A battle between new-generation pirates and the other world Ninjas was prematurely halted by a single voice before it could truly escalate.
Urouge, who had been thrown aside earlier in the melee, was now walking in front of the man who had stilled the battlefield.
But his attitude was remarkably friendly… even somewhat humble.
The reason was simple: Urouge had recognized Naruto's identity.
Among the Worst Generation, he was one of the more well-informed.
Most others, like Kid and Bege, only knew the names of the Four Emperors but remained clueless about their true power.
Without having experienced a beating from the veteran great pirates, they naturally had the audacity to be arrogant.
Just like now.
"Hah? And what are you supposed to be?!"
Kid was already furious about being completely suppressed by that unknown black-haired kid, and now another random guy showed up.
This guy's stubbornness was no less than Jack the Drought's.
After realizing that he had actually stopped moving because of Naruto's words, Kid felt a surge of shame and anger.
'One after another, why do they all love to jump in front of me, Captain Kid!'
Thinking this, Kid decisively increased the magnetic force in his hands, doubling the range of attraction. More metal objects converged from the sky towards him.
Not having undergone the two years of tempering in the New World, Kid was still unaware of the gap between himself and true powerhouses. Similarly, he hadn't deeply developed his abilities.
Magnetism, like gravity, is one of the four fundamental forces… a primordial power.
Its upper limit is only related to the depth and breadth of the user's knowledge, and one could say his future potential was limitless.
If Kid really underwent training under Dr. Vegapunk, he might truly become a 'Budget Magneto'.
Of course, for now, Kid could only use his magnetism for simple applications.
For example, haphazardly combining the attracted metal into a dozens-of-meters-tall, ferocious humanoid form.
"Magnetic Demon!"
Lacking relevant knowledge, the Magnetic Demon Kid currently manifested was merely a giant metal man made of scrap iron.
"Who the hell do you think you're looking down on?! Die, you bastard!!"
Kid manipulated the imposing metal giant to clench its fist and smash down towards everyone below.
Bege and Drake wore gloomy expressions, already preparing to unleash their own trump cards against Kid.
This guy's berserk form was even larger than [Big Father] or the dinosaur form of an Allosaurus.
'Damn it, is this guy really only in his twenties?'
The two, one in his thirties and the other in his forties, who were grouped with Kid as Supernovas, were also at a loss.
It wasn't that they feared Kid's attack.
A fist at that speed… even if they couldn't withstand it, escaping was still possible.
But if they really ran, their subordinates and the surrounding crowd would suffer.
Both understood in their hearts: they couldn't let this blow land.
"Hey, don't just stand there watching!"
Drake shouted towards Sasuke, who had already stopped fighting, but only received a light laugh in response.
"That won't be necessary."
Not only Sasuke, Karin, and the others… but even Urouge, who had led them here, showed not a hint of tension on their faces.
Because, at some point, the man who had been standing on the ground had already arrived in front of Kid.
"Quite the temper, kid."
Naruto looked at Kid, whose eyes showed disbelief.
'Arrogance born from inflated power?'
"Drink more loofah soup when you have time."
This was a folk remedy he had learned in the Flower Country.
After hearing the man in the yellow haori say this incomprehensible sentence, Kid saw him reach out a hand towards him.
'No time to block!'
'In that case, let's perish together!'
A fierce light flashed in Kid's eyes. Unable to react to Naruto's point-blank attack, he simply made the entire Magnetic Demon plummet downwards.
You could also interpret this attack as Kid's attempt at 'relieving the besieged by besieging the base of the besiegers'.
Unfortunately, none of this had any effect on Naruto.
A black sphere, its edges shimmering with a faint light, appeared in front of his palm. Different from the Truth-Seeking Balls, this small black sphere's diameter wasn't even as large as an egg's.
[Chibaku Tensei - Miniature Version]
After obtaining Kaguya's power, Naruto was capable of this too.
Through precise calculation, the gravitational range of this Chibaku Tensei's sphere was limited to covering only the Magnetic Demon, not affecting the crowd below.
Next, everyone present witnessed the awe-inspiring scene together.
The giant iron golem, which had been falling moments earlier as if to destroy the entire block, now rapidly 'collapsed' towards the black sphere Naruto had thrown.
No matter how Kid tried to control them, the metal objects couldn't break free from the Chibaku Tensei's gravitational pull.
