Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 179 Border Issues

At the final checkpoint before entering the Kingdom of Owls, Ayihan's identity documents were finally examined carefully, and unsurprisingly, her travel documents were confiscated due to incomplete paperwork. The group's cheerful mood instantly soured; their smooth journey had almost made them forget this was an S-rank mission. However, the bloodshed they had anticipated didn't materialize; instead, they were stopped by documents and regulations—a truly disheartening situation.

When the staff from the Land of Wind repeatedly emphasized that the documents were inadequate and that other procedures were needed, Kakashi, for some reason, subconsciously glanced at Naruto. The blond boy's calm demeanor stood out starkly against the frowning expressions of his friends around him. Even Shikamaru looked troubled, while the usually boisterous Naruto remained remarkably composed, as if he had expected this. Kakashi's gaze deepened, but he made no move to expose him; after all, Naruto was a good kid.

Ayihan was on the verge of a breakdown. After all, home was just ahead, but the gate wouldn't let him through. What kind of logic was this? He had been able to come and go smoothly before, so why did things go wrong at the most crucial moment? Just as he was about to raise his voice to argue, a hand patted him on the back, and when he turned around, he saw Naruto with a comforting smile.

"It's alright, Mr. Ayihan. We'll work with you to solve any problems you may have."

Kakashi stepped in at the opportune moment and asked, "Hello, could you please explain in detail what procedures are missing?"

A group of people lined up in the morning, but didn't leave the gate until the afternoon, and they even returned the same way they came, instead of leaving through another gate.

Ino, with her fiery temper, had tried several times to control the person by turning around and making them stamp the document, but Kakashi, Naruto, and Shikamaru repeatedly warned her with their eyes. Once outside, she completely lost her temper, yelling at the door from across the street, too angry to maintain her ladylike demeanor, "How can there be such a person! He clearly doesn't want us to pass!"

"Calm down, Ino." Sakura seemed to be trying to comfort her, but her fists were actually clenched.

"...What should we do? Do we really have to run through those dozen or so events?" Ding Ci asked innocently.

"I'm afraid the result will be the same after we finish running." Shikamaru's eyebrows almost touched. This is the kind of thing you really hate when doing missions. Fighting is better than this!

Kakashi also felt a headache coming on. "Although I hate to admit it, it's true. Mr. Aihan, you haven't offended the Land of Wind, have you?"

"I'm just passing by, what can I possibly do to them!" Ayhan had nowhere to vent her frustration, so she could only vent her anger verbally.

“Please watch your words, there are children here.” Naruto said to Ayihan as usual. He was the only one in the team who did not express any emotion. “I didn’t mention it on the way here. I thought it was just routine border protection. It seems that the situation is even worse.”

The entire group turned to look at Naruto in disbelief. As expected, he revealed some shocking information: "A group of Sand Village ninjas have gathered at the border, twice the number of those at other defense lines. I wasn't sure about their purpose before, but I know now just by looking at the checkpoint."

"The number of people entering from the Land of Owls is large, and they are all neatly dressed in white; there are virtually no civilians among them. They don't carry much luggage, but it's all very heavy, making a clanging sound when it shakes. Conversely, the Land of Wind has basically not allowed anyone into the Land of Owls; this unilateral blockade seems like a prelude..."

"war."

Kakashi felt the two words that slipped out were incredibly heavy. He didn't know how wars were fought in small countries, but he knew how brutal war was. So, the reason Naruto hadn't reacted much was because he'd been gathering intelligence and assessing the situation they were about to face?

"What? The Land of Wind wants to..." Ayihan was too excited, and his voice inevitably rose a little, which startled Dingci, who quickly covered his mouth.

The streets were hardly a place for conversation, and the city's curfew was ridiculously early, giving off a real sense of impending doom. They quickly found a place to stay and, under the protection of a barrier, discussed their countermeasures. This was truly the most troublesome situation. The alliance between Wind and Fire not only made the Land of Wind hesitant to act, but these Konoha ninjas also couldn't openly oppose the Land of Wind. The Land of Wind had found a legitimate reason to stop them; they couldn't just barge through, could they?

“Actually, I don’t necessarily have to go back.” It was their client who broke the deadlock first. Ayihan put her luggage on the table and said, “It’s enough to send the things inside back.”

“The mission statement says we’ll get you home safely; we won’t abandon you halfway.” Naruto immediately rejected the proposal. He knew, of course, that the bag contained what Ayihan had seen and heard during this exchange. He didn’t think the notes could mold Ayihan into an excellent agronomist; he had a mission he had to complete upon returning home.

“Naruto.” Kakashi’s tone was slightly warning. He knew, of course, that Naruto was already planning how to help Ayihan smuggle herself across the border. The Flying Thunder God Technique was probably the best smuggling tool in the world, rendering any border meaningless.

“Mr. Ayihan just wants to go home, what’s wrong with that? According to the import and export regulations issued by the Land of Wind, he can definitely get there. Even if he knows that his country is likely to be involved in the war, he hasn’t stopped his journey home. We should respect such a noble wish.” Naruto flashed his usual charming smile again, cliché, but effective. Kakashi couldn’t immediately recall why Naruto remembered such a long text; he was simply drawn in by the powerful words.

"If one day, Konoha is also drawn into the flames of war, wouldn't we fight for her?"

When a country has a long border, border management becomes a huge challenge. Managing ninjas is an even more difficult problem. Ninjas on secret missions are implicitly forbidden from using the main gate, and using the main gate signifies that the ninjas are showing sufficient respect to the country. To avoid diplomatic incidents, ninjas from major powers rarely operate covertly. Furthermore, as allies bound by treaties, they exchange not only espionage missions but also crucial intelligence.

Although this mission reached S-rank, it was not a secret mission, so it was naturally reported to the Land of Wind. However, this incident occurred at the border, which is somewhat disrespectful to Konoha.

Therefore, the team formulated a new battle plan based on this premise. They wanted to gamble on whether the Land of Wind's blockade of the Land of Owls was more important, or whether their ally, Konoha, was more important.