Seeing that Naruto had regained consciousness while Luffy still hadn't gotten up after so long.
Victory!!!
In the Naruto world, countless people cheered.
"Naruto! Amazing! Even Minato and I couldn't teach you to make a Rasengan that powerful!"
Jiraiya took a strong swig of sake, his eyes burning with excitement.
The Konoha group also blushed with joy, shouting excitedly.
Hinata: "Naruto-kun! Congratulations!"
Sakura: "I didn't think Naruto was this strong! When we return, I have a lot of questions to ask him!"
Ino: "Naruto! Being your peer is truly incredible!"
Rock Lee: "Uzumaki Naruto! I will always consider you my rival!"
Behind them, Kakashi smiled warmly.
"Minato-sensei! Kushina-sensei, did you see that?"
"Your son is truly outstanding!"
...
Land of Fire, Daimyo's office.
"It's decided—Naruto will be the Fifth Hokage!"
The Fire Daimyo was beaming, clearly impressed by Naruto's performance like never before.
But behind him...
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu frantically shook their heads.
"Daimyo-sama! This cannot be!"
"The Fifth has already been chosen—Sarutobi Asuma!"
"He's not only the Third Hokage's son but also served as a Guardian Ninja."
"His team and girlfriend are all future top-tier powers from the Jiraiya clan!"
The Daimyo nodded.
"Hmm… then how about making Naruto the Sixth Hokage, so he can be tempered a bit first."
Just as he finished.
The two elders shook their heads again.
"The Sixth Hokage is even more unsuitable! As the Third's grandson, Konohamaru is clearly more appropriate!"
"He too is a genius youth!"
"If the Sarutobi clan has no better descendants, then maybe Naruto can be considered for the Seventh!"
...
In the world of One Piece, countless people were devastated.
"It's all that Shanks' fault!"
"If only Luffy had joined the Navy, under my training he definitely wouldn't have lost!"
Garp grumbled while stuffing food into his mouth, clearly annoyed.
But behind him, Sengoku laughed.
"You? Train Luffy? Please!"
"Even you during God Valley's era couldn't beat someone like Naruto! Haha!"
Shanks glanced at his empty left sleeve, smiling calmly.
"A loss, huh? But it can't be helped!"
"Even at my peak, it'd be tough to defeat someone in Naruto's state."
At the same time, somewhere over Impel Down.
"Yahaha! That Straw Hat brat! I must have that fruit!"
Blackbeard laughed maniacally, eyes burning with desire.
Elsewhere.
Nami clenched her fists tightly, eyes full of hope.
"Luffy! Get up already! That was just Gear 5!"
"I know you've still got sixth and seventh forms!"
"Just like before—blow away every opponent and win this battle!"
She screamed frantically.
Beside her, even Rayleigh and the others had closed their eyes and shaken their heads.
How could they not want Luffy to rise and unveil an even more powerful form to seize victory?
But the chance...
Gear 5 and Conqueror's Haki already shattered their worldview and understanding.
Luffy after the two-year time skip had already surpassed the old Straw Hat crew by miles.
Being the Pirate King… might not even be that big of a deal anymore!
At this moment, just as everyone felt regret for Luffy—
And began wondering what Naruto might wish for—
Suddenly.
A faint buzzing, softer than a mosquito's hum, echoed from the center of the arena.
Bzzz...
"What?!"
Naruto's pupils widened, cold sweat dripping like a waterfall.
He collapsed to the ground, his body trembling.
His face was full of disbelief and shock.
Even without Sage of Six Paths power, his sensory abilities were still sharp.
Naruto was absolutely certain—the faint buzzing sound came from Luffy.
Moments later...
The buzzing grew louder.
Bzzz!
BZZZ!!
THUMP!!!
Like a drumbeat, a heartbeat echoed loudly again.
"Luffy's not dead!!!"
"Even after taking the Six Paths' Great Rasenshuriken head-on, he's still alive!"
Now it was Naruto's turn to break down, filled with despair.
Only one thought remained in his heart:
It's over!!!
It's really over this time!
His final trump card couldn't destroy Luffy's heart.
Naruto had no strength left to fight. His chakra was completely depleted and couldn't recover anytime soon.
Right now, he couldn't even form a single Rasengan or Shadow Clone.
There would be no miracle this time.
He looked at Luffy, collapsed and unmoving.
"Even getting up now feels like a distant dream..."
"I... lost!"
Suddenly, he felt a sadness like never before.
Clear tears fell to the ground.
One drop.
Two drops...
"Father! Mother! I'm sorry! I couldn't bring you back!"
"After this fight, I'll just return to how things were before!"
"Back to Konoha, facing the same cold treatment and hatred from the villagers."
After a long while...
The drumbeat grew stronger, echoing across the entire void realm.
Luffy brushed off the dust and stood up.
Though his body was covered in injuries, with the insane recovery of Sun God Nika—
There was no issue continuing to fight.
"Naruto! I won!"
"I can still enter Gear 5 again, but you can't even stand!"
"Just give up!!!"
Luffy's voice was earnest and without malice.
He could feel it—Naruto had no will to fight left.
"Give up?"
"So unwilling! The chance to revive them is right in front of me! Yet I..."
Naruto closed his eyes, his face filled with pain.
But if he didn't surrender—what could he even do?
At full power, after using his strongest chakra and ninjutsu, he still couldn't defeat Luffy.
He could only admit defeat.
Suddenly, Naruto raised his hand.
"I surre—"
Before he could finish...
"Wait!!!"