Ashina's voice eventually faded, his explanations drifting into silence.
He had spoken of shinobi foundations Reika might have lacked, shared fragments of Uzumaki secrets, and answered question after question that had clearly weighed on her mind.
The entire time she had leaned close, only a few inches away from Kimimaro, too absorbed in Ashina's words to notice.
Kimimaro did notice. Her proximity, the way she forgot herself, amused him.
When Ashina's presence finally settled back into the pendant, Reika blinked as if waking from a trance.
Awareness returned, color flushed faintly in her cheeks, and she quickly shifted away to her side of the boat.
Kimimaro's eyes lingered on her aura.
It had grown brighter since he first saw her in the ruins, no longer jagged with grief alone.
Connection, manufactured carefully by him and Ashina both, was already reshaping her.
Exactly as he wanted.
He knew better than to try steering her with force.
People moved farther when they believed the path was theirs.
She was talented, proud, older, and for now even a little stronger than him if he fought with restraint.
To try controlling her like Orochimaru did his subordinates would only break the bond before it formed.
No, what she needed was something else.
A slower weaving.
The sense of family she had lost.
A flicker of belonging.
Maybe even something more, given time.
He turned his head, his smirk faint but playful.
"It seems you've truly decided to stay with me after all."
Reika's eyes darted toward him, feeling a bit embarrassed again for some reason.
She quickly hid it with a proud, indifferent look.
"I'm only following Senior Ashina's words."
Kimimaro chuckled under his breath, amused.
After a pause, Reika cleared her throat, as if suddenly remembering.
"Where are we even going now?"
Kimimaro didn't stop rowing.
His gaze stayed on the sea, his tone steady.
"The Land of Hot Water. Right now, it's one of the safest and most neutral places in the world. Konoha is weaker than it used to be. Still the strongest of the villages, yes, but Kumogakure has narrowed the gap. Neither wants to provoke the other inside Hot Water's borders, so the land has turned unusually peaceful. Some there even talk of abandoning the shinobi way entirely, turning their hidden village into a tourist haven."
Reika frowned slightly. "So not Fire. Not Lightning. And Water is impossible."
"Correct," Kimimaro said.
"The larger nations are too dangerous. Harder to hide in, harder to move unseen. Their smaller vassals aren't better either; they dance to their masters' tunes. Yugakure is different. Neutral because of its unique position. They can balance one against the other. It's exactly the kind of ground we need."
She nodded slowly, her expression settling into thought.
Kimimaro's smirk returned faintly as his thoughts sharpened. 'Yes. The Land of Hot Water. A perfect place to begin. The only other similar land that has such potential now is Rain, sandwiched between three great powers, where Akatsuki rose unobstructed. So, it's already more than 'taken' to put it mildly. If I can build even a fragment of that there, my staircase begins to take shape. My slow road to the summit. To become the 'final boss' of this world.'
His eyes flicked to Reika beside him, silent in her cloak.
'I already have my first subordinate. Though she likely thinks of it as a pact. All the better.'
'Not to mention… There is that thing I need to check there,'
Kimimaro thought, his eyes narrowing faintly as the boat cut across the waves.
His eyes then eventually inadvertently lingered a bit on her pretty face in the fading light.
Soft cheeks warmed with a natural blush.
Her nose small, her lips full, her lashes long enough to cast faint shadows.
Everything about her face fell into that irritatingly perfect symmetry.
Her burgundy hair, sure, he could justify.
Uzumaki blood coloring Yuki ancestry.
That part made sense.
But her eyes… those bright, golden-hazel irises that seemed to glow on their own.
That part didn't have an easy explanation.
Perhaps it was some unique mutation, a twist of blood where Uzumaki and Yuki mixed.
Also, he had no idea how the Yuki outside Haku typically looked; maybe they all had pale or bright eyes on average?
Or perhaps it was something more, a gift that had not yet revealed itself.
After all, peculiar traits sometimes meant something in this world.
Orochimaru had been born unnaturally snake-like for no apparent reason, only to later become the chosen of Ryūchi Cave.
Why couldn't this girl's strange eyes be the mark of a similar destiny?
He would definitely investigate it later.
Reika shifted slightly, noticing his stare.
She twitched, her composure faltering for an instant before she masked it with her cold expression.
"…Why are you staring at my face?"
Kimimaro's lips curved into a small laugh, rare and genuine.
"Nothing. I was just curious about your eye color." His smirk widened faintly.
"And didn't you peek at my hair earlier? Consider it payback."
A faint blush touched her cheeks, but she turned her head away, pretending indifference.
...
The boat slid into calmer waters as the coastline came into view.
Steam rose faintly in the distance, a ghostly haze that clung to the air.
Kimimaro's gaze sharpened.
"We've reached the Land of Hot Water."
Reika leaned slightly forward, eyes narrowing as she took in the misty shoreline.
"It doesn't look hostile."
"It isn't," Kimimaro replied. "Not on the surface. But don't mistake quiet for safety."
As they rowed closer, he explained, his tone measured.
"Hot Water doesn't border Lightning directly. Frost Country lies between them. But Frost has always been Kumogakure's dog, so in practice, Hot Water is squeezed between giants: Fire, Lightning, and the small Sound. A fragile land, held together only by its Daimyō and the hotsprings that make it profitable."
They passed into the mouth of a river, the faint smell of minerals drifting on the wind.
Reika wrinkled her nose slightly.
"Those springs," Kimimaro continued, noticing her reaction. "They're the lifeblood of this country. Settlements form around them. Some are thought to cure illness depending on their mineral content. Doctors even prescribe visits to specific springs as treatments. Tourists flood in for the same reason." He smirked faintly. "Hot water and boiled potatoes. That's what keeps this place afloat."
"Potatoes?" Reika repeated, almost incredulous.
Kimimaro chuckled under his breath. "Yes. They grow in abundance here. Every town has its own special way of cooking them. You'll see."
They drifted closer, passing villages built almost directly against the steaming pools.
People moved about casually, no sense of the constant edge Reika had grown used to in Water Country.
There were no hunter squads lurking at the borders, no whispers of bloodline persecution.
Just merchants, travelers, and locals living off the land's warmth.
"It feels… peaceful," Reika admitted quietly.
The word came reluctantly, as if she didn't trust it.
Kimimaro nodded once. "That's the nature of this land. The Daimyō wants stability, not armies. Tourism pays better than corpses. Their village, Yugakure, reflects that. They've abandoned wars altogether. They call themselves the village that forgot war. Shinobi here work as glorified guards for caravans and innkeepers. Road safety, odd jobs. Pacifism wrapped in pride."
Reika frowned faintly. "A shinobi village that doesn't fight…? That sounds pathetic."
"Or clever," Kimimaro countered. "They survive between powers without being swallowed. They appear harmless, so no one bothers wasting resources crushing them. In its own way, it's a strength."
Reika fell silent at that, watching the steaming land draw nearer.
Kimimaro's eyes glinted faintly as his thoughts turned inward.
'Yes, perfect. Peaceful. Neutral. Exactly the kind of ground to plant seeds.'
'Akatsuki rose in the Rain, nestled between powers, invisible until it was too late.'