The lead-gray fog was like a torrent of mercury poured back from the depths of hell, heavy and viscous.
The carriage jolted along the gravel road, its wheels creaking loudly across the deathly silent wasteland. Tsunade sat inside, clutching the green outer robe on her knees so tightly that her knuckles had turned pale.
"Are we not there yet?" she asked softly, her voice carrying a faint tremor she had not even noticed herself.
"What's the hurry? The fish haven't taken the bait yet. A fisherman needs patience."
Ye Tian reclined against the soft cushions, idly turning a crystal-clear Spirit Stone in his hand. He looked terrible at the moment, his face pale as paper, with a faint trace of dark red blood still visible at the corner of his lips. This body had been severely damaged when he descended into the Shinobi World, and his recent frequent use of Immortal Essence to suppress the aura from Beyond the World had left his breath exceptionally disordered.
Suddenly, the carriage lurched violently, as though it had struck something invisible, and came to a dead stop in the middle of the road.
"Lord Ye, Lady Tsunade... there's... there's a child ahead." An ANBU member's somewhat frightened voice came from outside the carriage.
Tsunade's pupils shrank as she abruptly threw open the curtain.
Within the rolling fog stood a small, rigid figure. It was a little girl of seven or eight, dressed in ragged coarse linen. But what was horrifying was that clusters of dark red long hair had burrowed out from beneath her skin, like some bizarre parasitic plant, swaying faintly in the breeze.
"Ye Tian... save... Naruto..."
In that instant, Tsunade's mind went blank.
That voice was hoarse and heavy, carrying the weariness of one who had weathered countless years. Though