Tanzaku Street
"Earth, Dragon, Hidden... I wonder what it'll be like."
Lin Ke lay on his bed, imagining the ninjutsu he might acquire. He rubbed his stomach, feeling hungry.
But he was too lazy to cook. How could a Chunin candidate like him be cooking his own meals? Ichiraku Ramen it is! He flipped out of bed, opened the window, used the minimum amount of Chakra, formed the seals, and released—
The Clone Jutsu made its grand appearance! He detached his own head, aimed it towards Ichiraku Ramen in the distance, and threw it with force.
Go!
In a whistling sound, Lin Ke's (head) glided through the air, spinning, flying, and contentedly squinting his eyes. Using the Clone Jutsu to travel in the village was both quick and saved Chakra. The Body Flicker Technique was faster, but it consumed a lot of Chakra. Not all ninjas could afford to use it casually in battle.
His Clone Jutsu had the same minimum consumption as a normal one; he could release twenty or thirty in one go.
With his strength, throwing his head a hundred meters was a piece of cake. It was much better than using the Body Flicker Technique or jumping around the village.
And the feeling of flying through the air was really quite enjoyable.
"Bang!" Seeing that he was about to fall, Lin Ke proactively canceled the soon-to-end Clone Jutsu. With a soft thud, he landed on the roof of a shop.
That's right, besides negating damage, the Clone Jutsu could also reset the gravity acting on him during reformation.
Amazing, isn't it?
Lin Ke reached out and pushed aside a floating advertising banner, roughly judged the direction, gathered a little Chakra in his feet, and with two consecutive jumps, arrived at the street where Ichiraku Ramen was located.
Landing nimbly, he tidied up his hair, which was a bit messy from the spinning flight, and walked into Ichiraku Ramen with composure.
"The usual, Uncle Ichiraku." After ordering, he sat down and noticed Uzumaki Naruto sitting not far away. He smiled and raised his hand in greeting.
Uzumaki Naruto returned the smile and then lowered his head to slurp his ramen.
Their encounters had been this simple lately, with no further interaction.
Lin Ke finished his lunch and strolled leisurely to the Seventh Training Ground—
Probably because the Jonin instructor's practical test for the Fifth Squad was to be held here, so they always gathered here.
When he arrived, his two teammates hadn't come yet, so he started training on his own.
For him, the basics were more important than anything.
A ninja's battle is a battle of Chakra!
Damn, I have to use such cool lines in battle in the future.
Lin Ke sweated as he constantly motivated himself in his head.
...
The next day, morning, Hokage Building, mission assignment office.
"Then, I'll leave my safety to you all." The client who needed escort bowed.
According to his self-introduction, he was the manager of a brothel in Tanzaku Street. As for why he needed an escort, he didn't mention it.
Tanzaku Street...
Lin Ke thought about the mission objective, feeling it should be a C-rank mission without any danger.
Yuan Wei curiously sized up the client, while Xia nervously held her hands.
Nara Yan Shui nodded and walked ahead.
Without idle chatter, the three members of the Fifth Squad, trained at the Ninja Academy, dispersed and quickly formed a triangular formation to protect the client. Even while still in the village, it was already an instinctive choice for them as qualified ninjas.
The group of five quickly left the Hokage Building, passed through the streets, and after registering at the gate of Konoha Village, the three little ones left Konoha Village for the first time in their lives.
"Hoo~"
Lin Ke took a light breath. He didn't know why, but walking in the forest outside the village, even though he knew there couldn't be any attacks nearby, he was still a little uneasy.
Probably the discomfort of leaving his comfort zone.
No one wasted words during the journey, not even speaking.
Konoha Village was located in the central part of the Land of Fire, while Tanzaku Street was in the southwest of the Land of Fire, relatively closer to the Land of Rivers. The distance between the two was really close, much closer than the Land of Waves, so even though it was a C-rank mission where combat might occur, the reward was still the lowest at thirty thousand taels.
The reason why an escort was needed was not hard to guess, because the west and south of the Land of Fire were more chaotic compared to other parts of the country.
Just look at the countries in the west and south: Land of Grass, Land of Rain, Land of Rivers.
All three countries are sandwiched between Konoha Village, Sand Ninja Village, and Hidden Stone Village. Most of the frequent wars in the past few decades have used their territories as battlefields. Naturally, these devastated countries and their people have spawned many rogue ninjas and bandits who live by plundering.
The Land of Grass and the Land of Rain are barely managing, after all, there are ninja villages, so they are not too bad. The Land of Rivers is very chaotic.
As the name suggests, the Land of Rivers is full of mountains, rivers, and forests, with fertile land and abundant resources, and most importantly—
There is no ninja village.
Internally, they are also in a chaotic state, with internal strife occurring from time to time.
Surrounding countries, including the Land of Fire, are constantly extracting benefits from the Land of Rivers, making it a place where various S-rank and A-rank missions are produced year-round.
What can one expect from ordinary people who have been reduced to bandits in such a country and region?
The reason why Tanzaku Street is so popular now is also closely related to its proximity to the Land of Rivers. Chaos is a ladder to progress. The Land of Rivers is rich in natural resources, and the lower classes suffer unspeakably, but the upper classes are rich. Outsiders can also see opportunities to make a fortune.
As the most famous entertainment town in the Land of Fire, the wealthy from the Land of Rivers and various merchants who come to the Land of Rivers to seek gold often patronize here, some for short-term supplies, some simply to relax and spend money, and some to conduct shady transactions.
The more mixed the crowd, the more potential dangers there are, so many wealthy people hire ninjas to protect them on their journeys.
In fact, Tanzaku Street is still within the Land of Fire. From Konoha to Tanzaku Street, it takes at most half a day to a day. With the mobility of ninjas, it takes about one or two hours to arrive. There will be no ignorant rogue ninjas appearing.
At most, there are some bandits or defeated soldiers who have fled from the Land of Rivers, so issuing a C-rank mission is just right. The probability of encountering ninjas is no higher than an elite Jonin suddenly appearing in the Land of Waves.
In short, after leaving the village for a while, the Fifth Squad, thanks to the Ninja Academy's curriculum, quickly became completely accustomed to traveling in the wild.
The mission went very smoothly, without any accidents. Occasionally, there were a few prying eyes, but they quickly left after seeing the Konoha Village Forehead Protector on them.
Bandits are not idiots, how could they attack merchants protected by ninjas? Thus, in the evening, the Fifth Squad successfully arrived at their destination—
Tanzaku Street.
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