harleyscars Chapter 289 Fleet
Chapter 289 Fleet
"One, two, one, two, one, two!"
Loud shouts echoed across the dock as shirtless men pulled on thick ropes, hoisting the sails of the large ships. Maintaining the vessels was paramount to ensuring a stable voyage. The journey to Ghost Lantern City was fraught with peril, taking a heavy toll on the ships. Therefore, before each voyage, the fleet needed to thoroughly inspect the condition of every vessel from top to bottom. While the five great nations would cover the repair costs, they might not fully compensate for the ship's losses in the event of an accident.
"You were recommended by Ale?"
The bustling docks couldn't possibly be busy with only one thing; the recruitment office, perpetually short of workers, had been practically deserted these past few days. The recent disappearances had caused quite a stir, with many families from other places coming to the city to plead with the king for intervention. The king couldn't ignore the commotion and immediately ordered all cases to be consolidated and handled uniformly. But once consolidated, people discovered that it wasn't just outside the city where people were going missing; many had also gone missing within the city itself. Panic intensified, and gossip took hold. People already harbored a strong prejudice against the Ghost Lantern City, and somehow this prejudice became linked to the disappearances, leading to widespread rumors that it was a curse from the land of demons.
The route to Hozuki was already extremely dangerous, frequently resulting in crew losses. It relied on high pay to attract experienced and skilled sailors, yet many still quit after a few trips. With the rumors circulating, even fewer people came. But there were minimum requirements for sailing, and the captain was already worried about it. Suddenly, someone appeared, and he was initially quite happy, but upon closer inspection, he saw a "skinny" young boy, and his worries returned.
Ale is an old acquaintance of his, and has introduced many excellent crew members. How come his judgment was so poor this time? Oh well, he might as well try anything. He can't very well refuse Ale's request.
"Hmm." The boy wearing the straw hat seemed to be the type to talk little. Although he was dressed in the most common coarse cloth clothes for sailors, and was very ordinary and covered up from head to toe, when he slightly raised his head to reveal his eyes under the brim of his hat, a sharpness from within was revealed.
The captain remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was beginning to have doubts. The man's skin, though bronze, didn't look rough; it didn't appear to be the result of years at sea under the sun. He'd seen so many sailors, even the shortest, who were always quite sturdy. This fellow's sleeves were drafty—could he really be a proper sailor?
However, just as he began to have doubts, his dark pupils were suddenly tinged with red. He paused, then quickly forgot what he had just seen or remembered. He simply put down his pipe, cheerfully invited the man to sit down, and asked a few questions as part of the usual procedure. For example, how many years of sailing experience the man had, where he had been, and what he was good at.
The young man answered earnestly. Although he didn't mention many years of service, he had traveled to quite a few places, meeting the requirements for joining the group. So, the captain waved his hand, grabbed a nearby crew member who was working, and handed him over the task of guiding the newcomer.
"Is this kid really capable of doing a sailor's job?"
The man did express his doubts, but the boy remained unmoved. He calmly picked up the box the man had just put down, held it steadily, and asked, "Is this for the ship?"
The tall, burly man stared wide-eyed, for he knew the weight of that box best—it was the kind of weight he could carry steadily without getting tired quickly. It wasn't that heavy, but it certainly wasn't something a teenager could lift casually.
The captain laughed twice and said, "When has Ale ever let us down? Don't take advantage of his age to bully him."
In short, the process of joining the group with the letter of introduction went relatively smoothly; a little demonstration would be enough to quell any doubts. Once at sea, copying the crew's movements with the Sharingan, combined with the ship's structural diagrams I'd seen before, should be enough to fool everyone. If all else fails, there's always the Sharingan's genjutsu as a backup.
Sasuke hadn't originally planned to seriously play the role of a sailor, intending to join the group closer to departure. However, after yesterday's conversation, he felt he couldn't stop now. If he did, the shadows of the past would resurface in his memory, and those overlooked details would gradually fill his mind, describing a completely different Uchiha to him.
Since encountering the other side of the world through Orochimaru, his hatred began to cool. That didn't mean the hatred disappeared, but rather that he broke free from blind hatred and began to seek the truth behind the massacre of his clan. When he faced fifty ninjas, he fought from dusk till dawn—how long did that night last? Was that long list of deaths really accomplished by Itachi alone? Even if everyone was unsuspecting, it shouldn't have…
"The radical faction of the Uchiha clan once proposed a coup, and these ideas were recorded in the Hokage archives. Presumably, the Konoha higher-ups are aware of this. Although I don't want to speculate, is it possible that someone within the higher-ups helped...that man?"
Sasuke shook his head, dispelling the thoughts in his mind. He knew how important Konoha was to Naruto, but to help him, he had broken the agreement and shared the clues he had gathered, even though those clues were detrimental to Konoha. He had confidently told Naruto not to investigate further, that he would investigate in his own way, but in reality, his mind was a complete blank, unable to process anything...
"Li Zhu! Slow down..." The burly man in charge of instruction chased after him desperately, carrying a box. "You little rascal... do you have inexhaustible strength?"
Seeing that no one was around, the burly man put his arm around the boy's shoulder. The stench of sweat hit him, almost triggering the ninja's instinctive reaction. However, he showed no remorse for escaping death, and instead said in a low voice, "That's not how you work. You're still young, do you even understand the essence of a work shift?"
what?
Sasuke, who had never had a stable job before, typed a question mark.
"Even if you move more stuff than you need, even double the amount, you'll still be paid by the hour. The captain might give you a little bonus, but it's not worth it. We pay by the day, as long as everything is moved before we set sail."
Sasuke understood the idea of being paid by the hour, but wouldn't this model lead to everyone slacking off? And wouldn't the captain care?
Seeing the doubt in Sasuke's eyes, the burly man immediately understood and said, "The captain is one of our men, and the higher-ups are the ones who pay us. Every time we report the project time, the captain will give us a higher number."
Oh, so they're a group of people who slack off.