The Mist shinobi withdrew.
Sasuke didn't hear the details of what Kakashi discussed with them, only the result. Ao's group left with Zabuza's body, the Executioner's Blade, and Haku, whose condition was uncertain. Raiga's corpse and the shattered Thunder Fang remained with Sasuke.
As expected, Kakashi collapsed again the moment everything settled.
While Kakashi dealt with Kirigakure, Sasuke washed his wounds alone, changed clothes, and sealed the blood-soaked garments into a storage scroll instead of discarding them. In this world, remnants of the body carried weight. Too much weight to leave behind carelessly.
When he finished, he buried Raiga and Ranmaru together in a secluded place.
The mission wasn't over. Zabuza and Raiga were gone, but Team Seven still had to guard Tazuna until the bridge was complete.
Naruto and Sasuke supported the unconscious Kakashi while Sakura covered the rear. Tazuna's daughter, Tsunami, welcomed them with tired warmth. Inari watched from a distance. The sight of armed shinobi, fresh from battle, kept him quiet this time.
Dinner was simple. The country was poor, and Tazuna had poured nearly everything into the bridge. Still, Tsunami made the effort, and the table felt warm.
"These are the ninja I hired from Konoha," Tazuna said seriously, a little unsteady from drink. "They're young, but strong. Without them, I wouldn't be alive."
Naruto grinned. Sakura nodded politely. Sasuke said nothing.
Tazuna spoke at length after that. He'd been protected by Sasuke's shadow clone during the fighting and had seen only fragments, but the sounds alone had shaken him. He exaggerated without meaning to. Inari didn't believe a word, though his eyes kept drifting back to Sasuke.
By evening, Kakashi woke.
"Tazuna," he said, after a brief check-in with the team. "We need to discuss the mission."
He then waved the others off. "You've all had a long day. Get some rest. I'll take watch tonight."
Sasuke left without comment. He wasn't interested. He'd already sensed the ANBU presence disappear that morning. Whatever followed would be handled quietly.
Instead of sleeping, he walked.
He reviewed the battle without emotion.
No Mangekyō.
He'd felt death press close, close enough that something stirred behind his eyes, but it hadn't crossed the line. Disappointing, but not unexpected.
Still, he hadn't come away empty-handed.
His strength had risen during the fight itself. Not afterward. Under Raiga's final technique, something had broken and reset.
That was how this world worked.
Chakra was body and mind fused. When the mind crossed a threshold, the body followed. Survival forced clarity. Clarity forced growth.
He could feel it now. Where before he'd needed the Sharingan to match an elite jōnin, now his base state was enough. With the Sharingan, he stood where Kakashi stood.
Balanced. Dangerous.
He reached Tazuna's back yard.
It was larger than expected. Past a wooden structure that looked like storage, something caught his eye.
A ship.
Five meters tall. Nearly fifteen long. Canvas stretched like a balloon cradle. Six propellers mounted at the stern.
Unusual.
"It's called the Flying Orca."
Sasuke turned. Inari had followed him.
"The Flying Orca," Sasuke repeated. The name stirred a distant memory. "Your grandfather built this?"
Inari nodded. "He said if the bridge failed, he'd build a ship that could fly. To break the blockade."
A flying ship.
Sasuke understood then.
He'd read of it once, mentioned briefly in an old account. That was why it felt familiar.
"Your grandfather builds bridges," Sasuke said. "Ships too?"
"He's the best builder in Wave," Inari replied, as if that settled everything. "We're an island. Why wouldn't he know ships?"
Sasuke said nothing.
That still didn't explain this.
Now he understood how the bridge had advanced so far under pressure. Tazuna wasn't ordinary.
"What does he read?" Sasuke asked.
Inari blinked. "Books. About building. Travel journals."
He dug into his bag and pulled one out. "You can borrow this."
Sasuke took it.
Travelogue of the Retsudo Kingdom.
He didn't recognize the name.
"That place is west of the continent," Inari said. "Mountains everywhere. Green land. Lots of water. The book says the Sage of Six Paths once lived there."
A legend.
Sasuke closed the book and slipped it into his jacket.
"Thanks," he said. "I'll read it tonight."
Inari nodded, proud.
Sasuke turned back toward the house, the image of the Flying Orca lingering in his mind.
Some things, it seemed, had been waiting here long before Team Seven arrived.