Chapter 142
Aburame Hatsuizumi and Haku completed their tasks without encountering any danger. It was worth noting that while the Daimyō of the Land of Fire agreed to their request due to the favorable conditions offered, the Land of Wind had no choice but to comply due to its weakened national power. Meanwhile, the Land of Water was even more straightforward—it was directly under Aburame Hatsuizumi's control.
Zixu hadn't expected Aburame Hatsuizumi and the others to be so efficient. It seemed the conference could be held ahead of schedule, so he decided to invite the Five Kage directly.
Since it would take at least a week for the Kage to travel from their respective villages to Zixu's domain, he sent out the invitations without delay.
After making the necessary arrangements, Zixu went to check on Karin's progress. Time was tight, and he wasn't sure how well she had mastered her Devil Fruit abilities.
After all, Karin had no inherited template to guide her, making it impossible for her to control the fruit's power perfectly from the start. She had to proceed step by step.
"Karin, how are you doing with your Devil Fruit abilities?" Zixu found her idly lounging in the clinic.
With the world's greatest martial arts tournament approaching, everyone in the village was busy preparing. Those who could contribute did so, while those with no skills set up small stalls, hoping to squeeze some money out of the visitors from the five great nations—a contribution to the village's development in its own right.
"I've got it under control for now," Karin replied lazily, stretching as she lay on the table. "I still feel a bit off when transforming into my beast form, but I've more or less mastered the power of Seiryō (Azure Flame). It suits my abilities well."
"Good. Keep working on refining your control," Zixu encouraged. He was about to leave, intending to check for any other potential vulnerabilities in the village's defenses.
"Hey, Zixu," Karin called out, stopping him before he left. "Why are you always so tense? With our current strength, there's no need to be this cautious."
Zixu paused, his back still turned to her.