The flying ship's speed wasn't particularly fast, but at least it was more relaxing than Naruto running there himself.
After greeting each other, Naruto unilaterally hung up the Den Den Mushi.
The technical staff under Golden Lion beside him wanted to stop this but was powerless to do so.
There was no choice. The other pirates on this ship had already been knocked unconscious by Naruto's Conqueror's Haki earlier.
Naruto had his reasons for doing this.
There was still a village on this island.
And Golden Lion clearly came with ill intentions. It looked like a great battle was unavoidable.
If he was going to fight Golden Lion next, placing the main battlefield at Shiki's headquarters would at least not affect innocent villagers.
At worst, it would give them enough time to react.
Now let him meet this long-famous "senior."
When Naruto disembarked from the flying ship, what he saw was the "palace" that Golden Lion had spent enormous manpower constructing on this island.
A palace in the truest sense.
This guy seemed to really want to become a "king."
Perhaps just like how Captain Roger was called the Pirate King, the unwilling-to-lose Golden Lion also wanted to become a "king."
Welcoming Naruto, this uninvited guest, were Golden Lion's countless subordinates.
At this time, Golden Lion hadn't yet completed his full research on the SIQ drug, so the scene from the original timeline where he summoned countless captains to drink sworn brotherhood sake hadn't happened yet.
But just his own subordinates alone numbered quite a few.
These guys seemed to have undergone some kind of modification as well. Each one was muscular and fierce-looking, staring intently at Naruto as he walked from the main gate toward the palace.
And Naruto?
He didn't care at all about these small fry's stares.
Honestly, these guys weren't even as eye-catching as the scenery inside this palace.
At the main entrance of the palace, a strange fellow in a white lab coat with face paint resembling a mime artist was constantly making various gestures.
Beside him, a pink-furred gorilla was covering its mouth and giggling in a very human-like manner.
Hiss...
After seeing these two uniquely structured companions of Golden Lion, Naruto's evaluation of the opponent underwent a subtle change.
He couldn't say about other things, but Golden Lion as a pirate crew leader was at least quite inclusive.
At minimum, the Roger Pirates members weren't as uniquely... distinctive as these two.
Clang, clang, clang...
That was the sound of metal colliding with the floor.
Naruto raised his eyes and looked toward where the sound came from. It was a guy wearing a yellow coat with hair wildly scattered like a mane.
Who else could it be but Golden Lion Shiki?
Shiki stood at the entrance like this, a cigar in his mouth, looking down at Naruto with a condescending gaze.
But Naruto didn't fall behind in terms of presence, looking back with equal determination.
His gaze lingered for a few seconds on the two famous swords, "Oto" and "Kogarashi" that replaced the opponent's feet below his legs.
Really... what a ruthless person.
Naruto had naturally heard about the opponent cutting off his own feet to escape from the Navy prison, but seeing it with his own eyes was still shocking.
"Admiral, Naruto Uzumaki has arrived."
At this moment, Dr. Indigo, who had been making various strange gestures nearby, suddenly spoke.
"Eh! You can talk?"
Before Naruto could be surprised, it was Golden Lion's own people who were shocked, as if even they were just learning about this.
"Puff puff puff puff..."
The pink-furred gorilla called Scarlet laughed even louder, even starting to clap. When Golden Lion looked over, confusion immediately appeared on his face.
"Mo... Mom?"
"No matter how you look at it, it's just a gorilla!"
This time it was Dr. Indigo making the retort. From his natural manner of directly slapping Golden Lion, this obviously wasn't the first time he'd done this.
Having witnessed this highly contrasting comedic scene, Golden Lion's other subordinates all looked like they could barely contain their laughter.
But Naruto had no such reservations.
"Hahahaha! You're quite interesting."
Naruto's laughter seemed to wake Golden Lion from that confusion, and his expression became fierce and unruly again.
At this moment, he had returned to being that Flying Admiral.
"Jihahahaha, Naruto Uzumaki! A little brat that Roger guy took in?"
Taking the cigar from his mouth, he exhaled a long puff of smoke.
"If you have the guts, come in."
After saying this, he simply walked into the palace interior without looking back, while Dr. Indigo followed, making strange footstep sounds.
In any case, the atmosphere was completely gone.
Naruto looked at the surrounding minions, who obviously didn't look like good people, then also chuckled lightly and followed without concern.
Even Naruto himself hadn't expected that Golden Lion's "good treatment" was actually hospitality in the literal sense.
The two sat as host and guest, with young women pouring wine into large bowls before them.
Hmm?
Could this actually be the special brew from the Happo Navy?
Although he didn't know how Golden Lion had learned the brewing recipe from there, Naruto was all too familiar with this wine's aroma.
Before Golden Lion could speak, he directly picked up the bowl and gulped down a large bowl.
Looking at the opponent's now-empty wine bowl, then at his own side where he hadn't taken a sip yet.
Golden Lion simply tilted his head back and also gulped down a large bowl.
"Ha!"
After downing the bowl of wine, Naruto finally looked at Golden Lion Shiki, seemingly waiting for his next words.
"Naruto Uzumaki, right."
Golden Lion's eyes were filled with a domineering intent.
"Join my crew."
No inquiry, no probing.
All confidence in his own power.
And an arrogance that brooked no questioning from anyone.
Hearing this, Naruto wasn't angry. This was the flavor of pirates, and he was all too familiar with it.
Putting down his wine bowl, Naruto looked at the opponent with interest.
"Join your pirate crew?"
There was some disbelief in Naruto's tone, but it wasn't being flattered. Rather curiosity about why Golden Lion could say such a thing.
Didn't he read world news?
"Although I'm not a pirate anymore now."
"But before that, I was once a crew member of Captain Roger's ship."
"Hmph, just a mere apprentice..."
"But still an apprentice of the 'Pirate King.'"
Naruto deliberately emphasized the words "Pirate King."
Those who follow different paths cannot work together.
After learning what Golden Lion had done on this island, Naruto had basically cut off any possibility of peaceful coexistence with him.
Cross-shaped veins immediately appeared on Golden Lion Shiki's bald head.
"Brat... are you provoking me?"
Golden Lion stood up, his form slowly floating in mid-air.
In his view, his destined rival should be a strong person like Roger.
And Naruto's junior status seemed inherently weaker to him.
The slight appreciation he had originally felt after seeing the opponent fight beasts hand-to-hand was immediately cast aside.
After all, Naruto wasn't like Nami from the original timeline, an extremely talented navigator who would play an important role in his conquest.
Golden Lion wasn't lacking fighters like Naruto.
Thus, Golden Lion hadn't even stated what his goals were before losing patience to continue dealing with Naruto.
Since he was unwilling to join, then die!