Chapter 246: Traces
Pausing at the fork in the road, the girl took a light step and walked towards the next street.
Having found no suspicious persons, she treated this part of the journey as a tour.
The exotic buildings, the clean and dry alleys, the brightly colored exterior walls, could be considered a decent cultural landscape.
Of course, Sakura's appreciation was only at this level. If she looked any further, what she would be thinking about would definitely not be poetic or picturesque, but whether this style of architecture was suitable for ninja movement and combat, and other such mundane matters that would ruin the atmosphere...
After all, that embarrassing incident of using the Body Flicker on a rooftop and almost demolishing someone's house with excessive force was still lingering in her memory...
"This place is mostly flat-roofed houses. This structure is good for collecting rainwater, is stronger than a tiled roof, and is also conducive to using the Body Flicker," she thought to herself as she stopped at the fork in the road. The roofs in the Land of Fire were mostly of the pointed type with eaves, which was good for drainage. The completely opposite architectural styles were a reflection of the two countries' vastly different climates.
The cities in the Land of Fire, because of the heavy rainfall, had a big problem with drainage. The exterior walls of the buildings were mostly covered with various water pipes, looking messy and tangled in a jumble. During heavy rains in the summer, it was very easy for the streets to be flooded.
In comparison, the buildings in the Land of Wind were much cleaner and neater. Even in an ordinary city, there was a unique, clean, and bright style.
Besides the buildings, the pedestrians were also different from those in the Land of Fire, both in their attire and their feel.
Sakura had been to several countries.
The ordinary people of the Land of Fire, especially Konoha, were full of vitality, walking in a hurry, always looking as if they were in a rush. The people of the Land of Waves and the Land of Snow, before Sakura's missions were completed, were dejected, their heads and steps hanging low, without any vitality. But after Gato and Kazahana Dotō were defeated, their footsteps were filled with a joyful and lively aura.
The Land of Wind was another story.
The people walking on the street, both men and women, liked to wear headscarves and veils, and plain white, slim-fitting long robes. The rhythm of their steps was slow and steady, revealing a gentle and refined temperament.
After all, they were the people of a great nation, more calm and unhurried. Their mentality was fundamentally different from that of the people of small countries, who lived in constant peril.
It was just that between great nations, there were also huge differences.
The gap in national strength between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind was revealed in the temperament of their people.
However, while Haruno Sakura was looking at the buildings and people here as scenery...
The people of this small city were also curiously sizing her up, treating her as another scenic spot on the street.
The people who had lived here for a long time basically knew each other. A stranger walking in would naturally attract a lot of attention.
Although Sakura had changed into the local attire, she couldn't, after all, learn the temperament of the people here.
The lightness in her steps was already a habit that had seeped into her bones. It couldn't be changed in a short moment.
The light veil hanging from the brim of her hat covered her face, revealing only her clear, clean eyes. Behind the translucent veil, the girl's pretty face could be vaguely seen.
It was as if an elf had broken into the calm, pool-like life of the small city.
Just as a poem goes, the bright moon adorns your window, and you adorn the dreams of others.
Sakura's gaze swept over the crowd, scrutinizing.
When she was staring at others, her eyes carried a faint suspicion. Her probing gaze looked as if it had a deterrent presence.
Anyone who met her gaze would feel a chilling sharpness that could not be violated, and a coldness would rise from the back of their neck, making them unconsciously shrink their necks.
Then they would know that she was not as soft and weak as she looked, and was actually a person not to be trifled with. Perhaps she was a samurai, or maybe a ninja.
In short, to use a common saying, she was a rose with thorns. Although Sakura would definitely object to being described like this—she was not a delicate flower.
So it was a bit of a pity that no cliché scenes, like the city lord's son or the daimyo's child forcibly snatching a common girl off the street, had occurred. Perhaps such things really did happen among the common people, but it was impossible for these things to happen to a ninja. No matter how absurd or ignorant a dandy was, he would not joke with his own life.
Sakura deliberately released a little of her killing intent.
It was another way to test for suspicious persons: anyone who dared to meet her gaze for more than a second, even if they had no chakra, was worthy of suspicion.
It was very likely that they were a spy or something, a person with a special status.
Of course, it was also possible that they were a masochist.
However, it seemed that this city was indeed a very ordinary city. There was no underground organization, or any figures like spies or secret agents, and of course, no such special enthusiasts. Those who were secretly watching her were just amazed that such a beautiful and spiritual person had appeared in their small city, and were just a little curious.
She turned a few streets and did not find any suspicious targets. After a whole morning, when she met up with her teammates, Sakura's harvest was zero.
She spread her hands and said, "Everything is normal on my side. I didn't find anything."
Shino then turned his gaze to Terumi, who also shook her head. "Apart from a human trafficker who was following me, I didn't find anything on my side either. I used genjutsu to interrogate him. The local gangs haven't found any suspicious persons either."
"It seems there really is no problem here. I didn't find anything on my side either," Shino said. Like Terumi and Haruno Sakura, he had also changed into the local attire, disguised as a middle-aged man. However, the capable aura of a ninja in his bones was still visible at a glance. Like Sakura, he was also a bad example of a poor disguise.
He took out a map and gestured a few times. "Then let's go. There are still many places that need to be checked!"
"Oh right, Yūzuki, by the way, next time you encounter a human trafficker, you don't need to show mercy. You can just kill them directly."
The carpet search, passing through this area of the Land of Wind, had not found any of the traps that they had guessed the Sand Village might have set. It seemed they had really and obediently bowed their heads to Konoha.
However, they did find many other suspicious persons.
Because each team was equipped with a genjutsu ninja, it was much more convenient when it came to interrogation. A powerful genjutsu, and these suspicious persons would confess everything.
They were mostly spies from other countries and ninja villages. Apart from periodically gathering and transmitting intelligence, they didn't know much. This kind of single-line intelligence network couldn't be traced back to its roots.
These people were handed over to the Sand-nin to be dealt with.
They had also dug up some of Orochimaru's spies. Unfortunately, when they had found him, that Anbu squad had not been cautious enough and had not controlled the spy at the first moment. He had committed suicide by using a potent snake venom hidden on his body, and they had not obtained any valuable intelligence.
The only thing that could be confirmed was that the small countries in this vicinity—such as the Land of Rivers—were very likely to have Orochimaru's bases.
After that guy had exposed his tracks during the Sasuke rescue operation, he had never shown his face again. He was as slippery as a loach.
"A cunning rabbit has three burrows" was the best metaphor for this snake. Who knew how many bases he had built? Konoha couldn't find him, and judging from the Akatsuki's recent quiet movements, this mysterious organization had not caught Orochimaru's tail either.
However, the people of Konoha didn't care too much. Orochimaru was already a dog who had lost his home. As long as Konoha raised its guard, Orochimaru, who had lost so many of his subordinates, could not possibly replicate the miracle of successfully assassinating the Kazekage.
On the contrary, it was another person who had made the Konoha ninja feel as if they were facing a great enemy.
Kakashi's squad had found a rogue-nin in a certain city whose brain was controlled by genjutsu.
After a bit of manipulation with his three-tomoe Sharingan, Kakashi had obtained a piece of intelligence from the rogue-nin's mouth—
He was the subordinate of a certain member of the Akatsuki.
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