Fujitora Issho

There used to be four or five gangs on this street that collected protection money. The shops are still there, and the fishmonger is still the same old man. But now, each shop has a copy of the Uchiha Public Order Edict posted at the entrance, with a Red-and-White Fan stamp at the bottom.

The old man told him that after the Uchiha came, the gang leader was taken to Spirit Awakening Island and publicly executed, and the rest were all thrown into the mine. From then on, no one on this street dared to collect a single penny of protection money.

The old man scaled the fish while muttering to himself, his tone filled with genuine reverence and gratitude.

Yi Xiao held her teacup, remaining silent for a long time.

On another island, he met a veteran who had served in the navy.

The veteran, missing a leg, leaned against his porch in the sun. When talking about the navy's withdrawal from the West Blue, his tone was not resentful, but rather carried a hint of unexpected composure.

He said he had fought for the Navy his whole life and never imagined that the West Blue would become like this. The Uchiha's rules were stricter than the Navy's military law, but they kept their word and did not favor anyone. In the past year, the children on his street have been able to go to and from school safely.

After listening, Yi Xiao didn't say anything, but simply nodded slightly and drank the now-cold tea in one gulp.

He had traveled to too many places, seen too many armies that waved the banner of "justice" but engaged in activities no different from plunder, and seen too many regimes that talked about "order" but couldn't even manage a single street. But in West Blue, he saw another possibility.

Finally, on a merchant ship bound for Spirit Awakening Island, he sat cross-legged in a corner of the deck, facing the sea breeze, and slowly opened his eyes, which had long since lost all light.

The merchants on the ship were excitedly discussing the size of Spirit Awakening Island's port, the Uchiha's quasi-navigation system, and the pirate heads that had been publicly executed. There was no fear in their tone, only a sense of entitlement that came with being accustomed to this stability.

Yixiao placed his Cane Sword across his lap, listening to the wind and the sound of the waves, and silently made a decision. He wanted to see Uchiha Natsu.

It wasn't about questioning or challenging, but about wanting to see for myself—in his own way—what the man who cleaved Marineford in two and then rebuilt it all from the ruins was really like.

The merchant ship anchored just as the afternoon sun was at its strongest.

Yixiao leaned against the ship's side, listening to the captain negotiating with the dock manager about resupply. He said they would only stop for two hours to load fresh water and fruits and vegetables before leaving.

He hadn't planned to disembark, but the aroma of grilled fish wafting from the dock and the cacophony of voices from the market made him change his mind—he'd go for a walk.

He strolled leisurely through the market, bought a few freshly baked flatbreads, and then sat at a tea stall for half an hour.

The island is small, but densely populated. Children play and vendors hawk their wares in the streets and alleys. If it weren't for the occasional chatter about the "Uchiha Public Order Edict," one would almost think that the West Blue has always been this peaceful.

Then his Observation Haki detected something unusual.

Deep within the alley, several auras were rapidly heating up.

Some were roaring, some were begging for mercy, followed by the piercing sound of swords being drawn.

He smiled and put down his teacup, his brows furrowing slightly. They were two newly arrived pirate crews—most likely recent arrivals in the West Blue, and hadn't yet experienced the weight of the Uchiha Public Order Edict.

A man covered in blood stumbled out of the alleyway, pursued by several pirates wielding curved swords, who were about to slash his back.

Yixiao's hand was already on the hilt of the Cane Sword.

But he didn't make a move.

In that instant, his Observation Haki detected more than a dozen other auras—not pirates, but faster, more stable, and colder than pirates.

The dozen or so auras appeared simultaneously from street corners, rooftops, and alleyways, their movements so synchronized that it was as if a person's shadow had been copied a dozen times.

The pirate at the forefront had just raised his scimitar when his wrist was pierced by a Kunai imbued with Armament Haki, and he screamed as he fell to his knees.

Several gray-white figures flashed by, and blades gleamed at the alley entrance. Almost simultaneously, all the pirates were subdued, unable to mount any meaningful resistance.

The leader was a young man with a Tachi at his waist and Red-and-White Fan emblem embroidered on his chest.

He pulled a crumpled bounty poster from the pirate captain's pocket, glanced at it, and tossed it to his crew behind him. "Bounty of 23 million, three robbery records. Take him away. Handle according to the policing order."

His tone was so calm, as if he were simply ordering someone to take out the trash and throw it away.

As the pirates were led out of the alley with their hands tied behind their backs, their faces still held a look of disbelief and bewilderment.

They probably couldn't understand how the Uchiha clan could arrive so quickly.

Yi Xiao loosened his grip on the hilt of the Cane Sword.

He "looked" at the young man standing at the alley entrance, then "looked" at the townspeople around him who, after being startled, only peeked out briefly before continuing with their own business, and a complex feeling welled up in his heart that was hard to describe.

The speed of reaction, the tactical coordination, the awareness of protecting civilians, and the unsurprised calm on the faces of the townspeople when the young man mentioned the "security order" all spoke of the same thing: the order of this West Blue is written in the instincts of every Uchiha Patrol Team.

The navy can't do it, and neither can the World Government.

Of all the forces he had ever encountered that claimed to be "justice," none could match the Uchiha's level—truly treating the protection of civilians as a matter of course, rather than just a slogan on recruitment posters.

Yixiao stood there for a while, then turned and walked back to the dock.

He didn't touch the hilt of his knife again, nor did he mention what had just happened. He simply boarded the ship, sat cross-legged again in the corner of the deck, broke the baked flatbread he had bought in half, and gave half to the shipwright next to him who was wiping the deck.

The boatman accepted the gift with a flattered expression, thanking him repeatedly. He smiled and said, "The wind in the West Blue is indeed cleaner than elsewhere."

The boatman didn't understand, he just scratched his head and chuckled twice.

In a side hall of the Naka Shrine, Natsu leaned back in her chair, her fingertips lightly touching the air.

On the pale blue light screen that only he could see, several newly extracted terms were quietly floating— Long-Lived Species, Diligence Overcomes Weakness, Phantom Night Prison, Will Kin.

His gaze swept over the four entries one by one, then he took a deep breath and silently said in his mind, "System, install them all."

The moment the words fell, an invisible wave spread silently from the Naka Shrine across the entire Origin Island.