Journey to the Capital of the Land of Fire

Clop-clop... clop-clop...

The sound of hoofbeats echoed along the official road of the Land of Fire. Calling it an official road was generous—it was merely packed dirt. During the rainy season, it would still become a stretch of mud.

Fortunately, it was winter now. The freezing temperatures had hardened the lower layers of soil like steel, and the two wheels left only shallow tracks.

Having already left Konoha, Samu Kokaze poked his little head out from the carriage and looked at the scenery outside. Since arriving in this world, he had always remained in Konoha. It was his first time leaving the village, and he was exceptionally curious about everything beyond it.

Inside the carriage, Guy, dressed all in green, calmly watched Samu Kokaze as he craned his neck around, his gaze fixed on him the entire time.

Feeling that chilling gaze constantly upon him, Samu Kokaze shivered and withdrew his gaze from outside. He gave an awkward laugh. "Is there something you need, Mr. Guy, staring at me like that?"

Smack...

A hand landed on his shoulder at such speed that even Samu Kokaze could only catch a faint afterimage.

"I know everything about you!" Guy said calmly, his thoughts unreadable.

"Is that so? Heh... hehehe!"

Samu Kokaze's body stiffened slightly as he lowered his head to look at the hand on his shoulder. The brain enhanced by the Nano Core began racing at top speed.

What is going on?

Were the Nanobugs discovered?

Is it too late to run now?

Just as Samu Kokaze was bewildered by this sudden development,

Guy suddenly burst into laughter, revealing his gleaming teeth. "Kokaze! Come learn taijutsu from me! So what if extracting chakra becomes more difficult in the future? With Konoha's Azure Beast, Might Guy, as your teacher, your youth should not come to a halt here!"

This guy... Looking at Guy's shining teeth, a vein bulged faintly on Samu Kokaze's forehead.

"I'm not learning from a bodysuit-wearing pervert like you!"

"Ugh... rejected again?" Guy looked utterly heartbroken.

"Master Samu, Mr. Guy, is everything all right?" Tanaka Keishi, who was driving the carriage in front, asked as he turned around upon hearing the commotion inside.

As his emotions gradually settled, Samu Kokaze smiled and shouted from inside the carriage, "It's fine, Uncle Keishi."

Tanaka Keishi poked his head in from the driver's seat and glanced inside. He nodded, then continued urging the carriage onward.

Silence returned to the carriage, broken only by the clop-clop of hooves striking the ground. Looking at Guy's devastated expression, Samu Kokaze had no choice but to praise him against his will. "Actually, Mr. Guy, the bodysuit suits you quite well."

"Forget it." Guy, who had looked deeply crushed just moments earlier, calmly shook his head. He gave Samu Kokaze a deep look and abandoned his desire to take him as a disciple.

Although he thought highly of Samu Kokaze—especially after learning about what had happened on the night of the attack—Guy had his own pride as someone who had risen to become a Konoha Jonin through taijutsu alone. After being rejected twice in a row by a child, he no longer had any desire to take him as a disciple.

Besides, he had recently discovered another promising prospect in the village.

Seeing Guy suddenly return to normal made Samu Kokaze feel oddly uncomfortable, but no matter what, it was good that Guy would no longer pester him about becoming his disciple.

"Kokaze!"

Time passed slowly. Guy, seated across from him, suddenly spoke.

"Mr. Guy?" Samu Kokaze gave him a puzzled look.

Faced with Samu Kokaze's questioning gaze, Guy's expression was more serious than ever. Staring at him, he spoke slowly. "You are very talented. Others may not have noticed it clearly, but the growth I've witnessed from you over just this past year has greatly surprised me."

"Among all the people I know, only Kakashi in his younger days could compare to you. So... are you really planning to do nothing but carve wooden sculptures from now on?"

"Wooden sculptures?"

