Landing Ashore, Land of Whirlpools

The waves crashed, and boundless darkness descended.

Most of the time, she was quiet, only occasionally doing something slightly out of line. Seeing Naruto remain silent, Black Sakura didn't continue speaking, turning her head to gaze at the tranquil sea, lost in thought.

After a long silence, Naruto broke it with a soft cough. His deliberately lowered voice was like a ghost drifting on the sea at night.

"Compared to Sakura," Naruto said, "I like you more."

He did give it a brief moment of thought, but he always spoke the truth. He preferred the current Sakura to the old Sakura; obedience was only one aspect.

On the other hand, Naruto really likes Black Sakura's personality, even if they don't share a body. He still prefers the current Sakura.

"Really?" Sakura leaned forward completely.

"Right."

Sakura smiled, wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck in the darkness, and hugged him tightly.

It was broad daylight.

After finishing her last night shift with a yawn, Anko washed up briefly and then huddled under an umbrella to rest, where she would be watched over by Kazahana Koyuki in the morning.

Thanks to Naruto, the group's major problems, such as food and clothing, were solved. However, their fate still rested on the raft they were on, drifting aimlessly.

Their only hope now is to encounter land or a passing ship; even a deserted island would be nice.

In the first few days of spending time together, Sakura never seemed to avoid Naruto at all. Whether changing clothes or doing other things, even when Naruto eyes met, she remained unusually calm.

Anko and Kazahana Koyuki are still a bit reserved in some ways. After all, there's a blond guy squatting there, who's practically a member of the opposite sex.

But after three days of drifting, the two women completely let go. It rained at noon, and the group took the opportunity to take a shower. They were quite frank about how long they would survive.

The group spoke less and less, and most of the time they took breaks at different times, with one person staring at the sea while the other three rested.

People usually only need about a third of a day to rest, but now they're resting three-quarters of the time. Although there's no need for Kazahana Koyuki to keep watch at night, the rest is still sufficient.

On the fourth day of their sea voyage, the group was in relatively good spirits. It rained again in the morning, and they huddled under umbrellas. After the rain stopped, they resumed fishing.

Naruto didn't fish, as he wasn't short of food for the time being. He dozed off under his umbrella, occasionally opening his eyes to glance at the boundless sea.

His gaze swept over the three women, each sitting in a different spot with a Fishing Rod, simply passing the time by fishing. Occasionally, they would catch a fish, always accompanied by a joyful shout.

"It's hooked!" Kazahana Koyuki frantically pulled the line, standing up abruptly while dressed in revealing clothing. Naruto, already used to this, glanced at her but didn't look again.

Anko cleaned the fish, collecting the blood and entrails in a bag and throwing it into the distant sea.

Naruto's Sealing Space contained an iron pot, seasonings, and even several large boxes of fuel. In this oppressive moment, it brought a touch of relief and a sense of bittersweet joy to the three girls.

Kakkō lit up the raft, and the fish meat sizzled and crackled. Fortunately, it was daytime, so it wouldn't attract anything dangerous, and the water remained calm.

Naruto clicked his tongue, glanced at the fish that were already golden brown on both sides, and said casually.

"Only a few?"

Anko frowned, looked at Naruto with displeasure, and said.

"You're amazing, how many can you catch?"

"Me?" Naruto squatted down and glanced at the three Fishing Rod placed to the side. "I can probably catch five fish in less than a minute."

"What?" Anko's lips twitched slightly. "Although we are at sea now and the future is uncertain, it's only been a few days, and we've already gone this crazy?"

"I'm not kidding," Naruto said seriously. "You can ask Sakura."

Anko looked at Sakura, who was scooping up the fish. Upon hearing this, she didn't say anything, but just nodded perfunctorily.

"Impossible!" Anko insisted. "If you can catch five fish in a minute, I'll eat them all raw! Not a single one left, I'll eat them all raw!"

Naruto glanced at Anko with a complicated expression. "I didn't expect you to have this kind of hobby?"

After a moment's thought, Naruto pulled out two new spare Fishing Rod from the Sealing Space. These were fourth-generation spare versions of his spare fishing rods.

Anko watched as Naruto simultaneously lowered all five Fishing Rod into the water, without even baiting them. Three seconds later, all five rods reacted.

Seeing the five fish thrashing about on the raft, Anko's eyes widened in disbelief, feeling as if her face was being slapped repeatedly. Fortunately, Naruto didn't let Anko eat them raw, calmly tossing the fish one by one into the bucket.

"You didn't develop Ninjutsu specifically for fishing, did you?" Anko couldn't help but ask.

"How is that possible?" Naruto retrieved the Fishing Rod one by one. "This is a talent that can't be learned. Ninjutsu is just a hobby; fishing is my main job."

As night fell, we finished the last fish.

In the darkness, Anko suddenly spoke.

