The journey from the Land of Sea to the Land of Tea was a significant one. While traveling from the Land of Water to the Land of Sea took only a day and a night, this next leg required roughly four to five days by ship.
Geographically, the Land of Sea occupied a central position between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water. This made it a crucial, hotly contested military foothold during wartime. Kirigakure could use it as a staging ground to invade the Land of Fire, while Konoha could establish defensive lines there to block advances from the sea.
Despite its strategic value, being an island nation limited the Land of Sea's economic development compared to, say, the besieged but resource-rich Land of Rain. Lacking the resources and likely the political stability to establish its own hidden village, the Land of Sea typically relied on commissioning missions from Kirigakure.
Night fell. Sakura lay sprawled on a deck chair, idly watching the stars, bored. Under her watchful eye, the group of terrified boatmen hurried about, preparing dinner. None of them looked well; their faces were pale, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
"Hey," Sakura called out, breaking the tense silence. "Am I really that scary? It's not like I've done anything too terrible to you lot. Just get me where I'm going, and I'll let you go."
Her words only seemed to make them shake harder. Sakura sighed, unable to stand their pathetic state any longer. She beckoned the ship's captain over. "You. Tell me about this sea monster."
The captain approached, practically vibrating with fear, his voice trembling. "B-Big Sister Boss! W-we… we're just trying to make a living! It's… it's not too late to turn the ship back! If that sea monster comes… w-we'll all die out here! Please, have mercy, just let us go back! These brothers of mine… they all have elders to support, children to feed! If one of us goes down, our whole family suffers!"
"Enough!" Sakura waved a dismissive hand, cutting off his blubbering. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "What does any of that have to do with me? I told you to talk about the sea monster. Keep rambling about irrelevant nonsense, and I'll toss you overboard to feed the fish right now."
"Big Sister Boss, spare my life!" the captain wailed, completely losing all dignity as he collapsed onto his knees, snot and tears streaming down his face.
Sakura felt a surge of irritation. She'd never met such blatant cowards who only bullied those weaker than themselves. She vividly remembered the arrogant, leering expression he'd worn earlier on the docks. Disgusted, she kicked him aside, then gestured to another crew member. "You! Yes, you. Come here."
The crewman she indicated looked barely older than a boy, maybe sixteen or seventeen. Hearing Sakura summon him, his face went deathly pale, and he approached with unsteady steps, his voice shaking. "Y-you called me?"
"Tell me about the sea monster," Sakura ordered, sinking back into her chair and eyeing the acne-covered youth coolly. "No useless chatter, or I'll kill you."
"Y-yes, ma'am!" The boy stared at Sakura with wide, terrified eyes, as if looking upon a demon. "It… it happens whenever a ship from the Land of Sea puts out to sea… the sea monster attacks. N-no one survives an attack. Lately… lately, it's been happening much more often. That's why none of us dared to sail… we were just waiting for it to pass…"
"Meaning no one has actually seen this sea monster?" Sakura pressed.
"N-no, ma'am. No one ever escapes after an attack. All they find later is wreckage… that's the only proof it was the monster," the boy stammered, his fear palpable. "I… I don't want to die yet! Even if… even if you're really strong, you can't beat the sea monster!"
"Tch." Sakura waved him away dismissively. "Go get back to work. And remember to make plenty of food. You'll all eat together. Eat your fill… be ready for the journey ahead."
"Ah~~~!" The youth's eyes widened in horror, instantly misunderstanding her ambiguous comment as a death sentence. He immediately dropped to his knees, bursting into tears. "N-no! Please! I don't want to die! I have a younger brother back home I need to take care of! If I die, he won't survive!"
Sakura watched him, speechless for a moment. If you're all so terrified of dying, why do you engage in such wicked, predatory behavior? she thought contemptuously. Truly, harsh environments breed cruel people. The poorer and more desperate people were, the more often they hid their cowardice behind a fierce facade. She clearly remembered this boy among the thugs who had surrounded her and Mei at the docks.
Just as she was about to deliver a scathing remark, the entire ship lurched violently. Caught completely off guard, Sakura tumbled from her deck chair. The hull tilted sharply, sending her sliding across the deck until she slammed against the railing, barely managing to catch herself.
Pandemonium erupted. Cooked food, pots, and utensils went flying. The crewmen shrieked in terror, screaming, "The sea monster! It's here!"
Sakura rubbed the large, throbbing bump on her head where she'd hit the deck, wincing. The ship gradually righted itself, but she could feel its course had shifted. Unless the helmsman had deliberately turned the wheel, something underwater must have snagged the rudder.
The deck was now utter chaos. Some crewmen stood frozen in terror, while others scrambled about blindly, clutching their heads. Sakura pushed herself up and yelled over the din, "Where's the helmsman?!"
"Th-that… that's me~~~!" a tall, thin crewman stammered, raising a trembling hand, his voice choked with fear.
"Did you turn the ship?" Sakura demanded sharply.
"N-no! No, it wasn't me!" the helmsman cried, tears streaming down his face. "It's over! It's over! The sea monster's here! We're all going to die!"
His words triggered a fresh wave of despair and panicked wailing. Believing their deaths were imminent, the fragile semblance of order dissolved completely, and simmering resentments exploded into violence.
"You son of a turtle!" one man roared, lunging at another. "I knew it was you who stole the money I hid under my bunk!"
"You're full of crap!" the other yelled back, shoving him. "What about the oranges I had in my crate the day before yesterday? You ate them, didn't you?!"
