In late April of the 51st year of the Ninja Calendar, with the approval of Uncle Snake, the leader of the Sound Ninja Village, Le Yuan, who had completed the study of basic ninjutsu, set out from the Sound Ninja Village alone and headed south along the only path to the Land of Fire in Tian Country. The country's main road travels day and night.
Although the three wars in the Ninja Continent have ended, it does not mean that the entire Ninja World has become peaceful and peaceful. Even when there is no war, this continent is still full of bandits and rebellious Ninjas, so most people don't say that they are far away. Okay, I'm afraid even leaving the village is a rare thing.
If a wealthy businessman wants to cross the border, he will often hire ninjas from his own country to protect him along the way, so as to ensure that he can arrive safely along the way. However, even with the protection of the violent group of ninjas, robberies of this business trip still happen from time to time.
I'm afraid ordinary people really don't have the guts to travel alone on the Ninja Continent. The world here is even more chaotic than Japan's Warring States Period. The power of chakra allows even an ordinary chuunin to silently annihilate a small village. the point.
No matter how hard the five great ninja villages maintain peace in their own regions, they still cannot completely eradicate the existence of bandits and rebellious ninjas. In a sense, it is because of these people that the five great ninja villages have become an indispensable force for the five great countries.
It was not that Le Yuan, who was traveling alone, had no way to pass through towns along the way, but it had to be said that Uncle Snake was really stingy. After all, Le Yuan had been his research subject for many days, but after parting Uncle Ji Snake only gave Le Yuan 100,000 yuan. This one hundred thousand yuan is only ten thousand taels when converted, which is just the reward for a fairly good C-level mission.
You must know that the currency unit of this Ninja World continent is one tael = ten yuan. This yuan is really not very valuable, almost the same as the Japanese yen. Therefore, this hundred thousand yuan seems to be a lot, but in actual use it is still pitiful.
Fortunately, Le Yuan is not a very picky person. Apart from choosing a lot of seasonings along the way as if buying souvenirs, Le Yuan almost completes his food, clothing, housing and transportation in the wild.
Build a house in an instant, hunt by yourself... It's really not a problem to live well with Le Yuan's abilities. Apart from being far away from human beings, the feeling of staying in the forest at night is no different from camping.
After several days of traveling, Le Yuan successfully obtained part of the start-up capital from several people who tried to rob him. However, although the anti-robbery was successful, the robbers in this world are really not ordinary poor. They dare to come out to rob Le Yuan with a broken knife, and they also have only a handful of money with them. This is in line with them. The identity of a robber. Whoever has money will become a robber.
Le Yuan, who was walking alone as if on an outing, finally crossed the border between the Land of Fields and the Land of Fire and entered the Land of Fire. However, this Land of Fire is worthy of being the first of the five major countries, and there are more prosperous towns. A stable living environment is indeed the most suitable place to settle. After Le Yuan entered the Land of Fire, the number of times he was robbed suddenly dropped.
Le Yuan's original plan was to enter Konoha Village along the official road after entering the Country of Fire, but who would have thought that before he approached Konoha Village in the central area of the Country of Fire, he would stop at a place not far from the border. Encounter unexpected changes.
It was a night with only one crescent moon at the end of April. The stars in the night sky were dim and the stars were not visible. In short, it was definitely not a good day. Although Le Yuan was not afraid of the dark, he instinctively rested after the night fell, so the day to go to Konoha was delayed for a long time.
Just when Le Yuan, who had nothing to do, was preparing to spend the long dark night adjusting his breath, the distant chirping of birds woke Le Yuan up from the situation where he was practicing Qi with his eyes closed.
“Quack…” “Quick—”
Even though the moonlight was extremely dim, Le Yuan could still clearly see the silhouettes of frightened birds in the distant woods. At the same time, there was a faint sound of fighting in the empty forest.
"You really don't have time to spare. When you first came to the Country of Fire, it seemed like something big had happened. Let's join in the fun!"
Le Yuan is a very brave person. If ordinary people on the road suddenly encountered such a thing, they would not have seen it. How could there be someone like Le Yuan who was not afraid of death and wanted to come forward and actively join in the fun.
Le Yuan, who was traveling silently in the forest, had not yet arrived at the place where the sounds of fighting came from. He had already noticed that a team of five people was running away. Judging from their skills, they were not ordinary people. They are the elite among ninjas.
"Well, he even wears a forehead protector. Is this mark from the Cloud Ninja Village?"
Le Yuan, who was hiding among the trees, caught a glimpse of the mark on the forehead of a group of people as they flashed by. But what else could it be if the people from the Cloud Ninja Village ran away like thieves in the Land of Fire? Good thing.
"Everyone, keep working hard. As soon as we reach the border of the Country of Fire, our people will be there to meet us. By then our mission will be completed. We will be the heroes of Yun Ninja Village!"
The leader of the cloud ninja, who was carrying a large sack, encouraged his subordinates behind him while leaping between the trees. Even if they have already made up their minds to sacrifice their lives for the village, no one will cherish their lives, and it is good to survive.
