Click!
Tick!
Swallow!
Gulp!
The sound of knife and fork falling on the plate were the only sounds on the busy deck, occasionally followed by a sound of silva being swallowed.
Menma had been watching the captain eat that tuna for nearly five minutes. His belly was screaming for just a taste, and his mouth was crying in desperation. He really missed Kakashi's fish right now! The smell reminded him of that crispy, golden-fried fish he never got tired of.
He wondered... was Kakashi making that fish for Yoruusagi again?
---
Back in Konoha, at the Hatake mansion, Kakashi, having just returned from training the new recruits, was indeed cooking two fish. One for himself, and one for Yoruusagi, who hadn't been able to eat anything except this particular fish since Menma left. The taste reminded her of him.
Kakashi wondered too...
Was that kid still eating someone else's fish somewhere out there emptying they wallet too?
Where in the world had he gone?
Shisui had sent a message through the raven he had gifted to Yoruusagi a year ago. Menma's trail had completely vanished, and there was no sign of him anywhere. Now, they were jumping through news agencies, hoping to catch a trace. The boy, was completely hidden from the world's sharpest radars...
---
Back to Menma, it wasn't just him who was salivating over the cooked fish. The girl beside him looked just as tortured, swallowing her saliva nonstop, tears almost brimming in her eyes from sheer hunger.
If Menma hadn't decided to use this ship to reach dry land, he would've flipped the table long ago.
Please!
Just finish your meal already!
Finally, Murakami finished his food, looking thoroughly satisfied. The children had performed brilliantly, they were already captured by the scent and sight of the food.
He pointed at the chef sitting by the cabin door and gave him a nod.
A moment later, two steaming plates were placed before Menma and Sarah, identical to the captain's dish.
Sarah instinctively reached for hers, but stopped midway when she caught sight of the smiling Murakami and the frowning ninja boy, who hadn't moved an inch. Cautiously, she withdrew her hand and just stared at the food longingly.
Menma hadn't touched his either. He didn't know if the food was poisoned, drugged, or something else. His instincts and training, kept him frozen.
He and Murakami locked eyes in a quiet contest of wills, each probing the other for a sign of weakness.
Eventually, Sarah grew too restless. She reached for the food again, only for her hand to be gently caught before it touched the plate.
Menma was still on high alert. He couldn't see through Murakami's intent, not even with his emotional senses, and that unsettled him.
Murakami sighed at last and pulled both plates back toward him.
Then, with casual confidence, he took a bite from each and pushed them forward again.
Menma finally released Sarah's hand and picked up the chopsticks with his left hand, leaving his right hand free, ready to protect Sarah at a moment's notice.
Watching his extreme caution, Murakami nodded to himself.
Yes. This level of awareness… it's exactly what someone of his value should have.
It made him even more certain of his theory.
But now wasn't the time to question the boy directly. He needed to ease him in, give him food, lower his guard, and get him to talk.
"This isn't just any kind of tuna," Murakami began smoothly. "This is a very rare delicacy, the Emperor Tuna!"
Menma's expression twitched as he continued chewing.
"Each one grows as large as a carriage and claims a territory of a hundred square kilometers. It doesn't share with others of its kind."
Menma's chewing slowed. This was sounding familiar...
"It's said this fish can swim up to fifty knots per second, and its sharp dorsal fins can slice through small ships like butter!"
Menma paused mid-bite.
Fifty knots per second?
He did a quick calculation: that's roughly 25 meters per second.
Wait... wasn't that the same fish Snow had tried to hunt down before?
"This fish is one of the most expensive and rare in the world. Every ten pounds of meat costs one pound of gold! To put it in perspective, this ship? Worth only two pounds of gold!"
Menma began to sweat.
He and Snow had eaten at least 500 pounds of that fish.
And he'd thrown away the other half into the sea…
That meant, he casually discarded 50 pounds of gold like garbage.
His body began to twitch in visible regret.
