Hatake Satoru and Shisui hadn't gotten far from the village when a silver figure suddenly landed right in front of Hatake Satoru.
The speed and pressure felt like someone out for revenge.
Shisui instinctively dodged to the side, but it was clear the person hadn't even noticed him.
"Hm?"
Hatake Satoru tilted his head in confusion, looking at Kakashi, who was still catching his breath.
"This is for you."
Kakashi looked away awkwardly, then held out the bag in his hand toward Hatake Satoru.
"Eh? Oh—there really is a farewell gift. You could've just given it to me back home~"
Hatake Satoru grinned brightly and took the bag.
It felt kind of heavy, which surprised him a little. He blinked. This didn't feel like what he expected.
"There's a lot of money in here. Aren't you gonna keep some for yourself? And what's with the scrolls? I probably won't even be able to use them."
Before Kakashi could say anything else, Hatake Satoru just opened the bag right in front of him and started digging through it.
So casual!
Wasn't this the kind of thing you were supposed to open after the person left?!
Shisui, standing nearby, dropped three imaginary black lines, then glanced over at Kakashi.
As expected, Kakashi's face froze, and he scratched his cheek while frowning, clearly annoyed.
"Anbu doesn't really have much to spend money on."
"You can open the scrolls with your blood. They've got common weapons inside."
Hatake Satoru gave the bag a little shake and tied it back up.
"You really thought of everything with this, huh."
"…"
Hatake Satoru put the bag away into his suitcase.
But Kakashi just kept standing there in front of him, not moving, like a light pole.
"Something else you need?"
Hatake Satoru tilted his head and leaned closer to Kakashi's face.
Normally, once Kakashi finished talking, he'd be gone in a second. Even staying one extra moment would make him uncomfortable.
The fact that he was still standing there might've just broken the record for the longest they'd ever been this close.
"…Safe travels."
Kakashi glanced briefly at Hatake Satoru's eye patch, then turned and disappeared in a blur like he was running away.
Telling him not to go identify the body, but then sending these things over?
Talk about mixed signals.
Hatake Satoru shook his head, clearly a bit annoyed.
Shisui watched Kakashi's figure disappear quickly into the village, then leaned over like he was watching a show.
"You and Kakashi really have a weird relationship."
"If you're jealous, just say it~"
Tch.
...
Unlike the big countries around the Land of Fire that are all connected by land, the Land of Water is surrounded by ocean. The only way to get there is by sea.
And the place you have to pass through is the Land of Waves.
Though it's called a country, it's really just a small island nation with no real fighting power.
They mostly make a living from fishing, with a little income from acting as a stopover port. So yeah, it's a pretty poor place.
Even after the Third Ninja War, things didn't really improve between the Land of Water and the Land of Fire.
There's no important trade between them, so not many sea routes were developed either.
If you want to travel quietly without drawing attention, you have to go through the Land of Waves and find a local fisherman who knows the area to take you to the Land of Water by boat.
Hatake Satoru and Shisui stood by the shimmering water. In front of the dock was a single, rickety wooden boat that looked like a strong wave could flip it over.
"Hop in, boss. This is the only boat here."
"Once we reach the Land of Waves, we'll switch to a bigger boat to get to the Land of Water."
The boatman held his paddle and gave Hatake Satoru and Shisui a friendly smile from the shore.
Ever since the war, almost no regular people traveled to the Land of Water, so business was slow.
Now that two people who looked like civilians showed up, he didn't want to miss the chance to make a little money.
The silver-haired boy was slim and tall, wearing an eye mask. If he wasn't blind, he might actually look pretty cool.
He was also carrying a big, stuffed box. The boatman's eyes were locked on it and almost wouldn't move away.
Finally, someone with money—unlike those empty-handed, hard-to-deal-with ninja.
"I don't know about this…"
Shisui had a bad feeling about the boatman's intentions and hesitated, wanting to say something to stop Hatake Satoru.
But before he could finish, Hatake Satoru had already stepped into the boat with his long legs and set his box beside him.
He looked way too excited—like a tourist on his first boat ride.
"Wow, I've never been on a boat before~"
"Don't overthink it, Shisui. There's no other way to go here anyway."
That might be true, but if you jump in like that, you might actually get kidnapped.
Watching Satoru being so carefree made Shisui's temples throb.
Unlike the usual careful ninja, Hatake Satoru's chill attitude was so extreme that it was hard to tell if it was on purpose or not.
"Before we leave, we should at least talk to them. Once we're on the water, if we get attacked, we'll be at a disadvantage."
Shisui leaned close to Satoru's ear and whispered while keeping an eye on the people around them.
"Well, they're either after money or our lives. Pick one. But honestly, these guys are so weak, there's really nothing to worry about~"
"If you're scared, Shisui-chan, you can always hold on to me~"
Hatake Satoru grinned and lifted his arm, offering it to Shisui.
Yeah, I should've known better than to worry about this guy.
Shisui raised an eyebrow and firmly pushed Satoru's arm down.
The little boat rocked gently on the waves.
Unlike land, there were no signs or markers out here to tell where they were.
A thin layer of mist had started to form over the sea.
The shore quickly faded into complete darkness, and ahead of them, there was still nothing but black. The Land of Waves was nowhere in sight.
Other than the sound of waves gently hitting the boat, everything was silent—like they had left the human world behind.
Hatake Satoru rested his face on his hand, staring at the rippling water reflecting the moonlight.
He lowered his hand, and a small ball of seawater floated up from his palm.
It twisted and shifted into a small water sphere, with a thin layer of mist covering its surface.
Hatake Satoru looked at the water ball and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
After about ten minutes of sailing, Shisui quietly tapped Hatake Satoru's arm.
Someone was coming—and not just one person.
In the pitch-black night, the only thing visible was a faint mist. Everything else was impossible to see clearly.
*Ding—*
A sharp buzzing sound broke the silence.
A kunai nailed the boatman's pants to the floor, causing him to fall back hard onto the boat. The wooden boat stopped moving instantly.
At the same time, two or three boats nearby began closing in fast, turning on their spotlights as they approached.
All the lights pointed directly at the boat in the center.
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