Everyone knows the color of the blood that runs through our veins. Red. The essence of life. A thin rope that connects two completely different men. One dreams of becoming the King of the World and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve that ambition. The second is a bright orange star. Light and Darkness. Awfully, at the end of the night, they will remain a family. Brother!
Disclaimer: I do not own the masterpieces of Naruto or One Piece as they are both owned by their respective amazing writers, Masashi Kishimoto and Eiichiro Oda, but I will honestly claim my own creations along the way.
Note to Anonymous: Try to do something more interesting with your super life, if your intention is to write trash. Write a story. From now on, don't waste my time.
Note to Flames: Go read something different. As a reader it's simple for you. I am also a reader. Just click or use Hiraishin.
Note to Fiction Inspectors: Keep inspecting.
I'm tired of dealing with foolish people. No more.
Towards the fourth chapter of this magnificent journey! I know what awaits us in the distant future, but it's worth saying that anything can happen. Life is constantly changing. And time is malleable, so keep your Kenbunshoku Haki activated at all times!
Let's head towards the magnificent dusk!
Dusk on Conqueror's Rocks
Chapter 4
"Seven relentlessly thunderous years!"
"Lift your head and look outside. Embrace every little detail around you, but do it with your spirit. Tell me, apprentice, what can you see?
I see a flag, a ship and…
That is all? Hmm. Very good. It's not a problem.
And you? What do you see, Boss?
Me? Funny question. All things."
~ The Boss and the Apprentice.
THUNDER!
That was the first sound the young blue dragon would hear after spending a long time resting in unconsciousness. Kaido tried to open one eye and immediately closed it with a deafening scream as another gigantic thunder ripped through the dark night leaving a rumbling wake.
The smell of ozone wafted through the atmosphere and felt like hell to the young man's enhanced senses due to the fruit he ate about five years ago.
Due to having his eyes closed and his senses busy trying to overcome the hypersensitivity afflicted by thunder, he was not able to realize that he was not alone in that medium-sized boat.
A boat with no distinguishing features that was currently floating at the height of the clouds. Not even a single flag raised to declare the origin of the occupiers.
"Oh? Damn lazy brat. The boy finally woke up and gave up on the dream world, Boss!"
"He woke up now? Excellent. Continue with the established route, Golden Lion. We have no time to lose."
Kingdom of Alabasta.
Sand. Here and there. Sand everywhere.
It didn't matter where the crippled Kaido and the relaxed Shiki directed their gazes. Sand was all they could find at this distance which took the group of three more than a thousand leagues to confirm.
Two humans and an oni.
"So this is the Island that carries in its name the power of an ancient weapon and the knowledge of the past through the country's royalty?" – Shiki hummed loudly, bending down slightly to touch the sand and waving immediately afterwards. It was good enough.
"You are very well informed, Golden Lion!" – Surprisingly, the person who said this with a giant smile on his face was Naruto himself. He was walking ahead, unconcerned and with both hands stuffed into the pockets of his shorts.
The shirt he previously wore was replaced with a lighter one, due to the bloody drip that the apprentice pirate from the former Pirate Rocks crew had turned into. Nothing ridiculous. Just a drop here and there.
Honestly, it hasn't changed much, except for the cover which was nowhere to be seen at this point. Maybe it had something to do with the black obi that was tied around the man's waist easily compared to a beast.
Kaido sighed a little, as he held his personal weapon and walked with hesitant steps in pursuit of the two men.
"What are we going to do here?" – Kaido asked a little too loudly, but he made sure to be as polite as possible so as not to end up attracting the wrath of the beast that suddenly now had a blue eye staring at him intently.
The young blue dragon tried not to let go of the shudder that crept through his spirit as he felt like a fish, because it seemed like the man knew what he was about to do before he even thought about opening his mouth.
The spiky-haired Rocks hummed in thought for a moment and the other two had no other choice but to exercise patience to wait for the man's response. The fact is that even Shiki was interested in knowing the real reason they were here in this place located in Paradise and so far from the New World.
In Shiki's mind, they had a lot more to gain from sailing the second half of the Grand Line, but he wasn't crazy enough to allow those thoughts to come out of his mouth. The strategist was content to stay alive and with both legs working.
