When he regained consciousness, Seven didn't feel the hard wood of his treehouse floor. He felt soft grass.
A cool breeze blew gently. Seven opened his eyes and found himself lying in the middle of an endless green meadow. In the distance, a giant tree towered up through the clouds, its trunk occasionally flickering as if it were running low on power.
However, it wasn't the tree that took his breath away, but the nine giant monsters, hundreds of meters tall, sleeping soundly beneath its dense canopy.
Near those giant monsters, the scenery was starkly contrasting. There was a cozy, modern-style wooden house, complete with an artificial lake, a small farm, and through the house's windows, Seven could see an entertainment room filled with game consoles and television screens.
This scene was truly absurd.
With hesitant steps, Seven approached the group of giant monsters. Once he was close enough, one of them—a nine-tailed giant fox with reddish-orange fur—slowly opened one of its eyes, which was as big as a house.
"Finally, we meet again… Seven," the fox's voice was heavy, deep, and sounded utterly exhausted.
Seven was speechless. Strangely, instead of feeling afraid, a warm and familiar feeling flowed through his chest. It was as if he had known this giant fox for over a decade.
The fox exhaled a long breath, creating a small whirlwind on the grassland. "You look confused. Well, that's only natural. Your memories are currently fragmented, so you don't remember everything. In short, your power is currently at its lowest point."
The fox looked straight into Seven's eyes. "To protect yourself, you sealed away your memories and most of our power while we were fighting in the rift of space and time. Huff… huff… I'll leave the rest of the explanation to that fat Tanuki."
The nine-tailed fox shot a sharp glance at the giant sand dune beside him. "Stop pretending to sleep, Sand Raccoon."
After saying that, the giant fox Seven knew as Kurama closed his eyes again. His snoring sounded like a steady rumble of thunder. His energy was completely drained.
Suddenly, the giant one-tailed sand mound next to Kurama trembled.
"Kekyahahaha!"
That signature, excruciatingly annoying shrill laugh shattered the silence. The giant Sand Raccoon suddenly shrank rapidly, transforming into the size of a jumping pet dog, and landed right in front of Seven's feet.
"I'm the strongest Bijuu, so of course I'm the first to fully awaken!" boasted Shukaku, proudly patting his bulging belly.
The little raccoon began chattering nonstop. He told of their past, of the great war that had involved them all, of an enemy named Otsutsuki who had come from the other side of the starry sky, and how they had eventually been sucked into a dimensional rift until they were stranded in this world.
Seven just nodded, putting on a serious face as if he understood everything. But inside his head, the gears of his brain were turning furiously, trying to piece the fragments of information together.
Wait a minute, Seven thought. If I put it in order... that means before I ended up in this pirate world, I was reincarnated into the Ninja World? There I pieced everything together, fought the Otsutsuki Leader, then fell into a space-time rift, lost my memories, and ended up here? No wonder my body is absurdly strong!
"...and that strange, glowing fruit whose energy you just absorbed," Shukaku continued, interrupting Seven's reverie. "It was the energy from that fruit that awakened me and stabilized this mental space."
"Oh, that's a Devil Fruit," Seven replied quickly. "It's the primary source of power in this new world. Some can turn you into an element of nature, some turn you into an animal. But that fruit carries a curse."
"What kind of curse?" Shukaku asked curiously.
"The eater will be hated by the sea. They can't swim, and lose their strength if they touch Sea Stone. But since I didn't eat it and only absorbed its energy as you told me to, I think I'm safe." Seven looked at his hand. "And by the way, that hard black skin I used yesterday to hit the bear… that's called Haki."
Shukaku nodded in understanding. "Good. So here's how it works, Seven. That Devil Fruit contains pure energy that can restore your seal and revive all of us. That was a high-level fruit, so its energy was quite substantial."
The raccoon pointed at the silhouettes of his friends, who were still asleep. "To wake up everyone from me all the way to Chomei the Seven-Tailed, you'll need one top-tier item for each of us. If you want to wake up Gyuki the octopus, you'll need two. And to wake up that snoring, stupid fox..." Shukaku shot Kurama a annoyed glance, "…you'll need three."
Although Shukaku was always at odds with Kurama, the raccoon finally sighed in acknowledgment. "Even though I don't want to admit it, that stupid fox really is the strongest. When we were created, the distribution of power was extremely unfair. If I got one part, and Matatabi got one part, that fox kept the remaining ninety parts all to himself."
Seven nodded again, this time truly listening intently.
"Now, speaking of the power of this world," Shukaku folded his arms across his chest, gazing at Seven. "Do you know anything? We need a plan."
"This world is divided into two major factions: Pirates and the Navy," Seven explained. "Pirates are like bandits in the Ninja World. They're looters, fugitives, outlaws. But make no mistake—the top-tier Pirates are terrifying. I estimate the top-tier pirates in these seas are as strong as Hashirama and Madara."
Shukaku let out a small whistle upon hearing this.
"Then there's the Navy," Seven continued. "They act like police or ninjas. They maintain order. But the problem is, behind them stands the World Government, much like the Daimyo. And the supreme rulers of the World Government are the so-called Sky Dragons."
Seven's face showed genuine disgust. "These Sky Dragons are trash, far worse than any corrupt Daimyo. They can kill commoners at will, enslave whoever they please. And the crazy part is, if anyone dares to touch them, the Navy's highest combat forces will immediately step in to slaughter the perpetrator."
Seven took a breath. "The Navy… you could compare it to Konoha during the era of the Third Hokage and Danzo. On the surface, they preach justice and protect civilians, but deep down, their roots are rotten because their finances and lives are controlled by the scum of the World Government."
Of course, Seven kept one secret in his mind. His knowledge of this world was limited only up to the appearance of the Gorosei named Saturn on Egg Island. He was completely in the dark about what happened next or the ultimate secrets of this world. But for now, his knowledge was more than enough.
Shukaku nodded slowly, one hand stroking his chin as if he had an imaginary beard. His eyes gleamed slyly.
"Interesting," Shukaku muttered. "If our primary goal is to obtain many Devil Fruits to restore your power, then the most logical targets are the Navy and the World Government. They're everywhere, well-organized, and surely hoard many valuable fruits. If you become a pirate, you'll just be constantly hunted and struggle to gather intelligence."
The sand raccoon looked up, gazing at Seven with a wide grin.
"So, Seven… which path will you choose to gather our energy? Bandit or Cop?"