Shaking the Ninja World! Rebuilding the Moby Dick!

The entire village of Kusagakure had now fallen into the hands of the Whitebeard Pirates.

No one in the village had any objections to this.

Meanwhile, Whitebeard had obtained a large amount of wealth from Kusagakure.

Thanks to the money-loving leader of Kusagakure.

If the Kusagakure leader had been more competent, there wouldn't have been so much money and gold stashed beneath the administrative building.

But he wasn't a competent leader.

Under his rule, the large village exuded an air of "poverty" and "petty corruption."

After a careful count, it was confirmed that the Whitebeard Pirates had acquired 2.1 billion ryo in cash and 1.8 billion ryo worth of gold from Kusagakure.

The total amount...

was almost exactly as Uzumaki Kushina had estimated at 4 billion ryo.

"Gurararara! Adding the money we took from the Land of Fire, it's exactly 4 billion ryo!" Whitebeard laughed heartily. "My foolish children! With these 4 billion, we can rebuild the Moby Dick!"

For Whitebeard, a pirate crew without a ship couldn't be called a pirate crew.

"The Moby Dick?" Naruto scratched his head. "That's a mouthful!"

Whap!

"Ow!!" Naruto cried, holding his head, where a large bump appeared after Whitebeard flicked his finger.

"You foolish son!" Whitebeard said. "That ship accompanied me for many years!"

"Used to?" Karin took a few steps away from Naruto, afraid of getting hit too.

"Yes... used to." Whitebeard's eyes showed a hint of nostalgia. "In an unprecedented war, the Moby Dick, which once dominated the seas, was burned."

But the nostalgia quickly disappeared.

Whitebeard grinned, "So, in this ninja world, I'm going to rebuild an identical Moby Dick! This ship can accommodate 1,600 people, it's a super battleship!"

"1,600 people!" Kushina's eyes widened.

Naruto and Karin, being children, didn't quite grasp the significance of this number.

But as an adult, Kushina understood what it meant.

You have to know...

The entire population of Kusagakure, including civilians and ninjas, was only a few thousand.

This meant that this pirate ship could carry nearly a quarter of the village's population!

This...

was astonishing!

"To build such a large ship, we need a place with a lot of shipbuilding experience, right?" Kushina said. "The Land of Grass is an inland country. Even its largest river couldn't hold such a large ship."

"Gurararara! Wherever in the ninja world we can build this ship, the Whitebeard Pirates will go there."

Whitebeard laughed.

"The Land of Water!" Kushina recalled, "The Land of Water has the best shipbuilding technology in the ninja world."

"Actually, the Land of Fire also has coastal areas," Kakashi interjected quietly. "Maybe we can go back to the Land of Fire and hire their shipyards to build such a ship."

Naruto leaving the Land of Fire and coming to the Land of Grass was already challenging Konoha's nerves.

If I take a detour to the Land of Water, wouldn't that mean getting farther away from the Land of Fire?

"If the shipyards in the Land of Fire were that great, where were the ships carrying Konoha's reinforcements when Uzushiogakure was destroyed?" Kushina's question left Kakashi speechless.

To be honest, Kakashi was probably just born or not yet born when Uzushiogakure was destroyed.

How would he know what happened?

"White-haired brat... You, an outsider, shouldn't meddle in our Whitebeard Pirates' family meeting!" Whitebeard glanced at Kakashi, causing him to instantly fall silent.

At this moment...

Kushina continued, "In my childhood memory, many of Uzushio's ships were commissioned or bought from the Land of Water."

"The Land of Water?" Naruto rubbed his head. "I think Grandpa Hokage mentioned that country."

"Because it's one of the Five Great Nations!" Kushina smiled. "The Land of Fire, the Land of Water, the Land of Earth, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Lightning, these are the Five Great Nations of the ninja world."

"Among them, the Land of Fire has the strongest overall strength. It's also one of the most populous and prosperous countries."

"Big Sis, you know so much!"

Naruto exclaimed in admiration.

"Dad, let's go to the Land of Water!" Naruto said excitedly. "Maybe we can pass by Karin and Big Sis' hometown! It's called... uh..."

"It's called the Land of Whirlpools!" Kushina's face showed a trace of sorrow. Who wouldn't want a place to call home in the ninja world?

"But it's probably just a pile of ruins now. My hometown once experienced a catastrophic destruction."

"..."

...

"What? Kusagakure was destroyed? The Daimyo of the Land of Grass was killed? How is this different from having the entire country destroyed?!"

Land of Fire.

Konoha Village.

Although it was a neighboring country, several days had already passed by the time the higher-ups of Konoha learned of this.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been discharged from the hospital for some time, was still in a wheelchair.

He had just returned to the Hokage office today.

And then he received such shocking news!

Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, his eyebrows furrowed so tightly that they could catch a fly.

His old face was filled with a solemn expression.

His eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Edward Newgate!" Sarutobi Hiruzen took a deep breath of the spicy smoke swirling in his mouth. He felt the wounds on his body, which had only recently healed, start to ache again.

Although somewhat delayed, the information sent back from the Land of Grass was very detailed.

From this information, Sarutobi Hiruzen clearly understood Whitebeard's great deeds in the Land of Grass.

"The entire Land of Grass... aside from the always neutral Hozuki Castle, only has over thirty ninjas left! And the entire Kusagakure is now flying the pirate flag!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a plume of smoke. "And they publicly killed the Daimyo! A 'giant' who claims to be a pirate forcibly took over a ninja village, and even an entire country!"

"The Whitebeard Pirates..."

...

"What are the Whitebeard Pirates?"

The countries neighboring the Land of Grass included the Land of Fire, the Land of Waterfalls, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Rain.

Such a major event in the Land of Grass couldn't go unnoticed by them.

Hanzō of the Salamander, known as the "demigod of the ninja world," had long lost the ambition and spirit of his youth and his past convictions. He had become deeply suspicious and cunning.

"To wipe out the Land of Grass in such a short time..." Hanzō's old face hidden under his gas mask showed a cautious and vigilant expression.

To be honest...

He had confidence that with the strength of Amegakure, he could do such a thing.

After all, Kusagakure was one of the weakest ninja villages in the entire ninja world.

However...

Amegakure represented a country, the entire Land of Rain! But what did the Whitebeard Pirates represent?

A pirate crew capable of destroying a country...

This...

was inconceivable!

For some reason, Hanzō suddenly thought of the growing Akatsuki organization. Years ago, he had allied with Danzō to ambush Akatsuki but hadn't been able to destroy it.

On the contrary, in recent years, the Akatsuki hidden in the shadows had grown into a formidable force that made his heart tremble!

"Damn!" He closed his eyes. "Troublesome people are emerging one after another."

...

...