Rest time always passed quickly. Since Araki did not have many acquaintances in the village, aside from sparring with Kisame and Zabuza, he only found time to give some guidance to Ringo Ameyuri, who was still attending the Ninja Academy.
As expected of a genius girl in Lightning Release, after not seeing her for some time, she had not only mastered Flash Swordsmanship but had also begun trying to incorporate Lightning Style Ninjutsu into her swordsmanship.
By the sea, at their usual spot.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Rod!"
Crackling arcs of electricity burst from the red-haired girl's palm. Fine blue lightning flowed along the metal blade. It was clearly an ordinary standard longsword, yet she had made it perform like a chakra metal weapon.
"Big Brother Araki, after learning several Lightning Style Ninjutsu, I realized that Lightning Rod works best with swordsmanship. Now, let me show you the results of my training!"
As she spoke, a battle-hungry smile spread across her face. Combined with her sharp teeth, her entire aura changed in an instant.
Whoosh!
With a push of her feet, Ringo Ameyuri shot forward, her sword tip sparkling with electricity as it stabbed toward Araki at high speed.
Blue lightning flickered and danced before her. This attack seemed to be the true—
[Flash Thrust]!
If Araki had not comprehended the Wind-Slaying Sword Technique, this strike really might have given him trouble.
Lightning Release could use metal's conductivity. Even an ordinary longsword could conduct it, though with considerable loss.
Moreover, when two swords clashed, the current could travel along the blade and into the enemy's body, causing paralysis. That was why Lightning Release ninja skilled in close combat were so terrifying.
In lightning-fast close-range combat, even a brief moment of stiffness could decide victory or defeat.
And against an enemy whose every attack came with paralysis, tell him—would he be afraid or not?
Of course, all things had their counters, and Wind Style could restrain Lightning Release.
Araki did not use nature transformation to bully her. He merely wrapped a whirlwind around his sword and met her attack head-on.
Clang!
Sword tip against sword tip, Wind Style against Lightning Release. The wildly writhing arcs of lightning ultimately failed to cross the Thunder Pool even a single step, unable to reach Araki's blade.
"Ha! Stardust Splash!"
Seeing that her lightning could not break through Araki's defense, Ameyuri bent her elbow slightly and flicked her wrist, unleashing eight slashes in an instant. Under the glow of electricity, they resembled eight Lightning Snakes flicking their tongues as they lunged at Araki.
"Little Ringo, watch closely. This next move is what I'm going to teach you!"
After calmly offering that reminder, Araki swiftly sheathed his sword, then—
He bent down,
Took a step,
Drew his sword,
And slashed!
Ring—
Accompanied by a piercingly sharp sword cry that seemed to split the clouds, Araki had already appeared behind Ringo Ameyuri.
As he slowly straightened and returned his sword to its sheath, a strand of red hair drifted down beside Ameyuri's ear, silently telling of the danger of that strike.
"This is..."
Little Ringo froze for a moment, then immediately turned around and hugged Araki's arm. "Big Brother Araki, I want to learn that!"
"Hehe." Araki reached out and rubbed the red hair atop her head. "Don't rush. I was going to teach it to you anyway."
"Although Lightning Release and Wind Style both favor high-speed swordsmanship, there are still differences between them. Wind is elusive and unending, making it better suited to destroying enemies through endless consecutive attacks. Lightning is different. It favors instantaneous bursts. So compared to Combo Techniques, draw techniques like Draw-Cut are better suited to you."
As Araki explained, he lowered his body and assumed the standard drawing stance of Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu.
"The essence of Draw-Cut lies in one word: speed. Legs, waist, shoulders, elbows, and hands must exert force in a continuous chain, coordinated with breathing, to unleash the greatest power in an instant. Like this..."
Araki performed the most standard form of [Dragon Soaring Flash].
A clear sword gleam rose from his waist, yet it tore through the air before him like a bolt of lightning. By the time Ameyuri recovered from her shock, she could only hear the click of Araki's sword returning to its sheath.
"This is the most basic Draw-Cut practice. As for how to combine it with your Lightning Release to produce even greater power, you'll have to study that yourself. I hope that when I return from my next mission, you'll have gained something."
"Don't worry, Big Brother Araki. Next time, I'll definitely show you swordsmanship I created myself!"
Ringo Ameyuri declared solemnly, her apple-like little face full of determination.
"Then give it everything you have and chase my back, Little Ringo. I won't slow down just to wait for you~"
Araki rubbed her bright red hair and said with a smile.
"Investigating Sea Demons? What kind of thing is that?"
Hearing the mission's name, Araki was somewhat surprised. Were there really creatures called Sea Demons in the Hokage world? Had Sea Kings from next door invaded?
"We have a Protection Agreement with an island nation to the south—the Land of the Sea. Every year, they pay us a considerable amount of money in exchange for our protection when trouble arises. Recently, sea monsters that specifically attack cargo ships have suddenly appeared there, greatly affecting the Land of the Sea's normal trade, so..."
With Kisame's detailed explanation, Araki vaguely recalled this part of the story.
However, the Land of the Sea incident seemed to have something to do with Orochimaru!
If he remembered correctly, there should have been a biological laboratory established by Orochimaru there, and Anko's Cursed Seal seemed to have been implanted there in the future.
Araki touched the hilt at his waist, looked at Kisame beside him, then glanced at Zabuza, whose combat strength was currently almost negligible. He relaxed.
At this point in time, Orochimaru should not yet have come into contact with those forbidden techniques, nor had he modified his own body. At most, he only had a Cursed Seal still under development. In other words, the current Orochimaru was merely an "ordinary" jonin proficient in all five elemental releases and possessing a large summoning beast.
