No one expected Dark to reach this level, not even the old man.
"Shanks… truly an incredible man."
As a descendant of his country's former resistance army, the old man understood the weight of everything Shanks had done.
Without Shanks, there would be no Captain Dark.
Of course, because of Shanks' actions, the shinobi world had been thrown into chaos, and countless people would be caught up in the storm.
But to someone like the old man, it was all worth it.
His ancestors had gone through the same thing—once war and change began, no one could escape it.
And at his age, he had seen too much. From the First Shinobi War to the Third, he had lived through them all.
He had witnessed firsthand what the people at the bottom of society had suffered. And everything Shanks was doing now… wasn't so different from what the resistance army had done back then.
The resistance had fought to wipe out the power of the nobility.
Shanks was doing something similar—giving ordinary people the power to fight against the ruling class.
Because of Shanks, people like them finally had the strength to resist.
"If even Captain Dark is stepping up, then of course I won't back down. This time, let me go with you, Captain Dark."
"Leader!!"
Hearing the old man's words, many in the merchant group grew worried.
"Leader, the Land of Wind is really dangerous right now."
"Leader…"
"Don't worry. I may be old and weak, but my mind is still sharp. Just wait for me here."
The old man reassured them.
"No matter how many people you send, it won't help. You'd only make things more complicated."
"Leave this to the Dark Pirates."
Ryu, standing beside Dark, spoke up.
When the merchants saw the massive blade at Liu's side, they immediately realized the gap between them and these pirates.
And it wasn't just about physical strength.
The real difference lay in their mindset.
The so-called "great heroes of the sea" were no joke.
The moment Shanks created this new era, the will of the ninja world began to shift toward him, almost instinctively.
Originally, the will of the ninja world had no consciousness of its own. The biggest problem was that someone like Shanks appeared—someone too powerful.
How strong? To put it simply, the ninja world had a limit, but Shanks broke right through it. This caused the once-stable will of the world to reshape itself in his image.
And Shanks' will wasn't an isolated, self-centered one. It carried a powerful sense of collective consciousness.
From the beginning, all he wanted was to explore the vast ocean and meet great warriors across the seas.
But later… when Shanks finally realized that this so-called "ocean" was empty, that this world wasn't actually a pirate's world at all, it was already too late.
At that point, he had no choice but to roll with it. Since the world was already shifting into the shape of a pirate's world, he decided to let it keep evolving.
That's why, during his battle against the strongest ninja of the era, the true will of the world descended upon the battlefield.
The will of the new era, the belief of a new age, shattered the thousand-year-old chains of the ninja world. In that moment, the will of the world merged with the life of the world itself.
Every "pirate" in the ninja world—those who possessed the qualities that Shanks recognized as "great warriors of the sea"—all came under the gaze of the world's will.
Otherwise, how could ordinary people, thousands of kilometers away in the Land of Wind, possibly sense what was happening on the battlefield?
Just thinking about it is insane. Across the entire ninja world, countless ordinary people were able to sense an event happening thousands of kilometers away.
It was like everyone went crazy, all turning to look in the same direction.
And in that very moment, when Shanks won the battle, the chains that had bound these "great warriors" were completely shattered.
As the new era arrived, the will of the common people—suppressed by the age of ninjas for thousands of years—finally broke free. The will that had been crushed for generations descended upon these "pirates."
At first glance, the difference between these pirates and regular people might not seem that big. But in reality, they had already inherited the will of this era.
Of course, it wasn't as overwhelming as what Shanks carried, but it was still incredibly powerful.
This era was indeed one of chaos and upheaval, but no one expected that the collective belief of the oppressed masses, built up over a thousand years, would erupt all at once.
And as a result, this world became even more unpredictable, even more uncontrollable.
This was only the beginning.
Both the ninjas of this world and Shanks himself had underestimated the power of this era. They had underestimated the will of the new age that had been suppressed for so long.
"Captain, when are we setting sail?"
Ryu picked up his massive blade. In that instant, his entire aura changed.
A sharp, dangerous energy surged from him, making him feel incredibly threatening. He looked like an ordinary person, but there was no mistaking the power radiating from him.
Among the dozen or so members of the Dark Pirates, not a single one was weak.
"You don't need to come. I'll handle this alone."
Dark's voice was deep and firm, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Captain Dark…"
Ryu was momentarily stunned by Dark's words.
