"Sorry, sorry—"
Naruto clasped his hands together and bowed apologetically to Aokiji, his expression genuinely contrite despite the mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Actually, I came here this time to see that old man Garp's grandson."
"Vice Admiral Garp's grandson... ah, I remember—Luffy, right?"
As Garp's former direct subordinate who had trained alongside Dragon, Aokiji was naturally familiar with the rubber boy's reputation.
"So, is there something special about him?"
"Shanks gave that kid the captain's hat."
"Hat? What hat—oh!"
Aokiji's eyes widened in sudden realization. Who else could be called "captain" by Naruto Uzumaki? Only that legendary Pirate King Gol D. Roger, who had ignited the Great Pirate Era with his final words.
"That really is... quite something."
Taking a contemplative sip of sake, Aokiji exhaled slowly, as if witnessing a new star beginning to rise on the horizon. Luffy's name carved itself deeper into his memory.
"They just left this island, you know. Don't you want to chase after them?"
Naruto suddenly grinned with the mischievous expression of a troublemaking uncle, clearly wanting to stir up some minor chaos for the Straw Hat boy.
But Aokiji merely looked at him with obvious disdain, showing no intention of taking the bait.
What a joke. Mr. Garp might not interfere, but he certainly wasn't dead. If Aokiji arrested Luffy now, Garp's legendary Fist of Love would come for him immediately afterward. Besides, this kid didn't even have a bounty yet—it was questionable whether he could even be considered a real pirate.
Seeing Aokiji's complete lack of interest, Naruto simply shrugged it off.
The two continued their intermittent drinking for another ten minutes, sharing various news, sea gossip, and the occasional adult joke over their shared alcohol. It wasn't until the sake flask ran completely dry that Aokiji returned the gourd to Naruto.
"Alright, we've rested enough. Let's wrap this up."
Naruto also stood, patting sand and dirt from his clothes before carefully storing away the gourd and flask.
"By the way, what are you planning to do next?"
Aokiji's question carried an underlying urgency.
"A dangerous guy like you can't be allowed to stay in the first half of the Grand Line."
The implication was crystal clear: hurry back to the New World and stop adding to my workload.
Speaking of which, that guy Sakazuki seemed to be in the New World recently... hehe.
Feeling the Admiral's undisguised disdain, Naruto responded with mock irritation.
"I know, I know. I'm just looking around casually and won't cause trouble for you Marines."
As he spoke, he gave Aokiji a deliberately sloppy Marine salute, his sarcasm skills proving no weaker than the Admiral's.
A cross-shaped vein popped on Aokiji's forehead, and he simply attacked directly.
"Ice Pheasant Beak!"
A massive ice bird instantly materialized from his arm, its crystalline wings spread wide as it soared toward Naruto with deadly intent.
Naruto vanished from his position in a blur, reappearing on the melted sea surface. He made a friendly gesture to Aokiji, then casually swung out several enormous slashes that shattered the ice bird while sending sand and debris flying everywhere from their former battlefield.
Looking at the Admiral with dirt still decorating his forehead, Naruto laughed silently in mid-air, then waved cheerfully and departed rapidly in another direction.
"Tsk, that bastard..."
When Momonga and the others completed their evacuation and noticed the battle's aftermath had seemingly ceased, they cautiously approached the battlefield. What they discovered was Aokiji lying on the beach, staring blankly at the sky with an expression of profound contemplation.
For a terrifying moment, they almost believed this Admiral had been killed by Naruto Uzumaki, but fortunately, they realized he was simply lost in thought.
"Admiral Aokiji, where is Naruto Uzumaki?"
"Ah, you're here... Naruto Uzumaki? He escaped."
Aokiji waved his hand with listless resignation.
"Let's go, prepare to return."
"Yes!"
The Vice Admirals responded in unison, but Momonga suddenly spoke up again.
"Admiral Aokiji, according to information we obtained from villagers in nearby Cocoyasi Village, Captain Nezumi of the 16th Marine Branch colluded with a group of local fishmen, jointly deceiving headquarters and oppressing villagers on nearby islands."
After delivering this report, Momonga's expression finally showed relief at getting this burden off his chest.
Aokiji's eyelids lifted slightly. "Oh? What about those fishmen?"
