One Piece: Silent-Silent Fruit

After Rosinante returned to the Saito household carrying General Fujimitsu's severed head,

And after reports came in from Fujimitsu's domain detailing exactly how he had stormed alone into the General's Residence, silently taken Fujimitsu's head, and then walked out in full view of everyone...

The Saito household finally stabilized.

No one opposed Rosinante anymore.

Even those whose interests had been threatened all chose, for the time being, to endure in silence.

No one dared defy a General who seemed like some demon-god descended into the mortal world.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Rosinante fully seized control of the Saito household's military forces.

And under his training, the soldiers of the Saito domain grew stronger and stronger.

Aside from training the army and cultivating himself, Rosinante also continued visiting the little riverside.

There, he met with Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara often, grilled fish for them, and sparred with them.

Bit by bit, the three of them grew closer and closer.

One day, when Rosinante arrived at the riverbank, he found Hashirama and Madara not sparring as usual.

Instead, the two of them were sitting to the side, discussing something seriously.

"What are you two talking about?" Rosinante asked as he appeared beside them.

By now, Hashirama and Madara were already completely used to Rosinante's ghost-like entrances and exits, so neither of them was startled.

"We're discussing how to change the current situation and bring this era of endless war to an end," Hashirama said. "Madara says we need to become stronger first. No matter how loudly the weak cry out, no one listens."

As the three of them grew closer, Hashirama and Madara had also begun sharing their ideals with Rosinante more and more often.

"That's true," Rosinante said. "The weak have no voice. But if you two really want to change the world together, then the first thing you need to do... is be honest with each other."

Hashirama and Madara both froze.

Rosinante extended his hand.

"My name is Saito Tsubasa. I'm the General of the Saito household. My ability is Silence."

Hearing that, both Hashirama and Madara curled their lips.

"Tch. Tsubasa, you're way too sly," they said at the same time. "We already knew all that!"

But right after that, Hashirama stood up.

He placed one hand over Rosinante's outstretched hand and said:

"My name is Senju Hashirama. I'm from the Senju Clan. I specialize in Water Release, Earth Release, and taijutsu."

When Hashirama said that, Madara gave him a look of surprise.

It wasn't surprise that Hashirama was from the Senju Clan.

He had already guessed that.

What surprised him was how easily Hashirama had chosen to lay everything bare.

A moment later, Madara stood up too and reached out his hand.

"My name is Uchiha Madara. I specialize in Fire Release, taijutsu... and the Sharingan."

"It seems none of us are really surprised," Rosinante said with a smile. "But sometimes, even when everyone already knows, if things aren't said aloud, suspicion still festers. Distrust grows. And eventually, that turns into war."

He looked at the two of them seriously.

"So if you truly want to end this era of chaos, then this is absolutely necessary. Whatever the problem is, say it out loud. Then solve it together. That way, conflict becomes less likely."

"Then what do we do next?" Hashirama asked. "How do we actually end this era of war?"

"First, strength," Rosinante said. "With strength comes the right to speak. With the right to speak, you can influence the direction of your respective clans. With the power of your two clans, it's enough to unify the ninja world's major clans. Once the clans are unified, and once proper rules are established, wars will lessen... or even disappear."

"That's impossible," Hashirama said, frowning. "No matter how strong someone is, they still can't force every ninja clan to unite."

"That's right," Madara said. "Those clans are too stubborn. Even if you kill them, they still won't willingly submit. And even if they do unite, it'll only be on the surface. Beneath that, their hearts won't be aligned. There might be less open warfare, but the hidden conflicts would only become worse."

Rosinante looked at them and asked:

"Do you know when humans are willing to set aside their differences and work together?"

Hashirama and Madara both looked puzzled.

"Only when they face a massive crisis," Rosinante said. "That's when people unite. And the ninja world is no different. What it lacks is a great enough threat, something so dangerous that everyone is forced to stand together."

His eyes sharpened.

"So one of you must become the threat to the ninja world."

"And the other must become the one who unites the ninja world against that threat."

"In the end, the two sides negotiate. They establish a ninja village. They let their children study together, understand one another, and grow together."

"But even if that happens," Madara said, "there will still be ambitious people who rise up and try to destroy that village."

"Then you create an even greater threat," Rosinante replied. "When a collective faces an external danger, they become far more united. If you use that opportunity to educate the people within the village, to make them stand together against the outside... then a relatively peaceful era can begin."

"But does such a threat even exist?" Madara asked.

"What matters most for you right now is the first step," Rosinante said. "Gain power. Gain the right to speak. Once you've truly reached that point... even if no threat exists, you can always find one."

He paused, then added with a calm, chilling certainty:

"Or create one."

"You're right," Madara said. "The most important thing right now... is to gain strength."

