To open a "gate," the power of the Tenseigan was still required.
With a single thought, Arima entered Six Paths Mode.
His eyes shifted into their Tenseigan form, a black staff floating beside him as a white cloak of divine light draped over his body in an instant.
Seeing this new, transcendent form of Arima, Dragon couldn't help but feel a natural sense of awe rising within him.
Betty's reaction was even stronger.
She felt as though the sacred aura radiating from Arima had purified her from within. Her Pump-Pump Fruit suddenly surged to a new level, awakening.
Realizing her transformation, Betty was overjoyed. She bowed deeply to Arima and said sincerely, "Thank you for your help!"
Her words unconsciously carried the power of her fruit, amplifying the emotional force of gratitude.
When Dragon heard them, his mind wavered slightly, he could feel trust and reverence welling up from deep inside him.
Arima smiled faintly. "You were already standing at the edge of awakening. It was only natural you'd take the final step. I didn't do anything, it's all the result of your own effort."
His tone was calm, completely unaffected by her fruit's emotional influence.
Still, Betty remained respectful.
"After awakening, I can now see the hidden strength and courage in people… and only now do I truly recognize how great you are! Please forgive my earlier ignorance and offense."
"There's no need for that," Arima replied evenly. "I'm just an ordinary man, my strength only happens to be greater than most. Don't be so formal, let's remain friends."
Hearing that, Betty's face brightened with pure delight.
Under Arima's guidance, Dragon and Betty stepped through the "gate" and emerged high above, on the sky island ten thousand meters in the air.
The place was several time zones apart from the Isle of White Earth, so it was still night.
At Dragon's request, Arima returned to Loguetown once more to retrieve the Revolutionary Army's top officers hidden there. On his way back, he also brought Tsunade along.
As for the rest, they were left temporarily in Loguetown. Before leaving, Arima cast an illusion barrier around the Konoha Senju ship to prevent any unnecessary trouble.
Over the following half month, Konoha and the Revolutionary Army worked out a detailed plan for their uprising.
Afterward, both sides dispatched teams across the seas into the World Government's allied nations, gathering intel and reporting every movement of those governments as the rebellion drew near.
In Loguetown, Smoker had long heard from Vice Admiral Garp about Arima's arrival. He ordered his men to keep the harbor under constant watch.
Early one morning, an intelligence officer finally noticed the Konoha Senju, a ship that had somehow gone unnoticed despite being moored there for half a month, and immediately reported it to Smoker.
Smoker rushed to the harbor. The Konoha Senju stood among the other ships like a crane among chickens, impossible to miss.
He exploded in anger. "Are you blind idiots? A ship this conspicuous, and you only notice it after half a month?!"
His subordinates looked wronged.
"We don't understand it either, sir. We inspect this area every day, but never noticed anything unusual. Yet this morning, it's as if the ship just appeared out of thin air!"
Smoker ignored their excuses. His only thought was to board that ship and inspect it himself.
As a Logia-type user of the Smoke-Smoke Fruit, his body turned to vapor in an instant and he surged toward the Konoha Senju.
But just as he was about to land on deck, a figure flashed before him, a swift kick sent him flying.
He crashed hard into the sail of a small nearby boat.
After a few rolls to absorb the impact, he steadied himself and looked up. A red-haired young woman stood on the railing above, gazing down at him coldly.
"Why are you boarding our ship?" Kushina demanded. "I don't recall inviting you aboard."
Smoker's personality was stubborn to the core.
Though Garp had repeatedly warned him not to provoke Arima, he refused to listen, on the contrary, he'd been itching to test himself against one of the Five Emperors.
Getting kicked before even seeing the man only fueled his irritation.
He leapt up to her level, glaring frostily. "Who are you? Where's Arima?"
Kushina tilted her head. "And who are you supposed to be?"
"Marine Smoker."
"Smoker? That sounds familiar… Ah, now I remember. That old man Garp mentioned you once.
Smoker, listen, so long as you don't cause trouble for us, we've no reason to mess with your Marines."
"Is it just you on this ship?"
"What, are you planning to force your way aboard?"
"If Arima isn't here, then you'll come back to base with me!"
With that, Smoker prepared to strike.
Kushina frowned. She'd never met someone this reckless before, charging straight at a ship belonging to one of the Five Emperors.
"Armament, Monster Strength!"
She wasn't about to humor his bad attitude. Darting forward, she threw a massive punch.
Smoker dropped low, raising his seastone-tipped jitte to block.
But the force of her attack, combining both Armament Haki and chakra-enhanced strength, was far beyond anything he could counter.
The single blow sent Smoker crashing from midair straight through the deck, smashing into the cargo hold below.
He barely managed to shift into smoke form mid-fall, avoiding a fatal impact, but the hit left him reeling, his head ringing painfully.
Staggering to his feet, he found his body barely obeying him.
From above, Kushina called out, "That old man Garp told us about you. I thought you'd be tougher than this! Fine, I'll let you off this time, for Garp's sake.
Wouldn't want him complaining that my Arima doesn't keep his promises."
With a light jump, she landed back on the deck, muttering to herself, "A Marine who hasn't even learned Haki yet, where'd he get the courage to provoke my Arima?
Have we really been quiet that long?"
Her words were soft, but Smoker heard every one of them.
He slumped back among the scattered crates, pulling a cigar from his jacket pocket. Taking a deep drag, he stared blankly upward, his thoughts a tangled mess.
Meanwhile, the Marines at the docks, seeing their commanding officer attacked, panicked.
They surrounded the Konoha Senju, rifles raised, some even swiveling the harbor cannons to aim at Kushina on deck.
Hearing the commotion outside, Natsuka stepped from the cabin. Seeing the tense standoff below, she frowned in confusion.
"Kushina, why are they all so angry?" she asked.
"Who knows? Maybe because I beat up their commanding officer." Kushina shrugged. "The guy wasn't that strong, but I guess he's respected in their ranks."
"Who did you hit?"
"Someone named Smoker. He's got a nasty temper, started barking orders to take me to the Marine base the moment he showed up.
How was I supposed to know he couldn't take a single punch?"
Kushina muttered in frustration.
Natsuka sighed.
"Since they struck first, we have every right to strike back. Just go easy on them, otherwise, Arima might have a hard time explaining things to Garp later.
He once mentioned our Six Styles technique actually came from that old man. We owe him some respect."
"Oh, so that's why Arima treats Garp differently. If I'd known, I'd have gone a bit easier on Smoker."
"What's done is done," Natsuka said calmly. "No way we're letting them drag you off to a Marine base. If they don't mess with us, we won't mess with them."
As they spoke, a young female swordsman came running toward the scene.