Word: abaft – adv and prep towards or at the stern (at the rear end of a ship) of a ship
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A six year old Naruto sat in the Hokage's office, a strange calmness settled in the room. He was looking intently at the picture book on his lap, focused on the strange object drawn there.
It was quite beautifully drawn, capturing an element of greatness as it towered over the workers who were loading the luggage abaft. The line of sailors were barely visible, more so when the focus was clearly on the ship. It wasn't great, by most standards, yet its mast towered over everyone, covering them with its shade.
It took him a few minutes, but he finally managed to spell out the syllables, glancing repeatedly at his hiragana list and saying the syllables in order.
"Fu-ne." The word made little sense to him, even with the picture attached t it. "Ne, Ojii-san, what is a fu-ne?" He stumbled on the word.
The Third glanced up from his paperwork with a smile directed at Naruto as he gestured for him to come closer.
After settling comfortably on his lap, Sarutobi pointed at the picture book, gesturing to the water. "Do you know what this is Naruto?"
He received a disbelieving look in return. After a pause, he answered quietly, waiting to see how it was relevant. "It's clearly water, grandpa."
Nodding patiently, he continued. "This isn't like the water you drink, or the water in the hot springs. This water makes up the oceans and the seas, huge bodies of salty water, you can't see an end to." His voice was hushed, but it held an element of admiration at the forces of nature that Naruto couldn't help but glance back at the book. It didn't look all that big to him.
Smiling at his grandson's (in all but blood) reaction, Sarutobi went on. "Now a fune is what you call the object that floats and travels on the water. Just like how merchants use carriages to go over land, civilians use ships to go across large bodies of water."
Grinning, he added, "Shinobi, on the other hand, prefer to use their chakra to travel. It is much faster, but they have to practice a lot to be able to do so."
His comment garnered the desired effect from the little kid as a determined expression adorned his childish features and he looked up defiantly at the Hokage. "I will be one of those shinobi! And I will work hard to visit these ocean thingies too! Just you wait gramps!"
He jumped off the Third's lap and landed nimbly on the floor. Running towards the door, he looked back and waved with a grin, before preparing and sprinting through the hallway, all the way down the tower. He no longer panted on the landing, and that made him stronger!
Running directly to the training grounds the Third had shown him earlier as a place to avoid civilians, he started his training. The only way to get stronger was through hard work after all.
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