Hidden Leaf, Hidden Talents 116 (Patreon)

The stern deck was dead quiet, save for the boat’s constant groaning and the steady thud of waves hitting the wood.

The Cargo Master leaned back against the chair, tracking the coastline as it got smaller and smaller. He was a lean guy, his skin baked by the sun, with a thick ledger tucked right under his arm. Honestly, he had been staring at that exact same piece of receding shoreline for the last ten minutes, totally spaced out.

"That fat bastard," he muttered out of nowhere. His thumb started tapping a fast, annoyed rhythm against the spine of the ledger. "I swear to God, his brain melts a little bit more every single winter."

The rogue captain didn't even bother answering. He just shifted his weight against a massive coil of rope and blew a thin stream of smoke into the sea breeze. He had heard some version of this same rant at literally every single port from here to the Land of Water.

"I don't even care about the cut he takes," the Cargo Master went on, flipping the ledger over to slap it against his knee. "It’s the absolute garbage he forces on me just to fill the open slots. Last run, it was his cousin, some wet-behind-the-ears idiot who spent three straight days puking over the starboard side. Before that, some kid from the slums who didn't know how to tie a basic knot. And now? I have five names on my manifest that I have never seen in my life. Total strangers."

They fell back into silence. The ocean hissed right past the rudder.

"Did you actually get a look at the new security hires?" the Cargo Master asked after a while, still staring out at the water.

"Yeah."

"And? Are they going to be a problem for us?"

The rogue captain took his time. "When exactly did he sign them?"

The Cargo Master frowned. "Yesterday, I think. Maybe this morning. I didn't look too closely at the timestamps. Why do you ask?"

The rogue went quiet for a second. "One of them. I don't know. There is just something about him."

The Cargo Master finally spun around to face him. "Something about him what?"

"Hmm. I can't really put my finger on it." The rogue shook his head, looking kind of annoyed with himself. "His eyes. I don't know how to explain it. My grandfather used to have that same look. It honestly scared the absolute shit out of me when I was a kid."

The Cargo Master just stared at him for a moment. He had worked with this guy long enough to know he didn't just say stuff like that for no reason. He turned back toward the water.

"They are just last-minute fill-ins," he said, the metal clasp of his ledger clicking shut with a loud snap. "So either someone lined that old pig’s pockets to get them on board, or..." He trailed off, letting out a short, dry chuckle. "No. Forget it. The pig is incredibly greedy, but he isn't suicidal. He knows exactly what Kaigan does to merchants who try to play both sides."

The rogue captain didn't argue with that.

"Still." The Cargo Master tucked the ledger right back under his arm and stepped away from the chair. "Do not let them out of your sight."

…

-Shinji-

Look, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little relieved to find her in one piece. A lot can happen to a teenager traveling solo, and the list of things I'd been quietly worrying about since my clones disappeared was not short. Finding her alive, unhurt, and sitting calmly in a cell like she was waiting for a train? That was the good outcome. The part where she was on a criminal syndicate's ship heading toward a private island was less good. The part where she smiled at me like I was the one who showed up late to a scheduled appointment was what really got me.

"It’s really good to see you, Sensei," she said.

I crossed my arms, giving her a hard look. "Good my ass. How exactly did you end up in chains on a boat, Konan? Did you prank the wrong person or what?"

She actually had the nerve to look a little offended by that. "Okay, that is not fair. I was doing exactly what you told me to do. Low-profile contracts, nothing flashy, stay close to Konoha. It’s not like I went looking for trouble."

"And yet."

"And yet," she sighed, rolling her eyes. "The guy I was tailing wasn't just some mid-level smuggler. Turns out he was a supply runner for one of the big regional shipping conglomerates. And he happened to have friends. Like, a lot of friends. So things kind of escalated a little?"

A little. Right. Because getting wrapped up in heavy iron shackles and tossed into a ship's cargo hold is definitely the natural conclusion of things escalating "a little."

I looked down at the broken pieces of the shackles still sitting on the mattress. And here was the real kicker. Those weren’t light restraints. They were thick slabs of iron bolted together. Whatever blacksmith hammered those out probably thought no shinobi on earth was ever going to cut through them with paper.

