"Stay alert, everyone! We're about to enter the Land of Rain!" The unfamiliar Jonin in charge of the convoy kept calling out, warning everyone in the convoy to remain on guard.
"We're almost in the Land of Rain?"
Shin'un sat on the edge of the wagon, gazing at the gloomy skies over the distant Land of Rain, lost in thought.
Ever since studying the geography of the Shinobi World at the Ninja Academy as a child, Shin'un had noticed how strange its geography was. Often, a single step could bring a drastic change in weather and terrain, just like right now.
The Land of Fire had clear skies without a cloud in sight, and dense forests covered the ground.
Yet upon reaching the boundary between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain, one would find a stark difference despite being only a step apart.
On one side, the skies remained clear, sunlight shone brightly, and trees grew thickly. On the other, clouds stretched endlessly overhead without a trace of sunlight, and a fine drizzle drifted through the air.
"It really lives up to the name Land of Rain. It actually is raining!" Sitting beside Shin'un, Shiina Kō marveled at the enormous change in weather between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
"Damn it, I hate rainy weather!" Yūichi spoke from behind them. As a ninja proficient in Fire Release Ninjutsu, he hated rainy days because the rain filling the sky weakened the power of Fire Release Ninjutsu.
The horses ahead stepped forward, and the wagon wheels creaked. Before long, they entered the Land of Rain, and the road beneath the wheels gradually grew muddy.
Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and fine rain occasionally landed on their faces, bringing a hint of chill. Looking around, they saw black mud, gray rocks and clods of earth, and dark green branches and leaves. There was not a single warm color anywhere in sight.
"Living somewhere like this for a long time would make you feel down without even realizing it, wouldn't it?" Shiina Kō said quietly after surveying their surroundings.
"All right, stop talking. We're inside the Land of Rain now. It's not as peaceful as the Land of Fire. One or two ninja from a hostile village could pop out of some corner at any moment."
"Even with a Hyuga Clan ninja at the front of the convoy, we can't let our guard down. Be careful, and keep an eye on everything around you!" Looking into Shiina Kō's eyes beside him, Shin'un carefully reminded her of each point.
"Mm!"
Shiina Kō blushed and smiled as she agreed to Shin'un's reminders.
Standing behind Shin'un, Uchiha Yūichi looked left, then right, and suddenly felt a little out of place on this wagon.
What had these two done behind my back?
Why had they suddenly gotten so close?
Once Shiina Kō nodded in agreement, Shin'un withdrew his gaze from her, satisfied.
He was just about to turn his attention to keeping watch around the wagon when his eyes suddenly flicked behind him. Only after seeing that it was Uchiha Yūichi did he resume surveying their surroundings.
As though he had only just noticed Uchiha Yūichi standing behind him...
Provoked by that look from Shin'un, Yūichi finally could not hold back his questions.
"What's going on with you two?"
"You've been acting strange ever since we killed those bandits a few days ago!"
It was like a group of good friends who always thought they had no secrets from one another, only to discover one day that everyone was hiding something that they alone knew nothing about.
Most importantly, they kept exchanging meaningful looks and winking about it right in front of that person, as though deliberately trying to pique someone else's curiosity.
That was exactly how Yūichi felt now. Ever since they killed those bandits a few days ago, he had noticed that the two people beside him had become a little strange.
In the past, Shin'un usually avoided Shiina Kō. He stayed away whenever he could, even taking detours to avoid her.
So why did he now often stand beside Shiina Kō and occasionally even initiate a brief conversation with her?
Shiina Kō had changed a little too.
Before, she would blush and her heart would race as soon as she saw Shin'un. She only dared speak with her head lowered, and anyone could see what she was thinking.
Now, however, she could talk to Shin'un relatively calmly. Although she still blushed and her heart still raced, it was far less obvious than before.
Yūichi could not understand the changes in his two teammates.
"What exactly did you two talk about after we left that day?" Unable to suppress his curiosity, Yūichi finally asked Shin'un.
"Kids should mind their own business." Shin'un had no intention of telling Yūichi about Shiina Kō's compulsive gambler of an uncle, shutting him down with a single sentence...
"What do you mean, kids should mind their own business? You're only ten yourself..."
Yūichi had wanted to argue, but as Shin'un widened his eyes and glared at him, he suddenly recalled being utterly thrashed by Shin'un during sparring practice at the Ninja Academy. His voice grew quieter and quieter until it faded away.
He silently left Shin'un and Shiina Kō and walked to the other side of the wagon, where he quietly and seriously kept watch over their surroundings.
Watching the younger boy gradually retreat under his gaze, Shin'un looked away in satisfaction, inwardly marveling that even Uchiha Yūichi, who normally had the lowest emotional intelligence, had noticed the changes between him and Shiina Kō over the past few days.
Shin'un turned and glanced at Shiina Kō beside him, feeling somewhat helpless.
Although she had indeed said that she was not close to that uncle in front of the fire made by the burning bandits in the dense forest that day, Shin'un had felt a wave of awkwardness every time he saw Shiina Kō since then.
It was not that he felt guilty about killing Shiina Kō's uncle.
Shin'un was not so sentimental. After all, Shiina Kō herself had already said she did not care about it at all. It was simply rather awkward.
Reining in his increasingly scattered thoughts, Shin'un looked up at the sky.
Although thick clouds shrouded the skies of the Land of Rain year-round, he could at least still make out the sun's position.
Seeing the sun faintly appear at the highest point in the sky, he could roughly guess that it was around noon.
Silently calculating the remaining distance, Shin'un estimated that at their current speed, they should reach the Konoha camp before dinner today.
The terrain of the Land of Rain was complex, without a single patch of dry ground. Their surroundings consisted of either towering, dense forests or enormous, oddly shaped boulders.
Such terrain was far too well suited to ninja ambushes. The ground, pools of water, boulders-anywhere could provide excellent concealment. On top of that, they were already nearing the actual battlefield, making the risk of attack very high.
With only a few hours of travel remaining, Shin'un feared capsizing in the gutter. It would be better to concentrate on watching their surroundings for the rest of the journey.
If the Hyuga Clan member keeping watch at the front of the convoy proved unreliable, he would still be able to react to danger more quickly.
With that thought in mind, Shin'un sat quietly on the edge of the wagon, keeping watch over their surroundings.