The sea breeze was salty and wet, blowing on everyone's face. Naruto The merchant ship the group was traveling on was not big, and it undulated on the gray sea, like a leaf that could be swallowed up at any time. Land of Water The fog was well-deserved. Even if it was still far away from the coastline, the white fog that was so thick that it could not be dissolved had enveloped the surrounding areas, blurring the boundaries between the sky and the sea, and showing a sense of oppression that no one should approach.
They all put on ordinary business travel clothes, and their weapons were cleverly sealed in scrolls or hidden in the mezzanine of the cargo box. Naruto leaned against the side of the ship, staring calmly at the surging fog in front of him. In his intuition, the breath of the land on the other side carried a kind of sluggishness and confusion, like the disordered breathing of a seriously ill person. Zabuza and Bai's report only described the phenomenon, but to experience it personally, this decadent breath was more intuitive.
Sasuke sat on the cargo box, wiping his fingers on the Bolter gun barrel disguised as an iron pipe, with a trace of impatience on his brows. Neji closed his eyes and meditated, with his hands folded in his sleeves, like a monk in meditation, but as long as there was any abnormal movement, he would summon a sniper rifle.
The hull of the ship suddenly stopped without warning, and the inertia of sailing made everyone shake.
"What's going on?" The hired ship boss turned pale and looked around in panic.
It's not that it ran aground. Naruto's thoughts were racing, and there was an extremely slight scratching sound coming from underneath the hull, as if someone was scratching the board with his nails.
"The water ghosts are coming..." The boss of the ship's lips trembled, and his teeth were chattering. "They are pirates in this sea area. They will dig through the bottom of the ship from under the water!"
Before he finished speaking, the hull of the ship shook violently, a clear sound of broken boards came from the bottom of the cabin, and cold seawater began to pour in.
"Everyone, prepare to fight." Naruto ordered, his voice was not loud, but it clearly overcame the wailing of the ship's boss.
Torune Aburame and several other Root ninjas instantly dispersed and occupied several key positions on the ship. Their movements were silent, as if they had been rehearsed countless times.
Sasuke opened his eyes suddenly, and the two Tomoe's Sharingan appeared instantly. In his eyes, the turbid seawater became transparent, and several humanoid outlines made of chakra were moving quickly under the boat, like wolves in the water. Their movements were precise and skillful, and they were obviously habitual criminals.
Without any hesitation, he raised the heavy Prototype Bolter with one hand and pointed the muzzle at the hole in the deck beneath his feet.
"Sasuke, don't penetrate the boat." Naruto reminded.
"Humph."
Sasuke snorted, his body sank slightly, Sharingan rotated at high speed, calculating the target's movement trajectory, seawater resistance and water refraction. The next second, he pulled the trigger.
"Boom!"
There was a dull explosion that was incompatible with this era, and the huge recoil made Sasuke's shoulders sink suddenly, but he had gradually become familiar with the feeling of shooting, and he forcibly stabilized his body. The specially-made bullet penetrated the water with terrifying kinetic energy.
Under the water, a pirate was wielding the Kunai to cut the ship. His head exploded instantly like a watermelon hit by a heavy hammer, and a cloud of blood mist quickly spread in the water.
Before the boss of the ship could scream, Sasuke had already moved to the other side of the ship.
"Boom!" "Boom!"
There were two more explosions. Two blood flowers bloomed under the water again. With Sharingan's insight, the movement trajectories of these "water ghosts" were undetectable. Each shot accurately predicted the opponent's position, and the bullets passed through the board and seawater, accurately sending death to them.
In just a few breaths, the active chakra aura under the sea completely disappeared.
The world returned to silence, leaving only the sound of wind and sea water lapping against the hull.
The captain of the ship slumped on the ground, looking at the young man with a cold face, as if he were looking at a monster.
Naruto walked to the side of the ship and looked at the fading red in the sea water. He was unconvinced about Sasuke's performance. Qualified weapons need to be sharpened with the blood of the enemy, nothing more.
After paying the price of several big holes, the ship finally stumbled to the shore.
