Arrival

"Are you kidding me? I don't have that much money to give you, and besides, I'm a ninja. You should be praying that I don't charge you a commission for protecting you on the road." Sarutobi Asuma shouted at the caravan again, acting deliberately.

He certainly had a mere thousand ryo on him, but given his current identity, pulling it out would be far too suspicious; even a fool would know something was wrong.

"Where did this brat come from, daring to call himself a ninja? Let me weigh your worth then. If you can last a while under my hand, I'll let you tag along with us for free." The one who stepped forward this time was a guy wearing a tattered ninja vest, but he lacked a headband from any hidden village. He was clearly a rogue ninja.

No one else in the caravan said a word, which was as good as tacit approval. Besides, this sort of thing wasn't exactly rare for them; they ran into one or two of these types every time they traveled.

If the brat really had some skill as he claimed, then bringing him along wouldn't hurt—he could be an extra combatant if they ran into trouble. But if the kid was just blowing hot air, they wouldn't mind adding a crate of processed medicinal herbs to their cargo.

As for whether there would be any other gains, don't make them laugh; what kind of good stuff could a kid like that possibly have on him?

After Sarutobi Asuma settled Kawaki Aoba to the side, he went to the open ground and began a one-on-one duel with the rogue ninja.

That's right, a duel. Compared to a life-or-death struggle, this was more like a test of strength.

In a chaotic place like this, finding a decent doctor was extremely difficult, so even when facing an unremarkable brat, one had to be careful to avoid getting injured.

As for the real idiots, they had already been ground into dust in places like this.

The rogue ninja cautiously probed Sarutobi Asuma's strength, while Asuma kept Yuhi Shinku's teachings in mind, acting like someone who had never experienced a real battle but knew how to use chakra.

While parrying the rogue ninja's attacks, he did his best to make himself look as disheveled as possible. To make the effect convincing, he even rolled on the ground, getting his worn-out clothes even dirtier.

After trading blows several times, the rogue ninja assumed he had figured out Sarutobi Asuma's strength and stepped out of the fray.

"Hmph, not bad. Although your combat experience is a total mess, you can barely count as a ninja. I acknowledge you; you're allowed to bring your little brother and join the caravan.

But let's get this straight: we won't provide you with any food or water on the road, and you must pull your weight when it comes time to fight. If you can accept that, then come along."

After putting on a tough front, the rogue ninja put away his kunai and returned to the caravan.

His words made Sarutobi Asuma gasp in disbelief.

It ended that easily? And that guy just said he acknowledged me as a ninja—is becoming a ninja really that simple?

The rogue ninja's ignorance successfully opened up a new world for Asuma.

The standard of ninjas in these small countries didn't seem to be much higher than the bandits in the Land of Fire.

If Asuma didn't know for a fact that he was still just a genin, he might have been under the illusion that he was invincible.

However, although he had countless complaints he wanted to voice, the fortunate thing was that they had successfully joined the caravan without raising anyone's suspicions.

After entering the caravan, Sarutobi Asuma was assigned to a position on the far left edge.

If they encountered sand bandits attacking from the left, he would definitely be the first to bear the brunt of it.

Once inside, Sarutobi Asuma couldn't help but size up the composition of the caravan.

With just one glance, he saw over a dozen groups of people, large and small.

The hired ninjas, ronin, and other miscellaneous characters were a mixed bag; he saw every style imaginable.

Among them, Asuma noticed a small group of merchants near the center, guarded by a samurai-dressed man with a child in tow.

There was no doubt about it: that was their team leader, the jonin Yuhi Shinku.

He had no idea what method Yuhi Shinku had used, but the man was currently chatting and laughing with another samurai in that small group.

Compared to their own treatment, this was much better.

In a single day, the entire caravan had only traveled from Tuyuan City near the Land of Rain to just barely across the border of the Land of Wind. This speed was as slow as a turtle crawling for a ninja.

The pace was so sluggish that Sarutobi Asuma even had the thought that they would have been better off not joining the caravan and just heading to their destination as a four-man team.

However, that thought vanished once the entire caravan entered the heart of the Land of Wind.

The environment in the Land of Wind was hellish. Aside from some barren land near the border, the scenery they saw along the way consisted of nothing but Gobi desert and endless yellow sand.

Especially after walking into the desert, even Sarutobi Asuma, who was at an above-average level in theoretical knowledge, lost his sense of direction.

With the scorching red sun hanging overhead, it was impossible to tell north from south.

If they weren't following an experienced caravan, a ninja without the proper training really might have gotten lost in the desert.

Of course, relying on a ninja's mobility, the chances of being trapped to death in the desert weren't high unless one was incredibly unlucky, but they would certainly have missed their mission deadline.

After traveling for a day and a night and finally arriving at an oasis town in the Land of Wind, the three team members—excluding Yuhi Shinku—finally understood why no one had taken the initiative to attack Sunagakure during the first two Shinobi World Wars.

In this godforsaken place, there really wasn't anything worth coveting.

Furthermore, Sunagakure was located in the very heart of the Land of Wind.

One could only sigh that the First Kazekage, Retto, was a real talent; he certainly knew how to pick a location.

Dahu City was the first oasis-based city the caravan encountered after entering the Land of Wind, and it was the first destination for the entire caravan.

It was also the location where Yuhi Shinku's team was to make contact with the spy lurking in Sunagakure. This was naturally no coincidence, but the result of Yuhi Shinku's careful planning.

This was the benefit of having a seasoned jonin as a team leader. If it had been someone else without rich mission experience, they wouldn't have known how many circles they would have had to run in the Land of Wind, and there was no telling if they would have exposed any flaws. Unlike now, everything seemed so logical.