The small island was utterly tranquil, the surrounding sea calm and still.
A massive, ruined city abruptly materialized, crashing directly into the island's center and sending up a cloud of dust.
Inside the city, a group of people looked around in bewilderment, their minds flooded with the soul-searching trifecta: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
Their last memory was of the Nightmare Mother Tree suddenly attacking Holy Land Mary Geoise. Against the assault of the Demon Mother Tree, they had been utterly powerless.
Then, they had snapped back to their senses and found themselves here!
So, what the hell was going on?
And where had the Nightmare Mother Tree gone?
"Have we all died? Is this place heaven?" someone wondered aloud amidst the confusion.
Just as everyone was at a loss, a figure appeared before them.
"Rest assured, you're all still alive!" The newcomer was none other than Minato Namikaze.
"Mr. Namikaze? What's going on?" Gol D. Roger asked, puzzled.
Minato glanced at him, paused thoughtfully, then added, "Actually, no, you *are* dead."
Roger: "..."
Everyone else: "..."
*Ahem!*
Seeing his joke fall flat, Minato couldn't help but give a light cough.
"After the Nightmare Mother Tree appeared, the Guild Master had me prepare covertly. Just now, the Second Hokage and I joined forces to perform the Super Flying Thunder God Formation Technique, successfully relocating the entire Holy Land Mary Geoise here in time!" Minato explained calmly.
Hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
Moving an entire massive city to another location in the blink of an eye?
That method was downright terrifying!
Seeing their astonishment, Minato felt a small flicker of pride inwardly.
In truth, the Super Flying Thunder God Formation Technique was the result of his recent experiments.
The original Flying Thunder God Formation Technique was the joint spatial transportation array he had taught to the trio—Ibiki Morino, Raido Namiashi, and Iwashi Tatami. By working together, they could teleport objects or people within the formation to another location.
The Super version was jointly executed by Minato, a master of the Flying Thunder God Technique, and Tobirama Senju. It covered a vastly greater area, and both the teleportation distance and speed were significantly enhanced.
Now understanding the sequence of events, Roger and the others finally felt a sense of relief.
Meanwhile, those Devil Fruit users who had been controlled by the Demon Mother Tree, perhaps due to the increased distance from it, gradually began to regain their own consciousness.
"Oww, my head hurts so much..."
"Where is this? My mind feels so muddled! I can't remember what happened."
"Holy crap, what's going on? Who tied me up?"
As they regained awareness, they quickly discovered they were restrained in various ways, leaving the whole group utterly bewildered.
After hearing explanations from the others, they were immediately thrown into an existential crisis!
Who am I? What did I do? Who just beat me up?
"Nami, my head really hurts... was I being controlled too?" Monkey D. Luffy asked, unable to believe it.
"Fun? Fun your head!"
Nami, Usopp, and the others instantly erupted in angry shouts. This idiot really had no sense of gravity!
"Sigh... to think this old man was so useless, causing trouble for all of you," Edward Newgate lamented, his face full of regret.
Members of the Whitebeard Pirates comforted him, "Don't think like that, Pops. It couldn't be helped. Who knew the Demon Mother Tree had such a method?"
Killer approached a freshly conscious Eustass Kid and said, "Captain Kid, we were all really worried about you. We were so afraid you'd been beaten to death by the others!"
Kid was somewhat moved by the first part, but the second half made his face darken. He couldn't help but snarl, "Get lost!"
"Fourth Hokage, what about the Guild Master and the others?" Itachi Uchiha asked.
He had just checked specifically. Only their group was present at the scene. He hadn't seen Lin Xuan, Madara Uchiha, or the others. Even Tobirama Senju, whom Minato had mentioned earlier, was now nowhere to be seen.
"The Guild Master and the others are still fighting the Demon Mother Tree. They weren't relocated. The Second Hokage has also gone to join them," Minato explained with a smile.
"Then let's hurry over to support the Guild Master and the others!" Shisui Uchiha urged.
However, Minato shook his head. "The Guild Master said the upcoming battle is no longer at a level we can participate in. He said all we have to do is stay here and cheer '666' for him!"
"Cheer 666?" The whole group stared blankly.
Minato also looked torn between laughter and tears. "Those were the Guild Master's exact words. I don't really know what it means either. He just seemed really keen on having people shout 666 for him."
Everyone felt somewhat speechless.
"However, before that, we should subdue some individuals first to prevent any trouble."
Minato's gaze fell upon Rocks D. Xebec, Kaido, and the others. The rest also looked over.
*Boom!*
The next second, Minato and his team swiftly moved against Rocks and his crew. Roger and the others also reacted, immediately joining the fray to assist.
The battle ended quickly. Although Rocks and the others had regained consciousness, the previous fights had already left them utterly exhausted. They were subdued in short order.
As for the World Government side, Kong and the others did not resist, gathering together instead. The Ninja Guild members didn't forcibly subdue them either, merely assigning people to monitor their every move.
At that moment, a scene suddenly appeared in everyone's field of vision.
Lin Xuan had turned the live broadcast back on.
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T/N:
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