Uсhihа Маdara stаrеd imраssivеly at the littlе girl. Shе was cоvered in wоunds frоm thе bаttlе's shоckwavеs, yеt she wаs still stubbоrnly hоlding on. Аftеr a lоng moment, undеr the tеnsе gazеs оf Gаrp аnd Sеngоku, he slowlу lоwerеd thе fingеrs hе hаd formed intо hаnd seаls.
"Нow boring. The joу оf battlе hаs bееn spоilеd bу the likеs оf уou. Naivе littlе brаt."
Оnlу then did Garp and Sengoku lеt оut a lоng brеath. The man bеforе thеm, сlad in anсiеnt аrmоr аnd сalling himsеlf Uchiha Маdаra, еxudеd аn оpрressivе aura thаt was almоst too much tо bеar. Тhat, соmbinеd with his chаotic assortment of abilities, had put them under immense pressure.
"Remember this, brat. This was nothing more than the roughhousing of adults. A child's tantrum like yours is just a nuisance. It's laughable," Uchiha Madara said coldly to Gion.
Sengoku's expression was complicated. A battle of that magnitude… was just roughhousing? This man's arrogance and spirit were on par with the man known as the world's strongest.
Gion's face was a mask of complexity as well. She had imagined many possible outcomes, but she had never once thought Uchiha Madara would dismiss her actions as a mere nuisance.
She felt insulted. And yet, for a powerhouse like Uchiha Madara to actually stop fighting because of her "nuisance"… it left her unable to vent her anger.
Garp quickly stepped in to smooth things over. While he wasn't afraid of Uchiha Madara, there was no need to provoke him here. With so many ordinary Marines around, they would be little more than lambs to the slaughter in Madara's hands. Garp and Sengoku weren't confident they could save so many men from him.
"Hahahaha! Alright, alright! Madara said it himself, it was just roughhousing! Roughhousing! But I gotta say, Brother Madara, you're absurdly strong! Hahahaha!"
Gion was still visibly unconvinced, unable to accept Garp's explanation.
"But he was just attacking all those innocent Marines. A man like that is clearly a heinous pirate."
The moment the words left her mouth, the atmosphere plunged back to a freezing point. The main reason Garp and Sengoku had been willing to back down was that Madara possessed the ability to slaughter the weak on a massive scale, so they had chosen to placate him first. Gion's words, however, had dragged the situation back into hostile territory.
It's over, Sengoku thought. We're going to have to fight again. Uchiha Madara was clearly an incredibly arrogant man, proud to the extreme. Such an interrogation would definitely infuriate him.
As the thought crossed his mind, Sengoku quietly took a few steps forward to stand beside Gion, ensuring he could protect her if a fight suddenly broke out. Just then, Uchiha Madara, who had been silent, spoke.
"It was merely to keep the golden fellow occupied. An attack of that level… how could he have failed to block it? Besides, I am a ninja."
.....
For a moment, there was dead silence. Even the train of thought in Sengoku's mind came to a screeching halt. The situation seemed to be veering far from his expectations. This arrogant and proud man before him didn't seem like someone who would have the patience to explain himself.
Shouldn't he have flown into a rage, declared 'You are not worthy of questioning me,' and then proceeded to dance on the battlefield? Why was he suddenly trying to be reasonable?
Being stared at so intently made Uchiha Madara a little uncomfortable. His sudden explanation also felt somewhat embarrassing. He expressionlessly began to change the subject.
"Let this farce end here. I require some intelligence. But I don't trust you."
I want intelligence, but I don't trust your intelligence. If you don't give it to me, I'll fight you. Therefore, you must find a way to make me believe your intelligence, or else I'll have to fight you.
Yes, that was more like it. This haughty, slightly threatening way of speaking—this was the Madara that fit the image in Garp and Sengoku's minds. Arrogant, proud, a battle maniac. That was the persona they had assigned him.
Adhering to the principle of not revealing one's hand in a negotiation, Sengoku asked, "Then what do you propose?"
