Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 159 "Comparison"

Life at sea is far from pleasant. Humans are ultimately land creatures, and going out to sea by boat is a true test of one's physical endurance. Even fish lovers can't stand eating fish three times a day. Seeing his companions looking pale and unwell at the seafood meal, Naruto thought for a moment and then sent a shadow clone, Flying Thunder God Technique, away. When it returned, it was carrying a cow and a huge basket of apples.

Faced with a ship full of shocked samurai, Naruto generously divided the beef among himself. Cured and stored meat couldn't compare to fresh meat, and besides, fresh fruits and vegetables were rarely available on board. The crew happily shared the food, from officers to the lowest-ranking soldiers tending the coal stoves; everyone was treated equally. Naruto personally oversaw the distribution. From then on, the crew's attitude towards their temporary captain improved considerably, with some particularly outgoing individuals even trying to ingratiate themselves with him.

Now, Chi was getting restless. He realized he had seriously underestimated this Konoha ninja's abilities. This guy was not only incredibly strong, but his methods of winning people over were also so formidable. If this happened a few more times, would his soldiers still be his soldiers? So, he deliberately approached him in public, making sure everyone could hear him, to discuss the settlement of their food expenses. According to the agreement, all expenses for the voyage should be borne by the Land of Iron. They weren't short of money, and there was absolutely no reason for them to make ninjas work for them at their own expense.

“I understand your concerns, Ikeya. However, that meal was unplanned and not covered by the agreement.” Naruto replied calmly, his smile unchanged.

Chi also suspected it was intentional, but he had no proof. He hated dealing with overly intelligent people, those who were always calculating, reducing everything to cold numbers, including emotions and loyalty. Using money to control the lower classes was indeed a good method, but he shouldn't use it on a ship at sea. If the other party gained the upper hand, then even destroying his body would be so easy. He wouldn't sit idly by and wait to die.

However, the food and water they carried on the voyage were limited, the search operation was of unknown duration, the supply points were too far away, and unforeseen events could occur at any time at sea. Therefore, it was essential to have provisions for food, making the question of how to "bribe" the crew a real challenge. He found his excuse during a morning of "harvest," loudly promising a reward upon their return—three thousand taels was an extremely high sum. He watched his cheering men with satisfaction, then casually glanced in Naruto's direction, only to find the latter still smiling and even leading the applause.

He must have done it on purpose.

"Is that guy provoking you?" Even the most oblivious person would realize what he meant when they saw that look. Sasuke's hand went to the hilt of his sword, and his tone lowered. "You didn't do anything to him, is he crazy?"

Naruto's smile widened. Although he was reluctant to part with the innocent Sasuke, he still gave his answer: "He thinks I'm challenging his authority."

"Huh?" Sasuke felt more and more that the guy was crazy. "Is it wrong for you to invite him to dinner?"

"The problem isn't that I invited him to dinner, but that I didn't invite him to dinner alone."

Jiraiya, who was passing by, chimed in, somewhat surprised, "I thought you did it unintentionally, but it turns out you saw right through it all?"

Sasuke was still in a state of confusion, his eyes shifting between Naruto, Jiraiya, and Ike. But having Naruto by his side since childhood, he was used to sharing. In his opinion, food was such a trivial thing that there was no need to fuss over it, unless... Naruto only made one serving.

Looking at Sasuke's utterly innocent stupidity, Naruto sighed and explained helplessly, "You saw the change in everyone's attitude towards me, right? It was a change caused by a meal, incredibly fast. It made Ike, who originally controlled this team, feel a sense of crisis, so he suddenly found a reason to give out rewards in order to 'recover' his 'status' in the hearts of the samurai. But obviously, he didn't grasp the key point."

Even Jiraiya turned a serious look to Naruto, wanting to hear what other insights he had to offer.

"The reason why everyone's attitude towards me has changed is not because of some small favors, but because of fairness." At this point, his expression became serious. "I treat everyone as an individual equal to me and give them the same respect. People actually have self-esteem, even if they fall into the dust. When you give them respect and sincerity, in most cases you will receive the same respect in return. Just like I said before, don't underestimate anyone."

Jiraiya was utterly shocked by this statement. He honestly admitted that even ninjas were divided into different ranks, and he himself wasn't always able to treat all ninjas equally, let alone ordinary people. Naruto, however, had so easily uttered such an incredible statement and put it into practice!

Sasuke always knew Naruto's benevolence; he was kind to everyone except himself. Whenever his own dark thoughts began to stir, Naruto would always appear by his side, offering him subtle favoritism in the closest possible way. Like giving him the best bones in the pork cutlet, or the only apple Naruto picked himself.

His heart was secretly pleased by these favors, yet he craved more, and only the constant recollection of the blood-red night could calm him.

It's not the right time yet; it's far from it. Only when he emerges from the shadows will he be qualified to stand beside the sun.

The discussion about human nature had to stop as the ship entered a fog, the very area rumored to be fraught with danger. This was Turtle Island's natural defense, presumably due to some kind of special formation or array on the island that operated automatically year-round.

Naruto had actually been observing the giant turtle for many days and realized that the reason it wasn't moving wasn't because it didn't want to, but because it had accidentally become stranded. Reefs on the seabed often appear in strange places, and the turtle's location was a cluster of reefs. Such large marine creatures cannot support their own weight. A turtle's limbs are only meant for crawling and swimming; with its large size, even crawling becomes impossible, leaving it to drift in the sea. But now? The reef had trapped it in a shallow area, and its paddle-like limbs could only thrash about, destroying everything around it, unable to find any foothold. So, the laid-back old turtle retreated into its shell, deciding to rely on aestivation to solve its food shortage problem—a true case of adapting to its circumstances.

This stranding was clearly not intentional; could it have been caught in a typhoon? Has this happened before? I have absolutely no recollection of it. How will the Cloud Retreat Society handle this? Should they try to reach the shore?

A series of questions flashed by quickly, but soon converged into one: because the enormous squid was approaching.

"All personnel on alert! Artillerymen, prepare to fire! Do not fire without orders!"

After speaking, Naruto leaped up and jumped onto the sea surface.