"Orochimaru-sama, you're back."
After recognizing the visitor, Aburame Keiichi stepped forward and spoke.
"Ah, Keiichi. You were a great help some time ago. Without your flawless infiltration, we might not have succeeded in cutting off the supply line at Kannabi Bridge." Orochimaru's eyes flickered as he praised him.
"Now that the situation has stabilized somewhat, I've brought my disciple out for some special training." Orochimaru turned slightly and pointed at Anko.
"Anko, say hello. This is your senior, Aburame Keiichi. He's one of the village's strongest ninja."
Standing behind Orochimaru, Mitaraishi Anko lifted her chin and blinked as she responded.
"Hello, Keiichi-senpai. I'm Mitaraishi Anko."
"Haha, what an outstanding child," Aburame Keiichi praised.
Orochimaru smiled and nodded, glancing over the group.
"So you've started taking on newcomers too? Going out on missions?"
"Yes. I'm taking these disappointing disciples out to broaden their horizons, so they don't end up knowing nothing from lack of experience. It would be one thing to embarrass me, but they'd also suffer the consequences of cruel reality." Aburame Keiichi's gaze swept across them.
"Mm... that is indeed true. The ninja world has no place for flowers raised in greenhouses. It's a good thing for them to adapt early." Orochimaru nodded, fully agreeing with Aburame Keiichi.
"They're all good children. A member of the Hyuga Clan, a descendant of the Senju..."
Orochimaru's gaze passed over them, lingering briefly on Hyuga Rei and Morino Kei.
"Especially this child, Kai, he's quite—" Orochimaru spoke slowly, but froze when his gaze landed on Uchiha Kai.
He looked again twice in disbelief before speaking softly.
"Uchiha Kai... how interesting." Orochimaru's tone was playful.
"What is it? Is there something wrong with Kai?" Aburame Keiichi asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
Orochimaru waved a hand and chuckled.
"No, it's nothing. I only met this child once when he graduated. He was a true genius... To have improved this much in such a short time..." Curiosity gleamed in the feminine man's eyes.
Uchiha Kai was immediately startled, a chill running down his spine.
Could this old bastard have noticed something? He's an existence beyond even a Ninja Scientist. He feels dangerous.
Outwardly, however, he remained calm and spoke respectfully.
"Orochimaru-sama, thank you for your help last time. It was truly a tremendous help to me."
Orochimaru chuckled and waved his hand.
"Hehe... it was only a small matter, nothing worth dwelling on. Helping along a junior was effortless. Still, your rate of progress surprised me. As expected of a genius of the Uchiha Clan."
"You flatter me. I'm merely still on the road," Uchiha Kai replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Hahaha..." Orochimaru suddenly began to laugh softly.
"Still on the road... what admirable resolve. I look forward to seeing what light and heat your future will release. We'll part ways for now."
Orochimaru's eyes burned brightly, his words filled with undisguised admiration.
At that, the girl behind him immediately stiffened. Hostility appeared on her delicate face, her pupils narrowing as a trace of a predator's dangerous aura seeped out.
After greeting them, Orochimaru bid the group farewell and headed into the village. As Mitaraishi Anko followed behind him, she suddenly spoke when she passed Uchiha Kai.
"Just wait. I've already completed Orochimaru-sama's special training and mastered secret techniques you could never possess. Wait for me to surpass you, then crush you completely."
The girl's crisp voice was not loud, yet everyone present heard it clearly.
Orochimaru shook his head lightly with a helpless expression, while Aburame Keiichi seemed to have caught some special scent of information. His gaze shifted back and forth among Mitaraishi Anko, Hyuga Rei, and Uchiha Kai.
"Damn smug bitch. Just let me catch you... Sooner or later, I'll tear that insolent mouth of yours apart..."
Veins bulged at the corner of Hyuga Rei's eye, faintly forming a cross-shaped mark. Snow Fang unconsciously ground her teeth with a creaking sound.
"Oh my... this is something else." Seeing the girl's reaction, Aburame Keiichi immediately wore a wicked grin, looking like an experienced elder who understood everything.
"Youth..."
In the lewd breeze, the old man wore an amused smile.
Clop, clop...
Horses' hooves struck the uneven dirt-and-stone road with a clattering rhythm, while the wooden carriage creaked under the jolts.
Inside the carriage sat Uchiha Kai and the others, who were out on a mission.
"Urgh... blegh!"
By the carriage window, Morino Kei clutched the frame, his face deathly pale as he dry-heaved several times.
"H-how much longer until we get there, Keiichi-sensei?"
The burly young man's face was white with misery. He was clearly carsick.
"I can't take this anymore... blegh..."
Aburame Keiichi rubbed his head in exasperation. Looking at the burly youth whose back Uchiha Kai kept patting, he spoke teasingly.
"Well... I really didn't expect a guy built as solidly as you to get carsick. Didn't you know that before?" the man asked in confusion.
"What necessary connection does carsickness have with being strong, Sensei... Besides, I'd never left the village before graduating. How could I possibly have known I got carsick..."
Morino Kei looked utterly lifeless, feeling as if he were about to vomit up stomach acid.
"Ah, judging by the distance, we should arrive in a few more minutes." Aburame Keiichi stuck his head out to take a look before answering.
"Great! Is it finally going to end!?" Morino Kei cried weakly, his vacant eyes seeming as though his soul had been sucked away.
Just as Morino Kei was about to rejoice, Aburame Keiichi's next words made him wail again.
"However, if we're heading to the Land of Hot Water afterward, we'll need to transfer once more. You..." The man paused.
"Don't tell me you get seasick too."
A few minutes later, Uchiha Kai and the others arrived at their destination.
"Just come back to pick us up at the agreed time. Mm, got it."
After casually speaking with the carriage driver for a few moments, Aburame Keiichi led the group out of the carriage.
A strange smell drifted through the air, seemingly a mixture of fishy stench and damp earth.
After their carriage ride, they arrived at the docks of a fishing village.
Afternoon light spilled over the nearby sea. The murky water looked as though it had been coated in rust. Several fishing boats were lined up beside the aging pier, while torn fishing nets lay piled along the shore.
The streets were eerily quiet. Villagers in ragged, coarse clothing merely stared curiously and warily at the strangers who had suddenly arrived.
The entire fishing village, inside and out, carried an air of oppression and despair. Everything here was alive, but only barely.
"Isn't this close to the Land of Hot Water?" Even the boisterous Morino Kei felt a pang of sorrow as he looked at the lifeless fishing village before them.
"Wasn't the Land of Hot Water supposed to be a safe place untouched by war?" the burly youth asked.
Yet it was a question no one could answer with certainty.
"This is Ninja War. The struggles and whirlpools between great nations need only leak out the slightest bit to leave a small village's people unable to survive."
Aburame Keiichi spoke coldly in a low voice.
"This is reality. A reality that cannot be avoided or escaped."
"And this is exactly what I want you to witness. Open your eyes and face it all. Until you gain the power to change it."
There was not a trace of emotion in Aburame Keiichi's voice, only an icy statement of fact.
He started walking, ignoring everything around him as he headed toward the docks.
Uchiha Kai and the other two fell silent and could only hurry after him.
Then, all of a sudden, Hyuga Rei felt someone tug at the corner of her clothes.
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