Jigen had no respect for Orochimaru. That so-called strongest creature was nothing more than a loser to Shanks—completely outmaneuvered and utterly defeated.
"A man like Shanks can't be beaten with tricks and schemes. The only way to defeat him is with even greater strength and spirit."
In all his thousand years in the ninja world, Jigen had only ever met one person like Shanks. Before Shanks appeared, he had felt the same way Orochimaru did while trapped in the Dragon Vein.
A world without Shanks was simply too boring.
Jigen was an Otsutsuki, just like Kaguya—but his status was even higher than hers.
But status was one thing, and power was another.
Even though Kaguya had caught him off guard, Jigen knew he couldn't claim to be stronger than Shanks, no matter how much he wanted to.
At least he was self-aware enough to admit that. And with his strangely unpredictable luck, he felt that even if he consumed the Chakra Fruit, he still might not be a match for Shanks right now.
Luckily, with the emergence of Devil Fruits, Jigen saw a new path.
As a member of the Otsutsuki Clan, no one understood the Divine Tree better than he did. And if the Chakra Fruit was its ultimate product, then Devil Fruits were like its seeds.
Eating a Devil Fruit is like planting a seed inside yourself. What it grows into depends entirely on the person.
That's when Jigen suddenly realized—the Otsutsuki Clan had been on the wrong path all along.
The Chakra Fruit was nothing more than raw power. It wasn't like a seed that could grow into something greater.
But a Devil Fruit was different. A Devil Fruit had the potential to grow into a mighty tree—something the Chakra Fruit could never achieve.
"But even Shanks has his own crew. If I want to make him submit, I'll need to recruit more followers."
Jigen looked down on Orochimaru, but that didn't stop him from confidently preparing to gather allies. The chaos in the Land of Wind was the perfect opportunity.
He had already set his sights on the pirates who were imprisoned there. After lying dormant in the ninja world for thousands of years, even if his intelligence wasn't top-tier, he still had a brain.
This turmoil in the Land of Wind wouldn't just help him filter out the strong ones—it would also create the perfect chance for him to act.
All he had to do was rescue those pirates, and the recruitment process would be done.
Might as well make use of the ninja forces while he was at it.
To Jigen, the entire ninja world had only one true person—Shanks. He didn't care about the life or death of anyone else. Those beneath his notice weren't even worth calling people.
As for the rest of the Otsutsuki Clan? They were no different.
With a calm expression, Jigen left the coastline and headed inland. He hadn't exposed himself yet, so this identity was still useful.
"But which fruit should I choose? My current body isn't strong enough yet, but in a world like this, physical growth isn't a problem.
Even an ordinary person has the potential to become strong."
"What a hassle."
Right now, Jigen's biggest problem was picking a Devil Fruit.
After all, he could only eat one. Eating a second would be fatal—but if someone else died from it, that was a different story.
No one knew exactly what Jigen was planning. In the end, he vanished from sight.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Fire, at the Fire Temple, a former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Chiriku, also left the temple.
Behind Chiriku, Kakuzu and Hidan followed without bothering to hide their presence.
"This is where we part ways. I'll take care of the rest on my own."
Chiriku turned back to bid farewell to Kakuzu. While Hidan had no hostility toward him, Chiriku deeply despised Hidan. As a monk, he couldn't stand someone as purely evil as Hidan.
As for Kakuzu, he was just another bounty hunter in this cruel world. The real issue wasn't Kakuzu—it was the tragic state of the times.
"Alright. If you ever need help from the organization, you can always contact me through the black market."
Kakuzu gave a slight nod, his voice indifferent.
But Chiriku could sense a hint of goodwill from him.
"Inheriting my friend Daibutsu's will has always been my mission. If I thought this world could be changed, I would have never chosen to become a monk at the Fire Temple."
"You can only understand how hard it is to change this world after seeing its darkness firsthand."
Chiriku spoke, admiration clear in his voice. Unlike him, who had run away from reality, Daibutsu had fought with everything he had for a better future. Unfortunately, he lost.
Now, Chiriku was once again carrying his friend's will, determined to carve out true peace in this chaotic era.
"This era belongs to the Revolutionary Army. Between pirates and ninjas, there's a lot we can do.
But we have to be extra careful—because there are enemies hiding among us."
Kakuzu warned.
"So if you ever really need our help, don't hesitate to contact me or Hidan."
"He may be a villain, but he's also someone you can trust."
Kakuzu spoke to Chiriku again. The spy within the Akatsuki had yet to be found, and he knew he wasn't the traitor. As for Hidan, who was simple-minded and only cared about killing, he was even less likely to be the mole.
"Hey! You, a man with no faith who only cares about money..."
"Even without faith, I'm still better than you."
"Oh yeah? You mean getting scammed by Orochimaru was better than what I did?"
"Watch your mouth, Hidan!!"
"..."
Hearing Kakuzu and Hidan arguing again, Chiriku simply smiled and walked away without saying another word to them.
As one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja of the Land of Fire, Chiriku was far from ordinary—his strength even surpassed that of a typical elite jonin.
And to be clear, the elite jonin being compared here were from Konohagakure.
After all, the ninja of the Land of Fire all came from Konohagakure.
Not only that, but Chiriku also had strong connections within the village. With his level of power and his ability to leave Konohagakure freely, it was clear that he either had a sharp mind or strong ties—or both.
Sarutobi Asuma, son of the Third Hokage and an elite jonin of Konohagakure, was one of Chiriku's closest friends. Both of them had once been part of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
Because of this connection, Chiriku was able to leave Konohagakure safely without getting dragged into Danzo's schemes.
