No matter what, any normal person would think it was extremely strange for an old man to instruct a young girl to follow him back to his residence. Not to mention, this same old man had been secretly tailing her and had even attacked her without provocation, which in anyone else's eyes would be alarming, if not outright terrifying.
However, Naru was far from a normal person to begin with.
Despite her caution and wariness, she eventually followed the old man back to his home. Even as she kept a careful eye on him, she remained confident that should the situation turn perilous, she could escape without difficulty. Her alertness and combat instincts were not to be underestimated, after all.
Soon, they reentered the village.
"Earlier, I apologize for frightening you with my presence," the old man said abruptly, breaking the thick silence that had hung between them, as though it had been solidified like dense fog over the forest.
Naru glanced at his back, her eyebrows lifting slightly. She gave a casual shrug and replied, "Nahh, I'm good."
"My house is just over there. By now, my son and granddaughter should already be at home," he said, perhaps attempting to reassure her that his intentions were not harmful and that he meant no danger to her.
A few moments later, a house came into view.
The residence had the traditional appearance of a compound reminiscent of those owned by the major affluent clans in Konoha, like the Uchiha, Hyuga, Nara, or Yamanaka families. While his home could not truly be compared to the sprawling estates of those legendary clans, it was still the largest building she had seen in the village so far.
Considering that he was the chief of the village, it made sense that he would occupy the biggest house around. There was nothing surprising about that.
As they reached the front entrance, a younger man stepped forward. Round spectacles perched on his face, and he greeted them politely. Introducing himself as Koushirou, the old man's son, he offered Naru a warm smile despite the unexpected appearance of a stranger. His demeanor remained calm, composed, and courteous, welcoming her into the Shimotsuki household.
Naru hesitated at the threshold, her instincts tingling with suspicion. However, sensing no immediate malice from either of the men, she relaxed slightly and followed the old man inside. They passed through a modest hallway before entering a room that served as the main living area.
Some minutes later, Naru found herself seated in the center of the living room, facing the old man across a short table. On the table, a pot of freshly brewed green tea sat alongside a couple of teacups and a few small snacks. Koushirou had prepared everything before leaving them alone just moments ago.
The old man picked up a teacup and took a deliberate sip. Then he gestured toward her. "Please, have some tea."
Though she was not particularly fond of green tea, Naru mirrored his action, thinking it would be impolite not to acknowledge the refreshments prepared so sincerely by the owner of the house.
For several minutes, silence reigned as they politely drank through the pot of tea. By the time they finished, Naru felt relief that there would be no second round, as another cup might have pushed her taste buds into revolt.
The old man set down his empty cup with a soft clink. Placing both hands on his knees, he fixed his steady gaze on her and asked, "So tell me, young one, what brings you so far away from Wano?"
Naru furrowed her eyebrows.
"Okay, listen here, old man," she began, her tone dry, bordering on exasperated. "I have no idea what gave you the impression that I came from this 'Wano' place, which I have never even heard of, by the way. But I assure you, I was born and raised right here in East Blue."
The old man studied her closely, eyes narrowing in contemplation. "But you have Ryuo."
Naru blinked in confusion.
"I don't even know what that is," she admitted honestly.
She remembered that when he first appeared, he had spoken of her Ryuo being 'warm and pure,' words that sounded eerily similar to how people back in her homeland had described chakra. The comparison struck her with a strange sense of familiarity. Still, only the old man could answer her questions now.
Despite her words, the old man's gaze seemed skeptical. His stare sharpened, as though he was peering past the surface, searching for truths hidden within her very soul.
She had no idea what exactly he sought until she suddenly felt it. Her eyes widened and her jaw slackened in disbelief.
It was faint but unmistakable, just a flicker, a flare.
A flare of chakra.
And it was coming from him.
"You… How..?!" she sputtered, staring at him as if he had sprouted an extra head.
The old man appeared satisfied by her reaction. "This old man was not mistaken. Judging by your reaction, you understand exactly what this is."
A second flare radiated from him, confirming her suspicions.
"You have chakra?!" Her eyes sparkled with both surprise and excitement. Her mind raced with speculation.
Could he be like her? A reincarnated soul?