He was almost right.

Those shackles were solid iron. My clones taught her all kinds of crazy things, including Yang Release and shape manipulation, sure, but what she just did wasn't just advanced. She took everything my clones taught her and ran with it, improvising well enough to physically transform the actual cloth on her body into paper. Her own clothes. That isn't just a regular ninjutsu. That is a concept most shinobi never even get close to touching because of how incredibly advanced it is. She was supposed to be figuring this kind of stuff out way down the road, like in her mid-twenties, not right now.

Wait, just now she used her clothes, but has she already started trying to push it even further than that? Like, turning flesh into paper instead of fabric? No. There is no way. The conceptual leap from dead linen to living cells isn't just a step, it’s a vertical drop off a cliff. She isn't that reckless. I hope.

I shoved that terrifying thought into the back of my mind and focused on the immediate problem, which was the fact that her story had a lot of incredibly sus moments in it.

I spent the next five minutes grilling her, poking at all the holes in her story to see what wouldn't hold up. The timeline was fine. The target's connection to Kaigan actually checked out. The part where she got surrounded and overwhelmed was technically plausible. But the more she talked, the more one specific thing kept nagging at me.

She had literally sliced through solid iron shackles without even blinking. She could sense a hostile chakra signature before the person carrying it even knew she was there. The idea that some trading company's hired muscle somehow trapped her when she actually wanted to leave? That required me to believe a lot of things I just didn't believe.

Every single time I pushed on that specific point, she would change the subject. She would mention the weather. She would mention the terrain. She would throw out some totally irrelevant detail about the target's schedule like I would just forget what I was originally asking.

Yep. She was definitely hiding something.

"Alright," I said, flattening my voice. "I don't think you are telling me everything."

She blinked, her eyes widening into an expression of profound, innocent confusion that might have actually worked on someone who hadn't known her forever. "I don't know what you mean. I have told you literally every detail."

Oh, stop that.

"Yeah right." I leaned against the doorframe and just looked at her. "A squad of random hired hands shouldn't be able to corner you. You could have run the exact second things went sideways. So what were you actually doing that kept you from just leaving?"

She met my eyes for about two full seconds, then looked away at a random spot somewhere past my left shoulder.

"I was just unlucky."

"Konan."

"It happens," she muttered, her voice dropping into a total stubborn mumble. "Even to the best of us. Sometimes a bad hand is just a bad hand, regardless of who is holding the cards."

I gave that a second to sink in.

"You know," I said lightly, "during all those days on the river, I taught you how to tread water, how to run across a rapid, and how to balance on a wave. But I don't think I ever actually taught you how to swim without chakra."

Her eyes snapped right back to me, instantly suspicious.

"We are right in the middle of the channel," I continued, gesturing vaguely toward the hull. "There is nothing out there but five hundred fathoms of freezing gray ocean. I could easily take a length of hemp rope, tie it to your left ankle, and drop you right over the rail. Excellent training. You would have the basics down in about thirty seconds."

Her expression changed. "I can literally walk on water, Sensei," she said. "Swimming is an inefficient use of stamina. It’s redundant."

"Fair point," I agreed, nodding slowly. "I will just tie the other end to the anchor instead."

"That’s—" She bit her lip, her chest heaving as she glared at me, her cheeks puffing out a little in a pout. When it became obvious that I wasn't going to budge, she let out a sharp, defeated sigh. "...Fine. I overheard the transport captains back at the docks saying they were heading somewhere. Somewhere with a ton of money, so I might have been… a little tempted?"

I just stared at her. Seriously? They say a crow will fly straight into a trap if you leave something shiny at the bottom of it. I used to think that was just a crow problem.

"It wasn't even just about the money," she added real quick. "My original target was already there. I had a confirmed bounty right in front of me. And then I heard the crew talking about some serious, juicy ryo." She paused. "So I figured, since I was already this far in, I could collect the bounty and then handle the cargo situation right after. It made sense at the time."

A long, dead silence stretched between us.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose.

