The Windmill Turns Both Ways

Mastermind

How much time at sea would they have to endure before reaching the Lightning Country?

Maito Gai, elite jounin of Konoha, was not feeling very well. Many days at sea had still not acclimated him to the boat's rocking and dipping, and tonight he was doing his best to keep watch while leaning his head over the deck's railing at the same time.

"Gai-san," Aoba called from behind him. "You should go on to bed. We'll be fine out here without you."

"No!" Gai lifted his head to demonstrate that he was perfectly fine, but a wave of nausea swept over him and he quickly had to lean back over the railing again.

Yamato sighed. "I've never seen anyone stay seasick for so long."

"I'm keeping a watch out on the water," Gai hacked out, staring intensely out into the night. "If we come under attack, I'll be the first to know."

"Not if they attack the other side," Aoba pointed out. "Tsugi-san would sense someone coming long before we could see them."

"Someone could fool my sensing abilities," Tsugi said modestly. "But if they went through the trouble of doing that, they'd probably hide their appearance as well."

Aoba nodded. "Right. So, Gai-san, you really don't have to force yourself—"

"Wait!" Tsugi suddenly turned to stare out over the water. "I can sense someone. There are two people approaching rapidly."

"You have a bad sense of humor, Tsugi-san," Gai sulked. "I didn't know you were the kind of man to make fun of your comrades."

"No, I really do! They're getting closer. I am sure they're headed for us!" Tsugi's eyes widened in alarm. "One of them—one of them is extremely powerful! At least Kage level!"

"What?" Yamato yelped.

They didn't have any more time to discuss it, because two figures leapt into the boat right after Yamato spoke. Gai gave a spirited battle cry and went at them with a Severe Leaf Hurricane, only he couldn't quite put enough energy into it and ended up flat on the deck after a sharp heel to the face.

"Calm down, Gai!" Tsunade said, putting her foot down gracefully after the kick. Shizune was standing beside her.

"Tsunade-sama?" Yamato exclaimed.

Tsunade held a finger up to her lips. "Shh. I assume Naruto is sleeping right now?"

"Yes, but..." Aoba said, bewildered, "What is going on?"

"I don't want to wake him. He might get suspicious if he knows that I came here personally. Shizune and I are on our way to a meeting in Kumogakure to discuss preparations for the war. Have you received the message we sent about Naruto?"

Yamato shook his head as if to pull himself together. "No. But we recently went through a dangerous passage that has been known to throw off messenger birds' sense of direction. It could have gone astray."

Tsunade and Shizune exchanged a look.

"Is there something going on with my rival's young pupil?" Gai said, getting up from the deck in a wobbly kind of way.

"We assumed you'd send word if he disappeared." Shizune stepped forward. "But have you noticed anything different or strange about him? Anything that might suggest he's been replaced with an imposter?"

"An imposter?" Gai shouted, and everyone shushed him.

"I don't believe so," Yamato said. "I planted several tracking seeds on him so he couldn't get away—I mean, so we could always be sure where he was. They're undetectable to anyone but me, so I don't see how any imposters would know about them."