Ordinary people rarely get to see ninjas in action. Proper ninjas from a hidden village, if they don't have a mission, generally won't interact with civilians outside their village.
For the people of the Land of Fish—an island nation with no ninja village—some of them might go their entire lives without ever seeing what a ninja even looks like.
Ninjas, though living in the same world as them, had previously only existed in the exaggerated stories their elders told in daily conversation.
But today, these fishermen had finally witnessed the terror of ninjas.
The thick, fishy stench drifting over from the distance reminded them—this was all real.
That octopus sea monster, which they had been completely helpless against and which had destroyed who knew how many fishing boats and fishermen, had been chopped into minced meat in just a few moves by the ninja-sama.
If those ninjutsu had been used on a human body… it would definitely hurt, right?
Quite a few people muttered to themselves in shock.
"Too amazing… so this is what a ninja is like?"
"We should have asked ninja-sama for help long ago."
"Yeah… if we had done it earlier, so many people wouldn't have died."
"The monster's dead. From now on, we don't have to worry anymore."
When Makoto and his team interacted with ordinary people during missions, they had heard this kind of reaction many times—nothing new.
That's just how ninjas are. Although they are the absolute dominant force in this world, their total numbers are still tiny compared to the vast population of civilians.
And they tend to stay holed up inside their villages, entertaining themselves, rarely wandering outside. So it's only natural for civilians to be shocked the first time they see them.
Yūgao looked at the foul-smelling sea in front of her and asked, "Is there only this one monster?"
Yamato replied, "Probably not. Didn't that official say earlier there were other threats too?"
Makoto said, "Forget that for now. Let's save the people first."
The four of them immediately stepped onto the water and rushed toward the attacked fishing boat, gathering the remaining fishermen who had fallen into the sea onto broken floating planks.
This fishing boat wasn't small—it had more than a dozen fishermen on board. But in a short time, nearly half of them had already been eaten by the octopus monster.
The survivors were still in shock, their faces pale with lingering fear.
Some felt lucky to be alive. Others grieved the deaths of those beside them.
Those who had been swallowed whole by the monster's tentacles had died instantly. Even if they hadn't been torn apart by the dense rows of teeth, the Lightning Release on the tentacles had already cooked them through.
In any world, when disaster strikes, the powerless are always just that—powerless.
Sometimes Makoto thought: if he hadn't been reborn in the ninja world as someone from Konohagakure, he would probably have been just like them—struggling day by day for food, and then someday dying in some unknown corner.
...
The fishing town official directed a fleet of boats closer, pulling the surviving fishermen aboard.
The official's attitude was even more respectful than before: "Ninja-sama, thank you very much for eliminating the sea monster for the Land of Fish."
Makoto replied, "No need to be polite. This is our mission. Aside from this octopus monster, are there any other threats in this sea that endanger fishermen?"
"Yes, there are, my lord. There's also a group of sharks that roam around. According to fishermen who survived encounters with them, there are about twenty of them. They can spit water bullets—each shot can pierce straight through a wooden fishing boat."
"All along, it's been this giant octopus and those sharks that posed the biggest threat. The others aren't that dangerous—we can handle them ourselves."
Listening to the description, Makoto felt those water bullets sounded like a simplified version of Water Release: Water Bullet Technique.
These sharks… could they be summoning beasts raised by ninja from the Land of Water?
"I see. Then take us to the area where these sharks usually appear. Hopefully we can find them quickly and eliminate the threat completely for you."
The short, fat official pointed at the blood-stained seawater left behind by the octopus monster: "No need to look, ninja-sama. Based on past experience, those things will soon smell the blood and come over on their own."
"Is that so? Then we'll wait and see."
The man wasn't lying. After a while, Makoto sensed a group of sharks appearing in the distant sea, rushing over in excitement.
They were genuinely excited—chakra could carry a hint of emotion.
They were like a group of people who had just awakened their instincts, spotting an unattended supermarket.
Not only that—the chakra signatures on them were very obvious. They were either escaped summoning beasts from Kirigakure, or artificially created by someone.