"Captain Dark, do you think we'd just slow you down?"
"Captain Dark, we won't hold you back. Let us go with you…"
The other pirates spoke up one after another.
They knew very well that the gap between their strength and Dark's was massive.
"Captain Dark… Even if we aren't as strong as you, we can't just stay under your protection forever.
The reason we got on this ship in the first place… was because we believe in you. We believe that you'll take us to see the wonders of the New World."
"Captain Dark, let us go with you!"
Seeing the pirates stand up, Dark turned to his first mate.
Ryu also looked at Dark with firm determination, without the slightest hesitation.
The next moment, Dark spoke.
"What are you guys thinking?"
He grinned at the crew and slapped Ryu on the shoulder.
"I promised you that I'd let you see the New World with your own eyes.
So… no matter what, you have to get as much of the Divine Tree's resources as possible."
Hearing this, Ryu was momentarily stunned.
"Kidomaru and Jirobo have already arrived in the Land of Wind."
Dark's words snapped Ryu back to reality.
Kidomaru, Jirobo, and the others had indeed been around them before.
In fact, it hadn't been that long since then, so everyone still remembered them well. They also knew that these two had once served under Orochimaru, one of the legendary Three Sannin.
"They came too?"
"There probably aren't many people in the ninja world who wouldn't come.
Even ninjas need this kind of power."
"This time, Jirobo and his group will be working with us. So all you have to do is meet up with them and survive this war."
Dark's face was serious. The events in the Land of Wind were nothing short of a war.
The chaos would spread across the entire country. While it wouldn't be a world-ending battle, with so many people involved, the level of disorder would be massive.
"The Kazekage of the Land of Wind just died. Right now, Sunagakure has formed an alliance with Iwagakure from the Land of Earth and Konohagakure from the Land of Fire.
There will be plenty of ninjas in the Land of Wind, and other villages will also send their own. By then, the whole country will be in turmoil."
"That means your situation will be very dangerous too.
Be careful."
Hearing Dark's words, the caravan leader finally understood just how bad things had gotten in the Land of Wind. It was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
"We understand."
The pirates nodded in response.
So that was their true mission. It made sense. After all, their main goal in coming here was to find Devil Fruits.
But sending his crew away wasn't just about that.
The biggest reason was that his own situation was much riskier.
Neither he nor the old man had enough intel on the enemy. On top of that, there was also that rumored power capable of destroying the entire ninja world.
Even if it couldn't actually wipe out the whole world, it could still easily wipe out their entire pirate crew. That was a risk Dark couldn't afford to take.
Likewise, the caravan leader wouldn't let his people take that risk either.
He was already old—if he died, so be it. But the younger ones still had their lives ahead of them. There was no need for them to throw it all away for this.
The next day, only Dark, the old man, and the still-unconscious boy remained on the journey.
What? You're wondering why the boy was still there?
Why would Dark and the old man care whether the boy lived or died? He was just a tool, wasn't he?
Meanwhile, inside the Land of Wind.
In a moving fortress, a merchant-dressed man named Haido listened to his subordinate's report, his face darkening slightly.
Haido was the leader of this group.
"Why isn't Temujin back yet?"
Haido asked angrily. Behind him, Kamira and Fugai exchanged glances before Kamira finally stepped forward.
"Haido-sama, is it possible that something happened to Temujin? After all, even Ranke was taken down by those pirates."
Hearing Kamira's words, Haido's expression turned even gloomier.
"Temujin isn't like you guys—he's incredibly strong! How could he possibly lose to a bunch of pirates?"
Since arriving in the Land of Wind, Haido had already destroyed several villages along the border. Of course, all these sacrifices were made in the name of his so-called "Utopia" plan.
"If we fail here, everything we've worked for will be lost. For the sake of our utopia, I need you all to do everything you can to find Temujin."
There was a rare seriousness in Haido's tone, mixed with a hint of urgency.
"Haido-sama, what about Ranke?"
"If Temujin doesn't return, it won't matter even if we all go out there. Find Temujin first—then we'll save Ranke."
Haido said firmly.
He had just arrived from overseas, but the chaos in this land was far worse than what he had experienced before.
It really lived up to its reputation as the home of the Gelel Stone. The people here were as fierce as they came.
"Yes, Haido-sama."
Following Haido's orders, Kamira and Fugai left the room.
