A/N: Behold, ye scalawags!

Once more, Slifer wrote the bulk of this chapter, so many thanks to that madlad.

He's an absolute godsend, I don't know what I'd do without him. Thanks again for helping out, buddy.

With my sixteen year anniversary on this site fast approaching, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.

And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.

Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. Feels like everyone's lost their minds sometimes. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.

So here we go. The fate of this story depends on you, the reader. Your feedback determines the fate of this tale, and many others.

I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time.

Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that.

In other words...its up to YOU, the reader. Do let me know~!

"Do what must be done! Do not hesitate! SHOW NO MERCY!"

~?

The Massacre at Kuraigana Island

The weather over Kuraigana island had grown progressively worse in the hours since Saint Jalmack began his perverse method of 'marking the hour'. He paid it little mind, content in the fact that the only thing of loss was that he could not reclaim the bullets he had used to send their putrid souls to the next life.

They were, after all, peasants. Subhuman trash whose blood sullied the holy metals of lead and blessed powder of his pistol. This was the ambivalent work of a petty god that the rest of the world was forced to deal with. But the world did not stand idly by, the sky above the gloomy alpine retreat churned itself into the bleary eye of a beast that glared down balefully at them all.

Nature itself scolded them for standing by and letting this happen when it was their charged duty to protect the people of this world. That was the way it was supposed to work, the marines were the guardians and protectors of those beneath the umbrella of the World Government.

'But what do we do when the World Government itself commits this shit?' Garp thought, his teeth clenched hard enough to grind down mountains, tapping one finger on his suit's white sleeve as his ship once again came into dock beside Sengoku's austere looking battleship. 'Stand around with our thumbs up our assess and build a nice little picket fence to let the worms paint the town red.' The broad chested marine had been in a foul mood when he had first arrived for this gig and the past few hours had succeeded in dwindling what little patience he still had.

Now here he was again, about to check in with his old comrade and brother in arms and say with a straight face that nothing was wrong. The gangplank between both ships to admit his passage, not that he needed it; after all he could probably jump from here to the island in a single bound. But for the sake of niceties he stepped up onto the wide wooden board and crossed over to Sengoku's ship.

His footsteps were joined by the creek and clack of two more sets of footfalls falling into step behind him and Garp felt his mood improve a modicum that he was not alone in his dissatisfaction. Of the four Vice Admirals that Fleet Admiral Kong had sent to this shitheel of a mission, he had either made the mistake or good decision in asking for Zephyr. The Black Fist followed Garp onto Sengoku's ship with Bogard bringing up the rear, their expressions much more guarded than Garp's clear scowl but still obviously disliking what their orders were being made accessory to. Unable to help due to the blasted rule from the Gorosei of maintaining the blockade at all costs.

Or at least, that was the look that they were putting on for Sengoku's crew who watched them all with baited breath.

Garp suppressed the urge to let his scowl morph into a grimace as he recalled his 'somewhat' out of the box solution to the issue at hand, unwilling to admit that it had been Bogard's quick thinking that had turned it into something somewhat feasible. While he couldn't directly stop Jalmack's malignance, he could at least stymie the steadily growing number of dead and wounded. His attention shifted to the upper gangways and crosstrees that crisscrossed the blue and green superstructure that most Marine battleships sported, spotting figures sticking to the shadows in some pathetic attempt at being menacing. They wen't trying to hide, and even if they had they wouldn't have been able to slip past his Observation.

'Cipher Pol,' he thought in annoyance, recognising their tacky black suits, sunglasses and fedoras even without the gold World Government broach they all wore at their left lapel. They were probably here to act as the eyes and ears of the government, but he was perplexed at the lack of any of their white clothed colleagues. 'Aegis Zero isn't here, and they sure as shit aren't with Jalmack… something stinks about all this.'

While not exactly the sharpest sword on the rack, Monkey D Garp was a shade more shrewd than all save a select few ever saw, and while he didn't know the particulars of the situation, he knew enough to say that something was up and hopefully he'd be able to ask Sengoku about it soon enough.

There was a tension in the air that was electric, having nothing to do with the storm building above their heads. It wasn't something that you should feel walking onto the ship of your so called allies.

He continued walking uninterrupted until he passed a line of marines standing at parade rest, saluting him as he passed. With no warning, Garp whirled to face them head on and stuck his fingers into his mouth, pulling his cheeks wide and sticking out his tongue at the marines. "Blalalalalalalala!" he yelled, rolling his eyes for comedic effect.

"Ahhhhh!" the group of young Marines squealed in fright, stumbling backwards and dropping their weapons while others fell flat on their rears as the very tall and very imposing Vice Admiral continued to pull faces at them.

From beside him, Zephyr snorted in amusement at the attempt to break the bleak atmosphere and shook his head. "Cut that out, Garp. If one of them craps themselves then Sengoku will make you mop it up."

"Seriously? Zephyr, it's called the poop deck for a reason!" Garp reasoned, causing Bogard to tilt the wide brim of his hat to shield himself from the cringe he felt at the sincerity in his leader's voice. While he knew he was trying to lighten the mood, it was highly likely that Garp genuinely believed that… or that Bogard had personal experience of it… neither was a particularly pleasant reality.

A vein popped in the purple haired man's temple, "That's… not what it means… its never been what it means or god forbid what its for."

"Oh yeah, then why is it called the poop deck?" Garp said, sound self satisfied that he obviously was right on this rightfully silly argument.

No selling the energetic response, the younger Vice Admiral slipped his hands into his pockets, "It comes from 'la poupe', the word for the back of a ship in the Frauce Kingdom in the East Blue." he explained, not missing a beat.

"..Huh…" Grap blinked owlishly.

Bogard's hat dipped further.

Opening his mouth to continue, Zephyr's eye narrowed before shutting his mouth, whatever line of thought he had been on being violently derailed into a screech of indignant confusion. "Wait, aren't you from East Blue? How is it that I know that and you don't!?"

Scratching his cheek in embarrassment, Garp mustered a shrug, "Sounds kinda boring to be honest. I prefer using ship as punching bags so they're usually scrap and splitters by the time I can see what part of the ship I'm pounding." he offered honestly.

Boggard's lips curled upwards in amusement before thinning to a thin line, "Vice Admirals, sirs," he said, causing both inhumanly tall men to turn and look at him, "We best not keep your fellow Vice Admirals waiting any longer."

Both men schooled their features hearing that, turning on their heels and silently marching with the XO bringing up the rear once again. It was not long before they found both Sengoku and John Giant by the ship's central mast, they were not exactly difficult to miss.

At 36 years old, Vice Admiral Sengoku was a man in the prime of his life and the picture perfect model of what it meant to be a Marine. But as with any Marine of above a certain rank, he had a level of eccentricity to his appearance that set him apart from the rank and file marines under his command. Like Garp and Zephyr, Sengoku fell within the realms of a 'superhuman' and boasted an imposing height of 9'1" with a broad chest and heavily muscled arms that shone through the dark blue double breasted suit he wore paired with a white button down shirt and perfectly tied blue tie. His face was wide and serious with a thick black moustache, and a prominent black afro; a pair of round rimmed glasses was perched on his nose, glinting in the light. Finally, he sported the characteristic 'justice' coat clipped to his shoulders as a cape.

"You are late." he said sharply, his voice cold.

"If I could beat you two here with my size then you two should be ashamed." Vice John Giant added hotly, tapping his foot on the deck with enough force to make nearby lanterns quiver.

As his name would imply, John Giant was a Giant, and while that statement may have been redundant, seeing him in the flesh forced the affirmation of his size from all who looked at him. The first ever member of his species to join the Marines, though not the last, he was a massive figure that made even the three Superhumans present seem like small rodents by comparison. He was sat on the next deck up with his legs hanging over the edge to rest beside where the trio now conversed. Tall and rippling with muscle, John Giant had a broad and sour looking face that was deeply lined with frown lines and somewhat beady eyes, his hair was a curly brown that fell to the nape of his neck and two bushy sideburns either side of his face. An orange button down shirt with gold buttons was worn about his cheat while his lower body was adorned in a pair of blue buccaneer breeches tucked into knee high black boots, an appropriately sized Katana sheathed at his left hip. Different from the others, or most other marines in general, John wore his Justice Coat as an actual coat with his arms in the sleeves and had it richly decorated in gold filigree and medals.

Waving off their annoyance, Garp addressed them with a flippant disregard for their rank. "Yeah, well we're here. We have nothing to report and now are gonna go. Have fun playing babysitter to an asshole with a fishbowl on his head." he jeered before turning on his heel.

"How dare you refer to the Celestial Dragons with such disrespect!" John growled, jabbing a finger at the short black haired man's back, "You forget yourself, Garp!"

"Oh blow it out your ass, John!" Garp shot back bluntly, looking over his shoulder at the colossal Vice Admiral and jerking his chin towards the island. "We're the same rank so you have no right to tell me what to do, least of all give that subhuman sludge in a standup condom anything more than a fart in his general direction!"

Monkey D Garp was many things; blunt, brave, loyal to a fault and a sworn believer in Moral Justice. But he had never, nor would he ever expressly kowtow to people who kept and proliferated slavery. He would never become an Admiral and forfeit his freedom of choice to become a glorified lapdog for the worst of humanity. So while he may follow his words to the letter, he was very loose with what he viewed as the letter of the law. One of the perks of being a marine was the notion of emergency powers, the ability to tell established law that it was suspended until such a time as normality was restored.

A long winded way of saying that he wouldn't even piss on a Celestial Dragon even if they were on fire.

Silence fell over the battleship, an uneasy and tension filled silence at the borderline sacrilege that had just passed from Garp's lips. No one said a word and the microcosm of shuffles, uneasy looks and thick swallows was deafened by the rising wind as the muggy sky transitioned to the beginnings of a storm.

