The ship was a steam-powered vessel. Hiding inside the cargo hold, one could hear the rumbling operation of the steam engine below, and from time to time also hear the "woo-woo" sound of steam release.
At first, it sounded a bit annoying. But after listening to it for a while, it became like white noise, making one drowsy.
There were more than a dozen people in the cargo hold. At this moment, most of them were sound asleep.
During dull travel, sleep is always the best way to kill time.
Sasuke wasn't asleep. He hid his hands inside his sleeves, practicing the hand signs for jutsu.
In order to personally take revenge one day, he didn't want to waste even a single second.
Ryosuke sat beside Sasuke, sitting cross-legged, his chest rising and falling in a special rhythm. With each inhale and exhale, the dim cargo hold seemed to become slightly brighter.
The passengers only felt their bodies warm, their tense nerves relaxing, and they slept even more sweetly.
Sasuke was the closest and felt it most clearly.
"You've succeeded in your training?"
Ryosuke slightly nodded.
It had been over a month since he obtained the Ripple Breathing Technique. While eating, sleeping, walking, he had always trained in accordance with the requirements of the breathing technique.
Perhaps it was the Uchiha's talent, or perhaps Ryosuke himself was naturally skilled. At the beginning of training, he could clearly feel that with his breathing, a thread of ripple stirred inside his body.
At first, it was very weak, like a dragonfly landing on duckweed, the ripples were faint.
Now, Ryosuke could finally control the ripples to move along his bloodstream and skin, releasing them externally, affecting the real world.
When the breathing technique is activated, Ryosuke's muscle strength would rise to three to five times that of an ordinary person, enough to shatter rocks with his bare hands.
Externally released ripples, as offense, could become invisible, burning-hot sharp blades; as defense, they could help him resist sudden impacts; and even if injured, they could be used for healing.
And it was different from the power gained through ninja training
Ninjas, in order to gain power, trained in ways that were relatively impatient and shortsighted.
Just like Muay Thai, when young, incredibly fierce; but when old, left with a body full of ailments.
The breathing technique, during the process of training, would continuously nourish Ryosuke's organs, extending his lifespan.
Seeing the envy in Sasuke's eyes, Ryosuke rubbed his little head.
"Once we get off the ship, I'll teach you."
"Okay!"
Sasuke nodded rapidly, beaming with joy.
Suddenly, his body tilted and he nearly fell. Fortunately, Ryosuke caught him in time.
The other passengers weren't so lucky. For a moment, cries of "ow" rang out repeatedly as more than a dozen people stumbled and fell all over the cargo hold.
The ship had stopped.
Rei, half-asleep, asked in a daze, "Mama, are we there?"
Rei's mother looked toward the air vent in the cargo hold, but from that narrow little window, nothing could be seen, she patted her daughter's head.
"The ship stopped. We should be there."
Rei's sleepiness vanished, her eyes blinked, "Yay! I can see Grandpa and Grandma!"
Since the Land of Water sealed its ports, most of the passengers were headed there to visit relatives, Rei and her mother were among them.
Ryosuke slightly frowned.
The timing wasn't right.
From the Land of Waves to the Land of Water by ship, it should take at least three days.
Although they were confined in the cargo hold, making time perception fuzzy, Ryosuke had been silently calculating the time.
Only two days of sailing had passed, there was still one day left.
They were still in the vast sea.
'Could it be Danzo's people catching up?'
Ryosuke pondered, giving Sasuke a look.
Sasuke nodded, quietly drawing out a kunai and hiding it in his sleeve, preparing to deal with possible danger.
Whoosh~
The cargo hold door, closed for two days, opened.
Suddenly, sunlight poured in. Ryosuke squinted slightly and saw the silhouettes of three people.
The bald samurai and two crew members.
The three stood at the door. The bald samurai swaggered in, walking shakily.
A thin man asked, "Sir, have we arrived?"
The bald samurai said, "Sorry, folks, a little hiccup occurred during the journey."
A granny curled up in a corner asked, "Wh-what hiccup?"
The bald samurai placed his hand on his sword hilt, swinging it left and right. The scabbard knocked against the cargo hold wall, clang clang, echoing through the hold. The passengers' hearts felt like they were being squeezed.
"We ran into pirates. But don't worry, under my persuasion, they agreed to let you all off… on the condition that you hand over anything valuable you're carrying… to buy your own lives."
The two crew members carried bags, strode up to the passengers, and regardless of consent, reached out to grab their luggage and packs.
"No! You can't take that, it's all I have left—"
The thin man who spoke first tried to snatch it back but was kicked over by a crew member. Just as he tried to get up, a blade was drawn across his face.
"Move again, and I'll kill you!"
The passengers realized, it wasn't pirates. Or rather, the samurai and crew from the Land of Waves were the pirates.
Under someone's roof, keeping their lives was more important than anything. One by one, the passengers unwillingly handed over their belongings.
