He has even mastered Haki, and you say this is Naruto?

Kagalo asked in confusion. These people were clearly neither pirates nor traditional shinobi—they knew far too much.

"As long as we're still on the ship, we're members of the Dark Pirates. As for our other identity… once we arrive in Konoha, you'll understand," Kidomaru replied, offering no further explanation.

He took out all the medical supplies he had, including those from both himself and Jirōbō. But it wasn't enough—only barely enough to prevent their wounds from worsening.

The journey from here to the Land of Fire would take time. All they could do now was leave it to fate.

As more survivors departed one by one, the number of ships on the sea dwindled. Only the completely destroyed ones sank into the ocean depths.

Over time, many of the unconscious also gradually woke up.

But when they saw that island in the distance, it was as if they had witnessed something utterly terrifying—they immediately fled in horror on any ships still usable.

This wasn't an exaggeration. Only they knew the kind of monster they had just faced.

A monster that could control the weather… control lightning… with an aura like a god's—so majestic it was impossible to look directly at him.

Shanks's figure was now deeply engraved in all their minds.

Back on the island, the people there didn't wake up until the third day.

"Ugh… why does this alcohol hit so hard?"

"Shanks, Shanks! Did you sneak something into my drink?"

An old man with greying hair got up, muttering. He had slept so long, he was sure it was Shanks's fault.

"Director, what's wrong?"

"Where is that Shanks guy?"

"There!"

Following the pointing finger, they saw Shanks sprawled out in the middle of a pile of barrels.

"Damn it! He's still out cold? My head hurts like I've been smacked with something."

"Director, I feel the same. This booze was way too strong."

Everyone who woke up felt as if their heads were splitting—whether it was really from the alcohol or not, who knew?

Of course, it didn't matter. Under the lingering shockwave of Conqueror's Haki, it was completely normal.

Although Shanks had aimed it at the pirates, the drunken partygoers on the island had all been caught in the blast and ended up sleeping through three whole days.

"Forget it. Let's pack up and get ready to head out. We need to start filming the third movie as soon as possible."

The director walked over to Santayū.

"Santayū, is the Land of Snow really as good as you say?"

"Director, the scenery there will absolutely meet your standards. However, due to the weather—and because Yukie doesn't want to go back there—this plan must be kept secret from her."

Santayū, Yukie's agent, often made the decisions for her.

"To ensure Yukie's safety, I think it's necessary to visit the Land of Fire and request protection from Konoha's shinobi."

"After all, once we're out at sea again, Lord Shanks will be leaving."

Even though Santayū knew how powerful Shanks was, Shanks couldn't be around forever. Their only option was to try hiring ninja from Konoha.

Of course, Yukie mustn't find out about any of this.

Meanwhile, Dark had just awakened aboard the ship. He was the most seriously wounded of them all.

With his chest still wrapped in bandages, he pushed open the door to the captain's cabin. Sea wind blew in. On deck, Kidomaru and the others were still keeping a close watch, never letting their guard down.

Behind their ship, several others followed, carrying wounded passengers—no one was unscathed.

"Did we lose?" Dark asked as he stepped forward.

"We lost. Badly."

"I see… Then that's great. That man won."

Dark had mixed feelings earlier, but now he felt completely relieved.

Shanks had won. That was good enough.

"If you've won, then just keep on winning, Shanks. Carry the hopes of a new era and keep going."

Dark didn't ask what had happened—because it no longer mattered.

On the ships behind them, most of the survivors were injured. Yet not a single one had backed down.

All of them quietly prepared for the next battle. Kagalo even tied a whole bundle of explosives to himself.

They knew the upcoming fight would be brutal—one that might cost them their lives.

As ordinary people, they could only risk everything for a sliver of hope.

This method would be useless against Shanks, but against regular shinobi, it still had some effect.

"Never thought we'd one day be fighting ninja."

"Yeah, but if it means getting a Devil Fruit, it's all worth it."

"To become stronger, to stand proudly in this world… It's better than scurrying like rats in the black market."

Despite their grim words, everyone smiled.

They had nothing left to lose. Being a black market kingpin was fine, but people always have ambition.

If given the chance, none of them wanted to remain rats in the shadows forever.

Only those without ambition would willingly rot in the underground for life.

Land of Fire, Konoha.

During the Chūnin Exams, Konoha wasn't exactly peaceful. For a while now, the ANBU had been active all around the Land of Fire—especially near the Land of Waves.

That meant Konoha had access to any intelligence worth having.

