"Why is it taking so long?"
Ino impatiently tapped her foot.
It had been an hour since she and Shino got the boat.
Even the sky was getting dark.
Yet only Takumi had returned.
"Relax, there's still some time before the mission starts, right?"
Takumi gently patted her shoulder to comfort her. "As for Naruto, he probably got lost. As for Anko-senpai, she must have her reasons."
"Anko-senpai is a Tokubetsu Jonin. A Shinobi who can become a Jonin wouldn't do pointless things."
Shino said calmly.
"That's right."
Takumi nodded, smiling at Ino. "So, don't worry. With me here, nothing will happen."
"Takumi-kun..."
Ino gazed entranced at Takumi's smile, her cheeks slightly flushed.
She gently raised her hand, unconsciously wanting to hug Takumi.
Right at that moment.
"I'm back!"
Naruto's loud voice startled Ino.
She reflexively jumped back, her cheeks instantly turning bright red.
It's quite a sight.
"Naruto, where have you been?"
Shino frowned. "It's been way past the meeting time."
"Uh, well, I had something to do."
Naruto looked a bit awkward.
Shino didn't press further, he wasn't the overly aggressive type.
"Now we're only waiting for Anko-senpai."
Shino looked behind Naruto, but no one was there yet.
"Let's wait a little longer. Anko-senpai doesn't seem like the type to delay excessively, unlike Kakashi-senpai."
Takumi said with a smile.
"That's right!"
Naruto immediately said loudly. "Kakashi-sensei is always late! No matter what mission, he's always the last one to arrive, sometimes making us wait for hours!"
"Uh..."
Shino and Ino exchanged a glance, sweat appearing on their temples.
"Alright, she's here."
Takumi suddenly said softly.
"What?"
Ino didn't hear clearly. The moment she turned to look at Takumi, her peripheral vision caught something.
She quickly looked over and saw Anko had already appeared behind Naruto.
However, the situation was somewhat bad: Anko was holding a kunai pressed against Naruto's neck.
"You weren't bad-mouthing me just now, were you?"
Anko said playfully.
"O-of course not."
Naruto nervously looked at the sharp kunai against his neck, afraid this person behind him might tremble and leave a big gash.
"Good."
Anko put away the kunai, then said with a smile, "Sorry for the wait, everyone. Let's get going quickly."
"And whose fault is it we're leaving so late?"
Ino couldn't help but roll her eyes. "We were waiting for someone, after all."
"Don't say that."
Anko walked over, putting an arm around Ino's neck. "I wasn't playing around, I was gathering information."
"Gathering information? Any clues? About the Sea Demon?"
Ino asked, full of doubt.
"Sort of. It's not clear yet."
Anko's words were ambiguous, not giving a definite answer.
"Alright, if we keep talking, it'll be dawn."
Takumi clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. "We shouldn't waste time. A mission is waiting for us."
Everyone snapped back to reality.
After getting on the boat, the other four sat calmly, while only the enthusiastic Naruto rowed.
Thus, the boat wasn't very fast.
Thankfully, they weren't in a huge hurry.
According to the plan, their escort mission was the day after tomorrow.
The distance from the coast to Mother Island wasn't far.
If smooth, they could arrive before dawn.
The key was if.
But this voyage naturally wouldn't be smooth.
The moment Takumi intervened to save the bandaged girl, he had already become involved in this incident.
Of course, Takumi knew this from the start.
And he looked down on those guys.
They were just small fries that could be taken out in an instant.
Thinking this, Takumi watched the bright stars in the sky with a mood like going on an outing.
"So beautiful..."
Ino looked up with him, her eyes becoming entranced.
At night, a sky without clouds was undoubtedly very beautiful.
The starry sky was like a dreamy galaxy.
Especially for young girls, they couldn't help but immerse themselves in it, enjoying the romantic atmosphere.
'If only it were the two of us...'
Ino thought greedily, though she knew it was impossible.
At least for now, it was impossible.
"Hmm?"
Takumi frowned, looking at the sea beside them.
But at night, relying on eyesight, it was impossible to see below the surface.
Immediately after, Anko also sensed something. "Be careful! Something's up!"
"Huh?"
Naruto looked bewildered. He was still rowing vigorously as if his stamina were infinite.
