Edward Newgate Arrives in Konohagakure

"One Piece… is real!" With a roar, Whitebeard's vitality wholly dissipated.

Scenes from his life flashed through his mind.

He wouldn't change his beliefs or dreams if he had another chance.

He wanted a family.

He wanted to protect his family even more.

"Roger, I'm coming to catch up with you... Stupid sons, see you in a few decades!" Whitebeard closed his eyes, but the expected loss of consciousness did not occur.

The smoke and blood of the battlefield were gone.

The surrounding noise disappeared.

Something was wrong!

Whitebeard abruptly opened his eyes, and the scene before him was no longer Marineford. Teach, Garp, Sengoku, Marco... they were all gone.

The Navy, the pirates.

All gone!

Whitebeard touched his chest, finding the hole made by the magma kid was gone. He felt the side of his face, and the half of his face blasted off by the magma kid was restored.

Gunshot wounds, knife wounds, explosion wounds, all were gone, his state just like before the Marineford War!

If not for the discomfort from his internal ailments, he would suspect he had become younger.

"Murakumogiri is still here..." Whitebeard tightened his grip on the supreme-grade sword that had accompanied him for decades.

He then tried to use the Gura Gura no Mi and Haki, discovering that these abilities were still with him.

What kind of unique Devil Fruit ability brought him to this place?

Or was this heaven?

"Ah!!!!!!!"

Suddenly, a scream from afar made Whitebeard glance sideways: "Is it a soul from heaven like me?"

He decided to ask!

...

The rushing river washed over the moss-covered rocks, and Naruto Uzumaki, the boy who accidentally fell into it, was terrified.

His homemade fishing rod floated away with the current.

But he didn't have time to mourn the fishing rod. He struggled desperately as if his feet were tangled in water plants, making it hard to surface.

"Help! Help glub glub—" Naruto forgot how much river water he had swallowed, his strength fading quickly with his struggles, despairing thoughts creeping in.

What was the point of surviving? In the village, he was still despised, still called the demon fox.

Maybe I shouldn't have survived.

Everyone in the village...

Hoped I was dead?

The five-year-old Naruto had these pessimistic yet realistic thoughts.

At the same time.

The Anbu ninja, secretly watching Naruto, was suddenly alarmed. He did not expect the "demon fox" to slip and fall into the rushing river while fishing.

Just as he was about to retrieve Naruto, his body froze.

It was an instinctual stiffness!

"What is that?" The Anbu ninja's eyes widened behind his mask, staring at the colossal figure across the river: "A summoning beast? A giant? How can anyone be so tall? How can someone like this be near Konohagakure?!"

The tall figure in the Anbu's sight was none other than Whitebeard! His height of 6.66 meters was unique in the shinobi world.

Whitebeard glanced at the blond kid losing consciousness in the river.

Then he squinted at the masked person on the other side of the river.

He reached into the water and grabbed Naruto, lifting him like a kitten.

He pulled Naruto out of the water.

"Cough! Cough cough—" Naruto didn't know why he could breathe again. As he coughed, he vomited the water from his stomach, his blurred consciousness slowly returning.

"Is it Hokage-sama?" Naruto struggled to open his eyes, only to be terrified to find himself in mid-air, several meters above the ground!

If he fell, it would be wrong!

"What's that?" Naruto suddenly noticed a pair of oversized shoes on the ground, big enough to crawl into. And if he wasn't mistaken, he saw two legs?

When the soaking-wet Naruto stiffly turned his head, he saw a giant face behind him!

Like a giant!

"Heavenly souls shouldn't drown, right?" Whitebeard's deep voice rumbled as he held Naruto and questioned, "Blond kid, who are you? Where is this place?"

"Gulp!"

Naruto swallowed nervously, fear making him speak instinctively: "I-I'm Naruto Uzumaki. This... this is Konohagakure."

Naruto Uzumaki? Konohagakure?

I never heard of it!

Whitebeard frowned and asked, "Which country is Konohagakure in? Is it in the first half of the Grand Line? Or in the New World?"

"Huh?" Naruto was confused: "Konohagakure is in the Land of Fire!"

What Grand Line, what New World, he didn't understand at all.

"Hey! Monster on the other side! Let go of the demon fox... No, let go of Naruto Uzumaki!" The Anbu on the riverbank realized something was wrong.

He didn't understand what the giant and the boy were discussing, but he knew the giant was not friendly.

The Hokage ordered him to guard the demon fox Naruto Uzumaki.

Even if he was reluctant.

He had to complete the mission.

He knew what kind of monster was inside the demon fox. If that monster were released, it would be another Nine-Tails disaster!

Ox-Tiger-Hare!

The Anbu ninja didn't hesitate.

He quickly formed seals!

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A large amount of chakra gathered in his mouth, and a stream of water shot out, forming a waterfall-like water cannon, crossing the river and heading straight for Whitebeard.

"Water?" Whitebeard raised an eyebrow, noticing something unusual: "A Devil Fruit ability to control water? This is a first! Are there such Devil Fruits on the sea?"

Whitebeard didn't dodge or evade, and his Kenbunshoku Haki detected no threat.

The water hit his body, not making him feel weak.

Whitebeard frowned.

Water was always the nemesis of Devil Fruit users. If a user were fully submerged, they would become powerless. But he didn't feel weak; it was just like the water was fake.

"What? How is that possible?" The Anbu ninja was shocked: "He took a jutsu with his body?!"

"Hey!" He heard the giant across the river speak again.

"Masked kid!" Whitebeard asked, "Do you know the World Government? Do you know the Navy Headquarters? Do you know the Whitebeard Pirates? Do you know the Grand Line? Do you know the New World? Do you know Devil Fruits? Do you know the Celestial Dragons?"

A series of unfamiliar terms left the Anbu ninja silent.

He didn't understand a single word!

And his silence made Whitebeard realize the seriousness of the problem.

Whitebeard understood that this world was no longer the one he knew. He had arrived in another world.

There was no World Government, no Navy Headquarters.

No Yonko, no Shichibukai.

Whitebeard had crossed over!