All living beings in the ninja world possess chakra, but most—like ordinary humans—have it dormant within their cells, unable to refine or utilize it. Only through training or modification can they qualify as summoning beasts.
These sharks were incredibly fast in the water. Makoto immediately said, "They're here. Hurry—get off the boats and fight. Don't let the sharks get close to the fishing fleet."
"Yes." ×3
The four of them moved to the spot where the octopus monster had been killed—the sharks' destination as well.
Logically speaking, with the sea below filled with blood and food, the sharks shouldn't have had any interest in the four people standing on the water's surface.
After all, they were motionless and uninjured—ordinary sharks wouldn't consider them targets.
But these sharks were different. According to the official and fishermen, they liked attacking humans and human-made objects, just like the octopus monster.
They seemed to possess a certain level of intelligence—and even hostility toward humans.
Sure enough, after arriving, the sharks immediately shifted targets. Ignoring the sinking octopus corpse entirely, they charged straight at the four of them with clear intent.
As they approached, the sharks opened their massive, fang-filled jaws beneath the water's surface and fired out huge water spheres—each about the size of a washbasin, moving as fast as cannonballs.
So it really was ninjutsu. These water spheres weren't just seawater—they were attacks formed by chakra condensing seawater.
Makoto stopped his teammates who were about to act: "I'll test their power first."
He raised both hands forward, forming a defensive ninjutsu in front of them.
Sage Art: Earth Release: One-Horn Great Wall!
Countless water projectiles slammed into the barrier, producing a rapid series of impacts—but they were completely ineffective, unable to break through.
The sharks didn't care. Like a rookie who had just gotten their hands on a gun, their fingers glued to the trigger, they kept firing until they ran out.
Though these sharks had some intelligence, it wasn't much. Unlike ninjas, they didn't change tactics when their attacks failed.
They simply poured out their energy recklessly. Once their naturally accumulated chakra was exhausted, they switched to close combat, intending to tear apart their prey with their teeth.
If every enemy he encountered in the future were like this, Makoto would laugh in his sleep.
This was basically suicidal behavior.
"Move."
Makoto spoke lightly.
As usual, he pressed both hands onto the water's surface. Any shark that approached was inexplicably lifted out of the sea by currents. Then Hayate and Yūgao rushed forward, their blades infused with Wind Release chakra, stabbing directly into the sharks' brains.
Their offensive power was sufficient, but their defense was lacking. But it didn't matter—they focused on killing, while defense and aggro control were handled by the strongest support.
As for sharks approaching from other directions, Yamato silently formed hand seals and plunged his right hand into the water. Several twisted Wood Release branches shot out, skewering the sharks underwater like candied fruit on a stick.
Compared to that, Wood Release was far more versatile—offense and defense in one, perfect for everyday use. It could even help with environmental greening when idle.
The shark group was quickly wiped out.
Makoto deliberately left one alive—the one that seemed the smartest—and used Water Release to restrain it in front of him.
The several-meter-long shark was massive and intimidating, its mouth full of blade-like teeth.
Unfortunately, trapped in the Water Prison Technique, it looked like a pitiful, helpless girl.
Makoto reached out and left a Flying Thunder God mark on it, then released the technique.
Freed, the surviving shark immediately flicked its tail and fled at top speed.
Yūgao asked curiously, "Captain, what are you planning to do with it?"
Makoto explained, "This place is far from Kirigakure. These sharks are probably not summoning beasts raised by them. Like the octopus monster earlier, they may have been created by some organization. I want to investigate—but whether it will return to its lair is another matter."
A few days earlier, after receiving the Third Hokage's mission, Makoto had already suspected that the sea monsters threatening the Land of Fish might originate from a Summoning Island.
And there seemed to be a Uzumaki survivor there—he wanted to try finding them.
He vaguely remembered that the person had good talent and knew quite a few Uzumaki sealing techniques, which suggested their parents likely held a high status within the Uzumaki clan.
But the location of the Summoning Island was known to very few. The ocean was vast—if he couldn't find it, there wasn't much he could do.
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