Whitebeard's Visit
She was just stuck at the last step, unable to get Susanoo to actively "breathe" Natural Energy.
She couldn't pinpoint the problem, but Natsu understood perfectly—she wanted to protect him too much, and this obsession made her Susanoo resist connecting with the outside world, wanting only to seal itself off and exist solely for him.
Natsu didn't urge her, nor did she urge anyone else.
He knew better than anyone that Sage Mode couldn't be achieved simply by spending time.
It doesn't require brute force, but talent, opportunity, and that "flash of inspiration" that even he himself can't quite explain.
He simply went to the underground training room every day without fail to check on everyone's progress, occasionally offering a few pointers, but most of the time he just leaned against the door frame, silently watching, and then turned to attend to the next task.
That afternoon, in Natsu's backyard, two figures, one tall and one short, rose and fell intermittently by the lake.
Sasuke wielded a Tachi, launching wave after wave of attacks, the blade tracing arcs in the sunlight.
Natsu used only an ordinary Kunai continuously parry, never leaving the patch of grass beneath her feet.
During a brief pause in their exchange, Sasuke suddenly used the momentum to leap into the air, his hands simultaneously forming hand Hand Seals in front of his chest.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!" A lifelike fire dragon emerged from the flames, its head held high, its scales and claws clearly defined, roaring as it pounced down at Natsu.
Sasuke's lips had just begun to curve into a slight smile when he suddenly froze— Natsu's figure vanished from his spot and reappeared in mid-air beside the fire dragon, almost level with him.
The kunai, which he had only ever used for parrying, flew out Kunai his hand, grazed Sasuke astonished gaze, and slammed into the grass behind him.
Sasuke fell from mid-air, tumbling twice before finally getting up, panting heavily, his forehead covered in a mixture of cold sweat and bits of grass.
"Suddenly unleashing Ninjutsu can indeed catch someone off guard." Natsu stood still, her tone calm, "But if you throw yourself into the air, leaving yourself no way out—what will you do if the opponent dodges your attack?"
Sasuke's hand gripping the Tachi trembled slightly, and a hint of shame flashed across his face.
"I'm sorry, Natsu, I..."
"You don't need to apologize to me. It wasn't me who died on the battlefield." Natsu interrupted him calmly, her tone not harsh, but every word was like a knife. "I'm just curious, if you faced Itachi in the future, would you make the same stupid mistake?"
Sasuke suddenly raised his head, a hint of resentment flashing across his face, which was covered in grass clippings and sweat.
He didn't hesitate for long. Gritting his teeth, he said, word by word, "No. Absolutely not. I will succeed."
Sasuke sheathed Tachi katana, a steady voice rang out from outside the courtyard gate. "Natsu, Edward Newgate has arrived."
The messenger was Night Owl Guard on duty for the day. His tone was respectful, but Natsu still caught a barely perceptible look of surprise in his eyes—clearly, even the guards were surprised that Newgate had come in person.
Natsu frowned slightly, then relaxed her brow.
He patted Sasuke on the shoulder, signaling that today's training was over, and then walked towards the door. His mind, however, was already racing with thoughts of the various arrangements he had made for the Whitebeard Pirates over the past few days.
Since the end of the Summit War, the Whitebeard Pirates have not disbanded, but their overall structure has quietly changed from a "Four Emperors crew vying for supremacy in the New World" to a "peripheral force dependent on the Uchiha."
Following Newgate's own wishes, they used their savings and the initial resources allocated by the Uchiha to buy a medium-sized island not far from the Origin Archipelago, and with the assistance of the Uchiha engineering team, built a commercial island.
With its port, market, and warehouses all readily available, and shipping routes directly connecting it to Spirit Awakening Island, it quickly became a new node on the West Blue trade route within just a few months.
The Uchiha only took a symbolic 10% of the island's profits; the rest were distributed proportionally among all members of the Whitebeard Pirates.
However, this is only temporary.
The formal treaty signed by both parties clearly states in black and white that the right to operate the island belongs solely to the current members of the Whitebeard Pirates, Uchiha will reclaim ownership of the island after 150 years.
However, 50% of the profits from the recovered public assets will be allocated to establish a welfare institution called "Whitebeard House," specifically for the descendants of all Whitebeard Pirates members—any bereaved family members in distress can receive shelter and assistance there.
This is the Uchiha Whitebeard Pirates, and an explanation to the more than 16,000 pirates who fought alongside them in the Summit War.
Of the original 40,000+ crew members of the Whitebeard Pirates, more than 10,000 were recruited into the Earthly Chief Guard after voluntary application and screening by the Uchiha.
Several of the fourteen Division Commander also chose to join, becoming commanders of various levels of the Earthly Chief Guard, thus officially coming under the command of the Uchiha.
Marco, Ace, Jozu, Vista, Rakuyo, and Whitey Bay did not accept any military positions and chose to live a semi-secluded life with Newgate on Guardian Hill Island.
However, Ace and Marco would occasionally sneak off to Origin Island and sit in a side hall of the Naka Shrine, bickering with the Yaoyu and Yakumi brothers.
In addition, Newgate specifically asked Natsu to look after Little Oars Jr..
Without the protection of the Whitebeard Pirates, that giant with the blood of the ancient giants would easily be targeted by forces that covet his giant bloodline.
Natsu readily agreed and settled the people in a specially leveled area on the north side of Origin Island.
In exchange, with the consent of Newgate and Little Oars Jr. himself, the Uchiha Research Institute will draw 1,000 milliliters of Little Oars Jr.'s blood each month for genetic research. If the research results are successfully translated into practical applications, they will be shared with Little Oars Jr., and the institute will be fully responsible for his safety.
Newgate himself would also come to Origin Island regularly, working with the laboratory to develop Gene Serum suitable for the members of the Earthly Chief Guard, while injecting himself with an initial version of the agent purified from Hashirama Cells to alleviate his body's decline.
However, over this long period of time, Newgate has rarely taken the initiative to visit Natsu.
The two usually met at the Naka Shrine, where they would sit and chat with Fugaku and the others— Newgate and Fugaku would drink alcohol, Natsu would drink tea.
After all, he's not an adult yet, and he doesn't like the taste of alcohol.
This old fellow suddenly showed up at the shrine today, probably because there's something he can't say in front of too many people.
Natsu Yin pondered this, she quickened her pace.