Konoha Yellow Monkey: The salary is in place, and Wukage is useless!

In the East Blue, as soon as Zephyr and his disciples sailed into the sea aboard their warship, they were immediately intercepted by the ninja forces from the Land of Light.

After confirming Zephyr's identity and purpose, the Jonin who intercepted Zephyr reported the situation up the chain of command via Den Den Mushi, eventually reaching Kizaru.

Kizaru's reply was to tell them to wait a moment, and that he would be there soon.

On Zefa's warship, Zefa faced a ninja squad of three led by a Jonin from the Sarutobi clan. The squad consisted of three people, all of whom were serious and had calm, even somewhat indifferent, expressions. He showed great patience.

Judging from the behavior and aura of the three people in front of him, Zephyr could tell that these three ninjas from the Land of Light were all excellent warriors, as evidenced by the sharpness and bloodthirstiness that belonged to soldiers.

"Are you all elites from the Land of Light?" Zephyr broke the silence between them while waiting for Kizaru.

The Jonin leading the team, Sarutobi, humbly replied, "We can't be considered elite; we're just a regular patrol squad from the Land of Light."

“With such a small number of people patrolling such a crucial border area, your strength must be considerable,” Zefa judged.

"In the Land of Light, we are more accustomed to elite combat with a small number of people. Rather than sending a large number of young people who have only received limited training, or even those without combat talent, onto the battlefield, it is better to concentrate our strengths and select ninjas who are truly suitable for combat, so as to reduce unnecessary sacrifices. This has always been our tradition and philosophy." The leading Jonin, after all, came from the Sarutobi clan. Facing Admiral Zephyr, he was neither humble nor arrogant, and his words even carried a hint of pride that he himself was unaware of.

This pride is not personal or familial, but rather stems from their birth in the Land of Light.

Upon hearing this, Zephyr nodded. He had once been the chief instructor of the Navy, responsible for training talents sent from various branches of the sea, selecting the best among them, and finally choosing outstanding seeds who could undertake the Navy's mission of upholding justice. His work coincided with the ideals of the Land of Light.

"Have any forces from outside the East China Sea entered the East China Sea during this period?" Zefa continued to ask.

“Some audacious pirates still think the East Blue is the same as before and want to come and plunder, but these guys have all been captured by us,” Jonin Sarutobi replied.

The mention of pirates piqued Zephyr's interest. "How do you deal with those pirates?"

"Simply killing them would be too wasteful. In accordance with Lord Kizaru's consistent orders, we should make the best use of them. They will be sent to dangerous and arduous places such as mines and construction sites for labor reform as prisoners. Depending on the crimes they have committed, the labor reform period will range from several years to twenty years."

"A maximum of only twenty years?" Zephyr seemed somewhat dissatisfied, feeling that the punishment for pirates was too lenient.

Faced with Zephyr's question, Jonin Sarutobi and the two ninjas behind him smiled for the first time, seemingly amused by Zephyr's question.

Zefa wasn't angry, but his two disciples behind him felt their teacher had been offended and showed their anger. Fortunately, Zefa raised his hand in time to stop them from speaking.

Jonin Sarutobi, realizing their rudeness, quickly apologized, "We're sorry, it's just been so long since anyone asked us such a question, we were a little impolite. Those prisoners..."

Just as Jonin Sarutobi was about to explain, Kizaru's signature voice rang out from the side of the two groups: "Those prisoners who can survive for more than ten years in labor camps are already considered to have excellent physical condition and strong mental fortitude."

Everyone turned to look at the sound and saw Kizaru standing on the warship's railing. He jumped down from the railing and walked towards Zephyr with a smile. "Speaking of which, just labor camps are too lenient for those pirates. In the Land of Light, our consistent principle for dealing with enemies is that those who commit heinous crimes are all sent to the research institute."

"Research Institute?" Zephyr was somewhat puzzled. The Jonin Sarutobi in front of him, who seemed to know some of the inside story, turned pale.

"Yes, Research Institute. Rather than letting these bastards die a quick death or making them atone for their crimes through labor, it's better to use their lives and bodies to make some insignificant contributions to the advancement of human technology. Perhaps the technology successfully tested on them will lead an era forward, which could barely allow them to atone for some of their sins." Although Kizaru usually seems carefree, he is consistently extremely cold-blooded and cruel towards criminals, especially those who have committed numerous crimes against civilians.

Kizaru has always harbored a secret desire for a rooftop. He largely views the pirates who are now cooperating with him, as well as those so-called underground kings, with an attitude of exploitation.

When the Land of Light overthrows the World Government and gains control of this world, many of the pirates and underground forces that cooperate with it will be sacrifices that Kizaru plans to use to quell public grievances and win the hearts of the people.

"Lord Kizaru!" Upon seeing Kizaru approach, Jonin Sarutobi and the two ninjas behind him hurriedly bowed and called out.

