Meanwhile, on one of the Mist Village's warships, Fuguki Suikazan stood at the bow, leading his crew as they drew closer to the Konoha merchant vessels.
Aside from Fuguki, the ship carried two full squads of Mist ninja, all of them eagerly waiting for the signal to attack and destroy the merchant ships.
"If there's anything valuable, take it. Kill everyone else," Fuguki growled, his sharp teeth gleaming as he grinned.
With his already strange appearance, Fuguki's grin was downright terrifying. If he popped out at night, he'd scare the hell out of anyone.
As for the Konoha escort ships, he didn't even consider them a threat. Compared to Mist Village's warships, Konoha's ships were practically toys. And he wasn't the least bit worried about Konoha's protective squad.
"Yes, sir!" the Mist ninjas responded eagerly, gearing up for battle.
But just then, a sudden flash of blue light pierced through the thick mist. It shot straight toward Fuguki at the bow like a bolt of lightning.
Blue light?
Not good. Danger!
That's lightning chakra!
Fuguki Suikazan's eyes, as large as saucers, contracted slightly as he instinctively grabbed the Samehada from his back and brought it in front of him.
Boom!
A crackling blue bolt of lightning struck the blade, making the living sword let out a grumbling protest. Its spiked scales sizzled, turning black in patches.
That was close!
Fuguki didn't even have time to worry about Samehada's complaints. Cold sweat dripped down his back as the reality of the situation sank in.
The Mist ninja behind him, who had been just about to launch their attack on the Konoha merchant ship, stood frozen in shock. None of them had expected to be ambushed first.
What was worse was that they hadn't sensed the enemy at all.
In Mist Village, the Silent Killing Technique was a badge of pride. It allowed the Mist ninja to become invisible in the fog, masking their presence while distorting their enemies' senses. Even the best sensor ninjas could fall prey to it.
But today, the Silent Killing Technique had completely failed.
The enemy had slipped through their fog without a sound. If that attack had targeted anyone other than Fuguki, there would have been corpses littering the deck already.
Is that... a weird type of lightning jutsu? Could it be Cloud Village ninja?
Fuguki let Samehada soak up his chakra for repairs, all the while keeping his bulging eyes glued to the foggy sea.
A second flash of blue lightning split the dense mist, and a shadowy figure began to approach the ship.
"Tch, Ninja Art: Needle Senbon Barrage!"
Still shaken from the initial attack, Fuguki quickly formed hand seals, hoping to force the intruder out of hiding.
He wanted to see exactly who had the audacity to attack them.