Chapter 82: Salvage and Saving Grace
The sea was cold, grey, and utterly indifferent to their predicament. When the patchwork vessel gave its final, shuddering groan and surrendered to the waves, it didn'tt so much sink as disassemble, spitting its passengers into the churning water with contemptuous ease.
Chaos, predictably, ensued.
"Boatman, you lying bastard! You said the water was calm!" Naruto's yell was half swallowed by a mouthful of saltwater as he flailed, his chakra control not yet extending to aquatic survival.
"I can't swim! Ren! Kakashi-sensei! HELP!" Sakura's shriek was pure panic, her arms windmilling as she was pulled by an unseen current.
Two figures moved with preternatural calm amidst the turmoil.
Kakashi and Ren Arakawa stood—actually stood—on the surface of the heaving water, their chakra soles adhering to the liquid as if it were solid ground. To them, the shipwreck was an inconvenience, not a catastrophe.
A quick, assessing glance passed between them. No words were needed.
Kakashi flickered, a blur of motion that left a faint ripple, and reappeared beside the spluttering, spitting Naruto. He grabbed the boy by the scruff of his orange jumpsuit and hauled him up like a sodden kitten. "Breathe, don't drink," he instructed dryly, already turning to check on the others.
Ren moved toward Sakura. She was sinking, her pink hair a dark, wet banner beneath the surface. He didn't run; he simply stepped down, the water parting around his leg until he was waist-deep beside her. He hooked an arm around her torso and pulled her up, breaking the surface with a gasp.
"Thank you... Ren," she choked out, seawater streaming from her hair. The terror in her green eyes began to recede, replaced by a dazed relief. Instinctively, her arms locked around his neck, her body pressing against his for stability in the unstable sea.
"No problem," he said, his voice steady. He began walking them toward the shore, each step a controlled release of chakra that created a temporary, solid footing on the water. As they moved, he added, quieter, "I owe you an apology, by the way. For the hospital. It was a reflexive defense. Not intentional."
He felt her tense slightly, then relax against him. "I know," she murmured, her cheek close to his shoulder. "Kakashi-sensei explained. He said your body... reacts before you think sometimes. Like a veteran's."
"He's not wrong," Ren admitted. The 'veteran' in question was Minato Namikaze's combat instincts, etched into his muscle memory via the system. "Still. Seeing you glare daggers at me all week was terrifying."
A small, shaky laugh escaped her. "I wasn't... I was just... waiting for you to say something. It's not easy for a girl to bring it up, you know?"
Her face was flushed, and not just from the cold. Ren adjusted his grip, his hand settling more securely on the curve of her waist, pulling her a fraction closer to make the walk against the current easier. The contact was practical. Mostly.
"Hold on," he said, a hint of a smile in his voice. "Going to pick up the pace."
Before she could respond, he shifted, sweeping her fully into his arms in a bridal carry. He ignored her surprised squeak and broke into a sprint across the water's surface, chakra flaring at his feet, turning the chaotic waves into a flat track. The shore, a dark line in the mist, rushed toward them.
[Tobirama Senju: By the Sage's left sandal, he actually went for it. The pink-haired one.]
[Uchiha Izuna: See? See this, Tobirama? This is the product of your vaunted Ninja Academy system! Fraternization in the field!]
[Tobirama Senju: Don't pin this on my curriculum! The academy I founded taught discipline and tactics, not... aquatic courtship! This is the degeneracy of later administrations! Hiruzen's fault! And Minato's! Setting a terrible example by marrying his own classmate!]
[Uchiha Izuna: Ah! An excellent point! It's all Namikaze Minato's influence! He normalized this... this emotional entanglement among operatives!]
[Minato Namikaze: I object! Kushina and I were a stabilizing—]
[Kushina Uzumaki: MINATO, FOR THE LAST TIME, SHUT UP! YOU'RE MAKING IT WORSE!]
[Minato Namikaze: ...Yes, dear.]
Ten minutes of chakra-powered sprinting brought them to the rocky shoreline of the Land of Waves. Ren set Sakura down gently on a large, flat stone. She was breathless, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her clothes plastered to her skin. To an outside observer, it might have looked scandalous.
"Just... need a moment," she panted, unable to meet his eyes directly.
"Rest," Ren said, his own breathing barely elevated. "I'll keep watch. Kakashi and the others will be here soon."
He settled on a neighboring rock, closed his eyes, and focused inward. The dual-engine chakra system of Uzumaki vitality and Uchiha potency hummed within him. The expenditure from the water-walking and sprint was negligible, but in hostile territory, even a five-percent deficit was a liability. He cycled his chakra, drawing from the deep wells of his hybrid physiology. Within minutes, he was back at peak.
The sound of splashing and grumbling announced the arrival of the others. Kakashi emerged from the mist first, looking mildly put-upon, with a dripping, grumpy Naruto in tow. Sasuke followed, swimming with efficient, angry strokes, his Sharingan deactivated but his scowl firmly in place. Tazuna paddled doggedly behind, and lastly, the boatman appeared, miraculously towing the shattered remains of his wooden craft behind him like a drowned pet.
"You couldn't have helped with Naruto too?" Kakashi asked, shaking water from his hair like a disgruntled hound. "My book is soaked."
"You've only just taught me water-walking, sensei," Ren replied without opening his eyes, his voice the picture of innocent exhaustion. "Carrying Sakura was my limit. My control still needs work."
It was a bald-faced lie. His chakra control, courtesy of Izuna Uchiha's donation, was kage-level in its precision. But feigning a weakness kept Kakashi from asking why a 'genin' could perform a B-rank utility jutsu under extreme duress while carrying another person.
Kakashi's single eye narrowed, but he let it go with a sigh. "Right. Of course."
"Huff... puff... We made it... I thought... I was fish food..." Naruto collapsed on the rocks, chest heaving.
The boatman finally dragged his wreckage onto the shore, looking proud of his salvage operation. "See? Told you we'd make it! A little water never hurt anyone!"
He didn't see Naruto rising behind him like a vengeful, soggy specter.
"You...!" Naruto's voice was a low growl. "You said the waves were small! You said the boat was fine! You said 'find a piece of wood'!"
The boatman turned, a placating smile on his face. "Now, young master, in the shipping business, we call that 'optimistic—'"
THWACK.
Naruto's fist, fueled by righteous fury and saltwater, connected with the man's jaw in a solid, satisfying punch. The boatman spun once and landed in a heap beside his ruined boat.
"...advice," he finished, unconscious.
There was a moment of silence, broken only by the crash of waves and Naruto's heavy breathing.
"Feel better?" Kakashi asked.
"A little," Naruto admitted, shaking his stinging hand.
Ren finally opened his eyes, a faint smirk on his lips as he surveyed the scene: the unconscious boatman, the furious Naruto, the exhausted Tazuna, the scowling Sasuke, the embarrassed Sakura, and the eternally unflappable Kakashi.
They were ashore. They were wet, tired, and off-script.
And somewhere in the thick, silent fog that blanketed the Land of Waves, a demon with a sword that drank blood was waiting, having watched the entire farcical landing.
The mission, in all its chaotic, messy, and unexpectedly romantic glory, had well and truly begun.