Alright, back to the Fishman Island Arc, and man am I glad to get to the fun part of this show. I know that Fishman Island Arc in some circles is disliked, but I absolutely love it.

Land of Waves

*VRMMM!*

The sound of roaring engines filled the air as vehicles surged across the bridge, connecting the Land of Waves and the Land of Fire. Leading the way was the formidable Expeditionary Forces, accompanied by the fierce Alabasta Foreign Legion.

Their motorized units and other battalions traversed the massive structure with precision, soldiers riding on trucks, and motorcycles, and marching on foot. With a secure link to mainland Shinobi Continent now established, thousands of armed troops flooded into the country, their heavy equipment towed behind them as they advanced to expand on the breakthrough that had been made possible.

This was to be the busiest bridge, one where another victory was possible thanks to a few levelheaded officers.

*HONK! HONK!*

"Sorry, sir!" One sidecar with the driver and his MG-carrying passenger drove past two of those khaki-uniformed officers, Lieutenant Naruto Uzumaki and Captain Frederick Bishop, both seen walking over the bridge after having secured the positions.

"So how far are you boys in?" Bishop asked how many kilometers deep the 9th had pushed into the Land of Fire's territory after crossing the river.

Naruto chuckled, "Around 20 kilometers, I believe. Just a bit ahead of those Germa men." He had his Thompson gun slung around his shoulder and mentioned, "I don't know when but some squads had started this little race with them to try get to the first major settlement before Hermann's troops."

"Well, the Krauts are doing the same. Hermann's competitive when he has the winning hand." Bishop said, watching a few more trucks drive past them. "He's already taking care of the enemy artillery positions."

Both men stopped for a moment to see the large ship of the Warlord departing from an eye distance towards the open sea, seeing it was getting relieved by some Marine warships.

"The Kuja Pirates did their part." Naruto said, watching their ship, pulling out his smoking pipe, "Not much for sticking around, aren't they?"

"As if, that woman captain is a handful."

"Yeah." Naruto puts the pipe in his mouth, "Say that again."

"Thank you!"

As the two officers walked along the road, they spotted crowds of civilians and displaced refugees. The people expressed their gratitude, waving goodbye and especially welcoming the Legionnaires with hugs and thrown flowers. At the same time, the soldiers saluted in return as they continued toward the end of the bridge.

As the two made their way through the crowd, politely ignoring the cheers and thanks from the locals, they managed to make their way through a column of vehicles that were seen waiting on the side of the bridge, allowing traffic to come through. The two officers then saw a jeep driving up towards them, with their radioman Foster in the driver's seat, who's still recovering, Captain Li of the 8th in the shotgun seat, and the officer still having bandages on his face.

"Captain Li, Private Foster, good to see you two in better health." Naruto saluted them both and smirked, "You about to go back into action?"

"Not yet, Naruto, but I would ask to regroup with my men across the bridge, Captain Bishop." Captain Li asked the commanding officer, "They are ready for duty."

Bishop nodded, giving the okay as he stood up from his seat and grabbed his rifle, rejoining his battalion, which was only a few trucks up the front of this column.

While Bishop walked over to the jeep to talk to Foster, Naruto took the time to turn around and face the Land of Fire's border region, seeing as fighting was still happening afar with sporadic gunfire and explosions going off, the one thought that was plaguing his mind was that of something he didn't had early on when he stormed that riverbank early in the morning.

Home, he was back to his place of birth…

"Sir, Sir!"

"SIR!"

Naruto groaned as consciousness slowly returned. His head throbbed and his back ached from lying on the hard floor. A bright light assaulted his eyelids, causing him to wince and turn away.

"Sir, you alright?" Coming into the frame, Foster was kneeling next to the blue-nosed reindeer, clicking his fingers and asking, "Where are we heading?"

"Ho…Home…"

"Where's home, sir?"

"Up yours, Jack, home as in Fishman Island." Naruto groaned as he tried to get up, "Now what happened?"

"You fell hard to the floor, sir. Got knocked out."

Naruto sat up on the floor, noticing the room in disarray. He saw only Foster and the small Straw Hat nearby, while the little bluenosed reindeer continued to examine him.

"Your friends say you were out for half an hour, but you seem alright," Chopper remarked, inspecting Naruto's pupils and placing his hoof against his neck. He then asked, "Is it common for you to be knocked out and remain unconscious for an extended period?"

