Setting Sail for the Land of Whirlpools!

Mist Harbor, the docks.

The sea breeze swept in from the harbor, carrying a salty tang and whipping the sails on the masts into a flurry.

In the distance, mist and clouds mingled into a gray-white canopy. A few seagulls wheeled low over the water, crying sharply.

People bustled back and forth along the docks. The workers' chants mingled with the travelers' conversations, filling the air with lively noise.

A medium-sized ship was already moored beside the pier. Its hull rocked gently with the waves, and its ropes rubbed faintly against the stone bollards on shore.

Mei Terumi stood at the end of the pier, one hand resting on a stone bollard as she stared in the direction Kou and Jiraiya had gone.

"Still not back..."

Her brows furrowed slightly, worry filling her beautiful eyes.

"His opponent is one of the Sannin, Jiraiya. Even Uchiha Kou might..."

Mei thought it over calmly, her cool, beautiful face grave.

"Maybe I should go after them and take a look."

She murmured to herself, a hint of resolve flashing in her green eyes.

It wasn't as though she cared at all whether that insufferable Uchiha Kou was safe. If he got himself into trouble, all the better—it would be a wonderful sight that could make her happy all day!

That shameless bastard, wasting such a handsome face, deserved to suffer a little!

But if he got into trouble while carrying out a mission she had entrusted to him, that was another matter.

As much as she disliked him, they were "comrades" now.

Putting aside the fact that she needed him, Uchiha Kou was facing one of the Sannin for the sake of her mission.

If he hadn't been trying to complete it, he could have easily used his speed to escape the threat Jiraiya posed.

She gazed in the direction Kou had gone, a complicated look passing through her green eyes.

"After all... he's the man who earned the name 'Black Lightning' on the Cloud battlefield during the Third Ninja World War."

But even Uchiha Kou, who had made a name for himself in the Third Ninja World War, seemed outmatched by Jiraiya, a veteran powerhouse of the Ninja World.

A look of determination flashed in Mei's eyes.

Though it was because of the mission, they really could be considered "comrades" now.

"Never abandon a comrade." Those were the words Sora had once said to her when she wanted to persuade Zabuza to join them.

In the Mist Village, in the Village of the Bloody Mist, comrades could be abandoned. They were expendable pawns when necessary, tools to be discarded once a mission was complete.

That was the "truth" every Kirigakure Ninja had been taught from childhood.

But Sora had changed that "truth." He had changed so many people. He had... changed the Mist Village.

"Protect your comrades." That was something she now sincerely believed the future of the Mist Village should stand for.

"Right... There's no reason to hesitate."

She murmured to herself, her green eyes growing steadily more resolute.

She lifted her hand from the bollard and clenched it into a fist.

"I don't understand this business of abandoning comrades."

She made up her mind and was just about to take a step when a loud voice suddenly rang beside her.

"Woohoo! Just in time!"

Amid a flash of lightning, Kou appeared in front of Mei just as she began to move.

The lightning flashed before her eyes, blinding her for a moment.

A dark figure dropped from above and landed steadily three paces in front of her.

The hem of his Black Cloak with Red Clouds fluttered in the wind. His tousled black hair swayed over his forehead, and a cocky, handsome smile played across his face.

"Yikes!"

Startled by the sudden appearance, Mei cried out loudly without thinking.

Before she could catch up with what was happening, her instincts as an elite Kirigakure Ninja took over.

Her pupils contracted. Her slender fingers shot up, and her pink lips puckered as she prepared to spit a glob of phlegm (Lava Release) at the "enemy" in front of her.

Mei's exaggerated reaction startled Kou. He saw her puckered lips and immediately realized something was wrong.

Relying on his exceptional reflexes, Kou thrust out his hand even faster and pinched her puffed-up cheek.

"Why are you yelling so loud?!"

Kou looked at Mei and spoke in exasperation.

His fingers squeezed her cheek. It felt soft and warm, like a squashed bun.

At his exasperated words, the wariness in Mei's eyes quickly faded, replaced by a hint of guilt.

"Sorry, it was instinct..."

She lowered the hand she'd raised to form Hand Seals and mumbled through the mouth Kou was pinching.

"Forget it. I forgive you."

Kou replied irritably and let go of her cheek.

