Bring Up My Cannon! (Seeking Recommendation Tickets)

Hearing the middle-aged merchant ninja's question, Bando hurriedly reached out to shield the two barrels of Universal Mud behind him, firmly refusing:

"No, I'm taking these back to show everyone!"

"Oh, that's a real pity. I hope you'll change your mind; after all, the road back to Red Province Island isn't exactly safe!"

The middle-aged merchant ninja didn't press the issue, leaving behind those meaningful words before taking his men and departing.

However, the two members of the merchant group behind Bando were so terrified they were trembling, even kneeling down toward Kisame Hoshigaki and his companions.

"I beg you three lords, please escort us back to Red Province Island!"

"Hey, what's gotten into you all?"

Bando was still somewhat confused.

"Hmph, brat, that guy was threatening you just now. Can't you tell?" Zabuza sneered.

"Is, is that so?"

Bando truly hadn't caught it. "Wasn't he just reminding us to be careful about the safety of the route?"

"Heh, what a naive kid!"

Araki shook his head. "Forget it. As our first C-rank mission, we might as well execute it perfectly! What do you think, Captain Kisame?"

Kisame Hoshigaki naturally had no objections; the threats of mere merchant ninjas were not even worth his notice.

"Boss, what do we do? That's two whole barrels of Universal Mud! If we could snatch them, it might even be enough for you to get promoted to Jonin!"

Oboro Suikatarou was also feeling quite unwilling to let it go.

"But those Kirigakure ninjas seem to have boarded the ship with them, we..."

Yuta, a Genin on the other side, hesitated. After all, the name of the Bloody Mist still held quite a lot of deterrent power on the high seas.

But immense profit always has the power to drive men mad. After pondering for a long time, the middle-aged merchant ninja Kenjiro clapped his hands together, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes:

"Let's do it! Yuta, go contact the Red Beard Pirates immediately and leak the news about Kamizumi Bando and his group. I don't believe they won't be tempted by the Universal Mud!"

"Bu, but Boss, even the Red Beard Pirates wouldn't dare rob ninjas from Kirigakure!"

Yuta's head was full of question marks, feeling that his boss was treating those pirates like fools.

"Idiot!"

Kenjiro slapped Yuta right on the forehead. "Who told you to tell them there were Kirigakure ninjas on board?"

"Oh, oh!"

Yuta rubbed his forehead and ran off to find the others.

Kenjiro waved his hand at Oboro as well:

"Let's go. We'll follow far behind Kamizumi Bando's ship. Once those three Kirigakure ninjas are engaged in battle with the Red Beard Pirates, we'll seize the chance to board and steal the Universal Mud!"

"The Boss is brilliant!"

The voyage from Seven Grass Island to Red Province Island took about two or three days. With nothing to do, Araki naturally went to spar with Yasuo again.

After his movement technique training in Hell Valley, Araki felt that if it were just about dodging and maneuvering, he could wear Yasuo out until the end of time, or until his chakra ran dry.

However, facts proved that this was merely an illusion.

Yasuo's Wind-Slaying Sword Technique was not limited to just Steel Tempest, Sweeping Blade, Wind Wall, and Last Breath; it was an entire system of cultivation aimed at perceiving and mastering the wind.

When it came to the manipulation of wind, Yasuo was dozens of times stronger than Araki!

Therefore, Araki, who dared to wield the wind in front of the master, was defeated once again amidst a thunderous shout of "so lei ye gai dong."

Boom!

Araki had just opened his eyes when he heard a deafening roar, followed by the entire cabin shaking violently.

"What's going on?"

He grabbed his long sword and was about to head out to ask when he saw Zabuza push open the door, shouting at him:

"We've encountered pirates! Get to the deck, quickly!"

"Pirates?"

Araki's expression was somewhat strange. After all, encountering pirates in the world of Naruto—well, it truly gave one a very bizarre sense of dissonance.

Running onto the deck in a few strides, he arrived beside Kisame Hoshigaki. Following his gaze, he saw a ship looming in the thin mist ahead, closing in.

"Is that the pirate ship? But what was that explosion just now?"

Araki was a bit puzzled.

Although using cannonballs in naval warfare seemed normal, this was the world of Naruto. Under the laws of the ninja world, were there any explosive gunpowder products other than explosive tags?

Could it be a rogue ninja pirate crew?

"It's an explosive tag cannonball!"

Kisame explained while forming hand seals: "Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"

Splash!

A water wall about ten meters wide and several dozen meters high erupted from the sea in front of their ship, precisely intercepting several incoming cannonballs that were plastered with explosive tags and sparking with fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It was impossible to tell how many explosive tags had been plastered onto those head-sized cannonballs; the simultaneous detonation of five or six of them actually tore through Kisame's water wall, sending a torrential downpour cascading down onto Araki and the others.

"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"

Araki clapped his hands together with a sharp clap, and a biting gale howled outward, scattering the droplets in the air and sparing them from the fate of becoming drowned rats.

"Captain, defending like this doesn't seem to be the solution! The power of these cannonballs is a bit too great!"

Having successfully neutralized the crisis, Araki turned his head to look at Kisame.

"You make a fair point. I will remain on the ship to continue the defense; you and Zabuza take the initiative to attack and slaughter those pirates!"

Kisame followed the suggestion readily and immediately issued the order.

"Understood!"

Zabuza, standing nearby, grew excited upon hearing this. Among the three of them, he was the only one who had not mastered ninjutsu for direct attack or defense, leaving him with nothing to do while staying on the ship. Now that he could draw his blade and hack at people, it was naturally for the best.

The two drew their swords and leaped directly off the merchant ship, sprinting across the surface of the sea toward the pirate vessel.

At this moment, on the pirate ship flying a skull flag, a man wearing a wide, dark red triangular hat, with two small crimson mustaches curled slightly upward and dressed in a brownish-red double-breasted trench coat, stood at the bow holding a monocular telescope to observe.

"Captain, there seem to be ninjas on the ship opposite us!"

A sailor holding a scimitar and dressed in rather slovenly attire shouted from below.

"Ninjas? So what! Under my cannonballs, even ninjas cannot escape death!"

The captain drew the rapier at his waist and pointed it forward: "Keep firing!"

Amidst the rumbling sounds, another four or five solid cannonballs plastered with explosive tags soared into the air, flying toward the merchant ship.

However, Kisame had grown smarter this time. Instead of using Water Formation Wall to block them, he formed the hand seals for [Water Release: Great Bullet Technique], continuously spitting out five water bullets from his mouth that precisely shot down each of the incoming explosive cannonballs one by one.

"Captain, it looks like someone is charging over from the surface of the sea!"

At this moment, Araki and Zabuza, who had launched the surprise attack, were spotted by the pirates.

"Hmm?"

The captain was startled and glanced downward: "Haha, they are nothing but two brats. First Mate, bring up my explosive tag cannon and blast them to pieces for me!"