Kapitel 367: Chapter 367: The Dragon Veins Stir! The Space-Time Rift Opens Again!
"Let me see!"
Unable to accept reality, Sasuke snatched all the bounty notices from Naruto's hands. The photo on the top notice was Naruto's beaming smile.
[Uzumaki Naruto, first division commander of the new Whitebeard Pirates, bounty: 20 million Berries]
Compared to his own bounty of just 1,000 Berries, Sasuke's face grew darker the more he looked.
He couldn't understand why Naruto, the fool, could have such a high bounty. Was it just because of the title of first division commander?
Then, he looked at the second bounty notice.
[Hatake Kakashi, second division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, bounty: 2.9 billion Berries]
Sasuke was stunned, "Why does he have such a high bounty?!"
Naruto speculated, "Maybe it's because Uncle Kakashi left that Marine admiral with one less arm? After all, we did tell that bird about it, and Uncle Kakashi's name was also prominently mentioned in the newspaper."
Alright... that's within expectations.
Sasuke glanced at the third bounty poster.
[Hoshigaki Kisame, new member of the Whitebeard Pirates, suspected high-ranking officer, bounty of 150 million Berries]
[Orochimaru, new member of the Whitebeard Pirates, suspected high-ranking officer, bounty of 100 million Berries]
[Charlotte Katakuri, former member of the Big Mom Pirates, new member of the Whitebeard Pirates, bounty of 1.1 billion Berries]
[Hyuga Hinata, new member of the Whitebeard Pirates, bounty of 1100 Berries]
[Gaara, new member of the Whitebeard Pirates, bounty of 10,000 Berries]
Sasuke: "???"
One bounty poster after another appeared before him, leaving Sasuke utterly baffled.
He could somewhat understand bounties for the likes of Kisame, Orochimaru, or Katakuri.
But!
Why were Gaara and Hinata's bounties higher than his?
It couldn't be just because Gaara looked fierce in his bounty photo that he was valued at 10,000 Berries, could it?
Even if that was a stretch of an explanation, what about Hinata?
How could she have a bounty 100 Berries higher than his?
It couldn't be just because her Byakugan looked unusual, so they raised her bounty a bit, right?
That's ridiculous!
Sasuke's eyes gradually lost their luster as he realized that among these dozen or so bounty posters, his was the lowest.
"There's no need to be discouraged, Sasuke-kun!" Haku, who had appeared behind Sasuke at some point, said with a gentle smile, "At least you have a bounty, Sasuke-kun. I haven't even been bountied yet!"
Sasuke retorted, "That's entirely because you refused to be photographed by that news bird! I remember it tried to take your picture, and you flat out rejected it."
"Haha! No big deal!" Naruto patted Sasuke's shoulder, grinning broadly, "Just let those Marines know how strong you are, and they'll definitely raise your bounty!"
Sasuke gradually calmed down, realizing that Naruto's foolish words actually made some sense.
Indeed, his low bounty must be because the Marines didn't yet know his true strength.
If they knew he was a Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts, they would surely raise his bounty to at least one billion!
"Tch, as if I didn't know such a simple thing," Sasuke said, hiding his earlier dismay with a tsundere remark, "I don't need reminders from you, idiot!"
Meanwhile.
Inside the ship's cabin.
Orochimaru looked up at the container, which still held two-thirds of the Dragon Vein energy.
His brows furrowed slightly, and his golden pupils flashed with a hint of surprise, "Doesn't it feel like the Dragon Vein energy is fluctuating a bit unusually?"
Standing next to Orochimaru was Sasori, expressionless.
Sasori was also observing the Dragon Vein energy. He snorted and said, "I'm not blind. Such obvious fluctuations are easy to see."
Orochimaru was used to Sasori's blunt tone; after all, they were not on the best of terms.
Their current level of normal communication was only out of respect for Whitebeard.
"Hehe..." Orochimaru chuckled softly, "I have a feeling that this unusual fluctuation of energy is not ordinary. Do you remember how we came to this world?"
