Naruto, in the midst of his relentless rampage, was almost exhilarated by the chaos he had created. He moved swiftly through the city, striking down any threats and eliminating anyone he deemed unworthy, his bloodlust fueling his every move. The flames of destruction spread, and the screams of the nobles and their corrupted system were drowned in the cacophony of war. However, as with all things in life, his moment of unrestrained freedom was about to come to a violent halt.
Naruto's senses flared as he felt a dangerous presence approach. His instincts screamed that something was wrong, but he wasn't fast enough. Before he could react, a powerful force slammed into him from the sky, sending him crashing down into the earth with such impact that the ground buckled beneath him. A massive crater formed at the point of his impact.
He slowly pushed himself up, his armor still intact but the force of the blow clearly having shaken him. His thoughts raced. "damn, it's Akainu," he cursed inwardly, recognizing the Admiral's signature volcanic power. He had expected resistance, but not this overwhelming.
Naruto chuckled bitterly as he stood up, brushing the dust off his armor. "I'm honored that you're the one they sent to end me," he said, his voice still laced with that familiar confidence, though there was a hint of weary resignation beneath it.
Akainu stood before him, a look of disappointment etched across his face. "I am disappointed, Naruto," Akainu said, his voice calm but filled with authority. "I had heard about you. You were a strong candidate to be brought into the fold, but this..." He gestured to the surrounding chaos, his voice now turning cold. "This destroys everything. So, according to the command, you will receive your execution."
"I decline," Naruto retorted, his tone biting, a wry smile curving on his lips. He wasn't going down without a fight. In an instant, he threw a smoke bomb and a poison bomb toward Akainu, creating a brief cover. Using the distraction, Naruto bolted toward the civilian area, hoping to escape Akainu's clutches.
But Akainu was not one to be stopped by such trivial tactics. He moved his arm, and with one fluid motion, his magma powers dispersed the smoke and poison. His eyes locked onto Naruto with renewed seriousness. The cost of this mission had been too great, and there was no room for failure.
Naruto didn't have the luxury of escape. Within moments, Akainu was upon him, but Naruto wasn't one to give up so easily. He had the nobles in his grasp, using his strings to bind them as human shields.
"I hope you would let me go," Naruto said, his tone oddly calm, with no trace of panic. "Otherwise, they die."
Akainu's gaze darkened, a vein of anger pulsing in his forehead. The noble lives were irrelevant to him; Naruto's death, however, was non-negotiable. "No," Akainu replied coldly, his voice steady, as his fist descended upon Naruto with crushing force.
Naruto evaded the blow by the narrowest of margins, rolling out of the way. His movements were quick, but Akainu was faster. The heat from the magma burned the air around them as the battle intensified. Still, Naruto pressed on, his hands weaving strings made from Arachne, coated in his haki. He lashed out, but Akainu's power was too overwhelming. The strings melted under the sheer intensity of his magma abilities.
Naruto's mind raced, calculating his next move. He was far from out of tricks, but even he knew when things were looking grim. "No choice," he muttered to himself. "Forgive me, but I need to live."
With that, he released Arachne fully, allowing her to devour every living thing in her range. The creatures and people around them—citizens, slaves, Fishman pirates—were consumed in an instant, their life force feeding Arachne's insatiable hunger. Naruto could feel her growing stronger with each life she consumed, her form shifting and evolving, completely integrating with his armor. The red, blood-like strings that emanated from her became more powerful, more menacing, and they began to resist Akainu's molten magma.
Akainu was undeterred. "Futile resistance," he growled, his voice tinged with frustration, and without hesitation, he unleashed his ultimate attack. His magma fist crashed toward Naruto's chest with an almost inevitable force, piercing through the air with devastating speed.
Naruto couldn't react in time. The fist made contact, and the pain was instant. He gasped as Akainu's attack melted through his chest, but Naruto still fought. With his last reserves of strength, he managed to land a blow on Akainu, his fist striking deep into the Admiral's body. It wasn't much, but it was enough for Akainu to feel it—a tremor deep inside, a momentary weakness.
