Iwagakure Village.
Oonoki was staring at the three young people in front of him. He didn't expect the Whitebeard Pirates, who had disappeared for so long, to appear before him in such a manner.
"Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi, Shunshin Ninja Uchiha Shisui, and... you are?!"
Oonoki named two of the three young people in front of him.
But when it came to the third, he was at a loss.
Because he had never seen this young man before.
He didn't know who he was.
"My name is Ace!"
Ace raised his right hand, a bright and sunny smile on his face, greeting and introducing himself very openly.
Oonoki wanted to use this opportunity to test these three young brats.
Oonoki: "..."
But he couldn't remember for a moment.
"My full name is 'Portgas D. Ace', and I'm the captain of the second division of the old Whitebeard Pirates! Hahaha, old man, who are you?"
"After all... a village bowing to a pirate crew, in the ninja world, that's a bit hard to justify."
"Tsuchikage-sama, long time no see." Kakashi greeted and then explained their purpose: "We, the Whitebeard Pirates, mean no harm. As long as Iwagakure Village hands over what it owes, we will leave immediately and won't cause any trouble for Iwagakure Village."
Oonoki had already made up his mind and said to Kakashi, "The money, we at Iwagakure Village have prepared it long ago. It's just that the Whitebeard Pirates hadn't shown up until recently."
Oonoki chuckled and then said, "How about we change the agreement between the Whitebeard Pirates and Iwagakure Village? Or... in line with the village's wishes, we cancel the agreement altogether?"
If something really happened, what would happen to Whitebeard?
At such an old age, if something happened, it could easily turn into a big deal!
His smile didn't fade, but he pressed his hand on his hat, lowering it slightly, his eyes becoming more serious.
Why didn't that man Whitebeard come along?
He believed this matter couldn't be that simple.
Oonoki thought of two possibilities.
Plus, with his distinctive physical features, there were hardly any people in the ninja world who didn't recognize him, right?
But this young man with a bare upper body didn't recognize him?
And...
Why did this young man look a bit strange, with cracks on his skin? And his eyes?
Oonoki felt that Ace's appearance seemed a bit familiar.
Why did the Whitebeard Pirates, who had disappeared for more than a year, reappear with only three brats coming to Iwagakure Village?
Ace realized that something was off.
He paused for a moment and continued, "However, after so much time has passed... you should be able to guess that many young people in the village are very unhappy about this."
After all, if there were too few people, he felt he might not be able to stand tall in front of Whitebeard.
If they showed weakness, it would mean that something had happened to Whitebeard!
If Whitebeard were here, Oonoki wouldn't say these things because he wouldn't dare.
Oonoki only brought so many people after learning that the Whitebeard Pirates had appeared.
Or does it mean the pirate crew is very old?
And what's with this guy, not even recognizing himself?
Oonoki considered himself quite famous in the ninja world.
First, Whitebeard might be too proud to come, thinking that sending three of his sons would be enough to collect the "protection fee" from Iwagakure Village.
What does "old" mean?
Does it mean Whitebeard is very old?
Oonoki stared at the three in front of him, his expression unchanged, but his mind filled with questions.
"It seems... Tsuchikage-sama, you have no sincerity at all!" Kakashi sighed, his face showing no emotion. "However, we were prepared for this before we came."
Ace's smile seemed a bit carefree, "With so many people behind you, you must be a big shot, right?"
He was surprised and a bit puzzled.
At this moment, the three members of the Whitebeard Pirates were standing on this rocky plain, facing a group from Iwagakure Village.
If it was the second possibility, Oonoki was thoughtful.
Oonoki was stunned, the second division captain of the old Whitebeard Pirates?
The three's tough attitude made Oonoki unsure if these three young brats were bluffing or if they really had the confidence to do this?!
With this thought, Oonoki's eyes narrowed instantly.
Shisui silently drew his staff sword an inch.
Second, the aging Whitebeard might have had problems, forcing his sons to do things for him!
But what he didn't expect was that Whitebeard didn't come, only his three sons, and they were three young brats.
Shisui, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, "Tsuchikage-sama, there's no need to beat around the bush."
Oonoki frowned and said, "I am Oonoki! The Tsuchikage of Iwagakure Village!"
