After Parting

"Damn, lost again." Half a month later, Ye Wuji stood on a main road and looked around. Nothing but mountains and trees surrounded him. He was about to lose his mind. This Naruto World is clearly pretty advanced, so why are the roads so terrible? Fine, the roads are bad, but why don't they have GPS? It would make life so much easier for everyone.

"Which way am I supposed to go now? Last time, I was trying to get to the Land of Rivers, but somehow I ended up back in Amegakure. It won't happen again this time, will it? According to the route, I should be in the Land of Grass now, right? But what if I end up back in Amegakure again? If I do, I'm done traveling. I'll just stay with Yahiko and Nagato. Let's see if this old man makes me do it." As he thought this, Ye Wuji used the same method as before to choose which way to go.

Two days later, Ye Wuji didn't even feel like complaining anymore. The Naruto World sure was green—but wasn't it a little too green? He looked at the road ahead. Trees and plants crowded both sides, with only a narrow road stretching into the depths of the forest. No wonder it was called Kusagakure. There seemed to be even more trees here than in Konoha. Though compared to Konoha, these trees seemed a little short. They weren't really trees so much as bushes. No wonder it was called the Village Hidden in the Grass.

But there was nothing he could do about it now. He had to keep going.

That day, after resting as usual, Ye Wuji was preparing to get back on the road when he caught the scent of blood in the air. He sniffed carefully. The smell was coming from up ahead. Quickly drawing a kunai, he cautiously moved forward. This kunai was a trophy he'd taken from the Mist Ninja. As for the kunai Minato had given him, after comparing it with the Mist Ninja's, Ye Wuji had decided Minato's was better, so he'd put it away. After all, with his current strength, using such a good kunai wouldn't do him much good—and might even bring trouble.

Rounding a bend, Ye Wuji saw what lay ahead. Six people dressed as ninja stood in the road, blocking the way. More than twenty people lay sprawled before them, along with several carriages. Judging by their clothes, they were civilians. The horses lay in pools of blood too.

Loud, arrogant laughter came from up ahead, along with a woman's sobs and a child's cries. Someone was still alive. Looking closely, Ye Wuji spotted a ninja in uniform beside a carriage that had toppled onto its side. The woman's sobs and the child's cries were coming from there.

At a glance, Ye Wuji realized the worst hadn't happened yet. The ninja beside the carriage was merely taunting the woman. Even in that brief look, Ye Wuji could tell she was quite beautiful. Her long hair gave her an especially graceful air. She looked to be in her twenties, and a child of about ten was crying in her arms.

That was how Ye Wuji described the child of about ten, though he hadn't considered that he himself was only six—four years younger.

"Your crying sounds so lovely. Cry even louder. I haven't heard such a beautiful sound in a long time," the ninja standing beside the woman said with a sinister grin.

"Come on, don't be like that, Boss Shan Yi. A woman this beautiful doesn't look so pretty when she's crying," another ninja said, appearing beside the one called Shan Yi.

"Eight of them," Ye Wuji murmured as he watched the newcomer appear. Their outfits made it clear they weren't some ragtag bunch. They were either ninja from a particular country or rogue ninja. They all looked very strong. Ye Wuji wanted to help the woman and child, but the difference in strength kept him from making up his mind.

"Did you take care of everyone, Tanaka?" Shan Yi asked.

"Don't worry. They were just a few civilians. How could they escape my men? They were decisive, at least. The moment they saw us, they abandoned everything and ran. But the result was the same, wasn't it? If we hadn't played around with them, we'd have finished them off ages ago," Tanaka replied.

"Those damn civilians won't learn unless you teach them a lesson. I only killed a few of them, and they actually wanted to put me on trial. What the hell was I fighting and risking my life for on the battlefield? They were just a bunch of civilians, yet they dared to report me and get me wanted. Go on, report me! Since you love reporting people so much, I'll send you to the God of Death so you can keep complaining there!" Shan Yi cursed.

