Set the Sails!

[A/N: Start of the new arc: Water and Fire, now things will get both hard and easier for me. Hard because, the timeline is literally non-existent in the canon. Easier because I will be able to add, my own understanding more easily here. The timelines might seem sketchy, but I will try to make as much sense as possible *....* 'Me making sense… wow..' ]

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Chapter 44: Set the Sails!

Jutsu of the day:

Courtesy of Noob bandits

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Time: 4 days after the new journey started.

Gates of Shimogo Town

[Fuzzy]

.

'We have been traveling in a leisurely pace for the past few days. At the start of the journey, I was really impressed with Mitsu-sa- I mean Kaneko-kun's resolve, to travel the lands and see new things. But….'

As I was pondering about our journey, I heard someone complaining…

"The frickkk! Why is this so sloooow, damn nuggets.. Oi, Fuzzy! You sure you bought horses and not mules?

Gawd frickidy frick! And this rundown carriage… I know that we need to be inconspicuous… But this is way too shitty…

And the places we have camped at recently… What the hell did I do to deserve this….

…

…

…" Mits- *ahem* Kaneko-kun started complaining about every little thing. This started the second day of our journey.

[A/N: Mitsu will be referred to as Kaneko-kun by both Fuzzy and Itachi till they can leave their disguise. Mitsu will be acting as a member of the small merchant convoy. Where his butler will act as the leader.]

I was already used to him complaining, perks of being his guard I guess. I wanted to ask him something, but I wondered if he would respond 'normally'...

"Mitsu- I mean, Kaneko-kun… Do I really need to call you that, even when we aren't in public?" I asked him with tired eyes.

"Abso-fricking-lutely! We need to practice my new identity, so that we don't slip up at important times. Now, what ya want, Fuzzy?" Kaneko-kun looked at me with curious eyes.

"Sigh!

Why are you so determined to travel to the Water Country?

Last I heard… That place was having many issues with its clans. The climate there is horrendous and many ninjas are defecting.

I am not completely certain… But I can pretty much guess that something ominous is befalling the Hidden Mist Village." I said with a confused look.

Kaneko-kun was goofy at times. But after serving him the last few years, I was at least certain of one thing… He was incredibly smart. I was sure that he woudn't do something stupid.

So, I guessed that he would have some great motive to travel to a place like the Water Country. But even after thinking for a while, I couldn't think of any reason that would benefit him…

Kaneko-kun looked at me with bored eyes as he answered, "Oh, you were thinking about that? Welp, just as you said, The Water Country, seems to be in peril. And from my point of view, it seems like the perfect place and time to find some goodies.

Ya know what they say… If you want to catch fish in muddy waters, you gotta jump in it! So yaaah, I think it's the best place to be right now. Anyways, lemme know when we find a boat. I will rest in the inn till then."

[A/N: Who says that exactly?]

He then waved his hand and went inside the inn we reserved.

"If you want to catch fish in muddy waters, you gotta jump in it? Where did he hear this saying? It doesn't even make sense…" I muttered to myself as I recited what Kaneko-kun just said.

At first, I thought that the saying was made up… But then I remembered the bits and pieces Kaneko-kun says sometimes….

"This proverb, might really have a deeper meaning…"

As I was pondering about what Kaneko-kun said, Itachi approached me.

"What do you think, the proverb that Mits-, I mean Kaneko-kun, said means? I have a vague idea of what it could be, but not really sure." Itachi said with a serious look.

I nodded and patted his shoulder, "Don't worry about it being right or wrong. Tell me what you have derived from the proverb."

Itachi looked at the sky for a bit, then said while closing his eyes.

"Catching fish in muddy waters. If we take Water country and its people as the main context. Then, they really are like fishes in muddy waters. Their futures are unsure, and they are leading lives of fear.

And people, who aren't there witnessing the scene for themselves, can't possibly understand the pain, and suffering, of the people.

That could be the second part. By jumping into the same muddy waters, one can observe the 'fish' or the people better. Simply by being near them and witnessing things in real time."

I was stunned.

'I always knew that this kid was smart. Even Mits-... Sigh! Kaneko-kun has praised Itachi's intellect before. But for him to deduce so much in such a short time… Incredible.

And yes, this does make sense.

Just like what Kaneko-kun did on the fishing village, in the Tea Country, he might want to see the suffering of the people and act on it accordingly.

