A few days later...
Land of Fire boundary.
Dense forests replaced the yellow sand in the sky, and the fresh air dispelled the dryness Desert.
Ning Xue was standing on the branch of a big tree at this moment, looking at the familiar landform in front of him, and was silent for a long time.
Land of Fire.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let the long-lost breath spread to his chest.
The moist soil, the lush branches and leaves, the faint chirping of birds in the distance...
The familiarity of all this made him feel dazed.
He opened his eyes and breathed out gently.
"It's been such a long time."
His voice was very soft, as if he was sighing.
Since leaving Konoha, he has walked through his mother's hometown, crossed the sea, also passed through Desert, been to Land of Demons, and also visited other small countries.
Finally, after going round and round, I finally came back here...
But he had a reason to come back.
As a former Konoha Ninja, he is very familiar with Konoha's perception system, border patrols, etc.
Now, once his identity is revealed, he will... no, he will definitely be hunted down by all Konoha.
As for why he chose to return to Konoha during this time period, the reason is very simple.
1, Caged Bird is isolated.
2. Go visit a grave.
It's been three years, it's time to go back and take a look.
He took the map out of his arms and spread it out on the tree trunk, his eyes wandering between the marked points.
The latest stop...
His finger stopped at a location marking a border village.
It is about half an hour away from here. It is an inconspicuous small village. There should be no patrol team of Konoha passing by.
He put away the map, jumped down from the tree trunk, and walked quickly in that direction.
Half an hour later, Ning Xue stood at the entrance of the village, frowning slightly.
This place... is so original.
There are no walls, no decent roads, just dozens of simple houses made of wood and thatch scattered in the forest clearing.
A few barefoot children were chasing each other in the mud, women were squatting by the stream washing clothes, and men were returning from the fields carrying simple farm tools.
This is more like a tribe than a village.
He walked along the muddy path and attracted many curious eyes.
Several children stopped playing and hid behind the adults to peek at him. An old man came up to him with a cane and asked.
"Young man, are you... passing by?"
Ning Xue nodded.
"Stay here for one night and leave tomorrow."
The old man looked him up and down, looking at the luggage behind him and the dark mask. There was a hint of awe in his eyes, but more of an emotion... that he couldn't understand.
"The guest is... Ninja-sama, right?"
Ning Xue shook his head when he heard this.
"No, I practice medicine."
When the old man heard this, he looked up and down in surprise. After all, the shape didn't look like it.
In the end, the old man did not continue to ask, but just sighed lightly.
"Guests, please help yourself."
Ning Xue only nodded politely after hearing this and continued walking along the muddy path towards the village.
The old man stood there, looking at his leaving back, a trace of complexity flashed in his cloudy eyes.
"Practice medicine..." he murmured softly.
"It's so rare to see a doctor wearing that kind of mask.
I remember when I came to the village to practice medicine, it seemed like... he was wearing a turban?"
Ning Xue walked around the village, and the more I walked around, the more I felt that the place was horribly shabby.
There was no inn, no inn, not even a decent empty room.
The villagers lived in stone houses that were big enough for their family, but there was nothing else.
He stood in the open space in the center of the village, looking at a few children running around with bare feet, and fell into deep thought.
Otherwise... should we just find a tree trunk for one night?
As soon as the idea came to him, he immediately made a decision.
He walked out of the village, found a large tree with dense leaves nearby, jumped up onto the trunk, and sat on the thick branches.
The view here is wide and you can see the surrounding situation.
Much better than that shabby village.
He took out the dry food from his bag and ate it slowly with the water in the kettle.
The sky was getting dark, and a few dim lights were lit in the distant village. Occasionally, a few dogs barked and children laughed.
Ning Xue leaned against the tree trunk and closed his eyes.
The night breeze is slightly cool, carrying the unique scent of forest vegetation.
Quite comfortable.
After an unknown amount of time, he suddenly opened his eyes.
There is sound.
It's very faint, but it's there.
It was coming from the direction of the village.
Not an ordinary noise at night, but a noise... mixed with fear and despair.
Cries. Screams. The roar of collapsed houses.
And some strange, mechanical hum.
Ning Xue sat up straight suddenly, looking through the night towards the direction of the village.
There, Kakkō soars into the sky.
Thick smoke was billowing, mixed with orange-red flames, dyeing half of the sky a desperate orange-red.
Ning Xue didn't hesitate at all when he saw this, and immediately turned on Byakugan to observe the situation in the village.
(Now I'm thinking about The Good Fall of Scorpion. Does anyone want to see this?
Do you want to watch Scorpion or the main storyline? Choose one of the two. If no one talks, just default to the main storyline.)