Author's Notes
Well, apparently light and hurricanes don't get along…Who would've guessed?(Yes, I'm being sarcastic.)
I've had power outages all damn afternoon, and I'm seriously starting to consider buying a generator until this hurricane passes.
Anyway, let's get on with the next chapter of this story—and with some luck, this week I'll finally start my reading marathon, because I've got a lot piled up.
Chapter 7: Taking the Next Step
Not long after, and following several more discussions, Naruto finally left the conference hall and returned to his castle, where he let himself fall onto the couch in his sitting room, wishing he didn't have to deal with such a group of incompetents.
Still, he chose not to dwell on it and simply picked up one of the books he'd brought from the other world. He began to read about a topic he found absolutely fascinating—science fiction.And given what he knew about Vegapunk, he was certain the scientist could build Iron Man-style armor without much trouble. If he hadn't been so engrossed in reading, he might've proposed the idea in the previous meeting.
Soon enough, as usual whenever he tried to relax, Gunko appeared out of nowhere behind him and dropped into the seat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.
True, they irritated each other constantly and tended to trade insults on a near-daily basis, but at the end of the day they were friends—and close enough for gestures like that. And, if she were being completely honest, they both knew they wouldn't have a real break for months.
"I heard someone bought three Kuja at the slave market,"Gunko remarked casually, because it really wasn't unusual news.
Still, she was mildly concerned; she'd also heard that one of them was to be given the Mero Mero no Mi. And considering how stunning some of those women could be… let's just say she didn't think it was a particularly bright idea, even by the abysmal standards of the dumber Celestial Dragons.
"How interesting,"Naruto replied, showing not the slightest hint of interest.
He still had to find a way to free the slaves without sparking a tantrum from the pampered idiots who called themselves gods. And honestly, since Amazon Lily had little to no involvement with the World Government, the Kuja didn't concern him much at the moment.
"But I assume they're going to do something stupid."
"They plan to give her the Mero Mero Fruit,"Gunko confirmed.
Naruto grunted and let out a deep sigh.Yes—the Celestial Dragons were idiots. They usually were, but this… this was easily the stupidest thing he'd heard in weeks.
"We'll keep an eye on it," he said finally, "but for now we've got bigger problems."
"The Fish-Man and mermaid slaves,"Gunko confirmed.
Given what was planned regarding the ancient weapon Poseidon, they would certainly need to find a way to provide proper medical and psychological treatment to the mermaid slaves who had arrived in the Holy Land over the past few years.
After that, silence settled between them.She simply let her eyes rest for a moment while he kept reading the book in his hands—a scene that, if Shamrock had been there, would no doubt have served as perfect material for endless teasing and blackmail… mostly teasing, though the latter would always remain an option.
"Hey… how exactly are we supposed to win over those fish?"Gunko finally asked after a while."I mean, they're under Newgate's protection."
Naruto sighed, closed his book, and slung an arm around her shoulders.
"I've got a few plans. The most important thing is getting the royal family on our side. I've heard the mermaid princess dreams of the Fish-Men living under the light of the sun instead of the depths of the sea. But, you know, there's that little problem of them believing they're superior to humans and all that,"Naruto explained.
He was going to be brutally honest—he wished Imu had been just a little less impatient, had given him more time to fix the problems plaguing their world before throwing him headfirst into this grand conquest scheme.
"You could marry the mermaid princess. I heard she's about your age,"Gunko suggested matter-of-factly.
It wouldn't be the first—or the last—time a Celestial Dragon married someone "from below."Of course, she knew Naruto wouldn't act like his peers: in more than one sense, he was different. His marriage would likely be a genuine one, and his future wife—or one of several, realistically—would be treated with the same respect he demanded for himself.
And if that guaranteed keeping her own head on her shoulders—and, more importantly, advancing her recent goal of becoming a goddess through the dragon god's blessing—she could live with it.
"I suppose that's an option,"admitted Naruto, who honestly hadn't considered it.