Garp's coat fluttered in the wind, its 'Justice' on proud display to the Giant Vice Admiral, as if dearing the much older Vice Admiral to test him. John's jaw locked tight and his hand came to rest on the handle of his katana, its clover shaped hilt begging to be parted from the sheath.

Before things could erupt into a true incident, Sengoku finally spoke. "Enough. John, calm down."

John whipped his head around to look at Sengoku, "I'm the one that needs to calm down!?"

"He's goading you into a fight that Zephyr and I would have to intercede on, meaning that all four present Vice Admirals would be unable to intercede and all focus would be here," he turned his gaze on Garp, eyes turning to chips of glacial onyx, "meaning no one would notice the men he dispatched to the island to help evacuate the citizenry of the Shukriya Kingdom."

A murmur of surprise permeated the air and Garp's smirk dropped to a strained Rictus.

John's righteous anger bled away in favour of confusion. "What?"

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice that there were less life signatures on your ship with every pass?" Sengoku asked Garp, totally ignoring John. He stepped forwards towards Garp who walked to meet him, stopping when they were eye to eye.

From within his pocket, Garp tensed his hand three times, not taking his focus away from Sengoku. He saw Bogard shift imperceptibly in his peripheral vision and felt relief sweep over him. When Garp and Bogard had collaborated on this plan, his XO had made sure to acquire a Horned Transponder Snail from storage and hid it within the folds of his coat. That tiny tilt of the head, bereft of any emotion that could be picked up with Observation Haki, every single Transponder Snail on the ship, be they recording, communication or anything in between, had just gone dead. Meaning he was free to speak his mind and no one would be able to prove it. 'God bless you Bogard.'

"What I think, Vice. Admiral. Sengoku," he punctuated each word with force, "is that it is the duty of every marine to help those who require help. And if a large population of clueless bystanders were to unintentionally walk to the boundaries of the island… well then it is my duty to take them into protective custody upon my ship until the blockade is over."

Sengoku scowled, fixing his anger filled eyes squarely on the other Vice Admiral standing before him. "What you're doing could land you with a court marshall, Garp, or even treason if the Gorosei find out!"

"What are you talking about?" Garp replied, his smirk vicious, the scar on his face contouring into a grin of its own. "I'm simply being flexible with how I enforced the blockade, if it's anyone's fault it's yours for not being clear enough."

Gritting his teeth, Sengoku felt his hands clenched into fists, "You don't want this fight, Garp."

"Oh I think I do!"

You could hear a pin drop in that stitch of time, where a clash of ideologies danced on the knife edge of becoming a brawl of fist. Regardless of which side you supported, all in that moment wished for a miracle to avert this catastrophe.

A miracle that fate was all too eager to deliver.

The sky rumbled with thunder in a tempestuous crash and a presence suddenly manifested on the edge of their senses, a large and looming threat that bore down of them with a wrath that shattered the current argument. Garp and Sengoku whipped around in a flash, blitzing to the port side bow of Sengoku's battleship, Zephyr quickly joining them to stand atop one of the domed cannon turrets while John got to his feet. As one, every single Haki capable Marine on every battleship taking part in the blockade fixed their attention on the horizon.

"Something's coming." Sengoku said grimly before barking orders for the rest of the non-Haki users to make ready. "Whatever it is is coming fast."

A large drop of sweat beaded at John's temple, his eyes slowly widening, "This presence is… unreal." he muttered, the imagetaking form in his mind's eye forming something terrifying.

Garp tamped down on his surprise and expanded the range of his observation until a dot appeared on the horizon, not yet clear even through a telescope but Garp knew that Haki. "Crap, of all the times and all the people why did it have to be her?"

Zephyr clenched his fist and let it flash black with Haki, "Look not for war, Garp, but be ready when she comes."

"This is no war, Zephyr." Grap grimaced before his face split into a predatory grin, excitement and adrenaline pouring into his arms and legs.

"Attention! Attention! All blockade crew to battle stations. This is a CODE RED!" A harried voice stammered over the PA system as one by one each ship began to emit its claxon cry. "Outbound scouts have confirmed the presence of a ship that matches the profile of the Queen Mama Chanter. Charlotte 'Big Mom' Linlin and Uzumaki 'Typhon' Naruto are on a direct collision course for Kuraigana Island!"

This was not war. Two monsters had clawed their way from the abyss of night and now came upon them with wings of storm, with the wind as their feet and the beat of their hearts the thunder.

The tempest was about to break upon them, and all collectively noted that their ships, the pinnacle of size on the seas, suddenly felt like rafts in the path of a tsunami.

(.0.0.0.)

The Chanter's deceleration was far more smooth than its initial Devil Fruit induced burst of speed, the great bulk of the food themed ship slipping back into the late grey waters with a boom of surf. She coasted for a few moments before tilting lightly in the wound, now floating approximately one nautical mile out from the gloomy island's forested shoreline. The crew got to their feet on shaky legs before gaining there bearings, the exhilaration and exhaustion at such a prolonged charge needing a moment to clear from their systems. More than one of the crewmen and women staggered to the railings and vomited over the side of the ship, emptying the contents of their stomachs with wet squelches.

To their credit, the disorientation didn't last all that long, for they were a New World pirate crew, to whom the fantastical was as annoying as inclement weather. After all, they had much greater bastions of power and terror in their midst and at their heads.

Naruto let out a low appreciative whistle at the timing job. The issue with utilising World's More More Fruit was that he needed to reapply 100-fold speed every ten minutes or so to keep them on track and there had been a small chance that the last of such applications would have sent the Chanter careening into Redfield's island as a shower of brightly coloured splinters. Alas, the speed had abated in just the nick of time and the bigger of the Berndi brothers was raucous in his laughter at the fact. Whatever mirth the blonde felt stilled into a zen like calm as he made his way up onto the figurehead where Redfield maintained the vigil, aloof as ever.

But whatever visible calm the Count of Kuraigana put off did nothing to abate the palpable anger and bloodlust that rolled off him in waves, tangible to even those without an empathetic sense like Naruto. But the blonde Shinobi turned pirate did possess such a sense and it felt every stab of righteous anger in a clarity that could have been there own. But it was not something he could not overcome, not something he had not already overcome. His wrath was his own, and on this day, in this place, it was about to be unleashed.

Narrowing his blue eyes at the flotilla of Marine Battleships currently meandering around to ready position, Naruto had to note how imposing the force must be to most people. While the Chanter was darn near half a kilometre tall, the Marine Battleships were still bigger than almost any other commercial or pirate ships that he had seen since his arrival in this world. They were all so dreadfully similar though, almost impossible to tell apart.

Save for one.

"Someone must really like dogs," Naruto said.

Redfield did not dignify the words with a response but did shift his focus to the dog themed 'HQ-3' Battleship, which unlike any of the other ships present save the Chanter, bore a figurehead of a hounddog happily chomping on a bone. Linlin joined her paramore on the figurehead with World bringing up the rear, the pink haired woman's new sentient pink bicorn hat sat jauntily on her head. "I'd recognise that floating dog turd anywhere. That's Garp's ship, and where Garp is, Sengoku is usually never far behind."

"Garp, huh?" Naruto mused, having heard the name once or twice before but never more than in passing. Silently he began to expand his own enhanced senses, taking in the bountiful natural energy of the sea to usher him into Sage Mode, though even without it fully active yet he could sense a pressure on the air that told him a beast lay ahead. "That's the name of a powerful Marine right?"

"One of the strongest, as much as it pains me to say it. He's a pain in the ass and more tenacious than a used ship salesman. Packs a hell of a right hook too." Linlin grunted, remembering the few times she had crossed fists with the brawler vice admiral. "Brash, hard headed, surprisingly intelligent and a heart of gold despite the shit the World Government makes him walk in. Honestly, I think that's why he wears a white suit just to spite them." a beat passed before she smirked and bumped her hip against Naruto's shoulder, "He's kinda like you…just dumber."

The unsaid backhanded insult did not bother Naruto, but it did give Naruto pause in considering what would make someone similar to himself be an accomplice to this travesty. Orange pigment appeared over his eyes as they became gold with the toadlike bars of Sage Mode, his senses expanding in concert with the Observation Haki of his three allies to paint a picture that went beyond sight, sound or any sinestesia between. There were seven battleships to their immediate fore, each one carrying at least a thousand souls aboard while an eighth was attempting to make a circuit of the island to join up with the rest of the blockade. Claxons bleared loudly as thousands of footfalls spritned this way and that, grabbling swords and muskets and clumsily attempting to bring their cannons to bear on the Chanter.

Compared with the legions of panicked enlisted men, Naruto zoomed in on a handful of much more powerful signatures with their four most powerful members standing astrike one another on the deck of one ship in particular. "There's a giant with them," Naruto pointed out, noting the sheer difference from the normally happy titans.

The mention of a giant made Linlin square her shoulders as she recalled a haze of memory from long ago Elbaff, "There's a few of them in the Marines, they don't like me much given my history with them." Joining in on the assessment she quickly picked out what she recognised as the austere presence of Sengoku and Zephyr gathered in the same area. But of all the emotions they felt from their foes, it was not them, not even Garp's bestial excitement that they felt.

Deep in the heart of the island, far distant and unaware of the calamity bearing down on them, the hundreds of Redfield's subjects still suffered beneath the cruelty of Jalmack's cruel time wasting, executed at the hand of the World Noble or his clan of sycophantic knights and other assorted servants. Their cries of pain and pleas for help lit a fire in all of their hearts but none more potently than the Count himself, his fingers gripping the bat wing handle of his umbrella with such force that his hands began to bleed.

