As Hancock woke up groggily, she had never felt her body that much sore, even when she was a slave, the responsible adults would do their works sometimes.
Her mind rewinds everything that happened three days ago, which made her fall unconscious for three days.
Sitting up, she nurses her sore joints and stomach. A faint smell of disinfectant and medicines grazed her nose, making her scrunch up her nose in slight irritation.
"Where is that man...?" Hancock asked her sister, getting off the bed. Her body protested- still sore from the fight, making her welp in pain 'oww!'. Yet she got up, heeding no mind to her sisters protests for her to take rest.
"Mari, Sonia! I asked where he is?" Hancock roared fury burning through her honey brown eyes, her sisters squirmed under the firey gaze.
"H- he is being held in the prison, cuffed with sea stone chains and cuffs" marigold stuttered out, feeling too small in front of her angry sister.
"Take me to him, I want to ask him something" Hancock ordered, she had to crouch down from the doubled pain as she took a step forward, immediately her loyal snakeSalomecame to her aid.
Salome coiled its mid-body, making a seat that is comfortable enough to carry her. Hancock sat on it without a protest, before Salome started to slither across the soft tiles of the palace into the rough, & dirt filled roads of the town under marigold & Sandersonia's guidance.
"By the way sis, Rayleigh-san is here- he arrived this morning, and- nyōn-ba took him to the prison to see the man who calls himself 'Naruto Uzumaki'" sonia started the conversation on their way, trying to gauge hancock's reaction.
"Huh! Why did he come here?!" Hancock narrowed her eyes, "is he here because of what happened a couple of days ago?"
"Well- yes, nyōn-ba had called him after we fell unconscious, and that guy is yet to wake up!" Hancock cocked her eyebrow at marigold's words.
"Why? What happened to him? I was the one who was defeated!" She queries narrowing her eyes once again.
"After saving both of us from drowning, I heard he fell unconscious, his body- he looks like- he came straight out of a war. I was gonna kill him, if it wasn't for nyōn-ba" sonia answered, her voice softening a bit.
"I thought, I was imagining things when I was drowning. So, he did come to save me, huh?" She pondered, remembering the blurry image of blonde flying after to save her. Unconsciously, her body heats up, heartbeat rising, little blush creeping up her cheeks.
"Sis, your face is red- ar-are you alright? Do you need something?!" Sonia asks worriedly.
"No need- nothing happened, lets just go there first!" She replied back not interested in any of the new changes she is feeling.
After an hour journey through foot, they arrived at a small waterfall at the edge of the fortress like village, women were standing on guard, other civilians crowded outside the place not being allowed to enter the prison.
One of the guards dropped down to their knees, she and her subordinates cleared a path for their snake princess and her sisters. The woman voiced out their concern for their leader, which she ignored and went inside the waterfall where the prison was built.
As she went along the corridor, her excitement was palpable to see the guy who defeated her, although it was not a great thing but saving her after that made him look like a good guy in her book, that only a couple of men had the place in.
As the dimly lit passage came to an end, two kuja women opened the grandeur door with the insignia of eight headed snake to reveal multiple prison cells inside.
In front of one of the cells sat 2 figures, the first one she recognized her as nyōn-ba, and the other is a muscular, tall man with a commanding presence, long, wavy silver hair and a matching beard. His sharp eyes, framed by rectangular glasses, a prominent scar vertically over his right eye, showing off his rugged, battle-hardened appearance.
The old man wore a light-blue shirt, red floral shorts, and black sandals, exuding a casual, carefree demeanor. with a cloak, draped over his shoulders, enhancing his mysterious and dignified aura.
Rayleigh took a sip of rum from the flask he carried. Sensing hancock entering the prison, Rayleigh adjusted his specs that glints gold from the surrounding lamps & candle lights.
Hancock hurled her attention towards the cell, behind the bars was Naruto cuffed with sea stone and was tied down by bulky chains all over his body, only his lower part was covered by his orange pants turned shorts.
Unlike others Naruto wasn't a muscular or bulky guy, but a well-proportioned body that was good enough for him to fight in any condition.
"Nyōn-ba, why is he still unconscious? what happened that day?" The princess demands turning towards the room occupants "how are you rayleigh-san? May I know the reason for your visit?"
"Well, I heard from gloriosa here that a mysterious man has crashed into your island- so, I had to come!" Rayleigh replied chuckling a bit "besides what father wouldn't come to his child's aid!"
Hancock huffed and turned back to the cell asking "huh! how is she?" Implying he knew who she was asking about.
"Well, I don't know - last time I saw her was a year ago. I'm sure she's ripping someone of their pockets hahahah..." he replied laughing out loudly.
Somewhere in a bar, a short haired lady sneezed and thought 'ah! did someone think about me?'
Gloriosa interrupts their chat, deeming the moment to be perfect "hebi-hime, after you were sent flying into the water, that boy jumped after you, and saved you and sandersonia - before long, he fell unconscious coughing up a lot of blood. He hasn't woken up since then, but his body spasms from time to time before going limp."
Hancock absorbed the information and contemplated on why he's still asleep 'is it because he ate a devil fruit without knowing? Is that why he was confused when I asked about devil fruits.' and she gestured Salome to go near the cell bars to take a good look at him.
The room was thick with tension, except for the sound of water from waterfall outside the prison. Naruto's body was covered in wounds, his skin stained in blood here and there along with the dirt.
As she stood inspecting him, suddenly steam rose out of his wounds, making everyone take a defensive stance.
Naruto lifted his head, eyes adjusting to the dimly lit room he saw hancock and uttered "what an ugly view, first thing I woke up! and what's with the gloomy atmosphere?!" the steam rising stopped, showcasing his fully healed body except for the dirt.
Hancock covered her face in mock sadness and tilted her head back like she's looking down upon someone, "ah! I can't take it, what a vile thing to say!" but her cheeks were red like a tomato and an unknown feeling came back to her.
"Onee-sama, please don't feel bad for his choice of words" sonia says trying to comfort her sister. While marigold glares daggers at him "you better watch your mouth, or I'll rip your tongue out."
Gaining her composure back hancock started "I have some questions Naruto uzumaki! Why did you save me? Why did you jump after me even though you are a devil fruit user?"
"Huh! why am I chained in this gloomy place anyway?" questions Naruto totally ignoring the boa sisters' comments, his stomach grumbled from hunger "do you mind taking these chains off? see I've not eaten since longer than a week, I'm really, really hungry!"
"That we can't do, till we are clear about your intentions for coming here! It's best for you to come clean... otherwise, things will get ugly" a strong voice was heard, next second a wave of energy washed over all of the prison occupants, making some fall to their knees.
Naruto saw an old man wearing specs standing up, a katana on his hip exuding a negative energy- he also felt the man trying to establish his presence by attempting to overpower his will.
"If you're ready to listen- why not, I was fighting in a war and ended up causing a rift in the space-time fabric, it made a wormhole and sucked me in- after three days in the wormhole, I crashed here. That's what happened nothing else, and I'm sorry for any inconveniences" naruto explained happy that someone is ready to listen his side of the story.
"There are no wars going on right now on any land, how can I trust your story?" Rayleigh felt no deceit from the boy in the cell but still asked trying to confirm if he's a threat or not, while hancock glared daggers at both of them for ignoring her.
"Didn't you hear what I just said now? I'm not just from this world! - I'm entirely from a different reality/dimension itself!" He replied exasperated and annoyed by hunger and all the questioning.
"Still, how do I believe what you say is true- there are some Devil Fruits that grants users powers, but I've never heard of anything like travelling through dimensions." Rayleigh picked up a slight annoyance in the blond's words and pushed forward trying to see what he could do.
"Guess, we can't let you leave prison yet. I'll need to confirm you're not some spy from the world government, so I advise you not to make any hasty decisions that you may regret" he said before unleashing a wave conqueror's haki once again.
"Well, I was trying to be nice and all, you know. But you guys have no intention of listening to me! And I'm really in a bad mood right now, if I were you- I'd stop trying to establish your presence" naruto said standing up, the sounds of metal clanking were heard in the background.
"Hmph! what do you think you can even do? they're called the sea prism stones, they're harder than the diamond itself, you think you can break them?!" Sonia laughed at him clearly amused by his reply.
Unlike others in the room Rayleigh, nyōn-ba, and hancock were tracking his every move through their observation haki. They felt the sudden shift in the atmosphere, an ominous aura settled over them.
Looking through the cell, they could see a pair of red eyes glaring back at them, a strange design inside the pupils spinning lazily.
Naruto spoke up "I could have done this the moment I woke up! But I was trying to be considerate, you people clearly don't know the difference between humility and weakness" the chains and cuffs holding him in place fell to the ground as though passing right through him.
Everyone stood shocked in their place, Naruto started walking towards them and just passed through the bars not even slowing down a bit. Rayleigh drew his sword ready to fight if need be and imbued it with haki, he widened his eyes in shock as the blade just passed through him.
Naruto didn't stop there, he directly walked to hancock and passed through her, making her face red at the close proximity before stopping behind her "I think this is enough to show I'm not a threat to any of you. I'll answer any of your queries later, but I am hungry right now- I really need some food"
Rayleigh was thinking 'what's this? this is not a logia ability, even haki couldn't intercept him', the boa sisters also had similar thoughts, and the guards thought 'even rayleigh-san couldn't stop him, what kind of monster is he?'
But Hancock's thoughts were entirely different from others 'wow! why does he look so good! why is he coming close to me? damn why is my body heating up?' the moment naruto said he was hungry she immediately turned around and ordered "guards, go ready some food for him- we'll come to the castle, go!"
The guards disappeared bowing to their princess, naruto turned and gave a curt nod to her in gratitude, and teased her a bit "you're quite understanding today compared to that day- does your mood swings happen like that?"
Rayleigh sheathed his blade before laughing out loud "hahahah! You're an interesting person Naruto uzumaki!"
Hancock led them back to her castle where the meal was ready, he noticed hancock stealing glances at him but didn't comment on it.
"Hey, do you still feel sore? Are you ok?" Naruto questioned as they walked back to the castle, seeing hancock riding Salome.
"N-no, your punches really hurt a lot! I have never been beaten like that?" She replied somewhat ashamed to admit her defeat infront of him.
"Hey, don't be ashamed, I may not look like much, but I've been training since I'm very young. you know- there aren't many who can stand up to me, you are strong! you just need more training that's all- here, let me heal you" Naruto replied placing a hand on her shoulder.
A green aura covered hancock's entire body making everyone tense up, "hey, what are you doing to princess-sama?" a guard demands aiming an arrow at him.
Hancock unconsciously glared at her guard for interrupting her moment with naruto, a subtle emotion that both nyon-ba and rayleigh picked up.
Rayleigh thought 'this boy, he's just like Roger, he has the same smile. Hancock seems to like him also'. 'This boy may be the one to see the princess behind the fortress she has built upon herself' thought nyōn-ba, a small smile tugging at their lips, looking at them talk.
The green aura faded away leaving hancock perfectly alright, the pain she felt all over her body was gone. She stood up from salome and checked over by turning and twisting "w-what? h-how did you do it?!" She was shocked by the different abilities he possessed.
