Chapter 80: Out of the Desert
The older Sara expertly informed the populace of the basic situation. By the time the younger Sara woke up, everything was already over. Just as her mother had done when she ascended the throne, even her abdication was handled entirely by others.
This was not fair to her, but in these chaotic times, there was no fairness to speak of. Small countries could only be the victims of war.
After bidding farewell to the future Sara, Kakashi released the summoning technique. Seeing the look on Mei's face, he knew if he didn't dismiss her soon, she would start killing people.
"Come with us. She has already informed the Sand and helped you relinquish your position as queen."
The Queen of Rōran became the queen of a fallen nation in just a few hours. Things had happened so suddenly that Sara was still in a state of disbelief.
A few hours later, the Sand received the news. Rōran had fallen and become a territory under the jurisdiction of the Land of Wind, directly under the Kazekage. The Sand's stationed ninja would regularly transport supplies and research the Ryūmyaku.
Young Sara accepted Kakashi's suggestion to leave with him, but before that, she wanted to see her mother one last time.
Kneeling before her mother's tombstone, the young woman offered the last bouquet of flowers from Rōran, quietly watching as it was destroyed by the swirling wind and sand.
Looking into the distance, she could see the Sand ninja still searching for survivors on the surface of Rōran. A deep-seated hatred was buried in her heart.
Today, she was forced to make a choice and give up her throne because she was not strong enough. She didn't blame her future self, nor did she blame Kakashi.
Although the young woman had never heard the story of "possessing a treasure is a crime in itself," she could understand it.
Understanding did not mean acceptance. If the Sand hadn't coveted Rōran, these civilians would never have died in vain.
'The Hidden Sand Village.'
When the silver-haired young man walked towards her, she stood up. Her knees, from kneeling for so long, were red and purple. The stubborn girl looked at the boy before her.
"Teach me to be strong."
Kakashi heard the determination in the girl's voice.
Sara, who had no concept of strength and weakness, had slightly reddened dark brown eyes, her nails digging into her flesh.
"I understand. What are you willing to give?"
"Everything."
The three of them prepared what they needed for the road. Taking advantage of the fact that the Sand's takeover force had not yet arrived, they left Rōran ahead of schedule and walked into the desert.
Unlike when they came, they now had an ordinary person slowing them down. Kakashi and Mei's speed was greatly reduced. The headstrong Sara refused to be carried out of the desert by the two of them. In her view, this was the first step in honing her strength. If she couldn't even walk out of this desert, how could she even talk about taking revenge on the Sand?
Mei was originally quite annoyed with Sara because of that person who had called Kakashi "husband," but when she saw her climbing the sand dunes step by step with her own strength, slowly catching up to her and Kakashi, her attitude towards her changed somewhat.
Of course, another reason was that Kakashi had told her that the future was not set in stone. As long as she took enough precautions and nipped this former Queen of Rōran's feelings for Kakashi in the bud, nothing bad would happen.
It took ten days for the three of them to walk out of the desert and arrive at the border of the Land of Rain. This time, Kakashi was preparing to take a risk and cut through the Land of Rain. If they were to take the same route they came from, it would add several thousand kilometers to their journey, which would be too much of a burden for the exhausted Sara.
What the silver-haired boy didn't expect was that the Land of Rain had already changed hands. The person controlling the Hidden Rain Village was the temporary leader of the Akatsuki, Nagato.
The three dust-covered travelers quickly attracted the attention of the border guards. The desert had no cover. Under these circumstances, trying to cross the border with Sara without being discovered was extremely difficult. Fortunately, Kakashi didn't care. He had his travel pass from the Cloud Village. As long as he gave a brief explanation, these guys shouldn't make things difficult.
"Halt! Who are you!"
A border guard, his face obscured by a straw hat, shouted at Kakashi's group from a watchtower through a crude megaphone, his bow drawn.
"We are Cloud ninja on a mission, passing through your country."
"Cloud ninja?"
A border guard came down from the watchtower, looked at the travel pass Kakashi handed him, and then carefully observed the three of them. After being stunned by the beauty of the two girls, he immediately suppressed his inappropriate thoughts.
Sara was a little nervous. She was the only one who wasn't a real ninja, and this was her first time leaving her own country and coming out of the desert.
All three were wearing Cloud headbands. The Land of Rain, not at war with the Cloud, had no reason to stop them.
"Is there a problem?"
"No problem."
He opened the border gate. They entered the Land of Rain one by one. Not long after, they felt the long-lost moisture in the air. The dark clouds overhead indicated that a heavy rain was about to fall.
"Can we rest here for a while?"
"You may."
He handed the guard some universal currency, which the latter quickly took and stuffed into his pocket, preparing a tent for them to shelter from the rain.
"We're finally out of the desert."
Mei waited for the silver-haired boy to boil a pot of hot water with Fire Release and pour it into her cup.
"Want some?"
Turning his head to ask the red-haired girl, Kakashi also poured her a cup.
"Mhm."
During their trek through the desert, she had learned about the past of this silver-haired boy, who was two years younger than her, and the orange-haired girl. She had also come to understand their personalities.
Kakashi was strict yet gentle with her. Though younger, he acted like an elder. Mei was wary of her but also sympathized with her.
All in all, both of them were very considerate of her feelings.
Although she was determined to become strong with the resolve to give up everything, no one wanted to encounter a bad teacher on the path to strength.
Kakashi paid no attention to the two girls. Now that he was in the Land of Rain, he was eager to gather some information.
Walking out of the tent, he found the border guard who had let them in and began to ask for information.
"Has anything major happened in the Land of Rain recently?"
"Major? What are you up to?"
"We've been in the desert for too long and want to get a sense of the situation."
He discreetly slipped some more money to the guard. This time, the border guard waved his hand.
"Forget it. I can tell you some things that everyone knows. If you really have designs on our country, it's better to leave early. The lords of the Akatsuki are currently hunting down the remnants of Lord Hanzo's forces. If you get caught and suspected at a time like this, although you won't be killed, you'll be locked in an interrogation room indefinitely."
"The Akatsuki?"
"Oh, right, I forgot you wouldn't know. Then let me tell you about our current leader. Maybe after hearing about him, you'll want to become a member of the Akatsuki too."
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin