105 Plotting Course

Natsume stood on the bow of the shop and watched the rising sun. The sailors moved quickly, stimulated by the presence of Saru standing behind Natsume. The sun was half-way past the horizon when she felt a familiar chakra presence arrive on the ship. She didn't turn around and continued to watch the rising sun, thinking about home. The figure knelt on one knee behind her and began to speak.

"Ojo-sama, the samurai are about to make a move."

"What took them so long?"

"A group of remnants suddenly appeared out of nowhere and ambushed the old dojo master. They were delayed until recently. The news of Hikari-sama's disappearance reached him moments ago." Daichi's continued to kneel and waited for Natsume's response.

"Return to the Land of Fire." Natsume took out a scroll from her kimono and handed it to him. "Search for traces of the Uchiha and hand this to them. If they decide to bring you to the clan, you must protect Uchiha Kono, Uchiha Madara, and Uchiha Izuna. If they send you away, go to the land of Earth and seek out Takeda Shingen. Tell him I sent you to aid him in any task. Use your discretion in completing them."

"Yes!" Daichi took the scroll and leaped onto the water. He did not want to encounter the samurai heading toward the coast, so he decided to make a detour. As he left, Natsume felt the wind change, blowing her sleeves forward. A favorable wind was an auspicious sign. The crew seemed to think so as well as they cheered for the fair wind. The anchor was completely retrieved, and the sails dropped.

"Natsume, I have to go now." Saru suddenly spoke up. She turned to look at him and nodded her head. She was happy to see Saru once more after several months. Her trip was lonely, and she was feeling especially homesick recently. However, there was one last thing she wished to do before returning. Saru and Natsume fist bumped before he vanished away in a puff of smoke.

"Captain, do you have a map?" Natsume returned to the aft and tracked down the leader. Despite Saru being gone, everyone was still very cautious around Natsume. The captain nearly fell to the ground when Natsume called out to him from behind.

"Please, just call me Taro! Come to my… your quarters ill show you the map." Taro nervously walked toward the only room on the ship and led Natsume inside. On the large wooden table was a complex map made on animal skin. It didn't take long for Natsume to figure out where they were based on the landmarks, but the ocean cartography was foreign to her.

"This is where we currently are, the route we need to take is between these two danger zones." Taro explained as he outlined. The map was representative and contained many pictorial scenes in the ocean. One in particular stood out to Natsume. It was depicted with a drawing of white mountains. Based on the path he traced, they would have to go all the way around it.

"What is this place?" Natsume pointed it out and Taro gained some courage talking about what he knew.

"That is iceberg alley! No one really knows where the ice starts, and at night, it can suddenly appear out of nowhere and destroy your ship. Many have been marooned because of it. We need to take a long path around to avoid the danger…"

"How much time will it save to go through?"

"Ah… two or three days. But that place is a death trap! No one in their right mind would go there."

"I'll take care of the ice. Take the shortest route." Natsume didn't have anything more to say about it. She pointed out some other landmarks and ocean features, asking Taro to explain them one by one. Once she memorized the contents of the map, she thought about the Nature energy nodes. Aligning the two maps in her mind was difficult, but she was certain of one thing, the 'Iceberg Alley' and the northern ocean nature node were the same.

Taro became increasingly nervous when Natsume went silent. He kept looking over to the door hoping to be dismissed. Natsume finally opened her eyes and looked over at him sweating through his tunic. She gestured to the door, and he nearly tripped on his own feet trying to leave quickly. Natsume shook her head and looked around the room. The décor was simple, and everything was either tied down or bolted down. The hammock bed reminded her of the days she slept in the trees on Mount Kakazan.

A day passed and the only thing around them was endless water. The ship didn't move very quickly, but the advantage of conserving energy and protection from the elements made up for it. A shinobi with a few storage scrolls could do what a ship did much better. However, in the middle of the ocean, they could have an accident. It was easier to just travel by land. There was an added advantage of not running into any enemy shinobi on the ocean. At least, being less likely too.

The next day, most of the crew were resting below deck since the wind had turned against them. Natsume was lying in the hammock when she overheard some murmurings on deck. A fog began to roll in, quickly surrounding the boat. Natsume stepped out onto the deck and could hardly see past the fog. She activated her sharingan and saw subtle chakra fluctuations in the fog.

"Enemy attack!" Before she could finish warning the crew, a blood curdling scream was let out. The assailant's chakra flared for an instant before melding back into the fog. Natsume clicked her tongue and drew her sword. Her chakra enveloped the blade, and she focused on the minute movements of the ship. Most of the remaining crew had made their way below deck, so she was the only one standing in the open.

'There!' Natsume felt a slight change and cleaved the fog to her left. Her blade met no resistance, but it wasn't because there was no one there. The force of her swing was enough to scatter the fog in a small area, and a dead pirate lied at her feet.