"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard's hearty and cheerful laughter echoed throughout Kusagakure. For Whitebeard, there was no greater joy today than gaining two daughters.
Uzumaki Kushina and Uzumaki Karin, the mother and daughter from the Uzumaki clan, had now joined the new Whitebeard Pirates!
"Stupid son, I've found you another family member. Remember, in the Whitebeard Pirates, family members must trust each other and not harm one another," Whitebeard's words were directed at Naruto. Still, they were also meant for Karin and Kushina.
"Old Dad absolutely does not allow mutual suspicion or harm among you. Anyone who breaks this rule will face my wrath!"
Whitebeard's tone became extremely serious and stern as he spoke the last sentence, reminiscent of when he thought of Blackbeard Teach. He couldn't allow such a tragedy to happen again. Teach's betrayal had cost him many family members, something Whitebeard could never accept. During the War of the Best, he couldn't bring himself to kill Teach, resulting in even greater tragedy. If it happened again, if another Teach appeared, he wouldn't hesitate.
"Don't worry, Dad!" Naruto said earnestly, his small face tight with seriousness. "I will never harm my family, and I will never allow anyone else to harm them!"
Kushina wiped her tears, knowing her emotional display might seem embarrassing in front of her daughter, but she couldn't hold back her emotions. Taking a deep breath, she said seriously, "Since I've chosen to acknowledge you as my father, I will dedicate my life to following your will."
"I'm the same as my mom! And…" Karin looked at Naruto. "And the same as Naruto-niisan!"
"Gurararara!"
Whitebeard's laughter grew even more joyful, his crescent mustache trembling. "As expected of my children!"
The shadow of the War of the Best lifted from Whitebeard's heart at this moment.
Kakashi watched in silence, puzzled by how these four people, without any blood relation, including two from the Uzumaki clan who had just met today, could seem so harmonious. Was it because they all acknowledged this "Whitebeard" as their father? Could a simple "Dad" truly bond them so deeply?
Why hadn't they rejected Whitebeard's invitation? Recognizing someone as a "father" was a major life decision, yet they decided so easily, without hesitation or contemplation.
Kakashi figured it must be Whitebeard's unique charisma that made people naturally trust him, especially those who lacked family. This must be the reason.
So, with the addition of Whitebeard, the new Whitebeard Pirates had expanded to four members: one Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and two members of the Uzumaki clan, all formidable individuals.
This was quite something!
...
The next morning, the civilians of Kusagakure, who had been hiding in the back mountain, finally returned to the village in trembling groups. They had only brought minimal supplies with them and couldn't stay in the mountain without enough food and clean water.
"Many houses in the village have collapsed!" someone exclaimed, swallowing hard. "At least half of the houses are down, especially the ninja residences. None of them are intact."
"Look over there!" someone else cried in fear. "The ninja office building has collapsed too! It used to be a dozen stories high, now it's only one or two stories left."
"Lots of corpses, all of them ninjas from the village. Was there a war last night? Did we lose?"
"How could our village lose with over two hundred ninjas?"
"What about the leader? Could he be..."
"Shh, don't say such things!"
The scene before the civilians was a devastated Kusagakure, almost unrecognizable. Two-thirds of the village buildings had collapsed, and the remaining third were mostly damaged. Cracks covered the ground, many seeping with groundwater, forming a complex network of streams.
The sight was astonishing!
"Over there! There are two ninjas!" The civilians noticed two ninjas busy at work not far away and hurriedly surrounded them.
"Ninja-sama, what happened last night? Were we invaded? Did we win?" they asked anxiously.
The two ninjas, both survivors, were bandaged and clearing the rubble. Disheartened, one of them pointed to his bare forehead, where there was no ninja forehead protector.
"What do you think?" he asked before continuing to clear the debris, having worked through the night.
The civilians looked at each other in silence.
The other ninja, more talkative and candid, said, "Kusagakure is history. The former leader is dead. Out of over two hundred ninjas, only about thirty are left."
He continued with shocking news, "Over seven hundred of the thousand buildings in the village have been leveled. The Daimyo who temporarily stayed here also went to the afterlife with the Kusagakure leader."
"Now, Kusagakure is Whitebeard Pirates' territory. From now on, all Kusagakure symbols will be removed, and the village will fly the Whitebeard Pirates' flag."
After sharing this information, he added, "This is what happened last night. The remaining ninjas of Kusagakure must follow Whitebeard's orders and clean up the village."
The civilians were shocked!
In just one night, Kusagakure had changed hands. Was the daimyo dead?
That was the Daimyo, the ruler above all!
He... was killed?
"Look over there!" The ninja pointed. "See that tall wooden pole? The black flag with the white design is the Whitebeard Pirates' flag."
Even the ninja himself felt dazed, like in a dream.
In one night, his ninja village had been destroyed.
Who would have thought a ninja village could be so fragile?
...
...