Naruto: Copy System

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The Five Elders weren’t looking for a fight with Shin.

Of course, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to target him—it was that they were afraid. If they had a clear understanding of Shin’s true strength and knew what his trump cards were, perhaps then they would have the courage to make a move.

But as it stood, the Five Elders were completely in the dark about Shin. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly act against him?

Then again, if they actually knew the terrifying extent of Shin’s power and his true trump cards, they would probably be even more terrified to act.

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“Just focus on recovering for now. I was planning on going after Whitebeard, but it looks like I’ll have to postpone that.”

Akainu had intended to make a move against Whitebeard, but with Fujitora out of commission, he had no choice but to abandon the plan for now.

It wasn’t that Akainu thought Whitebeard would be an easy target. The Summit War had taught him just how formidable the old pirate still was.

But the situation on the seas was becoming increasingly dire, and he needed to do something to regain control. Then there was the matter of the Five Elders. They had supported his bid for Fleet Admiral, but now he was practically their puppet.

In front of the Five Elders, Akainu had no dignity to speak of…

With that, Akainu left Fujitora to his recovery. As long as his life wasn’t in danger, that was enough. In fact, the fact that Fujitora had survived at all was a miracle in itself—something to be grateful for.

After Akainu departed, Fujitora was lost in thought.

‘Shin Uzumaki’s strength far surpasses that of the other Four Emperors. If we truly want to eliminate the pirates, we’ll have to deal with him.’

Fujitora now had a new objective, one that would become his life’s mission: to defeat Shin Uzumaki.

As things stood now, his goal seemed to be biting off more than he could chew, but deep down, Fujitora was confident. He believed that one day, he would achieve his goal and defeat Shin Uzumaki.

But that day was not today. Now was not the time to dwell on it.

For now, he would put it out of his mind and focus on healing. The memory of how easily Shin had defeated him was a stark reminder that such thoughts were futile for now.

Fujitora also knew he couldn’t achieve this goal on his own. His strength had already peaked. Even if he improved in the future, the gains would be limited. Trying to defeat Shin Uzumaki on his own was a fool’s errand, a fact he could see clearly.

He would have to take a different path—he would need to unite the strength of others to face Shin Uzumaki.

‘Looks like I can’t afford to be at odds with Akainu anymore.’

Fujitora thought to himself.

The first person he could win over was, of course, Akainu. They had their disagreements on many things. Although Akainu had changed somewhat, his extremist nature wasn’t so easily erased.

In truth, Akainu was still quite radical. He was just better at restraining it now. But Fujitora had always disliked Akainu’s personality.

There was considerable friction between them. But if it meant being able to one day confront Shin Uzumaki, perhaps compromising a little wouldn’t be so bad. He could do it.

Yes, that was what Fujitora decided.

When the time was right, he would share his thoughts with Akainu.

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Shin probably had no idea that his actions had inadvertently mended the rift between Akainu and Fujitora.

For now, Shin was having a rather pleasant time on Fish-Man Island.

“Shin-sama, would you like me to find some beautiful mermaids for you?” Neptune asked him.

“What are you trying to do?” Hancock asked Neptune, her voice dripping with ice.

Shin shot old Neptune a look. ‘Are you trying to get yourself killed, Neptune? Couldn’t you have brought this up in private?’

Did he really have to say it out loud, right in front of Hancock, of all people? Honestly, the fact that Hancock hadn’t drawn her sword and killed him on the spot was a miracle.

In fact, if Shirahoshi hadn’t been holding Hancock back, Neptune would have been cut down where he stood.

Neptune gave a weak laugh, too terrified to speak. He had forgotten that Shin’s lover was right there.

Agh, he never should have said that. Neptune wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to say everything that came to mind??

He cautiously glanced at Shin, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that Shin wasn’t angry. Still, Neptune was on edge, terrified of causing any more offense.

“Ahem, I think I’ll be leaving now.”

Neptune could still feel a faint killing intent lingering around him, a chill that seemed to seep into his very bones.

“Yes, you should go, Neptune,” Shin said, waving him off.

This was his way of saving Neptune. The king might have been tactless and spoken at the wrong time, but his heart was in the right place. At least, as far as Shin was concerned, Neptune’s intentions were pure gold…

“Thank you, Shin-sama.”

Neptune thanked him gratefully and quickly made his exit. Only after he was a safe distance away did he finally let out a breath, feeling as if his entire body was drenched in a cold sweat.

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“Hmph. If it weren’t for Shirahoshi, I would never have let him off so easily,” Hancock huffed.

“I’m sorry, Hancock-nesama,” Shirahoshi said apologetically.

“It’s alright. It has nothing to do with you, Shirahoshi. You don’t need to apologize to me.” Hancock gently stroked Shirahoshi’s hair.

Shirahoshi closed her eyes, looking as if she were thoroughly enjoying the gesture. She absolutely loved Hancock’s headpats. Of course, what she loved most of all were Shin’s headpats.

“Shin, you’re not going to blame me, are you?” Hancock asked, sitting beside Shin and looking at him cautiously.

What did Hancock fear most? She feared Shin’s disapproval. Anything else, she couldn’t care less about.

“Don’t worry, of course I won’t blame you. Why would I ever blame you?” Shin said with a faint smile, stroking her head.

Yes, just as Hancock had given Shirahoshi a headpat, Shin now gave one to Hancock. And just like Shirahoshi, Hancock savored the moment, leaning into him with a gentle and submissive air.

“Shin-nii, I want one too,” Shirahoshi said, looking at Shin with her adorable, wide eyes, filled with boundless anticipation.

“Alright.” Shin smiled faintly at her.

Then he placed his hand on Shirahoshi’s head.

A smile spread across Shirahoshi’s face, and she immediately snuggled closer to Shin, pressing against him, just like Hancock on his other side.

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