Chapter 2 — Intelligence
Uchiha Madara looked expressionlessly at the little girl, who was covered in wounds from the aftermath of the battle yet still stubbornly holding on.
After a long silence, under the tense watch of Garp and Sengoku, he slowly lowered the hand that had been forming seals.
"Boring. Having my enjoyment in battle interrupted by someone like you… what a naïve child."
Only then did Garp and Sengoku let out a breath of relief.
The man before them—dressed in ancient armor and calling himself Uchiha Madara—was overwhelmingly oppressive. Combined with his bizarre and varied abilities, he had placed immense pressure on both of them.
"Remember this, brat. It was nothing more than adults playing around. The anger of a child like you is nothing but unreasonable noise—it only makes you look ridiculous," Madara said coldly to Gion.
Sengoku's expression turned complicated.
A battle of that level… just "playing around"?
That arrogance, that presence—it was not inferior to the man known as the strongest in the world.
Gion's expression was equally conflicted.
She had imagined many possible outcomes, but never expected Madara to describe her actions as "unreasonable."
It felt humiliating—but at the same time, this powerful man had actually stopped fighting because of her "unreasonable behavior," leaving her with no way to vent her frustration.
Garp quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
Though he did not fear Madara, there was no need to provoke him here. With so many ordinary Marines present, they would be no more than lambs to the slaughter in Madara's hands—and neither he nor Sengoku was confident they could protect them all.
"Hahaha! Alright, alright—Madara already said it was just playing around, just playing around! But man, Madara, you're ridiculously strong, hahaha!"
Gion, however, was clearly still unconvinced and unwilling to accept Garp's words.
"But he just attacked so many innocent Marines. Someone like that is clearly a heinous pirate!"
The moment those words left her mouth, the atmosphere froze again.
The only reason Garp and Sengoku had chosen to yield was because Madara possessed the ability to massacre large numbers of weaker individuals. They had opted to stabilize the situation first—but Gion's words immediately dragged everything back into confrontation.
Sengoku inwardly cursed.
This is bad… it's going to start again.
Uchiha Madara was clearly an extremely arrogant and prideful man. Being questioned like this would absolutely provoke him.
As he thought this, Sengoku quietly stepped forward, positioning himself beside Gion—ready to protect her if a fight broke out.
At that moment, Madara, who had remained silent, finally spoke.
"I was merely restraining that golden one. With attacks of that level, how could he fail to block them? Also—I am a ninja."
…
Silence.
For a moment, even Sengoku's thoughts stalled.
This development was completely beyond his expectations.
The man before him—so arrogant and proud—didn't look like someone who would patiently explain himself.
Shouldn't he have flown into a rage, declared that no one had the right to question him, and then resumed fighting on the spot?
Why was he suddenly being reasonable?
Madara, being stared at by all of them, felt slightly uncomfortable. Even he found his own explanation somewhat embarrassing.
His expression remained blank as he abruptly changed the subject.
"This farce ends here. I want some information—but I don't trust you."
I want information, but I don't trust yours. If you don't give it to me, I'll fight you. So you'd better find a way to make me trust it—or I'll keep fighting.
Yes. That sounded right.
This arrogant, faintly threatening tone—that was the Madara Garp and Sengoku expected. Proud. Overbearing. Battle-obsessed.
Following the principle of not revealing one's inner thoughts, Sengoku spoke:
"What do you propose, then?"
Madara thought for a moment before answering:
"I'll choose one of your subordinates and read their memories. I won't take their life."
Sengoku hesitated.
Handing over a subordinate so casually would damage the dignity of the Marines. But refusing might lead to immediate battle.
Life was important—but the honor of the entire Marine force could not be insulted.
"Impossible. At most, we can capture a pirate for you. My subordinates are not commodities—where would I put my pride otherwise?!"
Garp didn't hesitate to refuse outright.
Betraying his comrades was something he would never do.
"In that case… I hope you won't come begging me to choose later."
Madara didn't waste words.
A red glow flashed in his eyes as he directly activated the Mangekyō Sharingan.
A blue armored giant appeared behind him—
Susanoo, Third Form!!!
Madara was arrogant, but not foolish.
The second form had proven ineffective against Garp and Sengoku at full strength. The complete form, however, was too destructive and difficult to control.
What he wanted was pressure—not a life-and-death battle.
After all, he still owed that girl, Gion, a favor. It wouldn't be right to repay kindness with slaughter.
Seeing this, Garp and Sengoku could only brace themselves.
If a battle broke out at this level and casualties occurred, it would push Madara directly into opposition against the Marines.
"Enough! I'll do it!!!"
Gion shouted loudly, tears welling in her eyes.
She was overwhelmed with grievance.
She had only meant to save someone—but had ended up causing such trouble for the Marines, even forcing herself into becoming a tool for extracting information.
Madara looked at the teary-eyed girl, expression unchanged, though inwardly he felt a headache coming on.
Why are these people so stubborn?
It's just basic information. I'm not even going to kill anyone.
In Madara's view, simply informing someone before taking what he wanted was already a significant concession.
In the end, he spoke, somewhat reluctantly:
"Three days. Bring me anyone you like. As long as I can confirm the information. In exchange—I will help you kill one person."
He then glanced at Gion, who still looked aggrieved.
"As for this brat's favor—it will be considered repaid."
If possible, Madara would rather not compromise—but a life-saving favor was still a life-saving favor.
Repaying it this way was acceptable.
After all, settling such a debt with the reputation of the "Asura of the Shinobi World" was fair—this was treatment reserved only for someone like the so-called God of Shinobi.
Garp's face lit up with joy, ready to agree immediately.
Catching a pirate? In this era, pirates were the one thing they never lacked. He could bring back a whole shipload if needed.
But Gion spoke first, gritting her teeth, eyes red.
"No. I'll do it. You're the kind of person who hates owing others, right? Then I'll make sure you owe me for the rest of your life."
…
Garp and Sengoku were at a loss.
Why was this girl so stubborn?
Madara clearly wasn't someone to be trifled with—how could she be so sure he even cared about favors?
Madara himself felt a surge of irritation.
Give them an inch, and they take a mile.
"Insignificant ant. Such arrogance."
Without further words, he grabbed Gion by the throat.
The Mangekyō in his eyes spun faster and faster, transforming into rippling patterns—
The Rinnegan activated.
He reached out and pressed a hand toward her waist.
"Human Path!"
He directly extracted part of her soul, reading her memories—then returned it before fully removing it.
In that brief exchange, he obtained most of the necessary information.
Garp and Sengoku watched nervously.
Even though Madara had said it wouldn't be life-threatening, memory extraction sounded dangerous enough—and he had literally pulled out part of her soul.
Garp nearly made a move, only to be stopped by Sengoku.
Garp growled in a low voice:
"That's Tsuru's younger sister! If anything happens to her, we're both finished."
In just an instant, Madara released Gion and began sorting through the massive influx of information in his mind.
A slight smile formed at the corner of his lips.
"Marines… pirates… the World Government… how interesting."