304. The Giant Corpse Crab

"This is…"

Ayaka's and Hanabi's expression freezes as they blankly stare at the sea.

Haha…

Yakumo laughs with the rest of the crew as Kanami concludes her story.

"Don't take this story to heart. It's a folklore in the Mist Sea."

Kanami dismisses the crew. She turns towards the girls.

"Alright girls! It's nighttime already. Time for sleep!"

Kanami waves her hand in front of the terrified Hanabi and Ayaka.

"What's the matter, girls?"

"Ka… Ka… Kanami-san! Look over there!"

Ayaka points towards the thick fog with trembling hands.

Hm?!

Kanami stares at the thick mist surrounding their cargo ship.

An outline of a giant ship appears in their vision. There is a giant black flag on the mast of the ship and a flock of crows follows the ship.

"It's the Ghostship from the folklore." Hanabi remarks in fear.

"What?!"

Kanami warily stares at the Ghostship.

"Everyone! Get ready to intercept the enemy."

She tightens her Bandanna headband and draws a long saber from her waist.

Fwoosh…

The ghost ship sails towards the Kanami's cargo ship at an incredible speed.

"At this rate, it will ram into our ship."

Kanami's expression turns ugly.

"Ready the cannons! We can't allow it to close on us."

The nearby sailor ninjas quickly rush towards the deck and prepare the cannons. They aim it towards the approaching ghost ship.

"Ready!"

The sailor ninjas load the cannon with specially made spherical projectiles. They insert the sphere into the cannon and infuse it with chakra.

BOOM… BOOM…

The cannon fires multiple spherical orbs at the incoming ship.

Swish… swish…

The orbs split opens and fire a barrage of kunai with explosive tags towards the Ghost Ship.

BOOM…

A giant explosion occurs on top of the ghost ship. Large amounts of mist rise in the surroundings and block their view.

Fwoosh…

The Ghostship rams into their cargo ship.

Rumble… Rumble…

The ship sways wildly as the collision destroys a major portion of the ship.

Tch…

Kanami clicks her tongue.

"That will be cut from my paycheck."

She angrily turns towards the Ghostship.

"Whoever you are! You better get ready to pay for my loss!"

Whoosh…

Kanami draws her saber and leaps from the ship. She dashes towards the Ghostship and jumps on its deck.

Swoosh… swoosh…

The rest of the sailor ninja follows after her and jumps on the deck of the Ghostship.

"Get ready for the attack!"

Kanami clenches her sword as she gazes at the dark cabin of the ship.

Fwoosh… fwoosh…

Multiple figures in black clothes charge out of the cabin and launch an attack against the entire crew of sailor shinobis.

Swish… swish…

Kanami makes some hand signs.

"Water Style: Torrent Bullet"

Kanami spews out a giant vortex of water. The vortex expands rapidly and engulfs the entire fleet of enemies.

Hmph…

"That's what you get for messing with the sailor shinobis of Benisu Island in the sea."

Both sides engage in a fierce battle against each other.

On the Cargo ship,

Team three stares at the barrage of jutsu released one after another.

"Shall we help them?" Hanabi asks cautiously.

"We should! If the ship gets destroyed, then we will lose our way and end up being stranded in the middle of this vast sea."

Ayaka nods her head.

"Let's go!"

Ayaka and Hanabi leap into the sea and dash over the water towards the enemy ship.

"I will support you both from here!"

Yakumo takes out a painting scroll from her storage. She swiftly draws clouds and the enemy ship with her brush.

"Eat this!"

Ayaka jumps on the deck of the ship. She quickly makes some hand signs.

"Fire Style: Pheonix Flower Jutsu"

She fires a volley of small fireballs at the enemy group.

BOOM… BOOM…

Multiple explosion rings on the deck as Ayaka quickly deals with a group of enemies.

Inside a cabin in the cargo ship,

Yawn…

Izuna yawns lazily as he stares out of the window. He notices the trio of girls engaged in a battle against a group of masked enemies.

