MTLNOVEL Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Not Enough Spirit Beasts
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The old man was clad in a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat, with thick winter clothing tightly wrapped inside. Only then did Kamihane realize that the temperature in the air was extremely low, as even his breath produced large clouds of white mist.
"That... young man, how come you're wearing so little in such cold weather?" The old man spoke first, staring at Kamihane's bare upper body, immediately dumbfounded.
Logically speaking, such a thin body should have already been frozen with patches of blue and purple, yet the boy's skin remained fair with a hint of red, even emitting a faint warmth.
"Uh... I accidentally ruined my clothes while fishing in the sea," Kamihane scratched his head and approached the old man. "Old man, do you have any spare clothes over there that I could borrow?"
His clothes had long been torn apart by the high-pressure water arrows, along with his ninja tool pouch, money bag, supply pack, and rations, all crushed into the depths of the ocean.
With a physique as formidable as that of the "Sea God," he was capable of withstanding both extreme cold and scorching heat. However, the Land of Iron was situated in a frigid region, and being seen naked in such harsh weather by ordinary people was indeed not ideal. He disliked being perceived as an outcast.
The old man hesitated for a moment. "I don't have any spare clothes, but there is a straw raincoat in the cabin, only..."
Kamihane immediately noticed the old man's reluctance and smiled, "Don't worry, I won't take your clothes for nothing. How about this—I'll trade something with you!"
"This..." The old man raised his hand, pondering how to politely decline, but to his surprise, the young man before him had already turned around and, in a single leap, plunged into the sea right before his eyes.
"Plop!"
The waves churned, frothing with white foam, and swallowed all traces of his presence.
"This..." The old man was utterly stunned, collapsing onto the ground in shock. Having lived for the better part of his life, he had never encountered anyone like this.
Not to mention that you, at such a young age, could leap dozens of meters into the air with a single bound... and now, with the tide about to recede, he actually dared to venture into the sea!
Before the old man could recover from his astonishment, merely a dozen seconds later, Kamihane leapt out from the sea surface, descending from mid-air in the same posture, and landed in front of the old man.
"Whoosh—"
A fierce gale howled, and water splashed everywhere. The old man hastily retreated, tightly squinting his eyes, even his bamboo hat was blown away.
"I'll trade this fish with you," Kamihane said with a smile, tossing a plump, round fish beside the old man.
"This is..."
A faint scent of the sea wafted over. The old man, half-doubting, leaned in closer, and suddenly, a gleam of sharp light flashed in those turbid eyes!
"Bluefin Tuna!"
"My goodness... where did you catch this..."
"Didn't you just see?" Kamihane did not turn around, pointing behind him towards the sea.
"This fish, old man, I've only seen once, and that was when my son brought it back years ago. It's said to live several thousand meters below the surface, and only the ninja of the Land of Water have the ability to catch it..."
Kamihane crossed his arms and raised his chin, "Do you like it? Trade for your raincoat."
"Ah, this is too valuable..."
"Trade or not?"
"Trade!"
Kamihane smiled as he took the raincoat, and as a token of gratitude, the old man also gave him a bamboo hat.
Kamihane turned and left, using the cover of the jungle, his hands forming seals.
"Summoning Jutsu!!"
The white smoke dissipated, revealing a slender and lithe tabby cat before him.
"Hiss, it's so cold, meow." The ninja cat shook off the snowflakes from its body, baring its teeth in discomfort.
"Zesuke, go back and tell Boki to summon me back to the cat house."
"Can't do it, meow. Bōki isn't here."
"What?" Kamihane was astonished: "If it's not in the cat house, where else could it be?"
"I don't know~" Zesuke shook his head, swaying it back and forth.
"What about Tachibana Maru?"
"Tachibana Maru was just called away by Uchiha Hikari yesterday and is now in a cooldown period, meow."
"Alright then..." Kamihane casually remarked, "Then you go back and summon me back to the cat house."
"Foolish Kamihane, have you forgotten that the summoning time is fixed?"
Zesuke leaped onto the tree trunk, licking the snowflakes off his paw pads, "Once you summon me, the next summoning can only be done three days later. During this period, we cannot summon each other."
"Ah..." Kamihane covered his face, utterly defeated. "So, I have to walk back on my own, huh?"
"Payment, please~" The ninja cat Zesuke raised a paw.
"Wait, buddy," Kamihane widened his eyes. "You didn't do anything, why should I pay you?"
"For keeping your secret and not letting the other ninja cats know, meow." Zesuke revealed a cunning, almost human-like expression. "Or perhaps, Kamihane no longer cares about his own intel...?"
Kamihane's face darkened, and he twitched the corner of his mouth in frustration, then tossed a fish to the cat.
"As you can see, I'm quite broke right now. Consider this as a temporary payment." Kamihane turned around in front of the cat, showcasing his straw raincoat.
"Plop," Zesuke angrily threw away the sea fish, "This again!"
A few minutes later, the old man who was pouring salt by the seaside turned around, only to find that the young boy who had just left had actually returned.
"Old man, let me ask you one more thing, do you know how to get to the Land of Fire? Just give me a general direction."
...
The Land of Iron has a cold climate, perpetually covered in snow, and the further west you go, the lower the temperature drops.
Fortunately, Kamihane was clad in a straw raincoat, and even with his chest bare underneath, no one could tell under the cover of the heavy snow.
According to the old man, the place where he landed happened to be the easternmost coast of the Land of Iron. To return to the Land of Fire, one must travel westward, passing through the capital and traversing the entire country.
The journey to the capital is thousands of miles long, with numerous mountain ranges lying across the path, peaks rising one after another, and deep forests spreading everywhere. Coupled with the cold climate, the road conditions are truly concerning for ordinary people.
Even the fastest horse would take several days and nights to reach the destination.
However, for Kamihane, this is not an issue. He only needs a direction.
The way of a ninja's travel is simple and brutal, relying solely on their legs. Whether it's crossing mountains or rivers, it's all within their capability.
For ordinary people, ninjas are superhumans. Their speed can easily surpass any beast, and when moving at full speed, they are like human high-speed trains, unafraid of any terrain limitations. Moreover, with minimal physical exertion, a single soldier pill can sustain them for three days and nights!
Thus, Kamihane concentrated and ran silently in the direction indicated by the old man for an entire day.
Yet, all that met his eyes was still a vast expanse of snow, which indicated that he had not managed to escape the boundaries of the Land of Iron.
It is worth noting that even before becoming the "Sea God Body," his normal speed had already reached 12 Mach, and now it had escalated to a terrifying 30 Mach. This surpassed his previous speed when he had opened the "Second Rest Gate," and although it couldn't compare to his speed in water, it was still enough to leave the vast majority of ninjas far behind.
In theory, it shouldn't have taken long to traverse the Land of Iron...
He sensed something amiss and sought out a nearby village. Upon inquiry, he was shocked to discover that he was still wandering around the eastern part of the Land of Iron!
"It's impossible. Could the old man have deceived me? Or perhaps he gave me the wrong direction?"
He asked more than a dozen people for directions, and after seeing that the locals all pointed in the same direction, he finally smiled with relief.
After a night.
"What! You say this is where?"
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