It didn't take Naruto much time at all. The little boy named Peach and the villagers he had called over all chose to believe his explanation.
This was naturally due to his friendly attitude and gentle words.
As well as his powerful constitution that remained unharmed despite letting the villagers attack him with all their might.
There was no helping it. What could be more persuasive than this?
Of course, from these villagers' nervous attitudes, it wasn't hard to see that this village had definitely been suffering from pirate harassment recently.
"Now you believe I have no ill intentions, right?"
After "fishing" Tempest out of the water, Naruto dried the moisture from its bottom, then took out a sealing scroll.
With a pop, after the smoke cleared, the portable Tempest was complete.
This scroll was the largest capacity one he had obtained, and even then it could barely fit Tempest inside.
It looked like he'd need to get some blank sealing scrolls with more space next time he returned to the ninja world.
After clearing up the misunderstanding, Naruto also followed this group of villagers back to the village.
Since he was already here, he might as well have a meal before leaving.
He still had some money left over from shipbuilding, perfect to use here.
Faced with berries delivered to their door, even though the village originally didn't have this kind of service for receiving outside guests, they still gladly agreed to Naruto's request.
Since he was willing to pay, what was there to complain about?
While eating the fresh food the villagers brought, Naruto also learned about this village's situation from the village chief's mouth.
"Originally, our village and dozens of nearby archipelago islands all belonged to the same kingdom."
"The king collected very high taxes every year. Back then we couldn't even afford to eat."
"Later, the Revolutionary Army came."
"With their help, the capital's residents joined together to resist, overthrew the king, and had another moderate noble take over ruling the country."
Here we must mention the several management forms the Revolutionary Army used after liberating countries.
Generally, if they weren't under tight blockade by the World Government, they would choose to organize people to spontaneously establish autonomous councils and leave some personnel for initial guidance.
But if the World Government was watching closely and they didn't have much time for long-term guidance, they would select a "qualified" noble locally for management.
For example, the Goa Kingdom in East Blue was like this.
After moderate nobles came to power, the Revolutionary Army would also require them to abolish noble privileges and give commoners the right to participate in national management.
At the same time, their people would occasionally return to that country for covert observation to prevent the country from being changed back to its original state by nobles.
For strategic locations under long-term World Government management, the Revolutionary Army would station personnel and develop them into new bases.
Obviously, the situation Naruto encountered at this village was the second type.
"After that noble came to power, he indeed reduced taxes as they said."
Because they no longer paid "Heavenly Tribute" to the World Government, all residents of the entire country temporarily got a chance to breathe.
But then new problems appeared.
"Before, because the Navy would patrol regularly, pirates rarely attacked island villages."
"But after the king was overthrown, this country was also removed from the World Government's list of 'legitimate countries.'"
The most direct consequence was that the nearest Navy base wouldn't send personnel to patrol, causing the maritime security level in this area to plummet dramatically.
"What about the Revolutionary Army? Didn't they manage you?"
Hearing this, Naruto swallowed the food in his mouth and asked somewhat puzzledly.
Dragon shouldn't be so sloppy in his work, right?
"They also sent people to strike against pirates."
"But every time the Revolutionary Army sent people, the World Government would send people to pursue them."
"Although the World Government usually doesn't do anything to us, if anyone dares harbor Revolutionary Army members, they'll still be mercilessly erased from the map by their warships."
The World Government might not care about fighting pirates, but when it came to dealing with the Revolutionary Army, they definitely perked up.
It was precisely because of this back-and-forth with the World Government that Revolutionary Army support could never go all out, which also gave those pirates an opportunity.
Currently, this country was caught in the struggle between three groups: "pirates," "Revolutionary Army," and "World Government."
"I see."
Nodding, Naruto expressed understanding.
There were actually many similar situations.
After all, the World Government was still the most powerful force in this world. Whether comparing numbers or military strength, the Revolutionary Army could hardly confront them head-on.
Being able to develop so many bases under their encirclement was already quite remarkable.
However, this also indirectly showed that the Revolutionary Army's current methods weren't perfect enough.
If they needed to be implemented in the ninja world, perhaps some modifications would be required.
"Pirates! Pirates are coming!"
At this moment, shouting suddenly came from outside the village.
The village chief, who had just sat down to smoke and talk with Naruto, immediately straightened up, threw away his cane, grabbed the pitchfork beside him, and rushed out in a hurry.
After leaving the room and looking around, the other villagers were all the same.
These guys were just ordinary people. They didn't have innately powerful bodies or strange abilities.
But they seemed to have been inspired by certain people and had regained the courage to resist.
"Sigh..."
Unfortunately, this was a world where individual strength differences were too vast.
With just numerical advantage, these villagers would find it hard to deal with pirates who had experienced dozens of bloody battles.
Following the villagers to another coast.
This time it wasn't a "boy who cried wolf" situation. There really was a pirate ship flying a skull flag moored there.
The pirates who had disembarked were now confronting the villagers.
Several of the leaders were even Devil Fruit users.
Facing such enemies, if Naruto wasn't here today, the villagers would definitely suffer heavy casualties.
From this perspective, your luck isn't too bad.
Just as Naruto was about to act, unexpected guests arrived.
It was a speeding steamship that had almost chased the pirate ship's tail here.
A purple-haired woman in red leather clothing and sunglasses jumped down from the ship, holding a flag in her hand. She wore a necktie while having no other clothing under her leather jacket.
Among the people Naruto knew, only one person had such avant-garde fashion mixing.
The commander of the Revolutionary Army's Eastern Army, possessing the "Pump-Pump Fruit" ability, Belo Betty.
"It seems like there's no problem even without me taking action."
Naruto looked at the familiar figure with a smile on his face.
The other villagers obviously recognized her too.
"Don't be afraid! The power is in your own hands! You can protect your own homes!"
The pirates on the other side were still confused when they saw the villagers who had been powerless to resist in their hands suddenly become like they'd been injected with adrenaline after hearing the voice, all showing angry and fanatical expressions.
"Ahhhhh!"
One villager directly used his pitchfork to knock the weapon from a pirate's hand, then more villagers swarmed forward.
The Pump-Pump Fruit's ability wasn't limited to just emotions. Even physical potential would be inspired and brought out.
Those few pirates with Devil Fruits tried to act but were entangled by other Revolutionary Army members who had also jumped down from the ship.
At this point, the freed-up Belo Betty removed her sunglasses and turned to look at Naruto, her face showing no particular emotion.
"So, what are you doing here?"