"F*** you!" screamed a group of three or four scrawny youths as they jumped a larger, muscular bully. "You only know how to push us around! Since we're all gonna die anyway, we'll kill you first!" They swarmed him with fists and feet.
However, the size difference was too great. The bully easily swatted them away, sending them sprawling. "You pathetic little whelps!" he snarled, kicking one of them viciously. "Still trying to rebel? Let me beat you one last time before we all kick it— Ngh!"
Suddenly, the bully's face contorted in pain. He twisted around, shock and fury in his eyes as he saw who stood behind him. "It's you?! You dare?! I always treated you well, you backstabbing traitor!"
A sharp, gleaming fruit knife was clutched in the hand of the acne-faced youth Sakura had spoken to earlier. He'd plunged it deep into the bully's back. The boy's face was a mask of vicious satisfaction. "Yeah, you treated me 'well'," he spat, "by taking half my pay every single trip! I've wanted to kill you for a long time!" He savagely twisted the knife in the wound.
The bully gasped, clutching his chest as he collapsed, his eyes fixed on the boy in dying disbelief. But before the young killer could even begin to savor his revenge, the other youths who had been beaten down scrambled up and descended upon him in a furious mob.
"F*** your grandma!" one shrieked, landing a blow. "You always used his protection to bully us too! Now you die first!"
Sakura watched the brutal, chaotic scene unfold from the railing, her expression cold and detached. Base human nature, stripped bare. All the petty grievances, the daily hatreds, erupting violently in the face of perceived doom.
Just then, several of the remaining burly crewmen, including the captain and the crude boatman from the docks, slowly began to close in on Sakura, their eyes gleaming with a different kind of desperation.
Sakura's brow furrowed. "What do you think you're doing? Looking for another beating?"
"Of course not!" the captain cackled, licking his lips, his expression a disturbing mix of lewdness and feral desperation. "We're all dead anyway, right? I admit, we can't beat you. But… you two are the only women on board. Before I die… just getting to touch you once… it'd be worth it!"
"Yeah, yeah!" the boatman who'd insulted her on the gangplank chimed in, drooling openly as his gaze fixed on Sakura's legs. "Go on, kick me again! I'll be sure to caress you real good this time!"
Sakura's chest heaved, fury boiling up inside her. Though she had lived as a male in her past life, over a decade spent as a female made their vile words feel like a profound, personal violation.
Without uttering a single word, Sakura raised her hands, pointing her index fingers like twin pistols at two of the other approaching men (not the captain or the boatman). Brilliant blue-white energy gathered at her fingertips. Two beams of light, easily as thick as rice bowls, shot out with blinding speed, striking the targeted men squarely in the head.
Silently, instantly, the top halves of their skulls vanished, vaporized. Not even a scream escaped their lips as their burly bodies collapsed heavily onto the deck, muscles still twitching as if refusing to believe their owners were already dead.
An abrupt, chilling silence fell over the deck. The remaining crewmen stared at the horrific sight, their throats suddenly dry, their bodies shaking like leaves in a storm. The captain and the rude boatman stood frozen, not from bravery, but from sheer, paralyzing terror. A faint dripping sound could be heard – originating, quite clearly, from the crotches of the two terrified men.
"Y-you~~ y-you~~ y-you~~~~" the captain stammered, pointing a trembling finger at Sakura, utterly incapable of forming a coherent sentence.
Sakura had deliberately left these two alive; she intended to make their end slow. But just as she was about to speak, her eyes caught movement on the opposite railing – a dark, distinctly inhuman shadow clinging there.
"What demon dares show itself?! Come out!" Sakura snapped, instantly redirecting her deadly finger-guns towards the shape, her voice sharp with command.
Apparently startled by being directly addressed and targeted, the shadow let out a startled "Pat-da!" sound as it lost its grip and tumbled clumsily onto the deck below.
Sakura turned to the still-frozen, urine-soaked boatman from the docks. "You! Take a torch and go see what that thing is!"
The boatman's face was ashen. He knew he was dead whether he obeyed or not. He remained rooted to the spot.
Sakura didn't waste words. Another beam of Storm Release laser shot from her finger, striking him squarely between the legs. An unearthly, agonized shriek tore through the night air.
She then looked at the trembling captain. "You go."
The captain stared wide-eyed at his companion writhing and screaming on the deck nearby. He swallowed hard, the sound audible in the sudden quiet. Then, shakily, he picked up a dropped torch and began to shuffle slowly, hesitantly, towards the dark shape huddled on the far side of the deck.
"Faster!" Sakura commanded coldly.
The captain jolted as if shocked, then scrambled forward with newfound urgency. As he approached with the flickering torchlight, the shadow's form gradually became visible.
Sakura observed the creature sprawled on the deck, a frown creasing her brow. She wracked her brain, comparing it to every creature she knew or had heard of, but couldn't identify it.
Sensing the captain's approach, the shadow scrambled upright with surprising speed, then retreated frantically until it was backed against the far bulkhead, staring at Sakura with eyes filled with raw terror.
Sakura studied it intently. The overall shape was humanoid – head, two arms, two legs. But its body was covered in shimmering scales, and a distinct fish-like fin protruded from the top of its head. The fingers and toes were clearly webbed. Suddenly, inspiration flashed. Could this… could this be the legendary sea monster?
But what kind of creature looked like this? Scales, fins, webbed digits… yet, despite a sparse scattering of scales across its cheeks, the face beneath was undeniably, unmistakably human. A mermaid?
Just as Sakura was puzzling over its nature, the strange, mermaid-like creature spoke, its voice trembling with fear.
"Y-you… y-you… I was wrong! Please, let me go~~~~!"