The team looked questioningly at Shimo who was both engaged in observing this acquaintance of his and busy looking ashamed.
“Wait… I thought your rogue sensei gave you your sword because he had no use of it anymore?” Mana asked for clarification confused. Her question sent the overcoat wearing man in a frenzy of unadulterated fury.
“What!? I mean yeah, I lost an arm!” he shouted lunging at Shimo and delivering a blindingly fast flurry of one hand strikes which Shimo avoided by dashing around his past friend. Despite the man’s blinding speed it looked like his lack of a right arm was interrupting with his balance and hindering the man’s speed making it possible for Shimo to run circles around his acquaintance.
“Yeah, I really have no use for the damned thing!” the man shouted again striking backwards with an elbow, using his instinct instead of his lacking balance and perception to catch Shimo unprepared and crack the young man’s eyebrow opening it up and sending a torrent of blood down his face.
“But as if I’d just give anything away!” the man finished his sentence while continuing his relentless assault. Grunting in pain Shimo rolled back only to see the man dashed up right to his face and delivering a knee strike to his cracked and bleeding eyebrow. Meiko and Kouta leaped in from the sides so fast that to Mana it looked like her friends were warping time and space, standing beside her one moment and aiding Shimo the next.
The functional arm of the mysterious assailant crashed into the wooden floor flipping his body over as he delivered a whirl of spinning kicks sending all three young ninja into the water. This man may not have had the physical ability to keep up with the three ninja in fighting ability or Shimo for that matter however he had considerable skill and experience fighting with his hindrance that compensated for it. Whoever this man was, he was experienced and above the team’s rank in strength.
The man dashed up to Mana, the magician’s senses sharpened as she felt her body overflowing and exploding in red physical chakra. Mana’s acrobatic and redirecting skills turned on to as much as she could crack it up to as her upper body leaned to the sides avoiding every blow sent her way and gently pushing them with her palm to where they posed no threat. Mana’s eyes, failing to keep up with all of the man’s movements, instead noticed his glowing red eyes “ the Sharingan of the Uchiha. Her style lingered and failed to notice his flip backwards stopped by his palm and repurposed strength into an upwards kick. Mana could already feel her skull exploding from pressure, a kick like that would’ve blown her head right off!
A rough shoulder tackle sent the magician further and out of harm’s way as Kouta grinned at her. His entire body was wet and smelled of sea weed but his face was still all sweaty, the two smelled completely different “ the medical ninja must’ve strained his skills to the limit to save Mana in time.
“I don’t know who you are or what your beef with Shimo is but… Don’t touch Mana-chan. She’s a civilian and she can’t fight on our level. If you hit her even once she’d die for sure!” Kouta shouted out a warning to the man through his fleeting strength and exhaustion.
“Hmph… Could’ve fooled me” the overcoat wearing man cracked a grin while his eyes ran around him looking out for threats that he predicted would come at him from the sides.
“Just who are you?” Mana asked scratching her head and feeling up her chin as her heart still pounded relentlessly in the girl’s chest “ she almost had her head blown off. It was something she was slowly getting used to but close calls like that didn’t help her young heart rest easy.
“I’m Hachiro Uchiha “ I used to teach this ungrateful little shit!” the man shouted out turning at Shimo who was slowly making his way out of the water and onto the wooden platform that held the whole section of the port town afloat. The Uchiha dashed right up to Shimo and tried kicking at the young man’s face but Shimo blocked the kick with the hilt of his sword. The force still sent Shimo flying back into the depths of the sea. A little farther Meiko climbed out of the ocean covered in sea weed and pulled a little sharp looking shattered seashell out from between the pieces of her armor where it lodged into.
“Hey, scaredy-sensei, the debt collectors from Iwa have found you!” Shimo’s voice yelled out after the young man’s head came out of the water. The feet of the young swordsman began glowing feint blue as he stood on the surface of the water using the simple Art of Water Climbing technique most genin learned at some point to master their chakra control. It was a simple technique that slowly chipped away at one’s chakra reserves and allowed one to walk on the water’s surface and it was ideal to train one’s chakra control since when one trained while forgetting to use that technique it taught one’s body to multitask and manage multiple chakra using processes at once.
