No need for extra introductions.
The moment he grabbed the "white powder," the surge of disgust in his heart silently told Ryosuke exactly what this damn thing was.
Drugs.
The official side of the Land of Waves was secretly engaging in drug trade.
There were two things Ryosuke hated the most, one was gambling, the other was Drugs.
Sasuke reached out his little hand and grabbed Ryosuke's sleeve.
It was rare for him to see Ryosuke's expression so icy.
"I'm fine,"
Ryosuke said softly, "just that…"
He looked up at the dozens of crates of "white powder" on the ship, then looked ahead.
An old, rust-covered fishing boat was drawing alongside them. On both sides of the fishing boat, pitch-black cannon mouths extended out.
Forty crew members, shirtless, dark-skinned, with knives and axes hanging from their waists, stood on the ship. They saw the samurai lying on the ground. One by one, their faces lit up viciously as they drew their weapons and walked toward Ryosuke.
"…They're about to be in trouble."
"Star Platinum."
This was a battle with no suspense.
Not a single person could take one punch from Star Platinum. Everyone who charged forward spewed blood and was sent flying even faster, crashing into the sea.
"Ghosts!"
Finally, the crew collapsed in fear, disregarding their comrades, turned and ran back to the fishing boat.
"Scram!"
Little Sasuke shouted at their backs, beaming with delight.
He really loved traveling with Ryosuke, grudges paid back freely, expressing emotions as they came.
He didn't want to endure anything.
But Sasuke's smile quickly stiffened on his face.
From the fishing boat came a commotion; the cannons turned and aimed at them.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three cannonballs in a row drew an arc and fired together.
"Star Platinum!" Ryosuke raised a finger.
Star Platinum roared, spun mid-air, kicked away the first cannonball.
Then spread both arms, one in each hand, catching the incoming cannonballs. With steel-like strength, he exerted force and hurled all the shells back.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The three cannonballs emitted sharp sonic booms, seemingly breaking the sound barrier, moving so fast they only left an afterimage on the retina.
Only the successive booming explosions and wailing could be heard.
The fishing boat was pierced, torn to shreds. Crew members screamed as they fell into the sea.
The sudden battle began abruptly and ended just as abruptly.
Only then did the passengers come to their senses, realizing they had just escaped death.
They weren't idiots.
Drug trafficking, even in this messed-up ninja world, was absolutely forbidden.
There was only one cargo hold on the ship. The Drugs, being moisture-sensitive, would naturally be stored in the cargo hold. So… having seen the Drugs, could they even hope to leave the ship alive?
The answer was clearly no.
The passengers collapsed on the floor. The hearts that had been in their throats were finally able to relax.
"W-we're saved."
The sea breeze blew across their faces. The post-crisis lightness made the passengers a little dazed. They looked at Ryosuke's back, not particularly tall or burly, but at this moment, it gave them an incomparable sense of security.
Ryosuke controlled Star Platinum to throw all the white powder on the ship into the sea. Then he tossed the bald samurai down as well. He slapped awake the unconscious crew members and gave them two choices.
Drive the ship, or jump into the sea.
With their lives at stake, the remaining crew members quickly nodded and bowed, fully displaying the spirit of servitude, and restarted the ship to continue moving forward.
After Ryosuke and the others had gone far, the bald samurai surfaced from the seawater and spat in the direction of the cargo ship.
"Idiots! I've sailed half my life, could I really drown at sea?!"
There was a lifeboat on the fishing boat. The crew who fell into the water had already gone to fetch it. It wouldn't be long before they caught up, they could row back to the Land of Waves.
"You dared to touch Lord Gato's goods, brat, you're dead! Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, someone will cut off your head and bring it back!" The bald samurai cursed.
The sea surface broke, a crew member with blood on his head surfaced, panting heavily, his face full of terror, "Sir! F-fish…"
"Fish?"
The bald samurai didn't understand, 'What's so scary about fish?'
'Sharks?'
