Genichi had already guessed that Rikudou Sennin was still alive, but at this moment, as the world will descended and the fluctuations of Rikudou Sennin's clone appeared, Master Genichi finally confirmed it.
But even now, Master Genichi didn't focus too much on Rikudou Sennin. Through the will of the Earthly Sage Kingdom, he could already sense everything happening in the New World.
He didn't know what was going on, but if Shanks was using that much power, then most likely he was already fighting Rikudou Sennin.
As for the Rikudou Sennin here, Genichi didn't even need to think about it—he knew it wasn't the real body.
For everyone in the ninja world, even for Rikudou Sennin and other sages, it's hard to imagine a powerhouse like "Golden Lion" Jigen even existing.
Because this guy hid too well, and more importantly, he lived way too long.
When Isshiki first arrived in the ninja world, he got tricked and killed by Kaguya right away. And then what did Kaguya do?
She went to fall in love. That's right.
She killed Isshiki and then went off to date, leaving Isshiki stuck sharing a body with Jigen. That situation lasted thousands of years, and during those years, Jigen was basically just an ordinary person.
Now, with all this commotion happening in the Red Earth Continent of the New World, the only person they could think of was Rikudou Sennin. But Rikudou himself had no clue what was going on at all.
Still, seeing the calm will of the world turn so violent, Rikudou Sennin couldn't just sit there doing nothing.
At that moment, on the edge of the Red Earth Continent's center, Dark was leading over a thousand pirates digging holes.
"Damn it, can't Golden Lion hold out a little longer?"
Dark roared. Plans never keep up with changes—that's normal, he was used to it, but he still couldn't help cursing.
Dealing with Shanks wasn't easy. Dark knew exactly how strong Jigen was, but that's why he also understood the gap between Jigen and Shanks.
It was simple—he could see Jigen's limit. It was insanely high, but still visible.
Shanks' limit, though? Dark couldn't see it at all.
His Devil Fruit powers almost stopped working in front of Shanks.
Even the weakest Devil Fruit draws on the will of the world because the user has absorbed a piece of the God Tree, making the world's will reject them.
But Shanks could casually break through the world will's restrictions—that was insane.
That's why Dark told Jigen to prepare well, to eat the God Tree first before facing Shanks.
But plans changed. The Sky Pirates had lost their home—the entire island was gone.
Still, Jigen's power was strong enough for him to qualify to face Shanks head-on.
When the group entered the center of the Red Earth Continent, they immediately noticed something strange.
The center of the Red Earth Continent held terrifying Dragon Vein energy, and Shanks' power had been suppressing this place the whole time.
The next step was simple.
They couldn't get into the very center, and even if they did, they couldn't fight there, so they could only stay outside.
Jigen went deeper into the center to lure Shanks over.
As for Dark, his job was to blow up the land. If they did that, since Shanks was suppressing this area, the explosion would definitely affect him.
No matter what, Shanks' chances of winning would go down.
Dark was a practical man. He left half of the Grail Stones for Jigen, and the other half would be used to blow up the area.
"Ryu, how's it going on your end?"
Dark looked at his vice captain. The tall, skinny Hamura Ryu nodded, signaling everything was ready.
Explosives—once you've done it the first time, the second time is easier.
Last time they got caught up in Orochimaru and Shanks' mess, and now they were going to pay it back.
That Land of Wind incident had left the entire Dark Pirates feeling wronged. They got blamed out of nowhere and were even hit by the explosion shockwave, even though they weren't anywhere near the main battlefield.
Yet they still got stuck with the blame.
Anyway, the Dark Pirates, Shanks, and Orochimaru all believed it was the other two's fault.
"It's ready, Captain. Let's pull out now!"
"Dark, can this thing really blow up Shanks and the Golden Lion?"
One pirate stared at the Grail Stone in his hand, confused about how it could hold so much power.
He hadn't been there for the Land of Wind explosion—by then, he was already locked up in a cell.
"It can blow them up, sure. If we tie those two up and set this off, I think everyone dies except maybe Orochimaru."
"This thing is dangerous. Why do you think my bounty is so high?"
Dark looked around and saw that everyone was almost ready.
He knew some of these guys. They were the same group that joined him the first time he went to fight Shanks, the same ones who were the earliest to head toward the Land of Wind.
Some were like him—down and out. Some were old bosses, some were big merchants in the past.