The man began cowardly looking to the sides, his Sharingan became more formed out as the three-tomoe symbols he had on it became more evident “ the man was focusing his vision trying desperately to locate the potential threat.
Shimo’s hands flashed through hand seals and extended the man’s way. “Ice Style: Ice Assault Jutsu!” the Yuki chanted out the name of his technique while a large wave of water rushed towards the only functional arm of Hachiro and wrapped around it freezing in place and leaving the man restrained. The water that surrounded the wave covered the areas around the frosted arm completely restricting the man’s movements.
“I see you’re a scaredy-cat as usual…” Shimo grinned before jumping onto the wooden platform. “That’s the problem with you, that’s why I left “ you awakened the final tomoe of your Sharingan when you were afraid that the ants that were biting us were working for your debt collectors and you needed to keep up with all of them. You’re a paranoid fool!” the young man shouted out lashing out rage that was clear to have been built over a long stretch of time.
“Oh yeah, Shimo, Hachiro-sensei really was an inspiration… A real charismatic guy, this one…” Mana teased Shimo walking up to him and flicking his forehead. She was a little glad to see a chance to bite her friend in a bit more friendly manner rather than the more serious quarrels they’ve been having lately.
“Shut up!” the Yuki swordsman’s cheeks dyed red remembering the tales he spun to his friends while training and locked his hands around his chest.
“Okay, okay, I’ll just piss off then, just let my hand go and I’ll be on my way” Hachiro smiled slyly. This man truly had the facial features of a sly weasel yet his build was quite suitable for combat. It was likely that he had the skills to protect himself from the life outside the walls and his cowardice was merely a tool adopted by choice.
“You shut up too! I felt really bad about not telling everything I felt to your face so now you’ll stand here and listen!” Shimo yelled out walking right up to Hachiro’s face.
“Do we have to stand here and listen?” Meiko lifted her hand up asking.
“You lied to me though, everyone told me you were working for Konoha and that you were a ninja spying on me and I didn’t believe them! I bet you don’t even share a house with twenty three virgin girls…” Hachiro appeared to also share some spite towards his old apprentice.
“Oh course I fucking lied to you! I never even told you my name for fuck’s sake and you trusted me from the start! Then, when we were spilling our hearts out in that raider camp in Suna, I said my name was “Noteh Reelname”! You bought into everything anyone told you ever and as a result you live a life of a coward and I got sick of you! Then you lost your arm and had no use for your stupid sword because it’s a two-handed sword… I just couldn’t let it fall into the hands of the first debt collector that caught up to you!” Shimo was outright screaming it into his mentor’s face, Hachiro looked a little shocked and offended by his student’s words.
“Wait… You mean your name isn’t Noteh Reelname?” the man’s eyes began tearing up. “I thought we had a connection there in that camp, tied up to that pole and waiting for the bandits to sober up so that they could kill us…”
“We only got caught that time because you refused to pee in a public bathroom before entering the desert and then hours later just HAD to pee right onto the wall of a bandit camp…” Shimo sighed slapping his face and turning his back to the man he was taught by for a couple of years.
“Wait, you told him you lived with twenty three virgins?” Meiko scratched her messy red hair and fixed her headband that was beginning to slip on her eyes and nose.
“It was a phase in his younger days…” Mana smiled to her friend who then began cringing into her fist.
Truth be told the magician was really glad to see Shimo spilling his emotions out. This whole time after his return he wasn’t like he used to be, he was more quiet and reserved, he always acted cool and rational and it was evident that he must’ve had a weight on his heart. This revelation that he abandoned his sensei and stole his blade in the night returning home with it made so much sense now. The change of his personality also made a bit more sense having in mind how evidently Shimo was the one taking care of both of the two wandering rogues and was the voice of reason. Someone responsible for their survival. Pressure like that changed people…
Shimo made a hand seal and released his mentor’s arm, the man just roughly rubbed his freezing cold pale wrist before looking back at his past pupil.
