At the harbor of the hot spring town in the Land of Hot Water, Naruto had set up a small grill. Skewered on it was a skinned and gutted snake, its meat sizzling as fat dripped onto the flames.
Though the portion was small, it would be a waste not to eat it.
Neither Jiraiya nor Karin were with him. Naruto had instructed them to lay low for the time being.
Meanwhile, news of Uzumaki Naruto's conspicuous appearance at the harbor quickly spread like wildfire, thanks to certain interested parties.
A 'Konoha's Genin' with a bounty worth 100 million Ryo.
It was no exaggeration to say that, in the eyes of some, the head on Naruto's shoulders might as well have been made of gold.
And that was exactly what Naruto wanted.
These assassins were all coming for him, and Karin had just been caught in the crossfire.
Now that she was under Jiraiya's protection, he could finally cut loose a little.
Though it seemed his trip to the Land of Whirlpools would have to be postponed.
Lost in thought, Naruto sprinkled some seasoning on the grilled snake before taking a bite, leisurely enjoying the meat with occasional sips of sake.
"Grilled snake meat~ I love eating it..."
Admittedly, though the portion was small, the taste wasn't bad at all.
'Maybe I should ask Orochimaru to send me more snake meat?'
When the Sound Four, Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya, Sakon, and Ukon, arrived on the island, this was exactly the scene they witnessed.
"Is that him? The Uzumaki Naruto that Orochimaru-sama mentioned?"
Sakon glanced at the boy across from them, then at his companions, uncertainty in his voice.
Jirobo remained silent, his gaze fixed on the skewered snake meat in Naruto's hand.
"He doesn't look like much..."
Kidomaru was the most arrogant of the four.
Aside from Kimimaro, he didn't respect anyone else under Orochimaru's command.
Meanwhile, Tayuya scanned their surroundings. By now, quite a few people at the dock had turned their attention toward them.
Which wasn't surprising.
Aside from her and Jirobo… SakonSakon and Ukon, as well as Kidomaru, were the type whose appearances screamed 'not human'.
Normally, they rarely appeared together in such public places.
But this time, the situation was urgent, as they had received a direct order from Orochimaru without any prior notice.
The command was simple: head to this location, retrieve Uzumaki Naruto, and bring him to their prison on the southern island, where Orochimaru would be waiting for them.
Perhaps Orochimaru considered this a straightforward task, and since he intended to personally meet with Naruto, he hadn't bothered to explain the details to the Sound Four.
And so, the group had rushed to the sea, arriving in the Land of Hot Water.
The journey had been rough, so it was only natural that they were in a foul mood.
However, since the failed Konoha Crush Plan had never come to fruition, these four had never had the chance to witness the extent of Naruto's power.
As a result, in their eyes, Naruto was probably just another 'vessel' that Orochimaru had taken an interest in.
"Come with us, Uzumaki Naruto."
"Orochimaru will grant you power and bestow upon you the Cursed Seal."
Tayuya, at least, still had some professionalism as a subordinate, delivering Orochimaru's classic recruitment pitch.
"???"
But all this earned her was a look of utter confusion from Naruto.
"Did that guy Orochimaru not explain anything to you guys?"
Naruto even set down his flask of sake, asking the question without a hint of malice.
He didn't actually hold any ill will toward Orochimaru. He just didn't like the guy's creepy demeanor.
But to the Sound Four, his words came across differently.
"Watch your tongue."
Surprisingly, Jirobo was the first to speak up.
And the hot-tempered Sakon simply attacked without hesitation.
"Seems like no one's taught you to show respect to Orochimaru-sama!"
Ignoring Ukon's attempt to stop him, he reached out toward Naruto.
He intended to teach Naruto a lesson.
The Sakon-Ukon brothers possessed a secret technique that allowed them to 'merge' into another person's body, gradually seizing control over it.
This was the kind of ability that sent chills down one's spine just thinking about it.
Naruto seemed to glimpse a certain future, and the leisurely smile on his face slowly faded.
"Brat..."
A faint red glow flickered in Naruto's eyes, followed by an indescribable, terrifying aura radiating from his body.
This was the first time since leaving Konoha that Naruto had seriously unleashed his Conqueror's Haki.
"Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"
At this moment, what stood before them was no longer just a mere Konoha's Genin, but a true warrior of the seas!
Lightning! Wind! Dark clouds!
Everyone felt as if they had been swallowed by a storm at sea.
Jirobo and Tayuya, the weaker of the four, were forced to activate their first-stage of Cursed Seals just to barely maintain their sanity.
Nearby bystanders nearly all collapsed into unconsciousness in an instant.
The few who remained conscious were frozen stiff, unable to move.
And Sakon, who bore the brunt of it, had his mental world completely shattered by the overwhelming pressure of the Haki.
He didn't even have time to activate his Cursed Seal.
If not for Ukon immediately taking control of their shared body, he would have already crumpled to the ground.
Kidomaru was the least affected among them, but even he felt his limbs turn ice-cold at this time.
Not even Orochimaru had ever subjected them to such oppressive pressure.
And this was the result of Naruto deliberately holding back.
Otherwise, every single person in the vicinity would have been left sprawled on the ground today.
Naruto's Haki had only been unleashed for a few seconds, but it left an indelible mark on the minds of those who remained conscious.
Suddenly, he withdrew his Haki and stood up.
"Hah, just messing with you. Why would I bother getting serious with a bunch of brats?"
Naruto's tone was light, and his usual carefree smile returned to his face.
But this time, no one dared to underestimate him.
"Let's go. Don't want to keep Orochimaru waiting."
As he said that, he simply took the lead and walked onto the small boat that the others had taken when they came here.
The Sound Four exchanged glances before silently following suit, boarding the ship without a word.
Not even a single one of them suggested stopping to resupply at the port.
Only after the boat slowly drifted away from the shore did the stunned crowd finally begin to murmur, their voices rising in a nervous clamor.
Among them, a few shadowy figures quietly slipped away from the gathering.
Naruto, who had 'seen' this from the boat, inwardly relaxed.
'Good. Now, everyone's attention would follow me… straight to Orochimaru.
…
The boat's journey wasn't particularly fast, but fortunately, everyone on board was a Ninja. If push came to shove, they could always use Ninjutsu to speed things up.
Of course, that task definitely wasn't going to fall on Naruto.
Ever since the display at the dock, the Sound Four had become eerily quiet.
Even the usually hot-tempered Sakon had mellowed out considerably after regaining his senses.
It just went to show that, when you were strong enough, the whole world became a much kinder and friendlier place.