"They've already... already been eliminated on the spot by the great criminal Naruto Uzumaki."
Perhaps because of the friendship Naruto had shown with Hatchan, or possibly because the few remaining survivors hadn't truly bullied the villagers much in the past, the Marines who came to evacuate hadn't exposed them.
"...I see. Then let's go—first stop at the 16th Branch."
He leaped lightly onto the warship, and the other Marines responded and boarded to adjust their heading.
Not mentioning a certain Marine captain's prematurely exposed corruption, let's turn our attention back to Naruto.
At this moment, he had returned to the open sea—more precisely, he was sitting comfortably on the head of a sea beast that resembled a cross between a cow and a whale.
The sea beast was currently swimming forward with tears streaming down its massive face, while Naruto half-reclined with a thoroughly comfortable expression.
It was quite fortunate—originally he thought he'd have to travel on foot for a while without transportation, but not far from the battlefield, he'd spotted this convenient sea beast.
Unlike the Sea Kings of the Calm Belt, this creature was much smaller—though still dwarfing ordinary ships. Therefore, its swimming speed wasn't too sluggish either.
For the sea cow Moo-Moo, this was purely an undeserved disaster.
It had been resting peacefully in the waters near Arlong Park, but after feeling violent vibrations and surfacing to investigate, it witnessed its boss being cleaved in half by a transparent blade.
The terrified Moo-Moo hadn't swum far before being frozen solid by sudden ice. Then the ice melted, and after experiencing both freezing cold and scorching heat, Moo-Moo ignored its pain and frantically swam away from the chaotic waters.
Thinking it had reached safety and just surfacing for much-needed air, it was immediately conscripted by Naruto, who happened to pass by.
Seeing Naruto's familiar face, it was terrified and wanted to flee. When escape proved impossible, it prepared to fight desperately. The result was receiving a massive bump on its head from Naruto and being forced to carry him toward unfamiliar waters.
"Alright, alright, you can leave once I reach Shimotsuki Village. I won't kill you."
Perhaps feeling he had been somewhat heavy-handed, or possibly annoyed by Moo-Moo's constant crying, Naruto spoke with helpless comfort.
To this, Moo-Moo just looked at him with deep resentment but didn't dare react further.
Originally, Naruto had planned to find a quiet place to drink and test whether he could really "transmigrate" back to the ninja world by getting drunk. But seeing his sword, he thought: since I'm already here, I might as well visit some old friends before leaving.
"Since I'm already here" could explain any behavioral motivation.
At this time, Kurama in Naruto's consciousness space was utterly dumbfounded.
Since the last time when he had forcibly pulled Naruto's consciousness in and then kicked him out, he had fallen into a long period of recuperative sleep. After awakening this time, he actively extended his consciousness, using Naruto's senses to perceive the outside world.
Unexpectedly, this operation proved much easier than pulling Naruto's consciousness inward.
But then, he witnessed many situations he simply couldn't comprehend.
First, he watched Naruto and a strange man engage in fierce taijutsu combat, both fighters' every move filled with lethal intent and power that made even the Nine-Tails take notice.
Then, the two engaged in some kind of ninjutsu clash. He was familiar with the techniques Naruto used, but what exactly was that "Ice Release" the other guy wielded?
Not only was there no hand sealing, there wasn't even a trace of chakra.
If these observations weren't puzzling enough, when he saw the sea cow Moo-Moo, he was completely shocked. It wasn't that there were no such massive beasts in the ninja world—they existed in famous places like Mount Myoboku or Ryuchi Cave.
What puzzled him more was that this giant beast also seemed to have no trace of chakra.
Tailed beasts were extremely sensitive to chakra, but since reopening his awareness, everyone he'd observed except Naruto seemed to possess no chakra whatsoever.
Combined with his previous experience of being restricted by Naruto's body for decades, a bold hypothesis began forming in his ancient mind.
This place might not be the ninja world he was familiar with—at least not within the range of the Five Great Nations.
When he couldn't perceive the outside world before, perhaps Naruto had somehow come to this place—a realm full of endless oceans with no chakra.
What kind of world is this? Kurama wondered, his nine tails swishing with curiosity and concern.
[Chapter Complete]
***
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