The Man-Eating Monster

Seeing the gleaming blade, the villagers' expressions were filled with fear, and some even began to waver.

After all, not everyone had a wife and children.

"Alright..."

A figure who seemed to be the leader of the villagers stepped forward; he was a short, elderly man.

"Honorable samurai..."

"Please, put away your weapons..."

"We have hidden the women and children deep in the mountains, quite a distance away."

"It takes at least half a day to go there and back."

Seeing the old man about to reveal the location of their wives and children, the villagers nearby couldn't help but grow anxious.

"Village Chief!"

But after being swept by the old man's stern gaze, they all fell silent; it was clear the old man was a figure of great prestige in their daily lives.

"If you lords were to go yourselves, you might not find the way. Why not let me lead the way?"

The old man seemed to have been forced into a corner with no other options.

"Let me lead the way and bring you lords over there..."

"Hehehe."

The leader of the armed samurai let out a disdainful laugh.

To survive for long in these chaotic times, one naturally had to be a cunning person.

"I can't trust an old thing like you..."

The samurai leader's eyes shifted, though he didn't suggest splitting his group up.

Because his band of wandering samurai numbered only a dozen or so; if they split in half, there was no guarantee they could suppress the able-bodied men in this village.

"Then we brothers will just wait for you here..."

"Trouble yourself to lead those women over here, old man."

Hearing this, the samurai exchanged glances and burst into arrogant laughter.

Only the village chief wore a bitter expression, as if his previous plan had been seen through.

Yet, neither side noticed a sparrow on a treetop, its tiny pupils reflecting a look of human-like contemplation as it took in the entire scene.

Just as the samurai were dismounting, preparing to set up camp at the village entrance, a tall figure suddenly appeared before the group of wandering samurai.

Compared to these samurai, whose average height was under 1.65 meters, the frame of Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing over 1.7 meters, was quite conspicuous.

The current Sarutobi Hiruzen had not yet shrunk down to the short stature of 1.6 meters he would have later in life.

"Hey! You there!"

"Which school of ninja do you belong to?!"

The leading samurai saw that the man before him was tall and muscular, not looking like a destitute commoner at all, but rather dressed in tight-fitting combat gear, more like a ninja or a death-sworn retainer raised by some school or great clan.

Following the leader's signal, the rest of the samurai drew their blades, watching the somewhat aged but imposing man with wary expressions.

In this chaotic world, every stranger could potentially end your life.

Facing a double-digit number of armed samurai, Sarutobi Hiruzen paid no mind to his own danger, instead assessing the information of this world.

They all have the physical constitution of ordinary people.

Judging by their attire and language,

it seems to be ancient Land of Days.

Sarutobi Hiruzen analyzed calmly.

"Hey! You old man!"

"I'm talking to you!"

The leading samurai, seeing the man before him ignoring him entirely and speaking in a language with an unfamiliar accent, immediately stepped forward impatiently, intending to take Sarutobi Hiruzen down.

"Old man?!"

These two words struck a sensitive nerve in Sarutobi Hiruzen, instantly making him displeased.

"Are you talking about me?!"

The people around did not see Sarutobi Hiruzen move; they only felt a blur before their eyes, and the tall man had already taken the samurai leader's katana into his own hand.

Before the tall man's arrogant expression could even change, the sharp blade had already slit his throat.

Arterial blood sprayed out, brushing past Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Although, strictly speaking, this was his first time killing someone, the memories of the Third Hokage on the battlefield left him without the slightest discomfort.

Instead, it made Sarutobi Hiruzen feel a sense of blood-pumping excitement.

As a ninja, killing was an instinct almost carved into his very bones.

"Run!"

"The leader is dead! Flee!"

Seeing their leader killed so cleanly and efficiently, the remaining samurai were no fools; naturally, they wouldn't be stupid enough to cross blades with such a person.

And as a loose group of wandering samurai, they had no intention of avenging their leader.

But Sarutobi Hiruzen, having gotten into the rhythm of killing, had no intention of letting these fellows go.

With the blade he had just taken from the samurai leader in hand, Sarutobi Hiruzen moved with a few light leaps, and every single samurai present had their throat slit without exception.

The speed was so fast, and the flow of his movements so smooth, that it was like a work of art.

Weaving through the crowd, he skillfully killed everyone on the spot.

The villagers nearby watched this scene, dumbfounded, unable to help but swallow hard, looking at the dignified man with graying temples before them with nothing but fear.

"This..."

"My lord..."

In the end, it was the village chief who had the most courage; suppressing the terror in his heart, he thanked Sarutobi Hiruzen, "Thank you for your help."

Sarutobi Hiruzen tossed the katana aside and looked at the old man dressed in tattered clothes, asking, "Where is this?"

"Is this the Sengoku period?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sat in a simple thatched hut, with tea and the most sumptuous food available laid out before him.

Through his conversation with the village chief, he had already learned the era and location.

It was roughly the 16th century, on the land of the island nation.

The very Sengoku period that later generations would praise to the heavens.

"What you call the Sengoku period is indeed fitting, my lord."

"The situation here is truly similar to the Warring States period of the Great Tang across the sea."

"There are unjust wars everywhere..."

"Soldiers and samurai are constantly roaming about, plundering us."

"We can barely survive anymore..."

The village chief seemed to be a literate man, even knowing the history of the Great Tang next door.

Sarutobi Hiruzen ignored the village chief's attempt to play for sympathy; as a Kage from the Hokage world, what kind of tragic war had he not seen?

Instead, he kept pondering in his mind which world's plot would exist in the Sengoku period of the island nation.

If it were the best match, it would undoubtedly be a demon world like Inuyasha...

But I asked the village chief and he didn't mention any traces of demons.

And if there were a large number of demons, it would at least have to be a three-star world.

Having chatted with the village chief for so long, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a bit thirsty, so he took a sip of the tea in front of him.

"By the way, regarding the matter of demons you asked about earlier,"

The village chief suddenly brought up the subject of demons again, "We don't really have many legends of demons around here."

"But there are truly man-eating monsters."

Sarutobi Hiruzen became interested upon hearing this; this sounded like a supernatural event.

The village chief's expression became very grave.

"Or rather, man-eating evil ghosts!"

"Recently, women and children in the village have been eaten."

"That is exactly why we have hidden the women and children deep in the mountains."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression became intriguing.

"So that's how it is."