Uchiha's personal opinion

Kizaru doesn't look quite right!

This excited, energetic, and euphoric state is a stark contrast to his usual lazy demeanor!

"I've discovered a blind spot that we've been overlooking!"

Kizaru casually replied and then took out a Den Den Mushi to call Fleet Admiral Sengoku of the Marine Headquarters.

"???"

Vegapunk was even more bewildered.

……

Just as the First Naval Task Force of the East China Sea approached Tonoshima, the vanguard fleet led by Uchiha Shiina had already achieved considerable success.

Although the ninjas' combat strength was still significantly inferior to that of the naval officers, under the command of Uchiha Shiina, the vanguard fleet maximized its mobility advantage by completely overwhelming the ships' performance. As soon as the battle began, they routed the naval forces under Vice Admiral Garp who had set sail to meet them.

Even so, the vanguard fleet lost two old-style ironclad ships due to momentary carelessness. In addition, Vice Admiral Garp also changed his established naval combat strategy in time. He made appropriate adjustments to the original tactic of outflanking the Kirigakure Pirates and gathered all the naval officers who used Haki as their main means of combat as a strike team. He personally led the team to launch a surprise attack on the vanguard fleet.

As for the naval officers who had eaten Devil Fruits, due to the negative effects of seawater, they remained on the ships as a force to intercept cannonballs, and dispersed all the ships to control the sea area.

Although this left Vice Admiral Garp and the naval officers of the commando unit exhausted from the frantic encirclement, they had at least managed to slightly reverse the unfavorable situation.

Before long, Uchiha Shiina discovered that the advance fleet's maneuvering space was getting smaller and smaller under the pressure of the large number of naval ships and the superior naval officers' assault team. Unless they turned back into the calm zone, which was already somewhat stormy, the advance fleet would be blocked sooner or later.

"The enemy commander infiltrated the sea to lay in ambush, and suddenly attacked during the main battle. Due to the enemy's inability to dodge in time, two of their warships were destroyed..."

The ninja in charge of the destroyed ship reported the incident with trepidation.

"Aren't they afraid of seawater? Why are they diving?"

This reason infuriated Uchiha Shiina to the point of wanting to vomit blood: "And what about the ship's biological detection radar?! Didn't you activate it?!"

"In the power system of the pirate world, only those who have eaten Devil Fruits are afraid of the negative effects of seawater, specifically the seastone component..."

"A staff ninja said in a low voice."

The two ninjas in charge of the destroyed ships lowered their heads and dared not speak.

From his reaction, Uchiha Shiina also received the answer she least wanted.

"Just to save that little bit of chakra needed to activate the radar?"

Uchiha Shiina became even angrier: "Is it that you don't have enough soldier rations or not enough ninjas under your command!"

To be honest, it's really unacceptable to make such a mistake, but it's also a mindset that comes from maintaining long-range operations for a long time.

Since the pseudo-government navy could only take hits and couldn't fight back most of the time in front of the vanguard fleet with an absolute range advantage, the ninjas who maintained a psychological advantage didn't pay much attention to some of the equipment on the ship that had never been used. Moreover, no one expected that Vice Admiral Garp, as one of the top naval warriors, had never eaten a Devil Fruit!

"Pass down the order: if any similar blunders occur again in the future, the captain and any high-ranking ninja in charge will be dismissed and investigated!"

Uchiha Shiina coldly ordered, "As for you two, report to the vanguard! As long as you survive three charges into battle, you can be reinstated!"

"Commander Shiina, what is the next direction of the battle...?"

The ninja advisor immediately changed the subject.

At this time, Vice Admiral Garp's fleet and assault team had completed the encirclement of the western and northern seas, while naval warships had begun to appear in the eastern seas. Unless the vanguard fleet took the initiative to break out, it had no choice but to turn towards the Calm Belt and the Grand Line.

—As for waging a decisive naval battle, that was simply not within Uchiha Shiina's strategic options.

After all, the gap between the two sides in terms of high-level combat power is almost impossible to bridge with numbers alone, not to mention that the number of combat personnel in the vanguard fleet is far less than that of the puppet government's navy.

"We'll maneuver towards the southern seas, first luring the enemy south, then launching a surprise attack using the calm seas, and then..."

Uchiha Shiina drew a battle plan on the sea chart.

"The main fleet will split up in the calm zone. After completing the sniping operation, all cruisers will immediately continue south and then make a flanking maneuver to strike directly at the enemy's rear base!"

