At that moment, everyone noticed something strange about Orochimaru's hands.
"Orochimaru-sama, your hands…"
Kidomaru and the others returned to his side, speaking with concern.
"Orochimaru, what happened? Your hands…"
Jiraiya also noticed something was wrong. Orochimaru's hands were completely unusable—a fatal weakness for a ninja.
Losing his hands meant losing the ability to perform ninjutsu.
But there wasn't the slightest hint of frustration on Orochimaru's face. His eyes were locked onto Dark and the others.
Were these pirates the future rulers of the New World?
Their strength was lacking, but their will was just as strong as any ninja's.
"These hands, you ask?"
Orochimaru looked at his hands. It was like fate—losing them meant losing the ability to use Ninjutsu. And now, the power of the Devil Fruits would take away that same ability.
The Third Hokage's so-called "mercy" had completely pushed Orochimaru toward the New World.
Maybe it was fate, giving him one final choice. The path before him was cut off, yet at the same time, he was given the chance to set sail.
"I'll bet these hands on the New World."
Orochimaru grinned.
"If that's the case, then let these hands steer the ship. Let's set sail for the New World."
At this moment, Orochimaru had made his final decision. No more hesitation. His resolve was stronger than ever.
So what if he had lost his hands? He would use them as his wager in the New World.
Let Shanks, one of the Four Emperors, see the spirit of a man from the old era—one of the Legendary Sannin.
"Shanks, the debt I owe you—I'll pay it back here and now."
Orochimaru lifted his head, a sinister smile spreading across his face.
Devil Fruits... Since everyone wanted their power, then go ahead and take them!
Pirates, ninjas, even ordinary people—let them all have a taste of it!
"If you've all come for the power of the Devil Fruits, then go ahead and take them! Ninjas, pirates, even common folk—anyone can gain strength equal to a Jonin. The greatest treasure of this new era—it's all hidden within the ancient texts of history!"
"Go and seek out the ancient texts! Find the truth of history! Find the scattered branches of the Divine Tree!"
"In this new era, everyone can have power!
Let the new era completely spiral out of control!"
As Orochimaru's near-maniacal voice echoed across the battlefield, Kabuto revealed what he had prepared—the method to create Devil Fruits.
The process was simple. Using Ninjutsu in reverse, any ninja with basic skills could do it.
The hardest part was finding a piece of the Divine Tree.
But thanks to Orochimaru's research, he knew that the Divine Tree's remains were as tough as minerals—unchanged, even after thousands of years.
So as long as they found remnants of the Divine Tree, they could create Devil Fruits.
Sheets of paper, detailing the transformation process, fluttered down from the sky.
Everyone froze.
The only sound on the battlefield was Orochimaru's wild laughter.
Countless pages drifted down, scattering across the ground.
Many people didn't even understand what he was talking about. The lack of knowledge left them confused.
"Poneglyphs? The Divine Tree?"
Terumi Mei caught a page from the air.
It didn't just describe the transformation process—it also explained the basic idea behind it.
It detailed the Divine Tree, the history of Chakra Fruits, and how Ninjutsu could be reversed to create Devil Fruits.
This was history none of them had ever known before.
And in that moment, they finally understood.
Even the pirates understood the truth behind Devil Fruits.
They weren't ninjas and couldn't use Ninjutsu—but they weren't ordinary people either.
With their connections and influence, all they needed to do was find a piece of the Divine Tree. Then, they could easily get a weak ninja to transform it into a Devil Fruit.
"So… this is the power of the Devil Fruits?"
"A treasure of the new era."
"The One Piece that Shanks spoke of… The greatest treasure of the New World."
"The true history… If we find the true history, we can trace the Divine Tree."
"Hahaha! The era of ninjas is over!"
Some pirates burst into laughter. Finally, a new era was coming. As ordinary people, they had gained the power to stand against ninjas.
What? You say Devil Fruits work the same way for ninjas?
Not at all. The moment a ninja eats a Devil Fruit, they become an ability user. Is there really no difference between a ninja-turned-ability-user and a pirate-turned-ability-user?
To the pirates, they now had everything they needed to challenge the old era. And it wasn't just them—even ordinary people could take part.
Just like Orochimaru said, this era was entering a time of chaos.
Ninjas couldn't stop the pirates. No matter how many ninjas there were, they couldn't stop them. Pirates and ordinary people would become the rulers of the new era.
Unlike the excitement and frenzy of the other pirates, Zabuza stared at what was in his hands, feeling dizzy.
