East Blue—
The East Blue in the ninja world lies to the east of the Land of Fire and south of the Land of Water.
This sea isn't exactly huge, but its coastal location is kind of crazy.
To the east of the Land of Fire is the Land of Waves, and past that is the Land of the Sea. North of the gap between the Land of Waves and the Land of the Sea is the Land of Water.
Of course, if you go even farther, you can reach the Land of Thunder to the northeast, and to the southwest there's the Land and a bunch of islands.
Yeah, the geography here is that weird.
Normally, in a big ninja war, the main battlefield wouldn't be placed here—but this time things are different.
Partly because the war is on a massive scale, and partly because people have finally started using their brains. They've been forced to think strategically.
So now East Blue has become the most heated part of the war. Ninjas, pirates, the Revolutionary Army, and the World Government all have forces gathered here.
With so many groups involved, the situation in East Blue has become even more complicated.
The World Government mostly represents the world nobles, but under them, all the major ninja villages have their own agendas.
Take the Land of Water, for example—it's closest to the battlefield, and their village, Kirigakure, is currently the weakest.
Given how things are going in Kirigakure, it'd be strange if Terumi Mei didn't have her own plans.
This woman is anything but simple. She's nothing like Tsunade. Terumi Mei has pretty much held up Kirigakure all on her own.
Lately, a lot of Devil Fruit users and outsider ninjas have shown up in Kirigakure Village. These people have taken on new identities in the village and have greatly increased its strength.
With Terumi Mei around, Kirigakure now has enough power to keep Konohagakure in check. In this situation, the World Government allows Terumi Mei to handle certain matters that aren't meant to be out in the open — and might even help Kirigakure become stronger.
In the middle of all this, Orochimaru had no choice but to rush back from the New World.
"Orochimaru-sama, are we heading to the New World next?"
Suigetsu was being carried on Jugo's back and looked very annoyed.
Suigetsu and Orochimaru never really got along, but after Orochimaru started studying Devil Fruits, he stopped being so strict with Suigetsu.
With nowhere else to go, Suigetsu ended up staying in the Hidden Sound Village. He wandered around every day and just refused to leave.
After Kimimaro, Kidomaru, and the others left the village, Suigetsu naturally took over as the leader. Well, technically Jugo was the leader, but he never actually managed anything.
"The New World, huh? I didn't expect you to be interested in it too, Suigetsu."
Orochimaru smiled. When it came to Suigetsu, he pretty much let him do whatever he wanted.
"Suigetsu thinks the ninja world is just too boring."
"Boring? Is it because you got beaten so badly by Naruto and Sasuke that you were too embarrassed to stick around?"
Orochimaru said, openly mocking him.
"Those two... something about them just doesn't feel right. Their strength is off the charts."
Suigetsu grumbled. He had no choice but to accept the loss. He really couldn't win.
"Well, Naruto is from the Uzumaki clan, and Sasuke is a genius from the Uchiha clan. Going up against young geniuses like them — the fact that you made it back at all is already impressive."
Orochimaru fell into thought, his mind drifting.
Sasuke... it had been a long time since that name had meant anything to him.
Sasuke was supposed to be the key part of his plans. But then Shanks showed up and completely messed everything up.
Looking at things now, Orochimaru had to admit that his decision back then was the right one. His strength today was far beyond what he had originally planned for.
And it wasn't just raw power — he had improved in every possible way.
That's how Orochimaru saw himself. Whether people admitted it or not, he was now one of the strongest people in the entire world.
It was a level he never thought he'd reach.
"Orochimaru-sama, Naruto and Sasuke really are strange. Their power... feels off."
Jugo, who usually didn't talk much, finally spoke up. This wasn't just Suigetsu being dramatic — even Jugo could feel something strange about Naruto and Sasuke's strength.
"Is that so?"
Orochimaru paid more attention after hearing Jugo say that.
Jugo wouldn't speak up for no reason. If he was saying this, then there really was something wrong with Naruto and Sasuke.
"Yeah, their power has grown way too fast."
Normally, they would be held back by me and Suigetsu, but their strength keeps growing—and it's getting to the point where I can't even see a limit,"
Jugo said seriously, his tone heavy. It was because he sensed something strange with Naruto and Sasuke that he quickly took Suigetsu and retreated.
It was a good thing he reacted fast—otherwise, they might not have made it back.
Even if Naruto and Sasuke didn't mean to kill them, with that overwhelming power, coming back wouldn't have been easy.
"The World Government has already found out about the Sound Village. Now that you've lost, it won't be long before Naruto and Sasuke show up again."
Orochimaru paused to think.
At first, he had planned to leave right away. But now, he was considering staying behind to observe Naruto and Sasuke a bit more.
"The Uzumaki and Uchiha clans? If that's really the case, then the World Government might be in big trouble,"
Orochimaru thought to himself.
