Chapter 47: "Prince of Punches, Emperor of Coincidence"
(In which Naruto "accidentally" gains another territory, Hinata starts planning a royal wardrobe, and Saga awkwardly asks for citizenship.)
Naruto Uzumaki, destroyer of snakes, savior of villages, part-time ramen connoisseur, and full-time avoider of feelings, was currently curled up under a shady tree with a notebook, a half-finished FTG seal, and the world's most awkward emotional crisis.
And unfortunately, the universe decided to crank it up to eleven—by giving Ino a guitar.
"I'm sittin' here in the boring room… It's just another rainy Sunday afternoon…"
The soft strumming started behind him, the chords dangerously catchy. Naruto flinched.
"Oh no," he whispered, eyes widening. "She's doing the lemon song again."
Indeed, standing about ten feet away was Ino Yamanaka, barefoot in the grass, rocking a summer dress and strumming like a bard determined to conquer love through sheer embarrassment. She gave him a sunny grin that said, I know what I'm doing and yes, I'm enjoying every second of your pain.
"I'm wastin' my time, I got nothin' to do… I'm hangin' around, I'm waitin' for you…"
Naruto groaned, burying his face in his arms like the lyrics might go away if he pretended to be dead.
"Ino, please," he mumbled. "I'm trying to work on a space-time jutsu, not... whatever this is."
"This," Ino said cheerily, strumming harder, "is psychological warfare with a musical twist."
She sauntered over, dropped onto the grass next to him, and leaned sideways so that her face was upside down in his field of vision. "Still avoiding the whole 'three-girls-confessed-their-love-and-now-you're-doing-math-on-who-to-date' thing?"
"I am not doing math!" Naruto protested, sitting up. "It's more like... strategic emotional triage."
"You made a pros and cons list," Ino said flatly. "Hinata told me."
Naruto turned pink. "Et tu, Hyūga?"
Ino grinned wider and started humming again. "I wonder how, I wonder why... Yesterday, you told me 'bout the blue, blue sky—"
"Okay, fine! I'm thinking about it, alright?" Naruto huffed, tugging on his seal-covered sleeve. "It's just... I'm not used to people liking me like that."
Ino's strumming paused. She looked at him with that dangerous sincerity she pulled out when she wasn't being a total menace. "Naruto, do you really think that after everything—after saving the world, after how you treat people, how hard you love your friends—that it's so hard to believe someone might fall in love with you?"
He blinked. He honestly hadn't thought of it like that. Most of his inner monologue about romance sounded like "Don't mess it up, don't get punched, be cool."
"...I mean, maybe," he said. "But it still feels weird. Like I don't know what to do with it. Like if I accept it, something bad's gonna happen, y'know?"
Ino softened. She set the guitar down and leaned against his shoulder, watching the clouds roll by.
"Sometimes, it's okay to just let people love you. No tricks. No trauma flashbacks. Just... let them."
Naruto exhaled, leaning back beside her. "You're really good at this stuff, huh?"
"I'm a Yamanaka," she said smugly. "We specialize in brains and hearts."
"And turning boys into puddles with tragic songs."
"Oh, totally."
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Naruto Uzumaki was not trying to conquer the world. Let's just get that out of the way.
He wasn't plotting global domination, didn't have a secret villain laugh, and most definitely had no clue how taxes worked.
And yet… he was three islands deep into something that looked suspiciously like nation-building.
The sun rose on the fifth day since their arrival on Asuka Island, bathing the beach in gold and seagull poop. The crew of ninja—shinobi, samurai, and one particularly grumpy puppet guy—were boarding their flying ship. And yes, it looked more like the Avengers' helicarrier than anything that should exist in this universe, but that's ninja science for you.
Naruto was already halfway up the ramp when he heard someone shout his name.
"Wait!"
Turning around, he spotted Saga—reformed cursed sword vessel and fiancé of the only girl on the island who could give Sakura a run for her money in the sass department—jogging toward him, flanked by Maya and a few of the island's elders.
Behind them, a surprisingly large crowd had gathered, many of them holding signs like "Take Us With You!" and "Ninja 4 Life."
Saga stopped, panting. "Naruto... We'd like to formally request Asuka Island come under your protection."
Naruto blinked.
"Wait, you mean like... a colony?"
"No!" Maya said quickly. "More like... allies. Or... vassals. Maybe... ninja interns?"
