Uchiha Gate: From Konoha to One Piece

— — — — — — 

"Hatake's kenjutsu? Not bad! I'll pick it up too later!"

Hearing this, Uchiha Naori nodded knowingly, clearly interested.

After all, she had been dedicating time and effort over the years to practice the swordsmanship of the pirate world.

"No problem!"

Kaito nodded in agreement, saying, "I can teach you that! I've already mastered it to a high degree."

"Give me a few more days, and I'll probably reach perfection!"

"Or," he added, "you can have Sakumo teach you as well. He and I have already discussed it—he'll make time later to come over to the Uchiha side or the Pirate World base to teach Hatake-style swordsmanship."

This had been part of the agreement even before the contracts were signed.

After all, the swordsmanship system of the Pirate World was far more valuable than Hatake-style and shinobi kenjutsu combined.

The potential was on a different level.

"Oh? You've reached mastery so quickly? Didn't you just start learning it?"

Both Uchiha Naori and Mikoto were shocked to hear this.

Kaito shrugged, popping a piece of meat into his mouth as he replied, "With a foundation in Pirate World swordsmanship, learning other styles becomes much faster."

"So, focus more on mastering the basics of swordsmanship and the essence of the blade," he advised.

"Work hard to achieve perfection in both. Once that's done, learning other styles, extracting their essence, and forging your own path of swordsmanship will become much easier."

"Mastering the basics is crucial!"

Even his teacher, Koshiro, hadn't perfected the basics yet—he had only reached mastery.

However, Kaito had already reminded him, and over the past two years, Koshiro had been consciously dedicating more time to refining the basics.

"I see! Looks like I'll need to focus more on the basics of swordsmanship as well," Uchiha Naori said, nodding in realization.

Minato and Mikoto also mentally noted this advice, planning to allocate more time daily to practice their foundational swordsmanship.

At the moment, they had only reached the proficient level in basic swordsmanship—still far from mastery.

"Speaking of contracts, a significant number of shinobi returning from the frontlines have met the requirements, right? When are you planning to complete their contracts?"

"This way, we can move forward with further development in the Pirate World."

Naori suddenly brought up the topic.

There wasn't any rule stating that they had to unify the Shinobi World before fully developing the Pirate World.

Both could progress simultaneously.

Each could complement the other.

As Konoha's influence expanded, the demand for resources from the Pirate World—especially sea king meat and beast meat—would only grow.

Simultaneously expanding the Pirate World's territory and influence was crucial.

On the Shinobi World side, both the Suna and Iwa Villages would likely remain quiet for the next few years.

Kumo and Kirigakure were also in a state of observation. Konoha should have a period of stable development for a few years.

This provided an opportunity to divert some focus to the Pirate World.

"Hmm..."

Kaito pondered for a moment before replying, "Let's start the day after tomorrow!"

"I'll summon these people in batches and complete their contracts as quickly as possible."

"As for development in the Pirate World, what do you think about occupying and taking over a country?"

He was considering the feasibility and necessity of such a move.

Having a complete nation as a base in that world offered many advantages.

In such a nation, they could structure everything the way they wanted.

It would also allow them to test various reform plans for unifying the Shinobi and Pirate Worlds and governing both in the future.

It wasn't practical to wait until they conquered both worlds to figure out how to build power systems, governance frameworks, policies, and laws.

He needed a testing ground.

Moreover, having a complete nation in the Pirate World would make it easier to train administrative and managerial talents.

It would also help cultivate professionals across all fields.

At the same time, it would enhance Kaito's reputation among the local population, making it easier to forge contracts with them.

This setup would be beneficial for the future when the Shinobi World needed skilled individuals to govern nations or develop various industries.

It would reduce reliance on officials from the old regime, avoiding unnecessary risks.

Of course, Konoha's reforms to its ninja academy and establishment of schools for civilians were also aimed at producing talent early.

However, Kaito was concerned that this alone wouldn't be sufficient.

In his plan, unifying the Shinobi World wouldn't take more than ten years.

Ten years wouldn't be enough time to train enough officials, law enforcement, and professionals to manage the entire Shinobi World solely through Konoha's efforts.

But if they simultaneously occupied a country in the Pirate World to train talent, it would definitely be enough.

The Pirate World's population and territorial scale were far larger than the Shinobi World's.

The capacity for talent in a country couldn't be compared to that of a single village.

Even if, five years later, Konoha developed into a city with a population exceeding one million, it still wouldn't match.

"Huh?"

Mikoto and the others were shocked by this suggestion.

But Uchiha Naori considered it and said thoughtfully, "Occupying a nation, huh? I get what you're aiming for—it's definitely feasible."

"It would benefit the development of both worlds."

"But where do you plan to establish this nation?"

"Which country would you target?"