The land of Land of Water is more barren than imagined, with jagged rocks and low shrubs growing tenaciously everywhere. There is a lingering damp musty smell in the air.
A group of disguised caravans moved forward along the rugged path. Before they had gone far, seven or eight bandits in ragged clothes and holding rusty weapons emerged from the woods on the roadside, blocking the way.
"Keep all the goods and money!" the leader of the one-eyed dragon roared viciously.
A trace of disdain flashed in Sasuke's eyes, and he had no intention of taking out Bolter. These things, which are not even trash fish, are not worthy of letting him waste a bullet.
However, before they could take action, several swift shadows flashed out from the forest on the other side.
"Water Release·Water Gun Technique!"
Phew! Phew! Phew!
Several high-pressure water bombs accurately penetrated the throats of the bandits. The ferocious expressions on their faces froze, and they fell straight down without even a scream.
The smoke cleared, and a group of ninjas wearing Kirigakure standard vests appeared in front of them. The leader was a young man with white hair and a stern expression. He carried a huge double knife wrapped with bandages on his back, with only two thick handles exposed.
Double Knife·Hiramekarei.
Naruto's pupils shrank slightly. The intelligence matched the genius of the Hozuki Clan, one of the new generation Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Hozuki Mangetsu. Judging from the first impression, he and the carefree younger brother Suigetsu mentioned by Zabuza are completely two different people.
Hozuki Mangetsu's eyes were as sharp as a knife, and he directly passed over the Root ninjas dressed as caravan guards, and fell on the leader Naruto. His instinct was frantically calling the police. The group of people in front of him were definitely not ordinary businessmen. The kind of temperament that was calm in the face of danger, and even indifferent to death, could only be tempered in the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
"Who are you?" Man Yue's voice was cold.
"The businessman passing by is from Land of Fire." Naruto responded with the words he had prepared, "Thank you for your help."
One of Man Yue's men came forward and roughly rummaged through their goods. However, all the preparations were flawless, and apart from normal merchandise, they could not find anything suspicious.
"Master Man Yue, I didn't find it."
"Self-search." Man Yue was still worried.
The result is still the same. All weapons are perfectly hidden by Sealing Jutsu and Genjutsu.
"Sir Man Yue, why don't we follow the rules and take them all back for interrogation first?" Kirigakure Ninja next to him suggested in a low voice, "All the goods will also be impounded, and they will be released after confirming that there are no problems."
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere instantly became tense.
The Curse Mark pattern on Sasuke's neck feels faintly hot, and Neji's hand is also resting on the scroll at his waist. As long as Naruto looks at it, a massacre will be staged here.
Hozuki Mangetsu had a panoramic view of everyone's reactions. He saw that the blond boy was still calm, he saw the undisguised murderous intent in the black-haired boy's eyes, and he also saw the determination of others who were ready to die at any time.
These people are very strong and not afraid of death.
Just when a fierce battle was about to break out, Man Yue suddenly raised his hand and stopped his men.
"Forget it."
There was a hint of fatigue in his tone that he had not even noticed. He waved his hand and motioned for his men to move away.
"It would be great if there are still businessmen who dare to come to this country now."
Man Yue took a deep look at Naruto, her eyes were complicated and difficult to understand.
"Compared with external threats, the diseases in our bodies are more deadly. If I arrest you for no reason today, then no one will dare to set foot on this land in the future."
He turned around and faced Naruto and his group.
"But remember, this is Kirigakure, don't play tricks."
With a warning look in his eyes, he led his team and disappeared into the dense forest without looking back.
It wasn't until the chakras of those figures were completely gone that Sasuke relaxed his tense body. He walked to Naruto, looked at the direction where the full moon was leaving, and asked in a low voice, "Why did you let us go? He clearly saw through our identities."
Naruto stared at the gloomy forest, with a cold arc at the corner of his mouth.
"A dying patient will not refuse anything that looks like medicine."
His voice was very soft, but it shocked Sasuke's heart.
"Even if it is poison. He may... also be expecting us to do something at Kirigakure, so that he can have the opportunity to cut out the rotten flesh with his own hands."