The quiet sea breeze brushed against a wooden boat belonging to Kirigakure, rocking the hull gently.
Two Kirigakure chūnin lay sprawled on the deck, utterly exhausted. Maintaining ninjutsu continuously—even while constantly refining chakra—was enough to nearly work them to death.
They waited for a long while, yet neither of the two jōnin returned. With no choice, they brought the boat back first, planning to wait for the rest of the team.
"So slow…"
"I'm really jealous of Chūnin Chōta and Chūnin Sattō. They actually got to witness the death of a Konoha jōnin."
"Come on, didn't we also participate in this super A-rank mission? When we get back to the village, our reward won't be small."
Unnoticed by the two, the direction of the sea wind subtly changed. The boat began drifting slowly toward where the white mist had been—
Clunk.
"Huh? Did we hit something?"
One of the Kirigakure youths struggled upright, intending to take a look and steady the boat before it drifted too far.
The moment he raised his head and looked over, his face turned deathly pale.
"T-This… this is bad! Something terrible happened!"
Floating with the small waves, several severed limbs—and even a headless half-body—were pushed up against the underside of the boat.
"What are you talking about? Are you so tired you're hallucina—"
The other Kirigakure youth lifted his head, rubbed his eyes, and froze the instant he saw the sea surface. His gaze went vacant.
"We… we must be under a genjutsu. We're actually seeing ANBU corpses… and arms… and legs…"
The boy was so terrified that he froze on the spot. Tears spilled from the corners of his eyes, dripping onto the deck of the boat.
Fire Country — Outer Rocky Coast
Endless seawater battered the base of the coastal cliffs, the constant crash echoing into the ears of Yūhi Kurenai's niece, Yūhi Ryūun, and Might Dai, who stood on the cliff above, watching the sea.
Senju Nawaki and Shiranui Kumo had formed a small team to escort the two boatmen back.
With their current chakra reserves and stamina, returning to the village—or searching for border shinobi—was extremely difficult.
The first option was too far.
The second risked mistaking enemies for allies.
Their best choice was to stay put, rest, and wait for news from Bai Xing, who had gone ahead.
"Uncle Kurenai…"
"Bai Xing…"
"Please… please don't let anything happen to you…"
"…."
Sitting beside her, Might Dai didn't know how to comfort her. Truth be told, he felt just as uncertain.
"It's all my fault."
"How is this your fault? This is obviously—wait! Don't tell me you're a Kirigakure spy?!"
Ryūun's throat bobbed. Her hands clenched the dirt and stones beneath her feet, ready to hurl a rock at Dai at any moment.
"No way."
Might Dai gave a bitter smile, completely unaware that he had nearly been brained by a stone a second earlier.
"I just feel like I'm cursed. Every mission I go on ends up like this."
"..."
Ryūun silently set down the rock—bigger than her palm—paused for a moment, then said softly,
"That's just your guess."
"In truth… maybe the Kirigakure shinobi were right."
"Maybe we really were betrayed by Uzushio."
A flicker of hatred passed through her eyes. History books clearly described the friendship between Konoha and the Uzumaki clan. Uzushio Village had even formed an alliance with Konoha, serving as its eyes on the sea and coordinating with Konoha's border defenses.
And now…
"Eh—Hey! Look! Isn't that Bai Xing?!"
"What?!"
Ryūun shot to her feet and looked out over the sea.
There—on the water's surface—a black-haired少年 was running across the waves, carrying a clearly grievously injured shinobi on his back.
"I overused the Ope-style ability earlier…"
"Damn it. So this is my limit, huh."
After the battle, after repeatedly using the Hemostasis Technique, and after running across the sea for forty to fifty nautical miles (roughly eighty kilometers) while carrying someone, Bai Xing's stamina and chakra were nearly completely spent. A faint sense of frustration welled up inside him.
Soon, he gently laid Yūhi Kurenai down on a relatively clean stretch of shore. Bai Xing himself rolled onto the ground, gasping for breath.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Ryūun and Dai running toward him. Only then did his heart finally relax. The accumulated fatigue—from the shadow clone and his own relentless expenditure—crashed into him all at once.
"Bai Xing!!" ×2
When Ryūun and Dai arrived, all they saw were Bai Xing and Yūhi Kurenai, both soaked through, the former half-unconscious, the latter gravely wounded.
—Entering a semi-unconscious state on purpose was convenient. It saved him from having to explain how he'd managed to run on water for so long.
Inside, Bai Xing couldn't help but think:
So this is the first time in all these years that I've pushed myself this far…
The sky gradually darkened. A slender crescent moon hooked itself into the black canvas of night.
Near the Land of Whirlpools, at one of Konoha's offshore outposts—
The outpost was a very small island, barely large enough for about twenty people to move around freely. Moored at the shore was a chakra-powered vessel, custom-built by a Fire Country engineering company. By feeding chakra into its core, the ship's speed across the sea could be greatly increased.
The Konoha shinobi stationed here frequently traveled to Uzushio to obtain nutrient-rich food from Uzushio's ninja. Meanwhile, supplies from the mainland of Fire Country arrived from time to time.
Three-meter-high fences surrounded the island. Inside stood tall watchtowers and stone buildings, their walls lined with torches that pushed back the darkness.
"Another calm day at sea~"
"If only there weren't a war."
"What are you talking about? War isn't something shinobi like us get to decide."
"As long as hatred between shinobi exists, wars between villages probably won't ever end."
"You two! Don't slack off while standing watch! Who knows when Kirigakure shinobi might suddenly appear from the sea!"
"Captain!" ×2
The discussion between the two chūnin atop the watchtower drew the attention of the Konoha jōnin in charge of the outpost.
Under his gaze, the two chūnin lowered their heads slightly, looking embarrassed.
After a moment, the jōnin's stern expression softened into a smile. He reached out and ruffled the hair of the two chūnin—both only recently adults by modern standards.
"All right."
"Even if no one can hear you out here at sea, it's fine to relax once in a while."
"Just try not to do it during night watch."
His eyes turned toward the vast, dark ocean.
"Work at sea is the hardest."
"Every day, you face unknown dangers."
"So as your captain, I understand how you feel."
"Captain~" ×2
"Captain really treats us the best~! Right, Yūzuki~~"
Morino Yūzuki nodded firmly.
"As long as we're stationed at this outpost, whatever happens in the future, we'll fight side by side with Captain!"
"F-for sure…"
...
Fire Country — Western Coast
While patrolling the shoreline, a Konoha border unit discovered a heavily damaged chakra-powered vessel riddled with various throwing weapons.
—It was one of Konoha's ships.
After a shadow clone confirmed the area was safe, the team searched the vessel and found a Konoha shinobi inside, covered in wounds and unconscious.
"Captain, looks like a chūnin from the offshore outpost near the Land of Whirlpools."
After checking the young man's pulse and confirming he was still alive, the border jōnin raised his head, fury blazing across his face.
"You don't need to tell me that—I can see it myself!"
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