Chapter 159: It's Time to Return to the Ninja World

After returning to Dressrosa, the group from Amazon Lily was thrown into prison. The sudden attack on Dressrosa didn't attract anyone's attention—just a few people noticed Raijin leaving.

Once Raijin returned, no one paid much attention anymore. They were more interested in the goods Raijin was selling in Dressrosa.

Upon his return, Raijin immediately threw Hancock into the Kamui dimension. Hancock was his top priority, and he couldn't just leave her somewhere random.

As for interrogating Hancock, Raijin would handle that personally. The warriors from Amazon Lily, however, would stay locked up in Dressrosa’s dungeons for now.

"Raijin, can you return to Konoha one more time? We're really short on manpower in Dressrosa right now."

"I’m currently juggling multiple roles, and even others are taking on several positions."

"As for the Uchiha clan... well, they're not particularly skilled in this area. Not really suitable."

"So, Raijin, I think you seriously need to consider it!" Kakashi said as he came to Raijin after arranging his affairs.

The personnel they brought from Konoha were gradually becoming insufficient. After all, many were already handling two or three positions each.

As for the Uchiha clan members... Kakashi didn’t want to be harsh, but these people were practically wasted in Konoha. All they thought about was fighting, offering little help in any other way. Only a few had some political savvy; the rest were just ordinary fighters. Expecting them to help manage Dressrosa was practically impossible. It was better to keep them in a cage, under Raijin’s care.

So Kakashi hadn’t even considered using the Uchiha members.

"Return to Konoha?"

Raijin’s face changed slightly; he didn’t expect Kakashi to bring this up first. But this was also something that had been bothering Raijin!

Currently, they couldn’t just come and go as they pleased between the pirate world and the ninja world. The system opened the gates between the two worlds, not Raijin’s Sharingan.

If he had reached the level of the Rinnegan, he might have been able to connect the two worlds freely. But that still seemed a long way off, which frustrated Raijin.

Before coming to the sea, he underestimated how big things would get. He thought he’d brought enough people to cover all the bases. He even brought the heads of various clans to ensure a stable structure.

But the Uchiha clan, since arriving at sea, had taken off like a dragon meeting the clouds. In no time at all, they’d risen, and now they were soaring without stopping.

Now, not only did they have to manage Dressrosa, but also several nearby islands that had been developed by Dressrosa, and even Skypiea needed someone to manage it. There was also the base in the East Blue—all these places were short on manpower.

Indeed, the people they tricked from Konoha were not enough anymore. They needed more people to help, at least to hold this mess together.

"If I go back to Konoha, I can gather at least 200 elite people for you! They’re the ones who survived the Third Ninja War under the Fourth Hokage."

"These people are the elite of Konoha, but the Third Hokage dispersed their power, so now they’re scattered all over the village."

"As for other clans, I believe they still have the capacity to bring out more people. If we do this, our development can speed up significantly."

Kakashi quickly suggested. Many had followed the Fourth Hokage back then. But after the Fourth Hokage died, most of these people were exiled to guard the borders of the Land of Fire.

Another group was directly dispersed by the Third Hokage, preventing them from gathering again. But as the Fourth Hokage’s student, Kakashi knew these people, even remembering each of them in his heart.

This legacy was meant for Kakashi and Naruto, but Naruto was too young to use it now. Kakashi felt the urgency, so using it himself made perfect sense.

The elites Kakashi mentioned were all Jonin level or higher, with some possessing special skills. These were the people Kakashi was most interested in. Once a large number of them arrived, Dressrosa’s progress would be unstoppable.

"Not a bad idea! I’ll think it over and give you an answer tomorrow."

Raijin nodded, feeling the pressure of Dressrosa’s manpower shortage. The previous battle had cost the Uchiha clan over ten lives, with significant losses among others as well.

This couldn’t go on. In the next battle, the Uchiha clan couldn’t take the lead again. They were down to just a handful of people, and a few more waves of battles would wipe them out.

So Raijin had to seriously consider the feasibility of returning to the ninja world. It would be best to see if there was any loophole in the system he could exploit.

"Alright!" Kakashi left immediately, leaving Raijin pacing back and forth alone.

"System, is there any way to open the ninja world’s gate early?" Raijin couldn’t help but ask the system.

Even though he knew the gate to the ninja world would open in a few months, he wanted to see if there was a chance to avoid coming up with another plan.

Raijin had no idea how far the ninja world was from the pirate world, nor did he know what jutsu he could use to try and reach it.

[The host has one chance to open the gate to the ninja world. Would you like to use it now?]

The system responded immediately in Raijin’s mind. This surprised Raijin—he didn’t expect to have such an opportunity. When did he get this? How come he didn’t know?

If he had known earlier, he would have already returned to stir things up.

"When did I get this opportunity? How come I didn’t know?" Raijin quickly asked.

Could the system have some hidden mechanisms?

[When the host's clan advanced, you gained one opportunity to travel back and forth, and an additional world to choose from. The extra world also only allows one round trip per year. Please make your choice upon advancement.]

The system’s response made Raijin’s eyes light up. He hadn’t expected this from the system. This meant he could travel to other worlds too, though there were time limits.

---

It took a year for a round trip, which made Raijin feel a bit frustrated.

By the time he returned to the pirate world, it was likely that the situation in Dressrosa would have already cooled down.

After all, this ocean is Raijin's main focus right now!

Other places just didn't matter as much to him.

Crossing into other worlds was something Raijin didn't want to think about for the time being.

He'd give it some serious thought after returning from Konoha.

"Shiranui Genma, invite Charlotte Linlin and Kaido to stay for dinner."

