The World Beyond the Village

After carefully reading the mission details on the scroll, Uchiha Kagura frowned.

The mission itself was simple: escort a rich merchant to the Land of Whirlpools.

Judging by the reward and difficulty, it was indeed a perfectly normal B-Rank Mission.

The problem was, why was Hiruzen Sarutobi personally leading the team?

Even without specifically asking around, Kagura knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi would soon officially assume the position of Third Hokage.

At such a critical time, was a B-Rank Mission really worth a Hokage carrying out personally?

Even using the excuse that he was looking after his students did not make sense.

After casually passing the Mission Scroll he had finished reading to the three behind him, Kagura made no effort to hide his confusion as he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi before him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi understood Kagura's question at a glance.

He spoke directly.

"I will officially announce my appointment as Hokage next week. The reason I am going to the Land of Whirlpools with you this time is precisely because of that."

He was going to the Land of Whirlpools because he was about to become Hokage?

After giving it a little thought, Kagura instantly understood what Teacher Sarutobi meant.

During Senju Hashirama's era, the Land of Whirlpools had been a loyal ally of the Land of Fire.

The Uzumaki Clan and the Senju Clan, in particular, had cooperated many times since the Warring States period.

When Senju Hashirama captured the various Tailed Beasts, it was also the Uzumaki Clan's Great Elder who helped him seal the Tailed Beasts he had captured.

Otherwise, how could Senju Hashirama later have smoothly sold such unstable power to the major shinobi villages?

Later, in order to better control the Nine-Tails, Uzumaki Mito, the First Hokage's wife, had voluntarily become the First Generation Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Now that Hiruzen Sarutobi was about to become Hokage, his visit to the Land of Whirlpools was only natural.

It was like Blue Star, where Kagura had originally lived. A newly appointed National Leader generally needed to visit Friendly Nations as soon as possible to demonstrate goodwill.

As for why he was going before becoming Hokage rather than after taking office?

Unlike Naruto's era, the current era was still in a state of chaos.

Although the villages had signed a Ceasefire Agreement, Undercurrents still surged beneath the surface.

If there were a chance to kill someone at Kage level, many would surely choose to try.

The Second Hokage Tobirama had fallen for precisely that reason.

Therefore, going to the Land of Whirlpools as Hokage and going there as Hiruzen Sarutobi himself carried entirely different implications.

To put it bluntly, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi died on the road, it would not deal much of a blow to Konohagakure's morale.

Seeing the understanding dawn on Kagura's face, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction.

After reading the mission and hesitating slightly, Tsunade and Orochimaru also understood its meaning.

Only Jiraiya was still scratching the back of his head with one hand as he said foolishly, "What does you becoming Hokage have to do with carrying out a mission with us?"

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he said confidently, "I get it! You're worried that once you become Hokage, you won't be able to go out with us anymore.

"So you specially decided to accompany us on one last Field Duty before taking office, right?"

After saying that, he looked smugly at his teacher, as though waiting for praise.

Hiruzen Sarutobi twitched the corner of his mouth, but ultimately swallowed the words of abuse he wanted to say.

He turned to the side and instructed everyone, "All right, hurry back and pack up. Gather at the village gates at noon.

"We leave at noon today."

The blazing sun hung high in the center of the sky. At Konoha's gates, the four who had already made their preparations were waiting there in advance.

Kagura wore a Combat Uniform similar to a Jonin's, except he had on a purple vest and carried a black Backpack on his back.

At that moment, he stood with the others beneath the shade of a tree, boredly kicking pebbles with his foot.

Like him, the other three also had an extra Backpack in their usual outfits.

Fortunately, they did not wait long. A moment later, Hiruzen Sarutobi and another figure gradually entered their sight.

The person following behind Teacher Sarutobi was the target they needed to protect this time.

This man perfectly matched Kagura's image of what a rich merchant should be.

He wore a purple outer robe of clearly expensive silk, and the slightly tight clothing outlined his fat figure.

He kept wiping the sweat from his head with a handkerchief, clearly suffering badly from the heat.

When he saw the four of them, the rich merchant froze for a moment.

Then he showed a friendly smile and nodded at them.

Hiruzen Sarutobi briefly introduced everyone to the client, then turned to the merchant and said politely, "Mr. Fukawa, time is short.

"We'll trouble you Along the Way."

Without waiting for Fuchuan's response, he said to everyone, "Move out!"

As the team set off, a trace of excitement appeared on Kagura's face.

Aside from this being his first time leaving the village since transmigrating, he was even more excited by the mission prompt he had received from the system not long ago:

Mission: Complete one B-Rank Mission.

Mission Reward: Randomly draw and master one ninjutsu.

Ever since drawing the skill Kotoamatsukami last time, he had been eagerly anticipating what heaven-defying ninjutsu he might draw from the system next.

Like Kagura, Tsunade and the others were also leaving the village for the first time.

Along the Way, they were filled with curiosity about everything around them.

After following the established road for A long time, they finally left the forest outside the village.

Human settlements gradually began appearing along the road.

However, unlike Konoha, most of these settlements looked terribly run-down.

Most of the villagers walking about wore ragged clothes, their eyes filled only with numbness as they worked like walking corpses.

Seeing this situation, the group, which had initially been somewhat excited, gradually fell silent.

Sensing the atmosphere in the group grow subdued, Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke.

"The days of peace were far too brief.

"Although Lord Hashirama's efforts ended the chaos of the Warring States Period,

"Sadly, that peace only lasted around ten years.

"After the First Shinobi World War erupted, ordinary villagers had no ability to resist, so naturally they could not develop."

Kagura nodded inwardly in agreement.

In fact, even among the Five Great Shinobi Villages, Konoha was a unique existence.

After all, when the village was founded, Konoha had ample funds from the very beginning thanks to the money Senju Hashirama earned by selling Tailed Beasts.

Just look at Sunagakure's environment. It could only survive in a desert.

If there were a choice, who would build a village in a place like that?

Traveling was always dull, especially when there was not much scenery worth admiring along the way.

What surprised Kagura was that the fat man named Fuchuan was not much slower than them Along the Way.

But after thinking about it, it made sense. As a traveling merchant, he had probably long been accustomed to this kind of daily travel.

As everyone's steps gradually grew heavier, the sun unknowingly came to rest atop the distant mountains.

The lingering glow shone over them, stretching long Black Shadows behind them.

By then, they had passed through the settlements and entered a new forest.

As they walked, Kagura, who was at the very front, suddenly stopped.

If one stood before him, one would see that his Eyes had turned into the Sharingan.

Staring at the dark forest ahead, he suddenly made a hand signal behind him.

Tsunade and the other two had stopped where they were with him, but upon seeing that signal, their expressions immediately tightened.

Their bodies turned into Black Shadows as the three instantly arrived beside Fuchuan, forming a triangular formation around him to protect him.

During the past few weeks of coordination, the four had already established several hand signals for use while carrying out missions.

And the signal Kagura had just made meant:

Enemies ahead!