"Don't let their age fool you; just recently, the three of them dealt with a Bandit stronghold containing dozens of burly men."
Fujiwara Kiyoshi was stunned upon hearing this, then burst into unrestrained laughter as if he had heard a joke, pointing at the trio:
"Them? A few, dozens of fierce Bandits..."
"Hahahaha... Ouch, you're killing me!"
As he laughed, he gestured toward the six muscular and fierce-looking Guardss behind him:
"Are they talking about brutes like these? I'd really like to see with my own eyes how the three of them..."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Before he could finish speaking, a series of dull thuds sounded from behind, followed by painful groans.
Fujiwara Kiyoshi whipped his head around.
The next moment.
His pupils contracted sharply, his mouth hung wide open, and he stammered in horror: "This, this..."
His six Guardss, whom he had been so proud of, were now all sprawled on the ground, curled up and whimpering in pain.
Uchiha Tetsubi, meanwhile, was seated confidently atop the Cargo Pile of the cart, casually hooking a Kunai and spinning it between his fingers.
Looking down from above, he slightly raised his eyebrows and glanced sideways at Fujiwara Kiyoshi:
"Now, do you still have any doubts?"
"N-no... none at all," Fujiwara Kiyoshi was so frightened he could barely speak coherently.
"If you have none, then let's move out!"
Uchiha Tetsubi leaped agilely off the cart and took the lead at the front of the procession.
Kurenai Shinku then slowly stepped forward, assuming the role of mediator:
"I apologize, Mr. Fujiwara. Children can be thoughtless; please bear with us."
In reality, he had the perfect opportunity to intervene just now, but he chose not to.
When carrying out missions, it was not uncommon to encounter clients who required the strength of a Ninja yet held them in contempt.
Tetsubi's method, though simple and crude, was often the most effective.
Fujiwara Kiyoshi had long since abandoned his previous arrogance; he repeatedly waved his hands: "N-no problem, no problem..."
Saying that, he sheepishly ducked back into the Carriage.
The few fallen strongmen struggled to their feet, grabbed the horses pulling the cart, and followed the group as they set off.
Not long after leaving the Capital City.
More than a dozen men appeared and blocked the road.
As expected, without the headband of a major nation, all sorts of Riffraff crawl out.
Five of the men were holding Kunai, dressed like Ninjas.
The Ninja leading them roared at the procession: "You few miscellaneous Ninjas up front, five against four, you have no advantage."
"Leave the person and goods in the cart, and the rest of you can scram!"
Kurenai Shinku sized up the disorganized, wretched-looking Rabble and let out a light chuckle.
He retreated to the side of the road with crisp efficiency, leaning against a tree trunk, adopting the posture of someone waiting for a good show.
Uchiha Tetsubi, without another word, charged straight ahead.
Kurenai Yuhi followed closely behind.
Aokawa silently guarded the side of the cart, keeping Fujiwara Kiyoshi within his protective range.
The leading Ninja, seeing how unconcerned the opponents were and that they sent two children to fight,
became furious: "You dare look down on us? Kill them!"
The two sides instantly clashed!
The clanging sound of metal striking metal was incessant, interspersed with the Bandits' rising and falling screams.
Fujiwara Kiyoshi inside the Carriage trembled all over, peering at the battle outside through the crack in the window.
He saw Uchiha Tetsubi and Kurenai Yuhi weaving freely among the numerically superior Bandits; not only were they not at a disadvantage, but they moved as if through an empty field.
Especially Uchiha Tetsubi, wherever his figure passed, it was like a hungry wolf charging into a flock of sheep—none of his opponents could withstand a single move.
While afraid, Fujiwara Kiyoshi was utterly horrified.
He knew the child who took down his Guardss was strong, but he hadn't expected him to be this strong.
Even when facing enemies who were also Ninjas, it was like cutting vegetables.
That little girl showed no fear facing numerous enemies and moved agilely.
Looking at it this way... his gaze shifted to Aokawa, who stood silently guarding outside the Carriage.
No matter how he looked at it, this black-haired boy, who neither charged forward nor showed off, seemed less reliable than the other two fighting outside.
"No, I need them to switch so that the one named Tetsubi can protect me."
"If not, then at least that little girl."
He hardened his heart, suddenly flung open the curtain, and was just about to speak.
Whoosh!
A Kunai tore through the air, flying straight toward his face!
Fujiwara Kiyoshi's pupils dilated instantly, watching the cold blade tip rapidly approach in his vision.
His heart felt as if it were squeezed by an invisible hand, suddenly stopping its beat.
"I'm going to die!"
This was his last thought.
The next instant!
A hand with distinct knuckles, fair and strong, moved faster than the incoming Kunai, grasping its hilt precisely like lightning!
