Malphegor
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HGBW: Ch. 103
🕑 Added 2025-03-16 19:33:15 +0000 UTCIt seems you still haven't given up.
The Celestial Dragons had dominated the world for 800 years, and their authority was deeply ingrained in CP9's minds. Even with collars on, they would still believe that the World Government had the power to cut them off.
Inside the ship's cabin, Tanaka activated his Byakugan, seeing through the ship and capturing every movement, every glance, and every change in expression of Kalifa and the others on the deck.
No matter how subtle, nothing could escape the his insight.
He couldn't understand CP9's way of communication, but he understood the concept of the Caged Bird.
Once marked with the seal by Hiashi, he had dedicated himself to breaking free from its constraints.
CP9, who knew nothing about chakra or the origins of the Caged Bird, would never be completely loyal to him after experiencing its effects just once.
They also hadn't gone through what many other branch house members had—the bitterness of failure and despair, realizing that no matter what they did, they could never break free from the seal. Only then did they resign themselves to their fate, becoming utterly obedient to the main house.
Compared to the collars the main house placed on the branch house members, the collars Tanaka placed on CP9 were even more terrifying.
With the combination of Caged Bird and Op-Op Fruit, he did not believe CP9 had any chance of escaping.
Even if the World Government had the power to remove the seal, they wouldn't waste such efforts on mere CP9 members.
After all, as long as the World Government remained standing, even CP9 were nothing more than disposable pawns.
In a few years, a new batch would simply take their place.
As for CP9 leaking information—who was Tanaka?
He was a Konoha ninja.
Maybe it was his arrogance, but when it came to intelligence warfare, he believed he completely outclassed Cipher Pol.
He didn't understand CP9's methods of transmitting information, but he knew that the best time to pass intel was when using a Den Den Mushi to contact CP5.
In other words, when he allowed CP9 to contact CP5 in search of Tesoro, he was already mentally prepared for Kalifa and the others to send out the message.
If he were unaware, that would be a real intelligence leak.
If he knew, then it wasn't a leak at all.
Just like when he used the power of the Op-Op Fruit in the Hokage Building to intentionally reveal certain pieces of information—was that a leak?
No.
In his view, as long as Tesoro was in the Kingdom of Lvneel, everything else was just minor details, completely unimportant.
Poof.
After withdrawing his gaze from Kalifa and the others, Tanaka formed a hand seal, and a cloud of white mist rose around him.
Immediately after, a shadow clone, carrying one-fifth of his chakra, appeared out of thin air.
"You stay here and watch over them. I'll head back to the Naruto world first," Tanaka instructed.
His chakra reserves had already grown far beyond what they once were.
Before obtaining the Op-Op Fruit, his chakra level was merely at an elite chunin's level. But after consuming Sea King meat and training tirelessly day after day, his chakra had already surpassed that of a special jonin.
Once he mastered the Rokushiki and Life Return techniques, his chakra would experience another major breakthrough.
A shadow clone with one-fifth of his chakra was already quite strong—strong enough to hold down the fort in the pirate world until the ship reached the Kingdom of Lvneel.
"No problem."
The shadow clone nodded.
After all, he was just staying in the ship's cabin, occasionally walking around the deck.
Even if something unexpected happened, as a shadow clone, he could still use the Caged Bird.
As for half of CP9's hearts, of course, the original body had taken them.
In other words, even if the shadow clone was defeated and the Caged Bird was removed, as soon as Tanaka returned to the pirate world, he could simply crush the hearts in his hand—instantly killing Kalifa and the others.
After making all the necessary arrangements in the pirate world, Tanaka finally opened the space-time portal.
---
In the blink of an eye, the blurry scene before him became clear. No longer was he in the narrow ship's cabin, but in a spacious training room lined with various weapons.
Upon returning to the Naruto world, Tanaka did not alert anyone. Instead, he sat cross-legged on a cushion in the room, his right hand resting naturally on the table, his index finger occasionally tapping against the surface.
From his meeting with Rosinante to being captured by CP9, then counter-killing Kalifa and Who's-Who's group, taking them under his command, and setting off for the Lvneel Kingdom in search of Tesoro—he reviewed his entire experience in the One Piece world from beginning to end before organizing his thoughts.
The Golden Emperor must be taken. Whether ruling a territory in the pirate world or making the Hyūga clan great again in the shinobi world—it all comes down to one thing: money.
As long as Tesoro is under my command, anything related to money will no longer be a problem.
Tanaka had never considered fighting alone before, and now, he was even more certain that he wouldn't.
To stand at the pinnacle of both worlds simultaneously, he needed power in both fists and authority in his grasp.
Fists—representing the strongest combat power in both worlds.
Authority—representing the most powerful influence in both worlds.
To wield both fists and authority, two things were essential.
People and money.
And Tesoro was both a valuable talent and a limitless source of wealth. Controlling him was equivalent to controlling the currency of both the pirate and ninja worlds.
In both worlds, gold was the ultimate hard currency.
And when it came to gold, who could compare to Tesoro?
Even Rasa couldn't compete.
After all, Rasa merely controlled gold dust, while Tesoro manipulated pure gold.
At this thought, Tanaka stopped tapping the table, dipped his finger in some water from the teacup, and wrote eight words on the surface: World Government Crush Plan.
Then, beside these words, he added two names: Tesoro, Boa Hancock.
Both names shared a common trait.
Whether it was the Pirate Empress or the Golden Emperor, both had once been branded with the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon and were former slaves of the World Nobles.
Step by step. First, take the Golden Emperor. Then, consider the Empress.
After all, the World Government isn't something a mere clan of a few dozen ninja can challenge—it's far larger than even the five great ninja villages combined.
Fully aware that he now stood in direct opposition to the World Government, he felt no anxiety or fear. Instead, he calmly sorted through his thoughts, assessed the current situation, and refined his plan.
If Hizashi could see him now, he would certainly feel a sense of déjà vu.
He would quickly remember that night—the night when Tanaka devised the Main House Crush Plan and demanded the main family's demise.
Back then, his cold composure while plotting against the Hyūga main house was identical to his current demeanor while scheming against the World Government.
"Take it slow," Tanaka murmured, wiping the words and names off the table with his hand.
He understood clearly—bringing down the World Government was nothing like bringing down the Hyūga main house.
Forget the Celestial Dragons in Mary Geoise; even a single Marine Headquarters alone had enough power to utterly crush the current Konoha—even if it had peak Third Hokage, the Legendary Sannin, Minato, Danzō, and other Kage-level fighters gathered together.
Because of this, he remained calm and patient, without the slightest hint of haste.
After all, impatience was meaningless.
The priority now was to fully digest the gains from his journey to the pirate world and convert them into real combat strength.
