The salty, humid sea breeze carried fine sand, landing on Lin Yue's Ninja uniform. He stood at the edge of the beach, watching the undulating waves in the distance, with 10 summoned individuals lined up neatly behind him. Their auras were suppressed but not completely hidden—at this moment, they had just transmigrated to the One Piece World. Although they were in a developmental stage, there was no need to hide so deeply; they only needed to act discreetly.
Just as Lin Yue was about to assign tasks, a cold system prompt suddenly echoed in his mind, breaking the tranquility of the seaside: "Ding—Detected successful transmigration to the target world (One Piece World). The space-time shuttle function has been frozen. Freeze duration: unknown. During the freeze, cross-world shuttling cannot be activated."
Lin Yue's steps paused slightly, and his fingertips unconsciously tightened—the shuttle function being frozen meant they temporarily lost the possibility of returning to their original world. Although he didn't know if it was similar to before, requiring a certain number of summoned individuals, or if there were other restrictions, for now, they could only settle down in this world. He quickly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, his gaze becoming even more resolute: Since there was no turning back, they had to establish a foothold in this sea, even if it meant starting from scratch, to build a force belonging to the Uchiha Clan.
"Starting today, we will form 'Uchiha's Anbu': externally, do not proactively reveal the 'Uchiha' name unless absolutely necessary; internally, Anbu members will be numbered by 'rank + sequence number'. For example, the first Genin summoned will be Genin 1, and so on." Lin Yue turned to face everyone, his voice steady. "Internal communication should be concise to avoid leaking more information. First, we'll scout the environment before making further plans, trying to avoid unnecessary conflicts."
The sole Chunin stepped forward and nodded in response: "Understood!" Lin Yue's subsequent policy was to maintain a low profile externally, not to provoke proactively, and to focus on gathering intelligence. Lin Yue then looked at the other Genin: "Divide into two teams based on specialization. Team One will be responsible for reconnaissance and traps, and Team Two for vigilance and guarding. Each team will select a captain. During operations, prioritize concealing your tracks. In case of emergencies, transmit messages promptly."
His subordinates quickly split into groups, without any unnecessary noise throughout—Team One's captain excelled at reconnaissance, and Team Two's captain excelled at genjutsu. They determined their division of labor with just glances and gestures, showing perfect tacit agreement.
With the Anbu system established, Lin Yue took the simple map handed to him by Rob (a mini Uchiha Clan emblem was subtly printed in the corner, hard to spot without a close look) and pointed towards the east, saying: "Primary mission: confirm our location and investigate the safety of the village. If you encounter villagers, say 'We are from the Land of Fire, passing through and staying temporarily.' Don't proactively mention pirates; gather as much information as possible about the local situation."
Rob quickly etched shallow marks on the map with his fingernail and ordered the two teams: "Team One will split into two groups—one group will go east to scout the village, and the other will set up concealed traps on the north side of the camp; leave one person at the highest point for sensory vigilance. Team Two will use low-intensity genjutsu to cover the camp's core; don't wander far during patrols. The Master and I will wait at the camp for intelligence."
"Move out!" With Lin Yue's command, the Anbu members dispersed like shadows. He didn't immediately return to the camp but took Rob and walked a distance towards the fishing village—personally interacting with villagers was the only way to get the most accurate information.
As they reached the old locust tree at the village entrance, they saw an old fisherman with a fish basket on his back squatting by the tree roots, mending his fishing net. The sea fish in the basket were still flopping. Lin Yue slowed his pace and proactively approached with a smile, greeting: "Elder, busy, aren't you? We're from the Land of Fire and would like to rest around here for a few days. Is this island usually bustling?"
The old fisherman looked up at the two, and seeing their simple clothes and gentle tone, his tension eased. He put down his fishing net and replied: "This is Nameless Island, right next to Syrup Village. Usually, besides us fishermen, hardly any outsiders come. You're from the Land of Fire? What kind of place is that, and why would you choose this remote island to settle?"
"It's a very distant place. Our merchant ship encountered some rough weather while passing through and can't leave for now, so we found a quiet place to rest." Lin Yue sat down, helping to pick up scattered fishing net ropes. "Hearing the elder say this island has few people, will pirates come here? We're travelers and are afraid of encountering danger."
