(A.N: ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜, I am sorry for all this delay, my life has became a walking disaster for past couple of months, but things have setteled a little now and we can go back to our regular schedule now,Â
so PLEASE COME BACK, ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ðŸ˜)
****
As they had discussed, Kaida sent a clone with 30 percent of his chakra to deliver the ship to the port of Konoha in Land of Hot Water. Since Land of Hot Water was dependent on Konoha and Kumogakure for their protection, both had built a port in their country as a security post.
Though it was the official explanation, in reality Konoha needed that port, since the side of their country—Land of Fire—was bordered with Land of Waves, which is surrounded by whirlpools most of the time, while strong waves are also pretty common in that area.
So Konoha needed a port on the side of Kirigakure, in case of war and to dock their ships. Otherwise, they would have to take a very big detour to reach the port near the Land of Rivers.
And since Konoha had a port, Kumo also built one. Even though this reduced the revenue of Land of Hot Water since the ships of those two countries started using those ports, it couldn't do anything against those giants.
And since the port was in another country, Konoha had naturally kept some of the jonin on the port for its safety. Kaida's clone entrusted the ship to them and dispersed itself. The only reason Kaida had not asked everyone to continue their journey was because he wanted to be in perfect shape for the mission. Since he had spent some of the chakra dispatching those 'pirates,' and then sent a clone with 30 percent of his chakra for this, he now only had a little more than half of his chakra reserves.
And since the client himself had said that he was not in a hurry, there was no need to take any extra risk.
...
Kaida was meditating on the ship when he got the memories of his clone. Seeing that the ship had been delivered successfully, he came out of his room and went to the deck where the leader and team were keeping an eye out for any more pirates. But unlike other times, they were hoping that another ship came their way.
Since who would say no to a free freaking ship?
"Taizen-san, the ship has been delivered, and I am also almost ready, so we can start moving now."
"Good. Jiro, go and call the crew on board. We will move now," Taizen said to a jonin, while others went back to their jobs. Kaida also took his position at the top of the main shaft of the ship.
Occasional activation of his Sharingan, even the 3 tomoe one, would provide the greatest surveillance possible for the ship. With Kaida on duty, everyone else became relaxed, and the ship once again started its sail in minutes.
While Kaida was sitting at the top of the shaft, the cold salty air of the sea hit him with full force, helping him concentrate his mind a little more.
'I was only able to restore around 10 percent of my chakra in those two hours. Considering my previous speed, it is a tad bit slower, but I have much larger chakra reserves now, around 4 times the previous amount.
So my chakra regeneration speed has actually increased by leaps, but why? I don't think Mangekyo actually helps with this,' Kaida was thinking deeply when he remembered he woke up at Mount Myoboku when he awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan, inside some sort of tank filled with something radiating energy.
"Did sensei experiment on me or something when I was unconscious?" he thought.
After waking up, he had been through an emotional roller coaster, so it was understandable that he forgot about something like that, but now this looked very strange.
'I am pretty sure not everyone required this big of a recovery period or rest in some test tube after awakening Mangekyo. At least Itachi didn't when he awakened his Mangekyo in his memories.
So whatever had happened, it was most likely unique to him, and now that one thing came to his attention, he began feeling other changes in his body as well. It was unnaturally durable than before, like even if he was thrown off a third floor of a building, he could just shrug that off.
Though it was totally an assumption, with the level of training and missions he had done, he had quite a bit of idea about his body now, and this growth is totally not natural.
He remembered Jiraiya saying something about toads helping him, but at that time he was too stressed out and in emotional turmoil to think things through.
'Maybe I should ask sensei about this when I meet him next time,' Kaida thought, pausing his train of thought as well as his experimentation since the ship had finally reached its destination, the first island of Land of Water.
This country was made up of many islands, which would have been a very good tourist spot if not for the current civil war going on in the country.
And Kaida could easily see the result even before officially entering the city. Unlike the port at Land of Hot Water, this one was almost deserted with few ships docked at the port. There was no cheerful crowd of people loading and unloading the ships, only a few thin-looking men who most likely had no other choice than coming to work.
"Depressing, isn't it?" Fushiro asked as Kaida came down from the shaft.
"Yeah, I was not expecting it at all," Kaida said.
"This is how war affects normal life. When we ninja fight, the most damage happens to these normal people, who have to leave all of their work and stay in their homes in hope that no angry ninja will take their anger out on them.
I don't want to remember how many villages have been removed from the map just because a ninja was having a bad day during wartime, as the rules become very thin at that time."
"Don't scare the boy with your odd rambling, old man," Akito came to them, stopping Fushiro from sharing his experience.
"I am giving advice to a young one who actually has a brain rather than a weightless decoration on their head."
"..."
"Wait, are you calling me a fool?" Akito said after a minute of thinking.
"Why would I waste my breath to state the obvious?" Fushiro said and left the two young ones behind as he went to help dock the ship.
"He was just joking. I am actually smart," Akito turned to Kaida, trying to maintain his dignity as a senior and lighten the mood a little.
"I know, Akito-san, and thanks for looking after me, but I am not new to the cruelty of the world," Kaida said.
"This is the type of world we live in. Even children can't live their childhood without facing the true face of the world."
"Maybe one day."
"Hey, if your talk is over, then come here. We are about to move," Taizen shouted from behind. Kaida also noticed how everyone became more alert here than during their whole journey.
"The merchant has food, and this is a country which has been facing civil war for more than a couple of years. The food is scarce, and even a good person becomes a murderer in the face of hunger, so we have to be alert all of the time," Akito said, and Kaida nodded his head.
They were just at the outskirts of Land of Water, and this was the situation he was seeing. What would happen inside the country which is at the center of the storm?