Chapter 123

In the castle's banquet hall, a melodious tune filled the air:

Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Give me some Bink's Sake!

On the ship's bow, A mermaid is dancing! Towards the ocean's royal kingdom, Guided by the proud whale!

Bink's Sake! Bink's Sake! Drinking it, our ship won't sink! No matter how troubled the times, This song will never disappear! Fa la la la la la la, Fa la la la la la la!

Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Yohohoho, Give me some Bink's Sake!

The echoes of the cheerful pirate song reverberated through the dilapidated castle. The Straw Hat Crew, along with the rescued pirates emerged victorious from a great battle against Shichibukai Gekko Moria. They gathered together, singing and celebrating, fully immersed in the joy of their triumph.

Amidst the revelry, two figures made their way into the hall. Luffy, with a wide grin, couldn't contain his excitement and called out, "Hey, hey, Zoro! Sanji! Join the party! It's a celebration! Look at me; I'm not hurt at all!"

Hearing Luffy's enthusiastic invitation, the entire assembly turned their attention towards the newcomers, Zoro and Sanji. Laughter and cheers erupted as they welcomed the duo.

Among the crowd, Robin's gaze fell upon Zoro. She was well aware of what happened last night. Kuma let go of the Strawhat pirates because Zoro endured pain on Luffy's behalf. However, seeing Zoro appear completely unscathed left her puzzled. She couldn't help but wonder if she was awake.

Just as Robin was contemplating this mystery, Luffy playfully approached Zoro and Sanji, ready to bring them into the festive atmosphere. However, in an unexpected turn of events, Zoro, who had remained silent until then, suddenly drew his sword. With lightning speed drew his sharp blade upon Luffy.

The banquet hall fell into stunned silence as everyone watched in shock. No one had anticipated such a dramatic twist. Nami and Ussop couldn't believe their eyes and cried out, "Zoro!!! What are you doing?!!"

Ignoring the questioning voices surrounding him, Zoro continued to stare blankly at Luffy, who now bore a fresh cut from Zoro's blade. He raised his sword once more.

Before Nami and the others could reach Luffy to intervene, Sanji sprang into action. With swift and powerful kicks, he sent several people flying backwards, creating a safe distance between them.

Luffy exclaimed, "Sanji!!! Zoro!!! What's wrong with you guys? Snap out of it!"

As the situation became increasingly chaotic, it became evident that something was controlling both Zoro and Sanji. Luffy grew serious and scanned the castle entrance, demanding, "Are you the ones responsible for this? I'll make you pay!"

Suddenly, those present noticed several figures standing at the entrance of the castle. It was Ryan and his group, who had followed Zoro and Sanji.

Facing Luffy's threats, Ryan remained unfazed, considering Luffy too weak to pose a real challenge, even in his fourth gear. Without waiting for Ryan and the others to respond, Luffy instantly activated his second gear mode and unleashed a "Gomu Gomu no Jet Pistol," aiming both fists at Ryan and his group.

To ordinary observers, the attack was lightning-fast, but to Ryan's group, it moved as if in slow motion.

"Shinera Tensei!!!" Ryan had no time to engage in child's play with Luffy. His Rinnegan's power erupted instantaneously, causing Luffy's punch to miss Ryan entirely, sending him hurtling through the air.

Luffy, determined to get back on his feet and resume the fight, found himself intercepted by Minato and Tobirama, who appeared on his left and right in an instant.

In the crowd, Robin, having recognized Ryan and his group, had her complexion change instantly.

"Why?" she exclaimed. "Why would someone like you want to attack us?" Robin had pieced together the identities of Ryan and his companions – a mysterious crew responsible for the recent killing of the Celestial Dragons on the Sabaody Islands. What Robin hadn't anticipated was that this crew would set their sights on her crew.

In response to Robin's inquiry, Ryan showed no intention of answering.

Right in front of the still-struggling Luffy, Within moments, Ryan used the Kotoamatsukami. The most dangerous genjutsu is perhaps only weaker than Infinite Tsukyomi but alas it can be used once every decade. The technique allows the user to enter the mind of any individual within their field of view, and manipulate them by giving them false experiences, making it seem as if they were doing things of their own free will. The moment it was used, Luffy became calm. Witnessing this, the others tried to resist but were easily subdued by Hashirama and the rest.

Apart from the Straw Hat Crew, the others held no significance for Ryan. He focused on controlling these individuals. Ryan placed everyone in a simple genjutsu to make them forget that they were ever here.

