Even though Nagato was still weak, he immediately gave the order. Time was too short.
This time, they had mobilized completely, aiming to catch the enemy off guard.
In fact, this ambush had already gone beyond expectations.
"Why does the World Government have so many sages?"
Nagato never expected there would be so many sages in this fleet. From the information they had before, the World Government was said to have no more than fifty sages.
And now, with so many sages already heading to the New World, the ones staying behind shouldn't have been many. But just from this one encounter, Nagato realized something was wrong.
The World Government had far more sages than he had imagined.
And this was news Nagato and his people never knew about.
"Maybe they're newly promoted sages. Even in this era, sages should still understand the limits of their own power."
"It's just that… their identities might not be so simple."
Itachi glanced at the sages present. They didn't look unusual, but their strength didn't seem all that great.
Whether compared to Okita or the Sandai Tsuchikata, these sages' power could only be called average. They didn't have the strength to break free from the pressure of Ashura and Indra.
"They seem like nobles, but probably not born as sages."
Itachi thought for a moment. Their strength couldn't really be called weak.
In truth, anyone who could become a sage was already very gifted in many ways. Among the World Nobles, the training for their own geniuses spared no effort.
A true sage was one born as a sage, but among the World Nobles, some talented people were given the chance to become one.
Of course, only real geniuses could earn this chance, and even then, the number who actually made it was very small.
But after the Earthly Sage Kingdom plan began, the difficulty of becoming a sage dropped sharply. Just look at Danzo's case.
Other skills might be lacking, but for the sages of the Earthly Sage Kingdom, turning someone with enough talent into a sage was no longer a hard thing.
So after the plan began and the foundation of the Earthly Sage Kingdom was laid, sages became more and more common.
And now that the Earthly Sage Kingdom had truly appeared, it meant Genichi's plan had succeeded.
The World Nobles became the backbone of the Earthly Sage Kingdom, and from among them, a large number of sages could be promoted.
Of course, they weren't the only source.
The Earthly Sage Kingdom was created to match the new era's pirate will — it was another rule recognized by the will of the world.
So in theory, to become a sage of the Earthly Sage Kingdom, you only needed to be part of the World Government.
The more recognized you were by the World Government, the more the Earthly Sage Kingdom's will would accept you. Even Marines could become sages.
This was Genichi's method — as long as you gave everyone hope, the World Government's legitimacy would never be in danger of collapsing, and it wouldn't be rejected by the world's will.
Of course, this all depended on the rule being carried out, and in this era, that rule would definitely continue.
Not to mention Master Genichi himself — under Shanks' pressure, the World Government wouldn't dare close the path upward.
From this angle, the World Government's way of choosing sages was far fairer than a lottery, and could even be called just.
"Not born sages, huh? But… they're not weak at all."
Nagato sighed. Even though he had defeated them, he didn't look down on them.
"We need to hurry. Let's move!"
Itachi urged, and Nagato led the group onto the ship.
On the Revolutionary Army's ship, countless White Zetsu crowded every corner. Even though Nagato already knew their numbers, seeing this many still shook him.
Before they gathered here, he had never seen such a scene himself.
Kisame, standing next to Itachi, looked at the White Zetsu with a serious face. Even Deidara and Hidan, who usually didn't take anything seriously, felt the weight in the air.
Looking at the broken ship parts floating on the sea and the bodies in the water… even Hidan, a bloodthirsty killer, felt a chill.
So many dead in an instant — it was nothing like his own kind of killing.
This is the difference in their situations.
It's like those movie killers—Jason from Crystal Lake, Freddy from Elm Street.
They look terrifying, but if you throw them into the Battle of Verdun, the casualties they cause would be nothing in comparison.
"So this is war?"
Deidara looked at the battlefield and spoke, his voice trembling a little.
"Yes, this is war.
And… it's a war far beyond any ninja world war."
Kakuzu answered from the side. His own heart was unsteady too—only those who have been through war could understand a battle on this scale.
It's outrageous, but… there's no choice.
Anyone could die.
"But are we really not a terrorist group?"
Hidan still found it hard to believe. With the things they were doing now, and they still claimed not to be terrorists?
Yet when they actually were a "terrorist group" before, they never did anything like this.
At that moment, Hidan was confused.
As a villain, honestly, he never felt quite at home in this so-called "righteous" group. For a while now, he'd been slacking off—not that it made any difference.
But looking at it now, Hidan really felt something was off. They were clearly doing something righteous, yet so many people were dying.
