"It's time to get up, Itachi."

A gentle reminder rang in my ears.

early morning

In the land of fire, in the wild dense forest that has been a long distance from Konoha,

The sunlight fell through the gaps in the leaves, caressing the cheeks of the weasel sleeping under the tree like a soft and warm palm,

And the moment Artoria's voice sounded beside him, his eyes opened sensitively.

His bloodshot eyes were full of exhaustion.

In the wild, sleep is an extremely painful thing.

In the case of ensuring adequate sleep, physical and mental recovery, it is also necessary to be vigilant against the surrounding environment, and at the same time, it is necessary to endure the sounds of various mosquitoes, rats and ants and their touching behavior that is not afraid of death.

Although Itachi had been to the battlefield and experienced similar things, he had not left the village for two years, and for a while, he was a little difficult to adapt.

After all, in that home, your own room is safe and comfortable......

"Looks like you're not sleeping well."

And sitting opposite him, the ape Fei Ri, who was also resting against the tree, also woke up from a semi-sleepy state after he woke up, "Itachi, learn to rest and recover in a short period of time, but you have deducted this point for an extremely important part of the ninja course." ”

Compared to Itachi, he is clearly in good shape.

The tone also became lighter.

Even the state of the ape flying sun slash is more energetic than the previous appearance of seeing him, which makes Itachi surprised.

"Three generations of adults, you seem to have more peace than staying in the village."

The moment the thought came to mind, Itachi spoke directly, "Isn't it more tiring to stay in the village than to go on a boring trip outside the village?" ”

In fact, these are some psychological hints he gave himself before leaving the village.

Even so, try not to let yourself hesitate too much in your conversation.

As for the reason, of course, it is because of the attitude of the ape flying and slashing.

"I'm old, think about the last time I left the village on a mission, it was years ago."

Immediately afterwards, Ape Fei Ri first got up and stretched, and then slapped his back hard, "I didn't expect that even if I simply sit and sleep now, I have some backache, it's really unforgiving." ”

"You haven't become a ninja yet, so I don't know, but the duties I have to perform every day as the Hokage are very tedious."

"Compared to the documents piled up like a hill, compared to the dizzying words, this kind of travel-like outing and scenery along the way couldn't be more beautiful."

Since serving as the third generation Hokage, as long as there is no war, he has never had a chance to leave Konoha at all.

And like this, being able to feel the beauty of nature is a pleasure for the ape to fly to the sun.

Enjoy?

Itachi was silent, and from this short sentence, he felt the aging of the ape flying and the heart that was holding Konoha strongly.

The death of the water gate, in addition to the impact on Uchiha and Konoha, also caused a great burden to Sarutobi himself.

"I'm really running out of time."

While taking out the soldier food pills from the ninja bag, Ape Fei Ri said with emotion: "If nothing else, this should be the last time I will leave the village in my life." ”

As he spoke, he put the ration pill in his mouth and chewed it.

As long as the war with the Land of Thunder is not provoked.

He added in his heart.

"Then why did you give up the choice of the fifth Hokage and go back to office?"

Itachi also took out the Bing Food Pill and put it in his mouth to chew, "Lord Orochimaru is still in the village, isn't he?" ”

At the same time, he could feel that with this question, the expression of the ape flying on the other side changed slightly.

But it was only for a moment, and when his gaze fell on himself, that complicated demeanor had disappeared.

"Itachi, it's time for us to go."

For the first time, Sarutobi refused to answer Itachi's question, "Time is running out, we need to get to the surrounding villages before sunset." ”

As he spoke, he stood up and warmed up, no longer chatting with Itachi.

Soon, though, when they started on their way again, Itachi continued to ask about spiritual matters.

And the ape flying sun slash is also as kind as yesterday to answer these questions.

However, while answering, he was still interspersed with temptation and doubt from time to time.

After more than ten days of boring travel, in addition to facing all kinds of sensitive and difficult questions, only when talking about some theories of cultivation, Itachi can gain a little.

Life outside the village is not as beautiful and prosperous as Itachi expected, and it can even be said that it is ...... Broken.

There are three villages borrowed along the way, and except for one of which still has a few traces of human movement, the other two villages are almost completely deserted.

Judging by the degree of dust on the contents of the house, it must have been abandoned for a long time.

Except for these villages, except for the people who can be seen walking around the road, the rest of the time, Itachi can't see anyone else at all.

Whether it's an ordinary person or a ninja.

Even, those dilapidated small temples, shrines, and temporary post stations along the way...... These facilities have not been repaired or worshiped for a long time.

Except for the official road from Konoha to Kyoto City, which is flat and wide, everything else doesn't look like the demeanor of the largest country in the ninja world.

The people of these villages have moved away.

Itachi's mind knew the reason.

Nothing more than people have migrated to the so-called 'outer city of Kyoto'.

And when he and Sarutobi finally arrived in the outer city, Itachi understood why people were gathering around this side.

The so-called Outer Castle of Kyoto is not an urban area surrounded by tall and majestic walls as imagined by Itachi.

An unremarkable boundary monument defines the boundaries of this outer city area.

Even, judging from the traces of this boundary monument being nailed into the soil, Itachi thinks that this boundary monument should have been inserted for no more than a year.

There was no need to register, and there were not even guards at hand, and Itachi and Sarutobi walked slowly into the 'outer city of Kyoto'.

After entering this outer city area, not only the flow of people is much denser, but even various public facilities have been repaired.

When I arrived in the outer city, it was almost evening.

As he walked past the planned farming area, the ferret could see the nearby fields, where the men in the prime of life were carrying hoes and laughing home.

And in the place where the families gathered,

In every house there is a smoke bird bird rising,

Amidst the laughter, children laughed and played to welcome their parents home.

This scene is a completely different picture from the ruined villages that Itachi saw along the way.

It's like being in two different countries.

In addition to these, along the way, Itachi can also see various street signs that guide pedestrians to different areas.

For example, Short Book Street, Fire Temple, Kyoto Inner City, Shopping Street, Tachibana Village, Tono Village, ......

"It's a big change from when I came here a few years ago."

And next to him, after approaching this Kyoto Castle, Sarutobi Hichicho also had a look of surprise on his face, "From my youth, in the prime of life, and now, every time I come to the confines of Kyoto City, I will have different feelings. ”

"But there's only one thought that comes every time, and that's envy."

"When...... Everyone in Konoha Village can also live such a life, peaceful, safe and stable. ”