Tamayo Nara impatiently walked towards that direction.
However...
Aburame Aoi grabbed her arm. "Don't go. The guardian animals will alert the people inside. If we go, we'll be discovered."
"What?" Tamayo Nara widened her eyes.
Aburame Aoi's face was serious as she whispered, "Remember a while ago when many ninja clans allied against the Senju clan, and then their clan heads sent letters asking for peace?"
Upon hearing this, Tamayo Nara's face turned ashen.
The period Aburame Aoi spoke of was truly a hellish time for the Nara clan.
Tamayo Nara experienced it firsthand: the entire clan suffered from diarrhea to the point of exhaustion, but they couldn't find the source.
Afterward, the clan head specifically sent Tamayo Nara to the Senju clan to deliver a letter, instructing her to only eat military rations if hungry, to absolutely not eat anything else, and not to drink water.
During that time, the water the Nara clan drank was not from wells, water tanks, or rivers.
Every night, they would hang kunai or metal weapons near them, and then place a bowl beneath the kunai.
As the night grew cold, water droplets would condense on the surface of the metal weapons and drip into the bowl.
Only by drinking this collected water would their diarrhea symptoms alleviate.
This meant that all drinkable water the entire Nara clan could find had been contaminated.
In fact, with a little thought, they all knew this must have been the Senju clan's doing, but they couldn't find any evidence.
Because the Nara clan was among the first to deeply cooperate with the Senju clan, they were, after the Hyuga clan, the ninja clan that understood the Senju clan best.
The Senju clan's Hot Spring Street, a hub of food, drink, and entertainment, earned vast sums daily, and all the ninjas were too busy to harm them.
But that was the reality.
Tamayo Nara, enduring her physical discomfort, ate military rations when hungry. After a few days, her condition actually improved, and she represented the Nara clan in making a request to the Senju Princess.
It was also then that Tamayo Nara first met Senju Wakama's sister, who was like a celestial maiden.
Whether man or woman, gazing upon that princess for an extended period would invariably lead to a state of enchantment.
Such beauty was simply not of this world.
And the Senju clan's sudden change in demeanor was precisely due to the presence of this princess.
Tamayo Nara knew better than to provoke her and was very sensible, sincerely asking the princess for forgiveness and stating the Nara clan's position.
Unfortunately, the princess smiled, flatly denied everything, and wouldn't budge.
Tamayo Nara had no choice but to relay the princess's words to her clan head.
At that time, Clan Head Nara Shikabane sighed, saying that the princess was forcing the Nara clan to choose a side.
There was no alternative; the Nara clan might be intelligent, but their strength was inferior to that of the Senju Princess.
They couldn't find the source of the Senju clan's poisoning, nor the reason why the entire clan was suffering from diarrhea, so they couldn't cure the illness.
As a family of herbalists, the Nara clan also knew a fair bit about medical arts.
What was perplexing was that the cause of their diarrhea seemed to change periodically.
They knew they had encountered a master.
And the medical expert who had emerged out of nowhere was the Senju clan.
The Nara clan immediately sought peace with the Senju clan.
They couldn't possibly keep drinking the condensed water vapor from metal weapons collected in the middle of the night; that small amount of water was insufficient for human needs.
If they continued like this, their clan would be wiped out.
And the Nara clan's head actually understood what the Senju Princess truly wanted.
Thus, the Nara clan had no choice but to exhaust every possible method to thwart the ninja clan alliance's plans to gang up on the Senju clan.
Of course, the Senju Princess didn't just target the Nara clan.
None of those ninja clans were spared.
This calamity only ceased after all ninja clans explicitly stated that they would absolutely not be enemies with the Senju clan.
After the ordeal had passed, the ninja clans that had originally cooperated with the Senju clan intended to continue maintaining friendly relations with them.
That's why diplomatic representatives like Tamayo Nara and Aburame Aoi were dispatched again.
Many ninja clans, having become "brothers in adversity" due to that catastrophe, met in the Senju clan's luxurious district and spontaneously formed an alliance.
Tamayo Nara and Aburame Aoi were among them.
However, in Aburame Aoi's eyes, Tamayo Nara was simply insane.
For the sake of the money, Aburame Aoi agreed to help Tamayo Nara track Senju Wakama.
Only after tracking him did Aburame Aoi discover that Senju Wakama was truly a "stealth master."
Without the guidance of her insects, Aburame Aoi couldn't have guaranteed she wouldn't lose track of Senju Wakama.
But this also made Aburame Aoi acutely aware of Senju Wakama's terrifying presence.
It was best not to provoke such a person; otherwise, one would die without a burial place.
Aburame Aoi's ability to achieve fame at a young age and gain a high status within her clan was not because her strength was genuinely the strongest of her generation, but because she was very skilled at "playing it safe."
Every single time, Aburame Aoi managed to survive.
As long as she survived, it was a victory.
As long as she stood and her enemies lay fallen, she won.
Seeing an existence like Senju Wakama, Aburame Aoi would run as far as possible.
It just so happened that Tamayo Nara offered too much money. During her stay with the Senju clan, apart from routinely going to chat with the Senju Princess, Aburame Aoi spent her other time eating the specialty of the Senju clan's Hot Spring Street—Osmanthus Cicada.
This stuff was delicious, so fragrant!
But it was too expensive!
This was extremely detrimental to Aburame Aoi's wallet.
When Osmanthus Cicadas weren't available, Aburame Aoi could only satisfy her cravings with grilled locusts, which were also very fragrant and not as expensive.
At this crucial juncture, Tamayo Nara, who was not short on money, appeared.
That's why the two hit it off immediately.
But now...
Aburame Aoi was conflicted.
On one hand, Aburame Aoi adhered to the saying "Good advice is lost on those who are determined to die," but on the other hand, she didn't want her benefactor, Tamayo Nara, to perish.
After Tamayo Nara was gone, who would pay Aburame Aoi for such trivial matters?
"The Senju Clan of the Forest, true to their name, must have some way to control a vast number of animals in the forest."
"They can instruct rats and birds to poison us ninja clans, making it impossible to guard against. Moreover, they are proficient in pharmacology; by the time we successfully detoxify one poison, we'll fall into the trap of another."
"The only solution is to reconcile with the Senju clan."
"Therefore, don't doubt it; we definitely can't enter through the main entrance of the cave."
Aburame Aoi considered her words and continued, "However, I have another way for you to see what's inside, though it might involve taking a detour."
"Then what are we waiting for?" Tamayo Nara was eager to try.
Aburame Aoi quickly led Tamayo Nara around the front of the cave, moving towards the back.
Then, Aburame Aoi found a spot surrounded by green trees and covered in moss. She whispered to Tamayo Nara, "This is above the cave. The surrounding large trees have intertwined roots and branches. I can have my insects quietly chisel open some small gaps from here for us to look down, but the opening for us to peek through can't be too large, or we'll easily be discovered."
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