Takuya was back to missions again. He just needed a few more before he wanted to train for a while. After what seemed like two very difficult and tiring missions, Takuya was relieved for a little bit of a break. The Hokage had given him another mission, but this one wasn't like the usual. Helping out Captains along the dock didn't seem like shinobi business.

Captain Yusuke sat along the edge of the boat as the ship was about to dock. The crew was maneuvering the boat carefully as they ran frantically around the deck, tying ropes and lowering anchors. Finally the Captain became concerned for his vessel’s safety, “Hey, watch the boat alright.” The ship slowly docked as Takuya climbed up and onto the deck. “Watch the paint shinobi. I can take that out of your pay too.” Takuya was already seeing this as another awfully long mission, especially with Captain Yusuke as the client. “Boy, take these crates off the deck. You break any, and you won’t get paid,” he laughed.

Takuya was not so easily amused. As the Captain hurried to his quarters, Takuya began to carry boxes off the ship. What made things worse was these boxes were quite heavy, the entire deck was covered in ropes and coils, making it extremely hard to carry these boxes and watch your footings. Takuya picked up his first box and looked over the side of the ship at the cool water. He began to think about all of his idols he read so much about, Master Jiraiya, Master Kakashi, Hokage Kenta.

As he started to carry box after box, his thoughts drifted to what he wanted to become. His parents were content with living peaceful lives, working acres of farms, but not Takuya. He wanted to change what the world was becoming. Lately, Takuya felt like the world had become so violent, with ninja picking fights and destroying nations. He was much different. He wanted to protect his friends, and help others be able to fight for what they believe in.

While daydreaming, Takuya had forgotten about how carefully laid the coils of rope were placed on the deck of the ship, and misguided one of his feet. As soon as he tried to take another step, his foot tangled around the coils of rope as he was falling towards the ground. Knowing he couldn't break the boxes, Takuya set the box on the ground as he ran towards the side of the boat. With most of his momentum heading towards the rail of the boat, Takuya flipped over the edge and plummeted into the water below. The crew gradually heard the splashes and began to come towards the edge, most of which began to laugh. Captain Yusuke came out of his quarters and scampered to the side of the boat, “What are you all looking at? Get back to work!” At that moment he peered over the rail and saw Takuya swimming along in the water and began to laugh, “Still working on your sea legs shinobi?”

After the embarrassing swim of shame back towards the docks, Takuya finished carrying the heavy load off of the boat. After thanking the Captain, he began to head back to the Administration building in the village for his reward. That’s when he thought again about all of the missions he recently finished and all the people he met. Takuya knew the only way to protect the people he cared so much about was to get stronger, and he had to prove to the Hokage that he deserved greater responsibility for the village. That day, Takuya vowed to become one of the strongest shinobi the great villages have ever seen. All he had to do was first prove it to Hokage Kenta Inuzuka.

Word Count: 632/600