"Very good. I'm going to tell you a story. Furthermore, while we are here, you two will train with me. I can't have two deadweights who rely too much on their fruits to defend me in any case. Do we have a deal?"
"Yes, Boss."
"Understood, Sensei."
The trio's trek took them to an even more desert and uninhabited region in the forgotten depths of the Kingdom of Alabasta. Not even the distant screams from earlier that clearly denoted the presence of a settlement on the large island could be heard now.
Naruto took a few more experimental steps before stopping abruptly and the other two had no choice but to freeze in their tracks. However, that wasn't what almost ripped the duo's soul out. No. It was the single loudest move Rocks would make after that.
"This is a good place to start." – Rocks muttered softly to himself, crossing his arms in silent contemplation.
A mixture of lightning suddenly came to life next to the last Rocks, but before anything could be fully seen, it vanished in a second boom that would have ripped a small crater in the desert sands.
"Multiply."
However, Naruto just waved his hand at that spot and dispelled the event before it was anything for the two spectators to notice visually or spiritually.
"W-What was that?" – Shiki was shaking a little and refusing to take his eyes off the last position of that lightning. Now he no longer had any doubts. This man could not exist. The ambitious pirate swallowed audibly taking another step back.
Kaido remained still, but if you looked closely, you could notice how the young oni's eyes were wide in disbelief.
A smile slowly began to creep across Naruto's lips, who just ignored the question with a simple shrug and decided to rest his left hand in his pocket, before raising his right fist to the heavens, facing the two.
"It doesn't matter." – Rocks replied indifferently with his sapphire eyes shining powerfully. A buzz later and the single fist that was raised was infused with a small dose of Busoshoku Haki. - "Get ready."
That was the first and only warning, before Kaido had no other choice but to raise his personal weapon already infused with Busoshoku Haki to counter the heavy entry.
It was not enough.
The young blue dragon was forced to grit his teeth as he was thrown like a rag doll to crash with a screaming clatter against the sand.
Humiliation was the last thing on the oni's mind, as he preoccupied himself with trying uselessly to find support on the golden sands, inexplicably being forced further and further away by a simple punch.
Rocks didn't even turn his head when he calmly dodged the swords that were destined to separate his head from his body and in one hard movement he turned his body perfectly, hitting his black elbow on Shiki's chin, who was shot like a bullet in the same position as Kaido.
The clash between the two was louder and more disgusting than expected, because the impact between two bodies moving at high speed in the same direction was more painful than it appeared to be.
They didn't even have time to think anymore, disoriented by what had happened in just a few seconds, not even the considerable experience that the Golden Lion had on the former pirate apprentice of the most abominable crew would be enough to free him from the ordeal of training.
Training that surpassed all the years he had accumulated at sea.
"Open your eyes wide. I am not interested in the power of these fruits, although some are capable of impressing me. No. Show me the true power that is capable of overcoming everything in these seas!" – Naruto's strong voice was accompanied by a roar that clearly wasn't his, because he had uttered each word calmly.
The roar, however, came from the completely off-the-charts momentum that allowed Rocks to catch up to the pair in the blink of an eye. At this point, the crater he left in his wake would just be a lost memory as the sky blue eyed man shook his black fist with a giant smile.
"Hold on tight, because it's going to be seven relentlessly thunderous years!"
The concentrated movement of pressurized air infused with heavy doses of Haki seemed to come to life as it grew so large that it surpassed a giant's fist.
In that single moment Shiki was able to realize something that would have taken the youngest Kaido himself a few months to understand.
This would not be a simple training.
This wasn't them training to see who would obtain a more polished Haki capable of facing true monsters hidden in the four seas or even dreaming of being able to use the acquired skills to defend a man who shouldn't exist.
No. They would be fighting for their own lives or else they would be erased from existence.
"Damn it. You better move that dragon tail, brat!"
Inside the capital of the Alabasta Kingdom, everything was happening normally. Travelers and the country's citizens went about business as usual. It was at that moment that a small bolt of lightning appeared in an inaudible crackle and quickly took the form of Rocks D. Naruto.
