Chapter 35: My Name Is... Haku  

Clang! 

A crisp sound echoed in Naruto's ears. 

Jin's chest turned pitch black. 

Naruto's attack had no effect on him at all. 

The other pirates were just as shocked. 

"Jin… he actually mastered Tekkai?" 

"Damn it, someone got ahead of me!" 

"..." 

Many pirates gritted their teeth, struggling to hold on. 

They weren't ordinary people. Sasuke and Sakura couldn't take them all down with just punches and kicks, at least not anytime soon. 

So what if they were ninjas? They shouldn't underestimate the will of a pirate! 

"Attack!" 

They got up from the ground and charged at Sasuke and Sakura once more. 

Meanwhile, on Naruto's side, Jin was badly injured, but he showed no signs of falling. 

Every one of Naruto's attacks was blocked by Jin's Tekkai, while most of Jin's attacks couldn't even touch Naruto. 

"Fall? Why would I fall so easily?" 

"Even the captain's sword couldn't bring me down, let alone your fists!" 

Jin roared. 

A scar ran across his chest—left by Zabuza back when Gato was dealing with him. 

In that battle, Zabuza single-handedly took down all of them. 

But aside from those few ninjas, he held back against the others. 

As for the unlucky ones who jumped into the sea and got crushed by the ship, that wasn't Zabuza's fault. No matter what, Zabuza wouldn't go after ordinary people. 

And Jin… was once an "ordinary person." 

Boom! 

Naruto failed to dodge and was sent flying by Jin's punch. 

Everyone had their own beliefs—whether it was himself or Jin standing before him. 

He got up from the ground silently, his body covered in wounds, his clothes torn in several places. 

"Ninja have no place in the Land of Waves, Naruto!" 

Jin charged at him, his fist burning with fury, his muscles twisting, his blood seeming to ignite in that moment. 

Faced with the incoming punch, Naruto stood still, as if frozen, not making any move to dodge. 

Just as the punch was about to land on his face, something clicked in Naruto's mind. 

He looked up and suddenly smiled at Jin. 

"Naruto!!" 

Sasuke and Sakura cried out in shock. 

In the next moment— 

Bang! 

Naruto took a heavy punch to the face, his whole body flying like a kite with a broken string. 

He crashed onto the ground, rolled twice, and stopped at Sasuke's feet. 

"Damn it!" 

At that moment, Sasuke was truly angry. 

His pitch-black pupils turned scarlet, and black tomoe appeared in his crimson eyes. The kunai he had put away was now back in his hand. 

"Sasuke!" 

Naruto reached out and grabbed the kunai in Sasuke's hand. Blood seeped from his fingertips and dripped to the ground. 

Slowly, Naruto stood up. 

He lifted his head, his face covered in wounds, blood trickling down his cheek and falling to the ground. 

That punch had landed solidly on him. 

"Naruto?" 

Sakura spoke with concern. 

"I'm fine." 

"Why… didn't you dodge?" 

Sasuke pulled back his kunai, his voice filled with anger. 

"Because… I can't keep running forever." 

Naruto's words confused both Sasuke and Sakura. 

"Uncle Jin, do you hate ninjas?" 

Naruto stood up again. 

Around him, countless hostile eyes were watching. 

But the hostility wasn't aimed at him—it was aimed at them, at their identity as ninjas. 

"Ninjas?" 

"You people, standing so high above us, how could you ever understand what it's like to be an ordinary person?" 

"It's because of your wars that so many people die. You ninjas, the so-called pillars of the great nations, have you ever truly experienced the suffering of commoner?" 

Jin roared in anger. 

When he was a teenager, his parents lost their lives in the Third Great Ninja War. 

How many people had been displaced? 

How many civilians had been caught in the crossfire of ninjas? 

Gato had been a despicable man, but compared to ninjas, at least Gato was still human. 

Even in the Land of Waves, where people like Tazuna never stayed quiet, Gato never took lives so easily. 

But ninjas… were different. 

"That's why, as a pirate, the ones I hate the most are you arrogant ninjas." 

"Pirates are the true rulers of the New World. Ninjas? They're nothing more than the leftover scum of a dying era." 

It wasn't just Jin—many of the pirates around them shared the same resentment toward ninjas. 

Most of them had lived through the Third Great Ninja War. 

And unfortunately, the Land of Waves was right next to the Land of Fire. 

That meant ninjas often used the Land of Waves as a battleground for their operations against the Land of Fire. And how did Konohagakure respond? 

If Konoha could treat its former ally, the Land of Whirlpools, so heartlessly, then a small country like the Land of Waves stood no chance. 

On Konoha's war maps, the Land of Waves didn't even exist. 

"So that's how it is…" 

"If that's the case, then I'll become the Hokage who protects everyone—civilians, ninjas, even pirates." 

"One day, I will be a Hokage that even pirates acknowledge." 

A genuine smile appeared on Naruto's face. 

At that moment, his heart found an even clearer answer. 

So being Hokage means facing all of this too? 

The pain left behind by the so-called 'scum of the old era'—this suffering was something a Kage had to bear. Something he couldn't run from. 

He could dodge Jin's attacks. 

But what about the hatred inside Jin? 

If he wanted to be acknowledged by everyone, if he wanted to be a Kage recognized by all, then there were things he simply couldn't avoid. 

Dreams, beliefs, duty…

If there's really something called a new era, if there's really something called the New World, then he, Uzumaki Naruto, is willing to be the shadow of this new era, this New World! 

He, Uzumaki Naruto, is not some leftover poison from the old era. 

"If I can't even face this hatred, how can I have the right to become the future Hokage?" 

Naruto muttered to himself, his gaze once again firm. 

Then, Naruto moved. 

The fight wasn't over yet. 

This time, Naruto didn't dodge. 

The battle between the two exploded in an instant. 

Jin's heavy fists landed directly on Naruto's body again and again, but Naruto didn't back down. His attacks also struck Jin without hesitation. 

There was no technique in their fight—just pure strength and speed. Neither of them avoided the other's attacks. 

At this moment, it was no longer just a fight. It was—faith, the determination to see it through. 

Even though Naruto, who didn't seem to know Tekkai, had no advantage, as time passed, Jin's stamina began to wear out. 

Bang! 

This time, Naruto's attack hit Jin's abdomen. 

It was no longer the sound of metal clashing. 

Jin's body was covered in bruises, and Naruto was also bleeding all over, barely holding himself up while gasping for breath. 

By now, the other pirates around them had all fallen. 

Sasuke and Sakura had been waiting for Naruto to finish his fight. This was a battle they couldn't interfere with. 

Until this moment. 

Jin's massive body finally collapsed to the ground and didn't get up again. 

Naruto let out a long breath, his vision went dark, and he fell backward. 

Then, two figures appeared behind him, catching his body. 

"What an idiot." 

Sasuke looked annoyed, but his hands were careful. For the first time, he truly acknowledged this dead-last loser. 

Even though the guy in front of him wasn't the smartest, and his strength wasn't that great... 

"Let's go!" 

The two of them supported Naruto and turned to leave. 

But just then, a chilling sensation swept over them. 

Not far behind them, a long-haired, delicate-looking young man stood silently, staring at them without moving. 

At his feet, ice spread across the ground, stretching all the way to Sasuke's feet. The bone-chilling cold made both Sasuke and Sakura shiver. 

The young man's gaze was eerily calm, even gentle. 

But that gentle look made Sasuke and Sakura's blood run cold. 

The vice-captain of the Blade-less Pirates, a man acknowledged by Shanks himself, known as "Aokiji." 

"My name... is Haku." 

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