Chapter 122

And why am I not a former special forces operative? It's all because of these damned locals' secrecy and suspicion, ingrained from the cradle. Masters would rather take their knowledge to the grave than let it be revealed to a broader audience unrelated to them. Of course, it's clear that sooner or later the knowledge will fall into enemy hands, but what's the point of the arms race then? The world of shinobi has virtually halted in its development, despite the fact that the saying "war is the engine of progress" is true for all worlds.

Unfortunately, progress turns into regression when the bearers of knowledge do not share it and prefer to take it to their graves. Damn, most of the numerous problems in this world have one common cause. And there's nothing to be done about it — the locals' mentality is just that way. Sure, you can set an example, but people will milk you dry, thank you, and then, just to be on the safe side, they'll squash you to prevent you from sharing with enemies as well.

After burying the still-warm corpses with doton and cleaning up all traces of the encounter, we moved on, periodically checking the map as we approached the borders of the Land of Earth's residential areas. The Tsuchikage is surely not foolish enough to leave them completely unguarded, even during a losing war. There are similar alert points scattered across the country for us in case of saboteurs.

By unanimous decision, it was decided to bypass the dangerous area from the side of Hankai, the less populated of the two cities. After a brief consultation over a map drawn on the ground, we decided to rest in a safer place first and then continue our journey around three in the morning, taking advantage of the less detectable time of day.

According to our rough calculations, we should aim to reach the most convenient gorge by dawn and proceed along its floor, without fearing visual detection by enemy forces. The Land of Earth has so many canyons, gorges, and mountains that tracking even a tenth of them is impossible, even for several great villages, let alone Iwagakure no Sato, which has greatly reduced in numbers during recent years of war.

Although some doton users can track enemies by soil vibrations, even the best shinobi can only detect enemies within a five-kilometer radius, unlike the Byakugan, which has a much greater range. The Byakugan can detect foreign chakra much earlier than we can be discovered. And it also served as a suitable shelter for the night.

The small cave we discovered, which could comfortably accommodate twice as many people, came in handy. After ensuring it had not been previously used by anyone, we prepared for a brief rest and took the opportunity to have a proper meal instead of choking down ration bars on the move. Although it was just rice porridge with dried meat, even such food seemed incredibly delicious compared to the alternative.

With at least four hours left until nightfall, judging by the overcast sky, Hizashi decided to use my sensory seals and chakra-concealing barrier to allow the entire team to rest before the difficult passage, rather than having a rotating watch. Strictly speaking, the chance of being detected was already very slim, and with the use of fūinjutsu, it became virtually zero, so we accepted this rule violation during rest in hostile territory with understanding.

While my teammates were settling down on the rolled-out futons, I took the opportunity to remove the blocking seal, allowing chakra to flow again into the nearly depleted keirakukei after two days. The barrier can conceal even jinchūriki's emissions, provided they don't use techniques inside, so even the most sensitive sensors won't detect me. But it's definitely worth replenishing chakra reserves for tomorrow. One's physical strength alone is definitely not enough to navigate sheer cliffs.

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