Grand Line, Marine Headquarters.
"Bang!" Sengoku slammed one hand down on the desk and shot to his feet. "Borsalino, you actually let Arlong get killed! You're losing this year's bonus!"
The moment Kizaru heard that his bonus was being canceled, his expression turned to alarm. "Fleet Admiral Sengoku, that ninja Minato Namikaze was just too strong! Look, I'm injured too!" As he spoke, he showed them his bandaged back.
"Hahaha, Borsalino actually got hurt? Were you slacking off again?" Vice Admiral Garp laughed as he ate a doughnut. But his laughter soon died away, and he muttered under his breath, "Minato Namikaze?"
"Nothing like that, Garp-san." Kizaru nudged up the new brown sunglasses he'd bought. "That young man wasn't an ordinary ninja. He had extensive combat experience, strange abilities, and could control Natural Energy with ninjutsu. He also seemed to be able to teleport."
"Vice Admiral Borsalino, are you sure it was teleportation?" Staff Officer Tsuru, the Navy's strategist, asked seriously. Kizaru recalled the sudden attack from behind. His back still ached faintly. "I'm sure," he replied, unusually solemnly.
"Yellow Flash. Suspected to be a ninja from Wano Country. Possesses unknown ninjutsu and the ability to teleport. Strong in Taijutsu. Fought Admiral candidate Kizaru to a draw and killed the criminal captured by the Navy—Arlong the Fish-Man." Vice Admiral Tsuru considered it. "How about setting his bounty at 250 million?"
"Let's do that." Sengoku folded his arms and nodded slightly. "As for this Yellow Flash, should the Navy try to capture him? What does everyone think?" He looked around the room.
"All pirates should be exterminated! I'll lead the team to capture him!" the hard-line Vice Admiral Akainu declared without hesitation.
Staff Officer Tsuru looked at Sengoku. "That troublesome ability gives him greater mobility than Shiki's Float-Float Fruit. If he wants to escape, capturing him will be nearly impossible. And we haven't found any other crimes he's committed. There's still an opening among the Shichibukai, so I suggest inviting him and seeing how he responds."
"I object!" Akainu said heatedly. "A villain who dares attack the Navy must not be allowed to live. My justice will never permit it!" Sengoku shot Akainu a stern look. "Sakazuki, calm down," he said. "Issue the bounty first. We won't take action to capture him for now. As for the Shichibukai, we'll wait and see. Also, Borsalino, go speak with Jinbe the Knight of the Sea." Just thinking about it gave Sengoku a headache. "One of his conditions for joining the Shichibukai is the release of the former Sun Pirates, including Arlong. Tell him what happened to Arlong, and let him know the Navy can meet his other conditions."
"Understood, Fleet Admiral Sengoku." Kizaru shrugged. Though Minato had gotten the better of him, he'd make sure to even the score if he got the chance. For now, though, he really didn't want to see him again.
A day later, on an island somewhere in the New World, at the Whitebeard Pirates' base.
Marco held up the newspaper that had just arrived and laughed loudly. "Hey, Izo, what about that ninja from your homeland? Hahaha! A bounty of 250 million Beli! What an impressive rookie! But why does he seem kind of familiar?"
Izo, who was dressed as a woman, toyed with the Fire Pistol in his hand and thought for a moment. "There's no one that strong among the ninjas of Wano Country. Not someone who could walk away unscathed from an Admiral candidate."
Marshall D. Teach leaned in to look at the newspaper. "Teleportation, huh? Zehahaha! What an enviable ability." Greed flickered in his eyes for an instant.
Whitebeard read the newspaper too and laughed loudly. "Gurararara! That kid—the Red-Haired fellow mentioned him when he came by last time. Said the kid had stolen something important from him! This sea will never run short of good young men!"
Whitebeard downed a large bowl of sake with gusto. "You brats, let's have a banquet!"
"Yeah!"
In an instant, the Whitebeard Pirates erupted into cheers and shouts of celebration. They didn't care whether the rookie was strong. No matter how strong he was, could he really be stronger than Pops? All they cared about was having good food and drink and enjoying a banquet with their companions.
Time rewound to after Minato killed Arlong.
[Main Mission One complete. Choose to submit the mission. Return to the Main God Space now? If you choose "No," you will automatically return in 24 hours.]
"Return now."
The space began to warp slowly. A flash of white light enveloped Minato and carried him away from the One Piece World.
Minato vaguely heard the sound of a mission being completed and felt his mind grow hazy. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the dreamlike, strange space.
