CH_169
After nearly a full day and night of almost nonstop travel through the forests, Tōji sped along the entire way, deliberately avoiding populated areas.
This time, Tōji didn't choose the dock closest to the Land of Seas. Instead, he headed north to a more distant, run-down little pier.
Only as dawn approached did Tōji find an abandoned wooden shack near the pier to rest in.
In the eastern sky, beneath the gray-blue, a faint orange glow was already emerging.
『No trace of sleepiness at all, huh.』 Tōji gazed at the pier not far away, showing no signs of fatigue.
Leaning against the moss-stained thin wooden plank wall, Tōji kept himself sitting upright to ease some of the fatigue. With a faint, inexplicable excitement in his heart and that long-standing pressure, he couldn't even manage a light doze.
At this hour, the water birds that were only occasionally seen in the Land of Seas were actually quite numerous in this remote corner of the Land of Fire—their cries gradually becoming incessant.
Tōji strained his eyes into the distance. A gray dot faintly visible on the sea seemed to be growing larger. This was something Tōji had researched—a small-to-medium merchant vessel that served civilian trade between nations, even when wars raged at their fiercest.
Of course, this kind of small-scale smuggling that benefited all parties involved was something both the Land of Fire and the Land of Water tacitly turned a blind eye to. After all, official trade between the two countries hadn't fully returned to normal.
That so-called pier was actually just a small wooden civilian dock jutting out into the water from a "concave"-shaped stretch of coastline, plus a crude, unofficial-looking little lighthouse. It welcomed the first ship of the morning from afar.
Tōji, who didn't know when he'd started spacing out while staring at the sea, only now noticed that the big orange-red sun was already hovering on the horizon.
And beneath the lighthouse at the pier, the several middle-aged men who'd been sleeping on the leeward side had all woken up and were already moving their wooden flatbed carts—clearly waiting for their cargo.
After a good wait, the half-old cargo ship drew closer and closer.
Tōji stood up, changed into ordinary civilian clothes, stowed away his shinobi-related items, and stretched his limbs. With extra caution while trying to appear calm, he walked to the shore—his slightly anxious mood making him unconsciously step forward to welcome the ship's arrival.
Stopping a hundred meters from the lighthouse, Tōji waited for the "commercial activity" to finish first. Without avoiding or hiding from any scanning gazes, he crouched to the side, pulled out some dry bread, and started eating.
After the ship docked, the crew—who sounded like they were cursing and grumbling—began unloading. The people on shore receiving the goods also shouted as they got to work, stacking the cargo onto the carts one by one.
Seeing that most of the smuggled goods had been unloaded, Tōji approached to figure out which one was the captain—he needed to confirm the trip with him.
One of the middle-aged men with a buzz cut, his dark face weathered by sea wind, was hollering at the crew moving the cargo. Tōji guessed he was the one in charge.
"Hello—I want to go to the Land of Seas. Is there still room?" Tōji asked.
The captain looked Tōji over—dressed like a fisherman—and nodded. "There's exactly one spot left. But the price might be a bit higher. You know the rules, right?"
"No problem." Tōji dug around on himself, quickly producing ten times the usual fare and handing it to the captain.
"Alright then—get on board." The captain jerked his thumb back toward the cargo ship, now emptied of goods. Tōji's sincerity was payment enough, so the captain didn't give him any trouble.
『Time to get some more rest.』 Tōji curled up in a corner near the stern, planning to catch up on sleep.
Amid the clamor of the crew banging gongs and shouting, the cargo ship's sail unfurled once more, and it set off with the wind.
"Tōji—I—huff—huff—" Tōji heard a familiar voice and quickly looked up toward the source.
"I finally—caught up." Natchi, dressed like a villager, was bent over, gasping for breath.