The Fire Nation, along the southwestern border coast.
"Wow… This is the ocean! It's the first time I've seen it in my life. It's so spectacular...!"
"Hehehe, we're going to take a boat to the Takumi Village soon. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This mission is awesome!"
Taro and Jjiro stared out at the vast, boundless ocean, feeling a rush of excitement. This didn't feel like an escort mission—it felt like a paid vacation!
Even Ishikawa seemed to be in high spirits…
The escort mission had gone surprisingly well. From Konoha all the way to the coastal border, their journey had been smooth and uneventful.
During the trip, Ishikawa had even managed to learn some basic storage sealing techniques from Kakashi and could now successfully seal and store a single object on his own.
Although still clumsy and only capable of sealing non-living items, for Ishikawa, this was already impressive progress!
"Even though we're about to set sail, now's not the time to relax. Taro, Jiro—go with the client and help load the goods. Ishikawa and I will inspect the ship for anything suspicious." Kakashi surveyed the area, giving clear and timely instructions.
While the chances of an enemy showing up were low, they weren't nonexistent.
"Yes, Kakashi-sensei!" Taro and Jiro responded in unison and immediately turned toward the client's convoy.
This time, the client had brought over ten carriages full of goods—no wonder the journey to the coast had taken more than ten days. The convoy moved incredibly slowly.
"Teacher Kakashi, how many days does it take to sail from here to the Takumi Village(Village of Artisans)?" Ishikawa asked casually, walking alongside Kakashi while glancing around the docks.
"How long will it take?" Kakashi repeated as he continued walking. "Although the village of Artisabs is isolated from the Five Great Lands due to its unique military strength, its location isn't that remote from the Land of Fire. If everything goes smoothly, it should take about three days."
"Three days…" Ishikawa murmured, falling silent as he began mentally calculating the round-trip.
Assuming three days by sea, plus the time spent departing from Konoha, the one-way trip would total about half a month. The return would take just as long.
Adding the procurement time in the village of Artisans—if all went smoothly and there were no complications—this C-rank mission would still take at least another full month.
What a huge loss! How much time would this eat up in training?!
'No, I've got to make the most of this. I need to practice other jutsu while I still can! That way, I won't waste valuable time once I'm back.' With sudden resolve, Ishikawa made up his mind to start training in earnest.
He couldn't use the Mystical Palm Technique, and with his current chakra reserves and control skills, forcing himself to practice Chakra Enhanced Strength or Rasengan would be pointless and inefficient.
That leaves only one option: Lightning Chakra Mode.
With this thought, Ishikawa's gaze shifted to Kakashi…
"…Uh, what is it?" Feeling the heat of Ishikawa's stare, Kakashi turned around, puzzled.
"Sensei, I want to train in Lightning Chakra Nature Transformation."
Hearing the request, Kakashi's pupils narrowed slightly, instantly realizing what Ishikawa was implying. "You want to train in Lightning Chakra Mode?"
"That's right, Sensei. You also know that to train in Lightning Chakra Mode, I have to master the Lightning chakra nature transformation. So I can only turn to you for help!" Ishikawa nodded slightly, looking at Kakashi with hopeful eyes.
From what he understood, Kakashi's Lightning Style: Chidori was a fusion of lightning chakra nature and form changes. If Kakashi agreed to help, then perhaps...
"Lightning nature transformation, huh?" Kakashi muttered.
Seeing the anticipation written all over Ishikawa's face, he flipped his palm upward, revealing a burst of visible lightning chakra. "Indeed, to activate all the body's cells—and even the nervous system—you need to change the nature of the lightning chakra. So..."
'Here it comes, here it comes! Whether it's Raikiri or Chidori—it's finally coming!' Ishikawa's eyes sparkled with excitement. His heart was about to leap out of his chest.
Learning an A-rank jutsu and mastering lightning nature and form change at the same time? How could he possibly pass up an opportunity like this?
"Alright then. Try converting your chakra into lightning properties and channel it into this kunai. If you can manage that, you've basically completed the lightning nature transformation."
Without waiting for a reply, Kakashi pulled out a kunai and enveloped it in crackling lightning chakra.
"...That's it?" Ishikawa froze for a second, then stared at Kakashi with disbelief.
Where's the Chidori? He'd mentally prepared himself for some high-level jutsu—and Kakashi just handed him a kunai? What the hell…?
"What else did you expect?" Kakashi rolled his eyes, waved dismissively, and began to walk off. "Oh, and one more thing—you have both lightning and earth chakra by nature. Don't try converting it into the Earth chakra by mistake. That'll cause trouble!"
"Thanks for the warning, Kakashi-sensei..." Ishikawa forced out a reluctant smile through gritted teeth.
Fine. If he wasn't going to teach him, then whatever. With his current chakra reserves, he probably couldn't even use Chidori properly yet anyway.
Refocusing on lightning nature transformation, Ishikawa pulled a senbon from his ninja pouch and began channeling chakra into it while walking.
And why not a kunai? Simple—he didn't have enough chakra to waste. A senbon was smaller and easier to infuse.
Soon after, while Ishikawa was frowning and struggling with the practice, the client finished loading the cargo, and the ship officially set sail, heading out to sea!
"What are you doing, Brother Ishikawa? Why are you poking a senbon like that?"
"I heard Kakashi-sensei say he's working on some kind of chakra nature transformation. Big brother is so hardworking!"
"Practice? He's just staring at a senbon. How is that even training..." Jiro muttered skeptically, curling his lip, but still turned around and ran toward Kakashi.
So far, he'd only learned a single C-rank Water Release technique. Now that the timing and setting were perfect, he had to seize the chance to learn another jutsu and level up!
Taro wasn't about to be left behind either. Seeing Jiro take action, he quickly followed—he couldn't let his big bro outpace him again!
At the same time, not far from the port, a shadowed figure watched the departing cargo ship with greedy eyes.
"Over ten loads of goods, escorted by Konoha shinobi... and their destination is the Village of Artisans. Looks like they're in the ninja tools trade. This is big... we've got to alert the boss and prepare in advance."
The middle-aged man muttered under his breath, swiftly pulling open a nearby cage to release a carrier pigeon.
With a flutter of wings, the grey bird soared upward, catching the sea breeze and flying straight southeast across the sky, toward the island chain of the Land of Water, where the Village Hidden in the Mist is located.