The thought of the immense profit, prestige, and twisted thrill of conquest he would gain by capturing a Hokage's wife of noble blood with a rare Dōjutsu in just a few hours...
Made Blackbeard laugh even more wildly. His laughter echoed over the sea wind and waves, brimming with wicked certainty.
Augur watched his captain, so thoroughly consumed by greed and ambition, and his worries only deepened.
Even if Naruto Uzumaki had been weakened, Konoha and Sasuke Uchiha stood behind him. Neither was an easy foe. This affair might run far deeper than he imagined.
But he knew Blackbeard's temperament. Saying more now would be useless. He bowed and accepted the order. "Yes, Captain. I'll pass it on at once."
As Augur's orders spread, louder whoops and the clang of metal rang out across the pirate ship.
The sails were trimmed to the perfect angle, and the propellers hidden along both sides of the hull spun faster, churning through the deep-blue sea. Like a shark scenting blood, the steel behemoth—a symbol of terror and plunder—raced at full speed toward the mist-shrouded Peace Tour.
The eerie mist seemed alive. It coiled around every corner of the Peace Tour, turning its once-opulent interior corridors into a maze fraught with danger.
Inside the ship, Yor led the way, Konohamaru brought up the rear, and Hinata stayed closely guarded between them.
Their footsteps echoed through the metal corridor. Distant explosions and shouts drifted through the air, drawing the tension taut.
"Three behind the wall on our left. They're approaching." Hinata's Byakugan glimmered pale blue in the mist, and her voice remained calm and clear. "Twenty meters... fifteen meters... They're speeding up!"
Before she finished speaking, three dark figures burst from the mist. Kunai flashed cold in their hands as they attacked from three different