Two days later, Mermaid Pier.
Waves slapped against the hull, sending sprays of white foam dancing across the water, yet the massive SS Hope remained as immovable as Mount Tai.
"Come on, one by one! Tickets out, no cutting in line!"
A dark-skinned, sturdy young man dressed as a sailor called out to the boarding passengers, clipping their tickets as he maintained order.
An Unsettling Intuition
At the rear of the crowd, a handsome youth with white hair, green eyes, and red markings on his eyelids frowned as he watched the ticket-taker. His sharp sixth sense told him something was wrong, yet he couldn't pinpoint the anomaly.
"Alertness is a ninja's greatest weapon. I am becoming more and more interested in your future performance."
Orochimaru, his skin pale and his golden pupils slit like a snake's, let his lips curl into a smirk. The smile didn't reach his eyes, which flickered with a chilling, murderous intent.
Those Kirigakure pests really were relentless.
Fingering the dull, wrinkled orb in his palm, Orochimaru felt a flicker of annoyance.
What exactly was this Kaguya Clan treasure?
It was incredibly hard—impervious to lightning and fire—and it could neither be sealed nor sent to Ryuchi Cave via Reverse Summoning.
To transport this object back, he was forced to take a ship out of the Land of Water. This was exactly why the Kirigakure ANBU were stuck to him like skin-peeling leeches.
Since they were seeking death, he would simply slaughter them all. He happened to be short on experimental materials anyway.
"Let's board, Kimimaro."
Orochimaru's magnetic voice grew raspier, sounding like scales scraping against dry earth.
Kimimaro nodded.
Having made Orochimaru his entire reason for living, he would never question the man's decisions. Even if the path ahead led to a bottomless abyss, he would leap without hesitation.
The Predator in the Shadows
Meanwhile, inside the second-floor wheelhouse, two men stood watching the crowd through the glass.
"Captain, they've stopped. Did they sense something?"
"Prepare for combat."
"But with so many civilians out there? If the Daimyo holds us accountable..."
"The Fourth's property is the priority. With Orochimaru involved, the blame won't fall on us."
Kuryu Shun sat motionless in his chair, his brown eyes staring down at the pair below like an emotionless machine.
After hunting Orochimaru for so long, he had finally received word that they would board the SS Hope. He had replaced the entire crew with his subordinates, leaving only a few essential sailors to navigate. He was waiting until they reached the middle of the ocean to trap the snake in the jar.
As for the civilians...
They were simply unlucky.
To have an S-rank powerhouse and a Kaguya remnant as funeral offerings was more than enough.
In this world, there was only one person Shun truly cared about. Thinking of his sister waiting for him back in the village, a flicker of rare tenderness touched his cold, square face.
"Captain, they're handing over their tickets."
"Hmph... It seems those civilians are lucky today."
Shun watched as Orochimaru and the boy boarded. The surging chakra within his body slowly settled into a calm, deadly simmer.
The Ghost of the Mist
In the crowd, two figures cloaked in black also hesitated.
"Lord Zabuza, aren't we boarding?"
Haku, the beautiful youth with black hair and pale skin, looked up at the grim-faced Zabuza.
"The atmosphere here is strange. Something feels off."
Zabuza scanned the surroundings.
For some reason, the sailors' eyes didn't look right. He felt as if dozens of eyes were tracking him, yet when he tried to sense the danger, it didn't feel directed at him personally.
It was bizarre.
Haku lowered her head, remaining silent.
Ever since Zabuza had come sprinting out of the mist in that forest, he had been jumping at shadows. She had once brought him a glass of ice water while he was sleeping, and the mere thud of the glass hitting the table had sent him leaping into the air, drenched in sweat and wearing an expression of pure terror.
"Forget it."
Zabuza stared for a long time. Though he saw no obvious evidence, the survival instincts he had honed through years of slaughter were screaming a deafening alarm in his ears.
Since that encounter in the woods, he hadn't felt right. A strange chill haunted his sleep.
In his nightmares, a distorted, terrifying blind girl floated before him. The rhythmic thump, thump, thump of her cane echoed constantly in his mind.
Just like now.
Thump... thump... thump...
The dull tapping sound came from directly behind Zabuza, causing his massive latissimus muscles to seize up.
He shook his head, trying to cast the panic aside.
How could the "Demon of the Mist" be afraid of ghosts?
Thump... thump... thump...
The sound grew clearer, more urgent, yet oddly lighter.
Zabuza whipped around as if struck by lightning.
Behind him, a white cloak leaning on a cane—the figure that had haunted his dreams—was vanishing into the crowd. He was left staring at a flickering silhouette in a state of utter shock.
"Lord Zabuza, shall we head back then?"
Haku took his hand to lead him back to the Churyu Hotel, only to find his palm slick with sweat. He didn't budge.
"No. We must leave Peichuan Port today."
Zabuza's voice held a desperate resolve. Shouldering his gear and pulling Haku along, he shoved through the line, cutting past the other travelers to board the "vessel of hope."
The Sight of the Abyss
As for Hinami?
She ran.
She fled without a second of hesitation, her mind made up.
Through the transparent world of her Byakugan, the SS Hope behind her looked a hundred times more terrifying than a ghost ship from hell.
Two world-class powerhouses!
Their terrifying chakra fluctuations were like twin suns, radiating a blinding, oppressive light.
There were three Elite Jonin—not even counting Zabuza. Each of them possessed three to four times the chakra Hinami had, even after she had consumed the Three-Tails' flesh.
There were eight regular and special Jonin, and a massive number of Chunin blending into the crowd.
The "Mist Crow" and "Blood Hound" she had struggled so hard to kill were merely the basic units among this group.
This wasn't the SS Hope.
This was a one-way ticket to the underworld.
Terrified, Hinami tore her ticket to shreds and sprinted away from the docks. If those two monsters decided to clash, the collateral damage would be catastrophic. If she were forced to reveal her Tailed Beast cloak, the Byakugan, and the Shikotsumyaku all at once...
Things would spiral out of control.
If she died on the spot, it would be one thing. But if she survived, Kumogakure, Konoha, and Kirigakure might start a small-scale war just to claim her, turning this prosperous port city into a graveyard.
Yuta scratched his head, watching the returning Hinami with a face full of confusion.
"Uh... why are you back?"
"I'm going to see your boss..." Hinami ground out through gritted teeth. "...To book another room."
Gulp.
Yuta swallowed hard as four words flashed through his mind:
Churyu Boss... you're dead!!!