Chapter 109: Suzaku's Proposal!
[New World - The Sea of Juice - The Deck of the Pola]
The storm initiated by the death of Jack the Drought was fiercely brewing across the world. From the marble halls of Marineford to the dark territories of the Yonko, countless eyes were now focused on the movements of the Suzaku Pirates, watching cautiously, plotting, or fearing the next move of the Fifth Emperor.
However, the instigators of this global panic were currently doing absolutely nothing.
A heavy, tropical rainstorm had just washed over the deck of the heavy cruiser Pola. The clouds had parted, revealing a piercing blue sky. The air was scrubbed clean, smelling of salt, ozone, and wet steel. It was so fresh it felt like one could wring water from the atmosphere itself.
Suzaku stood at the railing, looking at the sparkling sea. The waves glittered like a field of diamonds.
"It's too peaceful," Suzaku sighed, stretching his arms until his joints popped. "Such a beautiful scene... it feels like a waste of life if I don't stir up some trouble. My blood is getting stagnant."
He turned around.
On the aft deck, Uchiha Madara was sitting on a ammunition crate, his eyes closed, arms crossed, looking like a statue of a war god meditating on violence.
Nearby, Ulquiorra Cifer stood silently by the mast, his hands in his pockets, staring at the horizon with the emptiness of a void.
They were bored. Deadly, catastrophic, and incredibly bored.
A mischievous idea sparked in Suzaku's mind. He cleared his throat loudly.
"Madara. Ulquiorra."
The two men didn't move.
"How about a competition?" Suzaku proposed, his voice carrying a challenging lilt. "A Fishing Competition. We bet our dignity as men. The loser has to... wash dishes for Ram for a week."
Uchiha Madara didn't even bother to lift an eyelid. His lip curled in disdain.
"Hmph. Boring. Child's play."
Ulquiorra turned his head slightly, his emerald eyes flat and unreadable.
"Meaningless. We have sufficient food supplies. Fishing serves no tactical purpose."
He was shot down immediately.
Suzaku's smile remained unchanged; he had long anticipated this reaction. To deal with these two—a prideful Uchiha legend and a nihilistic Hollow—he needed a bit of finesse. He needed to push the right buttons.
He walked over to Ulquiorra first, his expression instantly becoming profound and inscrutable, like a sage imparting the secrets of the universe.
"Ulquiorra," Suzaku said softly, placing a hand on the mast. "You are mistaken. You have always been searching for the meaning of 'Heart', have you not? The connection between beings?"
Ulquiorra blinked. "Yes."
"Fishing," Suzaku gestured grandly to the vast ocean, "is not about food. It is an excellent process for refining the mind. It is about experiencing the core philosophy of 'waiting' and 'harvest'. You must feel the life beneath the water, anticipate its movements without seeing it, and connect your will to it through a thin line. It is a necessary step in the cultivation of the soul. To catch a fish... is to understand the heart of the ocean."
A trace of "thought" flashed in Ulquiorra's eyes. He looked at the sea, analyzing the ripples.
He was silent for a moment, processing the logic.
"I see," Ulquiorra nodded solemnly. "If it is a method to understand the void between hunter and prey... I will participate."
One down.
Suzaku suppressed a victorious grin. He turned his gaze upon Uchiha Madara.
"Madara," Suzaku said, his voice dripping with mock concern. "You wouldn't be... scared, would you?"
Madara's eyebrow twitched violently.
"Scared?"
"Well," Suzaku shrugged. "Fishing requires patience. Delicacy. Finesse. It's not about blowing things up with meteors or fireballs. Maybe you're worried that you can't beat us in a contest of subtle skill? Maybe the great Uchiha Madara is only good at destruction?"
Suzaku waved his hand dismissively.
"Ah, it's fine, we understand. You're a busy man. Just surrender directly. The champion will be decided between me and Ulquiorra! We won't tell anyone the Ghost of the Uchiha was afraid of a fish."
"I... will lose?"