"I'm so stupid… I'm so stupid…"
"I knew something was off about that guy, Shanks…"
"There was once a great treasure right in front of me, and I didn't know how to cherish it…"
Zabuza collapsed straight to the ground.
Beside him, Haku had already realized what was going on, but he was just as dumbfounded.
Using the Divine Tree as the keel of a ship? What kind of person would even think of doing that?
The other members of the Blade-less Pirates reacted quickly, rushing to Zabuza's side.
"Captain! Captain! Don't roll your eyes back like that! What's wrong?"
"Captain, if you die, what are we supposed to do? Captain, do you still want your sword…?"
Zabuza punched the guy trying to steal his sword, knocking him out. These idiots really had issues.
Ever since they found out his sword could regenerate, they kept trying to steal it, break it, and sell the pieces on the black market.
At that moment, Zabuza's eyes were blank as he turned to "Jin" standing nearby.
"Jin… Didn't Gato take the leftover materials from Shanks' ship and sell them?"
"Yeah, Captain. Gato said it was the ship of the Four Emperors, Shanks. Those scraps had been through countless battles."
"Those fragments were part of history, witnesses to the battles of a Four Emperor. They even held traces of Shanks' Conqueror's Haki. If someone could understand that power, they might even become the next Four Emperor."
Jin explained.
"Anyway, that's how Gato scammed people. The crazy thing is, they actually believed him."
Gato never made an honest penny in his life.
Selling leftover ship materials to people? Only Gato would think of something like that. And with the Blade-less Pirates backing him, those scraps actually sold.
Hearing this, Zabuza's voice trembled as he asked,
"So… did he sell all of it?"
"Captain, Gato might be useless in many ways, but when it comes to making dirty money, he's a genius. Of course, he sold all of it."
Jin answered honestly.
"And he made a hundred million off it!"
"Haku… Haku…"
Zabuza grabbed Haku and pulled him over. Haku looked at his captain, who had completely lost the will to live.
"Captain… I don't think just killing him is enough."
Haku understood what his captain was trying to say. With so much Divine Tree material, you only sold it for one billion?
No, wait. You actually sold all of the Divine Tree material?
Even though everyone agreed to it, someone still has to take the blame for this, right? And no matter how you look at it, that blame can't fall on Danzo.
At this moment, the others still didn't know what Gato had done this time, but they were already used to his antics.
Meanwhile, the reactions among the ninjas to Orochimaru's actions were mixed.
They weren't fools—what Orochimaru was doing would cause serious problems. No, this wasn't just a problem; it was a full-blown disaster waiting to happen.
"Orochimaru, if you do this, the entire ninja world will be thrown into chaos."
"Do you have any idea what the consequences of this will be?"
Surprisingly, it wasn't the people from Kumogakure or Kirigakure who spoke first—it was Danzo. He had always maintained contact with Orochimaru.
But right now, as Orochimaru stepped forward, Danzo was completely dumbfounded.
"Orochimaru, are you trying to start a war even worse than the Great Ninja War?"
Terumi Mei and the others also pressed him for answers.
The only one who didn't doubt Orochimaru at all was Jiraiya, standing in the distance.
Jiraiya had a vague understanding of what Orochimaru was trying to do. A new era was coming, and it required sacrifices.
Not just the sacrifice of one person, but… the price of an entire era.
"War? Why would there be war? If you simply stop interfering with those who seek power, there wouldn't be any conflict, right?"
Orochimaru smirked, his face filled with mockery.
"But you can't ignore those chasing power, can you? At the same time, you also can't stop the march of a new era."
His words were filled with scorn.
"Shanks, someone as wise as you, capable of breaking through the sealed history—do you really need so many people searching for the True History with you?"
"So this is your plan, Shanks. Under the drive for power, the True History will be swept onto the shore by the tide of the new era.
The so-called Devil Fruits… are they nothing more than tools to help you achieve your goal?"
Orochimaru had already pieced together Shanks' entire scheme with absolute clarity.
As someone who understood the Poneglyphs, Shanks' goal was never simple.
Now, with the power of the Devil Fruits at play, countless people around the world would follow in Shanks' footsteps, digging up every hidden Poneglyph.
Orochimaru had helped Shanks, but that didn't mean he was willing to make it easy for him.
"And instead of worrying about future wars, maybe you should be worrying about Shanks. After all, there's a very good chance he's already on his way here."
"Do you really have what it takes to stop one of the Four Emperors? Hahaha!!"
Orochimaru's words sent a shock through everyone.
Shanks… was already on the way?
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