That night, Naruto left. It wasn't that he didn't trust Hinata—he did trust her. From the moment she held that notebook to her chest and said "I do," he trusted her. But he didn't know where to go. The Clone with the Nine-Tailed Chakra and the Eight Trigrams Seal had already returned home, lying in bed pretending to sleep, with that cold gaze falling upon the bed. Another Clone was sitting cross-legged in the desolate valley, circulating the Nine Yang Divine Skill, with Natural Energy slowly rotating around him. He couldn't just wander around Konoha all night. Tomorrow, when Hinatacame to see him off, he would stand at the Villagegate, say "I'm leaving," and then what? He didn't know which direction to walk in, didn't know where he was going, and didn't know where to take his first step.He stood by the window, looking at the moon outside. The moon was round, hanging above the Hokage Rock, casting a pale light on the four faces. He pushed the window open, and the night breeze rushed in, cool and carrying the scent of soil and leaves. He climbed onto the windowsill, crouched on the ledge, and looked down at the ground—the third floor, not high. A faint halo appeared on the surface of his body—the Transformation Technique. After the halo faded, a bird stood on the windowsill. It wasn't large, with grayish-brown feathers, indistinguishable from any other bird flying through the night. He spread his wings and jumped off the windowsill.The wind passed under his wings, lifting him up. He flapped twice, his body shot upward, then he flapped twice more, clearing the rooftops. The night scene of Konoha unfolded beneath him—specks of starlight and lamp light, crisscrossing streets, and the surface of the Naka River reflecting the moonlight, like a silver snake winding through the Village. He flew over the residential area, the commercial street, and the cherry blossom tree now covered in green leaves. He looked down as he flew over the Ninja Academy—the playground was empty, the swing swaying slightly in the night breeze, the iron chains making an extremely faint, almost inaudible creaking sound. When he flew over the Hyuga compound, he saw those white walls glowing coldly in the moonlight. He didn't stop; he just took a look and continued flying forward.He flew over the Village walls. There were no guards on the walls—at this hour, the guards were dozing off in the watchtowers. As he flew over the wall, he felt a thin barrier sweep across his feathers, like a film of water, and then he passed through. No one noticed him; a bird flying through the night, one of a hundred that flew over Konohaevery day.Outside the Village was a pitch-black forest. The moon was obscured by the tree canopy, and as he flew above the treetops, the darkness beneath his wings was like an endless sea. He flew for a while, found a branch, landed, and released the Transformation Technique. Standing on the branch, holding onto the trunk, he looked back. The lights of Konoha connected in the distance into a blurry patch of orange-red, like a small pile of dying embers. He turned back, looking into the darkness ahead. He thought about it and decided to head toward Tanzaku Street. Tanzaku Street was to the northwest of Konoha, not far; it would take about a day to walk, or faster if he flew. But he wasn't in a hurry. He jumped off the branch, landed on the ground, and began to walk.The road was a dirt path, flanked by pitch-black forests, and under his feet was muddy ground worn into two deep ruts by carriage wheels. Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the leaves, painting scattered patches of light on the ground. He walked very slowly, not in a hurry. The night breeze blew, carrying the rustling sound of leaves and the hooting of an owl in the distance. He walked on the road alone, without that cold gaze, without any classes to attend. Only him, the road, and the moon overhead.He walked for an entire night. As dawn approached, he saw a large tree by the roadside, its roots arched out of the soil, forming a natural groove. He sat inside, leaned against the trunk, and closed his eyes. He didn't fall asleep, just closed his eyes, listening to the morning birdsong, and feeling the rotation of the inner core in his Dantian. Day broke. Sunlight shone through the gaps in the leaves, falling on his face. He opened his eyes, stood up, brushed the dirt off his pants, and continued walking.After walking for about half a day, houses began to appear by the roadside. First a few scattered ones, then more and more, finally connecting into a street. Tanzaku Street had arrived. It was much smaller than Konoha, but very lively—people were coming and going on the street, some setting up stalls, some bargaining, and children were chasing and playing in the alleys. Naruto walked on the street, using the Breath Concealment Art to tuck away all his presence completely; no one spared him a second glance. He found the cheapest inn—at the corner at the end of the street, with two characters missing from the sign and the paint peeling off the door frame. The owner was a hunchbacked old man who took one look at him, took the money, threw him a key, and didn't ask any questions.The room was on the second floor, very small. A bed, a table, a window. The window faced the back alley, where he could see the moss on the opposite wall and a row of trash cans. Naruto closed the door, placed his backpack on the table, and sat on the edge of the bed. The room was very quiet, so quiet that he could hear the gurgling sound in the pipes and the faint cries of vendors on the street. He sat for a while, then stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open. There was no one in the back alley, only a stray cat squatting next to a trash can, licking its paws. It looked up at him, then continued