Pirates

The ship was a steam-powered vessel. Hiding in the cargo hold, one could hear the roaring operation of the steam engine below, punctuated by the occasional "whoosh" of released steam.

At first, the sound was a bit irritating, but after listening for a long time, it became like white noise, making one unable to resist the urge to drift off to sleep.

There were over a dozen people in the cargo hold, and at this moment, most of them were fast asleep.

During a tedious journey, sleep is always the best way to kill time.

Sasuke was not sleeping; he kept his hands hidden in his sleeves, practicing his hand seals.

In order to one day exact his revenge with his own hands, he did not want to waste a single second.

Lin Qing sat beside Sasuke, legs crossed, his chest rising and falling in a special rhythm. With every breath, the dim cargo hold seemed to brighten slightly.

The passengers only felt their bodies grow warm, their tense nerves relaxing, allowing them to sleep even more soundly.

Sasuke, being the closest, felt it most clearly.

"Brother Qing, did the training succeed?"

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

More than a month had passed since he obtained the Ripple Qigong. Whether eating, sleeping, or walking, Lin Qing had always practiced according to the requirements of the breathing technique.

Perhaps it was the talent of the Uchiha, or perhaps Lin Qing himself was naturally gifted, but from the beginning of his training, he clearly felt a ripple oscillating within his body as he breathed.

At first, it was very weak, like a dragonfly landing on duckweed, causing only the slightest ripple in the water.

But now, Lin Qing was finally able to manipulate the ripple, guiding it along his blood vessels and skin to release it into the outside world, exerting an influence on reality.

By activating the breathing technique, Lin Qing's muscular strength would increase to three to five times that of an ordinary person, allowing him to shatter rocks with his bare hands.

The emitted ripple, used as a weapon, could become an invisible, scorching blade; as a defensive measure, it could help him withstand sudden impacts, and even if he were injured, it could be used for healing.

Furthermore, it was different from the power ninjas cultivated.

In order to gain power, the training methods of ninjas were relatively short-sighted.

It was like Muay Thai: fierce and powerful in one's youth, but leaving one with a body full of ailments in old age.

The breathing technique, however, would continuously nourish Lin Qing's internal organs throughout the training process, extending his lifespan.

Seeing the envy in Sasuke's eyes, Lin Qing rubbed his little head.

"Once we get off the ship, I will teach you."

"Mm-hmm!"

Sasuke nodded eagerly, his face beaming with a smile.

Suddenly, his body tilted, and he nearly fell over, but fortunately, Lin Qing caught him in time.

The other passengers were not so lucky; for a moment, cries of "Ouch" rang out as the dozen people in the cargo hold were sent tumbling in all directions.

The ship had stopped.

Xiaotao, bleary-eyed and dazed, asked, "Mommy, are we there yet?"

Xiaotao's mother looked toward the cargo hold's ventilation duct—naturally, she couldn't see anything from that narrow window—and she patted her daughter's head.

"The ship has stopped; we must have arrived."

Xiaotao's sleepiness vanished, and she blinked her eyes: "Yay! I get to see Grandma and Grandpa!"

The Land of Water had blockaded its ports, and most of the passengers were traveling there to visit relatives; Xiaotao and her mother were among them.

Lin Qing frowned slightly.

The timing was wrong.

Traveling by ship from the Land of Waves to the Land of Water required at least three days.

Although they were trapped in the cargo hold and their sense of time was blurred, Lin Qing had been silently keeping track.

They had only been sailing for two days, with one day of the journey remaining.

They were still out on the vast ocean.

Could it be that Danzo's men have caught up?

Lin Qing pondered this and gave Sasuke a look.

Sasuke nodded, quietly pulling out a kunai to hide in his sleeve, preparing to deal with any potential danger.

Whoosh—

The cargo hold door, which had been closed for two days, opened.

As sunlight suddenly flooded in, Lin Qing squinted slightly and saw the silhouettes of three people.

A bald samurai and two crew members.

The three stood at the entrance, and the bald samurai walked in with a swaggering, unsteady gait.

A thin man asked, "Sir, have we arrived?"

The bald samurai said, "Sorry, everyone, there's been a little hiccup in our journey."

An old woman huddled in the corner asked, "W-what interlude?"

The bald samurai's hand rested on the hilt of his sword, swaying left and right; the scabbard knocked against the cargo hold wall, the clanging echoing throughout the room. The passengers' hearts felt as if they were being squeezed tight.

"We encountered pirates, but rest assured, through my persuasion, they have decided to spare you—on the condition that you hand over your valuables... to buy your own lives."

Two crew members carrying sacks strode up to the passengers, reaching out to grab their luggage and backpacks regardless of whether they consented.

"No! You can't take this, it's all I have left—"

The thin man who had spoken first tried to snatch his bag back, only to be kicked over by a crew member. Just as the thin man started to scramble up, a clang rang out, and a blade was held horizontally before him.

"Move again, and I'll hack you to death!"

The passengers finally realized: what pirates?

Or rather, the samurai and crew of the Land of Waves before them were the pirates themselves!

With their lives hanging by a thread, staying alive was more important than anything else, so the passengers handed over their belongings one by one, albeit reluctantly.

"Don't touch me!"

A scream rang out.