Naruto shook his head as the doctor checked on him, but he also looked over at his comrade. "Foster, where are the others?" he asked.

"Fritz and Luca are outside, watching our prisoner," Foster replied with a hint of disapproval. "They were a little rough with him when he tried to escape."

"Anything serious?"

"...Fritz shut his eyes blue, that's how bad it went, but Luca puts some chains on the long-tonged bastard." Foster mentioned to the little doctor next to them, "Doc right here wasn't thrilled."

"Here!"

Chopper looked not amused as he put a cold icepack right up to Naruto's head, catching the blond by surprise who got his hand placed on by Chopper who jumped off and grabbed his little backpack and walked to the door.

"Hey, allow me-"

*SLAM!*

After slamming the door behind him with noticeable force, the doctor's anger made Naruto glare back at his second-in-command, eager for an explanation.

"What happened?"

"Uggh…"

Wheezing and groaning in pain, Caribou had gotten himself stuck to the wall, his entire body covered in chains made out of Seastone material, his face was barely recognizable at this point, swollen beyond, one eye was completely shut, the other barely open even to open, throat covered in bruises.

The perpetrators of this were both Fritz aiming his pistol at him while Luca held a rifle against the pirate's chest. Both had some bruises on their hands, showing they were the ones who had done some work on the sludge-sing pirate.

"Ughh-"

"Shut up." Fritz interrupted him, warning, "I'll break your teeth if you keep talking."

The other spectators, the Straw Hats, or at least what was left of them as now a while had passed with them left in the literal dark, cold temperature and also having just escaped a giant octopus attack.

Nami had taken over charge for now, and she was in her pink coat to withstand the underwater cold. She stood aside from Usopp and Franky at the steering, giving glances at their passengers. They then continued to look around.

Brook and Robin were sitting next to each other, both wearing gray coats. While Brook sipped on a cup of tea, Robin kept herself occupied with her drawings. Suddenly, the small Chopper emerged from the door and spotted the two Straw Hats. They noticed his serious expression before being joined by Naruto and Foster. Naruto had a bandage wrapped around his forehead and he nodded at Robin when he saw her. She returned his smile before returning to her drawings.

"Kind of cold here," Foster said, feeling the temperature had gone down. He looked around and saw the lack of light. "Need something, sir?"

"No, Foster, thank you." Naruto declined his comrade's offer and then turned to see Reiser and Luca keeping watch on the barely conscious prisoner. They were starting to approach Caribou, stuck inside the barrel with his head still swallowed up. His men lowered their weapons.

"Any change?"

"None so far." Luca shook his head dejectedly. "He won't talk."

"Why don't you just give up, Caribou?!" Reiser shouted right into the prisoner's ear. "You're not getting out of this alive, so spare us the energy."

Caribou glared at him, his bloodied mouth filled with anger. "You're not gonna get away with this."

"Who is he?" Brook asked from the side, looking at Robin and Naruto for an answer. "And what did he do to you?"

Reiser's eyes narrowed as he spat out the words, "Wet-Haired Caribou. Vicious, cruel, and always looking for a chance to exploit others. He deserves to be at the bottom of the ocean." He glanced over at the prisoner before saying, "We're pretty close to the bottom already. We might as well just toss him overboard."

"No way! I won't let it happen!" Chopper interceded and stood his ground between the armed Legionnaires and their captive, arguing, "He's wounded and under our care!"

"Sorry, Doc, but this guy doesn't deserve any mercy," Reiser replied without sparing a glance at the reindeer Straw Hat, giving Caribou a fierce stare. He's lived long enough to cause too much harm."

"It's not your decision to make!" Chopper yelled back, "Luffy's the captain, and he decides what to do with him!"

"Doc's right, Fritz." Foster inclined, "Cannot do anything now but to watch him."

As the tension on deck between the ship's doctor and Reiser was present, it was only a few moments before he then lowered his gun and complied.

"Fine, but allow me."

Suddenly, Luca stepped forward and grabbed Caribou, gagging him with a rag before Fritz, the ship's navigator, threw a black bag over his head, effectively blinding him.

The doctor watched in horror, unsure of what was to come next. But before he could intervene, Naruto stepped by and allowed the men to continue, the blond spoke to him.

"It's for the best, for now."

Now fully gagged and blinded, Caribou's muffled sounds were the only thing heard as both Legionnaires walked off away from the pirate's presence Foster sat nearby and kept his rifle ready, deciding to take guard.

