Uchiha's personal opinion

The world of One Piece, the Grand Line, paradise, the edge of the Calm Belt.

A fleet of ironclad warships and paddle steamers lay hidden in a thick fog, silently awaiting the order to set out and plunder.

As dusk approached, a speedboat without any flags approached the outer edge of the mist. A Kirigakure ninja wearing an old-fashioned headband skillfully whistled a few times, and after receiving a response from within the mist, he leaped into the water and entered the mist.

This is the last remaining branch of the Kirigakure ninja village, and the last remnant of the era of the five great ninja villages in the ninja world—the die-hard Kirigakure ninja led by Juzo Biwa across the sea to the east.

In the traditional geographical understanding of ninjas, whether setting sail from the far west of the Land of Wind or crossing eastward from the Land of Water, the final destination would be a barren and desolate wasteland devoid of life.

In Biwa Juzo's initial plan, he actually only intended to lead his troops eastward to the outskirts of the desolate lands, using the power of ninjas to establish a series of strongholds on the edge of the desolate continent, and use these as bases to await an opportunity for a counterattack.

However, man proposes, God disposes.

On the third day of their voyage, the Kirigakure fleet encountered a violent hurricane unlike anything the Kirigakure ninjas had ever witnessed. The fleet's Atakebune was almost completely destroyed, with only the six ironclad warships purchased from the Shogunate remaining unscathed. As for the replica paddlewheel ships in the fleet, nearly half of them were lost.

As a result, all sorts of supplies and materials that Pipa Juzo had specially collected for the construction of the base were lost at sea.

But just when the Hidden Mist ninjas were in despair, they discovered that there was always a way out.

They seemed to have reached a sea they had never been to before, and one that was extremely rich.

Even the Hidden Mist ninjas born in the archipelago had never witnessed such a fantastical sight as the deck being filled with fish washed ashore by the waves after a storm.

Although the hurricane had completely steered them off course and rendered all navigation methods useless, Pipa Juzo, though filled with trepidation, outwardly proclaimed with boundless enthusiasm to all the Hidden Mist ninja that they had arrived at the Hidden Mist's promised land—though they had not yet found the land!

Subsequently, they drifted aimlessly at sea, eventually encountering a merchant fleet after more than a month of sailing.

The Hidden Mist ninjas, already irritated from eating too much fish, naturally swarmed forward and plundered the merchant fleet.

Meanwhile, Juzo Biwa noticed something amiss from the prisoners' appearance and language. After the interrogation ninja used mental techniques to extract the prisoners' memories, Juzo Biwa realized that he had unknowingly wandered into another world!

Then, due to the leak of this information, infighting broke out among the Hidden Mist ninjas, and they even threatened to disband.

This time, however, Juzo Biwa showed no mercy. Instead, he used an iron fist to slaughter all the opposition who were trying to escalate the conflict to achieve their own goals, and stepped over pools of blood to call himself 'Blood Mist Water Shadow'.

From that point on, no Kirigakure ninja, who already deeply revered the strong, dared to challenge Juzo Biwa's position.

The Hidden Mist Ninja Army, which started with three thousand men, was reduced to just over two thousand after experiencing hurricanes and civil war.

Although their power was greatly diminished, the Hidden Mist Ninja, who had been reunited through the bloody massacre, once again achieved a semblance of unity. They then began their 'primitive accumulation phase' in this prosperous new world, raiding caravans and conquering cities.

But after their arrogance grew from fighting the armies of the member states, the Hidden Mist ninjas began to suffer a heavy blow—the World Government Navy began to organize forces to encircle and suppress this mysterious and ruthless pirate crew!

After several encounters, the Hidden Mist ninjas, thanks to the performance of their ships and their excellent swimming skills, did not suffer much damage. However, all the looted goods were 'seized' by the Navy, and even their newly established base was destroyed. The Hidden Mist ninjas returned to their state of drifting and robbing at sea.

Despite his defeat, the resilient Juzo Biwa did not lose heart. After holding a meeting with the Jonin to discuss countermeasures, he began to learn from his "fellow ninjas" in this world and completely transformed into a pirate crew with a secret base but whose main force spent most of their time patrolling and robbing at sea.