It turned out the bald samurai had spotted Xiaotao's mother; seeing her curvaceous figure and beautiful face, and realizing she was a married woman, he was overcome by lecherous intent. His thieving hands wrapped around her waist, and he let out a lewd laugh, spewing filth from his mouth:

"Your breasts are so big, let me see if you're hiding something inside them?"

"Let go of my mother!"

Xiaotao lunged forward, slamming a fist into the bald samurai's crotch.

"Get lost!"

Stung by the pain, the bald samurai's rage flared, and he swung his hand in a wide arc, aiming a slap at Xiaotao's face.

"Ah—"

A miserable shriek echoed through the cargo hold.

But it did not come from Xiaotao.

A pitch-black, ice-cold kunai had pierced through the bald samurai's palm, pinning it to the wall of the cargo hold as blood began to trickle down the wood.

Xiaotao followed the direction from which the kunai had flown.

She saw Sasuke, his expression cold and stern.

In that moment, Sasuke understood what Lin Qing had meant by "when you feel it is necessary."

Without needing anyone to remind him, Sasuke had thrown the kunai instinctively.

Its power, speed, and precision were all far superior to his usual practice.

Because this strike contained a power known as "emotion."

A hand rested gently on Sasuke's shoulder. He snapped back to reality, the sharpness in his expression shifting into panic:

"I'm sorry, I acted without permission..."

Sasuke had studied ninja tracking techniques; a professional tracker could roughly determine which ninja village a shinobi belonged to just by their throwing style.

What he had just done was tantamount to exposing his identity, potentially pointing the way for the pursuers from Konoha and Danzo.

"No need to apologize, you did well."

If one possessed great power but, when faced with injustice or the surging anger in one's heart, hesitated and lacked even the courage to act, then what was the point of cultivation?

He might as well go back to farming.

"I'll slaughter you lot!"

The bald samurai pulled the kunai out and threw it to the ground, drawing the katana from his waist as a faint blue light appeared on the blade.

Samurai and ninjas were two different cultivation systems; the former was simpler and more direct, with all their prowess concentrated in a single blade, following the path of breaking ten thousand techniques with one strike.

Lin Qing stood up and pulled Sasuke behind him.

"Leave the rest to me."

Every gaze in the cargo hold converged on Lin Qing.

"Are you a ninja?!"

The bald samurai demanded.

"No," Lin Qing answered truthfully.

The bald samurai gripped his sword tightly with both hands, his eyes flashing with fury: "Whether you are or not, you die today!"

Xiaotao was held in her mother's arms, her eyes filled with terror.

"Die!"

The bald samurai let out a roar, unleashing a袈裟斩 (kasagiri) slash from above, hacking down toward Lin Qing's face.

Lin Qing flicked his toe, kicking up the kunai that had been thrown to the ground. He caught it in his hand and met the incoming blade head-on.

A look of bloodthirsty excitement flashed in the bald samurai's eyes.

How could a katana swung with such force be blocked by Lin Qing using only a single kunai?

This wasn't some low-budget martial arts movie.

Xiaotao's mother covered her daughter's eyes, unable to bear the sight.

Clang—

The crisp sound of clashing blades echoed through the cargo hold, rippling outward like waves.

"W-what?!"

The bald samurai stared at the scene before him in disbelief.

It wasn't just him; the two crew members waiting to see blood and the crowd of passengers all had their eyes wide with shock.

The kunai had held the long blade steady.

If it had merely been a block, they might have simply assumed Lin Qing was born with supernatural strength.

But Lin Qing had used the tip of the kunai to pin the edge of the blade, without the slightest deviation or tremor; the two of them stood frozen in place as if they had rehearsed the move beforehand.

This was the power of Ripple Qigong.

A comprehensive enhancement of speed, strength, and reaction time.

The current Lin Qing was equivalent to a miniature Star Platinum.

"My lord? What are you doing! Just hack him to death already!"

One of the crew members shouted.

The bald samurai was frantic—did he think he didn't want to?

The katana felt as if it were glued in place; he couldn't pull it back at all.

What kind of ninjutsu was this?!

Sizzle—sizzle—

Thin wisps of smoke rose from the bald samurai's palms, and the acrid smell of charred meat began to drift through the air.

"Ah!"

The bald samurai let out a miserable shriek, wanting to drop the scorching hot blade, but his hands were firmly locked in place, unable to move. The anger and fear on his face grew ever more intense.

"Everyone here will be buried with you because of your actions! Remember, it is because of you that they will die!"

Lin Qing looked at him calmly.

"Your militaristic bandit logic serves no purpose other than to accelerate your own death... Do you have any final words?"

"Go f—"

Before the word could leave his mouth, Star Platinum's fist, the size of a sandbag, slammed into the bald samurai's face.

Thud!

Thud!

Thud!

Three consecutive muffled impacts rang out.

The bald samurai and the two crew members were tossed aside like tattered sacks, knocking over seven or eight crewmen who were moving cargo before crashing heavily onto the deck, their fates unknown.

"My lord! My lord!"

"What happened!"

Seeing the samurai fall, the crew members panicked, rushing forward to pinch the bald samurai's philtrum.

Just then, they heard footsteps approaching from behind.

Lin Qing walked out of the cargo hold, picked up a bag of "white flour" that had spilled on the ground, and spoke in a cold voice:

"Is this what you people in the Land of Waves sell?"