The Fallen Tsuchigumo Clan

"Good!" Ingetsu rose to his feet, quick and decisive.

Nonō was incredulous. She never expected Ingetsu to agree so readily!

At that moment.

In Nonō's eyes, Ingetsu's back, illuminated by the firelight, looked exceptionally noble, radiating a unique charm that warmed her heart.

Her shame and embarrassment faded away.

In her excitement, Nonō temporarily forgot that Ingetsu had been the one to take out the bathtub in the first place.

Nonō asked gratefully:

"Captain... If I had refused to join the team just now, would you... have killed me?"

"No."

Ingetsu's face remained expressionless as his right hand rested on the bathtub.

Nonō's eyes reddened. Her voice was low, her emotions overflowing, and she spoke sincerely:

"You really are a good person!"

Ingetsu nodded and calmly replied, "I would have immediately driven you out of the team."

"..."

Nonō lowered her head, feeling that this was only natural. The fact that he had not killed her was already quite good.

Ingetsu suddenly thought of something. He slapped the bathtub with his palm and added, "Also, if I make you carry a bathtub filled with bathwater, there must be Konoha tracking ninja nearby. They should be very interested in why you're inexplicably carrying a bathtub."

"Huh?" Nonō's expression suddenly changed.

She imagined herself, dressed as a nun and carrying a bathtub beneath the moonlight, trudging onward until she encountered Konoha ninja, who took her back for interrogation and torture. Then her reputation would spread throughout the Leaf Village and eventually across the Ninja World.

By then, even if she did not die, it would be no different from being dead.

What an evil idea!

"..." Nonō stared fixedly at Ingetsu's back, her whole body trembling.

Buzz—

The space in front of Ingetsu trembled, and the bathtub beneath his right hand vanished.

Nonō had sincerely joined them.

There was no need for him to make things difficult for her.

"Phew—"

When Nonō saw the bathtub disappear, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her shame and embarrassment completely vanished.

"Get some rest. I'll keep watch." Ingetsu swept his gaze around the camp. The Uchihas and Kurenai Yuhi had already fallen into a deep sleep.

The journey of escape had left everyone mentally and physically exhausted.

"Okay."

Nonō seemed to have latched onto Ingetsu. After nodding in agreement, she had no intention of leaving. She simply lay down on the grass beside him.

She and Kurenai Yuhi occupied the spots on either side of Ingetsu.

Ingetsu paid no attention to this.

He slowly sat down and sensed that the Green Medicine within his body had been completely digested. His physical strength had increased once again, by one percent of an adult man's strength.

As long as he had enough Green Medicine in the future and could repeat this process every day, the speed at which his strength increased would become terrifying.

At the foot of Katsuragi Mountain.

One kilometer away.

In a gloomy forest, a fifty-man convoy drove twenty cargo-laden wagons toward the plains ahead of the forest.

The torches in the convoy members' hands illuminated the forest path as well as the flags on the wagons, which symbolized the Tsuchigumo Clan.

Clip-clop—clip-clop—clip-clop—

The sounds of horse hooves and wagon wheels blended together.

The caravan moved forward in a straight line like a long dragon.

This was a caravan from the Earth Spider Clan Territory, transporting goods for sale and purchasing supplies outside the mountains.

At the very front of the convoy, three people sat in the bed of the lead wagon: one man and two women dressed in leather armor and acting as guards.

Among them were also an elderly white-haired man and a cute girl with wavy blond hair.

Of the group, only the old man and the blond girl were members of the Tsuchigumo Clan. The guards on the wagon had been hired from the mercenary town to escort the caravan.

Gurgle—

The wagon jolted.

"Mmph—"

The pretty face beneath the blond girl's fair forehead twisted in discomfort. She often used her delicate hands to cushion her bottom against the jolts while sitting on the narrow wooden plank.

The white-haired old man shook his gray sleeves and swept his sharp gaze over the girl. His expression darkened as he sighed inwardly:

Alas, ever since the Third Shinobi World War, the Tsuchigumo Clan has suffered a decline in talent. There are hardly any reliable ninja left in the clan.