As for why he chose to leave in the first place? That was simple—he wasn't stupid.
Chiriku had long since seen through the reality of Konohagakure and the world around him.
This so-called "era of peace" was an illusion. True peace didn't exist, and neither did fairness.
Underneath this fake peace lay something even darker—that was the truth Chiriku had witnessed in Konohagakure.
"The Third Hokage is dead, Danzo has been eliminated, and the old roots of Konohagakure have been torn out completely."
"If we want to change the world, we have to start by changing Konohagakure."
With Konohagakure's political situation shifting, the time had come for Chiriku to return.
With Asuma as his connection, re-entering the village wouldn't be a problem.
Besides, with the Uchiha clan gone, even if they did interrogate him, there was no way he'd expose his true identity.
This was the move Chiriku had set up for the Revolutionary Army.
The power of change would begin with him—taking root in Konohagakure.
Now that the old "roots" of Konohagakure had been removed, it was the perfect time for the Revolutionary Army to step in.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu and Hidan continued their argument as they made their way toward the Land of Rice Fields.
The Land of Rice Fields was where Orochimaru's Hidden Sound Village was located.
Even though Orochimaru had become a Devil Fruit user, Kakuzu knew him well enough to be sure he wouldn't abandon his research on ninjutsu.
And right now, Hidan and Kakuzu had quite a few body parts from various people.
These were all dug up by Hidan. He had a strong sense for death—and for corpses as well.
As for whether any of the remains belonged to former Akatsuki members, that was pure luck, like a lottery draw.
But Kakuzu and Hidan weren't the only ones making moves for the Akatsuki. Around the same time, Obito and Black Zetsu returned to Amegakure Village and handed a "Poneglyph" to Konan.
Anything given to Konan would ultimately end up in Nagato's hands—and that was precisely what Black Zetsu and Obito had planned.
"In ancient times, the God Tree fed on humans. The cells of its branches still hold the power to transform them back into the original people..."
The people who returned to the world through the Divine Tree were called White Zetsu. Were they new lives? Were they truly human?
Nagato was surprised when he read this.
At that moment, he sensed a conspiracy. Was this so-called Poneglyph real or fake?
White Zetsu had the strength of a low-ranking ninja, yet they were real people.
If Akatsuki could gain a large number of them, they would have the power to reshape the world's order.
Akatsuki's biggest problem right now was a lack of people.
This era no longer belonged to top-tier ninjas alone.
If Nagato wanted to change the world, he needed more power to influence it.
"Producing White Zetsu requires a huge amount of chakra… A huge amount of chakra?"
Nagato immediately thought of the Tailed Beasts. But if that were the case, the Poneglyph should have stated it directly.
Instead of just saying "a huge amount of chakra."
"Or… is it the Dragon Vein?"
Nagato's gaze shifted back to the pointer in his hand.
His body was already exhausted beyond its limits—ordinary healing methods wouldn't work anymore.
Because of this, after returning from the Land of Wind, Shanks had immediately sent Nagato a navigation pointer and information about the Dragon Vein.
If Nagato wanted to recover, he could only rely on the pure life energy of the Dragon Vein to cleanse his body.
Although the Dragon Vein's power manifested in different ways, its core essence remained the same.
Just like the explosion in the ancient kingdom of Roran—if Nagato had been at the center of it, Shanks was certain that the life energy within his body would have fully recovered.
Of course, before that could happen, he might have been too weak to survive the explosion itself.
But in theory, using the Dragon Vein to restore his body was entirely possible.
"So, it really is the Dragon Vein?"
At that moment, even Nagato wasn't completely sure. But either way, he had to give it a try.
The Dragon Vein treasure of the Great Pirate Era—Akatsuki had no choice but to get involved.
However, before that, Nagato played it safe and sent the contents of this so-called "Poneglyph" to the Land of Waves.
In the Land of Waves, Zabuza and his crew had long since returned to recover. Aside from Haku, everyone in the pirate crew was covered in bruises.
Not from the explosion, but from being smashed by Haku's ice attacks.
"Gato, we'll be setting sail for a while. The Land of Waves is in your hands."
"As long as you don't do anything reckless, nothing will happen while the Blade-less Pirates are here."
"The underground black market is under Shanks' protection. Those people won't really lay a hand on you."
Zabuza was making arrangements for what came next. He couldn't afford to fall behind, and this time, their pirate crew would be sailing alongside Shanks' group.
"Captain Zabuza!!"
"Don't worry. As long as you keep a low profile, you won't be in too much danger."
Zabuza waved his hand and reminded him again.
Gato had no special skills—he just got beaten up way too easily.
As for Zabuza's "concern" for Gato, it wasn't out of any personal attachment. It was simply because they were about to head into completely unknown waters.
The ninja world isn't the only land that exists. Haido, who returned from overseas, is proof of that. Besides him, many merchants have also traveled beyond the ninja world.
Though the lands beyond aren't as developed or populated as the mainland, people still live there, and there are even countries outside the ninja world.
And all this information had to be obtained from Gato.
"Don't worry, Captain Zabuza. I won't let you and Lord Shanks down!"
Tears welled up in Gato's eyes, and his already small beady eyes seemed to shrink even further.
"We don't expect much from you. Just don't die."
"After all… the Land of Waves won't be peaceful in the days to come. Take care of it."
This time, Zabuza didn't hang the disgusting Gato from the mast like before. This parting was a real farewell.
As the sun rose, Zabuza and his crew boarded their ship. In the distance, Shanks' pirate ship, the *Red Force*, appeared on the horizon.
"They're here!!"
Standing at the bow of the ship, Zabuza faced the sea breeze and grinned, shouting toward the ocean.
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