Hearing that order, the mercenaries who stayed on the ship all changed expressions.
They knew what a "suicide squad" meant, and they were well aware of the danger they faced. But in their imagination, that meant charging at the front lines during battle.
Now, from the sound of Ōnoki's son's order, it was obvious they were being used as disposable pawns to test for traps.
Dying on the battlefield and dying inside a trap, those were two completely different things.
The mercenaries immediately started making a scene, but just as their voices began to rise, they saw the cannons on the opposite ship turning toward them. The samurai there had all drawn their blades, and even the mercenaries who were supposed to be their allies on that other ship had pulled out their weapons,
Because if the people here refused to go, then it would be their turn next.
Ōnoki's son's voice came through the radio broadcast, "After the scouting mission is complete, survivors will have their reward doubled."
Under the threat of money and firepower, the mercenaries had no choice but to yield.
The ship Ryosuke was on slowly sailed into the mist, maintaining radio contact with the fleet behind them.
The fog was growing thicker and thicker, visibility less than twenty meters.
Standing at the bow, Ryosuke stretched out his hand. The mist coiled around his fingers, faint streaks of golden light flickering through it.
He looked up at the sky, the mist, glowing faintly with gold, hung like a giant net over the sea and sky, sealing off everything within from the world outside.
"Almost there," he murmured.
"This way, no message can get out."
Whoosh!
A filthy shoe came flying toward Ryosuke, but before it hit him, it shattered with a loud crack, its fragments carried away by the sea wind, disappearing into the fog.
Ryosuke turned around to see hundreds of mercenaries crowding around the Sound Four in the center. Another thirty or forty mercenaries stood apart, their bodies bruised and battered.
"Hey, you. Yeah, you."
Kidōmaru grinned viciously. "You and those guys, get on the lifeboats and lead the way for us. You'll go first."
Big fish eat small fish, small fish eat shrimp. That's how the world worked.
The strong like Ōnoki's son used them as bait to probe ahead; in turn, Kidōmaru and his group would use weaker mercenaries as expendable cannon fodder.
"Don't look so upset. The strong rule the weak, that's just the natural order of things."
"Be good, follow orders, scout the way, and maybe you'll live to collect your pay. But if you disobey..."
Kidōmaru's sleeve tore open, revealing three arms on each side. The oppressive aura of a strong fighter burst out.
"You'll die here on this ship."
The Sound Four's strength was considerable, even by ninja village standards, they were not to be underestimated. Combined with their Cursed Seals and bizarre combat style, different from normal ninjutsu, their overall power sat somewhere between chunin and jonin.
And with hundreds of lackeys under them, the forty-odd isolated mercenaries had no chance to resist. They could only grit their teeth and start carrying the lifeboats.
Kidōmaru relished the sight.
This was the power that came with strength, the right to control others. He had always enjoyed that feeling. Perhaps that was why, after undergoing his physical modifications, the ability he gained was spider silk.
He couldn't help but think of the late Orochimaru, clenching his fists.
"Orochimaru-sama, watch over us. We'll invade the Land of Water's territory. One day, I'll cut off Ryosuke's head myself to honor your spirit in heaven."
Kidōmaru was lost between pride and grief when suddenly, a hand pressed down lightly on the lifeboat.
Bang!
The lifeboat slammed heavily onto the deck, drawing everyone's attention.
"They can't leave," Ryosuke said calmly. "No one can leave."
He'd finally gathered so many people, it would be a shame to let some of them go now.
Hearing that, the forty-odd mercenaries thought someone was finally standing up for them. Their eyes lit up in hope.
"You looking to die?!"
Kidōmaru squinted and gave Jirōbō a signal.
Jirōbō, tall and muscular, looked bulky but was all solid muscle. To cement his control of the ship, he didn't give Ryosuke the slightest chance to resist. He immediately activated his Cursed Seal, entering the "Level 1" state.
From his neck outward, black arrow-like marks spread across his body, making his already massive frame even more imposing. As he charged forward, he was like a raging brown bear.
"One hit!"
Jirōbō roared and swung his fist. "One hit to kill..."
He didn't finish. Ryosuke raised his hand, briefly crossing his index and middle fingers before flicking his index finger lightly, like he was snapping someone's forehead. The fingertip met Jirōbō's descending fist...
Splat!
A spray of blood and flesh exploded like a rainstorm.
