"What, you got a problem with that?"
Naruto countered.
Ace's mouth twitched.
At that moment, Nami, who had been hiding behind Naruto, suddenly jumped out, hands on her waist and beaming.
"Naruto-sama! Why don't we just rob him and then sell him to the Marines too?"
As a little money-grubber, not only did she want to rob Ace's crew, but she even wanted to sell them off to the Marines.
Thinking of this, Nami regretfully looked out to sea and mumbled to herself,
"Naruto-sama is such a waster... He's almost a Shichibukai... The bounty must be over 300 million..."
Just imagining what three hundred million Berries could buy made her eyes turn into Berries themselves.
Ace stared at the two young teens like he was looking at a pair of demons.
One had beaten him up without a word.
The other wanted to rob and sell him to the authorities...
Moments later, Naruto had collected all the treasures Ace had on him, but he didn't care much for them and casually tossed them all to little Nami.
The young orange-haired girl joyfully examined each piece of treasure.
"A treasure map... Looks ancient!"
Naruto studied the map in his hand. The location marked was right on the Sabaody Archipelago.
Tied up tightly in rope, Ace weakly said,
"That's the only thing my so-called old man left me... I don't even know what it is. It should be worth some money though."
The Pirate King Roger left this to you...?
Naruto's eyes lit up.
He thought about Ace's background.
It seemed that on the Grand Line, Ace didn't yet have the powers of the Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit).
But once he entered the New World, he was called Fire Fist Ace, wielding flames against Whitebeard.
"A gift from the Pirate King to his own son... a Mera Mera no Mi (Flame-Flame Fruit)... That's pretty decent. Suits the Pirate King's flair."
Satisfied, Naruto nodded and stored the treasure map in his pouch.
"So... can I go now?" Ace couldn't help but ask.
"You wish."
Naruto mercilessly crushed his fantasy, clapping his hands as he stood up with a grin.
"Didn't I say your old man, the Dark King Rayleigh, pissed me off? Next, I need to go find that old man."
Nami finished counting the treasure and quickly ran over.
"Hey, how much is your bounty exactly?"
Ace glared at the money-hungry girl as if she were a greedy devil ready to devour him.
"Let's go. To Sabaody Archipelago!"
Naruto dragged Ace with one hand and shouted to the Heart Pirates' crew:
"You guys better follow me. From now on, I'm using your ship. Don't even think about running—there's no way you'll escape."
The members of the Spade Pirates followed in despair.
"..."
"What?! Uzumaki Naruto showed up again?!"
At Marine Headquarters, Sengoku widened his eyes upon receiving the report.
"He beat the Shichibukai Hanafuza and Ace of the Spade Pirates?!"
After his outburst, Sengoku calmed down.
"Then again... it's not surprising. A few years ago, he was already capable of fighting both Aokiji and Akainu..."
Aokiji, studying the sea route on a map nearby, spoke up.
"Judging by this course, his next destination should be Sabaody Archipelago."
Akainu stood up, his voice cold.
"I'll go myself. I want to capture that brat with my own hands."
As he spoke, his fingers unconsciously traced the fierce scars on the left side of his face—marks like a beast's claws.
He recalled the terrifying blood-red fox from the Ohara incident.
Dozens of crimson claws formed from a strange substance had burst from its body, and one of them had slashed his face.
"No." Sengoku rejected him flatly.
"Your battle style is too destructive. Once Naruto appears on Sabaody, send Kizaru to capture him."
"Eh?!"
Sipping his tea and slacking off nearby, Kizaru blinked in surprise.
"You want me to go?"
—
"We've arrived! Sabaody Archipelago!"
Aboard the Spade Pirates' ship, the blond-haired boy looked up at the towering trees and couldn't help but smile.
The Yarukiman Mangrove—though technically a giant tree—was so massive that each one formed an island of its own.
The resin it secreted formed bubbles as it rose from the ground.
"Wow!"
On the bow, Nami leaned over with a look of wonder as she watched countless bubbles rise into the sky.
"So beautiful!"
Naruto chuckled.
Without a care, he tossed the bound and soul-crushed Ace into a space portal, then leapt onto the island with Nami.
Rather than going straight for the treasure, they spent the whole day enjoying Sabaody.
They visited the amusement parks, rode the bubble boats, bought clothes, and admired the island's unique scenery.
"Naruto-sama, it's true! There really are Fishmen being used as slaves..."
Nami pointed ahead, shocked, at a blue-skinned shark Fishman walking on all fours like a beast, with a human sitting on his back like he was a chair.
Naruto followed her gaze and saw a Celestial Dragon riding the Fishman slave.
All around, pirates, civilians, Marines, and bounty hunters immediately dropped to their knees.
"Naruto-sama, why are they kneeling?"
"They're just full of slave mentality."
Naruto answered casually, then turned away as if he didn't care and continued walking with Nami to find the treasure site.
Nami nodded thoughtfully.
But the Celestial Dragon, seeing that only these two youths had remained standing, instantly flew into a rage.
"You two! Stop right there!"
Naruto paused and glanced back at him.
"What a pain..."
He frowned.
In the pirate world, if someone dared hit a Celestial Dragon, an Admiral would be dispatched.
But if he just walked away, the guy might still summon Marines...
After a brief thought, Naruto stomped his foot and instantly appeared before the Celestial Dragon.
With a stone hand seal, he whispered:
"Kūkimon!" (Air Gate)
Naruto moved so quickly that the Celestial Dragon didn't even have time to react before he was shoved into the Air Gate.
By the time the crowd processed what had happened, Naruto and Nami had already disappeared.
The air was dead silent.
After a minute or two, one of the kneeling civilians finally cried out in horror:
"This is bad!!!"
"The Celestial Dragon-sama has been kidnapped!!"
(End of Chapter)
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