The first of the battleships had finally managed to bring their guns to bear on the Chanter and launched an initial Salvo of high explosive ordnance right at the quartet, the three large cannonballs sent whistling through the air in a parabolic arc.

"Incoming!" a midshipman called to the grunts under his control and several of the newer Big Mom crew braced for impact while more advanced Chess Soldiers sprinted to the front of the ship in a suicidal attempt to throw themselves in front of their Captain and her allies.

Naruto began to weave hand signs to call up a water dragon and devour the cannon balls using the ample ocean water as fuel but was blindsided when a swirl of purple and red blurred at his side. Taking hold of the shaft of his umbrella, Redfield twisted the handle with a sharp click and they watched as its tip extended to a long handle while a great edged blade in the shape of a bat's wing folded from the other end. Now wielding a stylised scythe, the Count instantly proved it to be more than just for show, sweeping it diagonally to send a vermillion coloured slash flying out, bisecting the cannonballs and causing them to explode harmlessly a few hundred feet off the bow.

Resting the scythe on his shoulder, Redfield finally spoke in a glacial tone that would scare most men to death. "I want to kill these Marines, I want to gut and bone them and hang their entrails from stakes till the ravens have their fill." he said, eyes not leaving the distant treetops. "...but that would waste too much time while my subjects suffer, an injustice I will not permit. So tell me, Typhon," Naruto perked up, "Will you hold to your promise to kill a Celestial Dragon?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Naruto replied, his eyes serious.

Accepting the answer, Redfield took a step backwards, "Then prove it, help clear the path for our arrival. As your captain's ally and Count of this Kingdom, I ask you to remove this unwanted stain from my doorstep before we arrive."

It was a very flowery way of saying that Redfield wanted to save his anger for Jalmack and his knights rather than wasting it on the four Vice Admirals ready to fight them, even if caught on the backfoot.

Thinking it over for a second, Naruto gave a short nod before approaching the front of the figurehead, unsurprised when Linlin was beside him. "I can do this by myself ya'know." Naruto told his significant other, reaching up a hand to the tip of his Bo staff and pulling it from its strap.

"Mamamama!" Linlin chortled, grinning that bloodthirsty grin that the smaller of the two could call nothing else but primally attractive, "If you think I would miss the chance to ride into battle with you then you're not beating the dumb blonde allegations, whiskers."

"Ha!" Naruto snorted, drawing the Bo and taking a ready position, "If you think you can hang with me, Thigh Highs, then you clearly don't remember all the times I pounded you into the dirt."

Linlin smirked, resisting the urge to comment on his phrasing, instead she raised her hand above her head, "Ready to show them what you can do, Napoleon!?"

The cartoonish skull's blue eyes opened wide on the bicorn before setting into an air of happy determination, "You betcha, Mama!" the newborn Napoleon yelled, jumping from Linlin's head and letting her long curtain of pink hair billow in the wind. The hat turned in mid air and both its handle and long faced gold cutlass blade appeared from both ends, the owner quickly snatching it from the air and taking up a ready stance of her own.

Naruto let his chakra thrum to the surface, gold and blue energies boiling to life from every pour and sending his clothes fluttering, a strong wind beginning to flow outwards from his body. With a moment's thought he sent mass amounts of wind natured and Senjutsu infused chakra into his Bo staff, its Sea Stone construction the perfect conduit and amplifier for the energies of nature. Every single sailor on the Chanter felt an inhuman chill prickle at their senses, the old warning of a storm in its early stages taking form and bubbling up from Naruto and his weapon, he was a typhoon in human form that any self respecting sailor would bow to the majesty of.

But Linlin would not be outdone.

Tensing her whole body, the rich purple eldritch energies of the Soul Soul Fruit permeated the air and infused her every cell, joined with her endless flow of haki. Her body was covered in an aura of Haki so dark and thick that even those with no sensitivity would have been able to see a warp in the air around her.

Naruto was a torrent of wind and will. Linlin was the fury in the fire of the soul and black and gold lighting began to crackle between them. But it was not like any of their prior clashes, it was as if two choirs were working to draw their voices into a single, powerful concert. Naruto's 'voice' was one deep and old, a power of nature a will that had breached worlds to find a truth. Linlin's was sharp and new, full of power and seeking new understanding of itself. The powers did not want to fight, they wished to be as one but did not know how.

Gritting her teeth, Linlin shouted, "Sync up with me, Whiskers!" She was still new to this, it was difficult even if her mind and body were willing.

"Balance it out, Linlin, let it be what you want it to be, your power and mine!" Naruto offered a white hew falling over his Bo as the natural energy began to grow into a self sustaining loop.

Far distant aboard the deck of Sengoku's flagship, the Buddah's eyes widened behind their glasses, scarcely believing what was unfolding before him. "Be ready!" he called, his form beginning to glow gold.

Linlin growled, trying to coral the power until finally, her eyes snatched upon the disturbance between them itself, the black and gold lightning was starting to coil around one another into a helix and with a subtle change in perspective, they were as one, black lighting of the conqueror sheathed in the golden lustre of the Typhon.

Power flowed through Naruto, a gold and cobalt coloured tide of concentrated energy that flowed along the length of his Sea Prism Stone Bo and into the gathering maelstrom between him and Linlin. World had to shield his eyes as tendrils of cloud, thick with every weather phenomena imaginable were drawn down from the heavens and used to fuel the helix of power that was an expression of two powers as one. Two minds as one.

And in that moment, the pair knew the attack's name and found it fitting.

It built and built until finally they both swung, unleashing the pent up power across the sea with a wrathful cry.

"Storm's Sovereignty!"

And thus, with a swish of wind, the world came undone.

Sound itself was rent as the proud calamity of power was unleashed towards the waiting ships, a lance of iridescent power that drilled forwards like the searching finger of a tornado, growing wider and wider as it picked up speed. The ocean beneath them boiled as the atack passed, a single heartbeat stretching out into an epoch as each and every marine saw their lives flash before their eyes.

It was then and only then did Garp leap into action, quite literally. Crouching low, he built superhuman power within his legs and took to the skies in a bound that reduced the section of the deck he was standing on to splinters, the entirety of Sengoku's ship dipping ten metres deeper into the waterline. He flew forwards like an arrow loosed from a bow, a mach cone forming around him before shattering as he left the sound barrier in the dust. "Zephyr! Sengoku!" he called, his smile massive.

"Leave it to me!/On it!" both Vice Admirals answered.

Zephyr propelled himself into the air with a similar burst of speed. His body blurred in and out of existence with sudden bursts of Shave, poofs of condensed air booming from his kicking legs as he supplemented his passage with two of the Six Powers of Rokushiki, soon catching up with Garp.

Sengoku meanwhile was suffused with golden light, growing larger and wider, his suit jacket falling away. When the light finally abated he was a man transformed, his skin and clothes a heavenly gold and while still a few metres shorter than John Giant, who had drawn his sword and infused it with the black sheen of armament haki, was the impossibly large figure of a great Daibutsu.

The trio had recognized the threat of Storm's Sovereignty long before the two pirates had loosed it into the wind and the moment Garp had moved, all knew that they would have to counter with a combination attack of their own.

Sengoku raised a huge golden palm and pulled it backwards, a menace of purest golden light haloing the appendage as he gritted his teeth. "Summit…"

Black hair flying around his face messily as he flew into the path of the roaring beast, Garp chambered a fist and let it bleed black. Of everyone in the Marines, there was perhaps no one as adept with Haki as Monkey D Garp. His hand was wrapped in a blue white halo of his will made manifest, his solemn vow, his CHALLENGE. 'We will stop this attack in its tracks!" he declared mentally, blood at a boil at the sheer exhilaration of it all. "Galaxy…!"

He was not alone, for mirroring his action was none other than Zephyr, his entire left arm darker than a moonless night. While he was not a true master of Armament as Garp was, he was a genius of the fist, using what he had in ways that none had ever considered. From within the confines of his black fist, shafts of yellow and orange light began to emerge. "Smash…"

"ENLIGHTENMENT!/IMPACT!/BUSTER!"

Sengkuku's arm struck out like a viper, unleashing the gathered power in translucent golden shockwave that rang with the cry of a bell, catching up and passing Garp and Zephyr who were sucked into its wake, going that much faster flying in the vacuum that it had created. Garp swung forwards and unleashed the gathered Haki via emission, one of the most advanced disciplines of Armament Haki. A deluge of dark blue haki and enough compressed air pressure to level a city was unleashed in a bubble of pure destructive pressure that filled the concave shape of Sengoku's shockwave.

Zephyr chambered his fist further, glowing with more shafts of light. He had learned some time ago that emission was currently beyond his level of finesse with Haki, but it didn't mean that he hadn't worked to find a work around. Most people simply armoured the outside of their limbs with Hardening, but the Black Fist learned that the division between outside and in could be used to great effect. Smash Buster worked by armoring his limb in Haki before flooding the inside of his arm with as much Haki as he could, pressurising it until it could no longer be contained within the limb, so at any moment, usually on contact with an enemy, every single hit could receive a bomb of Haki. A poor man's emission, perhaps, but it was effective.

With his roar joining the others, Zephyr swung and his fist detonated, a flood of orange and yellow Haki flowing out of him with the boom of a cannon, filling in behind the double layers of the others attacks and serving as the propellent to drive one combination attack into another.

Meeting in the middle, the two praxiums of diametrically opposed power collided with biblical reverberations that shook the teeth of everyone within a dozen miles. They drilled against each other for dominance with neither giving an inch until finally, at some unsaid signal only the heavens could fathom, both attacks detonated into a dome of rainbow, gold and black energy that was nearly a kilometre across.