But now, every single one of them was a full-on pirate. The old vibe they used to have was long gone, replaced by raw ambition.
The reason they stuck with Jigen was simple—they all knew without that "Golden Lion," no matter how hard they tried, they'd never have gotten this far.
For now, it seemed like they'd all made the right call. Once again, they were standing in front of Shanks.
"Yeah, but… are we really okay? I mean, this isn't the first time we've tried something like this against Shanks, right?"
"No idea. But for now, we just have to trust that guy. As long as we don't end up being used by him."
"…"
At that moment, the pirates were already on guard. Anything led by Dark—they had to be careful.
Dark was a pirate with guts and tricks. If they weren't careful, he could sell them out again and even make them thank him for it.
Dark understood what they were thinking. But that was fine—he didn't trust them either.
"Fall back. Get ready to blow it!"
Dark gave the order. Hearing his voice, the pirates started pulling back. Dark stayed at the rear, leading the retreat.
"Using this kind of trick against Shanks? You guys are really shameless, huh."
A deep, old voice came from behind Dark. It was so sudden that even he didn't notice it coming.
After all the battles he'd been through, Dark had mastered Observation Haki. But he still didn't sense when the man behind him appeared.
Right then, Dark felt like some terrifying beast was staring at him. The man behind him was strong—so strong it made Dark's scalp tingle.
"H-how… how is that possible? When did you get here?"
Dark's body shook. Even his voice trembled with fear.
Behind him, Rikudou Sennin had already locked on to Dark with his senses.
He didn't feel any killing intent from Dark—only fear.
Looked like these guys were just small fry.
"Leave."
Rikudou Sennin didn't bother arguing with Dark. He just waved his hand, and a force wrapped around Dark. But then, his eyes suddenly changed.
The fear on Dark's face was gone. No more trembling. No more shock.
The moment Rikudou Sennin spoke, Dark already knew what kind of person had shown up.
Definitely not a ninja or a pirate.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have said a word—he would've killed Dark right away.
"Sorry, old man!
We're dirty pirates, after all."
Dark turned around with a grin on his scarred face. Two shattered Grail Stones dropped from him, releasing a violent surge of natural energy.
The next moment.
"Boom!!"
A huge explosion blasted Dark into the air. His clothes were torn into pieces, and his scarred body was covered with new wounds in an instant.
"Enemy attack!"
The explosion immediately alerted the pirates. Seeing Dark blown away and Rikudou Sennin behind the barrier, the pirates with abilities turned at once and charged toward Rikudou Sennin.
As the sound of the blast reached their ears, some pirates had already pulled their triggers. Flames burst out from the barrels, and the air filled with trails of bullets cutting through it.
The shockwave from the explosion was pierced by the bullets.
Several ability users rushed in right after, and Dark's vice-captain Hamura Ryu moved at an incredible speed, his long blade already drawn.
There were over a thousand pirates, many of them toughened by Shanks' beatings.
A crew like this might not be the most united, but their fighting power?
Honestly, this time they really ran into trouble.
This group of people, even if it wasn't Rikudou Sennin but Shanks himself, they would still dare to charge at him with blades drawn.
And who taught them that? Shanks. If they dared to fight Shanks, who else wouldn't they dare to fight?
At that moment, seeing this mob, even Rikudou Sennin felt a shiver on his scalp, especially when he sensed the willpower and raw strength pouring out of them.
Very strong, not ordinary strong.
Each of them was like a watered-down version of Shanks. Their clothes were ragged, and they looked scruffy, but their strength was just insane.
"Die!!"
After the barrier blocked several bullets, a flash of a blade cut through and shattered it.
Rikudou Sennin quickly formed hand seals, his chakra rippling only slightly.
"Water Transformation Technique!"
The next moment, Rikudou Sennin's body turned into a puddle of water, slipping past the slash.
"Six Paths: Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."
At once, the water on the ground spread out in less than a second, and hundreds of Rikudou Sennin clones rose up from it.
Each clone already had ninjutsu ready.
"Wind Release: Great Wind!"
"Fire Release: Triple Flames!"
"Lightning Release: Sky Thunder!"
"..."
Hundreds of ninjutsu were unleashed at once, giving the pirates almost no time to react. The combined force pushed the pirates back.
But there were too many of them. Some were already circling from the sides, while others used their Devil Fruit powers to break through head-on.
"Old man, these ninjutsu won't be enough to stop us."
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