The Great Canyon

Uchiha Shin saw Uchiha Tajima standing at the meeting point with his arms folded and a stern look on his face. He quickly hurried over with Uchiha Hana.

"Good morning, Father."

"Good morning, Clan Head."

Uchiha Shin greeted Uchiha Tajima with a smile, then led Uchiha Hana straight into the ranks.

Uchiha Tajima nodded in response to Uchiha Shin and Uchiha Hana.

Five minutes later, all sixty Uchiha shinobi had assembled.

Uchiha Tajima turned to look at the shinobi from the Hagoromo Clan and the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans.

After confirming that all the shinobi taking part in the escort mission had assembled,

Uchiha Tajima swept his hand forward and led the Uchiha shinobi out of the post station first.

The Hagoromo, Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans followed in that order.

Guided by Master Yamashita of the Fire Temple, the large force of 170 shinobi headed straight for the armory in Pingjing City.

By the time Uchiha Tajima and the others reached the armory, the standard weapons and equipment commissioned by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire for delivery to the Land of Iron had already been loaded onto wagons by the soldiers.

Uchiha Shin counted them quietly. There were a hundred wagons.

Uchiha Tajima glanced at Uchiha Goichi, who stood beside him.

Uchiha Goichi nodded in understanding, then stepped forward and began conducting spot checks on the hundred wagons of standard weapons and equipment.

After all, if the goods didn't match the order, there'd be nothing they could do once they'd hauled them all the way to the Land of Iron.

So it was important to be thorough and cautious.

Uchiha Goichi not only checked the standard weapons and equipment at random, but also inspected the wagons carrying them.

After all, the previous night, Clan Head Uchiha Tajima had personally warned him that he suspected a plot lay behind this mission.

But after checking, Uchiha Goichi found everything was in order.

How strange.

Uchiha Goichi felt a little puzzled.

Still, he reported his findings to Uchiha Tajima truthfully.

Once he had confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the goods, Uchiha Tajima, though still somewhat puzzled, completed the handover with the Daimyo of the Land of Fire's representative.

Uchiha Tajima also found it hard to believe that the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would be willing to pay such a steep price just to deal with the shinobi clans.

After the handover was complete, Uchiha Tajima led the shinobi force out to escort the standard weapons and equipment.

The soldiers of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire were naturally responsible for transporting the goods and driving the wagons.

So the shinobi from the Uchiha, Hagoromo, Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans only needed to focus on providing protection.

According to the clan heads' discussion the previous night...

The shinobi of the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans would lead the escort as the vanguard, building bridges over rivers and clearing paths through the mountains.

The Uchiha shinobi would protect the entire force from the middle.

The Hagoromo shinobi would bring up the rear and deal with any enemies pursuing them.

In Uchiha Tajima's judgment, if the enemy planned to ambush their force, the best place to do so would be near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Iron.

As everyone knew, the Land of Iron was cold in every season, and ordinary people had difficulty adapting to its climate.

All its armed forces were made up of samurai, and it was the only neutral country in the Ninja World.

Geographically, the Land of Iron bordered the Land of Fire, but none of the other four great nations shared a border with it.

So, if Uchiha Tajima and his party wanted to reach the Land of Iron safely, they could either take a detour through the Land of Fields and enter from there,

or cross the long Great Canyon along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Iron, then enter the Land of Iron.

There was no third route.

Apart from the long Great Canyon, the entire stretch where the Land of Fire met the Land of Iron was blocked by towering mountains that rose into the clouds.

The detour through the Land of Fields was too long. It would take too much time and leave more room for complications.

So Uchiha Tajima decided to take the Great Canyon along the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Iron. It would be faster.

It was better to fear the thief who had you in his sights than the one who might break in.

Uchiha Tajima had already sensed something was amiss. Whatever the plot behind this was, they would deal with it as it came.

With ordinary soldiers from the Land of Fire among them, the entire force moved at a painfully slow pace.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the second day that the transport force led by Uchiha Tajima finally reached the entrance to the Great Canyon.

"Stop!"

Looking at the entrance to the Great Canyon just ahead...

Uchiha Tajima raised a hand and called a halt to the force, then sent someone to summon the clan heads for a discussion.

Before long, the Hagoromo Clan Head from the rear, along with the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clan Heads from the front, hurried over, each bringing two subordinates.

"Why have we stopped, Uchiha Clan Head?"

The Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clan Heads looked puzzled and exchanged glances. Then the Nara Clan Head spoke up.

In truth, the shinobi of the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans were nothing more than cannon fodder on this mission.

Uchiha Tajima hadn't told those three clan heads the real situation.

They had assumed this was just an ordinary escort mission.

Even the Hagoromo Clan Head had only been told part of the story.

"It's getting late."

"At our current pace, this force certainly won't make it through the Great Canyon before nightfall."

"To prevent any mishaps..."

"I've decided we'll make camp here for the night."

"We'll set out first thing tomorrow morning."

Uchiha Tajima folded his arms and gave the three clan heads an impassive look before speaking slowly.

The Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans had brought their shinobi along simply to earn the mission fee and help ease their clans' difficulties.

So naturally, they hoped to avoid any delays.

After all, the three clans had brought nearly half their strength on this mission. Their defenses back home were bound to be depleted.

They were worried something might happen to their clans during this time!

But they didn't dare provoke the Uchiha Clan, one of the Land of Fire's most powerful forces.

So the Nara Clan Head turned to the Hagoromo Clan Head for help.

Having heard some of the details, the Hagoromo Clan Head was also unwilling to take the risk.

After all, the canyon was extremely long, and the terrain on both sides was treacherous.

If they recklessly entered it and were ambushed by enemies, it would be even worse at night.

So it was safer to wait.

"We should do as the Uchiha Clan Head says."

"It would be dangerous to enter the canyon now."

"You should know what we're escorting this time, right?"

"Too many people in the Ninja World have their eyes on these goods."

"So we can't take any chances."

The Hagoromo Clan Head followed Uchiha Tajima's lead and laid out the reasoning clearly.

"All right!"

Hearing the Hagoromo Clan Head say this, the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clan Heads had no choice but to agree.

Under Uchiha Tajima's direction, the shinobi from the Hagoromo, Uchiha, Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka Clans surrounded the wagons and began setting up camp.