Evil Uchiha brat, I'll marry you myself.

"Oh, I see. I'll go get ready."

Uchiha Shizusui looked tense. After a month, they were finally about to start a mission again.

Thinking back to when she faced those corpses last time, Uchiha Shizumi's eyes held a hint of seriousness. She was determined to play her part in this mission as well.

If only Koki knew what Uchiha Shizuru was thinking.

He'd probably be speechless. What kind of role could it possibly play? Was he supposed to tell her, "Jing Shui, if you see that guy with the fan, you're in charge of dealing with him?"

Jing Shui tilted her head back, gazing at the hundred-meter-tall structure, and pointed foolishly at herself: 'Me?'

Thinking of this, a hint of helplessness flashed in Gu Mu's eyes.

The two returned to their residence and packed their belongings, including common gold coins and some dry rations.

This trip to the Land of Iron will probably take quite a while.

"Captain Mu, what is our mission this time?"

Uchiha Shizuru and Koki, both dressed in black robes and wearing masks, arrived at the entrance of Konoha Village.

"The place we're going to this time is the Land of Iron, which is near the border of the Land of Fire."

"We'll discuss the specific tasks when we get there."

Koki and Uchiha Shizumi arrived at the two horses. This mission was much farther away than the previous assassination of Uchiha Tesshin.

"By the way, can you ride a horse?"

"Captain Mu, aren't you just asking a pointless question?"

Beneath her mask, Uchiha Shizuru rolled her eyes with a charming glint in her eye.

"Then sit behind me and hold on tight."

Gu Mu leaped onto the back of the brown horse and quickly familiarized himself with it; thankfully, he had encountered it in his previous life.

"Hey~ I'll give you something to do, help me with some directions."

Gu Mu tossed the parchment map from his arms into the hands of Uchiha Shizumi behind him.

In his previous life, Gu Mu disliked memorizing routes and even needed to consult a map to get home, let alone this extremely low-quality hand-drawn animal hide map.

"Ow~"

Uchiha Shizuru responded and then began searching for a route on the map.

The Land of Iron is located northeast of the Land of Fire, so heading northeast will definitely not be a problem.

"Go that way."

As Uchiha Shizuru pointed in a direction, Koki immediately exerted his strength in his thighs and began to control the horse beneath him to start traveling.

Along the way, Uchiha Shizuru was rocked up and down, successfully experiencing what it meant to be bumpy.

The so-called official road is similar to the country lanes of my previous life.

Fortunately, she is now a Genin; otherwise, given her physical condition in her previous life, she would definitely have vomited and had diarrhea.

"Gu Mu, how much longer?"

Uchiha Shizuru hugged Koki's waist, pressed her small face against his back, and spoke in a rather resentful tone.

"Isn't the map in your hands?"

Gu Mu's eyes narrowed. Could this girl have led him astray?

"let me see."

Uchiha Shizuru turned his head left and right, looked around, observed some iconic mountains, and compared them with the map in his hand.

Finally, she came to the conclusion that they seemed to have only covered about a third of the distance.

Just as Gu Mu was about to let his horse rest for a while, he suddenly sensed the clash of weapons and various screams.

Turning his head, he saw that Uchiha Shizumizu seemed unaware of what was happening.

Some ideas began to form in Gu Mu's mind.

The sudden increase in speed caught Uchiha Shizuku off guard, leaving her only able to cling tightly to the ancient tree.

"You wicked old tree, what are you doing?"

Uchiha Shizuru's expression was somber.

"Something seems to have happened up ahead; it appears to be a one-sided massacre."

Gu Mu spoke ambiguously.

"A massacre???"

Uchiha Shizusui's eyes narrowed.

Soon, the two arrived at the scene, which appeared to be a civilian caravan heading to the Land of Iron.

However, the caravan was surrounded by corpses lying in pools of blood.

The remaining people standing on the ground were all bandits wearing burlap hoods.

However, the bandits carrying blood-stained longswords were all puzzled when they saw Koki and Uchiha Shizumi riding a horse and appearing openly in their sight.

Especially given that he was dressed in a black robe and wore a mask, he did indeed give the illusion of being of the same kind.

"Friends, is that alright? (Are you an expert?)"

A burly man with a scar led the way, heading towards the ancient tree.

"Gu Mu, those guys are coming over. What are they saying?"

Behind him, Uchiha Shizumi had a tense look in her eyes.

"I don't know, but these people are probably bandits."

"Jing Shui, how do you intend to deal with these people?"

"I... let's go."

Uchiha Shizusui's tone was helpless.

"We can certainly leave, but if we encountered ninjas from another country instead of bandits, do you think we could leave so easily?"

Gu Mu leaped down from the horse's back, his hand hovering as if holding the demon sword Muramasa, its blade gleaming.

“Jing Shui, I’m not saying your ideas are wrong. I just want you to know that this world can be very cruel.”

"The strong survive easily, while the weak die easily, so I hope that if you encounter someone who wants to kill you in the future, you will not be soft-hearted."

"Damn it, it's the enemy! Brothers, grab your weapons!!"

Just as these bandits charged forward menacingly, Gu Mu's body vanished from the spot in an instant.

A gust of wind howled through the space, leaving afterimages in its wake.

Wherever it went, the ground tore apart and wind blades swirled. By the time Uchiha Shizuru came to his senses, Koki was already on horseback.

As for the bandits around them, they all collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

"Yes, Gu Mu, I understand."

Beneath the fox mask, Uchiha Shizumi's already stunningly beautiful face showed a hint of paleness and a touch of seriousness.

Faced with this scene again, she seemed less fearful and more composed.

.....

At night, the sky is full of stars, and a bright moon hangs high in the sky, covering the ground with a layer of silver frost.

"Gu Mu, shall we sleep here tonight?"

The firelight reflected on Uchiha Shizumizu's pretty face, her slightly pouting cheeks revealing a hint of helplessness.

"There's nothing we can do, the horse is practically ruined."

Gu Mu sat casually on the ground, leaning against a large tree. He turned his head slightly and looked at the horses, who lay exhausted on the ground as if their spines had been removed. An indescribable expression appeared on his face.

"Just make do with sleeping here."

Gu Mu lifted his black robe, gesturing for Uchiha Shizuku to come over.

"Hmph~ I'll just have to make do then. It's not because I want to lean on you."

Uchiha Shizumi gave a haughty snort, then nimbly snuggled into Koki's arms, leaning against his shoulder and closing her eyes to rest.

Perhaps because he was too tired from sitting on horseback, Gu Mu soon heard even breathing sounds in his ears. After using Wind Release to extinguish the fire, Gu Mu narrowed his eyes and began to take a short rest.

Chapter 48: Be Careful and You Will Survive

Soon, about a few days passed.

As the sun sets and dusk falls, a dark yellow hue emerges between heaven and earth.

At the end of the road, two figures, one tall and one short, gradually emerged, wearing animal masks and black robes.

The two men in black robes were none other than Gu Mu and Uchiha Shizumi, who had been traveling for a long time. They finally came across an inn located at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Iron.

Uchiha Shizuru's face showed some surprise: