaki…" Sarutobi cuts in his voice, already becoming laboured, "I am surprised it was you. I thought you were on our side!"

"Let her go!" Naruto demands as he sees the effects of Gozu Tenno already starting with profound horror.

"No… Why am I tired…." Sarutobi said as his body shrivelled up and looked like he had already aged fifty years in the time he was holding Tama.

Naruto points at the linked arm before explaining in a grave voice, "Once you touch that seal. You will die if your vitality is not strong enough, and your vitality is not strong enough."

Suddenly, the seal glowed red before its positions started to shift. Then, deciding to change hosts, it traveled through the body of the now-dead Sarutobi to Tama in a red flash.

Once the red flash was gone, Naruto scrambled to Tama, who was now unconscious, and checked on her. A glowing red seal on her tiny back was now leaking a shapeless dark purple mass. The Gozu Tenno had chosen a compatible host.

"Tama-" Naruto said in a trembling voice as he cradled Tama as he cried out apologetically, "I am sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!"

Naruto then glares at the dark, shapeless mass getting more active. Suddenly snake-like creatures were created out from the dark mass biting his arms.

Immediately Naruto felt huge amounts of chakra being siphoned from him and pried the snakes off his arm.

The shadowy snakes receded back into the dark, shapeless mass of chakra before it disappeared entirely. Naruto immediately felt Tama's pulse and breathing.

"All normal!" Naruto whispered in relief as he picked Tama up gingerly, "Now this-"

Suddenly a huge crack appeared in the middle of the air and was followed by another. Then, slowly but surely, fissures in the time-space started to form as a being was summoned from another dimension.

Realizing what was happening, Naruto rushed to the emergency seal that sealed all the room contents into a scroll seal. He opened the scroll and then drew blood on it. After that, every scroll, book, paper, substance, and equipment were sealed within the scroll.

Immediately Naruto placed the scroll into his pocket as the roof collapsed as the space-time fissure shattered, summoning the new born Yokai called Nue in a tangible form.

Shielding Tama protectively with his body, Naruto grunted as the boulders and rocks of dirt collapsed on him.

---

Hanzo ran as fast as he could while holding his bleeding and amputated fingers. He was halfway across the village when the ground beneath him exploded, and he was hurled high into the air.

Looking down at the cause of the explosion, Hanzo peed in his pants as he saw the gigantic creature below him. A large being glowing yellow eyes on its monkey head that had large fangs and a white mane, its body consisted of a tanuki's body, a tiger's legs, and a white snake for a tail.

The creature just looked at his airborne body, opened its mouth, and swallowed Hanzo whole in one gulp.

Nue sniffed the air before it bolted with tremendous speed and agility despite his huge size heading toward the place with the most significant amount of negative emotions in the Land of Wano.

---

A/N: A/N: Hello R8Handman, sorry I haven't posted in a while. Life is a bit cruel sometimes… I needed a break after everything that happened, it delayed the chapter a lot. By the way I will not be accept death threats and people calling me Transphobic about my take on Yamato's gender identity. I already had a couple and I deleted them. A recent chapter made Yamato take a bath with the boys during Pride Month, but otherwise the vivre card that is supervised by Oda called her gender and sex as female without the heart like Kiku. Speaking of Kiku she is my second favorite character of the scabbards. Kin'emon is the first for me.

Now I don't hate anything against Gay people or Trans people, but I believe Yamato is a girl doing hardcore cosplaying for hero Oden, that's it. She even calls Momo her son! Writing about Yamato, Ace and Naruto was fun. Page One and Ulti have a bickering relationship. Naruto and Ace vivre card are important. Yamato was bit mad at Naruto not visiting the island during the festival the last three years and she is miffed about it as Naruto is a good friend to her. Ace picking up sword it's in his blood… I want Ace to mimic his father Gol. D Roger. In fact Ace was named after his father sword, a Supreme Grade Sword called Ace. Ace won't be the Pirate King of course, neither would Naruto, that's Luffy goals.

Anyway, Kaido found someone or something as this will be important in future arcs and Naruto's experiment has gone awry thanks to the interference of the ninja on Orochi's side. Yes, this Nue is the same one in the beginning of Boruto. Anyway, what will happen to Tama and what havoc will Nue unleash on Wano, that Naruto needs to stop.

I will leave a hint here: We are approaching the end of this arc… what will happen?

Now to the questions.

Anonymous (chapter 8) : Will you factor in the latest changes brought by the newest chapters : 1051 and 1052 and 1053 into your story? The New Emperors? How would your addition factor into the next direction of the story? Can't wait. Please update soon. Thanks again:) / (YES I LOVED THE IDEA AS BUGGY BECOMING A YONKO… Kaido backstory feels a bit lackluster but I liked it and Admiral Ryokugyu in Wano… PLUTON IS IN WANO! Man I miss One Piece. But the story will change and it will factor the newest chapters.)

Samuel Santillan (chapter 8) : I can tell you something Naruto should be able to use Haki, it is what I think, the haki is a supernatural power, but it depends on the will of the person, and Naruto has an unquilimous will, so it should be able to use it R Naruto will use a style of 2 2 Swords with its strength and unpredictability should be able to use it and I want to see the sword that Naruto creates after the teachings of his new teacher, it will be a powerful sword.I await chapter 9 take care. (Naruto is able to use and learning Haki, but now he is using bursts of it on unconsciously… You have to remember that as I stressed before Naruto will have much harder time to control and use his Haki. As for the swords he is making, Yondai Kitetsu went to Ace, why don't you take a guess who will have Sakura Ringu?)

Anon (chapter 8):Good chapter in all. Only thing I find not fitting the story is what Naruto is doing to Orochi. I hate the character as much as the next person, but him "torturing" him would just make things worse for the Wano people and is the complete opposite of all of the discrete things he's been doing. Also the opposite of what he told Ace and his crew about being discreet. Seems like a really out of place move. / (Naruto will have a profound impact on Orochi... This is just a setup for the next chapter and it won't be mind games it will be something important to Orochi. The Nue incident will be the trigger."

Azazael-X (chapter 1): lol the Hitetsu turned out to be Oden's dad. Sorry for the Spoilers / (Well my theory was proven right… Hitetsu had the same voice actor as Oden's Dad. Now we know they are the same person, there is a rule in One Piece, doubt someone's death, it could be a fakeout. Came back Izo !)

Josh Foster1 (chapter 4 ): If kaguya gave Naruto most of her chakra he should be so far above kaido it's not even funny. Fair warning the last person who used more then one character from Naruto aka zestu got several death threats flames and unneeded hate so just be prepared for that while writing the story / (That chakra went to the portion of the tailed beasts within Naruto making them complete. As you know the Tailed Beats within Naruto are sleeping in recovery after exhausting most of their chakra to protect Naruto from the void. As for Black Zetsu he is a problem.)

That's it for the questions, I will release the next chapter after I post my new fanfiction.

P.S Thanks for 1K+ followers and 90K views and I am also happy with 892 favorites.

Please leave a review it could bring my next chapter faster and check my new fanfiction when I post it.