[Main Mission One: Kill Arlong the Fish-Man. Status: Complete. Rating: Excellent. Reward: 2,000 points, one C-rank side mission.*
Reincarnator novice mission complete. Reincarnator status unlocked.]
[Reincarnator status detected: critically injured, bleeding. Automatically repair? Points will be deducted. If points are insufficient, repairs will stop... Ding! Novice mission detected. Free treatment granted.]
This free treatment was a benefit Zhu Shen had given new Reincarnators. After all, they'd be risking their lives from then on, so it was like a "pre-employment physical." Future treatment would cost points; with more Reincarnators, it would otherwise become a considerable expense.
However, the Main God Space didn't exploit Reincarnators when it came to treatment. It charged only the number of points actually needed.
For missions and uploaded items, points were exchanged at a ratio of three to one. In other words, if a Reincarnator earned 1,000 points from a mission or by uploading an item or secret art, the system would give Zhu Shen 3,000 points. Even after the points awarded to the Reincarnator were deducted, the Main God Space's net profit was always twice as large.
This chapter isn't over yet. Click the next page to continue!
That way, Zhu Shen could stay ahead of all the Reincarnators and avoid losing control of the situation. Uploading personal items, secret arts, and the like only earned points, not side missions. After all, if everyone could just scavenge for items and secret arts to farm points and side missions, who would do the actual missions?
Back to Minato.
After agreeing to the treatment, Minato felt a warm yellow beam shoot down from the white orb at the very top of the Main God Space and envelop him. Under its light, the cells where his right arm had been severed multiplied at an incredible rate, filling in the wound. Before long, his right arm was completely restored. His internal injuries and fractured bones from the battle also healed.
"This... The treatment is far beyond the medical abilities of the Ninja World!"
Not only that, Minato felt the lingering injuries from the battle and the exhaustion in his mind vanish as well.
Watching Minato's amazement, Zhu Shen silently considered what to do with him. At present, Minato Namikaze's soul and body both belonged to the Main God Space. His value still didn't make up for the initial investment, but this had only been the first time he'd opened a reincarnation mission. Zhu Shen had only wanted to test the waters.
There was little point in forcing Minato to remain in the Main God Space and constantly sending him on missions to squeeze as much out of him as possible. It would be better to let him return and stir things up; after all, there were plenty of points to be earned in the Ninja World too.
At the same time, the Main God Space needed to expand its pool of Reincarnators and speed up its campaigns in other worlds.
For now, the Main God Space only had an exchange function. Zhu Shen's planned cultivation, lifestyle, and trading functions still couldn't be opened for lack of points. As for the rules governing the Main God Space, he couldn't reveal them; the setup was something he'd added on a whim, to keep the Reincarnators in line and make the place seem more impressive. After thinking it over, Zhu Shen decided what to do with Minato and sent him the information.
[After completing a mission, Reincarnators may rest in the Main God Space for one day. The Main God Space provides a private space of 200 square meters free of charge. You may spend points to customize it. After one day, you will automatically return to your original world.
Outside of missions, Reincarnators may return to the Main God Space while not in combat. Cost: 1 point per day.
You may also spend points to return to worlds you have already visited. Available worlds for rest:
Ninja World (current Main World);
One Piece World.
Reincarnator has completed the novice mission. Exchange permissions are now available!
Note: Exchange permissions can only be used outside of reincarnation missions.]
A private space and exchange permissions? Minato set aside the private space for now and curiously opened the exchange list. A light screen appeared in his mind, divided into five broad categories: Secret Arts, Equipment, Items, Bloodlines, and Other.
Minato curiously opened the Bloodlines category.
"Nani? The Sharingan can be exchanged too? The Three-Tomoe Sharingan costs 1,500 points and two D-rank side missions. The Two-Tomoe and One-Tomoe Sharingan cost half as much..."
"The Mangekyō Sharingan? Is that an advanced form of the Sharingan?" Minato felt that the Sharingan in the Main God Space was completely different from the one he knew.
[Bloodline: Rinnegan
Rating: A-rank, Standard
Description: The eyes of the Otsutsuki Clan. They automatically grant mastery over the changes in the five basic Chakra natures and allow the user to go even further, controlling Yin and Yang. They possess extraordinary abilities and are also known as the "Eyes that Control Life and Death."
Exchange cost:
One A-rank side mission, points.]
"This... Could it be the legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths? Those can be exchanged too?" Minato's worldview was being shaken to the core. And that wasn't the only thing that astonished him.
[Secret Art: Eight-Nine Arcane Art
Rating: ??
Description: Also known as the Nine-Turn Origin Art, the supreme protective art of the Chan Sect. It encompasses countless principles and contains every kind of divine ability and spell. As the saying goes: "Master the mysteries of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, and roam the world at will."
