Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 167 Return to Hong Kong

The boy in his memory blushed with embarrassment, his heart pounded, and he wished he could disappear on the spot. But when Sasuke recalled him again, he suddenly calmed down. Everything was as natural as breathing. After realizing a certain possibility, his turbulent thoughts subsided; they had found the warmest harbor in the world.

The blond boy knew nothing; their clasped hands hadn't even loosened yet. He pointed to a corner of the seabed, where the shellfish hiding at the bottom of the reef couldn't escape the ninja's keen eyes. Sasuke was pulled forward by that force, just like he had as a child, always drawn to the light, unable to resist chasing after it. Sasuke absentmindedly pried open the shells; they still only took one each, not greedy, but they found their captain's basket bulging.

The captain seemed to be trying to convey a message, but after making a few hand gestures, he realized the two inexperienced ninjas wouldn't understand. So, he simply pushed a few golden fish that were darting around him toward them. This fish was certainly unusual in appearance, almost as long as a person's forearm, but even more unusual was that it wasn't afraid of people at all. After being pushed like that, it didn't swim away, but instead circled around in front of them a few times before swimming a short distance away. Seeing that they were still in the same spot, it repeated the action.

Sasuke had never imagined he could sense anxiety from a fish. He and Naruto exchanged a glance; though unable to communicate, the two understood each other perfectly. They followed the fish and, on the back of the coral reef, saw a large area dominated by a swarm of dark, spiky creatures. The captain carefully pried one off with a tool and put it in Naruto's basket. The two immediately understood and quickly harvested these sea hedgehog-like things. Once they had collected enough, the captain turned the remaining "hedgehogs" over and cracked them open, immediately attracting a swarm of fish that devoured them. The team, laden with their catch, discarded their weights amidst this enthusiastic farewell and surfaced.

"Was it fun underwater?" the uncle who was responsible for pulling them ashore asked kindly.

"It's so much fun!" Naruto shook the water off his head and looked at his friend with expectant eyes. "What do you think, Sasuke?"

Sasuke couldn't refuse. He couldn't take his eyes off Naruto, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up, revealing the most conspicuous smile he had shown on the entire journey.

He said, "Yes, it's beautiful."

The time for counting the spoils was always full of surprises. They first cleared out the "sea hedgehogs" from the two guests' boxes, and each of them immediately opened one and ate to their hearts' content. Who knows how far human ingenuity has come? These strange-looking things actually tasted quite good; the sweet and fresh flavor was surprisingly novel and delicious.

"We call this sea urchin where I'm from. The ones available this season are the best; even officials love them." The uncle ate with gusto. "I've never seen sea urchins on this coral before. Where did you find them?"

"We encountered a 'sea farmer,' and helped it clear out its vegetable garden." The captain was the first to finish his share and was now counting the number of seashells he had collected.

"Is it that yellow fish? Is that its name?" Naruto asked.

Laughter erupted again on the boat. "We call them eagle eagles. They cultivate seaweed in patches on the reefs, hence the nickname 'underwater farmers.' If you see one approaching when you go out to sea, you can follow it. Since it doesn't have hands, it can't handle sea urchins and has to ask us for help."

The amazing food chain does indeed await human exploration, but that can only begin after we've achieved basic food security and sustenance. Fishermen are very familiar with what they rely on for survival, but they don't understand much else.

After the meal, the two seashells that Sasuke and Naruto had taken were opened again. They had originally planned to stop once they got a black one, but unexpectedly, they got a black one right away, and it was even a little bigger than the previous one. The captain was amazed by Naruto's good luck and couldn't help but have high hopes for Sasuke's, but unfortunately, it was the most common platinum gray one. That wasn't bad either, at least the color was even. After finishing all this, the fleet returned to the port in the afterglow of the setting sun, before it got completely dark.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few people at the port. Mr. He was there, of course, with a rather serious-looking middle-aged man with long hair standing beside him. However, the hunched old man stood out too much among the women and children, drawing Sasuke's attention a few more times. But he quickly turned his attention to the two more noteworthy individuals who clearly came from prominent families, and tried hard to suppress the urge to activate his Sharingan.

Dealing with people wasn't his forte, but could Naruto handle those two shrewd guys? He figured he should leave as soon as possible; they were already ashore, the interference should be over by now. However, when he was about to suggest it to Naruto, he found that the other seemed completely absorbed by something on the shore. Even his usual smile was gone; he was frozen in place, staring unblinkingly in one direction.

There were only people coming to pick up the ship in that direction, so it couldn't be that those two ninjas were troublesome, right?

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with those two?" Since intelligence communication couldn't be delayed, Sasuke asked directly.

Naruto turned his head as if he had just woken up, and didn't hear what he was saying at all, so he had to patiently ask again.

"No, they meant no harm." Naruto replied, still lost in thought, but not with the unease one might feel when facing a formidable enemy. He smiled again, a smile tinged with emotion and relief.

"The world is slowly getting better, isn't it?"

...What does this have to do with their current situation? Shouldn't their priority be to rejoin their teammates instead of rushing into the enemy's base?

But when he met those eyes, he still couldn't bring himself to refuse, so he had no choice but to compromise, saying, "Yes, that's right. Aren't you worried about your teammates? Hasn't your shadow clone returned to report yet?"

They'd been adrift at sea for a day and a half. Most shadow clones would last half a day, so Naruto's clones must have dissipated by now. If the team had completely lost contact with their captain, given the nature of Konoha ninjas, they would undoubtedly try to return to rescue them at all costs. The large ship had taken three and a half days to reach its destination, so the return journey should be about the same; they were currently stuck halfway. If they didn't return soon, they might have to confront Kumogakure.

This is an outcome that even he could have foreseen, so why isn't Naruto worried at all?

"I used a lot of chakra when I created the clone, and I didn't use any more on the ship, so it won't dissipate so quickly. Don't worry, they will return to port safely."

...So, why was he so certain about the timing of the shadow clone's disappearance?