"I'll keep an eye on him, sir."

"Good, just make sure he keeps breathing." Naruto said as he walked off, "I'll be talking to the others at the helm."

As he did so, Naruto walked over to the helm where the other Straw Hats stood. Walking up the stairs, he soon joined Nami, Franky, and Usopp, who were weary of his presence.

"Sorry for causing a bit of a chaotic scene, Luff-" Naruto said before he noticed that the someone he tried to apologize to wasn't present, "Where's Luffy?"

"He's busy fighting a giant kraken at the moment." Franky said it so mildly while steering the helm, "Him, our cook, and swordsman are somewhere, no worry."

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto was not showing it but he was surprised at how mild the reaction was to what their captain was up to, "Out there? In the ocean? Right now?"

"Yeah, it's quite scary but we're confident in Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji." Usopp said while wearing a brown coat, looking forward, "They're idiots but we're confident."

Naruto had the urge to raise his eyebrow and responded with a smirk, "So your captain is as crazy as back in Marineford."

"Yeah well, you get used to it," Nami replied while reading the map in her hands, calmly but also somewhat irritated. "From the East Blue to Thriller Bark it worked out until we got to Sabaody."

"When he smacked some World Noble around, yes?" Naruto asked, reminded he read about that incident and how it caused a huge problem. "He took one out and ended up with two more."

"Yeah…we try not to get into situations like that anymore," Usopp said, remembering how he was the one to knock out the second World Noble. "Hurting them alone got us nearly killed."

"Yeah, I can relate to that," Naruto couldn't help but chuckle as he ruffled his hair, "I had myself in more trouble when they found out I killed one."

"Yeah…" Usopp replied. Before he blinked a few times and then screamed, "You did WHAAAAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Oh, I killed a World Noble."

"EEEEEH!?"

Those on the ship who heard it, aside from a select few were left horrified.

Usopp's eyes widened in disbelief as he pointed an accusatory finger at Naruto. "You killed a World Noble? That's impossible!" His voice rose in frantic disbelief, "Suicidal! Madness! Crazy!"

Naruto remained calm and collected, his expression unreadable. "Not impossible, just very difficult," he replied, his tone even and controlled. "It was years ago under circumstances I-"

"Wait a minute," Usopp interrupted, turning to the rest of the crew with panic in his eyes. "Nami! Franky! Are you hearing this?"

"We heard it, buddy," Franky responded from behind the helm, his voice laced with surprise. "But I'm honestly surprised you didn't know."

"Yeah, Usopp. That's why Naruto's bounty is so high," Nami chimed in, her tone matter-of-fact. "It was discovered that he was responsible for someone's death over a decade ago."

Usopp's mind reeled at this revelation and he collapsed to the floor in shock. The other Straw Hats reacted with a mix of emotions, some in awe and others unsure of how to feel. Chopper sat on Robin's lap, looking hollowed as he turned to her.

"I-Is this true?"

"It is indeed," Robin confirmed with a serene smile, "There's no denying it. But don't be afraid, Naruto isn't someone you should fear. He had his reasons."

"I must say, I would feel quite ill upon hearing such news," Brook added in his usual jovial tone as he sipped on tea, "But alas, being a skeleton has its perks. Yohohoho!"

Chopper's troubled expression deepened as he turned to Naruto's group. "Did you all know about this?" He couldn't help but ask in confusion and concern.

"We knew, and we had the same reaction as you, yet we honestly didn't care afterward." Luca said while cleaning up his rifle with a small wet towel, having removed the barrel while talking, "It was at the end of the war that it was revealed to us in Konoha, where we were stationed."

"Right, we were kind of shocked but not too much," Reiser said while brandishing his fighting blade. He spoke interestingly: "We thought nothing of it until those World Government people ordered us to arrest him for it."

"And?" Brook asked, "Did you?"

"Of course not, none of us would, they had to send an entire regiment of Marines and a squad of Cipher Pol agents to arrest him, to which he complied," Reiser responded with a scoff thinking about it while cleaning his blade, "They brought him over to Wave Country for extradition."

"Don't forget to mention what happened the next day," Foster said, keeping guard on their long-tongued prisoner, "and what we did in return."

Luca nodded, her eyes gleaming with the memory. "Oh yeah, I'll never forget it. The look on those Cipher Pol agents' faces when they realized what was happening."

