Even after night had fully settled and everyone had eaten and rested, Nagashi still hadn't recovered from the daytime battle.
The forest had been swapped with a new shift: the clan chūnin stationed in the city and the jōnin on guarding duty took over, setting up camp around the unfinished ship.
Altogether, nearly a hundred shinobi stood watch.
The workers who'd labored during the day returned to the city to rest.
Construction would continue tomorrow.
If everything went smoothly, the ship should be finished before nightfall—and they could depart the following day.
Outside, darkness swallowed the land.
Only a thin white crescent hung high above.
Moonlight spilled through the window of a small wooden cabin.
Inside, light-colored tatami mats lined the floor.
Three futons were arranged neatly; one was empty.
The other two were occupied:
—Kaito, pretending to sleep.
—And Might Duy, fast asleep, a bubble inflating from his nose, drooling, mumbling incoherently.
"Wife… I really can't eat anymore…"
"…"
"Guy… call Daddy…"
"…"
"Daddy's right here~"
Kaito: "…"
I swear to god—
His habit of half-sleeping, half-waking—trained for survival—was being utterly ruined by Duy's dream-talking.
"So you like talking in your sleep that much? Fine — go comfort Nagashi then."
"Water Release: Water Droplet."
A tiny bead of water slipped from Kaito's lips, floated up, and drifted toward the dream bubble—
Pop.
"Al—eh?"
Duy jerked upright, blinking sleepily. He scanned the room, flopped back down, then sat up again, finally noticing the brown-haired boy standing by the moonlit window.
"Nagashi? Why aren't you sleeping?"
Nagashi, lost in thought, didn't even notice the tatami had dampened slightly from Kaito's technique.
"Sorry, Uncle Duy… Did I wake you?"
"No, no. I just woke up."
"Let's keep our voices low, don't disturb Kaito. He took down a chūnin today—must be exhausted."
Kaito, very much awake: "…"
Did you let me sleep even once?!
Though… now he could sleep.
Nagashi suddenly asked quietly:
"…Uncle Duy, have you ever… killed someone?"
Duy paused, then nodded after a moment of reflection.
"Yes."
"It was a group of bounty hunters."
"I didn't want to kill them. One of them… honestly looked pretty pitiful."
"But Kaito told me I needed to finish him off. He said if I let that kind of man live, he'd come for revenge—
Against me, or my family."
Duy scratched his cheek, speaking with mild embarrassment.
"So…
When I thought of my family being targeted, I chose to kill him."
"What about Ms. Nonō? And Ms. Mikoto?" Nagashi asked.
Duy closed his eyes, remembering.
"They struggled too."
"That first kill…"
"It shatters the values you spent your whole life building."
"But as shinobi—"
"We must kill."
"If we don't kill the enemy, the enemy will kill us."
"It's just that…"
"That… what?" Nagashi pressed gently.
Suddenly, Duy's expression hardened. He gripped the boy's shoulders with both hands.
"Nagashi…
Never become someone who kills without reason."
"Before you kill, hold fast to the principles in your heart."
"If you become the kind of ninja who kills indiscriminately…"
"Your comrades… won't matter to you anymore."
"The moment you lose the will to protect—"
"You stop being a shinobi."
"No…"
"You stop being a human."
"You become a monster—
A creature living only for itself."
Silence blanketed the room.
Kaito, unable to sleep thanks to Duy's sermon, thought of a certain snake-like man… and a certain white-haired jōnin who would one day chase immortality.
Nagashi's expression shifted. His eyes steadied, and a small smile formed.
"I understand."
"We're Konoha shinobi. We protect Konoha. And while protecting the village… we protect our families too."
"So—"
He straightened, face firm and resolute.
"As long as I hold on to my beliefs… and protect what I want to protect—
That's enough!"
"That's it, boy! To celebrate your enlightenment, let's run a hundred laps around Uzu no Kuni tomorrow morning!"
Nagashi: "…"
"N-No thanks— We have missions tomorrow…"
"What's this?"
Duy leaned closer, filling Nagashi's vision.
"Are you scared?"
"As if!!"
Pff.
Their loud voices made both freeze as they heard shifting from Kaito's futon. They turned slowly—
Kaito was still motionless.
They exhaled in relief.
"Monster, huh?"
"Maybe," Kaito thought bitterly.
"Maybe I already am."
But then his expression steeled.
Because to achieve dreams—
To accomplish goals—
One must crush their enemies.
Since ancient times, justice defeated evil, light defeated darkness…
But as long as my power is enough—
I am justice.
I am light.
The Next Morning
Team One continued guarding the perimeter outside the forest.
After losing four chūnin, the Mist-nin ceased all further assaults.
More importantly—
The squad that ambushed Yamanaka and Aburame had failed. The Ino–Shika–Chō formation played them like fools, their captain was killed, two chūnin died, and the survivors retreated to a previous Mist naval outpost to report.
Between Konoha's Navy Outposts 1 and 2 lay the territory of Uzu no Kuni.
Outpost 2 had already been completely destroyed.
Outpost 1 had been intentionally wrecked during a retreat. Only rubble remained.
But the Mist reinforcements rebuilt it into a temporary base.
Bang!
"Eleven-man squad."
"Six elite Mist chūnin dead. Jonin Huiichi dead. AND YOU FOUR DIDN'T DIE WITH THEM?!"
"We're sorry, Lord Suikyo!!" ×4
"If we didn't need manpower right now, I'd execute all of you for mission failure."
"Please spare us!!" ×4
"I'll give you one more chance. Fail again—
Prepare for seppuku."
"GET OUT!"
"Yes, sir!!" ×4
Inside the blue-white Mist camp, the four terrified chūnin hurried out.
Sitting inside, a man with cropped white hair propped his chin on one hand, replaying their report in his mind.
"A ship… to escape?"
"As if I'd let that happen."
"Someone! Come in!"
"Lord Suikyo!"
Hozuki Suikyo stood up, his face twisted with fury as he addressed the gathered Mist-nin.
"Tonight we reorganize and rest. Gather all supplies at the outpost—
Take everything we can carry.
Destroy whatever we can't.
Leave NOTHING for the enemy."
"Yes, sir!"
Suikyo nodded, drawing his blade slightly.
A sliver of cold white light glinted across his eyes.
"At dawn tomorrow, we depart."
"All Mist-nin will follow me—
To ambush that ridiculous 'Noah's Ark' they think they'll escape on!"
"YES, SIR!!!"
Once the special jōnin left, Suikyo slowly closed his eyes.
Che, Ringo, Huiichi… I'll avenge all of you.
I won't let those Uzumaki or Konoha brats get what they want.
Never.
Little did Suikyo know—
Someone had already set their sights on him long before sunrise.
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