"Then I'll be counting on you, Minato."
Orochimaru had already recovered four Reanimation Technique sealing scrolls from Boros. Originally, they were meant to be given to Xiao Yan, Xiao Mei, the passerby, and Fubuki as emergency lifesaving tools.
But now, an even better opportunity to make use of them had presented itself. As long as the reanimated dead could restrain Sakazuki, Minato would be able to find an opening to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport Sakazuki to a pre-arranged coordinate deep under the sea.
Using the ocean's natural suppression of Devil Fruit users, even someone as powerful as Sakazuki wouldn't be able to fully display his strength. A simple, brutal, and effective tactic.
The only real problem was Sakazuki's Observation Haki, which was also top-tier.
To create a proper opening for Minato, they needed to apply enough pressure—and fortunately, Esdeath, who had mastered all three types of Haki, was more than capable of matching Sakazuki.
Add in four immortal reanimated ninja joining the siege, and the pressure would certainly be more than sufficient.
"Huh? Boss Orochimaru isn't going too?"
The passerby sounded a bit disappointed. Not because he had any grudge against Akainu, but simply because he loved a good spectacle.
"My compatibility with Admiral Akainu isn't exactly great, so I won't go and drag Minato down. I'd rather stay here and set up traps."
Orochimaru replied indifferently.
His combat style was fundamentally specialized for fighting ninja.
Whether it was poison, swordsmanship, or Wind Release ninjutsu, none of it was particularly effective against Sakazuki's Magma Fruit abilities—and summoning techniques would just be sending creatures to their deaths.
Fortunately, Orochimaru didn't care much about his own combat power. As long as he could protect himself and not interfere with his research, that was enough.
"I'm heading out, Hokage-sama!"
Minato finished organizing the ninja tools he carried with him, then handed one of the Ninja-Love Swords to Orochimaru.
As long as he found the right opportunity, he would use the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Sakazuki directly to the coordinates of this Sword of Enduring Love.
"Wait! Don't send him to the wrong place! Minato!"
The passerby looked terrified, suddenly feeling that the other Sword of Enduring Love in his hand had become scalding hot. He was genuinely afraid that Namikaze Minato might accidentally teleport Sakazuki over here instead.
"Don't worry!"
Minato flashed a bright, sunny smile that inexplicably put everyone at ease.
"Hmph, a creepy guy like you actually has subordinates like that..."
Probably because Orochimaru was about to join forces with Esdeath, Tornado found herself instinctively disliking him as well.
"Yeah! Boss Orochimaru stole Minato's throne—pfft, I mean the Hokage position... so why does Minato still listen to you?"
Only after confirming that Minato had already gone far away did the passerby finally ask his question in curiosity.
After all, Orochimaru had seized the position of Fourth Hokage through a coup — something that rightfully belonged to Namikaze Minato.
In the passerby's mind, it would've been understandable if Minato had blasted Orochimaru with a Rasengan Flash Super Rotation Roar Style, yet here he was, actually following him into the pirate world to pick a fight with Akainu. The whole thing was absurd!
"Minato is the perfect ninja in Jiraiya's eyes."
Orochimaru gave a faint smile, choosing not to answer such an overly naive question directly.
As long as he didn't do anything that harmed Konoha, how could someone with Minato's personality ever defy the Hokage's orders?
Moreover, although Orochimaru's coup had taken place in full public view, neither he nor the Third Hokage wanted to escalate the situation. The two generations of Hokage had tacitly worked together to keep the impact to a minimum. Otherwise, Orochimaru's position as Hokage would never have been this stable.
At this moment, Minato had already leapt down from the Dominator, carving a white streak across the sea as he shot toward Red Port at breakneck speed.
Even before arriving in this world, Minato had already received full briefing from Orochimaru regarding this mission — including details about the target Sakazuki's Devil Fruit ability and appearance.
Though shocked, Minato quickly realized what this meant for Konoha. Not only did he have no real objections to Orochimaru becoming Hokage, but even the most opposed figure, Danzo, would have to bow his head once he learned Orochimaru possessed a pathway to other worlds.
For ninja villages, the most important thing was mission commissions from employers — this directly determined whether the village could support its ever-growing number of ninja.
Once domestic commissions were no longer enough, villages had no choice but to stretch their hands toward other nations. When all villages faced the same dilemma, a new Ninja World War would inevitably break out.
But now, with access to another world — or even countless worlds — Konoha no longer needed to worry about insufficient missions. They could freely cultivate ninja without restraint. Just the Land of Fire alone could support tens of thousands of Konoha ninja, let alone an entire world!
The thought stirred Minato's emotions, but as an elite ninja, he quickly suppressed them, silently vowing to complete this first mission flawlessly!
At this moment, Red Port had already turned into a living hell.
Holy Land Guardian Troops and pirates.
Slaves and pirates.
Guardian Troops and slaves.
Even pirates versus pirates, slaves versus slaves — everyone was slaughtering each other in complete chaos, unleashing the darkness and bloodlust buried deep within their hearts.
Even Minato, who had experienced the Ninja World War firsthand, couldn't help but click his tongue at such a horrific scene. But for a ninja, the mission always came first. After carefully avoiding the most chaotic combat zones, he soon located the target.
"Great Eruption!"
Sakazuki's punch shattered the massive ice pillar hurled at him by Esdeath, and torrents of magma burst forth like a dragon's breath, surging toward her.
"Ice Storm!"
While retreating rapidly, Esdeath released an overwhelming wave of freezing air and ice, attempting to freeze both Sakazuki and the magma in one go.
The battlefield around them was completely empty. Even the berserk fighters who had lost their sanity instinctively avoided the area.
Otherwise, the ground of molten lava and towering glaciers would teach them a harsh lesson in moments — and if unlucky, falling magma or ice spikes from above would give them a very unpleasant surprise.
"Found him! Target with lava-like abilities!"
Minato landed atop an iceberg, his gaze burning with excitement as he looked at Sakazuki.
°°°
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