Chopper leaned in, his eyes wide with curiosity. "What exactly did you guys do?"

Reiser chuckled. "Well, we weren't about to let them take our Captain without a fight. So as soon as we got wind of their plan, we mobilized all our forces and headed over to every with every man we could muster."

Chopper's jaw dropped. "You... you started an open rebellion?"

"Yeah, we did," Luca mentioned, "It started as our whole division, then another, and then whole corps were heard heading over to the Wave country," Sounding still as astonished by those numbers, "How many men ended up joining our mutiny?"

"Shit, I thought it was around thirty to forty thousand men ended up driving to Wave," Reiser tried to recall, "There were units stationed all over the continent who joined up or simply abandoned their posts out of protests."

"It was a mess too, like when we got there, it was a mix of everyone, Germa Volunteers, Vodka Kingdom troops, some brigades of the Frauce Kingdom, you name it."

"Not even the mention of those armored trucks and tanks or even the flyboys who did sorties over that building."

The sheer detail of what this mutiny was got Chopper alone to have his mouth open in surprise while Robin just smiled, having known about this in person.

"Anyway once the Shinobi arrived and the Marine garrison that was there just stood by and did nothing, those suits released him and demoted Naruto to try and get the last laugh, only it did nothing in total." Reiser said concluding the event, "We all got our paychecks cut and reprimanded before our Legion and everyone else was ordered to leave the Shinobi Continent."

"Yeah, even when the pay was just shitty in general."

"That pay alone was enough to mutiny."

"Right to that."

At the helm as they watched those down below continue talking, Nami took a turn to Naruto who was standing there with Franky, while Usopp still lay there on the floor, the blond was paying attention to the path in front of them while talking to the cyborg shipwright. Not having paid attention to all the discussion going down with his men to the doctor.

"How deep do you believe we're going by now?"

"I'd say we'd be close to passing 3,000 feet." Franky replied to the question, turning to the blond, "Why?"

"Okay, good," Naruto said as he began removing the jacket he wore, showing the shirt he wore with Y-string straps was already showing signs of sweat, "Because we'll be getting warm in a bit."

The warm that Naruto was talking about was the sea temperature that suddenly spiked up which made it warmer inside the bubble, causing the first person to be shown to be affected by it to be the reindeer Chopper who fell on his butt with his tongue out.

"Huh? What's the matter, little man?"

"I don't know. I feel hot all of a sudden." He mouthed in exhaustion, Chopper fell over to the grass floor, "I can't stand the heat."

Waken up by the heat, Usopp was the next person who got his coat removed, "Its hot! What happened?"

"Look there, kid." Reiser said having removed his own coat, pointing out in front, "Smoke."

What seemed to be like smoke cloud produced in front of them as if a fire was going but underwater, it blocked Sunny's view as the ship went through it, they came across what were volcanos that were releasing a large amount of heat that the people on the Straw Hat Ship were feeling.

"Hydrothermal deposits, in other words, underground volcanos," Naruto told them as he turned to Franky who was still at the helm, "Let's take evasive action and avoid them as much as possible, one eruption alone can be fatal so let's make sure to not panic."

"Agreed,"

As Franky expertly steered the Thousand Sunny through the thick smoke and debris, his hands moved with precision and care. The rest of the crew watched anxiously, except for Chopper who was leaning over the rail, struggling to handle the intense heat.

"It's hot...It's hot..." he moaned.

"Hang in there, little guy," Luca said, soothingly patting Chopper on the head. But then he noticed something lurking beneath them. "On our six, we've got tentacles!"

Dozens of writhing tentacles were closing in on the rear of the ship, but they had been spotted just in time.

"Carnivorous Tubeworms!" Usopp shouted in a panic.

"We have no choice," Franky grunted as he prepared himself. "A little Coup de Burst!"

With a powerful burst of energy, the Thousand Sunny shot out of reach of the tentacles. But their relief was short-lived as they found themselves facing yet another danger.

"AAAAH!"

"Faceless Crabs!" Brook cried out in terror.

Franky quickly assessed their options. "Another Coup de Burst!" he commanded.

The ship propelled upwards once again, narrowly escaping the grasp of the monstrous faceless crabs. They continued to use multiple bursts to navigate their way out of the dangerous deposit area and into safer waters.

Glad they've made it through, Naruto took a step back and sighed in relief as he rubbed the head bandage as he took it off, showing his wound had healed by now, the ripped bandage was more soaked in sweat than in blood by now.

