As Jamal and Granger moved toward the beam of light, other sentries on patrol or standing guard also caught sight of the sudden flash. They quickly shouldered their rifles and converged on the location, using their wireless comms to alert nearby sentries as well as their superiors.
Before long, Granger and Jamal's team was the first to reach the edge of the parade ground.
By now, they had both donned their night-vision goggles.
Still—
"Do you see anything, Jamal?"
"Nope, nothing at all. Well, except the other squads. Hey—there's Hector! That bastard broke my heart!"
Granger forced himself to endure the chatter at his ear. Raising his M16A4 rifle, he stepped slowly onto the parade ground, sweeping each corner with careful eyes.
The other patrols did the same.
There was absolutely nothing there!
"So, can someone tell me where that white light came from?"
"So you saw it too? Good—I thought I was imagining things."
"What do we do now?"
"Who knows. Let the higher-ups deal with it."
The comm channel buzzed with lively voices as the sentries bantered back and forth.
It wasn't like the situation seemed dangerous, and since it was such a rare bit of excitement, everyone's spirits were high.
Some even joked that maybe it had been a UFO.
Not long after, the men began to drift back to their posts, resuming their patrols and guard duties.
Only the security department, which had received the reports, kept studying the first-person footage transmitted from the sentries.
But even they couldn't make sense of it.
The parade ground was completely empty—so why had a white light suddenly appeared there, lasting about five to six seconds?
Could it really have been a UFO that appeared and vanished again?
Meanwhile, at the parade ground beside the residential district—
Kurama Unkai and the three other shinobi, hidden within the illusion, finally allowed themselves to breathe heavily once the sentries had vanished from sight.
They stretched their limbs, then turned to face the circular spatial gate towering more than 20 meters high and about 10 meters wide, its edges flickering with white light.
Through this gate, they could clearly see Hiraga Saito, Louise, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Yuhi Shinku on the other side.
"That was close. If you hadn't reacted so quickly, we wouldn't even need to bother with infiltration anymore."
Yamanaka Inoichi shook his head with a wry smile at Kurama Unkai, his heart still racing.
A violent attack wouldn't be a major problem for the World Government, or for Shiki.
At worst, the conquest would simply become a bit more violent.
But for Umigakure, that would mean mission failure.
...
"I didn't expect the gate to grow this big. No wonder it's called the 'Gate of World.' Turns out that here, I don't really need to spend much magic power at all—just focus on opening it. As for where the magic that sustains the gate comes from... I have no idea."
Louise explained in a flustered tone, clearly afraid the others would blame her.
"We know. Before we set out, we received intel. They say that deep beneath those mountains lies something called the Elf Stone, which the elves themselves call the Great Will."
"It's the magic it radiates that transforms certain minerals around the world into Wind Stones. Over time, more and more Wind Stones accumulate underground, until eventually the land splits apart and floats into the sky."
Yamanaka Inoichi gave a brief explanation of the cause.
"So that's why Brimir tried to destroy this place a thousand years ago—it was to shatter the Elf Stone and stop the Wind Stone Catastrophe!"
Hiraga Saito suddenly understood, for it reminded him of the scenes he had seen in his dreams.
"But no matter what, once we go in, this gate has to be shut immediately. Our illusion can't last forever."
Yamanaka Inoichi continued, "If we need to make contact, we'll send someone back here. Then, using your circular mirror, watch for our hand signals or written messages."
"I understand." Louise nodded calmly.
At this point, she had no other thoughts left. All she could do was cooperate obediently.
"Good."
Yamanaka Inoichi inclined his head.
He then turned his gaze toward Uchiha Tekka and the others.
"Move out!!!"
...
"Everyone, for the next few days, we will be on our own."
Yamanaka Inoichi, who had already crossed into the so-called 'Nuclear Weapon World,' shifted his gaze from the vanishing Gate of Light to the nineteen shinobi gathered around him.
Then, when Yamanaka Inoichi's eyes swept over them—
They responded silently, their expressions firm and confident.
Even if they had stepped into another world, at the end of the day, it was still just a mission.
"Now, for scouting assignments: Tekka's group heads north, Unkai's group south, Shinku's group west, Gekko's group east. The central sector stays with us. Before dawn, every detail of this base—layout, facilities, troop numbers—must be recorded!"
"Scatter!"
Without wasting another word, Inoichi issued the order.
In the next instant, fifteen figures clad in black flak jackets scattered, sprinting swiftly in all directions.
Over two hours later—
The horizon began to pale, signaling the end of the night.
After an entire night of reconnaissance, the five squads had finally gathered substantial intelligence on Yokosuka Port.
By then, Inoichi and the others had regrouped.
Their location: a point 20 meters underground, beneath a grove of greenery.
Here, they had carved out a broad chamber using Earth Release, illuminating the space with the portable Light Shells they had brought along.
...
In the days that followed—
On the side of the Zero Magic World, the troops led by Shiki received intelligence daily through the "Founder's Round Mirror" in Louise's hands, sent back by Inoichi Yamanaka and the others scouts.
It was now confirmed that on the other side of the "World Gate" lay the Port of Yokosuka in the Nuclear Weapons World's Japan, which also served as the naval base for North America stationed in Japan.
At this moment, the North America Seventh Fleet was garrisoned there.
Along with them were Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force's First Escort Flotilla and Eleventh Escort Flotilla.
In addition, Yokosuka Port was concentrated with nearly 70 warships of various classes from the two nations, close to 500 aircraft of all types, and five nuclear attack submarines from North America.
From the looks of it, taking Yokosuka Port would not be difficult.
However, the World Government's true goal was the conquest of the entire world.
So the next step was to deploy more shinobi, sending them into Japan's political centers, military bases, and industrial hubs.
The first were to watch over the highest leadership.
The latter were to be protected during wartime, preventing battles from spreading and causing catastrophic destruction.
And not just Japan—agents would also be dispatched to other countries.
Especially to those great powers in possession of nuclear weapons.
Though the World Government had already found ways to counter nuclear strikes, it was still best to ensure that these weapons could not be launched at all, or at least that the number launched could be minimized.
This would be the primary mission of Umigakure in the months to come.
Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama would also be joining in.
Counting Shiki as well, that meant the "Nuclear Weapons World" front would have three General-class forces overseeing it.
…
Noah's Ark, Imu's office.
[Knock, knock, knock]
As Imu reviewed the tracking information on the Free Resistance Army incident and the performance of the Celestial Dragon Academy graduates in the war of annexation against the smaller nations involved, there was suddenly a knock at the door. Imu didn't need to guess; he already knew it was Stussy.
At once, he shut down the "Star Den-Den Mushi," causing the holographic projections in the study to vanish.
"Lord Imu, CIPHER POL Headquarters reports that Commander Redfield has successfully located the Nika Fruit and is now returning to the Red Line!"
Stussy pushed open the door and delivered the news directly.
"Oh?"
Imu raised an eyebrow.
He was genuinely surprised.
"Have Redfield deliver it directly to Marineford, to Garp's grandson Luffy. Tell Garp that this is the Devil Fruit destined for him, and he must not interfere."
Imu gave the order without a shred of hesitation. This matter had long since been decided.
Neither he nor the World Government had any reason to fear a Nika anymore.
Because, in their eyes, they had achieved true justice for the people of Starfish.
If, one day, Luffy—or rather, Nika—chose to oppose the World Government, the very first to deal with him would be Dragon and Garp.
Since that was the case, there was no harm in letting the boy continue being his Rubber Man.
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