No feast in the world lasts forever, especially when the gathering was only due to an unexpected event forcing everyone to escape together.
Jinbei was the first to disembark. He seemed to be in a hurry to get to Fish-Man Island to inform King Neptune about the upcoming events in advance.
Bullet and Redfield also disembarked together on a transit island they found after leaving the Calm Belt, heading in different directions.
One of them intended to search for a way to restore his youth and vitality, while the other seemed prepared to stir up some other trouble.
Perhaps as repayment for the guidance given to Sasuke, Naruto shared all the information he knew about [Pure Gold] with Redfield.
Pure Gold wasn't referring to 100% pure gold, but another kind of magical, almost fantastical, special metal.
The sole function of this metal was to grant immortality to those who came into contact with it.
If ingested, it could even cure diseases.
However, Redfield rejected this suggestion.
His exact words were:
"What I seek is to regain my youth, the possibility of fighting a strong opponent like you again with a youthful body."
"Even if it means dying in that battle, it doesn't matter."
"I wasted too much time in the past. Now, I only want to fight those powerful beings once more at my peak condition."
"If I were to obtain immortality in this decrepit body, I would rather die in battle the next moment."
Sensing the true feelings of this Red the Aloof, Naruto abandoned the thought of telling him where he had seen Pure Gold.
"Naruto Aniki, does something that incredible really exist in this world? Pure Gold that can make people immortal..."
It was clear Konohamaru was quite interested in such unheard-of strange phenomena.
"Yes, Pure Gold does exist, but don't get any ideas about it."
"If you were to come into contact with Pure Gold now, your body would never grow again."
"It's less about granting you immortality and more about Pure Gold permanently freezing your body at this point in time."
As he spoke, Naruto vigorously ruffled Konohamaru's hair.
"Ah? Then forget it."
Upon hearing this, Konohamaru immediately dismissed the idea of seeking Pure Gold.
On the other hand, Karin listening nearby seemed very eager.
After all, no woman could say no to eternal youth.
As for combat power... that was secondary.
Seemingly sensing the burning gaze from behind, Naruto turned back with a smile and said,
"As for you... until I resolve this thing on your hand, you probably don't need to worry about aging."
He pointed at the Kama.
For the Otsutsuki Clan, the scale of time far exceeded that of humans.
Decades, centuries, even millennia might not be enough for a full-blooded Otsutsuki to truly age.
Of course, it was harder to say for those not of pure blood.
Watching the two figures completely disappear into the distance, Sasuke, standing nearby, suddenly spoke.
"What about this guy?"
He pointed towards Byrnndi World, who remained silent, seemingly lost in his own world.
Seeing this, Naruto also grimaced.
Since his defeat at Naruto's hands, Byrnndi World seemed to have fallen into a state of self-isolation.
In terms of mentality, both Bullet and Redfield were stronger than him.
"Byrnndi World, don't you have anything you need to do?"
Hearing this, the man who, despite being seventy years old, still maintained the physique of a forty-year-old, merely glanced up at Naruto before sinking back into silence.
He seemed to have lost all pursuit in life.
In truth, the original Byrnndi World, upon being freed, had intended to use his power to destroy Naruto, the World Government, and the Marines altogether.
In Byrnndi World's view, his capture by the Marines was solely due to his subordinates being bribed and betraying him.
Otherwise, with his abilities, he could never have been caught by them.
However, reality had slapped him hard.
Both Naruto and the World Government seemed far superior to him in terms of real power.
Faced with the Mother Flame that seemed capable of destroying the world, Byrnndi World felt he was no different from an ordinary pirate… most likely doomed.
This directly shattered the high wall he had built around his dignity.
His defeat was inevitable.
Even without betrayal, he would not have been a match for the World Government.
There were many stronger than him in this world… in the past, present, and future.
His revenge seemed so laughable.
Trapped in this vicious cycle, Byrnndi World completely withdrew into himself.
