"Crash..."
Another wave crashed against the hull. Sitting in the cabin, Qi was so sick of hearing the sound that he felt like throwing up.
In his previous life, Qi had ridden on boats, but only on lakes, or at most along rivers. Sailing on the open sea was a completely different matter.
If his current body hadn't been in pretty good shape, he probably would've thrown up on the first day...
The Land of Water lay far off in a corner of the world, surrounded by sea on all sides, with many large islands in between. The ship had been stopping and starting for over a month, yet it hadn't even covered half the distance.
It was just... so boring...
That made practicing the Water Release Ninjutsu he'd gotten from Unma the main activity in Qi's daily life.
There was nothing else for him to do. Was he supposed to practice Taijutsu on the ship or something...?
As for Ogata, the old man seemed like a completely different person these days. He barely said a word.
They didn't have to worry about steering the ship. Although it had no passengers, Unma hadn't failed to hire a crew. It was just the two of them, master and disciple. Who knew how to sail a ship...?
"Master hasn't said much lately. He's probably thinking about that man named Unma. Though he sounded so resolute, that old man really was a man of feeling. We owe him one..."
Watching Ogata snore nearby, Qi fell into thought.
Unma had let them go without hesitation and even prepared a ship for them. Even as the leader of the Anbu, he'd surely pay a heavy "price" after returning to the village.
The rules in a ninja village were extremely strict. Even White Fang of the Leaf, such a fearsome shinobi, had been driven to suicide over one mistake. And that wasn't even comparable to openly letting an enemy go.
"If we meet again someday... Will there even be a someday? To have a brother like that, what more could anyone ask for!"
Qi blinked, then reopened the scroll Unma had given him.
Each of the Five Great Shinobi Villages excelled in different forms of ninjutsu. For example, the Uchiha Clan of Konoha was renowned throughout the Shinobi World for its Fire Style, while the Mist Ninja naturally excelled at Water Release.
It wasn't simply a matter of knowing more techniques. The same Fire Style technique was more powerful when used by the Uchiha than by others. Likewise, the Mist Ninja had their own distinct advantages in using and applying Water Release.
Apart from the Second Hokage of Konoha, it seemed no one had ever surpassed Kirigakure in Water Release. And no one else even came close.
That was what Unma had given Qi. Although Qi possessed the Yuki Clan's secret techniques, their Water Release was powerful because it was built on their bloodline. Kirigakure, on the other hand, had developed Water Release without relying on a bloodline limit, so Qi naturally had more to gain from their teachings.
The only downside was that Kirigakure wouldn't have much insight into Wind Release, and Qi couldn't get the Sunagakure Ninja's unique teachings either. He could only hope to find a chance to study it somewhere in the future. Konoha would be best, of course, though he seriously doubted he'd be that lucky.
To put it plainly, he was a poor soul with no idea what the future held, just muddling through one day at a time...
"Water Release: Water Whip!"
Qi performed a Water Release technique frequently used by the Mist Ninja Anbu. He wrapped water around his hand, then lashed it toward the sea, sending up a spray of water along the way.
What a useless effect...
But that was only natural. The Mist Ninja used this technique to capture people: first, they bound someone with the water whip, then gave the poor fellow a Lightning Release shock treatment. After that, he'd be nothing but a dead pig. Qi would never be able to use Lightning Release in this life, though...
Qi was only using the technique to pass the time.
So he happily swung the water whip around, sending splashes everywhere...
Naturally, he soon got carried away and paid for it. Ogata, who'd been quiet for who knew how long, appeared behind him like a ghost and punched him on the head...
"Ow! Who the hell—cough, cough... Master, you're up..."
"You little brat... Get back to training properly!"
Ogata looked at the bored Qi with exasperation.
"What? You won one fight and now you think you're amazing?"
"Well, uh... Heh..."
Qi awkwardly rubbed the spot where he'd been hit. To be honest, he had been feeling a little pleased with himself.
He'd actually beaten the future Fifth Mizukage! Only a transmigrator could understand how it felt to "trample" on a character from the original story... It was awesome!
"You haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you're already getting ahead of yourself."
Ogata could see right through Qi. He gave a cold laugh.
"A rookie beat another rookie. What's there to be happy about? We're heading to the Land of Fire! The war between the four countries is raging right now!"
He held up a finger and wagged it.
"Let me make this clear: during wartime, every country's protocol for dealing with suspicious figures is to attack first and ask questions later—if they survive! At your level, one of Konoha's patrol ninja could crush you with a single finger!"
"Heh... Well, I've got you, Master... Besides, Konoha's ninja wouldn't be that cruel, would they?"
Qi swallowed nervously. This time, he was genuinely frightened.
Could they really be that brutal? They saw someone, stabbed first, and asked questions afterward? Was this even Konoha...? Weren't those guys supposed to care about humanity most of all?
"Not cruel? Why do you think the Five Great Shinobi Villages are called the strongest? Because they've killed the most people! Konoha doesn't go any easier on people than the other villages. Back in the day, White Fang of the Leaf even killed women and children!"
Ogata gave a sinister chuckle.
"You're slacking off now, but when the time comes, the two of us—barely a hundred jin between us—might as well be as good as dead. I don't care about my own life. I'm just afraid you won't want to give yours up!"
Ogata was undoubtedly trying to scare Qi, but he wasn't making it all up.
The Land of Fire lay in the middle of the continent and was surrounded by enemies in every war. That made Konoha's ninja especially vigilant during wartime, with a mindset completely different from what they had in peacetime.
A mild-tempered person could be terrifying when they lost their temper. By the same token, peaceful Konoha became vicious once its ninja picked up their weapons and went to war!
At times like these, infiltrating enemy territory and sabotaging the rear was a standard tactic for every country. And the most notorious of them all was none other than White Fang of the Leaf. When he once infiltrated the Land of Wind, he'd slaughtered to his heart's content and still managed to get out unscathed!
Even now, the Sunagakure Ninja hated White Fang most of all. If even they felt that way, how could Konoha Village, the one responsible for creating him, not understand how dangerous it was to have its rear attacked?
That was why Konoha's patrols were often more vicious than the units at the front. If they saw a foreigner, they didn't bother with anything else—they cut them down first and asked questions later!
If they couldn't kill them, they called more people over to help. Either way, the target would end up dead or captured and dragged back for interrogation...
So Ogata wasn't completely bluffing. If Qi's skills were too poor, he might be hacked to pieces by Konoha's patrol before they even got the chance to capture him...
After all, he specialized in Taijutsu. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't withstand Konoha's patrol head-on. Konoha had the best-organized ninja forces and extremely powerful teamwork. Without anyone to back him up, he was bound to end up in trouble.
After delivering that half-true warning, Ogata said no more. He left the dumbfounded Qi behind and went back to the cabin. In the days that followed, he never again urged Qi to practice ninjutsu.
But even without Ogata's urging, Qi became more determined...
He had no choice. He'd been scared. He'd already died once, and he absolutely didn't want to experience that again!
Qi was lucky, because he'd found himself in the best possible environment for a ninja to make rapid progress: war!
Most ninja weren't untalented. But after achieving even a little success, many grew complacent and lost the chance to secure a place among the true powerhouses.
The best thing for honing a ninja wasn't talent, nor was it how good their master was. Even Konoha, which claimed to have the most advanced system, could only offer a fairly comprehensive training program.
What truly honed ninja was killing. Only when people were pushed to the brink could they overcome their laziness and break through their limits. Of course, the risks were great too. If they weren't careful, they could end up as someone else's stepping stone.
But most of the great powers in the Shinobi World had risen during wartime. Take Konoha, for example: from the First to Uzumaki Naruto, who might become Hokage in the future, which of them had made progress in a peaceful environment?
There were certainly a few with absurdly good talent, but they were far too rare. Qi was definitely no freak like that...
So, for the rest of the journey, Qi didn't dare waste a single moment. He threw every last bit of effort into practicing Water Release. Every day, he kept going until his chakra was completely exhausted before he even considered stopping.
