The candles in the Third Hokage's office had burned low, casting long, dancing shadows against the walls filled with portraits of his predecessors. The village was asleep, but Hiruzen Sarutobi was not.
He stood by the window, looking out at the peaceful streets of Konoha. Peace was a fragile thing, maintained by vigilance, treaties, and occasionally, necessary darkness.
Behind him, three figures knelt in the center of the room. They wore white porcelain masks—a Cat, a Bear, and a Hawk. They were clad in the grey armor of the ANBU Black Ops, their presence so suppressed that to a normal civilian, the room would have appeared empty.
"Team Ro," Hiruzen said, his voice grave. "I have a mission of the utmost secrecy. It is categorized as S-Rank surveillance."
"Target?" the leader, Cat, asked. His voice was devoid of emotion.
Hiruzen turned around. He held up the sketch Kakashi had provided—the red-haired, one-armed man with the scars.
"Name: Shanks. No surname known. Current location: Believed to be traveling by sea from the Land of Waves toward the Land of Iron. He is accompanied by the rogue ninja Zabuza Momochi."
The ANBU members stiffened slightly. Zabuza was a known monster. Tracking him was already a suicide mission for most squads.
"Your objective is not Zabuza," Hiruzen clarified. "Your objective is the redhead. I need to know his route. I need to know his temperament. And I need to know if he makes contact with agents from Iwagakure or Kumogakure."
"Orders for engagement?" Bear asked, his large frame shifting.
"None," Hiruzen said sharply. "Under no circumstances are you to engage. If you are discovered, you are to flee immediately. Do not attempt to capture. Do not attempt to assassinate. If he sneezes, I want you to retreat a mile back. Is that understood?"
The ANBU exchanged glances. This was highly irregular. They were the elite. They didn't run from fights.
"Lord Hokage," Hawk spoke up, a hint of arrogance in his tone. "With all due respect, Zabuza is dangerous, but a cripple with a sword? We can subdue him if necessary."
Hiruzen sighed. He walked over to his desk and picked up Kakashi's report. He tapped the section regarding the "Conqueror's Haki."
"Kakashi Hatake—a man who does not panic easily—stated that this man incapacitated three hundred armed mercenaries without moving a muscle. He defeated Kakashi in Taijutsu without using his hands. Do not let his appearance deceive you. He is a sleeping dragon. If you wake him, you will not return."
The room went cold. The arrogance evaporated from Hawk's posture.
"We understand," Cat said. "We will be his shadow. He will never know we are there."
Hiruzen looked at them with a mixture of hope and pity. "For your sakes, I hope you are right. Dismissed."
The three figures dissolved into swirls of leaves and vanished.
Hiruzen sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples. "I'm getting too old for this."
The Open Sea
The ocean between the Land of Waves and the northern continent was choppy and gray. The stolen fishing boat bobbed violently on the swells.
"Row harder, First Mate!" I called out from the bow, where I was lounging with my feet up on the gunwale.
Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, growled. He was rowing with the Executioner's Blade strapped to his back, using oars meant for a man half his size. The wood creaked ominously with every stroke of his massive muscles.
"I am an elite assassin," Zabuza muttered through his bandages. "I have killed feudal lords. I have mastered the Silent Killing technique. Why am I rowing a dinghy for a hungover pirate?"
"Because you're broke," I reminded him cheerfully. "And because I'm the Captain."
"We have no sail," Zabuza pointed out. "And you drank the last of the water."
"Details, details. The current is with us!"
I closed my eyes, enjoying the salt spray. It felt like home. Or, well, the home of the body I was inhabiting.
I extended my senses. Observation Haki.
I felt the fish beneath us—a school of tuna moving south. I felt the seagulls circling high above. I felt the atmospheric pressure dropping to the west; a storm was brewing for tomorrow.
And then, I felt three sharp pinpricks of intent.
They were far behind us, maybe two miles back. They were moving fast, running atop the water. Their chakra signatures were tight, controlled, and professional.
"Guests," I murmured.
Zabuza stopped rowing. He didn't ask how I knew. He had learned in the last twenty-four hours not to question my 'hunches'.
"Enemies?" Zabuza asked, his hand drifting to the hilt of his massive sword.
