"What… was that?"
"Is that a Devil Fruit ability?"
Watching Naruto unleash his ninjutsu, the Straw Hat Pirates, who had been standing by without a chance to intervene, were utterly dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, it seemed that Naruto had vented some of the emotions bottled up inside him during this ruthless purge.
Ever since he learned the truth about his origins from Kakashi, a subtle gloom had lingered in his heart.
While he had no memories of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, or his mother, Uzumaki Kushina, but no matter what, they were his closest relatives.
If they hadn't died, perhaps his childhood would have been different.
Looking at Hatchan, who was still rolling around on the ground in pain, Naruto's mood gradually settled. He no longer kept a cold expression, instead grabbing the octopus fishman's forehead and lifting him up to eye level, staring straight into his shifty eyes.
"You, and the rest of you."
As he said this, his gaze swept over the surviving fishmen in Arlong Park.
Every one of them trembled under his stare, not daring to speak or move.
"From now on, you will atone for your past crimes."
As he spoke, he pointed toward the villagers outside the park.
"As Arlong's accomplices, you've terrorized this place for eight years. For the next eight years, you will work honestly to help and protect these villagers."
"If I return and hear that even a single villager has been harmed under your watch… well, you don't need me to spell out what'll happen, do you?"
As the old saying goes, a wise man knows when to yield.
The remaining fishmen weren't the hotheaded type to begin with. Most of them, like Hatchan, were either too easily swayed or just plain stupid, which was how they ended up committing so many atrocities.
"Hatchan, you stay here and keep an eye on them."
"If even one of them escapes, I'm holding you responsible. Got it?"
Only after saying this did Naruto finally set Hatchan down, then jabbed his forehead with a finger, his threat unmistakable.
"Y-Yes, Naruto-san…"
Under Naruto's relentless pressure, Hatchan finally recalled the 'deep brotherly bond' they once shared and nodded frantically.
"Good."
Looking at the fishmen's reactions, Naruto nodded with satisfaction, then turned to look at the villagers and Luffy and the others, about to say something else-
When suddenly, faint signals transmitted through his Observation Haki flooded his mind.
Naruto let out a quiet sigh, as if already exhausted by what was about to happen.
"Luffy, you guys need to leave. Now."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, not only Luffy and his crew, but even the villagers and Nami's sister, Nojiko, were stunned.
"There's no time to explain so much. Your ship's over there… set sail immediately."
"No way-!"
Luffy instinctively stiffened his neck, ready to refuse, but Usopp suddenly spoke up.
"Is another enemy coming?"
After all, he is one of the few members of the Straw Hat Pirates with normal logical thinking. When he saw Naruto's serious expression, Usopp immediately realized that what the other party said was not groundless.
"We can help fight."
Zoro, whose wound had been bandaged on the boat and had stopped bleeding, added.
In fact, he was still a little unhappy about the fact that he and his companions came here but failed to defeat a single enemy.
But Naruto was stronger, and since he was helping, there wasn't much else to say.
But given the current situation, it's finally time for them to show their abilities, right?
Hearing this, Naruto glanced at him and sighed helplessly.
"The next battle is not something you can participate in yet."
"If you really want to help, take this little sister and get away from this village as fast as possible."
"After all, you're pirates… and the one's coming is a Marine Admiral."
"I won't have time to babysit you once the fight starts."
His words were brutally blunt, but fortunately, the two most troublesome troublemakers in the crew had just been thoroughly disciplined and were still in their 'well-behaved' phase.
So, with a pout and an expression of reluctant defiance, Luffy trudged toward where the Going Merry was docked under Naruto's stern gaze.
After Nami recovered, she shared a tearful embrace with her sister Nojiko, then accepted Luffy's invitation and officially joined the Straw Hat Pirates as their navigator.
Only once they had all vanished from sight did Naruto turn to the remaining villagers and Fishmen.
"Alright, everyone, go about your business. What happens next is my problem."
Without waiting for the village chief's attempts to express gratitude, Naruto walked alone toward another stretch of coastline, sitting down on a large rock.
And so, the crisis in Cocoyasi Village came to an abrupt and somewhat anticlimactic end.
Thanks to the intervention of a force far beyond the usual limits, what should have been a fierce battle filled with passion, pain, and liberation was resolved in the blink of an eye.
But in the end, the outcome was a good one.
…
Naruto didn't wait long as he sat on the stone.
On the distant horizon, a mast slowly appeared, followed by the hull of a ship, and then more large vessels.
The ships were all equipped with an astonishing number of cannons, with densely packed sailors and soldiers bustling about on deck.
