Naruto: We Agreed on a Simulation, But They Actually Came to Life?

Chapter 140: Chapter 140: The Small Town

By evening, Kitahara Kaede’s group of three arrived near Mount Kikyo.

The light in the forest had already dimmed.

The mountain wind blew from the end of the trade road, stirring up a little loose dust by the roadside.

Kitahara Kaede stepped on a tree branch and lowered his head to look at the road below.

The trade road was very wide.

Logically speaking, a road like this should not have been so deserted.

There were still wheel ruts in the mud, but they had already been worn shallow by the wind and sand, and their edges had scattered.

In some places, new grass had even grown.

Minato crouched beside him, looked for a while, then said, "This is the place."

Kitahara Kaede looked at him.

Minato pointed at the trade road below.

"When we held the meeting before, I went through the border briefings. According to the records there, caravans originally passed through this road every day."

At this point, his gaze fell on the wheel ruts on the road that were almost impossible to make out.

"But not long ago, the caravans began taking a detour."

Yūhi Kurenai stood on another tree branch and lowered her voice.

"So something happened here?"

Minato nodded.

"It might have been a battle, or it might have been some other disturbance."

"In short, someone made the caravans feel that this road was unsafe."

After saying that, he looked at Kitahara Kaede.

"What do you think?"

Kitahara Kaede did not answer immediately.

He stared at the trade road for a moment.

If it was only ordinary wandering samurai or rogue ninja activity, the caravans would hire people to scout the road, and there would also be traces of bargaining and retaliation.

Kitahara Kaede withdrew his gaze and spoke.

"Caravans won’t take the long way around for no reason."

"A detour means they saw something here, or heard something."

"Bodies, explosions, ninja fighting—any of those are possible."

Yūhi Kurenai listened very seriously.

After going on a few missions with Kitahara Kaede, she had already grown used to his way of analyzing things.

He did not say much, but every time he spoke, he struck the key point.

Minato nodded.

"Then let’s split up and search the area."

He raised his hand and pressed it against Kitahara Kaede’s shoulder.

A technique mark was left there.

After that, he walked over to Yūhi Kurenai and left the same mark on her shoulder.

Yūhi Kurenai lowered her head to look at her shoulder, a hint of confusion appearing in her eyes.

Kitahara Kaede noticed her reaction and explained in a low voice, "This is Lord Minato’s technique."

"If you encounter danger, he can instantly appear by your side."

Yūhi Kurenai froze for a moment.

She looked at Minato.

Minato smiled, but his tone was very serious.

"So don’t force yourself to hold out."

"If you discover an enemy, retreat or send a signal immediately."

Yūhi Kurenai quickly put away her surprise and nodded.

"Understood."

Minato looked at the two of them.

"Do not search beyond three hundred meters."

"Ten minutes later, gather back here."

Kitahara Kaede and Yūhi Kurenai nodded at the same time.

The three of them spread out.

Kitahara Kaede landed on the left side of the trade road.

He did not walk down the middle of the road. Instead, he moved along the edge of the grass.

If a battle had truly taken place here, the traces might not necessarily have been left on the road surface.

A few minutes later, he stopped behind a tree.

The soil beside the tree roots showed signs of having been turned over.

Kitahara Kaede crouched down and used a kunai to pick away the surface layer of soil.

The burned corner of half an expired explosive tag was revealed.

A trap had been buried here, and it had been triggered.

Kitahara Kaede stared at the half-piece of paper for two breaths, then put it into his palm.

Ten minutes later.

The three returned to the meeting point.

Minato spoke first. "There are traces of fighting on the east side. There are scratches left by kunai on the tree trunks, and there are bloodstains on the ground as well, though they are no longer obvious."

Yūhi Kurenai followed up. "I found footprints to the south. There weren’t many of them, and they probably weren’t left by a caravan."

Minato looked at Kitahara Kaede.

Kitahara Kaede opened his hand.

In his palm was the burned black corner of half an explosive tag.

"I found a trap."

"It was on the left side of the trade road."

"If someone passed through there, it would have been very easy to step on it."

Minato lowered his head and looked at the paper talisman.

A moment later, he took out the map and spread it over a tree trunk.

"A fight happened here."

"It could have been ninja from another village, Konoha patrol personnel, or someone else entirely."

"Right now, there is only one thing we can confirm."

Minato’s finger tapped the trade road.

"The caravans taking a detour is related to what happened here."

Kitahara Kaede looked at the map.

"It’s still not enough."

Minato raised his eyes to look at him.

Kitahara Kaede continued, "Everything that happened here cannot prove Sunagakure’s intentions."

Minato smiled slightly.

"That’s right."

He swept his gaze over the map, then pointed at a small town not far away.

"There’s a town here."

"Caravans, hunters, and medicinal herb merchants all stop there."

"The information there is mixed. We might be able to ask about what we want."

Yūhi Kurenai glanced at the map and did not ask any more questions.

Kitahara Kaede nodded.

"Let’s go."

After confirming the direction, the three rushed toward the small town.

They did not follow the trade road straight ahead, but circled around through the forest.

Yūhi Kurenai maintained her sensory perception along the way.

Her steps landed steadily, but her attention remained fixed on their surroundings.

Halfway there, she suddenly raised her hand.

The three stopped at the same time.

Yūhi Kurenai lowered her voice. "Lord Minato, there are three people moving through the forest in the distance."

Minato asked, "Direction?"

Yūhi Kurenai closed her eyes briefly.

"Northeast."

"They’re moving fairly quickly. Their route doesn’t seem like that of ordinary people."

Kitahara Kaede looked in that direction.

The tree shadows were dense, and he could not see anyone.

But there should be no problem with Yūhi Kurenai’s perception.

Minato quickly made a decision. "I’ll take Kurenai to have a look."

After saying that, he looked at Kitahara Kaede.

"Kaede, you go to the town first."

Yūhi Kurenai immediately looked at Kitahara Kaede.

"Him alone?"

Minato’s tone was steady. "There are many people in town. Gathering information there is safer than tracking."

"And Kaede is very good at this."

Kitahara Kaede had no objection.

If the three of them acted together, their efficiency would be too low.

Minato taking Yūhi Kurenai to confirm the identities of those three people while he went to town to gather information was indeed more suitable.

The risk was also within a controllable range.

After all, he still had the Flying Thunder God mark on his shoulder.

Yūhi Kurenai was still frowning.

She looked at Kitahara Kaede and lowered her voice even further.

"Don’t force yourself to do anything alone."

Kitahara Kaede glanced at her.

"I know."

Yūhi Kurenai did not look away.

Kitahara Kaede could only add another sentence.

"Don’t worry."

Minato looked at the mark on Kitahara Kaede’s shoulder.

"If you encounter danger, holding out for one instant will be enough."

Kitahara Kaede nodded.

"Understood."

The next moment, Minato and Yūhi Kurenai disappeared into the forest.

Kitahara Kaede turned around alone and rushed toward the small town.

After approaching the town, he slowed down.

The town was not large.

The houses were lined up along the main street. At the entrance, there was an izakaya, a medicinal herb shop, and several lodging houses for caravans to rest at.

The lamps by the doors had already been lit.

It looked no different from the other small towns nearby.

But Kitahara Kaede did not hurry in.

He first circled around the outskirts and looked over the area.

There were people moving around in town.

Many people were going in and out of the izakaya, and someone was moving goods in front of the medicinal herb shop.

Kitahara Kaede withdrew his gaze.

The izakaya, the lodging houses, and the medicinal herb shop.

These three places were the easiest places to ask for information.

Caravans would complain about road conditions in the izakaya.

Outsiders would leave traces at the lodgings.

The medicine shop could show whether anyone had recently bought hemostatic medicine and bandages.

Kitahara Kaede raised his hand, took off his forehead protector, and put it away against his chest.

Then, he lowered his presence and walked toward the town entrance.

Outside the small town’s other entrance.

Pakura stood beneath a tree. Her gaze moved from the town entrance to the distant forest line, then toward the direction leading to the trade road.

She raised her hand and pressed down her orange hair, which had been disturbed by the wind, her gaze settling on the town’s street entrance.

The three Sunagakure squads she had brought had already completed their preliminary confirmation.

Next, they had to confirm whether there were any other situations in the surrounding area.

She had already instructed the other two teams to gather in the town after finishing their reconnaissance.

After confirming everything, Pakura removed her forehead protector and walked toward the small town.