The Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire didn’t share a border—not that it was surprising. None of the Five Great Nations were directly connected. Kazuki had long since gotten used to that fact.
"Captain, why aren’t they letting us in?" Uchiha Shisui crouched on a tree branch, glancing toward Kazuki. The latter looked ahead, eyes calm.
They had arrived at the border of the Land of Lightning—but had been stuck here for an entire day.
According to the border guards, they hadn’t yet received word from the Raikage, so Kazuki’s party was being held in place. Nara Suzaku hadn’t objected. So they waited. And waited.
"A show of dominance," Kazuki muttered with a bored yawn. The stunt was textbook. Petty, old-school posturing. But considering the history between shinobi villages, it wasn’t exactly unexpected.
This world was one big stage of poorly built sets. Inter-village drama and posturing were part of the culture—especially along borders. In the early years, when smaller countries had no voice, major villages would casually patrol through their land, spit on each other, chuck a few kunai, or "accidentally lose" some explosive tags. Daily squabbles, fights every third day. Eventually, the smaller countries regained some autonomy, and things finally quieted down.
Kazuki figured that, compared to those old "spit in your face" border patrols, this mild obstruction was nothing.
Besides, he doubted it would last long.
They were here for business. The Raikage would absolutely be curious about what kind of deal warranted Namikaze Minato personally making contact. After all, this was the Fourth Hokage’s first major outreach since the end of the Third Great Ninja War.
Just as Kazuki expected, by day’s end the previously expressionless guards transformed, smiling warmly.
They’d received the Raikage’s approval. They could enter.
Kazuki exhaled in exasperation but said nothing, following Suzaku and the others across the border into the Land of Lightning.
"Akaka, do you think this deal will go through in the Land of Lightning?" Suzaku asked casually as they traveled, glancing at Kazuki.
The appeal of steam-powered trains was obvious, but it also depended on the terrain. Take the Land of Wind for example—building a railway there was borderline impossible. The environment was brutal. Completely unreasonable.
The Land of Water wasn’t ideal either, most of it being archipelagos and sea. It wasn’t that it couldn’t be done, but the return on investment would be low. Not worth it.
"I’d say it’s got a good shot." Kazuki nodded. Aside from the Land of Lightning, only the Land of Earth seemed suitable—though the Land of Fire was the best. Fertile, flat, and resource-rich. No wonder every other village dreamt of claiming it.
If there were no ninja in this world, the other regions would have already been labeled "barbarian lands" by some expansionist power.
Not that the other lands were bad—but Konoha had everything.
"Suzaku-san, you’ve been to the Land of Lightning before?" Kazuki asked, noticing how familiar his uncle seemed with the terrain.
"Yeah. Last time was during the war." Suzaku’s tone was calm. Back then, no one had made him wait at the border.
Kazuki twitched at that. Stupid question, really. He should’ve known.
His gaze drifted toward the distant horizon—toward Konoha. He thought of the task he’d left in Yamanaka Mai’s hands. Hopefully, she was doing well.
"No... she’ll be fine. The real issue is..." Kazuki scratched his head. He wasn’t too concerned for her safety—it was a domestic mission, after all. What he worried about was whether she’d be smart about it. Hopefully, she didn’t bring too many people into the fold at once.
But the matter was out of his hands now. All he could do was trust her.
"Please don’t give me a damn surprise when I come back." Kazuki winced. He still remembered the mess she caused last time. But she wasn’t the naive girl she’d been before. Not anymore.
Good people got guns pointed at them in this rotten era.
Though he kept an eye on her progress in the back of his mind, Kazuki didn’t let it affect his own training. But since they weren’t in Konoha, he could only practice low-key techniques—nothing that would give away too much.
The so-called "escort" of Kumo ninja shadowing them? They weren’t here to help. They were surveillance.
Shinobi intelligence wars could sway entire battles. If you knew enough about your enemy—even their fighting style—it could tip the scales. Of course, if the power difference was too great, information meant nothing.
Like if a freshly-trained Naruto with Shadow Clones went up against Madara Uchiha—no amount of intel would matter.
You couldn’t just "talk-no-jutsu" your way out of that one. Not even Kishimoto would try to write that.
Under the watchful gaze of their oh-so-"friendly" Kumo escorts, the group pressed on toward Kumogakure. The escorts were thorough—never letting any of them wander off. They clearly didn’t trust them not to stir up trouble.
He’d already left a Shadow Clone behind.
If he did want to cause trouble... well...
Kazuki’s eyes sparkled with mischief.
But he held back. For now.
Best to wait until after meeting the Raikage.