Nami left.
She departed Cocoyashi Village alone, without saying goodbye to anyone.
Nojiko had started a tangerine grove and had her own peaceful life, so Nami didn't disturb her.
In front of Bell-mère's grave, she sat through the night.
She lit three cigarettes and poured out a bottle of fine liquor.
"You always cared most about smoke and drink when you were alive. Here, I've offered them to you."
That night, Nami talked to the cold tombstone all night long.
'Perhaps the Group Owner was right.'
'I didn't belong here, never did from the start.'
'A lone wolf doesn't run with the sheep, a mighty lion scorns the company of hyenas.'
'From the moment I ate the Wind-Wind Fruit and became a powerful ability user, my life was destined to be extraordinary.'
"But this feeling isn't so bad either."
Riding on a small wooden boat, feeling the refreshing sea breeze, Nami's heart was surprisingly serene and clear.
Everyone who could join the Darkening Chat Group had the potential for darkness.
Naruto's path of darkness was to make the world feel pain.
Taichi's path of darkness was revenge against the betrayers.
And Nami's path of darkness was somewhat different from theirs.
She had no clear goal, but she had strong desires!
Wealth and power.
That's right.
At the moment she brutally slaughtered the Fish-men and crushed Arlong under her foot, a subtle sense of pleasure arose in Nami's heart.
The feeling of acting recklessly, casually manipulating the lives of others, was like a poppy flower.
Once experienced, it could never be let go.
So, after privately chatting with the Group Owner, Nami recognized her own goal…
Amass the greatest wealth, hunt the heads of the strongest.
Play with the world's most powerful figures in the palm of her hand, trample them at will.
"Pirate King? Marine Admiral? Celestial Dragons?"
A strange smile curled on Nami's lips.
One day, they would all prostrate themselves at her feet.
…
The incident with Nami had settled down.
The group used it to tease her relentlessly.
Nami was forced to spend heavily, sending out over a dozen red packets to shut everyone up.
Hattori also enjoyed a period of peace.
But he wasn't idle.
He thoroughly researched the Esper Alliance in this world.
"Generally speaking, Espers are divided into nine tiers and four major types, ranked on a global leaderboard. Top-ranked celebrity Espers possess immense wealth and power."
Hattori looked at the information on his computer, muttering to himself.
The nine tiers of Espers: from Black Iron to King, clearly defined.
And the four major types:
'Enhancement Type', 'Control Type', 'Psychic Type', and 'Special Type.'
Enhancement Type was the most common, while Special Type the rarest.
"That woman who recruited us into the alliance last time probably has psychic-type abilities."
Hattori said quietly.
After understanding this, he had a rough idea of this unknown world in his mind.
Espers possessed overwhelming power, standing at the pyramid's peak.
Undercurrents surged in the world, local conflicts ready to erupt at any moment.
As the history books say, "The wind blows full of impending rain."
"But what does that have to do with me, the behind-the-scenes Group Owner?"
A slight smile curled Hattori's lips as he shifted to a more comfortable position.
He was a practitioner of the 'Lying Low' philosophy.
Without absolute certainty, he would never easily provoke trouble or put himself in danger.
Getting him to leave home to fight and battle?
He'd probably have to wait until his Digital World was fully developed, his Senjutsu and Kekkei Genkai fully equipped, his techniques perfected.
Only then might there be a sliver of possibility.
"The real world is so boring. Let me see which of our little friends needs the Group Owner's whispers today."
As usual, Hattori opened the group chat.
Unlike the usual casual chatting, meme sharing, and playful banter, the atmosphere in the group today seemed somewhat heavy.
[This Queen Is So Beautiful: Although this queen was born in a warrior nation, I still want to ask you: are these... really all your doing?]
[The Dead-Last Jinchuriki: Such gruesome deaths. I can feel the despair these people felt before they died, even through the screen.]
[Second Pillar Thinks He Can Do It: Hmm, you've given me some inspiration. When I take revenge on the village and Itachi, I'll use these kinds of tortures.]
[Dark Group Owner: ???]
Hattori was completely baffled, having no idea what they were discussing.
[Cat Burglar: @Dark Group Owner, Check the group album. Hope you don't get sick.]
'The group album?'
Puzzled, Hattori gently opened the album.
Hundreds of bloody photos explosively invaded his sight, utterly shocking.
At the edge of every photo was a figure in a purple hood.
It was Seven!
Hattori's pupils contracted sharply, and he recognized the protagonist of these photos instantly.
'Why would Seven upload these photos?'
'Could it be...'
'They were the targets he killed back when he was in the Shadow Assassin organization?'
Filled with intense curiosity, Hattori enlarged the photos and examined them one by one.
There was a nine-headed Medusa, its nine heads severed, blood and minced meat covering the ground.
A tall barbarian giant, a bloody hole torn in its chest, its heart still beating on the ground.
There were also cyborgs, demonic cultivators, bio-modified beings from laboratories...
Without exception, their outcomes were all the same.
They were all dead.
Their deaths were bizarre and varied, extremely horrifying!