Man, I knew I shouldn't have set her up in Tanzaku Quarters. Right in the absolute middle of the gambling capital of Fire Country, where money changes hands every thirty seconds and half the residents measure their days by the size of their last windfall. I guess living in a city where everyone bases their mood on last night's dice roll was always going to leave some kind of mark. That said, my clones had one single job. Raise a normal student. But look at this. Look at what they did.

"The next time you get a bright idea involving criminal convoys and think about getting easy money dropped in your lap," I said, "you write it down first. Then you throw that piece of paper away. Then you go take a walk. And if after all that you still think it’s a good idea, you are absolutely not allowed to do it without telling me first."

She looked like she wanted to argue, but she caught my expression and thought better of it.

"...Yes, Sensei."

"Good. Now get your gear, we need to—"

I froze.

The faint, familiar hum of Shunpei’s chakra signature was completely gone.

How?

I checked again. Absolutely nothing.

I turned and ran out without saying another word. The corridor was narrow, and I shoved right past two crew members who were coming the other way without even looking at them. Someone cursed at my back, but I just kept moving. I hit the main deck, spotted Dan near the starboard railing talking to one of the civilian crew, and didn't even slow down.

"Get the squad together," I said as I blew past him. "Find Rei and Shinku. Don’t separate. Keep everyone on the upper deck until I get back up."

"What is going—"

I was already through the hatch, booking it down to the lower level.

The cargo hold was way darker than the crew quarters, lit by only two oil lamps swinging gently with the ship's roll. The whole place smelled like salt, old wood, and heavy metallic tang. Honestly, I already knew exactly what that last smell was before I even rounded the final corner.

Shunpei was slumped against the wall in the corner, a blade buried deep in his chest, pinning him halfway up. An hour ago, this guy was hanging over the railing asking me if the water was always this blue out here. And now he—

"Yo," a gravelly voice rasped from the shadows near the salt barrels. "We got another one."

"Look at that. The partner came looking for him," a second voice chuckled. The dry rustle of clothing told me he was already moving toward my left flank.

Then the captain's voice came from the back. "Do it."

Two kunai came spinning straight at my face. One guy charged me head-on with his blade out, while a third was already circling wide to cut off my exit behind me. In the back, the captain was blurring through hand seals, his cheeks puffing up for some kind of water jutsu.

I didn't look at the blades. I didn't look at the rogue ninja closing the distance.

I just kept my eyes on the dark stain spreading across Shunpei’s vest.

We had barely even started this mission.

I raised my hand.

WHOOOM.

The atmospheric pressure inside the room dropped instantly. A massive wall of raw, kinetic force exploded out of me, hitting all four men like the flat side of an iron anvil. They didn't just fly back, they were hammered into the thick oak hull with a single, synchronized CRACK that splintered the heavy crossbeams.

Someone’s ribs gave way with a wet, sickening pop. A high, choked scream started in someone’s throat, but I didn't even let them finish it. I expanded the force, doubling the localized gravity until the timbers beneath their boots started groaning under the sheer weight, pinning them flat against the wood until their faces distorted from the pressure.

I flicked my fingers, and the fallen kunai on the floorboards stirred. They rose into the air without a sound, a small, spinning circle of dark steel hovering in the dim lamplight. Then— fwip. Fwip. Fwip. Fwip. The screaming stopped mid-breath, replaced by the wet, heavy sound of bodies going slack against splintered wood.

Silence.

Over in the far corner, tucked behind a stack of linen bales, a civilian deckhand was pressing himself so hard against the ribs of the ship he looked like he was trying to dissolve into the wood. Both of his hands were clamped tight over his mouth, and a dark, steaming stain was spreading rapidly down his pants, dripping right onto the floorboards.

A final kunai tilted in the air, its point drifting directly toward his forehead. The guy's whimpering stopped instantly.

How? I was careful. We were all incredibly careful. I must have missed something. Had to. So where exactly did this go wrong? The administrator? Unlikely, that guy didn't have the spine for it. Was it Shunpei? He was enthusiastic. Genuinely, visibly, painfully enthusiastic about absolutely everything. Did he talk to the wrong crew member? Ask one question too many?

