Tale of the Setting Sun.

Wave II

Chapter 19: "Heaven-Shaking Event"

The attack came under cover of mist.

After an early night's rest at the inn, Naruto and the others had risen before the sun, and gotten on board one of the very first boats to Wave country – a small but sturdy wooden fishing boat, manned by a self-professed freelance poet wearing a woven straw hat.

The fog grew steadily thicker as they approached the small island country, and the only sound Naruto could hear was the rhythmic sloshing of the oar as it sliced through the water's surface, made opaque by the reflection of the overcast mist. The conversation, which had been scant to begin with, had all but died down in the face of the grey morning.

Rai had fallen asleep again, and even as Naruto watched, a trickle of drool silently made its way down the side of his face.

It was just as well that Rai had been sitting next to Toru, for just as Naruto reached out to shake the other boy awake, a pair of pale, slimy hands shot out from outside the boat and seized the merchant by the shoulders.

A look of shock and then fear flashing in quick succession across her face, she mutely toppled backwards, breaking the surface of the water with a loud splash. While Mayu and Sai jumped to their feet (with a yelp, the boatman ducked behind them), Naruto managed to lean across Rai in time to grab her ankle with his already outstretched hand. Before he could lose his grip or be pulled over himself, he dug his elbow into Rai's chest, and planting his feet against the wall of the boat, he pulled back, feeling the strain in his arms immediately.

As Rai choked and wheezed back into consciousness below him, two more dark shadows suddenly burst out of the water from the other side of the boat, and from their hands split off a multitude of smaller shadows that flew straight toward them. Mayu and Sai, with a kunai in each hand, hovered protectively in wait.

"Rai!" Naruto shouted out, as the piercing sound of metal striking metal resounded across the water's surface. His eyes immediately focusing, Rai reached upwards with a grunting sound and wrapped his arms around the merchant's kicking legs. Sticking his head in between, Rai leaned forward, gritting his teeth. Letting go of Toru's legs, Naruto quickly made the necessary combination of signs with his freed hands, noting with some anxiety that with the merchant's head underwater, her struggling had started to weaken. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow clone technique)!"

In a burst of white cloud, two clones appeared by his side, and they both immediately dove into the water. As they did so, Naruto rejoined Rai's efforts and grabbing Toru around the torso, he pulled back. After a few seconds, with his clones keeping the underwater assailant busy, the opposing pull on the other end suddenly gave way, and as they fell backwards, the merchant's head resurfaced with a wet gasp. Her body tumbling back onto the boat, she hunched over on all fours immediately, shaking and coughing out water.

Meanwhile, Sai had pulled out a scroll, and with a flourish of his brush, a pair of white and black drawings that Naruto quickly identified as bats had burst out of the page. They disappeared into the fog, in which he could already hear the sound of bluebirds' twittering, and shortly afterwards, the storm of shuriken came to a halt.

"Fūton: Kyōfū (Wind Release: Gale)!"

A strong wind swept into existence, sweeping away the fog surrounding the boat – and revealing nothing but a recently disturbed surface. As if in response, Naruto's two clones popped their heads above the water, and as he dispelled them and gained their memories, he let out a sigh.

"They got away," he told the others, though it was mainly for the merchant's benefit. Mayu's bluebirds had already returned and were perched on her shoulders, pecking lightly at her nape.