In the past, during his dozen years as the clan head in Konoha, he had endured every slight and yielded at every turn, yet in the end, he had still nearly dragged the entire family into the abyss of annihilation.
It was this eleven-year-old boy who had single-handedly orchestrated the entire evacuation, leading the whole clan out of Konoha’s cage and finding a land where the displaced Uchiha could finally settle down and build a life.
Furthermore, in this completely unfamiliar world, whether it was the power system, the rules of survival, or the path they needed to take in the future, Kain saw things much more clearly and possessed far more decisiveness than he did.
Rather than clinging to this hollow bit of power, letting Kain lead the entire clan forward was perhaps the best choice for the Uchiha.
When Kain returned to the camp, Uchiha Yakumi and Yashiro were leaning against a tree, wiping their kunai.
Hearing Kain’s greeting, the two stood up almost instantly.
Without a single unnecessary question, they simply gave a crisp nod, slung their ninja tool pouches over their shoulders, and followed in his footsteps.
The three of them followed the gentle slope through the forest all the way down.
The salty sea breeze grew stronger, and the soil beneath their feet gradually changed from fertile black earth to tidal flats mixed with fine sand.
The ancient trees on both sides still blotted out the sun.
Occasionally, unknown giant birds swooped over the canopy, their spread wings easily three or four meters wide.
This prompted Yakumi to instinctively press his hand against the kunai at his waist, only slowly releasing his grip when he saw the giant bird merely circling and flying off into the distance.
Just as they turned past a dense thicket of bushes, they ran head-on into Uchiha Kei’s returning group.
The men were covered in forest dew and leaf debris.
Kei, who was leading them, was holding a bloodstained animal bone.
Upon seeing Kain, he immediately hurried over and bowed in greeting.
“Young Master Kain.” “Uncle Kei, how did the scouting go?” Kain stopped and asked.
“We just finished sweeping the eastern area.” Kei straightened up, his tone carrying a degree of certainty.
“So far, we haven’t found any traces of human activity on the entire island.
We haven’t even seen any abandoned camps or villages, only wild animals roaming the mountains and plains.” At this point, he couldn’t help but reveal a look of astonishment, adding, “Speaking of which, it’s quite bizarre.
The animals on this island are absurdly massive.
We just ran into a tiger in the river valley that was nearly ten meters long from head to tail.
Standing up, it was taller than a two-story building.
I’ve lived for over thirty years and have never seen such a huge beast.
At first glance, I thought it was some clan’s summoning beast.” A jonin following beside him couldn’t help but interject, “At first, we thought it was like a ninja beast, possessing chakra, and we were all prepared for a tough fight.
But once we engaged, we realized it was just intimidating to look at.
Its actual strength was only about that of a newly promoted chunin.
Aside from having a thick hide, it didn’t have any special abilities.
We took it down in two moves.” Uchiha Yashiro raised an eyebrow, his face full of shock.
“A ten-meter-long tiger?
That’s twice the size of the largest tiger ninja beast in the ninja world, and that’s all it could do?” “That’s just how this world is,” Kain chuckled lightly, his tone calm.
“Most of the creatures here are like this.
Their sizes are absurdly exaggerated, but in reality, they mostly lack any special abilities.
They just look scary.” He turned to Kei and instructed, “Pay close attention as you continue scouting.
Don’t be intimidated by their size, but don’t let your guard down either.
Safety first.
If you run into something you can’t handle, signal immediately and retreat.
Don’t force a fight.” “Yes, understood!” Kei immediately bowed in compliance.
Kain didn’t linger any longer.
He nodded to the group, then led Yakumi and Yashiro, continuing in the direction the sea breeze was blowing from.
Passing through the final stretch of dense forest, their field of vision suddenly opened up.
The azure sea, churning with white foam, spread out before the three of them without warning.
The boundless azure sea stretched out before their eyes.
Waves crashed against the golden sandy beach, rolling up fine white foam, as the salty sea breeze, laden with moisture, blew against their faces.
Kain turned and gave a slight nod to Yakumi and Yashiro beside him.
In the next second, dense chakra firmly adhered to the soles of his feet.
Without a moment’s hesitation, his figure flashed as he dashed straight toward the churning sea.
Yakumi and Yashiro exchanged a glance and channeled their chakra almost simultaneously.
Their footsteps followed closely behind, two afterimages skimming the surface of the sea, sticking firmly behind Kain.
Walking on water was a fundamental, mandatory skill for ninjas.
For battle-hardened elite jonin like them, it was an instinct etched into their very bones.
Let alone these calm coastal waters, even on the turbulent rivers of the ninja world, they could walk on water using chakra as if walking on solid ground.
In this world dominated by the sea, where Devil Fruit users viewed seawater as their natural enemy, the three Uchiha elites casually treaded upon the ocean surface, sprinting recklessly across the boundless sea.
The waves surged beneath their feet, yet not even the hems of their clothes got wet.
Every step they took only sent fine ripples across the sea’s surface, while their bodies moved as fast as arrows released from a bow, speeding all the way toward the deep sea.
Just over a dozen nautical miles away from the waters where Kain’s trio was sprinting, on an established trade route running between the East and West Blue, the midday sun made the sea surface sparkle.
On the calm sea, a three-masted merchant ship flying a merchant guild flag with a blue background and white sails was slowly drifting forward with the ocean current.
The sailors on the deck were busy sorting out the rigging.
The captain of the guard leaned against the ship’s rail, wiping his sword, joking with his subordinates that they had traveled this route dozens of times and had never encountered any pirates foolish enough to attack them.
But before he could finish his sentence, the lookout’s scream from the mast tore through the calm sea.
“Behind us!
A pirate ship is catching up!
They’re moving fast!” Everyone whipped their heads around, only to see a single-masted clipper flying a bloody skull flag cutting through the waves at the edge of the horizon, rapidly closing in like a bloodthirsty shark.
The ship’s hull was a head shorter than the merchant ship, but it was equipped with a full six broadside cannons.
The deck was covered in marks from swords and axes, clearly showing it was a ruthless vessel that spent years fighting on the sea.
On the bow deck, a group of bare-chested, ferocious pirates were howling and waving their swords and guns.
The burly man leading them had a hideous scar across his face and carried a large serrated sword.
He was none other than “Sawtooth” Hal, a notorious pirate in the nearby waters with a bounty of 8 million Berries.
“Fire!
Bring them to a halt!” Hal’s roar carried over the sea breeze.
In the next second, the six cannons roared simultaneously.
The cannonballs tore through the air with a screech, landing around the merchant ship and blasting water columns several meters high.
The entire merchant ship rocked violently from the shockwaves, and the sailors on the deck instantly descended into chaos.