Chapter 119: A Simple Love Story in the Land of Rain
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four black silhouettes suddenly appeared on the treetops.
They paused for less than a second before vanishing again, leaving only trembling branches behind.
Nanaka gazed at the three figures running ahead.
When her eyes fell on Asuka, she couldn't help feeling confused.
She knew that the Uchiha clan raised cats. The Ninja Cat Clan had cooperated with the Uchiha for many years.
But…
She looked at the tanuki crouched on Asuka's left shoulder and the orange cat lazily sprawled across his right.
Asuka was casually chatting with the two cats.
The corner of Nanaka's eye twitched.
This was an S-rank mission. Everyone's nerves were stretched to the limit, and failure could easily result in a gruesome death.
Yet Asuka looked as though he were on a leisurely vacation, without the slightest trace of tension.
When the team stopped to rest, Asuka lazily leaned against a treetop and enjoyed a warm, comfortable sunbath.
He wasn't nervous at all anymore.
Since they had confirmed that Danzo's subordinate had gone to the Land of Rice Fields, the danger of heading to the Land of Rain had immediately dropped by a great deal.
As long as he didn't provoke Nagato or Obito, this mission to the Land of Rain should be extremely easy.
"Ya~ha~!"
At that moment, Shukaku on his shoulder suddenly cried out excitedly.
The last time I came this far from home was sixty years ago.
"Woof! Woof!"
Shukaku's expression instantly darkened.
He had just been about to speak with Shukaku when a series of barking interrupted him.
He turned toward the large white dog beside him and sneered.
"Trying to communicate with a creature that can't even speak is bound to cause a language barrier."
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
The dog immediately responded with a string of canine insults.
"All right. Quiet."
A large hand suddenly landed on the white dog's head, causing its entire body to tremble.
He glanced at the muttering tanuki before looking toward Asuka, who had his eyes closed.
"Please keep quiet as well."
Hearing this, Asuka covered Shukaku's mouth with his right hand, preventing it from getting into an argument with the dog.
Seeing the blissful, satisfied expression on Shukaku's face, the corner of Asuka's cheek twitched.
That was some truly top-tier trash talk. Absolutely refreshing.
Suddenly, Shukaku fell silent.
It shook the lucky-cloud cloak around its body and glared fixedly at the white dog with disdain.
"Woof~"
Smack!
Another snow-white hand landed on the dog's head.
"Big White Shark, quiet down."
The aggrieved whimper of the white dog reached his ears.
Asuka knew its owner had arrived.
He looked up at the woman standing beside the white dog and nodded to her.
This was his first time seeing the other official members of the team.
One was a jōnin from the Akimichi clan, while the other was a Special Jōnin from the Inuzuka clan.
Along with himself, a jōnin, and Shichū, who was also a jōnin…
So…
In the eyes of the higher-ups, did Orochimaru effectively equal three jōnin and one Special Jōnin?
If Sarutobi Hiruzen's daughter-in-law hadn't been here, he definitely would have thought this was a suicide mission.
Hopefully, Hiruzen never considered replacing his daughter-in-law.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Asuka's gaze sharpened.
Whoosh!
A kunai emitting a strange glow flew out from the bushes and plunged directly into a nearby tree trunk, causing the leaves above to tremble.
"Did they miss on purpose?"
Asuka slowly stood up and looked toward the direction from which the kunai had come.
Whoosh!
The sound of air being sliced apart rang out again.
Asuka leaped into the air and caught the kunai.
With a flick of his wrist, he threw it straight back in the direction it had come from.
Attacking a team consisting of three jōnin and one Special Jōnin…
There weren't many people in the shinobi world bold enough to do something like that.
"Be careful."
Nanaka frowned and spoke quietly.
Splash!
At that moment, the bushes ahead suddenly shook.
A black silhouette leaped out.
Asuka carefully examined the newcomer and raised an eyebrow.
The young man standing ahead had a broad forehead, thick eyebrows, thick lips, and eyes so small that they were almost invisible.
His entire appearance radiated an honest, plain, straightforward, and sincere aura.
"Who is this guy?"
