Intelligence from the Land of Whirlpools (PK’s underway! Please keep reading!)

Splat!

Little Rain had just reached out to take back her broken bowl when she turned and saw the distant ship, startling her into falling flat on her bottom.

Her chubby little face stiffened slightly. Holding her breath, she bit her lip hard with a row of baby teeth, her tiny body trembling uncontrollably.

The sight of that ship seemed to have touched upon a shadow in her heart.

"Don’t be afraid."

Compared to the young girl, Uncle Plum Rain appeared much calmer. He picked her up and comforted her. "They’re just water bandits."

Rather than calmness, though, it was more like he was used to it.

Drifting through the waters of the various nations in the ninja world, they were bound to encounter water bandits now and then.

As long as they paid them off a little, the water bandits generally would not take lives.

As Lord Yun Chuan had once put it, water bandits also believed in "sustainable development."

"This time, I’m afraid it won’t be that simple."

Yun Chuan shook his head inwardly but said nothing. Gently pinching Little Rain’s cheek, he smiled warmly. "I’m here, aren’t I? Don’t worry."

With that, he looked toward Uncle Plum Rain, whose face was full of apology, and instructed him, "I’ll have to trouble you to look after these children."

"Don’t worry, Lord Yun Chuan." Uncle Plum Rain nodded solemnly. "I’m old now, with only half a life left in me, but I’ll hold these children high."

In an instant, Yun Chuan vanished from where he stood.

At the same time, Jiyun, who had been watching the show, vanished from the ship as well.

On a ship not far away, the deck had been dyed red with blood.

Several mutilated corpses lay amid pools of blood.

The figures in raincoats walked across the deck, crouching to carefully rummage through the bodies sprawled on the ground. Every corpse wore an expression of terror and bewilderment, clearly having encountered something dreadful before death.

This was a passenger ship, but unfortunately, it had caught this group’s attention.

Water bandits usually let people go after collecting a toll. They would not engage in such a one-off, money-losing business.

But unfortunately, this group was not made up of water bandits.

Their clothing was uniform, their training rigorous, and their duties clearly assigned.

They were wandering Rogue Ninja.

"Damn it, what rotten luck!"

The leader wore a gas mask, while a slashed Kirigakure Headband rested on his forehead.

Flicking a stack of money bills in his hand, he sneered. "A bunch of paupers, and this is all the money they had!"

"Boss." One man approached him and urged, "We’ve finished searching. Let’s get out of here."

The Rogue Ninja Leader frowned. "Why the rush?"

"I heard there’s a recently emerged organization not far from here. They’ve already taken on quite a few Assassination Missions."

Lowering his voice, the man sighed. "We barely escaped from Third Hokage’s Mad Dogs. The brothers haven’t rested in days, so we’d better not run into them."

Hearing that, the Rogue Ninja Leader narrowed his eyes and cursed under his breath, "This is damn humiliating. Once I sell village intelligence at the Exchange Office, I’m sure Konoha and the Land of Whirlpools will be interested!"

Though he continued grumbling, his hands came together as he swiftly formed seals.

Ox! Snake! Ram!

Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!

Mist rapidly rose around them. The blood mist seemed to grow even thicker, shrouding the ship in dreamlike fog.

The Rogue Ninja Leader nodded in satisfaction. "Now we won’t have to worry about being discovered, right?"

At the same time, two figures suddenly appeared at the very top of the mast.

"Now we won’t have to worry about being discovered."

Looking at the Red Rain Mist spreading around them, Yun Chuan nodded as well and said softly, "I’ll use this chance to teach you a lesson."

Jiyun, whose mouth he had covered, looked completely confused, but she quickly caught on and tilted her head toward Yun Chuan beside her.

Yun Chuan looked at the still somewhat immature girl and pointed below without lowering his head. "Pay attention to the guy standing at the bow."

The girl froze for a moment and instinctively lowered her head to look in that direction, only for Yun Chuan to immediately cover her eyes with his hand.

"Eyes are useful things, but you need to learn to observe targets with your peripheral vision."

Yun Chuan shook his head and said softly, "Ninja are highly sensitive to other people’s gazes. Before you truly make your move, don’t stare directly at the target you intend to assassinate."

"Likewise, before acting, don’t casually reveal your killing intent. For ninja, things like a sixth sense are real."

Jiyun learned quickly and obeyed well. She shifted her gaze slightly and looked over with her peripheral vision.

At the bow, roughly a hundred meters below, a Rogue Ninja with rolled-up sleeves revealing tattoos was lowering his head to examine a bottle of Sake in his hand.

He seemed to have found it while searching the ship and curiously pulled out the bottle’s wooden stopper.

Yet even as he did so, his eyes occasionally darted behind him. He was clearly habitually vigilant.

But in the next moment—

Jiyun suddenly noticed a black shadow appear behind that Rogue Ninja.

A faint smile rested on Yun Chuan’s face as he pressed a Kunai against the man’s heart.

Throughout the entire process, the Rogue Ninja had not noticed a thing, even with "death" pressed right against his ear.

Yun Chuan looked up at Jiyun on the mast, his Kunai poised to stab the Rogue Ninja.

"Hiss!"

In an instant, Jiyun clearly saw the Rogue Ninja shudder violently, suddenly drawing the Kunai at his waist and turning to block.

But all he saw was bottomless, blood-red mist.

"Understand now?"

His voice returned beside Jiyun’s ear. "Kill the target before the target realizes anything."

Jiyun looked at Yun Chuan, who had somehow returned to sit beside her, then glanced at the Rogue Ninja below, who still had not reacted. Finally, she nodded expressionlessly.

"Very good."

Yun Chuan nodded in satisfaction, placing the Kunai in her hand. "The theoretical lesson is over. Next comes practical training."

As his words fell, he wrapped an arm around Jiyun’s shoulders.

In an instant, the two of them vanished from atop the mast.

They appeared behind that same Rogue Ninja again, two shadows, one large and one small.

Seven Nights Fluid Style!

Without any point of leverage, they shifted from absolute stillness into an unnatural, rapid descent.

Combined with Presence Concealment, it became the Ghostly Blade.

There was no sign of movement, no sound, no disturbance of the air.

A silent, ghostly assassin.

It suited a villain’s style quite well.

The next moment, Jiyun, held in Yun Chuan’s embrace, slightly raised her lowered eyelids and unhesitatingly drew the Kunai across the Rogue Ninja’s throat.

Splurt!

A great spray of blood splashed across Jiyun’s face, instantly turning her vision red.

The Kirigakure Rogue Ninja, who had been tilting back his head to drink the Sake in his hand, had red liquor mixed with blood flowing down from his throat.

The blood mist on the ship seemed to grow even thicker at that moment.

"Too slow." Yun Chuan leaned close to her ear and said absentmindedly, "A person’s throat is like a water pipe. If you aren’t quick enough, blood will spray from the wound."

Still, it was enough.

"Let me take it from here."

Yun Chuan turned toward the blood mist, seemingly looking at the Rogue Ninja Leader seated at the stern. He chuckled. "I’m rather curious about what this so-called ‘intelligence’ of his is."

Konoha, the Land of Whirlpools, Kirigakure…

Was this the opportunity he had been waiting for?