"The Four Seas? The first half of the Grand Line? Or maybe the New World?"

Each location posed different challenges and considerations.

"We'll need to think this through carefully."

"How about Drum Island?"

Kushina suggested at that moment.

"That's not really suitable," Kaito shook his head.

"Not only is Drum Island a member of the World Government, but they wouldn't just sit back and let us overthrow its kingdom."

"Even if the World Government didn't care, the island isn't ideal."

"First, it's a winter island with harsh weather, unsuitable for the development of various industries."

"Second, it's too small, with too few people."

"Third, unless we plan to stay as a member country and pay the hefty heavenly tribute annually, the World Government wouldn't tolerate it."

"For now, we should avoid exposing our true power under the World Government's nose."

"In summary, nations affiliated with the World Government aren't suitable for us right now."

"Only independent nations would work for our current goals."

He had already considered recruiting Monkey D. Dragon and letting him officially form the Revolutionary Army to openly challenge the World Government, drawing their attention elsewhere.

For now, he needed to keep a low profile.

"What about Skypiea?"

Minato suggested, "Skypiea is far removed from the Blue Sea and the World Government's influence."

"With all the sky islands combined, the population should be fairly substantial."

"I feel like it's the best option for establishing a nation and developing discreetly."

"The only issue is that true Sky Islanders have wings, and our people don't. Would that cause any problems in terms of integration?"

Over the past few years, Kuro the ninja hawk, the Millennium Dragon, and later the Uchiha and Senju clans, had scoured the ninja world for intelligent flying beasts. After contracting them under Kaito, these creatures had been mapping both the pirate world and the ninja world.

In the pirate world, most of the inhabited and valuable Sky Islands had already been charted.

The total population of all the Sky Islands was estimated to be no less than 200,000.

It wasn't a huge number, but not insignificant either.

Even Konoha only had a population of around 300,000 to 400,000.

"Skypiea, huh?"

Kaito and Uchiha Naori considered the suggestion, exchanged a glance, and nodded. "It's worth putting on the list of options."

"As for the cultural differences you mentioned," Kaito mused before adding, "that's not a big issue. If we provide better guidance and living conditions for the ordinary citizens, it won't be a problem."

"Agreed," Minato replied with a smile.

Over the years, he had interacted with many Sky Islanders and understood that, for most people, a ruler who improved their quality of life was a good ruler.

Rebellions typically only happened when people couldn't survive or were oppressed.

Racial tensions were usually the result of either unfair governance or the actions of privileged elites whose interests were threatened.

By clearing out the old elites and implementing fair, beneficial policies, such conflicts could naturally be avoided.

"I have another suggestion," Mikoto interjected. "We could consider Wano Country in the New World."

"Wano's cultural environment is very similar to the ninja world, with a strong emphasis on ninja-like traditions."

"Although they don't have real ninjas, it would be a highly compatible location for our initial nation-building efforts."

"Currently, Wano is in isolation, completely cut off from the outside world."

"Even if we cause a major stir or implement radical reforms, as long as we secure the country's sole entrance, word wouldn't spread easily, nor would the World Government catch wind of it."

"Moreover, the people of Wano are suffering under the oppressive rule of the Four Emperors and Kurozumi Orochi. They're deeply resentful, making it easier to win their hearts."

"The only issue is that to take Wano, we'd have to confront Emperor Kaido and his pirate crew head-on."

"To succeed, we'd need to completely defeat or even kill Kaido and dismantle his crew."

"Naori, do you think we can match Kaido right now?"

Mikoto turned to Uchiha Naori.

"Well…" Naori hesitated before replying, "We could try, but without having fought a top-tier opponent in the pirate world before, it's hard to say for sure."

"Kaido is known as the strongest creature alive. His physical strength and regenerative abilities are extraordinary. Even if we could defeat him, killing him might be a different story."

"And we don't know how resistant he is to genjutsu."

"If genjutsu has a strong effect on him, things could be much easier."

But this wasn't something they could test lightly.

"Besides," Naori continued after a pause, "there's a significant difference between defeating Kaido to take Wano and outright killing him."

"The former might not draw much attention from the pirate world or the World Government."

"But it would leave us with Kaido's undying hatred and constant threat."

"Given his vindictive and cunning nature, he'd likely team up with Big Mom for revenge."

"That would mean constant turmoil."

"On the other hand, killing Kaido would eliminate his threat, but it would almost immediately alert the World Government and the Navy."

"The CP0 would undoubtedly be sent to investigate us in detail."

"However, it might still be more discreet than just defeating him. As long as we maintain Wano's isolation…"

"…and implement strict security to keep CP0 and other spies out, we could manage."

"So, Kaito, what's your decision?"

"Do we take a shot at Wano?" Naori asked as everyone turned to Kaito.

.

.

.