Regardless of the fact that the sightseeing flight was meant to be a secret, the curtain was lifted at the height of a magnificent ceremony.
In the grassy field by the sea, decorative paper balls were split open and white doves flew free from them, a drum and fife band marched about, and confetti danced in the air. It went without saying that the guests of honor who were to ride the Tobishachimaru, and even the mere attendants who had been placed at their disposal, all expressed their respect for the historic moment and watched the ceremony in full dress.
Behind the brilliant men and women taking the stage one after another and offering congratulatory addresses stood the proud form of the enormous streamlined Tobishachimaru, 223 meters in total length, diameter of 34 meters, top speed of 70 kilometers per hour, the tail equipped with six thrust propellers. A gondola compartment was attached to the bottom of the massive body.
Tobishachimaru—the three characters of the name meant flying shachi boat, and the origin of this name was very clear. On the balloon, an enormous tiger-headed shachi carp had been carefully painted, right down to the dorsal and pectoral fins.
The weather was superb—there was not a cloud in the sky, and the cool wind of late autumn blew through the grasses to make rustling waves.
“It’s the perfect day.” Slight tears welled up in Tazuna’s eyes as he gazed upon the ship he had had a hand in building. “Now the Land of Waves will be incredibly strong once more.”
“Congratulations,” Kakashi replied. “You’ve made something wonderful, Tazuna.”
“Did you know? That huge balloon there’s called an air bladder. Got helium gas inside it.”
“Helium’s lighter than air and not flammable, right?”
“Mm-hmm, that’s Tobishachimaru’s buoyancy right there. Look. There’s six propellers on the tail there, right?”
Kakashi nodded.
“Those push that massive thing forward. This time’s a sightseeing flight, two and a half hours, but we tweak things a bit and we should be able to achieve significantly longer flight ranges. Although, to keep other countries from learning about the ship, we have to stay at an altitude of five thousand meters or lower. As long as we don’t go above five thousand meters on today’s flight, we should be safe from the prying eyes of the intelligence services of the other nations. We checked it all out. And the reason the ship was painted that precise shade of light blue is to make it blend in with the color of the sky.”
“But Konoha has been informed about it?”
“Well, there was no way around that.” All smiles until that point, Tazuna’s face clouded over. “All fine and good for Garyo to have been sent to Hozuki Castle, but his followers have infiltrated every level of society.”
“That’s exactly why we have the masters of Konoha concealed inside the ship.”
“We’re really counting on you.”
“Now, let us at last proceed to board!” A proud voice echoed from the stage, urging the guests toward the ship. “Those lucky fifty-seven guests fortunate enough to have invitations, please make your way to the Tobishachimaru! The attendants will show you inside!”
“Finally, hmm?”
At Kakashi’s words, Tazuna narrowed his eyes, overwhelmed with emotion. “Yes, finally making history here.”
They looked out over the people, laughing and chatting in their finery, streaming toward the Tobishachimaru. The playing of the drum and fife band grew noticeably louder.
Kakashi heard hurried footsteps from behind just as the last guests stepped onto the ramp and the photo session to commemorate the occasion began.
“Wait!” A woman holding up the hem of a long blue dress came running at top speed. “I’m getting on! I’m getting on the ship as well!” Clutched in the hand she was waving wildly above her head was a gilded invitation.
Just as she was about to run past Kakashi, the woman tripped and pitched forward. “Waah!” she cried in a small voice as her body was thrown into the air.
Almost reflexively, Kakashi stopped her.
In the confusion, their eyes met. Flowing, curly hair, slightly parted lips, large, moist eyes open in surprise—time stopped for a moment, and the world, to Kakashi, was this woman and nothing else.
The woman in the long dress fell into Kakashi’s arms, her hair softly tickling the end of his nose as she raised her head.
“Are you all right?”
“Oh! Excuse me.” The woman hurriedly pulled herself upright. “I was in a bit of a hurry. Thank you so much for helping me in a moment of danger.”
Kakashi nodded, and she avoided meeting his eyes, embarrassed. And then she lifted the hem of her dress once more and charged toward the Tobishachimaru, yelling loudly, “Wait! Please waaaiit! I’m getting on, I’m a passenger as well!”
“People are that excited to go on the sightseeing trip,” Kakashi remarked to Tazuna, watching the woman running away from behind. “Carpentry is really a wonderful occupation.”
“She’s a real beautiful woman, too,” Tazuna said. “And speaking of occupations, you still not having your big day?”
Again?
Kakashi shook his head ambiguously. His eyes were turned toward the Tobishachimaru waiting to take off as the woman in the long dress rushed to the gangplank.
“I don’t really know, but isn’t the Hokage inauguration ceremony kinda like a wedding between you and Konohagakure?”
“Yes,” Kakashi answered absently, staring at the propellers on the tail. “I guess you could say that.”
“Then it’d be strange not to have doubts. And all the more so with everyone expecting so much of you.”
Kakashi looked closely at the gondola bathed in the morning light, casting a black shadow on the green grasses.
“For instance, suppose that beautiful woman just now was seriously chasing after you to marry her. No matter how beautiful she might be, a man’s going to flinch at that.”
“Mm-hmm.” But Tazuna’s voice was for the most part not reaching Kakashi’s ears. “You don’t say.”
“When a woman’s too aggressive, a man just pulls back. And this is exactly why when I was young, I went chasing round after tail like a starving dog—”
“Tazuna,” Kakashi interrupted the other man. His eyes were firmly fixed on a suspicious man jumping down from the tail of the ship. “I might have just gotten called to work.”
Leaving behind Tazuna, and the question mark floating over his head, Kakashi raced toward the Tobishachimaru.
The woman, who had just run up onto the gangplank, appeared to be the last passenger. The workers began releasing the ropes that affixed the ship to the earth. The sky-blue machine groaned quietly as it made its preparations to leave the ground.
“Hey!” Kakashi called from behind, and the man in the black, hooded cloak jumped and stood still. It was the man who had snuck down from the tail of the Tobishachimaru while he was talking with Tazuna. “You’re not an invited guest, huh?”
The man started running.
“Stop!”
Kakashi took off in pursuit, only to receive a sharp kick that came flying out from under the hem of the man’s cloak. Opening his stance, he dodged the enemy attack and threw out a number of his own attacks in succession.
One blow, two, three, the pair attacked each other. Kakashi could tell his opponent was quite masterful. He made no wasted movement.
But while they exchanged a fourth and fifth blow, he came to see through his enemy’s tactics. No sooner had he thought that a kick would come at the same time as a thrust, his opponent launched that very attack. He read the show of tripping as actually moving in for a series of blows to his torso, and his enemy moved exactly as he anticipated; it was almost fun to watch.
Kakashi knew this attack pattern only too well. On top of that, he felt absolutely no bloodlust here, nor the minutest sense of any ninjutsu being activated. As if to confirm his suspicions, that back might have been covered in a black cloak, but—
Lowering his head and dodging a kick, Kakashi charged at his enemy.
He deftly handled the succession of lunges and dropped his hips to kick his enemy’s feet out from under him as he shot out a rapid-fire five-blow combo using his fists and elbows.
Crack!
Whmp!
“Aaaaah!” Sent flying, the enemy fell to the ground, legs and arms spasming.
“My, my.” Kakashi approached his opponent and pulled back the hood hiding his face. “The fact that you’re here means that Guy’s come too, hm?”
Below the hood was the face of an unconscious Rock Lee.
∞
Slipping through the crowd of onlookers and picture takers, Kakashi jumped up onto the last rope tying the Tobishachimaru to the ground.