Plans to Set Sail

Cold sweat beaded on Rear Admiral Yuma's forehead as he took command. He stared at the two pairs of eerie eyes in the distance.

He had no doubt that if the warship crossed the line, a terrifying attack powerful enough to overturn it would follow.

Vice Admiral Momonga's bizarre, crushing defeat and the unimaginable control over those creatures convinced him to heed the mysterious man's warning.

"Stay alert and withdraw slowly to a safe distance! Medical team, do everything you can to treat Vice Admiral Momonga!"

A barely perceptible tremor ran through his orders as they rang across the deck.

This was no longer a situation a mere rear admiral like him could handle.

Please, medical team, wake Vice Admiral Momonga up soon!

The flock of crows that was Uchiha Itachi swept over the sunset-red sea and swiftly returned to Kuja Island.

Behind him, the two giant Sea Kings he had placed under the Sharingan's control remained in the water.

Like two moving islands, they patrolled slowly, their scarlet Three Tomoe eyes fixed on the retreating Marine warship.

Big Brother had told him how power was divided in this world.

The Marines were one of its dominant forces, and the Uchiha Clan could not afford to provoke them yet. So Itachi had not taken things too far.

It would have been easy to command the Sea Kings to send that warship to the bottom of the sea.

But doing so without anyone finding out was impossible.

Meanwhile, inside the palace on Kuja Island...

Uchiha Yoru and Shisui sat across from Hancock, discussing an important matter.

Ever since Yoru noticed the Empress's interest in Shisui, he had gone with the flow and often brought Shisui to her palace.

He had only one goal: to bring the two of them together as soon as possible.

Yoru would have been glad to see them end up together.

Shisui was far too gentle. People like him were always sacrificing themselves for others.

Someone had gouged out his right eye, yet he had not even gotten angry.

Instead, he had worried that his left eye might become the object of a struggle between the Konoha High Command and the Uchiha Clan, deepening their conflict.

To eliminate that possibility, he had promptly chosen to take his own life!

Was that a decision any human being could make?

Even a god couldn't do much more!

The guy was completely out of his mind!

Now that the Uchiha Clan had more or less settled in, Yoru intended to find time to sneak back with Shisui and reclaim his right eye.

What? I promised Itachi I wouldn't return to Konoha?

My foolish little brother, forgive Big Brother for lying to you one more time!

But the real question was whether Shisui, given his personality, would agree to reclaim his right eye.

That was why Yoru wanted the strong-willed Empress to temper Shisui's gentle nature.

If Shisui flatly refused to return to Konoha,

Yoru would simply tell the Empress about the misery of Shisui's early life, then take her along to help reclaim his right eye.

What? Why don't I pursue the Empress myself?

Come on. Beautiful as she is, she's nearly thirty.

Uchiha Yoru was only sixteen this year.

That's almost a whole generation apart. Does that sound right to you?

And seriously, is the Empress's eccentric personality really that great?

If I had to choose someone that much older, I'd rather have someone who understands me, like Robin.

Before Yoru could let his thoughts wander any further, a faint flutter of wings sounded.

Countless crows flew through the window into the hall. They gathered at its center and took the form of Uchiha Itachi, his expression perfectly calm.

"Big Brother, the Marines are here."

Uchiha Itachi wasted no words and briefly recounted what had just happened.

"Another summons?"

Hancock's red lips curled in mockery. "Those people in the World Government are as full of themselves as ever. And then? Momonga, was it? I recall he's a rigid man with some ability."

The World Government had granted the Shichibukai special rights and privileges. They could plunder at sea without fear of arrest by the Marines, making them pirates with official sanction.

They were generally free to act as they pleased without government interference.

But every so often, the Marines summoned them and assigned them missions.

Of course, they were not obliged to accept every mission. They could refuse the Marines, but they had best weigh their own strength first.

With Mihawk's strength, he could refuse the Marines any number of times without jeopardizing his status as a Shichibukai.

But let Gecko Moria try refusing them repeatedly.

They would flatten his head!

Even the Marines treated people differently depending on who they were dealing with.

And with the Empress's exceptional strength, she could ignore most of their summons too.

Only when she was in the mood would she head out to sea for a bit of plunder and call that a completed Marine mission.

"I stopped them at sea," Itachi replied.

"Then send them away. I have no desire to go to sea right now."

The Empress glanced at Shisui beside her and issued the order imperiously.

But Itachi ignored her. He simply looked straight at Yoru without a word.

"Actually, the timing is about right for us to set sail. A real man should long for the sea, after all."

Uchiha Yoru rubbed his chin, weighing the idea.

The Uchiha Clan had all learned the basics of Haki, but their progress had slowed considerably of late.

After all, training in isolation could hardly match the progress made in battle.

Just look at Luffy: after two years, he had only learned basic Haki, yet a few blows were enough to push him rapidly through Ryuo, Conqueror's Coating, and Devil Fruit Awakening.

More importantly, Haki was far from the only power found on the Grand Line.

Devil Fruits were a local specialty that depended largely on luck to find, so he could set those aside.

What Yoru was more curious about was the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

Could it copy the swordsmanship of skilled swordsmen and master swordsmen?

If the Sharingan could copy those sword techniques,

the Uchiha Clan would be in for another major leap in strength.

Just thinking about it is a little exciting!

"If you want to set sail, go yourselves. I have no desire to go to sea right now."

The Empress tilted her head back, refusing to give Uchiha Yoru the time of day.

She turned her head away with a haughty air that said, Go if you want. Just leave me out of it.

Yoru rolled his eyes inwardly.

They had no ship, so setting sail would hardly be convenient.

What, was the entire clan supposed to walk out of the Calm Belt?

Hijacking the warship outside might just be an option.

But why go to that trouble when a better choice was right here?

Yoru set down his teacup and let his gaze drift toward Uchiha Shisui, seated diagonally across from the Empress. He gave him the slightest look.

Its meaning could not have been clearer:

You're up, brother.

At Yoru's look, the corner of Shisui's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

Shisui was no fool. He understood what the Empress's unusual behavior toward him these past few days meant.

And he did not particularly mind it.

She was strong and beautiful, had a good heart, and cared for her people.

She was very much his type.

It was just that everything seemed to be moving a little too fast, leaving him unsure how to face her.