Finally, after hours of traveling the team finally made it to the port. The port was located at the very south of the land of fire. There was a small village nestled along the coastline. It really was a beautiful sight. There were small fishing boats along the shoreline, with fishermen trying to reel in the last catch of the day. The sun was setting along the skyline, casting a bright orange hue along the ocean. The clouds were dancing with pink and purple hues as the sun disappeared behind the Earth. The shore was about a kilometer or two from where the three were placed. They were mounted on top of a hill. The road had faded out into a wooden staircase that led down to the village below. There were no lanterns or light source on the hill, all the glow radiated from the awake town. Sakura's eyes darted along the port, scanning for their ship. "I can't tell which one is ours." She pointed to the docks. "We're too far away." Naruto put his hand up to his face, trying to focus in on the boats. "Yeah, they all look the same to me." Sasuke nodded his head towards the village. "We should stop and get supplies before we leave." The two others nodded their head in agreement, following Sasuke down the long wooden stairs to the village.
The village was far smaller than the Leaf village. Maybe a third in size to be exact. But what it lacked in size was made up in character. Although it was later into the evening, most of the markets were still open. Mostly fish and meat vendors trying to sell their stock at a lower price before it all went bad. The three wandered around, trying to find a general goods store. All the buildings were smaller, most of them one story buildings and homes. There were a few apartment complexes, a few bars, and other miscellaneous shops and businesses. "Man, this village is so quaint." Sakura cooed as they turned a corner. On their right was the general goods store and on the right a tavern, a tavern with a bustling crowd that could be viewed from the windows. "Here's the store!" Naruto exclaimed ripping open the door. "C'mon! Let's get our stuff and find our boat." Sakura and Sasuke nodded their heads in agreement and entered the store.
The store itself wasn't very big and had about ten aisles, all of which had the scent of stale bread. There was an ancient woman attending the cash register. This woman's hair was white as snow, and her clothes were brown and rugged. Her wrinkles had wrinkles. "Hello!" The old woman greeted warmly as the three ninjas entered the store. "Welcome to the Wholesome Happy." Sakura gave the old woman a small wave and a gentle smile. "Hi." She awkwardly chirped, ducking into a close by aisle. Naruto followed her. Sakura immediately picked up a grey blanket that she saw perched on one of the lower shelves. "What do you need that for?" Naruto questioned as he browsed through the magazines. "I might get cold." She confirmed. "Come on, we need to grab some snacks for the trip." Naruto followed her to the food aisle and they both picked out a bag of chips. Sasuke came around the corner with a bottle of carrot juice, a book, and a small bottle of laundry detergent. Sakura and Naruto both raised an eyebrow and pointed to the detergent. "My clothes need to be washed, okay?" He said annoyed. "Mkay." Naruto chuckled. "Let's go, we need to find our ship," Sasuke commanded. The three went to the old lady at the counter and plopped everything in front of them. The old lady quickly checked all the items and placed them in a paper bag. Sakura pulled out the amount of money needed and handed it to the woman. "Thank you, dear, safe travels." the old woman stated. The three quickly hurried outside and headed south towards the docks. There were countless ships in the port, all bobbing along to the waves that drifted along onto the shore. "Sakura, how do we know which one ours is?" Naruto questioned as he scanned all the ships. "They all look so similar." "Ours has a Land of Fire sail on it. We shouldn't be able to miss it" Sakura informed. The three looked around for a few minutes until Sasuke pointed to a ship several meters away. "There." He said. It had the land of fire sail that Sakura had described. "That's it!" She exclaimed, hustling over to the boat. The followed her, their heels clanking against the wooden dock.
There was a middle age gentleman tying some rope along the deck, a younger boy was working on the bow, sweeping on the floors. "Hey!" Naruto called out, waving to the middle-aged man. "We're here!" The man looked up from his knot. "Oh, splendid." He claimed as he stood up from his kneeling position. "Perfect timing, we're ready to sail soon." The man pointed to the boy sweeping. "That's my nephew Toka, and my name is Ito." The older man pointed to the stern. "The cabin is right there. There's two more in there. Katou cooks and Muneaki helps me. He's resting now. If you're ready to board let me help." Ito stepped over to the wooden railing and pushed a ramp across it. The big block of wood gave a huge thud as it contacted the dock. "Ladies first!" Naruto exclaimed, pushing Sakura in front of him. "Watch it Naruto, no one will hear you drown if you piss me off." She warned teasingly. Naruto gulped hard and chuckled at the thought. He followed Sakura and Sasuke followed his trail.
The team was finally on the boat, and the sun had almost completely vanished from the sky. The vessel bobbed side to side as it remained stagnant in the port. Ito hauled the ramp back into the hull and pushed it along the deck away from any unsuspecting feet. "Mkay." He grunted as he returned to the group. "I'll finish everything that's out here and we'll start sailing soon." It turned around and called out to Toka. "Toka, come to show our friends around." The boy's ears flicked, and he nodded in agreement. "Yes, sir!" He called back, setting his broom down. Toka waddled his way over to the group and pointed to the cabin door. "Follow me, I'll show you below the deck." The team agreed to follow him as Tako opened the cabin door and led them down a short staircase.
