Pingjing City Grand Gathering ()
In his previous life, Uchiha Shin had once seen a netizen's estimate online of the Land of Fire's exact size. The netizen had guessed that it was roughly equal to the size of the Zhonghua Family.
Back then, Uchiha Shin hadn't believed it at all.
But ever since he'd crossed over to this world, and figured out the size of the Uchiha Clan's territory during the clan's last trial, he'd changed his mind.
He believed it now.
Take this escort mission, for example.
According to the map, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's capital, Pingjing City, was nearly a thousand kilometers in a straight line from the Uchiha Clan's territory.
So the actual distance they had to travel was definitely much greater than a thousand kilometers. And they still had to cross mountains and rivers along the way...
Fortunately, ninjas weren't ordinary people. Even the most common Genin would have been superhuman by the standards of Uchiha Shin's previous life.
So this distance—and crossing all those mountains and rivers—was nothing to ninjas, even if they relied on nothing but their own two feet.
Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, Uchiha Tajima, and the others set out at sunrise, leaving at around six in the morning.
Close to noon, around twelve, the Uchiha Clan's ninja team stopped to rest.
They ate something and replenished their strength.
Then Uchiha Shin took a leak.
By his estimate, if nothing unexpected happened, their group would reach Pingjing City right on time, around six or seven that evening.
After resting for about half an hour, Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, Uchiha Tajima, and the others set out again.
They didn't run into a single foolish ninja or bandit group looking for trouble with the Uchiha Clan's team along the way.
At around seven that evening, Uchiha Shin, Uchiha Hana, Uchiha Tajima, and the others arrived safely at the gates of Pingjing City.
Holding the pass issued personally by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Uchiha Tajima easily led the group through the gates and into the city.
Taking advantage of the night, Uchiha Shin looked up at the tallest building in the city, brilliantly lit up—the Guardian Pavilion where the Daimyo of the Land of Fire lived.
He couldn't help curling his lip.
"That's it?"
"I thought the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's Guardian Pavilion would be a lot more magnificent."
"Why does this Yamato place feel less luxurious than some ancient county town from my previous life?"
Disdain showed in Uchiha Shin's eyes.
The Guardian Pavilion was built mainly of wood and gray bricks. It had none of the grandeur of "a tower every five paces, a pavilion every ten; winding corridors and soaring eaves; each building following the terrain, with halls and chambers interlocking."
Compared with the Forbidden City in the country where Uchiha Shin had lived in his previous life, it was at best a wealthy landlord's compound in the countryside.
"Looks like the Japanese are always so provincial, whether in my previous life or this one."
With a Zhonghua Family soul, Uchiha Shin felt quite proud.
Uchiha Hana, on the other hand, clearly lacked experience. She was acting astonished at the sight of a mere wealthy landlord's compound in the countryside.
How embarrassing!
Uchiha Shin glanced aside at Uchiha Hana, who was standing next to him and practically dancing with excitement.
Led by Uchiha Tajima, the Uchiha Clan's ninja team crossed the busiest street in Pingjing City. Amid the street vendors' cries, they turned this way and that before entering a large courtyard resembling a post station.
Once the Uchiha Clan's ninja team entered the courtyard...
Uchiha Shin abruptly realized that ninjas from another clan had already arrived and settled in.
Looking at the clan crests on the armor of the ninjas walking around the courtyard, Uchiha Shin recognized the clan that had arrived ahead of them as the Hagoromo Clan.
Sure enough, before long, someone came out of the row of houses on the courtyard's southern side, pulling open a door as he stepped outside.
"Tajima, you're here."
"Haha."
The Hagoromo Clan's leader approached Uchiha Shin's group with a few of his subordinates, greeting Uchiha Tajima first.
"Looks like I arrived a little late."
"Haha..."
"Where are the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans?"
Uchiha Tajima looked around the courtyard but didn't see any ninjas from the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans.
"You mean them?"
"They're probably still on the way!"
The Hagoromo Clan's leader invited Uchiha Tajima inside to talk. But when he mentioned the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, a trace of disdain and contempt flashed in his eyes.
So even ninja clans had a hierarchy of disdain!
Uchiha Shin noticed the contempt in the Hagoromo Clan leader's eyes and thought to himself.
"Come, let me introduce you. This is Master Yamashita of the Fire Temple."
"Mm!"
Uchiha Tajima nodded slightly at Master Yamashita of the Fire Temple, acknowledging the greeting.
"Goichi..."
"Arrange rooms for everyone first. We'll discuss the rest when I get back."
Uchiha Tajima quietly instructed Uchiha Goichi, a jonin standing beside him. Then he turned back and gave Uchiha Shin a look that said, "Stay alert and take care of yourself."
After that, he took a few subordinates to the Hagoromo Clan leader's room to discuss the details of the escort mission the following day.
As for Master Yamashita, who stood beside the Hagoromo Clan leader, and the Fire Temple he represented, Uchiha Tajima hadn't given them a second thought.
Under Uchiha Goichi's direction, rooms were arranged for all the Uchiha Clan's ninjas.
Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana shared a room.
Uchiha Shin thought the room was in an excellent spot.
For security, the rooms on either side belonged to Uchiha Clan jonin, and the doorway was within the light cast by a brazier.
If anything unexpected happened, the clan's jonin would protect Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana right away.
And the light from the brazier not far from the door also gave the two of them a wide field of view.
After traveling all day, Uchiha Shin was actually a little tired. A footbath would have been nice.
Uchiha Hana was quick to catch on. Using the hearth inside the room, she soon heated a pot of water.
Watching Uchiha Hana bring over the hot water and serve him as he washed his feet...
Uchiha Shin felt that having such an attentive subordinate could be pretty nice sometimes.
Hahaha, after soaking his feet, Uchiha Shin immediately felt much more comfortable.
Next, Uchiha Hana promptly took the bedding out of the cabinet and made the bed in no time.
Looking at the soft, warm bedding, Uchiha Shin lay down on it without taking off his clothes.
He kept his weapons and ninja tools close at hand.
It wasn't comfortable to sleep that way, but this was an unfamiliar place, after all.
As a ninja, he still had to stay alert.
Otherwise, if he got careless, an enemy could slit his throat at any moment.
Following Uchiha Shin's example, Uchiha Hana also lay down in bed fully dressed, keeping her weapons close.
At around ten that night, a commotion suddenly came from the courtyard outside.
Hearing it, Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana quickly got up and looked out through the window. By the light of the braziers in the courtyard, they saw that the noise had come from the ninjas of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans...
Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana climbed back into bed and went on sleeping.
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