Uchiha Puppet Master, Starting from One Piece.

Chapter 11 Sleep Without a Trace

Although Uchiha Shiraha was a transmigrator, he was very similar to the members of the Uchiha clan in that he was arrogant and tsundere.

Robin took the hairpin, her fingertips touching the cool seashell, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but whisper a thank you.

She raised her hand and inserted the hairpin into her hair. The long black hair paired with the wooden hairpin looked exceptionally beautiful.

Rangiku couldn't help but laugh at the scene before her: "Hey, Shiraha, this isn't like you. What's going on? You're actually making hairpins today?"

"That's probably because Robin suits this hairpin better. If it were Rangiku, I might have given her a different gift."

"I love so much……"

As the night deepened, Nico Robin went up to the deck and leaned against the ship's railing, listening to the sounds of the sea breeze and waves. Occasionally, when she looked up, she could see Matsumoto Rangiku lounging on a deck chair and Shiraha's silent figure.

There were oil lamps on the deck, which could only illuminate an area of ​​two or three meters around them.

Rangiku continued to chat with Uchiha Hakuba in a casual manner, but perhaps due to the effects of the alcohol, she fell asleep leaning against the recliner, making soft noises.

Uchiha Hakuba took off his coat and covered Rangiku with it. Although he was a man of few words, he was also very considerate of Rangiku, after all, the sea breeze at night was the most biting.

Looking at the two people in front of him, Robin suddenly felt a sense of peace he had never felt before.

Over the years, she had been wandering alone, witnessing betrayal and scheming, but she never expected to meet two people on a small fishing boat who would not blame or reject her, but would instead chat with her and offer her warmth.

The sea was exceptionally quiet at night, with only the gentle, lingering sound of waves lapping against the deck.

The wooden boat swayed back and forth with the waves, carrying three people from different worlds, the evening breeze from the side of the boat, the tenderness hidden in the night, and the starlight from afar, on this coast of the Western Sea...

The night passed quickly, and the small wooden bed in the cabin and Matsumoto Rangiku gave Nico Robin a long-lost sense of security.

Although it's not entirely peaceful...

"I already told you not to sleep in my bed. As a doll, you can sleep on the floor, or you don't take up any space as a doll!"

Because the crew quarters were given to Nico Robin, Matsumoto Rangiku went to the captain's cabin.

To be honest, Matsumoto Rangiku has such a great figure that the bed seems a bit small when you're in bed with him, and he's also quite restless.

"What?! Bai Yu, you bastard, feel my hand. Under your manipulation, I've long since taken on a human body, only still affected by your Puppet Fruit. I can shrink, just like those obviously fake puppets of yours, hanging around your waist..."

Matsumoto Rangiku grew angrier as she spoke. She knew that Uchiha Shiraha was just joking, but she couldn't help wanting to argue back.

"But thanks to your special power, I'm a real human now. I'm not sleeping on the deck; a bed is much more comfortable..."

Faced with the shameless Matsumoto Rangiku, Uchiha Shiraha was truly speechless. However, having a beautiful woman to warm his bed didn't seem like such a bad thing.

"That's good. With Matsumoto Rangiku and Nico Robin around, it won't be too boring on the ship anymore."

Uchiha Hakuha was lost in thought.

The wooden boat, moored at night, swayed gently on the water. Inside the cabin, only a dim oil lamp was lit, its orange glow spreading over the softly padded wooden bed before gradually fading away.

Matsumoto Rangiku lay on her side, her short golden hair spread out on the pillow, the collar of her clothes slightly open, revealing the delicate skin of her neck and her faint collarbone. Her breathing was as gentle as the evening breeze blowing across the shore, carrying a faint scent of sake.

If it were just the smell of alcohol, it would certainly be extremely unpleasant, but when mixed with Matsumoto Rangiku's own flavor, it has a unique taste.

Uchiha Hakuha lay beside her, his bangs falling across his forehead. The days of travel and the presence of puppet guards on the deck had made him lower his guard. He lay on his side, his arm draped unconsciously at his side, his fingertips barely an inch from Rangiku's shoulder.

Outside the cabin, the soft sound of waves lapping against the gunwale, mixed with the faint glow of distant fishing lights, made the cabin even more tranquil, and I drifted off to sleep.

Bai Yu's dream had no smoke of gunpowder, no bloodshed from the annihilation of the Uchiha clan, and no strife in the ninja world; it was only a gentle, hazy dream.

