Knock—knock—knock—
The caravan moved slowly. When the first carriage rounded a hill—
The view opened up.
The clouds parted, revealing the moon.
From the carriages, everyone could look down and see the Earth Spider Clan Land a mile away.
It was a small village nestled in the mountains.
It was not as large as Kikyo City.
A towering watchtower stood at the village entrance. Its lights were sparse, and forests surrounded the village on both sides.
Quiet and peaceful, the village blended into the night. The gentle moonlight outlined a scene completely cut off from the outside world.
When the caravan members saw the village, the knot of tension in their hearts loosened slightly.
Plop—
In the first carriage, Hotaru's delicate body suddenly trembled. Her face quickly turned as pale as paper, her cherry lips quivering as all the strength seemed to drain from her body.
"Mm—"
Hotaru furrowed her brows. Her body went limp, and after a soft whimper, she pitched headfirst toward Ingetsu across from her.
"..." Ingetsu raised his brows slightly.
Before he could react—
Kurenai Yuhi had just risen to her feet when Izumi shot out like a cheetah and caught Hotaru. As she examined her from head to toe, she cried out inwardly:
Is she trying to scam us?
But Hotaru's body truly had no strength at all. She was completely limp.
That was Izumi's first impression.
"What's wrong?"
As a Medical Ninja, Nonō's professional instincts kicked in at the sight of a patient. She adjusted her round-framed glasses, then took the girl from Izumi.
The women all looked at Hotaru, who had been perfectly fine moments ago, their faces filled with confusion as they kindly examined her.
"It's nothing."
Ingetsu spoke calmly, withdrew his gaze, and looked toward the Earth Spider Village they were about to reach.
Everyone wore puzzled expressions.
"Strange. How did this girl's vital energy suddenly become so weak? But it's nothing serious. The captain is right—just give her a Ration Pill."
Nonō reached into her robes and pulled a packet of Ration Pills from beneath her black-and-white nun's habit. She took one out and fed it to Hotaru.
Ingetsu did not stop Nonō's kindness. They still needed Hotaru to lead the way, and he already knew why the girl had ended up like this.
Everyone gradually relaxed.
They had mainly been worried that the group had come under attack.
Ingetsu turned to look toward the rear of the caravan.
He had attacked earlier.
He had not noticed that—
He had drained the Chakra from all these people. At that moment, something unusual happened behind the second carriage.
Smack—smack—smack—
The sounds of people collapsing rang out one after another.
Sōsen watched wide-eyed as the guard he had kicked earlier suddenly knelt before him, then collapsed in the middle of the carriage bed. Frightened, he retreated two steps and shouted:
"I only kicked you once, and you're trying to extort me?"
Sensing that something was wrong, Sōsen immediately leaned out to scan the surrounding carriages. To his astonishment, everyone on them had now collapsed to their knees, accompanied by pained groans:
"Ugh... Why did my head suddenly get so dizzy..."
"Why can't I put any strength into my waist?"
"I'm so tired..."
As he listened to their groans, Sōsen's eyes began to twitch and his scalp went numb. Before he could recover, a feeling of weakness crept from his toes up his calves like ants.
His body seemed to have been completely hollowed out, without a drop left in it. He collapsed directly onto one of the guards, unable to move, so exhausted that all he wanted was to bury his head and sleep.
Gurgle—
With no one driving them, the horses stopped on their own, leaving a break in the caravan.
"Huh???"
Nonō looked at the "driver" lying on the ground ahead of their carriage, bewildered and depressed. How did it turn into something contagious?
"Something seems wrong!"
Kurenai Yuhi looked toward Ingetsu.
Uchiha Mikoto, Izumi, and Nonō successively turned back toward the silent Ingetsu.
They had sensed that something was off.
The women's beautiful eyes glittered like brilliant stars. Ingetsu remained expressionless and simply replied:
"It's nothing."
These people only needed to sleep or eat a Ration Pill, then rest for a while. Once their spirits recovered and the fatigue left their bodies, they would be fine.
Earlier, Yachihoko had drained them dry. Their adrenaline had surged, leaving them in a state of intense fear and tension. They had not noticed that their physical strength and mental energy had fused into Chakra and been drained away in an instant.
Once they relaxed—
The delayed fatigue surged over them, sending them directly into a state of exhaustion.
"Really... nothing?"
Hotaru leaned against Izumi's embrace and slowly raised her head. She blinked, her eyelashes trembling as she stared at Ingetsu.
