Chapter 68: Overwhelming Force
"Pirates?"
"Yes, sir, we're just ordinary pirates," the man stammered.
"If you're pirates, where's your ship?" asked Yumura Ki, the Kirigakure jōnin leading the group. "And why are you on this island?"
The pirates exchanged nervous glances. The Kirigakure shinobi had moved too quickly for them to coordinate their stories. None dared to answer.
More importantly, they couldn't reveal Baishi's presence. The mere thought of the terrifying paralysis curse—the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal—was enough to stop them.
That was right; not just the pirates Baishi had sent out into the sea, but even those left on the island bore the same seal.
The curse made it impossible for them to divulge anything about Baishi. Even if they wanted to speak, they physically couldn't.
Yumura Ki had only been asking casually. In his mind, the pirates were likely stranded here after a shipwreck or hiding from the ongoing chaos in the region.
However, their nervous silence and shifty glances immediately raised his suspicions.
His voice turned cold as he pointed to one of the pirates. "You, speak. Why are you here?"
The man he pointed to, a pirate named Kamizumi Takashi, looked around for help but found none. With no options left, his face contorted into a pitiful expression.
"I, uh… we…" he stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
"What's with all this stammering?" Yumura Ki growled.
He turned to one of his subordinates. "Naoya, handle this."
Naoya stepped forward, performing a series of hand signs.
Takashi panicked, his face pale with fear. "No, wait! I'll talk! Please, don't—"
But Naoya ignored him, activating a Genjutsu to probe the pirate's mind.
"Now, tell me. Who are you, and why are you here?"
Under the influence of the Genjutsu, Takashi was unable to resist. His eyes glazed over as he began to speak in a dull monotone.
"We're just pirates. We stayed here because…"
However, as soon as he tried to explain their connection to Baishi, the curse activated. His body stiffened, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Naoya crouched down to examine him. After a few moments, he stood and reported, "Captain, this man has been marked with a Cursed Seal."
Yumura Ki's gaze shifted to the other pirates. "Do you all bear the same mark?"
The pirates frantically nodded like chickens pecking at grain.
"This just got a lot more complicated…" Yumura Ki muttered, frowning.
As the shinobi tried to make sense of the situation, one of the Kirigakure guards suddenly shouted, "Who's there?"
Instantly, all the shinobi drew their kunai and turned toward the guard who had called out.
Following his gaze, they spotted a young boy, no older than thirteen or fourteen, standing on a tree branch.
It was Baishi.
Casually deflecting a kunai hurled at him, Baishi scanned the group of shinobi below.
"Kirigakure?" he murmured to himself, recognizing the wave symbol on their headbands.
"Who are you?" one of the Kirigakure jōnin demanded.
Baishi ignored the question, instead counting the shinobi aloud. "One, two, three… sixteen, seventeen… twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven."
At first, the Kirigakure shinobi were confused. But as they realized he was counting their numbers, anger flared in their eyes.
Unable to bear the provocation, one shinobi threw another kunai.
To Baishi, the attack was laughably slow. His Agility stat of 85 granted him reaction speeds far beyond what these shinobi could comprehend.
While effortlessly dodging, he stretched out his senses to confirm the presence of eight more shinobi stationed on the ship offshore.
"So, 35 in total. Three jōnin, eight tokubetsu jōnin, and twenty-four chūnin," Baishi calculated. "Pretty standard for two full teams with a captain."
"I hope this was just an accidental discovery," he thought.
With a flash of chakra, Baishi activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, teleporting to a marked pirate near Naoya.
In the blink of an eye, a scream tore through the air.
"Naoya!" one of the shinobi shouted.
But before anyone could react, more screams followed.
In mere moments, Baishi had slain Naoya, one tokubetsu jōnin, and six chūnin.
Most of the Kirigakure shinobi didn't even see what had happened. Only Yumura Ki managed to catch a glimpse of Baishi's movements.
Seeing Baishi's face, Yumura Ki's heart sank. He recognized the boy.
This wasn't just any enemy—it was Shū, a Konoha ninja who wielded the legendary Wood Release and the deadly Flying Thunder God Technique.
Realizing the danger, Yumura Ki barked orders. "Everyone, stay alert! It's the Flying Thunder God! Watch for the kunai he throws!"
Baishi smirked. "If that's all it took to counter Flying Thunder God, the Fourth Hokage wouldn't be so feared," he muttered to himself.
Ignoring Yumura Ki's warning, Baishi scanned the shinobi's formation and activated the Flying Thunder God Technique again.
In an instant, he appeared beside another pirate, startling a nearby Kirigakure shinobi.
The shinobi didn't hesitate to attack, but Baishi was faster. Before the man could land a blow, Baishi's kunai slashed across his throat.
The remaining shinobi hurled their own kunai at Baishi, but by the time their weapons reached him, his figure had already vanished.
Another round of screams echoed through the clearing as Baishi claimed more lives.
The Kirigakure shinobi were now in complete disarray.
"He's using the pirates to move between us! Stay away from them!" one shinobi shouted.
Hearing this, Baishi smirked. "Well, they've figured it out. No matter."
He formed a series of hand seals, then slammed his hands together.
"Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"
(End of Chapter)
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