It felt like falling into a fluffy cloud, or being wrapped in sun-dried cotton wool. Everywhere his fingertips touched was a delicate and soft sensation, carrying a faint warmth that completely relaxed his tense nerves. He subconsciously reached out to grab it, sinking deep into that soft warmth. The touch was dense and light, like holding a handful of crushed moonlight. It was so comfortable that his slightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed, and the corners of his mouth even curved into a very faint smile, one that he himself did not notice. His fingertips unconsciously rubbed against his skin a couple of times.

He hasn't slept this well in a long time.

As dawn approached, the ripples on the water gradually quickened, and the morning mist seeped in through the gaps in the cabin, carrying a slightly cool and damp air that awakened Bai Yu from her hazy dream.

The moment his consciousness returned, the first thing he felt was the lingering warmth on his fingertips, more real and delicate than the cotton wool in his dream, carrying the warmth of his body, spreading from his fingertips to the depths of his heart, stirring up a strange feeling.

He subconsciously twitched his fingers...

Uchiha Hakuba suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze instantly clearing as he slowly lowered his gaze, his pupils suddenly contracting.

His hand was steadily resting on Matsumoto Rangiku.

His palm rested on her delicate skin beneath her yukata, and he could clearly feel the smoothness and slight undulations of her skin. That warm and soft touch perfectly overlapped with the hazy touch in his dream.

Rangiku, who was not fully awake at the moment, was startled by his movements and her brows furrowed slightly.

Bai Yu's body froze instantly, and his aura suddenly became somewhat stiff.

He had never touched a woman so closely before, let alone in such an intimate way. The soft warmth of her fingertips felt like an electric current, coursing through his veins...

"Cough cough, cough cough, unintentional, unintentional..."

As Uchiha Hakuha withdrew his hand, he felt his face flush red...

He quickly patted his cheeks and, seeing that Matsumoto Rangiku hadn't woken up, Uchiha Shiraha got up and ran to the deck to get some fresh air.

Unbeknownst to Uchiha Hakuba, as he fled to the deck, Matsumoto Rangiku had already woken up and was watching Hakuba's escape with a smile.

Matsumoto Rangiku's face slowly turned red as she recalled that she had started the fight last night.

For some reason, she also had a strange fondness for Uchiha Shiraha.

Chapter 12 Self-Preservation Methods

"Miss Nicole is up so early?"

As soon as Uchiha Hakuba reached the deck, he discovered that Nico Robin had already gotten up early.

"Just call me Robin. It's quite unusual that Captain Uchiha has not taken any action against me even though he already knows my true identity."

Nico Robin tidied her hair, which looked exceptionally sophisticated in the sea breeze.

"Okay, Robin, you can just call me Shiroha, just like Rangiku does."

"Alright, Captain Shirayu!"

Uchiha Hakuba leaned against the railing, looking at Nico Robin, and thought that Nico Robin holding the book was truly outstanding.

"This is a scroll I found in an underground temple in Itra, containing a star map from over three hundred years ago."

Robin spoke first, her tone gentle yet tinged with professional enthusiasm. She raised her hand and pushed the book in front of Bai Yu, her fingertips touching the twisted yet orderly characters on the scroll.

"Look, these characters not only record the trajectory of the stars, but also mark the seasonal changes and tidal changes in Idela. The phases of the moon and the stars seem to influence Idela. Moreover, these characters are different from existing characters and are not ancient characters, which shows that the evolution of characters also follows certain rules."

Bai Yu bent down and took the book Robin handed him. His Sharingan rotated slightly, and his pale red pupils clearly captured the patterns of the text and the arrangement of the star map on the scroll.

In fact, back in the world of Naruto, he studied astrology books from ancient Uchiha texts and learned that the movement of stars had a subtle connection to the universe.

However, unlike Earth, the physical laws governing the ninja world and the pirate world are clearly different from those on Earth.

"There have indeed been changes,"

Bai Yu lightly tapped the characters with his fingertips. Unlike modern writing, these ancient characters were more inclined towards recording natural phenomena, seemingly suggesting that celestial bodies had created some new writing system.

"That's the beauty of different civilizations; the scripts of Itra and Chara are distinctly different!"

A glint flashed in Nico Robin's eyes; she had actually encountered someone as learned as Uchiha Hakuba.

After all, during her ten years on the run, she encountered nothing but clueless fools.

Nico Robin raised her hand and traced an arc on the star map with her fingertips: "I once saw wise elders in Ohara who, by observing the rise and fall of the stars, calculated the tides, predicted the weather, and even drew cross-sea routes, drawing different conclusions based on information from different sea areas. This is the wisdom that the sea has bestowed upon them."

