Uchiha Shichibukai

"What's wrong? Is the Navy here?"

Luffy yawned.

By now, he wasn't nearly as opposed to being captured. He had to save Ace!

Taking him to that place called Impel Down would actually help him, so he wasn't worried. Instead, he was already eager to get to the prison as soon as possible.

"Are you thinking about getting to Impel Down as fast as you can to save Fire Fist Ace?"

"Unfortunately, with your current strength, you can't do it. You can't even break those Seastone Handcuffs."

Uchiha Tamaharu bluntly shattered Luffy's hopes.

"Once I get inside, I'm sure I'll find a way."

"Robin said there was a great pirate who escaped from that prison before."

Luffy snorted, giving him a look that said, Don't try to fool me.

"That great pirate was a powerful figure, as famous as the Pirate King. He could break Seastone Handcuffs with his own strength. Can you do that?"

Uchiha Tamaharu shook his head, then continued to discourage him.

"Damn it!"

"I'm going to save Ace no matter what!"

Luffy refused to back down and kept arguing.

"I can help you. When the time comes, you'll be able to open your Seastone Handcuffs in prison."

"But I don't do things for free. We'll make a deal."

"You'll owe me a favor. Someday, I'll ask you to do something, and you'll do it."

Uchiha Tamaharu made his offer to Luffy.

He'd learned this from Madara Uchiha: planning ahead!

Though Madara Uchiha had been the one getting played from the very beginning, Uchiha Tamaharu didn't think spending a little time on this was a problem. He wasn't going to invest much in it.

"Why did you capture me and then offer to help me?"

Luffy looked confused.

"Do you want my help or not?"

"You only get this one chance."

Uchiha Tamaharu wasn't going to waste time. He figured Luffy wouldn't die, but whether he'd actually pull anything off was another matter.

"Fine!"

"I owe you a favor!"

Luffy gritted his teeth and agreed.

Saving Ace mattered more.

"Open your mouth!"

Uchiha Tamaharu ordered.

Luffy looked puzzled, but did as he was told.

"Poof!"

Uchiha Tamaharu summoned a crow. Tied to its foot was a Key that could unlock Seastone Handcuffs. Its teeth were adjustable, so it could open most of the Seastone Handcuffs used in this era.

He then controlled the crow and sent it straight into Luffy's mouth. Luffy looked miserable and couldn't believe his eyes, convinced he'd been tricked.

"Transcription Seal."

Uchiha Tamaharu activated his Mangekyo and began the Sealing Jutsu.

A minute later, the crow had entered Luffy's mouth.

Luffy was utterly miserable. He had a huge appetite, but swallowing something whole, feathers and all, felt awful!

"That crow will come out of your mouth in two months. Remember to take the Key from it."

After leaving him with those words, Uchiha Tamaharu had his people take Luffy away.

Luffy still had no idea what was going on. He didn't know if he'd been tricked, and was still reeling from the misery of swallowing a crow.

Not long after dawn, a Marine warship docked.

Vice Admiral Momonga was in charge of escorting Straw Hat Luffy.

He had also brought the Shichibukai's authorization.

Luffy and Bartholomew Kuma were handed over to the Navy without a hitch.

Momonga stared at the man who seemed so scrawny, wondering how he'd defeated Bartholomew Kuma and captured Straw Hat Luffy. He was very curious.

"Starting today, you, Uchiha Tamaharu, are one of the World Government's Shichibukai."

"Here's your authorization. Keep this Den Den Mushi safe, too. If the World Government needs anything, they'll contact you through it."

Momonga handed the items to Uchiha Tamaharu.

Uchiha Tamaharu took the Den Den Mushi, which looked much like Bartholomew Kuma, and tossed Kuma's Den Den Mushi toward him.

"The World Government will announce this to the world tomorrow," Vice Admiral Momonga continued.

A short fellow nearby pulled out a camera and quickly took a picture of Uchiha Tamaharu.

"Understood."

"By the way, Vice Admiral Momonga, this is my group's insignia. Please have it printed in the newspapers tomorrow, too."

Uchiha Tamaharu nodded, then took out a flag bearing the Uchiha Clan crest and handed it to Momonga.

Momonga nodded and didn't refuse.

This newcomer to the Shichibukai had little renown. Clearly, he wasn't some notorious great pirate.

If he'd been a pirate, Momonga wouldn't have treated him this way.

The Navy soon left, and the whole matter was settled briskly.

"Get everything ready. We'll set sail tomorrow."

Uchiha Tamaharu gave the order.

The Uchiha clansmen around him were delighted, too. In this world, the Uchiha had acquired a legal status.

Over the past few days, they'd learned what kind of authority the Shichibukai had!

They could plunder legally!

The World Government wouldn't restrict them, and the Navy wouldn't attack them.

They had to hand over a portion of their profits, but that barely mattered.

They did, however, have to answer the World Government's summons and work for it.

Their situation had been much the same when they were shinobi, but they'd never had this much freedom.

The ordinary clansmen were thinking about living better lives, but Uchiha Tamaharu was looking further ahead.

"You can go now."

"If you want to rescue Straw Hat Luffy, you still have time. But Bartholomew Kuma should be out of his Seastone Handcuffs. If you think you can beat him, go ahead."

Uchiha Tamaharu had his people remove the Straw Hat Crew's Seastone Handcuffs. After all, the devices were hard to come by.

They'd have to find a way to get one for every member of the Uchiha Combat Unit to use for protection.

"You're really letting us go?"

Chopper was still surprised.

He'd thought these bad guys would trick him.

"There's still time to save Luffy!"

Zoro said urgently.

His captain, the man he'd entrusted everything to, couldn't just be lost like this.

He wanted to get his swords back, but saving his captain mattered more.

Nico Robin gave Uchiha Tamaharu a long, thoughtful look.

People who acted decisively and had clear goals were always ambitious.

He didn't even want someone who could read the Poneglyphs. It seemed he wanted something much greater!

"Damn it, I'll get revenge for Nami next time!"

Sanji threatened him.

It was something he'd always dreamed of doing!

"I'll be visiting your family soon. I'll tell your father I ran into you."

Uchiha Tamaharu replied calmly.

But those words made Sanji feel as if he'd fallen into an icy abyss. For a moment, he couldn't speak.

"Let's get out of here!"

Franky grabbed Sanji and hurried off.

He'd had enough of these strange people. Saving Luffy was more important!

The Straw Hat Crew soon disappeared from Uchiha Tamaharu's sight.

The other Uchiha were packing up, too. There were still a few things in Gekko Moria's castle worth taking.

"Mission: Submit."

Meanwhile, Uchiha Tamaharu silently opened the system and submitted the first mission.

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