By now, most of the sages had already gathered.
Thanks to Shanks's intel, some sages from the World Government had also shown up to help. At the same time, Fukuda Kiyomu had received a warning from Master Yuanichi.
Master Yuanichi didn't say it out loud.
Because if he didn't say anything, Fukuda Kiyomu might still survive. But if he did, Fukuda Kiyomu would be dead for sure.
People may have ambition, but they also feel fear.
Sometimes, not knowing is actually a good thing.
As the sky split open above them, the surrounding sages looked serious. Even this kind of place was affected—that meant Fukuda Kiyomu had gotten even stronger.
"Fukuda Kiyomu, since you already found where Shanks is, what are you waiting for? If the World Government falls, the whole Earthly Sage Kingdom is finished.
The sooner we act, the better!"
An old man stepped forward. Looking at the now-young Fukuda Kiyomu, even he couldn't help but feel a little doubt.
Not only had his strength increased, even his secret techniques had gotten better.
"The World Government? The Earthly Sage Kingdom? What do they have to do with me?"
"The Sage Kingdom has nothing to do with us.
Do you see that dragon vein energy over there?"
The people gathered here were a mix—some were sages from the World Government, and others were independent sages from Fukuda Kiyomu's own faction, though many of them were enemies with each other.
Still, even enemies had to hold back for now.
Their eyes were locked on the horizon, filled with greed—but beneath that greed was caution.
"With the dragon veins powering us, we can ascend at any moment. The Sage Kingdom? That has nothing to do with us."
"The power of the veins has already spread this far—no need to waste time talking."
"The sage energy in my body is still rising. So this is the power of the dragon veins? At this rate..."
Besides the World Government sages, there were also the pragmatic ones, who had already started meditating right where they stood.
They didn't have any conflict with the others, but their relationship was just cooperation. Don't expect them to follow orders.
"Elder Murakami, everyone's still growing stronger. No need to rush these two days.
Here, have some noodles!"
Teuchi brought out a big bowl of noodles. The guy had already set up his shop right on the ocean.
You had to admit—being a sage really made a difference.
With money and influence, this group actually helped Ichiraku build a floating restaurant. And now he was the only chef running the whole place.
Even the sea kings out there became a popular ingredient—everyone loved eating them. Even Ichiraku felt like life had been perfect lately.
"Sigh, whatever.
I'll go train too."
Murakami grabbed his bowl and left.
He didn't want to miss out on such a great opportunity.
Now he finally understood why so many sages came for something as risky as testing Shanks.
Just look at how effective the Earthly Sage Kingdom was—and now how effective it was even here in the middle of nowhere.
Just being nearby could help them grow stronger. It might not be a huge boost, but at their level, even a little improvement could mean everything.
"This is cheating—plain and simple!"
Murakami shook his head while slurping his noodles.
He really wanted to smash the bowl, but then he thought—if they actually pulled this off…
Even if they didn't beat Shanks, just managing to fight him to a draw would earn them recognition from the Will of the World.
And then at least half of them could rise to the very top tier of sages.
As for Fukuda Kiyomu, that guy had a real shot at becoming a force like the Sage of Six Paths.
Of course, if Fukuda Kiyomu had a shot, Murakami figured he might too.
The Sage of Six Paths—just one man—but he ruled an entire era and shaped the ninja world for a thousand years.
Not tempted by that? Yeah right.
"To defy fate, to go against the flow—break the pattern of thousands of years, and you can transcend the world!"
Everyone had ambition.
Call it cheating or not, this path just came with higher risk. And high risk came with high reward.
Looking at everyone around him, Ichiraku could only sigh deeply.
He wasn't interested in training, but if he was, even he probably couldn't resist that kind of temptation.
But this was Shanks.
Even Fukuda Kiyomu didn't have the confidence to beat him.
Ichiraku knew just how strong Fukuda Kiyomu was.
And on the road, as Fukuda Kiyomu learned more about Shanks and analyzed his power in more detail, his pace slowed more and more.
Not out of fear—he just needed time to prepare.
From the moment Fukuda Kiyomu locked in on his target, he never planned to turn back.
But even now, in the prime of his youth and at his peak state, Fukuda Kiyomu estimated he only had a 40% chance of fighting Shanks to a draw.
As for actually beating him? Maybe a 10% chance.
That was Fukuda Kiyomu's own judgment—this guy who was known for being fearless and proud.
So it wasn't just the other sages who needed time—Fukuda Kiyomu did too. He needed time to lock in his peak form.
Face the monsters of this era at your absolute best.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shanks looked at the terrifying power of the Dragon Vein, and even he was starting to feel nervous.
Even though he had the strength of will to push through, willpower alone wasn't everything—just like when Shisui fought Orochimaru.
No matter how strong the will is, if the gap in raw power is too big, it's useless.
"Dragon Vein energy fades fast, but for now, there's no way we can get through this place."
Amado spoke up.
At this point, only Shanks' ship remained. Zabuza and Haku had already been sent elsewhere.
"Time isn't a problem. The more people come here, the faster the energy will fade.
This is just the beginning of the Dragon Vein being opened. With thousands of years of built-up energy, it won't just disappear overnight."
Shanks snapped out of his daze too.
The whole world was changing. The sages could show up to surround him at any time, and on top of that, plenty of pirates were probably on their way here too.
Behind Shanks wasn't Shisui, but Jiraiya.
Jiraiya had been rushing the whole way and only caught up with Shanks yesterday.
Of course, when he saw Yahiko was actually on Shanks' ship, Jiraiya gave him a very strange look.
And Yahiko looked like a rat seeing a cat.
In the end, Jiraiya caught him and scolded him for a whole day.
"This is the buildup of over a thousand years! The scale of it is terrifying."
Even Jiraiya was shaking a little inside as he looked at the scene in front of him.
Shanks just didn't fit in with the rest of the ninja world at all.
But that's exactly what made him Shanks—the master of the Fourth Holy Land.
With that in mind, Jiraiya quickly pulled out the information he'd brought to share with Shanks.
"Shanks, take a look at this! I found it at one of the Sage inheritance sites in the Land of Fire, and some of it came from the Great Toad Sage."
"This time, the three great sacred lands won't take any sides."
As he spoke, Jiraiya laid out all the scrolls he'd prepared.
The fact that the three sacred lands wouldn't get involved already showed where they stood.
Shanks understood immediately.
The sages—he still didn't fully get them. Something about them always felt off, but also oddly logical.
"The Earthly Sage Kingdom, huh?"
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