Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 119 The Stealth of Shadows

Life in the countryside is quite simple and unpretentious.

With the autumn harvest approaching, the preparations are far more complex than imagined. People not only need to prepare harvesting tools, but also stockpile grain, water, and firewood, because the golden harvesting time is limited, and they have no spare time to meet their physiological needs.

This is where the advantage of having a reliable village chief becomes apparent. Grandpa Harada had started mobilizing the villagers to prepare a month ago, and most of the preliminary work had already been completed. What remained were things like sharpening and maintaining the harvesting tools, and Naruto could only glean some clues from the abundant supplies in each household's yard.

The majority of people in this world are ordinary people who can't use chakra. Naruto always knew this very well and was often amazed by the ingenuity of ordinary people. Twenty years later, electricity has become the dominant force in the world. Creations born from electricity allow ordinary people to breathe fire, unleash lightning, move mountains, fill seas, and drain rivers. He never underestimated human creativity. Without the threat of the Otsutsuki, the best outcome for ninjas would probably have been to fade into obscurity, becoming symbols of history. But… the Otsutsuki descended, and they had no more possibilities.

The autumn harvest began the day the paddy fields dried up.

For the first few days, everything proceeded smoothly, and no suspicious individuals appeared in the vicinity. On the fourth day, a "caravan" composed entirely of ninjas assembled fifty miles away and drove a donkey cart in a seemingly professional manner. On the fifth day, someone from the heart of the Land of Rice Fields left Otogakure. On the sixth day, the nearest town dispatched a small cavalry unit, which sped in this direction, while the ninjas who had set out on the fourth day also arrived near the village and quietly stopped in the woods.

"There's a group of ninjas nearby, fifteen people. The strongest one is barely a Jonin, the others are of varying strengths, they're probably wandering ninjas." Naruto revealed this bombshell information during lunchtime.

The three were shocked at the same time, and Shin even almost choked to death on his rice. While Matsuri was frantically pacing around, Sakura, whose face was blank, walked over, put her arm around him from behind, and pushed him up with her hand, causing him to vomit up a small ball of rice.

"Why did you only tell me something this important now!" Sakura almost screamed. She knew better than the other two how wide Naruto's perception range was, although she didn't know everything.

Naruto said, "What if they're just passing by?"

"Then why are you saying it again now?"

"Because they stopped near the village and sent two people to scout the area. I deliberately wore my headband and went for a walk around the perimeter so they could see me, but it seems they have no intention of retreating."

"Cough cough... They don't even retreat when they see the Konoha ninjas?" As Xin came to his senses, a bunch of conspiracy theories flashed through his mind.

“Konoha ninjas are just people.” Naruto was completely unfazed and reassured them, “Don’t worry too much, there are only fifteen of them. Maybe we’ll get reinforcements.”

“No one else can come to the village.” Xin subconsciously followed up with this statement, then added, thinking it was flawless, “You all know how short-staffed we are lately.”

“I’ve already marked the Flying Thunder God technique all over the village, so we can provide support anytime. Oh, and you guys should leave your marks too.” Naruto pulled out three small, inconspicuous pendants that looked like lucky charms. “If you encounter danger, you can inject a little chakra into them, and I’ll be there right away.”

"Flying Thunder God Technique can be used like this?" Sakura received a pink knot.

"Hehe~ We can save time on the return trip and have a few more days to play."

While the four were whispering to each other at the central outpost, the group hidden in the woods also began to move. They swaggered into the village in their donkey cart. Although the sentry dutifully stopped them, the goods they were carrying included high-quality government salt, the kind that would lead to the death of the entire family if sold privately. Therefore, the sentry did not dare to question their identities and could only let them in and take them to the village chief's house.

Receiving guests wasn't a ninja's duty, but protecting the old man was. Naruto didn't participate in the conversation at all, simply standing quietly behind Harada with a friendly smile. Harada cheerfully arranged accommodations for the group. Since there were too many of them and no inn in the village, he pointed to a house and asked the family to stay with relatives for the night.

After seeing the group off and closing the door, Harada's face fell. He pushed Naruto aside and said, "They couldn't possibly be officially designated merchants, or even merchants at all."

"Won't grain merchants buy grain at this time?"

“This is the land of silk, not many people grow grain, and because of the neighboring country, grain prices are very low, it's basically a losing business.” The old man sighed, full of worry. “Only a fool would put grain in someone else's hands! Sigh… Never mind, let's talk about those people. Their clothes are so new, most of them are wearing gloves, and some are even wearing leg wraps…”

“They are ninjas, all of them.” Naruto revealed the mystery straightforwardly.

Harada himself came to a similar conclusion and asked, "Can you solve this?"

"Yes. But... we might not be able to keep the house."

"Hehe, don't worry, I specifically picked the oldest house." Harada smiled slyly and said, "Mr. Naruto, we're practically acquaintances, could you help me out completely?"

“We don’t kill people,” Naruto replied instantly.

Harada's smile froze, and he looked at Naruto with a speechless expression. "What are such young kids thinking about all day long? I want you to send someone to the county town after you're done fighting to help report it to the authorities. These people are carrying government salt. With you as witnesses, the government shouldn't do anything to the village."

Naruto paused for a moment, then said, "What if the government officials are already on their way? They'll arrive tomorrow morning."

The nearly sixty-year-old man suddenly stood up, his eyes wide, trying to find a flaw in Naruto. Unfortunately, this ninja exuded confidence and tenacity from head to toe, just like when they first met; one glance was enough to see his extraordinary nature. Ninjas always have magical ways of investigating. Harada didn't question the accuracy of this information, but instead turned away and paced a few steps, his once straight back slightly hunched.

"Foolish, utterly foolish! How could our Land of Silk have such a foolish ruler!" Harada, perhaps enraged or doing it on purpose, launched into a tirade, wishing he could curse the ruler's ancestors for eighteen generations. Then he sat down in front of Naruto, saying nothing, only sighing repeatedly.

The direction from which the ninjas gathered was different from the county town from which they were dispatched, and both groups came with malicious intent. To call this a coincidence would be utterly foolish. Hui's intelligence network was already gathering information; they wouldn't normally pay much attention to a village in a small country, so naturally they didn't know why this place was being targeted. And this Grandpa Harada was clearly the most likely person to know the inside story, which is why Naruto didn't give any advance warning and allowed those merchants to enter the village.

Even if they get in, so what? There are only fifteen people.