The second way—fighting strong enemies—was faster,
but this 300-million-berries pirate had been far too weak.
The fight had ended too quickly,
so the reward of 20 progress points was meager.
Still, El didn't complain.
With these new points, his Sage Body progress reached 970 out of 1000.
Just 30 points more,
and he would advance to the Mid-Stage Sage Body—
a breakthrough that would greatly boost his power,
and unlock a special lottery reward.
After dealing with the corpses, El began searching the ship.
It didn't take long before he found a finely carved box
hidden deep in the cargo hold.
Click.
He opened it—
Inside lay a strange, swirling fruit,
its surface patterned like waves.
A Devil Fruit.
"Finally found one…" El murmured,
holding it in both hands, excitement flashing in his eyes.
A full year at sea.
Countless battles, endless blood.
And now, at last—
the treasure he had been searching for.
Then—
Ding! The system has detected a Devil Fruit in your possession.
Would you like to use it to unlock the Nine-Tails?
"Confirm," El said immediately, without hesitation.
Ding! Congratulations, host—Nine-Tails unlocked!
Ding! Note: The Devil Fruit sacrificed will not vanish from the sea.
It will reappear somewhere in the future.
"So it won't disappear?" El nodded.
"That's good."
Devil Fruits were the sacred treasures of the seas—rare and priceless.
Knowing that the sacrificed fruit would one day return
meant he'd still have future chances to find more.
The system never failed to impress him.
As the voice faded, a status panel appeared before his eyes:
Host: El
Abilities:
Armament Haki – 900/1000
Observation Haki – 900/1000
Conqueror's Haki – 700/1000
Special Ability:
Sage Body – 970/1000 (Currently: Initial Stage.
Can be strengthened through training or combat.
When full, will advance a stage, greatly boosting physique, stamina, and recovery.
Each advancement grants one Special Lottery opportunity.)
Locked Ability:
Sage Eyes – Locked (Unlocks when Sage Body reaches Advanced Stage.)
Tailed Beast Progress:
1/9
Tailed Beast Bomb: Unlocked
Nine-Tails Chakra Mode: Locked
Nine-Tails Form: Locked
(Each Devil Fruit offered unlocks more of the Nine-Tails' power.)
Though El had now unlocked the Nine-Tails,
he could only use one of its powers for the moment—
the Tailed Beast Bomb.
But even that alone was devastating.
In the Naruto world, it was the signature S-rank attack
of the tailed beasts and Jinchūriki—
an orb of compressed chakra that could obliterate mountains,
level entire cities,
and scar the earth itself.
The Tailed Beast Bomb was pure destruction incarnate—
a power fit to shake the seas.
In the original Naruto lore,
even a Jinchūriki had to reach half-transformation—
the Four-Tails state—
before they could unleash it.
Yet El, in this world,
had already gained that power with the offering of a single fruit.
The age of monsters was only just beginning.
The Sage and the Nine-Tails
At this point, El had only unlocked one tail's worth of the Nine-Tails' power—
and yet, he could already use the Tailed Beast Bomb!
He couldn't help but grin.
The system truly is a god among systems!
Even a single tail of power gave him a massive boost,
and with access to the Tailed Beast Bomb,
El's strength had skyrocketed to an entirely new level.
Closing the system panel, his gaze shifted toward the pile of treasure in the ship's hold.
Normally, El had little interest in gold or jewels.
But then an idea flashed through his mind—
If he gathered enough treasure,
couldn't he use it to buy Devil Fruits at an underground auction?
After all, while Devil Fruits were rare,
certain black-market auctions in the New World were known to sell them.
Why wander aimlessly across the seas for years,
when he could simply collect treasure and purchase them outright?
With that thought, El began moving the pirates' hoarded treasure,
intending to load everything onto his own small ship.
Just as he touched the first chest,
the system's voice rang again:
"Host, would you like to store these items within the Nine-Tails' spiritual space?"
El blinked. "They can be stored… in a mental space?"
"Yes."
As the voice faded, a strange sensation filled his mind—
a pulse of energy that drew his consciousness inward.
In the next instant, El stood in a vast, shadowy realm—
a boundless black void.
And before him loomed a colossal beast,
its fur a deep reddish-brown,
its nine tails lazily swaying behind it like waves of power.
The Nine-Tails.
In the Naruto world, the Nine-Tails was the strongest of all nine tailed beasts.
Back when the Sage of Six Paths divided the Ten-Tails' chakra,
he had intended to split it evenly among the nine new beasts.
