The Black Cat Pirates' ship reached the shore under the cover of darkness. Jango stepped off first, spinning his chakram lazily as the crew followed.
"We're finally here," one pirate muttered.
Jango smirked. "Yeah, and now we move in. No distractions—straight to the village."
The pirates nodded, gripping their weapons as they advanced inland.
Usopp and the Crew Hear the Pirates
Usopp's ears twitched at the distant voices. "Wait… do you hear that?"
Luffy blinked. "Sounds like a bunch of people."
A Naruto clone pointed ahead. "That must be them! We were waiting at the wrong place!"
Usopp paled. "Are you serious!?"
Luffy grinned. "Then let's go!" Without hesitation, he dashed off.
The clones followed excitedly. "Finally, some action, dattebayo!"
Zoro sighed. "No plan, huh?"
Just as they were about to run, Nami suddenly froze.
"My treasure!" she yelled.
Panicked, she turned too quickly and stepped right onto the oil trap.
"Eh—!?"
She slipped instantly, flailing.
"Help!"
Zoro sighed and reached out. "Tch. Quit whining—"
The moment she grabbed his arm, she yanked hard, using him to pull herself out.
Zoro, caught off guard, lost his footing.
"Oi—!"
With a short skid, he slipped and fell flat on his back.
A few Naruto clones ran past. One glanced at Zoro.
"Ouch."
Another clone nodded. "That looked rough, dattebayo."
Zoro groaned. "Damn woman…"
One of the Naruto clones grabbed his arm and helped pull him up.
"Man, that was brutal!" the clone said with a grin.
Zoro dusted himself off and scowled. "Shut up."
Unlike the others, Naruto's clones had no trouble moving at full speed.The clones leaped effortlessly over obstacles, making their way toward the shore.
Some of them chatted as they ran.
"Time to kick some pirate butt, dattebayo!"
"Less talking, more running!"
A few even started racing each other, turning what should have been a serious charge into something chaotic yet strangely effective. While the others were still catching up, Naruto's clones were already closing in on the pirates.
Usopp arrived at the shore, panting heavily. Seeing the sheer number of pirates in front of him, his legs trembled, but he quickly put on a brave face.
"Aha! So you've finally arrived, huh?" He crossed his arms dramatically. "Too bad for you! This shore is under my control! I command a force of 100 million men!"
The pirates blinked. Silence hung in the air for a moment before they all burst into laughter.
"100 million men? Where?" one of them scoffed, looking around.
Jango, however, narrowed his eyes. "Hold on… what if he's telling the truth?"
"Are you serious?" another pirate groaned.
Usopp gulped. Oh crap, they're not buying it!
Before he could say anything else—
"Oi, Captain Jango! There's treasure in this boat!" one of the pirates suddenly shouted.
The group turned toward the anchored boat. Several pirates peeked inside, and their eyes widened at the sight of treasure chests.
Usopp's survival instincts kicked in. Without missing a beat, he puffed out his chest and declared, "That's right! That's MY treasure! You guys can take it and leave!"
Before the pirates could react—
WHAM!
A fist crashed onto Usopp's head, making him yelp in pain.
"USOPP!!!" Nami's furious voice rang out as she stormed up, fists clenched.
"You were just about to GIVE AWAY MY MONEY?!" she roared, grabbing him by the collar and shaking him violently.
Usopp flailed. "I-I was just—!"
"Shut up!"
Meanwhile, Jango smirked. "Looks like we hit the jackpot. Take the treasure AND take them down!"
The Black Cat Pirates, now out of patience, charged forward with weapons drawn.
Usopp stiffened, his hands shaking as he gripped his slingshot. "H-hold on! Maybe we can talk about this—"
"Like hell we will!" a pirate snarled, raising his sword.
Nami tensed, preparing to dodge, but before the attack could land, a blur of orange and black crashed into the pirates.
Naruto's clones swarmed the battlefield.
"Alright, you losers!" one clone yelled. "Get ready for a beating, dattebayo!"
A pirate barely had time to react before a clone drop-kicked him in the chest. Another clone swept a pirate's legs out from under him, while two more tackled an unfortunate one straight into the ground.
"What the—where did these brats come from?!" one of the pirates sputtered.
Jango's eyes narrowed. "Illusions? No… they're actually hitting!"
One of the clones cackled as he ducked a sword swing. "That's right, And there's plenty more where that came from!"
The battlefield erupted into chaos.
At first, the Black Cat Pirates were completely overwhelmed.
Naruto's clones swarmed the battlefield, weaving between the pirates with inhuman speed.
"Too slow!" one clone taunted, ducking under a sword slash and landing a spinning kick to the pirate's gut.
Another clone leaped onto a pirate's back. "Giddy-up!" he laughed, yanking on the man's hair, making him stumble forward into his own comrade.
The pirates panicked as their attacks kept missing. Every time they landed a hit, their swords cut through nothing but smoke.
"Damn it! Which one's the real one?!"
"Keep swinging! They gotta run out eventually!"
Jango clicked his tongue. "Tch… annoying little pests."
But even as he spoke, the tide was already beginning to shift.
Despite their numbers, the clones weren't invincible. One by one, the pirates adapted. Some fought more cautiously, waiting for the Narutos to attack before countering. Others started swinging wildly, cutting down clones in sheer desperation.
