The Land of Water.
In an unknown forest, a door with an ancient aura suddenly appeared. Then, a blonde-haired figure stepped out skillfully, paused for a moment, and even looked around cautiously before walking out.
"Damn, the coordinates are off again." Naruto complained.
In front of him was a dense rain forest, with light rain falling from the sky. In the distance, everything was shrouded in white mist. The lush greenery felt like it was covered by an airtight green canopy.
Walking through such a rainforest with an umbrella was impossible.
Naruto quickly changed into a waterproof raincoat to prevent accidental hypothermia.
Walking into the rain forest, he spent some time looking for the direction, but found nothing after wandering around for a whole day.
As night approached, Naruto couldn’t help but frown.
"The information I got is not accurate. There is no such thing as the tomb of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen here!"
That's right, he was here to dig up Ninja Swords.
Among the existing Seven Ninja Swordsmen, only Chojuro was still breathing. Zabuza was dead, Kisame was dead, and Raiga was dead.
All three had died at Naruto’s hands, and their Ninja Swords had fallen into his possession. Of the remaining four Ninja Swords, one of them, the Hiramekarei, is in Chojuro's hands, while the other three were sealed in a scroll by Hozuki Mangetsu because there’s no inheritors.
Now, Naruto was searching for the grave of Mangetsu, the legendary prodigy of the Hidden Mist who is said to be able to wield all seven Ninja Swords. In other words, the three swords were in Mangetsu’s possession.
As long as Naruto can find Mangetsu's tomb and summon him with Impure World Reincarnation, he can easily claim the three Ninja Swords.
At the same time, Mission Line II’s progress bar would be filled with another half, leaving only one sword to finish the mission.
In the second half of the night, heavy rain began to fall in the rainforest.
Naruto’s tent was set up in a tree, and the sound of rain pounding on the tarp made the humid environment even more uncomfortable.
Even after falling into a fitful sleep, he didn’t rest well.
The Land of Fire’s technology was too backward, and he regretted not updating his gear in the Land of Snow.
Perhaps they had more durable tents there, which would have prevented his current predicament.
No matter how powerful he was, in this era without satellite positioning or modern transportation, everyone was equal. Even Jiraiya had to travel on foot.
It is really miserable for a powerful Kage-level expert to have to huddle in a tent and be exposed to wind and rain.
After a restless night, Naruto woke up the next morning to find the weather had changed. The scorching sun peeked through the tree canopy, directly hitting his tent.
With a rustle, Naruto crawled out. He casually stored the tent in his sealing space and squatted in a shady spot to wash up using a water bucket.
After finishing his morning routine, he even prepared a fancy breakfast.
"Let’s keep looking." Naruto sighed.
Then, after five days of searching through the rainforest, he finally found Mangetsu’s grave. In a relatively open area nearby, Naruto performed the Impure World Reincarnation to summon Mangetsu.
The coffin flipped open with a bang, and a confused Mangetsu stepped out. He looked at his hands, then at Naruto, looking completely bewildered.
"Impure World Reincarnation?"
"Don’t bother asking. Yes, it’s Impure World Reincarnation. Summon the three Ninja Swords." Naruto said, and then added, "It's useless for you to resist."
"Alright." Mangetsu didn't seem to care and he obviously knew about the Impure World Reincarnation.
This was thanks to the heroic and invincible Nidaime-sama, who greatly expanded the applications of Ninjutsu and laid the foundation for war techniques.
Mangetsu cooperated very well and summoned the three Ninja Swords, which directly helped Naruto fill nearly half of the progress bar of the Mission Line II.
[Ding!]
[Achievement Unlocked: Executioner’s Blade – Kubikiribocho, Lightning Blades – Kiba, Shark Skin - Samehada, Needle Sword – Nuibari, Blastsword – Shibuki, Bluntsword – Kabutowari.]
[Reward: Izanagi (Awarded upon completion of all achievements.]
Naruto scrolled through the panel, looking at the nearly full progress bar for Mission Line II, and muttered to himself.
"Just one sword left… The one in Chojuro's hand."
Now, Naruto has two choices. Either infiltrate Kirigakure and act when the opportunity arose, or play it safe and return to Konoha for now.
After thinking for a moment, he chose to charge ahead.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the rainforest, across a stretch of sea, a group of four was walking slowly along the water’s surface.
All four of them were wearing black hoods and loose robes.
The sea breeze lifted one person’s hood, revealing fiery red hair. Karin brushed her short hair back and glanced at Sasuke behind her.
"Are we heading to the Land of Water this time?"
"Yeah." Sasuke replied, his brow furrowed. His injuries had only recently healed, and his face was still pale, "Those Kumogakure’s lunatics must have eaten something wrong. They fought like they had a death wish."
"We’ll settle that score later. For now, let’s avoid provoking Kumogakure. Kirigakure also has Biju, so as long as we find the habitat of Sanbi, it can be considered as completing the mission."
"Don’t even mention it. Those people from Kumogakure are simply muscle-headed maniacs. If we hadn’t run fast, we’d be dead by now." Suigetsu complained.
Jugo glanced at his companions, then lowered his head and continued walking in silence.
"Sasuke, how is your injury?" Karin asked.
"It's fine." Sasuke pulled open his clothes, revealing the hideous wound on his chest. He just glanced at it briefly before calmly covering it back up.
The Yondaime Raikage and B teamed up and had nearly torn Sasuke’s body in half with their Double Lariat.
Fortunately, Jugo’s Senjutsu Chakra had healed Sasuke, allowing him to regenerate and survive.
Otherwise, the proud Sasuke would already be dead, with twelve dishes and a soup served at his funeral.
"Once we cross the border into the Land of Water, we’ll rest on the Mist Archipelago." Sasuke ordered, and the team continued their journey.
"Sasuke, what if the people from Kirigakure discovers we’ve entered their territory?" Karin asked the question she was most worried about, "We..."
"No, there is no such coincidence in the world." Sasuke flatly denied it.
"But lately, I’ve always felt like something is wrong. It’s as if we’ve been cursed ever since we entered Konoha."
Karin frowned and said worriedly.
"Even when we killed Danzo, it was too strange. We had already retreated, but Danzo was somehow exhausted by someone else."
"It feels like an invisible hand is guiding us forward, controlling our every move. It’s terrifying."
"Karin, you’re being too paranoid." Suigetsu said dismissively, "Your Perception Ability is so strong, and Sasuke also has a pair of Uchiha Clan's Sharingan."
"Whether it’s Genjutsu or some other scheme, it’s impossible to completely control our actions. What you’re describing is just a coincidence."
Hearing this, Sasuke actually found some logic in it. After all, only the four of them knew the internal plans, and there were no traitors in the team.
Everything they had encountered along the way did seem like it could only be explained by coincidence, including running into Naruto in Konoha and turning back to kill Danzo in the end.