"AAAHHH!!"
"Help! Don't leave me—!"
"W-What the hell!? Where did that bomb come from!?"
"My leg! My leg's gone—someone help me!!"
The tavern had descended into chaos.
Dozens of kunai, each affixed with explosive tags, had detonated with a power comparable to artillery shells.
And worse yet, the blasts had gone off right in the pirates' faces.
In mere seconds, a swathe of pirates was wiped out.
Smoke, ash, and flame filled the room. Visibility dropped to zero.
Every member of the Leopard Cat Pirates was screaming—many had lost limbs, bleeding out on the charred wooden floor.
The others—though not as gravely injured—were thrown into confusion by the explosion's deafening shockwaves.
"Robin! Are you alright!?"
At the tavern's entrance, Naruto turned to the dark-skinned girl at his side.
Right before the explosion, he had warped them both to the doorway, narrowly dodging the blast's shockwave.
Robin's face was pale, but her eyes sparkled with adrenaline as she shook her head.
"I'm fine, Naruto-kun. Those pirates were evil… maybe now they'll think twice about raiding villages."
"Hmm… not necessarily."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
Pirates in this world were reckless and cruel, the kind who valued money over their lives.
Sure, he'd taught them a lesson—but once they left this island, what were the chances they'd go right back to pillaging?
As he pondered, the surviving pirates inside finally regained their senses and stumbled toward the exit.
That was when Naruto made up his mind.
He looked at the pirates rushing him and calmly formed a hand seal, muttering to himself:
"Guess I'll just kill them all."
"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)
Dozens of Naruto clones popped into existence.
Each one looked at him resentfully while charging toward the fleeing pirates—every one of them carrying explosive tags.
"Seriously, using us as walking bombs again…"
"When we dispel, he's gonna be in so much pain…"
"This is abuse…"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!
Another thunderous barrage shook the island.
The tavern—already crumbling—couldn't withstand the impact.
Its support beams snapped, and the entire building collapsed in a massive crash.
Flames spread. Smoke thickened. The sky above the street was shrouded in black.
Bystanders stood frozen in shock, and then—panic.
They fled, screaming, terrified the next explosion might catch them too.
Within moments, the entire street had emptied.
Only the sound of falling debris and crackling fire remained.
Nearly half an hour later, the flames had finally died down.
But the interior of the tavern was charred beyond recognition.
The one-eyed barkeep stood outside his former establishment, staring at the rubble like a man who'd just lost everything.
Anger built in his chest—but when he glanced over and saw the golden-haired boy standing among the corpses of dozens of pirates, that fury turned to dread.
Because lying at the boy's feet were bodies—limbs missing, blood staining the earth red.
The few surviving pirates had collapsed to their knees, trembling.
They had been utterly broken by the sight of dozens of Naruto clones charging at them—only to explode like bombs.
Each one was like a walking shell. One exploded—ten pirates died.
They had watched their comrades turned to ash and entrails.
He was no boy.
He was a devil.
And that fear, that pure primal terror, was etched into the one-eyed barkeep's heart.
"Ugh… so much pain…"
Naruto rubbed his temple, his vision spinning.
His entire body throbbed with pain.
The pain and stress from dozens of clones dying in explosions had come crashing back to him like a tsunami.
If not for his strengthened physique, he would've passed out from the feedback alone.
Crack…
The barkeep accidentally stepped on a shard of glass.
Naruto, mid-headache, turned sharply—his eyes dark and bloodshot from pain.
The barkeep flinched, legs buckling.
That look…
Savage. Cold. Inhuman. The vertical pupils made him look like a predator—staring at its prey.
"You," Naruto said softly.
The barkeep jolted like lightning had struck him. He quickly forced a smile, bowing low.
"Y-Y-Yes, boss—no! My lord! How can I serve you!?"
He nearly blurted out "kid," but stopped himself just in time.
This wasn't a kid. This was the Grim Reaper.
Naruto chuckled, not caring about the man's fear. He pointed to the surrounding pirates and said casually:
"You own a tavern here, right? I'm sure you know who's who. Go tally their bounties."
Relieved that he wasn't going to die, the barkeep scurried off to count the bodies.
A few minutes later, he returned, his voice dry:
"M-My lord… the total bounty is approximately sixty-five million Beli…"
"That's it?" Naruto frowned, clearly dissatisfied.
He'd killed over forty pirates and captured another thirty, yet their bounties didn't even crack a hundred million.
The barkeep began trembling again. "I-I swear I didn't miscount! That's really all they're worth!"
"It's not your fault…"
Naruto waved a hand.
He had forgotten that bounties in the second half of the Grand Line started in the hundreds of millions.
This was the West Blue. The pirates here were small fry in comparison.
"How much is this little tavern worth?" Naruto asked suddenly.
The barkeep blinked in confusion before answering cautiously:
"A-Around five million Beli… give or take…"
Naruto nodded.
"Alright. Take the bodies to the nearest Marine base. You can keep ten million."
The barkeep's eye widened. He hadn't expected this terrifying golden-haired demon to pay him.
Was this really the same kid who had just massacred half the island's criminal population?
"And don't try anything funny," Naruto said coldly. "Or you'll die."
The barkeep frantically nodded.
A short while later, Naruto was holding a black suitcase in hand.
With Robin at his side, he returned to the market street as if nothing had happened.
He approached the vendor with a grin.
"Boss! I'll take all your pineapple meat!"
(End of Chapter)
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