Revolutionary Army Headquarters.
Monkey D. Dragon sat in silence, eyes fixed on the pile of reports detailing the great battle at Marineford. After carefully reading every word, he let out a long, heavy breath.
"I expected something like this… but seeing it unfold with my own eyes is still hard to believe."
The war had shaken the entire world to its core—and for the Revolutionary Army, it was just as earth-shattering. What unsettled Dragon the most was the overwhelming power displayed by the Five Elders. Their strength confirmed what he had always suspected: he had underestimated the World Government.
Fortunately, he had chosen patience in the past, biding his time instead of making rash moves. Otherwise, the Revolutionary Army might have been crushed long ago.
But even after reviewing the battle in detail, one question continued to gnaw at him.
If the World Government wields such terrifying power… why do they allow the Four Emperors to reign unchecked over the seas?
By his calculations, without the interference of the Ninja Guild, even if Whitebeard's and Red-Haired's crews had joined forces, they still would have lost. Which meant, logically, that if the World Government truly unleashed its full might, it could wipe out the Four Emperors with little difficulty.
And yet, they hadn't.
They let the Emperors exist. They let the balance of power remain.
Dragon's brows furrowed deeply.
That can only mean one thing… the World Government is busy with something far more important in secret.
The waters of this world ran even deeper and darker than he had imagined. That realization made him more cautious than ever.
He immediately summoned his commanders. "All officers, prepare for an emergency meeting!"
It was time to share the plans he and Lin Xuan had been discussing and make sure everyone was ready for what lay ahead.
Meanwhile, countless forces around the world were reacting to the war's outcome. Some factions suddenly grew cautious, lying low. Others grew restless, stirring up chaos. The entire world had entered a strange, unstable turbulence.
And yet, two places remained untouched by this storm: Marineford and the Sabaody Archipelago—both firmly under the control of the Ninja Guild.
At Marineford, both Whitebeard's and Red-Haired's crews had already withdrawn. The war had left the Ninja Guild drained as well. Many of the sacrificial vessels sustaining the reincarnated shinobi were nearing their limits—especially Obito, who had recklessly thrown himself into every fight, burning through his vessel at a staggering rate.
He wasn't the only one.
In the days following the battle, more and more reincarnated shinobi lost their vessels, their Edo Tensei bodies crumbling as the jutsu released on its own.
Lin Xuan chose not to bring them back immediately. After all, the advanced Edo Tensei required his prestige points to perform, and for now, he had no urgent need to summon them again. He decided to let them rest—a temporary reprieve.
As the reincarnated shinobi departed one by one, those who remained drifted off on their own journeys across this world. The once-crowded guild halls quickly grew quiet.
The echoes of Marineford's war spread everywhere, sparking upheaval across nations and seas, but when word reached Lin Xuan, he remained largely indifferent.
Lately, he had spent most of his time in the Sabaody Archipelago, lost in thought—plotting the guild's future, refining his next steps, and focusing on ways to further elevate his own strength.
Yes, he had terrified the Five Elders into inaction during the war, but the truth was—it had been mostly an act.
His power now rivaled theirs, but when it came to the mysterious Im, he still felt a gap. Unless he relied on certain artifacts, he wasn't confident he could win.
And there was still the matter of mastering the power of time itself—a pursuit that consumed much of his focus.
As for the daily burdens of running the guild? He had tossed those onto Sarutobi Hiruzen.
At first, he'd thought to give the task to Hashirama or Madara, but they both flatly refused and—in their own sly way—recommended Hiruzen instead.
The old man nearly exploded when he found out.
He'd lost his vessel in the battle too, Edo Tensei releasing him—only to be summoned back again almost immediately, not for combat, but for paperwork.
"First Hokage… how could you throw me under the cart like this?" Hiruzen grumbled, feeling cursed by fate. Even in death, he couldn't escape bureaucracy.
But in the end, he accepted—on one condition. He demanded help.
The aftermath of Marineford was bigger than the chaos of Sabaody. With nations in turmoil, the guild needed to dispatch fighters to stabilize the situation, handle requests from every corner of the world, and manage the growing tide of alliances and negotiations.
On top of that, the guild was rapidly expanding its intelligence network, collecting and cataloguing information around the globe.
Hiruzen knew if he handled all this alone, he'd collapse. He needed someone to share the burden.
He dared not bother Hashirama or Tobirama, so his thoughts landed on the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze.
"No problem!" Lin Xuan agreed instantly when Hiruzen asked.
As it happened, Minato's vessel had also broken during the war, releasing his Edo Tensei form. Lin Xuan remembered his earlier promise to Minato: to bring back Kushina as well, so they could reunite.
And so, he fulfilled that vow.
When Minato and Kushina stood together again in this world, however, they brought news that took Lin Xuan completely by surprise.
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T/N:
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