He'd been so busy trying to clean up the World Government's political mess that he hadn't even had the sense to think of something as simple as a political marriage with Fish-Man Island.
Of course, he'd have to find a way to shrink his future bride, if it ever came to that… after all, he'd heard the princess stood over twelve meters tall.
Well—just another thing to leave to Vegapunk.
"Anyway, it's been a long day. I'm going to bed," Naruto said, standing up—too tired to even joke with Gunko about accompanying him.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed—used to prepare for the journey to the New World.
XXXXX
It was time Naruto had practically demanded, not only to ensure everyone was mentally prepared for what lay beyond the Gate of Heaven, but also to give himself a well-deserved break and release the stress that had built up since this whole mess began.
And speaking of that, the red-haired young man was now calmly waiting for his two favorite maids to finish dressing him.This time, not in an elegant or ostentatious outfit—certainly not in that ridiculous suit with a glass bubble over his head to keep him from "breathing the same air as normal people."
When the two beautiful attendants were done, he simply stepped down from the stool and headed toward his sitting room, where Gunko was already waiting.
They had agreed that, while she—being one of the Kami no Kishidan—could not legally be acknowledged, she was still a Celestial Dragon.And, well… she basically wanted to go because, without her watching his back, Naruto would almost certainly get himself into serious trouble.
"Ready to go?"Naruto asked, adjusting the final piece of his attire—a simple pair of black gloves he wore when handling objects from the other world, to avoid catching any strange disease… or worse, getting infected with the zombie virus.
"Always ready," Gunko replied with a slight nod. "Besides, everyone's already waiting in Plaza One."
Without bothering to respond, the redhead simply walked past his bodyguard, and together they left the palace, heading directly toward the main square.
On the way, Naruto mentally reviewed the list of the key figures selected for the first expedition.
It wasn't a particularly large group: barely eight hundred Marine officers, along with a handful of heavy hitters.Among them were the Fleet Admiral himself—though Naruto still didn't fully understand why—the Vice Admiral Tsuru, three other vice admirals (including the legendary Marine Hero Garp), and Admiral Kizaru.
Honestly, Naruto was a little disappointed; he would've preferred Akainu, with whom he wanted to discuss certain matters regarding his brand of "radical justice."But he'd work with what he had—and, with some luck, he'd get the chance to recruit the admiral he truly wanted later.
Still, Garp was bound to be a problem: the man barely tolerated Celestial Dragons to begin with.
In addition to the Marines, Naruto had deployed a considerable number of Cipher Pol agents, who had a crucial task—to capture as many undead as possible so that Vegapunk could experiment on them, and, more importantly, to recover every book of engineering, science, chemistry, and technology that could enhance the World Government's power.
After about twenty minutes of walking, they finally reached Plaza One, where nearly a thousand men had already gathered.Of course, it was a small contingent, and that was by Naruto's design—better a smaller, stronger force to maintain maximum discretion.
Though, to be completely honest, he hadn't expected to see the Five Elders among the group.Apparently, they too wanted to witness the new world with their own eyes—at least once—to satisfy their curiosity.He couldn't exactly blame them… well, actually, he could.Given their positions, they should've had enough self-control to suppress such mundane desires as curiosity about the unknown.
"Good morning, young master,"greeted the Five Elders as soon as they saw him arrive at the plaza.
The rest of those present bowed their heads respectfully, in reverence to the man now regarded as the direct superior of the Five Elders.
And while that wasn't technically true, by now everyone present had come to understand a few things:
It was thanks to this man that the World Government now had the chance to greatly expand its power.Thanks to him, the Marines could finally fulfill their duty of protecting civilians from pirates—even if they still couldn't do so in the New World, given the danger of confronting the Emperors of the Sea and other powerful pirates.
Still, for everything this young man was driving forward—and for what he represented—everyone there showed him the respect he deserved.Even Garp, who would normally display his usual disdain toward Celestial Dragons, now bowed his head in acknowledgment… silently beginning to recognize this red-haired youth as the one man who just might change everything.
