"Snap—"
A withered branch was crushed under his boot. Aoki Yoru stood at the entrance of the Village, frowning as he looked at the dilapidated Village before him.
Broken walls and collapsed houses were scattered all around, overgrown with weeds. The entire Village was empty, devoid of any signs of life, leaving only a suffocating silence.
Aoki Yoru spread out his spiritual energy and discovered several corpses that had already turned into skeletons.
He stared at the Village, which had clearly suffered a major incident, and muttered to himself, "What on earth is going on? What has happened in the north of the Land of Hot Springs?"
After soaking in the hot springs in the Town of Hot Water, Aoki Yoru headed toward the Land of Moon. He wanted to see for himself what that super-wealthy country from the original theatrical version really looked like.
However, while passing through the north of the Land of Hot Springs, he found many abandoned Villages and corpses turned to skeletons. At first, he thought they had been abandoned due to war.
Later, he discovered that the bloodstains in some Villages were still fresh, and the corpses inside had clearly not fully decomposed, indicating they had died recently.
'To massacre a Village so openly, are they not afraid of attracting the Ninja of the Land of Hot Springs? Or are the Daimyo, nobles, and Ninja Villages involved as well?'
Aoki Yoru couldn't help but ponder. Even as slaves, they were a huge fortune in the eyes of the nobles; would they just sit by and watch the commoners be slaughtered?
Then Aoki Yoru shook his head. This was the Land of Hot Springs' own affair, which they would resolve themselves; why should he, a foreigner, worry about it?
Ignoring the things along the way, he headed straight for the Land of Moon.
Three days later, Aoki Yoru arrived at the northern border of the Land of Hot Springs. This place was separated from the Land of Iron by the sea; to the east was the Land of Moon, and to the west was the Land of Sound.
By rights, this should be a traffic hub for four countries and should be bustling with people, but all he saw along the way were silent Villages and flattened weeds.
Even passing caravans and travelers were nowhere to be seen, leaving only an unshakable stench of blood drifting faintly in the wind.
"Has the entire northern part of the Land of Hot Springs fallen?" Looking at the scene before him, Aoki Yoru found it hard to accept.
The northern territory of a country had become a dead zone, yet other regions remained peaceful and prosperous, seemingly unaware of and indifferent to the events in the north. This looked strange no matter how one viewed it.
Entering a Village, it was the same as before: not a sound to be heard, lifeless and stagnant. The difference was that the blood on the ground was still bright red, and a pungent stench of blood drifted in the air.
Aoki Yoru walked into a house that looked like it belonged to a wealthy family, ignoring the corpses lying on the ground, and headed toward the kitchen and storage room.
He hadn't seen any living people for the past few days, let alone restaurants. He was getting sick of eating grilled fish and meat every day, and he didn't have much seasoning left.
He came here to see if there was any food or seasoning; if he kept eating like this, he was afraid he would feel nauseous just seeing fish or meat.
He opened the creaking kitchen door, his gaze quickly sweeping over the stove and cabinets, searching among the dusty earthenware pots and wooden boxes.
Luck was on his side; he found some salt, miso, and dried seaweed, which was perfect for a change of taste.
"Hmm?"
A faint sound reached his ears, and Aoki Yoru immediately became alert. In this eerie place, there was a danger to his life at any moment.
Spreading out his spiritual energy, the situation of the entire Village appeared in his mind.
"Someone is actually still alive; they are truly lucky."
He turned and walked out the door, arriving at the foot of the hill behind the house.
What came into view was a dilapidated house; it was easy to imagine that the owner's life was not wealthy.
The room was in a mess; cabinets were pushed to the floor, wooden boxes were smashed to pieces, even the earthenware pots in the corner were cracked, and the rice jar was empty. Clearly, everything of value had been looted.
He walked straight to the innermost room and stood in front of the opened cabinet. Aoki Yoru reached out, hooked his fingers into the innermost partition, and pulled it gently.
As the partition fell to the ground, a small figure curled up deep in the hidden compartment came into his view.
A red-haired little girl, about five or six years old, with withered hair and a sallow complexion, clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition, was staring at him with a face full of fear.
Looking at the terrified little girl before him, Aoki Yoru twitched the corner of his mouth, trying to make himself look as gentle as possible, and reached out to her: "Don't be afraid, I'm not a bad person."
Seeing the little girl clutching her clothes tightly and shrinking further inward, wanting to stay away from him.
Aoki Yoru took the jerky he had made and the candy he had bought from the Land of Hot Springs out of his pocket and handed them to her: "Eat, you must have been hungry for several days, right?"
Looking at the food in front of her, the little girl swallowed her saliva, and her stomach rumbled.
She looked at the smiling Aoki Yoru again, and as if having made up her mind, she tremblingly reached out her small hand, snatched the food from his hand, and stuffed it into her mouth desperately.
"Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you."
Watching her, Aoki Yoru knew this child was starving. He casually handed over the water bottle from his waist: "Do you know what happened in the Village?"
The little girl, who was gulping down water, stopped, silently put down the water bottle, wiped her mouth with the back of the hand that was holding the grilled meat, and said in a low voice:
"It was the Jashin Cult. Two days ago, the Jashin Cult rushed into the Village, took everyone away, and killed those who resisted."
As if thinking of something, her eyes turned red, she pursed her lips, and said with a sob: "Grandpa Village Chief was also killed by them."
"They grabbed people as soon as they entered the Village, and I was scared, so I hid. Grandpa Village Chief, Uncle Ichitora, and Uncle Tetsuki picked up weapons to resist, but they were no match for them at all and were all killed."
"Aunt Chiyo, Granny Ori, and the other villagers were tied up and taken away."
"Hmm?"
Aoki Yoru discovered a contradiction and looked straight at her: "Since you were hiding, how do you know?"
The little girl hesitated for a while before saying in a low voice: "I sensed it."
"Kagura Shingan!"
From the moment he first saw her, Aoki Yoru had guessed her identity. Although she was malnourished, her cells were constantly emitting vitality to nourish her; otherwise, she would have struggled even to walk.
That striking red hair and immense vitality were exactly the most typical characteristics of the Uzumaki Clan.
"Do you want to come with me?"
Aoki Yoru reached out his hand to her. After all, if left alone, this child might not survive three days; no one would go out of their way to support a complete stranger.
After all, she was from the Uzumaki Clan. If he brought her back to the Village, the Third Hokage would not ignore her. She was the best candidate for a Jinchuriki. Although it was a bit cruel to her, at least she would be able to eat and be clothed.
The little girl stared blankly at him, and after a long while, she placed her dirty little hand in his and nodded heavily.
He pulled her out of the wardrobe: "I don't know your name yet. My name is Aoki Yoru, and I am a Ninja from Konoha."
"Nao," the little girl said softly, "My name is Nao."
"No surname? Were your mom and dad taken away too?" Looking at Nao, Aoki Yoru asked curiously.
Nao shook her head: "No surname. My father passed away before I was born, and my mother died a year ago."
Looking at this child who was so thin she was just skin and bones, Aoki Yoru gently stroked her withered red hair, his voice becoming exceptionally soft: "Let's go. From now on, at least you'll be able to eat your fill."
He took Nao out of the house and walked toward the entrance of the Village.