Chapter 951 : Tragic Backstory

“I'm Naoki…”

Everyone immediately registered his name. Sayuri muttered, “Naoki… I'm Sayuri. Why were you sailing all alone? And why were you coming here?”

Sayuri was a bit suspicious. She hadn't seen any ship or boat sailing towards their small island. In fact, none of the villagers had any such memories. So she, along with the rest, were slightly on guard. It was only the boy's sorry state that lowered their guard considerably.

Wincing from the headache, Naoki muttered, “Where's here? I should still be far away from the Land of Lightning if I recall correctly…”

Glancing towards his destroyed boat, Naoki sighed, “My maps were destroyed in that storm. Where am I? Did I enter the Land of Earth?”

Takuma, who was more knowledgeable about the world and had seen quite a bit first hand, shook his head and explained, “You aren't in either country. This island is not under the jurisdiction of any country. The Land of Earth is on the other side of this sea, but it is barren and uninhabited for over a hundred kilometers. As for the Land of Lightning, you're correct. It is far away from here.”

Sayuri and the rest knew about it as well as they were taught about the same at a young age, but they had never been away from the island. The village was very strict in this aspect. They didn't want anything to jeopardize their peaceful life. So, they paid attention with genuine interest, at the same time becoming curious about the stranger's experiences in the outer world.

Naoki didn't show any reaction as he still seemed disturbed by the accident. He was about to open his mouth when Sayuri asked, “Were you headed to the Land of Lightning? But, why were you sailing alone? From what I heard, it is a long distance from here.”

He sighed, “Yes. I was looking for a new shipping route between the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning. One that doesn't pass through the Land of Water, which is plagued by pirates and rogue ninjas. I figured if I sailed in the opposite direction, I'd eventually reach the Land of Lightning. Unfortunately…”

Itsuki’s eyes widened. He expressed in shock, “A trade route? Across the seas?”

Naoki nodded, but his expression dulled, showing hints of terror, as he continued, “Unfortunately, my voyage was cursed… I encountered as many as 5 cyclones, 3 gigantic whirlpools and countless attacks from large sea creatures… I barely survived a dozen times. Only to be caught in the center of that calamity…”

He shivered in fear, recalling the terrifying cyclone that destroyed his boat. The four didn't say anything, just took in all the information and imagined how terrifying his journey was.

Finally taking his eyes off the wreckage, he looked at Sayuri and said with a helpless smile, “As for why I'm alone… I couldn't afford to pay for a crew…”

Akari immediately asked, “Why take such a risky undertaking alone then?”

Takuma agreed, “These unpredictable seas are the reason trade routes don't extend through here. From what I heard, countless ships have been lost forever in these waters. Sailing alone is nothing short of a suicide.”

To their surprise, Naoki simply chuckled and asked, “What of it?”

It was the first time the three teenagers saw someone so reckless with his life. Takuma recalled memories buried deep within him, remembering several such individuals. However, they could easily see that it wasn't boastful and foolish courage. No. His chuckled echoed a deep sadness from deep within his heart.

After a small pause, Sayuri asked, her voice shaking, “What of your family? Wouldn't they be sad if you died?”

The helpless smile remained on his face, as if he was reminiscencing about old times. Naoki answered, “My family died in an attack on our village 2 years ago…”

All four became silent again. Itsuki, Akari and Sayuri had never seen such sorrow. Naoki's expression brought to surface some of the deep hidden sorrow in Takumo's memories. Though he enjoyed a peaceful life on the island, he didn't forget the difficulties they faced before they migrated.

Naoki continued, “Only a few from my village survived. However, all our means of livelihood were taken away from us. Our living conditions were horrible. If I could find a new trading route, my contributions would have earned me enough money for all of them to live peacefully and given us a second start. Sadly…”

He became silent, his eyes once again focused on the wreckage.

Takuma consoled, “You shouldn't take all the responsibility on yourself. Even without your assistance, they'll find means to thrive. This is human nature.”

Naoki sighed, “I know. However, how many will die before they reach stability?”

Withdrawing his gaze from the wreckage, Naoki faced Takuma and asked curiously, “What's the name of this island? I didn't know there were inhabited islands in this part of the seas…”

Takuma said, “Our village was once ravaged by war too. We migrated far away from the battles of ninjas and their world, and settled here. The island doesn't have a name, at least none that we know of. But our village is called Sokotsugakure.”

“Sokotsugakure…” Naoki muttered while thinking deeply. He shook his head, “I don't remember reading about such a village. A pity. I can't accurately locate my position even if I redraw the maps from my memories…”

Takuma wasn't surprised. Their village truly was an isolationist. However, what he didn't know was that Naoki's words and thoughts were very different from each other!

Without even a minute change in his expression, ‘Naoki’ chuckled internally, ‘Sokotsugakure… Hehehe, that's the same name as the village of the Jashin cult. Same island, same buildings, same village name, everything except the inhabitants are the same! If you wanted to hide from me, why drop so many clues to tempt me? And if you want to confront me, why hide from me for so long? Wouldn't it be easy to simply use your numbers against me instead of playing all these games? My clones have searched everything on this island and yet I can't find a single oddity!’

Needless to say, Naoki was none other than Fujin. He hadn't used a disguise since maintaining Transformation jutsu could be picked up by seals. As for normal disguises, it was simply too much work. His presence on the island would anyway attract attention.

Besides, Fujin doubted the Jashin's cult knew how he looked considering he hadn't run into any alive Bishop or even Hidan. The only one who saw him was Zankoku, who was long dead. Even if they somehow got their hands on the Bingo Book, Fujin's appearance in the Bingo Books hadn't been updated for several years.

So, he decided to focus on appearing like a normal human who can't use his chakra for combat instead of choosing a different appearance.

While Fujin prepared a scheme to integrate into the village, he had sent dozens of clones to continue investigating the island, doing everything short of turning it upside down! Yet, their search so far had been fruitless too.

As such, Fujin's internal chuckle displayed his growing frustration rather than his amusement of the situation.

To raise the mood and snap out of the depressing conversations, Itsuki suddenly grinned and said, “The past aside, you took on an impossible voyage by yourself and lived to tell the tale! I heard even massive ships with large crews fail to do so. That's beyond incredible! I'd give anything to have an adventure like that!”

“I wouldn’t,” Takuma muttered from behind them, hands shoved in his pockets. He muttered, “Too much work.”

Akari snorted, “You’d get seasick five minutes in.”

Sayuri didn't join in their arguments. She asked, her voice soft, almost wistful, “What's the Land of Wind like, Naoki?”

Fujin's gaze moved towards her, his expression confused. Of course, it was for show. Thanks to the memories he read earlier, Fujin was well aware of everyone's personality and nature.

Takumo was lazy but reliable and dependable. Itsuki was energetic but had a good heart. He engaged in mischief and games, but always helped those in need. Akari generally followed him, ensuring he stayed out of trouble. She was also highly combative.

On the other hand, Sayuri was calm, diligent and like a model youngster, loved by all older folks in the village. However, she yearned for the world outside their little island. So, Fujin understood her thoughts easily.

Sayuri explained, “I have only ever seen this sea from the beach, never going beyond it. I want to know what is beyond this horizon. So, what’s it like? Is it true the deserts stretch further than the eye can see?”