To be honest, Naruto had imagined that when he reunited with Stussy, he would see a newborn life.
But he really hadn't expected this day to come so soon.
Counting the time, it had only been about three months...
Locking eyes with Adam's one blue and one green eye in his arms, Naruto felt an inexplicable connection with this little one.
And this little guy seemed to recognize him too. He neither cried nor fussed, just looked at him with those bright, watery eyes.
"Adam... Adam... Named after that treasure tree?"
In this world, there was no legend about a 'god creating the first human', but the name [Adam] still carried its own legendary significance.
It was one of the only a few giant treasure trees in the entire world. No matter what happened, it would never fall.
Its resilient material was widely celebrated, and even fallen branches could fetch astronomical prices on the black market.
The Pirate King, Gol D. Roger's ship, the [Oro Jackson], was built from a branch that had fallen from this very tree.
Of course, most importantly, atop this treasure tree existed the strongest nation in this world… the Giant Warrior Nation of Elbaf.
'Come to think of it, Uncle Jarul was there. I hadn't visited him in years either.'
Naruto muttered his son's name while his mind began to wander.
And Adam across from him seemed cleverly aware of this big guy's distraction, immediately reaching out to grab Naruto's golden hair.
To be honest, in today's world, aside from Hancock and Stussy, probably only this little one had the ability and the chance to grab Naruto's hair like this.
—Oh, and Kousei, who is still in Hancock's belly.
Thinking of Kousei brought Naruto back to the present.
He didn't pull his hair away from his son's grip… even though the little guy's strength was considerable, it couldn't cause him the slightest bit of pain.
"Kid, you're the big brother now... I really wonder if Kousei will be content being the little sister."
From his time spent with his future daughter, Naruto was very familiar with Kousei's personality.
In front of him, her old father, she was always well-behaved and sensible, but once out of sight, she transformed into an imp.
According to revelations from two nannies who wished to remain anonymous, Kousei had committed many headache-inducing 'crimes' in the Land of Vegetables.
Fighting and arguing were everyday occurrences. She had also secretly slipped laxatives into the wells of families she disliked, and looted all the pants from some thugs' houses overnight, and so on.
If she grew up according to her original path, it was likely that little Kousei wouldn't easily accept being submissive to a brother only a few months older than her.
—At least, that's what Naruto thought.
"Kousei?"
Stussy keenly looked up, giving Naruto a scrutinizing stare.
"While I was away, you two went ahead and named the child?"
Her tone was uncharacteristically aggressive, causing the great hero who had just displayed his power on the sea to revert to the role of an ordinary father.
"Uh... well..."
Naruto's intelligence suddenly began spinning rapidly. In an instant, inspiration struck.
"You didn't consult me about Adam either... Yeah! Not just the name, I didn't even know about his birth!"
Now it was Stussy's turn to be embarrassed.
But she was, after all, the ever-resourceful Queen of the Underworld. The stiffness on her face lasted only a few seconds before transforming into a pitiful, doe-eyed gaze.
"Darling, you know my situation... I also wanted to be a mother. Watching Hancock's belly grow day by day, do you think my heart wasn't envious?"
But Naruto was no fool. How could he be fooled by such acting?
Not to mention the Otsutsuki Clan's exceptional vision, which could discern the intention behind every facial muscle movement, or his Observation Haki, which could perceive human hearts-
Just his years of understanding Stussy alone wouldn't let him fall for it so easily.
"Cut it out… your current identity is very sensitive. Why didn't you tell me about something like this beforehand? If I hadn't been here today, you all would have been in danger."
Naruto gently tapped Stussy's pristine forehead with his finger, and the shrewd Queen of the Pleasure District let out a cute, grumbling 'mmph' like a little girl.
"Mmph... I know I was wrong, but! You heartbreaker, have you figured out who gets the wedding first now?"
Offensive reversal!
Naruto was again at a loss for words.
In the end, they knowingly exchanged smiles and tacitly let the matter drop.
Middle-aged couples... especially in a unique situation like Naruto's with two women, without a bit of tolerance, life would be painful for everyone.
Neither Hancock nor Stussy could give up Naruto, and likewise, Naruto found it hard to choose between them.
Of course, the most crucial point was that there was no higher power here restricting Naruto.
The only thing that could restrict Naruto was his own morality. So if he really wanted to marry them both at the same ceremony, no one would say anything, and many would even applaud his 'boldness'.
Adam, held in Naruto's arms, looked at his mother for a while, then at his father, pondering something in his newly minted little mind.
And what about the Seraphim Medusa?
She remained respectfully standing nearby, showing no difference in attitude toward Naruto compared to Adam and Stussy.
The middle-aged couple continued their lovey-dovey interaction, making Naomi and Kalifa, who had never been in relationships, feel quite awkward.
'Yuck! What a sugary couple! Good thing we weren't her parents, or that would be awkward.'
"Um..."
Perhaps because she didn't know how terrifying Naruto truly was, or maybe because she was worried about Karin's safety.
—Of course, most likely, she just couldn't stand them ignoring them and flaunting their relationship anymore.
Naomi spoke up before Kalifa could.
"...Excuse me, is Captain Karin going to be okay?"
As she spoke, her eyes unconsciously kept glancing at Karin, floating unconscious behind Naruto.
At this moment, Karin's body had completely recovered to human form. The troubles that had plagued her for so many days seemed like nothing in front of Naruto.
Through Kalifa's hurried explanations, Naomi now clearly understood that the man before her was the 'Naruto-san' Karin always mentioned.
—The one she had once considered her imagined rival.
'Hmm...'
Looking at Naruto's height of over two meters, and his strength that could casually 'pull' a submarine up from the deep sea, this timid snake-kin archer immediately abandoned that thought.
'Better talk about Captain Karin.'
"You—"
Naruto's gaze shifted between Naomi and Kalifa, then fell on the long tail below Naomi's waist.
'...Did the snake-kin tribe really exist in this world? Had my lie to Big Mom actually come true?'
His confusion didn't last long, gradually dissipating as Naomi and Kalifa explained things to him.