Someone please invent time travel already...
Wait! Didn't he promise Snow he'd catch ten more of those for her?!
Where was he supposed to find ten Emperor Tuna now?! They only showed up once every hundred kilometers!
...Wait.
He was a human fish radar, wasn't he?
Maybe he could...
Murakami watched the boy's body tremble, then sweat. He smiled internally.
His poison was working.
Now was the time to strike.
"Delicious, isn't it? But you know what's even better?"
Murakami leaned forward, the voice became low and horse.
"The tasteless and odorless poison I added to it."
Saying that, he sit down hard on the chair laughing hard!
"Hahaha!"
Menma and Sarah's mouth froze mid-bite, again.
Hearing the word poison, Menma immediately tensed up.
He scanned his body with his chakra in a panic but no matter how deeply he searched, he couldn't find anything wrong.
Feeling alarmed, he called out to the only person he could possibly get help from.
"Teacher Fox! Am I alright?! Where's the poison?! Can you deal with it?!"
Kurama, as usual, was lying down lazily, like the apocalypse wouldn't bother him unless it stepped on his tail.
"It's fine. It's already been dealt with. Just keep pretending you're poisoned, and everything will be fine…"
Menma let out a heavy, mental sigh of relief and focused on continuing the act.
---
Meanwhile, Minato, who knew very well that the fox hadn't lifted a single claw to help, walked into view with a suspicious and concerned look on his face.
"Will he truly be alright?"
That was enough to push Kurama's patience off a cliff.
His grumpy voice rose sharply, filled with annoyance:
"You really have no idea what kind of monster you and that red-haired whirlwind left behind, do you?! Fine! Then let me enlighten you!"
Kurama sat up slightly, irritation clear in his tone.
"Since the day, that white-haired brat Kakashi figured out that your boy is immune to poison, especially food poisoning."
"And what did he do with that knowledge? He started feeding him every kind of poison, starting from weak, then moving up to deadly. Lately, the fish has been tasting sour, you know why? Because the latest poisons were so strong that there was no other way to mask the taste. He had to change the dish entirely just to cover it up!"
"That last one could knock out an elephant with a drop! And all it did to your 'son' was make his stomach grumble a little. That's it!"
Minato stared, absolutely stunned.
Kurama wasn't finished.
"Oh, and the cat? Yep. Poison trained too. That little fur ball can eat toxic plants like they're salad now. 'Like The master, like the pet.' Hah!"
Minato, jaw slowly dropping, tried to absorb what he'd just heard.
"Wait… You're saying Kakashi was training him in poison resistance… for what exactly? What kind of situations was he preparing him for?! And Snow too? Was he worried she might nibble out of Menma's bowl and keel over, making Menma enter rampage?!"
Kurama snorted.
"How do I know? Your adorable little angel is a heavy sleeper. Like, world-ending explosions wouldn't wake him up unless the danger was right in front of his face or a fur ball was licking his face."
"Those two, Kakashi and Yoruusagi, walked into his room every night after he entered his tightly guarded dream world. They talk right in front of him about his progress and what needs to change. You do NOT want to know how many secret training regimens they've dumped on him while he was completely unaware."
Minato was speechless.
He stepped aside, quietly choosing to watch the scene from Menma's perspective again, stunned and silently marveling at what kind of child his son had become.
Kurama just grumbled and flopped back down, one eye still open, ready to act, but only if things got truly out of hand.
"Stupid student…"
He muttered to himself, waiting to see how Menma would handle the captain's ploy.
----
After knowing that things were alright, Menma stopped moving for a short while, trying to figure out the most believable reaction.
"But, but you also ate a bite from it!"
Menma pointed out the first inconsistency, his voice rising slightly.
"And why is she fine? How come I'm the only one feeling weak?"
Now it was time for the panic to strike.
"Wha, what did you feed me?! What does it do?! Am I going to die?! You have to give me the antidote, now! Give it to me!"