But even then, he made himself practice the muscle-training method Ogata had taught him once before he dared go to sleep. As an aside, although he was exhausted, he found that when his chakra was completely depleted, his muscle training was even more effective.
The people in this world really were physically monstrous. They barely seemed human...
Through this intense and nerve-racking training, Qi finally reached his destination: the Land of Fire!
That was how the story went, all full of passion and excitement. But in reality, it really was quite the disaster: the ship Qi and Ogata were on ran straight into a fierce storm. The ship, which had been supposed to dock at the harbor, was blown hundreds of kilometers off course and sank near a beach.
"Come on, brat, get up here. You planning to sleep in the water?"
Ogata didn't seem bothered. He swam to shore in a few strokes.
As for the crew, they'd been lost in the storm. Even now, Qi had no idea how the weather had suddenly turned so bad when it had been fine before...
"By the way, Master, does this mean we entered the country illegally?"
Qi climbed onto the beach too, soaked from head to toe, and gave a bitter smile. Could their luck really be this bad? It was ridiculous...
"Too bad about the crew. They went out of their way to bring us this far..."
Qi looked back at the sea, clasped his hands, and bowed slightly.
"May you find happiness in your next life."
"Enough with the false sympathy. Those people were doomed to die. Don't forget, they were hired by the Mist Ninja. If we want to get close to Konoha, we can't have anything connecting us to the Mist Ninja. If there hadn't been a shipwreck, I would've killed them all myself."
Ogata clearly had no patience for Qi's gesture.
"In this world, without strength, you're just an ant! And if you have strength, you'd better be ready to be killed by someone stronger than yourself at any moment!"
He stared coldly at the astonished Qi.
"If you don't want to be killed, then hurry up and get stronger by any means necessary! Happiness? Heh... You're only happy when all you have to worry about is who to kill, not who's going to kill you. I doubt any of those people will be so lucky in their next lives!"
Qi said nothing. He glanced indifferently at the sea before following Ogata away.
For some reason, he suddenly felt that dying in the shipwreck had been a blessing for those sailors...
Was this the ninja world he'd once been so captivated by? Behind all those flashy, stylish battles lay the corpses of countless people like them?
He felt that he could understand the mindsets of Orochimaru and Pain after all...
But let's get one thing straight: people who went around acting like madmen often ended up dying horribly. He absolutely wasn't going to become one of them!
"Why are you still dawdling? Want the patrol to find you in this state!?"
Ogata's shout rang out.
"That commotion was so loud, someone will be here soon. Move!"
His words immediately snapped Qi out of his wandering thoughts. He quickly pulled himself together and followed.
That's right! He couldn't die so miserably! On the contrary, he was going to live—and live better than anyone else!
Ogata's warning had been right on the mark. Less than the time it took to burn a stick of incense after the two left, a Konoha patrol arrived.
During wartime, efficiency came first. More than ten Konoha ninja quickly gathered on the beach through various means of communication...
"Someone's trespassed!"
A man crouched and brushed his hand over the sand, then declared with certainty:
"One adult and one child. They just left!"
Before he'd finished speaking, another kunoichi arrived at the scene and nodded to the others.
"A ship sank in the nearby waters. It was probably caused by yesterday's storm."
"Were they refugees? Or...?"
The ninja who seemed to be leading the group furrowed his brow.
"The ship was from the Land of Water."
The kunoichi replied,
"I found ninja tools on board!"
"Now that's interesting. Whatever they are, they're definitely not ordinary people!"
The moment the leader heard the words "ninja tools," his voice turned cold.
"We can't let people like that move freely through the Land of Fire. Send word to the nearby garrison. We'll follow their tracks and search the area! If they're ninja, we can't afford to be careless. Prepare for battle!"
Ogata really was a jinx. Not only had Konoha's people found them almost immediately, but Qi's carelessness had left a Kunai aboard the ship during the storm. That had earned them a troublesome label from the Konoha patrol: enemies!
≈ap;1;≈g;.