Naruto said giving a hearty laugh "it is just one of my abilities, though I'm not as good as granny tsunade, or sakura, I can still heal minor wounds" forgetting that he had restored an entire eye and life to the dying man.
Hancock rounded on him, her eyes wide with curiosity and jealousy "sakura! who is she? what's your relationship with her?"
"Huh! she is my friend? I was in love with her, but she was in love with sasuke" Naruto resumed walking "come on, I'm hungry"
Hancock felt a mixture of emotions and was confused 'is he still in love with her! and why am I worrying about it?!' she asked herself.
They arrived at the castle, along the way naruto gained a suspicious and animosity filled looks from the woman.
"Hey! what's your name again?" Naruto asks not sure if he had heard or forgot.
Except hancock, nyōn-ba came forward and introduced everyone "let me introduce you, my name is Gloriosa, but everyone calls me Nyōn-ba, she is Boa Sandersonia, right next to you is Boa Marigold, and the snake princess is Boa Hancock. This man here is Silvers Rayleigh- he's their father but he does not live here, since it's maiden only land"
"Oh! You three are sisters? I couldn't tell at all, you three look so different from one other- and you're their dad, hahah! you kinda reminds me of my dad, your presence is strong just like his haha!" he scratched his back completely awed by the strange family.
Naruto looked at the architecture of the village and was impressed, but the castle took it to the next level "amazing! I've only seen daimyo and kings having castles like this, still.. it's so beautiful!" He exclaimed.
The castle is an architectural structure built into a steep cliffside. The design features multiple tiers of red and white buildings with traditional East Asian architectural elements, including curved roofs and ornate decorations. These buildings are distributed across the cliff, supported by stilts in some places, creating a harmonious blend with the rocky environment.
A prominent larger central building stands out at the base, with a grand entrance and intricate details. In the background, the cliff rises further, topped by a high wall, with a kuja emblem and the name 'kuja castle' on it.
The woman would bow their head in respect for the princess, however she'd ignore them.
Seeing this naruto started "you know, I envy you a bit, hancock"
Her cheeks flushed when he called her name "hmm! why?" she questioned back.
"In my village, because of something that happened on the day of my birth, I wasn't treated well till a few months ago. Now even if I want to enjoy that, I'm in a different dimension. However, everyone here respects and adores you- yet you don't even pay them any mind" naruto replied seeing how she'd disregard her people.
Hancock felt a pang of guilt and shame all of sudden, but didn't know why "you are older than me, still- wanna hear something?" He asked her with a small smile.
"My sensei wrote this in his book during a war 'kindness is a very precious thing, costlier than any mineral found, rarer than a water in the desert, capable of creating a hero and a villain just with a flip, but what's more intriguing is- only a strong person possesses it' "
He looked directly into her eyes "strong doesn't mean the strength to smash a mountain into bits or kill thousands with a flick of a finger- it means to stand up for what's right and what's wrong. Don't lose their faith, just be kind; you have it in yourself, but you've buried it- afraid of being betrayed, after all you only have one life, hahaha!" He told her, giving a kind smile.
Rayleigh chimed in "your sensei seems to be a great guy, I'd have enjoyed his company", hancock contemplated on his words.
"Yeah, he seems like a wise man. By the way do you have that book, I would like to read it- you know, we don't get books and newspapers due to being in a calm belt" Gloriosa praised Jiraiya and asked for the book.
Naruto was confused to hear about the calm belt and all, but let it slide as one of the mysteries of a different world "the book huh! 'The tale of a gutsy shinobi' is its name, wait a minute-" channeling some chakra into the seal on his left hand made a puff of smoke, and came a kunai holster that he sealed in the turtle Island.
Skimming through, he found an orange colored book "here you go, you could say- I've lived my life just like the main character in that book, after all I'm named after that book hehe!" naruto told feeling proud somewhat "oh! please do not lose it, if I'm gonna live here, I'll publish it- I'm sure people will definitely like it"
Hancock ran into the castle and into her room followed by her sisters, the trio didn't follow them since it wasn't their issue.
As naruto looked at the back of disappearing hancock, gloriosa asked "are there any more books your sensei has written?"
"Yeah, but I don't think you'll like them. Although a great person, he's a massive pervert and wrote many smut novels. But there are other books too, I'll give them later- 'Honeycomb' the 1st hokage wrote that book about people working together to create a peaceful world, 'Please..' is a book by the 3rd hokage on how ugly the wars are, at the same time being necessary,
'Get up' is a book by second hokage on responsibilities that we've to shoulder, there are many, but I only read a few of them recently.." he answered thinking 'if I can summon the toads here, I'll be able to communicate with my world'
"So, who are these- hokages?" rayleigh questioned already having an idea about them.
"Oh! they're our previous village leaders, my dad was one too and it's my dream to become one" he said grinning.
"I see, you plan on ruling the village" rayleigh inquired to see whether his ideals overlap with that of roger's.
"Nah! what's there to rule? at first, it was because of my mistreatment, I wanted to be recognised, as I grew up, I realised that- I just wanted to see people smile around me. So, I just want to protect the village" naruto replied looking him in the eye.
Rayleigh saw a grinning pirate king standing beside naruto 'I see, you have returned huh? although a bit strangely', "why do you wanna protect the ones who mistreated you?" rayleigh queried as they sat in the dining hall.
