The two of them stayed like that, quietly holding each other and savoring that rare peaceful moment.
After a long while, Roy spoke.
"I'm planning to send Mikasa, Armin, and the others to the Pirate King's world to train, because their talents are exceptional, and even though their current strength is still low, if they are properly cultivated the opportunities ahead of them are great."
Upon hearing that, Historia Reiss couldn't help but feel a trace of worry rise in her heart.
But she also understood that this was a condition Roy had long since settled with Mikasa and the others.
Historia Reiss took a deep breath and nodded.
"Mm, I trust them, and I trust your arrangements."
As she said that, she smiled charmingly and wrapped her arms around Roy once more.
The night was still long, and the two figures embraced under the moonlight as Roy broke into a mischievous grin, accompanied by Historia Reiss's charming startled cry.
The Senju Hashirama group had been sailing across the vast and boundless sea in a wooden boat for many days and nights.
At this moment, Senju Tobirama stood alone on the surface of the sea, the chakra all around him surging and rolling powerfully, his hands moving rapidly through seals as he said in a low voice, "Water Release, Water Dragon Bite Explosion!"
In an instant, with him at the center, the seawater began spinning wildly and formed an enormous water vortex.
The vortex spun faster and faster, as if it would swallow everything around it.
Then a powerful upward current of water surged out with explosive force, this current kept climbing, and finally converged together and transformed into a gigantic water dragon.
The water dragon let out a mighty roar toward the sky and dove downward into the distance with an overwhelming momentum, sending massive waves crashing up.
After finishing the technique, Senju Tobirama looked at the devastatingly powerful attack he had produced and nodded with satisfaction.
"As expected, in this world where the sea is everywhere, drawing on the abundant seawater has greatly enhanced the power of my Water Release as well."
His eyes gleamed with excited light, and he thought to himself, 'In this world it seems many powerful individuals cannot come into contact with seawater, which is actually a weakness that can be put to good use.'
"Worthy of Lord Tobirama, to have trained Water Release to such a pinnacle."
Orochimaru had appeared behind Senju Tobirama without anyone noticing, and he extended his tongue and lightly licked his lips.
As someone whose obsession with ninjutsu had reached its absolute extreme, he genuinely acknowledged Senju Tobirama, this master of forbidden techniques.
As soon as those words were spoken, Orochimaru and Senju Tobirama drew close together again and began tinkering with their research.
Not long before this, a group of oblivious pirates had tried to plunder their ship.
Unfortunately for them, they were instantly seized with ease by Orochimaru and became subjects for his research.
After this stretch of research, Orochimaru had already made astonishing discoveries.
"This world is truly remarkable, and simply being within it greatly enhances a person's physical constitution, and furthermore the Haki power here genuinely holds its own unique intricacies."
During this time Orochimaru had already grasped a considerable amount, and Senju Tobirama had also decoded many of the secrets of Haki over this period.
The two were in the middle of a heated discussion when suddenly a deafening elephant cry came from the distance.
That sound was like a clap of thunder rolling across the surface of the sea, and it gave the entire Senju Hashirama group a start and put expressions of astonishment on their faces.
Senju Tobirama and Orochimaru quickly extended their Observation Haki to search for the source of the sound.
When they sensed that enormous presence, both of them couldn't help but feel a measure of awe.
"An elephant that massive actually exists?" Senju Tobirama murmured to himself, his eyes filled with shock.
In their original world they had never seen a living creature of such size.
After hearing that deafening elephant cry, Senju Hashirama's gaze was instantly drawn to the massive silhouette in the distance.
He widened his eyes and murmured in amazement, "To think something this enormous exists in this world!"
The giant elephant was like a moving island, its colossal body advancing slowly across the surface of the sea and stirring up wave after wave of great surges.
Senju Hashirama's curiosity was completely roused, and he turned to look at the others and proposed, "Let's go up and explore the elephant's back, I can see many living creatures dwelling up there."
Senju Tobirama frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then nodded in agreement.
"This giant elephant is so peculiar that exploring it may well yield considerable gains."
Orochimaru licked his lips and a strange smile spread across his face, clearly full of interest in this unknown exploration.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was also eager to try.
Everyone moved quickly, and with the help of Senju Hashirama's Wood Release they built a wooden bridge across the sea's surface leading to the giant elephant, and rapidly drew close to it.
The closer they came to the elephant, the more vividly they could feel its enormity.
Its thick legs were like towering mountain peaks, its skin rough and covered in the marks of long ages, and every movement was accompanied by violent churning of the sea.
'If put to use as a weapon, the destructive power would be staggering.' Senju Tobirama looked at the giant elephant before him and thought to himself.
He imagined that if a body this immense were controlled for combat it would be an unstoppable force.
When they finally climbed onto the elephant's back, everyone was stunned by the sight before their eyes.
The elephant's back was like a vast and boundless continent, and as far as the eye could see there was a dense and towering forest.
They advanced carefully to explore, discovering that the ground bore all manner of strange footprints, and some creatures they had never seen before moved through the trees.
Orochimaru excitedly produced various tools and attempted to capture a few for research.
"The ecosystem here is so uniquely distinct that it may well yield something useful for ninjutsu research." Orochimaru's eyes burned with fervor.
The Senju Hashirama group stepped deep into the forest, where the trees all around were tall and dense.
A damp smell hung in the air as Senju Hashirama walked at the front, his bearing still composed.
"The presence of this forest feels somewhat strange." Senju Tobirama said in a low voice, his brow creasing slightly.
His perception ability was extremely sharp, and he had already sensed that the forest seemed to conceal some kind of unusual power.
Orochimaru licked his lips and a flash of excitement crossed his eyes.
"Interesting, there seems to be some kind of spatial-temporal fluctuation within this forest, could it perhaps be the effect of some Devil Fruit ability?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen tightened his grip on the pipe in his hand, a thread of vigilance in his gaze.
"Everyone be careful, there may be more than just our group here."
At this moment, strange things were also unfolding within the forest.
Kanjuro and the others had been transported there by Kozuki Toki using the Toki Toki no Mi's ability, and moreover due to certain force-majeure factors they had arrived two years earlier than in the original story.
Not long before this, through the mediation of Momonosuke, Kanjuro, and the others, Nekomamushi and Inuarashi had reconciled.
At this moment Kanjuro, Momonosuke, and the others were sitting gathered together, discussing their plans ahead in low voices.
Nekomamushi and Inuarashi stood to one side, their gazes sweeping over Momonosuke from time to time, a trace of complex emotion in their eyes.
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