CH_170
"Natchi! What are you doing here?" Though Tōji had questions, he was so pleasantly surprised he shot to his feet.
"Of course it was the Fourth Hokage who sent me—he said it's a classified mission! He told me to catch up to you and then follow your orders, but he didn't say what the mission was." Having finally caught his breath, Natchi glanced around while lowering his voice to answer Tōji.
Tōji didn't speak right away. Instead, he looked over this guy—who, seeing him again, now had the build of a burly man and was grinning ear to ear.
He sighed inwardly, 『Doesn't even know the mission and just blindly follows along—idiot!』
"Sit down first, then we'll talk." Tōji pulled Natchi over to the stern wall, scanning the surroundings to make sure they were far from the other crew members.
"This ship's route—it's the Land of Fire to the Land of Seas, right?" Natchi asked Tōji while keeping an eye on the few crew members grumbling in the distance about "losing money" on this trip because they couldn't find return cargo.
"Yeah—we're going to the Land of Seas." Tōji felt genuinely gratified. As a shinobi, Natchi's behavior just now proved he'd grown considerably. Looking squarely at Natchi—who, when seated, was half a head taller than him—Tōji smiled slightly. "You've grown, Natchi."
"Of course!" Natchi had no idea which aspect Tōji was praising, but he accepted the brief compliment wholeheartedly.
"Let me fill you in on the situation first…" Tōji still had no confidence about infiltrating the Land of Seas again. What gave him courage was that special kunai that could summon Minato. He planned to tell Natchi about all the difficulties.
"A while back, the Land of Water wiped out every spy Konoha had planted—including in the Land of Seas. I was stationed in the Land of Seas as a peripheral contact at the time…" Tōji started watching Natchi's expression, since this involved Captain Kenji and the earlier Captain Rawari…
Seeing Natchi only furrow his brow slightly without much reaction, Tōji continued, "I figure the Land of Seas is still extremely hard to infiltrate now. The ship we're on has some interests tied to certain Kiri-nin, but we'll definitely get off early and find another way to Kikai Island. I haven't figured out how to approach it safely yet."
"Let's wait until we're closer and observe carefully before deciding on a plan." Natchi had never been to the Land of Seas, so he could only grasp the general idea—otherwise, with his already not-very-analytical mind, he'd just be throwing out random suggestions.
Tōji figured there was still most of a day's voyage left, and once they got near, there'd be plenty of time to think things through carefully—so there was no rush to make an infiltration plan yet.
Besides, this time Tōji had brought plenty of supplies—far better than last time when he'd had nothing prepared.
"Alright—we'll do it your way." Tōji patted Natchi's shoulder in agreement.
The two deliberately avoided talking about Kenji, quietly recounting their respective mission experiences from the past while. After chatting for a bit, they leaned against the ship's railing and rested with their eyes closed.
Amid the cries of seagulls, the ship slowly sailed into a stretch of water where reefs both large and small began to appear.
"Tōji!" Natchi signaled with his eyes—with his eyesight, he'd already made out several of the Land of Seas' major islands.
Tōji opened his eyes. Skipping over the most prominent Mother Island, the oddly shaped island gradually grew clearer. That was right—it was their destination: Kikai Island.
"Get ready to move." Tōji said quietly, a flash of resolve in his eyes.
Natchi nodded firmly. Together with Tōji, while no one else on the ship was paying attention, they soundlessly disappeared from an inconspicuous corner at the stern…
The two quietly slipped into the water and swam toward Kikai Island. As they neared the island, they saw no obvious signs of heavy security.
"Right here—let's make our infiltration plan first…"