In the woods,
Naraku and Shisui's strength had cowed everyone from Stone Ninja Village. Aside from Kawakami, who had already been killed, the others all gathered together at Nomura's signal.
Of course, Nomura had also realized that Shisui didn't want to kill them all.
At that moment, regret filled Nomura's eyes.
If only I hadn't run into Nakada Sono back then, he thought.
But there was no such thing as a regret-reversing medicine in this world!
Looking at the others from Stone Ninja Village and Kawakami's corpse, Nomura seemed to reach a decision. His gaze grew resolute.
He stepped forward and looked straight at Nakada Shun, who had just arrived.
"Nakada, I killed your son. How about we settle things between us once and for all?"
Nomura was taking a gamble. From Shisui's actions just now, he knew the other man wouldn't help Nakada wipe them out, so he wanted to deal with this matter alone.
Hearing this, a flicker of hesitation crossed Nakada Shun's eyes. Though it seemed his side had the upper hand, he knew that was only on the surface.
Ignoring Nomura, Nakada Shun turned to Naraku and Shisui and asked tentatively, "Honored shinobi, what do you think?"
Shisui looked at him with an enigmatic smile. "Mr. Nakada, our mission is only to protect your caravan."
Naraku remained silent, offering no opinion.
"So that's how it is." A flicker of disappointment crossed Nakada Shun's eyes at Shisui's reply, but he soon accepted it.
By this point, it was clear that he had been trying to use Shisui and the others to get revenge. It would be perfectly understandable if they abandoned the mission now.
Holding a Kunai, Nakada Shun stepped forward and faced Nomura. His gaze grew increasingly sharp.
"Then let's settle this the way shinobi do."
As he spoke, he hurled the Kunai at Nomura and began forming Hand Seals.
Clang!
Nomura easily blocked the Kunai with the greatsword in his hand.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Suddenly, Nakada Shun barked the command. A dragon's head swiftly rose from the ground, its jaws gaping as it fired mud bullets at Nomura.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
Nomura reacted just as quickly. After forming Hand Seals, he pressed one hand against the ground, and a wall of earth rose to block the mud bullets.
Rumble!
The bullets crashed into the wall, kicking up a cloud of dust. At the same time, the two resumed their clash.
Clang! Clang!
The ringing of metal against metal continued.
Though their fight seemed evenly matched, Naraku had a feeling the outcome had already been decided.
Nomura was bound to lose this fight. On the surface, their strength seemed about equal. Nakada Shun simply had more chakra, but that small advantage alone couldn't decide the outcome.
What would truly decide it was Naraku and Shisui. They wouldn't help Nakada Shun kill everyone from Stone Ninja Village, but they had to ensure one thing: Nakada Shun's safety.
He could be injured, but he absolutely couldn't die. Otherwise, their mission would be a failure, since Nakada Shun was also part of the caravan.
Just like Shisui now, Naraku kept his attention on the fight, his body poised to move. Naraku knew that if Nakada Shun proved no match for Nomura, Shisui would save him at once.
The fight was over quickly, and the outcome was just as Naraku had expected. Nakada Shun won, sustaining only minor injuries, while Nomura clutched his throat and fell into a pool of blood.
Jiro, I'm leaving the village in your hands from now on. With that thought flashing through his mind, Nomura lost consciousness for good.
Every remaining member of Stone Ninja Village wore a sorrowful expression. Even the youngest among them was already in his thirties.
For the sake of their village, they wouldn't even consider revenge. They didn't dare—at least, not now.
"Sir,"
At that moment, Jiro stepped forward, bowed to Naraku and Shisui, and spoke respectfully.
"Thank you for sparing our lives."
Shisui waved a hand. "We were only carrying out our mission. If your feud is settled, leave this place as soon as possible."
Jiro bowed again, then turned to Nakada Shun and spoke hoarsely. "Mr. Nakada, Stone Ninja Village won't interfere with your business anymore. I hope we can put our feud behind us."
Nakada Shun gave a faint nod and said nothing.
Actually, the moment he killed Nomura, he had let go of his anger. He had avenged Nakada Sono, and as for Stone Ninja Village, as long as they didn't interfere with his business from now on, he wouldn't go out of his way to provoke them either.
Jiro then left with the others, taking Nomura and Kawakami's bodies with them.
Not once did they mention taking revenge for Kawakami.
"Thank you both, honored sirs." After they had left, Nakada Shun bowed deeply to Naraku and Shisui.
He understood that if not for the two of them, things would have turned out very differently today.
"Thank you, honored shinobi!" Once the ordinary members of the caravan realized the danger had passed, they bowed to the two of them in gratitude as well.
"Let's get moving!"
Shisui waved a hand. Then he and Naraku sat cross-legged on the cargo again.
So this is the world of shinobi, Naraku thought.
The strong preyed on the weak, and strength ruled all. This was a world where might made right. He had just killed Kawakami, yet the people from Stone Ninja Village hadn't even dared to mention it. That was one of the benefits of overwhelming strength.
Perhaps there's nothing wrong with that. He looked toward the distant east, where a golden sun shone brilliantly, its light illuminating the whole world.
After dealing with the trouble from Stone Ninja Village, the caravan's journey went smoothly. A day later, they reached the border of the Land of Wind.
Naraku looked ahead. As far as the eye could see, endless yellow sand stretched across the land, just like the deserts from his previous life.
With an environment this harsh, it's no wonder Sunagakure is always trying to start wars, he thought.
When they entered the Land of Wind, Naraku noticed that the guards here were sparse—at least, far fewer than in the Land of Fire.
From what he sensed, there was only one Jonin guarding this area. The rest were all Chunin.
Against shinobi of Shisui and Kakashi's caliber, such a force was practically useless. Even Naraku was confident he could easily sneak into the Land of Wind.
But then he thought of the One-Tail and understood. For a ninja village, the Jinchuriki came first, especially for Sunagakure.