Nine-Tails, Do You Want to Come Out for Some Fresh Air?

The following afternoon, the heavy merchant ship left the northern dock, its prow continually shoving aside floating ice.

Broken ice scraped against the iron-plated hull, dull thuds rising one after another from beneath the ship as the entire vessel trembled faintly.

A cast-iron stove burned in the center of the cabin, the heat from the burning pine warming everyone's faces.

A dim red glow seeped through the crack in the stove door, filling the cabin with warmth mixed with the smell of damp wood.

Outside the windows lay a gray sky and an endless frozen sea. Wild sea winds howled past, frosting over the portholes one after another.

Ye leaned back in a wooden chair with his eyes closed, his hands folded behind his head and his cloak draped over his knees.

He looked like he had fallen asleep, but his senses covered the entire deck. Even a woodworm turning over in the cracks between the planks could not escape his notice.

Obito crouched to the left of the stove, laying out Kunai and Explosive Tags one by one on a cloth pad as he held them close to the fire to dry off the dampness.

Kakashi occupied the other side, his head lowered as he deftly wiped down the White Fang Short Sword.

Rolling his dead-fish eyes, Kakashi found Obito in the way and directly used the scabbard to shove his Ninja Tools cloth half a foot aside.

At the other end of the tatami, Kushina sat cross-legged before a spread of blank Talisman.

She held an ink brush in one hand, pointing at the paper as she demonstrated Chakra circulation paths for Rin.

"Did you see that clearly? When Chakra passes through here, don't rush it. Stabilize it first."

"Then, starting from this node, it must make three