"This place is really different from the Fire Country."
On the edge of the big lake, Yiyong and Shisui looked into the distance.
A high-tech city hidden in the fog, like a ghost shadow, is located in the center of the lake. Its architectural style is very different from the rain forests and wastelands elsewhere in this land, and it has a sense of immediacy that transcends the times.
The silhouette gives Giyuu the feeling of being a factory full of chimneys (actually drainage pipes) opened by entrepreneurs in the Arakawa District of Tokyo during the Taisho era.
Yiyong has never seen fields in this country, nor has he found a settlement of more than a hundred people. Some are just refugees holding bamboo hats, hurriedly walking through the water curtain, families hanging on the treetops, and starving to death on the edge of the rainforest.
The young figures and hundreds of corpses lying in pools of blood have become food for flies and insects that are not afraid of wind and rain.
The clouds in the Land of Rain are like many towels stained with dirty water, sewn together impatiently by careless giants, covering the sky dullly over this land. The large drops of rain dripping from the sky,
It always exudes a musty smell of decay and rancidity, implying that it contains dangerous and harmful substances.
This is a country that has been at war for a long time.
The Ninja World War has ended for many years, but for the Rain Country, the fighting and betrayal are far from the end.
Shisui and Giyuu passed through the level at a very fast speed. No matter they were rebels, thugs or rain ninjas, they were all under the influence of the illusion and turned a blind eye to them. In the eyes of those ninjas, the two of them did not exist at all.
Because Shisui Hitomi's power was particularly strong, they passed through the outskirts of Rain Country many times faster than Itachi, so they simply took the main road and did not encounter any ninja who could break their illusions the whole way.
In less than half a day, they successfully arrived at the edge of the big lake where Yuyin Village is located from the border.
This lake is located in the lowest basin of the Kingdom of Rain. It is where the rain and blood of the entire country gather. And Yuyin Village is located in the center of this lake.
"The Kingdom of Rain borders the three major kingdoms of Fire, Wind, and Earth at the same time. The Kingdom of Grass, which is not much weaker, is directly north of it. Therefore, every time the ninja world wars, the Kingdom of Rain inevitably becomes the core battlefield.
And the various ninjutsu used in ninja wars can cause almost irreversible damage to the land."
While planning the route to enter the Amegakure Village, Shisui told Giyuuki: "Later, the demigod of the ninja world, Sanshouyu Hanzo, established the Amegakure Village and fought against many countries on his own in an attempt to save the country.
"But because his desire to win was too strong, he used a large amount of poison gas in the war. After the poison gas evaporated, it mixed with rainwater and returned to the surface, repeatedly eroding the land here. In the end, it became what it is today, and even the soil was destroyed.
It has become crystalline, and compared with rocks, there is only a difference between large and small.
"Except for a large amount of wasteland, the Country of Rain only has rainforests that are full of poisonous and dangerous conditions. Today, the factories set up by major powers on the border of the Country of Rain, as well as the assassination hires accepted by the Hidden Rain Village, are almost the source of the entire country's economy.
"
"Demi god?"
Yiyong chewed on these two words and frowned slightly. He really couldn't combine the world in front of him with such a resounding reputation.
"Did he do anything great?"
"In this world, strength is greatness."
Shisui replied, "Sansho Hanzo is a person who has used all the skills of ordinary ninjas to the extreme. He is also a water escape expert second only to the Second Hokage. Therefore, he has an absolute advantage when fighting on the mainland.
"In addition to ninjutsu, he also implanted the poisonous sac of the black pepper fish into his body. With the help of the terrifying poison, he completely defeated an entire army of Konoha. In the end, only three people were left who could barely fight with him.
The battle, that is, the later famous Konoha Sannin.
"But success is extremely poisonous, and failure is also extremely poisonous. Hanzo gained a reputation as a rain ninja, but he also ruined the country to the point where it was unable to sustain its own production. The only one who benefited was the village of Rain Hidden, which received numerous assassination orders because of its reputation. Now,
It is only expected that so many ordinary people would resist him if they could not survive."
"...In order to save this country, you turned it into a place of death?"
Yiyong's eyelids drooped slightly.
"Doesn't it matter if the name of the Land of Rain is the same?"
"Well... Speaking of this, the old man was very afraid of Hanzo. He moved to the City of Fire a long time ago. His favorite thing to do every day is to play cards."
