BOOOOM!!!
The earth suddenly let out a miserable roar. A massive mushroom cloud formed from dust shot upward, then rolled outward from high in the sky in every direction.
The once-prosperous village was completely destroyed beneath that terrifying power, no longer resembling its former self at all.
For a moment, even the air seemed to freeze. Aside from the noise caused by that colossal explosion, not a single sound could be heard.
"Let the world feel pain!"
At that moment, a low voice suddenly rang out from above.
A man with short orange hair, eyes patterned like tree rings, and black rods inserted all over his body hovered in the sky. His black cloak embroidered with red clouds snapped loudly in the turbulent air as he looked down on everything below from the perspective of a god.
Poof!!!
Just then, a burst of thick smoke suddenly rose from the chaotic, flattened ground. Within the dust and smoke, the shadows of several gigantic beasts could faintly be seen.
"Where… is this!?"
As a light breeze swept past, the dust filling the sky quickly dispersed. A blond youth stood with his arms crossed atop the head of an enormous toad, curiously sizing up his surroundings.
But when his gaze turned toward the cliff wall carved with five enormous human-head statues, his expression abruptly changed. A towering rage surged from his heart straight into his skull, instantly turning the boy's eyes red and making them glisten faintly with tears.
"Nine-Tails!?"
The mysterious man responsible for all of this looked down as well, then suddenly descended in the boy's direction.
A life-or-death battle broke out, utterly unavoidable!!!
…
…
This battle could be called the highest-level confrontation of the present world and era!
With the power of a god, the mysterious man brought an almost permanently devastating blow upon the greatest military force in this world.
But the boy's counterattack was equally brilliant. With the help of his comrades, who had survived the catastrophe one after another, the boy repeatedly cut down the mysterious man's clones, forcing his opponent to go all out.
Even so, in the end, this battle did not allow the brave, hot-blooded boy to get what he wished for.
With a wet sound—
A black rod pierced into the body of an elderly toad. Crimson blood sprayed out, and the boy's rhythm in battle was completely disrupted by the mysterious man.
The mysterious man's subsequent attacks sealed the energy within the boy's body directly. One black rod after another pinned him to the ground, leaving him unable to move even an inch.
Everything seemed to have come to an end.
All around, the boy's companions collapsed onto the ground in despair. Their eyes were vacant as they stared at the scene before them in disbelief.
However, just as the entire battlefield was filled with an air of despair…
An unexpected voice suddenly rang out from above the battlefield.
"HEEEY!!!—"
"ARE YOU GUYS HAVING A WAR!!!???—"
The clear cry of a young man, as if coming from beyond the distant heavens, abruptly shattered the atmosphere on the scene, causing everyone to instinctively look up at the sky above.
Behind the dazzling sunlight, a strange ship pierced through the clouds like a meteor, transforming into a rainbow-colored streak of light as it rapidly shot downward.
Waves of air turned into fierce gales, sweeping across the land below.
As the strange ship drew closer, the people on the battlefield finally saw its full appearance.
Its hull was so enormous it seemed capable of holding thousands of people. The entire ship was made from some bizarre wood that shone with a metallic luster. Three sails of varying sizes, each bearing different patterns, were spread wide open, yet they did not seem affected by air resistance at all.
At the bow, a cute yet strange goat head seemed to possess consciousness as it looked over everything below.
But the most eye-catching thing of all was the incredibly conspicuous flag flying at the very top of the mast—
A pirate flag!!!
"A pirate flag!?"
Looking at the banner fluttering in the wind, everyone present froze for a moment.
In this world, although there were not many pirates, nor were there any particularly famous ones, thanks to certain works of culture, they could still recognize what that flag represented.
But…
Why was a pirate ship falling from the sky!?
At this moment, whether it was the boy's side or the mysterious man's side, all of them sank into deep confusion.
Just then, another voice came from the ship in the sky.
"Hey, Luffy!"
"Didn't I tell you to keep a low profile when we arrive on a new planet!? What if there's some hidden big shot on this planet? Wouldn't you be provoking them like this!?"
"Relax. The detector shows that the strongest one here is only at the peak of Planet Level, ninth stage. And it looks like they're not even on this planet."
At that moment, a playful female voice followed right after.
"Still, there seem to be a few alternate spaces hidden on this planet. Those areas exceed the measuring range of our detector, so who knows whether any hidden powerhouses are there."
"Peak of Planet Level, ninth stage!? Just one step away from Stellar Level!? Isn't that really strong!!?" the previously panicked voice appeared again.
"Relax, relax, Usopp! You've seen the wider world by now, haven't you?"
"It's just someone below Stellar Level. Is there really any need to be that cautious?" Another incomparably pleasant voice sounded, seeming to tease the man named Usopp. That voice was so beautiful that just hearing it made one feel it must belong to someone who was very good at singing.
