"If you stay sick long enough, you eventually die."
"So the villagers locked the little girl away in a separate log cabin."
"But over time, as she grew up, the infection spread more easily. Eventually, no one dared to go near the cabin. I don't even know if that girl's still alive."
"There are still a few people left in the village. Plant-like things have started growing out of their bodies, like tree leaves. Normally, it doesn't bother them, but if they get close to a fire, it starts to itch."
"And if the leaves are cut, they bleed."
Kaizen frowned.
He had already been guessing about the situation in Ponzu' village.
It could've been caused by some kind of magical beast…
Or maybe someone's Nen ability.
But after hearing Ponzu's description, Kaizen couldn't pin it down.
It didn't match anything he had encountered before.
It wasn't like the disasters the Kute Gang had caused in Meteor City…
And it wasn't like the monsters from the Taris Kingdom either.
"Is there anything else you remember?"
"Maybe, but it's been too long. Most of it's secondhand — things the elders talked about."
"What about the trouble this time?"
"I don't know." Ponzu shook her head. "Grandma just told me to leave. She said the village was facing a disaster no one could solve. She made me promise not to come back."
She lowered her head.
"But I can't just sit by and do nothing while the village is in danger."
Kaizen's expression grew serious.
"Ponzu, how far are we from your village?"
"About two or three kilometers."
"Stop here. I'll scout it out first."
Kaizen had an idea.
He pulled out a small wireless camera and handed it to Sasuke Uchiha.
Without wasting a second, Sasuke sprinted off toward Ponzu' village.
Meanwhile, Kaizen opened his laptop.
Altan silently appeared beside him.
Soon, the footage from Sasuke's camera popped up on the screen, and Ponzu immediately recognized the familiar sight of her hometown.
But something felt... wrong.
It wasn't just desolation.
It was complete dead silence.
"Use Gyo."
Kaizen reminded the others.
Hanzo, Siper, and the others immediately focused their aura into their eyes.
When they looked back at the screen, the village looked even stranger.
The place was flooded with thick aura.
Sasuke had reached the village entrance.
The path was overgrown with wild weeds, shrubs choking the old roads. Judging by how dense it was, this hadn't happened overnight — it would've taken years.
Ponzu' face was filled with disbelief.
"How… how could this happen?"
Sasuke continued into the village.
A wave of heavy, strange aura crashed toward him — but since Sasuke was only a Nen beast, the aura passed right through him without causing any reaction.
The village itself was a ruin.
Buildings crumbled, rotted from time and neglect.
Ponzu tensed, unable to hold back her emotions, and instinctively wanted to rush toward the village.
Kaizen stopped him, grabbing him firmly by the wrist.
"Calm down. Even if you run in there, what can you change? There's a reason your grandmother made you leave. Don't throw away her efforts."
Kaizen's mind was already working through the situation.
Chances were high...
There were no survivors left.
The entire village was already gone.
And more than that — the whole place was drenched in sinister aura. If Ponzu went in, she'd get infected, and under the influence of that strange Nen, she'd die too.
"You can see it too, right? The aura surrounding the village?"
"With your current strength, you wouldn't stand a chance if you stepped inside."
Ponzu was still visibly upset.
"But... I just talked to Grandma on the phone not that long ago."
"How long ago?"
"Right after the Hunter Exam ended."
Kaizen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Try calling her now."
Ponzu hesitated, then quickly pulled out her phone and dialed her grandmother's number.
The phone rang.
And soon... it connected.
Ponzu' grandmother's familiar voice came through the speaker.
"Little Ponzu? What's wrong? Are you trying to call Grandma?"
Hearing her voice, and remembering the dead village he'd just seen through Kaizen's laptop, Ponzu' eyes immediately turned red.
"...Grandma, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Why?"
"I just wanted to ask... has anything happened in the village lately?"
"No, everything's normal. Why?"
"Ja..."
Ponzu struggled to get the words out.
She wanted to talk about the ruined village she'd seen. But standing there with the phone in her hand, she didn't even know where to begin.
She was lost.
…
Meanwhile, Sasuke continued moving deeper into the village, searching for any signs of life.
The footage on Kaizen's laptop kept shifting as Sasuke explored.
Hanzo stepped forward, lowering his voice.
"Kaizen... judging by what we're seeing, there's no way anyone's still alive there. Maybe Ponzu' grandmother and the others relocated?"
Siper shook her head.
"No way. If they'd moved, they would've told Ponzu. There's no reason to hide something like that."
He turned toward Ponzu.
"Ponzu's right. Since the call's still connected, just ask directly."
Ponzu nodded slightly, steeling herself.
…
At that moment, Sasuke seemed to notice something.
The wireless camera turned sharply as he sprinted toward a different part of the village.
A wooden cabin came into view.
Compared to the others, it was less decayed, but it still radiated a chilling stillness.
Sasuke approached and pushed on the door.
It didn't budge.
He pressed harder.
"Crunch—"
The door creaked open.
Inside the cabin...
Sasuke saw a figure.
An old woman, her body shriveled and still, like she'd been dead for a long time.
A thin, black thread stretched out from her chest — wrapped tightly around a mobile phone.
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