Konoha: I have a clone in One Piece.

Chapter 89 A Place Higher and Farther Than the Sky

Not far from Suzuki and Kakuzu.

Three Sky Ninja cautiously peeked out from underground, their expressions extremely solemn as they looked at the forest area in front of them, which had been destroyed by the powerful Fire Release technique.

This place is now a black, scorched wasteland.

Just now, the underground fortress of the Sky Ninja Village suddenly shook a few times, and several loud noises came from the ground.

Therefore, Shennong, the current leader of the Sky Ninja Village, sent three people out to investigate what was going on outside.

Looking at the devastated forest before them, which resembled a scene from a natural disaster, the three Sky Ninjas felt a chill run down their spines.

One of the Sky Ninjas took out his binoculars and looked around, spotting Suzuki and Kakuzu talking several kilometers away.

His face immediately filled with panic, and he forgot to pull himself back, saying in a trembling voice:

"W-What happened? Could it be that those two people were responsible for this horrific destruction?"

"Why are there suddenly two such powerful ninjas here?"

"Could they be coming for us?"

"Did Konoha discover we're still alive, so they sent more powerful warriors to hunt us down?"

"Snap!"

Another ninja abruptly pressed down on his companion, who was holding binoculars and almost leaning out of the room, then hissed angrily in a low voice:

"Watch your step, are you out of your mind?"

"What if they weren't sent by Konoha? Or maybe they haven't discovered us yet?"

"You almost gave yourself away!"

Kong Ren, who was holding the binoculars, immediately looked ashamed and replied in a low voice:

"Oh? I'm so sorry!"

Just then, the remaining Sky Ninja also began to speak in a low voice:

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. They probably haven't found us yet."

"Let's hurry back and report to the chief while we have the chance!"

"Hurry up!"

"well"

After learning that the loud noise outside came from two powerful ninjas, the three Sky Ninjas immediately returned to the Sky Ninja Village's underground fortress in a panic.

Meanwhile, Suzuki had already sensed the presence of the three Sky Ninja using his Observation Haki.

With a calm expression, he led Kakuzu toward the Sky Village fortress.

For two powerful ninjas, a distance of several thousand meters was no different than being right next to each other.

Even though Kakuzu was still injured, the two of them reached the top of the fortress in a very short time.

Suzuki stepped on the ground, looking around at the environment that seemed no different from an ordinary forest, and a trace of emotion appeared on his face.

The once sky-gazing ninjas are now all lingering underground, barely clinging to life—it's truly ironic.

"Lord Suzuki, what brings you here?"

Kakuzu, standing nearby, was somewhat puzzled, wondering why Suzuki had come here.

Suzuki turned to look at Kakuzu, and said with a gentle smile:

"I'm here to find qualified researchers."

After saying that, Suzuki looked at the only remaining lightning-attribute mask on Kakuzu's body and felt a little regretful.

However, he continued:

"Kakuzu, please blow up the ground."

"good!"

Although he didn't know why Suzuki wanted to blow up the ground, Kakuzu still agreed.

He formed hand seals and unleashed a powerful lightning ninjutsu in a very short time.

"Lightning Release! False Darkness!"

Kakuzu's lightning-attribute mask unleashed a sharp lightning spear that instantly pierced the ground and blasted open a huge hole.

"This is."

Kakuzu stared in astonishment at the hole he had created with his Lightning Release technique. Shouldn't it have been a large crater?

"Alright, let's go."

"Let's go down and take a look."

Ignoring Kakuzu's astonishment, Suzuki calmly walked to the cave entrance and jumped in without hesitation.

Seeing this, Kakuzu quickly followed and jumped down without hesitation as well.

After a brief fall, Suzuki and Kakuzu were standing on the ground again.

Looking at the many dimly lit passages around him and the structure made of hard rock, Suzuki's face showed interest.

This is the headquarters of the Sky Ninjas he is looking for—Angkor Fortress!

This fortress is quite peculiar; the main part is made of rock, and there are very few pieces of modern machinery.

Such a rudimentary fortress, which could even be described as primitive, was able to fly in the air.

Suzuki felt a sense of awe; these Sky Ninjas' use of chakra was truly decades ahead of the rest of the ninja world.

