Alone on a wide sea [Travel/Topic]

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A heavy breeze blew through the sails of the Jackdaw. Its current position was just south of the Water Country. Speeding towards its destination at good pace. The predicted time of its arrival was in six hours time. Landing on the main island of the group. None of its voyage had been particularly difficult, being caught in only one rain storm. Which was not enough to blow it off course. Good weather in both wind and sun had kept it moving at a steady pace. Much to the relief of many of the crew. It meant that they would be arriving to do their business in the major nation. Although not many people had chose to board the Jackdaw. Since it was not a large ship it could not fit many people. Their loss, it was a good ship fast, as comfortable as you would imagine and good food. Sea life was not for everyone but some enjoyed it. Gulls would circle the masts and dolphins played next to it. They had stopped for a few hours to give the people on board a chance to go swimming. With many small fish and a single shark. It had been a great experience for many involved.

Akira Tenshi was one of those people, he had enjoyed it whole heartedly. Earlier on in the trip he had been allowed to steer the boat so he was happy. Much of his trip had been enjoyable especially when he had gotten the chance to go swimming. It was amazing to feel the cool salt water on his skin. As a person who lived in the Grass Country it was not normal that he could do such a thing. His experiences in the water normally were in shallow streams or rivers. Never in his life had he dived so deep in the water. This was what had made him want to stay on this boat for ever. Grow old sailing and swimming. It would be easier to achieve this if he had the suiton element. That way he could use it in combat with other ships. Become a pirate and plunder all manor of ships. Another fine example of a dream that would never come true. That was all it would ever be, a fantasy. Many of his days had been spent up in the nest reading and relaxing. His body had become slightly darker even though it had not been that long. No one on the ship had complained about him being up there.

It was now that the wind finally dropped to almost nothing. The ship stood dead in the water. But this was nothing to worry about, this was normal on most journeys. It was just this one that everything had gone their way. Getting up from his post the man climbed back down from on to the deck. The crew of the Jackdaw had taken down the sails so they clearly had no idea for how long they would be stationary. Tenshi was wearing nothing on his torso and feet. So he went to the side of the boat and swallow dived into the water. Going in face first with arms outstretched he emerged spitting out salt water. It was not a pleasant taste and not one you wanted to linger in your mouth. The water was deep blue in colour and even deeper in depth. He closed his eyes and ducked under. Pushing himself down then letting himself rise feet first he began to breathe out. The less oxygen you had the quicker you sunk. He would stay in the water for as long as it took for the ship to start moving again. As he started to tread water a crew member called Jinobo bombed in next to him.

A large splash came that sent water into the Teneis mouth. Coughing it back out he send splash of water back out at him. The other man was three times the size of Tenshi so was still sinking. But then came up abruptly beaming a happy smile. Tenshi had a suspicion that the man had something wrong with him. However he was stronger than anyone he had ever met. It was nice having another person in the water so he started to swim away, knowing that the other would try and chase him. Circling the boat two times before Jinobo finally got to tired. So the Nukenin swam underneath the boat. It was a dangerous thing to do, in case you were to run out of breath mid way. But he had faith in his lung capacity so he went under. It took half a minute of powerful strokes to get to the other side. No where near as bad as he had assumed. Once he had done this it seemed like a wind was picking up. Yet still there was no sign of any movement. Probably they were all waiting for someone more wind. As he looked up he saw Jinobo climbing up back on to the deck. At least now he knew that he did not have to feel worried if he could not find him. It took another ten minutes for a good wind to pick up. As the sails dropped he began to climb back up. Water dripping from his body making the ladder slippery. Once he got up to the top he went to the front of the boat in order to get dry.

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It was nice at this end, not as peaceful as his nest but still relaxing. Walking towards the long beam at the front Tenshi hopped in to it. From there he balanced himself carefully and lowered himself down. It was a risky place but exciting nonetheless. He could relax with his feet up and head down. Putting his hands on the beam he slowly lowered himself down. If he fell off from here there was a chance that he would hit his head and drown. Hopefully this would not happen but anything was possible. Once he was fully settled in Tenshi began to think. It would be amazing to get to a higher rank. In villages there were the standard but as Nukenin there were not really any names that he could think of. He was sure that the villages would rank you but he could only guess that he was as high as he had been when be had left. Chuunin, that was what it was called. The second highest rank in the village. He planned on becoming even stronger, until he reached the Nukenin equivalent of a Kage. That would be the day that he could take on Kumogakure.

When he reached this rank the man already had many plans for what would happen. In order to get stronger and reach his goal he would need powerful friends. As a Nukenin the only friends he would make would be people like himself. Or an animal that served him, that was where his hopeful summon had come in. If he managed to get something powerful then he would be able to truly call himself a shinobi. But it was not just having a summon, he would also need to be able to tame and control it. There was no point in having something that you could not control. It could be the most powerful beast in existence but if it did not do your bidding then what was the point in having it. He had already thought about what he would want but he finally realised he had to decide soon. It would be no fun in getting something that you did not like and being stuck with it until death. Choosing carefully would be important, right now he wanted a lizard or snake. Something that most people would be scared of. That or something that lived at sea, his favourite creature of water. Or something of the air, but if this was to happen he would want a crow or blackbird. A beautiful creature of the darkness.

Another thing that he hoped to do was learn Illusionary Techniques. If he could develop a jutsu which put people people to sleep it would work perfectly with his fighting style. He would make two, one that would affect individuals, one that would affect everyone in an area. The main focus of these jutsu would be to put someone to sleep. If he used these he would be able to kill anyone on assassination missions. It would be perfect, all he had to do was get a teacher. Then he would have to go about developing the jutsu. Still there was no way he would be able to truly master these type of jutsu. Using this type of technique would never be the same as using his weapons and ninjutsu. The boat rocked suddenly, he had to hold on tightly to the wood to his side. Most likely they had his something, but it was behind them now. Being disturbed from his thoughts had annoyed the Nukenin. Now all he had to do was remember what he had been thinking about. A major problem about being a missing ninja was that he would not have anyone that could teach him. Maybe he would be able to meet an old hermit that would teach him. That way he could become even stronger.

