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<<<>>>
Rinpo hesitated, shrugging. He didn't want to reveal more than necessary, and Kaoru was asking for the one piece of information he least wanted to share.
'If Kiri wins and this information gets out, we'll be in huge trouble. The Mizukage won't care if we were suffering from pirates and needed Takimura's help. He's not the type to listen to reason,' Rinpo thought, his eyes darting nervously as he weighed his options. 'But what if Takimura refuses to help if I don't answer? Should I try bargaining with the services we're providing now? No, what if he gets angry and threatens us…' Rinpo couldn't make up his mind. The news about Kaoru Takime was already spread in the Land of Water and he knew the kid he was facing was strong enough to massacre this entire village. The pressure was getting to him, and his unease was becoming more obvious.
Kaoru found no pleasure in pressuring the man, but he was now convinced that something significant was happening in this village and he was determined to uncover the truth.
"Ahem," Kaoru coughed, snapping Rinpo back to reality. "Is there a problem?"
"No, no, there isn't. It's just that… I… I don't want to break the deal with Kiri and provoke them," Rinpo answered helplessly, stuttering.
'Damn it, I want to pressure him and get the answer, but if Kiri attacks them later because of that, I don't want to be responsible for so many deaths,' Kaoru thought. Even if he wasn't particularly kind, he wouldn't willingly put so many people in danger.
"Fine," Kaoru relented, unwilling to become the cause of so many people's misfortune. "Let me write a new letter and send it to Takimura. But I doubt they'll be able to send anyone soon - most of those who can still fight must be preparing to face Kumo." Kaoru walked toward the large table, ready to write.
'I'll just find out the truth myself. That way, if Kiri has informants here, the villagers won't be blamed for my actions,' Kaoru decided. If whatever this village was doing earned them so much wealth and made Kiri willing to protect them, it had to be worth investigating.
He quickly wrote a new letter. This time, besides informing Takimura that he was alive and asking them to pass the message to Maki, he also included the village's commission. However, as Kaoru wrote, he realized that he'd likely be the one dealing with the pirates.
'There's no way pirates who raid villages like this are stronger than chunin. Even if there's a jonin among them, I'm confident I can take one, especially this close to the sea,' Kaoru thought, the excitement slowly settling in his eyes. 'Now that I've made sure Maki isn't worrying about me, I can enjoy myself until orders from Takimura arrive.'
His whole face gleamed with the fever of adventure, almost resembling a certain young boy preparing to leave Whale Island.
"How long will it take to deliver this letter?" Kaoru asked as he stood up, walking toward Rinpo to hand it over.
"It shouldn't take more than two days. We'll first deliver the message to the nearest post station, and from there, one of the post ninjas will handle it," Rinpo explained, scratching his chin while mentally calculating the time. Now that Kaoru wasn't pressuring him about the village's secrets, Rinpo looked far more relaxed.
But with the tension gone, the exhaustion on his face was impossible to miss and it made Kaoru uncomfortable.
"I think we should receive a response from Takimura in four to five days. In the meantime, we'll do our best to make you feel comfortable, Lord Kaoru," Rinpo finished with a respectful nod.
But just as he leaned forward, he lost his balance again.
This time, Kaoru had to step in, catching Rinpo just before he could collapse.
"Woah, careful!" he said, grabbing him by the arm and steadying him before the man could fall face-first onto the floor.
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me," Rinpo muttered awkwardly, leaning against the wall for support. In the process, he accidentally bumped one of the hanging paintings, knocking it off its nail. It fell with a loud clatter, making Rinpo flinch.
"Please visit us again before noon. We'll have a house prepared for you by then," he said quickly, forcing a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Kaoru could tell he was being gently pushed out. Rinpo's breathing had turned uneven, and the sweat on his brow was worse than before.
'Is talking with me that exhausting?' Kaoru wondered, but decided to respect his host's limits.
"I'll be leaving then. I'll see myself out," he said with a polite smile that didn't quite feel real. It was clear Rinpo wouldn't recover as long as he remained in the room.
As Kaoru turned and walked toward the door, Rinpo slumped into a chair, breathing heavily.
