While countless people around the world were left speechless by the arrest warrant, the very person being hunted stood deep in thought atop the ocean.
No, not exactly atop the ocean.
Beneath his feet lay a colossal creature.
A... Sea King!
It had a serpentine head and body, its massive frame so enormous that just its head alone was as large as a medium-sized ship. This was one of the ocean's apex predators, rulers of the deep, at the absolute top of the marine food chain.
And yet, at this moment, its eyes were glazed over, its face a twisted mix of excitement and savagery as it surged forward just below the ocean's surface.
Because this Sea King was caught in an illusion.
Don't think genjutsu is only effective on humans, beasts can fall victim to it just as easily.
After all, the essence of genjutsu was to craft illusions, and compared to intelligent beings, these lower-intelligence creatures were even easier to deceive.
Right now, what the Sea King "saw" was its favorite prey, desperately swimming ahead.
And in this entire world, Hui was likely the only one who would think of using Illusion on a Sea King.
If I brought these things to the Shinobi World…
He mused, contemplating the potential.
Maybe they could help solve the food supply problem?
But almost as soon as the thought formed, he dismissed it with a shake of his head.
No, no. These things would probably consume more resources than they'd be worth.
Rejecting the idea, a slight frown appeared on his face.
He had been searching for ways to resolve the issue of resources, but so far, none of his ideas were particularly effective.
Still… maybe I could take one or two back and raise them. Who knows? Maybe they don't actually need that much food to survive?
With that thought, he let out a sigh and turned his gaze into the distance.
His sensory abilities picked up an approaching warship.
A glance confirmed that it was, indeed, a naval warship.
Its course wasn't in direct conflict with his own, but given the vastness of the sea, there was a good chance they would spot him.
However, Hui had no intention of avoiding them.
To him, there was no one in this world worthy of making him step aside.
Sure enough, twenty minutes later, the people aboard the warship noticed him.
"Rear Admiral! There's a person on the sea!"
A marine soldier, peering through a telescope, hurriedly reported to the highest-ranking officer aboard, a Rear Admiral.
"A person? On the sea??"
The Rear Admiral's lips twitched at the absurdity of the statement.
What the hell was going on?
Had the madness from headquarters spread here too?
Internally, he scoffed. After all, the latest report from headquarters was beyond ridiculous, it was outright childish.
"The most handsome man in the world" that was an actual descriptor used in the wanted notice. It made him question whether the people at HQ had completely lost their minds.
And now, his subordinates were giving him similarly absurd reports.
A deep sigh escaped him as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, sir! There is a man standing on the ocean!"
The marine soldier's voice was filled with disbelief as well.
Hearing this, the Rear Admiral furrowed his brows, snatched the telescope from the soldier's hands, and looked in the indicated direction.
His body froze.
Through the lens, he could clearly see a man, calmly striding across the surface of the ocean at high speed.
Expressionless, he lowered the telescope. Then, as if doubting his own eyes, he raised it again.
The man was still there.
Still moving effortlessly across the sea.
What in the actual hell?!
A storm of expletives raged in the Rear Admiral's mind as he took a deep breath and gave the order.
"Approach him."
"Yes, sir!"
From afar, Hui sensed the approaching warship and sighed inwardly.
Some things were just inevitable.
He could only hope they had the sense not to get in his way.
With that, his mind drifted back to the more pressing matter, solving the resource problem.
About ten minutes later, the warship neared Hui from his diagonal rear.
"Hiss—!"
The moment they got closer, the Rear Admiral finally noticed the massive Sea King beneath Hui's feet through his telescope.
No wonder the waters around the man had been constantly churning!
So that was the reason!
This was simply unbelievable!
A Sea King, one of the absolute rulers of the ocean, was actually being used as a mode of transportation by a human!
This completely shattered their understanding of these creatures.
The Rear Admiral hesitated.
A person who could control a Sea King and use it as a mere mount had to possess an unimaginably terrifying level of power.
If he recklessly provoked such a person, it could bring serious trouble to the warship.
And yet, despite his reservations, his curiosity got the better of him.
"Keep parallel to him. Then, overtake him!"
The Rear Admiral ultimately decided to get a good look at this mysterious man.
From what he could observe so far, the other party had no intention of attacking them.
As long as he didn't act aggressively, things should remain peaceful… right?
At his command, the warship accelerated, quickly surpassing the exhausted and sluggish Sea King beneath the man.
The Rear Admiral kept his eyes locked on Hui, first seeing him from behind, then catching a glimpse of his profile, and finally, his full face.
For a brief moment, the Rear Admiral was completely dumbfounded.
What… what kind of face is this?
He had no words to describe it.
All he knew was that, in that instant, he felt as if there was no one else in the world with a face more perfect than this man's.
As soon as this thought formed, a chill ran down his spine. His body stiffened, and his pupils contracted.
He suddenly recalled the order from Marine Headquarters!
Frantically, he took another look, early twenties, white clothing, long hair, and… the most handsome face in the world!
This… wasn't this exactly the person described in the wanted order?!
The Rear Admiral's expression darkened.
At first, he had no intention of provoking a man capable of controlling a Sea King.
But now, it seemed he had no choice.
Taking a deep breath, he grabbed a loudspeaker and called out loudly to Hui.
"Sir, may I ask if you have stolen a valuable treasure from the Celestial Dragons?"
This was his solution, directly confronting the issue.
Since he lacked confidence in handling the situation and wanted to avoid conflict, the best approach was to ensure he had no reason to attack.
And asking the question outright was the simplest way to achieve that.
After all, unless the man was an idiot, he wouldn't openly admit to such a crime.
This way, the Rear Admiral could simply brush it off and report the sighting.
Besides, there's no way this guy is actually the most handsome man in the world! At least, I refuse to believe it!
The Rear Admiral inwardly congratulated himself on his clever thinking.
Sure enough, a voice drifted back, as clear as if the speaker were standing right beside him.
"I did not steal any precious treasure from the Celestial Dragons."
Good! The man denied it. That meant he was rational.
Now he could just—
"I only killed one of the Celestial Dragons, that's all."
"...!!!"
The Rear Admiral froze.
K-killed… a Celestial Dragon?
His eyes widened in shock, his breath catching in his throat.
Damn it, that was even worse than stealing from them!
"A Celestial Dragon... was killed?"
The marines around him were equally stunned, exchanging glances of pure disbelief and horror.
"Rear Admiral, he just admitted to killing a Celestial Dragon!"
A soldier shouted in alarm.
I KNOW, DAMN IT! I HEARD HIM TOO!
The Rear Admiral's mind was in chaos.
"Yes, I heard. But it's obviously fake. We haven't received any reports about that."
His words made the soldiers hesitate.
"But… he just admitted it himself…"
One of them muttered hesitantly.
The Rear Admiral's face twitched.
"He can say whatever he wants! That doesn't make it true! Stop with the nonsense!"
He barked in frustration, mentally cursing these simple-minded subordinates.
"You all are way too noisy. Move farther away."
At that moment, a calm voice reached them once again, sending a chill down the Rear Admiral's spine.
"O-of course, sir! Have a safe journey!"
He shouted back instinctively, immediately ordering the ship to pull away.
But just then—
A figure appeared in the sky.
One of the World Government's enforcers, here to capture Hui.
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