Zhu Shen observed everything within the Main God Space. Using Minato to lay the groundwork for the One Piece World plan had succeeded, earning him a substantial number of points. He took stock of the Main God Space's recent development:
Current worlds located: 6/10,
A-rank: Ninja World, Star Sea (One Piece), Bleach World
B-rank: None
C-rank: Parasyte, Resident Evil
D-rank: Highschool of the Dead
The Ninja World and Star Sea went without saying: one was his foundation, while the other was the first world he had located. The Bleach World had only just begun receiving simple missions; because of the timeline, its main campaign had yet to begin.
The C- and D-rank worlds had temporarily been assigned to Baymax for training low-level Reincarnators and conquering the worlds. This plan was meant to build up a reserve of Reincarnators to send out in large numbers in the future, and progress was steady.
"Master, based on the data we have on current Reincarnators and the information available in the system shop, I've created a reinforcement model. It can intelligently recommend reinforcement paths to Reincarnators." Baymax sent Zhu Shen a file.
Zhu Shen skimmed through it. Baymax had used its processing power to consolidate the available Reincarnator data and create a reinforcement model that made recommendations without considering individual preferences.
Zhu Shen pondered for a moment, then said, "Load it into the Reincarnator Assistant System as a prioritized recommendation. Reinforcement would be pretty boring if it took away their creativity. They can just use it as a reference."
"Understood, Master."
Zhu Shen then checked the points he had accumulated. He was now close to the million-point mark. Sure enough, there was strength in numbers. Outsourcing missions was the way to go!
Zhu Shen relished the thought. Now that he had enough confidence, it was time to let the Reincarnators make their move in the Ninja World! He'd have to show those guys they weren't the only ones who were special!
Besides, the next Reincarnation mission was quite important to Zhu Shen, too! He considered his plan, selected the Reincarnators, and started this mission in the Ninja World.
Inside Amegakure, Doflamingo slowly opened his eyes.
The room was ordinary, even somewhat shabby. It wasn't somewhere he recognized. An unfamiliar place, an unfamiliar environment—so naturally, there were unknown dangers!
Doffy immediately activated his Observation Haki to sense his surroundings, but his powerful Observation Haki met an invisible barrier outside the room. It made him feel as though he were trapped in a sealed chamber.
Who was it? Doffy couldn't help but grow suspicious, wondering who was plotting against him. He'd been having a run of terrible luck lately!
First, someone had sabotaged the Nation-Stealing Plan in Dressrosa, and his officers had suffered heavy casualties. On top of that, King Riku had lodged a scathing complaint against him with the World Government!
Although he was publicly a Shichibukai and secretly a major Underworld figure who worked with the World Government, there was no way the World Government could ignore a direct accusation from the king of an Affiliated Nation and shield Doffy at all costs. After all, the king of an Affiliated Nation had nearly been murdered and usurped!
So the World Government treated Doffy as a pawn to be discarded, unceremoniously kicking him out of the Shichibukai. The Marines had also reissued his bounty and sent Vice Admiral Tsuru to lead the pursuit.
Vice Admiral Tsuru had the edge over Doffy in both strength and intelligence. For a while now, she had been chasing Doffy and his crew all over the sea. His family's business had suffered greatly as a result, and many of his Underworld competitors had begun questioning Joker's ability...
So lately, Doflamingo had not only had to suppress all sorts of dissent within his family, but also face challenges from the Marines, the Underworld, and ill-intentioned pirates. All these setbacks had kept him from sleeping well at night, and his temper had grown increasingly volatile.
"Come on out! Let me see who's behind this!" Doffy said with a cold laugh, waiting for the person pulling the strings to reveal themselves.
"Oh, too scared to show yourself? What a waste of my time!" Doffy sneered.
Unfortunately, all that was destined to be wasted effort. Just as Doffy was about to lose his patience and unleash his powers, ready to destroy everything in sight, a grand, emotionless voice filled the room! At the same time, a light screen appeared in the air before him, projected straight from his mind:
[Reincarnation World: Ninja World, Year 52 of the Hokage Era Background: In ancient times, demons ran rampant and war raged without end. Then a powerful being appeared from nowhere, sealing away the mightiest of the demons and bringing the war to an end. He was known as the "Ninja Ancestor"—the Sage of Six Paths! Some said the Sage of Six Paths was a creator god sent by heaven; others said he was a demon bent on destroying everything! Whatever the truth, the Sage of Six Paths founded the Ninja Sect and established the ninja training system, becoming a legend in the Ninja World... Many years later, someone bearing the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths—the "Rinnegan"—was born... Main Mission One: "Ten-Tails Body"—Obtain ownership of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path for at least one hour. Main Mission Two: None Mission Completion Reward: 2 B-rank side-story missions, points! Mission Failure Penalty: Erasure! → Note: This mission is rather difficult. The following intelligence is provided: Intel One: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path (image) Intel Two: Current location of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path (image) Mission begins in: 00:09:59]
Doffy had considered everyone who might be plotting against him, but this unexpected and incomprehensible situation was the one thing he could never have imagined.
