Naruto: In Konoha Village, I awakened Wood Release at the start.

The Kingdom of Orte.

dungeon.

Specially made sealing chains were wrapped around everyone's limbs.

The naval high command lay listlessly in the darkness.

Karp sat cross-legged on the haystack.

He closed his eyes and snored loudly, seemingly completely unconcerned about his current situation.

Kizaru leaned against the corner of the wall, idly trimming his nails.

Aokiji pulled down his blindfold, exuding a sense of nonchalant decadence.

Akainu's chest heaved violently.

He stared intently at the iron bars outside the cell, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.

If it weren't for the sealing talisman suppressing the power of the Magma Fruit, he would have melted through this wretched place long ago.

In another cell.

"We're all trapped here."

"The Grand Line must be in complete chaos right now."

Momousagi sighed.

Without the deterrent power of the navy's highest combat force.

The monsters of the New World, and the swarms of pirates across the seas, will absolutely be driven to utter madness.

Karp's snoring stopped for a moment.

He turned over and continued to pretend to be asleep.

The three generals each had their own thoughts, and none of them responded.

They all knew very well that no matter how much they worried, it would be of no use.

The power of the sealing talisman is too strange.

That energy, which belonged neither to Devil Fruits nor to Haki, completely locked down their source of power.

"Let me out!"

"I want to eat meat!"

A deafening commotion erupted from the cell at the other end of the corridor.

Luffy was gripping the iron railing with both hands and shaking it desperately.

"Shut up, Luffy, save your energy."

Ace looked helpless and reached out to cover Luffy's mouth.

in the corner.

Zoro held his three swords and remained silent.

He kept replaying the scene of his instant defeat in his mind, trying to figure out a way to break the spell.

Just then.

The heavy iron door at the end of the dungeon made a teeth-grinding scraping sound.

Kakashi, accompanied by a group of ANBU members wearing animal masks, appeared silently in the corridor.

No nonsense.

The members of the Dark Guard acted swiftly, stepping forward to unlock the chains connecting to the wall, but still retaining the sealing talisman that suppressed the power.

Kakashi's single eye swept over the crowd.

"Let's go."

"His Majesty wishes to see you."

The naval personnel looked at each other in bewilderment.

Akainu snorted coldly and took the first step.

He wanted to see what tricks that man who called himself the ruler of the empire was up to.

The group walked through the long corridors and entered the magnificent palace hall.

The dome of the main hall is extremely high.

Chiba sat high on the throne, resting his chin on one hand, looking down at the group of powerful figures renowned throughout the sea.

The group had just stood still.

Luffy suddenly broke free from Ace's grasp.

He took a step forward, pointed at Chiba on the throne, and roared at the top of his lungs.

"I don't care what empire you're the emperor of!"

"I am Monkey D. Luffy, the man who will become the Pirate King!"

The crisp sound echoed continuously within the main hall.

Garp's face darkened.

Ace was sweating profusely and tried to pull Luffy back.

Akainu was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged.

At a time like this, this idiot brat is still spouting nonsense!

Chiba was not angry.

He didn't even change his posture.

next second.

An indescribable, terrifying pressure descended with a deafening roar, as if the heavens were collapsing!

This is not Conqueror's Haki.

It was a pure, overwhelming crushing defeat of beings at the sixth level of the spiritual realm!

boom!

The air inside the hall instantly became as viscous as mercury.

Gravity seemed to increase hundreds or thousands of times at that moment.

Luffy was the first to be hit, letting out a scream as he was slammed onto the hard marble floor.

His cheeks were pressed tightly against the ground, and no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't move even a finger.

Garp, Akainu, and the others also had their legs trembling violently, their bones making cracking sounds as they couldn't bear the weight.

It lasted for less than two seconds.

These powerful figures who stood atop the sea all knelt down, forced to prostrate themselves beneath Chiba's throne.

"What did you just say you wanted to be?"

