Somewhere on the sea in the Land of Rivers.
"Shinji, how much longer?" Mimi, bored above the clouds, asked with his mouth agape.
The next second, a fist slammed down.
Shinji said, "Are you trying to die? Everyone is staking out, and you're talking so loudly."
With tears welling in his eyes from the punch, Mimi suppressed his anger and whispered, "It seems you're even louder."
"Noisy. I haven't been in the village for just a few days, and you've already caused so much trouble for me."
"What, do you want to be king?"
Shinji looked at Mimi beneath his feet, speechless. If Hiruzen hadn't sent a message, he really wouldn't have known Mimi was so bold.
He was even planning to sneak to the front lines in the Land of Grass. If he hadn't happened to run into him, he would have run off.
Ever since Mimi learned that his Yōshin Sealing Chains could benefit him, he had been secretly focusing on Chakra.
He hadn't expected that he would actually manage to practice Chakra. However, Mimi couldn't learn Yōshin Sealing Chains, but he did develop his own ultimate move based on that principle. After that, he kept his eyes on the Tailed Beasts.
If he couldn't beat the Eight-Tails, he would have been ready to capture Bee, who was in the village, and drain him dry.
"Aren't they going to war? If I drain their strongest combat power first, wouldn't I be doing a good deed?" Mimi pouted.
If it weren't for his guilty expression, Shinji would have almost believed him.
Shinji rested his right hand on his chin and said lightly, "Stop thinking about them, unless you want to be controlled by someone with a black rod stuck in you."
"Control? Who dares control me—"
Mimi, instantly bristling, thought of the person above him when he was halfway through his sentence.
"Don't bite the hand that feeds you. You've been with me for so long, have I ever tried to control you?"
How could Shinji not know what this dead cat was thinking?
"Tch, but how much longer do we have to stake out?" Mimi changed the subject and asked, after all, they had been in the sky for almost a dozen hours.
"I don't know, I also want to resolve this as soon as possible."
Shinji looked at the sea below his feet. Even the coastline where Choza had been hiding before was now so tiny that only a black line could be seen.
Flying so high was to avoid being detected. Punching Mimi just now was simply an excuse to vent his frustration.
"Hmm? Is that it?" Mimi glanced inadvertently, then pointed to the almost negligible black dot.
"Fly down a bit, otherwise the communication equipment won't receive anything." Shinji reached out and patted Mimi's head. The latter obediently began to slowly descend.
Squeak, squeak, squeak—
When they reached a certain height, the communication device beside Shinji made a sound.
"Choza-senpai Choza, there are several ships approaching at your 8 o'clock position."
"Received." After a while, Choza's voice came through.
The voice came again a few minutes later.
"It's them, Shinji, wait for my signal."
Shinji's lips curved into a smile upon hearing this.
Now, it's time to wait.
"Can you not smile like that? It's unsettling." Mimi looked at Shinji above him and couldn't help but whisper.
"Get ready later. Make this 'rain' fall a bit more densely."
Shinji stood up and began to take out scrolls, unsealing the items he had already prepared. As each scroll was unsealed, the pre-bound oil drums were hung around Mimi's neck.
"So many? Are you trying to dry up the entire sea?" Seeing that Shinji still hadn't stopped, Mimi's eyes widened.
"What's this? If I didn't run out, I'd want even more." Shinji clapped his hands, unsealed the last scroll, and then spoke.
"Even Yama would retreat three steps upon seeing you."
— — —
Below, on the sea, Choza stared at the ships gradually approaching in the distance.
He looked around warily, while the Hyuga Chunin beside him was fully observing with his Byakugan activated.
"Choza-sama, they're here."
As the Hyuga Chunin's words fell, Choza saw the distant sea rising high.
He picked up the communication device and shouted into the receiver, "Everyone, full speed retreat and prepare! Shinji, get ready."
"Received."
On the sea, the disguised ships stopped after reaching their designated position. They took out signal lights and began flashing them continuously towards the sea.
Then, the originally calm sea began to rise, and with it, a huge submarine, like a steel beast, slowly emerged from the sea.
Although they had seen it many times before, the people on the ships who had arrived couldn't help but gulp. After all, this submarine was even larger than their ships.
In front, a strange opening on the submarine gaped open.
Clatter—Clatter—
Footsteps approached, and a man wearing a protective mask came to the front, looking at the nearby ships and said, "You're slow again."
On the ship, the Suna ninja in charge of this transportation frowned before responding, "No choice, Konoha's people are following very closely."
The man with the protective mask ignored the Suna ninja and said arrogantly, "I don't need to know the reason. Go back and tell your Kazekage that this time's transport fee will be increased by another ten percent."
"Kijo! Don't go too far!" The Suna ninja on the ship was naturally unwilling and shouted at the man.
Hearing this, Kijo's face under the protective mask showed a hint of disdain. "Give it or not, I don't care."
As soon as these words came out, the leading Suna ninja on the ship couldn't help but clench his fists.
If the supplies hadn't been transported yet, he might have killed this arrogant guy right now.
Kijo, on the other hand, looked at the few ships on the sea with indifference.
So much money!
If he wasn't afraid of being hunted down by the Kazekage, he might have just robbed them. It would be enough for a good time for a while.
Both individuals harbored their own ulterior motives, and the atmosphere solidified for a moment.
After a long while, the leading Suna ninja finally spoke, "I will tell the village. Let's transport the goods first."
"Of course, why not do business when there's one?"
Kijo spread his hands arrogantly, and then the submarine, which had been resting on the sea, began to transform.
The originally streamlined submarine gradually extended two large platforms to stabilize the vessel on the sea.
Seeing Kijo's relaxed demeanor, a hint of apprehension flashed in the eyes of the leading Suna ninja on the ship, and then he waved his hand.
The people on the ship immediately began to act, starting to put supplies into the pipes that extended from the submarine to the ships.
Kijo glanced at the ships on the water. As the supplies were unloaded and the weight decreased, the ship's hull began to emerge.
'It seems a great war is about to begin. No, I need to prepare. Otherwise, I might earn money but not live to spend it.'
While thinking, Kijo activated his ability, accelerating the transfer of supplies into the submarine as much as possible.
Inside the submarine, dozens of Sea Serpent Gang members quickly moved the supplies into place. These were to be transported to other locations later.
Hm?
Kijo, who was currently using his Kekkei Genkai, suddenly felt something drip onto his nose.
"What's going on? Is it raining?" He wiped it away with his hand, and an oily sensation came from his fingertips.
The next moment, an alarm blared in Kijo's mind.
No! This is oil!!!