After drifting at sea for two whole days, Sora and his group finally reached the small island of the Land of the Sun.
Finding a secluded spot, Sora steered the ship to the shore. "Hurry up and throw Guy off the boat, or he might actually die on board!"
Sora chuckled. The fearless and unstoppable Guy had turned into a mess the moment he boarded the ship—his legs went soft, he vomited nonstop, and now he was just wriggling around on the deck, unable even to stand.
Not just Sora, but the others were equally shocked by the sight. They could hardly believe this was Konoha's proud Blue Beast.
After resting for a bit and waiting for everyone to recover, they finally prepared to take action.
"Kakashi, Big Brother Minato should have told you the details. That guy is not easy to deal with, and the Death God is extremely dangerous. Come up with an action plan," Sora said without any shame, tossing the task directly to Kakashi.
Because, honestly, Kakashi's brain was incredibly useful.
If it weren't that sharp, he wouldn't have earned the nickname "Kakashi of the Sharingan," even though that title hadn't come to pass in this lifetime.
Rolling his eye at Sora, Kakashi lowered his head and pondered for a while before saying, "Our information is more than a decade old. Nobody knows what the current situation is like.
"And with so many of us, our group is too large and conspicuous. It would be easy for someone to spot us—especially with these little ones tagging along."
He didn't spare any feelings for the kids, bluntly pointing out the problem.
Although Naruto, Sasuke, and the others were clearly unhappy, the stern look from their teachers forced them to hold back their complaints, settling instead for rolling their eyes and puffing out their cheeks.
Shooting them a glare, Kakashi continued, "The priority right now is to gather enough intelligence without being discovered.
"So we need these little ones to hide while we go investigate."
As he spoke, Kakashi snuck a glance at Guy. Sora and Kurenai immediately caught his drift.
Guy, with his green bodysuit and bowl-cut hair, was just way too conspicuous. Sending him to gather information would get them exposed within minutes. Leaving him behind to watch Naruto and the others was definitely the best choice.
Sora gave Kakashi a look of understanding and then pretended to consider it seriously. "If we all leave, the kids will be in danger. Someone has to stay and watch them. Who do you think is best suited for that?"
Kurenai jumped right in, smoothly following the setup. "My abilities aren't as strong as you guys', so it's not safe for me to stay behind. Kakashi has the best scouting skills, so he must go. That only leaves you or Guy."
When she finished speaking, Kurenai gave a sly smile, looking at Sora with amusement.
Sora's mouth twitched. Why wasn't she sticking to the script?
This move of hers was practically shoving him into the babysitter role. Was she expecting him to watch over the little brats?
"Kurenai," Kakashi jumped in just in time, giving Sora an out. "Sora is the only one among us who can fly. If we run into real trouble, we'll need him to get us out. So, it makes sense for Guy to stay."
Guy looked at the three of them, watching as they casually tossed him aside. He opened his mouth, but found he had nothing to say.
After the decision was made, they quickly squashed any resistance, which included Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba.
Finding a cliffside near the coast, Sora used Wood Release to craft a house in the middle of the cliff, where Guy and the others were told to stay.
After getting them settled, Sora, Kakashi, and Kurenai changed into civilian clothes and headed out.
Before long, they reached a small town.
But as they entered, the scene before them was surprising. The townsfolk were dressed even more poorly than they were in their casual clothes.
Most of them looked like beggars, making Sora, Kakashi, and Kurenai stand out immediately.
"Come on, now we're the rich folks around here. Let's find a tavern and have a good time," Sora said casually, shrugging.
He didn't mind; after all, it wasn't like there weren't rich folks in this country too.
The only downside was that Kurenai was way too pretty, and her beauty was drawing stares from just about everyone.
Before long, the three of them found a small sake tavern, ordered a few bottles, and sat down to listen in on local chatter.
"Sigh, tomorrow's the Death God Festival. I wonder how many people are gonna die this time... That Death God Cult is seriously messed up!"
"Shh! Are you insane? Do you want to die? You can't say things like that!"
Not far from Sora and the others, two shabbily dressed men were whispering to each other.
Although they were poorly dressed, the two men had strong features and a certain righteous air about them.
The three exchanged glances but held back from making a move, choosing instead to quietly listen.
"Sigh! But you're right, though. This Death God Festival happens every month. Every town has to send two people for sacrifice.
"The Land of the Sun only has eight towns. That's sixteen people a month. Over time, the population's been cut in half!"
His companion nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Fire Country is so much better. You can eat and sleep well every day... It's just a pity we can't go back."
At that, both of them slumped over their drinks, losing any interest in continuing the conversation.
Even so, Sora had learned a lot. First, the Land of the Sun only had eight towns—an embarrassingly small country.
Second, nearly everyone there worshipped the Death God Cult, and every month, each town had to send two people for sacrifice.
That's twenty-four a year, two hundred and forty in ten years. No wonder the population was dwindling.
Judging by the situation, the people here showed no signs of regret and continued to believe in the cult.
Sora looked at Kakashi and Kurenai, saw that they both seemed to be thinking along the same lines, and made a cutting gesture across his neck.
Kakashi and Kurenai nodded in understanding. The three continued to sit there, eating and drinking, waiting for the two men to leave.
It was a full thirty minutes later before the two men, now heavily drunk, staggered out of the tavern. Sora tossed some money on the table, then followed alongside Kakashi and Kurenai.
They trailed the men until they reached an isolated area. Only then did the three of them reveal themselves, blocking their path.
"Gentlemen, we're going to ask you some questions now. If you don't cooperate..."
Sora didn't finish the sentence, but the way his blade glinted in the light said enough.
Looking at the cold, shimmering steel, the two men instantly sobered up, fear flushing their faces.
They nodded quickly, not daring to make a sound, terrified that Sora would kill them if he even blinked wrong.
Seeing them behave, Sora finally asked, "Which country are you two from? And why are you in the Land of the Sun?"
"F-Fire Country... We're fishermen from the Land of Fire. We were captured and brought here."