— — — — — — —
"Alright! If you're not willing to talk, we won't force you."
"Just remember, if you ever decide to share, you can always tell us!"
"Also, the matter about the Nika Fruit is extremely important. If possible, please keep it confidential."
"This concerns some of our captain Roger's plans, as well as the future of this world. We're counting on you."
Hearing this, both Rayleigh and Shakky gave Kaito a deep, meaningful look. Then, with a serious expression, Rayleigh earnestly requested this of Kaito and his group.
They didn't press further or try to force him—doing so would've been rude and inappropriate.
At the end, Rayleigh even bowed to Kaito and his group as a show of respect.
He suspected that Kaito might even know where the Rubber Fruit would appear in the future and who would obtain it.
This was the real reason for Rayleigh's solemn request.
The Nika Fruit was the core of Roger's plan to start the Great Pirate Era!
"Hey, no need for that, Uncle Rayleigh!"
Seeing this, Kaito quickly stepped forward and helped Rayleigh up. "Even if you hadn't said anything, we wouldn't go around spilling secrets!"
"To be honest, we're not exactly on good terms with the World Government ourselves. There's bound to be a massive clash with them in the future, so why would we share this kind of information with them?"
"Relax! We're friends. No need to be so formal about it."
Sure, let Rayleigh and his crew focus on their Nika plan for now.
Once their goodwill towards him hit the maximum, he'd simply form a contract with them.
At that point, they'd truly become part of his faction, and the whole Nika issue would no longer matter.
After all, in the end, this world wouldn't be liberated by Nika. It'd be liberated by him.
Of course, even after contracting with Rayleigh and his crew, Kaito wouldn't mind letting them continue their Nika operation on the surface to oppose the World Government.
He was already supporting the Revolutionary Army to serve as the public face of resistance.
Adding a Nika to the mix wouldn't hurt—it'd just be another tool in his arsenal.
Next, he planned to leverage his relationships with Ace and Sabo to build goodwill with Luffy and eventually contract him as well.
By then, Nika would just be another one of his underlings.
He believed Nika wouldn't object.
After all, liberation was liberation—who did it shouldn't matter, right?
With his help, it'd only make things easier.
A figure who had already failed once shouldn't expect a second chance unless they were willing to be his pawn.
Trust them to run the show? Not happening.
"Thank you so much!"
Rayleigh and Shakky both let out a sigh of relief.
As long as Kaito and his group didn't interfere with their plans, everything would be fine.
At this moment, Kaito noticed through his abilities that Rayleigh's goodwill towards him had shot up to 65, while Shakky's had risen to 69.
Not bad at all.
The group enjoyed a hearty meal together, with Rayleigh and Shakky drinking quite a bit.
Afterward, Kaito and his group escorted Rayleigh and Shakky back to the Sabaody Archipelago before returning to the Shinobi World.
Before parting ways, Shakky once again reminded Kaito to visit Amazon Lily when he had the chance.
She even handed him a token of passage to ensure he could enter the island and meet Hancock smoothly.
Kaito naturally agreed.
He planned to visit in a few days, contract Hancock, and accelerate her growth.
She'd become a major asset under his command in the future. Plus, having another beauty around didn't hurt.
"When the time comes, I can help her eliminate the flaws and hidden dangers of her Devil Fruit. At the same time, I can figure out if her Love-Love Fruit is actually the Mythical Zoan Medusa Fruit!"
"If it is, then removing its defects might make it easier to help Hancock unlock its true potential."
These thoughts ran through Kaito's mind.
— — —
After returning from the Pirate World, Kaito immediately gathered Tsunade, Orochimaru, Minato, Kushina, his mother Naori, Uzumaki Mito, Uzumaki Ashina, Hatake Sakumo, and even Hashirama, along with Koshiro and Kureha from the Pirate World, at his home.
The purpose? To discuss the next steps of their strategy for the Pirate World.
Once everyone was present, Kaito began:
"Today, my mother, Lady Mito, Lord Hashirama, and I visited the Pirate World and had a sparring match with Rayleigh."
"After confirming the results, Hashirama could defeat Rayleigh in real battle if he mastered haki or in a battle of endurance. Still, he's easily Yonko level in the Pirate World."
"My mother and Lady Mito are at Admiral level."
"As for me, although I didn't fight, based on comparisons, my strength should be between elite Vice Admiral and near-Admiral level."
"But with my space-time ninjutsu, teleportation abilities, and Sage Mode, I could reach near-Admiral strength, maybe even higher."
This was largely thanks to mastering Sage Mode, which had greatly enhanced his power.
In the end, though, his golden growth period hadn't arrived yet.
His age limited his physical development and training intensity.
Even after acquiring the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, he hadn't dared to use lightning to stimulate his cells for body-strengthening training like the Cloud Ninja's Lightning Armor technique.
He worried that pushing himself too hard too soon might prematurely exhaust his potential, stunting his body's natural growth during puberty.
Such cases weren't unheard of in either his previous life or this world.
Some destructive training methods weren't better if started earlier—the risks often outweighed the rewards.
It was better to wait until he was 15–18, after his rapid physical growth slowed, to begin such training.