Did she misjudge everything about this being another world? After all, the only clues leading her to that conclusion had been the absence of chakra signatures in the people around her and the unfamiliar language.
But now, with this Shimotsuki Kozaburo, the village head, displaying a similar energy and with the village itself showing cultural similarities in clothing and architecture to some villages in the Elemental Nations such as Konoha, Naru began to entertain another possibility. Perhaps she had been reborn not in another world but in the same world she knew, only in a location absent from any known map of the Elemental Nations.
After all, how much of the world could one single map possibly encompass?
"What chakra? You mean Ryuo?" The old man now sounded astonished.
"Ryuo? That is obviously chakra!" Naru retorted. She flared her chakra briefly, then spread open her palm, letting a swirl of blue energy coil above it. "See? This is chakra!"
The old man's eyes widened again before he quickly regained composure. His gaze grew thoughtful.
"You said you were born and raised in East Blue," he said.
Naru nodded, letting the swirling chakra dissipate.
"Then I suppose it is acceptable that you do not recognize the energy in your body as Ryuo. Still, if it were known by another name, calling it chakra would not be strange either."
Naru frowned. "Old man, what are you talking about exactly?"
"The energy within you," he replied patiently. "Where I come from, it is called Ryuo. From your proficiency, it is clear that you have trained extensively. That is rare, especially for someone of your age. Tell me, child, are you a kunoichi in training?"
The word 'kunoichi' startled her. His knowledge of such a term convinced her that they shared similar backgrounds, though it also left her uncertain.
What did he mean by saying that his people called chakra Ryuo?
Had she been wrong about this being another world? Though her previous life had been brief, she had never heard the term Ryuo. Not even Jiraiya had mentioned anything similar during their travels. And yet, this old man claimed to have traveled across the entire continent.
Then, was she right or wrong about being reborn into a new world?
Was he not a reincarnated person like her?
Was this old man simply a genuine inhabitant of the world, sharing no special fate with her?
Could there be a place like the Elemental Nations somewhere, where people possessed a similar energy but called it Ryuo instead of chakra?
Knowing it was too early to conclude, she answered his question directly.
"So what if I am?" There was no point denying it. She might as well speak plainly. "I can be considered a kunoichi in training. But at the same time, I am not from where you think I am from. I do not know what this Ryuo you speak of is. No matter what similarities I might share with your people, it does not change the fact that I was born and raised entirely here in East Blue!"
Ever since the child had referred to Ryuo as chakra, the old man had long accepted that she was not born in his homeland. A quiet pang of disappointment stirred within his aged heart, but he could not deny the undeniable truth.
The energy of Ryuo emanating from her was genuine, dense, and powerful. At first, he had mistakenly assumed she was one of the capable men from his old country, the ones who carried authority and lethal skill with them wherever they went. However, when he actually laid eyes upon her, he was stunned.
What capable man? It was just a child!
But not just any ordinary child, as he now realized.
The child had appeared and seated herself beside him without a sound, without leaving any hint of ordinary presence. Someone like her, had she been an adult, would have prompted him to exhibit caution openly, and his demeanor would not have been as calm or polite as he had presented earlier.
Brewing with curiosity and suspicion, old man Shimotsuki did not completely leave the area. Instead, he mirrored the child's actions, concealing his own presence. He waited patiently, observing her every movement, and when she left, he followed discreetly, maintaining a safe distance.
Watching her perform the same agile maneuvers that he had often seen the arrogant ninjas from his homeland use to display their flashy abilities, he immediately considered the possibility that she originated from his homeland.
A subtle excitement stirred within him at this discovery. He continued following, careful and deliberate, analyzing her movements. When he observed the way she manipulated her Ryuo with such effortless finesse, he became increasingly convinced that this child was indeed from his homeland.
Yet, he was about to witness something entirely unexpected.
Wisps of internal energy, like faint threads of colored light, coiled and swirled around her fingertips. Her control over the energy was precise and practiced, betraying the hand of someone who had trained long and hard.