Shisui sighed, "So the country you see is completely ruled by the rain ninjas themselves. Most of its functions have been destroyed, and it only needs ninjas and a small number of residents to serve them. As for food and various
It is a necessity and depends entirely on mission rewards. Ninjas here can do whatever they want. No one will make decisions for these ordinary people, so they can only resist on their own.
"In the final analysis, the current situation of this country and Hanzo's reputation are just the result of the game between the great powers. They need this place to become a battlefield, and Hanzo just meets this condition, so what if you give him a nice name?
Anyway, big countries need a reason not to annex this country."
Zhiyong, who once lived in the era of reunification, was a little confused. After thinking for a long time, he realized that the reason why the big powers were unwilling to directly invade this country was because it had to become a buffer zone between the big powers, so as to prevent the big powers from being harmed in the war.
damage.
"How chilling."
After making a brief comment, his understanding of the world deepened.
"War sounds like a ninja game between big countries. It is the people of small countries who will definitely be harmed."
"That's why I think that the more powerful people are, the more they should use their power to maintain peace instead of creating disputes. The order maintained by violence is only an order that is beneficial to the perpetrators, and will be exposed sooner or later."
Shisui brushed away the water droplets on the top of Yiyong's raincoat.
"Giyu, you are born with great strength and a soft heart. Maybe one day, you can change the world like the first Hokage."
He said this half-jokingly, but there was no hint of expectation in it.
"Didn't you say it before? The reason for gaining strength is to resist unreasonable 'habits'. The war of ninjas is one of these habits."
"I... I'm just talking about my own affairs."
Yiyong's face was expressionless and his tone was stiff, as if he wanted to force himself to do what he said.
He said to himself in his heart that ninjas and ghosts are two completely different things and have nothing to do with his responsibilities. The life of wielding a knife for the safety of strangers has ended with the end of his previous life.
In this life, he is no longer a member of the Demon Slayer Squad. He only wants to consider the safety of the people around him, protect them with his own innate power, and live an ordinary life. He does not hurt others and avoids being attacked.
It's enough for others to hurt you.
But along the way, the faces of the unarmed dead people kept appearing in front of him, with faces as cold as his, but the coldness in the dead eyes was hotter than the most raging flames.
Suddenly, a question grew in his mind.
[What would they do if the ones who survived first were Bei Mingyu and Purgatory Xingjulang?]
No, you shouldn't think about this.
Yiyong took a deep breath and forced the waves in his heart to disappear. Then, he asked Zhisui as if asking for help: "Have you found a way to enter Yuyin Village?"
[Finding the murderer of Wen and bringing Uchiha Flame back, this is what I want to do now.]
"Anyway, it's impossible to cross the lake."
Zhisui shook his head helplessly, "According to the information, there are many pepper fish and various aquatic monsters in the lake. Deep-water creatures have a sensitive sense of taste, but most of them have poor eyesight. Once the illusion does not work on these guys, they will cause trouble."
Movement will inevitably attract Yu Nin's attention.
"After much deliberation, the only way to get there is through the bridge on the other side of the lake. But at the gate of Yuyin Village, it is too risky to use illusions directly. It is safer to enter it by disguising yourself as a rain ninja."
"What are you waiting for."
Yiyong took the lead to move along the lake embankment. Shisui opened his mouth to say something, but still didn't say anything.
Now that Sansho Hanzo has shrunk his power, the most elite Jonin among the Rain ninjas are all inside the Rain Hidden Village, and there are unknown enemies who may be staring at Itachi's Sharingan. Although Shisui has full confidence in his own eyes,
He still didn't want to take the risk of bringing Yiyong in, after all, he wasn't sure about Itachi's condition yet.
But if you want to let Jiyong stay outside, it is absolutely impossible to convince him with the excuse of "danger".
【I can only take one step and see one step. 】
The two of them walked around the lake shore for nearly twenty minutes with their own thoughts. About three hundred meters from the entrance of the bridge, they met a small donkey cart with a flag with the word "tea" on it.
Each of the four corners of the donkey cart is tied with a light log cut off from the top. The broad and strong leaves cover each other and overlap, isolating the rain from the donkeys, old women and little girls below.
There were also two large cans on the donkey cart that were steaming with white steam. A sweet and fresh smell oozed from them. It was probably the so-called "tea".
"The tea shop opened outside Yuyin Village..."
