Chapter 6 : Take It for Granted
Chapter 6: Take It for Granted
----
One night.
After spending the day in a slightly bumpy carriage, Tonari felt remarkably comfortable while sleeping. He didn't know if it was because of the presence of the Two-Tails, but he felt very refreshed upon waking.
The most important thing was that Tonari felt his body seemed to have recovered better after this rest.
As a battlefield doctor who had escaped death many times, he was keenly aware of his own body.
He stretched a little in the narrow carriage and performed a set of special exercises.
"Tsk, I can only say, this is worthy of being the ninja world. In my previous life, even I would be scorching hot and even steam would come out of my body after doing this set of exercises. But now, with such a weak and malnourished body, I just feel a little warm.
But...
I'm hungry... Do I want to eat Bingliang Pills again?"
After finishing his morning exercises, Tonari sat in the carriage and muttered, his voice tinged with clear rejection.
While Tonari was still pondering what to do for breakfast, someone knocked on the wooden door of the carriage.
An old man in plain clothes, who looked like a servant, slowly opened the door, holding a plate of breakfast that looked quite simple but was steaming hot.
"Hey, little brother, this is your breakfast."
As he said this, the old man placed the food onto the carriage with a smile.
A bowl of bland-looking noodles and two hard-boiled eggs sat on the plate.
"Oh? Breakfast is also provided?"
Although Tonari was a little hungry, he did not eat immediately. Instead, he looked at the old man with a hint of curiosity.
The old man's expression remained unchanged.
The wrinkles in his skin looked less pronounced when he smiled.
"It's like this: our master said that you paid enough, so he asked the cook to make you a portion while preparing breakfast. After all, it only takes a little more ingredients, bowls, and chopsticks.
It's just that the breakfast is a bit simple. I hope you don't mind, brother."
Hearing this, Tonari narrowed his eyes subconsciously.
He quickly returned to normal, a smile gracing his face. "No, no, please help me thank your master."
The old man nodded with a smile and said, "Enjoy your meal, little brother. I will collect the dishes and chopsticks later. Lunch and dinner will also be delivered on time at mealtime. They will all be simple meals. I hope you don't mind too much."
After all, we are a small business and are running around outside. We don't ask for anything else; as long as we can have a hot meal, we are satisfied."
The tonari waved his hands repeatedly, "Look at what you said, old man. It's a blessing to have a meal when you are away from home. I'll eat whatever you eat."
In this war-torn era, filling your stomach was no small feat, let alone eating well. Tonari had lived a precarious life with no stable place to eat.
Being able to have a hot meal while traveling showed that this caravan was no ordinary one.
Generally speaking, it was quite good to have some dry food to sustain one's energy.
That the boss of this caravan actually brought kitchen utensils and food with him indicated he was quite well-off and didn't seem overly concerned about the dangers they might face on the road.
This surprised Tonari.
Of course, this was only the case in the Kingdom of Thunder and the Kingdom of Fire, where the two countries were relatively safe allies. If they were in another country, they would probably be arrested as spies before they even left.
After hearing what Tonari said, the old man was about to leave happily. Tonari quickly asked, "Old man, could you tell me where we are now? How long until we reach the Land of Fire?"
He paused for a moment.
"We are currently in the territory of the Kingdom of the Moon. In two days, we should be able to pass through the Kingdom of the Moon and enter the Kingdom of Hot Springs.
The territory of the Kingdom of Hot Springs is much larger than that of the Kingdom of the Moon, so it may take a little longer, perhaps three or four days. I wonder what you plan to do in the Kingdom of Fire, little brother?"
The smile on the old man's face remained unchanged.
This caravan had traveled this route dozens of times, so he had a good idea of the approximate time.
"Nothing, I'm just curious, old man. Please go about your work."
After getting the answer he wanted, Tonari stopped bothering the old man.
He watched him leave with a hunched back and a smile on his face.
However, after the servant exited, Tonari frowned as he looked at the steaming noodles in the carriage, feeling the slight bumps from the ride, and noting the soup that had spilled out because of the jolts.
"Something is not right..."
After a long moment, Tonari murmured, his gaze becoming somewhat distant.
That was very wrong!
After a little thought, Tonari gradually realized what was off.
This caravan is a little too friendly toward us!
Whether it was a separate carriage or the breakfast delivered by the old man earlier, everything seemed like something that could only happen in a peaceful society.
But don't forget what kind of world and era you are in now.
In this war-torn era, having enough food to eat is already a significant challenge; people don't have the luxury to care about others. Even slightly well-off families would not give such meaningless charity.
It's not that Tonari must view others with a mindset of "the whole world is trying to murder me," but adopting such an attitude allows for survival.
After all, the concept of "caution" had long been engraved in the deepest part of Tonari's heart.
He stood up and walked to the window of the carriage, slightly lifting the curtain to look towards the distant horizon.
The fiery red sun was gradually rising.
He still remembered when they had just left the Land of Thunder; it was evening, and the sun was in the west, which was to the right of the carriage's direction. Now that Tonari opened the curtain on the left side of the carriage, the sun was rising from that side, and everything seemed normal.
His frown did not ease but tightened instead. He walked to the bowl of noodles, with half the soup spilling over, picked it up, and sniffed it gently.
There was no peculiar smell.
He picked up one of the noodles and slowly put it into his mouth.
Again, there was nothing unusual.
After eating half a bowl of noodles, Tonari put the bowl back on the wooden board of the carriage.
He sat quietly for ten minutes.
Still nothing happened.
"Am I overthinking this?" Tonari couldn't help but think as he looked at the cold noodles.
Falling into deep thought again.
Maliciously speculating about other people's intentions may not seem like a good thing, but in this world, it was the best way to protect your own life.
After a long time, Tonari finally remembered where the issue lay.
A slightly bitter and helpless smile appeared on his petite face as he slapped his forehead.
"You are so foolish and presumptuous. Showing the Cloud Ninja forehead protector to a caravan operating in the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning—should I say I'm clever or that I am being too clever for my own good?"
Showing a Cloud Ninja's forehead protector while heading to the Land of Fire...
Could it be that the others thought he was a Cloud Ninja going to the Land of Fire to carry out a mission?
That's why they treated him so well along the way.
Regardless, a ninja, regardless of age, was not someone ordinary people could offend.
In this world where human life was deemed worthless, ninjas were privileged individuals possessing unconventional weapons and special abilities.
In the eyes of many, ordinary people were not much different from ants.
What's more, there were ninjas who dared to undertake cross-border missions.
Even though Konoha and Kumogakure were allies now, there had always been mutual testing between them.
It's like Danzo had arranged many spies in the Land of Lightning.
If this caravan was from the Land of Thunder, that would be one situation; however, if they were from the Land of Fire, he would fear they truly had ulterior motives.
"Then, no matter whether this caravan is from the Land of Fire or the Land of Lightning, they must leave before reaching the Land of Fire!"
Tonari resolved silently in his heart, his thoughts racing.
Then his stomach made a sound of protest.
Only then did Tonari pick up the bowl of cold noodles and start eating.
Even if it's only a few days, I'll let this body recover as much as possible!
The body is the capital of revolution!
---
{please give this novel 5 Star review and support on patreon}
*Thank you*