I pressed my fingers against my temple, my head throbbing. A day in. One single day, and I have already lost a teammate.

"Captain, what—" Dan’s boots hit the bottom of the ladder, his voice cutting off cleanly the exact moment his eyes took in the room. His gaze swept over the crushed bodies pinned against the hull, then finally settled on Shunpei’s pale face in the corner.

Behind him, Shinku and Rei crowded the ladder, then froze solid.

"This… are we compromised?" Shinku Yuhi frowned.

"Most likely," I said.

"Then they're going to see us coming from a mile away. Any approach to their base is going to be flagged the second they realize this squad didn't report back."

I looked over at Dan. "Take care of Shunpei."

Dan swallowed hard, nodded once, and dropped heavily to his knees beside the body. His hands shook slightly as he reached into his pack and took out the heavy containment scroll.

I turned back to Shinku and Rei. "These guys might be dead, but someone on this ship is giving the orders. Find whoever is next in line and have a very thorough conversation with them. I want to know if there’s a way into that base that doesn't get our target killed before we even dock."

"And if they don't want to cooperate?" Rei asked.

"Then be more convincing."

…

About an hour into open water, Dan’s shadow fell over my shoulder while I was standing at the bow.

"We've got company," he muttered, pointing a finger toward the northern horizon. "Two o'clock. Three of them."

I adjusted my scope. Three standard iron-hulled corvettes were cutting right through the chop, their gray sails sporting the heavy, stylized waves of the Hidden Mist. They were moving incredibly fast, throwing up high white plumes as they angled right across our bow.

"Don't be hasty," I muttered, keeping my eyes fixed on the water straight ahead. "Pass it down. Everyone stays exactly where they are. Keep rigging the lines, keep cleaning the deck. Look like fishermen who don't have a care in the world."

The corvettes kept their heading. I did some quick mental geometry, speed, wind drift, current. They were going to intercept us in under four minutes. I reached out with my senses, sweeping the water between us. Dozens of chakra signatures on each ship.

The water between Fire Country, Hot Springs, and Uzushio wasn't even that wide to begin with, but I definitely didn't expect Kiri to have ships pushing this far into the corner. They had stretched their net way further than I thought.

Then the lead corvette’s rudder shifted.

The bow dropped three points, its sails snapping as it caught the wind from the east. It didn't close the distance. It didn't even drop a boarding launch.

The three warships maintained a wide, circular berth, cutting right past our stern like we were nothing more than an empty piece of driftwood. They kept their course northeast, their spotters barely even looking down at our deck.

I watched their wakes dissolve into the gray water. Then I looked back toward the wheelhouse, where our Cargo Master was standing under Rei's close guard.

Does Kaigan have some kind of arrangement with Kiri? Are they paying their way through so they can pass without getting sunk?

Rei let out a long, quiet breath, looking incredibly relieved. On the other hand, Konan was just staring at the retreating warships with a look of genuine disappointment.

I caught her eye and gave her a flat look. Like, what are you even disappointed about? Be happy you are not sitting at the bottom of the ocean right now.

She looked away, clearing her throat.

…

By mid-afternoon, a coastline finally appeared out of the gray horizon. Dan walked up right beside me at the bow railing, squinting out at the land.

"Land of Hot Springs," he said. "That’s the eastern shore. I definitely didn't expect them to be this far out."

I turned around and found our Cargo Master standing a few feet away. His wrists were wrapped tight in paper bindings behind his back, and he was just staring at the approaching coast with a resigned look on his face.

"Private harbor, huh," I said, walking over to him. "Corporate money really buys a different class of hiding spot."

The guy blinked, swallowing hard before he even spoke. "It’s... actually legal, sir. We hold the deed for the three miles of waterfront directly from the provincial governor. It’s registered as a legitimate distribution base." He paused, twisting his head uncomfortably as he looked down at his arms. "Also, if it isn't too much trouble... these bindings have been getting tighter on their own. I literally can't feel my fingers anymore."

I glanced over toward the rail.

