Warm sunlight bathed Naraka, and the swaying of the carriage made her feel drowsy.
What a blissful problem, Naraka thought as she lay on the carriage roof. Her task was to keep watch. If enemies attacked, she had to alert her resting companions immediately.
Although the possibility of someone attacking the merchant caravan was slim, ninjas generally wouldn't bother attacking them.
Robbery would lead to being hunted by the Five Great Nations, and the risk far outweighed the money the caravan carried.
That was why escort missions like this, which didn't involve many important goods, were classified as C-rank.
Even though the mission was low-risk, sleeping while on watch was a bit too much.
Uchiha Naraka watched the carriages slowly moving along the forest path. This is too slow! They hadn't even left the Land of Fire after two days. If she were riding Little Green, she'd probably be soaking in a hot spring in the Land of Hot Water by now.
Sigh, she realized. She still owed Little Green 100 jokes. Never mind, she thought. It's better not to bother it unless it's important.
Bored out of her mind, Naraka once again brought up her character attribute panel.
[Character Card: Uchiha Naraka] [Character Management - Not Activated] [Character Attributes are as follows] Chakra: 480 (Jonin) Taijutsu: 310 (Jonin) Speed: 320 (Jonin) Genjutsu: 280 (Special Jonin)
Skills: Body Replacement Technique (Grandmaster), Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique (Master), Battlefield Passion (Grandmaster), Subdue the Enemy (Master), Intentional Punch (Grandmaster), Skull Cracker (Grandmaster), Admirable (Proficient), Teleportation (Mastered), Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique (Transcendent), Summoning Technique: Sea Dragon Hatchling (Expert), Shadow Clone Technique (Master), Innate Illusion (Expert), Hell Viewing Technique (Initiated), Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation (Master).
Passive Abilities: Fire Attribute Mastery, Heart of Fascination (Proficient).
Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit): Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
Currency: 210 points.
It's worth mentioning that Naraka's genjutsu ability increased significantly due to the bonus provided after activating the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, increasing it by a full 100 points.
The improvement in taijutsu was also due to copying some of Gai's taijutsu.
As for the accumulated currency, it was because Naraka was now a little numb to the lottery. Rather than blindly relying on luck, it was better to save the currency to improve the Sharingan later.
Just as Naraka was staring at the blue sky and white clouds, lost in thought, she suddenly felt a sudden movement in a clump of grass by the side of the road.
Uchiha Naraka instantly activated her Two-Tomoe Sharingan, focusing her gaze in that direction.
Is it a hunter?
Naraka thought for a moment, then decided to ignore him. After all, she'd encountered too many people on this journey, and running into a hunter lying in wait wasn't anything to get worked up about.
The old bow he was carrying on his back posed no threat to her anyway.
"Naraka-chan, why don't you go back and rest in the carriage? I'll take over watch."
Uchiha Itachi lifted the carriage curtain and said with a smile.
"It's not time yet... I'm fine."
Naraka scratched her head. Although she was indeed a little sleepy, she didn't want to always rely on others to do things for her.
He's not your anything.
"It's alright, I could use some fresh air."
Uchiha Itachi was still smiling, appearing to enjoy the beautiful scenery around them.
"Alright then."
Uchiha Itachi watched Naraka get into the carriage before quietly sitting down. The sun was so strong, what if it tanned Naraka? No way!
When Naraka woke up, it was already getting late, with the hopeful afterglow shining on the peaks of the distant mountains.
It reflected a red glow.
"Look, there's a village up ahead! We can finally get some proper rest tonight!"
Senju Chakan lifted the curtain, looking quite happy. He was probably tired of roughing it these past few days.
Uchiha Naraka also opened the window curtain, gazing at the village ahead.
The village didn't seem very big, even smaller than the Desert Ninja Village she had visited in the Land of Wind before.
A man was sitting on a large stone at the village entrance.
He looked to be around 30 years old, wearing an ordinary blue vest, and seemed to be a leisurely fellow, staring blankly at the village entrance.
This man? Isn't he the hunter who was hiding in the bushes earlier? Did he get back to the village already?
Naraka turned and took another look at the hunter. The hunter seemed to notice Naraka's gaze as well, and he deliberately turned his head away, looking very guilty.
Is this guy trying to rob the convoy? Isn't that a bit too cliché? Daring to rob a convoy escorted by Konoha Ninja, is he crazy?
Under this strange atmosphere, the three carriages slowly entered the village, and the middle-aged man dressed as a hunter hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.
It wasn't until the carriages had entered the village that the man quickly got up and ran into the woods.
At this time, the convoy had arrived at the only inn in the village.
The inn looked a bit dilapidated, but it was better than camping outside.
In fact, although it was called a convoy, only the largest carriage in the middle was fully loaded with goods.
The other two carriages were for the three little ones, and the other was where Sarutobi Shinnosuke and the employer stayed.
The one who hired Shinnosuke's team was an old man with a kind face. Although the old man looked like a gentle elder, he had questioned the abilities of the three little ones quite a bit along the way.
He even said Naraka looked stupid and useless. Naraka had been holding a grudge for him for days now.
The three coachmen got out of the carriage and immediately transformed into the old man's servants. After the old man greeted Sarutobi Shinnosuke, he led the three coachmen into the inn first.
During this time, the old man didn't even glance at the three of them, probably because he didn't take them seriously at all.
"How was it? Did you notice anything unusual along the way?"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke didn't rush to follow the old man into the inn. Instead, he turned around to ask the three of them, including Naraka.
"Nothing unusual. It was a beautiful day all the way here, sunny and bright. I'm just waiting to get to the Land of Hot Water and soak in the hot springs!"
Senju Chakan grinned after speaking, glancing at Naraka, then turned his head away, looking very shy.
Uchiha Naraka: I haven't even gotten shy yet, why are you looking at me like that…
"What about you two? Do you think the same?"
Shinnosuke turned to ask Naraka and Itachi.
"Someone has been following us on the road. He changed clothes twelve times. The last time was at the village entrance. When we left, he went into the woods outside the village."
Uchiha Itachi's expression was calm as he stated his findings.
What the hell? Changed clothes twelve times? How did I not notice? Is Itachi's heart even more meticulous than a needle's eye?
Uchiha Naraka inwardly complained.
"What are you talking about? Changed clothes twelve times? Do you think he's an actor? If you found him following us, why didn't you catch him? Looks like you're blowing smoke pretty well."
Senju Chakan rolled his eyes, doing his utmost to smear the reputation of Itachi in front of Naraka.
.....
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(End of Chapter)