Out at sea, Miwa Masayo spent two full days vomiting before she finally adapted to the ocean.
Today, the waves had reached three meters high, and now and then they stacked into crests as tall as five meters. The white foam atop the swells was huge, and the strong wind tore it away directly, making it look like clusters of reed blossoms.
The small boat under Uchiha Yoru's control pitched violently up and down, enough to toss even the things on deck high into the air.
And yet—
Both the ninja and the Cat Sage stood steadily on the deck, staring intently at a cluster of tiny floats in the distance.
Before dawn, Uchiha Yoru had found traces of sailfish.
So he took out the small fish he had prepared in advance, chopped some of them into pieces, and threw those bits into the sea. The rest he rigged onto hooks through their dorsal fins and released into the water.
These were the baits for hunting sailfish.
Their purpose was not actually to hook the sailfish and reel them in, but to use the floats to mark their positions, making it easier for a ninja to track them.
It wasn't that no one wanted to fish them up properly.
It was just that there was no fishing line capable of enduring a sailfish's bite and powerful dragging force. And if they switched to thicker, tougher rope or wire, the baitfish wouldn't be able to bear it, and the sailfish would notice something was wrong and abandon the prey.
Sometimes the mere sight of a thick rope was enough to startle a sailfish.
And once frightened, a sailfish would instinctively flee, covering a thousand miles in one breath if it had to.
Making a ninja chase a target across a thousand miles of sea?
Not even Kirigakure's ninjas would do something like that.
Ninjas, in the end, simply weren't suited for ruling the ocean.
What Yoru had not expected, however, was that not long after the baitfish had been deployed, fierce winds began to howl across the sea, and enormous waves rose with them.
Many of the baitfish had their dorsal fins torn apart by the surging water and, with great luck, regained their freedom.
Miwa Masayo had adapted to the rocking of the sea.
But she could not adapt to mad waves like these.
Worried, she asked, "Yoru, with the wind and waves this bad, will the sailfish really still bite, meow?"
Yoru held the rudder steady and shouted back, "I asked around beforehand. Sailfish will still feed even in rough seas. It'll bite."
"It should… probably."
"Meow—! The float got pulled under!"
"One, five, ten— they all got dragged down, meow! The sailfish really bit!"
It took another dozen minutes before Uchiha Yoru finally confirmed through layer after layer of waves that what had taken the bait was indeed a sailfish.
But the sea in full rage could not be slighted.
Yoru tried several times to go into the water and pursue it, only to discover that facing three-meter waves on the surface, he could barely maintain his footing.
Running was out of the question.
If he dove beneath the surface to avoid the waves' interference, the sailfish would leave him eighteen streets behind in speed.
There was simply no way he could catch up.
In the end, he could only return to the boat, steer it in pursuit of the sailfish's trail, and wait for the furious wind and rough sea to settle before trying again.
Several hours later, the sea returned to a calm and peaceful appearance.
Even from several kilometers away, a dozen or so floats clustered together were clearly visible, making pursuit vastly easier.
At that point, the sailfish could only escape Yoru's sight by diving into deep water and dragging the floats down with it.
But deep diving was not the sailfish's strength.
On one hand, the buoyancy of more than ten floats created considerable resistance.
On the other hand, the deeper the water, the less oxygen it contained.
For a fish with gills as small as a sailfish's, fifty meters down already counted as difficult-breathing depth.
It would never stay that deep for long.
The chase continued for more than three hours.
Only in the afternoon, when the sailfish's stamina finally started to decline, did Yoru manage to close the distance to three hundred meters.
He could not help sighing.
"No wonder no ninja wants to take this mission. If you have to chase them down like this instead of running into them head-on, the efficiency is just too low."
Miwa Masayo asked in confusion, "If that's the case, then shouldn't the reward be very high, meow?"
"That's exactly the problem. As long as you're lucky enough to encounter one at close range, the difficulty of catching it really isn't that high."
