The father he thought he had… wasn't his father.
He was the "switched child" in the old tale of the Crown Prince and the fox cub.
Ace felt like the world was spinning.
How could someone he'd called "father" for over a decade… suddenly not be?
He wanted to doubt Naruto's claims.
But the problem was—his true parentage was a tightly kept secret.
That old bastard Garp had once told him:
Only he and Rouge ever knew Roger had a child.
Not even the Navy knew.
So… how could Naruto know?
Could Rayleigh—Roger's right hand—not have known?
Ace's worldview was cracking apart.
Naruto grinned as he saw Ace visibly shaken.
"Well? Got nothing to say now, do you?"
Ace still looked dazed, but his rage began to bubble.
He clenched his fists, staring at the blonde youth in front of him.
"Whether what you said is true or not—" he growled,
"—I'm going to teach you a lesson today."
The sudden rush of emotions needed an outlet.
And right now, Naruto was the perfect target.
"Wait! Captain Ace!"
The Spade Pirates scrambled to intervene.
"We came here today to fight the Warlord—Lizard King Hanafza!
That guy is already here! Don't waste your energy on this brat!"
Ace faltered.
He was confident he could defeat Hanafza.
But if he fought Naruto first, his odds would drop significantly…
Just as Ace hesitated, Naruto turned toward the distant pirate ship.
"So that's a Warlord of the Sea, huh?"
"Perfect. Before I fight Jinbei, I'll warm up with this guy…"
His eyes gleamed dangerously.
He raised his right hand.
Violent chakra swirled in his palm.
"Fūton: Rasenshuriken!! (Wind Style: Spiraling Shuriken!)"
In Ace's shocked gaze, a massive blue shuriken of wind and chakra formed in Naruto's hand.
He had poured nearly 20% of his chakra into it—
The Rasenshuriken had grown to three meters in size.
WHOOSH—
A streak of blue shot toward the sea.
BOOM!!!
With a deafening explosion, the gigantic pirate ship was shredded by the shuriken.
In an instant, it erupted in a blaze of chakra and wind blades.
No one on the ship even had time to scream.
Without Armament Haki, they were helpless—
Torn to pieces by trillions of microscopic chakra blades.
Within seconds, the sea was still again.
And the Lizard King—one of the Seven Warlords—
Was reduced to ashes before he ever showed his face.
"Gulp."
Ace swallowed hard.
His anger vanished like a candle in a storm.
He turned to look at the boy—
Who was almost half a head shorter than him—
And asked hoarsely:
"…Are you… from the New World?"
Naruto smiled.
"Nope. Haven't even been there yet."
"But don't worry. Even though this technique is devastating,
If you dodge it—or use Armament Haki—you'll be fine."
Ace's face twitched.
Dodge? Armament Haki?
Easy for him to say!
Ace had neither.
"W-Wait…!"
Ace tried to stall—
But Naruto had already made hand seals.
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Multi Shadow Clone Technique!)"
POOF POOF POOF—
Over a thousand Naruto clones exploded into being, surrounding the Spade Pirates.
Ace's eyes bulged.
The Spade Pirates turned pale.
"What kind of monster is this kid!?"
Naruto just smiled.
"You've got ten minutes. If you can hold out, I lose."
Truthfully, his chakra reserves were still small.
He couldn't maintain thousands of clones for hours like the original Naruto.
But this was more than enough.
In the next moment—
Naruto's clones charged.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
Agonized screams echoed through the island.
Seven or eight minutes later…
The battlefield fell silent.
Naruto sat on a boulder, watching the collapsed Ace.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Huh. You're not as strong as I expected."
He had only used two Ōdama Rasengan (Big Ball Rasengan),
four Rasengan, one Chidori, and a few elemental ninjutsu.
Yet Ace was already black-eyed and bloodied.
Bruised and beaten, Ace glared up at him.
"Y-You… what the hell were all those weird powers?
Why were there seven or eight of you?"
Clone Techniques, Substitution Techniques, Wind Style, Fire Style, Lightning Style…
And those constant waves of blue chakra orbs.
But worst of all— that illusion.
He couldn't even see Naruto.
No matter how he moved, it felt like Naruto was always one step ahead.
That overwhelming helplessness…
It made even Ace want to cry.
Naruto rubbed his chin.
"So illusion arts… really are invincible against pirates without Observation Haki."
He had only used a Genjutsu he'd learned from Kurama Yakumo—
Hell Viewing Technique.
And it utterly crushed Ace's mental defenses.
"C-Captain…"
The Spade Pirates were battered, broken, and groaning on the ground.
They looked at their defeated captain in despair.
Every single one of them had been reduced to a pulp.
They couldn't even stand.
Ace gritted his teeth.
"…So what now? You're not going to kill us?"
Naruto turned and blinked.
"Oh right, I almost forgot—do you guys have any treasure maps? Or maybe national treasures or something?"
"…You're… robbing us?"
Ace looked completely dumbfounded.
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