Akainu paused, feeling the strange pain emanating from the point of contact. He coughed, spitting blood, surprised by the force behind Naruto's strike. But before he could respond, the burning pain from his wound intensified. Akainu growled and his magma powers flared up, searing Naruto's body.
The pain became unbearable. Naruto gritted his teeth, refusing to scream as his body melted along with his armor, the red-hot magma seeping into his very soul. His vision began to fade, but he still struggled, still fought to break free. Arachne's tendrils lashed out one final time, but it was all for naught. The damage was too great, and Naruto's body was slowly destroyed, reduced to nothing but a charred, molten mass.
Akainu stood over him, his face filled with a rare moment of regret. "Such great potential," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "And now this."
He stooped down and collected the remnants of Naruto's body, carefully picking up the charred pieces along with his equipment. His helmet, the last piece of Naruto that remained mostly intact, was the only thing left. Akainu took it and placed it into a secure bag, deciding to personally deliver it to his former teacher, a grim reminder of what had just transpired.
"As you die, Naruto," Akainu thought to himself with a small smirk, "at least you can take solace in the fact that you managed to hurt me. From the inside... and the outside."
Akainu looked around at the devastation Naruto had left in his wake, the entire area scorched and destroyed, the lives of countless innocents extinguished in an instant. He took one last look at the burning city and turned his attention toward the horizon. I wonder how Kuzan is doing, Akainu mused, the thought of his former colleague lingering in his mind as he prepared to return to the Marines with Naruto's remains.
The grief that lingered over Marineford and Cocoyashi Village after Naruto's death was palpable, the heavy weight of loss sinking into the hearts of all who had known him, directly or indirectly. Two days had passed, and yet the emotional wound left by the destruction, his sacrifice, and the brutal reality of his death still haunted everyone.
Z stood at the forefront, his gaze fixed on the remnants of his former student, the body that had once been filled with such fire and passion, now reduced to little more than a charred husk. His heart felt heavy, a burden too great to bear. The world had lost someone who had not only challenged its corrupt systems but had also fought for a future of freedom—yet in the end, he had fallen in battle.
Why did this happen? Z thought bitterly, his hands gripping the sides of his uniform. He could feel the sting of his own tears threatening to fall, but he refused to let them show. The pain was too raw, too fresh. I should have never let him near those bastards. My little Naruto... he died because of them, and for what? For nothing.
The silence around him was suffocating, broken only by the faint sounds of those gathered at the funeral. Z wasn't the only one who mourned; Hina, standing silently by his side, had been utterly crushed. Her eyes, hollow and distant, refused to meet anyone's gaze. Her tears had dried, but the hollow ache in her chest would remain for far longer.
She had always seen Naruto as a younger brother, someone who had shown immense potential, compassion, and a drive to change the world. She had believed in him, trusted him—yet the cruelty of his end left her speechless, unable to even process the whirlwind of emotions churning inside her.
She kept herself tethered to his armor, unable to part with it, the one thing that connected her to the life he had lived and the ideals he had fought for. To Hina, it was a part of him, and without it, she couldn't fathom moving forward. The pain of loss was too much to bear.
Z's voice broke the silence, his words reaching Hina as he spoke quietly but with authority. "Hina, you can keep them all as he would have wanted. Everything else... I'll handle it. Don't be reckless. He wouldn't want you to die pointlessly."
His words were a sharp reminder that the Marines and their mission would not stop simply because of one loss—there was a war still being fought, battles that needed to be won. But to Hina, it felt like too much. How could she carry on without him? The world had just lost one of the only people she had believed could truly make a difference.
Without a word, Z turned and walked away, his steps slow, his head low in mourning. He had his own pain to face, and as a mentor, he knew the burden of loss more than most, but this was different. Naruto had been a student, a prodigy, someone Z had seen promise in. His death was a reminder of the crushing futility of their world's systems and the harsh reality that not even the strongest would be spared from the flames of corruption.
