A ship bound for the Land of Water sailed steadily across the sea. The gentle ocean breeze ruffled Sakura's hair as she leaned against the ship's railing, gazing out at the vast expanse of water. This was her third time traveling by sea, and the memories of the first two voyages weren't exactly pleasant.
She glanced sideways at the two figures clad in black cloaks adorned with red clouds. If things went poorly, she feared this trip wouldn't leave happy memories either.
Since boarding, Sakura had done her best to avoid Itachi and Kisame, pretending she didn't know them. Annoyingly, Itachi Uchiha seemed to see right through her attempts, giving her absolutely no opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
"Hey," Sakura finally said, approaching Itachi with a pout. "Look, I just scammed a boat ticket off you. You don't have to watch me like I'm some kind of prisoner, okay? I promise I'll pay you back."
"Where are you going?" Itachi asked, completely ignoring her pitiful expression.
"To the Land of Water," Sakura replied, still pouting slightly.
"Is that so," Itachi mused, then asked, "And your family?"
"They're all dead. Killed by bandits," Sakura fabricated, forcing a sorrowful expression onto her face. "I'm the only one left. I'm going to the Land of Water to find some relatives, but... I don't have any money."
"How truly unfortunate," Kisame remarked dryly from the side, a dangerous glint in his eye. "Perhaps I should offer you a swift end to your suffering."
Kisame already knew this girl wasn't Itachi's sister. He found himself grudgingly admiring her audacity for managing to manipulate Itachi-san, even if just for a boat fare. So, naturally, he wanted to "help" her find release... permanently.
Sakura saw the malicious intent lurking behind the shark-like man's grin. Her lip twitched nervously, and she quickly turned back to Itachi. "Hey, Mister! Your friend is really scary!"
Even Itachi, a master of impassivity, felt a metaphorical vein throb in his forehead at her words. Calls me 'brother' when she needs something, 'mister' when she doesn't. What a thoroughly unpleasant personality.
"You mentioned a brother before, didn't you?" Itachi asked, his voice even.
"What?" Sakura shrugged nonchalantly. "Nah, I was just kidding, Mister. It's just me in my family."
Itachi took a step closer, his dark eyes fixing on her intently. "You're a ninja?"
The atmosphere suddenly felt heavy, oppressive. Sakura swallowed nervously, her throat tightening. Did he see through me? He shouldn't have... I haven't acted like a ninja, and I don't have anything on me to prove my identity. She decided Itachi must be bluffing, trying to trip her up. Her mind raced, trying to formulate how an ordinary civilian girl would respond.
Putting on a pained expression, Sakura replied, "If I were a ninja... my mom and dad wouldn't have died." She then looked up at him with wide, curious eyes. "Mister, are you a ninja?"
Itachi didn't answer, simply continuing to stare at her. Sakura felt nervous sweat prickle her back under his unnerving scrutiny. After a long, tense moment, Itachi finally turned away. "We are not ninja," he stated flatly. "You don't need to repay the money. Goodbye."
With that, Itachi led Kisame towards the other side of the ship. Sakura let out a long, shaky breath of relief. She couldn't shake the feeling that Itachi had seen through her facade but had chosen to let it go for some reason. Okay, fine. All I need to do now is follow them when we reach the Land of Water and see what they're up to.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the deck, Kisame voiced his doubts. "Are you sure that kid is alright, Itachi-san? Something feels... strange about her."
Itachi shook his head slightly. "She's no threat. Just an ordinary person we happened to cross paths with."
"Still annoys me," Kisame grumbled resentfully, clearly still bothered by Sakura's earlier scam. It was likely the first time anyone had managed to pull something like that on them. "I really just wanted to cut her down."
"Don't cause unnecessary trouble," Itachi cautioned, gazing out at the sea. "This mission is important."
"Understood," Kisame replied, flashing his terrifying, sawtooth grin. "Besides, the Land of Water is my home turf."
The Land of Water was geographically isolated from the main continent where most major shinobi villages resided. Even powerful ninja rarely chose to cross the vast ocean stretch by water-walking. Due to its isolationist policies, few ships traveled to the Land of Water, and those that did were primarily cargo vessels. Passengers were mostly merchants. Consequently, taking a cargo ship was often the only practical way to reach the islands.
Being a cargo ship, the fare typically covered only passage; food and lodging were separate expenses that needed to be purchased onboard. Sakura, having successfully scammed her way onto the boat, had unfortunately forgotten that she was completely penniless and had no supplies like food pills. Just as the relief of seemingly escaping Itachi's suspicion washed over her, her stomach betrayed her with an embarrassingly loud growl.
