Shukaku wasn't surprised in the slightest.
He knew exactly how powerful Crocodile was.
"Alright then. After you consume the flesh, I'll gather a large amount of wind and sand around you."
"That should help you perceive the natural elements best suited to you—and this place is a desert, after all."
Crocodile fell silent for a moment before finally saying, "Thanks."
"Heh, we're partners now, remember? If I ever get bullied, I'll have to come running to you for help!"
Shukaku waved his stubby arms a little sheepishly as he spoke, then continued walking toward his domain.
"Oh, right! I even saved a small building for you—inside, I've already prepared things you humans need. The residents of Rainbase helped me figure it out. I just told them I had a human friend. You can stay there whenever you want!"
Shukaku truly enjoyed this feeling—hosting Crocodile in a place he could finally call home.
"…But next time you visit, let me know in advance, yeah? That way I can go catch a few Bananawanis from the Sandora River. I heard their meat is amazing."
Shukaku was still rambling.
Crocodile stopped him. "Hold on a second."
"What is it?"
Shukaku, already standing at the gates of his domain, looked down at his shoulder in confusion.
"This is a Den-Den Mushi that can only contact me. If you ever run into trouble, just call."
Crocodile handed him a custom-made Visual Den-Den Mushi.
The little snail looked strikingly similar to him—complete with a black Justice coat draped over its shell.
"No matter what happens, the General title still carries some weight here in the Starfish World. I'm also looking into getting you a Vivre Card."
Crocodile spoke thoughtfully.
"General?"
Shukaku immediately latched onto the key word, scratching the back of his head with a puzzled look. "Weren't you a Lieutenant General?"
"Yeah, I still am for now—but I've already received notice. I'm about to be promoted to Army Headquarters General."
Crocodile said it with calm indifference.
"YAAAH—!"
Shukaku let out another loud shriek, spreading his arms wide with a laugh. "Then I've got a General backing me now!"
"Exactly. If you ever run into someone you can't beat, remember their face and name, then do your best to run—and call me."
"If you really can't get away, just try to point the Den-Den Mushi at them. That way, I'll get a visual."
Crocodile gave his promise with utmost seriousness: "I swear—once you're reborn, you'll get to see that bastard's tombstone."
Shukaku nodded hard, deeply moved.
It felt so good… to be protected like this.
Back in the Shinobi World, no one had ever treated him this kindly.
'…Still, I want to become stronger myself. But how?'
Shukaku pondered as he walked through the gate.
At once, that familiar Sunagakure aesthetic washed over him.
"I'll look into it when I get back," Crocodile said with a grin, exhaling cigar smoke. "Even if there's no way yet, there will be someday—because this is the World Government."
"Alright, alright. Then let's start with your stuff tomorrow, yeah?"
"Sounds good."
...
Year 1503 of the Sea Circle Calendar.
September 15th.
Inside the Kaikage's office, Uzui Tengen was reading over a freshly delivered directive.
"Look at this—the World Government has officially decided to transfer Umigakure's jurisdiction from CIPHER POL to the Supreme Military Command! From now on, we'll be under the same command structure as the Army, Navy, and Air Force!"
As he spoke, Uzui Tengen handed over the thick stack of documents.
This change signified that from this point forward, the ninja profession would no longer be classified as espionage or intelligence work—but formal military service.
Fukurokuju nodded in agreement as he read through the document.
"Good news. This means Umigakure will have full autonomy. But… the Kaikage's rank jumped that much?"
The document clearly stated:
Going forward, the Kaikage would hold the rank of Marshal, equal to the Marshals of the three main military branches.
In addition—
All ninja holding the Five Kage title would be ranked as Generals.
Below that were the Five Counselors of Umigakure, also ranked as Lieutenant Generals.
As for Umigakure's new standard of Kage-level strength—that meant someone on the level of Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama!
Finally, they looked over the official list of responsibilities assigned to Umigakure by the World Government.
From now on, their shinobi would be tasked with special operations, including reconnaissance and strikes in unconquered other worlds.
Meanwhile, CIPHER POL would now be responsible for secret operations such as assassinations and surveillance in worlds already conquered.
One handles external missions, the other handles internal affairs—
"Hm?"
Fukurokuju's expression gradually shifted to one of surprise as he continued reading.
"That's right. Along with the directive, we've also been issued a combat mission. If you wouldn't mind, please notify all personnel ranked Jōnin and above to assemble in the conference room," Uzui Tengen said with a courteous smile.
Fukurokuju asked, "Should I notify those two as well?"
Uzui Tengen paused to think for a moment before replying, "Yes, give them a heads-up—but their attendance isn't mandatory."
"Understood."
Fukurokuju rose and left the office immediately.
At the same time, Uzui Tengen picked up another sheet of paper nearby.
It was an intelligence report.
According to it, Senju Hashirama had recently clashed near Nine-Tails Island with "Nine-Tails Celestial Fox" Guren, a being from the Teigu World.
Shortly after, Uchiha Madara arrived on the scene and summoned a massive boulder, hurling it from the sky toward Guren.
In the next instant, the skies opened up as another entity from the Teigu World, the Ancient Dragon, appeared—unleashing a barrage of golden lightning bolts that obliterated the falling boulder before it could hit.
The two sides continued to battle for three hours before eventually withdrawing.
However, Guren remained on Nine-Tails Island, living together with the Nine-Tails from the shinobi world.
Since the report was compiled from a great distance, the information was not very detailed.
It didn't specify who won, who lost, or even which side had the upper hand.
But one thing was clear:
Neither Senju Hashirama nor Uchiha Madara appeared to have sustained any serious injuries.
Uzui Tengen put the report away, grinning in satisfaction as he stood up.
It was time for him to move as well.
Moments later—
Inside a large conference room spanning roughly 500 square meters—
All the shinobi who had been granted the rank of Jōnin had gathered.
Aside from a few from the original Oniwabanshū group, the majority were familiar faces from the shinobi world.
Although the total number of attendees didn't exceed thirty—
Every single one of them was either a top-tier shinobi from one of the major villages, or the head of a prominent shinobi clan.
At the moment, everyone wore solemn expressions as they flipped through the printed documents in their hands.
"You've all finished reading, I assume."
A moment later, once the last person placed their document back on the table, Uzui Tengen spoke up.
"The directive from the Supreme Command isn't complicated."
He continued, voice calm and direct: "Our task is to dispatch multiple small squads ahead of time to World No.0007, codenamed 'Nuclear Weapon'. The mission is to secretly infiltrate and investigate key military, industrial, and political institutions of that world's nations—monitoring major military and political personnel, protecting important industrial facilities and figures, and, when necessary, executing sabotage or assassination operations."
He paused for a beat, letting his gaze sweep across the room, locking eyes with each person in turn.
"This is Umigakure's first mission after the reforms—and also your first mission as official members of the World Government. We must take it seriously and complete it flawlessly."
Everyone seated nodded in acknowledgment.
"In short, this mission is primarily focused on infiltration and intelligence gathering. Therefore, we need shinobi who excel in concealment and recon operations."
"And our first challenge will be the military base on the far side of the 'Gate'. All of you need to quickly familiarize yourselves with the capabilities of modern firearms and their methods of warfare."
"A few days from now, the Army Headquarters will be sending over several military experts in this field."
...
Although the Supreme Command of the military had been consistently suppressing Shiki's request to launch a campaign,
that didn't mean the World Government had been turning a blind eye to the 'Nuclear World' all this time.
On the contrary, under the intelligence provided by Imu, every department had been quietly making preparations.
After all, he was a transmigrant from the 'Modern World'.
So Imu wrote down everything he knew.
Then had the Five Elders distribute it to the relevant departments based on their respective fields.
Among them, the most critical information was the modern world's dependence on electricity, the internet, and satellites, as well as a general overview of nuclear weapons—their destructive power, methods of killing, and launch mechanisms.
At the same time, the initiative remained in the hands of the World Government.
The world on the other side of the 'Gate' had absolutely no idea it was about to be invaded by the World Government.
One could say they were completely unprepared.
Even the timing of the attack would be decided by the World Government.
There was also a massive gap in intelligence.
Even if Imu didn't know everything about modern warfare, he still understood 60 to 70 percent of it.
At most, it was just missile strikes followed by air raids, then artillery barrages, and finally ground forces sweeping the area.
All of that could be preemptively taught to their own troops.
By contrast, the side of the 'Nuclear World' would need time to adapt to supernatural abilities.
And in that process, they would inevitably suffer tremendous losses and casualties.
After all, abilities like invisibility, transformation, teleportation, or slicing bullets with a blade—to people of the 'Modern World', these were the kinds of things that only existed in fantasy fiction.
Anyone claiming to actually possess such powers would be laughed at as a lunatic.
Imu understood this kind of 'non-magical modern mindset' all too well.
And having just conquered the 'Shinobi World', a place inhabited by extraordinary ninja,
he immediately decided to first have those shinobi infiltrate the 'Nuclear World' and gather more detailed intelligence.
They would disperse across the globe, monitoring key targets and facilities, and only after everything was in place would the fully-prepared forces launch a large-scale invasion!
The only somewhat troublesome issue—was that this time the 'Gate' wasn't a 'Dimensional Gate', but the 'Gate' from the Zero Magic World, also known as the 'Gate of the Void'.
So this 'Gate' couldn't be repositioned at will according to his desires.
Nor could it be opened or closed at will. He didn't even know how large the gate would be once opened, or how long it would remain active.
Because the one capable of opening the 'Gate', Louise, had never opened it before—naturally, many things hadn't been tested or understood.
Pope Vittorio of the Brimir Church had only glimpsed the military base of a certain country through one of the ancestral sacred relics—
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