Sasori paused, then looked at Orochimaru, "What do you mean?"
Orochimaru chuckled, "It's just a hunch, but I think the Dragon Veins might be stirring again."
The last time the Dragon Veins stirred, the entire Moby Dick crossed from the Shinobi World to these seas.
No one could figure out the principle behind it, not even Orochimaru.
If the Dragon Veins were to stir again, could it mean they might return to the Shinobi World from the vast ocean?
Sasori's puppet body conveyed a surprisingly vivid expression, his lips curling into a smirk, "If we could really go back, that would be perfect. I've had enough of this world filled with nothing but seawater."
Orochimaru shook his head, "It's just a minor speculation. Who knows when it will actually stir?"
At that moment, a faint sound of footsteps approached from behind.
The newcomer was none other than Marco!
Orochimaru and Sasori hadn't been speaking in hushed tones, unconcerned about being overheard.
After all, it wasn't a secret. Everyone in the Whitebeard Pirates knew that the energy of the Dragon Veins was stored here.
Even the old members of the Whitebeard crew were no exception.
Marco approached, looking up at the container of the Dragon Veins, and asked Orochimaru and Sasori, "Is it the strange energy inside that brought Pops back from the Shinobi World to the sea?"
Orochimaru turned around and nodded, explaining, "The energy of the Dragon Veins can open a portal through time and space. Traditionally, this energy could only take one back to the past."
"But for some reason... last time, it didn't take us back but brought us to this world. Perhaps it interacted with this ship in an unusual way."
"Heh..."
Orochimaru's eyes gleamed with interest, "It's an energy worth studying, but unfortunately, the research equipment on the ship isn't advanced enough. With the current level of our research equipment, it's impossible to fully understand the Dragon Veins."
Marco had an epiphany and curiously tapped the container of the Dragon Veins.
With his touch, the energy within the container swayed back and forth like water in a bucket.
Marco asked curiously, "Is this energy in the form of water?"
But he noticed that Orochimaru and Sasori behind him didn't answer his question.
Confused, Marco turned back and saw the two staring at the container with an indescribable look.
Marco paused, quickly withdrawing his hand, "Hey, hey... I didn't cause any trouble, did I? I didn't do anything! I was just curious and tapped it!"
Orochimaru watched the container intently and said, "Marco... The reason we were discussing the Dragon Veins' energy acting up is because of a small ripple that appeared inside the container."
Watching the energy in the container continue to sway, Orochimaru dropped a bombshell, "Now, it's more than just a ripple. It's very likely about to become agitated."
Marco: "???"
And in the instant after Orochimaru's words fell, the swaying of the Dragon Veins' energy in the container grew faster.
It even began to affect the Moby Dick.
The Moby Dick, sailing along, started to tremble slightly with the disturbance of the Dragon Veins' energy!
Marco could clearly feel the deck beneath his feet trembling to varying degrees, and the trembling was getting stronger!
He looked up at the container's energy and saw the Dragon Veins' energy starting to emit an increasingly dazzling purple glow.
Even the usually calm Marco was sweating profusely, "This isn't my fault, is it?"
Sasori replied, "It's probably a coincidence."
As their conversation ended, they watched in disbelief as a hint of purple dragon vein energy spilled from the container!
The spilled dragon vein energy began to seep into the hull of the Moby Dick.
Marco's expression changed, his Observation Haki warning him that something significant was about to happen.
Without hesitation, he rushed out to inform Pops.
Reaching the deck swiftly, Marco immediately shouted to Whitebeard, "Pops, the dragon vein on the ship..."
Before he could finish...
Marco was stunned.
Because he saw the Moby Dick cutting through the waves at an unbelievably fast pace!
The speed was almost two to three times the normal speed of the Moby Dick.
And the speed was still climbing!
"Damn! The rudder's out of control!" Jozu, gripping the helm, was sweating profusely, not daring to force it, fearing that even a slight force would break it.
Vista was also speechless.