"Meanwhile, the main force's battleships and all the ironclads turned eastward from the calm zone, outflanked the eastern encirclement, and repeatedly broke through their naval defenses from the outside!"

Uchiha Shiina said fiercely, "I don't believe their endurance can compare to our ships, that they can run on water indefinitely!"

"As ordered!"

The staff ninja had no objection to this, and after bowing, he quickly went to the telegraph room to issue the order.

To be fair, Uchiha Shiina's tactics weren't particularly outstanding, but they were the optimal solution given the given circumstances.

Faced with a navy that possesses superior high-level combat capabilities, the advance fleet simply cannot afford to engage in a direct confrontation. It can only resort to various extreme maneuvers to wear down the enemy. However, during the course of war, countless unexpected events often occur, disrupting the original plans.

After gaining a certain advantage, Vice Admiral Garp quickly ordered his subordinates to speed up the net-closing of the ships, attempting to block the direction of the "deep-sea rebels" under his command at sea, try to force them to turn east, and then use their rear base as bait to encircle and annihilate them.

……

In another direction, the First Naval Task Force, advancing despite unpredictable artillery fire, finally arrived at the waters off Dong Island.

Kizaru stood atop the warship's mast, observing the shore's defenses through binoculars.

His naval officers were also making tense pre-battle adjustments, with squads of marines assembling on the deck, preparing for a landing operation.

Meanwhile, on the shore, after completing the rangefinding in secrecy, Uzumaki Ichiraku immediately sent the coordinates of the Navy's location to Uchiha Tokumitsu via radio. He then packed up all his equipment, erased all traces of his activity, and immediately withdrew with his ninjas.

The battles that followed were beyond his control.

After all, ordinary ninjas cannot survive within the range of a Tailed Beast Ball.

Chapter 526 The Earth Collapses and Splits, Settling the Fate

In the sea east of Dong Island, under the cover of the Hidden Mist Technique and sealing techniques, the ninja army personally led by Uchiha Tokumitsu is making final preparations.

Besides Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, which was deployed to defend the main island of Todoroki, the Tailed Beast Balls of the other six Tailed Beasts have begun to condense and, with the assistance of the strategist ninjas, have been adjusted to adjust their upward firing angle so that the long-range bombardment Tailed Beast Balls can accurately land in the Navy's fleet formation.

Uchiha Tokumitsu, holding a flame fan and wearing armor, sat steadily at the bow of the flagship. Although his expression was solemn, there was a hint of eagerness in his eyes.

The White Snake Sage seemed quite pleased, perhaps because the ninja snakes he had recently sent to Shells Town had yielded considerable success, and he was also full of anticipation for the upcoming battle.

In its view, transforming into a dragon requires not only opportunity but also prestige. If it can gain great prestige and a group of believers in this world, the White Snake Sage is confident that it can break free from the control and threat of Uchiha Tokumitsu.

In particular, the series of republics established by Ashura greatly inspired the White Snake Sage.

It was astonishing to discover that the method of direct rule always resulted in 'tyranny' for various reasons, leading to defections among the dependent groups. As for directly demanding sacrifices from the psychic contractors, it was utterly foolish! But if a so-called republican system were adopted, then Ryuchi Cave might be able to indirectly rule the human world by acting as a behind-the-scenes manipulator, thereby having a profound impact on a wider area.

As for problems arising among those in power, that's easy to handle!

After divination, the White Snake Immortal discovered that as long as he could ensure that everyone who came to power was his puppet, and with the addition of methods such as "dissent interference," then the so-called republican system would be the perfect "harvesting machine." At that time, the Ryuchi Cave lineage would no longer have to worry about the source of sacrifices!

After all, during this period, apart from secretly hunting a small amount of blood food in Shells Town through the Ninja Snake after obtaining permission, the White Snake Sage had been quite bored!

"Your Majesty! The coordinates of the Tailed Beast Ball bombing area have been corrected!"

A Royal Guard ninja instantly appeared before Uchiha Tokumitsu, knelt on one knee, and reported.

"Let's begin!"

Without further hesitation, Uchiha Tokumitsu immediately ordered, "The fleet shall immediately lift radio silence, and all ships except this one shall disperse to the left and right flanks at full speed!"

Then, the sirens sounded in unison, the Hidden Mist Technique and the sealing techniques were released simultaneously, and as Uchiha Tokumitsu's order reached the gathering place of the tailed beasts, the six tailed beast balls were immediately launched!