So him going to the Water Country and witnessing everything first hand... That's just like Mitsu- Kaneko-kun...'

I then faced Itachi and gave him a serious stare. He understood the meaning of my stare and nodded.

"We need to gather as much information as possible about the Water Country. But first we need to hire a boat. Lets moveout." I ordered and flickered away with a swoosh.

*Swoosh*

Itachi immediately followed.

.

.

.

After searching for a boat to hire, we came back disappointed.

No matter how much money we offered, none of the boatmen agreed to travel to Kiri or anywhere near the Water Country.

They all said the same thing.

'The Water Country can turn into a war zone any moment. What is money if one loses their life eh?'

And I agreed with his words.

But…

"Kaneko-kun wound't be happy about this…" I sighed as I said this to Itachi, who simply nodded.

We then decided to look around separately, in hopes of finding some needy or greedy boatman.

'If we don't find a boat by tonight, we will have to hear him complain about it the next day…' I thought as I started looking around the harbor.

But even after leaving no stones unturned, I couldn't find a single boat to hire…

I was almost at the point, where I just wanted to forcefully take one… But Itachi came with a better solution.

"Fuzzy-senpai, there seems to be some bandits attacking a small village. The town patrol seems to be ignoring it…" Itachi said with narrowed eyes.

"How did you get this information?" I asked in curiosity. Because the last I remember, we were only searching inside Shimogo.

"When I was looking for a boat to hire near the south exit, I saw a fisherman begging the guards to send help. But the guards ignored him…" Itachi answered with a hint of anger.

I smiled lightly and looked into Itachi's eyes, "You have already agreed to help the village, haven't you?"

Itachi nodded. His hands were balled into a fist.

'The guards' behavior, probably ticked him off. After all, his clan has been protecting and guarding the civilians for so long…'

"Alright, lets go help the village. When will they attack again? Or have they attacked already?" I asked.

"From what the fisherman said, the bandits attack every month and take all the food, and sometimes women….

They attacked last night, and seems to be camping on an island nearby." Itachi answered.

"So it is a search and rescue mission? Wait, they are on an island? So they are probably pirates… And… This means they have boats…" I came to a realization.

I smiled and looked at Itachi, who apparently understood my motive. He shrugged and said, "If we take boats from the bandits then it wound't really be stealing, so I am all in for it."

"Well, it does feel like the bandits are gifting their boats, in our times of need. Heh, we shouldn't keep our friends waiting…" I said with a grin and flickered away.

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Time: The next day

Harbor of Shimogo Town

[General]

.

Mitsu's servants were busy transferring the supplies into the boats. While Mitsu was having a conversation with his butler Sanda Hisashi.

"Yo old dude, see? My minions got three boats. And they are bigger than those little dingies. And you were like, 'Mitsu-sama, I don't think they can hire boats to Kiri..' Welp, you better change this no can do attitude old man, or I will bring the old lady with me next time." Mitsu said with a mocking grin.

Hisashi knew this was all a jest. After all he and his wife, the supposed 'Old Lady' has been taking care of Mitsu since his birth.

Even though Mitsu was their master, they still see him as their grandchild, and Mitsu has never treated them as servants. So they talk freely when they are not in public.

"Mit- I mean Kanko-kun, I concede, sigh! But please don't bring up that old woman… I am glad to have some alone time for a change. She nags way too much…" He said with slumped shoulders.

Mitsu just smiled and boarded the biggest boat without saying anything further.

He soon spotted many sailors, and was confused. He already had taken into account his minions failing to hire a boat.

But they brought back not one but three large boats. And now there were even sailors…

'Why do I feel like my minions got themselves their own minions? Meh, doesn't matter.' Mitsu then went to the bow of the boat and pointed at the horizon and shouted,

"Set sails to KIRI!"

"Etto~ Kaneko-kun… That's the wrong direction…" The butler said in a bit of awkwardness…

"....." Mitsu.

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[A/N:

Sorry to keep you all waiting for this chapter.

February has been nothing but stress and accidents. My thesis, almost corona scare, grandma's surgery and now the death of my Uncle.... He died very unexpectedly. I had to leave town for his funeral and only came back 2 days ago. My Uncle and I were very close, so the death really hit hard.

Please join me, in 60 seconds of silence, to honor the memory of my late Uncle. May he rest in peace.

If you want to join the discord! The link: ht tps://discord .gg/RcZZjnKnwx ]