Yasopp: Arrogance! Beckman: But it really is a favor...

Fugaku nodded, then asked, "What about Jin? What if he stubbornly refuses to surrender?"

Natsu thought for a moment.

"Try persuading him first. If he really refuses, make him watch as the Beasts Pirates hand over their territory piece by piece. Once he understands, then we can talk."

Fugaku didn't ask any further questions and returned to his original position.

Natsu glanced again at the few Night Owl Guard squad leaders who hadn't left yet and added, "Before you set off tomorrow, make sure you each set the frequency for your Communication Den Den Mushi. Once you arrive at your destination, report back every two hours. Don't lose contact."

"Yes," the squad leaders replied in unison.

"Let's call it a day," Natsu said.

Fugaku turned around and began to explain the specifics to the squad leaders.

The people in the hall gradually dispersed, their footsteps fading into the distance until they disappeared completely.

Natsu did not leave immediately.

He stood before the throne for a moment, glancing down at his hands.

He opened his palms, then closed them again. Then he put his hands back into his sleeves, turned around, and walked down the steps one by one.

He paused at the bottom of the steps and glanced back at the throne he had modified.

Dark red carpet, golden dragon-shaped armrests, and a rotating yin-yang symbol above.

He paused on the throne for two breaths, then withdrew his gaze and stepped out of the hall.

The corridor was brighter than the hall, Dusk streamed in through the high windows, casting a grayish-blue light on the floor.

Natsu walked out along the corridor, and when she reached the door, she saw Fugaku standing at the bottom of the steps waiting.

Is there anything else?

"Before Madara-senpai left, he asked me to tell you something," Fugaku said. "He said, 'Have him come find me after you've finished dealing with things in Izuna Uchiha.'"

Natsu paused for a moment, then her lips twitched slightly.

The curve was slightly larger than usual, carrying a faint warmth, like being gently touched by something.

"Understood," he said. "Tell him not to wait for Izuna Uchiha- senpai to go find him. Tell him to come back on his own."

Fugaku responded and turned to leave.

Natsu stood at the doorway, watching Fugaku's figure disappear into the Dusk. Then he withdrew his gaze and stepped out.

The Red Voss was anchored on the leeward side of an unnamed island.

As Killing Hall walked across the sea, the lookout on the Red Fox spotted him from afar.

The gray-white uniform stood out starkly in the Dusk. A lone figure, without a boat, walked step by step on the waves, his pace neither fast nor slow, Flower Capital beneath his feet.

The people on deck began to move.

Some people reached for weapons, while others ran towards the ship's side. Killing Hall walked to the side of the ship and looked up at the heads peeking out from the deck.

"Uchiha Shadian, I have come to deliver a message on Natsu's orders."

A calm, unhurried voice came from the direction of the cabin.

"Killing Hall, please come up."

Killing Hall leaped onto the deck from the ship's railing.

The core members of the Red-Haired Pirates had already gathered in the center of the deck.

Shanks stood at the front, a long black cloak draped over his shoulders, his left hand resting on the hilt of Gryphon's sword.

Beckman was next to him, a half-smoked cigarette dangling from his mouth.

Yasopp, Lucky Roux, Hongo, and Limejuice stood in a row.

The Killing Hall stood still, without beating around the bush.

"Lord Natsu asked me to tell you that he allows you to see him in ten days."

The air on the deck tightened for a moment.

Shanks looked at the Killing Hall for a few moments, then tilted his head.

"Ten days. Where?"

"Someone will come to pick you up in ten days. You'll find out the exact location then."

"Okay." Shanks nodded. "I understand."

Killing Hall turned and took two steps toward the ship, then stopped, tilting his head to add, "Natsu Yin said to come alone."

Then he jumped off the ship's side and walked away on the sea.

The greyish-white figure quickly blended into the Dusk.

The deck remained quiet for a while.

The Yasopp was the first to explode.

"Permission? To see him?" He tucked his gun into his belt, his voice rising a notch. "It's as if seeing him is a favor he's bestowed upon us! When has the Red-Haired Pirates ever needed anyone's permission to see anyone?"

Lachi Rue, munching on meat beside him, mumbled a reply.

Hongo didn't speak, but his brow was furrowed.

Several of the younger crew members were losing their temper, and some started cursing.

Beckman took the unlit cigarette from his hand and twirled it between his fingers.

"Yasopp, calm down."

"Calm down? Listen to what he said--"

"I heard you," Beckman interrupted him. "Don't rush to yell. Tell me, what did you see in Sabaody?"

Yasopp paused for a moment.

"I saw hundreds of Susanoo." Beckman lit a cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled smoke that dissipated quickly in the Dusk.

"Each one is bigger than our ship. They are lined up there, densely packed, like a mountain."

"A single one of those things, if you pick it out, wouldn't be enough for all the people on our ship to squeeze in one of its hands."

He glanced at the Yasopp to the side.

"I also saw that guy named Madara. Garp, Sengoku, Akainu, Kizaru, and Tsuru, the five of them, the Navy's top combat power, whose reputations were built up over decades of battles."

That man sealed all five people inside five stone spheres. It happened in an instant. He didn't gather his strength, didn't shout out his moves, he just raised his hand. And the five people were gone.

Yasopp opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"And that Natsu." Beckman took the cigarette out of his mouth and flicked the ash. "What level is Imu?"

The ruler of the World Government for eight hundred years, the master of the Void Throne.

The navy didn't dare utter a sound in his presence. But Natsu wiped him out.

We didn't see the whole process, but we saw the result.

Imu is gone, Mary Geoise is littered with corpses, all the Celestial Dragons are dead. The World Government is finished.

He put the cigarette back in his mouth, his voice a little deeper.

"The Navy is finished, the World Government is finished, Imu is finished, the Five Elders are finished, the God's Knights are finished. How long did it take for all of this to happen?"

One day? Two days?

"And our Red-Haired Pirates? Full strength. But so what? Three Four Emperors crews tied together, are they enough to take on the Uchiha Clan?"

He paused for a moment.

"To put it bluntly, we are just a bunch of ants, only a little bigger than other ants."

Uchiha Natsu said "allow," it truly was a favor. He could have easily refused and simply sent Madara to dismantle our ship and hang our heads at the gates of Mary Geoise.

He didn't do that. He gave you ten days and allowed you to see him. This 'allowance' was given by him, not something we earned ourselves. You have to accept that."

Yasopp stopped cursing.

The anger on his face was still there, but there was something else beneath it.

He pulled the gun out of his waist and put it back in, repeating this twice. Finally, annoyed, he plopped down on a wooden crate by the deck and stopped talking.