"Sigh…"
Nami covered half her face with one hand, visibly unimpressed as she squinted in exasperation, shaking her head and letting out a long sigh.
I should've just let Brook handle this…
"Can I deal with them now?"
She asked, puffing her cheeks adorably, though clearly irritated.
"Yes! Of course! Haha… sorry to trouble you, Nami-san!"
Sabo's father immediately reverted to his usual sycophantic self, grinning and nodding repeatedly with flattery.
Nami ignored him completely. She'd seen this exact expression on his face every single time they met over the past two years.
Instead, she turned her attention to the subdued black gorilla, Naruto. With a flick of her arm, the magical pressure restraining him vanished. Naruto was free again.
The magic was invisible and intangible, no one could tell she had done anything. All they saw was Naruto suddenly gasp, sharply inhaling like something had knocked the wind out of him.
In his jet-black eyes, however, there was only pure fear.
He understood one thing:
Today, the Goa Kingdom… is going to change forever.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
Naruto's Story
Naruto wasn't originally from the Goa Kingdom.
Over a decade ago, he was born in the South Blue. Drawn by the Mental Power of the Pirate King, Roger, he joined the waves of the Great Pirate Era, chasing dreams of glory and treasure.
He gathered a crew of like-minded brothers and boldly sailed into the Grand Line in pursuit of their dreams.
But within just two years, reality struck him down hard.
The Grand Line was far more dangerous than he ever imagined. Unable to withstand it, Naruto and his crew barely managed to escape, thanks to sheer luck, and drifted into the East Blue.
After wandering for a while, they finally settled in the Goa Kingdom.
Here, Naruto's formidable strength caught the eye of the old king, who made him the official Guardian of the Kingdom.
He spent a few years living in luxury, feasts, drink, and indulgence, but he never forgot the monsters he encountered in the Grand Line.
And that's why… he knew better than to act tough now.
He didn't know who this orange-haired girl was, but the terrifying power that had frozen his body moments ago could've easily killed him ten times over.
Thud!
Naruto suddenly dropped to his knees and transformed back into his burly human form. Without hesitation, he slammed his head against the floor and burst into tears like a man fully prepared to beg for his life.
"Please, ma'am! Have mercy!!"
"I'm just a nobody who got lucky and ate a Devil Fruit!"
"I've just been staying here in the palace, I have nothing to do with those nobles!!"
"I was just hired muscle, that's all!"
"I've never hurt anyone! I swear!!"
"Please don't kill me, I'm begging you!!"
Naruto sobbed uncontrollably, snot and tears flying as he kowtowed on the marble floor.
A wise man adapts to the times.
And when your life's on the line, dignity doesn't mean a damn thing.
The nobles, including the old king, were stunned speechless.
This was their last line of defense, the fearsome protector they had relied on. And now…
If even he's reduced to this… aren't we all doomed?!
─────────🏴☠️─────────
"Haa~"
Nami yawned again, utterly unmoved by Naruto's cries. She had seen countless people like him over the years.
They always said they hadn't done anything wrong. But people who held positions of power, who lived in places like this, there was no way their hands were clean.
With a delicate lift of her hand, Nami raised a single finger.
A surge of magic rushed in from the open sky outside the palace, converging at her fingertip.
Within moments, a spinning sphere of compressed wind energy formed at her finger.
The ball contained a staggering amount of elemental power. It spun at high speed under her precise control, tightly compressed with zero leakage, yet its devastating potential was obvious.
This was a technique Luffy had taught her, something called "Rasengan."
But Nami thought the original name sounded silly, so she renamed it herself—Whirling Gale Orb.
Her slender arm moved smoothly as she lightly tossed the orb toward the old king and the nobles.
The sphere looked small and harmless, like it weighed nothing. It floated slowly through the air.
But in the blink of an eye, it had arrived at the center of the group.
Zzzzz!!
The wind orb landed on the floor and began spinning violently in place, emitting a shrill screech as it ground against the marble.
The nobles watched, confused, thinking it might be some kind of trick or bluff.
Then everything changed.
The orb suddenly accelerated, spinning with explosive force. The surrounding air compressed rapidly, forming a vacuum. Several ordinary people standing nearby were sucked inward like rag dolls.
BOOM!!!!!!
Like a storm bursting through the calm, the orb detonated in a roar of howling wind.
The pressure wave ripped through the hall, forming a vortex of raw elemental force.
Blood and flesh flew in every direction. Debris shot through the air. Dust exploded skyward, obscuring the entire scene, only three people were left able to see anything.
─────────🏴☠️─────────
"Cough, cough…"
Sabo's father hacked violently, spitting out bits of rubble. His body was smeared in red.
Some of the blood was his, cuts from flying debris. The rest…
Belonging to the king and nobles who had been crushed into paste under the massive pressure.
"Whew… Still a bit unstable."
Nami deactivated her wind shield with a soft sigh. She looked at the crater of gore left behind, and frowned slightly in disgust.
"I really shouldn't use that move on weaklings anymore…"
Then she turned her gaze back to Naruto.
She lifted her hand again, and another swirling orb of wind began forming.
Naruto, meanwhile, had completely shut down.
He had witnessed the devastating power of the last attack. All hope had drained from his eyes. He stared blankly at the carnage in the crater, his Mental Power shattered.
This is the end…
The Whirling Gale Orb was nearly complete in Nami's hand when,
"Wait! Nami-san!"
Sabo's father suddenly stepped forward, interrupting her.
Nami turned to him, puzzled. The orb froze in place, hanging in the air but not yet released.
"Nami-san… I was thinking… maybe we could spare his life."
"He might actually be useful, to help rebuild and liberate the country alongside the people."
Pop,
Nami's orb dissolved with a small gust of wind. She looked at Sabo's father with clear annoyance.
She hated when people spoke in such roundabout, political ways. It made her feel like she was the one lacking in education.
"N-Nami-san, please don't be upset!"
Seeing her irritation, Sabo's father quickly added:
"He only worked with the royal family. We can win him over to our side and use his strength to support our new government."
"That way, we'd gain another powerful ally."
"After all… we can't expect you and Luffy-san to handle everything for us forever…"
"Don't you agree?"
"Tch."
Nami rolled her eyes.
So it's about consolidating your own power, huh? All this talk about 'rebuilding together' is just window dressing.
You know Luffy and I are leaving eventually. Don't act like you don't.
"Fine. You handle it."
With that, Nami gave a parting wave. A strong gust of wind kicked up as she lightly stepped into the air. Using a technique similar to Geppo, she rode the wind and vanished into the sky, cute, graceful, and gone in an instant.
She left behind only two people:
A frightened Naruto…
And Sabo's father, a completely ordinary man.
"Uh… hehe…"
Sabo's father chuckled awkwardly. He hadn't expected Nami to just leave like that.
He exhaled slowly, then cautiously stepped toward Naruto.
"Comrade… are you alright?"
"Huh…?"
Naruto looked up at him, dazed and confused. Slowly, the terror in his eyes began to fade.
"W-What are you people trying to do?!"
Even though he had regained his senses, the once-feared warrior now looked like a bullied child. He tried to stand up but stumbled back in fear.
"It's alright, comrade! We won't hurt you!"
Seeing that Naruto wasn't resisting, Sabo's father relaxed and even perked up.
This was his favorite kind of person to deal with, someone lost and broken, perfect for re-education.
He rolled up his sleeves, ready to get to work.
A revolution doesn't build itself!
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