Malphegor
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HGBW: Ch. 85
🕑 Added 2025-03-09 02:02:52 +0000 UTC"Hm... It should be artillery shells."
Tanaka formed a hand seal with his left hand, veins bulging at the corners of his eyes.
As soon as he activated his Byakugan, the surrounding scenery rapidly retreated like a fast-forwarded slideshow, flickering continuously.
When his vision finally stabilized, a beach ravaged by artillery shells came into view.
After staying in the Hyūga clan for 20 days, his Byakugan had grown even sharper than before.
Telescopic and X-ray vision.
Everything within four kilometers was laid bare before him.
"It really is artillery."
Seeing the shell-torn beach, he willed his chakra to flow through his chakra path down to his feet. The moment his soles touched the ground, his body lightened instantly, and he leaped forward.
However, just before he exited the forest and stepped onto the beach, he abruptly halted his movement, landing on a tree instead.
Concealing himself, he turned his gaze toward the distant sea.
Because power systems differ, so do worldviews.
In the Naruto world, ever since chakra came into existence, wars had raged for over a thousand years, growing in scale and intensity as time went on.
At first, it was just individual ninja assassinating each other. Then, during the Warring States period, ninja clans fought to the death over missions.
By the time the ninja villages were established, things became even more terrifying.
Espionage, infiltration, assassination, poison—no method was off-limits.
All kinds of intelligence warfare emerged endlessly.
On the surface, armies clashed, ninjutsu rained down, and there were even godlike beings wielding powers akin to nuclear weapons.
In such a world, he was raised by the Hyūga clan.
Caution—no, prudence was ingrained in his very bones.
Faced with any situation, he would first scout, then analyze, and only after obtaining absolute intelligence would he act.
Even though he possessed a space-time portal and held unquestionable authority and power within the Hyūga clan, he never became reckless or arrogant.
Even after crossing over to the One Piece world, he arrived at Minion Island. This was a place he was quite familiar with.
Despite this, he still adhered to the Shinobi Three-Step Rule: Scouting, investigation, and analysis.
Only then would he meet.
He had no choice.
In the Naruto world, unless you were the reincarnation of Asura, losing caution even once meant disaster—whether you were Obito with the power of the Sage of Six Paths, Madara with the same, or even Kaguya herself. If fate decided you were going to fail, you would fail.
They're here.
After a brief wait in the forest, once the warship approaching Minion Island fully entered his Byakugan's vision range, he immediately expanded his field of view to the maximum.
His sight stretched across the four-kilometer distance, locking onto the warship.
From the top brass, like Rosinante wearing his Justice coat and looking all serious, down to the patrolling Marine soldiers, Tanaka scrutinized every face, carefully examining each one.
He even used his X-ray vision to scan their bodies, checking for traces of Haki.
He didn't find anything unusual among the Marines on board.
But unexpectedly, he did spot four familiar faces—ones that shouldn't be dressed as Marines.
Jabra.
Khalifa.
Blueno.
And… who is this guy?
Tanaka's gaze locked onto the four individuals aboard the warship, carefully taking in their attire.
They were clearly CP9, yet they had changed into Marine uniforms and were now aboard this warship.
Most importantly, judging by the complete lack of eye contact, verbal exchanges, or body language between Rosinante and these CP9 members, it was clear that even Rosinante had no idea that CP9 agents were among his ranks.
This just got interesting.
What was Tanaka?
A jonin.
In the One Piece world, the intelligence agency Cipher Pol, under the World Government, operated as spies. But in his eyes, their tricks were nothing impressive.
Putting aside raw strength, even a random chunin from a ninja clan—no, even a genin would have superior assassination, surveillance, reconnaissance, and analytical skills compared to CP9's best agents.
With just a quick glance, he had already deduced the purpose behind these four CP9 members being aboard the warship.
It seems that as a user of the Op-Op Fruit, I'm a highly sought-after prize, whether to Doflamingo or the World Government.
But the question is—what role is the Marine playing in this?
Are they completely unaware? Pretending not to know? Or are they actively involved?
A cold smirk curled on Tanaka's lips.
With Rosinante's fate altered and his return to Marine Headquarters, information about Tanaka would inevitably reach the Marines. This was true even if significant details were withheld.
And since the Marine was one of the three major institutions under the World Government, what the Marines knew, the World Government knew.
Unlike Law in the original timeline, who became a fugitive after eating the Op-Op Fruit, Tanaka's situation was vastly different. Law had constantly moved across the vast North Blue, remaining difficult to track. Tanaka, however, had exposed his whereabouts to the World Government due to his agreement to reunite with Rosinante on Minion Island.
"It looks like I'll have to adjust my plans. But before that… I'll give CP9 a little shock," Tanaka muttered to himself.
Regardless of the Marine's exact role in this operation, the moment CP9 set foot on this warship, his position became irreversibly opposed to the World Government and Marine Headquarters.
With this shift in identity and allegiance, many of his original plans for this world now needed adjustments.
As the warship docked at Minion Island, Rosinante was the first to disembark, stepping onto the shore.
Aside from a portion of Marines remaining on the warship, rows of soldiers followed closely behind him.
Who's-Who, Kalifa, Blueno, and Jabra were no exception.
Like the other Marines, they carried rifles and wore standard-issue swords at their waists, silently following Rosinante.
"Still not here?"
After reaching the designated meeting point, Rosinante scanned his surroundings but saw no trace of Tanaka.
He wasn't worried. Instead, he simply stood in place and pulled a Den Den Mushi from his pocket.
But just as he was about to call Tanaka, he paused. From the distant edge of the forest, a familiar figure suddenly emerged, stepping into view.
Almost at the same time, the disguised CP9 agents all turned their gazes toward the figure that had just appeared.
