Twelve and Three

That night, Dada pulled out all the stops, wheedling and pestering until he finally got several clan elders to agree to let him leave the village. After all, he had a legitimate reason. The Land of Soup was still considered within the Land of Lightning's sphere of influence, and bringing more people along should not be a problem.

After a joint decision by several elder leaders and the Third Raikage,

it was decided that, aside from Yotsuki Ki himself, three jonin would be dispatched as guards. One of them was Dodai, whom Dada knew well, and Dada naturally welcomed that.

Dada did not know the other two. One was named Anzai Mamoru, a highly promising Medical Ninja who had volunteered to join.

Of course, there were no dedicated Medical Ninjas in this era. Most were simply people who knew a few Medical Ninjutsu techniques and were interested in that field. Their combat strength was not weak; some were even stronger than ordinary jonin.

The other was Kawanishi Kyohei, personally assigned by the Third Raikage. He specialized in Nintaijutsu and wielded a Chakra Short Sword. It was said that he was extremely capable and often served as a guard.

There was also a team of seven attendants, including Meizi, both men and women. These attendants were forces cultivated by the Yotsuki Clan itself. Quite a few possessed chunin-level strength or above. Altogether, there were three jonin and five chunin, including Elite Jonin with bloodline limits and Elite Chunin whose strength exceeded normal standards.

Including Dada himself, there were twelve people in total.

This lineup was nothing short of impressive. In the current Land of Lightning, aside from the Daimyo, no one had tighter protection than Dada. And this trip was still within the Land of Lightning's sphere of influence.

It was so safe that Granny Liu opened a door for safety—safe all the way home.

Because they were short on time, Yotsuki Ki set out early the next morning with Dada and the rest of the group.

Once they left the village, Dada was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. Everything looked novel to him. He had to touch the flowers, brush against the trees—he was curiosity itself.

Kumogakure was unlike Konohagakure, where forests stretched endlessly beyond the village, and unlike Sunagakure, where leaving the village meant entering a desert. Kumogakure had scenery all its own. Cliffs stood in dense succession, and the farther south one went, the lower the elevation became. Strange rocks and ancient trees dotted the landscape, while mist lingered in many places. Nature's craftsmanship left Dada utterly amazed.

Although Kumogakure also had many mountains, the area was limited. They were stunning at first glance, but after a long time, they could feel oppressive.

Yotsuki Ki noticed Dada's expression and felt a little sorry for him. He understood Dada's feelings. After all, Dada had never stepped beyond Kumogakure since birth. Everything he had seen and heard had been confined to the village, and all his knowledge of the outside world came from the books inside it.

With Yotsuki Ki and Dodai deliberately indulging him, the group slowed its pace.

This gave Dada more time to learn about the Shinobi World beyond Kumogakure.

On the first night, Dada's group rested in a small town. Since they were still within the Land of Lightning and had a sizable group, they did not hide their identities as Kumogakure shinobi.

Dada was deeply interested in the lives of ordinary people in the Shinobi World. Based on what he had previously learned from books, the overall technological development of the Shinobi World was very strange. This was Kumogakure Year 33. Kumogakure naturally did not use Konohagakure's calendar, though the two villages had been founded in the same year.

Around fifty years ago, near the end of the Warring States Period, the technological level of the entire Shinobi World had still leaned toward the ancient era, similar to Japan's Warring States Period in his original world. But in the past few decades, the Shinobi World had suddenly leaped toward modern technology. Basic industrial products like steel, cement, glass, and kerosene had spread throughout the Shinobi World in a short time. In recent years, electrical appliances had even begun to emerge. Kumogakure, for instance, had a bulky radio device as large as a room.

And according to Dada's memories, by the generation of the main plot—around thirty years later—the Shinobi World's technology had already reached modern standards. Computers, movies, televisions, walkie-talkies—everything that should have existed, did.

Was that reasonable?

He had heard that some unburnable piece of trash he had never watched had technology that jumped straight to the twenty-first century, perhaps even beyond it...

If this were Earth, he could blame it all on Kishimoto. But now that Dada was in the Shinobi World himself, some things scratched at his curiosity like cat claws.

Just think about it. In the stories of later generations, the major ninja villages were basically beating each other's brains out, trapped in a cycle of development, war, development, war. They never participated in the productivity revolution of civilian society at all. So who was driving the Shinobi World's rapid scientific advancement?

Could there be a group of people somewhere at this very moment, researching diodes and even chips in corners that shinobi did not care about...

Was that appropriate?

Dada's curiosity about the development of civilian society burned hotter than fire. When he saw a household with a kerosene lamp hanging outside its door, he ran over and questioned them about everything from its place of origin to its price. Then he discovered that the inn they were staying at actually used electric lights, and immediately dragged the owner into another barrage of questions.

He did not merely ask. Dada also took out a little notebook and recorded everything in detail. Aside from Dodai, the others all felt, to varying degrees, that the Raikage's Second Son was a little strange.

Dodai might have been the only person in the group who did not simply treat Dada as a child. Not only did he actively help Dada gather information, he also took the initiative to answer his questions.

After all, Dada's brain was a treasure of Kumogakure in Dodai's eyes.

And so, the group's pace slowed once more.

Meanwhile, at the border between the Land of Soup and the Land of Fire, a small team was looking down at the town at the foot of the mountain.

Their leader was a middle-aged man whose body was three parts muscular, six parts fat, and one part wild and unruly, forming a fan-shaped chart. Behind him stood three spirited young people who looked to be just over twenty.

One was a blonde Girl.

One had a deathly pale poker face.

One was a greasy young man with prematurely white hair.

Torifu Akimichi patted his belly and said, "We've finally reached the Land of Soup. You may not know this, but the Land of Soup has plenty of delicious food. Its hot spring inns are exceptional too, and there are all kinds of entertainment districts." As Torifu spoke, he swallowed, though it was unclear whether he was thinking about the food streets or the entertainment streets.

"Uncle Akimichi, we're already jonin. Of course we've been to the Land of Soup before," Tsunade Senju said.

"I've been to the Land of Soup twice before, but both times were for missions. I never really got to have any fun," Jiraiya said.

"Idiot, you came this time for a mission too. Did you think our teacher sent us here to soak in hot springs?" Orochimaru said disdainfully.