"Ninjas," I said. "Leaf Village, judging by the feel of them. Same rigid discipline as Kakashi, but less... friendly."
"ANBU," Zabuza spat. "Hunter-nin from Konoha. They must be tracking me."
"Actually," I opened one eye. "I think they're watching me. You're just the accessory."
Zabuza looked offended. "I am an S-Rank missing-nin in the Bingo Book!"
"And I'm the guy who scared your boss off the bridge," I grinned. "Don't get jealous, Zabuza. It's unbecoming."
I sat up and stretched. "Keep rowing. Let's see how close they get."
Two Miles Behind
Cat, Bear, and Hawk moved in perfect synchronization. They sprinted across the waves, their chakra control flawless. They wore cloaks that blended with the gray water and the mist.
"Target acquired," Hawk whispered into his radio. "Visual confirmed. Small watercraft. Two occupants."
"Maintain distance," Cat ordered. "Enable Chameleon Jutsu. We go invisible from here."
The three ANBU performed a series of hand signs. Light bent around them. To the naked eye, they vanished completely into the seascape. They were ghosts.
They closed the distance, moving silently. They reached a position about five hundred yards from the boat—close enough to read lips with binoculars, far enough to remain undetected by standard sensors.
"He's just... sitting there," Bear whispered. "Sleeping."
"Zabuza is rowing," Hawk noted. "The target appears completely defenseless. His left side is wide open."
"Remember the orders," Cat hissed. "Observation only."
They watched for an hour. The boat drifted. Zabuza complained. Shanks laughed. It was mundane. Boring, even.
"This is the monster Kakashi warned us about?" Hawk scoffed quietly. "He looks like a vagrant. I bet I could take his head before he woke up."
"Focus," Cat warned.
Suddenly, on the boat, the red-haired man sat up. He turned his head.
He wasn't looking around scanning the horizon.
He was looking directly at them.
Five hundred yards away, through invisible camouflage, through the mist... his eyes locked onto Cat's mask.
"He sees us," Cat breathed, a chill running down his spine. "Impossible. We're cloaked."
On the boat, Shanks raised his single hand. He cupped it around his mouth.
"OI!" Shanks' voice boomed across the water, defying the wind. "IT'S RUDE TO STARE! COME HAVE A DRINK!"
The ANBU froze.
"Abort," Cat ordered instantly. "We've been compromised. Retreat."
"Wait," Hawk hesitated. "He's inviting us? Maybe it's a trap?"
"Retreat!" Cat shouted.
But before they could turn, the air around them changed.
It wasn't the crushing wave of unconsciousness that Kakashi had described. It was something more subtle. It was a sudden, paralyzing heaviness. The water beneath their feet felt like it had turned to tar.
A voice spoke in their minds. Not a jutsu. Just pure intent projected so strongly it felt like telepathy.
Don't run. It's bad manners.
On the boat, Shanks stood up. He drew Gryphon—not all the way, just an inch. The sound of the metal sliding against the sheath rang out clearly across the half-mile gap.
SHING.
A slash of wind—a flying slash—tore across the surface of the ocean. It didn't aim for them. It aimed for the space right in front of them.
The water split. A massive trench opened up in the ocean, twenty feet deep, exposing the fish swimming below, before crashing back together with a roar of white foam.
The spray soaked the invisible ANBU, rendering their camouflage useless. They stood there, dripping wet, exposed, staring at the churning water where a wave had just been bisected by a sword swing from five hundred yards away.
"He... he cut the ocean," Bear stammered. "He cut the damn ocean."
"Come here!" Shanks waved cheerfully. "I have dried squid!"
Cat made a calculation. If they ran, he would cut them. If they fought, he would cut them.
"We approach," Cat said, his voice trembling. "Cautiously."
The Boat
The three elite killers landed softly on the small wooden boat. It was a tight squeeze.
Zabuza sat at the oars, glaring at them with killing intent. The ANBU glared back.
I sat in the middle, smiling like a host at a tea party.
"Nice masks," I said. "Very spooky. You guys assume the animal themes, do you act like them too? Does the Cat knock cups off tables?"
The ANBU leader, Cat, did not find this funny. He remained in a crouch, kunai ready.
"We are agents of the Hidden Leaf," Cat said stiffly. "We did not intend to intrude."
