"It's Kirigakure scum!"
"They actually set their sights on the same prey as us?"
"But we saw this big fish first. It belongs to our Sunagakure Pirate Crew!"
Across from them, the Kirigakure shinobi also showed ugly expressions upon seeing the Sunagakure Pirate Crew.
"Bad luck!"
"Damn bad luck!"
"To think we'd run into Sunagakure dogs here!"
"But we are absolutely not giving way. We may not be able to defeat Sunagakure, but do they think we'll be afraid of some mere Sunagakure Pirate Crew?"
Two fleets met atop the vast sea.
The moment they encountered each other, the atmosphere turned tense.
The giant fish in the seawater seemed to sense danger as well. It grew uneasy and prepared to dive deep into the ocean to evade the attacks of both fleets.
But at that moment—
"Fire!"
The two fleets shot at the giant fish at the same time.
Harpoons pierced into the giant fish's body.
The giant fish struggled, but it was useless. The barbs on the harpoons could not be shaken loose. They only caused the fish even greater pain.
Blood poured out, dyeing the surrounding seawater red.
The smell of blood caused the emotions of the shinobi on both sides to flare even hotter.
"This is our prey!"
"Bullshit! It's ours!"
"Kill those bastards!"
"Kirigakure animals deserve to die!"
A great battle was on the verge of erupting.
But at that moment, the Kirigakure shinobi suddenly saw an unbelievable sight.
Two Sunagakure shinobi who had been fighting Kirigakure ninja and had fallen into a disadvantage suddenly roared.
"Dog-Dog Fruit, Gray Wolf Form!"
"Bird-Bird Fruit, Crow Form!"
Immediately afterward, their bodies began swelling.
Gray fur grew from one of them, glossy and bright. His fingers and toes turned into sharp claws, looking incomparably fierce. His mouth stretched into a long muzzle, revealing elongated canine teeth.
He turned into a half-wolf, half-human form.
Feathers grew from the other. His arms changed into the shape of wings. With a single leap, he rose into the air and looked down at the Kirigakure shinobi below.
He turned into a half-crow, half-human form.
The pupils of the Kirigakure shinobi contracted violently.
"What is this?"
"Monsters!"
"The Sunagakure shinobi turned into monsters!"
It was not merely their forms that had changed.
Their strength had changed as well.
After using the power of the Stone of Gelel, the two Sunagakure shinobi charged straight into the Kirigakure ranks and began slaughtering in every direction, directly crushing the Kirigakure shinobi who had originally held a slight advantage.
A miner who had not even been a shinobi had obtained chunin-level strength after using the Stone of Gelel.
These two Sunagakure shinobi were already chunin-level themselves. Once the power of the Stone of Gelel was added on top of that, their strength immediately underwent a qualitative change.
The Kirigakure shinobi were horrified.
The Sunagakure shinobi were incomparably excited.
"This is the power of Devil Fruits!"
One Sunagakure shinobi shouted loudly.
Hearing this sentence, countless thoughts immediately appeared in the minds of the Kirigakure shinobi.
"Devil Fruit?"
"Devil Fruits really exist?"
"Aren't those fictional things from Sunagakure's novel?"
"But those two Sunagakure shinobi's transformations really do look exactly like Devil Fruit transformations."
"Could this be something Sunagakure developed?"
"How many Devil Fruits does Sunagakure have?"
The Kirigakure shinobi widened their eyes, becoming even more frightened.
Sunagakure was already very strong.
Kirigakure was already no match for them.
If Sunagakure also possessed many Devil Fruits, how was Kirigakure supposed to fight them?
Very soon, the news that Devil Fruits truly existed spread throughout the entire shinobi world.
For a time, the shinobi world was greatly shocked.
"Devil Fruits really exist?"
"Then is One Piece real too?"
Countless people discussed this topic.
"The matter of One Piece has not been confirmed. No related people have appeared so far. But Devil Fruits are indeed real. Sunagakure has already obtained them."
"Two Sunagakure shinobi ate Devil Fruits, and their strength rose by a large amount."
"One was called the Dog-Dog Fruit, Gray Wolf Form."
"One was called the Bird-Bird Fruit, Crow Form."
"Many people saw it with their own eyes. Their bodies swelled and took on the traits of a gray wolf and a crow. It was exactly the same as the Zoan Devil Fruits described in One Piece."
Some people became excited.
"If Devil Fruits really exist, then where should we go to find them?"
"I truly want to obtain a Devil Fruit. Then I could possess those miraculous abilities."
…
Rasa looked at the document in his hands.
It recorded the reactions of the shinobi world after news of Devil Fruits' real existence had been released.
Just as Rasa had expected, the reaction was extremely intense.
Without One Piece paving the way first, if the Stone of Gelel had appeared in the shinobi world purely under its original name, then even if it could increase strength, it absolutely would not have caused such a huge wave.
But Devil Fruits gave people far too much room for imagination.
"Wait a little longer."
"There's no need to sell them yet."
"And Ebizo's side still needs time to process them."
"Before that, let's first look at this issue of the Ninja World Weekly."
In the previous issue of the Ninja World Weekly, they had offered a bounty submission reward for answering what the Will of Fire was.
Under the temptation of one hundred thousand ryo, a great many people had submitted entries.
The members of the newspaper office performed the first round of screening.
Then the submissions were sent to Rasa, who selected the final three.
The core ideas of the three pieces Rasa selected were as follows:
The elderly should sacrifice themselves.
The village's interests should be maximized.
The young are hope.
When these three pieces were placed against Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze, they were basically all saying the same thing—
The one who should have sacrificed himself was Hiruzen Sarutobi, not Minato Namikaze.
"Begin printing!"
The newspaper office's puppets began busily moving.
One newspaper after another was printed.
The merchants outside had been waiting for a very long time. But the moment they saw the newspapers, their eyes lit up, and they felt that every bit of waiting had been worth it.
"What is the Will of Fire?"
"This is the Will of Fire!"
"It's written so well. It's exactly the same as my understanding. What a pity. If I had submitted an article too, that one hundred thousand ryo might have been mine. I didn't expect Sunagakure to truly give out the money."
When Hiruzen Sarutobi saw the newspaper, his expression sank violently.
It was as if those discussions rang beside his ears once again.
—Why was the one who died the younger Minato Namikaze, and not you, Hiruzen Sarutobi?
"Rasa, you brat! I cannot coexist with you!"
But Rasa did not care at all.
What Rasa cared about was that as this issue of the newspaper appeared and flowed to every corner of the shinobi world, his points began rising at a frantic pace.
Very soon, they reached more than three thousand.
Rasa did not hesitate.
"Thirty consecutive draws. Begin!"
Following Rasa's thought, an invisible lottery wheel spun rapidly.
[Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an F-rank item: One tael of gold.]
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