The young orange-haired girl hugged the Akuma no Mi (Devil Fruit) tightly in her arms, glaring vigilantly at the man who had suddenly appeared before her.
"This is Naruto-sama's Devil Fruit. I'm not giving it to you..."
"What a hassle... I'm not here to steal it," Kizaru muttered, scratching his head awkwardly. But then, realizing how it might've sounded, he quickly added:
"No, wait... Judging by its appearance, that's a Logia-type Devil Fruit. There's no way it can be left in a pirate's hands..."
"See! You do want to steal it!"
Nami was startled. She quickly ducked behind Naruto and glared at Kizaru like he was a villain.
"Sigh... such a hassle..." Kizaru sighed helplessly.
"If it's such a hassle, why even bother coming here?"
Naruto opened his eyes and looked at Kizaru with complete indifference.
Kizaru could only sigh again. "You kids from the new generation… aren't even afraid of Marine Admirals anymore?"
He remembered back when he used to go on missions—every pirate he encountered would tremble in fear at the sight of him.
But now, this blond-haired boy looked at him like he was just some passerby, completely unfazed and even a little lazy.
Naruto wasn't interested in chatting further. He walked casually toward the nearby dessert shop.
"Wait up, boy!"
Kizaru panicked and quickly followed.
"Look, I swear I won't lay a hand on you... but could you at least let the Celestial Dragon go? This will cause serious trouble."
"No worries. He won't die right away."
Naruto sat down at the dessert shop and ordered two servings of ice cream and dessert.
"That's not the point at all..."
Kizaru was filled with exasperation. At this point, he had no idea where the Celestial Dragon had even gone.
Was he teleported away by some kind of ninjutsu?
Or had he been obliterated entirely without even ashes left behind?
"Sigh..."
Kizaru looked at Naruto eating ice cream and felt a growing headache.
"I'm a Marine Admiral here to arrest you. And here you are, calmly eating ice cream in front of me? Really?"
"What, you gonna arrest me now?" Naruto glanced at him lazily.
Kizaru twitched.
He had no intention of fighting this blond boy.
Even if he could catch him—
If the Celestial Dragon really was dead, all the blame would fall on him.
Even as an Admiral, he couldn't bear the weight of a dead Celestial Dragon. The World Government would tear him apart in fury...
"Sigh, the more I think about it, the worse it gets. I really did eat the most troublesome Devil Fruit..."
Kizaru shook his head helplessly.
Then, raising his hand, he called over the shopkeeper.
"Hey, get me a serving of ice cream too."
—
Twenty minutes later.
At Marine Headquarters.
A photo had just been transmitted in.
Sengoku stared at it—his face turned purple.
In the photo, Marine Admiral Kizaru was sitting across from Naruto at a dessert shop, happily eating ice cream.
Sengoku instantly whipped out a Den Den Mushi and called him.
"KIZARU!!! What the hell are you doing?!"
Sengoku roared through the line.
"I sent you to capture Uzumaki Naruto, and now you're sitting there eating?!"
Kizaru moved the receiver away from his ear, wincing.
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku, didn't you say to stall Naruto?
Well, I think I'm doing a pretty good job, don't you?"
Sengoku nearly coughed up blood.
"I said stall, but this? THIS is how you stall him?!"
Looking at the photo, one might think the Marines had formed an alliance with pirates.
Kizaru just spread his hands, defeated.
"I'm doing my best here. If you don't care about the Celestial Dragon's life, I'll start fighting right now."
Sengoku went silent.
Even as Fleet Admiral, he couldn't just say, "Screw the Celestial Dragon."
"But still..."
The more Sengoku thought, the more his head throbbed.
—
At that moment, Naruto raised his head and held his hand out toward Kizaru.
"Hey, hand it over."
Kizaru blinked.
"You want my Den Den Mushi?"
He'd lived for decades, but this was the first time anyone had asked him for such a bizarre thing.
A pirate with a 400 million bounty was asking him, a Marine Admiral, for his Den Den Mushi—
To talk to the Fleet Admiral himself?!
"You won't give it?"
"Here!"
Kizaru handed it over without hesitation. Let Sengoku deal with the madness.
Naruto took the Den Den Mushi.
"Moshi moshi, this is Uzumaki Naruto."
"I am Fleet Admiral Sengoku!!"
Sengoku shouted through the line while questioning reality itself.
He was... actually talking to a wanted pirate.
And across from this pirate was an Admiral of the Marines.
"Uzumaki Naruto, release the Celestial Dragon at once—"
"Fleet Admiral Sengoku," Naruto interrupted with a smile,
"Are you interested in overthrowing the World Government?"
"The Marines may stand for justice across the seas, But in the end, you're just a blade in the World Government's hand."
"You serve the Celestial Dragons, assist their tyranny, help them plunder other nations...
Honestly, I think that goes against everything the Marines claim to stand for."
"But if the Marines turned on the World Government,
Destroyed it,
And built a new one—
You could finally enforce true justice."
Sengoku: "..."
He sat in stunned silence, face twitching in disbelief.
A pirate with a 400 million bounty was actually trying to persuade the highest authority of the Marines...
To commit treason.
To destroy the World Government.
To create a new world order.
Too dangerous.
Far too dangerous—this boy.
Sengoku's heart was shaken.
What terrified him most...
Was that deep down... a small part of him was tempted.
"Uzumaki Naruto, are you with the Revolutionary Army?!"
Sengoku demanded, face dark with suspicion.
"Nope," Naruto shook his head.
"This has nothing to do with them. I just really hate the Celestial Dragons."
Naruto grinned.
"Here's the deal—
Soon, I'll fire the first shot in the rebellion against the World Government."
"I'll be the example.
Once people see what I've done, more will follow.
And when that happens,
The Marines will have the perfect opportunity to rise up.
And you—
you'll be the hero of the entire world."
DANGEROUS.
TOO DANGEROUS.
Sengoku's heart pounded.
This boy was too good at seducing minds.
If left unchecked, he might really become a threat to the World Government.
Right then and there, Sengoku shouted into the Den Den Mushi:
"Kizaru, attack!
Capture that arrogant brat!!"
The moment he said that—
Naruto's smile widened.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the Mera Mera no Mi and took a big bite.
"Let's go—flames, become mine to command!"
(End of Chapter)
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