"It seems everyone's ready," Naruto announced once more, his deep voice ringing across the plaza. "If that's the case, I see no reason to delay any further with needless chatter."
Without another word, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers—this time a louder, more dramatic snap than before. With its characteristic hum, the Golden Gate appeared before the incredulous eyes of the Marines, who, despite having been told about its existence by their superiors, could not help but stare in awe at it. The effect was amplified when the gate swung open to reveal a cascade of brilliant, colored lights that caused a few of those present to feel a slight headache.
Still, excitement was inevitable: the idea of a new world to explore and all the possibilities beyond it would thrill even the stern Admiral Akainu.Although the World Government had informed them about the New World, they had kept the details deliberately vague to prevent leaks of information.
They had, however, warned them about the zombie plague on the other side: it was a viral—or possibly parasitic—outbreak, and extreme precautions were necessary to avoid infection. No one was certain there was a cure, nor whether Vegapunk would be able to find one.
"Silence," Naruto ordered; he honestly had no patience for the excited murmurs behind him.
With that the first to cross the Golden Gate was, as always, Naruto himself—followed closely by the Five Elders and Gunko, and then by the rest of the party. Like those who had traveled earlier, everyone felt a wave of dizziness from the colored lights.
The sensation did not last long; once they passed through, their vision cleared and before them stretched a world utterly devastated.
"How desolate…" murmured Kizaru, rubbing his chin. "I'd heard this world was in a bad way, but this looks truly awful."
"No time for dawdling," Nusjuro barked as he surveyed the area. "We need to scout the surroundings and establish a base camp."
Nusjuro noted that Naruto and his group had done a good job clearing a small hollow to use as their base—the obvious traces of Shamrock's handiwork were plain to see.
Hearing the admiral's direct command snapped Sengoku back to reality, and he began issuing orders—prompting Naruto to roll his eyes. There was a reason the area was so clean and devoid of standing buildings despite being surrounded by them: on their first trips they'd been noisy and had to clear the zone of the hordes of zombies attracted by the racket.
Sure enough, following the Fleet Admiral's call, more undead began to arrive: a fairly large group—probably several thousand, not more than ten thousand, but still a sizable horde.
Fortunately, issuing the command proved unnecessary; as the zombies advanced, a squad of Cipher Pol agents took the initiative (almost certainly under standing orders to protect the Celestial Dragons). With a sweep of their legs, their rankyaku—slicing arcs of air—came into play, and one after another those gusts of cutting wind began to shred the wave of undead.
The zombies were bisected in many cases; others lost limbs or were cleaved top to bottom, and in several instances—especially among the child zombies—heads were blown clean away. Unfortunately, aside from the headless ones, most continued to crawl on the ground.
"They cut them in half… how are they still not dead?" one soldier blurted, astonished.
"You can't kill something that's already dead, idiot," Naruto snapped, then pointed to a crawling zombie. "Destroy the heads and burn the bodies; that's the only method we've confirmed works. And stop making so much noise—you're drawing them like flies. They may be weak compared to people in our world, but if enough of them converge they'll overwhelm us. We estimate the number in this city at around two million, and I shouldn't need to remind you of the consequences."
He said it in his most professional tone, though inside he wanted to strangle whoever had failed to read the damn orientation pamphlet he'd had printed—pamphlets that clearly explained, with as much evidence as possible, that they were not to make noise and that they should always aim for the head.
Here's the professional English translation of the final part of Chapter 8 (including the ending notes), polished and faithful to the tone and character voices established throughout the work — serious yet cinematic, with that distinct blend of political gravity and humor:
"Two million? They outnumber us by that much?" Sengoku was astonished—and, in part, slightly regretful for not having read the briefing manual the young master had handed out before the meeting, as both Kuzan and Akainu had.
In his defense, he'd figured that if there had been anything truly important, Kuzan would've told him.
He was going to need a very serious conversation with that man once they returned to Marineford. Keeping such crucial information to himself was unacceptable.
