Land of Earth

"Since Matsuri's awake, let's set out tomorrow," Jiraiya said.

"Okay."

Early the next morning, after breakfast, the caravan set off.

Two more days passed, and the caravan finally reached the border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth.

During those two days, the caravan had come under attack several more times by rogue ninja and bandits. However, with Jiraiya staying out of it, Uchiha Matsuri and the other two easily drove off their attackers.

The border between the Land of Grass and the Land of Earth was a sheer cliff. On one side lay the lush greenery of the Land of Grass; on the other stood barren, uneven rock faces, where the soil was poor.

"We've finally reached the Land of Earth."

At the sight of the desolate, rocky landscape that was iconic to the Land of Earth, Uchiha Matsuri and the others felt their spirits lift.

Now that they were in the Land of Earth, the caravan was one step closer to its final destination.

Moreover, the danger to the caravan had greatly diminished. After years of rule under the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki of Both Scales, the Land of Earth might not have been as safe as the Land of Fire, but it was still far safer than the war-torn Land of Grass.

"Let's go. We still need to reach the next village before dark." Jiraiya took a deep breath of the Land of Earth's air and said cheerfully.

Once they entered the Land of Earth, the roads were nowhere near as easy to travel as those in the Land of Fire or the Land of Grass.

After a full five days on the road, the caravan finally reached its destination—Iwagakure.

Iwagakure was a ninja village surrounded by natural barriers like sheer cliffs, and it was known for its strong defenses. The area around the village was a natural fortress of countless rocks and mountains, giving it the advantage of being easy to defend.

As the saying went, "When God closes one door, He opens a window."

Iwagakure's terrain inevitably left it isolated from the outside world. This had fostered a conservative mindset among its people and left the town's development lagging behind.

"So that's a rock shower." Jiraiya stared into the distance. Far off in the sky, he could see a fine shower of grain-sized rocks.

The saying "You aren't a true hero until you've reached the Great Wall" could easily be changed in the world of Naruto to "You haven't been to the Land of Earth until you've seen a rock shower."

As soon as they entered Iwagakure, Jiraiya quietly said to the three of them, "Minato, Matsuri, E, you three go into the village with Mr. Moriya. I'd better stay out."

"Okay." The three nodded.

Once they were inside, E couldn't help wondering about what Jiraiya had just said.

"Why do you think Teacher Jiraiya didn't come in himself?" E asked, puzzled.

"Maybe Teacher Jiraiya attracts too much attention," Uchiha Matsuri said. "This isn't the Land of Fire, after all. If something goes wrong, it could be a problem."

"I think so too." Minato Namikaze nodded in agreement.

At the same time.

In a bathhouse on the outskirts of Iwagakure.

"Wow, what curves! What a figure! Absolutely gorgeous!" Hidden in the bushes beside the women's bath, Jiraiya watched the dozen or so women bathing with rapt attention.

"Young man, what are you doing crouched here?" A hoarse voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Obviously, I'm peeping," Jiraiya replied casually, without thinking.

As soon as he said it, cold sweat broke out all over Jiraiya.

He turned around stiffly and saw an old woman in her sixties glaring at him, a broom in her hands.

"Waaah!"

In an instant, Jiraiya's anguished scream rang through the sky.

As the old woman swung her broom at him in the bushes, Jiraiya sprang up in fright.

"Ahhh!!!"

"There's a pervert!!!"

Seeing a man suddenly appear beside the women's bath, the dozen or so women inside shrieked and rushed to the changing room.

In the bushes.

"You little pervert! I'll beat you to death!" The old woman chased Jiraiya with her broom.

"Ma'am, I'll never do it again!" Jiraiya shouted as he ran, too flustered to care how ridiculous he looked.

Inside Iwagakure.

After safely escorting the caravan to its destination, Uchiha Matsuri, Minato Namikaze, and E went out into the street.

"Now that we've finished the mission, let's go find our teacher and head back." Minato let out a long breath, then smiled.

"Come on, Minato! We finally made it all the way to Iwagakure. We should at least have some fun before we leave!" E said, rubbing his hands together as he held the Ninja Dog Ono.

For the half month they'd spent escorting the caravan, Uchiha Matsuri and the others had been forced to stay on their toes, constantly watching for enemies lurking in the shadows. Now that the mission was complete, they could finally relax.

"I agree with E. We came all this way, so we'd regret it if we didn't look around properly," Uchiha Matsuri said casually.

"I can't do anything with you two." Minato sighed.

Since both of them wanted to explore, Minato couldn't very well object.

Unlike the sprawling Konoha, which was as large as a city, Iwagakure was small and far less prosperous.

After half an hour, the three of them had toured the entire village.

"Ugh, there's nothing fun to do in Iwagakure," E complained unhappily.

"And Iwagakure's architecture is a lot like Kirigakure's. It feels really oppressive," Uchiha Matsuri added.

Hearing them complain, Minato gave an awkward smile, as if to say, "And whose idea was it to look around?"

"If there's nothing worth seeing, then let's—"

Before he could finish, a heated argument suddenly broke out in a noodle shop beside them.

"What's going on?" Uchiha Matsuri wondered.

A few seconds later, someone shouted, "Get out!" A filthy, frail old woman was thrown out of the restaurant by a burly man.

Uchiha Matsuri and the others immediately rushed over.

"Ow..." The old woman lay on the ground, groaning continuously.

"Grandma, what happened?" E was the first to reach her and help her up.

"They... they hit me..." The old woman's hoarse voice carried a hint of indignation.

After listening to her explanation, Uchiha Matsuri and the others gradually pieced together what had happened.

It turned out the frail old woman was a beggar. Four or five years earlier, her children and grandchildren had all been killed in the Second Shinobi World War. No longer able to work, she had been reduced to begging from door to door.

That day, she had happened to beg at the noodle shop beside Uchiha Matsuri and the others. But when the owner saw her, he decided to drive her out, afraid that the stench clinging to her would drive away his customers.

The old woman hadn't eaten for two or three days, and her intense hunger made her refuse to leave. The owner lost his temper and started arguing with her, leading to the scene they'd just witnessed.