Chapter 272: Taking All the Women

"Kakashi, why have so many girls been brought in recently?"

"Our floating fortress is almost half full now!"

Raijin frowned as he glanced down from the central palace of the floating fortress.

Luckily, he had brought a large amount of food this time, enough to feed even 100,000 people for at least half a month.

Thanks to the presence of ice-style jutsu, the shelf life of the food was significantly extended.

Freshwater and food were in abundance, and there were even plenty of clothes stored away.

In a short time, these hundreds of people were living a life of luxury.

In this era, many could hardly taste meat in a whole year.

Most of the people sent to the floating fortress were malnourished, their faces gaunt and pale.

Initially, they were terrified when they arrived, but now all they felt was happiness.

In these times, starvation was common. Many poor families couldn't afford to give any extra food to the women.

Sometimes, out of desperation for food or money, women were even sent away to become geishas or similar.

But now, these people had food and warm clothes. The children from poor families no longer wanted to return home.

Even those from wealthier families were astonished by the abundance of supplies here.

They had never seen so much food in their lives!

"It seems like it's because there weren’t enough women in Dressrosa before. The men of the Uchiha clan couldn’t find wives."

"So, they started capturing more women to at least ensure that each Uchiha man could have ten wives."

"The goal is to help the Uchiha clan grow stronger and quickly return to its former glory!"

Kakashi chuckled, finding the whole situation amusing.

Raijin twitched at the corners of his mouth!

The resources in the pirate world were already plentiful.

The Uchiha clan certainly didn’t lack women anymore.

In fact, the young men of the Uchiha clan were more than satisfied!

If any more women were sent, they’d practically be breeding machines.

The clan members would surely start complaining.

"After all, you're the clan leader who's working tirelessly day and night. They can’t afford to slack off!"

"Plus, how could you refuse such a generous offer?"

Kakashi smiled mischievously.

"Alright, change that when we get back! The Uchiha clan is more than saturated now. Let the marriage arrangements return to normal."

"But if you, Kakashi, suggest that they take more wives, they probably wouldn’t dare complain because of my influence."

"After all, you're close to me. They wouldn’t dare oppose you. If anyone has an issue, you can suspend their patrols or their duties in Dressrosa. For those with shops, shut them down for any excuse. Anyone who doesn’t comply—just give them trouble."

Raijin thought for a moment, then smiled.

He wasn’t going to be the scapegoat for this. And Kakashi, being close to him, was the perfect candidate.

Kakashi was practically destined to take the blame. As long as Raijin stood silently behind him, providing support, things would work out.

If there was any dissatisfaction, Raijin could simply strip them of their duties.

The Uchiha clan took their roles very seriously.

Back in Konoha, there had been constant friction between the Uchiha Police Force and the village.

Now, out at sea, the Uchiha Police Force still held power, with many members stationed all over Dressrosa and even beyond the islands.

For them, serving in the Police Force was a badge of honor.

So threatening their positions was the most effective tactic.

"You’re quite the Uchiha clan leader, squeezing your people like this," Kakashi said, twitching at the corners of his mouth, feeling relieved that he wasn’t part of the Uchiha.

If he were...

He’d probably be too exhausted to leave the house. The current generation of the Uchiha would have their work cut out for them.

In his efforts to rebuild the clan, Raijin would use any means necessary.

Even if that meant putting pressure on his own people.

"Weakness is a sin. Once this generation spreads out, we can move on to a two-child policy with the next."

"And for the generation after that, things will get easier. By then, the Uchiha clan will have enough of a population base."

"At least 10,000 people. By then, I won’t have to worry so much anymore."

Raijin chuckled lightly.

With just three generations, he could turn the Uchiha into a miniature version of Konoha.

At that point, he wouldn’t need to meddle too much anymore.

"10,000 people, huh?"

Kakashi nodded, knowing that Raijin would probably achieve this goal.

Given the current situation, the Uchiha were being bred like livestock.

In just a few short years, there would be an explosion in their population.

In all of history, only Raijin had managed to expand the Uchiha clan this quickly.

Others had been caught up in constant battles with the Senju clan or were on their way to fight them.

Even young children were dragged onto the battlefield.

"Lord Raijin! Among the people we captured, it seems we’ve brought in a few members of the Demon Slayer Corps, including one who might be a successor."

At this moment, a ninja approached Raijin, looking slightly embarrassed.

They had been searching everywhere for important members of the Demon Slayer Corps.

But unexpectedly, one had already been captured and brought to their base—a successor, no less.

According to their knowledge, a successor was destined to become the next pillar of the Demon Slayer Corps.

"Bring them up!"

Raijin raised an eyebrow and ordered.

It seemed like the Demon Slayer Corps was still quite active.

Otherwise, how could they have been captured so easily?

It was surprising that even members of the Demon Slayer Corps had been brought in.

Hopefully, they weren’t nobodies.

"Is the Demon Slayer Corps trying to infiltrate us?"

Kakashi mused, stroking his chin.

He found the sudden appearance of the Demon Slayer members suspicious.

"They’ve captured over 100 people already. A few Demon Slayer members mixed in isn’t surprising."

"Kakashi, don’t overthink it. They were probably caught by ninjas by mistake."

Raijin could see that Kakashi was already diving deeper into his theories.

In truth, there wasn’t much room for Kakashi’s intellect to be used here.

Kakashi’s strategic thinking was better suited for Konoha, where the village’s darkness required deep, calculated moves.

