It's been over a week, and our visits with the Chinoike clan patriarch have been very short.
So this circumstance has left me a bit stressed. I don't know if you don't know what situation you're in. Maybe you do, but you don't want to believe it.
The clear lack of supplies is evident; food resources are becoming scarcer with each passing day.
This tells me that they are increasingly repressed by the clans or merchants with whom they do business, but thanks to this, I feel we will soon have a satisfactory response from them.
At this moment, I found myself near a mountain, which, being close to the land of hot springs, was covered in lush vegetation.
I took a pair of kunai from my bag and threw them at targets about 30 meters away.
As I threw them, the sound of the wind being ripped by the high speed of the kunai could be clearly heard, followed by the thunderous sound as they hit the target.
"Hey, I finally found you." A woman's voice reached my ears.
I turned my body to see who was speaking to me. It was the same woman I had bumped into a while ago.
Jomei: "Oh, hello, long time no see." I spoke to her as if we had already met, even though I didn't even know her name.
At this point, she rolled her eyes. "Just call me Rika."
Jomei: "Ms. Rika, what brings you to these parts?" I asked, genuinely puzzled.
She didn't reply at that moment, but instead walked over to where the targets I had shot at were.
Rika: "I see you have basic training in kunai throwing, but it'll still work for me." She mentioned it while analyzing the points I had hit.
I didn't reply, since it seemed she had something else to say.
Rika: "Be my son's teacher." She said this, noticing my ability to hit targets, turning around, and focusing her gaze on me.
At that moment, I raised both eyebrows in bewilderment at Mrs. Rika's words. "I'm sorry, but I didn't come here to teach little children." My response may have been a little harsh, but it was the truth.
She frowned. "You still haven't given me any compensation for the other day." After she finished saying this, she folded both hands in front of her.
Jomei: "I'm sorry, but I've already given him the gift I broke, the one I left at his house, and he came to pick it up."
Rika: "Yes, but you also hit me when you collided with me, so you still owe me that much."
Jomei: "*Sigh*. It's fine, I just need him to arrive at his training just in time." I agreed, simply because I didn't want to continue arguing about the topic, and having someone else around might be a bit entertaining.
"Hahaha, but look who we have here." The laughter and the voice that was heard reflected many traces of malevolence, which caused both Rika and I to distance ourselves at once, taking defensive positions with our katanas in our hands.
Looking at the clothing that person was wearing, I immediately knew who it was.
This person had their face covered and their clothing was completely black, completely covering their figure.
Similar to the people who had been chasing us until before we left the Land of Fire.
Rika: "Who are you, and how did you get here?" Clearly, the entire area should have been covered by several Chinoike clan ninjas, yet they reached this point so easily.
The next second, five more people wearing the same clothing and with their faces covered began to emerge from some bushes behind us.
It was clear from their eyes that they weren't beginners, but rather high-level ninjas.
Izamu: "I think you've made things easier for us." Suddenly, Mr. Izamu appeared beside us, drawing his katana from its sheath.
Rika: "Do you know them?"
Jomei: "I wouldn't say we know them, but they've caused us some trouble."
"Enough talk, surround them!" Upon hearing their leader's orders, they quickly rushed to surround us.
Seeing this, I switched my katana, leaving my right hand free.
A blue sphere began to bloom in my hand, so I ran with all my speed to where one of the opponents was.
He tried to block the attack with his sword, but when he met my Rasengan, his weapon was split in two. With the help of my speed, I managed to follow my path to his stomach, which was pierced by my Rasengan.
Turning my head, I saw that Mr. Izamu had already finished off two of them, which made me relax a little.
But when I remembered that Mrs. Rika was also with us, I quickly shifted my eyes to see where she was.
Until I saw that he had finished off another one of them, plunging his katana into its neck. The next second, however, a sword pierced not only the body of the ninja he had just eliminated, but also pierced Miss Rika's chest.
Both Mr. Izamu and I moved forward to protect her.
"Hahaha." His sadistic laughter echoed loudly. It reflected his despicable mentality, but his intelligence wasn't damaged, as he retreated from the scene the next moment.
Mr. Izamu tried to chase after him, but I stopped him. "Wait, Mr. Izamu."
Izamu: "What's wrong?" he asked, annoyed, but I placed two fingers in the ground, releasing a large amount of chakra, which traveled around a perimeter of about 100 meters.
Jomei: "We have to return immediately," I replied, a little flustered.
Although Mr. Izamu wanted to follow that person, he helped me by carrying Mrs. Rika.
As soon as we arrived at the entrance to the Chinoike clan, a pair of clan ninjas greeted us with a host of questions, but I simply told them to inform their patriarch about an incursion by enemy ninjas.
This news alarmed not only those ninjas, but also the residents there.
This caused all the Chinoike clan ninjas, including the patriarch, to gather there in less than two minutes.
Arisuke: "What's the situation?" he asked, his eyes wide, but his voice calm.
Isamu: "There is a group of approximately 100 high-ranking ninjas on the southeast side of the clan. They are apparently wandering ninjas, but they come from the Land of Fire." He quickly reported the current situation.
He also mentioned that these ninjas had ambushed them repeatedly since leaving the Uchiha clan.
This could jeopardize the negotiations, but at Jomei's request, he reported every detail.
The Chinoike clan patriarch appeared calm, but inwardly, he was a little distressed by the situation.
This concern stemmed from the fact that incursions from outside clans would finally begin.
If it were the clans from the land of lightning, he wouldn't be so worried, believing they could survive these attacks, but if outside ninja clans joined the force, things would be different.
...
Inside a nearby house, I was performing surgery, as it appeared that Mrs. Rika's spleen had been pierced.
Therefore, I had to open an incision in the upper left section of her abdomen with the Chakra no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel) to be able to observe the affected area.
For this, I had to use cotton, which helped me remove the large amount of blood around the internal organs.
Later, I used the Chakura no Mesu technique again to remove the spleen and cauterize the section that supplies blood to this organ, finally stitching the wound.
This process itself seems like it could be done in a matter of minutes, but in reality, it was very complicated, given the delicate nature of the wound.
Add to that the numerous screams and explosions that could be heard in the distance.
This could have affected any step of the operation, but thanks to my patience, concentration, and steady hand, it was completed without complications in about six hours.
It should be noted that the pain and sensation of this operation, performed while Ms. Rika was awake, could never be achieved.
So before starting, I asked Mr. Isamu to put her under a genjutsu, so that she wouldn't move or feel anything during the entire operation.
I possibly could have used a sedative, but since this would have to be done immediately, I didn't have the luxury of wasting time.