It had to be said, the White Zetsu in East Blue really were on another level—even their brains were above the average White Zetsu.
But that couldn't be helped. The Land of Waves didn't have much, but it had plenty of shady merchants.
These White Zetsu were influenced by that environment, so of course they were different from the others elsewhere.
And the head of those shady merchants? That was Gato.
At this time, outside the Land of Waves, several groups had already gathered together.
Marines, pirates, merchants, ninjas, samurai… and bounty hunters.
All kinds of people.
But the ones taking the lead were still the Marines.
"Colonel Hidekazu, since you called everyone here, just tell us straight."
"Among those White Zetsu, quite a few came from the World Government's side, and they caused us heavy losses."
A pirate spoke, his body still wrapped in bandages.
Who could have guessed—he was just using the toilet when suddenly there was an explosion outside the door.
Luckily, he got blown into the sea, so it wasn't too embarrassing, but the injuries were no joke.
"We all took big losses this time. And we have no idea what's going on with these White Zetsu, breaking out of control all of a sudden."
A merchant spoke too, feeling the pain in his heart—he had lost all his goods.
Of course, the goods were gone, nothing could be done. The real question now was how to make up for the loss.
As for how many people died? Sorry, nobody cared. Anyone who could survive here, even the Marines, weren't exactly good people.
Did you really think the World Government had a conscience? No conscience at all, but plenty of ambition.
Colonel Hidekazu was exactly that kind of Marine with no conscience. But the fact he could set up here meant he had both ambition and skill.
"The White Zetsu business has nothing to do with us Marines. We Marines are justice, we serve the people. White Zetsu was made by the World Government and those Sages."
"Besides, we Marines took losses too, and those losses will be reported to the World Government for compensation."
Colonel Hidekazu spread his hands, making it clear he wouldn't take responsibility.
Even if Gato were here, he wouldn't care either.
Stuff like this? You just eat the loss. Who's going to give you after-sales service? The Marines even deal with pirates directly—conscience? Forget it.
"And right now, what we need to figure out most is how to keep Gato safe."
"Colonel Hidekazu is right. Gato is in the hands of the White Zetsu right now. If we make a wrong move, Gato could die.
In short, to keep the Land of Waves stable and avoid messing with the underground economy of the nearby big nations, Gato must stay alive."
A merchant spoke up too. This was the most important point—Gato could not die.
Still, with such a good chance in front of them, they really didn't want to let it slip away.
"Shuichiro, you don't need to tell us twice—Gato can't die.
But from the looks of it, the White Zetsu are only using Gato's life to threaten us. Those things are smart. They want to get out of here. For all of us, that's an opportunity."
"After all, the sea markets centered around the Land of Waves are worth a lot.
And this place isn't under the control of the World Government. At least not until that man is defeated—the World Government won't make a move on the Land of Waves before that happens."
Everyone found themselves thinking the same thing. With the huge profits tied to the Land of Waves, it was hard not to let their ambitions show.
Gato couldn't die, but… Gato also couldn't come back—not until they had made enough profit. Until then, it was better if Gato stayed away.
"But we can't not save Gato. At least we have to make it look like we're trying.
And after Gato's gone, you merchants need to make sure the Land of Waves keeps running smoothly."
A bounty hunter spoke up. Gato's role was to keep the Land of Waves stable.
The merchants had to make sure they really could do that—otherwise, there was nothing to talk about.
"The one keeping the Land of Waves stable isn't really Gato.
All we need to do is not betray that man's will. Under that bigger plan, keeping the Land of Waves stable won't be a problem. Merchants like Gato—we have plenty."
Shuichiro crossed his arms, full of confidence.
Among the merchants, Gato wasn't even that great at business. He wasn't bad, but what really stood out was his luck… or maybe it was his bloodline. No one could be sure if Gato was part of the Uzumaki clan or not.
Behind Shuichiro, the other merchants were just as confident. They truly believed they were no worse than Gato.
"But you need to make sure Gato goes far enough. We need time."
Shuichiro added. If Gato didn't go far enough, they wouldn't have enough time to reorganize the profits.