“What are you doing here anyway? I thought that horror-man in Roiyaru road terrified you and you didn’t want to move, did you just walk around Konoha so you could come here through thick forests and roads unfit for travelling?” Shimo asked finally gathering the courage, or rather calming himself down enough, to face his old teacher.
“Yeah, this whole continent is not safe anymore, debt collectors in Fire Country, raiders and that stupid Fennec idiot in the Wind Country looking to carve my eyes out for a transplant, then the madman is roaming all over the place “ rumors say he’s looking for something in Iwagakure. Probably that boy Honda is out of organs he can use already… I need to move to the Archipelago and maybe even Kirigakure” Hachiro revealed his intentions, “This one time this guy walked up to me in the forest and he just opened his coat to me, I think he wanted to blow himself up with me but he forgot the explosive seals, apologized and ran away…”
“Goddamn it, he was just flashing you, Hachiro, if you came here through the backroads those parts are filled with nutjobs, mercenaries and bandits!” Shimo grunted out, evidently he had to deal with similar cases of paranoia before for a couple of years.
“Then that one time someone shot me in the face with a kunai dispenser, they have those new optical devices that use some sort of lights for aiming but they wash off with water…” the man kept on explaining his paranoid delusions to everyone but it didn’t look like anyone understood anything that was going on at this point.
“Those were kids, they were shooting berries in your face with those slingshot things. Goddamn it, scaredy-sensei, you were THAT close to the village!?” Shimo was beginning to lose his mind.
“Well… The madman was getting closer, I heard loud roars in the forests and then that one time I used a public restroom…”
“That’s a first… Weren’t they full of shit-goblins that grabbed you and dragged you down into the crapper?” Shimo sarcastically asked.
“Well… Yeah… But I had no choice, it was either going back to Roiyaru or into the village which would’ve been too risky, I could’ve been recognized and the guards would’ve killed me on the spot for my bounty! I’ve been hiding for so long that I must be worth a billion ryo by now!” the man completely lost his train of thought and began chewing his fingers in fear. It was tough to believe that this man just almost killed Mana with his single strike…
“Goddamn it! Sensei, no one even has your face in the Bingo Book because you haven’t committed any crimes for decades! You’re just hiding and visiting geisha and courtesans during your free time, that’s all you do, neither of those are crimes!” Shimo exclaimed before waving his arm in ignorance and walking away, gesturing for his team to do the same. “Whatever, we’re done here…”
Mana looked at the pitiful man who was wearing too much clothing because he was afraid of catching a cold and a man who wore a huge hat because he wished to shield his eyes and skin from the Sun. She felt a little sorry for this man who was so evident to be afraid of everything but tended to get a little impulsive and defensive when cornered.
“So… What did you hear, back when you used the public restroom?” she asked softly.
“Eh? I heard two ninja patrolling outside the village, they spoke about how more and more people were disappearing from inside the village. The worst part was that no one knew anything. It’s slowly becoming a problem that can’t be dismissed but the Hokage doesn’t know what to do… Big problem… It’s all that madman I tell you!” Hachiro grabbed Mana’s shoulders and shook her, the magician leaned back a little afraid of the man but slowly she noticed that he was more afraid of threats coming from her than willing to hurt her.
“Come on, Mana… Let’s go. We’ve got an inn or something to find, I doubt we’ll find a ship to sail in until dark…” Meiko turned back and urged the magician to follow her friends.
“Wait, you said you wanted to get to the Archipelago, then why are you here? Are you planning to go all the way through the Tako’s Reach? You could’ve chosen any of the port towns more to the south-east and paid much less if you plan to go around it…” Mana just wanted to ask one last thing. It just made little sense for a man afraid of everything to traverse through the middle of the Tako’s Reach or pay so much more to sail around it from the central port town it was a massive detour that required so much more food and supplies that the client must’ve paid for.
“Yeah… Right through the Tako’s Reach…” Hachiro replied with a nod. Shimo turned around and walked up to the man standing on his toes so he could look the man right in the eyes.