'We have to find a way to fix our condition,' he thought, slowly bending down to retrieve the fallen painting and carefully hanging it back on its hook.
<<<>>>
Kaoru flickered through the forest, heading toward the coast. He planned to check the fishing outpost that the pirates had raided, but his thoughts were still tangled in the strange village he had just left.
'Everyone there looked exhausted and weak, yet they're wealthy,' he thought, frowning. 'Even the guard couldn't carry the weight of his own gear.' When Kaoru left the village head's building, the guard had leapt to his feet, clearly having been lying down moments before. Kaoru would've assumed he was slacking off if not for the heavy, labored breathing that followed.
"Something's wrong with that village," Kaoru muttered under his breath, weaving through branches. "And I'm sure it's tied to whatever secret they're hiding."
As he darted past a small clearing, he spotted a deer grazing ahead, but something about it felt off. It didn't move, not even as he approached. Curious, Kaoru slowed down.
'Even the deer?'
He stepped closer. The animal lifted its head and met his eyes. Its gaze was hollow, trembling with instinctual fear. Its muscles twitched nervously, legs ready to flee… yet it didn't run. Instead, it turned and stumbled away, each step looking sluggish and extremely slow.
Kaoru froze.
'This isn't normal. It's sick. Even the animals are affected…'
He grew more cautious, his eyes narrowing.
'This can't be just overwork or stress, not if it's affecting wildlife too.'
He checked the pouch at his waist, quickly counting the rations he'd brought.
'Enough food for a few days. And water is not a problem as I can create that whenever I need.'
With his basic survival needs covered, he turned his thoughts back to the mystery.
'Maybe the soil is poisoned. That would explain it. If the water source or the plants are contaminated, it could affect everything - people, animals, even the land itself.'
He looked at the deer one more time. It kept walking, each step looking weaker than the last one.
'I won't eat or drink anything from that village. Not until I know what's really going on.'
He turned and flickered toward the coast, leaving the poor deer behind. He could already smell the salt and the sharp tang of iodine, indicating that the sea was close.
It didn't take long for Kaoru to reach the fishing outpost. Just as he had expected, it was a cluster of crude wooden buildings built on tall stilts, surrounded by damp, uneven soil. Boats were scattered everywhere, some freshly painted and seaworthy, others half-sunk and abandoned like rotting shells.
It was plain. Simple. So ordinary, in fact, that it stood out compared to everything else he'd seen.
'Let's ask around. Maybe someone here knows something. If I'm lucky, I might even learn more about the village's secret,' Kaoru thought as he stepped closer. Despite the underlying tension still lingering in the back of his mind, he felt a familiar spark of excitement. He hadn't forgotten the sickly deer or the unnatural fatigue in the villagers, but now that he was out in the field, all that pressure was overwhelmed by the rising thrill of adventure.
Ever since he inherited the memories of the Naruto world, he had dreamed of wandering through its vast, hidden corners. This was just a fishing outpost, nothing grand or legendary, but still, it was part of that dream. And now, he was finally getting a taste of it.
'None of this would've happened if I could return to the battlefield. But since I have to wait for orders from Takimura, I might as well use this time. If there's a secret here, maybe it'll help us against Kiri. Better than sitting around, doing nothing.'
He nodded to himself, pleased with the justification.
He was still a kid, after all, and no matter how mature he had to act sometimes, a part of him was still chasing the thrill of discovery.
However, the closer Kaoru got to the outpost, the less appealing it became. The crisp scent of sea air gave way to something far worse - the stench of fish. Not live fish, but the rotting kind. The thick, sour odor burned his nose and stung his eyes, and he could practically see the heavy green haze hanging in the air like a curse left by the god of rot.
'Can't they clean this place up?' Kaoru winced, pinching his nose to block the worst of it. But that only forced him to breathe through his mouth, and the moment he did, he regretted it, gulping down the foul, salty taste of decay.
"Hello," Kaoru greeted a nearby fisherman, quickly removing his hand from his face to avoid appearing rude.
But it was too late.