Sound briefly bled away from the world, as if reality was so shocked by the meeting of the elements that it had to take a moment before cause and effect were permitted to resume, and in that time a paradox of calm and chaos played out to both sides. The sky was the sea and the sea was the sky. Both cloud bank and ocean dimpled into concave cavitations that were totally still, with fish clearly able to be seen swimming from one sphere to another. Weightlessness fell over the nearby ships while static crackled with such ferocity that every single lightbulb on the marine ships shorted out simultaneously.

Eventually, something had to give. A 'wump' of infrasound heralded the end to the minor break in reality, the merged attacks pulling in on themselves to a singular point of light before finally exploding, releasing all the pent up noise and pressure in a singular, unfathomably loud and cataclysmic KRAKAKAKKOOM!

For one unlucky Marine battleship that had been too close to the initial clash, the shockwave that fell upon it from the cloudburst was as if it had been struck by the hammer of an angry war god. In a mere moment, every single surface on the ship from the sheets to the iron hull plating and even the mighty keel was pulped to splinters that were sent flying across the bay as shrapnel flew from a grenade.

Garp and Zephyr caught the shockwave in the chest and were sent reeling backwards, crashing back down onto the deck of Garp's ship that the churning waters had pushed into their path.

Naruto was forced to stick his feet to the figurehead with chakra and had to look perplexed at the damage he had wrought. But soon enough he looked to Linlin and saw her face was one of shock as well. But from her feelings he sensed only pleasant surprise. 'Now you see what you can do when you master yourself,' he thought, pleased by both her state and the hole that had been punched in the blockade, 'and wouldn't you look at that, a path cleared, as promised.'

(.0.0.0.)

"What was that!?" Saint Jalmack demanded, picking himself up from the floor with the assistance of his knights and other servants. Moments ago, the entire island had been rocked by an unholy shockwave that had shattered nearly every single pane of glass on the island. Unknown to him, battle had commenced between the forces of his blockade and the rightfully pissed off forces of Naruto, Big Mom and their allies.

"W-we don't know sir!" one of his servants, a knight clad in cataphract silver armour with an ellipsoid shaped helmet replied. Amidst the pandemonium caused by the shockwave, a series of much smaller booms began to echo out from the edge of the island, ones that the knight was able to recognise as canonfire. "The island is under attack!"

Jalmack snarled, clenching his hand around his gilded pistol as his breath and spittle fogged up the inside of his cube shaped plastic helmet. "Who would even dare!?" When he did not get an immediate reply, he grabbed one of the knights by a pauldron and shoved him harshly, sending the loyal servant stumbling back. "Find out, you worm!"

"Y-yes, Saint Jalmack!" the knight answered, snapping off a sharp salute before running off to the many other servants that were manning the communications equipment.

Wiping shards of glass and dust from his usually immaculate protective clothing, Saint Jalmack of the Celestial Dragons strode to one of the shattered windows and looked out over the heart of this dead end backwater he had found himself in. After taking control of the island, he had taken up temporary residence in the castle of the Kingdom's absent ruler, Count Patric Redfield. It was a large gothic affair that was the jewel of the island's characteristically creepy architecture, but to Jalmack it was little more than a tawdry shack when compared to the lofty heights of Pangea Castle.

Looking in the direction of where the shockwave had come from, the spacesuit sporting 'Dragon' could see little more than the mist heavy forests that covered most of the island, blocking any view of the sea. But there was evidence of the proclaimed attack, flashes of orange and yellow light plumed into being along that side of the horizon, poking through the trees as distant marine turrets and carronades tried desperately to hold back whatever it was that was approaching the island.

The cataphract stumbled back into the room, his face hidden by his helmet but had Jalmack been able to see it, it would have been grave. "It's pirates, my lord. The Big Mom Pirates under Charlotte Linlin."

That name rang oddly familiar to Jalmack for some reason, but it didn't stand out especially well. 'What is the point of learning the names of people who never have nor never will affect your life?' he wondered, but knew the fact that this was a New World pirate crew did pose some concern. "Contact Sengoku and tell him to eradicate the pirates. Spare none and if any do happen to survive, see them branded with the Hoof by nightfall." Jalmack ordered.

"We… we cannot, sir," replied the cataphract, earning him a sour face and a demand to explain, "We don't know why, but there's something blocking our Transponder Snail signal to Sengoku's ship and the rest of the ships our locked in combat with the Big Mom pirates and her allies.

Allies? "Who else dares?" he said, cocking his pistol and fully intending on blowing the knight's brains from his skull if he found the answer wanting.

"According to the blockade, it is the World Pirates as well as Red the Aloof, Count of Kuriagana…"

An evil smirk spread across Jalmack's bearded face.

"There was one other-"

"Enough of that!" he shouted, cutting the knight off, "That cur who thinks himself royalty attacks a place where I have come, so he can enjoy seeing his people suffer for it. Send word to our forces across the island; kill everyone and start with the children."

(.0.0.0.)

Shock permeated Big Mom's crew after what they had just witnessed, the power displayed by their captain and her paramour was something that many of them had heard of but even after all this time had been sceptical of the truth. Yet now it was beyond doubt, Naruto was indeed someone strong enough to stand beside their queen. Trepidation and distrust began to quickly shift within their chests, metamorphosize into excitement and fervour. Weapons were drawn from sheaths and held aloft. Lances, swords, axes, rifles and clubs. From the highest ranked chess soldier to the lowliest swabby, all roared their approval for their Queen and the person who, for the first time, had shown them he was worthy of the title of king.

"Barorororororo! What a stupendous attack!" World laughed his approval, thumping a meaty fist to his chest as his crew silently agreed. He turned to face the throng of people below him, a sea of faces that massed on the deck primarily formed of the Chanter's massive crew but interspersed with his own men and women and the sparse littering of Redfield's servants in their magenta cloaks. "PIRATES OF THE NEW WORLD! YOUR KING AND QUEEN SET AN EXAMPLE! ARE YOU GONNA LET THEM DOWN!?"

"NO!" the pirates thundered, stamping their feet and discharging their firearms into the air.

From their place at the figurehead, Naruto and Linlin looked in the direction of the huge pirate as he worked the crowd.

A meaty finger was jabbed at Redfield, "Our friend has had his land attacked and these marine slimes want to keep him from taking his home back. We won't let that stand!"

"YEAH!"

"SCREW THE NAVY!"

"LET'S KICK THEIR TEETH IN!"

"He's quite good at that," Naruto observed as the ship began to move again, bringing its broadside cannons to bear on the remaining battleships, the mighty guns belching superheated iron and high explosive shot. The blonde eyed the gap in the flotilla, I'm going to have to get going soon enough."

Linlin nodded, her orange eyes trained on one of the ships were a glow of gold and a large figure could be seen. Sengoku and John Giant were firmly in her sights so she gave Naruto a playful smack on the back, "Go have your fun, Whiskers, and make sure the worm dies in pain."

She may be changing, but Linlin was still a bloodthirsty woman.

Naruto gave the simplest of mental pokes and felt Kurama respond, his body shrouded in the golden chakra of the mightiest Bijuu. He remained on the figurehead for a moment more, nodding to all those looking his way, then blasted into the air, streaking forwards at great speeds with a trail of flaming gold in his wake.

Linlin watched him go before bringing her fingers to her mouth and whistling, calling Zeus and Prometheus who emerged from the crosstrees to stay by her side. She snapped her fingers and Zeus expanded, his colouration darkening to a thundercloud and allowing Linlin to step up onto him before beginning their own flight towards the Marine ships.

Redfield and World remained aboard the ship, watching the two monsters make their way towards their given quarries. Wanting to join in on the fun, World made to jump over the edge and down onto one of the Tarte ships that were deploying en masse.

"A moment of your time, Mr World."

World paused, looking up at Redfield who looked at him searchingly. "Huh?"

Redfield twirled his scythe in one hand while coming to stand in front of the burley pirate, looking up into his face. "As sure as I am that the Typhon will slay the Dragon, I would quite like to get in there and kill those who are hurting my subjects. I would not ask this in the presence of others, and ask that you never repeat what I am about to say to you but…" he pointed the scythe at the flying Naruto, "Throw me."

World cocked his head to one side, looking at the Count as if he had grown a second head before nodding and holding out one of his exceptionally well muscled arms. Redfield's long, thin legs bent at the knees and hopped into the air, turning in midair and landing atop the other man's arm in a light crouch.

Stamping one leg forwards, the younger Berndi brother tensed his leg and amassed his strength, the deck creaking in protest beneath him. "Ready?"

A cool, determined nod was his reply.

"Right then. More-More:" World entoned, the invisible influence taking hold over Redfield as he became the 'projectile'. "One Hundredfold Toss!" He threw Redfield with all of his strength and sent the red Count streaking across the sky as a magenta and chequered dart, falling catching up with Naruto as both landed on the coastline and set off into the forest, making for the centre of the island.

(.0.0.0.)

Pain smarted through Garp's body as he pulled himself to his feet, copious detritus falling from his thoroughly rumpled suit before he cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders to loosen the stiffness that had built up in them from his rough landing. The pressure wave from that monstrous airburst earlier had sent both him and Zephyr crashing into his ship and by the time he had gotten back up, the Big Mom contingent had already begun their ingress into the theatre of battle.

The Chanter may have been outnumbered but she was hardly outgunned, her massive broadside cannons unleashing salvos and mortar stonks into the marine battleships that manoeuvred to keep out of the lines of fire.

"That Typhon…" spoke Zephyr as he got to his feet, looking worse for wear than the older man, "Has a hell of a way of introducing himself."