'Ugh, this heat makes me angry.'

'As if you can be bothered by it, Kurama, you just need a reason to complain.'

'No, but that little furball is.'

Naruto took notice of the ship's doctor Chopper, seen lying on the floor, he walked over to him and kneeled down to see he was in a saddened state.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Naruto asked him.

"There's no way Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji could survive down here." Chopper said, still exhausted by the heat but also seen in visible tears, "I'm so sad. I waited two years to see them again."

Seeing how sad he was, Naruto began to try to comfort him and rubbed his back, "Hey, keep up the high spirits, they're doing alright." Smiling as he tried to help, "Your captain's a tough nut to crack, so have some confidence in him and the others."

Chopper hearing those words tried to stop crying as it did help, Naruto then turned his head upwards and noticed the decrease of the air bubble.

"Those bursts, they take in a lot of air from the bubble?"

"Yeah, unfortunately, that's the drawback as it seems," Franky commented seeing the decreasement as well, "This can be bad."

"Let's then reserve for now, in case something more dangerous than some creatures will come right for us."

"No offense, but who made you captain?" Usopp asked while stepping up, "We know what we're doing."

"Maybe because I have gone to Fishman Island before, multiple times even." Naruto made it clear to the long-nosed pirate as he did so a bit sternly as he stood up yet again, just then as something happened.

A light, a bright light to be exact began to glow right in front of the Thousand Sunny that caught everyone by surprise, but Chopper was the most energized to react to it.

"What's that?! It's bright! Is that Fishman Island?" Chopper turned to Nami, "Do you think Luffy and the others are there?"

"We haven't descended 12,000 feet," Nami said, knowing her calculations were right, turning to Naruto, "What do you think?"

Instead of answering directly, Naruto took a closer look and stared into the light despite it being bright enough to blind anyone without protective glasses. However, he then realized what it was.

"Take evasive action!"

"Huh?"

"Evasive action, NOW!"

Taking a sharp turn, the ship went up the stream just as sharp teeth neared it and the light revealed the full identity of the creature, which was an enormous, it was an anglerfish.

"Oh crap!" Franky reacted, "Pull!"

"It's an angler!" Usopp screamed, "It trucked us!"

"We were fooled by a deep-sea hunter!" Brook joined in on the panic, "Oh no!"

"Damn it, stay away from it!" Naruto said helping the cyborg with the helm, "It wants to eat us!"

The ship blasted away from the mouth of the anglerfish with a Coup de Burst, just in time for the creature to close its mouth, the Sunny now sailed above the creature's reach.

"That was close!"

'Whoever said that just jinxed it.'

'What's in front of us?'

'Look for yourself.'

The looming shadow of a massive creature fell upon them, its silhouette resembling that of a man but with hair covering every inch of its body. Compared to the anglerfish, it was twice the size and had a round head and chest that dwarfed its spindly legs and arms. Its teeth were jagged and far too large for its mouth, giving it a menacing appearance, but its wide-eyed expression gave it a child-like quality.

The Straw Hats immediately panicked at the sight. However, amidst the chaos, Luca and Reiser took charge. Reiser knelt down and placed earplugs in his ears while shouldering a large sniper rifle. Meanwhile, Luca diligently loaded another bullet into the gun as he aimed.

"On your orders, sir!" Luca yelled, ready to take the shot. "I can put a bullet right in its head!"

But before any command could be given, the Fishman raised its massive fist and swung it toward them, causing even more chaos and screams-

*BOINK!*

A loud thud echoed through the air as the Fishman's fist connected with the anglerfish's head instead, leaving behind a sizable bump and shocking everyone on board the Thousand Sunny.

"What the-"

"Hey, Ankoro!" The giant Fishman spoke in a child-like voice, looking at the anglerfish, "Don't eat ships! How many times do I have to tell you? Captain Vander Decken will be angry!"

A shocked Nami muttered, "D-Did he help us?"

"Sir, I can take the shot," Luca said still aiming for the Fishman.

"Wait…is that?"

'Looks familiar, isn't that the-"

"Let's Go!" Usopp shouted in desperate anger, "Either way we have to run! He's a monster, too!"

'I swear I'm going to rip that nose off his annoying head and shove it down his-'

"Ship up ahead!"

Appearing from the darkness a ship largely damaged and without an air bubble, it resembled a ghost ship with what state it was in, but what was in its sails written was a shock to many who knew the tales.