Chiba looked down at Luffy, who was lying on the ground like a gecko.

His voice wasn't loud, but it resonated like thunder in everyone's minds.

Luffy opened his mouth.

The air in his lungs was completely squeezed out, and he couldn't utter a single syllable.

Garp and Ace were furious, desperately trying to unleash their Haki, but it was like throwing mud into the sea—they had no effect whatsoever.

Chiba's eyelids drooped slightly.

Those six-tomoe Rinnegan eyes glowed with an eerie red light.

"Since you want to be the Pirate King..."

"Then let me see what kind of pirates you really think they are."

hum!

The invisible power of the eyes spread instantly, forcibly pulling everyone in the hall into an illusion.

The world spun around.

The scene before everyone's eyes suddenly changed.

It was no longer a magnificent palace, but an island town ablaze with flames.

The pirates' maniacal laughter, the civilians' screams, and their desperate cries intertwined to form a dirge from hell.

Luffy discovered that he could move again.

He stood there, stunned, in the middle of the burning street.

Not far away.

A burly pirate with a face full of scars was wielding a blood-stained cleaver, cleaving open an unarmed old man.

Blood splattered and landed on Luffy's straw hat.

It was warm, with a nauseating, fishy smell.

the other side.

Several pirates dragged a group of women out of the cellar and, amidst their desperate pleas, tore their clothes to shreds.

The baby's cries had barely begun when they were cruelly crushed by a rough, large foot.

The gold coins were packed into sacks.

The house was burned to the ground.

The pirates trampled over the corpses, raised barrels of wine, and celebrated their freedom and wealth.

"No!"

"This isn't pirates!"

Luffy screamed in despair.

He tried to rush forward to stop them, but his body passed right through the phantoms.

The faces of the naval personnel were also terribly gloomy.

They were all too familiar with these images.

This is a true reflection of what unfolds every day on the Grand Line and across the seas.

Akainu gritted his teeth.

His anger was burning fiercely, and his hatred for pirates was growing ever stronger.

The scene changes.

The illusion dissipated.

The group returned to the cold, empty hall.

Chiba withdrew that suffocating pressure.

Luffy was panting heavily, his body drenched in cold sweat, and his eyes were filled with unbearable fear.

"Now, answer me."

Chiba leaned back in his chair, his voice cool and detached.

"Do you still want to be the Pirate King?"

The main hall was deathly silent.

All eyes were on the boy wearing the straw hat.

Luffy bit his lip hard, and a trickle of blood escaped.

"Pirates..."

"There are good people who yearn for freedom even among pirates!"

"Just like Shanks!"

"He never kills indiscriminately; he simply enjoys the freedom of adventure at sea!"

Upon hearing this name...

Garp's face stiffened.

Chiba suddenly burst out laughing.

The laughter was filled with undisguised mockery.

"Shanks?"

"The free-spirited adventurer you imagine?"

"Monkey D. Luffy".

"Your naiveté is laughably stupid."

"Who do you think Shanks is?"

"He is of the Figarand family bloodline, a genuine descendant of the Celestial Dragons!"

Chiba stood up and walked down the steps one by one.

He stopped in front of Luffy, looking down at him.

This statement came out.

Garp suddenly looked up, his face filled with horror.

Akainu, Aokiji, Kizaru, and others also experienced pupil dilation.

Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, is actually a Celestial Dragon?

"That's impossible!"

"Shanks isn't that kind of trash wearing a bubble cap!"

Luffy shook his head vigorously and retorted loudly.

Chiba ignored Luffy's breakdown.

He turned around and glanced at the high-ranking naval officers present.

"Shanks is a figure tacitly approved by the World Government's top brass."

"He maintained the balance of the new world and could even freely enter and leave Mary Geoise."

"Do you really think a Celestial Dragon would be so kind to the grandson of a Marine Vice Admiral in a remote village in the East Blue for no reason?"

"Even losing an arm to save you?"

"..."