Uchiha's personal opinion

Behind Hanzo the Salamander came the soft voice of Yagura the tartare.

"Oh……"

When Hanzo the Salamander turned around, he didn't see anyone. Then, following the direction of the sound, he looked down and found Yagura Karatachi staring at him fiercely with a face full of resentment.

"Excuse me……"

The towering Hanzo the Salamander was quite embarrassed: "But Yagura-kun's concealment technique is really impressive; I couldn't even detect it..."

"I……"

Yagura wanted to curse, but he held back.

"Cough cough!"

Hanzo the Salamander coughed twice to ease the awkwardness: "I'll leave those sea monsters to you..."

"no problem."

Despite some complaints, Yagura Karatachi nodded in agreement.

"After completing the second phase of besieging the stronghold and intercepting reinforcements, we will face the bloodiest and most dangerous battle!"

Hanzo the Salamander quickly changed the subject: "That is, the third phase of the operation: the landing and annihilation operation!"

"At that time, apart from Lunbu-kun staying behind to coordinate artillery support, all Jonin must go into battle. I will lead the charge with Ibuki!"

"His Majesty's personal expedition camp is located in Impel Down!"

"Gentlemen—"

Hanzo the Salamander drew his ninja sword from his waist and held it between his eyebrows. "Congratulations on your victory!"

Victory is certain!

The Jonin shouted in unison!

……

Under the cover of night, the advance fleet, having completed its preparations and resupply, filed out of the harbor and sailed out of the bay in the wind and rain toward the East China Sea.

As a flanking force, they will be responsible for thoroughly disrupting the situation in the East China Sea and mobilizing the forces of the Navy Headquarters.

However, due to their relatively limited strength, they cannot engage in direct combat with the main force of the navy, so the execution of specific tactics requires a great deal of skill and flexibility.

Until the moment of departure, Chief of Staff Ichiraku Uzumaki was still conducting tactical analysis in the flagship's command center.

"Chief of Staff Ichiro, still not resting?"

Uchiha Shiina pushed open the door and walked in.

"The route for the Goa Kingdom's landing operation still needs to be planned..."

Uzumaki Ichiraku rubbed his eyes, put down his pencil, and said, "In the end, it's because we lack information and haven't been able to determine the safest course of action yet."

"What's the big deal?"

Uchiha Shiina glanced at the tactical planning map, laughed heartily, and said, "If we break through a Marine branch in a few days, we'll have all the nautical charts, right?"

"That's true, but it's always good to be prepared..."

Uzumaki Ichiraku shrugged: "Besides, wouldn't they encrypt the nautical charts? They can't just completely trust the captured nautical charts because of insufficient intelligence, can they?"

"Our main task, while creating chaos to keep those Marine Headquarters brats busy, is ultimately to obtain sufficient privateering profits..."

Uchiha Shiina said tactfully, "Moreover, the situation on the battlefield changes in an instant, and there are some things that are unnecessary to consider and cannot be predicted."

"So why did you come to see me?"

Uzumaki Ichiraku said dismissively.

How did you know I just caught a tuna that was over a meter long?

Uchiha Shiina slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly, "And I caught it in less than a minute after casting the line!"

"...Who asked you!"

Ichiraku Uzumaki was speechless!

"Forget it, let's not dwell on this!"

Uchiha Shiina grabbed Uzumaki Ichiraku and pulled him out, saying, "I've already had the Minazuki clan's ninjas make chilled, thick-cut sashimi. Let's go try some!"

Chapter 500: The Navy! Launch!

Impel Down, located in the Calm Belt, is the largest prison in the One Piece world. Since its establishment, there has never been a single prison break.

Both the naval warships stationed there and the prison guards were elites of the World Government. Even if there were a few exceptionally strong individuals among the pirates or 'rebels' serving their sentences, they would not be able to escape from such strict supervision.

More importantly, Impel Down's unique geographical location means that even if they escape from the lower levels of Impel Down's cells, they still have to face the Calm Belt and the Sea Kings surrounding Impel Down. Without a fleet to support them, they cannot leave, and their ultimate fate will be to be captured or even killed on the spot during the subsequent suppression.

Therefore, although the naval officers in charge of Impel Down's maritime defenses all looked very serious and tense, they were actually very relaxed—after all, there had been no prison break incidents or attacks from the outside so far.

Navy personnel are human too, and humans are prone to laziness. Although the special regulations and requirements for garrisoned naval units are quite strict, over time, the navy personnel have found many loopholes to exploit.

For example, they could take advantage of patrols to sneak out of the Calm Belt and "fish" along the Grand Line.

Of course, as marines who spend all their time at sea, they are not interested in the fish in the sea. The only things that can motivate them are merchant ships passing by or pirates they happen to encounter – these are the 'big fish' in the eyes of the marines!