Ace scratched his head and suddenly realized, "The Tsuchikage of Iwagakure Village? Oh! You're the one who owes us a year and a half's worth of money, right?"
Iwagakure Village was led by Oonoki, with hundreds of Iwagakure Village ninjas behind him, all elite members of the village.
That Whitebeard, isn't he looking down on Iwagakure Village a bit too much?
What does he take Kumogakure Village for?!
A brothel?!
If it was the first possibility, Oonoki was a bit annoyed.
But since the situation had already become tense, Oonoki knew he couldn't back down.
In this situation, if he softened, his position as Tsuchikage would be over.
And Iwagakure Village would lose face.
Facing someone as extraordinary as Whitebeard, Oonoki leading the entire Iwagakure Village to bow down was somewhat understandable.
But if they had to bow down to just three of Whitebeard's sons, then Iwagakure Village's head would be buried in the ground.
Oonoki wasn't as hot-headed as the Fourth Raikage. Although he was stubborn, he was a bit calmer than the Fourth Raikage.
Iwagakure Village had to be tough, and they had to fight these three young brats.
Capturing them would be enough; there was no need to kill them.
Killing them would make things difficult to resolve.
As long as no one died, there would be room to negotiate with Whitebeard.
"It seems Whitebeard hasn't properly disciplined his sons." Oonoki had made up his mind and said expressionlessly, "Let me help him teach you a lesson!"
Oonoki knew that the group of Iwagakure Ninjas behind him were eager to fight.
After all, they had suffered a great loss at the hands of the Whitebeard Pirates more than a year ago...
They were definitely resentful.
"Attack!"
Oonoki shouted, and then added, "Capture them alive!!!"
Most of the Iwagakure Ninjas were waiting for this command.
A few ninjas who didn't want to clash with the Whitebeard Pirates saw everyone else charging without hesitation and had no choice but to follow.
"Stubborn old man."
Kakashi sighed helplessly and shook his head, "Can't we just sit down and talk? You guys always resorting to violence to solve problems."
Shisui's Observation Haki had grown to a level sufficient to handle intense battles. He said, "There are three hundred and twenty-four ninjas, and they are all very strong."
Just as Shisui was about to say more, he suddenly felt a wave of heat coming from beside him.
Shisui sensed Ace, who was standing on the left, charging forward.
"Hahaha! Let me handle this!" Ace's smile remained, and his right fist was already wrapped in flames, "These ninjas look completely different from the ones in Wano Country!"
Ace charged alone towards the hundreds of Iwagakure Ninjas.
Such impulsive behavior made Kakashi's eyelid twitch.
But then he remembered that Ace was a rare Logia-type Devil Fruit user.
Kakashi's worry eased a bit.
"What? Just one person dares to charge at us? Such audacity! Damn pirate!" A group of Iwagakure Ninjas were furious.
Wasn't this clearly looking down on them?
But before the two sides could truly clash, Ace's eyes suddenly sharpened, and an overwhelming wave of Conqueror's Haki surged forward!
In an instant, all the Iwagakure Ninjas were stunned by this incredibly powerful aura.
Even though these hundreds of ninjas were the elite of Iwagakure Village, some of the less determined ones were knocked out by the Conqueror's Haki.
The others, even if they weren't knocked out, were momentarily frozen in fear.
Cold sweat seeped from their skin.
"Fire Fist!!!" Ace's right fist, wrapped in raging flames, finally punched forward, and the roaring flames surged ahead, shattering the ground touched by the Fire Fist!
It was clear that these flames not only had the power to burn but also carried a destructive impact!
The range of the Logia Devil Fruit's ability was ridiculously exaggerated.
The roaring sea of flames seemed to engulf all the hundreds of ninjas!
"Don't just stand there!"
Finally, Oonoki's son, Kitsuchi, was the first to react. He called out to the surrounding Iwagakure Ninjas.
Under his lead, more than twenty Iwagakure Ninjas began forming hand seals simultaneously and shouted, "Earth Release: Earth Core!!!"
The ground beneath them rose high, and with the combined efforts of the twenty-plus ninjas, the surface lifted!
