Rainbase, the top-floor office of the casino Rain Dinners.

When Yechuan threw two living, breathing men, Fire Fist Ace and Blackbeard Teach, onto the floor like cargo, even Crocodile, with all his composure, was utterly shocked.

“This… this is…”

He stared at the two men, renowned in the One Piece World, and for a moment, he was speechless.

“Ugh…”

Ace and Blackbeard also slowly regained consciousness. After seeing each other and then looking at the unfamiliar surroundings, both their expressions changed.

“Teach! You bastard!”

Upon seeing Blackbeard, Ace immediately tried to rush forward, but found himself completely bound by Seastone chains, unable to move.

Blackbeard also recognized Yechuan, his eyes filled with fury.

“Who are you people?! What exactly do you want?!”

Yechuan ignored Ace’s questioning and instead turned his gaze to Blackbeard, smiling: “Marshall D. Teach, your plan is quite good.”

“Killing Thatch, the Fourth Division Commander, stealing the Dark-Dark Fruit, then capturing Ace and handing him over to the Marines to gain the Seven Warlords of the Sea title, preparing for the next step to acquire even greater power.”

“Like… the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, right?”

Boom!

Yechuan’s words, like a thunderbolt, exploded in Blackbeard’s mind!

He widened his eyes, looking at Yechuan with a ghost-seeing expression!

“You… how do you know?!”

This was his greatest ambition, hidden deep within his heart!

Who exactly was this young man?!

Yechuan knew that Blackbeard was very likely the son of the legendary great pirate, Rocks D. Xebec.

This ruthless, unscrupulous nature and world-overthrowing ambition were practically inherited.

“Traitor! Teach! You actually really…”

Ace, standing nearby, heard this and trembled with rage.

“Shut up! Ace!”

Blackbeard, however, roared back at Ace:

“You don’t understand! The era has changed! Whitebeard’s era should have ended long ago!”

“So noisy.”

Yechuan frowned in disgust.

He said to Crocodile:

“Take these two down, lock them up separately, and bind them with the highest-grade Seastone.”

“Don’t let them die, and don’t let them escape.”

“…I understand.”

Crocodile nodded and immediately called for his men.

He was also worried that if these two monsters broke free, and he had lost his Devil Fruit ability, he might not be their match.

“Don’t get any wrong ideas, Crocodile.”

Yechuan looked at him, reminding him casually: “I’ll still need them when I return next time.”

“They must be alive before I come back.”

“Of course, Boss.” Crocodile replied respectfully.

After dealing with the two spoils of war, Yechuan looked at Hyuga Suzuka, who was standing to the side.

“Suzuka, for the next period of time, you might need to stay here temporarily.”

“Stay here?”

“That’s right.”

Yechuan explained: “In Konoha, the Hyuga Clan will definitely use secret techniques to search for your Caged Bird Curse Seal.”

“If you go back now, it’s like walking into a trap. Just lay low here for a while.”

He looked at Suzuka, knowing that although she was not weak, it was her first time in another world, so she was inevitably uneasy.

But she was from Anbu and the Hyuga Clan after all; her survival and adaptability were far beyond ordinary people, so she should be fine here.

To completely dispel any ill intentions Crocodile might have towards Suzuka, Yechuan turned his head again and said to Crocodile in a seemingly casual tone:

“Oh, I forgot to introduce her.”

“This Hyuga Suzuka is my… girlfriend.”

“Her safety here is entirely your responsibility. If she loses even a single hair…”

He didn't finish his sentence, but the coldness in his eyes said it all.

Crocodile’s heart tightened, and he quickly assured him: “Please rest assured, Boss! Miss Suzuka will definitely receive the highest level of protection here!”

“Who, who’s your girlfriend! You bastard, don’t talk nonsense!”

Hyuga Suzuka’s face instantly turned crimson, and she glared at Yechuan, but her voice lacked conviction.

She also understood that Yechuan was protecting her.

Hmph… at least you have some conscience.

With everything arranged, Yechuan no longer lingered.

“Aunt, let’s go.”

He took Senju Touka’s hand and activated the Interdimensional Shuttle.

Their figures instantly vanished in the complex gazes of Crocodile and Suzuka… Konoha, Yechuan’s small house.

A flash of light, and Yechuan and Senju Touka’s figures reappeared.

However, they immediately felt that the atmosphere in the village… was not right!

Extremely oppressive! There was a palpable tension everywhere!

“Something happened!”

The two exchanged glances and immediately rushed out of the house!

They quickly learned what had happened in the days they were away from the hurried Ninja on the street.

Kazekage Shamon, upon learning that he had been deceived by Konoha again, became utterly enraged!

There was no longer any room for negotiation or reconciliation!

He directly deployed troops at the border, adopting a stance that suggested he would not hesitate to start a second Shinobi World War!

The entire Konoha was instantly plunged into the shadow of war!

...Hokage's Office.

“Useless! A bunch of useless people!”

Danzo trembled with rage as he listened to the Anbu’s report.

“You actually let Hyuga Suzuka escape right under your noses?! And let her make the entire Hidden Sand look like fools?!”

“What do we do now?”

Hiruzen Sarutobi’s expression was also extremely grim.

“That madman Shamon has already mobilized troops at the border! If war breaks out, we have no guarantee of victory!”

“What else can we do?!”

Danzo roared:

“Immediately mobilize both the Senju Clan and the Uchiha clan! Send them to the front lines as cannon fodder!”

“No!”

Hiruzen immediately rejected the idea.

“Our relationship with them has already reached rock bottom! If we force them onto the battlefield, what if they stab us in the back?!”

The two started arguing again.

They found themselves seemingly trapped in a dead end.

They simply couldn’t understand how Hyuga Suzuka had managed to escape from Hidden Sand despite being heavily monitored.

Although Danzo suspected the Senju Clan was behind it, Hiruzen believed it was impossible.

Senju Touka and Yechuan both had perfect alibis!

That brat Yechuan, though his Flying Thunder God Technique was powerful, couldn’t possibly travel between two countries in the blink of an eye and rescue someone without anyone knowing!

Hyuga Tazon had also led his men to search the entire Konoha, but they found no trace of Hyuga Suzuka’s Caged Bird Curse Seal Chakra!

All signs indicated that it seemed… Hyuga Suzuka truly possessed some secret technique and escaped on her own.

It was precisely because of this that Kazekage Shamon became even more furious, believing that this was a deliberate humiliation of Hidden Sand orchestrated by Konoha’s higher-ups!

Just as Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo were arguing fiercely, at a loss for what to do.

“Hokage-sama, report!”

A voice interrupted their argument.

It was Yechuan and Senju Touka, calmly walking in.