But when he saw the young Nine-Tails shed a few tears,
he changed his mind—
giving one portion to each of the other eight beasts,
and leaving ninety-two portions for the Nine-Tails alone.
(Heh, don't take it literally—it's just a joke, but still, the Nine-Tails really was the strongest.)
(New author, new book! If you enjoy it, please add it to your favorites, send flowers, and vote!)
Chapter 5 – First Encounter with the Rocks Pirates
The Nine-Tails slowly opened its eyes,
its crimson pupils glowing in the darkness as it looked at El.
"What… is going on?" it rumbled.
Once, it had thought itself invincible—
the mightiest of all tailed beasts.
But then came Hashirama Senju.
With just one of his wooden hands from True Several Thousand Hands,
he had pinned the Nine-Tails like a toy.
And when Uchiha Madara appeared—
one glance from those Sharingan eyes had bound it completely,
turning it into a mere pet.
Then came Uchiha Obito, sealing it away yet again.
After all that, even the proud Nine-Tails' heart had been dulled by despair.
Still, it wasn't that the Nine-Tails was weak—
it was simply that those men were monsters beyond reason.
"Nice to meet you, Nine-Tails," El said calmly.
"Looks like we'll be together for a long time."
"You intend to use my power in battle, don't you?"
The beast's eyes gleamed, studying him.
For some reason, it felt that El was… different.
Unlike the shinobi who once tried to control it,
this human gave off a strangely gentle, approachable aura.
What the Nine-Tails didn't know
was that from the moment of its awakening,
it was already completely loyal to El.
"That's not it," El replied with a shrug.
"I just wanted to meet you in person."
"…"
The Nine-Tails said nothing more—
it simply lay down and went back to sleep.
El didn't disturb it.
Instead, he began moving all the treasure into this mental realm.
As he worked, the Nine-Tails cracked open an eye.
"All this… is for me?"
"No," El said with a faint smile. "Just keeping it here for convenience."
Rather than leave gold cluttering his ship,
he could store it here and retrieve it anytime he needed.
"You really are something…" the Nine-Tails muttered,
then yawned and closed its eyes again.
"All right, get some rest," El said lightly.
With that, he exited the mental space and returned to the ship's cabin.
After a quick look around to make sure there was nothing else of value,
he headed back to the deck.
"Now then… where should I go next to find another Devil Fruit?" he murmured,
rubbing his chin in thought.
Devil Fruits were unbelievably rare.
Even this single one had taken him a whole year to find.
At that rate—one per year—it would take at least eight years
to unlock all of the Nine-Tails' power.
That was far too long.
For an entire year, El had fought alone—
hunting pirates, wandering the seas, searching endlessly.
Now, he was beginning to think differently.
Perhaps… it was time to join a crew.
Creating his own pirate crew wasn't realistic—
all the great fighters already had their own crews
or had joined massive forces like the Rocks Pirates.
And even if he did find strong allies,
there was no guarantee they wouldn't betray him.
So if forming a crew was out of the question,
the next best option was obvious—
Join one.
Joining a powerful pirate crew would bring him stronger opponents to fight,
helping him grow his Sage Body faster,
and giving him more opportunities to find Devil Fruits.
"But which crew should I join?" El wondered aloud.
Just then—
Splashhhh!!!
The sound of rushing water echoed across the sea.
He turned—
and saw a massive ship, towering like a fortress upon the waves,
approaching fast.
He recognized it instantly.
He'd seen it countless times in the newspapers over the past year.
"The Rocks Pirates…" he whispered.
Yes—
the very same crew that would one day dominate the seas.
And now, their flagship was right in front of him.
As El spotted them,
the pirates aboard the giant ship noticed him too.
At the bow stood a man with blond hair,
a cigar clenched between his teeth,
arms crossed arrogantly over his chest.
It was Golden Lion Shiki—
the future legendary pirate,
and now one of Rocks' top commanders.
He squinted at the tattered sails of El's ship.
"Oh? I recognize that flag… that's the Anos Pirates, isn't it?
Their captain's bounty was 300 million berries."
His gaze shifted to El standing alone on the deck.
A grin tugged at his lips.
"Interesting… looks like someone wiped them out."
Beside him stood a towering, broad-shouldered man—
bare-chested, with a crescent-shaped white mustache
and a presence like a roaring beast.
Whitebeard.
"Gurararara… one man destroyed a 300-million-bounty crew?" he laughed.
"Tch," another man scoffed—a burly pirate clad in armor,
a massive battle axe slung over his shoulder.
"Big deal. I could've done that easily."
That was Silver Axe,
another of Rocks' top lieutenants—
a man whose power ranked just below Whitebeard's.