After eating the Ration Pill, color had returned to her cheeks. But seeing her clansmen like this, she could not help showing a trace of worry.
Nonō lifted the hem of her black nun's habit, supported herself on the carriage bed with one hand, and vaulted over the carriage.
Her long skirt billowed open like an umbrella before settling around her long legs.
She slowly crouched beside the two coachmen and examined them. Then, speaking for her famously taciturn captain, she said, "It's nothing. Their symptoms are the same as yours. They'll be fine after resting for a while."
Hearing this, Hotaru finally sighed in relief.
Beneath the moonlight—
At the rear of the caravan—
Plop—
The sound of landing footsteps rang out. Two four-man Uchiha squads met up, then used the Body Flicker Technique toward the front of the caravan.
The eight had wiped out the ninjas on the other two mountain roads. They looked slightly tired now, no longer as heroic as before.
"What are you carrying?"
Nanfeng looked astonished. He and the teammates behind him saw the other squad, and their eyes were immediately drawn to Tamao.
Tamao was carrying a female ninja dressed in a black bodysuit. She had a full figure, long hair cascading down like a waterfall, and a mask covering her face. The half of her face that remained visible was delicate and fresh.
"Oh, this is a gift I brought back for Big Brother!" Tamao replied solemnly.
While leading his team in wiping out the Root Organization members and the other ninjas, he had been delighted to discover that they had a female ninja—and that she was rather attractive. So he had left her alive and captured her.
Compared with the Hotaru he had captured earlier, Tamao felt that this female ninja's figure resembled Mikoto's. Big Brother would probably like her.
"..." Nanfeng.
Tamao really was clever. No wonder he had returned empty-handed before; something had always felt wrong about that.
As the Uchihas passed the caravan and saw everyone lying on the ground, their expressions grew solemn. Each pressed his right hand against the Ninja Blade strapped to his back.
Nanfeng asked in a deep voice, "What happened?"
"Oh, judging by this, they were probably scared unconscious by Big Brother's swordsmanship. Look, they're sleeping so soundly."
Tamao explained.
One dared to ask, and the other dared to answer.
The group left the hill and saw Ingetsu and the others safe and sound in the first carriage.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. After a few leaps, they reached Ingetsu and the others.
"Big Brother, the mission is complete! This is the woman I brought back for you!"
Tamao grinned as he placed the female ninja he was carrying in the middle of the carriage bed. Then he raised his head toward Ingetsu, as though seeking praise.
Kurenai Yuhi, Izumi, and Mikoto looked at Tamao strangely.
Hotaru looked terrified. She found the scene oddly familiar.
"..." Ingetsu glanced at the female ninja lying on the carriage bed with her eyes shut, then said calmly, "She's dead."
"Huh?"
Tamao's eyes went wide in surprise. He lowered his head to look at the female ninja, shoved her shoulder, then reached out and removed her mask.
A delicate face appeared.
The female ninja did not move. Her eyes were tightly shut, and black blood remained at the corner of her mouth. She had clearly swallowed poison and killed herself.
"No, why did you die? I carried you all the way back here! Did I give you permission to die?"
Tamao drooped his head, frustrated that she had failed him.
An Uchiha muttered quietly:
"You kept filling her head with ideas about serving Captain Ingetsu, indirectly portraying the captain as a lecher. If I were a woman, I'd want to die after hearing that too."
Tamao's baby face was filled with helplessness. After thinking for a moment, he looked toward Nanfeng and sighed:
"Nanfeng, look, I already brought her all the way back. We can't let that go to waste. Why don't you make do with her and take advantage of the chance—"
Nanfeng roared:
"Get lost!"
"Ha... You have no appreciation for romance." Tamao ignored him and looked toward his Big Brother.
Ingetsu had black lines over his head. He walked over to Tamao, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Bury her. You did well this time."
Hearing the praise, Tamao immediately grinned and nodded hard, his mood improving at once.
"Don't do this again next time."
Ingetsu finished what he had to say.
Tamao immediately wilted.
Seeing that none of the Uchihas had been injured, and not wanting to waste time chatting, Ingetsu planned to take only Hotaru into the Earth Spider Clan Land and leave the caravan members where they were.
A mission prompt suddenly appeared in his mind.
[Side Quest]: Not a single one can be left behind.
[Options]:
1. Bring the caravan back to Earth Spider Village.
[Reward]:
Storage Space increased by 100 cubic meters.
Before you continue