The trip through the Land of Mountain Streams was as uneventful as it could have been. No exciting encounters, no grand battles, no treasures or riches, nor any new powers to be found.
I had seen the place from above so many times that I knew nothing interesting ever happened here.
The only thing of note was the scenery.
The name said it all; this country had two things and little else.
It had mountains, and it had streams.
I had initially thought that all the streams were fed from the Land of Bears, but that wasn't true; another set of rivers flowed from the neighbouring Land of Rock, which in turn got its waters from the Land of Rain. Though the source of the waters wasn't important—what did matter was how they shaped this land.
And not just how the water had carved deep valleys into the mountains, but how it affected the land and those living in it now.
People really used the streams, moving up and down them, before crossing a mountain to reach another stream on the other side.
This made our trip calm and relaxed, and without much walking at all—giving us time to just take in the scenery, and what a view it was.
The steep mountain walls towered over us as we sailed down the streams, yet while those from the Land of Valleys felt cold, these seemed to gleam in the light. That was if they weren't covered in grass, surrounding us with towering walls of greenery.
It was a beautiful place, but it seemed to suffer from the same curse that all the other minor countries did: it was poor.
Given that food was the limiting factor, it was also one of the most important for wealth. If you had food, you could grow rich; if you didn't, you would have to import food, and that was expensive. So even small countries that did have other things to export often found themselves spending those resources just to get food on the table.
Not always; there were exceptions, but they were few and far between.
That was also why the big countries remain just that—big and powerful. They had the ability to not only feed their people but also grow stronger, to fund a military, which allowed them to protect their investments and sabotage their competitors.
Strength is the most important natural resource of them all.
…
The last stretch of the journey was the hardest.
Because there were no rivers in the Land of Wind. Instead, there were some unforgiving mountains we had to cross, and even though there were paths made for it, those were still steep.
As we got closer to our destination, things started to change.
First, it was the air.
It grew drier—not suddenly, but unmistakably so. The cool, moist breeze from the valleys thinned, replaced by something harsher, lighter, carrying dust instead of water.
The Land of Wind announced itself not with sand, but with absence.
Sure, there was sand, but it wasn't the first thing you noticed. No—the first thing was when life just slowly faded away, when the wind grew ever hotter and drier. Grass thinned, green fading into dull yellow, then into nothing at all. The mountains here were sharper, barer, stripped of the softness that water brought.
When we finally crested the ridge and began our descent, the world opened up.
Below us lay the border town.
It was not large, but it was busy—far more so than anything we had seen since leaving the capital of the Land of Bears. Low stone buildings clustered around a central road, their walls reinforced against sand and wind rather than rain. Canvas awnings stretched between rooftops, flapping softly. Tall poles marked with faded banners rose above the town, each bearing symbols of trade guilds, caravan companies, and merchant houses.
And beyond it—
The desert.
Endless, pale, and vast.
Kanna stopped walking.
She simply stared.
"…There's nothing," she whispered.
"There is," I corrected. "But the desert hides its riches well, and guards them with heat and sand."
The wind picked up as if to prove my point, sending fine grains of sand skittering across the road ahead. Somewhere below, a bell rang—deep and slow—marking either arrival or departure.
Probably both.
We descended carefully, Kanna's steps slow and heavy, Karin asleep once more against her chest. By the time we reached the outer edge of town, Kanna was swaying slightly with exhaustion.
I did not blame her for being tired; she had walked all day tirelessly, and it had been walking up and down the steep mountain roads. Despite these roads being used to carry much trade, they were still rough and harsh.
Much like the land itself.
Despite being so inhospitable to human life, the desert drew people into it—those seeking adventure or riches.
The Land of Wind was paradoxical like that. Suna was poor; the merchants and people struggled, yet the land itself was rich.
One just had to look at Rasa, the current Kazekage. He was able to command massive waves of gold dust. And while it was called dust, that was still pure gold grains—small and fine, yes, but he threw around tons and tons of it.
In a single battle, he might lose tens of tons of pure gold, a small loss. And where did he get this gold? The desert.
Beyond the rough sands was endless wealth—gold, iron, silver, gems of all kinds—just waiting to be found.
Yet due to the lack of water and food, all this wealth was spent buying enough of that, leaving the Land of Wind poor, while its enemies grew stronger and richer.
From my somewhat limited understanding of the national politics of this place, that very dilemma was the cause of the rift between Sunagakure and the Wind Daimyō.
The Daimyō was frustrated that Suna had been unable to do anything about the situation and was taking his frustration out on them by further weakening his own forces, making them less likely to succeed in the future.
A foolish move by a foolish man.
Still, all that had nothing to do with me, so I simply ignored it all and moved on—moving forward into the town and guiding Kanna towards an inn I had picked out among the many available in this town.
It was made entirely of wood, one of the only such buildings; most were made of stone, and some simply hardened sand. Wood was rare and expensive, since it had to be imported.
Yes, this was an inn that catered to noble guests, and none were more noble than I.
Inside, the inn was quiet in the way only expensive places ever were.
Thick rugs muffled footsteps. The air smelled faintly of imported wood oil and incense rather than dust and sweat. Servants moved with practiced restraint, eyes lowered but alert, their movements smooth and unhurried.
Kanna looked uncomfortable almost immediately.
She sat stiffly on the edge of one of the cushioned benches, Karin cradled against her chest, eyes darting around as if afraid to touch anything. The girl had grown ever more curious, and unafraid.
She never hesitated to touch things, even expensive ones, nor did I care if she broke them, though Kanna still worried and fussed over such things.
Indeed, even now, Kanna still struggled mingling with nobles; she didn't like having servants pour her tea.
Though she was getting better; at least she didn't apologize all the time.
Still, despite the inn being decent, I had no intention of staying longer than we had to. It had already been many months since we left the Land of Fire, and since the Nine-Tailed rebellion and Minato's death—and maybe more importantly, the birth of Naruto.
As time passed, everyone slowly came to terms with what had happened that night and how the world had changed due to it. And with that came the ability to pay attention to other things as well.
I had no doubt the Kaguya clan and Kiri weren't done with me. Danzō likely also wasn't done. Plus, Kumo would no doubt pay me a visit.
Though while I was out in the middle of nowhere, they wouldn't be able to find me, and there was a real risk that their inability to locate me would make them skip right to more extreme measures.
So it was high time we returned to the light. I wasn't afraid to face down Kiri's hunter-nin, nor face down those mad descendants of Hamura. I didn't fear Kumo, but I didn't want to fight them either.
"Is something wrong, Kaguya-hime?" Kanna asked, noticing my expression.
"I sent out a shadow clone to try and arrange us some transportation," I replied, "but it seems it will be more difficult than expected."
Kanna frowned slightly. "Difficult how?"
"Because caravans do not rent dignity," I replied flatly.
She blinked. "…I'm not sure what that means."
"It means," I continued, "that while there are dozens of caravans traveling toward the Land of Rivers, none of them offer what I consider acceptable."
That earned me a look—confused, uncertain, but not judgmental.
"They all have wagons," she said carefully. "Covered ones, even. Guards too."
"Yes. Wagons." I let the word hang for a moment longer than necessary. "Built for cargo. Sometimes for people. Never for comfort."
Kanna hesitated. "Would it really be so bad?"
"Absolutely unacceptable," I stated coldly. "Remember, Kanna, we are noble; we should not travel like cargo when we decide to stop walking."
She flushed faintly. "But those boats?" she whispered.
I couldn't help but turn my head towards her; it was a rare thing indeed that she questioned me like that.
"That was different; we didn't sleep on those. We only stayed on those for hours. We would spend days in some cramped space. I will not allow it," I quickly shot down the idea.
Kanna nodded slowly, as if recalibrating her expectations. "Then… what do nobles do?"
"They travel in their own carriages," I said. "With their own servants. Their own water. Their own guards. And most importantly—without strangers."
Kanna winced. "So… none for hire."
"Precisely."
It was something I should have considered beforehand, but it was yet another gap in my mostly shinobi-themed education.
Still, we weren't without recourse.
Three noble parties were currently resting in the town, all bound east or north-east. All possessed well-maintained desert carriages—suspended cabins, reinforced frames, sealed water compartments.
And not a single one of them intended to share.
At least, not until persuaded.
Thankfully, I had much to offer them, and if need be, give them an offer they quite literally couldn't decline.
Because Kaguya Ōtsutsuki didn't take no for an answer.
(End of chapter)
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