Land of Earth

After killing Yagi Nobuto, the three of them did not immediately return to the caravan.

After standing there in silence for a long while, Nawaki finally spoke up.

"Th-this... we just killed four ninja? Weren't they way too weak?"

"No, one of them seemed to be a Chunin—the one Kiyo dealt with."

"That makes it even more unbelievable, doesn't it? Killing them was way too easy. I feel like they weren't even as tough as the Matsuoka Brothers last time."

"True."

Uchiha Kiyoshi had figured it out by then and explained it to the other two.

"It's different. Those four were Rogue Ninja, and their Ninjutsu was terrible. Those three Genin probably didn't know anything beyond the Three Basic Techniques. I'd even guess they weren't very good at those. They had merely refined Chakra, making them stronger than ordinary people, and they were a little more ruthless when they attacked.

The Matsuoka Brothers, on the other hand, had started out as Samurai. They had plenty of real combat experience and fighting skills, and after switching to Chakra cultivation, they became even stronger."

"Were they really that pathetic? They didn't even know Ninjutsu? They hadn't mastered the Three Basic Techniques either, yet they dared to come out and rob people? And they tried robbing us Konoha Shinobi?"

Nawaki found it hard to believe.

Uchiha Kiyoshi shot him an annoyed look.

"Do you think Ninjutsu grows on trees? That you can have it whenever you want? Only people like us, with villages and clans behind us, can obtain quite a few powerful Ninjutsu. Outside, Ninjutsu is extremely difficult to acquire. I'd only read about it in books before, but now I understand just how difficult it is. Even a Chunin only had one trashy C-rank Ninjutsu.

Sigh! Rogue Ninja really do have it hard. They have no systematic guidance, and Ninjutsu is so difficult to obtain. Compared to them, we're much luckier."

"Yeah, it isn't easy for them. That's why we should be even more grateful to the village, train hard, and become strong as soon as possible. Only then can we protect the village better."

Sarutobi Saku sighed with emotion as well.

Caught off guard by Sarutobi Saku's Will of Fire indoctrination, Uchiha Kiyoshi grumbled inwardly.

Just how did Sarutobi Hiruzen raise Sarutobi Saku? The Will of Fire runs way too deep in him. He has to bring it up at every turn.

Still, if the Third Hokage was so good at raising children, how did Konohamaru end up with that personality in the original story?

After complaining to himself, Uchiha Kiyoshi stopped thinking about it. These were not things he needed to worry about.

After returning to the caravan, the group set off once more, heading toward Great Tree City in the Land of Earth.

They encountered bandits several more times along the way, but no ninja were involved. When the other side saw the Konoha Headbands on Uchiha Kiyoshi and the other two, they wisely chose not to fight head-on and retreated on their own.

A ninja's destructive power was no joke. Ninja might look physically frail and fragile, and in battle, getting hit often meant serious injury or even death. But that was only when their opponent was also a ninja.

Ninja possessed Chakra, which could greatly enhance their physical abilities for short periods. Their strength, speed, and defense all far surpassed those of ordinary people. Even a Samurai's martial techniques might not be able to hit them, and even if they did, they might not have much effect.

This was why ninja had been able to replace the Samurai system. Beyond being easier to train, Chakra's enhancement of the body and its various miraculous Ninjutsu were also crucial.

Unfortunately, Chakra has always been an unstable factor.

Chakra came from the Otsutsuki Clan, so there was always a chance it could be "reclaimed." If possible, I need to find a way to deal with that.

This was another reason Uchiha Kiyoshi was wary of Chakra. Aside from harming the body, its very origin was a problem.

It came from the God Tree of the Otsutsuki Clan. If he encountered a true Ōtsutsuki, he would be completely countered. As long as they could touch him, they could absorb his Chakra. It was simply too overpowered.

Uchiha Kiyoshi had been searching for preventive measures all along, but he was not strong enough yet to explore that area. For now, he could only continue using Chakra. Fortunately, Kaguya Otsutsuki would not appear for a very long time, so he still had plenty of time.

Besides, I'm an Uchiha Clan member. I already have Otsutsuki blood in me. If it comes down to it, couldn't I keep purifying my bloodline and undergo atavism?

Shaking his head, Uchiha Kiyoshi rejected the thought he had just had. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to use special methods such as bloodline purification or cell transplantation—things that required technology and all sorts of modifications to his body.

Uchiha Kiyoshi was not opposed to science, but he did not want to use too many artificial modifications in his cultivation. He preferred for his cultivation process to be more natural. Only power cultivated entirely by himself would be easy to control.

Otherwise, transplanting someone else's cells or organs into himself would definitely make Uchiha Kiyoshi uncomfortable.

Unlike the fertile Land of Fire, the Land of Earth was mostly rocky terrain, and its soil was not particularly good. However, the trees that grew in such harsh conditions were relatively better in quality.

Otherwise, why would they come all the way here to purchase lumber when the Land of Fire had vast forests of its own?

Of course, harsher growing conditions might produce better timber, but there was a limit. If the trees were malnourished, they would not grow tall or well. If the environment was too poor, then even if the trees grew well, their numbers would certainly not keep up.

Therefore, most lumber came from the relatively better land in the part of the Land of Earth near the Land of Fire. Great Tree City had been built there as well.

The Land of Earth was one of the Five Great Nations and possessed the powerful ninja village of Iwagakure. Its overall strength was not weak.

Iwagakure had also produced talented people generation after generation, never suffering a gap in its ranks. It had always been guarded by multiple powerful ninja. Both the Four-Tails and Five-Tails were in this ninja village, and each had a corresponding Jinchuriki. Throughout the entire anime, they had remained forces capable of fighting, unlike Uzumaki Kushina or Uzumaki Naruto, who had periods when they could not control their Tailed Beasts.

Aside from its two Jinchuriki, Iwagakure also possessed what was likely the only Kekkei Tōta in the entire Ninja World: Dust Release. It was a Ninjutsu formed by fusing three Chakra natures, and its power far surpassed that of a Kekkei Genkai.

In short, Iwagakure was very strong. Even as Konoha Shinobi, it was best to keep a low profile on their territory.

However, Team 3's destination this time was only Great Tree City, located on the edge of the Land of Earth rather than deep within it. They probably would not provoke Iwagakure's ninja... right?

Another three days passed, and Uchiha Kiyoshi and the others finally arrived at Great Tree City.

True to its name, Great Tree City made its living through buying and selling lumber. Aside from a few indispensable inns, nearly every other shop dealt in timber.

It was also the first time Uchiha Kiyoshi and the other two had seen such a distinctive city. An entire city selling lumber was quite novel to people like them, who had only ever left the village once.

During the two days the caravan spent purchasing goods, Nawaki dragged Uchiha Kiyoshi and Sarutobi Saku around Great Tree City. There was not much to see, but the novelty was enough.