Konan was leaning against a capstan about six feet away, her cheeks slightly rounded, working through something with a soft chewing motion. The scent hit me a second later—dark, bitter, high-grade chocolate from the capital. Hanging right from her belt was a heavy, embroidered leather pouch that had definitely not been part of her kit when I found her. The seams were practically bursting, and the crisp edge of a high-denomination Fire Country note was sticking right out of the top like a small white flag.

When did she even—

Actually, you know what? I already know the answer to that.

I just stared at her until she finally turned her head, her face a total mask of absolute, unblinking serenity while she just continued to chew.

What a greedy little gremlin.

"Konan, let him go," I said, glancing over at the Cargo Master. "He has a performance coming up. We can't have our leading man walking down that dock looking like he spent the last few hours being held hostage by a teenager."

She swallowed her chocolate, flicked her index finger, and the paper bands instantly uncoiled from his flesh like striking vipers, snapping right back into her wide sleeve in a single, fluid ribbon. The Cargo Master stumbled forward, immediately cradling his pale hands against his chest and trying to rub the color back into his skin.

I patted his shoulder. "We are about to dock. So straighten up, fix your face, and smile at whoever is waiting on the pier like absolutely nothing is wrong." I gave him a hard look. "I would hate for my hand to slip at the last second."

He nodded so hard his hair shook.

But the rest of my team wasn't even paying attention to him anymore, they were all staring at Konan. Shinku was right at my left with his arms crossed, tracking her every move like she was a live wire he couldn't quite figure out.

"Who exactly is she?" he asked. It definitely wasn't a casual question.

"Yes," Dan leaned in from my other side, giving her a look with considerably more warmth but the exact same amount of curiosity. "She has been calling you 'Sensei' ever since we set sail. I have been meaning to ask about that."

Right. I had forgotten to brief her on basic cover story etiquette. What a fantastic mentor I was.

"She is an... old acquaintance," I said, totally improvising on the fly. "We crossed paths back before the war. Traveled together for a bit, I showed her some basic survival skills, and the nickname just kind of stuck."

"That isn't true," Konan said immediately.

I snapped my head around to look at her. She met my eyes with deadpan, absolute seriousness.

Hey. What are you doing? Read the room.

"He is my fiancé," she said in the same calm tone. "It was an arrangement between our clans before the war. He gave me his word that after the winter—"

My hand was over her mouth before she could even finish the sentence.

Dan and Shinku both just stared at me.

I forced a bright smile. "She’s screwing with you. It’s a habit. She thinks she is hilarious." I glared down at her, trying to communicate with my eyes. "Don't listen to a single word she says. Seriously. She’s full of it."

Suddenly, I felt a wet swipe right against my palm.

Did she just—

I yanked my hand back with a massive grimace, wiping it off on my pants.

The corners of Konan’s mouth curled into a tiny, sharp, incredibly smug grin that made me want to drop her straight back into the ocean.

What a nasty girl.

Shinku didn't even laugh. "That still doesn't explain what she is doing on this boat."

"She was a captive," I said, cutting him off before his suspicion could spiral. "The syndicate grabbed her. I found her locked below deck when we secured the ship. She is definitely not part of their crew."

Shinku’s expression remained blank. He looked from her back to me. "I would still feel a lot better if she stayed on the ship while we handle things on our end."

Well, I couldn't even argue with that. If I were him, fresh off finding Shunpei dead, and some random girl I had never met suddenly appeared attached to my squad leader, I would want her exactly as far away from the operation as possible too. Trust is earned, and she hadn't had five minutes to earn anything yet.

"Fair enough," I said. "She stays behind."

Konan’s face dropped. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up at me. "Sensei. Are you serious right now?"

"I am."

"But..." She glanced over my shoulder toward the stone piers, where the massive cargo warehouses were already looming through the gray mist. "There is going to be a huge crowd over there. Wealthy merchants. People with... with a lot on their minds who won't be paying attention to—" She stopped herself, clearing her throat. "I mean, it would just be incredibly boring to stay on the ship alone with nothing to do."

"Right."

"That’s all I meant."

"Sure it was."

Her eyes drifted right back to the coastline one more time, just real quick, like she couldn't even help herself.

