I Like Them Big, the Space Backpack's Ability

Ryusuke had obviously overdone it with his firepower, sending over two months of training results straight back to square one.

How had Hinata ever endured such a verbal assault?

After waking up, she immediately reverted to the ostrich-like little girl she used to be, keeping her head lowered. Even now, her cheeks were still flushed red.

Yet with her head lowered like that, the assets that had grown remarkably prominent thanks to her big-eater trait and all the nutrition she had absorbed—assets that Ino and Sakura would surely envy and resent upon seeing them—became even more conspicuous.

At this rate of development, Hinata would probably soon become a baby-faced, big... well, that.

Looking at Hinata, who had kept her head down the entire time, Ryusuke feared that she might become like certain manga heroines and develop disgust or inferiority over her prematurely developed assets. On an impulse, he comforted her, "It's okay, Hinata. Bigger is better. I like them big."

Bzzzz—

A sound like a train horn rang out as a white mushroom cloud suddenly rose from Hinata's head.

Then the girl collapsed onto the tatami and fainted again!

Ryusuke: "..."

The next day, 7:30 in the morning.

Team 8 arrived at the village entrance early and waited for Yuhi Kurenai and the merchant caravan.

Aburame Shino carried a backpack. Seeing Ryusuke empty-handed, he could not help asking, "Ryusuke, aren't you bringing any luggage?"

Hinata, who had not dared meet Ryusuke's eyes since waking up yesterday, also looked at him curiously.

She felt a wave of regret. It was all because she was too timid. If only she had known, she would have helped Ryusuke-kun pack his luggage before going home yesterday.

Ryusuke took out a scroll and smiled. "I don't have much luggage. Everything is in the Storage Scroll."

That was a lie!

The scroll was completely empty.

Ryusuke's luggage had all been stored in the Space Backpack.

Besides defeating monsters for equipment drops, the best feature of the game system was naturally the 5x5-slot Space Backpack.

Ryusuke had already tested it. The Space Backpack worked exactly like an inventory in a game.

Its twenty-five slots could only store inanimate objects, and an object's weight and size could not exceed that of Ryusuke, the host.

As long as they did not exceed Ryusuke himself, identical objects placed in the Space Backpack would stack together and occupy only one slot.

However, the maximum stack size was only ninety-nine.

Used properly, Ryusuke's Space Backpack could hold quite a lot of things.

"A Storage Scroll?"

Shino and Hinata nodded faintly in understanding.

Then Team 8 fell silent again.

There was nothing Ryusuke could do about that.

One was reserved and aloof, while the other was shy and quiet. No matter what topic he brought up, it would quickly die out. Ryusuke had no idea how to liven up the atmosphere.

So Ryusuke could only close his eyes and rest.

Soon, it was eight o'clock.

Yuhi Kurenai and the merchant caravan did not make the three of them wait long before arriving at the village entrance together.

"This is Mr. Yamada. You must protect him well over the next few days," Yuhi Kurenai introduced.

"Yes, Teacher Kurenai."

Ryusuke and the other two nodded in response.

Mr. Yamada smiled kindly. "I'll have to trouble you all along the way. Once we return to Iron Mine Village, I'll treat you properly."

Mr. Yamada's words instantly earned the favor of all three.

Compared to Tazuna, the client Team 7 had encountered in the original story, this client was simply far too good. No wonder he was in charge of the merchant caravan.

After briefly getting acquainted, Yuhi Kurenai and Mr. Yamada each handed their Village Exit Permit to the chunin guarding the gate.

Since being born, Ryusuke and the other two were finally leaving Konoha, that military base, for the first time.

Hinata's face was full of anticipation, and she was extremely curious about what the outside world looked like.

Shino still stood coolly with both hands in his pockets, as though he did not care about anything.

In truth, he was even more excited than Hinata.

Ryusuke alone truly did not care at all.

Although he had lived in a city of steel before transmigrating, Ryusuke had actually grown up in the countryside.

In this world without paved roads, where even nobles traveled by horse-drawn carriage, Ryusuke could guess what it was like even if he had never seen it.

Other than fresh air and more beautiful natural scenery, there would just be muddy dirt roads.

Whenever they encountered passing carriages, they would end up eating plenty of dust.

If not for the tempering brought by completing so many D-Rank Missions, this method of traveling on foot would actually have been torture for Ryusuke and the other two.

Because when ninjas traveled at full speed, it was truly absurd.

At the very beginning of Shippuden in the original story, Team 7 set out to rescue Gaara and reached Sunagakure from Konoha in only one day.

Between them lay not only the territories of two great nations, but also smaller countries in between.

Ryusuke had always been good at history, so he knew where the Land of Rivers was located.

This country was sandwiched between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. In the original story, Akatsuki sealed Gaara's One-Tailed Shukaku in a cave somewhere within the Land of Rivers.

This country was filled with mountains and forests.

Many towns and villages were built either at the foot of mountains or on the mountains themselves.

Villages built on mountains were also called mountain villages.

If nothing unexpected happened, Iron Mine Village would be one of those mountain villages.

The village's name also made it clear that this merchant caravan had probably come to Konoha to conduct business involving iron ore.

With so many mountains and ridges, bandits running rampant was only natural.

The enemies they were most likely to encounter along the way should be those bandits.

Thinking of this, Ryusuke felt slightly disappointed.

Bandits were all poor people who could not make a living. The chance of them having rogue ninjas was close to zero.

Yet there was more disappointment to come.

Mr. Yamada might have been carrying a huge sum of money, and that money was not his alone.

To avoid any accidents, Mr. Yamada had already purchased enough supplies before leaving Konoha.

Along the way, the merchant caravan avoided every inhabited area, hoping to return to Iron Mine Village as quickly as possible.

At night, they simply camped in the wilderness.

As a result, Team 8 took turns keeping watch, bored out of their minds.

It took a full three days for the caravan to leave the Land of Fire.

After entering the territory of the Land of Rivers, Hinata, who periodically activated her Byakugan, did indeed discover many bandits watching the merchant caravan.

However, after those scouts discovered Team 8 and returned to report it, the bandits withdrew.

Quite a few clever bandits did try to follow the caravan, hoping to find out its destination so they could strike after Team 8 left.

After receiving Yuhi Kurenai's permission, Aburame Shino directly sent out his insects, leaving those tailing bandits collapsed on the ground.

On the fifth day after leaving Konoha, Team 8 and the merchant caravan, having crossed mountain after mountain and overcome all kinds of harsh environments, finally arrived at Iron Mine Village, built on a mountain.

They were both villages, but Iron Mine Village and Konoha were as different as heaven and earth.

Rather than a village, it was more like a construction site for mining.

Other than the elderly, women, and children, nearly every villager was digging tunnels and mining ore.

Seeing this, Team 8 no longer had any desire to rest there for a few days.

Politely declining Mr. Yamada's invitation, Yuhi Kurenai collected the mission reward and led Team 8 back down the mountain to begin their return journey.

However, after descending the mountain, just as Team 8 was preparing to use the Body Flicker Technique and rush back to Konoha as quickly as possible—

A group of figures wearing black raincoats suddenly appeared ahead.

At the sight of them, Yuhi Kurenai and Hinata's expressions both changed slightly.

Yuhi Kurenai made a hand signal with her back to Ryusuke and the others.

Hinata moved close to Ryusuke's side and whispered, "When we were climbing the mountain earlier, I used my Byakugan to observe the surroundings. I didn't find this group."

Hearing this, Ryusuke and Aburame Shino immediately tensed up. As they continued forward, they reached for the Ninja Tool Pouches at their waists, ready to attack at any moment.