Slaughter One

Ninjas must not only excel in combat but also in analysis and strategy.

Hayate Gekko pulled a map from his ninja tool bag, studying the situation in the southern waters of the Land of Fire. A long, narrow, crescent-shaped peninsula jutted out from the southeastern corner, plunging southward into the sea.

Aside from a portion of the north belonging to the Land of Fire, the south was split between the Land of Tea and the Land of Commerce. To the west, across the sea, lay the Land of Wind.

The sea area sandwiched between them was called Chayu Bay. Apart from an island nation called the Land of Islands, the rest was nothing but fragmented, scattered islands of all sizes dotting the ocean.

Hayate Gekko tried to think from the enemy's perspective: "Right now, the south is a battlefield between Sunagakure and Kirigakure. The sea isn't safe there.

To the west is the Land of Wind, to the north is the Land of Fire. To the east? Crossing the Land of Tea into the Rainbow Sea puts you in the Land of Water's sphere of influence.

The Sea Shark Clan has been hitting jobs in a row lately, so they've probably raked in a lot of money. At this point, the most important thing is to live long enough to spend it. What they should be doing is lying low or getting out of here."

A lightbulb went off over Uzuki Yugao's head: "So those bastards are either hiding out on some island in Chayu Bay, or they've crossed the Land of Tea and made it to the Rainbow Sea?"

Makoto Higashino added, "The Rainbow Sea is a clean, circular area, like it's been plowed by some super explosion. There aren't any islands there at all.

So I think they're still inside Chayu Bay, at most holed up somewhere in the Land of Tea. The Sea Shark Clan are mostly commoners; in a few days, they couldn't have gotten too far."

Yugao Gekko smiled. "Your analysis is solid. So what are you waiting for? Go find a way to track down the target."

"Yes!" x3

With a goal in mind, the three of them headed east along the coastline, gathering information at various fishing villages by the shore.

By noon, they finally got a useful lead in one village.

Out on the sea between here and the Land of Tea, there was a place called the Dog Teeth Archipelago. The islands there stuck out of the water like stone pillars, jagged and chaotic, which is how they got their name.

At the same time, the sea around it was riddled with hidden reefs, making it impassable for ships. Only pirates knew the navigable channels. In fact, it used to be a gathering spot for pirates.

Commoners couldn't deal with the people inside, so they'd put out missions for ninjas. But usually, the C-rank missions only brought ninjas of limited strength, and with the complex terrain of the Dog Teeth Archipelago, it was hard to wipe them out clean. Within half a year or a year, they'd always spring back up.

In the last few days, villagers out fishing had spotted large ships entering the area.

It seemed the Sea Shark Clan was hiding there.

Ninjas can walk on water, but they still take boats when heading out to sea.

Because a person's chakra is limited. If they ran out in the middle of the ocean and drowned, wouldn't that be a joke?

As the sun set, the four-man squad, guided by an old fisherman, spotted the Dog Teeth Archipelago on the distant sea.

As they drew closer, the old fisherman carefully shut off the boat's motor and started rowing by hand, avoiding the noise that might attract danger.

Makoto Higashino looked at the engine on the fishing boat with a bit of a headache. Yeah, the shinobi world had these things, but they just hadn't applied them to land vehicles. Maybe someday they would.

"So majestic!" Uzuki Yugao let out an instinctive exclamation as the strange islands slowly grew larger before her eyes.

It was indeed magnificent. Islands of various sizes jutted out of the seabed like irregular stone pillars. Some of the broader pillars even had small forests on top, with flocks of seabirds rising and landing from time to time.

The name Dog Teeth Archipelago fit well. These islands bit into the water's surface like fangs, looking nothing like a natural formation.

It was more like a landmass shattered by some god.

The fishing boat moved through them like sailing through a river in a rift valley, with sheer cliffs rising on both sides.

Without needing Yugao Gekko's order, Makoto Higashino had already activated his Perception Ability to its maximum range before they entered the archipelago, to avoid falling into an enemy trap.

The old fisherman rowed, turning left and right for a while, then docked the boat in a narrow waterway. He said with some difficulty, "Esteemed ninjas, this is as far as I know the channels. I'm not familiar with what's inside."

