Across the boundless sea, a passenger ship cut through the waves.
The side of the vessel bore the eye-catching words "Dawn Shipping," alongside an image of dawn breaking through the darkness.
Jiraiya stood at the bow, the sea wind stirring his long white hair as thoughts of Konoha inevitably rose in his mind.
Naruto was already the Fifth Hokage by now, wasn't he?
In any case, staying in Konoha would not change anything. He might as well head out as quickly as possible and see the "future" Naruto had described for himself.
When Jiraiya decided to travel to the Land of Waves, he had casually chosen this passenger ship at a port in the Land of Fire because it looked the cleanest and most well-managed.
He had also noticed that nearly ninety percent of the passenger ships belonged to this same company.
"Sir Ninja, this is your first time coming to our Land of Waves, isn't it?" An elderly voice sounded beside him.
Jiraiya turned and saw an old boatman with a deeply wrinkled face but bright eyes. Leaning off to one side to rest, the man smiled as he struck up a conversation.
"Oh? How could you tell?" Jiraiya asked with interest.
With Jiraiya's usual attire and bearing, it was difficult for anyone to mistake him for anything other than a ninja.
Yet this was not his first time coming here.
"Hehe, merchants and ninja who travel here often wouldn't keep staring at the sea like you, with a bit of... confusion in their eyes." The boatman wiped away his sweat with a towel, pride coloring his voice. "If this had been a year ago, I'd have understood that expression right away. You would've been worried that our poor little country was unsafe. But now, our Land of Waves