Chapter 27: The Clash Between Pirates and Ninjas 

On the open sea, a ship from Kirigakure Village sailed ahead. 

Not far behind, a pirate ship with a skull flag appeared on the water. 

"Sir! There is a pirate ship!" 

The soldiers on board were terrified. 

Why was there a pirate ship in these waters? 

And from the look of it, these weren't just ordinary pirates. 

"Pirates? How could there be pirates here?" 

A middle-aged man, clearly a high-ranking officer, frowned. 

Judging by the way they were approaching, they were definitely coming straight for them. 

This was too strange. 

A pirate crew this well-trained appearing in the Land of Water's territory? 

Even ignoring how well-built that ship was, just the weapons on board made the officer's scalp tingle. 

If they got too close, his ship probably wouldn't survive even a single round of attacks. 

There was no way these were ordinary pirates. 

Were they mercenaries from the black market sent to target the Land of Water? 

"Chojuro-sama!" 

The middle-aged man quickly ran into the cabin. 

Their transport ship was under the protection of Kirigakure Village's ninjas. At this moment, the only ones they could rely on were the ninjas on board. 

"What happened?" 

Inside the cabin, Chojuro seemed to be discussing something with the others. Among them, a man in a black cloak with red clouds stood out, looking out of place. This man was Kakuzu. 

"It's pirates! We've been targeted by pirates." 

"The enemy is well-equipped. Our guards may not be able to hold them off. Chojuro-sama, please take action." 

The middle-aged man was sweating—not because of the pirates, but because he felt immense pressure from being stared at by a room full of ninjas. 

"Just some pirates. How many ships do they have?" 

One of the ninjas spoke with disdain after hearing the report. 

They weren't here to deal with pirates, but lending a hand wasn't a big deal. Sometimes… 

People say that many ants can bring down an elephant. Unfortunately, in reality, that just doesn't happen. Ants will always be ants. 

If these pirates dared to cause trouble now, they were asking for death. 

The others had the same thought. They were in the middle of discussing something important—having some small-time pirates get in the way was just annoying. 

"O-One ship… They only have one ship." 

The officer spoke with a trembling voice. He could tell the ninjas were getting a little irritated. 

"Just one?" 

"Yes, just one." 

"…" 

Silence. 

All the ninjas fell into silence. 

Were these pirates out of their minds? Did they have any idea who was on this ship? 

They actually dared to attack this vessel. 

"I'll take care of it." 

The ninja who had spoken earlier stood up. With his level of skill, taking down a single ship was nothing. 

"Take two more with you. Be careful. They might not be complete fools." 

From the corner, Kakuzu spoke coldly. 

He was a major figure in the underground black market. 

Not only was he powerful, but his experience far surpassed others. The moment he spoke, the other ninjas immediately became more serious. 

"Better to be cautious. I'll go too." 

An older man stood up, followed by another ninja. 

All the ninjas here were at least at the jonin level. As for why they were in this place, their reasons were similar to Zabuza's—it was all about the money. 

But unlike pirates, their profession was bounty hunting in the underground black market. 

On the other side, Zabuza stood at the bow of the ship, watching the three figures approaching from the distance. It had been a long time since he had unsheathed the Kubikiribocho. 

The blade had fully recovered. Right now, Zabuza could fight at 120% of his full strength. 

Against an ordinary elite jonin, Zabuza would never lose. On top of that, his ability to push beyond his limits made him even more dangerous. 

If there were two words to describe him at this moment, they would be: terrifying force. 

"Full speed ahead!" 

"Men, take aim!" 

Zabuza stood bare-chested, his forehead protector long gone. 

He had no connection to Kirigakure Village or his past identity anymore. 

Boom!! 

In the next instant, ten cannons fired from the ship at the same time. 

The deafening explosions shattered the calm sea, sending shockwaves through the water. The once-still surface erupted into violent waves. 

Zabuza stood against the heatwave rushing toward him. The pirate ship's artillery fire seemed to ignite something deep inside him. 

Everything he had been through in Kirigakure Village was now reduced to nothing but ashes. 

For the village? What a joke. 

He, Zabuza, was no one's tool. 

"Men, charge with me!" 

Zabuza was the first to rush forward. 

"Attack!" 

"Go!" 

"!!" 

The remaining crew members rushed off the ship. 

The sea began to freeze, and frost spread toward Kirigakure Village's ship. 

The three ninjas saw Zabuza charging toward them and sneered in their hearts. 

"A ninja? So what? It's one against three. The advantage is ours." 

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" 

"Wind Style: Turbulent Fang Blade!" 

"Water Style: Water Restraint Technique!" 

All three ninjas completed their jutsu at the same time. 

A dragon made of seawater surged toward Zabuza, while five tentacle-like water whips lashed at him from the front. 

At the same time, countless wind blades cut across the water ahead of him. 

"Against this kind of attack, even an elite jonin can only dodge." 

"But once you dodge, even more attacks will follow." 

These three ninjas were veterans. They aimed to kill with no hesitation. Mercy? Not an option. 

Just as they were about to launch their next strike— 

"Blade-less Sword Art: Shattered Lake!" 

Zabuza swung the Kubikiribocho in his hand. 

At the moment of the swing, his arm suddenly swelled, and a surge of power flowed from his arm into the massive blade. 

In an instant, countless flashes of the blade burst out, forming a web of slashes. 

The surrounding air and seawater were torn apart, making a sharp, ear-piercing sound. 

The blade light clashed with the three ninjas' jutsu—Water Dragon Bullet, Water Prison, Wind Blade—each one was sliced apart. 

As the fading flashes of the blade disappeared into the distance, the three ninjas felt a tingling pain on their skin. 

"Retreat!" 

They reacted quickly, immediately retreating beyond Zabuza's attack range. 

As the mist from the attack began to clear, their eyes locked onto Zabuza, watching the frost creeping across the ground. 

At that moment, the three Jonin wore grim expressions. 

Terrifying. His power was absolutely terrifying. 

That attack just now had shaken them to their core. 

This guy's strength was on another level—completely unreasonable. 

As they noticed the swarm of pirates charging forward behind Zabuza, the elder of the three quickly stepped back. 

"It's a ninja attack!" 

"Call for reinforcements." 

 With that, he flickered away, vanishing from the battlefield. 

The other two quickly followed suit when they saw the frost spreading to their feet. 

Meanwhile, on the Kirigakure ship, a commanding officer turned pale at the sight. 

Panicking, he rushed back into the cabin. 

"This is bad! Chojuro-sama, those three ninjas lost!" 

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