The Shinobi World is So Small

High above in the sky, amidst the clouds, a figure flapped her wings with all her might, flying forward.

Behind her, a black-haired girl sat steadily in mid-air with her legs crossed. In a world invisible to ordinary people, her black hair strands formed a long, slender feather held aloft by the wind. At the tip of this feather, a tow rope was tethered to the blonde girl in front.

Dressed in a red and white shrine maiden outfit, the blonde girl flapped a pair of translucent fairy wings with such intensity that they blurred into afterimages.

This was the Great Yokai and the Little Monster, the master and her beast of burden.

Yura carefully examined the Earth Grudge Fear forbidden scroll in her hands, pondering over it continuously. Under the sunlight, the passage of time felt serene and beautiful.

Lucy was filled with resentment. To call this "training her cultivation"—wasn't this just treating her like an ox or horse pulling a carriage? Although it didn't take much effort, the insult was immense!

"I hate this..."

"What are you muttering about?" Closing the scroll, Yura smiled faintly.

"Nothing! It's nothing!" Lucy shook her head violently, smiling brightly. "The weather! The weather is so nice!"

Yura lowered her head, contemplating how to answer that statement.

"The weather..." The gale brushed against her face, stirring her hair. Yura looked down, overlooking the mountains and rivers passing rapidly beneath her feet and the boundless landscape of the earth. The tiny people walking in the towns looked like ants. Under the sunlight, she narrowed her eyes slightly and smiled, "The weather is indeed nice."

"Do... do you have anything you like..." While flying with all her might, Lucy's voice came through the wind, slightly distorted as it was forced into her mouth.

Yura let out a soft laugh, tilted her head, and whispered, "What do you mean?... A blind date?"

"A... blind date?" Lucy exclaimed, "You like blind dates!?"

"As for things I like..." Yura said, "Idiot~"

What does that mean? Is she scolding me?

I didn't even provoke her...

Lucy's face was full of grievance, and she fell silent. A moment later, she gathered her courage and said, "That... that, I like food, meat! Big chunks of meat!"

"Do you like eating people?" Yura nodded, "I understand~"

Thump!

Lucy's heart skipped a beat. Her mouth twitched, and she hurriedly said, "Eh!? Eh! That's right! I like it!"

"By the way, you are a yokai, right..." Yura smiled faintly.

"Ah! That's right!" Lucy nodded repeatedly and said hurriedly, "That! I like it! Do you like rainy days? I love rainy days the most! Hearing the sound of rain calms me down and makes me forget my troubles. You have troubles too, right?"

Analyzing it from a general perspective, rain meant being unable to go out, so such people usually had introverted personalities, were poor at socializing, and lacked a sense of security.

"I like it when it rains blood."

Rains blood?

Lucy's brain was still spinning.

Yura smiled faintly, "Whenever warm blood splashes onto my face, I feel an inexplicable sense of relaxation. So, I just want to make the sky rain a great deal of blood."

To the Yura of the past, this meant the slaughter had ended, her tense nerves could finally relax, and she had survived once more—it was a cause for celebration.

Lucy's expression stiffened; she looked quite cute in her distress.

"You understand this feeling, don't you."

Terrifying! Terrifying! Terrifying!

"I understand! I understand--!" Lucy nodded violently with a mournful face, but being both unskilled and eager to play, she asked, "Then what about things you hate?"

"Little Monster~" Yura smiled faintly.

"Eh, that's it?" Lucy turned her head to look at Yura and asked, "Aren't you going to say more?"

"Little Monster~" Yura smiled faintly.

Realizing what Yura had said, Lucy's face fell. She opened her mouth and asked listlessly, "Why?"

"You talk too much; your chattering is annoying," Yura said. "Focus on pulling your carriage, Little Monster~"

"I hate this..." Suddenly turning her head back, Lucy pulled Yura through the air, pouting. Suddenly remembering something, Lucy shouted, "I am Lucy!!!"

This was the only thing her father and mother had left her; she couldn't afford to lose it.

On the way, Yura pondered which shinobi village she should join. Kumogakure was out of the question; they were all muscle-heads, not aesthetic at all, and the place they lived was too high up. It wasn't that she was afraid of heights, but she felt that being too high up was a bit too lonely. Yura preferred to mingle in the bustling human world.

As for Sunagakure, it was too poor, so it was out of the question.

As for Iwagakure, although resources were scarce...

