Seeing how rushed Naruto looked, Kakashi realized something had happened.
It was supposed to be rest and recovery time—there shouldn't have been any trouble.
"Kakashi-sensei!! Sasuke!!"
"Something big just happened in the New World! Fleet Admiral Chiriku and the Five Elders are here, and Tsunade-sama told me to come wait for you."
Naruto's face was filled with urgency—it was clear this was something huge.
The impact of the New World could not be overstated. Sure, the war in East Blue was already extreme, but for the World Government, the real game-changer was always the New World.
If for no other reason, then simply because Shanks and the Red-Haired Pirates' goal was there.
At this moment, something major had happened in the New World—something that could determine the fate of the entire world.
As for the East Blue side, to put it bluntly—
The scale of the current war had already gone beyond even the Fourth Great Ninja War, with an area of impact that was terrifyingly wide.
And even then, it could only slightly shake the World Government.
But if something happened in the New World, it meant the Five Elders would gather immediately, and along with them came the Marine Fleet Admiral and people from the Sage's side.
When Kakashi arrived at the venue, the meeting was still ongoing—and this time, there were a lot of people present.
Even Kakashi was taken aback!
"What… those guys…"
It wasn't just Kakashi who was surprised—several others were too.
There stood Oonoki, looking young again. His body was still short, but the pressure radiating from him was overwhelming.
By burning through his remaining lifespan, he had pushed all his potential to the limit, restoring his body to its peak and boosting every aspect of his abilities.
And unlike the Third Hokage, while Oonoki's ninjutsu talent wasn't as high, his mental fortitude was unmatched.
In this era, Oonoki's willpower was on another level—arguably the strongest among the Five Kage.
On top of that, Oonoki actually had an incredibly long lifespan.
Think about it—he lived through the era of Uchiha Madara and survived all the way into Boruto's era.
Now, with the rest of his lifespan condensed into just five years, the boost he gained was massive.
And aside from Oonoki, behind Chiyo stood two large men, both wearing masks, their identities unknown.
But Kakashi felt a dangerous presence from one of them—that sharp, cutting aura only top-level swordsmen possessed.
Even Orochimaru didn't have that kind of presence.
"Looks like all five great villages have their own hidden cards."
Kakashi sat down next to Tsunade, his gaze briefly resting on Terumi Mei—the only one who didn't seem to have changed at all.
It was exactly because of that that Kakashi found her dangerous.
"Mmm, Kakashi's finally here. Now I can go back to sleep."
Seeing Kakashi, Tsunade let out a sigh of relief—just listening to this meeting was exhausting.
"Ha\~"
She stretched her arms high, and the… large obstacle in front of her blocked Kakashi's line of sight toward Terumi Mei, completely cutting her off from view.
Kakashi pulled his gaze back and looked down at the notebook Tsunade handed him.
"Damn woman, she did that on purpose."
Terumi Mei muttered, and while Kakashi was looking at her, she was also looking at him.
Then, who knew Tsunade would stretch, and that huge pair ended up blocking Kakashi's face.
Looking at Tsunade, who had gone back to sleep, Terumi Mei was boiling with anger.
But there was nothing she could do. Tsunade was, after all, the Hokage of Konohagakure, and the princess of the Senju clan — a real noble of the world.
Even the sages could only let Tsunade sleep there without bothering her.
As for Kakashi, when he looked at Tsunade's notes, he could feel the heaviness in them.
"Shanks opens up the New World, the power of the Dragon Vein fully erupts, the Red Line covers the seas, and the red will begins to spread among the pirates of the New World.
The New World is putting full pressure on the World Government…"
Kakashi kept reading line by line, and Tsunade's notes contained even more than that.
Aside from the events in the New World, there was also recent news.
"The World Government's first attack was blocked by the Red-Haired Pirates' vice-captain, Uchiha Shisui, all by himself. Three sages died in battle, and over half of the fleet was lost.
