"Not fast enough." Guy stood and walked over to the map, pressing his palm against the Land of Rice Fields. "If Kabuto left the Crescent Archipelago when we estimated he did-before we arrived-then he's already been at sea for a day and a half to two days.
The detour he chose is longer, but he set out before us.
While we're heading back to Konoha, he'll be heading for the Land of Rice Fields.
We'll reach the border in three days, and he'll arrive around the same time.
We won't be cutting him off. We'll be chasing his tail."
"We can take a shortcut," Tenten suddenly said.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Tenten walked up to the large map, took the pen from Chisen, and drew a diagonal line across it.
The line started at the Land of Water's main island, cut northwest across the bay straight into the northern coastline of the Land of Fire, then followed the coast north onto a long, narrow peninsula. Across a strait at the peninsula's tip lay the southern end of the Land of Rice Fields.
"This bay." Tenten tapped the bay with her pen. "Normal shipping routes don't cross it directly, because there's a turbulent zone in the middle. The waves and wind are unpredictable, so fishing boats and merchant ships go around it.
But if we use a Kirigakure speedboat instead of an ordinary boat, with an upgraded engine, we can cut past the edge of the turbulent zone.
Once ashore, we stay off the main roads and cross this peninsula. It's uninhabited, with no roads, but the terrain is flat-coastal saline mudflats. We can run straight across.
The only problem is crossing the strait. The Land of Rice Fields is right on the other side, but even at its