"You were stalking us for three hours," I pointed out. "I felt you back at the coral reef."
"You... felt us?" Cat asked. "We were masking our chakra perfectly."
"Chakra, chakra, chakra," I sighed, shaking my head. "You guys rely too much on that battery pack. You can hide your energy, but you can't hide your heartbeat. You can't hide the sound of your blood pumping. You can't hide your intent."
I tapped my temple. "I hear it all. It's loud."
I reached into a bag and pulled out a strip of dried, salty squid. I tore a piece off with my teeth and offered the rest to them.
"Squid?"
"No thank you," Cat said.
"Suit yourself." I chewed thoughtfully. "So, the Old Man sent you?"
The ANBU exchanged glances. They didn't confirm or deny.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi," I said. "Tell him something for me, will you?"
I leaned forward. The playful smile dropped. For a second, my eyes sharpened into the gaze of a Yonko. The air on the boat grew heavy. The wood groaned.
The three ANBU flinched, their instincts screaming PREDATOR.
"Tell him I'm just a tourist," I said softly. "I'm not here to conquer his village. I'm not here to start a war. I'm just passing through."
I pointed a finger at Cat's chest.
"But tell him this: I don't like being followed. It makes my scar itch." I pointed to my left eye. "And when my scar itches, I get grumpy. And when I get grumpy... things break."
I held the gaze for three seconds. To the ANBU, it felt like three years. Sweat poured down behind their masks.
Then, I leaned back and grinned, the pressure vanishing instantly.
"So! Sure you don't want any squid? It's really chewy!"
Cat stood up. His legs were shaking. He looked at Zabuza, then at me.
"We will... relay your message," Cat choked out.
"Great!" I beamed. "Now, shoo. You're scaring the fish."
"Retreat," Cat ordered.
The three ANBU vanished. They didn't run on the water this time. They practically flew, desperate to put as many miles between themselves and the red-haired man as possible.
I watched them go until their 'voices' faded into the distance.
"You enjoy that," Zabuza noted, resuming his rowing.
"I do," I admitted. "It's fun being the big fish for once. Back home, there were guys who could turn into dragons and magma. Here? I just have to squint at people."
"Dragons and magma," Zabuza muttered. "You're a liar, Captain."
"Maybe," I laughed. "So, Land of Iron. I hear the samurai have swords coated in chakra. Think we can steal one?"
"We are pirates," Zabuza sighed. "Stealing is the job description."
Konoha: The Hokage's Office (Dawn)
The three ANBU agents knelt before Hiruzen. They were soaked to the bone, shivering, and their morale was shattered.
"Report," Hiruzen said.
"He saw us," Cat said, his voice hollow. "Through the mist. Through the camouflage. From half a kilometer away."
"He invited us for squid," Bear added, sounding traumatized.
"He... he cut the sea, Lord Hokage," Hawk whispered. "He barely drew his sword. He swung it an inch, and the ocean split. It wasn't a jutsu. There was no chakra. It was just... wind. Pure, violent wind."
Hiruzen closed his eyes. A flying slash that could split the ocean without chakra. That was Kenjutsu beyond the level of the Samurai Generals of the Iron Land. It was beyond the White Fang.
"And the message?" Hiruzen asked.
"He said he is a tourist," Cat recounted. "But he said if we follow him... things will break. The killing intent... Lord Hokage, I have faced the Nine-Tails' chakra before during the attack. This felt different. It felt... human, but infinite. Like staring into an abyss that is staring back."
Hiruzen nodded slowly.
"Understood. You are dismissed. Take a week off. Go see the medical corps for stress."
The agents vanished.
Hiruzen stood up and walked to the window. He looked East.
"A tourist who splits oceans," Hiruzen murmured.
He picked up the file marked Shanks. He picked up a red stamp.
SURVEILLANCE TERMINATED.
DO NOT ENGAGE.
He locked the file in his personal safe, the one with the strongest sealing jutsu.
"Let the Samurai deal with him," Hiruzen decided. "Konoha has enough problems."
He sat back down and lit his pipe, praying that Shanks really was just passing through. But deep down, the Professor of Shinobi knew one truth:
Men like that didn't just pass through history. They grabbed the wheel and steered it.