"HAH! GOT ONE!"
"KEEP GOING!"
For every pirate taken down, another clone disappeared. The battlefield that had been dominated by orange and blue was slowly clearing.
Usopp, who had been watching nervously, realized their advantage was slipping. His heart pounded.
"Crap… at this rate—!"
Steeling himself, he pulled back his slingshot.
"Usopp Rubber Star!"
The shot nailed a pirate in the nose.
"OW! WHO THE HELL—?!"
Usopp grinned. "Haha! That's right! Fear the great Captain Usopp!"
But his victory was short-lived. Three pirates whipped their heads toward him, eyes burning with anger.
"You little bastard!"
"You wanna die first?!"
"U-Uh… no?" Usopp's face paled.
The three pirates lunged.
"AHHH! WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?!" Usopp screamed, flailing as he tried to escape. Naruto's clones intercepted two of them, but the third kept coming, forcing Usopp to desperately fire another shot.
Meanwhile, some pirates slipped past the clones and went straight for Nami.
"Outta my way, girl!" one sneered, swinging his sword.
Nami shrieked, barely dodging. Her foot caught on a rock, sending her tumbling backward. The pirate grinned, raising his sword—only for Nami to panic and swing a wooden plank wildly.
CRACK!
The pirate's eyes rolled back as he collapsed.
Nami blinked. "H-Hah! Take that, you—!"
Another pirate lunged. She yelped and, in sheer desperation, grabbed a handful of sand and threw it into his face.
"GAH! MY EYES!" the pirate howled, rubbing them furiously.
Nami scrambled to her feet, panting. "Ugh, I hate fighting!"
Even as they fought, the battlefield continued to shift. The clones were dwindling.
Jango smirked, adjusting his glasses. "Hmph… looks like their little numbers trick is about to run out."
As Naruto's clones kept the pirates occupied, Nami had been cautiously staying near the back, avoiding the worst of the battle. However, the chaos soon reached her.
One of the Black Cat Pirates, having slipped past the clones, spotted her and grinned. "Hey, look! Easy prey!"
Nami's eyes widened as the pirate lunged at her. She instinctively dodged, barely avoiding a swinging cutlass. "Oi! I'm not even fighting you guys!" she snapped.
The pirate wasn't interested in talking. He slashed at her again, forcing Nami to jump back. "Tch, fine!" she grumbled, gripping her staff.
Another pirate joined in, attempting to tackle her. She reacted fast, swinging her staff wildly—only to hit thin air and nearly fall over.
"Ah! Wait, wait—"
A third pirate saw the opening and charged. Nami barely managed to swing her staff upward, smacking him in the chin. "Stay back, you idiots!"
One of Naruto's clones turned and saw Nami struggling. "Oi, you need help—"
Before he could finish, he was struck by a pirate's fist and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Nami's face paled. "Okay, that's bad."
With no choice, she grit her teeth and kept fighting, hoping to hold out until Luffy and Zoro arrived.
As the battle raged on, the last few Naruto clones fought desperately, but it was clear they were at their limit.
A pirate swung his cutlass, slicing through two clones at once—both vanishing in puffs of smoke.
Another clone dodged a strike and landed a solid punch on a pirate's face, knocking him back. "Take that, you scrub—!"
Before he could finish, another pirate clubbed him from behind, dispelling him instantly.
Now, only a single clone remained, panting heavily as he stood in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by grinning pirates.
"Hah… hah… guess this is it, huh?" he muttered.
Jango smirked. "You're the last one, brat. You fought well, but playtime's over."
The remaining pirates rushed in at once.
The clone clenched his fists. "Tch… the real me better kick your asses later."
The pirates struck, and in an instant—POOF!
The battlefield fell silent for a moment as the smoke cleared, revealing the exhausted but victorious Black Cat Pirates.
"Heh… we actually won," one pirate chuckled.
"Those little freaks were annoying as hell," another muttered, rolling his shoulders.
Jango sighed in relief, adjusting his hat. "Finally. Now then—"
WHAM!
A pirate was suddenly sent flying across the battlefield, crashing into the ground unconscious.
The remaining pirates turned in shock.
Standing at the edge of the battlefield were Zoro and Luffy.
At first, they expected to find the pirates still at full strength—but instead, they saw a battlefield littered with fallen enemies and panting, exhausted fighters.
Luffy blinked. "Huh… what's with this mess?"
Zoro raised an eyebrow. "This wasn't what I expected."
Seeing the two newcomers, Usopp immediately puffed out his chest.
"Aha! Yes! Behold the might of Captain Usopp! Witness how I, a great warrior, crushed these foolish pirates!"
The pirates, still catching their breath, barely registered Usopp's nonsense.
But Nami did.
She turned and bonked him hard on the head.
"That wasn't you! It was Naruto's clones, idiot!"
Luffy took a moment to scan the battlefield. Despite the overwhelming numbers, Naruto's clones had left a serious dent in the enemy forces. His grin stretched even wider.
"Man, Naruto's awesome! He really tore through these guys!"
Zoro, arms crossed, let out a small huff as he took in the aftermath. He had been skeptical about the kid, but seeing the damage Naruto had caused changed things.
"Hmph. He really wasn't bluffing."
Naruto had more than proven he could hold his own.