"There aren't any particularly famous ninjas; the overall strength is weak."
Though he hadn't specifically looked into it, Torifū's thoughts aligned with what Tobirama had said.
If the village's strength was decent, they would be thinking about occupying more territory instead of just shrinking back on the island.
Tobirama used the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring Torifū to the back of Hokage Rock cliff in an instant.
When carrying out secret missions, naturally, they couldn't swagger out of the main gate.
Subsequently, Tobirama jumped onto a tree branch, flashing and leaping through the forest.
Because Torifū didn't know the way, he could only follow behind Tobirama.
Fortunately, Tobirama intentionally slowed down, which prevented Torifū from getting lost.
After about half an hour, the two left the boundaries of Konoha Village, and Tobirama stopped at this point.
"The Land of Hot Water is at sea, and it requires a boat to reach."
Torifū nodded. If it were a regular river or large river, they could use ninjutsu to cross.
But to say use ninjutsu to cross the sea, that was just wishful thinking.
Unless you had a summoning beast that specialized in flying or large fish, you should obediently take a boat.
"Where are we going to find a boat?"
The coastline of the Land of Fire was quite far from the Land of Hot Water. With the current shipbuilding technology, Torifū felt that long-distance voyages were not very reliable.
Konoha Village usually only interacted with the Land of Whirlpools at sea, and the distance wasn't too far, so the ships could just barely make it.
"Let's go to the Land of Iron first, and then go to the Land of Hot Water by hitching a ride. Small countries usually have some kind of interaction."
Oh ho, Torifū was very familiar with the name Land of Iron, the neutral country of the future.
It was also the last pure land of the samurai.
With the establishment of the ninja village system, more and more samurai became ninjas and joined the ninja villages.
Only the samurai of the Land of Iron were still adhering to their samurai code.
A large number of samurai transformed into ninjas, and countless samurai codes disappeared and were cut off, which made the samurai very hostile to ninjas.
And would the Land of Iron, a country full of samurai, really have diplomatic relations with the Land of Hot Water? Torifū remained skeptical.
However, since Tobirama had said it, he must have been confident.
After explaining the next course of action, Tobirama and Torifū set off again, heading to the Land of Hot Water.
The journey was relatively smooth, and there were no unexpected events.
It's just that the journey was long, and the two stayed in tree holes for several nights.
The forest was vast, and Torifū had been paying attention to whether there were any creatures that could serve as summoning beasts during the journey.
After all, you can never have too many of these things. As long as there was a psychic seed, you could cultivate a powerful summoning beast.
Unfortunately, the two were almost at the border of the Land of Fire, and Torifū hadn't found any talented animals.
There was no way around it; after all, it still depended on luck.
If luck wasn't on your side, you'd always miss out, even if you ran all over the world.
Gradually, the color of the surrounding trees became darker and darker, and the branches became more and more upright.
Torifū had seen it on a tree; it was a species called Black Iron Tree, and the trunk was as hard as steel.
This type of wood was an excellent material for making knife sheaths and handles. It was very difficult to cut down, so the price was also very expensive.
When a large number of Black Iron Trees appeared around them, Tobirama stopped: "We have already reached the Land of Iron."
As he spoke, he punched the Black Iron Tree next to him, and it made a sound similar to metal.
Tobirama smiled: "What a pain it must be to possess a treasure trove but be unable to use it."
Torifū also generated a crystal blade in his hand and slashed it forcefully at the tree trunk.
After a cracking sound, the crystal blade broke, and only a white mark was left on the tree trunk.
"Indeed, it is hard."
Tobirama patted Torifū's head: "Let's move on; we'll head towards the coast."
Before leaving the Konoha territory, Tobirama and Torifū had both changed into casual clothes.
Tobirama had even disguised himself a bit; after all, he still had a reputation in the ninja world, and it wouldn't be good if he was recognized.
"Yes, Tobirama-sama."
With that said, the two continued on their way.
Until nightfall, Tobirama and Torifū arrived at a small village.
There weren't many people in the village, and they were basically old, weak, women, and children. The children were playing with wooden samurai swords.
It seemed that the samurai code was being cultivated from a young age.
After a few seconds of discussion, Tobirama and Torifū decided to enter the village to stay for the night.
Thinking about it, this was such a remote village, and Tobirama had also disguised himself, so no one should have been able to recognize them.
But just as Tobirama and Torifū stepped into the village, an eight- or nine-year-old boy blocked the entrance.
His voice was slightly immature but very firm: "Stop! Who are you people!"
Tobirama said to the little boy: "My name is Ikeda Chishima, and this is my son, Ikeda Ryuya."
"We are just travelers who want to stay in the village for one night."
Tobirama, as an old fox, could make up lies without batting an eye and without needing any drafts.
The little boy was still very vigilant after hearing this: "Open your bags!"
Tobirama immediately did as he was told. After opening the bags, there were only some clothes, some money, and some cakes inside.
After repeatedly confirming that the two were really just passing travelers, the little boy relaxed a bit.
His tone was no longer so serious.
"Welcome to Kamata Village. My name is Mifune, and I am the person who protects the village."
Whoa! This shocked Torifū so much that he almost blurted out a swear word!
How could he randomly enter a small village in the Land of Iron and run into such a big shot?
Although it was only in the future!
But this guy was the leader of the Land of Iron in the future! The number one samurai in the ninja world!
In front of him, ninjas didn't even have the chance to form hand seals, which showed his strength.
Torifū suppressed his expression very well and was not noticed by Tobirama.
"Little Mifune, where are the adults in your village? Why aren't they here?"
Tobirama was a little puzzled. Although the village was not big, who would be willing to let a child guard the gate?
After hearing Tobirama's words, Mifune was obviously a little lost and helpless: "They all went to pursue their samurai code."
"Is this your first time in the Land of Iron?"
Tobirama nodded.
"No wonder. The Land of Iron is a country of samurai, so people, regardless of whether they have talent or not, aspire to become samurai."
"And the samurai code is a process of constantly pursuing and constantly breaking through."
"So, many people, possessed by the idea, abandon their wives and children to pursue some kind of samurai code. The elderly and children have no one to take care of them, so they gather here."
After saying that, Mifune obviously became very lonely. According to his statement, he himself should also have been a child who was abandoned by his father.
Tobirama comforted him by patting Mifune's head, but he was dodged.
"Don't underestimate me. I have already killed many bandits. I will protect this village well!"
In fact, Tobirama felt that this child was not simple the first time he saw Mifune.
At such a young age, his thoughts and awareness were good. If he didn't die young, he would definitely be a figure in the future.
Perhaps he could bring this somewhat lost country back on track? Who knows.
"Then, do you want to become a samurai?"