He had been leisurely sipping his drink just moments ago, but now the Moby Dick had suddenly accelerated, spilling his drink all over him.
Clearly, he hadn't anticipated such a sudden change in the ship.
Vista steadied himself, looking ahead, "What's going on? There's no strong wind, so why is the ship moving so fast?"
Beside him, Kisame pondered, "Is it starting again?"
"What?" Vista was taken aback.
Kisame explained, "The reason the Moby Dick came to the sea is because of the power of the dragon veins affecting this ship."
With that, Kisame's gaze fell on the deck beneath his feet.
He could see a faint purple glow emanating from the deck.
Just like the last time.
Kisame calmly said, "If I'm not mistaken, this ship... might open a space-time rift, preparing to return to the ninja world."
Vista was shocked, "Ah? But we haven't revived Thatch yet!"
Kisame gripped the railing, saying, "Vista, hold on tight... the ship is going to move very fast soon. Reviving Thatch... can wait until we return to the sea again, after all, several of us know the Edo Tensei technique."
Then, Kisame gave Vista a grin, "Looks like we'll have to welcome you to the ninja world ahead of time."
Vista: "..."
The crew of the new Whitebeard Pirates on the ship, having experienced a crossing before, were not overly panicked by the scene before them.
"It's starting again..." Konan narrowed her cool, clear eyes as the sea breeze blew away the light blue paper flower she wore in her hair, her strands dancing in the wind.
Behind Konan approached a tall figure, none other than Smoothie with her exaggeratedly long legs.
Smoothie reached out to catch the paper flower blown away from Konan's head.
As she helped Konan put the paper flower back in place, she asked in surprise, "What's starting again?"
Konan, expressionless, explained, "This ship is about to cross over the other world."
Smoothie was taken aback: "Other world?"
"You do know that we're not from this world, right?" Konan explained, "Now, it's time for us to return to our original world."
As seconds ticked by, the Moby Dick's speed through the waves increased rapidly, reaching a terrifying velocity close to the speed of sound.
The gale that hit their faces was comparable to a shockwave, making it difficult for everyone to breathe.
Every plank on the Moby Dick creaked and groaned, as if the ship was under an unbearable strain.
"Gurarara!" Whitebeard's face bore nothing but a smile as he laughed into the wind, "Foolish sons, since it's come to this, let me show you the world I've lived in for years!"
With a thunderous boom, the Moby Dick broke the sound barrier, creating a massive sonic boom cloud above the sea, stirring up water spouts hundreds of meters high.
A blinding purple light enveloped the entire ship.
This left a certain pink-haired girl in a corner of the Moby Dick utterly bewildered.
Bonney hurriedly grabbed onto anything fixed nearby to prevent herself from being flung out by the terrifying speed.
"What in the world is going on? What kind of broken ship is this?"
She screamed in terror, regretting her decision to board this ship.
Indeed, Bonney, who had escaped from the warship, found no place to land and had stealthily made her way onto the Moby Dick.
Fortunately, the pirates on this ship were all heavy drinkers.
They often held banquets, each drinking themselves into a stupor.
This provided Bonney with the perfect opportunity to blend in.
But she hadn't expected the ship to undergo such a situation!
As Bonney was feeling a mix of terror and confusion, she noticed the space before her visibly warping and undulating.
In the next instant, everything before her eyes turned into a giant spiral, causing her an intense and sudden dizziness.
This dizziness wasn't like being punched; it was more like a disorienting vertigo caused by the twisting of space.
The nauseating sensation made every second feel like an eternity for Bonney.
She didn't know how much time had passed before the feeling disappeared.
"Ugh—"
Bonney bent over and vomited.
"Damn it..." She hadn't eaten much these past few days, and now she had emptied all the contents of her stomach.
Bonney felt dizzy and blurry-eyed from hunger because, upon opening her eyes, she saw what appeared to be an illusion.
Instead of the vast ocean, there was an endless desert before her.
...
...
(End of Chapter)
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