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It had been five days since Kaoru arrived at this strange village when the letter from Takimura finally arrived. He was inside the house that the village head had provided for him. Just as he expected, it was excessively luxurious - these people who had never experienced wealth in their lives were now overcompensating by spending on completely unnecessary things.
Kaoru settled into the chair near the chimney, where the fire burned bright and hot. It was daytime, and the sunlight coming through the windows provided enough illumination to read the letter again.
'The war with Kumo is currently on pause, with both sides recovering their forces. If the problem this village is facing isn't dangerous, solve it yourself. But don't stay there more than a week. We can't afford to send a team of shinobi and station them there.'
The message was informative and brief, clearly written by Akura himself.
Kaoru crumpled the letter and threw it into the fireplace, watching as it caught flame before turning to leave.
'Just as I expected, I'll have to deal with these pirates myself.' Kaoru thought, glancing back to ensure nothing near the chimney could catch fire in his absence. 'Well, those bastards should be arriving today - once that's handled, I can finally leave this place.'
He had already sent response back to Takimura detailing everything he'd discovered, withholding only the information about the ten rings possibly related to Akatsuki. He had no intention of drawing Obito or Nagato's attention to Takimura any more than Maki's growing fame already might.
As soon as he stepped outside, Kaoru performed the same hand sign twice in quick succession, creating two shadow clones. During his free time, he had constantly practiced the shadow clone technique, working to reduce the necessary hand signs. He'd finally managed to bring it down to just one. He could manage four clones at his current level, any more than that would strain his chakra. But this time, he stopped at two because he'd learned his lesson after the last time, when attempting to use Suijingan with three clones had nearly killed him.
The clones disappeared in opposite directions, leaving Kaoru standing alone in front of the house. He didn't know exactly where the pirates would arrive, but he'd narrowed it down to three probable locations. He would take the middle position himself, assigning the two farthest points to his clones. This way, if the pirates arrived at either flank, he could move to support quickly. If they came to his central position instead, he could simply dispel the clones to recover most of his expended chakra.
'Time to go,' Kaoru thought. But just as he prepared to flicker away, his attention was caught by the apple tree in the yard, its branches heavy with ripe fruit. The red apples looked deliciously juicy and they were Kaoru's favorite.
'Just one won't harm me' he thought, licking his lower lip. Now that he understood how the poison affecting the villagers worked, he knew he didn't need to be cautious. Such brief exposure wouldn't harm him, and he'd be leaving the village long before any effects could manifest.
He plucked one of the apples and took a large bite.
"Damn, this is so good," he muttered, unable to contain his appreciation. Then, with a faint smile, he flickered away in a blur of motion.
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Kaoru stood perched on a tree branch overlooking the coast, leaning against the trunk while finishing the last of the many apples he'd brought.
'This is strange. Where are they?'
There was no sign of pirates. Neither he nor his clones had spotted anything. The possibility of them taking a different route had crossed his mind - he'd even sent a clone back to the village to check. But the clone had dispelled itself upon confirming the village remained safe.
Chakra reserves were becoming a real concern. By maintaining two clones, he'd split his chakra into three. And the longer they stayed active, the more chakra they drained. At this rate, when he finally dispelled them, he might recover too little - a dangerous situation if the pirates had skilled shinobi among them.
'I might have to use the soldier pill after all,' he sighed, activating his Suijingan to scan the sea once more. Just as he began shaking his head in disappointment, his enhanced vision caught a glimpse of a ship approaching his position.
Without hesitation, he created and immediately dispelled a clone, signaling his other two that their services were no longer required.
'Ahh...much better.' He shuddered with relief as a substantial portion of his chakra returned.
'Now let's get closer and assess their strength.'
Kaoru flickered through the trees, moving to a position in the forest that offered the best vantage point of the approaching ship.
…
'Eight, nine… fifteen pirates in total.' Kaoru counted the figures on the ship. 'Only one seems to be at chunin level. The rest are just ordinary people.'
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He could kill every last one of them even without being noticed. Chunin-level shinobi weren't a threat to him anymore.
'Alright. No point dragging this out.'
His original plan had been to ambush them from a distance, but now that he had confirmed the absence of any jonin, he abandoned that idea without hesitation.
With a flicker, he closed the distance to the ship. In mere seconds, he landed silently on the tallest mast, eyes scanning the deck below. The crew was still going about their tasks, unaware of the predator watching from above.
'Should I kill them all?' The thought passed through his mind, but another, better idea pulled at him, one far more beneficial.
Kaoru dropped down, landing in the middle of the deck with a soft thud, causing the entire crew to freeze.
"Who the fuck is this?!"
"Get ready for a fight!"
"He looks like a shinobi, be careful!"
"I don't care! I'm killing him now!" one pirate shouted, recklessly charging forward with a drawn blade.
Kaoru didn't even shift his footing. A small tilt of his hand was all it took. A single dark needle shot forward, piercing through the pirate's skull cleanly. He dropped without a sound.
But in that split-second, just from using his technique, his chakra leaked out and the chunin girl felt it instantly.
"Drop your weapons!" she shouted, setting an example by letting her own blade clatter to the deck. "We can't fight him!"
Kaoru turned around, looking for the source of the voice.
'A sensor?' He hadn't bothered suppressing his chakra after activating Suijingan. Ironically, that might have just saved these pirates' lives.
The girl was taller than him, probably older too. Long, dark green hair flowed freely down her back, her sharp features complemented by a piercing on her brow. She wore a heavy fur coat and a warm hat, her sleeves rolled up, revealing tattooed arms.