Garp shook his head ruefully. "Only proper way to say hello is a punch, so I'd say he's greeted us and ready to talk the only way I know how!" He punched fist to palm before searching for any sign of the bountyhead. Spotting the streak of gold making vanishing into the forest with a speck of magenta, Garp set his mind on following them because if his Haki was telling him anything then it was the Uzumaki, despite having the lowest bounty, that was of the greatest threat… and would provide the funnest scrap.

He began to jog along the length of the ship, picking up speed as he broke into a run and found Zephyr at his side again. He shot the purple haired Vice Admiral a glower, "The hell are you doing following me?"

Zephyr frowned, keeping pace despite being visibly winded. "You aren't gonna fight that monster alone are you? You'll need me."

"Probably," Garp conceded but turned to look towards Sengoku's distant ship. "But I'd wager those two are going to need you more." he said, causing Zephyr to direct his Observation to the strong life forces of Sengoku and John Giant.

Charlotte Linlin rode atop her homies in the skies above the bay looking like a god of old, loosing forks of powerful purple lightning that crackled against the iron hulls of the battleships, superheating them and electrifying any poor sap that happened to be nearby. Her intent was plain to see, drawn towards the two other Vice Admirals like a moth drawn to a flame. Her statuesque form leapt from the sentient thundercloud and soared towards the ship like an eagle at the zenith of its dive. As she fell, she held out a hand that the flaming sun of Prometheus flew into and squeezed, kneading the plasma construct into a fiery broadsword that served as partner to the grinning gold cutlas that was Napoleon.

"No further, witch!" John Giant boomed, swinging his Haki infused katana up to meet Linlin. The pinkette did not move to avoid the slash but instead flipped in mid air, adding the coil of centrifugal energy to her passage and bringing down both gold and flaming swords onto John's katana.

A shower of sparks and gold-blue energy exploded out from the point of contact, shaking the nearby waters and Zephyr had to shield his eyes, but could not cover his ears.

"Mamamamamamama hahahahaha!"

"Back them up, Zephyr. I can handle myself." Garp ordered.

"You know you can't give me orders, right?" Zephyr pointed out, noting Garp's own earlier words to John. The smile he received in response could be called 'shit eating', carrying with it the unsaid words that the difference was that these orders made sense. He nodded, "I'm on it, just give the Typhon a punch from me!" he called before leaping off the side of the ship and using the several ships between them and the angry country destroyer to leapfrog his way there.

"Zephyr my friend, you'll make a better admiral than I ever could!" the last Vice Admiral remarked aloud before jumping in the direction of the island, hoping to cut off Naruto before he could do any more damage.

(.0.0.0.)

Two figures sprinted through the forest with their feet barely touching the ground, blurs of movement that were like leaves caught in a strong gust of wind. Naruto had dropped from his chakra cloak to maintain at least some level of stealth and also in the hope of reducing collateral damage. Redfield meanwhile was keeping pace admirably after his sudden World induced arrival had scared the crap out of the blonde.

Used to rolling with the punches of unusual situations, Naruto had simply kept up the pace and continued to run towards where he sensed life signatures. The Shikkearu Kingdom was mostly forested areas that were populated by the native Mandrills, sentient monkeys that could copy skills they had observed, and the humans that served there as Redfield's subjects.

"I'm sensing the most negative emotions in the centre of the island, but there's a few pockets of others scattered around the island." Naruto said as they continued their sustained sprint.

Redfield took the information in, nodded, then said, "Most of the citizens live in the central city but there are a number of smaller hamlets around the island. The Mandrills act as go-betweens."

Realising the fact that this was a situation that required his particular set of skills, the last Uzumaki formed a familiar cross shaped hand seal and two dozen clones popped into existence and began to run alongside him. He expected Redfield to make some kind of exclamation of surprise but was met only with an amused halfsmile.

The older man swept out his scythe and cleaved a nearby tree branch, sending it falling into their path. "Pato!" At the call of his master and friend, the little brown tanuki emerged from the folds of Redfield's clothes and jumped onto the branch, quickly stripping it of its leaves and stacking them neatly in a pile that it passed back to Redfield. Then, much to Naruto's own surprise, the little raccoon dog was enveloped in a white puff of smoke and replaced with a smart wooden fountain pen.

'Transformation Jutsu?' Naruto wondered as Redfield feverishly began to write onto the stack of leaves.

"No, I sensed no chakra so it's probably another Devil Fruit power." Kurama said, analysing the feelings he was receiving from Redfield and his off companion.

Swinging his scythe again, the stack of marked leaves was sent spiralling into the wind before each of them was enveloped in a familiar plume of white smoke that cleared to reveal dozens of doppelgangers of the aloof count.

Naruto was utterly perplexed but settled for a chuffed affirmation, "You are full of surprises, Red."

"I aim to amaze and will take no consolation prizes."

At that point the two agreed to dispatch their mutual clones to fan out over the island while the two originals continued towards the centre of the island. The two spent several more minutes running in relative silence until Naruto felt his danger sense blare a warning.

A white shape bolted from the thick forest and tackled Naruto with such speed that he had already been smashed through six ancient pine trees by the time he had been able to crane his neck around to see just what the hell had its arms around him. A shock of close cropped black hair and a scared forehead greeted him and Naruto knew this had to be Monkey D Garp.

Naruto threw an elbow backwards and smashed it into Garp's face, having little more effect than making the Vice Admiral grin a tad wider. He repeated the mover a number of times before realising that Garp had him in an awkward position and changing tact, forming a clone that appeared in mid air above him. When one formed a Shadow Clone, they possessed the mental option to either spawn the clone static and unmoving or maintain the same amount of momentum that their owner had, much like this one. Knowing its purpose the moment of its creation, the Clone extended its arms to its boss who grabbed it by the hand and swung it down between his legs. The downward and lateral kinetic energy was instantaneously transformed into a vector of reverse inertia, drilling both heels into Garp's crotch.

"Hapht!" Garp gasped, eyes bugging from their sockets as white hot pain shot up his spine from the below-the-belt blow, his grip loosening just enough for Naruto to wriggle free. Now out of the arms, Naruto and the clone continued their collaboration, grabbing Garp's wrists and performing a front flip while the clone kept its feet buried in Garp's crotch, leaving its legs up.

With Naruto dragging down and his clone pushing up, they levered the vice admiral between them and tossed him at speed away from themselves, crashing through a copse of trees and sending him rolling into a clearing.

Rolling several more times, Garp mastered his pain and dug his fingers into the ground and reoriented, dragging small lines in the ground as he gradually came to a stop when Naruto appeared in the clearing he had been knocked into.

Naruto didn't take his eyes off Garp even as Redfield joined him, pointing his purple bat scythe at Garp as he got to his feet. "Hey jackass, shoulder checking someone from behind ain't exactly very nice." Naruto told the tall vice admiral as he finally got back up.

"Neither's kicking them in the balls," Garp winced, eyeing both of them, "Who's your friend? A vampire cosplayer?"

Eyes narrowing dangerously, Redfield slammed the bottom of his staff to the floor of the clearing, cracking it. "I am Count Patrick Redfield, liege lord and Count of the Shikkearu Kingdom which you people are in the process of ruining. Now get out of my way, Vice Admiral, or I will cut you stem to stern."

Garp's smile wilted at that, his shoulders slumping slightly as he searched their faces for truth. "The Count huh…" he said slowly, brows knitting together in thought. None of them moved for a time, a stray wind of the storm blowing through the clearing and fluttering all their clothes. It began to rain then, drop after drop of slow, thick raindrops that pelted the trio.

A single lage raindrop struck Garp about the scar on his face, rolling down it with a cool slowness that ushered the Vice Admiral into his conclusion. He took a half step back and turned his body to the side, allowing unrestricted view of the path behind him. "Go."

Redfield made a surprised noise and Naruto narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You're letting us go."

"What're'you fucken stupid?" Garp shot back, squinting at the, to him at least, short blonde, "You're a known pirate and I'm a marine. I'm going to kick the crap out of you and make you beg for your mamma… him on the other hand," he gestured flippantly to Redfield, "is the leader of your island returning to your people. I'm… maintaining the blockade in my own way. And if the gutless worm in the castle can't take it when an angry vampire cosplayer with a farming implement comes to him? Then that's his problem, I'm just doing my job."

Exchanging an unsaid conversation, the two allies met each other's eyes before Redfield set off again, jogging past Garp and into the forest beyond, bound for the centre of the island. The marine remained true to his word, his eyes never leaving Naruto until he was sure that Redfield was gone and not planning an attack of convenience.

"You're a lot shorter than I expected." he finally said, his face once more becoming full of battle fueled mirth.

That comment sent Naruto's eye twitching in annoyance, never quite being able to forget that he had been the shortest boy of his graduating class. "It's not my fault most of the people I seem to be bumping into are vertically undisputed." Naruto griped, pointing an accusatory finger at the nine feet of Vice Admiral standing before him.

"Well then maybe you shouldn't have taken the name of a storm giant then!"

"I had no say in that!"

The bickering went back and forth until a lul fell over them, the sounds of the storm intensifying with booms of cannonfire mixing with the rumble of thunder.

Kurama perked up from within Naruto and paid Garp close attention, both men falling into ready stances, bringing up their fists and squaring their shoulders. "Careful with this one, Naruto. He feels like a tough one."

'Aren't they always?' Naruto said, but despite his levity he found his heart thumping in his ears. That pressure before a good fight welling up from deep inside and despite his better judgement he found himself smiling. "Linlin says you're kinda like me. Guess that makes you pretty cool, Vice Admiral"

"Did she now? Well you look like a pipsqueak… but I'm sure you can dance." Garp snorted, his muscles tensing. "And my name is Garp, Typhon. What should I call you?"