"Yohohoho~ We have arrived in a brand-new world again~ This world seems to have oceans too. Laboon, let us go explore the seas here later!"
"Awooo~!"
A roar like a dragon's cry suddenly rang out.
"Huh? Red? What are you looking at?"
As the ship slowly descended, the people on the ground could now see the situation on board.
A group of odd-looking fellows were curiously looking toward a boy wearing a red-and-white baseball cap.
That boy, however, was staring fixedly at this side, his face showing visible astonishment.
Only after a moment did the boy seem to gradually come back to his senses. Then he slowly raised his hand, pointed toward the cliff wall carved with human heads, and softly said to his companions beside him:
"Everyone, look… what's that!?"
"Hm!?"
The people on the deck turned their heads in surprise. Immediately afterward, a wave of startled cries rang out.
"The Hokage Rock!!!!"
"Isn't that the iconic landmark of the Naruto world!?"
"Wait! What exactly is going on here!?"
Astonished voices rose one after another from the ship, as though they had encountered some unbelievable phenomenon.
To be honest, even Red, who knew everything, was utterly stunned by the scene before him.
The pirate ship that had descended from the sky was naturally the Straw Hat Pirates, who were currently exploring the starry sky!
At this time, if one calculated according to the calendar of the pirate world, this was already the third year since they had entered space!
Only after truly arriving in the starry sky could one understand just how vast it was.
Or rather, the vastness of space surpassed the imagination of every single member of the Straw Hat Pirates, Red included!
Even with the Vivre Card of the Space Pirates, their first year after leaving the blue planet had actually been spent entirely traveling through the stars.
Even when they occasionally stopped on certain planets, they had never encountered any life-forms from space on those planets.
There were even times when Red wondered whether the cosmic empire he imagined truly existed in this universe.
Fortunately, hard work paid off.
In the first month of the second year, while stopping on a certain planet, they successfully encountered a group of intelligent life-forms.
With the translation device Red had created using the Whisper-Whisper Fruit's power, along with the telepathic communication device possessed by the other party, Red and the others quickly established contact with them and learned that his previous guess had been correct.
In this vast sea of stars, there really was an enormous cosmic empire!!!
And the strength of this cosmic empire far exceeded Red and the others' imagination.
Through this encounter, the Straw Hat Pirates successfully made contact with the forces of space. Over the following year and more, they continued traveling through the nearby star systems.
Naturally, many things happened during that time. There were enemies, friends, battles, and banquets.
Over more than a year, relying on the system of the console after Red had "cracked" it, the Straw Hat Pirates' strength continued to rise without end.
The level 100 that had once restricted Luffy had long since ceased to be his limit.
After breaking through that limit, Luffy successfully became a "Stellar Level" powerhouse. Now, even someone with the status of a Star System Lord had no choice but to bow when they saw Luffy.
Stellar Level was a unified ranking system established by the cosmic empire for all kinds of cultivators.
If the foundation was being able to charge through space with one's physical body, then the lowest rank of strength was known as Planetary. Above that were Stellar Level, Cosmic Level, Domain Lord Level…
As for the path beyond that, with the Straw Hat Pirates' current status, they were not yet qualified to know.
The boundless world of the starry sky greatly broadened their horizons. And the reason they could still maintain such an optimistic mindset even after seeing so many unreachable existences…
Was precisely because they had Red, an invincible cheat!
After being "cracked," the console seemed to have "downloaded" every game Red remembered from the NS and other such platforms.
And that gave Red the ability to bring his companions into one game world after another to adventure.
Fighting games that refined techniques, roguelike games where one grew stronger by defeating monsters, shooting games with future technology, RPGs that came with their own systems…
Although the amount of time was not particularly long, with the support of one wondrous game world after another, the Straw Hat Pirates had now completely established themselves in space and gained a certain level of fame.
Not long ago, they had even recruited a group of Space Pirates who passed their trial, adding quite a few new members to the Straw Hat Grand Fleet.
It was from the reports of these subordinates that Red and the others learned that there seemed to be several planets of decent value in this area.
Under the laws of the cosmic empire, as long as a person was determined to be a powerhouse of Stellar Level or above, then when they discovered unrecorded planets or star systems, they would automatically obtain ownership of those planets and star systems once they successfully registered them.
What they had to pay in return was merely a fixed "registration tax" submitted at regular intervals.
Now, the star system where the pirate world was located had already been successfully registered under Luffy's name.
As for why the pirate world had never attracted the attention of other cosmic forces for so many years…
It was because the star system where the pirate world was located was simply too barren.