→
Price: Three ??-rank side missions, points.]
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6... Six zeros. E-eighty-eight million?" The power represented by that staggering number lay beyond the limits of Minato's imagination. The Rinnegan had already seemed like something out of a myth. After all, everyone in the Ninja World had grown up hearing stories about the Sage of Six Paths! But the power represented by the price of this secret art, worth tens of millions, was probably impossible to describe. Could the Sage of Six Paths be nothing more than an ordinary person before someone who had mastered this art? Minato imagined it uneasily, his thoughts growing troubled. Of course, he and the other Reincarnators might eventually learn that the immortals of ordinary people's stories could be less than ants to beings like these...
In fact, Zhu Shen couldn't materialize the Eight-Nine Arcane Art yet. The amount of points—or rather, system energy—it required was simply too great. He'd put it on the exchange list just to dangle a tempting prospect in front of the Reincarnators.
As for "??-rank side mission" in the exchange price, it meant Minato lacked the permissions to view the details. In truth, the "??" meant perfect SS-rank, a high-tier sixth-level exchange. For now, let's leave that aside.
[Bloodline: Desolate Ancient Sacred Body
Rating: S-rank, Perfect
Description: Also known as the Indestructible Golden Body, the strongest human battle body in the Immortal Domain. Traits: immune to all evils, counters supernatural manifestations, invincible against opponents of the same level, invincible physical body, difficulty opening the Sea of Bitterness, and more. Exchange cost: Three S-rank side missions, points.]
Minato continued reading.
[Ghost Path Cultivation Scroll, wind-spirit-root foundation-building method—Clear Wind Art, small tactical nuclear bomb...]
Descriptions of all kinds of otherworldly items, as outlandish as tales from a fantasy, battered Minato's decades-old, "simple" values.
After seeing the absurd prices of the various exchanges, he found that the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan didn't seem quite so appealing anymore. Looking at his own measly 2,000 points, Minato asked how points could be earned.
[Besides earning points through missions, you may upload skills, secret arts, equipment, and items you own to the Main God Space. Secret arts and skills will not disappear; they will remain in the Reincarnator's memory. Equipment and items will disappear.]
Minato hesitated for a while, then uploaded the basic parts of the ninjutsu he had learned, keeping the forbidden techniques that the village never shared. He earned a pitiful 200 points in total. But when he uploaded the Rasengan he had created himself, he received 2,000 points! That was equal to the total rewards from this mission! Why was the Rasengan worth so much more than the other ninjutsu? Was it because he had created it himself? Minato wondered.
In fact, techniques created by the user did earn somewhat more, since they reflected the creator's effort and fortune.
The other basic, commonly known ninjutsu carried very little fortune, of course. But most importantly, this was the Rasengan!
It was the signature technique of the Ninja World's chosen one, Uzumaki Naruto! The Rasengan had shone in countless battles throughout Naruto's ninja career.
No matter how powerful the enemy, Naruto would bring his hands together and shout, "Rasengan!" If one Rasengan wasn't enough, he'd make a bigger one! If that still didn't work, he'd make a whole bunch of bigger ones!
In that sense, the fortune carried by the Rasengan in this world was truly one of a kind!
With the mission rewards and points from uploads, Minato had accumulated 4,200 points and two C-rank side missions.
Minato asked the Main God Space about the resurrection option he cared most about and learned its rules:
[Reincarnators may spend points to resurrect the dead. The cost depends on the strength of the person being resurrected.
Note: Those killed by the Main God cannot be resurrected!]
The person he wanted to resurrect was his wife, the former Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina! The Main God's assessment was as follows:
Kushina. Overall strength: early third-tier. Resurrection cost: 30,000 points, one B-rank side mission.
"Too bad. I'm still not strong enough. If only... If I'd completed the hidden mission, I could have earned enough points to resurrect Kushina."
Hearing Minato's words, Zhu Shen shook his head. Hidden missions were not easy to complete; otherwise, he wouldn't have set their rewards so high.
After all, Kizaru was a Logia user with the Glint-Glint Fruit. His current overall strength was mid third-tier, and at his peak he would be at least high third-tier.
But to kill Kizaru, one would need to be at least fourth-tier—someone capable of touching the laws of the world—or possess a B-rank item that countered him!
And that didn't even account for the monstrous physiques of people in the One Piece World. Just look at how the top fighters in that world could battle for days without rest. No matter how badly injured they were, they could recover just by eating meat. It was practically cheating.
