It was clear that critical decisions had to be made, sooner rather than later.
"We need to seriously consider whether to keep this escort going." Inori spoke as the group slowly trekked their way back to Hoshigakure.
"As far as danger and diplomatic concerns, this has become a veritable S rank mission." Mei commented in response.
"Whatever the case, it is clear we have the ability to prevail but Kumogakure's next actions are sure to be heavy." Fugaku said.
Being a member of the Hyuga's branch clan, Makoto believed it was not his place to speak up in regards to such matters and Shinka was out of her element so she kept her silence as well.
Shii also seemed to be deep in thought, keeping his opinion to himself.
Then Benihime suddenly interjected.
"You don't have to deal with my uncle if it is truly inconvenient. I will not stay in the Land of Iron even if you do. Though I don't know about Tomoe and Ema." The girl said.
"Benihime-sama!" Tomoe exclaimed with shock.
A traditional samurai, she longed to return to the Land of Iron and take up her honorable role as a guardian for the Kurogane clan.
"My place is with ojou-sama, wherever she may go." Ema responded with a rather contrasting attitude, making her older companion turn toward her with surprise.
"The Shogun has made his stance clear by not supporting the clan when it mattered. I have no further attachments to that place beyond Beni-sama." The younger lady samurai explained her stance.
Tomoe fell into thought while the gears in Shiki's head began turning.
"If the matter with Kuragane Saburo is put aside for the time being, this mission may yet be able to see its conclusion." The boy spoke up.
"How so, isn't Kumo the bigger problem?" Mei questioned.
"If we skip the Land of Snow and go straight to the Land of Iron, Kumo won't be able to touch us there for diplomatic reasons." Shiki started explaining.
"With the extra manpower we got in Makoto-san and Fugaku-san, we can split into two groups. One will accompany the caravan into the Land of Iron and another will stick with the ladies in the adjacent Land of Medicine." He continued.
"If Beni, Tomoe and Ema are not around, Kurogane Saburo will hesitate to attack a caravan heavily guarded by Konoha shinobi since he will lack any form of justification."
"Then we can just pass by the Land of Rice Paddies and Land of Hot Water which Kumo is far more likely to stay away from as both border the Land of Fire and not the Land of Lightning, making it far more dangerous to engage us there."
As Shiki concluded his piece, Inori began to ponder on his words more deeply.
The Violet Rose's gaze swept through the squad . . .
'Mei and Shinka seem to support Shiki's idea . . . predictably. Fugaku, Makoto, Beni-dono and Ema-san are neutral to it, Tomoe-dono seems to be against it. Like wanting to deal with Saburo as soon as possible . . . Hmm . . .'
The Yamanaka herself felt the boy's proposition to be very reasonable.
His attitude to back off was already a surprise to be sure, even if a welcome one so she did not wish to risk setting him off by demanding a full abandonment of the mission.
"We'll speak with Tenma-dono back in Hoshi and, if he accepts this revised deal, we'll keep up the mission. If not, we'll pull back completely." Inori made her decision.
"Yes, sensei!" Shiki and Mei replçied with Shinka signing her agreement.
"Yes ma'am!" Makoto also dutifully accepted the command.
Fugaku just nodded with a grunt but his attitude of support was clear.
Benihime and Ema did not respond but merely because this was a decision about the Konoha squad's attitude going forward, it was not their place to interject.
Tomoe was not quite okay with it but, seeing her young lady stay silent, she resigned herself and quietly accepted the resolution of the matter.
*
In the end, faced with the choice of either cancelling the mission or continuing it with modified plans, Daikin Tenma made the obvious choice.
He wanted to continue.
Considering the ever increasing danger of the world, he was already regretting setting out on such a long journey when war was cresting over the horizon.
The Konoha squad he hired sticking it out despite the numerous tough opponents that far, far exceeded the initial agreement he made with the village when he posted his mission, already showed service beyond the norm, he couldn't really complain.
Tenki was looking forward to the opportunity to help out the ladies from the Land of Iron, Ema in particular, so he showed some non-verbal resistance at the revised plans but was not immature enough to actually object, he knew the stakes after all.
The caravan set off from Hoshigakure, travelling into the Land of Valleys where the battle with Kumo and the assisting mercenaries had taken place.
But there was no longer any enemy presence so they made the journey uneventfully, reaching the port city where Kumo forces had previously landed, using it as their departure point on boat.
Originally, the caravan would go and seek new opportunities in the Land of Snow but as it was a non-essential stop whose isolated nature left the group open to another attack, the group skipped it as per the modified travel plan.
They still had to make the scheduled pit stop in the Land of Vegetables as both the ship and caravan needed to restock on supplies with the country, as per its name, having access to food at very good rates.
It was here that the group split up.
Renting a smaller boat for travel, Shiki accompanied the Land of Iron trio to the Land of Medicine, leaving everyone else to guard the original caravan who would rendezvous with them after their business in the Land of Iron..
Having a strong and numerous force was critical to intimidate Saburo into not attacking while Shiki with his sensory and counter-sensory prowess was perfect to hide and protect a small group.
Mei was really the only one dissatisfied with the arrangement but it was just due to the blooming competitive streak she was developing with the much younger Benihime.
It was actually quite funny to Shiki, even though he knew it was over him.
Even Beni, generally stoic, radiated a feeling of smugness at getting Shiki to go with her group, a feeling that was somehow clear despite not showing on her outward demeanour or even just her facial expressions.
Quite mysterious indeed.
Shiki had actually volunteered for the job, because one of the reasons for him taking this long mission was its stop at the Land of Medicine.
There were several things of great interest to him there.
A very small country, it was squeezed in between the Land of Iron to its west all the way to the south with the Land of Rice Paddies bordering it to the east all the way to the south where both of these Lands bordered each other.
But there was also a very small ocean border in the north where Shini, Benihime, Ema and Tomoe would land with their ship.
Despite its small territory and lack of military power, the Land of Medicine had its advantages and even some hidden secrets . . .
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -