"No, I'm still holding up…"
Fubuki shook her head. This battle had been planned entirely by Kizaru, and even if she couldn't be of much help to him, leaving now would feel completely inappropriate.
"Um, Sister Tatsumaki, Miss Fubuki, it looks like Boss Kizaru is calling for us in the group…" Random who was livestreaming the battle at Red Harbor suddenly spoke up.
Compared to the second-hand broadcasts relayed by other spectators in the chat group's livestream, those who were present on-site were watching the real-time projection feed, so they hadn't noticed Kizaru's message immediately.
[Bystander Who Wants to Hug Luo Feng's Thigh: @Kizaru Boss, I've helped call them over~]
[Kizaru: Thanks for the trouble. The plan is going smoothly. I'll head over to find you in a couple of days.]
[Fubuki: Is something the matter, Kizaru?]
[Kizaru: Oh, Fubuki's here. It's nothing serious, really. I just wanted you to tell Tatsumaki to make a trip and hand the Edo Tensei scroll over to Esdeath.]
[Kizaru: The old man Kong has already withdrawn. If Sakazuki decides to run, Esdeath probably won't be able to stop him.]
[Kizaru: There's no longer any role for Sakazuki in the rest of the show. I don't want to see that guy appear at Mary Geoise later, so we might as well turn up the pressure on him.]
[Orochimaru: Heh, if I remember correctly, that Admiral Akainu, like you, is also a Logia-type Devil Fruit user?]
[Kizaru: Hm? Sakazuki has the Magma Fruit, and I have the Glint-Glint Fruit… Are you interested in his Devil Fruit, Orochimaru?]
[Orochimaru: If I said I wasn't, you probably wouldn't believe me, would you?]
[Kizaru: I don't mind if you want it, but you'd better discuss it with Esdeath first. If she decides to settle accounts with you, I won't speak up for you.]
[Kizaru: Or you could wait until Sakazuki breaks free from Esdeath before going after him. That way, Esdeath won't have much to say about it.]
[Orochimaru: What a pity. Right now, I don't possess the strength to capture Admiral Akainu. However, if I set up traps in advance, I might be able to give it a try.]
[Tony Stark: Hey! My friend, good things should be shared, shouldn't they? And if help is needed, I can provide some appropriate support too!]
[Kizaru: Suit yourselves. Just make sure Sakazuki doesn't get away.]
[Ai Haibara: That man named Sakazuki isn't he your colleague? Why do you sound like you don't care at all whether he lives or dies?]
[Kizaru: How should I put it… a clash of ideals, I suppose. Trying to get Sakazuki to stand on my side would be far too troublesome, and that guy's brain isn't much better than a single-track mind.]
[Kizaru: Once Sakazuki decides I'm his enemy, he'll use any means necessary to eliminate me. In that situation, trying to make him change his mind—or even switch sides—is basically impossible…]
[Tony Stark: Ah! I feel that deeply! The Pentagon is full of granite-headed guys like that! No! I even suspect their brains are made of vibranium!]
[Orochimaru: Interesting. It seems that stubborn conservatives are a headache no matter which world they're in…]
[Kizaru: Then I'll leave Sakazuki to you. Later, go find Kobayashi and have her distribute dimensional coins as payment according to your respective contributions.]
[Orochimaru: I've arranged a reliable helper for you. I'm sure you'll get along with him nicely.]
[Bystander Who Wants to Cling to Luo Feng's Thigh: A helper? Damn! Don't tell me it's Jiraiya?!]
[Orochimaru: Heh, I almost forgot how familiar you are with Konoha. But this time your opponent is a Logia-type Devil Fruit user with large-scale attack capabilities. Jiraiya isn't exactly suited to dealing with that.]
[Bystander Who Wants to Cling to Luo Feng's Thigh: So it's not Jiraiya… what a shame. I was hoping that when he went back to writing Icha Icha Paradise, he'd gift me a signed collector's set~]
[Orochimaru: Although it isn't Jiraiya, the person I'm sending definitely won't disappoint you. After all, he's the "perfect ninja" in Jiraiya's own words.]
[Bystander Who Wants to Cling to Luo Feng's Thigh: Eh? Then who is it?]
[Orochimaru: You'll find out soon enough.]
...
The bystander had just logged out of the chat group when a flash of white light suddenly appeared before his eyes. In the next instant, Orochimaru and a powerfully-built "big cat" appeared in the center of the divine hall.
In the following moment, the "big cat" stood upright, and under the bystander's dumbfounded stare, transformed into a young man with dazzling blond hair and an extremely sunny smile.
"This is incredible, Lord Hokage! We actually came to another world!"
The blond youth spoke in amazement.
Even as someone proficient in space-time ninjutsu, he had never imagined that one day he would travel to another world.
With his intelligence, he instantly realized what this meant. Even if Orochimaru had become Hokage through a coup, as long as he could continuously obtain resources and benefits from other worlds, he might very well become the greatest Hokage in Konoha's history.
"So you can't sense the Flying Thunder God markers anymore?"
There was a trace of regret in Orochimaru's tone, though his expression barely changed.
He had already tried sending the Flying Thunder God coordinates to other worlds before this, but the fact that even Minato Namikaze himself couldn't sense the ninja world after arriving in another dimension was proof enough that the Flying Thunder God Technique—or rather, space-time ninjutsu—had its limitations.
"Yeah… I can't even sense the marker on Kushina anymore…"
Minato scratched his cheek with an awkward smile, clearly feeling a bit regretful himself.
If the Flying Thunder God could allow direct travel between the ninja world and other worlds, there would've been no need to let Kushina eat a Devil Fruit. He could've just taken her sightseeing across different worlds himself.
"Yellow Flash?! Holy crap! You're way more handsome in person than in the anime! Can I get your autograph?!"
Lu bounced over with an overly familiar grin. He never would have imagined that the helper Orochimaru mentioned would turn out to be Minato Namikaze. By all logic, Orochimaru had stolen the position of the Fourth Hokage—yet Minato hadn't turned hostile toward him?
"Ah—uh, just call me Minato..."
Minato gave an awkward dry laugh.
"Sure, sure! Hey, how about a selfie first and then an autograph? Oh, and could you give me a Ninja-Love Sword as a souvenir too?"
The Random Guy plastered on a cheeky smile as he sucked up enthusiastically. His over-the-top passion almost made Minato want to flee on the spot, but in the end, the man still successfully got his hands on a Ninja-Love Sword for his collection.
"So that means someone's already going to help, right? Then I don't need to go play assistant to that annoying woman anymore?"
Tatsumaki crossed her arms unhappily. If Kizaru hadn't specifically spoken up, she wouldn't have bothered helping Esdeath at all.
Even if it was just delivering something along the way, it made no difference. In fact, Tatsumaki would have loved nothing more than for Esdeath to get beaten to death!
°°°
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