CH_142

Nothing happening was exactly right—after all, Konoha shinobi couldn't really dig up much useful intel about Kirigakure.

But the stranger the atmosphere in Kirigakure became, the more Konoha wanted to know. It was just hard on the Konoha spies operating inside the Land of Water.

『I wonder how Captain Kenji is doing…』 The ones closest to Kirigakure were probably jōnin like Kenji.

When Tōji had free time to stargaze, he'd occasionally sigh. He felt Kenji was truly a model shinobi among minor-clan ninja.

『Maybe one day, I really will become like Kenji…』 Tōji knew the moon waxed and waned, and people changed too. He could feel that he himself was already changing.

The worldview he'd formed after thirty-odd years in his previous life probably couldn't compare to the new life insights gained from a year or so as a shinobi during wartime.

"Woof! Woof woof woof! Woof…" Sweet Potato barked as he dashed out of the small yard. The barking seemed to head toward the beach…

"What's wrong?" It was the middle of the night. Tōji came out of the house, puzzled.

After Sweet Potato got used to the place, Tōji stopped tying him up.

Jirō Island had never had any wild beasts.

There were no other people living near Tōji, and he'd never heard of any petty theft on Jirō Island.

『What's Sweet Potato barking at…』 He was less than ten meters from the sea and still saw nothing unusual.

But Sweet Potato kept barking toward the sea…

Even with Tōji's eyesight, he couldn't see what the dog was barking at.

『This Naruto world does seem to have gods, ghosts, and supernatural stuff…』 The thought was immediately mocked by himself… 『Even if there are ghosts, they shouldn't run into me!』

Tōji stood by the sea for a little while, planning to shoo Sweet Potato back and go to sleep. But Sweet Potato suddenly ran into the sea!

『Could there be mermaids in the Naruto world?』 Tōji didn't think a puppy would go crazy for no reason.

He stripped off his short-sleeved shirt and pants, and in just his underwear, chased after Sweet Potato into the water.

『Waves—those waves really are abnormal!』 As Tōji swam closer, he noticed something off.

Since it was the middle of the night and out at sea, he couldn't see clearly right away.

"Swoosh!" Suddenly a water column as thick as an arm shot rapidly toward Sweet Potato…

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!" Several more identical water columns followed, some aimed at Sweet Potato, some at Tōji.

"Sweet Potato!" Tōji judged at a glance that the water column wouldn't hurt him, but Sweet Potato might get slightly injured.

"Splat! Splat! Splat!" The unending sound of water columns striking…

"It doesn't hurt at all…" Tōji also thought this "attack" was way too pathetic—it really was just spraying water…

"Woof woof!" Sweet Potato barked even more fiercely.

Tōji quickly approached those clumps of "waves," but still saw nothing unusual—just clumps of seawater shooting water columns at a boy and his dog…

"What the hell are these things!" Tōji grabbed one of the strange clumps of seawater…

"Splat!" It scattered—no different from grabbing a clump of water!

"Is it an Umibōzu? A juvenile Umibōzu?" Tōji remembered that the Land of Seas had a kind of "water monster" like this—

Its entire body was water, seemingly a "life form" formed when a spiritual core gathered seawater.

Tōji was extremely interested in these creepy things! Catch one! If he caught one, wouldn't he have a summoning beast?

After checking his surroundings and deciding there probably wouldn't be a problem, Tōji quietly formed hand seals underwater…

"Splaaash…" A miniature whirlpool suddenly formed among the juvenile Umibōzu!

Tōji controlled the whirlpool's speed, adjusting the centripetal force to just the right level to trap those few juvenile Umibōzu.

Taking advantage of the fact that the group of juvenile Umibōzu couldn't escape now, Tōji rapidly formed seals, making the small whirlpool turn into a water column that broke through the sea surface and rushed toward the shore!

"Splash!" A slightly thicker column of seawater surged onto the beach…