Dororo: A Novel
Tsuji Masaki
Part Seven
The Tale of the Hidden Treasure
on the Cruel Cape
Chapter 3
Creak, creak. Creak, creak.
Dororo lay face-down on the deck of a boat, listening to the sound of the oars overhead. When he opened his eyes, the sky was filled with starlight. The eastern horizon brightened as the sunrise approached.
"Dororo... hey, what are you thinking about?" Itachi called out. "Are you planning on taking revenge? Or are you going to join us? Hehe, that would be the smart thing for the son of Hibukuro to do. You'd fit right in with us."
"I don't believe that," Dororo said calmly.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I don't think my dad would have hidden his treasure anywhere. Everyone would have betrayed him to get at it."
"Is that what you really think?" Itachi paused. It looked like he wanted to say something else; his beard twitched. He shouted to the bandits: "Hey! Do you have knotholes for eyes? The cape is over there! If we keep on this heading, we'll be out in the open sea!"
"It's odd, but the boat turned off on its own," one of Itachi's subordinates said.
"What? That's impossible. I see that the sails have changed orientation. The boat can't do that on its own." Itachi looked out at the waves. His eyes widened as he screamed, "Watch out! There's a huge shark underneath us!"
The shark was so large that the boat was resting on its back.
"Gyaaah!" More screams, these coming from the boat that didn't hold Dororo and Itachi. Bandits jumped frantically into the water, splashing and spluttering. A gray tail fin sprang up, parting the water around the sinking boat. The shark swam closer, and Itachi's boat was the only one left to attack.
Itachi froze, paralyzed from shock and indecision. Then he picked up his sword and spear, as if he were trying to outdo the samurai warriors that he'd snatched Dororo from... but this wasn't a samurai battle. Fighting on the open sea was completely different. He gazed out at the Cruel Cape as it got farther and farther away, his own ship listing away from it.
"Hehehehehe!" Dororo was laughing.
"Nothing is funny about this!" Itachi snapped.
"Hehehehehe! I can laugh if I wanna laugh. I never thought I'd see a big grown-up like you shaking like a leaf, huffing and puffing and freaking out. It's just a fish!"
"Just a fish?! Look at the size of it!"
One of the men pointed with a trembling finger. The shark was there, grotesquely huge: grown beyond all natural size. "That's not a fish; it's a monster! Swords and spears won't pierce it. If we attack it, it will overturn the boat. We're sitting ducks. It's only a matter of time before we wind up like the other boat!"
"Sure, sure," Dororo said. "It's a monster. A fish monster." He smiled, took a deep breath, and then roared in a voice twice as large as his small frame, "Hey! You weakling bastards!"
Itachi and his subordinates flinched, covering their ears.
"I'm not bragging or anything, but I've got a lot of experience with monsters. My guess is that you all want the treasure, but you don't want to put in the work for it. Idiots! How will you enjoy it if you don't earn it?!"
"No matter how confident you are against monsters on land, this is the ocean! Humans can't compete with sharks here.''
"Shut up, pumpkin-head. People don't lose to fish on land; why should they lose in the water? And besides: if we lose, we lose. We have to fight to determine the outcome. Perseverance is key. Come on, you old bastards! Keep your heads up and above water!
Dororo cut an imposing figure, standing on the deck with his arms crossed. His charisma radiated like the sun coming up over the horizon.
"Listen! We're gonna lure the shark over here. Someone needs to jump up to the tip of the shark's nose. Then the shark will snap at them and try to eat them. We'll aim for its soft belly while it's distracted. Sharpen your swords, everyone!”
"That's a good idea, but the person who jumps on the shark will be risking their life. Who will do it?'' asked Itachi, who had been listening intently.
"I thought that was obvious," Dororo said. "I'll do it."
“You?” Itachi asked, incredulous. His voice shook.
"If I don't do it, who will? You, Itachi?"
Itachi had nothing to say to that.
"Hehehehehe. Okay then. You asked, I answered. Off I go!" Dororo dived; his small body sank into the waves.
The bandits held their breath and watched. Five seconds, ten seconds... the shadow of the monstrous shark slowed and reversed direction.
"It's coming!"
The shark swam toward Dororo, jumping up and exposing its white belly.
"Now!" Dororo shouted.
Splash, thud, thunk.
Ten of the bandits' swords hit their mark, sinking into the shark's body all the way to the hilt. As blood gushed from the wounds, Itachi cried out, "We got it!"
The shark's huge body shuddered, then sank like a stone. Meanwhile, Dororo swam back to the boat and was pulled back on board.
"Hehehehe. You guys did a great job..." He shivered. The water around the Cruel Cape was freezing cold.
Itachi stared at Dororo with open wonder. "That... was amazing."
"All in a day's work," Dororo said, modestly. He wiped his runny nose on the back of his sleeve, then faced the bandits. "We have to row, now! Get to the cape before another shark comes!"
It seemed that Dororo had seized control of the ship and bandits from Itachi in a complete role reversal. No longer a prisoner, Dororo was in command.
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