"Name's Naruto. Remember it."

Both men vanished, reappearing in the middle of the field with their fists drawn back and dark with earth chakra and armament haki. Garp sent a brutal haymaker down at Naruto while the blonde leapt up with an uppercut that rent the air. Naruto's hardened fist collided with Garp's jaw and Garp's hand thundered into Naruto's forehead, shockwaves detonating from each. Both were suspended in chronostasis for a moment before being launched away from one another, each skidding to a stop.

Garp licked his lips, a thin line of blood rolling from the edge of his mouth that he wiped aside. Naruto hissed at the bruise that would mark his forehead tomorrow.

Both smiled and launched themselves into the fray again.

"I'll beat you down, Naruto!"

"Bring it on, Garp!"

(.0.0.0.)

Running across the deck, Linlin brought Napoleon onto Sengoku's armoured palm, levering her greater height against him until he formed a golden shockwave that sent her away from him. The Buddah had been forced to transition to his human form once again against Big Mom due to its ungainly size being a hindrance against an opponent as mobile as Linlin. While his ability to produce shockwaves was reduced compared to his Daibutsu and Hybrid forms, he could still conjure them when he needed, supplementing his strength and endurance.

As she flew away from him, Linlin displayed profound agility and acrobatics, pirouetting in the air and swinging her gold cutlass with one hand, "Ikkoku Sovereignty!", she launched the purple crescent moon of energised air pressure at the Vice Admiral while kneading Prometheus into a new shape with her left hand. The flaming Homie transformed into a spear with a grinning arrow shaped spear, tossing it in pursuit of the Buddah, "Surya!"

Sengoku stepped in towards the attack and sent a straight punch at the crescent, grinding against it for a moment before sending it into Prometheus who was returned to his globe of flame that continued to harrie the Vice Admiral.

Still in flight, Linlin strengthened her legs and made to dropkick John Giant when she was intercepted by Zephyr who launched a Smash Buster into her feet, the explosion of Haki causing her boots to smoke and causing her to be blown into the air above the ship.

"Mama!" Zeus called, seeing his creator being pinballed. He flew into her path and broke her flight, providing the perfect platform for her to kick off and launch herself back into the fight. To her surprise, Napoleon's serrated 'mouth' bit down on one of Zeus's stray electrical discharges, his entire length becoming shrouded in lightning. It seemed that whatever lifeforce had been in Naruto's vivere card had imbued the Homie with some of the blonde's intuitive element manipulation.

Taking the blade in both hands, she lifted Napoleon high as she rained down upon Zephyr, sweeping him down in a brutal electrified helmbreaker slash. Seeing the threat and unable to dodge, Zephyr armoured up his forearms and protected himself with a cross guard, tanking the blow with a metallic chime. Horrible vibrations resonated up his arms as his body was numbed with the violet coloured lightning ravaged him before he was sent into the deck of the ship, crashing through several floors and deep into the hold. Linlin landed with a thud and lifted Napoleon to inspect him fondly.

"Napoleon you little scamp! Look at you pulling off combinations so easily!" she cooed, absentmindedly kicking the head off of a Lieutenant who had been dumb enough to try and rush her. She flicked her boot to rid it of the blood and cranial fluid. "Did you learn that from your papa?"

The sword's blue eyes closed in and eye smile as it preened, its jagged gold teeth chattering animatedly. "You bet, Mama! Papa can mix the elements into his Bo so why can't I?"

She whipped the sword down, catching the necks of three CP7 agents in its mouth and letting the sword take a deep, meaty chomp. As their heads rolled onto the deck, hats still in place, Linlin was sure to flick the blood off and pat the sword's guard. "That's a good sword, and let's keep at it and see what you can really do!"

"Big Mom!" a rage filled voice screamed, a massive shape swapping down on her visible in her Haki. She sidestepped John Giant's massive Katana that dug into the deck and hopped on the blunt side of the blade. She ran forwards and leapt, slamming Napoleon's pommel into his nose with enough force to break it with a wet crunch.

She sneered at the Giant, "Piss off you overgrown brown nose. I'm having fun!"

Reaching up to his face, John took hold of his nose and snapped it back into the correct position with a wet crunch, grimacing as he did so. "How can you be so calm as you raise an island? Cooing over a sword that eats men whole!"

Linlin flashed a happy smile, chuckling sardonically. "Raising it? Where' here to save it from the worm with a fishbowl head. You're the ones trying to let that happen and we're here to stop you. As for my sword. Well…" she rolled the sword in one hand, "I was raised to think that all children should be nurtured no matter where they came from."

The Giant Vice Admiral tightened the grip on his sword, "You are a monster, a country destroyer, Big Mom!" John shouted, channelling Haki into his sword and the metallic length turning black. "Mother Caramel should have strangled you at birth!"

Linlin's smile dropped, "...what did you just say to me?"

John Giant bristled, puffing his chest up and strengthening his body to its utmost limit, ready to unleash everything he had in a single blow, "Mother Caramel raised me as well! Sent me to the Marines! Made me a bastion of justice! But you? You laid waste to Elbaff and made Mother Caramel disappear, stole her Devil Fruit! I bet you killed her yourself!"

Linlin's long pink hair shadowed her eyes.

Seeing the lapse in judgement, John pounced, bringing his sword in a mighty overhead cleave hoping to split the woman stem to stern, "DIE MONSTER!"

Napoleon flashed in an arc of purple and gold, arresting the movement with a sonic boom. And when Charlotte Linlin looked up into the face of John Giant, her eyes were whited out with abject wrath.

Her moment of mania was derailed however, when a voice cut through the air, a familiar voice that had suddenly lost its bloody joy, replaced with an empathetic note. "No Mama, do not give in to wrath. He doesn't deserve it!"

Linlin's pupils returned and she looked around her to wonder where the voice had come from before looking up at the golden blade of Napoleon, its blue eye locking on her. "Napoleon?"

Pushing up with the sword, she sent John stumbling backwards into the mast and held the sword up before her. The mania and joyful slaughter that had been in Napoleon just a moment before was gone, replaced with a knowing and empathetic look that permeated the metal. She felt the sword's emotions in her soul more than she could see it in the expressive metal.

"You're my Mama, I won't let you fall into an anger not your own." the sword said earnestly.

Linlin looked at it for a long time before seeing her own face in the golden reflection. Her face turned fond, leave it to the whiskered brat to make sure she had an arbitrating conscience in her hand at all times. Taking the sword in both hands, she ran into battle with a focused cry, she would make the giant pay for his words, but she would do so in a state where she could remember it.

(.0.0.0.)

All across the island, men, women and children coward in fear. It was a terrible day in every sense of the word. Accosted by a deranged World Noble while their beloved count was away, held hostage by the marines and now the knights had made it clear that everyone was to suffer a summary execution.

The knights and squires numbered approximately four hundred in total. All well trained and broken of any morality that would give them compunctions for killing the young, sick or elderly.

Within a blacksmith's forge on the edge of the main settlement, a group of three residents coward in fear at the corner of the smithy. An elderly grandfather and simian Mandrill put themselves between the man's granddaughter and the two knights that stood near the doorway, pikes drawn and advancing on the trio. The old man had armed himself with a blocky forging hammer while the Mandrill, who served as the Blacksmith's assistant, had a poker and a wrought iron bar.

"Hand over the girl, old man, and we'll make this quick!" the knights ordered, thrusting their pikes and nicking the chest of the Mandrill who was able to swat one of them away. The large primate let out a cry of pain and dropped his poker, the little girl running to its side.

"Miss Charcoal!" the little girl bleated for the apparently female Mandrill.

Mandrills were an interesting primate, fiendishly intelligent but limited to copying the skills of those they witnessed, they had long since learned to live alongside the residents of the kingdom in helping everyone with their problems. From carpentry to blacksmithing, if the skill was physical then the Mandrill could learn it, and so long as they were treated well, they would continue to peacefully help.

One of the knights retched, spitting from the slit in his helmet. "You show concern for such subhuman trash? No wonder Saint Jalmack insists we kill the children first."

The grandfather gritted his teeth, his green eyes twin pools of balefire that could have melted the knights to slag had he the power. "You… chrome plated bastards! What did we ever do to you?"

The knights exchanged looks, "Nothing. Saint Jalmack says you are repugnant. Thus you are repugnant. Saint Jalmack says you must die, so you must die. Saint Jalmack says the children must die first, so the parents may learn to hate their leader who could not be here to meet him."

"Sai-urk!?" the second knight gurgled, a tide of blood suddenly bubbling at the back of his throat. He felt cold and numb and wondered why, looking down to see what was wrong. He was morbidly interested in the large blood slick blade poking through his cuirass at the abdomen, the metal a deep purple and styled into a bat's wing. The blade was suddenly wrenched upwards, the silver plate offering as much resistance as paper as the knight's entire upper body was bifurcated from navel to cranium.

"WHA-" the first knight didn't get a chance to even scream, the bladed tip of a scythe shaft was sent through the slit in his visor and into his eye before bursting from the back of his skull. The body twitched a few times as the nervous system struggled to gather that it was dead, then went limp and slid off the bloodied point.

The blacksmithing trio looked wearily at what remained of the knights before a tall imposing figure stepped from the shadows. "Will you three be able to get to safety on your own?"

The little girl's eyes lit up, "Count Redfield!"

Redfield's face was its usual glacially amused self, but he looked over the three people to make sure they were okay.

Getting over his shock, the Grandfather helped Miss Charcoal to stand, taking off his smithing apron to use as a tourniquet. "We…we'll be fine, Count. Now that you're here… god bless you sir. Thank you…" the old man had tears in his eyes.