"That's one thing we Marines can help with. We can let the White Zetsu take one of our warships. That way they can leave East Blue without trouble."
"It's just that…"
Colonel Hidekazu tapped his finger lightly on the table. If he was going to pay that price, he naturally wanted more in return.
"I want control over one more sea market."
Hidekazu spoke, and his demand was still something everyone could accept.
They had all been in this game long enough to know each other inside out.
That included Gato—he knew these people just as well.
If the White Zetsu really wanted him dead, these people could break through their siege and rescue him tonight.
But now…
The only thing to blame was that these White Zetsu were smart enough. If they were like the ones on Crescent Moon Island, the uprising in the Land of Waves would have been crushed long ago.
"They still haven't shown up. Looks like it's over. Not even a hint of trouble…"
Right then, Gato felt a chill in his heart.
As long as he was inside the Land of Waves, calling for help was useless. Even if he somehow escaped, there was a good chance they would just send him back.
Meanwhile, not far away in the Land of Fire, a small puddle reflected the exact meeting scene from earlier—every word of it, heard clearly by two people.
"This place really is something…"
"Merchants, pirates, and Marines sitting together so calmly."
Rikudou Sennin spoke with a bit of feeling. The sight actually made him quite pleased.
Especially the merchants—despite having no real strength, they could sit upright in front of those people and speak as equals.
It was indeed different from other places.
"This is Shanks' territory, after all. On the surface it's Gato's country, but everyone quietly follows the agreement here—no fighting in this place."
"Shanks' reputation… is high. He's a man even we sages have to take seriously."
Sandai Tsuchikata spoke. He wasn't a sage of the World Government, so he had no personal grudge against the Marines.
"Shanks really is different."
Rikudou Sennin nodded.
The reason he came here first was because of Shanks. Shanks' first appearance was tied closely to the Land of Waves.
Although he hadn't found much here, Rikudou Sennin had seen how the people of the ninja world respected Shanks.
That man might look like a reckless fool, but that was only on the surface.
When Shanks said there were four Emperors, people chased after those four spots.
If Shanks said there was only one spot, people would fight to place him in it—that was the weight of his name.
"But the White Zetsu riots will probably have a big impact on the World Government. Right now, they don't have the spare power to deal with this."
Sandai Tsuchikata sounded worried. Even if he wasn't part of the World Government, he still cared.
"Just keep watching. Don't underestimate the power of ordinary people, junior."
Rikudou Sennin said with a smile.
It was normal for sages to be proud, but Rikudou Sennin was different—he didn't have that kind of pride.
To him, there was no difference between an ordinary sage and a civilian of the ninja world.
Standing high enough, he could see clearly how ordinary people could limit the White Zetsu.
Their uprising would surely spark the strength of the common people again.
It was just that a full-scale war like this was more than a little over the top.
But thinking about who caused it—a reckless man—it was no surprise.
Under the gaze of Rikudou Sennin and Sandai Tsuchikata, the sun rose over the sea, and the Marines' warships began to move.
Colonel Hidekazu stood on deck, looking stern.
For the first time, the Marines behind him were dressed so formally. The usual rough edge in them was gone, and they looked like they had truly come to carry out justice.
"They're here!"
White Zetsu started reacting too, one by one waking up from their sleep.
Dew rolled off their white skin, dripping to the ground and bursting apart. The morning sun reflected in the drops scattered on their pale skin, leaving a faint blush.
The warm sunlight of dawn came along with the Marines.
"Sorry, Gato!!"
"As a Marine, I must uphold justice. If you die, I'll make sure you get a proper burial."
Colonel Hidekazu shouted with a cold face and righteous tone.
He made it sound like Gato was about to die for the country.
"Everyone, attack!!"
With that final order from Colonel Hidekazu, Gato felt his heart sink.
A direct assault? With the defenses of the Land of Waves? Are you seriously going for a frontal attack?
"Boom!!"
"Boom!!"
The roar of cannons shook the sea, and the worry on the White Zetsu defending the coast vanished instantly.
Only the Marines were attacking. That was good news.
