The crew shouted in excitement.
"He won, he actually won!"
"Ahaha, this is great, that clueless bastard finally died!" Kimaru cheered.
"We didn't die at the hands of the sea monster, but almost died because of this hired ninja… this is unheard of! I was scared to death just now, I thought today was the end!" another sailor said.
"Little brother, thank you so much, really, thank you!" Captain Kurein rushed out of the cabin, hugging Hyuga Shigeo tightly, tears and snot running down his face in gratitude, nearly kneeling to kowtow.
"Thank you!" Tenma and Akahana from Hoshigakure also spoke up. "If it weren't for you, the reputation of Hoshigakure would have been destroyed by this man, and even if we died, no one would know we were killed by him."
"That's right, that's right. He would have blamed it on pirates. Leaving someone like that in your shinobi village would be dangerous." The others chimed in.
"Really, thank you so much!" Everyone surrounded Hyuga Shigeo, looking at him with admiration.
Even Kimaru was praised by everyone, with people saying that if it weren't for his kindness in letting this child board the ship, they wouldn't have survived today.
While everyone was praising Hyuga Shigeo, suddenly a cold voice came from the thick mist.
"Oi, oi, stop talking. Do you take us for air?"
The deep, hollow voice came from the fog like a ghost from hell, making everyone's hair stand on end.
Looking back, the sea was shrouded in mist, and countless sea monsters rushed toward the Conch.
"Everyone, get down!" Captain Kurein shouted loudly. The sight of a sailor being snatched away by the sea monsters was still fresh in his memory, and he didn't want anyone else to die.
At his shout, everyone except Hyuga Shigeo quickly ducked to the ground. The tentacles of the sea monsters whipped past, catching nothing.
Everyone clung tightly to the ship, realizing they had been so busy celebrating the defeat of the traitor that they had forgotten pirates were still lurking nearby.
"What do we do? Do we even stand a chance today?" one sailor cried in terror, already wetting his pants. Without the captain's shout just now, he would have been snatched away.
"Don't say nonsense—we must hold on!" Captain Kurein tried to encourage everyone. He looked up at Shigeo, who was floating in the air. All their hope rested on him now.
Shigeo closed his eyes, sensing the surroundings. In the distance, on the pirate skiff hidden in the mist, three pirates smirked arrogantly. One of them drank from a sake flask while watching the sea, clearly the one maintaining the mist.
Meanwhile, the Conch let out violent creaks as several sea monsters latched onto its hull, shaking it violently.
"Ah! What do we do?"
"Help us!" The sailors screamed.
Tenma and Akahana rushed forward, fighting the monsters entangling the ship.
Seeing this, Shigeo's anger blazed. His hands formed seals, and with a burst of speed he dove from the sky.
"Raiton, Rai Buman Ten (Lightning Release: Thunderstorm Over the Heavens)!"
Jagged bolts of lightning shot from his hand, splitting the sky and striking the ocean surface.
Zzzzz!
The sea churned violently, the monsters shrieking and thrashing as electricity tore through them. Even those clutching the ship's hull released their grip, retreating into the depths.
The sight of countless sea monsters boiling in the electrified waters made the sea look like a pot of boiling broth.
"What? Impossible! Even Raiton shouldn't have such power!" The pirates hidden in the mist were stunned.
That child had already plunged into the sea, disappearing from sight. Floating on the surface were the corpses of countless sea creatures.
"He killed all the small ones with a single jutsu?" A wandering shinobi with a strange forehead protector nearly dropped his jaw.
Another Kirigakure rogue turned to his comrade. "Tagiri, cancel the Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique). If the boss octopus gets hurt, our losses will be huge."
"No way. My boss octopus has ruled these seas for over a decade. He can't be killed by a child. Absolutely not…" The short man, Tagiri, stared at the water grimly. Never before had anyone wiped out so many of his summons with a single jutsu.
Luckily, the boss octopus was fine—or he would have gone mad with rage.
Just then, the sea roared and a massive octopus, five to six times larger than the Conch, surged out of the water, its monstrous tentacles flailing as if to destroy everything.
Everyone on board the Conch stared in disbelief.
"What is this? Kami-sama, it's too big!"
Even the two other pirates hidden in the mist gaped in awe.
They had worked as pirates for years and had never seen the boss octopus in person—its spawn had always been enough to destroy ships. Today, they saw it for the first time.
The massive octopus flipped in the air, but suddenly, from inside its body, an explosion tore through it from within, ripping its enormous form apart, including its gigantic eyes. Only its legs twitched as they dangled outside.
"My boss octopus!" Tagiri screamed, rushing forward in fury. "I'll kill you!"
He dived toward Shigeo, but Shigeo blasted him back with a single Suiton (Water Release) technique.
Despite his powerful summons, Tagiri's own skills were weak. The Suiton attack left him struggling, coughing as he glared at Shigeo—only to see a sharp Shoton (Crystal Release) blade forming in Shigeo's hand, pointed directly at his throat.
As the mist cleared, the other two pirate-nin charged forward.
"Tagiri, we'll save you!"
"We've ruled these seas for over ten years without meeting an equal. Today, let's show this brat our true power. Kill him!" The dark-skinned, muscular man swung his fists and charged.
(End of Chapter)
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