licking.Naruto was in no rush to go out. He sat on the bed, closed his eyes, and sensed the state of his two Clones. The Clone with the Nine-Tailed Chakrawas lying on the bed—after the original body left Konoha, the Clone became "Uzumaki Naruto," and that cold gaze fell upon it, exactly the same as when it fell upon him. The other Clone was still in the desolate valley, sitting cross-legged, circulating the Nine Yang Divine Skill. Around him was a faint halo condensed from Natural Energy, like a thin layer of mist. Hinata probably hadn't gone to find him yet.The light outside the window changed from white to orange, and from orange to deep purple. The sounds on the street gradually faded; the hawking was gone, the footsteps were gone, and the children's noise was gone too. Finally, only one or two dog barks remained, and then it became completely quiet. The moon shone in through the window, drawing an incomplete circle on the ceiling. Naruto watched that circle and slowly fell asleep.
Chapter 22: The Northern Trade Route Is Not Easy to TravelWhen Uzumaki Naruto woke up, the sky was already bright.Sunlight shone in through the window, cutting a bright quadrilateral onto the wall of the back alley.He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a while.There was a crack on the ceiling extending from the light fixture to the corner, very similar to the crack in his apartment in Konoha.He sat up and rubbed his eyes.What to do today—collect information.He didn't come to Tanzaku Street to stay in a hotel.He needed to know what was happening in this world; the memories from his Transmigrationprovided a general outline, but he needed to fill in the details himself.He walked into the bathroom to wash his face, then returned and sat on the edge of the bed.He formed hand Seals and created four Clones.The Clones stood before him, four pairs of blue eyes looking at him."You go out and collect information. Transform before you head out," Uzumaki Naruto said. "Focus on criminal organizations—bandits, robbers, smugglers, assassination groups, anything will do.Casinos, taverns, black markets; these places have the most information. Return before dark."The four Clones nodded, and a halo of light appeared on the surface of their bodies simultaneously.After the halo dissipated, four different people stood before him—a middle-aged merchant, a young gambler, a wandering samurai, and a tavern waitress.The four of them walked out through the back door of the hotel.Uzumaki Naruto stood by the window, watching their backs disappear at the end of the alley.Then he sat back on the bed, closed his eyes, and felt the rotation of the inner core in his Dantian.One hundred and five inner cores—two given to the Clones, one given to Hinata, leaving one hundred and five remaining.Each one was rotating slowly, and Natural Energyseeped into his body from the air, being absorbed, compressed, and stored by the inner core.The first Clone dissipated before dark.When the memories flooded back, Uzumaki Narutowas sitting on the edge of the bed eating dry rations—bread brought from Konoha, already as hard as a rock, but chewable enough to swallow.The Clone that had transformed into a middle-aged merchant went to the largest casino in Tanzaku Street.The casino was in a three-story building, with two burly men standing at the entrance, wearing black clothes and a bronze badge pinned to their chests.When the Clone walked in, it was very noisy—dice rattling in bowls, Pai Gow tiles slapping on tables, some people laughing, some cursing, and some asleep on the tables.The Clone didn't gamble; he walked around the casino once, sat down by the bar, and ordered a drink.The bartender was a middle-aged man with a bald head, wiping a glass and glancing at him."You look unfamiliar, first time here?""Just passing through, came in to take a look.""Just here for the spectacle?" The bartender smiled, placed the wiped glass on the shelf, "There's nothing to see here. If you want to play, play; if you don't, get out."The Clone didn't leave. He sat by the bar, watching the people in the casino.He noticed a few people sitting in the corner, wearing the same black clothes as the burly men at the entrance, with bronze badges pinned to their chests.They were drinking, but their eyes kept scanning the casino.Someone was cheating—a thin man swapped the dice for weighted, fake ones.The two men in black stood up, walked to the man, grabbed him from the left and right, and dragged him out the back door.The Clone followed to the back door and heard a few muffled thuds and suppressed screams from the alley.A few minutes later, the two men in black returned, brushed the dust off their hands, and sat back in the corner to continue drinking.The Clone returned to the bar, and the bartender glanced at him."See anything?""Nothing," the Clone said.The bartender smiled and pushed a drink in front of him."On the house."The Clone drank the wine; it was spicy, making him almost choke. He put down the glass and left the casino.Uzumaki Naruto chewed on the hard bread, digesting this memory.The casino had backing, had thugs, and would deal with people who cheated. It wasn't necessarily a criminal organization, but at least it showed this place had an underground order.The second Clone dissipated in the evening.The Clone that had transformed into a young gambler went to the black market of Tanzaku Street.The black market was underground—not literally underground, but hidden in a seemingly ordinary alley.There was an old woman selling fruit at the entrance of the alley; when the Clone passed by, she looked at him and asked, "Buying fruit?"The Clone said, "Not buying." The old woman didn't look at him again.But the Clone noticed her gaze following him—until he walked to an iron door in the middle of the alley.There was a small window on