"That's my student for you!" Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh.
Watching the teacher and student from the side, Li Yu couldn't help smiling too.
Time passed slowly as they traveled. No bandits foolish enough to court death came out to trouble such a large merchant company, and the group made it safely from the Land of Fire to the Land of Grass.
"Uncle Li Yu! Uncle Li Yu!" someone suddenly called as the caravan entered a city in the Land of Grass.
"Hexia! Out training your team again?"
"Yes, Uncle. They're all rookies, so they need plenty of practice. That way, they won't slip up the next time they're out on a mission!" Hexia said cheerfully.
"Has your teammate recovered from his injuries?" Li Yu asked with concern.
"Yes, he's much better. And thank you for picking us up along the way, Uncle Li Yu. We need to return to Holy Church headquarters to report!"
"Good, good. Since you didn't come with us to the Land of Fire this time, I hired a few Konoha Ninja to escort us. You don't mind, do you?" Uncle Li Yu asked awkwardly.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Hexia and the other Holy Light Clerics, but the road from the Land of Fire to the Land of Grass wasn't exactly peaceful. If they ran into bandits or wandering Ninja, losing their goods would be the least of their worries. Losing their lives would be far worse.
"It's all right, Uncle Li Yu. If that idiot under my command hadn't gotten hurt, we wouldn't have had to stop halfway in the Land of Grass!" At that, a young man behind Hexia lowered his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Uncle Li Yu!"
Just then, two palm-sized balls of light flew over. "Honestly, Hexia! Xiao