This kind of man-made ninja tool that perfectly utilizes chakra can only be compared to the chakra cannon of Kumogakure a few decades later.

It's a pity that such a wonderful creation...

In today's ninja world, no one pays attention to it, and it was even almost destroyed. Many of the Sky Ninja who built the fortress were killed. It's really short-sighted.

As Suzuki walked along the passage, he carefully examined the underground flying fortress.

Kakuzu followed closely behind him, observing the surroundings intently like a bodyguard to prevent any unexpected enemies from appearing.

Just as Suzuki was admiring the Angkor fortress, Kakuzu was observing the surroundings.

The next moment.

"stop!"

"Who are you people?"

"What are you two doing here?"

Suddenly, a large group of people appeared at the corner of the passage. They were holding torches and looking at Suzuki and Kakuzu with wary expressions.

At this moment, Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, and his hands had already silently begun to form hand seals.

However.

"Stop, Kakuzu."

"These are the researchers I'm looking for. I would feel very sorry if even one of them had died."

Suzuki stopped Kakuzu from using his ninjutsu and looked at the crowd ahead with a gentle smile.

Seeing the increased wariness on the faces of the Sky Ninjas, Suzuki said gently:

"Hello, don't be nervous."

"My name is Suzuki, and this gentleman next to me is Kakuzu, the ninja I just hired."

"I've heard that the chakra utilization technology of the Sky Village is extremely advanced, and I've always longed to see it. Seeing it now is truly amazing."

"My researchers have encountered some difficulties, and I've come here to find you so you can come and conduct research."

Upon hearing Suzuki's words, a burly, long-haired adult man stepped out from among the many Sky Ninja.

His face remained wary, and his eyes held a deep sense of apprehension as he looked at Suzuki and said:

"Hello, my name is Shennong, and I am currently the leader of Kongnin Village."

"If we help you solve the problems in your research, will you leave?"

Shennong was filled with apprehension at this moment. The three Kongren who had gone out to investigate had returned and explained the situation to everyone.

Just from the description, it's something like a natural disaster, a huge area, and so on.

Shennong knew that these two unfamiliar ninjas were at least Jonin level, or even stronger!

He planned that if Suzuki agreed, he would send a few Sky Ninjas to help Suzuki solve the so-called research problem, and then immediately move the fortress after Suzuki left!

Suzuki didn't rush to answer; he looked at Shennong with a hint of interest on his face.

This famous doctor in the ninja world possessed exceptional medical skills; even Orochimaru later consulted Shennong when developing the Reanimation Jutsu.

Moreover, Shennong later developed super-powerful, perfect cells through live human research.

These cells can not only instantly heal themselves during battle, but also possess unlimited chakra.

Theoretically speaking, Shennong at that time could have opened the Eight Gates Formation without being affected.

Such an excellent doctor, Suzuki naturally intended to take him with him.

Then, with a gentle expression, he said:

"There are just too many research problems to solve in my research institute."

"Therefore, everyone should follow me and leave."

Shennong, the leader of the Sky Ninja Village, immediately looked grim. Wasn't this a clear indication that they wanted to recruit all the Sky Ninjas as their subordinates?

He wanted to express his anger, but he was afraid that Suzuki would take action directly.

So he shouted a little louder:

"I'm sorry, but if it's just a few people, I can send them over to help you."

"But it's impossible to go all the way here; we also have villages to take care of!"

Suzuki remained calm, showing no surprise at Shennong's refusal.

That's normal. After all, the Sky Ninjas are still dreaming of rebuilding the village and taking revenge on Konoha. How could they possibly just defect to Suzuki like that?

Besides, Suzuki was once a Konoha ninja, so he can't be persuaded with gentle persuasion.

but

As Suzuki approached the leader of the Sky Ninja Village, a thought flashed through his mind, and in an instant, crackling lightning filled the entire fortress!

The underground fortress, which had been dimly lit, suddenly became bright.

Suzuki looked at the many Sky Ninja trapped by the lightning net and said calmly:

"Don't get anything wrong."

I am informing you, not requesting you.

"Also, I will take you to witness places even higher than the sky, Sky Ninjas."

"Alright, come with me."

(End of this chapter)