But, as he plunged the paddle into the sea, a shadow rocketed upwards from the depths. Jack and the others flung themselves to the other end of the raft as a huge mouth bristling with serrated teeth burst from the water. Its jaws snapped through the wooden beams, the timber cracking like brittle bones. As the monstrous beast shot clear of the sea, its long white underbelly was revealed. A stink of rotting fish filled the air before the shark slammed back into the water, sending a small tidal wave across the remains of the raft. Jack and his friends clung to each other, desperate not to be washed overboard.

The shark, robbed of its prey, dived back down to unseen depths.

‘White Death!’ exclaimed Cheng in between hysterical gasps. ‘The Wind Demons … told tales … of such a shark … that eats men whole!’

Jack had never seen a great white shark before. But he too had heard stories of how this bloodthirsty creature split boats in half and devoured entire crews. Now that he had stared directly into its malevolent black eyes, Jack believed the gruesome legends. This was the most feared shark of the seven seas. Cruel, vicious and cunning, the great white was an unstoppable force of nature. Gripped by an almost overwhelming terror, it took all Jack’s willpower not to lose his nerve entirely. Panic would only get them killed quicker.

‘Grab any weapon you can find,’ he instructed. ‘And form a circle.’

Miyuki eased her ninjatō from the crumbling deck. Cheng shakily held his knife, Yori his shuriken-tipped staff and Saburo the paddle. His samurai swords were bound to their packs, still secured to the raft, but he couldn’t risk reaching for them. While the raft wasn’t yet sinking, any sudden movement could tip them all into the sea.

They raised their weapons as the great white made a pass. Rolling slightly so that its snout and saw-like teeth emerged, the shark’s cold fathomless eye regarded them with menace. Then the beast sank beneath the waves without a trace.

Jack knelt beside the others on the fragile raft. His heart thumped in his chest, the blood rushed through his veins. He tried to calm his breathing, but the thought of that ravenous shark circling them petrified him to his very core.

The sea erupted behind him. The great white clamped its jaws on to the corner of the raft and furiously shook its head from side to side. In a matter of moments, the deck was being torn apart. Saburo smashed his paddle on to the shark’s snout. Still the beast ripped into the raft, getting closer with every bite. Saburo struck at it again as Miyuki went for its gills. The double attack convinced the shark to release its grip and the monster swam off.

‘The raft won’t survive another attack like that,’ panted Saburo, wiping the salt water from his eyes with the back of his arm.