That'd maximize the benefits.
For now, he wasn't in a rush, especially since he had the Immortal Technique and advanced taijutsu methods to continually boost his vitality and physique.
With these alternative methods, there wasn't an urgent need to rely on lightning training.
"Based on comparisons, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and even Sakumo are around Vice Admiral level."
"If, Sakumo, you can master the Pirate World's swordsmanship, reaching swordsman or even great swordsman level, while also catching up on training in Haki, meditation, and Life Force technique, your strength could skyrocket within the next few years—possibly surpassing Tsunade and reaching Admiral level."
"In that case, we'd have enough Admiral-level forces to form a Yonko-level crew, claim territory in the New World, and establish a new country."
"In this country, we could experiment with new reform systems, set up schools, and systematically train governance, management, and various industry talents. The plan is entirely feasible!"
Kaito paused, then continued seriously:
"So, I've gathered you all here to hear your thoughts on this plan."
He waved his hand, distributing copies of the Yonko Crew Plan he'd prepared to everyone.
"Take a look at the plan first, and then share your opinions and suggestions."
"If anyone disagrees, feel free to speak up."
Everyone picked up their copies and carefully reviewed the plan.
A few minutes later, once everyone was done reading, Kaito asked, "So? What do you think?"
Tsunade glanced around at the others before speaking first. "I don't have any objections, but building a Four Emperors group and carving out territory will definitely take a lot of time and energy, won't it?"
"Right now, I'm busy handling the hospital reform and my own training, so I won't be able to spare much time for this."
"Also, instead of fighting for territory in the New World and establishing a new country from scratch—"
"Wouldn't it be better to secretly take control of Drum Island?"
"That way, it'll be easier for you to gain the favor of the doctors there."
"And when the time comes, we could bring in more doctors from Drum Island to help out here in Konoha."
"Maybe we could even establish a dedicated medical academy there. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"
She glanced at Kureha, a little worried about her reaction.
After all, that was Kureha's homeland.
But Kureha simply chuckled softly. "I don't have any objections to this," she said.
"To be honest, the old king is nearing the end of his life, and both of his sons are completely unreliable."
"Sooner or later, they'll mess things up so badly that the country will collapse, and people will suffer."
"The medical system will likely fall apart too."
"Taking control of the old king and secretly managing the country in advance is a good idea!"
"But it's best to extend the old king's lifespan a bit, just to keep things stable for now."
"Or, if you have a solid plan to replace the Drum Island royal family with someone reliable, that would work too. Otherwise, things could get messy."
"After all, Drum Island is a member of the World Government. Directly replacing its royal family wouldn't be appropriate."
"Agreed."
Kaito nodded. "Taking control of Drum Island in secret is possible."
"With our strength—especially our Genjutsu abilities—it's pretty simple."
"This won't take much effort and can be done alongside the Four Emperors-building plan."
"Replacing the royal family is too troublesome, so we'll start by using Genjutsu to control the old king and extend his life a bit."
"As for his two sons, it's better to eliminate them early. We can't leave those troublemakers around."
He turned to Naori and said, "Mom, I'll need you for this. Using Mangekyo Sharingan to brainwash and control him shouldn't be an issue, right?"
"Of course!"
Uchiha Naori smiled confidently. "Brainwashing and controlling him? That's easy."
"I've seen that old king before. He's got no real strength, so controlling him with Genjutsu is no problem."
"Leave it to me! I'll handle it tomorrow. I'll also take care of his two sons while I'm at it!"
Then she turned to Tsunade and added, "If you want Kaito to contract more doctors from Drum Island or even establish a national-level medical academy, you'll have to take charge of that yourself."
"I simply don't have the time!"
"When the time comes, you could get help from Kureha and the dozens of contracted doctors Kaito has already sent to you from Drum Island."
Uchiha Naori then looked back at Kaito. "That Dalton guy is talented. You should find a way to gain his trust and contract him too."
"He'd be a big help in managing Drum Island. What do you think?"
"Good idea!"
Kaito nodded without hesitation. "I'll make some time to handle him later."
Tsunade glanced at Kureha, and after receiving her nod of approval, she said, "Then I'll take care of setting up the Drum Island Medical Academy.
"I'll find a way to recruit most of the capable doctors on the island into the academy."
"Whether they become full-time instructors or just lend their names, we'll make it work."
"And Kaito, you'll need to drop by occasionally to teach medical lessons to the instructors and future students at the academy. That'll help you gain their favor and make contracting them easier. What do you think?"
Her ultimate goal was to have Kaito contract as many doctors as possible and bring them back to Konoha to quickly expand and improve the medical system, as well as train more medical talent.
"Sure thing!"
Kaito grinned. "If that's all it takes to gain their favor, why would I say no?"
"I'll just send a Shadow Clone over regularly to teach a few lessons. Easy stuff."
"Thanks in advance, Tsunade-nee!"
Not just the future Drum Island Medical Academy—Kaito also planned to send Shadow Clones to Konoha's ninja academy and regular schools in the future to teach lessons and gain favor.
This method was clearly more efficient.
Students were younger and easier to win over.
"No problem! No problem!"
Tsunade laughed and waved it off.
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