Mm.
With Kisame and himself, no matter what, even if they really ran into him head-on, running away should not be a problem, right?
After all, they were at sea, which greatly boosted Kisame's combat strength!
And as an early-game boss-level character, if they just ran straight into Orochimaru, that should count as fulfilling the requirements of [Heart of the Wanderer], right? He wondered whether it would increase his comprehension progress for the Gale Sword Technique.
Ever since he had accidentally used the [E-Dash Technique] on Pirate Island last time, Araki had discovered that his comprehension of the Wind-Slaying Sword Technique had improved by a huge amount. He now desperately wanted another similar opportunity.
But looking over Yasuo's life, from joining the sect as a youth, to his country being invaded, his master dying, being misunderstood, fleeing, killing his brother, and all those experiences, there really was not a single one Araki could immediately imitate.
I hope this encounter with Orochimaru will let me experience what it means for death to be like the wind, always at my side!
Araki prayed silently.
However, as a steady swordsman, Araki would not dream of utterly crushing Orochimaru right after graduating. After all... he had to give himself at least two or three years to develop, right?
With an indescribable hint of anticipation, the Kisame Squad boarded a ferry bound for the Land of the Sea.
The Land of the Sea consisted mainly of four islands: the central main island, as well as Dailang Island, Jiro Island, and Mysterious Island surrounding it.
"So where should we begin investigating?"
After disembarking, Araki looked around curiously.
"We can just ask a fisherman. According to the intelligence, the Sea Demon situation has become quite serious. Most fishermen should have heard about it."
As Kisame spoke, he had already taken the lead toward a fisherman tending a stall.
"You mean the Sea Demons? They're monsters that are half-human, half-fish. They have huge bodies and suddenly leap out of the sea to overturn our fishing boats. They're terrifying..."
The middle-aged fisherman's eyes were full of fear. It seemed that he had encountered them personally.
"Then do you know where they often appear?"
"Near Mysterious Island, most of all!"
"Mysterious Island?"
"Yes. There have always been strange tales about Mysterious Island here."
Perhaps Kisame's appearance was simply too kind. Though the fisherman was trembling all over in fear, he still did not dare refuse to answer Kisame's questions.
"Legend says that demons live on Mysterious Island!"
Through the fisherman's fragmented account, Araki and the others finally sorted out the clues.
Mysterious Island had always had abundant fish resources in its surrounding waters, but it also had many reefs and whirlpools. It was a high-risk, high-reward area, and many fishermen were willing to take the risk of going there.
But some time ago, the fish stocks in that area gradually disappeared. Not only that, many fishermen who tried to land on the island and explore also vanished. Over time, it became a forbidden area people feared even mentioning.
And the Sea Demons had first appeared in those waters as well.
"This intelligence is way too obvious! Isn't Mysterious Island the source of everything? What are we waiting for, then? Let's go ashore and take a look!"
Having finally found a direction to move forward, Zabuza was full of enthusiasm.
But the experienced captain, Kisame, was still weighing things carefully.
After sorting through the entire chain of events, the situation clearly showed signs of human involvement. In other words, a battle would definitely take place on Mysterious Island, and the enemy was very likely to be ninja.
Battles between ninja were beyond the scope of a C-rank mission. They belonged in B-rank territory, so Kisame hesitated.
It was not that he was afraid. He was simply judging whether Zabuza would run into trouble if he took part in a B-rank mission with his current strength.
As a responsible captain, Kisame still cared deeply about his subordinates' safety.
After a brief moment of thought, he said to Zabuza:
"Once we get ashore, stay closer to me."
"Yes, Captain!"
Although he did not quite understand Kisame's meaning, following orders was the right thing to do.
And so, since none of the nearby fishermen dared sail to Mysterious Island, Araki and the other two ran across the water all the way there.
After passing through the jagged rocky shore, they quickly found a pitch-black cave on the not-so-large island.
With this kind of atmosphere, it had to be the mastermind's base!
"Is the enemy in there?"
Bold and skilled, the Kisame Squad advanced deeper into the cave in a wedge formation.
Inside the cave at that moment.
"Lord Amachi, enemies have invaded!"
A man in a white lab coat turned from the operating table. "Oh? More fishermen who don't know their place coming to the island? Perfect. We're almost out of experimental materials lately. Go capture them!"
The gloomy lighting, combined with the man's slightly crazed tone and those vacant dead-fish eyes on his face, added an eerie and terrifying atmosphere to the cave.
"B-but judging by their forehead protectors, they're ninja from Kirigakure."
The person reporting to him spoke with a trembling voice.
"People from Kirigakure? What are they doing in the Land of the Sea?"
Amachi could no longer remain calm. Having come from Konoha in the Land of Fire, he knew full well how frightening ninja affiliated with the Five Great Nations were. With his current half-finished research results, he was probably incapable of opposing them.
He removed his gloves and gave orders as he walked outside. "Release all those failures to buy time. I'll go notify Lord Orochimaru!"
"Yes!"
Zabuza, who had been carefully advancing through the cave, suddenly stopped and warned them:
"A large number of footsteps are approaching us!"
"They've finally come?"
Kisame bared his sharp teeth and pressed his hands together, ready to form hand seals at any moment.
Araki also drew his sword. A layer of chakra wind blades immediately wrapped around its length as he focused on his surroundings, ready to begin slaughter at any moment.
As the enemies drew closer, the footsteps became increasingly chaotic, and battle was on the verge of erupting.
Whew, this chapter was super long!
Please bookmark it~ Please vote~
Before you continue