Even if everything in it were plundered clean, it would not be enough to pay a single quarter's "registration tax."
So the strong looked down on it, while the weak did not dare to go there. That was the pirate world's current situation.
In truth, planets and star systems with similar experiences were countless throughout the universe.
Only people like Luffy and the others would go through such a thankless effort to record the star system containing their hometown under their own name.
And the reason they had come here this time was because one Space Pirate felt that this place seemed a little strange.
There might be a wild "Star System Lord" here.
"Wild" meant that this person had already reached Stellar Level or even higher by relying on local power alone, yet did not know of the cosmic empire's existence.
An uncivilized region that was nevertheless capable of producing a "Star System Lord" often had the possibility of containing some precious fortune.
For example, the Solar Crystal of the pirate world and Red's cheat were both considered "fortunes" as far as the pirate world was concerned.
And this was precisely why Luffy and the others had traveled such a long distance to come here.
Speaking of the Solar Crystal, there was something that had to be mentioned…
Facts had proven that it was indeed not a native product of the pirate world.
The Solar Crystal was actually a cultivation tool freely distributed by the cosmic empire for Stellar Level powerhouses to use!
That's right!
Free!!!
In the starry sky, Solar Crystals were practically equivalent to welfare benefits for the poor.
Some powerhouses who had reached Stellar Level but did not have a path to progress further would go to the cosmic empire to receive a batch of Solar Crystals. Then they would either leave them on planets under their command, or head to barren star regions and search for planets with intelligent life to scatter them upon…
At fixed intervals, they would collect the Solar Crystals and use a special cultivation method to absorb the willpower gathered upon them to strengthen themselves.
The reason the cosmic empire classified this as a free cultivation method did not mean Solar Crystals were some cheap, worthless product available everywhere.
It was simply that, compared to the value a Stellar Level powerhouse could create, a batch of Solar Crystals was really not considered much.
Moreover, once a powerhouse chose this path, they would then have to continuously develop the population of the planets under them, or constantly discover other planets with intelligent life. This was extremely beneficial to the cosmic empire's expansion.
Perhaps the Solar Crystal obtained by the people of the moon was merely one of the crystals casually tossed down by some Stellar Level powerhouse passing by.
The truth could only be described as cruel.
The pirate world's grudges and grievances spanning thousands upon tens of thousands of years were nothing more than the result of an item casually thrown away by someone on a higher level.
Of course, all of this was merely the path the Straw Hat Pirates had taken to get here.
With such a vast stage before them and Red's invincible cheat, their future was destined to become even more brilliant!
Only…
"Red!? What's going on?"
"Why are missions and scenes from a game world appearing in reality!?"
"And… if I'm not mistaken, this should be the plot where Pain attacks Konohagakure, right!?"
Looking at everything below, Usopp cried out in shock.
Although Red's console had already been "cracked," that did not mean they could simply choose a Dragon Ball game world and immediately obtain the power of a Super Saiyan.
First of all… Red's companions at least needed to possess the ability to win battles in the game world before they could continue advancing through the game's progress.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy and Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 — Road to Boruto, two game worlds that allowed them to grow from weak to strong, gradually follow the plot, and possessed complete power systems, naturally became frequent choices for many among the Straw Hats.
That was why they were so shocked when they saw the Hokage Rock and Naruto appear.
Faced with everyone's confusion, Red could only smile helplessly.
What could he say?
How was he supposed to know why the Naruto world and the pirate world would appear in the same universe?
"Perhaps… the game worlds we entered before may very well have been projections of certain places somewhere in this universe."
After thinking for a moment, Red finally gave an ambiguous answer.
Hearing this answer, however, Luffy jumped up in excitement.
"Is that true!?"
"In other words… in the future, we might still have a chance to meet powerhouses like Son Goku and Vegeta!?"
"Who knows?" Red shrugged, not giving a definite answer.
But to Luffy, the fact that Red did not deny it was already an answer in itself.
"Woohoo~!!!"
"The starry sky really is way too interesting!!!"
The moment his voice fell, Luffy stepped one foot onto the railing of the Going Merry, then leapt straight down, landing directly between Pain and Naruto.
Ever since adventuring through the console world, he had felt a strong emotional response toward Naruto's experiences and personality.
Now that he could actually see the real person in the real world, Luffy could not suppress his instincts at all.
He simply waved his hand and used ki to remove the black rods from Naruto's body.
For Luffy, who had already reached the second major chapter, "The Saiyan Threat," in Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, this was nothing at all.
Then he casually pulled out a large bottle of Super Potion and poured it directly over Naruto's wounds.
As Naruto's injuries completely healed, Luffy grinned at him under his bewildered gaze and directly extended one hand toward him.
"Naruto! Come be my crewmate!!!"
The End.