Meanwhile, in the southern sea of the Land of Wind, Orochimaru's ship had docked at an island chain. This was the main ship of the Beasts Pirates—the ship that belonged to Orochimaru.
The massive figurehead was carved into the shape of a lifelike dragon's head. Orochimaru had originally wanted to use his own head instead, like how the Hokage Rock had the faces of past Hokage carved into it.
But putting a human head on the front of a ship… that would be a bit disturbing.
"Kabuto, have the sages shown up yet?"
Orochimaru sat at the center of the deck, his eyes wide as he asked. He had just sensed something—some kind of malice.
"No, those guys are too arrogant. They won't be in any hurry to catch up."
Kabuto gave a cold smirk. He never really understood what gave those so-called sages the right to be so proud.
Sages? As a sage himself, he knew better than anyone—against Orochimaru-sama's power, ordinary sages didn't stand a chance.
They were relics of a bygone era. How could they possibly understand the power of this age?
"Strange… I can't shake this feeling of malice."
Orochimaru wasn't sure either. His Observation Haki wasn't weak, and his battle with Shanks had definitely paid off.
At the very least, both his Observation Haki and Conqueror's Haki had improved.
Of course, sometimes Observation Haki was just pure instinct. Even Zabuza never expected that badmouthing someone behind their back could somehow be sensed.
"It's probably some sage's secret technique. These techniques related to natural energy are really hard to detect."
Hiruko spoke up. This wasn't their first time dealing with sages.
Well, actually, for the past few days, they had been running for their lives from them.
There were too many low-level pirates in the crew. Orochimaru didn't want to see unnecessary casualties, so the best he could do was fight off the sages and retreat.
In the meantime, Orochimaru, Hiruko, and Kabuto had studied the sages and their abilities quite thoroughly.
If nothing else, Orochimaru's pirate crew was overflowing with talent.
Orochimaru, Hiruko, and Kabuto—these three were absolute geniuses when it came to Ninjutsu research.
Kabuto might have been a little behind the other two, but for an ordinary person, learning even a fraction of Orochimaru's knowledge was impossible.
Yet in such a short time, Kabuto had almost completely mastered everything Orochimaru knew.
And then you look at Sasuke in the original timeline—Orochimaru never even restricted his freedom in the lab.
So what did he manage to learn? Nothing at all.
Anyway, the people in the Beasts Pirates could definitely rival the top forces of the Five Great Ninja Villages.
Maybe not Konohagakure, but compared to the other villages, they had way more talent.
"We have a rough idea about the sages now, but at the moment, we still can't fully understand their secret techniques."
"And with the presence of the dragon veins here, the natural energy is even stronger, making it harder to sense anything."
Kabuto added. That was exactly why he hadn't noticed anything unusual.
The power of Sage Mode is called Senjutsu chakra, but in reality, it's completely different from regular chakra.
The term "Senjutsu chakra" probably only came about after the Sage of the Six Paths.
After all, this was the era of ninjas.
"It doesn't matter if we can't sense them. If they can sense us, then we'll just wait here.
With their arrogance, they'll come looking for us."
Orochimaru spoke in a low voice. He didn't think highly of the sages either, but he had to admit—they were still sages, after all, and they had their own tricks.
After retreating from history, the sages hadn't interfered much with the ninja world. But because of that, they had more time to research Senjutsu, secret sage techniques, and so on.
In short, those guys had developed plenty of strange techniques, making them a hassle to deal with.
Some sages even had abilities similar to Kekkei Genkai—special talents that were worth paying attention to.
"But… can we really handle five sages?"
Hiruko asked with some concern. Five sages, five pirate crews—that was already a lot of people.
"I don't really care. Just make sure you two don't die."
Orochimaru was full of confidence.
In this world, aside from Shanks, there was no one he feared.
Only those who had experienced absolute power firsthand could understand just how weak sages truly were.