Uchiha Madara thought for a moment before speaking.
"I will choose one of your subordinates and read his memories. I will not harm him."
Sengoku's face showed his difficulty with the request. Casually handing over a subordinate to someone else would undoubtedly damage the Marines' reputation. But refusing might lead to an immediate battle. While life was precious, the dignity of the entire Marine force could not be trampled upon.
"Impossible! The most we can do is capture a pirate for you. My subordinates are not commodities! Where would that leave an old man like me to show his face?!"
Garp, however, didn't care for such considerations. He refused outright. Selling out a comrade was something he could never do, no matter what.
"In that case, I hope you won't be begging me to choose later!"
Uchiha Madara wasted no more words. A red light flashed in his eyes as he activated his Mangekyo. A giant blue, armored figure materialized behind him—the third stage of the Susanoo!
Though arrogant, Uchiha Madara was no fool. The second stage of his Susanoo was useless against the full power of Garp and Sengoku, while the complete body was too destructive and difficult to control. His goal was to pressure them into agreeing, not to fight to the death.
After all, he really did owe this little brat named Gion a favor. He couldn't just start a massacre and repay kindness with ingratitude.
Seeing this, Sengoku and Garp could only brace themselves and muster their auras. Against such immense combat power, if a real fight broke out and casualties occurred, it would be tantamount to pushing Madara into becoming an enemy of the Marines.
"Enough! Let it be me!"
Gion shouted, tears of indignation welling up in the corners of her eyes. She felt utterly wronged. She had saved someone out of kindness, only to bring so much trouble to the Marines and force herself to become a tool for him to gather intelligence.
Uchiha Madara looked at the red-rimmed eyes of the young girl before him. His face remained impassive, but inwardly, he had a headache. Why were these people so single-minded? It was just some basic information. He wasn't going to kill anyone.
Perhaps in Uchiha Madara's eyes, when he wanted something, simply telling you before taking it was already a huge concession.
Finally, he spoke again, a hint of resignation in his voice.
"Three days. Bring me anyone you want, so I can confirm the intelligence. In exchange, I can kill one person for you."
He then looked at the aggrieved Gion.
"However, the debt I owe this brat will be cleared."
If he could, Uchiha Madara wouldn't want to back down, but it was a life-saving debt, after all. Repaying it this way wasn't a bad deal.
Using the honor of the Shura of the Shinobi World to repay a life debt was a fair trade. This was treatment that only a certain someone known as the God of Shinobi had ever received.
Garp's face lit up at the words, and he was about to agree immediately. What was the big deal about catching a random pirate? In this godforsaken era, there was no shortage of pirates. He could go out and bring back a whole ship full of them.
But Gion, her eyes red and her teeth gritted, spoke first.
"No. It will be me. You're the type of person who hates owing favors the most, aren't you? I'm going to make you owe me for the rest of your life."
This… For a moment, Garp and Sengoku didn't know what to do. Why was this girl so stubborn? Uchiha Madara clearly wasn't a kind soul. How could she be so sure he was the type to care about a favor?
Uchiha Madara was speechless. Give her an inch and she takes a mile, is that it?
"Insolent little speck of dust."
Without another word, he grabbed Gion by the collar. The Mangekyo in his eyes spun faster and faster, gradually spreading out like ripples as he activated his Rinnegan. Then, he thrust a palm toward Gion's waist.
"Human Path!"
He directly extracted a portion of her soul to read it, then pushed it back before it was completely removed. In that brief exchange, he obtained most of the information he needed.
Garp and Sengoku watched, tense. Although Madara had said there would be no mortal danger, reading memories sounded perilous enough, let alone having one's soul literally pulled out. Garp almost lost control and attacked, but Sengoku grabbed his arm, holding him back.
"That's Tsuru's little sister! If anything happens to her, we're both done for!" Garp hissed at Sengoku in a low voice, but he made no further move.
In just an instant, Madara released Gion and began to process the massive amount of new information in his mind. A corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk.
"Marines? Pirates? The World Government? How interesting."
To be continued...