MULTIVERSE TRAVEL STARTS FROM NARUTO WITH GACHA

"Where are your parents?" some guy asked, leaning in like Hiroshi owed him an explanation. The kid didn't even flinch, just kept staring at the waves.

"Dead," Hiroshi said flatly, like he was commenting on the weather.

That shut the guy up. Everyone nearby turned to look, their faces full of awkward curiosity, but Hiroshi didn't care.

"Where you headed, then?" the guy tried again, a little softer this time.

"Land of Wind."

The man frowned. "This boat's goin' to the Land of Waves."

Hiroshi finally glanced at him, eyebrows raised. "Then why are you asking?"

The guy's face went red, and a few passengers snickered. Hiroshi leaned back against the railing, letting the conversation die, but of course, someone else had to pipe up.

"Isn't that weapon bigger than you?" a younger man asked, pointing at the katana Hiroshi had resting across his lap.

"It is," Hiroshi said, gripping the hilt a little tighter.

"You even know how to use it?"

"Enough to not die."

The guy opened his mouth, probably to say something clever, but Hiroshi cut him off by standing up. His eyes weren't on the man, though they were locked on a boat coming toward them, big and slow like it owned the water.

"What're you doing out here anyway?" someone else asked.

"Trying to survive," Hiroshi muttered, his voice low.

He turned to look at the sailor steering the boat, noticing how relaxed the man was. Too relaxed. There was a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth, like he knew something no one else did. Hiroshi's gaze flicked to a couple of other passengers, their hands twitchy, their postures stiff.

"Three," Hiroshi muttered .

"What'd you say?" the guy next to him asked, leaning in.

"Nothing." Hiroshi turned back to the water, his grip tightening around the katana.

Then, just as Hiroshi had expected, it happened.

A larger boat moved in, cutting off their path. Two men leapt onto their deck, weapons drawn. The passengers erupted into panicked whispers, but their silence came fast when the invaders spoke.

"Bind them," one of the men barked. "The war's made business rough, but today we'll make up for it."

"It's been too long since we made a good haul," the other replied. His eyes flicked toward Hiroshi. "The kid… He'll fetch a decent price."

Passengers froze as the men started tying people up. One of them strode toward Hiroshi, holding a rope, smug like he was doing him a favor.

He was wrong.

In one fluid motion, Hiroshi's blade flashed. A second later, the man's head hit the deck, rolling to a stop as his body crumpled. Blood spread across the wood, and silence hung for a moment before it shattered.

"Kill him!" one of the others shouted, waving his sword like it was going to help.

The rest of the men charged, swords drawn, abandoning the prisoners. Hiroshi didn't hesitate. He moved like a shadow, too fast for the eye to follow. In seconds, he was among them, blade flashing. Screams filled the air, and by the time Hiroshi stopped, the deck was littered with headless bodies, blood pooling and dripping over the edge.

He turned toward the sailor. The man's calm smirk was gone, replaced by wide, terrified eyes. Behind Hiroshi, every passenger stared in horror.

"Is he… a shinobi?" someone whispered.

No one answered, but the nervous nods said enough. Only a shinobi could kill with such terrifying speed and precision.

The men on the other boat noticed, too. Panic spread through their ranks as they hurriedly cut the ropes connecting the vessels, fleeing without so much as a second glance at the chaos they'd left behind.

Hiroshi watched them for a moment, then turned to the one man their group had abandoned, trembling and pale, his eyes darting between the bodies on the deck and Hiroshi's bloodstained katana.

"Don't waste my time," Hiroshi said, his voice low and sharp. "I need to reach the shore as soon as possible."

The man froze, his mouth opening and closing as if his brain was struggling to catch up. Finally, he stammered out, "Y-Yes! Of course!" His voice cracked, thick with fear.

Hiroshi didn't react, didn't press further. He simply turned away, his focus shifting back to the horizon.