— — — — — — —
Dragon pondered for a moment before responding, "With just my personal connection to Vegapunk, this will be extremely difficult—almost impossible.
"But if we combine it with your strength and abilities, Master, then it might just be possible!"
"Give me a month. I need that time to get in touch with Vegapunk and make the necessary arrangements. Once everything is set, I'll let you know and take you to meet him. How does that sound?"
He couldn't always contact Vegapunk at will—it depended on luck and the scientist's situation.
"No problem!" Kaito agreed without hesitation. He understood Vegapunk's current circumstances. "Just let me know once you've made contact.
"Make sure Vegapunk stays as safe as possible. He just needs to provide us with a meeting location—I'll handle the rest."
"Besides, with teleportation and space manipulation abilities, a lot of obstacles can be bypassed."
Of course, teleportation required a contract holder to have visited a location before. However, Kaito had already contracted special animals and even insects as summoning creatures.
These creatures, though small in size, were highly intelligent and powerful—perfect for infiltrating heavily guarded bases and mapping out locations.
On top of that, his space-based teleportation abilities allowed him to sneak into many high-security areas with ease.
When you have hacks, you're practically invincible.
"Got it! I'll make sure to let him know!" Dragon nodded, feeling warmth in his heart. Kaito was kind, valuing lives above all else.
He truly admired that.
With that, Dragon hurriedly left.
Once his ship had sailed far enough, Kaito and Koshiro returned to the living room. Kaito turned to his teacher and said, "Master, Dragon's situation is basically settled. The pirate ship has long been completed, and all preparations have been made.
"When do you plan on setting sail? Time waits for no one! Building a reputation also takes time."
"Tomorrow!" Koshiro smiled. "I've been preparing all this time, just waiting for Dragon's matter to be resolved. Everything at home is already arranged.
"Besides, with the ability to teleport home at any time, there isn't much to worry about."
"By the way, Kaito, are you officially joining the pirate crew? Even if you mostly use shadow clones, will you appear as yourself, or will you disguise your identity?"
"I'll change my appearance," Kaito shook his head. "Later on, I'll need transformation and disguise techniques. Besides, I can't rely on clones—it would be too easy to detect with Observation Haki."
"I also have a chakra-sealing technique and another one to conceal my chakra in emergencies."
"At some point, if we start infiltrating the Marines, that means I won't be able to constantly rely on shape-shifting techniques—I'll have to be there in person."
"Besides, those methods are easily exposed to masters of Observation Haki. It's better to use my real appearance in future situations."
"Also, when I join the Marines, it won't be as your disciple or a resident of this island."
"Instead, I'll assume an identity from Cocoyasi Village."
"At the same time, I've also covered my tracks here, so there's no risk of my connection to you causing any problems."
Clearly, he had been planning this for a long time.
As for the identity in Cocoyasi Village, Bellemere—an ex-Marine—could vouch for him, eliminating any risk of exposure.
Was Bellemere trustworthy?
Heh, absolutely.
Not only were Nami and Nojiko close to him, but even Bellemere had been won over after all these years. She had completely recognized and supported him.
More importantly, she knew about his plans to overthrow the World Government and infiltrate the Marines.
And she fully supported it.
Because she utterly despised the corruption within the Marines.
She loathed the World Government and the Celestial Dragons—those parasites at the top.
She wanted to change everything.
And Kaito was the man who could make it happen.
For years, she had been training hard to improve her strength. She had now reached the level of a Marine Headquarters Colonel—far from the weak woman she once was.
No longer someone Arlong could kill so easily.
In fact, she had been waiting for Arlong to show up.
She was determined to rewrite her fate and personally take down the Arlong Pirates.
She even planned to anonymously report Major Nezumi to the higher-ups, helping cleanse the Marines of its filth.
If reporting him didn't work, she'd take matters into her own hands under a different identity.
One way or another, she wouldn't let scum like Nezumi remain in the Marines.
Kaito completely agreed with her.
"In that case, I can set my mind at ease." Koshiro nodded in understanding and made a request. "Once I set sail, please help me watch over my home.
