Demon Claw and the Lord of the North Blue

The One-Horned Shark Pirates are a sizable pirate group in coastal waters, but once they enter the inland seas, even a pirate group of this size has to keep a low profile and act cautiously.

Danger comes not only from fellow travelers, but also from the seabed.

To ingratiate himself with Long Ye, the One-Eyed Shark talked incessantly throughout the journey, recounting many of the dangers of the sea:

A shark bigger than a truck could bite a ship apart in one bite.

A sea turtle bigger than a tank; accidentally bumping into it is more terrifying than hitting a reef.

Squid larger than an airplane can sink any ship, no matter how large it is, once it encounters this ferocious creature. It will become food for all the people in the ship.

Of course! There are no airplanes or tanks in this world. These are just images that Long Ye conjured up in her mind based on the description of the One-Eyed Shark.

Having no knowledge of the sea, he realized after hearing this man's words that this journey might not be smooth sailing.

The third day after setting sail.

Long Ye and the other two girls had changed into pirate outfits.

It's already difficult to tell where they come from just by their clothing.

The three of them did this to avoid attracting attention.

According to One-Eyed Shark, the inland sea is the pirates' stronghold, while the pirate gangs that roam the coastal waters, relying on guerrilla warfare to plunder the surrounding small countries, are the lowest level of pirates.

Truly powerful pirate groups never engage in such low-level business; instead, they directly collect exorbitant protection fees from pirate groups that do.

Such Hakai crews often have more powerful members, and to become a member, the minimum requirement is to be Genin).

Similarly, the higher the status, the stronger the strength. In these pirate groups, the captains of each fleet can even reach the level of Jonin.

Having learned about the forces at sea, the three had no choice but to disguise themselves as pirates to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Early that morning.

The sun rises from the sea.

In the hazy Long Ye, I saw a figure illuminated by the morning light outside the door.

The man paced back and forth at the door as if he urgently needed to urinate.

The man paused several times, wanting to knock on the door, but seemed too wary of the person inside, afraid of disturbing them and losing his life, so each time he withdrew his hand.

"Come in and talk to me if you need anything!!"

Hearing the sounds coming from inside, the man felt as if he had been granted a pardon and rushed in.

"My lord, no, something terrible has happened!!"

The One-Horned Shark was sweating profusely, whether from anxiety or fear, it was hard to tell.

"What happened?"

Long Ye his agitated state, Longye frowned and asked.

"My lord, please look!"

The One-Horned Shark, trembling slightly, handed over a letter with both hands.

Long Ye glanced at it but didn't take it.

As you can see, the leather cover of the letter has four black, powerful vertical lines drawn on it.

The lines weren't straight; they looked like marks left by sharp claws scratching into the rock.

This is clearly a marker.

Long Ye turned her head and glanced at Mei Terumi beside her.

At this Mei Terumi was dressed as a pirate, and half of her face was covered, leaving only a pair of mesmerizing blue eyes visible.

She did this to avoid being recognized as the Mizukage.

The Mizukage is the spiritual leader of the Land of Water and rarely leaves the village. If news of her leaving Kirigakure gets out, it might attract some people to launch a surprise attack on Kirigakure.

Noticing Long Ye's gaze, Mei Terumi then turned her attention to the letter.

Upon seeing this object, she frowned slightly, as if she recognized its origin.

Seeing Long Ye, Oboro knew that things might not be simple:

"No need to look anymore, just tell me! What does this thing mean?"

One-Eyed Shark hurriedly said, "Sir, this letter comes from... the Demon Claw!"

"The Demon Claw?"

Long Ye asked in a puzzled tone; it was the first time he had heard this name.

"It's normal that you don't know the truth since you don't often go to sea, and even less often you enter the inland sea. Demon Claw is a subordinate organization of the Lord of the North Blue [Charging Horn Pirates]!"

"I mentioned to the adults before that pirate groups of this size rely on collecting huge protection fees, and this 'Demon Claw' is an organization that roams the seas year-round, extorting money for the Ramming Horn Pirates."

"I see!" Long Ye nodded in understanding.

When did you receive the letter?

"It was dropped by a strange bird just last night."

The more they talked about the One-Eyed Shark, the more terrified they became.

"Judging from how scared you are, it seems you can't raise the amount of money they're asking for."

"The adults know things like a god!"

"The amount is simply too large. If I hadn't built the second fleet back then, I might have just had enough money to pay it off, but now, I simply can't raise it even if you beat me to death."

This person was truly unlucky; he spent a vast amount of his wealth to build a second fleet, only to have it destroyed by the Land of Water a few days after it was launched.

"What are the consequences if we can't raise the funds?" Long Ye asked again.

"One word... Death!!"

The One-Eyed Shark's voice trembled at the mention of death.

"There has never been an exception. In the past, any pirate crew chosen by the Demon Claw that couldn't produce the amount of money they demanded would be wiped out."

"You came to me because you want me to help you deal with the people who want money," Long Ye said with a half-smile.

"This request is something I absolutely dare not make. Those are people from the Horned Fleet; we simply cannot afford to offend them..."

"I just thought that with your strength, sir, the people who come might give us a few months' grace. Once we sell our possessions, we'll definitely find a way to raise the money."

Long Ye remained silent.

He's on the ship now, and if the people who come here want to kill everyone on board, it's impossible for him to stay out of it.

"Captain..."

A Kikoku wail came from outside.

"Captain, something terrible has happened! The Demon Claw... are here!!!"

A man rushed over, stumbling and crawling, to report this.

The One-Eyed Shark turned pale.

"The Demon Claw will arrive with the last rays of dawn; the letter's prediction was absolutely accurate."

"The next line is: The messenger is the envoy of the North Blue King and will accept our offerings. Pirates without sincerity will disappear into the bottomless depths of the sea like the last ray of dawn."

The One-Eyed Shark was trembling all over.

The Demon Claw's fearsome reputation was so great that, in the minds of the pirates, it was synonymous with Death God.

"My lord, you must save us this time! If you don't help, we have no chance of survival!"

The One-Eyed Shark knelt down and kowtowed.

Long Ye asked expressionlessly:

"What kind of strength do these people possess that could frighten your entire ship, hundreds of fierce-looking pirates, into this state? Don't you have six cannons on your ship?"

In the eyes of the One-Eyed Shark, the man before him was his last straw, and he hurriedly replied:

"Reporting to you, sir, the people of the Demon Claw Organization are the elite of the elite in the Horned Fleet. Without exception, they are all missing-nin of Jonin various countries. There are no way we can kill them. Those six cannons are practically useless."

"Oh? Jonin??"

Long Ye thought to herself: This Ramming Horn Pirates truly lives up to its title as the Lord of the North Blue; they've managed to recruit such a powerful individual to serve them.