"What exactly happened?" Kurama slowly opened his eyes, looked around, and finally fixed his gaze on El.
Kurama had always believed himself invincible in the Naruto world, for the Sage of Six Paths had divided his chakra into ninety-two parts.
But unexpectedly, he had encountered the legendary ninja — Hashirama Senju.
That man claimed Kurama was too powerful and used Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands to suppress him effortlessly.
So the Nine-Tails endured it.
Yet later, he met Madara Uchiha.
With just a single glance, Madara completely controlled him — treating him like a mere pet.
After that, Obito Uchiha sealed him away once more.
And so, the once-proud spirit of the Nine-Tails was crushed.
...
Back to the present — the fact that Kurama could be sealed and treated like a pet wasn't because he was weak,
but because those people were simply too monstrous.
"Nice to meet you, Kurama. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll probably be together for a long time," El greeted him calmly.
"Do you wish to fight using my power?" Kurama asked, his sharp gaze fixed on El.
For some reason, Kurama felt that this boy was different from others —
he had an oddly approachable aura.
However, what Kurama didn't know was that from the moment he was born in this world,
he had already been completely loyal to El.
"No, I just came to see you," El replied with a shrug.
"..."
Kurama didn't respond. He simply closed his eyes, lay down on the ground, and went back to sleep.
El didn't disturb him further. Instead, he transferred all the treasure from the pirate ship into Kurama's mental space.
"Are all these things for me?" Kurama asked lazily, cracking one eye open.
"No, I just moved them here so you could look at them."
Rather than leaving the treasure on the ship — where it would be cumbersome and inconvenient —
El figured it was better to store it here, in Kurama's spiritual domain,
so he could access it anytime, anywhere.
"You brat…" Kurama muttered.
"Alright, nothing else. Go back to sleep."
Leaving those words behind, El exited Kurama's mental space, returning to his body in the cabin.
After glancing around and confirming there was nothing else of value, he went up to the deck.
"Where should I go next to find more Devil Fruits?" El mused, resting his chin on his hand.
Devil Fruits were incredibly difficult to come by.
Even though he had managed to find one, it had taken him an entire year.
If he only found one fruit per year, it would take at least eight years to fully unlock Kurama's power.
That was far too long!
Throughout that year, El had fought alone, searching tirelessly for a single Devil Fruit.
Now, he was considering forming a pirate crew — or perhaps joining one.
But creating his own crew was difficult.
At present, most powerful individuals at sea had already established their own crews or joined major ones like the Rocks Pirates.
Even if El managed to recruit strong allies, there was no guarantee they wouldn't betray him.
After all, human hearts are unpredictable.
Since founding his own crew seemed impossible for now, there was only one option left —
to join a powerful pirate crew.
That way, he could encounter stronger opponents, hasten the growth of his immortal body,
and increase his chances of finding more Devil Fruits.
"Which pirate crew should I join?" El wondered aloud, deep in thought.
"Splash!!!"
Just as El was deep in thought, the sound of turbulent ocean currents echoed from the sea not far away.
A massive ship, resembling a sea behemoth, slowly emerged into El's view.
Having lived in this new era for a year, he had seen that ship countless times in the newspapers.
"The Rocks Pirates!!!"
Indeed, what appeared before him was not just any vessel — it was the flagship of the Rocks Pirates, the crew destined to rule the seas!
As El noticed the Rocks Pirates' ship, everyone aboard that colossal vessel naturally noticed him as well.
At the bow stood a blond man with a cigar clamped between his teeth, arms crossed confidently over his chest.
He was none other than the Golden Lion Shiki — one of the future legends of the Grand Line and now a core executive of the Rocks Pirates.
He stared intently at the ship before him.
"Oh? I remember this ship… It belongs to the Anos Pirates. Their captain had a bounty of three hundred million Berries."
After glancing at the sail, Shiki's eyes fixed sharply on El, who stood alone on the deck.
"Interesting. Don't tell me this kid wiped out that entire crew by himself?"
Beside him stood a tall, broad man with a bare chest and a crescent-shaped white beard, radiating the aura of a roaring beast.
He was none other than Edward Newgate — Whitebeard!
"Gurararara! Did that brat really take down a pirate crew worth three hundred million all on his own?" Whitebeard laughed heartily.
"Tch. So what? It's just a small-time crew with a three-hundred-million bounty. I could crush them easily," said a man clad in full armor, a giant axe slung casually over his shoulder.
He was Silver Axe, another senior member of the Rocks Pirates — a powerhouse whose strength ranked just below monsters like Whitebeard and Shiki.
"No, Silver Axe," a woman's playful voice chimed in, "he looks much younger than you. Could you have done something like that at his age?"
A tall, graceful woman with a slender figure and elegant curves stood at the bow, watching El with curious eyes.
She was none other than Charlotte Linlin in her youth — a stunning beauty who, in the future, would become the fearsome Big Mom.
Linlin eyed El closely. He looked no older than seventeen or eighteen. To single-handedly annihilate a crew led by a captain with a three-hundred-million bounty… that wasn't something just anyone could do.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
As they spoke, a towering man exuding a terrifying, oppressive aura stepped forward.
The deck seemed to fall silent. Even Whitebeard, Shiki, and Linlin instinctively made way for him.
He was none other than Rocks D. Xebec, captain of the Rocks Pirates — the man who would one day be known as the overlord of the seas, the tyrant of an era.
"Hmph… just a little brat?" Rocks said with a menacing grin, his eyes locking onto El standing alone on the pirate ship below.
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