The rest of the voyage was dangerous, but never truly disastrous. It was not until a massive continent appeared in Ronin's group's field of vision that everyone on the ship finally perked up again.
After all, staring at scenery that barely changed day after day was honestly boring.
What appeared before them now was the "New Continent" that V5 had wanted to use to deceive Kakin's people in the manga.
This was not the Dark Continent. Rather, it could be considered a forward base for the Dark Continent—the so-called imaginary continent.
Only by crossing this place and continuing forward would they reach the location of the Gatekeeper. And only by passing through the Dark Gate guarded by the Gatekeeper could they truly arrive at the Dark Continent.
Before their ship even drew close to the imaginary continent, sailboats had already appeared on the nearby sea.
That was right.
Sailboats.
Sailboats moving rapidly across the surface of the sea.
Their speed was not even something motor-driven ships could compare to. So when Ronin and the others saw that the sailboats were heading toward them, they simply slowed down.
They wanted to see what the other side intended to do.
As for the imaginary continent having people on it, there was nothing strange about that.
In fact, those people should even belong to V5. That much was easy to guess.
After all, V5 had already issued an order strictly forbidding anyone from going to the Dark Continent. Although most people did not know about that order, anyone capable of reaching this place should mostly be aware of it.
Even if a very small number of extremely lucky people somehow reached this place by chance, they would be persuaded to turn back by the guards stationed here.
When the sailboats approached, the people aboard had already started shouting.
The content of their warning was very simple: the approaching ship was to return from where it came. They gave Ronin and the others no second option. It was unbelievably domineering.
And while shouting their warning, the people on the sailboats also showed off their strength.
One spear-wielding person after another activated their Nen into a state of Ren, as if the spears in their hands would be hurled the moment anyone on Ronin's ship showed the slightest defiance.
Since things had already reached that point, there was nothing left to hesitate about. Ronin directly formed hand seals at the bow of the ship before they could act.
On the sea, the most convenient ninjutsu to use was Water Release.
Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique.
Chakra flowed along the ship and poured into the sea. Then, amid the shouted warnings, shark after shark burst from the water and lunged toward the people on the sailboats.
The men who had been wildly arrogant a moment earlier were screaming nonstop the next.
However, even amid those screams, their spears did not pause at all. They directly hurled them toward Ronin's ship.
That made Ronin frown slightly.
Because it was not normal.
Normally, when being attacked by sharks, should they not counterattack the sharks first? Or prioritize saving their own lives? Even at worst, they should have aimed at Ronin, the caster.
But the people on the sailboats chose none of those options.
They chose to attack the ship.
Judging from their posture, it was as though they believed that as long as they destroyed the vessel, Ronin and the others would be unable to enter the imaginary continent.
Unfortunately, their plan was destined to fail.
The spears flying toward the ship suddenly changed direction halfway and turned toward a girl on the ship holding a vacuum cleaner.
It was Shizuku.
She had already conjured Blinky. A powerful suction force erupted from it, aimed at absorbing every spear that came close.
The sailboats were torn apart by the sharks, and the spears were sucked away by Blinky. The people who fell into the sea did not show despair in the face of the sharks' bites. Yet when they saw their attacks miss, their expressions became ashen, as if they had lost everything.
Ronin and Ging exchanged a glance and noticed that something was wrong at the same time.
Because after those people fell into the sea and lost their spears, the Nen around them quickly faded away.
Looking at them again now, they instead seemed like ordinary people who had never mastered Nen at all.
The same thought rose in everyone's minds at once.
The true attacker was still hidden in the shadows, and that person was also an excellent Manipulator.
The sharks disappeared from the sea. The ship passed by the people who had fallen into the water.
There were no cries for help.
No one even asked to be saved.
Those people who had failed to complete their objective seemed to have lost all hope of survival. As blood spread through the water, they silently sank into the sea.
But that silent way of facing death made the scene even more shocking.
"The one behind the scenes really has some impressive methods," Ronin praised.
He did not feel much sympathy for those who had lost all hope of living. The law of the jungle in this world was practically written in blood.
If one lacked resolve and could not become strong, then only two possibilities awaited them.
One was to be lucky enough to live somewhere peaceful.
The other was to be unfortunate enough to be swept into conflict.
Clearly, the people who had charged at them belonged to the unfortunate category.
However, after that wave of enemies, no new interceptors appeared from the direction of the land.
Their ship smoothly reached the coast.
After putting away their personal belongings and anything that could reveal their identities, Ronin did not store away the ship, which had long since become battered and scarred from the journey.
Doing so both hid the ability he had in hand and avoided wasting a Fun Fun Cloth on a broken ship.
The coastline was completely deserted. If no one had attacked their ship earlier, one really might have thought they had arrived on an uninhabited island.
"Looks like that was a test," Ging analyzed the current situation.
At the same time, he walked at the very front of the group and became their guide.
Ronin and the others had no objections to Ging's actions. More than a month of traveling together had long since made everyone in the team familiar with him.
Ging, in particular, had a naturally approachable personal charm, which made people feel very relaxed around him.
Most importantly, along the way, whether it was Ronin or the others, everyone had benefited greatly from Ging.
"Mm. I just don't know whether we passed or failed," Ronin said as his Sharingan turned. He had already noticed some unusual movement nearby.
Clearly, it was not that there were no people in the area. They were simply waiting for an opportunity.
"Hard to say. But I think the other side probably wants to get rid of us even more now," Ging gave his judgment.
"I actually quite like this kind of approach. No wasting words, just straight to fighting." A smile appeared at the corner of Ronin's mouth.
Since their goal was to keep people away from the Dark Continent, then once they confirmed that those who had reached the imaginary continent possessed extremely powerful strength, they should understand that ordinary persuasion would be completely meaningless.
Starting a fight directly like this—either you die or I do—was the most correct choice.
Of course, there was also another option.
After provoking the other side and confirming that they were far stronger than you, you could choose to preserve your life and flee.
Ronin felt that the person hiding in the shadows was the type who would weigh pros and cons, so there was a high chance they would retreat once they realized victory was impossible.
But did they think they could come whenever they wanted and leave whenever they pleased?
What did they take Ronin's group for?
Ronin's gaze suddenly locked onto a target, and his figure instantly vanished from where he stood.
Heh. Found you.