Kizaru smiled and patted Sarutobi Jonin on the shoulder, saying kindly, "Thank you for your hard work. You can leave and continue your patrol."

"Yes!" the three replied, and then used the Instantaneous Movement Technique in perfect unison, disappearing from the deck almost simultaneously.

"Similar to Shave, their speed is very fast, already surpassing most naval admirals," Zephyr commented, looking at the position where the three had left.

"Speed ​​and reaction time are the basic skills of a ninja. The ninjas who have survived to this day all have good speed," Kizaru said with a smile.

After saying that, Kizaru walked to Zephyr's side, then looked around the deck, examining the warship and Zephyr's disciples standing on the deck.

After looking around, he turned to Zefa and suggested, "If you want to see a real ocean, I suggest you dock your warship at our military base. Your disciples don't all need to follow you; they can stay at the base for now or travel around the East China Sea on their own. Only by concealing your identity and turning you into an ordinary old man can you personally experience the difference between the East China Sea today and the one in the past."

Faced with Kizaru's suggestion, Zephyr, who had come to seek new hope and observe the governance of the Land of Light, naturally agreed. He nodded, "Then let's proceed according to your plan."

"Teacher Zefa!" From Zefa's side and behind, one of his most trusted disciples, Ain called out with some concern.

“Aien, didn’t we come here to find new hope? Now that we’ve chosen to come to the East Sea, what do we have to worry about?” Zephyr said with great pride.

Zephyr's magnanimity reassured his disciples, whether it was Ein, Binz, or other young marines who chose to follow Zephyr. They temporarily put aside their worries and calmly accepted the journey ahead.

Under Kizaru's guidance, Zephyr's warships quickly arrived at the military base island set up on the border by the Land of Light, and their warships docked at the newly repaired military pier.

After the warship docked, Zefa and his disciples were taken to the living area in the south of the island.

Kizaru had his disciples go to the cafeteria for a meal, while he led Zephyr to a private room on the second floor of the cafeteria.

This wasn't Kizaru showing any special treatment; rather, he was taking Zephyr to meet a special person. This is why Kizaru, who possessed the ability to teleport, took some time to arrive at Zephyr's warship.

Kizaru opened the door to the private room and smiled as he gestured for Zephyr to enter. Inside, Orochimaru, who exuded a chilling aura and whose face was paler than a dead man, was sitting in the corner against the wall.

"This man named Orochimaru is the scientific leader of the Land of Light, a pioneer in biological and spiritual research. He and his research team are currently in charge of the research on communicating with the souls of the dead that I mentioned to you."

After hearing Kizaru's introduction, Zephyr's previously somewhat doubtful mood instantly turned into excitement. Having seen many storms, he was now somewhat reserved and unsure of where to begin when faced with Orochimaru, whom Kizaru had mentioned.

"Don't be so nervous. I called Orochimaru here today to share our progress with you." Kizaru smiled and pulled Zephyr to sit down next to him, while he sat between the two of them.

After the two were seated, Kizaru looked at Orochimaru, gave him a look, and then said, "Orochimaru, this is the Marine Admiral Zephyr I mentioned earlier. Now, please tell him about your recent research progress."

As the person from the Land of Light who has conducted the most in-depth research on the Impure World Reincarnation technique, even surpassing its creator Tobirama, and who also led the Land of Light's project to experiment with and improve the forbidden Impure World Reincarnation technique in the One Piece world, Orochimaru is indeed the most qualified person to answer Zephyr's question.

He looked at Zefa with his snake-like vertical pupils, and under Zefa's gaze, which was filled with both trepidation and excitement, he said, "According to our previous experiments, there exists a place here similar to the underworld, where souls can rest. In other words, theoretically, the Impure World Reincarnation is feasible. The only problem is whether the soul of the deceased is intact, and we also need the remains of the deceased as a location for the spirit to communicate with."

"Remains? Their remains are buried in the Navy's cemetery. I can go back and dig them up anytime," Zephyr said excitedly. Orochimaru's words gave him real hope.

Orochimaru nodded slightly. "In that case, please obtain the remains of the relevant personnel as soon as possible and hand them over to us. Our related experiments have been completed, and we have already had successful cases."

Hearing this, Zephyr became even more excited, "Really? You've succeeded?"

Orochimaru didn't reply, but instead proved it with his actions. He stood up from his seat, and under the watchful eyes of Zephyr and Kizaru, bit his finger and quickly formed hand seals. As dense runes appeared on the ground, a coffin emerged from the center of the array.

Faced with the suddenly appearing coffin, Zephyr's eyes widened. At this moment, he completely believed that Kizaru and this Mr. Orochimaru could help him see his wife, children, and disciples again.

Then, when Orochimaru manipulated the lid of the upright coffin to slowly fall, revealing the sleeping figure inside, Zephyr was completely dumbfounded, staring in shock at the person in the coffin.

"He is..." (End of Chapter)