"What... happened to me?"
"Why is everyone gathered at the village entrance? Where did these wooden signs come from?"
"Lord Xuandou, Lord Nadare... what have we done?"
The villagers blocking the road came to their senses. Remembering what they had just said and done, they felt their scalps prickle. One after another, they dropped their wooden signs like hot potatoes and gave the armored ninja ingratiating smiles.
The stooped, wrinkled old woman elected as their leader looked particularly embarrassed and darted into the crowd with surprising speed.
But the villagers shoved her back, blocked her retreat, and escorted her to the front...
The Land of Snow ninja watched the scene coldly.
At that moment.
While the villagers retreated, a handsome boy of sixteen or seventeen, with sharp brows and bright eyes, walked forward like a hero cutting his way through thorns.
He waved his wooden sign with great swagger.
"Fellow believers, stand together... make them release the sect's masters."
"Raise the banner for the Ōtsutsuki Sect!"
"Does being a ninja mean you can hit people whenever you want? Go on, hit me..."
"My lord, what is this?"
Nadare Rōga pointed at the boy and respectfully awaited Xuandou's orders.
Since someone had been behind the villagers surrounding the village, and they had not disgraced themselves before Xuandou, he had no intention of punishing the villagers.
He was even worried about the boy's strange behavior.
Please don't let him have turned into an idiot.
"He's waiting for you to hit him."
Xuandou wore a rather peculiar expression. Seeing that Nadare Rōga did not understand, he explained in all seriousness.
"What? What do you mean?" Nadare Rōga was rather bewildered.
What does he mean, waiting for us to hit him?
He understood each word individually, but together they made no sense to