Tides are Changing [Sea Travel to Kiri]

Reizo headed through the Hot Springs at daybreak, eavesdropping on the idle chat of visiting aristocrats and paupers alike. Most of it was menial crap that he had no interest in, but he would continue to try to glean information about his destination, Kirigakure. What were they like? Who was the new Kage? Nobody seemed to have any answers; the location was shrouded in mystery and secrecy. Even when he was growing up in Kumo, nobody seemed to ever talk about the Village Hidden in the Mist. Island Country itself was a tropical resort archipelago, frequented by many as a popular tourist spot. Kirigakure, by comparison, was almost never even considered as a destination for travelers.

Even though the blonde shinobi couldn’t gather many details about his intended destination, which did frighten him quite a bit as he would effectively be traveling alone into an unknown foreign territory, he was resolved to follow through as he couldn’t figure any other company that he could join. If he was going to survive, he needed kinsmen and comrades; he wasn’t about to find himself in the company of thieves and criminals no matter the situation.

Arriving at the docks, Reizo navigated his way to the harbormaster’s shanty and got in line. It was a fairly short line to the front, but Reizo couldn’t help but notice the anemic pace at which the line was moving. It was certainly early in the day, however this pace was borderline inexcusable. Nonetheless, Reizo awaited his turn. After nearly 30 minutes of waiting for the 4 people in front of him to get their belongings and IDs squared away, Reizo finally got to speak with the harbormaster.

”G’day sir, werru headin’ aboot?” the grizzled retired naval captain would ask. He had a sharp but dense gray full curtain beard, tanned skin, and a quite wrinkled forehead from his many hours out in the sun over his storied career. He was a shorter man, around 5’5’’ and quite burly, dressed in a typical sailor’s uniform with a special cap denoting he was the harbormaster.

Taken aback by the man’s thick northern accent at first, Reizo took a moment to decipher the nearly foreign language that the man’s dialect presented. Perhaps this communication issue was why the line had been moving so slowly? Reizo pondered. ”I’m seeking safe passage to Island Country, specifically Kirigakure no Sato. One ticket to the next available ship that can guarantee safe passage,” Reizo replied.

The older man laughed a hearty chuckle. ”HUEHUEAHH…. Hoooo boy. Yer not serious, arr ya?” the man guffawed, wiping a single tear from his eye before giving the shinobi a second look only to see a stoic and unamused Reizo. ”Aye… so ye arr. Well, nary a man nor child ‘as traveled to Kirigakure by seafaring vessel in quite a long ‘isle given their past ‘n present ‘appenins. ‘Owever, if ya so desire, there’s a shippin’ vessel o’er yonder beach that departs erry 12 ‘ours. Yu’ll ‘aff ta axe da captain of dat dere vessel to arrange special accommodations fer a stowaway though. I only log fer dat ship, I can’t charge for tickets,” the man candidly explained. It was quite challenging to understand his accent, but Reizo got the drift of it. After thanking the harbormaster for the information, Reizo proceeded to the far side of the beach where a large commercial ship was docked.

Containers of all shapes and sizes were being loaded onto the hull by a number of strongmen who were supervised by a handful of Kirigakure shinobi. One of the workers who was not a shinobi set his large, refrigerator-sized, crate down and approached Reizo. ”Sir, I’m afraid you can’t be here. This is a restricted area for Kirigakure shinobi and our crew only,” the man confronted the blonde shinobi. The man looked Reizo up and down, recognizing him to be a shinobi, he cautiously stepped back from the cloaked missing-nin. ”HEY, HE’S NOT ONE OF YOURS IS HE?” the man called out to one of the jounin stationed on the ship who had been observing from the deck.

In the blink of an eye, the Kiri shinobi seemingly teleported next to the 2 men. The lithe Kiri shinobi appeared to be one of the famed Hunter-nin, given his mask and uniform, that the village was widely known to employ, Reizo immediately discerned that the man was of high rank and no doubt extremely skilled in either Weaponry or Taijutsu, given his blistering speed that even surpassed his own. The man stood before Reizo in silence, as if waiting for the missing-nin to speak. Realizing that the man wasn’t going to speak first, Reizo introduced himself. At this time, the strongman worker left to resume his loading duties.

