Jack the Drought
The burly leader spotted the well-made sailing ship, far superior in condition to the dilapidated merchant vessels around it, and immediately whistled a flippant tune. He beckoned his companions forward, intending to seize the ship.
But when he looked up and saw Gunbai tribal flag fluttering in the wind at the top of the mast, all his movements suddenly froze.
The greedy smile that had been on his face just moments before froze instantly, his blood seemed to freeze, and he felt as if he had been doused with ice water. His feet were rooted to the spot, and he was almost knocked over by his companions who were following behind him.
"What are you standing here for? Get out of here!" His companion impatiently reached out and pushed him.
The burly man's Adam's apple bobbed violently, his voice trembling so badly he practically forced out the words through clenched teeth. "It's... Uchiha."
Those four simple words instantly shattered the other person's arrogance.
The two men turned pale instantly, and without daring to linger for even a moment, they turned and fled in panic, not even daring to look back, for fear that a moment's delay would bring utter destruction.
The next second, a deafening, deep roar came from the direction of the tavern.
It seems his subordinates have already reported all the unusual activity in the port area.
Jack's fierce eyes pierced through the broken walls of the tavern and through the sea breeze for dozens of meters, precisely locking onto the Uchiha's sailboat.
Their eyes met from afar; on one side was a fearsome Ancient Zoan monster, and on the other was the new generation leader of the Uchiha, newly arrived in the New World.
Chunwu stood at the bow of the ship, his posture upright and steady, slowly raising his hand to make a gesture of silent preparation for battle.
He was vaguely certain that Jack had come all this way not to fight a pointless skirmish with them, a group of newcomers.
How could a target that would warrant one of the Three Calamities of the Beasts Pirates personally crossing realms to reach be merely a junior who has just entered the New World?
There must be people and things in this port that are more valuable than them, and more worthy of the Drought official's personal attention.
Jack stood by the dilapidated wooden door of the tavern, not moving an inch.
Those fierce eyes pierced through the cracked wall panels, fixed on the round Gunbai flag fluttering in the wind in the center of the harbor. The gaze was heavy and sharp, as if it wanted to pierce through the flag and the people on the ship.
He couldn't possibly not recognize this flag.
Shortly after the Summit War ended, Kaido threw a detailed intelligence report in front of him, clearly stating Uchiha Natsu's name and the clan's heritage.
To this day, he still remembers his boss's exact words.
"Let's leave those Red Eye lunatics alone for now."
Jack is simple-minded and straightforward, but he is by no means a brainless brute.
There are probably fewer than five people in the entire ocean who could make Kaido, who reigns Four Blues and is known for his unbridled behavior, say "Let's give way for now."
He knew perfectly well the significance of the Uchiha.
But an uncontrollable burning anger was stuck in his chest.
Three days ago, a subordinate who possessed the core secrets of the Beasts Pirates defected from Onigashima overnight, quietly disappearing with intelligence that could shake the entire Beasts Pirates ' power structure.
He was ordered to lead a team in pursuit, traversing the heart of the New World and chasing them all the way to this edge of the sea, only to completely lose track of their target at Coral Port.
This free port, teeming with all sorts of people and utterly unregulated, was the traitor's last hiding place. He had to find him.
He had originally planned to check all the ships in the harbor one by one, but at this critical juncture, the Uchiha group of teenagers suddenly appeared.
Pirates, merchants, and bounty hunters throughout the harbor all secretly turned their attention to him. If he deliberately avoided it and pretended not to see the ship, when the news spread back to the New World, people would only say that Jack the Drought was afraid of a few Uchiha brats and was forced to refrain from inspecting the ship by a group of teenagers.
He could never accept such a loss of face.
Jack twisted his body abruptly and kicked over the stack of wine barrels piled up by the door.
The wooden barrel shattered, spilling liquor all over the ground, its pungent aroma mingling with the smell of strong alcohol. He strode forward, charging straight towards the Uchiha sailboat.
Its imposing eight-meter-tall body resembled a moving mountain, and every step it took caused the bluestone slabs to crack and the stones to bounce.
A dozen or so Beasts Pirates minions followed closely behind, a dark mass carrying a heavy stench of blood and a menacing aura, pressing towards the berth step by step, instantly filling the entire dock with a sense of oppression.
Chunwu stood quietly at the bow of the ship, watching the enormous figure that was constantly approaching. He didn't lift his eyelids even slightly, and his expression was calm to the point of indifference.
"All personnel, listen to my command." He spoke in a deep, calm voice. "Without my personal order, no one is to act without authorization. Raise the sails, cast off the mooring lines, everyone take your positions, ready to leave the shore at any time."
Rin's figure blurred, and in an instant, he reached the top of the mast, Hand Seals hand seal with one hand.
The taut sails were instantly filled with the sea breeze, billowing and bulging with a roar.
The remaining twenty Uchiha members silently dispersed to their positions, each performing their duties swiftly and decisively, without a single person panicking or losing their composure, and without making a single unnecessary sound.
This group of teenagers, whose average age is less than fifteen, faced the ferocious aura of Jack the Drought, who swept across mountains and seas, yet remained as steady as a rock, as calm as veteran warriors who had experienced countless life-and-death battles.
Jack suddenly stopped a few steps away from the ship's side.
He looked down at the slender, thin figure of the boy at the bow of the ship. The boy was not even as tall as his waist, so small that he seemed he could be crushed with a flick of his wrist.
The enormous size difference created an extreme sense of oppression. A rough, arrogant chuckle rolled from deep in his throat, his tone full of disdain and arrogance.
"You bunch of greenhorn brats? Uchiha Natsu himself came, I'd still give him some face. What are you compared to me?"
Chunwu raised his eyes, and the scarlet Three Tomoe pendant met his fierce gaze.
His voice was soft and gentle, yet it penetrated all the subtle sounds and noises of the dock, landing steadily in Jack's ears, each word clear and powerful.
"Whether we are anything or not is irrelevant. But if you take another step forward, you'll be able to weigh for yourself whether we, a bunch of brats, can really stop you."
He paused briefly, then precisely exposed the other party's deliberately concealed anxiety and vulnerability.
"You're here to find someone, not to waste time fighting us, right, Lord Jack?"
Jack's pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart skipped a beat.
He never revealed any trace of his investigation, and deliberately adopted a provocative and pressure-inducing posture throughout, yet this seemingly naive boy instantly saw through his intentions.
He was indeed looking for someone, and he certainly didn't have the extra energy to get entangled in this internal strife. But having his thoughts exposed in public by a teenager was more humiliating and infuriating than being slapped in the face.
His knuckles tightened suddenly, making a cracking sound, the veins on his arms bulged and knotted, and a murderous aura surged wildly around him, pressing the surrounding air into a stagnant and icy cold, as if the temperature of the entire dock had suddenly dropped.