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Coo—coo—coo—

A pure white pigeon flew over.

Lin Qing caught it, removed the secret letter from its leg, and handed the carrier pigeon to Sasuke.

Sasuke held out a handful of rice grains and a cup of water, offering them to the pigeon with eager anticipation, hoping the little bird would eat.

A flash of disdain crossed the pigeon's beady black eyes; it flapped its wings and hopped onto a nearby table.

It pecked open a rice ball, ate the meat slices inside, and took small sips of the leftover tea in Lin Qing's cup before finally lying down on the table, satisfied, resting with one leg propped up.

Lin Qing began to read the secret letter in his hand:

"To Lin Qing:

Regarding the swordsmith, I know of an exceptionally skilled craftsman. He is in the north of the Land of Water, in a village that experiences year-round snowfall. You can go find him and tell him that Hayato Kamihara sent you; he will assist you.

Additionally, various organizations have been eyeing you lately. As your contact, I will be leaving the Land of Water for safety reasons.

By the time you read this letter, I should already be holding a young lady, embarking on a trip to Konoha.

If there is an emergency, give the letter to Junko-chan (that's the silly white pigeon), and you will be able to reach me.

Signed, Hayato Kamihara

Note 1: On the back of the letter is a map to the Swordsmith Village.

Note 2: Whatever you do, don't get caught!"

Lin Qing flipped the letter over and saw the map drawn on the back.

The world of Naruto lacked satellites, so the map was hardly precise.

Fortunately, the level two Aero Smith had a patrol radius of one kilometer, allowing it to scout from the air and point Lin Qing in the general direction.

Leaving the cruise ship on the shore, Lin Qing took Sasuke and Xiaotao, bought two horses, and headed toward their destination.

Along the way, Lin Qing encountered over a dozen waves of enemies.

They disguised themselves as pedestrians, travelers, and merchants, no longer engaging Lin Qing in direct combat, but instead resorting to poisoning, assassination, arson, and explosions.

This was the other side of being a ninja: using the least amount of chakra to create the greatest amount of damage.

This was indeed an area where Lin Qing lacked expertise, so while he dealt with them crudely, he humbly learned from the enemies' techniques.

During this time, Lin Qing instructed Sasuke to teach Xiaotao the Breathing Technique.

If Xiaotao wanted to stay by Lin Qing's side, she needed at least some ability to protect herself; even if she couldn't fight, she at least needed to be able to keep up and run when trouble arose.

Lin Qing felt that having something to do might help her better emerge from her psychological trauma.

Over half a month passed in a flash. Once the three of them left the city and entered the mountain forests, the bounty hunters following them gradually dwindled.

Crunch—crunch—

Frost covered the grass, stretching out in vast patches of white. The horses' hooves crunched against it, sounding like soda crackers being crushed.

Lin Qing exhaled, a thick cloud of white mist forming.

"Xiaotao, look!"

Sasuke pointed toward the sky.

A snowflake drifted down before their eyes.

It was snowing?

This was good news; according to Hayato Kamihara's intelligence, the village where the swordsmith resided was a place of perpetual snow.

Lin Qing said, "Keep your Breathing Technique active to ward off the cold. We are almost there."

"Yes."

Sasuke and Xiaotao answered in unison.

Sasuke was already very proficient with the Breathing Technique, while Xiaotao was still a bit clumsy and stumbling. As they rode together on one horse, the heat radiating from Sasuke helped her stabilize her breathing.

"I hope we can find the village today," Sasuke whispered.

The dry rations they had been carrying ran out the night before. With the freezing weather, game in the forest was pitifully scarce.

Xiaotao took an orange from her pocket and offered it to Sasuke; it was her prized food.

Sasuke shook his head.

He didn't want to eat an orange.

He wanted rice balls, fried eggs, tempura...

As he thought about it, Sasuke's mouth began to water.

But things did not go as planned. By the time dusk arrived, Aero Smith still hadn't located a village where people lived.

Seeing the sky gradually darkening, Lin Qing abandoned the idea of finding the village today and found an open space, preparing to spend the night there.

Sasuke nimbly gathered firewood and used a Fire Style jutsu to ignite the branches, quickly coaxing a bonfire into a blaze.

