Going to Sea

Water Shadow...

Hui Lingzi froze for a moment, and there was even a hint of thawing on her icy face.

Before she could speak, Muto Koji, sitting beside her, sneered first.

"Kid, even dreams need limits, or are you... urrgh—"

Jiang Rui sighed. No wonder your master wanted to get rid of you.

A thug doubling as a watcher—how could you not understand your place?

Your master hadn't even spoken, so why were you so eager to jump out?

I really wanted you to live a little longer, so why were you so desperate to die...

The spinning Water Blade condensed into a spear and pierced through his chest. At the same time, the water instantly wrapped around him, preventing him from forming seals or passing on information before his death.

In the end, his dying words amounted to only a few words.

The mocking voice by her ear came to an abrupt stop. Hui Lingzi glanced at him as the water instantly enveloped him, paused in surprise, then coldly shifted a little farther away.

"Too soon." Her purple eyes did not ripple in the slightest.

"It's fine." Jiang Rui tilted his head and said indifferently, "Three minutes ago, he sent out his final message. The squad following us confirmed it was safe and withdrew before I made my move."

Then he added, "They were only a few chunin."

"Water Shadow..." Hui Lingzi lowered her eyes, her gaze flickering. "I thought you merely wanted to find a place to belong."

"I told you, you had two Guards before the harbor. I never said you would still have one after it."

Jiang Rui smiled and asked, "Do you believe I can do it?"

She shook her head.

"Then wait until I do it."

Jiang Rui looked at her, still wearing that adorable smile.

It had to be said that Jiang Rui was growing increasingly interested in Hui Lingzi, though not in the usual sense.

He simply felt that this girl had ideas of her own, yet she was also full of rebellion.

She merely hid it all beneath her iceberg-like personality, as though she did not care about anything.

In some ways, she was a decent partner.

Hui Lingzi raised her head, her cold face seeming to hesitate several times before speaking.

In the end, she nodded, indicating her agreement.

"To be honest, there's something I don't understand." Jiang Rui scratched his head. "Even if Muto Koji died, shouldn't Konoha continue sending people? Or are you planning to conceal news of his death?"

Perhaps because she was in a better mood, Hui Lingzi poured each of them a cup of tea. Her voice was as pleasant as a secluded spring.

"I will tell Konoha truthfully that he died at Mist's hands within the Land of Waves. That way, they will not send anyone else."

"Why... ah, I get it."

Because Mist had specifically killed Muto Koji, it meant they had intervened in the Land of Waves while Konoha was weakened by war.

To avoid drawing the Land of Water into the war and extending the front, Konoha would definitely abandon it for now.

"Not only that." As if she knew what Jiang Rui was thinking, she slowly explained, "Muto Koji is dead, and I have been controlled by Mist. That itself means Konoha failed in its duty to protect me. On a larger scale, it means they no longer have the ability to shelter the Land of Waves."

"Though it has no practical significance, it will indeed prevent Konoha from holding the Land of Waves accountable after the war ends."

Tch, what a hassle.

What had this girl, who was only seventeen or eighteen, been learning all her life...

Jiang Rui rubbed his aching head and asked,

"But breaking away from Konoha won't benefit you either, will it?"

It seemed that small countries relying on great powers had been a tradition since ancient times.

Hearing this, Hui Lingzi did not answer directly. Instead, she softly said, "There will be benefits once you become the Water Shadow."

"Didn't you say you didn't believe me?"

"I don't believe in miracles." Hui Lingzi turned her eyes toward the window. She actually had few impressions of her homeland; she only remembered it as a weak and impoverished place.

"But that doesn't stop me from hoping for a miracle."

Leaving Konoha was merely because she did not like Konoha.

What she did not tell Jiang Rui was that she believed in him.

When they had first met, at the instant he attacked Muto Koji, she had clearly felt the overwhelming killing intent coming from him. Yet in the end, he had restrained it.

But at that moment, he had truly wanted to kill Muto Koji outright and take his place!

Therefore, Hui Lingzi concluded that whether he had deliberately held back and disguised himself, or genuinely could not bear it, or had restrained his killing intent out of kindness—

Beneath that deliberately innocent face lay bottomless indifference and ambition.

"Then we'll talk about it when the time comes. Don't forget that you still owe me once."

Jiang Rui stood, pulled open the carriage door, and lightly leaped onto the carriage roof. At the seaside dock in the distance, sails stood layered upon one another, while voices churned through the crowd.

"Mm."

Looking at Jiang Rui's now-empty seat, Hui Lingzi gave a faint nod.

Having received her answer, Jiang Rui, seated atop the carriage, did not linger. He leaped down and vanished into the nearby harbor in just a few steps.

"Boss, give me two more skewers of this flavor!"

Blue-haired Jiang Rui shouted unclearly, his hands full of Dumplings.

Before leaving, he did not mind taking a little travel money along the way. Of course, he figured that cool and aloof young lady probably would not mind either.

Taking a bite of a Dumpling, Jiang Rui boredly browsed the world channel. It had almost been four days, yet it looked as though no one had spoken.

Either there was no intelligence worth sharing, or everyone was holding back and plotting something.

Still, Naruto was ultimately an anime that existed in the main world, so there did not seem to be much intelligence to gather. They were all newcomers, after all. Perhaps because of their foreknowledge, they were each carrying out their plans with extreme confidence.

At that thought, Jiang Rui revealed a cold smile. A tiny butterfly could stir up a storm, so what sort of collisions would twenty-seven outsiders set in motion upon this stage?

That was also why Jiang Rui had not chosen Konoha. Going to Mist seemed risky, but Mist was actually the village least likely to be affected.

As for whether anyone else had thought the same way he had, that was impossible to know.

But aside from an unmarried beauty who appeared later, did Mist really have anything worth investigating?

The Seven Ninja Swords? Forget it.

With that thought in mind, he ate Dumplings as he boarded the ship. With a thought, he examined his spoils of war.

Yes, spoils of war. Only after killing Muto Koji did he discover a golden card flickering behind the man's corpse. It made Jiang Rui feel as if he had lost hundreds of millions, because when he had killed Iron Monger before, he had not searched the body...

Even this kind of cannon fodder had loot?

Obtained skill: Beginner Throwing Mastery

Ah, better than nothing.

Jiang Rui curled his lip. With Great Sage, a skill like this seemed useless to him.

It was practically the same as all technical passive skills. Even if he did not know them, he could learn them through All Things. Great Sage was fucking awesome!!!

The icy seawater crashed against the shore again and again with the waves. A briny breeze blew across his face. Jiang Rui stood on the deck, watching the harbor grow farther and farther away, and could not help smiling.

This was clearly Naruto, yet it felt just like One Piece.