"And also let Kakashi know that I approve of this plan. Have him contact the necessary people to get ready."

Raijin called out to the air, and in an instant, Shiranui Genma appeared in front of him and nodded.

Shiranui Genma was incredibly fast and quickly chose a location filled with a mystical aura.

This was a place Kaido had chosen, not one designated by Shiranui Genma.

Kaido probably felt he had been swindled out of a large sum last time and planned to eat his money’s worth this time.

This simple-minded idea made Raijin feel quite touched.

The mystical aura was just a high-end place Raijin had set up on a whim.

High prices, great service—everything was under Raijin's control.

After all, he had set up this high-end brand, and even managed to scam Kaido out of his money.

This indirectly proved that Kaido was indeed quite wealthy!

Raijin stopped thinking too much about it and went straight to meet Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.

"Roar! Take him down!"

"Damn it, take him down, I've put everything on this!"

"Get up, get up, stand up, damn it."

The battle cries from the audience in the nearby arena could be heard inside the hotel.

Raijin glanced at the arena where two burly men were brawling, fist to fist.

Blood splattered everywhere, revealing the most brutal side of humanity.

"Mamamamama, Raijin, there are too few rare species here! Don’t you think you should add more?"

"I could provide a few for you; after all, I really enjoy seeing the variety of species you have here."

Charlotte Linlin casually picked up a piece of dessert from the table and tossed it into her mouth, smiling as she spoke.

Everything in Dressrosa was great, but it lacked the variety of species found in their Whole Cake Island.

On Whole Cake Island, they had everything—even extinct species.

You could say Whole Cake Island was another kind of paradise.

"Could you provide some Mink Tribe members, especially rabbit Minks?"

"I've noticed that the guests are particularly fond of the rabbit Minks!"

Raijin turned to Charlotte Linlin and asked.

Dressrosa could never compare to Whole Cake Island.

Whole Cake Island was a place Charlotte Linlin had meticulously developed over decades.

It could be said that almost every species was represented there, with the only exception being the Giants.

Of course!

Raijin wasn't about to insult Charlotte Linlin to her face.

After all, they were supposed to be partners.

"Mamamamama, of course! Just let Perospero know."

"After all, you'll be marrying my daughter soon, so we'll be even closer then."

Charlotte Linlin gave a wicked grin.

A few Mink Tribe members were nothing to her.

Charlotte Linlin had never cared about the lives of other species.

As long as Whole Cake Island had a complete collection, that was all that mattered.

"Alright! So, why did you want Linlin and me to come here?"

Kaido asked impatiently.

He was smart enough not to reveal his intention of forming an alliance with Raijin through marriage.

Charlotte Linlin probably felt like she was getting a good deal now!

But in the future, who knows? It might turn out that the real winner is yet to be seen.

"I invited you both here because I have a good opportunity that I thought might interest you."

Raijin smiled mysteriously at Kaido and Charlotte Linlin.

"What kind of opportunity?"

Kaido immediately felt a bit surprised. It turned out that marrying this guy was the right decision.

Now, when there's a good opportunity, he's the first one to be informed!

Charlotte Linlin also immediately turned her attention to Raijin, trying to figure out what kind of scheme he was cooking up.

After all, this guy never seemed to have any good intentions.

Even if there was a good opportunity, would it really fall to them?

There was something a bit suspicious about this whole thing.

"I'm planning to return to our ninja village, and I was wondering if you two might be interested in coming with me?"

"Of course, anything you find there is yours to keep. I won't take anything."

Raijin smiled as he spoke to the two in front of him.

That's right!

Raijin planned to take the two Yonko with him.

In the ninja world, the highest level of power was still Kage level.

But with the Yonko there, it would be like a dimensional reduction strike.

Unless they encountered some buggy abilities, they would basically be unstoppable.

And as for causing trouble, it was no longer Raijin's job to do it himself.

He should step back into the shadows, pull the strings from behind the scenes, and let others do the dirty work.

"Are you talking about that Konoha village?"

Charlotte Linlin stopped chewing her dessert and looked over at Raijin.

She was also curious about this unknown island.

After all, being a pirate meant having a thirst for adventure.

"That's right, it's the island of the ninjas, and only ninjas live there!"

"So I think you two should be more than capable of handling it."

Raijin nodded.

The room suddenly fell into silence.

Only the shouts and cries from the arena outside could be heard.

Charlotte Linlin and Kaido both fell into deep thought, finding Raijin's proposal somewhat intriguing.

They were very interested in the place that could produce someone like Raijin.

And the various Kekkei Genkai—it's said that there are over a dozen unique bloodline abilities there.

If these could be introduced into Whole Cake Island, it would surely produce even more powerful warriors.

"I'm in!"

Kaido said eagerly.

He was very curious about that world.

Especially about those special powers—could they possibly take him to the next level?

They had reached the pinnacle of this sea.

Most importantly:

The Eight Gates!

Kaido planned to search for clues in the ninja world.

To see if he could find that particular power there.

"Of course, there’s one condition: one Devil Fruit for each of us! That's my only requirement."

"Linlin, Kaido, I hope we can all become stronger together and surpass this world."

"Maybe even overthrow this world! Don't you think... the World Government has sat in that seat of power long enough?"

"It's about time someone made them move aside, and that someone should be us."

"After all... I just don't want anyone to dare to lord over me."

Raijin looked up at the sky in a certain direction, where it was bright and clear.

Kaido and Charlotte Linlin's pupils contracted sharply.

They could clearly see that this young man in front of them harbored a beast inside.

And it was just like their former captain's desire—to replace the rulers of this world.

Such ambition...

It's something they once had as well.

It's just that now their power matched their ambition.

(End of chapter)