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'How the hell did the sea carry me this far?' Kaoru wondered, unable to comprehend how he'd ended up so far from where Maki and the rest of Takimura's forces were stationed. He didn't know exactly how long he'd been unconscious after B's attack, but he was certain it couldn't have been more than a day.
'Something doesn't add up,' he mused. 'Either my Suijingan activated on its own and manipulated the water, which would also explain how I survived, or someone saved me and left me near that island.' He narrowed it down to those two possibilities as he sat perched on the tallest mast, watching the sunset over the sea.
Below, the crew moved cautiously, too afraid to anger Kaoru. Their initial impression of him as a gullible, handsome kid had completely shattered - now, they saw only a tyrannical monster. To Kaoru, pirates were nothing more than criminals who thrived by ruining others' lives. And given how many loved ones he'd lost recently, he had no kindness left for those who profited from causing pain.
'If Takimura ever becomes strong enough to no longer need me, I'd gladly spend my days traveling the sea,' he thought, enjoying the sight. His seasickness had finally become bearable. He was no longer vomiting, and even the dizziness wasn't as overwhelming now.
The ship carrying Kaoru wasn't particularly large, but its quality was surprisingly good, especially for a crew of such weak pirates.
"How did these guys manage to keep such a fine ship without getting robbed?" Kaoru wondered aloud, chuckling, as he studied the immaculate woodwork below. Not a single crack marred the hull or the sails. It looked almost brand new.
The Sapphire - that was the ship's name - cut smoothly through the waves, dancing atop the water as it sped toward an island that had just appeared on the horizon, still no more than a tiny speck in the distance.
"We'll arrive soon. Prepare to dock," Emma reluctantly commanded her crew, before approaching the mast where Kaoru sat.
"Could you come down for a second? I'd like to talk to you." Her tone was carefully measured, an obvious attempt to avoid provoking him further. She looked up with a grim expression, observing Kaoru.
'This kid is impossible to manipulate.' Over the past two days, Emma had tried everything. First, she'd attempted flirting, only for Kaoru to shut her down with a deadpan, "I'm eleven years old. What the hell are you trying to pull here?"
Next, she'd showered him with compliments, hoping to stroke his ego. But Kaoru had only responded with mocking remarks until Emma finally accepted it was pointless.
'I could've sworn he liked me at first sight. But it seems he's one of those who can control their emotions.' What she didn't, and would never, know was that Kaoru's trauma made him immune to her charms. He wouldn't trust a pirate just because she was beautiful. The only way to earn his trust was through actions.
"Now that we've arrived where you wanted, will you let us leave?" Emma asked as Kaoru landed in front of her, her voice tight with suppressed anger.
"No, I won't let you leave, but I will give you a chance." The thought of reuniting with Maki and his friends warmed his voice, but the underlying threat remained. "Serve Takimura during this war, and I swear I'll let you go afterward. Do a good enough job, and I might even pay you." His laugh was met with a glare so venomous it could have withered stone. If looks could kill, Kaoru would have been bleeding out on the deck, but Emma's hatred was as harmless to him as a child's tantrum.
Her hands clenched at her sides as she felt completely helpless. "Why are you doing this? We've never acted against you. You're the one who…" Her voice rose, trembling with building fury, but Kaoru cut her off before she crossed the point of no return.
"Don't pretend to be the victim here," he said coldly. "You're pirates. You rob, you kill, you probably even rape…"
"First of all," Emma snarled, stepping closer to Kaoru, "my crew doesn't rape. I'm a woman myself, or did you miss that?" The way her lip curled made Kaoru chuckle darkly, realizing why she made that remark. "The rest? Fine. We steal. We kill. But how is that any different from what you shinobi do?" she smirked, taking a pause before continuing.
"When your village gets paid to eliminate someone, do you stop to ask if they're innocent? Don't your wars drown more blood than every pirate crew combined could ever spill?" Her chest heaved, face flushing crimson. "Stop draping this in righteousness. You're just strong enough to crush those weaker than you. That's all this is."
