At the very least, he should have brought one item with him.
"We've already crossed the border line, so we must be getting close to Nikamura. Don't complain so early." While those words were technically true, Hayate Gekko's already pale face showed deep exhaustion.
Actually, due to his illness, he was the weakest among them and struggled the most to keep moving forward. Although he should have been at an age full of youthful vigor, his body felt like that of a frail old man wrapped in morning mist.
Shiki sighed helplessly and once again unsheathed [Seiquan] with a metallic ring, carefully examining its appearance. During their entire journey, this had become how he passed the time when bored.
Otherwise, he would listen as Yuuma shared gossip about her female classmates during their Ninja Academy days.
For example, Asumika had received many love letters, all sent anonymously by a mysterious person who never revealed their name.
Chika secretly harbored feelings for her older brother but had never confessed them. When they attended school together, she even begged Yuuma not to reveal this secret to Shiki.
Yukimi believed men were generally despicable creatures, and thus vowed never to marry anyone when she grew up.
There were many stories like these.
To Shiki, the girls' carefree lives felt like they belonged to an entirely different universe. He'd rather get used to his new sword [Seiquan] than waste time on that kind of chatter.
"Eh? Look where—don't you think that might be a village?" Akimoto Yuuma joyfully pointed toward the distance.
Everyone instinctively looked up, eyes lighting up at the direction Yuuma pointed. Indeed, within the hazy rain, against the backdrop of surrounding desolate land, a prosperous village faintly appeared before everyone's eyes.
"Finally arrived," Shiki murmured in relief. Now that they reached a place with buildings, they wouldn't need to travel through the rain wearing raincoats anymore.
The group unconsciously quickened their steps; everyone longed to stop moving under this terrible weather just to drink a warm bowl of soup.
Before long, Nikamura appeared clearly before everyone's eyes. Although not as prosperous as Konoha, it had everything necessary.
Bookstores, Ninja Tools Shops, inns, and Hot Spring Bathhouses were all there. Until now, Shiki had even assumed this would be a remote and desolate village.
Whether there would be an inn for them to stay had previously seemed questionable.
But this unexpected prosperity left Shiki astonished into silence.
In the Land of Rain where the nation remained chaotic and unstable, how could such a village exist?
It truly seemed unimaginable. He even wondered whether Amegakure ever lived and breathed like this.
Although facilities there would certainly be much more luxurious and sophisticated, what Amegakure lacked was the simple sight of numerous people strolling along the streets.
After all, how could a village ruled under iron-fisted control possibly flourish?
Under such confused and turbulent governance, everyone concerned themselves solely with personal survival.
"It seems the employer's information wasn't wrong after all. Nikamura near the border, though having some bandit troubles around, has prospered precisely because it lies far from the country's center."
Hayate Gekko slightly sighed with emotion. It was quite ironic indeed that villages located at the heart of the country failed to match the flourishing state of this border village.
"Perhaps because many refugees arrived here, gradually making this place prosper over time."
Shiki quickly realized the true reason for the village's prosperity.
There was no way he could believe that mere efforts by the locals alone had transformed a small border village into this thriving place. After all, he had lived in the Land of Rain with his mother for quite some time.
The people here seemed trapped by fate — the only thing keeping them from abandoning their homeland was their unwillingness to leave it.
Besides having to constantly guard against potential bandits, they also had to be prepared for war at any moment.
Whether it was the Second or the Third Great Ninja World War, the Land of Rain, located between several great nations, was always one of the main battlegrounds.
At any moment, this place might once again become a land drenched in blood and suffering.
"Hey! Brother, what are you thinking about?" Yuuma waved her small hand in front of Shiki's face.
Shiki gently grabbed her wrist and pulled it down. "Just feeling sentimental."
Yuuma Akimoto didn't intend to give up so easily and continued asking, "Sentimental? Have you been here before, brother?"
Had he?
Shiki didn't have such memories. Perhaps he had passed through other villages along the border before. Or maybe Nikamura hadn't yet been so prosperous back then.
In any case, nothing here resembled the Land of Rain from Shiki's memories except for the constant raindrops falling from the sky.
Even the architecture leaned more toward Konoha-style buildings made with tiles. Undoubtedly, these were much better than the steel skyscrapers found elsewhere in the Land of Rain.
Because of those oppressive black structures, it felt like war had never really stopped.
Except in lawless regions, no one would think to construct tall buildings made entirely of steel.
Of course, only Amegakure looked this way. Unimportant villages were mostly ruins where people lived in wreckage without even daring to make proper repairs to their homes.
Doing so might accidentally draw disaster upon themselves.
Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had forged themselves into strength amid those brutal conditions.
Once, they had wanted to change their pain-filled nation through their own efforts. But now, such hope had long since fallen into the abyss.
"Let's go. We should complete our mission first."
Chapter 101: Bandits? Are There Really None Here?
Guided by villagers, the group arrived at a house that appeared slightly more luxurious than the others. People who'd come into a bit of money never tried to play it cool — they'd go all out to show off how much better they were living than everyone else.
Hayate Gekko approached the door and knocked twice. "Excuse me, is anyone inside?"
"Come in," replied a loud middle-aged voice from within the house. Hayate opened the door, and the others followed him inside.
The crackling fire instantly lifted the gloom that clung to them, its warmth melting away the fatigue of the journey.
The middle-aged man had neatly combed hair and a rather prosperous appearance. Dressed in fine silk robes, he was deep in the pages of a geography book.
"You're ninjas from Konoha? May I ask why you've come here?" The middle-aged man put down his book and faced Hayate directly while asking.
Even people from larger villages wouldn't overlook ninja from Konoha, especially in this small border village.
But Hayate Gekko didn't show any arrogance either, simply nodding lightly and saying, "We're here because someone entrusted us to deliver a letter."
The village headman started with surprise, then seemed to realize something. "Is it from Harada?"
Hayate Gekko nodded. S-rank missions generally weren't confidential, so knowing the client's name was perfectly normal.
Upon receiving this confirmation, the village headman's face showed excitement, but then quickly turned into slight annoyance.
"That really... for such a simple task as delivering a letter, he even hired such powerful ninjas," said the village headman while taking the letter from Hayate Gekko's hands. His eyes kept glancing at Hayate Gekko's uniform.
He was apparently trying to estimate how many silver coins it would cost to send someone wearing that green vest out on a mission.
His transparent body language made his thoughts immediately obvious to everyone.
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