"Even an ordinary person could do it."
Uchiha Yoru picked up a spare oar and said with a smile, "Take a look at the capture method I heard about. Let's see whether it's really as easy as they said."
He jumped off the small boat, ran across the water, and aimed at the sailfish's head—just as it sensed danger and was about to dive.
Then he brought the oar down hard.
A crisp thunk rang out.
And the sailfish floated up limply.
Yes.
It really was that simple.
Years of high-speed swimming had forced the sailfish's body structure to prioritize streamlining above everything else, leaving a fatal weakness in its head. As long as you struck it hard from above with a wooden pole, the whole fish would lose consciousness for a short time.
And then it died.
Not from the blow itself, but because once unconscious it could no longer swim, and a fish with such tiny gills would quickly suffocate from lack of oxygen.
After hearing Yoru's explanation, Miwa Masayo stared at the sailfish that had been hauled aboard and asked worriedly, "The mission calls for a fresh sailfish. It'll take us two days to get back, right? We didn't bring ice, and neither of us knows Ice Release. This fish will rot. What do we do, meow?"
"Simple."
"Just don't let it die."
"?"
Yoru did not explain.
Instead, he tied the sailfish up securely, bound it tightly to one side of the boat, and fixed its head facing in the same direction as the bow.
Then he began using wind and fire techniques to create tremendous impact on the water, pushing the little boat into a crazed burst of movement—more accurately, sending it leaping forward in mad jolts.
A sailfish's mouth naturally could not fully close.
Driven by the boat's speed, massive amounts of seawater poured into the fish's mouth, then flowed back out through its gills, effectively maintaining its oxygen supply.
Though it was tied helplessly to the side of a violently bouncing boat and being passively flooded from time to time, the sailfish ultimately survived quite nicely, preserving the freshness of its precious flesh.
By now, the tabby cat had completely shaken off the misery of seasickness.
On the contrary—
She had begun to love the thrill and jolting excitement of this speed.
The high-speed propulsion Yoru created with Wind Release and Fire Release filled Miwa Masayo with an exhilaration she had never experienced before.
She clung tightly to the fixed board on the boat, yet still shouted at the top of her lungs, "Meow meow meow, faster! Faster!"
After six hours of insane sailing, Uchiha Yoru completed a journey that should have taken two full days and returned to the River Capital's port.
Unfortunately, the harbor was already full.
They would have to wait in line for several hours before entering.
Fortunately, ice could be bought at this point, so there was no longer any need to worry about the sailfish going bad while they waited.
Without speed, Miwa Masayo immediately became bored.
She began patrolling all around the boat, and while inspecting the side, she suddenly noticed some long thing hanging from the sailfish's pointed bill.
It was still twisting and writhing.
Alerted by her, Uchiha Yoru hurried over to take a look, and his face lit up with delight.
"It's a moray eel. Unexpected harvest!"
The unlucky eel had no idea when it had ended up impaled on the sailfish's pointed snout.
It was still alive, and still struggling with considerable vigor.
Yoru immediately stepped in and captured it.
Moray eel—
That was good stuff.
And since they were stuck in line anyway, this was the perfect time to deal with it.
He removed the head, stripped the bones, bled it, and skinned it. With deft use of Wind Release blades, Uchiha Yoru soon obtained two strips of crystal-clear eel flesh, which he then minced into paste in midair.
The smooth, glossy eel paste spoke of supreme quality.
Yoru could not help sighing regretfully.
"Ah, I only have flour on hand, not starch. I'll have to make the beginner version of fish balls."
He took out the flour he carried with him, added a little fresh water, and mixed it into the eel paste.
After vigorous kneading and stirring, he got a fish paste of just the right consistency.
Then he prepared a pork filling.
Wrapping it with the fish paste, he squeezed the formed fish balls out between his thumb and forefinger, and they dropped one after another into lightly boiling water to set and cook.
