bookbashuk Chapter 13 It's a pity you lied to me
Chapter 13 It's a pity you lied to me
"I didn't expect the road across the street to be in such bad shape..."
The son of the daimyo lifted the curtain, lazily poked half his head out, used the folding fan in his hand to block the glaring sunlight, and squinted as he compared the two roads divided by the border line.
Although one section of the road was a bit bumpy, it was only a little bumpy; the rest of the road was repaired very well.
The other road was incredibly muddy, with puddles everywhere. It didn't look like a government-built official road at all, but rather like a long-abandoned country lane.
"Tsk tsk."
The son of the daimyo shook his head and snapped his folding fan shut.
"This Land of Hot Springs is just outrageous."
Hinata Seiran walked at the front, his expression unchanged upon hearing this.
For a country like the Land of Hot Springs, such a road is already considered quite good.
Since Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha ended the Warring States period and established ninja villages, road construction has been an unavoidable issue.
Roads connect to trade routes, trade routes connect to wealth, and wealth connects to the fate of the nation.
Once the national level experiences the benefits of road construction, it will naturally accept the policy of building official roads.
Meanwhile, smaller countries are following in the footsteps of larger ones, undertaking reforms and development in an attempt to gain a share of this increasingly dense road network.
In peacetime, this road will become better and better, more and more people will travel on it, and the post stations along the way will become more and more lively.
However, war is inevitable.
When war broke out, the first things to be abandoned were these border roads.
"Your Highness, once we cross the border, things won't be as peaceful as they were in the Land of Fire."
Hinata Seiran spoke in a deep voice, then turned to look at the daimyo's son inside the palanquin.
"Yeah?"
The son of the famous man held out a small folding fan.
"I'm not worried about those things. But how much longer will it take us to get there? I don't want to walk on this muddy road for too long."
"At full speed, it should take about three days."
Hinata Seiran took the map handed to him by a Nara ninja and whispered his thanks.
He then unfolded the parchment scroll, traced a winding route on the map with his finger, and began to estimate the distance.
"At our current pace, it should take about five days..."
He paused, raised his head, and glanced at the misty mountains and forests ahead.
"And this is assuming we don't encounter any bandits..."
Halfway through his sentence, Hinata Seiran suddenly adopted a Gentle Fist stance, and a chakra shockwave burst forth from his hand, shooting towards the bushes.
"Aaaaaahh ...
A mournful howl came from the bushes, followed by the dull thud of a branch breaking and a body rolling down.
But before he could howl for long, he was completely dealt with by the Konoha ninjas who came to finish him off from behind Hyuga Aoran.
"For example, bandits like these."
Hinata Seiran withdrew his palm and nodded slightly towards the person inside the sedan chair.
"oh oh..."
The daimyo's son, peering through the curtain, nodded blankly, his folding fan frozen in mid-air, forgotten to be waved.
But he quickly realized that the pride of being a nobleman made him suppress his fear and replace it with a surge of joy.
"Then let's go all out!"
"yes!"
The samurai carrying the palanquin and the servants shouted in unison, following Hyuga Seiran's footsteps as they set off.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Over the next three days, Hinata Seiran used the Eight Trigrams Empty Palm to eliminate two groups of bandits and one group of horse bandits.
Basically, I encounter a batch every day, and each batch is different.
The crowd included all sorts of people, even...
Even Black people came.
Are you sure you're from the Land of Fire?
Hinata Seiran crouched down, raising an eyebrow at the muscular black man in front of him whose limbs he had broken and who was now crying his eyes out.
"I just have dark skin... I'm not a ninja from Kumogakure..."
"Sir Ninja, I really am a villager from the Land of Fire... Please spare my life, I beg you."
The black man wailed and cried, his voice so pitiful it sounded as if he had suffered a tremendous injustice.
His body twisted in the mud, trying to crawl forward and reach for Hinata Seiran's trouser leg.
"Please, I have an eighty-year-old mother and three children waiting for me to come home..."
The Black man continued to wail, his cries growing louder and more pitiful: "I was just confused for a moment, blinded by greed..."
"Captain Qinglan,"
Three days in the mountains, he instantly appeared next to Hyuga Seiran. He paused for a moment when he saw the black man with teary eyes, but quickly looked away and finished speaking.
"His Highness said to hurry up and get you done so you can set off quickly, since we're almost at Yugakure Village."
"I really am from the Land of Fire."
The black man wept bitterly, prostrate in the mud. When he noticed that Hinata Seiran was not moving, he was overjoyed. Just as he was about to move his body, he heard a faint voice.
"I wish you were a ninja from the Land of Fire too..."
"Too bad you lied to me."
The black man was startled and suddenly looked up, only to see a powerful palm strike sweeping towards him.
Click.
The sound of bone cracking was very faint; the dark face didn't even have time to make any expression before the sound stopped abruptly.
"..."
Hinata Seiran withdrew his hand, looked at the marks on the black man's body, and then sighed softly.
That was a side effect of practicing Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
"Let's go."
Hinata Seiran stood up, watching expressionlessly as the Ino-Shika-Cho trio dragged the various bandits, who were lying haphazardly on the open ground, to one place.
With a simple Fire Release technique, he was reduced to dust.
He turned and walked back to the sedan chair.
"Qinglan, are you done?"
The sedan curtain was lifted, and the daimyo's son finally peeked out, allowing Hyuga Seiran to see his face clearly for the first time.
Young and elegant.
But these nobles all had one common problem—superficiality.
A lingering weariness emanated from his brows... clearly a result of excessive indulgence.
"It's all done, Your Highness."
Hinata Seiran shifted his gaze to the map in his hand. "Your Highness, let's rest by the stream ahead before continuing our journey."
"After all, everyone else is exhausted."
Following Hyuga Seiran's words, the daimyo's son looked at the servants and guards under the palanquin.
Without exception, they were all somewhat out of breath, but still persevered.
"Hmm, not bad, I'll listen to you."
The son of the lord waved his hand, pulled out a silk handkerchief from his sleeve, and wiped the cold sweat from his face caused by what had just happened.
"yes..."
...
late at night.
Not far from Yugakure Village, among the crisscrossing branches, two or three dark figures flashed by.
The snakes, insects, and rabbits deep in the forest were all startled, making soft, rustling noises.
In the distance, on an open space, figures of different skin tones quietly gathered.
"Captain Shazii, the trail left by Temai ends here."
A burly man with dark skin stopped beside a woman with snow-white skin and lowered his voice: "According to the last information he sent back, the second son of the Fire Country Daimyo is heading to Yugakure with Konoha ninjas, but the specific reason is unknown."
"If nothing unexpected happens... Temai is dead, and there's no trace of her body."
"...Damn Konoha ninjas."
The calm woman at the head rubbed her shoulders, her eyes suddenly turning sharp.
"For an intelligence officer, Temai has done a good job of doing this."
"Speed up and move forward."
"If we can capture the Daimyo's son according to Lord Raikage's plan..."
"At that time, we will be able to exchange it for a batch of military supplies, which will provide some protection for our brothers on the front lines."
"Aside from the daimyo's son, the remaining Konoha ninja..."
"Leave no one alive!"
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