I let out a short breath. "Let me tell you something. You know how most hunter-nin careers actually end?"

She looked back up at me.

"Not in some massive blaze of glory," I said. "And not outnumbered against some legendary missing-nin, either. Most of them end because they saw something shiny and stopped paying attention to everything else. Greed is a fantastic way to get yourself killed, and you have already shown me today that you have a real talent for it."

Konan opened her mouth, clearly about to defend herself.

"You still have chocolate on your face," I said.

She froze. She immediately slapped a hand over her mouth, ducked her head down, and spent three full seconds aggressively scrubbing at a corner that had absolutely nothing on it. She checked her fingers. Clean. Checked them again. Still clean. She looked back up at me. "...There is nothing there."

"I know."

A spectacular pout spread across her face.

Dan stepped up right beside me as she stomped off to go sulk, extending his hand out to me. Two slender, silver-plated daggers were laying flat across his palm.

Is that?

"Found these in Shunpei’s kit," Dan said softly. "He told me you had your eye on them before."

I looked down at the steel, then took them right out of his hand. They were incredibly light, built for speed rather than hacking through things. I gave one a quick, familiar spin through my fingers, checking the center of gravity. Perfect alignment. Absolutely no drift in the pommel. The grip felt good in my hand.

Good taste. Thanks, Shunpei.

…

The dock was way newer than I expected. Clean wood, fresh iron fittings, it actually smelled pretty nice, too. Waiting right at the end of the pier were two ninja flanking a guy in a fancy silk vest.

Another rich company man. Seriously, they all looked exactly the same. I swept the area with my senses out of habit while we walked down the pier, and then I did a quiet double take. There were chakra signatures under the water. At least six of them, just sitting perfectly still directly beneath the dock. Well, that is an interesting choice for a greeting party.

The guy in the silk vest lit up the second he spotted the Cargo Master, his face spreading into a wide smile.

"Ah, you are ahead of the tide," he said, stepping forward with his hands clasped together. "The last shipment ran two days late, so I was starting to think the currents were acting up again."

The Cargo Master answered with a thin smile. "The eastern trade winds were cooperative, they carried us right through the shelf."

The silk-vest guy instantly stiffened. There were absolutely no eastern trade winds in this channel during the summer. It was the baseline emergency code established by the syndicate's transit logs, a literal impossibility designed to signal that the person speaking had a blade at their back.

The silk-vest guy's hands, which had been clasped tightly in front of his stomach, uncoiled just a little bit. His eyes didn't just flicker, they widened, his gaze dropping instantly from the Cargo Master's face to the strange, lethal-looking "security hires" walking a half-step behind him. He took a shallow, sharp breath as it clicked in his head that his colleague wasn't running a routine delivery, he was leading a live breach right into their courtyard!

"Ah, I see. Most unfortunate," he said, nodding slowly. "You must be exhausted. Let us take the weight right off your shoulders."

He brought his palms together in a single, clean double-clap. And just like that, the signatures under the water started moving fast.

I knew it. Merchants. Literally every single time.

The water around the entire dock absolutely erupted.

Nine massive columns of water surged upward and took shape mid-rise, roaring as huge dragon heads formed at the crest of each one before they all came crashing down toward the pier.

Dan was already in the middle of casting a jutsu. His chest swelled up, and he spat out a high-pressure torrent of water that curved right around our formation like a solid iron ribcage. It intercepted the descending dragons with a deafening THOOOOM, instantly turning the afternoon air into a blinding sheet of white spray.

Shinku already had his kunai out, with three more clutched between his fingers, all carrying sizzling paper bombs. "We should have just slit his throat back on the boat," he spat.

"Focus, Yuhi," Dan grunted through his teeth, working hard to maintain the wall.

KRRRBOOOM

Suddenly, the entire dock lurched violently. A massive underwater explosion sent a heavy shockwave rolling straight through the pier supports. Every single boat moored along the waterfront swayed like crazy against their lines, the ropes groaning and the hulls knocking into each other with hollow, wooden thuds. The guy in the silk vest lost his footing and fell right on his ass.

