"What? You don't believe me?" Hayashi Rei retorted.
"I believe you, I believe you..." For some reason, Uchiha Shigure saw a shadow of Naruto in Rei.
"You're clearly just humoring me!" Rei was very displeased.
"Ugh... just talk normally, don't do that! Otherwise, I'll puke! It's so disgusting for a man to say that." Shigure sped up, instantly leaving Rei behind.
"Hey! Disgusting!?" Rei also accelerated, intending to catch up with Shigure.
Shigure's Body Flicker Jutsu was already very fast, and with a bit more seriousness, he quickly left Rei behind. However, Shigure still tried to maintain a suitable distance between them, for ease of sensing.
Time passed quickly. Shigure sent the information he had gathered back through a messenger hawk specially bred by Konoha. He didn't encounter any enemies along the way, and Shigure finally arrived at the border between Konoha, Grass, and Waterfall villages a step ahead.
This place was a village called Sango Village. It sounded rather mystical, but in reality, it was just a village at the junction of three countries.
Shigure deliberately waited for Rei, so Rei quickly caught up.
"You're here... You're really slow..." Shigure couldn't help but tease him.
"You..." Rei was breathing heavily.
"If you need to catch your breath, you can take off your mask," Shigure suggested.
"Hmph! Despicable! We're only temporary allies, I won't let you see my face!" Rei refused Shigure's request.
"Alright... Is this where that rogue ninja named Takeda Kaito often appears?" Shigure asked.
"Probably... I'll go gather some intel." Rei took the initiative to gather information, but before Shigure could do anything, Rei was surrounded by a group of villagers.
"Look at you! You're clearly not a good person!"
"Yeah! Hiding behind a mask! You're probably sent by Takeda Kaito!"
"That despicable Kaito! He even wants to rob us! He deserves to die!"
"My child! They've all been taken! Give them back!"
The villagers were furious, each pulling out their weapons, intending to attack Rei. Rei tried to explain, but it was no use.
"Whoosh!" Shigure instantly teleported next to Rei with the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, then disappeared from the spot with another Flying Thunder God and Body Flicker, actually reappearing on a rooftop to stealthily hide.
Rei was shocked and said, "This..." But Shigure immediately covered his mouth: "Shhh..."
"They're gone?! Where did they go?!"
"These people! They escaped! What a shame! We finally encountered two people..." The villagers then walked away reluctantly.
Shigure then said, "There's no point in explaining to them... Look closely at the bones on the ground..." Shigure pointed to the ground, where human bones were scattered everywhere.
"These are human bones... What... what exactly is going on?" Rei asked in a hushed voice.
"The Five Great Ninja Nations are constantly at war, and the unfortunate ones are these small countries that serve as buffer zones. They often become battlefields, and the borders of these small countries are even more of a buffer zone within a buffer zone. Due to the war, crops and the ecosystem have been severely damaged..."
"Look at these villagers... Each of them is skin and bones, clearly not having eaten anything for a long time... They directly chose to attack you, a stranger... If I'm not mistaken... To survive... They must have..."
"Don't say it... I understand..." Rei fell silent.
After seemingly adjusting himself, Rei said, "War is so cruel... Although this isn't the Land of Water... But..."
Shigure nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. The villagers just mentioned Takeda Kaito, which might mean we have a clue."
"Yes! That means Kaito should be nearby? Setting up camp, he has many subordinates. If I were Kaito, I would probably hide the kidnapped people in a very secluded place." Rei also offered his analysis.
Shigure nodded, and for once, praised him, "It seems you're not entirely stupid. Now it's my turn."
Shigure immediately activated his sensory abilities and Byakugan, clearly seeing the situation inside a cave not far away.
"Damn it! How could this happen?" Shigure was startled.
"What's wrong?" Rei immediately asked.
"You'll know when we get there, hold onto me." Shigure directly carried Rei on his back.
"What are you doing?!" Rei instantly blushed.
"My speed will be much faster!" Shigure then used a series of extremely fast Body Flickers to reach the cave.
Upon reaching the cave, Rei was also greatly shocked.
"Just now... that speed... it was like teleportation! Wait... that means this guy's speed on the way... was just to wait for me?"
"This is too exaggerated..." Rei hadn't fully recovered when Shigure patted his back.
"Hurry up and go in! See if this person is Takeda Kaito?"
"Mhm." After Rei followed Shigure inside, he was also stunned. The ground was covered in solidified blood and already cold corpses. A long line was drawn across the forehead protectors of each person.
"They were all killed?! Who killed them?!" Rei was a bit confused, but Shigure didn't answer him.
"There are charred bodies... It seems they used Fire Style during the battle... These bodies are completely stiff... Judging by the number of days, they must have been attacked and died after kidnapping Narcissus and returning."
"This guy's body was directly cut open by Wind Style! Did they encounter a Wind Style ninja? This corpse is completely charred, seemingly electrocuted by Lightning Style..." Shigure was also a bit confused, wondering who would attack these rogue ninjas. And no Konoha ninja bodies were found.
Just as things were at a stalemate, Rei said, "Shigure... I found something..."
"Hmm? Tell me."
"I suddenly noticed that all the bodies here are face down."
"Face down? It shouldn't be a coincidence... It seems someone did this on purpose? Is it to tell us something?"
Shigure then used his light blue Sharingan to observe the surroundings.
"So that's it! The entrance to this cave is below." Shigure moved the bodies under his feet aside. There was a groove under his feet.
"A keyhole? It seems a key is needed to open it." Shigure intended to look for the key, as forcibly blasting open the cave with ninjutsu might cause it to collapse, and they could easily be buried. Although they could escape with the Flying Thunder God, the clues would be lost.
"Shigure, this is Takeda Kaito... Kaito is dead too!" Rei also found the body of the rogue ninja leader.
"Is this Kaito... Can you confirm?" Shigure asked.
"Confirmed."
Shigure could clearly see that the leader's hands were tightly clasped, as if protecting something.
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