Land of Whirlpools Intelligence

Splat!

Little Hour Rain had just reached out to take back the broken bowl when she turned around and spotted the distant ship. She immediately fell onto her bottom in fright.

Her chubby little face froze slightly. Holding her breath, she bit down hard on her row of baby teeth, her small body trembling uncontrollably.

The sight of that ship seemed to have touched some shadow in her heart.

"Don't be afraid."

Compared to the young girl, Uncle Plum Rain was calmer. He picked her up and comforted her, saying, "They're just water bandits."

It wasn't so much calmness as it was habit.

Drifting through the waters of the ninja nations, you were bound to run into water bandits sooner or later.

As long as you paid them off a little, water bandits usually wouldn't take lives.

To borrow Lord Yun Chuan's words, even water bandits believed in "sustainable development."

"This time, I'm afraid it's not that simple."

Yun Chuan shook his head inwardly but said nothing. He gently pinched Little Hour Rain's cheek and smiled warmly. "I'm still here. Don't worry."

With that, he looked at Uncle Plum Rain, who wore an apologetic expression, and instructed, "Please take good care of these children."

"Rest assured, Lord Yun Chuan." Uncle Plum Rain nodded seriously. "I'm old now, just this half a life left, but I'll hold these children high."

In an instant, Yun Chuan's figure vanished from where he stood.

Also disappearing from the ship was Jiyun, who had been watching the commotion.

Not far away, on another ship, the deck was stained with blood.

In several pools of blood lay a number of mutilated corpses.

Figures draped in raincoats walked across the deck, crouching down to carefully rummage through the bodies strewn on the ground. Every corpse wore an expression of terror and bewilderment, as if they had encountered something horrifying before death.

This was a passenger ship. Unfortunately, they had caught the attention of this group.

Water bandits usually let people go after collecting a toll; they wouldn't do a one-off loss-making deal like this.

But unfortunately, this group wasn't water bandits.

Uniform clothing, disciplined movements, clear division of tasks.

They were rogue ninja on the run.

"What rotten luck!"

The leader wore a gas mask, but on his head was a Kirigakure headband—though it had a slash cut across it.

He flicked a stack of money bills in his hand, a cold sneer curling on his lips. "A bunch of paupers! This is all they had!"

"Boss." A man walked up beside him and urged, "We've finished searching. Let's move quickly."

The rogue ninja leader frowned and asked, "What's the rush?"

"I heard that not far from here, there's a newly emerged organization that's already taken on quite a few assassination missions."

The man lowered his voice and sighed. "We barely escaped from under the Third Hokage's Mad Dogs. The brothers haven't rested in days. It's best we don't run into them."

Hearing this, the rogue ninja leader narrowed his eyes and cursed under his breath, "What a damn shame. Once I sell the village's intelligence to the Exchange Office, I'm sure Konoha and the Land of Whirlpools will be interested!"

Though he kept grumbling, his hands came together and formed seals rapidly.

Boar! Serpent! Ram!

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"

Around them, a dense fog quickly rose. A bloody mist seemed to grow even thicker, shrouding the ship in a dreamlike haze.

Seeing this, the rogue ninja leader nodded in satisfaction. "Now we won't be found, right?"

At the same time, two figures suddenly appeared at the very top of the mast.

"Now we won't be found."

Looking at the red rain mist spreading around them, Yun Chuan nodded as well and said quietly, "Take this chance to learn a lesson."

Jiyun, whose mouth he had covered, looked confused at first but quickly caught on. She tilted her head to look at Yun Chuan beside her.

Yun Chuan gazed at the still somewhat inexperienced girl without lowering his head, pointing at the men below. "Pay attention to the one standing at the bow."

The girl froze for a moment, instinctively lowering her head to look in that direction, but Yun Chuan immediately covered her eyes with his hand.

"Eyes are a good thing, but you need to learn to observe your target with your peripheral vision."

Yun Chuan shook his head and said softly, "Ninja are sensitive to others' gazes. So before you actually make a move, don't stare directly at the target you intend to assassinate."

"By the same logic, don't reveal your killing intent before you act. A sixth sense is a real thing for ninja."

Jiyun learned quickly and obeyed well. She shifted her gaze slightly, using her peripheral vision to look.

She saw, at the bow of the ship about a hundred meters below, a rogue ninja with rolled-up sleeves revealing tattoos, lowering his head to examine a bottle of sake in his hand.

It seemed he had found it while searching the ship. Curiously, he pulled out the bottle's cork.

But even as he did so, his gaze would occasionally flicker behind him, clearly maintaining a habitual state of vigilance.

Yet in the next moment.

Jiyun suddenly spotted a black shadow appearing behind that rogue ninja.

Yun Chuan's smile was very faint as he pressed the kunai against the other's heart.

Throughout the entire process, that rogue ninja had no awareness whatsoever, even as "death" whispered in his ear.

Yun Chuan looked up at Jiyun on the mast, the kunai in his hand poised to stab the rogue ninja.

"Hiss!"

Instantly, Jiyun sitting above could clearly see that rogue ninja suddenly shiver, yanking the kunai from his waist and whirling around to block.

But before his eyes, there was only the bottomless blood-colored mist.

"Understand?"

His voice reappeared at Jiyun's ear: "Kill the target before the target realizes it."

Jiyun looked at Yun Chuan, who had somehow sat back down beside her, then glanced at the rogue ninja below who still hadn't reacted, and finally nodded expressionlessly.

"Good."

Yun Chuan nodded in satisfaction, stuffed the kunai into her hand, and said softly, "Theory lesson over. Next up is practice time."

As his words fell, he wrapped an arm around Jiyun's shoulder.

In an instant, their figures vanished from the mast.

Once again behind that rogue ninja, two shadows—one large, one small—appeared.

Seven Nights Fluid Style!

Without any leverage, from absolute stillness to an unconventional rapid descent.

Paired with "Presence Concealment," this was the "Ghostly Blade."

No sign of movement, no sound or airflow stirred.

A silent ghostly killer.

Very fitting for a villain's style.

The next moment, Jiyun, held in Yun Chuan's arms, lifted her previously lowered eyelids slightly and slashed the kunai across the rogue ninja's throat without hesitation.

Fsssh!

A gush of blood sprayed onto Jiyun's face, turning her vision crimson.

The rogue ninja from Kirigakure, who had been tilting his head back to drink sake, now had red liquid—wine mixed with blood—flowing down from his throat.

The blood mist on the ship seemed to thicken at that moment.

"Too slow." Yun Chuan whispered casually in her ear, "A person's throat is like a water pipe. If you're not fast enough, blood spurts out from the wound."

Still, it was enough.

"Let me take over now."

Yun Chuan turned his head toward the blood mist, seeming to spot the rogue ninja leader sitting at the stern, and chuckled lightly, "I'm quite curious what this so-called 'intel' of his is."

Konoha, Land of Whirlpools, Kirigakure...

Was this the timing he had been waiting for?