"So, what the hell is this?!"
His eyes burned with anger behind his sunglasses. He felt like someone was making a fool of him!
Yet after circulating his Haki through his body and carefully checking his surroundings, he found that his mind, body, and senses were all normal. He was certain he hadn't been caught in anyone's ability. So what was going on?
Doffy looked up. The barrier around the room gradually turned transparent, and he began to make out what lay beyond it:
Outside was a cluster of buildings, with tall towers everywhere. Concrete and steel structures stood silently in the drizzle, dim lights scattered among the densely packed buildings like stars. Pipes connected the machinery-filled buildings, while pedestrians in full rain gear walked along narrow streets. The whole scene looked like an irregular industrial town.
Doffy tamped down his anger as unease slowly crept into his heart. The place seemed completely at odds with the world he knew. Still, whatever was going on, he'd go out and see for himself first! He made up his mind and strode out with his usual swagger.
Ten minutes later, Doffy emerged from an alley, his expression dark. Behind him lay a man wearing an Amegakure ninja Forehead Protector, no longer breathing.
"Fufufufufu! So it really is another world! The times are going wild, and I'm going to be king!"
Doffy was suddenly filled with ambition, the gloom of the past few days swept away!
"A mission, huh? Let's see what it's all about. The penalty is erasure? Heh."
A glint flashed in Doffy's eyes. He vanished and quickly headed toward the "location of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path" displayed in his mind.
"Is this the place?" Doffy found the location on the map. Judging by the surroundings, this seemed to be the very center of the city, and its tallest building. As for the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, it was deep beneath the ground, under this tower-like structure.
"Then let's get to work." Doffy was about to place his hand on the ground and activate his Devil Fruit power when he heard something slice through the air behind him.
"Clang!" A long, thin Black Receiver stabbed into the spot where Doffy had just been standing.
Doffy, now perched on the roof of a nearby three-story building, had swung himself over with strings like Spider-Man. He turned to face his attacker.
The stranger wore a black cloak patterned with red clouds and a conical hat that concealed their face. They were slender, around 1.8 meters tall. Though standing in the rain, they seemed to be surrounded by an invisible barrier that kept the rain away.
The mysterious figure stood atop a massive stone statue beside the tallest building. The statue had a demon's face and a scorpion's hair, with red paint on its face and a slightly open mouth from which a long, scarlet tongue protruded. The attacker stood on the statue's extended tongue, looking down at Doflamingo.
The stranger raised a pale hand, its nails painted purple, and slightly lifted the brim of the hat. At the same time, all the rain seemed to freeze in place. Then, as though time had reversed and heaven and earth had changed, every raindrop vanished!
The clouds parted, and the gloomy sky from a moment before gradually cleared. A dazzling shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds and shone down upon the earth...
Doffy stood on the rooftop terrace. His smiling face looked relaxed, but he was already on guard. The strange events made it obvious that the person before him was no ordinary character.
The newcomer lifted the hat, revealing a handsome face framed by orange hair. A few small black rods protruded from the bridge of his nose, lending him a somewhat strange appearance.
"Outsider, state your purpose."
The newcomer was none other than the current supreme leader of Amegakure—and the mysterious leader of the Akatsuki: Pain!
"The moment you appeared in Amegakure, you were already visible to these eyes of mine. Answer me, and I'll allow you to die without pain."
Pain spoke with cold confidence, his words sounding outrageously arrogant to anyone else, but to him, no more than a statement of fact.
"Fufufufufu!" Doffy laughed exaggeratedly, one hand on his hip.
"I'm laughing because I'm furious. I can't believe someone's even more arrogant than me! Hey, are you the boss around here?"
Deva Path Pain frowned slightly. For some reason, he felt a little sorry for the man before him.
"You are a dead man. I am Pain. You may call me—God!"
At those words, the space around Doffy seemed to freeze! To Doflamingo, who had always prided himself on being a Celestial Dragon, a descendant of gods, they were a vicious insult!
"Fufufufu, fine. You'll pay for those words! You think you're a god just because you spout nonsense, you lunatic? You ninjas really are more repulsive than the last!"
"How pitiful. Then let me make you feel pain!"
Before you continue