Fortunately or unbelievably, no one would be the wiser to see or feel it.
Bright sapphire eyes opened to the world for the first time and a smile came to life on those lately serious features. The creation moved its shoulders a little and began to open and close its fists to get used to the lost sensation again.
"It's been a while."
The whisper of presence was carried by the sands and the sudden wind, but it did nothing to disrupt what he planned to do.
Others like him began to appear every few thousandths of a second.
Now there were about nine like the first and they came of all ages.
The former just rested his hands in his pockets in that characteristic position of an indifferent Rocks, but the bright smile on his face could very well be considered a rare event.
"You all know what you need to do, brothers."
He didn't look back as he began heading towards an aging tent that led to an underground path many miles away to begin an investigation left unattended for many centuries and then disappearing in a flash of orange lightning.
Those who remained behind took the opportunity to exchange a few quick words and after a few minutes of conversation they disappeared as one, but with different and pungent color tones.
"So we need to do this again. I'm not surprised."
The old man who said this had his eyes closed in contemplation as he stroked his own long, magnificently braided beard. He wore a long orange kimono with details of black lightning running around it and a thick obi of the same color tied tightly around his waist.
The man continued walking and raising in silent thoughts what his next actions should be, bearing in mind that his will was solely his own will, but also being careful enough to see that every action was capable of provoking a reaction.
Considering who he was, the old man was far from ignorant to forget such an important aspect.
Although the gravity of this was far from the minds of the younger and more excited, for this humble old man that was not quite the case.
"I need to study the changes that occurred during my last visit to that place and maybe I can start something lasting from there. Maybe I can visit the brat again?" – He muttered lightly to himself. This was a question he wished he could leave for another time, but understanding this nuance seemed like the right thing to do after so long.
Having finally concluded his thoughts, the old man let out a light sigh and orange-black lightning danced around his form with powerful but extremely controlled bangs. After that, the lightning began to expand rapidly, with the old man as the epicenter of the call.
It was then that, like a highly controlled cyclone, countless copies of the same old man emerged. A curious fact was observing how everyone remained thoughtful with their eyes closed and still stroking their beards.
"Now. Do as ordered, shadows of my will. Spread out and gather unmeasured knowledge as we did in the past. Don't hesitate to educate the kids while you're at it."
The order wisely spoken by the creator was immediately met with a positive nod from the sea of blue eyes as, one by one, the shadows headed in separate directions across the vast world.
"What do I really need to do?" – the old man stopped for a moment in panic, putting his hands on his head. Desperate, he then began shaking his head from side to side comically and in an absurd frenzy.
Only now was he wisely recognizing firsthand the dilemma of old age.
There wasn't even one.
A negligent smile covered the old man's features as he lightly slapped himself at his own antics and disappeared into thin air with loud laughter that was not overshadowed even by the thundering sounds.
"But that's not fair!"
That was the scream that a red-haired boy let out into the air while pouting and rudely pointing his index finger at the boy who was standing in front of him.
"What are you complaining about?" – the other boy had black hair and asked for tranquilizers without caring about the screams, but sweat fell a little from his face when he saw the drastic change in the behavior of the boy in front of him, because now he was dejected and drawing circles on the floor.
"… you should just exchange Haki with him." – Added another voice, seeming incredibly unconcerned with what was happening. This time he was a boy with blond hair.
The intriguing fact here was that the three boys were wearing the same clothes, consisting of a white shirt with a flowing black cape over their shoulders, knee-length orange shorts, and sandals, but the difference was in the small features.
While the red-haired boy made circles on the ground without actually touching it, the black-haired boy had a heavy and oppressive aura around him, every now and then cracking a stone here or there.
The last one with blond hair just shook his head at the antics of the other two, giving an almost mesmerizing highlight of red trails being left in the air by the movements of his bright eyes.
Nothing that was about to happen would surprise him, so he just huffed and shrugged at this embarrassing dispute that would take more than an hour to come to an end.
Maybe he would do something else more useful in this lost time and look back, instead of wasting something so precious looking forward.
"Reminiscences again. It seems that our will has no end. That's impressive!"
