The Real Dream

The village gradually prospered, causing those villagers who had originally intended to flee to abandon the idea.

It was not that they did not want to escape the flames of war, but rather that they felt they could stay in the village for a few more years and save up more assets, so that even if they moved elsewhere in the future, they would not have to live a miserable life.

However, faced with harvests that grew larger year by year, those people could never bring themselves to leave, and the wealth accumulated in the village continued to grow.

As years passed, many merchant caravans and travelers passing through the village gradually spread its reputation.

This made many people aware that there was such a village—peaceful, tranquil, far from the flames of war, and filled with people living very affluent lives.

This attracted many refugees, which was much more convenient than relying on luck to wait for people to arrive as they had before.

Therefore, the people in the village allowed those outsiders to spread the word; of course, there were those who opposed it, but they could not overcome the will of the majority.

Thus, those who opposed it had no choice but to pack their belongings and leave, even visiting many households before departing in hopes of convincing others to leave with them.

However, those people did not listen to their advice; instead, seeing the significant shrinkage of the dissenters' assets after leaving the village, they became even more unwilling to go.

Of course, the persuasion of these people was not entirely without effect, as a few did take it to heart, including the couple mentioned earlier.

However, unlike the original residents of the village, they were refugees who had arrived with no savings of their own, having built everything from scratch after arriving.

Having witnessed the cruelty of war, the couple truly did not want to repeat the same mistakes, but they were troubled by their lack of savings and, seeing the autumn harvest was imminent, decided to pack their bags and leave the village once the harvest was in.

Yet, fate did not go as planned; that year, the Uzumaki Clan officially entered the fray, actively intervening in the war.

War inevitably brings winners and losers, yet the Uzumaki Clan, relying on their formidable strength, fought on all fronts and won almost every battle.

Although the village did not gain any substantial benefits, they were immersed in joy upon hearing such news.

After all, having a powerful protector is always a good thing.

But if the Uzumaki Clan won, it naturally meant that at least one other clan had suffered a defeat, and the Kaguya Clan was among those that suffered heavy losses.

Although there was an unwritten rule during the Warring States period to try not to target ordinary people, once war breaks out, who can really hold back?

Furthermore, the Kaguya Clan was intentionally seeking revenge; this bellicose clan launched an attack on the Uzumaki Clan from the sea just as the grain was about to be harvested.

The first to bear the brunt were coastal areas like the village. They had come by ship solely for revenge, so they burned, killed, and looted everywhere.

Whatever could be taken directly was loaded onto ships, and whatever could not was destroyed.

Although they did not specifically target civilians, even the aftermath of a skirmish between small squads was enough to destroy a village with no defensive power.

Just like that, the young couple lost their home once again, though fortunately, they survived by a stroke of luck.

Only, unlike when they first fled to the village, they now had a son, making the journey even more arduous.

Fortunately, this time they had a general goal: to head in the direction of the Uzumaki Clan.

The family of three stumbled along their way.

Having a child, while inconvenient for travel, did elicit some compassion from others when they sought help on the road, for the sake of their young child.

In this way, the three of them followed the flow of people for over a month to cover a journey that should have taken only ten days or so.

After all, they had to avoid the reach of various war zones along the way and find ways to obtain the food they needed.

Fortunately, they finally reached their destination alive, but faced with a large number of refugees, the Uzumaki Clan could not take everyone in and had to guard against potential spies among them.

To leave a path of survival for their child, the young couple chose to entrust him to the Uzumaki Clan, while they themselves went to seek another way to survive alongside the other refugees who could not be admitted.

The Uzumaki Clan took in many children this time, and coupled with their previous victories in war, they had seized a large amount of supplies.

Supported by these resources, they had more than enough to raise these people.

Thus, after simple classification and screening, these people were assigned various duties and trained in different directions.

The little boy and nine other children of the same age were assigned to the management of a middle-aged man. The Uzumaki Clan's territory was built along the sea, and these newcomers who had not yet earned trust could only live on the periphery.

The peripheral areas were not suitable for farming, so they relied more on obtaining food from the sea.

These children helped transport food every day, with the only difference being the workload assigned based on their age.

Aside from fixed working hours, each team leader taught them how to read and basic common knowledge.

As for combat, to be honest, the Uzumaki Clan did not look down upon the strength of these civilians.

In this way, they spent their days in busyness; although they had to labor every day, they were at least free from worries about food and clothing, and the Uzumaki Clan did not treat them harshly in these aspects.

Thus, the little boy grew up gradually until he was sixteen, the year the Uzumaki Clan and their allies, the Senju Clan, attacked the Uchiha Clan together.

With manpower stretched thin, they were forced to draft civilians to transport supplies and serve in a logistical capacity.

Of course, they were not sent to their deaths; they were merely providing labor, and there were still powerful members of the Uzumaki Clan escorting them.

Their squad was not lucky; they had only made their second delivery when they encountered an enemy ambush and interception.

Looking at the three people standing brazenly in the middle of the road, their ill intent was plain to see.

The leading Uzumaki adult called a halt to the team, telling them to retreat immediately and flee back the way they came.

They were not fools, so they naturally turned around at once, running as fast and as far as they could.

However, since the opposition had come to intercept, they would naturally not watch these supplies escape.

Although they disdained to attack civilians, they would not have any qualms about it either.

The last sound to reach his ears was, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

Everything went black, and the dream ended right there.

Consciousness returned once more, and Bai Sui woke up again.

At this moment, Bai Sui was leaning against a tree, with no one else around.

He blinked, gradually clearing his head as he took in his surroundings.