The next afternoon.
"Something's up!"
Natsuki suddenly perked up.
"Did you find them?"
Uzumaki Kushina asked eagerly.
She'd expected the mission to be thrilling and dangerous, but she hadn't imagined it would be even more boring than she'd thought.
They'd had nothing to show for themselves since yesterday afternoon.
"Kurohane spotted a group of Rogue Ninjas robbing a merchant ship south of here," Natsuki said at once. "Unless something unexpected happened, they're our targets."
These Rogue Ninjas were essentially pirates.
And this stretch of sea was their territory. In theory, they wouldn't tolerate a second pirate group operating here.
"Then let's go save them right now!" Nawaki said excitedly.
With his personality, he'd never pass up a chance to help someone in trouble.
"There are only three of us. The best approach is to get close quietly and launch a sneak attack," Natsuki said after a moment's thought. "I'll take care of the pirate leader."
"Okay."
Nawaki didn't say anything more.
Natsuki was the strongest among them, and with a secret technique like Shadow Assassin, he was the best choice to deal with the pirate leader.
"Be careful," Uzumaki Kushina said quickly.
"You too."
Natsuki released his Summoning Technique, then raced off toward the merchant ship with Nawaki and Uzumaki Kushina.
A short while later, they spotted the ship.
Two groups were fighting on the deck, but they couldn't make out the details. All they could hear were screams.
A thick mist shrouded the ship.
This was Kirigakure's most iconic technique: Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique.
It created a dense fog to obscure the enemy's vision.
Kirigakure ninja learned Silent Killing from a young age, allowing them to gain the upper hand with ease in the mist.
And the pirate leader, a Rogue Ninja, was a Special Jonin skilled in Water Release.
In the Ninja World, certain environments could enhance the power of specific nature transformations.
For example, Water Release ninjas were much stronger in places with plenty of water.
With water nearby, they didn't need to spend Chakra creating it. They could simply use Chakra to control the water that was already there.
"This is a pain," Nawaki grumbled at the sight.
"Wait here," Natsuki said after a moment's thought. "The pirate leader probably used Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique. I'll take him out."
With that, he used Cast-Weight Magic: Water Spider and shot across the sea at tremendous speed.
He could have used Chakra to walk on water, but that wouldn't give him a speed boost.
When he reached the merchant ship, he immediately used Shadow Assassin.
After climbing aboard, Natsuki looked around and quickly spotted the pirate leader.
The mist obscured the figures, making them hard to see, but he could sense the Chakra fluctuations.
The Chakra around the pirate leader was the strongest.
Natsuki cautiously approached him.
Once he was close enough, he finally got a clear look at the pirate leader.
He was a middle-aged man wearing a Kirigakure Forehead Protector with a slash through it, marking him as a missing-nin.
The man he was fighting was also middle-aged, but clearly much weaker. He was already badly wounded and wouldn't last much longer.
Natsuki didn't hesitate.
He released Shadow Assassin and immediately gripped the Sword of the Thunder God.
Water Breathing: Third Form: Flowing Dance!
Natsuki had originally planned to use an ability from the Zoro Template, but they were at sea. Water Breathing was essentially Water Release, so it would benefit from the surroundings.
In the next moment, water began to flow around him.
As he moved, he swung the Sword of the Thunder God toward the pirate leader's neck.
A powerful sense of danger washed over the pirate leader.
His face filled with horror.
But as a battle-hardened Special Jonin, he reacted swiftly, turning and slashing with his sword.
Natsuki had already swung his blade, and under normal circumstances, it would have been difficult to change direction.
But he was using Water Breathing: Third Form: Flowing Dance.
Its strength lay in the ability to attack from multiple directions.
Natsuki's Sword of the Thunder God suddenly changed course, slipping past the pirate leader's slash and striking him in the heart.
Blood sprayed into the air.
The pirate leader's eyes widened.
They were full of disbelief.
Part of him couldn't believe that Natsuki's blade had changed direction so suddenly; the rest couldn't believe he'd been killed by a child.
The middle-aged man who'd been fighting the pirate leader stood frozen, too.
