"Naruto-san... are you sure we're going the right way this time?"
"Don't worry, Karin, we're definitely on the right path now!"
After several corrections, Karin finally stopped addressing Naruto as '-sama'. The way she called him now, 'Naruto-san', was at least something he could accept, so he didn't push the matter further.
Since leaving Tanzaku Quarter, the two had been traveling toward the eastern coastline of the Land of Fire based on the directions from their map.
Along the way, they had taken a few wrong turns, but fortunately, kind-hearted people often jumped out from the bushes to point them in the right direction.
After bidding farewell to these 'good Samaritans', who were exhausted from their kindness and promptly lay down to take a nap, they continued their journey toward the coast.
The Land of Whirlpools is located on an island across the sea to the east of the Land of Fire. To get there one must take a boat.
And hey… wasn't this right up Naruto's alley?
Though he never admitted to being a pirate, Naruto's experience sailing the high seas far surpassed that of anyone else in this world.
In other words, he is likely to get lost on land, but if he were to go to sea, wouldn't he be back in his comfort zone?
After traveling a bit further, a breeze carrying the faint scent of saltwater brushed through the trees and reached their noses.
Naruto knew that smell all too well.
Sure enough, before long, the view opened up before them.
The coastline stretched endlessly to either side, seemingly without end.
For Karin, this was her first time seeing the ocean.
As the boundless expanse of water filled her vision, it was as if the little girl who had always hidden in the corners of her heart was suddenly pulled into the light.
"It's so beautiful..." Karin murmured unconsciously.
Hearing her words, Naruto smiled and replied, "Yeah, I think so too..."
After taking a moment to admire the view, the two began searching for a nearby village or town.
Since he was traveling with a young girl, Naruto didn't want to carry her while walking on water all the way. It'd be better to just rent a boat… no, buy one outright.
Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the kind-hearted Gato and the enthusiastic donations from the good Samaritans they'd met along the way, Naruto's wallet was practically overflowing.
Expanding his Observation Haki, Naruto quickly located a fishing village.
The two first treated themselves to a hearty meal in the village, then bought a reasonably sized wooden fishing boat from a local fisherman at a price well above market value.
With the sea calm and the winds favorable, Naruto decided to set sail immediately!
Out of sheer confidence, he politely declined the fisherman's offer to 'pay extra for a guide'.
'What a joke! If I, Uzumaki Naruto, could navigate from the New World back to East Blue without getting lost, how could I possibly fail here?'
The small boat rode the waves away from the village, with Naruto and Karin sitting on opposite sides.
Since the sea breeze was strong enough, there was no need to row manually. Naruto simply pulled out a fishing rod and a wooden bucket from his storage scroll.
Time to fish!
Karin had never fished before, so she watched Naruto's angling process with great interest.
But soon, she grew bored.
The reason was simple.
No fish…
To be more precise, no fish were biting Naruto's hook.
Seeing the little girl beside him began to space out, her head nodding as she struggled to stay awake, Naruto felt his face burn with embarrassment.
'Tch, these fish really had no manners...'
Unfortunately, the sea creatures couldn't hear Naruto's thoughts, and after several hours of fishing, his bucket remained empty.
By the time Karin woke up from her nap, Naruto's bucket was still as barren as ever.
Now, even with no fishing experience, Karin could tell that Naruto's angling skills were... less than impressive.
... No, 'less than impressive' might have been too generous.
Naruto, who had caught nothing, was now dazed. He stared blankly at the distant horizon, pondering the meaning of life.
Seeing this, Karin didn't know what to say.
Suddenly, she sensed something approaching the boat from beneath the water.
"Naruto-san, there's something under the boat!"
Karin seemed to possess a natural talent for sensory abilities. And Naruto had even taught her the Uzumaki Clan's secret technique, [Mind's Eye of the Kagura].
As a result, after just two or three days, Karin was already showing signs of being able to use a rudimentary version of this technique.
Her progress was slightly faster than Naruto's.
But it's not Naruto's fault.
Who makes him feel dizzy every time he sees those densely packed texts in the scrolls?
Compared to learning something from scratch, he was far better at using his Observation Haki to carefully observe someone else's technique and then perfectly 'replicate' it.
To some extent, the title of [Copy Ninja] should have been his instead.
As everyone knew, Naruto didn't like using Observation Haki or similar sensory abilities while fishing.
After all, that kind of thing was downright blasphemous for a true angler.
He might as well just use the Ninjutsu to blast the water.
When he heard Karin's warning, Naruto perked up instantly.
The reason was simple: His fishing rod finally moved!
The fishing line was suddenly yanked taut, pulled by something beneath the boat.
The force was terrifying, clearly no small fry.
The rod bent into a dangerous arc, but thanks to Naruto's Armament Haki reinforcement, it instantly became as sturdy as steel.
Even the nearly snapping fishing line became as unbreakable as steel wire.
"Come on up!"
With a sharp tug, Naruto hauled a bizarre fish the size of a full-grown adult onto the boat.
And calling it 'bizarre' was no exaggeration.
The fish was round and chubby, almost like a seal at first glance, its body a dull brown with golden streaks along its dorsal fin.
Upon closer inspection, two long whiskers protruded from its mouth.
But the most striking feature was its utterly vacant, dopey eyes.
It was exactly the same look Naruto had just given him when he was contemplating life.
"This… should be a catfish, right?"
Naruto wasn't entirely sure.
There are catfish in the sea, but the one in front of him doesn't look like an ordinary catfish at all.
When his eyes met the fish's blank stare, Naruto inexplicably felt a strange sense of kinship.
'This fish… was kind of cute.'
"Naruto-san, it looks like it's dying!"
At Karin's alarmed shout, Naruto snapped out of his starry-eyed trance and saw the fish weakly flop its tail in a final struggle before collapsing limply onto the deck.
In the end, thanks to Naruto's emergency healing, the giant catfish survived.
"That's weird… This fish has a lot of Chakra in its body."
Pressing his fingers against the fish's back, Naruto could clearly sense the flow of Chakra within its body.
Then, a strange thought appeared in Naruto's mind.
And when Naruto had an idea, he acted on it immediately.
After some tinkering, a scroll with Naruto's name on it and imprinted with the catfish's Chakra was carefully stored away.
Surprisingly, this strange, Chakra-infused catfish seemed to possess some level of intelligence, and it had taken a quick liking to Naruto.
The summoning contract was signed far more smoothly than expected.
"Naruto-san… why did you make a summoning contract with this fish?"
"Huh? Don't you think Gyumaru is adorable?"
"You even named it already?!"
Karin couldn't help but blurt out in disbelief.
After scrutinizing the dopey catfish a few more times, she still couldn't grasp Naruto's taste.
Strangely enough, shortly after the catfish officially 'joined' their party, the weather abruptly turned gloomy.
Immediately afterwards, fierce winds began whipping across the sea, waves crashing against the boat one after another.
The storm raged for a long time, and if not for Naruto's protection, the boat would have capsized long ago.
The bizarre giant catfish, buffeted by the violent waves, rolled around helplessly, its already vacant eyes now even more bewildered.
Then, in one unlucky tumble, it plopped right back into the sea.
Naruto originally wanted to rescue it, but then he thought that there was no need for him to do so.
The sea is its home.
Anyway, the contract has been signed, so he could just summon it back later.
And the moment 'Gyumaru' vanished beneath the waves, the storm began to clear at an almost unnatural speed.
What exactly is the connection between them... no one can tell.
The real question was… just how far off course had they drifted?