Development

"An information broker from the New World chimed in, "He's too lazy to look because you're not even on his radar. His eyes are on those who can threaten him; as for you—in his eyes, you're probably just a passing ant."

The captain paused for a moment, then picked up his glass, took a large gulp, and said nothing more.

In a side hall of Naka Shrine, the salty smell of sandalwood mixed with the sea breeze wafted in through the half-open wooden lattice window.

Uchiha Natsu sat cross-legged in the main seat, holding a monthly summary scroll that had just been sent from Spirit Awakening Island. His gaze lingered on a few lines of numbers for a moment before he casually handed it to Fugaku beside him.

The six Elder sat on either side, with various documents spread out on the low table in front of them. Setsuna was approving the expansion application of the Earthly Chief Guard, Yaoyu and Yakumi were quietly checking the duty roster of the Night Owl Guard for the next quarter, Qi was leaning against the pillar and flipping through the patrol log of the Heavenly Star Guard, and Yashiro was frowning as he looked at the CP0 interception report that the anti-espionage team had just sent.

"This is the third batch this month." Yashiro slammed the report on the table, his tone tinged with impatience. "Mary Geoise is determined to plant spies in the West Blue. They arrested five last month, and seven more have arrived this month."

A woman disguised herself as a tea merchant and passed the initial check at the port registry. If the patrol hadn't found an encrypted Den Den Mushi on her boat, she would have actually made it onto Sourceguard Island.

At that Setsuna, she looked up and glanced at him over her reading glasses. "Has the interrogation been completed?"

"Interrogated. Standard CP0 training procedure, even the suicide poison was hidden in the same spot. It's the same old information over and over— Mary Geoise wants us to hand over people, the Five Elders want them to continue infiltrating, nothing new." Yashiro paused, then added...

"The people are already at the port, Encrypted Den Den Mushi has been sent to the lab. Vallen said he'd take it apart to see if they could crack the CP0 communication band."

Natsu didn't participate in the conversation. She simply placed the scroll on her lap and turned to look at Fugaku: "Whitebeard and the others arrived?"

Fugaku put down his teacup and nodded. "Newgate, Marco, and Ace, the three of them. As you instructed, they've toured both Spirit Awakening Island and Hillguard Island, and just arrived from Sourceguard Island this morning. They should be almost at the shrine entrance now."

As they were speaking, a series of heavy, familiar footsteps came from outside the palace gate, mixed with the crisp sound of wooden clogs on the stone slabs and a few muttered words in a low voice— Ace's voice, probably complaining again about why he couldn't just fly over.

Uchiha Natsu sat up slightly and placed the scroll on his lap aside.

The six Elder also put down the documents in their hands, straightened their clothes, and sat up straight.

A gentle knock came at the wooden door of the side hall, and the guard's voice came steadily from outside. "Natsu, Edward Newgate, Marco, Portgas D. Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates have arrived."

Natsu looked up at the doorway, her voice calm yet carrying a faint smile, "Please come in."

The door hinges clicked softly, and three figures stepped into the side hall against the afternoon sunlight.

Newgate bent down and barely squeezed into the doorway. The hilt of Murakumogiri's sword hit the lintel with a dull thud. He casually leaned the greatsword against the weapon rack outside the hall and strode in.

Marco followed behind him, his face full of laziness and drowsiness. His gaze quickly swept over the furnishings in the hall, lingering for a moment on Natsu's face before he nodded slightly.

Ace was the last to enter. He was wearing an open, dark red short-sleeved shirt, and the Red Bead Necklace around his neck swayed gently with his steps. When he saw Natsu, he grinned and gave a bright smile, casually waving his hand. "Yo, Natsu! Long time no see!"

"It wasn't that long," Natsu glanced at him, her tone carrying undisguised disdain, "But for a stubborn guy like you, it's probably quite a long time. You almost lost your life at Marineford, haven't you learned your lesson yet?"

Ace's White Fang were still showing, but his smile froze for a moment. He awkwardly lowered his hand, which had been raised in mid-air to wave, and scratched the back of his head.

"Uh... that..."

Ace was speechless, and Marco walked up from behind, patted him on the shoulder, and said with undisguised schadenfreude, "Hahaha, Ace, I told you, you were going to get roasted again this time, but you wouldn't believe me."

Whitebeard shook his head helplessly, ignoring his two sons' quiet bickering, and followed Fugaku's directions to an empty cushion, where he sat down cross-legged.

The movements were much smoother than they had been six months ago, and the creaking sound from his knees was much quieter.

After he sat down, he looked at Natsu and spoke in his usual deep voice, but with a touch more solemnity than usual. "Gulu la la la, Natsu, thank you so much this time."

"No need to worry about it." Natsu put down her teacup, her tone calm. "If I really want to express my gratitude—I hope that when the Uchiha achieves their goals in the future, you won't make things difficult for me."

Newgate frowned slightly. The words sounded polite, but carried considerable weight. "Target? I don't know what your target is?"

Natsu picked up her teacup, took a sip, and slowly set it down, looking up at the World's Strongest Man opposite her. "It's simple. Unification."

"Unify? Unify the West Blue?" Newgate didn't react for a moment.

Natsu's tone remained calm, as if she were simply saying that the weather was nice today.

"Unify the world."

The air in the side hall seemed to have been sucked away.

Marco and Ace, who had been chatting and laughing with Yaoyu and Yakumi in the corner, both fell silent. To be precise, it was Marco and Ace who were joking, while the Yaoyu and Yakumi brothers listened expressionlessly the whole time, barely even lifting their eyelids.

But now, those two Sharingan slowly turned around as well.

"Unify the whole world?!" Upon hearing this, Newgate's expression stiffened slightly, and he frowned as he looked at Natsu and said, "Natsu Yin, are you kidding me?"

Newgate's smile froze on his face. He stared at Natsu for a long time, his old eyes, which had seen countless people, narrowed slightly, as if he were reassessing someone he had known for a long time but who had suddenly become a stranger.

"Natsu, you're not joking, are you?"

Do you think I'm joking?

Newgate fell silent.

Marco and Ace also fell silent.

In the side hall, only the crisp sound of Shuriken the Training Ground in the distance outside the window, and the sobbing of the sea breeze through the wooden lattice window remained.

After a long while, Newgate slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his voice carrying a complex meaning that was hard to define—a sigh or awe, "That's true. With your strength, replacing the World Government doesn't seem impossible."

Natsu didn't respond to that topic, but instead suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.

"Newgate, do you know the origins of the Uchiha Clan?"