In the original timeline, Shisui entrusted his remaining eye to Itachi Uchiha, who implanted it into the eye socket of one of his crows. This crow inside Naruto is a fail-safe in case Sasuke, his younger brother, tries to take revenge on Konoha. The crow could cast a genjutsu on Sasuke, which would show him the truth about Itachi's actions and his love for Sasuke. Upon activation, Itachi rigged the eye itself so that the genjutsu would give the order "protect Konoha" to whoever was affected by it.

Ryan just put the order of being loyal to him on Luffy. As for whether Luffy or the crew will remember him or not it's another matter.

Just as the last person was inserted into a genjutsu, a familiar voice echoed in their minds: "[Ding! The mission is completed!]

[Please complete the other two tasks as soon as possible.] 

Upon hearing this, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. As a fan of the one piece and the protagonist, the Straw Hat Crew held a special place in his heart.

If he could avoid killing them, he would. That's why he had decided to use the Kotoamatsukami's power to control Luffy. As long as Luffy is loyal to him so will his crew.

"Now that the mission is complete," Ryan said, "let's move on to the next two tasks."

The group deliberated on which task to tackle next, eventually deciding to prioritize the mission to Raftel. They believed that discovering the four red historical texts would reveal the location of Raftel. Among these texts, Ryan knew the location of three, making the quest more feasible.

With the decision made, they took a day's rest before resuming their journey.

The Straw Hat Crew, as the heroes of the One Piece world, were the ideal workforce for the job. Later Luffy woke up and introduced Ryan and Chat Group members as friends.

After a hard night of party, While everyone rested, Tobirama's curiosity about Devil Fruit's powers grew, especially in the case of Brook, who was alive despite only being a skeleton.

After studying for a while, Tobirama considered trying a Devil Fruit to better understand its power. As the day progressed, Ryan's gaze shifted to the black knife Shusui carried at Zoro's side, reminiscent of the former Sword God of Wanokuni, Shimotsuki Ryuma.

"Second Hokage," Ryan suggested, "perhaps you could experiment to see if you can Re-animate an individual who knows more about New World."

At this moment, Ryan suddenly pointed towards a pile of ashes outside the castle. It was the remains of Ryoma's body, defeated in the battle against Zoro, now reduced to mere ashes.

Aside from investigating whether impure world reincarnation could be used in this world, their other objective was to gauge the former Sword God's level of strength. Second Hokage Tobirama was also keenly interested in this matter.

A flash of movement occurred near the ashes, and with Tobirama's hand seals, a specialized array swiftly enveloped the ashes.

" Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation!" he declared, and after completing the hand seals, countless paper-like fragments surged forth from the ashes. A figure gradually materialized, its appearance no longer bearing the marks of decay but resembling the time he died.

"What?!" Ryoma exclaimed in disbelief. "I am back!" He gazed at himself and then at the surroundings, utterly astonished.

He had indeed been resurrected, not through some crude method involving lifeless Zombies and shadows.

Observing the revived Ryoma, Zoro returned Shusui to him directly. He extended the sword towards Ryoma and said, "Aren't you the swordsman I entrusted Shusui to?"

"Yes," Zoro replied. "But now that you've been resurrected, allow me to return Shusui to you." He held out the sword, and Ryoma, with a smile, shook his head. He tossed the sword back to Zoro, saying, "Take it, lad! Since it's entrusted to you, take good care of it!"

With Shusui back in Zoro's hands, Ryoma shifted his gaze to Tobirama and Ryan.

"You've brought me back to the land of living. There must be a purpose," he noted.

Ryan forthrightly explained their intent: to witness the true strength of the former sword god. Ryoma readily agreed, as a renowned swordsman of his era, that he would not turn down a challenge from formidable opponents.

A grand battle ensued, with Tobirama facing off against Ryuma. It was an exhilarating clash that left everyone in awe. Utilizing the power of impure world reincarnation, with limitless stamina and immortality, Ryoma's swordsmanship held its own against Tobirama.

Ryan also witnessed the might of this undead swordsman, encompassing Wanokuni's unique Haki Emission and the Ryuma's swordsmanship. In terms of strength, Ryuma ranked among the top in the pirate world.

Following the battle, Ryan and the others inquired eagerly about Ryoma's method of training Haki, a unique power system. Bringing this knowledge back would strengthen Konoha's national power.

While Ryan and his group rested in the Florian's Triangle area, inside Naval Headquarters, an exclamation of astonishment rang out, "What?!!!"

READ 42 CHAPTERS AHEAD ON P*TREON.C*M/MARIONI