Amid his high-speed flight as a bolt of lightning between the seven satellites and air force warships of the Starfish World, Enel received the call from Kaido via Den-Den Mushi.
"Lord Imu is summoning me!!!"
Enel was instantly thrilled upon hearing the order.
Ever since joining the Air Force Headquarters, he had been waiting for the godlike Lord Imu to personally assign him a mission.
In Enel's eyes, the status of an Ōka Shichibukai far outweighed that of a Lieutenant General in the Air Force—even more so than the General position he was certain he would attain one day.
About an hour later—
Aerial reinforcements departed from the interior of the Starfish World: an aviation fleet composed of one aerospace carrier, two fighter squadrons, two transport ships, two bomber vessels, and one airborne assault battalion flew toward the RL1557 sector of the Red Line.
However, Enel himself was not among them.
He had already taken off ahead of them, transformed into a bolt of bright blue lightning.
His plan was simple—
He would eliminate the Shinobi World's Moon threat first, then wait for the fleet to arrive and take over.
He had no patience to crawl through space at the slow pace of a full aviation unit.
Meanwhile, in the Shinobi World—
Inside the Hokage's conference room in Konohagakure—
Orochimaru sat at the head of the table, joined by Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Jiraiya, Uchiha Fugaku, Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and other clan leaders.
Just then, they received a report from the outer patrol ninjas—
Two individuals wearing white coats were approaching Konoha.
One of them, like Aramaki before him, had an exaggerated physique nearly 3 metres tall.
He introduced himself as Admiral 'Aokiji' of the Navy Headquarters—
A representative of the World Government, here to challenge the 'God of Shinobi', Senju Hashirama.
The outcome of their battle would determine the result of the war between their factions.
"Admiral…"
Someone murmured the word, their face visibly paling.
As if the title alone carried a weight that induced an unspeakable fear.
Aramaki had been a lieutenant general.
So just how powerful was this 'Admiral Aokiji'?
Some people glanced subtly at Senju Hashirama.
Because they weren't entirely confident that their First Hokage could win this time.
"Well then, since we aren't going to get any further discussing it—I'll head out now to meet Admiral Aokiji!"
Hashirama, still in his Edo Tensei form, stood up and declared with a bright, eager smile.
His tone and demeanor were brimming with energy and fighting spirit.
It was easy to tell he was genuinely looking forward to the coming battle.
Senju Tobirama offered a reminder: "Big Brother, according to the ANBU's intel, the opponent seems to possess abilities similar to Ice Release. He also has a companion who can manipulate water and took down one jōnin and three chūnin with ease."
He really wanted to go along—
But based on their prior discussion, someone had to stay behind in case the World Government resorted to trickery.
For instance, they could launch a surprise attack on Konoha while Hashirama was dueling Aokiji.
Especially considering General Akainu's attitude back in Rōran—
He clearly wasn't someone interested in diplomacy.
In terms of raw strength, perhaps they were outmatched.
But when it came to strategy, subterfuge, and understanding human nature—
No one beat a ninja.
[Knock! Knock! Knock!]
Just then, someone knocked at the conference room door.
An ANBU operative stepped in and bowed respectfully to Orochimaru, seated at the head of the table.
"Hokage-sama, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist have arrived at the border with thirty jōnin. They say the Third Mizukage has sent them to assist us in resisting the World Government!"
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and licked his lips with a faint smile.
"Looks like the intelligence we sent over really caught the attention of the Third Mizukage~"
"Indeed. Not only did he send all of the 'Seven Ninja Swordsmen', but also thirty jōnin on top of that."
"For Kirigakure, which trains its elite shinobi through methods akin to 'Root', this probably accounts for nearly half their jōnin force."
Nara Shikaku nodded in agreement, sighing thoughtfully.
"To be honest, I had expected something more in line with Kirigakure's usual style—maybe even a backstab, or a sneak attack on Kumogakure. I didn't think they'd proactively send reinforcements."
With his arms folded across his chest, Senju Tobirama slowly stood, his expression as cold as ever.
"This proves that the current Mizukage isn't a fool. Good. I'd like to see just how far Kirigakure's famous Water Release techniques have come in terms of modern development."
...
"The sky's bright enough. Time to set out."
Kuzan raised his head to glance at the morning sky, then stood up from the white chair made of ice.
"Understood."
Liver quickly stood up from the tree stump he'd been sitting on.
