Kumogakure

Two days earlier, a group of merchants had also quietly entered Konoha.

The ninja guarding Konoha checked their travel documents as usual, occasionally confirming that the documents matched their holders.

After confirming that the documents were in order, he walked up to the wagon and asked, "What's in here?"

The man at the front, who looked like the proprietor, approached with a broad smile and took the initiative to lift the cover. "Sir, they're all local specialties from the Land of Lightning."

The Konoha ninja inspected the goods carefully again. After confirming that they were things like leather, he nodded and continued, "What brings you here?"

The proprietor smiled. "Sir, we're just trading local specialties between the two countries. We've also arranged an herb deal with the Nara Clan."

With that, he took out a letter from the Nara Clan, slipping something beneath it as well. "Don't worry. We know the rules."

A smile finally appeared on the Konoha ninja's stern face. After briefly inspecting the letter to confirm its authenticity, he returned their travel documents.

"Welcome to Konoha."

The proprietor's smile grew even brighter. "Thank you, sir."

The group then entered Konoha and, like ordinary merchants, rented a warehouse first.

Then they actually went to the Nara Clan to discuss the herb trade.

Two days later, they noticed that the surveillance had eased considerably. They deliberately switched on the television at the inn and, while complaining about Konoha's merchants, took out paper and pens to write something.

One of them wrote on the paper: The surveillance has eased.

The others also began writing their replies.

The target is in the Forest of Death.

When do we move?

How about tonight?

Agreed. Better not give things time to go wrong.

They exchanged glances, left a tape recorder behind, and quietly departed the room.

The television in the room was turned off, and recorded voices played from the tape recorder.

Meanwhile, Qianye Lan was teaching Kushina some basics of wilderness survival.

He picked a fruit from beneath a tree and said, "This one's edible."

He took a bite, then picked another and handed it to Kushina.

Kushina took it and tried a bite, only to spit it straight out. Her little face scrunched up as she said, "It's so sour! Is it unripe?"

She then looked at him, but what happened next caught her off guard.

Qianye Lan spat his out too, then laughed smugly at the look on Kushina's face.

Only then did Kushina realize she had been tricked.

She said indignantly, "Oh, so that's how you are, Lan!"

Then she rushed at Qianye Lan, demanding an explanation.

The two continued toward their destination, roughhousing along the way.

Meanwhile, the Kumogakure ninja disguised as merchants carefully evaded the patrolling Anbu and quietly slipped into the Forest of Death.

Qianye Lan and Kushina finally reached their destination. Seeing the clear water, he took out his canteen and filled it.

Kushina asked curiously, "Lan, aren't you worried the water might be dirty?"

Qianye Lan looked at her helplessly and asked, "Weren't you paying attention in class?"

Kushina stuck out her tongue and said sheepishly, "I fell asleep..."

He explained patiently, "We're upstream. This is the cleanest water."

Only then did Kushina remember what the teacher had taught in class, and she crouched down to collect water too.

They soon filled their canteens, and Kushina asked, "Where do we go next?"

Qianye Lan walked over to a hollow in a tree, taking out nuts and tasting them as he said, "We just need to sleep up in a tree."

Then he formed hand seals and used a Shadow Clone.

"I'll leave tonight to you."

The Shadow Clone nodded, then found a high spot and stood there to keep watch through the night.

He and Kushina found an old tree, closed their eyes, and began to rest.

Before sleeping, Qianye Lan made a point of laying a ring of snake-repelling medicine to keep venomous insects or snakes from approaching.

Meanwhile, the people from Kumogakure had begun sweeping the Forest of Death.

They soon discovered a small team.

One of the Kumogakure ninja pointed at a member of the Uchiha clan.

The captain leading them hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

Their primary mission was that pure-blooded member of the Uzumaki Clan.

It was better to avoid unnecessary complications.

Unaware that he had narrowly escaped disaster, Genya Uchiha was still dreaming of beating Minato with his fists and kicking Qianye Lan around.

After discovering several more teams.

They finally found traces of Qianye Lan and Kushina.

What made things somewhat troublesome for them, however, was that a team of Anbu was secretly protecting Kushina.

The Kumogakure ninja hesitated for a moment, then chose to withdraw for the time being and discuss a plan.

Although killing this Anbu team would be easy, it would be troublesome if the Anbu launched a signal flare.

The next morning, the Kumogakure ninja continued secretly following the two.

By then, Qianye Lan had already noticed that something was amiss.

His mental strength was inherently different from that of ordinary people, so his intuition was very accurate.

He kept feeling an inexplicable sense of being watched, which also brought to mind Kushina's kidnapping in the original story.

Qianye Lan immediately grew wary.

He suddenly moved close to Kushina and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Give me your shoulder bag."

Although puzzled, Kushina obediently handed him the shoulder bag containing her equipment.

Qianye Lan took out the steel wire and Explosive Tags inside and put them away.

He was also considering countermeasures. If I were a Kumogakure ninja, when would I make my move?

The reason the Kumogakure ninja did not dare act rashly was that Kushina had Anbu protecting her.

What if the Anbu were temporarily reassigned or won over to the other side?

At that thought, Qianye Lan casually set up some simple traps while saying, "Our food will probably last another day. We need to prepare to hunt."

Kushina nodded, then followed Qianye Lan's instructions to help him set the traps.

Qianye Lan deliberately positioned several of the traps a little higher.

Seeing this, a Kumogakure ninja said mockingly, "This guy... what's he going to catch at that height?"

Night soon fell, and the Anbu responsible for protecting Kushina began changing shifts.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"I'll leave it to you, then."

Under cover of darkness, Qianye Lan also quietly set a trap using Explosive Tags and steel wire.

While the Kumogakure ninja were considering their options, they were surprised to discover that the Anbu responsible for protecting Kushina had suddenly vanished.

"Captain, are we really going to be all right doing this?"

The Anbu Captain looked at him and said, "Five million ryo each to disappear for fifteen minutes."

The team member instantly shut his mouth upon hearing about the money.

Meanwhile, seeing this heaven-sent opportunity, the Kumogakure ninja promptly decided to strike.

They easily avoided the traps Qianye Lan had set during the day.

They soon closed in on Qianye Lan and Kushina.

But suddenly, someone seemed to brush against a steel wire.

His pupils contracted slightly. This is bad.

Before he could react, a violent explosion rang out.

He was also blown into two pieces and lay on the ground, wailing incessantly.

The other two immediately retreated at the sight, afraid there might be more traps.

The explosion also drew the attention of the Ninja Academy teachers.

At that moment, Qianye Lan also launched a signal flare at just the right time.