Chikage set down the white porcelain teacup in his hand and wiped the corner of his mouth with a clean cloth.
He raised a hand and pointed at the dense forest outside the carriage window.
"Captain Yashiro, eat all the meat and drink all the sake you want, but don't actually drink your brains away."
"The carriage is already thirty li outside Konoha."
"There's no sensory barrier from the Barrier Team out here, and no permanent Anbu outposts."
"This is no-man's-land."
"If something really happens, you could scream yourself hoarse and no one would come to save you."
Yashiro wiped the hot sweat from his forehead and laughed unconcernedly.
"Vice-captain, you can put your mind completely at ease."
"What could possibly happen on an official road within the Land of Fire?"
"Even if some blind fool of a rogue ninja or bandit showed up, they wouldn't dare touch us if they had eight times the courage."
Inabi chewed the lamb in his mouth and loudly chimed in.
"Exactly, Vice-captain!"
"You spend your days handling paperwork in the office, so you might not know what the three of us can do."
"Captain Yashiro is an elite Jonin with countless battles under his belt."
"Tekka and I crawled out of piles of corpses during the Third Shinobi World War, too."
"We have three pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan sitting in this carriage."
"On an open battlefield, this lineup could wipe out an entire enemy frontline assault squad."
Tekka poured himself another cup of sake and thumped his chest, his face flushed.
"Inabi's right."
"With the three of us holding the front, anyone who comes will die."
"Even if those skulking bastards from Root catch up, we'll make them pay dearly."
"Just sit back and enjoy the ride, Vice-captain. Once we reach the prefectural