Chapter 939 : A New Debt...

For the first time in their wretched lives, the pirates of the Black Gale knew true horror. Not fear from the threat of death, nor panic in the face of battle, but something deeper. Something primal. Every inch of their bodies screamed to run, while their minds refused to believe what their eyes had just witnessed. No one dared to utter a single word.

Eita tilted his head slightly, gaze calm and inviting. “Captain,” he said, breaking the silence like a blade through ice, “Would you like to try it?”

Masugi’s lips parted, but no sound came. His hand instinctively reached for the hilt at his side, only to freeze midway. His foot shuffled back. “S-stay back… I-I’m not interested,” he said hoarsely, a tremor betraying his voice.

Eita chuckled, pretending to be surprised, “Really? You are so brave and adventurous, I thought you’d be first in line.”
His eyes wandered. “No matter. There are others.”

He turned toward the crew and asked with his never-ending excitement, “What about you, Rikko-san? Do you want to try? Or maybe you, Bendo? Kuto? Come on now, don't be shy. You saw Ibara! He's loving it!”

“No! Stay the hell away!”

“Please—PLEASE!”

“DON’T COME NEAR ME!”

Panic spread like fire on oil-soaked sails. What began as whispers turned into screams, hysteria cracking their minds like brittle wood. Without another word, the pirates all bolted at once! They'd rather jump into the sea and bet their luck on reaching an island, despite being dozens of kilometers away from any, than stay aboard.

But none made it. As if betraying them, their legs, shivering continuously, stopped moving! Every pirate tripped and fell in a synchronous manner. However, that didn't dull their desperation to escape. Even without their legs, they tried to crawl away from Eita!

Eita strolled toward them casually and cheerfully said, “Come on, guys! Why so tense today? What happened to your bravado? I already said it's completely safe!”

“STAY AWAY!”

“I CAN’T DO THIS! I CAN’T…”

“MONSTER! YOU’RE A MONSTER!”

Their terror only deepened. Six pirates, unable to endure the mental torture, passed out as Eita got closer.

Eita sighed, “Alright, I’ll start with you guys first.”

Calmly kneeling down beside the unconscious pirates, Eita gently tapped the back of the necks of 3 pirates, killing them without any bloodshed. Seconds later, the eyes of the remaining 3 unconscious pirates snapped open as they screamed in pain. The remaining pirates saw in terror as they transformed into the 3 pirates that were tapped by Eita.

As if he was performing another magic trick, kunai, tagged with sealing scripts, magically kept appearing in Eita's hand as he inserted them into the back of their heads. As soon as he did, the reanimated pirates seemed to regain clarity. Their eyes lit up. Their lips curled into eager smiles.

“Ohhhh yeah,” one of them groaned, stretching his shoulders. “That hits different.”

Another looked at his trembling former crewmates. “Don’t fight it, boys. Just let it happen. It’s the best thing you’ll ever feel.”

Eita cheerfully said again, “See? They love it.”

As Eita approached the rest, the pirates, paralyzed with fear, could only beg for mercy. Unfortunately, they got none. Without any rush, Eita killed them one by one, while reanimating them in the body of another. To show how good his ‘magic’ was, Eita also changed the method of killing. One pirate had his head twisted, another had a long needle pierced through his forehead, one was beheaded… Eita used a different style for each kill.

In the end, only the Pirate Captain was left. His terror grew with every step Eita took towards him. Bending down slightly, Eita said with a smirk, “It's just you now, Captain… Do you want to join the rest?”

The deck echoed with twisted and unnatural laughter. The reanimated pirates looked at their former captain like a pack of starving wolves spotting a lone sheep.

“Come on, Captain!” one of them called out with a wicked grin.
“Don’t you want to feel this good too?” another chuckled.
“You always said we were a family, didn’t you?”
“Join us, Captain! We insist!”

