Thud—Thud—Thud—
The caravan wagons rolled slowly along. When the first wagon turned around a hillside bend—
The view opened up.
Clouds parted, revealing the moon.
Everyone on the wagon could now see the Tsuchigumo Clan's village about a mile down the slope.
It was a small village nestled in the mountains.
Not nearly as large as Kikyo Castle.
A tall watchtower stood at the entrance, sparse lanterns flickered, and dense forests flanked either side of the village.
It was peaceful and quiet. The village merged into the night, the soft moonlight painting a picture of isolation and tranquility.
Seeing the village, many in the caravan felt some of the tension in their chests ease slightly.
Plop—
In the first wagon, Hotaru's petite body suddenly trembled. Her face turned paper-white, her lips quivered, and it was as if all strength had been drained from her.
"Mmm—"
Her brows furrowed. Her body went limp, and with a soft groan, she fell headfirst toward Yu, who sat opposite her.
"…" Yu's brow arched slightly.
Before he could react—
Kurenai, who had just stood up beside him, was beaten to the punch. With a swish, Izumi lunged forward like a leopard, catching Hotaru in her arms. As she examined the girl, she thought to herself:
"Is she faking it for attention?"
But Hotaru's body truly had no strength—it was as limp as cloth.
That was Izumi's first impression.
"What's wrong with her?"
Nonōyu, being a medical ninja, snapped into professional mode. She adjusted her round glasses and took Hotaru from Izumi's arms.
The women all stared at the girl who'd been fine just moments ago, confused, but concerned enough to help check her condition.
"She's fine."
Yu spoke calmly, withdrawing his gaze and looking toward the village they were about to reach.
Everyone looked puzzled.
"Strange… her energy and blood suddenly became weak. But it's not serious. The captain's right—just feed her a military ration pill and she'll be okay."
Nonōyu reached into her robes and pulled a small packet from her black-and-white nun's outfit. She took out one pill and gently fed it into Hotaru's mouth.
Yu didn't stop Nonō's kindness. He would still need Hotaru to guide them. He already knew the cause of her condition.
Everyone else began to relax.
Their main concern had been an enemy ambush.
Yu turned to glance at the rear of the caravan.
Earlier, during his attack—
Without realizing it, he'd drained the chakra of those nearby. And just then, something unusual erupted from the second wagon.
Thud—Thud—Thud—
Sounds of people collapsing echoed.
Sosen stared in shock as the guard he'd kicked earlier suddenly dropped to his knees in front of him, then collapsed face-first in the wagon bed. Startled, Zongquan stepped back and cried out:
"I just kicked you once—don't try to frame me for it!"
Sensing something off, Zongquan immediately leaned out to scan the wagons around them—only to see that everyone had collapsed, groaning in pain:
"Ugh… my head's spinning…"
"Why can't I feel my back?"
"I'm so… tired…"
Hearing their groans, Sosen's eyes began to twitch. His scalp tingled. Before he could process what was happening, a wave of weakness crept up from his toes like a swarm of ants.
His body felt as if it had been completely hollowed out—not a drop of energy left. He collapsed directly onto another guard and couldn't move a muscle, utterly drained and just wanting to bury his head and sleep.
Grrrnn—
With no one steering them, the horses came to a natural stop. The caravan broke formation.
"Huh???"
Nonō looked at the "driver" who had collapsed in front of their wagon with surprise, frowning in confusion:
"What? This is spreading from person to person now?"
"Something's definitely wrong."
Kurenai turned to look at Yu.
Uchiha Mikoto, Izumi, and Nonō followed her gaze, all eyes falling on the silent Yu.
They had sensed something.
Their beautiful, bright eyes sparkled like stars in the night, but Yu remained expressionless as he responded:
"It's nothing."
These people just needed some rest—or a military ration pill—and once their spirits recovered and the fatigue passed, they'd be fine.
Earlier, they had been drained by his Mangekyō technique. Adrenaline had spiked, keeping them in a state of extreme tension and panic, so they hadn't realized that all their physical and mental energy had been instantly converted into chakra and siphoned away.
Now that they were relaxed—
Delayed exhaustion surged through their bodies like a tidal wave, and they fell into a state of full collapse.
"Really… nothing's wrong?"
Hotaru, resting in Izumi's arms, slowly lifted her head, blinking, her long lashes trembling as she looked toward Yu.
