KAGE

The next day arrived, and we gathered in the inn’s dining room to have breakfast. I can say that everyone slept well last night judging by their expressions. It may seem like something small, but sleeping between four walls and taking a hot bath is extremely comfortable.

— So, what are today’s plans? — my mother asked while looking at me. Everyone else also focused their attention on me. When that happened for the first time last week, it made me a little nervous, but little by little I was getting used to it.

— My plan today is to try to find a carriage and a donkey to make our journey easier. After all, we still have a long way to go before leaving this land.

— A good plan, but how do you intend to do that?

— By researching and asking around, of course. Are you coming with me, or would you rather stay? — I asked while looking at Hikari and Daichi, who immediately nodded in agreement.

— Of course I have to go. I’m afraid that if I don’t go with you, Ren-kun, you might get tricked by some old man and lose all our money. — Hikari replied, sticking out her tongue in a teasing manner.

— You...

Before I could answer, my mother interrupted.

— Hikari is right. You should accompany him everywhere. After all, you are now the lady of this family. Sooner or later, you two will get married, and accompanying your husband is a duty of every wife.

After hearing my mother’s words, Hikari’s face turned completely red from embarrassment. She blushed so much that it almost looked like steam was rising from her head.

— Good morning. My name is Sora, and I am the maid/receptionist here. I came to take your order. — The person speaking was a young woman with an almost contagious enthusiasm.

Using the Insight Eye, I evaluated her.

Name: Nakamura Sora

Rank: None

Bloodline: None

Talent: Low

Since the incident involving Momoshi Genzo and after learning that I almost killed an important character from the canon, someone who would influence Naruto’s future, I started using this ability more often.

It proved to be extremely useful.

One of its greatest advantages is allowing me to discover and recruit extraordinary people in the future.

Unfortunately, since we left a week ago, I still haven’t found anyone with even a medium-level talent.

---

Two hours later...

— This must be the place. — I said while looking at the rusty and poorly maintained gate.

Hikari, Daichi, and I arrived in front of the gate. Ever since we finished breakfast, we had been asking around for information about people who sold carriages and pack animals.

We discovered that almost all of them had been forcibly recruited to work for the army because of the war, leaving only one person:

Akiyama Kensuke.

An old man who, according to rumors, lost his family because of the war and had since fallen into madness while trying to create the greatest carriage that had ever existed.

Nobody knew why he continued doing it, but he had been like that for a long time. His new personality had caused people to distance themselves from him because he had become extremely irritable, leaving only those who had known him since childhood.

I knocked on the gate, but nobody answered.

— There is someone inside. — Hikari said quietly.

The Uzumaki bloodline is truly extraordinary. Unfortunately, I only inherited their enormous chakra reserves, not their sensory abilities.

I knocked for a while longer. The person who gave us the information said old man Kensuke rarely left his house, and that speaking with him required persistence.

Apparently, he was right.

— Knock, knock, always knocking on this damn gate. — An irritated shout came from inside, startling us.

The person who shouted was clearly angry.

Then we heard the sound of the gate opening, and through the opening we saw an old man. He looked to be in his sixties or seventies, and there was no warmth at all in the way he looked at us.

— Who are you? There’s no charity here. — The old man said irritably after examining us one by one.

Using the Insight Eye, I evaluated him.

Name: Akiyama Kensuke

Rank: None

Bloodline: None

Talent: Medium

— Good morning, Kensuke-sama. My name is Tsukishiro Ren. My siblings and I came here because we need to buy a carriage, and we were told that here...

Before I could finish speaking, the door slammed shut right in our faces.

What the hell!?

We looked at each other in confusion. They said the old man was peculiar, but some things have to be seen to be believed.

I knocked on the gate for a while longer, this time just to annoy the old man.

What an unpleasant person.

— He’s approaching, and this time I can hear the sound of something liquid. — Daichi exclaimed.

We quickly moved away from the area, just in time to see water being thrown over the wall.

— Get away from my gate, damn it! How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t make this stuff anymore?

---

One hour later...

— Without that old man, how are we going to solve our transportation problem? — I asked worriedly while looking at the two siblings in front of me.

Originally, the plan was to stay here for two or three days, find a carriage and some animals, and then continue our journey.

But as the old saying goes: Man plans, and God laughs.

Nothing was going according to plan.

— Whose fault do you think that is? — Hikari asked irritably.

At first, before we arrived at the old man’s residence, the agreement was that she would talk to him. As a girl, she would have an easier time dealing with these things.

I simply acted on impulse and brought us into this situation.

— As a group, we are united, and the mistake of one person affects everyone. — I said.

Nobody answered, but the disdain in my fiancée’s eyes was obvious.

When she is in her gentle wife mode, she is wonderful.

But when she enters her rare but terrifying tiger-wife mode, it is a nightmare.

We needed to find a solution to our problem.

The children couldn’t continue walking forever. Although they rarely became tired because of the spiritual water, it would still be better for them to relax inside a carriage.