Smoker Appeared

At the meeting, when Kizaru told everyone he had locked onto a brand-new, unknown world, some people gasped, others looked intrigued, and still others fell into thought.

Tobirama Senju was one of those deep in thought. As the chief steward of the vast nation of the Land of Light, he usually assessed the pros and cons of any matter from the standpoint of the nation's interests.

In the long run, Kizaru's discovery of a new world was certainly good news for the Land of Light. It meant new markets, unknown resources, and new technology.

But when he considered the matter in the short term, Tobirama grew concerned.

By chance, and thanks to the Dragon Vein, the Land of Light had been fortunate enough to discover a parallel world remarkably similar to their own.

That parallel world was now in the early stages of development, and it still required a sustained investment of the nation's time and resources.

Everyone in the Land of Light's upper ranks, Tobirama included, was certain that investing in the parallel world would bring enormous returns.

At such a critical juncture, Kizaru had discovered a new world. Judging by his reaction, he was extremely interested and wanted to explore it right away.

The Land of Light was a young nation with limited strength. Exploring and developing two worlds at once—especially when the new one was completely unknown and no one could say what dangers it might hold—was a serious undertaking.

Under these circumstances, the costs of exploration and development would rise sharply, and might even affect their work in the parallel world.

"Can the method you've found for traveling between worlds remain stable indefinitely?" Tobirama asked Kizaru.

"Of course. It'll keep working as long as I'm alive," Kizaru said confidently.

Tobirama nodded. After considering his words for