'How can a pirate be this beautiful?' Kaoru found himself staring, unable to look away.
"Haha! The kid's fallen for our captain!" one of the pirates laughed, still not grasping the dire situation they were in. To ordinary humans, unable to sense chakra, Kaoru must have looked pitiful: a lean, average-height kid standing unarmed in the middle of their ship, surrounded by a bunch of burly men gripping blades and harpoons.
But the captain knew better.
"Shut up, you idiot," she hissed, her bright green eyes flashing a warning at her foolish crewmate. Then her gaze moved toward Kaoru, softening in the process, and the faint smile touched her lips.
"I'm Emma, captain of this ship." She feigned ignorance, putting on a helpless and innocent act, "We didn't know this island was shinobi territory, or we would never have come. If you allow us, we'll leave and never…"
"I won't," Kaoru cut her off firmly, his eyes still fixed on her.
"Wha... what do you mean?" Emma's brow twitched briefly before she regained her innocent expression.
"You asked if I'd allow you to leave. I answered that I won't," Kaoru responded with a smile. He was enjoying the thrill of absolute authority.
"But why? We haven't harmed anyone. If anything, you killed our comrade after attacking our ship!" Her voice shook slightly, eyes glistening with tears.
'Damn, she's such a good actress.' Kaoru wasn't fooled. No pirate captain could be this innocent and weepy.
"It was fun at first, so I played along. But this game is getting annoying. Let's stop." Kaoru took a step toward the ship's wheel behind Emma. Not understanding his intention, she jumped back in alarm.
"Tsk, fine." Her demeanor shifted instantly, face turning cold yet still strikingly beautiful. "Since you haven't killed us, you must want something. What is it?" She edged closer to her crew, positioning them as potential shields.
"You're not wrong." Kaoru continued walking toward the wheel, steering it slightly to turn the ship seaward. 'Heh, this is so fun,' he thought, keeping his face indifferent.
"I'm not interested in you - I want this ship. But luckily for you, I don't know how to sail or navigate. That's where you come in." His smile returned as he formed a hand seal. A clone appeared beside him, then immediately flickered toward the island, surprising everyone onboard.
"Where did it go?" Emma stared at where the clone had vanished. 'He can make shadow clones? Good thing we didn't fight him.'
"Do you know where Takimura and Kiri's forces are?" Kaoru asked, ignoring her question completely.
"Of course we do. We've been avoiding that place," Emma replied, annoyed at being ignored but she was smart enough not to push her luck.
"Good. That's where we're going." Kaoru smiled, tapping the wheel. He wanted to spin it full circle to test the ship's turning speed, but decided against it - it would have ruined his intimidating image.
"Are you crazy? We'll be killed if we go near that place!" Emma didn't have time to analyze the childish glint in Kaoru's eyes as she realized that this unwanted passenger was leading them to certain death.
"Would you rather die by my hands right here, right now?" Kaoru's gaze turned icy, cyan light appearing in his eyes as the ship trembled slightly, sending fear through everyone on board. "I'm pretty sure your crew wouldn't mind becoming my subordinates after I kill their captain in front of them." His tone made it clear he considered the task trivial.
"Tsk, fine!" Emma hissed. "Move your asses, you filthy maggots! You heard him - we either die now or go there and pray we survive!" She vented her anger on her subordinates, making Kaoru chuckle.
"Promise me you won't kill us if we obey you," Emma suddenly demanded, turning to face Kaoru directly.
Caught off guard, Kaoru hesitated briefly. "I promise I won't kill you without reason," he finally said. Kaoru expected a protest and was surprised when Emma simply nodded and moved toward the steering wheel, signaling him to let her take over.
'He takes his word seriously, or at least doesn't like lying to weaklings like us. That means I have a chance,' she analyzed. While her chunin-level strength wasn't enough to survive this situation, Emma's real power lay in schemes and manipulation. She was determined to find Kaoru's weakness.
'My first attempt failed, and now he'll be on guard. I need to be careful or another failure might get me killed.' She'd already formulated a new plan, one that had never failed her before. 'Luckily, judging by his reaction, I'm pretty sure he'll fall for me if I try a little harder.'
Her thoughts were interrupted when she glanced at Kaoru - only to find him vomiting over the ship's railing into the open sea, leaving Emma completely speechless.
'What the hell? I've never seen anyone get seasick this fast. Should I try attacking now?' Emma briefly considered the idea but quickly dismissed it as it was too risky.
Meanwhile, Kaoru cursed internally. 'I hate ships. I need a flying summon immediately. Forget that mysterious creature waiting for me. I'm making a contract with a giant bird!' He was furious, though even he didn't know who he was mad at. The irony wasn't lost on him, a shinobi who could manipulate water with ease, yet couldn't handle traveling by ship without turning green.
**
A/N –
Not sure yet how big of a role Emma will end up playing, but I'm enjoying her character so far, so we'll likely be exploring her a bit more as the story moves forward.
Writing this arc reminded me just how much untapped potential the Naruto world has. There's so much room for side stories and quieter explorations, and I might end up dedicating more time to that in the future.
Also, I've been celebrating Easter with my family (still am, actually), and it kind of put me in the mood to write more cozy, family-centered scenes. Maybe something to balance out all the political schemes and looming war, but sadly, that ain't happening… xD
Character Notes:
Emma – Pirate Captain & Aspiring Seductress – "I'll cry, flirt, and maybe stab you if that doesn't work. All depends on your reaction time."
The Pirates – Cannon Fodder with Dialogue – "Boss is hot, the kid is terrifying, and we're just here trying not to get vaporized."
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