"I'm done putting up with you bastards. Life's so much better now. I can do whatever I want and nobody bothers me. I should've gone rogue ages ago. I put up with years of humiliation for nothing." As he spoke, Shan Yi waved a sword at the woman, as if trying to scare her.

"Exactly. We risked our lives protecting them, and this is how they treated us. They deserved to die." Tanaka agreed, leering at the woman as he spoke.

"Boss Shan Yi, what should we do with this woman? Let the boys have some fun?" Tanaka asked with a lascivious grin.

"Don't worry. Once I've had my fun, I'll let the boys enjoy themselves too. But for now, you lot, come over here and gather up the supplies. Take whatever you can carry. We'll take the woman along too. Maybe we can have fun with her for a few more days." Shan Yi shouted to the six men guarding the road.

"Get moving! Gather the spoils. You heard the boss—there'll be something in it for you. Hurry up!" Tanaka called to the six men.

"So, Boss Shan Yi, what do we do after this? Hit another place?" Tanaka asked.

"We'll leave it at that for now. Hey, be thorough! After this, we won't be able to come out for a while. These supplies are what we'll live on, so don't leave anything behind. If you come up short, don't blame me for what happens." Shan Yi had been about to say something to Tanaka, but then he saw a ninja leave a sack—apparently full of rice—behind and shouted at them.

"Ah?" Tanaka was startled by Shan Yi's words and hurriedly asked, "Boss Shan Yi, what's going on? The boys are doing fine right now. Why do we have to give this up?"

"Are you stupid? No one's chasing us right now, but once the major nations decide who's won, do you think they'll leave us alone? We should hide for now. They can't stay here forever; they'll all have to return to their own countries eventually. Once the major nations' forces go home, we can come out again. I don't care about anyone besides the major nations. But remember this: behave yourself while we're lying low. If anything goes wrong, I'll kill you myself before anyone else gets the chance."

"I see! I was wondering why you spared that woman and even planned to take her with us. So the boss really does think several steps ahead! Brilliant. No wonder you're an elite jōnin from Iwagakure. Iwagakure will regret letting a talent like you get away," Tanaka said, fawning over him.

"Exactly. Our lives were miserable before, but they've gotten better and better since the boss arrived. Boss, we've finished gathering the supplies. Should we take care of that brat now?" One of the six ninja had come over to join them and asked.

"Haha, Da Ye, you still love killing those little brats, don't you?" Tanaka said to him.

"You just don't understand the pleasure of it. Watching those soft, delicate brats cry in front of you, slowly sticking the knife in, then listening to their pitiful screams—it's pure enjoyment." Da Ye's eyes gleamed as he spoke. He even licked his lips. Thankfully, he didn't have a long tongue like Orochimaru, but Ye Wuji hadn't expected anyone to be so twisted as to take pleasure in killing children.

"Don't ask me. Ask Boss Shan Yi. If he agrees, then you can do it." As Tanaka spoke, he motioned for Da Ye to ask Shan Yi.

Da Ye hurriedly turned to Shan Yi, but before he could speak, Shan Yi said, "That's no problem, but wait until our new friend comes out." As he spoke, Shan Yi threw a shuriken straight toward where Ye Wuji was hiding.

While the ninja were gathering their things, Ye Wuji had been debating whether to run. But if he did, the woman and child would surely die—and the woman might suffer even worse.

Ye Wuji had been agonizing over what to do, but when he heard Tanaka call Shan Yi an elite jōnin from Iwagakure, he realized something was wrong. He had just been about to back away slowly without alerting them. As for the woman and child, all he could do was apologize to them in his heart. The difference in strength was simply too great.

When Shan Yi threw a shuriken at him, Ye Wuji thought, Damn, they spotted me. He was ready to run at full speed, even if it meant exposing himself, but before he could move, he felt a sharp pain in his back. Someone had punched him, sending him flying. He didn't know where his kunai had gone. Ye Wuji himself crashed down in front of the ninja.

