The Legendary Fat Sheep

"Big Brother, there's a deserted village at the foot of the mountain nearby. It's quite large."

Hearing Inumaru's words, Dongfang Mao nodded.

They had been in the Land of Rice Fields for half a day, and at this moment, they were less than 10 li away from the nearest town, Tsukimiura.

However, it was already late, and after a long journey, everyone was exhausted, so they decided to find a place to rest for the night.

The scale of the deserted village was even larger than Dongfang Mao had expected. Within the collapsed perimeter walls, a weed-choked stone path extended toward dozens of houses that were still largely intact; it was more than enough to accommodate their group of over a hundred people.

After everyone was settled, Dongfang Mao noticed the dark, looming mountain behind the village. He pondered for a moment before asking Tsunade, who was beside him.

"Sister Tsunade, do you think this mountain could serve as my base of operations in the future? The location seems quite good."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade's forehead immediately sprouted black lines. This guy—was he planning to go up the mountain again?

"Mao, you..."

Unable to hold back, Tsunade intended to properly persuade Dongfang Mao to stop obsessing over being a mountain bandit and focus on learning ninjutsu from her, which was the proper path.

However, before the words could leave her mouth, she was interrupted by a voice from behind.

"Lord Mao!"

Dongfang Mao turned his head to find Luzhen trotting toward him, and he asked curiously.

"What is it?"

Although Luzhen was young, Dongfang Mao had tested him and discovered that he truly possessed the unique talent of the Nara clan; his mind was exceptionally sharp, and he learned things very quickly.

He had temporarily appointed him as the accountant to track the various supplies within the group.

Over the past few days, Luzhen had done an excellent job, keeping all supplies organized and the tallies clear. Dongfang Mao wondered what kind of problem could have arisen to make Luzhen appear so flustered.

"Lady Tsunade!"

Luzhen first gave a respectful greeting to Tsunade before turning his gaze to Dongfang Mao.

"Lord Mao, we are running low on food. We can only last until the day after tomorrow at the latest!"

Hearing this, Dongfang Mao's expression turned slightly grave; he had actually sensed this issue himself.

After all, the situation had been urgent, and the supplies they brought from the stronghold were limited. Later, as they fled to the border of the Land of Fire, the area was sparsely populated with nowhere to resupply, forcing them to grit their teeth and push forward, which had led to the current food shortage.

"How much money do we have left?"

"730,000 ryo."

Dongfang Mao thought for a moment before saying.

"In that case, go and get 300,000 ryo in banknotes for me. I'll take Yasuke to Tsukimiura to procure food shortly, and I'll strive to be back by tomorrow."

"Yes, Lord Mao!"

Luzhen tucked the account book away and hurried off, leaving Dongfang Mao to look at Tsunade.

"Sister Tsunade, it's been hard on you to travel with us these past few days. Since I'm heading to Tsukimiura, let me treat you to a good meal."

Tsunade heard this and gave a half-smile.

"730,000 ryo—you little guy are actually quite wealthy!"

Dongfang Mao heard the strange tone in Tsunade's voice and immediately recalled another nickname she had besides "Sannin."

The Legendary Sucker!

His expression shifted slightly, his eyes darting away as he muttered to himself. Could this unlucky hand be planning to borrow money from me?

"Hmm?"

Tsunade noticed Dongfang Mao's silence and paused, but then she remembered something, and her gaze turned somewhat unfriendly.

"You guy, don't tell me you've heard other things about me?"

"Cough, Sister Tsunade, when you were traveling through the Land of Fire, your other nickname was actually more famous among us commoners than the title of 'Sannin'."

Dongfang Mao gave a dry laugh.

Tsunade's mouth twitched, and a rare blush stained her porcelain-white face. She coughed awkwardly, then reached out and ruffled Dongfang Mao's hair with a bit of annoyed force.

"Mao, I am your elder! How dare you gossip about me? And what was that look on your face just now? Are you afraid I'm going to borrow money from you?"

Dongfang Mao silently endured Tsunade's rough handling, keeping his mouth shut. The answer was obvious; he had too many people under his command to feed, and he certainly didn't dare give money to Tsunade to squander at the gambling tables.

"You little brat, you're really not cute at all. Do you think I'm the kind of woman who would borrow money from the juniors she cares for?"

Tsunade was quite dissatisfied with Dongfang Mao's reaction. She abandoned his messy hair, which was already turning into a bird's nest, and extended her demonic claws toward his delicate, youthful face.

Hard to say!

Dongfang Mao thought to himself. If he remembered correctly, back when Senju Nawaki was still alive, hadn't all the mission fees he earned been borrowed away by this fairy sister through various means?

However, with his face currently twisted and distorted under Tsunade's claws, he didn't dare speak any more hard truths.

"How could that be? I just thought that a woman as gentle and beautiful as you, Sister Tsunade, couldn't possibly be a degenerate gambler. The rumors outside must be overly biased!"

Upon hearing the first half, Tsunade felt secretly delighted; it turned out that she held such a wonderful image in Mao's heart.

However, as she listened further, her expression became increasingly unnatural.

But then she had a change of heart, thinking that the term "degenerate gambler" was generally used to describe those who had lost their entire fortune to gambling.

And as for her?

She hadn't lost her entire fortune; her bills were usually sent directly back to Konoha.

The money she earned from practicing medicine while traveling hadn't really been spent at all!

The more she thought about it, the more confident Tsunade became. She straightened her back and nodded in complete agreement.

"You're right. Your big sister Tsunade only gambles as a hobby; a little wager is just for fun. The rumors outside are all hearsay and shouldn't be believed!"

Hearing this, Dongfang Mao's face twitched; he truly didn't know where Tsunade found the confidence to say such things.

However, he couldn't be bothered to dwell on this issue. As long as Tsunade didn't set her sights on his brothers' food money, everything was fine.

Just then, Luzhen came running over with the money, allowing the matter to be set aside.

After taking the thick stack of banknotes from Luzhen, Dongfang Mao went to call Yasuke and brought along a dozen other men to help transport the grain, while Tsunade went to fetch Shizune.

The group gathered at the village entrance and, guided by the moonlight, set off on the path leading to Tsukimiura.

This time, the group traveled light. Without the burden of grain and other supplies, they quickly arrived at this border city of the Land of Rice Fields.

As twilight descended, a towering city wall stood abruptly at the edge of the wilderness.

The torches along the battlements formed a line, appearing particularly striking in the thickening night.

The flow of people at the city gate was like a weave, with merchants rushing to enter before the curfew.

Even more eye-catching were the lights emanating from within the city, which illuminated half the night sky in an orange-red hue, forming a sharp contrast to the desolate scene outside the walls.