"Phew… good thing that scared him off..."

Naruto finally let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Whitebeard speak.

At the moment, he really didn't have the strength to keep fighting Whitebeard. No—rather, it wasn't that he couldn't fight, but doing so would mean putting his life on the line.

Whether by unleashing Kurama's power or opening the Gate of Death, both options would come at a heavy cost.

And after using either one, he'd still need to worry about finding another base after Fishman Island collapsed.

Hearing Whitebeard's command, no matter how furious Diamond Jozu was, he had no choice but to stop and reluctantly glare at the Susanoo.

Naruto also spoke up to instruct Uchiha Izumi to stop.

The black Susanoo halted its motion and walked toward Naruto.

"Naruto-dono, I could've killed that guy," she said.

Her Susanoo was unlike any other, infused with the power of Amaterasu, the black flame.

Given enough time, even if she couldn't kill Diamond Jozu in one blow, she could certainly burn him alive with the inextinguishable flame.

Naruto replied, "That's enough. Killing him won't solve anything. The real threat is that monster of an old man—he's ridiculously strong."

"…Okay..." Izumi gave Whitebeard a wary look and dispelled her Susanoo.

She, too, was intimidated by the hulking old man.

Though human in appearance, Whitebeard stood nearly six or seven meters tall—about the same height as her upper-body Susanoo.

And his strength? Terrifying. One punch had shaken the entire island.

The battle ended there.

Naruto grinned. "Whitebeard, now you admit Fishman Island is my turf, right?"

Whitebeard snorted and sheathed his great blade. "This place is too cramped. If there's a next time, let's fight on a proper island."

Though he acknowledged Naruto's strength, he still believed the terrain had hindered him.

In a fragile place like Fishman Island, his Gura Gura no Mi power couldn't be used to its full potential.

Naruto simply smiled, not bothering to provoke the brute any further. He called for Shirahoshi and climbed atop her chest to leave.

Watching Naruto's fading figure, Jinbei clenched his fists in fury.

"That's the princess of Fishman Island…"

Though called an island, Fishman Island was a proper kingdom—an officially recognized member nation of the World Government.

But since Uzumaki Naruto's arrival, Ryugu Kingdom had been turned upside down.

Fishman District was destroyed, countless fishmen were slain, King Neptune and the three princes were imprisoned, and many ministers were captured…

Now, even the kingdom's princess had become his mount…

"Whitebeard-dono..." Jinbei looked toward Whitebeard in desperation.

"Jinbei, I've already done everything I could," Whitebeard shook his head. "If we'd kept fighting, Fishman Island really would've collapsed."

"But now he's leaving—"

"Jinbei!" Whitebeard cut him off sternly. "Even if Naruto hadn't come, do you think you could've escaped that terrifying creature!?"

Just now, while no one else noticed, his Kenbunshoku Haki (Observation Haki) had picked up on the presence of the Sanbi no Isobu (Three-Tails Isobu).

That monstrous turtle was lurking just outside Fishman Island.

If Uzumaki Naruto gave the order, it could fire that terrifying sphere again and reduce the island to rubble.

Jinbei's pupils dilated—he realized the gravity of the situation.

Whether it was Naruto or the giant turtle, both could destroy the island, and Fishman Island had no power to resist.

"How could it come to this…" Jinbei muttered hollowly, then thought of Arlong and his crew.

"This is all your fault. I should've never let you go. I should've known… that vicious nature of yours…"

Jinbei clenched his fists in anger, consumed by regret.

If only he hadn't ignored it back then—if he'd gone to the East Blue and brought Arlong's crew back—Fishman Island wouldn't be like this today.

Whitebeard merely shook his head and turned to Marco with a commanding tone.

"Marco, get someone to re-coat the ship. In two days, we'll head from Fishman Island straight to Marine Headquarters."

Marco's eyes widened. He immediately understood what Whitebeard intended.

"An underwater assault..."

"What about Uzumaki Naruto's group?" Diamond Jozu asked. "Oyaji, are we just letting them go?"

Whitebeard said solemnly, "Don't worry about them. That brat took one of my punches head-on—he can't be unscathed."

"If we keep clashing, the coating around Fishman Island will break. Many people will die."

"If he makes it to the New World… we'll deal with him there. And I won't be holding back."

The crew was both excited and ashamed to hear this.

"We're still too weak… if Oyaji didn't have to protect us, he could've taken that brat down in a few punches..."

"It's just the deep sea holding him back… Oyaji couldn't go all out…"

"Phew, so that's it… I thought that brat was actually evenly matched with Oyaji..."

"Don't talk nonsense. Oyaji's the strongest man in the world! If this wasn't Fishman Island, what's Uzumaki Naruto compared to him…"

As his sons chattered, Whitebeard sighed again and looked at the now half-burned tip of his mustache.

"That brat… is truly dangerous..."

——

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!! (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!!)"

On a sandy shore, the blond-haired youth threw a blazing punch, igniting the skewered fish before him.

In moments, the fish was roasted to crispy perfection—golden on the outside, juicy within.

The delicious aroma made Naruto swallow hard. He grabbed the fish skewer and devoured it in huge bites.

Within seconds, he'd finished the giant fish, nearly the size of his own body.

Tossing aside the bones, Naruto said, "Suigetsu, not enough. Go catch me a few more from the sea."

Then he turned to the massive Shirahoshi and patted her mermaid tail.

"Shirahoshi, I already told you—go summon some Sea Kings. With your ability, that should be easy, right?"

Tears welled up in Shirahoshi's eyes.

"I can't, Naruto-dono… I don't want to hurt those gentle Sea Kings..."

Earlier, under Naruto's command, Uchiha Izumi had used her Sharingan to hypnotize Shirahoshi.

It fully awakened her power—Poseidon, one of the Ancient Weapons.

She could summon and control Sea Kings at will.

In short, Shirahoshi was now the sovereign of the seas, capable of commanding tens of thousands of Sea Kings.

But she was far too kind—and timid. She didn't want to hurt the Sea Kings, yet she also didn't dare defy Naruto's orders.

Izumi glared coldly at her.

"Naruto-dono, why waste words on this fish? Let me control her."

Shirahoshi shivered in fear again.

"Forget it. We don't need her just yet," Naruto waved it off. After eating a few more fish, he rested against Shirahoshi's chest and said,

"If her ability becomes known now, the whole world will turn against us. That'd be even more troublesome than killing a hundred Celestial Dragons."

(End of Chapter)

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