"As expected, he still got away..."

Kizaru gritted his teeth as he stared at the stormy sea left in Sanbi's wake.

"I've never suffered a loss this big... A second Devil Fruit... to think he'd actually come up with that idea. I nearly died because of it."

Hearing this, Aokiji and Akainu both felt a chill down their spines.

They hadn't expected someone to come up with such a ruthless scheme. If they'd arrived any later, Kizaru would've surely died.

Aokiji shook his head.

"Sigh... I knew from the start—maybe we can fight Naruto Uzumaki, but capturing him? Impossible."

Akainu's expression turned even darker.

"That guy's powers are bizarre. He may not be able to defeat us, but we can't defeat him either."

The three Marine Admirals looked gloomy as they gazed out at the sea, but in the end, they could only sigh and head back toward the port.

The Navy's top forces had all been deployed... yet they couldn't capture a single criminal.

It was beyond humiliating.

Frustrated, Akainu vented his anger on every pirate he laid eyes on, hurling Dai Funka (Great Eruption) at them without mercy.

The Supernova pirate captains were truly out of luck. The sea had frozen, trapping their ships, leaving them with no way to escape.

One by one, they were all captured by the Admirals.

Seeing this, Hina and Smoker couldn't help but feel an ominous premonition.

Had that Straw Hat brat Luffy escaped?

Hopefully, he had.

Otherwise, if he ran into Akainu, he'd definitely get captured, and Akainu wouldn't give a damn about Garp's reputation.

If that happened, Garp might actually kill him.

As the group prayed silently, they reached the port—but still didn't see Luffy's figure.

They all exhaled in relief.

Just then...

A loud, boisterous laugh echoed from the port.

"Wahahaha..."

A burly middle-aged man with a missing tooth or two, thick facial hair, and a wild aura strolled up.

"To think I'd run into all three Marine Admirals here! What an honor! Wahahahaha...!"

The three Admirals frowned.

Aokiji recognized him instantly and scowled.

"Traitor of the Whitebeard Pirates... Blackbeard, Marshall D. Teach. And you dare show your face in front of us!?"

"Hmph." Akainu snorted coldly, thinking Blackbeard was just another overconfident Supernova punk.

He raised a magma-clad fist and aimed it at Blackbeard's chest.

"Wait, wait, wait...!"

Cold sweat trickled down Blackbeard's forehead as he hurriedly raised his hands.

"I'm not here to fight the Navy! I'm here to give you a gift! I want to be officially recognized as a Shichibukai!"

"Hm!?"

The three Admirals were momentarily stunned.

Among them, Aokiji and Kizaru felt a rising sense of unease.

And in the next second, their hunch proved true.

Blackbeard pulled a bloodied, battered figure from his back—none other than Luffy, the Straw Hat with a 300 million bounty.

"Straw Hat Luffy, worth 300 million berries! Wahahahaha... not a bad gift, huh!?"

"I also captured his crewmates. And besides that—Whitebeard's 16th Division Commander, Izo..."

"These gifts are more than enough to trade for a seat among the Shichibukai, right!?"

Blackbeard laughed heartily.

But after a few seconds, his laughter died down as he noticed the cold, deadly gazes from Aokiji and Kizaru.

He began to feel a little uneasy.

"Why... why are you looking at me like that?"

Aokiji and Kizaru were now seriously considering whether they should kill Blackbeard right here and now.

Because once Straw Hat Luffy was brought back, before any trial could happen, the "Hero of the Navy" might just kill an Admiral...

"..."

But all of this had nothing to do with Naruto.

At that moment, he was sitting inside Sanbi Isobu's mouth—safely protected from seawater—gazing out at the ever-darkening, yet strangely beautiful ocean.

"As expected of the world of the sea... this place is truly mesmerizing."

Naruto couldn't help but sigh in awe.

All around him, strange marine creatures swam through the ocean, and glowing roots of the Yarukiman Mangroves stretched through the deep.

Here and there, giant Sea Kings glided past, giving the whole scene a dreamlike quality.

"ROAR!"

Sanbi let out a thunderous roar.

Naruto could feel his excitement. He patted the beast's teeth and smiled.

"Sanbi, do you like it here too?"

"ROAR!"

Sanbi growled again—his tone filled with uncontrollable excitement and joy.

As the only aquatic beast among the nine Bijuu, this pirate world was clearly a paradise for him.

Not only was there a boundless ocean, but also Sea Kings whose size rivaled his own.

He truly felt as though he had found his kin.

Caught up in his excitement, Sanbi suddenly lunged at a giraffe-like Sea King and took a massive bite.

"ROAR!!!"

"Wait—don't eat random things! I'm still in here...!"

Naruto's face darkened as he looked at the blood and flesh splashing around him.

The sudden gore instantly ruined his mood.

After placing a Flying Thunder God seal on Sanbi's teeth, Naruto disappeared from inside.

...

Calm Belt, Amazon Lily – Kuja Island

Steam swirled through the misty bathhouse.

Boa Hancock, Empress of Amazon Lily, soaked in the hot springs with her chin resting on her hand, cheeks slightly flushed as she listened intently.

"Naruto-sama is amazing. Disappeared for more than ten years, and as soon as he returned, he took down several Celestial Dragons and even captured one of their female slaves..."

"That's right! Naruto-sama is so powerful—he just stood there and scared several pirate captains half to death...!" said Nami excitedly, splashing in the bath beside her.

"Too bad we didn't get to see the fight afterward," Robin added with a trace of regret.

Compared to the other two, Robin's mother, Olvia, looked somewhat uneasy. She glanced nervously at Hancock and whispered:

"Robin... isn't he one of the Seven Warlords? How did you...?"

Robin smiled gently and replied, "It's fine, Mother. Hancock-neesan is Naruto-kun's friend. We've been living here together for a long time now."

Hancock looked at Olvia briefly before withdrawing her gaze.

To her, only Nami and Robin—those given to her by Naruto personally—were worth her attention.

Soaking quietly at the edge of the spring, Boa Hancock's eyes were dreamy.

She recalled that moment eleven years ago, when the golden-haired youth appeared in her chambers, dragging a lofty Celestial Dragon in chains.

After learning of her past, he killed the Celestial Dragon in front of her without hesitation.

She had nearly fainted in terror.

After all, that was a Celestial Dragon—a "World Noble."

But just like that... he killed him like a pig.

From that day on, her heart had belonged to that golden-haired youth.

Unfortunately, he vanished for eleven long years.

Just as she was lost in those bittersweet memories—

A sudden touch on her foot made her expression turn icy.

"Don't touch me..."

She froze mid-sentence, her expression shifting to fear as she looked at the one who had brushed her foot:

The Celestial Dragon slave, Shalria.

"Sh-Shalria-sama..."

She recognized her immediately—her former "owner" in Mary Geoise.

(End of Chapter)

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