Gekko Chizan, who had already rushed into the town, directly dispelled Transparent Release and used a Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a "pirate."
Grinning widely, he charged straight toward a nearby jewelry store, shouting as he ran:
"Pack up all the jewelry for me!"
"Move it! You bastard of a shop owner, are you asking me to tie you up and hang you from our ship's bow so the sharks can gnaw you down to white bones?"
"And you lot! Hiding in a jewelry store? Hand over everything valuable you've got on you!"
"Don't make me do it myself!"
Talk about getting into character in a second—this was it!
Gekko Chizan perfectly embodied what it meant to be a ruthless bandit.
Before long, he had swept through the jewelry store from inside to out. Carrying a massive sack over his shoulder, his face was full of delight.
These were jewels—worth a fortune!
As for the people inside the store, they were all trembling. Aside from the clothes on their backs, their money, jewelry, watches—everything of value—had been taken from them.
"This is terrifying! Are these pirates insane? He even stole my glasses!"
"Without my glasses, I can't see anything clearly... everyone, what's happening now?"
A squinting man shuddered with lingering fear. He truly hadn't expected a pirate to be this vicious.
The man hiding beside him patted his shoulder in consolation and explained why his glasses had been taken.
"Take this as a lesson. Why'd you go and get gold-rimmed glasses?"
"Wouldn't something plain have been fine? Did you see the way that pirate looked at gold? He'd rather wrong three thousand than let a single piece slip by..."
"Sigh... we can't stay in the Land of Water anymore. It's too chaotic."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but sigh. Losing money was one thing. If they lost their lives, that would be the end of it.
For the sake of survival, they decided they would leave the Land of Water overnight.
"Tsk tsk, looks like they've already started fighting over there."
Carrying his large sack, Gekko Chizan found a secluded spot to seal everything into a scroll. As soon as he stepped back out, he saw an intense battle erupting not far away.
Water surged, lightning flashed—the spectacle was immense.
But none of that had anything to do with him. His goal was simple: loot more.
"Hey, which unit are you with?"
Suddenly, two figures appeared behind him. Judging by their attire, they were also "pirates."
Gekko Chizan glanced at them but didn't answer. Instead, he scolded them angrily for their lack of urgency.
"What time do you think it is?"
"Can't you see they're already fighting over there?"
"Why aren't you out robbing people?"
The two "pirates" were stunned for a moment by his rebuke. But after thinking about it, he was right.
Their captain and the others were fighting hard, and here they were dawdling. What a mistake!
They were Kumogakure's elite, after all!
"You're right! Thanks! Hey, hey, Hastor, hurry up and start looting!"
"There's a jewelry store over there? That's the one!"
Hearing they were heading to the jewelry store, Gekko Chizan stopped them again.
"Don't go to that one. I already cleaned it out."
"Head further ahead. We'll split up."
Seeing the scroll in Gekko Chizan's hand, the two exchanged an approving look. See? That's what you'd expect from Kumogakure's ninja—efficient and fast!
"Got it! Thanks!"
Just like that, the two of them followed Gekko Chizan's advice and ran off ahead.
Gekko Chizan almost couldn't hold back his laughter watching them go.
"Chizan, you're seriously wicked. That direction's the snack street, isn't it?"
"Didn't they even look at the signs?"
Chōmei was already laughing so hard he was nearly flipping over. From the sky earlier, they had clearly seen the layout of the entire town.
He was certain—absolutely certain. As a foodie, even though he usually ate insects, fried silkworm pupae, fried grasshoppers, and fried scorpions from the snack street were among his favorites.
Every time they passed by, he would make Gekko Chizan buy him some.
So he paid special attention to the snack street.
Hearing Chōmei's words, Gekko Chizan flashed a wicked grin and glanced back at the sign standing by the street.
For some reason, though, all the names on the sign were now completely unreadable. It was obvious they had been deliberately damaged.
"I'm a kind person. They all looked pale and underfed—eating more won't hurt them."
"Heh heh heh..."
With a laugh like that, who would believe he wasn't a villain?
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Jūzō Biwa of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen had gone on a killing spree.
The Executioner's Blade had already cut down six "pirates," but he was soon targeted in return. His opponent was no weakling, wielding Lightning Release with impressive skill.
Lightning overcame water, and that left Jūzō Biwa entangled, unable to break away to help the others.
"Damn you Kumogakure! How dare you brazenly attack the Land of Water!"
"Are you trying to tear up the peace treaty?!"
Jūzō Biwa narrowly dodged a bolt of lightning. After the recent clash, water pooled everywhere. Water conducted electricity—though he had already used chakra to insulate himself from direct contact, his body still felt slightly numb.
Faced with his furious roar, the "pirate" snorted disdainfully.
"Kumogakure?"
"We're the Thunder Pirates!"
"These waters have always been our territory. The Land of Water? We're robbing you specifically!"
"Lightning Release: Lightning Strike!"
Words were pointless—better to fight!
The veins on Jūzō Biwa's forehead bulged in rage. But what could he do? If they refused to admit it, no amount of arguing would change anything.
"Damn Kumogakure scum! Take this slash!"
Against Lightning Release, he didn't dare use Water Release, fearing he'd get caught in it himself. Nor could he use the Hidden Mist Technique—that would only make it easier for them to rob the place.
For a moment, he felt utterly stifled.
All around him, others were fighting desperately. Kumogakure had come fully prepared this time—many troops split into two groups: one for battle, one for looting.
Even with the Hidden Mist guarding the island, it was hard to defend against.
As for Gekko Chizan, he was practically laughing himself to death.
Though he felt the economy of the Northern Three Islands wasn't that great, no one would ever complain about free gains.
In just this short time, he had already robbed five shops—including a pharmacy.
Whatever medicinal herbs they had, he took them all, including quite a few snakeberries.
He'd struck it rich.