Smoker, his face grim, finally spoke up, breaking the sorrowful silence. "I'll see you guys later." His voice was low and rough, the weight of grief pulling at him as well, but he knew he had his own role to play. He wasn't one to linger in despair for long—Naruto's death was a setback, but it wasn't the end of the war. There were still enemies to be fought, and the fight wasn't over.
With a quick glance at Drake, who nodded in agreement, Smoker turned and walked away. Drake, though equally affected by the loss, followed him in silence, each man caught in their own thoughts, each struggling to comprehend what this loss meant for their futures.
The funeral was a somber affair, marked by grief, confusion, and the painful knowledge that the ideals Naruto had fought for, his vision for a world of freedom and justice, were now left in the hands of those who had survived. Would they continue his fight? Or would they too become casualties in the long war that had claimed so many before him?
For now, all that was left was the empty silence of a funeral that no one had been ready for.
The stillness in the room was suffocating as Hina clutched Naruto's helmet to her chest, her grief overwhelming her. The tears flowed freely, a mixture of sorrow, confusion, and pain. The world around her seemed to blur as she cried out in despair. "Why did you leave me? You said we would always be together." Her voice broke, the sound of anguish echoing through the air as she collapsed under the weight of the loss.
But then, something shifted within her. A strange sensation, a flicker of energy coursing through her. Her eyes, once clouded with sorrow, widened as she felt a subtle tugging in the air. It was as though something was calling to her, a voice that whispered through the thick veil of grief.
"I can hear you... what do you want? Where are you?" Hina asked, her voice trembling, as she held the helmet close to her chest. It was warm now, radiating a strange, red glow from the spot where Naruto's eyes used to be. Her confusion only deepened, but any shred of hope was a lifeline, no matter how uncertain.
The whispers seemed to grow louder, more insistent, urging her on. Without fully understanding the situation, she held the helmet up toward her head, almost instinctively. The moment she did, the helmet seemed to come to life, leaping from her hands and fastened itself to her head, enveloping her. She didn't resist.
The sensation was overwhelming. The moment the helmet locked into place, she felt as though her very essence was being drawn into something far greater than herself. The armor began to shift, pulsating red lines running through its once cold metal surface, spreading through the air as if it were a living entity. Strings, thick and luminous, extended outward, weaving their way around her as the armor reformed. Hina could feel it—Naruto's will, his grudge, his burning desire for justice. And now, it was hers too.
She felt a rush of power, a flood of emotions that were not entirely her own. Her thoughts were clouded, distant, as the armor fully reformed around her. The overwhelming presence of Naruto's will began to take root inside her, merging with her own identity, reshaping her into something else. The voice, deep and powerful, reverberated inside her mind, its words now crystal clear, and it filled her with a sudden, almost uncontrollable energy.
"MY JUSTICE IS ETERNAL."
With that declaration, a surge of power coursed through her. The strings in the air reacted violently, snapping forward in every direction. The force of their movement was like a storm unleashed, tearing through everything in their path. Destruction, chaos, and a hunger for vengeance—Hina, or what was now inside her, was no longer the woman she once was. She had become the vessel of Naruto's will, a carrier of his justice, his rage, and his grudge against the world that had taken him away.
The room trembled as the strings lashed out, snapping against the walls, the ground, and anything in their path. Hina's eyes glowed red, reflecting the deep anger and defiance that Naruto had once felt. The armor, a testament to his power, now became an instrument of his fury. The air was thick with the crackle of energy, the hum of destruction, and the sense that something far greater than anyone could comprehend was at work.
She was no longer merely a grieving woman; she had become the embodiment of Naruto's legacy, his final declaration of justice. The world around her would soon feel the consequences of this awakening. The strings that danced through the air would leave nothing but devastation in their wake.
And so, the chaos began anew, born from a grief that would never fade, a vengeance that would never be quenched. Hina, now a vessel of Naruto's power, stood at the center of it all, ready to carry out the eternal justice he had left behind.