Chapter 24: Adapting

By evening, the supply procurement had been completed successfully.

They boarded their vessel and prepared for immediate departure.

Arrangements were made for Tetsuhuo, Inari, and Izumi to leave overnight and return to base with the acquired supplies.

Including Yami, a few people remained, some possessing three-tomoe Sharingan and some with two-tomoe Sharingan.

"Their response was quite swift. There was a battle this morning, but the Navy arrived by evening," Yami observed as he looked at the warship docked at the Navy's dedicated port not far from their current position.

A total of three warships had arrived, which represented a substantial force deployment.

However, if their objective was to capture CP9, such numbers would prove insufficient.

"Do you really intend to seize that warship and depart?" Kalifa asked with a troubled frown.

"This is going to cause serious complications."

Her Seastone handcuffs had been unlocked, while only Rob Lucci remained restrained.

The others, Yami and Shisui could subdue them instantly using their mental techniques, so additional restraints weren't necessary.

Yami had no intention of wasting combat power equivalent to jōnin-level fighters.

"You are the ones taking the warship. What does any of this have to do with me?" Yami replied with feigned confusion.

Kalifa stared at Yami, her chest rising and falling as she struggled to suppress her mounting annoyance.

This person was absolutely irritating.

"It's finished," Shisui announced upon his return.

He had used genjutsu to control the rear admiral in charge of the fleet, compelling him to order all sailors from the ships and base to disembark for a comprehensive shore-based search operation.

Essentially, no one remained; even the cooks had been taken away.

"Let's move out," Yami nodded with satisfaction.

Then he directly signaled his clan members to begin their departure.

Why waste money purchasing a vessel when they could acquire a Navy warship instead?

Kaku and the others dared not voice their outrage.

Rob Lucci remained under guard by two three-tomoe Sharingan users, making any rescue attempt virtually impossible.

They could only follow Yami's arrangements without protest.

The warship was captured smoothly, and the supplies aboard proved sufficient for their needs, eliminating any financial waste.

The CP9 members were all astounded that the navy base had been so carelessly managed, leaving not even a single person behind on the warship.

"This is our target. The Straw Hats should be here… in the Florian Triangle region," Yami explained to Kaku and the others while showing them their destination.

Naturally, the CP9 agents would be responsible for operating the ship, as the Uchiha clan still had much to learn about maritime navigation.

However, their learning pace proved remarkably fast due to their Sharingan abilities; what belonged to others could quickly become theirs.

Kakashi's famous reputation as the "Copy Ninja" demonstrated this principle perfectly.

Although Kaku and the others felt surprised that even ship control had been entrusted to them, they genuinely wanted to capture Straw Hat Luffy, the man who had humiliated them so thoroughly.

Therefore, they refrained from playing any tricks and remained consistently careful in their duties.

Still, along the way, they attempted several times to rescue Rob Lucci, but couldn't find any viable opportunities.

The profession of ninja proved no less formidable than agents trained by intelligence organizations; in fact, they appeared even more capable.

"[Rankyaku]."

Uchiha Itachi used the dagger in his hand to directly cut out a blade of compressed air.

The sword energy streaked across the sea surface before dissipating within fifteen meters.

"This technique consumes considerable physical strength, but if combined with [Fire Release], the power should increase significantly, reaching the effectiveness of A-rank ninjutsu," Itachi analyzed thoughtfully.

Kaku observed from the side with a numb expression.

After witnessing the technique only a few times, this young man had learned one of the Six Powers, [Rankyaku], and had even begun improving it by incorporating weapons into the execution.

Such incidents had occurred repeatedly over the past several days.

The Six Powers seemed utterly simple for these people to master with ease.

They could even begin making improvements almost immediately.

"Among these six techniques…”

"Learn everything you can and simply gain experience in physical combat techniques."

Yami advised with characteristic bluntness. Ninjas didn’t need a technique that would leave them immobilized.

Yami wasn't particularly surprised by their rapid progress.

After all, the physical conditioning of humans in this world proved exceptionally superior, which presented challenges for traditional ninja methods.

During their voyage toward the Florian Triangle region, he had arranged intensive training regimens for his clan members, with high-intensity physical exercise conducted every morning.

The primary objective involved increasing overall physical fitness.

As physical conditioning improved, chakra reserves could also expand proportionally.

Chakra required fusing both physical energy and mental energy from cellular sources.

The Uchiha clan possessed exceptionally strong mental power.

Anyone capable of awakening the Sharingan possessed mental energy two to three times greater than ordinary ninja.

With increased physical fitness, they could use significantly more chakra.

Most importantly, this training compensated for the fact that Konoha had essentially imprisoned the Uchiha ninja over recent years, causing many to experience degraded combat effectiveness.

They needed to utilize this period to help clan members recover and even surpass their previous capabilities.

"Yes, sir." the others responded without objection.

Many of these people desired to become stronger.

They refused to experience Konoha's shame ever again.

"What kind of monsters are these people?" Jabra, who also wore bandages from his injuries, expressed his fear of these individuals with their crimson eyes.

"They exercise every day, and they never seem to get tired at all…"

"Just shut up already. We’ll complete this mission, and after capturing the Straw Hat Kid, we'll have nothing more to do with them." Kalifa snapped.

After observing these people for several days, she had developed deep wariness toward them.

Too many of these individuals possessed strength comparable to their own abilities.

She sensed that at least two, possibly even three people among them could engage Rob Lucci in serious combat.

Rob Lucci represented the strongest genius in the CP organization's 500-year history.

She had no idea where these people originated from, but they must possess tremendous confidence to act so brazenly.

To avoid being betrayed at the last moment, maintaining honesty seemed the wisest approach.

"They appear to represent a very powerful organization, and they seem capable of investigating Straw Hat's whereabouts effectively," Kaku added as he approached, speaking in hushed tones.

"There appear to be many aspects of our world that we don't yet understand."

Over the past five days, he had gained some insights.

These people could memorize virtually anything with perfect clarity, including detailed instructions on navigation charts and similar materials.

Even the shipbuilding knowledge he had acquired in Water 7 was easily absorbed by them.

This represented a talent that filled him with genuine horror, especially considering how many such individuals existed.

"Priority remains capturing the Straw Hat kid," Kalifa concluded with resignation.

Who could have predicted that they would encounter such extraordinary people?

At this point, she could only hope these individuals would honor their agreement and release them when the time came.

The voyage required approximately eight days at sea.

After passing through Water 7, they hadn't encountered any pirates worth engaging along their route.

They successfully entered the Florian Triangle region, where dark clouds and thick fog created visibility conditions that made it nearly impossible for ordinary people to see beyond a hundred meters.

"Itachi, take some people and spread out to search for a big island ship within this mist. Contact me immediately after locating it," Yami commanded as they entered the region.

Their objective this time involved capturing Luffy.

If possible, direct intervention would be ideal after Luffy defeated Moria.

In such battles, he preferred not to risk his people getting injured.

After all, everyone's physical constitution remained relatively fragile.

Although they possessed superior agility, a single solid hit could result in a serious injury.

"Yes, sir." Itachi naturally accepted without objection.

He immediately selected the people, leaped from the ship, and they dispersed across the water to search for the island Yami had described.

The CP9 members watched this scene with complete astonishment.

"They're... running on the sea?" Fukurou exclaimed in amazement.

The other CP9 agents also stared at this display with their mouths agape.

Although they could use [Moonwalk] to step through the air, this represented the first time they had witnessed anyone running across seawater.