The roaring flames crashed into the rising ground, causing a violent roar, and the rising ground was shattered by more than half.
Clearly, Kitsuchi and the others had underestimated the power of Ace's punch!
The hot wind and impact from the Fire Fist blew many Iwagakure Ninjas away.
"Don't be too arrogant, pirate!"
A stout, even somewhat chubby Iwagakure Ninja, charged at Ace through the heat and residual flames, shouting angrily.
"Earth Release: Monster Strength Steel Rock Fist!!!" His arm was wrapped in a giant stone fist, and he punched at Ace in the blink of an eye.
"Got him!"
The simple face was about to show an excited smile, but the next second, he froze.
Because he found that the pirate hit by his Monster Strength Fist was still standing steadily!
And the pirate's body was still burning with flames!
Moreover, the feeling of his punch was not like hitting a person but more like hitting a mass of air.
"I'm a Logia Devil Fruit user. Don't fight me without Armament Haki!"
Ace grinned and returned the punch with a backhand.
"Ugh!!!"
The Iwagakure Ninja's big belly caved in exaggeratedly.
He flew backward like a thrown ball.
At this moment, the other Iwagakure Ninjas finally reacted and launched attacks at Ace.
Facing the sudden rain of Ninjutsu, Ninja Tools, and hidden weapons, Ace didn't even bother to dodge, nor did he need to.
He let several kunai pierce his body and allowed two Ninja Swords to stab into his abdomen.
Under the stunned gazes of his opponents, flames surged from Ace's fingertips.
A large amount of flames surged forward, engulfing a group of Iwagakure Ninjas on the spot, causing them to scream in agony.
Even if they didn't die, they were severely burned.
Oonoki, floating in the air far behind, took all of this in.
Oonoki's brows furrowed tightly, his gaze fixed on Ace: "What is this... a Ninjutsu similar to the 'Hydration Technique'? Then what is this? 'Combustion Technique'?"
He immediately realized that Ace's strange ability was very troublesome.
No wonder he had the guts to charge at hundreds of ninjas alone.
No wonder he could be the captain of the second division of the old Whitebeard Pirates.
But why hadn't he heard of this person before?!
Oonoki brushed aside his confusion and immediately shouted an order: "Don't get entangled with this guy who isn't afraid of physical attacks! Just hold him off, and go deal with those two Sharingan brats!"
The Iwagakure Ninjas, upon receiving the order, immediately split into a group to attack Kakashi and Shisui.
"What an incredible and unreasonable ability!" Kakashi sighed, still marveling at the absurdity of Logia-type Devil Fruits.
The water in the ninja world wasn't like the sea water that was the nemesis of Devil Fruits.
Even if an Iwagakure Ninja wanted to use Water Release against Ace, if the Water Release wasn't strong enough, it would just be evaporated by the raging flames.
At least a Water Release ninja of Kisame's level would be needed to deal with Ace's flames, right?
Earth Release Ninjutsu could somewhat counteract flames, but only if they were ordinary flames.
Ace's flames clearly had a strong impact force.
Ordinary Earth Release Ninjutsu would be shattered by the flames in an instant.
As for Fire Release and Lightning Release...
The former would only fuel the flames, and the latter had no defense against fire.
Wind Release might be somewhat useful, but no one could blow the flames back.
But it seemed there were no powerful Wind Release ninjas in Iwagakure Village.
At this moment, Shisui suddenly spoke: "Kakashi-senpai, it looks like we've been targeted too. A group of Iwagakure Ninjas is coming towards us."
"I see them."
Kakashi nodded, still wearing his dead-fish eyes, but the Three Tomoe in his eyes had slowly transformed into the shape of Mangekyou.
Shisui was also communicating with the tailed beast inside him, trying to borrow some tailed beast chakra.
Although Shisui had no eyes, he still slightly turned his head.
With a sense of ceremony, he exchanged a glance with Kakashi.
In the next second, they almost spoke in unison.
"Susano'o!!!"
...
...
(End of Chapter)
一 一 一 一 一
You can read advanced chapters on
pat reon.com/GMadman
一 一 一 一 一
Give me your power stone,
Add this novel to your Library,
And Give me your review of this novel