Naruto scratched his head. "I mean, I was gonna leave behind some protective seals anyway."
"Yes, we saw those," one elder piped up. "Your barrier matrix activated when that one child tried to steal snacks from the volcano. It was... impressive."
Naruto winced. "Sorry about that. I didn't calibrate it for snack theft."
Saga stepped forward. "Look, in five days, you saved our people, protected our sacred relic, beat up a cursed sword, and somehow turned half the village into martial arts fans. And Maya says your crew has the vibes of a shonen anime protagonist group."
"Which means we trust you," Maya said with a shrug.
Naruto turned and looked at the others.
Kakashi was lounging on the deck with sunglasses and a paperback. Sakura was already checking the island's medical data in case they needed to set up a clinic. Hinata was blushing because she'd heard the word "prince." And Ino? She was making finger guns at the crowd like a celebrity on tour.
He sighed.
"Okay, fine," he said with a grin. "But you all still have to do your own farming. I'm not becoming emperor of food logistics."
Cheers erupted. Saga gave a formal bow. Maya looked relieved. One of the kids started singing the "Naruto-sama" song they apparently made up in the last two days.
As Naruto turned to board the ship, Sakura walked beside him.
"Third island under your name. Are we starting to call you 'Emperor' yet?"
Naruto gave her a sidelong glance. "If you do, I'm making you all wear matching uniforms."
As the flying ship lifted off, the winds caught the laughter of the ninja crew and the cheers of their newest allies. Below, Asuka Island glowed softly, protected by barrier seals and maybe—just maybe—a new future.
"Next stop?" Kakashi asked, flipping a page.
Naruto grinned. "Skypiea. Hope the food's better than the elevation."
"Let's just not start a war with angels," Shikamaru muttered from behind a scroll. "One divine conquest at a time."
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If anyone had told Naruto Uzumaki that one day he'd be standing on the deck of a flying ship, giving a heartfelt speech while the villagers of an island waved from below, he probably would've laughed, made a frog joke, then gone back to dodging Sakura's punches. But there he was—hair windswept, cape fluttering, and looking like the main character of every epic ever written—as The Azure Gale rose into the sky.
And of course, it had to be dramatic. There was lightning. There was wind. There was background music.
Because, of course, Naruto had installed speakers in the ship.
The jungle-inspired tune floated over the crowd, mellow yet powerful—its words sung by a deep, earthy voice that felt like it came from the trees themselves. The lyrics? They weren't just lyrics. They were truths—the kind that Naruto had lived through, the kind the jungle had shown him over the past few days.
So naturally, Naruto stepped forward, one foot on the edge of the deck, raising his hand as the last of the petals from the villagers' farewell rained upward into the sky.
He turned around to face his friends—his family—and began to speak.
"In the jungle," Naruto said, his voice steady, "there's a law that never gets written down. Not in books, not in scrolls. But it's always there. You feel it when you're quiet. When you listen. It's about love and truth. No lies, no backstabbing. Just... life, the way it's supposed to be."
Sakura, standing near the railing with her arms crossed, blinked. "Is he quoting a jungle poem now?"
"Let him cook," Ino whispered.
Naruto pointed toward the island disappearing behind them. "The people down there, they remembered something we forgot. How to live without fear. How to share food, help one another. Not because someone tells you to—but because you want to. Because it's right."
He turned to his crew, sweeping his gaze across Kakashi (reading but definitely listening), Lee (crying again), Tenten (already scribbling down the speech), and even Gaara, who gave him the tiniest nod.
"If we stick together," Naruto said, now full anime-hero mode activated, "we're strong. Alone, we're just sticks. Breakable. Lost. But together?" He held out a hand and closed it into a fist. "Together, we're a bundle. Unbreakable."
Lee sniffled audibly. "So poetic…"
"And I swear," Naruto added, "wherever we go—sky islands, cursed seas, or even into the belly of a volcano—we bring that jungle law with us. We protect each other. We help people. We live with gratitude. That's the ninja way!"
The music swelled behind him like it was waiting for that line.
As the Azure Gale rose higher into the sky, gliding toward the horizon, the crew felt it: something had shifted. Not just the journey, but the purpose. They weren't just adventurers anymore. They were symbols of change. Messy, loud, occasionally immature symbols—but symbols nonetheless.