One Piece: I am Imu

Shinobi World, Land of Rivers.

Night had fallen.

Deep within a forest—

Aramaki, who claimed to be Senju Hashirama, was seated around a bonfire alongside Inuzuka Gaku, Akimichi Chōza, Hyūga Hiashi and Sara.

Suspended over the fire were two wild rabbits and a deer.

Akimichi Chōza, swallowing his drool, personally handled the skewers, slowly rotating the sizzling, grease-dripping meat.

Inuzuka Gaku kept sneaking glances at Aramaki's massive, towering figure. His mouth would open as if to say something—but in the end, he hesitated and remained silent, shifting his gaze instead toward Namikaze Minato, who had gone down to the river to summon a toad.

Hyūga Hiashi, on the other hand, sat cross-legged in a corner with his eyes closed, trying to calm his mind.

He was still feeling incredibly frustrated, unable to let go of how Aramaki had shattered his Rotation with a single palm.

Meanwhile—

Sara had her head buried between her knees. The others assumed the Queen of Rōran was worrying about her country and her people, so no one disturbed her.

Even Aramaki merely glanced at her curiously before turning his thoughts back to the goal of reaching Konoha as soon as possible.

He had already decided—once they arrived, he would toy with them for a while, then wipe out all the Konoha shinobi in one swift strike, shocking everyone. After that, he would call in reinforcements to take control.

But what no one knew—

Was that Sara was trapped in a whirlwind of inner turmoil.

"What should I do? Should I say something? If I don't, then… but if I do…"

She was agonizing over whether or not to reveal that Aramaki couldn't possibly be the real First Hokage.

Sara had already learned the general truth about the World Government from the 'introduction video' shown to her by Tsukushi.

How could someone from another world possibly be the First Hokage of the shinobi world?

There was no doubt in her mind now—this unknown officer from the World Government was lying.

But if she exposed him, it would surely ruin his entire plan.

And the fact was—she, Rōran, and all her people had survived the brutal invasion of the Third Raikage and the shinobi of Kumogakure only thanks to the protection of the World Government.

Her heart was filled with gratitude for that—so how could she turn her back on them now?

She didn't want to be an ungrateful traitor.

But if she didn't say anything—

Then Konoha could be in danger. Although her memories from that time had been sealed, through the accounts of many citizens—

She had pieced together a general picture of what had happened back then.

The Konoha shinobi had helped Rōran defeat Minister Anrokuzan, who had killed her mother, attempted to kill her as well, enslaved the people, and seized control of the kingdom.

That too was a great debt of gratitude!

Not to mention that Namikaze Minato's golden hair and gentle demeanor matched her dream hero so perfectly, she was even starting to believe it might really be him.

So Sara truly didn't want Konoha to be deceived because of her silence.

But a great debt on both sides…

What was she supposed to do?

Should she speak up—or remain silent? But if she stayed silent, wasn't that already choosing not to speak?

Sara's head felt like it was about to explode.

"First Hokage-sama, I've already written everything about you onto a scroll and sent it to Konoha with a toad. I believe Sarutobi Hiruzen-sama will be quite surprised."

Just then, as the atmosphere around the bonfire grew increasingly tense—

Namikaze Minato walked over slowly and naturally positioned himself behind Sara. Smiling at Aramaki, who sat on a wooden chair conjured by his own ability, he said: "Oh, Sarutobi Hiruzen—that's the Third Hokage, right? Not bad. I'm looking forward to meeting such an outstanding junior~"

Aramaki chuckled as he responded. With a wave of his hand, he conjured another wooden chair behind Namikaze Minato.

"Have a seat. Ask whatever you want to know."

He knew people like Namikaze Minato must be full of questions about Rōran.

Especially since he was still wearing his army greatcoat, which Aramaki viewed as the biggest 'flaw'. After all, the troops that had attacked these people included officers wearing similar coats.

What he failed to realize—

Was that the real 'flaw' was actually Sara, sitting silently with her head lowered.

He had encountered Namikaze Minato immediately upon exiting the Dimensional Gate, and since Minato had launched a surprise attack, Aramaki didn't know who Sara was—much less that she already knew a bit about the World Government.

"Alright then, I'd like to ask—judging by that coat you're wearing, it looks identical to the ones the troops inside Rōran City wear. What's the reason for that?"

Namikaze Minato's voice was soft, but it caught everyone's attention—even Hyūga Hiashi, who looked over from nearby.

I knew he'd ask that!

Aramaki cursed inwardly, but his expression remained calm as he smoothly delivered the explanation he had already prepared.

"They… are actually from an organization called Umigakure."

