Despair

"Lord Madara, are you all right?"

"Cough, cough! I'm fine. I just lost an eye!" Madara brushed his bangs aside, revealing his left eye, its light already gone.

"Izanagi?"

"The enemy was truly formidable this time! Even Lord Madara died once!" Black Zetsu sighed as he looked at Madara's left eye.

"Hmph! If not for this aged body, there's no telling who would have won!" Madara said defiantly.

"Lord Madara, we should leave at once! The enemy's perception is exceptionally powerful. If that girl had known about my abilities, I might have died too."

"Even you couldn't escape her perception? It seems we can't stay in the Land of Rain anymore. Let's go to the Land of Water! But make sure White Zetsu keeps a close watch on Nagato and the others. They're important pawns."

"Yes, Lord Madara!"

As Ria flew home, she suddenly sensed the red arrow reappear in her mind, pointing toward the site of her battle. Her expression darkened. "Damn it! I actually forgot to watch the corpse. These enemies really are cunning." With that, she turned and flew back the way she had come.

She had only flown a short distance.

"It disappeared? Did they leave? Ugh, honestly! It's all because Meli's Octopus Balls were too tempting!" Her stomach growled. "Forget it. I'll go home and eat first!"

The moment she returned to Corona City, Ria felt the presence of home. She hurried back to the house they shared. "Meli, I'm back!"

"You're back, Ria! Come and eat." Meli came out of the living room and smiled at her.

"Ria's back!" Xiao Cao and Xiao Shu hurried out after her.

"I'm starving!" Ria scooped up the two little ones. Seeing everyone come out to welcome her filled her heart with warmth.

"Come and eat! Everyone's been waiting for you," Meli said with a gentle smile.

"Honestly! Why did you wait for me? You could have just saved me some!" Ria sounded stern, but she was growing more and more touched. This was what family meant!

Everyone gathered around the dining table, enjoying dinner amid laughter and chatter. Though the food had gone cold, their hearts were warm.

Time passed through countless warm, peaceful days like these.

As the war between the five great nations entered its final stages, the Holy Church continued to develop steadily, well aware of the wisdom in stockpiling grain and delaying any claim to kingship.

During this period, aside from capturing a group of Konoha Ninja, they encountered no major trouble, and every city they occupied entered a period of rapid development.

First, the Holy Knights launched sweeping campaigns against bandits around the cities, while also cracking down on criminal forces and nobles within them.

Even the irrigation infrastructure was completed swiftly with help from the many Holy Light Clerics. Stone roads now allowed four-horse carriages to travel freely, while trains occasionally sped past the fields and airships drifted overhead from time to time. All of it heralded rapid changes in people's living standards.

At least in the cities occupied by the Land of Rain Holy Church, food and clothing were no longer a concern. Likewise, the Holy Church's reputation spread throughout the country, and large numbers of people fled from unoccupied cities to its territory.

Amegakure's inaction, however, left the nobles and Daimyo of the Land of Rain in a miserable position.

"Lord Daimyo, you must seek justice for us! Those cultists not only seized our lands, but now even those lowborn wretches refuse to obey us. They run off to the cultists at the slightest opportunity. The cities bordering their territory are practically becoming ghost towns!" the nobles gathered below lamented.

"What good does telling me do? Don't you know that a group of ninja watches me whenever I leave home? Damn those ninja from Amegakure! I've been feeding a pack of ungrateful wolves!" the Daimyo said furiously.

"But if this continues unchecked, it won't just be those few cities that empty out! It'll be most of the cities under your rule, Lord Daimyo!" a noble said, putting on a show of unwavering loyalty.

"You fools! Can't you send your samurai to stop those wretches?" the Daimyo shouted in exasperation.

"But wouldn't that anger the cultists?" an elderly noble asked cautiously.

"Exactly! What if the cultists attack us?" The nobles below began murmuring among themselves.

