"That's me," I replied in a deep bass voice with a slight hoarseness befitting a heavy smoker, and asked, "What does a free shinobi need from me? I don't hire untested people to guard my ship.
"I need to get to the other side of Kanzoku, and I'm willing to pay well for the passage," he explained. "They say your ship is the fastest in the port and sails straight along Mizuno Kuni, without making a detour along the coast of Kiminari Kuni."
"Hmm, taking just anyone on board..." Iero stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"Not just anyone, but a paying passenger," I chuckled, placing several large gold coins on the table that I had prepared in advance.
Such people respect real money more than banknotes, even if they can be exchanged at any time at the nearest branch. Naturally, the glitter of gold instantly attracted the attention of the port crowd, but there were no idiots among them who dared to do more than cast a few greedy glances—my affiliation with the shinobi was obvious at a glance.
The captain was also not indifferent, squinting with interest and, unexpectedly quickly for his build, transferring the money into his pocket. It was clear that he wanted to increase the amount, even though I had already paid more than the average fare for such a distance — clan training at Nara was very diverse and high-quality — but he almost immediately dismissed such thoughts.
"There are pirates quite often on this route, so the help of another fighter won't be superfluous," I said, clearly deciding to approach from a different angle.
"You have your own guards who get paid for that, and I'm not going to do their job for them," I snorted mockingly, "but if the ship is in real danger, I will definitely intervene.
Or I'll quietly slip away if we're close enough to land and our enemies are numerous enough — I don't want to show off my abilities next to Kiri, since they and the Iwa have the worst attitude towards free shinobi.
"That's enough, welcome aboard, shinobi," nodded the captain, clearly not interested in knowing my name. 'The crew eats from one pot and..."
"I'll take care of my own food,' I waved him off.
I have plenty of scrolls from SR (Strategic reserve) for long missions, and they contain much more than just rations.
"Then we'll finish loading in an hour and leave right away," Iero shrugged and returned to his mug, clearly indicating that the conversation was over.
"I won't be late," nodded the bearded man, getting up and leaving the tavern.
While there was still time before departure, it would be wise to gather information about the land I was heading to — even if Konoha had fairly accurate maps of those lands, but I know almost nothing about the political situation and recent events, and simple sailors will help me with that.
For a small fee, they will share the latest rumors, with some delay, of course, given the remoteness and lack of direct instant communication between the continents.
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