We even have to recruit caravan guards from the mercenary town.

Hotaru, the clan leader's daughter, has been entrusted with the important task of watching over the caravan. She has to travel with this old man, who is over eighty years old.

Alas...

When will my Tsuchigumo Clan be able to revive the prosperous years when it once shook the world with the "Forbidden Technique: Raging Heavenly Hair" and formed an equal alliance with the Leaf Village?

Caw-caw-caw—

The old man's response came from the mournful, hoarse cries of countless night crows in the forest.

Flap—

The white-haired old man looked up and saw countless birds flying sideways out from above the forest. He felt that something was not quite right.

Hotaru frowned and looked at the old man beside her before asking softly:

"Great Elder, how much longer until we reach the Earth Spider Clan Territory?"

This was her first time leaving the clan territory to carry out an escort mission. Once night fell, she could not find her bearings at all.

The Great Elder of the Tsuchigumo Clan stroked his mottled goatee and narrowed his eyes in a kindly smile.

"We're almost there, almost there."

Hotaru looked helpless and sighed inwardly. She had heard "almost there, almost there" so many times along the way that her ears had nearly grown calluses.

She turned her gaze toward the front of the wagon bed.

That area was quite lively.

The guard captain, dressed in a short green cloak over leather armor, was chatting and laughing heartily with his two female guard companions. The atmosphere was peaceful and cheerful.

When Hotaru had hired this guard team, she had thought that since there were girls among the guards, they might have something in common to talk about on the road.

But along the way, those two girls had completely ignored her, the employer who had paid to hire their guard team.

One of the female guards wore a round, pointed hat and held a wooden staff. The other had long blue hair and a voluptuous figure. Both were very beautiful, which made Hotaru envious.

The girl and the old man fell silent.

Hotaru suddenly clenched her fists and mustered her courage, wanting to join the guard captain's conversation.

She nervously looked toward him and asked:

"Um... Captain Zong Quan, did you really not hear anything from the mountains just now?"

Their cheerful conversation was interrupted by her question.

Zong Quan, dressed in a short green cloak, turned toward his beautiful young employer and grinned.

"Miss Hotaru, there's no need to worry.

"There are often strange noises in the mountains and forests.

"But as long as we're here, the caravan will definitely arrive safely at the Earth Spider Clan Territory. We're a professional, principled, and capable guard team. You showed excellent judgment in choosing us, which means you've chosen safety!"

Zong Quan's eyes gleamed. His words were forceful and convincing, delivered with absolute confidence.

However, he truly had not heard anything. He supposed that he might have been too engrossed in chatting with his companions and had naturally overlooked it.

But what did that matter?

Along the way.

The caravan had encountered quite a few bandits and low-level missing-nin. When those people saw the Tsuchigumo Clan's flag, along with Zong Quan's smooth talk, they were easily sent packing.

They were almost "home."

What danger could there still be?

In Zong Quan's view, this escort job was a sure thing. There would not be the slightest problem!

Hotaru, however, remained worried. She looked up at the clouds beneath the moonlight, which appeared as if they had been cleaved apart by a sword. By now, though, most of the clouds had already dispersed.

She could not help asking again:

"What about the clouds in the sky..."

Zong Quan interrupted with a laugh:

"I did see that. The clouds weren't very high up, either. Perhaps Ying Sunye had no nightlife and was bored, so he created that spectacle!"

"..."

Hotaru lowered her brows and squeezed her palm.

She had finally managed to start a conversation with him and did not want to let it end there. She continued asking:

"Captain Zong Quan, as a hired guard team from the nearby town, you must have heard about the Konoha S-Rank Missing-nin who has been causing such a commotion lately, right?"

After she said this.

Zong Quan immediately became interested. He pulled a newspaper from his clothes and laughed excitedly:

"Hehe, you mean Uchiha Ingetsu, right?"