"You two rest for a while; I'm going to see if I can find something to eat nearby."

Lin Qing wove through the jungle, but even as the sun dipped completely below the horizon, he had yet to find any edible wildlife. Just then, a large cluster of red light appeared on the Aero Smith detector.

Judging by the size, it looked like a large animal.

A wolf?

Or perhaps a deer?

Regardless of what it was, the food supply for the three of them for the coming week would be secured.

He stepped across the snow, lunging toward the target's location.

Xiaotao stared blankly into the firelight:

"Brother Sasuke, tell me... why do people live? What is the meaning of it?"

Sasuke picked up a twig and tossed it into the fire. After a long silence, he said:

"I once asked Brother Qing the same question."

On the day of the clan massacre, the sheer shock left Sasuke feeling more terrified and bewildered than sorrowful.

It wasn't until a few nights later, when he suddenly woke up in a patch of grass and realized he could never go home again, never see his parents or friends again, that the grief truly swept over him.

"If I were to answer that question, I'd probably say, 'You're just too full; go practice throwing kunai a hundred times, and you won't have time for such wild thoughts'."

Sasuke's words brought a faint smile to Xiaotao's face.

Firewood tossed into the flames sent tiny golden sparks dancing into the wind.

"But Brother Qing told me that if you feel life is meaningless, then just live that meaningless life.

In a meaningless, empty spiritual world, you can better create your own value. He said this is called..."

Sasuke recalled: "Right, it's called 'nihilism'."

"Nihilism... what is that?"

Xiaotao looked confused.

Sasuke scratched his head: "It's good that you don't understand; I didn't understand it at the time either, but after following Brother Qing all this way, I've come to understand a little bit."

His youthful face, illuminated by the firelight, gained a touch of maturity: "The inner void gained after experiencing pain is not the end of everything, but the beginning.

I will shoulder everything I can carry and set off.

I want to find my own path in this free, empty wilderness."

Xiaotao nodded as if she understood, but just as she was about to say something more, a rustling sound came from the woods ahead.

Sasuke dropped his smile, stood up, and drew a kunai.

Seeing it was Lin Qing, Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief, then noticed a small figure following behind him.

It was a girl, beautiful to an extreme degree, wearing a fuzzy cotton-padded jacket and carrying a bamboo basket. She bowed very politely to Sasuke and Xiaotao with a sweet smile:

"Hello, my name is Haku."

Through Lin Qing's brief introduction, everyone learned each other's identities.

Haku was a child living in the Swordsmith Village. Because her mother was ill, she had gone out alone to gather herbs and was detected by Aero Smith just as she was preparing to return to the village.

Lin Qing claimed to be a doctor and asked Haku to lead the way; in return, he would treat her mother.

This wasn't Lin Qing deceiving a child; as someone who had mastered the Ripple, he could cure the vast majority of illnesses, so calling himself a doctor was no lie.

"So it seems the village is nearby, just outside the detection range of Aero Smith."

Lin Qing thought to himself as he watched Haku point toward the northwest.

"If we walk another 40 li, we will reach our village."

Forty li... Haku looked no older than ten; how had she walked all this way alone?

Was this what they meant by children of poor families growing up early?

Fortunately, the return trip wouldn't be so troublesome. Lin Qing lifted Haku onto the horse's back and channeled the Ripple into the horse's body.

The horse reared up, let out a spirited whinny, and galloped toward the village.

In less than an hour, before the sky had completely darkened, they arrived at Haku's village.

Snowfall Village.

It was a very small settlement, consisting of no more than thirty or forty households. Haku pointed to a house.

"Brother Qing, that's my home."

She jumped off the horse, trotted toward the house, and opened the door.

"Mother, we have guests! It's a doctor!"

Lin Qing followed Haku inside and saw a woman with a weak expression sitting in a chair. The man beside her, presumably her husband, was carefully pouring medicine for his wife.

"Pardon the intrusion."

Lin Qing was just about to take off his shoes to enter when the kitchen door opened.

Mei Terumi, wearing an apron, walked out carrying two dishes.

"Dinner is ready."

She looked at Lin Qing, tilted her head slightly, and offered a faint smile.

"Do we have a guest?"