"Hmm you see, it's a human nature, when something happens, you want to have an object to blame it on. I was just that object nothing more nothing less, besides if I held a grudge against them, can I really smile like this ha!" he smiled and continued "I've seen many people descend into darkness, and I don't wanna be one of them"
"You've great ideals naruto-san, I wish you never have to forsake them for anything" gloriosa chimed in pocketing the book. "Now, let's eat- we can talk as we eat" she said as the maids brought many plates of food.
As they arranged food on the table, they had a variety of delicacies ranging from sweets to spicy, nyōn-ba served him a fried meat "this one is a sea king meat fry- it's very famous in our island", served a bowl of fish soup "this fish is only found on this island", she went on serving him and rayleigh many foods that the both of them liked very much.
"Here, wanna have sip of rum naruto?" rayleigh offered his flask, naruto took a sip and his face lit up "this is good! It's my first time though" he replied.
Naruto ate to his heart's content, he did not know how many varieties he tasted that day, it was a nice pacing for him- chatting with the old man and gloriosa on random topics. Naruto leaned back on the wall "thanks for the food, it's the second best" he said clapping his hands.
"Second best, a tale of 'how dare you?'" a burly woman rounded on him "we give you the best food in the world, and you call it second best- I'll pulverize you" but much to her irritation he wasn't paying her any attention and was talking with rayleigh.
"sweetpea, just clear the table and mind your tongue- he's hebi-hime's guest" as gloriosa scolded her, she apologized and went back to her work.
Sandersonia walked into the room and towards naruto "Naruto uzumaki, onee- sama is asking for your presence in her quarters- she'd like to talk with you" she conveyed hancock's message to him.
Which he agreed instantly "hmm! why not? let's go.. aren't you coming rayleigh -san?" queried naruto.
With a negative nod rayleigh replied "she wants to talk to you, my presence won't help her to open up, just go I'll stay here"
Nodding in understanding, he followed sonia to a massive gold-plated door with a kuja emblem on it.
As she opened the door, he caught a fresh aroma of roses, the room was decorated with flowers and ornaments, a long painting of hancock on the wall beside the curtain covered queen size bed, lamps dangling from the wooden roof supported by wooden beams illuminating the room.
Naruto stood in front of the bed looking around the room appreciating the decor, expecting her to start the conversation. Since, he didn't get any answer naruto started "so, I heard you wanted to talk to me?! what is it?"
Silence was his answer, even marigold and sonia fidgeted uncomfortably.
Hancock was on her bed behind the lite pink curtain, her silhouette accentuating her hour glass figure "give me an honest answer, why did you save me? even though we attacked you!"
"I told you, didn't I? you're not my enemy -my arrival here's just an accident, if the same thing had happened with you, our hokage would have done the same. well -not the killing stuff, maybe held you in a cell till she feels you're not a threat to the village or not. And our fighting has nothing to do with death, I don't believe in the 'eye for an eye' rule.
I have also killed, but they were all beyond redemption. If you had died, your people would have no one to lean on. Besides, do I need permission to save someone? it's my choice, my dream is to create a land of peace, where everyone lives happily, I don't mind getting blood on hand though" he answered truthfully, folding his arms behind his back.
"You're a strange person! you know that, you save a person who tried to kill you? hmhuhu" hancock replied with a guilty laugh before covering her face "I didn't know an idiot still existed!, who follows their heart! with no regard for your own life.. you saved us just like you did!"
Naruto also laughed replying "hey, many have tried, but none has succeeded till now, haha!- hey, who are you calling an idiot! And who are you talking about?" the gorgon sisters laughed at his slow wit.
Hancock got serious "Naruto uzumaki, I dunno why? but my gut tells me, I can trust you- i-i haven't told this to anyone, it's about my past! I've pushed everyone in fear."
Suddenly footsteps were heard inside the room, as they looked behind them it was none other than Gloriosa, hancock peeked through the curtains exclaiming "nyōn-ba, wh- how did you get in here?"
"I've been in this castle long before you were even born" nyōn-ba replied simply, "I also think it's a good idea you decided to open up"
Hancock called him gathering all of her confidence "come inside the curtain, naruto"
The lone man in the room did as he was told and soon exclaimed stuttering incoherent words with a red face, blood directly going to his head, 'I thought he wasn't sexually intrested in me, but the blush tells otherwise' thought hancock giving more shaking to her naked chest to make her mounds jiggle and tease him a bit, a feeling she enjoyed.
"H-he-hey, why are sitting naked? don't tell me, you want me to sleep with you?" Naruto stuttered turning away from the nude princess.
"Why? is that a problem? am I lacking in anything?!" hancock teased him more, before a yell from nyōn-ba brought her back to the matter at hand.
"Sorry, it just felt nice opening up after a long time" she turned back, pushing her long hairs to reveal a burnt mark of four small triangles around a big circle, like the feet of some bird. Nyon-ba muttered under her breath 'I didn't mean literally!'
"This mark is known as the 'hoof of the soaring dragon,' the crest of the celestial dragons- the highest nobles in the world. It is branded into every slave owned by the world nobles... It is a indelible proof that you're less than human..! we three were once the slaves to the world nobles" naruto kept his face impassive, listening to every word she said and her sisters faces going paler by the second.
She continued "when I was 12, the 3 of us were abducted from the kuja pirate ship and were sold to them..! After that, I don't even wanna think about the things they did to us... the first man I ever saw was nothing but a terror..!"
Sonia clutched her head, openly wailing because of the horrific past she just had to remember, only to be consoled by the crying marigold. However, naruto didn't stop her, he knew they had to let it all out to become free.
"It was terrible there... we couldn't find any hope at all, I just wanted everything to end.. I-I just wanted to die- until he came.., four years later, in one night, an incident occurred that shook the world government itself. The iron rule of the world was that nobody could oppose the celestial dragons. Yet one man did, he climbed the red line with his bare hands and enteredMariejoa, where the world nobles reside" sonia was having hiccups by this time, nyōn-ba stood there with an unreadable expression.
