Across the vast sea, a moderate boat floated. Rowed by a middle-aged boatman with burly arms, the boat progressed slowly but surely.
"..."
Within the silence, the boatman peeked at his customers.
Three individuals.
First was a young boy, one who's been emotionless and stoic ever since they boarded. The boatman couldn't help but wonder if he was a doll rather than a human.
Second was a red-haired woman, more beautiful than any other he's come across in the past. Furthermore, her manners, her actions, all of them pointed out that she was from a noble family.
Third was a mysterious man of tall height, currently lying with a bamboo hat covering his face. Of all three, this man looked the most dangerous to the boatman. The boatman recognized that his customers weren't your everyday people and vowed not to irk them.
"How much more until the arrival, Nendo-san?"
The boatman paused before resuming rowing. He answered,
"We have approximately 12 more hours to go, miss."
Peeking again, the boatman saw Mei's eyes glancing at the thin air, moving rapidly. It was evident that she was making calculations, before nodding eventually—as if what he spoke to her did make sense.
Such a sight made the boatman grow goosebumps. He knew by now that there was a high chance that his customers were ninjas.
Upon realizing this, he felt as if the tension was rising. His hands were getting sweaty and his mind was getting uneasy. Wishing to break the ice, he spoke up, timidly,
"...The place that we're headed, the land of whirlpools, is where the infamous Uzumaki clan used to live. There used to be a village hidden in whirlpools, Uzushiogakure."
Licking his dry lips, the boatman tried to appear as casual as he could.
"They were destroyed by the joint assault of Kumo and Kiri, however. A long time passed, and many tried to enter this land of ruins, hoping to find treasures, jutsu scrolls, or any other of use. Unfortunately, all the valuables were retrieved by Konoha during the day of Uzushiogakure's fall, so they ended up wasting their time and money trying to get here."
"Kiri did try to take over the land, but not only was it nigh impossible due to its proximity to the land of fire, but it required too much investment, given how pitiful the state of this land has been. As such, none of the daimyos or hidden villages bother to touch this land at the moment. The remaining people of the land, taking up the small, finer portions of the land, currently make a living through fishery and trading with the land of waves."
Mei nodded, knowing all the details already.
Hidan, on the other hand, didn't seem to have gotten it all, tilting his head with his brows furrowed. What the boatman said was far too lengthy, and there were limits to how much a young boy's brain could understand at once.
The boatman noticed such behavior from Mei. He initially wondered if Mei was one of the remaining descendants of the Uzumaki clan due to her red hair, but then shook his head, seeing that the color of her red locks was darker than what the usual Uzumaki descendants had.
Without realizing, the boatman took a long look at Mei with a blush on his cheeks. At some point in time, his eyes widened,
"...Terumi. You are from the Terumi clan."
"Oh?"
Mei raised an eyebrow, impressed by the boatman's quick wits. In her eyes, a flash of suspicion entered.
"You seem to know a lot around here."
"Well, that's my job."
The boatman turned back to face the front and focus on rowing.
"But I don't know much about Kiri. The only reason I knew that you were of the Terumi clan was because of the recent news that has been spreading widely after Kiri reopened borders to trade. That news was..."
The boatman froze.
"...The end of their civil war. A new, young Mizukage was appointed, and his name is Karatachi Yagura. Being a ruthless ruler, he decapitated all the executives of the resistance, and the majority of them held the surname of Terumi... miss, I—"
The boatman peeked at Mei and saw a stoic, cold expression.
"...Go on."
"I-If you aim to reach Kiri, I think you should think otherwise."
Mei shut her eyes tight. Her hands were shaking, but she quickly hid them.
'We are late...'
The memories of her family and clan ran in her mind like a panorama. Her eyes threatened to spill tears, but she suppressed them as best as she could. She had to remain calm.
'...But to what extent are we late?'
Mei simply hoped that all hadn't been lost yet.
Taking in a deep breath, she opened her eyes. Then, she smiled, albeit weakly.
"I believe, that it is precisely for that reason that I must go."
"...I see."
That was the last bit of conversation atop the boat.
...
After the vast sea, the magnificent sight of fallen buildings and a huge pile of rubble entered Akashi's eye.
Yawning, Akashi looked around, feeling as if he hadn't rested at all, even though he had slept for some time. Holding his mask, Akashi breathed out, resisting an urge to groan as he did so.