He shook his head, dismissing the thought. This wasn't the time for distractions. After all, besides Marines and Cipher Pol agents, the highest leaders of the World Government were here—and Naruto himself, who, at this moment, represented the future of both the World Government and the Navy.
Someone like that simply could not be allowed to come to harm under any circumstances, regardless of his status as a Celestial Dragon.
With that in mind, Sengoku leaned slightly toward Kizaru, giving him what would likely be the most important order the admiral had received in years.
"Make sure he's completely safe."
"Understood,"
replied the Pika Pika no Mi user calmly, before stepping forward to stand at Naruto's left side.
The red-haired youth raised an eyebrow at him, then shrugged. He already had plans to talk with the admirals and bring them to his side. This would just make things easier—at least with Kizaru. He still had to figure out how to reach the other two.
The Five Elders, for their part, agreed with the decision. After all, they were already planning to assign Naruto a second bodyguard.
It wasn't that they distrusted Gunko—as Imu's chosen sword, she possessed both the skill and strength to protect him—but one could never be too cautious.
"Marines," Naruto called out, his voice firm. "We'll establish a perimeter using this clearing as our base. Eliminate all zombies within a two-kilometer radius and collect every artifact you find for later study by the Science Division."
A series of silent nods was the only response. No one wanted to attract more of the undead than necessary.
"Cipher Pol agents," he continued, "spread out through the city and gather as much information as you can. Recover any books, technology, or uninfected survivors you find. The rest of you, begin constructing the camp."
Another nod. Then, quietly and efficiently, everyone began to move.
Given the Marines' considerable strength, clearing out the zombies was a quick process.
The moment one of the creatures appeared, an officer would step forward and take it out with a precise blow to the head—whether by one of the Six Powers, a weapon, or simply bare fists.
Naruto didn't care how it was done—so long as it got done.
"How long until Vegapunk arrives?"
Naruto asked as the Five Elders approached him from behind.
"No more than a week,"
replied Saturn calmly. "He's very interested in studying the infection and finding either a vaccine or a way to restore some degree of their intelligence. But he needed time to pack all the necessary equipment."
"Makes sense,"
the redhead said, unhurried. He didn't care if it took a week or longer—after all, it was best to let the scientist work at his own pace.
"As much as I'd like to remain here, I'm afraid we have to return,"
said Ju Peter.
"We left many responsibilities behind just to see this world with our own eyes, but I see now that we can entrust it to you."
"However, young master," added Warcury solemnly, "I trust you understand that while the resources of this world are valuable, your health and safety are paramount."
"Don't worry. I won't do anything reckless,"
Naruto said, waving them off as if the mere idea of putting himself in danger was absurd.
"Liar,"
Gunko muttered flatly, knowing full well that Naruto was a reckless idiot who constantly got himself into ridiculously dangerous situations.
Shamrock found those escapades amusing—like the time the three of them had ended up tangled in a fishing net simply because Naruto had pressed the red button on a ship.
She, on the other hand, had found it utterly mortifying.
End of Chapter
Final Notes
Well, that wraps up another chapter.
And once again, my apologies—the hurricane was pretty bad. Besides the power outages, it also claimed lives. Several roads are still closed, but thankfully my family and I are more or less okay, so I can get back to work and bring you these stories at full strength.
Now, a quick question for everyone:
This world is Highschool of the Dead, and it won't take long to be conquered, since there are no governments left to overthrow or anything resembling traditional conquest—so we can say it'll fall through sheer brute force.
But I don't want the next world to be won by force. Instead, I want it to be one conquered through Naruto's negotiation and diplomacy.
That said, it won't be a conquest at all, but rather a political alliance.
So—what world should be next?
High School DxD would give Naruto a strong, solid base of allies, not to mention that he'd arrive already powerful—
not top-tier, perhaps, but strong enough that he wouldn't have to worry about some fallen angel stabbing him in the back.
But I'm open to your suggestions.