Judgment

After leaving the tavern, Yuehua Ai took Yahiko and the others to ask a few villagers for information about the bandits. The intelligence they gathered was not much different from what the tavern owner had provided.

Through analyzing the collected information, Yuehua Ai concluded that the group of bandits who had been wreaking havoc here a few days ago was likely holed up on a small mountain not far to the north of the village.

According to the locals, that small mountain where the bandits were likely hiding had once been excavated by villagers to create a fairly large cave. The cave led directly into the heart of the mountain, where there was a vast space capable of housing quite a few people.

The cave had originally been intended as a shelter for villagers in the event of a disaster, but as fate would have it, the refuge the villagers had painstakingly built had now become a base for the bandits.

Since the target's location was roughly determined, the group did not linger in the village. After asking the village elders for the route to the hill, the four of them set off quickly. It was not yet noon, and they estimated they would arrive around lunchtime.

Bandits were ordinary people, and their daily habits were the same as anyone else's. They generally didn't go out at midday, and those who were out would mostly return by then. Yuehua Ai and his companions felt it was best to wipe them out while they were all gathered, rather than having them scattered, which would risk leaving many to slip through the cracks even if they found most of them.

In truth, acting at night would have been the best way to ensure no bandits were missed, but unfortunately, their targets were not ninjas—just a group of ordinary people who had gone astray. They were not worth wasting that much time on.

After checking the sketch he had made several times to ensure the route was correct, Yuehua Ai signaled the others, pulled up the hood of his raincoat, and headed north along the village path.

A ninja's pace is incomparable to that of an ordinary person. With the support of chakra, their speed far exceeded that of a commoner. Although Yuehua Ai and his companions had not yet learned to use chakra to walk on water or climb trees, their physical fitness and athletic ability allowed them to ignore most obstacles on the road.

After a year of training, the group had become quite mature in their use of chakra. They still remembered how, at the beginning, they couldn't even manage a journey of a few dozen miles, but now, as long as they weren't mentally exhausted, they didn't feel overly tired while traveling.

Refining and controlling chakra had long since become an instinct for the youths. During their journey, their rhythmic breathing and well-timed strides conserved their physical strength to the greatest extent. Furthermore, as they took each step, the chakra circulating within their bodies allowed their muscles to recover effectively.

The youths leaned forward, their hands naturally held straight behind them, moving through the dense forest at high speed. This running posture was the traditional way for ninjas to travel; the forward-leaning body allowed them to better maintain momentum, while their trailing arms not only reduced wind resistance but also kept their limbs in a state of rest. This ensured that if they faced a sudden enemy, their hands would be in the best position to react quickly and reach for weapons in the ninja pouches at their waists. This unique movement style could, to some extent, identify whether someone was a ninja, as ordinary people without chakra could not achieve such speed, let alone maintain balance with such a forward-leaning posture.

About twenty minutes later, the group arrived at their planned destination.

A massive, strange rock appeared in their field of vision. It was nearly three stories high and dozens of meters wide, with a fork in the path winding around it. This boulder had stood there for a long time; legend had it that it had rolled down from the mountaintop over a hundred years ago. Later, several villages were established in the area, and since the rock sat right between them, it became a local landmark once the villages opened paths to connect with one another.

The boulder was a single, solid mass. It was rare to see a rock of such size existing independently rather than being part of the mountain's structure. Yahiko and the others knew nothing about geology or geography, nor were they interested in it, so they only glanced at it casually. Yuehua Ai was the only one who paid it any extra attention; it was indeed rare to see such a huge, monolithic rock. He knew that the famous Ayers Rock from his past life was renowned precisely because it was a single, solid piece. Of course, the rock before him was far inferior to the 348-meter-high, nearly ten-kilometer-long Ayers Rock, but it was still a remarkable sight. However, that only drew a brief sigh of admiration from him, and after staring for a few moments, he didn't pay it much more mind.

The giant rock sat at the foot of the northern mountain. The group bypassed it and continued north, entering the mountain range.

The rain drizzled from the sky, which hindered the group's search for the bandits' tracks. Because of the washing effect of the rain, even Yuehua Ai found it difficult to locate signs of their targets. The reason the clues were hard to find wasn't that the bandits had strong anti-tracking skills—they hadn't actually tried to hide their trail—but rather that the weather and terrain were doing them a huge favor.

The small mountain beneath their feet was of a rocky structure. Years of rain had left little soil on the surface, making it practically impossible to find footprints. Even if someone had walked through the mountains and left an occasional mark on the ground, the continuous rain would have buried those traces long ago.