Rei and Shinku dropped into a low guard, their eyes aggressively scanning the churning foam for any enemies.

Dan finally let his water wall dissolve, his shoulders dropping as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Relax. That was probably Taichou."

The two of them turned around to look at me.

"Correct," I said, shaking the water spray off my sleeve. "There were some bugs crawling around under the dock. Had to squash them before they started crawling all over us."

I looked down at the silk-vest guy. He was clinging for dear life to a mooring post, drenched, his teeth chattering with pure terror as he looked at the red foam bubbling up from the harbor.

He scrambled backward on his hands and knees, pointing a shaking finger right at us, his voice cracking as he screamed at his remaining two guards. "Kill them! Get them away from me—kill them right now!"

They moved. We moved faster. And the less said about it, the better, it was that one-sided. Dan, Shinku, and Rei handled the two ninja in a heartbeat while I personally escorted the silk-vest guy and our traitorous Cargo Master to the ground by their collars. Three minutes later, all of them were wrapped up tighter than New Year's mochi and loaded right onto the deck.

"Konan," I called out. "Watch these two."

She practically bounced over to us. Bright eyes, a literal skip in her step, and her hands already clasped together in front of her.

"Of course, Sensei," she said, beaming. "Leave them to me."

I just looked at her for a second.

Too happy. That is way too much happy. What exactly is she planning?

Whatever, I don’t have time for this right now. I will deal with her later.

"Everyone, on me," I said, turning away from the ship.

"Ready when you are," Dan said, falling into step beside me as I moved off the dock and toward the tree line. Shinku and Rei followed a step behind him.

The chakra signatures from the base were clustered about two miles inland, so it wasn't exactly hard to orient myself toward them. I picked a heading and just started walking.

"Where exactly are we going?" Shinku asked after about thirty seconds. "We haven't even interrogated anyone for the base location yet."

"I don't think we need to," Dan said.

"...Why?"

"Taichou is a sensor."

Shinku frowned. "Is that so?" He paused for a beat. "That’s strange. I don't remember seeing that in his file."

Probably because it wasn't in my file back during the western front. Because I literally didn't have it back during the western front. Because a lot of things have changed since then, duh.

"Files get outdated all the time," I said. "Just pay attention and stay close. I would really rather not lose anyone else today."

Shinku didn't say another word. But I could feel his frown staying right where it was, following me through the trees like a very suspicious shadow.

After a few minutes of quiet running, we pulled up short on a thick branch overlooking a massive clearing. The mansion sitting right in the middle of it was so big that calling it a "base of operations" felt like a massive understatement. Whoever Kaigan's Overseer was, he had spent some serious money on this place.

Shinku crouched down beside me, his eyes sweeping the perimeter. "Something has been bothering me ever since we were at the port."

"Just one thing?" I asked.

"How exactly does a random trading company maintain this many shinobi on retainer? We have run into more hired ninja in the last twelve hours than most small villages field in a standard border dispute."

"They are a trading cartel," I said. "They control the shipping lanes. That means infinite capital, and capital buys bodies. It’s just math, Shinku. Don't overthink it."

He didn't look thrilled with my answer.

"It’s the Mist corvettes that are bothering me," Dan whispered from my left. "The way they just backed off the second they saw our flag." He frowned. "Maybe the Captain is right and it really is just money talking. But something about it just doesn't sit right."

It didn't sit right with me either. But that was a problem for after we found our guy.

I pushed my senses out across the compound, mapping the whole place in my head. Guards on the east and west wings, a cluster of chakra signatures in the central hall, and two isolated ones in what was probably a holding area beneath the main structure. A few more were scattered around the grounds and the second floor. And then, way down at the very bottom, nine signatures were bunched so closely together they basically read as one giant blob. Huh. What the hell is happening down there?

I popped two clones and told them to go start blasting, shooing them away. Then I turned back to my team. "Alright, we breach the second the clones draw their focus. Tight formation, high speed. I have the entire compound layout memorized, so just watch my lead and do not hesitate."

