The Land of Waves lay to the east, separated from the Land of Fire by a narrow strait.
The surrounding trees began to grow sparse, and the salty scent in the air became heavier and heavier.
Shin-chan dropped down from the branch of the last large tree. The outline of the opposite shore was already faintly visible.
The wind blew in from the sea, making his clothes flutter sharply.
After walking only a few steps, a group of people appeared on the reef formation ahead.
The man walking at the front was broad and sturdy, with an old blade scar on his chin. "From Konoha?"
A tall, thin man with both hands wrapped in bandages looked behind Shin-chan for a long while, then swept his gaze to both sides before leaning close to the scarred captain's ear and saying something.
The scarred captain nodded, and the smile on his face deepened. "Just one person. No companions."
Once those words came out, the expressions of the other Mist ninja relaxed as well.
A lone ninja acting independently, wearing a Konoha forehead protector, looking around twelve or thirteen years old.
In their eyes, this was not a threat. This was an unexpected gain.
"Hey, Konoha brat." The scarred captain took a step forward. "Running into us is your bad luck."
Shin-chan stood where he was, his gaze sweeping over the six people.
The positions of their forehead protectors, how bulging their ninja tool pouches were, where their centers of gravity lay in their stances, and the distance between each person.
"You're ninja from Kirigakure?"
The scarred captain raised an eyebrow. "Can't you tell from the forehead protectors?"
"I can." Shin-chan nodded. "I'm just confirming."
His way of speaking was too casual.
So casual that the scarred captain felt something was a little off.
The nervousness of a new recruit encountering enemies, the fear of a genin being surrounded, the alertness of an experienced ninja facing a threat—none of those matched the brat in front of him.
The scarred captain shook off that thought.
Whatever his reaction was, he was only a twelve- or thirteen-year-old genin. What waves could he possibly stir up?
"I'll give you a choice." The scarred captain raised a hand and pointed at Shin-chan. "Surrender and answer our questions, and you can avoid suffering. Refuse to surrender..."
He drew a finger across the front of his neck.
The Mist ninja behind him cooperated by pressing forward one step.
The tall, thin man with both hands wrapped in bandages took his hands out of his pockets, cracking his knuckles.
"What do you want to ask?"
"You'll know when the time comes," the scarred captain said. "First, throw away your ninja tool pouch and keep your hands where I can see them."
Shin-chan did not place his hands where he could see them, nor did he throw away his ninja tool pouch.
The scarred captain waited three seconds and grew impatient.
"End this quickly." He waved to the people behind him. "Take him down. Just leave him breathing."
Before the words "leave him breathing" had even fully landed, two Mist ninja had already shot out from where they stood.
On the left, a long blade left its sheath, a cold flash of light chopping straight at Shin-chan. The Mist ninja on the right followed closely behind.
The blade struck an afterimage. Before the wielder could withdraw it, a force suddenly pressed down on the back of the blade.
He raised his head and saw one foot stepping on the back of his sword. Following that foot upward, he saw that face that looked utterly harmless.
"Your sword is too slow." Before Shin-chan could finish speaking...
Shuriken flew in from a tricky angle. The attack from the Mist ninja on the right had arrived.
Shin-chan jumped from the back of the blade, and three shuriken brushed past his waist.
The instant he landed, a kunai appeared in his hand. In the next moment, he had already appeared at the Mist ninja's side.
The scarred captain's pupils suddenly widened.
That speed was wrong.
That was not speed a genin should have.
"Go all out. Don't hold back."
The scarred captain began forming seals with both hands, and moisture from all directions started to gather.
Shin-chan recognized those seals.
Without hesitation, he jumped backward to open up some distance, and his hands also began forming seals.
Rat, Dragon, Hare, Tiger.
Chakra surged out from Shin-chan's body.
The moisture in the air began madly contracting toward him. A huge whirlpool formed by his feet, and a water dragon abruptly rose from it. Carrying an incomparably violent momentum, it thundered toward the scarred captain.
From the scale of that Water Dragon Bullet, the scarred captain instantly judged a fact that made chills run down his spine.
With chakra volume and ninjutsu control at this level, calling him a jōnin would not be unreasonable.
They had misjudged him.
"Scatter!" His voice cracked. "Everyone scatter!"
The water dragon smashed into the spot where they had just been standing, blasting a huge water-filled pit into the ground. Muddy water and shattered stones exploded outward.
The scarred captain stood at the edge of the pit, unable to tell whether what covered his forehead was sweat or splashed water.
"Split up and retreat. This brat isn't a genin at all."
The other Mist ninja did not hesitate. They had already begun rushing off in different directions.
Shin-chan's gaze locked onto only one person.
The scarred captain.
The scarred captain was running toward the sea at extreme speed. As long as he jumped into the water...
A kunai swept past the edge of his vision.
In the next second, Shin-chan appeared out of thin air and caught the kunai.
Before the scarred captain could think about how this was possible, a hand had already pressed against his chest.
Black lines spread out violently, rapidly crawling along the scarred captain's body.
The scarred captain felt the chakra inside him begin to stagnate, locked down by those black symbols.
Without chakra supporting him, his entire body lost balance and fell forward.
He tried to mobilize his chakra to break through the seal, but unfortunately, the chakra inside him did not move in the slightest.
Shin-chan crouched down in front of him.
"What are you Kirigakure ninja doing in the Land of Waves?"
The scarred captain lifted his eyelids and glanced at him without saying anything.
"What's your name?"
Still no answer.
"How many people did you bring in total?"
The scarred captain turned his face away and stared at the reef beside him.
Shin-chan crouched there, looking at the silent Mist ninja, feeling a little troubled.
Dragging him back was possible, but the road was not short. Just thinking about dragging a grown ninja the whole way made it feel troublesome.
Just then, Shin-chan sensed chakra and instinctively raised the hand holding his kunai.
Three figures swept out from the forest and landed at the edge of the reef formation. Their forehead protectors bore Konoha's mark.
The ninja leading them swept his gaze over the scene: the huge pit blasted out by ninjutsu, and the Mist ninja on the ground locked down by a sealing technique.
Finally, his gaze landed on Shin-chan, and he froze for a moment. "Lord Shinnosuke."
Shin-chan did not know them, but they clearly knew him.
"We sensed chakra fluctuations in this direction and came to check the situation."
"Great." Shin-chan pointed at the scarred captain on the ground. "This guy is a squad captain from Kirigakure. I asked him questions, but he won't say anything. Take him back."
"Leave it to us." The leading ninja lowered his head and looked at the scarred captain, then looked at Shin-chan again. His gaze carried something hard to describe, somewhere between admiration and dazed disbelief.
Ninja had high attack and low defense. Capturing a ninja alive was only possible when one's strength was far higher.
The two ninja behind him had already walked forward. One held down the scarred captain's shoulder, while the other began checking whether he still had any other ninja tools on him.
"Oh, right." Shin-chan looked left and right. "Where are Kakashi and Toru?"
The leading ninja pointed east. "Follow the coastline east. Past that reef area, there is an abandoned fishing village. Their squad is camped there."
"Thanks."
Shin-chan turned around, and his red figure flashed past the shore.