"This must be the price of justice. The harder something is to get, the greater the cost."
With everyone falling silent, the revolutionary army moved toward the Land.
As the sun slowly sank into the sea, the Marines' reinforcements arrived at the battlefield. Seeing the devastation, Terumi Mei's face also darkened.
The Marines' headquarters was in the Land of Water, and this time Terumi Mei had come straight from there with her people.
Terumi Mei was the Mizukage of Kirigakure Village, but also one of the Five Elders of the World Government—her position was entirely different.
And for Terumi Mei, this was also an opportunity.
A chance to strengthen Kirigakure's influence on the battlefield—something the village's situation forced her to do.
"Check how many people are still alive."
Terumi Mei's heart felt heavy too. No matter when you see a war like this, it's always a huge burden.
But compared to Kirigakure's own state, Terumi Mei's resolve only grew.
If Kirigakure wanted to survive, these sacrifices were nothing. They had already sacrificed enough.
Now the weakest of the ninja villages, they could disappear at any time.
Kirigakure's weakness was exactly why Terumi Mei knew that the World Government's current stance toward the village was actually a sign they didn't take it seriously.
If it were just being ignored, that would be fine—but in truth, Terumi Mei saw it clearly: the World Government's tolerance toward Kirigakure was because they saw it as a tool to keep other villages in check.
And in this situation, Kirigakure could be swallowed by the World Government at any moment, becoming a true tool for them.
Because the World Government would inevitably target the Five Great Ninja Villages, and right now, Kirigakure was the best "tool" for that.
In such a larger trend, Terumi Mei also knew she had very limited options.
Did Kirigakure have the power to influence the world's balance? Not at all.
Forget Kirigakure—even Kumogakure might not have that kind of power. If you lack strength, you just lack strength.
"Mizukage-sama, we didn't find any bodies of Devil Fruit users or sages—only… Sage Okita's body."
After a while, a Marine came running over.
"Only Okita's? Looks like the rest were all captured by the Revolutionary Army."
Terumi Mei looked at Okita's body. The damage was so severe it was barely recognizable. From such a broken body, it was clear how brutal the battle had been.
The resolve and will of these sages also stirred something in Terumi Mei—such powerful sages, such overwhelming strength.
Sages had every reason to be proud and stand above others, but Terumi Mei had no desire to be their lapdog, nor would she allow Kirigakure to become a sacrifice for the World Government.
"What about the other casualties?"
"Half of the people couldn't be saved… the death toll is over two thousand."
The Marine officer spoke.
Marine warships were usually large, and thanks to things like the newly developed storage scrolls, much of the logistics work on board didn't take up much space.
So under normal circumstances, one warship could carry between one to one and a half thousand people, and overloading wasn't unusual.
However, the fleet attacked by the Revolutionary Army wasn't at full capacity.
"Gather the bodies. One ship will return to headquarters."
"The rest will follow me to Hozuki Castle to move troops."
Terumi Mei sighed as she gave the order.
She clearly had her own plans in coming here, and Hozuki Castle was part of them.
Meanwhile, Hozuki Castle had just received the fleet from the Land of Snow. Mui stood at the port entrance, and as the ships docked, a wave of cold air swept over.
A tall man stepped off the ship.
Mui looked at Kazahana Doto with a cold expression, and Kazahana Doto stared back at him.
Both men were tall, with similar face shapes and even similar auras. But in that moment… Kazahana Doto's steps paused.
He realized that the man in front of him, despite being about the same age, build, and aura…
Seemed to be more handsome than him.
"Killer Bee is tied up with other matters. This time, I'll be escorting the pirate criminal in place of the Land of Thunder. This is a World Government order."
Kazahana Doto produced the transfer order from the World Government. If it weren't for this, he never would have left the Land of Snow.
"Understood. Follow me."
Mui's face showed no emotion, but this time was different—he led Kazahana Doto inside the prison, instead of meeting outside to take the prisoner.
Kazahana Doto followed Mui into the underground prison of Hozuki Castle. Only then did Mui speak.
"Lord Kazahana Doto, your Land of Snow and the Revolutionary Army… don't seem entirely clean."
"Hm?"
Hearing that, Kazahana Doto paused.
"This information can't be used to threaten me, Mui.
Even if the Land of Snow falls, I couldn't care less."
Kazahana Doto chuckled, answering without concern.
"You've misunderstood, Lord Kazahana Doto. I'm not threatening you. I'm…"
Mui turned around, looked at Kazahana Doto, and said seriously,
"Cooperation!"
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