Uchiha Shisui's identity has been confirmed — he's not the reincarnation of Indra, but his power has already surpassed Indra…"
"…"
Hearing Kakashi's voice, Sasuke was stunned.
But then he relaxed. After all, that was Shisui, the vice-captain of the Red-Haired Pirates. Having such incredible strength was only natural.
At that moment, Sasuke also noticed a gaze in the meeting hall. He looked up, but the person had already looked away.
Still, Sasuke knew who it was. He fixed his eyes on the man standing behind Granny Chiyo. The man wore a mask, but the dragon tattoo on his head stood out.
That man was none other than the Second Kazekage of Sunagakure, Shamon. And the other man was the First Kazekage, Reto.
"So strong."
Sasuke sighed. Sure enough, someone his age still couldn't compare with these powerful figures.
The man he had been watching wasn't that strong, but the one next to him gave off an overwhelming sense of power.
Just then, another sage in the hall stepped forward.
"Because the problems in the New World are very serious, only the two of us came back to help this time.
But the forces we have left in the shinobi world are still strong enough, so we must drive out Orochimaru and the others as quickly as possible, and send more Marines to the New World."
"Even if we focus all our forces, we might not be able to drive out Orochimaru and the others quickly. And there's another problem — if we do that, our rear will be in big trouble.
The Revolutionary Army's main force isn't in the New World."
Hearing Chiriku's words, Yoshimura had no answer.
"This is everyone's decision. Without the advance of the Marines, we don't have enough strength to face the will that has already spread through the New World.
In that kind of will, our power will be heavily suppressed."
That's why, back when they first tried to set foot on the Red Line, the sages and the Marines they brought with them were beaten back by Shisui.
The pirates were fine.
These pirates were brought by the more hands-on sages, and they weren't affected by the red will's pressure.
But it was different for the Marines.
As was said before, the sages had shifted the cost onto ordinary people.
When they first stepped into the red will of the New World carrying the will of the Celestial Kingdom, especially when they entered the Red Line, the counterforce from above the Celestial Kingdom struck them directly.
The immortals couldn't take it.
Normally, some might even die on the spot.
But the immortals in the New World weren't ordinary; they were all top fighters.
Even so, they still couldn't withstand it, and the cost ended up falling on the Marine soldiers instead.
When these ordinary people joined the World Government's side, they became the most basic members of the Celestial Kingdom.
They gained the right to rise into higher ranks of the Celestial Kingdom, but once that path opened, it also meant they had to bear the cost.
The result? There were too few of them, and they couldn't handle it.
Facing Shanks at this moment, the immortals of the Celestial Kingdom could only throw in regular Marines to fill the gap.
Of course, the cost didn't always mean death, but sometimes the result was even worse—being locked down forever, bound to the Celestial Kingdom for life.
If they couldn't recover on their own, they would become nothing more than fuel for the will of the Celestial Kingdom, locked forever at that same strength and position.
Of course, the immortals would never say this.
Opening a path for these common people was already a last resort, and that favor was enough.
"Need more Marines?"
"The New World is more complicated than you think, and there are more and more pirates. A huge number have already poured into the New World.
That power isn't just Shanks' alone."
Yoshimura explained, and what shocked Master Genichi and the entire Celestial Kingdom's upper ranks even more was…
Pirates didn't need to pay that cost. They didn't have to suffer the price of failure like the Marines did.
That's what they found unbelievable.
Shanks had opened all the paths for others to rise, and the cost was carried by him alone.
When Master Genichi realized this, he couldn't help but respect Shanks' pride and arrogance, and admire his boldness even more.
He didn't need anyone as a safety net; he simply created a road for everyone. That meant Shanks had been ready from the start to die at the hands of those who came after him.
But in reality, Shanks wasn't actually bearing that cost—because he didn't need to.
Still, one thing Master Genichi wasn't wrong about was that Shanks had indeed prepared to be killed by those who followed him.
