It was nearing three o'clock. The mild, warm sunlight slowly took on a golden hue, spilling across the earth and coating it in a faint layer of gold.
It also coated the final landmark marked on a detailed regional map—the bamboo grove near Kannabi Bridge, at the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth—in a faint layer of gold.
Tap!
At that moment, a foot lightly touched down, stirring a trace of dust before the bamboo grove, where towering green bamboo, faintly gilded by the sun, densely stretched as far as the eye could see. It also rustled a fallen leaf belonging to the grove outside its edge.
Tap...
Then, with another soft landing sound, a second foot touched down half a step behind the first, landing lightly on its toes. A faint ring of dust spread outward, sweeping several fallen leaves away.
A figure suddenly appeared, half-crouched on the ground.
Huff!
Chiba slowly opened his eyes with a long exhale. The cold killing intent in them gradually faded, replaced by a look of relief.
I finally made it!
Then, he raised his head and looked at the stalks of green bamboo before him, now seemingly golden-green, extending forward in an inexplicably orderly fashion. A relaxed smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
In his mind, scenes from the past two or three hours on the road flashed by.
Over the past two or three hours, aside from the three Quasi-Jonin Iwa shinobi he had casually dealt with, he had encountered quite a few scattered Iwa mission teams. Most traveled in groups of two or three, either patrolling, gathering intelligence, or carrying out covert assignments alone. In those two or three hours, more than thirty Iwa shinobi had died by his hand.
Since he had