"If the two of you truly wish for peace," Rosinante said, "then I'll help you unify the secular powers of the Land of Fire first. Once the worldly forces of the Land of Fire are united, the ninja world will lose many of its mutually hostile missions. And that will make it far easier to unite the ninja world as well."

"That's right, exactly like that!" Hashirama said excitedly. "Let's unify the Land of Fire!"

And so, right there at the riverside, the three of them made a vow.

To unify the Land of Fire.

To bring peace into the world.

But the story had a tremendous inertia of its own.

Very soon, Rosinante heard news that Hashirama and Madara had fallen out.

And soon after that, war erupted in the ninja world once more.

By then, Rosinante had no way to concern himself with them.

Because he, too, had to face war.

After Fujimitsu had been killed by Rosinante, a new General of the Fujimitsu domain was finally appointed after some time.

And the moment this new General took office, he declared war on the Saito household.

He claimed he would avenge the previous General Fujimitsu.

And so, before long, a great war broke out.

It swept through both the secular powers of the Land of Fire and the ninja world.

And once it began...

It raged for more than ten years.

Time passed like flowing water.

In the blink of an eye, decades had gone by.

"So... they still reached that day in the end?"

Rosinante, now the sovereign of the Land of Fire, asked quietly.

Dozens of years had passed.

After more than ten years of war, Rosinante had finally unified the entire Land of Fire.

After that, together with Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, he helped unify the ninja world of the Land of Fire and establish Konohagakure.

But just now, he had received news of Hashirama and Madara's final battle at the Valley of the End.

And shortly afterward, Senju Tobirama personally came to the capital to report the deaths of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.

"My elder brother won against Uchiha Madara," Tobirama said sorrowfully, "but in that battle, he overtaxed too much of his life force. After returning, his injuries only worsened. He passed away at dawn yesterday."

Though filled with grief, Tobirama still didn't dare show the slightest disrespect before Rosinante.

He knew very well who the man before him was.

This was a terrifying existence not inferior to his elder brother or Madara.

A man who had once shattered Madara's Perfect Susanoo with a single punch.

A man who had erased Hashirama's Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands with one sword strike.

A man proficient in countless ninjutsu, secret arts, sealing techniques... and even sage arts.

"Tobirama," Rosinante said quietly, "Konoha will be yours from now on. Help your brother protect it well. It was his lifelong dream. His lifelong pursuit."

"Yes!" Tobirama replied firmly. "Even if I must offer my life, I will protect Konoha and the Land of Fire!"

"Go."

"Yes."

After Tobirama left, Rosinante stood in silence for a long while.

"They're all gone..."

He murmured softly.

"Then I should go too."

As he spoke, Rosinante walked into a secret chamber.

All across the chamber, strange runes had been carved and painted in every direction.

Over the years, as Rosinante grew stronger and stronger, he had gradually begun to sense something.

His soul still held a strange connection to a distant time and space.

When he first crossed into this world, the only part of his Silent-Silent Fruit ability he possessed was the fragment that had fused into his soul.

That fragment alone had not been enough to use the awakened state of the Devil Fruit.

But through that faint connection...

Rosinante had been able to draw in the power of the Silent-Silent Fruit from that other time and space.

And through that, he had eventually achieved Devil Fruit awakening once more.

Which proved one thing:

The Rosinante in the One Piece world had not died.

Back then, he had not known where the One Piece world was.

And he hadn't known that his body there had survived.

So he had never dared hope too much about returning.

But now...

Now there was a connection.

Now he knew that he had not truly died in that world.

And once he knew that...

The desire to return became overwhelming.

He wanted to go back.

To see how those familiar people were doing.

Most of all...

He wanted to know how Shaxia, Robin, and the others were now.

But how could he return?

How was he supposed to go back?

In order to find a way home, Rosinante gathered and studied nearly every ninjutsu, secret art, and sealing technique in the world.

For that, he had even asked Hashirama to personally teach him sage arts.

After more than ten years of research...

He had finally completed it.

"The Secret Art... Soul Return Across Time and Space!"

A terrifying amount of chakra burst from Rosinante's body.

At once, every rune in the chamber lit up brilliantly.

The entire room was flooded with blinding light.

And when the light finally faded...

Only Saito Tsubasa's body remained.

But it no longer held even the slightest trace of life.

Soon after, word spread across the world:

The Sovereign of the Land of Fire had passed away in meditation.

And then...

A world war began.

Due to many readers not being able to accept the sudden switch into the Naruto arc, the Naruto storyline has been shortened to twenty chapters. Next, the story will return to Rosinante going back to the One Piece world. However, the Naruto storyline will appear again near the end of the book in the form of side stories, and at that time, Rosinante will also return through Edo Tensei during the Fourth Great Ninja War.