"That man would later lead a crew of Fishman pirates. PirateFisher tiger, in order to free the many Fishman slaves who were being oppressed in the city, he rampages through the city with all his might... even though he, a fishman, hated by humans.. he didn't discriminate he freed thousands of slaves, from all races" marigold gave sonia some water to calm her down, gloriosa thought 'poor gals, they were holding all of this for ten years'
"we ran, prepared to die..! we owe that man an unfathomable debt..! Tiger freed many fishmen who escaped to sea. But the slaves' brand couldn't be erased... Tiger, who made an enemy of the world government, formed the sun pirates with those former slaves, and they set out to the sea..! and, as if lifting a curse, the slave mark that had been burnt on everyone's bodies was changed into the symbol of the sun!" The gorgon sisters had calmed down at this point, hancock was breathing heavily from the recount.
Nyōn-ba continued from there "by the way, fisher tiger is dead now. Fishman pirates have into a number of pirate crews.."
Hancock interrupts her saying "earlier, you asked right! Why do I disregard the people?- the marks on our backs won't let me trust anyone, they're the curse that we cannot remove...! But strangely enough, when we were slaves we were forced to eat the mero mero & hebi hebi fruits as entertainment, and thanks to those powers, we were able to fool the country... And protect our secret. If that secret is out we won't be able to stay on this island..."
She just started crying once again, her head hung low "We can't let anybody know about our past.. even if we have to deceive an entire country... I'll not show any weaknesses! I won't let anyone control me ever again..! I'm afraid to let my guard down against anybody! I can't face.. haa.. my own fear! hic!" hancock buried her face on her knees and her sisters also started crying.
Naruto took a step and embraced the snake princess in a tight hug, providing a warmth she longed for, simultaneously his hands glowed green for a second, and he put it over the mark. Before he stepped back from the embrace.
At first only salome noticed the change, the mark on her back started to heal, slowly disappeared from her back totally. The downcast serpent started rejoicing in happiness.
Everyone looked at Salome and heard Naruto say "what mark?! where is it? I can't see it, show me!"
"you bastard, onee-sama told you our past trusting you and you are here mocking u-" marigold had already transformed to her cobra form and was ready bash naruto's head.
"wait mari! I-I can't feel the mark! D-do you see it?" She asked her sisters, showing her back, both sisters and nyon stood shocked to see no mark on her back.
"Naruto!? W-what did you do?" tears were prickling at the corner of hancock's eyes.
"What? I don't know what you're talking about!? Mrs. Gloriosa did you see any mark on her back before?" but the smile on his face was obvious for hancock that he had done something, suddenly it clicked to her mind.
"Wait! you healed me, right? you know how to heal- that's right! earlier also you healed me..." hancock didn't say a word forward and directly hugged him tightly, as if this beautiful & happy dream would disappear once she woke up. Naruto felt quite awkward as hancock started thanking and kissing his face all over "thank you naruto..! Thank you.. thank you.. thank you..."
Both marigold and Sandersonia stood in stunned silence, unable to believe their eyes, they saw the both sides of the coin that day- one who calls himself a man by doing horrible things to others and another is a real man who takes away every pain from them.
Hancock got her composure back, but she was practically begging at this point "naruto, please make their marks also disappear- i-i'll do anything you ask of me!"
Naruto suddenly slapped her, the sound resonating through the room "didn't you tell, earlier that you won't let anyone control you? And now you're doing the exact opposite-"
Hancock yelled back, her eyes tearful, her voice growing softer "I don't care, if my sisters can forget their trauma- I-I'll endure everything once again... Please! Just heal them, I beg you"
Her sisters hugged her from the side, crying themselves "don't onee-sama, if you do that- we won't be able to live!" "I love you onee-sama" and expressed their feelings after a long time.
Naruto's hands glowed green, he placed his hands on both marigold and sonia's back. Moments later, they also couldn't feel the mark that was etched onto their backs "here you go! you don't have to do anything I say. Our accounts were settled, thanks for the meal though"
Hancock once hugged him, muttering apologies and thanks again and again, followed by both sisters. They pulled back letting him breathe.
Looking at the still naked hancock, his blush spiked her bouncing jugs saying teasingly to look away, but he pushed it down, "Please wear something first! I'm getting distracted"
"N-naruto, a-aren't you disgusted that we were slaves once?! Do you... Do you despise us for being a slave?!" Hancock asked shyly.
"Yeah!" Naruto answered too quickly, much to their shock and horror making them say "w-what?!". Hancock felt her heart break from his quick response, but he had something else to say.
"You still haven't let go of that yet, it's been what? almost 10 years more or less since you have escaped that, but you're still a slave to your fears and I hate people who lie to themselves. However, I may like you if you let go of that fear and embrace who you are! Hahaha" Naruto replied bringing a smile to her and her sister's face.
"Idiot, I almost believed you despise us, how can you do that?!" She started hitting his chest, the scene looked comical as Naruto was shorter than her, but her smile was that of a genuine one.
"Look hancock, my life may not have been like yours. But still kinda worse, when I was little- I used to be a bright child, I can still remember... but people around me despised and were afraid of me for the reason unknown... Only three people talked to me until I turned 9, even they wouldn't tell me why I was treated like that!" He folded his hands behind his back and a smile on his face, a habit he developed whenever he was sad to comfort himself meaning 'you've yourself, don't worry'
"Since, I wanted to be a part of them, wanting be liked by others.. young mind maybe, decided that if I act dumb and make them laught at me.. they'd atleast look at me.. not ignore me like I don't exist at all- I'm not invisible... to show that I existed, I started wearing a mask and years later- the mask had become my true identity... My mask had become one... But an incident made me realise that, I should be me, not someone... That's why I hate those who lie to themselves! Because it looks like my reflection, hehehe" he laughed out drowning the sadness he felt in the laugh.