Uchiha Madara suddenly opened his eyes wide. The Sharingan spun to life, glowing ominous red.
Those two words—lose and scared—were more grating to his ears than a direct insult to his clan.
Uchiha Madara, losing at a trivial matter like "fishing"? To a brat and a pale ghost?
What an enormous joke!
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the gentle and attentive Rem had already appeared, holding two exquisite fishing rods made of high-flexibility carbon fiber (courtesy of the System store). She handed them to Suzaku and Ulquiorra respectively.
The two of them were already walking to the railing, earnestly picking out their spots, ignoring him.
Madara's expression stiffened for a moment. His pride flared like a supernova. He regained his arrogant demeanor, clearing his throat twice to demand attention.
"Ahem... Rem."
"Lord Madara?" Rem ran over with small steps, tilting her head. A hint of a knowing smile played in her eyes. "Do you have any instructions?"
"Hmm..." Madara crossed his arms, looking away, refusing to meet her eyes. "Those two amateurs probably won't catch anything. They lack the tactical insight to grasp the essence of fishing. It would be... pitiful to watch."
He glanced at the rods.
"Fine," Madara said indifferently, standing up with the grace of a predator. "I shall personally guide them! Bring me a fishing rod as well. The best one you have."
This tsundere declaration, which completely contradicted his true feelings of competitive rage, almost made Suzaku burst out laughing.
"Of course, Lord Madara," Rem suppressed her laughter and bowed elegantly. "Please wait a moment. Rem will fetch the 'Dragon Slayer' rod for you right away."
And so, the strangest fishing tournament in the New World began.
Uchiha Madara, the legend of the Ninja World, sat down primly to Suzaku's left. He held the rod like a weapon of war, his posture rigid, his eyes scanning the water surface for enemy movement.
Ulquiorra Cifer, the Fourth Espada, stood on Suzaku's right. He held the rod with mechanical precision, his body perfectly still, blending into the environment.
Suzaku sat in the middle, the instigator of chaos, humming a tune.
However, just as Madara positioned himself, preparing to deliver a grand discourse on the "strategic depth of angling" and "reading the water's chakra"...
Thud.
A wet sound hit the deck.
A half-meter-long, lively sea fish flopped onto the steel plating, gasping for air.
Ulquiorra emotionlessly unhooked it.
"Target secured," Ulquiorra stated flatly.
Madara's movements instantly froze. He hadn't even cast his line yet.
Suzaku whistled. "Hoh! Ulquiorra, nice job! A great start! Madara, look, you're already falling behind! The score is 1-0-0."
"Hmph."
Madara's mouth twitched. He cast his line with a violent swing that nearly broke the sound barrier.
"It was just good luck," Madara retorted stubbornly, staring at his float with the intensity of a hawk hunting a rabbit. "He only caught a small fish. It swam into the hook by accident. A fluke. Consider it... me letting him win the first round out of pity!"
Plop.
Before he finished speaking, Ulquiorra lifted his rod again.
This time, a fish the size of a dog flew out of the water. It slammed onto the deck with a dull thud.
"It seems fishing is indeed not difficult," Ulquiorra commented flatly, looking at his catches. "The creatures follow simple patterns. Predictable."
This sentence felt like two invisible slaps, landing squarely on the faces of Suzaku and Uchiha Madara.
Both of their faces darkened simultaneously.
"Hmph, just a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse!" Suzaku muttered indignantly, adjusting his own line. He looked at Rem self-righteously.
"Right, Rem? The one I caught last time in East Blue was much bigger than this! Tell them!"
Rem smiled and nodded, confirming the Captain's assertion to protect his fragile ego.
"Yes, Lord Suzaku. That was a magnificent mackerel."
She gently added, "However... Lord Ulquiorra has already caught two fish. And your and Lord Madara's... catch for today is still zero."
"What's the rush? It's just getting started!"
Suzaku looked at his completely still float. It hadn't moved a millimeter. He decisively pulled up his rod.