The Daimyo glared at the old noble. A moment ago, the man had sounded ready to die for him, yet now that he was being asked to do something, he stalled and fretted over every little thing. Had the Daimyo not already known what these people were like, he might have feared they would anger him to death today.

"You useless fools! Even at a time like this, you're still afraid of everything! If the cultists really wanted to attack, do you think you could stop them?"

"What do you mean, Lord Daimyo?" the elderly noble asked tentatively, his eyes darting about.

"Hmph! Hanzō has an agreement with the cultists' leader. Half the cities in the Land of Rain belong to the cultists, and the rest remain mine," the Daimyo said through gritted teeth. Thinking of how more than half the country's cities had simply been lost filled him with anger.

But there was nothing he could do. In the past, Amegakure had needed his annual financial support. As long as Hanzō wanted money to develop his Shinobi Village, he would show the Daimyo some respect and avoid going too far. Now, however, the Daimyo had no idea what agreement Hanzō had reached with the Evil Cult. Even after he cut off the funding, Hanzō never came to ask about it. He merely issued a few warnings, telling him not to cause trouble.

Hearing the Daimyo's answer, the nobles below finally smiled. Now they would make those wretches pay!

"Mommy, I'm so hungry!" a three-year-old child said weakly, cradled in the arms of a haggard woman wearing heavily patched clothes.

"Sweetheart, hold on a little longer. Once we get past this city, we'll be in the Holy Church's territory. There'll be lots and lots to eat there!" the woman soothed helplessly.

"But Mommy, I'm really, really hungry!" the child said listlessly.

Looking at her child, who had not eaten in two days, the woman suddenly broke into sobs. Not long ago, a rat infestation had struck her hometown, and those hateful rats had eaten all their crops. Her husband had been bitten to death trying to save the grain in their fields. Only her quick reaction had allowed her to take their child and escape, desperately following the crowd.

But afterward, because the local lord's household had also suffered severe losses, he demanded even more taxes from them. How could they have any grain left at home? Hadn't the rats eaten it all?

The noble lord did not care. He said that anyone without grain would become a slave and farm his land for free. How could they accept that? In the end, the whole village discussed it and decided to flee west to the Holy Church. They had heard it was paradise, with no nobles, where anyone willing to work could have enough to eat every day.

Seeing her child weakly close their eyes, the woman steeled herself. "Sweetheart, Mommy will get you something to eat right away." She found a sharp stone on the ground and slashed her wrist. Blood poured from the wound. Not daring to waste any, she pressed it against her child's mouth.

As the child instinctively suckled, the woman's face grew paler and paler. The people beside her could hardly bear to watch, but there was nothing they could do. Adults could stave off hunger with grass roots and tree bark, but a three-year-old child's stomach and intestines were not fully developed. Eating too much of those things could cause stomach pain, or even fatal constipation.

Seeing a little color finally return to her child's face, the woman hurriedly tore a strip from her ragged clothes and bound the wound. Suddenly, dizziness washed over her, leaving her weak.

Just then, a commotion broke out at the front of the crowd. "Why won't you let us through?"

"You lowborn wretch! You dare shout at me? Beat him!"

"Aah! Aah!"

"Drag him out!" Two samurai hauled out the refugee who had shouted so fiercely.

The samurai leader drew the Samurai Sword at his waist and stared viciously at the refugees. "Watch closely, you wretches! If you dare flee to the other side, this is what will happen to you!" With that, he hacked down hard at the unconscious refugee's head.

"Aah!" Terrified screams erupted from the crowd.

"They're giving us no way to survive! Everyone, fight them!" someone shouted defiantly.

Then the desperate crowd began charging the checkpoint formed by the samurai.

"Kill them! Teach these wretches a lesson!"

"Aah! Aah! ... Run!"

The woman stood frozen, staring in despair at everything before her. Hope was so close, yet an impassable gulf seemed to keep every trace of it out of reach, leaving them stranded on this side, in endless hell.