Overhauling the West Blue
From Laskamp Island to the Sabaody Archipelago, from the major ports of the West Blue to the first half of the Grand Line, merchant ships began to actively adjust their routes, detouring from the West Blue to the New World.
When the news reached Mary Geoise, the Five Elders were speaking with Sengoku in a side hall among the Flower Room.
Sengoku remained silent for a long time on the other end of the Den Den Mushi, finally saying in a deep voice, "They're using the same things we did against us."
The Five Elders did not answer.
They knew better than anyone that the navy had withdrawn from the West Blue months ago.
The order in that sea area wasn't handed over by the Navy; it was shattered piece by piece by the Uchiha, and then rebuilt piece by piece.
The sword that was rebuilt is sharper, colder, and more popular than the one the Navy once wielded.
And that's what makes them most uneasy.
The Registration Order and the Bounty-Hand-Over Order like two sieves, sifting the hundreds of pirate crews that had flooded into the West Blue into three piles.
Those who handed over their people were trembling with fear, while those who refused had become dried heads on the port's wooden stakes. Those who neither handed over their people nor fled were being dragged out one by one from the corners of the island by the Night Owl Guard and escorted towards Origin Island.
But what Uchiha Natsu wanted was never to exterminate everyone.
What he wanted was to completely straighten out this sea area.
Origin Island, Naka Shrine.
Uchiha Setsuna placed a thick register in front of Natsu, a register detailing information on all pirate crews registered in the West Blue since the Registration Order was issued.
The captain's name, bounty amount, crew size, and past plundering records were all clearly listed. Natsu didn't rush to look through them, but first asked, "How's the categorization?"
In Setsuna, he pulled out another, thinner booklet from his sleeve and laid it open next to the roster.
This is the classification result after he conducted three rounds of cross-checking on all registered pirate crews, as requested by Natsu.
Three categories.
The first category is pirate crews that do not have blood debts owed to civilians.
They raise the pirate flag either because they are wanted by the World Government, because they have offended the Celestial Dragons, or simply because they cannot find a way to survive on this sea.
The second category consists of looters who indiscriminately kill innocent people; the crimes listed in the bounty notices, such as massacres, arson, and human trafficking, are clearly verifiable.
The third type is more like adventurers than pirates. They don't rob civilians; they explore ruins, salvage shipwrecks, and occasionally clash with other pirate crews. Their behavior is closer to the free-roaming style of the Straw Hat Pirates.
Natsu remained silent for a moment, then closed the roster and began issuing instructions one by one.
The first type of pirate crew was brought under the command of the Uchiha.
"Those who are forced to live by the World Government should be given a way out."
Send someone from Tekka to negotiate—those willing to accept reorganization will be incorporated into the Earthly Chief Guard.
Those who meet the required standards will be directly awarded the rank of second lieutenant or higher.
Those who do not meet the standards will be given intensive training and must meet the standards within two years.
Since they haven't harmed civilians, the Uchiha should give them the right to stand openly in the sunlight.
The second type of pirate crews were all sent to the mines.
"Those scum who take pleasure in slaughtering civilians, leave no one alive."
Send the Night Owl Guard to capture them all alive and take them to the Origin Island Mine Pit.
Tell the mine manager that these people don't need to be treated like human beings—they work in shifts of twelve hours a day, and their food is rationed to the bare minimum.
"We'll call it a day when the mine is completely empty."
The third type of pirate crew, quasi-pirate.
"It's better to guide than to block."
This ocean has never lacked free spirits; if you push them too far, you'll only create new enemies.
Issue them Navigation Permit, and they must re-examine it at Spirit Awakening Island every three years.
As long as they don't violate the Uchiha Public Order Edict —no looting, no slave trading, no establishing their own armed forces—how they sail is their business.
Natsu paused suddenly at this point.
The crisp sound of Shuriken hitting targets echoed from the Training Ground outside the window, mixed with the laughter of several children chasing and playing in the Clan Academy.
He picked up the half-cooled teacup on the table, took a sip, and spoke again in a flat and cold tone, as if he were stating something self-evident.
"As for those who massacred civilians—throw them into the Mine Pit, not because they killed people, but because they took the property of the Uchiha Clan."
Commoners are the future tax revenue source for the Uchiha, the labor force for our infrastructure, the students for the Royal Academy, and the source of soldiers for the Earthly Chief Guard.
They will pay for the number of people they killed with the labor of the rest of their lives.
"If they can't pay it off in this lifetime, then their descendants will have to pay it off."
In the following months, the sky over the West Blue became much clearer.
The Night Owl Guard acted much faster than anyone expected.
Within just a few weeks, all the pirate crews classified as Category II were dragged out one by one from the corners of the island, put on Seastone shackles, and escorted to the Origin Island mine.
The mine managers beamed with joy at the steady stream of new laborers and worked through the night to open three new mine tunnels.
The reorganization of the first-class pirate crews is also progressing steadily.
Tekka set up a temporary Recruitment Station on Spirit Awakening Island, treating everyone from captains to crew members equally.
By the end of the month, more than two thousand former pirates had passed the assessment and were officially incorporated into the Earthly Chief Guard.
Standing on the Training Ground in their new uniforms, many of them looked at the Gunbai Emblem on their chests, symbolizing their official membership in the Uchiha clan. Their expressions shifted from fear to confusion, and then from confusion to a kind of inexplicable determination.
The third type of pirate crew received the first Navigation Permit.
These documents are made of special waterproof paper, printed with the Uchiha Gunbai emblem and the basic information of the captain holding the certificate, while the back is densely filled with all the terms of the Uchiha Public Order Edict.
Several veteran captains, who had spent years at sea and were used to being chased by the navy, examined their Navigation Permit over and over again. Finally, they carefully tucked them into their pockets and stood on the dock, stunned for a long time.
Trade routes subsequently recovered.
From Laskamp Island to the Sabaody Archipelago, an increasing number of merchant ships are choosing to detour via the West Blue.
Patrol boats flying the flag of the Earthly Chief Guard patrolled the waterway day and night, and any small groups of pirates who dared to approach the merchant ships were driven away from a distance before they even got close.
Trade volumes rebounded at a visible pace, and several neutral ports that had been declining due to the naval withdrawal became bustling again. The dockworkers changed batch after batch, and the ale in the taverns sold better than before the war.
But what surprised the merchants of the West Blue the most was that the Uchiha actually only killed those who deserved to die.
Those adventure groups with Navigation Permit can actually sail freely in this sea area, as long as they don't mess with civilians or cross the Uchiha's bottom line.
Several captains, used to hiding and running around, got half-drunk in a port tavern, slamming their fists on the table and exclaiming, "Damn, I've never had such a comfortable time under the navy."
Which of the Four Emperors in the New World didn't control their territories like an ironclad fortress? But the Uchiha different; as long as you don't cause trouble, they won't even bother to glance at you.