“Aren’t you afraid of the stormy seas? Pirates? Sea-sickness? The Eight Tails sleeping in the abyssal depths of the Tako’s Reach? The sea winds? Rain? Anything in existence? Did Hachiro Uchiha perhaps grow some balls for a trade?” Shimo asked, his tone was more surprised than offensive even though it was evident that the Yuki wished to spend as little time with his old time mentor as possible.
“Well… To be honest the winds this season bring killer colds with them and you know my nose always bleeds when I get a cold and I’m pretty afraid of the sea-dragons dragging me overboard when I’m asleep and pirates and… Don’t even get me started on…” the man gulped heavily “The Eight Tails… Still, I’m afraid of the madman more than all of those things combined. I need to get to Archipelago as fast as possible and Tako’s Reach is the fastest way there. That man will topple the world, you’ll see… Every time I hear his beast crying in the night I almost pee in my bed” Hachiro admitted.
“You do pee in your bed all the time, that’s because you never pee before sleep when we pass the public restrooms because you’re afraid of the shit-goblins…” Shimo grunted out. His eyes met Mana’s gaze and suddenly the boy realized just what his friend was thinking about. Angrily the Yuki began shaking his head in disagreement.
“No! No! Absolutely not! We’re not hitching the same ride as Hachiro!” Shimo angrily yelled out.
Kouta and Meiko looked at each other curiously and walked right up back. “It’s a good idea though, if Hachiro has any plans for a ride we could just go with him…”
“That’s like… If I even want you guys around me!” Hachiro shouted out.
“Do you?” Mana asked.
“Well… I mean it does get pretty scary at night when the lightning begins cracking loud…” the grown man looked shyly at his shoes.
“For fuck’s sake, you can summon lightning at will, I’ve seen you do it!” Shimo shouted out. “How the hell do you even plan on finding an idiot dumb enough to sail through the Tako’s Reach!?”
“Well… I thought of asking some pirates to take me. Think of it, it’s genius, when you’re afraid of pirates “ just join a pirate ship. What are the chances of pirates attacking a pirate ship!?” Hachiro laughed out as if he had just found some mystery of the universe that confused the scientists for centuries.
“Actually pirate wars are very frequent. In fact, pirates often attack other pirates when they feel territorial or just have power struggles…” Mana explained with a warm smile. The man’s easy-going and goofy nature was becoming to grow on her.
“Awww man…” Hachiro scratched his head so frantically that it began to seem like he’d claw his long and messy black hair right off with his scalp.
“Then again, all we need to do is join a really strong pirate ship “ one that is less likely to be attacked, such a crew would also be more likely to set their foot on this port town as they’d be completely ignorant towards the public dislike of the port town towards pirates…” Mana replied looking at her team.
“I’ll still need that sword back though… I believe my acquaintances and services are of need and I’ll need compensation for my worries” Hachiro began speaking much more seriously when talk turned to money.
“All of your “acquaintances” want to kill you, we’d be better off saying we don’t know you…” Shimo replied rudely.
“Well, in that case, I’ll tell them I do know you unless you give me my sword back, if you do I can tell them I haven’t heard of you specifically and very convincingly!” Hachiro began persuading Mana whom he viewed as the member of the group he could play. The magician sighed.
She stood up on her toes and whispered something in the Uchiha’s ear, she unzipped one of the bags and showed him an Audra shard before placing it back and zipping the back again. The man scratched his stubble and nodded hesitantly.
“Fine, I guess that makes sense…” he said.
As Hachiro began making his way towards a specific inn further away from the shore Shimo leaned up to Mana asked her what she promised the man in return.
“I told we’d give him more Audra shards than the sword is worth” she replied.
“That’s not too many, four maybe, seven at most…” he replied tapping her shoulder a couple of times, “Good call” he commended his teammate. It was odd hearing compliments from Shimo, maybe confronting his rude departure did actually turn out for the better to him?
“Want me to take care of that cracked eyebrow?” Kouta suggested.
“Shut up” Shimo replied with an angry stare but still cracked a little smile without being able to help it.
The future remained to be seen, as it always tends to be…
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