— — — — — — —
"Alright!"
Seeing everyone's reaction, Kaito nodded. "Since you all consent, I'll take on the role of captain!"
"However, on most days, I'll only leave a Shadow Clone on the ship."
"I can do some of my routine training on board, but for the majority of the time, I'll still need to be at other bases training or handling affairs in Konoha."
"Let's set the official launch of our pirate crew to about a month from now!"
"At the very least, we need to deal with Monkey D. Dragon first. Can't afford to miss that."
With more than ten days left before his scheduled meeting with Dragon, Kaito needed to think of a way to build rapport and secure a contract with him.
As for recruiting more members?
Since the timeline was still early, many future powerhouse characters hadn't grown strong yet. But he was particularly interested in recruiting Mihawk.
That guy had both talent and the right personality. If he could contract him, Mihawk's help would be invaluable, and his own future would be limitless.
Reaching a Yonko-level of strength in a short time would be a breeze.
"Alright! Let's go with that!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
After discussing some more details, the meeting came to an end.
"Oh, right!"
Just as they were about to wrap up, Kaito turned to Hashirama, rubbing his hands together with a grin. "First Hokage, I was thinking—shouldn't our pirate ship be made from a specially grown tree using your Wood Release? That way, we can construct it directly! What do you think?"
A pirate crew aiming for Yonko-level power definitely needed a sturdy and well-performing ship.
"Eh?"
Hashirama was slightly taken aback but then stroked his chin. "Hmm… that's not too difficult. Just get the ship's blueprint and pick the right type of tree, then leave it to me. I'll handle the rest when the time comes!"
"But—"
He suddenly realized something and looked at Kaito with a deadpan expression. "You're not expecting me to be the shipwright too, are you? Maintaining and repairing the ship daily?"
He felt like he had just walked into a trap and taken on a troublesome job.
"Hehe! Isn't your Wood Release perfect for this? I'll leave it to you!"
Kaito grinned and shamelessly confirmed his intentions.
"You—!"
Hashirama rolled his eyes and sighed. "You and Orochimaru better hurry up and perfect your research on my Wood Release bloodline. Once you develop a stable Wood Release genetic serum, train more users!"
"Right now, the entire construction team and shipbuilding depends on me. Even as an undead, that's a bit too much!"
"And if I get fully resurrected, won't I just work myself to death?"
"Or are you planning to keep me in this half-undead state indefinitely?"
He squinted at Kaito with suspicion.
"Hahaha! Of course not!"
Kaito quickly waved his hands. "Rather than overworking you, I'd much prefer resurrecting you completely so you can continue training and break through to Six Paths level as soon as possible!"
"You're the closest among us to reaching that realm!"
"I wouldn't be so short-sighted as to sacrifice the bigger goal for small gains."
"Rest assured, I've been dedicating two Shadow Clones every day to studying the Edo Tensei technique. The limited daily supply of White Zetsu prevents me from creating more clones for this, but at this rate, I should be able to fully resurrect you within a year."
"And if that fails, I'll just get my hands on a Rinnegan."
"With a White Zetsu body as a vessel, we can use Rinne Tensei without any life force cost."
"A perfect loophole."
"Is that so? Then I'll leave it to you!" Hearing this, Hashirama's mood instantly brightened, but he quickly added, "You should also focus on Madara and Tobirama."
"Try to improve your rapport with them and contract them sooner rather than later."
Kaito shrugged helplessly. "I'll do my best! Those two are hard to deal with! I can't just suck up to them, either. Hopefully, they'll wise up and come to their own conclusions."
From what he knew of them, trying too hard would only backfire and make them look down on him.
That's why it was tricky.
Well, at least Tobirama was easier to handle.
Lately, thanks to Kaito's exceptional medical and research skills, Tobirama's impression of him had improved significantly. Their relationship was steadily progressing, making a contract seem likely in the near future.
"Hahaha… true! Alright, I'll also help out by speaking well of you in front of them whenever I get the chance!"
Hashirama laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. He knew firsthand how difficult those two could be.
"Sounds good!"
Kaito nodded without objection.
— — —
The next morning, after finishing his morning training, Kaito sent a horde of Shadow Clones to handle various daily tasks while his main body teleported to the coast of Amazon Lily.
"Who goes there?!"
Since Kaito had deliberately appeared at the port without concealing himself, he was quickly spotted by a patrol squad of Amazon Lily's female warriors. Instantly on high alert, they surrounded him with hostility.
Kaito casually flipped his hand and took out the token Shakky had given him, raising it high. "My name is Uchiha Kaito. Shakky-senpai sent me here to meet Hancock. This is her token of proof. Please take a look."
"Huh?"
The female warriors were stunned. Their leader quickly stepped forward, took the token from Kaito, and examined it closely. After confirming its authenticity, she looked up at him. "You say Lady Shakky sent you to find Hancock?"
