Whether driven by emotional impulse or rational judgment, Yūshin could not stand idly by while clan members in distress faced death.
This wasn't just about his personal thoughts, preferences, or will—it was also about everyone's collective consciousness.
Although Yūshin had concealed the "Hagūgen" surname, this didn't mean he could sever the blood bonds between clan members, nor did he intend to.
Surface changes remained merely surface-level; internally, everything continued as before. A person's essence cannot change due to a single statement.
Though Yūshin and the others had received a distress call from Hagūgen Chihori, this message didn't necessarily mean only one person was in trouble—it could very well be a plea for help from several or even dozens of clan members.
After hearing Yūshin's decision to implement a rescue operation, although his surrounding clan members still maintained serious expressions, Yūshin distinctly sensed an atmosphere of relief.
"Rescue is certainly imperative, but as usual, I'll act alone this time."
He raised his hand to stop those who wanted to object, continuing:
"Acting alone gives me more flexibility. If I encounter problems, I can advance or retreat. If too many people participate, it becomes easier to lose control of the situation."
Frankly speaking, everyone's strength was insufficient to support such a complex mission combining reconnaissance, infiltration, and rescue.
Though the word "burden" sounded harsh, if everyone acted together, they'd more likely create difficulties than provide assistance.
"So... considering the rescue mission's complexity, I'll first investigate the destination while you prepare for action. If I need support, I'll notify you as quickly as possible."
Yūshin rephrased this in more acceptable terms.
"If the captain acts alone and encounters an emergency with no backup... the consequences would be unthinkable," someone said.
Yūshin again demonstrated his "bare-handed tree piercing," saying:
"Unless I encounter impenetrable sealing techniques, I'm very difficult to trap."
This demonstration was quite convincing.
It seemed this was the only way—everyone truly couldn't change Yūshin's will.
Some couldn't help but secretly lament that if that Senju shinobi were still here, perhaps he could provide assistance.
"It's decided then. I'll conduct preliminary reconnaissance, and considering the matter's urgency, we should act sooner rather than later," Yūshin said.
Though not planning to involve everyone in the actual rescue operation, Yūshin needed to give them some sense of participation and anticipation.
Everyone should be working to rescue clan members and earn corresponding "contribution points"—otherwise, with some working and others watching, what would that be?
Clearly, clan members held equal weight in everyone's hearts.
Whether during his previous pure cannon fodder period or the current advanced cannon fodder era, Yūshin wasn't accustomed to coordinated action with others. He was more familiar with solo combat methods.
Yūshin made brief arrangements for camp affairs, organized his ninja tools, and departed with soldier pills... thanks to the Sarutobi Clan's contribution, at least Yūshin now didn't lack weapons and wartime supplies.
Over the past month or two, his strength had experienced rapid growth.
For the current him, strength-wise he was certainly severely lacking compared to the top, but surprisingly more than adequate compared to the bottom.
He couldn't fight very well, but he could definitely run extremely fast.
...
Yūshin left camp, passed through the forest to the outside world, but didn't recklessly travel at maximum speed.
Battle could occur anywhere, anytime—he had to maintain good chakra levels.
For camouflage, he draped a tattered blanket over himself, concealing the ninja tools at his waist. This made him look less like a shinobi and more like a modernist avant-garde artist or classical refugee.
Using roughly three days, Yūshin reached the coordinates marked on the distress message—a seemingly ordinary small town.
Hidden in morning's gray mist, Yūshin observed buildings of varying heights and styles, all quite dilapidated. The town's inhabitants seemed lifeless.
Nothing appeared problematic—most places and people in the current shinobi world lived in this state.
According to later geographical divisions, this should be the border area between the Land of Fire, Land of Rivers, and Land of Rain—a famously lawless "three-way no-man's-land."
After observing briefly without noticing anything, Yūshin stepped into the town.
Upon entering, he immediately discovered problems.
Logically, when a stranger suddenly appeared in such a closed town, others should look at him with wariness and scrutiny. However, people here seemed accustomed to outsiders.
Though Yūshin's clothing style was common, his face was definitely unfamiliar.
"Indeed somewhat unusual..."
After circling the town's main cross streets, Yūshin sensed certain surveillance gazes.
Could clan members really be hidden or imprisoned in such a place? Yūshin couldn't get answers immediately—his only clue was that coordinate, so he could only start searching from this town.
After another circuit, Yūshin quietly lifted a coin purse from someone who appeared financially comfortable... to ordinary people, shinobi are professional thieves with extremely high pickpocketing proficiency.
This was Yūshin's first time touching money in months.
Current shinobi world currency remained "ryō," but unlike the ninja village era's paper money, the chaotic times favored metal currency minted by various regional daimyō.
Metal currency naturally had different purchasing power than paper money.
Yūshin opened the purse, finding roughly five gold coins resembling the "koban" from his knowledge of the Edo period.
The front showed the denomination "one ryō." Yūshin casually weighed it—feeling around 15 grams.
The ninja village era's "one ryō" purchasing power approximated 10 yen, but clearly, the current "one ryō" was worth much more—a large denomination currency.
Yūshin roughly calculated that one "ryō" gold coin's purchasing power definitely exceeded 5,000 yen.
After acquiring money, he approached the town center's only inn.
He'd already observed that this town had only this one inn.
Yūshin entered the inn, seeing a thin middle-aged man sitting behind the counter facing the entrance. He approached the counter, directly slapping a gold coin down, saying:
"I'll stay for now. When this isn't enough, I'll supplement."
The innkeeper picked up the coin, examined it against the doorway's light, then breathed on it and vigorously wiped it with his sleeve before saying:
"Enshi family minting, pure red gold... enough for you to stay until the world ends."
He tucked the coin into his sleeve while tossing Yūshin a key ring.
Yūshin raised an eyebrow, discovering this person wasn't simple either—he hadn't clearly seen the man conceal the coin. Could this innkeeper be a "sweeping monk" type expert?
He didn't rashly inquire about his clan members. Being new here, caution should take priority.
Afterward, Yūshin took the keys to a second-floor room.
After closing the door tightly, he carefully inspected the room's interior. Confirming nothing abnormal, he finally relaxed his vigilance slightly.
Next, Yūshin prepared to patiently observe this town.
As long as problems existed here, flaws would eventually emerge. Sooner or later, Yūshin would certainly catch something amiss.
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