*Chapter 253: I Suddenly Want to Live in Dressrosa*

The only highlight of this battle was the extraordinary speed both combatants displayed.

Their speed had surpassed the limits of the Navy's Six Powers! Clearly, both of them were speed-oriented fighters.

While the fight seemed aesthetically pleasing, in reality, only those at the vice admiral level could even see their movements.

They were so fast that it felt like watching the Light-Light Fruit and the Rumble-Rumble Fruit in action.

All that could be seen were flashes of golden figures and streaks of lightning in the air.

It almost looked like Kakashi and Kizaru were working together in perfect sync.

This sight made Sengoku shiver instinctively.

Why did I even think of something so dangerous?

This scenario was nearly impossible to imagine.

“Next up, our students are about to take the stage!”

Shikaku Nara spoke up.

The arena was cleared, and Jack and his friends were escorted off.

Jack wasn’t too badly hurt; even at Third Raikage’s prime, killing him outright wouldn’t have been easy.

Without Armament Haki, there would always be an insurmountable gap between them.

Even with the strangest abilities, he couldn’t be defeated easily.

So Jack hadn’t embarrassed himself—he just showed his face and left.

“Students? Your students are participating too?”

Sengoku was stunned. He turned to look at Zephyr in surprise.

He had originally thought this was just a show of Dressrosa’s power.

But he didn’t expect...

Zephyr’s students were about to join the fight.

“What’s the big deal? Garp often tosses his grandsons into battles with pirates.”

“He does it almost weekly, so I decided to involve the academy students in combat as well.”

“That way, they can experience the bloodshed firsthand. If they survive, they’ll become strong.”

“And besides…”

Zephyr spread his hands, looking somewhat helpless.

“Dressrosa’s ninjas never shy away from danger. In fact, they’re excited by it.”

“These ninjas have been fighting since they were around six years old, so this is child’s play to them.”

Zephyr had long given up on changing Dressrosa’s warrior culture.

These ninjas seemed to have only two options in their minds: complete missions or obey orders.

There was no middle ground. Their loyalty to commands was almost instinctual.

Even if it meant rushing into certain death, they sometimes did so without hesitation.

While they were true warriors, they weren’t exactly what Zephyr envisioned.

“Zephyr, you must be joking! Those ninjas had it that rough back then?”

Sakazuki couldn’t help but ask.

At five or six years old, he was probably still playing ninja games.

But in Dressrosa, these ninjas were already on the battlefield.

“You’re all familiar with Kakashi Hatake, right? He’s the perfect example.”

“He stepped onto the battlefield at five, killed countless enemies by six, and rose to a position in the Navy equivalent to a commodore.”

“From the age of five, his hands were already stained with blood, and the number of enemies he’s slain is beyond counting.”

“And the adults in Dressrosa who have real strength all have extraordinary willpower!”

“After all, without strength and strong willpower, they wouldn’t have survived the battlefield from such a young age.”

“The idea of sending these students into the arena came from Dressrosa itself!”

“They felt my training was too soft.”

Zephyr scowled, glancing at Shikaku Nara.

Back in his Navy days, he was known as the Devil Instructor.

Countless soldiers had screamed under his harsh training, pushed to the brink of despair.

But to his surprise, in his old age, his methods were now considered gentle.

“Heh heh! Instructor Zephyr is mostly correct. We ninjas face death at every turn.”

“In our village, the average life expectancy of a ninja used to be barely over thirty!”

“Strong abilities are essential, and while Instructor Zephyr’s training is excellent, some aspects don’t quite apply to us.”

Shikaku Nara chuckled.

Sengoku and Sakazuki exchanged glances.

They finally understood just how tough these ninjas were.

And they had underestimated Kakashi when he came to Dressrosa.

Who would’ve thought that kid fought his way up all this time?

His combat skills were certainly polished to perfection.

“Now, it’s time for the ninja combat phase! Four students, all under ten, will face two adult pirates.”

“Both pirates have bounties of at least eight million each! They may not possess Haki, but they’re still dangerous to the kids.”

Shikaku Nara explained, pointing to a cool-looking boy in black, his face displaying an arrogant expression.

Next to him were the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, huddled together.

Sasuke, however, chose not to join them, standing alone and looking isolated.

“You three better not hold me back! If you do, I won’t forgive you.”

“If you’re not strong enough, stand back and don’t get in my way during the fight.”

Sasuke glanced at the trio, a disdainful look on his face.

Without a Kekkei Genkai, they were of little use to him.

They wouldn’t be of any help in the fight.

The next moment!

Sasuke’s black eyes slowly transformed, a swirl of blood-red spinning in his irises.

With the power of the Three Tomoe Sharingan, Sasuke felt incredibly confident. He didn’t believe he would lose to these adults.

“This kid…”

Sengoku muttered with a strange expression, unsure how to describe him.

That look reminded him of the old Borsalino!

He just had a face you wanted to punch.

At the very least, it made you want to wipe that smug expression off his face.

“The Uchiha clan is like that! Most of them are friendly, but their personalities can be a bit...off.”

“This kid, in particular, has some psychological issues due to certain experiences, so don’t mind him!”

“Though, he has more potential for growth because of it!”

Shikaku Nara awkwardly explained.

Honestly, he didn’t know how to properly evaluate the boy.

After all, this kid was the disciple and son of Dracule Mihawk.

His arrogance came from the fact that his strength was indeed impressive.

But!

Two tall figures entered the stage.

Standing together, they seemed like towering mountains, blocking all light from Sasuke.