Jirōbō froze mid-punch. His right arm, no, his entire right side, was gone. The men standing behind him were now nothing more than "bloody figures."
The scene was too shocking.
A moment later, Kidōmaru leapt up, his body turning pitch black, his face ghastly like a demon, and with six arms spread wide, he looked like a humanoid spider.
Not just him, Sakon, Ukon, and Tayuya all entered their "Cursed Seal Level 2" forms, crossing paths as they lunged at Ryosuke.
Hundreds of underlings shouted and cheered.
The forty cannon-fodder mercenaries prayed.
And more of the mercenaries stayed neutral, waiting to side with whoever won.
Shouts and murmurs filled the air, each with their own motives. Yet, not a single mercenary showed fear. Their faces glowed with excitement, thrilled to witness the clash of powerhouses.
But that excitement vanished, leaving behind only terror.
The noisy deck fell dead silent. The only sound was the faint "click-whirr" of a disc ejecting.
Kidōmaru, Tayuya, and Sakon/Ukon rushed in, only to see the unmistakable white serpent-like features, and two discs ejecting from Ryosuke's side.
"Ryosuke!"
They suddenly remembered that face.
How had they forgotten it?
He hadn't changed at all, yet moments ago, none of them recognized him, they'd mistaken him for some random man.
'What kind of eerie ability is this?!'
But now it was too late.
Just moments ago, Kidōmaru had been swearing vengeance for Orochimaru, vowing to kill Ryosuke himself. Now, he was the first to turn and flee, shooting spider silk as he ran, yanking a few mercenaries to use as shields, and hurling them toward Ryosuke.
The others bolted in different directions.
And not just them, more mercenaries leapt off the deck, plunging into the sea below.
But everyone froze in place.
The thin wisps of mist, reinforced by rippling waves, had become walls harder than steel, pinning every would-be escapee where they stood.
Those who fell into the water were shoved back by unseen currents, tossed back onto the deck like toys.
Only now did Kidōmaru recall Ryosuke's earlier words, "They can't leave. No one can leave."
His pride and hatred vanished in seconds before Ryosuke.
Humans could hate tigers. They could hate their own kind. But who could hate thunder in the sky or quakes in the earth?
The power Ryosuke displayed had already transcended the mortal realm. Kidōmaru stared blankly, his heart filled only with dread for what was to come.
"Don't be scared,"
the white serpent yawned lazily, sensing the fear radiating from the crowd.
"Close your eyes for a second, it'll all be over. I mean… your little lives."
Hearing that made the mercenaries even more terrified.
Suddenly, one of them raised his right hand, clutching a signal gun tightly.
"Don't move, Ryosuke!"
"You leave on your own, and I won't shoot! But if you don't, when the samurai reinforcements arrive, you'll never escape!"
Dozens of hopeful gazes turned toward him.
Ryosuke looked at him calmly. "I advise you not to do that."
"You're scared!"
The mercenary laughed wildly.
For a moment, he felt like a hero. In his mind, he already saw the future, reinforcements arriving, samurai subduing the lone Ryosuke, himself rising to fame, gaining power and glory.
Thinking of that, he didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger.
But the moment he did, he felt a chill under his chin. Looking down, he saw that the signal flare, once aimed at Ryosuke, was now pressed beneath his own jaw.
And the trigger was already pulled.
Bang!
His skull exploded.
The body fell with a heavy thud, as if landing on the hearts of every mercenary watching.
"You set out on this path for invasion and killing," Ryosuke's voice echoed across the deck.
"Since you call yourselves a suicide squad, I assume…"
"You've already accepted death."
———
[Half an Hour Later]
[Land of Hot Water]
Hundreds of samurai and ninja stood ready, weapons in hand, staring nervously toward the thick fog offshore.
These few hundred were all the manpower the Land of Hot Water could muster. As a nation that had long practiced a "no war" policy, they had no hidden village, no real standing army.
But to choose "no war," one must first have the power to fight.
The Land of Hot Water was merely gambling on the mercy of others.
"They're here!"
The samurai captain drew his blade, locking eyes on the approaching warship, waiting for the first volley of cannon fire.
But none came.
No cannon fire. No arrows or shuriken. It was as if, there was no one at all.
The warship gently bumped against the harbor. The captain and several samurai climbed aboard, only to find it completely empty.
A ship without a single soul on board, drifting along the current.
An empty ship.
The samurai looked at one another. It was broad daylight, and yet every single one of them felt a chill crawl down their spine.
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