Chapter 159 : Traces Of Rebellion
After Riku took Shino, Hinata, and Ino out of the village, the four of them rushed toward the Land of Water.
Even at their fastest speed, the journey would take over ten days.
Since Riku had never been to the Land of Water before, he couldn’t use the Flying Thunder God Technique or teleportation to get there. And even if he had marked a location in the Land of Water, he wouldn’t choose to use Flying Thunder God for travel—it’s not something one can do casually.
In truth, even without the Flying Thunder God Technique or Mangekyō Sharingan, Riku could still use Lightning Body Flicker to make the journey himself.
But Shino and the others wouldn’t be able to keep up.
If he traveled alone with Lightning Body Flicker, he could cut the trip from over ten days down to just a few hours.
Instead, it took them more than five days to pass through the Land of Fire and arrive at the port that connected to the Land of Water.
From there, they would travel by boat the rest of the way.
Once aboard the ship, Riku stood on the deck, gazing out over the ocean.
Hinata stood quietly beside him.
She wanted to ask him about what he’d been doing lately—but didn’t know how to begin.
Riku looked over and smiled. "If you want to ask something, Hinata, just say it."
Hinata blushed faintly and looked up at him. "Riku-kun... have you been on missions lately?"
Riku paused a moment, then gave a small smile. "No missions. I’ve just been at home."
Hinata lowered her head and mumbled softly, "Liar..."
She had gone to his house looking for him several times, but he hadn’t been there.
Riku’s hearing was sharp—he caught her whisper and gave a sheepish smile. "Okay, fine... I’ve actually been training."
"Lately, I’ve been assigned as Hokage-sama’s guard. Naturally, that means I’m with her most of the time."
"You couldn’t find me... because I’ve gotten better at hiding."
Of course, hiding from the Hyuga Clan wasn’t exactly easy.
But Hinata didn’t keep her Byakugan active all the time either.
Still, Hinata accepted Riku’s explanation.
After talking for a bit longer, Riku led her back down to the cabin.
Inside, Ino had already bought food from the ship’s cook.
Looking at the generous spread, Riku chuckled. "Ino, you really went all out~"
Sitting beside him, Ino smiled brightly. "Well, it’s rare that I get to team up with you. I thought we could treat this like a mini-trip."
She hadn’t seen Riku in months—and had missed him deeply.
Shino and Hinata also thanked Ino, noting how much the meal must’ve cost.
But when Riku lifted his chopsticks, he sensed something was off.
Glancing at Shino, Ino, and Hinata, he noticed none of them seemed to have noticed anything strange.
Riku quietly channeled chakra to examine the food. It was laced with drugs.
He had hoped at least one of the others would detect it—but seeing them eat happily, unaware, left him a little disappointed.
"They still lack experience..." he thought to himself.
"The ship’s crew must be working with rogue ninja."
Still, Riku continued to eat the food calmly.
With his constitution, the drugs had no effect on him.
Once the meal ended, outside the cabin, several of the ship’s sailors—led by the boatman, Yamato—gathered and chuckled among themselves.
"Don’t do anything yet," Yamato warned. "Wait until the drugs fully kick in. Shinobi are tricky—don’t get careless."
The others nodded.
These men were ordinary civilians. That’s why neither Riku nor the others suspected them at first.
By the time Shino and the others realized the food had been drugged, it was already too late—their bodies gave out and they collapsed.
Riku followed suit and pretended to pass out alongside them.
Ten minutes later, Yamato and the others cautiously entered the cabin.
Looking down at the four unconscious shinobi, Yamato sneered. "So much for ninja. Just a bunch of brats. Tie them up—make sure their hands are restrained so they can’t form hand signs."
"We’ll sell them to Akita’s gang for five million ryo. One Jōnin, three Genin—that’s not a bad haul."
One of the sailors hesitated. "But... what if Konoha finds out? Won’t they come after us?"
Yamato slapped him across the head. "Idiot! We hand them over to Akita, get our money, and disappear. Akita’s crew will kill them for sure—no one will ever know we were involved."
"With five million ryo, we can ditch the Land of Fire and start over somewhere else."
While five million wasn’t a lot by shinobi standards, for boatmen who lived hand-to-mouth on passenger fare, it was a fortune.
Even elite Jōnin like Asuma were only worth around thirty million.
With that kind of money, Yamato wouldn’t need to work another day in his life.
The sailors nodded. The plan made sense.
But just as they were about to tie Riku up—he vanished.
Yamato’s face paled.
He turned toward the door, but before he could bolt, a cold blade touched his neck.
A short sword hovered at his throat. The chill of the steel made him freeze.
He didn’t dare turn around.
Pfft.
He heard faint sounds behind him. The bodies of his men crumpled to the floor, lifeless.
His knees shook.
A hoarse whisper escaped his throat. "P-please, ninja-sama... spare me! I’ll tell you everything I know. Just don’t kill me!"
Riku’s voice was low and steady. "Who is Akita?"
The boatman stiffened. He knew Riku had overheard their earlier conversation. Now he regretted saying anything at all.
He felt the cold blade press deeper into his skin. A sharp pain bloomed. Blood trickled down his neck.
Even without moving, the blade had already cut him—just from how sharp it was. He had shifted slightly on instinct, and it was enough to draw blood.
Trembling, he didn’t dare move again.
"Akita... Akita is the leader of a rogue shinobi gang in the Land of Water. He used to be a Jōnin from Konoha..."
Riku’s tone didn’t change. "How many people are under him? What are their ranks?"
Yamato hesitated. "I—I don’t know, I swear! I’m just a ferryman—"
Schlick.
A flash of pain—his arm fell to the floor, severed.
Blood gushed. Yamato fell to his knees, screaming, clutching the stump of his arm.
"AAAAAHHH!!"
The floor was splattered with blood.
The short sword once again hovered at his throat.
Riku’s voice, calm and cold: "I won’t ask a third time."
Sweating profusely, the boatman bit through the pain and gritted out the answer.
"Fifteen people... in Akita’s crew. Five are Chūnin, nine are Genin... Akita himself is a Jōnin—"
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