Hancock once again embraced him gently, both sharing their pain through the hug, naruto pulled back from the hug feeling the moment awkward.
Nyōn-ba sensing the awkwardness in the room started "it's been a while... since you've let emotions show like this... recently, it's as if the lady hebihime had been turned to ice..!"
hancock yelled at her with a blush on her cheeks "shut up you traitor!"
Nyōn-ba yelled back standing on her yellow snake "you be silent! you escaped the celestial dragons, only to find you had no way of returning to the island. you were just three lost, hurt little girls! just who do you think brought you back here! it's all because I was living in the outside world!"
hancock turned back to naruto with a huff who had an exasperated look on his face "hmph! you're blowing things out of proportion..." causing nyōn-ba to make a comical angry face.
As they all stood laughing and chatting with each other, suddenly naruto collapsed, kneeling on the ground to support himself, coughing up a glob of blood. Naruto remembered his and kurama's conversation in the mindscape and what he intended to do.
"Oi! naruto! is the pain getting severe?" he heard a gruff voice in his mind and calmed kurama down, 'don't worry kurama, i won't die easily... I'll release you from the seal by this evening in a nice place.
"are you alright naruto! wait you're coughing up blood?" hancock was in a frenzy, the guy who was talking with them so cheerfully collapsed so suddenly, "Salome, pick up naruto and follow me.. mari, sonia go and find enishima and tell her this is an emergency! go!"
she didn't even listen to naruto saying "I'm alright, it's okay hancock" and bolted out of the room, her loyal serpent following behind her carrying him.
As they came, they took naruto, enishima met them halfway at the dining hall, rayleigh looked on with worry as he could see blood on naruto's lips and chest, he stood up and walked towards the group taking a sip of rum "what happened, hancock? is he alright?"
However, hancock ignored him completely and ordered enishima in a frenzy voice "Enishima! diagnose naruto, see what's the problem?! he's been coughing up blood a lot"
Enishima, the kuja doctor did as she was told but couldn't find anything that could lead to coughing up a blood "hebihime-sama, I couldn't find the source of his disease... please forgive me!" she informed in a fearful voice.
"What do you mean, you couldn't find anything? you're the best doctor on our island... if something happened to him, I'll kill you, do som-" hancock's eyes were big with fury burning in them, her voice beyond angry.
A hand landed on her shoulder, as she turned to scold whoever did that, she saw naruto standing up wiping the blood on his lips "hey stop it hancock, I'm basically an alien in here. I know what disease I have- I also know nobody can heal me here, the cure is in my world that is if it exists" naruto said trying to calm her down.
But it had the opposite effect, as she grew more frantic by his words "what do you mean? you can heal right? why don't you heal yourself?" Sandersonia and marigold sent everyone outside unless they became the receiving end of her sisters ire.
"woah! woah! don't worry, I'm not gonna die easily, some symptoms will be there but nothing I can't manage" he calmed her down, strangely enough he didn't know why she became so clingy towards him, but left it alone.
However, what he didn't tell her was that he only had 2-3 years to live, without the cure his chakra circuit would stop working properly by time and he would fall into either coma or die.
Naruto gained a determined look on his face and thanked her "thanks hancock!"
Hancock was confused "why?! what happened, Naruto?!"
"Earlier, I just thought of visiting lands and wasting time until I find a way back, but you gave me a mission now and I'm gonna complete it before I go back, hehehe!" He said in cryptic words.
"Hmm... what's the mission?!" rayleigh inquired intrigued.
"I'm gonna turn the world upside down! Hehehe!" Naruto bellowed out.
Rayleigh saw a much younger grinning roger with a yellow straw hat and red horizontal strip, a bag hoisted on his shoulder calling out "well, name's roger... wanna join me turn the world upside down, rayleigh?"
Hancock who didn't understand what he was talking about asked "what do you mean, Naruto? I didn't give you any mission!"
"I never said you gave one, hancock. You said these so-called 'Gods' can do whatever they want since they're world nobles, right?! I don't know why?, but I have a problem with whoever calls themselves gods and I've handed their asses to them. And these worms really pissed me off" Naruto replied with a serious tone.
This time rayleigh questioned "so, what are you gonna do about them?! Kill them all?!"
"Nah! I'm gonna make them feel what they did to others, in my way!. First, I'm gonna be very influential, a position where people would listen to what I say! It doesn't matter whether it's good or bad one!" Naruto replied to rayleigh with a chuckle.
"So.. are you gonna join marines?!" rayleigh asked, intrigued about the idea.
"Hmm! what marines?" He questioned back never heard of the term.
"The Marines are the main reason, the world government has such a hold over everything and maintains such fear. It's the military organisation with big guns that work under the world government" nyōn-ba answered his question.
"Hm! I see, the world government is a total package huh!, then I'm gonna tear everything related to the world nobles to create a peaceful world. Looking at both of you, it's clear that there must be exceptionally strong people to hold you back, right?!" Naruto questioned.
"You don't know how strong they're? yet you wanna fight them?!" Marigold was astonished by this man's confidence.