"Hah? Orochimaru, are you saying we can't survive against those sages? Are you looking down on us?"
Hiruko was annoyed, clearly unhappy.
He hadn't expected Orochimaru to have such a low opinion of them.
"It's not that I look down on you. It's just that, for you, those guys are very strong."
Orochimaru frowned.
He had encountered those sages before, and he knew they weren't as simple as they seemed.
Of course, they were no match for him, but Hiruko was too weak right now.
And Kabuto? A newly awakened sage—he was weak too.
It wasn't that the sages were too strong. It was that Kabuto and Hiruko were too weak.
"Those guys have a lot of battle experience. They're not like people who have never fought before. They're extremely cautious and never let their guard down in combat."
Orochimaru truly had no respect for the sages, but he acknowledged their strength.
With their power and their awareness in battle, it made sense that they had once dominated the ninja world.
Fortunately, Shanks acted quickly.
By the time the sages reacted, it was already too late.
Of course, things weren't that simple for them.
Two hundred years ago, sages probably weren't this strong.
They were just a bunch of guys with power but no idea how to use it—basically trash.
Then, an outlier named Fukuda Kiyomu appeared among them and put all the sages through harsh training.
Because of that, their combat power was forcibly raised.
Not by much, but at least now, the sages could be considered real warriors.
"I see… Well, I should be fine, as long as all I have to do is stall them."
Kabuto completely believed what Orochimaru said, but the Sage Mode of Ryuuchi Cave was known for its strong survival ability. It wasn't *that* dangerous.
Even if you died once or twice, you could still come back.
"Hiruko, you should know how strong I am. Even though the power you've gained isn't weak, you don't have enough real battle experience.
So don't let your guard down."
Orochimaru warned him again. Hiruko, remembering the past when Orochimaru faced Jiraiya and Tsunade, could only grit his teeth and nod.
"Got it!"
What Orochimaru said was true—lack of battle experience was a serious weakness for him.
Looking at the three of them, Orochimaru was the only one who was truly competent, maybe even exceptional.
As for Kabuto and Hiruko, their stats looked great on paper, but their actual combat performance wasn't that impressive.
This was a fact. In the original timeline, Kabuto had strong stats, but he never really showed his full potential in battle.
The same went for Hiruko. His stats were insanely high, but in the end, Naruto still completely crushed him.
"But the one who should be most worried is you, Orochimaru. This is the Dragon Vein we're talking about. Don't forget how you handled Shanks before.
If those Sages use the same method against you, you might not be able to counter it."
As their research on Sage Mode and Anti-Sage Mode continued, Orochimaru and his team gradually understood why the Sages were so eager to act.
Simply put, the revival of the Dragon Vein would greatly boost the world's natural energy.
For the Sages, this was also an upgrade, allowing them to widen the power gap between themselves and regular ninjas.
While ordinary people would get a small boost in strength, Sages could directly use natural energy to enhance themselves even further.
From this perspective, the new era was an age of natural energy awakening. And in this era, the biggest winners were undoubtedly the Sages.
At least, that's how it looked on the surface.
That's also why some Sages found Shanks a bit too unbelievable. Some of them even went as far as digging up the Uzumaki clan's family records just for him.
After all, Shanks wasn't a Sage. But… if he had the status of an ancient noble, wouldn't that make him *one of them*?
To be honest, for the Sages, giving Shanks the identity of an ancient noble was already a way of acknowledging him.
Otherwise, why would they bother granting such a title to someone from the Land of Whirlpools—especially a ninja nation that had already been destroyed? What made *him* worthy of that?
But once a Sage spoke up, everything changed.
A Sage's recognition carried weight—it was as good as an ancient decree.
It was just like when the Aburame clan faked that official document. The document was real, the Daimyo's seal was real, and once it was written down, it *became* real.
The same logic applied to the Sages recognizing Shanks as an ancient noble. If the Sages acknowledged it, then it was basically as good as being recognized by the world government.
