Time crawled forward, and in the blink of an eye, thirty minutes passed. The atmosphere around Genzo's caravans became even more lively as no less than 36 new faces joined the group.
Excluding Seimei's team and Shiraishi Genzo, the entire caravan unit now had a total of 68 people, with more than three-quarters of them possessing chakra and the combat power of Genin-level at the very least.
Among them, Seimei suspected more than thirteen people to be trained ninjas of Chunin caliber. Several among them had the combat prowess of an experienced Elite Chunin.
Even the group of samurai was nothing to scoff at.
Several of them were at senior samurai level. At close range, they could give seasoned Chunin-level ninjas a run for their money.
Even the horses weren't common ones. They were specially bred horses, raised with strictly controlled, premium resources, making them exceptionally robust.
These specially-bred horses had thrice the stamina, twice the speed, and thrice the strength of the regular horses.
They were perfect for traveling fast while carrying heavy caravans. Merchants particularly favored them, even though the cost of purchasing and maintaining them was sky-high.
This client of theirs, Shiraishi Genzo, had prepared meticulously, not skimping on the protection.
After a brief analysis of the mission agreement, it was clear that Genzo wanted to hire a Jonin-level ninja squad with at least one full-fledged Jonin and a couple of Elite Chunin to protect him and his caravans.
Genzo had indeed prepared a lot, excessively so.
Seimei just didn't know what this merchant had prepared so much manpower and resources for.
Genzo was clearly a bit fearful and overly cautious. He clearly knew that he would be targeted, but he didn't make it clear who would target him.
Was it related to the thing he was planning to transport?
Seimei didn't know, nor could he ask about it directly.
He quietly looked at Shiraishi Genzo, ordering his people to arrange the caravans and carts.
Seimei's eyes glowed briefly with a faint ocean-blue light.
After a few moments, he looked away and gazed at the slightly overcast sky.
He had a vague premonition that their mission to the frozen veins of the Land of Frost might not be as straightforward as escorting their client and protecting his caravans.
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Meanwhile, as Genzo was preparing his caravans and stocking enough resources for the journey to the Land of Frost, Seimei was chatting with his teammates about their mission.
Hyuga Natsumi looked at the excessive number of people who were going to guard the caravan and the merchant along with them and frowned a little.
She dropped her voice to a whisper and said, "For a mere escort mission, didn't he fire a little too many people?"
Although she didn't activate her Byakugan, her sensitivity to chakra was high enough for her to figure out the potential strength of the people around Genzo.
More than thirteen trained ninjas and over thirty samurai were a considerable force.
Just the cost of hiring all of them at once was enough to render any long-distance venture unprofitable for most merchants.
Natsumi hesitated a bit before asking, "Should I activate my Byakugan and check what they are currently carrying? I see that our client was particularly keen on protecting one large caravan. It seems empty, and yet, he made four ninjas and four samurai guard it. All of them seem very experienced."
Although peeking into the client's secrets seemed tempting, both Reina and Seimei instantly shot down the proposal without any hesitation.
Reina warned, "No, nope, definitely not. Activating Byakugan makes the veins near your eyes and temples bulge. It is quite conspicuous. Considering how famous the Hyuga clan is, not to mention the samurai and ninjas, even well-informed civilians can easily detect your Byakugan's activation."
Seimei agreed and added, "Reina is right."
He thought for a moment before saying, "That said, the entire mission is pretty suspicious. There's a lot about this mission we don't know. Clearly, we are being intentionally kept in the dark."
For ninjas, executing missions with incomplete information was particularly dangerous. One wrong step, and your soul might just ascend to the Pure Land.
However, Seimei tried to see what was inside that highly protected caravan. Unfortunately, even his Tenseigan's X-ray vision couldn't penetrate it. Whatever was inside that caravan was likely protected by a strong Fuinjutsu seal to prevent detection.
This old fellow, Genzo, was quite cautious.
He spared no effort to take countermeasures against the Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuga clan as well.
If his Tenseigan couldn't see through it, Natsumi's Byakugan had no chance to bypass the Fuinjutsu seal either.
Any attempt to peer through it would not only be futile but also displeasing to their client.
But he couldn't really say it out loud and let his teammates know that he had the legendary Tenseigan, could he?
So, he could only let Natsumi try.
"Of course, you can try to see what's inside that caravan, just not now. Once we depart, you will naturally have enough reason to activate your Byakugan for long-range reconnaissance. At that time, no one would have time to worry about you probing the secrets of the caravan," said Seimei.
Natsumi's eyes lit up in anticipation. She nodded and agreed, "Indeed."
Seeing this, Seimei couldn't help but give her a look of sympathy.
Poor Natsumi. She was being happy for nothing. She was bound to fail this time.
