After showing Crocus the power of the Rinnegan, Chiga withdrew his ability, and the towering seawater fell back into the ocean.
Everything returned to calm, but Crocus would never forget the sight of seawater being lifted into the sky.
Even Golden Lion Shiki, wielder of the Float-Float Fruit, could never have manipulated such a massive volume of seawater so effortlessly.
Crocus murmured,
"Is this the power of a god?"
Chiga gave no particular response. The Rinnegan was known as the Eye of God — possessing divine power was only natural.
And what he had just displayed was only a fraction of his true strength. If Chiga truly wished, he could even create a moon, much like the Sage of Six Paths.
Of course, it would be nowhere near the size of the one above the Earth, more like the smaller version seen in Naruto's movie adaptations.
Having achieved his goal of intimidating Crocus, Chiga asked coolly,
"Do you really think someone with this kind of power would care about the so-called One Piece?"
Crocus was left speechless. He could only nod stiffly, his eyes now filled with a mixture of awe and terror when looking at Chiga.
After a long pause, he finally spoke,
"Laugh Tale isn't part of this world. It exists in an independent space."
Chiga's brow furrowed slightly.
An independent space?
Something akin to the Kamui dimension?
If that were true, none of the Roger Pirates possessed spatial-type Devil Fruits. How had they entered such a place?
As if reading his doubts, Crocus continued,
"Captain Roger had the ability to hear the Voice of All Things. Even after learning the location of Laugh Tale, he was at a loss until one day, a mysterious figure appeared."
Chiga's gaze sharpened.
"Mysterious figure? What did they look like?"
Crocus shook his head.
"He wore a black cloak and had a slender frame. His voice was deliberately disguised — I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman."
Chiga was a little disappointed but gestured for him to go on.
"He was a Devil Fruit user. With his power, we entered Laugh Tale. And there, we saw the truth of history."
At this, Crocus's expression shifted, a distant, awestruck look filling his eyes as if reliving the moment.
Chiga's face darkened.
"Don't you want to know the truth of history?" Crocus asked carefully.
"Not interested," Chiga said flatly.
He wasn't one of those scholars from Ohara desperate to uncover the Void Century. What he wanted to know was the nature of One Piece — the treasure that had driven the entire world to chaos.
Crocus was once again thrown by Chiga's indifference but dared not protest.
He gathered his thoughts and began recounting what the Roger Pirates had witnessed on Laugh Tale.
When he finally spoke of One Piece itself, Crocus's face was not filled with joy, but dread. His voice trembled.
"It was a black beast… with ten tails. Its eyes were blood-red, and the pattern inside… it was like…"
Suddenly, Crocus went pale and froze.
He stared at Chiga's right eye — the six-tomoe Rinnegan gleaming ominously.
That memory, buried deep for so long, had been forcefully dragged to the surface. And now, confronted with the identical pattern before him, his heart nearly stopped.
Chiga, who had been only half-listening up until then, sat up sharply when he heard "ten tails" and "blood-red eye."
A vivid image surfaced in his mind — the Ten-Tails from Naruto.
Now you're speaking my language, old man.
But Crocus's words had halted mid-sentence, causing Chiga's irritation to spike.
He scowled.
"Like what? Say it!"
"L-like your eye," Crocus stammered.
Chiga grinned, excitement coursing through him.
He hadn't expected the legendary One Piece to be the Ten-Tails itself — and from Crocus's description, it was still in its seedling form. Which meant it hadn't yet produced the God Tree Fruit.
He might just have a chance to claim it.
The thought of seizing the God Tree Fruit made Chiga's blood race.
Crocus, meanwhile, shivered at the sight of the unrestrained hunger in Chiga's expression, worried the man might devour him on the spot.
Not that Chiga had any interest in eating an old man. His sights were set on something far greater.
But his excitement dimmed slightly as a certain inconvenient problem arose in his mind.
He might have the Ten-Tails, but in order for it to bear a God Tree Fruit, it needed to consume an Otsutsuki.
And therein lay the issue.
Where the hell was he supposed to find an Otsutsuki in this world?
Would he have to tear open a portal back to the Naruto universe to catch one?
Chiga's expression shifted, torn between exhilaration and frustration, before he finally sighed.
Well, even without an Otsutsuki, having the Ten-Tails was better than having nothing. He could figure out the rest later.
There were still too many unanswered questions.
He turned back to Crocus and, ignoring the man's terrified look, asked,
"So what did Roger do to that thing? And what happened to that mysterious person?"
Crocus swallowed hard and replied,
"When that person saw the creature, they said, 'I finally found you,' then left. Roger used his ability to hear the Voice of All Things, but he never told us what he heard. He simply led us out through the entrance the stranger left."
Chiga's eyes narrowed.
"I finally found you?"
That phrase lingered in his mind.
It implied the stranger knew exactly what the Ten-Tails was. Could it be… an Otsutsuki?
And if so, which one?
One name surfaced in Chiga's thoughts as he turned to gaze toward the Red Line.
His voice dropped to a low murmur.
"Otsutsuki Imu…"