”My apologies, my name is Reizo Shoyu, and I was interested in joining the ranks of those in Kirigakure. I understand this is quite the rare event, so I apologize if this is out of turn or a bit bold, but I’m interested in the efforts the new Kage may have as well as providing aid wherever it may be needed to recover from the battle damages,” Reizo would say, handing over his shinobi passport. It was quite expired and still reflected his status as a Kumogakure jounin which hadn’t been the case for quite some time. The Hunter-nin received the credentials and immediately became suspicious of the expiration. He would then speak for the first time.

”You’re a missing-nin aren’t you? Ordinarily someone from my team would be tasked with hunting you down, but you’ve made our job quite easy. That said, we have no real interest in hunting desertersfrom Kumo, and it’s clear at least that you’re brave or fool enough to turn yourself in so willingly, so I’ll buy your story. The Mizukage has given us orders to allow for potential newcomers to bolster our ranks, so you’re in luck. You claim to want to help us, you can start by loading these crates into the hull AND paying up 15000 ryo. We’ll take you to the borders; however, once you’re there you’ll need to find somebody to sponsor you to actually get inside. What happens once you’re there isn’t going to be my responsibility. If you refuse to pay, well we could just kill you right now and collect that juicy Jounin bounty you’re worth, though I’m more than keen to just turn a blind eye this time,” the man would muse, curious to see Reizo’s resolve. A faint smirk emerged upon the ex-Kumo Jounin’s stern expression.

”Take it easy, captain. No need for that, I’ll gladly pay if it means I can be of service to you. Here, take your 15 grand and I’ll be joining those fine men over there,” Reizo attempted to ameliorate the tension, practically emptying his wallet. Sea travel was quite expensive for foreign nationals. Hopefully, that wouldn’t be a problem soon.

After handing over his pay, Reizo jogged over to the docking station where the loading was happening and immediately joined the workers in loading the heaviest and largest shipments with the assistance of his chakra-enhanced strength. He even went so far as to balance several crates that were far larger than he was and carried them all at once with the utmost caution. The workers watched both skeptically and in awe as Reizo stacked the crates precariously upon one another and swiftly carried them below deck and stored them in their appropriate silos.

Meanwhile, the Hunter-nin continued to stand in place for the next 20 minutes, nonplussed. He was both confused and abashed that his threat to what he thought was a Jounin level shinobi was so casually shrugged off, as well as the prospect of the missing-nin calling him Taichou. On top of that, it was apparent to him that Reizo was well aware he was being fleeced for free labor and was practically mugged, yet still seemed determined to join Kiri. After coming to terms with his actions, the Hunter-nin resigned himself to return to his post and just accept the payment without much further commotion. 15 grand was 15 grand, after all.

By 2 pm, the loading was completed, quite a few hours ahead of schedule thanks to Reizo’s assistance. Taking a break above the deck, the crew offered Reizo some fruit, fish, and iced tea. At 4 pm, the crew would prepare for departure, and by 5 pm the ship had set sail for Kirigakure. It would be nightfall when the ship would arrive and dock in Island Country. Reizo had spent his evening making idle chat with the crew and asking about his potential new village. The shinobi were reluctant to share details of their home, which was quite understandable, so Reizo spent most of his time socializing with the crew and drinking sake and rum with them.

Thanking the crew and shinobi for their time and duties, Reizo departed the ship as soon as it docked in Island Country’s borders and made his way to Kirigakure’s village gates in a much smaller vessel, excited for what was to come. Joining him was the captain Hunter-nin whom he had paid earlier. Following the Mizukage’s orders to allow newcomers into the village, the Hunter-nin undid the storms to allow safe (in the sense that the storm barriers nor other seals wouldn’t be a problem) passage to the village gates as promised. [OOC Note: Dave mentioned this would be acceptable, though if he wants an official NPC to take over from here, he can.]

Reizo was on the precipice of becoming a Kirigakure shinobi in his mind, all that remained was to find a shinobi to sponsor him to enter the village so he could begin the immigration process.

[Exit to Kirigakure Village Gates]

—-------------------
-38 ap for A-rank Chakra Enhanced Strength (5% chakra discount) applied to Chakra/Strength
282 / 320 AP remaining; stats at 30/90/99/75

1658 total words

Claims:
-15000 ryo for sea travel, to be deducted on stat page
Travel to Kirigakure Village Gates
-16 stats, all to speed
- 359 words to Jotun Grip (C-rank) 1000/1000
-1000 words to Reckless Art Amplifier (C-rank) 1000/1000
-299 words to Heavenly Body Skill 299/2000

Approved