[The son of the Pirate King, Gold Roger, the Second Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, [Fire Fist] Ace, is set to be executed at Marine Headquarters, Marineford!]
The information in this news was overwhelming.
Both the true identity of Fire Fist Ace and the news of his impending public execution by the Marines stirred the hearts of most people on the seas.
Among them were those who hated pirates, including the 'culprit' who started this great pirate era, and they applauded with glee.
At the same time, there were many who had ties with the Whitebeard Pirates or had encountered and befriended Ace. They were already gathering forces, preparing to rescue him directly from Marine Headquarters.
There were even some pirates who, simply based on the willful notion of 'not wanting the Marines to be so arrogant', were preparing to get involved in the imminent major battle.
Almost everyone had reached a consensus:
A great war was imminent.
'This kid, why is he still so careless...'
Hearing the news of Ace's impending execution, it would be false to say Naruto wasn't anxious.
But at the same time, he was also frustrated at Ace's performance, wondering if this stubborn kid had fallen into someone else's trap again, leading to his capture.
He even regretted not forcibly taking Ace away back then, despite his objections.
'-Forget it, even if I had sent him back to the Whitebeard Pirates, that group probably couldn't have kept him anyway.'
'This kid, like Captain Roger, was someone who would definitely do something once he set his mind to it.'
'Since he had taken upon himself the matter of Blackbeard killing his crewmate, no matter what others said, Ace would definitely go after that Blackbeard.'
While pondering these things, Naruto finished the work at hand.
Under Konohamaru's dumbfounded gaze, Naruto's body rapidly expanded, and a hatch opened on his abdomen.
Then, a large ship they had never seen before sailed out from within.
"Naruto Aniki, this is..."
"Oh, this is the [Gale Breaker]. Hmm... it should be considered the third version."
What appeared before them was the new ship created by merging the Mammoth with the Gale Breaker 2.0.
To ensure the Gale Breaker's original special acceleration function could still work, Naruto removed most of the useless structures from the Mammoth and fused some collected rare metals into the hull.
This resulted in the steel ship before them, about the same size as the [Going Merry].
Jack's flagship was honored to become the material for the Gale Breaker's expansion.
After returning to normal size, Naruto led everyone onto the Gale Breaker.
The expanded Gale Breaker was no longer the model that was barely sufficient for one person. Although not as massive as the Mammoth, it was more than enough to assign each of Karin and the others their own room.
With Karin, who could directly control the wind, there was no need for Naruto to manually fill the engine with energy this time, saving him a lot of trouble.
Taking out an Eternal Pose, adjusting the direction, the Gale Breaker set sail from the deserted island.
-As for Jack and the others, they could only wish them good luck.
If they squeezed together, taking the remaining ships shouldn't be a big problem.
Inside the captain's cabin, Karin and the others, who had already explored the ship, gathered to watch Naruto study the subsequent course on a nautical chart.
"We are here, in the sea area called the [New World]. The next destination is across this Red Line… here, Marineford, which is the headquarters of the Marines in this world."
Now that the ship had set sail, getting anxious wouldn't help. Naruto simply patiently explained some common knowledge about this world to the three.
His finger traced the chart, answering at any time the questions the three raised.
"The Red Line is about ten thousand meters high."
"Usually, we go underwater or leave the Grand Line to find 'weak points' in the Red Line through the Calm Belt. Some gaps there are large enough for small sea beasts to pass through."
"Of course, it's not so troublesome now."
Among the four people in the captain's cabin, three had mastered flight. The Red Line meant nothing to them.
The only thing worth being careful about was preventing a sneak attack from that mysterious figure among the Celestial Dragons.
Last time he ascended the Red Line, Naruto's clone was destroyed by that guy, so Naruto knew that guy's strength was not to be underestimated.
"Oh, right, Naruto Aniki, who is that 'Kaido' you mentioned to that big guy earlier?"
Konohamaru asked curiously.
"Him? He's a great pirate. Along with three others, they are called the [Four Emperors of the Sea]."
"Eh? Naruto Aniki, what about you? Aren't you a Sea Emperor?"
Emperor of the Sea… the title sounded very impressive.
No wonder Konohamaru's eyes lit up upon hearing it.
"I'm not a pirate… titles like that are just flattery among pirates, they don't mean anything."
Naruto laughed and scolded, patting Konohamaru's head.
"In comparison, honestly training your own strength is what's truly useful."
"You felt it today, right? The gap between you and a true powerhouse."
Hearing this, the excitement on Konohamaru's face froze, and he recalled how his Rasengan hitting the enemy's head seemed to have no effect.
"You still have a long way to go, kid."
As he spoke, Naruto patted Konohamaru's shoulder and led them out of the captain's cabin.
"Unlike the Ninja World we were in before, the strong warriors in this world all have terrifyingly powerful physical stats and incredibly tenacious vitality."
"If you want to take down an opponent in one hit, the most effective way is to rely on overwhelming Haki strength, like I did earlier."
After hearing this, Konohamaru showed a thoughtful expression.
"And you, Karin."
"Don't think you can let your guard down just because you defeated an injured pirate. In terms of pure Haki strength, you're actually inferior to that Jack."
Hearing Naruto say this, Karin knew she had probably relied on the advantages of her Devil Fruit's ability and Chakra Enhancement to knock the other out in one hit.
If someone else had said this to her, Karin would definitely be extremely indignant and unconvinced.
But since it was Naruto saying this, Karin needed to reflect on herself properly.
In comparison, Sasuke didn't need much worrying from Naruto.
Not to mention this guy had already awakened, developed both types of Haki quite well, and even possessed the unreasonable Dojutsu of his Mangekyo Sharingan.
It could be said that even in a full-state fight, he could easily defeat that Jack.
"But you shouldn't be careless either, Sasuke."
Suddenly, as if remembering something, Naruto showed a playful smile.
"Among the Devil Fruit's abilities on these seas, there are many unreasonable ones. If you get hit, even I might not be able to do anything."
Hearing even Naruto say this, Sasuke was also surprised.
He naturally couldn't imagine that this world had conceptual fruits like the [Hobi Hobi no Mi], [Horo Horo no Mi], or [Ato Ato no Mi]. (T/N: Hobby-Hobby Fruit, Hollow-Hollow Fruit and Art-Art Fruit.)
"Alright, enough of that. It's getting late, time to prepare dinner!"
As he spoke, Naruto directly took out the giant snake Konohamaru had killed on the island and walked into the ship's kitchen.
There were plenty of supplies here, all provided free of charge by Jack and his crew.
A fleet of over a hundred people… even taking less than half their supplies was enough for the four of them to travel leisurely and comfortably to Marineford.
"What a warm-hearted fellow..."
Naruto hummed a tune while using a blackened kitchen knife to effortlessly descale and gut the giant snake. Konohamaru watched nearby, learning both cooking skills and Haki usage techniques.
'I wonder how Orochimaru is doing now? If Big Mom is already pregnant, then he probably has no more use and might have been expelled from Totto Land.'
'And such an outcome might actually be a good thing for that research fanatic.'
Perhaps because of this python, Naruto remembered Orochimaru, whom he had left in Totto Land.
But even if Orochimaru left Totto Land, so what? Even if his original self from the Ninja World stood before him now, he'd only be cannon fodder.
Thinking this, Naruto pushed the matter of this old acquaintance to the back of his mind.