He looked her in the eye and answered "see marigold, if you have a clear goal and the confidence to back it up.. you already have half succeeded- so, it doesn't matter if I can do it or not, It's whether I want to do it or not. This is a mission I took to destroy the world government, as a reward for all the blood and tears the slaves had shed. whoever stands in my way will be crushed without mercy"
Rayleigh and hancock chuckled at his answer "you're something else naruto!, and yeah! you're right I'm quite strong myself. I was the vice-captain of the Pirate king Gol D Roger!" but he didn't get any reaction from naruto since he didn't know him.
He continued "the world government was created 800years ago by rulers of the 20 random kingdom, and to this day with the association of 170 nations under its flag. For centuries, the pirates have roamed these dangerous seas, and to control them, the world government created a military organization called Marines.
They're an exceptionally strong people, the 3 admirals being their absolute powerhouses, and the fleet admiral who oversee the entire organization directly under the Gorosei - the five elder stars, the nobility even among the celestial dragons.
However, the pirates outnumber them by a lot, there were and are pirates like Roger, xebec, whiteboard, big mom, kaido, shanks and others along with their formidable crews, who are more than what Marines can handle.
Since they can't defeat the pirates, they started recruiting seven strong pirates around 20 years ago after the great pirate era started by the death of my friend and captain Gol D Roger- The king of the pirates, who's the first man to ever reach the Laughtale- the last island in the grandline, where the legendary treasure exists" rayleigh was talking with renewed vigor reminiscing about his voyage with the crew.
Naruto interrupted him "so, what you're saying is! People listened to him cause he was the pirate king?"
Rayleigh answered with pride in his tone "yeah, afterall he was the only man who conquered everything the world has to offer, on his execution platform he gave a speech that made the men run amuck on the seas, giving birth to the great pirate era- even after his death 20 years ago, nobody has reached that island"
Rayleigh got a nod from naruto to continue his explanation "since the Marines couldn't suppress the pirates, they recruited 7 strong pirates- who're called the seven warlords of the seas. And hancock here is one of them"
"I see, it's decided then- I'm gonna find the one piece and become the king of the pirates. I'll take a fight with all of them.. let's see if they can handle me" naruto replied learning everything he needed.
"Do you want to know where the one piece is or what it is about?" rayleigh inquired, adjusting the specs on the bridge of his nose.
"Nah! I've enough information. They've all started from nothing, you know! I should show them some courtesy.. besides where is the fun in knowing everything" Naruto replied with his mega watt smile, rayleigh also gave a genuine smile, "hey, but I wanna know what this.. devil fruits you were talking about?!"
"Oh! I didn't tell you about them did I?!- well they're the fruits with swirls all over and give random power to the user who eats one, only haki can counter them" Rayleigh noticed naruto's face going pale, so he asked "what is it Naruto!?"
"I think, I've eaten two of them, when I crashed here first!" He answered, while internally talking with kurama 'do you think those fruits are the reason?'
'maybe- maybe not, but you'll have to cure it before your body gives up on you' kurama replied through their mental link.
'roger that sir!" Naruto replied to his war buddy.
Everyone stood in a stun silence, unable to believe what they were hearing "you did whaaat?!" rayleigh demanded his voice almost high pitch. "Draw the fruit, how they looked?!"
Sonia gave him a big paper along with a brush and ink, Naruto drew the fruits he had eaten earlier "I'll keep this one to find about the fruits" Rayleigh said pocketing the book.
And started explaining about the devil fruits "Devil Fruits are supernatural fruits that are scattered throughout the world. Any living being who eats one will gain a unique ability at the cost of becoming weakened in water bodies, so they lose the ability to swim.
Devil Fruits are classified into 3 types: Paramecia fruits grant a vast array of generally "superhuman" abilities; Zoan fruits grant the power to transform into animals; and Logia fruits, the rarest and most powerful, grant the power to transform one's body into a natural element. Each fruit is also given a name based on the power it grants and has a unique appearance, which can be used to identify it.
Devil Fruits are very rare in the world, enough to be considered myths in much of the Four Blues, but they are common in the grand line and many prominent figures among the 3 Great Powers have eaten one. The abilities with their rarity cause Devil Fruits to be highly costly up to several billion belly"
"I see, then that must mean I have two different powers then!" Naruto replied with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm also confused, how you're alive after eating two fruits" rayleigh said making everyone but Hancock nod in agreement.
"By the way hancock, why did you join the warlord system if you despise them so much?!" Naruto asked out of the blue.
But nyōn-ba answered his question "as rayleigh-san explained, the government is not kind towards those who are not their ally, so she had no choice but to join them less gaining their ire"
For another hour, they talked about a lot of different things. The girl marguerite, whom he remembered as the one who attacked him when he was eating the fruits walked to him.
"Please, accept this as an apology for attacking you" she handed him a pair of khaki pants, a brown leather jacket, and a mesh shirt similar to his old one, but the jacket had one serious problem though.
"Hm! do you.. mind removing these extra accessories from the jacket!" he said pointing at the floral pattern designs on the jacket.
Marguerite asked back unsure of why he would want her to remove the good looking design "why doesn't it looks beautiful?!"
Naruto replied gulping in exasperation "yeah! It's good, but men don't like these type of stuffs, so if you don't mind" she nodded and removed all the extra accessories on the jacket before handing it to him.
"Hancock, can you show me where the bath is?! I would like to take a shower!" He said eliciting a blush from her.
As she was about to stand up and show him the way, sonia stood up replying "I'll show you the bath, don't bother sister" and naruto obediently followed her and missed seeing the seething hancock grinding her teeth.
After few minutes, he came out into the hall they were talking before, with his new dress, the jacket didn't had the zipper allowing him to let it open leaving only the fishnet shirt inside, and the pants.
