Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 291 The Life of the Crew on Land

Life on the fleet in the harbor was quite boring.

Inspecting the ship's hull, a task requiring skill and experience, was not a role for newcomers. Their role was primarily to help with cargo handling and quickly familiarize themselves with the ship's structure to avoid being completely lost at sea. However, this newcomer learned much faster than most expected. He not only memorized the function of each cabin but also silently planned his route to secretly disembark.

If the route was indeed as dangerous as rumored, then his shadow clone left on the ship could stage an "accidental fall into the water" within half a day, making himself disappear in the crew's eyes. In short, as long as he put on a good show for the disappearance of the "Risuke" identity, he could then legitimately claim that "Risuke is a strong swimmer, did not lose consciousness after falling into the water, but was simply carried by an undercurrent to the vicinity of an island and managed to climb ashore." Although it was unknown whether the lord of Hozuki Castle would believe him, or how they would deal with the intruder, a plausible reason was still necessary.

This is something he learned from Naruto's incident where he turned "defection" into "kidnapping".

After surveying the transit "location" for this mission, planning the route, and memorizing the name of each crew member, Sasuke began to pay attention to another strange matter.

"Who is that woman?" Normally, Sasuke wouldn't pay much attention to things outside of missions, but that woman's presence was just too strong. "What has she been doing standing at the dock entrance these past few days?"

It's no wonder he asked, because the woman looked extremely thin and haggard, yet she always made a concerted effort to appear energetic. Sasuke had never seen her eat at mealtimes; sometimes she would sit on the ground to rest, but she never missed a day, always appearing at dawn and leaving when the dock closed.

“Sigh…” Cobb, who had been taking care of him for several days, sighed first before explaining, “Rick’s sister, ever since Rick died in the shipwreck, she’s had some mental problems and comes every day. At first, we couldn’t bear to see her like this and tried to persuade her, but she won’t listen anymore. She keeps repeating that she’s come to pick up her brother, and she’ll leave after picking him up…”

"...Was Rick a member of your crew before?"

“Yes, Rick was our best bosun. He could always come up with a solution quickly, no matter how bad the situation. He organized everyone to get through the difficulties. The captain had high hopes for that kid and told everyone that he had a worthy successor. But... sigh, sailors are at the mercy of the weather, especially on such a dangerous route. He had the opportunity to go to other fleets. If his family hadn't been short of money, he could definitely have made a name for himself.” Cowper’s tone was full of regret.

Sasuke had never been poor since childhood, and even in Orochimaru's territory, he was always provided for and never lacked anything. He knew that food cost money, and that starving could truly kill a person, but he found it hard to comprehend the harsh reality of the relationship between the two. However, compared to most people in the Land of Frost, the crew's wages were already at the top, and a woman who changed her clothes three times in a few days didn't seem like someone who was short of money for food.

What does he need so much money for?

"He wanted to take his sister abroad. If you ask me, he shouldn't have gone through all this trouble. He should have married Lina off as soon as possible and found a wife to settle down with. Now look what's happened, he didn't get a wife, didn't leave behind a child, and all he has left is a crazy sister. If it weren't for the captain taking pity on her and being afraid something might happen to her, sending someone to accompany her back every day, she might have disappeared any day now." Cobb completely failed to understand Rick's ideals and offered his evaluation from his own perspective.

But Sasuke wasn't one to believe everything he heard. He frowned almost immediately and said, "That girl looks like she's only in her teens." By Konoha's standards for adulthood, she's way too young to get married.

"Haha, I almost forgot, you're from abroad, you don't know. Here, women can get married at thirteen or fourteen, even the concubines of noblemen are like that. Lina is a minority." Cobb said with a hint of pride, "My wife married me at fourteen, and now she's given me three kids. I think you're quite handsome, young man. Go out for a stroll, and someone will surely try to set you up. If you see someone you like, you have to tell us so we can haggle a bit."

Sasuke's aloof demeanor crumbled, revealing a bewildered expression. Ninjas, of course, needed to study human anatomy, and he was a top student in his academics, so he possessed basic common sense. He vaguely remembered that a woman's optimal childbearing age was after twenty, and that earlier onwards, the body was more susceptible to damage. Then, this seemingly normal, burly man calmly uttered something even more shocking, completely shattering Sasuke's understanding of the world.

"This is about the price we charge to marry a girl here. Once you pay, you can bring her home, and you don't have to worry about her in-laws causing trouble. Of course, pretty girls cost a bit more, but with our wages, one trip to sea is enough to buy five girls, hahaha!"

...Damn, how can he still laugh! Is he marrying off his daughter or selling her?!

Just as Sasuke was about to physically shut up this noisy guy, a familiar figure slowly walked through the front door, which hadn't seen anyone else for several days. Sasuke immediately forgot what crazy things Kaobo was saying and started thinking about what excuse he could use to get rid of his job.

The first person the figure encountered was, of course, Lina, who was lingering by the door. Overwhelmed with empathy, the guy stepped forward and asked if the girl needed help. Don't ask him how he knew; he'd seen it so many times that even without hearing or seeing the lip movements, he could guess what the girl was saying.

However, the man's kindness was clearly misunderstood by the people in the fleet. The carpenter suddenly appeared out of nowhere and immediately stood in front of Lina. His well-developed and muscular physique made the other man look extremely short. But once the man straightened up, his aura changed. Even with his head tilted back, he could easily overshadow the carpenter, who was skilled in technique but lacked communication skills. They talked about something, but the carpenter's already hunched back became even more hunched. He seemed to glance at Lina several times, but in the end, he abandoned the girl and the stranger and headed straight for the captain.

However, after that, the guy didn't approach Lina again, but instead stood obediently in place and waited.

What exactly is that guy here for? It can't just be to catch a glimpse of his new look! What's so interesting about him?

Just as Sasuke was becoming even more eager to slip away, the person raised his head and looked at him from a distance that was neither too close nor too far, with a smile on his face.

...Damn it, he still saw it!