Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 117 The Land of Silk

The northwest winds swept southward, pushing back the warm, moist air currents from the sea. The fiercest battleground between the two sides left behind abundant rainfall and temperatures that finally dropped to 30 degrees Celsius. Most organisms entered their optimal growth period, either storing up energy to prepare for winter or devoting all their nutrients to leaving seeds, completing their final mission of reproduction.

Grain is also part of this growing army.

As the fruits gradually ripen and the autumn harvest approaches, some people are busy preparing for the harvest, while others are crying out in despair due to floods and droughts. Still others, driven by desire, are setting their sights on villages and mountain resorts with large tracts of farmland.

Facing relentlessly rampant bandits on one side and menacing nobles on the other, the complex and harsh long-standing "customs" made life exceptionally difficult for farmers. Every autumn harvest, they not only had to rush to collect and dry their grain during the off-season, but also had to find ways to protect their granaries. Large countries, for the sake of stable tax revenue, might spare no effort to safeguard the interests of their citizens, but small countries had to rely on themselves, because the power of some "bandits" far exceeded the combined strength of a small country.

Several sizable typhoons swept across the southern seas this year, directly impacting the southern coasts of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers. The Land of Fire at least sent troops and rescue forces to provide disaster relief, while the Land of Rivers, a country with borders riddled with holes, completely ignored the situation, allowing natural disasters to create a large number of displaced people, just as it had always done.

As September drew to a close, the number of missions in Konoha experienced an explosive increase, which is why the Chunin Exams are usually held in July or August. During years of famine, ninjas are in short supply, and to secure winter rations, even a village has to scrape together at least one C-rank mission bounty. Despite enduring three wars and two invasions that reached the village, Konoha remains the undisputed strongest ninja village. Even with the Land of Fire's policy of prioritizing domestic needs, some still attempt to try their luck there.

"Are you sure you want to take this mission?" Tsunade felt a headache coming on. Her obedient and sensible demeanor at their first meeting was clearly all an act. After dealing with a series of troubles, she truly understood what it meant to be rebellious by nature.

He secretly released his friends from the village, bombed the border of another country, and tested the power of the Tailed Beast Ball near Konoha. Any other ninja would have been investigated and imprisoned long ago for these actions, but that person was Naruto. He was also incredibly clever and good at disguising himself. His friends all had powerful backgrounds, being the sons and daughters of clan leaders. And his personal strength was unbelievably high. The only thing limiting his abilities was his still-developing physique.

After the nuclear bomb incident in the suburbs, Naruto obediently stayed in the village for a whole month, not accepting a single mission. But he was already a Chunin, a level worthy of being a team leader, and during busy mission periods, they had to find a reason to lift his invisibility and house arrest. As a result, this kid picked a mission to guard the Land of Silk, which borders the Land of Rice Fields where Otogakure is located!

To ask why the Hidden Sound Village remained intact after attacking Konoha, one can only ask what was going on in the Daimyo's mind. The current ruler of the Land of Rice Fields is the son of the Daimyo's cousin from the Land of Fire. The two sides are related, making it difficult to act rashly. Furthermore, the Daimyo didn't consider the infighting among ninjas to concern them, and Konoha's losses were minimal; in fact, they had extorted money from the Land of Wind—a win-win situation by any measure. Therefore, he didn't allow Konoha to pursue the Hidden Sound Village's responsibility excessively; a settlement was all that was required. Even if some in Konoha were furious, they couldn't disobey orders and could only let it go.

Why did Naruto have to pick such a sensitive spot? Doesn't she have a headache?

"I think it's pretty good." Naruto returned a "sincere" look. He was so picky, he definitely didn't have any ulterior motives!

"...You know the village is under a lot of strain, right?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Then you should be able to tell that those old guys would never trust you to go to a place so close to Otogakure alone!"

"Of course I know, Granny Tsunade!" Naruto grinned sheepishly. "As long as I'm the captain, there won't be any problems!"

In the end, Tsunade resigned herself to approving the document. After all, the client had expressed complete satisfaction after meeting Naruto, and she was afraid that if she hesitated, he wouldn't be able to be scheduled for the mission. This was understandable, as the vast majority of Konoha's Jonin and experienced Chunin had been deployed to the Land of Fire, leaving only these newly appointed Chunin squad leaders for overseas missions.

Naruto, holding the documents, was having tea with the client at the village entrance when his three teammates, assigned to his team, soon arrived. He couldn't let the two remaining members of Team 7 escape the village; Sakura had been working at the hospital for so long, she deserved a break and some relaxation. When the two ninjas arrived wearing matching crop tops, wielding the same weapons, and sporting the same short haircuts, Naruto wasn't surprised; in fact, he felt a sense of relief.

"Hello, Captain. My name is Shin, and this is my younger brother, Matsuri." The gray-purple-haired ninja smiled genuinely, while the black-haired one looked slightly stiff and nervous.

...Young Sai didn't seem as annoying as he did at first. But his "older brother" was a rare sunny and cheerful type in Root. Could Danzo have raised a child like this? But...why haven't we seen him since?

"Hello, I'm Naruto Uzumaki, just call me Naruto. This is Sakura Haruno." Naruto smiled kindly, but he couldn't help but say the rest, "The Land of Silk is further north, where it's even colder. You'd better bring some warm clothes to conserve your chakra."

This isn't his fault; blame Shisui. Ever since he scoured the world's medical texts, he's been obsessed with making every child in the base cover their belly, not even sparing Naruto.

The two new teammates seemed a little stunned, since the captains they had encountered before were all the business-like type and never paid any attention to them personally. Sakura, on the other hand, immediately rummaged through her ninja tool bag to make sure she had enough medicine for her cold.

"Won't this delay our departure time?" Xin asked.

"As long as you get there before the third day, it won't take much time to grab some clothes. Right, Mr. Yamaaki?"

After being called out, the client was reluctant to put down the tea and snacks, and mumbled, "Of course, you are the captain, you have the final say."

The client, bribed with a few snacks, had no surname; he was merely a middleman sent to deliver a message. Their village was strapped for cash; after deducting the mission funds, Shanming's travel expenses were barely enough, and he dared not spend recklessly. He had never known that grain powder could be kneaded into such delicious little treats. After finishing a large plateful, he still felt unsatisfied, but dared not continue.

While everyone was preparing for the second time, Naruto chatted casually with Yamaaki. After all, the specialty of the Land of Silk was, of course, the famous silk, a single bolt of which could sell for a thousand gold pieces. He was a little curious as to why Yamaaki's village didn't raise silkworms but instead grew grain.

Shanming didn't understand either, but simply relayed his father's words, "My dad said that you must hold your rice bowl in your own hands."

"Really? Your father is quite an interesting person."