While Taiichi led his group back toward Konoha, far to the east in the Land of Wind, a massive ship cut through the open ocean far from the coastline.
On the deck, Cloud shinobi lounged in small groups. Some played cards, others sparred half-heartedly, and a few lay in hammocks staring at the endless sky. After a full month at sea, the excitement from the start of the journey had long since died. Every day looked the same — nothing but water in every direction.
Even disciplined shinobi eventually needed something to break the monotony.
That day, the sound of a bell rang out from the highest lookout post, followed by a shout filled with relief and excitement.
"Land! I see land! We're here!"
For a moment the deck went silent. Then it exploded into motion. Cards were thrown down, spars were abandoned, and people jumped out of hammocks. Everyone rushed to the front of the ship, eyes locked on the horizon.
A thin white line slowly appeared above the water. Cheers erupted across the deck.
Finally. This miserable voyage was almost over.
A commotion spread through the crowd as two figures pushed their way forward.
"Move! Lord A and Lord Killer B are coming through!"
The shinobi parted. A and Killer B stepped up to the railing.
A stared at the distant land with sharp, burning eyes. Unlike the others who were simply happy to be off the ship, his excitement came from something else — the mission was about to begin.
"How long until we reach shore?" he asked.
"About five hours," one of the sensor types answered after a quick calculation.
A nodded. He pointed toward a cluster of small islands near the coast. "We won't land directly. Hide the ship on one of those islands. We'll run across the water from there."
"Understood, Lord A!"
A turned to face the rest of the strike force. His voice carried across the deck.
"Once we're close, check your gear. The second we hit land, we move. No delays."
The Cloud shinobi scattered, energized. After a month trapped on the ship, they were more than ready to fight.
Only A and Killer B remained on the deck.
"Big bro, once we land… do we hit them right away or scout first?" Killer B asked, swaying side to side as he rapped.
A glanced at his brother but didn't bother correcting his speech. As long as it didn't affect the mission, he let it slide.
"We move the moment we confirm our position. We're here to catch Sand off guard. We use our speed and keep them off balance. There are already agents inside the country waiting to feed us information."
Killer B grinned and launched into another short rap about crushing Sand shinobi.
A ignored the performance and looked back toward the horizon. Sand was busy fighting Leaf on the western front. Their eastern border should be weak. If everything went according to plan, this raid would be a massive success.
---
By afternoon, the Cloud force had hidden their ship in a quiet cove on one of the small islands. The only downside was the distance to shore — even at shinobi speed, it would take them nearly half an hour to run across the water.
On the beach, A spread out a simple map and addressed the group.
"We'll make landfall here. There are four Sand outposts along this stretch of coast. We split into two teams. I'll take one north and clear the first two. Killer B will take the other south and clear the remaining two. We regroup at this point afterward."
His voice turned cold and serious.
"Move fast. Hit hard. Once the outposts are gone, we don't linger. We stay ahead of Sand's response. Speed is everything."
"Yes, Lord A!"
A rolled up the map and looked toward the distant shore.
"Move out."
He took off first, sprinting across the water. Killer B followed right behind him, and the rest of the hundred-man force spread out in their wake.
They reached land in under thirty minutes and immediately split into two groups.
The four Sand outposts never stood a chance. Each one had less than twenty people, and none of them had time to send a distress signal before Cloud's elite forces wiped them out.
When the two teams met up again, every Cloud shinobi was unharmed and riding high on adrenaline. A month of boredom had been completely vented in one clean strike.
Killer B bounced around excitedly. "Big bro! That felt good! Sand's weaklings dropped like flies!"
A allowed himself a small, satisfied smile.
"We're not done. There's a mineral mine about a hundred kilometers west of here. We hit it next."
The force split into smaller units again and moved out at high speed.
---
Three hours later, at Sand's eastern command post, Pakura finally realized something was wrong.
Four neighboring outposts had gone completely silent.
She immediately sent out scout teams and raised the alert level, though she still assumed it was another probing attack from Mist. She had no idea how wrong she was.
By the time night fell, Cloud's forces had already reached the mineral mine.
Lightning and thunder tore through the darkness. The mine's defenses, already thin, collapsed almost instantly under the coordinated assault of a hundred elite Cloud shinobi.
A watched his people work with sharp eyes.
"Thirty minutes," he ordered. "Take everything valuable. Prioritize the high-grade ore. Once time's up, we leave."
The Cloud shinobi moved like wolves. Every single one of them carried multiple storage scrolls for exactly this reason. They had been promised thirty percent of whatever they personally secured as a bonus.
They tore through the mine with ruthless efficiency.
When the thirty-minute mark hit, a sharp whistle cut through the air. The Cloud force regrouped instantly — no one hesitated, even with riches still sitting in the ground.
A looked over his team. Every face was lit with excitement.
This was how you got rich in wartime.
"We're moving to the next target," he said. "It's a hundred and fifty kilometers away. We rest for three hours on the way. Stay sharp."
With that, the Cloud strike force vanished into the night, already hunting their next prize.