A long caravan traveled through the desert, leaving its trail in the sandy dunes before the winds of the Land of Wind carried more sand to cover the tracks.
It was all too easy to get lost within this near-endless expanse of sand, which is why those who could navigate it were precious and well-paid.
The Sabaku-dō Clan of Sunagakure.
The largest shinobi clan of the Land of Wind—though not an overly powerful one.
Highly specialized.
It was a clan with a singular focus: navigating the desert.
It was a shinobi clan that never joined the wars; each member was too busy and too important to risk their lives fighting other villages. Not to mention, they weren't that strong; a lot of them were just genin, and the reason was simple.
They had to learn to read the desert, and had little time for training beyond what they needed.
Sure, they could still easily handle any bandits—not that even those dared touch them.
No, the Sabaku-dō Clan was important to all who lived in the desert; even the bandits had to hire them from time to time.
This caravan was also led by them, their covered forms nearly invisible in the shadows of the many camels that dragged it through the dunes.
Most of the carts being dragged across the sandy expanse were filled with goods; fewer were filled with supplies needed for the journey, and even fewer carried people.
But beyond all that, one carriage in particular stood out from the rest.
It was by far the largest: a full wooden structure built to protect against the desert wind, the wood finely carved—clearly the work of a real artisan. Beyond the cart's exterior, it was also surrounded by people, both shinobi and civilian servants, who seemed to crowd around it.
"I must say, Kaguya-hime, this trip is without a doubt the most comfortable one I have ever had across this infernal desert," a noblewoman said as she sipped iced water as if it were rare tea.
She was the owner of this entire caravan—the lady of a minor noble family who made their wealth running caravans. In truth, she was little more than a merchant, but in the Land of Wind, anyone who wasn't dirt-poor could get themselves a noble title without too much trouble.
Their Daimyō, after all, didn't end up with his hundreds of young concubines out of nowhere.
With a ruler like that, it wasn't hard to trade a young daughter and some money for a noble title. After all, why would he care about granting others land and titles? The only land he had to grant was nothing but sand, and he was happy to trade that for his own pleasure.
"In truth," she continued, "I would likely have hired you to keep me comfortable if you weren't of noble birth yourself."
I merely nodded.
Indeed, the trip wasn't too bad. While the rest of the caravan roasted under the sun's unforgiving heat, this carriage was cooled by a far gentler air, making it the most comfortable place around—more so, being entirely hidden from the sun's rays.
I had offered this woman the use of my ability in exchange for being allowed to join her, and the moment I manifested a bit of ice, she had looked at it—and at me—like we were pure gold.
And in this desert, ice was in fact far more valuable than gold.
After all, Rasa was out there mining plenty of gold, but ice? Not even the Daimyō himself had the ability to enjoy such a thing.
I did not doubt that the shinobi had already reported my presence to Suna, but I cared little. I wasn't wanted, and I was here using my identity as a noble.
Not even the shinobi of Suna could touch a noble, even if I had no real title. As long as other nobles saw me as someone of noble birth, I had some added protection.
Though I did know there was a risk that the Daimyō himself would want someone like Kanna and me as his concubines.
He was someone fully incapable of seeing things from a shinobi point of view; he didn't care for the possible strategic importance of two powerful kekkei genkai. To him, that was nothing more than a novelty.
Truly, that man was a fool of the highest order; the fact that he was alive was a mystery I couldn't even begin to comprehend.
All the other major Daimyō invested substantial wealth in their shinobi villages, understanding that they needed their villages to be strong.
But the Wind Daimyō? That man didn't care about shinobi at all; he fully bought into them just being tools to be used, showing them barely any respect despite the fact that Rasa alone could easily kill him.
Sure, every Daimyō had their own private forces, but compared to a shinobi village—or even just a Kage—that was nothing.
Rasa could swallow the entire capital in gold dust with ease, and yet the Daimyō still dared to feud with him.
How he hadn't been killed yet, I would never understand. But again, the benefits one would get from doing so would be limited.
The entire Land of Wind was poor and hard to utilize.
That didn't mean people wouldn't want it; Iwa hadn't attacked it for no reason, but it was always just a side objective.
I was pulled from my thoughts as Karin tugged on my clothes, trying to get my attention.
I couldn't help but smile as I saw the desire in her little eyes. "A greedy one, aren't you? That's good." I patted her hair.
"I'm sorry, Kaguya-hime," Kanna said as she pulled her daughter over into her lap, much to Karin's displeasure.
"No need to apologize, Kanna. Little Karin merely expressed her desire—nothing wrong with that." I waved her concern off as I pulled a small cloth back out from my sleeve.
Karin clapped her little hands eagerly and once more tried to climb down from her mother's lap.
"Kaguya-hime, you are spoiling her," Kanna said with a sigh as she tried to calm Karin down.
"Nothing of the sort. She has been so well-behaved; it's only right she gets to enjoy this leg of our journey."
From the sack, I poured out some berries into a small bowl I picked off the table, mixing in a teaspoon of honey. I mashed the whole thing together before I froze it; using a small silver spoon as a stick, I produced a small ice cream.
"I can't help but envy the little one," our noble host muttered as she watched Karin delight in her frozen treat. "Even cold water is rare to find out here, but ice? That's unseen."
"Do you have any idea," she said softly, "what people would pay for that kind of comfort out here?"
"I do," I replied. "Which is why I am not selling it."
She laughed at that, light and amused, but her eyes lingered on the ice far longer than was polite. "Indeed. It is my good luck that I happened to be going in the same direction as you three."
"It was luck on both our parts. You get comfort, and we get to join you as your guests." I didn't care much for the woman, but since she had been kind enough to offer us what we needed, I didn't want to be disrespectful.
Though that was mainly because she was showing us due respect; it would be beneath me to repay her kindness with harm.
A man in desert wrappings rode closer to the carriage, his camel pacing easily alongside. The markings on his scarf identified him as one of the senior Sabaku-dō guides—older, lean, skin weathered into something closer to leather than flesh.
"Lady," he called, voice respectful but firm, addressing the noblewoman rather than me. "We'll reach the next water stop ahead of schedule. The wind favors us today."
"That's a first," she replied dryly. "You sure we didn't offend some sand spirit?"
His gaze flicked, briefly, toward me.
"If we did," he said slowly, "it seems to be smiling upon us."
I didn't look toward him; it was one of the benefits of wearing a blindfold. I could easily pretend to be blind when I wanted, and it would be rude for them to call me out on it.
By dusk, the sky bled into shades of gold and crimson, the heat finally loosening its grip. The caravan slowed, forming a broad circle as tents were raised with practiced efficiency.
Karin slept soundly, clutching her empty spoon.
Despite shinobi being able to cross much of the desert in little time, that was by no means the case for a civilian trade caravan. It took days to get anywhere, as anyone who had ever had to walk across a sand dune knew well. It was slow and exhausting.
"If you will excuse me, I must deal with some business," the noblewoman said as she left the carriage.
I didn't pay her much attention. I understood what was happening; she was a minor noble and had to do some work herself—and that forced her to cross the desert time and time again.
It wasn't like the Land of Wind didn't have areas that weren't just sand and rocks. There were both green oases spread through the desert and small patches of green land around the edges of the place, in particular toward the eastern side, where the capital was also located.
This caravan was one of many that made it across the desert, stopping at a few oases along the way before heading to one of the larger cities along the border with the Land of Rivers.
(End of chapter)
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