Sigh…

Izuna helplessly shakes his head.

Shiing…

He activates his Mangekyo Sharingan.

Crack… crack…

His surrounding shatters into fragments as he frees himself from the genjutsu.

Izuna opens his eyes and notices a gigantic crustacean attacking the ship.

"So, this is the Giant Corpse Crab from the stories."

Izuna scrutinizes the appearance of the crab.

The Giant Corpse crab has razor-sharp pincers which are hooked on the hull of the ship as he slowly tears it apart.

Multiple sailor ninjas, including team three, are standing on top of its back as they fervently attack the 'enemies'.

The rock-hard shell of the corpse crab easily blocks all the jutsus of the group. The barnacles on the crab's back open up and attempt to swallow the crew.

BANG…

Hanabi uses her gentle fist to repel the attack from a barnacle.

Haah…

"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two palms"

She rapidly attacks the barnacle.

Poof…

The barnacle explodes into flesh and blood.

Swoosh… swoosh…

Multiple barnacles surround Hanabi to overwhelm her.

"I will help you!"

Ayaka groups up Hanabi as both of them resist the attack of the 'enemy crew'.

Whoosh…

The giant corpse crab opens its mouth and releases a multitude of tentacles from it.

Fwish… Fwish…

It grabs multiple Sailor shinobis and grabs them inside his mouth.

"Hmm… A vine user!" Kanani frowns as she stares at the dark cabin.

"Your tricks won't work against me."

Swish… swish…

She skillfully weaves her saber and chops the vine into pieces.

Haha…

Izuna ruefully stares at the struggles of the giant corpse crab and the crew of Benisu Island.

"This crab sure is crafty."

He stares at the thick mist surrounding their ship and remark.

"This crab releases a thick chakra mist in the sea to act as a trap. Later, he hides beneath the sea and patiently waits for its prey. Whenever any living being enters the thick mist, it will alert the crab.

The crab will quickly arrive at the surface and then it will use the mist as a medium to cast a powerful genjutsu on its victim.

Inside the genjutsu, his body morphs into a gigantic ghost ship. He rams his body into the ship to prevent its target from fleeing from its clutches.

The barnacles on its hard-shell act as the pirates of the ghost ship as they slowly overwhelm the crew with their sheer number. What a nasty strategy!"

Izuna shakes his head as he is surprised by the craftiness of the crab.

"This crab lacks spiritual intelligence and yet he is still able to formulate such a sinister plan. I wonder how many ships have it targeted to become folklore in the Mist Sea. Maybe a lucky few survived his clutches and spread the rumors of the Cursed Ghost Ship to the rest of the world."

Izuna hides his presence and slowly walks towards the giant crab.

"I won't interfere with their battle, since it can serve as training for the girls. But I also won't allow this crab to harm any crew member. After all, I still have to visit Benisu Island."

Swoosh… swoosh…

Izuna saves the sailor shinobis from the grasp of the giant corpse crab.

-----------------------

On the Cursed Ghost Ship,

Huff… huff…

Ayaka, Hanabi, and the rest of the crew breathe heavily as they stare at the dark cabin of the ship.

"How many more?"

Huff… huff…

"How many of these pirates are still hiding inside this ship." One of the crew members breathes heavily.

"I have lost count of how many enemies I killed, but they keep coming endlessly!"

Kanami frowns as she stares at the corpses of the pirates. She nudges the body of a pirate with her saber.

The empty head of a corpse tumbles down and rolls on the ground. The hood of the head slides down to reveal a Skelton.

Eek…

Ayaka and Hanabi scream in fear and hugs each other.

"This is a Ghost Ship. This ship is definitely a ghost ship!"

Hanabi frantically nods her head.

"That's a made-up tale among sailors!"

Kanami waves her hands to dismiss her.

"Then… then… how can you explain the endless amounts of enemies appearing one after another!" Hanabi argues with her.

"Well!"

Kanami is stuck speechless as she confronts another wave of enemies.

'Is it really a ghost ship?'

Doubts appear in her mind.