Chapter 19: Sky Island And Thunder Fruit

Chapter 19: Sky Island And Thunder Fruit

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Katsumi smiled and explained, "Logue Town is located in East Blue, which is home to many young geniuses worth my attention. If I interact with them early, it'll be much easier to gain their favor and influence them while they're still young and impressionable."

"In addition, East Blue is where I can find the dragon bones needed for the longevity medicine. There's also a kendo dojo there, which is perfect for me to practice this world's unique style of swordsmanship. The dojo master is a great swordsman, and in terms of strength, he's at least at the quasi-Admiral level in the pirate world."

"The best part is that getting into the dojo isn't too difficult. There aren't many stringent requirements—just a clean family background will suffice."

Not to mention the dragon bones, Katsumi had no intention of letting go of Nami or Kuina. Even Zoro, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy, who would eventually emerge in East Blue, were all individuals with incredible potential. Their personalities and qualities made them ideal candidates to become allies in the future once he gained their trust and favor.

"Dragon bones and untapped young geniuses?" Kaori nodded thoughtfully, her expression serious. "I understand. That does sound quite significant. But what about Jaya Island?"

Katsumi continued, "Jaya Island is tied to the legend of a Golden City."

"Golden City?" Kaori raised her eyebrows in curiosity. "Treasure? I see. That makes sense. If the Uchiha clan wants to carry out reforms and strengthen its position, then financial resources are absolutely indispensable.

"At present, while the clan's financial situation seems decent, implementing the ambitious reform plans we've discussed will require a vast amount of funding. Katsumi, are you thinking of solving this issue ahead of time to ease your mother's burden? You're really thoughtful!"

"Hehe," Katsumi scratched the back of his head, smiling. "That's part of it..."

He then shared his knowledge of Jaya Island and Sky Island with his mother, even mentioning the Logia Thunder Fruit that still existed on Sky Island Birka and hadn't yet been consumed by Enel.

"Hiss!" Kaori took a sharp breath as she processed his explanation. "I never imagined that such wonders exist in the pirate world!

"The sky current can push an island to a height of 10,000 meters? And the permanent sea of clouds, as well as Sky Island itself, are such fascinating phenomena!

"I really want to see it for myself as soon as possible!"

Compared to this, the treasure of the Golden City seemed almost secondary.

"There will be a chance," Katsumi assured her with a smile while shaking his head. "However, you'll need a reliable means of flight; otherwise, the only other option would be to ride the sky current and rely entirely on luck!"

He paused for a moment and then added seriously, "Don't let Luffy and his crew's future success fool you into thinking it's that simple. They are the protagonists of their story and have the halo of destiny protecting them. For anyone else, using the sky current would result in a 90% chance of death."

"In comparison, ascending to Sky Island from the top of West Blue is a much more reliable approach. But, if you want the safest method, it would be better to find the small Sky Island and use their airship."

"Fortunately, the ninja world does have some flying methods," he concluded.

"Flying methods?" Kaori murmured thoughtfully. "Yes, there are some. Even within our Uchiha clan, a fully-formed Susanoo can fly.

"Unfortunately, with an ordinary Mangekyō Sharingan, it's impossible to summon the full-body Susanoo. At least, I can't do it for now. Perhaps, if I can greatly enhance my physical fitness and vitality several times over, it might become achievable."

Katsumi listened and nodded thoughtfully.

In the original work's timeline, there were indeed instances where individuals activated the full-body Susanoo with just the Mangekyō Sharingan. Obito managed it, but only because he had the White Zetsu cells integrated into his body.

Kaori continued, "Other than that, there's Iwagakure's Light and Heavy Rock Technique and Sand Shinobi's Magnet Style, both of which can grant the ability to fly.

"However, these techniques are far more challenging to obtain.

"More than a decade ago, the Air Ninja who attacked Konoha also had the means to craft flying ninja tools. Unfortunately, after their defeat by Konoha, they completely disappeared.

"Perhaps we could send someone to investigate and recover that technology."

She paused, then added with a thoughtful look, "Alternatively, we might consider contracting a flying Summoning Beast. What do you think?"

As she spoke, she turned to Katsumi, who rubbed his chin and pondered aloud, "That could work. Ideally, we'd need a Summoning Beast with strong flying capabilities. Otherwise, I'd be concerned about whether it could handle reaching an altitude of 10,000 meters.

"But as long as we manage to land successfully even once and unlock the map in that area, we won't need to worry about it again. I'll be able to teleport there whenever needed."

The ordinary ninja eagles used in the village were certainly not up to the task.

"Exactly!" Kaor5 agreed with a determined nod. "Let's work on this, for both the Golden City and the Thunder Fruit.

"Even the special shellfish on Sky Island could become high-value commodities. They'd be excellent products to sell in the ninja world as part of the Uchiha's new ventures.

"If the Uchiha clan can free itself entirely from financial dependence on the village's mission commissions, the Third Hokage will lose another tool to exert control over us.

"It's a win-win."

"Agreed!" Katsumi readily complied, a smile on his face.

"Anything else? Speak now," Kaori prompted, wanting to cover everything at once.

"Not for now," Katsumi replied after some thought. "Just one thing—I'd like to invite Mikoto over. I need to check if her favorability has reached the required standard.

"If it has, I'll contract her right away. She should begin training here and growing stronger as soon as possible.

"I've also heard that Fugaku has been trying to court Mikoto."

A mischievous grin spread across Katsumi's face. "I'd love to see his reaction when he realizes he can't even compete with her in strength. Will he still have the nerve to pursue her after that? Haha!"

It was clear—Katsumi was not someone who let things slide easily.

"Haha! You!" Kaori couldn't help but laugh, covering her mouth. She reached out and playfully tapped Katsumi's forehead. "If Fugaku offended you, well, that's his bad luck."

"Hmph!" Katsumi snorted, raising his chin. "This isn't just about Mikoto. More importantly, in the future, Fugaku's inaction will directly lead to the destruction of the Uchiha clan. I won't let that happen."

"Yes, yes," Kaori replied, clearly humoring him with an amused smile. "I'll have someone notify Mikoto to visit. You can invite her for dinner when you get back home.

"Be home by six o'clock. I'll also bring you the information about Hyōrinmaru."

With that, Kaori waved her hand, dispelling the soundproof barrier, and left the pirate world.

Katsumi watched her leave before heading off to Kureha's library to continue studying medical books.

---

Around six in the evening, Katsumi informed Kureha of his plans, returned to his room, and left the pirate world.

The next moment, he found himself back in his home in the ninja world.

As soon as he stepped out of his room, the rich aroma of delicious food greeted him.

He walked into the living room and immediately spotted Mikoto, who was busy setting the table.

"Hey! Mikoto!" he called out with a bright smile.

Katsumi immediately smiled, raising his hand in a friendly wave. At the same time, he activated his talent to check Mikoto's favorability.

Sure enough, her favorability towards him had reached 87 points.

"Perfect! It's finally up to standard!" Katsumi thought, his delight evident.

"Katsumi?" Mikoto paused, momentarily stunned when she saw him. "When did you grow so much taller? And you look so much healthier! Are you feeling better now?"

The last time she had seen Katsumi was about a month ago. She had been busy with school and intense training, and Kaori had seemed preoccupied recently, so she hadn't visited his house.

But now, in just a month, Katsumi had grown at least ten centimeters taller. He also looked stronger than he did before.

If not for his familiar, handsome face, she might have had trouble recognizing him.

No, wait. He wasn't just as handsome as before—he was even more striking now. A charming, refined young boy.

"Yeah, almost!" Katsumi grinned and nodded. "I'm just about ready to start training soon!"

...