In the ninja world, anyone without brains had already died long ago.

"Guess I’m too used to darkness," Kakashi sighed.

Walking among people with simpler minds, he had somehow become the darkest one.

This was something he hadn’t expected at all.

"Clang!"

Two people, hands bound in chains, were brought into the palace.

With a wave of his hand, Raijin ordered the chains to be removed.

These people didn’t pose any real threat, not enough to even scratch him.

"You two are from the Demon Slayer Corps, right? What are your names? Who among you holds the higher rank?"

Raijin looked at the girl in front of him, who seemed to be as tall as Izumi, and showed a thoughtful expression.

"Can someone this young really be an important member of the so-called Demon Slayer Corps?"

But looking at the two girls, they seemed to be quite capable.

"It seems like my subordinates have good taste after all."

At least they didn’t bring any unattractive people to the Uchiha clan.

After all, the Uchiha tradition is to be handsome!

Besides being handsome, there's not much else to say about them.

"Kanazaki Aoi! Her name is Tsuyuri Kanao!"

Kanazaki Aoi said reluctantly.

She hadn’t expected that after a simple trip out, they would be captured by these people.

And even Kanao wasn’t a match for them.

But at least, they weren’t demons!

"Oh? So, you must be the so-called successor?"

Raijin looked at Kanao and asked.

But the girl just stood there, dazed, with empty eyes.

It seemed like she didn’t quite understand her current situation.

As for the Uchiha Ren in front of her, she showed no reaction at all.

After all, Shinobu had told her to kill demons immediately upon sight.

But when it came to humans...

Shinobu hadn’t specifically told her what to do.

Kanao hesitated and took out a coin.

"This girl is like that. Aside from following orders, she rarely interacts with the outside world," Kanazaki Aoi explained helplessly.

"When she doesn’t know what to do, she uses a coin to decide."

Raijin didn’t dwell on it. "Tell me about your Demon Slayer Corps."

"I'm just a regular member of the Demon Slayer Corps. The ones I interact with the most are the Hashira!"

"As for the rest, I don’t know much. If you're looking for the Hashira, you've got the wrong person."

"Even though she's a successor, she knows even less about the Corps!"

Kanazaki Aoi said helplessly. She could explain the structure of the Demon Slayer Corps, but clearly, the man in front of them wasn’t interested in that.

They didn’t hold any value.

The real key figures were the Hashira or the cultivators.

But clearly, neither of them was one.

"Do you know the location of any demons?" Raijin asked after thinking for a moment.

He remembered that the Demon Slayer Corps seemed to have some way of tracking demons.

"No, we don’t. We only know a little after demons leave traces of their presence."

"We rely on crows to deliver information. We were captured while on a mission to investigate."

Kanazaki Aoi shook her head.

They had no idea about this stuff.

Crows would deliver their missions, but who controlled the birds or how it worked was unknown to them. Only the Hashira knew.

"So, you don't know anything? What do you know?" Kakashi couldn’t believe how well the Demon Slayer Corps kept secrets.

Only the high-ups knew who issued the orders.

"If you let me go, I can help you find the Insect Hashira."

Kanazaki Aoi said seriously.

"Hmm? Do you trust us that much? No suspicion at all?" Kakashi squinted his eyes and asked.

The girl in front of him was smart and quick-witted. She seemed to be a promising talent.

"You’re hunting demons, right? Maybe you don’t know how to kill them, but we, the Demon Slayer Corps, have always aimed to eradicate these monsters."

"I believe we can cooperate. At least when it comes to killing demons, we share the same goal."

"We can even help you forge Nichirin Blades, as long as we rid this world of these creatures."

Kanazaki Aoi said with a serious expression.

Seeing that Raijin hadn’t killed any demons or the people capturing them, she assumed they didn’t have a way to kill the monsters. So, she figured these people were powerful allies against the demons.

"Kakashi, go with her. Bring that so-called Hashira over."

Raijin nodded, not objecting.

He wasn’t planning to explain anything. All he wanted was the Demon Slayer Corps' intelligence network.

"OK!" Kakashi nodded.

"As for you, you’re not of much use right now. Stay here for now."

Raijin glanced at Kanao, feeling he had no way to deal with this girl for now.

She wasn’t useful at the moment, so she might as well stay here temporarily.

Kanao nodded.

Without any orders, she would remain in that position indefinitely.

"Caw, caw! Shinobu! We've found Kanazaki Aoi, and they're in the town ahead!"

"It looks like there are two other people with her! Hurry over."

A crow flapped its wings, circling above Shinobu and Giyuu’s heads, repeating the message twice before flying off in the direction of the town.

Shinobu and Giyuu had arrived in the town where the girls had disappeared, only to find that their captors were still waiting.

"Kanazaki Aoi? Where's Kanao? I'm a bit worried about that child."

Shinobu smiled. Since Aoi was fine, Kanao was probably fine too.

She planned to go over and see what the person who captured her sister wanted.

"There are no signs of demons nearby. They’ve probably been dealt with by those people."

Giyuu looked toward the village behind them.

Apart from the fact that there were no girls under eighteen in the village, there didn’t seem to be any other losses.

But why were they capturing young girls?

That was something Giyuu couldn’t understand.

"Let’s go take a look. We’ll find out what they want soon enough."

Shinobu didn’t hesitate and followed the crow toward the town.

(End of Chapter)