There were five over 100-meter-class warships from the Marine Headquarters, which meant that at least five Vice Admirals were arriving.
When Naruto spotted the distinctive bicycle track on one of the ships, he immediately knew who had come.
With a smile on his face, Naruto reached into his robe and pulled out a sake flask.
It contains the fine sake specially brewed by Zhepu.
Just as he took a sip, before he could even savor the aroma and flavor, the five warships greeted him first.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A barrage of cannon fire erupted simultaneously, and cannonballs larger than a human head rained down like meteors toward Naruto's position.
Thankfully, he had chosen a spot far from the village on the island… otherwise, such bombardment would have inevitably harmed innocent civilians.
The attackers seemed well aware of this, as they showed no restraint in their relentless shelling.
The explosions kicked up a thick cloud of dust that nearly engulfed the entire coastline, leaving countless craters in the ground.
But when the smoke cleared, Naruto remained seated calmly in the same spot, and even the rock beneath him was completely unharmed.
At that moment, four figures rapidly descended from the sky, landing in front of Naruto.
They are four Vice Admirals from the Marine Headquarters.
Each wore the signature Justice cloak, their weapons already drawn.
"Momonga, Doberman, Yamakaji, and Strawberry… familiar faces, all of you."
Surrounded by four Marine Headquarters' Vice Admirals, Naruto still has a relaxed expression, as if the tense atmosphere didn't faze him in the slightest.
"Want to sit down and have a drink?"
"Great criminal Uzumaki Naruto, why have you come to the East Blue?"
The one who spoke was Momonga. He is clearly uninterested in Naruto's invitation.
"Ah… so this is the East Blue? I thought it was the New World."
Seeing their lack of enthusiasm, Naruto just chuckled and put the flask away.
"I just got lost by accident… you know how it is, getting older and all."
Hearing this, Momonga's eye twitched slightly. He almost couldn't hold back his composure as he looked at the other party, whose appearance was exactly the same as it was more than ten years ago, without even a trace of aging.
But as a trained professional, he quickly regained his focus.
"Uzumaki Naruto, if you don't want to answer now, you can take your time explaining after we arrest you and throw you in a cell."
The moment he finished speaking, all four launched their attacks simultaneously.
These four guys are considered the best even among all the Vice Admirals in the Marine Headquarters, and they struck with their full power right from the start.
Though their words might have sounded dismissive, their actions showed they held no illusions about underestimating their opponent.
After all, Uzumaki Naruto was a man capable of single-handedly standing against an Emperor of the Sea.
Surrounded by attacks from all directions, Naruto abandoned the playful fighting style he'd used with Luffy earlier.
His Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki surged forth simultaneously, and dark lightning crackled violently around him.
Before their blades could even touch his skin, the lightning repelled them mid-air.
The four slashes were swift and fierce, but Naruto was even faster.
His Conqueror's Haki-infused fists distorted the very air at the point of impact.
The first to be sent flying was Doberman, whose swordsmanship was the most aggressive.
Immediately afterwards, Strawberry's twin blades were knocked away, one in each of Naruto's hands.
Though Strawberry immediately activated Tekkai and Armament Haki to defend, Naruto's kick still sent him flying.
The wooden clogs, reinforced with Armament Haki, struck like divine weapons, shattering Strawberry's defensive stance.
Momonga and Yamakaji didn't fare any better.
Seeing that Naruto was momentarily occupied with the other two, they seized the opportunity and used their swords to accurately hit Naruto's neck and abdomen through the gap.
However, at that moment, Naruto's body dissipated into smoke, vanishing from sight.
By the time they realized what had happened, Naruto was already above them.
Two straight punches slammed down, sending both crashing into the ground.
From the moment they attacked to being embedded in the earth, the entire exchange took less than fifteen seconds.
Of course, Naruto hadn't gone all out. He simply repelled them before calmly sitting back down.
"Stand down. Uzumaki Naruto isn't someone you can handle."
A lazy voice rang out, accompanied by a sudden drop in temperature.
Then, a guy with black curly hair, wearing a white suit vest over a dark blue shirt and an eye mask, appeared.
He is one of the Marines' three current Admirals, Kuzan, also known as Aokiji!
"Yo, long time no see, Kuzan."
Naruto looked at the other party and greeted him with a wave.
"Don't act so familiar, pirate."
His response came in the form of two ice-crystal spears.
Clang-
Facing a truly powerful enemy capable of standing against him, Naruto no longer relied solely on his fists.
With the sharp sound of metal colliding, the katana on his waist, which he had always jokingly called 'just for decoration', finally left its sheath.