He turned his head toward the back of the cart—several of the little tailed beasts were following at lightning speed, keeping close behind.
Then he looked inside the carriage. There were more than a dozen people crammed in—several adults and two or three children. Some were quietly weeping; others whispered nervously.
"Where do you think he's taking us? He won't just kill us, right?" a teenage boy asked an older man beside him.
"I don't know. Right now, we can't escape anyway. We can only take things one step at a time," the man replied.
"This is ridiculous! I only went into the mountains to gather herbs, and then this bastard showed up, knocked me out without a word, and when I woke up, I was already in this cart. Who knows where he's dragging us?"
"I was tricked and kidnapped!"
"I was sold off by my stepfather. Just because my mother said last night that I should be sent to school, he flew into a rage. Today, while my mother wasn't home, he shoved me into this man's hands and took the money to buy booze. I hate him—I hate him!" cried a boy of about ten, fists clenched in anger.
"Shut up if you want to live!" Suddenly, the whip lashed in from outside the cart.
Though Shigeo was feverish and half-delirious, he understood clearly now. The one driving the cart was a human trafficker, and all these people—kidnapped, tricked, or sold off—were his captives. But where was he taking them?
Even Orochimaru only needed ninja or children with chakra for experiments, yet all the people in this cart were ordinary folk with no shinobi skills at all.
"Are you feeling a little better?" the little girl holding him asked softly, her big worried eyes fixed on him. His face was flushed with fever, and he looked weak.
"Cough, cough…"
Shigeo hacked violently, and all the others turned to look at him. Someone muttered, "What's a kid like him doing out here in the wilderness alone? There aren't even villages nearby… Was he dumped in the mountains?"
In some places, people with infectious diseases were abandoned by their families when they couldn't afford treatment—left in the mountains to die, so they wouldn't infect the rest of the village.
Now, faced with a blind child burning with fever, suspicion spread quickly.
"Hey, big guy! This kid's sick—don't keep him in here with us! Throw him out—we can't risk it!" someone shouted, pounding the bars of the cage.
"What nonsense. I don't care if he's sick. As long as he brings me money, that's enough," the driver barked back coldly.
The little girl's eyes darted quickly. She glanced around, then spoke up, "Yes, he's sick! Big brother, you should let him go. Keeping someone like that only wastes food. Just toss him off the cart and be done with it!"
As she said this, she stealthily pressed a handkerchief into Shigeo's hand, whispering, "Don't say anything. If he throws you out because you're sick, that's perfect. Take this to Konoha and request a mission. Just say it's from Princess Koyuki of the Land of Snow. They'll definitely come to rescue us."
Embroidered in the corner of the cloth was a delicate snowflake—the unmistakable crest of the Land of Snow.
Shigeo, hearing that name, looked more closely at the little girl before him. Her small, tender face was framed by misty, dewy eyes. Though her crimson-purple dress was torn, the fabric was fine—clearly from noble origins.
"You… are Princess Koyuki?" Shigeo asked curiously.
The future Fujikaze Yukie, actress and fallen princess of the Land of Snow, whose uncle usurped the throne?
She nodded, equally surprised. "You know me?"
"No," Shigeo muttered, clutching his aching arm and shaking his head slightly. "It's just… your name sounds beautiful."
Koyuki nodded.
The man outside flicked his whip and glanced back at them, sneering. "Do you two think I'm deaf? I studied ninjutsu, you know. Everything you said—I heard it all. Want me to let someone go? Not a chance, unless you've got money."
"I have money! Please let me go. My family can pay you if you release me!" one of the men dressed as a farmer cried.
The trafficker held out a hand. "Ten thousand ryō. Bring me the ransom, and I'll let you go right now."
The man flushed scarlet. "Ten thousand?! Why don't you just rob us outright?"
"I am robbing you!" the trafficker barked with a laugh. "When I sell you off in the mountains, I get thirty percent commission for every ten thousand ryō you earn your new master. And they'll pay me fifty thousand upfront. So tell me—which deal is better for me? Taking your ransom, or selling you all off?"
He cracked his whip again, sending the cart lurching forward. "So don't hope for freedom. Even if you die, I'll make sure I squeeze every coin from your bones!"
He threw back his head in cruel laughter, his face twisted with malice.
The cart fell silent. None dared to speak. Everyone was thinking the same thing—what fate awaited them? In this world, powerless people couldn't even protect themselves. Just like now, they were livestock, to be slaughtered or sold at someone else's whim.
Two days later, the cart reached the foot of a mountain capped in snow. Though the summit was white and frigid, the lower slopes were temperate.
Several figures in black cloaks awaited them at the base, meeting with the trafficker. "So this is it? Just these people? And why are there children?"
"My lords, this is already a fine haul. We've been short on bodies lately. Children can serve purposes too. And that girl—she's the princess of the Land of Snow!"
They spoke in hushed voices, but every word carried clearly to Shigeo's ears.
By now, after two days of rest, his fever had broken, though his strength hadn't returned.
Beside him, Koyuki went pale, trembling as she clung to his sleeve. "What do we do? They know who I am!"
Shigeo glanced at her and whispered, "Don't worry. They're after money. As long as your father can pay, they'll let you go."
Koyuki's eyes welled with tears, and she choked back sobs. After a long moment, she whispered, "My father… is already dead."
At her words, silence fell like a stone. Her small body slumped as if sinking into an abyss. Shigeo's brows furrowed. So she was already an orphan? Of course—if her homeland hadn't fallen into turmoil, how could a princess have ended up here in chains?
(End of Chapter)
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