Compared to the northern border stronghold-Kouun City-the towns along the route did not have high enough political, economic, or military importance, and thus did not have adequately good public security.
With the end of the Shinobi War, the major nations and villages poured in.
The undercurrents in the Tetsu no Kuni, which only caused small ripples in Kouun City, were surging into a tide in the small cities.
Along the way, Megumai stayed in inns when available and camped in the wilderness with her son when there were none.
The fresh lifestyle made Seiya happy every day.
After all, he was just a little baby nearly three years old; he didn't need to worry about anything and just waited for his mother to arrange everything.
Even if he wanted to help, Megumai worried about tiring his little arms and legs!
Roughing it on the road meant they couldn't be too particular about food.
Megumai, being a Shinobi, was used to surviving on rations as a basic operation.
Seiya, however, could not do this, so he temporarily regressed to having breast milk as his sole main food.
Megumai was somewhat relieved that she hadn't rushed to wean her son earlier.
Otherwise, her son would now be forced to eat some difficult-to-swallow food, and she, as a mother, would be heartbroken.
The mountains and rivers along the way were beautiful, and the temperature gradually rose.
The continuous snow-capped mountains were tinged with green.
After a bit more travel, Megumai and Seiya would have to take off their warm fox fur coats and switch to lighter clothing.
By then, Seiya would no longer enjoy the cozy contentment of being wrapped in his mother's coat and nursing in the dimness.
Though the landscape was beautiful, dangers lurked.
There were constant bandits along the way, some being groups of drifters and others being clusters of Shinobis.
Their combat power was average, but they were still enough to pose a threat to ordinary people.
Megumai's principle was to take detours, when possible, not out of fear of trouble, but from a weariness of killing.
However, if bandits were so foolish as to bump right into her, she would not hesitate, drawing her blade and cleanly dispatching them.
Seiya was completely unaware of this.
His attention was mainly focused on toys.
In the small towns they passed through, there were many novel toys with strong local characteristics. Megumai, as promised, bought all of them.
Some were discarded after being played with; others, he particularly liked, so she bought several pieces and stored them in a scroll for future use.
In Megumai's original plan, she was going to take Seiya on a leisurely sightseeing trip all the way to Kumogakure.
However, a two or three-year-old baby was not very interested in the scenery, nor did he have a need for spiritual enlightenment.
Compared to playing and appreciating the view, Seiya was more drawn to the excitement of flying.
Therefore, Megumai's travel speed was very fast. In just half a month, she had passed through one major city and six towns.
A child's growth is always unexpected. During their travels, Seiya made pleasing progress, changing from simple short sentences to coherent long sentences.
Upon reaching another major city, Megumai paused their journey and took her son to stay at an inn for several days.
The reason was simple: Seiya was about to turn three.
A birthday naturally couldn't be spent camping in the wilderness; they had to settle down and celebrate properly.
Furthermore, long-term, long-distance travel was not good for the child, so they stopped to rest and let the little one recover.
Seiya had no concept of years, months, or days.
He only knew that with every birthday, he took a step toward growing up.
To celebrate growing up, Seiya watched all the cartoons he had missed recently, spent half a day strolling through the city with his mother, and bought many delicious foods and fun toys.
In the evening, Megumai took Seiya to the city's best restaurant, celebrating his official transition to a three-year-old child with good food.
Of course, Seiya had already filled up on breast milk back at the inn, so he only lightly sampled some desserts at the restaurant.
To make it more ceremonial, Megumai had the restaurant prepare a large cake.
The cake was decorated with Seiya 's favorite cartoon character and had three candles.
After blowing out the candles, he silently made a wish.
Megumai held her son and asked with a smile, "Baby, tell Mommy, what did you wish for?"
"I can't tell," Seiya shook his head like a rattle-drum. "If I say it, it won't come true!"
"How could that be? Only you and I know; there's no third person, so it won't affect the wish's magic!"
Megumai spoke gently and coaxed him, thinking, If you don't tell me, how can Mommy help you fulfill your wish?
Did he want to watch cartoons for a little longer every day, or read the literacy picture book for a little less time? Or did he want to eat more candy and buy more toys?
If he says it, all of it can be granted!
After all, the baby is only three years old; his dreams and hobbies are probably just these things.
Megumai had absolute confidence in fulfilling her son's wish now.
However, once her son was a little older and had seen the colorful world, her confidence might be slightly diminished.
Seiya naturally trusted his mother unconditionally.
Hearing that saying it wouldn't affect the wish's magic, he immediately leaned close to Megumai's ear and whispered, "I'll tell Mommy secretly."
"Mhm."
Megumai responded in a low voice, cooperating with the creation of a secretive atmosphere, while inwardly guessing what her son wanted toys? snacks? watching TV? not studying?
"I want Mommy to be healthy forever and happy forever," Seiya whispered close to her ear.
Megumai's expression froze, her eyelashes slightly trembling.
She slowly hugged her son tighter in her arms and murmured softly, "Mommy and Baby will both be healthy forever and happy forever."
...
After the birthday celebration, and after staying in the city for a few more days, Megumai and Seiya continued their journey, constantly approaching the central capital from the northern stronghold.
If calculated by a straight line on the map, the journey was already halfway complete.
The mountains and rivers were beautiful, and the scenery was pleasant. In the suburban forest, birds flew up in alarm.
Megumai swiftly darted through the trees, letting her son experience the graceful freedom of the wind whistling past his ears.
Suddenly, the front was no longer the wonderful silence of the forest; it was filled with shouts and the clamor of clashing weapons, exceedingly noisy.
Even without witnessing the scene, one could imagine the tragic intensity of the battle.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared in Megumai's eyes.
Upholding the principle of avoiding conflict, she detoured around the area.
As for righting wrongs on the road, she genuinely had no such leisurely interest, nor did she possess such a high moral standard.
Having gone through the Third Shinobi War, she regarded human life very lightly.
She paid no mind to people she had no connection with.
After a while of detouring, Megumai continued leaTojo through the branches with Seiya in her arms.
"Mommy, what was that noise just now?"
"Just noise; no need to pay attention to it."
Before her words faded, the sound of horse hooves rang out.
A carriage suddenly burst out from the fork in the road ahead.
Seiya 's sharp eyes noticed it, and he exclaimed, "What a beautiful carriage!"
Megumai frowned slightly, preparing to detour again.
At the same time, the sound of slicing wind rang out, and Kunai rained down like a net and a waterfall, piercing the carriage.
The coachman died on the spot; the horse bled like a waterfall, perished tragically, and collapsed onto the ground.
The carriage lost its balance, flinging the mother and daughter inside several meters away.
At the fork in the road, several figures suddenly appeared and rushed toward the mother and daughter.
Upon abruptly seeing Megumai standing on the tree branch, they immediately stopped and became seriously vigilant.
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