At the mention of pirates, the old fisherman waved his hand, his tone much more relaxed: "Don't worry! This island has nothing valuable. Pirates prefer bustling ports. It's been years since I've seen pirates land on this island. Only this spring, I heard there's a new Four Emperors called Shanks on the sea, and there are more pirates in other places, but it has nothing to do with us here."
"Shanks just became a Four Emperors... so it should be the year 1516 now?" Lin Yue noted the time node in his mind, then chatted a bit more about local customs, confirmed that pirates indeed rarely visited the island, thanked the old fisherman, and then got up to leave.
"There are almost no pirates on the island; the environment is safer than expected." Rob said in a low voice as they walked out of the fishing village, "We can settle down first and slowly gather intelligence on the East Blue." Lin Yue nodded: "Let's go back to the camp and check on the other team members. If there are no surprises, we'll rest tonight and scout tomorrow."
When they returned to the camp, the team member who had gone west to investigate was already waiting there, holding a damp navigation log. "Master, there's an abandoned small boat 5 kilometers to the west. The log is from half a year ago; the recorder was a small pirate who said this island 'has no spoils, no need to come,' which matches what the elder said." The team member opened the log, pointing to the messy handwriting, "The last recorded time was also January 1516, which confirms the current timeline."
Lin Yue took the log and flipped through a few pages, finding no useful information, then handed it to Rob for archiving: "Have the vigilant team members take turns resting. Just two people need to watch the sea to the west. Tonight, we'll focus on getting enough rest." Just as he turned to give the order, an urgent shout suddenly came from the high ground—it was the team member responsible for sensing, waving towards the camp, his face taut.
Lin Yue's heart sank. He quickly climbed a nearby sand dune and looked in the direction the team member was pointing—on the western horizon, a small black dot faintly appeared, moving towards the island at a steady speed. "Is it a ship?" He narrowed his eyes, carefully distinguishing in the afterglow of the sunset. He could see something fluttering above the black dot, shaped like a flag common on pirate ships.
"I sense over a dozen auras on the ship... they feel very chaotic, not like an ordinary merchant ship." The reconnaissance team member lowered his voice, "The distance is too far to see the exact scale for now, but there's a high probability they're heading this way."
Lin Yue's gaze sharpened—the old fisherman said no pirates had come for years, yet they encountered a suspected pirate ship right after arriving. Even if it was a coincidence, they couldn't let their guard down. "Chunin 1! Immediately have everyone return to formation," he turned and said to the Anbu, "Team One's trap group will extend the concealed traps to the western beach, burying more linked explosive tags; Team Two will expand the genjutsu range to cover the entire coast, don't let the enemy see the camp's location!"
Rob responded and acted—team members who were resting instantly got up. Team One members rushed to the western beach, carrying trap tools, the sound of shovels digging into the earth particularly clear on the seaside as night approached; Team Two members quickly formed hand signs, and a faint gray genjutsu spread like mist, enveloping the camp and the edge of the beach. From the sea, only ordinary reefs and sand dunes remained.
Lin Yue stood on the sand dune, staring at the black dot getting closer and closer in the distance, his fingertips unconsciously caressing his Ninja tool pouch. The sun completely sank below the horizon, and night began to shroud the sea. The ship's silhouette gradually became clear—the hull wasn't large, but its speed hadn't decreased; it was still approaching the island.
"Master, the traps are set, and the genjutsu is effective." Rob walked to his side, his voice tense, "Everyone is in position, ready to act at any moment."
Lin Yue nodded, his gaze never leaving the ship: "Wait a little longer, don't expose ourselves first. If they're just passing by, we'll pretend we didn't see them; if they dare to dock..." He paused, his tone growing colder.
In the darkness, the ship's outline became increasingly clear. The pattern on the sail was faintly visible—it looked like some kind of weapon, but it was still blurry due to the distance. Lin Yue took a deep breath and whispered to the Anbu members behind him: "Everyone, get ready to welcome these 'guests' who are visiting."
The sea breeze suddenly intensified, bringing with it the salty taste of seawater. The distant ship's shadow rose and fell in the waves, steadily approaching the trap-laden coast...