While the Ide family was eliminated and his subordinates returned to the village, Fujin was enjoying flying under the starry sky. This journey expanded his horizons a lot. Kaito had shown him various sights and numerous wild beasts including some species he had never seen before. He even informed Fujin about locations and information of stronger wild beasts from whom he stayed away. Fujin saw a couple of mountain ranges that were on par with Mount Muteki in height.
Finally, around midnight, they reached a location from where they could see nothing but water. There wasn't a single island in sight. Kaito suddenly flew very high in the sky.
He said, "This is the sea surrounding the elemental nation continent. For thousands of kilometers, there is nothing but water. I haven't seen a single island in this area. This is one of the reasons why I said that the chances of finding humans elsewhere are low. After all, who would continue sailing for thousands of kilometers despite finding nothing but water?"
Fujin fell into thought. He analyzed, 'Though this world doesn't have aircraft, the ships are quite well developed. Though they are poor technologically as compared to my previous world, especially in maps and radars, it should be better than what was in the medieval era in my world.
In addition, they are much stronger in terms of defense due to ninjas. Surely there would have been some adventurous folks who made it all the way through.'
He asked, "What are the other reasons?"
Kaito chuckled and replied in an evil tone, "These oceans have terrifying beasts living within them! I have seen at least 13 who are as strong as my father. Some are even stronger. Even if someone as strong as you sailed these oceans, the chances of making it through alive would be very low.
And I am not even considering the natural calamities that suddenly happen in the ocean. Numerous times I have seen a giant whirlpool forming out of nowhere. At times, a giant tide arises without any prior signs.
Even if a ninja strong enough to defeat the stronger beasts and overcome any calamity sailed, they would have to suffer countless attacks from smaller beings in the ocean. They will definitely damage the ship and leave you stranded in the middle of the ocean. Eventually, all of them will die."
Fujin was surprised by the answer. He hadn't expected the calm ocean to be so dangerous. However, instead of being afraid, he let out a chuckle and said, "Perhaps after the wars are over, I should build a good ship, gather a few friends, wear a straw hat and sail these waters. Hahaha."
Kaito asked, "Why a straw hat?"
Fujin replied, "You won't understand."
Kaito was confused. But he replied, "Alright. Call me if you do so. That sounds like an interesting adventure."
Fujin replied, "Sure."
Kaito said in a mocking tone, "Though I won't join you, I would love to see you struggle from the sky. If you die, I'll be sure to weep for you and inform everyone back home about your heroic demise."
Fujin had a deadpan expression. He thought that Kaito was genuinely interested in that adventure. He replied, "Don't worry. If I am in such deep trouble, I will be sure to summon you down. I'm sure those gigantic beasts would prefer eating someone big instead of someone tiny like me."
The two continued their banter all night. After all, Fujin couldn't sleep due to the soldier pill and there was nothing interesting to see other than the stars in the sky.
The night slowly faded away as the first glimmers of dawn lit up the horizon, painting the vast ocean below in hues of gold and pink. The first rays of sunlight kissed the water, setting it ablaze with a thousand shimmering lights. A sense of serenity washed over Fujin as the vast expanse filled with awe-inspiring solitude.
A smile appeared on Kaito's face. He said, "No matter how many times I see this, it always feels as serene and refreshing as the first time. It's one of the reasons why I fly so much!"
Fujin nodded. The sight reminded Fujin of the first time he rode on Ryu. Noticing how engrossed Fujin was, Kaito let out a chuckle and said, "Look towards the right."
Fujin saw to his right but couldn't see anything. Kaito said, "It's very far. Use your chakra."
Fujin's eyes began glowing as he focused chakra into his eyes. As there were no obstacles, he was able to see for extremely long distances. At the same time, Kaito began flying higher into the sky.
At first, Fujin enjoyed the sight of sunlight grazing the ocean surface. However, as Kaito kept going higher, he noticed a strange wave. Despite travelling for so long, he hadn't seen any waves in the ocean. It was extremely still.
As Kaito kept flying higher, Fujin finally understood what the strange wave was. His eyes widened in surprise. It was a whirlpool. He muttered, "What a fucking gigantic whirlpool!"
Kaito agreed. He said, "That whirlpool always changes in size. At the smallest, it has a radius of 25 kilometers. And at its highest size, it exceeds 100 kilometers in radius. Underneath it lives a fearsome beast. It is a nine-headed Hydra. The entire whirlpool is caused by it."
Fujin was stunned. He asked, "That freaking thing is caused by an animal?"
Kaito nodded and said, "Around 200 years ago, my Grandfather and 3 of his siblings were attacked by it when they were flying over. Father said that all four of them were as strong as he is now. And still, they were defeated. They barely managed to make it out alive and were severely injured. From that moment, flying over that whirlpool is forbidden for us."
Fujin replied, "I am surprised that flying over this Ocean isn't forbidden for you considering that it was that strong 200 years ago. If it is that strong, then it is almost as strong as the Tailed Beasts. Without the Tailed Beast Bomb, it might even have an advantage."
Kaito said, "I don't know what that attack is. But our Sage did say that the Tailed Beasts are stronger. But I haven't seen either of them in action. So I can't give my opinion."
Fujin thought, 'It will be interesting to see what would happen if I drop Isobu in this whirlpool. Will it kill the beast or force it to withdraw? Or will it be forced to retreat? And how much damage will it take?'
Suddenly, he had an idea, 'Now that I think about it, this might be a very easy way to subdue Isobu. Just have to move him here and make these two fight. Zetsu shouldn't be able to keep an eye on this place. It is the perfect plan.
Or would have been if I had any means of transporting Isobu so far. Even the Flying Thunder God shouldn't allow me to do that unless my chakra is at a ridiculous level.'
He looked at the whirlpool and wondered, 'Were those whales I saw while using the summoning jutsu from this ocean as well? Now that I think about it, it's fortunate that I appeared there and not next to this monster. That water flow alone is insane. No ship will be able to survive that. Let alone face that beast inside.'
Kaito continued flying forward. En route, he shared the location of another strong beast. This one wasn't as strong as the Hydra but still very strong. By afternoon, they finally saw land!
Fujin observed the land but couldn't identify where it was. He asked, "Which country is this?"
Kaito replied, "This should be an island in the Land of Water."
Fujin replied, "I see. So Mount Muteki is to the East of this continent."
Kaito nodded and said, "Yes. Though more like it is on the other side of this world. You'll reach it even if you fly West. But the journey is around twice as long."
Fujin replied, "Alright."
At the same time he thought, 'Now that I think about it, I haven't ever been to the Land of Water. A shame that I can't start my organization yet. This would have been the best place to recruit from. I might have even found a few kids with Kekkei Genkai with some luck. That said, I wonder how Shigeki is doing.'
Unknown to Fujin, his former sensei was doing the very same thing in the Land of Water. Except for the fact that it was a mission from the village rather than some personal ambition.
Fujin decided against stopping in the Land of Water. After all, he had already created conflicts in the remaining 3 major villages. Against Kumo, his squad had killed over a dozen ninjas, which was followed by Jiraiya killing more than 250. Against Suna, he had created a giant mess. And not long ago, his team killed 19 Iwa ninjas and injured an Elite Jounin. He didn't want to create a mess in Kiri as well.
By evening, Kaito flew over the vast Land of Water and landed inside the Land of Fire. The two bade farewell. Fujin stretched his body and thought, 'This is the first time I flew for almost 36 hours straight. Luckily his back is quite comfortable to lay on.'
He moved towards Konoha. The spot Kaito dropped him at was very close to it. So he reached within an hour and directly went to see Hiruzen.
