"What the hell happened?"
Kurama slowly opened his eyes, he scanned his surroundings, then locked his gaze on Ayr.
In his prime, Kurama had once believed himself invincible. After all, he was the Nine-Tails, a symbol of destruction, a Demi god like entity with enough power to destroy the planet.
But that pride crumbled the day he met the legendary ninja, Hashirama Senju.
Hashirama had said Kurama was "too dangerous," and then subdued him effortlessly with Wood Style, restraining him in one hand like a wild beast.
Kurama endured.
Then came Uchiha Madara. With just a glance, Kurama was trapped, enslaved, and treated like a pet.
Later, Obito sealed him.
Over time, Kurama's pride shattered.
He had accepted it. In this world, power meant nothing in the face of monsters.
Kurama wasn't weak. It's just that those humansn; Hashirama, Madara, Obito, were true demons.
Now, as he lay inside his spiritual plane, he stared at Ayr, the new host.
"First time meeting, huh?" Ayr greeted casually. "Looks like we'll be stuck together for a while."
Kurama narrowed his eyes. "You plan to fight using my power?"
Something felt… different about this boy.
Unlike the others, Ayr didn't feel threatening. In fact, he felt strangely familiar.
What Kurama didn't realize was that from the moment he was born in this world, his soul had been bound to Ayr, these thoughts didn't come from his true self but rather from a deeper sense of absolute loyalty.
"I'm not here to fight," Ayr replied, shrugging. "Just wanted to say hello."
Kurama went silent, then he shut his eyes and dropped back to the ground, curling up like a sleeping beast.
Ayr didn't push further. Instead, he began moving all the pirate ship's treasures into Kurama's spiritual space, the Gold, jewels, and artifacts.
Kurama opened one eye lazily. "All this… for me?"
"Nope. Just storing it here so it's easier to access."
Leaving treasure on a ship was impractical, left it extremely exposed, not to mention all the extra weight added. Better to stash it in Kurama's space and pull it out anytime.
"You're a strange one," Kurama muttered.
"Get some rest," Ayr replied as he turned to leave.
His consciousness faded from the spirit world, as he returned to the cabin and looked around.
Nothing else of interest.
Time to move on.
Ayr stepped onto the deck and leaned on the railing, thoughtful.
"Where am I supposed to find another Devil Fruit?" he muttered.
He had already spent a full year searching for just one.
At this rate, it could take eight years to fully unlock Kurama's power. That was far too long. Ayr had worked solo all this time, wandering and fighting alone. But now… maybe it was time to change that.
Was it time to join a pirate group?
Starting his own group sounded great on paper, but strong crewmates were hard to come by, most elite fighters had already formed their own crews or joined massive organizations like the Rocks Pirates.
Even if he managed to recruit someone powerful, how could he trust them not to stab him in the back?
forming a crew wasn't an option, If he wanted strength, opportunity, and Devil Fruits…then he had to join a powerful pirate group.
"But which crew?" Ayr asked aloud, chin resting on his hand.
Suddenly—
CRASH!!!
A loud surge of water erupted nearby.
He turned.
A massive shadow loomed across the sea, and a ship the size of a fortress broke through the mist. Ayr recognized it instantly, he'd seen it in the news too many times over the past year.
The Rocks Pirates.
The most feared crew on the sea.
——————-
Onboard, a blond man with a cigar in his mouth stood at the bow, arms crossed, his gaze landed on Ayr.
Golden Lion Shiki.
A future legend, and a current First mate of the Rocks Pirates, he stared at the sail.
"That's the Anos Pirates' ship… the captain had a 300 million bounty."
His eyes narrowed, shifting to Ayr on the deck.
"Interesting. Looks like the crew's been wiped out."
Beside him stood a giant of a man, a wide chest, a crescent white mustache, and a presence like a storm.
"Gu la la la… he took down a 300 million bounty alone?" he laughed.
"Tch," another voice chimed in. A man in full armor, wielding a massive axe, scoffed.
"Big deal. I could've done the same."
Silver Axe, another Rocks First mate only slightly below Whitebeard in strength.
"No, Silver Axe," a soft, amused voice replied.
A tall, striking woman stepped forward. Long legs, graceful figure, a calm smile.
"What is he, seventeen? Eighteen? Not many can take down a pirate captain at that age."
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Footsteps echoed as a massive figure stepped forward, and the others, Whitebeard, Golden Lion, Silver Axe, and even Linlin moved aside instinctively.
Many called Captain Rocks the man destined to dominate the sea, after all he one even the future Yonko had to respect.
He glanced at Ayr with a smirk.
"A kid?"
——————
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