Within the Land of Wind.
Outside Roran City, near the West Blue of the Shinobi World.
The place remained as it always had been. As far as the eye could see stretched a vast golden sea of sand, while the blazing sun overhead was still unbearably hot. Even the wind carried a suffocating wave of heat.
But compared with the past—
Many pitch-black watchtowers and fully armed soldiers in black had been added.
At that moment, Sakazuki, an Admiral of Army Headquarters, stood on a patch of scorching sand with Shiryu.
Before them lay a vast expanse of open desert, while Roran City had become a tiny black dot at the edge of their vision.
"Admiral Akainu, the Star Gate underground has disappeared!"
The Den Den Mushi sitting in Shiryu's palm spoke.
"Mm."
Sakazuki said nothing more. His imposing, sharp gaze remained fixed on the empty desert before him.
"It's here!"
The next moment, Sakazuki and Shiryu narrowed their eyes.
[Hum——]
In the empty space some fifty meters away.
Faint starlight suddenly spread outward in rings of visible, translucent ripples.
Like a stone thrown into a tranquil lake.
But the ripples were not the main point.
The focus was the patch of starlight that rapidly swelled and spread in every direction.
Once the starlight expanded to a certain extent, its rectangular boundaries began to emerge.
It was no different from the Medium Star Gate that had appeared in the Giant World before.
Three hundred meters tall!
Two hundred meters wide!
From where Sakazuki and Shiryu stood, looking up at it—
The Star Gate's soft glow made it resemble a Heavenly Gate descended from myth.
As if it connected heaven and earth!
The Army officers and soldiers responsible for the surrounding security, along with CIPHER POL's black-clad men, all instinctively focused