"The Flying Dutchman…"

While behind him the skeleton Brook panicked and explained what the ghost ship was in front of them, nobody took direct notice of Naruto stepping up and looking at the giant Fishman, and then calling it out.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Usopp said spotting Naruto, "Don't antagonize it-"

"WADATSUMI!" Naruto shouted out, "IS THAT YOU?"

The callout of the name caused the giant Fishman to hear that and turn back from the ghost ship to the Thousand Sunny, in confusion.

"Ehhhh! Who knows my name?" The giant child-like Fishman spoke before taking a closer look and spotting someone familiar, "Wait….Naruto? Is that you?"

"Long time no see, Wadatsumi!" Naruto yelled, waving his arms in excitement. "Yes, it's me, Naruto!"

"HE KNOWS ITS NAME!" Usopp shouted in shock.

Leaning its head forward, Wadatsumi took a closer look with its face fully looking at Naruto who stood in front of everyone on the deck, and visibly smiling at the blond. Despite everyone else on the Thousand Sunny looking visibly scared the giant Fishman's head was bigger than the ship itself.

"Wow! It is you, Naruto!" Wadatsumi smiled upon seeing him, "You've grown!"

"I can say the same thing about you! You've grown well!" Naruto shouted back in genuine happiness, but asked, "But why are you so far away from Fishman Island?"

"Oh, I'm a pirate now! Part of Vander Decken's crew!" Wadatsumi innocently replied and his smile kept up, "Everyone back home wants to see you again! There is even a surprise for you there!"

"A surprise?" Naruto asked returning the smile, "What is it?"

"Oh, shoot!" Wadatsumi hit himself over the head in response, "I shouldn't have told you that! Sorry!"

The Straw Hats were left awestruck by the normal conversation Naruto was having with the giant Fishman who was about to attack them.

"He-He's talking to him like they're friends!" Usopp said shaking in his boots, "We might need to-"

"Wadatsumi! It's me!" Foster ran past them and joined Naruto as he waved at the Fishman, "Oi! Remember?"

"Ohhhh, Foster! I remember you!" Wadatsumi replied and smiled seeing another familiar face, "You still have the cool looking hat! Nice! I still want one of my own!"

"We can try!" Foster laughed at seeing the Fishman he once had met after the war, "Are you doing alright?"

Nami wanting to know more, turned to the other two Legionnaires and asked, "You guys know this Fishman?"

"No, but our captain and Foster did visit the kingdom after the war, so they must be familiar with this fella." Reiser said as he stood back up after Luca removed the sniper from his shoulder, still staring at the large hairy person, "Who knows what kind of people Naruto and Foster know in Fishman Island."

As Naruto's conversation with the two individuals continued, Robin unexpectedly joined them.

Chopper exclaimed in surprise, "Robin?"

Wadatsumi, who had a childlike curiosity, asked about the pretty woman next to Naruto, "Is she one of your girlfriends?"

This caused an explosive reaction from Usopp, Chopper, and Brook as they all yelled in unison, "One of your girlfriends?"

Nami maintained her composure but raised an eyebrow and turned to Luca for clarification. She asked calmly, "Could you please explain?"

Luca chuckled at the mention of rumors surrounding their captain and nodded in acknowledgment. He responded, "Well, there is some truth to those rumors."

Nami's expression faltered slightly as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Luca chuckled and continued, "Well, it is true that Naruto has a sort of reputation with women…but they've been consensual, just what we know it's all types of different relations." He paused for a moment, his gaze turning introspective, before he continued, "As far I know, Naruto and Nico Robin have known each other for a long time, so they must be intimate really."

Hearing that causes Nami to remember the little act she spotted the two doing in the kitchen and did her best to suppress the tint on her cheeks as she observed the conversation.

*PUNCH!*

Out of nowhere and without giving Wadatsumi the chance to respond, he got punched across the face by a tentacle that belonged to a giant orange-skinned brutally big monster that was a sea monster-level of its own, and it was something the Straw Hats encountered earlier.

"THE KRAKEN?!"

"Holy shit!" Foster visibly gawked at the giant being, "That's one big bastard right there!"

Without giving him the chance to respond, the Kraken repeated its punching with all its tentacles and hitting Wadatsumi over and over again to where he couldn't respond properly anymore and could only be pummeled till it was over.

"Alright, that's enough! Stop!"

