News traveled faster than the sea breeze.
"A ninja from Konoha has come."
"That kid Kaiza saw it with his own eyes. He took down six thugs all by himself."
"I heard he's only twelve or thirteen, and even those Mist ninja avoid him when they see him."
By the time the rumors finished spreading, Shin-chan had already become, in the villagers' mouths, "the lord ninja in red who can make the seawater flow backward with one wave of his hand."
When Kaiza heard this version, he opened his mouth and wanted to explain, but someone slung an arm around his neck.
"You're the one who brought the ninja here, so you have the most say. Is it true?"
"He is a ninja from Konoha." Kaiza thought about it, then added, "But I didn't see the part about the seawater flowing backward."
"Then it's true!"
Before long, Ayong brought the people from the neighboring village over. Soon after that, people from two other nearby villages also arrived one after another.
Everyone was gripping fish spears or wooden sticks.
Several village chiefs gathered together to discuss things, and in less than half an incense stick's worth of time, they reached an agreement.
"Even the lord ninja is willing to help us. What else do we have to be afraid of?" the chief of the eastern village said excitedly. "They've occupied our launch points for so long. If we keep enduring it, our children will starve."
"That's right! We'll fight them!"
The other village chiefs echoed him one after another. Only the chief of the western village showed a troubled expression.
"But those people are too ruthless. If we lose..."
"If you're unwilling to come, then from now on, your village won't have a share of these launch points either," one hot-tempered village chief snapped. "We all depend on the sea to eat. If you don't contribute, what right do you have to share the benefits?"
The chief of the western village was silent for a long while. In the end, he gritted his teeth.
"Fine. I'll do it with you!"
Once all the villages reached an agreement, the young and strong villagers gathered together and marched in a mighty group toward the launch points occupied by the thugs.
One of the launch points was on a nearby reef beach. More than a dozen thugs were sitting around there, drinking and eating meat, with swords, knives, and clubs placed beside them.
"Yo, quite a lot of people showed up." The leading thug held a machete in his hand. "You bunch of poor ghosts have some nerve, running onto my territory to cause trouble. Was the beating last time not painful enough?"
The villagers subconsciously shrank back a little, gripping the weapons in their hands.
Kaiza took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"This is our launch point. You're the ones who stole our livelihood. Hurry up and get lost!"
"Yo, you dare talk back now?" The leading thug sneered. "Today, I'll teach you all another lesson and let you know who the real master of this place is."
As he spoke, he led his men charging toward the villagers. But after only taking two steps, his gaze unintentionally swept over Shin-chan standing in the middle of the group.
A Konoha forehead protector.
"N-Ninja?"
The companions behind him had not reacted yet.
"Boss, what did you say? What ninja? How could these poor ghosts have the money to—"
Then he also saw that forehead protector.
The wooden club fell from his hand and smashed onto his foot. The pain made his face twist, but he did not dare bend down to pick it up.
Although they were not ninja, they knew how terrifying ninja were. Their earlier arrogance instantly vanished without a trace. Some of them even quietly retreated half a step.
Seeing this, Kaiza felt even more confidence in his heart.
"Hurry up and get lost, or we'll have the lord ninja deal with you!"
"There are so many of us. Are we supposed to be afraid of one kid?" The leading thug's face turned blue, then white, but in the end, he still could not swallow this humiliation. "Get them!"
Perhaps they were encouraged by his words, or perhaps they were clinging to a bit of luck. Several thugs mustered their courage and charged at the villagers, waving their weapons.
Although the villagers were afraid, they remembered that they had a ninja backing them up. Then they thought of their stolen launch points, and one after another, they raised their fish spears and wooden sticks to meet the thugs.
The villagers and thugs collided, fists, fish spears, and machetes tangling together.
Shin-chan stood at the edge of the crowd, his fingers lightly resting on a kunai.
One thug circled around behind Ayong. The instant the short blade in his hand came down, a kunai passed through a gap in the crowd and nailed itself against the blade.
With a clang, the short blade flew from his hand and stabbed into the sand three steps away.
Before the thug could react to what had happened, Ayong turned around and swung the shaft of his fish spear into the man's face.
Shin-chan's hand had already lowered back beside his ninja tool pouch.
In another spot, a thug's club was about to fall onto a villager on the ground when a kunai brushed past his toes and stabbed into the sand.
He lowered his head and saw the kunai by his foot. His face turned deathly pale.
The more the thugs fought, the more panicked they became. Their eyes kept glancing toward Shin-chan, afraid he would make another move.
Before long, the thugs began to retreat, their knives and clubs thrown onto the sand.
"Retreat! Hurry, retreat!"
The villagers cheered, and some who had gotten carried away even chased after them.
Shin-chan watched the direction the thugs fled in and formed a seal with both hands.
With a bang, four shadow clones appeared beside him.
"Help treat the injured," Shin-chan instructed, then chased after the thugs in the direction they had fled.
The thugs ran very fast. Some fell, scrambled back up, and kept running without even daring to look back.
Shin-chan followed them from a distance. Originally, he only wanted to see whether they had any more accomplices hiding nearby.
But as they ran, they suddenly turned onto a hidden path. At the end of the path was actually a luxurious villa.
The thugs rushed inside in a swarm, shouting nonstop.
"Boss, this is bad! Something big happened!"
Shin-chan quietly slipped inside. The hall was luxuriously decorated, with a thick carpet on the floor and unknown paintings hanging on the walls. It was completely out of place with the poverty of the Land of Waves.
A middle-aged man sat on the sofa in the hall.
"Why are you panicking? Did those villagers bother you again? You can't even handle such a small matter. What use do I have for useless trash like you?"
"Boss, a ninja from Konoha came and attacked us." The leading thug dropped to his knees with a thud.
"What are you panicking for?" The middle-aged man glanced to the side. "Don't you see that the lord ninja from Kirigakure is here too?"
Only then did the thugs notice that there were others beside them. They quickly lowered their heads and backed away two steps.
"A ninja from Konoha?" The Mist ninja leader stood up. "How many?"
"Just one. A brat in red clothes. He looks about twelve or thirteen."
"Only a Konoha brat. Look at how frightened you all are. How disgraceful."
The middle-aged man immediately put on a flattering smile.
"Lord Ninja is right. My men simply haven't seen much of the world. With the two of you here, even if a ninja from Konoha comes, he won't be able to stir up any waves."
The other Mist ninja snorted coldly.
"He's just a Konoha brat. If he dares barge in, we'll take care of him too. That will save him from ruining our good business."
The middle-aged man continued fawning over the Mist ninja.
"Please rest assured. I already followed your instructions and occupied the launch points of those villages. In a few more days, once they have nowhere left to turn, they'll have no choice but to obey us."
~~~
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