As for giving Shanks the title of a Sage himself? That was out of the question. Twisting the truth that much would be pushing it.
Besides, the Sages weren't even sure what side Shanks was truly on. Was he just another lunatic like Fukuda Seimei? They had no idea.
So the identity they arranged for Shanks was already more than enough.
More importantly, giving Shanks this title also meant recognizing the Uzumaki clan as ancient nobles.
And the reason for this? It was simple.
The benefits for the Sages were just too great.
And for ninjas, the gains were just as massive.
As for the common people? Well, there was no question—they would benefit even more.
This is like comparing sages by their average level and commoners by their total number.
If you say Shanks is fighting for the common people, just look at the average benefits—doesn't he seem like a noble from ancient times?
But if you look at the total benefits, he's actually leading the commoners in overthrowing the old system.
Now, the sages don't care about which side Shanks is on anymore. They only care about one thing—
The power of the Dragon Vein!
"Hah, the power of the Dragon Vein isn't so easy to handle. If you don't have Conqueror's Haki, you won't be able to withstand it at all."
Orochimaru sneered. He had used this power before, so he knew just how absurd the will of the world behind it was.
Those sages didn't have what it took.
"Not everyone is qualified to interact with the will of the world. If your strength isn't at a certain level, you won't even be noticed by it—let alone use the Dragon Vein's power."
"And the simplest way to use the Dragon Vein is to attract the world's will with Conqueror's Haki."
"But Reverse Sage Mode itself doesn't have the ability to control that power, so the only option is to contain it within the body."
"In this world, I'm the only one who can use this technique."
Orochimaru spoke with extreme arrogance—because he had the right to say it.
But even with that right, he didn't dare to use it recklessly. If he overused it, he would die too.
This technique was meant to deal with Shanks—or more accurately, to hold him back when necessary.
Everyone was getting stronger, so Shanks would inevitably surpass this era once again.
That was why back then, it had truly been Orochimaru's last chance. He had seen too far ahead.
Even if he wasn't as strong as Shanks, at this moment, Orochimaru had gotten close enough to see the path Shanks was taking.
In this world, only Shanks was qualified to defeat him.
"How arrogant… Well then, my future is in your hands, Captain."
Hiruko's tone was playful, but he still acknowledged Orochimaru's strength. Otherwise, he wouldn't have willingly followed him out to sea.
The power of the sages was far beyond the abilities of a ninja's Kekkei Genkai.
"Survive first, then we can talk about the future."
Orochimaru grinned with confidence.
Hiruko's future depended on him, but in the same way, Orochimaru's future also relied on his companions.
Even with such incredible power, Orochimaru was still not one of the Four Emperors.
Shanks called himself one of the Four Emperors—fine.
Because he was the first to say it. And by doing so, he had sealed off the title for everyone else.
If someone else wanted to claim the title, that would mean standing on the same level as Shanks.
In that case, it wasn't up to Shanks to decide who could be a Four Emperor.
If being a Four Emperor required Shanks' recognition, then the status would be entirely different.
So whether someone could become a Four Emperor had nothing to do with Shanks.
But earning the acknowledgment of others? That was the real challenge.
Especially with Shanks already being a Four Emperor—who else in the ninja world could reach his level?
Orochimaru couldn't.
Shanks alone could suppress the entire ninja world.
Shanks alone could shape an entire era.
Shanks alone could change the world.
But Orochimaru couldn't do it alone. He needed help—more allies to carve out a place for himself in this great era and stand on the same level as Shanks.
His power could open a path to the future for his companions, and his own future was tied to them as well.
At dawn the next day, more than ten pirate ships appeared on the sea.
Sitting on the deck, Orochimaru let the sunlight fall on his tall, powerful body. His half-closed eyes slowly opened, and the muscles across his body twitched slightly.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes!
"So slow!"
"Let me speed things up for you on your way to the underworld."
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