Unexpected Mountain Flood, Naruto's Ninja Way

The rain kept falling.

Without anyone noticing, the sky sank deeper and deeper, turning from a hazy leaden gray into thick blackness.

Nothing outside the pavilion could be seen anymore. Only the sound of rain pounding against the tiles grew denser and more urgent.

The distant mountains had been completely swallowed by the night. Now and then, a bolt of lightning split the clouds, briefly illuminating the entire Nagano Mountains. The ridgeline appeared for an instant in the deathly white light, then was quickly swallowed by the darkness again.

Kiba crouched in one corner of the pavilion and noticed an inconspicuous shed.

The shed was built very simply, with a few thick wooden posts supporting a thatched roof. Underneath seemed to be a pile of chopped firewood, stacked neatly, with a layer of dry thatch laid over it to keep out the damp.

Kiba's eyes lit up. He patted Akamaru on the head, and the boy and dog carried back several pieces of dry firewood.

"There's ready-made firewood here! We can make a fire and dry our clothes!" Kiba dumped the firewood in the middle of the pavilion, crouched down, and started digging out his flint.

"Wait, Kiba!" Tenten was helping Yakumo wring the water out of her skirt hem. When she looked up and saw Kiba already piling up the wood, she hesitated and glanced around. "This firewood—could it have been chopped by some villagers nearby and left here for their own use? If we take it without asking, won't we cause them trouble? What if they come back and find the firewood gone—"

Since she was little, she had been taught not to take other people's things at will, especially supplies that had clearly been deliberately stored by someone.

Hearing this, Neji glanced at the pile of firewood,