But Masugi didn’t move. His lips quivered, his back pressed against the ship’s hull. He raised both trembling hands and croaked, “Eita… please… I… I took you in, didn’t I? Eight years ago! You were just a stupid little brat with nowhere to go. I gave you food… I gave you a home. You owe me that much! Please let me go… I beg you…”

Eita tilted his head, his smirk faltering slightly. “You did take me in… that’s true,” he said softly, almost reflectively.
Masugi's heart beat loudly as he saw Eita pondering. A few seconds later, Eita sighed, “Alright, I won't force you, Captain.”

Masugi blinked in disbelief. Relief washed over him. His crew was gone, but at least he'd live! For the next quarter of a minute, Masugi went through a myriad of emotions.

He snapped out of his thoughts when Eita turned and addressed the reanimated crew, “You heard him, lads. He doesn’t want to join you.”
Terror once again gripped Masugi's heart as he saw a devious grin on Eita's face as he said, “He’s all yours. Have fun!”

Masugi’s scream split the night sky. The laughter that followed was a twisted orchestra — delighted, ecstatic, and without mercy. What happened next could never be put into words. The things Masugi was subjected to on that deck would warp the mind of any man. It wasn’t just pain. It was a complete erasure of dignity, sanity, and self.

For all the horror Masugi had once brought upon innocent souls, it was nothing compared to the torment he received that night. By the time it ended, what remained of the once-feared pirate captain was barely recognizable — a mutilated, broken husk lying in a pool of shadow, eyes wide open, yet seeing nothing.

Once the carnival of cruelty came to a close, silence returned to the ship. The reanimated pirates began crumbling, soon revealing the pirates that had been sacrificed to reanimate their comrades. Eita's appearance changed too, as Fujin ended the Transformation jutsu.

Moments later, a strange breeze engulfed the pirate ship. One by one, the lifeless bodies of the pirates rose into the night sky, as if summoned by unseen hands while the unconscious girls continued sleeping on the deck. Then, without warning, the floating dead bodies ignited! When the flames finally died, only ashes remained, scattering into the sea below and erasing all trace of the horrors that had unfolded.

Fujin didn't even bother glancing at the aerial cremation. Instead, he was lost in thought, ‘That should be sufficient experimentation. Danzo's memories were very helpful. Not a single one of my attempts has been unsuccessful. Unless there's an external influence, there shouldn't be any problem in reanimating him…’

Fujin recalled all his attempts once before finalizing his decision. He yawned while thinking, ‘I should take rest for now. I'll reanimate him tomorrow. The last few days have been rather hectic. Jashin… No matter what it is, I should be at my best to deal with unexpected situations. Anyway…’

Fujin's gaze moved towards the unconscious girls as he thought, ‘Kiri is such a mess… Their manpower must be lower than even Suna to let so many rogue groups operate so openly. The Civil War was truly bloody.

Regardless, they now owe me a debt. I wonder how I should extract the cost… Isobu? Hmm, no. He no longer belongs to Kiri. Maybe Saiken then… That should balance out the karma…’

Fujin chuckled as he disappeared from the deck.

——

The next day, a strange phenomenon swept across the Land of Water. Four small islands, recently ravaged by pirates, fell into chaos and confusion as the massive ships of their tormentors returned. The sight of those dreaded vessels appearing again so soon threw the locals into a panic.

But their fear turned into bewilderment. The ships crashed ashore, but no one emerged. Minutes passed. Then hours. Yet there were no voices, no movements, no signs of life. When a few brave islanders finally gathered the courage to board the vessels, they were greeted by decks soaked in blood… and the missing abductees peacefully asleep.

In addition to these four ghost ships, another seven pirate crews and five bandit groups vanished entirely from the Land of Water over the course of a couple of days.

The sheer strangeness of the event stirred rumors throughout the country and even reached Kirigakure, prompting Mei Terumi to dispatch an elite investigation squad. Needless to say, they returned with no answers — only the certainty that over a dozen criminal groups had ceased to exist.

On the surface, it was pleasant news for Mei. Someone had done her work for her, asking for nothing in return.

However, if Mei were to know the true cost of dealing with merely 11 pirate crews, 5 bandit groups and rescuing a dozen innocents would be their lone Jinchuriki becoming a target, her satisfaction would’ve turned to fury. She'd regret not dealing with the rogue elements beforehand.