BOOM!
Two figures crashed into the earth like falling stars, each creating massive craters that added to the already devastated landscape. The impact sent shockwaves rippling across the island, toppling what few trees remained standing.
For a heartbeat, the world was still.
Then the ground erupted simultaneously at both impact sites. Two forms shot skyward before landing back on the ravaged terrain, facing each other across a field of destruction.
Naruto now bore six tails that whipped and coiled behind him. His form resembled a giant, skinless fox, all muscle and fury. As they watched, sections of white bone materialized from nothing, rapidly spreading across his body from head to tail like armor being forged in real-time. The skeletal covering made him look even more monstrous.
Across from him, Kaido stood with a massive claw wound carved across his torso, blood streaming down his chest and legs. Yet even as the blood flowed, the wound was visibly closing, flesh knitting together at an impossible rate.
Kaido felt the raw power radiating from the six-tailed beast and threw his head back, laughing with genuine delight.
"Worororo! Excellent! Now this is what I'm talking about! It's been far too long since I felt this exhilarated!" His grin was manic, wild. "Alright, little brat, no more holding back! I'm getting serious now! Try not to die on me!"
As he spoke, blue dragon scales emerged across his body, spreading like a tide. His already massive frame grew even larger, muscles bulging and rippling. Two forked dragon horns sprouted beside his original bull horns, and a thick dragon tail several meters long extended from his lower back, thrashing the air.
Kaido gripped his kanabo with both hands. This time, the weapon crackled with red lightning of Conqueror's Haki. The air around it distorted from the sheer pressure.
He kicked off the ground, and the earth beneath him shattered. Wind howled in his wake as he charged toward the Tailed Beast.
Tailed Beast Naruto showed no hesitation. He raised his massive head and opened his jaws wide. Red chakra and blue chakra began to swirl in front of his mouth, forming a sphere of crackling purple-black energy.
The Tailed Beast Ball compressed impossibly dense, then Naruto swallowed it.
His throat glowed with barely contained destruction. Then he opened his mouth and unleashed it.
The Tailed Beast Ball transformed into a massive torrent of devastating energy, that tore through the air straight toward the charging Kaido.
BOOM!
Everything was swallowed by searing white light. For a frozen moment, the world lost all color. There was only the pure, terrible brightness of two titanic forces meeting.
Then came the shockwave.
It tore across the island with scorching fury, vaporizing everything it touched. When the disturbance finally subsided, it left behind a enormous crater,
The air itself still shimmered with residual heat.
Thud.
A small figure collapsed onto the still-steaming ground. Naruto had reverted to his human form—a six-year-old boy again, clothes tattered and burnt, but his injuries somehow completely healed. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths as he lay unconscious.
Step. Step. Step.
Kaido walked over, bare-chested now, his coat having been destroyed in the blast. A large section of the right side of his body bore severe burn scars that were slowly, steadily regenerating—though noticeably slower than his previous wounds.
He looked down at the small boy lying on scorched earth. His eyes gleamed with something between respect and greed.
"Good kid. That last move was damn interesting." Kaido crouched down, studying Naruto like a precious treasure he'd just discovered. "He's a little monster, alright. Too good to waste. He ought to be one of my Beasts."
Without ceremony, Kaido scooped up Naruto's unconscious form. His body began to shift and expand, scales spreading across his skin as he transformed. Within seconds, a massive azure dragon covered the sky, its serpentine body coiling through the air.
With powerful beats of his legs, Kaido took flight, carrying his prize toward the distant horizon.
Behind them, the ravaged island stood as the only testament to what had occurred here tonight.
----------------
"Ah..."
Cold water splashed across Naruto's face. His eyes snapped open and he jerked upright with a yelp, hands frantically patting down his body.
"Phew! Thank goodness, nothing's missing!"
He sat there for a moment, breathing hard, trying to make sense of what had happened. Images flashed through his mind—a giant sea monster, a man falling from the sky, a battle that had shaken the world itself.
"Did I dream again?" Naruto scratched his head, confused. Then he paused. "Uh... why did I say 'again'? That's weird. It feels familiar somehow..."
"Brat, you definitely were not dreaming!"
A deep, booming voice came from above.
"Who's there?!" Naruto's head snapped up toward the source—and his jaw dropped.
The figure sitting before him was like something out of a legend. Dual horns pointed toward the sky like weapons. A greatcoat draped across impossibly broad shoulders added to an already imposing presence.
Even sitting down, the man was four or five meters tall. The moon behind him cast his shadow long and dark, making him look like a demon straight from the old stories Gramps sometimes told.
"Hey, brat. That power of yours is quite interesting." The massive man leaned forward slightly, studying Naruto with intense interest. "Too bad you're not strong enough to control it yourself. Just relying on instinctual rampages gets boring fast. Tell me—is it some kind of special Mythical Zoan-Type Devil Fruit?"
But Naruto wasn't listening. His eyes had gone wide and sparkly, practically seeing stars.
"So... so awesome!" He wiped at imaginary drool at the corner of his mouth. "You're huge! And those muscles! And those horns! You look even cooler than in my dream! If I could grow up to look like that... Hehehe..."
A vein popped on Kaido's forehead. This brat wasn't paying attention to him at all.
"Oi! Brat! I'm talking to you!"
The sharp tone cut through Naruto's fantasy. He blinked and refocused, sheepish.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry! Um..." Naruto fidgeted, suddenly looking small and uncertain. "I... I don't know what a 'Mythical Zoan-Type' is. I just..."
His voice grew quieter, and he looked down at his hands. "Everyone in the Village calls me a monster. Nobody likes me. They won't even sell me food sometimes. The shopkeepers pretend not to see me, or they triple the prices when I come in. Kids cross the street when they see me coming."