In truth, Ye Wuji had thought too highly of himself. Shan Yi had spotted him the first time he looked his way. The strength of a jōnin was beyond Ye Wuji's ability to judge. He hadn't thought much of it, but he was still measuring the ninja in this world by the strength he'd seen in the anime in his previous life.

And after teaming up with Nagato last time and killing a Mist Ninja jōnin, he'd underestimated the strength of jōnin in this world, even though he knew that the Mist Ninja had been injured and distracted by Nagato. If you merely glanced at someone, they might not notice. But Ye Wuji had stared at Shan Yi for a while. Jōnin had astonishing perception, and Ye Wuji had never learned any concealment techniques, so he'd given himself away at once.

Neither Minato nor Yahiko had thought to teach Ye Wuji this. Minato hadn't thought it necessary, and Yahiko had felt much the same. Who could have known that Ye Wuji would run into a jōnin so soon—and an elite jōnin from Iwagakure, no less?

Ye Wuji lay face-down on the ground, his back hurting terribly. It felt like there was blood in his chest too. Even trying to move made the pain unbearable.

When Ye Wuji finally managed to lift his head and look, he saw that the one who'd attacked him from behind was Shan Yi too. Looking at the two Shans Yi, Ye Wuji realized it must be some kind of Earth Clone technique.

In just that moment, Ye Wuji realized what his fate would be. Unless something unexpected happened, he was as good as dead. After learning that this was the Naruto World, Ye Wuji had prepared himself for the possibility of dying at any time. But it had happened far too soon. If he'd known, he should've warned Yahiko and the others before they parted ways.

He really was too weak. After realizing they were ninja, he should've retreated immediately—that was his first mistake. Not using a clone to evade them was another. It seemed that if you weren't from this world, there were many things you could only learn through firsthand experience. And firsthand experience meant risking your life.

"I thought you were someone important. Turns out you're just a brat. You gave me quite a scare." As Shan Yi spoke, Ye Wuji watched the one who'd attacked him turn to earth and crumble to the ground. It really was an Earth Clone. He hadn't even seen when the technique had been used.

By then, the woman and the boy had stopped crying too. Maybe the woman understood what was happening, so she'd stopped. As for the boy, perhaps he'd cried himself hoarse. He was only an ordinary child, after all—not like a ninja.

"This'll make Da Ye happy. We've got an even younger brat now," Tanaka said from the side.

After realizing Ye Wuji was a child, Shan Yi lost interest. "All right, Da Ye, finish him off quickly. Tanaka, take the woman."

"Yes, boss," Tanaka and Da Ye replied together.

Just as Tanaka stepped forward to grab the woman and Da Ye took out a long, thin knife, ready to deal with the child in her arms, the woman struggled desperately to protect him. Ye Wuji was in so much pain that he couldn't do anything.

The sound of a carriage approaching came from far away. "Creak, creak," the wheels groaned, mixed now and then with the horses' neighing.

As the sounds drew nearer, it was clear the carriage was getting closer. Tanaka and Da Ye stopped what they were doing. They could have carried on, but after looking at Shan Yi, they stopped.

Shan Yi frowned too. He thought, This road is usually deserted. We only came here because we got word in advance that a group of merchants had formed a convoy. There's normally hardly anyone on this road.

Though Shan Yi frowned, he was only annoyed at being interrupted. He didn't believe the newcomer could hurt him. Besides, the Iwagakure pursuit squad might not have time to come after him. And even if it was the Iwagakure pursuit squad in disguise, he was confident he could escape. It was wartime, after all, and he didn't believe Iwagakure would send a very powerful team after him.

Besides, ninja rarely traveled by carriage. Even if they were on a mission that required it, he wasn't afraid of them. That was the confidence of an elite jōnin from Iwagakure.