The Land of Fire was quite a distance from the Land of Waves. With nothing else to do on the road, Tazuna gave everyone a rough introduction to the situation.
The Land of Waves was a tiny island nation with virtually no ninjas. Its economy was poor, and its people lived in poverty.
Using his wealth and force, Gato had seized complete control of all the island's maritime transportation.
For an island nation like the Land of Waves, controlling its maritime lifeline meant controlling the country's wealth, politics, and people—in short, everything.
But once the bridge Tazuna was building to the outside world was complete, Gato's plans would fall apart. That was why he had hired quite a few ninjas to assassinate Tazuna.
Lu Yu already knew how this story went, but Shikamaru and the others looked interested.
The group ambled along, stopping now and then. Asuma had been so thoroughly harassed by Mrs. Murakami that he'd developed a bit of a complex. Now that he'd finally made it out of the village, everything beyond its walls looked wonderful.
As for the other four kids, they were even worse. They had no concept of what it meant to be on a C-rank mission. Every so often, they'd pull snacks out of their bags and munch and drink their way down the road, having the time of their lives.
Tazuna stared at this utterly unreliable team of ninjas with a dark expression. What kind of people had he hired? If he hadn't already confirmed that they were ninjas, he might have thought they were con artists.
For the rest of the journey, only Tazuna remained on edge. Even when a bush rustled, he'd jump and scamper away in alarm.
Watching Tazuna's furtive behavior, Ino chuckled.
"Don't worry, Uncle Tazuna. We'll protect you. Here, try one of these."
Tazuna caught the little bag of snacks Ino tossed him and carefully tucked it into his coat. He wanted to take the nice-looking treat home for his grandson.
Then he turned to Ino, gratitude written all over his face.
"Thank you, lovely Ino. May heaven grant your wish."
As he spoke, Tazuna glanced at Lu Yu, who was chewing on some beef jerky beside Ino. His look was rather meaningful.
Seeing his expression, Ino knew exactly what he meant. Her pretty face flushed, and she bit her lip before boldly edging closer to Lu Yu.
"Hm? Ino, do you want some too?"
Seeing her come over, Lu Yu thought she was craving his beef jerky. Generously, he handed her most of the bag.
"I..."
Lu Yu saw Ino staring blankly and assumed she was embarrassed. He grinned and said,
"Don't be shy, Ino. Take it. It's really good."
Ino took the beef jerky he offered, feeling as though her whole world had just turned upside down...
Did he seriously think she was Choji?
Was she drooling over his beef jerky?
Damn it, what a blockhead! He was driving her crazy!
Ino angrily pulled out a strip of jerky and shoved it into her mouth, biting down as if she were taking out her frustration on Lu Yu.
Watching his older brother and Ino, Shikamaru shook his head helplessly and muttered,
"Women are such a drag..."
Team 10 wandered this way and that, looking around without a care in the world. They continued like that until a large puddle appeared ahead on the road.
Everyone but Ino, who was sulking, and Choji, who was focused on his potato chips, sensed something was wrong. Lu Yu, Shikamaru, and Asuma noticed immediately.
It hadn't rained lately. Where had such a huge puddle come from?
Even if there had been rain, surely the sun would have dried most of it up by now.
To the three of them, this kind of attempt at concealment was laughably childish.
Asuma gave no instructions. He was curious to see how his lazy students would react if their enemies launched a sneak attack.
Before long, the six of them passed by a particularly large puddle, seemingly oblivious to everything around them.
The only unusual thing was that Lu Yu slowed down a little to wait for Ino, who had fallen behind, and walked beside her.
Ino stared at Lu Yu in confusion and thought, Could it be that this blockhead has finally caught on?
But she didn't notice the head slowly emerging from the puddle behind them as they passed.
"Splash..."
"First one!"
The sound of chains extending rang out, especially loud in the quiet forest road.
A low voice filled with killing intent came from behind them.
Two figures had appeared behind Lu Yu and Ino without anyone noticing.
Hearing a rush of wind behind her, Ino saw that Lu Yu seemed completely unaware. She instinctively stepped in front of him and shouted,
"Lu Yu, look out!"
"Hmph. You're dead!"
Seeing Ino shield Lu Yu, the two ninjas' eyes flashed with bloodlust, and they charged even faster.
Shikamaru immediately released the Shadow Possession Jutsu. His brow furrowed as he thought, Damn it, hold on!
Asuma looked disappointed that Lu Yu seemed not to have noticed anything. Tightening his grip on Flying Swallow, he prepared to step in.
Just then, a dark blur flashed past, followed by two muffled thuds.
In the next instant, the two ninjas who had just launched their fierce attack vanished.
Everyone stared blankly at what had happened. If not for the steady crashing sounds coming from the woods in the distance, they wouldn't have known what had happened at all.
Of the five others, only Asuma had vaguely seen Lu Yu move. The rest could only infer that he was responsible.
But no one had expected the guy who usually liked to fish to be so terrifying when he let loose. He had sent two ninjas flying in an instant.
Shikamaru was the most stunned of all. They had the same parents and were equally lazy, yet he'd never imagined his older brother could be this strong.
Lu Yu offered no explanation. He turned around with a smile and gently patted Ino's head.
"Silly girl, don't worry. I'll protect you..."
Before you continue