"Can they wield the Buddha Mother's power...? So they're very strong?"
"No." Aikawa Yumi shook her head. "They're just ordinary people with special abilities. As individuals, they're even quite weak..."
When she finished, her gaze fell on Naoki's face. "The Buddha Mother accepts their offerings and grants them some of her power in return. They may not be particularly strong against ordinary ninja, but that's not the case for you. So it's best not to alert them when we move."
Naoki understood what Aikawa Yumi meant.
His soul had already been offered to the Buddha Mother when he was rescued earlier. So the villagers, who wielded some of her power, could naturally control him with ease, just as Aikawa Yumi had before...
Naoki turned his gaze back to the seemingly peaceful mountain village.
Smoke curled from the chimneys, and the occasional bark drifted over. If they hadn't known beforehand, anyone would have thought it was just an ordinary mountain village.
The two sat where they were to recover their strength while waiting for nightfall.
Night slowly fell. Thick clouds blotted out the moonlight, leaving the world dim.
Two figures moved through the shadows, slipping silently to the edge of the village.
Naoki activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and followed Aikawa Yumi along the hidden path she remembered, making for the mountains behind the village.
The village layout was more complicated than he'd imagined. The houses had been built along the mountainside, clustered in tiers on tiny patches of flat land.
Aikawa Yumi moved lightly, clearly very familiar with the terrain. At times she slipped between two houses; at others, she leaped down a flight of stone steps...
Naoki followed close behind, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan warily scanning their surroundings.
The village was quiet.
A little too quiet.
There were no barking dogs