As a small town of a few hundred people, it didn't seem to have many residents, but its nature was different.
If it were a Village of one or two hundred people, its disappearance might be attributed to some brutal Ninja's whim, but that was in times of war.
In times of peace, such an incident, especially with Ninja from other countries nearby—though without headbands—was enough for the Hidden Sand Village to take seriously.
It had always been the Hidden Sand Village attacking Konoha; was Konoha going to attack the Hidden Sand Village this time?
The Fourth Kazekage, in the Kazekage Building, frowned. He couldn't understand why Konoha would want to start a war after less than ten years of hard-won peace. And why would they target the Land of Wind, which was nothing but sand, gobi, and desert?
Konoha didn't lack underground minerals, and only he could extract the gold dust. There was no benefit for Konoha to invade the Land of Wind.
However, according to messages from the Sunagakure Anbu, although the dead Ninja had no identification, they were still certain that the opponents were Konoha Ninja. The reasons were: first, their clothing, as each country produced different styles; second, their weapons, such as Kunai and shuriken, which might look similar but could be distinguished by experienced blacksmiths; and finally, their geographical location pointed only to Konoha.
Therefore, with over eighty percent certainty, it was Konoha Ninja causing trouble. They sent a team to slaughter this small town in the Land of Wind, found their target had left, then set a trap for the merchant caravan, and finally engaged in a major battle with their target halfway.
The lucky Old Guide had just crossed the border not long after leaving; otherwise, he would probably have been captured by the Sunagakure Anbu.
Uchiha Nagi did not go directly into the Hidden Sand Village with Kimimaro but instead went to a town outside the Hidden Sand Village. As the Land of Wind, its vast territory, of course, wasn't limited to just the Hidden Sand Village.
However, the Hidden Sand Village was the main base for all Ninja in the Land of Wind, just like Konoha. In reality, there were many other cities, big and small, in the Land of Wind.
For example, the city he was currently in was called Wángchuān City, the city where the Daimyo of the Land of Wind resided.
With the First Hokage establishing Konoha, the Daimyo's authority had been declining day by day, almost becoming a lackey for the Ninja Village. [I personally think this is more realistic; a Daimyo without power dreaming of commanding a Ninja Village is absurd.]
Because the Ninja were high and mighty, they naturally couldn't personally collect taxes or manage the common people below. So, various countries tacitly allowed the Daimyo to remain, letting them help with tax collection and management, while the Ninja were only responsible for fighting.
Another point was that if public resentment boiled over, they could push out a Daimyo to take the blame, replace him, or kill him, and everything would be unrelated to the Ninja Village, as the Daimyo was the one collecting taxes... Therefore, apart from the Twelve Guardian Ninja that Asuma once joined, no other country had considered abolishing the Daimyo. And the ruler of the Land of Fire, protected by only twelve Jonin, was quite pathetic...
"Nagi-sensei, it's very lively here, so many people, but there seem to be very few Ninja," Kimimaro looked left and right, not seeing many Ninja.
"Yes, after all, it's where the Daimyo of the Land of Wind lives, so naturally there are more people..." Uchiha Nagi nodded, but it was still far less than the Land of Fire.
Even entering the city gates, it was Samurai and soldiers checking and inspecting.
The city walls of the Land of Wind were not for defending against Ninja, but for defending against sandstorms.
Due to the battle, Uchiha Nagi had packed all the goods he was selling into a storage scroll. After bringing them to this city, he sold them, then replenished some food and water, and began to subtly inquire about the Rouran Country.
Occasionally using genjutsu secretly made gathering information incredibly easy.
For example, the old man in front of him, with a face full of wrinkles, looking seventy despite being under forty...
The food was quite delicious, unique to the desert region: a bowl of something similar to hot and sour soup, accompanied by a steamed bun. Inside, a type of meat from an unknown animal was sandwiched, and biting into it filled one's mouth with oil, incredibly chewy.
Kimimaro ate heartily, his face glistening with oil. During this time, his appetite had rapidly increased, terrifyingly surpassing Uchiha Nagi's. This was probably due to the Breathing Technique and his training; his body no longer looked as thin as before.
He began to look more robust, his muscle density becoming stronger. Even without using Shikotsumyaku, his muscle density was already two to three times that of an ordinary person.
It was hard to imagine the extent of Kimimaro's muscle density when he reached adulthood. By then, even without using Shikotsumyaku, a Kunai might not even be able to pierce his body.
However, considering that as an adult, using Shikotsumyaku, he could withstand hundreds of tons of pressure from the Sand Burial with his bare body, it was not surprising.
"Shopkeeper, you've been doing business here for many years, haven't you?" Uchiha Nagi asked.
"Haha, not that long, twenty or thirty years. When I was young, I used to travel around and see the world," the shopkeeper laughed cheerfully.
"I see, then you've traveled extensively, you must have been to many countries, right?" Uchiha Nagi had already secretly cast genjutsu; his Sharingan, hidden beneath his hair, was open.
The old man, however, seemed not to notice his red eyes and continued chatting with him.
"Yes, the surrounding countries—the Land of Iron, the Land of Demons, the Land of Fire—I was fortunate enough to visit them all once when I was young. The scenery and customs of each country are different, very much worth reminiscing about."
"I heard that the Land of Wind used to have many small countries, but later the environment changed, and they were buried and annihilated by sandstorms."
When he said this, Uchiha Nagi's Sharingan flickered an implicit suggestion, and the old man continued to speak on his own.
"Yes, there was one called the Rouran Country. Its land used to be very fertile, one of the important sources of grain for the Land of Wind, one could say. Unfortunately, later the heavens changed drastically, and it was annihilated by sandstorms, alas..."
"Then do you know where the Rouran Country is located now?"
"Oh, it's near the Land of Rivers. The exact location is unknown, because after decades, with the wind blowing and sand burying it, it's hard to pinpoint so precisely. The Rouran Country itself wasn't large, but..."
"But what?"
"The Daimyo's mansion should still have a detailed map of the Rouran Country. If the guest wants to find Rouran, the Daimyo and the Kazekage certainly have it."
"Shopkeeper, you've misunderstood. I'm just curious if the Land of Wind, being so vast, used to have many small countries. Besides, Rouran is already buried by sand; why would I go there?"
"Oh, that's true, haha..."
Uchiha Nagi smiled and closed his Sharingan. The shop owner still didn't know what he had just said under suggestion. Going to the Kazekage was definitely not an option; there were too many Ninja, and the Kazekage's Magnet Release also had a natural geographical advantage. Was he looking for death? However, going to the Daimyo's place shouldn't be a big problem...
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