The other cannon fodder who fought to stop the enemy from behind may not have such a good life, but for their mission this time, the sacrifice is completely worth it. Just bringing that one back to Yun Ninja Village will be enough to reverse the disadvantage they have always had.
"Well-"
A moan so slight that it was almost imperceptible reached the ears of the leader of the cloud ninja. As he was on his way, he suddenly looked behind him and was almost frightened out of his wits. Only four of the original five of them were left, and one of his men had disappeared.
"Kenichi, where did Kenichi go?"
The leader of the Kumo ninja, who had just stopped on a big tree at a certain moment, turned back to his three remaining subordinates and asked.
"Ah? Kenichi, he disappeared, when?"
After being reminded by the leader of Cloud Ninja, the others realized one after another that one of their companions had disappeared without knowing it.
"Could it be...could Kenichi take the initiative to stay and stop the enemy from pursuing us?"
One of the cloud ninjas said as if to comfort himself, but even he might not be convinced by this statement. To say that escape is imminent, who would be so fearless and willing to sacrifice themselves at such a time? It is simply unbelievable that it would happen to a guy like Kenichi who was originally scared to death.
"There is no time to delay. Everyone, be careful. There may be enemies already. Don't underestimate them!"
After these words were spoken by the leader of Yun Ren, the three people under his command naturally did not dare to slack off at all. A partner disappeared without knowing it. This kind of thing can happen to ordinary people and they can laugh it off, but It would be like hell to appear on these talented cloud ninja elites.
The group of people who continued on their way were not happy for long. Less than five minutes later, the second person disappeared amid their careful vigilance. There was no cry for help or any movement as a clue. The disappearance was so complete that the remaining three people felt a sense of foreboding.
The leader of the Cloud Ninja suppressed the sense of ominousness in his heart. He did not turn around and say any words of comfort to his subordinates, nor did he intend to search for his missing subordinates. He just said these words.
"Everyone, keep moving forward. Our mission cannot be compromised. As for Kenichi and the others, just wish themselves well!"
The choice between completing the mission or rescuing your companions is not something you encounter occasionally. Most ninjas will encounter it while performing missions. When Konoha White Fang chose to give up the mission and rescue his companions, he chose to commit suicide amid endless public opinion.
The incident of White Fang can be said to have become an example of education in the five major countries. While admiring most people, it also taught the younger generations to value the completion of tasks. Therefore, when the leader of the Kumo ninja decided to move forward with the mission, the remaining two ninjas did not have the slightest objection.
Immediately afterwards, something like the scene happened again. The group of people moved forward again for about five minutes. One of the remaining two cloud ninjas disappeared silently. No one was seen alive or dead, and no corpse was seen. In this darkness It seems as if there is a terrifying prehistoric beast hidden in it.
"Sir, leave this to me, and the rest will depend on you!"
The last Kumo ninja let out a sad laugh. In his opinion, it might not be his turn to make a choice. Even if he continues to move forward like this, the most likely possibility is that he will disappear without a trace like he just did, so at this moment he chose to become a hero who has been cut off.
The leader of the cloud ninja nodded to him, and then continued to move forward without looking back. What happened today was really abnormal, but he couldn't stop for the mission assigned by Raikage. Even if everyone died, this mission still couldn't fail.
"Come on, it's not that easy whether it's a human or a ghost who wants to kill me!"
The cloud ninja behind the scenes had a bit of madness in his eyes. Perhaps it was the unexplained disappearance of his companions that put him under unimaginable pressure. Faced with the unknown fear, he planned to fight hard.
At the moment when Yun Ninja roared, a black figure who was completely aware of his steps came behind him and hit him on the back of the neck with a knife. However, the black shadow paused at the moment of the hit, and countless thunder and lightning wrapped around Yun Ninja's body. On the black shadow's body.
"Die!"
When [Thunder Clone Technique] explodes, the accompanying paralysis effect can also temporarily paralyze the opponent. The Kumo ninja seems crazy, but he has a hidden back-up move, attracting the opponent with the Thunder Clone Technique, and then he himself jumps out to perform the killing move.
[Thunder Escape·Earth Walk], Yun Ninja's hands with thunder and lightning were about to touch the paralyzed black shadow. Unexpectedly, the moment he was about to succeed, the black shadow suddenly disappeared from the place.
"What? How is that possible?"
Seeing the opponent he had tried so hard to control disappear, the cloud ninja's attack suddenly stopped, and his hands flashing with lightning didn't know whether to continue or just disperse. The paralyzing effect of the Thunder Clone Technique is not absolute, and there is indeed a possibility of failure, but in the eyes of Kumo Ninja, it was clearly a complete hit just now.
But the fact is that someone's thoughts will not change with just one move. If they disappear, they disappear. When the cloud ninja noticed the cold coming from behind him, his consciousness was completely inferior to the darkness, and he also followed the steps of other cloud ninjas. Follow in the footsteps.