On the Road

Except for the fact that they completely ignored Qiancao and Wuming, the Uchiha territory was no different from an ordinary village.

Having personally experienced imprisonment and abuse, and having witnessed human experimentation the moment he transmigrated, Qiancao felt as though he were in a dream.

Even after walking all the way out of the Uchiha territory, Qiancao still found it all somewhat surreal.

Seeing him silent, Keisuke asked directly, "I heard from others that you've lost your past memories? How is it? Seeing the members of the Uchiha clan again, did anything come back to you?"

"Nothing at all," Qiancao replied.

"Judging by your expression just now, I thought you had remembered something," Keisuke said with a hint of regret.

"I just felt that it wasn't what I had imagined," Qiancao continued.

This piqued Keisuke's interest, and he pressed, "Oh? Then in your mind, what should the Uchiha clan be like?"

Qiancao did not answer directly; he merely gave Keisuke a strange look, then glanced at Wuming, who was walking with her head bowed, as if to say, "Can't you guess what the Uchiha are like in my heart?"

Keisuke understood his meaning and asked with a smile, "What kind of existence do you think a ninja should be?"

Qiancao hadn't seriously considered this question since transmigrating, but he recalled Naruto from his past life, and Jiraiya's famous quote slipped out:

"A ninja is one who endures. The most important talent for a ninja is not how many ninjutsu they know, but a firm, unyielding will."

This caused both Keisuke and Shiri to stop in their tracks and look at him in surprise. Only Wuming showed no reaction; she didn't stop walking and nearly bumped into Shiri.

After all, Wuming never considered herself a ninja.

Keisuke paused, as if organizing his thoughts, and then said with a smile, "I didn't expect a fake ninja with no memory to see things so clearly."

"However, while your words are correct, they are clearly incomplete. Why must a ninja endure? Isn't it because they are forced to sacrifice for their loved ones and friends?"

"In this day and age, you can't survive by just being a 'good person.' Only by bearing the darkness and sins of the ninja, as we do, can we secure a stable life for our clansmen."

Shiri frowned and said, "Your self-importance is a bit too extreme."

Keisuke laughed. "What? Don't be in such a hurry to deny my words. Think about yourself first."

"Originally, your ambition was just to become a doctor. It wasn't until your talent for ninjutsu was discovered that you were forcibly trained as a ninja."

"Now, your daily missions take you further and further away from healing the sick and saving lives. Instead, how many of your own kin have you harmed in vain just to study the mysteries of the Sharingan? Haven't you endured pain yourself?"

Shiri grew wary. The fact that she had wanted to be a doctor before becoming a ninja was something no one knew, save for her parents and a few childhood friends who had long since died in battle.

Where did this muscle-headed Keisuke hear that?

Keisuke did not notice Shiri's strange expression and turned back to Qiancao.

"You might not fully understand what I'm saying now, but if you have the chance to see more of this world in the future, one day you will agree with me."

Qiancao said nothing on the surface, but he laughed bitterly to himself: The future? I'm still locked in a dungeon right now without even a single room to myself; where would I find the energy to think about the future?

Besides, even in the future, when people like Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha team up—whose combat power is arguably not inferior to the Sage of Six Paths—they still didn't achieve true peace. If you want real world peace, you'd at least have to be able to take down the Sage of Six Paths with one hand.

However, if I can reach the level of the Sage of Six Paths in the future, maybe I could unify the world, resurrect Kaguya, and make her my little wife. Without Black Zetsu around, it should be a lot more peaceful.

The topic was too heavy, and Keisuke knew there would be no result from discussing it for now, so he shifted to teaching Qiancao various tips for survival in the wild.

This included what to eat when food couldn't be found in the wilderness, how to identify directions using various landmarks, and so on.

In this way, Keisuke acted like a true ninja captain, instructing Wuming and Qiancao as they headed toward Mount Hakkoda.

The civilians the four of them encountered along the way all had haggard faces and numb expressions, moving along the road like walking corpses.

Occasionally, they would run into groups of rogue soldiers—it was unclear which daimyo they served—who were merciless in their exploitation of passersby.

Whenever this happened, Keisuke, disguised as the eldest brother, would step up to brush them off.

If they couldn't be avoided, Keisuke would use Sharingan genjutsu to put them down.

Seeing how useful the Sharingan was, Qiancao couldn't help but ask, "How can I activate the Sharingan?"

Keisuke was stunned. "Hasn't your Sharingan already awakened?"

Qiancao gave a bitter smile. "But I've forgotten how to activate it."

"After the Sharingan awakens, the knowledge of how to use it appears directly in your mind," Keisuke said, choosing his words carefully to describe it to Qiancao. "Just tell yourself in your mind, 'I want to use the Sharingan!', and it will activate naturally."

Qiancao did as he was told, but there was no reaction. He could only use the Sharingan when in a state of extreme rage; when there was no emotional fluctuation, nothing happened.

Wuming, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "The Sharingan isn't anything good anyway. It's better without it."

Qiancao knew that Wuming had suffered a great deal because of her Sharingan, and he reached out to stroke her little head, his heart aching for her.

The group walked for an entire day, finally arriving at Xiaogu City, a town at the foot of Mount Hakkoda, by dusk.

This mountain city had been ravaged by war; the walls built against the mountainside were covered in pockmarks and scars.

The soldiers guarding the city gate were yawning lazily, and their inspections of passersby were far more lax than those of the rogue soldiers on the road.

The four of them slipped into the city with ease. Qiancao observed his surroundings: the roads in Xiaogu City were riddled with potholes, and most of the houses were low and dilapidated—even worse than the Uchiha clan's settlement.

The people on the street mostly walked with their heads down, their expressions grave. They were mostly old people and children; there wasn't a single young or middle-aged adult to be seen.

Keisuke sneered, "See that? This city has lacked the protection of a daimyo or a ninja clan for years. Every time a daimyo's army passes through, they ransack the place. This is the price of having no power."

Qiancao remained silent, feeling even more pessimistic about this world.

As if sensing Qiancao's low spirits, Wuming secretly took his hand. When he turned to look at her, she turned her head away, pretending to look at the scenery so he wouldn't see her face.

Shiri chose not to argue with Keisuke. The Keisuke she had seen on this journey felt like a complete stranger, and she decided it was better not to provoke him and to finish the mission as soon as possible.

"Let's go get something to eat first," Shiri said calmly. "I know a restaurant in Xiaogu City that's popular with the locals. We can gather some intelligence while we're there."