He has even mastered Haki, and you say this is Naruto?

Kado was a little worried. Although he was arrogant, arrogance didn't mean he had a death wish—especially after being "educated" once by Zabuza.

Just think about it—Zabuza was a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, and already that strong. Who knew how many ninjas were on that ship?

On their side, they only had Zabuza and Haku. The rest were just small-time thugs.

"No risk, no money," Zabuza growled.

Kado had spent almost all his money on weapons just to deal with him.

Zabuza deeply regretted sinking that ship—if only he had known those naval cannons were so expensive.

As a result, the Land of Waves was now basically broke.

Fortunately, Kado did have a knack for making money, which was how the situation in the Land of Waves had been stabilized.

But doing normal business was just too slow.

That's right—Zabuza saw smuggling as just normal business. No choice—ninja had a very different view on commerce.

Take Kakuzu, for example—he considered assassination a proper business venture.

In any case, Zabuza's mindset was entirely different from "normal businessmen" like Kado.

So, to make money faster, this time Zabuza set his sights on his old employer—Kirigakure.

For Zabuza, this raid was first for money—and second, for personal revenge.

As a pirate, if you don't seek revenge, are you even a pirate?

"But this is too risky. There must be quite a few ninjas on that ship.

On our side, it's just you and the vice-captain. Isn't that too dangerous?"

Recently, Zabuza had also been training his crew.

Unlike traditional ninja training, Zabuza's method was based on the "Rokushiki" techniques (Six Powers), combined with chakra cultivation methods.

This allowed them to skip the chakra generation stage and directly enhance their physical abilities.

The effects varied from person to person, but for ordinary folks, it was already a huge boost.

But Kado knew his own limits—sure, they were decent against normal people, but against actual ninja? Forget it.

"So what if it's risky? Are you pirates or cowards afraid of death?"

Seeing the crew silent, Zabuza roared in frustration.

Seeing the captain angry, the crew all lowered their heads.

Afraid of death? Of course they were.

They had only smuggled before—raiding regular merchant ships was already a huge step up.

Now the captain wanted to go straight for a Kirigakure military vessel?

"Captain, we…"

"Captain, we're not afraid to die—but we're just not strong enough…"

"…"

Everyone was hesitant and unsure.

Even Haku, who stood beside Zabuza, looked conflicted.

Though Zabuza told him not to be too kind, Haku still couldn't bear to see these people die.

"Captain, we've only just started training. We're not strong enough to face Kirigakure's ninjas yet."

Haku struggled internally, but his innate kindness finally made him speak up.

"Captain, I don't think we need to take such a big risk for just a few hundred million ryō."

His words were sincere—he genuinely cared about the entire crew.

Hearing this, Zabuza hesitated too.

He was no longer the executioner of the past. As the pirate captain, he had to take everyone into consideration.

Sure, he could handle the enemy. But what about the others on the ship?

Just then, the rest of the crew looked stunned.

What did the vice-captain just say?

That ship had hundreds of millions of ryō on it?

Hundreds of millions?

Why didn't he say that earlier?!

If there were really that much money, who cared about their lives anymore?

Even Kado lost all reason at this point, wishing he could slap his earlier self.

Hundreds of millions of ryō!!

Danger? Risk to life?

Isn't that normal? If there wasn't danger, Kado would feel guilty taking the money!

"Well, in that case…"

Zabuza let out a long sigh. He now truly had to take responsibility for everyone.

"Captain!"

"Captain, we're willing to take the risk!"

"…"

Just as Zabuza was about to call off the raid, the crew began shouting.

"Captain, once we boarded this ship, we never intended to quit."

"Yeah, Captain! As pirates, we can conquer the sea—how can we shrink back from one little ship?"

"If we retreat now, we might never make another step forward in our lives, Captain."

"…"

"Everyone…?"

Haku was stunned.

Everyone had just been terrified of dying—what happened now?

He understood. This… this was the charisma of Zabuza-sama. This was the trust between comrades.

"Captain, we're not a burden."

Even Kado shouted excitedly.

"You guys…"

Even Zabuza was a bit stunned.

But seeing the eager looks in everyone's eyes, he knew—they were telling the truth.

In that moment, Zabuza felt, for the first time, the true weight of responsibility.

His crew would support him.

So this was what being a pirate felt like?

As the captain of a pirate crew… this feeling was pretty damn good.

"All right, you brats!"

"Let's go!"

The next moment, the massive Jolly Roger was hoisted high, and this pirate ship set off boldly from the harbor of the Water Capital.

Other ships at the dock were stunned.

Since when was there a pirate ship among them? This was the Water Capital, after all!

Everyone started to worry about the security of the Land of Water.

If even the Water Capital had pirates… who knew how many more were out at sea?

As for Zabuza and his crew, they didn't care about the other ships.

Their pirate ship surged ahead.

Morale had never been higher.

Ninja? Just mere ninja.

They were men who aimed to conquer the sea—how could they be afraid of some outdated shinobi?

The future of the Ninja World… belonged to the pirates!

Out at sea, a Kirigakure ship sailed ahead—unaware that behind them, a pirate ship bearing a skull flag had appeared.

"Sir! It's a pirate ship!"

The soldier on watch was panicking. Why would a pirate ship suddenly appear in these waters?

And from the look of it, that wasn't an ordinary pirate ship.

"Pirates? How could there be pirates here?"

A middle-aged officer frowned. Judging from the look of the ship, they were clearly targeting them.

This was too strange. Pirates this elite showing up in the territorial waters of the Land of Water?

Never mind the ship's condition—just looking at the weaponry on board gave the officer chills. If that ship got close, their own wouldn't last even a single volley.

There was no way this was just a regular pirate ship—more likely, it was something a black market arms dealer had prepared specifically to target the Land of Water.

"Lord Chojuro!"

The officer rushed into the ship's cabin.

Their transport was guarded by Kirigakure ninjas—and right now, they could only rely on them.

"What is it?"

Inside, Chojuro was apparently discussing something with others. Among them, one man stood out—dressed in a black cloak with red clouds, completely out of place.

It was Kakuzu.

"Pirates—we've been targeted by pirates!"

"They're heavily armed. Our guards might not be able to hold them off. Please, Lord Chojuro, we need your help."

The officer was sweating—not from the pirates, but from being watched by a room full of ninjas. The pressure was immense.

"Just some pirates? How many ships?"

One of the ninjas scoffed.

They weren't here to deal with pirates, but taking care of a few wouldn't hurt.

Sure, people said "many ants can kill an elephant"—but reality was harsh. Ants are always ants.

If these pirates showed up now, they were just courting death.

The rest thought the same—they were here discussing important matters, and some random pirate ship was causing trouble? Ridiculous.

"J-Just one… just one ship."

The officer answered with a trembling voice—he could tell the ninjas were starting to get irritated.

"Just one?"

"Yes, just one."

"…"

Silence fell.

All the ninjas… went silent.