Fujiwara Kiyoshi stared directly at the tip of the Kunai, which was mere inches from his eyeball.
His Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty; this was the closest he had ever been to death.
At this moment,
He suddenly exhaled a breath, gasping for air.
Aokawa slowly moved the Kunai away, his expression calm and expressionless:
"Mr. Fujiwara, is something the matter?"
"N-nothing! Just looking, just looking..." Fujiwara Kiyoshi forced out a smile uglier than a grimace, his voice trembling.
"It's dangerous outside; please return to the Carriage."
"Yes, yes!"
Fujiwara Kiyoshi retreated into the Carriage as if granted amnesty.
Only then did he realize his clothes were completely soaked.
In that moment, he had thought through every good and bad deed of his entire life.
The cold glint on the blade had still not faded; shaken by residual fear, he dared not voice any further objections.
Meanwhile, the fight between Uchiha Tetsubi and Kurenai Yuhi against the Bandits was drawing to a close.
After the last Bandit was killed by the pair,
this one-sided slaughter ended with the escort team achieving an absolute rout.
The two retreated, panting heavily.
Seeing this, Aokawa also went forward to meet them.
He activated Healing Technique to treat their wounds.
Although it was a rout, fighting against superior numbers inevitably resulted in minor injuries.
Uchiha Tetsubi looked at Aokawa, who was treating him, completely spotless.
Then looking at his own body covered in bloodstains, he couldn't help but ask:
"Is Medical Ninjutsu hard to learn?"
"I only studied it for two months at the Academy." Aokawa looked up at him, and just as hope flared in Tetsubi's eyes, he changed his tone:
"However... many people at the Academy study it for ten years and still might not reach my current level."
The light in Uchiha Tetsubi's eyes vanished, and his heart sank.
Although Aokawa's tone was flat, he understood what he meant.
This guy was practically wearing 'I am a Genius' on his face.
The kind that appears once in a century.
He sighed inwardly.
"It seems my life will only be spent fighting and killing on the front lines."
Their injuries were not severe, and the healing was quickly completed.
The group continued their journey.
Aokawa looked at the Ninja corpses on the ground.
He pondered thoughtfully.
According to regulations, C-Rank Missions should not involve Ninjas of this caliber.
But it seemed that in actual execution, unexpected incidents frequently occurred.
He seriously suspected that the major nations, when assessing threat levels,
did not consider these irregular forces at all.
They only targeted officially registered Ninjas or missing-nin from other countries.
For these purely wild, irregular forces, they were probably calculated based on the combat power of common Bandits.
The facts seemed to support this.
Even Hong, an Illusionary Arts user who had just graduated from the Academy, handled the recent fight with ease.
In the journey ahead, the team encountered two more ambushes.
The escort team followed the same arrangement.
Uchiha Tetsubi and Kurenai Yuhi went up to crush the weaklings.
Aokawa was responsible for protection and post-battle treatment.
That pristine appearance made Uchiha Tetsubi extremely envious.
Fujiwara Kiyoshi was also very fortunate.
Thankfully, he had hired a squad of Ninja.
Otherwise, by the time they reached the Land of Wind,
he would probably have even his underpants stripped off.
With Fujiwara Kiyoshi's clearance document and the caravan's cover,
the four people successfully crossed the border of the Land of Wind.
After escorting Fujiwara Kiyoshi to the trade station,
their mission would be complete.
After having Fujiwara Kiyoshi sign the document, the four quietly separated from the group.
In the woods.
Shinku Yuhi, who had changed into Land of Wind attire, began assigning the mission:
"This city is the largest trade hub on the border of the Land of Wind; many goods are centralized here."
"It is most convenient for us to collect price information here."
"The four of us will go to the four directions of the city and surrounding small towns to gather intelligence."
He looked up at the sun in the sky, then continued:
"Gather here at this time tomorrow. Remember to use the Transformation Technique when collecting intelligence, and be mindful of methods."
"Yes," the three responded.
"Disperse!"
Swish, swish.
The four scattered like streaks of afterimages.
Aokawa left the forest and arrived at the desert outside the oasis.
He galloped along the city's edge in the direction designated by Shinku Yuhi.
After traveling for a while, he gradually reached the other side of the oasis.
Only then did he re-enter the oasis and approach the city from another direction.
Upon entering the marketplace, he had already transformed into a merchant selling goods.
He swaggered into the market, pretending to compare prices, looking here and asking there.
Since this city was mainly focused on trade, most people were there to stock up or offload goods.
Therefore, Aokawa's behavior was not considered unusual here.
Food in the Land of Wind mainly consisted of flatbreads, supplemented by rice.
So he mainly lingered in the flour and rice areas, while also investigating salt, spices, and other seasonings.