Yura looked down at the land below, which was gradually becoming desolate.

"In the Shinobi World, Konoha ultimately occupies the best territory..."

To establish Gensokyo, she had to circle off a piece of land. What to do? Yura wanted the best, but Konoha was still standing above.

"I think other places aren't too bad either..." Lucy said, "Hidden Waterfall is quite nice..."

Come to think of it, there were other continents overseas in the Shinobi World, and she didn't know what kind of scenery they held.

Moreover, this place, the Shinobi World, also hid the corpse of the God of Otsutsuki, Otsutsuki Yaume. This guy was the ultimate god evolved from the Otsutsuki clan; his true form had already transcended the concept of life and death, having departed from the current dimension and no longer existing within this universe.

So, dimension hopping?

I want it!

It is something worth seizing!

I must plan and scheme carefully; first, I must obtain an entry ticket to the Otsutsuki clan.

Therefore, whatever Madara is waiting for, Yura is waiting for as well.

Yura is that kind of monster—one who will seize everything Yura desires.

"Little Monster~" Yura called out.

Lucy paused and asked, "What?"

"Fly slower; someone is about to lose track of us," Yura said.

Lucy slowed her flight speed. Not long after, two figures drifted slowly from the horizon—one tall, one short. The short boy was even shorter than Yura, with a stocky build and a large, garlic-like nose. He looked rather like a stone, with a comical, honest appearance.

Both parties hovered in the sky, fifty meters apart.

Yura's gaze landed on the man wrapped entirely in bandages.

The Second Tsuchikage, Mu.

Not long ago, he had fought the Second Mizukage, Hozuki Gengetsu, of Kirigakure. Hozuki Gengetsu had exhausted his chakra and collapsed from severe injuries, failing to attend the Five Kage Summit, while Mu had ended up with full-body burns. These extensive burns had left him just one step away from death.

In about ten years or so, both of them would be dead.

The Second Tsuchikage, Mu, was a strategist known for his schemes and politics, a player of the same type as Tobirama. He mastered the Dust Release, a Kekkei Tōta that surpassed the Kekkei Genkai, and was one of the few ninjas capable of flight.

The two sides stood in a standoff, neither speaking, sizing each other up.

Yura's crimson eyes were fixed on Mu; as for the brat on the side, he wasn't worth a second glance from Yura.

In this atmosphere, however, the fourteen-year-old brat couldn't hold his composure. "Teacher!" he said. "Didn't you say there were two of them? There's only one blonde who looks like an idiot here!"

"Ha!?" Lucy's eyes widened. She glared fiercely at the brat, her smile bright yet sinister. "Shorty! Do you want to die?"

"Bastard!" The brat turned his head toward Lucy, intending to snap back, but for some reason, his heart skipped a beat. A sudden sense of dread washed over him, and cold sweat began to trickle down without him realizing it.

Lucy had unconsciously activated her ability, which could manipulate and influence the emotions of others.

Lucy paused, observing Ōnoki's abnormal state, and the smile on her face turned abruptly sinister.

You're afraid!

Having been with a Great Monster for so long, she had almost forgotten she still possessed this ability.

Then you're dead meat!

"I hate so much..."

Hearing this, Ōnoki's heart hammered. For no reason, a feeling of hair-raising terror surged within him.

At this moment, a large hand descended, blocking the front of the brat. "Ōnoki, look carefully again—there is another person." A pair of eyes landed warily on Yura.

That blonde was dangerous; the massive, glaring chakra he sensed was terrifying. But even more dangerous was the young girl before him. She gave him a feeling that was even stranger. If not for the massive chakra of the blonde beside her, Mu was certain that even with his perception fully open, he would not have noticed her under normal circumstances.

Therefore, she was extremely dangerous!

Yura smiled faintly. "The Shinobi World is truly small..."

"It is still quite large," Mu replied.

Only then did Ōnoki notice Yura's presence, cold sweat already hanging on his forehead. He was not a simple fourteen-year-old brat, but a mature ninja.

"Your perception range is quite large as well," Yura said with a faint smile.

Lucy was indeed too conspicuous.

What an attention-seeker!

"I am flattered. Your perception range is no less impressive, Excellency," Mu said in a deep voice.

If the other party hadn't intentionally slowed down, with the flight speed of his master-disciple duo, they truly wouldn't have been able to catch up.

Watching his teacher's cautious attitude, Ōnoki swallowed hard.