I looked between Dan and Shinku. "The target is definitely inside, but I have never actually sensed his chakra before, so I won't be able to pick him out from the guards. I am relying on you two for a visual ID the second we clear a room. Let's move."

…

-Konan-

She watched her sensei's back disappear into the treeline and felt that familiar pout settle right back onto her face before she could even stop it.

It had been weeks. Weeks of training alone, weeks of low-level contracts and boring, safe work, and absolutely zero interesting things happening. And the moment she finally saw him again, what did she get? A lecture. Not even a proper greeting first. Just immediate, rapid-fire disappointment delivered directly to her face while she was still trying to shake the feeling back into her wrists.

So unfair.

She had missed him. A lot, actually, not that she was ever going to say that out loud to anyone. And he had missed her too, she was absolutely sure of it. He just had a really strange way of showing it. Rescue first. Threaten to tie her to an anchor second.

She let out a heavy sigh.

The treeline was quiet now. He was gone, and she was stuck here, alone on a boat, babysitting.

She turned around to look at her prisoners.

The silk-vest guy and his friend were sitting on the deck with their backs pressed against the railing, wrists wrapped tight in paper. She was just about to go find somewhere to sit down and feel sorry for herself when the light caught it.

The silk-vest guy's ring finger was bare. Obviously bare, since she had already taken care of that one.

But the friend on the left?

Gold earrings. Both ears. Heavy ones too, not just plated. And around his wrist, half tucked under his sleeve, was the obvious glint of a gold chain thick enough to use as a weapon.

Her tragic pout vanished instantly the second she saw the loot. Sure, Sensei had just given her a massive lecture about her "greed" and how it was going to get her killed, but he wasn’t even here right now. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and besides, leaving these juicy pieces of loot just sitting out in the open felt like a crime against her wallet.

Her fingers twitched, sending a tiny, silent command through her chakra. Just a small, quiet gesture. It was barely anything at all.

The paper bindings around the two guys's wrists shifted, sliding like snakes beneath their sleeves. The men froze instantly, all the color draining from their faces.

"Don't worry, boys," Konan said, her voice dripping with an incredibly pleasant, breezy sweetness as she leaned in closer. "I am just going to... relieve you of your heavy burdens. I'll make sure they are put to good use, so just stay still and you won't even feel a thing, I promise."

The two men exchanged a look of pure, unadulterated terror.

Relieve them of their heavy burdens?! Put to good use?! To their panicked minds, she wasn't talking about their jewelry. She was talking about their heads. Or maybe their vital organs. To a couple of civilians, "heavy burdens" meant their very lives, and "putting them to good use" sounded like some horrifying, forbidden jutsu where this creepy, paper-bending psycho harvests the life force of her victims. Her casual, happy tone only made it ten times worse, she was talking about executing them like she was picking out a light snack!

"Please! Have mercy!" the silk-vest guy blurted out, his voice cracking as he violently shook. "I am just a logistics manager! I don't know anything about their shady operations, I swear to God!"

"Take whatever you want! Just don't flay us!" the Cargo Master begged, squeezing his eyes shut and bracing for a blade.

Konan blinked, thrilled by how cooperative they were being. Wow, they were just handing it over? The gamblers back in Tanzaku Quarters could never.

"Aw, you guys are so sweet! Thank you!" she beamed.

Her paper swiftly and smoothly slid the gold collar pin off the vest, unbuckled the belt, and slipped the gemstone ring right off the guy's index finger. Her little origami sheets worked like a charm, carefully pocketing the loot into her already bursting pack without the terrified men even realizing they were only being systematically pickpocketed.

Meanwhile, a nearby sailor from the crew, who had an excellent front-row seat to this utter madness, made a small, strangled, whimpering sound and looked away. He was praying to whatever gods were listening that the demon girl wouldn't notice him next.

The two rich guys just sat there, trembling and weeping quietly, waiting for the sweet release of death. And right in front of them was Konan, wearing an utterly satisfied little smile while her paper happily fluttered back into her sleeves, oblivious to their existential dread.

They both arrived at the exact same conclusion at the exact same time, there was something deeply, fundamentally, and terrifyingly wrong with this girl.