After finishing his investigation, he moved to the meat section.
The climate here was dry, so people utilized the natural conditions.
The meat was mainly air-dried jerky.
Aokawa sampled a piece; the taste was quite good.
As he went along, he unknowingly finished his dinner.
He patted his round belly; he couldn't investigate the remaining areas.
"Hmm, I'll investigate the surrounding small towns first. I'll come back to the remaining areas here tomorrow morning."
As dusk approached, he simply went to the woods on the edge of the city to rest.
The next morning.
He set off for the surrounding small towns.
The small towns were distributed across small oases surrounding the city.
The places were not large, so naturally they were not as prosperous as the city.
With the aid of the Byakugan, he easily found his way.
This time, he was no longer a wealthy merchant, but an ordinary person out buying groceries.
In places like this, the main goal was to investigate their retail prices and the daily food purchase volume of the residents.
While comparing prices among three vendors.
He noticed that the amount of groceries the town residents bought was very small.
If a small quantity of fresh food could be explained by buying less frequently to maintain freshness,
then even for non-perishable items like rice and flour,
most residents only bought enough for one or two days at a time.
This indicated that the economy of the Land of Wind residents had reached a very difficult state.
He secretly noted down these observations.
At the same time, he roughly scouted the surrounding terrain of the small town.
By noon, he had finished investigating all the small towns in that direction.
Patting his empty stomach, he headed back to the city to investigate the remaining areas in the meat section.
When he emerged from the marketplace again, patting his round belly,
he noticed the surrounding atmosphere was much stranger.
"Quick! Seal the city gates, don't let that kid escape!"
Several Ninja dressed in Land of Wind attire sped past on the road.
Judging by their direction, they were heading toward the city gates.
Aokawa's heart jumped upon hearing this: "Something happened!"
He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and maintained a normal pace.
With a few quick steps, he subtly turned into a small alley.
Then, his figure moved like lightning; he didn't hesitate to use the Body Flicker Technique consecutively, speeding towards the exit with all his might.
"I must get there before them!"
In the shadow of the alley.
Aokawa's eyes were fixed on the city gate not far away.
Those Ninja had already reached the gate ahead of him and were negotiating with the gate Guardss.
He inwardly thought, 'Not good.'
If they managed to close the city gates, he would have to climb those high walls.
With personnel stationed on top, that would be troublesome.
He looked around and fixed his gaze on a water storage tank.
He quickly used the Body Flicker Technique to get there and lifted the lid.
Thankfully!
The water was full.
He began forming hand signs with both hands, using Chakra to manipulate the water in the tank.
In this situation, executing the Mist Concealment Technique required skill.
He couldn't push out dense fog all at once; otherwise, everyone would know that someone was causing trouble from the direction the fog came from.
Instead, he had to first spread a very thin layer of water vapor evenly across the entire area, then gradually increase the concentration. By the time the enemy noticed, their vision would already be severely impaired.
On the other side, Fūga, who was negotiating with the Guardss at the city gate, presented a warrant.
"This is an order from the City Lord. Seal the gates immediately; no one is allowed to enter or exit."
Fūga was not part of the city's garrison.
Recently, the Village high command had suddenly lowered the requirements for learning Puppet Technique and opened up the technology for manufacturing some Monzaemon Puppets.
Although these were not high-level Puppets, it was Monzaemon's technology.
For a time, all the Puppet Materials around Sunagakure were bought out.
When Fūga was making his third Puppet, he found that he could no longer buy Materials.
He had no choice but to come to the border trade transfer city with other Puppet Masters to look around.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived in the city, he heard news that a Konoha spy had infiltrated to gather intelligence.
During questioning by patrol personnel, the person suddenly activated the Sharingan, injured the patrols, and fled.
The entire city was immediately placed under martial law, and they were temporarily conscripted by the garrison force to help with the arrest.
"I shouldn't have come," he sniffled uncomfortably. "The dry air makes me uncomfortable all over, and I'm dragged into manual labor."
A caravan happened to be stuck in the archway of the city gate, and the Guardss kept pushing them to move out.
But a long line of vehicles was backed up behind the caravan, causing chaos as they were stuck between advancing and retreating.
Fūga frowned and shouted at the Guardss, "Drive all the caravans inside! Allow entry but not exit."
The Guardss then moved aside and started directing the caravan.
Watching the caravan gradually enter the city, Fūga felt his nose was less uncomfortable.
But now that his nose felt better, his eyes seemed to be failing him.
His vision seemed blurry. He rubbed his eyes, but there was no improvement.
Due to this delay,
the concentration of the fog had increased by several levels.
"This isn't right!"
He was startled and finally realized:
"This is the Mist Concealment Technique!"
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