When Logan woke up this morning, he wasn't greeted by the usual annoying, life-threatening knocking. While he felt comfortable both physically and mentally, he was also puzzled. After all, the usually clingy little girl, who had been spending nearly all her time at his place recently, was surprisingly absent.
'Could she have finally exhausted herself and decided to sleep in?'
However, Logan quickly realized he was mistaken, because when he got up, the sun was shining so high that there was no one in front of the two broken houses, except for a few villagers fishing in the distance. Knocking on Mai's door, he found it locked.
"Not asleep, huh." Logan muttered as he twisted the jammed doorknob. While he could easily break the rusty lock, he didn't want to add more damage to the old door.
There happened to be a villager dragging a fishing net from the seaside, so Logan stopped him and asked, "Excuse me, do you know where Mai went to?"
Kazuya had asked him to look after his sister, and although the little girl could be troublesome, Logan still had to endure it, since his stay here was coming to an end. Speaking of which, the festival of the Land of the Moon is tomorrow, and Kazuya had mentioned in his recent letters that he would be returning today. Logan was ready to reluctantly accept an invitation for a meal from the hardworking brother before heading back to Konoha.
"Mai?" The villager wasn't very familiar with Logan, but he put down his tools and seemed eager to share, "Sigh, something seems to have happened to his brother. Mai had already left for the city early with Uncle Genji and the others."
Logan was stunned for a moment, as he did not expect this kind of development, "Something happened to Kazuya? What happened?"
The villager, with fishy smell on his body, eagerly recounted the events, though Logan suspected some parts might be exaggerated or irrelevant.
After five minutes, Logan sifted through the details and got the gist of the situation.
Every morning, villagers from the small fishing village would go to the city to sell their catch. Today, several elderly people from Salted Fish Village heard that pirates had robbed local merchant ships at the market. Such thing was not unusual at first, but the local merchant ships often hired dockworkers to help with loading and unloading. From the list posted in a conspicuous place, the villagers knew that Kazuya was unlucky to be among them.
Salted Fish Village was so small that information about each household was almost transparent. No one had expected that Kazuya, who hadn't returned home for a few days, would be caught up in such a disaster. Everyone was helpless about this.
All the villagers could do was tell the news to Mai, who was still half-asleep and didn't even have time to harass Logan. After hearing the news, she rushed to the city with the villagers, not knowing what else to do.
After thanking the villagers who informed him of the situation, Logan rubbed his face, 'They were detained by pirates… only a handful of people on the merchant ship escaped and came back to report... No, aren't they just carrying things on the merchant ship, why would they go out to the sea?'
Shaking his head, Logan thought of Kazuya's frugal nature. Despite having been working at the dock for the past three months, Kazuya will not have any spare money.
'All for a simple meal invitation... did he really need to push himself so hard?'
Logan couldn't let a little girl like Mai bear the brunt of this alone, especially since she'd been eagerly talking about the festival for days. So he headed towards the road leading to Bay Town. With no one around, he dashed into the forest and up a steep slope, moving like a shadow, unaffected by the difficult terrain.
Taking a detour, Logan reached Bay Town in just ten minutes. The security at the town gate was noticeably tighter, a response to the recent pirate attack. After all, the local authorities couldn't ignore such an incident.
As far as Logan knew, although the Land of the Moon was located on an island, maritime incidents were rare. The nearby seas were all under the jurisdiction of the Land of Lightning, which kept piracy in check.
After entering the town, Logan realized he didn't know where Mai had gone. Slapping his forehead, he thought for a moment and decided to head to the docks where he had previously met Kazuya. The familiar merchants were busy hawking their goods, the air thick with mixed smells, and the number of Samurai and town patrols had noticeably increased among the crowd.
The movement of ships had not ceased, and Logan noticed many notices posted on the columns around the docks.
"On the night before last, a local merchant ship was hijacked by pirates approximately fifty kilometers north at sea. The number of pirates from the Night Sea Pirate group is unknown. A few individuals managed to escape. Below is the list of those detained or missing..."
Nagatani Kazuya's name was at the bottom of the list. Logan carefully read the notice, memorizing the details about the pirates before leaving the docks.
Logan headed towards the town hall. With no connections in the city, the villagers from Salted Fish Village, including Mai, had no choice but to rely on the officials if their relatives were in trouble.
"Please go back, everyone. The mayor will not abandon those captured by the pirates. The Daimyo's Samurai team is already on their way and will depart tomorrow to eliminate those pirates..."
From a distance, Logan heard the commotion in front of the town hall. A large crowd had gathered there, likely the families of those who hadn't escaped from the merchant ship. An official was shouting to the crowd.
"How can they still be alive if you're only sending help tomorrow? What is the mayor doing?"
Hearing that the official rescue team wouldn't set out until the next day, many people started to complain loudly. After all, the merchant ship had been hijacked two days ago, and considering the time it would take for the samurai to travel, the safety of the remaining survivors was far from guaranteed.
"This is already the fastest we can move! Please understand!" The voice of the official in front of the town hall has been hoarse after half a day of shouting, but he still has to face the emotional family members.
"What about issuing a commission?" Someone in the crowd suggested, "Ask those Ninjas who can walk on walls to save everyone. Is it possible that the mayor is reluctant to pay for the Ninjas' commission?"
Issuing a commission to hire ninjas is the most expensive option... The ruthless pirates had no mercy for the innocent captives, and after two days, so it's normal to starve to death in two days. Even if Ninjas were sent to eliminate the pirates, they might not be able to save anyone, so the official support of the Daimyo's Samurai team was more economically feasible and sensible...
Naturally, the official would not say what he was thinking. Wiping his sweat, he continued to shout: "Issuing a commission also takes time. The Daimyo has already contacted the powerful Ninjas from the Land of Lightning in the north. For now, we must rely on the strength of Samurai-sama…"
The crowd was visibly displeased. While the Samurai, with their usual prowess, could undoubtedly defeat a group of desperate pirates, it was common knowledge that Ninjas could resolve the situation much more swiftly.
However, there are people who understood the harsh reality. In previous years, when merchant ships encountered trouble, only few managed to return safely. This was not a peaceful world. The mixture of angry shouts and sobbing filled the air.
Almost everyone in Bay Town and the surrounding area knew about this incident. Those unaffected watched the suffering of those involved. On the eve of the festival, what should have been a joyful time had turned tragic, with many fates sealed.
Logan found Mai in the crowd, who was being held by an old villager. She looked helplessly at the situation where she was useless amidst the turmoil.