The man had already seen everything - the wrinkled nose, the disgusted expression, the way Kaoru tiptoed across the muddy, fish-slicked ground like he was walking through a graveyard.
"What do you want, spoiled brat?" a voice growled. An older man, his hands massive and calloused, stood over a net stretched across a set of crates, inspecting each knot for tears. Even the smallest rip could cost him an entire haul.
'Shit. What am I supposed to do now?' Kaoru's shoulders tensed. He knew he'd messed up, and the worst part was, he couldn't even blame them. These men were proud, living off the sea with grit and sweat, and he'd just come in looking like some pampered noble sneering at their way of life.
'Well... honesty and apologies won't get me anywhere now. Might as well lean into it.'
He straightened up slightly, letting a touch of arrogance creep into his posture.
'Alright then. If I'm going to play the part of the spoiled brat, I might as well play it well.'
"I'd like to get some information," Kaoru said, puffing out his chest with mock pride, "and in exchange, I'll help you catch more fish in one go than you've ever caught in your life."
He glanced around again, shaking his head in exaggerated disgust at the state of the outpost.
The fisherman's face darkened. The flush of anger spread across his already tanned skin, making the white of his beard and hair stand out even more.
"What does someone like you know about fishing?" he growled, stepping toward Kaoru. If Kaoru had looked a few years older, the man might've taken a swing at him.
Hehe, he bit the bait… ironically, Kaoru grinned inwardly, doubling down on his smug expression.
"If you're that confident, let's make a deal," he said aloud, his tone carrying undeniable arrogance. "I'll help you catch more fish than you've ever pulled in, and in return, you'll answer all my questions. Sound fair?"
His smile widened, eyes shining not from arrogance but from the thrill of turning the situation around. He was having fun.
The fisherman stared him down, hesitating.
"Kid, I just got back from my journey today, and everyone here is…" He stopped abruptly, but it was too late. The pause was too sudden for Kaoru to miss it. His grin didn't fade. If anything, it sharpened.
'So the reason he's not weak and exhausted is because he wasn't on the island. That's one of the questions I wanted to ask. I'll consider it an advanced payment, hehe,' Kaoru thought, chuckling inwardly but keeping his daring expression.
The fisherman grew angrier, seeing no change in Kaoru's face. 'Fine, I'll work you like a slave and teach you a lesson, brat,' the fisherman thought, his old eyes also lighting up with excitement.
"And what if you fail? How about…" he started, but Kaoru interrupted him before he could finish.
"It doesn't matter. I won't be losing. I'll do whatever you want if you win," Kaoru said dismissively, waving him off. He turned around and added, "Check the nets and meet me near the biggest boat you've got here. We'll need a big vessel to carry the fish." He was about to leave when the fisherman roared in rage.
"It's too late to fish now, kid. You don't even know that much. The sun's almost set, and I won't be able to check the nets for at least a few hours…" But he was interrupted again when Kaoru looked at him with eyes that screamed, 'Oh, really?'
"Isn't that better for you? You'll be winning a free worker with just a small trip on the boat," Kaoru said with an exaggerated smile. Then before the fisherman could rebuke him, he turned and left, unwilling to breathe the rotten air a second longer than he absolutely had to.
The fisherman growled, glaring at Kaoru's back as he walked away with hasty but careful steps. 'This brat, I'll show him what it means to mock a fisherman! I'll force him to do the dirtiest work - gutting fish, no, cleaning up this rotting mess those bastards left behind…' Despite his rage, the fisherman felt a spark of excitement. Finally, something interesting was happening in his life.
**
A/N -
I hope you are enjoying the breath of fresh air, unlike Kaoru xD Writing this arc has been a lot of fun, especially watching Kaoru lean into his chaotic(new?) side while trying to unravel the mystery.
Character Notes:
Kaoru - Undercover brat mode activated - "Ah yes. Emotional manipulation, baiting the fisherman, and pretending to be a rich idiot. I was born for this."
Random Deer - Symbol of doom - "Help me. I am grass-powered sadness."
Fisherman - Salty old sea boss - "I don't care who you are, you smell like spoiled privilege and I'm gonna make you gut a whale."
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