As for persuading Kizaru to leave the Navy, even though he slacked off and acted like a monkey, he had grown up within the Navy and had his own principles and beliefs. Convincing someone like that to change his convictions would be no easier than killing him.
Thinking of the more powerful enemies he might face in the future, Minato understood that improving his strength was now urgent. Slowly saving up points would only hold him back.
So, amid the dizzying array of exchanges, Minato resisted the temptation to buy abilities that didn't yet suit him. Instead, based on his current status as a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, he chose a skill that suited him:
[Perfect Jinchuriki
Rating: B-rank, Excellent
Description: A Perfect Jinchuriki who has become one with their Tailed Beast and can fully control its power. Tailed Beast Mode becomes complete. In this mode, the user can fully transform into the Tailed Beast.
Price: Two B-rank side missions, points.
Note: 1. The exchange does not provide a Tailed Beast, only proficiency in the skill.
2. If the purchaser is already a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki, the price is reduced to two C-rank side missions and 3,000 points.]
Minato chose Perfect Nine-Tails Mode. Two C-rank side missions and 3,000 points were deducted, leaving him with 1,200 points.
A mysterious white light shot from the white orb and enveloped Minato.
Minato closed his eyes and carefully absorbed the knowledge. Countless insights into controlling a Tailed Beast's power flooded into his mind, and he felt that something between him and the Nine-Tails inside him had changed, though he couldn't quite explain what.
As the light faded, Minato realized he could easily activate Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. The moment he thought of doing it, golden Nine-Tails Chakra surged from his body, wrapping him in a golden cloak of Chakra and putting him into the mode. Feeling the surging power within him, Minato couldn't help exclaiming,
"So this is Nine-Tails Chakra Mode... I don't need to practice controlling the Tailed Beast at all. There's no process..."
Minato could tell that the Yin Nine-Tails inside him couldn't see anything in the Main God Space. He could also choose to share his vision with the Nine-Tails. But he couldn't explain the situation, even if he wanted to, so he decided to put it aside for now.
"Just what is the Main God?" Minato murmured.
Afterward, Minato spent some time in the Main God Space getting used to his abilities. He entered his private space and made it look like his home in Konoha. Then, with no reason to linger in the Main God Space and not enough points or side missions to go to the One Piece World, he returned to the Ninja World, eager to get home.
Konoha, Hokage Office.
The Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was dealing with paperwork with a headache. Konoha had been badly weakened by the Nine-Tails Incident. The Fourth Hokage had died in battle, the current Jinchuriki had fallen, and the next generation had yet to grow up. Konoha had suddenly found itself in an awkward lull between generations.
Just then, a Kunai appeared out of nowhere, followed by a familiar figure in the office.
"Who's there?" Sarutobi sensed the stranger's arrival and immediately stood up. But when he saw the "dead Fourth Hokage"—Minato Namikaze—his eyes widened. The pipe in his hand fell to the floor, and he didn't even notice.
"Third, it's me. I'm back!" Minato walked toward Sarutobi with a warm smile.
"Minato! You're alive?" The old man was overjoyed.
Half an hour later, in the Hokage Office.
"You really don't plan to show yourself in the village?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked again.
"Third, I'm currently not free to do as I please, and I can't stay visible for long. Besides, I believe there was a traitor in the village during the Nine-Tails Incident. If they learn I'm still alive, it could alert them. It would be better for me to stay hidden and investigate everything from the shadows."
Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to think of something. He took a deep drag on his pipe and sighed. "All right. Just having you back is enough. By the way, you really can't tell me how you came back to life? I've looked into the Reaper Death Seal..."
Minato smiled bitterly. "For reasons I can't explain, I really was resurrected, but there was a price."
Minato recalled everything he had seen and heard in the Main God Space. Even the slightest thought of revealing anything about it brought a warning from the Main God Space to his mind. He would die! If he said anything, he would definitely die! Minato couldn't help smiling bitterly as he shook his head.
Hiruzen Sarutobi studied Minato seriously. He understood that Minato had a reason he couldn't discuss, so he stopped asking.
"By the way, it's best if only you know I've returned. I don't trust anyone else in the village. Also, about Naruto... Please arrange an identity for me so I can protect him in secret." Minato was preoccupied with his newborn child.
Sarutobi sighed deeply. "All right. I'll take care of everything. But you don't have any experience raising a child, so I'll arrange for one of my clan's younger relatives, Haruna Sarutobi, to look after Naruto. She isn't a ninja, but she's someone we can absolutely trust."
Minato had no objection to the Third's arrangement, and he settled in Konoha for the time being, staying behind the scenes and secretly gathering information.
Before you continue