Chapter 259: Kamui Given to Kabuto

"Sage Art?"

Kabuto opened the scroll and quickly memorized everything inside, scanning it line by line.

Since he was only a clone, all the memories from this mission would return to his main body eventually. So, Kabuto made sure to immediately commit all the information to his mind. Once the clone dispelled, he could transmit everything back smoothly.

Kabuto was cautious about potential risks, so he always sent his clone instead of going himself.

"The Sage Arts from Ryūchi Cave and the Shikkotsu Forest are different, so you’ll need to master them on your own."

"By the way! Lord Raijin mentioned before that the World Government’s research on artificial Devil Fruits might be useful, especially the one Vegapunk personally created."

"That Devil Fruit, while not identical to Kaido's, perfectly inherited the abilities of the Mythical Zoan type. If you can get your hands on it, try eating it."

Kakashi explained.

Originally, Raijin planned to take the fruit back to Dressrosa, but Kakashi believed it would be more useful in Kabuto’s hands.

Kabuto could become their hidden asset in the future.

"This guy actually succeeded. He really managed to replicate the abilities of a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit!"

"I need to go back and thoroughly study the data on Kaido’s abilities."

"If it’s true, I’ll make sure to send the information back."

Kabuto muttered to himself, surprised that the artificial Mythical Zoan fruit was real. He had originally thought, as Vegapunk claimed, that it was a failure. Kabuto hadn’t given it much thought, nor did he even glance at it twice.

But now, things had changed. The Mythical Zoan fruit was something countless people across the seas desired.

Its powerful abilities were unquestionable. Anyone who got their hands on a Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit could easily rise in the New World and make a name for themselves.

Cough "Here, take this with you."

Kakashi, after some thought, reluctantly took out a glass jar.

"Is this... a Sharingan?" Kabuto was stunned. Why was Kakashi giving him a Sharingan? Kabuto wasn’t particularly interested in the Uchiha clan’s bloodline anymore.

Now, with a much broader horizon in front of him, there was no need to pursue a Kekkei Genkai. He was more focused on studying the abilities of the Mythical Zoan and even Logia fruits.

"This is a Sharingan that connects to my eye. It has the ability to activate the Mangekyō!"

"Once you implant it, you can open a space-time dimension connected to my eye."

"If in the future you need to send something, you can toss it into this dimension."

"I’ll check it periodically! That way, we won’t need such risky meetings anymore."

Kakashi, a bit hesitant, handed over the eye to Kabuto. He hadn’t implanted it yet—he just wasn’t mentally prepared.

Though Kamui’s powers were highly tempting and incredibly strong, Kakashi didn’t feel the need for it.

His Rumble-Rumble Fruit was already strong enough. He didn’t need the Mangekyō Sharingan to supplement his strength.

Kakashi simply needed to continue studying his Devil Fruit abilities, eventually leading to its awakening. As for Obito’s eye... although impressive, the phasing ability seemed like more of a burden to Kakashi.

Besides, he wasn’t just focused on Devil Fruits; he also had to master Haki and integrate ninjutsu into his Devil Fruit techniques.

It was a massive undertaking.

"Mangekyō!"

Kabuto’s face showed a hint of shock as he looked at Kakashi. He quickly understood that Kakashi had made a personal sacrifice to give him this.

After all, the Mangekyō Sharingan was extremely rare within the Uchiha clan. Kabuto guessed that there were no spare Mangekyō Sharingan within the Uchiha clan at this point.

Uchiha Raijin wouldn’t just pluck out a Mangekyō from one of his own to hand over to Kabuto.

So Kabuto had never dared to hope for one. But unexpectedly, Kakashi was this generous, casually handing over a Mangekyō Sharingan.

The Mangekyō’s power was definitely greater when in a pair. The power of a single eye couldn’t compare to the full potential of both.

"This Mangekyō’s ability is Kamui. It creates a separate dimension!"

"Any intel or items, once complete, can be sent into the Kamui dimension."

"This space can’t be detected by Devil Fruits or Observation Haki, so you can use it freely!"

Kakashi’s expression didn’t change much as he carefully explained the details to Kabuto.

"I understand!"

Kabuto didn’t hesitate. He summoned a summoning beast, tossed the jar with the Sharingan into its mouth, nodded to Kakashi, and formed hand seals, disappearing in a puff of white smoke.

"I’ll take these items to Orochimaru first."

Kakashi’s Sharingan activated, enveloping the entire room in its power. In the next moment, all the books in the room vanished.

Kakashi let out a sigh of relief. Future exchanges would be much safer now. As long as he lived, or at least as long as his Mangekyō remained, Kabuto wouldn’t be at risk of exposure.

"These are all... artificial Devil Fruits and bloodline factors!"

"I’ve been curious about these for a long time!"

Orochimaru licked his lips, a look of excitement on his face. He immediately opened one of the books and eagerly began studying.

"You guys managed to steal Vegapunk’s research?"

Judge's face was full of shock. He hadn’t expected Dressrosa’s reach to extend so far. Even Vegapunk hadn’t escaped their grasp!

Dressrosa must have placed spies close to Vegapunk.

Otherwise, how could they have obtained so much of Vegapunk’s research?

However, Judge now felt he could finally catch up to Vegapunk a bit. He quickly joined Orochimaru, diving into Vegapunk’s research.

"Kakashi, where’s the data on the human weaponry?"

At that moment, a puppet of the Third Kazekage slowly entered Orochimaru’s laboratory. This was the puppet currently controlled by Sasori, allowing him to move freely within Dressrosa.

However, outside of Dressrosa, his movements were much more restricted.

"Right here! Along with the Navy’s Seastone battleships."

Kakashi pointed to a stack of books nearby.

"Great! These will give me plenty of inspiration. I should soon be able to create a puppet that meets my requirements."

Without another word, Sasori packed up the books and left. He had been lacking this kind of data. While Dressrosa had been collecting similar information, Sasori felt it was all too basic.

It had been insulting to his skills.

But at least the wait hadn’t been in vain. Vegapunk’s research was finally in his hands.

Now Sasori wanted to see just how Vegapunk had managed to stay five hundred years ahead of the world.

Kakashi felt somewhat helpless—everyone in Dressrosa had personalities that were far from agreeable.

But there was nothing he could do about it. Special ninjas were always this reclusive and strange.

Orochimaru was practically the prime example.

The fact that these people were even working together was a miracle.

"Kakashi! I have so many ideas right now. I think I can develop an artificial Devil Fruit!"

"Could you get in touch with Raijin and have him..."

Before Orochimaru could finish, Kakashi interrupted him.

"Raijin said you can have whatever you need. There won't be any shortage of funds for you."

Kakashi waved his hand as he spoke.

"Excellent!"

Orochimaru's expression shifted, revealing a strange mix of emotions.

Given how Uchiha Raijin treated him, working here for the rest of his life wouldn’t be so bad.

Orochimaru remembered clearly how things had been since he left the village.

Before he went rogue, it was easy. In Konoha, all he had to do was ask, and the clan or the Root would send over whatever funds he needed.

If he needed subjects, Root would round up suitable candidates without a word.

If he wanted jutsu, all he had to do was complete Danzo's missions, and Danzo would find a way to get him what he wanted.

In Konoha, he could get anything he desired, and Danzo would make it happen.

He had eighteen hours a day to dedicate to his research. As a ninja, his stamina was strong, so he only needed five hours of sleep, leaving an hour for eating and other necessities.

But after leaving the village? Orochimaru truly experienced the harshness of the world.

If he wanted money, he had to build up his own forces, find sponsors, and even make sure they were the right kind of sponsors.

He had to recruit his own subordinates, train them, and help them grow stronger.

If he wanted resources, he had to travel to the Land of Water to seek bloodline limits, running all over the ninja world to find what he needed.

Being able to free up even two hours a day for research was already a luxury.

Only after experiencing hunger could someone truly understand the value of resources.

And now, Orochimaru was that person who had gone hungry.

Don't think joining the Akatsuki meant life was easy.

The Akatsuki didn’t care about your research. You had to find your own funding.

As for completing missions, those were to earn money for the Akatsuki, not for yourself.

"I'll produce results soon!" Orochimaru said confidently.

"Good. If there’s any additional information, I’ll bring it to you right away," Kakashi nodded, then left the laboratory.

"Lord Raijin, we're approaching the West Blue!"

A sailor aboard the ship announced.

After leaving the New World, they had been traveling through the Calm Belt, heading towards the Four Seas.

The West Blue was their first stop. The people there were relatively peaceful.

Unlike the North Blue, which was riddled with war.

But here, it was full of gangs!

Gangs ruled everything in the West Blue, dominating the underground world.

"We've reached the West Blue. Do we have any Dressrosa intelligence agents here?"

Raijin sipped some juice and glanced at a map.

"The rulers here are gangsters, a mixed group, and some ninjas have already infiltrated their ranks."

Senju Tobirama replied calmly.

Dressrosa was extending its influence worldwide.

It wasn’t possible to overlook the West Blue!

It was still a decent place.

At least, it wasn’t entangled in complicated power dynamics.

"Let them help me find the original location of Ohara! I want to take a look around!"

Raijin had a particular interest in Ohara.

"Ohara? Are you interested in the Poneglyphs or the ancient weapons?"

Senju Tobirama asked in surprise, glancing at Raijin.

He hadn’t expected Uchiha Raijin to show interest in such things.

"Senju Tobirama, don't forget your place. Don’t question Lord Raijin!"

Uchiha Izumi, who was leaning beside Raijin, glared at Tobirama, her Sharingan flashing red.

Even though Tobirama was the Second Hokage of Konoha, he didn’t hold much privilege here.

And he was growing bolder, even forgetting to show the proper respect.

"How... rude," Tobirama muttered, swallowing his words when he saw Uchiha Izumi's Mangekyō Sharingan.

While Raijin didn’t seem too strict with him, other Uchiha members remained cautious around Tobirama.

Perhaps it was because of his terrible reputation among the Uchiha in the past.

Tobirama hadn’t forgotten the feeling of living under someone else’s roof, so he kept his mouth shut.

Besides, Uchiha Izumi was also Raijin’s woman!

If she whispered something to Raijin in private, Tobirama might end up Edo Tensei’d again.

"Heh, Tobirama, we already possess one of the ancient weapons! The other is also within our grasp."

"The only one we don’t know the location of is Uranus. The ancient weapons are not of much interest to me. Their power is too weak."

"Compared to these eyes, they’re like children struggling to fight back."

"Do you think I’d care about the ancient weapons?"

Raijin waved dismissively, calming Uchiha Izumi before turning to Tobirama.

Fish-Man Island was already under his control. The Fish-Man Princess could be sent to Dressrosa whenever he wanted.

Poseidon, the Sea King, was firmly under his thumb.

As for Pluton?

It slumbered in Wano Country, while its blueprints were in Water 7.

Raijin planned to retrieve those blueprints on this trip.

So, both Pluton and Poseidon were under his control.

That left only Uranus, whose whereabouts remained unknown.

"I didn't expect you to have already set all of this up!"

Senju Tobirama stared at Raijin in shock, realizing that this man had arranged everything perfectly.

He didn’t ask which two ancient weapons Raijin had in his grasp.

Regardless of which ones, it was already enough to shake the world.

However!

The person in front of him was completely different from the Uchiha he remembered.

According to his memory, the Uchiha would become arrogant with even the slightest achievement.

But this one was different!

He already controlled the Five Kage and countless ninjas.

He possessed the power to overthrow the world, yet he made no noise, quietly expanding Dressrosa's influence over the world.

This approach was far too cautious.

"It's just a leisurely move."

(End of chapter)