Within the collapsed Pure Land of the Shinobi World, Hagoromo Muto, Hozuki Haigetsu, and Uchiha Kaede combined three distinct elemental attributes to construct a specialized sealing barrier, temporarily halting the mutated reality.
Simultaneously, Shiraishi's Thought Matrix maintained a persistent surveillance posture, actively monitoring every subtle shift within the Pure Land.
Though Shiraishi's physical body had departed to seek a method of salvation, Muto and the others dared not drop their guard, remaining deeply vigilant toward the Sage of Six Paths.
While the world hung suspended in stasis, both sides remained locked in a tense strategic stalemate, each calculating their respective next moves.
The Ninja War that had been abruptly cut short—along with the indefinite wager between Shiraishi and the Sage of Six Paths—seemed poised to unfold in an entirely new format across an unfamiliar world.
Across the waters of the One Piece world, a thunderous roar echoed over the waves. Shiraishi retreated several paces. In merely a single exchange, he had recognized his opponent's identity.
Since it was the legendary Hero of the Navy, there was zero reason to linger in combat. Holding no desire to drag out the fight, Shiraishi returned to the shore. Looking at Ace—who was standing frozen in place with a dazed expression—Shiraishi coughed lightly to break the silence:
"What are you standing around for? Has everything been loaded?"
Ace scratched his head, sounding dazed: "That warship just now... seemed to be Grandpa's..."
"Idiot. That's precisely why we're preparing to retreat."
"Oh, right..."
Though Ace was an accomplished pirate in his own right, his instinctual fear of Garp ran bone-deep. Realizing his grandfather had shown up, he lost all interest in messing around and boarded the vessel alongside Shiraishi and the crew.
Right then, another barrage of cannonballs came whistling through the air. Drawing upon her exceptional archery skills, Kikyo drew six arrows simultaneously and released them in a single draw, instantly detonating incoming shells from three distinct trajectories in midair.
Watching the precision through his spyglass, Garp was visibly stunned: "That sniper precision..."
Given the circumstances, Shiraishi's crew had no intention of remaining on Red Deer Island, steering their vessel away from the harbor.
As for Garp's warship, the residual chill released earlier by Shiraishi's Articuno transformation had completely frozen the surrounding waters. Shiraishi's small craft steered around the immobilized battleship, making a clean escape from the island.
"Vice Admiral Garp, what are our orders?"
"Break through the ice first..."
While Garp could easily shatter a glacier with a single punch, Shiraishi's earlier attack had coated a section of the warship's hull in thick frost; forcefully vibrating the ice apart carried a significant risk of fracturing the ship's framework.
That fellow must be a Devil Fruit user... and a Mythical Zoan at that. This is serious—Mythical Zoans are never simple.
In this era, Mythical Zoan Devil Fruits were rarer than Logias, each granting extraordinary, versatile powers.
Garp turned around, fixing his gaze on the equally dazed Captain Yellow Tea: "Are the pirates on Red Deer Island truly this formidable?"
If the opposition genuinely commanded that level of strength, Captain Yellow Tea hadn't necessarily been negligent—combatants of that caliber were far beyond a standard Marine captain's handling. Originally, Garp had suspected Yellow Tea was simply a corrupt officer taking bribes under the table.
"Haha..."
Yellow Tea had no idea what had actually transpired, awkwardly laughing to gloss over the matter. Once the Marines used tools to chip away the ice, the massive warship slowly docked against the shore.
"Who is this guy...?"
"It's 'Red Deer' Solar!"
Solar was bound tightly in thick ropes on the pier, his face bruised and swollen into a complete mess. He looked up at Captain Yellow Tea in agony, stripped of all former elegance: "Captain Yellow Tea! Those pirates crossed the line!"
"Shut up! You're a pirate—who gave you permission to speak?!"
Captain Yellow Tea panicked. This fool spoke with zero filter; if he kept rambling, Yellow Tea would be dragged down right alongside him.
Seeing Solar's battered state, Garp motioned for his men to take the pirate into custody for interrogation before questioning the local villagers about what had unfolded.
"A rookie pirate crew?"
After gathering accounts from several residents, Garp stroked his chin: "In that case, we can't let them roam free. Rookies this dangerous are bound to stir up immense trouble down the line."
At present, the Roger Pirates were making movements toward that legendary destination. Once Garp's vacation in the East Blue concluded, he would have to return to the New World. With dangerous rookies surfacing across the seas in increasing numbers, the Navy was growing progressively overstretched.
A light beam that generates glacial ice poses an immense threat to ordinary ships. On top of that, the man can fly...
A Mythical Zoan avian creature capable of creating frost and firing freezing beams...
Combining those abilities alone warrants a starting bounty of at least 50 million Beli.
"Keep a close watch on that pirate ship. Since they're drifting around the East Blue, they'll inevitably make their way toward Loguetown."
Aboard Shiraishi's vessel, large sacks overflowing with gold, silver, and jewelry were stacked across the deck, lifting the spirits of both Shiraishi and Ace. The hired ordinary pirates standing nearby swallowed hard at the sight of the fortune.
Effortlessly crushing "Red Deer" Solar and staging a clean retreat in the face of Marine Hero Garp—this rookie crew possessed astonishing potential.
"Um... Captain Shiraishi, we will be arriving at Shimotsuki Village shortly."
Shiraishi nodded: "Understood. Thank you for your work. Once we make landfall, you are free to leave."
"No, no... we want to continue following you, Captain!"
The pirates' pledge of loyalty came as no surprise to Shiraishi. He raised no objections; after all, the ship required crew members to manage daily operations, and letting them handle the grunt work suited him fine.
However, a pressing issue remained...
They desperately needed a competent navigator.
At this point in time, Nami hadn't even been born yet. Securing a capable navigator was an absolute necessity before venturing into the Grand Line.
As for finding themselves operating as pirates, Shiraishi didn't mind the label. Since they had arrived in the One Piece world, making a massive splash was only natural.
Yachiru Unohana served as their master swordswoman, Kikyo acted as their long-range sniper, Ace could manage as a shipwright, and as for Uchiha Madara...
Menma Uzumaki's consciousness had entered a deep state of slumber. According to Madara, Menma had voluntarily surrendered control of his body, evidently unable to break free from his past trauma.
Upon arriving in this world and establishing full command over the physical vessel, Madara had immediately thrown himself into grueling physical conditioning.
Beyond refining the powers of the Dark Nine-Tails, Madara focused on core bodily conditioning—the physical frame was still far too fragile and needed substantial reinforcement.
Furthermore, Madara was thoroughly annoyed that Shiraishi had suddenly acquired an external system buff upon crossing over. Consequently, he spent the subsequent days training relentlessly with a stone-cold expression.
"From what you've said, is the master of Shimotsuki Village's Isshin Dojo truly an exceptional swordsman?" Yachiru Unohana asked, her eyes gleaming with anticipation for their arrival.
Gazing out at the rolling sea waves, Shiraishi murmured softly:
"This time, I intend to take a very thorough look at the swordsmanship system of this world."
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