As for the nearest stronghold, it can't be at Land of Fire anyway.
The one closest to here is Land of Grass.
Ning Xue looked at the Land of Grass mark on the map, and his thoughts could not help but drift back to the past.
He was still very naive at that time, and it was his first mission out of the village, his first real battle, but it was indeed his first time to kill someone to save his companions.
He could not forget the feeling at that time, the feeling when Ice Needle penetrated the enemy's forehead, and his hands that couldn't stop shaking when he leaned against the tree trunk afterwards.
He shook his head, shook those thoughts out of his mind, put away the map, and quickened his pace to keep up with Sasuke in front of him.
Soon after, the two successfully arrived in Land of Grass.
But as soon as they stepped into the border of Land of Grass, the sight in front of them stopped both of them in their tracks.
Looking around, large bodies of corpses lay across the desolate fields and roads. Crow was hovering in the air, making a rough and piercing cry.
The smell of decay permeated the air, so strong it was almost solid, mixed with the smell of earth and weeds, making it nauseating.
Judging from the clothing of the corpses, a few were in ninja attire, but most were soldiers wearing armor.
"What's going on?"
Ning Xue's voice had a rare solemnity.
This was the first time he had seen war relics of this scale.
Sasuke stood beside him, his eyes calmly swept over the mess in front of him, and he explained in a calm tone.
"Land of Grass has been divided into three internal factions over the years, and they have been fighting for control."
"Civil War?"
Ning Xue turned his head sideways and frowned slightly.
Sasuke nodded, stepped over a corpse blocking the road, and heard a voice coming from the front.
"It's been three years."
As he spoke, without stopping, he passed over the scattered remains and continued to move forward.
Ning Xue stood there and looked at the body at his feet that had rotted to the point of being almost unrecognizable. He was silent for a moment, then raised his feet, crossed the obstacle, and followed Sasuke's pace.
The two walked through the corpses and desolate fields, and Sasuke's voice explained to Ning Xue the ins and outs of it all.
"Three years ago, after the intrusion into Konoha failed, Sunagakure and Hidden Grass Village said they were deceived by Orochimaru, and immediately chose to apologize, compensate, and seek peace.
But Sunagakure is a big village after all. If the two sides continue to fight, it will be really disadvantageous, so they will receive a small amount of symbolic compensation."
"But someone needs to pay for this gap after all."
"So Konoha collected a large amount of compensation from the weak Hidden Grass Village."
"But it was precisely because of that compensation that Land of Grass, which was already in internal chaos, completely collapsed. As a result, it split into three factions and fought with each other until today."
Ning Xue listened to Sasuke's explanation, and couldn't help but slow down a bit.
He looked around at the corpses scattered among the fields and ditches.
Some still maintain their last posture in life, some have been eaten by Crow until only their skeletons are left, and some have been half-covered by weeds and integrated with the land.
At this moment, his eyes caught a group of figures.
Behind a relatively complete low wall not far away, several villagers in rags were watching them warily, holding rusty daggers and iron rods in their hands, their eyes full of fear and wariness.
Most of them were skinny, their clothes were shabby, and their faces were stained with dirt, as if they hadn't had a good meal in a long time.
Sasuke also noticed those people, but did not stop and just explained to Ning Xue casually.
"Those are here to pick up weapons."
"After the war, the swords, Kunai, and even armor fragments on the battlefield will be picked up by them and taken to either side in exchange for some food or money to barely survive."
Ning Xue's eyes swept over those people and saw a half-grown child squatting next to the body of a ninja. He carefully opened the stiffened fingers, took out a Kunai from his palm, then quickly put it into his arms and ran behind the low wall without looking back.
The movements were so skillful that it made people feel sad.
Ning Xue watched that scene in silence and didn't speak for a long time.
It wasn't until the two of them walked out of the battlefield, the Crow chirping behind them gradually faded away, and the rotten smell in the air was gradually replaced by the smell of vegetation in the mountains and forests, that he spoke in a low voice, with a trace of heaviness in his voice that even he himself had not noticed.
"How long will this war... continue?"
Sasuke's footsteps did not pause, and his voice was still calm, but with a hint of undetectable coldness.
"Until one party falls completely, or a third party steps in and crushes it."
Ning Xue didn't ask any more questions and just walked towards the stronghold silently.
(Let me drink some water. I have been really out of shape these past few days. I have a headache. Even taking so many medicines doesn't help. If I feel better tomorrow, I'll do a double update. It happens to be a holiday.)