The giant, standing dozens of meters tall, was compressed into a solid iron ball with a diameter of less than ten meters.
However, its density had long surpassed that of ordinary metal constructs.
"Impossible... How could this be?!"
Kid couldn't believe that the metal within his control range had slipped from his grasp.
Roaring, he prepared to attack Naruto again, but Naruto's large hand precisely pressed down on his head.
"Calm down for a while, brat."
As Naruto spoke these words, an intangible Haki naturally emanated from him.
It was like the gaze of an indescribable leviathan from the deep sea. Within the range covered by this aura, apart from the few individuals Naruto intentionally spared, almost everyone fell unconscious due to the overwhelming intimidation.
And Kid, being the primary target, naturally needed no further explanation.
Although this kid also possessed the [Qualities of a King], he was still just a rookie who hadn't yet stepped onto the ladder of the Sea Conquerors.
Faced with this level of Conqueror's Haki, he couldn't even maintain consciousness for an extra second.
"Ah... Still didn't quite control the intensity."
The regret on Naruto's face wasn't feigned.
Ever since his Conqueror's Haki had 'evolved' last time, its potency had increased significantly.
This made it difficult for Naruto to control its output precisely.
Therefore, even though Naruto had intended to spare them, Drake, Urouge, and the others on the ground were still wide-eyed, tongues-tied, and paralyzed, unable to move.
Whoosh-
At that moment, the iron ball nearby made a sound from friction with the air, reminding Naruto.
"...Almost forgot about you."
He placed his other hand on the solid iron ball.
[Ultralight-Weight Rock Technique]
Thus, this metal ball of unknown weight was easily lifted by Naruto.
He looked left and right but couldn't find a suitable place to store this high-density metal sphere.
The ground of Sabaody Archipelago was actually the roots of the Yarukiman Mangrove trees, so its density wasn't as great as one might think.
If this metal ball landed on it, it would likely crush a hole in the ground, possibly even pierce right through.
After a moment's thought, Naruto simply opened his mouth wide and, under the gaze of those still conscious below, swallowed the metal ball in one gulp.
'Might as well provide sufficient material for the Baku Baku Factory.'
As for the losses caused by the missing metal objects and this battle-
"I'll hand this guy over to you. Turning him in to the Marines should fetch some bounty money, right?"
Naruto tossed Kid to Drake, then spoke these words to the other man, who showed an uneasy expression.
"Use that bounty money to cover the damages here."
Sweat beaded on Drake's forehead.
'Why was he giving this guy to me to claim the bounty? Does Uzumaki Naruto not know I'm also a 'pirate'?'
'Or does he already know my identity?'
The reality wasn't as complicated as Drake imagined. In Naruto's perception, only Drake, Urouge, and Bege had shown protective intentions towards the innocent crowd, and among them, Drake's emotional fluctuations were the strongest.
"Alright, enough playing around. Time to set off."
With Naruto's command, Sasuke and the other two promptly put away their battle stances and returned to Naruto's side.
Thank goodness for convenient tools like storage scrolls, otherwise, there'd be no place to put all the supplies they had bought.
Just like that, under the watchful eyes of the three remaining conscious Supernovas, the group departed, leaving the three of them staring at each other.
"...So that's the [Great Hero]?"
Capone Bege swallowed hard, his throat feeling dry.
His idol was one of the Four Emperors, [Whitebeard], so he had always been resentful of the rumors that the [Great Hero] had fought evenly with the world's strongest man.
In his view, how could any young man fight Whitebeard to a standstill?
Especially someone as young as, or even younger than himself, Uzumaki Naruto.
Today, he believed.
Drake silently began cleaning up the battlefield, gathering his subordinates together.
Urouge looked in the direction Naruto and the others had left, took the prayer beads hanging from his neck, and fiddled with them a few times.
"Tch... What do you think he came to the first half of the Grand Line for?"
'What for?'
'What else could it be?'
Simultaneously, the three of them recalled Naruto's rumored identity as a 'former crew member of Roger Pirates', combined with the recent uproar over the execution of [Fire Fist] Ace.
"Things are about to get lively."
Bege took a new cigar from his pocket, and his still-trembling hand took several attempts to light the lighter.
And so, a conflict among the Supernovas ended in an anticlimactic manner.