Meanwhile, Haido continued to think about the current situation.
His forces were good enough for dealing with ordinary people, but when it came to those pirates, they were far from enough.
Watching the endless stream of armored soldiers being produced within the castle, Haido couldn't help but admire the incredible power of the Gelel Stone.
"Utopia… It must be the kingdom that once belonged to the Gelel Stone. With this kind of power, conquering the world is only a matter of time."
"Hmph, those pirates have no idea what kind of power I truly hold."
But what were a bunch of pirates even doing in a desert nation? This country was a complete mess.
Haido couldn't help but complain in his mind.
Although the Land of Wind had a coastline, most of its territory was covered in desert.
Whether that had anything to do with ocean currents, Haido didn't know—he wasn't exactly an expert on such things.
But considering how strong those pirates were, once he fully unlocked the Gelel Stone's mine, he could easily bring them under his command.
Meanwhile, somewhere else…
A large, one-eyed man with black hair looked down at a rope lying on the ground, then at the footprints in the sand.
"Zehahaha!!! That little brat actually got away! Zehahaha!!"
"But it looks like his Devil Fruit ability isn't that impressive. It's probably just some transformation technique—he must've turned into some kind of wolf-like ninja beast."
"Captain Kiryu, should we go after him?"
"Zehahaha, no need. He's probably long gone by now."
"We should get moving before he brings reinforcements back."
The one-eyed Kiryu grinned and quickly led his men away.
Even though he could handle the enemy, he didn't want to waste his energy right now.
"I wonder where Ross Jess is. The people around him aren't easy to deal with. If we run into him, we might be safer."
Thinking back to Ross, Kiryu felt a heavy pressure.
With just an ordinary human body, Ross could fight on equal footing with Chunin. He even suspected that Ross had awakened Observation Haki.
Then he remembered the red-haired girl who had been traveling with Ross. Kiryu pulled out Shanks' bounty poster and took a look.
On the poster, Shanks had a straw hat hanging behind his neck. This reminded Kiryu of the same hat that had once been placed on that little girl's head.
"A guy running a casino really dares to bet on anything, huh?"
With that thought, Kiryu and his group disappeared into the desert.
As for the "Devil Fruit user" who had escaped from them, it was none other than Haido's subordinate, Ranke.
Among Haido's strongest followers, only young Temujin could fully absorb the power of the Gelel Stone.
The others—Ranke, Kamira, and Fugai—couldn't completely handle its power. Whenever they used it, they experienced a side effect: mutations.
They would transform into different animal forms.
In the world of "Naruto," this kind of power wasn't well explained, but right now, it didn't really need an explanation.
Turning into animals? That's just what Devil Fruit users do.
And so, about twenty kilometers away from Kiryu's group, Lank was ambushed again.
"A Devil Fruit user?"
Three people emerged from the sand, and at the same time, a puppet moved behind Lank, cutting off her escape.
The ones who appeared were Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro.
"Devil Fruit user? What are you talking about? I'm Haido-sama's subordinate! Move aside!"
"You've already turned into some kind of ape-man, and you're still saying you're not a Devil Fruit user?"
Kankuro smirked mockingly. These pirates really lived up to their name.
"Haido-sama? That's your captain's name? Perfect. We'll take you all in together."
Gaara spoke coldly.
In the next moment, the three of them attacked Lank, and the battle erupted instantly!
Ranke didn't hold back at all. A surge of electricity exploded from her body, forcing Gaara and the others to retreat.
"Be careful! This isn't a regular Zoan-type user—it's a Ninja Beast-type user."
"A Zoan-type Thunder Ape user?"
Gaara no longer underestimated her. Capturing her alive wasn't going to be easy.
Meanwhile, when Lank heard their words, she found them completely ridiculous.
"You pirates… don't even think about getting in the way of Haido-sama's plans!!"
Ranke charged at Gaara and the others in anger. Weren't these guys the real pirates? Their headbands clearly had the symbol of a pirate crew!
Gaara and his team were also stunned.
Pirates? They were ninjas from the Land of Wind.
"Sand Release: Sand Hand!"
"Wind Release: Scythe Itachi Great Breakthrough!!"
At that moment, the battle erupted again, and Kankuro stepped back, summoning a massive puppet with a large "海" (sea) character on its body.
"Using fresh seawater against Devil Fruit users is the best strategy."
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