Meanwhile, at the distant overseas Nanmiso ruins, a soaking wet Naruto sat on the rubble with a complex expression, his face etched with existential doubt.
If someone had stuffed a lit cigarette into his mouth right now, it would have perfectly completed the melancholic scene.
"Sigh..."
This marked who knows how many times Naruto had sighed in the past hour.
But every time he recalled those blurry, pink-tinted images lingering in his memory, his mind turned to complete mush. The personal boundaries he had carefully guarded for so many years had actually fallen victim to Stussy's calculated "schemes."
The Munch-Munch Fruit possessed the ability to passively neutralize inorganic materials and harmful substances, but for things that posed no adverse effects on the body or could even be considered "beneficial supplements," this fruit ability would very "intelligently" allow them through.
Stussy had accidentally bypassed this defensive mechanism, successfully ensnaring Naruto in her elaborate trap.
Now, thinking about the situation, he had no idea how to face those two women when he eventually returned to the pirate world.
Stussy truly lived up to her reputation as the "Queen of Pleasure District." Even if she hadn't personally experienced everything herself, she had certainly "observed countless examples," and her techniques had genuinely surpassed Naruto's limited imagination.
Even in Jiraiya's most creative literary works, such scenarios had never been described with such detail.
Sighing once more, Naruto stood up and surveyed the flooded Nanmiso stretching out behind him.
Yes, Nanmiso had completely "sunk" beneath the water's surface.
Based on his previous interdimensional experiences, every time he "traveled," he would return to the exact position where he had last departed.
Because of this predictable pattern, Naruto had specifically located a more secluded room within Nanmiso this time. He had even used Shadow Clone Technique to create the convincing illusion that he was getting drunk somewhere else entirely.
All of these precautions were designed to avoid Orochimaru's inevitable contingency plans.
After obtaining Orochimaru's comprehensive memories later, Naruto discovered that the snake had indeed prepared backup strategies, just not placed within Nanmiso itself.
When seawater rushed into his nasal cavity, Naruto had suddenly awakened from his intoxicated state.
Fortunately, his exceptional physical fitness and years of diving experience had saved him, otherwise just this unexpected submersion could have put him in serious danger.
At that critical moment, Naruto had instinctively activated his fruit ability.
"Munch-Munch: Diving Suit!"
Simply put, he is creating protective resin bubbles around himself.
But only after isolating himself from the seawater did he realize something remarkable: he hadn't experienced the expected "weakness" that should have affected Devil Fruit users.
It felt exactly like the time before he had consumed a Devil Fruit.
The water of the ninja world apparently didn't affect Devil Fruit users the same way.
This discovery made Naruto inevitably recall another similar phenomenon. Chakra worked the same way.
He could freely extract and manipulate chakra within the ninja world, but when it came to Captain Roger and the others in the pirate world, they showed absolutely no reaction whatsoever to his chakra-based techniques.
In the pirate world, even Naruto would be weakened by prolonged contact with seawater, but after returning to the ninja world, everything functioned normally again.
It seemed the two worlds maintained fundamental differences in certain details that he didn't yet fully understand.
As someone with only partial knowledge of these mechanics, Naruto naturally remained unaware that in the pirate world, researchers had already identified the reason why Devil Fruit users were "rejected" by the sea.
The cause was seawater containing a core element called "Pyrobroin." This specific component was what caused ability users to feel powerless and drained.
Incidentally, Seastone operated on exactly the same principle.
Returning his attention to the present situation, although he didn't know what catastrophic events Nanmiso had experienced during his absence, it was unlikely anyone remained alive to provide answers.
Since things had reached this point, let's eat first.
Actually, no. Let's go find some familiar faces first.
Before departing the Land of Hot Water with Orochimaru's subordinates, Naruto had instructed Jiraiya-sensei to continue staying in the Land of Hot Water with Karin for extended protection.
If Jiraiya didn't receive any communication from Naruto's side for more than ten consecutive days, they should immediately escort Karin to the Land of Whirlpools for safety.
The devastated Land of Whirlpools was ironically now a safer location than most of the great nations, precisely because of its ruined reputation.
Since he remained uncertain about how much time had elapsed during his absence, Naruto decided to travel to the Uzushio ruins first, following the geographical knowledge contained within "Orochimaru's memories."
