After dealing with the rogue ninja who had ambushed them, Team 7 picked up the pace as they escorted Tsunami and Inari. The closer they drew to the Land of Waves, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. Trade routes that should have been bustling lay deserted, and the villages along the way looked dilapidated and silent. Occasionally, frightened eyes flashed behind a window.
Several days later, the group finally reached the coast of the Land of Waves. The port, once revitalized by the bridge's completion, now lay under a pall of decline and tension. Few ships were moored at the docks, and most were in terrible disrepair. Guards in matching black uniforms bearing the Black Tide insignia patrolled menacingly, watching everyone who entered or left the port. From a distance, the Naruto Bridge, that symbol of hope and the future, still looked magnificent. But a checkpoint had been set up at its entrance, also manned by guards from the Black Tide Trading Company.
"The situation is even worse than we imagined," Kakashi said quietly as he surveyed the port. "It looks like this Black Tide Trading Company controls every route into and out of the country."
"Those bastards..." Naruto clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, staring at the lifeless scene before him and remembering the prosperity Tazuna had described-the prosperity that should have followed the bridge's completion.
"Let's find somewhere to settle in first and learn exactly what's going on," Kakashi decided. Rather than entering the port directly, they followed Tsunami on a detour to a relatively secluded fishing village beneath a seaside cliff. It was one of the places where those resisting the Black Tide Trading Company gathered in secret.
The fishing village was just as run-down. When the villagers saw Tsunami return, they crowded around, their