When Human Strength Reached Its Limit

The Land of Water, the Kirigakure, the Mizukage's Office.

Madara Uchiha held the report sent from the front lines, a playful smile on his lips.

It's like someone just happened to be offering you a pillow when you're sleepy—isn't this a perfect excuse?

The resistance from Sunagakure is becoming increasingly fierce, and continuing to entangle with Sunagakure on the front lines is no longer yielding the desired results.

Rather than remaining deadlocked, it would be better to turn our attention back to Konoha. Perhaps we can replicate the tactics used against Sunagakure and catch Konoha off guard.

"It seems we'll have to stay in Mist Village for a while longer."

Madara waved the scroll in his hand, controlling the Mizukage to step aside, and then plopped down on the Mizukage's throne.

"Lord Madara, we must hurry; your body can't hold on much longer."

Black Zetsu wasn't intentionally sabotaging things; it's just that after regaining her youth, Madara was draining her life force every single day.

"Stop being so verbose!"

Soon, Yagura Karatachi Yagura, the Commander of the Mist Village front, received the latest orders from the village.

That's right, it's Karatachi Yagura. He was reinstated for his outstanding performance in the battle against Sunagakure and even took on the role of frontline Commander after the Mizukage left.

At this moment, he looked at the order in his hand, his brows furrowing deeply.

If he hadn't recognized the ninja who delivered the message, and if the Secret Rune of the order weren't all correct...

He even suspected the order was forged.

He submitted the report to request the village to send more troops, but he never intended for the village to change its combat objectives.

"Commander, what did the letter say? When will the village's reinforcements arrive?"

The one speaking was Suikazan Fuguki, who was also a confidant of the Mizukage, and he asked the question without any hesitation.

Yagura looked up at the Fuguki, his furrowed brows showing no sign of easing. Without saying a word, he simply handed over the order.

The Fuguki also noticed something amiss. He silently accepted the order, quickly skimming through the entire document, his brow furrowing even deeper than Yagura's.

Go attack Konoha!

When he thought of Konoha, he thought of those two people who almost took his life.

A seemingly dull-witted but ruthless person who dares to fight to the death.

The other one became his lifelong nightmare; even now, thinking about it makes him tremble.

"The Mizukage has ordered us to end the battle with Sunagakure and, before Konoha can react, replicate our tactics against Sunagakure and raid the Land of Fire."

"What?! They're attacking Konoha again?!"

These are ninjas who survived the last battle with Konoha. Most of them have fear on their faces and are quite resistant to this order.

"Konoha, I've wanted to meet them for a long time."

These were reinforcements sent later, ninjas who had never met Konoha before, yet they were eager to fight, displaying the fearlessness of newborn calves.

However, these were ultimately only a minority; the majority of those in the camp were still the ninjas who had suffered losses at the hands of Konoha.

Seeing the two groups of people making a ruckus in the tent, Yagura slammed his hand on the armrest and shouted.

"Enough!"

Everyone immediately quieted down and turned to look at the short Commander at the head of the table.

"This is the Mizukage's order, not something for you to discuss. All we can do is obey."

Karatachi Yagura's words echoed in the tent; the Mizukage's righteous cause suppressed all dissenting voices.

"Gather all the troops that have gone out, and we will break camp and return to sea tomorrow."

"Yes, Commander."

All the ninjas rose to obey orders and then left their tents one after another to arrange the evacuation.

Once only Karatachi Yagura was left in the tent, he picked up the orders again and pondered them repeatedly.

The order came too suddenly, and the reason given was too far-fetched.

They say the Land of Wind no longer offers much benefit, and only the wealthy Land of Fire can reap the rewards.

But do they even consider that Konoha is not comparable to Sunagakure?

The reason they turned to attack Sunagakure was precisely to avoid Konoha's sharp edge.

Yagura felt increasingly uneasy about it, but finally made up his mind, took out a blank scroll, and began to write a letter.

The letter begins: Respected Elder Genshi.

The scroll was filled with writing, and Yagura placed Sealing Jutsu on it before summoning his trusted confidants.

"Deliver this personally to Elder Genshi, and return immediately after receiving his reply."

"I obey your command!"

The trusted confidant accepted the order and left the camp without saying anything more.

The turmoil in the Ninja World won't affect Taiichi for the time being.

As someone determined to travel to every corner of the Ninja World, even to the Mist Village Island, he would rely on his own two feet to measure the journey step by step.

Flying—that's impossible. If it were possible, what would be the point of this journey?