Although a pirate crew of around two thousand might not seem like much in the latter half of the New World, it was already considered a large pirate crew in the first half of the Grand Line. In addition, the Hidden Mist ninjas were inherently bloodthirsty and warlike, so they did quite well.

The chance to launch a counterattack on the Ninja World continent has simply vanished.

This time, the Kirigakure Pirates, led by Juzo Biwa, are preparing to ambush a fleet of ships from various member states transporting 'Celestial Gold' on the Grand Line!

"Yondaime-sama!"

After boarding an ironclad warship from the mist, the Hidden Mist scout ninja immediately knelt on one knee and bowed to Pipa Juzo, who was standing at the bow of the ship.

"Have the voyages of those weaker ships been finalized?"

Pipa Shizang asked the question.

"It's confirmed. We should arrive in the nearby waters in about an hour!"

The Hidden Mist ninja reconnaissance team immediately reported this.

"very good!"

Pipa Juzo nodded with great satisfaction, then ordered, "Pass the word down and prepare to pull in the net!"

"Defense Brigade, prepare to use the Fog Concealment Technique to seal off the sea area!"

"Start the boiler, add oil, and start the fire!"

"Get ready for battle! All you lazybones still sleeping, get up!"

With the order given, the once deathly silent fleet suddenly came alive. The previously lazy and listless Kirigakure ninjas began to work listlessly under the urging of their respective Jonin.

Although the Hidden Mist ninjas are still as ruthless as ever, their discipline and demeanor have declined significantly compared to the era of the Hidden Mist Village!

But there's nothing we can do about it. Everyone knows what our current situation is like. Forget about counterattacking the ninja world, we don't even know where our way back is. These Kirigakure ninjas, who have gradually lost their goals, are indulging in bloody killings all day long and have no interest in anything else. If it weren't for the strength of the Jonin and the deterrent effect of Juzo Biwa, this fleet would probably have scattered long ago.

Pipa Juzo naturally understood this principle, but there was nothing he could do about it.

During the last suppression of the internal strife, he decisively wielded his decapitation sword and slaughtered all the opposition. But now, the fleet is sluggish from top to bottom. He can't possibly slaughter the entire fleet!

Of course, he also understood why the Hidden Mist ninjas were so lazy—it was simply because they lacked a stable base, which led to a lack of goals and a loss of motivation to fight!

Moreover, due to their inherent distrust of the natives of this world, the Hidden Mist ninjas have not recruited a single new member in this world to date; so if this trend continues, the Hidden Mist Blood Mist faction, unable to replenish its ranks, will only gradually perish from continuous battle losses over time.

This is something that Juzo Biwa cannot tolerate—after all, he now calls himself the Mizukage!

But not long ago, he gained inspiration from an unexpected piece of information: the World Government recognized the status of a large pirate crew in the New World and granted them the title of "Seven Warlords of the Sea," allowing them to control a piece of sea and act as they pleased!

So, Juzo Biwa had a brilliant idea: to intercept the Grand Line and rob all the fleets that were trying to transport 'Heavenly Gold', thereby putting pressure on the World Government and forcing it to recognize their status!

Although this forced recognition is not secure, and the World Government will still not hesitate to wipe out these large pirate crews whenever it gets the chance, it does not prevent the status and opportunities that come with it—establishing a sustainable base and allowing the ninjas under its command to find a new goal to strive for!

As for the so-called 'Seven Warlords of the Sea' being located on the other side of the Red Line, so what?

Juzo Biwa believed that if he made a big enough fuss and demonstrated enough strength, the Shinobi World Government might follow suit and give him similar 'treatment' in Paradise.

Even if he can't get a separate title, becoming the only 'Eighth Warlord of the Sea' in the park isn't unacceptable for Juzo Biwa!

As the ship's engine room started, the massive ironclad warship slowly sailed out of the hidden sea area, heading towards the pre-arranged battlefield under the cover of the Hidden Mist Techniques of the Hidden Mist Ninja.