Hancock was floored by his new look, her blush spiking even more internally thinking 'wow! He's so handsome!'
"Hey, do you wanna see my friend?!" Naruto asked all of them, bringing her out of thoughts, thinking of releasing kurama from his seal.
Marigold questioned back not sure of what he was talking about "who?! what friend?!" the feeling shared by everyone.
Naruto replied a bit too cheerfully "just follow me, you'll see him soon!" And walked outside the kuja castle.
As he walked outside, the women were all standing in the streets talking about him and rayleigh, with some occasional cough he started walking towards the entrance to the village.
He turned east & started walking, hancock called him "where are you going, Naruto?!" but he didn't reply, only gestured them to follow him, the woman also started following their leader.
About 15 minutes later, he found a clearing wide enough for kurama to stretch his legs, but there was no grass only a barren land along with a river nearby "Stand beside those trees" he warned them before moving forward.
Kneeling on one leg, he formed a series of handseals ending with a snake seal, he called out the name of the jutsu 'Mokuton: Shichūka no Jutsu', suddenly the ground rumbled beneath their foot, as they were thinking if it's an attack- out of the ground rose up several wooden-cylindrical pillars in a circular formation.
Everyone stood shocked to see the pillars rise above the ground reaching the sky "wow! how did he do that?!" P1 asked, "I dunno, but that was amazing!" replied P2, "yeah! If we could simply build like that-" P3 replied, P4 cut P3 off "it's nothing in front of hebihime-sama" and others agreed to what she said.
The diameter of the circle was more than half a kilometre, the pillars stood at the height of 150 meters, then out of the pillars grew big beams with their neighbour pillar, also grew big beams upward to the centre of the circle like a cone.
Rayleigh laughed to himself, seeing the young man create wood out of nowhere thinking 'it's not a devil fruit ability, you need a lot of training and effort to achieve such fine control.. it must be one of his abilities then'.
Hancock was watching the whole thing like a wonder in the world, along with her sisters 'wow! he's soo coool!' she thought herself, unknowingly embracing the feelings she felt.
Wooden planks started growing out of the beams and covered the roof of the structure that looked like a chinese ting, once again weaving through a set of handseals, he touched the ground- the effect was immediate, lush green grass grew out of ground above ankle level.
A girl in the crowd was scribbling in her notes "men can grow.. wood and build.. houses, pavilion etc.. they're pretty reliable..!"
Naruto mentally called out 'kurama, I'm gonna bring you out, are you ready?!' the only reply he got was grunt.
He weaved through a set of handseals, as it ended a tattoo-like seal appeared on his palm and forearm, including symbols and text, glowing faintly. He plunged his palm on his stomach and twisted it in anti-clock wise unsealing the seal.
He grasped the shroud of red bubbly chakra and yanked it out of his stomach, as more and more torrent of bubbling red chakra erupted from within him, like a raging inferno. The volatile energy hissed and roared, seeping into the air around him.
Gradually, the chakra began to take a shape, its feral intensity condensing into the form of a massive fox. First came its colossal body, the sharp curves of its limbs, and the towering stature that dwarfed everything around it. The nine tails flowed like rivers of fire, swaying with a life of their own.
With each passing moment, the form grew more distinct- gleaming fangs, piercing crimson eyes, fur that seemed to ripple like molten lava. The transformation was both majestic and terrifying, and there stood kurama in all his glory shaking the ground with a single step forward.
Rayleigh stood once again dumbfounded by the young man in front of him, he had only heard folklore and legends about the legendary beast the nine tailed fox, but here he is looking at it directly - it's breath like a hot breeze.
Everyone could feel the raw killing intent radiating out of the creature, most fell to the ground clutching their wind pipe, while many puked on the bushes - Naruto bent down coughing up blood from losing so much chakra.
The killing intent faded instantly, as kurama also bent down and checked on naruto, his voice gruff and loud "are you alright Naruto..? I still think it's a bad idea"
"Don't worry kurama! It's just the effect of when *khah *khah the bijū is removed from a jinjuriki - with a good night sleep I'll be alright" Naruto replied reassuring kurama of his health and fell unconscious.
Hancock was about to run towards Naruto, but kurama's snarl and the protective stance told rayleigh that'd be a wrong idea and held her back.
Kurama spoke not trusting anyone "out of respect for naruto, I won't kill any of you. But anyone who comes near him will die, he's unconscious now he'll wake up by tomorrow - you should leave now"
Kurama gently picked Naruto by his soft tail and he laid his face down on his paws, his eyes fixated on naruto's unconscious body.
Enraged hancock yelled out "who do you think you are?, you damn mutt! He's unconscious.. Naruto needs a doctor! his health is not good!" but kurama ignored her words and closed his eyes.
Rayleigh chopped hancock's neck and let Salome carry her back to the castle, everyone cleared the place talking about the colossal nine tailed fox.
Please review the chapters, that's how a writer improves & keeps us motivated, it's ok if you don't like the chapter or story, all it takes is just a minute or two to type & we will be happy.
We some authors have low self-esteem, & things such as likes & reviews are what matters to us, so please leave a comment on what to improve on.
Ideas are welcome. For devil fruit powers and techniques.
Since it's harem, I still only take five girls at maximum, you guys can choose.
Maybe lemons involved in the future, so read at your own risk and don't flame me.
Stay safe & sound, that's all it matters, bye bye.
Due to personal reasons, the updates will be slow very slow, please bear with it..
I'm starting on a new story it's a crossover between naruto and monster verse (Godzilla), obviously i won't abandon any of my work- just need some time.
well i'm not a too imaginative guy you see!
it's a bye! for now.