"Eh?"
Yamato looked at Naruto standing directly on the sea, her eyes widening in surprise as she eagerly asked, "That's amazing! You're standing directly on the sea! How did you do that?"
"Hehe, that's the power of Chakra!"
Naruto grinned triumphantly, then lifted one leg and explained, "As long as you concentrate Chakra on the soles of your feet, you can run directly on the water."
"So cool!"
Yamato heard Naruto's explanation but didn't understand it at all. Her eyes, however, sparkled as she excitedly said, "Naruto, let's have a race! Let's run around Onigashima once and see who finishes first!"
"No problem!"
Naruto nodded, then assumed a ninja's starting pose and said with a confident smile, "If I win, Yamato, you have to let me ride you every day."
"Huh, what an outrageous request!"
Yamato complained with a look of disgust, then took her own starting pose and said confidently, "But I agree, because I definitely won't lose to you!"
"I'm definitely going to win!" Naruto shot back without backing down.
The two glared at each other, foreheads touching.
"Hehehe!~"
"Hehehe!~"
After a moment, they suddenly burst into smiles and dashed forward at the same time, their small figures racing side by side across the vast sea—insignificant, yet brimming with youthful energy.
Hours later.
"Hahahaha!~"
Naruto and Yamato lay sprawled ungracefully on a beach somewhere on Onigashima, laughing breathlessly.
Even with their stamina, running at full speed across the sea for several hours while maintaining Chakra and their abilities had pushed them to their limits.
As for who won… that had long been forgotten.
"Naruto, I really want to go on an adventure at sea with you right now!"
Yamato turned her head toward him, her face filled with longing. Then her expression hardened, and she gritted her teeth.
"But that bastard Kaido said that unless I can defeat him, he won't let me go out to sea on my own. It's just too hateful!"
"It's okay, Yamato."
Naruto smiled confidently.
"We're still young. When we grow up, we'll definitely defeat Uncle Kaido and go out to sea together!"
"Mhm, mhm!~"
Yamato nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling.
"When we grow up, we'll definitely defeat that ox-headed Masira Kaido! …Oh, right, I have something else to show you."
She suddenly sat up and clenched her fists tightly, straining her whole body as if holding back something powerful.
Naruto immediately sat up as well, staring at her with anticipation.
But after a long moment, Yamato's face turned red—and nothing happened.
"Damn it, why can't I use it?!"
Her shoulders slumped as she complained unwillingly. "I clearly managed to use it last time!"
"Yamato, what are you talking about?" Naruto asked, confused by her expression.
"It's Conqueror's Haki!"
Yamato's spirits instantly lifted as she spoke excitedly. "Last time I secretly escaped Onigashima, and after Kaido caught me and brought me back, under his punishment, I awakened Conqueror's Haki! That ox-headed Masira said it's a 'Heavenly King's aptitude' that only one in a million people can awaken—super amazing!"
After finishing, her expression drooped again. "But now I can't use it at all… I really wanted to show you."
"Conqueror's Haki?"
Naruto recalled the Observation Haki he had obtained earlier and the Armament Haki he needed to learn now. Curious, he asked, "Yamato, is there a connection between Conqueror's Haki, Armament Haki, and Observation Haki?"
"Mhm, mhm, I know this!"
Yamato nodded eagerly. "Haki is a latent power that all humans in this world possess. It's also the only way ordinary people can fight Devil Fruit users. Armament Haki and Observation Haki can be awakened through training, but Conqueror's Haki is an aptitude only possessed by Heavenly Kings…"
"That's basically it! Pretty awesome, right?" she added smugly, hands on her hips.
"Mhm, Yamato, you're amazing!"
Naruto nodded sincerely. Hearing that Conqueror's Haki was possessed by only one in a million made him genuinely envious—even though he hadn't actually seen her use it yet.
Still, Yamato's explanation didn't fully clarify Haki for Naruto. He also didn't realize that her understanding was limited to what Kaido had force-fed her—and that she had only remembered part of it.
"Hehehehe!~"
Yamato's smug expression deepened. If she were still in her Okuchi no Makami form, her tail would have been standing straight up.
"Then Yamato, do you know Armament Haki?" Naruto asked expectantly. "I want to learn that!"
He hadn't forgotten his life goal—there were rewards waiting after all.
"Ah… this…"
Yamato stiffened, then lowered her head slightly. "Sorry, Naruto. I don't know Armament Haki yet, so I can't teach you."
"It's okay!"
Naruto waved it off with a smile. "Then let's go find Uncle Kaido and ask him to teach us. He definitely knows how!"
"Mhm, mhm!~"
Yamato nodded in agreement.
Even though she disliked her bastard father, she had to admit Kaido's strength.
As for whether Kaido would be willing… that didn't matter. To Naruto and Yamato, 'asking for teaching' was basically a challenge.
"Let's go! Let's go find Kaido right now!"
Yamato grabbed Naruto and pulled him along—but before they could go far, two towering figures blocked their path.
One of them, a man with a ponytail, twin braids, and an iron mask covering his mouth, stepped forward. He stared at Naruto for a moment with ill intent, then asked coldly,
"So you're the kid named Uzumaki Naruto, huh?"
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