By command the Kraken did stop, allowing Wadatsumi to fall to his back barely conscious and beaten up to the point he couldn't stand anymore.

"Good job!"

The Kraken smiled while holding one of its limbs over its head, just when an air bubble began descending down, carrying the three missing Straw Hats who finally made their return, much to the happiness of the crew.

"Luffy! Zoro! Sanji!"

Naruto and Foster however watched the bubble slowly approaching the ship, the two saw the ghost ship and the angler fish began leaving the area while dragging Wadatsumi to safety, taking this as a round of defeat.

Naruto winced and turned to Foster, "Remind me to apologize to the big guy once we see him on Fishman Island."

"Yeah…he'll be angry alright." He agreed, turning around and watching as Luffy and his two other crewmates entered the Sunny, explaining to the rest of the crew his and Sanji's bubble exploded and they both entered Zoro's for survival, getting in response a celebration song the Soul King himself while the little Chopper hugged the captain while crying.

Then it got further explained how the three managed to beat and tame the Kraken to the point it became a friendly ally, much to the surprise of the others, it was the name given to him that got some reactions.

"He called it Surume…dried squid." Luca said with an unbelievable look, "Hard to believe he's Ace's kid brother."

Reiser couldn't help but laugh at this, "I can, kid's hilarious."

As the Kraken puts the Sunny on top of its head, it tries to move at its own speed towards Fishman Island, but then an eruption happens and it causes the party to stop and see what is happening, and it was Nami who saw what it was, looking concerned.

"Oh no, the undersea volcano's gonna erupt!"

"Fucking run!"

Not needing to be told twice, Surume the Kraken took the headstart and began leaving on its own pace away from the soon-to-be erupting volcano, with the other party with Wadatsumi having disappeared to somewhere else.

Naruto chuckled in amusement and turned to Robin, "I never would have thought our journey to Fishman Island would involve a volcanic eruption and an escort from a Kraken! Your crew sure knows how to keep things interesting, Robin."

Robin smiled, "Thank you, we certainly don't have a dull moment."

Reiser joined in the laughter and patted Naruto on the back, "If we actually make it to Fishman Island, I'll treat you to a drink!"

"But you're always broke!" Foster interjected.

Reiser smirked, "That's where I'll ask for your help!"

"Absolutely not!" Foster retorted.

Nami gave no heed to the conversation and turned to Naruto, stating confidently, "We need to head towards the trench."

"Come on Kraken!" Foster cheered, trying to encourage it. "You can do it!" The others also joined in, shouting words of encouragement while Luffy howled with laughter.

As Surume finally leaped into the trench, the volcano erupted and debris began raining down upon them. The Kraken did its best to dodge the falling rocks while Zoro tried to slice through them, but was stopped by Robin's swift intervention.

"Those rocks are going to pummel us!" Usopp shouted while pulling out his staff, "Special Attack Green Star: Sargasso!"

Firing a small object into the barrage of rocks, it erupted into seaweed veins spreading around and catching many of them into its grasp like a net.

"Good, kid! Good!" Luca said slapping Usopp's shoulder hard, "That's a good weapon you got!"

Taken back by the compliment, Usopp smiled, "T-Thanks!"

Naruto recognized this trench from his first visit to the underwater kingdom.

"That's our entrance!" he exclaimed.

Unfortunately, some boulders managed to strike Surume's back causing Chopper, who could understand the creature's thoughts, to grit his teeth in frustration and shout, "We can't stay here any longer! We have to move on!"

"Chopper is right!" Usopp agreed "We need to go up!"

"NO!" Naruto yelled as he attracted their attention "We need to go down! down the trench! Go big fella!"

"WHAT! Are you crazy!" Usopp and Chopper at him "Why would we for any reason go there!"

"Because I know that by this way we go to Fishman Island!" Naruto yelled while pointing at the void darkness.

After that most of the boulders went past them, Luffy asked "Are you sure?"

Naruto nodded "I know because I went through it."

"But the plan says-"

"Boulder look out big guy!"

A boulder landed on Surume's head and knocked him out, causing panic as it makes them fall into the dark void trench.

As the moments passed, the once muffled screams grew louder and more distinct. Panic and fear rippled through the air as everyone realized what was about to happen. However, amidst the chaos, one voice rang out with an unwavering confidence, knowing exactly where they were headed. It cut through the chaos like a beacon of hope in the darkness.

'This is it...'