Island of Storms [Sakura]

Chapter 25 | Cargo

Ten days had passed since the first boats had set off to Arashijima. Sai and Ino stood watching a carpenter replace the bridge sign at the request of Tazuna, who had left a message with Oginku, renaming it The Spring Bridge.

Oginku was a well-built man in his mid-forties who had worked in a bar, carrying supplies for a majority of his life. He had tanned skin, gray hair, broad shoulders, and a strong jaw. According to him, when Inari had started learning taijutsu, Oginku had joined him and excelled quickly. He now made his post in the small building at the entrance to the town, where people entering would check in and give their reasons for being there.

Kakashi had made a wall around the town by the inhabitants' request, cutting off the tiny village from the rest of the large island. The only way in was past Oginku.

With the carpenter having finished the new sign, the three of them made their way back to the gate of Arashichi, the gateway to Arashigakure. Ino and Sai stopped at the check-in booth while the carpenter made his way back into the city after greeting the man at the desk.

"Hello, Oginku! The new sign is up!" Ino smiled, the man giving a hearty laugh.

"The old man will be happy to hear it. I can take that sign off your hands if you like," he offered, looking at the painter.

"Oh, thank you." The old sign was handed over and Oginku placed it under the desk. "So, heard anything from your friend Shikamaru?"

He waved at a group of merchants who were headed out of the city. "Have a safe trip back to the capital!"

The group sent him their well wishes.

"No," Ino sighed. "I'm sure he's fine, but he's too lazy sometimes..."

"I see, well don't worry about him too much. From what I've heard from you, he's mighty strong and has a good head. He'll turn up soon." The man recalled something. "Oh, by the way, Hiromasa wanted you two to come by and help with some merchandise he needs put on the next cargo ferry."

Both shinobi looked at him for a moment before a vein popped on the woman's forehead.

"The next ferry is in less than twenty minutes!"

"You two better get a move on then, huh?"

The blonde placed a hand on her shoulder and held up her fist.

"Why were you just talking to us!?" she demanded before hurrying down the main road. Sai waved to the man in the booth, who cupped his hands around his mouth.

"See you two tomorrow!" he called as they moved into the lightly crowded intersection. There were many more buildings than there had been before as everyone hoped that the village would grow into a town and perhaps even a city of its own. There were empty shops and houses dotted across the whole of the village, each waiting to have families or businesses in them.

Since there was such a high demand for housing in the beginning, those who had already lived in the village and those who had first moved to the area within the first week were able to claim a home at no cost. Such a thing was not really a problem seeing as the homes were built on chakra alone. Many people were ecstatic as the homes they claimed were more liveable than what they had before.

The two passed through the crowd as they made their way to the end of the first block, passing by a trade shop and the soon-to-be mailing office. Upon reaching the bookshop, they found the visibly flustered owner standing outside.

"Thank goodness you two are here!" he exclaimed, tissue in hand.

"Oginku only now told us you needed help, we're sorry we couldn't get here earlier," Ino sighed, placing her hand on her hip.

"No, no, no. You were taking down that blasted sign, weren't you? Good riddance, I say, after what that boy did to the princess? I don't want his name within five hundred meters of my shop! Yes, of course. Now if you two could be so kind as to hoist these boxes onto that cart over there, I would be oh, so grateful," he blurted, as usual, leaving no time to argue or for himself to take a breath. He then slipped into the shop and left them to the boxes. Sai gave a quiet snort of amusement.

"He's such an interesting man," he stated. Ino nodded in agreement before she began picking up smaller boxes and setting them in the side cubbies. They then moved the larger boxes to rest on top of the cart.

It only took them a dozen or so minutes to fully secure the crates. But it was then that Ino realized there was nothing to actually pull the cart with. She opened her mouth to mention the problem, only to look over and find Sai painting a horse to pull it.

He released the painting from his scroll and the two of them quickly hitched it to the cart before leading it out into the street. Ino made sure to keep people aware of their approach as Sai led the drawn horse, most people gawking at the unusual jutsu.

A few children followed along with them, asking Sai questions about his creation and if he could make other things: dragons, dogs, and a turtle being among them.

The short walk to the dock passed quickly, the children stopping before the platform began and watching the two lead the cart onto the boat. The port master had scolded the kids multiple times for playing around the dock, and they didn't want to have to deal with yet another lecture from their guardians.

After securing the wheels to the deck with the provided straps, the two made their way back down the ramp, giving best wishes to those returning to the island for the evening.