Chapter 24

"An Uzumaki Mito who was alive and still stood with the Uchiha was the most beneficial outcome for the Uchiha."

With Uzumaki Mito around, she could still keep the Third Hokage's faction in check.

If she died, the mountain hanging over the Third Hokage's head would collapse completely.

The Senju Clan would also be finished for good.

When that happened, the Third Hokage's faction would definitely do everything they could to swallow up the Senju and Uzumaki Clan's assets, ninjutsu, ancestral property... They would grow fat in one bite, and their strength would surge.

At that point, the Uchiha would become the first target they wanted to eliminate—their number one enemy.

Uchiha Chisato did not want to see that happen.

Uchiha Chisato knew full well that she could not let the Third Hokage's people have it too easy.

If they freed up their hands and focused on dealing with the Uchiha, things would become troublesome. They had to keep creating problems for them and wear them down, so the Uchiha would have room to breathe and grow.

"Don't worry. Leave it to me!"

Uchiha Xunjing patted his chest and readily accepted the task.

"Alright, then it's settled."

Uchiha Chisato nodded, then said, "Mom is still traveling to complete missions. She'll reach Jaya Island soon."

"She should be able to finish this mission today."

"Next up is Loguetown."

"Unfortunately, we still haven't found a flying summoning beast, so we can't get to Sky Island yet. We can only wait."

If they could get up there, they would not be so strapped for cash. Gold could not be spent directly as money, but it would be easy enough to exchange it for cash at the exchange in the City of Fire.

"It's fine. There's no rush."

Xunjing's tone was steady. "It'll happen sooner or later."

"The Pirate World is so vast. We'll definitely find a suitable flying beast."

"While you're out there, Mom, just keep an eye out for information about that sort of thing."

"You're right."

Uchiha Chisato's eyes lit up. "I'll remember that. I'm off, see you later!"

The moment she finished speaking, her figure vanished from the spot as she teleported away.

Less than half a day later.

"Whew, so this is Jaya Island? It really is chaotic."

The instant Uchiha Chisato set foot on the island, she sensed the countless gazes sweeping over her from every direction, many of them openly ill-intentioned.

Those looks were filled with prying curiosity and malice.

"So it really is a pirate island, true to its reputation."

She thought to herself, I'll look around first and unlock more of the map. That way, Xunjing can find a safe place to settle down later.

Otherwise, with his strength, a place like this is genuinely too dangerous for him.

With that in mind, Uchiha Chisato did not rush ashore. Instead, she kept her small boat moving and slowly circled Jaya Island, observing the surrounding terrain and layout as she went.

The pirates on the island wore all kinds of expressions when they saw this.

Some found it uninteresting and gave up watching her. But more of them began following her in secret, greed and calculation in their eyes.

Uchiha Chisato had already awakened Observation Haki, and its sensing range grew every day. She saw every one of their little movements clearly.

A trace of coldness flashed through her eyes.

She muttered under her breath, "They really don't know what's good for them."

A bunch of lowly grunts dared to set their sights on her? They were tired of living.

Before long, Uchiha Chisato steered her boat to a beach on the northern side of Jaya Island.

With a light tap of her toes, she gracefully leaped ashore.

After landing steadily, she turned and pressed a hand against the boat. With a thought, the entire vessel vanished into thin air, stored within the Space-Time Gate's storage space.

This was authority Xunjing had given her.

He had specifically designated a full ten thousand cubic meters of storage space for her personal use within the gate, making it convenient for her to carry all sorts of supplies and spoils along the way.

Uchiha Mikoto naturally had the same privilege.

The internal space of that Space-Time Gate was absurdly vast anyway—ten kilometers in every direction, with a height exceeding ten kilometers. It had more than enough room for whatever they wanted to store.

And as his strength increased, the space would expand automatically.

Perhaps one day, it would grow into a true world.

"Look! She's over there!"

"Haha, just as I thought, she couldn't resist coming ashore! And she's a pretty little thing too. Maybe she'll fetch a good price!"

"Why sell her? Wouldn't it be better to offer her to the boss?"

"..."

Just then, hurried footsteps and arrogant shouting suddenly came from the nearby woods.

Uchiha Chisato frowned and turned toward the sound.

In the blink of an eye, a group of pirates rushed out of the forest.

When they saw that Uchiha Chisato had not run, they immediately howled in excitement and charged at her like madmen.

Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!

In the next instant, Uchiha Chisato rapidly formed hand seals, leaned forward slightly, and breathed a torrent of blazing fire at the pirates rushing toward her.

In an instant, terrifyingly hot flames engulfed an area stretching more than a hundred meters ahead.

The fire spread out in a fan shape, swallowing every pirate who had pursued her.

"Aah!!!"

"No!!!"

Screams erupted one after another, only to fall silent moments later.

Only after sensing no more life within the area covered by her Fire Release did Uchiha Chisato stop supplying Chakra.

The flames slowly died away, revealing a patch of vitrified ground and dozens of charred corpses.

Uchiha Chisato nodded in satisfaction. Then her figure flashed as she activated the Body Flicker Technique, disappearing from where she stood.

It took her a little over ten minutes to cover most of Jaya Island.

To avoid drawing trouble, she also used the Transformation Technique and slipped past many watchful eyes.

"Mm, that's about enough. Time to head back."

After visiting several shops in town without finding anything that caught her eye, she found an empty corner and teleported away.

In the Ninja World, inside a courtyard at the Senju Clan Grounds.

"Grandma, you have no idea. The Uchiha have caused quite a stir this time. They're actually willing to open up the Police Department, and they even created some Elite Police Force..."

After learning about the Uchiha's reforms to the Police Department, Tsunade began chatting with her grandmother, Uzumaki Mito, the moment she got home.

"It really doesn't seem like something the old Uchiha would do."

"After all, they always treated the Police Department's authority as their own property. They guarded it tightly and never let outsiders touch it."

"Who knows what got into them this time."

Tsunade shook her head, unable to make sense of it.

"Mm, I heard about it too."

After listening, Uzumaki Mito nodded. "The Monkey already came to speak to me about it."

"Hm? Teacher?"

Tsunade froze for a moment and frowned. "Why did he come to tell you this? Does he want you to step in and stop the Uchiha?"

"Stop them?" Uzumaki Mito gently shook her head. "The Monkey is not stupid. He wants to use this opportunity to reach into the Police Department."

"He cannot see through what the Uchiha are trying to do, so he wants me to meet Uchiha Chisato and probe her intentions."

She paused, then continued, "His people sent back word that Uchiha Chisato seems to have suddenly recovered to her peak condition."

"The Monkey is getting anxious."

The Third Hokage had also mentioned to Uzumaki Mito that the Uchiha's actions were equivalent to disrupting the rules laid down by the Second Hokage—isolating the Uchiha and making the villagers hate them.

Uzumaki Mito did not respond to that.

She had never believed Tobirama's approach was right.

Pushing the Uchiha away and suppressing them too harshly would eventually cause trouble. In the end, Konoha would be the one to suffer.

Unfortunately, the Third Hokage clearly would not listen to any of that.

She did not waste her breath arguing.

Still, she agreed to meet Uchiha Chisato.

Not to help the Third Hokage sound her out, but simply because she wanted to confirm with her own eyes whether Uchiha Chisato had truly recovered.