So hungry! Sakura slumped onto the deck, feeling weak. She hadn't eaten anything since that bowl of ramen yesterday afternoon. Glancing up at the sun, she realized it was already midday. She patted her pockets again, confirming their emptiness. Not a single ryo.
The tantalizing aroma of cooking food drifted from the ship's galley nearby, making her stomach ache with even greater intensity. Gritting her teeth, Sakura pushed herself up and walked resolutely back towards Itachi Uchiha.
Seeing her approach yet again, Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Is there something else?"
"Um..." Sakura began, looking genuinely embarrassed this time. "Could I... possibly borrow some money? I'm really hungry."
"..." Itachi stared speechlessly at the sheer audacity, the incredible thickness of this young girl's skin. Still, her utterly shameless behavior did somewhat reassure him; it was highly unlikely any trained shinobi, even an inexperienced one, would act this way.
Before Itachi could respond, however, Kisame snapped. "Hey, kid! Don't push your luck!" He looked genuinely incensed now. Kisame couldn't remember the last time he'd encountered someone so utterly shameless. Anyone else would have been sliced to ribbons by now. Only Itachi-san's presence kept him from acting on the impulse.
"Take it," Itachi finally said, cutting off Kisame's glare and handing Sakura some money. "And don't come back again."
After Sakura had scurried away towards the galley, Kisame turned to Itachi, displeased. "Itachi-san, why do you tolerate that brat? Are you still holding onto some lingering shred of mercy?"
Itachi watched Sakura's retreating figure for a moment before replying quietly, "No. I simply wish to avoid unnecessary complications."
The journey from the Land of Tea to the Land of Water was a relatively long one. Sakura spent the next week in a state of profound boredom. It wasn't that she didn't want to use the opportunity to practice Seijutsu, especially given her recent discoveries, but she didn't dare risk Itachi or Kisame detecting her training. So, her days on the ship devolved into a monotonous cycle of eating and sleeping.
Occasionally, when her funds ran out, she would reluctantly approach Itachi again to "borrow" more money, enduring Kisame's increasingly murderous glares each time. Through these interactions, however, Sakura confirmed her earlier observation: as long as Itachi didn't give the word, Kisame wouldn't actually harm her, no matter how much he clearly wanted to.
After a week at sea, the ship finally reached its destination and docked. Sakura emerged from the cramped, warehouse-like room that served as passenger quarters, stretching lazily. Standing on the deck, breathing in the fresh morning air and watching the sunrise, she felt a wave of relief. Finally, no more hard, dry rice balls!
Hair messy from sleep, yawning widely, Sakura shuffled towards the gangplank to disembark. As she walked, a sense of unease began to creep in. Something felt wrong. Where were Itachi and Kisame? Their distinctive black cloaks with red clouds were incredibly conspicuous; she should have spotted them easily. But scanning the deck, she saw no sign of them.
Sakura shook her head vigorously, trying to clear the sleep-fuzz from her brain. She positioned herself near the gangplank, carefully watching each passenger disembarking. Not them... not them... not them either... Finally, the last passenger left, and the crew began unloading cargo. Still no sign of Itachi or Kisame.
No! It can't be! Heart pounding with sudden panic, Sakura ran towards the burly man who had collected the fares when they boarded.
"Excuse me! Did you see my brother?" she asked frantically.
"Your brother?" The man looked down at her, scratching his head thoughtfully. "You mean the fella in the black cloak?"
"Yes, yes, that's him!" Sakura nodded eagerly.
The man thought for another moment. "Nope, haven't seen him." His tone then shifted to annoyance. "Now, go on, get out of the way. Stop bothering me while I'm trying to work."
Defeated, Sakura stepped away from the gangplank, mentally cursing herself. When could I possibly sleep? Why did I have to sleep so soundly last night?! The people she had followed all this way were gone. Now what was the point of even coming to the Land of Water?
They must have slipped off the ship sometime during the night. It would have been trivially easy for ninja of their caliber. They had seemed so relaxed and unassuming during the voyage, staying on the ship for days without incident. Sakura had foolishly assumed they would disembark normally with everyone else. She never expected them to just vanish secretly before docking.
Damn it! Of all the times to sleep soundly, why last night?! Sakura stared despairingly at the bustling morning activity on the dock, feeling utterly lost and adrift, a profound sense of bewilderment washing over her.