……

Just as Kizaru was preparing to launch the landing operation, he suddenly felt a jolt in his heart. Before he could figure out what had triggered his intuition, a ship's horn suddenly sounded from behind the island in front of him!

Kizaru was familiar with this sound, because it was the same sound when the ironclad ship he had just defeated sounded its horn and accelerated not long ago!

Kizaru immediately stomped on the mast, using the force to leap into the air. Then, looking in the direction from which the ship's horn sound came, he saw a fleet of magnificent ironclad warships suddenly appear beyond the previously foggy sea surface to the east of Todoroki.

However, the mere appearance of warships would not have triggered such a strong sense of self-awareness in a powerful individual, especially since these deep-sea rebel ships were clearly not coming from the front.

Suddenly, Kizaru felt a deep and intense malice locking onto his location!

"This is……"

Then, six giant black and white energy balls appeared in the sky and were launched towards the location of the naval fleet!

"Fleet, be on alert immediately!"

Kizaru disregarded the principle of "doing what you're paid for" and immediately shouted to signal the naval officers below to pay attention to the anomaly in the sky. At the same time, due to the extremely fast speed of the energy ball—that is, the Tailed Beast Ball—Kizaru could only quickly release his Armament Haki to form an invisible barrier in an attempt to intercept the Tailed Beast Ball!

"boom!"

With nowhere to grab onto while suspended in mid-air, Kizaru was viciously slammed onto the deck of a warship by the first Tailed Beast Ball! Whether his Armament Haki was shattered or not was irrelevant!

Because then, another five Tailed Beast Balls blasted into the naval fleet formation with lightning speed!

In particular, the Tailed Beast Balls launched by the Tailed Beasts were distributed by the strategists after calculations based on existing coordinates, with each strategist adjusting their angles to ensure sufficient power while covering as large an area of ​​the sea as possible.

Then, amidst the deafening explosion, a blinding light instantly obscured all colors in the world.

Immediately afterwards, a massive mushroom cloud broke free of the air's constraints, and the shockwave from the explosion spread rapidly, destroying everything in its path. Its speed of spread was so great that even the small number of Republican Allied troops who were 'on high alert' inside the land fortifications on Dong Island could not escape its clutches and were blasted into ashes by the aftershocks of the explosion without any chance to react!

"Very beautiful fireworks..."

Uchiha Tokumitsu stood up, rubbed his eyes to relieve the discomfort caused by the bright light, and then looked at the huge mushroom cloud in front of him.

Although there has been no news of the results of the Tailed Beast Ball bombing from Touko Island, Uchiha Tokumitsu could roughly estimate the outcome of the bombing based on the height of the mushroom cloud alone.

Generally speaking, apart from a few powerful naval officers, most of the ordinary marines and even ships were destroyed in the first round of Tailed Beast Ball bombardment.

But it's not over yet.

Uchiha Tokumitsu waved his hand and summoned the Two-Tails, Matatabi, while the other five tailed beasts, under the guidance of the strategist ninjas, once again condensed a Tailed Beast Ball.

Although the Tailed Beasts in this world cannot output chakra infinitely as they could in the Shinobi World due to limitations such as natural energy, their combat endurance still surpasses that of ninjas as long as their chakra output does not exceed a certain threshold in a short period of time.

In particular, this kind of pure energy bombardment without any fancy tricks is the area that the tailed beasts excel at.

Just as Kizaru, who had been blasted into the deck by the powerful force of the Tailed Beast Ball, managed to get up and hadn't even had time to observe the fleet's situation, he saw five huge 'energy balls' enveloping him once again.

"hateful!"

Kizaru ripped off his already broken sunglasses, used the damaged ship as leverage to leap into the air again, and unleashed a barrage of projectiles at the oncoming 'energy ball'—

"The Eight-Foot Jade Curved Jewel!"

The dense barrage of light projectiles bombarded the Tailed Beast Ball, but it only provided limited relief and could not completely neutralize its attack.

Kizaru then used the light and shadow left by the explosion of the light bullet to teleport, concentrating all his attacks on the energy ball in the center!

"Boom boom boom boom!"

However, although Kizaru shattered one of the Tailed Beast Balls in mid-air, the other five Tailed Beast Balls still fell into the broken formation of the Navy fleet, blasting the last remaining ship debris into pieces!

If Kizaru hadn't transformed into his elemental form in time, he would probably have been blown away by the powerful shockwave of the explosion!

After the aftershocks of the explosion subsided, Kizaru regained his physical form, only to find himself surrounded by wailing cries.