"Therefore, guests who have come from afar, I hope you can stay with me for a while, because a new war is about to begin."
Zabuza the Wanderer's words caused Naruto and Sasuke's expressions to change. They never expected to be so unlucky, arriving just in time for war. After all, war is never a trivial matter.
Naruto's expression was serious.
"Really? Is the news true?"
Faced with Naruto's question, the Zabuza the Wanderer simply nodded heavily before explaining:
"Yes, it was a message my subordinate sent a few days ago, and I'm not so bored as to joke about something like this."
Zabuza the Wanderer's words made the surrounding air heavier. After all, war is something that everyone fears, especially Naruto. Although he lived in a peaceful era in his previous life, wars still occurred frequently, and the residents in war-torn areas suffered the most.
Even after arriving in the Shinobi World, Naruto had never experienced the Shinobi World War. He never expected to encounter war so soon after arriving in this Wanderer World.
Looking at the Zabuza the Wanderer opposite him, Naruto finally asked the question he had always wanted to ask.
"Um, do you guys still remember us?"
Naruto's words startled both Zabuza the Wanderer and Haku the Wanderer, causing their expressions to freeze for a moment. They quickly turned to thinking, as if trying to recall memories related to the two people in front of them. However, after thinking for a while, both Zabuza the Wanderer and Haku the Wanderer looked blank, because they had absolutely no memory of the two people in front of them.
"Um... hey guys, this seems to be the first time we've met, right?"
"Just call me Naruto Uzumaki. The guy next to me is Sasuke Uchiha."
Upon hearing this, Zabuza the Wanderer, but still glanced at Sasuke subtly, as if confirming something, before introducing himself.
"I'm sure you all heard it from Haku; Zabuza."
Zabuza the Wanderer hadn't missed Naruto's little actions, and he had his own guesses. Zabuza the Wanderer had only made those moves after hearing Sasuke's name—was it because of the Uchiha? And what about Obito the Wanderer? Could he already be in the Wanderer World?
Naruto seemed to have figured it out; after all, only such a guess could make sense.
Unlike Naruto's reaction, Sasuke was completely bewildered. Although he knew that the two people in front of him were not Zabuza and Haku from his memories, they were just like the people he knew, yet he had no memories of them. This made Sasuke somewhat disappointed, and he was completely unaware of the Zabuza the Wanderer's eyes when he looked at him.
However, Zabuza the Wanderer quickly realized that the person in front of him had nothing to do with that demon. This Uchiha brat had eyes full of pure stupidity, just like a rich man's foolish son. He had absolutely no connection with the great demon king he knew. It seemed that he was just a brat with the same surname.
Zabuza's Zabuza the Wanderer cleared Sasuke of suspicion. As for Naruto and Uzumaki? Never heard of them. Besides, their clothes were strange. According to Haku, they were from Konoha. Konoha should be an obscure little tribe, right? Never heard of it.
Meanwhile, Obito and Black Zetsu continued their trek deeper into the village. They passed through many small villages, but there wasn't a single living person in any of them. Obito frowned. These villages seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. Not to mention living people, they hadn't even seen a single stray dog.
"Hey, Black Zetsu, have you noticed something's wrong here?"
Upon hearing Obito's call, Black Zetsu twisted his slime-like body closer to Obito and spoke in a deep voice:
"Something's wrong. This place is nowhere Jonin world. It lacks vitality, like a frail old person walking around, devoid of any life force because their life is about to end."
Hearing Black Zetsu's description, Obito frowned even more deeply. At first, the two of them had no destination, but after walking for a while, they suddenly had a strange feeling that was guiding them in a certain direction, as if there was something there that was very important to them, but Obito couldn't quite put his finger on this strange feeling.
Obito clenched his fists, refusing to look at the dilapidated, lifeless village before him.
"Let's go, Black Zetsu. We still have a long way to go. I can feel that call growing stronger."
Upon hearing this, Black Zetsu, wriggling his body, caught up with Obito.
" Obito, how accurate is your intuition? What if we arrive with nothing to show for it?"
When faced with Black Zetsu's questioning, Obito simply rebuked him.
"Shut up, Black Zetsu, you're really noisy."
Obito's forehead was covered in black lines. He didn't know why, but ever since he came to this world, this Black Zetsu had become just like the White Zetsu from the Shinobi World era—a real chatterbox, even more so than Tobi.
After being scolded, Black Zetsu could only shut his mouth sheepishly and obediently follow behind Obito.
" Obito, can you slow down? I can't keep up with you."
Obito didn't speak, but silently slowed down, and the two of them, one a lump of earth, continued forward into the unknown...
Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke, at Zabuza the Wanderer's insistence, ended up staying. After a meal, they discovered that Zabuza the Wanderer, despite his fierce appearance, was actually a very warm-hearted person. Under his enthusiastic invitation, the two had no choice but to stay and wait for an opportunity to go out and gather information.
" Naruto, are these two really not?"
Naruto could only sigh helplessly at Sasuke's question.
"Sigh, it's really not them, Zhuzi. You've asked them so many times. They just look alike; they're really not those two from the Land of Waves."
Seeing Sasuke, Naruto could only helplessly explain again and again, after all, he didn't know much about this Wanderer World.
At this moment Zabuza the Wanderer and Haku the Wanderer were in the room.
"Lord Zabuza, why did you force them to stay? Although it's impolite of me to speculate like this, they are strangers after all. What if..."
The implication of "Haku the Wanderer is quite clear: it means that Naruto and Sasuke's identities are somewhat questionable.
But Zabuza the Wanderer his hand dismissively.
"Sigh, Bai, I'm sure you've noticed too. When I see those two, for some reason, I feel a strange fondness for them, as if it's only natural. And didn't you see the look in their eyes? When they look at us, there's a hint of nostalgia..."