"Here we are, at our destination."
The boat stopped next to a shore.
Standing up, Akashi, Mei, and Hidan exited the boat. Mei quickly made the payment, and, bowing in response, the boatman proceeded to turn the boat and leave swiftly, clearly afraid to stay here any longer.
"...Land of whirlpools."
Hidan mumbled. His face was stoic, but when looking closely into his eyes, one would find some degree of excitement. No matter how abnormal he was, he was nevertheless a child in the end.
They walked. Surprisingly, there were more people within the land than they expected. There were inns and restaurants as well; there seemed to be many visitors who came here with a golden dream.
It felt strange. Just a little beyond this small civilization, they could see the jaw-dropping ruins of the war. Just by looking at those ruins, one could roughly estimate how huge a war it was.
Yes, it was the literal depiction of the aftermath of the war, where nothing remained.
'...How pointless,'
Akashi couldn't help but think.
'Conflicts arise. We war against others to attain peace. However, war strips away the peace.'
The ideas of war and peace were paradoxical.
Regardless of winning or losing, the people still lived here. It seemed that... a peace always followed a war.
'Then, regardless of the method, if the third shinobi world war can be stopped...'
The peace will be bestowed upon the world, even if it were to be short.
Noticing that his mind momentarily drifted off, Akashi chuckled. Shaking his head, he looked at Mei.
"Let's get a place to rest, first of all."
"Right."
Mei nodded.
The three of them walked off, basked in the golden sunlight as the sun was setting.
__________
After the night, a day came. After day, night. After night, day.
Within such period, Akashi and Mei looked around the village, trying to find traces of Zabuza, Ao, and Gai—those whom they were supposed to meet here—but to no avail.
'Was it that they ended up in a different part of the land of whirlpools?'
No, it was unlikely, for the boatman specifically informed that this location was the biggest village within the land of whirlpools. As ninjas, any other place would've been insufficient to hide.
Exhausted, Mei sat down on a nearby rock, one that was located at the top of a cliff. Mei then patted her side, and seeing that, Hidan joined her.
Watching as the two turned to stare at Akashi, Akashi scratched his hair. As they continued to stare, Akashi ended up chuckling before he too joined them, sitting next to Hidan such that Hidan was between him and Mei.
"I can't tell what exactly is happening. Perhaps the situation is more dire than we anticipate. But..."
Mei inhaled.
"It doesn't hurt to just sit and feel the breeze."
"Indeed."
Akashi stared down the cliff, where the ocean began.
The waves wildly crashed into each other, forming miniature whirlpools here and there. Unlike the area by which the boatman dropped them off, the part that Akashi was currently observing didn't seem ideal to sail through.
And the time passed. The bright sun continued to move, and as it reached its highest point in the sky, Hidan, unable to bear the heat, retreated into a nearby shadow of a tree.
"Feeling hot, Hidan?"
Mei laughed, and Hidan nodded.
"How about we head back then—"
Footsteps were heard, when none of the three was moving. Turning to the direction where the sound was coming from, Akashi saw a stranger with long and jaggy blond hair, wearing... the black ops mask of Kiri just like him.
'...I wasn't able to notice him quickly enough.'
Akashi frowned behind his mask.
'The noises of waves clashing interrupted my sense of hearing.'
"Good afternoon, fellow Kiri comrades!"
Immediately, the masked man turned toward Mei.
"Mei-sama, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"
"...Kuriarare Kushimaru."
Mei looked alert. Standing up, she placed her hand in a pouch and took out a kunai.
"What is one of the Seven Swordsmen doing here, in the land of whirlpools."
Her question as ignored, however, as this man, Kushimaru, approached Akashi.
"And you must be Taka."
"..."
"I heard many feats of you, coming through the hell hole full of hostile ninjas. Wielding Kiba with the finest expertise, you truly did make us proud, eh?"
Leaning forward, Kushimaru whispered,
"So thank you for that, Red Blade. Or should I say, Akashi?"
Akashi sighed. Of course, the disguise worked only outside Kiri. The moment he revealed Kiba blades, he was telling Kiri that he was the one who killed Raiga. The only reason why Kiri didn't blow his disguise was that doing so would be admitting that Raiga was killed by a boy at the age of 13.
"But... that land of whirlpools. This place is supposed to be free from ninjas..."
