Although it was just the border, the climate was already affected, and looking up, one could already see into the Land of Earth.
The terrain of the Land of Earth was not as flat as the Land of Fire. It was all rocks and mountains as far as the eye could see.
But at least this place didn't have endless rain like the Land of Rain.
"This place really has a lot of mountains."
Jiraiya looked through his binoculars at the front, then muttered, "No wonder this damn place isn't afraid of being invaded. There are natural barriers everywhere."
Kakashi added, "And I heard that to enter Iwagakure, you can only go through some narrow passages."
"To invade the Land of Earth, unless you act from the sea, there's not any suitable way. It was the same during the Third Great Ninja War."
Takemi nodded, he knew what Kakashi was referring to.
Back then, Kakashi and his team blew up the Kannabi Bridge, cutting off Iwagakure's logistics and leading to Iwagakure's defeat and surrender.
Actually, there was a deeper reason. Before their operation, the Third Raikage, that blockhead, took his subordinates to Iwagakure to scout for intelligence.
Unfortunately, they were discovered in the end…
For three days and three nights, the Third Raikage, to cover the retreat of his subordinates, was relentlessly attacked by tens of thousands of Iwa ninjas.
In the end, he literally died of exhaustion…
His death caused serious problems. Iwagakure now had to turn its attention to defending against Kumogakure attacking from the sea to avenge the Third Raikage.
Therefore, continuing to wear down Konoha in the Land of Grass was naturally meaningless. After the Kannabi Bridge was blown up, Ōnoki simply chose to surrender.
Otherwise, repairing a broken bridge wouldn't be difficult, right?
Besides, the conditions Sarutobi Hiruzen gave to Iwagakure were extraordinarily good.
Of course, even with these miscellaneous factors, it didn't diminish the achievements of Kakashi and his team back then.
"Alright, enough of that."
Jiraiya put away his binoculars and then spoke, "The Anbu sent by old man have left me a message. They have already investigated the movements of that mysterious organization, they have already entered Iwagakure."
"So, let's get ready now. We'll go in later. It's good that we have these Anbu this time. Otherwise, we'd be in trouble."
"Yes, indeed."
Kakashi and Takemi both nodded. Having Anbu reinforcements could save them a lot of trouble.
Especially since the Land of Earth is so vast and borders three smaller countries.
Without an intelligence system and the assistance of the Anbu, the three of them alone would never be able to investigate everything.
"Alright, since there's nothing to do now, get some good rest."
Jiraiya packed his things, then whistled and ambled out.
"I will also go for a stroll and check out the situation in this area. Consider it gathering intel."
"Jiraiya-sama, I'll go with you."
Takemi immediately tried to follow, but he was pulled back by Kakashi after only a few steps.
Kakashi said, "Get back here! What are you doing?"
Takemi made an excuse, "I… I'm going to set up some Flying Thunder God marks. It'll be convenient when we come back, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi exposed him, "You've already set them up. I saw you. And what are you thinking? Do you think I don't know?"
Kakashi covered his face. He seemed to feel the pain Sarutobi Hiruzen must have felt when he heard that the members of his team sent each other to the hospital.
What a failure of education!
Kakashi didn't want his disciple to 'go astray,' but looking at the book hidden in his Ninja tool pouch, he felt that the time was at least not now.
He said, "You come with me. Don't you want to be a Jonin? How can you be one if your basic knowledge isn't solid? Go study more."
Takemi complained, "Hey, it's mission time now. Even if it's free time, it's for resting, right?"
Kakashi continued, "Seize every moment. You need to study hard."
Takemi said, "No, you're reading 'Icha Icha Paradise,' and you want me to read Ninja Code of Conduct? Isn't that a bit much?"
"Takemi, I am your instructor."
"You'll regret it!"
"Damn it, is my reputation really that bad?"
At dusk, Takemi, Kakashi, and Jiraiya advanced rapidly within the Land of Earth.
Infiltrating wasn't particularly difficult, especially with someone like Takemi among them.
All Takemi needed to do was leave a Flying Thunder God Mark on a merchant caravan's carriage, or even on some passersby, and he could take them in even if they weren't particularly far away.
However, Takemi was in a bad mood. Recalling how he had spent half the day reading with Kakashi, he felt extremely depressed.
Was there no trust left between master and disciple?
Fortunately, he had used a Shadow Clone to escape while Kakashi was in the restroom...
"Also, how did I even shout out 'You'll regret this'?"
Takemi pursed his lips, suddenly remembering his own outburst, and he found it amusing himself.
But as soon as he thought that Kakashi would most likely be the future Sixth Hokage, he suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.
"Alright, focus on the mission."
Kakashi patted Takemi's back and spoke softly, "You can relax properly when we get back. We're in the Land of Earth now, which is not like the Land of Rain. You must be even more careful."
"That's right, we can't be careless now." Jiraiya also nodded in agreement.
"In Kirigakure , we captured Zabuza, and with him leading the way, everything was simple. But now, we can only rely on ourselves."
"I understand, don't worry." Takemi replied.
He truly didn't dare to be careless, he understood the situation of this mission.
If he remembered correctly, the people who recruited Deidara were Itachi, Kisame, and Sasori.
But he hadn't forgotten that when Deidara slashed his headband and put on the Akatsuki uniform, Pain and a large group of others had all appeared.
Even if he reasonably suspected that some artists were lazy and couldn't even bother to change the scene, he still knew that everything required caution.
Moreover, with his own mission appearing, he also worried if there would be any unexpected turns.
At the very least, he had to consider whether his small body could withstand Dust Release.
So, along the way, he set up many Flying Thunder God Marks, and even when he snuck out, he checked them as much as possible.
This would be very effective whether something went wrong and they needed to escape, or for a normal rapid retreat.
"It's just ahead."
The group moved forward, and before long, they saw a dilapidated temple in the distance. Jiraiya took out the intelligence and compared it before nodding.
"It seems Anbu is quite reliable this time, Kakashi. How does it compare to your previous experiences?"
"..."