No special strategic reason influenced this choice. He simply selected this destination because Nanmiso was geographically closer to the Land of Whirlpools than other potential locations.
Naruto stepped confidently onto the water's surface, then suddenly opened his mouth impossibly wide and "expelled" a delicately crafted small vessel.
It was his exclusive ship, the "Gale."
During its extended residence within Naruto's stomach, he would occasionally swallow various rare materials and then systematically upgrade the Gale within his personal "Munch Factory."
The current Gale's durability and defensive capabilities were considerably superior to the original version.
It wouldn't be inaccurate to designate it as Gale 2.0!
Roar!
The engine exhaust system at the stern had been completely redesigned with four separate outlets, dramatically enhancing maximum speed potential.
Naruto positioned himself at the bow in this manner, feeling the distinctive sea breeze of the ninja world against his face while carefully organizing and analyzing Orochimaru's extensive memories.
From the available intelligence, the Akatsuki organization's mysterious founder was someone called "Pain" who possessed extraordinary ocular abilities known as the "Rinnegan."
It was during a solo infiltration mission targeting Pain that Orochimaru had attempted and ultimately failed to steal those legendary eyes, directly leading to his defection from the organization.
This individual apparently wielded some ability that could instantaneously generate devastating impact wave-like propulsion attacks.
As for the person identified as "Uchiha Madara," Orochimaru knew of such an individual's existence but had never actually encountered him personally during his time with the organization.
Hmm, it doesn't seem particularly troublesome at the moment.
Flexing his arms experimentally, Naruto could distinctly feel that his current physical condition had once again improved significantly.
If nothing else, purely in terms of raw physical fitness, his body was already approaching roughly half the enhancement level he possessed in the pirate world.
Similarly, the Armament Haki he could effectively wield had also increased considerably during this interdimensional transition.
Based on the patterns he had systematically documented from previous experiences, the time he had spent away from the ninja world during this particular journey should have extended considerably longer than usual.
Meanwhile, in the hidden Kirigakure Village, Terumi Mei stood addressing her covert operatives with visible frustration.
"Let's withdraw immediately. It appears Uzumaki Naruto is no longer present in this area."
After receiving identical negative reports from her subordinates repeatedly, Terumi Mei finally abandoned her carefully planned strategy to seek "cooperation" with that enigmatic Uzumaki Naruto.
By now, her resistance cell could definitively confirm that their Mizukage remained under someone's insidious mental control.
Conversely, Mizukage Yagura had yet to notice the increasingly suspicious behavior patterns of his subordinate ninjas.
Without receiving explicit new orders from Uchiha Obito, Yagura functioned more like a sophisticated robot following predetermined programmed instructions.
Previously, Terumi Mei and her allies had followed the deliberately planted clues Naruto had left behind, tracking them methodically all the way to Nanmiso's location.
Before officially making landfall on the island, they had encountered various prisoners who had recently been released from confinement and were desperately escaping on small boats, including their village's notorious problem child, Suigetsu Hozuki.
From Suigetsu's detailed testimony, these people had also learned the true identity of Nanmiso's mysterious overseer.
Orochimaru.
Originally, Terumi Mei had planned to approach the legendary Sannin with a much more cautious and diplomatic attitude, but unexpectedly, another group's actions proved far more conspicuous and aggressive than their own covert approach.
This second faction consisted of mysterious ninjas who had carefully concealed all identifying marks and insignia. They launched coordinated attacks against all of Nanmiso's security personnel without any hesitation whatsoever.
Every technique they employed was designed for maximum lethality, leaving absolutely no survivors in their wake.
However, even though they had thoroughly hidden their official identities, Terumi Mei could still deduce certain telling details from the specific jutsu techniques they utilized during combat.
These operatives looked unmistakably like Kumogakure personnel regardless of their disguises.
The ninjas stationed throughout Nanmiso were primarily just shinobi from smaller villages who had at most received Orochimaru's degraded curse mark modifications. They proved completely outmatched against this group of highly skilled, swift-acting professionals operating with deadly efficiency.
These infiltrators searched Nanmiso comprehensively from top to bottom but failed to locate their apparent target, Uzumaki Naruto. Instead, they eventually discovered Terumi Mei's group maintaining their concealed surveillance positions at the island's perimeter.
The final result was the current devastating situation.
Nanmiso had been completely flooded and rendered uninhabitable.