(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)
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"Ahhh!"
Nami's high-pitched scream echoed in Colt's ears.
He gritted his teeth and covered his ears, bracing himself against the noise.
Anyone who suddenly falls from a height of thousands of meters would react the same way.
"The boat must not be damaged, and I have no plans to hire a boatman."
A purple glow flashed in Colt's eyes as the entire ship defied gravity and gently landed on the water, swaying slightly.
"Don't worry, we've landed on the sea," he reassured Nami who was still screaming.
'Ah?'
She scanned the surroundings, and upon seeing they were in the sea, she shed tears of joy.
Colt scanned the surroundings but saw no sign of the whale, Laboon.
However, he wasn't too concerned; it didn't matter if they encountered him now.
"Let's go"
Without lingering, Nami swiftly steered the boat away from the perilous sea.
********
Meanwhile, at the Marine Headquarters, the conference room was once again packed with people.
"Aokiji, how are your injuries?" Sengoku asked in a deep voice, looking at Aokiji, whose upper body was wrapped in bandages.
Aokiji shook his head.
"Just some surface wounds. Nothing serious."
In this world, many were considered monsters, and the Marine Admirals were among the strongest of them.
Despite suffering severe burns when he was brought back to the Marine Headquarters, Aokiji was almost fully recovered after just a few days.
Akainu frowned and asked, "Who hurt you so badly? Was it Kaido?"
Although he often clashed with Aokiji, Akainu, as a fellow Marine Admiral, was surprised by the severity of the injuries this time.
Don't look at Aokiji playing it strong and calling it surface wounds… they might be so now, but they weren't a few days back.
"Didn't you inform them, Fleet Admiral?" Aokiji looked at Sengoku in surprise.
Sengoku shook his head.
"The matter is too significant. I've suppressed the information to prevent it from leaking."
The fact that a Marine Admiral had been seriously injured by a supernova was embarrassing.
If the news spread, it would incite countless pirates' rebellions, weakening the Marine's hard-earned deterrence on the sea.
Thankfully, when Aokiji appeared, most people fled, recognizing him as a Marine Admiral.
The few who witnessed the battle had been silenced, and even Morgans, the influential journalist, was personally warned by Sengoku.
Aokiji sighed and rubbed his brow.
"I have to talk about such a shameful thing..."
He then recounted the details of the incident.
After receiving Sengoku's order, the Marine's intelligence indicated that the Spade Pirates would arrive at the Sabaody Archipelago in a few days.
Aokiji had gone there ahead of time to wait.
He then met Ace and the others who were on the island waiting for the boat to be coated, where he announced the World Government's invitation to them.
Ace would become a Shichibukai.
But the man in question refused almost instantly.
While this was somewhat unexpected, Sengoku, known as The Resourceful General, was not one to be caught off guard either.
He had prepared two plans well in advance.
If Ace agreed to become a Shichibukai, then all was well.
If not, Aokiji would fulfill his duties as a Marine Admiral at that time.
Unfortunately, Aokiji encountered Sasuke, who had been trained by Colt once.
Sasuke, who was already filled with anger and frustration from not being able to outdo Naruto, saw Aokiji as a target to vent.
Aokiji, capable of freezing the sea, found himself facing Sasuke, who wielded the black flames of (Amaterasu) to scorch everything in sight.
The outcome was predictable.
Natural ability users have a significant weakness—once their abilities were countered, their combat effectiveness diminishes greatly.
Sasuke used Amaterasu, to counter Aokiji's freezing powers, while the Susanoo wielded its twin blades with precision.
After their fierce battle, Aokiji couldn't land a hit on Sasuke but was consistently harassed by his opponent's various techniques.
Eventually, Sasuke cornered Aokiji and controlled his action by Genjutsu.
In clashes between top experts, they can exchange countless blows each second.
As a result, Aokiji was tragically burned by the Amaterasu follow-up to the Genjutsu.
Ultimately, Sasuke chose not to kill Aokiji and turned off his flames.
That fight ended up releasing his pent-up anger, and as such he swaggered away with Ace and the others aboard the coated ship, heading toward the Fish-Man Island.
After listening to Aokiji's account, the conference room fell silent.
Everyone's expressions varied.
Especially Naruto, whose fists were clenched as he listened.
"Kuzan," Vice Admiral Tsuru interjected.
"With so many abilities, what kind of Devil Fruit did that Uchiha Sasuke eat? He can control flames, summon lightning, and transform into a massive armored form. What kind of strange Zoan is this?"
The reason Vice Admiral Tsuru was so sure it was a Zoan-type was that only Zoan users possessed such diverse powers.
"Well... Sasuke has never eaten a Devil Fruit," Naruto weakly raised his hand, drawing everyone's attention.
"You know Uchiha Sasuke?" Sengoku inquired, intrigued.
"Um..." Naruto looked a bit downcast.
"Sasuke used to be a ninja in our village, but he left."
"Ninja?" Sengoku's interest was piqued.
"Naruto, that Konoha Village you mentioned... is it part of Wano?"
Garp had filled Sengoku in on Naruto's origins, but the details were vague; he only knew Konoha's name without any specific context.
Sengoku hadn't thought too much about it until now.
But hearing the term "Ninja" today sparked a connection to Wano.
"How is this Wano connected to this?" Naruto asked, confused.
"I'm from the Fire Nation, not some Wano country."
Sengoku nodded thoughtfully, jotting down the name.
"Tell me more about Uchiha Sasuke."
Naruto scratched his head, and recalled that Colt hadn't prohibited him from discussing anything about Sasuke.
"Sasuke and I were in the same ninja class. After graduation..."
He provided a brief overview, explaining that Sasuke had once been his good friend who left the village in pursuit of strength.
Most importantly, he elaborated on Sasuke's abilities.
As for their origin from another world, Naruto was no fool; he knew better than to reveal everything.
Even Sengoku was shocked to learn that Sasuke's armored giant came from a bloodline power.
But it was possible. After all, there existed various races with inherited power from their race. Fishmen, Minks, and so on.
"Naruto, how could the Uchiha family be so powerful solely from their bloodline? Why have I never heard of them then?"
Logically, with such formidable abilities, the Marine should have documented it.
"Because he's the last of the Uchiha clan."
"And as for why he is so powerful... it's because the Uchiha family's power is inherited from the gods."