He chuckled, placed both hands behind his head, and replied casually, "There's nothing wrong with carving wooden sculptures. Besides, carving them doesn't conflict with improving one's strength. I still prefer researching unknown mysteries on my own. When I solve a difficult problem that has weighed on my mind for a long time, that sense of accomplishment is an unimaginably joyful feeling."

"It's good that you have plans." Guy looked deeply at him and spoke calmly.

Konoha.

Samu Carving Shop.

At that moment, Naruto was tied to a chair and being subjected to harsh interrogation.

"Talk! What did Kokaze say when he left?" Ino put on a fierce expression as she threatened him, though it somehow still looked rather cute on her pretty face.

"I-I've already told you everything I know!"

Tied to the chair, Naruto looked like he was on the verge of tears. He was now thoroughly convinced that his best friend had set him up.

"Very well!" Seeing Naruto refuse to confess, a murderous glint flashed through Ino's eyes as she abruptly raised a hand.

"Bring out the torture."

"Ino, forget it. Looking at Naruto, he really doesn't know anything."

Choji, who was shoving a handful of chips into his mouth, spoke from the side.

"Yeah! Yeah! I already told you everything I know." Naruto nodded furiously from his chair.

"Then tell me, why are all these letters blank?" Flames practically burned in Ino's eyes as she grabbed a stack of blank envelopes and held them before Naruto's face.

Watching the others start making a fuss again, Shikamaru yawned and boredly found a stool to sit on.

"You still feel like sitting there?" Already in a bad mood, Ino felt a surge of anger rise as she saw Shikamaru sitting off to the side and watching the show. She ran over and confronted him.

Shikamaru looked up at the furious Ino and said helplessly, "He didn't even tell you before leaving. What could I possibly do?"

Ino held back a breath, snorted unhappily, and threw the envelopes clenched in her hand heavily onto the floor. After a while, apparently recalling something, her eyes reddened as she bent down and picked up the envelopes one by one.

Seeing Ino's reddened eyes, Shikamaru sighed helplessly. He rose from the stool, walked over to her, and handed her a tissue.

"Don't worry. With how shrewd he is, he'd have disappeared long before any danger got close. Didn't Naruto say he went to Lord Hokage to post a mission? With people protecting him, nothing will happen to him."

"Who's worried about him?!"

"He ran off showing off the moment his injuries healed. Isn't he afraid of getting beaten to death?"

Tears glistened in Ino's eyes as she clenched her teeth.

While Ino had gone over to Shikamaru, Naruto, tied to the chair, kept signaling wildly to Choji with his eyes, asking him to help untie the rope.

Choji hesitated at Naruto's plea for help, but Sakura, seeing Naruto's comical expression, suddenly burst out laughing.

"It's over!" Hearing the sound, Naruto looked despairingly at Ino as she turned around. The hopeful look that had just appeared on his face instantly drained into ashen gray.

Ino walked over expressionlessly. At some point, a kunai glinting with cold light had appeared in her hand. Just as the terror in Naruto's eyes grew deeper and the Anbu hiding in the shadows were about to leap out, Ino suddenly stopped.

Gulp...

Naruto swallowed hard and was just about to speak.

Swish... swish...

"Ah!" A miserable scream rang out.

Two flashes of cold light passed by, and the severed rope fell to the floor in two halves.

After a moment, Naruto, who felt no pain, stood up and touched his body. "I'm okay?"

Ignoring Naruto's antics behind her, Ino turned and headed for the door.

"Ino, where are you going?" Sakura asked, looking at Ino with the kunai.

"To train."

The door slammed shut with a bang, leaving the remaining few staring at one another.

"What do we do?" Choji asked.

"Let's go train! Or are we really going to wait for Ino to leave us all behind?" Shikamaru scratched his spiky head hard. "What a drag!"

"Wait for me!"

Naruto shouted as he watched the others head outside.

PS: Work has gotten busy again these past two days, so I can only manage one update for now. Sorry.