After taking the military ration pill, color had returned to her cheeks—but seeing her clansmen in this state, a trace of worry clouded her face.
Nonō lifted the hem of her black nun's robe, bracing herself against the side of the wagon with one hand and flipping over it in a graceful arc.
Her long skirt fanned out like an umbrella, then wrapped back around her long legs.
She squatted beside the two collapsed drivers and gave them a quick examination, answering in place of their now tight-lipped captain: "They're fine. Their symptoms are the same as yours. They just need a bit of rest."
Hearing that, Hotaru finally breathed a sigh of relief.
---
Under the moonlight—
At the tail end of the caravan—
Plap—
The sound of landing echoed. Two Uchiha four-man teams regrouped and flickered forward to catch up with the caravan.
All eight had successfully eliminated the enemy ninja teams ambushing the other mountain paths. Now, they looked visibly worn out—no longer radiating the heroism of earlier.
"What are you carrying?"
Minami looked shocked. He and his teammates' eyes immediately locked onto Tamao as they reunited with the other squad.
They saw Tamao carrying a woman draped over his shoulder. She wore a black skin-tight outfit, her figure voluptuous, long hair cascading down, a mask covering half her face—a beautiful kunoichi with refined features.
"Oh, this is a gift I brought back for Big Brother!" Tamayo answered with a completely serious expression.
While leading his team to eliminate the Root members and other enemy ninja, he'd been pleasantly surprised to find there was also a kunoichi among them—one who wasn't bad-looking. So, he'd spared her life and captured her.
Compared to the Hotaru he'd captured earlier, Tamayo felt that this kunoichi had a figure similar to Lady Mikoto's. He figured Big Brother would probably like that.
"…" Minami.
This Tamao kid really was sharp. No wonder he came back empty-handed—it had felt off somehow.
As the Uchiha teams passed the caravan and saw everyone collapsed on the ground, their expressions turned grim. Each pressed a hand against the hilt of their ninjatōs.
Minami said in a low voice, "What happened here?"
"Oh, looks like they fainted from Big Brother's sword skills just now," Tama9 explained. "Look how peacefully they're sleeping."
One dared to ask. The other dared to answer.
The team descended the hill and saw that the first wagon—with Yu and the others—was completely fine.
Everyone sighed in relief. A few swift leaps brought them to Yu's side.
"Big Brother, mission accomplished. Here's the woman I brought back for you!"
Tamao grinned as he placed the kunoichi in the middle of the wagon bed, then looked up at Yu, as if waiting to be praised.
Kurenai, Izumi, and Mikoto all stared at Tamao with strange expressions.
Hotaru looked terrified—this scene felt a little too familiar.
"…" Yu glanced at the unconscious kunoichi in the wagon and said calmly, "She's dead."
"Huh?"
Tamao's eyes widened. He looked at the woman, nudged her shoulder, and then reached out to remove her mask.
A delicate face was revealed.
She didn't move. Her eyes were tightly shut, and dark blood lingered at the corner of her lips—it was clear she'd taken poison to kill herself.
"Come on, why'd you go and die? I hauled you all the way back here—did I say you could die?"
Tamao hung his head, looking frustrated and disappointed.
A fellow Uchiha muttered under his breath:
"You kept drilling into her head that she had to 'please Captain Yu' the whole way back… You basically painted him as some kind of pervert. If I were a woman, I'd want to die too."
Tamao's baby face twisted in helplessness. After thinking for a moment, he looked at Minami and sighed:
"Minami, I already brought her back—seems like a waste. Why don't you make do with her, while she's still warm—"
"Get lost!" Minami shouted.
"Tch… No appreciation for the finer things." Tamao didn't press further and turned back to look at his big brother.
Yu's face darkened. He stepped over and patted Tamao on the shoulder.
"Go bury her. You did well this time."
Hearing the praise, Tamao beamed and nodded enthusiastically, his mood instantly brightened.
"Don't ever do something like this again."
Yu finished the sentence.
Tamao immediately deflated.
Seeing that the Uchiha squads were unharmed and unwilling to linger for chatter, Yu decided to leave the caravan behind and take only Hotaru into the Tsuchigumo clan's territory.
Suddenly, a mission notification popped into his mind:
---
[Side Mission]: No One Left Behind.
[Option]:
1. Escort the caravan into the Tsuchigumo village.
[Reward]:
Storage space increased by 100 cubic meters.
°°°
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