Mabui: Ara, Samui, I didn't expect that from you. I was always worried that with your cold personality you wouldn't know how to make the first move. Turns out you've been hiding your skills all along.
Yugito Nii: Mm, well done, Samui. Looks like we don't need to worry about you anymore.
Karui: Pfft—hahaha! Captain really is amazing. We bow to your greatness!
Samui: …
Tsunade: But does that kid Nagi really have zero common sense when it comes to this kind of thing?
Kushina Uzumaki: He can't be that dense, can he? Looks like the Genma in that world didn't teach him anything about relationships.
Genma : Um… Lady Kushina, in our world we actually did try teaching Nagi about these things. But he just didn't seem interested.
Kabuto Yakushi: Ahem, if I may be frank—based on the memories I possess from the next two and a half years in the future, Lord Nagi still understands girls mostly in terms of biological structure and functional differences.
Kushina Uzumaki: So basically he's a complete rookie when it comes to romance.
Mito Uzumaki: Hah. What could that guy Tobirama possibly teach him about relationships anyway?
Hiruzen Sarutobi: The same goes for Orochimaru.
Tobirama Senju: …
Orochimaru: …
The screen continued.
After finishing lunch, everyone was lost in their own thoughts. After resting for a while, they summoned Shadow Clones and continued planting rice.
All four of them were digesting what they had learned during training that day.
Nagi was the first to fully grasp his insights. Soon after, he sat cross-legged and began meditating, cultivating Yin Release chakra.
Over the next few days, they continued performing D-rank missions while training together with Nagi.
However, the three girls had developed a silent agreement.
Two of them would hold Nagi's hands while training, while the third would hug him.
The one hugging him could either embrace him from the front or from behind.
As for who got which role…
They decided to rotate.
Because Nagi was cultivating three different chakra types simultaneously, he initially felt a bit of pressure. But now he had completely adapted.
After completing several D-rank missions, the group finally began accepting C-rank missions.
However, due to Konohagakure's strong military power over the years and Danzō's aggressive suppression campaigns, the number of bandits and brigands had drastically decreased.
As a result, in the Land of Fire it was almost impossible to find missions involving bandit suppression.
Most of the missions they received involved things like:
hunting brown bears that attacked travelers
capturing wild boars destroying farmland
eliminating wolf packs that preyed on livestock
Until one day.
The International Exchange Class received a protection mission at the Mission Administration Office.
Samui explained the details.
"This mission requires us to escort a client to the Land of Rain. First we'll meet the client at a teahouse, then we'll decide the departure time together."
After a while…
A man wearing a conical hat entered the teahouse, glancing around suspiciously.
When he spotted Nagi, he hurried over excitedly and whispered,
"You must be the International Exchange Class that accepted my mission, right?"
Samui nodded.
"You're the client?"
"Yes, that's right. Great—I thought I might never make it back."
He removed his hat, revealing his face.
He had blond hair, with long bangs covering one eye.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Adi. I'm a clay merchant from Amegakure."
Nagi and the others in the video didn't recognize who the client really was.
But the people watching throughout the ninja world recognized him immediately.
Ōnoki: Hm? Deidara? What's that brat up to?
Akatsuchi: Wait—what's going on? Since when did Deidara become a merchant from Amegakure? Is this another difference in that world?
Kurotsuchi: That's impossible, right? But then why would Deidara ask someone to escort him back to the Hidden Rain Village? Couldn't he just fly there with his clay?
Ōnoki: Seems like there's some hidden story behind this.
Jiraiya: Looks like Nagi's C-rank mission is about to get troublesome again.
Deidara: I don't know why, but I've got a bad feeling about this.
The screen continued.
The next morning.
Nagi and the others gathered at the village gate.
However, Adi's appearance had changed.
He now wore a conical hat, sunglasses, a mask, and gloves—the very image of a suspicious individual.
Adi explained that this was merely a disguise for safety.
Nagi and the others had black lines appear on their foreheads.
Isn't that a bit too exaggerated…?
Still, his excessive caution made them realize that this mission might not be as simple as it seemed.
The journey was mostly peaceful.
Occasionally they encountered wild animals, but those simply became dinner for Nagi's group.
However, after traveling together for a while, Adi's talkative personality gradually revealed itself.
He began discussing art with Nagi.
"Kid, let me tell you—art is beauty that exists only for an instant. Art is an explosion! The moment it blooms and vanishes—that's the greatest form of Art!"
Nagi thought about the fireworks used during festivals and nodded in agreement.
"Hmm… so explosions are a kind of fleeting beauty. That makes sense. That moment is dazzling and beautiful."
Hearing this, Adi looked like he had found a kindred spirit.
He patted Nagi on the back and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Yeah! You really get it, kid!"
Then he continued rambling endlessly.
Eventually they reached the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rain.
After Samui presented identification to the border guards, the group entered the Land of Rain.
Rain poured endlessly.
The sound of rainfall echoed everywhere.
Wearing raincoats, the group quickened their pace.
After a while—
Nagi suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
Everyone immediately halted.
Nagi raised his index and middle fingers together in front of his chest and closed his eyes, sensing the surroundings.
Then he spoke calmly.
"About 30 kilometers ahead, there are a large number of ninja hiding underground. And there are also three ninja in the sky."
Hearing this, Adi suddenly stiffened.
Samui immediately asked,
"What about their strength?"
"The ninja underground mostly have chūnin or genin-level chakra. Among the three in the sky… one of them is Kage-level."
Everyone froze when they heard that.
However, this was Amegakure, and Samui had heard rumors about what had happened there in recent years.
"Could it be Amegakure's angel Konan, or their leader Nagato?"
"Probably not."
Nagi shook his head.
"Their chakra has a strong Earth Release signature. They're most likely ninja from Iwagakure."
"Iwagakure ninja?"
The three girls were stunned.
If that was the case…
Then the Kage-level ninja could only be the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.
But that raised another question.
Why were so many Iwagakure ninja gathered in the Land of Rain?
Were they preparing for war?
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