One day later.
The morning sun shone brightly, casting a golden glow across the endless expanse of the blue sea. On the shore of the small island he had now conquered, a medium-sized wooden raft sat firmly anchored, defying the waves. The raft was made of hardwood logs tightly bound with layers of tree fibers, while its wide sail was roughly sewn from a combination of giant bear and leopard hides.
Quentin Seven stood atop the raft, gazing at his handiwork with satisfaction. His appearance was now a far cry from that of a modern human. He wore a sleeveless cloak made of wild animal hide, revealing his perfectly sculpted biceps.
However, the most striking feature of his appearance was a fairly large sandbag securely strapped to his back. That bag was no ordinary sandbag. It was a direct modification by Shukaku, who used his sand manipulation and magnetic release abilities to compress the sand grains until they reached a weight of several tons. Seven used that load as a tool for extreme physical training during his activities.
In one corner of the raft, there was a large jar with a shape so smooth and symmetrical it far surpassed the capabilities of human craftsmanship. Of course, that was because the jar wasn't handmade by Seven.
"Hey, Seven! Watch out for that jar!" a shrill voice called out from over Seven's right shoulder. A small, single-tailed sand raccoon patted its potbelly haughtily. "That's the highest-density sand jar I made specifically with my chakra shield! The temperature inside will stay stable. The roasted meat and fresh water in there won't rot, let alone spill!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Your ability to manipulate sand is indeed useful, Shukaku," Seven replied casually, stretching his neck.
"Hmph. Of course it's useful—far more useful than this fire cat who only knows how to laze around!" Shukaku grumbled, shooting a scornful glance toward Seven's left shoulder.
On Seven's left shoulder, a small, translucent blue cat was coiled gracefully. Its two tails, made of blue flames, swayed gently in the sea breeze. Matatabi. The Two-Tailed Bijuu slowly opened her heterochromatic eyes—one yellow, one green—then yawned widely, completely unconcerned with the raccoon's taunts across from her.
"You're too noisy, Raccoon," Matatabi replied in an elegant, calm female voice. "Besides, thanks to the energy from that turtle fruit, I was able to wake up from my slumber. You should be grateful that I'm here to offer more refined advice than a raccoon who only knows how to eat."
Seven could only smile faintly at the argument between the two Bijuu on his shoulders. Over the past day, his progress had been truly unbelievable. The intense physical training combined with the weight of Shukaku's sand, along with direct guidance from the two Bijuu, had caused the energy flow within his body to surge rapidly.
Now, he could summon Weapon Haki in both his arms and legs in the blink of an eye. The metallic black color of his Haki flowed far more fluidly and densely compared to when he first awakened it.
Not only relying on this world's Haki, Seven had also managed to draw out a small portion of his original chakra. Yesterday afternoon, at Matatabi's challenge, Seven tried to perform hand seals to trigger the fire element.
He used the Katon: Gouka Mekkyaku technique.
Although its size didn't compare to the massive sea of fire Madara usually used to incinerate everything, Seven's burst of flame—the size of a large bonfire—possessed extraordinary heat.
In a single breath, half of the small forest on the island was completely incinerated, leaving behind blackened, still-smoldering earth that lingered until this morning. Matatabi even praised him, saying that for someone whose chakra hadn't fully recovered yet, the heat of Seven's fire was quite impressive.
"Alright, preparations are complete. Let's set off," said Seven. He pushed his raft away from the shallow reef, jumped aboard, then sat cross-legged at the front of the raft.
He tied a simple fishing line made of tree fibers to the tip of his wooden spear, cast his bait into the sea while letting the raft drift with the current away from the island.
The sun slowly rose higher. The ocean felt calm.
"Hooam…" Shukaku scratched his ear. "Hey, Seven. I want to ask one more time just to make sure you haven't hit your head. Are you really sure you want to join the Navy? To become a pet dog for those trashy nobles dressed like astronauts you told me about… it's truly nonsensical."
Matatabi, who had been closing his eyes, turned his head and looked at Seven's face. "This raccoon is right. Your strength, even though it's only just recovered a little, is already enough to travel anywhere."
Seven stared straight out at the vast blue horizon. His expression remained as calm as ever after pondering the matter for quite some time.