Eel fish balls.
A food so simple there was nothing fancy about it at all.
The fresh flavor of fish and the rich fragrance of pork came together and condensed into a mixture of fish juice and pork fat.
Cut one open with a spoon while it was still hot, and a burst of savory, fragrant broth would explode out, releasing endless layers of deliciousness.
This was the kind of food whose best flavor could only truly be appreciated when it was still too hot to eat comfortably.
Miwa Masayo was not afraid of heat.
So she tasted a degree of perfect texture and freshness that humans could never fully enjoy.
She was utterly enchanted.
"How strange. You made this once in Konoha too, but it didn't seem this delicious."
"That's only natural. The eel we bought back then had already been dead for a long time. It had been transported all the way to Konoha on ice, so most of its living freshness was long gone."
"If the pork hadn't been fresh enough to make up for part of that missing flavor, the difference would've been even greater."
Miwa Masayo ate to her heart's content.
But for a Cat Sage, the greatest regret was that food like this—however delicious—was still too ordinary to create a feeling of fullness.
Even if she swallowed fish balls equal to her own body weight, the tabby cat felt no satisfying roundness in her stomach.
She felt like she could keep eating forever.
So she could not help but complain:
"Delicious is delicious, but it only fools the mouth. It doesn't have that happy fullness dried small fish give me, meow."
"The translucent small fish are already extraordinary creatures. This moray eel is just an ordinary fish. It can't compare."
"If only there were extraordinary eels too. Something delicious and filling enough to make you happy—that would be perfect, meow."
"Once we finish dealing with Konoha's affairs, we'll travel the ninja world."
"The ninja world is so vast. Since there are translucent small fish in underground rivers, then there must be other extraordinary ingredients too."
"Mhm. It's a promise, meow."
After a few minutes of idle waiting, Miwa Masayo suddenly asked, "Yoru, if you had starch, what kind of dish would you make from eel, meow?"
Yoru started counting on his fingers.
"Transparent eel wrappers for wontons."
"Fine eel noodles as thin as hair."
"Marinated eel chunks coated in starch and fried until crisp."
Just the names and the simplest descriptions were enough to send Miwa Masayo into dreamy longing.
Want to eat, meow.
…
When Uchiha Yoru's small boat finally entered the harbor, they had bought enough ice to lower the temperature, and the live sailfish tied to the boat's side was still alive.
A living sailfish was a rare sight in port and caused a small commotion.
The mission client arrived at Yoru's boat immediately, confirmed the mission completed on the spot, and even paid out an extra bonus.
Once people learned that it was only because ninjutsu had propelled the boat at such tremendous speed that the sailfish had been kept alive, the fishermen could only shake their heads in envy.
The more thoughtful ninjas, meanwhile, began considering how they might replicate the feat themselves.
After all, a live sailfish would certainly sell for a higher price.
After completing the mission, Uchiha Yoru rowed the rented boat back to its anchorage, secured it, and finished the return procedures before finally jumping up onto the dock.
Miwa Masayo followed him from the bow to the dock.
But the moment she landed, she let out a miserable "myaaah" and collapsed to the ground, unable to get back up.
Once again, the world spun around her.
Worst of all, the earth itself seemed to be swaying from left to right.
The tabby cat panicked.
Her limbs and tail started flailing rapidly, but no matter what she did, she couldn't find her balance again.
"Don't panic."
Uchiha Yoru stepped over immediately and pressed the tabby cat firmly down against the ground.
Smiling, he explained, "You stayed on the boat so long that you got used to the rocking of the deck. Now your body can't adapt to stable ground again. Just lie there and don't move. You'll recover the sense you had a few days ago very soon."
After hearing his explanation, Miwa Masayo calmed down.
In a muffled voice, she asked, "Does that mean I'm dizzy from something again, meow?"
"You guessed right."
"This is called landsickness."
