Ninjas not only need to be skilled in combat; they also need to be good at thinking and analysis.
Gekkō Hayate took a map out of his ninja tools pouch and studied the situation in the southern seas of the Land of Fire. From the southeastern corner stretched a long, narrow, arc-shaped peninsula that thrust straight south into the ocean.
Aside from a portion of the territory in the north that belonged to the Land of Fire, the southern areas belonged respectively to the Land of Tea and the Land of Commerce. Heading west across the sea led to the territory of the Land of Wind.
The stretch of sea caught between the two was called Tea Islet Bay. Apart from an island nation called the Land of Islets, the rest consisted of shattered islands of all sizes, scattered sparsely across the sea.
Gekkō Hayate tried to put himself in the enemy's position: "To the south is the battlefield between Sunagakure and Kirigakure, so the sea there isn't safe.
"To the west is the Land of Wind, to the north is the Land of Fire. To the east? Passing through the Land of Tea and entering the Rainbow Sea—that would be within the sphere of influence of the Land of Water.
"The Sea Shark Gang has committed crimes continuously over the past period and should have made a lot of money. At a time like this, the most important thing is to have one's life to spend that money. What they should do is hide, or flee this place."
A light seemed to go on above Uzuki Yūgao's head. "So those bastards are either hiding on some small island in Tea Islet Bay, or they've crossed the Land of Tea and run off to the Rainbow Sea?"
Higashino Makoto added, "The Rainbow Sea is a perfectly round region that's extremely clean, as if it's been plowed over by some kind of super explosion. There aren't any islands there at all."
"So I think they're still within Tea Islet Bay at most, hiding somewhere in the Land of Tea. The Sea Shark Gang is basically made up of ordinary people. In a few days' time, they wouldn't be able to get very far."
Gekkō Kumomi smiled. "Your analysis is solid. So what are you waiting for? Go think of a way to find the mission target."
"Yes!" x3
With a target in mind, the three of them moved together eastward along the coastline, asking around for information in the various fishing villages by the sea.
By noon, they finally obtained useful intelligence in one of the villages.
Out at sea between this place and the Land of Tea, there is an area called the Dog Fang Archipelago. The islands there jut out of the water like stone pillars—shattered and chaotic—so they were named the Dog Fang Archipelago.
At the same time, the sea nearby is filled with hidden reefs, making it impossible for ships to pass through. The only navigable channels are known only to pirates. In fact, it used to be a place where pirates gathered.
Ordinary people have no way to deal with those inside. They all post missions to ask ninjas to handle it, but the ninjas who come for a typical C-rank mission have limited strength. On top of that, the environment of the Dog Fang Archipelago is complex, so it is always hard to clear it out completely. After half a year or a year, it will come back to life again.
In the past few days, when people in the village went out to sea to fish, they saw large ships enter that area.
It seems the Sea Shark Gang is probably hiding there.
...
Ninjas can walk on water, but when going out to sea, they still take a boat.
Because a person's chakra is limited. If you run out of chakra out on the open sea, fall into the water, and drown, wouldn't that just be a joke?
As the sun was setting, the four-person squad, led by an old fisherman, saw the Dog Fang Archipelago on the distant surface of the sea.
As they drew close, the old fisherman carefully shut off the boat's motor and began to row by hand, avoiding noise that might draw danger.
Higashino Makoto looked at the fishing boat's engine and felt a bit exasperated. Yes, the ninja world has this sort of thing, but it just hasn't been applied to land transportation. Maybe it will be in the future.
"So spectacular!" Uzuki Yūgao stared at the strange islands slowly swelling larger before her eyes and let out an instinctive exclamation.
It really was spectacular. Islands large and small plunged into the seabed like irregular stone pillars. At the top of some of the broader pillars, there was even a small patch of forest, and flocks of seabirds would occasionally rise and fall over it.
The name Dog Fang Archipelago was quite fitting. These islands were like sharp teeth biting into the surface of the water. It did not look like a natural landscape at all.
It looked more like a stretch of land that had been blasted apart by the gods.
As the fishing boat traveled through it, it was like traveling along a river in a rift valley, with almost sheer cliffs on both sides.
Without needing Gekkō Kumomi to instruct him, before entering the archipelago, Higashino Makoto activated his widest detection range to prevent falling into the enemy's trap.
After the old fisherman rowed the boat, turning left and right for some distance, he docked it in a narrow waterway and said with some difficulty, "Honored ninja lords, the route I'm familiar with only goes this far. I don't know what it's like inside."
"Thank you very much for your help. This is already enough. Uncle, you can head back now—leave the rest to us."
Gekkō Kumomi said a few words to the old fisherman, then jumped off the boat. Higashino Makoto took the lead, opening the way with his sensory ability, while Gekkō Hayate and Uzuki Yūgao stayed in the middle. The four-person formation moved forward like a sea serpent, stepping on the surface of the water toward the deeper reaches of the archipelago.
In this world, ninjas were not mysterious. The old fisherman had long since seen their methods, and abilities like standing on the surface of the water no longer struck him as strange.
He only hoped that this time, the ninja lords would kill those damned bastards inside completely and give the people who made their living on these seas a peaceful environment.
Although the pirates in Tea Islet Bay mainly targeted merchant ships, sometimes they would also strike fishing boats at sea, and on occasion even raid one or two unlucky fishing villages.
There was no point expecting people like that to have any bottom line. He once had four sons, two of whom died at the hands of pirates. That was also the reason he was willing to take the risk of guiding them.
...
The four of them ran along the water surface close to the cliff face. After a short while, Higashino Makoto suddenly stopped. The three behind him almost simultaneously reined in their steps.
Higashino Makoto pointed toward the cliff ahead. There was a cave opening there, extremely well concealed—clearly a lookout post set up by pirates.
Gekkō Hayate asked in a low voice, "Is anyone inside? How many—ordinary people or ninjas?"
"Two people!"
"I'll take care of it!"
Hayate went all out, rushing in like a gust of wind from a blind spot in their line of sight and quickly closing in beneath the cliff. Then, with his feet against the rock face as if walking on level ground, he charged up into the cliff cave.
Against this kind of sudden assassination, ordinary people had no way to defend themselves against ninjas at all.
Very soon, Gekkō Hayate's figure reappeared, waving toward the surface of the water.
When the other three came up, they found that the cliff cave was not large and had been artificially carved out. Inside, aside from some fresh water and food, there was only a coiled rope ladder.
Two adult, powerfully built men with unkempt appearances and stubbly beards lay there, their faces greasy and filthy. One of them was already dead, his heart pierced through by a single stab. Blood stained his clothes red, but it had not sprayed everywhere.
Hayate's technique was really good.
The other man was lying on the ground, his hands and feet bound, his mouth stuffed with the dead man's shoe. He stared at the four of them in terror.
Tears streamed from the guy's eyes. It was unclear whether it was from fear or from being overwhelmed by the stench of the shoe.
"I left one alive. We can get the location of the Sea Shark Gang's main hideout out of his mouth."
Higashino Makoto shook his head. "No need. They're already all within my sensory range. Not a single one of them will get away."
After hearing this, Gekkō Hayate said nothing. He pointed at the captive, the meaning obvious—who among you is going to do it?
After all, he had graduated a year earlier and had already experienced killing. But the other two teammates had never had human blood on their hands.
A ninja is a profession that kills. One must learn how to kill, get used to killing, but also revere life and not become addicted to slaughter.
Uzuki Yūgao was mentally preparing herself. After all, this would be her first time killing someone, and she was still a bit hesitant. Several methods flashed through her mind, but she did not know which one to use.
Hesitation was normal. Anyone who kills people regularly knows that the first time is inevitably a bit clumsy, but once you get used to it, that feeling disappears.
Higashino Makoto squatted in front of the captive and asked, "Are you from the Sea Shark Gang? Were the recent incidents near Hema Port your doing?"
The pitiful pirate had already been frightened out of his wits and only nodded numbly.
Higashino Makoto took a deep breath, drew his blade, and swung it in a single motion, instantly cutting the man's throat.
As blood sprayed out, his eyelids twitched involuntarily a few times.
So this is what killing feels like? It seemed no different from killing animals before. Humans are animals too. Thinking of it that way, the feeling suddenly dulled even more.
So that's all there is to it.
It was hard to imagine that in his previous life, he had never even killed a chicken, yet now he had personally killed a living person. The ninja world truly was a good place to temper people.
Gekkō Hayate watched Higashino Makoto's expression and, seeing no change, finally let go of his concern for his friend.
Strange, isn't it? If in his previous life Higashino Makoto had seen a friend kill someone and remain completely unfazed, he would only have thought that person terrifying—most likely a psychopath.
But in the ninja world, this was called a sign of maturity.
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