Madara Uchiha's Journey Through the East Blue
A gentle sea breeze caressed the nameless island in the East Blue. The clear blue sea met the vast sky, and the shimmering surface of the sea reflected a soft silver light. There were no surging waves or howling winds; everywhere there was a gentle tranquility that the world praised.
Madara Uchiha, dressed in simple black, stood alone on the highest cliff of the island, his posture as upright as an ancient green mountain, exuding a majestic aura overlooking all living beings.
He lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze passing over the layers of lush green trees, quietly gazing at the small village nestled at the foot of the mountain by the coast.
This small village is tranquil and warm, a typical example of everyday life in the East Blue.
A smooth stone path winds among the scattered wooden houses, with unnamed wildflowers and green crops growing in front of and behind them. In the fields, farmers in simple clothes are working hard, their movements slow and steady.
On the beach, children chased the waves barefoot, their clear laughter carrying far away on the sea breeze;
Under an old tree at the village entrance, several women sat together mending fabrics and chatting about everyday life, enjoying a peaceful and carefree existence.
Witnessing such a peaceful and pure scene, a rare, gentle smile appeared in Ban's long-dormant eyes.
Having fought his way through countless battles and witnessed the chaos of war, he had seen far too many horrific scenes of corpses strewn across the fields and lives lost. Such a peaceful and undisturbed world, untouched by bloodshed, was truly rare.
But that gentle smile lasted only a moment, vanishing like Utakata, replaced by a deep, piercing regret that lingered between his brows and eyes.
It is said that among Four Blues, the East Blue is the most peaceful and stable, a rare haven of Pure Land in times of chaos.
After leaving Origin Island, Ban traveled to all the islands in the East Blue, spending more than twenty days traveling and resting. He had already seen through this so-called "peaceful sea area".
The peace in the East Blue has never been true harmony and stability; it is merely a carefully crafted, fragile, and hypocritical facade.
Just as Natsu had analyzed the truth of the world when they chatted before, the entire World Government system has always been filled with extreme injustice and exploitation.
The high-ranking hereditary nobles possess vast tracts of fertile land and endless wealth. They live in magnificent cities, enjoying a life of luxury and comfort, yet they never engage in production and only recklessly exploit and oppress the common people at the bottom of society.
Countless ordinary people toiled year after year, day and night, exhausting their blood and sweat to cultivate the land and fish for seafood, only to have most of their harvest and resources plundered and looted by the nobles at every level.
The people's suffering is the true reality of the East Blue.
In order to survive, protect their families, and find a glimmer of hope, ordinary people at the bottom of society will inevitably be driven to desperation and then rise up to resist unjust oppression.
Ironically, and cruelly, any common people who dared to resist or fight for justice were immediately branded as traitors by the nobles, accused of numerous crimes such as bandits, pirates, and rebels, and became targets of the World Government and Navy for wanton extermination.
The nobles plundered the people's wealth and sent it up the ranks to the World Government as tribute.
The World Government, relying on these resources, has built a massive naval force dedicated to protecting the privileges and stability of the aristocratic class and suppressing all voices of resistance from the lower classes.
A closed-loop system of exploitation has trapped the common people of the entire East Blue in the mire of poverty, from which they can never rise again.
Despite its reputation as the "most peaceful sea area," the East Blue is still plagued by pirates causing chaos, raiding villages, and massacring fishermen.
During his more than twenty days of travel, Ban witnessed too much darkness firsthand.
He saw only a handful of such peaceful and serene villages; most of the islands were filled with decay, poverty, and fear.
What chilled him to the bone and struck him as most ironic was the dirty collusion hidden in the shadows of this sea area.
Countless low-ranking Navy Soldier and down-on-their-luck pirates secretly colluded and conspired together. The pirates used most of the wealth they plundered from the people to bribe the navy in exchange for the tacit approval and protection of the authorities.
The navy feigned a crackdown and went through the motions, but in reality, it protected the criminals, allowing them to harm the local people while the pirates divided the spoils and lined their own pockets.
Beneath the light lies only decay and darkness.
Upon thinking of this, Madara Uchiha's originally calm and peaceful gaze suddenly turned cold, a chilling glint flashing in his eyes. A fierce aura originating from a top-tier expert quietly spread around him, causing the gentle sea breeze around him to freeze and the air to instantly turn several degrees colder.
It's no wonder that such a hypocritical and corrupt world is rife with chaos and has never known true peace.
In contrast, the West Blue, which had long been completely under the control of the Uchiha Clan, presented a completely different and magnificent scene.
In the past, the West Blue was the most chaotic, the most vicious, and the most war-torn sea among the Four Blues. Pirates roamed freely, gangs held sway, nobles were tyrannical, and the people were displaced and suffered unspeakable misery.
In just two or three years, under Natsu's leadership and the Uchiha Clan's iron-fisted rule, the entire West Blue has been transformed and reborn.
The World Government, deeply fearing Uchiha Natsu's extraordinary strength, dared not confront him and ultimately relinquished control of the West Blue.
The Uchiha Clan seized the opportunity to completely annex the entire West Blue. Their first decree was to abolish all the aristocratic systems that had been passed down in the West Blue for hundreds of years, shatter all class barriers, and abolish all hereditary privileges.
In the West Blue today, there are no nobles, no privileges, and no classes; all the islands are directly governed by the Uchiha Clan.
Within the seas, everyone is equal in birth and status, regardless of race, bloodline, or origin.
The only thing that needs to be upheld is the fair laws set by the Uchiha Clan, and the only thing that needs to be obeyed is the command of the Uchiha Clan.
To maintain order in the sea areas and safeguard the safety of the people, Natsu Yin tailored a comprehensive and stringent security system.
The Uchiha clan members, whose strength was still immature and had not yet grown to the level of main combatants, were organized into the Heavenly Star Guard and dispersed to every island in the West Blue. Their special duties were to supervise local customs, ensure the implementation of government orders, prevent favoritism and corruption, and safeguard the stability of their respective regions.
At the same time, the Uchiha Clan recruited honest and brave local civilians from all over the West Blue, selecting the best to form the Earthly Chief Guard, responsible for daily patrols, street security, and dispute mediation, directly protecting the daily lives of ordinary people, allowing local people to participate in the construction of their homeland and safeguard their own peace.
Those clansmen who possess outstanding strength and talent but have not yet been included in the top-tier combat force of the Night Owl Guard are all incorporated into the Nightingale Guard, who are in charge of the administrative and supervisory power of the entire West Blue.
From large-scale island governance and resource allocation to small matters such as officials' performance of duties and people's livelihood, everything falls within the Nightingale Guard's scope of supervision.