Naruto's fingers clenched into small fists. "I don't know why this happens. I don't know what I did wrong. I just..."
He looked up at Kaido, and there was something raw and hopeful in his eyes that made him look even younger than six.
"Big Monster, do you know what I am? They all call me a monster... is it because I'm the same kind as you?"
"The same kind?"
Something flickered across Kaido's face—too quick to identify. He took a long swig from his gourd, then looked at Naruto with an expression that might have been understanding.
Kaido recalled how, when he was young, he was also feared and hated by those around him because of his Oni Bloodline and was worked as a child soldier.
"There are probably no others of my kind left in the world, brat. What's your name?"
"My name is Naruto! Naruto Uzumaki!"
"Worororo! Listen up, Naruto!" Kaido stood to his full, towering height. "I am Kaido of the Beasts Pirates. And from this moment on, you work under me!"
Naruto blinked, not quite processing.
"Your potential is immense, brat. That power inside you—when fully awakened, when properly controlled—will make you a true powerhouse. You're destined for it." Kaido's grin was sharp. "Those people who call you a monster? They're just weaklings who fear and envy your power. They can't comprehend what you'll become, so they try to make you small."
He leaned down, bringing his face closer to Naruto's level. "So come with me, Naruto! I'll train you into something incredible. I'll make your name echo throughout the entire world! No one will ever look down on you again!"
"Really?"
The word came out barely above a whisper. Naruto's eyes were wide, shimmering with unshed tears. "You really mean that?"
This was the first time in his entire life—that someone had said he could be something other than hated. That someone saw potential in him.
"Of course I mean it! Kaido keeps his promises!" He straightened up, radiating absolute confidence. "Besides, if you can fully master that power of yours, you'll become a rare powerhouse indeed. When that happens, those weaklings will respect you. They'll fear you. They'll grovel at your feet and beg for your mercy!"
His voice dropped, becoming almost philosophical. "In this world, Naruto, only power stands above all else. Remember that."
BOOM.
The words hit Naruto like a physical force. At just six years old, hearing this truth delivered with such absolute certainty sent shockwaves through his entire worldview.
"Power..." he murmured, testing the word. "Becoming a powerhouse?"
"That's right, Naruto brat." Kaido grabbed his gourd and taking a massive swig. The alcohol hit his system immediately, and his body began to sway slightly. "Hic... I'm in a good mood today. Must be all this quality liquor. So I'll let you see just how vast the world truly is. Consider it a preview of your future."
Under Naruto's awed gaze, Kaido's body began to shift. His form expanded and elongated, scales spreading across his skin as he transformed into an Azure Dragon so massive it seemed to cover the entire sky. The raw power radiating from him made the air itself tremble.
The dragon rose into the clouds, and thunder rumbled in response to his presence.
Then Kaido opened his massive jaws, and a column of fire erupted forth— so intense, that it instantly melted a small mountain in the distance. The stone simply liquefied, flowing like water before cooling into glass.
The dragon's body coiled, and fierce winds began to howl. A tornado formed from nothing, connecting heaven and earth, its winds strong enough to tear apart anything caught in its path. Trees in the distance were ripped from the ground, spinning helplessly in the vortex.
Thunderclouds rolled overhead, drawn by Kaido's power. Lightning crackled between the clouds, then began pouring down in countless bolts that struck the earth.
"Worororo! This is what happens when I drink!" Kaido's voice boomed from the sky as he wantonly displayed his drunken power, each attack reshaping the landscape below.
On the ground, Naruto stood frozen, his mouth hanging open.
"Ah-ba... ah-ba... ah-ba..."
His mind had simply stopped functioning. The sheer scale of destruction, the casual display of world-ending power—it was beyond anything he'd ever imagined possible. His brain couldn't process it.
There was only one concept left in his mind:
Powerful.
The dragon descended, coiling in the air above Naruto. Its massive eyes fixed on the small boy with something like satisfaction.
"Worororo! What do you think, Naruto brat? This is the power of our kind! I can sense it—there's a Mythical Beast aura coming from you that's no weaker than mine. It's raw, completely untrained, but it's there. Get stronger however you can, and one day, you'll possess power no less than mine!"
"Me?" Naruto's voice was tiny. "I can become as strong as you?"
"Why the hell not? You have the potential—I've seen it firsthand. You just need proper training. Someone to push you past your limits and show you what you're truly capable of."
Something clicked in Naruto's mind. His intelligence—which usually seems to outrun him—suddenly kicked into high gear. His eyes lit up with inspiration.
"Uncle Kaido—no, wait!" Naruto dropped to his knees, hands pressed to the ground in a deep bow. "Kaido sensei! Please take me as your student! I want to become a powerhouse like you too!"
Kaido's dragon form rumbled with amusement. The sound was like distant thunder.
"Becoming my disciple isn't easy, brat. The training will be brutal. You'll be pushed to the edge of death and beyond. You'll curse my name, hate me, want to quit a thousand times. Are you prepared for that?"
Naruto's head shot up, and his eyes blazed with determination that seemed far too intense for a six-year-old.
"I've already decided! Even if I die, I'll die on the path to becoming stronger! I never go back on my word—that's my ninja way!"
For a moment, Kaido studied the small boy kneeling before him. Then his massive dragon mouth curved into what might have been a smile.
"Worororo! Very well then, Naruto Uzumaki! Come! Let's go see what the peak of this world looks like! Let me show you the summit you'll one day stand on!"
The Azure Dragon floated in the air, its enormous form blotting out the stars. Its massive eyes watched the small figure on the ground, and a satisfied gleam flashed through them.
A successful recruitment indeed. If Naruto's potential was properly cultivated, he would definitely become an excellent underling. Maybe even a worthy rival.
Who said he only knew how to rush blindly into battle? Wasn't he being quite clever right now?