He already knew about Indra and Asura, though he still didn't know exactly who they had been reborn as.
As for whether Shanks knew the truth about Indra and Asura, Orochimaru figured he probably didn't.
Reincarnation isn't something you can figure out from reading Poneglyphs.
"Huh? We're staying?"
Suigetsu looked miserable.
He had just been beaten up, still covered in wounds—and now they had to stick around? The next time, it might not just be Naruto and Sasuke showing up.
"Yeah, we'll probably have to meet Naruto and Sasuke again."
Orochimaru nodded.
The power of the Dragon Vein shouldn't have that much of an effect, so Naruto and Sasuke getting stronger like this isn't normal. In the New World, sure, something like this might happen. But here, the Dragon Vein's influence is weak.
"It's unlikely… but not impossible."
Orochimaru thought for a moment, then shook his head.
Jugo and Suigetsu glanced at each other, confused about what Orochimaru was thinking.
Elsewhere, Kakashi also felt that there was something strange about Naruto and Sasuke's talents.
Kakashi himself was a genius, so from his perspective, Naruto and Sasuke didn't seem particularly outstanding.
But their mental strength—their mindset—was definitely what true warriors should have.
Even though Kakashi brought Naruto and Sasuke back, he never planned to keep them near the shore forever.
He was waiting for the right moment—for them to enter the New World.
But now, even before they've entered, something already feels off.
"This is weird. Could it be the influence of the Land of the Immortals? But with their personalities, Naruto and Sasuke shouldn't be affected by that.
And they're not immortals either."
Kakashi couldn't quite figure it out.
But one thing he knew for sure: something's definitely not right with Naruto and Sasuke.
"Kakashi, Sai has found Orochimaru's base in the Land of Rice Fields. We can move out now."
Yamato said.
Kakashi's team was now made up of Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, and Yamato.
As for Sakura? She had already moved to support work in the back.
"Naruto and Sasuke need time to recover. Let's head to Kirigakure Village and ask for help."
When Yamato heard Kakashi's words, he frowned a bit—he could tell something wasn't right.
Naruto and Sasuke had been injured for a while, but what was strange was that despite staying hurt, they were still in great shape and could keep fighting at full power.
"Is that so? Then I'll contact Lady Terumi Mei and have Naruto go with the people from Kirigakure Village."
Yamato nodded, but still asked one more question.
"Is that enough?"
"Yeah… but I'll probably need to go too. After this, we'll leave from the Land and head to the New World. It's no longer a good idea for Naruto and Sasuke to stay here in East Blue."
Kakashi added that this time, he would lead the team.
Given Naruto and Sasuke's situation, it would be best to keep them out of the World Government's sight.
Even though Kakashi didn't fully understand what was going on, for safety's sake, he decided to take Naruto and Sasuke away from the battlefield.
They've trained enough. They've made all the preparations.
The path laid out for Naruto and Sasuke was ready to be taken.
Kakashi carried not only the responsibility of Konohagakure, but also the future—a future he couldn't clearly see.
Konohagakure couldn't be allowed to fall under the control of the World Government.
As for Konohagakure's situation, it wasn't like the World Government didn't care. It's just that Naruto and Sasuke weren't that important anymore.
To the World Government, Naruto and Sasuke weren't much different from regular ninja from the clans. They didn't even seem all that useful.
In this era, Naruto and Sasuke really didn't stand out anymore.
In terms of strength, the younger generation like Karin, Haku, Kimimaro, and Kidomaru were stronger.
Kidomaru and Jirobo had even fought Shanks before.
When it came to brains, Shikamaru and Haku were sharper. And even without Shikamaru or Haku, Dark, Gato, and the recently seen Ross Jess and Kagero Peak were more impressive.
As for the talk about being the reincarnations of Asura and Indra? If Rikudou Sennin's kids were as useless as Naruto and Sasuke, the sages wouldn't even bother worrying.
Now, the sages were almost sure that Asura was probably Nagato.
That guy even had the Rinnegan.
And once they confirmed Nagato was Asura, the rest was easy—just match the age.
That left Itachi and Shisui.
One of the two had to be Indra.
In the end, the land-based Sage Kingdom that the sages created was always tied to the power of Asura and Indra—it was built around that connection.
And what was the Sage Kingdom? It was the sages' way of breaking the deal they made with Rikudou Sennin.
But in the process, they dragged Rikudou Sennin's two sons into it. It was like starting a rebellion and pulling the royal heirs into your rebel army.
Honestly, if Rikudou Sennin climbed out of his grave, he'd be too embarrassed to even speak.
Though whether he could climb out or not is another story. But anyway, right now, even the Nine-Tails is starting to think about rebelling.
---
You can read 50 advanced chapters at my patreon.com/YeyeQiu