Invincible on Earth, Enemies from Heaven

After sailing from the Red Line to the East Blue, more than ten pages of the Sea Calendar had turned. The sky was no longer so gloomy, and the sea surface had grown increasingly calm.

Princess Vivi sat at the bow of the Ghost Radish, propping up her head as she stared into space, lost in thought.

Brook walked over and handed her a cup of tea. "Princess, have some tea."

Vivi shook her head. "Thank you."

"What’s wrong? Can’t decide what color panties to wear tomorrow?"

Vivi had already gotten used to Brook’s way of speaking. She sighed. "The thought that Ability Users could overthrow my country makes me anxious."

"Hmm." Brook thought for a moment. "You want to protect your homeland? Then you can only become stronger!"

As the two spoke, Fang Yu came out carrying a plate of meat skewers.

The moment he saw Fang Yu holding meat, Brook’s eyes lit up. "Captain! Did Carrot grill those?"

"Her? Keep dreaming." Fang Yu curled his lip. "I stole these from the kitchen at Alabasta Restaurant."

With Flying Thunder God, Fang Yu had basically bid farewell to Carrot’s assorted radish dishes.

"Ah! You have an ability like that, yet you still made us eat Carrot’s radish rice!" Vivi was so angry that her cheeks puffed up.

"How was I supposed to know? I thought you all liked it." Seeing Vivi about to call Perona out to slay a dragon, Fang Yu quickly changed the subject. "What were you talking about just now? Something about Ability Users?"

Vivi’s expression instantly fell. "I was thinking that although Crocodile has been defeated, there will be others with ulterior motives toward Alabasta in the future. Yet there isn’t a single person in the country who can stand against pirates like them. I was wondering what we should do when that time comes."

"So you want to eat Crocodile’s Devil Fruit? Stop dreaming. Even if you sold your country to me, I wouldn’t let you eat it."

Vivi immediately shook her head. "No, no. I was just lamenting! Even if I were going to eat a Devil Fruit, I’d want one that suited me."

"That’s true, but don’t be too picky. Any Devil Fruit can be developed to a very powerful level. It all depends on the person. If you’re useless to begin with, no Devil Fruit will help you."

As he said that, Fang Yu grew irritated. "Come to think of it, among Baroque Works, the Sand-Sand Fruit wasn’t actually the strongest."

"Ah?" Vivi was extremely curious. "Is there a Devil Fruit stronger than a Logia Type fruit?"

"Of course. The Bomb-Bomb Fruit used by Mr. 5, who chased you, was stronger than the Sand-Sand Fruit. If an old acquaintance of mine saw that fruit, he’d be drooling over it. Yet Mr. 5 spent all day picking his nose and flicking boogers at people. If he blew himself up everywhere he went, this world would be riddled with holes."

Vivi scratched her head, unable to understand, but Brook had grasped quite a bit. "I understand. An Ability User’s early combat strength depends on the Devil Fruit’s lower limit, but every fruit has a high upper limit. If developed to the extreme, even a Paramecia can surpass a Logia Type, right?"

"That’s right. As a Devil Fruit User, you have to prioritize developing your Devil Fruit Ability. I once saw an idiot who ate the spatial Door-Door Fruit. Spatial abilities are incredibly powerful anywhere, yet that idiot practiced Iron Body every day. He must have been beaten stupid—so stupid that instead of training his Devil Fruit Ability, he trained Iron Head Technique. Both ends of his head were pointy."

"Then, Captain…" Brook looked at Fang Yu. "You really have developed your Devil Fruit Ability to the extreme! Teleportation, attacks using all kinds of elements, and you even have the Three Types of Haki…"

Fang Yu shook his head. "Who said I ever ate a Devil Fruit?"

"Huh?"

"We’ve reached the shore. Get off the ship and see what island this is."

"When the God Tree was first born, the ninja world came into being. The source of Chakra is…"

"So hand seals are necessary. If you don’t tell me which seals to form, how am I supposed to learn?"

Hashirama Senju scratched his head. "I don’t know any of that. Anyway, I just clap my hands together, and whatever I want happens."

Uchiha Yu was instantly speechless, but there was nothing he could do.

Hashirama Senju really didn’t need hand seals. He could make it happen with a stomp.

Tobirama Senju, who was nearby pondering how to improve Impure World Reincarnation, sighed helplessly. "Big Brother, how is Uchiha Yu supposed to learn if you teach like that?"

Hashirama Senju smiled sheepishly. "Haha, I-I don’t know either…"

"Sigh, fine!"

Tobirama Senju thought for a moment. "I’ll study Big Brother’s Wood Release when I have time."

Hearing that answer, Uchiha Yu let out a breath of relief.

The thought of Otsutsuki enemies continuously arriving in the ninja world made him extremely anxious.

It felt like he had returned to the eve of the clan massacre.

The waterfall at the Valley of the End shimmered with silver radiance beneath the moonlight. Zetsu’s spore clone transformed into a patch of moss and silently crept to the foot of Madara Uchiha’s statue.

His Mayfly Technique blended perfectly into the shadows between the cracks in the stone, without disturbing Tobirama Senju’s warning barrier in the slightest.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Hashirama Senju’s stomp made the entire river flow upside down for three seconds. The instant over a thousand plants burst from the earth, Uchiha Yu sprayed out a mouthful of water.

"Big Brother, restrain yourself!" Tobirama complained helplessly. "Your Impure World Reincarnation body can’t withstand that much Chakra!"

Orochimaru, standing nearby, frowned deeply as well.

This was the first time he had directly experienced just how monstrously powerful Hashirama Senju was.

The Impure World Reincarnation used when fighting Hiruzen Sarutobi had probably only allowed the First Hokage to display one-tenth of his strength.

"Your breathing should be like fallen leaves drifting across the water." As Hashirama spoke, he tried to help Uchiha Yu understand the principles of Wood Release. His vast life force instantly soothed Uchiha Yu’s violent Chakra. "Back when Madara first touched Wood Release…"

"Big Brother!" Tobirama helplessly interrupted the First Hokage. "You’re teaching Wood Release, not family secrets!"

"Teaming up with Orochimaru and bringing back the First Hokage and Second Hokage as instructors… Is that the feeling of sage technique?" Zetsu muttered underground, fine blood vessels splitting across the pupil of his black half.

"The plan must be moved forward." Zetsu slipped into the rock layers and stealthily headed toward Amegakure.

Through his Observation Haki, Uchiha Yu sensed an aura slipping away. Distracted, he muttered, "Is it starting? The Tailed Beast Collection Plan… the Ninja World War…"

"But without Kabuto’s Impure World Reincarnation, without Madara, what are you going to use to turn things around? A hammer?"

At the same time, in the Land of Rain.

Inside a restaurant, Konan frowned as she looked at Monk, who sat across from her savoring red wine. "Who exactly are you? Why do you know about our plan to collect the Tailed Beasts?"

Monk across from her lifted his glass and took a sip of red wine. In a gentle tone, he said, "If bringing up the Tailed Beast plan has made a beautiful lady uncomfortable, then I can apologize."

"As for the Tailed Beasts, I learned of them a long time ago."

"As for exactly when…"

"I can only say…"

"A very, very, very long time ago."