Zhisui muttered, "It's really interesting. Let's go over and see if we can get any information. I happen to be a little tired and thirsty..."
Yiyong didn't say anything and walked over with Zhisui.
"You two are strangers, are you from outside?"
The old woman wore a thick scarf to cover her mouth and nose, as did the little girl with auburn hair.
But unlike the woman's gentle and calm gaze, there was fear in the little girl's eyes. Her thin arms leaned tightly against the tea jar, absorbing warmth and courage from inside.
"I am a wandering ninja who came to the Land of Rain to make a living. This is my younger brother."
Shisui casually concealed his identity. Anyway, the two of them had already changed into the most common clothes in the Land of Rain, so there would be no loopholes.
"Before I came here, I had always heard that Yu Ren was moody and never hesitated to kill ordinary people, so I was still a little hesitant to join them, but now it seems that it is not that scary."
The implication was that he wanted to know why the grandfather and grandson dared to sell tea here.
However, Yiyong's question was much sharper than his statement: "Aren't you afraid of death? Why don't you hide?"
The little girl shrank even further, obviously death was no stranger to her.
"Haha, children are more direct when speaking."
The old lady smiled, but what she said next was not worthy of her smile at all.
"We were originally hiding in secret places, but the two hiding places were snatched away by young people who wanted to resist Hanzo-sama. They thought that this kid and I were a burden, so they kicked us out.
, after that we can only pick mushrooms for food in the forest."
"It's just that it's not enough for children to eat just these."
When the old lady said this, she pointed at the donkey,
"Later, we picked it up in a mud puddle, and decided to cook the mushrooms into tea, exchange serious food with the ninjas of Hidden Rain Village, and live in the car. Before we knew it, two months had passed.
It's actually more peaceful than hiding everywhere."
She walked to the tea (mushroom soup?) pot, opened the lid, and the steam steamed out, blurring the faces of her grandfather and grandson.
"In this country where people's hearts are cold, who can refuse a bowl of warm tea? No matter who is leaving here or entering here, it may be the last time."
As she said this, she filled a bowl for herself and drank it in one gulp, proving that there was no poison in it.
"You two, do you want to have a taste? You can pay with food or money."
"So, I have to have a bowl."
Zhisui looked at Giyuu, who shook his head. He was not in such a mood.
Sailor Shisui put his hand into his raincoat and took out a snack he bought when leaving the Country of Fire from his pocket, "Is this okay?"
"Oh, thank you."
The old lady looked at the snack eagerly and said, "Hydrangea, put it away. It looks very precious. Maybe it can be exchanged for more ordinary food in the future."
"good……"
The girl named Ziyanghua took the things and was about to stuff them into the small box on the donkey cart, but she suddenly stopped and stared at the packaging of the snacks with a look of surprise.
"What's wrong?"
Zhisui narrowed his eyes and asked kindly, "Don't you like it?"
"No……"
Hydrangea raised her head while holding the snacks, her eyes sparkling, "I want to ask, are you and Angel from the same place?"
"Angel?"
After the demigod, there was another word that the god kept mumbling, which caught the attention of Shisui and Giyuu.
If there is another ninja with a title after the rain, you need to pay more attention.
"Who is the angel?"
"An angel is a god who spreads his white wings and flies through the sky."
Hydrangea's tone was somewhat pious. Of course, it would be more appropriate to say that she was yearning for fairy tales, "If you shout loudly from the ground, He will give you food."
Then she took out a snack with exactly the same packaging from the box, "This is what the angel gave me when I met him before."
"Haha, the kid is talking in his sleep again."
The old lady took away all the snacks from Hydrangea's hands and put them into the box. "It must be some kind-hearted ninja who passed by and gave her this snack. Don't worry, you two."
However, Zhisui waved his hand slightly, looked into the little girl's eyes and asked: "Little sister, when was the last time you saw an angel? Do you know where he went?"
"Just three or four days ago."
Hydrangea gestured in the direction, "The angel came from the south and flew away to the north. Although he looked small, I still recognized him."
【The time is just right.】
[With the food of the Fire Country, coming from the south, and being able to fly, ninjas can barely explain why the blood of Uchiha Flame reappeared so far away. Of course, it may also be a coincidence...]
Shisui's eyes became brighter and brighter, and then he looked at Giyu.
[But at least it’s a reason not to let him enter Yuyin Village. 】
"It seems that it is necessary for us to separate for a while."
