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Water Country. Kirigakure. Mizukage's office.
Uchiha Madara held the latest report from the front lines, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Talk about perfect timing. Someone had basically handed him the pillow he needed while he was already dozing off. Wasn't this the perfect excuse?
Sunagakure's resistance was growing fiercer by the day. Continuing to grind against them on the front lines wasn't bringing the results he wanted anymore.
Instead of staying locked in this stalemate, it made far more sense to shift the target back to Konoha. With any luck, they could pull the same trick they used on Sunagakure—catch Konoha completely off guard.
"Zetsu, it looks like we'll be staying in Kirigakure for a while longer."
Madara waved the scroll in his hand, using his control over the Mizukage to make the man step aside. He dropped into the Mizukage's chair like he owned the place.
"Lord Madara, we need to move quickly. Your body won't hold up much longer."
Black Zetsu wasn't trying to undermine him. After Madara had restored his youth, every single day was spent burning through what little life force he had left.
"Shut up."
The order reached the front lines quickly. Yagura—the same Yagura who had been stripped of command earlier—received the latest directive from the village.
Because of his strong performance in the war against Sunagakure, he had been reinstated. With the Mizukage gone, he was now acting as the front-line commander.
He stared at the order, brows furrowed so deeply they nearly touched.
If it hadn't been delivered by a messenger he personally knew, and if every secret mark on the scroll hadn't checked out perfectly, he would have sworn it was a forgery.
He had asked for more troops. He had never asked the village to change the entire objective of the war.
"What does the order say, Commander? When are we getting reinforcements from the village?"
The speaker was Kisame. As one of the Mizukage's most trusted men, he didn't bother with formalities.
Yagura looked up at him, expression still tight. Without a word, he handed the scroll over.
Kisame took it and read quickly. His own brows drew together even tighter than Yagura's.
They were being ordered to end the fight with Sunagakure and, while Konoha was still distracted, repeat the same raiding tactics they had used against Sunagakure—this time targeting the Land of Fire directly.
The order spread through the camp like wildfire. Some of the newer reinforcements who had never fought Konoha before looked excited. Most of the veterans who had already clashed with Konoha looked pale.
Yagura slammed his hand on the armrest.
"Enough!"
The noise died instantly.
"This is a direct order from the Mizukage. We don't debate it. We carry it out."
He stood.
"Recall every team currently outside the camp. We pull out tomorrow and return to the ships."
"Yes, Commander!"
The shinobi filed out to begin preparations. Once the tent was empty except for Yagura, he picked up the scroll again and studied it carefully.
Something about this order felt off. The reasoning was weak, and the timing was too sudden.
He pulled out a blank scroll and began writing. The letter started with "Respected Elder Genji."
He filled the entire scroll, then sealed it with a privacy technique before calling one of his most trusted men.
"Deliver this directly to Elder Genji. Return the moment you have his reply."
"Understood."
While the rest of the ninja world churned with plots and shifting alliances, Taiichi remained blissfully unaware.
He had set out with a clear goal: to walk every corner of the ninja world on his own two feet. Flying across the sea to the Land of Water would have defeated the entire point.
He wanted to feel the land beneath his boots, witness its natural wonders, and let the raw power of nature sink into him.
Five days had already passed since he left the mainland.
He had weathered violent storms and towering waves. He had hunted alongside sea beasts dozens of meters long and swum through schools of fish numbering in the tens of millions.
He had begun to understand both the grandeur and the hidden dangers of the open ocean.
What he hadn't expected was that the sea still had one more surprise waiting for him.
Right now he was floating on his back in the water, staring blankly at the sky while the current carried him wherever it pleased.
According to his original plan, he should have reached the Land of Water yesterday. Instead, more than a day had passed and he hadn't seen so much as a single island.
All he could see was endless water meeting endless sky—like he was trapped inside a giant, featureless cage.
He was lost.
The vast ocean offered no landmarks. For someone who had never sailed this far out alone, it was an easy mistake to make.
Even a top-tier shinobi like him wasn't immune to the limits of human knowledge. The basic navigation he had learned back in the Academy wasn't nearly enough for the open sea.
After drifting for more than ten minutes, Taiichi finally accepted reality.
Some things simply couldn't be forced. No amount of stubborn effort would change that.
Chakra gathered at his hands and feet. He pushed himself upright, flames swirling around his body to instantly dry his clothes.
He shook off the salt clinging to his skin, then disappeared with Flying Thunder God.
When he reappeared, he was standing at the edge of a bustling coastal city.
In the distance sat a large, busy harbor. Ships of all sizes came and went constantly.
After a bit of negotiation—and making sure the payment was generous—Taiichi quickly found a merchant vessel heading for the Land of Water.
The ship's owner was a merchant from the Land of Water who regularly traveled between the two countries.
Once he understood what Taiichi wanted, he agreed without hesitation.
The moment Taiichi stepped aboard the three-masted merchant ship, he noticed the four shinobi stationed at the corners of the deck.
No forehead protectors. No village markings. All of them looked to be in their thirties, skin weathered to a deep bronze by years at sea, with sun spots across their cheekbones and brows.
Wave ninja. Ronin who owed no allegiance to any hidden village.
With the Five Great Villages locked in all-out war, many missions had trickled down to the secondary market. These wave ninja were making a killing.
Taiichi's arrival immediately drew their attention.
Compared to the four hardened sailors, Taiichi looked far too clean and soft. One glance was enough for them to decide he was harmless.
Taiichi didn't mind. He let a crew member show him to a small private cabin.
Once his fake luggage was inside, he returned to the deck and stood at the bow, watching the crew work.
It wasn't long before the ship owner—Swim—finished his paperwork and came back aboard. He spotted Taiichi immediately.
"First time sailing, young man?"
Taiichi spread his arms and gave an easy smile. "That obvious?"
"People who've spent their lives at sea don't stare at the crew like that for hours," Swim said with a friendly grin.
Taiichi chuckled. "My name's Song Tao. You don't sound like you're from the Land of Water, Swim."
Swim laughed. "Sharp eye. My father was from the Land of Lightning. He settled in the Land of Water later."
Swim was talkative. In just a short conversation, Taiichi picked up quite a bit of practical knowledge about sailing—and felt a little embarrassed about how recklessly he had set out on his own.
If he hadn't had Flying Thunder God, even a shinobi could easily get stranded and die at sea.
"I noticed you hired shinobi guards. Is it that dangerous out here?"
The question opened the floodgates. Swim's cheerful expression collapsed into open frustration. He started venting to Taiichi about how the war between the great villages had destroyed the safety of the sea lanes, forcing independent merchants like him to hire expensive protection.
While they were talking, Taiichi suddenly straightened and turned to look behind the ship.
Everyone on deck noticed the shift in his posture. Even the irritable female wave ninja stopped mid-complaint.
Taiichi pointed toward the horizon.
"Swim," he said quietly, "I think your trouble just caught up with you."
Far behind them, barely visible on the water, another ship was closing in fast—far too fast for a normal merchant vessel.