The quiet sea breeze brushed against a wooden boat belonging to Kirigakure.
The vessel rocked faintly.
Two Mist chūnin lay sprawled inside—exhausted to the point of collapse.
Continuous jutsu output, even with constant chakra refinement, had nearly drained them dry.
They had waited for a long time.
No signs of their jōnin.
No signs of the ANBU.
Eventually, the two chūnin returned to the boat to await the team's return.
"So slow…"
"I really envy Chōta and Saodō. They get to witness the death of a Konoha jōnin firsthand."
"Oh come on—we participated in a top-secret A-rank operation! The village will reward us too."
Neither noticed the subtle shift in the sea breeze.
The boat drifted… gently… toward the mist they had created earlier.
Thunk.
"Huh?! Did we hit something?" one muttered, standing to stabilize the boat.
He glanced overboard—
—and instantly turned pale.
"I–It's over—IT'S OVER!!"
Bobbing against the hull were severed limbs, a half-torso, and a headless body—
all drifting in the waves like discarded dolls.
"What are you talking abou—"
The second chūnin looked up, rubbed his eyes…
And froze.
"I… I must be hallucinating.
This must be a genjutsu… right?
That… that's an ANBU corpse… and… and arms… legs…"
His voice cracked.
Tears began dripping onto the boat's wooden planks.
Fire Country, the outer reef coast
Waves smashed against stone cliffs, echoing through the ears of Yūhi Ryūun and Might Duy as they waited at a high overlook.
Nawaki and Shiranui Genma had formed a small search team, escorting the two terrified boatmen inland.
Given their depleted chakra and stamina, neither returning to the village nor searching for border patrol was feasible.
Too far for the former.
Too risky for the latter—one could never be sure if the shinobi encountered were truly Konoha.
Thus, waiting here was their safest option.
"Uncle Kurenai…"
"Kaito…"
"Please… please be alive…"
Duy sat beside Ryūun, equally at a loss for words, equally anxious.
"It's all my fault…" he murmured.
"How is it your fault? This clearly—WAIT."
Ryūun's hand clenched around a stone.
"You're not a Mist spy… right?!"
"Of course not!" Duy yelped, completely unaware of the rock Ryūun almost slammed into his skull.
"I'm just… unlucky. Every mission I join turns into this disaster."
Ryūun lowered the rock.
"…That's just your imagination."
She took a breath, eyes dimming.
"In reality… maybe the Mist-nin were telling the truth.
Maybe Uzushio betrayed us."
Her voice shook with anger.
History taught that the Uzumaki and Konoha were allies—
Uzushio was Konoha's eye on the sea, guarding their flank, coordinating defenses.
And now—
"Ryūun! Look! Isn't that Kaito?!"
"What?!"
Ryūun shot to her feet.
On the shimmering sea surface, a black-haired boy sprinted atop the waves, carrying a badly injured jōnin on his back.
Kaito gritted his teeth.
"The Ope-Ope consumption pushed me too far…"
"Tch… so this is my limit?"
He ran across the sea for fifty nautical miles—nearly eighty kilometers—carrying a grown adult while severely chakra-drained.
Even for him, the exhaustion was monstrous.
At last, he reached the shore.
Kaito laid Kurenai gently on the driest patch he could find… and collapsed beside him, chest heaving.
Hearing swift footsteps approaching, he turned his head slightly—
Ryūun and Duy were rushing toward him.
He finally let go.
All the accumulated exhaustion from his shadow clones and ROOM's massive consumption surged through his nerves—
—and he willingly allowed himself to fade toward half-consciousness.
"Kaito!!" ×2
The two arrived to find Kaito drenched, trembling, and drifting between wake and sleep.
Kurenai was barely breathing.
Kaito sighed weakly in his mind.
First time in ages I pushed myself this hard…
Night falls.
A crescent moon curved above a dark sky.
Near Uzushio stood a tiny offshore outpost belonging to Konoha.
The islet was small—barely enough land for twenty people—but functional.
A chakra-powered boat was docked, using a special engine that accelerated when fed chakra.
Konoha's stationed shinobi on this outpost regularly visited Uzushio to collect food.
Occasionally, Fire Country sent resupply shipments too.
Tall fences encircled the outpost.
Watchtowers lined the edges.
Torches flickered against stone walls, illuminating the night.
"Another peaceful day~"
"If only there were no war…"
"What're you talking about? War isn't decided by shinobi like us."
"So long as hatred exists between villages, conflict will always return."
"You two! Stop spacing out! Mist-nin could appear any moment!"
"Yes, Captain!" ×2
The chūnin straightened as the overseeing jōnin approached the tower.
He sighed, then patted their heads gently.
"All right, all right.
Out here, you won't hear a peep from anyone.
Relaxing a bit is fine—but not on night watch."
His gaze drifted to the vast black horizon over the sea.
"Out here, danger can come from anywhere.
I know how hard this post is."
"Captain…" ×2
"As expected of Captain! You're the best! Isn't that right, Yuzuki?"
Morino Yuzuki nodded warmly.
"As long as we're assigned here,
no matter what happens,
we'll stand with Captain."
"Always—"
—
Fire Country, western coastline
A Konoha border patrol squad had discovered a wrecked chakra-powered boat—
pierced with countless kunai and shuriken.
A Konoha vessel.
After having a shadow clone ensure it was safe, they investigated.
On board was a gravely injured chūnin, unconscious, barely alive.
"Captain, looks like one of the offshore outpost's shinobi."
The border jōnin touched the boy's neck, confirming a pulse.
His jaw tightened.
"No need to tell me—
I already know!"
The ocean breeze carried a scent of blood.
A terrible omen.
A disaster was brewing at the border.
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