Chapter 149 - 149 (1/2)

The boat traveled the sea for several days before reaching the Water Country.

The Country was far from the mainland and surrounded by the sea. It was mainly formed of several islands.

Because of its location and lack of communication with the outside world, exchanges with other countries relied on maritime trade.

That was the main source of income for the country as well. Because it was surrounded by fish-rich waters, many merchants bartered said fish with all sorts of other goods and necessities.

At any given time, dozens of other sh_i_p_s were sailing the sea around Jiraya's.

Because there were just too many sh_i_p_s going in and out of the country, the Ninjas responsible of monitoring them were not too serious. They usually just glanced at them then let them pass.

Jiraya's ship entered the Water Country's territory, and Ryo could see the dense fog hidden land.

The ship docked at the port, with around fifty to sixty other sh_i_p_s docked around it. The shore was also very lively.

It was hard to believe that all of this was happening while a war was going on.

Jiraya led by example, and he and Ryo pretended to act like rich men, holding their bellies and marching arrogantly followed by their assistants, and they got off the boat.

Just after getting off, a few people with Mist Forehead Protectors surrounded them. Jiraya told Ryo not to move.

The ninjas came and acted very politely, talking with the two casually. As they thought that they were rich merchants, they were acting respectfully.

After these Ninjas left, Jiraya said to Ryo: ”Most of the Ninjas patrolling here are Chunins, instructed to treat wealthy merchants politely.”

”Why? Shouldn't the businessmen be cautious facing Ninjas as they are carrying money?” Ryo did not understand.

”Dummy, these businessmen are the most important source of income for this country. In other words, they are the ones feeding the Ninjas. If one of these Chunins happen to offend a businessman with their bad attitude, it could cause huge losses to the Water Country.

Hearing Jiraya's explanation, Ryo realized that in this country the Rich were bossing Ninjas around.

Civilians were the ones to become Ninjas, and the gap between classes kept this way going.

The purpose of this trip was to collect information from the Mist Village, so Jiraya's method was indeed the best and most direct way to sneak in.

However, the Mist Village was heavily guarded. Ryo notices some sort of boundary all around it. If the two were to force their way in, they would definitely be discovered.

Not just Ryo noticed that, Jiraya, as a veteran intelligence collector, obviously knew about it. But he didn't seem worried, wondering around the country with Ryo.

After making a big l_a_p around, he seemed to learn some things. Then he took Ryo to the biggest hotel near the Mist Village.

Ryo also thought about that. After all, hotels are some of the best places to gather information, as they are filled with all kinds of people.

However, he didn't expect that they would just sit down in a room, with Jiraya ordering a full table of food.

”This is too much!” Ryo looked at the dishes on the table.

”What do you know? Just keep quiet and eat. It won't be long before someone takes us into the Mist Village.” Jiraya said to Ryo.

Ryo was a bit confused. But seeing that Jiraya was confident, he didn't object again, and just took chopsticks and started eating.

Jiraya had ordered the most expensive dishes on the menu, and the water country, being rich in sea food, had great seafood dishes.