Reina couldn't help but roll her eyes as she heard Seimei tricking Natsumi, the little innocent girl who knew nothing about Seimei.
Her eyes, too, held a hint of sympathy toward the pure little girl, Natsumi.
She just didn't know how Natsumi would react the day she found out about Seimei possessing the Tenseigan.
Would she ambush Seimei and beat the shit out of him for tricking her?
If Natsumi did, Reina was determined to help her good friend beat Seimei senseless.
After all, with Natsumi's strength, ambushing Seimei would be difficult, if not impossible.
Anyway, that would surely be a sight to behold.
Shaking her head, Reina suddenly said, "Forget about it. We will find out what the client is hiding when the time comes. Let's not dwell on it for now."
Reina looked at the group of guards and samurai busying themselves, walking around the caravans with Genzo, who was checking them carefully and whispering something to the ninjas following him.
Reina added, "Hopefully, we won't have to wait too long."
"Anyway, the caravan will probably depart in about ten minutes, I think. That's all the time we have left to relax before we have to maintain constant vigilance during the journey."
"So, let's calm our minds and talk about something else."
Seimei asked curiously, "What do you want to talk about?"
Reina quickly replied, "Anything other than talking about the mission."
Seimei asked again, "Okay. Then tell me, what would you like to do once you are done being an active ninja?"
Hearing that, Reina's forehead was filled with metaphorical black lines.
She asked back, "Are you cursing me?"
Seimei said innocently, "No, no, no, no, no…how did you even come to that conclusion? I mean, people get old. You will, too. One day, you will turn into a granny full of wrinkles. Once that day comes, you can't possibly still work as an active ninja. At that time, it's normal to retire…hey, hey…why are you unsheathing your ninja sword?"
Reina, who, at some point, had almost unsheathed her ninja short sword, sheathed it back into her scabbard.
She gritted her teeth silently and said, "Bastard, you are definitely cursing me. And who says I will turn into an old, wrinkled granny? How dare you?"
Natsumi, who was silent until now, suddenly chimed in, "But won't you, Reina? Everybody does. I will, too."
Reina:...
Not really. Once I awaken my Rinnegan and attain the Six Paths level of power, I won't really grow old. Not to mention, one of my Mangekyo Sharingan ocular techniques…
But oh well, even if I explain this, people will just think I am crazy and spouting nonsense.
Who would believe that I have regressed in time?
Reina complained inwardly before sighing and saying, "Hmm…what you said is true, Natsumi."
Seimei interjected, "But Reina…didn't I say the same thing, too?"
Reina glared at Seimei, almost activating her Sharingan. "Keep doing things like that, and I assure you, you will die a single dog."
Hearing this, Seimei's lips couldn't help but twitch slightly.
But he stopped provoking the Uchiha girl any further.
If he continued, Reina would probably throw a Great Fireball at him.
So, he changed his target.
He turned to Natsumi and asked, "Natsumi, my good friend, what will you do once you retire from ninja work?"
Natsumi thought for a bit before replying, "Me? I will probably want to relax and live a peaceful life."
Seimei nodded, "A good retirement plan, indeed."
Natsumi tilted her head and asked, "What about you?"
Seimei chuckled and answered in an amused tone, "I don't know. Maybe I will try to invent some Jutsu to travel to the moon and explore it. It would be quite interesting, wouldn't it?"
Natsumi's expression turned a bit strange.
Going to the moon?
Is that even humanly possible?
Look how far that was.
But she didn't want to discourage her own teammate and said, "Hmm…sounds interesting."
Meanwhile, Reina's expression also turned peculiar, but for a different reason.
Interesting? No, it's not interesting at all. The Otsutsuki Freaking Kaguya is sealed there. According to the lore, if Otsutsuki Kaguya weren't a total combat novice with zero battle experience, the Sage of Six Paths and his brother wouldn't have been beaten to the ground within minutes.
Seimei, this guy…if he managed to travel to the moon, he might accidentally break the seal.
Then again, without finding the location of the spatial portal to the moon, he won't be able to go to the moon before attaining Six Paths level of power.
Hmm…there's nothing to worry about, then.
Reina mused silently.
She was about to say something when she saw Genzo walking toward them.
She immediately donned a professional, no-nonsense expression on her face and asked, "Is everything ready, Mr. Genzo?"
Genzo nodded calmly and replied, "Yes. Everything has been checked. We are ready to depart. I have arranged for you to stay in the cart right behind my carriage. Aside from the cart driver, that cart will only be occupied by your team."
Reina added, "We have no problem with this arrangement. This will make it easier for us to aid you in times of danger right away, too."
"Then we will depart in five minutes," said Genzo before walking away.
Within a couple of minutes, Reina and her team found their cart and climbed up.
Soon, five minutes passed.
"Let's depart."
With that, all the carriages, caravans, and carts set out.
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