"It's underwater."
Takumi said, standing up.
"Ah?"
Naruto suddenly exclaimed. He found his oar stuck, as if someone underwater was pulling it.
"What's going on?"
He cried out.
Just then, a huge whirlpool appeared ahead of their direction.
If the boat went straight into it, it would be very risky for them.
Whoosh!
A long tentacle emerged from the sea, heading straight for Ino.
"Watch out!"
Takumi pulled Ino into his arms, letting her dodge the sudden attack.
"Nice job."
Anko praised softly, then focused her gaze below the sea surface.
"What do we do? I can't turn!"
Naruto shouted. Ino also panicked, looking at the boat heading straight for the whirlpool.
"Can't be helped. We'll have to abandon the boat for now."
Anko said helplessly.
"Alright."
Takumi agreed first, then the others nodded.
They immediately jumped off the boat, landing on the water's surface.
"This is troublesome."
Anko grinned, biting her lip. Her face showed no sign of trouble… instead, she looked somewhat excited.
"Stay close to me."
Takumi said, holding Ino's hand.
"Okay."
Ino looked at Takumi holding her hand, her cheeks flushed. She almost forgot their current predicament.
Takumi gave her such a strong sense of security.
She believed as long as Takumi was protecting her, no danger could harm her.
Just then, a pair of hands grabbed Takumi's feet and pulled, dragging him underwater.
"Huh? Targeting me?"
Takumi was stunned, then pulled down in disbelief.
'Are you insane? You dare pull even me?'
Takumi couldn't speak underwater, but his eyes conveyed his meaning perfectly.
But unfortunately, the person who grabbed him didn't think they were wrong.
Takumi's appearance was very deceptive.
Without seeing it for themselves, who would believe a boy-looking teenager was already a top-tier Shinobi?
'Hmm? He's absorbing my Chakra?'
Takumi immediately felt the person wrapped around him rapidly absorbing the Chakra within him.
But Takumi wasn't panicked at all.
This Chakra was practically free, and the accumulated amount was unconsciously terrifying.
'Since you're asking for it, how can I not teach you a lesson?'
Takumi raised an eyebrow, then activated his Fire Body.
'Why does this guy seem unaffected?'
The Shinobi who pulled Takumi down was puzzled. 'And how does he have so much Chakra inside?'
But soon, he felt the seawater becoming strange.
The temperature rose rapidly. Almost in the blink of an eye, this area of the sea began to boil.
The ambusher quickly put distance between them.
Even so, his body was burned by the sudden high temperature, leaving patches of scalded skin.
"What a pity. That guy got away."
Anko was somewhat displeased.
The prey that was practically in her mouth had flown away.
"Don't worry. None of them will escape."
Takumi said with a smile.
He had temporarily dealt with the enemy he faced. The damage from the boiling seawater was too low for him.
They couldn't even get close to Takumi.
Many fish, belly-up, appeared on the sea surface, casualties of Takumi's actions.
At that moment, the remaining Shinobi used a unique technique, rapidly extending his arm like controlling a rope with ease.
Caught off guard, Anko was immediately grabbed.
But actually, she did it on purpose.
"Perfect."
Anko looked at the snake wrapped around her clothes. The Cursed Seal on her back was gradually activating.
She quickly formed hand seals, jumped into the air, and spewed a large flame from her mouth.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
She spewed a massive fire dragon from her mouth.
It followed the long thing wrapped around her.
"Might as well join in."
Takumi, seeing this, became eager and immediately mimicked Anko's hand seals.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Takumi spewed a colossal creature tens of meters long from his mouth.
"What is this? Is this still Fire Release?"
Anko was utterly stunned.
Although Ino and the others were also shocked, they had heard about it before, so they accepted it more easily than Anko.
"Watch out!"
Takumi quickly shouted.
However, the slightly distracted Anko didn't respond immediately.
She was stunned for a moment, and in that short time, she was dragged underwater by the enemy.
Takumi couldn't stop the enemy in time.
But he didn't mind. These enemies were just small fries… he could easily eliminate both with a little effort.
Their strength was too weak.
"Water Clone? How troublesome."
Takumi frowned. "Slippery like an eel. Catching them is a bit troublesome."
Splash!
Anko jumped straight in.