Unlike Kurama, who had to expend tremendous effort just to barely pull Naruto's consciousness from the surface into this space, Naruto, as the master of this body, seemed capable of entering here with relative ease.
It was just that he had never realized it before.
The closest he had come was when he simply dismissed it as a 'dream'.
After all, he had been called a Demon Fox for so many years, so it was understandable that he would dream about it occasionally.
But now, it seemed that wasn't the case.
However, Naruto was in no mood for pleasantries today.
Danzo's final words had genuinely enraged him.
Even though Naruto had never met his parents, Minato and Kushina were, after all, his closest relatives.
He is also a human being, with emotions and desires.
Upon hearing the truth and the gruesome details of his parents' deaths, no matter how mature Naruto usually was, he couldn't help but succumb to fury.
This rage wasn't directed solely at Danzo.
It also included anger toward the Nine-Tails.
And even a portion of it was resentment toward Minato's 'selfless' sacrifice.
Minato had been heroic.
But Naruto's future had been steered onto a completely different path because of it.
No matter how old Naruto grew, this was something he might never truly come to terms with.
After arriving in this space, Naruto's appearance kept shifting uncontrollably.
One moment, he was dressed in his orange tracksuit, looking like a short, stubby kid from his Academy Days.
The next, he took on the appearance of his twenty-something-year-old self, as he was during his time sailing the seas.
Or else, he reverted to his current form, the sixteen-year-old version of himself.
Just like Ditto, Naruto's appearance in this space seemed to be under some kind of 'interference', preventing it from stabilizing.
Behind the barred gate, Kurama stared blankly at this scene, as if he hadn't yet processed what was happening.
But soon, when his gaze met Naruto's, he no longer had time to think.
Naruto's eyes pierced through the barred gate, locking onto the massive fox with fiery orange fur.
After learning part of the truth about his parents' deaths, Naruto no longer saw Kurama merely as 'a massive chunk of meat', as he once had.
When enemies meet, their eyes blaze with hatred.
Naruto didn't know why he had entered this space, nor did he immediately know how to leave.
But from Naruto's current perspective, the Nine-Tails, his greatest enemy, is most likely the mastermind behind all of this.
A certain senior had once said: If you're unsure, just beat up every suspicious target first.
Naruto thought the same way.
And he intended to act on it.
After beating the Nine-Tails up, he would force him to tell him how to get out of here.
"It's you, isn't it..."
As Naruto spoke, the dark, sewer-like environment of the space suddenly began to stir with gusts of cold wind.
The wind slipped into Kurama's nostrils.
It carried the scent of the sea.
The salty tang of ocean gales.
During Naruto's second return to the One Piece World, Kurama had sensed it through Naruto's perception.
'But why was there a sea breeze here?'
Before Kurama could ponder further, what followed was a downpour of raindrops, dense as a swarm of bees, accompanied by the faint rumble of thunder.
Even the ground beneath him began to flood with seawater.
In the blink of an eye, this space seemed 'contaminated' by another world, saturated with the elements of the ocean.
Meanwhile, Naruto's form briefly solidified into his true appearance from the One Piece World.
The Supreme Grade Blade [Mushoukou] rested at his waist, his haori fluttering wildly in the sea wind.
His long golden hair, whether due to the wind or something else, floated around him like the clouds surrounding a deity, exuding an overwhelming pressure.
"Y-you... brat!"
Kurama felt as though he had bitten his tongue, stumbling over his words before forcing his voice back into its usual deep, menacing tone.
He had been about to spit out some mocking remark, but before he could, he was hit by an overwhelming, tangible pressure.
'Was this what the brat called [Conqueror's Haki]?'
Kurama had some doubts in his heart. To a certain extent, he, alongside Sasuke, had listened to Naruto's explanations about the One Piece World.
In fact, he might have even studied it more thoroughly than Sasuke.
After all, he had witnessed Naruto's battle against Aokiji firsthand and knew that in that world, there existed a power entirely different from Ninjutsu… one that could manipulate the elements of nature.
But now wasn't the time for reminiscing.
Naruto's Conqueror's Haki erupted in full force, something even Shanks had never witnessed before.
Unlike in the outside world, where his body imposed limits, here in this space, Naruto was at his absolute peak.
The Naruto in this space is himself in his strongest state.
Thick, black lightning crackled wildly around him, spreading outward like serpents. A deep blue aura exploded from Naruto as the epicenter, rapidly engulfing the entire space.
In an instant, the seawater, the gales, and even the lightning recoiled before the sheer force of his Haki.
Even the sealing bars imprisoning Kurama groaned under the pressure, their frames creaking ominously.
This also meant that the seal restraining the Nine-Tails' power had loosened slightly.
Under normal circumstances, Kurama would have been overjoyed at this development. He might have even 'generously' leaked some of his chakra through the gaps, tempting his Jinchuriki to rely on his power more in the future.
But today, Kurama only felt a deep sense of foreboding.
Conqueror's Haki was a force that oppressed and scoured the mind. At a certain threshold, it could even manifest physical impacts on reality.
And right now, Kurama was experiencing this firsthand.
As Naruto's Haki relentlessly battered his consciousness, the only comparison Kurama could draw was the overwhelming helplessness he had felt when Hashirama subdued him with the [Gate of the Great God].
"Hmph, brat, what do you think you're..."
Clang!
Before Kurama could finish his words, a blade coated in Haki flashed, slashing directly at the sealing bars in front of him.
Thankfully, these bars were a manifestation of the seal itself, so their durability far surpassed their outward appearance.
But even so, Kurama stared in disbelief at the tufts of his fur that had been severed by the residual force of the slash.
'Hey, hey… wasn't this supposed to be a mental space?'
"Tch."
Kurama heard Naruto click his tongue sharply, with his eyes devoid of emotion.
Naruto calmly sheathed his sword back at his waist and then, without a care, began warming up his fists.
For some reason, Kurama had the distinct feeling that if he let Naruto throw this punch, his fate wouldn't be any better than when Hashirama had beaten him senseless back in the day.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
As Naruto rapidly threw punches in place, his skin turned red, steam rising from his body.
This is [King Punch]… a powerful fist technique taught to him by his drinking buddy from the New World, Elizabello II. It was a monstrously powerful strike that condensed all the strength accumulated over time into a single devastating blow.
Combined with Naruto's natural physical prowess and Haki, the destructive potential was downright terrifying.
Naruto even made some improvements to this, such as being able to forcibly release it even when it is not fully charged, though the power would be diminished, and he wouldn't be able to accumulate energy again for a short while.
But this alone is enough for Elizabelo II to thank him. This adjustment can be said to have eliminated the last shortcoming of King Punch.
When Naruto used this move, its power surpassed even Hakoku Sovereignty… if not for the fact that it was impractical in high-speed battles against top-tier opponents, this would have been his go-to finishing move.
But right now… wasn't there a perfectly stationary target in front of him?