"Even if you're too busy, arrange for someone to keep an eye on it. I wouldn't want pirates to invade while I'm gone."
He still felt a bit uneasy.
"Relax!" Kaito waved his hand with a chuckle. "Not only have I built a training base here, but there are people patrolling every day.
"Besides, Kuina and the others aren't weak anymore. In the East Blue, there aren't many pirates who could challenge them!
"Not to mention, you still have your wife, a swordmaster in her own right!"
"So, don't worry! Everything will be fine!"
For someone like Koshiro, who had been a homebody for so many years, it was understandable that he had so many concerns before setting out.
"Haha! You're right! I'm just overthinking! Let's do it this way, then."
"Tomorrow, make sure Hashirama sends a shadow clone at least for now, and also have Sakumo, Uchiha Aota, Uzumaki Reiko, and the others come along."
Since this was a pirate crew, it wasn't going to be just Koshiro setting sail alone.
Kaito had arranged for elite members from the Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Senju clans to accompany him.
Along with his own and the First Hokage's shadow clones, this lineup was top-tier even in the New World, let alone the East Blue.
The next morning, Kaito and the others gathered at the base on the Island.
Once everyone was present and farewells were said, Koshiro and his group didn't set sail from there directly. Instead, they teleported to a small island base over a hundred kilometers.
From there, they headed to the port and boarded the Uchiha ship that had been waiting.
They raised the anchor and set sail into the vast sea.
Kaito himself, along with Mikoto and the others, didn't come to see them off—
To avoid risks and prevent the Navy and World Government from discovering their secrets.
Once Koshiro and his crew set off, Kaito and his team resumed their own work.
— — —
Meanwhile, in the Ninja World, Konoha's expansion and reconstruction plans were progressing rapidly.
With Hashirama, Madara, and many other ninjas working hard, beautiful and innovative buildings were springing up one after another at an astonishing pace.
Every day, things looked different, leaving villagers and outsiders amazed at the progress.
On this particular day—
Kaito suddenly received a message through the communication space.
He chose to receive it and quickly learned that his Ninja Dragon, while mapping the North Blue, had unexpectedly spotted Germa 66.
This was a target Kaito had been searching for.
Since the dragon was already keeping an eye on the North Blue, it naturally paid close attention to Germa's movements.
Without hesitation, Kaito stopped his training, informed Mikoto and the others, and teleported back home in the Ninja World.
With a quick scan, he then teleported straight into one of the research labs in the science division.
As soon as he appeared, Orochimaru, Tobirama, and one of his shadow clones, who were conducting experiments, all turned to look at him.
"Orochimaru, want to go on a trip?" Kaito asked with a smirk.
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Kaito, you're actually here in person? Something big must be up."
He knew that whenever Kaito came personally, it was always important.
And usually, it was something exciting. He was looking forward to it.
"Yeah."
Kaito nodded and, after glancing at Tobirama, sent Orochimaru a mental transmission: "The Ninja Dragon spotted Germa 66's location in the North Blue. I'm planning to head over and forcibly recruit Vinsmoke Judge and take over Germa's kingdom."
"At the same time, I want you to take charge of their scientific research. Interested?"
He could handle it himself, but it would take too much time.
Germa's research materials were bound to be extensive, and assimilating all of them wouldn't be quick.
So, it was best to leave that to Orochimaru.
Sure enough, the next moment, Orochimaru licked his lips excitedly. "That sounds perfect! What are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Without hesitation, Orochimaru created a shadow clone to stay behind and assist Tobirama and Kaito's clone with the experiments.
His real body gave Tobirama a nod, then disappeared along with Kaito in a flash of teleportation.
Tobirama sighed and shook his head. "Always so secretive. Can't they just tell me?"
He didn't bother asking the shadow clones, either, and simply resumed his experiments.
Clearly, he had gotten used to this by now.
And he knew that Kaito, along with his elder brother and sister-in-law, were deliberately keeping certain things from him.
His brother and sister-in-law often spoke highly of Kaito, subtly hinting that he should build a good relationship with him.
But they never told him why, which left him feeling helpless at times.
.
.
.