Using the Hidden Mist Technique combined with appropriate light and shadow illusions as a means of concealing their whereabouts is also the result of the Hidden Mist ninjas' 'battle of wits and courage' against those cunning merchant ships and naval forces in this world. So far, it has been very effective and yielded great results.

"When the time comes, we must build a shipyard and make sure to replicate such an ironclad warship!"

Pipa Juzo said to his Jonin subordinates, "Those paddle steamers and motorized ships are still not very usable!"

"...Ultimately, we need to rebuild Kirigakure, otherwise it's all just empty talk."

His subordinate, Kosuke Goto, sighed, “We need enough steel ingots, a large number of technicians, and a large shipyard… Without these, it would be quite an achievement to build a paddlewheel sailing ship.”

"Moreover, nowadays, secret bases are at most used as places to hide valuables and resupply, not enough to give everyone a sufficient sense of belonging..."

"Everything will be alright!"

Pipa Juzo said solemnly, "As long as we gain official recognition and get rid of the Navy's entanglement, establishing a ninja village will definitely not be difficult!"

"After all, we were close to success last time..."

Jonin Goto Kōsuke nodded in agreement.

Pipa Juzo remained silent, watching the Kirigakure ninjas' nimble yet efficient boat handling, their eyes beginning to redden, revealing a sinister, inhuman killing intent.

This kind of temperament, I have only seen in the Kirigakure Anbu before - this is the most typical killing machine!

The behavior of the Hidden Mist ninjas also reflects a common psychological problem—they have lost interest in everything except the thrill of walking the line between life and death during killing.

That's why Juzo Biwa came up with this seemingly absurd plan to force the World Government to make concessions and thus gain the opportunity to build the ninja village.

Moreover, Juzo Biwa had already thought it through; if possible, he would even be willing to let the new Kirigakure become the sword of the World Government—just like the relationship between ninja villages and daimyo in the ninja world.

Just as Pipa Juzo was lost in thought, time flew by.

But nearly half an hour after the expected arrival time of the fleet, there was still no trace of sails on the sea!

At this point, the Kirigakure fleet began to stir, and even Juzo Biwa found it hard to contain himself.

"...Send out the osprey spirit beast to follow the flight path and see what's going on!"

Ignoring the risk of revealing their whereabouts, Juzo Biwa immediately ordered, "Furthermore, the fleet is to prepare to pressurize the boilers and run at full power for pursuit!"

"As ordered!"

Goto Kōsuke immediately teleported to deploy the mission.

Subsequently, several ospreys were released by the Hidden Mist ninjas to scout along the convoy's route as indicated by intelligence.

After the fleet completed the boiler pressurization, it fell into a deathly silence once again.

"Yondaime-sama!"

A dozen minutes later, the Kirigakure ninja who had released the summoned beast rushed over and knelt down to report: "Traces of a treasure ship fleet have been discovered ahead!"

"Then let's take the initiative!"

The ten treasures of loquat were decided decisively.

"...However, they seem to be confronting a group of creatures that resemble giant frogs."

The Hidden Mist ninja said in a low voice.

"Giant frog?"

Pipa Juzo raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "Is it a special race similar to fish-men or mermaids?"

"No...it looks like those giant frogs are dressed somewhat like ninjas."

The Hidden Mist Ninja's voice became even softer.

He also knew that such information would most likely be questioned by the Mizukage, after all, where would ninjas come from in this strange world?

"Giant frog..."

Pipa Juzo's face immediately darkened.

He thought of the legendary sacred Mount Myōboku...

However, if they really are those strange beings, how did they get to this strange world?

Furthermore, as a sacred land's summoning beast, why would it confront the humans of this world?

Pipa Juzo has a hundred thousand whys in his mind.

But the Hidden Mist Ninja have one thing in common: if they can't figure something out, they don't bother thinking about it; they just do it!

"Ignore them!"

Pipa Juzo gritted his teeth and made his decision: "Osprey navigation, full power!"

"We'll take the initiative!"

Randomly, the Fog Shadow Fleet erupted in cheers!

"Main guns, prepare!"