"Also, you're Uchiha Kaito? Are you the son of Uchiha Naori, the one who saved our Kuja Pirates four years ago?"
"I remember the captain at the time mentioned you were just six years old back then. You were supposedly weak, even frailer than the average person."
"How have you grown so much in just a few years? And why do you give off such a dangerous aura now?"
This didn't match the previous descriptions at all!
"Haha! I was just sick back then. Once I recovered, I trained and eventually became like this."
"Can you notify Hancock or your current Empress?"
Kaito scratched the back of his head with a smile.
So what if he grew up fast and changed a lot?
In the world of pirates, plenty of people underwent drastic transformations in a short time.
"Understood! Please wait here and don't make any sudden movements to avoid misunderstandings."
The squad leader nodded and, without further questions, took the token and quickly headed into the city.
Meanwhile, the remaining warriors stayed behind, eyeing Kaito with great curiosity, whispering and pointing at him like he was some rare specimen.
Clearly, this squad had never left Amazon Lily before. Otherwise, they wouldn't be this fascinated by a man.
The leader didn't take long.
In just a few minutes, she returned, handing the token back to Kaito while saying, "Please follow me. Our former Empress, Elder Gloriosa, has been informed of your arrival and wishes to meet you first."
"Alright, sounds good."
Kaito nodded in understanding and followed her. It took some time, but they eventually arrived at Amazon Lily's central palace, where he met the elderly Gloriosa.
Upon seeing the tiny old woman—barely a meter tall—Kaito was at a loss for words.
After all, based on what he knew, Gloriosa was once a tall and imposing beauty back when she was the Empress of Amazon Lily.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have become Empress in the first place.
Yet now, she had shrunk to a fraction of her former self.
It completely defied common sense!
Well, common sense from his past life or even the Ninja World. But in the Pirate world, this was completely normal.
Many women who were once stunning beauties in their youth transformed into unrecognizable old witches as they aged.
Big Mom, Vice Admiral Tsuru, and even Miss Bakkin—the self-proclaimed lover of Whitebeard and mother of Edward Weevil—were all prime examples.
The only exception seemed to be Shakky.
Now that was interesting.
— — —
"So, you're Uchiha Kaito? The boy Hancock has been thinking about all this time?"
Gloriosa scrutinized him for a moment before nodding in surprise. "Shakky has praised you many times, saying you have monstrous talent and limitless potential."
"Looking at you now, it seems she wasn't exaggerating."
"You're only ten, yet you already give off an aura of deadly danger. I'd say your strength is at least on par with an elite Vice Admiral, isn't it?"
"More or less."
Kaito nodded. "So, what did you want to discuss? Also, when can I see Hancock?"
"There's nothing to discuss."
Gloriosa shook her head. "Since you have Shakky's approval and Hancock's heart is completely set on you, there's no need for me to act as an obstacle. Your talent and strength are impressive, so I won't play the villain."
"I've already sent word to Hancock. She should be here soon."
"But listen, boy—Hancock has given her heart entirely to you. You better not let her down. If you ever hurt her, I don't care if it costs me my life—I'll make sure you suffer for it!"
Gloriosa waved her staff threateningly at Kaito.
If the last Empress hadn't died of lovesickness...
If she herself hadn't suffered from lovesickness in the past and understood how dangerous it was...
She wouldn't have agreed to this match so easily.
Hancock was the most talented Empress in Amazon Lily's history. With proper training, her future was limitless.
If possible, Gloriosa would have preferred that Hancock never fell for any man.
Especially not at such a young age.
This kind of love could affect her growth potential.
And if she ended up heartbroken, she might even die from lovesickness.
But it was too late. Years ago, Hancock had already fallen for Kaito when he and his mother saved her.
Even if Gloriosa wanted to stop it, she couldn't.
That damned slave-trading pirate crew had only themselves to blame for this.
Of course, deep down, Gloriosa was grateful to Kaito and his mother.
After all, if they hadn't appeared when they did, the Kuja Pirates might have been wiped out.
Hancock and her sisters could have been kidnapped and sold into slavery.
And worst of all, Hancock, with her exceptional beauty, might have been sold to the Celestial Dragons.
That would have been a disaster.
Compared to that, her falling for Kaito was much easier to accept.
Especially since Kaito himself was a terrifying talent. She was already looking forward to what kind of monstrous potential the children of Kaito and Hancock would have.
In fact, she had already decided—once they reached adulthood, she would push them to have children as soon as possible.
Her plan was to train their child as the next Empress of Amazon Lily.
What if they had a son instead?
Impossible!
Amazon Lily had a special spring.
Anyone who drank from it would only give birth to daughters.
That was one of Amazon Lily's greatest secrets.
It was also the key to why Amazon Lily had remained an all-female country for so many generations.
.
.
.