02 - The Op-Op Opportunity
The Caged Bird was the cursed seal used by the Hyūga main house to control the branch house's life and death.
Once implanted, it stayed for life.
Even the main house could not remove it.
Because after the Caged Bird was created, it only had two functions: implanting the seal and activating the seal. No technique was invented to remove it.
Unless a Six Paths-level powerhouse intervened, the Caged Bird was virtually unbreakable in the shinobi world.
Otherwise, whether it was Konoha's high-level officials or other ninja villages, if they could break the Caged Bird, they would easily sway the entire Hyūga branch house to their side with just a beckoning finger.
If that had been the case, the hundreds of branch house members wouldn't still be serving the mere dozens of main house members like workhorses to this day.
But regarding this, Tanaka, who possessed the Void Walker's Gate, was not worried at all.
Just because it couldn't be broken in the Naruto world didn't mean it couldn't be broken in the One Piece world.
After all, in the One Piece world, there was not only Haki but also countless strange and unpredictable Devil Fruits.
If nothing else, consuming a Logia-type fruit would mean, "My fate is mine, not the seal's."
Elementalization alone could deal with a seal that destroyed the Byakugan and the brain.
If that didn't work, then there was the Paw-Paw Fruit.
It could expel pain, fatigue, memory, and even the soul from the body.
Expelling a Caged Bird seal? That would be simple.
If the Paw-Paw Fruit was already eaten by Bartholomew Kuma, then as long as Tanaka found him—given Kuma's compassionate nature, who used his ability every week to relieve pain for the elderly and bore the pain himself—unless the Paw-Paw Fruit also couldn't break the seal, he would definitely help.
Besides that, there was also the scientist who was 500 years ahead of his time.
Vegapunk.
Or simply use the Byakugan to search island by island in the One Piece world until finding a suitable Devil Fruit.
No matter what, it was better than staying in the Naruto world and being a slave for the main house.
Tanaka stood up from the cliff's edge, walked to a secluded spot in the forest, and formed hand seals. Chakra flowed through his meridians like streams into his eyes.
Bulging veins rose on both sides of his forehead like writhing dragons.
In an instant, his 359-degree vision fully opened around him.
Any Hyūga who activated the Byakugan could see everything within a kilometer radius.
As a prodigy praised by Hizashi as a once-in-a-century genius, who had awakened the Byakugan at just three years old, Tanaka could see everything within three kilometers.
Not only long-distance vision but also X-ray-like sight within this range.
"Although it's not the Sharingan or Rinnegan, the Byakugan isn't bad either. After solving the Caged Bird, I'll find a way to pursue the Tenseigan."
"One step at a time until I reach the level of the Six Paths."
Confirming that no one was around, he no longer hesitated.
With a single thought, he envisioned the Void Walker's Gate deep within his soul.
The next moment, he vanished silently from the forest.
In a single thought, he could travel between two worlds.
This was Tanaka's greatest reliance as an 8-year-old daring to venture alone into the One Piece world.
As long as he wasn't instantly killed upon arrival, he could return to the Naruto world in an instant with just a thought.
Faster than the Flying Thunder God Technique.
---
On an unknown island, a figure in white appeared out of thin air as if teleporting.
It was Tanaka, who had just traveled from the Naruto world.
As his vision cleared, he assumed the Gentle Fist stance, hands positioned front and back, with his 359-degree vision scanning the surroundings, ready to return to the Naruto world at any moment.
"No one?"
His eyes swept across the scene—snowflakes dancing in the sky, towering trees wrapped in white snow.
Seeing no one within a few hundred meters, he slightly lowered his hands but remained vigilant.
After all, this was the One Piece world.
When it came to top-tier power, before Madara emerged with his Susanoo in the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Admirals and Emperors of the One Piece world far surpassed the Five Kage of the Naruto world.
Even the so-called strongest Hokage, Hiruzen, would have been forced to kneel before any Admiral in the Summit War of Marineford.
Of course, the chakra system from the Naruto world wasn't without its advantages either.
As long as it wasn't facing top-tier powerhouses like the Emperors, Admirals, Warlords, or top commanders, a combination of ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu—along with the ninja's inherent deceptive battle tactics—could absolutely pull off a first-encounter kill against pirates or marines far stronger than themselves.
Especially Devil Fruit users who feared the sea.
"The most urgent task is to determine my location and the timeline I've arrived in."
Having survived the initial risk of getting instantly killed, Tanaka maximized his Byakugan's perception, expanding his vision from a few hundred meters to a much broader range.
Beyond the snow and forest, he spotted two figures—one tall, one short—walking through the snow.
Focusing his Byakugan, though the world appeared in black and white, Tanaka immediately recognized the two figures about two kilometers away in the snowstorm.
The tall one was Donquixote Rosinante.
The short one was Trafalgar Law.
"Wait."
"If it's those two, then I am likely in Minion Island in the North Blue."
"The location of the battle for the Op-Op Fruit."
Recognizing the two and seeing Rosinante carrying Law on his back, Tanaka's mind raced, and an idea sprang up.
"A Devil Fruit worth more than even the Yonko... If it's really that fruit, I might not even need to find Kuma to solve the Caged Bird problem."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
What was the Op-Op Fruit?
A single Op-Op Fruit was essentially a Warp-Warp Fruit + Calm-Calm Fruit + Rumble-Rumble Fruit + Float-Float Fruit + Chop-Chop Fruit + Barrier-Barrier Fruit + Heal-Heal Fruit + Sickle-Sickle Fruit—and even more than that.
A Devil Fruit priced at 5 billion Berries was definitely undervalued, not overvalued.
"It can even separate the soul from the body and perform soul transfers—there's no reason it couldn't handle the Caged Bird."
Thinking of this, his breathing quickened.
Even if the Op-Op Fruit couldn't remove the Caged Bird, the abilities Law demonstrated with it alone gave Tanaka every reason to pursue it.
With his decision made, he immediately locked onto the figures of Law and Rosinante, then sprinted after them.
He hadn't forgotten.
On this Minion Island, besides the two he saw through his Byakugan, there were three other forces at play.
The group led by Diez Barrels, who currently possessed the Op-Op Fruit and intended to sell it.
The Marine high command, who wanted to buy the Op-Op Fruit.
And the Donquixote Pirates, acting as intermediaries while also coveting the fruit for themselves.
The Op-Op Fruit... It will be mine. With that thought, Tanaka quickly channeled chakra into his feet.
Although his body was only 8 years old, not yet fully grown, and incomparable to monsters like Kaido or Big Mom, as a member of the Hyūga clan, he had undergone branch house training from a young age. Sparring daily with Hizashi ensured his physical prowess was far from weak.
Most importantly, his chakra reserves were notably higher than an average chunin's.
Whoosh!
Enhanced by chakra, his speed surged like an arrow leaving the bowstring, yet he remained silent and ghost-like, blending seamlessly into the snowy landscape.
As for the icy terrain and freezing cold?
Until his chakra was depleted, such mere frost and chill were nothing to him.