"I never said I'd become their pet or slave," Seven replied in a flat yet calculated tone. "My decision is based purely on efficiency. We need a lot of energy to fully restore my power and awaken the other seven Bijuu, right?"
The two Bijuu on his shoulders listened intently.
"First," Seven raised a finger. "The Navy has the largest military intelligence network across all the seas. We need that information. Second, by wearing their uniforms, at least we won't be constantly harassed or hunted by the workaholic Navy or bounty hunters. We can move freely."
He tugged on his fishing line slightly to make the bait move in the water. "And third… this is the most important part. The Navy and the World Government are the parties that have confiscated and stored the most Devil Fruits. Getting inside their system is the fastest way to access that treasure trove without having to search blindly from one island to another."
Hearing the very logical explanation, Matatabi snorted softly in agreement. "Brilliant thinking. I like it."
Shukaku snorted softly, crossing her tiny arms over her chest. "Hmph, makes sense. Exploit their system from the inside, and once we're all back on our feet, we'll flatten their headquarters to the ground!"
"And there's one more thing that's extremely urgent," Seven added, her voice turning slightly more serious.
The sea breeze ruffled her bangs. Slowly, the black in Seven's irises faded, replaced by a bright, fiery red. Within his pupils, two black tomoe appeared and spun in sync.
His Two-Tomoe Sharingan activated, instantly enhancing his vision and perceptual acuity down to the cellular level. He could see the slightest ripples in the water hundreds of meters away with crystal clarity.
"We need to confirm what era this is," Seven continued, still gazing at the horizon with his red eyes. "This world has a long history. Is the legendary pirate named Gol D. Roger still alive and ruling the seas? Or have we entered a new era where the Straw Hat Kid has just begun his voyage? Knowing exactly where we are in time will be crucial for our next steps."
"Whatever era it is, as long as you awaken Kurama and the others, we can destroy anyone at any time," Shukaku chuckled casually.
The three of them fell silent for several minutes, enjoying the sway of the waves and the midday sun's heat. The world felt so peaceful.
Until finally, Seven's Sharingan caught an anomaly. On the horizon's edge, a black dot slowly growing larger was captured by his superhuman vision.
The shadow took the shape of a wooden ship with three main masts. Through the sharpness of his Sharingan, Seven could see very clearly a large black cloth fluttering in the wind atop the tallest mast. On that black cloth was depicted a white skull with two crossed bones.
A pirate ship.
The corners of Seven's lips slowly turned upward, forming a dangerous curve of a smile.
On his right shoulder, Shukaku's nose sniffed the air greedily. The scent of sweat, blood, and murderous intent from the crowd of humans was clearly detected by his radar. Meanwhile, on his left shoulder, Matatabi's blue flame flared slightly brighter, sensing a target approaching.
The human and the two tailed beasts exchanged glances. Without needing to utter a single word, sly smiles and identical gazes spread across all three of their faces.
"Hey, Shukaku, Matatabi," Seven called softly. His eyes remained fixed on the pirate ship, which was oblivious to the disaster awaiting them. "In your opinion… what's the most important thing someone needs to join the Navy so they're immediately looked up to and given a good position?"
"Achievements," Matatabi replied softly.
"And an introductory gift of a pile of pirate heads!" Shukaku chimed in, ending with a shrill laugh.
Seven tossed his fishing rod handle into the sea without a second thought. He stood tall at the front of the raft. The tons of sandbags on his back didn't slow him down at all as he rotated his shoulders, making his bones creak softly as a warm-up. His right hand slowly began to turn black, coated in the glow of Armament Haki.
"Give this sail a little push, Shukaku. I'm getting bored of moving so slowly," Seven ordered.
"With pleasure!"
Shukaku leaped onto the raft's mast, took a deep breath until his potbelly swelled like a balloon, then unleashed a powerful whirlwind directly at the animal-hide sail.
WUUUSSHH! BOOOM!
The sound of a sonic boom shattered the silence of the sea. The wooden raft, which had been drifting slowly with the current, was suddenly jolted violently. The front of the raft was lifted into the air by the force of a powerful gust of wind.
In a matter of seconds, the simple raft sliced through the ocean and shot forward, cutting through the waves at breakneck speed like a jet-powered speedboat, streaking straight as an arrow toward the passing pirate ship.