……

"Commander Hanzo, the First Army Corps is ready!"

After several days of preparation and acclimatization training, the First Army under the command of Hanzo the Salamander finally found the right time to go into battle.

"Today is a rare good day..."

Hanzo the Salamander stood on the deck and looked up at the sky. At that moment, leaden clouds covered the sky and rumbled thunder, just like the scene before an impending storm.

For older sailing warships, such weather would naturally have a significant impact on combat effectiveness. However, for the dynasty's naval fleet powered by boiler units, the only problem was that the large waves on the sea might affect the accuracy of the main guns.

"After our initial encounter, we analyzed the weapons in this world..."

Uchiha Lunbu also walked onto the deck and stood behind Hanzo of the Salamander, saying, "Their shipborne weapons use a special type of shell that is propelled by gunpowder, which is very different from our chakra shells. The heavy rain will still affect their combat effectiveness."

"I'm not worried about any of that..."

Hanzo the Salamander said in a deep voice, "The biggest challenge lies in the third phase of the operation plan: the landing and mopping-up operation..."

Uchiha Rumbu nodded silently.

After all, true warriors are not so easily killed by artillery fire. To completely conquer Impel Down, the Marines will ultimately have to storm in and carry out the final cleanup.

And that's the cruelest part!

"but……"

Hanzo the Salamander took a deep breath of the sea breeze, which carried a strong, fishy smell. "This is the world that true ninjas want!"

"Only courage and merit are valued; this is something that has never happened before in the ninja world!"

"Lumbu-kun, you are still young. You haven't experienced the helplessness and despair of the various small ninja villages before the Second Shinobi World War..."

Uchiha Rumbu nodded silently.

"The ninja world is too poor. From the Warring States period to the establishment of the current dynasty, the world's vitality has been almost completely exhausted..."

Orochimaru emerged from the shadows and said in a low voice, "According to the calculations of the Uzumaki clan, if the ninja world does not receive external replenishment, either the ninja class will perish, or the ninja group will expand to its limit and destroy the entire world."

"So, you want to start a war?"

Uchiha Rumbu was somewhat surprised.

Although he had always thought Orochimaru was a mad scientist, he never expected him to be an even more radical war fanatic than himself.

"Too many ninjas is not a good thing, especially ninjas from other villages that are being integrated."

Orochimaru spoke without any regard for Hanzo of the Salamander, who hailed from Amegakure: "Therefore, the conquest of the pirate world is not just about plundering resources, but more importantly, about consuming the remnants of the old era."

Hanzo of the Salamander remained expressionless, even nodding slightly—because in his mind, Amegakure, which had always been a source of mercenaries for the shogunate, was actually like Kirigakure, belonging to the category of 'outer domains,' so he still had a certain psychological advantage compared to those ninja from other villages.

"Dean Orochimaru, you're being a bit too radical!"

Uchiha Lunbu shook his head.

"Lumbu-kun, you, an Uchiha from a radical background, are too conservative!"

Orochimaru bluntly pointed out, "You even give off an overly indecisive vibe. I really don't know how you manage to gain a foothold among the radicals."

Uchiha Rinbu, the only Water Release specialist and special type ninja in the Uchiha clan, was speechless.

"So, Commander Hanzo, do you understand why His Majesty allocated four additional regiments from the Fourth Army for this war?"

Orochimaru ignored Uchiha Rumbu and instead said to Hanzo of the Salamander, "Although the First Army is attached to the Marine Corps Brigade, that's the apple of the Dynasty Navy's eye. If they suffer too many losses, the Navy system might start to complain..."

"You don't need to teach me this!"

Hanzo the Salamander snorted coldly, clearly displeased with the tone of his former defeated opponent, Orochimaru.

but……

Hanzo of the Salamander thought for a moment, and then realized that this might be the reason why Uchiha Tokumitsu had specially assigned Orochimaru to the First Army...

Thinking about this, Hanzo the Salamander became a little calmer.

"By the way, are the camouflage battle flags ready?"

Hanzo the Salamander changed the subject.

"It's ready. The flags are the same as those used by the vanguard fleet; they're the same flags used by the Kirigakure Pirates."

Uchiha Rumbu answered immediately.

"Judging from their speed, they should be almost at the East China Sea, so let's prepare to set sail!"

Hanzo the Salamander surveyed the boarding process and then ordered, "Now it's time for our tactical demonstration!"

……

Marine Headquarters, Marineford.

A heated argument is taking place in the highest council chamber.

The three generals of the headquarters, Sengoku, Sakazuki, and Kuzan, sat high on their thrones, while the major generals and lieutenant generals of their respective factions below argued incessantly.

"I still firmly believe that building ships is the only way out!"