After seeing the state of the world, Shanks made his decision—his power and spirit weren't his alone.
They were inherited from the wisdom and civilization of the previous generation. With thousands of years of courage and wisdom as the foundation, he would create a new world for this era.
Anyone who could step over his corpse to reach the front of this age would be worthy to inherit his place and that centuries-old spirit of civilization.
Shanks' pride was buried deep in his heart, and Uchiha Madara had seen it back when they first met.
As for the so-called cost, Shanks didn't need the people after him to pay it—so he didn't have to either.
The pirate system and the Celestial Kingdom's system were completely different.
Look at what happened when Shanks faced those pirates and you'll get it.
He was the one who started this whole system, yet he got beaten, and somehow still gave the other side a boost.
The pirate system is basically like a pile of loose sand. I'm already just a pile of sand, and you're still worried the foundation can't hold?
I'm not like the Ground Immortal Nation that needs a solid foundation to hold people up.
But still, because of their system, the Ground Immortal Nation really has no choice. They have to throw people in to fill the gap.
And they're also worried the more time Shanks has to prepare, the harder it'll be for them to deal with him.
That's right, they're scared!
After their first encounter, every immortal started to fear Shanks.
Even Fukuda Kiyomu was the same. In terms of strength, he had the courage to challenge Shanks, but when it came to brains, he couldn't match him.
And Yoshimura's words made it clear.
"Put all our power into the New World, and the result will be…"
"I know. The ninja nations might fall into chaos, so the Marines need to be ready.
Same for the ninjas — they need to keep the ninja world stable during this time."
Yoshimura spoke, and that's when Reto, who was standing behind Granny Chiyo, stepped forward.
"If that's the case, we can't agree to it. With such a huge sacrifice, at least let us know exactly what it's for."
"In my opinion, Sage Yoshimura, just be direct about it."
"What exactly is Shanks' real threat?"
Reto asked. He had already realized something was off. This wasn't about targeting someone… it was about his trust in Shanks.
"…"
Hearing Retto's question, Yoshimura frowned slightly. This involved a lot — you could even say it touched the dark side of the Ground Immortal Nation.
"Of course, if you don't want to say it here, that's fine. But I hope Sage Yoshimura can tell me the real reason in private."
After that, Reto didn't say anything more, and the others also sensed there was something fishy going on.
Something… didn't feel right.
"Lord Kazehoshi, keep your people in line."
It was Elder Murakami, who had come back with Yoshimura, giving Granny Chiyo a small reminder.
"I'm just a junior, hehe… and this man is not my subordinate."
Chiyo smiled lightly. Since Retto had spoken up…
"But since my elder has spoken, that means… shouldn't the Ground Immortal Nation also explain the real situation?"
"Of course, we're all members of the World Government. There's no need to make our relationship so stiff.
At the very least, don't make us sacrifice for nothing."
Granny Chiyo didn't back down at all.
The others felt the same. This involved too much, and they had to hold their ground.
"…"
"Fine, but it's not like we've been hiding much…"
"It's related to our research.
When the Dragon Vein erupts, the whole world will grow rapidly, and we can use the power of opposing wills to quickly get stronger."
"And normally, this clash of wills would only be between the World's Will and another opposing will… but now, the Ground Immortal Nation has appeared.
If the Ground Immortal Nation loses in this clash of wills, it will completely collapse. That's why we have to gather everyone's strength."
"Then… why not just give it up?"
"…"
"A wish we've held for thousands of years — how could we give it up so easily? And if we succeed, with this power, the Ground Immortal Nation can be completely stabilized."
"How could we give up this chance!"
Yoshimura spoke.
There was no way they would let this go… If before it was about one person ascending, now it was the rise of the whole Immortal Nation—the revival of the entire earthly immortal realm.
Or rather, with Shanks' power… they could build a true Immortal Nation on earth, one that stands above the world.
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