The Hidden Cloud armada cut across the tumultuous waters of an unnamed river in single file, engines straining and hulls groaning as the hailstorm gathered its strength overhead. The air was alive with the creak of timber, the howl of the wind, waves crashing against the bows, sleet striking the decks, and shouted commands carried away almost as soon as they were given.
"Full speed ahead!" the burly man at the helm shouted into a metal tube, having just spotted a red flag being waved from the ship ahead in the file. "Engineering, get me more speed!"
Below deck, a row of bare-chested, tan-skinned men began weaving hand signs.
"Lightning Style: Tenjinrai!"
A chorus of rough, manly grunts rose as they blasted arcs of electricity into the electrodes jutting from the engines. With a tired whine and the whirr of gears, the ship lurched forwards, gathering ever greater speed.
The Hidden Cloud shinobi were far from home, and eager to leave this foreign land behind as soon as possible. Their marine route to the landlocked Land of Grass had taken them uncomfortably close to the Land of Earth, where their eternal rivals of Iwagakure held dominion, and despite the lightning-fast rapidity of their special operation, they had no doubt that the old fence sitter had noticed exactly what they were up to.
Like the Land of Rivers, the Land of Waterfalls possessed abundant, intricate networks of rivers, thanks to the cloud-scraping mountain range to the west that divided the shinobi continent. It was these rivers that had allowed Kumogakure to slip their armada so deep inland, entering the Land of Waterfalls through its river delta and forcing their powered vessels upstream into the Land of Grass in record time.
"Be advised, several stowaways from Hōzuki Castle have been found aboard the supply vessels, so Dodai-dono will be coming aboard in a few minutes for an inspection!" a tanned man shouted as he sprinted upstream across the dark waters from the ship ahead, waving to catch the captain's attention. "Darui-sama has ordered all ships to be searched, so have all crew members gathered on deck by the time he arrives!"
"Understood!"
They had been sailing for a while now.
It had been an hour since Kumogakure's forces had weighed anchor and departed from the ruins of what had once been Hōzuki Castle, its impressive walls torn down and its imposing keep ripped asunder. Tenchi Bridge lay far behind them, and they had already re-entered the Land of Waterfalls. There was no longer any risk of an ambush from the Hidden Leaf side, but rather from the Hidden Stone…
The captain raised a hand to his head and squinted, shielding his eyes from the small hailstones falling from the heavens. A second figure had just jumped down from the ship ahead, accompanied by two others, and they were coming his way.
"Permission to come aboard granted, come on up!"
Dodai and his two guards took a running start, leapt up from the river's waters, and landed on the deck, where most of the ship's crew and Kumo-nin had already finished assembling. He lifted his eyepatch, revealing an unnervingly milky-white eye, and formed a hand sign.
"Byakugan!"
Thick, knotted veins bulged around Dodai's left eye, and he swept the ship with his eye, scanning it for any signs of life.
"Is everyone accounted for?" he asked, turning to the captain, who nodded. "In that case, you've got yourself a rat. She's hiding behind a stack of crates in the hold."
Below deck, a pair of scarlet eyes slowly opened in the darkness of the ship's hold. They tilted skywards, and Dodai shivered. That ominous, sinister chakra… the Sharingan, there was no doubt about it. It was almost as if those eyes were staring back at him, though that could not possibly be the case… could it?
"Dodai-sama, what are you doing!?"
"Restrain him!"
Suddenly, four men were upon him, wrestling his hand away from his eye. He stiffened as ice cold realisation flooded through his veins; he had fallen into a Genjutsu without even noticing it, and he had just tried to pluck out the precious eyeball that the Lord Raikage had entrusted him with. But that couldn't be right— the Byakugan was meant to make one immune to Genjutsu! Not once since he'd first received that wondrous Dōjutsu had he succumbed to an illusion, either in training or in skirmishes with Kirigakure pirates!
"That doesn't belong to you."
A chill swept down Dodai's spine, cold sweat prickling his back.
"ENEMY ATTACK!" he roared. "IT'S KONOHA!"
Down in the hold, Sakura closed her fingers into a fist and wreathed her hand in chakra.
"SHAAAA!"
Sakura drove her fist into the floor, and with an ear-splitting crack, she splintered the ship's drive shaft and snapped the keel clean through. A deep, aching groan rose from the timbers as the ship tore apart in an instant, filling the river with wreckage and screaming men.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
White smoke blanketed the area with a loud bang.
"Where's all this bloody mist coming from?" shouted the captain of the ship behind them in the procession. "Don't tell me Kirigakure's attacking us!"
He reached for his radio, hesitating. This mission called for absolute radio silence, and so far, they had managed to coordinate by relying on flag formations. They were almost home free, and they couldn't risk the Hidden Stone pinpointing their location now…
…but this captain never got to finish his thought, for the ship struck something white and gooey, the prow driving a short way in before sticking fast in a mass of thick, glutinous slime. They were well and truly stuck.
"Full stop, full stop!" he screamed into his radio. "There's something blocking the river!"
The smoke was already thinning, and through it loomed the vast outline of a gigantic slug. Radio chatter crackled through the air as the ship captains of the convoy shouted for one another to break, though stopping a ship sailing down rapids was easier said than done.
"Earth Style: Earthen Embankment!"
Standing atop Katsuyu's head, Sakura crossed her arms beneath her massive chest and grinned as she watched the shinobi below floundering in panic, their ships colliding in a tangle of spray, wooden splinters and shouting. She had cleanly cut the convoy in half, the first portion swept helplessly downstream while the others remained trapped behind, along with the Box of Paradise…
"Not too salty for you, Lady Katsuyu?" Sakura called out.
"Not at all," Katsuyu hummed happily. "The water is very fresh!"
Sakura's smile widened. After suffering so much, having her freedom and powers restricted…
This was going to be fun.