The Cannibal Village and the Cave of the Rogue Ninja

"What? You don't believe me?" Ming retorted.

"I believe, I believe that Shiyu somehow saw Naruto's shadow in Mei."

"This is clearly a perfunctory attitude!" Ming was also very unhappy.

"Please just say something, don't do this! Otherwise I'll throw up! It's disgusting for a man to say something like that." Shiyu also sped up, instantly leaving Ming behind.

"Hey! Disgusting!?" Mei also sped up, preparing to catch up with Shiyu.

Shiyu's speed in the Body Flicker Technique movement was already very fast, and with a little more focus, he quickly left Ming behind. However, Shiyu still tried to keep him and Ming at a suitable distance to facilitate sensing each other.

Time passed quickly. Shiyu relayed the information he had obtained back through the communication hawk specially raised by Konoha. He did not encounter any enemies along the way and eventually arrived at the border between the Konoha Grass Ninja and the Shiyu Ninja ahead of everyone else.

This is a village called Sanjie Village, which sounds fantastical, but it is actually a village located at the border of three kingdoms.

Shiyu deliberately waited for Ming, so Ming quickly caught up with Shiyu.

"You arrived really slowly," Shiyu couldn't help but tease.

You, Ming, are also breathing heavily.

"If you need to catch your breath, you can take off your mask," Shiyu suggested.

"Tch! Despicable! We're only temporary allies, I won't let you see my face!" Ming also refused Shiyu's request.

"Okay. Is this the place where that rogue ninja named Jiamu often hangs out?" Shiyu asked.

"Probably. I'll go gather some intelligence." Ming also took the initiative to gather intelligence, but before Shiyu could do anything, he was surrounded by a group of villagers.

"Judging from your appearance, you're no good person!"

"Yes! Hidden behind a mask! Maybe Jiamu sent them!"

"That despicable Jiamu! He actually tried to rob us! He deserves to die!"

"My children! They've all been stolen! Give them back!"

The villagers were enraged and each took out their weapons, intending to attack Ming, but Ming's attempts to explain were completely ineffective.

With a "whoosh!" Shiyu used the Flying Thunder God Technique to Teleportation to Mei's side, and then disappeared from the spot with a Flying Thunder God plus Body Flicker Technique, actually appearing on the roof to secretly lie in ambush.

Ming was greatly surprised and said, "This..."

But Shiyu immediately covered her mouth. "Shh!"

"Disappeared?! Where did they go!?"

"These people! They escaped! What a pity! They finally encountered two villagers before reluctantly walking away."

Then Shiyu said, "There's no point in explaining to them. Look closely at the skeletons on the ground." Shiyu pointed to the ground, where there were human bones everywhere.

"These are human bones. What... what exactly happened?" Ming asked in a low voice.

"The Five Great Nations are frequently at war, and the unfortunate ones are the smaller countries that serve as buffer zones. They often become battlefields, and the borders of these smaller countries are even more like buffer zones within buffer zones. As a result of the war, crops and the ecosystem have been severely damaged."

"Look at these villagers. They're all skin and bones from hunger, clearly they haven't eaten anything in a long time. They've even attacked you, a stranger. If I'm not mistaken, they're probably attacking any passerby they can find to survive."

"Stop talking, I understand," Ming also fell silent.

After seemingly adjusting his tone, Ming said, "War is so cruel. Although this isn't the Land of Water, but..."

Shiyu nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. The villagers just mentioned Jiamu, which might mean we have a lead."

"Yes! This means Jiamu must be nearby, with a large force. If I were Jiamu, I would probably hide the kidnapped person in a very secluded place," Ming also offered his analysis.

Shiyu nodded, and unusually praised, "Looks like you're not completely stupid. Now it's up to me."

Shiyu immediately activated her sensory abilities and Byakugan, and could clearly see the scene in the cave not far away.

"Oh no! How could this happen?" Shiyu was also shocked.

"What's wrong?" Ming asked immediately.

"You'll see Shiyu simply picked Ming up and carried him on her back.

"What are you doing?!" Ming's face turned red instantly.

"I'll be much faster!" Shiyu then used a series of incredibly fast Body Flicker Technique to reach the cave.

Upon arriving at the cave, Ming was also greatly alarmed.

"Just now... the speed just now was like Teleportation! Wait, does that mean this guy's speed on the road was just to wait for me?"

"This is too exaggerated!" Before Ming could react, Shiyu patted him on the back.

"Let's go in quickly! See if this person is Jiamu?"

"Hmm." Ming followed Shiyu in and was also stunned. The ground was covered with congealed blood and already cold corpses. Each person had a long line drawn on their Forehead Protector.

"They were all killed?! Who killed them?!" Mei was also puzzled, but Shiyu didn't answer him.

"There are charred corpses. It seems they used fire-based techniques during the battle. These corpses are completely stiff. Judging from the timeline, they must have kidnapped Suisen, and then were attacked and killed upon their return."

"This guy's body was sliced open by Wind Release! They encountered Wind Release ninja? This corpse is charred black; it seems to have been electrocuted by Lightning Release."

Shiyu was also puzzled. Who would attack this group of rogue ninja? And the bodies of the Konoha Ninja hadn't been found either.

Just when things were at a stalemate, Ming said, "Shiyu, I've discovered something."

"Hmm? You said it."

"I suddenly realized that all the corpses here were face down."

"Face down? That can't be a coincidence. It seems someone did it on purpose? Could it be to tell us something?"

Shiyu then used his light blue Sharingan to survey his surroundings.

"I see! The entrance to this cave is below." Shiyu moved the corpse under her feet aside, and there was a groove under her own feet.

"A keyhole? It seems we need a key to open it." Shiyu decided to look for the key. After all, forcibly blasting open the cave with ninjutsu might cause it to collapse, burying the two of them. Although they could use Flying Thunder God to avoid it, that would cut off the clues.

"Shiyu, Jiamu Jiamu dead too!" Mei also found the body of this rogue ninja leader.

"Is this something Jiamu can confirm?" Shiyu asked.

"Confirm."

Shiyu could clearly see that the leader's hands were clenched tightly, as if he were protecting something.