The late November sun slanted low over Nagi Island, casting long, jagged shadows across the cliffs. The cold front bit at exposed skin, stinging my arms and cheeks. Each inhale drew the sharp tang of salt and iron from the sea deep into my chest, mixed with faint cedar smoke from the highland groves. My lungs burned, expanding against the chill. Behind us, the frayed cables of the suspension bridge groaned against the ocean's persistent roar.
Naruto crouched beside me in my peripheral vision, the damp fabric of his tank top radiating excess body heat. Sweat slid down the curve of his spine, and the thick veins in his forearms bulged under the strain of his clenched fists. A few paces away, Idate's hands shook with a high-amplitude tremor. His ragged breath hitched every few seconds, his frantic eyes flicking across the loose rocks as he searched for stable footing. I felt the hard, cold metal of the Akatsuki Void Ring pressing through my thigh pouch, a localized pressure anchoring me to the dirt.
Naruto pressed his thumb to his palm. A sharp crack of chakra displaced the air, kicking dust against my shins. Gama materialized, his massive, warty bulk casting a heavy shadow over us, slick moisture dripping from his immense frame into the dry volcanic grit.
"Gama-san! We need your help!" Naruto called. Gama blinked, dark eyes narrowing.
"C'mon, Idate! Your ride is here!" Naruto pressed. Idate's protest—"Bu-but—"—died in his throat.
"This isn't ninjutsu! This is a ride! We don't have a boat!" Naruto added.
"Can you run on water? We can," I said, my voice tight.
Idate grabbed the edge of Gama's back. I mirrored him, my fingers sinking into the thick, springy hide. "Please… hold onto me," Idate muttered, his grip white-knuckled.
My stomach bottomed out violently. Gama pushed off, launching us over the surf. A wall of freezing saltwater sprayed directly into my open mouth. My knees jolted upward at the apex of the arc. The freezing wind tore through my hair, plastering it against my skull. My polarized glasses fogged instantly, trapping the stinging salt against my eyes. I squeezed them shut, scraping the wet moisture from my lashes, my core muscles screaming as they locked tight to keep me from falling backward into the churning sea.
Gama hit the eastern beach with a heavy, wet, resonant thud. The impact shot directly up my heels, vibrating violently through my shins and rattling my spine. I staggered forward, my boots sinking deep into the saturated sand with a heavy, gritty crunch. The roaring rush of wind in my ears abruptly died, replaced by the rhythmic, heavy slapping of the tide against the shoreline. The air here felt different—the sharp, high-altitude chill replaced by the heavy, pungent stench of wet coastal stone and rotting kelp.
Gama vanished in a sharp puff of smoke that blew back into my face, leaving us stranded on the shoreline. I dropped to one knee, my chest heaving as I fought to pull the dense, salty air into my burning lungs.
Beside me, Idate collapsed onto his hands and knees, his breath shuddering violently in his throat. His fingers dug deeply into the wet sand.
"Idate," I gasped, reaching out to grip his trembling shoulder. "Are you hurt?"
He squeezed his eyes shut, a panicked wheeze escaping his lips. "I can't... my legs..."
"Breathe," I commanded, fighting the burn in my own throat. "We made it across. Just breathe."
"We… have to—move," he stammered, his voice cracking as he forced his sore joints to lock and pushed himself upward.
I nodded, gritting my teeth against the bite of the cold sea breeze. "Keep moving."
We surged up the beach. The loose, wet sand swallowed my boots, forcing my ankles to twist and flex painfully with every sinking step. Frigid water lapped at my heels, soaking through my sandals and chilling my toes to the bone. The sudden, intense load dragged at my calves, sending hot spikes of lactic burn shooting up through my thighs. The coastal wind whipped across my face, crystallizing the salt spray against my lips and stinging my eyelids.
Naruto surged ahead of us. His soaked tank top plastered against his back, his arms pumping in a fluid, relentless rhythm that kicked wet clumps of sand backward onto my shins.
The dark timber of the pier approached. The deep, muffled crunch of sand gave way to the sharp, echoing slap of our sandals against brine-slicked wood. The wooden planks flexed and groaned under our combined weight. The smell of concentrated sea salt and dried fish hit my nose, thick and suffocating. My lungs burned with a searing heat on every intake, my heart hammering a frantic, localized rhythm against my ribs.
We cleared the dock's incline, the uneven wooden planks smoothing out into the cobblestone path of Degarashi Port. Idate sagged against my side, his weight dragging my shoulder down. I swallowed hard, tasting grit and iron, my quads trembling as we slowed our pace to a heavy jog.
Then, the wind shifted.
A sickeningly sour, heavy wave of fermented liquor and stale sweat washed over my face, overriding the smell of the sea.
My stomach lurched. Naruto stopped dead in his tracks, the muscles in his back instantly going rigid.
A shadow lurched from the alleyway ahead.
Fukusuke swayed into the cobblestone street, his staggered, uneven gait dragging his boots across the rocks.
He leaned too far to the left, caught himself with a sluggish, drunken heave, and lurched forward again.
Naruto's hands balled into fists, the veins in his forearms bulging instantly as his entire posture shifted from exhaustion to immediate hostility. Every muscle in my battered legs locked, the burning fatigue overridden by a cold, sharp spike of adrenaline.
Behind us, the violent waters separating us from Nagi Island crashed against the pilings.
And ahead, the port offered no safety—only the sour stench of our target.