the iron door, and a pair of eyes appeared inside."Who are you looking for?""I heard there are things for sale here."The small window closed, the iron door opened a crack, and the Clone squeezed in sideways.Inside was a corridor, very dark, with moldy wallpaper on the walls on both sides.At the end of the corridor was a hall with several tables, each with a person sitting behind it.On the tables were various things—ninja tools, scrolls, medicinal herbs, Ore, and some things Uzumaki Naruto couldn't name.The Clone stopped in front of a stall selling scrolls.The stall owner was an old man wearing glasses, with a dozen scrolls in front of him; some looked new, some yellowed and brittle."What is this?""Seal scrolls, Chunin level.""How much?""Thirty thousand ryo."The Clone picked up a scroll and flipped through it; it wasn't what he needed. He put the scroll down and walked around the hall.In the corner, there was a stall with nothing on it, just a person in a cloak sitting there, hood pulled very low, face unclear.The Clone walked over, and the person looked up, revealing half a burned face."What do you want?""Information.""What information?""About the underground forces in this area."The person looked at him for a few seconds and extended a hand."Five thousand ryo."The Clone didn't have five thousand ryo. He shook his head, turned around, and left.Uzumaki Naruto put down the last bite of bread. The black market existed, people were selling information, and the price wasn't low. He needed money.The third Clone also dissipated in the evening.The Clone that had transformed into a wandering samurai went to the tavern on Tanzaku Street.The tavern was at the street corner, with a faded curtain hanging at the entrance. It was very dark inside, and the air was mixed with the smell of alcohol, sweat, and roasted meat.The Clone found a corner to sit down and ordered a bowl of noodles.He ate very slowly, listening to the conversation at the table next to him.At the table on the left sat several merchants, chatting about the recent market—rice prices were up, salt prices were down, and shipping costs were expensive.At the table on the right sat two samurai, drinking and bragging—so-and-so cut down three bandits with one slash, so-and-so lost to an opponent in a duel.There was no useful information. When the Clonefinished the noodles and was preparing to leave, the tavern door was pushed open.Three people walked in—the leader was a bald, burly man with a scar on his face, wearing a dirty gray robe with a short blade tucked into his waist.Behind him followed two people, tall and expressionless.The tavern quieted down for a moment, then returned to being noisy.But Uzumaki Naruto's Clone noticed that those merchants lowered their heads and stopped talking, and the two samurai also looked away.The bald, burly man walked to the bar and slapped the table."Boss, this month's."The boss took a cloth bag from under the counter and placed it on the table.The bald man weighed it, stuffed it into his bosom, and turned to walk out. From beginning to end, he didn't say an extra word.After they left, the Clone walked to the bar."Who were those people?"The boss glanced at him and lowered his head to wipe the table."Nothing, just collecting protection money.""What organization?""No name. Just a few thugs." The boss didn't want to say more. The Clone didn't ask again.Uzumaki Naruto pieced this information together. The casino had thugs, the black market had information brokers, and the tavern had gangs collecting protection money.Tanzaku Street wasn't big, and the underground forces weren't large, but they certainly existed.The fourth Clone only dissipated after nightfall.The Clone that had transformed into a tavern waitress went to the busiest place in Tanzaku Street—not the casino, not the black market, but the public bathhouse.In the evening, the bathhouse was the most crowded; women finished washing, then men washed, with a constant stream of people coming in and out.The waitress the Clone transformed into stood at the bathhouse entrance, helping to hand out towels and collect tokens.She had stayed here all day and heard more gossip than all three other Clones combined.Whose wife ran off with someone, whose business lost money, who lost their fortune in the casino, who bought fake goods in the black market.But among this gossip, one piece caught her attention.A middle-aged woman came out after bathing, wiping her hair while talking to the person next to her."Have you heard? The northern trade route hasn't been peaceful lately.""What's wrong?""Several batches of goods have been robbed, people and goods alike, nothing left.""Bandits?""Don't know. Some say it's not bandits, but people wearing black clothes, their movements are very agile, not something ordinary bandits can compare to.""Then what is it?""Who knows. Anyway, just don't go north recently, that's for sure."Uzumaki Naruto sat on the edge of the bed, running the four clues through his mind.Casino thugs, black market information brokers, tavern protection money gangs, and the robberies on the northern trade route.Is there a connection between these clues? Not necessarily.But he had nothing right now, and every clue was a starting point.The moon outside the window had risen, a little thinner than last night.The stray cats in the back alley were gone, and the area next to the trash can was empty.The sounds on the street gradually faded; the hawking was gone, the footsteps were gone, and finally, even the barking of dogs was gone.Uzumaki Naruto lay on the bed.He turned over, facing the wall.Tomorrow, first go north to see those robberies.If it's really an organized criminal group, taking them down along the way could earn points.He closed his eyes, and the inner core in his Dantian emitted a faint golden glow in the night.