Evil Uchiha brat, I'll marry you myself.

"Phew~ Ancient Tree, finally we've found a building."

They only need to stay at the inn for one night, and they will be able to enter the Land of Iron tomorrow.

Gu Mu stretched his shoulders and complained, "Sure, my shoulders have been numb for the past two days. If I don't sleep in bed soon, I'll probably get arthritis."

"What, you don't like it? Want to sleep in my arms?"

"As expected, you're tired of it, aren't you? You hate it, aren't you? You're fickle, aren't you?"

"You heartless bastard..."

As Uchiha Shizumizu spoke, she attempted to touch the corner of her eye where no tears were actually falling.

"Stop, stop, I surrender."

Gu Mu raised her hands in surrender. This drama queen's personality is getting more and more out of control. I'm really afraid she'll turn into a scheming and sickly person in the future.

"Humph~"

Uchiha Shizuru gave a soft snort and took the lead.

Upon opening the wooden door, one is greeted by a wooden inn exuding a dry, airy atmosphere, complete with a wooden bar, wooden tables and chairs, and wooden carvings adorned with inexplicable symbols.

Many of the wooden tables had long knives on them. After glancing at the ancient tree a few times upon its arrival, the people went about their business.

The Land of Iron is a nation of warriors, who revere swordsmanship more than ninjutsu.

Sure enough, right at the border between the two countries, you can see a lot of samurai dressed in kimonos.

"Gentlemen, would you like to rest for a while or stay at an inn?"

"Just one night's rest, and only one room."

It was Uchiha Shizumi who spoke. To prevent Koki from causing any trouble, she wanted to stay with him, not just because she wanted to sleep with him at night.

The slightly emotional voice reminded Gu Mu of a time in his past life when he had to soak goji berries in his water.

After taking the key from the waiter, Uchiha Shizuru walked to the front.

After opening the wooden door, Uchiha Shizuru spoke first: "Tonight, you have to be with me. I want to see if I can still hold you."

"Okay, okay, everything you said is good."

Gu Mu's eyes held a hint of doting affection, giving one the strange feeling of returning to a past life.

Sitting casually on a chair in the room, Gu Mu narrowed his eyes and began to use wind magic to sense his surroundings.

They realized that no one was paying attention to them, and they breathed a sigh of relief.

When Gu Mu came to his senses, he found that Uchiha Shizumi had finished washing up and was lying gracefully on the bed, waving her small, white hand at him with a smile on her lips, like a blooming flower.

After a quick wash, Gu Mu lay down next to Uchiha Shizuru. As soon as he got into bed, Gu Mu felt Uchiha Shizuru hug him around the waist.

Let him hug me then; I've been hugged plenty of times in my past life anyway.

In the middle of the night, Gu Mu discovered that he had an extra long leg, just like in his previous life, and his expression was somewhat speechless.

This girl is using herself as a body pillow again, isn't she?

"Good morning, Gu Mu, mmm~ I slept so well last night~"

Uchiha Shizuru got up and stretched her slender waist comfortably.

"Let's wash up, have breakfast, and set off as soon as possible to reach the central town of the Land of Iron."

In the vast Land of Iron, it's not so easy to find Madara Uchiha.

If Madara Uchiha doesn't want to show himself, no one can find him.

Unless, Madara Uchiha intends to actively lure others into a trap.

If that's really the case, Gu Mu must have a big "danger" character on his head.

"Ow~"

"By the way, Gu Mu, you didn't do anything bad last night, did you?"

Uchiha Shizumi looked at her slightly wrinkled pajamas, a comical expression appearing on her usually cool face.

You say you're not interested? If you take this a little seriously, you'll have to give in.

"I didn't do anything wrong, but some people were saying things like 'Gu Mu, Gu Mu isn't...' at night."

"Wait...wait, stop talking..."

Uchiha Shizumi's pretty face flushed red like a ripe apple; she had never imagined that she would talk in her sleep last night.

Dressed, wearing a fox mask, and with her hair half-tied up, Uchiha Shizuru donned a black robe and walked out of the room like a ghost.

Upon discovering that Gu Mu had found a corner, Uchiha Shizuru quickly walked over as well.

During this time, she clearly noticed that many people were paying attention to her.

"Hey, look at that fox mask, it seems to be a young girl, tsk tsk tsk, she has quite a slender figure."

"Wearing a mask in broad daylight, doesn't that mean he has something to hide?"

"What do you think? Should we capture these two and send them to the Land of Iron in exchange for the bounty?"

Most samurai regarded the two men, Koki and Koki, as wanted criminals.

Otherwise, why would someone wear a mask in broad daylight?

"Eat quickly, then we'll be on our way."

Beneath the dog-head mask, Gu Mu could naturally hear the various discussions around him, but he didn't say much.

Currently, only the five major powers are relatively stable, while the other countries are still in the early stages of establishment and are still in a period of chaos and war.

Especially at these border points, they are essentially unregulated black areas.

"Good~"

It's unclear whether Uchiha Shizuru heard the surrounding discussions, but Koki did notice that many people seemed somewhat surprised after seeing the two remove their masks.

The food wasn't very good: clear millet porridge and a hard, yellow dough.

This is considered one of the better foods at this inn.

"So young?"

"Yeah, he looks like he's only a teenager."

Many kind-hearted wandering samurai who had spent years roaming the martial world couldn't help but frown slightly when they saw the appearances of Koki and Uchiha Shizuru; no wonder they wore masks.

At this age, if he goes out to wander, he'll be utterly destroyed, leaving not a single bone behind.

Before those wandering samurai from the Land of Iron could offer to serve as their guards for free...

The wooden door was suddenly kicked over by a large foot.

"boom!!"

The immense force caused the wooden door to fly backwards inside the inn, instantly spreading dust and creating a Tyndall effect under the sunlight.

"Waiter, some wine and some meat, we've finally caught two good prospects today."

The one who spoke was a burly man in hemp clothing carrying a large knife on his back. His muscles were as towering as an iron tower, and his eyes were as fierce as a falcon's as he constantly scanned the room.

He also had an iron chain in his hand, which bound two dusty children, a boy and a girl, beneath him.

"It's him, the third most wanted criminal in the Land of Iron, the Mad Blade!!"

"Rumor has it that this guy enjoys trafficking children, and seeing him today confirms it."

The samurai who had initially wanted to take action now hesitated.

However, there was still a wandering swordsman from the Land of Iron who intended to protect the ancient tree for free. Upon seeing the arrival of the Mad Blade, he immediately rushed to the ancient tree's side.

"You two, put on your masks and get out of here right now!!"

This is a young-looking samurai swordsman dressed in a blue kimono.

At this moment, his face clearly showed some anxiety.

If he hadn't taken any action, things would have been fine, but his action instantly attracted Mad Blade's attention.

In the blink of an eye, Mad Blade's massive body appeared behind the young warrior.

This speed of movement is comparable to that of a Konoha Jonin.

"Young man, what are you talking about?"

"How about we have a drink and have a good chat?"

Mad Blade's calloused hand patted the young warrior's shoulder, the powerful palm making the young warrior feel immense pressure.

Even his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"Drinking is fine, but as for chatting, there's nothing to talk about."

Gu Mu placed the fox mask from the table onto the face of Uchiha Shizumi, who was still somewhat unaware of what was happening.

He knew that even without encountering this madman, most of the other unscrupulous warriors would have done something similar.

In this world, if someone sees you as weak, they will come and bully you.

Of course, there are good people too, like this young samurai who was suppressed by the madman. However, there are far more bad people than good ones.