His purpose in traveling throughout the Ninja World to appreciate its magnificent landscapes, observe its natural wonders, and admire the wonders of nature.

Five days have passed since he set sail.

During this time, he witnessed raging storms and towering waves; he hunted alongside sea monsters tens of meters long and swam among tens of millions of fish.

Taiichi had a grasp of the vastness and mysterious wonder of the ocean.

Little did he expect that the ocean would offer Taiichi far more surprises than those.

He was now lying face up in the seawater, staring blankly at the sky, his body drifting aimlessly with the current.

Swing.

According to the original plan, he should have landed on the land of the Land of Water yesterday, but now more than a day has passed and he hasn't even seen a shadow of an island.

What comes into view, besides the waves, is the sea meeting the sky, like a giant cage trapping Taiichi within.

Yes, he got lost.

With no landmarks in sight, Taiichi, venturing alone into the open sea for the first time, felt utterly ashamed and lost on this vast ocean.

It can only be said that even ninjas are not omnipotent. Even though Taiichi graduated first in his class from the Ninja Academy and is now a well-known strongman in the Ninja World, the meager knowledge of navigation he has learned is not enough for him to navigate alone on the high seas.

After drifting along for more than ten minutes, Taiichi finally came to terms with reality. People need to understand their own shortcomings. If you can't do something, you can't do it. You can't succeed by blindly trying.

Chakra flowed into his hands and feet, Taiichi quickly stood up from the water, flames swirling around his body, drying his previously wet clothes.

Shaking off the salt that covered his entire body, Taiichi, feeling refreshed, disappeared from the spot.

When they reappeared, they were in a seaside city.

At the far end of the line of sight is a sizable dock, with boats of all sizes coming and going, making its bustling activity immediately apparent.

After some effort, mainly with enough money, Taiichi quickly found a merchant ship bound for the Land of Water.

The ship owner is a Merchant from the Land of Water, who travels between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water year after year.

After understanding Taiichi's intention to take the boat, he readily agreed that it was no problem at all.

Upon stepping onto the three-masted sailing ship, Taiichi immediately noticed the four ninjas standing at the four corners of the deck.

They had no Headband or ninja village markings, were all around thirty years old, and had skin tanned to a deep bronze color with fine sunspots covering their cheekbones and brow bones.

These four men were clearly seasoned sea ninjas who spent most of their lives at sea.

The Five Great Ninja Villages were engulfed in chaos, with a large number of their manpower being devoted to the war. This benefited the rogue ninjas who had no affiliation with any village.

Many unfinished tasks were relegated to the secondary market, and these ninjas made a fortune during Third Shinobi World War.

Taiichi's arrival immediately drew the attention of the four.

Compared to the four seasoned veterans, Taiichi appeared far too delicate and fair-skinned, clearly a newcomer who had never been to sea before.

Four pairs of eyes scanned Taiichi back and forth, focusing on his bare hands and the way he walked. Only after confirming that he was a harmless person did their gazes leave him.

Taiichi didn't mind and followed the crew to a separate cabin.

The cabin was cramped, barely big enough for one person to sleep in, but on a merchant ship like this, there were no such formalities.

After putting down the luggage used for camouflage, Taiichi returned to the deck and stood at the bow to observe the crew members busy at work.

Not long after, the shipowner finally finished all the formalities and returned to the ship. He immediately saw Taiichi standing at the bow.

"Has the guest never been out to sea by boat before?"

"The shipowner can even tell that?" Taiichi spread his arms and looked around, like a curious child.

"Guests don't need to call me the shipowner, just call me Swim."

Swim was quite polite, looking at Taiichi with a broad smile, "People who spend all their time at sea don't stare at crew members for that long."

Taiichi gave a knowing smile. "My name is Songtao. Swim is from the Land of Lightning. Your name isn't very common in the Land of Water."

"Haha, Songtao, you have quite the insight. My father was from the Land of Lightning, and later settled in the Land of Water."

Swim was a talkative man, and through just chatting, Taiichi learned a lot about navigation from him.

At the same time, I felt ashamed. I was really bold to have gone out to sea alone so rashly.

Fortunately, he Flying Thunder God; otherwise, an ordinary person, or even a ninja, would easily have been trapped and died at sea.

"I see there are ninja guards on board. Is the sea not peaceful?"

These words were like a switch, unlocking the shackles in Swim's heart. His face immediately turned sorrowful, and he poured out his grievances to Taiichi.

