Uchiha Nagi disguised himself as a merchant, bought some goods, and then hired two porters to help him drive three horse-drawn carts full of goods.
The carts were loaded with specialties Uchiha Nagi had purchased from the Land of Waves, intending to transport them out for sale, which also served as a disguise.
The horse-drawn carts slowly traveled down the road. Uchiha Nagi looked at the map. He originally wanted to go to the Land of Iron because he could buy cheap and large quantities of Chakra metal there, but he wasn't sure if he would encounter unexpected events while passing through the Land of Hot Springs.
But now that Kimimaro was with him, if he didn't want to encounter unexpected events, he naturally couldn't let the enemy have his way.
After all, Kimimaro was not a child of destiny; he couldn't always encounter an enemy who would show mercy, unlike Naruto.
So, Uchiha Nagi changed his route, intending to go through the Land of Wind, then loop around to the Land of Iron. Along the way, he could not only enjoy the scenery but also cultivate.
More importantly, he wanted to search for the legendary Dragon Vein to see if he could collect it and use it as a Chakra battery, similar to a Tailed Beast.
After crossing a border, he simply stated his identity as a merchant and entered the Land of Wind.
What surprised Uchiha Nagi was that the border of the Land of Wind was unguarded, with only a few hired ordinary people collecting a small toll. But thinking about it, in the Ninja world, guarding borders was pointless.
Ninja could climb mountains and walk on water; no terrain could stop their march. If they were to guard the border, how many people would need to be stationed there daily?
Moreover, if the Ninja of the Village were dispersed over such a large border area, and the enemy concentrated their forces to break through, could they hold it? Would reinforcements arrive in time?
Therefore, when there wasn't a major war, it was normal for the border to have only a few sporadic patrol teams. Furthermore, the Land of Wind was mostly desert and sand; if an enemy attacked, they would only have a few fixed routes, so there was no fear.
Just like the Land of Water, the Land of Wind, located in the desert, also had natural geographical advantages that boosted its combat power. What was even more troublesome was that most of the Land of Wind consisted of useless desert terrain. If others fought this country, they would lose money if they lost, and if they won, they would only gain a pile of desert land, which was also a loss.
As for developing minerals beneath the desert, that was nonsense. Without the Magnet Release of a Kazekage, what could they develop?
The Land of Wind was also very welcoming to merchant caravans because of its scarcity of resources. The Land of Wind lacked everything; the Daimyo's meager allocation was not enough for the Ninja Village, and the Kazekage had to pan for gold in the desert.
Uchiha Nagi, with Kimimaro, arrived at a small town, an oasis in the desert. Because of border trade, some people gathered here. Although there was no land for growing grain nearby, where there was water, there were people. Merchants in the vicinity would stop here before going to Sunagakure for trade, to replenish water for their animals and caravan.
Because not every merchant caravan would use storage scrolls as a means of transport; that was exclusive to Ninja. Otherwise, Minato Namikaze wouldn't have taken Obito and Kakashi to destroy the Kannabi Bridge [Note 1].
Only ordinary people needed to use bridges; Ninja were not included in this category.
Uchiha Nagi had no grudges with Sunagakure, so he planned to visit Sunagakure and, incidentally, look for the dungeon in the Land of Wind... In the desert of the Land of Wind, there was a country swallowed by the desert, and in that country, there was something that made him curious: the Dragon Vein—
Uchiha Nagi had forgotten about the Dragon Vein, only remembering it as a huge energy source that a villain coveted. This villain was eventually encountered by Naruto, who had traveled through time, and Minato Namikaze, who had come to investigate.
Ultimately, with the combined efforts of the father and son, the villainous BOSS was defeated... However, the Fourth Hokage was already dead, and Naruto had not yet passed the Ninja exam; he would only arrive here years later.
Uchiha Nagi wanted to see if he could use a Sealing Technique to turn this Dragon Vein into a Chakra battery, like a Tailed Beast... "Teacher, this looks so... so disgusting. Can it really be eaten?"
In the town's restaurant, young Kimimaro looked at the pile of food on the table, his eyelids twitching repeatedly.
In a desert country, one couldn't expect beef, lamb, chicken, duck, fish, or meat. Plants were scarce, and water was poor, so beef and lamb were naturally rare. Thus, the food here was... grilled scorpions, grilled lizards, and some camel meat, as well as some cactus-like vegetables. The staple food was a starchy plant that grew underground.
The surrounding merchants were all eating heartily. On a trade journey, it was good enough to have something to eat; there was no room for picky choices.
Uchiha Nagi also noticed that there were a few Genin-level Chakra users in the caravan who were very cautious, only starting to eat after confirming the food was not poisoned. Clearly, they were bodyguards hired by the caravan.
"It's fine. Although these things don't look appealing, since the people of the Land of Sand use them as food, there's certainly no problem," Uchiha Nagi smiled, picked up a grilled lizard, and took a bite.
Kimimaro also picked up a grilled scorpion and peeled it open to eat, like eating a crab.
"Squeee..."
"Delicious..."
Unexpectedly, the grilled scorpion tasted like crab meat, and the grilled lizard also had a unique flavor.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the two returned to their camp. The goods in the camp were simple: some dried salted fish, dried kelp, dried vegetables, and other seaside specialties. However, when transported to Sunagakure, they were rare items and could fetch a large profit. "Sunagakure, ah, I went there once more than ten years ago. It's been a long time. There was still a war going on back then..." an old man, still quite robust, sighed.
This was the guide and porter Uchiha Nagi had hired after entering the Land of Wind. The previous porters were only hired to the border; their task was completed, and they went back.
"War? Grandpa, was it very chaotic back then? Why were they fighting?" a boy about the same age as Kimimaro asked with a curious expression.
This was the guide's grandson. Since his parents were gone, the old man always brought him along when working as a guide. Uchiha Nagi also agreed, as one child wouldn't add much to the food consumption.
"Back then, Sunagakure fought fiercely with Konoha. Food was scarce, so they bought it from surrounding small countries. I was fortunate enough to work as a porter and transported grain a few times. Luckily, I survived, hahahaha..."
"Speaking of which, being able to travel north and south and still be alive and well in times of war is also a skill, hahaha."
——
Whoosh——Whoosh whoosh——
Outside the town, a team of figures arrived...
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