But unlike other shinobi villages, Konoha didn't react much at all. In fact, they acted like none of it mattered.

Because they already knew.

Itachi and Kisame had appeared in Konoha and were "driven off" by Danzo at some cost. Weren't those two Revolutionary Army officers? Any other information was meaningless.

Konoha was like "not seeing Mount Lu clearly because you're in the middle of it." From the start, the information Kado spread was useless.

What mattered was how others interpreted it. Once suspicion took root, it couldn't be undone.

Black market dealers or pirates wouldn't overthink things—they never meant to oppose shinobi directly.

But other villages were different.

After three shinobi wars and countless tangled grudges, who knew when Konoha might strike first?

But Konoha wouldn't think that way.

First, Konoha had no grudge against itself. Second, they knew their own situation and hadn't made any moves against others.

Put those two together—how could Konoha think something was off?

So even now, Konoha's only real takeaway was: there are a lot of pirates showing up in the Land of Fire.

And those pirates? ANBU and lower-ranked Konoha shinobi had already handled them. Pirates wouldn't be appearing near Konoha again anytime soon.

However, among the 20,000 pirates, elite shinobi from other villages had also slipped in.

Mei Terumī discarded everything linking her to Kirigakure. She now looked like a gangster queen more than a shinobi.

"Raikage, when are we going to act? It's been five days and these pirates haven't made any progress," Mei asked. She'd already contacted Kumogakure—they were on the same side. Cooperation was key.

"Please be patient, Lady Mizukage. The moment we move, Konoha will react—and that'll complicate everything," Mabui replied, frowning. The situation was tricky even for her.

"If needed, I'll lead the pirates myself."

From behind the crowd, Zabuza spoke up.

Originally, he had helped Shanks at sea, fighting off enemies. But many pirates had ended up heading toward Konoha instead.

By sheer coincidence, Zabuza ran into Kirigakure's fleet. Mei had set aside her pride and temporarily allied with him.

"But Zabuza… you're a ninja," Mabui said, raising an eyebrow.

"Who said our captain's a ninja? He's Lord Zabuza of the No-Blade Pirates! Every pirate on the sea knows his name!"

The pirates beside Zabuza weren't having it—they immediately shot back.

The surrounding shinobi were speechless. It was as if calling Zabuza a ninja was an insult to them.

"Zabuza left Kirigakure long ago. He really is a pirate now—and the most powerful one in this sea region," Mei added with a straight face, even pulling out his wanted poster. The pirates behind Zabuza all beamed with pride.

See? This is our captain's bounty—proof of his strength.

Zabuza, meanwhile, glanced at Mei curiously. Didn't she feel any guilt showing off a bounty she herself had placed?

But Mei pretended not to notice. She'd already ordered Kirigakure to rescind his bounty. As for who reissued it—hey, that's not Kirigakure's problem anymore!

If Zabuza dared complain, it'd be slander.

"So yes, if Zabuza leads them, it just might work," Mei concluded.

Though she'd rather not rely on Zabuza unless absolutely necessary.

She wasn't stupid. Like her former master said, Mei was one of the top Kage of her era—in both strength and wisdom.

Zabuza was powerful, but compared to the big shots here, there was still a gap.

His true value lay in his connection to Shanks. Simply put, Mei was leveraging that connection.

This was her way—what allowed her to overthrow the Fourth Mizukage and bring peace to Kirigakure.

—

"Wait…"

"Captain! Captain!!"

Before she could finish, a burly man came running in, shouting. Several other shinobi followed.

"What is it?"

"They're back… They landed!"

"The ones who attacked Shanks—they've arrived at the coast. Dark is with them!"

Both Kirigakure and Kumogakure shinobi stood up in unison—even the Raikage had a grim expression.

"Kuyui was taken out in one move…"

Neither the Raikage nor Killer Bee had expected a Chūnin like Kuyui to be instantly defeated by a pirate.

Zabuza was intrigued.

"Lead the way. I want to see these guys for myself."

He took the lead, and soon everyone stepped out of the forest.

On a sandy beach, a dozen ships had anchored. The wind flapped pirate flags above their masts.

And standing at the front—just like when they'd faced Shanks—a tall figure emerged.

Dark stood shirtless, his broad, muscular body covered in blood-soaked bandages.

Even his head was wrapped, clearly still injured.

Behind him, the other pirates were all wounded, looking utterly miserable.

But seeing them, the shinobi from Kirigakure and Kumogakure instinctively felt a surge of unease in their hearts.