Heaven and Earth Without Limits, Ten Thousand Miles ~ Tracking!

Since it wasn't a particularly urgent mission, they traveled at a leisurely pace and only entered the Land of Rivers after a full day.

Whether intentionally or not, Kakashi chose a different route from the last time they had gone to the Land of Rivers, so they didn't pass Granny Sansho's shop—Konoha Technicians wouldn't fall at the same Curry Shop twice.

That night, they simply set up a tent in the wilderness. Naruto took out the cooking utensils and ingredients he carried with him, while Kakashi was responsible for cooking.

Chef Kakashi's skills were pretty good, especially when it came to fish. It was so delicious that even with Kakashi's hand speed, he hadn't managed to snatch a single bite.

After dinner, the Three Little Ones sat beside the campfire, rubbing their bellies as they watched Kakashi clean up.

Sasuke blushed a little. It had been a long time since he'd lost control like that. Maybe it was because Naruto hadn't gone to his house to mooch meals much lately.

Unexpectedly, it was still like when they were children—food only tasted best when Naruto was there competing with him for it.

Looking at his three students, Kakashi lectured them. "When ninjas are out executing missions, they shouldn't eat until they're too full. It makes you sleepy easily, lowers your guard, and affects your combat ability."

"That's only because Teacher Kakashi's cooking is too delicious." Sakura said distressedly, "I've clearly been trying to lose weight lately, but I accidentally ate so much again."

"Restraining your desires is also a required lesson for ninjas. All this proves is that your training isn't sufficient."

"Is that so? Then let me tell you, last time I sneaked a look at Pervy Sage's manuscript. In the finale of that book you're reading, that male lead—"

Kakashi immediately covered his ears and shouted, "Shut up! I'm not listening! Spoilers will die... cough, spoilers never come to a good end!"

Kakashi hadn't completely lost his mind. Some things couldn't be said carelessly.

Naruto laughed. Only when he saw that Naruto wasn't going to continue did Kakashi lower his hands.

"Teacher Kakashi." Sakura mimicked Kakashi's tone. "Restraining your desires is also a required lesson for ninjas. Caring so much about a book means your training isn't sufficient, you know~"

"Ah, you kids are impossible." Kakashi's shoulders slumped, and his gaze returned to its usual dead fish eye look.

"Ha ha ha!" Naruto and Sakura burst out laughing, while the corners of Sasuke's lips curled up as well.

With the joking over, Kakashi said, "All right, take turns keeping watch. You go rest first."

"Yes~" *3

Then Naruto casually set up a small sensory barrier and a simple defensive barrier before yawning and crawling into the tent.

Nothing happened that night. It was nearly noon the next day when they arrived near the place designated by the client.

"How are we supposed to search such a huge forest?"

"Shadow Clones?"

"That would be too troublesome." Naruto pointed at Kakashi. "Why not let the dog loose?"

"Although I understand what you mean, I still feel like you're insulting me." Kakashi glanced at Naruto and used the Summoning Technique to summon a Pug about the same size as Tonton.

"Yo, Kakashi." Pakkun casually raised a front paw in greeting, then turned toward Naruto and the others. "Are you his students? Nice to meet you. I am Pakkun."

"Hello." *3

Kakashi said, "We need to find a Snow Weasel this time. I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me. Weasels have a very strong body odor." After saying that, Pakkun's nose twitched, and then he stared straight at Sakura.

Sakura grew uncomfortable under Pakkun's gaze. "W-what is it?"

Pakkun said solemnly, "Young lady, if I'm not mistaken... the shampoo you use is the same brand as mine, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Sakura froze, then cried out, "Whaaaaaat? You've got to be kidding!"

Kakashi's eye curved into a crescent as he cheerfully added insult to injury. "Pakkun is a tracking ninja hound. His nose won't be wrong~"

Sakura stood rooted in place, her entire body turning gray and white. "The same brand... as a dog..."

Pakkun lifted a hind leg to scratch his ear and said proudly, "Although our shampoo is the same brand, my fur is still smoother."

"Pfft~" Naruto laughed without an ounce of sympathy, while Sasuke turned away to hold back his laughter.

"When I get back, I'm throwing that shampoo away!"

"You seem quite devastated." Pakkun thought for a moment. "No helping it. How about I let you squeeze my paw pads?"

"Who wants to squeeze something like that?!" Sakura raised her fist. "Teacher Kakashi, what exactly did you summon him for?!"

"All right, don't get worked up." Kakashi hurriedly soothed her. He knew Sakura's combat power; one punch would mean a dead dog. "Stop messing around, Pakkun. Start tracking."

"Understood." Pakkun lowered his head and began sniffing around the ground.

Naruto provided a voice-over in his mind: The universe knows no bounds, track them for ten thousand miles~!

"Found it!" Pakkun turned around and said. "There's weasel scent ahead."

Thus, the four of them followed Pakkun into the forest, leaping from branch to branch. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't spot any vines, or he could have experienced what it felt like to be Tarzan.

"Stop." Pakkun landed on the ground and sniffed at the footprints there. "The scent matches the direction of these footprints. The target may have been captured by someone else."

Kakashi crouched down and examined the tracks. "Judging by their size, they should be around your age, but the depth is off. Were they carrying something heavy, or wearing armor?"

Naruto was puzzled too. According to the plot, they should have caught it easily. Had they arrived too late?

Kakashi stood and said, "Keep following them. Stay alert."

The Three Little Ones nodded and followed Kakashi and Pakkun.

They passed through the forest, crossed a valley, and the grass beneath their feet gradually turned into barren desert.

"Very close," Pakkun reminded them.

"We're already inside the Land of Wind." Kakashi had a bad feeling about this. There couldn't really be trouble, could there?

After chasing for a while longer, Pakkun stopped and said, "We're here. It's right ahead."

The four of them looked in the direction Pakkun's paw pointed. There was a cluster of buildings, made mainly of stone. They looked ancient, with somewhat pyramid-like shapes.

But what drew the eye even more was the Steel Fortress beside them. It stood about ten stories tall, with several antennae like lightning rods sticking up from it. Its style looked completely out of place here.

Kakashi scratched his hair and said, "Looks like there really is trouble..."

The moment he finished speaking, a door opened on the fortress, spraying out dozens of huge iron balls. After hitting the ground, they transformed in an utterly unscientific manner into burly men in armor, each wielding a long-handled hammer.

"This thing... Nezha?" Naruto quipped.

But no one answered. The burly men charged without a word, swinging their hammers down at them.

Boom! The power was decent, but the speed was lacking. Seizing the chance, Naruto threw three punches into an Armored Man's stomach, wanting to test its defenses.

"Hiss... so hard." Naruto dodged the Armored Man's counterattack, retreated several steps, and started shaking his hands in Jackie Chan style. The pain relief was remarkably effective.