If the enemy had really gone all out and ignored Gato's life, they'd all be dead here already.
Luckily, Gato still had some use left.
"Take out the Marines!! Get ready to pull out of the Land of Waves."
Shells rained down across the sea, and among them, the bright trails of chakra cannons flashed from time to time.
The scene was absolute chaos.
But in the middle of all this smoke and fire, hundreds of powerful fighters suddenly appeared on the Marine warships, batting away every shell aimed at the fleet.
There were plenty of strong fighters in the Land of Waves, and the place was a mess of different forces. But in this moment, they all came together.
All just to put on this show.
Did they try to save him? Sure, they really tried to save Gato—but they just didn't have the strength to pull it off.
Meanwhile, the White Zetsu hadn't noticed anything wrong yet. They were smart, but not as cunning as this bunch of old foxes.
What's the saying? Birds of a feather. The people here weren't much different from Gato.
Half an hour later, the fierce battle was still raging, and the Marines' warships were almost at the shore—but the Land of Waves' defenses were just insane.
The Marines were practically wiped out, leaving only their ships behind.
The ships were torn up and battered, but strangely enough, none of them were damaged so badly they couldn't sail.
"Damn it!!"
"Fall back! Wait for reinforcements!!"
Hidekazu looked stunned, like he just couldn't accept this defeat. He spoke in anger and frustration.
That scene made Gato jump out immediately.
"This is their trap! Don't fall for it… they want you to run!!"
Hearing that, the White Zetsu froze for a second.
"But… running was the plan anyway."
"Yeah, and now that we have the Marines' ships, it'll be even easier."
"Besides the Marines, nobody else was willing to fight."
Hearing this, Gato felt completely hopeless.
It was over. These guys were all in on it.
Shameless. Absolutely shameless!!
Even Rikudou Sennin and the Third Tsuchikage, who were watching from the other side, couldn't take it anymore. Could someone really be this shameless?
This was way beyond anything they could imagine. Looking at Gato's miserable state…
Well, no one could feel sorry for him. In fact, it felt like he deserved it.
As for what happened next, everything went smoothly. The show had been put on, and everyone watched as the White Zetsu left the Land of Waves.
To make sure Gato didn't come back too soon, the pirates even sent some ships to chase after them.
But there weren't many people on those ships. It was just for show.
The rest all landed on the Land of Waves. Marines, pirates, ninjas, bounty hunters, and merchants all saw Gato's mansion.
Greed showed openly in their eyes as everyone rushed inside.
Colonel Hidekazu and the other strong fighters went straight for Gato's treasure vault. After all, it was Gato—who knew how much treasure and Devil Fruits were hidden in there?
But when the vault doors opened, everyone froze.
"Empty… it's empty?"
The big-name pirate Adachi Arashi stared at the empty vault in shock.
"How… how is that possible?"
Everyone else was stunned too.
The huge vault had nothing inside.
No… there was something.
Everyone's eyes turned to the only thing in the vault.
On a torn flag, there was a small box.
People gathered around it.
It was the Red-Haired Pirates' flag. It looked worn out, but… it was definitely their flag.
"Let's… let's go. This isn't a place we should be."
A pirate spoke up. He really wanted to know what was in the box, but seeing that flag, none of them dared to open it.
"But if we just give up like this…"
"We're just a bunch of nobodies stuck in the Land of Waves. What that man left behind… we can't handle it."
Colonel Hidekazu looked at the others, and even the late-arriving merchant Shuichiro turned his eyes away. This wasn't something they could touch.
"If we open it, we might not be able to resist the temptation. We'd end up following that man's path to the New World!"
"I still want to enjoy the riches here, haha!"
One pirate pulled his hand back and walked out of the vault.
But outside the vault, people still stopped.
"Hey… really… we're not opening it?"
"What if—just what if—we could really go to the New World and stand before Shanks!"
They all hesitated.
The sun hadn't set yet. By the time it did, the Land of Waves was completely empty.
A single ship sailed with a torn flag, and behind it were hundreds of ships of all kinds.
And now, the Land of Waves… empty. They didn't take anything, only people. Everyone was gone!
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