Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

The people on the merchant ship had long since descended into chaos. Sailors and merchants rushed out of the cabin, leaning over the railing to look down. When they saw the small boats charging out of the dense fog and the Kirigakure ninjas on them, their expressions changed drastically, faces filled with terror.

Some felt their legs give way, unable to stand steady against the railing, while others turned and fled back into the cabin, desperately trying to find a place to hide.

"We are a trading vessel! We only have goods on board! Why are you doing this, my lords?"

The captain's voice rang out from the bow, hoarse and trembling.

He stood at the very front, raising his hands above his head in an attempt to show the Kirigakure ninjas that he harbored no hostility.

But the Kirigakure ninjas remained completely unmoved. Their eyes were cold, looking at them like a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

The small boats came to a halt on the water. The ninjas leaped off, landing on the surface and sprinting across the water toward the merchant ship.

Their footsteps were incredibly light, making only the faintest sounds against the water, but to the people on the merchant ship, it sounded like the approaching footsteps of the grim reaper.

Subconsciously, the captain cast his gaze toward the two passengers hitching a ride at the bow of the ship.

Uchiha Taiga and Yugito Nii.

They had boarded halfway through the journey, claiming they were heading to Kirigakure. When the captain saw the ninja swords at their waists, his heart had skipped a beat. He didn't dare refuse, nor did he dare ask too many questions, so he could only let them board.

After all, these two were clearly ninjas, and ninjas were the last people you wanted to provoke in the ninja world. The captain had simply made what he believed was the right decision.

During this time, the two had been very quiet on board. They didn't cause any trouble or pick any fights. Every day, they just watched the sea, ate, and slept. The captain had almost forgotten there were two ninjas on his ship.

But now, he remembered.

Because of this, the captain's eyes were full of pleading, his intentions painfully obvious.

Yugito Nii didn't speak, nor did she look at the captain. She lowered her hand from her sword, leaned forward slightly, and vanished from the bow.

Her speed was purely physical, yet astonishingly fast. Leaping from the ship, she landed on the water and charged straight at the Kirigakure ninjas.

A trail of water splashed up behind her. Before the droplets could even fall back down, she had already reached the ninja at the very front.

A cold gleam flashed.

The ninja had barely raised his sword when a silver streak slashed across his wrist.

His wrist went numb, and the sword slipped from his grasp, spinning through the air before plunging into the water with a splash.

The man's eyes widened, his mouth falling open. Before he could even utter a sound, a kick slammed into his abdomen. He folded over like a cooked shrimp and flew backward, crashing into another ninja behind him. The two tumbled into a tangled heap.

Yugito didn't stop. Her body spun across the water, her sword weaving through the Kirigakure ninjas like a silver snake.

Amidst the flashing blade, kunai were knocked away, leg muscles were sliced open, and shoulders were pierced. Men screamed as they collapsed onto the water.

In the blink of an eye, blood dyed the seawater, looking exceptionally glaring against the white foam.

Someone cast a jutsu. Thick fog surged from the water, swallowing everything in the vicinity in an instant.

Visibility dropped to absolute zero; you couldn't even see your own fingers in front of your face. Under the cover of the dense fog, the Kirigakure ninjas silently closed in on Yugito, their swords glinting coldly in the mist.

But Yugito herself was a master of assassination.

As the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, she had undergone countless assassination training sessions. Fighting in thick fog was like returning home for her. Her ears twitched, catching the faintest sound of footsteps on the water, and then she moved.

The blade flashed through the dense fog, every gleam accompanied by a muffled groan or a scream.

The Kirigakure ninjas fell one by one. Some clutched their throats, some held their arms, and others lay motionless on the water, the sea beneath them turning red.

Someone attempted to use Water Style. A water dragon erupted from the surface, lunging fiercely at Yugito.

The water dragon wasn't massive, but it was incredibly fast, its gaping maw large enough to swallow a person whole.

Yugito didn't dodge. She tapped lightly against the water, leaping several meters into the air to vault right over the water dragon.

The dragon rushed past beneath her feet and crashed against the side of the merchant ship, sending up a massive spray of water. The ship rocked a few times but remained largely unharmed.

