P.S. I did my best, but I can only update three chapters for now. I have to head out again... I'll update more for everyone when I get back tonight. Sorry!!
Otogakure was in the Land of Rice Fields, at the junction between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning. Its neighbor, the Land of Hot Water, lay along the coast, and to the right of it, across the sea, was the powerful Land of Water, which ruled the ocean.
After leaving Otogakure, Jun Tianlin felt the gloom in his heart lift. He slowed his previously rapid pace a little.
"The Land of Rice Fields borders the Land of Fire, and Otogakure is only a day's walk from Konoha. If I rush there at full speed and run into trouble on the way, that'd be bad. I think I'd better play it safe. As long as nothing goes wrong on this trip, it won't matter if I'm a little slower. The Uchiha Clan is in Konoha, after all. They can't run away!
"Okay, I've decided. Before I get to Konoha, I'll pretend to be an ordinary person and take my time. It'll only cost me an extra two or three days anyway. That's nothing."
After thinking it over, Jun Tianlin decided to slow down instead of rushing ahead. He would pretend to be an ordinary person as he made his way toward Konoha.
If he was going to pretend, he might as well make it convincing, right?
And so Jun Tianlin really did act like an ordinary person, forgetting that he was a ninja. He happily traveled along, breathing in the fresh air and admiring the beautiful scenery.
Half a day later, Jun Tianlin had made it from Otogakure to the border between the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Fire. Beyond this forest lay the territory of the greatest nation in the Ninja World—the Land of Fire!
But a peaceful journey never went entirely smoothly...
Not long after Jun Tianlin entered the forest, a tremendous explosion suddenly rang out, like a clap of thunder shattering the woodland's quiet.
"Hm? That sounded like an Explosive Tag going off. Why would one explode here? Did something happen where that sound came from?"
The moment he heard the blast, Jun Tianlin had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Explosive Tags, a tool used to support attacks, had been involved, and the explosion had sounded powerful. They must have used at least five tags to make a blast that strong. Something had definitely happened where the explosion came from... probably a major battle, right?
They say curiosity killed the cat, and it certainly wasn't wrong!
Jun Tianlin had only needed to keep heading for Konoha, sneak in, and accomplish his goal of taking the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai. But when he heard the explosion, he stopped in his tracks.
"Something must be happening over there, where that explosion came from. Should I go take a look?"
With that thought in mind, Jun Tianlin hesitated, torn between continuing on to Konoha and checking out the explosion.
"Yoshi, never mind! I'll just go take a look. Just one look, that's all. I absolutely, definitely won't get involved. No matter what's happening, I'll only watch. I won't do anything—that's final!"
Sure enough, human curiosity could be deadly, especially for young people like Jun Tianlin...
After a fierce inner struggle, Jun Tianlin's curiosity won out. He finally decided to head toward the explosion and see what had happened.
And it was this very decision that led Jun Tianlin to meet, quite by chance, his first... woman!
Before you continue