After leaving Konoha, Anyo did not blindly rush into action. Although this mission was more like a training journey, he still decided to carry it out perfectly. Apart from Kirigakure, he intended to visit every other place, or at least gain a general understanding of them.
Having made that decision, his first priority was naturally to find help. Before long, he found the mark he had agreed on with Genno on a tree trunk.
Following these marks, Anyo fixed on a direction and sped off.
Kagerō Village was only a small village nestled deep in the mountains. Its Ninja knew very little about the outside world, so the moment they ventured out, they challenged a behemoth like Konoha head-on. The outcome went without saying. After a three-month stalemate, they were beaten into signing a ceasefire agreement.
Honestly, he had been quite surprised to learn that Takigakure had attacked Kagerō Village. After all, the two countries had little to do with each other. But on further thought, it was only natural. These were times of war, and taking advantage of someone's weakness to finish them off was commonplace. He only hoped Genno would not act rashly.
Anyo raced through the forest without stopping at all, taking Military Rations Pills to replenish his strength whenever he grew tired. After several days of travel, he finally reached Kagerō Village's location. Unfortunately, it was already a stretch of ruins.
It looks like I'm too late. Anyo sighed. The place had become utterly desolate, with scorched earth everywhere. Even the air still carried the smell of blood. Clearly, after a fierce battle, the entire village had been consumed by fire.
I wonder how Genno is doing. Can he withstand such a devastating blow?
The marks end here. Clearly, Genno must have seen the village's miserable condition. I wonder how he feels now. He probably thinks there's no need to follow me anymore. After all, the village no longer exists.
Anyo felt it was a pity. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed something and vanished from the spot with the Body Flicker Technique.
A little girl had been lying behind a rock, watching him. Anyo gently patted her on the back.
"Aaaah!" The little girl screamed in fright.
Anyo covered his ears and patiently waited for her to finish.
After she finished screaming, the little girl actually pulled a kunai from inside her clothes, pointed it at Anyo, and said, "You're not a survivor from our village. Who are you?"
Hearing this, Anyo was delighted and hurriedly answered, "I'm Genno's friend. Has he returned to the village? Where is he now?"
"No. You're a stranger. I won't take you there." The little girl did not lower her guard because of Anyo's words.
Seeing that words would not work, Anyo wasted no more time. He formed hand seals with both hands and cast a genjutsu on the little girl.
The little girl's eyes immediately turned vacant. Then she led Anyo step by step in one direction, finally stopping beside a small hill.
When the little girl stopped moving, Anyo carefully examined the hill and finally spotted something amiss. The soil around it had been turned over. Could it be underneath...
Before Anyo could act, several objects whistled through the air.
Anyo drew his short sword and blocked the incoming kunai one by one, then called out, "Genno, come out. I don't want to hurt anyone."
Several people appeared out of thin air on the hill. Some were old and some were young, all dressed in rags and holding weapons as they watched Anyo with faces full of fear and wariness.
As soon as Anyo finished speaking, Genno appeared as well. Looking at Anyo with a complicated expression, he said, "The village is gone. Our agreement is null and void. Leave."
Anyo gave a faint smile. "Don't forget what I said. If the village was gone, I'd help you rebuild it."
"Rebuild it?" Genno shook his head in despair. "How could it be that easy? Besides, these are the only survivors left from our village. I'm planning to take them somewhere to live in seclusion."
It looks like he's truly lost heart. This won't do. Having finally found such a suitable subordinate, Anyo did not want to give up. He took two steps forward and earnestly urged him, "Every village was built from ruins. Kagerō Village was, and so was Konoha. What good will it do to take them into seclusion? From then on, they'll be a group of people without a home."
Anyo's words truly struck a chord with everyone. The faces of those who had been wary began to fill with sorrow. Clearly, they were remembering their destroyed home.
Genno naturally understood this too. But he knew all too well how difficult rebuilding the village would be, especially in these chaotic times.
"With just you alone?" Genno did not understand where Anyo's confidence came from.
Anyo smiled confidently. "Of course not. You and me. Two people."
Genno took a deep breath. "I want to hear your plan."
"Then let's go sit down and talk it over."
Anyo released the genjutsu on the little girl and followed the group of elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people beneath the hill.
As expected, Genno had turned the place into an enormous underground chamber, even connecting it to an underground river. It was enough for them to survive inside for a long time. It was indeed a good place.
After welcoming Anyo into a room, Genno immediately asked, "Please tell me, how should we rebuild the village, and where?"
Anyo took out the map he had prepared for gathering intelligence, pointed to one corner, and smiled faintly. "Naturally, we'll rebuild it here. Two birds with one stone, wouldn't you say?"
Genno's pupils contracted sharply several times, because the place Anyo was pointing to was none other than Takigakure, which had launched the surprise attack on their village.
"That's impossible," Genno blurted out. "Do you know how strong Takigakure is? Besides, they're the only village outside the Five Great Nations that possesses a Tailed Beast."
Anyo was surprised and puzzled. "Their village actually has a Tailed Beast? How many tails?"
To be honest, the Tailed Beasts Anyo was familiar with were probably only the One-Tail, Eight-Tails, and Nine-Tails. He really did not know much about the others. There was also a vast difference in strength between the Tailed Beasts, with Nine-Tails undoubtedly the strongest.
"You were thinking of going to Takigakure without even knowing that?" Genno was so exasperated by Anyo that he almost laughed. Then he replied dejectedly, "If my information is correct, it should be Seven-Tails Chōmei."
"Oh, Seven-Tails. That shouldn't be much of a problem." Anyo was no longer quite as confident as before. As he recalled, Seven-Tails was the only Tailed Beast that could fly. It had no battle feats whatsoever in the anime, so its fighting strength could not be all that high.
Genno could no longer be bothered to listen to his cryptic remarks and asked directly, "What exactly is your plan?"
Rather than answering directly, Anyo asked, "Do you know about the Bounty Station?"
"Yes. Once wealthy clients post bounties there, anyone can take part. It's a place that acts as a sort of middleman."
After saying this, Genno suddenly caught on. "Don't tell me you're planning to..."
Anyo nodded affirmatively.
Before you continue