Madara Uchiha looked at the girl known as Kushinadahime.
She frowned and pointed to her head with her right hand.
Strangely enough, Madara Uchiha, actually stopped his actions when the girl shouted "Stop!"
The girl, known as Kushinadahime, made him momentarily disoriented, as if he were seeing a very familiar figure.
Madara Uchiha has decided to forgive the girl, but his words will not soften because of that.
Do you want to die too?
Kushinadahime did not back down in the slightest despite Madara Uchiha's threat.
She straightened her not-so-plump chest and stood righteously in front of Madara Uchiha.
"Have you killed enough? We gods are not like crops in a rice paddy, which can grow back after being killed."
If my death will spare the lives of those who have pledged allegiance to your god, then kill me!
Her voice wasn't the gentle kind a traditional woman would have; on the contrary, it was loud and had an indescribable cheerful quality.
The wind blew her stray hairs all over her forehead, but she didn't care.
Madara didn't speak, but Kushinadahime's tone made him feel even more familiar with her.
This woman is truly fearless.
"Those who wanted to destroy the trees have all been killed by you. Please stop the killing and drag the innocent into it."
Amenonuhoko couldn't bring himself to swing the Madara Uchiha any further, so he tilted his head and looked at Kushinadahime.
What's your name?
" Kushinadahime."
Madara Uchiha grinned, revealing a smile he tried to make as amiable as possible.
He pointed at the group of trembling villagers.
"Alright, Kushinadahime. From now on, you are their leader."
From this moment on, you are to guard the God Tree. Do not even think about running away.
Otherwise, I will kill you all.
Kushinadahime frowned, turned around and looked at the group of gods with earnest eyes, her expression hesitant.
Madara Uchiha and increased his bet.
"It seems you don't like them very much. Have they bullied you before? Fine, I'll kill them all then."
After saying that, Madara Uchiha raised his Amenonuhoko again, looking as if he was about to continue the slaughter.
Kushinadahime quickly spread her arms to protect the gods behind her.
"Stop!"
Seeing that Madara Uchiha had stopped again, Kushinadahime hurriedly spoke up.
I promise you.
Madara slowly put away the Amenonuhoko.
The spear transformed into a wisp of dark light and retracted into the palm of the hand.
The kneeling gods finally dared to raise their heads, their faces covered in sweat.
Ban didn't look at them.
He turned around and walked towards the God Tree.
He took two steps, then stopped.
"That wasteland south of the God Tree is yours," Ban said without turning his head. "Build houses here and grow crops. If you can't, you don't need to stay."
Kushinadahime stared at his retreating figure, paused for a moment, and after much hesitation, decided to agree to Madara Uchiha's request.
She turned around, looked at the gods, and sighed. Then she gathered the gods together and, according to Madara Uchiha's request, began building houses and planting crops.
Ban had already sat back down on the air pedestal, his eyes closed. But there was a very faint smile on the corner of his mouth.
Even he himself hadn't considered why he would so easily forgive Kushinadahime.
This weak woman, whom he could kill at will, actually prevented him from mustering the courage to kill.
For the next two days, Ban ignored the gods who had pledged allegiance to him.
They huddled among the withered roots around the God Tree, not daring to approach or go far.
Several people tried to fetch water from the river, but Ban glared at them and they didn't dare to move again.
They huddled under the roots of a tree like a flock of rain-soaked birds, waiting for a sunny day that might never come.
Early on the third day, Ban was awakened by a very loud digging sound.
He frowned, sat up from his seat, and looked south.
Kushinadahime was bent over, digging hard at the wasteland with a sharpened wooden stick.
She dug with great difficulty; the stick stuck into the cracked soil, making a dull "crackling" sound. After digging for a while, she would straighten up, rub her back, and then continue digging.
He was muttering something to himself, but we were too far away to hear him clearly.
Ban sat on the tree root and watched her for a long time. The land was indeed wasteland, full of gravel and dry soil, where not even grass grew.
She's a god, she doesn't use any special abilities, she just uses a broken stick to dig.
Ban thought this person had some mental issues.
"What are you doing?" he shouted.
Kushinadahime looked up, her face covered in sweat and her hair matted with dirt. She waved the wooden stick in her hand at Madara.
"Turn the soil! Aren't you going to let me plant?"
"You just translate it like that?"
"Otherwise what?" Kushinadahime said matter-of-factly, "I don't have all your fancy abilities. I'll just make the rice grow faster, and the land has to be tilled by myself."
Ban didn't speak. He watched her bend down again and dig with the stick, one stroke at a time. Her movements were clumsy and slow, but every stroke was very effective.
Half an hour later, she dug out a small patch of ground, big enough for one person to sit down.
She squatted down and picked out the pebbles from the soil one by one, piling them up beside her.
Ban jumped down from the aerial root and walked to her side.
Kushinadahime looked up at him, her eyes bright.
"You're here to watch me farm?"
"You're too slow."
Upon hearing Madara Uchiha's words, Kushinadahime's eyes lit up, and she asked without any hesitation.
"Then will you help me?"
Madara glanced at her, Kushinadahime handed her the wooden stick.
Madara didn't take it; instead, he raised one hand, Chakra flickered slightly.
The ground trembled slightly, and the pebbles on that wasteland rolled to both sides as if blown away by the wind.
The cracked clods of earth were turned up, revealing slightly damp, darker soil underneath.
A large area of land was turned over in the blink of an eye.
Kushinadahime stared, mouth agape, for several seconds. Then she clapped her hands.
"Hey, why didn't you say so earlier!"
"You didn't ask."
Kushinadahime wasn't annoyed. She squatted down, grabbed a handful of the turned soil, rubbed it in her hands, and then brought it close to her nose to smell it.
She frowned. "The soil is too dry. They won't grow well if we plant them."
"What should we do then?"
"It needs watering." Kushinadahime stood up and glanced towards the river. "Could you help me bring an irrigation ditch over here?"
Ban snorted and turned to walk towards the river. Kushinadahime followed behind him, jogging and calling out as she ran.
"The irrigation ditch doesn't need to be too wide, just a narrow one will do. Don't flood the grass along the riverbank; I saw a bird's nest there yesterday..."
Ban ignored her, but didn't stop walking.
He walked to the riverbank, pressed down with one hand, and a shallow ditch opened up in the ground, allowing the river water to flow slowly along the ditch towards the wasteland to the south.
Kushinadahime squatted by the ditch, tested the water flow with her hand, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Okay, that's enough."
She ran back to the field and pulled a small cloth bag from her bosom.
Open it, and inside are several handfuls of grain seeds.
She gently pressed each grain of rice into the damp soil, as if she were placing something very important.
Ban stood by and watched without saying a word.
"At this rate, when will it ever grow back?"
"With me here, the millet will sprout in three days, head in seven days, and be ready for harvest in half a month." Kushinadahime said without looking up. "My ability is to make the millet grow fast. But back in Takamagahara, they wouldn't let me plant it."
They said the gods don't need so much food. Mortals only need to survive.
"Then why are you still planting?"
"How will you know it's a waste of time if you don't plant it?" Kushinadahime said. "What if it survives?"
Ban didn't reply.
He watched as those tiny, dark fingers pressed the rice seeds into the soil, one by one.
Those hands were rough, with calluses on the knuckles and dirt under the fingernails.
And so, a pair of hands that didn't seem like those of a god appeared on Kushinadahime's body, which surprisingly felt quite fitting to Madara Uchiha.
She really doesn't seem like a god from Takamagahara.
It's like a Hokage who doesn't quite resemble Hokage.