Menma attempted to stand, voice trembling, but collapsed back into his chair weakly.
Perfect. Flawless acting.
"Hahaha! Don't worry, it won't kill you! It's just a simple paralyzing poison."
Murakami, completely convinced by Menma's performance, grinned with pride. But before he could continue, Sarah shouted in outrage:
"How could you?! You're a beast! A monster!"
She jumped to her feet, trying to lunge at him, but a sailor was quick to restrain her, slamming her back into the chair and covering her mouth roughly.
Murakami didn't even look at her. His eyes remained fixed on Menma.
"To answer your doubts, let me explain:
It's a paralyzing mixture that weakens the body and prevents the gathering of strength."
Hearing that, Menma subtly began adjusting his posture, relaxing muscle tension, and mimicking weakness.
Kurama and Minato, watching from the seal, were completely speechless at how deep the boy had fallen into his role.
"As for why I'm fine… well, I knew exactly which corner of the food was clean. And as for Sarah, there was no poison in hers. I don't need it to control her."
"You, on the other hand... you're a different story."
Menma had anticipated questions and built answers.
But what came next pierced through all of them.
"Now tell me, UZUMAKI boy.
How did you get on my ship?
Where are you from?
What are you running from?
And where were you hiding?
I want to know it all. Everything."
The word Uzumaki nearly triggered a full fight response. For a moment, Menma was ready to lunge across the table and take control of the ship right then and there.
But as the rest of the questions came, he calmed down.
They didn't know his true identity, only his clan.
Still, how had they figured that much out? And why was this captain so focused on the clan's name?
Murakami, meanwhile, saw the flash of tension in Menma's face and nearly exploded with joy.
He was right. The boy was an Uzumaki. A treasure. A king's ransom waiting to be claimed.
But then, he saw the boy's eyes narrow in thought.
He was planning. Calculating. Looking for an escape.
Perfect.
Time to tighten the noose.
Murakami stood, walked to Menma's side, and slowly crouched down.
Gripping the boy's chin, he forced him to look up, locking eyes with him.
"And every time you lie to me…"
"Or fail to answer…"
"I'll rip a piece of Sarah's clothing off, until she's completely naked."
He spoke slowly, each word dripping with threat and venom.
Then he turned Menma's head toward Sarah.
The girl was trembling, wide-eyed, pressed back against her chair, her whole body shaking.
She was terrified; truly terrified.
Murakami leaned closer, his whisper soft and poisonous.
"And once there's no more cloth on her…
For every lie you tell after that…
I'll let my sailors play with her. Right here.
On this table.
Calmly. Slowly. In front of you."
Menma clenched his fists.
"You know why I don't trade women anymore? Because my boys keep breaking the dolls before I can sell them. It's not profitable. So if you care for the girl who saved your life, warmed your frozen body with her own, You'd better choose your words carefully. Hahaha!"
Menma's entire body twitched, his chakra roaring like wildfire beneath his skin.
Only sheer willpower kept it contained.
If this bastard dared to follow through...
He would learn what it meant to challenge the Red Devil of Konoha.
Murakami, fully satisfied, let go of Menma's chin and returned to his seat, folding his arms and waiting.
Menma looked at Sarah.
She was still trembling. Her eyes were wide, filled with tears. She looked like a trapped bird in a storm, barely able to breathe. She silently begged him.
And he remembered.
All the victims he had met in his other life.
All those broken souls, those abused and violated, who had no one to save them.
He couldn't let it happen again.
He dropped his gaze, turning away, not wanting Murakami to see the storm in his eyes.
He took a breath.
And then he spoke.
A story of pain. A tale of abandonment. Of hunger. Loss. Isolation.
A narrative of just enough truth to be believable… and just enough sorrow to satisfy a man like Murakami.
Sarah, who knew Menma's secret, watched silently.
She saw through every lie.
But she also saw that this boy, this ninja, was willing to lie to hell itself to protect someone he barely knew.