Their overwhelming shadows pressed down on him, giving him a tremendous sense of pressure.

As soon as the ninja signaled the start of the match, the two pirates sprang into action.

Their bodies moved swiftly, leaving afterimages in their wake.

Though their bounties weren’t that high, it didn’t mean they had no talent.

They had mastered two of the Navy’s Six Powers, which boosted their bounties to eight million Berries.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

Sure! Here's the translation into American English:

Even though the Sharingan could see the opponent's moves, with Sasuke's current strength, what good would that do? His body couldn't keep up with what his eyes were seeing!

In just a short amount of time, he was tossed onto the ground like a deflated balloon. The two pirates didn’t hold back, following only the most basic arena rule: no killing! Other than that, anything goes.

“Ugh!” Sengoku's face stiffened. He originally thought this kid was so cocky because he had some real power behind him. But to his surprise, the kid just went in and took a beating.

If it weren’t for the rules of Dressrosa protecting him, that kid would probably be dead by now.

"The fight isn't over yet!" Sakazuki said at this moment. Everyone's attention shifted away from Sasuke and focused on the other three kids in the arena.

The trio had formed a team. A giant-sized Choji appeared, grabbing one of the pirates with his bare hands and smashing him into the ground. Another pirate, confused, just wandered out of the arena's bounds.

It was clear the three kids had unique abilities!

"Let my grandson take the stage first!" The battle had just ended, and the winner hadn't been declared yet. But Garp zoomed off somewhere and brought back Luffy and Ace, tossing them into the arena without saying a word, then returned to his seat.

"Sengoku, I'm telling you, my two grandsons alone can take down two pirates!" Garp bragged as he sat next to Sengoku. "I've trained them carefully; their strength will definitely exceed your expectations!"

“Alright,” Sengoku nodded, humoring Garp. He suddenly started thinking he’d like to live in Dressrosa too, maybe even have a grandson there. Ahem, not a son though. He was scared of what Zephyr might think if he said that out loud.

“Admiral Borsalino?” Kakashi noticed Borsalino’s appearance and smiled. He wasn’t surprised since he had already sensed Borsalino’s presence earlier. He just didn’t expect him to actually show up here.

“I’ve already seen that kid,” Borsalino said, narrowing his eyes at Kakashi. “I have no intention of getting involved with Dressrosa. So, tell me, what does Zephyr want? Let me hear it first.”

With so many people around Zephyr now, Borsalino was too lazy to deal with them. So coming to Kakashi seemed like the best option.

“This is a tricky situation, Admiral Borsalino,” Kakashi said with a fake smile. Borsalino seemed to think it was all Zephyr’s idea. In that case, Kakashi decided to just roll with it.

“Haha, go ahead and tell me. Let’s see what you guys are really after,” Borsalino said calmly. He still hadn’t figured out what they were up to.

“Brrrr…brrrr…”

Just as Kakashi was about to speak, his phone snail rang. He looked a bit surprised. Wasn't that guy supposed to be on his honeymoon? Why would he be calling now?

"Raijin!" Kakashi didn’t hide the call from Borsalino and answered it right in front of him.

“Kakashi, I’ve got a lead on Tezolo. Confirm my location and bring the team over. Also, bring the Kekkei Genkai team. I want to see just how powerful Orochimaru’s experiments are!”

Raijin wasted no time and gave Kakashi his instructions directly.

“No problem! I’ll contact Minato-sensei and Shisui right away! Oh, by the way, the Navy is in Dressrosa right now. Would it be alright if we let them observe our fight?” Kakashi glanced at Borsalino as he asked.

“The Navy? Who’s with you?” Raijin immediately realized there were others nearby after hearing Kakashi’s vague wording.

“Admiral Borsalino is with me. Sengoku, Kuzan, and Sakazuki are all here, touring Dressrosa,” Kakashi explained. “I was thinking of letting them watch our fighting style.”

“Go ahead!” Raijin agreed and hung up.

Borsalino’s expression became slightly complicated, as if he had unintentionally gotten himself involved in something.

"Admiral Borsalino, I'll be straight with you. Instructor Zephyr wants you to have another child here in Dressrosa. You’re probably familiar with our birth policies, and Zephyr still has two quotas left to fulfill."

Kakashi was getting ready to take on his mission and wasn’t planning to waste time with Borsalino. So, he started spinning an elaborate lie right on the spot.

Even his lies were well-constructed.

“Hahaha, what a good teacher I have,” Borsalino said with a glint of coldness in his eyes, barely restraining the urge to kill Zephyr. Who would've thought Zephyr would come up with something like this and even try to set him up in Dressrosa? If he were to fall for this, he'd leave in a rage.

“But,” Kakashi continued, “we in Dressrosa don’t want to be enemies with an admiral. Our position is to stay as neutral as possible. The Navy and Dressrosa have deep ties. We have a good relationship, and that’s why I’ll be giving you the kid.”

“We hope Dressrosa can reach a truce with you, maybe even avoid being treated as enemies in the future. To that end, we’ve also prepared a squad that’s ready to follow your orders.”

“Think it over! And if you have time, maybe you could watch one of our battles here in Dressrosa,” Kakashi said earnestly to Borsalino.

Basically, he was just blaming everything on Zephyr. After all, Zephyr was already in too deep. No matter how much Borsalino might resent him, what more could he do? Attack Zephyr? Zephyr, with the Eight Gates released, would be more than a match for Borsalino.

These kinds of things weren’t really Kakashi's concern anyway.

(End of chapter)