"At least when we rob someone," she continued, voice shaking with rage, "we don't lie to ourselves that they 'deserved it.' We're thieves, but we're brave enough to face what we are. You? You're a murderer hiding behind a mask of honor…"
"Enough." Kaoru's voice cut like steel. "You'll do as I say, or I'll slaughter every single one of you right here, right now. Like you said, I'm a murderer who doesn't give a fuck about your lives." He held her gaze until she finally looked down, shoulders slumping in defeat as she turned back toward the steering wheel.
The victory should have tasted sweet. But as Kaoru watched Emma retreat, her words clung to him like tar. Kaoru had never considered how others saw shinobi, he had never questioned why his violence was nobler than others'. The pedestal of honor he'd built now lay in rubble at his feet, shattered by the simple, ugly truth.
The rest of the voyage was unpleasant. Kaoru could not shake off the bad taste left in his mouth after his conversation, or rather quarrel, with Emma.
'I know that I'm not the bad guy, and neither is Takimura. We've been trying to live peacefully and we've not taken on any assassination missions, at least not that I know of.' Kaoru kept consoling himself, trying to find more arguments in his favor.
'Even if the shinobi world is not perfect, we don't harass innocents, and I'll do my best to change the dark side of the shinobi system when I become stronger and have more power and influence.' The only reason Kaoru was impacted by Emma's words was because he actually cared about innocent lives, not so much that he would sacrifice his life or even risk it, but he would never, on purpose, do anything that would harm those undeserving.
Still, the bad feeling was not going away. But luckily, the positive emotions were also growing as he got closer to Maki and his friends. The island was close enough that Kaoru could reach it with a few flickers if he wanted to, but he would never leave the crew behind on the ship, as they would immediately run away.
"Dock the ship somewhere safe, and then most of you will come with me. We will leave only two people behind," Kaoru ordered. He thought that two pirates would not be able to sail the ship, making running away impossible. Leaving more than that would be risky.
The pirates grumbled but kept their voices low, unwilling to poke Kaoru further, who was clearly already irritated.
When the ship reached the island, Kaoru saw several people on the shore. He was about to greet them when he noticed chakra flaring as two massive water attacks and a fire blast came toward them.
'What the hell are they doing?' He was confident these were Kiri's forces, and for a moment, he even thought that they might have recognized him and were trying to kill him before he reached the land. But he quickly brushed these thoughts away. There was no way they did not know that a chunin-level attack would never be able to harm Kaoru, especially when he was literally on the water.
Kaoru's eyes started glowing cyan as a huge water wall rose from the sea, shielding the entire ship.
'What the hell is this?'
The pirates were speechless, including Emma. They knew Kaoru was stronger than them, but they did not know he was this strong.
'I can't believe I considered slapping this monster a few minutes ago.' Emma shivered, terrified as she imagined what could have happened if the little monster decided she was no longer needed. 'I must be smart. Just because I can't manipulate him, I should not show him my true emotions. If he gets angry, I'm done for.' She made a mental note.
As the incoming attacks dissipated, Kaoru flickered forward, reaching the shore in the blink of an eye.
"I'm Takime Kaoru. Stop attacking," he called in a calm but loud enough voice to make sure the Kiri nin heard him.
One of the Kiri shinobi glared, still tense. "How do we know you're not lying?"
Another squinted at him. "Look at his hair and eyes, this is definitely the Blue Needle of Takime!"
"Don't be stupid! Anyone could use a transformation jutsu."
Kaoru had heard enough. With a thought, his Suijingan's glow intensified, and several dark blue needles materialized in the air, hovering ominously.
"This should be proof enough," he smirked, watching the Kiri nin take an involuntary step back.
A man with a scarred eye stepped forward, bowing enthusiastically. "Our apologies, Lord Kaoru. Your sister didn't inform us, and we have orders to attack anyone approaching without warning."