"It must be the bait!" Suzaku declared with absolute conviction. "The fish in this area are picky eaters. They don't like my special formula. It's not my skill; it's the ingredients."
He turned to Ulquiorra.
"Ulquiorra, share some bait with me. I'll show you what real technique looks like! Yours clearly has pheromones in it."
Saying this, he unceremoniously stretched out his hand toward Ulquiorra's bait bucket.
Madara, seeing this, immediately stretched out his gloved hand as well.
"Ahem," Madara coughed. "I also... require a sample. For analysis. To see what exactly is different about this bait compared to mine."
He calmly pinched off a large chunk.
Rem watched their almost synchronized movements—the Captain and the Warlord acting like petty children making excuses for their failure—and finally couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle softly.
"Lord Suzaku, Lord Madara... actually... everyone's bait is the same. I prepared it myself from the same bucket this morning."
However, the two men had already fallen into the self-hypnosis that "the bait must be the problem." They completely ignored Rem's logic.
They changed the bait. They quickly cast their lines.
Then, they activated their ocular powers.
Madara's Sharingan spun, tracking the microscopic movements of the water. Suzaku's Observation Haki flared, sensing the intent of the fish below. They stared intently at the floats, as if trying to glare the fish into submission through sheer willpower.
Bite, Madara commanded mentally. Or I will boil this ocean.
Just then, Ulquiorra's fishing rod suddenly plunged downward without warning.
CREAAAK!
The high-tensile carbon fiber rod bent into a breathtaking crescent arc, the tip nearly touching the water. The line hummed like a guitar string about to snap under immense tension.
"Oh, oh! He's got a big one, Lord Ulquiorra!" Rem exclaimed from the side, clapping her hands.
Suzaku and Madara's attention was instantly drawn over. Their eyes widened.
Ulquiorra, facing the immense force that was dragging him toward the rail, maintained his usual composed appearance. He didn't brace his legs. He didn't grunt.
He seemed to recall something.
Suzaku said to connect... strength requires will...
Mimicking Suzaku's actions from their battle with Garp, a layer of pitch-black Armament Haki instantly flowed from his hands. It coated the rod and traveled down the slender fishing line!
The line turned black and rigid as steel.
[Haki Imbuement]
The next second, Ulquiorra's arm muscles bulged slightly under his white uniform.
"Come."
He exerted force directly!
Skipping the process of "playing the fish" or tiring it out, he simply yanked with the raw strength of an Arrancar.
BOOM!!!
Accompanied by a massive sound of displacing water, the surface of the sea was violently ripped open.
A ferocious fish—no, a small Sea King—nearly five meters long, with teeth like daggers and scales like armor, was "pulled" straight out of the sea in the most unreasonable manner.
It flew through the air, thrashing wildly, water spraying everywhere.
THUD!
It slammed heavily onto the deck, shaking the ship. It flopped around, snapping its jaws, dangerous enough to kill a normal man.
"Target secured," Ulquiorra said, dusting off his hands. "This one has more mass."
Ram and Rem immediately stepped forward. Ram used a small bolt of lightning to stun the beast instantly, and together they skillfully dragged the still-thrashing behemoth away, preparing to send it to the kitchen for processing.
As they passed the cabin door, two heads poked out.
Akame and Pola.
Their eyes widened. Drool formed at the corners of their mouths. Their gazes followed the two maids and the giant fish with predatory intensity.
"Food..." Akame whispered, her assassin instincts replaced by hunger.
"Sashimi!" Pola cheered.
If they didn't know that Rem and Ram's cooking skills were excellent and the fish would taste better processed, they probably would have already lunged forward to devour the raw meat right there on the deck.
"Lord Ulquiorra is amazing!" Pola's voice rang out, filled with genuine admiration. "He's the best provider!"
"Mmh," Akame nodded. "Worthy of respect."
Suzaku's face went completely black. He looked at his empty bucket.
Madara gripped his fishing rod so hard that hairline cracks appeared on the handle.
"This..." Madara growled, his Sharingan spinning furiously. "This is unacceptable."
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