A Thorny Situation

He turned and looked toward the thin mist where the Uchiha group had vanished, his fingers clenched tightly around the hilt at his waist.

He finally understood why that useless Rolf had been unable to hold out and had needed to request reinforcements from Headquarters.

In this seemingly tranquil uninhabited sea, what lay hidden was no ordinary pirate crew, but an unprecedentedly terrifying force capable of shaking the entire West Blue and even threatening Marine Headquarters' rule.

Less than half an hour later, Uchiha Taoho led the patrol back to Origin Island at full speed. Without even taking the time to wipe away the seawater clinging to him, he rushed straight to the central council hall.

Inside the council hall, Natsu, Fugaku, and Setsuna were studying an unfolded map of the West Blue, finalizing the deployment details for the outer defensive perimeter. When they saw Taoho stride in hurriedly, the gravity still lingering on his face, all three stopped what they were doing.

"Young Master Natsu, Clan Head, Elder." Taoho stepped forward and bowed. His breathing was slightly uneven, but he still delivered a clear, complete report of their encounter with the Marine Headquarters fleet.

"We were patrolling fifty nautical miles to the northwest when we encountered two Marine Headquarters warships. Their vessels flew Headquarters' military flags, and the one leading them was a Marine Vice Admiral.

After spotting us, they immediately ordered us to stop for inspection. When we refused, they opened fire as a warning. I used Water Release to block the bombardment and led the entire team in a full-speed retreat. We did not engage them directly. They did not pursue and remained where they were."

He paused, then added the details his Sharingan had caught. "The two warships carried more than sixty cannons at full armament. The accompanying Marines were all Headquarters elites. The Vice Admiral leading them had an extremely powerful presence—the strongest opponent I have encountered so far. His strength far surpasses that of most of the clan's Elite Jonin."

Natsu's fingers, which had been lightly tapping the tabletop, abruptly stopped.

His brows immediately twisted into a deep furrow. The calmness on his face gradually darkened, and even the air around him seemed to turn colder with his mood.

Taoho's description, that distinctive style of conduct, and the choice of Marine Vice Admiral dispatched to the West Blue instantly overlapped with the anime memories carved into his mind from his previous life.

It was Momonga. Marine Headquarters' veteran Vice Admiral, Momonga.

Natsu's fingers slowly tightened as a storm surged within his heart.

It was not that he had not expected the Marines to send someone, but he had never imagined that Marine Headquarters would get serious so quickly. Their very first probe had sent a tough opponent on Momonga's level.

He knew this man's strength all too well.

Among Marine Headquarters' flag officers, Momonga could definitely rank in the top twenty, perhaps even the top ten.

He had escorted Nico Robin during the Enies Lobby incident, fought Whitebeard Pirates division commanders head-on during the Summit War, and even when summoning the Seven Warlords of the Sea, Headquarters would send him to handle such an important task.

Even if he was not as strong as the top Seven Warlords of the Sea, he was still unquestionably among the most troublesome combatants on these seas.

Normally, dealing with pirate disturbances in the Four Blues would warrant, at most, a Headquarters colonel to maintain appearances. Yet this time, they had directly sent a veteran Vice Admiral?

Natsu's gaze swept over Fugaku and Setsuna beside him as he rapidly assessed the clan's hidden strength. His expression grew increasingly grave.

At present, the Uchiha Clan's strongest fighters were undoubtedly Fugaku and himself.

Over the past year, Fugaku had relied on the overwhelming power of his Mangekyō Sharingan to forcibly complete the Hashirama Cells transplant.

Even without a specialized research team, and with the cultivated Hashirama Cells' vitality falling short of the highest grade, his raw physical strength could at most compare to a Marine Headquarters Rear Admiral. But the tremendous regenerative power brought by the Hashirama Cells had completely resolved the Mangekyō Sharingan's greatest weakness for the Uchiha Clan—ocular power consumption and the risk of blindness.

The current Fugaku still could not activate the Complete Susanoo, but he could freely activate either the half-complete form with its upper-body armor or the third-stage Susanoo with legs.

With the Hashirama Cells providing continuous recovery, he could even maintain Susanoo in battle for extended periods. That Susanoo Blade, imbued with Uchiha Fire Release power, combined offense and defense. Even senior officers on the level of Queen or Jack under the Four Emperors could not break Susanoo's absolute defense, leaving them helpless against Fugaku.

As for himself, although his Sharingan had long since evolved into Indra's Eye, allowing him to activate Susanoo without restraint even in its Three Tomoe state and without concern for ocular power consumption or backlash, he was only eleven years old in the end.

Although the [Time Traveler] trait had raised his potential ceiling, his body was still far from reaching its developmental peak. In terms of raw physical power and accumulated life-and-death combat experience, he still lagged behind Fugaku. If they truly fought to the death with everything on the line, he might not gain the upper hand.

As for the remaining twenty-three Elite Jonin in the clan who had already reached Kage Level, although their strength had long surpassed their Ninja World days with the [Time Traveler] trait's enhancement, they were ultimately still at the Three-Tomoe Sharingan stage and could not activate Susanoo, the Uchiha's strongest trump card.

In terms of pure combat strength, they were only about equal to the weakest Marine Headquarters Vice Admirals. Against a battle-hardened veteran Vice Admiral like Momonga, who had fought his way out of the Grand Line, they would gain no advantage whatsoever.

"Natsu, is the situation that troublesome?" Fugaku looked at his darkened expression and spoke first, his tone steady. "Just what level is the enemy's strength?"

Natsu came back to himself, suppressed the turbulent thoughts in his heart, and looked at the two of them. He spoke slowly, his voice carrying a hint of coldness. "It's Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral Momonga, one of Headquarters' most elite veteran Vice Admirals. He is nothing like the trash we encountered before."

"A Marine Headquarters Vice Admiral?" Setsuna's brows immediately knitted together, and his hand was already pressed against the ninja tool pouch at his waist. "Then we should gather the clan's full strength at once and reinforce our defenses. If he dares approach Origin Island, we'll make sure he never leaves!"

But Natsu shook his head. His fingers tapped the sea chart again as his gaze fell upon the coordinates where Momonga's fleet had stopped, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Rushing into battle was the stupidest choice.

Since Momonga dared to bring two warships deep into these waters, he must have been thoroughly prepared. More likely than not, he had already sent a request for reinforcements back to Headquarters.

Facing the Marines head-on now would only completely place the Uchiha Clan in opposition to the Marines, drawing an endless stream of extermination campaigns and utterly disrupting his plans to bide his time.

What was more, another pack of wolves was lurking in these waters, watching them hungrily.

The Blackbeard Pirates.

That top sniper hiding in the shadows, along with the ambitious Teach, were likely waiting for him and the Marines to fight each other to mutual ruin so they could reap the rewards.