Chapter 36: The feeling of power

They departed at noon the following day.

Shisui led ten selected clan members to form the raiding team, joining forces with the others left before by Yami to begin sweeping pirates from the seas.

Fugaku's primary responsibility involved organizing manpower, conducting trade, and purchasing items the Uchiha clan lacked.

Essentially, they were buying everything needed while having nothing to sell to the outside world yet.

However, the Uchiha clan could basically sustain themselves on the island.

Aside from things they couldn't produce, there were no major problems.

Simultaneously, he supervised the daily training of personnel at their base.

The Six Powers techniques brought back this time still proved quite challenging for many clan members.

After Yami prepared for the upcoming war, he planned to begin teaching the clan Armament Haki training.

Moreover, the Uchiha clan's physical conditioning was gradually improving.

When he returned this time, he reviewed the data Fugaku had collected.

Some had their capabilities increase by nearly fifty percent. And even then, they hadn't reached any limits yet and could continue advancing.

Yami couldn't determine whether this resulted from the creatures here providing such beneficial effects when consumed, or if eating these foods compensated for the Uchiha clan's bloodline defects and raised their physical limits even higher.

****

"I said so much yesterday, but even so, you probably still don't have a clear idea of how powerful this bloodline truly is," Yami announced to the surrounding clan members at the newly constructed port.

"Then let me provide a demonstration and help everyone understand that the Uchiha clan possesses tremendous potential."

"This power that I recently acquired, is the strength needed to protect our people!"

Fugaku and the others looked puzzled.

Weren't they all the same with their flawed Mangekyō? What does he mean?

"Boom!"

But Yami directly activated the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Dark red bones rapidly formed around his body, then pushed him upward as the skeletal structure quickly elevated him into the air.

A massive energy construct slowly materialized before everyone's eyes.

Then the complete Susanoo appeared before the assembled clan.

Yami stood within the head of the Ultimate Susanoo. His wings flapped once, creating a gust of wind.

“This what you can do, with a pure bloodline…” Yami announced.

He had already said that he lucked out with his bloodline and was considered somewhat pure.

They didn’t know how that was possible, but they didn’t question him either.

"So, this is his Susanoo without the defective Mangekyō limitations…" Fugaku stammered, his eyes filled with shock.

This construct stood many times larger than the Susanoo he could manifest with all his strength.

He suddenly recalled Yami's statement yesterday about being at the top in the ninja world.

This was what he'd meant.

The elders trembled with excitement.

'This is just like Uchiha Madara's power from back then.'

The others' eyes also reflected shock, but with even greater joy.

With such a powerful clan leader, there was definitely hope for the Uchiha to fight their way back to the ninja world.

"Although I ask everyone to be cautious outside, that doesn't mean the Uchiha will continue to live in fear…"

"If you can't win, just run."

"Run back home, and I'll settle everything for you."

Yami declared with overwhelming dominance.

He wanted to instill confidence in everyone.

Although many people worked diligently, even more felt lost and uncertain.

If everyone regarded Yami, their clan leader, as only being on the same level as Shisui and Fugaku, many would feel that returning back to the ninja world might prove impossible.

They just might have to spend their entire lives in this world.

But now, Yami had demonstrated such overwhelming power, finally awakening something in everyone's hearts…

Although no one understood how Yami had grown stronger, this represented hope itself to them.

"Oh!" The clan members at the port yelled joyfully.

Everyone felt the pressure throughout their bodies lift considerably.

It was rare to the see the Uchiha show this much emotion.

Yami smiled.

“Take care, everyone,”

‘Is this what piloting a mecha feels like?’ Yami mused as he used the Susanoo to carry Itachi and Izumi, flying directly through the high atmosphere.

Izumi felt her heart pounding loudly.

Although they were ninja, they had never experienced the sensation of flight.

While the Susanoo flew, it tore a passage through the clouds, leaving a blue-sky corridor behind them like a runway.

"Clan Leader, is this the ultimate power of the Uchiha clan?" Itachi asked with characteristic composure.

Even in this situation, he maintained enough presence of mind to question Yami.

"This power represents what Uchiha Madara possessed in his time, but he was still defeated by the First Hokage," Yami explained.

"It's insufficient to ensure our safety in the ninja world. We must become even stronger."

The next two individuals likely to use such constructs were Sasuke and Itachi.

Though it might also be possible for Itachi and Fugaku to exchange their Mangekyō.

However, conducting such experiments would require professional personnel to record data, making it helpful for future clan members.

"Yes! I understand!" Hearing this, Itachi gained clearer focus regarding his goals.

Protect the Uchiha clan.

The pressure on his shoulders had diminished significantly now.

No need to balance between Konoha and the clan anymore.

There was only one clear objective: to protect the family.

"I'll work hard too!" Izumi quickly added.

She sensed that Yami was investing in her development, even bringing her along to see the world.

She wanted to keep pace with Itachi and not fall too far behind.

Yami nodded his head at her with a smile.

Piloting his Susanoo, they reached the middle of North Blue in less than a day.

Yami then deployed five shadow clones, instructing them to gather information about the Germa Kingdom's location.

Although technically a country, the Germa Kingdom possessed no fixed territory.

Instead, it moved via dozens of ships that together formed a mobile nation.

Like Gran Tesoro, the world's largest entertainment ship, it represented a mobile country.

Yami wasn't idle either.

He took Itachi and Izumi to hunt pirates throughout the North Blue, allowing them to practice combat while earning bounties along the way.

Itachi possessed extensive combat experience, having joined the ANBU and participated in wars.

Izumi belonged to the new generation of ninja who had been confined.

Although quite strong, she remained less agile when it came to killing.

Including in battle, her timing for deploying ninjutsu proved much inferior to Itachi's.

But that was fine, she’ll get better with time.

Accompanying the two members, Yami swept through a large portion of North Blue.

It proved far more chaotic than East Blue.

Many pirates carried bounties exceeding 30 million, but those with bounties above 100 million were extremely difficult to encounter.

Moreover, Yami deliberately led them in searches, eliminating some pirate crews in total and earning approximately 130 million berries in bounties.

"Found the location," Yami announced, standing on the sea surface after receiving intelligence from one of his dispersed shadow clones.

"We'll continue training next time."

He addressed the two younger members aboard the ship who had been fighting pirates.

Hearing his voice, they immediately retreated.

When they leaped from the ship, Yami raised his hand and manifested a [Chidori Blade] nearly a hundred meters long, directly bisecting the vessel.

Among the many pirates, he located the captain with the bounty on his head, severed his head cleanly, then jumped lightly as a massive fireball with a diameter approaching ten meters engulfed the ship.

The entire battle concluded in less than ten seconds.

Observing Yami, both felt tremendous pressure.

"Let's go." Yami declared with a hidden satisfaction.

This was what abundant chakra felt like.