Peach Blossom Spring?

"Puchi--"

The girl's bell-like laughter echoed through the empty hall.

"What's wrong?" Uchiha Kai asked, a look of confusion on his face.

"N-Nothing," the girl replied, wiping the corner of her eye as she suppressed her laughter.

"I take back what I said earlier," the girl said, tapping her chin with her hand as if in thought.

"Said what?"

"Kai-kun, you really are a typical Uchiha."

Hyuga Rei stood up, brushed off the dust, and said without looking back.

Before Uchiha Kai could ask anything else, Morino Kei's excited shout came from outside.

"Yo! Kai! Rei!"

"Come out quickly! Look what I caught!"

Morino Kei kicked open the hall door, kicking up dust that filled the room and made the two of them cough.

"Morino Kei!! I'm going to kill you!" Hyuga Rei, choked by the dust, flew into a rage.

"No! Don't kill the donkey after it's done its work!"

After a loud wail, Morino Kei, shrinking his neck, came in carrying two large wild rabbits.

"Hehehe! We're having roast rabbit tonight!"

He looked up and saw the eyeless Buddha on the altar.

"Huh? This broken temple's rotten Buddha hasn't collapsed yet? How unlucky." The tall young man raised an eyebrow, his tone full of disdain.

"Is it really okay to say that?" Hyuga Rei's eyes widened slightly, her expression shocked.

"Hmph! What kind of useless, broken Buddha is it? Where was this damn Buddha when its followers were killing people?" Morino Kei's expression changed, his tone filled with disgust.

"Believe in it? I'd believe in a piece of rotten meat before I believe in it!"

Recalling the scene just now, Hyuga Rei's eyes also dimmed, agreeing with Morino Kei.

"Makes sense," Uchiha Kai suddenly chimed in.

"There have never been gods or Buddhas who save the world; rather, those who save people are called gods or Buddhas."

Half an hour later, the group had briefly cleaned the interior, blowing away the cobwebs and dust on the surface, making it barely habitable.

Then, they set up a grill in the courtyard, prepared the wild rabbits they had caught, and roasted them.

The four of them, master and disciples, were exceptionally satisfied with the meal. Although there were no seasonings to enhance the flavor, as the only fresh, hot meal they had acquired in the past two days, it was quite good.

"By the way, Teacher Keiichi, the mission is complete. Are we returning to the village tomorrow?" Morino Kei asked, his mouth full of rabbit leg, speaking indistinctly.

"Of course--not," Aburame Keiichi replied, wiping his mouth.

"It's not often I get to take you brats out of the village. There's no way I'm going back after just running an errand and stepping on two bugs."

"You all look so disheveled, people will think I'm abusing my students," Aburame Keiichi said nonchalantly.

"Then what about us?" Morino Kei asked, his eyes wide.

"Since we're already in the Land of Hot Water, how can we not experience the local specialties? We'll spend a day in Yugakure tomorrow and return to the village the day after," Aburame Keiichi said softly.

"Hooray!" The three of them cheered in unison.

The next morning, Yugakure, Land of Hot Water.

As an independent small country located between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, the Land of Hot Water was known throughout the Ninja World for its relatively favorable environment and unique hot spring geothermal resources.

And as a country in the Ninja World, it was inevitably unable to avoid the ravages of war.

After a brutal war, Yugakure, which was not strong to begin with, suffered heavy losses. As the weaker party and the de facto loser.

To ensure its continuation and survival, Yugakure had to make a decision that could be described as insane, a decision that seemed like suicide to other ninja villages.

They abandoned military expansion, actively reduced their ninja force, retaining only the most basic team that could barely keep the village running.

Instead, they began to develop tourism and other industries.

Unimaginably, this decision actually saved them. The great nations actually allowed their existence.

Perhaps it was because of their firm attitude, but more likely it was because the other major powers didn't care about their tiny territory, and those that did were too far away to interfere.

The combination of these factors created this peculiar ninja village, known to the outside world as the "Village That Forgets War." After all, no matter how wars were fought, they were essentially about fighting for resources and territory. Having such a relaxing buffer zone was a welcome thing, wasn't it?

Compared to other places, the streets of Yugakure appeared somewhat prosperous. The houses on both sides were in the classic hot spring town style, and the stone-paved road reflected a moist sheen.

"Yo~ Customer, how about some Oden? It's warm, comfortable, and sweet."

"Takoyaki, takoyaki, delicious and affordable takoyaki!"

"Shaved ice, shaved ice! Freshly made shaved ice! There's nothing better than a bowl after a hot spring soak!"

The street vendor shouted loudly, the atmosphere lively.

The master and his three disciples walked down the street, listening to the shouts and feeling the warm, humid air carrying the scent of sulfur.

"Is this the Land of Hot Water? It's just like in the brochures," Hyuga Rei said in surprise, looking at the peaceful, bustling street.

"So many stalls, they all look delicious... hic--" Morino Kei, clutching a pile of snacks and sweets, was so full he started to hiccup.

"Indeed. The villagers around here only talk about trivial matters. It seems the wars in the Ninja World have no effect on them at all," Uchiha Kai remarked, looking around.

This village, which had a pitifully small role in the original story, was now laid out before him in its entirety.

Warm, peaceful, and serene, it was like paradise compared to other countries. The art style was completely different from the Ninja World, even feeling disconnected.

But that was only on the surface.

Just in the short distance they had walked, Uchiha Kai had already noticed several irregularities. The owners of several shops and stalls on the street were extremely strange.

Not only were their methods crude, but their shops and stalls were unnaturally tidy. They didn't welcome customers, instead urging them to eat elsewhere. If someone insisted, they would just half-heartedly prepare something.

The food they received tasted like the excrement of some unknown beast. How did he know this so clearly?

It was naturally because that kid Morino Kei, after being swindled, had taken it without batting an eye and given it to Uchiha Kai, forcing him to endure the disgust until Uchiha Kai also ate it.

Looking closely at the calloused hands of these strange people, one could understand.

Ninja, and not even ninja from the same faction. Not to mention the significant differences in the appearances of people from the major countries, it was easy to spot the differences upon closer inspection.

Especially the Stone Ninja... they had almost single-handedly lowered the average attractiveness of the entire Ninja World. If it were just about being ugly, that would be one thing.

Some of the undercover ninja didn't even bother to act. He didn't know what their superiors were thinking; did they think other countries' ninja were idiots with that all-black attire...

"Isn't it good that it's just like the outside world says? We're here to relax anyway," Aburame Keiichi said casually, hands in his pockets.

As if noticing Uchiha Kai's worry, Aburame Keiichi turned his head and explained.

"Don't mind them. Just pretend they don't exist."