Of course, Chiba couldn't be absolutely certain that Yahiko and the others lived in this peaceful area.
After all, there were some remote places behind the battlefronts of the great nations where scattered pockets of peace remained.
But at least judging by the odds, there was a very good chance they were somewhere in this region.
Besides, even if they did live here, finding them in such a vast area would still be incredibly difficult.
Fortunately, Chiba had other clues.
First, if they really did live in this rare, relatively peaceful region, their home would probably be far from the war zone.
There was no other reason. Peaceful places near the battlefront would, without a doubt, be flooded with orphans.
In these turbulent times, there were simply far too many orphans in the Land of Rain.
When they had passed through the previous two towns, Xia Mu had once again gone ahead and taken in more than a dozen orphans. He had already reached the limit of how many people he could support, so he'd only taken in the youngest, those with the least chance of surviving on their own.
Xia Mu had been forced to turn away hundreds more, and that was why his mood had been poor these past few days.
Given how kind Yahiko and the others were, Chiba was sure that if there were more orphans in their town, they would have brought them into their group.
The fact that only those three children had been there for so long made Chiba almost certain that their home was very far from the war zone, so most orphans couldn't wander that far.
Besides that, Chiba was fairly sure the town they lived in was relatively large.
The plentiful supplies where they lived were proof enough.
Would a small town need so many merchants and street vendors?
Think about it: if the three of them spent every day stealing food in a town of just one or two thousand people, they would have become familiar faces long ago. How could they still get away with stealing? They probably wouldn't even be allowed near anyone's stall.
Chiba guessed it would have to be a large town with at least four or five thousand residents, or even more, to offer the three enough opportunities to survive.
Four or five thousand might not sound like many, but in a country like the Land of Rain, towns of that size were already quite rare.
These clues had already narrowed the search area considerably.
Of course, even with all this information, an ordinary person would never be able to find the town where the three lived.
There were simply too many towns in the Land of Rain. How could an ordinary person have detailed information about their locations?
Fortunately, Chiba had someone at his side who had once traveled throughout the Land of Rain and even other countries.
"Brother Xia Mu, I just remembered that when I was little, I visited some relatives with my parents. I can't quite remember where it was, but I do remember..."
As Xia Mu listened to Chiba list the details he could recall, he furrowed his brow slightly.
"There are a lot of fairly large towns in that direction. And are you sure you'll be able to find your uncle if we go there?"
"No problem. I lived in that town for a long time when I was little. I'll recognize it as soon as I get there."
Xia Mu nodded thoughtfully. "Oh, I see. All right, once we're settled, I'll help you find your relatives."
Chiba nodded eagerly, pretending to be excited. "Thank you so much, Brother Xia Mu."
Xia Mu smiled. "It's nothing."
But soon, a troubled look returned to Xia Mu's face.
"I know of at least thirty towns in that area. It'll be difficult to search across so many places, and I might not have enough time to go with you. Do you have any other clues?"
Chiba frowned and thought hard for a moment. Then he managed to recall that Nagato and Yahiko had once stolen fish from a fish stall when they were children.
Chiba's eyes lit up. That was another incredibly important clue.
In other countries, most towns and villages were built beside rivers. But that rule clearly didn't apply to the Land of Rain.
The Land of Rain had such frequent rainfall that its groundwater was incredibly plentiful. Almost anywhere, people could dig a well and find water.
And farmers hardly needed to irrigate their fields. They were more likely to worry about too much rain.
As a result, relatively few towns were located near rivers or lakes.
"Near a river..."
Xia Mu furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before nodding.
"That should make the search much easier. There are probably fewer than ten large towns in this direction that fit the conditions."
"Really? Brother Xia Mu, could you tell me exactly which towns they are?"
A moment later, Chiba walked out excitedly with a crookedly drawn map in his arms.
Chiba couldn't be sure that the place he was looking for was in one of those towns. After all, much of what he knew was only a guess, and Xia Mu couldn't guarantee that he'd visited every town either. But no matter what, the odds were much better than blindly guessing.
Clutching the map to his chest, Chiba's eyes brimmed with longing. If he was lucky, he might be able to learn ninjutsu then.
Of course, if this didn't work, Chiba still had backup plans.
For example, he could go find Jiraiya on his own near the end of the war. There was no reason Jiraiya would take someone else as a student but refuse him. The problem was, that would be far more dangerous and difficult.
After all, he couldn't count on an expert like Zetsu to guide him in secret and protect him along the way.
Another option was to find a way to join some country as a samurai. As far as Chiba knew, the kings of a few small nations were decent people.
If he made the right arrangements, he might be able to join one of them.
Beyond that, his only option would be to try to become a merchant, earn some money, and see if he could hire a missing-nin to teach him.
Of course, aside from being taken on as Jiraiya's student, none of those options offered any real prospects.
Staring silently at the rough map in his hands, Chiba couldn't help sighing.
I hope I can get what I want.
Before you continue