Convergence

After leaving the forest, Yuzhen and his group acted with extreme caution, so they encountered no unexpected situations.

However, too much caution can be as bad as too little. After several days of constant tension, many people began to relax slightly.

While not to the point of carelessness, some level of slackening was unavoidable.

During this time, Yuzhen also learned a lot about the basic situation of the Ninja World, with the information naturally coming from Uchiha Nanami.

To his surprise, Uchiha Nanami's personality was quite different from the stereotype of Uchiha ninjas. She seemed emotionally stable, not arrogant, and good at communicating.

These past few days, Yuzhen had received a lot of useful and useless information from her… of course, only general knowledge that didn't involve the secrets of various clans.

At this moment, they were discussing the "economic foundations" upon which the great ninja clans relied for their survival.

"Besides receiving various mission funds from employers, different ninja clans actually have their own relatively fixed sources of content and income."

"For example?"

"For example, the Senju Clan can consistently get tasks related to tobacco cultivation, production, and transportation from fixed employers."

Yuzhen blinked. The Senju of the Forest developing a tobacco industry? Did that even count as their specialty?

"We Uchiha deal in sugar."

Sigh, in many ways, the Uchiha Clan was indeed quite… foolish.

"The Hyuga Clan is related to alcohol."

"What about the Sarutobi Clan?" As soon as Yuzhen asked this, he immediately learned to extrapolate, "I know the Sarutobi Clan, they're tea, right?"

"Yes."

For some reason, Yuzhen suddenly felt that these great ninja clans, with their long histories and traditions, weren't that impressive. Even the seemingly lofty Otsutsuki bloodline suddenly felt very down-to-earth.

He wondered if any ninja clans were involved in the salt or soy sauce industry. Perhaps salted fish and pickles could be a blue ocean market.

It seemed Yuzhen's previous understanding of the great ninja clans was somewhat flawed. Regardless of whether they were involved in production, these great ninja clans were definitely involved in logistics.

After all, they had to eat.

As the saying goes, why did ninjas fight to the death? On one hand, it was due to decades or even a century of accumulated hatred, with certain behind-the-scenes manipulators constantly fanning the flames.

On the other hand, and more importantly, they were fighting for living space.

In any case, Uchiha Nanami's explanation of a part of the Ninja World's "industrial landscape" greatly refreshed Yuzhen's understanding of this world.

Carrying this newly acquired, worldview-challenging knowledge, Yuzhen led his team towards a range of low hills.

As evening approached, he planned to find a suitable place nearby to set up camp.

Then, amidst the undulating terrain and the sheltering trees, in a "prime location," Yuzhen encountered another group of ninjas who had arrived earlier.

The scene immediately descended into chaos, followed by a tense standoff.

Yuzhen took a brief look and immediately began to apply his newly learned industrial knowledge, thinking that these ninjas had most likely just experienced a failed startup on the "Ninja Venture Board," ending in a bankrupt, ruined state.

They must have been defeated, as everyone's spirits were incredibly low. They hadn't even arranged sufficient outer perimeter guards while resting, allowing Yuzhen's group to "charge" right up to them completely unprepared.

These ninjas were disorganized and chaotic. Some of them even gave up when faced with the "enemy."

Yuzhen clearly saw someone struggle a few times, and when they couldn't get up, they just slumped down as if resigned to their fate.

The world is full of wonders. When encountering a medium-sized enemy force, Yuzhen's group actually had the advantage in overall strength.

Although Yuzhen's subordinates' strength was not worth boasting about, at the very least, their "spirit" was intact.

And they all looked well-fed.

What about the opposing group? Although they numbered over thirty, outnumbering Yuzhen's group, they all looked dejected and emaciated from hunger.

If a fight broke out, and without considering their own casualties, annihilating this group would be a piece of cake.

After so many years of being bullied by various forces, the "Hagane" had never imagined they would one day be in a position to bully others.

In comparison, the "will to fight" of both sides was vastly different.

As for Yuzhen's people, their village had been destroyed some time ago. The psychological impact and scars had been dulled by time, and they now viewed things more positively and rationally, with an incredibly strong will to protect themselves and their clan members.

In terms of fighting spirit, many of them had a very simple thought:

If there's fighting, I'll be the first to fight; if there's running, I'll be the last to run.

Conversely, the other side had just suffered a major defeat, and they were all shrouded in the negative emotions of failure. Many of them were now thinking:

If there's fighting, I'll die immediately; if there's dying, I'll die the fastest.

It wasn't that Yuzhen's people had a superior mindset. In reality, the difference between them was merely the different stages they were in after experiencing defeat.

Yuzhen's group was in the "rallying" stage, while the opposing group was in the "painful throes" stage.

The opposing side was at a significant disadvantage, so their leader quickly lost his composure.

A young ninja, about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, pushed through the crowd and came to the front of the group.

"Who are you people?" he asked.

At this moment, the group was most worried that Yuzhen's people were ninjas who had accepted a bounty to hunt them down.

"We call ourselves 'Ashes,' a group formed by wandering ninjas from various backgrounds. You can call me Yuzhen… Who are you people?" Yuzhen replied.

The person opposite observed them carefully and found that Yuzhen and the others were not wearing forehead protectors. Although their overall situation was much better than their own side, they didn't look like trackers.

This was because Yuzhen and the others were neither prepared for battle nor had they launched a surprise attack just now.

Everything indicated that this was an accidental encounter.

Seeing this, the person decided to take a gamble. He gritted his teeth and revealed their true origin:

"We are from the Fuma Clan, formerly the Kazama Clan, and I am the Clan Leader."

Fuma? That sounded a bit familiar.

Yuzhen thought for a moment, then asked:

"Are you the Fuma Clan known for crafting Ninja Tools and mastering the art of shurikenjutsu?"

"Yes, that's us."

"How did you end up in such a sorry state?"

Well, those words, spoken without thinking, were rather impolite.

Yuzhen didn't mean to insult them; he was purely curious.

After all, the Fuma Clan had continued into the era of Ninja Villages. Although only a few scattered members remained later on, since they managed to survive to later generations, they shouldn't be in such a miserable state now.

The words made the person opposite's nose sting, and he felt like crying.

The Fuma Clan Leader thought to himself, We're just strangers who met by chance. Your concern is overstepping... Why do you care if I'm doing poorly or not?

But he didn't dare to say it aloud.

"My name is Fūma Kotarō. Mr. Yuzhen, to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, could you have your people step back a little?"

Seeing such a pathetic and humble group of Ninja, Yuzhen suddenly had an idea.

He felt he could conduct a small experiment.

"Given the current situation, a misunderstanding caused by my people wouldn't be a misunderstanding; any improper action from your people would be the real misunderstanding." Thus, he began to apply pressure directly.

Fūma Kotarō was silenced by his words and became instantly annoyed. However, circumstances were beyond his control, so he had no choice but to bow his head and concede.

"Alright, Mr. Yuzhen, then can my people step back? I promise there will be no improper actions."

Yuzhen flashed a friendly smile and said:

"Okay, but... no."

Fūma Kotarō was about to return the smile, but these words made the corners of his mouth, which were starting to turn up, fall back down at lightning speed.

This didn't sound like something a human would say.

Is it good or not good? Can or cannot?