The Fallen Tsuchigumo Clan

"Alright!" Ingetsu rose to his feet, crisp and decisive.

Nonō could hardly believe it. She had never expected Ingetsu to agree so readily!

At that moment—

Ingetsu's back, illuminated by the firelight, seemed so noble in her eyes. He radiated a unique charm that warmed her heart.

As her shame and embarrassment receded, the excited Nonō momentarily forgot that the bathtub had originally been taken out by Ingetsu.

Nonō asked gratefully, "Captain... if I had refused to join the team just now, would you... have killed me?"

"No."

Ingetsu remained expressionless, his right hand resting on the bathtub.

Nonō's eyes reddened. In a low, emotional voice, she said sincerely, "You really are a good person!"

Ingetsu nodded and replied calmly, "I would have immediately kicked 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 very good.

Thinking of something, Ingetsu patted the bathtub and added, "Also, if I made you carry a bathtub full of bathwater on your back, there are definitely Konoha tracking ninja nearby. They would probably be very interested in why you were inexplicably carrying a bathtub."

"Huh?" Nonō's expression suddenly changed.

She imagined herself under the moonlight, dressed in a nun's habit and trudging forward with a bathtub on her back, only to encounter Konoha ninja, be taken back for interrogation and torture, then have her reputation spread throughout Konoha—and eventually the entire ninja world.

Even if she did not die by then, it would be no different from death.

What an evil idea!

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

Buzz—

The space in front of Ingetsu quivered, 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.

"Whew—"

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

"Get some rest. I'll keep watch." Ingetsu surveyed the camp. The Uchiha and Kurenai Yuhi had already fallen fast asleep.

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

"Alright."

Nonō seemed to have latched onto Ingetsu. After nodding in agreement, she showed no intention of moving elsewhere and simply lay down on her side in the grass beside him.

She and Kurenai Yuhi occupied positions on either side of Ingetsu.

Ingetsu paid them no mind.

He slowly sat down and noticed that the Green Medicine in his body had been fully digested. His physical strength had increased by another 0.1% of an adult man's strength.

As long as he had enough Green Medicine in the future, repeatedly refreshing it every day would make the rate at which his strength increased utterly terrifying.

At the foot of Mount Katsuragi.

A thousand meters away.

Within a dark forest, a fifty-man convoy drove twenty wagons loaded with goods toward the plains ahead of the forest.

The torches in the hands of the convoy members illuminated the woodland path, as well as the banners on the wagons bearing the symbol of the Tsuchigumo Clan.

Clop—clop—clop—

The sounds of hooves and wheels mingled together.

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

This was a Tsuchigumo Clan caravan from within Mount Katsuragi, traveling out to sell goods and purchase supplies.

Sitting in the front wagon were three guards—a man and two women—dressed in leather armor.

There was also a white-haired old man and a cute girl with wavy golden hair.

Of the group, only the old man and the blonde girl were members of the Tsuchigumo Clan. The guards on the wagon were escorts recruited from a mercenary settlement to protect the caravan.

Grrr—

The carriage jolted along.

"Ugh—"

Pain showed on the pretty face beneath the blonde girl's fair forehead. From time to time, she used her delicate little hands to cushion her bottom against the long wooden bench she sat on, enduring the rough ride.

The white-haired elder shook out his gray sleeves. His sharp gaze swept over the girl, his expression dimming as he sighed inwardly.

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

Even caravan guards have to be recruited from mercenary towns.

Hotaru, the clan leader's daughter, has even been assigned the heavy responsibility of watching over the caravan, forced to travel outside with an old man like me, already past eighty.

Alas...

When will our Tsuchigumo Clan return to the prosperous days when we could intimidate all four directions with the 'Forbidden Technique: Wrath of Heaven' and form an equal alliance with Konoha?"

Caw, caw, caw—

What responded to the elder was the desolate, hoarse cries of flocks of night crows in the forest.

Flap—

The white-haired elder looked up and saw countless birds flying out from above the trees. He could not shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Hotaru frowned and looked at the elder beside her, asking softly, "Great Elder, how much longer until we return to the clan land?"

It was her first time leaving the clan land on an escort mission. Once night fell, she had no sense of direction at all.

The Tsuchigumo Clan's Great Elder stroked his grizzled goatee and smiled benevolently with narrowed eyes. "We're almost there, almost there."

Hotaru looked helpless and sighed inwardly. She had heard that "almost there, almost there" so many times along the way that her ears were practically callused.

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

It was rather lively there.

The Guard Captain, clad in a short green robe over leather armor, was laughing merrily with his two female guard companions. The atmosphere was peaceful and cheerful.

When Hotaru had hired this guard squad, she had thought that since there were girls among them, they might have common topics to talk about on the road.

Yet throughout the journey, those two girls had completely ignored her, the employer who had paid to hire the guard squad.

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

The girl and the elder fell silent.

Hotaru suddenly clenched her fists, gathering the courage to join the Guard Captain's conversation.

She looked at him nervously and asked, "Um... Captain Sōsen, did you really not hear anything in the mountains just now?"

The cheerful conversation was interrupted by her question.

Sōsen, clad in a short green robe, turned to look at his beautiful employer and grinned. "Miss Hotaru, there's no need to worry.

There are often strange noises in the mountains.

But as long as we're here, the caravan will definitely reach the Earth Spider Clan Land safely. We are a guard squad with professionalism, integrity, and strength. Your discerning eye chose us, which means you chose safety!"

Light gleamed in Sōsen's eyes. His words were forceful and sonorous, exceptionally convincing.

Still, he truly had not heard any noises. He supposed that he had gotten too caught up chatting with his companions and naturally overlooked them.

But what did that matter?

All along the way, the caravan had encountered quite a few bandits and low-level rogue ninja. The moment those people saw the Tsuchigumo Clan's banner, plus a bit of Sōsen's smooth talk, they were easily sent packing.

They were practically at "home" already.

What danger could there possibly be?

In Sōsen's view, this escort job was as good as done. There would not be the slightest problem!

Hotaru, however, remained deeply worried. She looked up at the clouds beneath the moonlight, which seemed as though they had been cleaved apart by a single sword strike, though most of them had already dispersed.

She still could not help asking, "Then the clouds up in the sky..."

Sōsen interrupted her with a laugh. "I saw that too. Those clouds weren't all that high up. Maybe hawks and falcons have no nightlife and got bored, so they made that strange sight!"

"..."

Hotaru lowered her brows and clenched her palm.

She had finally managed to start a conversation with them and was unwilling to let it end there, so she continued asking, "Captain Sōsen, as a hired guard unit from the nearby towns, you must have heard about the S-Rank Rogue Ninja from Konoha who's been causing such a stir lately, right?"

The moment she said that, Sōsen immediately became interested. He promptly pulled a newspaper from his robes and grinned excitedly.

"Hehe, Uchiha Ingetsu, right?"