Mei, from the side, whispered. Her face was growing increasingly pale as she realized what was happening.
"This place is close to the land of fire. So Kiri... indeed is planning to betray Konoha..."
By instinct, she hid Hidan behind her back. She grimaced, for Zabuza, Ao, and Gai probably didn't know of Kiri's alliance with Konoha and their plan to backstab the latter.
It seemed that... they were caught off guard in this area.
"...What have you done to them?"
Akashi, having reached the same conclusion, asked.
"Them? Oh, you mean those three."
Kushimaru laughed maniacally. He then clapped his hands.
From all around, ninjas appeared. Mei seemed shocked, but Akashi remained calm, having found them the moment he perceived Kushimaru.
The three of them were now circled.
Then, the ninjas parted, opening a way. From the gap, someone walked; it was a guy with red hair, just like Mei.
"...Seiji!"
Mei shouted, unable to believe what she was seeing.
"Why, it's been a long time, Mei-sama."
"What is the leading strategist of the Allied Resistance doing with his enemies?!"
The red-haired man, Seiji, snorted as he slicked his hair back. He then smiled.
"One question, Mei-sama—no, Mei. How do you think the current Mizukage emerged as the victor of the civil war?"
"It was you... you betrayed us!!"
"Betray?"
Seiji gnarled his teeth.
"Isn't it strange for me, a loser of the Terumi clan born without the bloodline limit, to give my loyalty to the clan? What did they do for me but treat me like a nobody as you were pampered... all because you got lucky?!"
He clenched his right hand tight, fuming.
"All those... all those who take their gifts for granted should die. Die for tainting Kiri! Purify the land with their filthy blood!"
"You... betrayer...!!"
Mei was about to shoot out, but Seiji, acting as if he wasn't angered all of a sudden, smirked as he formed a hand seal.
"Are you sure that you would like to attack me?"
Mist appeared above them. Then, through the mist, an image was formed.
"Zabuza! Ao! Gai!"
Mei's eyes widened as she saw the three of them locked up behind the jail. Zabuza, in particular, was shouting something as he banged on the iron bars.
"Look."
Seiji dissipated the mist and smiled.
"Attack me and you know what happens, right? How about you surrender instead?"
"..."
A thin and long, needle-like sword, Nuibari, was held in front of Akashi's neck.
"Don't move, Akashi~"
Kushimaru laughed.
Mei's body shook in rage. Then, she breathed out, refusing to let her rationality go.
"What if we surrender? What difference will there be?"
Mei glared at Seiji.
"They will die nonetheless, and so will we. If that's the case, then... I won't surrender even if they were to die because of me."
"Well, there it is."
Hearing Mei's response, Akashi unsheathed Kiba from the back. Lightly tapping Nuibari's blade with Kiba's blade, Akashi gently pushed it away from him, unfazed by Kushimaru's threat.
"...Heh."
However, Kushimaru then smirked. Backing, he even sheathed Nuibari back, confusing Akashi.
Other Kiri ninjas, too, were grinning.
'...What?'
Something was wrong.
'A... trap?'
Seiji raised his hands once more. A different hand seal was formed. He then declared,
"Fuin."
Akashi's eye widened as the ground below him began to brighten up in blue.
"Why do you think we intervened now, of all times?"
Seiji laughed.
"We've heard of how strong you are, Red Blade. So I thought, must we fight you?"
It was just as how Akashi utilized the fuin-genjutsu to trap the Kumo ninjas. He was now the one trapped, only that...
"Bye bye~"
With a puff, Akashi's form was sucked into the ground, disappearing from everyone's view.
Walking forward, Seiji uncovered the seal on the ground. From underneath, a mystical, blue-colored orb rose and revealed itself at the surface.
"The imprisoning orb..."
"The range of this seal was, of course, wider than how it appeared, covering this entire region. It's just that... I restricted the target of this jutsu to the wielder of Kiba, thus trapping only the Red Blade in this imprisoning orb."
Holding the blue orb, Seiji stated coldly, once again.
"Surrender, Mei. You stand no chance against us, especially when there is a nuisance to protect."
It was a dead end for them.
__________
"...Hah,"
Akashi couldn't help but massage his temple as he saw the endless darkness ahead of him.
He was sealed, trapped in an enclosed area just like the tailed beasts.
"You are kidding me."
It's been a very long time since he was the one who was caught off guard.