Beneath the sparse trees ran a broad, well-maintained road. Merchants streamed back and forth without end, samurai were everywhere, and ninjas crowded the streets in a bustling throng.
Jiang Rui turned his head this way and that. They were currently walking along the edge of the town, and mingling with the crowd did not make them stand out at all. If anything, Jiang Rui felt that even their disguises had been unnecessary.
With things this chaotic, he probably would not have had any trouble maintaining Rimuru's appearance either.
All around them stretched endless plains and fields. Green, unknown "wheat" swayed in the farmland, as though nodding in greeting to the people passing along the road.
"Tch, it feels like we suddenly entered another world and started walking down country lanes."
The others nodded in agreement, especially Ito Rei, who looked ready to run wild.
Beside them, Mizuno Kumo smiled quietly and explained softly, "This is a village between Konoha and Kencho, where the Land of Fire's daimyo resides. Though it has no name, it is known as a granary. You could say it is the most prosperous village in the Land of Fire aside from Konoha."
"A granary?" Jiang Rui nodded, then looked at the curious Ito Rei, Tōsei Kunizawa, and the others. "You seem to know quite a bit about it?"
"I've never been here either." Mizuno Kumo shook her head. "But you should know that forty percent of the Land of Water's food comes from here."
"Wow!" Ito Rei cried out. "It's that impressive?"
Mizuno Kumo nodded and continued with a smile. "Not only that. The reason Konoha is so powerful, aside from its many geniuses, is that the military funding it receives from the daimyo is several times greater than that of other countries. As far as