A shocking sight had unfolded before him.
A child who looked only seven or eight had run a Special Jonin through with a single blow.
"Am I under a Genjutsu?" the middle-aged man asked instinctively.
But the mist was rapidly clearing around them. That told him this wasn't a Genjutsu.
With the pirate leader dead, he could no longer maintain Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique.
"What happened?"
"The boss is dead?"
"That's impossible!"
As the mist cleared, the other Rogue Ninjas saw Natsuki and the pirate leader he'd killed.
"I'm a ninja from Konoha," Natsuki told the middle-aged man at once. "Let's deal with them first. We can talk afterward."
"Right!" the middle-aged man replied excitedly, relieved to have survived.
Water Breathing: Second Form: Water Wheel!
Natsuki leaped into the air and attacked the nearest Rogue Ninja, spinning like a water wheel.
The Rogue Ninja's vision filled with swirling water that looked like a blade of light.
He lowered his head and saw that his throat had been cut open.
Water Breathing First Form: Water Surface Slash!
Natsuki spun around and swung the Sword of the Thunder God in his hand.
A curved blade of water formed in front of him and sliced cleanly through another Rogue Ninja's head.
With four cards' worth of Chakra, he had no need to worry about running out. He repeatedly used the first three forms of Water Breathing, and heads began rolling one after another.
The merchant ship's guards stared in shock. Even Uzumaki Kushina and Nawaki, who'd just boarded after seeing the mist clear, looked stunned.
"Water Release combined with Sword Technique?" Tsunade asked in amazement. "Did you teach him, or did he come up with it himself?"
"He came up with it himself," Orochimaru said with a sigh. "I knew he was learning Water Release from Nawaki, but I never expected him to create a whole Nintaijutsu style."
"Being able to defeat a Special Jonin means this Nintaijutsu style isn't weak. At least B-Rank," Tsunade assessed.
"Mm." Orochimaru smiled faintly, looking quite pleased. "Natsuki always manages to surprise people."
"The battle's over. Let's go down," Tsunade said with a nod.
With the pirate leader dead, the Rogue Ninjas collapsed like an army in rout and were soon dealt with.
"I'm Ryoichi, the person in charge of this merchant ship," a middle-aged man said as he stepped forward. "May I ask your names?"
"Orochimaru," Orochimaru replied casually.
"Tsunade," Tsunade added.
"So you're the two prized pupils of the Hokage?" Ryoichi exclaimed in astonishment.
"You know us?" Tsunade asked, surprised.
They were well-known now, but mainly in Konoha.
"I'm a merchant from the Land of Whirlpools," Ryoichi explained.
"I see." Tsunade's eyes suddenly narrowed.
She'd noticed that one person in the crowd looked uneasy.
The expression had vanished in an instant, but she hadn't missed it.
"Thank you for coming to our aid. I'm willing to pay the reward for an A-Rank Mission," Ryoichi offered readily.
"Very well," Tsunade replied.
An A-Rank Mission would look good on Natsuki and the others' records.
Besides, ninjas were essentially mercenaries. Since they'd saved the crew, they deserved to be paid.
"Please, get some rest," Ryoichi said, raising a hand. "We'll clean up the ship."
Orochimaru and Tsunade nodded.
Led by Ryoichi, the group went below deck to rest.
"I noticed someone acting strangely," Tsunade said outright. "His expression changed when he heard our names. And he's quite strong—probably a Jonin."
"This merchant ship came from the Land of Whirlpools," Natsuki said, his thoughts stirring. "Could he be a spy who stole information about the Land of Whirlpools or the Uzumaki Clan?"
He had his reasons for thinking so: he knew the Uzumaki Clan was about to be wiped out.
But before that could happen, someone would have had to gather intelligence.
The Uzumaki Clan wasn't some insignificant clan. It was a great ninja clan, on par with the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan.
Without thorough preparations, it would be difficult to wipe out the Uzumaki Clan in a single night.
At Natsuki's words, everyone's expressions changed, especially Uzumaki Kushina's. She looked anxious.
Before you continue