"Sharp eyes, kid."
Rayleigh smiled. He neither confirmed nor denied it, merely speaking casually.
"You don't look like an ordinary tourist either. Not everyone can stomach the cloying sweetness of those bubble specialties."
Though he had not recognized who the young man before him was.
But did that matter?
Having weathered countless storms, there was nothing left that could surprise him!
Yoru smiled as well, flashing a row of white teeth.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Uchiha Yoru, the current clan head of the Uchiha Clan."
He paused, his gaze falling on Rayleigh's callused hands.
"I heard there was once a legendary swordsman on these seas, whose blade could split mountains and sever waves.
Now he lives in seclusion here, making a living coating ships. I suppose that must be you, sir?"
Yoru casually tossed out a few compliments without the slightest burden.
It was a habit he had picked up in his previous life. Put a flattering hat on anyone you met, and you could never go wrong.
Rayleigh lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a hazy cloud of smoke that obscured his eyes behind his lenses.
"A legend? That's ancient history. Now I'm just a ship-coater waiting around to die. I can't teach anyone, much less a kid like you who looks like trouble follows him everywhere."
"Don't be so quick to refuse, old man."
Yoru was not annoyed, still smiling warmly.
"Our clan doesn't have much, but we do have plenty of good things. Fine wine? As much as you want. Stories? We have plenty of interesting legends too.
We've even heard a thing or two about ways to live forever."
Yoru lowered his voice for that last sentence, adding a hint of temptation.
He did not know what could move the retired Rayleigh, but old people probably wanted to live long lives, so he casually made something up.
If Rayleigh truly became interested,
Yoru would not necessarily be unwilling to tell him about puppet techniques and Living Corpse Reincarnation.
They were not his skills anyway.
Rayleigh smiled and shook his head.
"Immortality? Heh, that's no good thing. The longer you live, the more tragedies you see.
As for wine and stories, I've got plenty of wine here. And stories... I'm too lazy even to remember my own."
One squatting and one sitting, the two of them chatted idly in the narrow alley filled with the scent of resin and tobacco.
"Purururu... Purururu..."
A small, inconspicuous black Den Den Mushi in his arms suddenly began to ring.
The smile on Yoru's face faded slightly. He gave Rayleigh an apologetic gesture, then answered the Den Den Mushi without any attempt to hide it.
The Den Den Mushi mimicked Shisui's gentle face, though it now wore an obvious expression of guilt.
"Clan head."
Shisui's voice came through the Den Den Mushi, its guilty expression perfectly copied by the creature.
"I'm very sorry. I disobeyed your orders."
Yoru raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Orders? Did I give any orders?"
"You said we weren't allowed to provoke the Celestial Dragons." Shisui's voice lowered further.
"But I just seriously injured a Celestial Dragon..."
Shisui quickly explained everything that had happened, without concealing anything.
On this end of the Den Den Mushi, Yoru fell silent for about two seconds.
Then he suddenly burst out laughing.
It was not a cold laugh or an angry laugh, but the sort of laugh one gave upon hearing something interesting—helpless, yet unsurprised.
"Hahahaha... Shisui, Shisui, what am I supposed to say about you?"
Yoru laughed so hard his shoulders shook. "I knew it. With your personalities, you were bound to stir up some trouble on this island. How could there possibly be no conflict?"
"But I really didn't expect the first one to poke a hole in the sky would be you, Shisui, the gentlest one of all!
You kicked a Celestial Dragon flying with one kick? Not bad, Shisui. I never knew you had such a fiery side!
How did it feel? Pretty satisfying, wasn't it?"
Yoru had long been mentally prepared for the possibility that the Uchiha might come into conflict with the Celestial Dragons.
Even so many local pirates who knew how formidable the Celestial Dragons were could not stand their behavior.
Zoro had nearly cut down a Celestial Dragon.
Not to mention the Uchiha, who did not truly understand the Celestial Dragons' lofty status. How could they possibly tolerate them?
This was not about justice or injustice. No normal person could stand the sight of those Celestial Dragons.
Everything was within his expectations.
Shisui on the other end of the Den Den Mushi seemed a little bewildered by the clan head's reaction.
"Clan head... is it really all right?"
Shisui hesitated slightly.
"I told you, I use my brain! I'm not surprised at all that you people would cause trouble. Did you really think I hadn't left myself a backup plan before letting you out?"
Yoru's tone was relaxed, without the slightest hint of fear.
That was right. After a Celestial Dragon was beaten, an Admiral would definitely come to block their way.
With the Uchiha Clan's current strength, if they all gathered together, they could probably barely deal with one Admiral.
But if they were held up and another Admiral arrived, they would be finished.
But who in their right mind would want to fight an Admiral?
Were they looking for trouble?
Uchiha Yoru had not come to the Sabaody Archipelago on a whim, nor had he brought his clansmen here for sightseeing.
It was because the island contained a target he had selected long ago.
Those Celestial Dragons.
A group of ordinary people with incomparably lofty status—was there any better target for controlling with genjutsu?
Even with the Sharingan's enhancement, ordinary genjutsu found it difficult to control an enemy with decent strength.
But ordinary people were definitely not included in that category.
Ordinary people had no ability to resist the Sharingan's genjutsu. Their bodies and minds would both be controlled by it!
Just like in the original story, when Itachi and Kisame first encountered Uzumaki Naruto and saw Jiraiya guarding him closely without ever leaving his side,
Itachi chose to use genjutsu to control a beautiful woman and lure Jiraiya away.
So the moment he arrived on the island, Yoru began searching everywhere for Celestial Dragons.
He had effortlessly used genjutsu to control three Celestial Dragons.
Now he only needed to make another trip and control Saint Charlos as well. Then nearly all the Celestial Dragons on the island would be under his control.
The Celestial Dragons are all under my control.
Why would I be afraid of an Admiral?
It was precisely because he had this confidence that Yoru had allowed the Uchiha Clan to act freely.
They could cause whatever trouble they wanted. There was nothing on this island that the Celestial Dragons could not handle.
"See? I told you it was fine, clan head. I was the one who attacked first. What does some Celestial Dragon even count for? Even if it were the Daimyo, we Uchiha would not fear him."
Seeing that the clan head was not blaming them, a rather arrogant voice suddenly came from the other end of the Den Den Mushi.
"Ooh, such an energetic voice. That must be Inabi."
Yoru pulled another pie from his pocket, slowly took a bite, and spoke indistinctly.
"It's me, clan head. I found something good on the island. I guarantee it'll shock you!"
Inabi proudly played with En'yōmaru in his hand, unable to put it down.
"We'll talk about that later. Inabi, since you're so confident, when the Admiral arrives, you'll take the lead for us!"
"Of course, clan head! I feel terrifyingly strong right now. Leave that damn Admiral to me alone!"
Inabi's confident voice came from the other end.
Before you continue