The Count offered them a curt nod before making for the door, flashes of lighting silhouetting him in the frame.

"What are you going to do sir?" the little girl asked.

Redfield said nothing and did not directly answer the little girl, perhaps wishing to spare her from the reality. Instead he directed his words to the blacksmith. "Please come to my castle to sharpen Draculina," he said, referring to his Scythe, "once this storm blows over. I fear she is about to grow dull from threshing too much iron."

Without any further ado, he stepped out into the storm and set to his grizzly work. All across the island, scores of Silver Knights found copies of the lanky count falling upon them to butcher them into offal and giblets. Their armour and training offering no protection from the wicked blade of Red the Aloof.

A cohort of the knights chasing after a fleeing family deep in the woods stumbled upon twenty of their comrades impaled on iron spikes, still living enough to moan but not enough to warn them of the red and chequered menace falling down on them from above.

A cavalry detachment galloped through the forest, trying to beat a retreat from the Big Mom forces led by World now landing on the beach only for their leader to rid face first into Draculina hanging from the end of a chain that Pato had conjured with a leaf. The impaled knight was lifted into the tree canopy and one by one every single knight fell to the same fate.

A sly mist fell over the main settlement, combined with the gloom of the storm made visibility near impossible. And one by one, house by house, family by family, every knight was scourged from Kuraigana island, never to return. Not a single drop of blood ever tarnished Red's suit or mantle, and he never accepted the thanks of his subjects. But deep down, he felt good.

Through the centre of town, a single figure could be seen walking, their golden blonde hair cutting through the mist. This Naruto was one of the initial clones that he had spawned before Garp had tackled him into a fight and a few popped clones had kept him abreast of the situation. Refield was cleaning house and was content to let Naruto, or at least his clone, do as he had promised.

Stepping up the hill out of the mist, he laid eyes upon the castle where Saint Jalmack waited. With steely eyes, Naruto approached the thick wooden doors and sent a torrent of searing wind at it, reducing it to splinters along with the last detachment of knights guarding the door. The cataphract was halfway up the stairs, a fist sized shard of wood buried in his jugular. Ascending the stairs, Naruto looked down at the knight and felt his emotions, seeing no regret in what he had done, so Naruto simply placed a hand upon his chest and discharged a minute amount of lighting style chakra into his chest, stopping his heart and ending him peacefully.

Reaching the throne room, he pushed the door open and laid his eyes on Saint Jalmack, lauded member of the Celestial Dragons… he was not impressed.

"Come to grovel for forgiveness?" Jalmack jeered, not looking at Naruto who simply appeared as a shadow in the corner of the room. "I shan't give it. Tell me, Count, have you any children or relatives? Your death alone will not satiate this debt of boredom, so I ask that you tell me so that your sins may be passed to them and they be tortured after I have finished with you."

Naruto did not respond but nearly stepped into the room, a flash of lightning revealing his face. Jalmack's self satisfied look faltered before recognition lit on his face.

"You… you're the one! The reason for this infernal side trip!" Jalmac squealed, pointing a gloved finger at Naruto as he advanced on the World Noble. "You… spoiled our fun!"

"..." Naruto stopped, eyes turning dangerous, "What?"

Jalmac backpedalled, hands searching for his fallen pistol, "God Valley… was to be our playground… but you, you took away our chance to play! So I had to come here instead!"

It clicked in Naruto's mind and brought him up short before with no warning he stormed forwards and smashed his Bo down on Jalmac's leg, his protective suit doing nothing to prevent the splintering of his kneecaps.

"Aaagh you-"

"Explain!" Naruto demanded.

Jalmack winced, propping himself against the chair. "Hph…huff…fuff… every few years… we Celestial Dragons… have a game. The Native Hunting Competition. We hunt you lessor lifeforms like sport… but we don't defecate where we eat." Jalmack sneered. Disgust reared itself in Naruto like a viper and he stamped on Jalmack's already broken knee. "Ahhhh you fucking!"

Naruto did not permit the backsass, jabbing the tip of the bo into Jalmack's chest with enough force to wind him. "Explain!"

Jalmack gasped again, in pain and discomfort, his superiority wilting in the face of the first true pain he had ever felt in his life. "We… play… where… it is justified… on lands… we… say… have slighted us… for we are the gods of this world," he raved, hands flopping to the side of the throne. "But… sometimes the slight is not enough for the Gorosei, so we must… engineer a slight. God Valley was not allied to the World Government, so a tribute ship was sent there to demand its tribute."

The situation began to unfold in Naruto's mind, it was the ultimate final incarnation of the shakedown racket. Demand money for the sake of the protection of the World Government, then when they say no, use it as grounds to invade and play their perverted game… but he had stopped that. Prevente the tribute ship from ever reaching the unallied nation. But a question remained. "What did they do to slight you in the first place?"

Jalmack, even amidst the pain, looked at him as if he were the world's greatest idiot. "... because they dared to call their land the valley of the gods… why else?"

"..."

Something broke in Naruto at those words, his restraint had shattered into a fine powder as he ruminated on the reality that all of this, all this misery, blood and pain… was because a bunch of snooty assholes didn't like the name of an island.

Jalmack struck, lifting his pistol hidden in the throne and pointing it at Naruto's face, he pulled the trigger, discharging a gout of smoke and flame. "Hahhaha! You witless savage, you blasphemer!" he fired again and again, emptying his flintlock into Naruto's face, covering his upper body in smoke, "We are the celestial dragons! Rulers of the world, GODS! By the grace of the elder stars we rule from the heavens over the four blues and the grand line! And you. Are. nothing!"

His gun ran dry and he clicked it impotently several times, "Stupid savage doesn't even know how to fall over ri-"

Naruto's fist ploughed into the plastic box over Jalmack's head and seized him around the mouth. The smoke slowly cleared and the world noble began to squirm and scream at what he saw. His bullets had done nothing more than bring up a few mild welts on Naruto's forehead. But that did not frighten him, no, it was the blonde's eyes. No longer were they blue but an angry scarlet with black slit pupils, his teeth extending into fangs and his whiskers darkening upon his face.

Using his other hand, naruto dug a clawed nail into the plastic box and tore it from the 'Dragon's' head, forcing him to breathe the real world's air. The anger was… apoplectic. Naruto had met pure evil before, met people who did atrocities based on good intent but this… this…THIS!

"YOU WERE PLANNING TO MURDER THOUSANDS BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T LIKE A GODDAMN NAME!?" He howled in the noble's face.

Jalmack was struggling to breath, the sheer killing intent that Naruto was putting off was driving his heart into arrhythmia. And in that state, he answered truthfully. "Wouldn't you do the same thing?" he asked in a muffled voice.

Naruto dropped jalmack and was forced to take a step back, physically repulsed by the man. He felt… diseased.. A cancer of cognission the likes of which should be never allowed to speak again.

But speak he did.

Naruto's bestial appearance and actions had scared some level of sense into Jalmack, though not the good kind. "If you spare my life… I'll make it worth your while…" he tried to bargain, a foul smell begging to emerge from his space suit indicative of what he had likely done. "Please, I'm a god, I can do whatever it takes, just please don't kill me."

Naruto's eyes grew shadowed and he began to walk towards Jalmack.

"Please… I can give you an island… a kingdom… money, power, women! Men! Children! Whatever your vice!" Naruto grabbed Jalmack by the throat and picked him up as if he weighed nothing.

Holding him up and off the floor, he began to walk him over to the balcony.

Yet still, he just. Kept. Talking.

"Please, I can make you a Warlord! A member of my household guard! The Marines can never touch you!" he begged, Naruto's fingers now drawing blood from his neck. "Arrange a marriage into a lesser Noble household… make… you… a… God's… knight...?"

Naruto stood on the balcony overlooking the entire island, the fires of combat in the distance and schooled his features.

Then with but a thought, he was enshrined in golden light.

(.0.0.0.)

Garp was panting, blood streaming from a cut under his eye. He derisively spat a tooth from his mouth that Naruto had managed to dislodge with a combination of a knee to the chin and a donkey punch. "Oof, gonna need some milk for this one." he winced before blurring towards Naruto again. "Tell ya what, kid, you'd have made a hell of a marine!"

His fist was caught by one of the several golden chakra arms emerging from the blonde's back. The other began to rain blow after blow on Garp's chest and abdomen.

The VIce Admiral was a tricky opponent, even his passive strength was comparable to a Shinobi with at least Six of the Gates open and it only scaled up from there. In addition to that, he was fast, durable and had three full feet on him in height. But Naruto was used to sparring with Linlin at this point and knew how to overcome the difference while staying a regular size. He had pushed Naruto to enter the first stage of Kurama's chakra cloak and utilise chakra arms to overcome the difference.

Naruto held Garp's arms still using two of the arms before the remaining four and his two physical arms to hammer everything within reach. Soft tissue, bone, joints, nerve clusters. He was a whirling dervish hitting Garp from all angles and particularly working the chest with Steam Style enhanced strength. But the man just wouldn't go down. He gave as good as he got, rupturing several of his internal organs and cracking his tibia clean through from a particularly brutal grapple.

And despite this, Naruto couldn't bring himself to dislike Garp. There was no ill intent behind his attacks, no malice. Any annoyance or anger was the kind found in a really good fight, one Naruto had not been able to have for a while…

Naruto Uzumaki liked Monkey D Garp.

"Don't think I could ever work for your bosses." Naruto said with a grunt, driving a massive Rasengan into Garp that drilled him into the ground only for Garp's emission Haki to clap him into the sky as an exchange.

"If it's any… ah shit, broke another rib." he complained, holding his side before making ready to go another round, "I can't stand em either."

"Bosses, they universally suck."