"Don't touch me!" A scream rang out.
It was the bald samurai, he saw Rei's mother, curvaceous and beautiful, and seeing she was a married woman, developed lustful thoughts. His thieving hands wrapped around her waist, letting out a lecherous laugh, while saying vulgar words,
"Your t*ts are so big, let me see, maybe you've got something hidden in there?"
"Let go of my mom!" Rei pounced forward, punching the bald samurai in the crotch.
"Get lost!"
The bald samurai howled in pain, rage flaring. He swung a heavy slap toward Rei's face.
"Ah!"
A scream rang through the cargo hold.
But it didn't come from Rei.
A jet-black, icy kunai had pierced through the bald samurai's palm, pinning it to the wall of the cargo hold. Blood flowed down the wall.
Rei looked in the direction the kunai had flown from, and saw a cold-faced Sasuke.
At that moment, Sasuke understood what Ryosuke meant when he said, "When you think it's necessary."
No one needed to tell him, Sasuke naturally threw the kunai.
Whether in strength, speed, or precision, it far surpassed his usual practice.
Because this strike carried a power called "emotion."
A hand lightly landed on Sasuke's shoulder. He came back to his senses, the coldness in his expression turning into panic, "I'm sorry… I acted on my own…"
Sasuke had learned ninja tracking techniques. A professional tracker could determine which ninja village someone came from just by how they threw a kunai.
What he had done now was basically exposing his identity, possibly giving Konoha and Danzo's pursuers a direction.
"No need to apologize. You did well."
To have strength, and yet, when facing injustice or anger in the heart, hesitate and lack the courage to act, then what's the point of training?
Might as well go plant fields.
"I'll kill you all!"
The bald samurai pulled out the kunai stuck in the ground, and drew the katana at his waist. A faint blue glow appeared on the blade.
Samurai and ninja follow two different training systems. The former is simpler and more direct, one's entire training is in one sword, walking the path of "a single strike breaking all techniques."
Ryosuke stood up and pulled Sasuke behind him.
"Leave the rest to me."
Everyone in the cargo hold focused their gaze on Ryosuke.
"You're a ninja?!" The bald samurai interrogated.
"No," Ryosuke truthfully replied.
The bald samurai gripped his sword tightly, eyes full of rage, "Whether you are or not, today you die!"
Rei was held tightly in her mother's arms, her eyes full of fear.
"Die!"
The bald samurai roared, and with a vertical slash from above, hacked straight down at Ryosuke's face.
Ryosuke flicked his toe, kicking up the kunai that had fallen earlier. He raised his hand to catch it and met the incoming blade head-on.
The bald samurai's eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty delight.
His full-force katana slash, how could it be blocked by Ryosuke with one hand and a kunai?
This wasn't some cheap martial arts film.
Rei's mother couldn't bear to watch, covering her daughter's eyes.
Clang!
The crisp sound of weapons clashing echoed through the cargo hold, like ripples spreading outward.
"W-what?!"
The bald samurai stared in disbelief at the scene before him.
Not just him, the two crew members who had been waiting to see blood, and all the passengers, had their eyes widened.
The kunai had steadily blocked the long blade.
If it had only blocked, it could be attributed to Ryosuke's natural strength.
But Ryosuke had used the tip of the kunai to meet the edge of the katana, without a bit of deviation, without the slightest tremble, the two of them looked as if the whole thing was rehearsed.
This was the power of Ripple Breathing.
Full-spectrum enhancement of speed, strength, and reflexes.
Right now, Ryosuke was basically a smaller version of Star Platinum.
"Sir? What are you doing?! Cut him down already!" A crew member shouted.
The bald samurai panicked, did he not want to?
The katana felt like it was glued in place, completely immovable.
'What kind of ninjutsu is this?!'
Thin smoke rose from the bald samurai's palm, carrying a scorched stench of roasted flesh.
"AHH!"
The bald samurai screamed, trying to let go of the burning-hot sword, but his hands were firmly fixed, unable to move. The rage and fear in his expression intensified.
"Everyone here will be buried with your crimes! Remember, it's because of you they'll die!"
Ryosuke looked at him calmly. "Your kind of military-obsessed robber logic, besides speeding up your own death, serves no other purpose. Any last words?"
"I'll ki..."
Before the word "kill" was finished, Star Platinum's fist the size of a cooking pot smashed into the bald samurai's face.
Thunk!
Thunk!
Thunk!
Three heavy impacts in a row.
The bald samurai and two crew members were thrown out like ragged sacks, knocking over seven or eight cargo workers, crashing onto the deck, life or death unknown.
"Sir! Sir!"
"What happened?!"
Seeing the samurai fall, the crew members panicked, rushing over to pinch his philtrum.
Just then, they heard footsteps behind them.
Ryosuke walked out of the cargo hold, picked up a bag of spilled "white powder" from the ground, his voice icy, "This is what the Land of Waves sells?"
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