Old man Shimotsuki's breath caught as he felt the girl's Ryuo. It was unlike anything he had ever encountered before. Warm, dense, and pure, it radiated an extraordinary power. Memories of his own youth, long buried, stirred within him, and a spark of excitement flared in his weathered heart. He had heard tales of prodigies who wielded such potent Ryuo at a young age, yet he had never personally witnessed it until now.
His excitement, however, was fleeting.
As he continued focusing on the child's Ryuo, a creeping sensation of unease slid up his spine. Something was off. The energy that had first seemed so pure began to change, subtly twisting and shifting. A dark undertone had crept in, tainting what was once a pristine aura.
His brows knitted in concern as his instincts, honed through decades of battle, screamed at him. He had survived countless fights, honing his body and senses alike. The sinister undertone of her Ryuo was unmistakable, coiling within her energy like a serpent waiting to strike.
Despite this unsettling revelation, old man Shimotsuki trusted his judgment and intuition.
There was no malice coming from the child.
Then, the moment of discovery arrived, bringing them to the present situation.
"Child, what is your name?" he finally asked.
Naru blinked, momentarily taken aback. "My name? My name is U… Monkey D Naru."
This was the first time she had introduced her full name to someone else, and she nearly forgot that Uzumaki was no longer her surname.
"Monkey?" Something stirred in the old man's memory. "Are you, by any chance, related to that famous Marine, Garp?"
"Yeah, he is my grandfather," Naru replied casually, as if it were the most ordinary fact in the world.
The old man stroked his chin thoughtfully, humming softly in contemplation. "Mmm… Unless your ancestors originally came from Wano and your grandfather chose to leave the country and settle elsewhere, I cannot think of any other reason for someone like you to possess Ryuo. That kind of energy is rare outside of Wano. To my knowledge, there was never a family bearing that unusual surname within our borders. Of course, it is possible your grandfather changed his name."
"Well…" Naru admitted to herself, she knew very little about her family history. Garp had never mentioned her grandmother or his own parents. At some point, she had even joked privately that Dragon might have been the product of one of Garp's fleeting affairs, with his supposed mother unwilling to bear the responsibility.
Or perhaps she had died after giving birth to Dragon. There was no way to know for certain.
All of it was mere speculation.
The undeniable fact was that Naru had almost no knowledge of her family's history, leaving her unable to confirm whether the old man's assumptions about her family originating from Wano were accurate.
Garp had believed in her ability to use Haki, while this old man Shimotsuki seemed convinced that the energy within her was Ryuo.
Curiously, both Haki and Ryuo felt remarkably similar to chakra.
Of the two, Ryuo fascinated her more.
"Old man, since you brought it up first," she said with a mischievous grin, "why don't you tell me more about this Wano? Who knows, when I finally reach the Grand Line one day, I might just make a visit."
The old man's interest sharpened. "You wish to go to the Grand Line?"
She nodded, her eyes glinting with excitement.
He regarded her silently for a long moment. Memories of fleeing Wano with his clansmen flooded his mind.
The terror, the exhaustion, and the long journey that had ultimately ended in this quiet village.
"The Grand Line is perilous," he warned solemnly, his voice carrying the weight of decades of experience.
Naru opened her mouth to reply, but he continued before she could speak.
"However… something tells me that someone with your potential could achieve remarkable things one day. To this old man, you do not seem like someone who would be content to stay idle in a peaceful place without striving for something greater."
East Blue was tranquil, yet it had produced some of the Grand Line's most formidable powerhouses.
And Naru? She was destined to be one of them.
"Your Ryuo… it feels unique. Special, somehow. Though I cannot place why. But there is something else, another kind of energy beneath your own…"
Her heart skipped as she realized the old man was speaking of Kurama's chakra. For the briefest moment, her composure faltered.
He noticed her subtle reaction and quickly reassured her. "Do not worry. I have great judgment. I trust that whatever ominous energy you hide within yourself will not control you or lead you astray."
Naru blinked, staring at him. This old man…
"You're weird," she muttered softly.
Since they had just met, it was impossible for her to form a complete judgment. Still, she trusted her own ability to sense the nature of others, and she would assess him according to her own instincts.
She believed in herself more than anything.
The old man's expression shifted into surprise, then dissolved into a hearty, carefree laugh.
"And you, little brat, are a strange one indeed."