Oyashiro En

Oyashiro En

The Land of Hot Water, a sphere of influence controlled by the Cloud Ninja, is also the battlefield where the Cloud Ninja and Konoha clashed. (i)

As a victim of the great power rivalry, the Land of Hot Water should have been reduced to ruins. However, due to its superior natural environment and its status as a rare tourist destination in the world, even the daimyo from the Five Great Nations come here for vacation every year.

It was because of this relationship that the Land of Hot Water escaped the fate of destruction in war.

Due to political constraints, the battlefield between the Cloud Ninja and the Konoha Village was strictly confined to the southeastern part of the Land of Hot Water, leaving the northern mountains and hot spring resorts completely untouched.

The Anywhere Door can travel distances measured in light-years, so Shunren can reach any corner of the world at any time. Of course, when using the Anywhere Door, one must know exactly where they are going; otherwise, they might end up in strange places, or even outer space, while traversing space.

In the snow-covered village, you can see hot spring steam rising slowly from the surrounding buildings.

"Wow~ Hot spring! Hot spring! Hot spring!" Quan excitedly jumped and skipped on the snow.

Hezi smiled slightly. Although she was blind, her hearing was very sharp. "The people here are all very happy. They haven't been affected by the war. That's wonderful."

Hezi herself was a victim of war, so she longed more than anyone else for a peaceful life like that of an ordinary family.

"Oh? Is there something you're unhappy about?" Shunren said casually, "You're living in my house as a servant."

"No~ Shunren is very gentle~" Hezi smiled serenely, and whether she was joking or not, she suddenly said, "Shunren, will you be Quan's husband in the future?"

What the heck?

"Eh? Not interested? My child is clearly very cute, she'll definitely grow up to be a great beauty."

"Boring."

The two chatted idly for a while before entering a secluded hot spring resort.

However, Quan, who was jumping and frolicking on the roof, did not follow them inside.

"Hey, aren't you going to do anything about your crazy girl?" Shunren asked curiously.

"It's alright, Shunren will protect Little Izumi well, won't he?" Hezi showed no worry whatsoever, then reached out and pulled Shunren forward. "Hey~ let's go take a dip first~"

"You two... you're getting more and more outrageous," Shunren said with a hint of helplessness. After living under the same roof for nearly three years, his personality had been thoroughly figured out by the other party.

"Boom!"

The tranquility of the village was shattered by a loud explosion that came from not far away.

"Huh? Isn't this village supposed to be free of conflict?" Hezi's face showed worry.

After all, this place is located near a major battlefield, so it's not surprising that ninjas would be found here.

Shunren, too, subconsciously opened his Mind's Eye in the blink of an eye, whether in a moment of activity or stillness.

The target is five kilometers away. There are two strong Chakra fluctuations; it's ninjas fighting.

"Hmm?" Besides that, Shunren also unexpectedly noticed the incongruity of the entire village.

Everyone in the village seemed indifferent to the commotion not far away; the obvious ground tremors caused by the explosion were impossible for anyone to miss. But for some reason, they all seemed to be deliberately avoiding something, and he also sensed that the owner of the hot spring inn where he was located was operating normally as if he were sitting back and not closing down to customers at all.

Shunren's eyes twitched slightly. It was strange; the people here seemed accustomed to ninja battles—no, it should be said they saw them but pretended not to know...

This must be what a village that has forgotten the war looks like.

The Yugakure possesses abundant natural resources, and its inhabitants are accustomed to a peaceful life, thus they are unwilling to have anything to do with ninjas. Even if ninjas cause trouble at their doorstep, as long as it's not too outrageous, they are willing to tolerate it. In short, they lock themselves away, close their eyes and ears, and turn a deaf ear to what's happening outside.

Shunren didn't pay much attention to or have much opinion about the people of Yugakure who lived a secluded life, since everyone has their own way of life.

Thinking this, Shunren withdrew his senses, changed his hand seals, and chanted, "Ninja Art: Mind- Mind Transmission Technique!"

He called out to the spring that was playing not far away, urging her to come back.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle~" Lightning crackled around them, and on one side stood Cloud Ninja wielding a sword.

On the other side, facing Cloud Ninja, was a tall, thin young man wearing oddly shaped diamond-shaped glasses.

"Ugh! This is really a headache. I never expected the Cloud Ninja would send someone like you to capture me."

The Cloud Ninja in question was none other than Yotsuki Teki, a bodyguard of the previous Raikage. Three years ago, Shunren had fought against this person, who was a powerful individual with Quasi-Kage strength, and Shunren suffered a crushing defeat at his hands.

However, even with the Cloud Ninja's numerical advantage, a powerful individual like Yotsuki Teki activated his Lightning Release Armor immediately upon facing this young man.

"Lord Raikage requests your presence; you'd better come with us obediently!"

"Eh? Is this the newly appointed Fourth Raikage A of the Cloud Ninja? I'm just a mere weapons merchant. What do you want with me?" The young man raised his hand and fiddled with his diamond-shaped glasses, looking completely innocent. "Please spare me. At most, I swear I will never again lay a hand on any child from your Kumogakure who possesses Kekkei Genkai."

"Stop pretending, Oyashiro En." Yotsuki Teki's sharp gaze was fixed on the latter's eyes, though the strange glasses obscured his vision. His voice was cold as he said, "We already know your true identity. You are the Chinoike..."

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~" Before he could finish speaking, a series of Shuriken suddenly flew out from both sides of the street and attacked Yotsuki Teki.

With Yotsuki Teki's reaction speed while wearing the Lightning Release Armor, he was naturally able to easily avoid these small things, but soon several more figures rushed towards him.

"This is..." Several Cloud Ninja accompanying Yotsuki Teki had lost their minds and were pointing their swords at him. A glint flashed in his eyes as he said in a deep voice, "They were caught in Genjutsu in just a moment. It really is that Dōjutsu."

"Ugh~ You Cloud Ninja are such a nuisance. All I want is to live a peaceful life with my daughter." The young man named Oyashiro En slowly took off his diamond-shaped glasses, placed his hand on his forehead, and then suddenly pulled his hand away.

A pair of red eyes were revealed. Unlike the Sharingan's red eyes, the entire eyeball was blood red, the pupils were dark red, and there was a dark purple horizontal line in the center of the pupil.