"The movement of stars does indeed contain the laws of heaven and earth."

Robin chuckled upon hearing this, picked up a quill, and quickly sketched a simple comparison diagram of the constellations of Char's Kingdom and Etihad on a draft paper: "I've had that same thought."

You see, the 'North Star' of Char's Kingdom and the 'navigation star' of this ocean are actually the same star; it's just that different civilizations have different names and interpretations of it.

Nico Robin placed her fingertip at the intersection of the two star charts.

"Writing is the lifeblood of civilization. No matter where we are, whether on land or at sea, our ancestors' reverence for heaven and earth and their pursuit of truth have always been consistent."

When talking about ancient scripts, Robin's tone became more focused. She opened another ancient book with a mottled cover, the pages of which were printed with ancient scripts from different regions.

Besides these, I also collected the shipwrights' script from the westernmost part of the Western Sea, the ancient script of the Lyat, and other ancient scripts. Apart from what I discovered, the origins of all ancient scripts are inseparable from nature; this is the earliest instinct of civilization to record information. Of course, there are also scripts that are even more difficult to understand.

"It's the Poneglyphs, isn't it? I know about this, and in our Uchiha clan, there's a stone tablet that only the Sharingan can read."

"Deciphering the stone tablet requires the power of the Sharingan. The text on the stone tablet records the origin of our clan, the secrets of our eye techniques, and the interactions between the ninja world and other regions in ancient times."

The morning light broke through the thin mist on the sea, and the warm golden rays spread across the deck of the pirate ship, turning the sails a pale orange-pink. The salty sea breeze, carrying the fresh sea air, gently rustled the ship's ropes, making a soft, rustling sound.

Just as the two were chatting, Matsumoto Rangiku yawned and slowly walked onto the deck. Her short golden hair fluttered in the sea breeze, and a few strands of hair swayed lazily with her movements. The ribbon that tied her hair up was casually wrapped around her wrist.

She wore a loose black coat with the collar open, revealing her slender neck. The sleeves were rolled up to her forearms, revealing her beautifully shaped wrists. Her eyes seemed to still hold the sleepiness of someone who had just woken up, and she exuded a faint, lazy aura.

She didn't speak immediately, but crossed her arms and looked at the two people not far away with great interest.

Robin turned the pages of the ancient book, and amidst Bai Yu's deep response, the two leaned very close.

Matsumoto Rangiku's cunning glint became increasingly apparent. A sly smile curled at the corner of her lips. Her fingertips lightly caressed the ribbon on her wrist as she slowly walked forward, deliberately drawing out her words. Her voice was hoarse from just waking up, yet full of teasing intent:

"Oops!"

She made no attempt to hide the smile on her lips, her gaze shifting back and forth between Robin and Bai Yu, her eyes seeming to see through something.

"It's early in the morning, and there's quite a beautiful view on the deck. One of you is chatting animatedly, and the other is listening intently. Didn't you even notice that I, an uninvited guest, have arrived?"

Robin was taken aback by his words, then looked up and smiled slightly, without any panic in his eyes. He simply closed the ancient book and tucked a stray strand of hair behind his ear: "Miss Rangiku is awake? Mr. Shiraha and I were discussing the connection between ancient writing and celestial phenomena, so we didn't notice you."

Bai Yu, who was standing to the side, also came to his senses, his expression returning to a more composed state, and his tone calm: "Rangiku is awake."

This feigned composure did not escape Matsumoto Rangiku's notice. She smiled even more amusedly, took a step forward, leaned over and rested her head on the rattan table, and moved closer to the two of them, her eyes slightly narrowed: "Discussing words and celestial phenomena?"

She drawled out the last syllable, then smiled and said, "That's right, Miss Robin knows more about this. By the way, Mr. Shiraha, I had a dream yesterday, and I felt something was off about me."

Uchiha Shiraha was taken aback. The moment Matsumoto Rangiku spoke, he roughly knew what it was about.

She looked at Matsumoto Rangiku with some suspicion, wondering if this guy knew everything.

He only felt that he had suffered a great loss, but he didn't really reflect on it in detail.

"Is that so? Rangiku-san, you must take good care of yourself. Getting sick on the ship without a doctor is a big deal."

Hearing Nico Robin say this, Uchiha Hakuba knew what he should say, so he said seriously, "Rangiku-san, and Robin-san, there is something very important!"

"what?"

"What's so important?"

"Your strength is too weak; I need to teach you some ways to protect yourselves..."