"It's fine, I understand," Kaoru said, already turning to leave, but then he paused. An idea made him smile. "Actually, could you guard my ship for now? I don't trust my hired crew alone. It won't be long, I'll have my sister send shinobi to relieve you."
The scarred shinobi nodded quickly, happy that Kaoru was not making a big deal out of the matter. "Of course, we'll handle it."
Kaoru didn't wait. He flickered back to the ship instantly, worried the crew might try to flee because then he'd have to kill them, and he still had uses for them.
Back aboard The Sapphire, chaos greeted him.
"...like lambs to slaughter!" A wiry pirate was whispering urgently to his crewmates. "That demon won't let a single one of us…"
"Leave?" Kaoru materialized directly behind the man, enjoying how he nearly leapt out of his skin. The crew froze like startled deer as Kaoru's laughter cut through the tension. "Remember this lesson well - only plot treason when you're certain the 'demon' isn't listening." His solitary laughter rang across the deck until, hesitantly, the crew joined in - their chuckles nervous but breaking the suffocating fear.
Kaoru's smile didn't reach his eyes as he continued, "Do your part in this war, and I'll let you go when it's over. If you still want to leave, of course." His tone was deceptively light as he turned to Emma, about to tell her the plan.
"I know, I know," she snapped before he could speak, then she shot him a condencending look before turning around, walking toward the wheel. "We'll dock and all march obediently with you, now that you've got your Kiri watchdogs." The ship roared and turned toward the island as she steered the wheel violently, the wooden vessel no longer feeling as close and dear as before.
…
"Ruuu!" Maki vanished in a burst of speed, reappearing to crush Kaoru in a hug so violent his bones audibly creaked.
"M-Maki... I'm g-gonna die..." he wheezed, face turning blue from the pressure.
"You're fine. Stop whining," she sniffled, refusing to loosen her grip. The entire camp beamed at the siblings' reunion - until Maki's tears started falling on Kaoru's head, transforming their smiles into matching wet cheeks.
Mei broke the moment with purposeful strides. "Where have you been?" Unlike the others, she was close enough to both of them to interrupt without feeling weird.
"It's a long story," Kaoru gasped, shooting her a grateful look as Maki finally released him.
"Oh? Long story?" Mei's booming laugh drew all eyes first to Emma and then to Kaoru, who had made a quick stride toward Mizuki.
"I'm glad you came back," Mizuki murmured, her fragile smile undermined by the green tint in her eyes as she assessed Emma's beauty.
"I-I miss... I mean, I'm glad to see you too," Kaoru mumbled, so flustered his tongue tangled.
'How can you be so lame, Ru?'
'These two...'
The camp collectively facepalmed at their awkwardness, except for Emma, whose calculating gaze sharpened.
'So this is why you didn't fall for me...' A fresh scheme was forming in her head.
**
A/N –
I ended up spending more time on Kaoru's return arc than I initially planned, but I really wanted to give him space outside of Takimura - to grow, observe, and experience things from a different angle.
This part also marks the beginning of Kaoru questioning the shinobi way itself. Eventually, he'll have to find his own version of what it means to be a ninja ( his ninja way dattebayo ), and how that connects to the way he hopes to change the world. I've been focusing more on developing his personality lately. Early on, he was a bit bland, intentionally, as he was still a kid trying to find his place. But little by little, you'll start seeing more of his edges take shape.
Reminder - Break Tomorrow!
Character Notes:
Kaoru Takime – Reluctant Pirate Captain – "I command the ship, the sea, and your lives. But please stop rocking the deck… I will vomit."
Emma – Sirens wanna be – "I tried seduction, diplomacy, and gaslighting. Now I'm trying not to die."
Mei Terumi – Chaos Enabler – "You were gone for five days and brought a pirate queen home. I approve."
Mizuki – Jealousy behind shiness – "I missed you. Also, who's the tall, hot, morally grey woman behind you?"
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The link is also in the synopsis
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