She flipped halfway in the air, pointing her sword downward, the tip aimed directly at the ninja who had cast the jutsu.

The ninja looked up, his pupils shrinking violently at the sight of the descending blade.

He wanted to dodge, but his body couldn't react in time.

The tip of the sword stopped right in front of his eyes, less than an inch from his eyeball.

He didn't dare move a muscle.

Yugito landed in front of him, her feet resting on the water. She pointed her sword at his face, her expression as calm as if she were doing something entirely trivial.

"Don't move."

The man's body stiffened, and the kunai in his hand slipped into the water with a soft plop.

The surrounding fog gradually dispersed.

Over a dozen corpses floated on the water, along with seven or eight injured ninjas groaning on the surface. Blood had dyed a large patch of the sea, gleaming with a dark red hue under the sunlight.

Among the survivors, some clutched their wounds, some tried to swim away, and others lay perfectly still on the water, pretending to be dead.

Yugito grabbed the ninja she had subdued, kicked off the water, and leaped back onto the deck of the merchant ship.

She tossed the man at Uchiha Taiga's feet, her movements as casual as throwing away a bag of trash.

The ninja sprawled on the ground, completely drenched, his clothes stained with seawater and blood.

His mask had been knocked off during the fight, revealing the face of a middle-aged man. He was pale, his lips purple, and his eyes were filled with fear and defiance.

The most eye-catching detail was his forehead protector. A deep scratch ran straight through the middle, splitting the Kirigakure symbol in two.

A Rogue Ninja.

Uchiha Taiga raised an eyebrow, looking down at the middle-aged man with keen interest.

"A rogue ninja?"

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and looked up at Taiga, his gaze holding nothing but the stubborn resolve of someone ready to die.

His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately, no words came out.

It was obvious this man knew his fate. What else awaited a rogue ninja who fell into enemy hands besides death?

Since he was going to die, he might as well die with some dignity.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Taiga smiled.

"Pretty tough, aren't you?"

A red light flashed in his eyes.

The Sharingan was activated for less than a second, but that one second was more than enough.

The middle-aged man's body jolted violently. His gaze shifted from stubborn defiance to bewilderment, and then to complete emptiness. He opened his mouth and began to speak, his voice mechanical and flat, like he was reading a report.

"We are rogue ninjas from Kirigakure. We couldn't stand the village's Bloody Mist policy, couldn't stand the endless slaughter and purges. Thirty-seven of us banded together, planning to establish a base on the outskirts of Kirigakure, gather supplies, and disrupt the village's environment to force more people to join us and end the Bloody Mist policy together. We thought this ship was a village supply vessel, which is why we attacked."

After he finished speaking, his mouth closed, and his eyes gradually regained focus.

He blinked, seemingly not yet realizing what had just happened, but then his expression changed drastically as he remembered what he had just said.

Taiga wasn't particularly surprised after hearing this.

Kirigakure was exactly like this during this era; the title 'Village of the Bloody Mist' wasn't just for show.

Murder was a trend, purges were an addiction, and a sense of madness permeated the village from top to bottom. It was perfectly normal for people to snap and defect.

He shook his head, looking at the middle-aged man with a hint of exasperation in his tone.

"So, before making your plans, you didn't carefully verify your targets?"

The middle-aged man looked awful. He gritted his teeth and remained silent, his eyes reverting to that stubborn, death-defying glare, making him look pitifully obstinate.

Seeing him act like this, Taiga sighed helplessly and raised a hand, pointing into the distance.

"Still don't get it? Is this why you led the Kirigakure ANBU here?"

The middle-aged man's expression changed instantly. He whipped his head around, following the direction of Taiga's finger.

Out on the distant sea, a fleet of three ships was emerging from the dense fog.

The ships weren't large, nor were they particularly fast. Their hulls were pitch-black, and they flew no flags. Several figures stood at the bow, wearing Kirigakure ANBU uniforms and animal masks, with ninja swords hanging at their waists. Through the masks, their cold gazes were fixed on this exact location.

The color drained completely from the middle-aged man's face, his lips trembling.

"No..."

His voice was so faint it was almost inaudible.

"How could this..."