Upon reaching his desired rank it would be important to greatly arsenal. Having already decided on three weapons that he would get. A blowpipe, long sword and wrist blade. As well as this it would be good to get a more powerful bow. Something that you could add chakra to, which would make the shot more powerful or make it become electrified. There was no doubt that he would be able to get some of these rather soon. But this would not be enough on their own. Some time he would have to be more adventurous and make his own. It would be important to get some of these quickly. As he reached a higher rank the shinobi would face deadlier more skillful adversaries and take on harder missions. When this happened he would need to be as well equipped as possible. When he got to his next destination he would see if he could find any of what he wanted. Also he would see if he could find a worthy pet.

When he got to the new land he would ask around and find out about each of the islands that were available. He wanted to go somewhere cold, where snow fell. It had been a while since he had felt the ice on his skin. Also there was a chance that he would be able to meet an animal that was of his liking. To have as a pet not as a summon. Also he would be able to look around the islands, see what they have to offer. It would be good to get a taste of a different culture as well. Only it was most likely that it would not be much different from the place that he had grown up. It was hard to get a good idea of a place when one has only heard about it through word of mouth. He would be best getting an idea about what sort of a place he was visiting. Earlier he had planned on visiting every major island, this would give him a good idea of what sort of a place it was. It would also give him many great memories. On top of all of this he might get to fight a Kirigakure shinobi.

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Getting up from the from the bow spirit he hoisted himself back onto the front of the ship. Tenshi did not know why but he felt like sleeping the journey away. But another part of him did not want to miss out on the ending of the journey. It was unlikely that he would get to go on such a long trip until he left the island. Since he did not now how long this would be he decided against sleeping. As well as this he did not want to miss the first glimpse of the collection of islands. It would be annoying to do this as he knew that first impressions started early and he would base a lot on his first view. There was still meant to be an hour or so until they arrived. But he would probably be able to see them from a distance soon. Even sooner if he went up to the crows nest, so this was where he would go. It would be fun to have one last go in this tower of solitude. Over his stay he had grown somewhat attached to his small area of wooden platform. Not something that many people could claim to have grown attached to.

Making his way up to the side he hopped onto the ledge. Using the rigging to balance himself he looked over the side into the endless expanse of sea. Then he swung around and began to climb up to the top of the rigging. He stopped half way to admire a better look at the wide expanse of water. It made so feel so small whilst looking at it, like you were insignificant to the world. The way the light reflected down on the sea made it shimmer, a beautiful sight even for a monster like Tenshi. Carrying on up the rigging his fingers began to get tired. One would get extremely strong from going up and down the rope ladder day and night. It was an excellent form of exercise. Another great thing to do while on a ship as to hook your arms through the rope squares, sit down and look out to sea. It was very relaxing until the boat started to rock. When he reached the crows nest the Nukenin’s fingers burned. Even though he had made that climb several times before he was still not used to it. He would have to do it many times more if he wanted to live at sea.

Standing in the centre of the platform Tenshi looked around. He tried to see the islands from this distance but he was unable to. Looking out from each angle he surveyed the many scenes. No land could be seen in any direction, only water. They must be quite far in for this to happen as it was a relatively clear day. He was sure that they would have been able to see a corner of the main lands. It must have been deeper into the waters than he had expected. This would have been a perfect for a Nukenin to have for their base of operations. A place far away from everywhere important. One day, when he got older he would do such a thing. Maybe in the Water Country he would be able to find a Nukenin just like him, with a personality just like him. That way he may have company in Kusa, but he would have to find someone first. If he could find someone as insane as himself then he would become friends with them in an instance. But he was getting ideas in his head, he should not be kidding himself about meeting anyone. Even if he did meet someone they would not necessarily like the man.

After a further hour up in the nest a call finally came saying that they had seen land. Tenshi had been too busy dosing to notice. He looked up at the collection of islands known as the Water Country. From this distance you could not see many objects. No large landmarks blotted out the sky like ink on paper. When he arrived on the main land he would find out about the islands near the main one. It was going to be a good trip, he could feel it. He started to climb back down the rigging until he re reached the bottom. If he could get all of his stuff packed away then he could get off as soon as they hit the docks. Going down to his cabin the man started to take up his clothes. All he had been wearing was light weight clothes. It felt so much better to have your clothes billowing out in the wind. Then he took out a bear bottle and screw off the top. On these boats the sailors drunk an a drink called rum. he had bought some earlier but it had already gone. Before he left he would purchase another bottle. It came in large glass bottles with cork caps. Once everything was packed away he went back to the top of the deck. There was still a good twenty or so minutes until they arrived so he would have to try and buy some rum. Taking a small wad of notes out of his pocket Tenshi went bellow the deck. Where the sailors drunk, played cards and slept. It seemed like they all had such a perfect life to him.

Purchasing three of the bottles he went back up to the top. They were now expected to arrive at the main island in fifteen minutes. It would be best if he brought up all of his equipment, then he could walk off when he needed. Going back down he stored the three bottles in his bag. Taking up his scroll and bag he looked around the room. It was a nice place but he could not say that he would miss it. The way the hammock had swung had meant that he had gotten little sleep. It had still been fun all the same. He got back as they were just pulling into the harbour. He was finally here, the water country. All he had to do now was take a look around the islands. As the boarding plank was set out he walked towards it and on to pastures new.