Chapter 789 NASM - 789

"You’re absolutely right. It’s clear now that we don’t need to carry so much stuff at all. Bringing too much would only weigh us down. We just need enough supplies for the journey ahead. Even though extra food could give us more energy, hauling it around actually drains our strength just as much — it’s really not worth the trouble," Hiroshi said, running forward while speaking to Harumiko behind him.

Harumiko nodded with a smile. Then, instead of travelling on the ground, they both leaped up into the treetops. Moving through the branches felt much easier and saved a lot of effort.

"This forest is actually quite fascinating! Leaping and moving around up here works really well," Harumiko said cheerfully as she jumped from tree to tree.

"Something about this place feels a little strange, though I can’t quite put my finger on it. We’d better stay extra careful," Hiroshi replied, keeping his guard up.

Harumiko nodded in agreement. Just then, she noticed marks on several tree trunks — footprints. It looked like people had passed this way recently.

"Hiroshi, wait a second! Look — there are footprints here. They seem to belong to adults, but they’re unusually long and pressed very deep into the wood. Whoever left them stepped down with a lot of force!" she said, stopping quickly to point them out.

Hearing that, Hiroshi immediately halted and came over to examine the tracks. From their shape and size, it was obvious they were made by adults — and by different people too.

"From what I can tell, these prints come from about three or four different individuals. I don’t know if there are more on the trees further ahead, but one thing’s certain: these were made by grown men with large, powerful builds. Only someone that big and strong could leave marks this deep," Hiroshi said quietly, studying the tracks thoughtfully.

As shinobi, analysing details like this was a basic skill. They could extract all kinds of useful information from what they saw.

Just from these footprints alone, Hiroshi could estimate the height and weight of those who made them — and with enough experience, even guess roughly how strong they might be.

"I looked closely — all these tracks are from men. There are no women’s prints at all. Whoever they are, they could be villagers living nearby... or enemies coming to ambush us. It is strange, though — we haven’t run into anyone for such a long time now," Harumiko said softly, standing up and glancing around.

She was right. The past few days had been unusually peaceful. In over a year of travelling, they had rarely encountered trouble. Most problems they’d faced were minor disputes in villages; there had been no large?scale attacks or serious threats at all.

"I know, it feels odd to me too. But now that we’ve found these tracks, we can’t let our guard down. Let’s keep moving quickly — we might find more clues further on," Hiroshi said, dusting off his hands and preparing to go.

Harumiko nodded and followed him. Along the way, they spotted several more sets of similar footprints, each made by different people.

"We need to be even more cautious from now on. Keep watching everywhere around you — there are definitely others around here, and they could well be enemies. We have to stay alert just in case," Hiroshi warned quietly, frowning at the trail.

Harumiko nodded firmly. They both drew their weapons and sped up, while constantly scanning their surroundings to avoid any surprise attacks.

Remaining watchful in situations like this was absolutely vital. One moment of carelessness could let an enemy strike from nowhere — and by the time you realised what was happening, it might already be too late to save your life. Regret would come too late then.

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