'No…' He knew this sea route like the back of his hand.
This area wasn't shark territory.
"The fish have gone crazy!" The crewman screamed.
As if to confirm his words, a palm-sized little fish jumped from the water, dove into the crewman's mouth, and bit hard onto his tongue.
"AH!"
The crewman screamed, reaching to pull the mad fish out of his mouth. But a second fish bit his hand, and a third gouged out his eye.
The bald samurai watched the scene in shock.
He recognized the species of fish leaping out of the water, they weren't aggressive at all. What shocked him even more were the fishes' eyes, crimson red, like rubies.
This was the reaction of Drug consumption.
The Drugs Ryosuke had tossed into the sea had been eaten by the fish, and under the effect of the drugs, they had gone mad.
Only then did the bald samurai notice, the sea's surface was terrifyingly still. There wasn't a single crewman.
He looked down and saw sea of crimson.
"Don't come any closer!"
The bald samurai's hopeless scream echoed into the sky.
———
Ryosuke withdrew his gaze.
Sasuke looked like he had something to say but hesitated. Ryosuke flicked his forehead and said with a smile, "If you've got something to say, spit it out."
Sasuke scratched his head and looked down, "I just feel… aren't we being a bit too high-profile?"
He was talking about the matter of defeating the fishing boat.
It felt great during the fight.
Afterward, thinking it over, it was full of holes.
Once they docked, Konoha only had to inquire slightly to know they'd arrived in the Land of Water.
"It was high-profile, but that's what life is, choices."
Ryosuke said, "When you threw that kunai, didn't you already make your choice?"
"That was… just emotion…"
Ryosuke shook his head and said, "What you call 'emotion', is actually the fruit borne from the tree called 'value system' that's grown in your heart all these years."
"A cold-blooded ninja can't have such 'emotion.' Can you imagine Danzo stepping in to save Rei in a fit of anger?"
"But this way… is it really right?" Sasuke asked.
Ryosuke rubbed his little head.
"There's no such thing as absolute right or wrong. If I had to say, as long as two conditions are met, then it's right."
He raised two fingers.
"First, the choice is thought through and aligns with your true heart."
"Second, you're willing to pay the price and bear the consequences."
Sasuke thought back again.
Was he willing to risk being tracked by Danzo to save Rei?
The answer was yes.
Having just experienced the massacre of his clan, Sasuke didn't want to see anyone he knew get hurt again.
He gradually understood what Ryosuke meant.
"Brother Ryosuke, you're really amazing, not just your external strength, but also…"
Sasuke placed his hand over his heart.
"…the strength in here."
Ryosuke smiled, it was his way of accepting the compliment.
Amazing?
Back in the real world, he was a downright loser.
He was okay during school, but once he entered the workforce, he never fit in.
There were too many things Ryosuke couldn't tolerate.
Until one time, he stopped his boss from sexually harassing a female colleague. The incident blew up, and in the end, the harassed woman claimed it was a misunderstanding.
Ryosuke had simply stood up for someone who couldn't "read the room."
Afterward, the boss made things difficult for him, the coworkers isolated him, thinking he would regret it.
But Ryosuke didn't regret it.
The reason he stopped the harassment wasn't to go against his boss, nor was it to save the woman who stabbed him in the back.
Ryosuke simply thought, it shouldn't be like that.
Just like today.
Of course, doing the right thing requires capital.
In his previous life, Ryosuke's capital was his core technical ability on the team.
In this life, it was the JOJO system.
As for the meaning of choosing the "right" thing…
Leaning against the railing, the sea breeze slowly blew. Ryosuke squinted and heard Rei's laughter, along with Sasuke's tsundere snort.
Rei ran forward and gave Sasuke a big hug.
Sasuke stood frozen in place.
The corners of Ryosuke's mouth curled into a smile.
'Perhaps, this was the meaning.'
The ship let out a whistle.
At sunset, they had arrived in the Land of Water.
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