Therefore, it wasn't just that they didn't need to hide their tracks; even if one wanted to leave a mark, it wouldn't be easy. The grayish-brown rock that covered the area was not only smooth but also exceptionally hard.

Yuehua Ai found a relatively open spot and stood at the highest point nearby. He pulled the brim of his raincoat with one hand to keep it from obstructing his vision, then stood on his tiptoes and peered into the distance, studying the lie of the land.

Because the official mountain path was not on the south side, the group had not followed the standard route but had instead chosen a shortcut, heading straight into the mountain in a direct line.

The official path led directly to the cave, but by choosing a shortcut, Yuehua Ai and his team found it difficult to pinpoint the cave's exact location.

What Yuehua Ai wanted to do now was deduce the location of the cave based on what they knew. If the bandits were truly here, finding the cave would mean they had found their target.

Although a ninja's eyesight was far superior to that of an ordinary person, Yuehua Ai frowned deeply after looking around. Because of the rain, the mountain was filled with mist. Even though he had found the best vantage point, everything in the distance was a white blur, and visibility was extremely low.

The poor visibility dashed Yuehua Ai's plan to observe the mountain's structure. He had originally intended to judge the cave's location by the way the mountain sloped. The villagers had mentioned that the cave connected to the heart of the mountain, which contained a large space. For such a large space to exist within the mountain without collapsing, it had to be supported by a unique geological structure.

Rocks have grain, and mountains have a flow. If Yuehua Ai could clearly see the general trend of the mountain, he would have a high degree of certainty in determining the cave's location. Unfortunately, the misty rain in the mountains caused his plan to fail before it had even begun.

"No discoveries?" Seeing Yuehua Ai frown, Yahiko couldn't help but ask.

Yuehua Ai nodded directly. "The environment here is unique. I can't see the mountain's structure clearly, so it's not easy to judge where the cave is."

"Mountain structure..." Yahiko rolled his eyes in frustration. To be honest, he knew nothing about mountain structures or geography. Not only him, but Nagato and Konan were also completely clueless. The only one who could have discussed such things with Yuehua Ai was Jiraiya.

Yuehua Ai just shrugged at Yahiko's eye-roll. He didn't care that the others didn't understand geography or terrain; this world didn't have specialized geography classes, after all. Jiraiya could only communicate with him because of the experience he had accumulated over many years of living. If even Jiraiya could only talk about superficial things, it was even less likely that Yahiko and the others, who had been orphans since childhood, would know anything.

Since he couldn't see the lie of the land, he would look at something else!

Yuehua Ai continued to scan the area. After observing for a while, he signaled the others to follow him. He changed positions several times, checking each spot briefly before quickly moving on to the next.

Although the group followed Yuehua Ai, they had no idea what he was observing. Yahiko and the others were looking around as well, but they had no clue what to look for. After changing spots a few more times, Konan couldn't help but speak up.

"Ai, what are you looking at?"

"The rainwater!" Yuehua Ai smiled at Konan.

"Rainwater? What can you tell from looking at rainwater?" Nagato asked, looking bewildered.

It really feels like our wisdom and experience are on different dimensions! Faced with the youths' confusion, Yuehua Ai gave them a cute eye-roll.

He tapped the stream of water gathered by the rain near his feet.

"I'm looking at the flow of the water."

"Mountain structure?! Water flow?!" Yahiko looked as if he were admitting his own incompetence.

"The cave must be in an environment suitable for human habitation. Since it's suitable for living, it must be far from where rainwater collects. Furthermore, I can roughly judge the terrain by the direction of the water flow. By combining these two, I can deduce the approximate location of the cave."

Because it involved geographical and mathematical knowledge from his past life, Yuehua Ai didn't explain the specific formulas; he simply described his method of deduction.

Although they didn't know how Yuehua Ai had reasoned it out, the mere idea of observing water flow to make a judgment left Nagato filled with admiration.

"Ai, you're so amazing!" Konan couldn't help but exclaim.

Although she couldn't understand how Ai knew so much, that didn't stop her from feeling proud of him. She felt that the luckiest and most satisfying thing she had done over the years was 'picking up' Yuehua Ai.

"Uh, hehe!" Yuehua Ai gave a shy smile; he was quite pleased with Konan's praise.

Returning to his thoughts, Yuehua Ai synthesized everything he had seen and pointed to the east.

"The cave should be in this direction. Let's go take a look."

"Let's go!" The others nodded in response.