"Teleport-sick, seasick, land-sick… what else is there left to get sick from? I might as well just die of dizziness, meow…"
"Yoru, you absolutely cannot tell any of the ninja cats. Promise me, meow!"
"Pfft. I promise."
"So embarrassing, meow…"
The tabby cat covered her head with both paws and wriggled back and forth.
She was mortified.
…
The liaison work with Konoha's darkness was handled by Ebizō.
After all, he himself was Sunagakure's highest-ranking intelligence chief, and talking with Danzō meant no time would be wasted.
Less than six hours later, Shimura Danzō left Sunagakure carrying all the intelligence.
Along with the intelligence, however, he also carried a belly full of rage and a face full of spit.
That damned Ebizō had quite deliberately used him as an outlet.
Using intelligence as bait, he had forced Danzō to endure six straight hours of slander and foul-mouthed abuse.
If it weren't for Konoha…
Danzō still didn't dare lay a hand on Ebizō.
Sunagakure was not to be underestimated.
Konoha would have to go all out if it truly faced that enormous beast, so it was best not to provoke it unless necessary.
Otherwise, when he, Shimura Danzō, became Hokage in the future, handling bilateral relations would become troublesome.
Before the Third Great Ninja War, Shimura Danzō had not yet obtained usable Wood Release, nor did he possess abundant Sharingan resources. He had not yet gone so mad as to think he could suppress the entire ninja world and treat all Five Great Ninja Villages without respect.
But still—
He was furious.
After walking several hundred meters out of Sunagakure, Shimura Danzō turned back to look at that hidden village in the desert and said bitterly, "One day, I will ascend to the seat of Hokage and lead Konoha's great ninja army to break Sunagakure."
"When that day comes, I will tear Ebizō to pieces to repay today's humiliation."
The two Root ninjas beside him looked at each other, then lowered their heads and offered quiet consolation.
"You've suffered, Lord Danzō."
Danzō nodded.
"It is all for Konoha. Let's go."
As Shimura Danzō stared at Sunagakure, Chiyo and Ebizō, standing atop the village wall, were also watching him.
Chiyo asked, "Well?"
Ebizō had vented a great deal, and the pain of losing his son had eased somewhat. Forcing a smile, he said, "Konoha has no idea about our preparations. The war can proceed according to plan."
"And what about the Natural Sage? Any progress?"
"My people found the battlefield where Keisuke died. They also found a village called Nine Forest Village."
"Nine Forest Village was massacred. Our ninjas did it."
"All of those ninjas were also killed. Five remains were found on the battlefield, and another four are still missing. Sigh."
Ebizō's mood visibly sank.
With a resentful tone, he added, "I warned him more than once—never create unnecessary complications, no matter what. He always thought I was nagging."
"And this time, he really did kick an iron plate."
"One mistake, and he lost his life. Sigh…"
"No trace of that man?"
"None at all."
"So this means that his appearance in Sunagakure really was just an accident caused by Umino Keisuke provoking him."
"That's the best possible outcome."
"Sister…"
"Hm?"
"How can you stay this calm? Sasori and the Third both disappeared, and Umino Keisuke is dead too. How can you…"
Chiyo suddenly snapped.
"How do you expect me to be? Cry? Kill myself?"
"You think I don't want to die?"
"My head is full of Sasori. I can't stop imagining him suffering. And then there's Umino Keisuke… that child died so miserably. There wasn't even a complete corpse left."
"Little brother, only the two of us old things remain in this family now. No children anymore…"
"How could I not want to die? If I died, maybe it wouldn't hurt like this anymore."
"But I can't."
"Sasori is only missing. I believe he's not dead. He must not be dead. He will definitely come back to see me…"
"So I can't die. I have to endure."
"I have to keep myself busy. I cannot let myself think about the children."
"…I'm sorry, big sister."
"Go get busy. Once you're busy, your heart won't hurt so much. That much, I can confirm now."
"Yes!"
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