"With the ninja village war, even the maritime trade routes were left unmaintained, leading to a surge in pirates. There was no other way; those of us who operated independently had to hire our own ninjas."

Swim sighed, "The profits from maritime trade used to be quite good, but after all this turmoil, there's hardly any left."

When the topic turned to his sore spot, Swim lost all interest in talking. "Songtao, you shouldn't always be at the bow. The ship is about to set sail, and it's more dangerous there."

After saying that, he waved to Taiichi, walked off the bow of the ship, and returned to his cabin.

Taiichi looked at the busy crowd and remained silent for a moment.

The power struggles among the Five Great Ninja Villages ultimately harm the Civilian in the lower and middle classes.

This merchant Swim was considered to be doing well, at least he had some assets. Those farmers who lived off their small plots of land were truly miserable.

Before long, the ship weighed anchor, the sails unfurled, and the vessel gradually sailed away from the dock, finally putting Taiichi's journey to the Land of Water on track.

Life at sea is absolutely monotonous and boring for ordinary people.

After the initial novelty wears off, the monotonous and unchanging sea is enough to make most people completely lose interest in it.

Unfortunately, Taiichi is no ordinary person.

He didn't need to cross the sea himself; whenever he had time, he would sit at the bow of the boat and experience the flow of the ocean through his senses.

It's often said that truly powerful people all have their own principles and convictions.

On the first day, the others on the ship thought that Taiichi was just being curious and that they would eventually get tired of the sea.

The next day, everyone thought Taiichi a fool; how could the ocean be so beautiful!

On the third day, everyone began to admire Taiichi. Sitting on the bow of the ship for three days, facing the vast ocean, was something not everyone could do.

"Brother Songtao, don't you get tired of staring at the sea like that?"

Swim had some rare free time today, came to Taiichi's side. Taiichi hadn't seen him much since their last chat.

As both the shipowner and captain, he always has a ton of things to do.

Taiichi looked at the curious ship owner and smiled, "I'm cultivating myself; understanding the ocean is my way of cultivating."

Taiichi's voice was not quiet, and many people on the deck heard it, including the four hired ninjas.

As ninjas, they could naturally sense Taiichi's state; there was no Chakra fluctuation whatsoever throughout his body—this could also be called training.

The only woman among the four let out a disdainful snort, the sound just loud enough for Taiichi to hear.

Swim gave an awkward smile and quickly picked up the conversation.

"This young man's cultivation method is truly unique; I've never seen anything like it before."

Taiichi didn't take it to heart; he understood the principle that one cannot discuss ice with a summer insect.

"Understanding nature is my unique way of cultivation; it's normal if you haven't seen it before."

Taiichi's words, though seemingly unrelated, immediately provoked the female ninja to anger.

"Who hasn't seen that? Someone just sits there muttering to themselves and claims to be cultivating. There's no such thing as cultivation in this world."

Taiichi was completely baffled. Who was this woman? Had she taken some kind of poison?

He turned his head and saw that the female ninja's two companions were also holding her shoulders, one on each side, and giving him apologetic smiles.

Taiichi? A top-tier expert and a top-tier Medical Ninja. Given the close proximity, he only needed to glance at Taiyi to identify the problem.

I sighed inwardly at my bad luck today. I happened to be in the middle of a woman's monthly mood swings, and her symptoms were particularly severe. She felt like she wanted to argue with everything she saw.

Swim was also worried that Taiichi be angry. After all, this was a customer who had paid a lot of money. Making money wasn't easy these days, and every opportunity had to be cherished.

Just as he was about to say something to ease the tension, Taiichi suddenly stood up, his eyes looking towards the stern of the ship.

Taiichi's action startled everyone. The female ninja seemed to have been provoked, as she could see that Taiichi was staring directly at her.

"Kid, you're not convinced? If not, let's have a go!"

As he spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to fight at any moment, which infuriated his two companions who were holding him back.

Ninjas may possess great strength, but they may not have the corresponding temperament.

To be honest, the mismatch between strength and temperament is the norm in the Ninja World. Years of war have resulted in ninjas having all sorts of strange and eccentric personalities.

This female ninja's situation is considered normal.

However, Taiichi didn't have time to pay attention to this person at the moment. He pointed to the back of the ship and said, "Swim, you're probably in trouble."

Then everyone looked in the direction Taiichi was pointing and saw that there was another ship rapidly approaching them, about 8 kilometers behind their own.

This speed is clearly abnormal.