Asuka glanced at Nanaka before pointing toward the young man.
Nanaka compared the man's appearance with the wanted notices in her memory and slowly shook her head.
"I don't know him."
Asuka looked at the young man stroking his chin.
"Could he be some kind of high-ranking official or second-in-command from another hidden village? Maybe the son of a Kage? Or someone connected to a daimyo?"
Nanaka shook her head again.
"I have no information on him."
At this moment…
The honest-looking young man scratched his head.
His gaze swept across the four people before finally settling on the Inuzuka clan member holding the large white dog.
A faint blush appeared on his face.
He spoke awkwardly,
"Is that puddle of urine over there yours?"
"???"
All four of them froze.
Asuka and the other two looked at the Inuzuka clan member, who had just returned from relieving herself, their expressions turning strange.
Did this guy just run into a pervert?
"Pervert!"
The Inuzuka clan member's expression instantly darkened.
"No, no! Miss, you've misunderstood! I'm not a pervert!"
The young man hurriedly waved his hands as he explained.
"I just really admire you."
The Inuzuka clan member's expression became even darker.
She brought her hands together and formed a seal, shouting,
"Man-Beast Clone!"
Boom!
As the smoke dispersed, the large white dog disappeared from its original position.
In its place were two identical figures, stacked together like a human pyramid, moving on all fours with ferocious expressions.
"Fang over Fang!"
The two figures began spinning at high speed.
Two sentient tornadoes suddenly appeared on the open ground and charged toward the young man.
Boom!
The forest beside the road was instantly torn apart, leaving two gaping holes as debris flew everywhere.
The young man had already leaped into the air.
He rapidly waved both hands and shouted,
"Miss, anyone capable of leaving such a deep mark in ground this solid must be an extraordinary woman! How could I not pursue someone like you?"
"Pervert! Go to hell!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of explosions rang out.
Feeling the ground tremble faintly beneath his feet, Asuka looked toward the young man ahead, who was doing nothing but dodging without retaliating.
"I think I know which country he's from."
"???"
Nanaka looked at Asuka in confusion.
"Which country?"
"The Land of Rain."
Asuka nodded.
A trace of reminiscence flashed through his eyes as he slowly explained,
"I once read about this in a magazine.
"Do you know the legend of the first daimyo of the Land of Rain?"
"A legend?"
Seeing that their companion wasn't in any danger, Nanaka looked at Asuka curiously.
"What kind of legend?"
"A puddle of urine gave birth to a nation."
"Before the first daimyo was born, his father discovered a puddle of urine beside a wheel rut near what is now the border of the Land of Fire. The force of the urine had been so great that it had even carved a small depression into the soil.
"So the people accompanying his father told him that if it had been a woman's urine, then the child she gave birth to would surely become someone extraordinary.
"His father looked up toward the wheel rut and actually saw the mother of the future first daimyo.
"It was truly a miracle.
"Although the authenticity of the story cannot be verified, the people of the Land of Rain subconsciously accepted the idea.
"They began searching for tall women.
"Because it rains year-round in the Land of Rain, the ground is exceptionally muddy, making it difficult to tell who might possess a truly magnificent physique.
"That is why they often wandered near our border with the Land of Fire, searching for this pure love.
"And the people of Konoha misunderstood their intentions and forcibly drove them away.
"Such repeated misunderstandings only deepened the conflict between the two sides.
"And so, war broke out."
"???"
After listening to this, a vertical line appeared between Nanaka's brows.
She instinctively said,
"This captain thinks they're just trying to dress up an invasion as—"
Before she could finish, Nanaka's expression turned completely dark.
Idiot. Where did you read such an evil book?
Asuka shrugged innocently.
"I think a traveling bookseller gave me this book. He told me it was a great love story from the Land of Rain.
"I really like legendary love stories like this, so I bought a copy."
Nanaka, who considered herself well-versed in every love story in the shinobi world, looked even darker.
She had never heard of such a love story.
So…
There was only one truth.
This story definitely wasn't a serious or respectable one.
And that bookseller definitely wasn't a respectable bookseller, either.