The one who was stroking the thick mustache above his upper lip was a mature man. Wearing a simple set of white cape, dress shirt of the same color, orange shorts with floral patterns and brown sandals.
Appearing to be in the prime of his adult life, he stood there on the edge of the island staring at the sea that expanded further and further away from his insurmountable senses, but remaining unshakable in the face of it all.
Searching for something tirelessly.
A dark spot, but bright to his long-trained senses.
Tearing apart the very natural borders created to divide the oceans, but without success in finding what he wanted so much.
"So you are truly gone, dear brother. You have truly lived an… intriguing and flashy life, little Xebec."
The man's blue eyes then seemed to take on different shades as he spread his arms wide and puffed out his chest for a long moment before letting out a powerful laugh that shook the only island for miles in some unexplored territory of the New World.
A shower of colors tore through the clear sky that suddenly fell into a brilliant darkness, as lightning the size of the giant island bathed the immensity of the skies.
A vortex of dense Haki began to come to life in response to the flexing of Haoshoku Haki of a true Supreme Ruler being hailed by the Sea Kings.
"The old man must have gone to visit old Wano, so I'm going to see how things are in Hachinosu. I hope I can find a lot of problems."
"Why does he always do this?"
"Honestly? Not even I know. Changing the subject, you also think that those three will invade that filthy land, don't you?"
Two boys with spiky black hair with a hint of red and blond were walking at a leisurely pace. They had their arms crossed at chest level and moved with confidence. Wisdom and clairvoyance lurked powerfully behind those sky blue eyes that alternated to red repeatedly.
Both were wearing formal clothes, made of very expensive fabrics and excellently sewn. Their ensemble consisted of a white kimono with magatama details on the collars and arm sleeves, including the back of the outfit.
The only fact that was able to differentiate the two was that while one had the moon symbol on his left hand, the other had the shining sun symbol engraved on his right hand.
"Perhaps. You know as much as I know. So, Elbaf?"
"It's probably the best course of action, brother."
"I want to visit Ohara, so take me there now, snail-san!"
Whoever shouted this was staring at a small golden Den Den Mushi that was just blinking in confusion at the command it was receiving.
The four year old boy who screamed first began to grind his teeth in annoyance and with a gracefully slow movement placed the snail on the ground which didn't move but continued to stare at the short boy who looked like he was about to explode on contact.
The snail, innocent of the danger, just remained where it was instead of crawling into the deepest hole it could find with the speed it had.
"Hmm. Being a Haki Reminiscence this time is not a complicated experience. Perhaps I can continue our experiments and infuse Haoshoku to qualitatively enhance my Kenbunshoku now that these cockroaches have been crushed."
The flowing red cape was a heavy reminder of what lurked behind this criminal's back with a presence so dense and overwhelming that he was able to come to life through the will of his creator.
"In the end, we are all one."
To be continued.
Author's Notes: Firstly I want to greet all my readers, new and old, and especially send a warm and very special hug to each and every one of you who took the time to praise and review my story!
YOU MAKE MY DAY! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
This is a new concept and I just know that I am blowing my own mind by creating something of this magnitude. Honestly, Tengoku! Reminiscences?! This is fantastic! I can't wait to develop more about this, without losing sight of one of the most important points in this wonderful journey across the four seas.
The dream of men that has no end!
I'm so happy with what's happening in this story of mine specifically and I can't wait to return again with a bombshell update! Fasten your seatbelts, because the countdown has just begun!
If any of you love the timeline, then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about when these seven years of exploration finally come to an end! Please leave in the reviews what you think about this new concept of mine, your feelings regarding the story and the things you think are about to happen in the coming years!
Predictions! Give me predictions!
Finally, I would like to record here my deepest and most sincere condolences to the families who lost a loved one in the tragedy that devastated the country of Morocco in recent days.
As always, the continuation of the story will depend on the things that are expressed. So review aloud! I certainly won't spend my time writing from a simple smartphone to not receive any kind of review, be it good or bad, but with respect.
Inspire me to keep going, because each review can help me set an improved course for this journey! Do not forget!
I wonder what you guys think. Let me know in the reviews.
Tengoku no Kotei out.