He understood that his sudden appearance had startled her.

They had both fought their way through the Third Ninja World War. He understood all too well those instincts etched into their bones.

Mei rubbed her reddened cheek, surprise filling her green eyes.

She looked Kou up and down.

Apart from a little dust on his clothes and a few loose strands of hair, he was almost completely unharmed.

"You... managed to get away?"

Her voice was full of undisguised surprise.

Kou didn't answer. He just gave her a thumbs-up and flashed the same smile as Might Guy.

His smile was dazzling, his teeth gleamed, and confidence seemed to radiate from him.

Mei's mouth twitched at his utterly ridiculous pose.

But she clearly couldn't spare the attention to tease him just then. Disbelief filled her green eyes, and she couldn't help asking:

"How did you manage that? That was Jiraiya, one of the Sannin!"

Kou naturally wasn't going to let slip anything about Pain.

He looked toward the distant spot where Jiraiya and Pain were and gave her a thoroughly perfunctory answer.

"Oh, I paid ninety-eight bucks at a roadside stall to treat him to a big crab. He enjoyed it so much that he waved me off and let me come back."

Mei: ▼_▼

"...Do I really look that easy to fool?"

She grumbled in displeasure but didn't say anything more.

After all, they weren't close. Their relationship was only that of a temporary employer and employee.

There was no need to press someone about something they didn't want to answer unless it was necessary.

Maintaining a sense of distance was important if they wanted to work together on the mission ahead.

Mei took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed all the questions crowding her mind.

She nodded helplessly, her expression returning to its usual calm.

Then she turned and faced the ship, speaking seriously to Kou behind her.

"Now that the trouble's taken care of, let's set off."

"...Yeah."

Kou answered casually.

His voice was lazy, as if he were responding to something unimportant.

But the instant Mei turned around, his gaze shifted to a nearby shop.

It was a small store selling dried seafood. Several strings of air-dried fish hung by the door, swaying gently in the wind.

In the shadow of the doorway stood a man who looked exactly like him. The man nodded at him.

It was his Shadow Clone.

Kou glanced toward the distant spot where Jiraiya and Pain were, then took one last look at the mist-shrouded harbor.

"It's unlikely, but if those two get carried away and start fighting seriously, that could be a problem.

The impact on the Ninja World goes without saying. And if any of the ordinary people living here get caught up in it..."

Kou's gaze lingered for a moment on the shop doorway. The Shadow Clone had already slipped into the shadows, suppressing his presence to the bare minimum.

He didn't consider himself a good person, but if he could prevent innocent people from getting caught up in something because of him, he should.

After all, he'd suffered enough at the hands of people who didn't care how their actions affected others...

Kou murmured to himself:

"I'll leave a Shadow Clone here, just for peace of mind... And it'll give me a chance to see how those two sort things out."

"Uchiha Kou! What are you standing around for? Get on the ship!"

Mei's call came from aboard the ship.

Her clear, ringing voice cut through the clamor of the docks and reached his ears.

Kou snapped out of his thoughts and looked away, his handsome face once again wearing that cocky smile.

"Coming!"

The ship's mooring ropes were untied, and the sailors hoisted the sails. The vessel began to move slowly.

Waves slapped against the hull with a steady rush.

The sounds from shore gradually faded. The people on the docks grew smaller and smaller, and the houses and mountain silhouettes barely visible through the mist disappeared little by little behind the sea.

"Toot—"

With a long blast of its horn, a medium-sized ship left Mist Harbor and headed out across the gray-white sea.

Its destination: the Land of Whirlpools.

The bow cut through the waves, sending up white spray.

Mei stood at the bow, her green eyes fixed on the distant horizon, where the mist-shrouded sea stretched beyond sight.

Her hair fluttered in the wind, her clothes billowed, and she stood like a statue at the prow.

Kou leaned against the railing, his black eyes fixed on the stern.

The harbor had become a tiny dot, gradually swallowed by the mist until it vanished where sea met sky.

His gaze passed through the mist and settled farther away.

That was where his Shadow Clone was.

"The rest is up to you."

He spoke softly in his mind, then looked away.

The wind and waves began to rise across the sea.

The ship carried two people with different things on their minds toward unknown waters.