"When they found me, they said they were from the future Shinobi World. Umigakure was formed by merging the Five Great Shinobi Villages to fight off an alien race called the Ōtsutsuki."

"The enemy's power was simply too overwhelming—even with all the shinobi in the world, they couldn't win. So they came up with the idea of using the Dragon Veins to summon powerful shinobi from the past into their timeline."

"When I was just summoned and saw you all causing chaos in the city, I thought you were the enemies they spoke of—so I attacked you right away."

This was the story Aramaki had cobbled together himself, using the shinobi-world-related intel shown to high-ranking personnel by the World Government.

"As for the rest, I don't know—you'll have to ask the Umigakure higher-ups inside Rōran City."

"But honestly, I feel like this Dragon Vein thing must've sent us to the wrong place. This clearly isn't the future they described. Though I guess it's still the future for me—Rawawa!"

He threw his head back and laughed uncontrollably, clearly full of confidence in this dubious explanation.

"I see…"

Namikaze Minato nodded, as if a light had gone off in his head, while suppressing a host of deeper doubts.

"No wonder that Crocodile fellow claimed to be the founder of the Land of Wind. That explains everything now!"

Off to the side, Akimichi Chōza and the others looked completely stunned.

Sara slowly raised her head as well, her expression conflicted as she stared at Aramaki.

...

At the same time—

In Iwagakure, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had personally led a force of ten thousand Iwagakure shinobi to the borders of the Land of Wind, entering the neighboring Land of Birds.

Meanwhile, A—destined to become the Fourth Raikage—led five thousand shinobi from Kumogakure, crossing numerous small countries nestled between the Countries of Earth and Fire.

They had just stationed themselves in the Land of Rain, adjacent to the Land of Birds.

Not having to take the long detour by sea this time had made their journey significantly easier.

After all, the daimyō of four great nations had jointly declared war on the Land of Wind, so—for now—they didn't have to worry about other countries obstructing their movement across the Shinobi World.

At this moment—

Rain poured relentlessly over Amegakure, day and night.

Dark, churning clouds loomed above the village, casting it into a deep and oppressive gloom.

Towers of steel and stone jutted into the sky—visually reminiscent of Rōran in some ways.

But the myriad sewer pipes of all shapes and sizes, winding like pythons through the gray sky, left the recently arrived Kumogakure shinobi feeling a suffocating pressure in their chests.

"Can you give us an answer now?"

Inside the highest tower in Amegakure, the young-looking A sat cross-legged on a tatami mat, his voice calm but firm as he addressed the man seated at the head of the room—Hanzō.

Two days earlier—

In hopes of securing the man's support, A had shared intelligence concerning Crocodile.

To A's mind—

Against an enemy who had easily defeated his father, relying solely on the Third Tsuchikage—and possibly the still-uncertain arrival of the Third Hokage—was not enough.

But if this so-called 'demigod' would join them, their odds of success would dramatically increase.

Three Kage-level fighters. No—if Kirigakure joined them too, there might be four. And if they brought along a few jinchūriki—

Surely even someone like Crocodile wouldn't stand a chance?

As for Sunagakure?

Heh.

Even if he couldn't overpower the newly appointed Fourth Kazekage, A was confident in his speed. He could at least keep Rasa occupied.

He had witnessed the battle between Rasa and his father before and had a decent grasp of the man's strength.

"To be honest, I am quite intrigued by someone capable of capturing the Third Raikage."

Hanzō finally spoke.

Compared to ten years ago, age had begun to show faint traces on his face. In another three or four years, it would likely become much more obvious. By then, he would truly be an old man.

Right now, he was in the twilight of his prime.

"Then—"

A's face lit up with joy—only for Hanzō to continue: "However, this matter doesn't concern me… nor does it concern Amegakure. If you want me to step in and help you, surely some form of compensation is in order?"

"Of course. What would you like—money? Resources?"

A nodded without objection. He understood Hanzō's reasoning.

A small village like Amegakure would certainly be in need of all kinds of supplies. Luckily, Kumogakure was not short on wealth.

"Money, food, medicine, weapons, and ninjutsu—those are indeed valuable."

Hanzō spoke with a blank expression as he locked eyes with A.

"But there's something else—something Amegakure needs more than any of those. And it just so happens that Kumogakure possesses it."

"…"

A's eyes narrowed at once, his brow furrowing. A bad feeling rose in his chest. That old bastard… surely he wasn't about to say—

"The tailed beast."

Hanzō didn't beat around the bush.

"I know Kumogakure hasn't assigned a jinchūriki to the Two-Tails yet. I want you to send it here. In return, I—and Amegakure—will give our full support in your mission to rescue the Third Raikage!"

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