Before Dawn arrived, the blond young man was walking alone in the desert.
The darkness on the horizon is fading away little by little, like a curtain being slowly lifted, revealing the vast and desolate land underneath.
The wind blows from afar, carrying fine grains of sand and drawing water-like patterns on the ridges of the dunes.
Naruto's steps are very steady and will sink slightly when he steps on the soft sand, but he has long been accustomed to this touch.
No extra effort is wasted at every step.
He did not find Orochimaru where Flying Thunder God Mark was originally left, so Orochimaru must have left.
The Kunai was still inserted into the gap of Rock. There were no traces of fighting around it, and no words were left behind.
Naruto squatted down and touched the handle end of Kunai with his fingers. It was covered with a thin layer of sand and dust.
"Let's go."
He whispered, pulling out Kunai and putting it away.
Naruto has planned a new itinerary after leaving Sunagakure.
The next stop is Rōran Ruins in Land of Wind. He needs to find Dragon Vein there and travel back to the past Ancient Kingdom of Roran.
If he can go back to the time period when Minato Namikaze left the Dragon Vein seal, there is a high probability that he can get more Uzumaki Clan and Sealing Jutsu from Kushina.
This world is different from the Shinobi World he knows. He also needs to learn more about this world.
He also found out the location of Rōran. With Ninja's physical fitness, he would probably arrive in two days if he didn't get lost.
Land of Wind is very large, and the desert occupies most of the territory. Oasis is like scattered gems, precious and rare.
Naruto once met a Merchant Caravan on the way. They carried all their belongings on camels and moved forward in the sea of sand to prepare for the next Oasis to rest.
The two children were running barefoot on the sand, their toes flexibly grabbing every indentation. They looked at Naruto with curiosity in their eyes, but not fear.
"Are you Ninja?"
An old man in Merchant Caravan asked him, with a clear calmness in his cloudy eyes.
"Hmm."
"Where to go?"
"Rōran."
The old man nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He just stuffed two pieces of dry cake into Naruto's luggage and said, "Eat on the way."
Naruto quietly stuffed some money into the old man's pocket.
Naruto covered his face with a cloth, put on a white robe and a cloak.
The wind and sand in the desert are so strong that even if Naruto wasn't mysophobic, he wouldn't want to be covered in sand.
Uncomfortable.
The wind and sand hit the cloth and made a thin sound, like countless tiny fingers tapping.
"Naruto, what you told me before was really not a joke?"
The voice of Kurama sounded in Sealing Space of Naruto.
The huge fox was lying in his cage, his tail lazily sweeping the ground, but his ears stood straight.
"What?"
"It's you who said you want to unify Shinobi World."
"Of course it's true."
Thinking back on what he has experienced in the past two years, Naruto can't help but feel a little sad.
Places like Konoha and Capital of the Land of Fire have Streetlamp, refrigerators, washing machines, movie theaters and the like.
He had seen Streetlamp lighting up at dusk on the streets of Konoha, and the orange Yellow Eyes light spilled on the stone slabs, like stars that had fallen in advance.
A huge poster hangs at the entrance of the cinema, depicting the legendary story of Ninja. Of course, they are all beautified versions.
Naruto is quite used to living in a modern city, but there are no mobile phones or computers to pass the time.
However, this also allows Naruto to calm down and practice, otherwise he is likely to have a lazy cancer attack and waste time in bed holding his mobile phone.
And Naruto walking in Shinobi World saw bandits, thieves, and powerful people.
The wreckage of Merchant Caravan after being looted on the official road was still smoking, the wheels were broken, the goods were scattered on the ground, and occasionally one or two scattered straw sandals could be seen.
Those bandits are entrenched in dangerous places, collecting tolls, and if they don't pay, they will use their knives to speak.
The powerful people occupied the fertile fields and water sources, and the tenant farmers worked hard for a year. After paying the rent, they had enough food left to survive the winter.
Only relatively wealthy villages can own iron plows and oxen for farming, and more villagers can only rely on manpower for farming.
Naruto I have seen with my own eyes an old farmer bending down and using a wooden plow to carve a shallow groove in the hardened land. His back was bent into a bow, and beads of sweat hit the soil. Behind him was his wife who was sowing seeds. Both of them were as thin as dried firewood.
The life of the common people is not easy.
Moreover, the current Shinobi World is not peaceful. Even big countries are having a headache on how to develop in the longer term without getting involved in war.
Naruto thought of something while Shinobi World, who was leaning toward martial arts, was walking.
A great chivalrous person serves the country and the people.
He was still young when he first heard this.
At that time, he didn't understand. He just thought that Xia was a very powerful person. He could fly over the walls, have a bold personality, and be very powerful.
But after going on the road for the past two years, he really felt the weight of these words.
It feels a bit bitter and astringent when pressed against the base of the tongue, but after swallowing it, a burning heat is generated in the chest.
"Kurama," Naruto suddenly said, "What do you mean Ninja?"
Nine-Tails's tail paused.
"Why do you ask this suddenly?"
"I was thinking...Ninja was originally just a mercenary, doing things for whomever paid him.
Mission Scroll says 'Protect businessman' or 'Assassination target'."
Naruto looked up at the gradually brightening sky.
"But if Ninja has power, why can't he use this power to do more things?"
Even if a farmer does issue a request to Ninja to drive away wild beasts or help with farming, these are tasks that villagers in this village can issue, and villagers in other villages will not spend money and time to ask Konoha to issue a request.
This type of task is often a task that the village itself pays for Genin to make money for. The villagers can have someone help with the work without spending much money, but this is limited to the village.
Nine-Tails was silent for a long time.
"Have you thought about it?"
"Hmm."
Naruto turned his head to look at the rising sun in the distance.
On the horizon, the light of Golden is overflowing, like a torn wound, flowing out of hot molten gold.
The shadows of the sand dunes were quickly lengthened and melted away, and the whole world was awakened from its slumber.
The wind has become warmer, and there is a hint of moisture in the air.
Maybe there is Oasis in the distance, or maybe it's just an illusion when Dawn comes.
He sang lines from the play:
"How could I know this but stand aside and stand coldly?"
That was something he had heard in his previous life, and it seemed to be a line related to Xue Pinggui's farewell to Princess Daizhan.
Maybe it was adapted by later generations based on "Red-Maned Steed" or "Crossing the Three Passes", or maybe it was originally there.
He memorized these words, and would hum them softly every night when he was traveling alone, and in every moment of hesitation.
Nine-Tails didn't speak any more, just rolled up his tail and covered his nose.
The room in Sealing Space became quiet, leaving only the sound of Naruto's own footsteps and the sound of the gentle breeze passing through the cloak.
The sun has completely risen.
Naruto took a deep breath, adjusted the direction, and continued moving towards the position of Rōran Ruins.
His shadow stretched long behind him, like another self, following silently and firmly.
At the end of the desert, you can vaguely see some undulating outlines.
Maybe it's the ruins of a ruins, maybe it's just another sand dune.
But Naruto believes that he is on the right track.
Just like he believes that the path he is taking, to unify Shinobi World, make Ninja no longer a tool, and let people no longer survive in the cracks, is right.
He quickened his pace.
The wind and sand surged behind him, erasing his footprints.
But the road ahead is still long.