After making arrangements for Mei Terumi and Guren, Araki took the other four and set sail from Seven Grass Island once more.
"Next are Hua Bing and Zabuza."
Araki looked at the two of them. "Hua Bing needs to see some blood to begin strengthening her resolve, while you, Zabuza, need some weaker opponents to test your new techniques on. For the two of you, the best opponents are the pirates who can never be completely wiped out from these seas."
Just as bandits and robbers within the territories of other nations could never be fully eliminated, pirates were likely even more numerous than bandits on the far broader and more complicated seas.
"Pirates..."
Zabuza nodded. He understood that new techniques could only be tested against weaker enemies. Trying them out against powerful foes would be courting death.
But...
"Are we really bringing along this burden who'll be so frightened by my killing intent that she can't move?"
Though he did not say it aloud, Araki understood his meaning perfectly from the sidelong glance Zabuza gave Hua Bing.
However, Araki dispelled all of Zabuza's dissatisfaction with a single sentence.
"Zabuza, how do you think you'll find pirates in this vast ocean? You should know that I haven't given you much time. The second phase of training begins in one week."
Araki asked directly.
Though people said there were more pirates at sea than bandits on land, the ocean was unimaginably vast!
No matter how many pirates there were, they were not something one could simply run into along a sailing route.
Without exceptional scouting abilities, Zabuza would probably sail alone for an entire week and find nothing but loneliness.
But things would be different with Hua Bing.
Why had Araki insisted on placing Hua Bing and Guren in separate teams?