[Previously, I wanted to write some intrigue, but it wasn't exciting enough and the plot was too slow. I'll pick up the pace!
The timeline of the Second Ninja War is too chaotic. There are many bugs. Maoqiu (a writer's pen - name perhaps) will make some adjustments.]
"Based on your current performance, you're still not qualified to join Root," Tanzō retracted his gaze, closing his eyes slightly and saying.
"Go to the Land of Rain to gather intelligence for Root. If you do an excellent job, I'll consider it."
Hearing this from Tanzō, Kaze wished he could turn around and leave right away.
The Land of Rain is like a meat grinder now. Who wants to get mixed up in it!
However, he thought about it again. If he was just gathering intelligence outside the war zones, he probably wouldn't encounter any danger... right?
Thinking of his outrageous luck, Kaze replied half - heartedly, "Alright, I'll do as you say."
Tanzō's lips curled up slightly, seemingly having expected his son's reaction.
"I'll send Yuto and Yukino to go with you to the Land of Rain. Don't come back without my order."
"Yes, father," Kaze responded listlessly. With a long face, he left the tent.
Damn it! Out of the frying pan and into the fire. It's really hard to be a filial son.
"What a dumbass getting myself into this," Kaze thought to himself.
"What a dumbass getting myself into this!" Yuto grumbled, "I finally got a few days to rest, and you've found me another job."
"Hey, Uncle Yuto, I just can't do without you," Kaze forced a smile, "Well, when we get back, I'll treat you to booze for three days straight!"
Yuto glanced at Yukino not far away and lowered his voice, "Cough, um... Flower wine or sake?"
Kaze rolled his eyes, "Do you look down on me? Do you think I'd treat you to just sake?"
Only then did Yuto show a satisfied smile. He put his arm around Kaze and said, "You're a good kid. Uncle didn't love you for nothing. Alright, I'll go with you one more time."
After the three of them finished packing up, they didn't waste any time and set off immediately.
Yuto clearly wasn't going to the Land of Rain for the first time, and it was very likely that he had been there recently.
He looked very familiar with the place and introduced the situation in the Land of Rain to the other two.
"As long as we're careful and avoid these main battle zones in the Land of Rain, we'll hardly encounter any danger. At most, we'll run into a few wandering enemy ninjas."
"I hope so," Yukino chimed in, then looked at Kaze with a strange expression.
Yuto seemed to realize something and also looked at Kaze with a weird look.
Kaze: "First of all, I haven't offended any of you, okay!"
The Land of Rain is like a city that's always crying.
It's always drizzling, no matter when, covering the whole Land of Rain in a gloomy cloud.
Due to years of war, most of the buildings are in ruins. The few pedestrians on the street all look numb, obviously having lost hope in life.
"This place is really lifeless," Kaze sighed.
Even though he had been here for nearly half a month, he still couldn't get used to the atmosphere here.
Yukino whispered beside him, "There's nothing we can do. The Land of Rain has always been weak, and it's been at war for years. It's no wonder it's ended up like this."
Kaze brushed the water off his cloak and looked at Yuto beside him. "By the way, Uncle Yuto, did you make any progress on the matter I asked you about before?"
"Not yet." Yuto shook his head, put away the booklet in his hand, and asked curiously, "Kid, why are you so interested in the Uzumaki Clan?"
"It's because of my friend, Kushina. She's always felt lonely and hopes to find her clansmen."
Kaze said half - truthfully, "I heard that some Uzumaki people fled to the Land of Rain, so..."
Yuto stroked his chin and pretended to be deep in thought. "Kushina, is she the little girl who used to beat you up every day?"
Kaze: "… I was just letting her win."
Yuto chuckled. "Yeah, right."
The real reason Kaze was searching for the Uzumaki Clan was not for Kushina, but to find the Child of Destiny, Nagato, in advance.
Nagato was a poor child. When he was young, Madara Uchiha implanted the Rinnegan in him and used him as a living repository for the Rinnegan (a grotesque way of saying a person is used to hold the Rinnegan).
He lost his parents and his beloved, oops, his best friend. Then, he was deceived by Obito Uchiha and planned to bring 'nuclear peace' to the world (a pun on 'peace' and 'nuclear' in Chinese).
Huh?
Come to think of it, Yahiko's death seems to be related to my father... cough!
Anyway, a good boy was lured by the evil Uchihas into becoming the leader of an international terrorist organization!
And right now, none of these things have happened yet.
As long as he can find Nagato in advance and con... no, protect him, maybe he can avoid the series of tragedies that follow.
"Alright, we've rested long enough. It's time to go," Yukino urged.
Tanzō had set up a huge intelligence network in the Land of Rain. Each Root squad was like a thread on the net, and it probes every corner of the Land of Rain.
After really getting in touch with Root, Kaze realized how powerful this organization was, and he was even more eager to take it for himself.
"Speaking of which..."
As the three of them set off again, Kaze asked curiously, "Isn't Root only supposed to have 17 members? Why does it seem like your dad has more than 170 under his command?"
Yuto and Yukino didn't say a word. They thought to themselves, You should ask your dad about this. We don't know how to answer.
Seeing that they ignored him, Kaze smacked his lips and changed the topic. "How long do you think we'll stay in the Land of Rain?"
"I bet it'll be at most one month!"
"… Two months!"
"… Three months!"
"…"
In the 34th year of Konoha.
Kaze drew his sword from the last Sand ninja's chest, then looked at Yuto and Yukino beside him and said excitedly.
"Why aren't you talking to me? I bet we'll stay here for at most one year!"
Sigh.
Yukino helplessly rubbed her forehead and looked at Yuto with an inquiring look.
"Hey, my young master. I'll level with you," Yuto said, with a helpless smile after getting the hint.
"Lord Tanzō's original order was for us to watch over you while you trained here for a year," he continued.
Yukino quickly added, "We were afraid you'd get impatient, so we didn't tell you beforehand."
"Ah, I see..." Kaze immediately pulled a sour face, but soon, his face lit up with excitement. "So, does that mean we can go back to Konoha right away?!"
He hadn't seen Minato, Kushina, Ayako and the others for almost a year. He was dying to go back and have a good time with them.
In the Land of Rain, all he did every day was run around and kill things. He didn't even have time to reward himself. It was so boring!
However, after this year of training, his physical condition and strength had indeed improved a lot.
Take a look at the stats on the screen.
[Killing power: 12
Speed: 21
Defense: 14
Chakra: 15]
Although his killing power was still sub - par, Kaze was fast and played dirty tricks. He was basically invincible among the Chunin.
For a ten - year - old, this level of strength was quite impressive, if you didn't compare him to the freaks.
"By the way, my young master," Yuto took out a small booklet, flipped through a couple of pages and said, "I might have found some clues about the Uzumaki clan."
"According to an informant in the 42nd Western District, a local market owner said that a group of kids often stole food from the market."
"One of the kids had red hair."