Coo coo coo—
A pure white pigeon flew over.
Linto caught it, took the secret letter from its leg, and handed the pigeon to Sasuke.
Sasuke held a handful of rice and a cup of water, offering it to the pigeon, eagerly hoping it would eat.
The pigeon's dark little eyes flashed with disdain. It flapped its wings and went to the nearby table.
It pecked open a rice ball, ate the meat inside, and took small sips of Linto's leftover tea. Only then did it lie down on the table contentedly, kicking one leg up to rest.
Linto read the secret letter in his hand:
"To Linto:
Regarding the swordsmith, I know an extremely skilled craftsman in the Land of Water, in a village that receives snow all year round. You can go find him and say you were sent by Kambara Hayato, and he will help you.
Also, various organizations have been eyeing you recently. As your contact, for safety reasons, I will be leaving the Land of Water.
When you see this letter, I should be holding a girl and on my way to Konoha village for sightseeing.
If there's an emergency, give the letter to Junko-chan (that silly white pigeon), and you can contact me.
Sincerely,
Kambara Hayato
Note 1: The map to the swordsmith's village is on the back of the letter.
Note 2: Don't get caught!"
Linto flipped the letter over and saw the map drawn on the back.
The Hokage world doesn't have satellites, so the map wasn't very accurate.
Fortunately, the level two Aerial Smiths have a patrol radius of one kilometer, able to look down from the air to scout, giving Linto a general direction.
Leaving the boat on the shore, Linto, Sasuke, and Momo bought two horses and headed for their destination.
Along the way, Linto encountered more than a dozen waves of enemies.
They disguised themselves as pedestrians, travelers, and merchants. Instead of fighting Linto head-on, they used poison, assassinations, arson, and explosions.
This was the other side of ninjas, using the least amount of Chakra to create the greatest damage.
This was definitely a part of things Linto wasn't good at. While roughly handling the attacks, he humbly learned the enemies' techniques.
During this time, Linto told Sasuke to teach Momo the breathing method.
Momo wanted to stay by Linto's side, so she needed some ability to protect herself. Even if she couldn't fight, she should at least be able to run if something happened.
Linto thought that having something to do might help her get over her trauma.
About half a month passed. When Linto and the others left the city and entered the mountains, fewer bounty hunters chased after them.
Crunch—Crunch—
The grass was covered in frost, large patches connected together, showing a snowy white. The horses' hooves stepped on it, making a crunchy sound like crushing soda crackers.
Linto breathed out, and a large cloud of white mist appeared.
"Momo, look!"
Sasuke pointed to the sky.
A snowflake fell from the sky.
It's snowing?
This was good news. Kambara Hayato's information said that the swordsmith's village received snow all year round.
Linto said, "Keep the breathing method going to resist the cold. We're almost there."
"Yes."
Sasuke and Momo answered in unison.
Sasuke was already very familiar with the breathing method. Momo was still a little clumsy, stumbling along. The two of them rode on one horse, and the heat constantly radiating from Sasuke helped her keep up with her breathing.
"I hope we can find the village today," Sasuke said softly.
They had finished their dry food the night before. In the freezing cold, there was very little game in the forest.
Momo took an orange from her arms and handed it to Sasuke. It was her treasured food.
Sasuke shook his head.
He didn't want to eat an orange.
He wanted to eat rice balls, fried eggs, tempura…
Thinking about it, Sasuke was drooling.
But things didn't go as planned. When evening came, the Aerial Smiths still hadn't found a village.
Seeing that the sky was gradually darkening, Linto gave up on finding the village that day, found a clearing, and prepared to spend the night there.
Sasuke quickly gathered firewood and used Fire Release to light the branches. Soon, a bonfire was burning.
"You guys rest for a while. I'll go see if there's anything to eat nearby."
Linto moved through the jungle. Until the sun had completely set, he had not found any wild animals to eat. Just then, a large cluster of red lights appeared in the Aerial Smith's detector.
Judging from the size, it seemed like a large animal.
A wolf?
Or a deer?
No matter what it was, Linto and the others' food for the next week was settled.
He stepped on the snow and pounced towards the target.
...
Momo stared blankly at the fire:
"Sasuke, why do people live? What's the point?"
Sasuke picked up a branch, threw it into the fire, and was silent for a long time before saying:
"I asked Aoki the same question."
On the day of the clan massacre, because of the many shocking events, Sasuke felt more scared and confused than sad.
Until one night a few days later, he suddenly woke up in a patch of grass. Thinking he could never go home again, never see his parents or friends again, sadness truly overwhelmed him.
"If I were to answer that question, I'd probably say 'You're eating too much, go practice throwing kunai a hundred times, and you won't have weird thoughts.'"
Sasuke's words made Momo smile slightly.
Firewood was thrown into the fire, causing tiny golden sparks to dance in the wind.
"But Aoki told me that since you think it's meaningless, then live meaninglessly.
In a meaningless, empty spiritual world, better create your own value. He said it's called…"
Sasuke recalled, "Right, it's called 'Nihilism.'"
"Nihilism… what's that?"
Momo looked confused.
Sasuke scratched his head: "It's okay if you don't understand. I didn't understand it back then either, but after following Aoki all the way, I understand a little bit.
The emptiness of the heart that you get after experiencing pain is not the end of everything, but the beginning.
I will set off carrying everything I can.
I want to find my own path in this free and empty wilderness."
Momo nodded as if she understood. She was about to say something when she heard rustling sounds from the forest ahead.
Sasuke stopped smiling, stood up, and pulled out a kunai.
Seeing that it was Linto, Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. Then he saw a short figure come out behind him.
It was an unbelievably beautiful little girl, wearing a fluffy cotton coat, carrying a bamboo basket, and bowing very politely to Sasuke and Momo, smiling sweetly:
"Hello, my name is Haku."
After a brief introduction by Linto, the others learned each other's identities.
Haku was a child living in the swordsmith's village. Because her mother was sick, she went out alone to collect herbs and was detected by the Aerial Smith when she was preparing to return to the village.
Linto claimed to be a doctor and asked Haku to help guide the way. In return, he would treat Haku's mother.
Linto wasn't fooling the child. Linto who uses Ripple, can cure most diseases, so it wasn't a problem for him to be called a doctor.
"So the village is nearby, but just outside the detection range of the Aerial Smith."
Linto thought, when he saw Haku pointing northwest.
"If you go another 40 li, you'll be at our village."
Forty li… Haku looked no more than ten years old at most, how did she walk here alone?
Is this what it means for poor children to learn to be independent early?
Fortunately, the way back wouldn't be so troublesome. Linto picked up Haku onto the horseback, activated the Ripple, and transmitted it into the horse's body.
The horse raised its front legs and let out an exciting cry, running towards the village.
In less than an hour, before it was completely dark, they arrived at Haku's village.
Kirigakure.
This was a very small village, with only thirty or forty families. Haku pointed to a house.
"Brother, that is my home."
She jumped off the horse and jogged towards her home, opening the door.
"Mom, there's a guest, a doctor!"
Linto followed Haku in and saw a weak woman sitting in a chair. The man next to her should be her husband, carefully pouring medicine for his wife.
"Sorry to bother you."
Linto was about to take off his shoes and go inside when the kitchen door opened.
Terumi Mei, wearing an apron, came out carrying two dishes.
"Dinner is ready."
She looked at Linto, tilted her head slightly, and gave a gentle smile.
"We have a guest?"
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