On July 9th, Year 39 of Konoha, at 9 AM, the team departed from the Daimyo's residence.
However, their pace was painfully slow.
Shūichi Hoshita glanced back at the leisurely moving palanquin and the six samurai accompanying it, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the situation.
How long would it take to reach the Land of Bears and return at this pace? A month? Two months?
As expected, after a leisurely three-day journey, the team finally reached the border of the Land of Fire.
Before entering the Land of Rain, Minato Namikaze gave a reminder: "Once we enter the Land of Rain, stay alert. Shisui, you take the front, Shūichi, you cover the left, Sanyō, you handle the right, and I'll stay in the center!"
The three of them nodded in unison.
On July 12th, at 9 AM, the team officially entered the Land of Rain.
The six samurai accompanying the diplomatic mission stayed with the palanquin, while Shūichi Hoshita and the others spread out, with Minato managing the central command.
Of course, Minato Namikaze was also in charge because he is a sensory ninja.
Every so often, he would sense the surroundings, covering a much larger area than Shūichi and the others could.
…
It started raining!
Shūichi Hoshita looked up as raindrops fell on his face. At first, they were just light and scattered, but soon they formed a continuous stream, obscuring his vision.
As per the plan, Shūichi immediately closed the distance with the rest of the team.
After another hour of walking, the rain intensified, forcing the group to halt. It wasn't until around 2 PM, when the rain finally stopped, that the team resumed their journey.
Shūichi continued to guard the left side. Although he wore a raincoat, the dampness seeping through made him uncomfortable.
"What terrible weather… Looks like it's going to rain again," Shūichi muttered as he glanced up at the gloomy sky, which seemed ready to burst open.
Sure enough, half an hour later, the rain started pouring again.
The team narrowed their defensive perimeter once more, but suddenly, Shūichi halted, his eyes narrowing as he stared through the wind and rain, catching a fleeting glimpse of a shadow.
"Trouble's coming…"
Shūichi quickly formed a hand seal, creating a shadow clone to report to Minato.
Seeing Shūichi's shadow clone, Minato immediately placed his fingers on the ground, closing his eyes to sense the area.
Watching Minato's pose, Shūichi couldn't help but feel a pang of envy—it looked so cool!
"One, two… Eight in total. Two teams. They don't seem to be planning an attack; just watching, perhaps?"
After sensing the area, Minato stood up and said, "Shūichi, please inform Shisui and Sanyō to stay vigilant. If the enemy doesn't attack, there's no need to engage them."
"Understood!"
Shūichi nodded and turned to relay the message to Uchiha Shisui and Kurama Sanyō.
The tension continued throughout the night as they entered a small town.
Even though they were exhausted, Shūichi and the others remained on high alert.
After dinner, Minato assigned the night watch: "Shisui and I will take the first half of the night; Shūichi, you and Sanyō will cover the second half."
"Understood!"
The three of them nodded, and Shūichi and Sanyō immediately went to rest. It took them less than two minutes to fall into a deep sleep.
Shūichi was already used to this, while Sanyō put himself into a hypnotic state.
At midnight, Shūichi and Sanyō woke up on time to relieve Minato and Shisui.
Fortunately, the night passed without incident.
At 5 AM, Minato got up to relieve Shūichi and Sanyō.
At 9 AM, the team set off again.
Less than half an hour later, the watchers reappeared.
By the time they stopped for lunch, Sanyō couldn't hold back his frustration any longer: "These guys are so annoying. Minato-sensei, why don't we just drive them away?"
Minato shook his head. "If we do that, we might fall into their trap."
He then smiled and reassured them, "Don't worry. Once we're out of the Land of Rain, they should leave us alone."
As expected, once they left the Land of Rain, the watchers disappeared.
Shūichi and the others couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
These past few days had been mentally exhausting, far more so than physically tiring.
However, Shūichi couldn't stop pondering over the identity and motives of the watchers.
"The Land of Bears used to be a vassal of the Land of Earth, under Iwagakure's influence. The most likely culprits are Iwa-nin."
"But we can't rule out the possibility that Suna-nin are behind this."
"Why would they just watch without making a move?"
As Shūichi was deep in thought, Sanyō asked Minato the same question.
Minato replied, "Regardless of which faction is involved, if their goal isn't to stop the mission to the Land of Bears, then they're probably after information."
Upon hearing this, Shūichi remarked, "It seems like we'll be in big trouble on our way back."
Sanyō clenched his fist. "Then we'll give them a good beating when the time comes!"
...
On July 20th, Shūichi Hoshita and the others finally arrived at the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Bears. The team then split into two groups, taking turns to protect the Fire Daimyo's envoy.
This process lasted for two days without incident.
On July 23rd, Shūichi and his team left the Land of Bears, reaching the border of the Land of Rain three days later.
Before entering the Land of Rain, Minato Namikaze solemnly declared, "From here on out, we're in combat mode!"
"The mission is the priority, not killing the enemy!"
The three of them nodded in unison. "Understood!"
Minato continued, "We'll split into three groups: Shisui and Sanyō, you're Group A; Shūichi, you're Group B; and I'll be Group C."
"Group B is responsible for guarding the mission target—you must not leave it."
"Any enemies that appear will be handled by Groups A and C."
"If anyone gets injured, retreat to Group B, and Shūichi will take care of the healing!"
…
On July 28th, Shūichi and the others officially entered the Land of Rain.
As expected, it didn't take long before Minato sensed ninjas watching them.
Half an hour later, a large number of enemies appeared on both sides of the team, attempting to encircle them.
Minato decisively ordered, "Group B, protect the target and keep moving forward. Group A, engage on the left!"
"Understood!"
Uchiha Shisui and Kurama Sanyō moved out, followed by Minato disappearing to the right.
Shūichi continued to guard the envoy as they advanced.
About 10 minutes later, Minato and the others returned one after another.
Uchiha Shisui immediately reported, "Minato-sensei, they're trying to wear us down."
"These guys are from small ninja organizations in the Land of Rain, hired with bounties."
Minato nodded; he had gathered the same information from the attackers.
"It seems we're going to face more ambushes. We need to change our plan."
Minato decided, "From now on, the three groups will take turns attacking until the real enemy appears!"
He then looked up at Shūichi and asked, "Shūichi, any issues?"
Shūichi shook his head. "None."
Minato immediately took out two specially made kunai, handing them to Shūichi and Uchiha Shisui. "Shūichi, your task is to handle the enemies on the left. If you can't overpower them, just focus on evading and distracting them."
"Also, if the group on standby encounters a powerful enemy attacking the mission target, launch a signal flare!"
"Understood!"
With a synchronized nod, Shūichi surged with chakra and disappeared from his spot.
(End of Chapter)
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