The drizzle of light rain has not stopped since the moment we entered the Land of Rain border.
Senju Chen walked in the middle holding an umbrella, Anko walked on the left, Yamato walked on the right, and Jiraiya walked in the front - but Jiraiya didn't hold an umbrella, saying "real men don't need umbrellas".
As a result, after walking less than half a mile, my white hair was all stuck to my face, like a lion that had fallen into the water.
"Lord Jiraiya, here you go." Yamato handed over a spare umbrella.
"No, no, no!" Jiraiya shook his hair, and the rainwater even splashed on the candied haws that Senju Chen just bought for Anko.
Anko grinded his teeth against Jiraiya, then looked at the candied haws in his hand, but in the end he was reluctant to throw it away.
The Amegakure ninja who led the way was silent all the way, neither fast nor slow, walking along the repaired main road towards the center of the city.
Senju Chen glanced at both sides of the road.
He is very familiar with this road.
When Orochimaru and Orochimaru came to Land of Rain to look for Hanzo of the Salamander, and later when they paid homage to his son, they all took this route.
It's just that things have changed and people have changed. Now even Hanzo of the Salamander's mansion has a new owner.
"We're almost there." The middle-aged ninja who led the way turned around and said.
Senju Chen raised his head.
In the distance, the outline of the Hanzo of the Salamander mansion has slowly appeared in the rain curtain.
Then he saw something that didn't seem quite right.
A long red carpet was seen extending from the entrance of the mansion, across the entire main street, and was spread to their feet - to be precise, it was spread to about fifty steps in front of them.
On both sides of the red carpet, there were two rows of people standing neatly.
Senju Chen counted.
There are about a hundred people on each side
Looking back further, there was still a large group of people standing on the steps at the entrance of the mansion.
Added up... at least three to four hundred people.
"..."
Senju Chen's footsteps stopped for a second.
He remembered that what he told Kakuzu and the others was to "be prepared for the reception and make sure it's grand."
But his original intention was to improve the standard of food and accommodation.
As a result, he did not expect that Kakuzu and Nagato would understand the word "ostentation" so "thoroughly".
Jiraiya was also shocked, and even a little afraid to move forward.
He blinked hard twice to shake the rain off his face, and then blinked twice more.
"Is this... to welcome us?" Jiraiya asked the ninja leading the way.
The middle-aged ninja looked respectful. "Yes, Lord Jiraiya. This is what the leader specially told me."
The words just fell--
More than 300 Akatsuki members on both sides of the red carpet raised their right fists and placed them on their chests.
"Welcome the Konoha delegation to visit Land of Rain--!"
The sound was uniform and uniform, exploding in the rain.
Even the stagnant water on the roadside created ripples.
Anko's candied haws of sugar was not saved in the end and fell directly from his hand to the ground.
Yamato almost lost the umbrella in his hand.
Senju Chen was speechless when he saw this scene, but after all, he gave the instructions, and the people below completed the work beyond expectations. Can you blame others?
So Senju Chen remained calm, held an umbrella, and walked slowly to Jiraiya.
"Lord Jiraiya, let's go, do as the Romans do."
"No, does this have anything to do with doing as the Romans do?" Anko trotted up to catch up, lowering his voice, "Chen! More than 300 people lined up to greet you? I have never seen it in my life. Is this a greeting or a siege?"
"Have you ever seen someone surrounded by a red carpet?"
"What if they are just so polite? They will surround you politely first, and then slap you with a knife..."
"Anko."
"Huh?"
"You dropped the candied haws."
"Ah--! My candied haws!"
Yamato followed Senju Chen, his eyes quickly scanning the Akatsuki members on both sides.
"Minister." Yamato's voice was so soft that only Senju Chen could hear it, "These people are probably all the elites of Akatsuki."
Senju Chen nodded slightly.
What I was thinking was: Kakuzu, this guy, in order to create this scene, he probably pulled out all the people in the mansion who could stand.
No wonder the message scroll contained the sentence "Additional money is required" at the end.
When we reached the starting point of the red carpet, a familiar figure strode from the front of the line.
Kakuzu.
Wearing a black robe with red clouds and a scarf covering the lower half of his face, only his shrewd eyes were exposed.
His steps were steady and his posture was respectful - so respectful that Senju Chen even looked at it and felt something was wrong.
"Lord Jiraiya, Minister Senju."
Kakuzu bowed slightly and spoke in a serious tone.
"It's been a hard journey. The leader has prepared a reception banquet in the mansion. Please come with me."
Jiraiya recovered from the shock, looked at Kakuzu, then looked at the queue of more than 300 people behind him, and couldn't help but move closer to Senju Chen.
"Little Chen, how familiar are you with this Akatsuki...?"
Senju Chen smiled, "We have cooperated several times before."
"How many times of cooperation can they give us Konoha such a good deal?" Jiraiya swallowed.
"Times have changed, Lord Jiraiya, maybe they are specially welcoming you!!!" Senju Chen interrupted him gently.
Kakuzu leads the way.
Senju Chen and Jiraiya hit the red carpet.
The Akatsuki members on both sides followed his footsteps, bowing their heads and saluting row by row.
This picture looks outrageous.
The Konoha ninjas walked in the center of the red carpet, and more than three hundred Land of Rain ninjas, wearing uniforms, paid tribute to them in turn.
Just looking at this scene, some people will definitely believe that Senju Chen and the others are actually the real leaders of Land of Rain.
However, when passing by the middle of the red carpet, Senju Chen caught a glimpse of a figure leaning out of an alley diagonally opposite.
Different clothes, different Forehead Protector.
Those are members of missions from other countries.
The first group belonged to Iwagakure. The two people stood under the eaves of the alley, looking at the formation here, their expressions not very good. Senju Chen recognized one of them - that was the intelligence officer under Ōnoki.
The second group was from Sunagakure. A young Suna ninja leaned against the wall. After seeing the crowd here, he turned around and whispered a few words quickly to his companions.
The third group...
Senju Chen's gaze stopped for half a second in front of a tea stall on the street corner.
There sat a young woman wearing ordinary clothes.
Mei Terumi.
Next to her sat another man, wearing a bamboo hat, his face hidden in the shadows.
Rin Nohara.
Senju Chen looked away, his expression unchanged.
Yamato, who was walking behind him, also noticed those staring eyes.
"Minister." Yamato lowered his voice again, "Envoys from other countries have come out to see us."
"Kakuzu They have had some fun!"
"When I came here, I passed by the Iwagakure mission station. There were two people at the door." Yamato said, "Sunagakure's place is a little better, but it's just an ordinary guide."
Senju Chen is also a bit dumbfounded about this.
So the current situation is--
Iwagakure Mission: About ten people came and were received by two people at the door.
Sunagakure Mission: Seven or eight people are here, with a guide leading the way.
Kumogakure Mission: It is said that it is still on the way.
Kirigakure Mission: Enter the venue in a low profile, without any special treatment.
Konoha Mission: Four people, three to four hundred people lined up to greet them, and a red carpet was spread from the city gate to the entrance of the mansion.
This contrast...