He meticulously straightened the wrinkles from his black suit and adjusted the white 'Justice' coat draped over his shoulders.
"I'll go on from here alone. You wait for me here," Kuzan said calmly, one hand casually tucked into the pocket of his white trousers.
Liver paused for a moment, then understood what Kuzan meant.
He had never met Senju Hashirama before, but if this man had managed to defeat Lieutenant General Aramaki of the Army, then his strength had to be formidable beyond comparison.
In that case, with Liver's current abilities, he wouldn't be able to intervene in the fight—he wouldn't even qualify to observe it up close.
Liver smiled faintly and nodded in acknowledgment, accepting Kuzan's thoughtful gesture.
He then swept his gaze across the forest around them.
Although there were no visible traces to the naked eye, his Observation Haki clearly registered the presence of nearly a hundred distinct auras of varying strength.
They were undoubtedly ninjas assigned to monitor them.
"Oh, right. You might be stuck here for a few days. Want me to make you an ice house with a bed and desk before I go?"
Kuzan had just turned to leave but stopped a few steps in to glance back and ask.
Clearly, he cared quite a bit about his foreign adjutant.
"Ah, no need for that—cough, I'll just build a wooden cabin myself," Liver replied awkwardly, waving a hand with a sheepish look.
"Ara ara~ Suit yourself."
Before long, Kuzan's tall figure vanished into the forest.
Liver could sense that about sixty or seventy auras had followed after him.
As for the remaining thirty or forty, they stayed behind, surrounding Liver.
He could feel the change in atmosphere.
These ninja were clearly thinking that, with Admiral Aokiji gone, this might be their chance to take him down.
"Heh—"
"Well, I'm rather bored anyway. If any of you gentlemen would like to spar, I'm open to it."
"But honestly, wouldn't it be better to just sit down and have a chat? I'm sure you're all curious about the World Government."
Liver glanced at the surrounding trees and continued, "Let me start with a brief introduction."
"My name is Liver. I'm currently a Rear Admiral of the Navy Headquarters under the World Government—and the adjutant to that man you just saw, Admiral Aokiji."
"Besides that… in truth, I'm just like all of you. I'm not a 'Starfish native' either. Oh, and by 'Starfish,' I mean the homeworld of the World Government."
"So you're saying that my original world once went to war with the World Government as well, but was ultimately conquered."
"However, we found that joining the World Government wasn't necessarily a bad thing—because its goal has never been destruction or enslavement, but rather governance and administration."
Among the trees, the Konoha shinobi exchanged glances as they listened to Liver's speech.
Yet some of them began to show deepening expressions of anger.
"Shut up!"
Finally, someone could no longer hold back and shouted furiously.
A roaring fireball suddenly manifested out of thin air.
It incinerated trees in its path, scorched every patch of earth it touched, and flew straight toward Liver's position.
Liver stopped speaking and casually raised his right leg.
[Whoosh!]
A pale blue crescent-shaped vacuum blade shot out, slicing the massive fireball clean in two.
The flames split to the left and right, then exploded into brilliant bursts of fire before dissipating into the air.
At that moment—
A shadow in a Konoha flak jacket blurred forward, charging at high speed toward Liver.
[Clink!]
Liver effortlessly caught the oncoming kunai between two fingers. Looking at the furious young face before him, he asked softly, "Would you mind telling me why you're so angry?"
"You people killed the leader of the Sarutobi Clan—Konoha's Third Hokage—and now you dare to say it wasn't a bad thing? You damned invaders!"
Sarutobi Kyōko growled through clenched teeth, struggling with all his strength to yank the kunai back.
But to his dismay, the strength in those two fingers was unimaginably overwhelming.
"I see. But since this is war, casualties are inevitable. As shinobi, you should understand that," Liver said calmly.
Even as he spoke, several shadowy figures flickered into view, surrounding him.
"Heh… Must we really resort to violence?" Liver sighed, noticing the cold gleam in their eyes.
"If you're really the admiral's adjutant, then you're a perfect hostage," said one masked ANBU agent in a low voice.
"So that's how it is. I've been underestimated…" Liver muttered softly.
[Boom!!]
As the words left his mouth, the nearby river suddenly surged violently—
As if a volcano had erupted from the riverbed.
Massive volumes of water shot skyward.
In midair, they gathered into the shape of a gigantic needlefish, formed entirely from water, with a long, pointed upper jaw.
"I'll do my best not to take any lives. Please, show me what you've got."
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