Wave-Severing Ring Cut

Don't let the Explosive Tag shells' terrifying power fool you. Even Kisame's Water Formation Wall had nearly failed to stop them, but they were nowhere near as effective against Araki and Zabuza.

They were simply too agile. The splashes exploding around them with constant thuds did nothing to slow them down, and before long, the pirate ship was right in front of them.

At this distance, Araki could clearly make out the captain standing alone atop the ship's high prow.

With that outfit, if he just swapped in a Straw Hat, I'd turn around and run without a second thought!

Araki grumbled inwardly. Those little mustaches and that Western-style coat made him look far too much like the Pirate King.

"Captain Roger, the shells aren't working! They've charged over!"

As Araki and Zabuza pushed off beneath their feet and leaped onto the pirate ship's deck, the lowly pirates began screaming in terror.

But upon hearing how they addressed the man, Araki nearly missed his footing.

He steadied himself and looked at the man called "Captain Roger" with an exceedingly complicated expression.

"How dare you pick such an obnoxiously pretentious name?"

Captain Roger, however, thought Araki was afraid. Raising his rapier, he said smugly:

"Kid, has Captain Roger's great name frightened you? Hahahaha! Don't worry, I'll make sure you die without feeling a trace of pain!"

With that, he stepped forward, his legs spread into a lunge stance, and thrust his slender sword straight ahead.

Lunge Thrust!

A standard fencing move.

Araki swung his sword to block. As their blades clashed, he discovered that this "Captain Roger" was surprisingly strong.

"Interesting!"

It was rare for Araki to encounter a sword-wielding enemy in actual combat, and his interest was piqued. He shouted to Zabuza:

"I'll take this captain. Handle the rest however you like!"

As he spoke, his left hand also gripped the hilt. Putting strength into both arms, he slashed fiercely forward.

Bang!

The immense force sent "Captain Roger" flying back. His back slammed into the railing with a dull thud.

"Don't you know? A sword is stronger when you swing it with both hands than with one! Weren't you going to let me die painlessly? Come on, then!"

Araki grinned, battle intent surging from him.

"Damn brat!"

Roger shifted his aching back slightly, his expression dark.

As a seasoned pirate, he had already determined from their brief exchange that he was nowhere near Araki's match. At such close range, he could also clearly see the Kirigakure forehead protector hanging around Araki's neck.

"A Mist Village ninja? I was careless this time!"

But as a pirate, he had no intention of observing any rules of a duel.

"Men, get him together!"

At their captain's command, dozens of pirate crewmen rushed forward with scimitars and battle axes, attacking Araki from all directions.

"Ooooooh—"

"Kill him!!"

"Red Beard Pirates, charge!"

Captain Roger himself reached into his clothes with his left hand, pulled out several solid iron balls the size of ping-pong balls, each bearing an Explosive Tag, and hurled them at Araki.

"Hahaha! Die, brat!"

Captain Roger burst into wild laughter.

Clang!

A crisp, pleasant sword cry rang out. Araki bent backward at the waist and twisted his wrist, his longsword tracing a perfect circle.

An invisible gleam of sword energy spread outward, incredibly thin, like the faint ring of ripples made by a droplet falling onto the sea, rapidly expanding in all directions.

After expanding more than ten meters, the circular blade aura gradually dissipated. Everything around it, pirates and shells alike, stood frozen.

Thud, thud...

Bodies hit the deck one after another. More than a dozen pirates around him collapsed in succession, crimson blood flowing freely across the deck. The half-burned Explosive Tags had been sliced cleanly through the middle, their structure destroyed and unable to explode.

Wave-Severing Ring Cut!

At the sight, cold sweat poured down Captain Roger's face, and his smile froze.

"Is something funny? Why not share it and let me enjoy it too?"

At that moment, a soft voice sounded by his ear, accompanied by a hum of steel.

Screech!

The sword traced an arcing path. A bloody wound slowly appeared from Roger's right shoulder to his left hip. His laughter stopped abruptly, and after a few rasping, struggling sounds from his throat, he toppled headfirst to the ground.

"You think you're worthy of being called Roger?"

Araki flicked the blood from his blade and glanced at the cabins behind him, completely shrouded in dense mist. He did not choose to go in and assist Zabuza.

This was clearly Zabuza's Hidden Mist Technique. Inside, even Zabuza could only locate enemies by sound. If Araki entered the battlefield too, they might end up attacking each other by mistake.

So he merely shouted inside, "Zabuza, make sure you leave one alive!"

The thought had just occurred to him.

Although these pirates were no match for their squad, the Explosive Tag shells were quite powerful. In naval combat, calling them nearly unrivaled would not have been an exaggeration.

More importantly, Explosive Tags were not cheap supplies like kunai or shuriken. In terms of power alone, they could even rival high-level Fire Release ninjutsu used by jonin, so they were exceptionally expensive.

The reward from a single C-rank mission was barely enough to buy one.

After all, for ninjas who generally had high offense but low defense, being hit by an Explosive Tag without any protection meant death was not far away. It was only natural for such a devastating weapon to be expensive.

But look at this pirate crew. Every shell had at least two or three Explosive Tags stuck to it, and they fired them as if they cost nothing. Once Araki came to his senses, his heart nearly bled from the waste.

Those were all going to be their spoils!

With so many Explosive Tags, selling them might even earn enough to buy a longsword forged from chakra-conducting metal!

Determined not to take a loss, Araki decided to check out the pirates' hideout. There might be even more wealth waiting for them there.

Whether they could get rich overnight depended on this haul!

Perhaps because Zabuza had been beaten up by Araki so often lately, he took Araki's words quite seriously.

After a while, the screams gradually ceased. The dense mist enveloping the deck and cabins slowly dispersed as well. Zabuza, speckled with blood, walked over to Araki with an unconscious pirate in one hand.

"There. That's the survivor. What do you want to do?"

"Obviously, raid their hideout!"

Araki said as if it were only natural. "Look at how many Explosive Tags they had on their ship. They're clearly rich! The profits from raiding them might even equal what we earn from an A-rank mission!"

Zabuza was somewhat tempted after hearing that. He too came from a commoner background. Ninjas earned money quickly, but they spent it just as quickly. Having an extra source of income was naturally a good thing.

"Fine. Wake this guy up first and ask where their hideout is. I'll go back and tell Captain Kisame, then plan the route."

After saying that, Araki jumped off the pirate ship.

On the merchant ship, everyone except Kisame was hiding in the cabins, making it convenient for them to talk.

"Going to the pirates' hideout to loot supplies?"

Kisame thought it over and saw no problem with it. No one wanted to casually pass up an opportunity to make easy money.

"But we need to deliver the client first."

That was only natural—not because taking them along would be dangerous, but because it was best if no one found out they were doing private work during a mission.

Kirigakure did not have any kind of financial oversight system, so the sudden wealth of the few of them would not attract much attention. But if someone reported that they had secretly taken on private work while carrying out a mission, they might be punished by the village.

After all, something like this could affect Kirigakure's reputation.