Seeing Byrnndi World remain silent, Naruto just scratched his head.
'Fine, he'll come along.'
'Just an extra mouth to feed.'
No matter what, they were comrades who had fought side-by-side. Whether out of basic camaraderie or not wanting to see a legendary pirate fade away due to internal conflict, Naruto didn't plan to simply abandon him.
Just then, Sasuke, whose Observation Haki had undergone hellish training, suddenly spoke.
"It's the Marines. They're putting up our wanted posters."
After Redfield's specialized training, Sasuke's Observation Haki had improved significantly in both depth and range.
Covering this small town was now easily within his capabilities.
"That's to be expected. It's been several days since we left Impel Down."
The Marines came ashore on the southern part of the island, distributed and posted wanted posters in busy places like the market and bars, then re-boarded their ship and left.
It seemed like just a routine task for them.
Clearly, they didn't believe a ship carrying so many 'notorious criminals' would dock at this ordinary little island.
More importantly, in their view, places visited by such criminals would, if not be reduced to ruins, at least be left in complete disarray.
Pirates, criminals… don't they all pillage?
It was a stereotype, but not entirely wrong.
After all, ninety percent of the pirates on these seas were like that. True 'adventure group' pirates like the Straw Hats were a minority.
"Wait here for a moment."
Karin suddenly said this, then disappeared from the ship.
She returned shortly after.
In her hands, she held their wanted posters.
As for disguises… for Ninja, this was the easiest part. The Transformation Technique was a basic technique even a Konoha's Academy Student like Konohamaru could master.
"Look, this is yours, Naruto-san. Wow... so many zeros..."
Karin first handed Naruto's wanted poster over. The photo was taken when their ship, the Gale Breaker, emerged from the sea… it was probably the work of the World Government.
Apart from the increased bounty, the title on Naruto's poster remained the same as before.
"5.3 billion Berry... Tsk tsk, still can't beat Captain Roger."
Gol D. Roger's bounty at his peak was 5,564,800,000 Berry… though such bounties were more like symbols of strength and no one actually thought about capturing him for the money.
"These are for Bullet and Redfield..."
Karin set two more wanted posters aside, then took out three others, handing two to Sasuke and Konohamaru.
"Huh? There's one for me too?"
Konohamaru looked curiously at his own wanted poster.
His name wasn't exposed, so the poster referred to him as [Clone Kid].
"What the, such a lame name."
Clearly, Konohamaru wasn't satisfied with the title.
Perhaps because he displayed the same cloning technique as Naruto, his initial bounty was surprisingly high… 300 million Berry.
That was already on par with Luffy's third bounty in the original work.
Sasuke and Karin didn't fare much better. Their names were also absent, replaced by two epithets.
[Flame Wolf] - Bounty: 530 million Berry.
[Steel Wing] - Bounty: 520 million Berry.
"Good grief..."
After a glance at his own poster, Sasuke silently burned it to ashes.
Karin, however, was dissatisfied with her photo on the poster.
"And yours, Byrnndi World."
A wanted poster drifted down onto Byrnndi World's lap as he sat cross-legged. He instinctively looked down.
[World Destroyer] Byrnndi World, Bounty 1.59 billion Berry, similar to Bullet and the others.
"..."
He stared silently at his bounty, vaguely recalling that his bounty before capture was only around 200 million.
It seemed Berry inflation had been severe over these thirty-plus years.
"Your name is out there too now, Byrnndi World."
Naruto suddenly sat down beside him and spoke, then turned to look at him.
"Bullet and Redfield, like me, are solo acts. But you're different, aren't you?"
"Don't you think it's possible your crewmates are still waiting for you?"
Hearing this, Byrnndi World's fingers holding the poster tightened slightly.
"...Impossible."
"And I don't need comrades."
"Is that so..."
Hearing Byrnndi World say this, a smile crept onto Naruto's lips.
According to his Observation Haki's perception, the emotions Byrnndi World displayed when saying this weren't as cold as his words.