Could that whale be fleeing from whatever is in the shadow behind it?
The thought flashed through Shimizu's mind.
"Fire!" The captain's powerful roar instantly silenced the restless crowd.
A steel harpoon several meters long shot violently from its launcher. Within a few breaths, it struck the whale hundreds of meters away.
Scarlet blood quickly spread across the blue sea.
"It hit!"
"Great! Now it won't be able to keep up with us!"
"Serves that beast right for trying to ram us!"
Cheers erupted across the deck—
But in the very next second, the celebration died abruptly.
A far larger silver beast burst from the ocean surface, leaping high into the air.
With a single bite, it tore the whale in half.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Everyone stood frozen, stunned speechless by the sudden turn of events.
"Cut the harpoon! Cut the rope! Now!"
The captain reacted instantly, ordering the crew to sever the line.
The massive sea beast was dragging the mutilated whale carcass down toward the depths. If the harpoon happened to be lodged in that monster's mouth—
The entire ship would be doomed.
Because of the distance—still several hundred meters away—most people could only vaguely tell that the creature was even larger than the whale.
And that greater size brought an even heavier sense of oppression.
But Shimizu's shock stemmed from something else entirely.
He could feel an overwhelming surge of chakra.
Even across hundreds of meters—far beyond his sensory limit of 120 meters—he could clearly perceive that vast, terrifying chakra.
Not even a Hokage possessed chakra of that magnitude.
What in the world is that thing? A sea monster with metallic silver scales?
But that chakra… it has to be a tailed beast… I just don't know which one…
From memory, he could only clearly recall that the Nine-Tails was a fox, the Two-Tails a cat, the One-Tail Shukaku, and the Eight-Tails a hybrid of ox and octopus.
The rest of the "supporting cast" tailed beasts had long faded from his memory. Too much time had passed; too many details were blurred.
The creature was churning in the sea, making it impossible to count its tails clearly.
But one thing was certain—
This turtle-like sea beast, covered in spiked ridges, had several long, flat tails.
"Full speed ahead! Maximum speed! Move! Now!"
The instant the rope was cut, the captain ordered the ship to flee the waters at full throttle.
The oppressive presence of that silver sea monster was simply too overwhelming. Even the seasoned captain knew that a passenger vessel's harpoons stood no chance against such a colossal being.
And not just the captain—
Everyone aboard thought the same.
Shimizu included.
There were only a handful of ninja on this ship—and none above the rank of chūnin.
Fight something with that level of chakra?
If the captain actually ordered an attack, those ninja would likely be the first to jump ship.
After all, you only live once!
Once the passenger ship reached safer waters, everyone aboard exhaled in relief, grateful to have survived.
Even the captain admitted it was the most harrowing encounter of his decades at sea.
Against a monster like that, no one would have survived.
Speculation about the sea beast's origin ran wild. Even the experienced captain confessed he had never seen such a creature before—perhaps it was some deep-sea overlord from the far ocean.
Amid the chatter, time passed quickly.
Before long, the ship arrived at the Land of Hot Water, located in the northeastern seas beyond the Land of Iron.
Its port city was Yugakure—known as the "Village That Forgot War."
After the First Great Ninja War ended, the people there embraced peace. Combined with its distance from the continent's central war zones, Yugakure gradually declined from a former "combat ninja village" into one whose military strength diminished alongside the disappearance of war.
It was a land rich in natural resources, blessed with beautiful scenery and tourism.
And it was especially famous for its hot springs.
It was precisely because Yugakure no longer possessed powerful ninja that it naturally became a subordinate state of the Land of Fire. Under normal circumstances, all missions in the Land of Hot Water were handled by Konoha's ninja—just like Shimizu's current S-rank mission: to calm the Sea God's anger and eliminate the giant sea beast attacking ships near the coast.
This so-called sea beast was, in fact, just a whale. However, due to its enormous size and elusive appearances, Yugakure had no way of dealing with it and had no choice but to seek help from Hiruzen Sarutobi and Konohagakure.
The Third Hokage had considered several things: the Land of Hot Water's beautiful environment and soothing hot springs would be perfect for Shimizu to adjust his mindset; the mission also offered generous compensation. And really—would dealing with an ordinary whale pose any difficulty for Shimizu? In Sarutobi's view, the real challenge was locating the whale, not driving it away or killing it. He had no doubt that a ninja proficient in Water Release and powerful Lightning Release like Shimizu could handle a mere whale with ease.
"Does this whale frequently appear in this area?" Shimizu asked. He also believed that the hardest part of the mission was simply finding it.
"Yes, yes," replied the village chief of Yugakure—an elderly man whose chakra level was roughly that of a chūnin. In this peaceful village, that already counted as high-end combat power. "But its appearances are irregular. Sometimes it doesn't show up for two or three days; sometimes it appears several times in one day. But whenever it appears, it always attacks ships…"
The village that forgot war… That's why everything here is so prosperous and peaceful, Shimizu reflected.
"How long has this been going on?" he asked, puzzled as to why a whale would repeatedly attack human vessels.
"About three weeks. Several ships have been damaged so far, and two have already sunk… We truly had no other choice but to seek help from Konoha."
"Do you have any evidence or theories? Why would this whale repeatedly attack ships?" Shimizu thought that understanding the reason behind the attacks would allow him to complete the mission more quickly and thoroughly.
"There were no warning signs at all… I believe we angered the Sea God, and so he sent his envoy to punish us…" The village chief spoke with visible fear.
Exactly the same as what was written in the mission briefing…
"You're asking Konoha to solve this with force. Aren't you afraid that might further anger the Sea God?" Shimizu countered.
"Then we'll just issue another mission," the old man replied matter-of-factly.
Money really does make the rules.
Shimizu, who happened to be short on funds, even briefly considered whether escalating the conflict between Yugakure and this so-called Sea God might allow him to earn money more quickly.
Because he truly needed it.
"Before arriving in your country today, I witnessed a blue whale being hunted by a massive silver sea beast. I wonder if it was the same one…"
If it were the same whale, then wouldn't this mission already be complete? The key question was how to confirm it.
"That must mean the Sea God has sent an even stronger beast to punish us!" the old man exclaimed in terror. "Please, powerful ninja of Konoha, you must eliminate this hidden danger for us!"
"…Naturally," Shimizu replied, somewhat frustrated.
One of the criteria for mission completion required the official seal of the Land of Hot Water. Since the authorities believed the problem was not yet resolved, they certainly would not stamp his completion papers.
Moreover, the core requirement was to calm the Sea God's anger.
It seemed unlikely this mission would be resolved anytime soon.
"I need to do two things immediately," Shimizu said. "First, I must determine the identity and origin of that silver sea beast. Since Yugakure was once a 'combat ninja village,' I assume you possess a substantial archive of related documents. May I consult them?"
The village chief hesitated briefly, then nodded.
"Of course."
"Second—where is your courier station? I need to send a letter."