"Thank you very much for your help. That's enough, uncle. You head back first. Leave the rest to us."

Yugao Gekko said a few words to the old fisherman, then jumped off the boat. Makoto Higashino took point, using his Perception Ability to clear the path, with Hayate Gekko and Uzuki Yugao in the middle. The four of them moved like a sea serpent, walking on the water as they pushed deeper into the archipelago.

In this world, ninjas weren't mysterious. The old fisherman had long seen their abilities and wasn't surprised by their skill at standing on the water.

He just hoped that this time, the ninjas would kill all the damn bastards inside and give the people who made a living on this sea some peace.

Although the pirates of Chayu Bay mainly targeted merchant ships, they sometimes went after fishing boats and occasionally raided an unlucky fishing village.

Don't expect people like that to have any standards. He once had four sons; two of them had died at the hands of pirates. That was why he was willing to risk leading the way.

Makoto Higashino's group of four ran across the water along the cliffs. After a moment, he suddenly stopped, and the three behind him halted almost at the same time.

Makoto Higashino pointed at a spot on the cliff ahead. There was a cave entrance there, very well hidden, clearly a lookout post set up by the pirates.

Hayate Gekko asked quietly, "People inside? How many? Commoners or ninjas?"

"Two people!"

"I'll handle it!"

Hayate moved at full speed, like a gust of wind, quickly approaching the base of the cliff from a blind spot. Then he ran up the sheer rock face as if it were flat ground, charging into the cave.

Commoners had no way to defend against a ninja's sudden assassination.

Soon, Hayate Gekko's figure reappeared, waving at the water.

When Makoto Higashino's group of three came up, they saw that the cave was small and man-made. Aside from some freshwater and food, there was only a coil of rope ladder.

Two unkempt, bearded adult men had greasy, dirty faces. One was already dead, stabbed through the heart. Blood had stained his clothes but hadn't splattered everywhere.

Hayate's technique was really good.

Another man lay on the ground, his hands and feet bound, a dead man's shoe stuffed in his mouth, staring at the four before him with terror in his eyes.

Tears streamed down his face—whether from fear or the stench of the shoe was anyone's guess.

"I left one survivor. We can get the Sea Shark Clan's hideout out of him."

Higashino Makoto shook his head. "No need. They're all within my Perception Range now. Not one of them can escape."

Hayate Gekko said nothing after hearing that, just pointed at the survivor, the meaning clear: who among you will do it?

He had graduated a year earlier and already tasted killing, but his two teammates had yet to spill blood.

A ninja's profession was killing. They had to learn to kill, grow accustomed to it, yet still revere life and not sink into slaughter.

Uzuki Yugao was mentally preparing herself. It was her first kill, and she hesitated, running through several methods in her mind, unsure which to choose.

Hesitation was normal. Anyone who killed often knew the first time was always a bit clumsy, but once you got used to it, that feeling faded.

Higashino Makoto crouched before the survivor and asked, "Are you Sea Shark Clan? Were you the ones behind the recent incidents near Hemo Port?"

The poor pirate, already terrified out of his wits, just nodded numbly.

Higashino Makoto took a deep breath, drew his blade, and swept it across in one motion, instantly slitting the man's throat.

Watching the blood spray, his eyelids twitched unnaturally.

So this was what killing felt like? It didn't seem any different from slaughtering animals. Humans were just another kind of animal after all. Thinking that way, it suddenly felt even less significant.

Turns out, it was nothing special.

Hard to imagine that in his Previous Life, he hadn't even killed a chicken, yet now he'd taken a living person's life with his own hands. The Shinobi World really was a fine place for tempering a man—its effects no less profound than Dragon Field Enlightenment.

Hayate Gekko watched Higashino Makoto's expression and, seeing no change, set aside his worry for his friend.

Strange, wasn't it? If Higashino Makoto had seen a friend kill someone without flinching in his Previous Life, he'd have thought that person was terrifying, probably a Psychopath.

But in the Shinobi World, this was called a mark of maturity.