"So true. Now EAT MY FIST OF LOVE YOU GOLDEN DILDO!"

"Phrasing!" Naruto rolled his eyes, "Rasengan: Fla-"

A plume of distant golden chakra at the heart of the island bright them both to a standstill.

(.0.0.0.)

Zephyr dodged a fork of lighting with Shave and was forced to play hotfoot with the deck of the ship. Linlin's damn new sword had the canny knack of being able to manipulate the elements and the psychopathic queen had called up a wave of water to soak the deck and was now using Zeus to electrify the water. Scanning the field, he saw John had been crucified to the ship's mast. Alive but unable to move. His discarded katana was buried into the ship.

"Mamama! You know all these years we've fought, Sengoku," Big Mom called, drawing Prometheus into her hair and wreathing herself in flame atop Zeus, "You always pissed me off. But I'm starting to see the fun side of a good fight after some couple's counselling. Maybe you and Garp can work out whatever issues you have going on."

"Shut it and fight, Linlin!" Sengoku growled, batting aside a lighting bolt. Grabbing John's dropped katana, he hefted it over his shoulder and launched it at Big mom, propelling it with a Shockwave.

It soared at her with impossible speed, seeming strange that something so big could move so fast. Linlin merely smirked and flicked Napoleon.

The great sword split in two like a blowtorch through butter. Without Haki to armour it, the weapon may as well have been a blunt butter knife. Sengoku cursed to himself and once more glowed gold, ready to enter his Hybrid form.

Zephyr pulled a pair of sunglasses from his breast pocket only to curse when he found that they had been broken in the combat. Somehow Sengoku was growing brighter even after taking his hybrid form… no. That wasn't right. The light wasn't coming from the afro haired vice admiral at all.

One by one, all battles and clashes of pirate and marine began to cycle down to nothingness as they stopped, turned and looked in the direction of the island from which a pillar of golden power was taking form.

Linlin looked at the light and initially felt a thrill and twist of arousal at the power she recognised as Naruto's.

But then the feelings hit her. Anger. Fathomless and endless anger.

"Whiskers…?" she asked in concern.

(.0.0.0.)

The golden power grew and grew, forming a massive pillar over the castle that made all step out and look, the storm above swirling and intensifying. A profane choir announcing the arrival of the moment this had all been building to. It began to contract then, forming into a golden giant with six arms and three faces, the maws of foxes all set in angry snarls. It was a totally unnecessary showing of power but it served to help Naruto get a reign on his anger. Because in one of the giant's palms, no bigger than a grain of rice, was Saint Jalmack.

The Celestial Dragon looked around himself, the sight of the great beast that Naruto had become, finally leaving up to the title the government had forced upon him. Typhon the storm giant.

"Please… please… please…" he repeated again and again.

From within the energetic heart of Kurama's battle avatar, Naruto looked down at Jalmack and began to speak, his voice like a hurricane carrying out to the sea.

"You said that it is your right to rule and commit atrocities for you are Celestial Dragons. Yet there you stand, unable to escape my palm even after so much pointless blood."

"Please… please.. Don't kill me… the slaves… its.. It's all their fault." Jalmack babbled.

"Ruling over the four seas by the grace of the elder stars from your little heaven." the battle avatar's arms began to arrange themselves around with the one holding Jalmack in the middle. "And then you ask me if I would do the same thing." he took a deep breath and began to speak. "No… I shan't. I will make something, not break it. This island, its ruler and people are under the protection of the Big Family Pirates and will remain that way as more people need a place to live away from the likes of you."

"P-please… please.. We do as we please…"

Naruto closed his eyes, "So be it, but if you test us and bring violence to our door, persecute monsters whose only crime is that they aren't you. Then this is what I will do!"

The last hand was raised high into the air for all to see. "Let the sea's boil, let the elder stars fall! Though it takes the last drop of my blood, I will see these oceans free of your filth, Celestial Dragons." he let Jalmack drop and closed all six of Kurama's hands into fists.

"And if I cannot, then let the Heavens BURN!"

"...please?"

All six fists slammed home with a thunderclap, and Saint Jalmack was reduced to nothing but a puff of red mist.

(.0.0.0.)

Silence filled the bay, no one spoke. The storm had come to a lull after that final meaty splat carried on the wind for all to hear. A Celestial Dragon, murdered right in front of them. There were protocols to follow, an admiral to be summoned and yet… nothing. No one dared move.

Linlin lowered herself to the deck of Sengoku's destroyed ship, seeing the reflection of Naruto's titanic battle avatar reflected in his glasses. The rage had passed now back into serenity and in a rare moment of restraint, Linlin sheathed her sword. She held Sengoku's look silently for a full minute until the six armed Kurama dissolved. "What are you going to do, Sengoku? Cry to Kong for an Admiral? Keep fighting after seeing that?" she asked without a hint of sarcasm or snark, curious what the Vice Admiral, an ardent follower of Absolute Justice would do when faced with this.

He considered her words for a few moments before turning to "We're leaving. Get the word out that the operation has been a total failure and to retreat."

A cry of shock went up from the marines.

"We can't just leave!"

"The fight is left undone!"

"Saint Jalmack-"

"ENOUGH!" Sengoku roared, silencing the naysayers. "We were sent to this island to maintain a blockade around Saint Jalmack while he conducted his business on this island. The blockade is broken and Saint Jalmack is no longer here. If we remain here and fight these pirates then we are violating our mandate of non-interference with the affairs of foreign nations. That is the business of Count Patrick Redfield and no one else, are we clear!"

"Yes Sir!" they all answered.

Sengoku looked at Linlin, "Can I trust you to honour our safe passage?"

She raised a single pink eyebrow, "Is this a parlay?"

"It's a business agreement. I know you think of yourself as a savvy businesswoman."

"Flaterer," she chortled before turning serious. "Your offer?"

"The six damaged Navy Battleships and the World Noble Ship. They are damaged but salvageable by a skilled shipwright. What remains of the World Government force here will embark on Garp's HQ-3 and Zephyr's G-5." Zephyr gave a grunt of affirmation, though part of him clearly still wanted to fight.

Humming to herself as she mulled it over, Linlin came to her decision. "Deal. You have an hour and a half to pack your things and leave. And as rare as it is that I get to say this to a member of the World Government…" she grinned, "Get out of my territory."

Sengoku offered a single businesslike bow before turning and leaving, his men falling into step.

The pirates were much more raucous in victory, whooping and hollering. And Linlin… she knew this was the start of something big.

(.0.0.0.)

"So you're telling me… that milk fixes teeth? Just straight up." Naruto asked, sitting on one side of a rock as Garp guzzled down a carton of milk that the fedora wearing Bogard had bought upon finding them.

Their battle had petered off after the violent death of Jalmack.

Garp wiped his top lip and gave a toothy grin, the missing teeth reforming before Naruto's eyes. "Sure does."

"Weird. Mine just grow back."

"Weird."

"I'm the weird one!?"

"Bahahahahah" Garp chuckled before seeing Bogard tap his watch. He got to his feet and strengthened his tie. "Welp, I can't say I appreciate you killing the worm in that way, but I won't weep for his passing."

Naruto frowned thoughtfully, "People needed to see they bleed as red as the rest of us."

Garp nodded, then turned serious and gave Naruto a sideways look. "This won't be the end of it, you know that right? While I feel that the Gorosei sent Jalmack out here to die, your little display is going to make a big name for yourself, not all of it good. Hell, every time I hear your name I'll be there to test a new move on you. I've already got a whole mountain range lined up to get back at you for cup checking me."

"Let them come," Naruto rose and offered Garp a wave farewell. "And bring rice crackers or something."

The broad Vice Admiral grinned and left the clearing, "I'll take it under advisement. See ya later ya pissant pirate!"

As he walked in the direction of his ship, Garp knew that Naruto Uzumaki was a monster… but not all monsters were worth slaying.

A/N: Aaaand we'll cal it there. Slifer and I are exhausted.

Do let me know if you want weekly updates! Feedback is important!

Hope you enjoyed this little ficlet. Well? Should this remain a story? Yay or nay? What say you~?

As ever, the Embers rule still persists. If folks don't like this story? Well...I'll not continue it. I can't bear to write something no one likes. Its the simple truth, though a sad one. So by all means, speak up! Raise your voice! Make yourself heard! Your reviews matter! Really, they do! I'm literally working every day now, so I have less and less time to write. Daily updates might...slow down in the interim, but I know that would upset a lot of people. We're trying our best to keep up, but things are getting rough. Feedback really is the wind in our sails.

So, in the Immortal words of Atlas...

...review, would you kindly?

And of course, enjoy the previews!

They're quite different this time around~!

That said, you know the drill: SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS AHOY! Sail these waters at yer own risk, yar~!

(Previews)

Victory!"

A thousand voices echoed his cheer.

"What kinda dance is that?"

Would you like me to show you?

Burn the tree, will ya? You'll regret that-

He pivoted, dug his heel in and swung. Hard.

His adversary's face imploded inward in a shower of blood.

"That girl is a child. You leave her be RIGHT NOW or I will rip you limb from limb!

"Kill them!"

"Enough."

He couldn't see the man through the blindfold. But he could hear his voice.

He listened to every bit of what followed and how it morphed into pained screams of terror.

"It's alright, now." a hand came down on the back of his head, "I'm here."

This was strength. This was power.

This was a Monster.

"Teach me!"

"Doflamingo, was it...?"

There was so much anger in this boy. He could feel it. Sense it.

Did he really want to leave him alone? Let him go down a dark path...?

Still, that attitude of his would need some work.

EDIT: And there we go.

Hope you enjoyed it!

May you have a great day filled with lots of luck!

R&R~!