"Wait five more days, or forget it if you can't wait."

"What do you mean 'give up'?" Naruto was shocked and quickly got up. "You... you think it over! You're the Leading Jonin! Damn it! Don't give up so easily! Can't you just hold on a little longer?"

"I have no intention of giving up," Anko said.

Hearing this, Naruto finally breathed a sigh of relief; he had almost been startled. Although they had been adrift at sea for almost five days, the living conditions weren't too harsh.

He thought to himself, "With food and drink available, I shouldn't have a mental breakdown so quickly."

"Then what are you doing?"

"If we see no hope after five days, we should try to call for help," Anko said. "Even if it might alert Orochimaru, the only way to send a message is through Summoning Jutsu."

"Summoning Jutsu? I can do that too," Naruto said belatedly.

"What do you communicate with?" Anko hesitated for a moment.

"Slug."

Anko fell silent. She turned to look at the boundless darkness of the sea, then suddenly pounced on Naruto. She grabbed his neck, not with force, but just shaking him violently as if venting her anger, and said through gritted teeth.

"You deserve to die! Naruto Uzumaki! Why didn't you say so sooner that you could Slug Summoning!"

"Cough cough! You didn't even ask!" Naruto shouted, sticking out his neck.

"Who knew you could Slug Summoning!" Anko released Naruto, took a deep breath, and forced herself to calm down before saying, "Fine, you can try it first."

"Okay." Naruto agreed, but his face didn't show much emotion.

Sakura Kazahana Koyuki watched from the side, unaware of what the two were talking about. But they could roughly guess that Anko and Naruto seemed to have found a new way to get out of their predicament.

With a bang, Naruto summoned a portion of Slug using a small amount of Chakra. A Slug the size of a soccer ball appeared on the raft, initially stunned, then shouted.

"Naruto."

Naruto and Anko both froze. Naruto stared at the Slug in disbelief, even though he could only make out its silhouette in the darkness. How had he become an adult? Did this mean he was accepted?

This is quite different from what Tsunade said. He was clearly about to call her Slug- sama, but the reversal came so suddenly.

But now is not the time to dwell on such trivial details. Anko nudged Naruto snapped out of his daze. He coughed and asked.

"Is it possible to get in touch with Lord Tsunade?"

It's only been about half a month since the three left the village on their mission. At this rate, it will take Konohagakure some time before they notice anything unusual about the Anko Squad's mission.

But the sea is unpredictable, and the fact that they haven't encountered extreme weather or accidents in the past four or five days is a testament to their good fortune. If they had lingered any longer, they would likely have perished at sea sooner or later.

In this boundless ocean, even if the three of them are ninjas, they can support each other and keep going. Even with Naruto as a source of supplies, without direction...

The Slug heard the sound of the waves and was immediately alarmed; if it fell into the sea, it would die soon.

"Well... I can't contact Lord Tsunade unilaterally unless she Lord Tsunade true form."

Upon hearing this, Anko sighed.

However, she still told the Slug about the current situation, giving it a chance to convey the message to Lord Tsunade, and made a promise that she would summon it once a day from now on.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and the raft became worn out, with the group still adrift at sea. They had experienced several torrential rains and two large waves.

The Kazahana Koyuki were scattered at one point, and Sakura was also swept into the sea once. It was Naruto and Anko who pulled them out time and time again, rescuing them from the brink of death time and time again.

Although they escaped unharmed in the end, the raft was left in ruins. There was still no news from the Slug, and the group was feeling rather dejected.

On the sixteenth day of our sea voyage, night fell and darkness descended.

At night, they could barely see anything, and even if land appeared in the distance, they couldn't detect it. Forced into a corner, they had no choice but to give up at night.

The four had been through thick and thin together and were considered life-and-death friends. As was their custom, they sat together and spoke in hushed tones.

Kazahana Koyuki revealed her true identity early on without any reservations, and the three from Konohagakure simply told her to Fugitive Princess again. Kazahana Koyuki had come to terms with it and only hoped that one day she could return to the Land of Snow alive to take one last look.

Naruto thought of that option and suddenly asked.

"Could you give me that necklace?"

A whooshing sound came, and the necklace landed steadily in Naruto's arms. The voice of Kazahana Koyuki drifted in, languid and carefree.

"There's nothing you can't do; you can have it if you want it."

On the twenty-second day, the raft was completely destroyed.

Naruto carried Kazahana Koyuki on his back, while Sakura and Anko stood with him on the sea, watching the tattered raft slowly sink to the bottom of the sea. No one spoke.

With the raft gone, their deaths were imminent.

On the twenty-third day, the four finally discovered land and excitedly climbed up. However, they found it to be a completely deserted land, utterly uninhabited.

Naruto climbed to a high vantage point and saw a large symbol of the Uzumaki Clan.

Besides